Monday, September 21, 2026

ALL ABOUT PRAYER -- APPENDIXES

 

All About Prayer

Part Three: Appendices

                                           APPENDIX ONE 
                                    
What about Matthew 21:22.......ALL THINGS...BELIEVING...SHALL
RECEIVE.

Does this mean we can pray:

1. Please God, I'm late for work, I must speed at 65 in a 45
miles per hour zone. Give me freedom from the police and from
killing someone in a crash.
2. I'm out of work Lord, I have a good job offer but I must work
on the Sabbath for half a day. Please let that be okay with you.
3. Father, I need to embezzle some money to pay the hospital
bills for my sick mother. Please help me find a good way to
embezzle money.
4. My ex wife/husband is a rotten person (taking me to court,
abusing the children, making life hell on earth for me), so
please Lord, help me find the right "hit man" who will blow them
away.
5. I think the President of the USA is an evil man, help me oh
Lord to assassinate him, give me the right opportunity and a good
aim as I pull the trigger.
   
Can we really pray for "all things" and believing we shall
receive?
I think you will see from the examples I gave that as a
Christian, and knowing the laws and character of God, it is not
possible to just pray for "all things" and receive it from the
Lord.

Matthew 21:22 must be understood in the context of the WHOLE
Bible and many other verses on this subject of prayer. Some of
the other verses we must keep in mind are:

James 4:3
Eph.5:17
1 John 5:14,15

Again, go back over the above pages and meditate upon the section
"Prayers are unanswered when."

NOW, I want you to turn to Matthew 5 and read verses 25,26. Jesus
is talking to His DISCIPLES!! Jesus is talking to any Christian.
Jesus is saying that if a Christian has done wrong, make it right
with those wronged. If the Christian is in the wrong better try
and solve the problem and make it right if possible. If you do
not, don't expect God to erase the physical penalty you may have
to pay - don't expect God to get you off  "scot free"  from the
physical penalty that may be imposed on you by those you have
wronged.

Please read Romans 13:1-7.

Clearly the powers that be are there because the Lord allows them
to function, and in many cases they are His servants to execute
punishment on those who break laws. James tells us that it is
through law that we have liberty. If there were no laws then
everyone would be a law unto themselves, doing it "my way  as a
popular song was entitled. With no laws we would have anarchy,
people driving as they wanted, as fast as they wanted. Imagine
our towns and cities without any laws governing traffic - it
would be a horror show all the time.

Examples:

1. You are stopped and given a speeding ticket by the police -
you ARE guilty and you know it. Will God deliver you from paying
the fine? Even if you pray all night long, I doubt if the
Lord will set you free from the physical penalty - Romans 13
takes effect. If we are guilty the laws of the land usually deal
out some penalty and that is the way the Lord has decreed it
must be, if we are willing to let Romans 13 teach us the truth of
the matter.

2. You rob a bank by "white collar" work - you are guilty. Will
you pay a physical penalty?
Sure you will, the courts of the land will impose some punishment
on you and God will allow it, for they are His servants to
execute punishment upon those who do wrong.

3. Your son/daughter pulls a knife on another classmate and
threatens them with harm. They are guilty. Can you expect God to
give them complete freedom from some sort of punishment from
society for the evil they have done? According to Romans 13 you
must expect a penalty to be paid.

4. Teenagers - you deal in drugs - you get caught - you are
guilty. Don't ask our God to answer our prayers to get you off
"scot free" without some penalty having to be paid. Romans
13 says God's servants will render punishment upon those who do
wrong.

5.  If you "drink and drive" and kill someone - you are guilty -
better get ready to pay the price, Romans 13 will kick into gear.
It is very unlikely God will hear any prayers for a "no
punishment" sentence.

God can and will forgive ANY sin/evil upon genuine repentance  
the spiritual side of the sin is forgiven and no death penalty is
handed out, but God does not always remove the physical
punishment that He or His servants the judges say must be paid by
the offender - Romans 13.

Here is an outline of what I think our attitude should be in
prayer when a son/daughter/mother/father/brother/sister/close
friend etc. runs amok of the law of the land, when they are
guilty and Romans 13 faces them:

Our heavenly Father, help them to see their error and sin, help
them to turn to you in deep sorrow and repentance. Please help
them and us to FACE and ACCEPT the physical punishment from your
servants the judges(Rom.13). If it is your will, grant that the
judges will be able (if there is evidence) to show some mercy to
be applied in some cases. I have faith that whatever the penalty,
it is your will for your purpose for the ultimate good.


                               APPENDIX TWO


                DOES THE ETERNAL HEAR PRAYERS
                        FROM PEOPLE NOT IN THE
                               CHURCH OF GOD? 
                                     
                                     
    The woman that went into history as the doctor who delivered
7, yes 7 babies all alive into the world, being interviewed about
it all, said: "To many people God is abstract, but let me tell
you God is not abstract" and then put her face in her hands and
cried.
    On the evening of December 24th 1997, the NBC program
DATELINE had a special one hour documentary on mother Bobby
(including her husband and others as well) and her
REMARKABLE pregnancy and delivery of 7 small (but not as small as
could have been expected for sure) babies. The world was WATCHING
and had been for some weeks before.
    Don't know about you but I praise the Lord when He now and
again lets the whole world KNOW He is still alive and well, still
ANSWERING prayers, and still able to perform ANYTHING He wills.
What a joy to know and to believe that it is still true, "Nothing
is impossible with God."

    Here were two parents, who found that they were possibly
going to have SEVEN babies. It just blows your mind to think
about it. As far as they knew it had never happened before in the
USA, and who knows where else, maybe no other country has
anything on record like it either. These parents did not ask the
Eternal to give them seven children, seven babies all AT ONCE!
They just found they were the parents of seven babies, growing
inside Bobby's womb! For most young couples without the Lord in
their lives there is probably no way they would have tried to
carry seven babies to birth - natural reduction would have been
chosen. The doctor's offered this to Bobby - a picking of what
would be considered as the healthiest of the babies, and ABORTING
the rest. But as Bobby said, because they believe LIFE begins at
CONCEPTION (which indeed it does as proved not only by physical
science but the Bible) such a choice was NO CHOICE. There would
be NO THOUGHT of such a thing, and as she said they did not want
ANY doctor serving them who would want to regularly badger them
with such an idea. For Bobby and her husband, it was full steam
ahead, and let the Lord work His work, as He wished it to be.
    This young couple were and are a SINCERELY religious couple,
faithful members of their church. They have a personal faith in
the Almighty and His Son. Soon the whole congregation knew about
this wonder taking place. For a number of months they were asked
to keep it a secret from the world. They did. But all who knew
were busy PRAYING for the hand of the Supreme One to be watching
over this young pregnant mother carrying seven babies. There were
times a prayer chain was called when things seemed very difficult
for one reason or another. Answers in the positive came. Finally,
Bobby could not go on any further without having to deliver the
children. Once more, in the hospital with members of the family
and church there, prayers were sent up to heaven that all would
go well, and that the Lord would grant all seven of the babies to
live through the birth and on from there into further life.
    Well, once more the Eternal answered in the affirmative, all
were delivered, and as the woman doctor that did the deliveries
said, "To many God is abstract, but let me tell you God is not
abstract." I guess she really knew it that day if she had any
doubts about it before.
    The last to be born had his problems not long after, pretty
serious it was, the doctor's did what they could, but...... they
just did not know if...... So the prayer chain in the church
was called into action once again. And sure enough in no time at
all it would seem, the answer came back on the plus side. The
problem was cleared up and just gone!

    All seven are doing well. Does all this mean they will grow
up with a silver spoon in their mouth as we say. No, it does not!
At this time we have no way to know what lies ahead for anyone of
these seven little children. That is not our concern here. We
just need to focus in on the reality of what the Lord has done in
granting this mother and father, and their community, these seven
babies as they are now, alive, healthy and to be raised.

    Not only brethren is this a wonderful strengthener of faith
in the fact that the true Eternal Father is in heaven above and
still working His miracles here below, but it carries another
very important lesson for us who tend to pride ourselves as being
the true children of God, with more "truth" and "enlightenment"
than any of the others who call themselves "Christian." Far too
often we think and even believe as a doctrine, that God only
hears and answers prayers from......well  the "elect" - only from
people like ourselves, ones who have been given all the special
truths of God, that others do not see, will not see, or who are
just too blinded to see. Ah, and in those last words is part of
the important answer to all this.
    Of all people on this earth, we in the Church of God who have
been granted to know the very plan of salvation for this whole
world, from Adam to the New Jerusalem and the new earth, should
realize that that is where it lies,  for it is written, the whole
are BLINDED, and only the few chosen to grace and light. Many may
be called to hear the word of the Lord, but relatively few go on
to really understand it and live by every word that God has
written for us. What is true about Israel is also true for all
nations. Read carefully again the message of Paul, the truth of
the Lord, as found in Romans chapters 9 to 11. This world
naturally lies in deception, for Satan the devil has been allowed
by God to deceive this whole earth(Rev.12:9). He is the god of
this world the one who has in the main blinded the minds of men
who believe not(2 Cor.4:4) lest the light of the glorious gospel
should shine unto them. And even among those who "do believe" -
who do have a zeal for God as many of Paul's country-men did,
they have a zeal "not according to knowledge" (Romans 10:2), not
according to the correct understanding of the truths of the Lord
as is given to those who are the "elect" that cannot be deceived
(Mat.24: 24).
    But, with all that said, with all that as it is, those who
are BLINDED but still "do believe" are so because God has not
then chosen to REMOVE that blindness. It was Jesus Himself who
said that UNLESS the Father called a person - removed the
covering of blindness from their eyes - NO ONE could come to Him
- John 6:44,65.
    And, some do come to Christ, some do believe there is a God
in heaven, but never go on to "grow in grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Christ Jesus."  They may be sincere but often
they are still sincerely wrong in their religious beliefs and
practices.
    We in the Church of God, who have been given the light of
knowing the great and wonderful plan of salvation for all who
have ever lived on this earth as pictured through the Festivals
of the Eternal, need to remember it really is true that "there go
I but by the grace of God." We need to remember there are
millions out there among the Roman Catholics and Protestant
churches that are very sincere in their love, in their service,
for God and fellow man. They really do want to live as best they
know how and with what has been revealed to them about the
Almighty and His Son. And if their zeal towards God is in part
without knowledge, THAT IS SO BECAUSE GOD HAS NOT YET CHOSEN TO
REMOVE THE
BLINDNESS!
    Can the Father LOVE such persons? Can He HELP such persons?
Can He GIVE to them? Can He ANSWER THEIR PRAYERS? Oh, if it is
written "The Lord sends the rain on the just and on the unjust"
SURELY He can help, serve, love, give, answer the prayers of
those who have a zeal for Him but not according to full
knowledge, because He has not chosen to remove their blindness!

    The Father wants, desires that all should come to repentance
and be saved. He does not want ANY to perish - so it is written.
But He has a time plan for everyone. Many may be called to hear
the Gospel, but few are CHOSEN to be of the election of grace,
and the rest are left in BLINDNESS - see Romans 9. Yet in the
Eternal's good time the Redeemer, the Messiah will come, and so
as it is written "all Israel will be saved" (the huge vast
majority by the time the plan is finished) - see the wonderful
11th chapter of Romans.

    There were two sincere young people, a husband and wife, the
parents of one little girl, who found themselves through the
grace of God to be the parents of SEVEN babies growing inside the
womb of the wife Bobby. As they said, they may not have wanted it
to be that way, they may not have chosen it if left up to
themselves (I can understand that, for who in this modern world
would want to have seven babies all at once?) but they found God
had given them this miracle. In the sincerity of their hearts
they said "Lord, your will be done."
They went forward in FAITH! They went forward with PRAYER! They
went forward with others who saw the hand of the Almighty in this
and who said they would serve and help them care for these
precious little lives that have the potential to become part of
the very family of the Father in heaven.
    Oh, indeed it is so, God is not abstract, He really does
live, He really is an individual being that exists, and He does
hear and answer the prayers of even those who may not be
called to the first resurrection. God has a special love for
those whom He has called and chosen to be the BRIDE of Christ at
His coming in glory, but He still loves and serves, as He
wills, those who have a zeal for Him but are still in much
blindness. As it is His responsibility to remove spiritual
blindness and reveal the truths of His word to anyone, so it is
that He is able to see the sincerity within the heart of anyone
towards Him that are still left in blindness, and answer their
prayers, as He wills, just as He is able to do so for those
called to be the very elect and bride of Christ.

    It is very sobering to realize that Jesus taught in plain
words that many who had been called and chosen to be in the first
resurrection at His coming again, would not MAKE IT!
Yes, five of the ten virgins would run out of oil in their lamps
and find they missed the Bridegroom when He came. There were many
in Jesus' time who had the law, they had the prophets, they had
the covenants, they had the true God of Israel, but they lacked
the simple heart-felt humility and sincerity that would be needed
to enter the first resurrection. He looked on that scene,
sometimes crying over it as He did with Jerusalem, wanting to
gather them under His wings as a mother hen does her chicks. He
told them that in the day of judgment - the great white throne
day - the sincere humble attitude of those who repented at
the preaching of Jonah would put to shame many of those in His
day who were witness to one greater than Jonah (Mat. 12:41).

