Morning Star Testimony - Sermon Notes

This was originally recorded on January 24, 2018.

My notes:

Isaiah 9:6 - a familiar passage we hear especially around the celebration of the incarnation, the birth of Jesus, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given" (Isaiah 9:6). It's easy to just mush these two together and assume they both point to his birth in Bethlehem. "There's a huge gap in the history between a child born and a son given." The child born does refer to His human birth, but the son given refers to Him being given in the person of the Holy Spirit beginning at Pentecost.

As all the fullness of God is in Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:19), how is that fullness to be communicated to us as the body of Christ? "That fullness is to be released into the body of Christ by joints of supply" (Ephesians 4:16). "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news (gospel) of good things!" (Romans 10:15). This gospel isn't simply an evangelistic message, but includes Paul's gospel, the revelation of the mystery. "Every member is to be a unique expression of that fullness, and whatever measure they gain Christ in this life. And there's vast differences." Paul states this in 1 Corinthians 15, 'As one star differs in glory from another, so also is the resurrection'. "The entire universe is to be filled with the fullness of God in Christ through the church." "So this goal of all God's fullness in Christ, if it's going to come into the body of Christ, it means each one of you are a 'joint of supply'."

When it comes to inheritance, it's a two-way matter. We are to gain our inheritance in Christ (Ephesians 1:14; Colossians 1:12; 3:24; Hebrews 9:15; 1 Peter 1:4); and Christ has His inheritance in us (Ephesians 1:11 - not "we have obtained an inheritance", but "we were made an inheritance" - see also Ephesians 1:18). "As Christ is formed in us, that's God's inheritance in us. It's reciprocal. Our inheritance in Christ is God's inheritance in us. It's interrelated and interdependent."

"It's God's purpose in Christ as our High Priest through the indwelling Holy Spirit to mediate - to impart - those virtues to bring us into that fullness."

Jesus Christ is not 'at home' in every Christian heart. Doug explains Ephesians 3:17 "that Christ may dwell in your hearts" is better translated "that Christ may settle down and be at home in your hearts", connecting it to Revelation 3:20, "Behold I stand at the door and knock...". Jesus is knocking on the door of Christian hearts, not unbelievers, seeking intimacy and fellowship with us. Instead of being at home in our hearts, He's on the outside. "Jesus wants to be at home."

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/1-24-18.mp3

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

This was originally recorded on August 27, 2017.

My notes:

"If we're going to be filled with the fullness of God and go on to be being filled with the Holy Spirit, God requires that we put off the old man." This includes putting to death the members of our earthly bodies (Colossians 3:5). In the NAS version, it says to 'consider the members of your earthly body as dead' to the sins mentioned, but the literal Greek grammar makes it a command for us to 'put to death' the members of our body. To the degree this is done is the degree that the Lord can fill us with His life, light and love. "He will not fill the old man; and what we haven't put off, there will be no filling there."

So, what does it mean to be a Christian? What do people think when they hear the term 'Christian'? "Before Jesus Christ comes, Christianity as we know it will be shaken to the core, and there will be nothing standing except the church that Jesus Christ is building." I have to say when people ask about what I believe or what 'religion' I follow, I don't like telling them, "I'm a Christian." I rather say, 'I'm a disciple of Jesus', or that which doesn't include the term 'Christian'. It's not Jesus I'm ashamed of, it's what Christians have done to misrepresent the name of Christ.

"Just like Judaism in the first century went down at the great shaking in 70 AD, there will be a corresponding great shaking at the end of this age - and we are at the end now, and it's going to happen in the church, and that prophecy is given to us in Hebrews Chapter 12, verses 25-29; and the last two or three verses in Luke Chapter 6, where the house that is built on sand is going to collapse. That house in our generation is 'Christianity'. It's coming down."

"Are we a part of the church that Jesus Christ is building? Are we part of an organization system, something of man? It's all coming down. It's going to be so radical and so shocking."

