Everyone Must Work – Pt. 2

Wayne Matthews

May 17, 2014

The title of today's sermon is Everyone Must Work, and this will be Part 2.

The purpose of this sermon series is to explore what God states about work. In Part 1 we looked at what the "project manager" did. So the role of a "project manager" was to establish an "action plan" and then connected to that "action plan" was a "timeline schedule." And the "timeline schedule" was when something was to be built, it required a time, a certain amount of time, set aside so that it could be fulfilled so that another aspect of the "action plan" could be fulfilled as well. The "action plan" or schedule would cover the who, the what, the where, the why, and the when, by what date it was required.

The first thing in doing this "timeline schedule" is to come to understand that something could be completed before another action would take place or they would run parallel. Many things could not start unless another part finished; one action must be completed before another can start. An example was the creation of the earth and what actually happened with the creation of the earth, and then on the sixth day, the creation of mankind.

God is building a spiritual Family and He has a "timeline schedule." We know part of that "timeline schedule" for the creation of His spirit Family from mankind, and we know that one aspect of it covers a period of 7,100 years, because prior to that 7,100 years being allotted into the plan, God the Father was working to bring us to that very point. And then you have the creation week and on the 7th day God rested. Well, from that point we understand that there was the beginning of a 7,100 year period for mankind, for God to work with mankind to establish His spirit Family, the creation of Elohim.

We are now nearing the end of the first 6,000 years, then we will see the 1,000 year period of the Millennium, (called the Millennium, 1,000 years), and in that period Jesus Christ will rule this earth as King of kings and the 144,000 will also be rulers and be governing over this earth, and they will bring in the Government of God on this earth, and they will establish it and enforce it and live it. Then we will see a 100-year period called "the Last Great Day," and from that period, where we see a resurrection at the end of a thousand year period, we will then see this 100-year period where God will be working with/through Jesus Christ and the 144,000 to establish Elohim in that period. This will conclude the creation of Elohim from mankind.

God has revealed that He has a further plan, because once we enter this family (spirit Family), there is another part of the plan which we don't "see" yet. We're aware of it, but we do not "see" it. So the rest of His "timeline schedule" which follows on from the creation of Elohim is yet to be revealed, and that in itself is exciting.

In Part 1, we looked at the man at the pool and how he was healed and that the Pharisees set out to kill Christ. We understand that there is going to be a resurrection. In the early days, people were walking around saying there was no resurrection and Paul had to correct that, because the purpose of creation of mankind was revealed in Hebrews 2:9-10 (which we're not going to turn there), which was "to bring many sons to glory." And that is the purpose of mankind.

So let's pick up the sermon series in John 5:17—But Jesus answered them, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. Now, Christ has been working, because He was here about His Father's business. Christ was working in doing His Father's will, His Father's will and purpose. God was doing spiritual works in and through Jesus Christ. God was working "to bring many sons to glory." Now, this is a spiritual aspect that nobody really understands other than those that have been called to understand it and have been placed in and kept in the Body of Christ, the Church of God—PKG.

God was and still is working in creating Elohim from mankind and He is doing it from the Church, from within the Church. So to be created into Elohim now requires that a person be in the Body of Christ, the Church of God.

John 5:18—Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, and that was in their view, in their minds and their thinking, their reasoning, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. Now, that was in their opinion, because Christ never said that He was equal to God. Jesus Christ never said He was equal to God in any scripture.

Now Jesus makes it clear that He is not doing the works "of and by Himself," but He was in unity with the Father's will and purpose, because it was God the Father in Him doing the works. And Jesus Christ had the mind of God so He had a way of thinking. Verse 19—Then Jesus answered and said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do, and we looked at this, "seeing" is in the thinking. We also "see" what the Father's will and purpose is and we "see" on a spiritual level; it's in the mind, it's in the mind's eye, because it's a way of thinking. We "see" spiritual things in God's word and do them. We come into unity of mind. We also can do nothing spiritually because what we "see" the Father do, in our mind through God's word living and dwelling in us, what God places into our thinking, is what we choose to do. So this "seeing," this "seeing of God" or "seeing what the Father does," is what Jesus Christ was explaining, was a process of thinking.

Continuing on in verse 19... for whatever He does, talking about God the Father, the Son also does in like manner, because they had the very same mind, the same way of thinking. Christ was fully yielded to God and at-one with God. He was filled with God's spirit. Now, we are not filled with God's spirit. We have an aspect of God's spirit, God's thinking, living and dwelling in us. So we are different than Jesus Christ in that aspect. Christ was God's thinking in the flesh, and it's a wonderful thing to understand. Whatever God's spirit led Him to do (because of the way He thought), that is what He did.

If we look at it from another aspect: The way that Jesus Christ thought, He only thought one particular way and He could not think another way, so when He was tested (or in the scripture it talks about "being tempted" to sin), He was tested to see what He would do because of His thinking, but the reality is that He thought one particular way, therefore, when He was given a temptation of a type when Lucifer came to Him (it was revealed in Matthew 4), the reality is that Christ only thought a particular way, and therefore, He was never, ever going to do those things because He didn't think that way.

Now, that's what our life is about. It's about the way we think and it's changing the way we think. So we were born with a natural carnal mind that thinks one particular way. Well, God is transforming us to think another way, and we have to choose to think another way, and that's the beauty of a calling, beauty of conversion.

Verse 20—For the Father loves (and that's “philia”) the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He (God the Father) will show Him (Christ) greater works (greater deeds) than these, that you may marvel. God would work greater miracles in and through Christ. These "greater works" would leave the Jews with no other conclusion but that Christ was from God the Father. The evidence would be undeniable. Well, brethren, we also have that same potential of "greater works." We are one of the "greater works" of God.

Our conversion, our transforming of our thinking is undeniable. Now, we can "see" it, we "see" what we are, we "see" what we are becoming, and we also "see" what we were. If we just stop for a moment and consider what we were, what we came out of, and we should be able to "see" this transformation taking place. We should be able to give the credit and the glory to God for the work that He has done in us. So I look back at my life and "see" what I was like in my teenage years and my early twenties, what I was like, the way that I thought. Now, I do understand and recognize that it was impossible at that time to think spiritually because I didn't have God's spirit. But I can "see" it now. I can actually "see" it so clearly, that without God's spirit it's impossible to even consider any aspect of something spiritual, because it does require God's spirit. And then from a calling, we can "see" we have this transition of thinking, this transforming of the thinking from the natural carnal mind of selfishness to a mind that thinks differently...it thinks differently. It thinks the way God thinks.

Now, we have an aspect of that, and that's what our conversion or our calling is about, this transforming of the mind. Now, for me personally I can say it's undeniable because I can "see" what has happened to me. I can "see" the way that I used to think to the way that I think now, and they are completely different. And, of course, the road is long and there is a long way to go in many aspects of God's way of life, because God's way of life is one of thinking differently, to think like God does, to come into unity of spirit with God.

Now, it's undeniable what has happened in my life, and I'm sure that you could say the same, that we, brethren, can say it's undeniable, this transforming that has taken place, and that we do not think like the world. We have no desire to think like the world, and it's very obvious to us where the world is going wrong because of the way that they think.

