How Life Became Death

When God gave me the responsibility to lead this army, I promised the Lord that I would build the members of this army in the Word of God. I would not allow them to progress in hype or vainglory, but establish them in the truth, teaching them how to stand in the face of tests and trials. As a result, I would one day present them to God as a people worthy to be used by God. This task is not easy. I never thought it would be. There are so many mindsets to confront in the youth and the youth leaders. Some question my methods as well as my intentions. I assure you that my heart is pure and I love the young people and the youth leaders of this ministry. This is why I confront mindsets that are not conducive to ministry. In all my rebukes and confrontations, never forget that I love you. Love will make you tell your friends the truth. I would not want you to miss God because I did not want to risk losing our friendship by telling you the truth. Since we began the Youth Advance, the devil has been trying to invade in one-way or another.

One thing he has tried to do is drop seeds of iniquity between me and the Senior Pastors of the different locations. The enemy’s method: He had people go back to their locations after the Youth Advance was over and say I said something against their leadership and these accounts were not true. I love all the leadership and they all are my good friends. These were just tactics from the enemy. Another mindset I have confronted is the mind that sees coming to the Youth Advance as a social function, a get-together of some kind. Some do not come with the intentions of hearing from God. They just come to see people. Some of the boys come to see the girls and some of the girls come to see the boys. This mindset is so damaging. It causes these youth to totally miss God in the Youth Advance. These youth sit there and eventually go to sleep.

They do not get the materials and have no clue as to what was ministered. So why do they come if they really do not want God? Those who dwell in darkness and still love carnality possess this mindset. Sadly, some of those youth prefer darkness. For them I pray for mercy from God the Father, who will separate the wheat from the tare. But I believe that we who walk in the light will prevail against the darkness and I pray that I can bring even those who prefer darkness to belief and also explain our true identity. We are the children of the Light. Most do not even know what that means. What we are learning now explains our existence in the earth and how we must operate in our sonship. We are also learning about our relationship with the Father. In this lesson, we will learn about life and death for the Sons of God. We will learn why we must always abide in Christ. We can no longer walk in the Spirit “every now and then.” Rather we must prefer to walk in the Spirit for the rest of our lives and never vacillate. But before we get into the lesson, let us take a quick self-evaluation.

2 Corinthians 13:5

5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

I pray that none of you are reprobates. I want you to really examine yourselves and answer these questions honestly to access your spiritual location.

1. Are you still struggling with sin?

2. Are you walking in what you have learned?

3. Do you believe what you are learning?

4. Do you believe you will live like the writers of the Bible?

5. When was the last time you sinned?

6. Are you faithful in your church?

7. Do you feel your heart being converted?

8. How many times a day do you pray?

9. Do you really prefer the Life of Christ?

10. Would you live holy if Hell did not exist?

11. Do you struggle with lust at the Youth Advance?

12. Is it hard for you to stay awake at the Youth Advance?

13. Would you say that you walk in the flesh more or the Spirit?

14. Is your conversation Godly most of the time or carnal?

15. Can God trust you?

16. Do sinners see Christ in you?

17. Are you constantly being counseled or rebuked?

18. If you were to die now, would you go to heaven?

19. Are you more apart of the spiritual people or the carnal people in the church?

20. List five people you admire in the ministry and describe them spiritually.

Ft. Lauderdale -You are doing much better and your participation is good. I gave the youth overall a B which only says that you still have some among you who have not embraced salvation yet. Youth Leaders, you have really stepped up and I gave you a B because I do not want you all to get the big head. Ha, Ha, Ha.

Riviera Beach -Once again, props to Riviera. They obey counsel and they implement whatever they learn. Their youth try to walk in the Spirit. However, I am deeply concerned about J.K, Leann and Dan. I do not feel them in the Spirit.

Leesburg -The youth here are pretty good. They are always available. They participate in church and I am proud of them. As for the youth leaders, I must rebuke. They have not been the examples they should be and there are too many personal issues with which they are dealing. They have really disappointed me.

South Carolina -I do not know where they are spiritually because I have not seen or heard from them for at least three months.

Atlanta -I have heard nothing but good things about them. Keep up the good work!

Louisiana -For the youth, I still have some concerns because they are not focused on God yet. However, they do participate. As for the youth leaders, I am not pleased with them at all for reasons I will share with them. In any event, this is my evaluation of the locations, the youth and their youth leaders. I know some may not agree with my assessment but nevertheless, it is my assessment. Now let us go into our lesson.

THE BEGINNING

It is imperative to know the truth about any matter, and to understand this lesson we must go back to the beginning and visit the origin of man.

Genesis 2:7

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

The life of man began when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Today, we know that man’s life would be short lived due to sin and disobedience. Let us read the consequence of man’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:17-19

17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

In Genesis 2:7 man became a living soul. In other words, God brought man to life. At that point, man was able to live forever and never perish but disobedience in Genesis 3 killed man in the eyes of God.

GOD’S VIEW OF LIFE AND DEATH

To understand God’s perspective we must think as He does. God is eternal and will never die or grow old. Eternal life is God’s definition of life. Everything God created before the fall of man had the ability to live forever, but disobedience robbed man of this gift. It took Adam 930 years to stop breathing, but to an eternal God Adam died the day he sinned in the Garden. We must see that the life that can die is not really life at all; it is just the slow death of Adam. And because this death is slow, those who are dead believe they are alive.

