Isaiah 9 contains a powerful prophetic message. God has established a balance of order in the universe. Yet there are many who do not like the whole picture of this balance.

Some want to think that Israel is a picture of the Church and that the Church has replaced Israel. This is not true. If Israel permits sin, God will let evil come – and if you look at the history of the nation of Israel, you see that many nations came against Israel and attacked them. God gave the people time to repent, but when they did not repent, judgment came. But then God has also promised to save a remnant, and restore Israel. He will do this and gave the people of Israel the following awesome promise.

Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Notice, that this passage mentions judgment and justice forever. The zeal, enthusiasm, of the Lord will bring this to pass.  God is a God of LOVE, but He is also a God of JUSTICE. Some read this and fear that they will commit the Blaspheme of the Holy Ghost, and fall away and not come back to God.

Pastor Don wanted the people to know that most of us are not at a point where we can Blaspheme the Holy Ghost, and he took us to the passages that show us who qualifies for that. In our walk in the Lord we struggle so much with unworthiness. People are afraid that God has discarded them, that God heard that negative thought and pushed them away.  But if a person is concerned about blaspheming the Holy Ghost they probably have not done it.  Those who blaspheme the Holy Ghost do it deliberately and do not care or fear that they have done it.

So, how do we know if we have committed the unpardonable sin?

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

These are ELEMENTARY principles of Christ that lead to perfection.  Repentance from dead works – or sin and anything that we have done in the flesh.  If we do works in the flesh, even if they are godly works, Jesus could say, Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ These would be dead works.  Some things we did as believers just for show. Jesus did most of His spiritual works in private.  We are to do works to glorify Christ, not to make it all about us.  The dead works will be burnt off like the hay and stubble.  It is important that we examine our flesh and ask ourselves why we did what we did. As we bring the Gospel to others, it gives us an opportunity to examine ourselves as well. 

FAITH TOWARD GOD, faith in God.  It is not faith in faith, but faith in God.  Mark 11:22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.

Hebrews 6:2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

The DOCTRINE OF BAPTISMS.  There are several baptisms in the Bible.  THE BAPTISM INTO CHRIST – making Christ the CEO, and obeying Him.  We don’t do things our way, but we seek to do what Christ wants us to do. Jesus is our boss and if He tells us to not touch something or to not go there, we don’t.  BAPTISM INTO GOD – Jesus told us that He did what He saw His father doing and if we know Him, we know the Father.  BAPTISM INTO THE BODY – we are part of the whole Body of Christ, and we need to love the brethren.  There are many who come to Church and don’t want to connect with other people, but God has told us to not forsake the assembling of the brethren.  This is what God has given us, and we are in a benevolent dictatorship – we don’t get to vote.  When we are immersed in the Baptism of the Body, and we subject ourselves to the flow of God, knowing that Jesus is the Head, and we all have a part.  WATER BAPTISM, an outward manifestation of the forgiveness of sin that we gained by accepting Christ into our lives. BAPTISM INTO THE HOLY GHOST where we gain an endowment of power.  There are two kinds of power, exusia – which is authority, and then dunamis power – which is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with power.  In John we are told that the Spirit and the Word must agree. John 3:5-8 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

We know that the Spirit is the Holy Spirit, and that requires an action of the Holy Spirit.  But what is the water?  Pastor Don had those who already know keep silent, but we went to various scriptures to look at what is meant by “water” so that people can see for themselves.

We first looked to see if it was being born of the water of the womb.

We then went back to John 3:3  Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus is teaching the things of God, and Nicodemus as a rabbi should have known the things of God to teach them to his people.

John 3:4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

Nicodemus did not understand, thinking Jesus was talking about the physical womb.  But it was not the water of the womb.

John 3:5-6 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Being born of the womb leads to death, and thus the water of the womb is not the answer.

John 3:7-10 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?

Jesus points out that Nicodemus is a teacher of Israel and doesn’t know this mystery.  Jesus likened it to the wind where we don’t know where it comes from our where it blows.

John 3:11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.

Therefore the answer to the puzzle can only be figured out by someone who knows the answer, and Jesus knows the answer for He is God.

John 3:12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

You can only receive the answer by spiritual revelation.

