Programme: Believers’ Convention Prayer Meeting (Week 4_Day 5)
Date: Friday, 28th July 2023
Transcript Summary
1. “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth; [2[ for the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever. [3] Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love...” (2 John 1:1-6). The love of the elect lady is a love in the truth. There is a love that truth gives or speaks of. One cannot love in the truth without having the truth. All truth commences at the revealing of Jesus Christ.
2. “And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. [24] Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: [25] who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:23-25). God gave them up because they tampered with the truth of God. This is why people should not shift from the revelation of the truth. The issue here is that they tampered with the program of God, which is the image of God. The image of God archives the program of God. Whosoever can get God’s image will get God. The image of God is the first glory of God. These people changed the glory of God into a lie. The lie is to live and serve nothing. This is because they became reprobate in their minds (Rom. 1:28). They became vain in their imaginations because they refused to retain God in their knowledge. To come into a 'lie' is to deceive oneself that there is no God.
3. “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy…” (2 Tim. 3:2). These are the attitudes of those who will be unthankful and unholy in the last days (Rom. 1:21). Being thankful to God is a sign of life in the soul of mankind. Some are trying to change the Bible. They do not know that the Bible is fire. The Bible is blood. The Bible is water. The Bible is spirit. The Bible is hailstone. It will burn whoever tries to change it. The Bible will remove heaven and the earth but the things inside it will never pass away. The things that are in the Bible will be fulfilled.
4. There is a commitment of love that truth teaches. The love of the truth is both horizontal and vertical. The vertical side is to God while the horizontal side is to one another. This is why it is not possible to love God and hate each other. Anybody who has truth in him also walks in love. The apostle said he loves the elect lady in the truth and those who have known the truth (2 John 1:1). When you know the truth, you receive an injection of love at the level of truth.
5. “Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love". (2 John 1:3). This love is not just loving one another; it is a bar of truth in another form. The word “truth” is everlasting life. Everlasting life is the spirit of all truth; it is the highest truth. One of the signs of its practices is that one who has it will be known by his love for his brother. The word “brother” means sibling or family; it means “my kind of life”. So, when God gives truth to a man, He is giving him the same kind of life that his brother has. Those whom God calls brothers are people who are born of the same parents. Whosoever is born of truth at this degree is His brother in truth. There is a light of love that truth teaches. Whosoever has truth should be able to love according to the pedigree of the light that truth shines. Love in truth takes away all darkness. This means the love shown to our brother is not complete in charity; there is the love in truth that is the ultimate. This is what John was advocating for in chapter 2 of his book.
6. “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” (1 John 2:9-10). One cannot say he loves his brother and still be walking in darkness. This means hatred is a dark thing. It is possible for a man to hate his brother if he has not finished his course of light. This means that hatred is the work of the devil. The devil is the hateful bird. A murderer has no Eternal Life abiding in him (1 John 3:15). One way Jesus identifies the adversary is that he is a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). If he murdered from the beginning, that means hate was in him. The adversary broke the law of brotherhood. The devil (then Lucifer) used to be a brother of some heavenly beings. An angel said to John, “...I am of thy brethren the prophet…” (Rev. 22:9). These angels do not want to leave us; we have to learn to accept them like John did. The Church is walking in isolation of these beings (angels). On the contrary, the world is not living in isolation with fallen beings; we have lived with demons for years. Demons wake people up at night to do evil. Evil spirits are also seducing ministers; they train ministers to have evil intelligence to fetch out demonic doctrine, thereby crippling the church.
7. (1 John 3:2-9). The devil sinned against his brethren from the beginning – he was found walking in darkness and not in the law of brotherhood. What brought the Son of God to earth is the sin that was from the beginning. If it was a sin that did not involve the beginning, there might not be a need to bring the Son. Satan sinned against the incorruptible. The incorruptible seed is a law from the beginning that Satan transgressed; he destroyed something that was already constructed. A transgressor breaks the law; he takes it away and twists it. That is what Satan (then Lucifer) was doing in heaven.
8. The sin from the beginning is not an obvious sin like stealing; it is what can only be found among beings who have truth or who have known God. There is a dimension of transgression that can be found in the charity realm. This is why it is possible to "escape corruption" but still not be saved. In wanting to be saved from corruption, it is also an opportunity for corruption to take you down. But we will not fall if we do not go around breaking laws. Whosoever transgresses the law is wicked.
9. The sign of sin in the beginning was the hate thing in the devil. He began to hate those who were fully committed to keeping the incorruptible law. Satan unbuckled his own girdle. He unbuckled faithfulness, not just righteousness. Lucifer thought more highly of himself; he wanted to change his state to be like the Most High. “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isa. 14:13-14). He wants to galvanize materials that will make him more beautiful than God. There is a way one can take one's thoughts high and kill oneself. As Lucifer was transforming himself, he was milking himself and instead of going up, he became a devil. He became “born again” into a devil. The devil can teach a man how to die via thoughts.
10. What the Bible calls evil is an invention of another life; it is to change the truth of God. To change something is to transgress and move it into another form. Someone who has the capacity to change God’s things into another is a transgressor. To obey the truth is to do God’s image. Satan also teaches his own image. When making such an image, a name is being made. Each level or step of that name cannot be formed or downloaded without power. It is name by name, until the full formation of the name. The final name is that which is conferred as an authority to make the image talk (Rev. 13:15).
11. If the Godhead is not raising an image in you, you are not having resurrection. Jesus said He is the resurrection and life (John 11:25). The Father raises the dead and quickens them (John 5:21). To quicken someone is to raise him and give him life. The first person God raised and quickened was the Son. God did this by putting His truth in the Son while He was on earth. A time came when God gave Him all things called truth. Jesus was being shown things and He obeyed and committed Himself to them. Jesus committed Himself to everlasting life, instead of committing sin. That was why the Father pronounced Him as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased (Matt. 3:17).
12. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” (1 John 3:1). Truth is everlasting life or the eternal power of the Godhead, and those who commit themselves to it are beloved sons. Anyone who walks in the truth is loved by the Father.
13. (Dan. 10:11-13). The angel called Daniel “greatly beloved” in the Old Testament because of truth. That angel is one of the highest among the chief princes. What makes them princes is their loins gird about with truth (Eph. 6:14). Princes are known by truth; this means truth is a royal line. The adversary (then Lucifer) used to have it around his paps before he became an evil spirit. The two places where the belt is kept are around the breast and the loins. Inside a man’s loin are seeds. Children are tied around the loins, so whosoever wears truth is a father. The one who has the girdle around the loins is a father, while the other who has the girdle around his breast or paps is a nurturer. This means a father can give birth but another side of him (being a nurturer) will develop it.
14. A prince who is with God is one who has come to truth; this is one who has power with God, with men and has prevailed. Men will be subject to one who has power with God, Such a one will begin to reign, and the first reign is in everlasting life. This is the training for reigning eternally. An everlasting man is a prince; this is where a man touches the royal side of God. Princehood is accessibility to holding forth things for God. Princes are those who worship in the Holy Of Holies; they are called true worshippers. The Church needs to see that it is good for us to be driven into the Holy Of Holies – a place where we can become true worshippers.
15. Those who have arrived at true worship – worshipping the Father – are those who are constructing God's image. To build the image is to undergo resurrection, and this is how to be in service to God. Service is profitable for us because we are the ones being raised. God does not take our service for Himself because we are the ones who are being raised. Satan is the one who looks for the service of men to feel good. God does not inhale pride when we are serving Him; our service to Him moves His heart to have compassion because we are being raised.
16. It is in service and worship that we find life. A prince is a person who has been constituted to become and live out the very life of God. Such a one is becoming an image bearer. The drive of God is for all to be conformed to the image of the Son (Rom. 8:29). Our Lord Jesus is a Prince; this means God wants to give birth to princes. This is why we are being shown the importance of truth – why princes will work for truth, and why evil spirits will fight truth. It is glad tidings that mankind will become princes.
Blessings!