    As I have seen the interviews of this young mother and father
who were given seven babies on one particular day to have and to
raise, whatever befalls them, I have been amazed at their simple
sincere and humble faith in the Father and His Son. The Supreme
One loves them, has helped them, and He surely did answer their
prayers and those who prayed with and for them and their seven
babies.
    May the Lord continue to help and be with them through
whatever this physical life may present them with. Let us
remember that young mother and father and their children in
our prayers. As the delivery doctor said: "To many people God is
abstract, but let me tell you God is not abstract," then she put
her face in her hands and wept.

    Oh, that many more thousands and millions in Israel would
come to see the reality that God is alive and is a real personal
Being. Oh, that many more would then pray to that Eternal Father,
and even put their face in their hands and weep.

                   .............................................................

Written December 1997

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ALL ABOUT PRAYER #2

 

All About Prayer

Part Two

                 OTHER THINGS TO PRAY ABOUT

Pray that God will send forth labourers - ministers - into the
work of God:
  "But when He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion on 
  them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep
  having no shepherd. Then said He unto His disciples, the        
  harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray you
  therefore the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth       
  labourers into his harvest" (Matt. 9:36-38).

Pray for those ministers already in God s work:
  "Brethren, pray for us" (1 Thes.5:25).

Pray for deliverance from affliction (James 5:13).

Pray for the sick: 
  "..... And pray one for another, that you may be healed ....."  
  (James 5:16).

Pray for your enemies and persecutors (Matt. 5:44).

The rulers of our nation are put there by God (Romans 13:1-7). We
should pray for them.
 
We can pray for our physical parents - brothers and sisters in
the flesh and in the church.

We can pray for our own children and their needs.

God does not limit us in things to pray about, as long as it is
according to His will. And His will is revealed in His word.
Study it, and you will come to know His will. You will then
find lots to pray about.

                           BOLDNESS IN PRAYER

God was going to utterly destroy every soul in Sodom and Gomorrah
because their sin was great. Abraham stood yet before God and was
humbly BOLD in pleading for any righteous in those cities
(Gen.18:20-23).

Israel, with their rebelliousness and disbelief, pushed God to
the limit. He was about to destroy them all, and build a nation
from the man Moses, when Moses interceded for them. God heard,
and changed His mind (Num. 14:1-20).

Paul was inspired to write:
  "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we 
 may obtain mercy and grace to help in time of need" (Heb.        
 4:16).

Notice the verses before. Even when we have sinned, because
Christ was human and tempted as we are, because He knows what we
have to overcome, He is a great High Priest. We can come boldly
to God and obtain mercy.

                      GOD PROMISES TO ANSWER!

To those who are seeking and serving God with all their heart and
mind, God has promised to hear and answer their requests,
petitions and prayers. David wrote:
  "As for me, I will call upon God .....evening, and morning, and
  at noon, will I pray and cry aloud. And He SHALL HEAR my voice"
  (Ps.55:16).
Psalm 65:2 tells us that God does hear prayers. 
Isaiah was inspired to write:
  "Then you shall call, and the Lord SHALL ANSWER; you shall cry,
  and He shall say, Here I am" (Isa. 58:9).
Again, in Isaiah 65:24 we read:
  "It shall come to pass that before they call I WILL ANSWER; and
  while they are yet speaking, I will hear."

God, through Jeremiah, says to us:
  "Then shall you call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto    
  me, and I WILL HARKEN unto you ....." (Jer. 29:12).
Then, in Jeremiah 33:3 we have this wonderful promise:
  "Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and    
  mighty things, which you know not."
Who is this "YOU" that God says He will answer? Let Him tell us:
  "The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but
  the prayer of the upright is His delight. The Lord is far from
  the wicked: but He heareth the PRAYER OF THE RIGHTEOUS"         
  (Prov.15:8,29).

  "The eyes of the Lord are UPON THE RIGHTEOUS, and His ears are
  open unto their cry" (Ps. 34:15).
                                     
  "If my people which are called by my name shall humble          
  themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their     
  wicked ways; THEN WILL I HEAR from heaven ....." 
  (2 Chron. 7:14).

  "And thou, Solomon [and all true followers of God] my son, know
  you the God of your father [John wrote, 'We know that we know   
  Him if we keep His commandments' 1 John 2:3] and serve Him with 
  a perfect heart and with a willing mind ...... If you seek
  Him, He will be found of thee ...." (I Chron. 28:9).

To those who are serving God in righteousness [and all of God's
commandments are righteousness - Ps. 119:172], to those who want
to obey Him, who have the spirit of humility, who love His ways,
laws, statutes and judgements, to those who look to Him in faith
through Christ Jesus - to them is His delight - to them His face
shines upon. To those individuals He PROMISES to hear and answer
their prayers..

But HOW does He answer? In what WAYS does He answer?

                  ANSWER EXCEEDS PETITION!

Christ said we must ask and we will receive:
  "And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do If you
  ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14).
  "Whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, He will give   
  it you. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full"
  (John 16:23-24).

All of our asking must be qualified by this verse in 1 John
5:14,15.
  "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask    
  anything according to His will, He hears us: and if we know     
  that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the    
  petitions that we desire of Him."

God has given us examples in His word, that at times His answer
far exceeded what was asked for. In I Kings 3:7-9 we read this
about Solomon:
  "And now, 0 Lord my God, you have made your servant king        
  instead of David my father, and I am but a little child: I know
  not how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst
  of your people ..... a great people ..... Give therefore your   
  servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may
  discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge your so
  great a people."

God was so pleased with Solomon because he asked for the right
things. He asked according to God's will, that God said he would
not only have great WISDOM but he would also be given great
wealth. He would be given that which he did not ask for (verses
10-13).

When Peter was imprisoned, the church prayed for him (Act.12:5).
The answer God gave them included Peter's deliverance (verses
11-17).

          ANSWER TO, DIFFERENT FROM THE REQUEST

Sometimes God chooses to answer us in a way we were not expecting
or maybe desiring.
Moses asked to be permitted to cross Jordan. The answer was
permission to view the land of promise (Deut. 3:23-27).

Martha and Mary asked Jesus to come and heal their brother
Lazarus. Jesus delayed, but raised Lazarus from the dead (John
11).

Paul asked that the thorn in the flesh be removed. The answer was
a promise of grace to endure it (2 Cor. 12: 8,9).

                  ANSWER TO PRAYER DELAYED

God will not always answer our prayers immediately!
  "Also [Jesus] told them a parable, to the effect that they      
  ought always to pray and not to turn coward - faint, lose heart
  and give up" (Luke 18:1, Amplified Bible). 
The parable is contained in verses 2-5. Christ said we should
hear what the Judge says (verses 4-5).  The widow did not give
up. She persisted in her request until the judge answered her
petition.

God in His great wisdom may hold back His answer to us, or delay
our request; but He will have a very good reason for so doing. We
are not to lose heart and give up our prayer to Him. We are to be
persistent. He will answer us. We must do as David did:
  "I WAITED PATIENTLY for the Lord, and He inclined unto me, and
  heard my cry" (Ps.40:1).

This brings us to the next point.

                   PRAYER AND FAITH

When we pray we must have faith that God is, and is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him:
  "Without faith it is impossible to please Him. For he that      
  cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a         
  rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6).

An example is given to us by James:
  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
  all men liberally ..... and it shall be given him. But let him
  ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth [doubts]   
  is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For
  let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the    
  Lord" (James 1:5-6).

And Christ told us:
  "All things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you
  shall receive" (Matt.11:24).

We must have trust - confidence that God hears us, and will
answer us and grant us our petitions and requests. We are His
children, we do obey Him, we do pray according to His will. He
has promised to hear us and give to us. We must claim that
promise. God cannot lie.

  "Therefore I say unto you, what things soever you desire, when  
  you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have     
  them" (Mark 11:24).

        TOKENS ASKED FOR, AS ASSURANCE OF AN ANSWER

When we have a very difficult decision to make or need special
guidance in something, we can go to God and specifically ask for
a token from Him to tell us how we should go or what He wants us
to do. Abraham sent his eldest servant out to find a wife for
Isaac his son (Gen. 24:1-4). He came into Mesopotamia unto the
city Nahor (verse 10). He waited by a well, knowing that many
women would come by. He spoke to God and said:
  "Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters   
  of the city come out to draw water. And let it come to pass,    
  that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down your pitcher, I   
  pray you, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I     
  will give your camels drink also. Let the same be she that you
  have appointed for your servant Isaac. And thereby shall I know
  that you have shewed kindness unto my master" (verses 13-14).

God did indeed answer that petition as requested. Read verses 15
through 27.
    
Gideon wanted to know if God would deliver Israel out of the
hands of their enemies if he went up to fight them. Gideon asked
God for a token   a sign that He would be with Israel in this
battle. God answered him by performing his request - by working a
miracle (Judges 6:29-40).

                      FAMILY PRAYER?

Should husband and wife and children pray together at times? What
does God's word say about this? What is the principle? Would it
constitute "praying to be seen of men" which Christ spoke against
doing?
The examples sometimes given to show we should have family prayer
(Gen. 12:5,8; 35:3; Act 10:2) are, I believe, vague in this
matter. But we do have the clear teaching that in marriage man
and woman become one flesh (Gen 2:23-24). So to pray together
(and with their children who are the same flesh) would NOT be
praying to be seen of men.
Family prayer would have God's fullest approval and blessing.
                                     
                      PUBLIC PRAYER?

We should note very carefully the examples of social or public
prayer recorded in the Bible.
Such examples are found in Josh. 7:6-9; I Chron. 29:10-19; 2
Chron. 6:1-42; Matt. 14:23; Lk. 3:21; John 11:41,42; 12:27,28;
17:1-26).

Note that they were done by one individual - not many people
taking turns. Most were done in front of the church [Israel was
the church in the wilderness - Act 7:38], not in front of the
heathen.

Most of these public prayers were very short. You can say or read
many of them in a matter of seconds.

Those prayers that were longer were given at very special times  
on special occasions, such as ordinations, dedications, national
calamities, and in Jesus' case (John 17) just before His death.
Otherwise, public prayers were SHORT, to the POINT and done
MAINLY in front of the church or other followers of God.

                     PRAYER MEETINGS?

There is no verse that commands or shows us an example of any
regular weekly "church prayer meeting" as held by many modern
churches of today. Our prayer life is mainly to be on a private
individual basis, done in secret, behind closed doors as Jesus
taught us. As the husband and wife and their children are looked
upon as a unit of ONE by the heavenly Father, it is certainly not
wrong to have FAMILY prayer as I have already stated.

But the question may be asked: Did the NT Church ever come
together at any time to have what could be called a prayer
meeting, are there any examples of such in the New Testament?
Yes, indeed there is!

Notice Acts 1:12-14. After Jesus had ascended into heaven the
disciples were in the upper room where they "continued with one
accord in PRAYER and SUPPLICATION, with the women, and Mary the
mother of Jesus, and with His brethren."
This had to be some kind of unified "church prayer meeting." 
Those who would try to reason around it so being must resort to
some pretty fancy foot work and deceptive mind bending.
Now turn to Acts 12 and read verses one to twelve. In the house
of Mary the mother of John there were MANY gathered together
PRAYING over the imprisonment of Peter. This obviously had to be
what is today called "a prayer meeting."
These above examples were unique situation that the church was
encountering but nevertheless the honest reader of the Bible
cannot fail to see that the apostolic Church of God did from time
to time, when needed, have a PRAYER MEETING.
Some would argue they just got together as a group and sat there
quietly as a group while everyone prayed silently within
themselves. Well.....possible I guess, but not very likely, the
Jewish people are not that reserved or straight-laced.

I must finish this section by answering the question about
"church" prayer and KNEELING.
Some think that it is just too sanctimonious or externally
religious for a church group to KNEEL while praying. Did any of
the NT churches ever do it? Yes, indeed they did! Turn to
Acts 20 and 21, read those chapters and you will find TWO
examples of Paul and church members praying and kneeling
together. Once more you will notice these were special times
when Paul and the local church kneeled to pray, but what I want
you to note is that it was done!!  For a local church and/or one
that belongs to a larger organized body of local churches, to go
through its entire existence, with trials, tests, problems,
special events and concerns, and NEVER get down on their knees to
pray as a congregation, is just not following the Bible in its
full revelation and examples given to us to live by.
The example given to us of Paul and the congregation was of a man
who had worked among them, was beloved by the church very much,
and who was now leaving them, perhaps never to be seen by them
again as a congregation, and they kneeled and prayed on his
departure. SO it is special occasions that this example covers.

                  PRAYERS GOD WILL NOT ANSWER

It is recorded that God will not hear the prayers of sinners.
But, on the other hand, he that does the Father's will; him He
will hear (John 9:31).

Also, it is written in Prov. 15:8,29, "The sacrifice of the
wicked is an abomination to the Lord ..... The Lord is far from
the wicked....."
But someone will say: Are we not all sinners? Does not John say
that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves? (1 John 1:8). 
So what does it mean - God will not hear sinners?
Let's go back to Proverbs 15:29 and read the rest of it:

  "The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of
the righteous."

