Hi all,
Last week I shared the scripture from Ephesians 3:14-17 that says we should all be rooted and grounded in unconditional love, and if we are, we will be able to understand the love of Christ which is beyond head knowledge.

Jesus said in Mark 4:17 those who are not rooted and grounded cannot stand against the pressure of circumstances and people's opinions, but 'stumble' when these pressures come. In the parable itself Jesus described the hearts of these people as consisting of small stones, in the Greek 'petrodes' which paints a picture of a thin layer of soil over the top of lots of little stones.

They grow up letting others see the thin layer of soil while being fearful in themselves, and fearful others may find out there little stones under the surface that they don't know how to get rid of. Each small stone

therefore is an emotional issue or thought stronghold that formed when the person experienced events that destroyed unconditional love in their heart, preventing the 'plant' of the Word from taking root.

I shared how Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan stands alone, and when he speaks a lie he does so by himself - he has no one to agree with him, he is on the outside in the spiritual realm looking in. He speaks things to people to see if any will agree with him, and if they do it opens the door to him having access into their lives. When a person believes a lie, coming into agreement with that lie, to them the lie has become truth. This starts a person down the path toward unhealthy emotional and mental health.

Stumbling in life
Rooting in unconditional love destroys any possibility of a little stone forming in a child's heart when it first tries to be formed. For example, a boy throws a rock and breaks the neighbor's window, feeling horrible and the thought comes to him from Satan that he is a bad person.

The parent responds to the lie with unconditional love, affirming the child is not bad, that he is and always will be loved, but he did do something wrong and must face the consequences. Any chance at agreement with Satan's lie was destroyed by unconditional love, so any little 'stone' in the boy's heart never has a chance to form because he was affirmed in unconditional love at every opportunity for correction.

The Greek word in Mark 4:17 translated 'they stumble' or 'they take offense', is "skandalizo" which means "to put a snare or stumbling block in the way." This is NOT the Greek word for 'snare' (pagis), but the act of putting that snare directly in the path of someone so they may be trapped or tripped.

Jesus said 'When affliction (pressure of circumstances) or persecution (opinions of others) arises for the Word's sake, they are offended (have a stumbling block placed in their path)." Mark 4:17

Clearly, the stumbling block put directly in their path by Satan is to make that person aware or remind them of their lack of rooting in unconditional love, which causes them to fail, or seem unable to grow in the Lord and as a human being in certain areas. They put up a facade of being solid - letting people see that thin layer of soil - but they hide the many little stones in their heart that prevent emotional roots from growing deep.

Let us see how this works
Let me go back to the boy I've been using as an example in this series. When the pressure of his parent's divorce happened Satan was able to speak a lie to him that it was his fault, and once the boy agreed with that lie it became truth to him. When he believed it was his fault that 'truth' to him was so hurtful, so destructive that he was the reason his mom and dad divorced, that he built a fantasy world of delusion and altered reality to shield himself from being the fault of any more failures in life.

The resulting emotional damage meant that an 'F' on a school paper was the teacher's fault. "It was just a misunderstanding" would be the story, because the truth would mean he was at fault which would reinforce the pain of the divorce all over again, so he had to tell lies to keep from experiencing emotional pain.

By the time he was an adult the ramifications of telling a lie carried harsher consequences. When he stole nearly $4000 from a restaurant he worked at, "It was just a misunderstanding" failed and he served time in prison as a result - still swearing he was framed, it was someone else's fault. That lie can be traced directly back to believing the lie of believing he was at fault for his parent's divorce.

To admit the truth of being at fault for anything would bring the horror (unconsciously) of the root 'truth' that he was to blame for his parent's divorce all over again, and it was just too painful. It was less painful to experience 4 years in prison swearing he was framed than to admit the truth - such is the pain when not rooted and grounded in unconditional love.

Another example
Let us use the example of a young girl sexually molested. That violence against her destroyed any rooting in unconditional love she had. She marries because that is the normal thing to do, but she finds the love of a man unfulfilling because she never resolved the hurt and shame felt when she was abused.

She marries a rather insensitive and at times callous man, and while she loves him on one level, men have always hurt her while no woman ever has. She begins to believe a lie that she needs to explore the love of another woman to fulfill her which leads to divorce and a path of greater confusion and dysfunction.