The Bible is its own dictionary, and thus the same truths are expressed in other places in the scriptures. When we think of healing today people want to get the person saved first (and salvation is tied up with dying and going to heaven. But Jesus never said that.  He never went up to a person and asked them, “Do you want to be saved?”  He asked them if they wanted to be healed. Jesus healed the sick and touched lives, and through that salvation came.  Salvation means wholeness, deliverance, freedom, peace.  Not just being taken to Heaven when we die. People try to get people to confess Jesus, and then the people walk away, but they may still have their health problems – marriage problems, financial problems.  When Jesus comes into a life He wants whole salvation – wholeness, peace, deliverance, and comfort.

To understand what is meant by the water, we need to get a revelation of the mystery, and the Bible as it’s own dictionary will help us to understand.

Ephesians 5:26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,

washing of water by the WORD.

1 Peter 1:22-23 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit^d]’> is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

We need to remember the lyrics – Great BIG God, little bitty devil.  God wants to touch you.  We need a paradigm shift, asking for greater grace to expedite the transition to greater glory. We need habitation from God, revival.

He had us laughing about a dream he had as a child about a witch flying around on a hot dog.

Then Pastor Fink told us how one night he was tired and went to bed and had a dream about being in a hotel room with 2 Godly men and a prostitute. He knew that the 2 Godly men had partaken of the prostitute, and he could feel her trying to seduce him as well. She was trying to pull him into her spell. But he knew to resist the devil.  James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. He resisted, but there was shame on the other two men. He woke up thinking that it was time for revival.

At 5 AM when he woke up thinking about revival, he looked up the etymology of the Word revival and saw:  from Latin:  revivere “to live again,” from re- “again” + vivere “to live”. It comes from the root of the word for VITAL, as in revitalization.  In revival, those who are dead become alive.

Pastor Fink prayed about the meaning of the dream and God showed him that the prostitute was some of those in the Church who have been seduced by things of the world, the lust, pride, etc. 

We want to be the generation of the Church that is revived, alive, ready for the rapture.  WE WILL NOT GO UP UNTIL WE GROW UP. In the last days the elect will be revived.  If it isn’t broken don’t fix it.  Stick with the foundations of the Church.  God wants us to take the resources He has provided for us and use them.  We are called to occupy until He comes.  We are to become equipped and then go out and reach the nations.  Take the Gospel into the market places.  To use our resources wisely, not just financial resources.  But remember, IF IT IS NOT ENOUGH FOR YOUR NEED, IT IS YOUR SEED.  Make your calling and your election sure.  The 5-fold ministry will help to mold you.

There is a shifting and movement in the Body of Christ.  Some of the church splits are of the devil, others are of God.  IF THE CHURCH IS NOT OF ONE VISION THAT BRINGS DIVISION. 

The Baptism of Fire is one of the 7 baptisms in the New Covenant.  It is a type of Christian Experience.  John the Baptist preached a Baptism of Repentance – he totally immersed those he baptized, he didn’t just sprinkle them.  Where did we ever get the idea of sprinkling?

We need to realize both the goodness and the severity of God.  God does not want adultery either toward the Church (wrong teachings), Himself, or your wife. 

The great revivals were brought into being because of repentance.  We need to repent of sin, a sin consciousness destroys our sense of righteousness. The war with sin is over – we need to wake to our awareness of rightstanding with God.  We have a new freedom IN CHRIST. Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free,^c]’> embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

There are two different words for “knowledge” in the Bible.  Gnosis -which is informational and epignosis – which is experiential knowledge.

All the patriarchs died in faith, having seen the promises from afar off – they knew them, but did not experience the promises.  They believed them BY FAITH.  They went beyond feeling.

We need to go beyond the need to just feel good about ourselves. Don’t define our life by our circumstances and environment.  There is a difference between happiness (circumstantially related) and joy (the joy of the Lord).  We are on a Christian journey – some things will seem good to us, others challenging, but we want to savor the JOURNEY, not the circumstances.

Pastor Fink spoke about his time in the Pentecostal Holiness church, and how people would come up to him and tell him the things that he needed to do to be holy – things like read 10 chapters of the Bible a day.  This seems like good advice, but what if he can only read 8 chapters a day?  Does he feel condemned for lack of two chapters?  There were laws about fasting and clothing styles, haircuts, etc.  Because of the legalism, the laws, sin abounded. 

