What Happens After Death? Part 2

So mankind clearly has a spirit, a soul and a body. No, that does not mean there are three of you, it does mean your spirit, your soul and your body make up who you are as one person. Remember, God says he created mankind in “his” image.

Genesis 1:27  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

So if God made mankind (man) in his image and we have a spirit, soul and body, then God must have a Spirit, Soul and Body. Scripture says God is Spirit and we know scripture speaks of the mind of God. The mind, will and emotions is the soul by definition of the word soul. What about the body?

1 Timothy 3:16 tells us,  “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.”

Jesus declared, I and my Father are one. God was made known to man in the flesh by Jesus Christ. So Jesus is God manifest in the flesh.

When God told Adam, do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die – Adam ate of that tree and so did Eve, did they die? Physically in their body, no. Was God lying? No. So if they did not die in their flesh, their body, what did die? Their soul? Their spirit?

Remember before Adam sinned he and God spoke together? But after Adam sinned, Adam hid himself and God asked Adam, where are you? Our flesh can not speak. Our flesh is stimulated by what we see, hear, taste, touch and smell. Our five senses apply to our flesh.

Our soul is our mind, our will and our emotions. Our mind holds our memories, our affections, our reasoning, our imagination and our conscience. So when Adam sinned, his conscience bothered him and he was afraid.

Genesis 3:9,10 ” And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”

Notice Adam now had knowledge of doing something wrong. He knew he did something God told him not to do. Now Adam was afraid of God. So was it Adam’s flesh, his mind or his spirit that sinned?

Our flesh can not act on its own. Our flesh does what our mind convinces us to do. Our spirit is our communion with God. It is our prayer, our faith, our worship, our reverence and our hope. It was not Adam’s spirit that sinned. Adam’s soul sinned by his mind telling him to do something God told him not to do. And God’s word says, the soul that sins must die.

Ezekiel 18:4  ” 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.” See also the book of Romans.

So it was Adam’s soul that sinned. A thought was planted in to Adam’s mind and Adam decided to believe that thought. Did you ever ask yourself, where do all those crazy thoughts come from? You can sit quietly in your room and all of a sudden, all these thoughts start going through your mind. Where did the thoughts come from?

When Adam sinned, it was not his flesh that made that decision. It was not Adam’s spirit that made that decision but it was Adam’s soul that decided to believe the thought (even though the thought was a lie).

So what died? Scripture tells us. Adam’s communion or fellowship with God. Adam’s connection with God in his spirit man died. Now, Adam had a dead spirit man towards God. Adam no longer had that closeness with God. Now Adam was afraid of God and hid himself from God.

And because we are all created in Adam’s image, and Adam sinned before all of mankind was born, we are all born in to sin. We are all born with a sin nature. We can not help it, we all sin.

Psalm 51:3-5  ”  For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. ”

When we are born, we are born with a sin nature. Our flesh desires to sin against God and our soul thinks about sinning against God. And there is nothing we can ever do that would make us sin free while we are in this flesh, in this body, in this world. And that is why God fixed the problem himself.

All the laws and rituals done by Israel could never take away their sin, it was always God deciding, by his mercy, to forgive man. So why give the laws and rituals? To show the people they could never keep all the laws and rituals. God fixed the problem by coming in the flesh, shedding his perfect blood to pay, once for all, the debt for all sin.

John 3:16,17  ” For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

What was God saving? Our flesh? Our soul? Our spirit?

When Adam sinned, what died? Not his flesh. Not his soul. His spirit died towards God. Psalm 32:5  ” . I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. ”

What is iniquity? The desire to sin. The wanting or want to, sin. So when a person “gets saved” or born again, it is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that atones for the soul. Leviticus 17:11 ”  For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”

1 Peter 1:9  “Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”

When we ask God to forgive us of our sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ paying our sin debt with God, we ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into our heart and save us. We are asking God to save our soul, not our flesh. And when we do this, with a genuine heart and motive, God does it, he saves us, he saves our soul. And we notice something changed inside us. Our spirit man is born again and is alive unto God. Now we can hear God speak to us. Now we hear God direct us.Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice.

We have to ask, so what happens to a person, when they die, if they are saved? What happens to a person if they are not saved when they die? We will look at that next time. Until next time.

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What Happens After Death?