"How are people going to see Jesus? ... We are to be a people on this earth to represent Jesus with skin on." As Major Thomas would say, 'deity clothed in our humanity'.

"What it means to be a Christian? We only do those things we see Jesus doing ... How do we get there? It takes radical and drastic dealings of the Lord - many blows to crush the outer man to strip off of us the foreskin of the heart, so the inner man, that which represents the one new man, can emerge in resurrection - not just the sinful man; the natural man."

"Something's about to happen, something really big and unprecedented that represents the day of visitation - God breaking into history, and summing up things, and getting everything into alignment so that the bride has made herself ready to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air... The day of visitation is going to be a release of that which represents a prepared remnant - we're going to see a corporate Christ walking this earth prior to the rapture."

Jesus "is the template and prototype of what it means to be a Christian... He Himself is the will of God perfected as Man for man, and in that will, we are sanctified positionally... The more we come into correspondence as one with Jesus Christ, for people to know us, they know Jesus... If the Holy Spirit is governing our lives as Lord, people will see the Father in Jesus Christ, in character, and conduct, and ways."

"The church is nothing more and nothing less than the corporate embodiment and manifestation of Jesus. Anything other than that is religion. And God is going to shake everything that is religion; He's going to burn it off."

"The authority of the truth we preach is only in the measure in which we ourselves are constitutionally according to 'The Way' … ‘The Way’ is the testimony of Jesus."

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/8-27-17%2Bsunday.mp3

Link to Discussion: https://s3.amazonaws.com/bookministry1/assemblies/8-27-17+discussion.mp3

Recommended Resources:

T. Austin-Sparks' "According to Christ" - What is the Church

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

This was originally recorded on August 6, 2017.

My notes:

"Under the first covenant, our relationship with God was through an external written code, and under the new covenant, our relationship with God is not an external code, but by the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is "the fulfillment in us of that which was perfected in Jesus Christ."

If in any way we are living under the law, Satan uses that to his advantage in accusing us, condemning us, hounding us, and convincing us we are failures and worthy of God's most severe punishment. It's the law of sin and death. The law only proves we don't measure up to the perfection of Jesus Christ. Instead of wallowing in the depression and hopelessness of such condemnation, we need to make the distinction between accusation and conviction. The enemy accuses us; the Holy Spirit convicts us. If sin has been committed, we need to exercise our faith in obedience to 1 John 1:9. It's not a matter of asking or begging God for forgiveness; He already did that 2,000 years ago when Jesus carried our sins on the cross to be judged and forever dealt with. We confess, which means we acknowledge our sins and believe the fact that in doing so, God is faithful to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We then make the choice to move on and come under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets us free from that old law of sin and death. That's what repentance is - turning away from the law of sin and death to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. When we believe and count on the fact the old Adam has been put to death on the cross, we by faith put on the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing so, the enemy has no more ground to accuse or condemn us. It's only when we let him by 'falling from grace' and going back to that old man and that old law. Passivity is not the answer when it comes to dealing with this persistent enemy. "Those powers know how to use that law very effectively to keep us in a state of condemnation."

Why is it we can see the glory of God and Moses had to be stuffed in the cleft of the rock and could only see the hind side of God's passing glory? God even said, "No man can see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20). Even in the New Testament we read of God, "who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see." It takes a whole new humanity to see God. God is light (1 John 1:5), and we as this new humanity are "Light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8). "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." It's in the face of Jesus we see the glory of God. And it's in the face of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are gazing at that glory, not just reflecting it, but that glory that is emanating from within. As for Moses, being of the old humanity, could not do that. He could only reflect it, and that only for a short time before it faded. In Christ, the veil is removed. We are "'Beholding as in a mirror' - that is the regenerate heart of those that are walking in new covenant reality with the Lord... 'Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord.'" This is what brings about transformation - being conformed to the image of Christ and Christ being fully formed in us. This is why the moon is a metaphor of Israel. It only reflects the sunlight. But the church, conformed to His image, radiates His light from our inner being as 'light in the Lord'.

