FATHER KNOWS BEST

What do you turn to in time of need? Do you follow just any old suggestion that comes to mind? A lot of people do. I know of many precious souls who seem to lack direction to their lives be¬cause they just aren't willing to recognize that they are not capable of handling their problems. If we could only realize (real eyes) this, we would stop trying to deal with them and turn them over to our heavenly Father who both wants and is willing to carry the load. The Bible puts it this way, '*Cast thy burden on the Lord and will sustain thee" - Ps. 55:22. Jesus says, "Come unto me all of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". Why? "Because my yoke is easy and my burden is light" - Matt. 11:28. May I put it in my own words without re¬moving any of the sanctity? Come to Him everyone of you who are floundering, failing and anxiously striving in the weakness of your human nature, you who are burdened down with earthly cares that hang about thy neck as a great and heavy yoke; take upon thee instead the divine nature (nurture) that can and will sustain you in all of your ways and the promise is thy day so shall be thy strength ’’. The Bible in so many different ways encourages us to PUT our trust in the Lord. Even King David said in Psalm 33:17, "A horse is a vain thing for safety". We are asked to acknowledge the Lord ways and then He will take it upon Himself to direct our paths, Jesus said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and the righteousness that is of Him, and then He will add all else to our lives". Matt. 6:33. It’s so simple, but how we often com¬plicate our thinking. We depend too much upon our own minds. We have, as it were, entered into a contract or an agreement with God in Christ. Sometimes we get our thoughts mixed and fail to distinguish our work from His. Sometimes we want God to do ours and then at other times we try to do His, We forget that the whole basis of Christianity is trust and that God cannot do ours and we cannot do His. It's in the agreement, and agreements are no good if the ones involved do not keep their word. Jesus says, "You seek me and continue to think on the things that are in my kingdom (that's our part) and I will provide all of your needs according to my riches in Glory, whatever they may be" (that’s His part). Of course, there are earthly responsibilities we must assume; God knows that, but they are not to be magnified above heavenly things. It is often said that we are not to be "so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly good". But what about being so earthly minded that we are of no heavenly good? My ex¬perience is that more people are worried about falling into the first category than the second, I've met a lot of people who are earthly minded, but I find it a rare thing to meet anyone who is heavenly or Spiritually minded, even in church, if you please. It appears to me there is little danger about going overboard with Jesus in most people's lives. I think they are quite secure. If we are going to magnify something, I believe it would be wise if we took the Psalmist* advice who says, "Come now and let us magnify the Lord together" - Ps. 34:3. We are bound to magnify something 1 So what do you turn to in time of need? Do you turn to that which helps you and sustains you, or do you consider that which only ends up delaying your answer? Is Satan leading you on?? People are all different, not any one of them are alike. They have different tendencies or different grooves of thought. They turn to different things when they become lonely, frustrated, bored, or just plain discouraged. You see, human beings are sub¬ject to many different kinds of emotions. More often then we should, we allow our emotions to rule us and make us slaves to our feelings. Feelings are good and were created by God to be our servant, but when things are turned around, it can become quite a problem. In fact, that’s what a problem really is—just something turned around. It can become heli on earth. Have you ever noticed that "evil" is really "live" spelled backwards? It all began with Adam and Eve when they obeyed Satan. When feel¬ings and desires became their master, so did Satan. Satan took control of their emotions and they became ego motions—motions motivated by their ego. They became a curse born of selfishness rather than a blessing, but then that’s always the way it is when we yield our emotions to Satan. Ever notice the difference when God has them as compared to the other side I Fear is an emotion and so is peace. Joy is an emotion