Preface

The chapters of this book are made up from a series of messages written and published earlier in booklet form, which we considered so vital to present truth, that we decided to put them in permanent book form.

The theme of these messages is moving on to deeper depths and higher heights in God. We must continually reach for greater truths if we want to go on in Him. We must be willing to be pioneers of faith, daring to tread in realms of the Spirit that are unknown to the natural man. There is no limit in God, so we must break down the limitations that have been imposed upon us by the mind of man, and dare to believe for the fulness of the Spirit in our day.

To know Jesus Christ in a greater way, and to bear His image and have His Life working in us, and to know our place in His Body… this is the burden of this book. I realize there are many doctrines being promoted in these last days, both good, bad, and indifferent. I do not quarrel with those who spend their time publishing certain doctrines, but the reason I do not indulge in this is that they are not relevant to our purpose and desire, and that is… to know Christ!

The message of Sonship, being conformed to His image, is not just another doctrine of this temporal passing order. It is eternal truth that shall not pass away with the ages. To know Him in depth, and to manifest Him in His fulness in our lives, is the goal for which we are aiming… the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!

The poem in chapter one was given by the Spirit back in 1957 when I had climbed to the top of a tower on the highest peak of Mt. Magazine, the highest mountain in the Midwest, located at Paris, Arkansas. As my vision was greatly enlarged in the natural by ascending to high places, so the Lord showed me the same principle working in the spiritual realm. Herein is the theme and burden of this book.

The revelations brought forth in this book are not the ultimate of God. No such claim is made. But as we eat of His Word, and digest the Truth, then He will draw back the Veil and reveal more of the glory and beauty of the Christ. If you are of His fold, you will hear and recognize His voice, and you will know that you are being introduced to deeper truths.

And now, may God bless you as you open this book, with your Bible near at hand, to carefully and prayerfully consider these things that our dear Lord has given me to share with His Body. May the Spirit of Revelation and wisdom in the knowledge of Him be yours at this time!

Reach For The Stars

There have always been men who walked in a realm beyond the limitations of their time and generation. While most men feel that they have to settle for the status quo, and seem satisfied with whatever is made available to their generation, there are some who are spiritual pioneers, who "reach for the stars".

Enoch was such a man. The Bible says: "Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him." (Genesis 5:24) Now this may not seem like such a great thing to some of you, but let me remind you... Enoch did not live in a day when men were walking with God. It had been almost a thousand years since Adam had walked with God in the garden. After the fall, men had only the promise of death. The earth was filled with violence, and the ungodliness of men was a stench that reached to heaven. There were no churches in every village and hamlet. There was no saviour yet who had died for the sins of men. Saints of God were almost unheard of.

Yet in the midst of this, Enoch believed that he could reach beyond the limitations of his generation, and walk with God. Hebrews 11:5 says that Enoch pleased God. It also says that he was a man of faith, and by faith he was translated that he should not see death. This was something unheard of. Adam had been dead for more than fifty years. Tho men lived many years, yet no one had hope of escaping death. But by faith Enoch believed that he could. And he did.

The First Prophet

Enoch was the first one we read of who had a "thus saith the Lord". We read in Jude 14 that "Enoch prophesied, saying Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all". Now Enoch was only the seventh from Adam, and he lived in a day when we can hardly find a half dozen saints, let alone ten thousand. Yet he looked far beyond his own day, and saw into the great Day of the Lord when the saints of God would execute a great victory over evil in the earth.

I realize that today we are living in a time of evil, a time of death. War, famine, and pestilence will take the lives of millions. The outlook is very dark. But don't hold me down to this death realm, for like Enoch, I believe there is a greater place in God than men are seeing in this generation. Like Enoch I am laying hold of the Life of God, and "reaching for the stars". Glory to God!

Noah Found Grace

Noah had never heard Enoch prophesy. He had never heard Adam tell of the wonders of the Garden of Eden. He was born at a time when the wickedness of men was so great that it was causing God to repent that He had ever made man. There seemed no hope for mankind. The word of the Lord had been spoken: "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth. Judgment seemed inevitable. Noah had no one to encourage him in the ways of righteousness, nor a five-fold ministry to help perfect him. He lived in a day of wickedness and judgment.

But Noah would not settle for the lot of other men. Genesis 6:8 says: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord". "But Noah…!" There have always been those who stand out from others by their refusal to conform to the ways of the world. And this man was an outstanding example. Ezekiel 14:14 lists him as one of the three who could deliver their souls by their righteousness. Hebrews 11:7 says that Noah was a man of faith, and that he believed the warning of God concerning things not seen as yet, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. And it was not only himself he was interested in saving, but the Bible says that he prepared an ark "to the saving of his house", as well as the inhabitants of the beast realm.

Let Me Go On in God

I know this is a day of wickedness and judgment. I realize that the word of the Lord has gone forth against this generation of religious and moral decay. But I have had a warning from God; "Build an ark!" There is deliverance from judgment. Not only for myself, but others also who have never heard from God. For when the Ark is ready, they will come in. I realize that even the preachers are preaching that righteousness and perfection cannot be reached in this life. But I have heard from God that I can find grace in the eyes of the Lord. Let me alone. Let me reach for the stars. I refuse to be held down to this realm of sin and judgment. I am pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. If you cannot receive such a word, walk where you must. But let the pioneers of faith press on in God. They cannot stop until, like Noah, they step out into a new earth, full of the righteousness of God.

Give Me a Double Portion

Elisha was a young man, the son of a judge. He was a strong, husky young man, and a hard worker. He had a good future, and no doubt would have been able to have a nice farm and a fine family. But one day while he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he with the twelfth, the prophet of God came by where he was working and cast his mantle over the boy. His life was immediately changed. He had heard the call of God for a higher calling. He left his oxen and began reaching for the stars.

Elijah was the greatest prophet of that day, but he was very unpopular with the government. In the natural it was not an easy choice for Elisha to make. But God had chosen wisely. He had picked a man to succeed Elijah. This was a large calling, and required a man of daring faith. Elisha was that man.

His ministry did not start in a blaze of glory. He began by being a servant to the man of God. He washed the dishes, the clothes, the prophet's feet. He carried the wood and built the fire and did all the other necessary but menial jobs while Elijah spent his time seeking the face of God. This is where many men fail their calling. When the ministry turns out to be less than spectacular, they decide to go back to their "oxen". But Elisha kept plugging ahead on his way to the stars. If it took faithfulness, he would pay the price. Whatever it took, he had a spiritual stubbornness that made him determined to go all the way. He had heard from God. Nothing else mattered.

Ask a Hard Thing

Elisha received no encouragement in following Elijah. Everywhere he went the sons of the prophets tried to discourage him. His answer was: "Hold your peace". Even Elijah tested him three times, but his answer was: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee". He had no elders in the church to give him a word of encouragement or to pray him over the obstacles. He could not run home to mother and dad for a few days to rest up and relieve the tension. All he had was his determination to see this thing through and receive that which he felt belonged to him by virtue of his call in God.

Finally they are across Jordan. He has just seen a tremendous miracle by the hand of the prophet. It is time to get his inheritance. The question comes: "Ask what I shall do for thee". Can't you just hear this young man's humble answer as he stands before that great man of God? Here was Elijah who had stood before King Ahab and judged the nation of Israel for her sin. Here is the one who had spoken the word that withheld the rain for three and a half years, and then had stood alone against 400 prophets of Baal and defeated them with a mighty demonstration of the power of God. Ask, says the prophet. The young Elisha looks at him. What do you think he asked for? "Let me be just half the prophet that you have been, and I'll be satisfied"? No, no. His faith reached for the stars as he cried out "I want TWICE what you've got"! Glory to God, what a request! You know the story. He received so much of the life of God that he caused iron to float, poison pots to be nutritious, the dead to be raised to life again, and the ditches to be filled with water. He healed the leper, fed a multitude on a few loaves of bread and a handful of corn, and caused the widow's pot of oil to flow until all her debts were paid. At his word barren women brought forth sons, and he captured an entire army single-handed. And when he finally goes to be with the Lord, his body still has so much of the life of God in it, that a dead corpse that is accidentally thrown in the grave on top of him comes to life and goes running off.

Don't Fence Me In!

Praise God, with examples like that in the Word, I am encouraged to ask largely of the Lord. We are dealing with One who is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above what we can ask or think! Do you think you can bankrupt heaven? Well think again. Think with the mind of the Spirit, and come up with a heart full of living faith. Rise above your circumstances. Don't be bound to the limitations of your generation. You don't have to stand and stagnate in the status quo. You can reach into that which God hath prepared for them that love Him.

God has had men who have quenched the violence of fire, stopped the mouths of lions, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, and subdued kingdoms. He is not going to stop with that. He is looking for pioneers of faith who dare to reach for the stars. He wants a people who will break forth upon this world with such a manifestation of His glory, that all creation will be set free form the curse of death that is upon it. Be that man! Be that woman! Let faith and courage flood your soul! Look beyond the earthly limitations. Reach for the stars!

Climb The Highest Hill

Abram climbed the highest hill to talk to God one day;
To find the will of God for him; to hear what God would say.
The plains of Jordan, the hills, the valleys, all lay beneath his view;
And then God spoke, "You see this, Abram?
I'm giving this to you!" "Because you heard the voice of God, and hearkened to His call;
You left your home, possessions dear, your family, your all…
Now look, my son, what I shall give to him who's true to me:
Look north, and south, and east and west…as far as thou canst see."
"The day is clear, the mountain high; thine eye is sharp and keen;
The fertile fields, the wooded hills, the rivers fresh and clean…
All is thine that thou dost see, with faith this day to claim;
The vision God hath given thee, shall stand… in His great Name!"
Like Abraham of long ago, who heard the voice of God,
I, too, have felt His mighty Hand, and on His Mountain trod.
His promises I have believed, my vision searched afar;
O'er hill and valley, and ocean deep, to the bright and distant star.
I've seen the green and fertile fields, the Harvest waiting long;
I cried, "O God, make me a reaper with hand both firm and strong!"
I heard the question ringing back in answer to my prayer:
"What can'st thou see? Thy vision clear determines how thou shalt fare"
"Can'st thou see the power of God to heal the sick and lame?
The blind, the deaf, the demon-bound made whole in Jesus' Name?"
I cried, "O God, I'll trust thy Word I'll never doubt nor fear it;
And claim for MY inheritance the fulness of thy Spirit!"
I say to you this day, my friend, as Abraham of old;
Believe God's Word, His promise true, more precious than fine gold.
For nothing comes to him whose faith is empty, weak, and blind;
For fear and doubt and unbelief will only serve to bind.
Oh, set thy people free this day, we beg of thee, our Lord!
Our inheritance to see and claim, according to thy Word.
The fruitful trees, the waving grain, the fish in every river…
All are mine to claim and have, from Jesus Christ, the Giver!

The Bones Of Joseph

Twelve men, Israelites from each tribe, took their turns in carrying this strange Egyptian coffin through the blazing sun of a long wilderness journey. And, now finally, with the floodwaters of Jordan piled up in a heap to their right, they hastened across the dry river bed into a wonderful land, long ago promised to their forefathers. And as they stepped out of the river into Canaan, they still carried that coffin containing the bones of a man of God, a prophet and ruler in Egypt, who had at his death hundreds of years before prophesied of this very event.

