The Will of the Father

By Hall V. Worthington

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Mat 7:21 

Jesus never said you could be saved if you say the sinners' prayer, or be baptized with water, or eat bread and drink grape juice; this is just heathenish ritual of micro, dead works — the wide and broad way that leads to destruction. The deficit sects of Christendom have totally lost the narrow, true way that few will find; there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12,16:25,21:2.

Jesus clearly tells us the only way: only he who does the will of the Father shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Mat 7:21.

Every time we repeat the Lord's Prayer, praying to the Father, "thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven," we ignorantly proceed to do our own wills, hoping we are somehow pleasing to the Father. But what does doing someone else's will really mean?

Think about the concept of an owner and his slave. The slave doesn't decide what he is going to do; the slave follows orders — specific orders that he hears from his master. I understand how this concept is repulsive to most people, but it illustrates what is doing someone else's will, not your own will. In Jesus' teachings, there are hundreds of Master/Servant or Lord/Servant (Owner/Slave) references in the Bible.

To do the Father's will is to stop making decisions for yourself, your will; and only do what the Father tells you to do, his will. This is exactly what Jesus told us that he did, and he only did; many, many times:

I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. John 8:26 

the Father, who sent me, gave me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.  John 12:49-50 

the Son is able to do nothing of Himself (of His own accord); but He [the son] is able to do only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever the Father does is what the Son does in the same way. John 5:19 

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. John 5:30 

The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. John 14:31 

He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. John 14:24

Even when he would have preferred another way, He did the Father's will, even to dying on the cross: And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Mark 14:36. Notice, his will was that he would not be beaten, scourged, and crucified on the cross. But he said, not what I will, but what you will.

Some would say, well that was Jesus, but we can't be expected to do what he did. Yet, Jesus said the same applies to you and me: whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Mat 12:50. And, realize that he told us six times that we too must deny ourselves and pick up our cross daily — long before he went to the cross himself. So he went to the horrible death of the cross as an example to us of the obedience necessary to slay our selfish spirit so that we could be reconciled to God: The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. John 14:31. He went to the cross to teach us that if we love God, we must obey completely. Whoever does not pick up his cross daily is not worthy of him. Mat 10:38. Jesus showed us what it means to obey his command to "daily deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow me:" to do the will of God by denying your own will and following His commands that you wait for, listen for, and hear — the inward cross of self-denial.

So, to do the will of the Father, which is necessary to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must do exactly like Jesus: we must only say what the Father tells us to say, we must do only what we see the Father do, we must judge only as we hear from the Father.

From the Word of the Lord within:

• You are the slave of whom you choose; obey, or not interested? 
• You are the slaves of whom you obey.
• Every man must experience being a slave to God.
• For servitude, every man must experience heart-felt desire; he must become totally different.
• We are followers.

Until we have arrived at this very advanced state, the Father told us what we must do:

Then there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, My Chosen One and My Beloved; listen to and yield to and obey Him!” Luk 9:35

So you must come to Jesus, silently listen, hear him speak to you, and then obey what he commands you to do.

But the anointing which you have received of him abides in you, and you do not need any man to teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in him. 1 John 2:27

To be a servant, one does not read about other servants, quoting their words. To be a servant, you must hear what your master orders you to do, and then you must obey; everything else is presumptive service. Think about it; would you want to employ someone who cannot hear your orders, and who only does what he assumes you want done? Even worse is many servants doing whatever they presume you want done — no one following directions — everyone following their own ideas. To follow Jesus is to hear and obey His spoken-to-you commands. Only when you hear Him tell you what to do, when to do it, and what words to speak, can you serve God.

If we diligently and humbly, go to him, listen to him, and obey him, Jesus will change us so that he truly is our Lord, with the Father through him telling us what to say and do. This requires a radical, total change in us; (but remember, it is necessary to enter the Kingdom.) To do the will of the Father is impossible with our own mind, because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Rom 8:7. Our carnal mind is part of our sinful nature, the nature of death: For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Rom 8:6.
The Lord has even stated that to walk according to the imagination of your own heart is worse than worshiping stone or wooden idols:

Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

And you have done worse than your fathers; for behold, every one of you walks after the imagination of his evil heart, and therefore you do not listen to and obey me. Jer 16:11-12.

