Tag Archives: truthpressure
The Only Faith that Works!
Share this:
Posted in Christianity, Faith
Tagged E.W. Kenyon, easy to understand bible lessons, faith, faith works by love, god kind of faith, how faith works, how faith works by Love, inspiration, sermon on faith, small group study, the law of faith, Truth Pressure, Truth Pressure Ministries, truthpressure, word of faith, youth group study
Itching Ears; Why YOU might have them.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
This is more evident in our society today than ever before. We have unqualified teachers in abundance. They regurgitate others’ teachings without personal revelation. This results in an exchange of information without impartation. There is no demonstration of truth without impartation. This is one reason we don’t see the supernatural power of God in our services like we should.
Matthew 23:9-10 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.
That may seem contradictory. The Lord Jesus gave us teachers in the form of the “five-fold ministry gifts” mentioned in Ephesians 4. However, it is not contradictory. All the five-fold ministry gifts have one purpose: to equip the saints for the work of ministry. All five gifts teach differently. These teachings must be filtered through our relationship with God and His written word.
1 John 2:26-27 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
Suppose we believe false doctrine out of ignorance. Regardless of our intention, we partner with the adversary in leading us into deception. Our wrong beliefs build strongholds of wrong thinking and wrong believing. By believing lies, we assist the enemy in his deceptions and help him build the strongholds that he hides behind. Unfortunately, most of us fall for this deception at one time or another.
Strongholds are not only reinforced belief systems. They are defensive positions in our minds. The enemy hides behind them to wage war. This ensures we stay trapped in wrong thinking and wrong believing. When we speak and act on our wrong beliefs, we reinforce the stronghold. One of the ways Satan keeps us deceived is by separating us from the rest of the flock. He keeps running in the same circle of people who believe like us. He then makes us despise and ridicule the beliefs of other denominations. Denominational divisions were never God’s plan (1 Corinthians 3 ). Now they are an effective tool the enemy uses against us to keep us divided.
To enjoy true freedom in Christ, we must be very selective about what we hear. We must be particular about who we listen to and how much we do it. We should also be very selective about what we watch. Our eyes and ears are receptors for our hearts. What we see and hear has either positive or negative effects on our hearts and minds.
Do you spend a lot of time watching and listening to TV shows with violence and cursing? Do these shows also include sexual innuendo and lies as entertainment? How many hours a day do you spend watching television or surfing the web? How about social media? All of these things contribute to you having itching ears, and they ALL can hinder your spiritual growth.
Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
In comparison, how much time do you spend in God’s word a day? I’m not talking about going to Church or reading a book about the Bible. I’m not talking about you listening to preachers and teachers spoon-feed you their opinions on the Bible. I mean YOU reading and/or listening to the Bible yourself.
1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
Peter says in verse 1 to lay aside these things. We constantly see and hear these things on TV, and they are poisoning us. The same poison is also present in all other forms of media. In verse 2, he tells us to desire the sincere milk of the word like newborn babes. Newborns cry out for milk 8 to 12 times a day. They need constant nourishment to keep them healthy and growing. What if you fed that same newborn poison 8 to 12 times a day? Would that child be healthy?
A robust relationship with God through His written Word is essential. It is the only way to skillfully discern sound teaching. Truth becomes obscured when we fill our hearts and minds with the things of this world.
Ask yourself, and ask God: Am I truly abiding in God’s word? Or am I just reading the latest books and listening to the latest sermons? Do I really desire the sincere milk of the word? Do I crave a self-serving gospel that doesn’t challenge me? One that doesn’t strengthen me for trials and testing? Am I comfortable in my Christianity?
If you are not hungry for God’s Word, you haven’t read it enough. Spiritual hunger comes from eating spiritual food, not starving yourself. God’s word is spiritual food. God’s Word is incorruptible seed. God’s Word is light and life!
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Spiritual growth demands more than just passive consumption of teachings or fleeting moments spent in religious activity. It requires a deliberate, daily pursuit of God’s Word. This pursuit creates a hunger that transforms the heart and mind. It breaks down strongholds of deception and division.
The world will continue to offer countless distractions. Only the living Word of God can discern your deepest thoughts and intentions. It guides you into truth and freedom.
