April 2017 – Become The Sons of God

The Glory of the LORD 4/18/17

I. THREE HILLS IN JERUSALEM

After David was crowned King of all Israel he purposed to bring the Ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. Now the Ark’s re-entry into Jerusalem is marked with a strange perplexity. It was not returned to the Levites’ Tabernacle according to the commandment of Moses on Mount Moriah.

Interestingly, Jerusalem is geographically marked with three mountains. The first is the lowest called Mount Ophel. David built his palace on this broad based hill and the masses lived on its gentle slopes. It speaks of a common order of dwelling. We all share the same sinful nature. Even the kings among us will someday die as a result of sin.

The second highest peak was called Mount Moriah where the Tabernacle of Moses was set up. It was here that Abraham was instructed to offer up his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. Though prevented by God himself, the like figure speaks to us of the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus. All of Jerusalem came to Moriah’s tabernacle to receive the forgiveness of sins and peace with God by the sacrifice of animals. So too, our acceptance of Christ’s shed blood on Calvary, the sacrificial Lamb of God, cleanses us from sin and brings us into fellowship with Him. But as glorious as this tabernacle was, it only provided the promise that the curse of death would be broken. It did not provide the reality of an endless life in the here and now. Our acceptance of Christ as Savior, like Moriah, affords us the forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life. But the promise is by faith, as yet unseen.

And so it was that David took the Ark to the highest mountain in Jerusalem, Mount Zion. From this pinnacle the glory of the Lord could be seen for miles around. The ministry of Mount Moriah was surpassed by a higher order, a greater covenant. The promise of an endless life had been given in covenant with one who predated Moses and his ancestor Abraham. David took the Ark to Mount Zion to re-establish the order of Melchizedek, the royal priest who walked in the power of an endless life (Ps. 110:14).

II. MELCHIZEDEK

Now consider this man Melchizedek. Abraham met him returning from battle and gave tithe unto him (Gen. 14:18). He was without father, without mother, having neither beginning of day nor end of life (Heb. 7:3). His walk with God had ushered him into timelessness. He was called the King of Salem (Heb. 7:2). Salem means peace, hence he was the “King of Peace.” His successor would therefore be called the “Prince of Peace” over Jeru-Salem, the City of Peace. But Melchizedek was much more than a king. He is also called “Priest of the Most High God.” No one before him had been king and priest. The Levitical order of Moses and Abraham established on Mount Moriah produced no one who was both king and priest. Kings were kings and priests were priests. How could anyone govern people and yet truly minister to the Lord. Not only minister to Him but be a high priest. That means God’s closest confidant and friend is also established as king over God’s people. The most renown men of all history have laid claim to this; the Pharaohs of Egypt, the Caesars of Rome, Emperors of China and Japan. Even individuals like Nebuchadnezzar, Napoleon or Khomeni claimed to be God’s man of power for the hour. But they have all faded away with time, thus proving their claim counterfeit. No one could be both unless they were sinless and immortal. By setting the Ark to rest on Mount Zion, David has once and for all enthroned the Lord Himself as both King and Priest over His people, after the order of Melchizedek.

III. A LIGHT IN ZION

The indescribable glory of the Lord was evidenced by all the nations on Earth in Mount Zion. David describes this blessed event in a multitude of Psalms. A few are listed below.

“Great is the Lord… in the mountains of His holiness… The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king. God is known in her palaces as a refuge… The kings were assembled, they passed by together… They saw it and so they marveled… They were troubled and hasted away” (Ps. 48: 1-5).

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shinned” (Ps. 50:2).

“In Salem also is his tabernacle and his dwelling place in Zion… thou art more glorious than the mountains” (Ps. 76:2 & 4).

“The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies… Thou art forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:2 & 4).

“The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen” (Ps. 98:2).

“The Lord reigneth… he sitteth between the cherubim… the Lord is great in Zion” (Ps. 99:1 & 2).

“When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in glory” (Ps. 102:16).

“O Lord thou art great… who coverest thyself with Light as with a garment” (Ps. 104:1 & 2).