Paul describes the spirit of disobedience as: fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the thoughts of our mind." Eph 2:3

Paul warns us: Therefore, this I say and testify in the Lord, that from this time forward you must not walk as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Eph 4:17. 

Let's go back to the beginning, to see how our mind, which is death and an enemy of God, got so messed up:

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Gen 2:15-17 

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 

And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave 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 coverings. Gen 3:1-7 

Before his fall, Adam did not have to work for his food. It was provided by God. But now he must toil for food.

Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, Gen 3:17-19

So Adam and Eve decided they wanted to be wise like God, deciding what was good and evil for themselves. Now, up to this time, they only did as God told them. They heard God moving like a storm, and they heard his voice. They did not decide what was "good" or "desirable" for themselves — they trusted God to make the decisions. But suddenly they could decide for themselves what they wanted, and what they didn't want. They immediately decided they were naked: I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. Gen 3:10. See, they were beginning to think for themselves, looking out for Number One, who was no longer God. They were afraid too. They began to worry, to doubt, to fear. Supposedly they were to become wise like God, able to decide what to do for themselves; but this was a great loss. For the serpent became their God instead; the spirit of Satan usurped the Spirit of God in Adam and Eve. The spirit of Satan that wants to make his own decisions, wants to be wise, wants to be God.

In his outstanding writing, No Cross No Crown, William Penn describes this fall in detail:

An inordinate desire of knowledge introduced man's misery, and brought an universal lapse from the glory of his primitive state. Adam desired to be wiser than God had made him. It was not sufficient to know his Creator, and give Him that holy homage his being and innocence naturally engaged and excited him to; nor to have an understanding above all the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea, joined with a power to rule over all the visible creation of God; but he had to become as wise as God too. This unwarrantable search, and as foolish as unjust ambition, made him unworthy of the blessings he received from God. This drove him out of paradise; and instead of being lord of the whole world, Adam becomes the most wretched vagabond of the earth.

A strange change! Instead of becoming as gods, they should fall below the very beasts; in comparison of whom, even God had made them as gods. The lamentable consequence of this great defection has been an exchange of innocence for guilt, and a paradise for a wilderness. But, which is yet worse, in this state Adam and Eve had gotten another god than the only true and living God; and he who enticed them to all this mischief, furnished them with a vain knowledge, and destructive wisdom — the skill of lies and equivocations, shifts, evasions, and excuses. They had lost their plainness and sincerity; and from an upright heart, the image in which God had made man, he became a crooked, twining, twisting serpent; the image of that unrighteous spirit of the serpent, to whose temptations he yielded up with his obedience his paradise of happiness.

Nor is this limited to Adam; for all, who have fallen short of the glory of God, are born sons of his disobedience.

And so man, in hopes of becoming like God, only became like Satan — a rebel, an enemy of God, a slave to sin, a slave to the power of Satan; and now man must work hard for his food.

Do you not know.. you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? Rom 6:16

When we speak, it is either by the Spirit of Christ within us, or the spirit of Satan. Christ told us : let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Mat 5:37. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Mat. 12:36. Until we are purified, it is the spirit of the serpent, the evil one, speaking in us. The spirit that speaks through you is either Christ or the devil. [There is no in-between spirit that is 99% un-devilish; that is like being 99% un-pregnant]. Therefore, until we have Christ in control of our mouths, after purification and restoration, we should speak as little as possible.

Adam and Eve, falling to the serpent's rule, is why the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Rom 8:7. As long as we are thinking our own thoughts, with our carnal mind, we are incapable of being pleasing to God, we are controlled by the sinful nature within us. We are selfish, vain, pleasure-seeking, fearful, angry, creatures. We are full of lusts and pride. Our decisions are faulty; often wrong, and almost always self-serving.