Now is the time to act. Make a decision to guard your heart with diligence. Be intentional about what you watch, listen to, and believe. Set aside the noise of the world and the opinions of others. Immerse yourself in scripture. Nourish your spiritual appetite with the sincere milk of God’s holy, written Word. Avoid the empty calories of culture.
Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.
JESUS IS COMING!
Share this:
Posted in Christianity
Tagged Bible, Christianity, easy bible lessons, faith, free from false doctrines, God, How can I tell if I have itchy ears?, identifying false doctrine, inspiration, Jesus, pride and humility, sermon on itching ears, spiritual discipline, spiritual warfare, the devil exposed, truth about lies, Truth Pressure, Truth Pressure Ministries, truthpressure, what is a stronghold?, what is itching ears?
A Vision of the End: JESUS IS COMING!
This account resulted from several visions and prophetic experiences I had around the end of July and the beginning of August 2021. This is a warning to the Body of Christ for this season. I have struggled with posting this. These visions and experiences came with strong personal correction as well as great encouragement from the Lord. When the correction and discipline felt overwhelming, He provided comfort and encouragement by revealing different aspects of His Love I was not familiar with and showing me how much He loves me.
These encounters challenged my beliefs and changed my views on many things. I pray that only His truth will be revealed in this, not my ideas. Amen.
I take this seriously. I have no agenda other than trying my best to obey the Lord. My goal is to adequately steward what He has given me. There is plenty that I don’t yet understand. Please read this prayerfully. Trust the Spirit of God in you. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The seventh trumpet (the LAST trumpet) marks the beginning of the “Day of the Lord.” That Great Day is not a single day as we would understand it. I don’t know how long it is. It seemed to be under a year after the seventh trumpet started to blow.
Here is a portion of what I saw play out at the trumpet blast. This came from several experiences over nine days.
The Lord showed me that the “Elect” referred to in the book of Revelation are the ones chosen to be alive in the generation when Jesus returns. Christians view this season of time as a period of darkness and great despair. Heaven sees it as a magnificent time in human history. To be clear, the Elect refers to the Church and the 144000 Jews combined. Both groups of people have the high honor of going through the greatest tribulation the world has ever seen and shining through it all, bringing God great glory. It is one of the greatest honors ever given to man. The entire Host of Heaven and the great cloud of witnesses are wide-eyed in anticipation of seeing this Revelation of Jesus Christ play out. I was shocked when He showed me this because I was taught for decades the doctrine of a pre-tribulation rapture. It’s not happening.
The Word of the Lord came to me and said:
“The greatest outpouring of my Spirit the world has ever seen will only come with great tribulation. If my people are not braced and prepared for what’s coming, they are far more likely to mishandle the anointing and be crushed by the trials.”
Much of the Church has been praying for revival and the outpouring of the Spirit as promised in scripture. Tribulation comes with it—the greater the tribulation, the more incredible the outpouring.
The Lord revealed to me that one of the purposes of saving the 144000 is for God’s righteous judgment on Israel and those who refused to repent before the last trumpet begins to blow.
Revelation 10:7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
This 7th trumpet blast lasts for a long, long time. We see in Revelation 10 that the trumpet blast lasts for “days.” It lasted for months, from what I could tell from the visions and images I saw. Once the last trumpet starts to blow, the Lord hardens all unbelievers like He did Pharaoh. Immediately, the demons on Earth will attach themselves to the hardened people. Once the last trumpet starts to blow, there will be no more “salvation’s” for the Gentiles—only the saving of the 144000.
In a separate vision, the Lord showed me the mystery of “the restrainer,” which I wrote about as well in a separate post. The restrainer has to do with the number of the Gentiles being fulfilled. The restrainer is not the Holy Spirit, nor the Church, as I had been taught previously. It is a mighty angel.
Just before the trumpet blast, or possibly at the same time, (I couldn’t tell) God marks the 144000 on their foreheads. This is not seen in their physical bodies. They are marked in the spirit realm so that all demons are acutely aware of who they are. The mark brings great terror to the demons. God does this to protect His Remnant. The 144000 are His remnant.
The 144000 are marked but not yet saved. Demonized people will flee in terror when they get too close to one of them; at this time, almost all people are demonized to some degree, even a large portion of the Church.