“The Lord reigneth… a fire goeth before Him and burneth up His enemies round about. His lightning enlighteneth the world, the earth saw and trembled… all the people see His glory. Zion heard and was glad… Light is sown for righteousness” (Ps. 97).

These and ALL 150 Psalms were written for and sung to the Lord God Jehovah as He ruled out of Zion. The glory the Lord shinned out of Zion all 33 years David was king of Israel. Likewise, Jesus was the expressed glory of God on earth for 33 years. As David re-established the king-priest ministry, so too is Christ the King of Kings and a High Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:5 & 6).

IV. THE GLORY OF THE LORD AND THE POWER OF AN ENDLESS LIFE HAS RETURNED

“But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the City of the Living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel” (Heb.12:22-24). Why Abel? Because His blood cried from the ground after he was murdered (Gen.4:10). But because of the work of Jesus Christ in his death, burial and resurrection, we too can walk in Resurrection Life in the here and now, a far greater inheritance that was revealed in the story of Abel… “That they without us should not be made perfect” (Heb.11:40).

Be blessed in Jesus name,
Bro Jerry Turk

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REDEEMED – WHOM HE DID FOREKNOW 4/13/17

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. (1Pet 1:18-21).

In Roman 8:29 we read, “whom He did foreknow…” which literally means, “I knew you before.” Indeed, we were in Him and with Him before the foundation of the earth (Ep 1:4). But we could not comprehend Him who is Love (1Jn 4:8). And so we descended to this time-space dimension we call earth with all it’s limitations and struggles. Ultimately each of us will be forced to accept our miserable estate and death will have it’s way (Ez 18:20, Rm 3:23, Rm 5:4).

But to demonstrate His tremendous LOVE toward us, God came to humanity in the form of a man – a state in which He pre-existed (Jn 3:16) and defeated death itself (1Cor 15:55-57). And by believing in this Jesus (Ac 16:31), who in truth is God – for in Him dwelt the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9), by accepting His work on a cruel cross (Gal 6:14), by repenting of one’s sinfulness (Lk 5:23) and committing one’s life to Him (Rm 12:1), a lost sinner can be saved and inherit Eternal Life (Rm 6:23, Rm 10:9).

Hence we are RE-DEEMED or brought back to our former glorious estate by Him who purchased our salvation by His own precious blood (1Pet 1:18-19). And not only did He conquer death but He went to hell where I was supposed to go because of my sin (Ps 16:10, Ep 4:7-10, 1Pet 3:18-20). He actually took my punishment.

This is the story of the Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11-32). We all are prodigal sons. You see, like the prodigal in Luke 15, this REDEEMING LOVE can never be truly understood unless it is lost with no hope of ever getting it back, but regained against all hope. Hence we are REDEEMED! Then love is finally and at long last understood. Indeed, God, who is Love, is understood in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (Ep 3:17-20).

Why is that necessary? So that we can enter into Oneness with Him (Jn 17:21). So that we can inherit all things (Rev 21:7a). So that we will know Him as well as He knows us (1Cor 13:12). So that we will be “filled with ALL the fullness of God” (Ep 3:19). Oneness with God is the fellowship He desires (Jn 17:21). And even a partial understanding of this love is enough to transform the vilest sinner into saint (Rm 1:7).

In this GREAT SALVATION we go from a prodigal son to a Son of God (Jn 1:12, Rev 21:7b). Yes, indeed, He is the FIRST BORN among MANY brethren (Rm 8:29).
HALLELUJAH! PRAISE HIS NAME FOREVER!

Be blessed in Jesus name,
Brother Jerry Turk

Yet Not I But CHRIST Who Lives In Me (Ga.2:20) 4/8/17

I have no disagreement with the theology of free will or free choice. However allow me to suggest that there is more beyond this view. And yet it doesn’t negate free will. It simply adds to it.