So we are the "greater works" of God. We are one of those works. God and Christ are working to transform our thinking, and this is that aspect of working. And the title of the sermon, Everyone Must Work, it's not about a physical matter, it's a spiritual matter, because the only way to enter Elohim is to work, to work in our thinking. And God, through the power of His holy spirit, gives us that strength to "see" what needs to be chosen, but it is up to us whether or not we choose to follow God, whether we choose to obey, whether we choose and submit to the converting of the mind, this transformation that must take place.

So everything that happens in our life is about a work, because the work is choosing. Now, often choosing can hurt... choosing can hurt, because we can "see" what is right and we can "see" what is wrong, and "broad is the way and wide is the path on evil," because it's easier, because it conforms to the natural carnal mind. But transforming actually takes work and it actually hurts, because when it hurts we are disciplining, we are fighting against the natural carnal mind that wants to pull us in one direction. And the beauty of choosing righteousness (God's way of thinking), and doing and thinking right, there will be a change that takes place. And over time it becomes a "pattern" of thinking, which is a "pattern of righteousness" – thinking like God.

Now, this very work that God and Jesus Christ are doing in transforming our thinking takes great mercy and patience, and it can only be achieved by the mind of God, because the natural carnal mind would have given up. The natural carnal mind would not have the mercy, and it won't have the patience to endure with humans, as we don't – that's natural – but God is all merciful and He is all loving, therefore, He loves all of His creation and He is patient because He sees His plan, He understands His plan, and He has determined His plan will be achieved. And it will, exactly as God has planned.

Verse 21—For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, and that is both talking physically and spiritually. Because when we look at it, we have been raised up from the dead. We were spiritually dead. We were asleep. We were "uncalled." We were part of the world. So spiritually, we were dead. And it's only through God's mercy that we can actually have life because He gives life to us.

When we receive God's spirit, we receive life. We have the very life of God living and dwelling in us. So that's what we need; we need to be alive by having God's spirit. ...even so the Son gives life (and that is, spirit life, is God's word dwelling in us). So it's through Jesus Christ that we can have life, this spirit life. ...to whom He (God) will. So life is given to whom God the Father calls and gives us that opportunity to transform from one way of thinking to another. We can only receive life in and through Jesus Christ. We must accept Jesus Christ as our Passover so that sin can be covered, can be forgiven.

God calls an individual into His Church and Christ then works with them as individuals on their path of transformation. Christ does His Father's will because the "project plan" or the plan is to create a spirit Family, and God the Father had this plan and has developed it, and part of that plan was Jesus Christ. And now, Jesus Christ has been given all authority to continue the process of developing Elohim. Jesus Christ was and is the first from mankind to enter Elohim, because that's the way God planned it. So it's through Jesus Christ that we can now continue this path of transforming, because it's God the Father working in and through Jesus Christ in His Church.

Verse 22—For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgement to the Son, so "transferred spiritual authority" is what it's referring to. All authority has been given to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has been appointed to handle the process of our spiritual salvation. So God the Father feeds the Church through Jesus Christ, but it is Jesus Christ that reveals truth through the Church. He does it through an apostle.

So why is that process so important? Verse 23—that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. So this same respect and obedience is required. What we give, honor to God the Father and obedience to God the Father, well, we should give it to the Son. We should respect what God has done in and through Jesus Christ.

Continuing on in verse 23... He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. It was God that established Jesus Christ and His (Christ's) purpose. It was God the Father that did it all. Jesus Christ is working because of what God the Father has given Him to do, the work of God the Father. We should be able to now "see" clearly that the Father has been working and is still working today. God works through Jesus Christ, our High Priest, because this very same honour that we should give to the Son is because He is doing the will of the Father, because it's the same way of thinking. It's a total unity of spirit, total unity and direction and purpose – the same purpose. Jesus Christ has the same purpose as God the Father, "to bring many sons to glory" from mankind.

Verse 24—Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word (My Logos) and believes in Him who sent Me – we're to believe in what God the Father has done for us – "and that He who sent Jesus Christ" (in other words, Jesus Christ was part of God's plan), has everlasting life – why? Because it requires God's holy spirit in a person to "hear" God and Christ's words and to believe the words of Christ.

Continuing on to verse 24...and shall not come into judgement, so we won't come into this "condemnation." Because? We believe Jesus Christ. Because if we believe Jesus Christ, we believe God the Father who sent Jesus Christ, the very Word of God living in the flesh. ...but has passed from death, which is "the wages of sin," into life. So we've moved from this natural carnal mind to having God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us. Because we have to have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us (active) to have life, to have spirit life. We cannot avoid the judgement IF we do not judge ourselves.

I'll repeat that. We cannot avoid judgement IF we are not willing to judge ourselves. We have to be prepared to monitor and correct wrong thinking. That is part of this transformation, this conversion that is taking place; there is a monitoring and correcting wrong thinking.

1 Corinthians 11:31. Now, we've been through the Passover service and we've come out the other side of the Days of Unleavened Bread, and if you look at 1 Corinthians 11 it is all about a way of life. We, by partaking of Passover, have declared a renewing of an agreement that we took at baptism, this renewing of this agreement which was "to walk worthy of the calling" that we have, which is to allow God the Father and Jesus Christ to live their life in us. So to do that we have to continue to monitor and correct this thinking.

1 Corinthians 11:31—For if we would judge ourselves, now, this is "to work to discern sin in our thinking and repent of it." So that's the very work that we have to do. That's why it is that everyone must work. It's always time to be working. It's always time to be leaving sin. It's always time to be working. We are to continually work our whole life. And we work by "discerning sin in our thinking and repenting of it." Now, if we do this then (continuing on in verse 31...) we would not be judged. We will not be judged by God. God will determine we don't need spiritual corrections by trials. God will determine we don't need spiritual correction by trials because we are working at discerning sin in our being, in our thinking, and it all starts with the mind. God corrects His begotten sons because He loves us and desires to give us the Kingdom. Now, that's what correction is about.

Verse 32—But when we are judged, by God out of concern for us – so if God sees that we are not monitoring or we're not "seeing" a particular sin, or we may begin to "see" it and because of our natural mind we decided to not continue to repent of it, well, God will correct us because He loves us. We are judged because of sin! We are judged because of sin. So a sin that is in our life that we are struggling with and we're not really working hard at, God will allow us to move into a situation where correction will come. But if we are judged, we are chastened, so we're corrected in the mind, in our spiritual attitudes, by the Lord—why?—that we may not be condemned with the world. So we're going to have to face this humbling because it's the best thing for us, because God loves us.

Now, the world will face this humbling and the possibility of death on a physical level because they are of the world and God is not working with them at this particular time and that the best thing for them would be to be resurrected at a 100-year period. That's the reality. Because it's going to be easier. There will be no Lucifer to have to face. We now face this humbling and this possibility of a renewed life within us, but we have to choose it. God can work with us and bring us into a state of thinking differently all for the purpose of a renewed way of life.

Now, if we refuse to be humbled, if we refuse what God is doing in our life, we have the potential to face a second death in the future—but that's a long path—but that is the potential within each and every human being, to reject God, to "set their minds against God," not take the correction and the loving correction from God the Father.

If we humble ourselves willingly God will not have to do the humbling which would be done for our spiritual benefit. So if we do it ourselves, if we lower ourselves and continue to monitor and to work within our minds, well, God will continue to work with us until we are transformed.