I saw crowds of demonized people watching those marked on their foreheads in terror from a distance. They kept their distance because the demons in them would not let them get too close. They didn’t understand why they were so afraid of these people, and the 144000 were also perplexed at why this was happening. In the beginning, the 144000 are not even aware they are marked. They don’t yet understand who they are because none of them has been born again yet. This goes on for what seems to be about a month and a half to two months. There is great confusion and turmoil throughout the Earth. Great terror fills the people as Satan pours out his wrath on mankind, causing people to turn inward and act like brute beasts.
The 144000 will be devout Jewish men who deny that Christ is the Messiah. They will sincerely love God, but not according to knowledge. God’s great love and mercy toward these individuals is seemingly tangible. He takes them and marks them with His name to protect them. The Lord told me they represent the original natural branches that were cut off from the Vine so the Gentiles could be grafted in. They will be grafted back into the olive root. The Lord emphasized to me again that this is His Remnant.
The 144000 will be spared from Satan’s full wrath and be tormented by only a few specific demons of doubt and confusion during the tribulation, but they will never be threatened with death. I perceived that Satan somehow has a unique strategy for deceiving the 144000 and will vigorously attack their minds. Somehow, he can torment their thoughts without getting close to them. I did not understand this strategy, but their torment will continue until every last one of the 144000 confesses Jesus as Lord.
The Lord showed me that through Christ’s name alone is the only way into Heaven, and God won’t violate His word, chosen Remnant or not. They ALL must confess Jesus as Lord, and Christ’s return is held back until they all confess Him as Lord.
The 144000 will have one of the highest places of honor in Heaven. As soon as one of them is born again, God imparts a supernatural revelation of their identity that far surpasses anything the Church has attained in history. They will understand who they are in Christ, far beyond what even the apostle Paul understood. They will understand mercy and grace like we never have. The Lord’s love for His Remnant is overwhelming to the 144000. They realize that they had absolutely nothing to do with their salvation. The humility this Revelation births in them is a beautiful thing to see, yet impossible to describe. They understand that the last shall be first, and they realize they are the last.
This incredible process of saving all of the 144000 Jews would take a few months. They will continue to suffer in the great tribulation, and the Church will suffer with them. The Elect will be the “gold tried in the fire.” The 144000 will watch the Church being tried, tested, tortured, abused, and killed while going through the process I will describe now. Some of the most remarkable testimonies and God’s greatest glory will come from these last-day Saints. Some of the most privileged positions in Heaven are reserved for these Elect Saints.
The 144000 are born again
I was allowed to see the first man of the 144000 Jews come to believe in Jesus and give his heart to the Lord. I saw darkness leave him like a physical thing, fleeing as the light of God exploded in his heart. I saw the incredible burden of suffering and deception lifted from him, the light that came into his eyes, the expression on his face. Anyone looking on could tell that he was completely free, freer than anyone I had ever known or seen. This was a different kind of human. I knew that nothing would hurt him or move him from his belief. He was born again, yet he did not have to walk out his salvation as we do. His sinful nature was utterly silenced, and the carnal man was crucified entirely. He was clothed in Christ completely and had an air of royalty about him. His presence alone demanded respect.
His Revelation of son-ship was complete from the start. Love seemed to be perfected in him at his conversion. It was the greatest eye-opening, ah-ha moment I have ever witnessed. It turned him into a pillar of faith and hope for all of the Church. My thought was, this is what Adam was like before his fall, or like Jesus was when He walked the Earth. He seemed to carry his own atmosphere with him, but I soon realized that the atmosphere I was sensing was a tangible manifestation of the kingdom of God. You could sense great spiritual authority when around one of the Remnant. For the demonized people, this produced terror. For believers, it was very attractive, even addictive
It was like God imparted an understanding and maturity into him from the start. Still, at the same time, he had an air of incredible child-likeness about him. It was apparent he had complete and absolute trust in the One who just saved him. This experience is similar for every one of the 144000.
Once converted, each one understands that the rest of the 144000 must be found and converted quickly. They begin to seek out others who have experienced demonized people running from them, and the salvation conversions increase rapidly.