and so is sorrow. See the difference? It's just a matter of which spirit has control of you—who you yield to. They are just the opposite in nature. One is the Spirit of God, the other the spirit of Satan. That's how simple it is. Jesus said, "The THIEF comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come that you may have Life abundantly" - John 10:10, The child of God can yield his emotions to the Spirit of happiness “Christ if he wants. He doesn’t have to "pursue" happiness like the world teaches. It's already within him; all he has to do is develop or cultivate an awareness of his posses¬sion. He can do this by magnifying and acknowledging the Lord, not by magnifying and talking about the problem. Try it I It works; whether you emphasize the negative or the positive, you will get immediate results—what we sow, we will reap. And we don't have long to wait for the harvest. You might say that to live dominated by your feelings is living backwards or turned around, and the scriptures say the way of the transgressor is hard. We were not created to live backwards (evil) but front¬wards (live)—our back on our problems and our face in the di¬rection of the Lord- The Psalms say, "They looked unto Him and their faces were lightened, and they were not ashamed" - Ps. 34:5. If you face the Light, the shadows will be behind you, but if you turn your back on the Light, then you must face the shadows. No wonder Jesus said, "Get thee behind me Satan". Some people say we must face our problems, but they don't tell you how to cope. You do it by facing the Lord, and then He will take care of the problem. We are to overcome evil (darkness) with good and ONLY GOD, according to Jesus, is good. People lean in different directions when they have problems. Some think of drink when things get rough? others turn to physical activity to drown out their loneliness or boredom. Sometimes they turn to other people in order to discuss their problem. They for¬get that what they really need is for God to talk to their'Spirit so they may "Live'* and learn that God cannot be found in these other things . Inevitably there will come a reckoning (Rom. 6) day when they must learn the truth that David learned when the scripture records a great milestone in his life. It simply states, "And David encouraged HIMSELF in the Lord". There just wasn't anyone else around that could do it for him. And anyway, it wouldn't last any other way. Well, I guess the question now is, "Where can a person get help that will last and is there really any such thing"?? I suppose that we have all asked these questions at one time or another when we were very preoccupied with the problem at hand, when maybe we should have been putting it under our foot. I wonder if maybe the real problem has been that we too often look for our answer in the wrong thing. The answer, if we are ever to approach things from a sober point of view, must be admittedly recognized as not to be found in drink, or doing, or people, or places, or things; but in Christ and Christ alone. I like that song that says, "There is no disappointment in Jesus, He is ALL that He promised to be".

In the knowledge of God’s Spirit is conveyed His Power and Ability. God is in His knowledge; God is Spirit, Knowledge, Power, and Faith. With God’s knowledge comes wisdom, or the ability to use this knowledge as it can be productive and creative in your life and in the lives of others. When one speaks according to the knowledge that God gives, he is giving voice to the Gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto deliverance to anyone who believes. It will deliver anyone that receives it and believes it, for it is God’s power. This is speaking as an oracle of God. It is as thought God spoke. When God speaks, His Word is performed. The one who ministers the Gospel of Christ represents God, so therefore God must be his ability. Because the Gospel is Truth, you have the ability to back up the words that you speak. You cannot separate God’s Spirit, which fills the Gospel of Christ, from Faith, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Deliverance. He is all of these to us and for us. The Gospel of Christ is saturated with all of these things, for the Spirit says in 1 Cor 3:1 that the Gospel is the image, or expression of God. Wisdom, faith, healing, and deliverance are all given to you through the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel is God expressed to the heart of man. The world was framed by the Word of God. The same Word and ability that formed the world and brought it into existence is released from the lips of the one that proclaims the Gospel. (Notice I said Gospel, not theories, or someone’s opinions.) The Word of Faith, creating out of things that are not seen, the things that are now seen. When one speaks according to Spiritual Knowledge (God’s knowledge), the same power that was drawn upon when the world was created again goes into action. The very same Word with the same Eternal Power. The never changing Word with His unchanging power to perform. The ability of Love, fulfilling the needs of those who put a demand upon the Living Christ. 1958