What happens to your soul and your spirit when your body dies? What happens when you get born again?
Does getting born again change your soul? Your spirit? Your body?

Let’s consider one more question. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, was it their spirit that sinned? Was it their soul that sinned? Or was it their body, their flesh that sinned?

Genesis 2:7 KJV  “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.”

God created mankind with an earthly body made of dirt from this earth, this world. God breathed into man the breath of life “spirit” and man became a living soul. So God created mankind with three main parts, spirit, soul and body.

Proverbs 16 distinguishes not only man’s spirit, soul and body but also man’s thoughts, his heart and his tongue. Paul mentions man’s spirit, soul and body in 1 Thessalonians 5:23  ”
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ”

And look at Hebrews 4:12, we learn what the word of God does to mankind when God’s word is spoken and taught to mankind. ”  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ”

So mankind clearly has a spirit, a soul and a body. No, that does not mean there are three of you, it does mean your spirit, your soul and your body make up who you are as one person.

When God told Adam, do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil or you will die – Adam ate of that tree and so did Eve, did they die? Physically in their body, no. Was God lying? No. So if they did not die in their flesh, their body, what did die? Their soul? Their spirit?

We know, from scripture, our body is made of dirt. God sculptured our body from the earth, from dirt. So ask yourself, what affects your body? Your five senses, hear, taste, touch, smell and sight. These five senses teach your flesh, they work on your flesh.

We know, by definition of the word soul, our soul is our mind (what we think), our will and our emotions. What affects our soul? Our affections, our memories, our reasoning, our conscience and our imagination. Remember when mankind was building the tower of Babel? What did God say?

Genesis 11:5-7  ” And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
7. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. ”

Notice – they imagined to do? They were building the tower to get to heaven using their soul, imagination was the conduit. Just because people imagine things and try to build what they imagined does not mean God approves of our inventions. Look at Psalm 99:8  ”
. Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.”

We know Adam and Eve did not die in their flesh, their body. We also know they did not die in their mind, their will or their emotions so they did not die in their soul. They did not die in their heart, their heart did not quit.

Notice Adam was naked in the garden before he sinned and after he sinned, he had the knowledge he was naked. Genesis 3:9,10  “And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. ”

Why did God ask Adam, where are you?

We will pick it up from here next time.
Until next time.

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Who Are You – Your Spirit

Do you have a spirit? Tell me about your spirit man. (Man here is referring to mankind, not your gender). How is your spirit man different from your soul? What happens to your soul and your spirit when your body dies? What happens when you get born again? Does getting born again change your soul? Your spirit? Your body? These questions are asked by many. These questions are all answered by God, in his word. The real question is will you believe man or God?

1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV  ” In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
19. Quench not the Spirit.
20. Despise not prophesyings.
21. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
22. Abstain from all appearance of evil.
23. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ”

Religions of this world provide their own religion’s answers to these questions. So people ask, who is right and what is the truth? You see, you have to find the answers to these questions while you are alive on this earth because when you die, you can not change anything. You are dead.

Scripture tells us that God gives us pastors and priests to teach us his word. Today we see all kinds of pastors and teachers. How do we know who is right and who is wrong? We need a final authority and that is the word of God. But people today are writing their own bibles, altering the scriptures and trying to replace the Holy Spirit by adding their own explanations into God’s word. Friends, those who add to and take away from or those who alter God’s word are on dangerous ground with God.

There are principles on earth we apply to our life. We apply planting and harvest principles, laziness and work principles, stealing verses earning principles, right and wrong principles. God also has his principles and just because you may not know all of his principles, does not mean God does not use those principles. Just because man does not understand God’s ways does not mean God stopped doing things his way. God told us, he can not lie. So God put his ways in to a book, the Scriptures. God documented his ways and had holy men write his ways down so they are recorded.

If God wrote down his ways in a volume of a book as he says he did, and God can not lie, that means we know for sure what is in the Scriptures is 100% true and not only works, but will come to pass. It does not matter if man believes what God says or not. God can not lie. So when we look at questions like, what happens to me after I die, God tells us. You may or may not believe God, but God can not lie and what he says, will come to pass.

So let us look at the questions we asked earlier.

How is your spirit man different from your soul? Basically, your spirit man is your connection to God. Scripture says, John 4:24 KJV  “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. ”

Scripture also says God manifested himself, made himself known to mankind, in the flesh. 1 Timothy 3:16 KJV  ” And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. ”

Jesus said in John 6:44-48 KJV  ” No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46. Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48. I am that bread of life.”

And in John 14:6- 10 KJV  ” Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10. Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. ”

And the kicker is 1 John 5:7, 8  ” For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
8. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.”

Again, your spirit is the breath of life according to Genesis 2:7  ” 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.”

Your spirit man is your connection to God. God speaks to you by speaking to your spirit man. According to scripture, if you are not ” born again” you are dead unto God. Need proof? Adam and Eve are told by God if they take of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they will die. They did take of that tree and they did not die physically in there flesh. So there must be another type of death other than dying in our body.

Remember in John 6:63 we are told it is the spirit that quickens (makes alive). When Adam and Eve died, they still had their human spirit (the breath of life) but their spirit died unto God. They had the breath of life but their hearing and understanding of God changed.

When Jesus told the Jewish priest Nicodemus he needed to be born again, Nicodemus did not understand Jesus was talking about his spirit man. See John 3:1-17  ” There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
2. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
3. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10. Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13. And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
14. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
17. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

People can be alive on earth in their physical earthly body, but they can also be dead. How can someone living be called dead? They are dead to God the Holy Spirit. They are dead to spiritual things. The body is of the earth but the spirit is of the heavenly. The body functions in the earthly. The spirit functions in the heavenly. If you have not been born again the way the scriptures tell you, you are dead spiritually.

1 Timothy 5:6  KJV ” But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.”

We will look at the other questions such as –

What happens to your soul and your spirit when your body dies?
What happens when you get born again?
Does getting born again change your soul? Your spirit? Your body?

Until next time.

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Who Are You – Your Mind

Your mind commands your flesh. Every action your flesh does is because your mind told your flesh to do the action.

Your flesh feels cold, you put on a jacket. Your flesh wants food, you eat. Your flesh wants to act on things in this world. When you consider it is your mind, your will and your emotions running your life, you realize you are limited in life by what you know. You are limited to the knowledge of your mind. You limit yourself to the world’s wisdom.  And you are “soul living” .

And if you are not born again as described by Jesus in John chapter 3 verses one through thirteen, you are what the scriptures call a “natural man”.

1 Corinthians 2:11-16 KJV  “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. ”

What God says about mental illness and what the world teaches about mental illness are 180 degrees opposite each other.

By definition, as we said before, mental illness means illness of the mind. The mind is not functioning the way God designed the mind, it is sick, ill. The mind is one of three parts of the soul. Your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions.

Scripture shows us several examples of people with mind problems, aka mental illness. The thing you need to keep in mind is the world defines mental illness a variety of ways, including depression. But God defines mental illness quite differently.  Some examples of mental illness in scripture include: 

Luke 4:33-37  ” And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil, and cried out with a loud voice,
34. Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art; the Holy One of God.
35. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the devil had thrown him in the midst, he came out of him, and hurt him not.
36. And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.
37. And the fame of him went out into every place of the country round about.”

Notice, this guy was in the synagogue or we might say, someone in church.

Look at Luke 8:26-39 “And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee.
27. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.
28. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.
29. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
30. And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.
31. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
32. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.
33. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.
34. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country.
35. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
36. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed.
37. Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.
38. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying,
39. Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. ”

Here is a disturbing example – this person had mind issues since they were a child.

Mark 9:16-29  ” And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
17. And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18. And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19. He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20. And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21. And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22. And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25. When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26. And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27. But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28. And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29. And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting. ”

Then look at John 8:39 where Jesus tells people they are of their father the devil. Wait a minute, I thought everyone is a child of God! No, that is not true. That is what the world teaches but scripture straightens things out and speaks truth.

Even Peter says in 1 Peter 5:8 – 18  ” Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9. Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
11. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ”

Believers have an enemy, the devil. The devil tries to destroy, depress, confuse and derail believers by attacking them and their family,  attacking their job, attacking their “stuff” and attacking their health,  just like he attacked Job.

Remember everyone told Job it was God causing his suffering? Even Job’s wife said curse God and die. Was it God causing Job’s suffering? No! Did Job suffer? Yes. We all have suffering in this world. Many people blame God for their troubles and they quit on God (like my neighbor). Some focus their mind on their suffering so much that they get depressed. That is not mental illness.

Mental illness is not a disease, it is an attack from a foul or unclean spirit. And if the person being attacked is not a believer, they will do “crazy” things. Believers have been given a sound mind according to scripture.

2 Timothy 1:7 – 10  ” For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9. Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
10. But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: ”

Yes, the devil attacks believers, again, look at Job. But believers are suppose to be able to recognize our enemy the devil, recognize his attacks and know what devices the devil uses against us. Believers are suppose to know how to fight back. Sadly, most believers can not even recognize attacks from our enemy much less know how to fight back.

The way to cure mental illness is to replace what is in the person’s mind with the word of God. To pray over that person and declare God’s word and then fill their mind with the word if God.

Years ago people were medicated and put in insane asylums with padded walls. Today, they still medicate but then send them home to their family. The answer is call the elders of the church and have them lay hands in them and pray for them declaring God’s word over them. Then fill their mind with the word of God. Start with the gospel of salvation and Romans road. Until next time.

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Who Are You Part 5 Mental

Believers are to understand their flesh only does what their mind commands. Believers must understand their flesh wants things of the earth, things of this world. Why? Because the flesh is part of this world, not of heaven’s world. So the believer’s struggle, is to bring their flesh under subjection to God knowing perfectly well, their flesh is going to fight them all the way. Scripture says,

1 Corinthians 9:27 KJV “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

So if it is the mind that commands the flesh, what commands the mind? How does the mind decide what someone should do or should not do? Mental illness is a mind issue. By definition, the person has illness of their mind. Their mind is ill, sick, does not operate the same way as God designed it.

Your mind is part of your soul. Remember,  God made man like himself. God made man from the dust of the earth (giving man a body). God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, ( giving man a spirit ) and man became a living soul. If you look soul up in the dictionary you find your soul is your mind, your will and your emotions.

Your body, your flesh, is commanded by your soul. Your mind tells your body to do things. But what tells your soul what to do, what to think, how to feel emotionally? Does God have a soul? According to Isaiah 1:14 KJV  ” Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. ”

Psalm 11:5  ” The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. ”

Yes, God has a soul and so do you.

Just like your flesh absorbs things through your five senses, your soul absorbs things too. Your soul is not made up of just your mind, your soul includes your will and your emotions. Your soul absorbs information. That information influences your imagination, your conscience, your memories, your reasoning and your affections. Let’s break it down more.

Your flesh hears some news or your eyes read a book or you try a new restaurant for dinner or you smell smoke coming from somewhere, your flesh absorbs this information. Then your soul, through reasoning, makes a judgment and acts. You chalk the whole thing up to experience.

Because your mind is part of your soul, people with so called “mental illness” have had information put into their mind that causes them to think or do “unnatural” things. Paul explains in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 the difference between the natural man and the spiritual man. Basically, the person who is truly saved, born again, is a spiritual man (man referencing mankind not one’s sex). The natural man is an unsaved person.

1 Corinthians 2: 11 “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
12. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.
16. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. ”

Once your flesh absorbs information through your five senses, (hear, taste, touch, see and smell) your soul processes that information. Your soul, your mind, will determine or reason with you to decide if you like or dislike what you taste, what you touch, what you hear, what you smell or what you see.

Children receive information from their parents as they grow up. And parents influence their children more than any other person unless the parents relinquish their duties to train up their children in the Lord, to government run schools.  You can see why governments offer free primary school. If the government can get your children into a preschool, they can mold their mind into the world’s ways, not God’s ways. When a child starts in government run preschools, goes through twelve years of public schools and then may enter college, those students have been indoctrinated into government ways and the world’s systems. They have been taught there is no God. Many of the students believe in evolution, they reject the scriptures and they reject God.

From about three years old until about twenty two years old their mind has been filled with the world’s wisdom, not God’s wisdom. That is 19 years of indoctrination and that is all that child knows because parents tell their children to listen to and obey their teacher. When the child grows up, many parents wonder why their children argue with them over things of life or over scripture or right from wrong, or hard work. Children have been taught by government run schools and for listening to their teachings, the student gets a participation trophy.

When school prayer was abolished in government run schools and preschools and the Bible was thrown out in the 1950s and 1960s, the information absorbed through the five senses changed. The soul still processes the information though.

Now we have generations of children indoctrinated in socialism (a fancy appealing word that means communism – look the word up in the 1828 Webster dictionary ). Their minds have not just been taught the lie of socialism, their minds have been indoctrinated. That is why Home Schools started springing up. Parents saw the indoctrination through government run schools and pulled their children out. Some governments outlawed home schooling. Did you ever ask yourself why?

The old expression, if you tell a lie long enough, people will believe it to be true. Indoctrination is telling or teaching the same thing over and over and over again, for years. And in children in government run achools, for 19 years teaching the same things over and over again and they eventually believe what they were taught and reject any truth from God. The question is why will they not even listen to what God says and consider, what if God is right and I have been lied to by my teachers?

The same is true with biblical issues. Some denominations have indoctrinated their followers in to their denominational teachings. When people believe their church or their Bible teachers over what the scriptures teach, those people are no different than children educated in government run schools.

Now add in the spirit realm. Not only are their teachers in schools, but parents also teach their children and churches and synagogues teach their people. When your mind decides to believe your school teachers more than anyone else, or decide to believe your church’s or your denomination’s teaching over anyone or anything else, you put yourself in a danger zone in life. There needs to be a final authority who has the right answers to all of our questions. That final authority is the word of God because God is our Creator. He made us. He designed us. He gave us abilities.

So what about “mental illness”? In the early 1900s, and into the 1950s, 60s and early 70s, people with so called mental illness were put into Insane Asylums aka The Funny Farm. These people were put in to straight jackets and rooms with padded walls. Then they were medicated to make them docile and easy to manage.

Children who misbehaved or did not follow “society ” and the world’s ways were put in to reform schools. Many churches stepped in to try and help these troubled children. Was it mental illness? The scriptures have a lot to say about mental illness. What God says about mental illness and what the world teaches about mental illness are 180 degrees opposite each other. We will look at mental illness in our next post. Be sure to subscribe to our blog and if you would like to support our blog ministry, please make a donation or contact us at The HeavensRecord
Until next time.

Win Souls

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Who Are You Part 4

We said last time, our flesh – our body, is a shell made of dirt, made from the dust of the earth. Our body can do nothing on its own. Our flesh absorbs things through our five senses; hear, taste, touch, see and smell.

Our body absorbs odors through smell. It absorbs sounds through hearing. It absorbs visions through seeing, flavor through taste and sensations through touching. So why did the asostle Paul say our flesh “works” ? Glad you asked.

Paul explains in Galatians 5:19-21 KJV  ” 19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. ”

Paul lists 17 works of the flesh. For example, let’s pick one of the seventeen – hatred. How can flesh “work hatred” ? Remember,  your flesh absorbs things through your five senses. So how does your flesh work hatred?

In the 1828 Webster Dictionary, there are “26” definitions of the word “work”. When we think about the word work, we often think of working to produce something. Most people think of manual labor. But in this case, our flesh “works” to produce hatred in our example.

It is not that our flesh alone can work at producing hatred, but our flesh obeys information and instructions from our “command center”, our soul. Our soul is our mind, will and emotions. Your mind tells your flesh what to do. Your mind tells your flesh I like this or I hate this.

Your mind tells you this smells good or bad. Your mind tells you this sound is pleasing or this sound is horrible. When you look at something, your eyes absorb what they see, but it is your mind that tells your flesh, this is beautiful or that is ugly. Your flesh tastes things, but it is your mind that tells your flesh, this tastes good or not. It is your mind that tells you if you touch something hot or cold, smooth or rough.

It is your mind that tells your flesh to work hatred. It is your mind that tells your flesh to commit adultry. It is your mind that tells your flesh to participate in witchcraft. It is your mind that tells your flesh to sow strife. When you understand it is your mind that commands your flesh to act on something, good or bad, you can understand how Jesus Christ could hang on a cross and say to the Father, ” forgive them, they know not what they do”.

When you understand a person’s mind is causing them to act the way they are acting, you can forgive people who wrong you.

Today, people are pushing chaos, hatred, strife and division. God hates it. Look at the six things God hates and the seventh thing is an abomination. Proverbs 6:16-19 KJV

” 16. These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
17. A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
19. A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. ”

Today, people will kill someone over a parking space. Some people will not work, but they will steal from those who do work. Even believers will sow strife and divisions with another believer because they do not agree with them. Not good. I am not saying drop doctrine. I am saying, no two people agree on everything so why would you want to have God angry with you just because you do not like or agree with another believer? Each of us are accountable for only our own walk, not your neighbor’s walk and not another believer’s walk.

People will try to destroy people because they do not agree with them. Some are asking, what is going on in this world? Has the world gone crazy? You already know the answer to those questions. The flesh works what the mind commands.

If the mind is focused on things of this world, the flesh will work things of this world. You will work to lay up your treasures in this world. But if you are a true believer, one who has really been born again, not from saying a prayer but from a true heart conversion to Jesus Christ, you want to obey God. You want to lay your treasures up, not on this earth but up in heaven where they will last forever.

Believers are to understand their flesh only does what their mind commands. Believers must understand their flesh wants things of the earth, things of this world. Why? Because the flesh is part of this world, not of heaven’s world. So the believer’s struggle is to bring their flesh under subjection to God knowing perfectly well, their flesh is going to fight them all the way. Scripture says,

1 Corinthians 9:27 KJV “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”

This is what Paul was saying when he says his mind wants to do one thing but his flesh/body wants to do something different.

Romans 7:14-25 KJV ” 14. For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
15. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
16. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good.
17. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
18. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
19. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. ”

Until next time.

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Who Are You – Your Body

Why did God create mankind?
Answer: Genesis 1:26 – 30 KJV
”  And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. ”

How did God make man?
Answer: Genesis 2:7 KJV  ” 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. ”

God gives man a spirit, a soul and a body, see 1 Thess. 5:23 KJV  ” And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ”

So God plants a garden and puts man in the garden to keep the garden. A description of what is in the garden is in Genesis 2:8-17. Then God makes Eve and we read how Satan deceives Eve. We know it is Satan because God calls him, that old serpent the devil.

Adam and Eve disobey God and take of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But notice after Adam and Eve sinned, they “heard the voice of God” walking in the garden.

God was walking in the garden and he calls Adam (Gen.3:9). God pronounces judgment on Satan, Eve and Adam for the sin. And notice what God tells Adam in Genesis 3:19 – ” 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. ”

You are going to sweat and toil working until you return unto the ground. You were made from the dirt/dust of the ground and you are going to return to dust. Adam’s body was made from dirt and so is your body and my body, made from dirt.

Today we have cemeteries but think back hundreds of years ago, thousands of years ago. All those people who lived before us for all the years before we were created, have returned to dirt. Did you ever think that when you take a walk in a park or dig your backyard garden, you are walking or digging where dead people returned to dirt? Maybe it is just the way my mind works.

God tells us, we came from dirt and our body/flesh will return to dirt. People spend millions of dollars pumping up and beautifying a fleshly body that is slowly dying. Until one day, 70, 80, 90 years down the road, their body/flesh dies and ” gives up the ghost/spirit”. Do you think they will get rewards for working and spending thousands of dollars on beautifying their dirt?

I am not saying people should not take care of themselves. Remember,  we are discussing our spirit, soul and body.

Remember,  God created us like himself and God created us with a spirit, soul and body. 1 Thess. 5:23 tells us we have a spirit, soul and body.

Our body/flesh is dirt that God gave life to, living dirt. Our body has five senses; hear, taste, touch, see and smell. These five senses are like gates to our flesh. These gates allow our flesh to receive sound, odors, vision, sensation and feeling.

There is no such thing as a sixth sense. There are only five senses – hear, taste, touch, smell and see. What people allude to as a “sixth” sense is not part of the flesh. It is part of the soul and spirit.

Through our five senses our body/flesh absorbs things like a sponge. Our flesh absorbs sounds, absorbs odors, absorbs what we see, what we touch and taste. But our flesh itself can not make distinctions or decisions, it only absorbs sounds, odors, what things feel like, and so forth.

If you look at a person who is in a coma, lying on a hospital bed, you see a fleshly body lying on a bed. Their flesh can do nothing but lay there until their “control center” tells their flesh to do something. But can their body still absorb sounds? Absorb odors? Absorb touching?  Yes. Their body still absorbs but can not do anything until their control center tells their body to do something.

That may sound very simple but understanding your body is dirt that absorbs through your five senses is key to understanding Who You Are. It is crucial to understanding your spirit, soul and body.

So if a person is lying on a hospital bed, in a coma, does their body still operate with their five senses?

Remember, your five senses are like a sponge to your flesh. If the person is in a coma, they may not be seeing things in this world, in their hospital room, but they still can see. Look at 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 KJV.

Your flesh can not do anything on its own but absorb. Your flesh needs the command center to tell it what to do; lift your arm, sit up, clean yourself. 

Remember, your flesh is made of dirt and God gave your dirt life. Your body absorbs things just like the earth absorbs smoke, chemicals, the sun, water, rain and so forth. Your body absorbs things through your five senses. Your body is living dirt that can not do anything on its own but absorb. It is your command center that tells your body what to do, whether good or evil. Until next time.

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Who Are You Part 2

We said last time –
Scientists are trying to clone life but they can not create life. So scientists take living cells from living animals and try to create a new life. They will never do it. They can not create a brand new life from nothing. They always need to take cells from something living.

My son and I were discussing the mind this morning and how the world operates on a system of what mankind thinks. Mankind’s thoughts. When mankind gets an idea, they try to make their idea come to life.  So we veered into discussing life. I reminded my son about cloning and how scientists can not create life. I said, everything on this planet has life because God is life and created this planet with life. Everything is alive.

So my son asked me about mashed potatoes. I said yes, they are alive and that is why, if you take one potato and put it on your counter, after a period of time, it will sprout. If you cut the potato into wedges with each wedge having a sprout and then plant the wedges outside, in the ground, you will get potatoes. If you put mashed potatoes in the refrigerator, mold will form.

I explained it is like the whole earth is breathing. Trees are living, grass and flowers are living,  everything is alive. God created everything alive, living.  The only difference is, God created mankind like himself. He created the earth with life.

Man has realized he can not create life from nothing like God can. This man discovered through attempts at cloning. So now, man is creating AI ( Artificial Intelligence ).

Artificial is defined as not natural, fictitious. Another words, fake. AI is fake intelligence. In our computer age, information from volumes of books is fed into a mainframe. The information is stored and the computer sifts through the information in lightening speed and produces the answer. The answer is based on the information that was programmed into the mainframe. Did God put the information in to the mainframe? Is the world programming God’s answers in to the mainframe? No! AI is based on man’s understanding and man’s knowledge. Based on man’s information and leaves God out.

Which brings me to one of the keys for this series, the soul – the mind. After God formed man from the dust of the ground giving man a body, then breathed his breath into man giving him life ( a spirit ), man became a living soul.

Imagine forming someone in the dirt. Then breath into their nostrils. Nothing happens. But God is the Creator of all and after telling us how he created the earth and the heavens, he tells us how he created mankind – like himself.

Consider this. You die. Your spirit and soul leave your earthly body. Where do they go? What do they look like? Lord willing, we will pick it up from here next time. Until next time.

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Who Are You?

Genesis 1:26 KJV  “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ”

Who is God talking to? Genesis 1 describes creation of the earth, the heavens, the seas and animals, and mankind. God tells us how the earth was made and everything in the earth.

And for those who want more details about creation, God provides the information in the book of Job. Start in Job 38 where God asks Job the following,  verse 4 ” Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
5. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
6. Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
7. When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
8. Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
9. When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10. And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
11. And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
12. Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
13. That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? ”

Now that you know God created everything, you have to make a decision. Do you believe God created everything as he says or do you believe man (whom God also created) do you believe everything evolved from a bang? You have to choose who you will believe. You were not there when God created everything and neither was any man. Which brings me back to the beginning of this post.

God explains how he created man in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. In Genesis 1 God says, let us make man in our umage, in our likeness. Clearly the word us and our is plural, meaning more than one. But scripture says God is One. So how can God be one and yet say, let us make man in our image?

Is God eternal? Does God laugh? Does God speak? Yes, yes and yes. Scripture tells us these answers are yes. So if God said, let us make man in our image, God is speaking to someone who has the ability to create man.

Plus, God tells us how he makes man. Look at Genesis 2:7 KJV  ” 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. ”

God formed man from the dust of the ground, the earth, giving man an earthly body. Then God breathes his breath into man’s nostrils giving man a spirit. That spirit is what gives life because it is first, God’s spirit of life and it causes man to breath.

Scientists are trying to clone life but they can not create life. So scientists take living cells from living animals and try to create a new life. They will never do it. They can not create a brand new life from nothing. They always need to take cells from something living.

After God formed man from the dust of the ground giving man a body, then breathed his breath into man giving him life, man became a living soul.

Imagine forming someone in the dirt. Then breath into their nostrils. Nothing happens. But God is the Creator of all and after telling us how he created the earth and the heavens, he tells us how he created mankind – like himself.

Now we know who God was speaking to when he said let us create man in our image. If God created man with a body, with a spirit of life and man with a soul, then guess what God has. God has a body, a spirit and a soul.

Question. Did you ever talk to yourself? When you talk to yourself, who are you talking to? Are you talking to your soul? Are you talking to your flesh? Are you talking to your spirit? Who are you talking to when you say things like, we can do this, I’ve got this, now what do I do? So who was God talking to?

Until next time.

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Kingdom Path Laying A Foundation

Ever since the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15) God tells us of a future descendant. This descendant would be victorious over the serpent over death, hell and the grave. This descendant is the Messiah and for 4000 years, Israel was watching for their Messiah. The Messiah would set up his kingdom.

When the Jewish religious leaders rejected Jesus Christ as their long awaited Messiah, God saved a Jew named Saul, changed his name to Paul and sent him to preach to Gentiles. Why? Because God tells us. God wants to provoke the Jews to jealousy, that Gentiles would be serving and worshipping their God.

Remember,  when Messiah would come, he would set up his kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. Had the Jews accepted Christ, the kingdom would have come in then. But God knew the Jewish leaders would reject Jesus as was prophesied in the Old Testament.

When Jesus walked physically on earth Jesus was speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven and how that kingdom operates. Jesus explained the kingdom in many ways, especially through parables. Each parable explained a principle of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The parable of the Sower
The parable of the Wheat and Tares
The parable of The Mustard Tree
The parable of The Leaven
The Hid Treasure
The Pearl
The Drag-net

Different laws and principles applied to the kingdom Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount and other verses.  These kingdom principles cover:

Murder
Adultery
Divorce
Perjury
Retaliation
Enemies
Alms Giving
Prayer
Fasting
Money
Food and Clothing
Judgment
And the conditions to enter this kingdom

Throughout Paul’s letters to the churches, Paul is trying to teach Gentiles how God operates, who we are in Christ and kingdom principles.

Gentiles had pagan ways, pagan teachings. Paul even said the Jews require a sign, some proof from God but Gentiles seek wisdom. Gentiles want knowledge about God and his ways.

And then, some Jewish believers tried to tell Gentile believers they needed to keep the Old Testament law that was given to the Jews, even though they are New Testament believers. Paul said no, that is not correct. We are one in Christ made up of Jews and Gentiles.

Even today, churches try to put believers under Old Testament laws. This should not be so. Jesus even explained believers are put into the Kingdom of God and Jesus said the Kingdom of God would be inside of believers. The kingdom of God is inside us, the Holy Spirit indwells all true believers guiding and teaching us.

Luke 17:20, 21 – ” And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21. Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

The Kingdom of Heaven is a literal kingdom where Jesus reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. The Kingdom of God is inside believers, it is not seen with earthly eyes. The Kingdom of God is like a spiritual kingdom where Christ rules and reigns in our hearts. It would be like saying, the Kingdom of God rules our spirit man, our inner man and the Kingdom of Heaven rules and reigns on earth, physically and will be seen.

So when I speak of Kingdom principles, I am speaking about how God has established his way of doing things in this earth. Our spirit man sits in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Our physical man, sits on this earth. Our spirit man is guided by the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. So man has a choice.

Do you choose to be lead and guided by the Holy Spirit in your spirit man and lead by the world’s ways in your flesh on this planet?  Or, do you choose to be lead  and guided by the Holy Spirit in your inner spirit man and choose to apply kingdom principles to your earthly man? To be lead by God’s way?

We are on a pathway to discover God’s ways known as Kingdom Principles. True success, prosperity, victory over this world comes by following God and his ways, his principles. My plan is to try to show a few kingdom principles and show you how God describes and applies these principles so we can learn to operate in kingdom principles.  Until next time.

Kingdom Principles

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