ted4leaders

Greetings;

As a father in the faith to an emerging generation knowing the life-giving presence of Christ, let me say again today: It is time to arise and be a part of a maturing generation of overcomers for the glory of God. As I have stated, we must always be childlike in our expectations, faith, teach ability, and understanding of God’s love, but we must also desire to grow in maturity by finding God’s grace to overcome all things. We must overcome everything that resists a revelation of God’s love in our lives. We must embrace an overcoming grace of faith empowered by God’s love that eradicates all of our fears of death. We must respond to God with the transforming testimony of God’s Spirit that changes us inside and out. We must find God’s grace for life-giving connections of authority, so we too can be expressions of God’s life to the world. We must grow in an overcoming testimony of Christ’s resurrection life to be contributors to His fellowship of resurrection life in this world. We must also overcome in being a testimony of the community of God in Christ. The community of God is a place of knowing the tree of life and the justice system of His love in all things. It is a place of living to be life for others based upon a covenant of love. It is filled with mercy towards those who do not understand and a sharing of a grace of intimacy with those who do. Living in the testimony of brotherly love is part of being a member of the community of Christ.

The sixth letter of Revelation was written to the Church of Philadelphia. The letter to the Church of Philadelphia syntactically correlates to the return of Israel from exile under Ezra and Nehemiah in the church that was, Philadelphia of the first century, and the present day reality of becoming a testimony of the people of God in the earth. The word Philadelphia means brotherly love. It relates to communion and the testimony of the Spirit of Knowing (Isa. 11:2), thus the angel (sent one) of Philadelphia is the Spirit of Knowing (Zech. 4:10). This is the true witness of eternal life given as an “eternal judgment” in Christ (Heb. 6:2). That eternal judgment is eternal life for all who find themselves in Christ. It is judgment of love not for the deserving, but for everyone who boldly comes to the throne of God’s grace. It is a judgment based upon the mercy shown to all of humanity through the sacrificial death of Jesus upon our cross, and the life-transforming grace granted to each and every one of us by embracing the Spirit of God at work in our lives.

The overcoming promise of this letter is the antidote to the sixth aspect of the curse of the fall of man. The sign of eating bread by the sweat of the brow (Gen. 3:17) is taken away by a love for the Father and His family. Natural-mindedness is replaced with spiritual intimacy in Christ. Resistance to communion and community is replaced by a love that embraces transparency and vulnerability. A justice system of right and wrong is overcome by a justice system of mercy and grace in Christ. This is a living reality of those who have come to a revelation of being the people of God.

In this letter Jesus is seen as “He who is holy”, a term for God in His Temple. “He opens and no one shuts” and “shuts and no one opens”. All of this is “imagery of the synagogue and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple”. Those in Philadelphia had “little strength” but had “kept His word and have not denied His name”. In Philadelphia there were those of the Synagogue of Satan, who said they were Jews just as there were conflicts in the day of Ezra and Nehemiah with false Jews (Ezra 4; Neh. 4; 6; 13). The testing of the faith of the Church was really the proving of a communion of the Spirit. Surely there are those who resist the building of the community of Christ today because of their own strongholds of thinking, seeking a justice system of judgment over one of mercy, forgiveness, empowerment, and love.

Revelation 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens’: 8 I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. 9 Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. 11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”

The community of God is made of people who have come to know God’s mercy and grace. These are people who embrace a justice system of love above a justice system of right and wrong. True community happens when people live for the will of a heavenly Father, receive His mercy that comes by His presence, and become transformed by the grace of intimacy with Him to show His mercy to those beyond themselves. These are maturing children of God who willingly embrace the presence of His Holy Spirit and lose their own lives for the sake the generations of the family of God. When this happens, the testimony of God’s love for His people subdues their oppressors beneath their feet. The true Zion of God is then seen as Christ’s Church (Isa. 60:14; Heb. 12:22). The Spirit of Knowing proves to establish the foundation of the Church in love. Those who know the communion of the Spirit are kept from every hour of trial that would come upon the world. Their measurement of justice is one that knows God’s loves them and they too are a measurement of that love, no matter what circumstances might arise in life. Maturing sons and daughters in Christ must grow in the grace of love and become innocent to the judgmental laws outside of intimacy in Christ.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

As someone who has been a believer for over 43 years and a leader in the body of Christ for over 30 years, I want to write once again to you as believers to come boldly to the throne of God’s grace where you can receive mercy to end everything of your past and find the grace to overcome in all things to the future (Heb. 4:16). We must always be childlike in our expectations, faith, teachability, and understanding of God’s love, but we must also desire to grow in maturity by finding God’s grace to overcome all things. We must overcome everything that resists our intimacy with God in Christ. We must overcome every fear of death with a demonstration of faith towards God in all things. We must overcome every stronghold of the flesh with a testimony of God working in our lives. We must overcome in our ability to walk in submission to life that we might bring the life-giving authority of our heavenly Father to the world. We must also overcome in our ability to be sent to contribute a testimony of Christ in His resurrection life to the fellowship of His name. This is the testimony of the Spirit of Might, an attribute of the Holy Spirit, working in our lives.

Many times the cares and desires of the world become great distractions to the presence and the purpose of God in our lives. We must all remain awake to the presence and purpose of God and we must not be drawn away by circumstances and situations in the world that thwart the destiny of God in our lives. The fifth letter of Revelation was given to the Church of Sardis. The name Sardis means prince of joy. I believe that Sardis represents a testimony of the manifest presence and purpose of Christ in our lives. In the presence of the Lord there is the fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11). It is from the manifest presence of Christ in us that we become empowered to be sent for His purpose to the world. This letter to Sardis syntactically relates to Israel’s monarchy and captivity. It also relates to the Spirit of Might (Isa. 11:2) and the basic foundation of the “resurrection of the dead” (Heb. 6:2). It is from that foundation in Christ that we can each become a testimony of His presence and purpose to the world in live in. This letter also depicts the redemption of the fifth aspect of the curse of the fall in that man was given a sign of having to deal with the thorns and thistles of a dead earth (Gen. 3:17). Man was bound to a temptation of distraction from the things of God because of the prickly things of life. The distractions of the world tend to make mankind dead to the things of God. Natural distractions outweigh the heavenly attractions of life in Christ. Those things prove to suck the life from our hearts until we are dead to the things of God. Those distractions become exalted in our lives to replace the God who is “above all” (Eph. 4:6).