Don’t expect people to understand you. They didn’t understand Jesus. Don’t expect people to like you for what you say. They didn’t listen very long to Jesus. Don’t expect people to be your friend. They were not always friendly to Jesus. But don’t let this keep you from being understanding with people and don’t let this keep you from speaking God’s Word. Don’t let this keep you from being friendly because Jesus was always friendly. Always remember that the word God has given you is true and does not change because of public opinion. Remember that there is a great gulf between the understanding of man and the understanding that God gives. Remember that one’s understanding is founded in the flesh--the other in the Spirit; and man does not know, or in many instances has not yet come to the place where he can understand Spiritual things. Know that until man learns to recognize the voice of God, he will act quite human. If you therefore understand God, act like Him. Do not lose faith because others do not have it. Remember, be patient with them and know that God’s Love is for them too. Do not give into feelings of disappointment because others do not believe you. Remember they did not believe Jesus either. If they do not respond to you, remember that God does not quit loving them because of your feelings. Remember that there are times when you too have not been responsive to God’s Word and Spiritual things, but still God is very patient and kind. Remember that you are the salt of the earth; and if you really are convinced that you have God’s Word, then speak because you have faith in what you say. If you are not convinced of that, then don’t speak; but if the words you hold are truth and life to you, then these words can work in others as they have worked in you. It is God’s responsibility to take care of His Word. It is your responsibility to speak His Word and believe. Do not be brought under bondage to the carnal mind whether it is yours or someone else’s. It does not understand the things of God, so do not consult with it. Do not defend yourself for you are dead and Christ is your life and He needs no defense. Remember that Love is what has made God’s revelation real to you and it is Love that shall make it real to others. Do not argue. Love does not use force. Always be bigger than those who would oppose you and remember that God’s Word is for them as well as yourself. Remember that Jesus died for all men and His Love is never failing. Never take anything personal, but the Word of God for all else will pass away. Keep ever before you the truth of God’s Word and it will change you. Remember that Jesus understands when people do not. Jesus is your friend when people are not. Jesus cares when people will not. Jesus helps when people cannot. Remember that Jesus never fail, though people often do and that one day the flesh shall pass away and be no more, but God’s Spirit abides forever. Always remember that God’s Word is a “He,” not an “it;” and when you give voice, you are releasing God’s power that can change the lives of those who can hear it. Do not limit God’s Word to your own experience, but know beyond doubt that His Word is not bound to human limitations and will work in the heart of the hungry. Remember, too, that a hungry heart is fertile ground for the Divine seed to take root; and it can grow up as the mustard seed into a great tree having strong branches. Remember that you can fill your words with whatever you choose--hatred or love, life or death, God or Satan, good or evil. Learn only to speak God’s Word and then you will quench the carnal mind’s socalled “right” of expression. Remember that God’s Word is a living thing and is not dead like the words of man. It will work wherever faith is found and too it can generate faith where there is need. Jesus declared that the words that He spoke were “Spirit and Life” and unbelief could not cancel it. Abide in Him and let His Word Live in you and then ask what you will.