Now, righteousness is the keeping of God's commandments (Ps.
119:172).  So, on the one hand we have people who will obey God,  
will do His will, keep His laws; and they are called the
righteous. On the other hand, we have the wicked - those who will
not obey God - who will not be ruled by Him - who will not keep
His commandments. James says, that to him who knows to do good
and does not do it, to him it is sin (Jam. 4:17).  Paul says in
Romans that by or through the law is the knowledge of sin, and
when he came to the law (read it, studied it) he was shown what
sin was.

The whole Bible is an amplification of what sin is and what
righteousness is! When righteousness - God's commandments - are
revealed to us, if we refused to do them (to do good), then to us
that is sin. And as long as we rebel against God, we are living
in an attitude and life of sin. We are one of the wicked whose
prayers God will not hear. There is a vast difference between
sinning in ignorance, and through the weakness of the flesh, and
sinning with an attitude of knowing better but choosing to
wilfully to sin after we have received the knowledge of the truth
(see Heb.10:26).

When we have truly repented of breaking God's holy, just and good
law (as Paul called it), when we have accepted Christ's sacrifice
of His death in our stead (for the law has claimed out lives.
Compare Rom. 3:23; I John 3:4; Rom. 6:23), when we realize that
to accept Christ's sacrifice - to come under God's grace - does
NOT MEAN we can just go on breaking His law (Rom. 6:1-2), but
that we must serve, live, obey, yield to righteousness
[obeying that law that at first slew us], then sin [breaking
God's law, I John 3:4] must not any longer have dominion over us
(Rom. 6:12-14).  As we are now under the grace of God, we must
not go back to serving sin [just breaking with impunity God's
law]; for if we do, the grace of God will no longer be applied.
Christ's blood will not cover the sins of those who willingly
break God's spiritual law. Those people will again be under the
sentence [death penalty] of the law (Rom. 6:15-23).

When we know all this, and desire with all our heart and mind to
love and serve God, then we are living in righteousness; our
attitude is correct. We ARE righteous [through Christ's
sacrifice and He living His life in us, Gal. 2:20] and GOD HEARS
OUR PRAYER!!
                                     
Those who DO NOT have that submissive yielded attitude of
obedience to God. Those who DO NOT say with Christ, "not MY will
be done, but THINE."  Those who are rebellious in attitude and
life, who have been called to know right from wrong, who are not
ignorant, who are not deceived, but will not follow the will of
the Lord - they are the ones who God calls as " the wicked" that
He is against. Their prayers will not go any further than the
ceiling.

Anyone who is serving to the best of their knowledge what God has
so far revealed to them, He will HEAR. It is only when God
reveals more and that person refuses to live and walk in it that
He then stops hearing that person's prayers.

Truly, God hears not sinners but heareth the prayer of the
righteous!

Prayers are unanswered when:

It is substituted for necessary action (Joshua 7:7-15).
It seeks to change God's declared decrees. God can not act
contrary to Himself (Deut.3:23-27).
It seeks to avert deserved and necessary chastisement (2 Sam.12:
16-18).
It is offered in arrogance and foolish pride (Prov.8:13). 
It totally disregards the known revealed will of God 
(1 Sam.8:9,10). 
It is prompted by selfish ulterior motives (Mat.6:5; James
4:2,3). 
It arises out of a heart full of ill will and hatred towards
others (Mat.5:24).

                      HELP IN PRAYING

Do you know that God gives us help in praying:

  "The Spirit also helps our infirmities, For we know not what we 
  should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself makes        
  intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
  uttered" (Rom. 8:26).

That Spirit that helps us is Christ (2 Cor. 3:17).

God is indeed great, and greatly to be PRAISED. He even helps us
through the work of Christ, to pray to Him as we ought.

Let us avail ourselves of this great privilege

LET US PRAY TO GOD.

                   .....................................................

Written in 1984 and revised in 1994

To be continued with Appendix

Posted by at No comments:

ALL ABOUT PRAYER #1

 

All About Prayer

Part One

by
Keith Hunt
   
After Jesus had finished praying on one occasion, one of his
disciples came to him and said: "Lord, teach us to pray" (Lk.
11:2). They knew that followers of Christ should pray. Christ
said, "WHEN you pray...." He expects His brothers and sisters to
pray!

God has a lot to tell us about prayer in His word; so let's find
out what He wants us to know on this subject. Because prayer IS
important, it being one of the lifelines to God and Christ.

                    WHEN SHOULD WE PRAY?

David, a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22), prayed in the
MORNING : 
  "My voice shall you hear in the morning, 0 Lord; in the morning
  will I direct my prayer unto you .." (Ps 5:3).

Before we start our daily work, we need to talk to our Father in
heaven. We need that love and guidance and strength He can give
us, to help us through the day we are starting upon.

David also ENDED his day in prayer to God:
  "O  Lord God of my salvation, I have cried [in prayer,v.2] day  
  and night before you" (Ps. 88:1).

Sometimes we should pray THREE TIMES A DAY: 
  "...Daniel ...kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and    
  prayed......" (Dan.6:10).
  "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud:   
  and He shall hear my voice" (Ps.55:17).
    
At special times we may have to pray for many hours:
  "And it came to pass in those days that he went out into a     
  mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God"    
  (Luke 6:12).

We should always be in an ATTITUDE of prayer. We can pray to God
ANYWHERE and at ANY TIME of the day, even if only for a few
seconds.  This is what Paul meant when he said in I Thes. 5:17,
"Pray without ceasing."

                       SECRET PRAYER!

MOST of our prayers are to be personal PRIVATE conversations with
God:
  "And Isaac went out to PRAY [margin reading] in the field at
  the eventide ....."(Gen.25:63).
Christ plainly told His followers that when they prayed they were
not to be:
  ".....as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in
  the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may
  be seen of men ..... but you, when you pray, enter into your
  closet and when you have SHUT YOUR DOOR, PRAY TO YOUR FATHER
  WHICH IS IN SECRET....." (Matt. 6:6).

                     HOW SHOULD WE PRAY?

Christ instructed us NOT TO USE VAIN REPETITIONS and profuse
speaking: ".....but when you pray, use not vain repetitions, as
the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their
much speaking" (Matt. 6:7).

To learn and repeat over and over again little "religious" rhymes
and sayings which become so well used with repetition that the
one using them no longer has his mind on what he is saying, is
WRONG!  To babble away like a machine gun and yet say very little
of heartfelt meaning to God is also condemned here by Christ. We
are instructed in Ecc. 5:2 to:
  "Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty
  to utter anything before God: for God is in heaven, and you    
  upon earth: therefore, let your words be few."

Even to use the NAME of God or Christ over and over in repetition
during our prayers would constitute vain [to no good or useful
purpose] talk. We would be breaking the third commandment, which
says: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain....."

Sometimes our prayers will be SILENT:
  "Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation" (Ps.    
  5:1).
There will be times when we can and should PRAY WITH A LOUD
VOICE, see Ps.102:1,2.
And at other times we will want to WEEP AS WE PRAY:
  "Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping  
  and casting himself down before the house of God, there        
  assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of  
  men and women and children: for the people wept very sore "    
  (Ezra 10:1).

There will be many times we will want to PRAY WITH THANKSGIVING
AND PRAISE:
  "..... But in everything by prayer and supplication, with      
  thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God" (Phil.
  4:6).  "I cried unto Him with my mouth, and he was            
  extolled [praised] with my tongue" (Ps.66:17).

Our prayers must be accompanied WITH FAITH, WATCHFULNESS, and A
TRUE HEART:
  "And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing,
  you shall receive" (Matt.21:22).
  "Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be         
  accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to
  pass....." (Lk. 21:36).
  "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of       
  faith....." (Heb. 10:22).

We must PRAY IN ACCORDANCE WITH GOD'S WILL:
  "You ask, and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may 
  consume it upon your lusts" (James 4:3).

We must study God's word to understand His will (Eph. 5:17).

                  IN WHOSE NAME DO WE PRAY?

  "Hitherto have you asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you shall
receive.....At that day you shall ask in my name: and I say unto
you that I will pray the Father for you" (John 16:24, 26).

All of our prayers should end in the name of Jesus Christ.  They
should end with something like:
  "We ask this in Christ's name" or "We pray this in our Savior's
name, Christ Jesus."

Our longest or shortest pray should be in the name of Jesus.
                                     
                     TO WHOM DO WE PRAY?

Are we to pray to Christ Himself? Or do we pray to the Holy
Spirit? Do we pray to the angels, or Gabriel? 

Jesus set us an example in all He did (I Pet. 2:21). So WHO did
Christ pray to?

He prayed to the FATHER! (see John 17:1). You cannot find ANYONE
or ANYTHING that Christ prayed to but the Father. He always
prayed to His Father in Heaven.
Christ instructs us:
  "When you pray, say, OUR FATHER, which art in heaven...."      
  (Lk.11:2).

The NT teaches us that Christ is our elder brother, and He is the
HEAD of the church. I believe it would not be wrong to talk to
Him in prayer at times, as our elder brother and head of the
Church. And to praise and thank Him for all that He was willing
to come and do for mankind, and for His work today as High Priest
in heaven on the Father's right hand. But praying to Christ should be short.

                    POSTURES IN PRAYER?
                                    
The positioning of our body does not have to be of a single mode.
We can use various postures.

Moses and Aaron fell upon their faces:
  "And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron......and they    
  fell upon their faces.....(Num.16:20-22).
  
We can pray while standing:
  "And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord ..... and      
  spread forth his hands toward heaven and he said....." (I Kings
  8:22,23).

Jesus gave us the example of kneeling:
  "And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and      
  kneeled down, and prayed....." (Lk. 22:41).

We may pray with uplifted hands:
  "I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy    
  hands ....." (I Tim. 2:8).

Sometimes we are to pray with a bowed head, or bowing and
kneeling combined:
  "O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the  
  Lord our maker" (Ps. 95:6).

  "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much
  as his eyes unto heaven..... saying, God be merciful to me a   
  sinner" (Lk. 18:13).

Spreading forth the hands is another way to pray:
  "And when you spread forth your hands.....when you make many   
  prayers...." (Isa. 1:15).

And in some prayers we can lift up our eyes:
  "These words spoke Jesus, and lifted up His eyes unto heaven   
  and said....." (John 17:1).

                   BASIC OUTLINE OF PRAYER

The so-called "Lord's prayer" in Matt. 6:9-15 is not so much a
prayer of Christ, but is an outline He gave to His followers to
use as a guide in what they should pray about. Christ said, 
"After THIS MANNER, therefore, pray you....."  In other words,
pray like this outline I give you.

OUR FATHER WHICH ART IN HEAVEN.  God is OUR Father. There are
many sons and daughters He has called to be in His family. God is
the example of complete UNselfishness. He wants to share His
glory, power and eternal life with millions of humans.
How wonderful it is to be able to call Him FATHER. Very few
Christians even understand the meaning of this.
A large number believe God is a closed triangle, a trinity. The
doctrine of the trinity is a false pagan Satanic theory which has
been foisted on this world to deceive people from the true
purpose of why God made mankind.

If you want to know why you were put here, read my study article
"A Christian's Destiny."  The truth about the Trinity is
explained in "The Holy Spirit - A Personal Being?" 

The NT is full of the glorious truth concerning the fact that we
Christians are the very children of God and that He is our very
Father.

HALLOWED BE THY NAME.  God is the creator of all things. All good
gifts come from Him (James 1:17). He gives us all the air we
breathe. He sends the rain down on the just and the unjust. He
gives us food, clothing, shelter. We are all blessed with some
kind of talent, be it  music, painting, singing, cooking,
writing, sports, etc. We can ALL find many things to PRAISE and
HALLOW God for. David, king of Israel was constantly praising and
thanking God for His blessings and mercy. Many of his Psalms
begin by saying, "Praise the Lord, give thanks unto God."  David
was a man after God's own heart. Christ told us to praise and
hallow His name.

THY KINGDOM COME.  Oh, again, so few really understand just WHAT
the Kingdom of God is! Some think it's only a spiritual something
in the hearts of people. Others think it's only the church. Some
think it's Britain. The prophets of the Old Testament understood
what it is.
Christ knew what it was. But Christianity seems all confused
about it. Christ preached the gospel of the Kingdom of God. He
told us to pray for it to come. So it has not YET fully arrived;
it is STILL to come, in the sense that Christ put that Kingdom in
the future, we are to pray that it will yet come.
Concerning that yet coming Kingdom, I have a full in-depth study
on the subject, in fact TWO studies, one to do with proving the
literal coming of Christ in glory, called "Christ's Coming" and
the other is all about the final last days and the world
tomorrow, called "Armageddon and the Age to Come." They also can
be sent via e-mail to anyone asking for them.
As we look around us, as we observe all that is going on in all
nations, as we listen to and see the news, we are aware of the
sins, the evils, the sickness, the pollutions of mind, body,
and the "good green earth" and hence we see the need to continue
to pray for "thy Kingdom come."

