A Journey From The Beginning (Fear) To The End (Perfect Love) by Mitt Jeffords Part I

South Carolina USA

April 2009

Preface

Proverbs 29:18 (AMP) “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish…”

I John 4:8 NKJ “He who does not love does not know God; for God is love.”

Many years ago I was praying one night, and while I was praying I said, “Father, I desire to be just like you.” And then the only time that Father has ever answered a prayer for me with audible voice, he spoke in the most gentle and fatherly loving voice saying, “Every father desires for is son to be just like him”. When I had prayed saying what I had said, I was really not expecting Father to say anything in return. I was really just wanting the Lord to know how much I wanted to be like him. Then when I heard the manner of his voice and desire and yearning in his words, I knew that Father had a greater desire and yearning for his sons to be like him than that which any of us may desire to be like him. It was with these words everything in my walk changed. With this one answer, all my religion seemed to dissolve, as the entire focus and direction of my walk. I had just heard with my own ears the yearning and the desire that Father has for me, as well as for each one of us. It is for this single purpose that God created man; to bring each one of us into Sonship so that he might make us to be like him. From this moment on, Sonship became my destiny, the one and only focus of my walk. The Lord told me that if I became a son, then the rest of my walk would take care of itself. We all know that this kind of transformation can only come through the power of his Spirit and by works of God’s hands; for there is nothing that any of us can do to change ourselves into the image of the son that Father finds well-pleasing. But in Jesus Christ, he has given to each one of us the spirit of the son that is well-pleasing to him; the spirit of adoption that grafts us into the family of God.

Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that we might be the firstborn of many brethren.”

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, to them that believe on his name.”

When Father spoke this word to me, the first effect that it had on me was to carefully consider just what I really knew about God, that my knowledge of him was truth and right, or whether it was just based on that which my own opinions had identified and defined God to be. Was God like the image of love that had imagined love to be, or was the love of God far greater than anything that I could ever imagine? I did not want to change the true spiritual image of God into a false natural image that was according to my own opinions. After all, if you are going to be like Father, and father is love, then it would obviously be necessary to know the truth about his love. In just the words that Father had spoken to me, my heart was opened to hear the love in his voice that desired and yearned for me to be like him; and I realized that I did not yet have the love in me that desired and yearned to be like him. Opinions of God’s love are like idols that have no heart because they have no life that really loves. I have no desire to make myself to be an idol after my own opinions, but I now do have a desire to be a son who is just like his Father. My quest began that night, a quest to know the truth about my heavenly Father ….and little did I know then, that this is the only generation since the beginning that going to come into and experience the fullness of Father’s nature, his character, and his authority through the revelation of Jesus Christ in them. My quest and my destiny is to see that Father’s desire is fulfilled in me.

You cannot know who you are until you first know God. God is light, and if you do not know God, then you will not be able to discern the light from the darkness that appears as the light. Satan is always the imitator, that darkness that always seeks to appear as the light. He is the lies of reasonings and opinions that appear as truth. He is the iniquity of self-righteousness that seems like the righteousness of God. He is the evil that appears good. He is the hypocrisy that appears as holiness. We are living in the time of the end where Jesus warned us 3 times in Matthew 24 not to allow for ourselves to be deceived. It is in these time that the seduction of lies shall become stronger and greater; and they shall do so by appearing more like that which is right, and good, and true. Those who mock and make like of seeking to know the truth about God are already deceived of themselves; and as it is written concerning the last days, these deceivers shall grow worse and worse, with each one of them desiring for others to believe what they believe rather than to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

I recently met a man who had erred in his walk, and he had been laying up his treasures on earth rather than in heaven. He had not only increased greatly in these riches, but so also had all those who had entrusted their riches to him also increased. This man thought that the stewardship that God had called him to was to watch over and control his riches, and the riches of others. Now errors can be repented of, forgiven, and corrected, but if you loose your faith and belief, then you have lost everything; and it is that faith and belief that Satan desires to sift; which is to separate us from. For as it is written in I Timothy 4:1, that in the last days, many shall depart from the faith. So when the economy began to fail, so also did the riches of this man, and those who had surrendered their riches to him, also begin to fail. Then the death of depression, and fear, and failure began to overwhelm him. As horrendous as this was, it was nothing to be compared to what happened next. He said that angel of God appeared standing right before him. He then observed as this angel then stretched forth his arm into his own body. Then this angel seemed to pull the Spirit of the Lord right out of his chest. From that moment until now, this man has been like the walking “death”; just like a zombie from out of some horror movie.

To say the least, I was amazed and stunned at what this man was telling me. Then, as he finished telling me his story, the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that this was Satan appearing as an angel of light to destroy and steal this man’s life away from him. When Satan saw that this man was already weak in his faith through the fears and depression that had come upon him, then just like the lion that seeks our and stalks the weak of the herd, so also did Satan see his opportunity to deliver a crushing blow to this man. But then the Lord said to me, “Who do you think that Satan will transform himself into an angel of light before, those who are already of the darkness, or those who are of the light that he desires to kill, to steal, and destroy their lives through his illusions?” The Lord now has me battling for this man’s soul, and this incident has redefined the ministry that I had known. It is quite the battle because this man completely believes that God has taken his spirit from him; and that which has power over a man is that which he believes. This is the kind of deceit that Satan is going to be bringing against the church. It is written in II Thessalonians 2 that the coming of Satan is before the coming of the Lord. Remember that which Jesus also warned all of us when he spoke of these times, “If it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived.”

After what I witnessed Satan do with this man, I am sure that we would all do well to make sure that our faith is the faith that stands in the power of God, and not be deceived by that faith that comes from man’s wisdom; the faith that is defined and formed to please self and other men, rather than to please God. It is written in I Peter 1 that we are kept in the power of God by faith, and surely this is the hour that we desperately need to have the faith that is “of” Jesus Christ; the faith that the disciples called out for and asked for the Lord to increase in them. It is this precious faith that is tried and purified of all unbelief, fears, doubts, and reasonings that oppose God. Not only does this faith keep us in the power of God, but it is also the same faith that Jesus said that he is going to be looking for when he appears. How many know that it is not us that is to be found unto glory, and honor, and praise at his appearing, but it is the faith that it is in us? If this faith is not already of great value, then let it be known that it is only this faith that allows a man to resist Satan, even if may appear as an angel of light. It is written in II Corinthians 13:5 that each one of us to examine his own faith, to make sure that is that faith that is well-pleasing in the sight of God. What are you asking God and what is God doing for you?

Luke 18:8 “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, shall he find faith on earth.”

I Peter 1:5-8 “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”

I would love for the Lord to give me a word that could be made clear in just a couple of pages, but that is not how the Lord has led me to write his words, or testify of those things which he has done for me. It is written that the Lord will do nothing until he first reveals his secrets to his prophets first; and here is the reason why. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. It is also written in Matthew 9:29 that Jesus said, “As your faith is, so let it be done unto you”. If a man does not first hear of that which the Lord desires to perform for him, then it is not possible for him to have the faith that will allow the Lord to perform it. True faith is that which makes the works of God, the blessings of God, the promises of God, as well as all the prophesies of God to become reality. The faith that is authored by the religion of men is only an illusion that is never accompanied with the powerful works of God.

If this word was a book in print, then there would probably be close to 14 chapters. The first 6 chapters deal with how the Lord desires to prepare how hearts with faith for the coming of Satan and for the coming of the Lord. Without faith it is impossible to please God, and by faith we are able to resist all of the lies of Satan. Fear is now here, but it has only just begun. Perfect love is also coming, and when perfect love comes it is going to cast out all fear. God has predestined from the beginning that we should all come to know him through his son Jesus Christ. God is perfect love, and perfect love is only that which is able to fulfill our destiny and finish the perfect work of God. Now that God is revealing the secrets of his love through his prophets, there is now nothing left to restrain him from fulfilling that which he has been so yearning to do: to manifest his sons.

Some of you may have read some of these testimonies before in other words that the Lord has had me post, but the Lord impressed on me to set these words “in order”, including some of the old as well as the new, as his Spirit has led me to do. The first part of this word concerns the preparation, and the second part concerns the coming of Satan in the fear that will cause many to fall away, and then the coming of the “perfect love” of God. I pray that the Lord will bless you with seeing eyes and hearing ears as you read these words; eyes and ears that will direct your heart to keep your focus only on the Lord in this hour, and not at looking on the things that are coming on the earth.

Chapter 1

We are the children of God by faith; but whose faith makes us to his children?

In 1976, I had invited a man, who I had recently met, over to my house to eat dinner with my wife and I. Though I had only known this man for a short period of time, he and I had almost instantly become best friends. I was really looking forward to that evening of fellowship. When we had finished eating dinner, we all moved into the den for conversation. We had no sooner sat down when both my friend and his wife began to witness to my wife and I about Jesus Christ. Immediately my heart sank with utter disappointment when I heard their words. I even felt betrayed that this man would actually come into my house and begin to speak about Jesus to me. The reason was because I was an atheist. I had absolutely no belief that God existed, nor did I have any belief that there was any kind of after life for anyone. I absolutely detested any conversation that contained anything about God or that had any kind of spiritual context, from Christianity to witchcraft. But because this man had become one of best friends, I just sat there, biting my lip and cursing him under my breath while they testified before us for about 30 minutes. Suddenly he said something that I had never heard before; and that was if any man would believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, then God would give to that man the gift of the Holy Spirit, which was the power of God to change a man’s life. I was around 27 years old at that time, I had never once heard of this Holy Spirit, and it also aroused my curiosity to know why would he want to change a man’s life? I even had the thought that if there was a God, then I was good guy, so why change me? My curiosity about these things only lasted for a very short time, then after only a couple of days, I forget what he had told me.

Then three years later, in 1980, all of the circumstances in my life began to take on drastic changes. My father died, my marriage was very strained, and I had no clue as to what I was going to do with my life. My first full time job was with South Carolina National Bank, and in my first year end review, they told me that I had done the best job that anyone else had ever done in the first year that was in my position. I went home that night thinking about what they had said, and the next day I went in and quit. I had never had the thought about quitting until they told me that I had done so well. I thought that if I had performed the best job that anyone had previously done, and I found no contentment or satisfaction in that job, then why stay? I then took a position as a salesman for Colgate-Palmolive, and quit after a year. Then I worked as a clerk on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, and quit after a month. Then I became Real Estate salesman, and a broker, and quit a couple years. Then I got my contractors license, designed and built houses, and quit after another couple of years. Then I was one of the first developers of waterslides when they first became popular, even having a 5 page pictorial display in Life magazine of one that I developed in Florida, and then I quit. I had no clue that my atheistic beliefs were destroying my life because I could not find any satisfaction, contentment, or peace in anything that I did.

As an atheist, I was trying to live all of eternity during this lifetime. The fear of death haunted me daily. I was lost, and I had no clue as to who I was or where I was going. Then came this Saturday morning when my wife had taken our children to the grocery store, and I was left there standing in my den, all confused and full of despair. Suddenly, without me taking any thought to do so, my knees just buckled, and I was headed to the floor. While I was falling, I remembered what my friend had told me about Jesus. I had no sooner hit the floor when I said, “Lord, if this is what this world is all about, then I do not want any part of it. I will do whatever you want me to do.” I had no sooner finished speaking these two sentences when the Holy Spirit fell all over me and in me. When the fear of having this tremendous power of God come in me finally subsided, all my despair and confusion were gone. All of the despair, the dissatisfaction, the frustration, the depression, the discontentment, and the confusion that had been my reality for several months was completely gone; and so also was fear of death that had visited my thoughts on a daily basis. The peace of God like nothing that I had ever experienced, had just become my new reality.

I had just got my first taste of the Lord, and he was good; so good that I started diligently seeking for him everyday. The first year I was with the Lord was like I was in heaven everyday, for his presence was with me daily. In that year the Lord completely delivered me from a 18 year, 2 ½ packs a day smoking habit; he delivered from cursing, which as an atheist I knew how do well; he delivered from that fear of death; and he began to deliver from the thing that I hated most, my disgusting temper. I was experiencing exactly that which my friend had testified that I would, the power of the Holy Spirit changing my life. I had many different testimonies of one wonderful work after another that the Lord had done for me.

Then one morning I woke up, and the presence of the Lord had completely departed from me, and I almost felt as bad as I did when I was an atheist. I thought that I must have committed some dreadful sin for him to do this to me. But I prayed and asked the Lord to show me what I had done so that I could repent and so that his presence might return to me. Then the Lord answered me and said that it was time for him to start working in my faith and my belief, and that he could not do these things as long as I was in his presence. He told me that faith and belief were those two treasured gifts that would keep me when I was not in his presence. I was so disappointed at what he had said to me, but I said, “Whatever it takes you to do Lord that will allow for me to return into your presence.“ It then took me a while before I came to realize that all that I had received on that first day was just that, only a taste of the Lord. That taste only consisted, as the scriptures reveal, to only be the “earnest (deposit)” of his Spirit; and this earnest of the Spirit consisted of the joy and the peace that is accompanied with the belief that God is real, that Jesus is truly his Son; that Jesus was crucified and then raised from the dead; and the belief that our sins are covered by his blood. I was not ready to call this taste to be the entire feast, and with hope, I sought to know if it was possible to come into that place where I could dwell in his presence at all times. This was my hope; and even though hope is not that which you can see with your eyes, I believed it to be real and true.

II Corinthians 1:21,22 (ASV) “Now he that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God; who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

Earnest: deposit; pledge

Psalm 34:8 (NIV) “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.”

Psalm 27:13 NIV I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

When I came to see that I had only experienced a taste of that which is real and true, as well as that which is living and good, I obviously wanted much more because it was far better than anything that I have ever experienced in my life without him. I then came to realize that my first tastes, or that first belief that God and Jesus were real and true, only worked to satisfy my desire for a short period. I also realized that this first belief really does not identify the real and true nature of God and Jesus, and that is what I wanted to know. I wanted his joy and his peace to continue to abide in me, and it was at this time that I decided that this is what I was going to make my quest to be, even if it took me a lifetime to find it; and that was/is to come to know all that I could about this wonderful God who had touched me with his love and turned my life so wonderfully upside down. I immediately gave myself to daily seeking to know the Lord through prayer and reading the scriptures. I would not pass up any opportunity to listen to any testimonies as long as it spoke about what the Lord was doing or saying because I wanted to learn all that I could about what God was doing in others so that I might also receive it for myself. I wanted much more than the earnest of his Spirit. I wanted all then, and I want all now. Little did I know then that in the 6000 + or - years since Adam, this is the generation that is actually going to see and receive it all.

Romans 15:13 (ASV) “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I Thessalonians 2:13 NIV “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

I do not know how it happened, even with the great desire within me to know that which was real and true, but it did. Somewhere in the first few years of my walk, I went from hearing the testimonies told by others of wonderful works that the Lord was doing in their lives to where I just seem to be in those places were was only hearing testimonies from men about the wonderful works they were doing for the Lord. I did not even realize this for quite some time; and the more that I listened to these testimonies, I felt like I should be doing the same. When I started doing these same works, I then felt like it was my duty to testify of what I was doing, and I encourage others to do things I was doing. I had gotten to a place in my walk where I had become self-righteous, only doing those things that seemed right in my own eyes. I was not even aware of this because these works surely seemed right in my own eyes, especially seeing that the scriptures also seem to confirm that these were things that I should be doing. I fed the poor, I had a prison ministry, I visited those who were sick, and so forth, and so on; and just like Jesus instructed us, I did not tell anyone of these works that I was doing. In doing these good works, I really felt like I was doing those things that were pleasing in the sight of God, and that this would then lead me to grow closer to God.

After a time, a problem arouse that greatly troubled me. My problem was that the more I did these righteous works, the emptier I began to feel, and the more I felt like I was getting farther and farther from the presence of the Lord. I felt more like I was headed into some kind of desolate and dry wilderness where there was no life, rather than into the life that one experiences in the presence of God. Now I know that when you walk by faith that many times you do not feel the presence of God, and that was okay because I knew that true faith was not a feeling. But I also knew that the Lord delighted for us to continually come into his presence, and years had rolled by without me experiencing his presence one time. I was feeling like I was on the outside looking to get back in, but could not find out how. I felt like my entire relationship with the Lord had become very strained. My heart was still filled with a zeal for God, and I was doing more "righteous" works than ever before, but the more I did them, the more I felt like I was missing something; something really big, like joy, and peace, and contentment, and love.

Hebrews 11:6 ASV And without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him.

I seemed to be fine as long as I was around other brethren that were also testifying about the works they were doing for the Lord, but when I was alone is when I felt empty, and lost, and completely out of fellowship with the Lord. Joy and peace had really become more like distant memories and words from some alien language that I had forgotten. The thought even came into my mind that I should at least try to pretend like I had joy and peace, but it did not take long before this thought became completely disgusting for me to even think about. I thirsted greatly for that which was/is real and true. Then these lying and pretentious thoughts became to me like the man who is in the middle of the desert who has run out of water. He sees some mirage that appears like that which will be able to quench his thirst, but when he gets there he finds that he was only deceived by the illusions that appear real and true. So also did I see the thoughts of pretending to have joy, and peace, and love, that they were only the lies of hypocrisy (play-acting) that could never able to quench my thirst for the real and true life. I was in a place that felt so empty and void of life that I knew that if something did not happen soon, then it was going to be very difficult for me to walk in the faith that I had much longer. I knew something was wrong with my walk, but what? How can a man understand what is error is if all that which he is doing he believes to be right and true? It was then that I felt the Spirit quickening to me to pray that which is written in Psalm 67:1 “God be merciful to me, and bless me; and cause your face to shine upon me so that your way may be made known to me”. So I did.

Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt show me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy…”

Then, for the next several weeks, every time I read the scriptures, it seemed as though the Holy Spirit would always lead me to James 2:19,20 NKJ “You believe that there is one God, you do well. Even the demons believe…and tremble! But do you want to know, 0 foolish man, that faith without works is dead”. Foolish man? Was the Lord trying to tell me that I was a fool? Maybe he was trying to tell me that my faith was dead. I then wondered if there any works that the Lord requires of us that I was not doing. The Lord had quickened this verse to me, but instead of it leading me out of my wilderness, it seemed to only bring more frustration and confusion on me. I did not feel as though this word did anything to encourage me or to refresh me. I then starting getting angry with the Lord because I was blind to see what he was trying to show to me. Whatever these works were that were to accompany my faith, I came to believe that I must not be doing them. I then became offended at the Lord because I felt like I was doing more works than any 5 other Christians that I knew. After a few days I calmed down, and I began to examine my faith like asking myself, “Is my faith really established on hearing the word of God?” Even with this self-examination, I still could not see any error in my faith, or in the woks that I was doing. Finally I came to the conclusion that I must not be seeing or understanding James 2:20 in the manner that the Lord was desiring for me to see and understand.

Job 33:14 “For God speaks once, yea twice, yet man perceives it not.”

I had become so desolate of life by this time, that I was really quite willing to hear the truth about what the Lord had to say, as long as it would fill my emptiness and quench my thirst for his presence. It seemed like the Lord was using a tactic similar to a tactic that my dad used when fixed dinner for us. Though he was an excellent cook, he would still make us wait until it got late before he would serve us, making sure that we would always be really hungry when we ate. He said that the longer he made us wait, the better the food would taste. Now here I was in an identical situation, only spiritual; for I was all hungry and thirsty for the life that comes when the Lord is present, the life that only the Lord is able to prepare and serve. It was uncanny; for at next three weeks, every time I read the scriptures, even if I started reading somewhere like Exodus, somehow, without me even being conscious as to how, I would always end back up at James 2:19,20. This just agitated and frustrated me the more, even feeling as though the Lord was somehow bringing me back to this scripture to make me miserable. I even got to a point that all that I hear in my thoughts was, “Faith without works is dead...Faith without works is dead...Faith without works is dead”.

Psalm 104:27 ASV “These all wait for thee that you mayest give them their food in due season.”

I was at my wits end when one morning, at a point where I felt like I was about to explode from my frustration and confusion. I am so thankful that the Lord allowed for me to pray in this time when I did not feel like praying at all. I prayed saying, “Lord, I have done all of the works that I know how to do; the works that I feel should be accompanying my faith, and I still feel desolate of life. And besides this Lord, I now realize that I am not a smart man, for I cannot even discern between the works of the law, which puts a man under the curse, from the works which should accompany my faith. Lord, how will I know the difference between these two works if you do not show me?” No answer. Nothing. Nada. Silence. My frustration continued. I then prayed, "Lord, if you are willing, would you show me why you keep leading me to this same passage of scripture in James over and over? For I perceive that there is something in this passage of scripture that you want me to see, but I am totally blind to see it; otherwise, why would you not keep leading me back to this same passage? It was just as Jesus said, "The light was shinning in the darkness, but the darkness could not comprehend it"; and my understanding was the darkness.

Ephesians 1:18 ASV “Having the eyes of your understanding enlightened….”

Later that same day, without realizing just how broken and contrite my heart had become, I went to pray again, and before I even had a chance to say a word the Lord spoke to me and said, “If I am not working in your heart, then your faith is dead“. My first response to this word was, “Did I just really hear what I thought I heard the Lord say?” During the previous weeks, I must have entertained at least a thousand different imaginations that all tried to correctly interpret for me what works should accompany my faith, and not one of these thoughts ever suggested that it was the works that the Lord that should. This new revelation of understanding of James 2:20 was so powerful to me that it completely stopped me cold in my tracks. I then found myself actually struggling to believe what I had just heard because it was so contrary to everything that I had ever understood or believed about this verse. The more I mediated on what had just been spoken to me, the more astounded and amazed I became at what I had just heard. Wow! This changes everything.

That wow stayed with me for about one minute before a flood of anxiety and fear swept over me. For I then realized that if this was truly the Lord speaking, then all the works that I had been doing of myself were as they say, as dust in the wind, nothing. This was actually my first revelation that was in real and true in the spiritual does not at all agree with that which is real and true in the natural. Could this be? I then became very fearful as I realized how great of an error that I had made for trusting in my own understanding for the interpretation of James 2:20. My natural understanding of this verse had me focused only on my own works while the Spirit was opening my eyes to see that my focus should be on the works of the Lord. I then suddenly felt like I was stripped naked of all the works that I had been trusting in to be righteous and pleasing before the Lord. Even though I had this feeling of nakedness, I also noticed that within me this wonderful feeling of freedom from the burden that my own understanding of James 2:20 had put on myself, trying to please God with my own works. In one word from the Lord, all of works and efforts that I had done for years seem to as though they had been that mirage. I became very fearful because I saw how I had been so confident and so positive that understanding of the scriptures was that which was right, and true, and real. There is nothing that can shake you any harder than when you find out that the things that you have believed and trusted in to be real and true only turned out to be well-crafted illusions of vanity. I then felt so ashamed before the Lord because I knew that his word says that none of us should lean to our own understanding of his words, and yet that is exactly what I had done.

Isaiah 57:12 “I will declare thy righteousness; and thy works; for they shall not profit you.”

Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Hebrews 4:9-11 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

It was in that moment that my heart was shaken, that the darkness saw it’s opportunity to come and compass me with fear, to torment me with thoughts of reasonings and doubt. But the Lord, even without me calling out to him, having this attack on me, and he spoke to me in the most loving and compassionate voice saying, “Mitt, do not be afraid of that what your ears have just heard, but remember this one thing, I am really good at raising the dead.” For a brief moment I did not understand what or why the Lord even speak such a word to me, but then suddenly I remembered that he had been repeatedly trying to tell me that, “Faith without works is dead”. My fears were attacking me to tempt me not to believe the understanding that the Lord had given to me, to keep in bondage to my own works, but the Lord had other ideas for me. Just like before, when he spoke this word to me, then comfort and peace swept over me like a flood, and in an instant, many anxieties, and fears, and shame were all swept away by his word. Then a peace and a calm that I had not experienced for such a long time returned to me. In a moment the Lord had brought me out of that desolate, dry, and dead wasteland to sit once again by the river of Life, and the presence of the Lord returned to me. Thanks be to Abba.

Proverbs 16:25 ASV There is a way which seemeth right unto men; But the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Even though my fears and anxieties were gone, I still felt so stupid for not being able to discern what the Lord had so persistently been trying to show me. I then saw the truth in that which is written in Job 33:14, “God speaks once, yea twice, (and in my case, at least 20 times), but man does not perceive”. This understanding was all so new to me that the only thing that I knew to do was to pray and ask the Lord to confirm for me that I was truly understanding the truth of that which he had just spoken to me. I asked, “Lord, seeing how contrary my understanding of this word was as compared to that which you spoke to me, would you confirm this word for me so that I might believe it without any doubts? Would you prove to me that this is really you? Would you prove to me that it is your works that are to accompany my faith?”

Luke 24:45 NIV “Then he (Jesus) opened their minds so that they could understand the scriptures.”

Romans 4:3-6 NKJ What does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

Then the Lord said to me and said, “In the books of the gospels, of whose works do they testify of? Was it not I that healed the sick? Was it not I that forgave sins? Was it not I that gave sight to the blind? Was it not I that raised the dead? Was it not I that cast out demons? Was it not also written of me that I opened the ears of my disciples so that they could understand the truth of the scriptures?” My heart was immediately was filled with joy and excitement that the Lord had just confirmed his word for me, that it was truly his works and not mine. I then answered, “Yes, Lord, you did perform all of these works!” Then the Lord asked me, “After I performed all the works that were asked of me, what would I then say to those who had been blessed by them?” I then considered this for only a moment before it suddenly came to me, and I answered saying, “Lord, I see, for after you performed anyone of these works, you would always say to them either, “Your faith has saved you”; or, “Your faith has made you whole”; or “Your faith has healed you”. Now I see Lord. Now I believe that this is right and truth, that if my faith is not accompanied by your works, then my faith is dead. Thank you Lord for hearing my prayer; thank you so much for making your words plain and clear for me to understand.

Psalm 57:2 “I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.”

The Lord also asked me if at any time did any come before him to testify of their own works instead of hoping to see the mighty works of God. For the first time in my walk, my eyes were opened to clearly see that there is truly two different kinds of faith; the first that stands in the works that men do to prove their faith, which comes from man’s wisdom and understanding of the scriptures, or the faith that stands in the power of God, which is taught by the wisdom and understanding that comes from above. The first faith, it is seen and demonstrates itself in the works that men do through their own power, their own zeal, their own understanding, and by their own determination. The fruit of this faith is iniquity and self-righteousness, the works that seem real and true in the sight of natural man. How else could the Lord demonstrate his power than in the works that he performs? I did not take me long before I realized how much better this faith was that the faith that only focused on what I had to do for myself; for he who walks in this faith walks alone because he does not see any need from God to perform his own works. I really liked the faith where the Lord, he who is God, does all of the works for me, because it meant that I would no longer feel alone, but that I could enjoy his presence when performed these works for me. I found myself totally revived, and excited, and refreshed with this restored belief in the Lord, like I had just reconnected with him who delights in doing the things that are impossible for us to do of ourselves. As I said before, “This understanding of faith changes (shakes) everything.”

I Corinthians 2:4,5 NIV “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.”

I then realized why I had been feeling so empty and dead in my walk, and it was because I had not been including him who is real and true in anything that I had been doing. I was thinking that I had to do everything, not at all allowing for the Lord to do anything. I then remembered all of the wonderful works that the Lord had done for me in the beginning, and how full my walk was with life because I had been asking the Lord to do things for me. It was then that I realized that I had actually gone astray from the path of life when I started believing that my faith should be proved by the works that I did, rather than the works that the Lord does. What greater evidence could a man have that he was walking in the strait and narrow path with God than to have God himself do the works that the Lord has required of us? One of the first fruits that I saw as result of this change in understanding was that I used to be afraid of reading the scriptures because I was always fearful that I might read of something that the Lord might require of me that I could not possibly do for myself. Now all that I had need of was he the faith to ask the Lord to do these things for me.

As peaceful as I was, fear then came upon me when I suddenly realized that I really did not know what the works of the Lord were that should accompany my faith. Even though the Lord had said to be, “Do not be afraid”, I saw that I was afraid. But the Lord, knowing the trouble in my heart, again comforted me when he led me to read that which is written concerning the apostles, when they all, including Jesus, got caught in that storm that was so bad that their boat got swamped out with water. Each one of these apostles was afraid, thinking that he was surely going to die soon. But when they woke Jesus up, he said to them in Mark 4:40 “Why are you so fearful? Why is it that you have "no" faith?" Wow, I thought. Here were these chosen apostles, those who had heard all of the sermons that Jesus had preached, as well as having witnessed just about every miracle that Jesus had performed; and still, just like me, they had no faith. I then felt comforted knowing that I was spiritually in the same boat as they were in. I then perceived that if “no faith” was not going to stop Jesus from working for them, then surely it was not going to stop Jesus from working for me either. But if I had no faith, then how was I going to get any of this new faith that stands in the power of God?

I was thinking about my “no faith” when the Spirit of the Lord reminded me of the only thing that the disciples ever asked Jesus to add to them, “Lord, increase our faith”. Wow, Lord, even our faith is in your hand. It was then that I began to perceive what John the Baptist meant when he said, “I must decrease so that he might increase”. How could I increase in the faith that stands in the power of God unless I first be willing to decrease in the faith that stands in the power of my own strength, my own zeal, my own confidence, and my own abilities. Like I said, “This changes everything”. I suppose that I am not unlike most other men in that I liked the idea of the “increasing”, but it is idea of the “decreasing” that I was fearful of. I was to later learn that it was not I that like the idea of my decreasing, but it was the spirit of fear that did not like that idea because it was from all my fears that this decrease would come. Then I thought about what all I was going to receive in exchange for what my decease, and became a no brainer. “I must decrease to the sins of doubt and unbelief before I could increase in the faith and belief that allows Father to work in me.

Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Then the Lord said, “I must first work in your belief in my words and your faith that I will perform my words for you”, says the Lord. “You must first believe that my words are true and that I desire to perform all things for you. I must increase your faith so that you may know and believe that I am well able to perform the impossible for you. I must work in your belief unto you believe that I love you, and that my love will never fail you. Let me increase your faith so that you may know that I am willing and able to perform all my promises for you. You must also trust me to wait for the time that I have appointed to perform all things for you. Remember Abraham, for he was strong in faith because he believed that I would perform the promise that I had given to him. Do not forget my words.” I then remembered what the Lord had spoken to me when he said, “Do not be afraid, for I am good at raising the dead”. I then thought, “Wow, if God could bring forth life out of Sarah’s dead womb when the natural circumstances dictated that it was not possible, then how much more will the Lord bring forth that which is living out of me when I believe?” I then said, “Lord, even though my faith has been dead, would you raise me up to be strong in faith and perfect in belief.” Then the Lord said, “As long as you are looking for me to perform the promises of my words in you, then your faith will not be dead, but very much alive. For I am faithful and true to all of my words, and to all those who believe them”, says the Lord. “Open the door to your heart, and ask me to work in you, and I will prepare your heart to receive the kingdom of God”. I then said within my heart, "If that is all that it takes is the believing and the asking, then truly this yoke that Jesus spoke of, it is truly light and easy. But what would happen if we do not ask? I do not want to know that answer.

Romans 4:19-21 NAS “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”

Can you see faith? Can you touch belief? Can you hear trust? I do not care what a man believes, or that which he has faith and trust in, you still cannot see belief, or faith, or trust, even with 20/20 vision. When I walked in the faith that dictated to me that I had to do all of the works, I walked alone. I chose the good deeds and righteous works that I wanted to do, I chose how I wanted to do them, I chose when I wanted to do them, and I chose where I wanted to do them. Again, without me even seeing it, I had become lord and god over my own Christianity because it seemed like the right and true thing for me to do. When I started walking in the faith that stands in the power of God, this all changed too because the only way that I could walk in this path was to allow for the Lord to be my God. It was not up to me to decide what works the Lord needs to do, nor was it up to me to tell him how, or when, or where they needed to be done. when and where they should be done, for these things were in the hand of God. Not long after I started walking in this faith, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Mitt, I am not going to make you great and mighty in my sight, but I am going to become great and mighty in your eyes.” These were absolutely the most wonderful words that I could have heard the Lord say because I knew that the only way that the Lord could become great and mighty in my sight was for him to do great and mighty things for me. I did not know what these things were at the time, but I knew that the Lord was getting ready to start answering my prayers in ways that would be, as it is written, exceedingly abundantly above what I am to ask or to even think within my own imaginations. Now that is what I call letting God out of the box.

II Corinthians 5:7 ASV “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Not long afterwards, I was reading one morning in Matthew 9:20-22 about the woman that had that menstrous condition for 12 years. Even though Jesus was completely surrounded by a large crowd, she pressed her way through them all until she got close enough to reach out with her hand and touch the hem of his garment. Immediately she was healed. Suddenly the Lord spoke to me and asked, “Mitt, how many people there knew what had happened to this woman?” Well my first thought was that this woman had some kind of menstrous condition which was something that I felt like she would have advertised to the world. So I answered, “Lord, even though it seemed like you had one of the largest crowds that were ever around you, I do not think that any of them knew that this woman had been healed. And Lord, from that which is written, I do not even believe that you knew that she got healed because it says that you just felt power go out of you.” Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “So also are the great and mighty works that I desire to do for you. They are works in the places of your heart and in your mind that no one can see. If you will give yourself to me, then I will make these places to be beautiful in my sight; and when they become beautiful in my sight, they shall surely be beautiful in your eyes also. Are you willing to surrender your heart and your mind into my hands?” Yes Lord, I am willing. Make all of me beautiful in your sight!” At that moment my heart seemed so full of life and purpose again, even though I did not know exactly what these works were that the Lord desired to perform in me. My heart had greatly increase in hope, joy, faith, and the peace of God. I felt like I had truly been resurrected from the dead. I was alive again.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Job 33:27-30 He looketh upon men, and if any say, “I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not”; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living.”

Isaiah 57:12 “I will declare your righteousness and your works, for they will not profit you.”

When I was an atheist, I experienced brief moments of happiness when everything went my way, but the stars in that life rarely lined up, even for a brief moment. From the time that I was a very young child, I had experienced any of the peace or joy that I have experienced since the Lord came into my life. I am so thankful that these precious that the Lord has allowed for me to taste of the goodness of his life, because it was that taste that turned me back to him when I had lost my focus and started walking in my own ways; the ways that seem right that only bring the death of lifeless thoughts. These thoughts were so miserable that it led me back to the Lord, asking for him to return me to the right path, the path that leads to life. One of the wonderful things that I have learned about Abba, Father is how much he greatly delights in forgiving us and blessing us, especially in the times that our fears would have us to believe that the opposite is real and true.

Romans 5:1 NKJ “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So many seek for a life filled with peace and joy through wealth, or through their own works and efforts, or through their own will, but in the end, hopelessness and emptiness seem to be all that they end up with. I am so thankful that the Lord has opened the eyes of my heart to see that the invaluable gifts of peace and joy come through believing on the Lord; believing that what is word is able to do, he is well able to perform. The joy and the peace that I had experienced when the Lord first called me, fled from me in a flash the moment pride deceived me into trying to this walk this without Abba, Father. Death and desolation soon followed. But when I turned back to him, death and desolation fled away, and peace, and joy, and faith, and praise quickly returned to me. And to think that all that I did was to humble myself, turn to him, and ask for his guidance and help; and then boom, life returned. How can we have any peace or joy unless we really believe and have faith that Abba, Father, the Lord God almighty, is completely in control over all the circumstance and situations that arise in our life. It we do not believe, then fear will be surely accompany us and be our reality as we face the uncertain circumstances and situations that daily come.

Romans 15:13 ASV “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Colossians 3:15 NIV Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Chapter 2 “The Mystery of Father’s Will”

Lord, we surrender our hearts unto you. Delight yourself in the works of your own hands; for your works are real, and true, and eternal. All things are possible with you, Abba, Father.

Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

I John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard with our ears, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and which our hands have handled, of the Word of Life (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show to you that eternal life which is with the Father, and was manifested to us). That which we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and his son Jesus Christ.”

I was praying one morning when the Spirit brought back into my remembrance that which I had been taught concerning the word “covenant”, that it basically meant a mutual agreement between two or more parties with all having specified obligations to perform. But as I thought more on this, an alarm went off in my heart to question this definition because it seem to be tempting me that my obligation was for me to perform the same works that the Lord had just corrected me of. So I asked the Lord what my obligations were as specified in the New Covenant; and he immediately answered me and said, “Believe! If you ask me to do the works, believing what you ask, then I will do all of the works for you. Only believe!”. Then the Spirit of the Lord began to quicken such like verses as these to me:

I Peter 5:7 NKJ “Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.”