For the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Gen 8:21 

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings [works]. Jer 17:9-10 

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts. Pro 21:2 

Let the ungodly forsake his way, and the unrighteous man [forsake] his thoughts:...For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:7-9 

Everyone is ungodly and unrighteous until the Spirit has destroyed their sinful nature on the inward cross of self-denial, which destroys the selfish, vain, carnal mind with its thoughts. The basic operation of grace is teaching us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and how to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Tit 2:11-12 

I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts. Isaiah 65:2

From the Word of the Lord within:

• Your thoughts are not my thoughts.
• At best your thoughts are a vain hiss.
• It is many thoughts that make the mortal man.
• Those who follow their own brain will weep and mourn; there will be great pain.
• The mind is a terrible thing.
• There is a blessing to make the cessation of the mind permanent.
• You must go on waiting, watching, and listening; then our hearts will be quiet by grace.
• We labor with a cursed mind for the carnal mind is neither subject to the law of God, nor can it be; that which is in the enmity must die.
• You will receive a new heart and mind.
• Grow up into the mind of Christ, from which all good thoughts proceed.
• To know is not to think.
• To make decisions is to live in your carnal mind.

The thoughts of the unrighteous are detestable (foul, disgusting) to the LORD, but the words of the pure are pleasant words. Pro 15:26

This verse contrasts the two types of people: the unrighteous and the pure; there is no in between. We are not fit company to God, until we are purified. He hears all of our evil thoughts, and they grieve him.

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

Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; And you have done worse than your fathers; for behold, every one of you walks after the imagination of his evil heart, and therefore you do not listen to and obey me. Jer 16:11-12

Walking after the imagination of your own heart, or following your own brain, is worse than worshiping wooden and stone idols.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Rom 8:6 or NIV -The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace. Rom 8:6

So that is the task, to obtain a mind controlled by the Spirit; so we can have true life (Jesus) and peace.

Jesus said, .. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man. Mark 7:21-23

We must become clean, clean by the Word of God, Jesus.

Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. Rom 8:8

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:13

From George Fox's Letter 24:

"That mind, which speaks of God, but lives not, dwells not, nor abides in the fear of God, that mind must suffer, and pass under the judgment of God, for the curse of God is upon that mind; for that mind is earthly, and of the earth, upon which the curse of God is. And that mind may talk of God, and speak of God, but not in union with God, nor from enjoyment of God in the spirit, nor from having purchased the knowledge of him through death and sufferings [of self]; but from hearsay of him, and from custom and tradition. But the true fear of God does destroy that mind, which speaks of him, but does not live in his fear; and that mind is raised up, which does abide in his fear. This is acceptable sacrifice, which is pure, clean, holy, and without spot. Then that which knows God, speaks of him, which has purchased the true knowledge of him through suffering; and to such there is no condemnation, but joy and peace. And this mind sings true praises to God, the other in hypocrisy; and therefore the woe is unto it. And this mind is stayed upon God, the other is gadding after the creatures, committing fornication with other lovers; and speaks of God, but is not subject to God, and must pass through condemnation."

So how do we put to death this sinful nature, this carnal mind, so we can live and do the will of the Father and enter the Kingdom of Heaven? So that we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), 2 Cor 10:5? So that we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart, 1 Cor 2:16? So we can put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness, Eph 4:22-24?

The sinful nature, the carnal mind must be destroyed by God's grace, through the inward cross of self-denial; Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires. Gal 5:24. The Holy Spirit shows us how captive we are to our lusts, pleasures, habits, anger, pride, and self-gratification — and how this self-centered behavior is at the expense of others around us. The word and light show us the defects in our heart, one at a time, exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. With our regret and sorrow for conditions exposed by the Holy Spirit, we receive help from the Holy Spirit to change. This conviction and condemnation of our beastly nature is the Ministry of Condemnation; our carnal mind must be condemned and destroyed by God. When we have been sufficiently purged or purified of our selfish, sinful nature, then we receive the Ministry of Life or additional spirit from Christ; until finally we are restored to the image, direction, and presence of God.

So first learn the ministry of condemnation in yourselves, that life may arise, before the ministry in the spirit is known, which preaches peace by Jesus Christ, where there is no strife. Therefore wait to know the time of silence and mind that which condemns you. From George Fox's Letter 145.

George Fox further speaks to this requirement:

"But all of you who are in your own wisdom and in your own reason, you say that silent waiting upon God is a famine to you. It is a strange life to you to come to be silent. You must come into a new world. Now you must die in the silence, die from the wisdom, die from the knowledge, die from the reason, die from the understanding.

