Worshipping Angels: The Forbidden Practice

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: Worshipping Angels: The Forbidden Practice Part 1

Scripture: Matthew 12:24; Colossians 2:18; 1 Timothy 4:1

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

We left off talking about the fact that the angels were created for man and to minister to the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). But these fallen angels, from their fall from Heaven, have always been seeking to get back to their former estate. Now God specifically spoke against the practice of worshipping angels because for one, they were created to serve the sons of God and not to be worshipped. In many of the interactions with a humans from an angel that was sent from God, the angel would have to correct the man in not worshipping them but to receive the Word of God and worship Him. We know that the ancient city of Babylon and the Tower of Babel was erected by the fallen spirits for worship and in an attempt to get them back into their previous state in glory. Of course we know that will never happen because the end result in revelation for their rebellion was death and the lake of fire. In scripture we have some unique references to the reason why we should not worship the angels.

The first situation we want to look at is the interaction between the god of this world and the King of Kings, Jesus Christ.

Matthew 4:8-10: Again, the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve

Now look at this! We have a fallen angel seeking worship from a man, but not only a man but from God. Hence we have Jesus telling Satan that the order is you are to serve the Lord. No man should ever bow down and worship an angel. Satan was offering Jesus the kingdoms of the world but the condition was that Jesus was to worship or conform to the image and obey Satan. If Jesus had taken the deal, salvation would be over and we would all be eternally condemned. Let’s look another method of how angels try to get men to worship them.

Colossians 2:18: Let no man beguile (trick) you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind.

Mankind who are influenced by these demonic spirits can present themselves in a nice, confident manner and teach doctrines that lead to the worship of angels by holding them in high esteem over the children of God. But notice Paul says do not let a man trick you of your reward. Now what is our reward? Eternal life and a life with the Lord forever. There are people and denominations in the earth that hold the angels in reverence and they pray to the angels. When we hold the angels in high reverence above Jesus then we have just made them god and put them in the exact place in our lives where God did not ever want them to be, which was equal to Him. Satan has planted ministers of unrighteousness in the church and there are thousands of people following them like a piped-piper. They present themselves in a certain manner and because the doctrine they preach is corrupt and wrong, the people learn about things that are not true and un-profitable for their spirit. We have denominations giving worship to angels such as Michael and Gabrielle and it is being taught to do so. However nowhere in scripture does it say that man should ever do this. The scripture does say that the angels serve but they are never to receive worship from man. We need to be very careful of the so called leaders who are being influenced by the fallen ones who are driven by prosperity and use the worldly systems to fund their hidden agendas and fantasies. Remember Jesus said Satan does not savour the things of God but the things of men.

In the next message we will look at real life situations where the angels have used entertainment to get worship from the children of God. You do not want to miss this.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

Divine Design and Purpose of the Created Beings

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: Divine Design and Purpose of the Created Beings

Scripture: John 4:23,24; Hebrews 1:13,14; Psalm 91:10-12

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Now we know that there are angels and there is mankind as the created beings in the Earth. The angels were created before man and there was a reason for this. Now this is so important to understand, especially in these last days. When God created the angels, he created them with the purpose to serve the saints. Yes, the angels were created to serve the sons of God. How do we know this? The scriptures are laced with examples all over the place. Let me show you this scripture and this should sum it all the way up:

Hebrews 1:13,14: but to which of the angels said he at anytime, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are THEY (ANGELS) NOT ALL (EVERY ONE OF THEM) ministering spirits (servants), sent forth to minister (serve) for them WHO SHALL BE THE HEIRS OF SALVATION?