Jeremiah 33:3 NKJ “Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things which you do not know.’”

Proverbs 16:3 NKJ “Commit your works to the LORD, and your thoughts will be established.”

Philippians 2:13 “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

I Thessalonians 4:9 ASV “But concerning love of the brethren ye have no need that one write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.”

Proverbs 20:12 NASB “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the LORD has made both of them.”

Deuteronomy 30:6 NKJ “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

When the Spirit had ceased quickening these verses to me, my eyes were then opened to see that the one thing that they all in common was that they described the works that God himself, and only he, is able to do in us. I had read all of these verses before, but my eyes had never once been opened to see that these were the verses that describe the works that God desires for our faith to be accompanied with. Then the Lord said to me, “Your belief is measured by that which you ask for me to do for you. If you ask nothing of me, then expect me do nothing. If you ask little of me, then look only for me to do little. If you ask much of me, then look for me to do much for you. It is as it is written, that he who sows little reaps little, and he who sows much also reaps much. If you believe little, then I will do little, but if you believe and ask much of me, then I will do much for you.” I then began to write each one of these verses down on a note pad, and put that pad in my prayer closet; and every time that I went to pray, I would pull that pad out and ask the Lord to perform his words for me.

Galatians 6:8 NASB ^“For the one who sows to his own flesh (who makes he scriptures the works of his own hands) will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit (allows for the Lord to do the works) will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

The more I considered what the Lord had taught me, I just became astounded at how easy and simple this walk really was. But I was also aware that the only reason that it was easy was because the Lord had opened my eyes to clearly see and understand the meaning of just one verse,James 2:20; and it changed the entire direction and focus of my walk with the Lord. So now here I was, a list in my hand of verses that detailed what works the Lord desired for me to pray and ask for him to do for me. That certainly seemed simple enough for me to do, and I felt like I was now on easy street. For a time, the fellowship and communion the Lord had restored to me was so wonderful that I felt like I was in the garden of Eden with him. But I then began to encounter a problem that I had never encountered before, and that was the enmity of the carnal mind; thoughts that by nature oppose God, and are impossible to subject themselves to the Lord. When I walked in the faith that stood in my own power, having been deceived by my own understanding, there was no reason for any adversary within to contend with me because I was already walking in darkness. But now that I was walking in the light, here came the enmity of my natural thoughts, tempting me to turn back into the place where darkness would once again be my only reality.

Nahum 1:11 “There is one come out of thee, that imagines evil against the LORD, a wicked counselor.”

All of sudden, whenever I intended to go into prayer, it was like a flood of thoughts would come into my mind trying to reason with me that there were other things more needful and pressing for me to do than to pray. Yet, I knew that if I yielded to these counsels, and did pray, and went to take care of these things of myself, then the presence of the Lord would not go with me, and I would not at all be blessed in any of those things. Even when I resisted those counsels and made it into prayer, it was like another wave of thoughts would then try to tempt me with unbelief or doubt that Father would perform anything for me that his word says that he will. I think that this was the first time that I had ever really encountered an adversary and enemy coming so strongly into the thoughts of my mind to contend with the instructions that the Lord had given to me. As I thought about it, I was not so surprised that Satan would come to contend within me because the Lord had told me that the works that he desired to do would be in my heart and my mind; so where else would the battlefield be except in those very places. The Lord then told me that prayer is always the first thing that the adversary of my enemy will always seek to attack first so that may cut the lines of communication me and my God. It is not me that my adversary is afraid, it is God. No prayer, no God.

Psalm 38:18 “But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.

For the first time I realized the truth of that which Paul had said in Ephesians 6:10-13 ASV Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Wherefore take up the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.” We all know that Jesus said that Satan was our adversary, but what I did not know was that he already has a strong ally in the enmity that dwells in the thinking of the carnal mind. Fears, reasonings, unwillingness, doubts, unbelief are just a few of the thoughts that come forth from that enmity to oppose any word that the Lord would speak to his people. What I was shocked to see was how strong and powerful these thoughts were when they would come to attack me just to keep me from asking and praying to the Lord. There were times that the attack in my mind was so great that all that I could do when I went to pray was just cry out and ask the Lord to help me pray, period. I would have never thought that something that seemed so easy could be become so difficult because of the opposition that would come from within.

Romans 8:6,7 AMP Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. That is because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot.

Galatians 5:17 AMP “For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.”

II Corinthians 10:4-6 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

This battle in my mind lasted for some time. I have tried to resist my own thoughts in the past, but this was the first time in my life that actually went to battle against them, to keep my heart from surrendering to the doubts, the unwillingness, the fears, and the unbelief. I cried out, “Father, these thoughts are not from you, and they are not right for me to believe. Would you cast these imaginations from me.” Then one day while I was praying, the Lord asked me, “Mitt, what is harder for you to do, to continually try to do these works of yourself or to just simply ask for me to do them for you?” my first response to his word was that I knew what the result would be if I tried to do these works of myself, that I could expect for a separation to come from the presence of the Lord. I wanted no more part of that, nor to walk down that path again. I already touched that stove once. I became so focused on what I was not going to do that I really did not even hear what the second part of the word that the Lord had spoken to me. Then the Lord said, “Mitt, did you know that my Spirit delights only in doing my will? Did you know that my Spirit delights in performing every word of instruction that has ever come out of my mouth?” Even then, I still did not catch on as to what the Lord was trying to tell me. I just assumed that he was saying that if his Spirit was in me, then I should automatically delight in doing his will. Then after a few days, I suddenly received this revelation, “Wait a minute! If the Spirit of the Lord delights only in doing Father’s will, then why I am finding it so hard to pray? The Spirit of the Lord was certainly in Jesus Christ, but when he went in for prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, he cried out, “Father, not my will be done, but your will be done”. I then perceived that just because the Spirit of the Lord may be in us, it does not mean that we are automatically going to do the will of God.

Matthew 7:21 NIV (Jesus said) “Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Matthew 26:38,39 NIV Then Jesus said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

The Lord then opened my eyes again to see more clearly that he has not called us to make us robots that have no will of their own, but he has called us to give us the freedom to choose whose will we desire to make our reality, either the will of man, which is to be his own lord and god, or the will of the flesh, which is the death that rules over the carnal mind, or the will of God. This choice awaits us daily, and all that he has asked of us is to choose. So I was preparing myself to battle against me doing my own will when the Lord suddenly opened my eyes to see that I was preparing my will to go to battle with…..my will. What a stupid thought, yet that was exactly what I was getting ready to do. Then the Lord brought back into my remembrance that which he had said to me, “Mitt, did you know that my Spirit delights in doing my will?” It was then that I finally realized what the Lord was trying to tell me, that this is not about me preparing myself for a battle against myself, a battle which I could never win, but it is simply about me asking the Lord for the gift of his Spirit; the free gift of the Lord that always delights in doing the Lord’s will. If we choose to do Father’s will, then we must be prepared to resist our hearts surrendering to the enmity of the carnal mind, and calling on the name of the Lord, asking for him to come and fight the battle for us.

II Chronicles 20:17 NIV “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.”

Deuteronomy 30:19 NIV “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life (the thinking of the spiritual mind) and death (the thinking of the carnal mind), blessings (the works of God) and curses (the woks of man). Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”

Psalm 40:8 NASB “I delight to do Your will, O my God, your law (Rom.8:2) is within my heart.”

Luke 11:13 NASB “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

Then the Lord began to open the eyes of my understanding to see clearly how my works are nothing other than my will trying to perform the instructions that the Lord has given to us in the scriptures. I then saw clearly as to why all of these kinds of works had been such a burden to me because it is impossible for any man to delight himself in trying to do some other’s will, whether it be the will of God or the will of another man. He may outwardly appear that he is enjoying what he is doing, but his heart is inwardly filled with begrudging, murmuring, and complaining; at least my heart was. I found no joy in trying to love my enemies, or in trying to forgive those who had offended or hurt me. No wonder I had gotten into that dead and desolate place when I tried to please God by trying to do his will through the works of my own will. It is like I was trying to live someone else’s life that did not have the same natural desires or pleasures that I did. What an awful waste of a man’s life. I was so blind to see that this was exactly what I was trying to do, and there is no joy or life to be found when someone tries to live his life according to someone else’s will.

I Corinthians 27-29 NKJ “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

John 1:12,13 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Matthew 6:10 NIV “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

It was then that I understood what Jesus was doing in that garden, taking up his cross and dying to his own will and waiting on the kingdom to come in his heart that would allow for him to freely do his Father’s will. So I decided to do as Jesus did, pray that Father would receive the offering of my will, and then bless me with his Spirit that delights in doing his will. Up until this moment I had only seen the enmity that inhabits the carnal mind as being the unbelief, the reasonings, the fears, and the doubts that come forth to oppose the counsels of God; but now I was also seeing that my will should definitely be included in that ungodly group. The will of the man is full of his “best efforts” and “good intentions”, that which men naturally use in their attempts to please God, as well as other men. It is these works that surely seem like the right things for men to do to please God because this is what men do when they try to please other men. But the Lord then opened my eyes to see that man’s will is also accompanied with the desire for some manner of recognition for it‘s efforts, whether they be rewarded with glory, or praise, or honor, or money. And if that flesh does not receive recognition for it’s own “best efforts” or “good intentions”, these works of iniquity, then it feels rejected, or disappointed, or hurt, or offended.

Matthew 7:21-23 “Not every one that saith unto me, “Lord, Lord”, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?” And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

This is the iniquity of man, those works of self-righteousness that come forth when the instructions of God are joined together with the will of the flesh. Do we not all have that natural desire that seeks for our own recognition when we do these things? Do we not all have that desire for some kind of recognition when we put forth our “best efforts” and “good intentions”? How did Cain respond when the Lord did not recognize or receive his sacrifice? The works of iniquity, are not they the sacrifices that one makes to please others through the works and efforts of his own will? In some instances, I have even wondered if we do not even feel like we must receive some kind of recognition for our efforts and deeds as though our own works is what makes our Christianity purposeful, real, and true. In other words, do we look for that which is real and true from the works of iniquity?

Matthew 23:27,28 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Philippians 2:21 ASV “For they all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ.”

When the Lord began to open my eyes to see these intents in my heart, this horrible thought then came into my mind. I have heard several serial killers when asked why they killed all the people they did answer that question by saying, “I wanted to make a name for myself; I wanted recognition”. Is this desire for recognition so deeply entrenched in the heart of man that he thinks that he must go to this extreme just so that he can make his life real and true? Just how great is this desire within us that makes our lives seem so meaningless without some kind of recognition? Is recognition how that which is real and true should be measured? Every time they tried to recognize Jesus, he just somehow seem to disappear, as though he had no desire for that to happen.

If the will of man so desires it’s own recognition that it will even resort to these wicked works to obtain it, then to what lengths will it’s desires go to receive recognition from God for the works of iniquity? I suppose one only has to look at Jesus himself, and how the hypocrites treated him because he preached against the works that men do to satisfy their desires for their own recognition and glory. In the end, did they not treat Jesus in the same manner as the serial killer treats his victims? Did they not treat Jesus in the same manner that Cain treated Able because God would not accept or recognize the sacrifice that he brought forth according to his own will? Cain was a man that God directly spoke to in his attempts to get him to repent, but Cain felt so disappointed that he just killed his brother because he got from God the recognition that he wanted for himself. Why was it so hard for him to repent rather than to think that he must kill his own brother? When do men get envious or jealous of others but when they see others get some manner of recognition that they want for themselves. Is this the reality of this world? I suppose then that every man’s will is his own world of reality and truth. Now my eyes were being opened to see why no works of the flesh will glory in the presence of God, because they are only done to satisfy desires, and they are not done out of love.

Galatians 5:24 “Those that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and desires….26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory…”

Matthew 6:1,2 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

James 4:5 NKJ “Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?

In the years that I walked in my self-righteousness, when I thought that I could please God with my “good intentions” and “best efforts”, there were a couple of verses that I really hated to read. One of those verses was John 15:5 where Jesus said “Without me, you can do nothing”. Nothing? I do not think so! Every time I read that verse, I could hear thoughts within me saying, “This cannot be true; I am going to prove Jesus wrong.” To me, what I was hearing Jesus say in this scripture was like the words that I have heard others speak to me since I was a child, telling me what I could not do. These types of words did nothing strengthen my resolve to prove that I could do what they said I could not do. Of course, when I allowed for this attitude to come forth against what Jesus said in this verse, it just led me strait into my wilderness, separating me from the presence of God. All of his peace, his joy, and his life just seem to disappear altogether from me. So when the Lord corrected me with his understanding of James 2:19,20, I also became more agreeable with that which Jesus was saying in John 15:5; not completely, but far more than I previously had.

It was then that I asked the Lord just what he meant by saying that a man could do nothing without him. The Lord then answered and said, “You can do nothing to please God without me. I am that Spirit that delights in doing Father’s will. I am the Spirit of the Son of God. I am the Spirit of adoption that brings you into Sonship. I am he who Father said, “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased. I love my Father and my Father loves me, and all things that I see my Father do, that is what I do because I love my Father. I do nothing for my own glory or to satisfy the desires of my own will, but all that I do, I do that my Father may be glorified in all things. I am the Son who could do nothing to please Father of own will, but always sought for his Spirit that delighted in fulfilling Father’s will. Without me, you cannot please Father, because I am what allows you to delight in Father’s will. I am the gift from God for all those who seek to do Father’s will. I am the Spirit of the son that comes forth in the sons of God, in all those who my Father is well-pleased with.”

John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

John 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Romans 8:29 NASB “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”

Ephesians 1:5 “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

Philippians 4:13 NKJ “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

When the Lord finished speaking this word to me, I then asked, “Lord, I do not even know what your will is, but it just seems like to me that your will is oppressive. What is your will?” Of course, I was still thinking that the Lord was going to require me to fulfill his will through the works of my “best efforts”. The Lord then answered and said, “I came into this world so that you might have life, and that you might have it abundantly. This is my will for you.” Immediately this answer quieted all my foolishness imaginations. I had never once considered that the will of God could be something so wonderful as abundant life. Then the later on the Lord added this, “You do not understand what life is. You think that when you get your will, or when everything goes your way, or when you satisfy your pleasures, or when you feel safe and secure that you have just experienced what life. I tell you that is not life because I am life. I am then nature of life. I the tree of life that is full of the fruits of love, and joy, and kindness, and faith, and gentleness, and mercy, and truth, and peace, and goodness. The fruits of life identify my nature; and my nature is that which is comes natural to me. I am the good tree of life that bears no evil fruit. You cannot find any corrupt, or dead, or rotten fruits in me. My will is for you to bear the fruits of life. Father has given you your destiny; and your destiny is that you should be conformed to my image. I am life. My will if for you to have life. My will is for life to come natural to you, not that which comes to you when get your will. I am the Spirit of adoption that raises you from the dead so that you might have life. Fulfill your destiny. I have called many, but only a few will find life because only a few desire to fulfill their destiny, to be like me. I am life. My life is your reality, now and for eternity.”

Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

Romans 8:6 “The carnal mind is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Matthew 7:13-20 ASV “Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.”

I greatly rejoiced and I felt such peace, having received from the Lord this clear vision as to what the destiny is that the Lord has called each one of us to. I was overwhelmed with the reality of this truth, that the almighty God actually calls us for the purpose of raising us up to be his son. I rejoiced in knowing that my destiny, my vision, and my calling, were all the same thing: to be conformed to the image of the Son of God, through the Spirit of life that is in Jesus Christ. I felt so alive to the calling of my destiny because I not only knew what it was, but because I also knew that it was not going to come forth by any of my “best efforts” or “good intentions”, but by the power of my God; my Abba, Father with whom all things are possible. I had such peace walking in this new faith that actually allows for the Lord to be my God and do great and mighty things for me.

Romans 8:2 NASB “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

When the Lord became the object of my focus, opening my eyes to see that it is his works that are to accompany my faith, then one of the first fruits that I saw as a result of this new faith was in reading the scriptures. In truth, I used to be fearful and dread reading the scriptures because I was always afraid that I was going to read of something that the Lord would require of me or command me to do that my “best efforts” and “good intentions” would not be able to perform. But now when I read the scriptures, I still remember what the Lord said to me, “My Spirit always delights in doing Father’s will.” So what is there to be fearful of? If I read a word concerning what the Lord requires, I then just simply ask for his Spirit so that I may delight in doing his will. I even started asking for his Spirit so that I can delight in waiting on him. The Lord also brought back into my remembrance another word that he had said before, “Mitt, I have given you the gift of my Spirit to help you. But know this, my Spirit will never surrender itself to do your will, for it only surrenders itself to do my will. Agree with my words, and my Spirit will perform all of my words for you.” Now I find reading the scriptures to be a joyful experience as well as an exciting adventure, asking the Lord for his Spirit to perform his word; for I know now that all such requests are in his will because they come from his words. His yoke truly gets lighter and lighter, and easier and easier; for my only obligation is to believe.

Matthew 8:13 NASB “And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." And the servant was healed that very moment.”

Job 23:14 “For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me; and many such things are with him.”

Seeing that I was having a hard time praying, I started asking the Lord for his Spirit to do his will, so that it might become a delight for me to pray. As I sit here typing out these words, I cannot even remember how it happened or when it happened, it just happened; that is, at some time after I started asking the Lord to help me to pray, my prayers began to turn more into meetings and conversations with the Lord. The Lord began to speak so much to me that I actually had to also use my note pad to write everything down that the Lord was speaking to me because I could not possibly remember all that he would speak to me. Oh yes, the enemy still seeks to distract me in his attempts to keep me from praying, but when I pray now, it is frequently becomes like the garden of his presence; the presence my enemy cannot enter into. The Spirit has taken that which my flesh dreaded and by his Spirit has made it a delight.

Luke 18:1 NIV “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.”

Psalm 37:4 NIV “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

I also started praying and asking the Lord to send his Spirit so that I could fulfill the righteousness of his word that says, “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the church.” It was like as soon as I started asking for him to send his Spirit to do this, my eyes were opened to see how clearly foolish it is for me to try and love my wife as Jesus Christ loves her. The truth is, I really had no clue as to how Jesus loved her, but my “best efforts” sure made many attempts to do it, which all ended in failure. Who knows the length, the depth, the width, and the height of the love that Christ has for his church, or for his spouse? Again, my love for her began to grow in ways that I could not see at first. It was like trying to see how a child grows from day to day; you just cannot see it in that way. But if you have not seen that child over a few months, then you will see the growth after you have been separated from them for a time.

Mark 4:26-29 NIV also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

There were two areas of growth in his love for my wife that were dramatic. First, as each day went by, my judgments and criticisms of her began to decrease until now they hardly exist at all. This came as no real surprise because I had once asked the Lord if he would explain what happens that causes one spouse to quit loving the other spouse. The Lord answered me rather quickly saying, “When one begins to judge the other with criticisms, accusations, comparing them to others, or finding fault with them, then their love begins to grow cold. Love does not judge; love just loves.” So I just kept praying, and the Lord kept working. Secondly, my care for her well-being became much greater than for my own well-being. We have now gone through a financial crisis and she had a very serious medical issue. In the medical issue, the doctors say that about 90% of the husbands of wives who have this condition will divorce their wives because of the amount of care they may require. I was stunned to hear this, for in the care of Christ’s love, such a thought could not enter. It was a great delight for me to care for her; and let me testify of this, when I was an atheist, there was no love unless all care was focused only on me.

They say that financial and medical problems are two of the biggest reasons for divorce, but the Spirit of the Lord has casts out all of that selfish reasonings. I will end up saying this about the love of Christ that he has put in my heart for my wife; no matter what she may face the rest of her life, she knows that she has a husband in heaven and a husband on earth that will never leave her, or forsake her, or cease from caring for her, because the Lord in heaven has given his love for her to her husband on earth. Not my will be done, (my own efforts for a good marriage,), but his will (the love that only comes through his Spirit) be done. Glory be to God for his faithfulness to his words.

Chapter 3

Belief grows and faith increases

Over the past 29 years, the Lord has taught me much about the things that I have desired to know about him; and during this time, he has also taught me concerning his mysteries, such as the mystery of iniquity, the mystery of Christ in us, the mystery of wisdom, the mystery of godliness, Mystery Babylon, etc. The Lord has increased my faith so that I can now speak to the mountains in my heart and the strongholds in my mind, and then watch the Lord remove them for me. Even though the Lord has taught me daily, and has done many great and mighty works in my life, he still had not yet moved me into any kind of ministry, other than with my own family and a few others. In fact, when I once inquired of the Lord and asked me if he was ever going to use me, he answered and said that he was, but it would be after he had finished teaching me, giving me “his” understanding of “his” words; lest I lead someone astray by speaking my opinions of “his” words .

Proverbs 21:16 “The man that departs from the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.”

II Corinthians 2:17 “We are not as many which corrupt (deceive with their own opinions) the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ (Christ who is the truth).”

Then a little over 7 years ago, I was in prayer one morning when the Lord asked me if I would sell my business and my house so that he could now put me full time into the ministry. Even though I had no clue at that time as to what kind of ministry the Lord had in mind, I agreed and surrendered my heart to his request, provided that he give me to a willing heart to do so. I had learned by this time that if we believe on him, and ask of him, he is able to give us a willing heart that delights in doing anything that Father may ask of us. This is one of those works of God that should accompany our faith. A willing heart is a heart where you will not find the presence of any reasonings, or unbelief, or fears, or pride, or doubts that make the heart unwilling. The Lord had done so many wonderful works in my life by the time that he had asked me to do this that there was really no way that I was not going to follow him, regardless of where this ministry may take me. I had also learned by this time that if we desire to dwell continually in his presence, and his presence is abundant life, then we should follow him. In that first year after selling my house and my business, I waited for the Lord to direct me where to go. But the Lord never gave me any indication as to just what or where this ministry was going to take me. What did happen in that first year was that in just about every meeting of our fellowship, the Lord came to us speaking many prophesies to us concerning new things to come; and telling us that he was the new thing to come. But we still did not understand.

Psalm 110:3 “Thy people shall be made willing in the day of thy power…”

II Corinthians 8:12 NKJ “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.”

There was one word that the Lord spoke to us that especially caught our attention, and it was a word that the Lord repeated to us several times saying that what was coming was far greater than anything any of us could imagine. This word caught our attention because it was quite contrary to all the doom and gloom that we had heard many others prophesying of. By the end of that year, we had received over 250 prophesies, and not one of them spoke about any doom and gloom that was coming at the end of the world, for all of the words that the Lord had given to us only focused on one thing, the new thing that is to come; and that new thing was Jesus coming in all of his glory. Through these words the Lord also detailed for us the works that the Lord would need to do in us to prepare our hearts and our minds to receive this new thing. I really did not know how precious these prophesies were until about three years ago when I heard the Lord speak through several different prophets saying, “My people are not prepared for my coming.”

Proverbs 16:1 “The preparations of the heart in man and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord (this is a work that the Lord does that only accompanies faith).”

Matthew 24:44 Therefore you also be ready, for in such an hour as you do not think, the Son of man comes.

Matthew 25:10 “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”

Much to the surprise to our fellowship, the works that the Lord told us that he needed to do was to prepare our hearts to receive the new thing that was coming; to cleanse of the sins of unbelief, reasonings, doubt, and fear. Again, this was quite contrary to the instructions given by those prophesying of the doom and gloom, saying that one prepares by gathering food and heading for the hills. The Lord did not have to work in us concerning any unbelief or doubts that Jesus is the Son of God, nor did he have to work in us concerning any unbelief or doubts that Jesus was crucified and resurrected from the dead, and neither did he have work in us to believe that our sins are all covered by the blood of Christ. No, it was none of these beliefs but rather it was that we needed to come into the belief and the faith that is of Jesus Christ. This belief and faith is a spiritual faith and belief, and it is the belief that makes all things possible. This is a belief that does not put any boundaries on the love that God has for us, nor does it put any limitations on the power that God is willing to show us, and give to us. I was quite excited about what the Lord was beginning to show us because I had always wondered how a man could come into that state of belief where seeing the impossible to be done is the natural thing, and not the supernatural. I knew that Jesus would not have spoken of this faith and belief unless he intended for us to come into it, to make it real and true for us.

The Lord gave me a vision where I saw a bunch of angels that were gathered together in heaven, and they were all looking at the men on earth. Each one of these angels was amazed at all of the unbelief, the reasonings, the doubts, the rebellion, and the fears towards God that they saw in the hearts of all men. But what really had all of these angels astonished was how men esteemed and believed that all such thinking was that which is real and true. It was as they were looking on men as though we were some kind of weird aliens, which we were to them because they had no such thoughts within them. The inhabitants of the earth are aliens because the children of darkness are separated from the God who created and loves them because of their unbelief, ignorance, doubts, fears, pride, and reasonings. It is these thoughts of darkness that make God to be nothing more than a fictional character in the illusions of their mind. It was this thinking in man that these angels looked on, and they could not comprehend how any man could think that these thoughts were real and true. It was like they had never seen any such creatures that had ever possessed any of these thoughts.

Colossians 1:21 “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.”

Ephesians 4:17,18 NIV “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

The Lord began to show us that the only way for our faith to increase and the only way for belief to be perfected was for us to allow Jesus to increase in us, because Jesus, as that Spirit, is the belief and that faith that we do not have. For him to increase, we needed to decease in our fears, doubts, and unbelief. The only thing that we need for God to perform his promises, or his words, or that which is impossible for us, is to believe. The Lord showed us that the more we believe, the more we will ask of him; the more we ask of him, the more he will do; the more he does, the more will believe; the more we believe, the more he will do. Of course, once the Lord begins to do great and mighty things within you or for you, then your joy and peace begin to multiply, and you begin to stay in an constant state of hungering and thirsting for the Lord to do more because his joy and peace is so, so good. This path to the unbeliever may seem tedious, but that is only because he cannot see the work that the Lord is doing within, just like no one could see that the woman with the menstrous condition could see that she got healed. Who looks for joy and peace to come as a result of God working in your belief? What man is able to see what another man believes?

Mark 9:23 “If you can believe then all things shall be possible”.

John 6:28 Then the disciples asked, “Lord, what shall we do that we might do the works of God?” Jesus answered and said, “This is the work of God that you believe on him who he sent.”

Philippians 1:6 “Be confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Romans 15:13 NASB “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I was then praying one morning when the Lord asked, “Mitt, do you believe my words?” I answered, “Lord, I think that I do.” Then the Lord asked, “Do you love your enemies and bless those who curse you?” Knowing that the Lord knows all of the thoughts and intents of my heart, I knew that I could not hide anything from him; so I answered no. Then the Lord asked me again, “Do you believe my words?”. Again, I answered that I thought that I did. Then the Lord said, “Mitt, if you believed my word, then they would be written in your heart by my Spirit, and it would be natural for you to love your enemies and to bless those who curse you. You can only believe my words after my Spirit has been joined together with my words; and when they are joined together in your heart, your nature shall become as my words. I will join my Spirit to all the words that you sow to me; that is, I will join my Spirit to all the words that you ask for my Spirit to come to. Only after my Spirit comes to you shall you receive the belief that allows for you to delight in loving your enemies and blessing those who curse you. At this moment, you only agree with the scriptures, that they are my words, but you do not believe them. You agree that these words are from me, but how to delight in doing them you have not found because you have not received my Spirit. The power to perform my words does not come from agreeing with my word but it comes only by my Spirit; and my Spirit believes all of my words and delights in doing them all. Without my Spirit, it is impossible for any to love their enemies because only my Spirit is able to love your enemies. Ask for my Spirit.” Talk about shock and awe! I was simply stunned. My desire to enter into this new realm of the Spirit shot through the roof like a rocket. If God was willing to give me his Spirit that would change my nature, then I was willing to receive it. Talk about a new thing, I just could not reason within myself what it would truly be like to have a heart and mind that by nature would love my enemies and bless those who have cursed me. Surely this would be a great and mighty work that only the Lord God almighty could do. My heart still burns with great desire to be like my heavenly Father.

John 12:47 “Jesus said, “If any man hears my words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He that rejects me has not received my words and he has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken shall judge him in the last day.”

Romans 7:18 “For I know that no good thing dwells in my flesh; for to will (he agrees) is present with me, but how to perform (believe) that which is good I cannot find.”

Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and spoke to me saying, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit“, says the Lord of hosts.

It was with this explanation that I began to see and truly understand the difference between the play-acting of hypocrisy and the doing of things by nature that comes by the power (nature) of his Spirit. Who considers anything a work that he has delight and pleasure in doing? Hypocrisy is the work that comes forth when the words of God are joined together with the works of man. None of these works are real and true, but they are only imitations and pretenses because they are not that which is natural for the spirit of man to do. The only delight that those have who do such works is that they feel good about themselves because they feel justified by their own works. These also find pleasure in the praise, the honor, and the glory that others may give to him for their efforts. When belief comes in through then Spirit of the Lord, then by the nature of his Spirit a man will delight in doing God’s will. When I played the game of hypocrisy, I was really good at this play-acting because that is what seemed to come so naturally to me. If I did not love my brethren or my enemies, then pretending like I did seemed like the only choice that I had so that I could appear righteous.

I tried to make my imitations and pretenses to be real and true, but it just got to the point where I could not carry that burden any more, the burden of living the lie. Who has life who lives the lie? I was also tired of being afraid that someone, some how, might find out that I was not really who I pretended to be. In fact, when the Lord showed me the truth about my iniquities (self-righteous efforts and works) and hypocrisies, that they were neither real nor true, I saw myself as one who Jesus was speaking to when he said, “Come to me all you who are heavy laden (with play-acting) and take my yoke (his Spirit) upon you; for my yoke is light and easy.” I am so thankful that the Lord did not take long to correct me of this because even though I played that game well, it was just miserable for me to try and make the lies of pretense to appear real and true. Is this a game that any one wins at? Many will give up on God because they actually believe that it is God that requires them to play this game. Sadly, there are those who have played this game for so long, and so well, that they actually believe that they have won because they have come to believe that their pretenses and hypocrisies are that which is real and true. As for me, I was so happy that the victory is in Jesus who reveals the truth about what is real; and his truth delivered me from my own works. I knew that I was really going to love going into this deeper realm of belief where the Spirit would completely set me free from all these heavy works of hypocrisy and the illusions of pretense. Then, and only then, can a man believe that he is real and true.

Psalm 90:8 “I delight to do your will for your law (the law of the Spirit of life) is in my heart.”

Even though I really loved all of these works that the Lord has done in me and for me, I still felt like I was missing a friend, a tugging from that old faith. In those dry times, I would hear the words coming back to entice me to do my own works so that I could again feel good about myself, as though these works is what I needed to do to make my Christianity to be real and true. I also missed that feeling that my own works gave to me, like this was my purpose. But thanks be to God, the Lord would come and remind me how contrary these two understandings of faith were, and those thoughts would just go back into the darkness, like a prostitute walks back into the night when she has been rejected. Even so, I began to wonder what was coming because I wanted to get past all of this correction of my doubts and unbelief. I then had this thought “Lord, why is it that you are showing me so much about belief and faith? I mean, how much more is there for me to learn about them?” I asked this question because I felt like I was growing kind of weary of just hearing about faith and belief. To my surprise, the Lord had been listening to my thoughts because he spoke and said, “When you were under the old faith, you felt far from my presence, and that is because you were always weighed down with your hypocrisies and mindful of all the many works that you thought I required for you to perform. But in the new faith, you are drawing nearer to my heart and more mindful of me because you are now looking for me to perform my words for you. If then your only obligation in this new faith is for you to believe on me, then would you not expect for there to be much to learn about your belief and faith? All that I am able to do for you can only be done according to the faith and belief that is in you. The more you believe my words, the more great and mighty works you shall see me perform in your heart.”

Isaiah 29:13,14 NKJ “Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men. Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudentmen shall be hidden.”

Romans 8:5 NKJ “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

Isaiah 26:3 NKJ “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in You.”

Matthew 9:29 NIV “Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith it will be done to you.”

Matthew 8:13 NIV “Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.”

Luke 1:45-49 NIV “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.”

Then the Lord opened the eyes of my understanding to see and comprehend that it is not possible for any fleshly understanding of his words to birth anything other than the fleshy works of man; and like-wise, it is not possible for the spiritual understanding to birth any thing other than the works performed by God. I then also understood that they that are born after the flesh delight in their own righteousness that is birthed out of the works of their own hands because it leads to them to feel they have justified themselves, and now they also feel good about themselves, just like what I was feeling for a time. So also, those who are born after the Spirit are those who delight only in the works of God; the works that are birthed out of the righteousness of their belief and faith. It is also by his hand that God justifies them by the works that he performs in their hearts and minds. I must admit that I was greatly frightened to see the reality of how far I had gotten from the Lord because of my own understanding of his words. If the understanding of that word in James had not come from the Lord, then I would have continued believing that the works of my hands and my hypocrisies were that which was real and true. It is not the words that need to be changed, but our understanding of them.

Romans 9:31 NIV “But Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the “stumbling stone.”

Luke 16:15 “And he said unto them, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Romans 4:4,5 NKJ “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works.”

The Lord then continued speaking to me about belief and faith. “I am showing you much about your belief and your faith to prepare you for my coming; for when I come, I will be looking for those whose faith has been purified and made holy. Is it not written that the trying of your faith is more precious than gold that is tried in the fire, so that your faith made be found unto praise, and honor, and glory at my appearing? Do you believe that I am as good as my word, that I will truly do all things for you as my word says that I will? Do you believe that I love you? Do you believe that I will never leave you or forsake you? Do you trust me with all your being? Do you believe that I will protect you when the darkness comes? Do you believe that I am able to deliver you from every evil work? Do you believe that you have no need to worry about your life, that I will provide all that which you have need of? Do you believe that I can change the intents of your heart? Do you believe that I can establish life and peace in all of your thinking? Do you believe that it is truly my hearts desire to give my kingdom to you? Do you believe that I am able to raise you and make you to be the son who is to be equal with God?

II Timothy 4:18 “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work…”

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”

When I try your faith, it is so that you can really see what you believe and where your faith is. The trial of your faith does not come as an opportunity for you to show me how strong you are in your own faith or how determined you are in your own will, but trials come to you the weaknesses of your unbelief, your doubts, your reasonings, your pride, your unwillingness, and your fears. Are not all these things the impurities that corrupt all faith and belief? So when you are tried, do not be afraid when you see any of these impurities, but prepare to offer your weaknesses before me. Remember that I have showed you that the consciousness of the spiritual mind is belief. Will you allow for me to purge your consciousness of the dead thoughts that defile your faith and belief with fear, unbelief, pride, unwillingness, reasonings, and doubts? When I try your faith, it is to set you free from the unrighteous thoughts that separate you from life. When you confess this unrighteousness, then I will come and show myself to faithful to you, and I will cleanse and purge you of all these impurities. Be faithful to my words, and I will be faithful to you. When I have cleansed you, then shall you find that faith and belief that will cause your heart to abound with hope, and joy and peace. The more you allow for me cleanse you, the more you will believe; the more you believe, the more joy and peace will abound in you. I am the faith that is to found unto praise, and honor, and glory.

I Peter 1:6,7 NASB “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Luke 18:8 NASB “….However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"

Hebrews 9:14 NASB “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving…shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.”

Hebrews 3:19 “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”

Now and understand. In the spiritual realm, all things are possible because all have the mind of Christ, and the mind of Christ is the consciousness that believes all things. No man can come into the spiritual realm except those who are like-minded in Christ. I am your belief, and I your holy faith. I am holy, and you be holy. I am the belief that allows for you to enter into the Holy of Holies, to draw near unto Father. No man can enter into the Holy realm except those who believe that all things are possible with God. No man can enter into the Holy realm who brings an offering of his “good intentions” and “best efforts”. No man can enter into the Holy realm that honors the unrighteousness of unbelief, carnal reasonings, doubts, pride, unwillingness, or fear to be that which is right and truth. Even so, many will be allowed to enter into the Holy realm who bring their unbelief, their carnal reasonings, their doubts, their unwillingness, their pride, and their fears to present them as burnt offering sacrifices before God; for our God is a consuming fire. All these who delight in offering their unrighteousness before Father are they who will be cleansed and purged. Those who give unto Father their unrighteousness shall be they who Father gives the gift of righteousness: ME! He who decreases in his unbelief and doubts is he who increases in ME. I am the gift of God. I am the gift of faith and belief that brings forth righteousness. You can do nothing without me because I alone believe that all things are possible! I am the faith that saves you. I am the Christ, the gift that Father is offering to all who will come to me. I am the door. I am the door into the Holy of holies. No man comes to the Father except through me. I am the door of belief that opens the way into Father‘s heart. I will be the holy faith and the belief for all who will have me.

