Authority of His Word*

Last week's message dealt with removing the leaven of sin from our lives, especially as Passover approaches. One of the leavens that Jesus warned against was "the leaven of the Pharisees". The Pharisees were so caught up in legalism, that they could not see the Living Word in front of them: their Messiah, Jesus. Instead of the Word of God being the letter to us, it must become living to us. The One who IS the Word taught this: "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth (Greek word poieo meaning: to make, construct, to be the author of a thing, to produce, bring forth, to make a thing out of something) them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayngs of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it".... the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Mt. 7:24-29). To do the Word of God, as Jesus pointed out, produces something that is indestructible. God's Word is productive. God spoke, and it was created. When we speak His Word (not our own), led by the Holy Spirit (not our own spirit), we speak in HIS authority (not our own), and God honors His Word. The people noticed when Jesus spoke the Word, He spoke with authority. This made Him different from their religious teachers. Solomon wrote: "Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What doest thou?" (Eccl. 8:4). The Word of a King is powerful and uncontestable. We also speak the Word of the King, in His authority when led by the Spirit, and it is powerful. The prophet Jeremiah was heartbroken because of those who misrepresent themselves as ones who speak the Word of the LORD, but they do not. It disturbed Jeremiah "because of the words of his holiness" (Jer. 23:9). The LORD told Jeremiah that He judged the prophets and the priest, their wickedness found in His house, to be profane. He said that they were adulterous. These prophets, said the LORD, "speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD." (v. 16). These false prophets were speaking peace and safety when, instead, the judgment of the LORD was about to fall. He told the true prophet who dreams and has the Word of the LORD to bring it forth faithfully. The LORD describes His true Word this way, "Is not my word like as a fire?...and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in peices?" (v. 29). We sometimes speak our own words in His name, and expect God to honor them. The LORD calls this adulterous and profane. The LORD described the power of His Word, and the heights of His thoughts to the prophet Isaiah, as He called His people to return to Him: "Let the wicked forsake his way; and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isa. 55:7-9). The LORD continued to say that in the same manner as the rain and snow come from heaven to water the earth and bring forth the bud, and the seed, and the bread..."So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." (v. 11). God's Word does, makes, produces, accomplishes, in the same manner as Jesus described those who hear His Words, and DO them. Jesus told His disciples that they were to determine not to think and plan ahead the words that they will speak, but that He would "give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist." (Lk. 21:14-15). This is the power of the Word that the Lord gives us, which cannot be found in our own words. A Roman centurian came to Jesus to ask that Jesus heal his sick servant. Jesus agreed to go immediately to the centurian's house to heal his servant. The centurian stopped Jesus, and told Him that Jesus need only to speak the Word, and his servant would be healed. The centurian, as a soldier, understood the order of authority, and the obedience expected to be given to the command of authority. The centurian applied this truth to the authority that Christ has to meerly send His Word, and it woulld be accomplished. This is exactly as God spoke to Isaiah regarding the accomplishing of the Word He sends. Jesus was amazed at the words of the centurian and said, "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel...Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee." The centurian's servant was healed in that same hour. (see Mt. 8:5-13). A centurian understood the authority of the Word sent by Christ, when no one else in Israel had demonstrated that faith and understanding. Do we understand that it is not the legalistic "use" of the Word of God that prospers and acomplishes, but the faith and the understanding of the authority of God behind each Word He speaks? Abraham believed by the righteousness of faith the spoken promise of God concerning him, that he would be "the heir of the world", before there was a word written in the Law of Moses (Rom. 4:12-16). It is the faith in the authority of God that the Word that He speaks will accomplish what He determines it to do. Time is passing quickly. I believe that Christ is returning sooner than we think. Are we ready to believe His Word and do it? The world is watching our nation during these troubling times. What are they seeing as they look at the believers in Christ here? We have the right to speak His Word with His authority, and believe His Word will accomplish and produce what He has planned it to do. *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 3/21/23 message to the church. To contact: Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com or PO Box 154221, Waco, TX 76705 Look for us on Facebook, Twitter, and endtimesschool.com

