Greetings,
Jesus came to this world and manifested as the Christ, the stature of our heavenly Father in human form. He was the stone that struck the statue of self upon its feet. He struck the statue of self in the place of belief and His Word and Spirit proved to be stronger than the lies and deceptions set as the foundation of self-seeking humanity. His ability to transform the high places of our hearts by the higher place of the Father’s love enables a transformation of our actions, imaginations, and influences in the world. The Stone of Christ is the substance of each and every stone in the mountain of God. Every stone in the mountain of God is the likeness and image of the Father. The beliefs of self-seeking are established by the control and manipulation of human desires. They are like the iron and clay found in the feet of the statue in the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2:31-45). The foundation of the stature of Christ is different than the foundation of the statue of self. The beliefs of the heart of those who find themselves in the stature of Christ are established upon the will of the Father and not the self-seeking, self-preserving, self-fulfilling ways of men. It is not the will of a man (iron) nor is it the will of the people (clay) that reveals the likeness and image of our heavenly Father. It is not control or manipulation. It is not about what we can get in life, but what we are for the sake of blessing others. We are here to bless. We are a blessing. The transformation happens in the mountain of the Lord. It happens in the corporate place of Christ’s life. It happens in the body of Christ, the church, the place of divinely joined members of the habitation of Christ.
Let’s go to the mountain of the Lord and He will teach us His ways. I am here to be a blessing. I am here to give. I am here to bless you. I believe it, so now I am acting as a blessing. Instead of making judgments according to the flesh (brass), I am demonstrating actions that speak of my love. I believe I am blessing, so I am going to be who I am for your sake. I am going to act in a way that causes you to come alive. I am living to multiply, not to add to my own life. What does that do? It changes what I think about. It changes what is in my heart and in my arms. What am I believing for the future? I am believing that what cannot be changed today is going to be changed in the generations of tomorrow? This church doesn’t exist for me. It exists for the children that haven’t been born yet. My life is for my children’s children and their children. I am imagining a world beyond me. I am believing for the impossible. I am living for what cannot be changed today to be changed tomorrow. The result will be a new influence – a greater principality – The Principality Christ. The Prince of all princes is the influence of my life.
If the feet of this body were a man named Paul, then the waist and the thighs was a man named Timothy, so the chest and arms could be faithful men, and the ultimate head could be others also. This testimony of the stature of Christ goes into a third and fourth generation. This church is here for a third and fourth generation. The influencers of the world live like this and the church almost never does and that is why some in the world have more influence than the church. The church often lives for today with little thought of tomorrow. The gospel of the kingdom of God is the kingdom of God filling the earth.
My wife does not need me praying illegitimate prayers like; “Honey what do you want to do next year? I don’t know babe, if there is a next year. Let’s not plan too far out. If it is the will of God that I still love you in five years, then we can maybe do that.” If our covenant relationship includes a way of it ending, it will end. If we don’t have a covenant plan, our plans will come to an end. Martin Luther, from the reformation, was asked what he would do if he know Jesus was coming back tomorrow? His answer was, “I will plant a tree today.” In other words, he was not planning on Him coming back today. If He does fine, but he was putting something in the earth that never ends. We are here to put something in the earth that never ends. How awesome is this place! This is the gate of heaven! This is the place that changes the beliefs of hearts of men. This is the place of Abraham, that then becomes the place of Isaac, that then becomes the place of Jacob, that then becomes the place of Israel!
We are not going away. We are not disappearing. I have already decided that when I am gone from this earth that I will still be in this earth. I am putting as big of a mark of who I am in the earth for the sake of us. I have already decided that my sons and my daughters are smarter than me and my grandchildren and great grandchildren will do greater things still. I am living for that. I was glad when they said, let’s go to the house of the Lord. This is the mountain where the ways, the paths, the Law of God, and the Word goes from Jerusalem. The word is the influence of the Lord. These are beliefs, actions, imaginations, and influences. We can expect to be challenged in our ways. God’s beliefs are going to challenge our beliefs. The path of God is going to challenge our paths. The law of God is going to challenge the law as I see it. The word of Jerusalem is going to challenge the world of Ted. I need to be a part of the community, so His beliefs become my beliefs, so His paths, His actions, become my paths. I need to be a part of His mountain so His law, the law of love, becomes the law of my heart and mind. I need to be a part of His house, so His word becomes the word of who I am and who we are as an expression of Him.
In all of this, it is us! This is a great thing! I am not shopping for what meets my needs. I am expecting to be changed. I am expecting to be transformed. I am expecting to be challenged to grow. I am expecting to get old, but I am also expecting to flourish in my older years. On the outside I am 62, but on the inside I am eternal, and I am dreaming more. What am I dreaming about? What are we going to become? This is the family of God.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
