Pastor John,

I read your response to the young man who wanted to know where he could find a place to worship like we have. Wonderful response.

Tonight, Song and I sat down together and read more of Chapter 6 of your Father and Son book, mostly the part on Satan and his likeness to Haman, etc. We wanted to get still and be fed, it’s been hectic here. So it was good to sit down and read together for a while.

John, it is such good food we have, just so good. The feelings it left us with were so edifying. I thought of your reply to the young man. It would do him more good to sit down with his family and eat unadulterated spiritual food like we did this evening, than it would for him to go to 1000 services at 1000 “whore-houses” in Christianity, looking for something to touch his heart. God’s people need to know that. If they would just get still, and eat that which God has supplied (the truth that He has given you for us), it would do more good than they could ever imagine.

I am so thankful for my family in Jesus, John. I would not want to sit down all the time and read with just Song and I when we have so many people nearby (that’s another miracle!)…. but I did learn that it does one good to do so, and that young man would be encouraged if he would trust God to know that two or three with truth, is enough and far better than the multitudes with empty promises.

Gary

Hi Pastor John,

We got together this morning with Damien and Kay. We read Section Two of Chapter 6. It was really good. I know we have been reading these chapters for a while now, but Jacob started asking questions about baby Jesus and him (the baby) being the son of God. I think it was the first time he was really getting what we have been saying. It was something to watch him trying to take it in! I was watching him and thinking, “He has never been anywhere but here.” He has never even been to a church, but to see him struggle with wrong ideas already in there was something. It was very sweet watching him learn this. I had this thought: “Just because our children are sitting in a chair in these meetings does not mean they understand what they are a part of. After everyone was gone, I was doing dishes and just thanking Jesus to be able to help him understand. The spirit spoke back saying, “It’s because you were doing your part!” Our part is taking the time to sit down and read with them and include them. It was very sweet!!

Jammie

Bro. John:

I have nothing to add to what you have written here, but I just wanted to share with you some feelings while I was reading this section.

When I got to the ending, “Those like Satan, who hated Jesus but wanted him to be king, and those like Peter, who loved Jesus and wanted him to be king, would have done as much damage as the priests and elders would have done if they had been able to kill Jesus and keep him dead.”, I just had to sit there and let that one thought roll over and over in my heart. It struck me as terrifying that one may think they are doing right when it can be as wrong as can be without the Spirit of God leading. As you said here, Satan and Peter, one motivated by hate, the other by love, but both of their desires not according to the will of God. This thought made me realize how much we poor humans need the holy Ghost. How very valuable is the Spirit of God guiding us everyday in our lives so that we please Him who made us!

I remember you telling us in a message a while back that if there was anyone doing the will of God on the day Jesus died, it was the ones who crucified him. That was a new thought to me, a forward thought from God. Who was doing the will of God on that day? The ones who appeared to be doing what was right or the ones doing the will of God, who appeared to be doing wrong?

I am just overwhelmed with what we are receiving from God. I know it is not just for us. The Lord reminded me of the verse in Romans 11:1-5

“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,
Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.
But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”

For these hearts, God is still seeking. There is still so much hope and love in Jesus. This kind of love just makes the heart weep and at the same time overflow with joy . . . . and want to kiss the Son. 🙂

Praying God will open up the storehouse for you (and us), John, to get this to His people.

Sandy 🙂
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That was a remarkable thought about Satan and Peter, Sandy, but it was not quite perfect. I had to re-write it as follows:

“If they had had their way, Satan and Peter, who wanted Jesus to be king of the world, would have done as much damage to the work of God as Satan and Israel’s elders would have done if they had been able to kill Jesus and keep him dead.”

At different times, Satan was on both sides of that issue. And either way he had it, if he had accomplished what he wanted, it would have been bad.

jdc

Bro. John:

I remember when I first started seeking the holy Ghost and reading my bible, a verse in Genesis 26 jumped out at me: “And God said, Let usmake man in our image, after our likeness: . . . .” I gave you a call that night and asked you to help me understand who the “our” meant. I had always thought, as many still do today, that God alone was in heaven (except for the other heavenly creatures) and that Jesus did not come until his birth through Mary. It was that verse that caused my heart to realize that God was not there alone, but sharing His heart with someone very dear to him – His Son!

Chapter 6, Section 1 is so full of sweet feelings, the knowledge and understanding of God that can only be revealed by Him to us. It is truly amazing to take into our hearts what He has shown us thus far.

I love the explanation you wrote here.

