ROYAL CRONQUIST HOW TO BECOME FINISHED

I was impressed by the Lord to ask two questions.

Number one. Do you know what it means to be in Divine Order as a believer?

And have you allowed God to place you in the body of Christ in Divine Order, as it pleases Him?

These are very, very important questions, and you need to understand the answer. Or do you go to the church of your choice because you emotionally or intellectually like it there? Or have you allowed God to place you in the body where it pleases Him? If you allow God to place you where He wants you, it may not be according to your choosing. Because you do not grow in a comfortable environment.

The Scripture says in Psalm 4:1  Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress.

The Lord will enlarge your capacity in the midst of adversity. So you may need to examine where you're going. Are there adverse circumstances touching your life? That's necessary because, in a comfortable, blessed life, we aren't absolutely needful of God. Does that make sense? Christians are blessing oriented instead of adversity oriented,

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:10, Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul took pleasure in persecution, and all the things that happened to him. The blessing-oriented Christians would not understand why Paul takes pleasure in that stuff.

 

But that's been the story of my life. What does God want me to say to you today? First of all, Well, here we are 1988 years from the cross. And if you really are a student of the Scriptures, we don't know of anyone, any leader or any people in Christ, that has ever really grown up into Christ Jesus in all aspects.

And I'm quite sure that if you are born again, and even more so if you received the Holy Spirit as an additional experience of being born again, and that you are Spirit-filled, that you will agree that the coming of the Lord is imminent. Do you believe that?

What does that mean in consequences to you? I'm sure that you all believe that He's coming for a perfect church. Do you believe that?

What can I say to you today, that will affect change or potential opportunity of change in you, whereby you can grow up into Christ Jesus in a very short period of time? I think it would be wise for you to understand that growing up in Christ Jesus does not need the lifetime of learning doctrine. All it needs is an ability of a correct relationship to Him in the spirit so that He through the Holy Spirit can literally complete you in that grown-up experience.

And I don't think that is really being majored in the body of Christ, that you as individuals are to grow up in Christ Jesus in all aspects. He hasn't designed it, it's never been His purpose that you'd be born again, and be a perpetual church grower goer, but never become experientially grown up into Christ Jesus. And the spirit rules that are necessary for the body of Christ to grow up, are not being taught in massive majority of leaders.

What do you mean rules? You hear the remark that it's all by grace through faith. And it's presented that way, as though there is no personal responsibility for you, to become obedient, with actions of faith, so that you become the experience of faith.

Grace is unmerited favor, with no conditions. Now, when we are saved by grace through faith that is really speaking, what has happened to us because of being ungodly, we're drawn to Christ with no condition for us. There is unmerited favor with no condition except he is drawn by the Holy Spirit to convict us. We realize our need for a Savior and we're receiving salvation when we become born again.

But once you have become born again, then you alone will have the responsibility to determine the magnitude of your growth. And you don't want to be a believer who is caught in the trap of ever learning, but never coming to the experience of truth (2 Timothy 3:7). Of course, this Bible is the truth. Therefore, you want to become the experience, the faith substance, of all, it's written here, to be reproduced in you.

Remember, Jesus also said that the Holy Spirit when He has come, He will guide you into all truth (John16:13). What kind of a believer would you be or would we be if we had allowed that? Now think of that, what kind of a believer would you be if you had allowed the Holy Spirit to teach you or to guide you into all truth? Would it be possible that there is no more room for improvement?

Now think of that. Now, why hasn't in 1988 years the Holy Spirit been allowed to do that? Would it be possible because of improper teaching, which has not given proper motivation, which has not caused you to a correct relationship with Jesus in an intimacy so that the Holy Spirit can complete Christ in your life?

I think that's a good possibility. Now, if I were to come around and ask you, "Do you have a personal goal of attainment as a Christian in your personal life?"

And I'm just going to just get two or three of your answers.

Do you have a personal goal? And don't be embarrassed because I've never found a personal goal that has been wrong in people.

“Just to walk with Jesus.”

“Just a walk with Jesus?”

“How about you?”

“Yes, I do. And it's, you know, to seek His will for my life.”

“Right? Right.”

“How about you? Do you have a personal goal of attainment?”

“Sure. The best of my ability I want to live according to what Christ has commanded.”

“What is your personal goal?”

“To be more like Jesus."

"To be more like Jesus. All right.”

Now there's nothing wrong with any of those answers. But can I suggest the possibility that they are all inadequate? What is God's goal for you?

And this is going to be a mind-blower for you. If you have your Bibles, Romans 8:29-30 For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Do you think you were foreknown? How many think you were foreknown?

Alright, then He predestined you to be conformed to the image of His Son. Is this in your living lifetime or after death and the resurrection or at the Rapture? Now, see, all the promises are now and now give substance to the promise that we're believing, correct? And today is the accepted time. Now's the accepted time for these. Now, when we stop to look at this on the surface, that's wonderful.

But when we look beneath the surface to see what it really means, the Greek word for conformed is summorphos. It means God has predestined each one of you and me too be rendered identical to Jesus, in what He is, in this body, indistinguishable and exactly the same, denoting not only absolute union in association but absolute equality and completeness with Him being your head.

Isn’t that mind-boggling? Mind blowing? He predestined you to become formed to the absolute exactness, indistinguishability identity that is present in Jesus Christ. Now the word image is eikon. This Greek word eikon is not a mere likeness, certainly not an imitation. It is more than a resemblance, but an absolute exact reduplication being precisely, alike.

Now, can I suggest that no one has ever allowed that to happen? Because I think secretly or subconsciously, we suspect that this can't really happen while we're alive. So other people's goals are to live as good Christian life as they can and die and go to heaven. Now, those that have died and went to heaven, or paradise, the scripture says they are spirits of just men made perfect (Hebrews 12:23). We say that's wonderful.