Now this scripture is so clear that every and I mean every angel is a ministering spirit sent to serve those who shall be the heirs of salvation. Who are the heirs of salvation? They are the sons of God. Nowhere in scripture do we see that the angels have a capacity to love. Nowhere in scripture did I see an angel be given the Holy Spirit to abide in them. Nowhere in scripture do we see a place where angels demand worship. Any true angel from God always corrected the man whom they came in contact with to not bow to them but to Word of the Lord that was come unto them. I am reminded of Joshua at Jericho and all of a sudden Joshua looked up and saw these military forces in front of him and Joshua asked who are they with and the leader of the host said he is the captain of the hosts. These hosts are the angels from the Lord. Not to get sidetracked it is important to know that the angels are to minister unto us and serve the sons of God. Let me show you another scripture:

Psalm 91:10-12: There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee to keep the in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

It is the angels charge to serve you and protect you lest you fall. Now this brings me to this unique point and the point is we have 1/3 of Heaven’s original angels who hate us and would do anything to destroy us and have us worship them. These angels believed that God made a mistake in making His sons, whom they believed to be an untried creature, the heirs of the Kingdom of God. Of course they were kicked out for questioning and rebelling against God in His decision. Remember sin is rebelling against God and deviating from the norm. Now let me show you this revelation of the angels that was given to me through my brother, Leon Elijah. We always talk about the angels in thirds so there are three types of angels. They are:

1. Warring Angels

2. Messenger Angels

3. Worshipping Angels

Now you know which one of these 3 divisions of angels fell and of course it was the worshipping group. This group allowed Lucifer, who became Satan to use His talent and abilities to draw the worship to Him and not to God. These angels believe God judged Lucifer wrong and every endeavor of these fallen angels is to get back what was lost, there former estate in glory with the Father. This is why when they are loosed from the abyss in Revelation they will have crowns that are tarnished and not golden like they would have had in Heaven. God knew that He was creating children that would freely worship Him in truth and in spirit. This is why Jesus said in John:

John 4:23,24: But the hour cometh, AND NOW IS, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

So God is showing these rebellious angels who fell that these, His children, mankind will conform to the image of God and worship Him in truth and in spirit. Since these rebellious angels and demons cannot get back to their former estate they will defile and try to prove God was wrong in selecting mankind to be inheritors of the Kingdom. They will seek worship from mankind and try to defile all that they can in the attempt, even though it will fail.

In closing the angels were created for man and not man for the angels. In the next message we will talk about worshipping angels and show you real life situations where the angels were seeking worship in this day and how mankind has consented to this demonic practice.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

The Design and Purpose of the Creation

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: The Design and Purpose of the Creation

Scripture: Genesis 1; Matthew 6:31-33

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

When we talk about maturing and the emergence of the Holy Nation, we must understand that there are seasons in time that we must go through and by each of those seasons God is revealing more and more about Himself to His children and their purpose in the Earth. However, how God does it, is more spectacular and amazing and I pray you receive this in the name of Jesus.

Before God made the realm of time in which we live in, God knew the end from the beginning of the age of man and He knew what it would take and when things would happen in order to advance the various seasons of God in the Earth to mature His children. Hence God always prepares the next step before we even take it. In other words, the next step is prepared for us if we just get ready in this season. But let’s look at the beginning of creation and see how this unfolds.

Genesis 1:1: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Hebrew 11:3: Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed (made or created) by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him and without Him was not any thing made that was made

Now by these three scriptures alone we see that it was God who created the world and He framed it or created it with His words. That means when God spoke, the very thing that was spoken became a reality. Now when we look at the creation of the creation, we see mankind is not created on the Earth until the 6^th day. So there was five days where the Lord was setting up creation. God does not do things just to do them, there is a reason, plan and purpose in play when God creates creation. Before man was placed in the Earth, God prepared the place for him to rule. He provided everything that He would need for his survival. It was only after the sixth day when man had been established in the earth did God see everything and then call it VERY GOOD. Many of the times before the sixth day, God saw creation and said it was good but after mankind had been put in the Earth, now it was very good. It was very good because God has His dwelling place in the Earth to bring His Kingdom and family from Heaven to Earth. What is the end result again? God will be all in all! So God will be all He is and nothing will constrain Him by who He is in. That is the end result.

God had to disciple Adam and teach Him about Kingdom concepts and raise Him up to maturity so He can understand the dominion God gave Him in the Earth. But before all of this could happen, God set the stage, prepared it with all of the things man needs and after it was set, then He brought man in and taught Him how to live in this world.

Quite simply we see Matthew 6:31-33 right here in Genesis Chapter 1. We have Adam being discipled and depending solely on God for everything. Adam did not have to worry about anything because everything was added and prepared and just as long as Adam stayed in right-positioning with God, he would continue to experience eternal life right there on Earth. Yes, eternal life on Earth.