They did not understand that when Mary’s son and God’s Son became one, that one new man shared everything that made up the two, so that it can truthfully be said that the Son of God came from Nazareth and that Jesus came from heaven. Paul was not wrong to say that God’s Son was “born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4), and the author of Hebrews was not wrong to say that when the Son came from heaven, a man’s body was already prepared for him (Heb. 10:5, quoting Psalm 40)”

I had to read it several times to grasp the fullness of it, but what a revelation. It is us! An old past and a new past in one. We live in these earthly temples created for us by God, but the new man is in the holy Ghost, and if we are led by His Spirit, we will dwell with the Father and the Son one day. What you wrote helps me to understand more fully what Jesus told me about my earthly parents: “You are not a product of that union anymore.” I am the biological daughter of Fred and Marguerite from New Bern, NC, but oh, how sweet, that I am the daughter of my Father in heaven. His traits live in me now – a child of the King!

We are truly blessed to be receiving such sweet manna from heaven. I want these holy thoughts to settle deep within my heart and soul so as Solomon said about the law:

When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”

The love of the world pales to the love that is in the heart of God. Whew!

Sandy 🙂

Pastor John,

The feelings and thoughts that have been coming since reading these chapters in the Father and Son book!!! I was driving home today listening to the Father and the Son music cd. There’s a part in the first song about the Son being revealed through the passing of time! All these thoughts and feelings just started flooding me, on the inside. I don’t even have words for all I was feeling 🙂 It was like looking behind a curtain, and you could understand what you saw there, but when the curtain was closed you are left with just bits and pieces!! I started praying, “Please, Lord, I want to know!”

Then the Spirit said, “I am still hidden to some.”

John, the feelings of – do I really know how big this is, to know the things? We do know! Or to hear the Spirit speak to us! To have the Son revile himself to us!! IT’S BIG!! It’s like looking behind that curtain. We know him when we see him, but when he shuts the curtain, we just see bits and pieces. I can’t get it all out!!!

Love you guys and hope you are getting a lot done.

Jammie

PS. I did have a question the other night when reading chapter 6. I have never thought this before and even thought why have I never asked this. Anyway, how come we never hear anything about Mary’s husband, Joseph? It’s always about Mary. Did he die young? I will look this up, but just struck me the other night.

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Hi Jammie.

Yes, it is wonderful to have fellowship with the Father and the Son! It is very humbling and sweet. I am so happy you are being blessed by the knowledge God has given to us, and to all who will believe.

As for Joseph, there is nothing for you to look up. He just disappears from the biblical record. Let’s hold on to the love and righteousness of God so that we can get to meet Joseph one day and ask him what happened!

Pastor John

Hey there – I remembered when we first went over the part about bowing there was something very good in it. So, I went back and looked at some older files and one thing I ran across was the part that Satan “asked” Jesus to do it. Here is the section I found. I believe there was another time we typed up some notes on this subject that were very good, but I haven’t found those. I just remember really liking that section. I just wanted to forward it on to you just in case you saw something here you would like to include. I don’t remember the “asking” part in the “bowing down” section quite the way it is stated here. It may not be needed, but it was good. 🙂

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If it is true that before he came to earth, the Son did not know that Satan was evil, he most certainly found it out during the Temptation, for when Satan attempted to persuade him to bow down and worship him by offering the Son great riches, the Son would have known such a request came from a wicked heart.

But it wasn’t simply the bowing down part that would have made it clear that Satan was wicked. Throughout biblical history, righteous men had responded to visitations from heavenly beings by fearfully bowing down, even collapsing before them (Gen. 19:1; Num. 22:31; 1Chron. 21:16; Ezek. 1:28; Dan. 10:7-10). So, the mere concept of a man falling down in a worshipful attitude before a powerful heavenly being would not have seemed out of order. Even as late as the book of Revelation (19:10), the apostle John, overwhelmed by a heavenly messenger’s presence, fell down at the feet of the messenger to worship him!

The critical difference between Satan and every other heavenly messenger before whom men fell is that none of those other messengers asked men to bow and worship them, nor did any of them ever attempt to persuade men to worship them with promises of great riches. It was simply the power of the presence of God’s messengers that caused holy men to bow. Satan, on the other hand, coveting the honor that all creatures gave to God, openly grasped after it. That evil deed, if nothing else, would have let the Son of God know that he was dealing with a wicked creature.

At the same time, we can assuredly say that if Mary’s son had shown up in the wilderness without God’s Son dwelling within his temple, he would have been overwhelmed by the terrifying, “anointed cherub” from heaven; but not so, the Son. The Son has never bowed to anyone but the Father, and never will.

—
Amy B

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Hi Amy.

There is some truth in all that, but I wrote those paragraphs before I understood that Jesus bowing to Satan would have only been a formality, a symbolic acceptance of the position Satan was offering him. It is not surprising, then, that Satan asked him to bow. It was a way of saying, “Do you accept my offer?” Anyone at that time in history would probably have expected it and would have been shocked, as Satan no doubt was, that there was no bow, that is, no acceptance of the “honor” offered to Jesus.

Those old paragraphs that you found fall short of communicating what was really going on between Jesus and Satan at that moment. That’s why I cut them out.

Thanks for the comments, though. We are on a journey, aren’t we?

jdc

Hi John,
Suzi and I read chapter 6 with a few folks at Gary’s house. Each paragraph has so many things to think about it is hard to absorb in one setting. I re-read it again this morning.

I think this section is clear and understandable. We did not see many typos other than the few already mentioned. Here are a few things that really stood out to me.

I liked the way you described the scene of Jesus at the River Jordan on page 3 and how John must have been deeply impressed when he heard the Voice of God speaking about His beloved son. What John saw was Mary’s son. One can only imagine what was going on in John’s mind when he heard God’s voice.

Another part that really stood out to me is the section on page 7 which describes why God had to sacrifice his son. I don’t think I will ever read this scripture the same again: “Behold! The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”

Or, “Behold! God’s Lamb that takes away the sins of the world!” Whew!

One of my favorite sections is the Virgin Birth. This thought is just too good to keep to ourselves: “The birth of Mary’s son in Bethlehem was a glorious event, but the coming of God’s son was more glorious. … it is unwise to esteem that holy event (Jesus’ birth) more than the holier event of the coming of God’s hidden son”.

Thanks John for all your work and sending this out. We are looking forward to the next section.

Tom

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Pastor John,

The reading that you sent last night seems so much easier to comprehend. Your description in the section “a Man in Appearance” makes it easy to understand. Of course, I have my questions about the blending of the Son of God with the son of Mary, like what happened to the son of Mary’s mind that he had had all his life, like his preferences, his likes, his dislikes, his feelings. Was it that he suddenly only wanted to do the will of the Father because the Son of God took over his mind? I don’t know if the way I’m asking that makes sense.

Also, in the first paragraph at the top of Pg. 2, I like the comparison you made between the Son of God coming into the son of Mary’s body and becoming one and the holy Ghost coming into Jesus’ followers on the day of Pentecost. However, the remainder of that paragraph and the corresponding verses talk about the Gentiles that made up that new nation and how no one expected God to fill them, but I think it sort of veers away from the topic of Jesus blending with the son of Mary. Just a thought.

Thank you!

Anna
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Thanks. I will look at that again.

btw, Bess particularly liked that part. It’s funny how often that happens.

As for what happened to Jesus’ mind, etc., after God’s Son blended with him at the Jordan River, we may have to wait and ask him when we see him. But you could start by asking yourself, “What happened to my mind when I became a new creature?”

jdc
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The very first paragraph was so good. I had often wondered what
happened to Jesus, the Son of Mary. Love how God took care of the Son
he had in the beginning, and Jesus of Nazareth. Something about that
paragraph is very special.

Page 2, like whole page and how you brought out the differences in “a
Son of God” and “the Son of God”.

“These new creatures were like the Son after he came to earth, having
earthly bodies filled with God’s kind of life.”

Page 4, after quoting Matthew 4 and Luke 4: “Until this moment in
biblical history, no human, not even men and women of great faith,
were called “sons of God”;

I had wondered too if God had other humans referred to as “son”, so
that sentence was especially relevant.

Another favorite section was The Virgin Birth, the whole paragraph but
especially this: “…the Son of God made his advent into the world at
Jesus’ baptism, in the form of a dove, not as an infant lying in a
manger.”

Page 7, talking about how God had to be the actual Father of the one
He would sacrifice; I was reminded and thankful of having been taught
the Old Testament, otherwise I would not have known what was being
talked about. Knowing the OT is so valuable.

The whole chapter was so good, I highlighted so many sentences that
just stood out. All of this information is wonderful, and so totally
“backwards” from what I heard growing up.

Debbie T
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Hi John,

I really love how you are putting together each chapter and section of the book. I know it has been a lot of hard work and reworking of each chapter and section. But each time we read it, the flow and the content gets smoother and clearer then ever. I really believe that when this gets published and available for God’s people to read, there will be no denying what God did with his Son. It will be one of those books that just leave you speechless and in awe of what you just read.

We have had the honor and privilege of learning what has happened with God’s Son all along the way, as he has reveled it to you and us. But someone who picks it up for the first time … “Wow!” I hope we get to see and feel the wonderful feelings and thoughts they may have after they read it, if God opens their eyes to see it.

In chapter 6, section 1, I liked the part “God’s Lamb, not Joseph’s”, and how you showed that the lamb had to belong to the person who was sacrificing it. To me, it really explained how important the virgin birth was, and why this really is a story about God. Thank God, he has chosen us at this time to be a part of such a wonderful revelation that he wants to be revealed to his children!

Thank you, John and everyone who has helped.

Stuart

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Hey Pastor John,