The Blood Covenant of God

New Wine Skins

Chapter 1

 

What is the Blood

Covenant of God all about?

 

When and Where did it start?
What is its purpose?
How does it apply to me today?

How long will it last?

 

Have You Prepared Your Wineskin 
for the New Wine of God?

 

The Blood Covenant of God …

This is a foundational teaching for every child of God, who wants to walk in God’s Covenant Blessings. Who wants God’s Favor to be showered down upon their lives. Who wants to prepare themselves for both the hard times ahead, and for the life of the miraculous, and the supernatural walk that God has called his children into–walking with Him according to His Nature, Freedom, Power, and Grace..

This will be a willd ride, but it is not all roses, and lemonade. Just as Jesus suffered in laying down his life for his friends, leaving us an example to live by, so has he called his followers to lay down their lives for one another. And sometimes those sacrifices will be painful, and costly. Sometimes we will share the glory, sometimes the sufferings. 

There are two sides to the Blood Covenant, and both sides are very real. Very challenging–And very important to properly understand in order to rightfully and successfully walk in the Promises and Warnings contained in the Blood Covenant of God.

This teaching will be mixing in the Prophecies of Jesus–promised in the Old Covenant, fulfilled in the New Covenant, along with the warnings of Jesus laid out in the New Covenant.

These prophecies awaken in Us the Testimony of God–and teach us from God’s Supernatural Perspective. While learning the incredible accuracy, beauty, and thoughtfulness contained in the Prophecies of God, we become familiarized with the Ways of God, through the Will of God, as we receive a Revelation from Him in the Word of God.

 

Jesus’ Prophecies are for His Disciples

These prophecies opened the eyes of two men who were on the verge of losing their faith in their Messiah. Actually, they had lost their faith in Him, (in a certain sense), because Jesus didn’t turn out to be the person that they were hoping that He was. Can anyone say, “The missed the mark by a mile.”

Why did so many close friends and faithful followers of Jesus basically lose their faith while Jesus was busy fulfilling all the prophecies in every detail, that God had spoken about what His Son would accomplish on his first mission to planet Earth.

 

Jesus gives us the answer in: Luke 24:25-26 (KJV) 

Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?

 

In other words, Why did Jesus disciples stumble and fall into unbelief? It was because they had a false understanding of the Mission of their Master.

In other words, their flesh was resisting the message being given by the Spirit of God through the Word of God.

Although Jesus had clearly spoken about what was going to happen, (Luke 9:23-26)–not one of disciples truly understood what he was saying or what he meant. One reason for that is: They did not understand their eternal Blood Covenant relationship with God. 

Mark 8:31-33 (KJV)  [also recorded in: Matthew 16:21 ff; and Luke 9:22 ff]
And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. 32 And he spake that saying openly.

And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. 33 But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.

 

A Side Note: One thing that can be easily missed in the testimony above is how humble and gentle and non-threatening Jesus must have seemed to Peter and his disciples. How vulnerable, and available he was to his disciples, on a personal friendship level. The fact that Peter felt comfortable enough that he could straight away rebuke Jesus, and try to convince Jesus of his wrong thinking–is a marvel to behold.

The fact that the Almighty God should shroud all his power, all his holiness, and all his heavenly nature in the form of a humble servant, so that men might mistake him for being a mere mortal man, not recognizing that he has no beginning, and no end, that he is truly the Alpha and the Omega, the one who created the heavens in the Earth, and put the stars in place, created all the animals, trees and flowers, kittens and puppies, men and women and little babies. He is the one who gave us our breath, our sight, our taste, hearing and ability to reason. Yet, he hides all that, in the holy shroud of a common, somewhat poor, and lowly servant, without house or home on earth–without “pomp or circumstance.” And if he hadn’t raised his own self from the dead, and ascended into heaven, with the promise to return at the appointed time, we never would have believed him, and would still have no idea who he was and is, and forever shall be.

Now, that was a bid deal–that Peter felt comfortable enough to rebuke the Creator of the Universe–and not be fried up like a crispy burnt piece of bacon for his impudence.

Now we see that Jesus did not hesitate to rebuke Peter openly and in front of all the other disciples. Why? To protect his honor among thieves? Not in the slightest, but to protect the Truth from being stolen by the Evil One.

Jesus wanted his message to be heard by all of them. Why? Because they would all be tempted to think and believe the same things that Peter thought and believed, and Jesus knew he needed to pull the lies out of Peter’s mind and the minds of all who would be attacked with him, including us today.