But First Thessalonians 5:23 talks about our whole spirit and our whole soul, and our whole body, be preserved blameless. So the real intent of God is that our whole spirit, our whole soul, and our whole body become “just made perfect.” But nobody believes in perfection. And we're quite convinced we don't know anybody that's near it.

Isn’t that a mind-blower? But do we believe in God? We believe God if it's convenient, or if it's mentally acceptable? What do we really believe in that He says something that we know that there's truth, but really, we don't believe that it can be true.

Matthew 5:48 Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Look at that, that's another mind-blower. And if my comments are traumatic to you, or shocking to you, give me grace, love to put the term on the self so that you don't become wrong in your spirit, which will ensure that you are being nullified from the grace of God to come to you.

Now, Matthew 5:48 says, You are to be perfect, even as your heavenly Father in heaven is perfect. Now He can't have meant that? Why that's impossible. Would God say something that you're to be if He would not also make a way for you to really be it? Is God a liar? Let God be true but let every man be a liar (Romans 3:4).

Now, people say well, He means complete. Well, you'll find the English word complete and the English word perfect translated from one word teleios, which is the same word.

Now listen to this. You are to be the termination, the ultimate limit, and conclusion of Deity’s intention and divine quality and quantity in spirit, soul, and body. Having all that can be added, becoming or being becoming a being beyond further improvement. Can that happen in your living lifetime? Or do we have to wait until the rapture, whether pre-, mid-, or post-, I don't care, or until after resurrection? I think we have agreed now that the promises are always now.

Well, what do we do then to cooperate with God? And how do we do that so that He Himself can form the perfection of Himself in you and I. Now one of the major emphases of my ministry and the way I teach is to teach the believer not only what to believe, but what to do correctly, and how to do it so correctly, that you give Him the opportunity to incarnate His own faith experience in you.

I got some hope for you. The days are coming, says the Lord, in Amos 9:13 Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that sows seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

There's coming an anointing very shortly in people who have been taught by the Holy Spirit, so powerfully anointed, that what takes a full year to learn and experience God is going to reduce to a moment of time.

Now, isn't that exciting? The days are coming saith the Lord that he treads the grapes, the juice out of the way, is going to be overtaken by him who planted the seed. Are you ready for that kind of acceleration of change? Will you be able to discern that kind of ministry? Because that kind of ministry is going to be so radical compared to the status quo of complacency, a promise that doesn't work, that you need to be very mature in your understanding so that you can discern these ministries.

Remember, Jesus came to His own, but His own received Him not (John 1:11). That was the chosen people of God. It's very possible that these ministries now are going to come to their own in the body of Christ, but the massive majority of the body Christ is going to receive them not. You don't want to be that kind of a person.

Now, the scripture says in Philippians 2:12 Why, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

I want the senses of your eyes to see Philippians 2:12 the last phrase there - work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Are you doing that? Are you really doing that? And are you doing it with fear and trembling? I have to admit, in my opinion, may not be worth it. I know hardly anybody that's doing that. And I don't know if anybody really knows what does Paul means by, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”

Have you ever heard, been taught much about the fear of God? We hear that it's reverential respect. No. Did you ever look it up into Greek to see what it really means? Well, it's quite a shock. 

But here's another scripture Hebrews 4:1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

Could I paraphrase? Let us fear lest a promise, remains of entering His rest, anybody should come short of becoming the fulfillment of it. Would that be sound? You think it would? Come on, give me consent or not? All right.

Now, is this kind of motivation in you? Do you have a fear lest a promise that you believe is not allowing you to become the very rest, the fulfillment of God? What is rest? Well, of course, in the Old Testament, rest is Sabbath. And now Jesus is our Sabbath. Correct? So He's the rest.

In other words, could we paraphrase again, let us have a healthy fear that we come short of becoming the fulfillment of Christ Jesus, in our experience.

I don't really know hardly any, anywhere in the body of Christ, that has that kind of healthy fear. Now, the Greek word is phobeo. This means to be motivated in fear, filled with alarm and fright. It is shakingly fearful, having the fear of the possibility of missing the pleasure of God. Now that is so foreign to our experience.

What I would like to believe that fear is healthy if it motivates us to respond to God correctly. But fear is unhealthy if it causes us to withdraw from God, or whether we're going to be afraid of this, afraid of that, and afraid of false prophets.

Now, I know this as a seer. Now, the most dangerous people these days are people who are preaching the truth of God, but there are perversions in their spirit. What do you mean? They're saying all the right things, but they have personal corruption, perversions that are unholy in their spirit.

Can I give you some example we have just seen last year in the national media that at least one was caught in that perversion? We've just heard recently in the national media of another national television star of the gospel that was caught in a perversion that qualifies him for being a false ministry.

But who is that's discerning enough to discern the perversion? Because all that he or she is saying is wonderful, but coming through that perversion at the same time? And I found very few people capable to discern the perversion in these false ministries.

Now I prophesied that especially the recent one, that he too, would fall in the same corruption, that he blew the whistle on the other guy. Have you understood that? Do you understand what I'm saying without names?

Now it's important that we grew up. Now, it's absolutely necessary that you grow up into Christ Jesus in all aspects. That means He wants you to grow up in all intelligence of Himself. Be not conformed to this world be transformed by the renewing or the restoring or the replacing of your mind or the displacing of your mind.

Now in one of the appearances of Lord Jesus, I was in a pastor's home preaching a series of meetings in Tulsa, Oklahoma. And the Lord Jesus appeared into my room. I need to tell you what my room is. My room is my head, my shoulders are floor level. And this room is 30 feet in diameter and 20 feet high in vision form. And I'm sitting on a chair and the room is empty except for me sitting in it. When I told my son that, he said, “Well, dad, that's not new. I could have told you that - empty head.” I thought that was funny.