Mystery in a Coffin

Forty years previous to the crossing of Jordan, Israel had passed through the Red Sea under the leadership of Moses, and had been delivered from the tyranny and bondage of Pharaoh. And now, with Joshua as their leader, they were entering into that which had long been promised by the Lord God. There was still much conflict ahead of them, and yet there was a jubilation, a note of victory among them. They were home at last. Their feet were finally in the promises of God. Their hearts had been there for many years, but now they were actually walking in the fulfillment of the words of the prophets. There were many cities to be taken, many enemies to put under their feet. But they had a feeling of being "home".

But why, for forty years, had they continued to go through the hardship of carrying this coffin with a dead man's bones? With the wilderness they had been in, it had been no easy task. Why didn't they leave Joseph in Egypt in his royal tomb, or at least bury him somewhere in the wilderness? Herein lies a mystery that has a definite relationship to the glorious message of Sonship and end-time events. When you catch the same vision for this end of the age, that this prophet of God had for his day, then your heart will thrill with the glory of what God is about to do!

By Faith, Joseph

God has always revealed His secrets unto His servants, the prophets. And Joseph was a prophet, a Seer, one who could see future events by the eye of the Spirit. And he saw an event coming that overshadowed all the glory of his rich and fruitful life of testings, faithfulness, and victories. He longed to be a part of that which was yet to come, and because he saw it coming and hungered for it, he made provision for himself to be in it.

Chapter eleven of Hebrews is commonly known as the "Faith" chapter. It tells of the Old Testament heroes of faith, and generally gives the outstanding thing about their lives. "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain"; "By faith Enoch was translated"; "By faith Noah… built an ark"; and in a few words a short synopsis of those men's lives is given. But in verse 22, when it speaks of Joseph, it does not speak of his coat of many colors, nor of his purity and victory in the case of Potiphar's wife, nor of the prison testing, nor does it even mention that he sat on Egypt's throne and saved the nation from starvation. But his faith dealt with something far greater than those things. "BY FAITH JOSEPH, WHEN HE DIED, MADE MENTION OF THE DEPARTING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL: AND GAVE COMMANDMENT CONCERNING HIS BONES". What a strange thing to record about a man in this great faith chapter. There must be a tremendous truth here that we have not seen before! Let us look into the Word.

Abraham's Cave

The entire chapter of Genesis is taken up with but one subject, the transaction of Abraham buying a cave from the children of Heth for a burial grounds for his wife and family. This is an important and sacred place to Abraham. Perhaps you can believe that all this has no meaning, that God put this chapter in the Bible just to fill up space and make more work for printers and readers, but I am convinced that "every word of God is pure" and that everything put in this Bible is important.

Sarah was dead. And Abraham was now about to establish his burial place, for himself as well as future generations. He refused to accept it as a gift, for he wanted it signed and sealed so that future generations could not deny that this place belonged to him and his heirs. Abraham, the Bible says, was a prophet. And seeing a glorious event coming, he wanted to be ready for it. He was willing to pay the price for it. Others could not see why Abraham was so willing to pay such a price. But then the children of Heth had not heard from God as Abraham had. And so today many cannot get excited about what God is speaking concerning Sonship and Glory, because they have not heard from God nor caught the vision of these truths. But Abraham wanted this cave, which was located in what would someday be the land belonging to the tribe of Judah, just a few miles south of Jerusalem, the Holy city.

Prophetic Bones

According to Genesis 49:29-31, Abraham's cave at Machpelah was where not only Abraham and Sarah were buried, but also Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah. This matter seemed to be very important to these saints. And now, way down in the land of Egypt we find Joseph giving instructions for his bones to be taken out with the children of Israel when God brings them out of Egypt. "GOD WILL SURELY VISIT YOU, AND BRING YOU OUT OF THIS LAND UNTO THE LAND WHICH HE SWARE TO ABRAHAM, TO ISAAC, AND TO JACOB. AND JOSEPH TOOK AN OATH OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, SAYING GOD WILL SURELY VISIT YOU, AND YE SHALL CARRY UP MY BONES FROM THENCE." (Genesis 50:24)

Rage all you want, Pharaoh. Determine that you will destroy this people, it will do you no good. There's a coffin full of bones here in Egypt that says you will fail. For hundreds of years, while the children of Israel wept in their tribulations and chafed under their bondage, there has been a prophet's bones patiently waiting for the day when they will leave here for the promised land.

At the edge of the Red Sea, with Pharaoh's army waiting till morning to begin the slaughter, the people complained to Moses that they would perish. But they carried a coffin that said they were all fearful liars. If necessary, the waters will part to let them escape, for the Word of the Lord has gone forth through the lips of His prophet, and these bones must reach their final resting place. For forty years the mixed multitude bitterly complained that they would never reach the promised land. And because of their unbelief, the complainers were right. Their bones bleached in the desert. But someone must go in--the Word of the Lord has gone forth, and this coffin full of bones that they have carried every step of the journey continues to testify to the faith of Joseph that it shall be so.

Moses Made Sure

"AND MOSES TOOK THE BONES OF JOSEPH WITH HIM:" (Exodus 13:19). He was taking no chances. The Word of the Lord has been spoken, and an oath had been taken. Moses knew that the impossible task before him could only be met through the word of the Lord. His strength and abilities were as nothing in the face of the problem, but this coffin of bones was his insurance. Joseph, the prophet of God, had spoken the word. And Moses stood on the Word of the Lord. "Look not about thee, my little ones, at the circumstances that would overwhelm thee, nor at the enemy that would destroy thee, for have I not said, and will I not fulfill my purposes in thee? Let it not be a small thing unto thee that I have spoken unto thee. But rest thou in my word, and let thy foundation be upon the Rock. For my Word shall hold thee up, and the enemy shall not prevail though he rages against thee." Glory to God's great Name!

Let the rebels take up their stones, the bones of Joseph say that they will not find their mark. Let the complainers spew out their doctrine of defeat. While they talk of death and discouragement, there is a coffin in the midst that speaks of life and victory in a land that flows with milk and honey. Let them talk of going back to Egypt, the voice of the prophet that still dwells among them says that they must go on. Ever onward and upward to new heights of glory, and revelation. Stop in the wilderness if you must, and camp under your palm trees. Call it Canaan if you will, but hear the Word of the Lord out of the bones… There is a land of promise with spiritual riches beyond our imagination, for those who will dare to go on with God!

Why Must the Bones Go?

It is true that these bones in the camp of Israel on the wilderness journey were a sign and a prophetic witness that God would bring them into the land of promise. But Joseph had much more in mind when he prophesied concerning his bones. Why did he want his bones in Canaan instead of Egypt? Egypt had been good to him, he was a ruler and could have a royal tomb. His wife and sons were buried there. Why did he make sure that they would cart his bones all through that wilderness back to the land of his youth? Herein lies a mystery, the answer to which will thrill your heart with the prospect of what God is about to do in His Sons.

What difference could it possibly make to Joseph where his dead body rested? He was a very spiritual man, and as long as he knew his spirit would be with his God, why was he so concerned about his flesh? It was far more than just a sentimental gesture. There was a deep spiritual significance. Joseph was a prophet, a Seer, one who sees future events. And he saw a glorious even taking place more than seventeen centuries after his death. He saw the glory that would come to those who would be able to participate in this great event, and he wanted to be a part of it. Hear me beloved, for this concerns you today. The Spirit of God showed this man a glory that was coming. But there was something he had to do. He made arrangements for his body to be buried just north of the city of Jerusalem, in a cave purchased for that very purpose. He made provisions to be in the place where he could participate in this great event and partake of the glory.

Just what was this wonderful event? It is found in Matthew 27:51-53… "AND, BEHOLD, THE VEIL OF THE TEMPLE WAS RENT IN TWAIN FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM: AND THE EARTH DID QUAKE, AND THE ROCKS RENT AND THE GRAVES WERE OPENED, AND MANY BODIES OF THE SAINTS WHICH SLEPT AROSE, AND CAME OUT OF THE GRAVES AFTER HIS RESURRECTION, AND WENT INTO THE HOLY CITY AND APPEARED UNTO MANY." Glory to God. What a world shaking, history making thing was taking place! Jesus had been crucified, had paid the penalty for our sins, and the third day had risen from the tomb. Then, following his resurrection, graves of many of the saints were opened and they came into the city. Now notice carefully… Not all the saints arose, but many. It does not say who they were, but I am confident that I know the names of some that were mentioned in Hebrews 11. "They went into the city." So the graves were somewhere outside the city. It does not say where the graves were, but I know of one that was located in a cave somewhere north of Jerusalem which I am confident you would find empty if you went there today. They "appeared unto many". It does not say they were recognized, but they were seen. Not as spirits or ghosts, not as dried up piles of bones rattling down the streets of Jerusalem. But they were seen in their bodies, their new bodies, their resurrected, glorified bodies. And nowhere does it say, and it would be a violation of scripture and reason to even imagine that these saints returned to their old graves and died again or returned to dust. Lev. 23:10-12 gives us, in type, a picture of the resurrection of Christ. It was a single "Corn of wheat" that fell into the ground at the death and burial of Jesus (John 12:24). But it was a "sheaf" or "handful" that was waved before the Lord as a type of resurrection. At this time in history, one man died for all mankind, but "many" of the saints arose with Him in resurrected bodies to witness of the power and promise of God.

Was Joseph There?

I believe with all my heart that the prophet Joseph was among those who walked the streets of Jerusalem that day, as well as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why else did the Spirit lead them to make their burial place certain, almost on the outskirts of that city where all this was taking place? So what is the result? Many bodies of saints, including all the New Testament church who have gone on to be with the Lord are still in the grave today, waiting for the resurrection. Then shall they be clothed upon with life, and then shall death be swallowed up in victory! This is our inheritance as saints, and we are happy about it. But there are some who will not have to wait until the final trump for their corruptible to put on incorruption. So far they have been enjoying their glorified bodies for almost 2,000 years. Why? Because they were saints, "set apart", and because they were men and women of faith. Look at Joseph. While he had the authority, he made them take an oath so binding upon Israel that in spite of the difficulties involved, they had to carry his bones through 40 years of wilderness wanderings until they could put him to rest in the cave. By the eye of the Spirit he not only saw the departing of the children of Israel from Egypt, but he also saw a greater event and made sure that he would be near enough to be a part of it.

What About Today?

The important thing about this whole message is, how does it affect us today in this end of the age revival? Oh, beloved, I want you to see the glorious thing that God is about to do in the earth in our time. The saints who arose with Christ were the firstfruits of the resurrection. They are living proof that the harvest is actually going to follow. We do not have to fear that this glorious promise of life after death is only a myth or fable. Jesus Himself with many of the saints actually arose and walked the streets of Jerusalem in their new bodies, and were seen by the people. This was the firstfruits, but the harvest was to wait for many centuries. Joseph did not have to wait, he could be in the firstfruits company, because of his vision, his desire, and his faith.