Jude 20,21 NIV But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit (believing). Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

Philippians 3:8-10 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

Hebrews 4:9-11 “There remained therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he hath ceased from his own works as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.”

Hebrews 8:8-11 NKJ “The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.

John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 10:7-9 NASB “So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.”

I Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

I was overwhelmed with these words and went into much meditation, trying to comprehend the depth of the truth of all that which I had just heard. My mind went completely quiet to the thoughts that questioned why the Lord was showing me so much about belief and faith. Instead of feeling that I was full of faith and belief, I now felt like I was greatly lacking. I felt so ignorant and foolish for even asking such a question. I clearly saw the vanity of every thought that I had ever had that said that I could do anything pleasing and acceptable before God of myself. It was now all so clear for me to see, for when I was atheist, I had no belief or faith, and now I know that Jesus, as the Christ of faith and belief entered into me. Jesus is truly all in all. Here I had been focused on the belief and faith that just asks the Lord to work in my heart and mind, and now he was showing me how he, as this holy faith and belief is the door that allows for one to enter into the Holy place. Was this the plan of God, to make Jesus to be the belief and faith that makes us righteous in the sight of God? Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which is written in Romans 10:10 NIV “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified…” That is it Lord, now I see that Jesus is that belief and faith seeks to dwell in our hearts that allows us to draw near to Father in his holy presence; for the heart that does not draw near is that heart that does not believe, lacking Jesus Christ. It is not laws and commandments that keep us mindful of you, but it is you, the consciousness of faith and belief. This is the real work that you need to work in our hearts, so that we may believe that all things are possible with you.

John 6:28,29 “Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

The Lord confirmed this new revelation about belief while we were in worship and prayer one evening. While we were praying, the Spirit of the Lord urged me to ask, “Lord, your word says that when two or more are gathered together in your name that you are here in the midst of us. Lord, in what manner are you present with us?” The Lord immediately answered and said, “I am your belief; I am in your faith”. Wow! I then realized what Paul had been speaking of when he spoke of having the “faith of Christ” and not the “faith in Christ“; that is, he had the faith and the belief that is of the Spirit, and that Spirit is Christ; and this is that faith and belief that leads us into that realm where “all things” are possible; a realm where the darkness of Satan’s lies cannot tempt us with any of the lies of fear, or doubt, or unbelief. If a man lacks faith or belief, he does not need faith or belief, he needs more of Jesus who is that spirit of faith and belief. Now it was clear to me why John the Baptist said, “I must decrease so that he can increase”’ why the disciples said, “Lord, increase our faith; and why Paul said, “It is God who gives us the increase.“ This revelation sure takes the burden out of any human effort trying to do any of the works that the Lord has instructed of us through the scriptures. It also brings clear understanding to that which Jesus said in John 15:5 “Without me (faith and belief), you can do nothing.” All that we have need of is Jesus, he that is freely given to all of us who call on him. Then shall we believe his words and do the works of God because it is he in us doing the works in us.

The Lord gave my daughter Ansley a vision where she saw Jesus in the most restful and peaceful state that she has ever seen or witnessed in her life. She had such a desire to be in that same place as he was in that she asked, “Lord, how can I get enter into this place where you are?” Jesus answered, “Cry out for the belief!” This state of mind that Ansley saw Jesus in was probably not whole lot different than the state of mind that he was in when slept through that great and mighty storm that had come him and his disciples when they were in that boat. The storm was tossing that little boat around so that it completely swamped it out with water. Now most of his disciples were men that had grown up as fisherman, and surely they had been caught in many bad storms. But this storm was so great that they all thought that they were surely going to perish. Where was Jesus while the rest of them were working to save their lives? Asleep.

It is obvious that his disciples were still carnally minded, believing that the outcome to their situation was going to be what their fears and doubts were dictating to them, that they were soon going to perish. This storm had revealed their doubts, their fears, and their unbelief towards God; and by these unrighteous thoughts, their minds were greatly troubled and tormented. But Jesus was spiritual minded, in that spiritual realm of belief that worldly situations are powerless to dictate any “worst case scenarios”; for in this spiritual realm, one only thinks that all things are possible. Jesus had peace because he had no other thoughts than knowing that his heavenly Father is always in complete control over all the circumstances and situations that may arise in this life. Then when their unbelief and fears woke Jesus up, they said in Mark 4:38 “Master, do you not care that we are perishing?” Then Jesus arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he then said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” Later, we ourselves were praying when the Lord asked us, “Are you willing to get into a swamped out boat so that you may see the care of my love and the power that I am willing to work on your behalf? If not, then would it not be wise for you to cry out for the belief.”

What is easier for Jesus to do: to command the stormy winds and seas to be at peace or to command the stormy thoughts in our minds to be at peace? So many seek and ask for peace to come, hoping that the Lord will change their situations rather than to change their minds with the belief that brings joy and peace with it. Those who have no change in their belief are those who will always be looking for he Lord to change their situations because they will find themselves continually in bondage to the same fears and doubts that always trouble and torment them. Now those who have offered their fears, their doubts, and their unbelief before the Lord when the storm arose, they will be purged and cleansed of these unrighteous thoughts, and they will sleep in peace right through the next storm, because the peace of God, Jesus will rule in their hearts and minds. Jesus could have cared less about that storm because there were no storms of doubt or fear that blow through the thoughts of his mind. Jesus is the gift of God, that gift of belief and faith that freely causes all joy and peace to come to those who cry out to him for it. Where else is a man able to go to get the faith and belief that he does not presently have? “O Lord, increase our faith and give unto us your Spirit that believes all things!”

Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil (unbelief) know how to give good gifts to your children: then how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit (belief) to them that ask him?

Chapter 4

“Oh Mr. Christian, what a big, beautiful heart you have”, said the wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing.

Strongholds: Things that are believed and trusted to be right and true.

Not long after the Lord had said to me, “If I am not working in your heart, then your faith is dead”, I received this word from the Lord, “If you will give to me your heart, then I will make it beautiful in my sight.” At that time, I thought that all that the Lord needed to do to give me a heart was to work in me to completely believe on him for all things. I was then praying one morning when the Lord spoke to me and said, “Mitt, did you know that I do not desire anything in the heart of my bride other than that which you desire to have in the heart of your bride? Just as you, I desire for my bride to be faithful and truthful with me, that she trusts me, that she honors me, that she believes on me, that she be honest and loyal to me, that she be willing to be my bride, and that she loves me with all of her heart, all of her mind, and all of her soul.” I then realized that the Lord had just revealed to me the nature of the heart that is beautiful in his sight; and the issues of that heart are truth, honesty, trust, belief, faithfulness, willingness, loyalty, honor, and love. At that moment, I could only image our great such a relationship would be after all of these principals were perfected. It is as it is written, God does not look for beauty in the outward appearances of men, but in the heart. “Lord, make my heart beautiful in your sight.”

I Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look not on his appearance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him: for the Lord does not see as a man sees; for a man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Matthew 23:27,28 NASB "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Then the Lord gave me a vision where I saw two R’s (RR), and my first thought was that the Lord was going to show me something about a railroad. But the Lord then said, “Today, I am giving you a choice between religion or relationship. I did not come into this world to bring religion, but I did come to restore a relationship between Father and his children. I truly realized then that this walk is not really about religion, but it is all about a people, a bride that God is preparing to spend all of eternity with by beautifying their hearts. The Lord then allowed for me to understand that all of these issues of the heart, they are the principals that are needful and necessary for the relationship, the communication, the friendship, and the marriage that the Lord desires to have with each one of us. It was then that understood why Satan attacks the church with the weapons of lies that do nothing but sow unbelief, distrust, pride, unwillingness, rebellion, doubts, fear, whoredoms, as well as all of the lies of self-righteousness; for these are the very principals that will break up any relationship. My eyes were also open to see how the hypocrisies of religion are able to break up this relationship that Father desires to have with his people because they dictate that a man should keep his focus on himself, to try to make himself to be the best Christian he can make of himself, which does not allow for men to draw near to God asking for him to make them to be his children. It was then that I finally felt like I understood why I had felt so far from God when I had tried to play-act my Christianity through my “best efforts” and “good intentions”. What else needed to be said but, “Lord, create in me a new heart; the heart of your bride.”

Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus said, “You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying, “This people draw near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

Psalm 51:10 NLT Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”

I really had no clue as to how the Lord was going to create this new heart in me, and I was wondering what I might need to be doing to allow for him to finish this work that he had started in me. I was riding down the interstate one afternoon when the Lord gave this vision to me: I saw a castle that was an exact replica of your typical medieval castle, except that this castle was much, much smaller. It’s walls were only about 10 feet high and 10 feet long, yet, it still somehow was able to possess all of the intricate features that you would expect to find on one of those large castles in England. It was a beautiful castle that seemed so alive with activity, and there were banners, and tapestries, and linen curtains everywhere that were flapping in the winds. I then observed that each wall had a door, and on both sides of each door was a guard. Each guard was completely outfitted with a full suit of armor, from head to toe, exactly fashioned in the same armor as the castle guards in medieval times had. Each guard was holding in one hand a sword, and in the other hand he was holding a battle ax that was mounted on then end of a 8 foot long staff. I was able to observe this castle for quite some time, and I was amazed at how a castle so small could have all of the details of much larger castles. There did not seem to be any detail missing. Even with all of it’s beauty and glory, the thing that still stood out the most was why would a castle so small need to be guarded with these eight men.

So I then asked, “Lord, what is in this castle that it needs to be so heavily guarded?”

The Lord answered, “Your righteousness; that is, everything that your heart believes and trusts to be right and true. For all that which a man treasures in his heart is rooted and grounded in those things that he believes and trust in. Such things as your own religion, your opinions, your abilities, your money, your own will, your loyalties, your doctrines, your politics, your self-respect, your traditions, your own understanding, your feelings and emotions, your self-confidence, your relationships, your job, your name, your own interpretation of the scriptures, your judgments of other men, as well as all of your own judgments of what you believe to be good & evil, right & wrong, and truth & lies. These are the precious treasures that every man values in his heart; and he will guard them above all things, even with his life. Do not every man protect those things that he values to be precious to him? Do you not know that every man lives his entire life according to the things that he believes to be right and true? It is this standard that men use to set the course of their lives.

Would a man treasure anything other than that which his heart trusts to be right and true? Do not all men treasure these same things? Do not all men treasure those things that they accomplish for themselves? Do not all men treasure their own reputations, that is, the name that they make for themselves? Do not all men believe and trust that the image that they have of God is that right and true image? Do not all men treasure their own opinions, that which they have formed for themselves? Do not all men treasure the judgment of their own decisions and counsels? Do not all men treasure their judgments and opinions of other men? Is it not written that every way of man, or rather, every decision or judgment that a man makes, that it seems right in his own eyes? Do not men believe and trust things to be right and true that agree with their own consciousness or their natural senses? Is it that which is natural that is right and true, or is it that which is spiritual that is right and true? Is it not also written that the Lord, he who looks on the hearts of men, that he sees that there are none who are right? Who then is blind in their seeing, man on earth or the Lord God above? It was at that moment that the word righteousness took on a much broader definition for me, going far beyond that which I had only associated with religion, but to be that which reaches into every part of man’s life, defining for him how he should live his life.

Proverbs 21:2 NASB “Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.”

Then I asked, “Lord, what then do these castle guards represent?” The Lord answered and said, “Your pride! Pride is your personal bodyguard that is always ready to defend and protect all things that your heart treasures to be right and true. These guards of pride will count all to be adversaries and enemies that oppose or contradict any of these things that the heart treasures to be right and true. When any counsel, or correction, or word, or instruction, or deed, or any opinion is heard that opposes or contradicts that which is believed to be right and true, then pride will come forth to fight against it as an enemy that is trying to overthrow that which has been trusted and believed in. Pride will either seek to defend and protect your treasures by either closing the door of your ears so that you will not hear, or by hardening your heart so that you will not believe, or by arguing against, or by scoffing, or by making light of, or by contending with, or by mocking, or by getting offended, or by fighting with. From where comes all of your arguments, your divisions, your anger, your offences, your divorces, your disagreements, your hatred and malice, your unforgiveness, your dissolved friendships, your revenge, your strivings, your fighting’s, as well as all of the wounds in your hurt feelings except from the words spoken that transgress that which you have treasured to be right and true? Does not the world say, “It is the principal of the matter”; that is, that you should always fight for all that which your heart treasures to be right and true? All these things will pride do to defend and protect that which has been believed on to be right and true. All this will a man do to keep from suffering any loss to that which his heart treasures. Now do you see and understand why the castle of your heart needs to be so heavily guarded, to save the righteousness that you live your life according to? Do you see how well your pride has equipped itself so that it may defend and protect your life?

Proverbs 16:5 AMP. “Everyone proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting, hateful, and exceedingly offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished.”

Pride takes great pleasure in the exalting and glorifying itself in all that it believes to be right and true. Pride is that spirit that only loves the entity of “self“, and it hates all things that are opposed to “self”. Pride works feverishly to keep “self” protected from all things that would bring harm, or injury, or offense, or any kind of blemish to it’s “self” image. Pride is only conscious of “self”, and is always mindful of those things which it considers to be beneficial to “self”. Anything that pride sees or hears that is beneficial or pleasing to “self”, or that seems to satisfy any of the desires of “self", then it will gladly open the door to the castle of your heart and allow it entrance in”, says the Lord. “If it sees or hears anything that agrees with that which your heart treasures, then it shall also gladly allow entrance also. If pride sees or hears anything that agrees with it’s feelings, or with it’s emotions, or with it’s “self” desires, then it shall be esteemed as a friend, and it shall be allowed to enter into the precious treasury of the heart. So do you see, that by pride, anything that agrees with “self”, it shall be called a friend and allowed entrance in; while anything that opposes or disagrees with “self” shall be called an enemy and an adversary?

Philippians 2:21 NKJ “For they all seek their own, not the things which are of Jesus Christ.”

Pride only loves for “self” to be in control, and it always resists in submitting itself to any authority, or power, or flesh, or spirit, or even God himself. These guards of pride will also allow entrance to those things which seem to be able to provide “self” with a sense of security, or with power, or with strength, or with authority, or with any ability that will profit or help “self”. It is by pride that a man will even make himself to be Lord and God over his own Christianity. Pride only desires for “self” to be in control over all of the circumstances and situations that may arise. These proud guards will also swing the doors of your castle wide open so as to allow in the gifts of praise, of honor, of esteem, of respect, of glory to enter in that comes to exalt “self”. Does not the heart of man greatly treasure all these and such-like words? Did you not know that there is no way easier way for an enemy and an adversary to enter into the castle of your heart than by bringing with him the gifts of flattery; especially those lying words that exalt a man for his “best efforts” and his “good intentions”. Oh, Mr. Christian, what a big, beautiful heart you have”, said the wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. Pride only loves the beauty of it’s own castle, and it will always be envious and jealous of another man’s castle when it appears to be bigger, or more prosperous, or more beautiful than it’s own?” Can you now see the purpose of pride, and why it is pride that seeks to guard and protect the treasures of your own righteousness?”

Luke 16:15 AMP “But He said to them, You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted and highly thought of among men is detestable and abhorrent (an abomination) in the sight of God.”

Proverbs 16:5 NASB Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

After I had meditated on these words, I then asked, “Lord, do these castle walls represent anything that you want me to know about?” The Lord then answered and said, “These are the walls of self-justification; for it is through the work of self-justification that a man is able to make all things to be right and true that he desires to have as a part of his life. There is no desire that burns greater in the hearts of men than the desire to be right in all that he does, all that he thinks, and all that he speaks. Therefore, there is no place in the heart that is any busier than in the workshop that cunningly crafts out the works of self-justification. It is through these works that a man is able to make all of his ways, all of his decisions, all of his works and efforts, all of his reasons, all of his religion, all of his lusts and desires, all of his relationships, all of his opinions, all of his politics, all his judgments, all of his traditions, all of his emotions and feelings, all of his excuses, and all of the blame that he places elsewhere, to be right and true in his own eyes. This is the idolatry of natural man, to make “self” to be righteous, even more righteous that God. The more that he is able to make right and true, the more of “self” there will be to esteem, to honor, to respect, to praise, and to glorify. Now do you see how once a thing has been justified, it then becomes that which is believed on and trusted in to be right and true; and once a thing is believed on and trusted in to be right and true, then shall it be stored with all of the other treasures in the heart. Do you now see and understand what pride defends and protects, and what is hiding behind the walls of self-justification? For as pride loves “self”, so also does “self”-justification love being right. What could possibly have a stronger hold over a man’s heart and over his thinking than those things which he has justified to be right and believed on to be truth? In the natural realm, the works of “self-justification” seem like that which is right and true.

Job 40:7,8 “Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Will thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Matthew 6:21 NKJ “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Proverbs 21:16 “There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is way of death.”

Luke 16:15 NKJ “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

The Lord continued, “Does not my word testify that I, the Lord your God, see that the heart of man is deceitful above all things? Is there anything that can be more deceitful than for a man to have the ability in his heart to take that which is not wrong, or that which his false, or that which is evil, and then through the works of self-justification, he is able to make his decisions, or his judgments, or his opinions, or his deeds, or his words to appear as that which seems right, or true, or good?” Then the Lord said this, “Mitt, if you can understand the deceitfulness of self-justification, then you will be able to understand all of the power that Satan uses to deceive all men. When the lies of Satan and the wisdom of man are joined together, then comes forth illusions of self-justification that seem real and true. It is in these illusions that make wrong ways seem right, that makes lies to appear as the truth, that makes the works of iniquity to appear as righteousness, and that make darkness to appear as the light. Satan speaks the lies that the wisdom of man desires to hear, and it is this wisdom that then goes to work to justify his lies. Has not my word instructed you not to be wise in your own eyes? Have I not said that I would freely and liberally give my wisdom to whoever lacked it? Do not men feel comfortable and justified in their own reasonings and excuses? Have you seen any shame in the heart of a man that thinks that he is right in what he believes and trusts in? Have you seen in godly sorrow in the hearts and minds of those who delight in the works of their own righteousness? This is the power of darkness; the power that deceives men into believing that things are as they appear in the sight of men. This is also that lie that says, “If it is right in my sight, then surely it must be right in the sight of God.”

Jeremiah 17:9 NKJ “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, Who can know it.”

Proverbs 16:25 NASB “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of death.”

Luke 11:35 “Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.”

Luke 18:9-14 NASB “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. “I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get”. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

You know that it is written that when I came into this world, my own people could not see any beauty in me that they should desire for themselves. Is it not also written that those who loved to justify themselves then rejected, despised, blasphemed, scorned, and hated me so much that they spit on me, mocked me, tortured me and crucified me? Is your righteousness so precious to you that you would also reject me? Did they not crucify me for the sake of self-preservation, so that they could hold fast to their treasured possessions? Would you reject me if I do not honor you, or praise you, or glorify you, or flatter you so as to not contribute to the beauty of your own castle? Are you going to be like many who I have called, but then they make light of their calling because of their ignorance of my calling? Have I not called all of you to come into the righteousness of abundant life? I see all of those illusions that disguise and fashion themselves with appearance of righteousness. I see all those things which are hidden in the dark places of a man’s heart and mind that he does not want to be made known. I do not look on the appearances of the castle of your heart, but I look deep into the castle to see that which your heart treasures. The castle that you see, this is how you see the castle of your heart, all arrayed in the beauty of your own goodness and decked out in your own righteousness.

I Kings 8:38-40 NASB “Whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.”

Then the Lord asked, “Mitt, would you allow for me to show you how I see your castle; the truth about that which some of those things your heart has been treasuring?” I then immediately froze for a moment, fearful that if the Lord had to ask me such a question, then it could only mean that he did not see the beauty and splendor of my castle as I did. Even so, I knew from past experiences that the Lord has never brought anything into the light that he was not ready to change or redeem with his Spirit. I also knew from my past experiences with him that everything that the Lord has ever brought into the light for me, that which was once treasured in my eyes, I would suddenly see it to be the foolishness or the vanity that he saw it to be. I remembered how I had treasured my own righteous works until the Lord told me that it is his righteous works that are to accompany my faith; and all of the works that he had done for me since have simply been awesome. And there was one more thing that I remembered, and that is that I have come to learn that when the Lord comes to correct or to change something within me, then it does not come by punishment, but by his Spirit; and his Spirit brings forth that good life. In fact, because all of his works have been such a blessing to me, it has allowed for him to win my trust, my loyalty, my faith, my belief, and my love. I then gave him permission to open my eyes so that I could see the castle of my heart as he saw it.

I Samuel 16:7 NAS “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Suddenly my eyes were opened and what I saw did not at all resemble the castle that I has previously seen, but rather it looked like one of the most terrifying haunted castles that I have ever seen, whether in a movie, or on any TV show, or any that I have seen pictured in a book. There were no banners, or tapestries, or linen curtains blowing in the wind, and neither did I see any beautiful or lively colors anywhere in this castle. All of the rooms were filled with darkness inside, and it looked as though the entire castle was completely void of life. This castle had none of the glory as I had seen in the first castle. In fact, it was as if this castle was only a habitation of decay, death, and darkness. I then saw different kinds of dark spirits floating around as though they were ghost; and they just seem to freely drift in and out of the windows and the broken down doors. This entire castle appeared to be in a total state of disrepair, and decay, and neglect. I was really shocked to see this haunted castle because I really had not been expecting to see anything like this.

I Corinthians 4:5 NIV “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”

Isaiah 57:12 “I will declare your righteousness and your works (of darkness), for they shall not profit.”

The vision of this haunted castle really took me by surprise. I then asked, “Lord, is this some kind of sin that may have been hidden in my heart? Is this truly how you see my heart because this haunted castle is so contrary to how I see my heart.” Then the Lord said, “If you have believed my word, then you would know that what I am showing you is true. Do not be afraid of what you see because the grace of my love always covers you. Is it not written that there are none who are righteous in the sight of God? Is it not also written that there are none who are good in the sight of God?” I knew that these words were true, but I had never really seen why they were written. I then answered, “Yes Lord. But what are the things within me that are haunting my castle?” The Lord answered, “The spirit of FEAR.” Then the Lord began to open my eyes so that I could see that all these ghost-like spirits that I had seen drifting around were nothing but spirits of fear. Then the Lord said, “All that which has been haunting your castle are these spirits of fear that have been haunting you in your own thoughts. This is the death that rules over the thoughts of the carnal mind.”

Romans 8:6 NKJ “For to be carnally minded is death…”

Psalm 94:11 “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”

Isaiah 65:2 “I have spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious (will not listen or trust) people, which walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.”

Then the Lord opened my eyes to see that all of these ghosts were spirits of fear, and they all had different natures. I then saw that there were names written across each one’s chests that identified exactly what the nature of fear that fearful spirit was. These are just a few of the names of these spirits that I saw: the fear of dying; the fear of man; the fear of not being in control; the fear of loss, the fear of making a mistake; the fear of being judged by others; the fear of suffering; the fear of hearing the truth; the fear of insecurity; the fear of not being right; the fear of getting sick; the fear of failure; the fear of being different; the fear of abuse; the fear of poverty; the fear of being accused; the fear of heights; the fear of being used by others; the fear of not being able to justify mistakes or faults; the fear of losing; the fear of adversity; the fear of appearing foolish; the fear of shame; the fear of not measuring up; the fear of not understanding; the fear of the future; the fear of being deceived; the fear of the loss of possessions; the fear of growing old; the fear of being embarrassed, the fear of the loss of a job; the fear of being condemned; the fear of being late; the fear of not being accepted; the fear of change; the fear of being left out; the fear of weaknesses or sins being exposed; the fear that you will not get your will; the fear of the unknown; the fear of what others think; the fear of being asked to do something that you cannot possibly do; the fear of failing health; and the fears that one has for the safety and security for his children, or his family, or his friends, or for his brethren. I perceived that I was seeing one spirit of fear, but that this one spirit had a legion of different personalities.

Luke 8:28-31 AMP “And when he saw Jesus, he raised a deep (terrible) cry [from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in terror] and shouted loudly, What have You [to do] with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? What have we in common?] I beg You, do not torment me! For Jesus was already commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had snatched and held him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and fetters, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilderness (desert). Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he answered, Legion; for many demons had entered him. And they begged [Jesus] not to command them to depart into the Abyss (bottomless pit).”

Romans 8:14,15 AMP “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear…”

As haunting as these group of fears were, it was the next group of haunting spirits that really frightened me. These were the spirits whose only nature and purpose for being was to try and haunt us in our relationship, our communion, and our fellowship with God. These were those spirits that by nature are fearful to believe God; fearful that God has lied to them; fearful to draw near to God; fearful to be corrected by God; fearful to trust God; fearful to confess sins; fearful to ask anything of God; fearful that God will not heal; fearful that God will not forgive; fearful that God would not be there when needed; fearful that God will not answer that which is asked of him; fearful of lack or coming up short; fearful of being persecuted for the name of Christ; fearful that God does not care; fearful because of it’s ignorance of God; fearful to surrender all to God; fearful that God was going to bring it’s shame into the light; fearful that God would forsake me; fearful that God would not be faithful to his word for me; fearful that I was not good enough for God; fearful that God does not love me; fearful that God will not do for me that which he has done for others; fearful that God would limit his mercy and grace towards me; fearful that I was going to be rejected; fearful of being condemned by God; and fears that did nothing but doubt God. I saw that it was impossible for any of these unclean spirits to act in any other nature other than what it’s name was. In other words, the spirit of fear that believes that God is going to reject it, to those who have surrendered their hearts to believe that it’s lying counsel is right and true, then they have no choice but to be in bondage to the belief that God is going to reject them also. As the spirit is, so is the nature of the soul that believes it; for they one in agreement.

Revelation 21:7,8 “He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving….shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.”

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord and he heard me, and he delivered me from “all” my fears.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord opened my understanding so that I could see that though all of these spirits of fear were of different natures, they all had the same purpose, to haunt me with troubling and tormenting thoughts. Because each spirit had a different nature, they could only haunt me when a situation or circumstance arose that agreed with their nature. That is, the fear of heights could only trouble and torment a man when he was in a high place; but for him to haunt that man, that man had to first believe that its counsels were right and true. The fear of man could only trouble a man when a circumstance or situation arose where that man perceived some kind of threat that might come against him from other men. I saw that each fear was limited to where he could only trouble or torment a man when the circumstance or situation arose that matched that spirits nature; and of course, a man first had to believe that the counsels of these unclean spirits was right before he could believe them. Once a man believed any of their counsels, then these spirits could be seen by the fruits of their works that were manifested in either stress, or despair, or uncertainly, or confusion, or terror, or unwillingness, or dread, or hesitation, or fret, or insecurity, or evil suspicions, or distress, or rebellion, or self-condemnation, or worry, or hopelessness, or impatience, or panic, or disappointments, or anxiety, as well as in the thoughts that doubt God, that do not believe God, and that distrust God.

I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

I then saw another group of spirits that did not appear in the same form as any of these spirits of fear, but I perceived that they were somehow or another all related. When these spirits were present they were just as troubling to a man’s thoughts as any of these spirits the fear were because when they are present in a man’s thoughts, there is then no peace or rest in that man’s mind. These unclean spirits were named envy, malice, depression, jealousy, unforgiveness, confusion, rage, frustration, contention, bitterness, covetousness, vengefulness, strife, hatred, lusts, and anger. It was here that for the first time I began to understand why the Lord says that death rules over the thoughts of the carnal mind. Up until this time, I just thought the death of the carnal mind only had to do with man’s “separation from God”, but I now I could see that the very nature of these troubling, and miserable, and tormenting thoughts was death itself. I even saw that if a man had no fear of dying, then he would never be troubled with any worries or stress about dying. I could now see that there was no peace or life in any of the counsels that these spirits were haunted the castle of my heart. The Lord also opened my eyes to see that death is not only a separation from God, but it is also this actual thinking that is separate from God’s thoughts.

Jeremiah 6:16 “Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.”

Proverbs 1:30,31 “They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices (thoughts, counsels,).”

I then saw two more spirits that seemed to travel side by side, working hand in hand with each other to haunt my castle. One had the words “What If” written across his chest area, and the other had the words “Worst Case Scenario” written on his chest. I can only speak for myself in saying that I clearly recognized both of these spirits, and how they had infected my thinking. I saw how the “What If” seemed to always lead me to into the hands of the “Worst Case Scenario” spirit. The “What If” spirit would come and try to paint many pictures in my thinking that tried to dictate to me how I should fearfully respond or react to situations or circumstance before any of these events even happened. If I have ever met a false prophet, then my eyes were opened to see how these two spirits were nothing but false prophets sent to trouble and torment with their fears about events before they even happen.

I then said, “Lord, now I see how it was these two spirits that many times in my past have had me tossing and turning in my bed, or that have kept me awake most of the night with thoughts of stress, anxiety, and worry. Now Lord I see that all of these thoughts are birthed out of the prophesies that the “What If” or “Worst Case Scenario” spirits bring forth in my imaginations. No wonder your word has instructed us to take no thought for tomorrow, because so many of the thoughts about tomorrow do nothing but open the door for these two spirits to come in “now” to trouble and torment us about tomorrow. As I thought more on how much these two unclean spirits have corrupted so much of my thinking, the Spirit of the Lord then quickened to me that which is written Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Then the Lord said, “My word is true. This is the only prophesy that you need to be mindful of. No matter how bad a circumstance or situation looks, I am well able to bring forth good out of every one of them. I can part the seas; I can calm the winds; or I can cast out your fears. If you will take up your cross and die to the words of these two unclean spirits, declaring before me that none of their counsels is the right way for you to follow after, then I will come and redeem you from these haunting spirits. I will send forth the Spirit of Life that will set you free from the death that troubles and torments the carnal mind. If you will disown these lies, and not longer esteem their words to be right and true, then I will redeem the “What Ifs” and “Worst Case Scenarios” with the “All things will work together for good”. Then the Lord said to me that no matter circumstance or situation that I could be in, that there is only one worst case scenario that is true, and that is I could lose him.

Luke 9:24 NASB “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The vision had ended, and many days went by when the Lord again took me right back into the same Castle Vision, but directly to the haunted castle part of the vision. This time he took me directly to two places in the castle that I had not previously seen. The first place that the Lord showed to me was the courtyard of the castle. In the first vision that I had of this haunted castle, all of the spirits that I saw were rather small faceless spirits that just seemed to drift about or hover in the air, but these spirits that I saw in courtyard walked upright on two feet. Other than being very dark black, these spirits had no other features that resembled any of other spirits that I had previously seen. These spirits seemed to be anywhere from ten to fourteen feet tall while all of the other spirits seemed to be anywhere from one to three tall. These spirits were not only much taller but they were much larger also, having very broad shoulders. Even though they were much taller and larger than the other spirits, what really separated these spirits from the other spirits was that they had faces; and their faces appeared like extremely vicious bulldogs. They not only looked like, but they carried themselves about as an extremely intimidating bully. I observed that these spirits walked about the courtyard as though they were on some kind of guard patrol, even though they were walking about aimless and random fashions. I could not see at that moment what it was that they were guarding, but I perceived that these spirits were the elite, like they were the strongest, the most skilled, and most powerful of all the spirits; something like the Nazi SS or the elite U.S. Army Special Forces.

Then the Lord said, “These are the spirits of Dread; the spirits of fear that guard and protect all of the other fears. These are the spirits that mock and scoff at anything that they do not understand or comprehend; and they do not understand or comprehend anything about the love or power of God. These are the spirits that continually scorn and make light of all things that are of God. As there is no fear in love, and no love in fear, so also are there no blessings in dread, or any dread in blessings. Any man who sets his heart to know come to know the height, the length, the width, and the depth of the love of God, he will certainly encounter these unclean spirits. These are the spirits that are always on the watch, seeking to find that opportunity to march right into that man’s thoughts to mock, or to intimidate, or to bully him around in his thinking with such counsels as “No way”; or “That is Impossible”: or, “That is just illogical”; or, “That is unreasonable”; or, “That is Ridiculous”; or, “That is irrational”; or, “That is foolishness”; or “Can’t happen”; or “Unbelievable”. It is impossible for these spirits of Dread to react to the love of God in any other manner than with scorn or mockery. What is impossible is for any of these unclean spirits to understand the grace of God; or, the faithfulness of God; or, the love of God; or, the power of God because the darkness cannot comprehend the things that are of God.

I Corinthians 2:14 NIV “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

II Peter 2:12 NIV But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.…20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

Jude 17 NKJ “But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”

II Peter 3:3,4 NASB “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Every single thought that does not believe that God will work all things together for good, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that reasons against the love of God, and the mercy, or the help, or the forgiveness, or any of the wonderful works that Father’s love desires to do for us, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that does not believe that the power of God is able to perform “all” that which is impossible for men to do, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that doubts the faithfulness of God, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that cannot believe that the grace of God is sufficient enough in times of sin, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that says that good can only come to those who do good for themselves, it is thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that says, “Why bother with your prayers because God will not be bothered with listening to you”, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. It is impossible for any of these spirits of Dread to comprehend, or understand, or to believe, or to hope that God is able to do, or that he will bless, or that he will perform his words and promises. These spirits are enmity against God, and they watch at all times to resist any move of the Spirit of God. Everyone that agrees to surrender his heart to believe that these wicked and ungodly thoughts are right and true, he then is made like unto that unclean spirit; for a man is like unto the thoughts that he thinks. It is from these hopeless spirits that come forth the lies that say that God will reward a man for his “best efforts” and “good intentions”.

DREAD: to greatly fear; to be in extreme apprehension; to regard or look forward to with terrific apprehension; fearful expectation or anticipation

Proverbs 23:7 NASB “For as he thinks within himself, so he is….”

The consciousness of the spiritual mind is belief; the belief that God is always going to do good and to bless, no matter what the circumstance or situation may seem to dictate. You shall find not find any such belief among the thoughts where the spirits of Dread dwell. It is of these spirits of Dread that came the voices that cried out at the Red Sea, “God brought us out here to kill us”. It is these spirits of Dread that came the voices that cried out, “God brought us into this wilderness to kill us with famine”. It is of these spirits of Dread that came the voices that said, “We cannot take this land because there are giants in the land”. It is of these same spirits that came the voices that cried out, “Lord, do you not care that we are perishing”. In not one of these instances did these spirits of allow for any faith to come forth that believed that God was going to do good or perform that which he had promised to his people. Even when good does come from forth from above to do good and bless, the spirits of Dread cannot perceive or see that it has come forth from God because these spirits of darkness cannot know or understand the goodness of God; for light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend.

Ephesians 5:8 NIV “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”

John 1:5 NIV “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

It is the work of these spirits of Dread to speak the lies that pervert the image of Satan, to make it appear as though it is the counsel of Satan’s words that are right and true; while also working to pervert the image of God, to make it appear as though God’s words are false and perverse. God loves all men, and he desires to do good and to bless all men at all times, but the spirits of Dread would not have any man to see or to believe that this is the way of God. It is these spirits that work to deceive men into believing that Satan is a god that should be dreaded, and that all should suffer who do not bow their hearts to believe the counsel of his demons. It is also these fears that deceive men into believing that God should be dreaded in the same manner as Satan; that is, that man should be brought into obedience to God through threats, control, fears, and intimidation. It is these spirits of dread that work to deceive men into believing that God would treat men in the same manner as Satan treats them, as a liar that cannot be trusted to do what he says. It is also these vile spirits that would have a man to believe that God looks and waits for a man to make just one error so that he can pounce on him with accusations, condemnation, and that evil is going to come upon him. Yet, in truth, it is the darkness that fears the light because the nature of fear only allows for it to fear; and the darkness cannot change. Remember that which I told you, that fear has no greater protector than fear itself. Those who worship these spirits are those who believe that their fears and dreads are real and true; and as the nature of these lying spirits are, so also will their nature also be because that is what they are in agreement with.

Isaiah 8:12,13 NASB “You are not to say, “It is a conspiracy!” In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, and you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.”

Hebrews 6:16-19 NASB “For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.”

