Trained Fail

TRAINED TO FAIL

As I began to write I suddenly realized that my mind was being bombarded by the approved book-writing protocol of our day. I found myself becoming nervous as to how I would present the message. But then I thought, I have written over two hundred study guides and books that have been changing lives at Bible Teachers Global Training Centers and Bible Teachers International Worship Centers for nearly three decades. Now that we are introducing this Word to the Church at large, it is the same Word, presented in the same fashion that will perfect the Body. I want you to follow me as I take you on a journey to the eternal purpose of God: the spiritual perfection of His Sons. However, in order to make this trip, you must meet

the criteria the Father has set before us. You must agree that the holy Word of God is the authority that will settle all controversy. You must also open your heart to receive truth that may in fact shatter your present belief system. Before I came into the revelation of perfection through the life of Christ in me, (see my book, “Be Ye Perfect”), I believed even as most Christians; that the fleshy mind was my worst enemy. But then I read that it is with the mind that I serve the Lord (Romans 7:25). So then, if the mind is the mechanism by which I am to serve the Lord, why was it always the culprit in my failures? I am sure most of you have felt the same frustrations and sense of hopelessness.

I wanted to live a life pleasing to God. I wanted to walk in the power realm of the Spirit. I had such great hopes of spiritual accomplishments in ministry. I was to be like Paul, Peter and John. I would be one of those whose very shadow would heal the sick. What I became though was a born-again believer constantly missing the mark, crippled by emotions and depressed by life. However, I knew enough to know that this was not what the Father intended to be the life of a Son.

St. John 7:38

38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

We agreed to allow the Word to be the authority in this discussion. If you dare to accept the heart and mind of the Father in this matter you will begin to experience joy,

peace and even righteousness. You will break the flesh barrier, passing through the veil to life in the Kingdom of God. The living water Jesus speaks of here is the Holy Ghost

(John 7:39). Jesus also said it is not that which goes into a man that defiles him, but that which comes forth out of him. The Lord implies that only those things pertaining to

the Spirit of God will proceed from those who believe on Him according to the scriptures. Now this may seem very mundane to you, but I declare that this is the number one

problem in the Church today. The saints do not believe on Christ the way the scriptures have presented Him. Now your mind may go to His Coming or His crucifixion or maybe His return and say, “Oh, yes, I do believe.” But I do not speak here of those events; I speak of His sojourning in you. It is His indwelling in your flesh and what that has afforded you that are the issues here.

It is of those things that I speak concerning your unbelief. Nevertheless, I know of no other way to bring you to the place you seek in Him, except you believe as the Word has

proclaimed. Acceptance of the Word at face value is the only weapon you have against the workings of your fleshy mind and the perversions of your soul. It is the Word that will make you free.

Romans 12:1-2

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Paul, the messenger of the Lord Jesus Christ and apostle to the church, infers that the church at Rome can live in the presence of God and man without conforming to the way of the world. Now I am sure you have heard this principle taught many times before. However, what doesn't it really mean? It implies that we are to be different in our ways and character. There are many other scriptures that support this belief; passages such as, “...What fellowship has light with darkness,” (2 Corinthians 6:14) or, “Love not the world, nor the things in the world,” (I John 2:15)

or even “Ye are a peculiar people” (I Peter 2:9). Though these all refer to a creature totally oblivious to the ways and things of the world, this is certainly not true regarding the Sons of God today. The Body of Christ is confused. The mind of the church has been consistently assailed by traditions, isms and schisms of men. In fact, there are many false doctrines that have

systematically poisoned the people of God, the deadliest of which are“Faith and Prosperity”, “Dual Nature” and “The Doctrine of Grace(wherein there is no penalty for sin)” doctrines. These doctrines and traditions have created mindsets that totally contradict the eternal purpose of God. They have fashioned a creature that is not even a facsimile of a real son of God.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a mindset is a mental attitude or a fixed state of mind. There has been much ado about mindsets in the preaching of the gospel. However, most of these discussions have done nothing more than confirm the great lie satan has perpetrated in the church: “Nobody is perfect.” This mindset is the most horrid affront to the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As we proceed to talk about living in the imagination, or deliverance from hurts, unforgiveness, frustration, desire, depression, obsession, jealousy or control, I realize that there is no such deliverance unless you hear and receive the truth about salvation. I guarantee that if you have your heart open to receive these truths, by the time these captivities are discussed here, you will be able to deliver yourself from any snare in which the mind has found itself entrapped. First of all, the mind is not an evil thing in your body. Webster defines it as (a) the element or complex of elements in an individual that feels, perceives, thinks, wills, and especially reasons; (b) the conscious mental events and capabilities in an organism; and (c) the organized

conscious and unconscious adaptive mental activity of an organism.

Remember, according to scripture, the mind is the mechanism by which you are to serve the Lord. So then, how did it become the enemy of the soul? I submit to you that it is through false doctrines and the ignorant teaching of salvation that this mental albatross has been created for the saints of God. I, too, was once guilty of teaching such ignorance. It was the grace and mercy of God that stopped me in my tracks and set my feet on the path of knowledge and wisdom that changed my life and my ministry forever. The word I had received trained me to fail in God. It made me expect to miss the mark periodically. Oh, it was a stickler against fornication, adultery, drinking and other

vices, but it never arrested the evil thoughts, negative character or painful emotions I suffered year after year. Its basic theme was, “nobody is perfect.” Thus, it created a belief system that accepted occasional sin as a way of life. Before coming into the knowledge of the truth, I heard my daughter Tanya, say, “There is no way this sinless Christ could relate to me in any place other than atonement.” His life and mine were totally separate in character and desire.

Furthermore, the prosperity message recreated in me a thirst for worldly success. I wanted the things of this world: money, notoriety, and the good life. But Christ said to take

no thought for such things. I suppressed hurts and deep emotional pain in the name of bearing the infirmities of others. Paul insisted I press toward the mark of perfection, but the message declared perfection to be unobtainable for the saints of God. This drove me to a place where my mind nearly collapsed under the weight of wantonness, frustration, fear, pain, ignorance and confusion. The first thing the Father did was to assure me that what I had been hearing and preaching as the gospel was indeed not His Word at all. It had elements of truth, but these

truths were set in the wrong perspective, thus forging the great lie; a Son of God who is at times, emotionally and spiritually crippled. It was the grace of God that rescued me.

Secondarily, He took me out of tradition and set me on the path of the Spirit. I was systematically taught a progressive Word by Him that moved me and others to a place of righteousness, love, joy and peace in the Holy Ghost.

We discovered we could live holy twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. But more than that, we discovered liberty; the freedom from hurts and hopelessness associated with disappointments, frustration, depression and, yes, sin. Thirdly, I received my commission: “Even as I sent Moses into the land of Egypt to bring my people out of slavery, I am sending you to my Church to bring my people out of ignorance.” This was the word God the Father spoke, as I lay prostrate on my bedroom floor. This is the reason I come to you now, with the first of many truths the Father has delivered unto me. I am sure that there are others, like myself, who have been hidden in His quiver these many years.

Be encouraged. The fact that the Father has allowed you to partake of these truths means He is mindful of you and desires to use you in His service.