Volume 18 Issue

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Bringing the 1st. Century Gospel To The 21st. Century

The entire world is in turmoil. It ispreparing for battle. In Matthew24:7, Jesus, giving signs of the end,said, “For nation shall rise againstnation, and kingdom against king-dom.” The only warfare we as anation can understand is that whichis called “nation against nation.”This present conflict is not such.For perhaps the first time in modernhistory we are seeing “kingdomwarfare,” and it has thrown thenations into perplexity. Americaprepares to do war against a nation.We have the military might to con-quer any nation on the planet. Ourmilitary superiority is unchallengedamong the nations of the world, butwe must understand that our war-fare is not against a “nation,” butagainst a “kingdom.” America isnot prepared to do warfare against

these kingdoms because they arespiritual, and not carnal. While Iwill rejoice to see Saddam Hussienremoved from power in Iraq, I alsounderstand that Saddam is only aflesh and blood manifestation of theone who has risen against us. Ourwarfare is with the one called“Apollyon” in Revelation 9:11. Heis the “angel” of the bottomless pit.He is the “king” of the “locusts”that are swarming out of the pit.The nation we are preparing waragainst is the site of ancient“Babylon.” The river Euphratesruns through that nation. Accordingto Revelation 9:14, there are four“angels” that have been bound inthat river for thousands of years. Ido not believe these “angels” repre-sent earthly kings or nations.Rather, it is most likely they are

spiritual “principalities” after theorder of, and serving under“Apollyon,” the locust king.Probably the next prophetic event isthe “loosening” of these four“angels” with their armies of twohundred million. These armies rep-resent no nation, but are men andwomen who are “possessed” withthe spirit of the locust king,Apollyon. They are led to battle bythe four “angels” out of the riverEuphrates. According to Revelation9:15, these have been prepared “foran hour, and a day, and a month, anda year,” to slay the third part of men.If America’s warfare were only witha nation, it would be an “easy in,easy out” affair with little loss oflife, but in fact, we are potentiallyfacing the greatest slaughter ofhuman life the world has ever seen.

The Locust Kingdom Before their face the people shallbe much pained: all faces shallgather blackness. They shall runlike mighty men; they shall climbthe wall like men of war; and theyshall march every one on his ways,and they shall not break theirranks: Neither shall one thrustanother; they shall walk every onein his path: and when they fall

upon the sword, they shall not bewounded.

Joel 2:6-8

If the locust army has been preparedfor this hour, so the church of JesusChrist must also be prepared for thissame hour. Certainly, the provisionhas been made for the children ofGod. Paul tells in II Corinthians10:4, “For the weapons of our war-fare are not carnal, but mightythrough God…” The “locust army”comes with knives, guns, bombs,nerve gases, and bacterial plagues.Their secret weapon has been thesuicide bomber. The prophet Joelprophesied concerning these “sui-cide bombers” twenty five hundredyears ago when he said “…whenthey fall upon the sword, they shallnot be wounded.” To “fall upon thesword” has forever been a term usedfor taking your own life. Thephrase “they shall not be wounded”should be translated “they shall notbe stopped.” God made it clear inJoel 2:25 that this great army is the“locust army.” It will continue andincrease until there is weeping andrepentance in the altars of God.None of America’s carnal weaponsof war can stop them. If we kill a

The War of theKingdoms

Message by: Leroy SurfaceFor nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom againstkingdom... Matthew 24:7

The War of the Kingdoms

Hear The Shepherd’s Voice page 2.....and the sheep hear his voice: ... John 10:3

I heard this past week of a church inthe Houston area that is teaching it’speople how to live with the demonwithin. I was so vexed. To think achurch would dare teach such athing. How could anyone with anyknowledge of the bible teach agospel so for fetched. I askedmyself, “Where did it come from?”The more I pondered the subject Iknew it had to come out of a"Christian" religious teaching thatman is basically good and if it werenot for the demons spirits in manmaking him sin every now and thenman could be saved. According tothis thinking, all man has to do is tofind a way to control the demon thatmakes him sin. He also has to learnhow many demons are living in himand what their names are so he canbe taught how to control them whenthey are manifested. They mayhave the demon of alcohol, thedemon of lust, the demon of lying,the demon of drugs, etc. The listmay go on and on, bringing a lifelong struggle to the person; a strug-gle the person will never be free of.