Now, if we refuse or we start to struggle, God will correct us for our benefit. Spiritual correction is God's way of working to create Elohim from mankind. Spiritual correction is God's way of creating Elohim from mankind, and we're just so blessed at this point that we have been called for that very purpose – to be corrected for the purpose of God creating Elohim in us, and that at some point of time we will have the mind of God when we're changed to spirit.

As humans, we're going to always struggle, we're always going to have pride, because that's just the way we are. The natural mind is against God by design, because it was by design. We've been made this way for the purpose of a transformation. We are being transformed in our thinking, and this is the very work. This is the very work of God and Jesus Christ, this transformation.

Romans 12:1—I beseech (exhort) you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies (compassion) of God, that you (as members of the Body of Christ) present your bodies a living sacrifice. Now, this "presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice" is to yield to God, a slave that serves others, denies the selfish desires in us and puts others first. So that's that "living sacrifice." So, to be a "living sacrifice" requires denying of our selfish desires, putting others first, desiring to put others first. So if we are to "present our bodies as a living sacrifice," holy (separate), acceptable to God, "well pleasing to God" because we're taking on the very mind of God, the way that God thinks, which is your reasonable service, "which is your logical service" because this is the only way. This is the only reason we are in the Church of God—PKG. This is the only reason we are in the Church of God—PKG, which is to be a "living sacrifice." If we are not working by yielding to God's spirit, we are not working, but using human reasoning.

So, why are we called? We are called to work a work of sacrificing the self to the benefit of others. We are to put others first. We're not to find fault in others, because everyone has faults—I have faults, you have faults—and it's easy to find fault, because that's natural, that's the carnal mind. But it does take work to find fault in the self and to focus in on the self, to consider the self, the thinking, the words, and the actions. Now, that takes work and that takes sacrificing, and just not look out and just judge, but to look in and judge, to judge the self. If we are not doing this, the sacrificing, working on the self, changing the way we think, what we value, what are we? What are we? What value are we to anyone?

So if you're living using the natural carnal mind and it's human reasoning – our thoughts, words, and actions are all from the self – what value are we to any other human being? Well, we're of no value, because we only have value on a spiritual level to anybody else if we allow God and Jesus Christ to work in us. But we have to come alongside, we have to agree with that work. So we have to come along and "set our minds" to be for God. Then we become valuable. We become valuable to God the Father, valuable to Jesus Christ, but we also become valuable to all other human beings because we're allowing God the Father and Christ to live in us out to the benefit of others.

Verse 2—But do not be conformed to this world (a way of thinking), but be transformed—how?— by the renewing of your mind. We are to change the way we think by God's word, God's Logos, His holy spirit living and dwelling in us, that you may prove (and that is, test by living it) what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Now this "conforming to the world" is the natural carnal mind. So we're not to be using this "mind of reasoning," this human reasoning, but we are to put our faith and trust in God, what God provides as truth to us.

So, "to conform" is to conform one's self, one's mind, character, "to set another as a pattern, fashion one's self according to," and that means "to conform." Now, over the history of mankind many people have conformed into groups or conformed into religions for the purpose of "fitting in" or "fashioning one's self according to the pattern," because they want to be accepted by the group. But "to be transformed" is different! To be "transformed," the word is "metamorphoo," which is that change, which is that metamorphosis, which is "a changing from one thing." So we're to change from one thing "to another." To be transformed, we must be working at denying our self, our selfishness.

People have been known to "conform" within God's Church, which is "to set a pattern against, to be accepted by." They conform to the Sabbath. So there are Sabbath keepers, but are they of God? Well, no. Just because somebody "conforms," they "fit in," they "look like," they've "patterned themselves after a way of living," doesn't mean to say they are of that way of living. They conform to the Holy Days. So there are groups (and the scattered Churches are part of that), where they have now "conformed to a pattern." Now, that "pattern" was God's way of life through Mr. Armstrong, through the Worldwide Church of God. God allowed truth to come into the Church through Mr. Armstrong and there were people that were called in that period of time, but since they have gone to sleep they are now "conformed to a way of living." They have "patterned themselves" or "fashioned themselves" according to a way that was presented to them. So they now "conform" to the Sabbath. They believe they are keeping the Sabbath in spirit and truth, but they're not. They're "keeping the Sabbath," they're setting aside the 7th day as separate, but in spirit and truth? They aren't. They are not. Because there is only one way to keep the Sabbath and you have to be a member of the Body of Christ, the Church of God, to keep the Sabbath. Other than that, you're conforming.

Now, it's the same with the Holy Days, whether people took the Passover, kept the Days of Unleavened Bread, or deleavened their house, whether they're tithing to that group, or any other physical matter like clean or unclean foods, people have been known to conform. Because you can have the knowledge... we can have this knowledge of all of these things, but it does not mean we are of God. It does not mean we are of God. It does not mean that God is working to transform the person just because the person has decided to conform to something.

If, for example, a person can be a member of one particular football team and they could move towns and join another. Well, they will move from one way of thinking to another way of thinking; they will conform to this new towns or new shire, or new country's ways, but it doesn't mean to say they're transformed. They're just conforming. They're moving their thinking, they're fashioning themselves into a particular way, another person's "pattern of thinking" so that they are accepted by man. Because if they didn't conform they won't be accepted.

Well, for us, brethren, it is all about a "transforming." So we can have knowledge, but it is more important to have understanding (spiritual understanding) which goes down to motive and intent. Why do we do the things we do. And that requires God's holy spirit. So we need God's spirit to be transforming because it is God that does the works. It is God that does the transforming. IF we use our natural carnal mind we will be conforming. We will just do things to "fit in." So, yes, over the history of God's Church, I'm sure from 31 AD, there have been people that have conformed, but the most important thing is to be transforming and let God and Jesus Christ transform the way we think.

Now, this is why the Apostasy happened. It was so easy for some (not all), for some to go back to what they really thought! They went back to what they really thought. Why? Because there were some – not all – but there were some that had been conforming during that period before the Apostasy, even during Mr. Armstrong's time there were some that were "conforming to fit in." Whether it was because of a relationship that they had, or whatever, but they did go back to the way they really thought. The truth also may be that they had stopped transforming a long time before the Apostasy. In other words, they may have been called and then they started to conform rather than transform. Now, what had actually happened by the time the Apostasy had come, everybody had gone to sleep, everybody had stopped transforming. Everybody had stopped transforming because God is the only one that can do the transforming and God had left His Church at that point. The fact is that when the Apostasy happened everybody was spewed out of God's mouth because everybody was cut off because of sin, because we'd all stopped transforming. We might have been making human effort, believing we were transforming, but the reality was that we weren't, because it does require God's holy spirit to be changing, to change the way we think. The main point here is that we have to choose.

What is the point of transforming? Philippians 3:20—For our citizenship is in heaven, it's held there. It's not that we're going to go there, it's just the fact that our relationship, our "citizenship" is in heaven. It's being held for us there by God the Father. ...from which we also eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, so we "wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" to come back for the purpose of receiving our citizenship, where we desire to be, which is in Elohim.