God has promised that the "latter house shall be greater than the former". His end-time church is going to arise in the power of the Spirit to a degree never before known on this earth except for Jesus himself. What a glory shall cover this earth as the waters cover the sea! But God has much to deal with His church before she is ready for this glory. Some poor people have been seduced into thinking that perhaps tonight they will all blithely fly out into space and leave all their problems behind. But God has other plans for His Church. She is going to come into perfection right here on this earth, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but it will be through much tribulation.

But some are hearing the voice of God now. They are catching a vision of a "firstfruits company" that shall be willing to die to self and become a sign, and ensign to the rest of the Church and this victory is not a myth or fable, but a living reality. This "Joseph company" is making provision for themselves to be in the place in God where they will be ready at His appearing. You can wait till the last ones come in if you want, but as for me, I have heard His voice and have caught the vision of great things for this hour. And by His marvelous grace I want to be among those who bread through as pioneers in this realm of the Spirit. Someone is going in. What some are claiming thus far as the inheritance falls far too short of the glorious promises of God. You can be satisfied with heaven and a mansion if you want, and if that is the extent of your vision. But I tell you, there is something far greater for those who will dare to believe.

How Big is God?

What a foolish question that would be. There is no way to measure His greatness. There is no limit to our God, nor to His plans for His elect. There is not space here to even tell a portion of His riches in Christ Jesus to the saints. This message is only to alert you to the glorious truth that there is a "firstfruits company" of people who shall very soon enter into that "inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time". How is this glorious inheritance going to be revealed? In living vessels. God was revealed in Jesus Christ. God was manifest in the flesh in Jesus Christ. No one had ever really seen what God was like until He unveiled Himself in Jesus. His love, His compassion, His wisdom and power and authority were fully expressed in Jesus.

Christ in You

And now we see that the plan of God is for Christ to have a body of believers through which He can express Himself and reveal Himself to the world. The general run of the church people have not had the faith to believe for anything more than just getting into heaven by the skin of their teeth, and maybe getting "a Cabin in the corner of gloryland". But in these last days there is again arising a bunch of spiritual pioneers who have dared to believe that God is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think". They have heard the promise of God that He is going to have a people who have been conformed to the image of the Son of God. They have believed that Jesus is able to bring MANY sons unto Glory, just as He promised in Hebrews 2:10. We are not worthy, but He is able. So we put all our hopes in Him. In fact, the Word is plain that our only hope of glory in Christ in us. Hallelujah!

Oh, dear ones, let the bones of Joseph speak to your heart. All through this wilderness journey we have the witness that a firstfruits company shall break forth in life and power. Believe it! Let it work in you! Be a part of what God is doing in our day. Let faith spring up within you for greater things than you have ever dared to believe for. "Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen!"

Jabez, Enlarge my Coast

There are many of you perhaps, who never heard of the man called Jabez, or if you read of him in the Bible it may have meant nothing to you. But this Old Testament character, as a type of the End-Time Sons of God, is very important to us today, and it behooves us to know what the Word has to say about him.

This man is mentioned in only one place in all the Scriptures. It does not tell us where he came from, who his father or mother were, nor does it give the names of any children. Yet in two verses in the official genealogies we learn more about this man than the hundreds of others listed with him: (1 Chr. 4:9, 10) "AND JABEZ WAS MORE HONOURABLE THAN HIS BRETHREN: AND HIS MOTHER CALLED HIS NAME JABEZ, SAYING BECAUSE I BARE HIM WITH SORROW, AND JABEZ CALLED ON THE GOD OF ISRAEL, SAYING, OH THAT THOU WOULDEST BLESS ME INDEED, AND ENLARGE MY COAST, AND THAT THINE HAND MIGHT BE WITH ME, AND THAT THOU WOULDEST KEEP ME FROM EVIL THAT IT MAY NOT GRIEVE ME! AND GOD GRANTED HIM THAT WHICH HE REQUESTED.

Born In Sorrow

The first nine chapters of this book are concerned almost entirely with the listing of names and recording of births. Suddenly, right in the middle of all this, God stops the records and tells us of a man named Jabez. His name means: "Causing pain", and his mother said she called him that because she bore him with sorrow. Now didn't all those listed cause pain when they were born? Yes, of course that's part of the curse. But God points out that here is one that was brought forth in special travail and in great sorrow. What a picture of our Lord Jesus, the "man of sorrows", and of His Body who are conformed to His image. The baby Jesus was not yet two months old when the prophet of God took him up in his arms and spoke by the Spirit to his mother and said that because of this baby a sword would pierce through her own soul also. None of us know the sorrow and shame and reproach this innocent young girl had to bear to bring this baby into the world. She was accused of casting away her virginity and shamefully violating her pledge to Joseph, her espoused, before they came together, she was "found with child of the Holy Ghost." Notice that "SHE WAS FOUND WITH CHILD". Who is going to believe her fantastic story of a visit by the angel Gabriel, and of her receiving seed for this child from no less than God Himself? Only God, who bottles up our tears, knows how many were shed when the scorn and reproaches began to fall upon this lovely young virgin. Sorrow. Yes, she knew sorrow, and shame, and the vile gossiping of wicked tongues. It cost something to bring this man Jesus into the world.

And it's going to cost you something, dear one, to be an overcomer, and a part of this great army of God. Do you think you will be honored and acclaimed by the world, or the religious systems, or even by those close to you? Be not deceived. You will wet your pillow many nights in your loneliness and in misunderstandings, crying out: "Why Lord, Oh why does it have to be thus?" Yes, a sword shall be thrust through your own soul also, when you see friends and loved ones turning away from the Truth. And when they classify you as having been deceived and seduced by man, it shall pierce you through, tho you know in the deep of your heart that you have heard from God and the seed you have received is nothing less than the pure Word of God.

A Manchild is Born

Jesus is speaking to His disciples in John 16:21 where He said: "A WOMAN WHEN SHE IS IN TRAVAIL HATH SORROW, BECAUSE HER HOUR IS COME: BUT AS SOON AS SHE IS DELIVERED OF THE CHILD, SHE REMEMBERETH NO MORE THE ANGUISH, FOR JOY THAT A MAN IS BORN INTO THE WORLD." Yes, there is great travail in bringing forth this manchild. But it shall produce the greatest joy this world has ever known. Jesus was the "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief", but Hebrews 1:9 says that God anointed Him with the oil of gladness above His fellows. Hebrews 12:2 says that for the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame. He who knew the greatest sorrow and travail of soul, also knows the greatest joy among all those who are His brethren. Upon Him was heaped the greatest shame and reproach possible for He bore ALL our sins to Calvary, and to Him belongs all the glory and honor and praise. Bless His wonderful Name! And hear me today, beloved… tho the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ shall suffer the greatest sorrow, travail, grief, and innumerable reproaches in bringing this Manchild company into existence, yet they shall know a joy that is absolutely beyond description with our weak human vocabularies. Those who enter into the actual experience of the Feast of Tabernacles, who taste of the realities of which that feast is a type, shall discover that it is a feast of Joy. For in Lev. 23:40 we are instructed to "rejoice before the Lord your God", throughout the seven days of the feast. And Deut. 16:34 says: "Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days …and thou shalt REJOICE in thy feast." Hallelujah! Sons of God weep through the night, for in the morning thou shalt have joy and laughter, and tears and sorrow shall flee away. Let your heart travail before God, for this that He would do must come forth in sorrow. But know this, that with travailing shall come a glorious complete victory, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it! Look up, Jabez, thou man of sorrow, for joy is set before thee!

Born in Obscurity

History knows nothing of Jabez. He was God's man. He was great only in the eyes of the Lord. Who was his father? Who was his mother? Was he the father of a great nation? What did he accomplish in life? No one knows. He is simply one of God's "Are-Nots". 1 Cor. 1:28 tells us that God hath chosen the "things which are not, to bring to nought things that are": "FOR YOU SEE YOUR CALLING BRETHREN, HOW THAT NOT MANY WISE MEN AFTER THE FLESH, NOT MANY MIGHTY, NOT MANY NOBLE, ARE CALLED". God chooses. And God chose Jabez. A strange unknown to the Jewish historians, a Holy Ghost interruption and interjection into the midst of their man made order. This is the picture of God's Manchild in the end of the age. Just as their pattern, Jesus, was an unwanted and unwelcome intruder to the religious orders of His day, disrupting their ecclesiastical systems by a mighty manifestation of the power and glory of God. Just so, His Body shall bring a mighty deliverance to the sick and oppressed of the nations of the world, but they shall never be accepted by the religious systems and ecclesiastical order. Never. It is not the great ones, the mighty, the noble that He hath called, but rather the humble and simple people who are willing to accept Him as Lord and believe His Word. Quit trying to be somebody, dear ones! Like Jabez, be willing to be a nobody, one of God's "are-nots", that you might be chosen of God. Care not that you are not blazing a bright trail across the pages of history, doing great exploits that make men wonder, and making a name that men will exalt and long remember. Desire only to be in the perfect will of God, glorifying and exalting our wonderful Jesus!

A Higher Calling

"JABEZ WAS MORE HONORABLE THAN HIS BRETHREN." Here was a man who sought after God, who desired only His will. And the Word says that there was a difference recognized between him and his brethren. Same father, same mother. But a difference. A vast difference if you please. Jacob and Esau were twins, and being the elder Esau had the advantage and in many personal traits he was the more admirable. His father Isaac loved Esau and intended to give him the blessing. But Jacob was one who hungered for the blessing of God, and he respected not personal traits, advantages and traditions. He wanted that blessing, and purposed to have it. Esau cared little for spiritual blessings and birthrights. The Word of the Lord was not sacred to him. He was strong, he was self-sufficient, he could take care of himself. His own skill, his works would make a way for Him. But the Bible says that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. God made a difference between them, even before they were born.

There was a difference between Joseph and his brethren, the sons of Jacob. He knew it, and they also knew it and hated him for it. He had a calling of God on his life that they did not have. He hungered after the things of God, while they devised ways of getting rid of him. "He was more honorable than his brethren." This difference between him and his brethren took him in strange places, on perilous journeys, through many testings and trials until it brought him to that place of finding the purpose of God in his life and fulfilling the Word of the Lord. He sat upon the throne and ruled with his King.

Beloved, regardless of what man may say, there IS a higher calling. There IS a difference between the Elect of God and their "brethren". God has chosen. Know that "whosoever will may be saved". But we are not dealing in this message with the "Whosoever will" of God. We are dealing with the Jabez company, the Chosen. One of the most violent criticisms of the Sonship message is that some fear we are trying to make ourselves better than others. "All are the same" they cry. But the Bible says that all are not the same. Some press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, while others are willing to settle for a "heaven to gain and a hell to shun". And it is not a matter of making yourself better than others… for Romans 9:16 is plain: "SO THEN IT IS NOT OF HIM THAT WILLETH, NOR OF HIM THAT RUNNETH, BUT OF GOD THAT SHEWETH MERCY." There is no boasting in this for you sir, for this is the election of God.