The sad thing is, most of the"Christian" religions of the worldtoday basically teach this very samething, but in a different way. I havefound that many "religious" peopleenjoy the struggle because they likedoing the things they do. If you tryto take their demon away they willfight you over him. I told one ladyto get ride of her romance novels.She told me she would never get ridof them because she did not seewhere they would hurt her. It wasnot long before she was out ofchurch and running around withother men. One time a man came tothe altar with a fifth of whiskey inhis back packet. I reached for it topull it out and he grabbed my hand,and jumped up and went out of thechurch. Two weeks later he dieddrunk in a house fire cause by hiscigarette. I have found that reli-gious people like to hide theirdemon only to have him reveal him-self at an unexpected moment oflust, or rage, etc. As long as peoplelike what they are and enjoy whatthey are doing, you’ll never be ableto reach them with the gospel thatwill make them free. It is onlywhen a man comes to the end of

himself that he hates what is he inthis life. It is only when he cries outto God from of a heart of despera-tion, "God save me, deliver me fromwhat I am." It is only when he loseshis life for Christ that he finds it.“He that findeth his life shall loseit: and he that loseth his life for mysake shall find it (Matthew 10:39).”As long as you party with thatdemon on Saturday, you will strug-gle with him on Sunday. It will be astruggle to go to church and a strug-gle to put so much as a dollar in theoffering. You will never be free.

The Demon is destroyed

The demon within comes from ademonic nature that every man,woman and child is born with.“For if by one man’s offence deathreigned by one; much more theywhich receive abundance of graceand of the gift of righteousness shallreign in life by one, Jesus Christ.Therefore as by the offence of onejudgment came upon all men to con-demnation; even so by the right-eousness of one the free gift cameupon all men unto justification oflife. For as by one man’s disobedi-ence many were made sinners, so bythe obedience of one shall many bemade righteous (Romans 5:17-19).”

“Knowing this, that our old man iscrucified with him, that the body ofsin might be destroyed, that hence-forth we should not serve sin. Forhe that is dead is freed from sin(Romans 6:6-7).” As long as theold sin nature is alive the strugglewithin will continue. The unsavedperson is a slave to sin, impurity,and lawlessness, and will never beable to free himself by his religiousacts

Freedom from the slavery of sin isone sure criteria by which all pro-fessing believers may test and provewhether they have eternal life withits regenerating and sanctifyinggrace dwelling in them. This is notto say, however, that believers arefree from spiritual warfare againstsin. Throughout our lives, we willhave to constantly fight against thepressures of the world, the flesh,

LIVING WITH THEDEMON’S WITHIN

Bro. Kirbbie L.Cowart, Publisher

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million of them, they are command-ed to kill a million of us. Nothingwill deter them from their purposefor they are possessed with the spir-it of Apollyon, and prepared for thishour.

The children of God have nobombs, missiles, or rifles to do bat-tle with. All these are carnalweapons and are of no value againsta spiritual enemy. The use of themcan only magnify the problem.When David faced Goliath, he said,“Thou comest to me with a sword,and with a spear, and with a shield:but I come to thee in the name of theLORD of hosts, the God of thearmies of Israel, whom thou hastdefied.” It is only the name of ourLord Jesus Christ that is of power toconquer the locust army. It is won-derful to see in Revelation 9:4, thatwhen the locust swarm out of thepit, they have power to hurt “…onlythose men which have not the sealof God in their foreheads.” It is apromise of God to His people suchas is given in Psalms 91:4-10: “Heshall cover thee with his feathers,and under his wings shalt thoutrust: his truth shall be thy shieldand buckler. Thou shalt not beafraid for the terror by night; norfor the arrow that flieth by day; Norfor the pestilence that walketh indarkness; nor for the destructionthat wasteth at noonday. A thou-sand shall fall at thy side, and tenthousand at thy right hand; but itshall not come nigh thee. Only withthine eyes shalt thou behold and seethe reward of the wicked. Becausethou hast made the LORD, which ismy refuge, even the most High, thyhabitation; There shall no evilbefall thee, neither shall any plaguecome nigh thy dwelling.”

“Kingdom of Priests”Now therefore, if ye will obey myvoice indeed, and keep mycovenant, then ye shall be a pecu-liar treasure unto me above allpeople: for all the earth is mine:And ye shall be unto me a kingdomof priests, and an holy nation.These are the words which thoushalt speak unto the children ofIsrael.

Exodus 19:5-6

There were three things God prom-ised to Israel if they would obey Hisvoice and keep His covenant. Theywould be, number one, a “peculiartreasure,” above all people; Number

two, they would be a “kingdom ofPriests;” and, number three, theywould be a “holy nation.” All ofIsrael heard the voice of Godspeaking from Mount Sinai, butthey drew back, saying, “let notGod speak with us lest we die.”They refused His voice and brokeHis covenant, and never, in all thethousands of years of their exis-tence, did they receive the promiseof God concerning them. If theyhad simply obeyed God’s voiceand kept His covenant, they wouldhave been everything God saidthey would be. Instead, the “Lawof Moses” was added until the“seed (Christ) should come towhom the promise was made(Galatians 3:16-19).” Instead ofbeing a “Kingdom of Priests,”where each individual dwelt in thepresence of God, they received theLevitical “priesthood” where onlya very few could approach to God,and that only after many ceremoni-al washings and offerings. Animalsacrifices were incorporated intoMoses’ Law, but the prophetJeremiah tells us in Jeremiah 7:21-23 that they were never God’s pur-pose for His people. Had theyobeyed God’s voice at Sinia theywould have been the “Kingdom ofPriests.”