As revealed in the name of Sardis (prince of joy), the overcoming grace of the Spirit of Might gives a testimony of being awake to God. This is the opposite of apathy and death. It is the opposite of the testimony of the apostate death of Israel in her captivity in Assyria and Babylon. I believe that the angel of the Church of Sardis is the Spirit of Might (Isa. 11:2; Zech 4:10). In this letter Jesus is seen as the one who “has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars”. He is the author of life. He is the one who holds the power of His perfecting grace and He holds the perfected destiny of the Church. These terms testify of the prophetic witness given to Israel by the prophets during her time of apathy, scattering, and captivity. The prophets were given the word of life to awaken Israel from her sleep. The Church of Sardis was told to “be watchful”. This is a term used for being awake to God, for the Spirit is willing (Mt. 24:42-44; Mt. 25:13; 26:41; Mk. 13:33-37; 14:38; Lk. 21:36; Acts 20:29-31). The Spirit of Might empowers us to be alive to the things of God in Christ. Those in Sardus were told that they were “alive”, but they were “dead”. This is syntactic language of Israel’s time of apostasy (Isa. 1:5-23; 6:9-13; Isa. 65:8-16; Jer. 7:1-7; 8:11, 12; Ezek. 37:1-4). This letter depicts the need for us all to be awake to God’s presence and purpose in our lives. The Spirit of Might testifies that we are ‘made alive’ in Christ (Eph. 2:1, 5).

Jesus said if they did not wake up He would come upon them “as a thief”. This was a warning of imminent judgment (Isa. 1:24-31; 2:12-21; Isa. 26:20, 21; Jer.4:5-31; 7:12-15; 11:9-13; Mic. 1:2-7; Zeph. 1). This was not a term for a second coming of Christ alone, but His coming in history (Mt. 24:43; 1 Thes. 5:2-5; 2 Pet. 3:10). The Lord came in the Spirit of Might for the apostates and those of faith in the first century. Those of apostasy were consumed in the judgment of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, while those of faith were the firstfruits of the living of God as the Body of Christ in the earth. The overcoming grace of the Spirit of Might in the lives of those who believed was a firstfruit guaranteeing the victory of each and every part and member of the body of Christ in the successive generations of the growing glory of God in the earth.

He who overcomes is promised to be “given white garments”. White is a symbol of cleanliness, purity, and righteousness. White garments speak of being clothed in the New Man. We are to put on Christ now (Col. 3:5-17) and to be fully clothed in Christ in the “last day” (Col. 3:4; Jude 24). The overcoming Church has been clothed in the righteousness of Christ (Gal. 3:27; Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). This is a heavenly truth that is progressively revealed in the life of every believer.

There was a blotting out of some, but an assurance of increasing eternal life for others. Some were taken, but the righteous were ‘left behind’ to fill the earth with the testimony of the righteousness of Christ. By principle of application in our own lives, the Old Adam is blotted out in Christ and the Last Adam forever lives as the new man of Christ. God blotted out the violators of His covenant in the harvest of the law, but this New Man in a living relationship with God in Christ would not be blotted out (Deut. 29:10-29; Ps. 69:1-28).

Revelation 3:1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: ‘I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. 2 Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. 4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

All New Covenant believers have the ability to do works of righteousness (Eph. 2:10). A confession of the Father before angels (sent ones) speaks of a sending forth by the power of His might for works of righteousness (destiny). The things of this world do not distract us, but rather we are empowered by the Spirit of Might. We know one God “above all” by the power of His resurrection life (Eph. 4:6)! We each bring a contribution of the power of His resurrection life to the mystery of His fellowship. We must all grow in our maturity to overcome the distractions of the world by embracing of Christ’s resurrection life while in this world. We must be awake to Christ, His presence, and His purpose in our lives. We are all meant to be sent as testimonies of His resurrection life as those clothed in Him.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

The family of God is a community of children, sons and daughters, and fathers and mothers. The dynamic of the family of God is one of innocence, empowerment, and maturity. We must all maintain the innocence of children while finding the grace of God to overcome in all things that we might also become examples of maturity and stability in the family of God that inspires others. We must overcome everything that resists our intimacy with God in Christ. We must overcome every fear of death with a demonstration of faith towards God in all things. We must also overcome every stronghold of the flesh with a testimony of God working in our lives. A fourth area of overcoming is seen in our ability to walk in submission to life that we might bring the authority of life that comes by the Spirit of Counsel in Christ. This aspect of overcoming can be seen in the letter to the church of Thyatira.

Revelation 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write, ‘These things says the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass: 19 “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first. 20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. 22 Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. 23 I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. 24 Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. 25 But hold fast what you have till I come. 26 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations— 27 ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

The Church of Thyatira corresponds to the church throughout history and it is filled with language foreshadowed in the Israelite monarchy and the Davidic Covenant. Jesus is referred to as “the Son of God” – the greater David (Ps.2:7; 89:19-37; Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23, 24; 37:24-28; Hos.3:5; Acts 2:24-36; 13:22, 23). This is a testimony of God’s authority in the earth. Authority gives life, while a grasping for power alone will always produce death or some measure of dysfunction. I believe that the aspect of Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Counsel empowers us to become expressions of God’s life-giving authority with a ministry of laying on of hands to give life to the world, thus destroying the power of darkness in the world by Christ’s ministry of light. We must all grow in the of living for the sake of others. This is a testimony of true authority.