Verse 21—who will transform (that is "fashion/change") our lowly body (physical) that it may be conformed (that is "patterned after") His glorious body. So we're looking for this transformation to take place because we want it to be changed to form (or conformed) into what? The "shape of His glorious body." We want to be changed to spirit in composition having God and Christ's thinking! So we want to be "transformed" (changed completely), but we want to be "conformed" to His image. We want to be copied exactly like Jesus Christ, having God and Christ's thinking, according to the workings by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Christ will bring everything into subjection to Himself, and that's the part of the transformation of the mind.

Now, I want to read from one particular post, which is (the heading is), "The Mind of Man" [True Fellowship – Pt. 9, subheading, “The Spirit Mind”]. "This is sometimes difficult for people to understand or accept, as the mind of mankind is made differently." Because the natural carnal mind is selfish by nature and it can't "see" that it is. It's only through a calling and this "transforming" of the way we think that we can actually "see" that we are selfish. And for people to "see" that we are selfish, they can't understand that we walk around in God's Church saying that we are selfish. They just don't understand it. They think that we're "brow-beaten" because we're being "put down" and "pushed down" all the time. Well, the reality is that we need to be "put down," this natural carnal mind, because it's driven by selfishness.

"God made mankind different for a different purpose – so that mankind could be created into Elohim. The human mind is composed of a physical brain along with a spirit essence in it – the ‘spirit in man.’ This is what Paul was referring to when he asked, (and this is taken from 1 Corinthians 2:11) ‘For what (does) man know (understand, see) of the things of a man (so this physical world around him), save (except by) the 'spirit of man' which is in him?’" So God gave us this ability to think, to reason, so that's how we know what we know on a physical level. “‘Even so the things of God’ [all these things that are spiritual] ‘(all that is spiritual) no man knows, but (but by) the spirit of God.’" So there are two clear definitions here of a way of thinking, two different minds: one is carnal and selfish, and one is motivated by love, which is the very thinking, the mind of God.

"By creating the human mind to be composed of both a physical component (the brain) together with a spiritual component (the spirit in man), the spirit essence of the mind can potentially be created into something new (a new creation) – something different from what it was before a person was begotten." And that's our conversion, that's our calling, that's why we are in the Body of Christ. "This is just as Paul explained concerning those who dwell in Christ (those begotten of God’s spirit): ‘Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (Gk.- creation).’” We are a "new creation." The word in Greek is actually "creation," and that is 2 Corinthians 5:17. So the purpose of life is to become "a new creation." We're created one way, we want to enter Elohim, which is a "new creation," from physical to spirit. So this is that "transforming" that must take place in the mind first before we can be changed to spirit.

"The ‘spirit in man’ can be changed (transformed) into something different. This spirit essence in the mind is not ‘set,’ so we're not ‘set’ at this particular point, "but can potentially be changed in thinking and purpose from that which before begettal is only motivated by selfishness, the way of get, and pride." So this mind, this spirit essence we have is not "set." It's not permanent. There has to be choices made to make it "set" or permanent. But we have this potential of changing, being changed. Now, this is the future for mankind, that soon millions will be called (some will be awakened, but millions will be called also) to live into a Millennial period. Millions will live into that Millennial period, then some will be called early, some a little bit later, for the potential of entering Elohim. So their minds at the moment aren't "set." They can be changed. This purpose of life will be exposed to them, it will be revealed to them, then they'll be able to "see" their own selfishness.

The beauty of a calling is the ability to "see" the self, which is powered by God's holy spirit. Because without God's holy spirit we cannot really "see" our motives and intent.

Continuing on... "Such a change can only happen as a matter of free choice." Now, that "free choice" is work! This is the work that we have to continue to do. Everyone must work! This free choice that we have can only take place, "once God calls a person, offers repentance of sin and forgiveness, and then gives the transforming power of His holy spirit to anyone who has been begotten who earnestly desires such help to be changed." Now, this is the very work of God.  This is what Christ is working to achieve in His Church, and this transforming can only take place in one location. It is under Jesus Christ in the Church! This is the only way that this transforming can take place. And that was the purpose of Pentecost 31 AD, to enable this transforming power of God's holy spirit to be made available to those in the Body, those that were called and given this opportunity for repentance and forgiveness of sin so that they can be transformed by the power of God's holy spirit, a new way of thinking, all for the purpose of entering Elohim.

God's work in and through Jesus Christ (through the Church) is to bring all things into subjection, arranged under Christ. Our work of working on our own selfish thinking must continue until we are changed to spirit life, so it's a lifelong battle, it's a lifelong work. Everyone must work until they are changed. We must not stop working. If we stop working, we will die. And we looked at that in Part 1, which was when you stop working you will die. So, if you stop working, you don't eat. If we stop working, we cannot consume spiritual food.

Let's look at a principle that is covered both on a physical and spiritual way. 2 Thessalonians 3:10—For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall they eat. So this principle that we have looked at is about physical – everyone able to work needs to work and not depend or use others to support them. And there are sermons by Mr. Weinland covering this very scripture in detail. And those sermons covered the aspect of physical work, that if we're able we should strive to be supporting ourselves. The spiritual aspect of this is that if anyone in the Body of Christ will not work at sacrificing their selfishness, neither shall they eat spiritual food. Because they can't because they'll be cut off from the flow of God's holy spirit. So unless we are working, we are not repenting. Working is repentance, we're working at repenting. So if we're repenting, we will eat spiritual food, and if we stop repenting and hold to our human integrity, we will not eat spiritual food. It's not possible. We can't "hear" spiritual matters, we can't understand spiritual matters, we can't "see" spiritually. It's spiritually impossible for a spiritually lazy person who is not working on overcoming the selfishness in them to grow spiritually from the food that God provides. It's just not possible.

The truth is that God provides the spiritual food and we have to work so that we can consume it. We have to work to consume it.

Verse 11—For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, and that is "undisciplined manner," not working at all, but are busybodies. We are walking among the Body of Christ in a disorderly manner if we are not working, we're not working on overcoming the selfishness, our wrong attitudes, not working at anything, not working at all on anything. So if we're not working, we're going to be walking disorderly because we're not in unity. We can't be in unity, because if we're not disciplining the self, we will soon fall out of unity of doctrine, we'll soon fall out of unity of attitudes. The attitudes we choose will be wrong because they're going to be motivated by selfishness.

The result of this not working on a spiritual level will be that we insert ourselves into others lives with our opinions and "the way we see it," because we won't be correcting the mind. We won't be disciplining it, we'll just blab it all out. We'll just express our view or opinion, and whether it matches God's or not, we won't have that care. We will end up as busybodies looking out at what others are doing rather than focusing in on ourselves. "What is wrong with me?" is the most important attitude to have. "What is wrong with me?"—to look individually.

Pride is manifested in many ways in our life, and it's about just examining ourselves to realize that we're going to live with pride, we're going to die with pride, and the most important thing is to continue to focus in on the self and not look out. We need to be examining ourselves to "see" if we are working on a spiritual level. Now, justification, for example, is one of the greatest sins that we all have. We all tend to justify ourselves. And if you look back at what Adam did, you know, the sin of Adam and Eve, which was Adam said, "Well, God, this happened because of the woman You gave me." And the "but," and the "but's" are the transfer of blame to make the self pure. That's what we tend to do by nature. When we're asked a question, and rather than just accepting it, to examine ourselves to say, "Well, maybe I could be wrong," we will set out to justify why we said what we did, why we did what we did, when really that's the main point of life, is to look at it, to say, "Why did I do it?" and to admit that we did it for wrong reasons.