Every one of the Remnant has this incredible, spectacular experience of awakening to new life. Each conversion is a unique and dramatic event for the individual and for all those who witness this born-again experience. The Church and the 144000 marvel at every conversion and watch the transformations with great anticipation. All of Heaven echoes the celebration with an energy and enthusiasm that is marvelous to witness. Heaven and Earth celebrate every conversion like it’s the most remarkable event in the history of man because, in God’s eyes, it is.
I sit here and weep at the beauty of all this and the conviction of my own heart for taking salvation for granted. I watched my three sons being born and was privileged to experience the crazy emotions, the anticipation, and the incredible joy of each birth. As great as those moments were, they pale in comparison to what I saw at the conversions of the 144000. Life is to be celebrated, and we haven’t begun to understand that.
It seemed to only take a few months from that first confession of Jesus to the final one of the 144000 to believe. The urgency of the 144000 is fueled by the Revelation of who they are in Bible prophecy and the anticipation of each conversion event. The Church will also catch the Revelation of who the 144000 are and help find the rest of the Remnant.
They begin to keep a rough head count on these incredible conversions as much as possible, which quickly becomes a hunt for the last man. They know that God will come for His Bride when the last of the 144000 is born again. The Revelation of son-ship for 144000 becomes a great encouragement to the Church and births great faith for those believers who are being persecuted for Christ.
I saw many prominent ministers with multiple private jets. They will be a big part of the network that tracks down and finds the last of the 144000 scattered throughout the Earth. They are a part of God’s end-time plan. God allows the deception of the so-called prosperity gospel as a part of His grand plan. Somehow, God has this complex infrastructure prepared that we are not even aware of yet. His strategies will become evident to all very soon. During the tribulation, there will be a progressive unveiling of who God is to the world. I am talking about how He thinks, how He sees us, and a revealing of His great love that will overwhelm all who believe. It will bring hope and strength to many who are weak.
The Lord revealed this passage to me as I wrote some of this.
Jeremiah 50:4 “In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, the people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, weeping as they come, and they shall seek the Lord their God.
The Seventh Trumpet blast is a physically audible sound and continues for months, driving the demonized people mad. Everyone on Earth will hear it. The Elect will recognize the trumpet for what it is. It will be a sound of hope to those who have the Spirit. The sound of that continual trumpet blast strengthens the Church to walk through the fire of tribulation. The long trumpet blast seems to be an expression of God’s great mercy to the Bride of Christ so that she can strengthen herself to “love not her own life unto death.”
The unity of the Faith will be accomplished during this time. We can only prepare for it on this side of the trumpet. It is the bride without spot or wrinkle that He is returning for. This unity empowers the Church with such strength and resolve that they become the greatest army the world has ever seen, fully clothed in God’s armor, unchangeable, unmovable. There will be many glorious deaths for the Church, and some of the most significant rewards in Heaven will be granted to them.
It is God’s great love and mercy that started this. It will be His great Love and compassion that finishes it. We are here for His good pleasure and were made for that purpose.
The world will witness the 144000 loving and serving God and hate them for it, but won’t be able to kill them because of the names on their foreheads.
They will walk the Earth virtually untouchable. They can’t be killed. Some will try to kill them from a distance, but God continually brings strong delusions on the attackers, and their weapons and plans will turn against them. The hardened, demonized masses will label them as aliens, and many unbelievers will begin to worship them.
For others, every negative thing happening on the planet will be blamed on the 144000. They will stand out as a people radically different and unique, and they will model the royalty that we were all created to be from the beginning. The 144000 can’t be killed, so Satan pours his wrath out on the Church instead. The spirit of accusation will pour forth on the Church as Satan’s bitterness, anger, and great rage will increase on the unbelievers.
I have seen some of the terrible things we must face, and I will not share them; however, the more He shows me, the more excited I become. We can bring Him such great glory in these times, shining bright for His great name in the middle of the tribulation. This is where faith shines the brightest. I now see how blessed we are to live in these times. It is such a high honor. I welcome it with anticipation and the fear of the Lord. I know that it is only by His grace that I can see it this way.
The Church is currently in a season of correction. We must all judge ourselves and allow the Holy Spirit to correct and adjust us so we can become the bride without spots or wrinkles. Somehow, I understood that He is responsible for our great faith. We honestly can do nothing but cooperate and yield to the great potter. It will take great faith just to remain pliable clay.