But there is something you can do to keep yourself available to be chosen of God. You can keep your heart clean, desiring only Jesus and His will for your life. Eliab was the eldest of eight sons of Jesse. He was a strong, handsome young man, with many advantages. But when the prophet of God was sent to the house of Jesse to anoint the next King of Israel, and would have anointed Eliab… God spoke to him that he was in error because he was looking upon the outward appearance, while God looked upon the heart. And He saw something in Eliab's heart that disqualified him for the throne. Oh, he was from the right father, he was in the right family. But his heart was not right. So Samuel had to wait until they sent for David. He was the youngest, the least likely, just a stripling. But his heart was right. Hear me today, dear ones, there is a High Calling of God in Christ Jesus, and it is for those who have a right condition of heart. Jabez had the right kind of heart. He desired and hungered after the things of God. And he was more honorable than his brethren. Don't blame it on me, but I tell you there IS a difference. God made it so. And it led David to the Throne. So shall it be with God's elect. Out of the man-made ruts of denominational and sectarian systems, a glorious army of saints arise to be caught up in the divine purposes of Almighty God following the pattern Son. "Come out of her, my people" sounds forth the Spirit in thunderous tones, and there is a people who are hearing the first soundings of that trumpet and coming forth to be His alone. They will not be loved by those who refuse to hear the call of God. They will be misunderstood, rejected, and lied about. In 1 Sam. 17:30, we see David turning away from his own brother because of the scorn and opposition he received in moving toward the purpose of God in his life. It seems like those who are Christians, and preachers, should be the first to encourage you in going on with God into a higher calling and greater glory. But it is not always so. Some of your greatest opposition will come from those from whom you expected encouragement. But dare to press on into God! There is a difference, and others cannot understand why, but God knows, and our conforming is to His image alone.

Oh!

As Jabez prayed, there was evidenced an intensity, an anguish of soul in the first word of his prayer. "Oh!" he cried, out of the very depths of his being. This was no "Now I lay me down to sleep" type of prayer. This was not something read out of a prayer-book, or a prayer memorized from the "good old days". In the travail of his soul and his great desire to win a glorious victory in this spiritual battle, he laid his heart bare before God. Beloved the day for "playing church" is over. God has tolerated much foolishness in the past, and "winked at our ignorance". But now He is calling forth an army who will rise into the heavenlies and put the enemy to flight. Our call is to build up and edify the Body of Christ, that they might tear down the strongholds of Satan and defeat the powers of darkness. This will take a people who are willing to come to grips with the realities of life.

One thing we know about Jabez's activities--he was a man of prayer. He knew God in an intimate way, and he believed in prayer. He called upon God because he had faith that God was able and willing and that the answer would come. The things he desired were impossible in the natural, so he went to the one who could and would do the impossible. Oh, beloved, dare to believe and ask for the impossible. For it is the impossible that we must have to meet the need of a dying world. We must have the power of the supernatural, for the natural man cannot meet the tremendous needs facing us today. But let me add a word of caution. Some dear misguided folks are getting so supernatural these days that they don't seem to need prayer. They have no use for the Bible, the written Word of God. They claim to be walking in heavenly places, so why should they be so earthly as to pray and read the Bible like the rest of us poor folks have to do? Why should they pray to Christ in heaven, lifting up their hands, when they have the Christ within? Why should they read what they call the "dead letter" of the written Word, when they claim that they have the living Word within, and what they speak is as inspired as what Jeremiah or Joel spoke? The trouble with that is it doesn't work and it isn't working in them. Of course, their failures to give life to their claims can be spiritualized away (if you have a strong stomach and a slightly seared over conscience and don't mind violating the plain teachings of Scripture).

Actually, their claims are a large part of their downfall, for one error leads to another. And when a boastful claim is finally exposed by Scripture, they have to propound another error in order to explain away that Scripture. On and on. There is no claims, but he knew how to think big and ask largely. Those who are coming into true Sonship are not found making big claims about themselves, their ministry, or their spirituality. They do not need to make claims, for that which God is bringing them into is so much greater than anything they could ask or think or boast about. And just a glimpse of even a part of this glorious inheritance humbles their hearts, for they are made to realize how little they deserve it, and that it cometh not by their works or their knowledge. A revelation of the Grace of God floods their souls like a mighty tidal wave sweeping in upon a parched land! Oh, how good God is!

It's You I Want Lord

"OH THAT THOU WOULDEST BLESS ME INDEED", Jabez cried. And when we get a revelation of the grace of God, how it makes our hearts fill up with praises to our wonderful Lord! How our mouths are filled with laughter and our tongues with singing! No one else can satisfy the desire of our soul, it takes Him alone. The things of the world hold no charm, the ambitions of life fade into insignificance before the ever increasing brightness of His glory. Hallelujah! Hast thou sacrificed earthly things for the Lord thy God? Hast thou done without for His name's sake? Why does they heart ask if the Lord hath seen? Is not His eye ever upon His own? Dost thou think that what the Lord thy God hath prepared for thee is any less than that which thou has given up in this world? Nay! But know thou this day that thy heart shall be amazed at that which the Lord shall do for those who follow on to know Him in His fulness. So let thy heart desire only Him, and let thy mouth speak only of His goodness, so shall the way be open for an abundant entrance into the Kingdom which the Father hath prepared for His own! Glory to God in the Highest!

"That THOU wouldest bless". Jabez wanted the perfect will of God. Before he asked for anything else, he asked for that which the Lord would desire. This is the attitude of the true sons of God, those today who are finding that the great desire of their hearts is to do always that which pleased Him. Jesus, the Pattern, was a perfect example of this. In John chapter 8, verse 29, Jesus spoke: "AND HE THAT SENT ME IS WITH ME: THE FATHER HATH NOT LEFT ME ALONE; FOR I DO ALWAYS THOSE THINGS THAT PLEASE HIM". Most church trouble usually starts when someone doesn't get THEIR way. But in Sonship, they don't care to have their own way, and knowing that He is on the Throne and is going to have His way in spite of what man will do, brings a wonderful rest and delivers from all strife.

Enlarge My Coast

Now we come to the heart of his request, Jabez found that as he moved in the purposes of God for his life, there was a necessity for enlargement. One time this place was large enough, but no longer. His growth in God brought fresh and increased vision, and moved his horizons back. Ever onward and upward is the direction of those who are hearing the voice of God in our generation. For we find we have not reached the ultimate in God, we have not found the end of "the unsearchable riches of Christ". When you quit pushing back, the horizons close in upon you and become high walls that hold you bound in man's sectarian ways and beliefs. When you stop enlarging your place in God, then you begin to shrivel up into a tiny dried up memorial of better yesterdays.

There is a promise of God in Deut. 19:20 that "THE LORD THY GOD SHALL ENLARGE THY BORDER, AS HE HATH PROMISED THEE". And there is a challenge to us in Isa. 54:2 as the prophet makes clear our responsibility to act upon the promise of God--"ENLARGE THE PLACE OF THY TENT, AND LET THEM STRETCH FORTH THE CURTAINS OF THING HABITATIONS: SPARE NOT, LENGTHEN THY CORDS, AND STRENGTHEN THY STAKES." When a movement becomes stationary, it turns into a monument and the picture is not pretty to those who see by the eye of the Spirit. But somehow, there has always been a remnant, an elect whose hearts heard the call of the Spirit to move on into greater things in the progressive purposes of God. History is a strange thing, how it repeats itself in principle. Yet it seems there are so many who cannot learn from it. They have fallen into the same snare of their forefathers. And the Elect of God have continued to "come out of her". A Revival becomes a movement. Leaders arise. Horizons are set. Borders are recognized. Stakes are driven. Theology becomes static, experiences become doctrine and theory. The movement organizes and becomes another denomination. With God preaching the funeral and the heavenly host acting as pall bearers, the burial is complete. But God calls life out of death, draws forth a living organism out of the organizations of man, and the march is on again! Glory to God, brother, you can't keep those who have heard the voice of the Spirit from pressing into the One who has called them into a life of progressive reality.

The Bed is Too Short

Isa. 28:20 says: "FOR THE BED IS SHORTER THAN THAT A MAN CAN STRETCH HIMSELF ON IT: AND THE COVERING NARROWER THAN THAT HE CAN WRAP HIMSELF IN IT." What a miserable night you'll have trying to fit into a bed that once had room to turn around in. What has happened? Has the bed shrunk? No, the man has grown. If he doesn't grow according to the natural processes, he becomes a monstrosity, and a freak. How the church world is flooded with spiritual freaks who have failed to grow, and now cannot find their way out of their baby beds. Many are so tangled up in their "coverings" that they are smothering to death.

Notice that the bed is shorter than a man can stretch on… it is not too short for babies. Our little baby is perfectly happy with sleeping in a bed in which I would be absolutely miserable. In fact, my 200 pounds would probably break it down if I tried to get into it. I once preached for a dear brother who lived in some Sunday School rooms in the church, and his living quarters were quite limited. He and his wife had a small room converted into a bedroom for themselves, and their three small children all slept in another room in a baby bed and two small bunk beds. When I arrived, they put the baby in the bed with them, put their little girl in the baby bed and… guess where I slept? Right! In the youth bed which was far too narrow and over a foot too short. For me, that is. It was just the right size for the child. Nothing wrong with the bed. Just that it was not built for a man. And I had grown to a maturity beyond where I could be satisfied with that which had suited me fine in days gone by. Oh, dear ones, recognize what has happened to you. You have been feeding on the good Word of God, and your growth has gone beyond the static theologies and methods of yesterday. Quit trying to stretch the old cover to fit you, and stop trying to cramp your growing spirit into the old beds where others seem able to sleep on in their graveyard peace. All you will be able to do is rip the covers and kick the slats out of the bed, and they won't like it at all. I'm speaking, of course, to those who are growing to maturity in Him. Know where you are in God. Enlarge your coast, push back your limitations, stretch out your horizons and lengthen your cords. God is on the move, and so are His people, His own, His Elect!

A New Coat Every Year

There's a beautiful story in the Bible about the Spirit bringing forth a Prophet to judge Israel. He started with the barren woman. Then He brought a tiny baby into the picture. But the baby grew, a steady progressive growth. The story is told in the first three chapters of first Samuel. And in chapter 2 verses 18-19 we read: "BUT SAMUEL MINISTERED BEFORE THE LORD, BEING A CHILD, GIRDED WITH A LINEN EPHOD, MOREOVER HIS MOTHER MADE HIM A LITTLE COAT, AND BROUGHT IT TO HIM FROM YEAR TO YEAR, WHEN SHE CAME UP WITH HER HUSBAND TO OFFER THE YEARLY SACRIFICE". What a lovely picture of motherly love. Tho she had given him to the Lord, yet there was still a care for his needs, and a constant remembrance. Also what a picture of growth. For why did Hannah bring a new coat every year? Why did she not make one tough enough and sturdy enough to last several years? A man who has reached the end of his growing period may wear a coat for several years. I have two winter suits which I bought while I was still working for an insurance company in Oklahoma several years ago. My summer suit was bought for me by a church on the East Coast nearly three years ago. And they still fit, and as long as they hold together I don't intend to buy any more. But my boys have to have new clothes every year, and it seems that my dear wife is always working on a dress for one of the girls. Because they hardly get a coat or pair of shoes broke in good till they're growing out of them.