The reality of justification takes time to "see" within ourselves, and it's a spiritual matter, because we all tend to want to justify, to make ourselves look pure in the eyes of others, and yet, the reality is nobody can make us do anything. We are free moral agents. We choose to do what we do for a motive and for a reason. And often we don't even "see" the reason why we do it. We think we do. We think we're doing it because of "this" or "that," but the reality is that nearly all our decisions are based on self and pride. That's the way we are. So examining ourselves and always looking at ourselves to "see" why we do what we do is one of the most important parts of life, and that's why it's called work. Everyone must be working. We must be working at correcting ourselves and looking at ourselves to say, "Why are we doing what we're doing?" and looking at how it is affecting others – not only on a positive way but on a negative way. Maybe we're causing someone else to stumble without even knowing it. Maybe we're causing someone else to be diverted away from God's truth without even knowing it.

We can look at this and say, well, as a guide, if we haven't been correcting our thinking in the last week we're not working hard enough at overcoming – we're just not!

So what happens if we are not working spiritually? Matthew 7:1—Judge not, in other words "separate with condemnation" – why?—that you be not judged. So what it's saying is, “Don't judge others. Don't go out there looking to judge with condemnation, others," and the reason is, "that you be not judged," that you be not separated for condemnation. This is when we are critical and unforgiving. We must work on ourselves and not worry about what others are doing. We should look at ourselves and examine ourselves. Now, there is a time, of course, within the Body to stand and to have things corrected, that if someone is doing something or saying something within the Body there is a time to stand and go to your brother alone, making sure that we are in a right attitude first and that we are on solid ground first. But if something is said openly that is wrong, it is up to us to stand, not judge with condemnation but to make discernment to judge, to make discernment. Is this in tune with unity of doctrine? Is this the way God sees it? Is this the doctrine of the Church? Is this what the Church believes? Well, then we should stand. But there are also times, more importantly, that we continue to examine ourselves all the time and not worry about what others do, are doing in their own private life, because things will work out; God is in charge. But open sin or obvious sin within the Church needs to be addressed. We are not to look down on others with human reasoning because that's our tendency. We judge physically!

Now, remember Christ said that He didn't judge the way that humans judge because humans by nature judge everything by the eyes or through the senses. We make discernments, and those reasoning's are often carnal. They're not based on God's word. Well, our role in life is to judge ourselves against God's word, to discern or to judge according to the way that God sees it or that God says it needs to be done. Now, we may not always understand every aspect of what comes into the Church. The point is, will we yield to it? Will we yield to it or will we use our human reasoning? Will we use our human reasoning to say, "Well, I'm not going to do 'this,'" or "I'm not going to do 'that' because that's not how I see it." But the reality is that if God places it in the Church (and we may not comprehend the spiritual aspect of it all) God requires us to yield to what He places in the Church and not to use our human reasoning to discern what we think is right and wrong.

Now, if we choose to be judgemental, which is with condemnation, looking down on them, critical, unforgiving, and condemn anybody, what will happen? Verse 2—For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. The "standard" we set for others, we will be measured with the same "standard." So, if we are unforgiving, God will deal with us the same way! Now, this is a spiritual principle which we have covered before. To be forgiven of our sins we must be forgiving... we must be forgiving. There is another part of a scripture that says, "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults, unless, of course, you want the same treatment." Because that's exactly what's going to happen. On a spiritual principle, the way that we treat others and deal with others, the standard we set, that's the standard that will be set for us. If we will not be forgiving, God will not forgive us. If we want to be hard and cruel on other people (which in other words is using the natural carnal mind and not have God's spirit), we're going to have problems in our life because God is going to have to correct us in a hard way to bring us back into a right way of thinking. Because that's the way we measure it out, well, it's going to have to come back to us to get us to be jolted out of that way of thinking, the natural carnal mind.

Verse 3—For why do you look at the speck (twig) in your brother's eye, so there's a little "speck" there, but do not consider the plank (this huge beam) in your own eye? This is about spiritual perception, an attitude. And that's the key to a lot of our life, is about the attitude we choose every day, the attitude we have towards others, the attitude we even have towards our self. Now, this attitude we can have toward our self can be one of self-righteousness, of pride, justification, all of those things. It's an attitude we have chosen; it's a way of thinking. Because an attitude is simply a way of thinking.

We must we working on the things in our own thinking, in our own minds, and not be looking to find fault or what is wrong in others. And that's what this scripture really is about. So we don't look out and see little “weenie” things that somebody may be doing. And they may be doing something minor, but we have this huge plank, and that huge plank is condemnation, justification! Self-righteousness is the huge beam that is in our eye. Pride, there’s a huge amount of pride in our life, and there is somebody over there with a small something that's going wrong in their life, that they may not even "see" it yet. So it's more important that we look to ourselves. This is describing someone that cannot "see" their own spiritual issues in life. And we all have the same spiritual issue in life and it's called pride! Every single human, every member of the Body of Christ, has a great enemy that can destroy us, and it's called pride! Because pride drives justification, self-righteousness. All of those things are driven by pride; we just don't "see" the way we really are.

We must we working on ourselves. We are to discern, but not judge with condemnation. We are to judge what is right and wrong based on God's word, the way God sees it. And we've just covered a sermon about people wanting to have opinions. Everyone has an opinion about everything. Everyone is asking, "What's your opinion on this?" The reality is, members of the Body of Christ are only concerned with God's opinion, God's view. And that's what we are trying to transform in our thinking, from one opinion, one way of seeing it, to God's way of seeing it, God's opinion on a matter.

Verse 4—Or how can you say to your brother, Let me remove the speck from your eye; and look, a plank is in your own eye? When we get to the point of offering our opinion on a spiritual matter in somebody else's life that may or may not be in others lives (because often these things that are our view or our opinion, may not necessarily be the case because of our thinking) we have fulfilled this very scripture. In other words, "Let me remove the speck in your eye (this small fault that you have)," but we cannot "see" the plank, the pride that is our own life, the justification, the self-righteousness in our own life.

Verse 5—Hypocrite! And that word is "an actor or a pretender," because an actor really is a "hypocrite," because the reason is, of course, is they're acting out a role, they're taking on something different. It's not who they really are. They're acting it out. Well, that's what a hypocrite does. They pretend to be something else. And of course, there are scriptures that go through about Christ warning about being a hypocrite, which is "not sincere, not genuine, an actor or a pretender." So fulfilling a role, acting out as being a member of the Body of Christ when really we're not, we're just conforming to being part of the group, we're conforming to fit in. That's a hypocrite! Because we're not genuine, we're a pretender, we're an actor! First remove the plank from your own eye, the sin that we have, which is pride (and that's going to take a lifetime), and then you will see clearly, so when we "see" clearly, it's spiritual, we'll "see" ourselves and "see" what we're doing wrong first, to remove the speck, the small thing that the brother may be doing, from your brother's eye. So we are to work on ourselves. We have to work on ourselves first before we would even attempt "to remove the speck from our brother's eye."