THY WILL BE DONE IN EARTH, AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.   Christians are
to pray that God's WILL be done? But has not God's will been done
away with?
Christians do not have to do God's will today, do they? Are we
not under grace today? Obedience to God is not required, is it?
Did not Paul say that we are not under obedience to the law, but
under grace?

Did Paul CONTRADICT the plain teachings of Christ?

Christ said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfil ..... whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
Kingdom of heaven .....For I say unto you, that except your
righteousness [and righteousness is putting to use the
commandments of God, Ps. 119:172] shall exceed the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the
Kingdom of heaven." And,  "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, [claiming to be a Christian ] shall enter into the Kingdom
of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven." Also,  "..... But if you will enter into life, keep the
commandments" (Matt. 5:17 20; 7:21; 19:17).
Christ said to his followers:
  "If you love me, keep my commandments."

  "If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even
  as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His      
  love."

  "If a man love me he will keep my words."
  (John 14:15, 23; 15:10).

The instructions of Christ were to obey God - do His will - keep
His commandments.

What IS the will of God?

The will of God is that we live by His every word (Matt. 4:4).
That includes all from Genesis to Revelation in what is the Holy Bible today.

Christ taught His disciples not only to DO God the Father's
commands, but to PRAY that His WILL would be done in the lives of
others, with the whole earth eventually to be obeying
God when He sends Christ back to establish His kingdom - as
foretold by Isaiah and Micah (Isa. 2; Mic. 4).
We especially pray for those children of the Father that have
surrendered all to Him in humble REPENTANCE, and that they will
continue to not only love the truth but who also hunger and
thirst after righteousness, that they will have the
mind of Christ in them (Phil.2:5), be a living sacrifice
(Rom.12:1), and shine forth as lights in a dark world.  We pray
that they will resist the Devil, overcome the lusts of the world,
and kill the flesh with its carnality, so enduring to the end
that they may be in that blessed resurrection at the coming of
Christ Jesus in the last days.

GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD.  Certainly for Christians the
foremost daily need is SPIRITUAL food. For God knows we are in
need of the physical things even before we ask him (Matt. 6:
25-34).
We receive our spiritual bread through God s word and prayer. We
should ask for His spirit to guide us into all truth, as promised
(Jn. 16:13). We must be humble and teachable always ready to
change when God corrects us or reveals more truth to us. We must
always be led by His Spirit (Rom. 8:14). We are to GROW in grace
and knowledge of God (2 Pet.3:18). Christians are to study to
show themselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the word of
truth (2 Tim. 2:15). We should ask God for understanding and
wisdom in all our daily activities, as David and Solomon did.

And let s not forget to ask for correction. God does correct
every child He loves (Heb. 12:5-11). Ask God to correct in love,
not anger, lest we be destroyed (Jer. 10:23-24). Certainly,
we can ask God to provide us with whatever physical needs we
shall be in need of for that day. Notice, it is "Give us this
day" not "Give us this month or year."  God wants us to ask
Him for our spiritual and physical needs daily.
Many of His children are in need of comfort and strength,
mentally and emotionally, as they face the trials and tests of
life. Many are in need of physical healing and/or strength to
endure their sicknesses to the will of God. We should pray with
these things in mind also.

AND FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS.  The Christian life is a life of
enduring and overcoming (Matt. 24:13) -  overcoming the self, the
world, and Satan. God desires us to obey and keep His
commandments, just as Paul did. "Wherefore, the law is holy, and
the commandment holy, and just, and good ..... For we know that
the law is spiritual ..... For I delight in the law of  God after
the inward man" (Rom. 7:12, 14, 22).
                                     
And as John wrote, "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not
His commandments, is a liar; and the truth is not in him. And
hereby do we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments"
(1 John 1:3,4).

Does that mean a Christian is perfect - that he never sins? John
answers:  "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and
the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). A Christian may at
times fall down - sin - break God's law [sin is the transgression
of the law, see 1 John 3:4 and Rom.7:7].
The human doesn't want to, but under temptation and weakness of
the flesh, and not being as close to God as he/she should he, the
human sins. What must he/she do then? Again, God s mercy or grace
is needed!  "And if any man sin, he has an advocate with the
Father Jesus Christ the righteous" (Christ is there to intercede,
for us, advocate means intercessor.
Christ pleads our cause. He knows what it's like to be human (see
Heb. 4:14-16),   And He is the propitiation [atonement] for our
sins ..... " (1 John 2:1-2).
Christ's sacrifice - His shed blood can be applied. We can again
be forgiven.
What are we to DO?
We are to CONFESS and FORSAKE sin!

  "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso
  confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13).
  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us
  our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John  
  1:9).

And that brings us back to what Christ said:  "AND FORGIVE US OUR
DEBTS, AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS."  The little word  "as"  joins
the first part of this sentence with the second,  "and forgive us
our debts A S [inasmuch as - in like manner as] we forgive our
debtors."  As we forgive those who sin against us, we can ask God
to forgive us when we sin against Him.
Christ said, "And when you stand praying, FORGIVE, if you have
aught against any: that [in order that] your Father also which is
in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not
forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your
trespasses" (Mark 11:25,26).  Again, he said another time, "....
Forgive, and you shall be forgiven" (Luke 6:37).

How many times must we forgive others?  This is what the apostle
Peter asked Christ:
  "Then came Peter to Him, and said, Lord, how often shall my
  brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?"
Should my forgiveness be limited is what Peter wanted to know.
Jesus said unto him:
  "I say not unto you that you should forgive only seven times,
  but until forever, as many times as you have to, until seven is
  multiplied by forever" (paraphrased myself, Matt.18:21-22).

We need to ask God to give us the nature to forgive - to show
mercy on others. Then we can be assured He will have mercy an us.

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION.   James says God does not tempt
any man (James 1:13). Is this a contradiction of the scriptures?
No!

The Greek for temptation means:  a putting to proof, discipline
[see Strong's Con.]. God does not say, "Ah I will tempt this
person today to do evil." He is not rubbing His hands together in
glee over ways He can think up to lead us astray or tempt us to
sin. BUT God does chasten and correct every child He loves (Heb.
12:6-8). 
Christ is telling us here not only to endure discipline (As Paul
also said,see Heb. 12:7,9-11), but to ask God that we will
LEARN - be TEACHABLE - always be of a HUMBLE REPENTANT attitude,
so God will NOT HAVE TO put us to the test - discipline us very
often.
Just as a child grows older he should need less and less
discipline from his father or mother [we are speaking of a
correctly raised child], so children of God should need less
discipline from their heavenly Father. Yes, we should pray that
God will lead - give us the nature of obedience to Him build a
teachable spirit, wanting to learn, to change and become more
like Him - allowing Christ to live in us, so that God will not
then have to test us with His discipline.

Remember that TRIALS of various kinds will come to every child of
God, for it is ".....through much tribulation we must enter into
the kingdom of God" (Act 14:22). Trials are to work patience in
us (James 1:3), and the patience of the saints is keeping God's
commandments (Rev. 14:12). Trials develop righteous obedient
character. We learn to trust God for help to obey Him. Trials
will come as a matter of course (time and chance can happen to
anyone so Solomon wrote in his book of Ecclesiastes 9:11), but
discipline from God comes as we need or deserve it. We are to
pray that God will not have to discipline us; pray that we can be
so yielded to Him that His chastening will not be necessary. 

BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL.  This is more correctly translated from
the Greek as "But deliver us from the evil one." Most modern
translations so render it. The evil one is Satan and his demons.
He truly goes about today like a lion, trying to devour whom he
can, as Peter was inspired to tell us (1 Peter 5:8). Satan has
hundreds of false ideas, ways to live, ideologies, religions,
philosophies. God has one truth - His word(John 17:17). The
Eternal has one way to salvation - Christ (John 14:6). We are to
pray with all our being that God will not only give us His Spirit
and mind to resist Satan and his demons, but we need to ask
God to show us all of Satan's false ways - his false doctrines,
philosophies and paganism.
We need to ask God to show us His truth - to show us how He wants
us to live - what His ways are - what He calls sin. We are to
seek and ask God for the armour of salvation to resist the
spiritual wickedness of Satan and sin (Eph. 6:10-17).
                                     
FOR THINE IS THE KINGDOM, AND THE POWER, AND THE GLORY, 
FOREVER, AMEN.   Christ again brings us back to praising God - to
thinking about His Kingdom that is promised to every son of His,
and that will come in a literal way at Christ's return. This
Father of ours has power to bring about all that He has planned.
He is able to glorify His children just as He did His firstborn
son, Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:29; 1:3-4; 1 John 3:2; Heb. 1:3;
2:6-13). Yes, God is to be praised for His wonderful works,
promises and plans.

                                       ................................................... 

To be continued
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Sunday, September 20, 2026

BIBLICAL FASTING #2

 

Biblical Fasting

Part Two

                        IS IT REALLY WITHOUT FOOD AND
                                         WITHOUT WATER ?

                                                         by
                                                  Keith Hunt

  Some are saying that fasting in the Bible may not have always
been without having any water or drink, maybe no food they say,
but not always without water.  So, I suppose the argument is, or
I suppose these people are trying to teach that when Christians
"fast" as Christians should do according to Jesus (for Jesus
said: "WHEN you fast" not "IF you fast"), they need not stop
drinking water.
  There are some today who doubt that anyone has fasted without
food and water for very long, before being at death's door.  Now,
if you believe the Bible is INSPIRED, then you will believe
Exodus 34 where it is written that Moses was up in a mountain
with the Lord for 40 days and forty nights and that "he did
neither eat bread nor drink water...." verse 28.
  It would seem that Elijah was able to do the same as Moses. See
1 Kings 19:7,8.
  Are we to imagine that Jesus Christ could not, and did not, do
the same as Moses and Elijah, in His fasting for 40 days and
nights?  See Matthew 4:2.  I say Christ was able and that He did
exactly what Moses and Elijah did, fasted for forty days and
forty nights WITHOUT food and water!
  I am certainly not implying or trying to teach that anyone on
earth day should try to do what these three men are recorded in
being able to do, go for forty days without food and water.  They
were in many ways special men, who no doubt were given special
strength from the Eternal to do something that no other men/women
have ever been recorded doing, fasting for forty days and forty
nights without food and water.  Most today could hardly make it
through four days without food or water. True, we do hear now and
again of some adult or even a child surviving in an earthquake,
trapped without food or water for 6,7,8,9 days......but most of
us going on a voluntary fast of no food or water could last that
long without serious side effects.

  Some want to call "heath fasting" a fast. That is, going on a
strict liquid diet for a week or two or more is to them a "fast."

And if looking at it only from what some doctor or health
practitioner or clinic want to interpret as a "fast," a liquid
fast, then so be it for them.  But as Christians who want to let
the Bible interpret itself as to what the Bible calls a "fast"
then we can ONLY have the Bible as our interpreter as to what is
fasting as taught in the Bible.
  Hence, we look up all the verses where the words "fast" or
"fasting" are used. We search the Scriptures and let the Word of
the Lord teach us about the meaning of "fast" as used in the
whole Word of God, the Bible.

  The word "fast" is used 41 times.  The word "fasted" is found
and used 15 times.  The word "fastest" is used one time.  We find
the word "fasting" used 17 times. And the word "fastings" is used
4 times.  All this from the KJV and Strong's Concordance of the
Bible.

  The VAST majority of times these words are used as words in a
verse relating that someone or some group or nation of people
simply fasted, period.  No other information is added. No other
definition is given as to what is fasting as used in these
majority of verses. We have only a FEW verses in the entire Bible
that nails down for us a Bible interpretation as to what is
"fasting" as used in the Word of God, the Bible.
  I will give you those verses very shortly.

  We can find that fasting in the Bible is often connected with
mourning, affliction, sorrow, anguish, and of course with
sackcloth and ashes.  Apart from sackcloth and ashes some would
argue that all the rest of the words connected with fasting could
be taken as MENTAL, within the mind, and of course that is true.
Hence Psalm 35:13 and the word "humble" or "afflicted" connected
with the soul or life in fasting could be mental more than
anything physical.
  But, there is really no way of "getting around" Psalm 109:24
which reads: "My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh
faileth of fatness."  Now, I personally have done a "health" fast
(liquids only) a few times (once for 7 days) in my life time, and
I can tell you that after or in the third day of such a health
fast, the body is swept clean and the energy and engine of the
body just runs like a race horse. I never felt my knees weak at
any time. A health fast of various kinds of natural liquids and
juices does not make the knees go weak.  If you are basically in
good health, going on a water only fast for a few days will not
make your knees go weak.
  I submit that David's knees were weak through fasting BECAUSE
he was doing a Bible definition fast, a "spiritual" fast, a fast
WITHOUT food or water.  Actually the Bible is silent on any
so-called "health fast."  Just does not talk about it.  So, all
the passages that use the word "fast" or the others I gave above,
are only relating to us the only "fast" the Bible is concerned
with, the spiritual fast, or fasting for spiritual intent and
reasons. Hence, we are then back to having the Bible define for
us "fast" or "fasting."
  And here are the only TWO sections of Scripture using the word
"fast" that DEFINE for us the word "fast" as used in the Bible.

