Dr. Terry Threadwell's Blog

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Eph 1:7 NKJ)

Most people don’t realize that we are spiritual beings, our original design was to fellowship with God having been made in his image and likeness.  When sin reigns that spiritual nature worships the created, and so that old nature seek to be pampered and pleased.  Addictions and cravings hold that nature captive buy the lie that nothing and nobody can set them free.  However, we are told, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2Co 12:9 NKJ)

We didn’t earn our forgiveness, and we didn’t deserve it, it was just out of the abundance of God’s love and grace, that he forgave us of our sins and restored us back to the oringinal design and image.

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,  to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. (Eph 1:4-6 NKJ)

Isn’t good to know that God has already blessed us with every Spiritual blessing. What are those spiritual blessings? First, Paul tells us that we are adopted as sons (v. 5), and I would add to that daughters.

Look how the Message translation put it, “3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

We have been adopted into God’s family so that we can join in the celebration and the gift giving. Adoption grants non-physically related children all the privileges of a natural born child. We are not God’s children naturally. Our spiritual nature makes us enemies of God. But because of the forgiveness of God and the redemption he gives us through Christ, we become God’s adopted children, part of His family.

So don’t waste your life being like the elder son in the Prodigal story, feeling you have to work to earn favor and choosing a goat to celebrate with when the fatted calf or lamb is available.  Don’t waste your potential.

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Tim 3:1-5)

And this is in the Church! No, not every church and not everybody, but at some time in our lives, we have experienced that person who thought they were God’s gift to the ministry and that they spoke ex-cathedra. Or the one that loves money, yes, I’ve had visiting ministers, the first words out of their mouths were about money, one preacher even locking the doors during a meeting until he got the amount he wanted.

The truth is that in ministry, it should be God who is revealed, not the person.  The recent rise in people going ‘live’ on Facebook can be arrogant and self-gratifying, especially when the person has nothing to say.

If the ministry edifies God, stick around. If it edifies the individual, as Paul says, “avoid such people.”

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. “Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” (Luk 4:5-7 NKJ)

Jesus responds by rebuking the Devil, putting him in his place—behind him. The Devil, the ultimate controller, would never be satisfied with what you had to offer.  Your worship would never be good enough.

On a personal level, the controller gives you the impression that whatever you do for them is never good enough, that you are always falling short. This makes the victim feel indebted and obligated to continue to try harder to please, satisfy and serve. I fell short of the glory of God, but God made a way, through his love

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. (1Ki 19:2-3 NKJ)

Often, controlling people will go into fits of rage and temper tantrums when they are not having their way because they will do anything, even to the point of violence, to have their way and manipulate people into obeying them. When Ahab told Jezebel that Elijah had killed all the prophets of Baal and called down fire from heaven, she responded with threats, promising to kill Elijah.  So powerful is this control that even Elijah ran from her.

By now, she would have convinced those around her that she was the victim in all of this and that Elijah was the one trying to take control.  No wonder, when Elijah arrived at the cave in Beersheba, God asks him, “Elijah, why are you here?”

(God’s grace) teaches us to say no to godless ways and sinful longings. We must control ourselves. We must do what is right. We must lead godly lives in today’s world. – Titus 2:12

The scriptures clearly state that we are responsible for our actions, as we allow the Lord to free us from the bondage of sin, we should be careful not to leave the space vacant, something or somebody will seek to control.

The controlling person you are in close relationship with doesn’t allow you to prove your point when in disagreement.

Individuals who desire to control others will not allow a conversation or enable you to challenge them, especially if they think they are going to lose the argument. This is because they can’t bear to lose their place of power, which comes from making the other person think they are always right. Many controlling people cannot handle it if you disagree with them. At first, they may even act like they want your input. But the moment they see the conversation is not going their way, they twist things around or pick on one little thing said and went on a rabbit trail with the intent of derailing the conversation, never letting it come to a conclusion that deviates from their position.

God doesn’t want to control you; he wants you to enjoy the freedom that comes from knowing him.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Eph 2:4-9 NKJ)

“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. “So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. “And he said to him, `Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. “So he answered and said to his father, `Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. `But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ “And he said to him, `Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. `It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'” (Luk 15:25-16:1 NKJ)

Clearly, there are issues in the elder son’s relationship with his father.

1.      The son sees himself not as a son, but a servant, working to please his master.

2.      He feared being caught not working in case the father showed his displeasure.

3.      A relationship of fear is based on law. Thus, he resented the grace being shown to his younger brother.

Why did the father walk away and leave him? Isaiah writes, “Look! The LORD does not lack the power to save, nor are his ears too dull to hear.” (Isa 59:1 CEB) The issue was the elder son’s hard heart, his resentment towards his brother and unforgiving spirit, stopped him from entering into the party.

Don’t let a bad attitude rob you of your blessing.

“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. “So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. “And he said to him, `Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. “So he answered and said to his father, `Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. `But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ “And he said to him, `Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. `It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'” (Luk 15:25-16:1 NKJ)

Most of us know the story of the son that goes off, squanders his inheritance on wild living.  He figures that if he comes back with his well-rehearsed story, the father might hire him as a servant.  To his surprise when he comes back the father put a coat around him, a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Reinstated as a son, the father throws a party, and even kills the fatted calf.  All that was missing was the elder brother.

The father goes out to the field to see what was wrong, and his son tells him his complaint.

1.      My brother comes back having sinned and gets a party—that’s not fair.

2.      I’ve been working like a slave and received nothing.

3.      Not even a goat that I might celebrate with my friends.

The father reframes the son’s story, telling him that he has always been here and all that the father had was his, he just needs to take it.  Even the fattened calf was available, even though all he wanted was a scrawny goat.  Besides, your brother has returned, should we not rejoice?

The father returns to the party, leaving the elder son outside in the field, so bitter and unforgiving with weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. “Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. “I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. “And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. (Eze 36:24-31 NKJ)

The Old Testament never saw heaven as we refer to it, or the age to come, as being anywhere else other than here on the earth. In this age to come God promises to bless, to increase. Transformation takes place as God removes the heart of stone and pours out his Spirit (Joel 2) and put a new spirit in his people.

What is even more astounding is God’s apparent restoration of Sodom, “”`However, I will restore the fortunes of Sodom and her daughters and of Samaria and her daughters, and your fortunes along with them, (Eze 16:53 NIB)

If heaven was just another dimension of reality and God’s new heaven and new earth were a restored reality of here and now, would that change your daily response to God?

Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isa 2:3-4 NKJ)

His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist. “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, The leopard shall lie down with the young goat, The calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; Their young ones shall lie down together;  And the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, And the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. (Isa 11:3-8 NKJ)

The Jew believed that there was ‘this age’ and the ‘age to come.’ Several prophets spoke about this, with Isaiah being the best known, with his prophecy of a ‘Peaceable Kingdom.’ No floating on clouds, and no harps, in fact, doesn’t it almost sounds as though Isaiah is talking about here on earth and not another place. That’s because he is?

When we die, we go to be with the Lord, as spirit beings, in timeless eternity, in another dimension. But ultimately the resurrection takes place; we get a new body; the heaven dimension comes down to the earth, and God restores his Kingdom here on earth.