John 8:44 NASB “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

These dreadful spirits work to deceive men into believing that Satan is as sovereign as God; that he is able to exercise power and authority at the leisure of his own will to kill, to steal, and to destroy the lives of men as though there were no boundaries or limitations to contain that which he desires to do. Again, let me remind you that the only power that Satan has over a man is the power that comes when his words are believed to be right and true. If a man believes the counsels that come forth from these unclean spirits of fear, then those spirits shall receive power and authority to rule over that man’s thinking; to be the righteousness that he lives his life according to. It is for this reason that these vile spirits continuously work to bully and intimidate men into believing that their words are right and true, that Satan should be feared and dreaded. Satan, that old Devil, loves to exercise his lust to judge, to accuse, to threaten, and to condemn men when he sees their mistakes, their sins, and their weaknesses because it allows for these spirits of Dread to keep fearing that any of their mistakes, or sins, or weaknesses to be manifest, lest they suffer the judgment, the accusations, or condemnation that comes forth from the children of darkness. How great, might you ask, have these spirits of Dread blinded the eyes of men? Consider how many men you know that count it joy to confess their sins, or their mistakes, or their weaknesses. This is the power of darkness, the work of the spirits of Dread, to keep all mistakes, sins, faults, and weaknesses hidden from the eyes of others.

John 8:10-12 AMP “When Jesus raised Himself up, He said to her (the woman caught in the act of adultery), “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you? She answered, No one, Lord! And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more. Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.”

Revelation 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

It is also the work of these same vile spirits that work to deceive men into believing that God is going to recompense their sins, or their mistakes, or their weaknesses or their faults with the same evil consequence as the darkness recompenses to them; with judgment, or with accusations, or with condemnation, or with severe punishment, or with a curse, or with, or with anger, or with suffering, or with destruction, or with sickness, or with affliction, or with disappointment, or with abandonment, or with death, or with ridicule, or with infirmity, or with some form of banishment, or with rejection. It is the work of these spirits of Dread to keep many tormented and troubled with the expectation that God is going to render evil unto them for the evil they do. It is impossible for the spirits of Dread to think that God will recompense to a man for his sins and weaknesses with mercy, or with compassion, or with forgiveness, or with grace, or any other work that comes forth from love. These spirits, as well as all those who are possessed by these spirits, are not able to see or to believe that God works all things together for good for those who love him, to even see that the goodness of God leads a man into repentance for his weaknesses and sins rather than into condemnation, or into evil, or into destruction. But these spirits of Dread would not have any man to see it this way. Who are those are led into evil, or destruction, or condemnation, or rejection but those who believe the lies that say that this is how God deals with sins and weaknesses.

I Thessalonians 5:14,15 NASB “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”

I Peter 3:8,9 ASV “Finally, be ye all likeminded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded: not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Romans 2:4 NKJ “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

Just like with the woman that was caught in the act of adultery, these spirits of Dread will not hesitate to use laws written in stone or the doctrines of men to exercise there desires to keep men fearful of judgment and condemnation. The more these spirits can exercise their threats and intimidation by perverting the use of laws and doctrines, the more control they are able to gain over the thinking of men. The woman that was caught in the very act of adultery, did she have any expectation or hope that see was going to see any of the goodness of mercy and grace to come to her by the hand of those who came against her with the law of Moses? The words that I spoke to her, did they bring any kind of threat or intimidation to her? If my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways, and seek my face, then what will I do for them? If my people will confess their sins before me, then what does my word testify that I will do for them? The consequences that God brings to a man for his sins and weaknesses are not like the consequences that the darkness brings with it. Those who are fearful to even see their sins and weaknesses are greatly oppressed by these spirits of Dread. Again, the more these bullying spirits are able to pervert the use of laws and doctrines, then the more my people will be haunted with their intimidations and threats that condemnation, or sickness, or judgment, or some manner of evil is going to come unto them for their sin instead of the grace of my love. The mouth of these spirits of Dread delight in bringing forth the words that will stone a man with intimidation and threats for his transgressions.

I Timothy 1:5-8 NKJ “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully.”

Romans 5:20 “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Do you really believe that which the scriptures testify of me, that it is real and true? If a man were to confess his sins before me, that grace, and compassion, and forgiveness, and mercy would be the only consequence he would see coming from me? Do you really believe that my goodness would only lead him into repentance, and not into hell? And even if he kept committing the same sins over and over, but he kept bringing his sins to me; do you really believe that I would be able to forgive him seven times seventy, or even seventy times seven hundred? Would I ask you to treat your brother in any other manner than that which my heart delights in treating him with, even when he sins? When his sin, or your sins, abound, do you really believe that the grace of my love will abound even more and more? If you believe on me, then what habitation could these spirits of Dread find to dwell in?

Matthew 18:21,22 NKJ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

James 1:12,13 NKJ “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Romans 2:4-9 NKJ “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness: indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil (believes their fears and dreads), of the Jew first and also of the Greek.”

Again I want to remind you that these wicked spirits could have no power at all over you unless you first believe them to be right and true. This is that strong delusion that deceives men into believing that it is God standing in the temple of their hearts, ruling over them with the threats and intimidations that evil consequences are going to come upon them for their mistakes, their sins, and their weaknesses. In truth, it is only the adversary, that accuser of the brethren, who abuses men with his fears and dreads. No man can have two masters in his temple; for he will either believe that one is right and true while he scoffs and rejects the counsels of the other. Either he will account the lies of Satan’s fears and dreads to be his righteousness, or he will account the truth of God’s love to be his righteousness. The one will receive the wrath and the anger that he expects to come to him, while the other shall receive the grace of Father’s love. Every man’s reward shall be according to that which he believes.

II Thessalonians 2:3-12 NKJ “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Did not my apostle Paul say that in time of his weaknesses, the only consequence that he witnessed was seeing the power of God coming to strengthen him? Did not Paul also testify that he took pleasure in his weaknesses? Is it possible for a man to take pleasure in anything when he is only expecting for dread to come? Did I afflict Paul with sickness, or with condemnation, or with any kind of disappointment when he asked for my strength? Would a loving father give a stone to his son when he asks for bread? Dread is only fulfilled in those who believe dread is coming, while good comes to those who believe that I will perform my words for them. Is it not also written that I said that if you would pray for each others faults, then I would come and heal each one of you of your faults? So what do you believe; would I bring healing or would I bring condemnation on those who believe my words and confess their faults? For by reason of these bullying dreads, many are intimidated into believing that they should keep their faults hidden in the darkness of their hearts for fear that condemnation or evil will come upon them.

II Corinthians 12:9,10 NKJ “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

It is only these spirits of Dread that would keep a man oppressed with blindness so that he is not able to believe or see into the grace of my Father’s love. Those who are oppressed with this darkness are never able to see themselves worthy to receive any of Father’s goodness, or faithfulness, or blessings, or kindness, or love, or to be the recipient of any of his wonderful works because they only expect for evil to come. Do not let the spirits of Dread keep you in bondage to their filthy fears. I have come to set you free. Did I not move freely, and eat, and drink with sinners, with drunkards, with outcasts, with tax collectors, and with prostitutes? Did my Father bring any evil consequences on me for showing his mercy and spreading his love? To those who look for evil, evil they will find them; those who look for good, God will find them. Let not these dreadful spirits deceive you into believing that God renders consequences to you for your evil deeds, for God renders good for evil. And do not let any of these spirits of Dread deceive you into looking for any kind of evil consequence to come from above; for that which comes from above is love, and love never thinks to do any evil. Take heed what you choose to believe about God, that it is not that which any of these spirits of Dread would have you to believe. Also take heed to whose words you choose to believe, lest the same terrifying fear and dread that these demons have of God also become the fear and dread that makes you terrified of God. That which you believe will surely become your truth and your reality. As a man believes, so let it be done unto him; either the truth of Father’s love or the consequences of fear and dread.

Job 42:7,8 NIV After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends,because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

James 2:19 AMP “You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man's hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!”

When the Lord finished speaking these words to me, the spirit of the Lord brought back into my remembrance an instance that happened about 15 years ago concerning my father-n-law. My wife had gotten a phone call whereby she was informed that her dad had just been admitted to the hospital in very serious condition. Before my wife left to drive the 75 miles to that hospital, she prayed and acknowledged the Lord and asked for him to direct her. The Lord spoke to her and said, “Do not fear their fears or dread their dreads.” This was the first time that the Lord had ever spoken anything to either my wife or I concerning any fears or dreads, and we did not even know at that moment that the word of this instruction was also scriptural. My wife arrived at the hospital and several of her aunts and uncles were there, and they all, including the doctors that were also there, were filled with nothing but fears and dreads about my father-in-law’s condition. In fact, every word that my wife heard spoken in that hospital room was filled with nothing fear and dread; so much so that she also began to be overcome by their words, and she began to fearfully dread what her father’s outcome might be. But then the Spirit of the Lord brought back into her remembrance the word that had been spoken to her, and she went down to the hospital chapel and began to pray. She just asked the Lord to help her not to believe any more of these fears and dreads, and to deliver her from the fears and dreads that she had begun to believe. The Lord came to her and took away from her all of these fears and the dreads, and then filled her with his peace; that peace that passes all understanding. He calmed the storm of fears and dreads that had been strongly blowing in the thoughts of her mind. After this, she went back to her father’s room, and she said that she then felt like a complete stranger or alien there because she no longer being affected, or afflicted, by any of the fears or dreads that were being spoken there. To make a long story short, contrary to the words that these spirits of fear had been prophesying about the future health of my father-in-law, none of the came to pass because he recovered and was soon discharged from the hospital and went home.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

II Timothy 4:18 NASB “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

One thing that we have observed in other instances is that when the Lord delivers you from these fears or dreads, then those that are still subject to these unclean spirits do not know how to interpret you in the times that distress men; that is, they cannot understand why you are not worried or stressed out as they are. In fact, some have even gotten angry because this peace of God is so alien and strange to them that this peace of mind appears to them as if you do not care. We have certainly been the recipient of some evil looks that tried to intimidate us into believing their fears and dreads; looks that greatly resembled the countenance I saw on the face of these spirits of Dread that appeared as these intimidating bulldogs. I now know that these are those intimidating spirits of Dread that would bullying us into believing that it is impossible for God to do any good in the situations and circumstances of life that daily confront us. Satan would only have us to focus on the evil that his spirits of Dread prophesy unto us, always trying to take the love and the goodness of Abba, Father out of the outcome.

Philippians 3:2,3 NASB “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision, for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”

The Lord then opened my eyes to see what these spirits of dread were guarding. Right there in the middle of the courtyard was this eerie and frightful looking entrance into the castle dungeon. Then almost immediately I found myself down inside this dungeon; and I also became aware that what I seeing was also what was in the deep places of my heart. I then thought, “Who should be afraid to see what is exists the depths of his own heart?” But once my eyes adjusted to where I could begin to see, what I saw was not desirable, and certainly nothing that should be accounted as the treasures of my heart. The first thing that I became aware of was that this dungeon appeared to have never been cleansed in any manner, and the stench from the smell there was unbearable. I then saw that in the middle of the room what appeared to be a giant pile of dung, but after some observation I realized that what appeared as dung was nothing but a shapeless spirit of Darkness. I was really surprised to find that I was not at all frightened by what I was seeing. I then observed as several of the spirits that I had previously seen haunting the castle coming flying into the dungeon in the same manner that bats return to their caves when the light comes. I then observed several other spirits departing from the dungeon just as bats depart from a cave when night falls, and I knew that they were going to haunt the castle with some worries, or anxieties, or whatever it might take to trouble and torment a man in his thoughts. I saw that when these spirits returned to the dungeon, they would fly straight over to and land on this giant spirit of Darkness; and then it was as if they would be absorbed into that spirit. The spirits that I saw departing from the dungeon, they all came out from this giant spirit also. It was as if this spirit was the mother ship or something like that. I do not know how I knew, but I was able to discern at that moment that this giant spirit was not actually one big spirit, but rather a mass of many, many small spirits in one big mass. It was like when Jesus asked that unclean spirit what his name was, and he answered saying, “Legion; for we are many”.

I Corinthians 4:5 NASB “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.”

Nahum 1:11-13 “There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor. Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.”

I then discerned that it was from this dungeon that all these unclean spirits received their power to deceive: to make the darkness to appear as the light; to make the ways of death seem like the right way; to make lies to appear as the truth; to make evil to appear as good; to make the works of iniquity to appear as the righteousness of God; and to even make the miseries of death (the carnal mind) to be an acceptable form of life. I observed that these spirits would go in and out of this dungeon as the circumstances and situations changed. For example, I saw that the fear of heights could only haunt the castle of man’s heart when that man that believed it’s counsel was in a high place; but once that man’s feet were back on the ground, (so to speak) then that spirit of fear would return to the dungeon and remain quiet there until the circumstance would arise again that would allow for it to return to haunt the castle some more. I saw that this was the way it was with all of these unclean spirits of fear, that they all remained quiet in the dungeon until the right situation or circumstance arose that would allow for them to come forth to torment and trouble a man in his imaginations. This is the hidden place of darkness, that place in the heart that no man is able to look into; the place that only the light of God is able to see into.

Genesis 6:5 NASB “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Wow! Talk about a haunted castle; I saw so many types of fears that I wondered if there was any circumstance or situation that a man could face where he would not encounter at least one or more of these fears coming forth to trouble and torment him with some kind of dread, or anxiety, or uncertainty, or worry. Then the Lord said, “Do you believe me now? Do you believe me when I say to you that your thoughts are not my thoughts? Do you think for one moment that I would allow for any of these filthy, vile spirits to enter into my thinking to torment and haunt me? In this fallen world of darkness, death rules over the carnal thoughts of men through deceit. Death only rules in the darkness where fears and dreads are believed on to be right and true; for death is the reality of darkness. It is not possible for any of these thoughts to dwell in my kingdom because the darkness cannot dwell where the where the light of life reigns; neither now, or forever. Can death reign with life?” says the Lord.

Isaiah 55:7,8 NIV "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 65:2 “I have spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious (will not listen or trust) people, which walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.”

Proverbs 8:36 “But he that sinneth against me wronged his own soul; for all that hate me (the wisdom of life) love death (the carnal mind).”

As I sat meditating on all that I had seen and heard in this vision, the Spirit of the Lord again brought into my remembrance that which the Lord had said to me, that the treasures in a man’s heart consist of those things that he believes and trusts to be right and true. Then I suddenly realized that the dungeon that I had seen was also the treasury of my own heart; and that it was I who had allowed for these vile and unclean to dwell within me. I had been treasuring these lies to be right and true, whether I was doing this consciously or unconsciously I do not know, but now the Lord had surely brought them into the light. I saw clearly how I could make myself to be one with anyone of these unclean spirits when I had bowed my heart to agree that their instructions were right counsels for me to live according to. I saw that I was so accustomed to living my life with worry and anxiety that I was blind to see that I was doing any evil by following their counsels. I was in bondage to a bondage that I could not see. For the first time since the Lord had called me, I began to realize the magnitude of the bondage that a carnally minded man, whether a Christian or not, is captive to when these fears and dreads are the thoughts that he thinks upon. Truly, nothing can have any power over our thinking except that which we first believe to be right and true.

Romans 6:16,17 NKJ “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

I was still meditating on this when the Lord spoke and said, “Mitt, do you want to see how well Satan has deceived you?” Yes, Lord, please show me if that is what it is going to set me free all of these troubling fears and dread. Then the Lord asked, “Who is guarding and defending the treasures in your castle; the fears and the dreads that dwell in your heart?” With a sudden shock of realization, and feeling extremely foolish, I answered, “I suppose I am, Lord”. Then the Lord said, “Well, this is how well Satan has deceived you, in that he has you guarding and defending the very fears and dread that have been oppressing you. Never forget that I have told you that nothing could have power over you unless you first believe it to be right and true. Neither Satan or any of these haunting spirits could have power to take the castle of your heart by force. It is for this reason that they disguise their words so that they appear as counsels that can be received to help or to guide you. Otherwise, they could not gain entrance into the treasury of your heart or make your mind their dwelling place. Neither Satan, nor any of these spirits of fear and dread, have any power of themselves, but they receive power the moment their words are received and believed. Then once they have gained entrance, they go to work to haunt a man in his thoughts with anxiety, confusion, worry, loneliness, uncertainty, strife, unforgiveness, bitterness, stress, hatred, depression, envy, and every other miserable thought that robs you of peace and life that I created man to be partakers of. I have given you power that the world does not have, and that is the power to choose not believe that which seeks to oppress you. If you do not choose to use this power, then the forces of darkness will laugh and mock at you when they deceive you with the lies that haunt you. Would you account a man to be wise or to be foolish who defends and protects the very counsels that torment and oppress him?”

Jeremiah 4:14 “O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?”

Isaiah 53:13,14 NKJ “All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”

Then I asked the Lord the only other question that I could think to ask at that moment, “Lord, what can I do now about all of these fears and dreads?” The Lord then answered and said, “I am standing and knocking at the door of your heart, but unless you are first willing to open the door and ask for me to come in, then I will not be able to enter in. I have not come to the door of your heart to fight against your pride, to force myself in. I will never force myself upon you, or any man. But if you will humble yourself and open the door to your heart, asking for me to come in, then I will come in. I am the light of the world. I am the light that reveals the hidden things of darkness and the secret counsels of the heart. I see the thoughts of the heart with all of it’s intents and purposes. I stand at the door of heart willing and ready to come in to set you free from all these lying spirits that have oppressed and tormented you. I am willing to come in and be the truth of what to believe; for I am the truth that makes you free. I am the truth that cast out lies. I am the love that cast out fear. I have showed to you how these fears and dreads have come only to haunt you, to destroy and rob you of the abundant life that I desire for all of you to be partakers of. My love is standing at the door of heart, ready to fill you with the joy and with the peace that is able to rule over your heart. I love you, and if you ask for me to come in, then my love will come in to judge and to cast out all of these fears. I am standing at the door of your heart ready to fill your treasuries with the blessings and riches of abundant life.

Revelation 2:20,21 NASB “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Malachi 3:9-11 NASB “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts.

I Am the Lord your God; and I alone am to be worshipped and served. How can you call me Lord and then bow your knee to serve the counsels of these unclean spirits of fear and dread? My love is jealous for you, and my love yearns for you to allow for me to cast out these lying spirits that oppress and haunt you. I am asking you to trust me, to open your heart to me, to allow for me to come in. I am asking not to surrender your heart any longer to any of these fears and dreads, to account any of their lies to be right or true. I am here to cleanse and sanctify this haunted castle, to cast out all of these filthy and unclean spirits. I am here to tear down this haunted castle, this temple full of unclean and false idols. I am here to tear down this temple that has been built on the lies that you have believed. I am here to build me a glorious temple that I will fill with all of the riches of life. I have given to you the power that enables you to choose what you are going to believe. Will you choose me? Will you have the righteousness of my love to rule over your heart and mind, or will you continue to choose to allow these fears and dreads to be the righteousness that you live by? Will you have peace or will you have torment to rule in your heart? As Darkness cannot have any fellowship with light, so neither can death have any fellowship with life. So I give to you this day a choice between the life and death, blessing and cursing. You choose who you are going to open the door of your heart to believe, whether it be to my love that loves you, or to the fears and dreads that oppress and haunt you.

Romans 6:16 NKJ “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

Hebrews 9:14 NASB “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

I Samuel 12:20 “Fear not; though you have done all of this wickedness, see that you do not turn aside from serving the Lord with all your heart.”

Psalm 127:1 NASB “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.”

II Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

I John 4:18 “There is no fear in love….”

I John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which is written in I Samuel 16:7 NAS “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” With this word, I knew that it would be vain for me to try and discern the fears of my own heart, as though I could prove to God that I am able to cast out these fears and dreads that have been haunting me. So I surrendered to the Lord, and simply stood before the Lord and acknowledged to him that I choose life and blessings. “Lord, is really that simple, that all that you are asking for me to do is to choose?“ Then I asked for him to come in and do whatever he needed to do so that life and peace would rule over my heart and mind. This was a really easy choice for me to make seeing that left alone to myself, I freely chosen to allow many fears and dreads to enter into the treasury of my heart; I had chosen my own poison to haunt me. If that was not shameful enough for me to see, then seeing that I was also allowing for my pride to defend and protect my own poison was doubly foolish. Surely, the wisdom of man is foolishness in the sight of God.

Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”

Chapter 5

“You must take up your cross and crucify the righteousness of your fears and dreads. Be not joined in agreement with that old oppressive husband, that law of sin and death that brings forth all unrighteousness.”

Romans 7:3-6 NASB “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law (of sin and death) through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”

Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

As I continued to seek the Lord concerning these fears and dreads, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Do not be afraid Mitt; for there is no fear in love, and neither is there anything to dread concerning any of the works of my love. My love comes forth to deliver you from all fears and dreads. My love comes forth to set you free. My love comes forth to give you life. Seek my love! Cry out for my love! Ask for me to open your eyes so that you may see my love! Let my love be your reality. My love is the remedy for all fears and dreads. This is all the truth that you need to believe on, the truth that will allow for you to open the door of your heart so that the love of God can come in.” I then felt like I was beginning to understand why Jesus said over and over, “Do not be afraid”, or “Do not be fearful”. It would not have been needful for Jesus to keep saying these words unless he knew about the fears and the dread that dwells in the hidden places of the heart; or rather, in the dungeon of our castles. Is it any wonder that his disciples fled in fear when they came to arrest Jesus? What did Jesus know about Peter’s heart? Peter had just boasted that he would follow Jesus no matter where the Lord led him, He even said that he would even be willing to go to prison for him, and that he would also be willing to die for Jesus sake. It sounded to me that Peter saw the castle of his heart in the same manner that I first saw the castle of my heart, full of my own glory and strength. But then Jesus answered Peter by saying that before the sun would come up the next morning, that by reason of his fears, he would even deny just knowing Jesus, much less go to prison or die for him. Where Peter thought there was love in his heart for Jesus, there was actually the spirit of fear there; and that fear became his reality.

Proverbs 16:3 NKJ “Commit your works unto the LORD and your thoughts will be established.”

Romans 8:6 AMP “Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].”

Then the Lord also said, “There is no righteousness without the presence of my love and neither is there any self-righteousness without the presence of fear. You have asked for me to create in you a new heart, a heart that is beautiful in my sight, but how can I do this unless you are first willing to open the door of your heart and let me come in? Will you let me come in and change the righteousness that your heart has trusted and believed on? Will you take the righteousness off your fears and dreads so that you will no longer rely on or trust their counsels to right and true? Will you dispossess the thoughts of worry, uncertainty, dread, confusion, doubts, anxiety, evil suspicions, stress, as well as any other thought of that comes forth from the spirit of fear? Will you rely on and trust in my love to be the righteousness of your reality? Will you let my love guide you and direct your paths? As long as you hold on to believe that counsels of these fears and dreads are right and true, then how shall I be your Lord? I say to you, the possessions of a man’s heart are all that which he believes and trusts to be right and true. If you will take up your cross to dispossess the righteousness of your fears and dreads, no longer allowing them to be your trusted friends and counselors, then my love will come in and redeem you from your bondage. How shall a shall man be cast out except one who is stronger come in to do so? I am that spirit of love that will cast out your fears. I am that spirit of life that sets you free from your captivity to sin and death. I am the righteousness of abundant life.

Psalm 34:4 NKJ “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

Luke 9:23,24 NIV Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny (disown; dispossess) himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Philippians 3:7-12 “But what things were gain to me (my valued principals), I counted those loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things (the valued principals of fear) and do count them but dung (the filth of self-righteousness) so that I may win Christ (the treasures of the heavenly principals), and be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the law (the law of sin and death), but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, so that I may know him (his righteousness, his goodness, and his truth to live my live after) and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

Romans 8:2 NASB “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

John 14:6 NASB “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.”

Proverbs 12:28 “In the way of righteousness is life…”

Daniel 9:8 NIV “Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord, but to us, open shame…”

Matthew 6:21-24 NASB “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth….33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness….”

Matthew 19:16-26 NIV “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. "What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Are you willing to let me make the love that I have for you to be the riches that your heart will treasure? Are you willing to make my love to be your possession? Are you willing to let the love that I have for you become your reality? Open the door to your heart, and I will come in, and when I come in I will make my love to be your reality because my love is the only true reality. Only my love is able to change your reality from death unto life; but my love cannot become your reality unless you are first willing to believe on my love. My love will cast out all of your fears and dreads. My love covers all of your sins; and when your sin abounds, my love for you will abound all the more. My love forgives your sins. My love leads you into repentance. My love is able to make your heart beautiful in my sight. My love is able to transform your mind, to bring you up higher and higher into my thoughts. My love yearns to bless you. My love greatly desires your fellowship. My love for you does not change, but unless you are willing to change, to believe on my love, then you will not be able to receive my love. Will you allow for my love to cast out all these unclean spirits from your heart and mind? Do you believe that my love is willing to do this for you? Do you believe that I am able to do this for you? Where fear dwells, there is no presence of my love; and where my love dwells, there is no presence of fear. Fear only dwells in the minds of those who hearts are ignorant of my love. Open the door to your heart, and I will show you my love. Will you have me?” says the Lord.

II Corinthians 8:12 “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”

Romans 8:15 “You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear…”

I John 4:18 “…perfect love casts our all fear.”

John 8:36 “If the Son shall make you free, then you shall be free indeed.”

Ezekiel 36:25-27 NIV “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

Ephesians 4:23,24 “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

II Corinthians 5:17 NIV “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

There is a verse of scripture that almost from the moment that I first read it, it really aroused my curiosity and desire to know and understand what the Lord meant by it; and that verse is that which is written I John 4:18 NASB “Perfect love casts out fear”. From the beginning I wondered why this word would say that perfect love cast out fear? I wondered why it did not say, “Perfect love casts out all hate’, seeing that hate seems to be that which is contrary to love? Or, why is not written that perfect love would casts out evil, or pride, or wickedness, or iniquity”, seeing that the scriptures seem to portray anyone of these things to be that which is much more wicked than fear? Well, I felt like the Lord began to open the eyes of my understanding to comprehend the truth about this verse when he gave me the castle vision. The scriptures state very plainly that if we confess our sins, or offer our iniquities unto the Lord, then he will not only gladly forgive us, but he will also cleanse us from the unrighteousness of which we confess; whether that unrighteousness be hatred, or envy, or judging others, or unbelief, or wickedness, or lusts, or doubts, or impatience, or fears and dread, or pride, or even self-condemnation. But what would the Lord be able to do if our heart was surrendered to these spirits of fear that worked in us to keep us from confessing any of these things or asking for the Lord to cleanse us? Is it not written that we do not have because we do not ask? I began to see that it is the work of fear to keep us from drawing near to God, to ask for him to forgive and cleanse us. Simply put, these spirits of fear work to separate us from the love of God, lest they allow for the love of God to come in and cast them out of the castle of our hearts that they have been dwelling in and haunting.

Hebrews 9:14 NASB “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

As much as the Lord loves us and desires to forgive and cleanse us, I now know that he will not at any time force himself upon any of us. God is well able to change the most wretched of sinners, but he is only able to change that wretched sinner after he opens the door of his heart and asks the Lord to come in. The natural, or carnal mind, is not only afraid of God, but it is also afraid to face the truth about it’s own sins and weaknesses because it is not possible for the spirit of fear to respond to the truth with anything other than fear because that is it‘s nature. If there was no fear or dread, then who would be afraid to come face to face with any truth, seeing that the truth is always accompanied with the love of God, the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the mercy of God, and the wonderful works of God? The counsels of these unclean spirits of fear will never direct any of us to draw near to God‘s love, nor will it think to ask the Lord to search it’s heart, and neither will any of these spirits allow for a man to simply confess his sins. The Lord has now opened my eyes to see how fear and love are really contrary to another; for one works to keep us from drawing near to God, while the other opens the door and allows for the Lord to draw near to us.

Isaiah 29:13-15 NKJ ‘Therefore the Lord said: “ Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men. Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hidden.” Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, and their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

James 4:7,8 NKJ “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

After the Lord showed me these things, I then asked him how and when this spirit of fear entered into man. He answered saying, “The spirit of fear found it’s entrance into the hearts and minds of men through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. As soon as the two of them chose to reject my words so that they could believe the lies that Satan had spoken to them, then the spirit of fear entered in to bring them into bondage to darkness, and to oppress them continually with the troubles and miseries of death. It was this spirit of fear that blinded their eyes and perverted their thinking. It was then that they began to evil good, and good evil. Both Adam and Eve were both naked in the garden as well as in my presence, but there was no shame in their eyes or mine. Yet, when they fell, they did not see the shame in their disobedience to my words, but they saw the shame in their nakedness. Who told them that they were naked? The spirit of fear told them that they were naked, and because they were now in bondage to the darkness, they believed it’s words, and shame came upon them where there was no shame. It was also the spirit of fear that blinded their eyes so that they could not see or be ashamed of their sin of disobedience to my words. If the could not see their sin, then they certainly could not be ashamed of their sin. Fear had so blinded their eyes that they called their nakedness to be evil, and their disobedience to my words to be good.

Genesis 2:25 NASB “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

Genesis 3:6-8 NASB “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”

Then the Lord revealed what I consider to this very day to be one of two biggest and most important revelations that he has ever given to me concerning the darkness and it’s impact on all of man. The Lord then said. “When Adam and Eve chose to eat that fruit, their eyes were opened to see as spirit of fear sees. This spirit was not directing how they should see, and neither was this fear instructing them on how to interpret what they saw, but they were actually seeing through the eyes of the spirit of fear that had come into them. It is for this reason that when they saw themselves through the eyes of fear, they sought to cover themselves, as though leaves could justify their disobedience, and they sought to flee from the presence of God’s love. They were led to do these things by the spirit of fear because that is the nature of spirit of fear. As the nature of the spirit is in a man, so is the man who sees eye to eye with that spirit. Fear is ignorant of love, and it is the darkness of this ignorance that blinds the eyes so that the love of God seems like an alien concept. Yet, God created man to love God and to be loved by God; to be in the likeness of his own image.

Ephesians 4:17,18 NIV “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Mark 12:29-31 NKJ “Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.”

1 John 4:8 NKJ “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

1 John 4:16 NKJ “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which is written in Luke 11:34,35 “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.” Then the Lord quickened unto me that how a man sees is dictated by the spirit within him. If the spirit of fear is within a man, then how he sees and interprets the situations and the circumstances that arise in his life, as well as how he sees and judges other men and God himself, will be as that spirit of fear sees these things. In other words, if what a man sees brings forth worry, or dread, or confusion, or unbelief, or stress, or uncertainty, or doubts, or evil suspicions, or anxiety, or self-condemnation, or self-justification, or any other manner of fear, then he is seeing all things through the eyes of the spirit of fear. If there is any of these evil fruits in the thoughts of a man, then all his thoughts are coming forth from darkness. And you shall know them by their fruits. For a long time I could not understand how the darkness could ever be mistaken for the light; that is, until the Lord showed to me that all my fears and dreads, that which I was so familiar with, were of the darkness. There truly is “no fear” in the light of God’s love. I was surely deceived, blind to see that my fears and dreads were nothing but spirits of darkness. My oppression was my nature; and my nature was fear.

Psalm 18:28 NIV You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Isaiah 42:6,7 NIV “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

Luke 1:78,79 “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Matthew 12:33-37 NASB “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 18:21 NASB “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

It was also during this time that the Lord began to open my eyes to fully comprehend what Jesus meant when he said to the disciples in Matthew 13:16,17 NIV “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” What a blessing, to eyes to never see as fear sees, or ears that never hear the thoughts of fear. The Lord has blessed me many times with visitations of his presence; and in his presence there are no fears to oppress or to torment. But they are only visitations. How great is this liberty and freedom that overcomes all of the fears and dreads that have so troubled the lives of men? Then the Lord said, “When the eye is evil, then the curses of fear and dread will seem like the right way for a man to walk in, but those ways always end in death; for darkness cannot lead a man anywhere except into more darkness. And when a man walks in this darkness, then his frets, his evil suspicions, his worries, his doubts, his anxieties, his self-condemnation, his dreads, his impatience, his unbelief, his hopelessness, as well as any of his other fears and phobias will be the thoughts that he accounts to be right and true; the thoughts of his reality. Can light have any fellowship with the darkness? O blessed are the eyes that see as the spirit of the Lord sees because they shall see that the darkness for what it is: foolishness, vanity, misery, emptiness, and oppression.

Ephesians 5:8-14 NASB “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

Job 37:19 NKJ “Teach us what we should say to Him, for we can prepare nothing because of the darkness.”

Psalm 107:9-11 NIV “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.”

Psalm 107:13-15 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Isaiah 42:6 NIV “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

I found one more thing that the Lord showed to me about the Castle Vision to be very interesting. Natural man lives his life subject to the desires to be as God: desirous to be in control of his own life; desirous to sit in the sit of judgment over other men; desirous to make his reality of what he believes to be right to be the reality of righteousness for all who are around him; desirous to make his own opinions to be the truth; desirous for to make his own name to be great; desirous to live his life according to his own will; and desirous for his own fame and glory. Natural man also desires great wealth because the more wealth he possesses, the more power he believes he will receive that will allow for him to satisfy these natural desires to be as God over his own life. The more a man is able to satisfy his desires to be as God, the more beautiful and glorious the castle of his heart will becomes in his own eyes. Natural man sees that his only purpose in life is to seek to satisfy all of these desires so that his dreams and goals may become his reality.

Matthew 16:26 NIV “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Even though natural man is subject to these desires, fear is that which has the ultimate rule over his own thoughts. When the Lord was teaching me these things, he finished by quickening into my remembrance four different men from out of history; and they were Caesar, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Sadaam Hussein. These were men in their own countries that had satisfied all their natural desires to be their own lord and god, over their own lives as well as over the lives of all the citizens in their respective countries. They had obtained absolute control, fame, authority, wealth, glory, a name, and that which was right in their eyes became the law in their land. Yet, after satisfying all of their natural desires, they had found no love, nor peace, nor joy, only paranoia. The more natural desires a man satisfies, the more his heart possesses; and the more a man’s heart possesses, the more fearful he is of losing it. It is for this reason that these men were not only paranoid, but they were extremely paranoid, fearful of losing all that they had obtained. They were very fearful of all those who were around them, even their own family members, that they were either going to be betrayed by them or that they were going to try to take their possessions from them. There is no amount of possessions that a man may gain that is able to deliver him from man’s oppression to fears and dread. But natural man is so accustomed to living his life trying to satisfy his natural desires that he is really blind to see the bondage and oppression that his fears and dreads have him captive to. And the Lord says, “Your thoughts are not my thoughts.”

Jeremiah 13:23 NIV “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”

Acts 26:15-18 NASB “Then I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the Lord replied. “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

What turns a man from darkness to light? What turns a man from the power of Satan to the power of God? What delivers a man from his oppression and bondage to these vile, unclean spirits of fear? What cleanses a man from his sin? What turns a man from the iniquity of his hypocrisy to the righteousness of God? What delivers man from evil? Seeing! Seeing! Seeing! Paul was sent to open eyes; Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind to see what? To restore vision unto man so that man may see as God sees. It is written in John 9:39-41 NKJ “And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, “We see.” Therefore your sin remains.” Imagine that, whether a man is freed from his sins, or if they are retained depends on “the seeing” of that man’s vision. Adam’s sin of disobedience remained with him because he became blind to see the truth about his transgression even though he covered himself with leaves of hypocrisy and hid from God behind the lies of self-justification. Is this not the very thing that Jesus was trying to address with these Pharisees? Were not these the ones that were supposed to be experts in that law, as well as all of the rest of the scriptures? How many of these religious leaders, as well as pastors and prophets of today, have become like Adam and these Pharisees, seeing with their own eyes that their hearts are as that beautiful and glorious castle that I saw in my vision? If a man does not see with the vision that God sees with, then does he really have any vision at all, or is he blind?

Matthew 13:14,15 NKJ “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: “Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they haveclosed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”

I John 3:6 NKJ “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

The Lord once told me that if I could understand the truth of that which is written in Proverbs 16:25 NASB “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death”, then I would be able to understand all of the powers of Satan. My eyes immediately focused on the word “seem”. The dictionary defines seem as who something appears to one’s own senses, mind, seeing, and judgment. Well, if natural man sees through the eyes of fear, then what seems right in his eyes is that which seems right in the eyes of fear. Adam hid from God; Abraham was fearful of those who did not fear God; all but Joshua and Caleb were fearful of the giants they saw in the promise land; the entire army of Israel was terrified of Goliath; the disciples were fearful of the storm they were caught in; Peter was fearful to even acknowledge that he knew Jesus; Ananias and Sapphira were afraid to give up all for the Lord….and so many other instances in the Bible that describe instances of how the people of God did that which seemed right in the sight of their fears because they were in bondage to see as the spirit was within them.

There is only one thing that is natural to those who are in darkness, and that is the darkness itself; and that which seems right is the darkness that appears like the light. Satan’s power lies in his ability to make wrong ways to appear as right ways, and right ways to appear as the wrong way. There was not one thing that any man will allow into the treasury of his heart unless it first seems right in his own eyes. Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind who were walking in the ways that seem right, to turn them from the ways of death to the strait and narrow path that leads to life; and to accomplish this, all that he needed to do was to open their eyes so that they could see as God sees. But have you ever seen a man repent of that which he believes and trusts to be right?

