We Have Passed From Death Unto Life

Well, I'd like to say I'm glad to be here tonight. I always count it a real privilege to come and worship the Lord. Last night we had a good time here under the tent. We talked about the wonderful things of God and we talked about things as to a confirmation of real holy living and being read to meet Christ Jesus. As a matter-of-fact I made the statement last night that this tent meet up here, as well as about all of our meets, or the things that we do, being led by the Spirit of the Lord--. The Bible said as many as are sons of God are led by the Spirit of God, and being led by the Spirit of the Lord then I spoke of this having to do with a completion of a time cycle. Perhaps you wouldn't understand at all what I'm saying in that, but it has to do with a completing of a time cycle. And even to the tent that set here, even to this particular tent, has to do with completing a time cycle. I remember when we set our big five pole tent over in King's Mountain has to do with ending the time cycle and everything came to pass exactly the way that we understood that it would. And here, with this particular tent, this has to do with ending a certain thing as concerning the move of God. You know, we've got all kind of things in the world today. People talking about the move of God and the things of God, and it's true that everything is the move of God in that God has His way in the good and the evil and the Bible teaches that evil cannot come to a city unless I've sent it, saith the Lord. So we know that whether it be good or whether it be evil still it's the move of God as to what God allows, or what God brings about. Like the Bible said, Like the Bible says, that out of about three million people coming out of Egypt, He said, if you'll do what I tell you, diligently harken unto my commandments, keep my ways and my statutes I will bring upon you none of these diseases I brought upon the Egyptians. And the original rendering of that was to allow these things to come upon you in that God doesn't do evil. But He does have His way in the good and evil. And it is a true fact that when He created Lucifer He created him upright. As the Bible says of the prophets of old that all of his pipes were upright. Everything was perfect in him until iniquity was found in him. And, of course, there is so much revelation concerning that until it would take all night long just to get into it. But I say that to say this. We come here, we talk about the move of God and this really is a move of God. And as a matter-of-fact, it is that that is getting the church ready to go out. You may be seated. I appreciate your courtesy of standing with me. Everything is getting ready for the translation of the church. I made mention, just before I came up here I made mention to the congregation there where we were preaching there at Bethlehem that everything is just timely for the church to make it's exit. And when the church discovers who they are then they'll go out, and they're on the verge of discovering who they are. Most people would say, Well, Brother Pike, the church has always known who they are. Well, I differ with you. I differ with you on that. Maybe you're right, I'm wrong. We'll just give you the benefit of the doubt. But when I say wrong, I could be wrong as good as you could be wrong, you know. Or just as sure as you could be wrong, but I happen to know the Master and I happen to know that what I'm telling you is just exactly the truth. The church hasn't know who it is no more that a little babe when it's born into the world. A little babe when it's born into the world it doesn't know who it is. It doesn't know anything about anything. See? It comes into this world, it's got life but it doesn't know anything about anything. It doesn't know whether it belongs to a pauper, or whether it belongs to a king. It doesn't know as a child, if it's a little boy it doesn't know whether it's the son of a king or a son of a pauper. It doesn't know what it is. It doesn't know anything, but as it grown up it begins to learn. It begins to be tutored. It begins to see and understand. It begins to grasp what is happening around it and it begins to learn about it's environment, and what it is, and who it is and it's purpose in life. It can be the purpose of being a great prince, or be an heir to the throne. So, it learns as it grows up. Well, the church has been in that kind of condition. The church is now growing up, and at last it's beginning to realize that it really is a prince and that it is heir to the Throne. Him that overcometh shall sit down in the Throne with me, even as I've overcome and sat down with my Father, Jesus said. And, of course, Heaven is a big place. Earth is the foot stool. There's lots of room for people to overcome and sit down in the Throne with the Heavenly Father. The way that we think a lot of times it dwarfs things in our mind and we don't understand. But the Lord understands and they that are righteous shall come to understand. I hear people so often, they say, Well, you will never understand, you know. The only thing is you have to believe. Now that's not true as a grown-up in the Lord. The Bible said the righteous shall understand and the wicked shall not understand. But it is true that the righteous shall understand. And the Bible speaks of a great light coming to people as it was in the end time