Now this, of course, is not saying that if there is an open sin in the Church that it shouldn't be addressed. It is. But if there is a speck, this open sin within the Church and it's open and obvious, it should be addressed. But things that this is referring to is about looking at others with condemnation to pull them down. Well, guess what? Everybody's got pride, so it's easy to look out! It's easy to look out and "see a speck" because every single human has pride, but we're not to judge them with condemnation, that's not our role. We are to judge ourselves first. We're to work on ourselves first!

If you remember the case where Christ was and the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman, said that they'd caught her in adultery, but they didn't bring the male, and Christ said, virtually, "He who is without fault, let him cast the first stone." Well, that's the same position that we should take, brethren. We should work on ourselves. We should "cast stones" at ourselves first because we all carry sin. We all carry sin of some type during a day, driven by selfishness and pride. That's just the way we are. So, let's work on ourselves. Let's be working. Everyone should be working on ourselves.

We must learn to let God work through His government by the power of His holy spirit to point out weaknesses within an individual. Now, what'll happen in life is that we may "see" a speck in a brother's eye that doesn't need to be addressed within a congregation, but it's something that they carry, a sin, and they may not "see" it. Well, it's not our job to go working with that person to correct their fault. If it's not affecting the congregation in a big way, you would leave it go because it's God that does the work. It's God that corrects spiritual matters within an individual. And I know from personal experience that you can carry a sin for a long period of time and not be aware of it, and then all of a sudden you will be corrected in a sermon, that the point is coming to you that you think, "Hang on a minute! That's me!" Well, that's God's spirit convicting a person of the sin because that's the best way! To allow God to do the work! Let God do His work in a person!

Now, everybody has faults. Every single member of the Body of Christ has faults, but it is God that reveals things to an individual on a spiritual level. So one person may "see" one aspect of a sin and another person may "see" another aspect (something different) of the same sin, but it is God that does the work in the individual. And that's why we have the Sabbath, the beauty of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is about an education, a "transforming of the mind," and without the Sabbath we will not have the "transforming of the mind." God set this day aside for work, for spiritual work. He rested on it, but in resting He created the opportunity for mankind to come before Him (a command to keep this day holy, keep this day separate) for spiritual good, for spiritual works, and when we listen to sermons there are aspects in every single sermon that are for us.

Now, one person hears one thing and another person hears another, and we cannot always tell what anyone hears on any given sermon. One sermon will have a great impact on one person because it's more relevant in their life, where another person will say, "There wasn't anything special in that particular sermon." They didn't get a lot out of it. Well, it's God that feeds and it's up to God to work with the individual (God and Jesus Christ), to bring that mind into unity with Him. That unity is the most important thing.

So, let's let God do His work. It is God that reveals sin to a person by the power of His holy spirit. If we ever have to address a matter with a brother, go to a brother alone, first get all the facts, make sure we are on guard about our own spiritual condition, that we are on sound spiritual ground, because we've got to be careful that we're not a hypocrite...that we're not a hypocrite, that we go to somebody and we've got this huge beam in our eye that we can't "see." They might "see" it, but we can't. We must not insert ourselves into a matter that has nothing to do with us.

Now, I'm not referring to open, obvious sin within the Church. I'm talking about something between a brother where, you believe (an individual may believe) that something needs to be said. Well, it's very important to go back and listen to those sermons that Mr. Weinland gave about going to a brother – and I believe that's the title of the sermon is Going To a Brother, because there is a way to go to a brother. And in times past within God's Church, we haven't always handled these matters correctly. And often a person has gone to another person in self-righteousness, believing they are right and the other person is wrong, and therefore, the motivation is wrong because it's driven by pride. It wasn't driven by love for the brethren.

Verse 6—Do not give what is holy, what is holy is God's word, the truth, to the dogs, nor cast your pearls, now, these "pearls" are the mysteries of God's way of life, before swine. He's using a physical analogy here saying, "Well, don't give God's word nor cast your pearls before swine." Now, it's referring to the "unclean" of the world on a spiritual level, the uncalled or non-converting, the non-transforming. So why would we take what we have and give it to what is "unclean," to someone who can't "hear"? There is no point! Because what will they do? ...lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. They will mock you. Well, this has happened. This has happened to us. Because in our zeal, when we're first called or even awakened, we tend to want to go and take the pearls that we've been given (what is holy before God, God's word), and we cast it out to those we believe that will hear or respect or be excited by this very "pearl" that we have, or what is holy. But what will they do? Well, they can't "hear" so they will "trample it underfoot." They'll treat it badly, say we're idiots and mock it, "and turn and tear us," in other words, they'll turn on us. They will mock us.

Well, there's principles here about working. The principle is: Work quietly and wisely on a spiritual level. Work quietly (within ourselves) and wisely on a spiritual level. So we've got this "what is holy," God's word, the truth (we've got it, we have it, God has given it to us), and we are to work wisely with it and not cast it, "the pearls," the mysteries of the ways of God, the Holy Days and the Sabbath and all this way of life of disciplining the self, well, we don't have to go and broadcast it. So we're to work very quietly on ourselves, within ourselves, and wisely on the spiritual level. There is no point telling others (what Christ said was "swine") about what we believe (which are "the pearls of great price") because they will "trample it" as being worthless – because it's worthless to them! It's not worthless to us. We're excited! We take great joy in the posts and what we hear. We see it as great value, exciting knowledge, exciting understanding, exciting in the sense of wisdom.

But why would we cast it out to anybody else because they're going to use it and see it as being worthless. And it is worthless to them because they can't understand it. Because without God's spirit it is impossible to "see" the value of these pearls and what is holy, God's word. It's impossible! They can read it, but they won't "see" it as special, as unique. It will mean nothing to them. But to us, it is absolutely beautiful.

We are to work quietly on and within our minds. So no one will even know that we're working. We can go a whole day and nobody will know that we have been working furiously within our minds, battling, waging, correcting, and yet to anyone else, we're just being who we are. Others don't need to know what we are engaged in, engaged in spiritual warfare. That's exactly what we're engaged in, spiritual warfare.

Now, what is it that we work at? Verse 7—Ask, we're to ask God, for it – What is the 'it'?—what is holy. Well, what's holy? For God's word, God's ways, God's spirit. All those things connected to God because God is what makes it holy. It's God's holy spirit, God's presence that makes it holy. ...and it will be given to you. So we're to ask God for what is holy, God's way of being, God's word, and it'll be given to us because that's what God wants to give us, because He wants us to transform the way we think. ...seek—what are we to seek? Seek what is holy, God's word, God's ways, and you will find. So if we "seek it," if we put in the effort by working, because "seeking" takes work. We can't sit in the rocking chair and say we're seeking. We have to get up and go out and seek, which is working, and you will find it; knock, which takes effort, and it will be opened to you, in the mind we will begin to "see" spiritually! We will "see" what is holy. We will begin to "see" God's ways. We'll be able to "see" His character. We'll be able to "see" the way forgiveness and mercy works. We'll be able to "see" how love works, what love really is, this no ill will. It's going to be a beautiful thing that we receive from God because we're asking, we're looking for it, we're seeking it, we're openly looking for it. We're working for God's way of being in our minds, and God says He will give it. Well, God won't withhold it! God won't withhold something that He wants to give to us. The important part is, are we working for it?

Verse 8—For everyone who asks receives, so we're asking for what is holy. Remember, this is what this is about. It's about what is holy, what we're asking for. It's about God's way of being. If we work, we will receive. That's what that's saying. If we work, we will receive. ...and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. These are promises of God.