There is not such a great gulf between those who believe the doctrine of the Trinity and those who believe that God is one. The doctrine of the Trinity opens the door to harmony by saying, “These three are one.” The Trinity tries hard to explain God but it runs into the same difficulty that has always been encountered when explaining the things of God--carnal understanding. Flesh just can’t know the things of God (1Cor. 2: 11). Trinity is inadequate and admits it! After fashioning minds to accept the “Personages” of God they turn around and in effect say, it wasn’t so because these three are one. The doctrine of “oneness” stops short of things too. They feel that the one and only God is Jesus Christ and that is His name! It is true this is the only name by which we know God. You see, God never had a name, but God is not contained in a name either. I would like to suggest that we look further into what the Bible says in regard to “Oneness.” I know of no other word to use; but by using the term “Oneness,” I do not refer to the doctrine of Oneness. I might as well define what I do mean. Oneness is not only Jesus being made one with God, but it is the believer being made one with God as well. The understanding of this is where the flesh falls short every time. I feel the truth of this Oneness is quite evident throughout the Bible. Jesus prayed to the Father and said, “That they all may be one, as thou Father art in me and I in thee, that they also maybe one in us.”--John 17:21. There is no thought of merely being “in accord with” or of having a “singleness of purpose” as some would have us believe. One is just a number, not many, just one. So when I use the term “Oneness,” that is what I mean. It is my desire that these words will help to establish harmony between those two groups of people who believe the doctrine of the Trinity and the doctrine of Oneness. These words are meant to “put together” not “take apart.” I can put together only by talking about the Spirit of God, because it is only in the Spirit that we are made one. Here, again, I must define my words: Spirit is God--not part of God, but all of God. The Spirit is the Father God that Jesus represented. “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”-- John 1:1. There is no disputing the fact that Jesus was the Word because the Bible plainly states, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”--John 1: 14. In Jesus dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form (Col. 2:9). It is extremely difficult for me to consider how God, the Father (as a person) could dwell within God, the Son, another person, but I can understand a Spirit dwelling in a person. “And the Word was God.” The Word,” (Logos in the Greek) does not suggest a person. God is not so easily defined. Logos is a dynamic thought, not man’s thought. It is the dynamic, or expression of Divine thought, that existed in the beginning that was made manifest to us in the form of the flesh so we could see it. “We beheld His Glory…”--John 1: 14. When I look to the flesh, the only thing I can see is Jesus. It is not the flesh that is God; it is that which is in the flesh--the motivating force (Spirit) that is God. God entered the flesh because through Jesus He could express Himself in such a manner that man could understand. God dwelt in Jesus. Jesus’ flesh was made alive by God. Herein He was the Son of God. The believer’s flesh is also made alive because God dwells in the believer (Rom 8: 11). The same thing that made Jesus the Son of God makes us the Son of God. There came a time when Jesus gave Himself up to the Father. He is no longer in the flesh; he gave that up so we might also become Sons. While He was in the flesh, God was in Him reconciling the world to Himself. Now He has committed unto us the words of reconciliation (2 Cor.5 19). As God worked in Christ, He now works in us, both planning and doing what He desires (Phil. 2:13. We can look to Jesus in the flesh and see Him as the Son; and because we are flesh we can see, and in a measure, comprehend the great compassion and love that He showed forth to those about Him. But because we believe Him, we have received a new dimension of Life by God’s Spirit dwelling within us. We have the privilege and favor of being with Him in the place of glory that was His when only God was, or as the Bible says, “Before the world was.”-- John 17:5. This is the place of our Spiritual abiding; it is the place in the Father’s house that Jesus prepared for us. It is the place in which He received us to Himself so we could be where He is. It is the fulfillment of this prayer that He expressed to the Father, “Father, I WILL that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me.--John 17:24 All of this transpires in God. This Oneness is in the Spirit--it is not in the flesh. In the flesh I am a Son of God, with God’s Life in me. But when one sees his position in God, he will inevitability come to the conclusion that God is all in all and that in Him we have all been made one (Eph 1: 10). Jesus spoke in recognition of two things. He spoke, recognizing His position as a Son in the flesh, and He spoke recognizing His Oneness with God in the Spirit. Consider these remarks: “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30, or “Before Abraham was, I AM.”