there at Calvary at the end of the world. Peter was telling those people that ye are the people upon whom the end of the world has come. And it was said unto these people, Great light has sprang up unto you that sit in the shadow of death. It was also said, And this great light shines in darkness and the darkness could not comprehend it. Evidently those people that are of the world that are in this world and of the world are in intellectual darkness and they are blind and they cannot see. The Bible said they cannot see when good cometh and so they are blind. As I say so often, being blind, being creatures of the darkness, all they have as their human senses is their feelings, like a bat. Kind of like a radar system and all they can do it just feel their way around. They feel through the twenty-two conductive nerves from the eye to the brain. They feel their way in sight. They feel their way in hearing. They feel their way in touch, and taste and smell. But as to having eyes to see, the Bible said, even Lucifer, the god of this world has blinded their eyes to where they can't see when good comes. Neither can they comprehend this great light. But it tells us that we're not children of darkness but children of light and we to comprehend this light. This light shines in our midst and we comprehend the heights. We comprehend the depth. We comprehend the length. We comprehend the width of it. So we comprehend this great light and we see this great light through the eyes of our understanding. So the righteous will understand. And we comprehend through the understanding and Solomon says that the understanding is the tree of Life. There is a tree of life. Said when you get wisdom, you get knowledge, though you get it all with it get understanding because understanding is the tree of life. So it's very evident that we are children of light and this great wonderful light that is shining, though the world can't comprehend it with all her educational facilities, colleges, schooling, whatever it might be, they're still blinded in darkness and still doing the things of the blind man. If the blind lead the blind, Jesus said, they all fall in to the ditch. But we being children of light we know where we come from, we know where we are going, and we comprehend this great wonderful light. So it is a true fact that since we are children of light then when the Word of God comes forth we understand. Whereas a person would say, Brother Pike, any time the Word of God comes forth people understand it because there are churches all over the world. And that's true. Having preached around the world I'm real familiar with that. See? And I know that all men's hearts are fashioned alike, to search after Christ. But the thing is-- Or that is to search after a God. They have many gods. To us there is only one God, that is Christ. And I know that all around the world, you know, people they hear the Gospel. Paul said, Whether the Gospel be preached for contention, or otherwise, nevertheless herein I rejoice because the Gospel is preached. And whatever a man's motive is, as to the preacher, it doesn't matter what he is preaching for, fame, popularity, money, to build himself in this world to make himself known yet the Gospel is being preached as long as they preach the Word. And the Bible teaches that they do preach the Word as to some extent, even ministers of wickedness. The Bible says these are ministers of Satan with doctrines of devils, but by the transforming of their minds during the days of grace while the blood is on the Seat of Atonement they, as the tare, the rain being of the wheat and the tare, they transformate their minds. And through the transformation of mind they preach the Word. The get us and preach the Word and as soon as the anointing lifts as the rain being poured out on them they go out and they do the things of the world and they are caught in the things of the world and still are going to be lost. Paul said, I keep under my body. I bring it under subjection lest after I preach to others I myself become a cast away. But, anyway, we're here to preach the Word of God in all truth. The Bible said, He that God sendeth will preach the Word, the true wonderful Word. Pure and undefiled religion. There are many kinds of religion, but pure and undefiled religion, the kind that gets you eternal life and gets you into the Kingdom, pure and undefiled religion is this: that you visit the widows and the orphans in their afflictions and then you keep yourself unspotted from the world. To come out from among them to be a separate people and I'll receive you, saith the Lord. To be holy, not only in spirit but in body. In that the body is the Lord's the Bible says you are to be holy in body and in spirit. You are to cast down imagination and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God to bring in to captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ every thought. To mediate in His laws day and night. So since the body is the Lord's we don't need to give it to Satan. Satan, as you know, is the god of this world. And when you say that someone would get lost in the shuffle and say, Well, my God! I thought Jesus was the God of this world. Well, He isn't. Satan, Lucifer, in the god of this world and this world is a fantasy, as I said last night, only a reflection of the real world that emanated from God, in that all things emanated from God and this is only a reflection of it. And the Bible said concerning this world, that this world is the lust of the eyes. It is the pride of life, and this world and all that is in this world, all of your activities that is in this world, all that is in this world and all of the activities of this world, that it will pass away because it is the lust of the flesh and it is the pride of life. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. So then, that means that there is an invisible world, a spirit world as a natural world. There is a spirit man and a spirit woman as well as a natural man and a natural woman. And the natural man being Esau the natural world belongs to them. And it is given to them and it will be destroyed. Even the heavens will be destroyed. For the stars will fall from heaven. Even the earth will melt with fervent heat. Literally be ablaze and the bodies of human beings, Peter said, will actually dissolve. But, see? When this body dissolves, Peter said, we have another one eternal in the heavens, not made with hands. As we have borne the image of the earthy, as to the first man Adam unto to sin, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly, the second man Adam, even the quickening spirit unto life. And there is a glory unto this world as to this body, and a glitter and a glamour and the fashions of this world that perish. There is a great glory to this world and people who belong to this world they strive and they go after that glory. But there is glory of the next body and the next world which is the second man Adam, even the Christ that is from Heaven and that glory is an eternal glory that will never pass away and the glory of that invisible world and the glory of that invisible God, this is what we're looking for. So the Bible said we serve God with our mind and with our spirit, even the invisible God. So we know then that this world is on the decline. And we know that every thing is passing away. And we know that every thing in this world that seems to be lifted up and magnified, that is great and mighty as to whatever it might be in any field of activity in this world. Any thing that is highly esteemed of men, the Bible said it is an abomination unto God. So we are looking not at things which do appear, but we walk not by sight but by faith. And walking by faith we look beyond this veil that was rent at Calvary and we look into the world of God. So we see this wonderful light and we hear this wonderful Word and then it is turned into spirit and into life and into revelation. The Bible said pray that God will grant unto you the spirit of revelation. So then we find that we do understand whereas around the world where others hear the gospel all they hear is Bible stories. And all they hear is a preach talk about this printed page, this actual printed page, this literature we carry around called a Bible. The word Bible meaning books of teaching of some sort, so we know that these things are natural. So we know that it is the Bible yet it is natural words, but when Jesus gives this Word, not as to not the printed page but as it was in the days of the prophets when the Bible said, And the Word of God came unto the Prophets. It wasn't a printed page. It was an inspiration and today that same God still lives and He still activates. And He still illuminates, and with this He charges our body and our heart to the extent that the veil comes off of the Word. Let me say this and we're going to have reference to the Word here just for a minute. So then, what am I saying? I'm saying that Paul was a great Bible scholar. He was a great learned man. So much was he learned that the elite of that day and the great people, as in the upper echelon, had such great respect for Paul, as to Gamaliel under whom he was tutored and those kind of things, they said, Paul, much learning has made thee mad. They knew his reputation. See? But he was blind as a bat. And just as quick as the light came as he was persecuting the church when his name was yet Saul, and he was breathing out threats against them all of a sudden this great light shined from Heaven round about him and he fell to his knees and this great light, a voice came from it and said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest Me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus of Nazareth whom thou persecuteth. And here he was so religious and so great and persecuting all the time. That's the way it is with the world today, see? They're so contrary to us and we're so contrary to them, see? because we're walking toward righteousness and holiness to preserve our heritage and our world. That is to say as to the earth. The earth abideth forever. Not the world, as to the system, but the earth. The earth abideth forever. One generation comes, another goes, but this earth goes right on into the millennium and then it is transfigured as to a translation, right in to the wonderful Celestial world. And while we're trying to protect our heritage, knowing that it has been defiled by Satan and those that have served Satan then we are pleading, pleading for souls. Hating the garment that is spotted with iniquity and trying to get control of their mind because whatever their mind is on that's what they are. For the Bible said, As a man thinketh in his heart so he is and his mind is in heart. His brain is in his head but his mind is in