When Jesus Christ came, He“came unto His own, and His ownreceived Him not (John 1:11).”Just as their forefathers hadrefused the “Word” of God spokenfrom Sinai, these refused the“Word made flesh (John 1:14),”who came from Heaven. “But asmany as received Him,” John said,“to them gave He power to becomethe sons of God (John 1:12)…”Peter speaks to those who“received Him,” saying, “But yeare a chosen generation, a royalpriesthood, an holy nation, a pecu-liar people; that ye should shewforth the praises of Him who hathcalled you out of darkness into Hismarvelous light; which in time pastwere not a people, but are now thepeople of God (I Peter 2:9-10).”

And they sung a new song, say-ing, Thou art worthy to take thebook, and to open the seals there-of: for thou wast slain, and hastredeemed us to God by thy bloodout of every kindred, and tongue,and people, and nation; And hastmade us unto our God kings andpriests: and we shall reign on theearth.

Revelation 5:9-10Jesus sits at the right hand of God,

War of the KingdomsContinued from pg 1

Hear The Shepherd’s Voice page 3.....and the sheep hear his voice: ... John 10:3

and the devil from without. Thetruly born again child of God is freefrom the desires and passions of theflesh and enabled to live holy andblameless before Him in love.(Read Gal.5:16-24 & Eph.1: 4 )

Truly the demons and the works ofSatan were destroyed at Calvary.The very work that Satan started inAdam and passed on to all mankindwas destroyed at Calvary. The verypurpose Jesus was manifested wasto destroy the works of Satan.“Knowing this, that our old man iscrucified with him, that the body ofsin might be destroyed, that hence-forth we should not serve sin(Romans 6:6).” The "old man"refers to the believer’s unregenerateself, the person he once was, the lifehe once lived in sin. This old selfhas been crucified (made power-less) with Christ on the cross inorder that the believer might receivea new life in Jesus Christ andbecome a "new man," It is as Paulsaid, “I am crucified with Christ:nevertheless I live; yet not I, butChrist liveth in me; and the lifewhich I now live in the flesh I live bythe faith of the Son of God, who

Melchizedek.” This is the first timethis phrase is found in the scriptures.It seems prophetically to speak to theSon as He sits on the throne ofHeaven during the time that darknessreigned over the whole earth. The“glorious” church of the first centurywas bathed in it’s own blood by theenemies of our Lord, but the churchflourished in the midst of persecu-tion. It was the entrance into theranks of the church of false teachersand false doctrines that weakened andultimately destroyed that earlychurch. The Father had promised thatour Lord’s enemies would be madeHis footstool, yet it seemed the ene-mies of God had prevailed against thechurch with the possibility of eradi-cating the truth of the gospel from thehearts and minds of the people. TheFather reconfirms His promise to theSon in such a powerful manner: “Ihave sworn, and I will not change mymind! You are a priest forever afterthe order of Melchezedek.” It wasn’tover! His “church” would revive.The Lord’s enemies would yet bemade His footstool.

High in the mountains and deep in thewildernesses were a few people whoheld to the truth. In every place theywere discovered the harlot “church”slaughtered them. They were burnedat the stake, they were slain by thesword, but they continued throughthe centuries, passing the truth on totheir children. There was but a verysmall remnant remaining, but therecame a time that a few men with theknowledge of the truth began to bold-ly proclaim it. These great menembraced the reproach of Christ.They identified with Him in suffer-ing. They freely “offered themselvesupon the sacrifice and service of thefaith (Philippians 2:17),” and Jesusbegan, once again, to reign from thethrone of Heaven. Paul told us in IITimothy 2:11-12, “It is a faithful say-ing: For if we be dead with Him, weshall also live with Him: If we suffer,we shall also reign with Him.” Thesemen willingly suffered for Christ andthe gospel’s sake. They “suf-fered”…and they “reigned” withChrist in the midst of His enemies. Avery few men of God shook the worldonce more, and gave a deadly woundto the beast that had held the worldcaptive for over a thousand years.God once again sent the rod of ourLord’s strength out of Zion, Hischurch.