The name Thyatira means “sacrifice” or “labor of love”. It also means “a perfume”, or “sacrifice of labor”. These are terms revealing attributes of serving with authority. These are attributes of a counseling ministry under the administration of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Counsel in our lives. The implication here is that of the Spirit of Counsel and the ministry of God as light and love. Jesus, as the “Son of God”, has “eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like fine brass”. Because we have been judged in Christ, we can now do the life-giving works of Christ that bring life to others. All life comes from authority. God wants us to all know one Father in heaven through His life giving Spirit of Council. He is the source of all authority in heaven and earth. His Spirit of Council restores our ability to rule in life. Our inheritance from our heavenly Father grants us authority in the earth to bring Christ’s healing through the “laying on of our hands” with the testimony of His light (Heb. 6:2).

We will be tempted to bow to the darkness of the world in a quest for power. We do this when we seek to live for ourselves rather than the wellbeing of others. In this letter the woman Jezebel is mentioned in reference to the apostasy of God’s people in the past (1 Kin. 16:29-34; 21:25, 26).”  Jezebel is an uncovered woman who seeks her own desires and rejects the life-giving authority of Christ. It is said that she will, “beguile My servants to commit sexual immorality”. The exegetical, syntactical, and principle of application seen in this letter depicts a temptation to compromise in grasping for power and reject authority as is the power of darkness in this world. It is a temptation to live for our own agendas rather than living to give life to others.

Exegetically the term ‘sexual immorality’ refers to the fornication of apostate Israel (Rev. 17:5, 16; 19:2). This was prophetically foreseen in the days of Israel’s compromise, after the death of King David and the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Israel became depicted as the unfaithful seed of the queen mother Jezebel. This letter reveals “great tribulation was for those who commit adultery with Jezebel”. When we disconnect from the authority of life we find ourselves in a place of great dysfunction.

He who overcomes is given “power to rule over the nations”. This was the testimony of King David. Jesus as the greater David has been given “authority over the nations” (2 Sam. 7:19-29; 8:1-14; Ps. 18:37-50; Ps. 89:27-29; Jer. 33:17; Dan. 7:14). Christ’s grace of the Spirit of Counsel and of knowing one Father of all was syntactically proclaimed in David’s Psalms of Christ’s dominion (Ps. 2:8, 9; 22:27-31; 46:4, 10; 47:1-3; 65:2; Ps. 66:4; 68:31, 32; 72; 86:9; 102:15-22; 138:4, 5; 145:10, 11).

In Christ we are to find the overcoming grace of the Spirit of Counsel that empowers us to overcome our selfish ways with the life-giving character of God’s true authority. He who overcomes is given the morning star. The government that rules in that day is by the Spirit of Counsel in Christ (Isa. 9:6, 7). This is the kingdom prevail of Christ under the authority of God the Father in heaven (Isa. 60:12). Every New Covenant believer has the ability to bring light into the darkness (Isa. 9:6, 7; Acts 26:15-18; Ps. 2:8, 9; Ps. 22:27-31; Rom. 13:12; Eph. 5:8; 1 Thes. 5:5; Mt. 5:14). We do this when we live for the wellbeing of others and for the generations beyond our own lives. We have been empowered by the Spirit of Council to do works prepared for us in Christ (Eph. 2:10). We are in submission one to another that we might lay the hands of Christ upon a needy world (Heb. 6:2). The curse of human dominance is replaced with the dominion of life in Christ. Christ Jesus in His headship is joined with Christ’s body to bring His kingdom rule of life to the nations of the world! We must all find God’s grace to overcome every temptation to go our own way in insubordination to God’s authority. Embracing a self-gratifying power will cause us to fall short of living to give life to others in this world. Maturing sons and daughters in Christ seek to overcome by living under authority as people who labor to give life to others in this world.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

We are growing in maturity in Christ by the power of Christ’s Spirit within us! This is true for us as individuals, but also true for the corporate church in planet earth. God’s grace is restoring and creating the testimony of His name in us in increasing ways. The leaven of the kingdom of God is filling the God-bread of humanity in the earth. The mustard seed is becoming like a tree and it is influencing the dimension of the heavenlies. The stature of Christ has struck the statue of the likeness and image of self upon its feet and the stature of Christ is increasingly filling the nations in the earth. There is no end to the increase of God’s government of grace and His testimony of peace. Mercy has kissed us and Gods overcoming grace is an unstoppable authority and power of life in the earth. What was a firstfruit in the first century of the New Covenant church is increasing in the seasons of harvest in the body of Christ. It is easy to be distracted by the realities of the falling kingdoms of the world, but we must keep our focus on what God is doing in the earth. If we look for the light, we will see the light! If we look for life, we will see life!

I have been stating that the family of God is a culture of children, fathers, and sons. Children know God’s mercy, young men and women overcome by the power of God’s grace, and fathers and mothers have become a testimony of God’s grace and can show God’s mercy to the children of men. This is the growing testimony of the culture of God in the earth. A relationship with God has been given to men and women and the grace of the Spirit of the Lord is changing the desires of our hearts to love Him above all things. Our first Love is Christ and it is Christ in us that is revealing that we are not alone. We have a Father who loves us. The grace of the Spirit of Wisdom is giving victory over every fear of death and eternal life is empowering us to have faith towards God in all things. God is also giving us a grace of the Spirit of Understanding so we can become a testimony of a people who are changed and respond to Him in the glory of Christ’s name.

In the book of Revelation, the seven letters relate to the firstfruit church of the first century and thus set a foundation for the glory of the church in the unfolding ages to come. The letters reveal the grace that comes when we find Jesus standing in the midst of His church. He stands as the testimony of the sevenfold Holy Spirit of God. When we have a revelation of Jesus in our lives we discover the empowerment of God’s grace at work in our live. When we see Jesus, something supernatural happens to cause us to overcome! It is the power of God’s grace at work in our lives!

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…

The letter to the church of Pergamos reveals a testimony of Christ as the Spirit of understanding in our lives. He brings the overcoming grace of a holy testimony that comes by the power of God’s word and Spirit in our lives. He brings about internal and external transformations of who we were to who we were meant to be in Christ.

Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write, ‘These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. 17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’

This church of Pergamos was commended for their ability to overcome by their testimony as is mentioned in the faithful martyr, Antipas (meaning, likeness of the father, against all). Pergamos was also reprimanded for having some who held to the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam was a false prophet in the Old Testament that was hired by Balak the king of the Moabites to prophesy a curse over Israel. God did not allow him to speak a curse over His people Israel so he counseled Balak to put the women of Moab in the sight of the men of Israel so they would take their daughters as wives. This would cause the children of Israel to receive a curse upon themselves by compromising in their covenant with God (Num. 25). Rather than trusting the heavenly promises and testimonies of God the children of Israel found their identity in other relationships. This is the ultimate sin of intimate immorality and it negates the true testimony of holiness found in a holy God. Some in Pergamos had chosen a testimony of the flesh and not that of a holy nation. Some in the church of Pergamos had held to the doctrine (lifestyle) of the Nicalaitans. The Nicalaitans were a sect of people who sought indulgent liberties in carnality and debauchery. Their testimony was one of the flesh and not of a holy God.

In this letter we see that God’s weapon against the testimony of the flesh would be the ‘the sword of His mouth’. The sword of God’s mouth is the confession of His word. This is not merely a parroted confession of Scripture quotation. It is the testimony of God’s word made real in our lives. It is us becoming an expression of Christ in His character, nature, way, power, and authority. The testimony of a holy God removes the testimony of the flesh. Those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches are given ‘hidden manna to eat’ and God as the Spirit of Understanding gives them ‘a white stone’ with a name that only the one who receives it knows. This is none other than a personal testimony of God’s word in our lives. It is a changed character, nature, way, power, and authority by the Spirit of Understanding, an aspect of the Holy Spirit that causes us to become a testimony of God’s word.

God’s hidden manna is the freshly spoken word of God in our hearts (the rhea word of God). A white stone is a stone of holiness. It is a stone testifying that we are a holy people. We are a people who have been transformed by the submersions of God. This stone was testified in Jacob’s story of Luz (isolated or separated place) being transformed to Bethel (house of God). Jacob prophetically declared the truth of holy submersions when he poured oil upon the rock (Gen. 28:18). Metaphorically speaking “we may have been cucumbers of the flesh, but the submersions of God’s holy pickle brine has transformed us to become holy pickles inside and out!” We are a holy nation! This is why we spill over to Him with a testimony of being expressions of Him in this world. We are expressions (words) of God’s testimony!

When God’s Word and Spirit come together in our lives we receive a testimony of understanding. God does not teach us with mere words of cognitive instruction. God’s words are expressions of life and they make us come to life. Bread and wine are prophetic symbols of word and spirit and God’s bread and wine is the power of His Word and Spirit that transforms our lives. The Holy Spirit is the gratuity of God in our lives (Acts2: 38 – the word ‘gift’ is the Greek word ‘dorsa’, meaning gratuity’). His submersions of our lives invoke a gratuity from within us. That gratuity is a ‘response level relationship’ to the one who transforms our lives through the one baptism (submersion) of holy life to become known as a holy nation to our God. When Abram received the gift of bread and wine from Melchizedek on his journey (Gen. 14:18-20), Abram’s gratuity of tithe was a testimony to the life-change that comes from the gratuity given by King of Righteousness and the King of Peace in our lives. Let’s spill over with the testimony of understanding through the grace of the Spirit of Understanding in our lives!

Young men and women are those who move beyond being children who receive God’s mercy to become those who are empowered by God’s grace to be a testimony of Christ that overcomes the wickedness in the world. Grace is more powerful than the limitations of the flesh! God’s expressions in our lives will give us a personal testimony, inside and out!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

The family of God is a culture of children, fathers, and sons. As God’s children we know that God loves us, our sins are forgiven, and He is in our lives. As fathers we know that He is good and able to work all things out for good in our lives. We have known Him who is from the beginning and we give hope to others that God will always work things out in our lives. As sons we are all growing in our ability to overcome in all things. We are strong in God’s Spirit and in the testimony of His word. We can overcome anything and everything that comes from the wicked one, because we know the power of God’s grace at work in our lives. God’s mercy reveals His love and His presence, but God’s grace is the personal working of His love and His presence in our lives.

In the book of Revelation, the seven letters relate to the church that was in John’s day, the church that was throughout time in the past, and the church that would be in the days to come. The context of the letters is from a New Covenant reality of what is, what was, and what is to come. This is the reality of Jesus in our lives. He is the One who is, who was, and who is to come in all situations and at all times. When we have a revelation of Jesus in our lives we discover the empowerment of God’s grace at work in our live. When we see Jesus, something supernatural happens to cause us to overcome! It is the power of God’s grace at work in our lives!

1 Peter 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…

The letter to Smyrna revealed that some were about to be thrown into prison, as was Joseph at the hand of his brothers. They were told to remain faithful in the midst of suffering. Those who remained faithful would receive the crown of life, just as Joseph was rewarded for his faithfulness. It is through death in Christ that we receive the crown of life (Jam. 1:12). Faith towards God will empower us to even endure suffering with a testimony of works that speak of our faith. This was part of the overcoming foundation of the firstfruits first century Church! Their overcoming faith set precedence for every successive generation in the Church!

Revelation 2:8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

The testing for ten days is reminiscent of the language of the children of Judah in Babylon. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the captives placed into service of the king after Babylon laid siege to their nation (Dan. 1:7). These men were placed into a natural circumstance that destroyed all of their former expectations of the future as sons in Judah. Natural sight was for sure a challenge to their faith. After assessing the situation, these men requested that they be allowed to eat only vegetables and drink only water for ten days (Dan. 1:12). The number ten is symbolic of ‘completeness’, ‘totality’, ‘judgment’ – more specifically, a ‘judgment of love’, as the ten commandments sum up a love for God and a love for others. The lives of these men exhibited a faith towards God and a testimony of not fearing death. Faith works through love (Gal. 5:6, 13). These men refused to compromise in their love for God and they were not shaken in their belief of His love for them. They had faith to eat the Babylonian vegetables and drink the Babylonian water, but eating the other delicacies of Babylon would compromise their faith towards God. They refused to be separated from their love for God.