his heart. As he thinks in his heart so he is. And Jesus warned the Pharisees and Scribes with all their religious ritualistics, He said, Out of the heart comes forth the issues of life. Do thy diligence to keep thine heart for the heart is desperately wicked above all things, who can know it. It's out of the heart. It's not what you eat and what you drink. He said it's out of the heart that comes forth thoughts of fornication and thoughts of blasphemy and unclean thoughts of all kind. And this defiles a man. It defiles the temple and God has to destroy the temple. Well, it's you'll turn to Matthew twenty-eight you'll find here it says in Matthew twenty-eight it says to Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. And that's whey we're in Charleston tonight is that we are come into this part of the world. I've never been here before that I know of, even passing through Charleston. If I have I don't recall it. And I've never ministered here in Charleston. Though I've ministered throughout the Carolinas, in North Carolina in different places and in South Carolina. But I've never ministered in Charleston. But being here in this particular time it has great significance as going in this part of the world, as we would say, to preach the Gospel to these creatures that will respond to this meeting. We did not set a meeting here. We usually like to set a meeting where we have ministers to fellowship at a breakfast and to get different ones that want to work with us because we like to work with the Shepherds. But just having a few days and being pressed into coming here the way that we set it up for a purpose and then we have another meeting over in Boone right up near the Virginia line and that makes us just come in here and set the tent for two, or three days and then we are gone. And other than just maybe a telephone call here and there that I think Brother Ron Pasdon got in to let the Pastors know that we were not coming in just to steal some sheep, or proselyte. Then we sent this little invitation out and here we are tonight. And we're thankful to God for the opportunity to be here. I'm thankful for people coming out for I like to preach to people. Ministers want to preach to people and I'm thankful that the ministers have come out. Or the people have come out, whoever it might be here tonight, I'm grateful to preach to people. But if it had been nobody else but me then I would have been glad that I was here because of the spiritual thing that I understand is taking place. You know, wherever I have gone I have never failed to have people. But I recall on one occasion out of all of ministry. I was in the State of Nebraska. I had gone there in my early ministry to Pastor a church. And one night I went out to the church and there I was. I was new at the church. And I went there to the church and this little mission church, I got to it and it was raining. It was muddy. It was bad. It was terrible and I thought, O God, you know, I've just got to go to church. I can't let the folks down. I've got to be at church. Well, I went to church and there wasn't one single person there. First time I ever had that happen to me in my life, and the last time. And I was so moved I thought, O my God, I'm here by myself. This is terrible. This is terrible. I thought, Here I am by myself and I came out here in the rain and all this and not one single individual is out here to hear me preach tonight. And I just sat down, you know, and was kind of mopping and mounrning and going on and then after awhile the Lord spoke to me. And it struck me in such a way it just lit me up just like a lamp. And I said, Wait a minute, the ain't so bad after all. I thought, Well, my God, as the Lord began to reveal to me. I thought, that this is wonderful. This is Heavenly. I thought, Here I am. I'm the only one that loved the Lord enough to be out at church tonight. Praise God So you know, it just depends at how you look at a situation. If you look at a situation right it can be a real blessing in disguise and you might not understand that. God took Phillip out of a city wide revival, took him down to one person, down to a eunuch and there he was to preach to this eunuch and he found this eunuch reading and he said, Do you understand what you read? He said, How can I understand when I don't have anyone to teach me? And he taught him and then baptized him in the name of the Lord. And then the Spirit of the Lord caught Phillip away and then seemed like it was so odd for God to do that, to take him away from a city wide revival and take him to one individual. But it just so happens that this individual was the eunuch of the Queen. And getting this to the Queen that meant that him being with her all the time that he would get this in to the upper echelon and up in to the monarch and there they would score a terrific victory for God. So let's not be discouraged in well doing. Whatever God tells you to do just remember that we are God's witnesses and we go in to all the world and we preach the Gospel to every creature. We testify to people. We don't cast our pearls before swine but we do find open hearts and we do find people that want to hear about the Gospel, that want to know something about Jesus, and when we find this opening and this opportunity we seize upon it and we leave a testimony of the wonderful Gospel with that individual. Now, remember now, every