So as you come to feel that which brings you to wait upon God, you must die from the other [that resists the silence and feels famished in silence]. It is this [dying in silence] that brings you to feel the power of an endless life, and you come to possess it; in silent waiting upon God you come to receive the wisdom from the above by which all things were made and created, and it gives an understanding and reason that is clearly different from that of the earthly man. This life of God in you is what brings you to wait upon God—and to know God is eternal life. To you this is the word of the Lord God."

From George Fox's Letter 58: The teachers without exalt the carnal mind, but the teacher within destroys it.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Rom 8:7

When the carnal mind is destroyed, man's thoughts and labors cease; he enters into the rest of God, with God supplying the power and energy, direction, promptings, and knowledge. Man no longer works for his food. Man no longer fights against the enemies of his soul: anger, greed, immorality, lust, profanity, lying, covetousness, etc. Man rests from his own labors. The restored man's labors and works are powered and prompted by the Spirit of God:

This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. Isa 28:12 

Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. Heb 4:1 

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Mat 11:29 

For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Heb 4:10

George Fox described the Sabbath rest of the Christian, being a rest into Christ Jesus, saying: "Think not your own thoughts, for in Christ we are atop that nature where evil thoughts are, that nature [having been] taken away by Christ. So you should not think your own thoughts, do your own works, [or] speak your own words."

Jesus said: Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? Mat 6:27. Until Jesus Christ controls our words, actions, and thoughts, he is not our Lord — we can call him Lord, but that doesn't mean he rules us as our Lord, or that we obey him as his servant. Remember Jesus said: Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin, John 8:34. If we are a slave to sin, he can't be our Lord and Master because a man cannot serve two masters; he must hate one, to serve the other.

From George Fox's Letter 245

"And as your ears are attentive to the Lord's voice, that speaks from heaven, iniquity's mouth is stopped in you, the throne of iniquity is thrown down in you; that is, the wicked spirit and power, where iniquity sits; and the chambers of imagery are thrown down in you, where all thoughts and imaginations are."

Your carnal mind is destroyed by the power of God, released through the hope that purifies and the faith that obeys the commands heard, which is a cross to your will. There are three manifestations of the power of God which are necessary for change:

1. the name of Jesus, (you have to at least believe in his name, Jesus Christ, as the son of God).
2. the true gospel — the good news that one believes, seizes as their hope, and exercises in faith to attain, and
3. the cross of Christ — the inward cross of self-denial

The true gospel, the power of God to salvation, being that you have the opportunity by faith in Jesus Christ to be freed from even the inclination to sin, resulting in your purity and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven while on earth, and then forever.

As Jesus told Paul: I am sending you to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may thus receive forgiveness and release from their sins and a place and portion among those who are consecrated and purified by faith in Me. Acts 26:17-18

The cross of Christ, the inward cross of self-denial is the means to become free from sin, even the desire to sin. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Gal 5:24. Christ died on the cross to show us by example the extent of obedience required; for as he died on the cross in loving obedience to God, so we also must obey the promptings and commands of God, to crucify our sinful nature on the cross of self-denial. This is why he said:

The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. John 14:31

One of the primary reasons Jesus died on the cross, was the example to us of how to die to self, and the extent of obedience required.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. 1 Pet 2:21 

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—Rom 6:6 

For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. 2 Tim 2:11 

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Mat 16:25 

When your mind and sinful nature have been crucified on the inward cross of self-denial, then you receive the mind of Christ.

For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Cor 2:16. Our carnal mind is destroyed to the point that we speak and act from the promptings of the Spirit of God; this is the end of obedience — to think, speak, and act according to God's promptings.

Does this mean that you become a clone, losing all your personality? No, to the contrary, you will reflect one of the many-sided wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects [so it] might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities (principalities and powers) in the heavenly sphere. Compare the writings of the many early Quakers on this site; while they all write the same basic message, their words and expressions are unique to their life's experiences and to their personality.

After crucifying the sinful nature, you are then restored into the image of God, from which Adam and Eve fell. The seed of the woman, bruises the head of the serpent, and the serpent bruises the heel of the woman's seed.

And I will put enmity between you [serpent] and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He [ a later seed of the woman] shall bruise your head, [ a later generation of the serpent's seed]. And you [serpent] shall bruise His [woman's seed] heel.” Gen 3:15

The seed of the woman is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, born of a woman, the seed of Eve. The seed of the serpent is the selfish spirit in you, the sinful nature, the carnal mind. The woman's seed Christ, was severely bruised by the Pharisees.

