Good Morning Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, the Scriptures tell us we passed from death unto life, and we were translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:13
Who [God, the Father] hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son:
The word “translated” in Colossians 1:13 is the Greek word “methistémi” meaning “transfer or change of situation or place.” When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior, we were translated or transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Light.
As we’ve discussed in previous emails, the Kingdom of God is the government of God. Where is the Kingdom of God located?
Luke 17:21
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.
Jesus tells us the Kingdom of God is in our spiritual heart within us. What does the Kingdom of God contain within you? The Word or the laws of God. God’s Word constitutes His Spiritual laws.
Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
“The government” referred to in Isaiah 9:6 is the Kingdom of God. I know. You were taught the same thing I was taught – this “government” was the Roman Government persecuting Israel or the Jews, and it would persecute Jesus. Nothing could be further from the Truth. Let’s take a little detour, and I’ll show you.
Where does a “yoke” rest on an animal or a being? Yes, on their shoulders. The point of a yoke is to harness the energy and power of those yoked for a common purpose and direction. Isaiah 10:27 tells us that before we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were yoked to the god of this world, Satan.
Isaiah 10:27
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his [Satan’s] burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the Anointing [Jesus the Christ or Jesus the Anointed One].
Notice what Jesus says to us in Matthew 11:28-30.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.
Jesus tells us to “take His yoke upon our shoulders and learn of Him.” Notice that Jesus’ yoke “is easy and His burden light.” Jesus is telling us to be yoked to Him, to His Word. Jesus is The Word. “Learn of Me,” Jesus tells us. How do we learn of Jesus? Only one way, through The Word. When we learn The Word, we also learn how to operate in the Kingdom of God. When we learn how to operate in the Kingdom of God, we are able to shed the yoke of bondage that brings heavy labor and a heavy burden in our lives. Notice in Isaiah 10:27, The Word of God says it will remove the burden from off our shoulders and destroy the yoke of bondage, the yoke of Satan.
Sadly, many Believers are living with the yoke of bondage about their shoulders. These precious Brothers and Sisters in Christ are bearing burdens and hardships Jesus paid a tremendous price to free us from in our everyday life. Much of it comes through the ignorance of God’s Word.
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Romans 8:15-16
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
The Holy Spirit through the Prophet Hosea is stating God’s children are destroyed by the burden of the yoke and bondage of Satan when we don’t know God’s Word. The Holy Spirit through Paul tells in Romans tells we have received the Spirit of adoption which is the translation or transfer into the Kingdom of God, which frees us from the spirit of bondage. Until God arrested me at 55 years of age and asked me when I was finally going to serve Him and learn and share The Truth with all His children and with the unsaved, I had listened to years of preachers, teachers, and evangelists sharing partial truth with me or an errant gospel. I now understand why. Satan wanted to keep me in bondage and never have me fulfill my Father’s will for my life. I’ve shared before how my first reaction to learning I was taught half-truths was one of anger. Then my loving Father humbled me by having me read II Timothy 2:15.
II Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
God challenged me and said, “where do you see the preacher, teacher, or evangelist in this verse?” I replied to my Father, “no where.” The Father then said to me, “I told YOU to study, YOU to rightly divide.” I had to repent for my anger against years of preachers, teachers, and evangelists having shared half-truths and for my lack of study of my Father’s Word. The Father told me “those that shared the half-truths did it with the right intention but out of ignorance of My Word.” The Father then told me to turn to I John 4:1.
I John 4:1
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
God then said to me, “what did I command you to do in this Scripture?” I replied to Him, “to try the spirits whether they are of God.” The Father said, “that’s right. What are the spirits?” At the time of this exchange with The Father nearly eight years ago, I had to reply, “I’m not sure because of my ignorance.” I knew enough to know God’s Word contained the answer, and I just didn’t know it. The Father then led me to John 6:63.
John 6:63
It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the Words that I speak unto you, They are Spirit, and They are life.
God said to me, “your answer is in this verse.” I replied, “Your Word is Spirit.” The Father replied, “that’s right, and there are also evil words or evil spirits in this world. You must try every word you hear against what is written in My Word, the Holy Scriptures. If it doesn’t line up, then it is the word of the antichrist.” From that day forward, I have never again just accepted any word preached or taught by any man or woman claiming to be preaching or teaching The Word of God. I do as God commands me and “try the spirits.”
God then said, “what is the value to you for studying My Word?” Well, I knew whatever answer I would give Him would be wrong based on my track record answering His questions to this point. And being The Father He is, He paused only for a moment and then gave me the answer. He said, “turn to II Timothy 3:16-17.”
II Timothy 3:16-17
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
As I read over the two verses, God said to me, “perfect doesn’t mean you’ll be perfect like your Brother Jesus. You won’t be perfect like Him until the Rapture. However, you can become a man who is mature in My Word and can control your flesh through My Word in you. You will walk before Me as holy, righteous, and perfect through My Son’s redemption. You will learn how to operate in My Son’s Kingdom and walk as your Brother did in this earth. People will see you are different spiritually, physically, materially, and financially and be attracted to The Word in you. You will become the blessing I’ve commanded you to be in Genesis 12:2-3, and you will always have great abundance spiritually, in health, in finances, and in possessions to be a blessing to all those I command you to bless throughout this world. These are the good works I command of you.”
In the past eight years, I’ve continued to grow in my maturity in God’s Word. I want to become that “man of God” in II Timothy 3:17. As Andrew Wommack says many times, “I’m not there yet, but I’m well underway.” And we as Sisters and Brothers in Christ need God’s Word more than ever in this present day and age. We see all the calamity, hopelessness, depravity, sickness, disease, injustice, intolerance for Believers and The Word of God, confusion, financial struggles, lawlessness, etc., occurring around us. Regardless, if we become students of The Word, then we learn how to operate in the Kingdom of God, a superior kingdom to the kingdom of this world. This is exactly what Jesus modeled for us in the Gospels. One of the reasons Jesus came to this earth was to reconnect Believers to The Blessing, to operating in the Kingdom of God. The Garden of Eden Adam and Eve lived in prior to the Fall is now the Kingdom of God. And the Kingdom of God is in us. The Kingdom provides all of God’s provision we will ever need and desire in this earth. When you understand how to operate in the Kingdom of God, you’ll be the man or woman of Job 5:20-23.
Job 5:20-23
20 In famine He [God] shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
There is a lot to unpack in these four verses. I won’t do it now for the length’s sake of this email. However, you can see the benefits of operating in the Kingdom of God.
In closing, the Holy Spirit is encouraging you to become a student of The Word of God, to make The Word the number one thing in your life. Learning The Word, believing The Word, and confessing The Word will do what for you?
Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
This is the Law of Confession, a spiritual law in the Kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit makes very clear that we are to keep The Word of God in our mouths at all times, meditating on it, which means confessing it over and over. In doing this, faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17) your persistent confession, and your need or desire manifests itself in this earth. YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL YOU GET TO HEAVEN! This is another lie of religion and Satan, which is one and the same. You don’t need it in Heaven, you need it here in this earth.
Much love in Jesus Christ,
Larry