individual that we win to God, that you win to God that means that that is a jewel within your crown of life. See? Every one that you win to God that is a jewel in your sovereignty of this life you gather jewels. Like the rich men gather jewels you gather jewels. They only gather jewels symbolically speaking, but you gather the real jewels. And these wonderful jewels that you are gathering are jewels in your crown of life. You know, the Bible said in the book of Malaciah, I will remember you when I make up my jewels and spare you as a man spareth his son. And so you are gathering jewels for your crown. You know, when we speak of a crown naturally speaking, we think of a man sitting on a seat up here, you know, or like somebody sitting on a stump with a little piece of metal around his head and some of these diamonds and jewels of this world in it which we esteem to be great things. But in all reality that is nothing. See? When the Bible speaks of jewels in your crown of life it is speaking of your crown of life to the extent that God will crown your spirit and your heart with the abundance of life. Jesus said, I am the Prince of Life and I have come that you might have life and have it more abundant. The word meaning filled up and overflowing. And so then, He will crown your spirit and your soul with life. And this wonderful expanding, ever expanding life, takes in all of eternity that you comprehend the height and the depth and the width and the length of the great wonderful mind of God and the things of God because you have an unction from the Holy One that you should know all things. And Jesus said, all these things, all things that my Father hath made known unto me I've made known unto you. And the Bible said, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being made in the image of God and the form of God He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. He didn't try to make of Himself a reputation. He took upon Him the form of a servant in that we are in the form of a servant in our first act of creation through the fall of Adam. But today we are now regenerated. We are not born again. He hath crowned our soul with life, with everlasting living, and we are filled with His love and with His Spirit having joy unspeakable, and that filled with glory. Hallelujah! So then, we know that we are children of God. We know that we are children of God because we love the brethren. You know right here we get in a little deep water when we try to say these kind of things. I, of course, when I come up here I'd like to get into the deep, deep mysteries of Almighty God. The Bible said, Great is the mystery of God. And Paul said, I am a steward of the mysteries. And in that God hath made known unto me the revelation of the mysteries then I just love to walk in the deep water. And I life in it all the time because this is my life. I just love it and I would just love to come up here and just start pouring out from my heart the wonderful abundance of these wonderful hidden treasures of God. But the thing is we have all kind of people that come out, and sometimes we have little spiritual babes where the Bible says they should desire the sincere mild of the Word and sometimes in tent meetings we have people that don't know anything about God. They've never even had an experience with God. Or they never have been converted. Never been born again. And when you get in to those things, as to the church, or tutoring to seal the church in then sometimes you go completely over their head and they get lost in the shuffle and they don't even know what you're talking about. So it's like a mother that prepares a meal. She must, of necessity, not only put meat, as to the Bible says the meat if for the strong who by reasoning have exercised their senses to be able to discern between the good and the evil but she must also provide the milk. Some need the milk of the word. And so when we come together we try to mix up everything as much as we can by having a full meal. A full course and some milk for the babies. Now, first of all I said that we know that we have passed from death unto life. Then the question arises in our hearts, a lot of times people not being acquainted with the real Gospel of Christ Jesus, what is meant by passing from death unto life? Well, it means you won't ever die. Just taking my time a little bit here tonight. It means that you won't ever die. And someone would say, Well, Brother Pike, everybody dies. And I know what the Bible says, you know. They say that because the Bible said, It is appointed to man once to die and after that the judgment. Should we believe that? Isn't that the Word? That is true. That is the Word. You should believe that by all means, but then we should understand what the Bible is telling us, what the God is trying to get over to us. What He wants us to know, see? If this is true, isn't it also true that the Bible said We've passed from death unto life? Isn't that the Word? Shouldn't we believe that also? Shouldn't it be line upon line and precept upon precept? I don't alter this over here or change this cause the Bible said the Word of God is settled in Heaven. You don't alter; you don't change the Word of God. So I don't change that. Then if I say this other should you change the other. Or should we find out how that the puzzle fits together and make sure that we understand that when we