When Abraham sent his servant to find a bride for Isaac, the child of promise, he showered her with gifts to prepare her to meet the bridegroom. Our Father will do the same thing with the bride of Christ. This is the outpouring we’ve been praying for all these years. It is these incredible gifts that the Father will pour out on the Church so that she shines her brightest in the darkest time in human history. The Father will get great glory, and some of the most significant rewards in Heaven will be given to those who overcome during this time. WE ARE BLESSED!!
There are three prevailing doctrines on the rapture and when it takes place. Before these experiences, I believed in a pre-tribulation rapture for over 30 years. Not anymore. He showed me how it was a doctrine of devils that we have been deceived with to keep us from being prepared for what is coming. The Lord has confirmed everything He has shown me in His word. It is actually very simple. We have to make things very complicated to believe in a pre-trib rapture.
The rapture won’t happen until the last of the Remnant confesses Jesus as Lord. I believe this will happen a little less than a year after the last trumpet starts to blow, about 4.5 years into the tribulation from what He has shown me. The instant the last of the Remnant believes in Jesus, we will be caught up together with Him in the twinkling of an eye. As we disappear, the trumpet stops. This is what the Lord meant when He said the days would be shortened for the Elect’s sake. After the catching away the Earth is in great darkness, awaiting the wrath of God for 1000 years
People think the tribulation is the wrath of God. It is not. It is the wrath of man and the wrath of the enemy. God’s wrath only lasts for a brief moment, and we are not appointed to that.
Satan’s final act of vengeance, after his 1000-year imprisonment, is to use the people left on Earth to fight the final battle against the Lord, but that will be a quick fight. Faith has already won the victory. That is all I will say about that.
In 2017 the Lord corrected me about reading too many books about the Bible. He interrupted me while I was reading a book by a famous Christian author and specifically told me to “stop eating leavened bread.” (He was referring to reading books about the Bible) He clarified that I was only to read the Bible and call no man on Earth my teacher. (Matthew 23:8-10) This is my conviction, and I am not implying this is God’s will for everyone. I have been faithful to that instruction, and I believe that simple act of obedience opened the door for some of these things to be revealed. I don’t feel the need to be right about any of this; I am just trying my best to obey Him.
Many of the things He showed me were strategies of Satan to deceive God’s people. The primary way Satan is deceiving God’s people is by flooding the Earth with diverse teachings about the Bible. This has led people to seek and prefer the instructions of men. As a result, God’s people have abandoned a personal, intimate relationship with the Father and forsaken studying the Bible for themselves. This has led us to become the Church with itchy ears described in 2 Timothy.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
Consider this: A slow reader can read through the Bible in 100 hours or less. We can listen to the Bible being read to us in less than 80 hours. This alone tells us how little we value the Bible and how much we neglect His written word. That being said, I have a healthy and growing respect for the word of God, and I post this in fear of the Lord.
The 7th trumpet is the LAST one. There will not be another.
These are just some of the events that I saw transpire at the last trumpet, at least the ones that I am fairly clear on. I believe God is preparing us for what is coming.
All experiences and revelations should be judged. Please seek the Lord for yourself on these things. I would not share this unless I believed He wanted me to. I do this with a trembling heart. I am sure I don’t understand all of this completely, but I am just relaying what I saw.
I have shared this with leaders and ministers I respect. I have confirmation from some; others have rejected this word and me. Some wouldn’t even have a conversation with me when I reached out for help to process these encounters. I’m not crazy, and don’t feel the need to be right about this, but I know God is right, and I am not going to argue with Him.
If I am wrong, I sincerely want to know. If I am right, we need to strengthen ourselves for what is coming.
Here are links to other visions and experiences that are tied to this one:
A Vision of End Time Events: The Restrainer
End Time Vision: The Last Great Outpouring
JESUS IS COMING!
Thank you for visiting Truth Pressure Ministries. Please share and help reach more people with the
Share this:
Who Do You Think You Are? Identity 101
Do you see yourself as the sum-total of your life experiences up to this point, or do you see yourself as God sees you? Do you see yourself as you currently appear to be, or how God has made you to be through the blood of Christ?