And Samuel was a growing boy. And his mother was wise enough to know that. So with loving hands she made him a new coat every year. One that would fit him, and meet his growing needs. Would to God that religious leaders of today were as wise. They seem to think that once they have received some experience and established some doctrines and written down their statement of fundamental beliefs, that God will never speak again or that His people will never receive any more from God or grow beyond their limited little boundaries. In the natural, parents are brought each fall to the shocking realization of the facts of life. School starts, and the barefoot boy goes to put on his shoes only to discover that he can't get his feet into them… And the winter coat that was so warm last winter and is not near worn out, suddenly seems to have shrunk until the sleeves come halfway to the elbow, and the button cannot stretch to the button-holes. What has happened? Your boy is growing, mother. And you might as well make up your mind to get him some clothes that fit, or you'll never get him to the schoolhouse. For he'll go to the woods and play hookey rather than face his fellow students with his overalls halfway to his knees and buttons popping all over. Yet in the spiritual, some of God's people who have seen the truth and have grown in God seem to think that they can continue to wear the trappings of a Revival 40 years in the past. And those who continue to try to stir up the dead ashes of a move of the Spirit that God gave 12 or 15 years ago should learn something from Sister Hannah. She knew that this thing had to be enlarged continually to take care of the needs of God's Prophet. For he was not going to quit growing just because of something good and beautiful that had been given to him last year.

And this truth, dear ones, is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hallelujah to His great Name!

Thine Hand with Me

Notice that with every enlargement in God comes a renewed attack by the forces of hell, and a greater need for the next part of the prayer of Jabez: "ENLARGE MY COAST, AND THAT THINE HAND MIGHT BE WITH ME." Don't you know, Jabez, that it's the hand that holds the rod and administers discipline? Oh, yes, but you see, sir, His rod and His chastisements comfort me. They make me to know that I'm His son. So I long for His hand to be with me, in fact I need it for my perfection. God gave the 5 ministry gifts known as the "hand" ministry, for the perfecting of the saints. Appreciate them, and be glad for them, beloved. For though the Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers mentioned in Eph. 4:11 may be used of God to administer discipline at times, it is for your edification and good. But God's hand is not only a chastising hand, it is also a protective and giving hand.

Thou Openest Thine Hand

In Psa. 145:14-16 we read these inspired words: "THE LORD UPHOLDETH ALL THAT FALL, AND RAISETH UP ALL THOSE THAT BE BOWED DOWN. THE EYES OF ALL WAIT UPON THEE: AND THOU GIVEST THEM THEIR MEAT IN DUE SEASON. THOU OPENEST THINE HAND, AND SATISFIETH THE DESIRE OF EVERY LIVING THING. Now, there is so much in this portion of the scripture that we couldn't possibly get to it in one message. But the one thought that I want to draw your attention to is contained in these words: "THOU OPENEST THINE HAND". Notice that it is His hand, and that He has the power to open it. And when it is opened, the desires of all creation are satisfied. Romans chapter 8 gives us the time element for the fulfillment of this promise: "FOR I RECKON THAT THE SUFFERINGS OF THIS PRESENT TIME ARE NOT WORTHY TO BE COMPARED WITH THE GLORY WHICH SHALL BE REVEALED IN US. FOR THE EARNEST EXPECTATION OF THE CREATION WAITETH FOR THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD. BECAUSE THE CREATION ITSELF ALSO SHALL BE DELIVERED FROM THE BONDAGE INTO THE GLORIOUS LIBERTY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD. FOR WE KNOW THAT THE WHOLE CREATION GROANETH AND TRAVAILETH IN PAIN TOGETHER UNTIL NOW, AND NOT ONLY THEY, BUT OURSELVES ALSO, WHICH HAVE THE FIRSTFRUITS OF THE SPIRIT, EVEN WE OURSELVES GROAN WITHIN OURSELVES, WAITING FOR THE ADOPTION, TO WIT, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY."

Yes, all creation is groaning for the full opening of God's hand. And we ourselves groan for this, also. No one longs for this glorious day any more than those who are true ministers of Christ and have been placed as members of the "hand" by the Spirit of God. And the true Body of Christ, like Jabez, earnestly desire the ministry of the hand of the Lord. This ministry, when fully opened and manifested or unveiled to the world, will truly satisfy the desires and longings of every living thing.

Not a Clenched Fist

God knows that we have had too much of closed fist type of ministry. The Body of Christ in general has suffered much from being beaten down by a clenched fist ministry that cared little for their needs and desires. And this has not been limited to denominations and sectarian ecclesiastical orders. Many are the non-denominational or "independent" preachers who have made merchandise of the people of God and used them for their own gain. The closed fist is a grasping hand, always taking from the people, but never able to give. Never satisfied, never full, but eternally grasping for more until the people are drained and empty. And then the clenched fist becomes a club to beat them into a discouraged defeat. And something else. The clenched fist is a fighting hand, always full of strife, never able to make peace. How often we have heard them say in a harsh, belligerent voice: "I'm going to contend for the faith". Yes, they're contentious alright. What they really mean is, that if you don't line up with their ideas and measure up to their standards, they will beat you into line. God open YOUR hand and deliver us from the closed fist of man.

The Open Hand of God

God has a ministry that is willing to open and give to edify the Body. This giving does not always involve finances. Many of God's true ministers have no money to give, but they give of themselves. The open hand is a giving hand. Some have learned the truth and beauty of Prov. 13:7: "THERE IS THAT MAKETH HIMSELF RICH, YET HATH NOTHING: THERE IS THAT MAKETH HIMSELF POOR, YET HATH GREAT RICHES". God is the greatest giver we know of. He gave His only begotten Son. Jesus gave Himself because of a giving heart of love for us. If men of God could only learn this fact and learn it good: that you don't lose anything by giving. I have seen pastors who were afraid to give a good offering to an evangelist or missionary, afraid for the money to leave the church, thinking it would hurt his own offering. Yet he sat in that church almost starved out, wondering why the people were not more generous with him. I'll tell you why. Like begets like, and he had brought forth a church full of stingy people and imparted his own stingy spirit to them. God has a giving hand.

An open hand is a helping hand. Many people have no time for anyone but themselves and perhaps those they feel will return the favor. But believe this if you can… there IS a ministry in the land that wants to help you. Their only purpose of existence, and their only desire in the ministry is that they might be a blessing to you, the Body of Christ. Jesus always had time for one who was in need. The multitudes told Zaccheus that Jesus had no time for the likes of him. But Jesus stopped in his journey, brought this man to a place of repentance, and then went home for dinner with him. The disciples told the children to run on and play, for they were too important and on too great a mission to be bothered with the problems of children. But not Jesus. He stopped all his great activity, and took the little children up in His arms and blessed them. Glory to God, isn't He wonderful? A lowly beggar sat by the road begging for alms. One day he heard a loud commotion of a great multitude of people. He was told that it was Jesus. He was on His way to Jerusalem where in a few days he could die on the cross for the sins of a lost world. But when the beggar cried for help, the multitudes told him to be quiet. Jesus had a great multitude thronging about Him, and the needs of the whole world on his heart. He has no time for the likes of you, they told the beggar. But they didn't know the extent of His helping hand. For while Calvary waited, and the whole multitude was kept standing in perplexed silence, Jesus called for the blind beggar and gave him his heart's desire. He was God's great giver. How many times God has blessed a man with a gift and a ministry that has caused the multitudes to flock about him. The adulation of the public does something to a man. It either brings him to a recognition of his weakness and helplessness and drives him to God in humility, or else it turns his head and causes him to start thinking that he is something big and important after all. And sometimes men who were once humble and helpful get so "big" that they no longer have a helping hand. Oh, they can perform very nicely on the platform, they are full of beautiful oratory and can "operate their gift" amazingly. They are like an actor on a stage. But the open hand, the helping hand, is gone. God's hand is a helping hand.

It is also a hand of fellowship. It is an open hand I offer you in fellowship when I want to shake your hand. The clenched fist is no sign of fellowship. It is a symbol of domination, of conquering. But an open hand, offered in fellowship, is a hand of equality. Too long we have had a clamoring for position in the ministry. Too long there has been a constant struggle to see who was going to be "top dog". There seems to be a gentlemen's agreement that someone has to be "boss" and the question is, who is going to be shrewd enough to make it to the top? Every religious system is filled with political maneuverings in high places, with underhand scheming and conniving, and with a constant undercurrent of struggle. What for? To "work your way up" to a position of authority over other men. Every flattering title, such as Reverend, Bishop, Presbyter, Superintendent, Overseer, His Holiness, His Imminence, Father, Cardinal, Pope, etc. etc… (Some of them good scriptural terms if used in their proper relationship and setting) is the result of just such a closed fist ministry. Why can we not have an open hand of fellowship, of equality, of harmony and unity where no one minister desires to lord it over his brethren? Well, we can. And God is now restoring just such an open hand ministry. Praise God!

When I have to discipline my children, I don't do it with a clenched fist in their faces, but I do it with an open hand applied to a place God made for just such a purpose. Two years ago when our baby was just a year old, I was preaching in a little country church in Kansas for a week. Suddenly in a service one day she got real rebellious and hard to manage. No amount of persuasion could control the situation. I finally took her out in the vestibule, rolled up her diaper and applied my hand vigorously to the fat of her little leg until it was good and red. Well, she never had a spanking before, and it came as a real shock to her. I took her back inside, but had to return with her the second time to the vestibule and repeat the performance. It was not pleasant to me at all, but it was a real revelation to her. And it worked. And from then on, when correction was needed, all I had to do was to lay my hand alongside her leg. No spanking was required for quite a long time. Just the remembrance did the work. How like the Lord's dealings with His children. If we will learn our lesson, he can guide us toward maturity with far less chastisement. Some of us are so slow to learn. And some don't seem to remember very long. But He is so tender with us. He doesn't beat us in the face with a clenched fist. Now I love my children very much, and when I correct them I don't do it with the intention of injuring them or permanently damaging their bodies. My family has been a great inspiration to me, and I feel a great responsibility to them, and if there is anything that gets next to me real quick is for someone to try to hurt one of my children. One time we were living in the rear of a church when a drunk man falsely accused one of my boys of hitting his car with a small rock. He caught the boy between the church and the building we were living in, and began beating on him. I heard the boy screaming and ran out to find them both there, with blood coming out the boy's mouth. (It wasn't serious, but I didn't know it then). Well, I tell you folks, I like to think that someday, Jesus will perfect me to the place of being gentle and kind, and longsuffering, etc. But that day it was just the grace of God that kept me from stomping that fellow into the ground. I got pretty excited, and it was just the Lord that kept me from getting involved in some real violence that day. I was ready to use the clenched fist and the only reason I didn't was that the Lord prevented me from it. And I wonder when the Lord sees His own dear children being abused and beaten so much if He doesn't feel like taking some measures against these closed fist ministries that are drunk on their power. Discipline is something God administers with an open hand. Yes, like Jabez, we are crying "That thine hand might be with me". But let it be thy open hand, Lord. Then shall we be edified and satisfied.