But Jesus appears in this room and talked to me face to face like I've appeared in this room talking to you. He said, “The renewing of your mind is not your work but My work.” Now listen to this next remark, “Therefore, abide in My presence, so that I can work.”

Now the word abide is an action work that I have to do. But what if I don't know how to do it? Then He cannot renew my mind. So what we've been doing for 1988 years, in my opinion, now, when I say something, it's my opinion, I will voice that which may be worthless, but yet God may honor it. We've been learning about God through our outside senses, storing it into our memory. Some say, “That's wonderful.”

But what do we do to abide in His presence? And how do we do it correctly, so that if we do it, He Himself, can renew our minds with His own intelligence. Remember, in Isaiah 55:8-9 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, said the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

You and I can think like God. His thinking may be equal to what you're thinking but it's a higher realm. Your thinking is on the psychic realm but His realm is on the Spirit. And the Spirit realm is a higher realm of knowing experience. Now does that makes sense?

Now, also, the scripture says in First Corinthians 2:14, The natural man cannot receive the things of God, cannot know the things of God, cannot perceive the things of God, cannot understand the things that only the Spirit can know. 

What is the natural man? Or what is the natural woman? The word natural is psuchikos. It comes from the word psuche and psuche in Greek is the soul. And what is the soul of man? The soul of man is your mind, your rationale, your logic, your reason, your intellect, your emotions, your feelings, your will. That natural man can't receive the things of God. Only your spirit can.

Now how does your natural man receive or execute the things of God? Through the outside senses.

Romans 8:5-8 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8:5-8 teaches that. If you're going to submit your mind to your outside senses, you'll never experience the reality of God. It is death but if you can submit your mind to your spirit where Christ lives, and moves and exists, and has been in the senses of your spirit, there's life and peace. Could we say also that his experience of Him in His peace?

Hebrews 5:14 But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Hebrews 5:14, says, strong meat belongs to those who are of full age. That word “full age” is teleios, those who are reaching for perfection, or who are reaching for completion, to those who are teleios, the same word in Matthew 5:48. Listen to this, who by reason of use - an action word - have their senses trained - an action word.

Now, what senses is he talking about? You know, spiritual senses. Do you know what your spiritual senses are? You know what your soul senses are? You know what your physical senses? Our eyes, ears, nose, taste and touch. And your soul senses - our reason and intellect and emotion and volition and logic and all those things correct. But what are your spiritual senses? Who by reason of the using of their spiritual senses? Are you understanding that? But I have found that most believers don't even know what their spiritual senses are. Your spirit has senses that your soul and physical man do not have.

Remember Jesus said in John 5:19, the Son could do nothing of Himself. The word “nothing” obviously means His psuche, His soul-life. He does only what He sees what the Father is doing. This shows that His spirit has eyes to see what the Father is doing.

John 12:49 For I have not spoken of Myself, but the Father which sent Me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

He says, “I only say what I hear My Father is saying.” This shows that He has another set of ears to hear what the Father is saying.

And the scripture says in Romans 10:17, Faith comes by hearing and that by hearing the word.

The word “word” is translated from the Greek word Rhema. Faith comes by hearing and that by hearing the Rhema. Now, the Logos and the Rhema are identical words. This Bible is the Logos in printed form. I'm uttering the Logos in an utterance form. But the Rhema has its direct origins of Jesus Christ in your spirit. And the Logos you can find any place in the scripture where the Logos creates faith if you can allow it to go into these ears, pass your mind dominance to get into your heart, where Jesus Christ, or the Holy Spirit can quicken it with Rhema. And what was the Logos is changed into the Rhema. Faith comes by hearing, and that by hearing the Rhema, and you confess it as you will and it will leap into existence.

John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you.

It is conditional if you abide in Me, conditional if you abide in Me, and if My word has reigned, has supremacy and you confess it as you will, it will leap into existence. As long as you're confessing the Logos, that has not been quickened by the Rhema you will never have faith results. Only Rhema creates faith.

Now, if you hear a preacher teaching this, “If you abide in Me, and My word abide in you, ask what you will, it shall be done to you.” Next time you hear some leader quoting this verse, go up to him and ask, “Now, you quoted this scripture. Can you tell me what do I do to do it? Because it's conditional upon that I do it correctly.” Now he'll tell you a lot of what. But after he has given you answers, then I want you to ask him like, “But how do I do it so that it really works?” And you're going to find out, hardly anybody knows the how.

Now we're being taught the knowledge of God. But we're not being taught the wisdom of God. What's the difference? Knowledge is the what or the knowledge of the word. But wisdom is how you can apply the word with understanding, or with Rhema so that it works. We got nobody teaching us wisdom. Jesus Christ is made to us the wisdom of God. And where is Jesus Christ? He's in your spirit.

Therefore, if you don't know how, or what to do, or to live and walk in your spirit, you cannot be taught wisdom on how to make the knowledge of God work. You're thinking, aren't you? I would suggest it to you really, really consider what I'm saying because we've got 1988 years of real failure. No one has come to the measure of the stature of Christ, and all His fullness. No one has grown up into Christ Jesus and all aspects. No one has allowed Him to conform them to Himself to His likeness.

Now I've got some more bombs. John 5:39-40 Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. 40 And you will not come to Me, that you might have life.

And I'm going to try to get this finished in the next few minutes. That's 12 minutes. Because it's gonna be very difficult for me to close all the doors of reason to get you ready to enter into the realm of absolute purity of understanding.

John 5:39 says, You search out the scripture for there you think you have eternal life. But the scriptures only tell about Me. Is that the way your scriptures read? The next verse 40 says, but you never come to Me that you might have life. Now you know how to come to the scriptures. You know how to read them, you know how to study them, you know how to think upon them. But He says, “You never come to Me that the scriptures might become My life.”