  "Go, gather together all the Jews.....and FAST you for me, and
neither EAT nor DRINK three days, night or day: and I also and my
maidens will FAST likewise......" (Esther 4:16).

  "So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast,
and put on sackcloth.....For word came unto the king of
Nineveh.....And he caused it to be proclaimed and published
through Nineveh....saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor
flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water....."
(Jonah 3:5-7).

  There it is.  The only two passages of the Holy Scriptures that
define for us "fast" as used in the Bible.  But, define the word
it does, very clearly fasting as used in the Bible was and is
always having no food and no water, no liquids.
                                       
  Oh, there is the argument that it is said of Jesus that "He was
hungry" after His forty days of fasting, for it is written, "He
was afterwards an hungred" (Mat.4:2 KJV).  They say,  "He was
hungry, hence had not ate any food for 40 days, but it does not
say, He was thirsty, so you could argue He did drink water during those
forty fasting days."

  Why does it leave out anything about "thirsting" after those
forty days?  Very simple.  When Jesus had determined to break the
fasting, after doing what Moses and Elijah had done for 40 days
and nights, He could have easily reached a water supply out in
those hills.  A nearby spring, a running brook, or a small
stream.  He no doubt had wandered by a few of them during those
40 days.  And coming off a fast of that length of time, water
would have been the first desire for the human body, and from a
stream it would have been obtained.  But good wholesome, full of
vitamins and minerals fresh baked brown bread.....well that just
was not behind the bush or desert tree, unless He commanded the
stones to turn into that great smelling wholesome stuff.  And
that is just what the Devil tempted Him to do, turn the stones
into loaves of bread.  But Jesus would control His power, and
wait till He was in the town with friends to eat food.  The water
would have already been there in the form of a stream or brook
for Him to enjoy, the bread not yet. And He would not misuse His
power to satisfy His hunger.

  
               TWO PASSAGES LEFT TO UNDERSTAND


  Some have seen two passages in the Gospels (one really as it is
one account of the same event recorded by both Matthew and Mark)
that they seem to think and believe teaches that fasting in the
Bible may not always mean you cannot drink water. So, I guess to
them, you can fast a spiritual fast by deleting only food but not
liquids.

  This passage we are here concerned with is found in Matthew
15:29-39 and Mark 8:1-10.
  We note some important points. (1) Jesus, His disciples, and
the multitude, were up in a mountain, Mat.15:29.  (2) It was also
a wilderness, Mat.15:33; Mark 8:4. (3) They all had been together
3 days, Mat.15:32; Mark 8:2.  (4) Some had come from far away,
Mark 8:3. (5) The disciples did have some food with them, for
Jesus asked them "How many loaves have YOU?"  And it was THEY who
answered Him what they had, Mat.15:34; Mark 8:5.

  We need to first use some natural logic.  The disciples of
Jesus did have some food, they did bring some along with them.
They were used to their Master going off into some wilderness
place and staying for a time in such a location, so they would
have learnt from experience to take along food for a few days at
least.  Would it not be reasonable to assume that at least some
of the multitude, which included women and children (Mat.15:38),
would also have brought some food and water with them, at least
for a day or two?  I suggest it was more than likely by many that
they so did.  We need to note CAREFULLY that in verse 32 of
Matthew's account and verse 2 of Mark's, we do not find such a
sentence as, "they continue with me now three days and have had
nothing to eat" or "for the three days they have continued with
me they have had nothing to eat." 
  This is important, because we can often read into words a
meaning that is not there at all.  In both Matthew's and Mark's
accounts of this event, the words "have nothing" is in the
PRESENT INDICATIVE tense.   Jesus was actually saying, "and have
presently nothing to eat" or "at this present continuous time
they have nothing to eat."
  Jesus did not say that they had nothing to eat for three days. 
We are frankly not told HOW LONG they had gone without food, only
that at the present time when Jesus was talking to the disciples
and for WHATEVER length of that present time was, the multitude
had not eaten food.
  Had some not eaten for three days? Maybe!  For it is quite
something to behold how the human body can go on fired up
adrenalin and excitement of some great spectacular event such as
they were observing and part of, that is, Jesus healing many and
doing fantastic miracles.  Many under such a situation would not
even be thinking about food, and not even water, I dare to say,
especially if you were someone who had brought with you a lame,
bind, dumb, or maimed person  etc. to be healed. You would have
been too preoccupied in getting them before Jesus to be healed.
  Well, whatever the case was, by the time Jesus spoken to His
disciples on the third day about food for the multitude, they had
presently been without food for a time period, not specifically
given to us, but long enough that if sent away without food, some
would have fainted by the way, for some were from afar, so Mark
tells us.
  Had they been also without water?  The accounts do not tell us,
but I think we can say with some reasonability, that being in the
wilderness water may have also been a problem, once whatever
supply brought with anyone had been used up.
  To argue that they all had water, but no food, is to argue
without proof, for the accounts clearly do not mention water at
all. It is just not talked about or commented on period. Hence to
argue either way, they had water or they did not have water is
speculative at best, given we say fasting can be understood as
only no food eating with water being allowed.  Then if we say, we
shall go with the Bible's interpretation in the two passages we
have already considered above, as to what is fasting, we then
would say Jesus by using the word "fasting" was telling us the
multitude for some length of time had been without both food and
water.

  Why was Jesus concerned with food for the multitude and water
is not mentioned? Again we could speculate, but it would only be
speculation, as the reason for no water mentioning is not given. 
But, once more looking at it from the human fellowship and host
politeness of Jesus' day and I would add, our time today, it is
the custom of a caring host, looking after people for some length
of time, to provide them with food before they depart.
Under this situation, of having to walk back home, and for some
that was a far distance, and not having food for above the normal
amount of time that humans eat food, Jesus classified it as
"fasting" and knew some would be weak in the knees, and probably
faint by the wayside before reaching their homes, hence as a good
host wanted to make sure they ate food to strengthen them for
their journey homeward.  
  Water is wonderful to break a fast, but solid food gives you
the needed sugar energy and fuel for the muscles to hold up and
sustain the body, when a possible long walk back home is having
to be undertaken.
  So, we see here, the emphasis in the two accounts is on FOOD,
and not on water, after fasting for some length of time.

                    A POSSIBLE EXCEPTION 

  The Bible often contains many BASIC rules or NORMS, and then
gives now and again, some EXCEPTION to the norm or rule.  Could
this account in Matthew and Mark be a possible exception to the
norm?   
  Yes, it is indeed a possibility!
  I say it MAY be possible, for once more let me repeat, we
cannot know for sure if the multitude had water to drink, either
brought with them, or from a stream, they were remember in the
mountain wilderness.  But, for the sake of the argument, we shall
say they did have access to water, but had used up any food they
had brought with them. So, IF that was the case, then Jesus uses
here the word "fasting" in a loose sense, a "food" fast,
possibly, as some "health" practitioners, health and diet books,
and people who often go on "juice" fasts, call their no food
intake, a "fast" or "fasting."
  Be that as it may, and if it was so here with Jesus, there is
still one VERY IMPORTANT point to note in all this mountain
wilderness situation.  The three day event was NOT undertaken by
Jesus or His disciples, as a DELIBERATE and planned "fasting"
to "draw nigh to God"  experience. It was NOT for the purpose of
getting close to God in some "religious" vain, as was the fasting
for Esther and the Jews, and also for the people of Nineveh when
Jonah was sent to tell them they faced utter destruction if they
did not change their ways.
  Jesus was here in the mountain doing a "healing ministry."  He
was serving and helping and working miracles for people. It was a
hard three days work for Him, for He often had to go away by
Himself alone to re-store His batteries so to speak, after
undertaking such long healing services, so it is written
elsewhere in the Gospels.
  
  Whatever fasting this was by the people, and remember the
disciples did have some food left, when Jesus inquired of them,
they were fasting BECAUSE of a situation THAT WAS TO SOME EXTENT
out of their control. A circumstance they happened to find
themselves in at the time, in the excitement of the time. In
other words, they had not sat down and with planned forethought
said to themselves, "Well, we shall go to Jesus in the mountain
for a day or more, with our loved one to be healed, and we will
take along nothing to eat or drink, for we shall fast."
  It was not that situation at all, but one that came up on them,
and they and Jesus found they were fasting whether they liked it
or not.

  So, here is the IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE.  The only two examples we
have in the Bible where the word "fast" is used, and so gives us
a Bible interpretation as to a "fast" that is planned with
forethought, and that is DESIGNED with GOD in MIND, to DRAW
CLOSE to Him, to PETITION Him for some reason, to get into a
"spiritual mind set" and to see our human weakness and so the
Mighty and Holiness and Righteousness and Power of the Eternal
God to hear and help and serve us in that particular spiritual
need that we are fasting for,is CLEARLY shown for us to be a fast
that is WITHOUT FOOD AND WITHOUT WATER!
  Such a spiritual fast is to humble us, relate to us that we are
but human flesh and blood, it is to afflict our soul or life, to
give us a little or great "weak in the knees" experience. And
nothing does that better than to go without food and water for a
day or more.  Oh, how we soon know that everything we have to
sustain us in this physical life comes to us and is given to us
by our heavenly Father.
  Nearly every verse in the Bible (one exception is this account
in Mat.15) that uses the word "fast" or "fasting" is in the
context of "religious fasting" in a spiritual mode to mind
set oneself to draw close to God for a purpose that could be for
a specific reason or just to change the direction of life, in
yourself or in a community of persons.  This we saw in the first
study on this subject.

  So, for this "fasting" unto the Lord, a planned and "religious"
mind set towards the Eternal God, we should then cover our mouth,
delete from our body BOTH food AND water or liquids.  Many may 
be reasoning and arguments to try to allow the drinking of water
during a religious mind set fasting period to the Lord, but I
think they all fall short when we take into account the whole
Bible and the examples given to us for undertaking a "spiritual"
fast.
  Of course, we can be close to the Lord and grow in spirituality
each and every day, as we eat and drink.  Jesus knew that, just
as He said God always heard Him for He always did His will and
was yielding to the Father at all times, but that still does not
"do away" with the fact that Jesus often went by Himself into the
mountain or wilderness to pray and draw close to God in a special
way that really did have mental benefit.
  And, yes, although while Jesus was with His disciples, they did
not fast, as the Pharisees complained to Christ concerning this
fact, the answer Jesus gave clearly showed that when He was no
longer going to be with them, then they would fast.

  As Jesus said to His followers, it was not "IF you fast..." 
BUT  it was "WHEN you fast...."

  Jesus expected His brother and sisters to FAST from time to
time.  And what a wonderful experience for the spiritual mind it
can be, to humble ourselves and draw close to the Father with a
fast that  is BOTH without food and water.

           .......................................................

Written September 1999

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BIBLICAL FASTING #1

 

Biblical Fasting

Part One

MANY BOOKS HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ON "HEALTH" FASTING. MANY
HEALTH BOOKS CONTAIN CHAPTERS ON "FASTING."  BUT FOR THE
CHRISTIAN, WHAT DOES THE BIBLE HAVE TO SAY ON "SPIRITUAL"
FASTING? SHOULD WE FAST AT ALL? IF SO, WHEN, WHY, AND
WHAT FOR?  THESE QUESTIONS AND OTHERS WILL ALL BE
ANSWERED IN THIS ARTICLE ON BIBLICAL FASTING.

                                                         by

                                                  Keith Hunt



SHOULD CHRISTIANS FAST?

                                    
Do God and Christ expect us to fast?  Should fasting be a part of
a Christian's life?

We are to live by every word of God. (Mt 4:4)  What does God say
to us on this topic?

Christ said, "Moreover, when you fast ......" (Mt 6:16).

Notice!  He did not say IF you fast, but WHEN.  Christ expected
His disciples to fast. 
The disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus on one occasion
and asked Him why His (Christ's) followers did not fast.  His
answer to them was not that they should NEVER fast but that there
was no need to fast while He was with them.  
".....Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the
bridegroom is with them?  But the days will come when the
bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then 
shall they fast" (Mt 9:15).  After Christ was no longer on this
earth His followers were to fast  - "Then shall they fast."

Christ fasted (Mt 4:2).

He set us an example that we should follow in his steps (I Pet.
2:21).

Paul was inspired to write, "Defraud you not one the other (do
not withhold sexual relations from each other,  v.2-4)  except it
be with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves TO
FASTING and prayer ......" (I Cor 7:5).

Paul wrote that ministers should prove themselves  ".....in much
patience.....in labours.....in fastings....." (II Cor. 6:4-5).

Paul fasted (2 Cor 11:27).  He said we are to follow him as he
followed Christ (I Cor. 11:1).

Christians, then, are to FAST!


WHAT IS BIBLICAL FASTING?

                                    
The Hebrew word for 'fast' is 'tsoom' - which means  'to cover
over.'  The Greek word is 'nace tyoo-o' - which means 'to
abstain.'  See  Strong's Concordance of the Bible.

The Hebrew and Greek words alone would strongly indicate that to
fast in a biblical way is to COVER OVER the mouth and ABSTAIN
from anything entering the mouth into the stomach, or -  abstain
from FOOD and DRINK.