this phrase brought me to a conclu-sion that is, admittedly, not shared bythe scholars. The proper translationof this phrase is the following;“…from the womb of the morninguntil the dew of youth.” We remem-ber that the entire prophecy is of one“day.” The “womb of the morning”was the “dawn” of that day, begin-ning with the ascension of Jesus andthe pouring out of the Holy Ghostupon His people. The Apostles of ourLord “presented their bodies” as liv-ing sacrifices, holy and acceptable toGod. In turn, God sent forth the rodof His strength through them, and theworld was “turned upside down” intheir generation. Jesus “reigned inthe midst of His enemies,” and Hispeople reigned with Him. Theyraised no armies, had no weapons ofdestruction, and sought no politicalpower, yet they shook the world.Their authority over sin, sickness,and Satan was as they were underauthority to our Lord Jesus Christ.The Lord stretched forth His handfrom the throne of Heaven, and it wasmanifest through His people on earththrough miracles of salvation, heal-ing, and deliverance. This continueduntil the time spoken of in theprophecy as “the dew of youth.” Themorning “dew” lasts until about teno’clock AM, while the “day” is stillyoung. It is a matter of record thatthe “church” lost her glory and powerwithin a century of her birth. Withinthree centuries the world was enter-ing into the period that history wouldcall “the dark ages,” which lasted forover a thousand years.

During those “dark ages” a “church”rose to power that slaughtered withthe sword those who would not“bow” before her and “confess” her“vicar (the Pope)” to be lord. It wasthe “church” that the Apostle Johnidentified as the “mother of harlots”in the seventeenth chapter ofRevelation. This harlot “church”raised armies, built weapons ofdestruction and seized political powerover the nations of the world. The“spirit of anti-Christ” ruled over thatchurch even as it ruled over the rest ofthe world. Jesus still sat on thethrone, but His voice was seldomheard and His works were seldomseen for over a thousand years.During that period, all that remainedof a true church was hidden high inthe mountains and deep in the wilder-nesses of the world. Millions ofbelievers suffered and died for theirfaith during that awful time.

“The LORD hath sworn, and willnot repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of

loved me, and gave himself for me(Galatians 2:20).” If you have sub-mitted yourself to the cross of JesusChrist and been crucified with Him,the old you is dead. You havebecome a new creation in JesusChrist. If you have been born againyou don’t have to look for a demonwithin you to control. The new mancannot have a demon living withinhim, because the new man cannotproduce a demon spirit. A bornagain child of God cannot be pos-sessed by demon spirits. If you arestruggling with a demon within,come to the cross of Jesus Christ.Believe that Jesus died to free youfrom the power of sin and the sinnature. Ask Jesus to cleanse you,make you free from sin, and comelive His life in you.

If it was true that you had to livewith a demon in you, then the deathof Jesus Christ on the cross was invain. We are all still in sin, and sin-ners, damned for a devils hell, with-out any hope of salvation. ThankGod, we have been made free fromsin. “Being then made free fromsin, ye became the servants of right-eousness (Romans 6:18).“ “Butnow being made free from sin, andbecome servants to God, ye haveyour fruit unto holiness, and the endeverlasting life (Romans 6:22).”

LIVING WITH THEDEMON WITHIN

from page 2

War of the KingdomsContinued from pg 8

For other messages byLeroy Surface, write to:Calvary Outreach

PO Box 750Porter Texas 77365

l

the better thing (Philippians 3:8;Hebrews 11:39-40). Jesus saidto desire, or lust, or hate in theheart is to be counted as guiltyas committing the act (Matthew5:28). Some people use this asan excuse to commit the act(sin); but I must warn you, onceyou commit sin, you become aservant of and to sin. Thismeans you aren’t in charge anylonger; but sin (the master) is.We all need to understand this,especially our children. And no,not committing the act doesn’tsave us either, but it does leaveus in charge of our lives. Theend result of committed sin(s) inthis natural life can be devastat-ing indeed, but to as many asbelieve it, the true gospel ofJesus Christ will save usthrough making us "...freeindeed..." from ALL sin(Romans 1:16; John 8:34-36).

Now let’s discuss flesh for amoment. Flesh is another namefor the sin nature. Some call itinbred sin in that it is inherited,or passed down from Adam, thusthe Adamic, human, or sinnature. This is the part of sinmost people know little or noth-ing about, yet this sin nature,which is the root cause of allcommitted sin(s), is somethingman can do absolutely nothingabout. This sin nature will forev-er be with a person until theyhave heard and believed thegospel of Jesus Christ thatmakes one "...free indeed..."FROM sin. Jesus told His disci-ples, "...If you continue in myword then are you my disci-ples indeed; And you shallknow the truth, and the truth(of the gospel of Him) shallMAKE you free indeed" (fromALL sin, John 8:31-36). Noticethat the truth which makes onefree indeed was to those whocontinued in His word for Jesushad not yet gone to the cross.Today we can be made free assoon as we can hear andbelieve the gospel message.This may take some continuingin His word, but the work isalready done. "...Our old man(of sin, the sin nature) IS cruci-fied with...Christ..." (Romans6:6; Galatians 2:20) and "...weARE sanctified through theoffering of the body of JesusChrist once for all" (Hebrews10:10). We are also raisedtogether in newness of life inHim (Romans 6:4-5; Ephesians