--John 8:58, or “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”--John 14:9. These are Spiritual facts because they recognize a position found only in God. Then speaking from His position in the flesh, as a Son of God, He said, “All that the Father hath told me, I have told you.”--John 15:15; and again, “The words I speak are not my own, but the Father who dwells in me.”--John 14: 10. There are many words which Jesus uttered that become understandable only when we consider this duality within Jesus, but to suggest the thought is, for the moment, enough. Jesus reigned as the Son, until He put all enemies under His feet--even death (1 Cor.15:26). When God raised Jesus from the dead, He gave Him an incorruptible body so at this time there did exist two Gods—God, the Father, and God, the Son. Let’s consider these things for a moment: Jesus was resurrected from the dead. He had a material body. It was one having form and substance--it was not Spirit. He was emphatic about that. He said, “A Spirit does not have flesh and bone as ye see me have.”--Luke 24:39. Death no longer had any power over Him, He now could live forever. Jesus could have restored the Kingdom to Israel or do anything He wanted to because He had triumphed over all things. He was Lord of all (Acts2:36). Jesus had received the nature of God, the Life of God, the power of God. He literally was all of God in the flesh (Co1.2:9). But there was a God who was Spirit too! What would have happened if this condition continued? To understand this you must understand somewhat of the nature of man. The Bible is quite plain when it comes to exposing at least one of the weaknesses of the flesh. Flesh CAN NOT SEE, nor will it BELIEVE, anything outside its own realm (Rom 8: 7). Therefore flesh can’t understand or believe God, who is Spirit. Jesus could have remained in the flesh and all men would have flocked to Him. They would have beheld His miracles, and argued His wisdom, but THEY WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN THE FATHER GOD, who is Spirit. No man can truly know Jesus without knowing God! Yet there were those who claimed to know Him. “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” By their very words they showed forth their ignorance of who Jesus really was. Jesus said if they had known the Father they would have known Him; but because they knew Jesus only AFTER THE FLESH, they did not know the Father. Had Jesus continued to exist in the flesh, no man would have known God. Although the fullness of God dwelled within the body of Jesus, man did not see God; they only saw another man, one possessed of powers beyond their comprehension, but a man nevertheless. They did not perceive the Spirit. The whole plan of God would have crumbled at this point if Jesus had not given Himself to the Father. Jesus was to reconcile man unto God and man was not reconciled. His place of abiding was not yet prepared. The Holy Spirit (God) did not dwell within man. Here is the paradox that would have happened if Jesus had stayed “in the flesh.” Men would have believed Him because of His works--things they could see. This is the thing that Nicodemus based his belief on (John 3:2). But because Jesus spoke not of Himself, but of God, men could not believe because God is Spirit and no man can understand the things of God--only the Spirit knows the things of God (1 Cor.2: 11). So Jesus had to go away if man was ever to know and abide in God. The fullness of God dwelled within Jesus, and only Jesus. Had Jesus remained in the flesh, no man could ever have had the Life of God within Him because God had already committed Himself. He had given Himself to this man Jesus in whom He was well pleased. He was satisfied. He had found the man worthy of His love. God loved the world to such an extent that He gave Jesus over to Satan (death) and let Him go through the torments of hell, just so we would not have to taste the penalty of sin. What a tremendous thing this is! He was forsaken by God, which IS the penalty of sin, then God raised Him from the dead and rescued Him from hell. He gave Him authority over all things and in effect said, “It’s up to you.” Now the final test of love was up to Jesus. God had lifted Him up above all principalities and all power and made Him Lord of all. He could have established Himself in this world or He could have established us in God. He desired that we know God as He knew Him, so His prayer was, “Make them one, Father, EVEN AS we are one.”--John 17:21 He tried to explain this to the disciples. He said that He was in the father and the father was in Him (John 14:10). Jesus knew the futility of trying to make the disciples understand this amazing thing, but He told them about it anyway. “I have told you about these things before they come to pass so that when they come to pass, you might believe.”--John 14:29. He said that the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things (John 14:26). He would bring to mind the words that they were hearing now and they would understand. “At that day,” Jesus said, “Ye shall know that I am in the Father, and He is in me, and I am in you.”