Or
This same girl might believe another lie, that because she was sexually abused by men, that was her gift, her one talent in life; sex. She might therefore have sexual relations with many other boys and then men as she grows up, looking for that one relationship that will fulfill her deep desire to be loved unconditionally, mistakenly thinking having sex with every guy will one day allow her to discover 'the one'.

Or
A boy or girl might grow up in a home where the man hit the mom. This is not unconditional love by any means, but the child grows up thinking hitting and slapping your spouse is the expression of love. Therefore when they enter into relationships they subconsciously provoke that person to anger, trying to get them to explode in anger and hit them, because down inside that's all they know about how 'love' is expressed.

Or
A child grows up in a household that is too busy. The parents have their careers, the kids are shuffled off to every sport and every school event offered, every church function, and 'family time' around the dinner table in the evenings is something seen only in old movies and old TV shows.

A child grows up without unconditional love, though the parents may feel that love towards their children, but the child is actually trained that love is expressed to the degree they are successful in whatever sport, school, or church event they participate.

The child lives a performance based love, feeling pressure to perform like a trained seal at every music recital, ball game, or church function. This child may grow up shallow and thinking love is performance based - and their marriage(s) become all about what the spouse can do for them.

Or that child may realize they weren't really loved unconditionally in spite of what mom and dad said, because the child was wise enough to know mom and dad's work was really what they loved first and foremost. How many preachers, managers, executives, have interrupted dinner for a work phone call, training the children that work/congregation/others are more important than they and their family are?

All these examples
All these and many more scenarios, countless other scenarios, demonstrate the emotional and mental damage done when a person is not rooted and grounded in unconditional love. We as human beings are created to walk with God, to know things spiritually which are beyond head knowledge. But when a person is not rooted and grounded in that unconditional love, Satan stands at the ready to put a stumbling block directly in their path - a simple little lie that lets in still larger lies that lets in still larger ones.

Next week; How to un-believe a lie, how fear moves in when unconditional love is not present in the heart, and how to start emotional healing. Until then, blessings!

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
Today I'll share the root to all emotional and mental disorders and what Satan uses against us in the emotional and mental arenas of life.

No root
"And in the same way that which is sown on stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word rejoice and receive it with joy. But they have no root in themselves, and so endure just for a time. When affliction (pressure of circumstances) or persecution (opinions of others) arise for the Word's sake, they stumble (offense) and fall away." Mark 4:13-20

Affliction, or the pressure of circumstances, affects us all, but those having a root learn to stand against the stresses, pressures, and fears of life. But for those having 'no root in themselves' that pressure which comes to take the Word (Living Word) from our lives, cripples them emotionally and their ability to function and make wise decisions.

Persecution, which is the opinion of others ranging from simple gossip to being killed because someone thinks being a Christian is worthy of death, requires root in oneself to stand strong. Most of the time we care what others think of us to a limited degree, and when someone says something that hurts or they think we should do X when we think to do Y, we deal with it and move on in life.

A person with no root in themselves when dealing with 'persecution' will turn inward and turn the opinions of others into hurt, self-criticism or hate. Because they lack root another's opinion takes on greater weight than it should - parents, friends, co-workers, family - and they 'stumble'. So what is that all-important root?

What is the root that should be in all of us?
"...that Christ may live in your hearts by faith, that you would be rooted and grounded in love (agape' - unconditional love), and then you will be able to comprehend and know that which is beyond knowing, the height and depth and breadth and length of the love of Christ, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:14-20

Every child, every teenager, every adult should be rooted and grounded in unconditional love. That unconditional love is to come from parents first, outward to family and friends, and to the church family - everyone who goes to anything called 'church', whether celebrated in the home as the apostles did it and so many do today, or in an auditorium, the 'church' should communicate unconditional love to each person.

Paul said IF a person is rooted and grounded in that unconditional love they will be able to know and comprehend that which is beyond mere intellectual knowledge - they will know in their 'knower' they are unconditionally loved by the Father and the Lord Jesus and be filled with God's fullness.

