“A Voice for the Gathering Saints”
Duane Stewart
www.avoiceforthegatheringsaints.org
“A Letter to the Christian Community”
One thing that has become of great concern among various people of the earth is that the Christian community, for the most part, has become blind to God’s true purpose for life and has lost its way. Meaning they have departed from life’s true meaning and the reason for which God creating the world in general. By taking or choosing the various many paths made available by a fallen carnal mind, this so-called church system has removed itself from the path God purposed for them. Therefore, this system, for the most part, has come to and remains in a lost condition. This means that for most of the world, which includes much of the Christian community, they do not have any true God given direction. In being lost without true direction the world rest in a state of confusion and uncertainty. A condition, a mind-set of thinking which places humanity into an uncertain life-style. A life-style of eating, drinking and making merry for tomorrow brings nothing but death with many thinking death is something to desire. Is this God’s purpose for creation?
From the very beginning, God put before His created man a certain future that had but one requirement. The requirement being, choose to obey God’s evidential pathway and receive all the benefits of obedience. Nevertheless, even as Adam and Eve chose another path that caused them to fall from God’s presence, it placed them into a life of separation from their creator God. In this fall, they lost sight of their purpose in God creating them. This meant that they now, in separation from God, did not know who they were to be in Him and how to fulfill His plan for creation. Adam and Eve lost their way, even as the world of today is floundering around without true direction and purpose. The need that now exists is for a renewing and a learning of God’s plan of redemption, to gain a knowing of God’s restoration purpose that existing from the beginning. In this, unto those who find within themselves a desire for something better in life, a door comes open with the right to choose to enter that open door. For this purpose the question often asked, where or how can I find this open door?
God in expressing His love to help man to find this open door, He has left for humanity His word. This word, as directed by God Himself, He caused it to be, through chosen men, written and placed within a book called the Holy Bible, with these writings given for revealing Himself to man. This book, while being full of mysteries and secrets kept from the carnal mind, it also contains a necessary key. This key, the heaven sent Holy Spirit, made available by Jesus Christ on the cross, He willingly comes to dwell within all asking and receiving vessels. This Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead has and is willing to fulfill His ministry of revealing the God of truth and His pathway for every man. Herein an open door, one entered into that will give understanding concerning the true ways of God. In this, from Genesis to Revelation the purpose of God, from creations beginning to fulfillment becomes clear. This clarity supports the need for man to progressively separate from his carnal ways of confusion. Herein, man needs to know, understand, receive and become one of those who manifest the nature of sonship. That is, God’s family ushering in His eternal kingdom throughout the earth.
In this, the Holy Spirit according to God purpose asks a question. Are you willing to become God’s fullness? This fullness, from God’s eternal existence is, let us make man in our likeness and image. This word “likeness” from Webster’s dictionary has the meaning of “the state or quality of being like; similarity. Implies close correspondence in appearance, qualities and nature.” The word “image”, from the same source, has the meaning of “a representation of a person, the visual impression of something produced by reflection from a mirror (the revealed holy scriptures – the Bible)”. Thus, God’s fullness revealed, first through Jesus Christ, and now declared to become a manifestation through a family of sons who likewise become His likeness and image. This speaks of God filling all redeemed vessels with Himself.
This, God’s purpose is revealed to each desirous person who willingly walks the revealed pathway from preparation until all things are fulfilled. This knowing of God’s ways is man’s right that comes from receiving Christ into the life and following Him into that full measure. Eph. 4:13, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Thus, a knowing that God has always purposed for a people’s restoration and this God fulfills in all those who receive the Christ and follow Him. In following Him, it is necessary to understand, humanity can in no wise perfect himself. Perfection only comes through submission and obedience to Christ and the cross as man becomes God’s workmanship through sanctification. Eph. 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”.
Becoming Christ workmanship speaks of a people who, in the process of spiritual maturity let Christ rise up from within them. In this regard, Christ dwelling within a people scatters before them all the enemies that have purposed to destroy Gods created man. In following the revealed understanding that God is uncovering for an obedient people, the conditional mind-sets of a corrupt, immoral world can and are, by the presence of the Holy Spirit, changed. A lack of confusion without true purpose is sit aside by entering through this door God is willing to open. An open door, because from the beginning God purposed to reveal Himself to His creation. In understanding God’s true purpose, a revealing of Christ enables that people to become even as He is. The revealing of God is according to God and His eternal purpose. I John 3:2 states, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be [most of the Christian community remain but children], but we know that when He is revealed [God is now unveiling Himself], we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is”.