Ask God for spiritual food, spiritual knowledge, spiritual understanding, and wisdom, be able to live wisdom, to live what is holy, to live the mind of God. So to live these things we have to be working. We've got to be working on the selfish carnal mind and denying it, denying the self, sacrificing the self and enabling God's holy spirit to come into our minds and choosing to allow that to flow out to the benefit of others.

Ask God for peace in our thinking, which is God's way of thinking. Unity of thinking creates peace. So, if we want peace in our life we're going to have to choose to think like God. We're going to have to do these things that Christ just outlined, which is about asking, about seeking, about seeking His way of life, and peace can come into our minds. We can have peace in the Church. We can only have it IF we have unity of thinking. And how do we get this unity of thinking? The very mind of God living and dwelling in us, which is to come into unity of doctrine, unity of attitudes (which is love of the brethren).

The physical now is pointing to the spiritual here. Verse 9—Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Well, that wouldn't be the case, because the father loves the son, the mother loves the son and the daughter. It's talking about a family relationship, but more importantly, it's talking about a connection that you wouldn't deny your son or your daughter something that was good for them. So if a son asks for bread, something physical, would you turn around and give them a stone? Well, you wouldn't. Or if he asks for a fish, would you give him a serpent? So if he asks for something that is healthy, would you give him something that's going to destroy, like a snake that's going to bite you and kill you? Well, you want no harm for your own family, so if your son or your daughter asks something from you as a parent, you don't go and give them the opposite, something that is going to harm them or hurt them in any way. If so, then, being evil, which is us. The natural carnal mind of selfishness is considered as evil, because that's what we are. Without God's mind we are carnal. ...know how to give good gifts to your children, so a normal, natural carnal mind knows how to give good gifts to the children because you want the best for them, and therefore, you don't want to give them anything that's going to harm them in any way, how much more will your Father (God the Father) who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Well, this goes back to that whole principle about asking, because it requires work.

To ask God the Father for spiritual gifts, for the truth, for spiritual fruit to be lived in our life out to the benefit of others requires work. It requires work! We need to ask for these good things. We need to ask for God's spirit to live and dwell in us. And then when God's spirit flows into us, we need to then choose. So we can develop patience, we can develop love in our life, if we ask God to provide it – spiritual fruit to be developed in our life. The principle is we have to work before the spiritual fruit of God can be given to us, and yet God wants to give it to us. The point is, will we seek it, will we ask, will we work for it? "Ask, and you shall receive," is what God says. "Ask, and you shall receive." That's a promise of God.

So if we have this spiritual focus in our life everyday, of working towards asking God, seeking to have the right thinking, seeking to have the right attitudes, God says He will honor His commitment to us.

Verse 12—Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them; this is the Law and the Prophets. So we are to treat others the way we desire to be treated. We're to treat others the way we desire to be treated. If we desire others to have mercy on us, we've got to show mercy. If we desire people to have no ill will towards us, we are to have no ill will to others. If we desire unity, we are to live unity. So if we desire unity within our family, we've got to create unity within our family, and the way we create unity is to live love. If we desire peace, we are to live peace. If we desire forgiveness of sin, we are to live forgiveness to others. If we desire friendship, we're to live friendship to others. If we desire no ill will, we're to live no ill will towards others.

Now we "see" the choices are placed before us. Will we work? Will we work or won't we? Will we work at these things about love, peace, mercy, forgiveness? Will we work on them within our own thinking? Well, if we do God says that's the way He will treat us – in those very ways. So we should seek God, ask God to live and dwell in us so that we can make right choices to live God's way of life to the benefit of others.

1 John 3:1—Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Isn't that amazing? That we are actually children of God because we've been baptized and received God's holy spirit? We are then begotten sons of God, but we are children of God. We have the potential to enter Elohim. Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Because they didn't know Jesus Christ and they did not know God the Father. They don't know this way of life. They cannot know us....they cannot know us. It's impossible! They only see us as a bit strange because they weren't called to be begotten sons at this time. But we are children of God, brethren, and hence, as children we should walk a particular way.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know, so we "see" that when He (Christ) is revealed at His return, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. So we know that we will be changed. We're going to be "transformed" and then we're going to be "conformed to the image of God," the image of His Son. We're going to be spirit. We're going to be of the same mind.

Verse 3—And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He (Christ) is pure. So we know that we are to "purify ourselves." Well, how is that done? It's done through repentance. This "transforming of the mind," this "moral purity" is what it's about. It's about this change that must take place within our mind (which we've just covered), about overcoming and transforming the way we think because we are working at purifying ourselves.

Verse 4—Whoever practices sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. So this transgression of the law (there's different "versions" of this), it's, "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness." Well, this is this "practicing of sin," which is not what we're about. We do not "practice sin." It's not something that we do of a willful attitude. Yes, we do sin because of our natural carnal mind and because of the weakness of the flesh, but we don't set out to "practice it by habit" where we continually do it. We don't continue to sin, we don't continue to practice it and just not consider it, we actually fight against it.

Verse 5—And you know that He was manifest to take away our sins, through Passover, and in Him there is no sin. So there was no sin in Jesus Christ because of the way He thought. He was the Word of God.

Verse 6—Whoever abides in Him (in Christ) does not sin. So we don't "practice sin." We don't go out and continue in sin, we fight against it. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. So anyone who doesn't fight, anyone who doesn't work, anyone who doesn't work against their natural carnal mind hasn't known the purpose of Jesus Christ, the Passover. We haven't "seen" what His life was all about, the fact that He was the Word of God.

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness, and that is "lives it." We work to live it, have the faith to live it, is righteous, because it's God living and dwelling in us, just as He is righteous. Just as Christ was righteous, we can be righteous. We don't try to practice the natural carnal mind in its selfishness, we fight against it. So we fight to live righteousness, which is to live God's way of life, God's way of being. He who sins ("practices sin") is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. So there was no desire to change here, whereas, we have a desire to change. For this purpose the Son of God was manifest, that He (Christ) might destroy the works of the devil. So it's in and through Christ that the deeds of Satan (Satan's way) can be destroyed. They can be put down in our life. Whoever has been born, and that is "begotten" of God (we've been begotten of God) does not sin, so we don't "practice sin" because God lives and dwells in us, for His seed (that's God's seed) lives in us/dwells in us/remains in us; and he cannot sin, because he has been born (begotten) of God. So it's God in us. So we don't "practice sin." We actually are overcoming it because we are working.

Now, not to "practice righteousness" is not to work, if we don't work... Because practice takes work! If you look at any athlete, what happens in their life? Well, they have to get up early in the morning and they have to go and practice. We'll, you can't do it just laying in bed. You actually have to go out and work, because "work" and "practice" are the same type of things. We have to actually put in effort to overcome. Well, we don't "practice sin." We don't sit there and do nothing. We "practice righteousness," we work towards righteousness.

Verse 10—In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. They're revealed. So there are only two ways. There is a way of righteousness or a way of sin. There are only two ways. Whoever does not practice righteousness, so this is a person who is not striving to do it, is not of God, so there is no work going on in their life. So if there is no work, there is no righteousness, there is no "practicing," there is no "working of righteousness," and therefore, they are not of God. ...nor is he who does not love his brother. Because to "love a brother" requires work! It's a way of thinking, which is (of course) a Commandment. We are to love one another! How do we love one another? By sacrificing ourselves to the benefit of others – by working! We love one another by working. No ill will towards a brother.