Keep Me from Evil

In the next part of his prayer, Jabez deals with a very important part of God's nature and character, a characteristic that many today seem to have forgotten. Hear me today, friend, and learn this well… our God is a God of holiness, and those who are truly going on with God in this or any other hour are saying with Jabez: "KEEP ME FROM EVIL, THAT IT MAY NOT GRIEVE ME!" Sin grieves the heart of God, and it also grieves the sons of God. When someone tells you that they now have a revelation that lets them drink beer and whiskey, indulge in illicit sex and others lusts of the flesh, you can be sure of one thing… their revelation is from the pit, and that's right where it's dragging them. For true revelation from heaven will set your face toward a life of holiness. Oh, I know we make a mess of it, and our own efforts of righteousness turns out to be as filthy rags. That's why we cry with Jabez… "Lord YOU keep me from evil". I cannot attain holiness by my own efforts, it must come by the grace and mercy of God. You must do it, Lord. But this is the cry of every heart who is truly going into sonship. Keep me from evil. Jesus walked in an ugly, dirty, world, a world that was full of sin and rotten to the core, but sin could not touch Him. He loved sinners, but He hated sin. He sat down with them and partook of their food and fellowship, but he could not partake of their sin. He loved to be with people, but their sin grieved Him. And He gave all that He had. His pure holy life, that He might deliver us from sin and death. To get a revelation on what sin does to the heart of Jesus, when He sees it in His children, is one of the greatest motivations to drive us to the cross of Christ and make us turn our back on the tempting forces of earth. God gave instructions to engrave in gold the words: "HOLINESS TO THE LORD", and put them on the forehead of the High Priest. Much can be said on this, and will be said in a later message, but know thou this, child of God… sin grieves God, and the true sons of God are, like Jabez, crying out against it.

And God Heard and Answered

The closing words of our text is "AND GOD GRANTED HIM THAT WHICH HE REQUESTED". And God granted. Praise God for His marvelous grace! Thank God that we have One who is ABLE to grant. Nothing is too hard for Him. There is nothing you can ask for that He can't give. There is so much we don't deserve and so much we can't earn. But it doesn't come by works or righteousness. It is only the grace of God. When we can see this, and confess it, you will find that it will open up a channel through which He can bless you like you've never been blessed before. If we expect blessings because of what we are or what we've done, then He is limited so much as to what He can give us. But if we accept on the basis of what HE is and what HE has done, then the limitations are done away. And He delights in blessing us abundantly.

"THAT WHICH HE REQUESTED." He got what he asked for. Perhaps like I have often done, he may have wondered why he didn't ask for more. For God could have done even greater things for him, if he had asked. Learn from Jabez, beloved, and ask largely that your joy might be full. For truly, this man of God, one of God's unknown and unsung heroes, is a wonderful picture of the Elect of God, His Overcomer Body of end-time Sons. Take heart, saints, for he has your picture and description already written in the pages of His eternal Book!

The Incomparable Christ

More than nineteen hundred years ago there was a Man born contrary to the laws of life. This Man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively. Only once did He cross the boundary of the country in which He lived; that was during His exile in childhood.He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were inconspicuous, and had neither training nor formal education.

In infancy He startled a king; in childhood He puzzled doctors; in manhood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the billows as if pavements, and hushed the sea to sleep.

He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His service.

He never wrote a book, and yet all the libraries of the country could not hold the books that have been written about Him.

He never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters combined.

He never founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students.

He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun; and yet no leader ever had more volunteers who have, under His order, made more rebels stack arms and surrender without a shot fired.

He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near.

Once each week the wheels of commerce cease their turning and multitudes wend their way to worshipping assemblies to pay homage and respect to Him.

The names of the past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The names of the past scientists, philosophers, and theologians have come and gone; but the name of this Man abounds more and more. Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the people of this generation and the scene of His crucifixion, yet He still lives. Herod could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.

He stands forth upon the highest pinnacle of heavenly glory, proclaimed of God, acknowledged by angels, adored by saints, and feared by devils, as the living, personal Christ, our Lord and Saviour.

A Corn of Wheat

"We want to see Jesus! We want to see Jesus!" This has been the cry of humanity ever since the Greeks came to Philip in John 12:21 at the Passover feast. The answer of Jesus in verses 24-25 was that "The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." And in verses 32-33 it tells us that he is discussing his death: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This He said, signifying what death He should die."

Jesus knew that the Life that was in Him was the answer to the needs of the world. But He also knew that working in one physical body, with geographical limitations of being able to be in only one place at a time was not the answer. He knew that for all the world to see Jesus, He would have to be glorified, lifted up from the earth realm, and His Life planted in humanity so as to bring forth a great harvest in others. Plain and simple, this is what He is saying in John 12:23-33. Simple arithmetic bears this out. If He came back to earth and gave each person 6 minutes for a private conference, it would take him more than 100 years (working day and night, 7 days a week) just to see the people in New York City alone. In fact, he would never finish, for new people would be born faster than he could interview the present living ones. If every person living now on earth were to spend one hour alone with Jesus, it would take 400,000 years for Him just to see those now living! Even if he preached to an audience of 1,000 every hour, 24 hours a day, it would take 400 years for the present population of the world to hear him. Can you imagine standing in line for 400,000 years just to get one hour with Jesus? I know this sounds silly, but I must shock you and awake you to the truth of the real plan of God!

Jesus was a Divine Seed. He was that Living Word, planted into humanity, that brings forth a harvest in His own likeness. John 1:4 says "In Him was life", implying that outside him there was no life. This is true. The earth produced a vegetable life, and there was an animal life also. There was even a human life in the world. But all this "life" was only a mortal (or dying) life. There was no divine life outside Jesus. He only has immortal life, eternal life, and this is the life that He is imparting to humanity through His death, burial and resurrection!

Reproducing Himself

In order to reproduce himself, he had to find soil that would receive him. "He came unto his own, and his own received him not, but as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God" (John 1:11-12). Angels could not receive or produce this life, for angels are spirits, and this life had to be planted in earth, in the Adamic soil. "We have this treasure in earthen vessels" (2 Cor. 4:7). Praise God, He found that soil, that earth which would receive the living Word and bring forth in His likeness. Rom. 8:29 says: "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

The reproduction of this divine life is brought out plainly in 1 Cor. 15:45-49. "As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." Heb. 1 and Col. 1 tells us that Jesus was the express image of the Father, the "image of the invisible God". Not physically, for the Father has no physical body. He is Spirit, invisible, and omnipresent. It was the nature of the Father that Jesus expressed on earth in the sight of men. Man could not understand the nature and substance of God in His omnipresent, invisible form. So Jesus became His image and expressed Him in a physical, visible body, in a language we could understand. "We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father." (1 John 1:14). And in 1 John 1:1-2 we read: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)".

Now the Father is saying: "Son, you gave me your body as a vehicle of expression, that I might reveal myself and unveil my glory to this world. Now you have laid that life down, and have given that body over to death, that out of death I might bring forth a body for you, through which you can express yourself, and which will bear your image in the earth." "A body has thou prepared me" (Heb. 10:5). "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (1 Cor. 12:27). "But now are they many members, yet but one body" (1 Cor. 12:20). A many membered body for Jesus, for the expression of the Christ life in humanity! Glory to God what a plan!

He Bought a Field

Jesus gave us a parable in Matt. 13:44, "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." Now this story is not about you finding salvation, and buying it. You did not buy your salvation, it was the gift of God. The kingdom is like a treasure hid in a field. That earthen field is you. The kingdom is in you, but hidden, veiled by flesh. Jesus found it, and "for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross" and bought that field. He paid the price, in full. He not only bought the hidden treasure, he bought the field also. He purchased your earthen vessel, and he has an eternal plan for it. "Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your Body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20). Your body has been purchased, as well as your spirit. What is he going to do with this earthen body of ours? According to Phil. 3:21, he is going to change this body and make it like unto his body of glory. Not do away with it, or leave it in the grave, as some erroneously teach. But he will take this very earthly tabernacle we now live in, and change it into a glorious and eternal temple. "We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed." (1 Cor. 15:51).

To see the price he paid for this field, turn to 2 Cor. 8:9… "For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich". What a powerful scripture! Rich, yet making himself poor. Selling all that he had, to buy that field. So that the treasure in that field might be redeemed and uncovered, unveiled, revealed, manifested. Phil. 2:6-8 (Amp) tells us that Jesus was essentially one with God and in the form of God, but emptied himself, stripped himself of all his heavenly glory, made himself poor, so as to suffer the awful poverty of death. Why? In order to plant that divine life in the earth of humanity, so that we might grow up into his likeness, bear his image, and share that eternal glory that he has with the Father. That we might be rich. That we might be what he was before he became poor! Glory to God!

A Living Harvest

Let me read you our text again in John 12:24 in the Amplified Bible: "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just one grain, never becomes more but lives by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest." When Jesus came into this world, he alone had life. There were no others capable of producing life. 1 Cor. 15:45 says that the first Adam was a living soul, but of the earth earthy. No life in him, just as earth or soil cannot produce a harvest without seed. But the last Adam (Jesus) was a life giving spirit. But that life remained in the seed until it was buried in the earth. The seed alone had life, there were no others like it.

When Jesus walked this earth, he manifested the realm of Sonship. But he was alone in that realm. There were no other sons, no one else with the divine life of God, no one who could understand him or fellowship with him. "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not." (John 1:10). "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" John says. Even John the Baptist, who had received divine revelation on the identity of Jesus, began to have his doubts as he sat in jail. He sent messengers to get more proof and reassurance. His enemies did not know who he was. They thought he was everything from and illegitimate troublemaker to a devil, but they would not receive him as Son of God. His friends thought he might be a reincarnated prophet, at least a good man with love and compassion. But they knew nothing of Sonship. By divine inspiration, the disciples received the revelation that he was the son of the living God. But they did not understand the realm of Sonship.

One time, in Luke chapter nine, a village of the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus. James and John were furious, and asked the Lord if he wanted them to call fire down from heaven and burn up those wicked people, as the prophet once did. But he rebuked James and John. They did not understand the realm of Sonship. They still lived in the realm of the prophets. But the realm of Sonship was much higher. It was not a destroying power, it was a life giving ministry. They could understand the Prophet, for he walked in the same life and the same spirit they walked in. But here was a New Creation Man, a Son of God. Nothing else like it on the earth. And they couldn't understand it. It was a lonely life, living in a world where he was the only inhabitant. But his determination was to populate that realm of Sonship with many others, brethren in his own image. Even Peter could not fellowship him on this high plane of the God-Life of Sonship. Immediately after Peter received the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God, in Matt. 16:16, we find him in verse 22 rebuking Jesus because of the message of the cross. Jesus turned to him and said "thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." He could not even communicate with Peter on the realm of Sonship.

Oh friends, let me tell you that this higher dimension of the Spirit is a lonely place at present. Not many can understand what you are going though, what you are hearing from God. Just as Jesus had to find his fellowship with the Father alone, rising many times before day and going into the mountains to pray, just so there is a place the sons walk in today that only God can understand. And the further we go in Sonship, the more unexplainable this place becomes to those who are NOT in it.

But thank God, there is a harvest coming from this divine seed, this firstborn son of God. This new world, the world of Sonship, will be fully populated. Jesus will have fellowship with those who have suffered as he suffered, who have become joint heirs with him of all he possesses. This is the purpose of God of planting this first Corn of Wheat into the earth of humanity. The full harvest will bring forth on various planes. There will be a 30 fold harvest, a "doubles portion" or 60 fold, and a "fulness" or 100 fold. At present we are looking for the firstfruits of the harvest, that body of sons who shall be manifested to deliver the creation from the groaning bondage of death. All of this from that one Corn of Wheat! Praise God!