I believe with all my heart, that's where the leadership of the body Christ has failed in 2000 years in rounded figures. Have you ever heard the remark, “Get into the word?” Have you ever heard that? Have you ever heard somebody said, “I hid with the word for a week,” or, “I hid away with God for the word for a month?” Have you ever heard things like that?

But have you ever heard anybody say, “I came to the word and then I went to Jesus.” The word come is an action word, that He is saying that you never do this.

And if I am smart to understand English, He is saying that now we're faithful to come to the word – wonderful - but we don't know what to do, and how to do it to come to Him. We don't know how. Is there a difference? He says there's a difference. So we come to the word with our outside senses of our eyes to read it, we come to the word with outside senses of our ear to hear it spoken but we still miss the action of coming to Him. We don't know what to do to come to Him. We don't know how to do it so that we can experience life. He says, “But you never come to Me that you might have life.”

Now, it's impossible for me to give you all the answers today in just the short time that I'm permitted. But I want to stir up your thinking because I believe - now this is an opinion - that God is making me an apostolic, prophetic, seer of wisdom because He's teaching me to teach people how to do it.

And I'm getting letters from all over the nation. “You're the first man that we've ever heard that is teaching us how to do it correctly. And we're aware that we're changing for the first time in our experience in Christ.” And they've been in Christ 10, 20, 30, 40 years. That's tremendously encouraging.

There has to come teaching of such correct presentation of not only what to believe, but what to do correctly, and how to do it correctly, so that you and I can give Jesus the chance to complete Himself or form Himself in you. And if that kind of teaching does not come, then we're all going to be caught in the trap of dying in faith and never receiving the promises. And that's what people have been doing for 1980 years from the cross dying in faith and never becoming the substance of the promises.

And 2 Peter 1:3-4.

This is a mind-blower. And I may shock you just a little bit. But see a prophet, if you understand the condition of a prophet, a prophet should never permit the people to remain comfortable. Because as long as you're comfortable, you'll never do anything to reach for God correctly so that you can become the experience of what the prophet is saying. Think about that. If you're just so complacent and so satisfied, all that wonderful, sit around and believe it but there's never any motivation to mix it with faith or you become it then you're ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:7).

2 Peter 1:3-4 According as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The word for divine power is dunamis, or miracle power. It has already been given to us. everything pertaining to life, but you won't come to Me that you have My life. You come to the word, you'll read it you'll listen to it, but you never come to Me that you might have life. 

The word life is zoe. That everything that pertain to life and godliness through knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory. And by these - these what? - is divine power, everything that pertains to life, everything pertaining to God, everything that pertains to this true knowledge of Him. 

By these, He has granted to us precious and magnificent promises, in order that by those promises, we can become partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of lust.

Now, think of this, this is going to be a mind-blower. The word corruption in Greek is phthora. Listen to this. If you can come to the experience, with the substance of faith with the promises, you can escape all inflicted destruction, even all spontaneous decay.

Do you believe that? You really believe that? Well, you may influence destruction. So I take a .45 and bang, bang, bang, bang. If you can have so much of God in your experience, you cannot be killed. Now let's go a little further. What about spontaneous decay? If you can literally become the superimposed experience, the substance of faith of Jesus Christ in your experience, there won't be any degenerative decay going on in your life. Can you believe that?

That's what that word means. Now, that's a whole doctrine or revelation in itself that we won't get into now.

Look away into Jesus so that He can author and finish faith. The word looking away is an action command that you have to do.

Now 1 Timothy 2:5 says the athlete does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rule.

You look at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and in Canada, the commitment of dedication of those young people to order their life sacrificially according to certain rules, so they can win the gold or the silver, the bronze. And we don't even have that kind of a commitment to do the rules of God so that we can be like Jesus.

Now listen to me. God says what He means and means what He says. He means that if you're going to be one who He receives, and He's coming for a perfect church, that means that you're going to have to be perfect. This means that there's going to have to be some radical experience or change in your life. This means that what you presently been taught has been inadequate or has not been properly presented to you so that you could be a doer of the word.

Now, look at Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Without faith, it's impossible to please God. For he who comes to God, but you'll never come to Me that you might have life. We come to the word - seeing and hearing - but we never come to Him. Without faith, it's impossible. But he comes to Him who does comes to Him must believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now the word diligent is ekzeteo. It means to search out with a constant meticulous painstaking irrevocable attention that permits no pauses, no remissions, no recesses. A heart that is persevering and unrelenting through worship. That's foreign to Christian motivation and commitment.

The word seek is ateo. It means an imperative directed, focused probe, that thirsts God out in the spirit, specifically and precisely, precisely leaving no stone unturned. A heart craving that won't be denied or distracted by any other interest or demand. That's foreign to the Christian experience.

So you are looking away unto Jesus, you are abiding in Him, you are living and walking in the Spirit and dwelling in the secret place, making the Lord the Most High your habitation is all done by one action. And that's the redirecting of your mind. instead of allowing your outside senses to learn about God, you have to redirect your mind to your inside senses, and your spirit where Jesus is. Well, just what do you do to do that?

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

I'm going to go to the last part. You bring every thought into captivity.

Psalm 46:10 says, Be still and know God.

What do you mean? Bring your thoughts into captivity, I mean, bring them to stillness in a focused, directed concentration upon Jesus in your spirit, and your inner man, and see how long you can hold your retention without rabbit tracking or distractions. Our minds have been so disciplined during our lifetime, to exercise our mind to comprehend everything.

And now the Word says, I want you to get your mind quiet and still. I want you to get it aggressively inactive or focused upon Me, and then I'll renew your mind. I will impart My faith, My substance, My experience, My intelligence to you. And the renewed mind knows no failure. The renewed mind cannot fail in an answer to every prayer. Have I helped you?