Removing All Sin From the House*

As Passover approaches, it is the custom in Jewish households to carefully search for and remove all leaven from the house. The apostle Paul pointed out the connection between this Passover custom and our faith, between leaven and sin, as we will read. During this season in which Passover and Resurrection Sunday converge, each of us in the church should be examining our own lives for spiritual "leaven", and removing it: "Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them. This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof roundabout shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house." (Ezek. 43:10-12). The prophet Isaiah also wrote about the house of God, that in the last days, "the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it". The place of the house of God is established in the highest place. Jesus said that our light is not to be hidden under a bushel, but placed upon a lampstand and lifted up high, that all people may be drawn to it. Early in church history, the fathers of the church made the decision to separate the church from its Jewish foundation, which was a foundation that the LORD laid, not man. Ethnic and racial hatred had much to do with this decision, and as a result, the church is now put into the position of trying to re-establish truths that were lost, and dealing with falsehoods that replaced those truths. In Ezekiel's prophecy, the house of God must be shown the sins and iniquities within it, and conform themselves to the pattern of the house of God. In Romans, Paul wrote: "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his (God's) sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (meaning the blood of sprinkling for the remission of sins) through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forebearance of God..." (Rom. 3:20-25). Written in these verses is the truth of the sin of all that by faith is covered by the sprinkling of the blood of Christ for all who believe. This is the Gospel message. All have sinned, but the grace and righteousness of God has been extended to us in the blood of sprinkling of His Son, Jesus. This is also the message of the Passover, as Paul explains: "Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth." (1 Cor. 5:6-8). Paul not only urges us to observe the Passover feast, but with the understanding of Christ as our Passover Lamb. He directly associates the practice of ridding the house of leaven with the ridding from our lives of sin. Isaiah also prophesied about the Messiah Who was slain like a lamb: "...he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." (Isa. 53:7). This was done to Him because: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (v. 6). None of us are righteous from our own efforts, but only by the sprinkling of Christ's sacrificial blood for us. Writing about straying from the words of Jesus, and from the doctrine which is according to godliness, Paul warned about words of arguments, strife and debate that come from pride. It is corrupt minds that produce perverse disputings, and the desire for riches, incorrectly associating riches with godliness. He mentions a problem for many in the church, and in the world: the love of money. He said, "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Tim. 6:3-10). Do we differentiate among men based upon their affluence or poverty, esteeming the rich over the poor? Money is not evil, but the love of money leads to all evil. We live in a time when wealth is hoarded and increased among a tiny few, while many are suffering terrible financial hardship, especially during the pandemic. Do we allow money to sway us from the doctrine of godliness, and to have a strong influence over our lives? This is the love of money. Jesus spoke to His disciples about many things that men would experience in the time before His return. These things were to be signs to us of His coming and the end of the age. Among these signs was racial and ethnic hatred - wars: nation (ethnos) against nation (ethnos), kingdom against kingdom. He also said that along with this, there it would be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes (Mt. 24:6-7). Ethnic and racial hatred and bias should not be allowed in the church, or in our hearts. Revelation tells us that the Kingdom of God is made up of people out of every nation, tribe, kindred and tongue. Acts 17:26 says that God made all nations of men on earth from one blood. Racial conflicts and issues have been in the news lately. What has been our personal reaction to them? Innocent people of various racial minorities have been assaulted and killed, but have we, in our hearts, reasoned them to have been guilty of something? The command of God is that the Gospel of grace through Christ is to be preached in all the world, unto all nations, not just to a preferred few (Mt. 24:14). It is time to search ourselves for the leaven of racism and remove it, for we too will be hated for no other reason than our faith in Christ (Mt. 24:9). Isaiah wrote the challenge of God to those who would consider themselves to be godly. This is what God was seeing in the hearts of His people: a vain religious appearance rather than authentic faith, understanding, and desire for Him, strife and debate, smiting with a fist of wickedness (Isa. 58:4). On the other hand, this is God's standard, and His expectations of us: to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, to break every yoke, to give bread to the hungry, to bring the homeless poor into our own homes, to cover the naked, to take awsy the pointing of an accusing finger at others, to stop speaking vain things (v. 6-7,9). If we will do these things, the LORD promises that His light and His glory will break forth upon us. "And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought...thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." (v. 8,11). Not only will we experience this, but we will affect future generations: "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." (v. 12). For those who remember His Sabbath, and keep it holy, doing His will..."they shall ride upon the high places of the earth" (v. 13-14). In the previous and continuing separation of the church from its Jewish foundation, we have lost the understanding of the Sabbath of the LORD, and we have changed it into something that no longer resembles the original powerful truth. It is yet another cost that came out of the sinful racial attitudes of our hearts. In more recent church history, a new church movement, founded out of a great spiritual revival in Azusa Street, Los Angeles, became divided based upon racial lines. The pastor of the Azusa Street church which first saw revival was a black man, William Seymour. His place of leadership in the movement was rejected by those who were white because of his race. Soon comes Passover and Resurrection Sunday. Search your heart for any and all leaven, even the hidden leaven, and remove it. It is an essential part of the Bride making herself ready (Rev. 19:7-8). *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 3/14/21 message to the church. To contact: Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com, or PO Box 154221, Waco, TX 76705 Look for us on Facebook, Twitter, and endtimesschool.com