We must remember, Jesus spoke nothing for his own benefit. He came as a servant to do the will of His Father in Heaven, and to complete the mission assigned to him. That is why Jesus rebuked Peter. He was preparing to make Peter into a New Wine Skin, in order to be able to Contain the New Wine of the Spirit, that He intended to send to Him. And without this rebuke, Peter would not have been prepared. Neither he, nor the rest of His disciples, nor you and I, today. Therefore, Jesus set down an example in His conversation with Peter that should never be forgotten, nor misunderstood, not only to reach Peter, but to reach the whole world.

Why? Because it was clear to Jesus that Satan was trying to get a hold of the faith and beliefs of his very own disciples.

Now, if Jesus let that happen, he would guilty of enabling his disciples to fall into enemy hands. This Jesus would not do. So instead, he took the bull by the horns and rebuked Peter openly before all his disciples, who was one of his top three disciples.

This begs the question: How many modern believers need this very same bold and direct rebuke of Jesus?

1. How many modern preachers savourest not the things of God, but the things of men?
2. How many modern pastors are ready to lay down their lives for their sheep?
3. How many modern sheep are ready to pick up their cross and follow in Jesus’ footsteps?

My guess, by looking at the state of the modern church is: 1) MANY, and 2)  not many, and  3) not many.

Jesus himself said, “Narrow is the road, and few there be that find it.”

I would dare say that is ever more applicable today, and even more so than in Jesus’s day.

That deep concern lies behind every sentence in this presentation.

For some: This is clearly going to be a hard teaching. If your wineskin is not prepared, like Peter’s Wineskin was not yet prepared, you are going to baulk at such teaching:  That Jesus is going to the Cross. And in the same stage, Jesus tells his disciples if they do not pick up their own crosses and follow him, they are not worthy of Him.

Now, I have a choice …

Now, I can reject that teaching of Jesus, right? Just like Peter did. But I must make a clear distinction about: “Whose Word am I rejecting?” Not man’s, but God’s.

If what Jesus says is true, we have a choice to make:

1) I will accept His Word at face value, or

2) I will reject it–at face value.

We will either eat, swallow, and digest the whole banana, or take a few bites of it, and let the rest of it rot on the table, become brown, filled with flies, and a source of unclearness in our homes.

---

That concludes the introduction to the need for a New Wine Skin, now we are going to get into the Meat of this Message. Going forward …

Jesus humbly catches up with two men running away from Jerusalem, frightened, disillusioned, and without hope, having all their faith, and trust, and reason dashed upon the rocks of the reality of the Gospel. And they are exactly where the LORD God needed them to be, broken vessels, unable to hold the New Wine of the Spirit, but still being prepared for that very purpose.

On the Road to Emmaus

The same difficulty that was resting on Peter, also rested on these two men on the Road to Emmaus: Cleopas and his unnamed brother–and that same difficulty rests upon us.

The faith of these two men was in the fire of purification. As it stood, their faith was too shallow to handle their current crisis. In the depth of the water they were swimming, we could say, they were drowning. They needed a life boat to save them..

They were swimming in unbelief. The fact that their Messiah died, and had not ushered in the kingdom of God, was killing them. It was a problem far too big for their small minded souls. But this problem was not too big, nor too difficult for Jesus to handle.

Jesus had just that day risen from the dead. He was now living in his resurrected body.

Jesus was more than well, equipped to handle the minor problems of his major disciples, but only if they would let him help them. The key to receiving the help that he had to offer, was to remove the blockage of unbelief from their heart. This was no small task as we read about in the gospel of Christ.

The recently Resurrected, Son of God, had to take into his humble capable hands–the doubts, the fears, the deep insecurities of the sin of UNBELIEF and its attending darkness was invading the souls of his friends.

Jesus gently and humbly corrected these two men who were like two sailors lost at sea with a broken rudder.

By using his own testimony about Himself, that had been pre-recorded before his miraculous birth, Jesus broke open to them the scriptures that Jesus was “the Lamb of God,”  who was destined to die, in order to take away the sins of mankind. Jesus was at the center of the Blood Covenant all along, and ALL the Prophetic Promises connected to it from the Very Beginning.

Overcoming our Monster of Unbelief

Why did Jesus need to teach them his Testimony?  Because, All their hopes and dreams had been shattered, as they needed to be. Why? Because: They had built their spiritual houses upon a false understanding of the Plan of God, that was deeply embedded in them, that was taught by men.

Their false religious beliefs were like walls standing upon a cracked foundation that was destined to crumble. They expected the Savior to Crush the Roman Empire and Setup His New Kingdom to replace it. That was their hope and eager expectation.

Yet, they missed the part about becoming His Holy, Humble, Grace Filled Servants First, able to Prepare the Entire World for the Coming of the King of Heaven.