The Harvest Reaped

There will be no reaping of the harvest, no gathering it into the Father's barns, until it has come to it's full maturity. Many who do not really believe in mature Sonship try to quote the part of a verse in 1 John 3:2, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God," but they fail to go on with the rest of the verse: "And it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is". No, the truth of the harvest does not do away with the literal personal return of our Lord Jesus to this earth. We shall see him. "Unto them that look for him shall he appear". And the fact that we are babes in Christ, children of God, and sons growing up into full maturity, does not do away with the fact that this harvest must come to full maturity before it is reaped. "Behold, the husbandman (God) waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it" (James 5:7).

Jesus said in Mark 4:28-29, "The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come." When the farmer first sees the blade come up from the ground, he is not disgusted with his crop and ready to plow it under. He knows that it is perfect to it's present stature, and that given time and the right conditions, it will continue to grow until the full corn appears. The sun shines, then the clouds appear. The thunder rolls, the lightning flashes, and the rains fall. Then the sun reappears, and completes the work of maturing the corn. But there is no reaping until that which appears in the field bears the exact image of that which was planted. Not only the image, but also the life-giving qualities.

So we have His life within us. But we still remain attached to this earth realm. Not cut loose and brought into the higher kingdom realm yet. "We shall all be changed" not yet fulfilled in us. Paul says, "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality…" (1 Cor. 15:54). He indicates here that this has not yet been done, as long as we dwell in this mortal or dying realm. There is yet a reaping. A reaping of the fully matured harvest. And it shall bear the exact likeness of the One who was planted, that first Corn of Wheat. So that if you were to see the first Seed and a harvest seed together, you couldn't tell the difference. John, on the isle of Patmos, couldn't tell the difference. God took him by the Sprit into the new age, and twice he fell down to worship one who was in the image of Christ (Rev. 19:10, 22:8), and both times had to be told not to do it, that the messenger was only one of the saints. "Worship God". That first corn of wheat is the only one who has ascended back into Deity, as well as giving his life and image to humanity. Worship Him! Praise Him forever!

What is Sonship Really Like?

After twenty chapters of describing the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John finally summarizes it all up in John 20:31… "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have LIFE through his name".

So this is the heart of the Gospel. He has done all these things to show us what the Anointed One is really like. For we are part of him, bone of his bones, flesh of his flesh, members of his Body. And that we might see the realm of Sonship in action, for this is the place we are to dwell. We must know how to act. We must know what our privileges are. So he shows us what a Son of God is like. And that through his name, we might believe our way into this same Life!

This is the Gospel. This is the good news for humanity. We will be like Jesus. We are to bear his image. To sit with him on his throne. To share his glory, and his inheritance. Oh yes, this has made good theology, but was never brought into a realm of reality. Somehow, someday, somewhere beyond the blue we would see him and be like him. But here on this earth? In front of the heathen of this world? No one seemed able to believe for such as this. But it is so anyhow. Men's doubts and fearful arguments will never prevent it from coming. Praise God! He has decreed it. It is according to his eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord!

There will be a harvest. The harvest will produce a multitude of sons in the image and with the life of the Son of God, until the knowledge of His glory covers the earth as the waters cover the sea. Heaven is real, and will be entered into by those for whom it is prepared. The body of that first-born Son has not been destroyed, and He shall be seen again. But let me say to you that He will be seen on this earth by the nations of the world in His Body of Sons, and they will know that they have seen the Christ, the Son of the living God. And the Kingdom of God shall come to this earth, the will of God will be done here, and this shall be as great as any heaven you've ever dreamed of.

Greater Works Shall Ye Do

Jesus healed the sick, cast out devils and raised the dead to demonstrate the privileges of him who walks in the Kingdom realm, above the limitations of this earthly life. Blind eyes were opened and the lame made to walk without any failures, to show that there is nothing hard for the New Creation Man. He has shown us the way. He has fully demonstrated Sonship. All the things that He did had divine purpose. He triumphed over all the powers of darkness and put them to an open shame. The battle is won. For those who walk in His footsteps and bear His image in the earth, there is nothing hard about casting out devils or raising the dead. The New Creation Man has absolute dominion over all the works of God's hands. All creation bows to his authority. He who walks entirely in the Spirit and is no longer bound to the earth, knows no limitations. He who no longer draws his life and strength from earth, but is cut loose and gathered into the Father's barn, cannot be touched by Satan. Satan knows his limitations. He had the promise from God in the garden of Eden that "dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life". So as long as we bear the image of that one (Adam) who is of the earth earthy, we are Satan's rightful food. But as we put on the image of that heavenly one, that life-giving spirit, we no longer are the Serpent's Meat. He no longer has the right to attack us, and he can find nothing in us. When the sons of God have then ministered this life to the world, until the Adamic nature is no longer in evidence, then shall the glory of God cover this earth, and Satan will stave for lack of the old carnal nature to feed upon. Praise God!

Jesus healed multitudes of people in Palestine during his short visit to this earth. But he did not come to heal all the sick or raise all the dead. If this was his purpose in coming to earth, then we'd have to say that he failed, for many were still sick and lame and blind when he left. Many lame were still gathered around the pool of Bethesda and sitting at the Temple gate long after his ascension. But his purpose is coming and walking in the realm of Sonship, was to demonstrate this realm to those who would follow him in here, to open the way for them, to make a way though the Veil, and to plant the life of the Son in us. Glory to God!

"Lift up your hearts and rejoice, oh ye people, for your redemption draweth nigh! It is even at the door. The day is at hand when you shall rise up into a throne that you have never known before. The blessings of heaven are upon you, the grace of God dwelleth in you, and this world will know. For their sakes I'm anointing you and sending you forth, and for their sakes you shall go. I have a surprise for this world, and one they will never guess. For though they have forsaken and rejected and despised me, yet their hearts I'm going to bless. And the surprise is that the life I will bless them with is already in the earth. Yet, it is hidden in the hearts of those who are truly mine, who have tasted of the new birth. For I am going to rip aside the veil of flesh, and reveal and unveil my glory from out of my living temple. How surprised they will be to discover that my glory has been in their midst all the time, veiled in flesh, unknown to those who had only carnal eyes with which to see. But ye, my people, my beloved indeed, have need to rejoice. For you are my battle-axe and weapons of war. With you will I tear down the throne of nations, and the power of Babylon. Not in your own power, for you have none. But in the power and wisdom of your God. For the thrones of this earth, and the kingdoms of this earth have been built by man with the wisdom and strength of Adam. And they shall be destroyed by man who has learned to enter into the wisdom and strength of the eternal God. That destruction shall be eternal. For never again shall carnal man build kingdoms and thrones. Never again shall the flesh rule over my creation. For my kingdom, built by my Son, shall continue forever, and shall rule over creation through all ages. Ye are mine, and I am yours, saith the Lord of heaven and earth. Rejoice, rejoice, and again I say rejoice!"

How Beautiful are the Feet!

Everything about the "new creation man" is described in detail in the Bible. It is hidden in language that the carnal mind cannot understand, known only by the Spirit. But it is there, in specific detail, so that God's elect will not be led astray or deceived by counterfeits or substitutes. However, knowing these things in your mind, having sat under ministries that preach these truths and mentally assenting to them, does not guarantee that you will become a part of that new creation. These truths must become a part of you, and become a living reality in your life. The Word must abide in you.

The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus' day had a theory that I am in agreement with. They believed that there would be a prophecy in the scriptures concerning any major messenger from God that came forth in their day. In other words, they felt that they had a right to judge any move of God by the Word, and that Moses and the prophets would have foretold of events and persons who were to have a great impact on Israel. Now this is a good theory. Jesus said: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not." (Matt. 23:2-3). Tho they knew the letter of the Book, yet they could not do the works of God, for their spirits and their lives were not right. And if your spirit is not right, it is dangerous to try to interpret the divine will. You may read the same Book as others, but you will not see the same truths.

So the Pharisees had the theory, but it produced no life or divine activity in them. When the Wise Men went to Herod to find out where the Christ was to be born, he called the scribes and chief priests together and asked them. They gave him the answer without hesitation (Matt. 2:5), for they knew that Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. But were they on the scene, waiting for it, when it happened? NO! They knew what the Book said, but it had not produced any living faith in them. So they missed the greatest even of their lifetime.

Mystery of Bethlehem

Nathanael was one who knew that Christ was to come from Bethlehem. He also knew that there was no prophecy indicating any good thing from God coming out of Nazareth. So when Philip met him and told him that they had found the Christ, he was excited until he found that it was Jesus of Nazareth. Disappointed, his answer was: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth"? (John 1:46). "Come and see" was Philip's answer, and Nathanael's spirit was right (John 1:47), so he was willing to look. And he found the Christ. Immediately his theological arguments went "out the window", and he confessed that in spite of his lack of understanding the scriptures, this man was the Son of God and the King of Israel.

Actually, Jesus was from Bethlehem, as we all know now. But they didn't know it then. And Jesus obviously didn't bother to set the record straight. It was one of those "blessed stumbling stones" that kept everyone out except those led of the Spirit. It gave those legalistic minded scribes, priests, and Pharisees a way out, a "back door" to escape and justify their rejection of Jesus. God will always give you a way out, if you cannot hear the voice of the Spirit.

In the seventh chapter of John, at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a great controversy over Jesus. Some thought He was God's Man because of the works that He was doing, and the anointing that rested upon Him. But others rejected Him, strangely enough, because of the Scriptures. Verse 40 says: "Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the Scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him." And the Pharisees said in verse 52: "Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet."

One time Jesus told them: "Ye have not His Word abiding in you; for whom He hath sent, him ye believe not. Ye search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me". (John 5:38-39). In Hebrews 10:7 the words of Christ are quoted from the Psalms: "Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me), to do Thy will, O God." So the first coming of Jesus is described in detail in the Book. His nature, His characteristics, His works, everything about Him is pictured in the O.T. Law and prophets. But only if you have eyes to see by the Spirit.

Who are You, John?

The news of the birth of John the Baptist, with all it's strange events listed in Luke Chapter 1, was noised throughout all Judaea. His father was Zacharias, a well known priest whose lot was to burn incense on the golden altar in the Temple. So John was not a stranger to Jerusalem. And when (In John 1:19) the Pharisees sent priests and Levites out to the River Jordan to ask John "Who art thou?", they didn't mean for him to say "I am John, son of Zacharias the priest." They all knew that. They meant, "Where do you fit in with the fulfillment of prophecy? Where is the Scripture that describes your ministry to Israel?" They knew that with the impact that John was having upon Israel, after 400 years without a prophet, he would be spoken of or described in the scriptures if he was from God. They asked him if he was the Christ that the prophets said was to come, and he answered: "I am not the Christ". Then they asked him if he was the Elijah ministry that Malachi prophesied would come and restore all things. His answer was: "I am not." Then they said: "Art thou that prophet?", referring to a prophecy by Moses in Deut. 18:15, but he answered, "No." In the fullest sense he was absolutely correct in all his answers, tho he did come, as one individual, in the spirit and power of that great last day Elijah ministry, which Jesus himself acknowledges in Matt. 17:11-13, and Matt. 11:14.