Security
That security known in the depths of our being, vanquishes all fear, all pressure of circumstances, places other's opinions as secondary and subservient to the opinion of the Father and the Lord Jesus of us, who love us so!

Being rooted in love means someone can 'cut off' the whole plant of our life, our work, our efforts, and maybe even kill the body, but they can't touch the root. What they say may hurt to the point of death, but we know we are loved unconditionally by the Father and Lord Jesus no matter what man thinks of us. Knowing that is the source of a strength stronger than circumstances or man's opinion.

This is why Jesus said in the Parable of the Sower that a person not having (that) root in themselves, stumbles, takes offense, falls away from His work in their lives - if they don't know deep down that they are unconditionally loved, they can't handle circumstances nor opinions of others.

An example of rooting destroyed
Last week I shared the story of a boy who by age 8 was in counseling for 'Conduct Disorder', and that he was a child of divorce. For whatever reason, he received the bulk of his dad's anger.

He was 7 when his dad left the family, and consistent with the pattern of blame he felt at his dad's whippings, he immediately took the blame for the divorce on himself. He suddenly believed and stated many times if he wasn't around his mom and dad would still be together, if he wasn't alive they would be together - in his mind it was all his fault.

His dad, through severe anger directed towards him, had destroyed any rooting in unconditional love that boy had, so that when the divorce happened Satan had an easy time attacking him. Affliction and persecution in this case were the divorce and consequences, and his dad's opinion of his son - real or imagined.

Satan is all alone
Jesus said in John 8:44 when Satan speaks a lie he speaks it all by himself. Amos 3:3 asks, "Can two walk together unless they are in agreement?" When we gather in prayer we do so because Jesus said when 2 or 3 are gathered in His name He is there in their midst. The power of agreement is key.

Satan is on the outside looking in. Satan is alone looking for someone to agree with him. We have Christ in us, the Father and the Lord and Holy Spirit all 'for us' and in agreement with the Father's efforts in our lives.

Satan is by himself. He speaks things often like a shotgun blast, crazy thoughts, not knowing if anything he fires at us will stick. But sometimes he and his demons see an opening caused by lack of rooting and grounding, and a simple lie spoken to a person is received and believed by that person, and when that lie is believed by the person there is agreement, and suddenly that lie becomes truth to that person.

When that young boy received harsh punishment because his dad was angry at life, and then his dad left the family, it was a small thing for Satan to speak a lie and find agreement - "This is all your fault. If you weren't around your mom and dad would still be together."

And suddenly the lie once received by that person, became truth, and therefore everyone else was wrong. That opened the door for larger demonic influences and started the boy down the path of mental illness. 

The truth
The truth was that boy was unconditionally loved by his mom, siblings, friends and neighbors, but once he believed the lie that it was his fault he could not believe the truth. The fact of agreement is that a person cannot believe both the lie and the truth at the same time.

Many believers lack a root of unconditional love and so down deep inside dislike or even hate themselves, yet they are in misery trying to believe the Father loves them and can't ever seem to 'get there'. It is because they are trying to believe and know the Father's love while holding onto the lie(s) they've believed all their life.

A person must 'un-believe' the lie before they can believe the truth. That always involves revelation from the Father, and those first scary steps at rejecting old thoughts which were taken for years as truth - it's your fault, no one loves you, no one can be trusted - to believe the truth of the Father's love instead.

It is hard because years of life experience seem to confirm the lie which has been taken as truth, but there is no life history to believe God's love (though there is but can't be seen while holding onto the lie)...it must be known down inside in your spirit where things are comprehended that are beyond intellectual understanding.

If a person lacks that root in unconditional love they cannot receive the Father's love past head knowledge, they can't love others as they love themselves because they don't love self...and a vicious cycle of failed relationships and poor decisions happens - starting a journey down the path of unhealthy emotional and mental turmoil that will continue until they learn to reject and un-believe the lie(s) and receive the revelation of the truth...

And we'll pick it up there next week. Until then, blessings!

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
Many of us know someone who lives in an ongoing state of emotional trauma, or perhaps even emotionally ill. Statistics in the US state and estimated 26% of adults over age 18 suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder, which is 1 in 4 adults or over 57 million people - so most of us know someone touched by a mental disorder. Yet helping these friends and family become healthy and whole in their emotions and minds is a mystery to most of us. ( http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/the-numbers-count-mental-disorders-in-America/index.shtml )

Where does the emotional end and the demonic begin? Where do the natural brain processes of chemical and electrical functions end and the demonic begin? What does scripture have to say about the causes and cures of emotional and mental disorders or illness?

"Conduct Disorder" 
That was the diagnosis of an 8 year old boy who compulsively lied and believed his lies, with various behavioral issues related to Conduct Disorder. By the time he turned 18 the diagnosis became "Anti-social Personality Disorder". He was a compulsive liar, believing his own lies and version of reality, a manipulator, thief, and would argue violently if someone presented him with the truth.

In his 20's his condition and behavior became more criminal and complicated. He showed no remorse for any of his actions for in mind his scheme was real and everyone else was wrong. "It was a misunderstanding" became the most common explanation for everything from criminal charges he faced to getting fired from jobs to broken relationships.

He was promiscuous as he presented women intricate stories of supposed trust fund wealth and swept them off their feet, only to steal jewelry, cars, and money along with their hearts in the process. For instance: Several times he went to a high end car dealership, took a Ferrari or other exotic car for a test drive, used it for a quick date, then returned the vehicle, only to explain to the woman on the next date the Ferrari was in the shop or he sold it and was waiting for delivery of his next Ferrari.

He spent most of his 20's and 30's in prison for theft, larceny, fraud, and various other crimes.

Delusional or demonic?
He eventually married and seemed to settle down, children came along and life progressed. But he wasn't healed, delivered, nor was his mind renewed by the Word. Christianity held no power nor hope for him and he became an atheist.

He came from a Christian family but was the child of divorce. Was he simply mentally ill and needed healing, or did he need deliverance? What were the spiritual forces at work that led him into mental illness, and how much was willful indulgence and even enjoyment of the scams and intrigue? Just where do the natural and emotional processes of the brain end, and the demonic start?

Remember this example because next week I'll explain how he became that way, and his case will provide answers for others.

Suicide and Christians?
Mental and emotional illness is seen throughout scripture, though other words are used, and in some cases the situation is presented as having demonic influences as the reason for the illness. In the last 10 years I've seen more Christians than ever before battling emotional and mental illnesses, and about once a month someone will email me asking if a Christian commits suicide are they doomed to hell.

My response is that Christians die of a physical illness and we don't doubt their salvation, so why would we doubt a Christian's salvation when a mental illness results in them killing themselves? Also, how many believers are committing slow suicide through obesity, smoking, or substance abuse? A person can be mentally ill just like they can be physically ill while in their spirit, they are born again.

Mental illness a sign of the end times
In this series I intend to trace the process that starts a person down the road to emotional and mental illness, and how to reverse that process with the Lord. We will look at what opened the door for several people in scripture and look at solutions. I know many people who have triumphed over emotional and mental illness and there are some common elements that were key to their victory, which I'll share in this series.

Jesus and Paul made comments that in the last days people's hearts would fail them for fear, the love of many would turn cold, people would have no conscience, ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, people would be allowed to believe delusions. Paul also said people would become 'past feeling' or have no conscience (no remorse) and so give themselves over to various sins and evil. (Luke 21:26, Matthew 24:12, I Timothy 4:1-2, II Timothy 3:1-7, Ephesians 4:19)

Mental and emotional illnesses are one of the signs of the end times, yet teachings about this fact are few and far between. Our society is emotionally and mentally ailing and we see the results in the headlines depicting senseless violence on all levels, involving Christians and non-Christians alike.

What solutions are there in Christian culture?
When Jesus said at His return He is looking for a people who gave food & drink to the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick and imprisoned, isn't it likely some of those people came to be in those conditions through emotional or mental illnesses?

In popular charismatic circles teachings about mental illness automatically blame demons without looking at other causes the Bible presents. And there are some ministries that tell people they must trace their family as far back as 10 generations to find what ancestor opened the door to demons that now all these generations later, are causing them misery.

Some ministries consider any negative event in a person's life as needing 'inner' healing, and the person is often led with a 'coach' to visualize the event, visualize Jesus coming into that event, and basically re-writing history to include Jesus standing there with great love and healing while they recall that situation.

The prevailing theme woven throughout these efforts is basically 'It isn't my fault', or 'the devil made me do it' or 'my ancestor is to blame for me being in this condition', or 'I would could gain the victory if I could find the one key that my ancestor used to open the door to the demonic in our family line'.  

The other end of the pendulum
If attacking emotional and mental illness as always demonic is on one end of the pendulum's swing, the opposite end is treating it as a strictly clinical 'Christian' issue, which to most charismatic's appears 'non-spiritual'. This is what scares many Charismatic's away from a 'Christian mental hospital' or residency program - fear over the combination of natural and psychological help when the assumption is the issue is demonic. Yet success is often found in these programs when they combine the Biblical and medical, which may include medications, with practical skills for the patient to combat wrong thoughts and emotions.

In between these two seems to be a no man's land of mystery, danger and suspicion. So let us start by looking at some people who suffered emotional disorders, conditions, or mental illnesses in scripture, then we'll peer behind the veil of their minds to discern the difference between the emotional, mental, and demonic, and the healing power of God available to all.

A few examples to consider
King Saul - uncontrolled outburst of rage, paranoia, fear - soothed by worship music.

Nebuchadnezzar - believed he was an animal, in modern terms: Lycanthropy, Boanthropy, Schizophrenia.

David, Job, Elijah - suffered from depression at times in their lives.

Gadarene man with 'Legion' - had an 'unclean' spirit (often means sexually unclean), cut himself, naked.

Judas - committed suicide when his plans to force Jesus to prove Himself failed.

Cain - murdered his brother in a fit of rage, but with a well documented path to his decision to murder.

And with this list of just a few people in the Bible I've run out of room for this week. Next week I'll examine THE root need in our lives as taught by Jesus, and the results of a person not having that need met - which can lead to mental disorders. Until then, blessings,

John Fenn

cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
Today I close out this series with the question: Does the whole body of Christ go in the rapture at the Last Trump, or just a bride who has faithfully lived for Him? (Are the bride and body the same?) 

Related to that question is: If all go in the rapture how do we explain verses that say He is coming for a bride without spot or wrinkle (sinless) on the wedding garments of righteousness, from Ephesians 5:25-27?

First rule of Bible interpretation
The first rule is that the scripture must make sense to the original hearers and readers. Anything understood in our time must be built upon the foundation of understanding held by the original recipients and readers, and agree with how they understood it. If what we think it says contradicts or would not agree with how they understood it, we drop our understanding and adopt their understanding.

For instance, if someone told you God doesn't heal today, you'd look at Acts 3:16 where Peter said the lame man was healed by this: "And His name, through faith in His name this man stands before you whole."

You'd look at Peter's words, how his audience understood him, and conclude there is no other way to understand it than faith in the name of Jesus healed the lame man. Then you would know your friend is wrong because we still have faith in the name of Jesus, and faith got him healed, so healing is for today.

Those dysfunctional Corinthians!
So when Paul told the believers in I Corinthians 15:51 "We will not all die, but we will all be changed...at the Last Trump..." our understanding must agree with and be built on how they understood it - they were all going in the rapture living or dead. This would have been a great relief to the Corinthians, because they were by any standard, extremely carnal and immature. I Corinthians lists 10 separate issues they had:

1)    In chapter 3, envy, strife, and divisions. Paul told them they were living like un-born again people.

2)    In chapter 4, arrogance thinking they didn't need Paul anymore, independence from his leadership.

3)    In chapter 5, a man having a sexual relationship with his stepmother.

4)    In chapter 6, 2 men in the same house church suing each other in public court. Also, some were having sex with prostitutes.

5)    In chapter 7, confusion about being single, staying married or getting divorced.

6)    In chapters 8 & 10, some were eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, which was fine, but they were flaunting their freedom by eating in front of believers they knew were bothered by it.

7)    In chapter 9, even though Paul had worked for 18 months to support himself while discipling them, they still didn't want to support his ministry though they financially could - in 30+ years of ministry we only have record of him working for those 18 months at Corinth yet they had no integrity to give back even a little.