Job 34:32 NASB “Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will not do it again?”

I John 3:6 NKJ “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”

III John 11 NIV “….Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

I John 3:2 NKJ “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Jesus said that he did not come to judge or to condemn any man according to the flesh, but he came to teach us good judgment, the judgment of God. The judgment of God opens the eyes of the blind so that he is able to see the difference between that which naturally seems right from that which is right in the sight of God. If Jesus had come to judge according to the flesh, then he would have judged the woman caught in the act of adultery with the same condemnation as the blind were judging her with. No, Jesus came to judge the blindness of darkness with the seeing of the light. It is obvious from this story Jesus walked in a different light, seeing the sin of adultery in an entirely different manner than how those who were under the law were seeing this woman and her transgression. Who among us, at one time or another, has not been fearful that Jesus/God was going to judge our sins in the same manner that the blind hypocrites accused, and judged, and condemned this woman? Where is the church today that walks in the same light that Jesus walked in, not throwing stones at those who do those things that do not agree with what seems right in their own eyes, like those who commit adultery, or that have had an abortion, or child molesters, etc? Those who throw the stones of judgment at others are blind to see that they are only bringing condemn on themselves; for every man is going to be judged with the same judgment that he has used to judge others with. Jesus came to open our eyes, to change the way that a man judges himself, the way that he judges others, and even the way that judges God when things do not go his way. Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind, to free us from the curse of darkness that has alienated and separated from the communion and fellowship that our heavenly Father created us to walk with him in.

Psalm 119:65,66 NIV “Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands.”

Psalm 34:4 “Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.”

Job 40:8 NASB (God speaking to Job) “Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Is it any wonder that Jesus told us to take the beam of blindness out of our eyes before we judged? In the judgment of my eyes, I saw that my heart was as this beautiful and glorious castle; but in the judgment of God’s eyes, he who sees the hidden things of darkness and the secret counsels of the heart, he saw the fears and the dreads that were daily haunting me in one manner or another. Who could have ever imagined that a man’s sin is not the results of his works or deeds, but rather it is the result that comes forth from the vision of his eyes? Of course, every man’s works and deeds are directed by how he sees things. Even when the scriptures are read, one may see a verse to mean one thing while another may see it to mean another; and yet, unless the Lord has opened their understanding, neither is able to see the truth of that word. Even so, each man will make that which he believes to be that which is right and true. I remembered a time when the Lord gave me a revelation of his word, and with much joy I sat back in my chair and proclaimed, “Wow Lord, I cannot believe that I was so totally blind to see this word in this manner”. Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “You just glorified me because I alone am able to open your eyes to see the truth of my words.” The Lord then taught me that he is glorified in the works that he does for us, and not in the “best efforts” or “good intentions” that the natural man thinks glorifies God. Even Jesus said, “Father, glorify me, and I will glorify you.” And how would Jesus glorify his Father, but with thanksgiving and praise for the work that his heavenly Father did for him.

Jeremiah 2:31 NKJ “O generation, see the word of the LORD!”

Ephesians 1:16-19 NKJ “(I) do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.”

Chapter 6

“Is that all there is to it, Lord? Is that all you have to do is open our eyes?”

Two Testimonies: From darkness into the light, from the power of Satan to God

The following are a couple of testimonies of how the power of God has opened my eyes to see his love, and his love then cast out the fears that had been blinding my eyes and greatly haunting me. Remember, the Lord told me that the reason that he desires for me to testify of the works of his love and his power is so that if there is any who will hear and believe, then turn to the Lord and ask of him, he will also do the same for them. Needless to say, these are just two of testimonies that the Lord has given to me that have been life changing experiences because when the Lord opens your eyes to see as he sees, then your even your life in this fallen world of darkness changes. God has been opening my eyes so that I no longer see with the vision of fear, but through the eyes of his love. If there is no fear, then there can be nothing to be afraid of.

John 17:15, 16 “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

Psalm 105:1,2 NKJ “Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!

This event actually happened long before the Lord began to clearly show me how it was the spirit of fear that was blinding the eyes of my heart. I had arrived at a place in my walk where I was reading certain scriptures that testified of how the Lord sees how hearts and our minds, yet I myself could see nothing in me at that agreed at all with what the scriptures were testifying of. Not only was I blind to see any truth in these verses, but my heart was really fearful to see if these verses actually did apply to me. These are just some of the scriptures that I seemed to be confronting on a daily basis.

Isaiah 94:11 “The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity”.

Romans 7:18 “I know that in me, that is in my flesh (the carnal mind), dwells no good thing.”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

Isaiah 47:10 “You have trusted in your wickedness and you have said, “None see me (hiding behind the words and works of self-justification). Your wisdom and knowledge had perverted you and you have said in your heart, “I am”, and there is no else besides me (that is, the principles of my righteousness, and my goodness, and my opinions are truth)”.

Romans 3:10-12 NIV “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Revelation 3:14 (Letter to the Church of Laodicea) “So then, because you are lukewarm, and are neither cold or hot, I will spew you out of my mouth because you say that I am rich (the treasures of the heart), and are increased with goods (your own righteousness, goodness, and understanding) and have no need for nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”

Nahum 1:11 “There is one come out of you (the spirit of fear) that imagines evil against God (fears, unbelief, reasonings, and doubts): a wicked counselor.”

Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

I finally came to the conclusion that no man could really know if any of these verses of scripture were true unless the Lord actually opened their eyes to see how the Lord sees; to actually give the Lord permission to come into the castle of his heart and reveal those things that are hidden in the darkness and the secret counsels of the heart. My faith was rather small at that time, so I was really not all that comfortable about asking the to do this, but I really had to know if these verses truly applied to me, as a Christian. Maybe these verses were speaking to fallen Israel or maybe even to natural man? One thing was for sure; if these verses actually described how the Lord God almighty saw my heart and my mind, then I was completely blind to see it. Because of my fears, I was really ready to just say, “Even if these verses are true, I am covered by the blood of Christ”; and then just leave it at that. But the Spirit of the Lord kept quickening these verses to me, which then did nothing but arouse my curiosity all the more to know this truth.

I Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and the counsels of the heart; and then shall every man have praise of God.”

After a time, and still not yet seeing if any of these verses really applied to me, I began to boldly pray, asking the Lord to search my heart and my mind, and to open my eyes so that I could see what he saw. I will not lie to you, I certainly had to battle with the spirit of fear to ask such a thing of the Lord. Even though I was curious, I was still afraid of what the Lord might actually open my eyes to see; but thanks be to God that my desire to know the truth was greater than the fear that desired to keep the truth hidden from me. I held tight to the words that Father had previously spoken to me, that he desired for his sons to be made to be just like him. Therefore I knew that whatever wickedness or evil the Lord might open my eyes to see, I believed in my heart that the Lord was going to redeem me by removing what I see and then manifesting more of his Spirit within me. I would rather see his truth than to remain blind have that come upon me that is written in John 3:19 where Jesus said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light comes, and men hate the light because it reveals that their deeds are evil”.

II Thessalonians 2:8-12 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all of his power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness (self-justification) in them that perish because they would not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion (the righteousness of fear) so that they should believe a lie: that they might all be damned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (self-justification).”

II Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn their ears away from the truth and be turned to fables (the lies of their fears; self-justification).”

I always thought that it was interesting that when the Spirit of the Lord quickened these verses to me, I was in a place in my walk where I had never felt more comfortable, or secure, or good about myself: I did not smoke, nor drink, nor curse, nor steal, nor hurt people, and I sought the Lord, read the scriptures, and prayed on a daily basis. So what evil could I possibly see? But then I started having all these wild imaginations as to what the Lord could possibly reveal to me that I did not already know about myself. Could the Lord open my eyes to show me that I was like Charles Manson, or Jeffery Dahmer, of Hitler, or Cain, or maybe even Judas? Though I thought myself to be a pretty good Christian, I was still uneasy about what the Lord might reveal to me. Even so, I began to prepare myself as to what I might do if the Lord showed to me that I was like these men. While I was preparing myself to see such things in me, the Lord began to open my eyes to see things like my fears, my doubts, my unwillingness, my judgments of others, my pride, my unbelief, the lies that I was using for self-justification, my distrust towards the Lord, the wickedness of my self-righteousness, my striving and arguments, as well as the pretenses and illusions of my hypocrisy (trying to appear as the best Christian I could make myself to be). The funny thing was that because I thought that the Lord might open my eyes and show me that I was like one or more of these men, I was blind to see that the Lord was opening me eyes to show me these other things in the manner that he saw them, and began to really feel awful about myself. I was still blind to see that it was the Lord who was bringing into the light the evil of my unbelief, my fears, and my doubts as well as the wickedness of my self-justification and self-righteousness.

Romans 7:13 NIV “Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

Revelation 12:11 NKJ “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

Then suddenly one day, the Lord finally opened my eyes to see and realize that it was the Lord that had been revealing the sinfulness in all of these things that I had been seeing in me. I was really amazed how these sins had become so evil in my sight. It was not like I did not know that these things were evil before, it was that I just could not see them in the same manner as the Lord saw them. I was here that I really saw for the first time how my fears had deceived me, blinding me from seeing the truth about these things. My fears had so deceived me that I was believing that the pretenses and hypocrisy in my heart was the right way that a Christian should walk; deceiving me into believing that I should make the best effort I could in showing Jesus in my life; deceiving me into believing that I was able to cover my sins, my mistakes, and my weaknesses with self-justification. This is when the Lord first spoke this phrase to me, “You are trying to be lord and god over your own Christianity. Do not be deceived, there is only one Lord and one God, and there will never be any more than one. I have not called you to be your own lord or your own God.” This phrase completely startled me because it just seemed so right in my eyes to do these things. It was here that I began to perceive why the religious hated Jesus with such enmity, because Jesus only goes for the “real thing”. He has no regard for the lies that deceive men into thinking that we should walk after self-righteous illusions or the hypocrisies that deceive by their appearances.

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whited tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but within you are full of dead bones, and of all uncleanness (the righteousness of fear). Even so you outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Matthew 22:16 NIV “They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher (Jesus),” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.”

It seemed as though I walked about for many, many days loathing myself for the evil I was seeing within me. It was not really seeing the evil in my heart that was bad, but it was seeing that I was powerless to change anything about that which I was seeing. I had never really been in this position before. So I stayed before his mercy seat, hoping daily that he could come and deliver me from that which my eyes were seeing. I was really growing weary and I had just about lost all hope that the Lord was going to come redeem me. It had become in thoughts just like the verse that says, “When it is night, I wish it was day; and when it was day, I wished that it was night” because I felt like I could not stand the imaginations for one more day that were constantly having me to think about myself with thoughts filled with shame, frustration, sadness, disappointment, guilt, impatience, failure, and much, much self-condemnation. I felt like that I had lost all hope that I was going to be able to obtain any grace or mercy from the Lord because of the depth of the truth about how sinful I was in my heart. I also felt as though I was somehow experiencing the same suffering that Job must have felt when he said, “That which I have feared the most has come upon me.” I had no idea that I could suffer so much for seeing the truth about myself. Even so, it was in that moment that I found myself thankful that the Lord had given me enough faith and belief to come and pray before him. When I prayed on this morning, words came out of mouth that had never come out of me before. I acknowledged for the first time before the Lord that I now believed that his word is true; and I acknowledged that I now believed that my heart was desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, that all of my thoughts were nothing but vanity, that I was nothing without his love, and that I was blind, wretched, miserable, poor in the fruits of his Spirit, and that the intents and counsels of my heart were naked before him. When I was blind, I saw my heart as that beautiful and glorious castle, as a pretty good Christian; but now that the Lord had given to me his vision, I did not at all see myself in that manner at all.

Habakkuk 1:1-3 NASB “The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.”

Even in the midst of seeing all this wickedness and evil in my heart as the Lord saw it, that is not what troubled me the most. What troubled me was that I was treating myself with much sadness, much disgust, without any mercy or grace, feelings of failure, with contempt, with disappointment, with much hopelessness, and with continual thoughts of self-condemnation. If this was not enough to bring me down, there was one more thing that troubled me far greater than these things, and that was I was absolutely positive and completely convinced that the Lord had to be looking upon me with at least as much contempt, disappointment, disgust, and condemnation that I was treating myself with. After all, he hates sin, and I was seeing nothing other than the sins that had been hidden in me. At that time, I was at a place in my walk where I could not separate my soul from my sin; I thought that they were one and the same. I felt like I had in be in the valley of the shadow of death, except I was very fearful of all the wickedness and the evil that I was seeing, and I did not really believe that the Lord was with me. In 29 years of seeking the Lord, it was, without any doubt, the worst and most fearful dark place that I have ever been in because I felt that all that I was seeing within me was separating me from my God. I could not help but to ask this question, “How could anyone, even God, love a man whose heart and mind was as vile and wretched as mine was?”

Psalm 90:8 AMP “Our iniquities, our secret heart and its sins [which we would so like to conceal even from ourselves], You have set in the [revealing] light of Your countenance.”

Romans 7:20 NIV “Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 24 NIV “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Philippians 3:21 “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

That morning, when I had just got through praying and acknowledging before the Lord that I now agreed with his words, the Lord suddenly came and took me in the Spirit for the first time. It was not a vision that I was taken into and neither was it a dream, for I am very familiar with what it is like to be taken into both of those. No, it was as if he had had taken my entire consciousness out of my body and transported me into another realm. I found myself walking through fields of grass that were surrounded with gentle, rolling hills. Everywhere I looked I saw patches of flowers of all different varieties. All of my heaviness and burdens had instantly disappeared. My heart and my mind felt like I had just stepped out into the first wonderful day of spring after a really long and harsh winter. I found myself to be just strolling along enjoying all of the beautiful scenery that was around me. Suddenly I felt someone take my right hand and very tenderly place it in his hand so that we could walk hand in hand together. I immediately knew that whoever had my hand, he was much taller than I was because his height was so much greater than mine that it made me feel as though I was a little 5 year old boy holding his daddy’s hand. I then stopped and looked up into his face so that I might know who this was; but it was like the sun was directly behind his head, and the brightness of it’s light was blinding me so that I could not see his face. So I then tilted my head to the right, then to left, then up, and then down, as I was trying to find a position where this man’s head would not be between the sun and I. But no matter where I shifted my head to, I could not find a spot where the brightness of the sun was not blinding my eyes. Then suddenly I realized that it was not the sun that was blinding me at all, but it was the glory of the Lord on his face, and that meant that I was holding hands with the Lord himself. I knew instantly that it was not the sun at all that had been blinding my eyes, but rather it was the brilliance of his glory shinning from his face. Immediately I began to feel his love penetrating into my heart and my mind.

Psalm 67:1 “God, be merciful to us and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah.”

II Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

I was completely overwhelmed in that moment as I stood there realizing that I was really standing there holding hands with my heavenly Father. I was just looking at him in awe when he turned and looked down at me and said, “Now that we agree, we can walk together.” Then we just started walking, or rather, strolling along holding hands. Then it was like I had not heard what he had said, but I suddenly realized what he said; and I said with myself: “Agree? What in the world is he talking about? What is that we agree on?” Suddenly I remembered that the very moment before I was taken in the Spirit, I had been in prayer acknowledging before the Lord that I agreed with his word, that I saw that my heart and mind were exactly like that which the scriptures had testified of. I was simply in shock and awe when I realized that this was the agreement that the Lord had just spoken of. The only thing that I was able to say in that moment was, “Wow. Who could have ever imagined this? How could this be? How could the Lord take me by my hand and treat me with such tender love at a time that my own thoughts had convinced me that all that I was deserving of was for the Lord to treat me with some kind of harsh punishment, or rejection, or condemnation, or banishment? How could the Lord come and take my hand to walk in fellowship with me at a time when myself was so repulsed by the wickedness I had seen in my own heart and the vanity in my own thoughts?

Lamentations 2:14 “Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.”

I do not know how to describe how I felt in that moment but it was like a building that was imploding in on itself; and what was imploding in on me was all the lies that seemed to be crashing down within me. Just as Eve believed the lies that Satan had told her that God had been lying to them, so also had I believed his lies when he deceived me into believing that God was surely going to treat me for my sins and weaknesses in the same evil and condemning manner that I had been treating myself. In the twinkling of an eye, my eyes had been opened to actually see the love of God that I had been hoping to be true. Without any doubt, I knew that the Lord had just brought me into a new realm in my relationship with him. Up until this moment, I had been holding on to the belief that the love of God that scriptures testify of was true, but now I was experiencing that love in my heart like nothing I had ever experienced, and it was now my reality. To this very day, this is the single most wonderful, most powerful, most awesome and most loving moment that I have ever spent with the Lord; and it came in just a twinkling of an eye from the worst and most fearful dark moment in my entire life. Talk about shock and awe! My Father loved me.

Romans 5:20 (AMP) “But where sin increased and abounded, grace has surpassed it, increased the more, and superabounded.”

We were still just strolling along when Father looked down at me and said, “Mitt, why were so fearful to see the truth about how I see your heart and your mind? What I have opened your eyes to see concerning your heart and mind, it may be new to you, but it was not new to me. I have always seen and known that all of these things were in your heart since the day that I called you. I have loved from the beginning just as I do now. My love never changes. I have never been fearful or intimidated by any of your sins or your weaknesses; and I do not desire for you to be fearful or intimidated by them either. The grace of my love is far greater than any work of darkness; and it is the work of darkness to intimidate you, and to make you fearful to see the truth about your sins and weaknesses. My love for you today is the same perfect love that I have always had for you. I am love. I am the being of love, and I my being does not change. It is only lies that have deceived you and blinded you to the truth about my love. I do not love your self-image that tries to deny my truth, but I do love you. I do not love lies because there is no truth in lies. I love the truth; and I especially love those who love my truth. Now remember my word, that if and when sin may abound, then the truth is that the grace of my love will abound more and more unto you. My grace will always be sufficient for you, as long as you continue to diligently seek to know me. Just confess your sins and ask for me to cleanse you of them, and my love for you will do it, and my mercy will come to free you. Hold fast to the truth concerning my love for you, lest you let your fears direct you to flee from me and deny my grace. Let not your heart entertain any of these lies that would try to separate you from me.”

II Corinthians 12:8-10 NIV “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I then knew that the Lord had not just changed my relationship with him, but that he had also changed my world. My life would never be the same again. Never in my life have I ever felt as secure, cared for, comforted, and loved by the Lord as I did in that moment. The darkness had given away to the light, and my life had been restored. Much joy and peace had returned to me. A few days later, the Lord again spoke and asked, “Mitt, do you still see the same sins and weaknesses in your heart as you did before?” My life had been so filled with peace and joy from our little walk together that I had not really thought about any of the sins or the weaknesses that I had previously seen in me. I then considered what the Lord had just asked me, and much to my surprise, I could still see that many of these same sins and weaknesses were still there. “Yes, Lord I do see them”. Then the Lord asked, “If they are still there, but your heart is filled with such joy and peace, then what has changed?” I thought to myself about what a great question this was. I saw the same sins and weaknesses in my heart, but there was no self-condemnation or fears of any kind about what I was seeing. Then suddenly I knew. “Lord, it is my vision that has changed. I no longer see my sins and weaknesses through the eyes of fear, but I see them through the eyes of the grace of your love. Lord, I now believe in my heart that the grace of your love is sufficient for me.” In the twinkling of an eye….

I Corinthians 15:5152 NAS “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Then the Lord said, “The light of the body is the eye. Take heed that the light that is in you is not darkness, lest you respond to your sins and weaknesses with self-condemnation and fear, instead of looking for my mercy, my forgiveness, and the grace of my love. Can darkness work anything other than darkness? Can death bring forth anything but death? It is the lies of these fears that were directing you into believing that it was right for you to be so disappointed in yourself and to condemn yourself. If you believe that it is right and true for you to condemn yourself, then condemnation will become your reality, for that will be the light that is in your eye. If you believe that it is right for you to be disappointed and to condemn yourself for your sins and weaknesses, then you will be believe that it is right for me to treat you in the same manner. If you believe that it is right for me to treat you in that manner, then you will also receive condemnation from men when they are disappointed with you or when they condemn you. And finally, you believe that it is right for others to be disappointed with you and to condemn you, then you will be disappointed and condemned when you see their sins and weaknesses. If you believe that condemnation is right, then condemnation shall be your reality. All of these works are nothing but the works of darkness that torment and trouble your soul with the fears and dreads of condemnation. Fear is always fearful of condemnation, because fear is of the darkness, and the darkness is condemned of itself. There is no fear in love. I am the grace of my Father‘s love and I am perfect in love. There is no condemnation in me, and neither is there any kind of condemnation to those who are in me. The woman who was caught in the act of adultery, from who did she receive threats of condemnation? From whom did she receive the grace of my Father’s love? He who walks in grace walks in the light of my Father’s love. He that walks in darkness walks in condemnation because the darkness condemns itself. Is it not written, “By your own words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned”? As the darkness cannot comprehend the light, neither can those who walk in condemnation understand the grace of Father’s love. If I do not condemn you, then who will?

Romans 8:1 NASB “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (They do not condemn themselves; God does not condemn them; they do not condemn others; and neither does the condemnation of others have any effect on them).”

John 8:3-12 NIV The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir," she said. “Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin.” When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Romans 1:17-25 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God (the grace of his love) is manifest in them; for God has showed it to them. For the invisible things of him (the love of his grace) from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God (the grace of his love), they did not glorify him as God, neither were they thankful. But became vain in their imaginations (their fears), and their foolish heart was darkened; and professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness (the righteousness of their fears) through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves (judging one another/fearing each others fears), who changed the truth of God (the grace of his love) into a lie (condemnation), and they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen…. 2:1 NIV“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Jude 4 NKJ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3:7 NAS “Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.”

I Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

Romans 16:24 NASB “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

Then the Lord said, “Are you enjoying our walk through these rolling hills and valleys fashioned with lush grass and beautiful flowers? Is it a delight for you to be walking hand in hand with me?” I answered, “Lord, you know that it is. If you left it up to me, I would choose to stay here and never leave this valley if I could spend all my days walking with you.” Then suddenly I realized that I was actually walking with the Lord in the same manner that Adam walked with God on a daily basis. I then remembered that this is exactly what the Lord had taught me, that he created all men for this very purpose, to love him who loves us so that we might commune and fellowship with him on a daily basis. I then could not help but think how utterly miserable Adam and Eve must have felt when all they had ever known was this daily fellowship with the love of God, and then the darkness came upon them. And seeing that there is no fellowship or communion between the darkness and the light, they had to depart from the garden of God’s presence. fear and love. Can you have any real fellowship with someone who is always seeking to hide from your presence?

Then the Lord asked, “Do you know the name of this valley that we are presently in?” I then thought that this might be actually be the garden of Eden, but there were trees in the garden, and there were no trees here. So I answered, “No, Lord.” The Lord then said, “It is the valley of the shadow of death. Just as the darkness was able to enter into the Garden of Eden with it’s haunting fears and dreads, so also is the light of my love able to enter into the Valley of the Shadow of Death to deliver you from these same fears and dreads. Do you see any sin or death among these hills and valleys?” I answered, “No Lord; none at all.” I then realized that my sins and weaknesses were still with me, but it was the fears and dreads of them that had departed from me. I then also realized that I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death, hand in hand with the Lord, and just like the psalmist, there was no fear of seeing evil within me.

Psalm 23:4 NIV “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

The Lord continued, “You know that the garden was the place where Adam walked with God, communed with God, fellowshipped with God, believed and trusted God, and where he shared his love for God, and God shared his love with Adam. But when Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan, desiring for his lies to become their reality, then in the twinkling of an eye, their vision was changed from light to darkness, and their eyes were opened to see as the spirit of fear sees. In the twinkling of an eye, the darkness was able to take away all of their fellowship and communion with God. Just as there is not any agreement between the light and the darkness, so also is there not any agreement between fear and love; for there is no fear in love, nor is there any love in fear. Is it not written that two cannot walk together except they agree? It was not the garden that changed, and neither was it that God had changed, but it was their seeing that had changed. In the twinkling of an eye, they became fearful of God, as well as fearful of all of those things that they imagined and perceived to be evil. It was the darkness of fear that counseled them to do that which they had never done before, to cover themselves and hide from God. This darkness is now that wall that alienates and separates man from the life that God created man to be partakers of.

Amos 3:3 NKJ “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”

Ephesians 4:17 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”

When a man sees as the darkness of fear sees, then the Garden of Eden can become as the hell of the Valley of the Shadow of Death; and when a man’s eyes are opened to see through the vision of Father’s grace, then the Valley of the Shadow of Death can become as heavenly as the Garden of Eden. As fear is able to blind the eyes so that the love of God cannot be seen, so also is God able to open the eyes of the blind to the works of his love. Those who see through the eyes of fear have no desire for me to draw near to them because the spirit of fear has deceived them into believing that I will treat them for their sins, for their mistakes, and for their weaknesses in same manner as the darkness treats them: with accusations, or with guilt, or with finger pointing, or with disdain, or with condemnation, or with feelings of failure, or with false banishments, or with disgust, or with hopelessness, or with disappointment. Those who see through the eyes of my Father’s love, they see the truth, that I will treat them for their sins, their mistakes, and their weaknesses with mercy, with comfort, with forgiveness, with compassion, with help, with hope, and with grace. The darkness has no power to separate any from my love, but it can receive power if it is able to deceive one to surrender his heart to believe the counsels of it’s lies. It was not I”, says the Lord, “that sought to flee and hide from Adam’s love, but it was the darkness of fear in Adam that led him to flee and hide from my love.

Psalm 116:3 “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.”

Isaiah 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

Luke 1:76-79 NIV “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Matthew 24:12 ASV “And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax (grow) cold.”

Am I like the darkness?” says the Lord. “Those who believe that I am condemnation, they are those who will flee from me, or shut their ears to my correction, or that will seek to cover their sins, weaknesses, and mistakes with the fig leaves of self-justification, or that will try to hide themselves from me behind the works of their hypocrisies. All these things are nothing but the works of darkness because darkness condemns sins, and mistakes, and faults, and weaknesses. I am not like the darkness. Those who love the darkness fear evil because they believe I am like them, that I will condemn or reject them in the same manner unmerciful manner that they condemn and reject others who do evil in their sight. These are blind to see that they are only defending their fears and hiding in the very darkness that condemns itself. Adam and Eve were both naked in the garden, and neither of them were ashamed; but in one moment, the darkness came, and their vision became as the vision of fear, and they were ashamed of their nakedness and sought to cover it up. It is not so with those who see their sins and weaknesses through the eyes of my love because they know the truth, that my love will treat them for their sins and weaknesses with much compassion, with much mercy, with much longsuffering and much patience, with much forbearance, with grace that abounds, and with much forgiveness”, says the Lord. Then my spirit returned to my body. I then knew that a man could have 20/20 vision and still not be able to see anything as God sees it.

Hypocrisy: “play-acting; pretend”

I had seen his glory. I had seen him face to face, though I could not behold the actual form of his face because of the brilliant glory of his love. I had seen the face of him whose love towards me is perfect; the perfect love that cast out my fears and dreads. I had seen the face of his love that brought death to the impatience, the disappointments, the disdain, the self-condemnation, the disgust, and the merciless way that I had been responding to my own sins and weaknesses with. I had seen the face of his love that brought immediate death to the lies that had deceived me into believing that God would treat my sins and weaknesses in a manner that was outside of the boundaries of the grace of his love. I had just held the same hands that made the heavens and the earth, and all things within. I had just heard the gentle and tender voice of his love, the voice that is able to shake the heavens and the earth. I had been compassed in the safety and security of him who is sovereign over all powers and principalities, whether they be in heaven or on earth, or whether they be of the darkness or light. I had been filled with the fullness of joy and peace that only comes from being in his presence. I was loved. I was forgiven. I was cared for. I was cleansed. I was the object of his affection.

I Kings 19:11,12 NIV The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”

As long as I draw breath in this life, I will never forget this walk with the Lord. What was really interesting to me was to still see the same sins and weaknesses as I saw before prior to this visitation, but they were now powerless to influence me in any way concerning my relationship, my communion, and my fellowship with my heavenly Father. I had just endured the most powerful attack that Satan has ever brought against me, using my own my own sins, my own faults, and my own weaknesses joined together with a legion of fears, to draw and separate me from my Father’s love. If another man had attacked me with accusations, or with disgust, or with condemnation, or with disdain, or pointing that judgmental finger at me, then I could have just departed from his presence and freed myself from his lying words. But when Satan attacks you in the imaginations of your thoughts, appearing as counsels that desire to condemn yourself, or to hate yourself, or to be disappointed with yourself, then where can a man go to escape these miserable and relentless thoughts that torment his entire being? The last place that Satan wants a man to go to escape his attacks is into the arms of Father’s grace and love, because that is the only place that he will find escape and freedom from the lies that torment and trouble. I then knew that never again would any of my sins or weaknesses be accompanied with any of these tormenting fears that either tried to condemn me, or that tempted me to cover myself with the fig leaves of self-justification, or that tried to lead me to flee from my Father’s love. I now know that the love of God is always with me, even when I am in the valley of the shadow of death where sin abounds; knowing that the grace of my Father’s love will abound greater.

Romans 8:35 NASB “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Isaiah 65:2 ASV “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.”

I was reading one morning in the scriptures where Jesus said in John 15:15 “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” I then asked, “Lord, am I your servant or am I your friend?” The Lord answered and said, “If you know that in your heart that I love you, even when you do not love me, then you are my friend. If you know that all the thoughts that I think towards you are always thoughts to do you good and to give you peace, then you are my friend. If you know that when you sin or err, that I will not condemn or be disappointed with you, but ready to show you the grace of my love, then you are my friend. If you are allowing for me to be your Lord and your God, then you are my friend. If you believe that all power belongs to me, and that I will do all things for you that are impossible for you to do, then you are my friend. If you believe on me for all things, then I am your friend. What more can I say but that the Lord has changed my relationship with him; for I am no longer in a servant relationship, but that of a friend.

Proverbs 29:21 “He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.”

James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

I now know in my heart that for one to say that the Lord cannot love them because of their sins, or their unrighteousness, or their weaknesses is like saying that no parent is able to love his or her child because that child is not perfect. I can now walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and I am not longer afraid of the evil of any sins, or faults, or weaknesses that I may see because the grace of my Father’s love is written in my heart. Though my love for my heavenly Father may not yet be perfected, I know that his love for me is perfect; and that his perfect love is always with me to cast out my fears when I offer them before him. Though it was grievous for me to see the things that were hidden in the dark places of my heart and mind, I now know that I could never have known the greatness of his love, and his mercy, and his forgiveness, and his power, and his grace had I not asked for him to search my heart, to open my eyes to see my heart as he sees it. If I had not seen sin abounding, then I could never have known that his grace abounds more. I have said, and I will say it again; my heavenly Father has won my trust, my belief, my respect, my trust, my honor, my love, my life, and my heart. I now shudder to think what it would be like to live the rest of my life, here or in eternity, separated and alienated from the only being that truly loves me. It is now even hard for me to even imagine that I had once believed that God was going to treat me with the disdain and condemnation that these unclean spirits of fear had deceived me into believing, that the image of God was like unto their lies.

Luke 7:40 NIV Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Not long after this visitation, I was meditating on this wonderful experience that I had with our heavenly Father when I came to realize that not once in my entire life had I ever been treated by anyone as wonderfully as the Lord had treated me. I even thought to myself how my natural dad, who loved me about as much as a fleshy dad could, yet many times I had disappointed or provoked him to condemn me for my failures, or my mistakes, or for my weaknesses, or for offending him; and it was also in those times that my dad would also remind me of my past failures, mistakes, weaknesses, and offenses. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have never been a member of any church, or bible study, or home group that would treat me or anyone else any differently than my natural dad did if I sinned against them as I saw how I had sinned against my heavenly Father. In fact, in most of the groups that I have been apart of, confessing one’s faults or sins was almost taboo. I suppose that this was one of the reasons why I was expecting for the Lord to treat me with disappointment, or with condemnation, or with disdain, or with ridicule, or with blame, or with rejection, or with disgust was because that is how I have seen Christians treating other Christians. In that moment, I also realized how wonderfully surprised that woman caught in the act of adultery must have felt when she, just like me, was probably expecting to Jesus to join in with the crowd and stone her to death. No doubt she had to be about as surprised as I was when the all that came upon her was the grace of God’s love. No wonder those sinners loved Jesus so much, seeing that he did not accuse, or judge, or point the finger, or condemn any of the them, but instead he openly loved them with much mercy and forgiveness. Thanks be to God that he has granted me repentance, and turned my heart from condemnation to grace. I still could not hardly believe the depth and greatness of Father’s love that had come to take my hand to walk with me in a time that I was not expecting any love whatsoever. I then knew in my heart that not only were all of these scriptures true that defined the wicked and evil condition of my heart and my mind, but so also were all those scriptures true that define the greatness of Father’s love, and mercy, and kindness, and forgiveness, and his grace that he shows towards us in those times.

Matthew 25:40 “The Lord of that servant shall come in the day that looks not for him, in the hour that he least expects him.”

II Corinthians 12:8 NASB “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Not long after this, the Lord once again reminded me of the Castle Vision, bringing into my remembrance how the Lord had shown to me that all that which I believed to be right and true was that which my heart treasured. He also reminded me of how crafty Satan is because it is by reason of his lies that I was defending and guarding the very fears that did nothing but trouble my thoughts with such things as worry, stress, impatience, confusion, anxiety, and evil suspicions. Now the Lord had opened the eyes of my heart to see how Satan had again been greatly tormenting me when I saw my sins, my faults, my mistakes, and my weaknesses through the eyes of fear. It is almost embarrassing for me to admit that through deceit, I had allowed for self-condemnation, self-disgust, self-disdain, self-scorn, self-chastisements, self-blame, as well as all of my disappointments and failures to fill the treasures of my own heart, believing that this was the righteous way for me to treat myself. If this was not embarrassing enough, it was even more shameful for me to have been deceived into believing that my Father in heaven was also feeling the same way about me as I was feeling about myself. “Lord, I open the door of heart; please come in and cleanse my of all the unrighteousness of my self-righteousness.”

Proverbs 21:2 “Every way of man is right in his own eyes…”

Proverbs 16:2 “All the ways of man are clean in his own eyes…”

Jesus said that if any man chooses to follow after him, then he must first be willing to take up his cross, and deny (disown; dispossess) himself, and follow after him. To follow after Jesus, a man must be ready to disown that which the natural man values the most, the treasures of his own righteousness. This almost seemed impossible for me until the Lord began to open my eyes to see that the very things that my heart had been treasuring were also the things that had been haunting me daily in my thoughts with some manner of worry, or confusion, or uncertainty, or stress, or evil suspicions, or anxiety. I was so familiar with and used to these miserable thoughts accompanying me on a daily basis that I thought that they would always be with me. I never even had a thought that said that the Lord could make me free from all these thoughts that were haunting me. As much as I hated the idea of having unclean spirits in me, I was ecstatic to learn that Father’s love yearns to cast all out all of them so that he might free me from all their haunts.

It is written in Philippians 3:8,9 that the death that Paul suffered was the loss of his own righteousness; the righteousness which came by the law. I know that at first, Paul counted all of this righteousness to be according to the works that he did that he had performed according to the law of Moses; which also meant that he suffered the loss of his glory, his own honor, the name he had made for himself, his own goodness, and his own respect. I know that Paul suffered the loss of these things of these things because the Lord has led me down this same path. But then the day came when the Lord gave me this castle vision, and he opened my eyes to see I had so accounted my fears and dreads to be right and true, that I was allowing for these unclean spirits to have control over how I was living my life. Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that the law that Paul was speaking of in Philippians 3:8,9 was not actually the law of Moses at all, but it was also the righteousness of the law that Paul spoke of in Romans 8:2, the law of sin and death that he also suffered the loss of. It was not the law itself that Paul suffered the loss of but, but it was the righteousness of that law. The righteousness of sin is self-justification and pride; the righteousness of death is fear, and every other miserable thought For God did not create man to be in bondage to serve or be a slave to, the law of sin and death. No man is in bondage to any law except that which he sees and believes to be right and true.