These men were given different names by those who observed them from a culture that did not understand faith and God’s overcoming grace. The names of these men speak of a testimony of faith that gives men access to the overcoming grace of God in all things. Daniel means, ‘God is my judge’. To him the Babylonians gave the name Belteshazzar, a name meaning ‘one who knows secrets’. When we trust the One who speaks it will appear to those who don’t understand faith that we know secrets. The name Hananiah means, ‘God is merciful, gracious and a giver of gifts’. It is a name that implies being willing to receive everything and anything from the One who speaks. To Hananiah the Babylonians gave the name Shadrach, a name meaning, ‘one who sucks the nipple’. A culture of faith inspires a attitude of being willing to receive everything and anything that God gives. When we are willing to receive anything that God gives it will appear to those who don’t understand faith that we are childish and foolish in our actions. The name Mishael means, ‘who is asked for or lent’ in the sense of ‘in awe of God’ or ‘God is awesome’! This name implies an awe for the One who speaks. To Mishael the Babylonians gave the name Meshach, a name meaning ‘drawn or controlled by force’. When we are willing to respond to the One who speaks with actions of honor, those who do not understand faith will accuse us of being controlled by force. They will interpret our honor for God as some cultic force of control in our lives. The name Azariah means, ‘God is my help’ or ‘he that hears the Lord’. It implies not knowing anything and being completely dependent upon God. The Babylonians called Azariah, Abed-nego, a name that means you are ‘in league with the god of knowledge or science’. It implies that you ‘know things’. When we are completely dependent upon the One who speaks it will appear to those who do not understand faith that we are in league with some form of knowledge or enlightened truth.  These are the attributes of a culture of faith that knows how to access the grace of the Spirit of Wisdom to overcome any fear of death.

The Holy Spirit in the expression of the Spirit of Wisdom is a testimony of ‘faith’ towards God in the face of worry and death. This kind of wisdom inspires actions that testify of faith towards God. Faith without works is dead, but faith motivated by the Spirit of Wisdom is seen in works done with the absence of the fear of death (Jam. 1:2-6).

Those who enter into the New Covenant are granted resurrection life whereby the second death has no power over them. All New Covenant Believers have passed from death to life and have been justified to live by faith (Eph. 2:1-5; 1 Jn. 3:14). The New Covenant believer has experienced a first resurrection and is thus prepared for the physical resurrection at the end of the world (1 Cor. 15:22-28). They are forever alive in Christ (Eph. 2:1, 4-6; Jn. 5:24-29; Rom. 6:4 -1st and 2nd resurrections).

Revelation 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

The person who is clothed with Jesus Christ is the inheritor of the promises of Abraham (Rom. 11:11-24; Gal. 3:7-9, 26-29). When we have no fear of death we are motivated to do things that speak of our faith. That faith is demonstrated with actions that testify of a love for God in our hearts. Faith works by love (Gal. 5:6). Faith towards God is seen in our works of faith (Heb. 6:1; James:all). The Spirit of Wisdom (Isa. 11:2) in Christ is the angel of the Church of Smyrna. Because we died in Christ we forever live to do works in Christ. Pain and suffering only prove to birth a new day in Him! In Christ we can know one faith!

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

When man chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as the governing factor of the human soul, he caused the earth to be bound to certain futilities. God defined the consequence of man’s decision, but the ultimate goal of the consequence was that one day there would be an increasing glory in the human race that would deliver creation from the bondage of corruption it was bound to. That deliverance would come when humanity would become expressions of mature sons and daughters of God in the family of God upon the earth. I believe that this is a growing and increasing process in the generational community of God.

Romans 8:19-21 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

Father’s inspire children to grow in the grace of God to become children of God. They not only empower the family to know that God loves them, they inspire them to love God with the actions of their lives. Father’s inspire children to find the overcoming power of God’s grace that enables them to demonstrate their love for God more than they fear death. They desire the things that God is bringing into their lives more than they fear the things they are leaving behind.

God wants us all to grow in the power of His grace in all things. When we find the empowerment of God’s grace in our lives we find the power to overcome every temptation to fear the power of death. Our faith towards God includes a promise that the testimony of our lives will always lead to the greater glory of life that is found in Christ. In Christ we do not need to fear the power of death. Part of the futility included what was revealed in the words of God that caused there to be a temptation to worry and fear the pain of death and this was even put as a mark upon a woman’s pregnancy and child delivery. At the gift of birth, a sign of worry and pain was placed upon the womb of mankind. I believe that there is a great testimony of our victory within the words of the second letter of Revelation, the letter to the angel of the church of Smyrna.

Revelation 2:8-11 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”

The second letter was written to the church of Smyrna. The name Smyrna means “myrrh”. Myrrh was used as a burial oil. Myrrh is a witness signifying death. The testimony of this letter is like that which is demonstrated in the act of water baptism. The act of submersion in water is a witness to our old lives being submerged in the life of Christ in order for us to live our lives new as a testimony of our faith towards God in Christ. The mystery of our faith is that we must die to live. Faith toward God is a death to the natural wisdom of men and a rising up to receiving the wisdom of God in Christ. That wisdom will cause us to do works that testify of our faith as is testified in the book of James.

I believe the angel of the Church of Smyrna is the Spirit of Wisdom (Isa. 11:2; Zech. 4:10). The language of the letter of Smyrna is the language of the Patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. In this letter Jesus is seen as “the one who was dead and came to life”. This was the prophetic testimony of Abram as he was transformed to become Abraham (Gen. 12:1-4; 17:5-11), Isaac in his life beyond the sacrifice on Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:2-14; Heb.11:17-19), and of Joseph in his testimony in Egypt for the sake of his brothers (Gen. 37:18-36; 39:20). The actions of their lives demonstrated their willingness to seek God, hear Him, and respond to what He said. They trusted the voice of God more than they feared the power of any death. They believed in the birthing of things new more than they feared the losing of things that were old. The second curse of the fall was a temptation to fear death, for in pregnancy there is worry and great pain in child delivery (read my book, The Redeemed Earth – Healing the Curses of the Fall). Exegetically, the Church of Smyrna was seen as suffering persecution by “false Jews”, just as Ishmael persecuted Isaac in the days of the patriarchs (Gen. 21:9; Gal. 4:22-31). Paul clearly wrote to the Church of Rome and testified that not all who said they were Jews were the Israel of God (Rom. 2:28, 29; Gen. 41:37-45; 45:4-8; 50:20). The church of the first century was depicted in this church of Smyrna, in that they believed the days ahead were greater than any day that would be lost in their time. They had faith towards God and that faith came by hearing God’s voice within their hearts. To discover the grace of overcoming the power of death we must find the wisdom of God that is stronger than the things we can naturally see in life. Not even the second death can harm the children of God, for life always prevails even into eternity.