Sin separated man from God, who is life and there is no life outside of Him. This is still true but if we do not believe it we believe we can live in sin. Most people will not admit this, but their lifestyle depicts sin because people do not embrace the Word with their hearts. The heart would rather believe that it can sin and still live, but the truth is every time we sin we move into the slow death of Adam. We do not feel death in our bodies so we do not believe we are dying, hence, we continue to sin. The flesh causes us to believe we have bypassed the Word.

Ezekiel 18:4

4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

We must embrace this truth with our hearts by believing. Belief removes the option of sin. If we cut a branch from a tree the branch begins to die although it appears to live. It dies because it has been cut off from its source of life, which is the tree. If we were to consider ourselves a branch, would we be dead or alive?

WHY CHRIST IS LIFE

We have established God’s definition of life; which is eternal life. When God reconciled with mankind, He gave him another chance to receive life that is only found in Christ.

John 10:9-10

9 I AM THE DOOR: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

This scripture proves that man was dead without Christ. Christ came that we may have life, because we were dead.

John 10:25-28

25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.

26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

Christ is another meaning for God’s definition of life! Christ is eternal life and is also life from the Father. No matter what the flesh says there is no life outside of Christ, so in order to live we must be found in Christ. We must embrace the urgency of this lesson as many are under the impression that they can live their own lives. This is deception! The Word of God is the truth that combats this deception, but the heart must prefer the truth that is in the Word. We must stop giving ourselves alternatives to the Word.

THE MINISTRY OF DARKNESS

Darkness hides the truth. Darkness is the belief that there are options to the Word. Darkness is the belief that sin does not kill you immediately, spiritually and eventually graveyard dead. Darkness is the deception of sin. We must examine ourselves to make sure we are not in darkness. How do we do this? We do this by examining our hearts to see if we are holding onto anything that may cause us not to obey God. Is the Word of God law to our hearts? This is why the heart must be converted from darkness to life and light.

THE MINISTRY OF LIFE AND LIGHT

We are the ministers of Christ, therefore making us the ministers of Life and Light.

John 1:1-5

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John is referring to Christ in this Scripture. Christ is the Light who shines in darkness. The Light represents the truth in the Word. Christ brought clarity to the Word by being the Word made flesh. Can a man be saved, and still be in darkness? Yes. A man can receive salvation and as he learns Christ, reject the Word as it is presented to him. We can and do choose what we accept and believe. Unfortunately, some prefer to believe the lie rather than the truth. THE TRUTH The truth is our lives are no longer our own. This not only pertains to us as saints, but to everyone who is living outside of Christ. We who are saints live only when we abide in Him.

John 15:1-6

1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

2 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.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

For years I taught this scripture, dealing with the fruit. But now I understand that the fruit mentioned here is merely the evidence of life. If we do not produce this evidence due to sin and unbelief, we are cast forth as a branch cut off from Christ. The word “withered” represents the death of a saint: that death which claims those who abide in the flesh. Christ said in Matthew 4:4;

Matthew 4:4

4 It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Christ was prophesying of Himself. He was telling the devil that He was the life and man shall only live by Him (Christ). He is the Word of God. Are we convinced yet? Do we believe our life hinges upon being in Christ?

Romans 6:11

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

The words “through Jesus Christ” are very significant in this verse. He says we only live through or in Christ. If we embrace all that has been taught thus far, our perspective of our lives should change. We should no longer believe in a right to choose against God. If we do, we believe our lives are our own. When we walk in the Spirit we do not make decisions for ourselves, we are just led by the Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit we feel confident in God. We do not have to worry whether or not God is with us. We are supposed to always feel this way. When we feel this way, we feel the Life of Christ, the obedience of Christ to the Father, the agreement of Christ with the Father and the confidence Christ has in His relationship with the Father. This is Life!

Galatians 2:15-20

15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me

Saints, many believe work will justify them, but this is not true. We must abide in Christ by walking in His Spirit to be accepted or justified by the Father. Remember the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ still working the ministry of Christ in the earth. Those who wear the name of Christ must be found walking in His Spirit. Let us really understand this scripture Paul said in verse 20 . . . “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live . . .” Paul is saying Christ is using the body he occupies to suffer. Therefore, Paul suffers with Christ to continue to live, because he allows Christ to live in and through him.

We must also remember the inhabitants of the earth are dead through Adam, and the only people who are alive are those who live through Christ and His ministry. If the risk of suffering causes us to disobey the Spirit we possess we will be as the inhabitants of the earth . . . dead. Paul says, “ . . . I live by the faith of the son of God . . .” Paul is letting us know that everything that was done by him was actually the faith of Christ working through his body. Paul’s agreement with salvation allowed this to be done. Christ will live in us from the point of salvation but our agreement with Him determines if He will live through us. Can you testify of Paul? Is Christ living through you? Do you suffer with Christ? If you cannot answer yes to all of these questions it is because you are not converted, and your heart is not in agreement with salvation or with Christ. Please understand . . . DISAGREEMENT WITH GOD IS AN EXIT FROM LIFE AND AN ENTRANCE TO DEATH.

I love you,

Apostle Michael Thomas