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Who The World Hates!/Self Control! By Pastor Bill Taylor A publication of My Father's House, inc. Volume 9/ Issue 21 Prophecy: You can’t be Spiritual without the Spirit. Stop trying to be Spiritual without the Spirit. You can’t substitute anything for the Spirit. Many try to substitute knowledge for the Spirit. They think if they can just learn enough they’ll be Spiritual! Having knowledge without the Spirit is like having money in the bank without a checkbook, passbook, or an ATM card. You can never get the knowledge when you need it without the Spirit. It’s the Spirit who brings the knowledge to your remembrance when you need it. Without the Spirit the knowledge does you no good. You must have the Spirit to even use the knowledge rightly. You want to be Spiritual? Get the Spirit, thus saith the Lord. (Prophecy delivered at “My Father’s House”) If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, he’s not His. (Ro8:9) The division between God’s people and those who aren’t God’s isn’t merely ideological. A person can claim to believe and even state their doctrine exactly like what we believe and yet be an absolute enemy, because in the Kingdom of heaven ideology isn’t the test of which side you’re on. Whose you’re on is determined by whether you’re in the flesh or in the Spirit. Today millions of professing “christians” have an ideology that says Jesus is Lord or Jesus is the son of God, Savior and such, but they’re not in the Spirit and when they encounter a truly Spiritual Christian they often show themselves to be vicious opponents. We’ve seen this often in our personal experience. Jesus also expounds on this concerning the Jews. “The world can’t hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil.” (Jn7:7) Now the so-called “christians” at large, the curstians, think whenever the Bible speaks of the world it’s speaking of people who don’t go to church. But those who crucified Jesus were a people who went to “church.” They were Jews. They “believed” in the God of Abraham. You wouldn’t think they’d be “the world” but Jesus must be speaking of them when He says the world because they’re the ones who hate Him and who testify against Him. You don’t see Him rebuking the Gentiles. His ministry was to the Jews first and the Jews hated Him first which proves these Jews are of the world. Throughout the book of Acts the same worldly Jews would hound Paul in every place he went, continually stirring the Gentiles up against him. We’re of God. He who knows God hears us; he who isn’t of God doesn’t hear us. By this we know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error. (1Jn4:6) People who can’t hear us aren’t of God and if they’re not of God they’re of the devil. Why don’t you understand My speech? Because you aren’t able to listen to My word. You’re of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there’s no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he’s a liar and the father of it. (Jn8:43-44) When Jesus says the desires of your father that includes wanting to kill Him. But it also includes the many other sins that worldly people practice. They’re covetous for example and they want to be rich, famous, powerful or popular. They’re full of such things as are common to the world but they’re void of the desires that come from Jesus or God. What they have is the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. (1Jn2:16) Loving the world or the things of the world defines your spirit. You’re of the world if you agree with the world and desire what the world offers. If the world entices and you take the bribe then your father is the devil. We know that we’re of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. (1Jn5:19) He who’s of God hears God’s words; therefore you don’t hear, because you’re not of God. (Jn8:47) You’re defined by who you hear. It isn’t just whether you attend church or not. If you go to church but can’t hear the Spirit, and yet you hear the things of the world then you’re not of God. If you go to church and can comfortably converse with unsaved people, but in the company of someone Spiritual you find it difficult to have a conversation then you’re not of God. A great mistake in contemporary Christianity is to think you’re a Christian because you claim to believe in Jesus. The fact that you “believe in Jesus” doesn’t make you a Christian if you don’t hear God and you still hear the world. As far as the Jews in Bible times are concerned, they also claimed to be the people of God but they couldn’t hear God. For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. (Acts13:27) Whenever they want to gain power or accomplish something against the Christians the Jews go to the Gentiles because the Jews can talk the language of the Gentiles and get the Gentiles stirred up. That the Jews speak the same “worldly” language as the Gentiles proves the Jews and Gentiles are really no different. There are many cultures in the world but the various peoples aren’t different when it comes to basic behavior. They’re all flesh and they speak according to the flesh. There’s none righteous, no, not one; there’s none who understands; there’s none who seeks after God. They’ve all turned aside; they’ve together become unprofitable; there’s none who does good, no, not one. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongues they’ve practiced deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways; and the way of peace they’ve not known. There’s no fear of God before their eyes. (Ro3:10-18) Because they speak the language of the world these Jews can get along with the Gentiles while hating the true Christians. Their partnerships with the world in opposing the Christians prove the Jews are of the world. If the world hates you, you know it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you’re not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word I said to you, “A servant isn’t greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they’ll also persecute you. If they kept My word, they’ll keep yours also. But all these things they’ll do to you for My name’s sake, because they don’t know Him who sent Me. If I hadn’t come and spoken to them, they’d have no sin, but now they’ve no excuse for their sin. And these things they’ll do to you because they’ve not known the Father nor Me. (Jn15:18-22;16:3) It’s the Jews who’ve done these things to Jesus not Gentiles. The sins He’s testified to have been the sins of the Jews not the Gentiles. If the world listens to you then it doesn’t hate you. If the Jews can stir up the Gentiles to stone Paul and riot against the Christians then the world doesn’t hate the Jews but it’s in partnership with them. The Jews are of the world because the world loves its own and listens to its own. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you’ve heard was coming, and is now already in the world. You’re of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who’s in you is greater than he who’s in the world. They’re of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. (1Jn4:3-5) This defines who’s of the world. It isn’t whether you go to church or not but what you speak and who hears you. If we speak Spiritual things to people who claim to be Christians but they don’t hear us then they can’t be of the same Spirit as we are. They aren’t real Christians. They’re of the world. The nations drank her (Babylon’s) wine; therefore the nations are deranged. (Jer51:7) What is the wine of Babylon which causes those who drink to go crazy? Babylon’s wine is her doctrines! If you drink her doctrines you’ll go insane because Babylon is completely demented. The doctrines of Babylon include such things as “dignity laws.” (See our previous Glory Of His Grace publication “When Jews Work With Gentiles.”) One early reference to “dignity laws” is found in pre-revolutionary America. The colonial representatives were considering whether to rebel when someone said things about king George and was accused of attacking his dignity. This caused an argument over king George’s “dignity” which was settled when the general consensus decided we’ve a right to defile his dignity because he’s not behaving properly. Ecclesiastes tells us there’s nothing new. No doubt there were dignity laws in Rome that forbid speaking against the emperor etc. But as they’re being used today “dignity laws” are a ploy to inhibit free speech and hinder our Christian right to witness. If someone is following a heretical religion these laws say we’re not allowed to tell them their “belief” is unscriptural because that may offend their dignity! Such laws would put an end to all rational discussion, for in today’s world it’s impossible to express an opinion about anything without someone being offended! Dignity laws are already being enforced in many businesses, prisons, nursing homes, and such places as operate under the authority of bureaucratic mandate. It’s all the “wine of Babylon.” God makes Babylon drunk because she’s wicked and in her drunkenness she’s doomed to fall. She makes everyone who follows her drunk too and they’ll also fall with her. If you drink with the world, you’ll fall with the world. If you’re listening to daily news, political opinions, and even the silly ideas of most T.V. “churches,” you’ll be filled with the wine of the world and that will cause you to make stupid decisions, like a drunk man staggering and falling down because he can’t see what’s in front of him. Who’s wine are you drinking? Real Christians are drinking Jesus’ wine, God’s word and the blood of Christ. Real Christians are to separate from the world. “Come out from among them and be separate,” says the Lord. “Don’t touch what is 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. (2Co6:17-18) We don’t drink the world’s words; we aren’t interested in their philosophies. False christians are swapping spit with the world so they think like the world. Worldly “christians” often get riled up at us when we’re doing things that are exactly what Jesus says to do. Like, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. (Heb10:25) Then they go to non-christians with their foolish criticisms and try to stir them up against us. “They’re a cult because they have church every day.” Such so-called “christians” and unbelievers hear each other fine. We know the unbelievers are of the world. But even though false christians attend church, when they need something or they’re in trouble they usually go to the world for help. If they talk the language of the world they’ve just defined themselves. If the world hears them they’re of the world. So real Christianity isn’t defined by whether you go to church or claim to believe in Jesus. It’s defined by who hears you and vice versa. The world can’t hear a real Christian and if you’re one of these people who go to church on Sunday but on Monday you can sit around the office talking politics and news with unbelievers then you’re speaking the language of the world. You’re not speaking God’s language! If you were speaking God’s language the unbelievers wouldn’t hear you. We’re of God. He who hears God hears us. They’re of the world and the world hears them because they’re of the world. That’s how Jesus defines them! So who’s the enemy? Is it just the people who don’t go to church or don’t believe in Jesus? Our enemies are the people who are of the world. And the people who are of the world are in the flesh. Flesh is always an enemy to the Spirit. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Gal 5:17) Carnal “christians” aren’t Spiritual therefore they’re of the world. They’ve taken their flesh to church but they haven’t crucified their flesh. So they speak like the world and the world hears them. You can put goats in the sheep pen but it doesn’t make them sheep. How do you define a real Christian? They’re Spiritual, they speak the language of God and they hear when God speaks. Our warfare isn’t only with the world outside the church. Our war is with flesh, which includes millions of “church” people, who call themselves christians but are still in the flesh. Because they’re flesh they hear what the world says and agree with the world and, of course, they resist the Spirit. Whenever they encounter Spiritual Christians they slander us, often with the most insane accusations! They say we have “too much” God! And the world agrees with them. The world and the devil say too much God is bad for you but Jesus would never say that. No real Christian would ever say such a thing. How can you have “too much” God? “You’re so heavenly minded you’re no earthly good.” That’s a demon’s slander! For to be carnally minded is death, but to be Spiritually minded is life and peace. (Ro8:6) 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) You’ve never met anyone who’s so heavenly minded they’re no earthly good. On the contrary, most people are so worldly minded they’re useless to God. The most heavenly minded person of all is Jesus and He was as good as you could get. Jesus did as much earthly good as anyone could ever do and yet these curstians say that you can be so heavenly minded you’re no earthly good. They speak as the world speaks and if they speak as the world they can’t be of God or the true church because Jesus is head of the true church. They’re not hearing Jesus, they’re hearing the world. But if we’re hearing Jesus then we’re not hearing the world and we don’t agree with what the world is saying. So we can’t define our enemies by their ideology. Just because they claim to believe in Jesus doesn’t make them brethren. We can recognize them as brethren only if they’re in the Spirit. They’re enemies if they’re in the flesh. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we’ve known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. (2Co5:16) You’re a brother or a sister if you’re in the Spirit and you’re an enemy if you’re in the flesh. For the church to become the glorious church without spot or wrinkle we must remove and repent of everything that’s flesh. The carnal people in the church are the spots and wrinkles. (2Pe2:10,13) Any act that’s done in the flesh is a spot or wrinkle and an embarrassment to the church. And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. (Jude23) Everything that’s of the flesh is opposed to the Spirit and is an embarrassment to the Spiritual church because Spiritual people can see what’s not of God. And if something’s not of God what’s it doing in the church where we’re supposed to be the people of God. Jesus says He’ll have a glorious church without spot or wrinkle so Jesus is at war with flesh. No flesh shall glory in His presence. (1Co1:29) And we who are Spiritual must recognize and expect Christ to war against all flesh and we’re also to recognize the true brethren are those who’ve crucified the flesh. (Gal 2:20) So our enemies aren’t just those who don’t believe in Jesus but they’re those who may claim to believe yet won’t crucify their flesh. An example at “My Father’s House” was the difference between Patty and Kim. They both entered “My Father’s House” at the same time receiving the same Word and both of them were smokers. Kim quickly realized she wouldn’t be allowed to continue with us as a smoker. Smoking is unacceptable behavior in a true Christian. So Kim bites the bullet and crucifies her flesh, he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. (1Pe4:1) She proves to God she loves God more than cigarettes. She shows the church greater is He who’s in her than he who’s in the world. Kim is still with us – a precious sister and of course she’s no longer a smoker because she overcame. Patty however went “ballistic!” She wasn’t willing to bear the suffering required to give up her cigarettes. She soon left us to attend a Baptist “church” that accepted her as a smoker. There she slandered us and began to stir up enemies against “My Father’s House.” She even incited the “pastor” of her new Baptist “church” to visit members of “My Father’s House” to try to convince them to leave. Of course, he was unsuccessful, and six months later that same wicked pastor was caught in adultery and thrown out of his Baptist “church.” So Patty, because she won’t crucify her flesh, becomes an enemy to the cross and all true Christians. She ends up “following” a wicked uncrucified “pastor” in an apostate heretical “church.” True Christians embrace the cross and stand up for the cross. You must put your flesh to death or you won’t be saved. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal 5:24) A major problem in maintaining a Spiritual church is eliminating the people who “join us” but are continually in the way of the Spirit because they won’t crucify the flesh. And especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They’re presumptuous, self-willed. They’re not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They’re spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you. (2Pe2:10,13) It doesn’t matter how much they think they know about God or even if they sometimes seem to hear God. There were several people in the Bible who heard God at times that ended up in hell, Balaam for example. What God does in His church and He’s done it often in “My Father’s House” is He identifies those who are in the flesh. He exposes them so either they have to repent and get in the Spirit or end up leaving. You don’t see Vivian here anymore. She didn’t repent. Steve recently went thru a chastening due to his carnal behavior and he’s still here because he repented. Right now the Spirit is dealing with you Will because you’re showing the very symptoms we’ve been talking about. You’re in the flesh. Do you know one of the most common symptoms of carnal Christianity? “Let’s build three tabernacles.” (Mk9:5) When the Spirit moves strongly the people in the flesh start thinking, “I must do something to show I’m a real Christian.” But being without the “Spirit” they always do something stupid. “Build three tabernacles.” They’re agitated by God. Their flesh makes them feel like they have to make a show to seem acceptable. But what they do is never useful! The Spirit is exposing them. Will’s been giving some really fuzzy “prophecies” lately. He gets impulsive and feels he needs to do something whenever the Spirit is moving in our church. Recently I had to rebuke him because when the Spirit was moving very strongly he interrupted to pray a totally silly prayer. I’m not trying to embarrass you Will, I’m saying this to open your eyes. Something is terribly wrong with your Spiritual life. God isn’t with you. Your lack of the Spirit is a sure indication you don’t have a real prayer life at home. You can’t read the Bible, work all day and then float on your intellect because Christianity isn’t “ideology.” We’ve shown you the true brethren aren’t recognized merely by what they say they believe. They’re recognized by whether they’re actually in the Spirit. (Soon after Will left “My Father’s House” permanently. It was found he’d been fellowshipping with co-workers; smoking and drinking etc., after work.) You’re to build yourselves up on your most holy faith praying in the Holy Spirit, and keeping yourself in the love of God. (Jude20) When I see someone slipping Spiritually my first advice is “check your prayer life.” Prayer is where you make contact with the Spirit. You need the Spirit to keep you in the Spirit. Yesterday the Spirit let me eat breakfast before our home Bible study but this morning He didn’t. I felt such a need to pray today that God kept me in prayer right on thru breakfast time. I can feel when He’s doing that. I can sense when God’s working in such a way that I can’t stop praying to have breakfast. If you can’t sense the Spirit that way at home how can you sense Him in such a way that you can serve Him at church? Because I obey the Spirit at home in the morning, I can also obey Him at church in the evening. Your obedience to the Spirit begins in your home. It won’t happen in church if it isn’t happening at home. Obedience to the Spirit comes from first sensing what the Spirit wants to do and then obeying Him and that begins with spending time with the Spirit in prayer. The enemies of the true church are the people who have ideology but don’t pray enough to get into the Spirit and stay there. Even though they claim to be Christians and say they believe the same things we do, they aren’t moved on by the Spirit. If they aren’t moved by the Spirit then what moves them? Flesh. And what lives in the flesh? Sin. So if the flesh is in control the devil is in control and what they’re doing won’t be beneficial to the church. If we catch you in the flesh we have to deal with you as an enemy. Your carnality has to be corrected before you can be treated as a brother again. Because when you’re in the flesh you aren’t doing the church any good. You’re a spot, a wrinkle, and an embarrassment. If you love the Lord and love the church you must get in the Spirit and stay in the Spirit. In the glorious church without spot or wrinkle there won’t be any Baptist-types who reject the baptism in the Holy Spirit and therefore the leading of the Spirit because Jesus’ church can’t have flesh in it. Any flesh would be a spot or a wrinkle. So the true church not only won’t have any Baptists in it, she also won’t have any people who want to “build three tabernacles.” She won’t have anyone who moves on their own carnal impulses instead of when God moves. You must learn this to be a Christian. True salvation is not in the words of your confession, it’s in the Spirit you live by. If you’re confessing Jesus is Lord then let’s see you put Him on, walk in Him and be like Him because that’s the only thing that can save you. You won’t be saved by confessing some ideology when you get to the judgment. You’ll be saved because Jesus knows you; you hear His voice and walk in His Spirit. Your ideology must get you into the Spirit. If your ideology, or your doctrine doesn’t get you into the Spirit it’s worthless. Spiritual Christianity is the only true Christianity. The Spiritual church is the only church where Jesus is head. It’s the only church where God’s will is being done; where the people know the voice of the Lord. True Christians know God’s Spirit. They’re moved on by His Spirit. They do what the Spirit says to do and they never do anything by the impulses of their flesh because they know the difference. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. (Jn10:27) Are you in the Spiritual church or not? This truth is very, very important. This truth defines who the enemy is. “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “Who take counsel, but not of Me.” (Is30:1) Where do they get counsel if they don’t take it from God? They’re taking it from the world. You’ll either get your counsel from the Spirit of God or you’ll get it from the world. If you hear God you’re of God and if you don’t hear God you’re hearing the world and you’re of the world. And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, that they may add sin to sin; who walk to go down to Egypt. (Is30:1-2) Egypt represents the world. If you don’t go to the brethren for godly fellowship but you go to your worldly family, you just went to Egypt. If you don’t go to God for advice but you go to unbelievers or co-workers to settle a personal problem, you just went to Egypt. If you want to get something done but instead of asking God to help you, you try to drum up support from your unbelieving neighbors, that’s going to Egypt. Who walk to go down to Egypt, and have not asked My advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! (Is30:2) At the time this was written Egypt was a major world power. The Jews would go to Egypt because the Egyptians had a big army and the Jews thought Egypt could protect them from the Chaldeans. In the end however Egypt was conquered by the Chaldeans. Today America is the big power so many people go to Washington for help. How do you spell Washington? E-G-Y-P-T. Carnal christians are trusting in and even courting political power, going someplace other than God to find help for their problems. What’s the “church at large” doing today? They’re trying to gain the help and favor of a worldly government to accomplish “christian” purposes. That’s not being seated in the heavenlies with Christ Jesus. That’s being seated in the White House with President Bush or seated in the congress, the Supreme Court, or whoever’s favor you’re courting. Such “believers” don’t really trust in the power of Jesus Christ or they’d be going to Him. But if they’re not Spiritual, they can’t go to Jesus or trust in Him because they can’t hear or understand Him. They’ve taken what the Bible teaches as Spiritual Christianity and tried to make it fit their carnality. By reconfiguring “christianity” to accept their carnality they can now be living a totally carnal life without feeling any conviction of sin. They interpret the scriptures in such a way as to ignore everything they don’t understand. Only the scriptures that seem to support their heretical doctrines are actually visible to them. The rest of the Bible is invisible. They carry what looks like a “complete” Bible of several hundred pages but when it comes to how many verses they actually see or read, they have a very small greatly shortened Bible. It’s nothing like the real Bible. Even the things they think they understand they don’t, because if they understood these things they’d understand the rest. But they can’t hear God at all, so when they read the Bible what do they read? They only read the things they think they know. The Baptists for example can quote you several verses they think support their “once saved/always saved” heresy. But the dozens and even hundreds of verses that completely oppose it; they never see. It’s as if verses like Romans 11:22 or Revelations 3:16 or 2nd Peter 1:10 aren’t even in their Bible. They can’t hear God but they interpret philosophies of demons into the scriptures and that’s what they hear. Of course demon led “christianity” doesn’t work so they’re a people devoid of faith and power. Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. (2Ti3:5) How may times have you seen “christian” shows on T.V. where there’s a person on the side signing to the deaf. Today’s “churches” sign to the deaf. In Paul’s day the churches healed the deaf. But most of today’s “churches” have given up on the power to heal. They’ve given into the fact they have no power so they just make do. Such churches never think about praying for the deaf to be healed, they just sign to them. Because the “churches” of today don’t have God’s power they find an alternate way of doing things. They leave the deaf unhealed but cater to their deafness. Many other things they do are similar to that. They’ve given up on God’s power so they go to Washington to straighten things out. If they’re going to the world to get help, they’re of the world not God. As true Christians we go to God and trust in God’s power, and we’re saying in God’s church you don’t have to sign to the deaf because God will heal them. And if He doesn’t do it today then we’ll keep praying and He’ll do it tomorrow. We’ll keep praying to God until we see the promises of God come to pass because God said He’d open the blinded eyes and heal the deaf ears. He said He’d do that in His church but the “churches” today don’t believe Him so they sign. They give in to the fact that they don’t have the power and then they just make the best of what they can do with what the world has to offer because they’re really not God’s church but the world’s. God’s real church can’t be satisfied to be without God’s power. She must press in to attain to the promises of God until she can manifest the power of God to the glory of God. In “My Father’s House” God is doing a work of producing Spiritual Christians and you won’t be allowed to be a spot or a wrinkle in this church. You must get into the Spirit. Your temporal life depends on it and your eternal life depends on it. We’re here to teach you how to get in the Spirit. God has given you everything you need to get into the Spirit but you must take this seriously. (2Pe1:3-4) This isn’t something that maybe you can do it or maybe you can’t as if it doesn’t matter. It matters! Everyone in “My Father’s House” who doesn’t repent when they’re caught in the flesh gets cut off. I don’t cut them off. God cuts them off! This is His church and Jesus is the one who said if your hand offends you cut it off. (Mt5:30) And He does that. So anything in this church that’s not of the Spirit, God will uncover it and He’ll cut it off. If you get rebuked once you know there’s a problem. The second time you get rebuked you’re already late in dealing with the problem and you better get serious. By the third time you get rebuked the whole church will be seeing the problem and be praying about you. And be assured the situation will soon come to a head. If you’re repeatedly being rebuked there’s something wrong with your prayer life. I don’t always know what you’re doing wrong because I don’t live with you to see what’s going on in your home, but most of the time it’s your prayer life. It’s foolish to think you can maintain your Christianity on your ideology. Christianity isn’t maintained by mere doctrine, it’s maintained by