expound to other people they know what we're trying to tell them. Is it true that we have passed from death unto life? Of course it is. That's what the Bible says and I can't change the Word of God. So is it true that it is appointed unto man once to die and then after that the judgment? That is true. I can't change that. I don't want to change that. Those are words of life. But then What is meant by this that we've passed from death unto life? What does God mean by that? See? I would say to you, I would say to you, That is true. It is appointed unto man once to die, after that the judgment. But I would also say unto you that the Bible says, the Bible says first of all, Let every man be a liar. Let the Word of God be true. The Bible says preach the Gospel to every creature. That God looked down from heaven; heard the groaning of the prisoners and loosed them that were appointed unto death. That in the day accepted He succored them and that He loosed them from the appointment unto death and that when Christ came to loose people from the appointment unto death, in that He took our place in death, He met the appointment with death. He met the appointment at the judgment and we esteem Him smitten of God. Bruised for out transgressions and the chastisement of our peace was upon Him by whose stripes we are healed. And the Bible said, I am the Lord God that healeth all of thine iniquities and healeth all of thy diseases. So we know that we have been delivered, that we have passed from death unto life and we are free. We are standing in the liberties of the sons of God. And the Bible said, Stand fast in the liberties wherein Christ has made thee free. So we know that we are free from sin and we are free from death. Now, let's just check it out a little bit. Let's look at it and see what's meant by that. Paul the overseer to the Gentile church, he tells us these wonderful great things. What is he saying? How was I passed from death unto life? How do I know that I've passed from death unto life? By faith in the Word. And how do I fine this? By the teachings of Paul since he was the overseer to the Gentiles. I find that he tells me that transgression of the law is sin, and that the sting of death is sin. That transgression of the law is sin because transgression of the law brings death. And if transgression of the law is sin, and if the sting of death is sin, if there was some way the law could be put away, or God could do away with the law then there would be no sin. And there would be no sting of death. Therefore how could you die if there was no sting of death. So then, Paul said that Jesus met this appointment at Calvary. He took away our sins. Our sins are forever gone. Our sins are behind us. As it was said to Daniel when the angel came, And Messiah shall come, he said, and make an end of iniquity and he shall do away with sin. And in-as-much as the Bible said, In iniquity did my mother conceive me, when God smote that image, that body of sin there at Calvary that did away with my image of the first birth and it is no longer I that live, Paul said, but Christ that liveth within me, and the life I now live I live by the Son of God. Paul said, as concerning this body, he said, it is so contrary. He said it is the bastard child image. It came in to the world because of sin and it fell in to the world because of sin and through the lust of the flesh and through the weakness of the flesh, and it fell in to the world. Fell from that great wonderful level of Paradise where it was illuminated with the presence and the wonderful Shekinah of God. Fell into the earth and the Bible said, And God put it upon it's belly because the ole serpent mind entered into it and He said, You are a generation of vipers when John came to preach to them. Said, You are a generation of vipers. And said, Your labor is for your belly because your mouth and your belly craves it of you. And he said, You are a generation of vipers. And when come he laid the ax to the root of the tree and he cut that tree down all the way back to the garden where this thing got started and then God raised up another family tree when He gave us a root. And the Bible said, If God had not left us a root we'd be like unto Sodom and Gomorrah. But the root, the off spring of David, the bright and the morning star of this Day Star of revelation that is dawning on the inside of you to make you to understand this wonderful light that is shining in the midst of the darkness of this intellectual thing of today of the people who are blind. This light is shining today. It ha come into your heart. It has come into your midst. And so then the old tree of knowledge has been cut down. The old tree of reasoning has been cut down. And the Bible said, Don't lean to your own understanding but cast down imagination and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity to the obedience of Jesus Christ every thought, to meditate in His laws day and night. So then we know that we have passed from death unto life. How do we know that? Paul said, O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death. The will is present but how to perform that which is good I find not. Then Paul came to a decision. He said, The law, in that it was weak through the flesh it could not help me. Though the law was righteous, though the commandments were holy, and though it was intended for life, he said, it could