What they soon learned was that the plan of God was completely different from what they believed at this time, and at this season. Yes, the Kingdom of God will replace the Kingdoms of Men, but the world was not yet ready to receive the Kingdom of God, nor were the people of Israel yet ready for the Fullness of the Kingdom of God. They were not yet made pure, and clean. They had not yet made their garments as white as snow. They were not yet ready for the Holiness of God, for they had not yet become new wine skins to receive the New Wine of Heaven, but soon, they would prove to the World that God’s Way was right, and superior to man’s, in every way, shape, and form.

The evidence was clear: When they should have been rejoicing, they were full of sorrow and dismay.

Jesus used the prophecies of the Old Testament to correct their wrongful thinking, and to give them a true foundation, and a right perspective upon which to be grounded into an Eternal Faith, one that will never moved. It may get shaken, but only that which is not worthy of the Kingdom of God will be removed (and shaken off), everything else that is in Agreement with the Word of God, and the Kingdom of God will remain, and become the eternal treasure they will possess forever and ever.

This is something that we all need: All those who will choose to follow Jesus as their Redeemer, LORD, and King.

In short, Jesus used his own Testimony to repair these men’s damaged and wounded faith, by pointing out to them the Old Testament Scriptures that relate to Himself.

Mark this down: Wise men do no put new wine into old wineskins. If they do the Wineskins will break open, and the wine will run out. When men are following false hope created by false teachers, and a false understanding of God’s Ways (that come from a false man-based religious system), then they are not ready for the New Wine.

When we have false identities, and hide behind false premises, we are not ready for the New Wine of God. We must prepare our lives to become containers for the new Wine. Anything to do with a false image of God, and every false and fake image of ourselves needs to go. (The Lord calls this pruning.) We need to get down and dirty and into the nitty gritty, and purge ourselves of every wrongful unclean thought, word, and deed we possess. We need a single eye for the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:22-23). We need to confess who we truly are before a Holy God, so He can make our sins as white as snow!  

In the Blood Covenant of God: Those who follow Christ prepare themselves, through repentance and faith, to become faithful workers in his Vineyard, by becoming holy vessels that are filled to overflowing with his life.

 

We will come back to the road to Emmaus message after laying down the pathway to overcome the monster of unbelief that keeps people blocked from receiving the prophecies of God laid out to lead us deeper into his presence.

 

This is not just the pastors job, nor just the missionaries job, nor just the Sunday school teachers job. This is the calling of every individual in the Kingdom of God. Everyone who wants to fully participate in the Blood Covenant of God, and share in its blessings, he must also share in its persecutions, walking in real fellowship (see Real Relationships), and the real sufferings of the Messiah of Israel. Jesus said:

Matthew 16:24-25 (KJV)
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

We should not only want our sins made white as snow, but we need to know how to make them white as snow.

We need to participate in the plan of Salvation, and once we have gotten our own clothing clean and bright, we should be able to tell and show others how to do everything we have learned to do.

That is only doing what is right. We should be like those who pay it forward: Those who give back to show our appreciation and deepen our connection to the One who saved us and called us to follow Him. Should we not?

In the Blood Covenant of God: We need our garments to be made as white as snow, to shine like the brilliance of the Sun, clean and pure. Our garments are a symbol of our faith, and how pure, and true, and right it is.

Below the testimony of one church that represents all the believers in one whole city. And yet, only a few appear to be saved, and walking with Jesus in genuine faith and repentance and spiritual life. Only a few. This echoes the teaching of the narrow road. Only a few there be that find the narrow road that leads to life, and follow it, but many are they that follow the wide road that leads to destruction. This wide road can be found inside the four walls of many a church. This just shows that church membership gives us no real assurance for our eternal salvation.

Is it possible that the description below accurately portrays a church you have gone to, or the church you are now attending?

Revelation 3:4-5 (KJV)
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Make a Note: That’s a big deal. You want to be identified as One who Overcomes: What do you need to overcome? You need to defeat the world, the flesh, and the devil (James 3:15; 1 John 2:16), all of which want to deceive you, trick you, and keep you out the Kingdom of Heaven, away from the Power, Love, Authority, Truth, Healing, and Freedom of God.

You also want Jesus to “confess your name to His Father.” You want him to be your advocate, your heavenly attorney on the day you stand trial for your deeds done in the body.

Revelation 3:4-5 is a significant passage: It teaches we can have our names written in the Book of Life, but due to rebellion, laziness, and ignorance, resulting in disobedience and sin, we can have our names blotted out of the Book of Life. That is why we need to learn, and know, and practice, how to keep our robes as white as snow. Yes? This doctrine is not often taught or well understood in the modern day church, but it is central to the Gospel of Christ. Jesus said:

Revelation 3:18 (KJV)
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Please note: Who is doing the buying here? It is the motivated believer. It is by his action, his faith, his work. He is ready to buy gold from Jesus. He is ready, willing, and obedient to receive new clothing from Jesus. He is ready to buy eye salve, in order to prepare himself to see the work of the Kingdom of heaven and to do it (he is to prepare his wineskin in order to contain the New Wine of Heaven). In order to have a single eye, his sight must be cleansed, must be healed, must be made new. (Matthew 6:22-23)

Revelation 16:15 (KJV)
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Again, this is not a common teaching in many modern churches. Jesus will come at a time unexpected, and he that is fat and lazy, or just too busy to care about the hour of Jesus’ Visitation, will not have prepared himself (like the five foolish virgins), therefore, he will not have “kept his garments clean and white, pure and spotless.”