In this letter to Smyrna we see that some were about to be thrown into prison, as was Joseph at the hand of his brothers. They were told to remain faithful in the midst of suffering. Those who remained faithful would receive the crown of life, just as Joseph was rewarded for his faithfulness. It is through death in Christ that we receive the crown of life (Jam. 1:12). Faith towards God will empower us to even endure suffering with a testimony of works that speak of our faith. This was part of the overcoming foundation of the firstfruits first century Church! Their overcoming faith set precedence for every successive generation in the Church!

I will continue with this in my blog next week.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

Children of God know that God forgives them and that God loves them, but maturing sons and daughters of God reveal a testimony of their love for God. Fathers in the faith are men and women who have learned to walk in the place of knowing the love of God, demonstrating the love of God, and helping children become sons and daughters of God in the character, nature, way, power, and authority of His love. This involves the activation, facilitation, and release of family members in hearing God’s voice in all things. First, and foremost, fathers empower a family culture that knows God loves them and they live in an intimate place of hearing God’s voice.  This ‘first love’ testimony is the first of many testimonies in becoming overcomers in Christ in all things!

When we know God loves us, we hear Him in our hearts. Hearing God in our hearts is essential life-giving change in our lives. Hearing God reveals His mercy and brings us into His grace. Grace is the power to change our lives. Grace is the substance of God’s presence in our lives. Grace comes at a revealing of Christ in us. The key is how we think. We must submit our soul to our spirit once we connect our spirits to God’s Holy Spirit. The beginning comes by experiencing His transformation in our hearts. We experience a change within that causes us to become what God desires for us to be. We cannot do the will of God without being the will of God. Hearing God allows us to become the substance of the will of God ­–­ spirit, soul, and body.

Hearing God is not about receiving the right information in life. It is about being empowered for the right transformation in life. Much information can bring much confusion. God’s instructions bring the power of transformation, thus they empower the hearer to do and become. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have to do anything in order to hear. Sometimes we have to position ourselves to do in order to hear. This is why it is so important that we learn what the general will of God is in our lives. When we choose to stand in obedience to God’s general will, we hear His specific will in our hearts. When we position ourselves to do, we become. This is the proving ground for hearing God and the power of His grace at work in our lives. We do not become something by doing things, but standing to do positions us for the miracle of God’s voice in our hearts.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.  5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Hearing God produces faith in our hearts. There is no gap between us and God. We can hear Him in our hearts. When we hear Him we receive a revelation of Jesus Christ in our inner being and God grants us the power of His grace. The proving ground of God’s grace is the tribulation that comes against us. When we experience the pressure or the testing of life we find ourselves persevering. It is not a matter of disciplining the flesh. It is a matter of revealing the power of Christ within us. Perseverance is a joyful endurance that comes from the voice of God in our hearts. This is the testimony that proves to manifest the character of Christ within us and this is seen as our hope of glory. It is our hope of change that comes from within when we hear God’s voice. The testimony is for our full being.  God’s will is for us to receive the salvation of our whole man.

1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can’t hate the flesh, beat up on the soul, and pursue the Spirit. We must pursue the Spirit, delight the soul in Him, and present our body as a living sacrifice to God. Hearing God affects all of our being.

What is the will of God in our lives? I believe that God’s will in any situation is salvation in that situation. Salvation is not just the testimony of going to heaven when we die. It is a continual process and it includes the testimony of the life of God in any situation in life. Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. This is a daily reality. Salvation is the power of eternal life in the testimony of our lives. God is constantly working things out in our lives.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

O my goodness! I thought I was getting out of the situation! In order for God to work things out I must find Him in the situations of my life. It isn’t a matter of me escaping my daily circumstances.

God wants to move into our worlds with us. That might change the situation, but it is not intended to just get us out of a situation. If we don’t love God, it might not work out for us. We must position ourselves to hear God in order to stand in faith. Salvation is experiencing God in the situation. How you leave a thing is how you enter the next. We must know how to stand and where to stand in order to be in the right place at the right time for the will of God to work out in our lives. If we know God’s will we can have God’s salvation.

How would we know God’s will? We must forget about ‘what to do’ and simply connect ourselves to Him as a matter of relationship. He is our Father and we are His children. When we depend upon Him, we can trust Him. Knowing the will of God comes by allowing Him fill our spirits with the life of His Spirit. The will of God comes from the place of desire and faith. These things can only be birthed in the human spirit.  When we receive the life of God’s Spirit in our spirits it carries the power of transformation.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

Learning to overcome is part of the process of becoming a mature son or daughter in Christ. This process involves being able to overcome in this world. Overcoming is a testimony of God’s grace at work in our lives. Mercy is enough to show us that God loves us, but God’s grace empowers us to demonstrate our love for Him. This is a testimony of overcoming!

Little children know God’s love, growing sons and daughters embrace becoming a testimony of God’s character, and fathers give their lives to see children embrace the process of overcoming to become sons and daughters in the character and inheritance of Christ. Learning to overcome is part of the process of becoming a mature son or daughter in Christ. Leaders must aspire to become fathers and mothers who can inspire children to want to be like Christ when they grow up. That growth is a process of increasing maturity. This means those children will emulate what they know to be the character of Christ in their family environment. This can only reveal Christ if the family tree is the Tree of Life and not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil – right and wrong.