not help me to this extent. I am carnal and sold unto sin. The law is spiritual but I am carnal and because of this Satan intimidated me. Paul said, Sin taking occasion wrought within me all kind of concupiscence and the motions of sin work in my body. He said, For I was alive without the law but when the law came sin revived and I died. Said, Sin was dead without the law, but when the law came then, he said, sin revived and I died and that which was ordained unto life I found to be unto death. Is that which is good made death unto me? Paul said, God forbid, but sin that it might magnify sin in that I was taken into captivity by sin. The Bible said concerning the children of this world, their taken into captivity of this world with a regularity at the will of the devil. So then he said, When this thing come the law was added because of the transgression. Where there is no knowledge of sin, sin is not imputed; yet after the similitude of Adam everybody was dying. Nobody couldn't understand it. But when the law came it revealed the impurities. Like the physician that examines the body and finds out you have cancer when you've got all kind of problems and you die you don't understand it. But when he goes over it with his intellectual definition then he tells you what's wrong with you, see? And then he can offer to you a remedy. And so when the law came then it revealed to us these things, but it was so overwhelming because it was the attributes of God as to manifested to let us know what kind of God, how great He is, and we couldn't measure up to that. And so we just fell under condemnation and the devil took that and just beat us on the head with it. He just made slaves out of us to the extent we just go around saying, Well, there is none perfect, you know. We just have to trust in luck, there is none perfect. God's going to work it out. But, folks, that's not right. Job was a perfect man. He said, Mark the perfect man among you. And then It speaks of that have been born again and it tells us that they that have been born again, the Bible says that God hath perfected them forever. He hath made them perfect. And He said, They are without spot, or they're without wrinkle, and they're without blemish, or any such thing. He said that they're sealed on the inside with the great Holy Spirit and have the ability through faith, as to the seed of which they've conceived, the Holy Seed of God, even the Word of the Lord, the Son of God on the inside of them that they conceive of this seed and this seed remains in them and Christ never leaves them nor forsakes them. For the Bible said, And I will never leave thee. I will never forsake thee, but lo, I am with thee even until the end of the world. So then we know that God is a true helper in the time of need. We know then that we've conceived of the wonderful seed of God. Like Mary the virgin. And we know that on the inside Christ is forming in us. As from transformation of mind from glory to glory we're transformated in to this wonderful image, like the mother carrying the little one. Then we know that Christ is being formed for Paul said, I travailed until Christ be formed on the inside of you. And with this wonderful Christ there comes a showing just like there comes a birth and everybody makes a fuss over the babe there's coming a showing and this wonderful babe is going to be shown and Christ is going to be made manifest in your life. And the Bible said the creature, which is the body, this thing that is the beast that has been made subject to vanity, as to the things of the world, dependant upon these things for survival As to the human senses we are as the creature, as the body, as this part as the beast we are subjected to vanity. We are subject as to bonds children. That is you are a bonds child in your first birth. And you are the old cocoon of the serpent. That thing that is moving through the earth upon his belly. For the Bible said, And God has put him upon his belly and all his labor is for his belly and for his mouth for his belly craves it of him. And God said unto Adam, From the dust thou art and to the dust thou shalt return. And He said, as to the serpent, And he shall eat dust all the days of your life. And that serpent being symbolic showed what had happened to humanity and how that Satan had entered into this first man Adam. And that this wonderful Adam that had been a figure of Him to come, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said he was a figure of Him to come. This great wonderful Adam had fell from the Shekinah glory of that wonderful image of not being in the transgression, now having fell back to the dust which he had been taken from. He'd fell back to that dust and now Lucifer had entered into him, as to that mind from the tree of knowledge making him the head of that old serpent and the generation of vipers, that in Adam all die. Somebody said, Brother Pike, don't you remember Eve was the one that transgressed. Adam was not in the transgression. He was illuminated as a figure of Him to come. But the thing is Eve was the body of Adam and she had no mind of her own, other than the fact that Adam was the head of the family and she was Mrs. Adam. She was flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone and God only made that for an allegoric purpose that we who could not see beyond the veil in the spirit might have some natural