Yes, it is true that God is seeking that we submit our will to Him. Yes, the choices we make do indeed determine our destiny. Yes we are called to action. “Faith without works is dead.” However, the “more” I’m referring to is mentioned in Hebrews 6. “Leaving therefore the principles of the doctrine of Christ, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God, and of the doctrine of baptisms and of the laying on of hands and of the resurrection of the dead and of eternal judgment… Let us go on to perfection… And this we will do if God permit.” I am referring to a deeper realm in Christ that has very little to do with my choice. Not everyone will see it or be able to comprehend it.

In the Book of Acts when the seven sons of Sceva tried to cast out demons, the demons responded, “Jesus we know and Paul we know but who are you?” Can you even imagine. These demons recognized Paul on the same level that they recognize Jesus. Why? Because he was fully possessed by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why he says, “I press towards the mark of the prize of the high call of God in Christ Jesus.” Followed by, “Not as though I had attained or were already perfect.” Now most Christians leave it here without reading the next verse. Here comes the Revelation. Boldly he states, “As many of us as are perfect be thus minded.” In other words as many of us who are perfect act as though you had not attained.” Be like Jesus who was the Son of God yet referred to himself as the Son of Man. Paul is calling those who are perfect to walk in humility.

We might ask, how was that call of God on Paul demonstrated? Scripture informs us that he was stoned three times and left for dead. Were the Jews in his day so stupid that they couldn’t tell if somebody was dead or not? Of course they could. They used huge stones and bashed his brains out all over the road, after which he simply got up and continued to preach the gospel. That’s why he says “I’ve been in deaths oft” or literally died many times. He was thrown to beasts at Ephesus. Yes, he was thrown to lions and tigers and bears, oh my. He was devoured. And yet, once again he got up and continued to preach the gospel. He says he spent a day and a half in the deep. Mind you this was before there was scuba gear. He even told the Galatians that he was in a straight betwixt two. In other words he was caught in indecision. He boldly states he wanted to go home to be with the Lord but for their sakes and their need for the mystery of the gospel he decided to remain.

Please do not confuse the preaching of the gospel with the mystery of the gospel. Yes there is indeed a mystery associated with the gospel. It is not simply a reference to the fact that the Old Testament was now understood in the person of Jesus. To the Ephesians he states that 1) after that you believed, and 2) after that you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, 3) he ceased not to pray for them night and day that the eyes of their understanding be enlightened that they might know the hope of their calling. He goes on to explain to these born-again, Spirit filled believers their need for the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him. Imagine their need for something greater than salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Unless you begin to understand that God is calling a people at the end of this age to a perfect walk you will not get it. “The whole creation is groaning and travailing in pain even until now for the manifestation of the Sons of God.” Most people are waiting for the Antichrist, the Rapture or the Return of King Jesus from the clouds. Instead, Jesus is calling us to Resurrection Life in the here and now. He states, “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believes in me, though he were dead yet shall he live.” (John 11:25) Most of us are aware of this fact after we got saved. But pay careful attention to the other half of the verse. “And whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die.” So apparently it is possible to achieve immortality in this lifetime in the here and now, like Enoch, or like Elijah, or like Jesus, or like Paul.

So yes of course I am talking about total possession. However I am not talking about the annihilation of the soul. We thought that when we get saved we would have to give up everything. Instead we found out who we really were and we got rid of a lot of baggage that wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place. Unfortunately, we thought that baggage was our identity. Now that we are saved we realize our identification is found in Christ. The same is true after we were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Who wants to be a holy roller, a fanatic or as evangelicals put it, an emotional heretic. But again as we submitted to him, died a little more to self, and more of who we really are became obvious.