Hear The Shepherd’s Voice Page 4....and the sheep hear his voice: ..... John 10:3

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There are many enemies ofGod: the devil, demons, sick-ness, and death to name just afew. However, there is anenemy of God which is muchgreater than any of these, yet itseems that most people are noteven aware of this enemy. Thisis the enemy I want to tell youabout in this message. For if wedo not know what the numberone enemy is, we can not possi-bly understand the great work ofsalvation which God haswrought for us through His SonJesus Christ and His great suf-ferings for us.

Now some will think God’s num-ber one enemy is the devil, butthat is not the case. God’s num-ber one enemy is sin, and thelast enemy which will bedestroyed is death. God is aGod of life. He hates death, yetdeath is the fruit, or "...wages ofsin...". Sin entered first, then"...death by sin..." (Romans5:12), which is why sin is thenumber one enemy. ICorinthians 15:26 says, "Thelast enemy that shall bedestroyed is death". Strong’sExhaustive Concordance saysthe Greek word, here translateddestroyed, # 2673, means "to be([or] render) entirely idle ([or]useless)". Death can only bestilled by destroying the sourceof its strength, which is sin. Andthat is exactly what Jesus didwhen He submitted Himself intothe hands of wicked men andoffered Himself, the perfect sac-rifice unto God, for us. Althoughwe may never know or compre-hend in this life, all that Jesus didfor us at Calvary, the scripturesplainly tell us of many thingswhich were accomplished for usthere; the foremost being free-dom from sin. This is the NewTestament Jubilee message.

Paul tells us in Hebrews eleven(11) of many great things men ofGod (through faith) had accom-plished down through the agesof time before Christ; yet hesums up the chapter saying,"...these all, having obtained agood report through faith,RECEIVED NOT the promise:God having provided someBETTER THING for us...". But

what could possibly be betterthan all these mighty things hehas just spoken of? Well I musttell you, it's to be free from sin.Not one of those great mencould ever in their lifetime knowfreedom from the old sin nature(their "...old man..." of sin[Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22;Colossians 3:9). So let’s look fora few minutes into this enemy ofGod called sin.

First, let’s discuss committedsin(s). Jesus said, "Whosoevercommitteth sin(s) is the ser-vant (slave) of SIN" (John 8:34).Committing is most people’sconcept of sin: doing somethingwe should not, or failing to dothat which we should. In doingand /or not doing these things(works) God will surely bepleased with me. This is thebasis of all religion(s): man try-ing to please God by his works.Every person has their own listof things he or she can or cannotdo to please God; "...everyman... (every person; does)...that which... (is) ...right in his(or her) own eyes"(Deuteronomy 12:8; Judges21:25; Proverbs 14:12). Theyread religious books, maga-zines, tracts, the Koran, etc., andyes, the Holy Bible itself, to gar-ner the things for their list. Theyalso take into account and weighall of the things they are taughtfrom their youth. We’ll call thesethe traditions of the fathers. Buteven if we had the perfect list,and I believe that we do, wecould never please God. Thechildren of Israel were given theperfect list. We call it the "TenCommandments", the perfectlaw of God (Romans 7:10-14).But the scripture says the lawwas "...weak through theflesh...", another name for sin,or the sin nature (Romans 8:3).The flesh could not keep God’slaw. The Apostle Paul said con-cerning the righteousness whichis by the law, he was blameless.Yet he counted it all "...but dungthat... (he) ... (*might) ...winChrist", the real righteousness,

2:6). This IS the good news ofthe gospel.

In the scriptures, the word fleshis often used to describe this sinnature; however, in some placesit does speak of the natural,physical body. Do not be con-fused by this. Your physicalbody has no nature, disposition,or inclination, either to sin, or notto sin. It is only an earthen ves-sel that you live in. It does yourbidding much like a machinedoes the bidding of its operator.An operator can take a giantearth moving machine and domassive amounts of good workbuilding roads, drainage ditches,reservoirs, etc.; or he can domassive amounts of destructionby destroying perfectly goodhouses, buildings, or anything ofvalue. Is this destruction thenthe fault of the machine? No! Itis only doing the bidding of theoperator. It is the same with thebody. It only does that which aperson directs it to do. It is theperson’s heart that dictateswhat they direct the body to do.This is the reason God must"...give... (us) ...a NEWHEART..." before we will ever beable to please Him (Ezekiel36:26; Hebrews 8:10).