allegoric type and shadow of what was happening spiritually. And so then the sin that we saw was between Eve and between Adam. That a mind had entered into Eve that had separated her from Adam and now there was a distance between them. And now Eve had a mind of her own which was the mind of the serpent. And now Adam had a mind of his own which was the mind of God, and here they were at contest with each other. Rather than being one they were now divided. And of course, as Paul said in his day speaking of the covering cherubs of which thing we cannot speak particular, we could speak more particular of it tonight but we don't have time to get into revelation. But in this little bit God had taken Adam there. We see it. He had taken him out of the dust. God had made Eden. Not only had He made Eden but He had made in a little corner of Eden the garden that was called the Garden of Eden. And in this He had picked this man up. Made him out of the dust, raised him up out of the dust. Took him over here to this little garden. Put him in the garden over here in this wonderful place called Paradise. Illuminated him with His presence and raised him up above the beast and made him the king over everything. And whatever he named it that's what it was and made him the ruler over all things, and illuminated him with the image of God that He might be very God, as to a figure of Him to come even the Lord Jesus who is the great and mighty God in personification. So then there he stood and the great God of all the act of creation, and God the great Father who is the Eternal Spirit, wanting to dwell with Him in the abundance of life and through a divine contract as the body with the Spirit, or the Spirit with the body, that God the great Eternal Spirit might project himself throughout all the earth, and all the great wonderful things that emanated from God that God might enjoy this creation through man while man has the abundance of eternal life and existence. Well, when God picked him up, and God put him in the garden where the tree of life was and where the tree of good and evil was, when He put him there He gave him his choice. He wanted him to be a sovereignty. And we don't really have time to follow this through tonight. It would take too long, but just kind of picking up a little bit sporadically here and there to put it together to where you might understand what we said about life. See? It is a true fact that here God had illuminated him and communicated with him and God was on his lever. See? Think it not robbery to be equal with God, in that you are made equal with God. And here he had been made, Adam had been made in that Shekinak glory which was the image of God. Which Shekinah was lost through the fall when Adam fell from the garden and went back out in to Eden with the animals. God said, The day that thou eatest of that tree thou shalt surely die. And so then, within the radius of one thousand years, as the Bible speaks of a day with God, IT says, And a day with God is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day with God. And the Lord said, In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. So no man has ever lived a thousand years as of yet. Methuselah got the closest to it. And there will have to come a thousand years of reign, which is God's Sabbath, or the day of His rest, that a man must live one thousand years without dying before God can make the change to take it in to the wonderful Celestial world which is considered the eighth day, or the circumcision. So that is, moving all the intellect and all this world and all the shadows that the great wonderful light of God where there comes no night, there the Lamb will be the revelation as to the light of that city in that light indicates understanding and darkness indicates ignorance. So we know that Adam fell from the Shekinah and he went back to the dust out in Eden with the animals. He subjected himself to the beast life, lost that wonderful life of glory with God, as to the God life. And today science has traced man's origin back and proved that he is really animal. And so then, that means that when he fell to this Adam had allowed, through the weakness of the flesh as to listening to Eve, he had allowed the mind of Satan to come into him. And when Satan came into Adam, as to those things of the knowledge of good and evil, he fell from the presence of God. God could not look upon him anymore because instead of being in the image of God, as to the illumination, or that wonderful Shekihan it lifted and went away and God who came looking for Adam said, Where art thou, Adam? Where art thou? He'd got lost off. And said, Where art thou? And Adam said, We hid ourselves because we were naked. And He said, Who told thee that thou were naked? Now, remember this. They had been naked all the time. There was nothing wrong with them being naked. There was no shame. There is still no shame with a person being naked today. It's the filthy degraded mind and the way that the mind thinks that caused all this degraded thing. Paul said, I am persuaded to think there is nothing unclean of itself, but to him that esteemeth a thing to be unclean to him it is unclean for even his conscience is defiled. 

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

Founder and first President of Jesus Christ’s Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.

Holiness Unto The Lord