Resurrection From the Dead, Part 4
Reprint March 24, 2023
Once again, it is important to recognize that we have been
programmed by centuries of wrong thinking and a mindset woven into society that
requires us to expect death – never mind the fact that Jesus canceled our
appointment with death. What happens is
that because of this wrong mindset and thinking permeating God’s people, Jesus
gets cheated out of a people – especially a seasoned and mature people who can
teach and mentor believers with Jesus’ mindset.
No
matter how long we live, and no matter what our upbringing, we have all
developed mindsets and mental protocols that cause us to either respond or
react or “adjust” the Word spoken to us to fit our understanding. It is mandatory that we overcome those
mindsets and mental protocols.
I’ve
quoted this amplified Word to you in the past from Paul’s second letter to the
Ekklesia in Corinth, but here it is again.
It fits this situation precisely!
II Corinthians 10:3-6: For though we live,
deport and comport ourselves by that which we see, hear, taste, smell and
touch, we do not contend with, war after and execute military strategies
[against Satan] by that which we see and hear, know intellectually, or have
opinions of:
For the weapons and instruments of our war and executed actions
[against Satan] do not have their origins and [weak, impotent] operation in
natural flesh and human abilities, but they are skillful, potent and powerful –
like dynamite – through God to the demolition and extinction of all fortified
and guarded places of opinions in opposition,
Bringing down violently and demolishing (to total extinction)
all mental reasonings and thought processes, and every mental barrier or
arrogant and self-elevated attitude that justifies itself in opposition to the
knowledge of God; bringing into captivity and making a prisoner every
perception of the intellect and every mental purpose or determination to the
compliance and submission of Christ and His anointing [in the same way that He
complied with the will and desire of the Father];
And holding in readiness and preparedness the [spiritual]
fitness to vindicate and punish all refusal to hear what the Spirit is saying
when your attentive and obedient submission has been satisfied fully and
executed. (RAC Translation and Amplification)
Couldn’t
be clearer, could it? The overcoming of
the humanistic thinking, the old mindsets — and more specifically, our belief
that death is a given, and that all these promises are “in the sweet bye and
bye” — is war!
This
is war, folks! We are engaged in a
mental battle that the Lord Jesus Christ has already overcome on our behalf.
Death
is not a given! Death is a part of the
curse. Death is part of the Law. Death is part of the consequence of Adam’s
sin when he ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and
Evil. We have been delivered from the
Law by the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross and His resurrection power
enacted on the third day when He rose from the dead! Once again, take a look at Paul’s statement
in his letter to the Romans:
Romans 8:1-7, KJV:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh: That
the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.
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. For to be
carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life
and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
One
more time!
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death.
I
don’t know how better to say it. The Law
of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus is the Law of the Universe established
when Jesus shed His blood, died on the Cross FOR US, and then broke the curse
of death by rising again from the dead on the third day. The Law of Sin and Death was abolished by the
Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus — for those who are in Christ Jesus!
So far we’ve tried to cover some basic foundations
in understanding what Resurrection from the dead is. My objective, thus far, has been to break the
humanistic mental construct that Resurrection from the dead is an instantaneous
event, and it relates only to raising someone from physical death. In fact, resurrection is a lifestyle.
What has been so overlooked in the body of Christ is
the fact that Resurrection applies to everyday living and normal events and
adventures that come our way. Our lives
in Christ have been preparing us for the transition we talked about last week
in which we are changed from mortals to immortals. Let’s see how far we can get today in sharing
the fundamentals of daily Resurrection life.
Take
a look first of all at something that Paul says as he writes to the Corinthian
Ekklesia.
I Corinthians 15:20-34: But now is Christ
risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 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 shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the
Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
For
he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that
shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all
things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him,
it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things
shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him
that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. Else what shall they do which are baptized
for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the
dead?
And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? I protest by your
rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If after the manner
of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth
it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to
morrow we die. Be not deceived: evil
communications corrupt good manners. Awake to
righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak
this to your shame.
I’m
not going to take the time to amplify all of this today, but there is so much
embodied in what Paul says that it is hard to know where to begin.
Notice,
first of all, that he says, I die daily. If, indeed, Paul experienced death daily, he
also experienced resurrection daily. It
had become a lifestyle. The KJV
translation of his earlier statement obscures the significance of this. Watch!
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive. That’s clear enough. We’ve already talked about this in the realm
of water baptism. What follows, however, misses it.
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits;
afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
The
normal instinct is to read this as being the second coming of Christ, and the
Greek word translated “coming” is a word most of us are familiar with: Parousia. However, this word comes from its root, pareimi — meaning: to be
present. The word, Parousia, therefore,
literally translates to: presence. Do you see what it does to that
statement? Let’s re-translate and
amplify.
But every man or woman in his/her own particular succession and
arrangement: Christ being the first and forerunner (as our pattern overcomer);
and thereafter, they that are in Christ and His anointing, positioned in His
presence. (I Corinthians 15:22, RAC
Translation & Amplification)
Sure
changes things, doesn’t it? Each of us
experiences death many times — sometimes, as Paul did, on a daily basis. But that death isn’t necessarily a physical,
drop-dead experience.
Sometimes,
that death is the death of a vision, or the death of a hope or planned
event. Other times, it may be the death
of a relationship with someone, whether that someone be a close friend or a
brother or sister in the Lord, or someone whom you have loved and revered.
Let
me cite an example.
Many
of you know that I was involved in international banking back in the
1980’s. I got into it because of a
vision the Lord had given me during my time at Long Beach Christian Center in
the early and mid-1970’s. We’ve talked about that vision many times over the
years — a vision for a 24-hour worship center that would, in large part,
duplicate the pattern of David’s tabernacle.
What
was planted in my spirit with that vision was what happened with the nation of
Israel during the years that the continuous praise and worship and intercession
went forth. I saw how the United States
could conceivably duplicate that pattern and reverse the downward spiral it was
experiencing spiritually, socially and economically. The vision became something that almost
consumed me.
I
knew that in order to duplicate the pattern of David’s Tabernacle, we would
need to do what David did and have a company of praisers and worshipers whose
entire lives and lifestyles focused on ministry to the Lord. They couldn’t be engaged in “secular” jobs
and occupations that could interfere with that focus on ministry to the
Lord. That meant that we were going to
have to have unlimited resources from which to pay them salaries that would more
than compensate for their giving up normal jobs and occupations.
I
became engaged in a four-participant trading platform with Merrill Lynch, the
leading banker for the House Ways & Means Committee and the President of
Bel Air Mortgage & Finance Company.
We were recycling and multiplying billions of dollars on behalf of the
Canadian government so that they could provide low-interest loans (think SBA) to
Canadian businesses and enhance the various provincial economies.
Because
the Securities and Exchange Commission decided to ban platform trading in the
U.S., I met with the Chairman of the S.E.C. to get permission to complete our
trading platform. That permission was
granted. We completed our project over a
two-year period.
My
commission for the part I played was right at $7 Million. Because of the high-risk nature of platform
trading, all four parties agreed that our commissions would be put in a trust
account at Sumitomo Bank in Los Angeles.
The President of Bel Air Mortgage & Finance was the principal
signatory to the trust funds, with the responsibility of disbursing those funds
at completion.
As
we neared the completion date, Della and I picked a likely piece of ground —
eight acres — just off the Seward Highway in Anchorage to build the worship
center. Not very big, to be sure, but it
was a beginning.
We
also negotiated the purchase of a home large enough to accommodate our
expanding family. The price was a
bargain, and the seller was the heir to the Morton Salt fortune.
Lastly,
we entered into a purchase agreement for the Girdwood Gold Mine, which was just
south of Anchorage, and Della advanced the sellers an earnest money check of
$100,000. The mine was producing a net
profit of about $2 Million annually.
You
get the picture, I’m sure. We were
moving tangibly towards a real goal. We
were going to be able to build the worship center, AND provide ongoing funding
for its construction, and the salaries of those who would become the staff of
worshipers.
The
day came in January of 1988 when Della and I sat down at Home Savings &
Loan in Anchorage awaiting the transfer of our funds. (This was back when wire transfers took place
on a twice-daily basis.) We were
gathered for the afternoon transfer.
With
us were the real estate broker who represented the anticipated purchase of both
the home and the property for the worship center. Also with us were the two principals of the
Girdwood Gold Mine. This was the day of
closing on these purchases.
By
now, you understand how vested we were in what was taking place. The vision was actually getting its
legs. We were about to launch! We were doing our best to contain our
excitement.
The
Fed Wire window came and went and no funds transferred. It was hard to conceal our disappointment and
frustration. Our real estate broker was
philosophical about it, as were the principals of the gold mine. “Don’t fret with it. As soon as you resolve the issue, call us and
we will wrap this up.”
24
hours went by before we found out that the President of Bel Air Mortgage &
Finance had fled the country with all $28 Million of the commissions. He had orchestrated everything almost to the
minute. It took a year before the Feds
reported to us that he had fled to the island nation of Palau in the south
Pacific, where the funds had been broken up into untraceable transactions.
When
Paul said, “I die daily,” it made perfect sense to me. I died.
Not physically, you understand, but to see us at the brink of the
unfolding of the vision, only to have it slip out from under us like that,
caused me to crash. The vision died.
I
will finish this story next week.
In case you are
missing out on real fellowship in an environment of Ekklesia, our Sunday
worship gatherings are available by conference call – usually at about 10:45AM
Pacific. That conference number is (712) 770-4160, and the access code is 308640#. We are now making these
gatherings available by Skype. If you
wish to participate by video on Skype, my Skype ID is regner.capener. If you miss the live voice call, you can dial
(712) 770-4169, enter the same access code and listen in
later. The video call, of course, is not
recorded – not yet, anyway.
Blessings
on you!
Regner A. Capener
CAPENER MINISTRIES
RIVER WORSHIP CENTER
Temple, Texas 76504
Email Contact: CapenerMinistries@protonmail.com
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