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Original Message
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[link to www.cepher.net]
[link to www.storm (secure)] front/joebrandt.htm
The Lord taught us to beware of the false doctrine of hypocrisy. Hence we read “Beware of the leaven [that is, of the teachings] of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light..." [Luke 12:1-3]
It basically means to live a wicked life in private and an apparent good life in public. And as certain as the sun rises in the east a wicked private life will be exposed. In the case of may of these Pastors they're exposed when their wives divorce them. Either because of physical abused or adultery. The false doctrine of hypocrisy, at best, is prepares congregations for the hour of trial and at worst for hell!
"Because you have kept My COMMAND TO PERSEVERE, I also will keep you from the HOUR OF TRIAL which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." [Rev.3:10] The Lord commandment us to persevere in doing His good works now. In return, He will come to get us in the Rapture so we won't be here for the hour of trial. Notice, He said He's going to keep us FROM the hour of trial. This means we're not going to be here to see it. The hour of trial is for those, who at present, are not obeying the Lord's command persevere in good works, yet IF they're put under severe pressure they will. The hour of trial is going to pressurize Mankind so much that they'll be forced to choose between serving God or serving the Devil. The hour of trial is NOT for those of us who are choosing NOW to serve the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength! Hallelujah! We're the sons of the Most High God and we're about to be revealed!!!
We're active participants in the process of bringing forth our glorified bodies. This is because our Lord Jesus Christ created a new man [or a new woman] from Himself, and implanted him in us. Our new man is like a seed that must grow into a tree with leaves. The leaves represent the knowledge of the Word, according to which our new man must live day by day in order to continuously be renewed. "Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him..." [Col.3:9,10] "...the inward man is being renewed day by day." [2 Cor.4:16]
"...according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior" [Titus 3:5,6] This process of regeneration must continue until our glorified bodies come into existence, from within our new man. Our glorified bodies will be the ultimate "fruit" that will finally complete our redemption!
"...put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." [Eph.4:22-24]
Notice that it's our responsibility to put of the old man and put on the new man. The Lord is not going to do it for us. This is why He's given us the gift of free will. It's also interesting to note that righteousness and holiness are received from the Lord, through our new man. Because our new man is created by the Lord, all the work he does is the work of the Lord. The work of the Lord is to do and say things that express the loving-kindness of God towards everyone we come in contact with each day. This work includes loving our spouses, our children, the brethren and all men in general. This is what our new man was created for. And why we're instructed over and over, in Scriptures, to do the work of the Lord. "This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works." [Titus 3:8]
"...our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself." [Phil 3:20,21]
The phrase "the working", in the above verse, is referring to the work of the Lord that's being produced in us NOW through the Holy Spirit, Who dwells within our new man.
"...be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." [1Cor.15:58] Why do we need to know that our labor is not in vain in the Lord? It's because we're working together with the Lord to bring forth our glorified bodies!
"...hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps MY WORKS until the end, to him I will give power over the nations..." [Rev.2:25] All the good things we say and do are not ours. They're the Lord's works and we must keep on doing them until the end, that is, until He comes. We're also going to have power over the nations. We're going to be like super heroes!
"To those who seek glory, honor and immortality by perseverance in doing good, he will pay back eternal life." [Rom.2:7] "So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don’t give up, we will in due time reap the harvest." [Gal.6:9] "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life..." [John 5:28]
Doing the work of the Lord, doing good or practicing righteousness, all mean the same thing. The LIFE of God, that's going to destroy our mortal bodies and replace them with glorified ones, like I said earlier, will come from within the righteousness we're practicing now! Our righteousness is how we express our faith before God. "For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith." [Gal.5:5] The hope of our righteousness is to receive our glorified bodies when the Lord comes for us in the Rapture. "...we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up [that is, mortality may be incinerated or destroyed] BY LIFE. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee." [2 Cor.5:4,5]
The life of God that's being stored up within us, as we do the work of the Lord, is dynamite on a timer! It's set to go off when the countdown reaches zero!!! This is when our glorified bodies will suddenly explode into existence! We don't have too long to wait before we're transformed from mortality to immortality. See you in the air! God bless you!
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