We must close the gap between how we see ourselves and how God sees us. The closer we get to His vision and view of who we are, the more Christlike we will become.
This teaching explores our identity in Christ. Knowing who we are is the foundation for effective ministry and balanced spiritual growth. We are saved by believing in Jesus, but we are set free when we think and believe like Jesus. Understanding our new identity grounds our understanding of who we are in God’s eyes, rather than relying on our own fallen experience or worldly opinions to dictate who we are. The truth is, our identity in Christ is so radically different than what we know about ourselves that it seems almost impossible to believe.
Our past life and experiences have a loud voice. And yet, in Christ, our past life is dead. Our sinful nature is dead. Even though we see the fruit of our fallen nature manifesting itself in our lives, we are to consider ourselves dead to it. This requires a faith that few Christians have attained, and yet it is a vital part of the good news of the gospel.
Who we are is determined by what we believe, not necessarily how we act. What we believe is subject to change according to what voice we allow to speak the loudest in our lives. We must all come to the place as believers where God’s Word has the final authority on what we believe about ourselves. To do this, we must practice hearing His voice more than all other voices. If we practice this, how we act will change. This can be a real challenge in this day and age.
It is only by faith that we can embrace the reality of our new identity in Christ. We will never figure it out rationally; we simply must accept what God said to be true. It sounds easy, but without renewing our minds, it is impossible.
Identity by Faith
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
What does Justified mean to you?
In the Bible, “justified” refers to being declared righteous in the sight of God, not based on one’s own merits, but through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s a legal term, implying that God, as the divine judge, acquits the sinner and accepts them as righteous because of their belief in Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
Peace with God in this context is a profound spiritual state of reconciliation and restored relationship to our Heavenly Father. Jesus made a way back to the Father
It is important to note that “peace with God” is different from “the peace of God”. Peace with God refers to the fundamental change in a person’s access to, and relationship with God, while peace of God describes the present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit within the believer that assures us of our salvation, and leads and guides us by the unction of Christ’s Spirit. The Peace of God can only be experienced by those who have Peace with God. John 14:27
Did Jesus die FOR you? Or AS YOU?
Technically, Jesus died for the Father. He died AS YOU.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
What does it mean to be a new creature in Christ?
Do you have to feel like a new creature before you start believing it?
No! We are not to be moved by feelings
What are the “Old things that have passed away”?
Our carnal nature, old habits, old sins, old behaviors, and old mindsets.
How can you tell that they have passed away?
Only by faith. Because God said so. If we will just believe it and take God’s word for it, it will soon begin to bear the fruit of that belief in our lives.
It’s not about ceasing the outward actions of sinning but changing one’s belief about sin itself and dying to the fallen nature that we inherited through Adam. Actions follow what we believe.
John 12:23-25 But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Romans 6:1-6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
What does “our old man was crucified with Him” mean to you?
What does it mean for us to die to sin?
The phrase “You’re dead to me” indicates extreme rejection and complete emotional detachment. It signifies that you no longer consider the person to be a part of your life, intending to end all interaction. For all intents and purposes, that person no longer exists. Most people have not died to sin. They live sin consciously, not really conscious of their adopted position as righteous sons and daughters.
Romans 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We Must Fight for Our Identity Because Satan is fighting to keep us from embracing it.
Spiritually speaking, we are in a war, but what are we fighting for? Who and what are we fighting against? Where do the battles take place when fighting this war? These are questions we all must answer for ourselves if we are to have any chance of victory.
People are not our enemy. I know it can seem so at times. People will inevitably come against us, but they are being motivated and used by spiritual beings and forces that can’t normally be seen with the human eye. Our battle is spiritual. Spiritual warfare is not a conflict between men but warfare against a spiritual realm that relentlessly influences the thoughts and values of mankind. There are unseen spiritual beings and spiritual forces on Earth that are determined to persuade men to think and believe anything other than the truth.
Satan and all of the evil spirits that are under his control fight against people to prevent them from accepting Jesus as their savior and Lord. If he loses that battle, he then shifts his focus to fighting against the discovery of who we are in Christ Jesus. He attacks our identity. Our mind is where the battles take place, and our souls (mind, will, and emotions) are Satan’s target.
