God Is Not Complicated: The Path to God's Blessings & Promises Has Always Been Straight and Narrow.

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Chapter 1: The Blood of Jesus And the Sovereignty Of God

There is a movement in the church (body of Christ) to seek heaven going on today. People are asking heaven to come down but mostly they are asking to secure a trip to heaven for themselves. Prayer groups are getting together to pray in churches. They are trying to approach God in their own sovereignty. You might ask: what do you mean Brother Glenn, by their own sovereignty? Church people think that they are in charge of themselves. They do what they want, say what they want, desire what they want and then want God to go to work for them when they want Him to. They run after and participate in the lusts of the world. God will not hear their prayers and will not accept their offerings. Remember, God rejected the offering of Caine because it was an offering of Caine’s own sovereignty, and an offering without blood. We can only approach God, His Way! Through the Blood of Jesus.

The Blood of Jesus shed at the foundation of the world has made us kings and priests to the Lord.

Revelation 1:4-6 NKJV

⁴ John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen

When we are born again we are covered by the Blood of Jesus; we in fact receive salvation by His Blood. The blood cleanses us from our sins and elevates us into the priesthood before God.

This enables us to draw near to the Lord. We can only draw near to God by the Blood of Jesus.

Hebrews 10:19-22 NKJV

¹⁹ Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, ²⁰ by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

A true heart means to be without sin, repentant, and made pure by the Blood of Jesus.

Now let’s take a look at Exodus 29:19-21. This describes what the process was for Aaron and his sons to be consecrated as the first priests.

Exodus 29:19-21 NKJV

¹⁹ "You shall also take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands on the head of the ram.

²⁰ Then you shall kill the ram, and take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tip of the right ear of his sons, on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood all around on the altar.

²¹ And you shall take some of the blood that is on the altar, and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, on his sons and on the garments of his sons with him; and he and his garments shall be hallowed, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.

We could stop here and preach for an hour on garments. Ladies and Gentlemen are the garments we wear hallowed before the Lord? Do we dress to be personally correct, politically correct or to be God correct?

The blood on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot and sprinkled on them and on their garments made Aaron and his sons and their garments hallowed before the Lord. This blood was honoring and was symbolic of the Blood of Jesus Shed at the foundation of the world. We are cleansed of our sins by the blood of Jesus.

1 John 1:7-10 NKJV

⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. ⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

As we read the Bible, we must always remember that the entire Bible is the revealing of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. We can see representations of Jesus and the Cross throughout the scripture. Remember what Jesus said in:

Hebrews 10:7 NKJV

Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’"

Every time you read the Bible keep your eyes open for the revealing of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified from the foundation of the world and the entrance of the kingdom of God.

We can only approach God, draw near to Him through the Blood of Jesus. We enter into the kingdom of God and maintain our position in the kingdom by the Blood of Jesus.

Adam and Eve were created through the Cross of Christ, the Lamb Slain at the foundation of the world and then placed in the Kingdom of God under the Blood covering of Jesus. They resided in a place, the Garden of Eden but they also were put in a position, the Kingdom of God.

When they sinned against God, disobeyed His Word, they were removed from the Garden and their position in the kingdom. Jesus came in person to reveal the Cross and what had been accomplished at the foundation of the world.

He tells us in a parable that the Kingdom of God is like a seed.

Matthew 13:36-43 NKJV

³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. ³⁷ He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ⁴² and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Jesus created everything through the power of His shed blood and resurrection at the foundation of the world. He planted the Kingdom of God at that time. The kingdom will expand and be revealed over time just as a seed grows into a plant. That seed of the kingdom is also planted in each of us when we are born again. It needs to be allowed to grow in us also.

Colossians 1:16 NKJV

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

John 1:3 NKJV

All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

The kingdom of God will also expand and grow in us the same way. The apostles and other disciples of Jesus who walked with Him often operated in a powerful demonstration of the resurrection power of the kingdom of God. The truth is, any person can today if they choose to believe, trust, act on, and obey the Word God. We must set aside our own sovereignty and choose to place ourselves under the sovereignty of God!

Luke 17:20-21 NKJV

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation, 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you."

The kingdom of God in us is the seed, Christ Crucified at the foundation of the world. As we endeavor to follow Jesus and obey Him the kingdom grows in us. For many believers, it never grows out of seed stage. Just as a seed in the natural must be kept and nurtured, it is the same with the Spirit of Christ in us.

Now I want to look at 2 Chronicles 7:14. This verse gives us a five step process to draw near to God and to get Him to answer our prayers. In other words this verse demonstrates to us how we can keep and nurture the seed of the kingdom in us so that it will flourish and be in demonstration.

2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV

¹⁴ if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

First off, if I am a person of God, I need to be born again. Romans 10:8-10 NKJV ⁸ But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

It is the Cross of Christ and the shed Blood of Jesus that provides my salvation. I can only approach God through the Blood of Jesus. Being saved is my entrance into the kingdom of God and the kingdom’s entrance into me.

Colossians 1:13 NKJV

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

We can only approach the Father through the Blood of Jesus. I need to be a disciple of Jesus. In other words I need to be obeying the Word of God (Jesus is the word). We are known to God the Father through the Blood of Jesus. We are known to God the Father by our fruit.

John 15:1-8 NKJV

1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. ² Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ³ You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. ⁵ "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. ⁶ If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. ⁷ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

We could stop right here and probably write several pages. Why are not the prayers of many Christians answered? They do not abide in Jesus! If you abide in Jesus, you are honoring His shed Blood from the foundation of the world. Remember, Jesus is the Word: "if you abide in Me and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you.

John 15:16 NKJV

You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Romans 6:22 NKJV

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

Colossians 1:9-10 NKJV

⁹ For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

To be one of God’s people and to be called by His Name, means to be born again and bearing fruit in the Kingdom of God. Otherwise, your lips are talking to God and not your heart, and God will not hear you.

Isaiah 29:13 NKJV

Therefore the Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.

If you want to become a born again believer, just follow the rules in scripture:

Romans 10:9-10 NKJV

⁹ that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Repeat this prayer out loud before the Lord: Father in Heaven I want to become a child of God. I ask you to forgive me of all my sins in Jesus Name. I confess right now that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died on the Cross and rose from the dead on the third day. I ask Jesus to come into my heart, my life and be Lord over my life. I will follow Him all the rest of my days. I also ask you Lord to fill me with Your precious Holy Spirit and give me the gift of speaking in another tongue, in Jesus mighty Name! Now by faith begin to speak in another tongue.

Now let’s continue on with:

Mark 7:6 NKJV

He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

Remember what Brother James said. James 1:21 NKJV "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." A doer of the Word is a person who obeys the Word of God.

James 2:14-24 NKJV

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is