"Well then," they said, "If these scriptures do not refer to you or your ministry, just who are you, and where are you described in prophecy?" And he told them: "I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias." (Isa. 40:3). So the coming of John was spoken by the prophet, and even Judas Iscariot was described in Psalms, also speaking of the curse that came upon his children. (Psa. 109:8-9, 54:13-14, 41:9).

The New Creation Man

So the theory of the Pharisees was correct. The Word does describe major prophetic events. And if it was so specific, and in such detail, concerning the first advent of Christ (and other persons connected with Him at the time), how much more will there be a description of the Second Coming and the New Creation Man, that many-membered corporate Son. So if the restoration of that glorious Church is to be a reality in our day, we should be able to look into the Word and let the Spirit show us where we fit into the picture. If it shows us so clearly the glory of the Head, surely it will have something to say about the rest of the Body. For He is one with His body.

The Word is very plain that this new creation Man is a many-membered Body, with Jesus as the Head. The world is waiting for the manifestation of this Man, God's corporate son. There are some things that must happen on this earth in connection with the coming forth of this body of the Overcomer. Isa. 52:7 says: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!"

Now notice several things in this verse: First of all it is "him", a singular and masculine. Not a bride, but a man. Notice that the beauty of this One will be seen in his feet. Praise God! And he has a word for Zion. God reigns, and the watchmen see eye to eye, when God brings again Zion (vs 8). "How beautiful are the feet of HIM". The same thing is said in Nahum 1:15: "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace!" Masculine and singular. Now turn to the New Testament and see where Paul quotes this scripture in Romans 10:15, but giving us the fuller revelation of what God is saying: "As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!"

One New Man

Now Paul was not ignorantly misquoting a scripture. The Holy Spirit is revealing here that we all are a part of that which God is bringing into One in these last days. "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in him." (Eph. 1:10).

In the gathering of all things together, there will be those who will still be living on the earth at the time. Just as Jesus was designated as Head of this Body, these will be known as the feet, the part of the body in contact with the earth. When the High Priest went through the Vail on the Day of Atonement, into the Holiest Place, he was barefoot. He wore no shoes. Description of the garments of the High Priest are given in detail in the Law, but no provision is made for shoes. The place where he stands is holy ground.

There are three parts of the High Priest visible as he passes through the vail, his head, his hands, and his feet. And his robe or garment hides his feet until they start walking. What a picture of the manifestation of His glory! We see it in Jesus Christ, the Head. And we see it in a glorious hand ministry in perfection. We also see it, finally, in that company of overcomers who carry the entire Body through this vail.

Head and Feet

There is a special relationship between some members of the Body. Turn to that familiar scripture in 1 Cor. 12:12-27. He plainly says here that just as our body has many members, yet is one body, so Christ is not just one man, but is made up of many. "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular."

Certain members have a special relationship with certain other members. Notice in verse 15 that the foot and hand are mentioned together. You see, the foot especially needs the hand ministry, because it is the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers that bring this foot company to perfection here on earth. Verse 16 talks about the ear and the eye, and throughout the Bible we find these two members mentioned together: "Eyes to see, and ears to hear". There is a ministry of "seeing" in the Body, revelations, visions, etc. But this ministry must be subject to the "hearing" of the Word of the Lord in order for true faith to come. Notice in verse 17 that hearing is mentioned along with smelling. There must be discernment or "smelling" in the Body in order to separate the precious from the vile, and to know the true Word of the Lord from the many voices of Babylon. "The eye cannot say to the hand (vs. 21) I have no need of thee". There are those who would say: "I am an eye in the Body. I can see the program of God, I can get my own revelations and search out truth for myself. I do not need the hand ministry". But let me declare to you, beloved, that the greater your revelations and visions, the more you need the divine government of the Body. You must be willing to submit to the ministry and authority of God anointed apostles and prophets and pastors, etc. This business of the "eye" staying at home alone and reveling in it's great revelations and vision is not in divine order, and is a dangerous thing. If a foreign object gets into the eye, it takes the hand to get it out, as rough and calloused as that hand seems to be.

The Feet are Needed

Now we come to the crux of this message. Verse 21 says that the Head (Jesus) cannot say to the Feet (a company of saints living on the earth); "I have no need of you". Col. 1:18 and Eph. 1:22 confirms that Jesus Christ is "the head of the body". In a normal birth, the head is the first and the feet are the last to be born. So it is with this Manchild, the New Creation Man. We have come to the hour when the feet are being brought forth into the fulness of His glory. But it must be done to a company of saints still living here on the earth. "We shall not all die", the apostle tells us. There is a change coming, and something is going to happen to us right here on the earth.

It is this feet company that I want to write about today. The Word is full of this truth, giving the nature, characteristics, and activities of this great people If the scriptures had so much to say concerning John the Baptist, Judas, and the first coming of Jesus, is it strange that there would be so much written about the people who come to the end of the age and bring forth the manifestation of the Sons of God? We have many times read over scriptures that spoke of the Feet, and never gave it a thought. We never realized that God was speaking to us of a company of people that we were to be a part of. Now let us open our hearts for divine revelation, and look into God's Word to see what He has to say about the Feet of this Body of Christ.

Washed from all Earthly Filth

The great need for those who live here on this earth is that they come to a life of absolute perfection and purity. There can be no true and full manifestation of His glory out of a people who are loaded with sins and bad spirits. The feet must be washed. In chapter 3 of Zechariah, we see Joshua the high priest standing before the Lord in filthy garments, and the devil standing there to accuse him. But Joshua is cleansed and made holy and able to properly minister. He is a type of that "Branch" (vs. 8) that shall come in the last days, and (vs. 9) God says He will remove the iniquity in one day. Did not Jesus say: "I am the vine, and ye are the branches"?

"I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word." (Psa. 119:101). There cannot be a full keeping of His Word until a people living on this earth have refrained from every evil way, and are walking in perfection. Someone may say: "But that is impossible". Impossible with God? He has promised it. Jesus commanded it: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect". (Matt. 5:48). The picture is given in John chapter 13 where Jesus washes the feet of His "church". Jesus warned Peter that if his feet were not washed, he would have no part in the glory of this Kingdom. He also told him that it was only the feet that needed washing. For it is just the people who live on this earth that need cleansing. There is no purgatory for the dead. The saints who have already gone on do not need a perfecting work done on them while up there in heaven. It is the ones here on the earth, the Feet, that we are concerned about getting cleansed. He will wash them, by the Word, until He refrains His "feet" from every evil way. Speaking of His church on earth in Eph. 5:26 he says: "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish". That sounds like a perfected company, doesn't it?

Washed by the Word

You see, there is to be a people in the last days who come into a greater knowledge of His Word than anyone who has walked this earth, except Jesus. Even Paul said: "Now I know in part." The part shall be done away, and the perfect shall take over. For if we are to be perfectly washed and cleansed, we need a perfect understanding of His perfect Word. This New Creation Man shall be clean, perfect, no longer bearing the image of that earthy Adam. And to bring us to that, we need a strong cleansing agent. His Word, clearly understood, is that agent. Psa. 119:105 says: "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Why not a "lamp unto my eyes"? Because God is telling us here that the part of the Body of Christ that needs the light of the Word, is that feet company that is living on the earth at the time this Body is manifested in His glory.

In Nehemiah chapter eight, we see a tremendous picture of Israel being brought into a knowledge of the Word of God. Now notice several importance things: First of all, it was taking place in the "seventh month" (verse 2), on the first day of the month. This was the time for the "blowing of the trumpet" for the Feast of Tabernacles. This is very significant. Since Passover speaks to us of Justification and Regeneration experience, and the Feast of Pentecost is symbolic of the Holy Spirit coming upon the church, the Baptism in the Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, etc., then this last great Feast of Tabernacles in the end of the year speaks to us of another great realm of the Spirit for His Church. It is the time of the fulness, the "ingathering".

It is at this time that there is a great impartation of understanding the Word. Notice also that this is a post-captivity book. That is, the remnant of Israel had come out of Babylon to rebuild the Temple and the City of God. Isn't it strange that during the 70 years the people spent in Babylon, they did not understand the word? They had the Book. But they did not receive understanding of it until they had come out of Babylon. What about the majority of Israel who had remained in Babylon? We have no record of the word being made alive to them. When Babylon fell, they fell with it. It was those who had come out of Babylon that God took into a realm of revelation of His Word. Verse 7 says: "The Levites caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the Book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." Verse one says that the people had gathered themselves as "one man". Let me say to you that until that "one man" has come out of Babylon and been gathered together "unto Him", that there will be no fulness of the word revealed, nor shall the watchmen see eye to eye. However, we are even now moving toward that place, and as a result there is a glorious light from the Word breaking upon us. We are now seeing truths that have been hidden from ages and from generations. The people wept (vs. 9) when they saw how far short they had come of God's perfect plan. But Nehemiah told them not to weep, that it was a holy day, and for them to eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to others. "The joy of the Lord is your strength" he said. And truly this is a day of joy. It is a day when His Word is coming forth in power and clarity, and the scriptures are being made alive to us. The doctrines and traditions of Babylon are being blown away as chaff before the fan, to be burned in the furnace of fire.

Teaching the Nations

Not only shall this feet company be cleansed by the washing of water by the Word, but out of them shall flow a fountain of living waters to bring life to this world. The nations shall sit at His "feet" to learn wisdom. "Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand; and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words." (Deut.33:3). We find a story of a demon possessed man in Luke chapter 8. This man represents this lost world who is ruled over by the powers of darkness. You know the story of this man of Gadara. He met Jesus, God's New Creation Man, and was delivered from the rulership of Satan. Now where did the people find this man when they came running out from the city? "Sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind." (vs. 35). This world will feel the impact of this last day New Creation Man (the harvest of Jesus the Seed). This world will be set free from the bondage of corruption, and the rulership of principalities and powers in the heavenlies. Then the world will sit at His "feet". That is, they will learn from and be governed by a people living on the earth who have come into the fulness of Christ

Turn to Luke 10:38-42, and see two women, representing two kinds of churches. One was very busy rattling pots and pans, doing works. She was on the "servant" realm, and "troubled about many things". She did not have time to "sit at His feet". And she was disturbed at those who did. "Why aren't you working to increase your Sunday School? Why can't you get busy and get some programs for your women, a fellowship for the men, and something to hold the young people? You've got to get a building fund started. You must start fighting Communism, pornography, and racial prejudice. You must join the Ministerial Alliance and start working toward ecumenical harmony. You've got to "cook up" something to show your ability as a cook." Pots and pans. Sure I believe there's a place for pots and pans. But now the Christ is here, and there is something far more important. Something eternal that shall not be taken away. All these other programs and efforts shall vanish, but there was one sitting at His feet receiving something that would never be taken away. And there is a church today willing to lay aside all programs and activity just to sit at His "feet" and learn from Him.

Feet Like Brass

Daniel saw a vision of a man (Dan. 10:5-6) whose arms and feet liken in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. What he saw was a prophetic vision of God's New Creation Man, a multitude, complete, with Christ as the Head. In the book of Revelation, the apostle John sees the same one. In chapter 1 verse 15 it says: "His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters." In Rev. 2:18 we read: "These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass." Then in Rev. 10:1 it says that his feet were as pillars of fire.

Now all these