Now when I see any fear coming into my thoughts in any form such as anxiety or worry, as quickly as I possible can, I take up my cross deny that any of these haunting thoughts are right in the sight, and I ask for the Lord to cast them out, and fill me with the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus; the Spirit that allows for the peace of God to rule in my heart because it knows that the almighty God is in complete control over all the situations, and circumstances, and cares that arise in my daily life. Now the Lord has opened my eyes to see with eyes the righteousness of his love; his grace, his goodness, his forgiveness, his provision, his mercies, his faithfulness, his blessings, his truth, and his fellowship. These now have become those treasures that my heart greatly values to be right, to be good, and to be true. What more can I say but I now value these blessings of Father’s love so greatly that I am more than willing to dispossess and die to the sin and death that did nothing but deceive me and haunt the castle of my heart. Thanks be to God, his love and his peace have now become my reality.

Philippians 3:8,9 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord (the grace of Father’s love) for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law (the law of sin and death) but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

II Corinthians 1:9,10 But we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raises the dead: who has delivered us from so great a death, and who does deliver us: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.”

Luke 18:9-14 The parable that Jesus speaks to all who think and trust that they are righteous.

Take heed that no man deceive you by any means…It does not say be fearful of men

I suppose that there are many ways that these spirits of fear are able to find an entrance into our hearts that we are not even aware of. When I was a child, I used to be fearless when it came to climbing trees. If my parents were not around to see me, then I would not hesitate to climb as high as I could in the biggest trees in our neighborhood. Then one night I had a dream, and in that dream I was standing on top of a high rise building. I then saw a man fall off the side of it, and I ran over to the edge and looked down just in time to see that man hit the sidewalk. When I woke up from that dream, I found that I had this terrifying fear of heights that I previously did not have. It’s impact was immediate because I never climbed another tree again because of that spirit of fear that had come in me. Thanks be to God, that is now one of the many fears that the Lord has delivered me from. Now I can, and have done, walked right up to the edge of tall buildings, looked down, and there is no fear at all. I can now fly on an airplane without any fear whatsoever. Because there are legions of fears, all having a different name and a different nature, I suppose that there are many different doors that one can unwittingly open that will allow these unclean spirits in.

I continued to ask the Lord to search my heart, to open my eyes so that I could clearly see these fears that had so cleverly hid themselves in my heart behind some illusion of righteousness. The Lord then opened my eyes one day to see a spirit of fear that I had actually allowed to enter into my heart through the very scriptures themselves. As I have testified of, I was an atheist when the Lord first came into my life, I knew that I had finally found the real thing; and by no means did I ever want to lose him. So when I starting reading in the scriptures those verses that warned us saying such things as, “Take heed that no man deceive you”, I then allowed for that exhortation to be joined with the fear that I had in me of losing the Lord, the only real thing. The fruit that started coming forth from this union was that I became very fearful that I was unknowingly going to allow for another Christian to deceive me. Then the Lord said to me, “Mitt, my word just says “Take heed (listen; pay attention)” that no man deceive you”; it does not say, “Be fearful (afraid) not to allow for any man to deceive you”. Up until that moment, I really thought that it was right for me to be fearful of other brethren so that I would not be deceived. It was then that the Lord opened my eyes so that I could again see how I had perverted his word again because I was “seeing” his word through the eyes of the spirit of fear; and when you see the word through the eyes of fear, then the only interpretation that can possibly come forth is that interpretation that is right in the eyes of that spirit of fear.

Then the Lord began to open my eyes so that I could see the evil fruit that was coming forth from this perverted interpretation of his word. I began to see that I was responding towards all of my brethren with evil suspicions; and when you have evil suspicions of your brother, then that is all that you are going to do is to seek to find evil in your brother. This fear had so deceived me that I actually thought that I was doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. What I was blind to see was that once I allowed for these fears to be my righteousness, then I also found that it was right to judge my brethren; which is exactly that which Jesus instructed us not to do. As fear is only able to work evil, so also was it working in me to find evil in those who I was evil suspicious of. I saw that I had become so fearful that if I heard a brother speak a word that did not agree with that which I believed to be right and true, then I became suspicious of him and convinced that he was only trying to deceive. But the Lord was now opening my eyes to see how this fear was doing nothing but bringing madness into my thoughts. If I saw my brother sin, then my fears were direct me to go out of my way to keep my distance from him, just as Adam tried to distance himself from God. I also saw that my fears had me judging that some of my sinful brothers were really not Christians at all. I forgot that Jesus said that he came to save sinners and not the righteous. My fears had perverted my vision so badly that I was seeing this all backwards; just as the self-righteous Pharisees did.

I Timothy 6:3-5 “If any man teach otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine (love your brother), which is according to godliness (being like God, who is love) he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and arguments over words, from which comes envy, strife, railings, evil suspicions, perverse disputes by men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain (riches of this world) is godliness. From such withdraw yourself.”

Nahum 1:11 “There is one that comes out of you, a wicked counselor that imagines evil against your God.”

Again, it is shameful for me to admit, but I am so thankful that the Lord, in his mercy, has allowed for me to repent by opening my eyes to see the truth; and the truth is how God sees. I was so blinded that I had allowed for this madness to lead me to judge many of my brethren to be evil deceivers; and once I had judged a brother to be evil, I would then seek to break off all communion and fellowship, thinking of him to be nothing but a child of the darkness. But the truth was that I was the acting like a child of darkness because I was the one who had been deceived by the spirit of fear to have evil suspicious against my brethren. Thanks be God for the blood that covers us, even when our conscience is given over to the do the dead works of darkness. I thought that I was the righteous one who should be departing from the presence of the unrighteous, when in truth I was the unrighteous one that they should have sought to depart from. Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that we are indeed to try and to discern the spirits that our brothers are speaking by. If we see them speaking in error, which may be by the spirit of fear that is in them, then we are not to judge them to be wicked, or evil, or corrupted, but rather we are to treat them in love and speak the truth in love to them at all times. I was amazed to see how my fears had so deceived me that I had been in a complete state of disobedience concerning how I should be treating my brethren. Later, after the Lord had removed this beam of fear out of my eye, I was able to observe how many responded to 9-11. Seeing that all of these terrorists were Arab, many became fearful of Arabs. Then their fears led them to be evil suspicious of all Arabs; and then their evil suspicions were perfected when they came to hate Arabs. Jesus said, “Love your enemy”. But fear cannot love your enemy because there is no fear in love.

I Thessalonians 4:9 “But as touching brotherly love, you need not that I write unto you because you know that God himself will teach you to love one another.”

James 4:11,12 “Do not speak evil one of another, brethren. He that speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law (the law of love), and judges the law: but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law (loving your brethren) but a judge. There is only one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy: so who are you that judges another?”

Matthew 25:45 Then Jesus answered them saying, “Truly, I say to you that inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.”

But thanks be to God for his loving correction; and that correction came when the Lord opened my eyes and revealed to me how I had been so deceived. I am still amazed that all that the Lord had to do to correct me was to open my eyes so that I could see my brethren with the same vision that Father sees all of us with. The Lord showed to me that by reason of my blindness, I was treating my brethren like I was some kind of oppressive father who would be continually looking and waiting for one of his own children to make one mistake so that he could find just one reason to reject them, or to condemn them, or to even kick that child completely out of his house. Again, I was ashamed to see how this spirit of fear had deceived me so greatly that I was now judging my brethren as to who, and who should not be, in the house of the Lord. But then the Lord in his mercy said to me, “Love your brethren; but know that there is no fear in love. Love does not think evil of, nor is it suspicious of any. But know this, that as long as you are surrendered to believe the righteousness of your fears, then it is not possible for you to love any of your brethren because there is no fear in love. Love forbears with all. Love is patient with all. Love is compassionate towards all. Love is kind. Love is full of grace, and love rejoices in forgiveness, even when a brother speaks in error. When Peter allowed for fear to speak through the words of his mouth to tempt me, did I banish him or cast him out of my house? No; and neither should you.

Matthew 16:21-25 NIV “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter (Fear) took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. "This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Then the Lord said, “Those who are blinded by fear look for the good in man so that they may find a reason to accept that man. The love of God does not look for good in a man, and neither does love look for God to be in a man, for that would only mean that God is only able to love himself because there is none good but God. It is the blind fallen man that loves himself, and those who are like unto himself. There is no blindness in the eyes of love. Love sees a man’s sins, sees his faults, sees his weaknesses, sees his offenses, sees his transgressions, sees all of his iniquities, and sees all of the mistakes that he makes, and yet love still continues to love him. It is not possible for love to do anything other than love. Love just loves. I am love”, says the Lord. Glory be to God! The Lord had now taken the beam of fear out of my eyes, I could now clearly see that the only right way for me to treat my brethren, or my enemies, was in the righteousness of Father’s love; the love that does good, that forbears with, that is merciful, that strengthens the weak, that is patient with, that edifies, and that always shows itself in grace during times of darkness and weakness. Love does all these things without any reason to do it because love just loves.

Luke 6:27-36 NIV “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” lend to “sinners” expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

II Peter 1:5-9 NIV “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

II Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: for they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves amongst themselves are not wise.”

Yes, yes, yes; take heed that you do not allow yourselves to be deceived, but do not for one moment entertain the lies of that unclean spirit that desires to deceive us all into believing that it is right for us to be fearful by our brethren; for the fear of man brings a snare. I then knew that before the Lord could teach me to love my brethren, I first had to die; to die to the righteous of these fearful spirits that had been instructing me to be suspicious of my brethren. I had to die to the belief that any of theses counsels of fear were right, or good, or true. When I called on the Lord and asked for him to deliver me from this fear, he came. And when he came, it was suddenly like a huge black heavy cloud lifted off of me, and I could clearly see my brethren for the first time without the vision of fear in my eyes. Though I could still see evil where evil was, there was a total absence of evil suspicions, and neither has there been any fears in me that I was going to be deceived. Here I had been fearful that I was going to being deceived by men when all along it was the spirit of fear within that was deceiving me with it’s vision.

I John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Acts 17:11 “These in Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind (not in fear of being deceived), and they searched the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore, many believed…”

I Corinthians 15:36 “You fool, that which you sow is not made alive unless it dies first.”

The Lord has now delivered me from every fear and dread that I have confessed and offered unto him. He is cleansing his temple. I am now not afraid to see if there are any more of unclean spirits dwelling in me because I know that the love of God will cast them out of me as soon as I present them before him, asking for him to deliver me. Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “You have seen me deliver you from the lion (fears) and the bear (dread), and now watch me deliver you from the Goliaths that are about to come.”

Chapter 7

The spirit of the Son: Jesus

When the Lord first enlightened me, and then gave me the instruction to write these words, I could not help but wonder how many of the children of God understand what God has planned for this hour. The reason I wondered this is because if a man has no vision as to what the Lord is going to be doing in this day of darkness, then what hope could he have to hold on to, or what words could he believe in, or what promises could his faith stand on when Satan’s wrath is unleashed to torment and trouble the carnally minded inhabitants of the earth? What will those children do, those virgins who have not prepared and have no oil in their lamps when the call goes out that Jesus is coming, but they have not asked the Lord to prepare them? Surely, those who are not prepared for the coming of the Lord will not be prepared for the darkness that comes before him. How many hearts will fail for looking at and seeing those things that coming on the earth because the only eyes that they will be able to see these things with will be through vision of fear; and fear will only be able to see the doom and gloom that the spirit of fear prophesies of.

Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice ye heavens (spiritually minded; the virgins that are wise), and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and the sea (carnally minded; the foolish virgins)! For the Devil us come down unto you having great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time.”

Many hearts will be unprepared because they have put their hope and their faith in doctrines such as the rapture fable; a fable that mixes the scriptures with man’s reasonings and man’s understanding, as many false prophets and false teachers have taught. Yes, there is “catching up” in the air for the saints to be with the Lord, but this event is not designed for the fearful to escape the days of ahead. Even if there truly was such an event as the pre-tribulation rapture, then those who are fearful about the days ahead would not be taken anyway because as it is written in Revelation 21:8, the fearful shall not be able to enter the kingdom of God. Yes, God surely does have a plan for the wise and faithful, the fearful shall weep and gnash their teeth. All the rapture fable has done is to keep the spirit of fear masked and hidden in the dungeon of the heart, rather than to let those fears come into the light of God’s judgment so that we may see them, and ask the Lord to show us his love that casts out these vile and unclean spirits. Seeing then that fear is truly a wicked and deceitful spirit, know that it is this same spirit that delights in twisting and perverting the truth of scriptures with it’s counsels and fables, let the truth of God comes forth to cast them out. Would it be wise for those who are see and interpret the scriptures through the eyes of fear that they could ever see any truth that would allow for that spirit of fear to be cast out?

II Timothy 4:3 NASB “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

First, ask the Lord to remove the beam of fear from your eyes so that you may clearly see the truth about what Father has planned and prepared for those who love him in the days ahead. The Lord reveals truth, he does not teach fables because fables are not able to set a man free from his fears. So is it of any surprise that I, or any who have sought to know the truth from God, that we have never been taught anything about the pre-tribulation rapture fable? Speaking for myself, the Lord has led me instead to surrender my heart and my mind into his hands, praying and asking for him to prepare me for both for his coming, and for the days of trouble that precede his coming. Can his yoke be any lighter than for us to allow for him to prepare our hearts for both of these events that are to come, and even now is? How can the faith of your heart fail if there are no fears, or doubts, or unbelief dwelling within that could overthrow the thoughts of your heart? Is this not an awesome work of God; a work that is worthy of much praise and thanksgiving? Is it not written that those things which are impossible for us to do is possible for God to do?

Proverbs 16:1 “The preparation of the heart and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.”

The Lord is coming to his temple, our bodies; and just like it was when the Lord came to his temple in the Old Testament, that temple first had to be cleansed and sanctified before the Lord could come and dwell within, filling it with the glory of his presence. It took such a burden off of me after I understood and believed that Jesus is our High Priest, and that it is his duty as our high priest to cleanse and sanctify the temple of our hearts. We just need to seek and ask him to do so. As easy as it is, it still requires us trusting his love for us enough to open the door of our hearts and ask him to come in and prepare us. I am still amazed to see how much of my uncleanness was rooted in the spirit of fear, accounting so many of these ungodly counsels to be the righteousness of my decisions, allowing them to direct me in the decisions I was making to live my life according to. How greatly I was deceived to so freely consent and allow a spirit whose only purpose was to trouble and haunt me continually with thoughts of uncertainty, or panic, or stress, or dejection, or worry, or confusion, or dread, or evil suspicions, or anxiety. It was in my sanctification that the Lord opened my eyes to see that my old religion never allowed for me to see these things hidden within, but only had me focused on the righteousness of my works and appearances. But when the truth was revealed, I saw that the Lord is really looking only at the intents and desires of my heart. Who is able to cleanse or sanctify himself of that which he cannot see, especially those things that may be dwelling in and hidden away in the dungeon of our heart? With gladness l have now surrendered and offered up to the Lord all of the righteousness of these haunts and torments came forth out of that dung pile of darkness. I have opened the castle door of my heart, the Lord has come in, and is now cleansing and sanctifying my heart with the truth of his love; and the same love that casts out my fears.

Psalm 1:1 NASB “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked (ungodly), nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing and all of our righteousness are as filthy rags…”

Philippians 3:8-11 “Yea, doubtless, and I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law (the law of sin and death), but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead.”

Who can know what is coming in the days ahead when scriptures like those that are written in Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21; and Revelation 7:14 prophesy of troubles and sorrows that have never before been seen or experienced on this earth? If a man has not sought or asked the Lord to deliver him from his fears, then how could he expect to see anything other than the doom and gloom that has been prophesied of concerning these days? Can the darkness comprehend the light? The first word that the Lord spoke to me that gave me an indication that the days of ahead may not be all that doom and gloom which I had seen came one morning while I was praying. During my prayers, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Mitt, I have been patiently waiting 6000 years to perform that which I am about to do. Do you really believe that I would have been waiting this long to bring doom and gloom upon man? Consider how the spirit of fear had so blinded John and James that for a time, they did not even know manner of spirit they were of. They thought that I would destroy in times that I desired to show mercy and save. I came to save all who will have me, and I desire not that any should perish. I tell you that what is coming is far greater than anything that John or James understood, or anything that you could ever imagine.” These words were the beginning of my hope that something awesome is about to come forth, and it is not antichrist.

I Corinthians 2:9-11 “But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God no man knows, only the Spirit of God.”

When I came into this world, I did not come in the glory of my Father, but rather I came in the likeness of sinful man. So when I came to my own people, I was judged according to my appearance and I was measured by their laws and traditions. By reason of their blindness, they could not see the love in my heart that I had for my heavenly Father, nor the loyalty that I had for him. By reason of this blindness, they could not see that I only put my trust in Father, and I completely relied on him. By reason of this blindness, they could not see that I believed all of my Father’s words, nor could they see the desire in me to only give honor to him. By reason of this blindness, they could not see the holy faith that I placed in my heavenly Father, nor the hope and the confidence that I place in his hands. By reason of this blindness, they could not see that I sought only counsel from my heavenly Father, nor could they see how much I delighted in my daily communication with him. By reason of their blindness, they could not see the holy faith that I placed in my heavenly Father, nor could they see how I delighted in doing his will. By reason of their blindness, they could not see the Father/Son relationship that existed between me and he who sent me, that I was the Son who was/is well-pleasing in his sight. By reason of this blindness, they could not find anything in me that they desired for themselves, so they made light of me and mocked me.

John 5:44 “How can you believe who receive honor one another and do not seek for the honor that comes only from God?”…49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.”

John 5:30 “I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of my Father which hath sent me.”

Isaiah 53:1 NASB “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

John 1:10 NASB “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

Matthew 3:17 NKJ “And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved in whom I am well pleased.”

When I came to my own, they rejected me because I did not come to exalt them for their for their heritage or for their righteous works, but rather I came to restore relationship between my Father and his children. My Father and I are one. My Father is holy. I am the Son of the most holy. As my Father is holy, so also am I holy because the son is equal to the Father. I am the Holy Spirit. I am the spirit of reconciliation. I am the spirit of adoption. I am the spirit of relationship. I am the spirit of the holy Son that is well-pleasing in the sight of my Holy Father. Our relationship is holy. For this relationship, I was despised, and persecuted, and mocked by all those who desire to be exalted rather than to have a relationship with Father. I became like you so that you might see that sinful flesh does not prevent our heavenly Father from having a relationship with any man through faith, and belief, and reliance, and hope, and trust, and love. I came to win you to him who passionately loves each one of you, even when you have not loved him. I was willing to become like you, but are you willing to become like me so that you can have the same well-pleasing relationship with Father that I have with him as his Son? Will you be like me? I became like your flesh, but will you have the fullness of my Spirit? Will you allow for my mind to be in you so that you may intimately know your heavenly Father? Will you let my heart be in you so that you can receive Father’s love and give him the love that he desires?

Romans 8:2 NASB “For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did; sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh…”

Hebrews 9:19 “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw near unto God.”

Luke 11:13 NIV “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, then how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

II Corinthians 5:15-20 “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Philippians 2:5,6 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”

I John 4:19 “We love him because he first loved us.”

Revelation 1:5 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”

I am coming again. I am coming as I AM is. I AM is coming. I am coming to be glorified in my sons. It will be just as it is written, “I will not give my glory to another, but I will give you me. I am the fullness of the glory of God. I am coming for all who will have me. I am coming for those who are prepared and sanctified so that they can have me. I am not coming again in the likeness of sinful flesh. I am not coming at all like the Jesus that walked this earth, and neither am I coming as the Jesus who was crucified and resurrected. I am coming in the fullness of the glory, in the fullness of the authority and power, in the fullness of the riches, in the fullness of the wisdom, in the fullness of the honor, in the fullness of the strength and might, and in the fullness of the all the blessings that I received after I took the book and removed it’s seals. In all the heavens, in all the earth, and beneath all the earth, I alone was found to be worthy to take the book and removed the seals which my Father had sealed it with. I am coming in the likeness of all that which is written in the book, and all those who see me when I come, they shall be changed into my likeness. I am coming in all of the brilliance, the beauty, and the majesty of the glory of God. I am coming in the perfection of Father’s love; and as I am, so shall you be. I told you that what is coming is far better than anything that you could ever imagine. I Am is what is coming.

Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Romans 8:18,19 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us; for the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the manifestation of the Sons of God.”

I Corinthians 15:46-52 “Howbeit that it is not that which is first that is spiritual, but it is that which is natural; then afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

If you put your hope in me and persevere, then I shall make you to be as me when I appear because I am coming to be glorified in you. I am coming to glorify myself in all those who desire to be as I am. Then shall the eyes of all see “me” when I manifest myself in my saints. Then shall the kings, the rulers, the rich, the poor, the needy, the blind, as well as all the nations see “me” in the brilliance of the glory that shall arise up in the sons of the living God. Then shall the eyes of all be opened to see, and blindness shall perish. Then shall the light of life swallow up all sin and death that inhabits the darkness. No longer shall my sons be despised or rejected as I was, but they shall be exalted. No longer shall my sons be ridiculed or mocked as I was, but they shall be exalted. No longer shall my sons be hated or persecuted, but they shall be exalted. I am coming to exalt all those who have humbled their hearts before me. For the darkness shall pass and all men shall see me in you, and with gladness shall they all come to you, worshipping and praising God. I have purposed this, I have declared this, and I will perform it. I will perform the desire of my heart, regardless of what the blind hypocrites believe, or think, or say. Be ready for my coming; but also take heed and be ready for the coming of Satan that is before my coming”.

I John 3:2,3 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.”

Romans 8:24,25 NKJ “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Isaiah 40:5 “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”

II Thessalonians 1:10 NASB “When He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--for our testimony to you was believed.”

Isaiah 60:1-3 NASB “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness (the fear that causes the hearts of men to fail) will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you. And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Through the years, the Lord has greatly blessed me by allowing me to be a partaker of many visions, prophesies, dreams, and revelations. But he has especially blessed me in the times that he has taken me in Spirit; like the time that he met me in the valley of the shadow of death so that I could witness first hand the grace and the tenderness of Father’s love, despite being compassed with the wickedness of my sins and my weaknesses. Truly, I have had some wonderful experiences with our heavenly Father. Aside from these experiences, the Lord has also spoken a couple of words that my heart has greatly treasured above all others. The first word came while I was praying one morning around 3AM. I had just said to the Lord, “Father, I want to be just like you”; and he immediately answered me in an audible voice saying, “Every father desires for his son to be just like him.” I wish that there was some way that I could write and describe the love, the desire, the tenderness, and the yearning that I heard in his voice as he spoke these words to me. They were spoken with such life in them. It was with this word that I knew what Father’s desire and purpose was for me, as well as for each one of us. This word was so powerful that with just this one sentence, Father changed my vision, my destiny, and the entire direction of my walk with him. With this one sentence, he revealed to me the entire purpose of my calling….to become a son who allows his father to raise him up in his own image. I mean really, can there be any higher calling on our lives that to have the almighty God call us to become a son of God? The scriptures clearly reveal that this is the journey and the destiny that Father has called us to because it is written that in the Holy Spirit, he has given to us power to “become” his sons, and that it is this spirit of adoption that cries out, “Abba, Father”.

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

It is for the purpose of this high calling that I have bowed my knee and surrendered my mind, my heart, and my life into the hands of my Maker and my Creator; worshipping him only as he that is able to transform and change this vile, earthy image into the glorious image of his holy son; and Jesus is the Spirit of the holy Son. It is for this work that I have surrendered my life into his hands, waiting patiently for him until he has finished the work that he has started in me, changing my heart and transforming the thoughts of my mind until I have completely put off the nature of the old man and fully put on the nature of his son through Christ Jesus so that I might fulfill the destiny of my calling. It is in this adoption process that made the second word that Father spoke to me be just as important as the first. I was praying one morning when the Lord said, “Mitt, I am not going to make you great in my sight, but I am going to become great in your eyes.” There were times in my walk that I do not think that I could have rejoiced in hearing this word; in those times before the Lord corrected me of my pride, when I was still desirous for my name to be made great also. But now that my pride has been dissolved, my heart just about jumped out of me with great joy and excitement when I heard these words because I knew that the only way that Father could become great in my sight was if he actually did great things for me. I did not even have a clue at that time as to what these great works could be. But I think that I could sum up how I felt about these words with that which is written inLuke 1:46 “And Mary said: “ My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.” Now it has been revealed, and now I know, that Mary and I, as well as all who are being prepared, are waiting to give birth to the Son of God. The difference being is that Mary gave birth to the Jesus who came in the likeness of sinful flesh, but we are waiting to birth that Jesus who comes in all the fullness of the glory of God. We are presently living in the hour that not only Father, but the entire creation has been waiting 6000 years for; the hour that will bring forth and manifest his sons in all of his glory, before all the world.

Psalms 57:2 “I will cry unto God most high; unto God who performs all things for me.”

Galatians 4:19 NASB “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--”

Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate (destiny) to be conformed to the image of his Son, that we might be the firstborn of many brethren.”

Isaiah 37:3 “And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.”

Knowing that the scriptures also identify the last days as days of trouble, as well as Christ coming forth in his elect, I asked, “Lord, why did they not have the strength to birth forth at the birth?” He answered and said, “Because they did not make me to be their strength, but tried to perform it of themselves.”

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.

Ephesians 6:10 “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.”

Now we know that the scriptures reveal that Father has called us to become the sons of God, but who has really considered and meditated just how awesome the purpose is that Father has called each one of us into? All of creation and all of the heavens are extremely excited about this plan of God, and are excitedly waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. But it is not so with the darkness, and all things that are of the darkness. It is engraved in the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem the words that declare that God has no son. These words stand in complete contradiction and opposition to the very purpose God created man. This statement not only stands in opposition to God, but to the very purpose that Father sent his Son into the world, and the destiny that each one of us has been called into. This religion denies that God has a Son, but it does declare that Jesus was a prophet. When Jesus said that he was the son of man, no one got upset. But the moment that he said that he was the Son of God, this so infuriated the religious hypocrites that they rose up against him and sought to kill him, accusing him of blasphemy because to say that you are a son is to say that God is your Father; and to say that God is your Father, is to say that you are equal with God. Even so, the Spirit of God bears witness with the truth; for that spirit cries out from within a man, “Abba, Father”, bearing witness that the spirit of God’s son is within.

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, ‘wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace.”

Philippians 2:5,6 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.”

John 5:18 “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”

Then the Lord said to me, “Be ready, I am coming. Again I tell you that I have been waiting 6000 years to do that which I am about to do, and nothing is going to stop me; not Satan, not antichrist, not death, not the governments of this world, not any religion, nor any of the powers of Darkness. I am coming and not even an alliance of all these things joined together is going to stop me. I am coming to recover my creation. I have spoken this, and I alone am going to perform it. I am coming, but remember that the work of darkness comes before me.”

Isaiah 46:11 “…yea, I have spoken it, and I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, and I will also do it.”

In 2007, the Lord led me, along with several others with prophetic gifts, to come together in Houston, Texas. I was really surprised when the first word that the Lord gave to us came through me that said, “You can take every interpretation that has ever been written about the book of Revelation, or the end times, and you can throw them all out of the window, because they are all vain and false.” Even though we are living in the times of new revelations, it still startles me when the Lord brings forth a word like this that goes against, well, against all the interpretations that have ever been written. While I was meditating on this word, before I had actually spoken it, the Lord spoke again and said, “The reason that all of these other interpretations are vain and false is because none of them are able to show the impact that the sons of God are going to have during this time. No one knows the impact that my sons are going to have because I have not yet revealed this secret to my prophets yet.” Wow! What a word to start a meeting with. Not long after I left Houston, the Lord spoke to me and said, “The sons of God are those who are going to be doing greater works than that which I did.” I was now in state of awe as I began to think, “O my; what kind of impact could 144,000 Jesus Christs have on this world who will be walking in the fullness of Father’s glory!” Who is able to hear, or comprehend, or receive, or believe that which Father has purposed to do? Surely, it as it written, that eye has not seen, nor ear heard the things that God has prepared for those who love him.”

I cannot speak for anyone but myself, and even with all of the healings and wonderful works that the Lord has done for me, I still have a hard time trying to wrap my little mind around the thought that we will soon be walking in a greater authority and a greater glory than Jesus did when he walked on earth. I mean, he raised the dead; he walked on water; and he fed 5000 people with food that was just barely enough for a dozen. He gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf; he had authority over the winds and the seas; and he even disappeared at times. He healed “all” those who were sick; he turned water into wine; and he replaced an ear that had been severed. He showed the grace of Father’s love to an adulteress when others wanted to stone her and he forgave all those that had so viciously and mercilessly hated him, mocked him, scourged him, and crucified him. He pulled money out of a fish’s mouth; he cast out all manner of unclean spirits and demons; and he had legions of angels at his disposal if he needed them. Now Jesus is telling us that we should be looking to add “greater works” to these things. All of these things Jesus did in his former glory, but now the former and the latter glory is coming, and greater works are going to be done because a greater glory is coming.

If eye has not seen or ear has hear the things that God has prepared for those who love him, then how could any man even imagine what these works may be? And if these works cannot be imagined, then who can understand or know the impact that the sons of God are going to have seeing that they are the ones who are going to be doing these greater works? But the scripture also goes on to say that Spirit is revealing these things to us, and that God will do nothing unless he reveals the secrets of his plans to his prophets first. Even so, my mind cannot comprehend such a greater glory; but thanks be to God, he has not asked me to try and comprehend it, but he is only asking us to put our hope, in him and believe that he is able to perform all those things which he has promised us. If we try to comprehend or reason these spiritual things, then all that does is give birth to doubts and unbelief because who can understand how God does any of his marvelous and wonderful works? Let us be strong in faith like Abraham was, who believed that God was, and still is, well able to perform all that which he says that he is going to do. I am thankful to know that it is the Lord who increases our faith to be that which allows for him to perform the promises of his words. I am so thankful that I now know in my heart that God is able to do all of those things which are impossible for men to do, as well as those things that are exceedingly, abundantly above what we are able to think or ask. And now….a greater glory is coming, and his sons are going to do greater works than Jesus did because a greater Jesus is coming, and nothing is going to stop him from coming in us…except if we account the fears, or the doubts, or the unbelief to be more right and true than the words of God.

I Corinthians 2:10-12 NASB “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. No we have received not the spirit of this world, but the spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things freely given to us by God.”

Amos 3:7 NASB “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret counsel to his servants the prophets.”

Now this is a testimony I feel led to share here concerning the sons of God. It is not a testimony concerning the impact that the sons of God are going to have in the days ahead, but it is a testimony of the seriousness that Father has for his sons to be just like him. The Lord had sent me to Tulsa, Oklahoma to meet Ted Cottingham. When the Lord first sent me to meet Ted, it was before he had delivered me from my fear about being deceived by another brother. Just like everyone else at that time, I was very suspicious of Ted because even though the Lord was speaking to him, and to me, there was very little agreement in our understanding of the Lord’s words. The tension between the two of us was so great that I was just looking to find a fault with Ted so that I could justify myself in leaving Tulsa as soon as I possibly could. I am sure that Ted would have also loved to see me leave at that time also. But the Lord spoke to me, quoting almost word for word that which is written in John 7:18, saying, “Now Mitt, Ted is seeking for my glory, and I do not see any unrighteousness in him, and neither do I want you to see any unrighteousness in him.” Even though I agreed to not try and find any fault with Ted, my heart still burned with contention. So I called out and asked the Lord to deliver me from being wise in my own eyes; that wisdom of the carnal mind that cannot subject itself or delight in doing Father’s will. Before I left Tulsa, Ted said that the Lord had told him that “he was going to hang planets”. Even though Ted did not know what this meant, and neither did I, my foolish wisdom tempted me to just roll my eyes at Ted, as though these words came from his own imaginations. “Hang planets”; whoever heard of such a thing?

Nevertheless, after a few months, and much to my disappointment, the Lord led me once again to go see Ted. I was driving to Tulsa from South Carolina, and I had just passed over the Mississippi River when the Lord spoke to me and said, “Mitt, when you get to Tulsa, would you tell Ted something for me?” I answered, “Sure, Lord”; and of course, I am really thinking that the Lord is going to speak a word to me that will somehow enlighten Ted to the fact that I am the one that has the true understanding of Lord. But that is not at all how it went. The Lord then said to me, “Tell Ted that I created the first heavens and the first earth, but you, as my sons, are going to create the second heavens and the second earth. I told you that as I am, so shall you be. As I am a Creator and a Maker, so shall my sons also be creators and makers. If you like roses, then you will be able to create an entire planet full of roses as you so desire. If you like mountains, and waterfalls, and roses, then you will be able to create an entire planet full of mountains, waterfalls, and roses. If you like new things, then you will be able to create new flowers and new things. As I told you before, ‘Every father desires for his son to be just like him.” I then understood what the Lord meant when he told Ted, “You are going to hang planets”. For the first time, I actually was able to agree with the word that says that eye has not seen, nor has ear heard the things that God has prepared for those who love him; but they are being revealed to us through his Spirit. What the Lord was opening my eyes to see was that he was really serious about raising up his sons to be like him.

There is no doubt that I marveled at this word that the Lord had asked me to tell Ted, even going to the point of imagining just what kind of planets that I myself would create and make. But as amazed as I was about hearing for the first time what God has planned for his sons, I also found that I was feeling ashamed and foolish for the way that I had judged Ted through my own eyes. I immediately repented of that wisdom and asked the Lord to open my eyes to see through his wisdom. Then the grace of Father’s love granted me the repentance that I asked for; and my eyes were opened to see Ted in an entirely different manner, as the Lord saw him as man with no unrighteousness. All that the Lord had to do to change my entire relationship with Ted was to open my eyes to see him with the same vision that the Lord sees him. At this moment, I am sure that there are still things that Ted and I do not see eye to eye on, but there is no contention there. Now that the Lord has delivered me from that spirit of fear that had perverted my vision, my eyes are now opened to just love Ted. There is no fear in love, and no love in fear. Just a few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Ted that only said, “I love you Mitt.” That e-mail spoke to, and meant more to my heart than any e-mail that I have ever received.

It truly is an awesome thing to see and hear that Father is going to make us to be creators and makers as he is, but to me, it is just as awesome to see the works of God creating a new heart with new vision, new affections, and new understanding in us. Truly, as it is written, it is God who teaches us to love one another; and I am now convinced that all that the Lord has to do to teach us to love one another is to open our eyes so that we can see each other as he sees us. I do not want to miss out on being his son, nor on the impact that they are going to have on the days ahead.

Titus 3:3-7 “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts (like for vainglory) and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

I Thessalonians 4:9 NKJ “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.”

Chapter 8

Israel & Goliath/ The Church & The Last Days

The coming of the Lord is after the working of Satan…Fear is coming first, then the perfect love of God that will cast out all fear. Fear is coming to the thoughts as the rains that descended, as an overwhelming flood, as the wind that blows, and as the waves that beat against the house. And the gates of Hell shall bring down the house that is built on the sand. Fear is coming, and it will no longer come as sport from Satan to just trouble and haunt a man in his thoughts, but it is coming as wrath from Satan to utterly kill and destroy mankind whom he hates. Many hearts will fail for fear at looking at the things that coming on the earth. Fear is coming to deceive many, and if it were possible, it would deceive the very elect of God. The enemy of this hour is not any flesh and blood, but it is the deception of fear that will deceive many and lead them to fall away. Out of fear is birthed the unbelief and doubts that make men forget who their God is. And when fear makes men forget their God, then do they willingly separate themselves from the love of God. Even though this is Satan’s plan for this hour… be comforted to know that the Lord is coming, and he has a plan that can utterly undo that which Satan does.

Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world…12 “Therefore rejoice, you heavens (spiritually minded elect) and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and sea (the carnally minded)! For the Devil is come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has only a short time left.

Mark 13:22 “For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and they shall show signs and wonders to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect (those who have overcome sin (pride) and death (fear) through the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus).”

Luke 21:25,26 “And there shall be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress in the nations with perplexity; the seas and waves roaring and MEN’S HEARTS FAILING THEM FOR FEAR for looking at those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.”

II Thessalonians 2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first…8-12 “And then shall that Wicked (the Beast: Fear) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all his power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all the deceivableness of unrighteousness (which is the righteousness of fear) in them that perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion (things that are seen) so that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Nahum 1:11-13 There is one come out of you that imagines evil (the fear where all doubts and unbelief are conceived) against the Lord, a wicked counselor. Thus says the Lord, “Though they (the Legion of fears) be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. For now will I break his yoke from off you, and I will burst your bonds in sunder.

I John 4:18 NASB “…but perfect love casts out fear…”

Hebrews 3:12 “Take heed brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.”

Romans 8:15 “You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear.”

Colossians 3:15 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which you are also called in one body; and be you thankful.”