Understanding the Root and Not the Symptoms*

Passover is twenty days away, and eight days later, is Resurrection Sunday. Seldom are these two important days so close together. The divine congruence of these two holy days this year, should cause the Church to prepare themselves in a special way. These days should bring to mind the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and His resurrection from the dead. Much of what we see in the world today is very concerning. However, we need to understand that those things we are seeing are the symptoms of a much deeper root problem. That root problem is sin, and it applies to us all: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back, they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."(Ps. 53:1-3). Sin is not someone else's problem, but everyone's problem. The sin nature of man passed from Adam like a gene. If we deny it, we are not dealing with reality, we are only dealing with the symptoms. How deeply is sin imbedded in our nature? The prophet Jeremiah wrote: "Thus saith the LORD; cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD...Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters...her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who shall know it." (Jer. 17:5-9). Many in the Church have been trusting in politicians to cure the ills of society rather than the LORD. Many trust in pharmaceuticals to heal us of the latest deadly outbreak. We should keep in mind that the Greek word for sorcerer is pharmakeus. Our hearts convince us that our hope is in man rather than God. Our hearts deceivingly convince us that there is hope in self-help, rather than God. Scripture explains the division between heart and Spirit, and the respective results from each. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh...these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, forniction, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like...they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit..." (Gal. 5:15-25). Jesus came under criticism because He did not keep the traditions of men that had become more important to the people than the Word of God. However, the traditions of men would not keep them clean and undefiled. Jesus quoted Isaiah: "This people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Mk. 7:5-9). Jesus continued, "Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man..." (v. 14-15). Even His own disciples did not understand this principle, and asked for an explanation. Jesus was surprised that they couldn't understand. He then explained, "That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man." (Mk. 7:20-23). As we read above in Jeremiah, Jesus said that it is from the evils of our own hearts that we are defiled. We often look at the outward appearance in judging whether we and others are righteous. However, Paul wrote that the outward appearance has no importance in the Spirit. The Jews valued physical circumcision as signifying their covenant with God. Paul said, however, "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. 2:28-29). Paul went on to say that whether Jew or Gentile, all are under sin (Rom. 3:9). "As it is written", Paul said quoting the Psalm we read above, "There is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God...There is none that doeth good, no, not one...There is no fear of God before their eyes." (v. 10-18). People who don't fear God will do anything. They will latch onto a lie, like Darwinism, as an excuse not to believe. However, this condition is not without remedy! Paul wrote, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God...that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." (v. 23-26). 1 John 1:8 says, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." He then writes that if we walk in the light, as God IS light, with no darkness in Him, the blood of His Son, Jesus, will cleanse us of all sin (v. 7). If we confess our sins to Him, "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (v.9). For Jesus "is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 Jn. 2:2). That word used by both Paul and John regarding Jesus as the "propitiation", refers to the sprinkling of the atoning blood of the sacrifice by the high priest on the mercy seat of God. Passover is coming soon. Resurrection Sunday follows immediately after. As the Bride, we need to make ourselves ready. We need to deal with the root of the problem, and not just the outward symptoms. And the root of the problem is found within each of our own hearts. *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 3/7/21 message to the Church. To contact: Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com or P.O. Box 154221 You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and endtimesschool.com