ROYAL CRONQUIST HOW REPETITIONS INCREASE PRAYER PART 2

By any distraction or any demand is laying siege upon God that will permit no interception, no counteraction, or any possibility of failure. That's what it means to pray without ceasing. Now we've got something to repent about. Because I suspect there's many of us learn how to do that. I'm talking about the how.

People say, “Well, I pray all the time.” The pastor mentioned this morning about praying out loud. I suggest that you begin your praying daily out loud because something about your own voice began to stir the passivity, the reluctance of your own spirit. Begin to cause vibration to begin alive with power. And it helps you in your concentration, your focus while you have your audible voice. Once you have that, that anointing, that powerful presence upon you, then you can go into that and your focus is not distracted. Like a dog at every garbage can. Then you can go into the silent realm. And you can stay there for hours or days or weeks. And never get out of it.

When I worked at North Island Naval Air Station, I come in one morning, for four hours I was full of God. I've been praying all night. 

Someone asked me, “How are you Brother Cronquist?” 

“Oh, wonderful. I have been praying all night.”

“All night. What in the world did you have to say? I could pray 15-20 minutes and I don’t know what else to say.”  

That shows how little he knew about the art of prayer.

I got a message out there - Seven Ways of Praying. You all ought to get it. Because you need to exercise all those ways. But it is wonderful to pray all night. It was wonderful to pray all day and all night. It's even more wonderful to pray for a few days, all day and all night. It's even better to learn how to pray for a few weeks, all day and all night. Careful. Don't do it too much, because you just might pull an Enoch on yourself. I'm serious. You're laughing. I'm serious. It gets so good. You wonder what happened to the earth.

You can have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ as badly as you want. Or you can go ahead and gratify yourself and have no relationship at all and be a miserable Christian. And that's where most people are - miserable Christian. But I am not very miserable. 

Now back to prayer. Pray without ceasing. If I could give you the key to all success in prayer. The key to understanding all doctrine in your experience. The key to possessing all the promises in your life and the very substance of Jesus Christ in your experience. The key that would help you to discern every false prophet from a true prophet. The key is that what causes you and enables you to absolutely be equal to Jesus Christ. Would you do it? Something you can do. I'm not only going to show you this key, but I'll show you how to do it. Right? And how to do it consistently and how to do it until you are possessing it.

Ephesians 1. I got this 23 to 24 years ago from God. And I started praying this and things began to happen. Wonderful thing. I couldn't open the Bible anywhere. But boy, boy is just terribly exciting, terrible, wonderful. All kinds of miracles were happening. Everything. And I got distracted by my peers in the ministry. And I never advanced from that day on.

Then in 1981, 21 years later, I preached this similar message in St. Paul, Minneapolis, or Minnesota. I went home. That was in September. Then in February of 82, I was called to a conference in Massachusetts to preach. And as the plane was taking off the Lord Jesus appeared in my room. That's what He said. He said, “The message that I gave you to the King Jesus Church in St. Paul, not one person has done it.”

That was a message that was so clearly presented for something that they could do. He said, “Not one person has done it.” I know people hear preachers and never do it. Many of you here will hear me but you'll never do it. Because to do this you're going to have to sacrifice or deny yourself. Some of you shook your head if you're going to do this key today.

And then I said, “That's terrible, Lord.”

You know what He told me? He said, “Neither have you.”

Wow, that hit me between the eyes with a 12-pound sled hammer. Oh boy. Did I humble myself? Start repenting.

And then He said this before He left my room. He said, “If you had continued to do, what I taught you to do 21 years ago, you would have already arrived and then made complete in Me.”

Can you get the impact of that kind of remark? That if I had done what I'm going to teach you today, and the ways that I would want to teach you, if I had done, if I had continued on I would have already arrived and made me complete in Christ. 21 years in Christ down the tubes. He blessed me up, caused a lot of increase, but I missed being complete. I must be finished in this life. Now I'm gonna teach you what to do.

Ephesians 1:16-23 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, 20 Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world but also in that which is to come: 22 And has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is His body, the fullness of Him that fills all in all.

Good stuff in it.

Look at Ephesians 2:5-6 Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ, (by grace you are saved;) 6 And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Jesus is seated in the heavenly places at the right hand of the Father far above all principalities and powers, might and dominion. And He's made you alive with Christ. And He's raised you up together with Christ. And He seated you with Him at the right hand of the Father, far above the principalities and powers, and dominion, amen.

Now, you need to learn how to get off your position. It's that thing you're sitting on. And you need to get into the experience of this, don't you?

Jesus Christ appeared to me in Tulsa in my room, and He said, “If the doctrine of positional Christianity is prolonged, it will cause you to be caught in deception.” And He emphasized the word “prolonged.” If you're going to allow your position in Christ to be prolonged in your life and never be experienced, it's a good sign you're caught in deception.

And I've heard all my life, “This is our position in Christ,” and people accept that as acceptable. God will not accept it as acceptable. You got to get off your position into the experience. And this key is going to teach you how.

When I got a hold of this message 24 years ago and I loved the word, but there was an awful lot I didn't understand. There's still a lot I don't understand. But this is why I started praying. I'm going to show you how.

The latest time that I could get out of bed was quarter to six in the morning because I had to go to work. I worked for 12 years, had a full-time ministry. So I roll out of bed on my knees and I pray like this. “God, give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Enlighten the eyes of my heart with understanding so that I may know, in my experience, what the hope of Jesus' calling is, so that I may know in my experience, what the riches of the glory of Jesus' inheritance in the saints, so that I may know, in my experience, what the exceeding greatness of His power is towards me, because I believe, (and that word power is “dunamis” miracle power), so that I may know, in my experience, what the dunamis power of Jesus Christ is towards me because I believe, that I may know what the exceeding great, so nothing less, nothing less than the powers.”

Let us go back into chapter one very closely.

Eph 1:19  And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, 

And what is this capacity? Verse 19, what is this surpassing greatness of His power towards us that believe? Now that word is dunamis miracle power. These are in accordance with the “working.” 