On the Day of Judgment we will be exposed for who we really are, and for what our lives really stood for. Some things we truly don’t want to be known for in Heaven are listed below, and yes this is a short list:

 

1. a hypocrite,                          (Matthew 6:16; Mt. 23:13-29)
2. a false convert,                    (Matthew 7:22 ff)
3. an unfruitful branch,           (John 15:1-7)
4. a tare among the wheat,    (Matthew 13:24 ff; Mt. 13:37 ff)
5. a foolish virgin,                     (Matthew 25:1 ff)
6. a lazy steward,                     (Matthew 25:26)
7. a goat among the sheep,   (Matthew 25:44)

 

Mark this down: This is not name calling. This is not judging others. This is not being critical of others beliefs. This is simply speaking the Truth in Love. We cannot prepare ourselves if we don’t know what is at stake.

 

We can’t make necessary changes

if we don’t know what changes need to be made.

 

So Jesus is simple calling out and identifying problems for what they are. Of course, He sees everything from an eternal perspective, and often what he sees will hurt our feelings. That’s because our feelings need to be hurt, so that we can see the solution to our problem, through the pain and the tears.

The purpose and motivation of exposing the truth is so that nobody gets a fearful surprise on the Day that matters most.

The most important Day of our lives is coming in a flash, in a twinkling of the eye, we will soon be transported into the Courtroom of Heaven.  We will stand in His heavenly courts. We will have an adversary, (a prosecuting attorney–that would be Satan the accuser of the brethren who accuses them day and night before the thrown), and an advocate, our eternal defense lawyer (that would be Jesus). If we are “in Christ” our lives are protected by Jesus’s Blood, [the Blood Covenant of God], and the purchase price for our lives has been paid in full, so we can go free from the condemnation of the enemy.

But, if we are not “in Christ” we are not covered by the Blood Covenant of God, then every infraction of the Law of God will be used and judged against us. So the critical factor will be this:

1. Are we really a true and full participant in the Blood Covenant of God? or
2. Are we just pretending to be “in Christ.” Or,
3. Have we fully rejected Christ from the git go.

If the latter two apply to us (pretending or rejecting), the Lake of Fire judgement will also apply to us. 

 

Can you see from Heaven’s Perspective what is going to soon take place? Every soul should make it his or her duty to know this for sure. Know where you came from … Know where you are going … Know why you are here now … and know the consequences of your eternal decisions that you will make every single day of your life starting today, like unto the last day of your life.

Be Cognitive. Be Alert. Be informed. Then, you can make your wisest most informed decisions on every matter that comes across your decision making desk.

John 3:18-21 (KJV)
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

It is a simple equation:

 

1. 1. believeth on him          =   not condemned
   2. believeth not on him   =   condemned already
        

Light is  come     [but]      men love darkness

1.  
   1. doeth evil             =      hateth the light
   2. doeth truth          =      cometh to the light 

 

Why do men hate the Light? Simple. The Light exposes them. It reveals their deeds are evil, selfish, carnal, not of God. And those in darkness don’t want to be exposed. If you walk with God, you will come into the Light, you will expose everything dark thing in your life, an it will become cleansed from you.

Then you will become one of His Lights, you can’t help it. And you will help others to become lights too:

 

Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV)
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

 

But … becoming God’s Light, carries certain risks. When you become a light, by doing the truth, you expose the darkness, and you expose the lie. This is upsetting to many people. As result, you can, and will predictably, become an object of contempt, of scorn, of ridicule, and often receive the abuse of those who hate the light.

So what will be the normal response to this situation? You will tone down your light. You hide it under a bushel, if you don’t know and walk in the Blood Covenant of God.

 

If you walk in the fullness of God’s Blood Covenant–You rejoice when persecuted. You consider it an honor and a privilege to share in the sufferings of Christ, and you become even more bold, and  more brilliant, shining the light of God deeper into the Darkness, so that all can see and hear of the Glory of God. (Acts 4:18-31; Acts 5:40-42, Hebrews 12:1-2)

 

Matthew 5:10-12 (KJV)
10 Blessed are they which are persecutedfor righteousness’ sake:
            for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
            and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:
            for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

 

If you know, and understand, and walk in the Light of the Blood Covenant of God, you will rejoice when men revile you. You will rejoice when men persecute you, when men say all kinds of evils against you falsely, because you are reflecting the Light of Jesus, the Son of God to Them and everyone in the World. Great is your Reward in Heaven!