1 John 2:12-14 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.

Fathers empower their children to overcome by the grace of God at work in their hearts. Fathers have been there and the demonstrate a testimony that can be embraced and walked out in the lives of growing children. Maturing family members must overcome to constantly live in a place of loving God first in all things. Intimacy with God is more important than being right. For this to be the character of our lives requires an overcoming so little children can become maturing sons and daughters in Christ.

Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

The overcoming promise of this letter to the church of Ephesus is to eat of the tree of life in the midst of the Paradise of God. This is not a verse for some faraway place in heaven. This is a testimony of grace at work in our lives. Father’s empower young men and women to embrace the power of God’s grace and become a testimony of God’s grace at work in their lives. The grace of the Spirit of the Lord empowers us to become a testimony of one who knows the love of God. This is revealed in this first of seven letters in the book of Revelation.

This first letter was to the Church of Ephesus. The word Ephesus means, pleasure or delight. This letter depicts the language of God in the beginning of Adam and God in the Garden of Eden. The word Eden means desirable, in synonymous terms to the meaning of Ephesus. In this letter Jesus is seen as “the one who holds the seven stars in His right hand”. He is seen as Lord, because He is the one who loves us. His love holds us in all things!

I believe the angel of the Church of Ephesus refers to the Spirit of the Lord, one of seven aspects of the Holy Spirit (Isa. 11:2; Zech. 4:10). Like all seven churches, the angel is an aspect of the Holy Spirit, but the message of the angel is to each aspect of the Church that is, that was, and that will be, thus it applies to the growing maturity of each and every believer in Christ. This first angel carries the message that is the antidote to dry places, spiritual warfare, and a loss of paradise (the desirable place). The Spirit of the Lord is the antidote to the dry places of our hearts that had us bound to the spiritual warfare of the temptation to seek other life sources. Humanity was bound to the curse of looking for love in all the wrong places! That quest for love was constantly disrupted by what seemed like lifeless dead-end alleys bound to the knowledge of good and evil. Offenses and judgments were obstacles in the dimly lit passages of our search.

The language of this letter to the Church of Ephesus is that of the Garden of Eden with terms like “works”, “labor”, “patience”, and the knowledge of hating “evil”. These are garden tending terms (Gen. 2:15; Jam. 5:7; Gal. 6:8, 9). In this letter Jesus comes as the one “who walks in the midst”, as He walked in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:8). Those in Ephesus had done well at knowing who were true apostles and who were false. They had the knowledge of good and evil, but they had left their first love. They were missing the purpose of the garden as a place of knowing an intimate walk of love with God. This was the sin of the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve left their first love in exchange for the knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of Ephesus had given them a hatred for evil, but left them with a loss of intimacy with God in Christ. Their hatred of the Nicolaitans was a value held by God as well, but God wanted their trust in Him to outweigh their demand for being right. The Nicolaitans were a people of compromise and were willing to confess more than one lord in the name of God. Jesus simply wants our hearts so that we will not be motivated to seek other lords in our lives. The overcoming promise of this letter to Ephesus was a restoration of the Paradise of God through the eating of the tree of life. The antidote to the dry places in which the false lords of the world live is found in knowing one Lord through intimacy with God in Christ. When God grants us repentance unto life the dry areas of our hearts become watered gardens of His love and presence. What a wonderful letter revealing an exegetical truth for the first century, a syntactical witness of the past, and a living principle by which we can all live in Christ in the generations to come. All New Covenant believers have been born again! They have been born again to the Paradise of God in Christ! They have been granted repentance from dead works in Christ and have been restored in a personal relationship with Him in their hearts (Heb. 6:1; Rom. 5:1-4; Eph. 2:11-22).

Young men and women must learn to embrace the grace of the Spirit of the Lord that empowers them to live in the place of knowing a personal relationship with God that reveals a walk in life that testifies of a relationship with God. This will involve a test and testimony of grace. Like all measures of grace, it involves standing strong in the midst of resistance. It includes a cheerful endurance in the midst of testing. The cheerful endurance of those who stand releases a testimony of the character of Christ within them. This is the overcoming power of grace that reveals the hope of change, the glory of Christ within. Returning to your first love and living in and from that place in life is a testimony of God’s grace working in the life of one who overcomes.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings;

We are not known as the people of God merely by how much God loves us. We are known as the people of God by how much we love those we can see. When we become forgiving, merciful, gracious, kind, and givers of life to those who are still stuck in the thinking process of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we are growing in the process of becoming manifested children of God that overcome in all things. Offenses come, but we are never to take an offense. Life is not fair, thus we must each embrace our own testimony of victory in Christ without comparing our lives with the lives of others. Fatherless societies seek to protect themselves from offenses, but a father led culture seeks to empower the family to not take offense when offenses come. This is called ‘growing up’ in the nature of Christ.

As a father I write to you all today to say it is time we become the people of God and not merely little children who depend upon Him to be the God of the people. We should have little children among us and we should all keep the attitude of a little child, but we must also grow in our ability to overcome in all things, be strong in all things, and be grafted in the word of God within us in all things.

1 John 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Doing what God says is part of the process of growing up. Acting like God is part of becoming a mature son or daughter of the inheritance of Christ. Faith comes by hearing God speak to our hearts and it is the first step to being able to respond to all that God says to us. Unless we hear and respond to His voice we cannot complain when the circumstances of life cause our houses to collapse. Unless we learn to do what God says we cannot remain strong in our relationship with God in the midst of the storms of life. Fathers don’t say everything is ok when it is not, they simply inspire the family to know how to let God work things out and how to be strong in doing things that are sometimes hard. Digging is much harder than simply camping on the beach.

Luke 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? 47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

There is a key phrase in this Scripture that reveals a secret to understanding the secret to growing in maturity in Christ. The phrase is ‘Lord, Lord’. This phrase was found in God’s encounter with Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex. 34:6). In the Stone’s edition of the modern Torah, the rabbinical commentaries state that this act of stating ‘Lord, Lord’ is a Hebrew idiom that implies two things. The first Lord implies that God is the one who forgives us for our sins before we sin, knowing the full extent of all of the sin we will ever do. The second ‘Lord’ implies that God is the one who forgives us after we sin knowing the full extent of all of the sin we have ever done. This is the very first expression of God experienced by Moses in his request to see the glory of God. I believe that this phrase is also key ingredient in our own journey of progressively becoming the house of God. It is not what we believe about God that changes our lives. It is our revelation of God that inspires us to truly believe all that He says. It is based fully upon a revelation of His love! When we see Scriptures that address this double ‘Lord’ it is an implication of this Hebrew idiom.