-- John 14:20. In order for this to happen He had to go to the father. This is what He had started to tell His Disciples. It was disturbing news to them. They sensed a termination of their relationship with Jesus in the flesh; but they had no inkling of the NEW, and more COMPLETE LIFE, that was in store for them in the Spirit, and they were troubled. “Let not you heart be troubled,” Jesus said, “You believe in God, believe also in me. I go to prepare a place for you and when it is prepared I will come again and receive you unto myself so that where I am there you may be also.”--John 14:3. But Jesus knew that when He left, the world would see Him no more. He also knew why He was going to give Himself over to the Father, (no man can see God). But He also knew (as no one else had ever known, because He experienced it) that when God had given a man Spiritual Life He also gave him Spiritual eyes. So He told His disciples, “In a little while ye shall see me no more, and yet, in a little while ye shall see me because I go to My Father. Because I live you shall live also.”--John 16:16. He promised them, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.” Then He told them plainly, “It is necessary for your sake that I go away because if I don’t go away the comforter will not come”--John 16:7 If the Comforter did not come, we could never have the Life of God. There would be no such thing as a New Birth because that comes only because Jesus prepared our dwelling place in God. Had the Holy Spirit not come, we could never have known the things of God (1 Cor.2:12), but Jesus did go away! The world will see Him NO MORE, but we see Him because where He is, there we are also. We can behold His Glory because we are hid with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). Listen to the words of the Bible: “And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son himself be subject unto Him that put all things under Him that God may be All in All.”--1 Cor.15:28) This has already been done! All things were put under Jesus feet! This is the ultimate--One God! Man has come into the knowledge of the One God by Jesus Christ. God extended Himself into the realm of flesh by Jesus Christ and man’s ears heard God’s Word from His lips. He came from God and we called Him the Son of God. Remember Jesus had said that the Father is greater than I. He returned to God so that we might know beyond all doubt that there is but One God. He came from God and He returned to God (Spirit) so that we might be one with God. He returned to God so that the Comforter, the Holy Spirit (God Himself), could dwell within us and we would know no division! Had Jesus not given Himself to the Father, there would have been two Gods--one Spirit and one flesh. Man cannot worship two Gods! One cannot worship the man Jesus and worship God at the same time. “God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.”-- John 4:23. Jesus was the first born among many brethren; and because of His love for us, we are made accepted in the beloved. We live in the Father because Jesus lives in the Father. He has given us the Holy Spirit so we may know that all He has said is true. This is our guarantee! I hope now that you have begun to see how Jesus has taken us beyond the limits of persons and places and things and placed us in Himself. The Bible says that we are not of this world even as Jesus was not of this world (John 17: 14). Our Life is no longer of the flesh--flesh divides, and we are not divided. Flesh cannot please God--that’s why we are new creatures (literally a new creation). We are made this way because God dwells in us. “Ye are not in the flesh if so be the Spirit of God dwells in you.”--Rom 8:9. It is through Jesus that we entered into oneness in God. Jesus said, “No man cometh to the Father but by me.”-- John 14:6. He gave Himself to the Father that God maybe the only God. Then because Jesus asked Him, God gave Himself to everyone who believes Jesus. Because we believe, we have entered into God! There should be no contention between those who believe the doctrine of the Trinity and those who believe that God is One. Our understanding of God should go beyond the limits of the flesh and be enlightened by the only God, who is Spirit. The doctrine of the Trinity is a good place to start; but not to stop. We must go further! If Jesus had stopped and not given Himself to God, no man could have eternal life. On the other hand, had He not been a faithful Son, we would not have an abiding place in God. My desire is that we know the Son and His relation to the Father, that we will understand the love that caused the Son to give Himself to the Father; and above all, that we today, right now, KNOW AND ACCEPT OUR POSITION IN GOD! There should be harmony with our brethren who believe that God is One. They too must go on to understand that as God is One so are they, in Christ. To be one with God is the miracle of Salvation. We are made to be a NEW CREATION while we are yet in this mortal body. We must reckon ourselves to be dead to sin. We must consider our lives (our desires in this world) to be no more, because it is God who is now working in us. He plans what is to be done, and He is the only one who can do it. He is our place of rest. When we are willing to listen to God and let Him work, when we are willing to say, “Not my will, but thine be done,” we are in a position to learn more of God than we can ever imagine.