It is this glory of God in the face of Jesus we are being transformed into, and it's 'from glory to glory' (2 Corinthians 3:18); from one degree of glory - then the cross - to a greater degree of glory. This transformation requires the continual application of the cross in our lives to cross out who we are in that old humanity. By being conformed to the death of Jesus (Philippians 3:10), we are being conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). Doug references Bertha Smith, 'You want to know the people who are filled with the Spirit? It's to whatever degree in their life that everything is under the lordship of Jesus Christ.'

Doug scripturally demonstrates the fact that there is a gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, that it's not just a theory, but provable. It also, as so much of what we find in the Old Testament, is a picture of the condition of our hearts under God's judgment prior to salvation. "When we were dead in our transgressions, (God) made us alive together with Christ". In the recreation of the judged universe, including Earth, we see the Holy Spirit brooding over the face of the deep. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." We see in the physical universe light coming into the world (Genesis 1:3), and it is not the creation of the sun. That came later. In parallel, we find Jesus as "the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man" (John 1:9).

Doug brings up "the legal lawsuit between Satan and God". As a reminder, Doug does a deep dive into this in his series The Celestial Court. The destiny of the church, the body of Christ, is to take the place of angels as those who rule over the earth, Satan being the prince of the  power of the air, the ruler of this world. "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? ... Do you not know that we will judge angels?" (1 Corinthians 6:1-2) It's not Satan who will 'ascend to heaven', or 'raise his throne above the stars (angels) of God', or who 'will sit on the mount of the assembly', or who will ascend above the heights of the clouds', or be 'like the Most High'. "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." 1 John 3:2.

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/8-6-17%2Bsunday.mp3

Link to Discussion: https://s3.amazonaws.com/bookministry1/assemblies/8-6-17+discussion.mp3

Resources Mentioned: J.W. Shepherd's The Life and Letters of St. Paul: An Exegetical Study

Erich Sauer: In the Arena of Faith

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

My notes:

Jesus yielded His life on the cross to the Father's judgment as the last Adam, not only on sin but on sinful humanity, the first man, Adam-life, flesh-life, outer man, our natural soul-life. Jesus offered His flesh as the final comprehensive and final sin offering pictured in the countless blood sacrifices required for many years beginning with Adam and Eve in the garden. It was this sacrifice of His flesh that is equated with the veil in the temple between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies being torn from top to bottom, no longer needed to keep man out from the presence of God. This inaugurated a new access to God for all who would come by faith to enter this most holy place, fellowship with God in Christ Jesus by the indwelling Holy Spirit. This act not only dealt with the sin issue, but the evil forces of darkness. "In the circumcision of Christ, principalities and powers are dealt with, and they're dealt with not only in a judicial way, but dealt with specifically and judicially in terms of a practical way in which the judgment of Satan is practically being executed." Doug explains this briefly in this message, but goes into much more detail in his series The Celestial Court . "The work of the cross is, through the circumcision of the heart, is removing that which represents an interface, a place for Satan... no more place found for him." 

"That which separates us from God is the veil of the flesh. So, He (Jesus) becomes that by taking on our identity. And, so, on the cross, in His death there is the removal of that which represents the whole species in Adam, which is the veil... That which connects Satan with the human race was removed, taken into death, and Satan is rendered completely inoperative; he is rendered powerless." Since we know he still goes about roaring like a lion seeking people to devour, he may not seem so powerless. But if we allow fear to come in, we are giving him a place to attack us. He has no ground, no access in who we are in Christ as the new man, but when we fall back into that old humanity, we find ourselves in peril. "If we choose to walk out in that uncrucified life, he (Satan) has access to us. In Christ it's gone."