We all know what happened on September 11, 2001, but there was also something else that happened while the Twin Towers were smoldering in flames that aroused a question within me. In the days following 9-11, several pictures began to show up on the internet that seemed to depict some kind of Satanic or demonic image imbedded in the smoke that was pouring out of each of the Twin Towers. There was one photograph taken by one news service that showed one of these images in the smoke of one tower, and there was another news service that had a photograph of a similar image as it appeared in the smoke of the other tower. Now I figured that if the smoke and the winds all lined up perfectly, so to speak, that some image might actually come together that man’s imagination could stretch and say that it was some kind of demonic imagine; but to have two separate images appearing at the same time seemed like much more than the smoke and winds “lining up” together. So I asked, “Lord, do these images somehow signify some manner of the death and destruction coming on the earth?” The Lord answered and said, “No, this signifies the beginning of the fear that is to come.” Fear? When the Lord spoke this word to me back in 2001, it first puzzled me because “fear” was not one of those prophetic signs that I was looking for to come on the earth.

When I began to consider and meditate on this word that the Lord had spoken to me, I began to seek out how this word lined up with what the scriptures have prophesied of in the end time. Immediately, the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which is written in Luke 21:26 “and men’s hearts failing them for fear at looking at those things that are coming on the earth”. I was suddenly struck by the fact that I had always looked for wars, and rumors or wars, false prophets, earthquakes, and diseases to be the signs that would signify how close we were to the end of the world and the coming of the Lord, but not once had I considered that “fear” was one of, if not the most significant of all the signs that Jesus spoke of. I was still examining these demonic images in these photos when I suddenly realized that I was actually looking at the faces of those spirits of fear that had been haunting me my whole life with thoughts of anxiety, or evil suspicions, or confusion, or fret, or uncertainty, or worry, or dread, or impatience, or doubts, or panic, or insecurity, or with worst case scenarios. As I stared at those faces, it gave me a chill to think that these were the gruesome looking faces of the voices that I had heard in some manner or another on a daily basis in times past. Now I could put a face on my enemy; a face that I could now associate with every thought of evil counsel that sought to enter into my thinking, to bring me in bondage to fear through believing it’s words. I then remembered what the Lord had said to Israel, “What you make to be your enemy, I will make to be my enemy.” Lord, let your love come and cast out my enemy; cast out these wicked spirits of fear that come with the intent to defile your temple, my heart and mind, with their unclean, filthy, and disgusting counsels.”

II Corinthians 10:3 ASV “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

I now know the Lord has truly made my fears to be his enemy because he has delivered me from all the fears that I have asked him to deliver me from. Now my heart is filled with great boldness when I go against these wicked counselors because I know that the Lord is with me, and that his perfect love will cast out every one of these vile and unclean spirits of fear as I offer them before him. Only the blind would put a man’s face to be the face of his enemy, not believing the word that says we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities, rulers of darkness, and wicked spirits in the heavenly places of our minds. Would the Lord make another man to be his enemy that we made to be our enemy? Would the Lord come and fight against that man on our behalf? The Lord is not a hypocrite who says one thing and does another, seeing that the commandment has already come forth that instructs us to love our enemies so that we may be the children of God? The blind cannot see who their real enemy is.

II Thessalonians 2:8 “Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming.”

Exodus 23:22 NASB “But if you truly obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.”

When the Lord began to show me how Satan is coming with great fear in the days ahead, one of the first stories that he led me to read was the story about Israel and Goliath. The Lord showed me that this story would give to me some kind of indication of how many in his church are going to respond to the events to come; and their response would be the same as to how Israel responded to Goliath when he appeared. The Lord showed me that his church today is much like, if not identical, to Israel in the days just prior to Goliath’s appearance. Both Israel and the church believe that they are righteous in the sight of God because they are righteous in their own eyes; and no one can convince them that they are not. The Lord also reminded me of that question that he had once asked me, “Mitt, have you ever seen anyone repent of that which they believe to be right?” Also, both Israel and the church would rather follow after a man that can be seen than after the unseen God. Benny Hinn said this, and Billy Graham said that; Pat Robertson said this, and Rick Joyner said that. My pastor said this, and my prophet said that. Now I am not saying that what these men are saying is not of God, but what I am saying is how the people have exalted these men to be their heads rather than Christ Jesus. Another similarity that both Israel and the church shared is the belief that no enemy is able to defeat them because God is with them, some even mocking at Satan and sin as though they themselves have already defeated him. Can a man say that he is walking in victory when he continues to bow his heart and walk after the counsels of his fears, or his doubts, or his unbelief, or his reasonings, seeing that this is what sin is rooted in? Yes, we are under the blood, but the Lord also corrects those whom he loves of this wickedness. The Lord taught me very early in my walk not to mock him who is so cunning that he was able to deceive one third of the angels in heaven who were in the very presence of God. Yes, it is true that there are none who are able to defeat us, but that is only if our heart continues in the faith, believing that God is and that he rewards those who diligently seek for him.

I Timothy 6:12 NIV “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

II Timothy 4:7,8 NIV “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Israel believed all these things right up until the moment that the armies of the Philistines and Goliath appeared before their very eyes. Then when the Philistines set themselves in array so that Israel could clearly see their strengths, their numbers, and their weapons, their hearts began to grow weak as fear began to spread among them. If that was not already enough, then Goliath stepped forth as the champion of the unclean. Israel then saw standing before them a giant of a man who was almost ten feet tall; which in those days, was almost twice as tall as the average man (5’2”) in Israel. Goliath then set himself in array before the children of Israel, proudly displaying his great height and his massive size and strength. He then spoke with great arrogance to the children of Israel, defying their God and mocking their army. Then fear began to spread throughout the children of Israel as they became intimidated by his words and their hearts began to fail them as they beheld this giant warrior standing before them. What had become of God’s chosen people? Where did their confidence and their strength flee to?

Psalm 60:11 “Give us help from trouble; for vain is the help of man.”

If Israel was not already afraid, the Philistines then issued a challenge that pierced every man of Israel to the depths of his heart; a challenge that utterly overcame each of them with fear and terror. The challenge that came forth from the Philistines was that there would not be a battle of army against army, but rather a battle of champion against champion; one man against one man, for all the marbles as they say. If the champion of the Philistines, which was obviously Goliath, defeated Israel’s champion, then all of the children of Israel would become slaves to the Philistines. So also, if the champion of Israel won, then all of the Philistines would become salves to the Israelites. This challenge pierced every man’s heart because it made each man examine himself to see if had what it took to be the champion of Israel, to go out and fight to the death against Goliath. Could there have been a challenge issued that could have caused any more fear to come upon each man than this? I was in the army myself, and I know that, as a solider, when you fight army against army, you find some manner of confidence, and security, and strength from those who you are fighting at your side with you. But this challenge stripped each man of all that kind of confidence, and security, and strength, because whoever fought against him had to fight alone. This challenge made each man in Israel measure himself against Goliath; and as each one of them began to compare his own size, his own physical strength, and his own natural abilities against the size, the physical strength, and the natural abilities of Goliath, then fear and dread spread among them like a rapidly spreading virus. For the next 40 days, Goliath presented himself every day before the children of Israel so that they could daily get an eyeful of his great height and massive strength, to continually keep them all cowered and paralyzed in fear.

I Samuel 17:8-11 “And Goliath stood and cried to the armies of Israel and said to them, “Why are you come out to set your battle in array? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants to Saul? Choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then we will be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then you shall be our servants, and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.” When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed (terrified) and greatly afraid.”

So great was the darkness that had overcome each one of them that they completely forgot who the true champion of Israel was/is, the great and mighty God. Fear is of the darkness; and the darkness is never mindful of the light. Fear is a cesspool of evil and wickedness which brings forth nothing but the sins of doubt, and reasonings, and unbelief that are never mindful of God’s goodness, or love, or power. The children of Israel so believed the counsels of their fears concerning Goliath that they all forgot that the Lord their God is he who is sovereign over all of the heavens and the earth, sovereign over all kings and rulers, sovereign over all powers and principalities, sovereign over life and death, and sovereign over all spirits and all flesh. Their fears had so deceived them that they all forgot that their God is he who is able to make ways when no way seems possible. Their fears had so deceived them that they all forgot their God was the same God that had told their fathers that whoever made themselves to be an enemy to Israel, then God would make them to be his enemy; and when God made them to be his enemy, then he would come and fight for them if they asked him to. Their fears had so deceived them that they all forgot that God had promised them that he would never leave them or forsake them, that all that was needful in situations like this was for them to call on the name of the Lord.

Exodus 23:22 “But if you shall indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary to your adversaries.”

Psalm 78:9,10 “The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They did not keep the covenant of God and refused to walk in his law; and they forgot his works and his wonders that he had showed them.

For 40 days, the children of Israel lay bound up in their fears like a paralytic because not one man among them repented of the sin of his fears, but chose to account their words to be right counsels for them to believe and follow after rather than the Lord. They had so allowed for their fears to deceive them that they all forgot that they were the nation of people that God had chosen for himself, to make them to always be the object of his favor, his love, and his affection. Their fears had so blinded them that they forgot to measure Goliath’s size, and strength, and abilities against the size, the strength, and the abilities of their God in heaven, the faithful and true champion of Israel. The children of Israel were so deceived that they allowed these sins of fear to separate their hearts from him who loved them. This is the work of darkness, that spirit of fear that seeks to deceive the children of God with lies until all have forgotten who their God is.

Isaiah 59:2 NIV “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”

John 16:7-9 “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because they do not believe in Me.”

Romans 8:35-39 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter”. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When the darkness comes, it always tries that which a man has put his faith in; that which he has put his confidence in; that which he trusts in; that which he relies on; that which he loves; as well as all that which he believes in. Goliath did not come forth to prove that the children of Israel were believing and faithful to their God, but rather he came forth to prove that they were walking in sin, having departed from their faith and belief in him. If the children of Israel had been believing and faithful to their God, then God would have defeated Goliath on the first day that he appeared. But because Israel chose to reject God so that they could have a man to be their judge and king, they were left defenseless and powerless when Goliath and the Philistines appeared. Because their was no faith, or trust, or belief in the Lord their God among the children of Israel, then just the sight of Goliath was able to bring forth a great storm of fearful imaginations upon them that rocked the house of God to it’s foundation. It was not the Philistines, nor was it Goliath that brought these fears upon them, but it was their evil heart of unbelief that led Israel to choose to serve a man to be their judge and king that brought this evil upon them. The appearance of Goliath just manifested the evil that was already in their hearts. If they just repented of their sins of unbelief and doubt….then.

Isaiah 66:4 “I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.”

II Thessalonians 2:8-12 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

I Samuel 12:14 “If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. If you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers…..20 Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. …24 “Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.”

No, Israel brought this evil upon their own heads in the day they rejected God so that they could satisfy their desire to serve a man as their king and judge. So, God gave them a king and a judge according to the desire of their heart; and they forgot their God. Then when Goliath challenged them, they only had themselves to measure against Goliath. They not only found out that not one of them could measure up to him, but neither could their king and judge measure up to him either. When Israel made their request to have a man to be their king like the rest of the nations had, it signified the moment that they wanted God out of their lives so that they could give this man their confidence, their belief, their trust, and there faith. It was in this moment that their hearts departed from God, and they separated themselves from his protection and love. Even though God continued to love them, their unfaithfulness and unbelief in him bound up God’s hands so that he could not move on their behalf.

I Samuel 8:4-8 NASB “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us”. And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day--in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods--so they are doing to you also.”

Matthew 9:29 NASB “…..It shall be done to you according to your faith."

Matthew 13:58 NIV “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.”

I was still considering this story about Goliath when the Lord said, “As it was with Israel then, so is it now with my church; for many of my people have no desire for me to be their Judge or their King, but have chosen to walk after that which they see others do and to seek their counsels from men rather than from above. Many have given their hearts to their prophets, or to their pastors, or to their teachers, or to their apostles, or even to themselves, but they have no desire to let their hearts draw near to The One who loves and cares for them. Many have also chosen to seek their counsel from their physicians, or from their attorneys, or from their laws and traditions, or from their doctrines rather than to draw near and ask of me. These are they who continue to have others feed them with the milk of my words, who have not eaten my flesh or drank my blood so that they might have my life in them. Woe to these in the days ahead, for when adversity and trouble increase, so shall their fears increase when they see that which they gave their hearts to shall not be able to help them or save them. Just like Israel, their hearts shall also faint and fall away when fear comes to make them forget who their God is. In not one instance have I ever anointed any of my ministers to be the head of my body, lest my people put their trust, their confidence, and their faith in them. I only anoint my ministers to feed my people and to lead them to me. My sheep know my voice, and my voice only will they follow after. They will not follow any voice that leads them to follow after a man.

Matthew 15:7-9 “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”

Isaiah 30:1 NKJ “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin.”

Isaiah 53:6 NIV “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Acts 20:29-31 NKJ “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

John 10:3-6 NIV “The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.” Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.”

I Peter 5:1-4 NKJ “ The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.”

John 5:19 NKJ Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner…30 “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”

Those who follow after me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. I am Spirit and those who follow after me must walk in the Spirit. Those who walk in the Spirit are those who have beheaded themselves of all belief, all confidence, all trust, all reliance, and all faith in men. Those who walk in the Spirit abound in joy and peace in believing on me, and they delight in me being their Judge and their King. I am the head of the body. I am the head of those who walk in the Spirit because I am that Spirit of belief and faith that they walk in. Did I not tell you before that I am your belief and that I inhabit your faith? I am the Spirit that believes on Father, that communicates with Father, that relies on Father, that trusts Father, that has all confidence in Father, and that is faithful to Father. I am all these things because I am love, and all these virtues are the works of love. I am the Spirit of the Son that loves his Father, and those who walk in my Spirit shall be called the sons of God. He who increases in me increases in all these virtues. I am the Spirit that allows each of you to fulfill the destiny that Father has called you to; to be his son. I am that Spirit that only delights in Father being Judge and King. Those who walk in the Spirit walk in me, and they are not under the law because they walk in faith, in belief, in trust, and in love for their heavenly Father. Those who walk in the Spirit delight in drawing near to Father through me, and Father delights in drawing near to them to make them to be partakers of his love. Those who walk in the Spirit of belief and faith, they shall abound in the fruits of the Spirit because they believe on me, and are faithful to Father. The more a man beheads himself of man, the more he will get of me; and more that he gets of me, the more the fruits of the Spirit shall increase and abound in him. I am the Tree of Life, and those who believe on me shall delight in eating the fruits of life. So I now ask you, “Who will you give your heart to? Who do you desire to be your head?”

Matthew 16:23-25 NKJ “But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Jeremiah 17:5 NASB “Thus says the LORD, “Cursed be the man that trusts in mankind, and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD.”

Philippians 3:3 “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

Romans 11:19-23 NASB You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace….”

Romans 15:13 NASB “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

It was not Goliath’s appearance that caused the hearts of the children of Israel to fail, but it was their own fears that caused their hearts to fail. It is only the spirit of fear that beats a man up in his own imaginations, leaving him dazed, troubled, lost, and confused. A man’s heart will fail him for fear after that which he has relied on, trusted in, believed on, and been faithful to, fails to provide any solution, or victory, or escape, or salvation from that which threatens or troubles him. Goliath’s appearance and challenge left Israel greatly troubled because they found themselves facing a challenge that required strength and abilities that far exceeded the strength and abilities of that which they had been relying on, trusting in, and believing on: themselves. Israel had forsaken their God, and they then found themselves facing an adversary that none believed that they were able to defeat or overcome. Their hearts fainted when the source of their strength, their self-reliance, self-trust, self-belief, and self-confidence proved only to be illusions that they desired to believe to be real and true. “This situation is hopeless and impossible” became the word for the day. When the impossible is the only way for a man to escape or to be saved, then where will a man turn who has forgotten and forsaken his God?

Psalm 108:12 “Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless.”

Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knows them that trust in him.”

Mark 13:8 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.”

Again the Lord continued, “As it was with Israel then, so shall it be now. For as Goliath came to try the faith, the confidence, the belief, and the trust of every man in Israel, so now come the events that shall try every man’s faith, and confidence, and belief, and trust. Those who have not desired to have for me for their Lord and Judge, they shall now have their opportunity to stand in their own faith, in their own confidence, in their belief in themselves, and in that which they have given their trust to. Yes, Satan is coming with great wrath, and so also am I coming to shake the faith, the confidence, the trust, the reliance and the belief of all things that are not of me. When I come to shake to the heavens and the earth, there shall be no strength of flesh, nor any governments, nor any doctrines of men, nor any constitution of nations, nor any religion, nor any rights of man, nor any traditions, nor any laws, nor any defenses of men, nor any armed forces, nor any kind of weapon formed against me, nor any other idol that men have given their hearts to that shall be able to help them in the days ahead. But it shall not be for those who have beheaded themselves of any belief and trust in the flesh so that they might have me for their belief and trust”, says the Lord. “That which you have beheaded yourself of shall be your escape and salvation; for the crucifying of the flesh shall save you. And all shall know that I am the Lord; that the heavens and earth, and all things that are within are mind.”

Luke 9:58 NIV “Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Revelation 20:4 NASB “Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Just as Goliath daily set himself in array to keep Israel tormented in their fears, so also is Satan going to daily set himself in array saying, “Look at me! Look at me, for I am the doom and gloom that comes, and is now here; bow down and fear me! Look at me, I am the fear and dread that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me, for I am the confusion and chaos that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me, for I am the failing economy that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the global warming and the natural disasters that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the lost jobs, and the threat of lost jobs that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the famine that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the unjust cost of living that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the suffering and persecution that comes, and now is, bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the wars, the rumors of wars, the terrorism, and civil unrest that comes, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the corrupted governments, the worthless religions, and the failing financial systems that comes, and now is; bow down and worship me! Look at me; for I am the incurable diseases and sicknesses that come, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am the insecurities of today and the uncertainties of tomorrow that are to come, and now is; bow down and fear me! Look at me; for I am all these things and much more; bow down and worship me with your fears. I am the vain idols of this world that have deceived men to make flesh and wealth to be that which they believe in, trust in, rely on, feel secure in, as well as that which they should put all their confidence and faith in. Look at me! Look at me! Who can stand against me! Who is able to defeat me! Send out your champion or bow down and fear me!

Luke 21:25 “Men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth…”

II Corinthians 5:7 NASB “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Matthew 24:21 “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world until this time; no, nor ever shall be.”

Joel 2:2 “Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all of the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord comes, and it is near at hand. It is a day of darkness (fear) and of gloominess (doom and gloom), a day of darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains…”

Daniel 12:1 “And at that time shall Michael the archangel stand up, the great prince that stands for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble such as has never been since there was a nation; and at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book (Lamb’s Book of Life).”

Revelation 2:10 “Fear none of those things which you shall suffer. Behold, the Devil shall cast some of you into prison so that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days. You be faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life.”

Revelation 7:14 And I said unto him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Revelation 12:9-12 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil and Satan, which deceives the whole world. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ (the truth of God‘s love): for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they did not love not their lives (the spirit of bondage that lives unto fear) unto the death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the Devil is come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he hath but a short time.”

When troubles come, regardless of what shape or form it may appear, it will also set itself in array just as Goliath did so that it may appear to be that which is much greater and mightier than even God himself. It is also then that a man will hear the voice of the false prophet crying out from the depths within saying such things as, “Look at this! What are you going to do about this? Save yourself! Doom and gloom! This is hopeless! Flee! What are you able to do about this? Help! It has been prophesied that Satan comes to deceive the whole world, but what I did not know until the Lord revealed it was that it is fear that is coming to intimidate and threaten men into believing the counsels of his lies. Like I said, my enemy now has a face. Given the opportunity, these fears will always prophesy the dread into our imaginations that the worst case scenario is always that which is certainly going to happen. The more overcome a man is with fear, the more he searches for a way to escape out of his circumstance or situation, not once considering that it is the spirit of fear itself that is what he needs to be delivered of. Those who are carnally minded will even think that this is wisdom, but this is only the illusion that this unclean spirit projects itself to be. This unclean spirit would never have a man mindful that the Lord is always ready to deliver him from his captivity to these fears. This is the deceitfulness of that unclean spirit. There never was, and neither shall there ever be any fear that is able to dwell in the love of God, and neither is there any fear that is able to dwell in abundant life. It is as it is written, that Satan only comes to kill, and to steal, and to destroy our lives, while Jesus has come to give us life, and give it to us abundantly. Not until men are willing to see the truth about their doubts, their unbelief, and their fears will they desire to be saved from the counsels of these unclean spirits.

Psalm 78:21,22 (AMP) “Therefore, when the Lord heard, He was [full of] wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob, His anger mounted up against Israel, Because in God they believed not [they relied not on Him, they adhered not to Him], and they trusted not in His salvation (His power to save).”

Luke 21:22 NKJ “For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.”

II Corinthians 10:3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds and casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Do you look on things after the outward appearance (our Goliaths, the situations of life, or maybe those things coming on the earth)?”

The Lord recently gave my daughter Ansley a vision in which she saw some kind of virus spreading very rapidly across the land. Not long after she told me this vision, the Lord gave me the understanding that this virus is that darkness of fear that is coming, which has now begun; and it comes to cause the hearts of men to fail. Just as faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the words of God, so also does fear come by hearing, and hearing by the words of men. Fear is coming as a virus, and it is going to be spread by the words spoken of those who have been infected by it. It is as it is written, that the power of life and the power of death is in the tongue. And when fear speaks through the words of men, all those who are deceived into believing their words will then become carriers to infect others with these unclean spirits. Whoever becomes infected will then seek to infect others with same virus of fears that they believed to be right and true.

Isaiah 8:11-13 “For the Lord spoke thus to me with a strong hand and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people saying, “Do not say, “A confederacy”, to all them to whom this people shall say, “A confederacy”; neither fear you their fears, nor dread their dreads. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.”

Deuteronomy 20:8 “Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, “Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted?” Let him depart and return to his house so that he might not make his brothers' hearts melt like his heart.”

II Timothy 3:1 “Know this also, that in the last days perilous (dangerous) times shall come…13 evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse, deceiving (virus carriers) and being deceived.”

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”

Virus: 1) An infectious entity that replicates itself in its living hosts

2) Something that poisons one soul and mind; poison

3) A harmful or corruptible agent or entity

Unclean: 1) Morally defiled and impure.

Terrorism, the economy, global warming, corrupted politicians and governments, loss of jobs, wars and rumors of wars, failing banks and corporations, sicknesses and diseases, crimes, suspicions, famines, violence, false and worthless religions, lawlessness, energy costs, lost securities, and natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornados, floods, earthquakes, droughts, and tsunamis are some of the events that the fearful use to spread their virus. These events are not only now here, but they are also beginning to grow in severity and intensity, beyond the control of man. The Lord said to me, “Why should any marvel at seeing these things when my word has clearly stated that I said that I was going to shake the heavens and the earth again? Has not my word prophesied of these very events? Am I not faithful to do that which my word says? I sent Goliath, and just like now, his appearance shook the faith and the trust that my people had put in the idols of their own heart and mind. I used Goliath, just as I am using the events that are now coming on the earth, to reveal to my people the weakness, the unprofitableness, and the foolishness of giving their hearts and minds to other gods. There are no idols that are able to defend, or to protect, or to provide for my people from when the darkness comes to cover the earth. Again I say to you, it is not the event itself that causes the hearts of men to faint and fail, but it is the spirit of fear that causes them to faint and fail”, says the Lord.

The virus of fear that is to come and has now begun will only be able to attack those whose hearts and minds are already weakened through sickness of the sins of unbelief and doubt. Now we all know the early symptoms of this virus: confusion, worry, dread, anger, despair, stress, evil suspicions, panic, impatience, fret, frustration, and anxiety. And when this virus becomes full blown it can bring forth depression, paranoia, hopelessness, sadness, or some kind of phobia. There is no soundness of mind for those who are overtaken with fear because they have become weakened through the loss of that which they have trusted and believed in. It is only fear that will make them desperate, very susceptible to believe anything or anyone who may come along that appears to offer some manner of hope, or deliverance, or help, or escape, or salvation. But who sees and understands that this virus is only able to effect those who have sinned, having rejected the Lord from being God in his life? Who is able to see and understand that the only true remedy for a man in this hour is to repent of his rejection of the Lord; and then turn from those thoughts of unbelief, pride, reasonings, doubts, and fears that once led them to turn from the Lord?

Matthew 9:12,13 NKJ “When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

James 5:16 NIV “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

John 16:8,9 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me.”

Romans 14:23 “….for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

I Timothy 2:14 NIV “And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.”

Right in the midst of writing the last couple of paragraphs, my computer itself started running slow, and even cut off a couple of times. The security program that I had on my computer at that time was nearing the end of it’s subscription, and I had already decided to change to a security program that my daughter had recommended. She said that this new security program came highly recommended, and they updated their spyware and virus protection almost on a daily basis. I had just downloaded this new program and was waiting for my computer to reboot itself when the Lord spoke to me and said, “The time that you spend every morning with me, in prayer and in seeking to know me, it is the time that allows for me to download my virus protection into you, to keep you safe from all of the wiles of the Devil, the plans that he has to overcome your faith with his lies so that may separate you from my love and my protection. It is your faith that believes that I am, and that diligently seeks for me, that allows for me to guard your heart and keep you protected. My protection is just like the protection on your computer in that you cannot see it, you cannot taste it, you cannot hear it, you cannot smell it, and you cannot feel it; but through your faith and belief you know that I am protecting you, even when Satan is always trying to devise new ways to deceive you. Always examine yourself to see if you are in the faith, lest you remove yourself from my protection, and you no longer have my love and my power to guard you.”

Hebrews 11:6 NASB “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

I Peter 1: NASB “who are protected by the power of God through faith…..”

Philippians 4:7 NASB “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

II Corinthians 13:5 NASB “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?”

The storms of tribulation and trouble are coming, and are now here. Those whose house is built on the rock, they shall endure these storms to the very end because they walk in the faith that stands in the power of God. What will the end be for those who chose not to have the Lord for their Judge and their King? The storms that are coming are not coming as a single Goliath, but as many Goliaths, like the relentless waves of a stormy sea. The house of the unfaithful and unwise shall not be able to stand when their hearts faint for looking at all these troubles that are coming on the earth. Just as Israel was confronted with Goliath on a daily basis, so also will the unfaithful and unwise see those things which shall bring wave after wave of fears, and dread, and confusion, and doubts, and terror, and chaos, and uncertainty, and fret, and unbelief when they see the foundations of their own strengths, their own self-trust, their security, and their own confidence eroded away like a castle built out of sand when it confronts the rising waves on the beach. They shall know that I alone am the Lord.

Matthew 25:1-13 NASB “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. “And at midnight a cry was heard: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!” Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.” And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” But he answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”

Matthew 7:24-27 NKJ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Matthew 24:11-13 “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved…44-51 “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, “My lord delayeth his coming”; and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken. The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

There was a storm that came up upon the disciples when they were in that boat with Jesus. This was also a great storm that beat hard and relentlessly against the boat until it became completely swamped out with water. It was the fierceness of this storm combined with them seeing how out of control they were over their fate, that then revealed the lack of faith and unbelief in God’s very chosen. But it was not so with Jesus, he who was filled with the Spirit of God, for he would have slept peaceably right through this fierce and relentless storm, not troubled in the least bit, had not the fears and faithlessness of his disciples woke him up. As fearful as they were of this relentless and fierce storm, their hearts and minds filled again with more fear when they witnessed the power and authority that came forth from the love of God when Jesus took control over their fate. And they knew that he was not only the Lord, but that he was “their” Lord.

Mark 4:37-41 “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Isaiah 26:3 NKJ “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You.”

Romans 8:6 ASV For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:

There is no doubt that the things that are coming, if it were possible, would even deceive even the very elect because of the intensity and the fierceness that the scriptures describe these to be. Even so, no one will be able to be overcome with fear unless he first is willing to let his heart be overcome with fear. The wise will ask for the Lord to guard their hearts against these seducing and lying spirits that will come to try and separate us from the love and power of God. But this is not the hour of the churches last stand, but it is the hour that the darkness is making it’s last stand. This is the hour that those who are overcome will lies will cower in fear and terror, but it is also the hour that those who stand in faith will send out their champion, and he will perform marvelous and wonderful works on their behalf.

This is the hour for that God is going to bring forth his elect, those who will confront darkness in the same threatening and intimidating manner that the darkness tried to confront them with, just as David confronted Goliath. I now understand and see clearly why the Lord God was so pleased with David, even when he committed adultery in the flesh, and that is because David always had a heart that was surrendered to the Lord, instead of unto his fears. He actually allowed for his heavenly Father to have the “hero” role so that it was God, working through him, that could show himself great and mighty. Even when David was weak in his flesh, just like Paul, and just like the rest of us, he still trusted and believed on his God. Could the Lord possibly have prepared a David, or maybe even several Davids, to come forth in this hour of darkness? Could there be a David that has the faith and belief in God that is able to change the course and the outcome the plans that Satan in his wrath has determined upon man? Is this the hour that the Lord God Almighty might show himself to be the “hero” for all his creation? Is it?

Chapter 9

David & Goliath/ The Elect & The Last Days

I Samuel 13:13,14 NASB “Samuel said to Saul, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

I Samuel 2:25 “And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before my anointed for ever.”

Revelation 5:9,10 NKJ “And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals; For You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation; and have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.”

When Goliath appeared and the deceitfulness of fear covered the children of Israel like a heavy cloud of darkness, there stepped forth a skinny little runt of a kid named David who was ready to fight against this mighty giant. Now you all know that David was so young and small that if you measured him by today’s standards in the U.S., then he would surely be considered to be nothing more than a child. In fact, if this event were to happen today in the U.S., then surely some child service agency would try to come forth to take David into custody so as to prevent him from being “abused” by Goliath. By the time that David came forth to the battlefield, Goliath had inflicted so much “mental” abuse and anguish on the children of Israel that they were ready to send out anyone who was willing to accept Goliath’s challenge, regardless of his age or his size. Unlike the rest of Israel, there were no unclean spirits of fear clouding David’s vision to corrupt and pervert his faith in God because he had already proven God’s love, God’s faithfulness and God’s power when he had previously confronted a lion and a bear. David has already called out on the name of their Lord in both of those incidents, and on both occasions God delivered both in them into David’s hand, and he slew them both by the power of God. There was absolutely no doubt in David’s heart that Goliath’s fate would be the same as the lion and the bear that he had faced. David knew in his heart who the true champion of Israel was, and he was eager to go out and confront Goliath because God had equipped him with the name of Lord to call on, the same name that delivered the lion and the bear into David’s hands.

I Samuel 17:32-37 NASB “David said to Saul, “Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Then Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth. But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

I Samuel 17:37 NASB “And David said, “The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and may the LORD be with you.”

I am sure that Goliath, as well as the armies of Israel, when they first saw David come forth, that they had to think that David was not someone that could possibly have any effect on the outcome of the situation that was at hand. And I am just as sure that David of himself could not have had any more of an impact in this situation than any of the other faithless cowards that called themselves to the children of God. David was so lightly regarded because of his age and his size that that even his own father Jesse left him behind after they were summoned to come to the sacrifice where God was going to choose from his sons who the next king of Israel was going to be. If the hearts of those in Israel failed them for fear when they measured Goliath’s size, strength, and abilities against their own, then surely no hope was birthed when they measured David against Goliath. I am sure that the Israelites were just happy to finally have one of their own come forth that was willing to go out against Goliath, but I am also just as sure that their thinking was probably in the same line as that which the Philistines was when they saw David: “Who does this little kid think that he is?” That is just it; David was not at all thinking about who he was, but he was mindful of who his Father God in heaven is.

I Samuel 17:42 NIV “He (Goliath) looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome, and he despised (made light of) him.”

Early in my own walk, I attended a Sunday school class. The topic that day was, “If you could speak to anyone that is written of in the scriptures, then who would it be, and what would you say?” Immediately God came into my mind; and I thought why would anyone even consider talking with someone else. There were around 25 people in that class, and as we went around the room, with each person given the opportunity to answer this question, I was surprised that I did not hear one person answer God, and there was like only one person that even said Jesus. There were a bunch who answered Paul, or David, Joshua, or Moses, but no God. On the way home from that class, the Lord gave me a vision; and in the vision I saw what appeared like a large waiting room of some kind. I then saw all the members of my Sunday school class sitting around.

Then walked in David, and Paul, and Joshua, and John, and Caleb, and Solomon, and a few others, and they just sat down just like everyone else was sitting. After they sat down, I saw those who had been in my Sunday school class gather around the ones that they had named that they would like to talk with. It was like my classmates began to drool over them and treat them like they were some kind of movie stars or rock stars, as they were asked to tell them the stories of how they parted the Red Sea, or how they slew giants, or how they healed the sick and cast out demons. All the while, these saints were looking out my classmates like they were complete fools, and they all finally answered my classmates by saying, “Why are you trying to glorify us? Why are you attributing these works and miracles to us? We did nothing of ourselves; it was God himself that was doing all these things.” This is one definition of blindness: when men give glory to a man for that which God has done. Simply put, all David had was that child-like faith that allowed for God to deliver Goliath in to his hand; a faith that could not be found anywhere else in Israel.

Psalm 62:11 NKJ “God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God.”

Psalm 78:21,22 NIV “When the LORD heard them, he was very angry; his fire broke out against Jacob, and his wrath rose against Israel, for they did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance.”

John 16:8,9 “And when he (the Holy Spirit) is come he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me.”

With the exception of Samuel, let it be said that among all the mighty men of Israel, that nation of people that God himself chose to be his own, that there was only one that stood in the true faith, while the rest cowered in holes and behind rocks. Let it be said that among all the inhabitants of God’s chosen that David alone was faithful to his heavenly King, having refused to reject him as all the rest of Israel had. Let it said that all of the children of Israel were wise in their own eyes; and seeing through the eyes of this world’s wisdom, their hearts fainted at the sight of Goliath. And let it be said that all of Israel walked in the blindness of their fears and were ensnared with the fear of a man, except for David. Let it be said that any faith or belief that the children of Israel may have thought they had in God, proved only to be illusions of their own imaginations. Let it be said that because of the righteousness of one man’s faith and belief in God, all of the doom and gloom that their fears had prophesied to them did not come to pass. There were no unclean spirits of fear in David to pervert his belief, or his confidence, or his faith, or his trust in God. In fact, by the Spirit of the Lord that was in David, he began to treat Goliath in the same manner that Goliath had been treating the rest of Israel, with contempt. Through the boldness of his faith in God, this little kid turned the tables and he began to intimidate Goliath. How could this be? Simple; David had a different spirit on him than those who had rejected their God. David had the same spirit on him that Caleb had on him when he saw the giants in the land, but was not at all intimidated or fearful by what he saw.

Numbers 14:22-24 NASB “Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.

Proverbs 29:25 NKJ “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.”

Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”

Proverbs 3:7 NASB “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil.”

Jeremiah 32:40 NASB “I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me.”

James 1:5 NIV “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

Matthew 25:1-9 NIV “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish (the wisdom of this word, that which fears man, is foolishness in the sight of God) and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: “Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!” Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.” “No,” they replied, “there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.”

Matthew 10:28 Jesus said, “Do not fear them which can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him (God) which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

When God took his kingdom away from Saul, he did so because Saul’s heart was weak, and in his weakness he feared the people rather than God. When a man fears man more than he fears God, then he will surrender his heart to do that which men desire of him rather than to do that which God desires for him to do. How much more unclean can a spirit be than that which brings a man to bow his heart before the desires of men rather than before God’s love? It was in Saul’s weakness to his fears that led him to depart from his faith in God and belief of God’s words. The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of the people, and by the people; but it is a kingdom that is of God, and by God. The kingdom of God is not a kingdom where the will of the people rules but where the will of God is done. The will that God has for his people is that they allow for him to be God: to be the God that desires to bless his beloved; to be the God that delights in showing mercy and grace to his beloved; to be the God who provides for his beloved; to be the God who desires to do nothing but good for his beloved; to be the God who desires to help his beloved; to be the God who provides for his beloved; to be the God that desires to give everything in his kingdom to his beloved; to be the God that guards and protects his beloved; and to be the God that yearns to fellowship, to love, and to communicate with all of his beloved. The Lord once told me, “Mitt, do not be deceived; there is only one God, and there will always be only one God.” Many fell from heaven when they were deceived into believing otherwise. Through the fear of man, Saul lost his heart for God, and his heart to do God’s will. And when the king loses his heart for God, then he will surely cut off the will of God so that God has no place among his own people.

Matthew 6:10 NASB “Your kingdom come Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Matthew 7:21 NASB “Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”

Luke 12:32 NKJ “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

I Samuel 12:14,15 NASB “If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you as it was against your fathers.”