He can’t gain governance of our souls in a fair fight, and he knows it. He has already been defeated. So, he must use deception, distractions, and subtle manipulation to trick us into handing over our souls willingly. History tells us that he has been very successful in this tactic.
We mature as Christians only to the level that our identity is understood and our souls are sanctified. Satan works overtime to prevent that from happening. Our soul is his ultimate target because the condition of our soul determines the source of our identity.
If the devil can shake us in our faith, he can make us question and even doubt our identity. He tries to keep us at a certain level of immaturity to prevent us from ever discovering who we are in Christ. It requires a developed faith to maintain our identity. However, even mature Saints can be deceived into letting go of their convictions and dropping their shield of faith. When faith is weak, our strength is small.
Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.
Faith is not a tool for us to get our needs met, our bodies healed, our bank accounts full, or bail us out of trouble. Faith is a perspective. It is a very narrow way of seeing, thinking, believing, behaving, and speaking. It is impossible to please God without this perspective.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
It pleases God when we fight for what He has done for us.
Our primary call, once we are born again, is to be renewed in our minds and sanctified in our souls. Our spiritual growth and progress depend on our soul’s sanctification. We are triune beings created in the image of God. We are a spirit being. We have a soul, and we dwell in a physical body. The soul (mind, will, and emotions) is the seat of authority in our three-part being. It makes up our personality and is the seat of our God given sovereignty. Our ability to say “NO” to God proves that we are sovereign.
Man was designed by God to be completely governed by the spirit, not the soul. When man ate of the tree, sin entered the world, and man then became governed by his soul. God gives us the Holy Spirit at the new birth. When we submit our souls completely to the will of the Holy Spirit, we return to His original design. The soul always has, and will always have, the final say over our spirit and body. This is why we must cast the crown of our sovereignty at God’s feet daily and say, “not my will, but yours be done.” As our soul goes, so does our walk with Christ.
The Holy Spirit will not force or coerce us into submission. He will patiently wait until we choose to submit our souls willingly. Without a submitted soul, we will never fully understand our true identity and will be unable to fulfill all that God has called us to do and become. This is why spiritual growth must be our top priority.
The sanctification of our souls is not simply an academic process where we study and acquire knowledge. Sanctification is about transformation, and this is a lifelong pursuit. Sanctification occurs more rapidly in the context of communion and intimacy with the Father. Intimacy with God is the greatest catalyst for discovering our identity and facilitating our transformation into Christlikeness. Satan hates it when we discover that we can have intimacy with God. He fears it, he hates it, and he will send every distraction available to keep us from it.
Think of the impact of having a soul completely submitted to the voice and direction of the Holy Spirit. A soul living in constant communion and awareness of God’s indwelling presence. At this point, the soul will cease to be only a battlefield. It will become fertile ground where divine thoughts and supernatural creativity can flourish. A place where obedience becomes our joy, and rivers of living water pour forth from us and impact the world around us for God’s glory.
Are you a SINNER or a SAINT?
We can’t be both. If we try to be both, we are double-minded and we are trying to serve two masters.
1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
Do you believe that you are a part of Christ’s body? Is Christ’s body unholy? Does Christ’s body sin?
Does Christ sin? Can He sin? Has He ever sinned? Can any part of His body sin?
1 John 3:8-9 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Are you of the devil? Is Christ of the devil? What about your fallen nature?
If we are a part of His body, we can’t sin because we have incorruptible seed dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ, the incorruptible seed.
Romans 7:16-20 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Notice that Paul does not identify with his fallen nature because that old man is dead. He understands that Jesus died AS THAT MAN. That sinful man is no longer who he is, even though he may see evidence of it in his life. We need to be firmly secure in our new identity in Christ, just like Paul is showing us.
We must “reckon ourselves” dead to the fallen nature even though we are still tied to it while we live on the Earth.
Romans 6:8-11 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
What does it mean to reckon yourself dead to sin? (Believe, consider, treat it as dead.)
Why is this so hard to believe? Because it sure doesn’t look like that old man is dead. It is hard to believe because we have a fallen tendency to walk by sight and not by faith.
2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.
Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Thank you for visiting Truth Pressure Ministries. Please share and help reach more people with the truth.
JESUS IS COMING!