In the next message we will look at the created beings including man and see even in their creation there was a order and if you do not understand the order then you will find yourself in a demonic situation and see nothing wrong with it. Let us continue to look at the order of God in the Earth.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

The Order and Purpose of Creation Part 1

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: The Order and Purpose of Creation Part 1

Scripture: Romans 1:20

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Why is the earth the third planet from the sun? Why did God put gravity on earth? Why did God put mankind on Earth and give him dominion? Why would God create angels when He could have just created mankind? When we do not understand why God does things then we are always left with this mysterious God that people seem to not know. However, God does not want to be that way with us. He wants to reveal Himself to us when we desire to see Him and His power. One of the most unique things that I have studied is the creation and why God created the creation and its purpose.

Romans 1:20: For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse

So the very creation was created to show us something about God Himself. Now the order in which God put creation was very important because when we see the bigger picture then we understand that God prepares us for the next thing by have everything we need in place before we get there. Now we have heard this before but do we truly understand it.

Let me give you this brief glimpse and in the next two to three messages we will go in-depth in this very issue. What is your purpose in the Earth in this current season? Well we can list a multitude of things but would one of them be to prepare the next generation of children of God for the next season or move of God toward the return of the Lord? Yes we are to preach and teach the Kingdom of God. Yes, we are to fulfill the Great Commission but when you look at the Great Commission, it clearly states that we are to teach or disciple all nations. This discipling will prepare the Body of Christ for the next move of God in preparation of the return of the Lord. What do you think the prophets were doing in the Old Testament? They were not just talking but they were teaching and preparing the way of the Lord. Of course we know it was John the Baptist that had the honor of introducing the message that His former colleagues could only speak and live in the hope of seeing that day. What was that day? The day of the Lord. So even in this small example we will see this common theme through creation and the created beings. In the next message we will look at the Creation.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

The Concept of the Body of Christ

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: The Concept of the Body of Christ

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:4,5,12

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

I know we throw the term Body of Christ around a lot, today we want to give some clarity to what is the Body of Christ and it’s composition. In the last message we left off discussing that it is the exclusive work of the Holy Spirit to take every spirit that is born again of the Spirit and place it or assemble it in the Body of Christ to perform a certain function and duty for the Kingdom of God. So all of these spirits are baptized into one Spirit. The name of the body made up of these spirits is the name of the very Spirit that inhabited to person of Christ, the person of Jesus, and that is the Spirit of Christ. Hence we have the Body of Christ. Holy Spirit knows the mind of God and hence He knows how to place you and what your destiny and purpose is for the Kingdom. Look at this scripture:

1 Corinthians 12:12: For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

Now if the Body of Christ is made up of all the spirits born again of the Spirit of Christ then we must understand that our function in the Body will be diverse because everybody cannot be the arm and everybody cannot be a leg or finger or shoulder. Definetely there is only one head and that is Jesus Christ so nobody but Him can be that.

1 Corinthians 12:4,5: Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord

So in our functioning in the Body of Christ, we are empowered by the gifting from Christ through Holy Spirit. Now the scripture says there are differences of administrations. This simply states that are different ways of serving or ministering but all of it is under the authority and control of the Lord. One of the things I see a lot of is self-same gift congregating. Now let me explain. We have only the apostles over here and here we have our clique of prophets and our pastors in this corner or group and all the evangelist in this conference and forget out the teacher because anybody can be a teacher. As stupid as that sounds, this is a reality and it happens all the time. God did not call us to become separated based upon gifting but to work together for the maturing of the saints. There has to exist a balance for the Body of Christ to advance and let me use this analogy. God designed the human body as a natural shell to describe the Body of Christ.