We need to remember that we are no longer under the law, under sin.  Every sin we committed in the past, in the present, and will commit in the future is covered by the Blood of Christ.  Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

The shed Blood of Jesus speaks better than Abel, for there is redemption through Jesus, and that gives us access to the Throne of God. Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Colossians 1:12-14 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,  in whom we have redemption through His blood,^j]’> you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.” The angels are already here. 

God told Pastor Fink that the greatest sin he has ever committed is the sin of prayerlessness.  If we ask we shall receive.  John 14:13-14 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask^a]’> you do not have because you do not ask.

Prayer is the key to Heaven.  At one point Pastor Fink was under spiritual, demonic attack, and he prayed in tongues – loudly.  He asked in tongues what he didn’t know how to articulate in English.  He prayed with groanings and utterances in tongues. The demonic fled.

Romans 8:26-27 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us

So, when you listen to the radio and TV to these guys who wax eloquent about there is no God, and they understand God, and whatever.  You need to laugh.  I just laugh at them.  I mean, I laugh at them.  They don’t even know how their bodies work, let alone they’re going to understand God.  But we can understand what God has said in His Word that He wanted us to know.  And here’s what He wanted us to know.  When He stepped out on space, He decided He wanted to make man, cause He wanted to hang out with us.  [amen]  That’s about as far as you can get to the purpose of God making man. 

Because God, unto Himself, is fully complete.  He needs nothing and no one else.  He is El Shaddai.  He is Jehovah Rapha.  He is Jehovah Tsidkenu.  He is all of those Jehovah’s, but even before we found out about all the Jehovah’s, He said, “I AM THAT I AM.”  [amen]  And that means He was the all-sustaining One who needs no one and needs nothing else.  He always was, always is, always will be.  He is the great I AM.  He is the ever present, all powerful One.  I could go on for hours, and still not define Him.  [bring it on]  Not even touch Him… But for some reason, the great I AM said, “I want some idiots to hang out with.”  [laughter]  “I want some prideful, obnoxious, stiff-necked people, that think they know everything, and don’t know nothing.  But I’m going to surround myself with billions of them, for some reason.” 

God has to do something about our sin, about our uncleanness, about the way we talk, about the places we go to, about the things that we do.  He’s got to get rid of that so He can hang out with us.  [yeah, hallelujah, applause]  He can’t take us the way that we are because sin is in our nature.  It’s what we do.  It’s what we think about.  Our minds are in opposition to God.  We live a mental life of unbelief and doubt.  When God says you can do it, we go, no we can’t.  When God says, it’s yours, you can have it, we go, no, I’m not worthy of it.  When God says you’re mine, I love you, I’ll never leave you or forsake you, we go, oh no, I don’t believe it.  I’m not ready for that.  [Jesus] 

He’s got to get rid of all of that, so He can hang out with us.  Because, given an opportunity between choosing right and choosing wrong, we just gravitate over and we’ll pick the wrong thing.  We’ll just go over there and then we’re so smart, we’ll justify it.  We’ll make excuses for why we did it.  And we’ll blame somebody else.  The wife will blame the husband.  The husband’ll blame the wife.  The kids’ll blame the parents, and everybody’s a mess.  There aren’t enough shrinks to fix all of our stuff.  At some point it has to be atoned for.  At some point it has to be forgiven.  At some point we have to turn it over to God because He can fix it because He knows what has to be removed. 

Therefore, Jesus says to the Father, I will go down on the earth.  I will put on a human suit.  I will pay for their sin.  I will pay the price to remove the packaging so that we can get to the good fruit.  Somebody that understands that, say, “Praise the Lord.”  [Praise the Lord, applause]  We’re not all that. 

The only thing that you have control over in your body is your blood… [thank you Lord]  God created everything else and He maintains control over it.  But God gives you blood, which is the life force.  And the life force runs through your body…  And what you do, while you live in your body, concerning your blood, which is the carrier of life.  It carries life, throughout your body, or it carries death throughout your body… That’s the only real thing that you have to control…

But God, since He has given you the life force, and He has declared that life is in the blood.  When He gave that blood to you, that blood was holy.  That blood was clean.  When you came into the world it was only carrying disease if you were born of a parent who was a disease carrier… And that’s why things are moved from the first generation to the second, to the third, even unto the fourth generation.  So the life force is in the what?  [blood]  The life force is in the blood.  The blood. 