The head of the serpent in you is crushed by Christ, thus to break his power and strength, and to destroy him and his works.

And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. Rom 6:16

From George Fox's Letter #172:

So everyone of us, that has come to the seed of God, that bruises the serpent's head, that led man from God, who is the prince of the world, the prince of darkness, and the prince of the air, the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning; the corrupter of mankind, the author of the separation from God, and the original of sin, the beginning of it, which led man from his dominion over the handiworks of God; which the royal seed Christ, destroys, and renews man again in the image of God, and brings him again to his dominion over the handiworks of God. And this hundreds of thousands are now witnessing; by which they come to be kings, and redeemed from the earth and come to be made kings upon the earth, in the image of God, over the handiworks of God, in the wisdom by which they were created....Among these Christ is king, which thousands witness. Among these he is king.

After your sinful nature has been crucified, Jesus appears [is revealed] in glory and power within you, to destroy the seed of the serpent. For this purpose the Son of God is revealed [in us], that he might destroy [in us] the works [sin] of the devil. 1 John 3:8. You become an entirely new creature; your soul is joined (married) with the Spirit of Christ to become one, [union] an entirely new creature. Before Christ is revealed, the man of sin, (the Spirit of Satan in you), is revealed within you, showing you all manner of evil on the earth; this is the abomination of desolation, standing in your heart's temple, where it should not. But this is the end of your fleshly self, as Christ then appears and slays the residual spirit of Satan within you by the brightness of his coming, by his breath, and the splendor of his coming, by his crushing the head of Satan under his [and your] heel. The final judgment. The true baptism of the Holy Spirit: into the death of Christ. The sharing of his death. Then the sharing of his resurrection in you.

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,even so we also should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:4 

In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Col 2:11-12 

Jesus described how it would be for Peter, at the sinful nature's death, to be led by the Spirit of God. When you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. John 21:18

This is the return of Christ to you bringing his Kingdom and salvation. This is to see your savior, to see God. This results in Jesus resurrected in you, and having His glorious Kingdom established in your heart. The world as you see it ends. It is gone. You will not see it again through the same eyes. You step into another dimension, and walk by the Light of God, not the sun or the moon.

And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever. 1 John 2:17

We sit down with Christ to enter the rest; to enter the rest from fighting our enemies, like Israel entered the rest after they had purged their land of the surrounding peoples, only our enemies are spiritual: lust, rage, selfishness, envy, greed, covetousness, jealousy, lying, cheating, stealing, sexual immorality, profane language, and evil thoughts, etc. Heb 4:1-11 is a serious warning to not fail to enter the rest because of unbelief in its possible attainment. Salvation is to be delivered from sin and be protected from evil, sanctified from our enemies of sin; never to fall to temptation again.

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. Luke 1:74-5

This is the reason Christ came and died: to make it possible for fallen man to be reunited with God, to be restored to the image of God, as Adam was in before the fall. This was the hope of all generations, waiting for the Messiah, Christ, the new covenant, the great restorer — who would allow man to walk under the direction, prompting, and energy of God - in union with God, in the spiritual dimension of paradise - but while still alive in the physical dimension of earth, and then forever. This is what the prophets have inquired and the angels desire to look into. This is what they all saw and prophesied - the destruction of the works of the devil (sin), the restoration of man, back into union with God, in heaven — but even beyond the state of Adam - to sit down with Christ in the heavens , still capable of being tempted, but incapable of falling to temptation — and as kings, lords, and priests of God — as a living stone in New Jerusalem's temple of God, which is Christ's body, while continually beholding the glory and power of God, serving him without fear, in joy and reverential awe forever. To sit down with Christ is to enter the rest; to enter the rest from fighting your enemies, like Israel entered the rest after they had purged the land of the surrounding peoples, only our enemies are spiritual: lust, rage, selfishness, envy, greed, covetousness, jealousy, lying, cheating, stealing, etc.

(Now contrast the wonderful promises above with the lying promises of Christianity today, which is: Jesus came so you can sin without consequence; you must go through life burdened with sins; there is no possible way to get help; but don't worry or feel guilty for sinning, because we [the lying ministers] say you are going to heaven and escape hell. It is sick, isn't it???!!!)