But God does not leave us in any doubt about what HE says is
biblical SPIRITUAL fasting. 
God interprets His own meaning as to the word 'fast'.

"Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, AND
FAST you for me, and NEITHER EAT NOR DRINK three days, night or
day ....."  (Esth 4:16).

"In those days I Daniel was mourning (fasting - comp. with Ps
35:13; Isa 5::l-5; II Sam 1:12) three full weeks.  I ATE NO
PLEASANT BREAD, NEITHER CAME FLESH NOR WINE [alcohol, juice,
drink] in my mouth .. ..."  (Dan 10:2,3).

There we have the 'thus saith the Lord' as to the meaning of
'fast.'  It may not be what men or women want to say fasting is,
but that is what God says to His followers it is.  To fast in a
biblical way - to fast spiritual - is to ABSTAIN, to COVER OVER
the mouth from both FOOD and DRINK.


FASTING IS AFFLICTION!
                                    
                                    
Some will say, then, that to go without food and drink will
surely be hard - it will be painful and it will be affliction.
And God would not want me to be afflicted, would he?

David, a man after God's own heart, said - "But as for me I
afflicted (see mrg. ref.) my soul with fasting ....." (Ps 35:13).

In Psalm 69 David again said :  "When I wept, and chastened my
soul with fasting, that was to my reproach" (v.10).

David knew that to fast - take no food or drink - was not a bed
of roses; it hurt sometimes. 
The word of God does not say it will be a PHYSICAL joy.  It may
well not be.
 
God says through Isaiah the prophet - "Wherefore have we fasted,
say they, and thou seest not? Wherefore have we AFFLICTED our
soul, and thou takest no knowledge?"  God did not recognize their
fasting because, "Behold, in the day of your fast you find
PLEASURE and exact all YOUR LABOURS" (Isa 58:3).
                                    
Fasting is not for pleasure or labour.  Fasting spiritually -
biblical fasting - is to afflict our souls.
     
God gave Israel (the church in the wilderness - Act 7:37, 38) one
specific day they were to fast on - The Day of Atonement (Lev.
23:26-32).  This day not only reminds us of Christ's atoning
sacrifice for us, but also the coming time when this whole world
will be at one with God - when Satan will be chained, no longer
to deceive the world, when all sins will be placed on the one who
started it all - Satan.  Mankind will then be at-one - atoned to
God (Comp. Lev. 16:20-34 with Heb. 13:11; Rev. 20:1-3).

The DAY OF ATONEMENT (10th day of 7th month)  was to be
celebrated with AFFLICTION, see Lev.23.

"For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that
same day, he shall be cut off from among his people (Lev 23:29).

God interprets through David that to AFFLICT ourselves is to FAST 
(Ps. 35:13).


WHEN SHOULD WE FAST?
    
                                    
Ecept for the one specific Day of Atonement given to us in Lev.
23, on what other days should Christians FAST?

The church at Rome in Paul's day were all mixed up over this
question.  Some were saying that you should 'fast' on this
specific day of the week, while others said no, it should be
'this' day or 'that' day.  Paul had to straighten them out on
this, as they were to the point of condemning each other over
when to fast; when to eat or when not to eat.

"Who art you that judgest (Gr. kree-no, to distinguish, decide,
condemn) another man's servant?  To his own master he standeth or
falleth ..... God is able to make him stand.  ONE MAN esteemeth
one day above another; ANOTHER esteemeth every day alike.  Let
every man be fully persuaded in his OWN mind.  He that regardeth
the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not
the day, to the Lord he does not regard it.  He that eateth,
eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth
not [fasting], to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks
..... But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you set
at nought your brother?  For we shall all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ" (Rom. 14:4-10).

Paul told the Christians at Rome, and he also tells us likewise,
that to eat on a certain day, or NOT TO EAT on that day - to
'fast' on one day or NOT TO FAST on that day, is an INDIVIDUAL
matter.
                                    
The word of God does not tell us on what day or days of the week
to fast.  Except for the Day of Atonement, God has not instructed
us as to WHEN to fast.  All God is concerned about is that His
servants DO fast.  The day or days, He has left up to us.  And
Paul says that God will accept our choice of day because we are
doing it to God - in honor of God, to serve God. We are not to
condemn each other for choosing this day as opposed to another
day. 
That is what the Christians at Rome were doing, condemning each
other over the matter.

The day we, as an individual, choose to 'fast' on is left to us
to decide upon.  God will  accept it.


HOW LONG SHOULD WE FAST?
                                    
                                    
DANIEL fasted for THREE full weeks at one point during his and
Judah's captivity  (Dan 10:2-3).

MOSES, when receiving the commandments of God on Sinai, fasted
FORTY days  (Ex 24:18).

ELIJAH also went without food and drink for FORTY days at a very
crucial point in his life (I Kings 19:8).

CHRIST fasted for forty days and nights, just prior to the start
of His ministry  (Mt 4:2).

The above examples are of long 'fasts' - under very special times
and events.  The prophets and men of God were very strong
physically back then.  We have degenerated a great deal
since that time.  Few people today could go without food and
drink for 21 days - let alone 40.

The AVERAGE Christian would not be able to 'fast' much longer
than TWO to FOUR days; and that only after being able to go for
24 hours with no food or drink with comparative ease on other
occasions during the year.

My advice to those who have never fasted in the biblical way (no
food or drink) is to go slow at first.  Start your fast from the
mid-afternoon and end it with a light breakfast the next day. 

After two or three times like this, you then miss out lunch and
go from say  12 noon to breakfast.  The next step is then a
complete 24 hour fast. 

How many times a year should one fast?

There is no command of the Lord.  So I give my judgment as one
guided by the Spirit of God.  One day per month would not be too
often.  There may be times when we will need to fast more than a
day a month.  The main point is that we fast more than on the Day
of Atonement.


WHY SHOULD WE FAST?


The basic reason why God wants us to fast is to draw close to Him
and to change our life (Ezra 8:22, 23).

"Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn you even to me with all
your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with
mourning: and REND YOUR HEART, and not your garments, and TURN
unto the Lord your God (Joel 2:12,13).

"Is not this the fast that I have chosen?  To loose the bands of
wickedness, to undo the heavy burden, and to let the oppressed go
free ..... To deal thy bread to the hungry ..... when thou
seest the naked, that thou cover him ..... Then shall thy light
break forth as the morning ..... Thy righteousness shall go
before thee. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer. 
Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am ....."(Isa 58:6-9).


WHAT TO DO WHEN FASTING 


God tells us to PRAY while we fast, "And I set my face unto the
Lord God, to seek by PRAYER and supplications, with FASTING
....."  (Dan 9:3).

It is a good time to CONFESS our SINS,  "..... The children of
Israel were assembled with fasting .... and the seed of Israel
separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed
their sins ....." (Neh 9:1-2).

We should READ the WORD OF GOD,  "Therefore go thou, and read in
the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the
Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord's house upon the FAST
DAY ....." (Jer 36:6).

A  FAST DAY should not be spent doing 'our own thing' (Isa 58:3). 
It is not a day for housework, gardening, car repairing, sports,
etc.  It should be a day of prayer, bible study and meditation.


OTHER REASONS FOR FASTING!


Fasting was done on occasions of PUBLIC CALAMITIES  (2 Sam 1:12).

When approaching DANGER (Esth 4:16).

In times of BEREAVEMENT (I Sam 31:13; 2 Sam 1:12; 12:16,21-23).

God's minister fasted when ORDAINING MEN TO THE MINISTRY
(Act 13:3; 14:23).


HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS FAST?
                                    
                                    
Should we today 'rent our clothes,'  put on 'sackcloth and
ashes,'  and go about our fasting with painful-looking faces and
mournful noises?

Christ told us how His followers are to fast:

"Moreover, when you fast, be NOT as the hypocrites - of a SAD
COUNTENANCE: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear
unto men to fast ..... BUT YOU, when thou fastest, ANOINT THINE
HEAD, and WASH THY FACE; that thou APPEAR NOT unto men TO
FAST, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father,
which seeth in secret, shall reward you openly." (Mt 6:16-18).


EXAMPLES OF FASTING!


God's word is full of examples of fasting.  Here are some for you
to study.

When the Israelites went to Mizpeth for the Ark (I Sam 7:6).

David, at the death of Saul (2 Sam 1:12).

Ahab, when Elijah prophesied the destruction of himself (I Kings
21:27, 20-29).

Jehoshaphat, at the invasion of the Canaanites and Syrians (2 Chr
20:3).

Ezra, on account of the idolatrous marriages of the Jews (Ezra
10:6).

The Ninevites, when Jonah preached to them (Jonah 3:5-10).

Jesus, before He began His Gospel preaching and ministry (Mat.4).

By Paul, at the time of his conversion (Acts 9:9).
  
................................................................. 

Written in 1980

 

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INSIGHTS FOR ATONEMENT

 

Insights on Feast of Atonement

A Church Victorious!

                     
THE FEAST OF ATONEMENT
AN INTRODUCTION TO TABERNACLES

by George H. Warnock (written in 1951)
 


"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day
of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and you
shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto
the Lord ... (Lev. 23:27).

     That full and complete Atonement was made for the whole
human race by Jesus Christ on the Cross, there is no doubt
whatsoever. But it is only too evident, as we consider our own
individual lives, as well as that of the historical Church, that
we have never really appropriated any real measure of the great
atoning work of the Cross. And it is this experimental
appropriation of the Atonement that the Church must now enter
into. As there is a historical Pentecost, as well as an
individual Pentecostal experience for all who will believe for
it, so it is with the Atonement. All through the ages men have,
by faith reached out and appropriated some measure of deliverance
from sin; but as a Body and as a Church we have never really done
so. But the Church's deliverance from sin, as a Body, is just
ahead--in the fulfillment of the great Day of Atonement by way of
experience. The sin and carnality of the Church's long career
must be taken away from her midst before she can enter into the
full blessing and power of the Feast of Tabernacles. 
     Thank God for the Passover, in the first month, in virtue of
which God has "passed over" the saints, not imputing their
trespasses unto them. But the Church has been groaning with the
apostle Paul for about two thousand years: "O wretched man that I
am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom.
7:24). God has certainly heard our cries, and soon He shall bring
His people into a glorious liberty in the Spirit, wherein they
shall be completely delivered from their sins and their carnal
nature. This shall be the experimental fulfillment of the Day of
Atonement for the Church.


ON THE TENTH DAY

     The Day of Atonement was observed on the tenth day of the
seventh month. The seventh month is the sabbath month--the month
of rest. Even now the saints who are entering into the unfolding
plans and purposes of God for this hour, and are becoming
established with gifts and ministries in the Spirit--they are
experiencing a rest which they have never known in the past,
despite all the perplexing problems which might arise from time
to time. And we may rest assured, there will be many more
problems and trials arising in the near future. 

(Oh how true that has been, the Church of God since this was
written, has gone through many trials and tests. Corruptions,
lies, deception, cover-up of gross sin; there has been abuse of
all kinds; vanity and ego has raised its ugly head; power control
and fear has been used in the church of Christ; people have been
taught to follow men and organizations; there have been good days
for the church, but there have also been bad days from within the
church itself - Keith Hunt)

     The Day of Atonement was on the tenth day of the seventh
month. The interval of time between the Day of Trumpets and the
Day of Atonement will be a time of great trial and sifting for
God's people. The number "ten" signifies trial and testing. The
greatest test ever submitted to man, the Law of Moses, was
written on tablets of stone and comprised ten commandments. Then
we find that Daniel made this request, "Prove thy servants, I
beseech thee, ten days" (Dan. 1:12). And again, Jesus promised
the Church in Smyrna (which signifies "bitterness"), "Ye shall
have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I
will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). Then you will
remember how the early disciples tarried for the Holy Spirit from
the Ascension until Pentecost, a period of ten days--and what
times of trial and sifting they must have been, knowing
practically nothing of what they were to expect. There is no
doubt, therefore, that from now till the fulfillment of the Day
of Atonement in the Church, God's people are going to be
subjected to great times of testing and trial--with a view to
perfecting them, and rewarding them as overcomers. The hour has
come for judgment to "begin at the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17).
God is sifting, sifting, sifting His people as never before, in
preparation for the Day of Atonement and the Feast of
Tabernacles.