And therefore, what happened in the Garden of Eden, wasn’t that it was a physical sin.  As much as it was a sin against the life force.  For God designed your body to carry blood throughout your body to bring you health, to bring you repair, and it was supposed to remain sin free… And that’s why throughout the Old Testament there is, when you kill an animal, you are to drain out it’s blood before you eat the steak.  The reason is because, that blood is the domain of God.  It is the thing that he has given to the individual  animal and therefore, you have no rights over its blood over the life force that is in it, so the blood is to be drained out. 

Because the blood is the carrier either of the sin or it’s the carrier of the blessing.  And you have no right over the authority of it to take another human’s life because you are taking his God-given life force.  [yes]  And that’s why murder is a sin.  Because you are not to kill and stop and destroy the blood of the life force that God gave that you could not create.  How many of you created the blood that is in you?  You didn’t.  You only recycled it, by either eating healthy, you recycled it.  Your body made more blood, or it didn’t.  You are a blood factory.  Your body is the only, your body replenishes the blood.  It moves good things through your system, and around and through your body. 

Therefore, when a man sins, and God is going to punish him, watch this now.  The only thing that he has to deal with is the life force is what you have corrupted.  Your sin has perverted and corrupted the life force that is in you, which is the blood… And therefore, God says, your blood will be required of you if you sin. Because why?  Watch this, it’s the only thing that you produce that you can use as payment. 

Well you say, why, if I sin, why can’t I pay with money?  Well, wait a minute.  That money didn’t come from you… The money came from, maybe the sweat of your brow, but what did you do?  You grew tomatoes.  You took the tomatoes to the market place, but guess what?  You say you grew the tomatoes, but you didn’t.  [yeah]  You didn’t grow them.  God grew them by designing it so that that thing would reproduce.  So you say, “I’ll kill a goat, and I’ll sell the goat.”  Wait a minute.  You didn’t grow the goat.  I don’t care if you even cloned him.  The cloning process is still something that we fell upon due to what?  Knowledge of science, of the process of life that God put here.  [amen] 

I’m trying to help you.  If you get this, it’ll change your life.  Because most of us don’t understand why God punishes us, why sin is a problem, and why we have to pay for our sin.  You have to pay for your sin with something that you produce.  The only thing in life that you truly produce was the blood system in you, that God designed.  But it’s the only thing that you have total, absolute control over.  Therefore, it’s the only currency that you can use to pay for sin, is your blood.  [come on] 

What are you going to do?  You sinned, you’re going to go get one of your kids and bring them over there?  You didn’t birth that kid!  That kid came from the process that God designed.  That’s God’s kid.  You can’t take the kid over and say, UNHNN, take my kid to cover my sins.  And that’s why God hates abortion.  That’s why He hates human sacrifice.  That’s why He hates, it’s an abomination to Him, because you are taking something that is not yours and you’re using it to pay for your sin.  [come on]  How are we doing?  Are we alright?  [right on] 

You are the only thing that you have to produce is your own blood.  And it came from God, but your body produces it, therefore, your blood is required of you when you sin.  [yeah]  So God says, if Pastor Don is mean to his wife, I sinned against my wife, I curse her, I abuse her, and whatever, whatever.  God then says, His blood is required of him.  What am I going to pay with?  Her car?  I’m going to take her car and give it to God?  God don’t need her car.  And I get really personal, I go, I’ll take my car.  God take my car.  Receive my car for payment of my sins.  God says, wait a minute.  That won’t work.  The only thing that you have that you have full control over is your blood, Don.  Give me some blood, that’ll pay for the sin against your wife… What else can you pay with?  What currency can you pay with?  You’re going to do good works to pay for your sins?  I don’t think so.  The only currency that you have is that which you really have. 

Cain slew Abel.  What was the problem.  Abel brought his sacrifice willingly to God.  Cain didn’t want to bring it at all.  And so he gave God just some stuff.  And so, what did God say?  He says, “Satan is waiting.  Satan’s waiting for you to slip up.  Guess what’s required of you now?  Your blood.”  It says that Abel’s blood was crying out from the ground.  Abel’s blood was crying out.  What’s it crying out for?  He’s crying out that his debt of death, the taking of his life, of his blood, the only way that Cain could pay for it was that Abel’s blood is crying out from the ground, that Cain’s blood should now be spilled to pay for Abel’s blood, his death. 