A few scriptures that are proneto confuse the reader are: "...thatthe BODY OF SIN... (*might)...be destroyed..." (Romans6:6); "...Who shall deliver me

from the BODY OF THISDEATH?" (Romans 7:24); and,"...in putting off the BODY OFTHE SINS OF THE FLESH..."(Colossians 2:11). There maybe others but these come tomind as examples. Our physicalBODIES are an assembly ofmany members: feet, legs,hands, arms, trunk, organs, etc.;individual parts which form awhole. This is the way Paul isusing the word BODY in thesepassages: all of sin, or the wholeof sin and death. He is notspeaking at all about the physi-cal BODY.

There are other enemies of God.

God’s Number One EnemyMessage by: Jerry D. Green

* There was no Greek word formight used in the New Testament.Might was always added by thetranslators, thereby detracting fromthe positiveness of the scriptures.

* There was no Greek word formight used in the New Testament.Might was always added by thetranslators, thereby detracting fromthe positiveness of the scriptures.

Hear The Shepherd’s Voice Page 5....and the sheep hear his voice: ..... John 10:3

The devil is referred to as anenemy. Jesus said to those Hesent out, "...I give youpower...over all the power ofthe enemy" (Luke 10:19-20),referring to the devil and hisdemon spirits; but this wasbefore Calvary. At Calvary, thescripture says that, "...throughdeath, He... (Jesus, [*] would)...destroy (Strong’s # 2673)him..., that is, the devil... (who)...had the power of death"(which is sin; Hebrews 2:14).Now the devil was not created adevil but He was created a beau-tiful and powerful angel until hebecame the victim of sin(Ezekiel 28:12-19). The scrip-ture says he was "...perfect in...(all his) ...ways... (un) ...till iniqui-ty (sin) was found in..." him whenhe was lifted up in pride. Withthe sin of pride, the sentence ofdeath fell upon him, and in hispride, along with himself, he alsobrought about the fall of man.Having deceived Eve in the gar-den, and causing Adam to trans-gress, he then became the greataccuser. He had access toheaven where he accused manbefore God both day and night,before he was cast out of heav-en at Calvary (Job 1:6-11;Revelation 12:10). Exactly whathis accusations were, I can onlysurmise. Perhaps he continuallyreminded God that if he was tobe destroyed because of sin,then man must also bedestroyed because of sin. Orperhaps he thought before Godwould destroy man, He would

change His mind about sin andspare him also. Whatever hisreasoning, he underestimatedGod’s attitude concerning sinand its wages (death), as well asHis unsearchable wisdom, jus-tice, and great love toward man.Although fallen man was alsothe enemy of God, anti-God,anti-Christ, ignorantly opposingGod and himself, the love andjustness of God did not counthim so, but rather, a poor lostsinner in need of a savior. Oneof the glorious mysteries ofCalvary is, in the great love andwisdom of God, the sentence ofdeath which was upon allmankind was fulfilled unto allwho would ever hear andbelieve the gospel of JesusChrist, in that we all died in(union "...with...") Him (Romans6:6; Galatians 2:20).

Some may ask, how is it thatSatan and sin are still around ifthey were destroyed? Theanswer is in the meaning of theGreek word which was translat-ed destroyed. I mentioned earli-er that, according to Strong’sConcordance, the Greek word #2673 which was translateddestroyed in these verses, does-n’t mean complete destructionas we understand destruction,but rather means "to be ([or] ren-der) entirely idle ([or] useless)". Iencourage you to check this out.Sin and the devil simply have nopower over the true believer. Inthe believing of the true gospel,sin and the devil are "renderedentirely idle ([or] useless)" con-cerning us. Yes, they are stillaround, but for the true believerthey were and are completelydefeated by the blood of Jesus.

Which is a better thing for us, tohave all power over the devil(victorious, but ever in a battle orstruggle with the devil), or, adevil who has absolutely nopower over us (resting in Jesus’victory)? As a child of God, thisis exactly the case. Sin and thedevil have no more power(dominion) over us for we "...arenot under law, but undergrace" (Romans 6:9-14;Genesis 4:7;Hebrews 2:14).There is absolutely no input onour part other than believing thegospel. Jesus did it all atCalvary.

Revelation chapters 21 and 22tell of a beautiful city which issymbolic of the church of JesusChrist. Of its beauty, holiness,and purity there is no flaw. Butto be a member of that body wemust be quick to "...deny..."(denounce) ourselves, our flesh,and all of our (or its) religiousworks and "...do count thembut dung..." (Matthew 16:24;Philippians 3:4-8), "...that... (we)...may win Christ": Putting all ofour faith in the glorious gospel ofJesus: for IT, and it ALONE, "...is

the power of God unto salva-tion..." to all who believe IT(Romans 1:16).