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

The issue is one of intimacy and trust. Jesus is saying, “Why is it that I am the one who forgives you before you sin knowing the full extent of every sin you will ever do and I am the one who forgives you after you sin knowing the full extent of everything you have ever done, yet you still don’t do what I say.” The true issue of obedience to God is a revelation of His love for us.

In this story of two houses, both houses were built in the same geographical location. Both may have been the same design of house and even the same size of house. Perhaps they both were drawn with the same architectural floor plan. Both houses are likened unto people who God was speaking to and who were hearing what He had to say. The difference is that one responded by acting upon the words he heard while the other did not. Jesus says that the one who heard and responded to the words was like one who digs down to the rock and establishes a foundation for his house. The one who merely heard is like someone who built his house without any foundation at all. The response of acting upon what God was saying is a testimony to the process of setting a foundation for the house. Both houses were faced with the violent storms of life, but only the house with the foundation set upon the rock was able to stand. This is the testimony of true ‘belief’. Our beliefs don’t change by hearing God; they change by responding to what God says to us. This is the process of setting our lives upon the foundation of Christ. I believe that the basis for our ability to respond to what God says to us is based upon a revelation of God’s love. When we know how much He loves us we will respond to all that He says. It is a revelation of who He is that empowers us to do all that He says. It is a matter of love!

God speaks to all people and anyone can hear Him. He loves all people and everyone is a beneficiary of His love. God’s presence is with all people, but not everyone seeks to give their presence to Him. When we know He loves us we respond by loving Him. We become willing to do what He says, even when it is hard. Living in a justice system of love is more demanding than living in a justice system of right and wrong. Sometimes we want to be so righteous we fail to do what is right. It may not be right to forgive the unforgivable, but it is the right thing to do. It may not be right to receive the flawed vessels God sends into our lives, but in love it is the right thing to do.

More to come,

Ted J. Hanson

Greetings,

I believe that God desires to raise up fathers in the earth that will turn their hearts to the children and empower the children to turn their hearts to the fathers. By this, the curse of the earth is broken. A multigenerational inheritance of life comes into the earth when the head of a family recognizes the importance of the things of the future and the things of the past.

Matthew 13: 52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

As leaders we must embrace being fathers and mothers who teach the church to be strong and overcome in order to see the things that God has yet to bring come to pass and to see the ancient things of destiny advanced in the generations of today.

In many ways the church has become weak, because the nations of the world are weak. We all come from fatherless societies and our ability to become fathers and mothers of inheritance has been weakened and diminished by self-focused people who believe that life is more about entitlements than about empowerments. This entitlement mentality has infiltrated the fabric of the church. Little is known about overcoming, but a true father has overcome many things and can therefore empower their children to become strong in the overcoming grace of Christ. Being a child is a wonderful thing! The focus of a child is knowing how much they are loved. This is a great thing and should never be lost in our thinking, but we must move beyond simply knowing we are loved to become those who are willing to do whatever it takes to demonstrate our love for God and for others. A child knows their sins are forgiven and that they are loved by the father. This has become a major sound in the body of Christ. I hear it everywhere! He loves us! He forgives us! He is our daddy! These are all wonderful truths, but it is the testimony of little children.

As a father in the faith I want to first express that I am constantly growing in my understanding of God’s love, forgiveness, and His presence in my life. I also want to confirm that I have also grown in seeing to it that my presence is in God’s life. I have learned to overcome in my 43+ years of knowing Him. Overcoming is the process of becoming a responsible head of a household and it is to be the testimony of the maturing body of Christ – men and women who live to love God and love others. These are men and women who are more concerned with taking responsibility for who they are in Christ than what they can get from Him.

1 John 2:12-14 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children,

because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one.

We must overcome the wicked one. We must be strong and allow the word of God to abide in us. That word that abides in us is not just the freshly spoken rhema word of God in our hearts. It is the logos word, the words that God has spoken. An overcomer knows how to stand on what God has said even if they don’t feel the freshness of His word within them. They know how to constantly hear God and how to stand fast on what He has said. This includes doing due diligence to study God’s written word and to know the kind of things God says so we will not fall for covenant breaking, character compromising thoughts and words that come from other sources. The cares of the world, offenses of the flesh, plans of the devil, and many other things want to keep us as mere children who know that God loves us, forgives us, and is present in our lives. God comes into our lives to reveal that He loves us, but that doesn’t mean that He approves of everything we are doing or even the present character of our being. We were born naturally in societies of compromise, but we have been born again to become who we were meant to be as the people of God in Christ. God wants us to move into His world and become like Him. To do this we must understand that empowerment is more valuable than entitlements. Giving life to others is greater than simply receiving the life that God gives to us. It is not about what God can do for us, it is about becoming like Him in all things!

We must know how to test the spirits. We must know the difference between a word that promises blessings and a word that reveals the testimony of Christ within us. We must know the difference between words that are self-empowering and words that are Christ empowering! We must all learn to depend upon the One within us who is greater than the world. He is greater than our worldly attitudes, thoughts, desires, and actions. We must grow in maturity to embrace the overcoming power of Christ within us. No man has the answers to our problems. No pastor has the ability to bring to us the testimony that God desires each of us to have. Only God can do this and it is by the power of Christ within each of us. We must all grow in maturity and not merely blame our circumstances and situations upon what others do to us or some character way of the world. We were of the world, but now we are children of God!

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

The test is confirmed by the testimony of Christ in each of us. We must grow in maturity in recognizing the witness of Christ within us. It is not the testimony of external blessings, but of internal convictions. As leaders we must grow in this process. As fathers we must seek to empower a maturing family to do the same.

Food For Thought,

Ted J. Hanson