These true promises are beyond good news, they are beyond wonderful! Now, how do you get there? You must seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deu 4:29 

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

Notice James says draw near to God. God is not found in sect meetings. God is not found in reading scriptures.  You must go to him. You must wait on him — listen silently, with the humility of a sinner in need of his changing power — grace. The best one-word description of the entire Bible is "obedience;" it is through disobedience that we fell, and only by obedience can we restored — obedience, to God's spoken commands to us, from hearing, by listening, in silence, through seeking, by waiting, with humility, believing in the name of Jesus Christ. To obey the Voice of the Lord instead of doing your own will is the inward cross of self-denial.

As you obey the commands of the Lord you hear, your selfish nature is slowly killed by the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Christ increases within you:

Always bearing about in the [our] flesh the same death [of the inward cross] of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

For we who live are constantly progressing to death [crucifying the old man] for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus might be revealed in our mortal flesh. 2 Cor 4:10-11

Wait, watch, listen, hear, obey... wait, watch, listen, hear, obey..... seek, listen, obey. If you do this repeatedly and diligently, you will witness all of God's promises to be true; you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, now on earth, and forever. You are not only restored to the spiritual image of God, as were originally Adam and Eve, but you are elevated beyond their state, beyond temptation, to sit down at rest in Christ Jesus. Christ is resurrected in you. You will enter the rest, to cease from your own labors, to walk in the spirit, under the power and promptings of the Father, through Christ, with whom you have joined in union; the pure church, sanctified, washed by the water of the word, at the wedding supper:

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Rev 22:17

Now you are able to perform a worship of the Father, which he desires:

The true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. John 4:23-24

Perhaps you are now beginning to see how the false gospels, which dismiss the cross as a necessity, have become so pervasive. Such gospels , by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, entice people who are just escaping from those [lustful desires of sinful nature] who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 2 Peter 2:12-19. The true salvation is by the cross, which is bearable, but not easy. It is not easy to lose your life. It is not easy to forsake everything, even your thoughts. It is not easy to find the narrow gate to heaven, and many will try and be unable pass through. It is not easy to suffer. So any alternative to the cross, which supposedly allows one to escape Hell, is eagerly received with false doctrines and lies that quickly became pervasive. (For further details of suffering on the cross, see Suffering and Tribulation.)

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 away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. 2 Timothy 4:3-4. 

The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.  But what will you do in the end? Jer 5:31 

For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. Phil 3:18-19 

But the cross is bearable. As Jesus told us: even prostitutes and tax collectors were entering the Kingdom in his time. As Isaiah tells us: the simple ones and fools, shall not err in it and lose their way. Isa 35:8

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. Rom 6:22. You have been freed from worry, fear, and anxiety in trying to make the best decision, to say the right words, to do the right thing; never being sure, and frequently being wrong. What you lose is the freedom to lie, cheat, rage, take advantage of others, using them for your pleasure, power, or wealth; and you lose your slavery to possessions and pleasures. What you gain is to have God's direction in all, with confidence that he knows all, and whatever his will is for you, is inherently perfect, without flaw — and always to your ultimate benefit. So you are free from having to analyze and choose — free to live in love, free to follow virtue; free from the law; confident, and assured your life is one of noble purpose and results. You are in the rest, thoughts and words prompted by the Spirit, and actions powered by the Spirit. Being filled with God's love, you are then free to show that love to the world; and to show your love for God, in your continued choice to obey his commands and promptings, which will be your greatest joy. And free to have fellowship with Christ and the Father, in the light — full of joy, with eternal peace, basking in the radiance of their presence, filled with and experiencing their constant love.

An excerpt from Stephen Crisp's outstanding writings:

Those that are willing to sit down in quietness, in the light of Christ Jesus, that shows every running-out of the mind, they come to feel the pure fear of God to be planted in their hearts; so that they dare not think their own thoughts, nor speak their own words.