Spirituality. You have to stay in the Spirit, abide in the Spirit or you won’t even read your Bible and understand it right. You think you’re maintaining your Christianity because you have good doctrine but in reality if you’re not in the Spirit you’re not even “hearing” what you read in your Bible. Without the Spirit you end up “seeing” things that aren’t true. You’ll start hearing silly thoughts and confused things. If your prayer life is good when you open up the Bible it’s like neon lights going off because God is quickening so much to you. So your doctrinal life is good because your Spiritual life is good. Your behavior is good because your Spirituality is good. That’s what makes you a brother or a sister. That’s what makes you a true Christian, being in the Spirit. And that’s what makes the world hate you; that you’re in the Spirit. Prophecy: I don’t know you if you don’t want to know Me! If you don’t take advantage of the promises I’ve given to be an ever present help to you; if you don’t look to Me for My help and have faith in Me to give you help, then you don’t know Me and I don’t know you and in the day of judgment you’ll be among those who say, “We ate and drank in Your streets,” but I’ll say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you!” I tell you those who are My friends show themselves friendly to Me. They love Me, they want to be near Me, they want to hear My advice. They ask Me for My help and they are conscious always that I’m with them, and they like to have Me with them and they like to look to Me to receive the guidance they need, the knowledge they need, the strength they need. And I dearly love to watch over My brethren and help them; for it’s in My heart to be a help to My Father’s children. I tell you it’s not hard to be a friend, it’s just a matter of the heart; have a heart for it! And I also tell you this, no one who truly knows Me will be without an abundance of testimony. Many of you have just finished fastings, I ask you this, if your fast was real, where is your testimony? Because if you were fasting in the Spirit there’s a victory that you can testify has come about because of your fast and faith in Me. But where there’s no testimony there was no real fast. This I ask and this I command for My people; do you want to be My people? Two words – get real! Get real with Me and I’ll get real with you, saith the Lord. (Prophecy delivered at “My Father’s House”) Self-Control! Prophecy: The crucified life is not just death, it’s resurrection, because the crucified saint is making the choice that it’s better to do the will of God than his own will. So he puts his will to death that Jesus’ will may live. Therefore, he’s not manifesting only the death, but also the life of Christ, because the life of Christ is better than his own, and he knows it, and he chooses it, and he puts his down that the better may come forth, thus saith the Lord. (Prophecy delivered at “My Father’s House”) As His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness thru the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue by which have been given us exceedingly great and precious promises, that thru these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that’s in the world thru lust. (2Pe1:3-4) That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. (Eph4:22) Add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control. (2Pe1:5-6) Self-control and lust are opposites. Therefore self-control, or temperance, is a very important virtue because if we’ve escaped the corruption that’s in the world thru lust, one way we’ve escaped is by putting on self-control in place of lust. In putting off the old man and putting on the new, (Eph4:22) we must put off lust and put on self-control. Therefore, possessing the virtue of self-control is essential to your salvation, otherwise you haven’t escaped the corruption that’s in the world thru lust. If lust still controls you, then corruption is still at work in you. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. (1Co9:24) Most contemporary “christians” don’t believe there’s any need to “run this race” so as to win. Sad to say, they’ll not obtain the prize. It will be a grievous day when they see the prize given to others and find themselves castaways. Everyone who competes for the prize is temperate (has self-control) in all things. (1Co9:25) Paul doesn’t say “some” things, he says ALL THINGS. Jesus never gave in to lust in ANY place in His life. Nor do we see lust in Paul, nor should it be in you. The Spirit of temperance must rule in everything that pertains to a true Christian’s life. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, (Temperance is Christ ruling over the body and not letting the body rule me.) lest, when I’ve preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. (1Co9:25-27) Jesus warns us of people who’ll cast out demons and do wonders in His name, yet He’ll reject them because, “You’ve preached to others but haven’t cleansed yourself of your own iniquities or disciplined your own body.” (Mt7:21-23) Remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches-- feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God. (Pr30:8-9) Agur desires to be righteous in behavior but even his prayer is an acknowledgement of the iniquity within. Look at the superiority of the New Covenant righteousness in Paul. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I’ve learned in whatever state I am, to be content: (Contentment is closely associated with temperance.) I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I’ve learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:11-13) Paul can go thru hard times or good times and not fall into sin in either case. But with Agur, circumstances may cause him to sin. Agur says, “If I were poor I might steal.” Paul says, “Poverty won’t make me steal. I know how to be poor yet stay faithful to God.” Agur says, “If I were rich I might deny the Lord and think I have no need for Him.” Paul says, “Abundance doesn’t cause me to deny the Lord or think I’ve no need for Him.” There’s a sharp contrast between New Covenant Spiritual Christianity and the Old Covenant fleshly ordinance religion! Under the fleshly kind of religion, Agur asks for circumstances that won’t influence him toward sin. Whereas, in Spiritual Christianity we’re not overly concerned with circumstances because, “Greater is He who’s in us than he that’s in the world.” (1Jn4:4) To New Covenant Christians circumstances don’t matter. No circumstance can cause Jesus to sin. We can see the superiority of Christ in Paul versus what’s in Agur. But this I say, brethren, the time is short, so from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none. (1Cor7:29) Act like you’re divorced? That’s not what Paul’s saying. But I want you to be without care. He who’s unmarried cares for the things of the Lord-- how he may please the Lord. But he who’s married cares about the things of the world-- how he may please his wife. (1Co7:32-33) “The time is short,” means we’re near the end; very near the revealing of the antichrist; very near the coming of the Lord. So don’t get wrapped up in things of this world. After the rapture we won’t be husband and wife, we’ll be brother and sister. When Paul says those who have wives should be as though they had none, he means if there’s a choice between pleasing your wife and pleasing the Lord, choose to please the Lord. When you choose to please God over your wife then you’re behaving as a spiritual Christian who doesn’t have a wife. But if you’re in the flesh you’ll choose to please your wife instead of the Lord. If you’re spiritual even though you’re married you can still choose to please the Lord. Christian liberty doesn’t mean you have freedom to do your own will, rather you’ve the freedom to do what’s right and serve God without fear. (2Ti1:7;Gal 5:13) So, even though you’re married if you’re spiritual you’ll do God’s will. Now, to do that requires temperance. You can’t allow flesh to rule even when it concerns pleasing your spouse. Paul also says, Those who weep (shall be) as though they did not weep. Don’t let sorrows over unpleasantries and losses in this world stop you from bearing fruit or preparing for the coming of the Lord. Even great disappointments must never become a distraction to you or get in the way of your service to God. Those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice. Know how to weep without letting sorrows cause you to fail God. But, also know how to rejoice without getting into fleshly celebrations that interfere with your obedient service to God. Those who buy as though they did not possess. (1Co7:30) Just because God lets you purchase something doesn’t mean you have to use it immediately. The Spirit has often led me to buy things that I may not put to use till months later. You pay for and possess when the Spirit says to. But you don’t use what you purchase until the Spirit says to. Even though it’s yours, until the Spirit says to use it, it’s as though you don’t have it. Temperance knows how to be abased and how to abound. Do you have the godly self-control to set things aside until the proper time in the Lord? Of course, in “My Father’s House” we don’t participate in Halloween, but where children do, when they come home with a bag full of candy, can you let them possess that candy? If you allow them, most won’t eat anything but candy until they run out. Furthermore, they’ll eat the best candies first and after a few days there’ll be nothing left but those strange things they don’t like so much. That’s characteristic of flesh! When there’s abundance, the flesh pigs out. At “My Father’s House” we don’t celebrate these holidays the way the world does. But after a holiday it’s common for the stores to put some candies on sale. The day after Christmas we can buy red and green M&M’s at half price! Everything “holiday” is 50% off. So I do my candy shopping the day after. Then every day or two I may give the children one of those miniature snickers or a little packet of M&M’s as an after dinner dessert. So, even though we have an abundance of candy the children only get the prescribed amount. And if we’re down to where we have no candy, we just do without and it’s no big deal. Because of temperance I’m not sinfully affected by abundance. I’m controlled by godly wisdom as to the effectual use of the blessing. Furthermore, because of wisdom to buy on sale, such “treats” aren’t costly! The danger in “abounding” is flesh wants to pig out. But a person who has self-discipline won’t. Even in making use of the treats, if we have something that’s liked less it still gets its turn. Everything is properly used! And temperance relates to everything. Can you work without overworking? Can you talk without talking too much? Can you eat without overeating? Shop without over shopping? Cook without over complicating it? If you read your Bible too much, you won’t have enough time left to pray and vice versa. Whenever something is overdone something else gets underdone. But with temperance there’s just the right amount of space and time for every needful thing. Self-control is an awesome blessing to those who have it and it is a characteristic of Christ in you! What happens often on Thanksgiving? People over indulge, eat like hogs and yet there are still too many leftovers. Then they all collapse from over-eating and there’s not much real fellowship. I used to rebuke my mother about this. I’d say, “Look, I traveled half way across the state to visit with you and you cook all morning while I’m here and I don’t get to talk to you and then you’re serving thru the meal, and afterwards you’re washing dishes and putting up leftovers all afternoon. We hardly get to visit at all! Why not fix a simple meal and have some time to talk?” Abundance can be a curse when it gets in the way of godly fellowship. Are traditions more important than godly wisdom? Why not make Thanksgiving a relatively simple dinner? Our family gets three or four meals out of a ten-pound turkey. Thanksgiving is a sensible thing to us and not an excuse to pig out. “I know how to abound” means I know how to possess an abundance but not waste it. One of the reasons why “My Father’s House” has been able to make it financially is when we had excess income, I didn’t waste it on foolish programs or every charity that came along. When we had a surplus I invested it and those investments carried us thru several lean years until God could get us back into abundance. I knew how to handle the abundance when we had it and I also knew how to handle the lean time when things were slower. When things are tight, are you still able to trust God? Do you know how to use less when you need to? That’s part of being self-disciplined. One of the mistakes people sometimes make when they get into a tight situation is they withhold more than is meet. There is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, but blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. (Pr11:24-26) Joseph was prepared for the famine in Egypt because in the time of abundance God showed him how to store up for the time of lack. Ecclesiastes tells us it won’t always be good times. There’s a time to plant and a time to reap. A time to weep, a time to laugh. (Ecc3) God has created times and seasons. When times are abundant, don’t think it will last. During the abundant times, do what the ant does and store up for the winter. That’s wisdom but it also requires self-discipline. Wisdom tells you what to do, but temperance actually does it. Without self-control your wisdom wouldn’t be effectual, since you couldn’t obey it. How many people’s lives did Joseph save because of his godly temperance? Quite often in a famine or depression, etc., fear causes people to withhold more than is right. But Jesus says, “Give and it will be given unto you.” (Lk6:38) It’s during those times when giving seems the more dangerous thing to do when it requires the greatest faith to give. And that’s when the giving is most needful. That’s also the time when the greatest reward comes. Faith does the opposite of what flesh would do. If you’re selfish during times when things are getting tight, if you hold back too much to where you’re not supporting the church, helping the brethren or those who have urgent needs, then you’re cutting off your own source of blessing. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. (Lk6:38) When Paul says, “I know how to be abased and I know how to abound” he means, “When things get tight, I don’t get tight.” This is the essence of self-control. “I stay prudent when things are abundant. I’m careful when things are loose so I can be generous when things are tight.” God often speaks audibly to me. He spoke audibly when He told me to start the Glory of His Grace. He spoke audibly when He told me to start “My Father’s House” church. And early in my Christianity during times of prosperity God spoke audibly and told me to live like it was a depression during the prosperous years. “Don’t buy fancy cars. Don’t move into a bigger house. Don’t get used to the large income. Save and live modestly.” God knew what was coming. And if I hadn’t done that there’d be no “My Father’s House” today. I wouldn’t be married to Elie. Many of the victories won during that difficult season were related to my having sufficient finances saved to make it thru the troubles. Jesus told me to live like it was a depression and I listened. I was very careful with money and saved as much as I could. During the good times be generous but not reckless, prudent but always ready to help meet urgent needs. And when the bad times come you won’t be impoverished. You can still attend to needful things. That’s one reward of self-discipline, of living where wisdom is in control. It takes time to teach children these things. If Elie or I want a drink of chocolate milk, for example, we must put it off-limits to the children or it’ll be gone before we get to it. If it’s something they like and we don’t control them they’ll drink it till it’s gone. They don’t know how to abound and be temperate. Elie and I can sip on the same bottle of chocolate milk for two weeks. Sometimes we must remind ourselves to use it before it goes bad because there’s no lust pushing us to drink it up. It’s that way with everything in the life of a crucified Christian. All things are used moderately and wisely, never to satisfy lusts! That’s what self-control is about. Most people think of food as the most common area where self-control should be exercised, but with many people their most serious failing has to do with speech. If anyone among you thinks he’s religious, and doesn’t bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. (Jas1:26) Temperance enables you to speak when it’s God’s time and keep your mouth shut when it’s not! “Bridling your tongue” also means when you have an opportunity to speak you don’t abuse it by speaking more than you should. When there’s a lack of testimonies or prophecies in church, that’s when your sharing becomes most important. Are you able to overcome whatever’s holding the people back and stir yourself up to glorify God? The woman with two mites gave more than those who gave of their surplus because she gave all she had. During times when there’s little, your gift is magnified by the circumstance. That you’re giving out of need instead of surplus creates a greater blessing for you and shows a greater faith at work in you. If you can participate when others won’t, it shows you’re a person of faith who isn’t blown about by the winds of circumstance. Agur prays, “God control the circumstances so I won’t be swayed by them.” Whereas Paul says, “I don’t give in to circumstances because Christ is in me.” Jesus can keep us thru any circumstance and help us do the right thing. Corruption is in the world thru lusts. (2Pe1:4) Are there any areas in your life when lust may show up? We had to take computer games away from one of our boys because he was out of control with them. Your body has the ability to generate it’s own drugs. Drugs people buy illegally like speed, cocaine and such are often just imitating things your body does by itself. One of the drugs people can get hooked on from their own body is adrenaline. An adrenaline rush is like being on speed. Adrenaline junkies put themselves in fearful situations to get an adrenaline high and they often end up killing themselves. What they want to do is control a dangerous circumstance so they’re right at the edge where it causes the adrenaline flow. That’s how they get the high. They don’t realize they’re actually giving themselves a shot of drugs just as much as a junkie. Sky diving, drag racing, roller coasters, bungee jumping, all these things people do for excitement produce adrenaline flow. God’s purpose in giving you adrenaline is so you can escape from a dangerous situation because it gives you an extra burst of energy. When you’re in real danger adrenaline can save you. But the lust in the sinful flesh leads people to abuse the ordinate use. This is of the corruption that’s in the world thru lust. (2Pe1:4) Adrenaline lusts cause injuries and death. Endorphins are another kind of “made in the body” drug. They’re pleasure givers; they make you feel good. Adrenaline makes you feel super strong but endorphins make you feel pleasure. Most people get an endorphin rush when they “win” at something. Endorphins are a way your psyche rewards you for doing well. God put endorphins in us so when we know we’ve done well in something we can feel good. They’re an incentive to good behavior. When your conscience judges you’ve done something for which you deserve a reward, the first reward comes out of your own body. The body responds to your doing good and gives you a sense of pleasure by releasing endorphins. But the reward should follow the fact you’ve actually done good. With endorphin junkies however, they’re not doing good. They’re only imitating doing good. In a computer game, when you win, you get a little endorphin rush. But what have you actually accomplished? What you’ve done is trivial and useless. Why do you deserve an endorphin reward when you’ve really done nothing useful? We saw one of our boys playing his computer game and getting vexed and upset because he was losing. He won’t receive his endorphin rush if he loses so he’s getting angry with the game. He’s actually being pushed into sin by his need for that drug hit. It’s hard to believe such sin can arise from such trivial things. But what’s really going on is drug addiction. So we put a stop to it. Our boy can’t do that anymore because he’s become addicted to winning. Do you know what gambling addiction is? A gambling addict isn’t after money. He could win ten million dollars and be able to retire for the rest of his life but he’ll go right back to the games and lose it because money isn’t what he’s after. He’s after the drugs. He wants the endorphin rush. He gets the endorphins by using his money to win. Gambling addicts pay a higher price for drugs than anybody. Money doesn’t mean anything to them, endorphins mean everything! Do you know you can get endorphin-hooked on fishing? Every time you catch a fish you get a rush and that’s what keeps a fisherman going back to catch more when he already has more than enough to eat. Sometimes I take the family to the river to cast net. The last time we went it didn’t look like there was enough time but I felt in the Spirit it was okay and we could get in about an hour of fishing before sunset. We have a family of possums in our backyard and we sometimes feed them fish. So when we go to the river to cast net everybody can enjoy catching fish because we don’t have to throw anything back. The possums will eat everything, even junk fish. Elie is getting where she can throw the cast net pretty good. As we went to the river I was telling Elie, I don’t just know how to throw a net, I have a sense of knowing where to throw it. I don’t