 

What does it mean “To Believe”

in the only begotten Son of God?

 

Please make this a personal challenge: Learn what the Bible means when it says “to believe” in the Son of God.

A lot is riding on this one word.

If you miss the correct understanding of this word, and what it means you could actually miss the whole truth about the Kingdom of Heaven.

I believe the Devil truly wants to corrupt the Word of God (he has been diligent in this work from the very beginning, and yes he is still doing his work today).

The devil has diligently placed many of his own servants in places of leadership in many modern churches and denominations with his teaching: a faith and practice that is not what the original Teacher Jesus, or His Apostles taught or practiced. If anyone doubts this, just compare the fruits of the early church, to the fruits of the modern church. 

You can tell a tree by its fruit.

We will need to talk about John 3, Verse 18, later in the Blood Covenant. But here, we need to make the point that the idea of believing comes from the Hebrew Culture and Mindset.

Believing in Hebrew has to do with obeying the Commandments, being “firm” in them. (in our case “firm in”  Jesus’ Commandments, which by the way were oftentimes far stricter than the OT commandments. When One believes Jesus Word, he obeys Jesus’s Word, as such he remains “firm” in Jesus’ Word, and we say he is  “in Christ.”

He is abiding in Christ. One who doesn’t believe, doesn’t obey, nor remain “firm” in Christ. He is not abiding in Christ. It is that simple. Why Obey? To gain “browny points” with God? No. We obey, because of our Blood Covenant Relationship demands it. [I wonder how Google will translate “browny points” in different languages.]

 

You can tell if someone believes something by what they do, not just by what they think or say, or believe in their mind, or believe in their heart. All that may be immaterial–depending upon their actions.

And Yes. Jesus says a man’s beliefs will be judged by his actions, or his works. And this is the very clear, very serious, very final word of God on the matter of the judgement of a man’s beliefs. I dare say it Is the clearest and most vivid picture we can use to look into this matter:

 

Revelation 20:11-15 (KJV)
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

I dare say, that is the final word on our salvation. We will all be judged according to our works, aka, What We Did? Or what we failed to Do? (See Matthew 25:31-46).

 

Some people have been falsely taught that “good works” do not need to attend to their salvation. God’s word does not say that. To answer the question: Do our works Matter to our Salvation? See: Every Man Rewarded According to His Works.

           I know people who are deceived into believing they themselves are saved, but their lives do not bear the Fruit of Salvation in Christ (you may know some as well). Jesus told his disciples you can tell a tree by its fruit. No Fruit? No Salvation. It is pretty simple.

In modern English, a person can easily BELIEVE (think or say) one thing, but then DO THE OPPOSITE.

The devils so this and tremble:

James 2:19-20 (KJV) 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

 

It has been common throughout church History for men to say they believe, but show no proof of their Salvation by the lives they lived. In fact, their lives were proof that they had no genuine, authentic biblical faith or obedience to Jesus, the Holy Spirit or His Word, ergo, the Crusades, the Inquistion, the Holocaust, the World Wars, the Christian Wars, Constantine, you name it, The unbelievably Evil heretic Popes, and wicked Catholic Church leaders, as well as the many corrupt and evil Protestant World Leaders, playing politics and power with their religion and holding dominion over the people (the Nicolaitan System). It all falls under the category of that kind of “believing,” that produces bad fruit.

 

Saying one thing, Doing another–
That is self deception of the highest order.

 

This is not acceptable in the Hebrew Mindset.  The western idea of believing, (mental ascent) really doesn’t apply to the word “believeth” in this sense above, in John 3:18. Much of Western Christianity has cheapened the Blood Covenant of God, turning it into “A Mental Happy Social Club” where we meet and share happy thoughts, but don’t do anything that requires Biblical Faith, or Biblical Action, Biblical Repentance, or specific obedience to the Word of God and the Spirit of God–dying to ourselves and living God. This is not Biblical Believing. More on this later.

 

Being Prepared

If we know we will stand before God and must give an accounting of our lives, whether we were true to him or false: Then we should also know all of the criteria that will be laid upon our account for which we will need to give an answer. 

 

If we be true, and obedient, we will receive his reward, and his commendation.

If we be deceived, and false, we will receive his condemnation.

 

The evidence will be plain and sure. Nothing will be hidden on that day. We will either:

1. Stand before God Clothed in White Raiment, radiant, glorious and radiant or
2. Stand before God as naked and ashamed, just as he has said.

This is all plainly laid out in the Blood Covenant of God.