"You want to continue on in your carnal ways? There's a time coming, the day of visitation, when the prince of this world will come; and if he can find something in you - it's dinner time, and God's going to allow it." (See Proverbs 1:20-33.) "Satan is God's legal agent to deal with everything in mankind that is legally under the judgment of God. And the flesh has been legally judged. And when we walk in that, we come under legal accusation of the adversary." We might want to argue, 'Yes, but what about Romans 8:1, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"?' There is no condemnation for those "who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (verse 4). But when we are walking in the flesh, Satan has ground to accuse and condemn us. "Satan must be allowed judicially to come and to seek if there's anything he can devour" (1 Peter 5:8), that which is not on the ground of Christ.

As a reminder for any who might be new to hearing Doug's teaching, towards the end of the message he refers to the Greek word exanastasis as the condition of the people of God who will be raptured. He's speaking of Philippians 3:11, "that I may attain to the (out-)resurrection from (among) the dead." This refers to a resurrection before we physically die or experience rapture.

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/8-2-17%2Bwednesday.mp3

Recommended Resources:

Eric Sauer: In the Arena of Faith

T. Austin-Sparks' Day by Day (August 1) (available for daily email subscription)

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!

This was originally recorded on July 26, 2017.

My notes:

As Jesus referred to Himself as the "I AM" (Exodus 3:14). In the passage from John 6, Jesus is revealed as the bread from heaven, the bread of life, one of the seven designations of Jesus as the "I AM" in the Gospel of John. "When He says that He is the bread of life, that picture is given to us of the Lord Jesus as that which is to be consumed; that which is actually taken in to become the sustenance of our very life." This Jesus equates to as His flesh, His humanity, that which brings us into the presence and fellowship with the Godhead as we partake of Him.

As Doug was speaking of Mary wanting to hold on to Jesus in His unglorified state prior to His bodily resurrection and ascension, it reminds me of a book I read decades ago that really bothered me, along with its most popular acrostic gleaned from "What Would Jesus Do" written by Charles Sheldon. For me, I can't say that when I'm wondering what I should do. I say, "What IS Jesus doing?" If I am abiding in Him, and He is abiding in me, living in me His life, then that is what I'm thinking about, not what would He have done if He were still alive. Certainly we have much to learn about Jesus and how He lived on earth 2,000 years ago.  "In My unglorified state, you can never know Me in and through the Spirit as the indwelling reality that came at Pentecost." Doug refers to wanting to cling to a pre-glorified Jesus as a soulish emotional attachment.

Later in this message, Doug assures us that we do have access to the life of Jesus lived out on earth. "Everything that represents our life in our mortality, He knows what it is to live a life in mortality. That life is for us now." That life is what Jesus refers to as the bread of life. To eat that bread, His life lived out as son of man, is to feed on Him who is our life. That life is released in death, our taking up our cross to follow Jesus. "The blood shed, the blood released provides consecration - provides a way in" to the most holy place. It is here we have access to God. "If we're going to have His life, we're going to continually receive that life. It's going to involve death. That blood means death... Everything of what we are in the natural has to die if we're going to come into that life."

Speaking of Jesus' flesh being our access to Heavenly Father, "That humanity that experienced death in our place removes the barrier between us and God. But that doesn't mean the barrier in us has been removed. There's still a veil that remains over our heart to whatever degree the heart has not been circumcised; to whatever degree the outer man has not been brought into conformity with Christ in His death."

"None of us can experience abundant life without recognizing that that life can only be entered through death to everything we are in the flesh."

Doug makes the distinction of the meaning of the blood of Jesus shed and that blood sprinkled. "Blood shed: that provides atonement, the cleansing from sin... In that shedding of blood, that life is released, and the priest would take the hyssop and sprinkle the blood, that is: the life is released through death to provide access to God, and to consecrate, and to sanctify, and to cleanse for service and worship." These are "the two aspects of the saving life of Christ." "The shedding (of the blood) is for forgiveness; the blood sprinkled is for consecration; it’s for sanctification. The life of Christ released through death becomes that which consecrates us to the Lord."

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/7-26-2017%2Bwednesday.mp3

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!