Here many have turned aside; the cross of Christ has seemed to them so sharp, and hard, and intolerable, that they could not bear it; they would not be at the charge of such a religion. What! Must I part with all my delights, and my beloved lusts and pleasures, and all my interests in the world, for Christ? I cannot part with these; these things lie in my way, I must rather lose my soul than part with what is so pleasing to me, and join with the light of my own conscience, and the truth in my inward parts? What! Must I not have so much as liberty of thought? What! Must my thoughts be regulated by what is so cross and repugnant to my mind? Must I throw out all evil thoughts out of my heart, and allow none but the good thoughts to remain there? Who can stand this? Who can bear such strictness as this? Rather than endure this, I will choose to lose my soul. Many have lost the truth on this account; and many are in danger to lose their souls.

If there is in you any desire of peace with God, so that you may not go from here before you have attained it, take hold of the present opportunity. Hardness of heart is a desperate plague; it comes from a long obstinate continuance in sin. When we have withstood the day of God's patience and long-suffering, and grieved the Holy Spirit of God; then God gives us up to our own hearts' lusts, because we choose to follow the voice of the charmer, however wise he appears. When we stop our ears, and will not attend to the calls of God; when men will go on, and nothing can stop them, in the career of their lusts and pleasures, but they will retain their carnal delight and friendship with the world; this hardness of heart becomes a desperate plague. Take heed of it, that it does not overtake you, and bring ruin and destruction upon you. Consider the patience and long-suffering of God, and let his goodness lead you to repentance. Consider, God has waited to be gracious to you, he has exercised much long-suffering and patience towards you; whereas He might have cut you off long ago, and given you your portion with the damned in hell; but He has hearkened to the voice of the mediator who has pleaded for you. He has extended his patience and long-suffering to the wicked and rebellious also; and for this reason, the apostle tells us, Christ is the savior of all men, especially of them that believe.

An excerpt from Ambrose Rigge's excellent writings:

ALL men by nature are the children of wrath, as it is written, Eph 2:3, fallen from God and his power, degenerate plants of a strange vine, Jer 2:21, daily bringing forth evil fruit, in which God has no delight; his heart is corrupted, his mind is corrupted, and every part and member of his body, from the crown of the head to the sole of his foot, full of wounds and bruises, and putrefying sores, Isa 1:6; every imagination of his heart is only evil continually, Gen 8:21. So that he is a vessel altogether unfit for the Lord's use or service, neither has the Lord any delight in him in that state, because he is a slave to Satan, led captive at his will, to dishonor his maker in all his words and works; so that all his undertakings and outgoings are to promote Satan's kingdom. He calls evil good, and good evil, puts light for darkness, and darkness for light, and is void of understanding, as the beast that perishes. He is altogether insensible of his creator, and of his way, truth, and life, because they are spiritually discerned; being wholly a stranger to the life of God, and to the covenant of promise, and without God in the world, in its ways and works of darkness; drawing iniquity with cords of vanity, and drinking it in, as the ox drinks water, until he fills himself, and vomits it up again.

In this condition, man's wisdom is earthly, carnal, sensual, and devilish; yet by this he would try to grasp the heavenly mystery of eternity, and dive into the secrets of the Almighty, and set up a way of worship of God in his own selfish will, and establish a righteousness of his own, and will pray, read, sing and perform many duties in a hot zeal, though without understanding the knowledge of God his creator. In this state were the Jews, who killed and persecuted the Lord of life in their darkness and unbelief, in a righteousness of their own, which was as filthy rags, and would not cover them from the wrath of the Almighty, a just reward of all their ungodly deeds, unto whom Christ put forth many parables, and said, Except a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, John 3:3. And, except you are converted, and become as little children, you shall in no wise enter the kingdom of God, Luke 18:17, though they were painted white all over as white washed walls, yet they were foul and corrupted, blind and naked; therefore the woe was often pronounced against them; for all their zeal and profession of Christ and the apostles' words.