The word “working” Is energeia power. Energeia means strong, effectual efficiency and operation of the strength. Now that word is kratos. That's manifested vigorous power to the perfect tense of His might. That word is ischus. It is a vigorous ability, direct forcefulness demonstrated in divine strength.

Now Paul is praying here. And I want you to start praying on an individual basis or corporate basis, that God would give you the spirit of wisdom. 

What is the spirit of wisdom? The spirit of wisdom is the ability, the divine ability to make divine knowledge work. If you never have the spirit of wisdom, along with knowledge, your knowledge will never work. For knowledge is who what and where. Wisdom is how, when, and why to make that who what and where work.

Eph 1:17  That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: 

So Paul is praying that God would give you the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation, and the knowledge of Christ Jesus. 

The word knowledge is epignosis and it means the end, the exact completed, finished, intimate knowledge that exists in Christ Jesus Himself. That's the spirit of wisdom from God that causes a very intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ to be completed in you.

Eph 1:18  The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. 

And that the eyes of your heart. The word “heart” is dianoia. It's an action of deep thought in the intuitive mind. It's the divine power of God in you to know the meaning of everything. It's the infinite commingling. It's the literal incarnation in all its fullness in you if you have a spirit of wisdom and revelation that would come from Him, in you to do that.

That you may know what is the hope of His calling. What is the hope of His calling? The hope of His calling is to bring many sons to glory. Not babies, not children, but sons, the measure of the stature of the fullness of Himself.

And the reason why nobody has come to sonship because they have not really sought God for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. They settled for a little blessing here, a little blessing there. Blessings many times will shortchange you and you'll get your eyes off your need. Your need is to know Him not to have a blessing. Children want blessings but they don't even want the responsibility. The people of God want a blessing of God but they don't want the responsibility.

And I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. The word enlightened means photizo. That is revelation workings of divine insight with exact knowledge. Did you hear me?

That you may know what is the greatness of His miracle power. Nothing less than the powers of energeia, kratos, and ischus that He wrought in Christ Jesus when He raised Him from the dead.

Look at me in the spirit. I want you to start praying to the Lord Jesus to the Father in His name, so He can give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge of Himself.

That's nice. So I get out of bed. And I pray, “God give me the spirit of wisdom, revelation knowledge of Him.”

That's nice. Probably He hadn't heard you yet because you see, He'll never hear anything that has its origin from you. He's only going to hear what has its origins from Christ Jesus in you. And that's your spirit.

The Lord won’t receive the testimony of your prayers. He's only going to receive the testimony of His Son's prayer. So you got to learn how to get out of you to get into union with Jesus Christ. And I have learned, and I think it's the fact most people never even begin to get out of their self dominated life until they have prayed for a minimum of two hours. No wonder we have such a weak, anemic church. Takes about that long. Some days, I get into the spirit in about five minutes. But most days, I don't really get into the spirit really get into spirit until I worked at it through prayer for a minimum of two hours. All the things that I've been praying for two hours amount to zero.

But once I get into the spirit, I can go back and say the same thing that I was saying when I was in myself, and I can have the answers. Are you listening to me? Learn to concentrate. Did any of you missed what I said? Come on, listen to me. Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. I can be praying very validly needful things from my soul-life, my self-life but as long as it's me praying, I'm not praying it in the spirit. I have to pray until I get out of my self into the spirit. And when I get into the spirit, I can say the same thing that I was saying in my self and I'll say it once and have the answer. While I am in my self, I'd be praying a 100 times and never get the answer.

So I gotta pray 100 times, 200 times, 300,400 1000 until I get out of my self into the realm of spirit, and now I get the Rhema word. I speak it and possess it. Most people don't want to pray that much. They'd like to deceive themselves. Many times when I pray I have to ask how much time they got left. 15 minutes. Many times when I pray I'll ask myself, “Royal, is your heart in it?” You'd be surprised how many times I found out my heart was not in it. I was being so religious. I was doing so nice in my prayer life.

But I hate myself in my religiosity, in my self, the indication of my good friend, self-life. I had to repent of my lip service to God, get my heart into it. Because it's only when I get my heart into it, will God even begin to listen. Because He can't hear self. He can only hear heart and spirit. Oh, I never heard myself say that before. He can only hear heart and spirit. He can't hear self. Are you getting it? You're getting anything yet? 

So anyway, there's the way I pray. I'm gonna tell you how I pray. So as I roll out of bed, I roll out of bed on my knees. And I go through that whole thing of praying to God, “Give me,” and I would focus right from the center of my forehead. I am just vicious in my focus and locked my mind upon Him.

I said, “God,” and I'd mean it from all my heart said, “God, give me the spirit of wisdom and the spirit of revelation and knowledge of Christ Jesus. Enlighten the eyes of my heart with understanding so that I may know, within my experience... that word know is eido and it means the absolute experience of God in you. That I may know in my experience, what the hope of Jesus’ calling is, that I may know what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and that I may know what exceeding greatness of His miracle power is towards me, because I believe, that I may know nothing less than the power which You wrought in Christ Jesus when He raised Him from the dead.

Do you know what would happen to you if you would seek God for the spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge of Him? He would begin to work within you the dunamis power, the ischus power, the kratos power and energeia power which will give you immortality. Because it was those powers, those four powers that God wrought in Christ Jesus that raised Him from the dead. Of course, most of your life, you're suffering mortality. Now you don't like to suffer mortality and you got sick of the pain that you got. Yeah, I am too.

You start if you can, if you seek God or you pray, “God, give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge of Him. Enlighten the eyes of my heart that I may know in my experience what the hope of His calling is, what the riches of the glory of His inheritance is, what the exceeding greatness of His powers towards me who believe, according to the working of His mighty power that you wrought in Christ Jesus from the dead.”

And I remind myself, “Royal, He's made you ally with Him. He's raised you up with Him to see the view within Him at the right hand of the Father, all empowered within Him.”

Until I get up off my knees, I pray that while I'm walking down the hall, go to the bathroom and pray, “Father, in Jesus' name, give me the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation, and the knowledge of Christ Jesus, enlighten the eyes of my heart with understanding, so that I may know in my experience, what the hope of Jesus calling us with the riches of Your glory is in that inheritance in the saints, to know the exceeding greatness of Your miracle power towards me, because I believe.”

While I was coming out of the bathroom, I would get breakfast ready. I sit down, and say grace, “God, give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Enlighten the eyes of my heart with understanding, so that I may know what the hope of Jesus’ calling is. So that I may know in my experience, what the riches of the glory of Jesus' inheritance is in me because I am a saint, so that I may know what exceeding greatness of Your miracle power toward me..” and I kept praying that and I bow right in the middle of my food, and I pray that. I go through that whole thing.

While I'm putting on my coat, I'm praying. And while I was walking out to the car, I was praying it. And I rode in carpools with four men. One week I'd drive, other weeks they would drive. I sat there and with my lip service, I'd be praying all the way for 25-30 minutes, “God give me the spirit of wisdom, and revelation, and the knowledge of Christ Jesus.”

I go through that whole thing, word for word, again, with my focus, whatever is, every second might be with my heart on it. And while I was working at work, while I was driving the nails because I was a carpenter, I prayed, “God give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the knowledge of Christ Jesus...” while running a saw through a board, “God give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge of Christ.” I was going to pray that until I would not be denied. I was going to pray it until God Almighty began to work it in my life.

Persistent, unrelenting, unceasing persistence. I want to tell you something. If you don't get this spirit of wisdom and revelation, and knowledge you need to work in your life, you can't be a good Christian and die in faith never received that promise. All of a sudden, I prayed that way I give up all other praying. I stopped praying for my loved ones. I stopped praying for the President. I stopped praying, no chance of me praying for anybody. Because I get no answers for anybody.

And I started praying, “God give me that spirit of wisdom, revelation and knowledge of Christ Jesus.” Some days, I'll pray it 100 times some days, I'll pray 300 times. Even now, some days I'll pray 500 times because I know that if the spirit of wisdom of God, revelation working God is not working with me, I ain't get nothing from God because it all comes out of His wisdom and His revelation working from my conscious understanding.

Pray without ceasing. I know the scripture says in Matthew 6:7, But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

That vain reputation is that you keep praying something of your self interest. You cannot pray that. You pray for God's interest. 1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us: 15 And if we know that He hear us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.

Until you start praying that you're never going to be able to gratify yourself in any of that because He ain't going to give it to you to gratify you. Have I made it clear? Do you know now what to do? Do you know how to do it? 

Have I demonstrated enough for you? Don't tell me you don't have the time. If I could walk with you people day by day, close, intimate walk with you. I can prove to you where you waste 80% of your time being unproductive and uncommitted and uncreative in life. Because why? Special things are always wanting some gratification. Or people are sitting around their house and waste time looking at the world go by. They go here, they go there, gratifying the senses as the world goes by. I hope I've made it clear for you. And I want to say something else.

There was a man by the name of Kenneth Hagin, anybody knows him? This is the story of his son. He says, “When my dad was a young man in the ministry back in Texas, we were in a little house, one bedroom, decrepit wooden floor. I saw my dad one night, get up from the table and went over and he knelt down by a desk that was by the bedroom door. I saw him start to pray. When I got up in the morning, he was still there. I come home from school, he was still there. Went to bed that night. In the morning, he was still there. I come home from school that day, and he was still there. This went on for days. I saw my mom bring him a little broth once in a while and they take a little broth. He was still there. By that desk near that door. He was praying.”

That's what we call praying with all your heart. That's what we call persistence.

And this is what he was praying.

Father, give me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. Enlighten the eyes of my heart with understanding. So that I may know in my experience what the hope of Jesus calling..”

This is what kind of Hagin was as a young man. Today, in my estimation, he's one of the finest prophetic teachers in the world.

Smith Wigglesworth, you ever hear about him? He lived in the country, I think if I relate it right. He would go in and out of town. He drove by this neighbor's house and he saw a man out in the pasture, knelt by the fence post hanging onto barbed wire praying. He comes back later in the day and he's still there. And this went on for several days, five days I think. It was one week. He was a man of prayer who averaged six to eight hours a day in prayer. Finally, after five days, he was moved by God to step through the fence by the road and walk across the pasture to this neighbor that was kneeling down praying.

“My brother, who are you praying for?”

“I'm praying for my daughter. She can't hear.”

“The Spirit of the LORD came on me and He says you can stop praying. Your daughter is restored. She is made ever whole.”

See that? The answer would never have come if he hadn't been one who was dedicated to having a period of praying without ceasing.

Maybe you've been praying for the same thing for 20 years. You never did that unceasing act. Sometimes we need to help one another. You husbands need to help your wives to have time to pray. You wives need to help your husbands have time to pray. Your husband and wife need to help other husbands and wives have time to pray. Take their kids, take their responsibilities for a weekend for a holiday to pray. We need to learn how to pray.

You need to get the spirit of wisdom and revelation. You need to learn how to be unceasing in prayer, unrelenting, unremitting, no reset, no probation, no other demand, no other distractions. You need to learn how to pray things through. If you aren't going to do this kind of praying, you might as well forget about praying for everything.

I have never advanced in God in my experience and understanding the scriptures until I gave myself to repetitious, unceasing praying, repetitive, unceasing. “God, give me the spirit of wisdom.”

Or if it's for a loved one, I tune into my loved one. My son-in-law's marriage was on the rock. I loved him and don’t believe in divorce. I know people get caught in divorce and probably some here. No, we're not gonna get on that subject. His marriage was on the rocks.

So I locked him in a carpenter shop, bars on the windows, key in my pocket. I told him, "The only way you're going to get out there is hurt me and get the key off of me. I'm going to tell you what you need to know. To my own hurt. My daughter, my kids adore me." 

So I talked to him as kindly as I could get yet firmly as I could - reproving and rebuking him for his carelessness, laziness, selfishness. I did just what I thought. He is estranged from me and he took my daughter away from me. I was a heartbroken father.

One day, I decided to start praying for my son-in-law 1500 miles away. I started tuning into him with my spirit with my focus always right there. But I keep him right in front of me. I talked to him. His name is Thomas.

“Tom. Forgive me for not having enough love in that carpenter's shop. Forgive me for not having enough grace. Forgive me for being so harsh and so hard and so firm. Forgive me for not knowing how to feel empathy.”

I would repent and I would repent and confess repentance while talking to him 1500 miles away. I was talking to him as though he was right in front of me. I prayed many hours a day that way. I wanted my daughter back, I wanted my son-in-law back. I can't live without that part of my life. So I kept daily taking the time, undivided time, undistracted time to pray. And in prayer. I would tune in to him and talk to him.

One day, in August, I have to be home. Four o'clock in the morning the phone rings wakes me out of a sound sleep. A voice on there says, “Dad, dad.”

“Who is this?”

“This is Tom.”

“Tom?”

“Yeah. This is Grandparents Day and I called you to wish you Grandparents Day.”

“I didn't know there was such a day.”

“It is really today.”

Then he says, “I bless you.”

Oh, oh, heaven turned loose. Oh, heaven turned loose. And I tried to contain myself. My son-in-law was blessing me again. Not resenting it a bit. He was better. And I went on my itinerary speaking and preaching. I called my wife about two, three weeks later. 

She says, “You know they're coming home for Christmas. They are.”

“Why are they doing that?”

“I don't know. They just come home for Christmas.”

“They are? I can hardly believe it.”

They come home my son-in-law, my daughter, two grandkids. My other son that's married come home. We had 10 days of heaven on earth. We held hands a lot. We kissed a lot. We hugged a lot. We're very close. We touched a lot. We cried a lot. We prayed together. We loved together. It was heaven on earth.

It only happened because I made the decision. I don't pray it through. It was gonna be unceasing. I was humbled. I didn't have any right to be right. I had the right to be broken. I identified with all of the faults. It is always mine – repented, repented, repented, and repented. Please forgive me, forgive me, forgive me. He did.

Have I helped you? Hope you learned something today about the art of prayer.

Come on. Get that spirit of wisdom and revelation and knowledge of Him. I want you to know something from the days that I've met you. You'll never be out of my prayers again. I'll never sin against the Lord ceasing to pray for you night and day. When I go to the throne, I'm gonna take you with me, probably some by name. But every one of you by faith because you'll never be affected when you find yourself in trouble. Blame me. I don't pray very pussyfoot.

I asked God put you in trouble. Only when you get in trouble that you can mean business. Most people never pray until they're in a crisis state. I don't want to pray in a crisis state. Because if we pray out of our emotion out of our need we can never pray the prayer of faith. I want to pray every day. I want to talk with my King. I want to have a loving relationship. I want to know that I know that I know that I know that I know that I know that I have touched the Lord. And that He is walking in me. And that I'm different. Let the world not be ashamed of it. It takes a lot of guts. All my enemies are Christian. I don't have an enemy this is a saint. Not all Christians are my enemies, thank God. It’s my enemies that have made me, help make me. It is my enemies that have been my blessing.

It's been the pain of relationships, where I chose to stay sweet. And chose to pray and to bless but not curse, not criticize, not whine and nag, moan and complain about my life. It's my enemies, that God has used to perfect that which concerns me. They're the ones I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for you. But you people are too easy to lead to love. I have to go out here to find some Christians or I can have enemies. They're the ones that give me the chance to put on the fruit of the Spirit. They're the ones who have the greatest aid to me to advance. Hope I've helped you.

Now, Father, thank You for the chance to share my experience in the sanctuary. Thank you for the chance to show the way that You showed me and taught me.

Oh, by the way, if some of you got any secrets that you've learned that I haven't learned, would you share them with me? I want to learn them in some way that worked for you. Try different things until they worked. And you find something work try to wear it out to get better. 

Come on, beloved. We can bring in the kingdom by the end of this decade. We can bring the King back. We can do it. We can do it. I'm dedicated. I'm dedicated to doing everything I can to bring it to the end of this decade.

I don't want my children living into the 90s in the way that the world has gone. I want to have a relationship with Jesus Christ so that I can be so complete, that I can rule the nations with a rod of iron. For the kingdoms of this world can become the kingdom of the Lord in His Christ. I'm committed to this.

Oh, Royal has that same problem as anybody else. He has the same testings, the same enticements. Sorry Royal, you know, you're gonna have to just deny your own self today. You're gonna live for God. Oh, Royal hurts in it. I'm not telling you this is easy. This is a painful life. If you're going to reign with Me, you're going to suffer with Me. Suffer and I will do blessings. 

I don't want any more blessings. I want Him. I want to be like Him. Blessings retard me. Blessings make me lazy. Blessings make me too comfortable. I want Him. I want Him to give me nothing. But what I need will finish me in Christ. If it's suffering that's what I want. The blessings I don't know. I'm a little afraid of them. A little freedom. I want Him. Oh, to taste to see Him. To walk with Him. It's worth it all. Let every heart be fertile soil here. Everyone be changed, but to be some real repentance of ourselves to be some real spirit of wisdom and revelation knowledge of Christ Jesus. You said your word will not return the void. But I realized the condition of that not returning your word void is that we love the Lord God with all our hearts and all our soul with all our mind. With all that I commit this word to You.