I dare say, millions if not billions of so called believers, have not taken seriously that this day will come upon them. And I dare say, they are not ready for it.

 

Those who have not so ordered nor structured their lives and works around the fact that they will be judged according to their works, or by the lack of them–will be in for a terrible surprise on the day that matters most.

 

Many will say: Lord, Lord …
But He will say: Depart from Me, I never knew you, ye workers of iniquity.

 

Understandably, these are not fun and popular teachings in the modern church.

Therefore, they are often overlooked, or only barely mentioned, or completely buried, and never mentioned.

 

Self-deception are common enemy

Self deception is one of the most common realities of the human experience. That is why the Kingdom of God is being so specific, and so repetitive, and so exacting to tell us in advance in undeniable ways, that we are going to be judged, and then we are going to be rewarded according to exactly what we have done, with the 2 commandments: 1) To Repent. 2) To Believe.

Revelation 4:4 (KJV)
And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.

As we can see, heaven is populated by people who have made their robes white, they have washed away their sins, in the Blood Covenant of the Lamb, and they have turned away from all former agreements they had made with Satan, and the World, and the Flesh, to serve them.    

They have broken off every lie, sin, self indulgence, unclean habit, unclean thought, evil word, and deed, and then they have entered into the Labor of the Lord as a Good Servants of God Most High.

And like the twenty four elders, we are wearing white robes that cover our nakedness, and show our worthiness to walk with Jesus, and be in this presence, and enjoy his favor, and live in His Glory. No dark thing will be allowed in His Presence. No Evil wicked, secret sin, will stand before God. No lie, no rebellion, no ingratitude, no self-justification, no excuses, no false representations, no hidden skeletons in the closet will be allowed in His Holy Sanctuary.

So now is the time to get clean. Today is the Day of Salvation. I can only imagine this message will infuriate many so called “do nothing” believers, that still believe, that they believe, but have no fruit to prove their faith.

It seems many a man has been sitting in the pew for 30 plus years, taking in all kinds of teaching that tickles the ear and fills the church coffer, but doesn’t demand faith in action;  doesn’t require taking up your cross and following in Jesus footsteps; doesn’t require the believer to do anything, but just believe.

 

To Just believe in the imagination
of one’s heart is not Biblical Faith.

 

“Just Believe, Do Nothing Faith” is not part of the Gospel of Salvation. As you can see in the Blood Covenant of God, bearing good fruit for the Kingdom of Heaven is not an option, it is a mandatory requirement.

 

Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:

and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it,

that it may bring forth more fruit.

John 15:2 (KJV)

 

Jesus never promised it would be easy, he just knows that it will be worth it.

Jesus makes no excuses and no placations, He simply gives us the Word from Heaven, plain, bold, and undecorated. He has no desire to tickle any man’s ears. His Father didn’t tickle His ears. He did not tickle his disciples ears, and they don’t tickle our ears. Hope that all makes perfect sense.

But many modern preachers, tickle the ears of their congregations. This keeps them complacent, and less likely to discern that the Kingdom God is not really operating in their congregation.

From my experience, most gospel messages are intellectual in nature, not requiring obedience as Jesus taught his disciples. This is not acceptable in the sight of heaven, but it is common in the fellowship of men. 

Revelation 7:9 (KJV)
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

As you can see, the great multitude of believers, who were granted their entrance into heaven, were all clothed in white. And remember they chose to make their garments white. They chose to take on the challenges of the Gospel. They chose to become obedient and holy, just and true, righteous and faithful servants of the most High God. They chose to carry God’s Light into the Darkness. They chose to bear witness to the Word of God. They chose to suffer for the name of Jesus. They chose ridicule over praise. Abuse over comfort. Honor from God, over the honor of men. As such, they looked forward to the day and the hour when God will say to them:

 

“WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT.
ENTER INTO THE JOY OF YOUR MASTER.”

 

Notice, that Jesus says, “well done,” not “well imagined,” or “well pretended.” To get the praise from God, of “WELL DONE” there is the requirement that something must have been “done well.”

I firmly believe, “Well Done” are the two words you and I will want to hear in our own ears, on the day that matters most to us, in all the days of our total existence.

I believe, you and I should want to graduate into the Halls of Heaven, and be honored guests at the Great Wedding Supper of the Lamb, and hear the words: “Well Done, my Good and Faithful Servant. Enter into the Joy of your Master.” 

          Are we slow of mind and heart? Yes, but we don’t have to continue down that path. Remember the original apostles were slow of mind and heart at the beginning of their journey with Christ, but the key is they didn’t stay that way.

They persevered through trials, temptations, overcoming all kinds of sins, and self centered egotistical thinking, but they endured and overcame their selfish nature. If they can do it, so can we. Their holy vessels took years of diligent application of the Word of God, and holy obedience to the Will of God.

Revelation 19:14 (KJV)
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

You may not be aware, but if you are in Christ, you are part of a vast army, one that wins battles. One that is victorious. One that never backs down. Never gives in. Never gives up. Never turns and runs away from the enemy. And they win their battles not by swords and spears, bows and arrows, but by Faith and Deeds in God’s Miraculous Kingdom. We learn to use spiritual weapons, and spiritual armor. We do not fight against flesh and blood …

Ephesians 6:12-13 (KJV)
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Today, is the day to stand. Today, is the day to fight. Tomorrow is not promised. You can win over the darkness every time you decide to stand in the Blood Covenant of God, every time you participate in the fight of faith.

Now you might be wondering why list all these specific references to white raiment, white garments, clean and white clothing, white linen, white robes, and the like. What does this have to do with the Blood Covenant of God? It actually has everything to do with the Blood Covenant of God.

It is a suspiciously missing teaching from much of modern christianity. Do you know what white raiment, white linen, white robes, clean and white garments represent in the Kingdom of God?

Every believer should have this simple teaching down pat as a part of the backbone of their  daily operation of faith in the Son of God.

White linen represents the righteousness of the saints. They represent the good works they have performed, and the sinless nature and character of God they have inherited. It is the very ground the saints walk on: The very foundation of their lives, the very necessary work of the Kingdom of God. It includes their own personal sanctification, but it doesn’t stop there. It continues to invoke their prayers, their faith, their mighty works, their heavenly fruit, and their personal sacrifices that Jesus promised would be a part of their testimony in the Kingdom of God, that it would be visible to even the lowest and darkest sinner.

It would be evident to all, that their white robes clean and bright were a result of their clean lives, the removal of all worldly filth, worldly lusts, worldly pursuits, worldly greed, worldly idolatry, worldly vanity, worldly pride (anger, hostility, violence, avarice, and licentiousness), and the removal of any desire whatsoever to participate in the worldly lies, ways, lifestyles, fads, trends, and temptations that pollute every person living in the world.

So why is this teaching mysteriously and conspicuously missing from the majority population in the Body of Christ. 

A True Teacher will teach these things, but He will be held accountable by his flock for Living out these things. That would put a lot of pressure on a compromised teacher, one who says one thing and does another. So many preachers avoid taking about something that will make them accountable. Whole churches have been raised or built on such a foundation. But guess what. That cracked foundation is going to break, On the Day of Judgment every idle word, and every false teacher will be exposed, cleansed, and removed from the Body of Christ.

Revelation 19:8 (KJV)
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

 

Those who break away from all false idol worshipping images of religion, will want to build their lives upon a solid foundation, upon the perfect, clean and holy Rock of God.

Deuteronomy 32:15 (KJV)
15 But Jeshurun [Israel] waxed fat, and kicked:

[when Israel became prosperous, they turned their backs on God,
as a result, they became materialistic, and left the Way of God.
They began to dive into sin, idolatry, and serving other gods,
and following the practices of the heathen (“the world” around them’),
indulging in the lusts and pleasures of the world, 
sadly the Western Church has followed in their footsteps]

thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness;
then he forsook God which made him,
and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

 

God’s faithful and true followers will not lightly esteem the Rock of their Salvation. Rather, they will trust in their Rock, and hold fast to Him, and “be firm.” They will call upon Him and they will be saved. They will know Him as their Savior. They will honor Him, and cleave to Him, and call upon His Name.

 

2 Samuel 22:2-4, 47 (KJV)     [Also recorded as: Psalm 18]
The LORD is my Rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
The God of my rock; in him will I trust:
He is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge,
My saviour; thou savest me from violence.
I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised:
so shall I be saved from mine enemies…
The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock;
and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation.

 

Making God our Rock: This will take some effort on the part of the believer. Some streams of modern Christianity teach that if you put effort into your faith, it will be the works of the flesh and rejected by God, but: Where does their teaching come from?  Compromised religion? Or genuine faith based Biblical Living?

The Saviour himself told his followers to pray for laborers to go into the harvest. He told his followers that they were to bear much fruit, and this would be a sign that they were following Him. He also said, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

          A laborer is someone who puts effort in the the work he is doing, and because of his work, he becomes skilled and well equipped, and trained in doing the Work. That is why his is called a laborer, and that is what makes him fruitful. True laborers are those who prepare themselves, and their world, for the harvest of God that is happening in their generation.

Mark this down: Bringing in the Harvest of Grain, and Fruit, is some of the most difficult work, and needs to be handled with care and expediency, or the harvest could be ruined. And yet, it is the most joyful and satisfying work, because the results of the harvest are coming in. All the fruits of the Labor are being realized in real time. The hope the laborer had has now become a reality. The same efforts go into harvesting souls for the kingdom of God, it is hard work, and it needs to be done with care and precision, but their is great joy in seeing the work manifest in the fruit of salvation.