Redeemed means to be brought back. It is God’s intention to fully redeem us and to fully bring us back to that place where we were when we were “in him and with him before the foundation of the earth.” Scripture is clear, “Whom he did foreknow, them also he did predestinate etc.” So I’m not challenging you in your belief as a free moral agent. To do the work of an evangelist choices are critical. But I believe that God is calling every blood bought, born again, spirit filled believer to see the hope of their calling especially in this hour, “that you might know as you are known,” that “you might have the mind of Christ.” And as hard as it is to believe, this was the deepest desire of our Lord Jesus when he prayed in the garden, “That they may be one as thou father art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”

I pray that this message has encouraged believers to seek a revelation of the high call of God. Be blessed in Jesus name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU9Pi4g_3No&feature=share

Wisdom and Revelation 4/8/17

One day, without so much as a warning, I received the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him according to Ephesians 1:17. Now I had received Christ as Savior in childhood and at 18, I was baptized in the Holy Ghost. Thereafter, as far as I was concerned, there were no more comparable experiences. I simply needed to “run the race with patience looking unto Jesus…” Man, did I ever get the shock of my life.

I recall receiving this Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation after I had been fervently praying for a closer walk, greater intimacy, etc. But I didn’t expect a visitation that occured in an instant, one that would turn my evangelical/pentecostal theology upside down. Of course I shared my experience, but only those that received it by revelation understood. To all others I was a heretic. Later I discovered that this experience was well documented and that many had also recieved it just as I had.

First I read Watchman Nee’s “Sit, Walk, Stand.” Then “Spiritual Torrents” by Madame Guyon. Of course this was followed by many who were labeled cultists from the “Latter Rain Movement.” In fact, just as I had been physically escorted out of the Baptist church of my family because the preacher found out I spoke in tongues, I was also kicked out of the Assembly of God because they understood I had come into what they called “Sonship.” In fact, the Assemblies had even defrocked their Superintendent, Bill Britton after he published his now famous volume, “Christ the Pattern Son.”

Others I read included Hawtin and Warnock. I started going to Pinecrest Bible Training Center while Wade Taylor was alive and was greatly reaffirmed. I should also tell you that when I first heard of this as a strange new doctrine I outright rejected it as heretical. I never, in a million years would have expected a visitation from Christ that would so radically change, not just my Christian views but my relationship with Him as well. I only share some of these issues and my experience because awareness of Sonship is at the core of where Christ so challenged me and altered my thinking.

I can’t say if this is the theology of Joseph Prince, TD Jakes, Heidi Baker, Rick Joiner or Sid Roth. Some of what they preach makes me think they too have received the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. But I don’t follow TV ministries much anymore. At 62 I’m simply too busy with several hundred patients in a private practice and various clinics where I treat refugees or abused children. For an understanding about some aspects of what was revealed to me see my post entitled “Yet not I but Christ who lives in me.” In any event, perhaps you might be inclined to pray about it. Regardless of your thoughts about what I have shared, the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ be with you.

With Great Longing 4/4/17

With great longing we wait for Him, His presence. His overshadowing that is and always has been marked by an unmistakable entrance.

Unfortunately, many Christian circles in which I have traveled consider an experience with Christ non-essential; or worse yet, it is considered a counterfeit from the enemy… a self induced, emotionally-hypnotic trance-like-state confirmed by goose bumps. Some even call it self hypnosis. Or, if in a crowd, it is called mass hypnosis. Instead, to these, Christ is reduced to a verbal affirmation spoken in a quasi-guttural, semi-suburban dialect which sounds something like “uh-huh” or “yeaaah.” They essentially mean that one only needs to mentally ascended to a prescribed religious rhetoric and thereby be called Christian.

But, thank God, some are not deceived. For the believer who asks, seeks and knocks, nothing less than His abiding presence will suffice. Only after we have tasted of Him do we know this to be true. What is even more exciting to me is that the waiting is almost over. In fact, have you noticed that when you pray now He answers immediately or at least much sooner than ever before?

So then, we stand on the edge of Kingdom Living, where time will no longer be the deciding factor of truth. Eliminate from your thinking the axiom “Time Will Tell.” Instead, Jesus Reveals. He is the Truth. What we now wait for is that “We might be filled with ALL the fullness of God” (Eph.3:19). He longs to fill us with Himself. I pray we are so moved to agree with His desire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pMfLbk7bkg&feature=youtu.be

Fire of God falls on young people the Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival