March 2000

Part 7 of 7

by Carole Forde

n part 6 of this series, we said that Sarai, the wife of Abram, was barren. In Gen 16:2 she confesses, "The Lord has restrained me from bearing"; but still (like all carnal-minded ones) she decided to defy this divine restraint and resort to her own devices and Abram went along with her. It doesn’t say they sought God about this, or resigned themselves to His Will of being childless. Sarai simply hatched a plan and Abram submitted to it. [Again we see a parallel with Eve feeding forbidden fruit to entranced Adam.] After Ishmael’s conception and birth. God Promised Abram that his 100 year old loins, and Sarai’s 90 year old womb, would now produce their long-desired, long-denied son! Needless to say, they were both in the state of shock! But before God’s Promise was fulfilled, major changes had to be made in these prospective parents. To receive and bring forth this prophetic Seed of God, they had to undergo nature alterations! "Abram" became "Abraham"; "Sarai" became "Sarah"; then the new Abraham had to be circumcised! (The first ever done!)
                 A primary lesson to be learned here is that before man can bring forth Christed Sonship, he must be transformed from the carnal nature to the spirit-nature! Like Sarah uniting her husband with Hagar, we can strive all we want to produce Sonship in our lives by uniting our human spirit to harlot religious systems, but we will only produce more prideful, scornful "Ishmaels"on the earth. To birth an "Isaac", we must "wait upon the Lord", even bear the shame of apparent barrenness as traditional churches berate us for not submitting to their futile forms and rituals. Then we must receive a New Name. But that is not enough! One more thing must be attended to before this Son can be sent out to be hailed and acclaimed as the Son of God. He must be made a "Jew" inwardly, which only happens by "circumcision" [translated from Heb 4135 as "Cut in pieces" Ps 58:7- referring to the wicked, carnal nature of mankind; and translated once as: "Cut down" in Ps 90:6, speaking of ungodly ones "As asleep; who flourish in the morning, but are ‘cut down and wither in the evening." [Remember, God reversed this order at creation, bringing forth first the evening- of the natural man; then the morning- of the spiritual man!]
                 Therefore the Sons of God must be "Jews inwardly, who are circumcised (ie. "cut down", "cut to pieces") in the heart- by the Spirit, not by the letter; and also be a people whose praise is not of men, but of God!" (Rom 2:28-29) And why must this violent, bloody circumcision be done to our hearts? Because "Foolishness ("The thought of foolishness is SIN." Pr 24:9) is bound in the heart of a child, but the rod of correction will drive it far from him" (Pr 22:15); and "As a man thinks in his heart, He IS"(Pr 23:7); and "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Mt  2:34); and also "The heart is more deceitful and desperately wicked than ALL ELSE!" (Jer 17:9) This means that more than any devil or demon, MAN’S OWN HEART is the greatest Deceiver of all! (Pause and calmly think of that!) And not only does our desperately wicked heart "deceive us", but it also "Condemns us"! Knowing this, our dear Lord gives this Word of Hope, (1 Jn 3:20) "If our heart condemns us, GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR HEART!"
                 Because "Jew" (Heb 3064-3034) means: "CELEBRATED"; and is translated throughout the Old Testament as: "CONFESSION, PRAISE, AND THANKS(GIVING)"; our wise Creator allowed that the manifestation of His Sons would be celebrated far and wide; whose Godly Works would draw confessions of praise and thanksgiving from men. He well-knew that such heady wine would quickly intoxicate any carnal mind; and poison all "Rivers of Living waters (God’s Words) that should flow out of their wombs." (Jn 7:38) Thus He made a provision for this contingency. All His sons "Shall be priests of God" (Rev 20:6); who shall follow after their High Priest (Jesus Christ), Who was able to be "Tempted in all points, yet without sin!" (Heb 4:15)
                 Their "garments of Praise" and "robes of Righteousness" (Isa 61:3, 10) cannot be spotted by any fleshly lusts that seek to steal His glory! So all flesh must be removed from their hearts to CLOSE THE GAP BETWEEN SPIRIT AND SOUL! For this, God sent forth His Anointed One (Christ) Who shall forever STAND IN THE GAP! This Anointing of God will seal the union of our soul and spirit so we can see nothing but "God in us"(the definition of Immanuel)!
                 God once separated the first Adam’s womb; filled the void with lustful flesh, then brought the woman to that bridal chamber of carnality, whereby He could obtain NATURAL children". 3000 years later, He took the womb (church) of the Last Adam-Christ, filled her with the Spirit, and brought her to His Bridal Chamber of Love in order to obtain spiritual children"! We are that blessed Bride of whom it shall be said, "The woman shall be saved in Childbearing!" (1 Tim 2:15) Oh, Father, come quickly! CLOSE THIS GAP between soul and spirit that we may see only you! "Cut down" and "cut to pieces" all flesh in our hearts; and fill us with your Spirit of Holiness; for "Without Holiness, no man can see God!" (Heb 12:14) We know that the natural man is "unholy" because he could not "see God"! Let your people "Obtain children" for Your glory by "REBUILDING [Heb 1129] the old waste places to raise up foundations of many generations! ["No other foundation can be laid than the One already laid, which is Jesus Christ" 1 Cor 3:11]; You shall be called the "REPAIRER OF THE BREACH!" (Isa 58:12) Glory be to God! Amen.