8)    In chapter 11, class envy was an issue as the rich refused to eat with the lower classes in the house church meeting where meals were common. Also, wives were using their freedom in Christ to cast off their veils -the culture of the city expected married women to be veiled. He told them they could pray and prophesy in the meetings as long as they were veiled according to the local custom.

9)    In chapters 12 & 14 it was about the gifts of the Spirit and orderly home church meetings.

10)    All these issues were related to them not knowing and living true love, which he defined in chapter 13.

In spite of listing and dealing with all these things through the first 14 chapters, in chapter 15 he tells them "... we all will be changed..." The original readers would have breathed a sigh of relief I think.

Considering he also taught the Feast of Trumpets to the Thessalonians, and quoted parts of the Feast's instruction to the Ephesians who in chapter 4 alone have sins listed equal to the Corinthians - sexual sin of every variety, stealing, laziness, cursing, strife and division, outbursts of anger, to name a few, we'd have to conclude they too thought they would be going in the rapture.

A contradiction?
And yet...Paul also told those same Ephesians in chapter 5:25-27 "...as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it might be holy and without blemish..."

The reference of being presented is to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb which is found in the Feast of Trumpets and seen in Revelation 19: 6-9 at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, where the bride is given "fine linen clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints." How can the churches with all their dysfunction and sin he names be considered as having no spot or wrinkle on their wedding garment?

What qualifies us

Here we are in the 21st century and all those people are long dead and in heaven, yet according to Paul they will be raised and changed in the rapture. Are we to believe that all believers in Corinth, Ephesus and Thessalonica died having achieved a level of perfection we would consider as no spot or wrinkle in their robes of righteousness? Or were they normal people living for the Lord as best they could as a life-long process of discipleship? If so, at what point does one cross the line to be considered 'pure enough' for the rapture?

Isn't the fact they died in Christ what qualifies them for being raised and changed at the Last Trump, not how mature and sinless they were in life? Therefore isn't the qualifier now the same; If you are in Christ dead or alive, you are participating in the rapture, and it is not based on perfection in life?

Paul further said that to the world Jesus will come like a thief in the night to take (what they think) doesn't belong to Him. But He is coming for what belongs to Him - those who know Him. Paul doesn't say they have to know Him AND be perfect, just that He comes for those who are His.

Paul told the Philippians, "Not that I have now attained this ideal or have already been made perfect, but I press on..." , yet he included himself in the 'we will all be changed', group when he wrote to the Corinthians.

So if Paul wasn't perfect what hope is there for you and I? Therefore if we think the whole body of Christ will come to some level of uniform maturity and sinless-ness in order to be worthy of the rapture, we are clearly wrong. What qualifies us is whether we are truly in Christ, or not. (With some, only they and God know.)  

About those robes
The confusion enters when we compare our imperfect human life with our pure born again spirits. We think our physical lives must rise to the same level of purity our spirit man has now, then we get discouraged at our every failure, thinking we will never 'get there'. (Revealing we aren't really living a faith that walks with God, but rather a performance based faith that thinks He wants us jumping through hoops.)

We need to settle it that if Paul said he had not attained the level of maturity he desired, we won't either...so rest in the fact you are a human being and in this body you'll never 'arrive'. To quote a good friend: We aren't accountable to perfection; but we are accountable to growth.  

Living in clean robes

In I John 1:7 it says this: "If we walk in the light we have and have fellowship with Him (vertical walk) and fellowship with our brethren (horizontal walk), the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us (as an ongoing process) from all sin."

That verse says if you walk in what you know towards the Lord and the brethren, there is an ongoing cleansing process of our sins in our lives. These are the sins we do but are ignorant of in our immaturity.

For instance, 10 years ago you saw a movie and thought it was great. Then you saw it last week and were horrified how carnal it was and ashamed you thought it was a great movie at the time. The movie didn't change, you did, but because of your immaturity 10 years ago but right heart, the Lord forgave your sin as you were walking in the light you had at the time. That is the ongoing process of cleansing of v7.

Verse 9 says: "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgives our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." These are the sins we know about.

If we confess the sins we know we did, He not only wipes out that sin, but automatically wipes out any other sin at the same time. Wow. So if we are walking with Him to the best of our ability and walking in love to the brethren, we are continually having our sins wiped away meaning our robes are clean and white, without spot or wrinkle. And when we do realize we've sinned, and admit that to Him, He wipes that away along with any other unrighteousness to once again restore those robes.

Spiritually then, a body of Christ walking in the light it has, has clean robes of righteousness. That isn't a perfect body of Christ, but one that is walking in what it has. Beyond that, the Lord alone knows.

What we do know is that with the blowing of the Last Trump the dead in Christ will receive their new bodies, those alive will also receive their new bodies, and we will all join the Lord for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. None of us will attain perfection before, for we wouldn't need a Savior if we could do it on our own.

I hope this has been a thought-provoking series that helps you sort out what you believe and why, and like I always say, it isn't important we agree 100%, just that you know what you believe and why. Next week a new series begins...until then, blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]

Hi all,
Today I'll share what happens to the human body at the 'rapture', what about the people already in heaven - and next week I'll cover if the whole body goes, or is there a bride apart from the overall body of Christ, and close out this series at 7 weeks, somehow a rather poetic number considering the subject. lol.

What happens at the rapture?
Paul says 'this corruption (perishable) must put on incorruption (imperishable), this mortal (part of us) must put on immortality' in I Corinthians 15:50-55 when the Last Trump is blown. But what exactly happens?

Jesus' resurrection is the type and shadow of our own resurrection. Romans 6:4 says Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father. Jesus' dead human body was made of earthly material, just like ours. But when the glory of the Father was unleashed, the power was so strong when His spirit and soul were reunited with His body, it not only brought that body back to life, but went beyond that to change the molecular structure to transform it into a body made of heavenly material.

Now Jesus' body is made of heavenly material, and being made of heavenly material is no longer subject to the lower laws like death, aging and even gravity. During my teen years I was expressing awe of the Father and out of the blue, like a father telling something to his son he knew would excite him, He said:

"You'll find when you receive your glorified body it isn't subject to the natural laws of the earth." I asked what He meant and He replied: "If you want to walk you can walk, if you want to run you can run. If you want to float you can float, if you want to fly you can fly. If you want to be somewhere at the speed of thought you can be there." I can hardly wait!

"Slain in the s(S)pirit"
Our bodies are made of the earth, and are therefore a poor conductor of the Spirit of God.  Our bodies are like a heating coil on a stove that resists the electricity flowing into it, and so it heats up. The more electricity you put into it the more it heats. So it is with the Holy Spirit flowing into our bodies.

If the Spirit comes on a person heavily, their body becomes affected by it. With a little power a person may feel lightheaded or sleepy, get 'goose bumps' or chills, seem drunk, wobbly, or even fall down.

Healed of cancer, but 'drunk' in the Spirit
In 1980, my 27 year old boss at the time told me of his Jewish wife who was scheduled to have a hysterectomy due to tumors on her ovaries which caused her great pain and threatened her life. The night before surgery I asked to meet them at a park so I could explain how healing belonged to her.

Because she was Jewish I knew believing in healing would not be an issue like it can with 'church people'. I showed her Christ in the Old Testament, explained Abraham's covenant and walked her through much of the Old Testament to Isaiah 53, then into the gospels, showing how Jesus is the Father's Word made human.

I did as the Lord had taught me, shared with her the Mark 11 event of the fig tree withering away from the roots, and told her that would happen to the tumors when I commanded them to die. She understood and believed, having been taught healing in her Jewish faith, and now seeing Christ Jesus throughout the Old Testament and as the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.

As I laid hands on her and commanded the tumors to die and wither away, she became woozy, so 'drunk in the Spirit' she passed out for a time, and even 45 minutes later she required her husband under one shoulder and me under the other to carry and walk her to their truck. The next morning before surgery she made them take pictures again of the tumors, and to their surprised confusion they were gone, so they released her with a clean bill of health.

Trances
If the power is turned up a bit more the body continues to resist because it is of the earth: Your spirit is made of God so doesn't resist, but your body is made of earth so is naturally resistant to the Spirit of God.

Maybe a person gets 'knocked out' or their physical functions and senses are suspended which is a trance. During this time they may be like Peter, who in Acts 10:10-17 was in a trance and had a vision.

I was ministering in a chapel at a Bible school and one of the ladies on the platform worship team fell into just such a trance. She stood completely still, one arm slightly raised, for over 90 minutes. My eyes were opened to the Spirit realm and I saw a shaft of light from above encompassing her. Finally the chapel meeting closed and the next instructor came to teach his class, and I told him to just let her stand there until the Lord was done with her. She stood like that for nearly his whole class, then suddenly 'came back' and reported what she had seen and heard. I've seen things like this dozens of times and it still amazes me.

If the power is turned up enough, it will kill this earth-body. That is what happened in II Samuel 6:7 when the man tried to steady the Ark of the Covenant which David was improperly bringing into town on a cart rather than on poles on priest's shoulders (he later repented and moved the Ark of God the proper way).

BUT...if the power is turned up beyond that, it not only kills the body, but goes beyond death to change the molecular structure to heavenly material - and THAT is what happens when mortal puts on immortality, perishable becomes imperishable! That is what happens to the living at the 'rapture'. The power unleashed will be so great to many millions of people, it will raise the dead, change the living, and we will be in heaven with glorified bodies just as our Lord has now.

But what about those already dead in Christ?
Paul said that when a person dies they go directly to heaven. In II Corinthians 5:8 he said 'to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord'. In Philippians 1:23 he expressed desire to leave this world and 'to be with Christ, which is far better'.

But what part of a person goes? It is the spirit and soul, which are united as one and only the Word, the Lord Jesus, can divide by critique. Hebrews 4:12 says "the Word is like a two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a discerner (to critique) of the thoughts and intents of the heart...and all things are open and naked before Him with whom we have to do." The point isn't being made that He literally divides the two, but that He knows our thoughts and motives and all our inner being is open and naked to Him. Amazing that He still wants us, isn't it?

Your soul is your personality, your mind, your sense of humor, the part that is renewed by learning to think and be as He is - it is the part people know when they get to know you. Your spirit is the part that is born again and can be sensed, for you can sense a meek or gentle spirit, a sweet spirit, a strong and dominating spirit, etc. We cannot separate spirit and soul just as no one can separate the Father from His Spirit.

As Jesus said in John 15:26, the Spirit proceeds from the Father. So too does our soul proceed from our spirit. These 2 parts are the eternal part of us; when a person dies it is their spirit and soul that go to heaven.

What about old people in heaven?
They look like they do here, but having been to heaven I can tell you that older people lose all that gravity and earth and the world caused, so that all people look like they are about 35, yet if they were older when they died you can tell that. It's hard to describe because there isn't anything on earth to compare it to, I can only say that which earth etched in the face is gone, and that which is etched in the countenance from walking with the Lord for decades remains. Lines of wisdom and a look in the eyes that reveal age and wisdom, but outwardly about 35...like I said, hard to describe.

The dead in Christ who are the first resurrected, receive their glorified bodies. How He does that I don't know, for the question naturally arises, What if they've been dead so long their body has returned to earth? The short answer is science tells us matter cannot be destroyed, it merely changes form.

That means the leaves you burned in the autumn of 1973 still exist. What rose as smoke particles went into the air, was carried by wind, a water molecule latched onto it, and it fell as rain into a lake or ocean. A body returned to the earth still exists in its most elemental form. Matter cannot be destroyed, but only changed. Spiritually that is because God created it, so it cannot be destroyed. But it can be changed just as those leaves were changed into smoke particles or ashes that became part of the dirt beneath the fire.

I've always wondered if He will gather the particles from human bodies through the centuries that now make up our soil and the bottoms of lakes and seas, which would dramatically change every landscape, or if that is not even relevant when giving someone a glorified made-in-heaven body. Does He need the earthly to change its structure, or does He just create a body for them? I don't know, but will be fascinated to learn. 

Next week - is there a distinction between the body of Christ and the bride of Christ? In other words, are carnal Christians NOT going to be raptured? Until then, blessings,

John Fenn

www.cwowi.org and email me at [email protected]