Everything that your body does is controlled from the head, even your heartbeat and its rhythm is controlled from the head. Before the rest of the body does anything, it must receive information from the head to do it and the head sends neurological and sensory impulses (power) to the rest of the body to perform the function. In order to walk the hands, feet, torso, and head must all be on the same page to make sure the body is balanced and supported through every movement and every step. Each of over 2,000 body parts work in sync to ensure movement. When it is time to rest the head tells the body to stop and rest. The Body of Christ is to operate in the same function. The Lord Jesus Christ gives us direction and commands and if we work together the Holy Nation will emerge and people will begin to see the true sons of God in the Earth. Not saying that these people will believe but then they will have no excuse because they, the sons of God will be preaching and demonstrating the Kingdom of God in the earth and then the end will come (Matthew 24:14).

It is time for us to come together in the Body of Christ. In this season God is calling the Body back to order and everybody should be seeking to be in the order of God in this day to continue to mature and prepare the bride for the coming of the bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

An Expression of Love in the Kingdom of God

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: An Expression of Love in the Kingdom of God

Scripture: 1 John 4:8; John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 12:13

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

Why would God want to build His House in the Earth to come and live in it? Why would he save mankind, whom He created, by coming Himself in flesh and enduring all of the hardships and brutality of this life? Why would God want to do all of this?

1 John 4:8: He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love

How do we know that God loves us? He shows us by His actions. Love has to be a functioning reality for every son of God because if you do not love then you do not know God. The concept of love that God displays is very unique because in our worldly definitions, love is defined by what you do for a person. In the Kingdom of God love is when you fully commit yourself to be displayed through another. When you commit yourself to be displayed through another that requires deep humility. Let’s show the spiritual example of this very concept.

When God created man, He gave man a spirit directly from God Himself. This man whom God created is in the image of God, His Father and Creator and then God sends His Holy Spirit into the man to empower Him to be in the likeness and character of God. This is a lot to give of yourself to a untried creation but God is Alpha and Omega and since He knew the end from the beginning, God knew what He was doing and How it was to be done. When Adam and Eve sinned against God and fellowship was broken between man and God. God comes Himself in a house of flesh to redeem the fallen man.

John 1:14: “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

So God comes in the flesh, in the man of Jesus who is the standard for grace and truth to redeem the fallen man. So even here we see that God is presenting Himself through another. Now when it was time for Jesus to ascend back to the Father, He did not leave us in a state of separation, Jesus sent Holy Spirit to assemble the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is made up of spirits rolled into one spirit. The Spirit which was in the person of Jesus was designed to accommodate all the spirits who were born again of that Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:13: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

So it is the role of Holy Spirit to assemble the Body of Christ. In the next message we will look at the concept of the Body of Christ and how it is created and composed.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

End of the Matter

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: The End of the Matter

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 15:23-28; 1 Peter 2:5

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

I will start with this scripture and I may be able to end this message it on this scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:23-28: “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming. THEN COMETH THE END, when He (Jesus Christ) shall have delivered up the Kingdom of God, even the Father; when he (created beings, man and angels) shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He (Jesus) must reign, till He (Jesus) has put all enemies under His (Jesus) feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He (Jesus) hath put all things under His (Jesus) feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest (understood) that He (Father) is excepted, which did put all things under Him (Jesus). And when all things shall be subdued unto Him (Jesus), then shall the Son also Himself be subject unto Him (Father) that put all things under Him (Jesus) that GOD MAY BE ALL IN ALL.

The end of the matter is God being all in all. In other words, God was making a house for Himself in the Earth. What is the house God is building in the earth?

1 Peter 2:5: Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

It is His children. He wants to be all of Him in all of them, His children. This is why Peter said that we are living stones built up into a spiritual house. A house for who? God! See this is where religion and the Kingdom clash. Religion makes the house of God a building and the Kingdom of God makes the House of God a family. Now let’s return to salvation.

Now if God being all in all is the end of the matter then was it worth God to save mankind? From this perspective, absolutely! Now what that revelation should do is shift the mentality from Heaven to functioning in the Earth because God will not abide where sin is ruling. Hence this is why death, satan and all of evil was thrown in the lake of fire because now all of sin is gone and now God can be all in all in the children of God. Salvation through Jesus Christ prepares us for this powerful end situation. God knew that mankind would sin and prepared a process to redeem man. What was the process? God would come in the form of a man whom He had made to be His housing in the Earth. Who wouldn’t want to save their family or their place of habitation? Now remember the Garden of Eden was what God always intended. We deviated from the norm and now through Christ Jesus we are restored by the indwelling and empowerment through Holy Spirit to be the Holy Nation and the habitation for God in the Earth. But why do this? Why create a dwelling place for yourself through another?

We will answer this question in the next message!

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

Misguided Purpose and the Manifold Wisdom of God

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: Misguided Purpose and the Manifold Wisdom of God

Scripture: Revelation 13:8; Genesis 1:26; Revelation 21:1,2

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

When there is a lack of understanding of purpose then there is a space for the enemy to come in and attempt to change us or deviate us from where God has intended for us to go. We have talked about the belief and theory that the goal of God was for us to go to Heaven and the purpose of Jesus Christ was to save us. When we make that our message then there is nothing else left. Think about it. So once I am saved all I have to do is wait to die and then go to heaven or hope the Lord return before I die. Do we see how silly that sounds, but this is the theology that is taught in many of our churches. They preach generic messages about the acts of Jesus but not the message of Jesus, the Kingdom of God. In turn, the people do not mature and they die never really coming into full potential. All of this is because there is a lack of proper teaching and understanding of purpose which has led to spiritual abuse in the church. Let me show you this:

Revelation 13:8 “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world”

Now many theologians will say, here you go, the Lamb was slain before the world was formed to save me when I came into the Earth and that’s it. Well if you think that is it then you are sadly mistaken. Yes the Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world to save man but that was done because God knew that man would sin. What is sin? Sin is rebellion, deviation from the normal or missing the mark. Unique isn’t it. In other words, God knew that man would deviate from the norm and so saving Him is necessary to fulfill His purpose in the Earth. So salvation is a process to get you to your purpose. Where did man miss the mark? In the Garden of Eden, but let’s go back there because the purpose for man is right there and God told us and I will insert some words to show you in parenthesis:

Genesis 1:26: And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: (Here is the purpose for the creation of man) and let them have DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

So our purpose is to have dominion in the earth, not in Heaven. You have no dominion there! As a son of God, your dominion is in the earth and if God put us here in the beginning then in the end it will be the exact same thing. Religion makes us try to go to heaven but the Kingdom teaches you how to live in the earth because the Kingdom is coming down and religion is always trying to go up. If God’s sole purpose was to create man to save Him then all God had to do was not create him and save His time. Your salvation directs you to and through your purpose. Hence we need to get this going to heaven is the goal out of the church and teach how to live in the Earth. The Bible teaches us how to live in the Earth. It teaches how the Kingdom of Heaven impacts the earth through the sons of God. Funny in Revelation, John said he saw a new heaven and new earth COMING DOWN FROM GOD OUT OF HEAVEN (Revelation 21:1,2). If John saw that, I believe what He saw because God made Him privy to see that and it confirms that this whole thing will end on earth.

Now that we know the purpose, what is the end of the matter. I know we say that it will end on earth but what is the end of the matter? We will look at this in the next message.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

Purpose of Change in the Emergence of the Holy Nation

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: Purpose of Change in the Emergence of the Holy Nation

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 1:13; Matthew 4:17; Romans 12:1,2

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

One of the unfortunate realities of religion is the inability to effectively change. What religion tends to do is add on to the very things that they do like a list of chores. Jesus Christ came to change the season and the way we do things. Hence we have His first words to the multitudes in Matthew 4:17, “Repent”. Paul to the church at Rome tells them to be renewed in their minds (Romans 12:1,2). Finally, Paul tells the church at Corinth that they are a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). What picture are we drawing? There is a direct correlation to the abiding of Holy Spirit in mankind and change with mankind.

The first change that comes about is a translation from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13). This translation happens when one has a repentant heart and desires for Jesus Christ to be Lord over their life in the faith that He is the Son of God and the Risen Savior of the World. Now once one is in the Kingdom of God they are also in-turn a son or child of God. This newborn baby in the House of God must be cared for, nurtured and matured to an adult (maturity-wise).

When we look at our natural children they change so fast and they mature fast based upon the experiences and the things the parents teach them. Now this where we can illustrate change and show you how you must be able to change. As a child grows up the child should start putting away childish things. For example, should a 13 year old man be drinking out of a baby bottle? Of course not, that “season” in their life where they did that came and went and no longer should they do that. Another example, should a adult man or woman need a pacifier to go to sleep? Of course not because that stage of their life has come and went. So just like our natural process of maturation there is a spiritual maturation that has to happen and Holy Spirit has been given to us to assemble us in the Body of Christ and mature us in the ways of Christ.

Like I said earlier religion takes change and adds it to their list of things but never leave the things they were doing in the past season. They carry those things into the new season. Just like the Body of Christ has shifted in the age of man from speaking in tongues, to the revelation of the gifts of the Spirit and now we see the re-emergence of the focus of the Kingdom of God and House of God in these last days. The Kingdom and House of God focus should have always been there but through the epochs of time it was diminished and now we see it forcefully advancing in this day. Now with the emergence of the message and principals of the Kingdom and House of God, a change in mentality has to come to the church. We must learn to migrate from season to season and leave the things of the former season in their place because the grace of God is in the thing that GOD is currently doing. The grace of God leads us, not follows us. I can personally say that in my personal growth there were things in past seasons that I had to allow God to cut away because I was putting away childish things and the elementary things that He taught me and now I walk in the grace of God that is given me today and not in the very things of the past seasons. Many religions deny the full five-fold ministry when God clearly says you need all five for the maturing (perfecting) of the saints. The reason they deny the ministry is because they do not understand how the governmental gifts operate for the saints so instead of repenting and asking God to show them, they continue on the path of old and everything they do, they call it God but cannot show the power of God.

Your maturation in the Kingdom of God is solely on you and you living the Matthew 6:33 command to seek the Kingdom first AND His righteousness. When you began to make that your life then you will began to experience the transformation and change that God has called us to walk in as a part of true repentance.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

Clash of the Cultures

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: Racism and the Holy Nation Part 2: Clash of the Cultures

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 1:3

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

When we speak of racism and how this spirit tries to severe the holy nation we can really look at our cultures and how they clash with the culture of the holy nation. Now to be specific here, the culture of the holy nation is the culture of Heaven which consists of the culture of the Kingdom and the culture of the Son.

The very fleshly and worldly cultures that we live in, many times define who we are and how we respond to other cultures. If there was one culture that oppressed another then the culture that was a victim tends to always remain in that place and remind the oppressing culture of their wrong doings towards them. If we look at the church today, especially in America, Sunday is probably the most segregated day in America but notice it is not segregated throughout the week, in a particular sense, but it is segregated on the one issue that we should be united on and that is the Lord and the Kingdom of God. Now the reason we have racism in the church is because of a lack of knowledge and identity. The lack of knowledge refers to a lack of the truth about God and a solid relationship with Him and the lack of identity is simply not knowing who you are and how God has created you and your purpose in the Earth. When those things are lacking then there is an abuse of power and oppression of the minds of the people.

Now, let’s look specifically at the church. If we use America for example we know that America has an unflattering history of racism and segregation and this trickled into the church. We have what is called “African American churches”, “Hispanic churches” and “Caucasian churches”. The hardcore reality is the majority of those people belonging to those particular races attend a church that is predominately if not all the way the same race as they are. The mindset is that they must attend this particular church because the pastor can understand where they come from and what they have been through. Moreover when we look at the style or diversity or worship services and how we give praise to the Lord we are divided on that thinking that “our way” is the way. As bad as this sound there is a silver lining in this and it shows to power, majesty and creative ways of the Lord.

God created us to be diverse to show His power and the many ways people can render praise and worship unto the Lord. Not just in song and worship experience but also in service and obedience unto the Lord. Remember worship is conforming to the image of the person or thing you are holding in reverence. We need to learn that dominion has a powerful place in this very issue. Now what I will speak about here only applies to worshippers who give worship in truth and in spirit to God. Some people like their gospel music fast, some like it slow. Some like to sing hymns and some like to do devotional services. Some like to have choirs and other may not. Some like to use instruments as a part of the service, some may not. Some may not have a choir and others may. Some like their preacher with an organ (if you can still follow him) and some do not. God created us different to show the creativity of God and the diversity of the way we can render praise and worship. The spirit of racism brings up our diversities and causes us to look at the differences and all the reasons why our way is the way and just because a group of people back some 50 to 200 years ago oppressed us then we need to hold on to what they did and remember it. Moreover we go as far to believe that God will punish an entire race of people because of what their forefathers did and take it far enough to the fact that Jesus will not save them because of that. This is extreme but the spirit of antichrist is just as extreme.

1 Peter 2:9: “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”

If we claim to be a part of the House of God then we know we are spirit first, flesh last. The House of God is made up of spirits and so our flesh and our cultures should not dictate or influence the culture of Heaven that we should be living out in the earth to show forth the praise of God. Our culture should never rise above the culture of Heaven. Those of us who have been oppressed, we should be talking about how God delivered us and not about how and what was done wrong to us and hanging on to that more than the deliverance. When God spoke and reminded the children of Israel about Egypt, he consistently spoke about the deliverance. If we are to be a royal priesthood and a holy nation then we must suppress the spirit of racism that exists in us. I am not saying everyone is a racist but what I am saying is do not let your culture override the culture of heaven. When we do this you will begin to see the rise of the Holy Nation in the earth and they will be the radiance of the Father’s glory and the full expression of the nature of the Father. The Holy Spirit is mandated to assemble us in the Body of Christ. He has no respector of persons, race, gender or social status (Galatians 3:26-29). Strong leadership, sound doctrine about the Kingdom and House of God and a people willing to deny themselves and submit themselves and their culture to the King and the Kingdom is what is needed to stamp out racism in the church and bring forth the holy nation in the Earth. And it will happen through the growth of spiritual households. For the sake of time please review our series “Sonship” and “House of God” and our messages on spiritual households.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.

Racism and the Holy Nation

The Holy Nation

Today’s Focus: Racism and the Holy Nation Part 1

Scripture: Galatians 3:28; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 49:22

Greetings Kingdom Citizens

I want to start with this simple statement of what racism is:

Racism is a spirit!

Now as simple as that may seem it is the most devastating spirit influencing the people of the Earth and the House of God. It is the one spirit that tries to sever and divide the holy nation. Now I have not found anywhere in scripture where the holy nation is divided. The holy nation is the House of God. The House of God is comprised of a Father and His sons or offspring. However the common thing between all of them that makes this truly one nation, is the fact that the entire nation is spiritual and made up of spirits. Our very being is spirit enclosed in flesh. Now let’s look at this scripture in its proper context:

Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Now this is describing the sons of God. God is saying there is neither ethnicity nor social status, nor gender to a son of God. Now many try to take this scripture and apply to everything including the proper administrators of governmental gifts and this is not true. Our flesh is a symbolic representation of a heavenly reality and how we conduct ourselves in the Earth is the way the creation, including every non-believer can see God and have no excuse that He exists (Romans 1:20). So everyone cannot do everything because every person is to perform a certain task for the Kingdom and by doing that the picture and maturity of the Kingdom is revealed and in the fullness of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its completeness in the earth upon the return of the Lord. Now I need to go that route to talk about racism and how it is trying to divide the holy nation.

What you do not know and understand is what the enemy uses against you to destroy you and stifle your growth. If you do not understand that you are spirit first, flesh last then if you live by the flesh. God had to deal with racism in the early church with one of His very own disciples, Peter. Now this just was not with Peter even though it was a very detailed situation, there were Jews who did not believe that the Gentiles could be heirs of the promise. Is that not racism? Even though throughout the Old Testament, God showed the children of Israel various times where He favored the Gentiles. He even spoke through the prophets about this very issue:

Isaiah 49:6: And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Isaiah 49:22: Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.

So even to the children of Israel, God was speaking about how the Gentiles will be fellowheirs to the promise. Now did this make the Jews happy? No and we will see this. But do not get too caught up between the Jews and the Gentiles we have a bigger problem within the Body of Christ. In the next message we will look at this bigger problem and how racism is trying to severe the holy nation. However keep in mind that no demon can stop the movement and Will of God but he can attempt to slow you down from overcoming and coming into the revelation that you are a part of a holy nation which is the most diverse nation in the earth.

At Our Father’s Service,

Elder Calvin Calhoun, Jr.