(Indeed that is so. Christ is still head of His church. All the
sin and wickedness that the church has experienced from within
itself, has been for the purpose of sifting the wheat from the
chaff. It has been for the purpose of finding who will love and
search for truth and righteousness more than just following men
and turning your mind over to a man or men or an organization of
men. Judgment has always been upon the Church of God from the
very start in the days of the first apostles. Corruptions, sin,
falsehood, greed and vanity, men turning from the faith once
delivered to the saints, has always entered the church down
through the last 2,000 years. The wind of testing has always
blown on the church of Christ, and it will unto the day of Jesus'
return - Keith Hunt)


YE SHALL AFFLICT YOUR SOULS

     There is no question as to what God would teach us by the
Day of Atonement: it is the actual taking away from the
congregation, of their sins and carnal ways. Israel could rejoice
in the fact that the Passover Lamb had been killed in the first
month, and the Feast had been observed according to all the
ordinances of the Law. And that was their acceptance before God
as a nation: "When I see the blood I will pass over you." But
now, six months later, we have the Day of Atonement--the day when
Israel is called to a new repentance and a humbling of themselves
before God in preparation for the Great Feast of Tabernacles.
Israel had to have a new Passover every year, and a new Day of
Atonement every year--because their sacrifices served only to
call sins to remembrance, and to revive their sin-conscience. But
Christ died once-for-all, and so effectual was His redemptive
work that there is "no more conscience of sins" (Heb. 10:2). And
yet we are constantly giving the lie to the redemptive work of
Jesus Christ, by falling into sin and being hampered by the works
of the flesh, and harboring a sin-conscience. We testify on the
one hand that God has taken away our sins and nailed them to the
Cross--and that is true--but the next moment we are beset by sin
and suffer defeat. We rejoice in the righteousness of Jesus
Christ which has been placed to our account--and that is
true--but how little of that righteousness have we been able to
reach and appropriate. How little do we know and experience of
real, vital holiness of life, and purity of thought, word, and
deed.
     Thank God, therefore, for the pattern we find in Israel's
Feasts, and for the knowledge that there is a place of real
victory over sin and the flesh for the Church of Jesus Christ. We
know that many have been preaching this for years, and testifying
to having received it; but actually men have never experienced it
to any degree of fulness. Those who have sought to go on with God
can testify to having received a measure of victory, that is true
enough; but real victory over sin and the carnal nature is still
ahead for the Church of God. This, then, is the day and hour when
God would call us to repentance, to meekness, to humiliation:
afflicting our souls in contrition of heart, that we might
receive from His hands that real, genuine victory over sin that
the Bible teaches.


WHAT IS THE NATURE OF THIS VICTORY?

     Let us stop trying to justify ourselves, and insisting on
our holiness of conduct, when it is apparent to every one about
us that we do not possess it. "Living epistles" of Christ do not
have to tell the world how holy they are. The world will see it
and will be amazed to discover something real and genuine in the
midst of this wicked and perverse generation. This victory of
which we speak is the very victory of Christ Himself. When we
attain to this victory, there will be no need to formulate weak
excuses why the victorious Christian can again fall into sin and
suffer defeat--for this place in Christ knows no defeat. We will
not have to explain how Satan gained an advantage over us and
planted a new seed of sin in the heart, and the victory we once
had was lost; for this victory is the very victory of Christ.
"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more;
death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he
died unto sin once . . ." (Rom. 6:9,19). He that overcometh
according to the Bible enters into the very victory and triumph
of Christ--a victory which can never be lost or forefeited. It is
the very victory of Jesus Christ Himself, and the overcomer is
therefore "more than conqueror" through Christ that loved him.
     Here again the history of the Church is positively against
us, because we cannot point with positive assurance to any person
in the Church age who has really appropriated this blessed
condition of holiness in its fulness. However, we are not going
to take the history of the Church as our pattern--for it is a sad
story of defeat, and worthy of far more lamentation than the
weeping prophet ever expressed over Israel. If this glorious
victory is declared in the Word, that is sufficient; and thank
God, it is. And it shall be attained by the overcomer--not by the
flesh, but by the Spirit. The experimental Day of Atonement is at
hand for the Church of Christ. The promise, therefore, is held
out to us at the ends of the ages, as to no other people in any
past dispensation. "To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not
your heart . . ." Let us examine, therefore, some of the
Scriptures which clearly promise this victorious, triumphant,
overcoming life in the Spirit.

Lev. 16:29-31. "And this shall be a statute for ever unto you:
that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye
shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be
one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to
cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the
Lord. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall
afflict your souls, by a statute for ever."

Matt. 5:48. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
is in heaven is perfect."

Jn. 17:21. "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me,
and I in thee, that they also may be one in us . . ."

Jn. 17:23. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one. . ."

Rom. 6:4. "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of
life." Notice this passage: the newness of our walk is to be
comparable to the very resurrection life and glory of Jesus
Christ.

Rom. 6:5-7. "For if we have been planted together in the likeness
of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with
him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we
should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin."

     Some would like to believe that the "likeness of his
resurrection" refers to a future physical resurrection. The whole
passage teaches to the contrary. God is speaking about the
righteousness and life that overcomes the "body of sin"
so that "henceforth we should not serve sin." It is the
appropriation here and now of the fruits of Christ's death and
resurrection.

Rom. 6:11. "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed
unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."     

     There is no suggestion here whatever of suppressing the old
nature, keeping the "old man" under your feet so that he will not
be able to raise his head, or constantly dying out to self. It is
a finished work; and just as Christ died and rose again once for
all, so those who have appropriated His death and resurrection
enter into a new life, a new sphere in the Spirit, a new victory.

Rom. 8:2. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death." Freedom! And when
God speaks of freedom, He means you are "free indeed" (Jn. 8:36).
As long as the world, the flesh, or the Devil can bring you into
any measure of servitude, you are not "free indeed."

Gal. 5:24. "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh  
with the affections and lusts."

1 Jn. 3:3. "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth
himself, even as he is pure."

1 Jn. 3:6, 7. "Whosever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever
sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children,
let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous,
even as he is righteous."

1 Jn. 3:9. "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his
seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of
God."

     There is no argument against the direct, plain, indisputable
truths here presented. The righteousness which God has in store
for us is not merely a partial appropriation of God's
righteousness, or a certain degree of attainment whereby we
measure ourselves with others, and conclude we are victorious
because we have ceased from our bad habits, conquered over anger,
and no longer harbor ill-feelings against another. As likely as
not, such claims of holiness are a sure sign of pride rather than
of meekness and contrition of spirit. This life of which we speak
is a life far beyond anything the Church has yet seen in her most
glorious saints. It is God's very own: "even as he is pure,"
"even as he is righteous," "he cannot sin, because he is born of
God."


THE BIRTH OF THE SPIRIT

"He cannot sin . . ." This is the plain Word of God. However, as
God's children we all can testify that we are born of God, and
that we do sin. And therefore we present some very plausible
arguments to prove that God does not mean exactly what He said.
Let us forever cease trying to justify ourselves. "Let God be
true and every man a liar." The only scriptural explanation of
this verse is that we are not "born again" in the fulness of this
regenerating experience. Our new birth, by the Spirit, genuine as
it is, has not developed into maturity. We have been reproduced
after God's likeness like the seed which is produced by the
flower, or the egg that is produced by the bird. That seed or
that egg is a genuine birth, containing all the potentialities of
a new flower exactly like the flower that produced it, or a new
bird exactly like its parent. But the full glory and the
potentialities of that new life lie dormant within the seed or
the egg--and are by no means manifest, or even apparent to our
observation. One can see no similarity whatsover between the tiny
seed with its black crusty covering, and the beautiful red poppy
which waves its petals in the breeze; no similarity between the
little blue egg in the nest, and the bird that flies aloft into
the atmosphere on wings of liberty. In fact, if we did not
understand the mysterious processes of nature, we would consider
one a fool to suggest that the seed and the poppy are one and the
same thing; or that the egg and the bird are one and the same
thing. And yet they are--in kind, in nature, in possibility.
     So it is with the birth of the Spirit. Thank God for the
seed, the incorruptible seed, in virtue of which we have become
"partakers of the divine nature" (2 Pet. 1:4), or "born again" (1
Pet. 1:23). But that seed in the hearts of God's people has
scarcely developed beyond the germ state; it has not grown and
developed to the place where we can testify, "his seed abideth"
in us; and therefore we CAN and DO sin.

(The author is on the right track. Being born again of John 3 is
misunderstood by the Christian fundamental churches of
Protestantism. I have on this Website a full and in-depth study
about the topic of "being born again." The reader should study it
and hence find the truth of the matter - Keith Hunt)


A NEW MAN IS TO BE BORN

     Let the saints of God who have eyes to see and ears to hear,
rejoice in the plan and purpose of God which even now is
unfolding before our very eyes. God is hastening the day and hour
of Christian perfection. We do not have it, nor have we seen it
in any person anywhere at any time. For we are not speaking
merely of a life made free from this particular sin or that
particular sin, from a bad temper, or a bitter spirit, or sinful
habits. We are speaking, rather, of a life which is the very life
of Jesus Christ reproduced in the fragile earthen vessels of this
human clay. Our prayer, therefore, should be as Jesus commanded,
"Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, even as it is in
Heaven." It is, first and foremost, the birth of the Kingdom of
God in our own little earth, in the clay of our flesh; for the
"Kingdom of God is within you . . ." It is the perfecting unto
maturity of the Christ who came into our hearts as the Seed when
we received Him as our Saviour. It is the springing forth of the
water of life into glorious liberty and spontaneity--even the
water that we drank when Christ came into our lives. Jesus
promised it would become a "Fountain of water leaping up into
everlasting life" (In. 4:14, Literal). It is "Christ in you, the
hope of glory," rising up unto maturity, and being "formed within
you" (Gal. 4:19).


HOW SHALL IT COME TO PASS?

     This life shall not come by fleshly striving. Nor shall it
come merely by prayer and repentance and seeking God's face.
This, of course, is most essential, and God will hear that prayer
of sincerity and reveal the channel and means by which perfection
shall be attained. But prayer and repentance in themselves are
not the means by which the saints are to be perfected. Neither is
the rapture of the Church the plan of God for the perfecting of
the saints, and their deliverance from sin and carnality. God has
another plan--a far more glorious plan, and yet a very simple
plan; and here it is:

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ: Till we all come in (unto) the unity of the
faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ"
(Eph. 4:11-13). The Church may proclaim an imminent rapture as
much as they will, and teach that any moment the saints will be
snatched away from earth to escape the gathering clouds of
Tribulation. But this is not the teaching of God's Word. True, we
must always be waiting and watching for His Appearing--but this
is not the "Appearing" of modern evangelical theology. This
glorious Appearing must first of all be manifest in the saints.
How thankful we are, therefore, that God is revealing the pattern
of perfection. The Ascension gifts, the ministries in the Body of
Christ these are the means of perfecting the saints,--and as we
have read, they are to remain in the Church till we all come unto
unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto
a perfect man! Notice, too, that these ministries were given
"when he ascended up on high," and not when He was here on earth.
He gave twelve apostles when He was here on earth; but here we
find that He gives apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and
teachers after His ascension.
     The perfection of the saints unto maturity, then, is just as
mysterious as the growth and development of the members of the
human body from birth unto manhood--and just as real. Spiritual
gifts in the saints, exercised by the recipient in the power of
the Holy Ghost, develop into ministries of the Spirit. And these
ministries are vital, living spiritual faculties in the Body of
Christ. The Body of Christ, therefore, shall nurture and edify
itself. Just as the human body has within itself the God-given
and God-created ability to grow, to develop, to heal its own
wounds, and to reproduce itself; so the Body of Christ, by means
of these spiritual faculties, has the God-given and God-created
power to grow into holiness, to develop into sonship, to heal its
own sin-wounds, and to reproduce its kind. Says Paul, "But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things,
which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly
joined together and compacted by that which every joint
supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of
every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of
itself in love" (Eph. 4:15,16). "Unto the edifying of itself in
love"! That is God's pattern.


WHAT HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF ATONEMENT?

     Briefly, this is what happened on the great Day of
Atonement. The high priest, clothed upon with the holy garments,
was designated to make the atonement for himself, as well as for
the people. Besides the offerings for himself, two goats were
chosen for the atonement of the people. Lots were cast upon the
goats, the one being set apart for sacrifice, and the other as
the scapegoat. "Scapegoat" signifies "the goat that went away."
The first goat was slain, and the blood brought within the veil
in the Holy of Holies, and sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat. Then
Aaron as high priest laid his hands upon the head of the
scapegoat, confessed over it all the iniquities of Israel, and
sent it away into the wilderness.
     In type the whole ordinance speaks of the Atonement which
Christ effected on the Cross. In the fulfillment of a type, of
course, we may expect to see a contrast as well as a parallel. In
contrast, we are reminded that Christ was "holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners" and therefore needed not "to
offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the
people's" (Heb. 7:26, 27). Nor did He offer Himself often, as the
high priest offered sacrifices year after year; for the sacrifice
of Christ is eternally efficacious, and He offered Himself
once-for-all.
     But as there was a great contrast between the imperfect
sacrifice of Israel, and the perfect Atonement of the Cross--so
also is there a beautiful parallel. Here we can see what took
place potentially at the Cross when Christ made an eternal
Atonement for the Church. It cannot be without significance that
the Passover occurred in the first month, Pentecost in the third,
and the Atonement in the seventh. It is simply because the Church
of Christ as a Body has never been experimentally cleansed from
her sins. We may close our eyes to the age-long sin and
corruption of God's people if we wish--but the fact remains, the
Church did not go on from early apostolic power and blessing to
really appropriate Divine life and holiness as a Body. Thank God,
however, that He knew all about it, and planned a great Day of
Atonement for the seventh month--this Sabbath of the Church, when
she shall be purified and made white and made to cease from her
own works. "For on that day shall the priest make an atonement
for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins
before the Lord. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you . . ."
(Lev. 16:30, 31).