I Samuel 15:23-28 NASB “For rebellion is as the sin of divination (witchcraft) and insubordination (stubbornness) is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. ”Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me, that I may worship the LORD.” But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. So Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.”

When the Lord was showing this “lost love” to me, he brought into my remembrance something that I myself had experienced in my own adolescence, when I was like 13 or 14 years old. One of my very first girlfriends broke up with me but my puppy love for her was as strong as ever, and I was utterly miserable, having suffered a love break-up before. Once the love that girl had for me was departed from her, for some reason she like she had to treat me as though I did not even exist in her world anymore. And what was really painful was when I found out that there was absolutely no words that I could say or anything that I could do that could win her heart back to me. There can only be one puppy love in each man’s life because it is the only love that is not accompanied with the fear that another break-up is going to occur. It was with this remembrance that the Lord allowed for me to understand how hurt his heart was when Saul “broke up” with him because he lost his heart from him. This break-up between Saul and God had to present some kind of problems because Saul was still sitting on the throne as king and judge over the people that God had chosen for himself. And to think that this entire situation came about because of that vile, unclean spirit of fear that came into Saul that corrupted his heart and perverted his faith and trust that he has towards his Lord so that he could serve the will of the people instead of God.

Matthew 24:12 “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax (grow) cold.

Revelation 2:4 NIV “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.”

At the same time that God has chosen to take his kingdom from Saul, he went looking from among the children of Israel for a man who did have a heart for God. I was asking the Lord just what it meant “to have a heart for God” when the Spirit of the Lord first quickened to me that which is written in II Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him…” This is what it is to have a heart for God? It was then with this word that the Lord began to open my eyes to see that the heart that is pleasing in the sight of God is the heart that is humble before him; a heart that will actually permit God to be a God for his people, not over them. It is the humble in heart that will allow God to show himself great and mighty. It is the humble in heart that will allow for God to perform impossible things for his beloved. It is the humble in heart that will present themselves before God allowing him to create in them a new heart and a new mind. Later that night, I was still considering these things when the Lord said to me, “Mitt, who is your champion? Who will you ask to go out to fight your battles for you? Who will you ask to cast out your fears? Who will cast all of your cares and troubles on? Who will you ask to change your heart? Who are you going to put your hope in? Who do you want to come to you in your time of need?” As the Lord was asking these questions of me, my heart was silently answering, “You Lord.” It was amazing in that after the Lord finished asking me these questions, it was like a child-like faith that I had not known then entered into me, and I increased in the faith that calls out “Abba, Father”. I also knew in my heart that the Lord was truly going to always be there for me to be my champion; and there was nothing more that I could desire than that. I felt such a strong presence of this spirit of faith in me that there was no place for any doubt to enter in that would question any of these questions that the Lord asked of me. I know who my champion is going to be when spiritual Goliaths arise in my path: troubles, sickness, cares of this life, false doctrines, fears, or any other situation or circumstance that might come forth to tempt me to reject the Lord so that I may be my own lord and judge.

Joshua 24:15 NKJ “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River (Gen, 6:5; their own imaginations), or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Then the that the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which Jesus said in Matthew 18:3 “Truly I say to you that unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven”. Then the Lord asked, “On the day that Goliath appeared before Israel, who did my people have more need to fight for them: a man or God? Who did they have more need of: a man who esteemed the vanity that men esteem or one who is child-like in his faith, the faith that calls out on the name of his God for deliverance? It was in this moment that I realized how I had erred and perverted the vision of how I should be walking with God. I had thought that if I walked the strait and narrow path, then the day would come that I mature and be all grown-up in my faith, and that I would be some kind of a spiritual giant, a man of such strength and might that basically I would go out and confront my own Goliath’s, face to face, without having to acknowledge the Lord at all. I could not have been more wrong in my “assumption”; for our maturing is become as little children in faith, in trust, in security, in belief, in humility, and in love towards our heavenly Father. The more mature I became, the more that I would rely on God to be all things for me and to provide all things for me. When I myself was a child, I allows allowed my dad to be my day; and those who are child-like in their faith, they always have a heart that always allows for their heavenly Father to be Father God.

Isaiah 11:6 NKJ “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

I Samuel 17:45-47 NIV “David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Jeremiah 33:3 NKJ “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things (his love and his power), which you do not know.”

Then on this same day, but later on that same night, I had just gotten into bed when I looked towards the foot of my bed. Suddenly I saw what looked like 2 white slated fence rails running between the two bedposts. This fence looked like the typical kind of wooden fence that I have seen many times at horse farms; and it even appeared to have a small gate that could swing open like the ones you see at a rodeo. My first thought was, “Is this a dream or a vision of some kind?” Then I realized that what I was seeing was actually happening before my very eyes. The next thing that I saw was 4 small angels climbing up from the backside of the fence, and when they had finished their climbing, they were stand on the bottom rail and leaning over the top, looking at me with a countenance that said they wanted me to come and play with them. These 4 angels appeared to be only about 2 or 3 feet tall, and each one of them had the appearance of the most innocent looking 4 or 5 year old child that I had ever seen. They all had the most tender, and sincere, and sweetest looking smiles on their faces that I have ever seen.

I was just staring at them in amazement when each of them began to point his finger towards my chest. I was immediately clueless as to why they might be pointing their fingers at me. There little hands were moving back and forth as they pointed their fingers towards me, like they wanted me to see what it was that they were pointing at. Because I was going to bed, I had cut off all of these lights, and the only thing that I could visibly see was these enlightened little angels and the fence they were standing on. My first thought was that maybe there was something on me, like a spider or a bug. So I started furiously slapping my chest, from one side to the other, as fast as I could. As I was doing this, I noticed that these angels were all giggling at me in the most innocent of manners, and a couple of them had even cupped their hands over their mouth as they giggled, just like small child would. Because of the manner they were giggling at me, I realized that there were no bugs or spiders crawling on my chest. Even so, they continued in pointing their fingers towards my chest. My next thought was that maybe I had some kind of lump or a bump on me, so I started feeling all over my chest to see if I could feel something. When I could not feel anything or see anything, I looked back and saw that these angels were giggling more than before, and I then knew there was no lump or bump on my chest. Then they began to move their fingers back and forth in an even faster manner than before; like I was getting closer to what they were trying to show me. I felt like I was playing the game that I played as a child that we called: “Hot and Cold”. This is a game where one picks out an object in a room, and the other children have to guess what it is. The words that are spoken are by the child who knows what the mystery object is, and when one child gets close to the object he will say, “You are getting warm”; and if he almost on top of the object, the child will say, “You are getting hot.” Likewise, if the child begins to move away from the object, the other child will you are getting cool or cold. I have never seen this game played with children that are around 5 years old that the child does not get noticeably excited when one of the other children starts getting close to the object that he picked out. This was exactly how these little angels were getting with me, noticeably excited because I was eliminating all of the possibilities. me.

Then suddenly, all 4 of these angels seem to reach a state of extreme excitement, for their hands were moving as quickly back and forth as I have ever seen. They were still pointing their fingers towards my chest when I realized that my hand was laying directly over my heart. So I said to them, “Is that it; is it my heart? Are you trying to show me something about my heart?” They all reacted to my question with pure joy and excitement, like I had finally gotten it. They literally had smiles on their faces that went from ear to ear. Then, without any words being spoken verbally, they began to communicate with me; like in some telepathic manner. I could hear their thoughts as though they words spoken aloud, and they heard my thoughts in the same manner that I heard theirs. It was real strange at first because since I could not see any of their mouths moving, I was never able to discern exactly which angel was actually speaking to me. They began by saying; "Yes, Mitt, it is your heart that we are pointing to, for we have been sent to help you understand more clearly those things of the heart that the heavenly Father is looking for; for whatever a man truly believes, he believes it in his heart; and it is those things that a man believes that his heart will treasure. It is just as it is written, “That a man is only able to look on appearances while God looks on the heart.”

I Samuel 16:7 NASB “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Romans 10:10 NASB “For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness…”

The angels continued speaking saying, “Under the old covenant, on the veiled side of the word, the scriptures were interpreted with man’s wisdom and understanding; and these interpretations only minister to the works that are seen; and they are believed on to be the truth because they seem right in the sight of men. Yet, all of these interpretations come forth from the darkness of ignorance; and ignorance cannot bring forth any correct interpretations that reveals the truth about the heart’s of men or the truth about the heart of God. It is in this blindness of ignorance that that the things that are an abomination in the sight of God are seen as those things that are highly esteemed in the sight of men. It is in this blindness that you will find the deceitful lies of pride deceiving the hearts of God’s people into believing that they are able to make “self” to be pleasing and acceptable in their own eyes; and if they are pleasing and acceptable in your own eyes, then so also will men find you pleasing and acceptable; and if men find you pleasing and acceptable in their eyes, then surely God will find them pleasing and acceptable in his eyes. All lies; for when the Son of God came into this world, he who was well-pleasing in the sight of God, but he was despised, rejected, and nothing to be desired in the sight of God’s own people. So we say to you, Mitt, that God does not look on the outward appearances as man does, but he looks only on your heart.

Proverbs 21:2 NASB “Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.”

Isaiah 53:2,3 NKJ “….And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men; A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”

On the veiled side of the word, the focus of ignorant man is not on the heart, but rather it is on the things which can be seen and discerned by man: a man’s righteousness, a man’s power and strength; a man’s opinions, a man’s works, a man’s goodness, a man’s determination and self-will, a man’s zeal, a man’s name, a man’s abilities, and a man’s reputation. On the veiled side of the word a man is also measured and judged according to how he honors laws, and rules, and traditions, and doctrines, and the commandments of men. Still, the Son of God was rejected. It is because of this focus that Israel desired to have a man for a king; a man that they could then corrupt according to their blindness until he saw things in the same manner that they saw them; for in their blindness, Israel desired to be a nation of God, but without having any need for God. They praised me with their lips, but their hearts were far, far away from me.

Luke 18:9-14 NIV “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

II Corinthians 3:14-17 NKJ “But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”

Luke 24:45 NIV “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”

It is on the veiled side of the word that the heart of man is proud, full of self-sufficiency. When Samuel came to Jesse’s sons, he himself began to judge each one of them according to their appearance to determine who he thought God would choose to be the next king over Israel. But Samuel was still blind and could not see as God sees, and he judged them according to the blindness in his own eyes: according to their size, their righteousness, their strengths, their reputation, their abilities, and their works. Samuel judged them according to who he thought would make the best king without any sufficiency from God at all; and it is for this reason that Samuel chose Eliab, a man who seemed to be most self-sufficient. But God rejected Eliab because of the very reason that Samuel chose him. For those who make themselves to be self-sufficient will resist and refuse any help or guidance from God. It is this self-sufficiency that makes the proud heart to be an abomination in the sight of God, while the blind see it is as that which is highly esteemed. Do the self-sufficient put any reliance, or confidence, or trust in God? If they did, then they would not be self-sufficient, would they? Do you now see how in this fallen world of darkness, it is the heart of those who seemingly appear as the most self-sufficient that are the most admired, most praised, most glorified, and the most esteemed among men? Do you understand why Samuel, in his ignorance, chose Eliab? Do you now understand that it is this ignorance that your heavenly Father is commanding all men to repent of, seeing that he has given unto each one of you the Spirit of his Son Jesus; the spirit that reveals all truth about your own heart as well as the truth about your heavenly Father’s? Remember also that it is the wisdom that is in you that dictates how you see yourself and how you see God.

I Samuel 16:7 NIV “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Luke 16:15 NKJ “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

Proverbs 16:5 “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”

II Corinthians 3:4-6 NKJ “And we have such trust through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

When the Philistines set their armies in array, and sent forth Goliath as their champion, where were all of the mighty men of Israel who were wise in their own eyes? Where were all those who had been esteemed and exalted for their own strength and works? Where were all those who had boasted of their own courage and physical abilities? Where were those who sought for the occasion to glorify themselves? Where was Eliab? Where was Saul? Where were any of those who boasted in their own themselves? Where were those who did not think that they had any fears dwelling in them? Do you see how the blinded the hearts of the children of Israel was, so much so that there hearts fainted when they saw the uselessness of their own abilities, their own reputations, their own strengths, their own wisdom, their own courage, their own confidence, and their own power and might when they faced an adversary that was greater in all these things than they were? Do you see now how weak and vain all the things proved to be when one mightier than them appeared? Where was he who Samuel had so boldly chosen to be king? So also, where was he who was of a humble and child-like faith; he who carried the name of the Lord around for his sword, his shield, and his spear? Do you now see how in this world of darkness, the strengths, the wisdom, the stature, and the abilities of men are only illusions that exist in the imaginations of the thoughts of men? Do you see that what these men had believed to be real and true about themselves were only false visions? Mitt, let us tell you what is not an illusion or a false vision; and that is the love that your heavenly Father has for each one of you, even for those who have “broken up” with him. But his love and his power can only seen by those who humble their hearts as a little child before him.

I Peter 1:24 NIV “For all men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall.”

Psalm 94:11 “The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”

John 5:30 NKJ (Jesus said) “I can of Myself do nothing….31 “If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true.”

On the unveiled side of the word, where the light of God’s truth shines forth, all focus is upon God, and upon all those things which are not seen by men: on God’s abilities, God’s strength, God’s righteousness, God’s power, God’s wisdom, God’s will, God’s goodness, God’s glory, on the great and mighty works of God, and on the limitless love that God has for his people. Again we ask you to consider thee words: Did not Jesus highly esteem his heavenly Father? And was he not lightly esteemed in the eyes of those who highly esteemed the illusions of men? And he who was lightly esteemed by men, was he not well pleasing in the sight of God? This is the power of the darkness; the power that works on the veiled side of the word to keep man exalted, and praised, and honored, and glorified, and to keep him esteemed in his own eyes, as well as the eyes of all who are around him. It is not so on the unveiled side of the word, where only the heavenly Father is exalted, and praised, and glorified, and honored, and esteemed by all who trust and believe on him as a little child does his own dad. The eyes of the heavenly Father go to and fro throughout the earth, examining the hearts of all men to find those who have a heart for him. It is of such a heart that God found in David; a humble heart that yearned for God to show himself strong and mighty. Has God changed? Do you not know that as it was then, so also is even now, that is eyes are still going to and fro throughout the earth seeking the same things? The eyes of your heavenly Father are still going to and fro looking for those who he may show himself strong on their behalf. For it was of such a heart that God made David to be king over his own people; because he knew that David would allow for him to show himself strong on his behalf, as well as on behalf of his people. So also now your heavenly Father is looking to raise up kings and a priests from those who have a heart for him, just as he did with David?

John 4:23,24 NASB “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Now take heed Mitt, for it is on the veiled side of the word where you will find the darkness continuing to inhabit the ignorance of those who have not loved the truth of God. It is here that you will find unclean spirits directing the souls of men to believe in themselves, to lean to their own understanding, to delight in doing their own will, to glorify themselves in their own works, to put faith in their own abilities, to take control over their lives, to keep their focus on self, to account their own opinions to be truth, to trust in their own pride, to speak of their own goodness, to exalt and esteem their ownselves, and to always be wise in their own eyes, trusting and believing that how they naturally see and judge, it is the right way for all things to be seen and judged. These are the works of the man of sin; the man who puts self on the throne over his own heart. These are the ways of the son of perdition (destruction); the ways that seem right to those who walk in the wide and easy paths that lead to death and destruction. These are the counsels of the man of sin, the thoughts that are enmity against God because they are only mindful of man. There are no thoughts to acknowledge God in the mind of the proud and ignorant. These are these abominations that the proud delight in doing so that they may show themselves to be lord and god over their own lives; as well as over their own Christianity. Would the man of sin, that son of perdition (destruction), exalt himself in anything that is not highly esteemed in his own eyes, or in the highs of the men he desires to please? Only the foolish, the ignorant, and the blind would exalt themselves in speaking the words and doing the works that are an abomination in the sight of God. It is when the souls of men are joined together in unity with unclean spirits that the desire and zeal for self-righteousness comes forth. For it is just as it is written, there is nothing unclean of itself. All that which is unclean is unclean because it has been joined to an unclean spirit; and God did not create uncleanness in the souls of men.

Philippians 2:21 NKJ “For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 10:3,4 “For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”

Proverbs 16:5 “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”

Romans 8:5 NIV “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

Romans 14:14 NASB “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.”

Isaiah 64:6 NKJ “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags. We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

Romans 10:2,3 NKJ “For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”

Hosea 4:6 NASB “My people are destroyed (the sons of perdition: the ignorant) for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest….”

Ephesians 4:17,18 NKJ “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”

Acts 17:29-31 NASB “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

John 9:39-41 “And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, “We see.” Therefore your sin remains.”

II Thessalonians 2:3-12 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholds that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now lets will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness (the uncleanness of self-righteousness) in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Isaiah 66:3,4 NKJ “…Just as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations, so will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them; because, when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight.”

The little angels continued. “Remember that Jesus said, “Take heed that the light that is in you be not darkness; lest in your blindness you esteem that which is abominable in the sight of God. It is on the veiled side of the word that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and his demons into ministers of righteousness, moving among the brethren as wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing, enticing them with doctrines that teach them to do those works that outwardly appear righteous in the sight of men of the blind. Everyone that is deceived by them shall become just like them: as deceivers who teach others to do those works that are esteemed in the sight of men. Their pride has deceived them and they are not even aware that they are doing those works that are an abomination in the sight of God. You will know them by their doctrines because their words keep a man focused on his own abilities, his own strengths, his own righteousness, his own will, his own desires for recognition and glory, his own power, his own opinions, his own goodness, his own works, and on his own self-image. Their words lay many burdens on the shoulders of the deceived, but they never allow a man to draw near to God to learn of his wonderful love and mighty power. What profit did any of these lies serve Israel when Goliath appeared?

Luke 16:15 NKJ “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Matthew 23:27,28 NASB “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (iniquity)

John 14:9 NIV “Jesus answered: “Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”?

It is these ministers that seduce others with the promises of glory, and honor, and respect, and praise that one receives from men after they have done the works that are highly esteemed in the sight of men. The praise and glory of man is the only reward they shall receive for their works. Take heed that these grievous wolves do not deceive you with their vain words that work to exalt, to esteem, and to glorify a man for what he does of himself, lest you have no heart to give these blessings to your Father in heaven. It is on this veiled side of the word that a man’s self-image is esteemed and idolized above all other images, even above the true image of the Son of God, who is the image of God. Those who walk in this ignorance delight in being their own physicians, being their own savior, being their own redeemer, being their own provider, being their own deliverer, being their own healer, being their own judge, and doing their own will. These are the works of the proud who delight in their independence from God, having rejected him so that they may be their own champions. Now consider: What profit will any of these “highly esteemed” things be able to provide when men’s hearts begin to fail when they see the things that are coming on the earth? What shall it profit a man for him to walk in pride of his ignorance, seeing that it alienates him from his God, and hinders him from drawing near to God?

James 4:6 NIV “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

I Peter 2:1 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction (sons of perdition) and many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not…9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness (self-righteousness), and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities….12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed (sons of perdition), speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceiving (walking in those things that are highly esteemed) while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: which have forsaken the right way…17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again (doing those things that highly esteemed); and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.”

It is only on this veiled side of the word where Satan moves freely, establishing his kingdom on deceitful words that seem and illusions that the blind esteem to be good. It is only in the kingdom of darkness where a man is desires to be lord and god over his own life. It is only in his kingdom where the darkness is able to appear as the light; where his lies appear as truth; where abominations are highly esteemed; where good intentions, reasonings, and the works of man’s best efforts seem to be able to justify; where the uncleanness of iniquity (self-righteousness) appears as the righteousness of God; and where men’s traditions, men’s laws, and the commandments of men seem like the truth of God. Do not be ensnared in walking by sight where men are judged by their appearances. Again, we say to you: take good heed to examine yourself so that you do not account this darkness to be your light. Remember, there is no repentance after you die.

It is only in the darkness that Satan and his demons deceive with outward images that appear beautiful so that they may entice the ignorant to walk in hypocrisy. There is no lie that is of God. So, is there any truth in play-acting or pretending? Do you now see and understand how Satan uses the appearances to deceive the hearts of the children of God because a deceived heart is a heart that no longer desires for the Lord to be God. A deceived heart is a proud heart; a proud heart that only desires for itself to be great, to be exalted, and praised, to be recognized, and to be glorified. Remember that which was spoken to Saul, “When you were small in your own eyes, you believed that God was great; but when you began to believe that you were great, then God became small in your eyes.” On the veiled side of the word, Satan has deceived men into believing that they are great, and that they can be their own champions, and that they are without any need for God to be Lord in their daily lives. On the veiled side of the word, man is exalted and glorified while on the unveiled side of the word only God is exalted and glorified. On the unveiled side of the word, God is great and allowed to do those things which are impossible for men to do.

Jude 5 NIV “Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.”

On the unveiled side of the word is where a man enters the spirit realm; the realm where a man walks in agreement with God. It is here that a man communicates with God, and God communicates with him. Only those who have been converted, whose hearts have been humbled, that are allowed to enter into his realm. The proud will scoff at the humble because they cannot believe that God will do for them that he does do for the humble. Even so, the proud only wonder why God does not communicate or walk with them. When the Lord God went seeking for a man after his own heart, he knew exactly where he was going to find such a man because he had heard David’s prayers and supplications. He knew that in David, he would find a heart that was willing to let God be his champion, and the champion for all of Israel. David had a heart that desired for God to show himself great and mighty. The Lord found in David a heart that was perfect towards God; a heart that would serve him, a heart that would worship him, a heart that believed on him, a heart that trusted him, a heart that sought counsel from him, a heart that was humble before him, a heart that relied on him, a heart that was faithful and true to him, and a heart that loved him. It was God that David glorified and praised when he slew Goliath because he knew who delivered Goliath into his hands. David knew in his heart that God is sovereign over all things, right down to knowing every hair on his head. David knew that his heavenly Father loved him, that he cared for him, that he would provide for him, and that he would always be there for him. Have you ever seen the heart of any child that was not perfect towards the dad that did all of these things for his child? Have you ever seen a little child reject a loving father so that he might have another father who does not care at all for him? It is only on the unveiled side of the word that you will find those have sought for and asked for the Lord to create in them a new heart; a heart that is as perfect towards “Abba, Father”.

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

Ezekiel 36:25-27 NKJ “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.”

Then these 4 little angels finished by saying, “The hearts of those who have been converted are those who have received a new heart and a new mind. These are they who have become child-like in their faith, in their reliance, in their communication, in their belief, in their humility, in their confidence, and in their trust towards their heavenly Father. These are they who have taken up their crosses and crucified the flesh with all of it’s desires to do those things that are highly esteemed in the sight of men, and they have put on the spirit of adoption that raises them up to become the sons of God. These have put off that abominable nature of the sons of perdition that delights in believing, and trusting, and exalting, and glorifying itself. These have put on the spirit of the son of God that is in Christ Jesus; the spirit that makes Father and son to become one. It is the heart of the child that chooses for God to be its champion, and it looks no where but from above for it’s redemption, it’s help, it’s deliverance, it’s sufficiency, and it’s strength to come. There are no adversaries, no circumstances, no enemies, no powers, no fleshy lusts, no situations, nor any wicked or unclean spirits that God will not arise to overthrow on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards him. It is of these, those who have become as little children in their hearts, that the Lord God is going raise up to be his kings and priests, forever.

Matthew 18:3 NASB “and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Isaiah 11:6 NKJ “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”

Galatians 5:24 “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and desires… …..26 “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”

Ephesians 2:13-18 NKJ “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.”

Now hear and understand: Though David had a heart that was perfect towards his God, it was not seen by those who had rejected God. It was not until Goliath and the Philistines came up against the children of Israel that David’s righteousness was manifest, the righteousness that believes and trusts only in God. It was also then that the unrighteousness of dread, unbelief, confusion, doubt, and fear was manifest in those who had rejected God. Where was the fear and dread in David as he prepared to go out to battle against the champion of the Philistines? If there had not been one in Israel who had the heart of a child, one who had the belief and trust that his heavenly Father would come and show himself great and mighty on his behalf, then where would the victory have come from, seeing that the faithless and the wicked were all cowering in their fears? Do you see how this child-like faith that was in David kept all of Israel from becoming slaves to the unclean Philistines? Who then is mightier; he who is 10' tall with arms and legs as big as tree trunks, or him that has the humble heart of a child; a child who by faith and trust faith calls out to great and mighty Father? If needed to be, would not the heavenly Father have sent legions of angels to fight for his Son on the night that he was betrayed?

Romans 4:3 NIV “What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Romans 5:1-4 NKJ “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations…”

Revelation 7:13-15 NKJ “ Then one of the elders answered saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple (his presence in the temple of their bodies). And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.”

I John 5:4 NKJ “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

I Corinthians 2:3-5 NKJ “I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Matthew 9:29 NASB “Then He touched their eyes, saying, “It shall be done to you according to your faith.”

On the unveiled side of the word is the light of God’s truth, a continual flowing river of the blessings of abundant life; God's power, God’s wisdom, God’s faithfulness, God's help, God’s strength, God’s divine nature, God’s understanding, God’s work, God’s gifts, God’s peace, and the love of God. All of these blessings come to those who walk as little children before him; those who believe that all things are possible with God their Father. These are they who put no limitations on the manner that God desires to bless them, or on the love that Father desires to show them. It is these who dwell on the unveiled side of the word that continually see God doing those things which are exceedingly abundant above all that which they are able to think or to ask for. The heart that is unveiled is the heart has nothing to hide from God because they know the grace of their Father’s love. These are they who have allowed for their Father to destroy all of the wisdom of their pride. These are strong in faith, believing that God will perform all of his words and promises for them. The heart of the child is confident that his heavenly Father will finish the work that he has started in him. These truly believe in their hearts, without wavering, that their Father shall supply all of their lack and provide for all of their needs, whenever they ask of him. The heart of the child knows that it is the object of Father's affection, never doubting his faithfulness or love. He who has the heart of the child knows that all things will work together for good because Father’s love never fails to do good things for them. A child has no greater joy than when his loving Father comes to fellowship and share his love with him; and it is in these things that you will find that child-like faith that works by love.

Mitt, who do you desire to be your champion? Who do you desire to lead you? Who do you desire to cast out your fears and dreads? Who do you desire to cast all of your cares and troubles on? Who do you desire to rule in your heart? Who do you desire to lead you? Who do you desire to work in your heart? Whose glory are you seeking? Is the treasure of your heart he who dwells in heaven, or is the treasure of your heart those things that are esteemed in the sight of men? Mitt, who do you desire to be your champion right now, today? Who do you desire to be your champion tomorrow? Now, do you understand the desires that God found in David‘s heart?”

It was then that these four angels starting waving goodbye to me just like a little child that waves a little hesitantly when he really does not want to leave. As they, and the little white fence they were standing on, began to fade from my sight, they said with a fading voice, “Your heart, Mitt; it is your heart. For it is with your heart that you will believe on the Lord. Prove his love, Mitt. Prove his love so that your heart can always believe and trust on his love. Give him your heart and he will make it beautiful in his sight; for the heart that is beautiful in his sight is the heart that believes, that trusts, that loves, and that is always faithful to him. Remember David, that all Father equipped him with was his name to call on. Tell your brethren that even in this day that all they have need to be equipped with is the name of the Lord to call on; for the Lord always hears his children when they call on him with a humble heart.”

Ezekiel 18:31 NKJ “Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?”

I then just laid in my bed in stunned amazement at all that I had just seen and heard told to me by these little angels. I have heard several testimonies by others that have seen angels, and in most cases they describe these angels as being very large and tall. When the Lord has taken me in the spirit on other occasions, I have seen some of those same large and tall angels, but I have never seen or heard anyone testify that they have seen any angels like that which had just visited me. As I considered this visitation, I then realized why it was these little angels that Father sent to me to convey this message for me. The words they spoke on behalf of God mainly described our conversion to become as little children; and this message could never impacted me if God had sent a 20’ tall angel, but instead, he sent 4 child-like angels that were so innocent, so playful, so full of laughter and giggling, and so much fun to be around. It was for sure there was no religion in these little angels. I then perceived that the Lord had actually let me witness in these 4 angels the very nature of this child-like faith; which in turn is going to also be the very nature of those who God is going to make to be kings and priests in his kingdom. I was so overwhelmed in that moment that I did not even try to wake my wife to tell her about this awesome visitation. I am convinced that there is no way that a proud man could have any desire to be as child-like as these angels were that had just visited me.

As I continued to lay there, the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which is written in I John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the "Word of Life". For the life was manifested (unveiled), and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto that eternal life, which is with the Father, and we manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard, we declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly, our fellowship is with the Father, and with his son Jesus Christ.” It was with this word, joined with that which these 4 little angels had revealed to me, that I began to understand fully the relationship that Father desires to have with all his children through the spirit of his son Jesus Christ; a relationship of love, and faith, and humility, and trust, and belief that allows for us to walk on a daily basis, hand in hand with our heavenly Father. What else would a loving Father desire of his children? What greater joy can his children have than to be able to experience Abba’s presence on a daily basis? Even in this fallen world, we can experience a wonderful life when we allow for Abba, Father to be our champion.

Thank you Lord; thank for this visitation and the revelation that you have given through the messengers of your angels; and may it bless me, and all those who hear and receive there testimony. If it was not so clear to me before, the message of these angels made it so clear to me that I now know that I desire to have only one champion in my life: Abba, Father. I also realized from the night of this visitation that if I was going to let the Lord be my champion in all things, then it was simply going to take me calling on him when I needed my champion: I was going to call on him to cast out my fears; I was going to call on him and ask for him to deliver me from every evil work; I was going to cast all of my cares upon him; I was going to ask for him to work in me so that I might do his will and those things that are pleasing to him; I was not going to limit God, but ask for him to do those things that are impossible for me to do; I am going to call on him and ask for him to make ways for me when their seems to be no way; and I was going to start calling on him, asking for him to show me great and mighty things that I do not know, seeing that the Lord alone is the great and mighty one. For as long as I can boast in Father’s power, in Father’s truth, in Father’s faithfulness, in Father’s wisdom, in Father’s abilities, in the mighty works of Father God, in Father’s strength, as well as in the limitless grace, and mercy, and goodness, and blessings that continually flow from his love, then I am more than willing to live now, as well as for all of eternity, through the spirit of his son Jesus Christ, that allows for me or anyone else to be the object of Father’s affection,

Then the Lord said, “Behold the severity and the goodness of God; the severity and hardness of heart to comes to all those who have rejected God so that they might continue being their own lords and gods; champions of their own life. Behold the goodness that comes to all who have humbled themselves, allowing for me to be Lord and God in their lives. He who knows me, knows Father; and he who rejects me, rejects Father; for my Father and I are one. I never bring severity or hardness on those who continue seeking for me, for they know in their hearts that no matter what comes upon them, I will do nothing but work goodness for them. It shall not be so with the wicked who have rejected me, for I will deal severely with them. I do not choose to reject any, but I do reject those who freely and willingly choose to reject me. When a man rejects me, he rejects the Spirit because I am that Spirit. So when one rejects me he rejects the life and peace that dwells in the spiritual mind. I am that peace and I am that life that he rejects. Therefore I have no choice but to give them back over to their own thoughts: to their unbelief, to their confusions, to their doubts, to their worries, to their depressions, to their unforgiveness, to their loneliness, to their fears, to their hatreds, to their hopelessness, to their anxieties, to their bitterness, to their envies, to their uncertainties, and to their evil suspicions so that death may continue to rule over their thinking. The wicked and carnal mind is as the troubled sea that can never find any lasting rest or peace, or experience any joy or life. This is the severity of how God will deal with those who have rejected him, having scoffed at his calling so that they may walk in those things that are highly esteem in their own eyes. All day long I have stretched out my hands to them all, but they continually choose to reject me.

Romans 11:21-23 “For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”

Proverbs 1:22-33 NASB “How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Turn to my reproof; “Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called and you refused; I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention. And you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof; I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.”

Isaiah 65;2,3 NASB “I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts; A people who continually provoke Me to My face…”

Ezekiel 20:8 NKJ “But they rebelled against Me and would not obey Me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said, ‘I will pour out My fury on them and fulfill My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt.”

Isaiah 57:19-21 NKJ “I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near,” says the LORD, “And I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Now comes the days that all things that are written shall be fulfilled. Now come the days when all things that are written shall be fulfilled, for both the wicked and for the righteous. Now come the days when all things are going to be revealed. Now come the days when all that which has been in secret shall be manifest, and all that which has been hidden in the darkness shall be made known. Now come the days when humble in heart shall be exalted, and the proud in heart shall be brought down; for the powers of heaven are about to change. Now come the days of judgment; the judgment that shall bring crowns of life to those who have been humbled themselves as little children before the Lord; and the days when the proud and the wicked shall throw their crowns down to the ground when they see abominations that they had highly esteemed and exalted to even be above God himself: the abomination of making themselves to be lords, and gods, and champions over their own Christianity. This is the spirit of antichrist, the spirit that leaves one desolate; alone, without any fellowship, or relationship, or true knowledge of Abba, Father. Now come the days when all who have esteemed these abominations shall be left alone with their vain idols: their own righteousness, their own strength, their own pride, their own thoughts, their own power, their own goodness, their own helper, their own confidence, and their own savior and deliverer.

I Peter 4:17 “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

Now come the days that they shall cast down the crowns they wore when they crowned themselves to be their own lord and god, to sit upon the throne of their own heart, showing themselves to be their own champion. They shall cast down the crown they wore when they exalted their own counsels and doctrines to be above the truth of God. They shall cast down the crown they wore when they established their own righteousness to be above the righteousness of God. They shall cast down the crown they wore when they chose to sit in the seat of judgment over the lives of others. They shall cast down the crown they wore when they chose to trust in themselves and rely on their own wealth and possessions. They shall cast down the crown they wore when they chose to delight themselves in doing their own will rather than the will of God. They shall cast down the crown they wore when they chose to take control over their own lives. They shall cast down the crown they wore when they chose to pervert and twist the image of God until they had transformed him to be like an image they desired for God to be. And they shall cast down the crown they wore to be their own champion. These are crowns of idolatry; the crowns that all wear when they chose to be their own lord, their own god, and their own champion. Now come the days when the proud, those have rejected the Lord so that they could wear their own crowns, shall be left alone to face those things which are coming upon the earth. These are they who shall weep and gnash their teeth when they see their error, and for the fear that shall come as madness. Now comes the days that those who have shut the door of their heart to God shall have him shut the door on them.

Matthew 25:10-13 NIV “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. “Sir! Sir!” they said. “Open the door for us!” But he replied, “I tell you the truth, I don't know you.” Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”

Luke 13:24-28 NKJ “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, “I do not know you, where you are from,” then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.” But He will say, “I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.” There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.”

II Thessalonians 2:3-5 NKJ “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

Matthew 24:15-17 NKJ “Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation”, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (the temple; his body)” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.

Proverbs 16:5 “Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.”

Luke 16:15 NKJ “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

Isaiah 2:8-21 NKJ Their land is also full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made. People bow down, and each man humbles himself; therefore do not forgive them. Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty. The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the LORD of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up— and it shall be brought low—…17 And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols He shall utterly abolish. They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the LORD and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold…”

Jeremiah 8:12 NKJ “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; in the time of their punishment they shall be cast down,” says the LORD. “ I will surely consume them,” says the LORD.

Now comes the days that Father will finish the work that he has started. Now comes the days when the perfect workmanship of God shall come to finish. Now come the days that the sons of God shall be manifested in perfect love. Now come the days when they those who threw their own crowns down to the ground shall be crowned with crowns from above. Now come the days when the humble and faithful shall be crowned as the sons of God, to be his kings and priests forever. Now comes the days when the pure in heart shall see God. Now come the days when the humble shall greatly rejoice and delight in his appearing; for when they shall see him, they shall be changed to be like unto him. Now come the days when they poor in spirit shall be filled with the fullness of the glory of God. Now comes the days when those who have hungered and thirsted for righteousness shall be filled. Now comes the days when the meek shall inherit the earth. Now comes the days when the outcasts, the persecuted, the lightly esteemed, and those who suffered for my name’s sake shall receive their rewards. Now come the days when that which was given to the wicked and the unfaithful shall be taken from them and given to those who do have so that they may receive all things. Now comes the days when all things shall be fulfilled. Be ready; be prepared; for you do not know the day nor the hour that your Lord shall appear.

Revelation 4:9-11 NKJ “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “ You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

Luke 20-28 NKJ “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” And he said to him, “Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?” And he said to those who stood by, “Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.” But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.” “For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.”