We’re still fussing and fuming and acting like little kids because why?  The only way Adam and Eve could pay for their sin would have been to die.  God would have had to come in the Garden and say, “You guys sinned.”  And He almost did. You know.  Adam says, “This woman you gave me.”  So Adam was already trying to get her killed.  [laughter]  “This woman you gave me.  It’s her fault.”  And what did she do?  She was slick, she says, “That didn’t work.  The woman/man thing didn’t work.  The serpent.”  She blamed the serpent.  Right?  [amazing]  Come on.  How many of you all read your Bibles?  She blamed the serpent.  He blamed her and she blamed the serpent.  [right]  … They both got kicked out.  And the only way they could have paid for it was with their blood. 

Does anybody understand what I’m telling.  That’s the only thing they have.  Adam could have done this.  He could have said, “Lord, You’re right.  I sinned.  You made me ruler over the earth, and she’s a part of the earth.  I should have taken dominion over this and said, “No, honey.  Don’t listen to the serpent.  Matter of fact, the serpent is (stomps)  under my foot.  We’ll not listen to Him baby.”"  [amen]  “We’ll not listen to him. Today, let’s go get some mango and papaya. [laughter]  God made it for us and it’s right over here.”  But they didn’t do that.  Therefore, their blood is required of them, is the only currency they had in the Garden, they would have had to pay. 

But what did God do?  God accepted a substitute.  [right, right]  He accepted a substitute.  God, Himself, killed an animal, took the skins so that they could cover their shameful bodies.  So that their sin would be covered.  And He accepted it as an atoning sacrifice, the blood of the animal that was slain to cover their sin.  I think somebody’s getting this now.  [yeah]  That was the first atoning sacrifice.  Was it perfect?  No!  It was substitutionary.  How many of you all can say that?  [substitutionary]  A little louder.  [substitutionary]  A substitutionary sacrifice is a good one, but it’s not the best. 

When you go to court for an infraction, and the judge says, “Listen, we’re going to postpone this, we’re going to postpone this, in contemplation of dismissal.”  That is substitutionary.  Because he could fine you, or he could lock you up as a direct payment for the crime you committed. But he is saying, “We will accept a substitute.  I will take your word that for the next 18 months, you will not violate the law.  Therefore, as a substitute, we are accepting that.  But guess what, it’s still on the books.  If you blow it, we’re coming to get you.”  [yes]  Did anybody get that?  [yes] 

Therefore, the sacrifice of animals, the blood of animals was a substitute, but it really wasn’t direct payment because animal blood and human blood are not the same.  [yeah]  Everybody got that?  [right]  Therefore, animals could only be a substitute.  They could only be a postponement for the penalty of sin.  A postponement for the penalty of guilt.  A postponement for evil done.  We’ll accept animal blood for awhile. 

But the ultimate goal was what?  I want man to hang out with me without the box, without the plastic, without the seeds.  Therefore, at some point in time the substitute has to be done away with, and we’re going to have to have some real blood, honey.  We’re going to have to have some real clean, purified blood that is able to pay for the sin of man.  We’re going to have to have the real deal at some point.  No credit card, it’s going to have to be a direct blood transaction here.  There’s gonna to be no phony promises.  You’re not going to wave a chicken over your head and that’s going to get it.  You’re not going to do some voodoo ceremony and that’s going to get it.  You’re not going to be mad at God and think that that’s going to pay for it.  You’re not going to work real hard in the harvest field.  You’re not going to work hard in the church and that’s going to do it.  Some real, down, red blood is the only thing that’s going to pay for that sin. 

And aren’t you glad Jesus the Christ gave up His blood to pay for your sin?  [cheering]  Jesus, the Holy One, the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, lived a life without sin, and He gave everything He had for you.  [hallelujah]  That’s what we’re celebrating.  That’s what this week of atonement is about.  That we recognize that the real blood was paid so that we could go free.  So that we could get out of the box, rip out of the plastic, and destroy the seeds and step forth into the light of God and say, “I am purified by the blood of the Lamb.”  [hallelujah]  “I’m made righteous by the blood of the Lamb.”  [hallelujah]  And when He comes He will see no sin in my blood… When the Father comes, He will see the atoning sacrifice of the Son.  He will see that my sins have been paid for by His sacrifice.  And I will hang out with Him forever.  [amen, amen, amen]