 

This teaching is also conspicuously missing from modern church christianity.
         The sheep are told to bring people to church, but few are trained to go into the world and be a witness to the Kingdom of God. Which is the central point of the whole message of the Gospel of Christ. As a result, even fewer laborers are raised up, even fewer trained and equipped and able to rightly handle the word of God, and share the message of Repentance and Faith, and the Judgement to Come.

 

Our job as believers in Christ is to expose lies, tear down strongholds, and plunder the strong man’s house, and take away his goods, and his protection. And to bear much fruit in so doing.

           How can we do this if we are not actively training ourselves to become excellent laborers in God’s Heavenly Harvest? How can we bear the Fruit of Heaven, if our eyes are solely focused on the things of the Earth? How can we bring the Kingdom of God into Our Lives, if we don’t even know how to make our raiment as white as snow? How can we teach others, what we don’t even know ourselves? 

 

Who can answer these questions with integrity, honesty, and faith? 

 

It will take a bold spirit, a bold faith, a bold and courageous heart and mind that will fully face and fully accept responsibility for the full counsel of God, and not just blame it all on their pastor or their church, or their denomination. As we have seen, even whole churches in the Apostles day, only had a few true followers of Christ. How much more worse could it be in our day? 

Like Moses and Gideon and Josiah, they knew that the work of the ministry of God was not going to be done unless they took the bull by the horns. They chose to wash their clothes, they chose to take their lives into their hands, and then hand it over to the King of Heaven. They chose to make God, the Lord and Master of their Lives. And they chose to do the will of God in their day, even as God had called them. They chose to break down the false idol worshipping practices in their day. We are called to do the same.

 

We too are called to tear down our false images, fake teachings, and idol worshipping practices today.

 

Like Abraham, Abel, David, and Elijah, we can lay ahold of the Blood Covenant of God.   We can rightly prepare our vessels for the New Wine of the Spirit, like Cleopas and the Early Believers. We can choose to change the face of our nation through our witness of the Gospel, and participate in the Salvation of His great harvest of souls.

It takes One, to reach One.

 

Making disciples who make disciples, who make disciples, who make disciples in Christ, in the Spirit of Truth and Humility and Holiness, doing the will of God the Father from the heart, is the Will of God for the Church today, just as it was the Will of God for the Church in the first century. Nothing has changed.

Once a believer truly enters into the harvest of Heaven, bringing souls out of darkness into light, there will be nothing in this world that will compare to that holy and sacred experience. And once one decides to devote his entire life and all his time and energy to such a task, as becoming a faithful laborer in the Kingdom of God, all of his energy, focus, and food will be to continue the work.

It will be the most exciting, challenging, growing, and deep learning experience of one’s Life, guaranteed, that is if he shall endure to the end, and not give up or remove his name from the Lamb’s Book of Life, through temptation, disillusion, or any dark attack upon his faith or his person, or his family.

The truth be told, the enemy will come and attack every true believer. The enemy will deceitfully use every tool available, which is often the very members of a man’s own family. The enemy will often use even his own wife and children, his friends, his employers, and government officials, to stop him from serving God and sharing God’s Word. This is the very predictable expectation of the world. Stop every man, woman, and child from sharing the World of God, from speaking the word of God, from bring the Conviction of the Word of God upon the hearer of the Word, and transforming them into a doer of the Word.

We should expect to face the same enemies Paul and the Apostles faced, if we truly Walk with God on the Road of Salvation. Our job discription from Heaven’s Thrown is to assail the gates of Hell, to bind the strongmen, to plunder and tear down their strongholds, to plunder their treasuries, and set the captives free. But the enemy won’t lightly give up his possessions and his positions without a fight, don’t ever think he will.

Those who are not ready to step into the warfare of becoming a full fledged soldier of Christ, still need to be pruned and purged in order to become a fruitful vine branch in the Vineyard of the LORD. This is a calling from Heaven. It is an invitation to become who you were born into this world to be, by the grace of God, and the message of the Kingdom of God, you shall become all that God has for you, if you simple enter into a true Blood Covenant Relationship with the Holy One of Heaven.

May this calling not be overwhelming. Let your Life and your soul absorb just one step at a time, one day of progress at a time. Little by Little, the War is Won. Little by Little the ground is taken back from darkness to light, in our own lives first and then in the lives of everyone around us. This is the Calling. This is the Challenge. This is the Blood Covenant of God. 

 

Wise men put new wine into new wineskins,
and both are preserved.
(Matthew 9:17 )

 

Shalom,

 

BT Halson

 

To keep reading click link for Chapter Two.