In this regard, God has always purposed to reveal His secret things, the mysteries of His purpose, to become the manifestation of himself through His people. Deut. 29:29 shares, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law [speaking of God’s government, His nature]”. This verse is speaking to a creation, to a people, though subject to the laws of a fallen nature, they have opportunity to know restoration. This restoration shall remove all images of captivity and those things that have been scattered away from God’s promises, things settled into man’s carnal mind that still captivates them. Deut. 30:3-4 taking note of that which God Himself restores, “that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations [mind-sets] where the Lord has scattered you [because of rebellion]. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you”. While rebellion against Gods prescribed way has also caused the Christian community to be scatter among the many carnal religious mind-sets and places of captivity, His promise remains intact to all willing to receive and separate. Deut. 30:5-6, “Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed [God’s promises], and you shall posses it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart [remove the sin-nature] 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 [having the Christ-nature]”.
How can the above scripture be possible when all things manifesting from fallen humanity portray the opposite mind-set? Note and understand, God in agreement with His Word raises up from within the Christian community a remnant people with an anointed ministry that speaks and reveals a working word among all who will receive. Note that God has another Jeremiah generation who are now on the scene to become these anointed ministries of establishing His kingdom. Jeremiah 1:9-10, “Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms [God given authority], to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant”. God’s eternal purpose remains, to bring forth a new creation ministry to harvest a new creation people.
In what method shall this harvest come forth? In the beginning, God established from Himself an eternal law that accomplishes all His purposes throughout eternity. The law or His nature as released from Himself is, “every seed shall bring forth after its own kind”. In this truth as it applies to humanity, man is the field that receives the seed and then purposed to bring forth fruit according to the seed given and received. While much of the world has only received a seed from God’s enemy, a counterfeit seed, the true church is receiving only the seed as it comes forth from Christ. As the Holy Spirit plants and cultivates the Christ seed within it shall bring forth after its own kind. With the true church being a spiritual womb, its purpose is to receive the Christ seed that shall likewise birth a like kind fruit. For this purpose the true church, the purified woman receives the seed that is now at the time of its birthing. Rev. 12:1-2 & 5, “Now a great sign appeared in heaven [the spirit realm which also dwells within the man]: a woman clothed with the sun [God’s glory on purified saints], with the moon under her feet [delivered from the carnal religious church], and on her head a garland of twelve stars [mind of Christ, God’s divine government]. Then being with child [the true church having received the Christ seed], she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth [birthing forth the Christ natured sons]. … She bore a man-child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up [received the nature, the mind of Christ] to God and His throne [with Christ in His throne-room authority].”
Is this season the time for the birthing? As we see God’s people in a state of travail, a spiritual groaning for the time of the birthing of God’s man-child is upon us. Therefore, expect change to come forth from God’s offspring generation, typed by Jeremiah and now appearing to establish the foreordained plan of God. This plan stands in agreement with the statement made by Jesus as He cleansed the temple in Jerusalem during His earthly ministry, a type of the cleansing needed today among the Christian community. John 2:18-21, “So the Jews answered and said to Him, what sign do you show us, since you do these things? Jesus answered and said to them, destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up. Then the Jews [likened unto today’s carnal religious systems] said, it has taken forty six years to build this temple [pointing to man’s carnal ways vs God’s spiritual ways], and will you raise it up in three days [pointing to Christ third day resurrection, a type of the resurrection of today’s true church – three days = the third 1000 year day from Christ resurrection]? But he was speaking of the temple of His body [the offspring of his loins, the spiritual house of His appearing through His many saints].” Thus, the true temple of God, the called, chosen and justified ones that have become the visible manifestation of an invisible God. This manifestation has been God’s purpose from the beginning, a people who conquer the whole man, spirit, soul and body. In this, God’s people become His eternal dwelling place, the manifesting kingdom of God.