Verse 11—For this is the message, which is the gospel, that you heard from the beginning, from the beginning there has only been one way. From the beginning of time there has only been one way, that we should love one another. So that's the message from Adam and Eve all the way through to today – that same message is about the way we think towards one another. It's the same message, which is God's way of being, the way God is. That is the gospel. That is the good news of the Kingdom of God, which is a way of love. So we look forward, of course, to the return of Jesus Christ to bring the way of God to this earth, to have it manifest on the earth more fully than it is today.

Verse 12—not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder his brother? Why did he do it? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. So this goes back to an attitude. It's all about being dedicated to working. You're either going to be working towards living God's way of life or we're going to be working towards living the natural carnal mind. We're either working one way or the other. And not working is living the natural carnal mind. That's what we do by nature, and that's what society does, that's the way man is. He just lives his own way and he does not work on a spiritual level. And the reason he doesn't work on a spiritual level is because he can't, because he hasn't been called to work. Whereas, we've been called to work, brethren, we have been called to work.

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. Well, that's what they do. We know that they hate us and we shouldn't marvel. We shouldn't be dismayed. We know that we have passed from death to life... So this is the evidence. The evidence is that the world hates us because we have "passed from death," which is what, the path we were on, "to life," to spirit life, and it all started with baptism. It started with baptism, by accepting Jesus Christ as our Passover. ...because we love the brethren. So we've moved from this way of ill will towards others to this new way of thinking, and we're working at it, which is love of the brethren. We practice love of the brethren. We practice love to the brethren because of the way we think, because of the work that is going on in us. It is God the Father and Jesus Christ working in us that enables us to love one another. Because it's impossible without God's holy spirit to love one another the way we should. It's absolutely impossible. We will love on a selfish level if we have the natural carnal mind. We will love what is ours, what affects us. But the love of God is different. The love of God desires no ill will to anybody. God's love is about outgoing concern for the welfare of all His creation.

He who does not love his brother dwells in death (abides in death), because it's the natural carnal mind. And there is a need to repent of that, which requires a calling.

Verse 15—Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, because that's a wrong attitude. It's a way of thinking, it's ill will, and you know ("see") that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. In other words, he doesn't have God's holy spirit living and dwelling in him.

So to "hate" is "to refuse to love," and it is a choice. Once we are called...once we are called and we are converting and we're transforming, to actually "murder" someone is to desire this ill will; in other words, don't have any feelings towards our brother, we don't "see" clearly. And if we choose this ill will towards anybody, if we desire ill will towards anybody, we are a murderer and we don't have "life," eternal life, God's spirit living and dwelling in us.

So to have eternal life abiding in us requires God's holy spirit living and dwelling in us.

Verse 16—By this we know (by this "practicing")... By this we know love, in other words, we're "practicing" a way of life, God's love to others, because He (Christ) laid down His life for us. So this is sacrificing love that Jesus Christ demonstrated to us as an example that we should follow. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. We need to be willing to forgive. We need to be willing to sacrifice for the benefit of the brethren.

Verse 17—But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? So it is about the way that we live to others. Now, this is not about all the physical things of our house and selling every single thing so that we're in poverty, so that somebody else could have something. This is about compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. This is all about an attitude or a willingness to give up the self for the benefit of others, willing to share of ourselves for the benefit of others.

So there's millions out there that don't have this world's goods – millions of them, millions of people that don't have this world's goods. All through Africa and many other countries, the majority have nothing compared to a few that have the blessings of Abraham. Many have nothing. Well, it doesn't mean to say that we have to sell up everything and send all our money off to Africa so that we don't have anything. This is referring to "a brother," and it's talking about something on a spiritual level within the Church. "Whoever has this world's goods," so we might be "well off" on a physical level, "and sees his brother in need," our spiritual brother, members of the Body of Christ, and if we "shut up our heart," so it's a way of thinking, it's the inner thinking that we can shut off, which is no support, no help, "from him." If we shut ourselves off in our spirit, "how does the love of God abide in him?" Because God loves, God lives love to others.

Now, there are times when there is not a good time to give a brother physical support because it may not help them. We might think it does, but it may not. It may be in their spiritual good, because God's working with them, that they learn a spiritual lesson, that they learn a spiritual lesson from something physical. By going without, a brother may need to turn to God more and let God fulfill His will, what He's doing within the person. And often we can insert ourselves into a brother’s life by oversupplying physical things when God is actually trying to work with them on a spiritual level and we've forgotten the spiritual thing.

The most important thing that we do is not to shut up our hearts from him. So we can ask God to intervene. We can show mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and be willing to suffer, to show a right attitude towards our brother, which is more important than something physical. But there are times in the Church where there is a brother that is in need and there is a time to provide on a physical level if we are able. But that requires a lot of prayer and a lot of thought AND the best option is always for somebody to approach the ministry to see whether or not it is wise to be doing that. Because it's not always wise to be collecting money and doing things for a brother, because in actual fact we could be inserting ourselves into a situation where God is working with them on a spiritual level and here we are inserting ourselves into their life when we're doing the wrong thing. We might think in our own minds we're doing the right thing by giving, but in reality, we could be doing damage, and therefore, it's always wise to check with the ministry before giving physical support to a brother... a member of the Body of Christ, I'm referring to.

My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed; in other words, it takes actions or works, and in truth. It has to be done according to God's word by doing it God's way. And how do we do it God's way? By doing it in love, mercy, compassion. The evidence will be in our thinking, the way we think towards others. Now, often we can't support a brother on a physical way, but we can pray that God's will be done in the person's life.

Verse 19—By this, by doing something in truth, we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts (our minds) before God. So we're doing it in the right way, the right way of thinking. For if our heart (mind) condemns us, in other words, we're being judged by it because it's sin involved, there is no love of others, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things. Beloved, if our hearts (mind) does not condemn us, we're doing it in the right attitude because of our repentant state of mind, we have confidence before God. So we're doing it for the right attitude. We're not doing it for the praises of men, we're doing it because our conscience, our motivation is Godly, our intent is Godly. We're getting nothing back from it.

Because, we can help a brother with a wrong motive. So we can be seen to be doing the right thing, but it's all done for the wrong motive because we're "seeking the praises of men," we're looking for something back from the person, which is, "They will think ‘good’ of me now." Well, that's actually sin. We're doing it for the wrong motive! Because if we love a brethren, if we love a brother, we will do it expecting nothing in return because it is God that knows our heart.

Verse 22—For whatever we ask we receive from Him, talking about something on a spiritual level, which is about something true and right. And if we ask for something true and right (which we've been through in previous scriptures), which is about God's way of being, God's way of thinking, about the transformation of our minds (that's what we desire from God, to be transforming our minds), because we keep His Commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. So whatever we ask on a spiritual level, we should ask it according to God's ways. We want to do it in the way that God wants it.

And this is His Commandment: that we believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us Commandment. So this is the law.

So, brethren, we have to continue to work, and that is the purpose of our life. And we will pick up this sermon series in Part 3 soon.□