know how to explain it but I often know where the fish are. You should be that way about witnessing too. The Spirit can show you just where to go. The sun sets about 5:45 now and we got there around 5:00. I waded out and made three throws and filled my net every time. Five minutes and I’m done. I knew at the end of my three throws I had all the fish we could handle. You might think, “Oh, but there’s still lots of fish out there.” Yes there is, but I don’t want any more because I’ve caught all I need. The kids kept throwing but they weren’t catching much so it didn’t matter. They got some good practice throwing their nets. Me, I just splashed around in the water swimming. I didn’t throw my net again. When we got home we put the fish up in plastic bags where each is a one-night meal for the possums. We had to finish our last carton of ice cream to make room for the fish in the freezer and they fit exactly! In other words, when the Spirit said that was enough, it was exactly enough! One more throw and there’d have been too much. That would’ve been wasted fish. Wasted fish is of the corruption that’s in the world thru lust. Lust leads you to take more than you can use. Temperance stops when you have what you need. We could feed the possums for a month. That’s a blessing. But one more throw and I’d have been in corruption. I’d be trying to make a place for fish I never should’ve caught. Abundance becomes a curse when it gets beyond what you need. Then it becomes a distraction. It gets to where you don’t know what to do with it, and something always gets wasted. Temperance in which you’re led by the Spirit, is a blessing. Agur says, “Don’t give me more than I need.” Paul says, “Even if I could take more than I need, I won’t because of self-control.” Agur says, “God don’t give me opportunity to sin.” I’m saying, “I have the discipline of Christ in me and even where more is available I won’t take it.” So the New Covenant righteousness exceeds Agur’s because Christ in me gives me power to say no to temptations. I knew there was a ton of fish available. I could have filled my car’s trunk with fish if I wanted to. I knew where they were. Why wasn’t anybody else catching them? Because I’m going four feet deep and they’re going two feet deep. I know where the fish are and I’m willing to go to them. The water’s a little chilly and everybody else is trying to say “Fish, come to me. Come to where my net is. I don’t want to go out there, it’s too uncomfortable.” But I go to where the fish are. My first throw and I can feel the net as I’m pulling it in. It’s full of fish, “Flippidy, floppidy, flippidy, floppidy!” There’s a whole school of fish in it! But I also know when to stop. Now, how many areas of your life can you apply this to? Paul says, “To win this race you must be temperate in ALL THINGS.” Does that mean you’re temperate when you take a shower? You can get under a shower and stay for two hours if you don’t run out of hot water. But that’s not godly! Temperance is to get in, get clean and get out and let the next person in. In how many ways can you be temperate? Paul says in ALL THINGS. Temperance is THE OPPOSITE OF LUST! So if you’re behaving in a way opposite to lust then you’re free from corruption. Temperance has everything to do with being saved. Agur says, “Don’t let me be poor because I’ll sin.” People who are poor may be restrained by poverty from indulging their flesh. They aren’t restrained by the Holy Spirit. They’re restrained by circumstance. We often see that in the children. If they had enough money they’d be stuffing themselves with sweets. If we let them, they’d go to the 7-eleven every day and spend $0.80 for a soda we can buy at the grocery for $0.20. On sale at the main grocery stores, we can get a twelve pack of sodas for $1.00 to $2.00. But the children will run to the 7-eleven and pay $0.80 for one can. If they had the money they’d do it every day. They’d waste their money to indulge their flesh at every opportunity around if we’d let them. The reason they don’t do it is because they don’t have the money. But the reason you can tell they will do it is because when they get the money they do it. That shows their sin is hidden when they’re being abased, but as soon as they abound the sin comes out. Some people don’t complain about not having much and they can put up with poverty without becoming thieves. But you can see their flesh is really under the restraint of circumstance and not the Spirit if as soon as they have something, they go wild. So, the real test of Spirituality often isn’t poverty but abundance. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:12-13) The real test of Spirituality is to have the opportunity to pig out and not do it. That kind of control of the Spirit is a true virtue of Christ. To be able to abound and still be sensible is Christ in you in the Spirit of temperance. So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.” Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. (Jn6:12-13) Jesus isn’t reckless in times of abundance but He has the wisdom and self-control to gather up the fragments that nothing would be wasted. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1Co1:30) And all that pertains also to temperance. Jesus is my self-control! Prophecy: When you go to bed will often determine when you get up in the morning. When you get up will often determine how much time you can sow to My Spirit. How much time you spend in the shower, at breakfast, getting dressed, how much time you spend talking, shopping, cooking, etc., how much time you spend cleaning up – because if you chose to make a complicated dinner you’ll have a complicated cleanup – everything you do affects how much time you have left for Me. You can’t be led by My Spirit in some things, ignore Me in others and still be able to do all I have for you to do. But if you allow Me to tell you when to sleep, when to wake; if you allow Me to tell you what to wear, how quickly to shower; if you allow Me to tell you how to fix your meals efficiently so there’s little wasted time. If you allow Me to lead you in everything; to shop when I tell you, to stay home when I tell you, then I’ll make room in your life – abundant room – for you to fellowship with Me. Then you’ll have quality time in the secret place that I can reward you openly. To be led by My Spirit is to follow Me; My wisdom, My grace in all you do because everything you do affects what you do for Me. To let Me lead you in everything so you can do every needful thing, is the blessing of temperance, saith the Lord. (Prophecy delivered at “My Father’s House”)
Poetic Prophecy: Your eyes belong to you to use them as you choose. You can look on things that you desire, and that is all you’ll see. You can look on things that I desire, and then your eyes serve Me. It is up to you to make the choice what kind of light you follow. You can be filled with My great riches or be dead, empty and hollow. Set your eyes upon My prize, do the things that make Me pleased, Or serve yourself and, be alone, forever absent from My peace. I tell you now, the choice is yours; eternal shame, eternal life. It all depends on what you choose to set before your eyes, Thus saith the Lord. (Delivered at “My Father’s House.” Pastor Bill Taylor)
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