At the final judgement, the lastenemies (death and hell) will becast into the lake of fire andbrimstone for everlastingdestruction (Revelation 20:11-15) and along with these, allwhose names are not found writ-ten in the Lamb’s book of life.On the other hand, all who havebelieved the true report of theglorious gospel of Jesus andhave been transformed by itsmighty power, enjoy everlasting,abundant life along with all theother true believers (the truechildren of God) in the presenceof God, our Savior Jesus, andthe holy angels. Amen!

God’s NumberOne EnemyFrom Page 4

For other messages by Jerry D. Green, write to:The Shepherd’s Voice

PO Box 307Colmesneil, TX.

75938

Hear The Shepherd’s Voice Page 6.....and the sheep hear his voice: .. John 10:3

continued on page 8

and reigns on earth as our great“High Priest.” His church is a“Royal Priesthood,” or, a “Kingdomof Priests.” In Revelation 1:5, Johnbegins his Revelation with a saluta-tion, saying, “Unto Him that lovedus, and washed us from our sins inHis own blood, and hath made uskings and priests unto God and HisFather…” Notice the words“…hath made us kings andpriests…” This phrase should read,“…hath made us a kingdom ofpriests…” We, the children of God,are not “kings,” but we are“priests,” and as the “new song” ofthe redeemed says in Revelation5:9-10, “we shall reign on theearth.” It is the purpose of God thatHis people should reign with Him inthis present age with a priestlyreign. Ours is not a “political”authority, but a “spiritual” authority.If we only knew the nature of theauthority God has given us underChrist we would quickly see ournation visited with revival oncemore. We would see Americabecome truly “one nation, underGod, with liberty and justice forall.” It is not a battle we would winat the “polls,” but at the “altar.”

Reigning With ChristThe LORD said unto my Lord, Sitthou at my right hand, until I makethine enemies thy footstool. TheLORD shall send the rod of thystrength out of Zion: rule thou inthe midst of thine enemies. Thypeople shall be willing in the day ofthy power, in the beauties of holi-ness from the womb of the morn-ing: thou hast the dew of thy youth.The LORD hath sworn, and willnot repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order ofMelchizedek. The Lord at thy righthand shall strike through kings inthe day of his wrath. He shalljudge among the heathen, he shallfill the places with the dead bodies;he shall wound the heads overmany countries. He shall drink ofthe brook in the way: thereforeshall he lift up the head.Psalms 110:1-7

The hundred and tenth chapter ofPsalms is to me the most intriguingof all the Psalms. It is prophetic; itis fulfilled in a particular timeframe; it pinpoints its beginning andits ending; and, it speaks a specialmessage to the people of God forour day. We are the generation thatthe ends of the world are comeupon. We have been called to a pur-

pose that no other generation hasbeen called to. If we are “willing,”we will see the hand of God extend-ed in greater power than any gener-ation since Adam. We will not onlysee, but will also be “members inparticular” of that glorious churchof prophecy, which is the “fullnessof Him that filleth all in all(Ephesians 1:23).”

This prophecy spans one “day” oftime. It is called “…the day of thy(our Lords) power.” The churchdescribed in the book of Acts was inthe “…womb of the morning…” ofthis day. We of this generation areat the “dusk” of day, with the sunlowering in the sky. This “day” ofprophecy began when Jesus ascend-ed to Heaven and sat down at theright hand of His Father. It will endwhen He leaves that throne andbodily returns to this earth in His“second coming.” The fullness ofthis prophecy is in that interim peri-od between the ascension and thesecond coming of Jesus Christ. Ifwe can believe the words of theprophecy, we will understand God’spurpose for His church on thisearth.

“The LORD said unto myLord…” According to “Strong’s”lexicon, the Hebrew word for“LORD” is “Yehovah,” the “selfexistent, the eternal.” It is the“name” of the only living and trueGod. The word “Lord” is from theHebrew word “’adown (aw-done’),” which means “sovereign.”David, was seeing His Messiah, theman “Christ Jesus,” the Son of God.God almighty, the Father wasspeaking to His only begotten Son,Jesus.

“…sit thou at my right hand,until I make thine enemies thyfootstool.” Jesus was caught up tothe throne of God Himself.According to Philippians 2:9 Hewas “highly exalted, and given aname above every name…” Hewould continue to sit in His Father’sthrone, at the right hand, until Hisenemies were made His footstool.In Philippians 2:10, He is given thepromise that, at His name, “…everyknee (would) bow…and everytongue (would) confess, that JesusChrist is Lord, to the glory of Godthe Father.” In Acts 2:33-36, Peterexplained the “meaning (Acts2:12)” of the “Holy Ghost baptism”with these words, “Therefore beingby the right hand of God exalted,and having received of the Fatherthe promise of the Holy Ghost, hehath shed forth this, which ye now

see and hear. For David is notascended into the heavens: but hesaith himself, The LORD said untomy Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,until I make thy foes thy footstool.Therefore let all the house of Israelknow assuredly, that God hath madethat same Jesus, whom ye have cru-cified, both Lord and Christ.”