     And so the one goat was slain, and the blood sprinkled upon
the mercy seat: for it is the blood that maketh atonement for the
soul, and "without the shedding of blood is no remission." Nor
was that all: for upon the head of the scapegoat all the sins of
Israel were laid (in type), and it was sent away into the
wilderness. Thank God for the Day of Atonement, when God's people
shall be made free, and free indeed, from all their sins.


CHRIST, A MANY-MEMBERED BODY

     We believe there is a special significance in the fact that
there were "two" goats used on the Day of Atonement. As we have
discovered in a previous chapter. "two" would speak of the Head
and the Body, Christ in the fulness of His people. For Christ is
one, but a many-membered Body. This is a great mystery, as Paul
tells us, that the Church should be bone of His bone, and flesh
of His flesh. Christ the Head, therefore, is not complete without
Christ the Body. In the "two" goats, therefore, we have (in type)
Christ in the fulness of His Body. That the saints are to become
thoroughly identified with Christ in His sufferings and in His
Cross, is clearly taught in the Scriptures; but the mystery of it
is almost too much for us to comprehend, even in the slightest
degree. It is only as we can begin to see the truth of the Body,
that we can in any measure comprehend the fact that when He died,
we died; and that when He rose again, then we rose again with
Him.
     To many, of course, this truth of our identification with
Christ the Head is nothing less than blasphemy. But this is to be
expected. When Jesus called Himself the Son of God they said
"Thou blasphemest." And yet now we hail Him King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, Man of very Man, and God of very God. And the ages
to come are going to reveal, what is now revealed by the Spirit
to those whose understandings have been quickened, that Christ is
the Body, - the whole Body, and not just the Head. The Church is
said to grow up "into Christ" (Eph. 4:15). just as a "man"
signifies a body with many members, and not just a head; so the
name "Christ" also signifies a Body with many members. Paul
therefore says, "For as the body is one, and hath many
members.... so also is Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12). Using another
illustration, Christ is the Vine, the whole Vine. "I am the vine,
ye are the branches" (Jn. 15:5). He is the Vine, the root, the
stalk, the branches, the leaves, the fruit - the whole vine; and
we are part of that Vine. The Lord does not intimate here that He
is one thing and we another. But He is the Vine, and we are part
of Him. The Son of Man in Heaven is not complete without the
fulness of the Son of Man on earth, even the Body, "the fulness
of him that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:23).


THE BODY, THE FULFILMENT OF JACOB'S LADDER

     You will recall the story of Jacob's ladder, how Jacob
dreamed as he lay there at Bethel, with his head on a stone for a
pillow--and saw in his dream the heavens opened, and a ladder set
up on the earth, and the angels of God ascending and descending
on the ladder. Jacob awoke out of his sleep in fear and dread,
and cried: "How dreadful is this place! this is none other but
the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Gen. 28:17).
     And so he changed the name of that place from Luz to
Bethel--because Bethel signifies "House of God." Little did he
realize that in this ladder-vision he actually beheld, in type,
the fulness of the Son of Man in Christ and His people.
     This is brought out in the Gospel of John. You will recall
how amazed Nathanael was when the Lord remarked how He had seen
him under the fig-tree. Actually the Lord may have been miles
away and Nathanael knew that. How could this Man, thought
Nathanael, be able to manifest such Divine omnipresence as to
have seen him under the fig tree, when He was perhaps miles away?
And so he pronounced Him the Messiah without any further
questioning. But Jesus replied: "Thou shalt see greater things
than these. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye
shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon the Son of Man" (Jn. 1:50,51). In other words,
Jesus said: "Why that is nothing, Nathanael, comparable to what
you shall yet discover about the Son of Man. That is nothing that
the Son of Man should have been miles away, and yet have observed
you under the fig-tree. The time is at hand when the Son of Man
shall fulfill the type of Jacob's ladder, His feet shall stand on
earth, and His Head shall reach even unto Heaven; and the angels
of God shall ascend and descend upon Him . . ."
     Now there is only one way by which the angels of God could
ascend and descend upon the Son of Man; and that is, if the Son
inhabits Heaven and earth at the same time. And such is the case.
The Son of Man is the glorious and wonderful fulfillment of
Jacob's ladder; and no wonder Jacob called the place "Bethel" for
this is the House of God of which we speak, even the Body of
Christ. The Head is in Heaven, but the Body is upon earth; and
according to the Scriptures the Head hath sent forth the
celestial hosts as ministering spirits, ministering to such as
shall be heirs of salvation, ascending and descending upon the
Son of Man, this "new Man" that Paul speaks about,the corporate
Son of God. It is Christ in the fulness of His people.


PARTAKERS OF HIS SUFFERINGS

"But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's
sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be
glad also with exceeding joy (1 Pet. 4:13).

     It is commonly recognized that some day the saints are to
become so thoroughly identified with Christ in His resurrection
that we shall be exactly like Him, having bodies like unto His
own glorious body, and sharing His very own life and glory. But
the corresponding truth concerning our identification with His
death, has scarcely dawned upon us: that we must share His Cross
so vitally that it actually becomes our Cross. This is hard to
really comprehend; but God is going to bring His people into that
place where they shall become actually identified with the death
of Christ, so much so that with this experience we shall testify,
"I am crucified with Christ . . " "For if we have been planted
together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his resurrection" (Rom. 6:5). The word "planted
together" signifies "grown up with," and therefore thoroughly one
with Him in His death. It is identification with Him, so vital
and real, that His death becomes our very own.

     We cannot comprehend these things yet, any more than the
disciples could comprehend the approaching Cross of Christ. They
understood not what He said to them, even though He told them
plainly that He must die, and rise again the third day. Nor could
they understand of what profit His death would be, when they were
so anxiously looking forward to a Kingdom and a King. But Jesus
explained, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit"
(Jn. 12:24). This is a great mystery, and as true concerning the
Body as it was of the Son. It is only as we enter into, and
appropriate, His very Cross that we are going to be of any profit
to others. Inasmuch as Paul was able to appropriate this
experience, therefore, he could testify: "Who now rejoice in my
sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the
afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is
the church" (Col. 1:24). And again John the beloved exhorted: "He
laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for
the brethren" (1 In. 3:16).
     We cannot atone for their sin; the Head alone could do that;
but as members of His Body we can share His suffering and His
rejection, and in that way transmit its efficacy to others. We
can suffer for the Truth, and in our sufferings the Truth will
shine forth. We can enter into the pangs of Gethsemane, in this
evening hour of Christ's betrayal--and in so doing share His
Cross for the sake of the brethren. For just as truly as Christ
the Head was betrayed some two thousand years ago, so once again
Christ the Body is being betrayed today. Christ the Head meant no
more to Judas or the Scribes and Pharisees than thirty pieces of
silver. Today, Christ the Body means no more to the
ecclesiastical authorities than large, costly church buildings,
big salaries, pipe organs, choirs, orchestras, creeds, dogmas,
and the applause of men. And if we, as God's people, are going to
be prepared to share His betrayal, stand true to Him even unto
death, and follow Him "without the camp," then we shall share His
death. The Head died on a literal Cross; the Body is being nailed
to a spiritual Cross.

     No man with spiritual insight can behold the Body of Christ
and fail to see that it is even now being crucified, as truly as
was Christ. Stripped of its clothing, even the purity and
righteousness of Christ; helpless to walk, its heel bruised by
the Serpent; helpless to serve, its hands bleeding from the nails
of ecclesiastical tyranny; powerless to love and to show mercy,
its heart thrust through with a sword of hate; all its bones out
of joint--and therefore unable to supply strength and vitality
"according to the effectual working in the measure of every
part." Every imaginable device of ecclesiastical tyranny has been
used against the Church, to make her completely helpless and
useless and powerless so far as functioning as a Body is
concerned. Every conceivable form of sin, carnality, division,
schism, and sectarianism has been foisted upon God's
people--largely by men in the pulpit who have been proclaiming a
lie for the Truth. As truly as Christ was betrayed by the
religious leaders of His day, so truly is His Body being betrayed
and crucified today.

(Indeed we have seen in the last 60 years since this study was
written, men arising from within the body of Christ, to draw away
people to follow them [see Acts 20:17-38] into false teachings
and vain glory and the deceptions of the outward form - Keith
Hunt)

     No amount of fleshly striving can produce this Death
experience within us. All we have to do to share His rejection,
His betrayal, and His death, is to recognize the Body, identify
ourselves with the Body, minister in the Body according to our
God-given ability, and refuse to associate ourselves with
anything that will injure another member of that Body. If we do
this we will automatically partake of Christ's sufferings and
death in this hour of His betrayal. And we will be doing it for
the sake of the brethren. 

(We are to stand up and be counted; we are to stand against the
entry of deception, lies, falsehood, vain glory, and the giving
of our mind over to human people and organizations. We are to
ever prove all things and hold fast to that which is good [1
Thes.5:21]. We are to love the truth; we are to search the
Scriptures; we are to study to show ourselves approved unto God,
correctly dividing and putting together the word of God [2
Tim.2:15]; we are to read and study God's word so we can know who
speaks the truth of it [Isa.8:20]. We are to hunger and thirst
after righteousness [Mat.5:6]; we are to have the mind of Christ
[Phil.2:5]. We are to do all of these things so we will not be
deceived by the cunning of the Devil, for he will always be
working to bring sin and deception into the Body of Christ -
Keith Hunt)

     Then the resurrection follows: the hour of the Church's
triumph, the spiritual resurrection of those who share the
betrayal of the Body. "For if we have been planted together in
the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of
his resurrection" (Rom. 6:5).
     These truths, we realize, are difficult for us to grasp. Of
necessity this must be so; for as yet we see "as through a glass
darkly." But as truly as Jesus said, "Father, the hour is come.."
the time is at hand when the Body shall be able to say, "Lord
Jesus, the hour is come . . ." Identification with Christ is a
truth of infinite and eternal significance. It means much more
than the fact that we are justified by His blood and saved from
wrath through Him. It goes on to embrace not only the work of
Redemption, but the Person of the Redeemer Himself: so that the
Body becomes thoroughly one with Him in the "eternal purpose"
which God hath purposed "in Christ Jesus." Does not the apostle
Paul affirm, "The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last
Adam was made a quickening (a life-giving) spirit" (l Cor.
15:45)? A life-giving spirit! Creative power! Such is the
heritage and the attributes of the Last Adamic race. And should
some insist that this refers only to Christ, the Last Adam, let
us continue: "As is the earthy, such are they also that are
earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are
heavenly" (vs. 48). So thorough and real and vital is our
identification with the Last Adam, that in all respects - His
work, His ministry, His death, His life--we are to become like
unto Him.


ENTRANCE BEHIND THE VEIL

     It was on the Day of Atonement that the high priest was
granted access into the Holy of Holies behind the veil. After the
sacrifices, after the slaying of the sin-offering, once in the
year, the high priest was permitted to go in behind the veil and
there commune with the Lord who dwelt above and upon the mercy
seat. (Lev. 16:2). True picture, indeed, of Christ's atoning
sacrifice and His entrance "into heaven itself, now to appear in
the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24). But here again, there is
a glorious contrast, as well as a true parallel. Israel's high
priest entered the Holy of Holies only once a year; but Christ
has entered the Holy of Holies, not just for a few moments, but
to abide there forever. "By his own blood he entered in once (for
all) into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for
us" (Heb. 9:12). And again, Aaron alone went in, while all the
rest of Israel were excluded. But Christ went in as the
"forerunner"--one who runs on ahead of others who shall follow
later. (Heb. 6:20). "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to
enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living
way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is
to say, his flesh . . ." (Heb. 10:19,20). It is this unveiling
for which all creation is longing and looking forward to with
great anticipation, even "the unveiling of the sons of God" (Rom.
8:19). It is having the veil removed, even the veil of His flesh,
the veil of the flesh of His Body, the rending asunder of our
carnal nature that the glory of Christ might be revealed. Some
fear to enter, fear that this would be intruding into spheres of
holiness and life and glory and power that God has not intended
for us. But let us assure you, child of God, that God invites us
to enter into this realm with all confidence: "Having therefore,
brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest . . ." And why may
we enter with such boldness, we who are but worms of the dust?
Because of the precious "Blood of Jesus"! Let us not depreciate
the glory and the power and the efficacy of the Blood. We have no
right of our own to enter this wonderful sphere, this holy place,
this Holy of Holies. But the Blood of Jesus has made us worthy.
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain! Furthermore, God will never be
truly glorified until His Sons believe what He has said, and
reach out and appropriate this "new and living way," this holy
life behind the veil "whither the forerunner is for us entered.."
God will be glorified in this wonderful experience; and God alone
will be glorified. For His blood alone has made us worthy, and
His Name alone shall be exalted.

     This brings us now to the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of
the seventh month--the culmination of the Blowing of Trumpets and
the Day of Atonement. These two events, in fact, are really part
of the Feast of Tabernacles in that they prepare and open up the
way for the glory that is to be revealed.
......

Note:

Many are the teachings of the Feasts of the Lord. Each can be
disected in many illustrations of the truths of God. Here you
have read about a few of those wonderful truths.

Keith Hunt

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