Therefore this is my counsel and advice unto you, who are in the unconverted state, alienated from God, and estranged in your mind from his covenant of life, who has any desires in you to return unto the Lord who made you, that he may save you from the heat of his wrath forever: cease from your own words, works and ways, and be not hasty to run, before your maker leads you by the hand, in the light of his Truth, with which Christ has lighted you, John 1:9, which shines in your dark heart, 2 Cor 4:6, so shall you not abide in darkness, but shall receive the light of life, John 8:12. Listen to his voice; he, who stands at your door and knocks, and who would have you receive him into your heart, which is his throne, upon which he must sit as King, if he ever receives you into protection with him. There he must work the Father's will in you, which is to purify you throughout in body, soul and spirit, without which you can never be a vessel of honor to God to set forth his praise and glory in the earth. He must work His righteousness in you by his right hand, which must cover you forever; and you must be crucified upon his cross from all your own righteousness and unrighteousness, all which spring from the seed of enmity, in which God has no delight, before you know the peace of God, which passes all understanding, to keep your heart and mind. All this you will find true in the day of your visitation, however the false prophets may persuade you to the contrary; that will deceive you in the day of the Lord's fierce indignation, when everyone shall receive a reward according to his deeds. This is a hard saying to you who are still alive in the fullness of delight and pleasure of the flesh, to tell you of dying to your own righteousness and unrighteousness, before you come to live to God. This is a bitter cup to you, of which you must be willing to drink, before you taste of the cup of blessing, which is the communion of the blood of Christ, 1 Cor 10:16. You must suffer with him who died upon the cross, before you know the virtue of his resurrection; you must put off the old man, with his deeds, before you put on the new man, Eph 4:22-24. You must purge out the old leaven of uncleanness, and the old bottle must be broken, before you keep a feast of unleavened bread, 1 Cor 5:7-8, as a passover unto the Lord.

This is the footsteps of the flock, in which you must walk before Christ's righteousness is you. You must buy the Truth with the loss of all that is contrary to it, if ever you truly purchase it, so as to be yours forever. This is the word of the Lord God to you, which must be fulfilled in or upon you. Let no man deceive you, through vain words of those who tell you, God looks upon you not as you are in sin, but as you are in Christ. Oh poor deluded wretch! this is the deceivableness of unrighteousness indeed, which would make God as unrighteous as themselves, to look upon man in Christ when he is not; but in sin and transgression. Give not heed to such lying vanities, for fear that you forsake your own mercies forever. For because of these things has come the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience, Eph 5:6, Col 3:6. He that said to the wicked, you are righteous, shall the nations curse, and people abhor, Pro 24:24. I say, God looks upon you as you are; and he will not justify you in sin, nor hold you guiltless in transgression, but will wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy scalp of such a one as goes on still in his trespasses, Psa 68:21. Therefore return, return unto the Lord by speedy repentance, and kiss the Son for fear that he is angry, and you perish from the way of life; when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that trust in him, Psa 2:12.

This I was warned by the Lord to lay before all who are yet in Babylon and Egypt, that they may flee out and escape from her sins, for fear that they partake of her plagues, as it is written, Rev 18:4, for the hour of her judgment has come, and the execution will speedily follow, which will leave the wicked neither root nor branch.

Therefore let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into heaviness, for God has clothed himself with a garment of vengeance, and with zeal, as with a cloak, Isa 59:17; and no unclean thing shall now stand before him. Howl you oaks of Bashan, and you cedars of Lebanon, the Lord has laid his axe to your roots, and your strength and tallness must come down. Your fruit has been the fruit of Sodom, and your grapes the grapes of Gomorrah; you have long cumbered the ground, even until it is weary with you, and is ready to vomit you up; therefore bow yourselves unto the mighty God of Jacob, before he cuts you down, and casts you into the fire of his jealousy forever. Tremble at the presence of him, whose word is gone forth. He is the God of the whole earth, and before him all nations are as the drop of a bucket, Isa 40:15, who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance, Isa 40:12. He will render to every man according to the fruit of his doings; therefore while you have a little time, prize it, for fear that the day of your visitation passes away, and the day of wrath comes upon you as a thief in the night, 1 Thes 5:2.

Those who follow their own brain will weep and mourn; there will be great pain. Voice of the Lord 3/04/08

If those who hear will obey, their progress will be swift. Voice of the Lord 3/4/8

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 Peter 1:4 

This is the way, walk ye in it. Isaiah 30:21 

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psa 16:11 

He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him! Heb.11:6

I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. Not, not, not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let down (relax My hold on you)! Heb 13:5

The will of the Father is to have sons, sons that love him, sons that are tried, tested, faithful, pure and holy; sons that he can love, sons that he can shower his gifts and treasures upon, sons that he can share his very self with, sons that do his will on earth as it is in heaven — and then forever.

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