“The LORD shall send the rod ofthy strength out of Zion: rulethou in the midst of thine ene-mies.” Jesus is “commanded” to“rule” in the midst of His enemieseven while He sits in the throne at HisFather’s right hand. He has the prom-ise that His Father will “send the rodof thy strength out of Zion.” “Zion”is prophetic of the “church.” InHebrews 12:18-23, the writer makesthis fact very clear, “For ye are notcome unto the mount that might betouched…But ye are come untomount Sion, and unto the city of theliving God, the heavenly Jerusalem,and to an innumerable company ofangels, to the general assembly andchurch of the firstborn…” Do notconfuse this “reign” of Christ withHis millennial reign, which is “after”His bodily return to earth. Jesus sitson the throne of Heaven today, pos-sessor of “all power in Heaven and inEarth (Matthew 28:18).” He sits onthe throne of Heaven to rule in themidst of His enemies on earth. The“rod” of His strength must be sent outof His church. He told His church to“Go ye therefore…” based upon, andunder, His power and authority(Matthew 28:18-19). Every knee, inHeaven, in Earth, and under the earth(Philippians 2:10), must bow “at Hisname.” This speaks of Angels, prin-cipalities, powers, circumstances,sickness, disease, and every uncleanspirit, must bow at His name, andconfess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

“Thy people shall be willing in theday of thy power…” The Hebrewword translated “willing” in thisverse is taken from a Hebrew termmeaning a “freewill offering.” It alsospeaks of the “spontaneity” of thosewho become the freewill offering.Remember the plea of the ApostlePaul in Romans 12:1 to, “…presentyour bodies, a living sacrifice, holy,acceptable unto God, which is yourreasonable service.” Our “service” toGod is our flesh and blood bodiesoffered to God on the altar of sacri-fice, a “living sacrifice” that is “holy”and “acceptable” to Him. If God is tosend forth the rod of His strength outof His people, He must have our“members (Romans 6:13)” and our“bodies (I Corinthians 6:15)” to makeup His “members (I Corinthians12:12-27)” and His “body (Ephesians1:22-23).”

God has never forced anyone to serveHim. We must be “freewill offer-ings.” It is not a sacrifice that we“bring;” it is the sacrifice that we“are.” The promise of His Father toJesus is that His people would besuch “…in the day of thy power.”

“…in the beauties of holiness…”This phrase is yet speaking of “thypeople… in the day of thy power.”They will not only be “freewill offer-ings” on the altar to God, but theywill be offered in all the “beauties ofholiness.” The Hebrew word trans-lated “beauties” is a “plural” word,which primary meaning is “magnifi-cence.” Being a plural word, itspeaks of many “magnificences” ofholiness. Certainly, the many “beau-ties” of holiness is a proper transla-tion.

Let’s consider for a minute the “holi-ness” mentioned in this verse. InActs 3:12, Peter speaks of “our ownpower or holiness.” The great mira-cle of the healing of the man at thegate beautiful had just taken place.All the people ran to Peter and Johnsimply to “look” upon them. Petersaid, “why look you so earnestly onus, as though by our own power orholiness we had made this man towalk?” Peter had power and holinessof his own, but neither could bring ordo the works of God. Every child ofGod has, of necessity, a personal holi-ness. Our holiness will be manifest inmodesty of appearances. In truth,personal holiness is expressed inwhat we “are not” and what we “donot.” Hebrews 12:10, however,speaks of our being made partakers of“His holiness.” The best way I knowof to explain “His holiness,” is thatwhich causes the Seraphims aroundthe throne of God to cry day andnight, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORDof hosts (Isaiah 6:3)...” Thousands ofyears later, in Revelation 4:8, they arestill crying without rest, night andday, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord GodAlmighty.” They worship Him, andgive honor to Him, not because theymust, but because of “His holiness.”The “beauties of holiness” is “all thatHe is” and that, we are made partak-ers of, when we are “…willing, in theday of His power.”

“…from the womb of the morn-ing: thou hast the dew of thyyouth.” I researched several of theold bible scholars on this phrase.They all agreed on one thing, it is anobscure phrase. Each of them had adifferent paraphrase, some of themcomparing the children of God to thequalities of dew, along with severalother opinions. A personal search ofeach of the Hebrew words used in

War of the Kingdomsfrom page 2