Purim in the Laodicean Era*

The Bible describes Jesus' instructions to seven churches in the Book of Revelation. While these churches refer to actual physical churches of the day, the Bible is not one dimentional. I believe that these churches also can represent problems in the church today, and they can represent ages of the church. If we consider them as ages of church history for our purposes, then I believe we are in the Laaodicean Age or Era. These are Jesus' words to Laodicea: "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and incresed with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." (Rev. 4:14-18) The Laodicean church was very prosperous and very worldly, according to this description, as the church is today. They had become complacent, comfortable and apathetic regarding the faith, as are many believers today. Though they were wealthy in worldly things, the only wealth that matters is the gold that we become as we go through fiery trials that come for His Name's sake. Peter also wrote the about the fiery trials to come that are an advantage to us spiritully (1 Pet. 4:12-16). Laodicea was famous for the producing of eye salve, and the Lord tells them and us that we need to anoint our blind eyes to see the truth of the faith of Christ. Though this church had beautiful garments that money could buy, the only garments that will matter, the only ones that can cover nakedness and shame, are the pure, clean, white linen garments of righteousness, like those mentioned for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19). Jesus continued His message to the Laodicean church: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (v. 19-22). Jesus urged this church to repent. Peter wrote that judgment begins in the house of God, beginning with us (1 Pet. 4:17). In fact, Jesus promises the Laodicean church that their state after repentance, will be greater than their state before repentance, which is a truth for the church today also. The Laodicean church will be considered "overcomers" if they will repent, and they will sup with Jesus, and they will sit with Him in His throne, which is also His Father's throne. Christ's chastenings are to bring us to repentance, and repentance brings us to the place of communion and enthronement with Him, and with the Father. The Word, the scriptures, that we read is Jesus. He is the written Word, and He is the spoken Word of God. His testimony is the Spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10), so He is the prophetic Word that we read in the scriptures, and the true prophetic Word that still rings out today. The events of the Book of Revelation are a fulfilment of past prophecies given to the prophets: "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." (Rev. 10:7). The prophet Amos wrote of the same thing: "Surely the LORD God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the LORD God hath spoken, who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:7-8). The mystery of God written of in the verse from Revelation is the same as God's secret revealed to His prophets written of by Amos. The prophets have also written that there will be attempts by the nations, even by the figure that we call the antichrist, to destroy the Jewish people, the city of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel, and God's people of praise (Judah), which includes the true Church, the Ekklesia (Zech. 12, Dan. 11). A Laodicean church in today's era cannot, and will not, survive the prophesied days of trials, challenges, persecution and tribulation ahead. Jesus is calling today's Laodicean church era to repent, as He called the Laodicean church of long ago to repentance. This Laodicean church era of today also has another prophetic picture with which to be guided into the repentance that Jesus urges. The Book of Esther, and the Feast of Purim, are a prophetic message to the Bride of Christ. Esther, who was secretly a Jew, was chosen from among the most beautiful women of Persia to become the new bride of the king. There was a prince of the land, Haman, who served the king, who planned to destroy all of the Jews in the land, because he hated and envied the Jew, Mordecai, who had great favor with the king. Mordecai was also Esther's uncle, and had raised her since childhood. Mordecai met with Esther and urged her to go before the king on behalf of the Jewish people to foil the wicked plot of Haman. Esther hesitated to do so, because she could not approach the king without being summoned, and the king had not summoned her for the past thirty days. If she approahced the king without his invitation, the punishment was death. Mordecai told Esther, "Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the Jews. For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall...delivernce arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:13-14). Esther agreed to go before the king if all of the Jews would fast three days and nights, and she would do the same. Then she would enter into the king's presence "which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish." (v. 16). The people and Esther fasted for three days. Afterward, when she entered into the king's presence, she obtained favor in his sight, and he held out to Esther the golden sceptor which was in his hand (Est. 5:2). Esther was able to expose the wicked plot of Haman, and her own identity as a Jew, and the king ordered Haman's destruction. Is today's Laodicean church prepared at this time to enter into the King's presence to prevent the destruction of God's people? Is the church today consecrated and sanctified, or caught up in worldly riches and possessions? Esther risked all as queen to save herself and God's people after they all had consecrated themselves with a fast. This is the message to the Laodicean church era of today. Put aside luke-warmness. Buy the gold which is tried by fire. Acquire the clean, white linen garments of righteousness from the King of Righteousness. Anoint your eyes with the healing balm that will open your blind eyes. As the Bride of Christ, be prepared at any moment to enter into the King's presence for the purpose for which we have been brought into the Kingdom "for such a time as this". The challenge for the church in this week of Purim: fast and pray for the people of praise (Judah) and for Jerusalem (the Jews), In this time of pandemic, strange weather, and a struggling economy, seek the LORD while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 2/28/21 message to the church. Contact: Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com or PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. Look for us on Facebook, Twitter, and at endtimesschool.com where you can order the new book, "NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling".