A Journey From The Beginning (Fear) To The End (Perfect Love)

Mitt Jeffords.

South Carolina USA

April 2009

Chapter 4

“Oh Mr. Christian, what a big, beautiful heart you have”, said the wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing.

Strongholds: Things that are believed and trusted to be right and true.

Not long after the Lord had said to me, “If I am not working in your heart, then your faith is dead”, I received this word from the Lord, “If you will give to me your heart, then I will make it beautiful in my sight.” At that time, I thought that all that the Lord needed to do to give me a heart was to work in me to completely believe on him for all things. I was then praying one morning when the Lord spoke to me and said, “Mitt, did you know that I do not desire anything in the heart of my bride other than that which you desire to have in the heart of your bride? Just as you, I desire for my bride to be faithful and truthful with me, that she trusts me, that she honors me, that she believes on me, that she be honest and loyal to me, that she be willing to be my bride, and that she loves me with all of her heart, all of her mind, and all of her soul.” I then realized that the Lord had just revealed to me the nature of the heart that is beautiful in his sight; and the issues of that heart are truth, honesty, trust, belief, faithfulness, willingness, loyalty, honor, and love. At that moment, I could only image our great such a relationship would be after all of these principals were perfected. It is as it is written, God does not look for beauty in the outward appearances of men, but in the heart. “Lord, make my heart beautiful in your sight.”

I Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look not on his appearance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him: for the Lord does not see as a man sees; for a man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Matthew 23:27,28 NASB "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. So you too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”

Then the Lord gave me a vision where I saw two R’s (RR), and my first thought was that the Lord was going to show me something about a railroad. But the Lord then said, “Today, I am giving you a choice between religion or relationship. I did not come into this world to bring religion, but I did come to restore a relationship between Father and his children. I truly realized then that this walk is not really about religion, but it is all about a people, a bride that God is preparing to spend all of eternity with by beautifying their hearts. The Lord then allowed for me to understand that all of these issues of the heart, they are the principals that are needful and necessary for the relationship, the communication, the friendship, and the marriage that the Lord desires to have with each one of us. It was then that understood why Satan attacks the church with the weapons of lies that do nothing but sow unbelief, distrust, pride, unwillingness, rebellion, doubts, fear, whoredoms, as well as all of the lies of self-righteousness; for these are the very principals that will break up any relationship. My eyes were also open to see how the hypocrisies of religion are able to break up this relationship that Father desires to have with his people because they dictate that a man should keep his focus on himself, to try to make himself to be the best Christian he can make of himself, which does not allow for men to draw near to God asking for him to make them to be his children. It was then that I finally felt like I understood why I had felt so far from God when I had tried to play-act my Christianity through my “best efforts” and “good intentions”. What else needed to be said but, “Lord, create in me a new heart; the heart of your bride.”

Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus said, “You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you saying, “This people draw near to me with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

Psalm 51:10 NLT Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.”

I really had no clue as to how the Lord was going to create this new heart in me, and I was wondering what I might need to be doing to allow for him to finish this work that he had started in me. I was riding down the interstate one afternoon when the Lord gave this vision to me: I saw a castle that was an exact replica of your typical medieval castle, except that this castle was much, much smaller. It’s walls were only about 10 feet high and 10 feet long, yet, it still somehow was able to possess all of the intricate features that you would expect to find on one of those large castles in England. It was a beautiful castle that seemed so alive with activity, and there were banners, and tapestries, and linen curtains everywhere that were flapping in the winds. I then observed that each wall had a door, and on both sides of each door was a guard. Each guard was completely outfitted with a full suit of armor, from head to toe, exactly fashioned in the same armor as the castle guards in medieval times had. Each guard was holding in one hand a sword, and in the other hand he was holding a battle ax that was mounted on then end of a 8 foot long staff. I was able to observe this castle for quite some time, and I was amazed at how a castle so small could have all of the details of much larger castles. There did not seem to be any detail missing. Even with all of it’s beauty and glory, the thing that still stood out the most was why would a castle so small need to be guarded with these eight men.

So I then asked, “Lord, what is in this castle that it needs to be so heavily guarded?”

The Lord answered, “Your righteousness; that is, everything that your heart believes and trusts to be right and true. For all that which a man treasures in his heart is rooted and grounded in those things that he believes and trust in. Such things as your own religion, your opinions, your abilities, your money, your own will, your loyalties, your doctrines, your politics, your self-respect, your traditions, your own understanding, your feelings and emotions, your self-confidence, your relationships, your job, your name, your own interpretation of the scriptures, your judgments of other men, as well as all of your own judgments of what you believe to be good & evil, right & wrong, and truth & lies. These are the precious treasures that every man values in his heart; and he will guard them above all things, even with his life. Do not every man protect those things that he values to be precious to him? Do you not know that every man lives his entire life according to the things that he believes to be right and true? It is this standard that men use to set the course of their lives.

Would a man treasure anything other than that which his heart trusts to be right and true? Do not all men treasure these same things? Do not all men treasure those things that they accomplish for themselves? Do not all men treasure their own reputations, that is, the name that they make for themselves? Do not all men believe and trust that the image that they have of God is that right and true image? Do not all men treasure their own opinions, that which they have formed for themselves? Do not all men treasure the judgment of their own decisions and counsels? Do not all men treasure their judgments and opinions of other men? Is it not written that every way of man, or rather, every decision or judgment that a man makes, that it seems right in his own eyes? Do not men believe and trust things to be right and true that agree with their own consciousness or their natural senses? Is it that which is natural that is right and true, or is it that which is spiritual that is right and true? Is it not also written that the Lord, he who looks on the hearts of men, that he sees that there are none who are right? Who then is blind in their seeing, man on earth or the Lord God above? It was at that moment that the word righteousness took on a much broader definition for me, going far beyond that which I had only associated with religion, but to be that which reaches into every part of man’s life, defining for him how he should live his life.

Proverbs 21:2 NASB “Every man's way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts.”

Then I asked, “Lord, what then do these castle guards represent?” The Lord answered and said, “Your pride! Pride is your personal bodyguard that is always ready to defend and protect all things that your heart treasures to be right and true. These guards of pride will count all to be adversaries and enemies that oppose or contradict any of these things that the heart treasures to be right and true. When any counsel, or correction, or word, or instruction, or deed, or any opinion is heard that opposes or contradicts that which is believed to be right and true, then pride will come forth to fight against it as an enemy that is trying to overthrow that which has been trusted and believed in. Pride will either seek to defend and protect your treasures by either closing the door of your ears so that you will not hear, or by hardening your heart so that you will not believe, or by arguing against, or by scoffing, or by making light of, or by contending with, or by mocking, or by getting offended, or by fighting with. From where comes all of your arguments, your divisions, your anger, your offences, your divorces, your disagreements, your hatred and malice, your unforgiveness, your dissolved friendships, your revenge, your strivings, your fighting’s, as well as all of the wounds in your hurt feelings except from the words spoken that transgress that which you have treasured to be right and true? Does not the world say, “It is the principal of the matter”; that is, that you should always fight for all that which your heart treasures to be right and true? All these things will pride do to defend and protect that which has been believed on to be right and true. All this will a man do to keep from suffering any loss to that which his heart treasures. Now do you see and understand why the castle of your heart needs to be so heavily guarded, to save the righteousness that you live your life according to? Do you see how well your pride has equipped itself so that it may defend and protect your life?

Proverbs 16:5 AMP. “Everyone proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting, hateful, and exceedingly offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished.”

Pride takes great pleasure in the exalting and glorifying itself in all that it believes to be right and true. Pride is that spirit that only loves the entity of “self“, and it hates all things that are opposed to “self”. Pride works feverishly to keep “self” protected from all things that would bring harm, or injury, or offense, or any kind of blemish to it’s “self” image. Pride is only conscious of “self”, and is always mindful of those things which it considers to be beneficial to “self”. Anything that pride sees or hears that is beneficial or pleasing to “self”, or that seems to satisfy any of the desires of “self", then it will gladly open the door to the castle of your heart and allow it entrance in”, says the Lord. “If it sees or hears anything that agrees with that which your heart treasures, then it shall also gladly allow entrance also. If pride sees or hears anything that agrees with it’s feelings, or with it’s emotions, or with it’s “self” desires, then it shall be esteemed as a friend, and it shall be allowed to enter into the precious treasury of the heart. So do you see, that by pride, anything that agrees with “self”, it shall be called a friend and allowed entrance in; while anything that opposes or disagrees with “self” shall be called an enemy and an adversary?

Philippians 2:21 NKJ “For they all seek their own, not the things which are of Jesus Christ.”

Pride only loves for “self” to be in control, and it always resists in submitting itself to any authority, or power, or flesh, or spirit, or even God himself. These guards of pride will also allow entrance to those things which seem to be able to provide “self” with a sense of security, or with power, or with strength, or with authority, or with any ability that will profit or help “self”. It is by pride that a man will even make himself to be Lord and God over his own Christianity. Pride only desires for “self” to be in control over all of the circumstances and situations that may arise. These proud guards will also swing the doors of your castle wide open so as to allow in the gifts of praise, of honor, of esteem, of respect, of glory to enter in that comes to exalt “self”. Does not the heart of man greatly treasure all these and such-like words? Did you not know that there is no way easier way for an enemy and an adversary to enter into the castle of your heart than by bringing with him the gifts of flattery; especially those lying words that exalt a man for his “best efforts” and his “good intentions”. Oh, Mr. Christian, what a big, beautiful heart you have”, said the wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing. Pride only loves the beauty of it’s own castle, and it will always be envious and jealous of another man’s castle when it appears to be bigger, or more prosperous, or more beautiful than it’s own?” Can you now see the purpose of pride, and why it is pride that seeks to guard and protect the treasures of your own righteousness?”

Luke 16:15 AMP “But He said to them, You are the ones who declare yourselves just and upright before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted and highly thought of among men is detestable and abhorrent (an abomination) in the sight of God.”

Proverbs 16:5 NASB Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

After I had meditated on these words, I then asked, “Lord, do these castle walls represent anything that you want me to know about?” The Lord then answered and said, “These are the walls of self-justification; for it is through the work of self-justification that a man is able to make all things to be right and true that he desires to have as a part of his life. There is no desire that burns greater in the hearts of men than the desire to be right in all that he does, all that he thinks, and all that he speaks. Therefore, there is no place in the heart that is any busier than in the workshop that cunningly crafts out the works of self-justification. It is through these works that a man is able to make all of his ways, all of his decisions, all of his works and efforts, all of his reasons, all of his religion, all of his lusts and desires, all of his relationships, all of his opinions, all of his politics, all his judgments, all of his traditions, all of his emotions and feelings, all of his excuses, and all of the blame that he places elsewhere, to be right and true in his own eyes. This is the idolatry of natural man, to make “self” to be righteous, even more righteous that God. The more that he is able to make right and true, the more of “self” there will be to esteem, to honor, to respect, to praise, and to glorify. Now do you see how once a thing has been justified, it then becomes that which is believed on and trusted in to be right and true; and once a thing is believed on and trusted in to be right and true, then shall it be stored with all of the other treasures in the heart. Do you now see and understand what pride defends and protects, and what is hiding behind the walls of self-justification? For as pride loves “self”, so also does “self”-justification love being right. What could possibly have a stronger hold over a man’s heart and over his thinking than those things which he has justified to be right and believed on to be truth? In the natural realm, the works of “self-justification” seem like that which is right and true.

Job 40:7,8 “Gird up thy loins now like a man: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. Will thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?

Matthew 6:21 NKJ “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Proverbs 21:16 “There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is way of death.”

Luke 16:15 NKJ “And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.”

The Lord continued, “Does not my word testify that I, the Lord your God, see that the heart of man is deceitful above all things? Is there anything that can be more deceitful than for a man to have the ability in his heart to take that which is not wrong, or that which his false, or that which is evil, and then through the works of self-justification, he is able to make his decisions, or his judgments, or his opinions, or his deeds, or his words to appear as that which seems right, or true, or good?” Then the Lord said this, “Mitt, if you can understand the deceitfulness of self-justification, then you will be able to understand all of the power that Satan uses to deceive all men. When the lies of Satan and the wisdom of man are joined together, then comes forth illusions of self-justification that seem real and true. It is in these illusions that make wrong ways seem right, that makes lies to appear as the truth, that makes the works of iniquity to appear as righteousness, and that make darkness to appear as the light. Satan speaks the lies that the wisdom of man desires to hear, and it is this wisdom that then goes to work to justify his lies. Has not my word instructed you not to be wise in your own eyes? Have I not said that I would freely and liberally give my wisdom to whoever lacked it? Do not men feel comfortable and justified in their own reasonings and excuses? Have you seen any shame in the heart of a man that thinks that he is right in what he believes and trusts in? Have you seen in godly sorrow in the hearts and minds of those who delight in the works of their own righteousness? This is the power of darkness; the power that deceives men into believing that things are as they appear in the sight of men. This is also that lie that says, “If it is right in my sight, then surely it must be right in the sight of God.”

Jeremiah 17:9 NKJ “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, Who can know it.”

Proverbs 16:25 NASB “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way of death.”

Luke 11:35 “Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.”

Luke 18:9-14 NASB “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. “I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get”. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

You know that it is written that when I came into this world, my own people could not see any beauty in me that they should desire for themselves. Is it not also written that those who loved to justify themselves then rejected, despised, blasphemed, scorned, and hated me so much that they spit on me, mocked me, tortured me and crucified me? Is your righteousness so precious to you that you would also reject me? Did they not crucify me for the sake of self-preservation, so that they could hold fast to their treasured possessions? Would you reject me if I do not honor you, or praise you, or glorify you, or flatter you so as to not contribute to the beauty of your own castle? Are you going to be like many who I have called, but then they make light of their calling because of their ignorance of my calling? Have I not called all of you to come into the righteousness of abundant life? I see all of those illusions that disguise and fashion themselves with appearance of righteousness. I see all those things which are hidden in the dark places of a man’s heart and mind that he does not want to be made known. I do not look on the appearances of the castle of your heart, but I look deep into the castle to see that which your heart treasures. The castle that you see, this is how you see the castle of your heart, all arrayed in the beauty of your own goodness and decked out in your own righteousness.

I Kings 8:38-40 NASB “Whatever prayer or supplication is made by any man or by all Your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart, and spreading his hands toward this house; then hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, and forgive and act and render to each according to all his ways, whose heart You know, for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men, that they may fear You all the days that they live in the land which You have given to our fathers.”

Then the Lord asked, “Mitt, would you allow for me to show you how I see your castle; the truth about that which some of those things your heart has been treasuring?” I then immediately froze for a moment, fearful that if the Lord had to ask me such a question, then it could only mean that he did not see the beauty and splendor of my castle as I did. Even so, I knew from past experiences that the Lord has never brought anything into the light that he was not ready to change or redeem with his Spirit. I also knew from my past experiences with him that everything that the Lord has ever brought into the light for me, that which was once treasured in my eyes, I would suddenly see it to be the foolishness or the vanity that he saw it to be. I remembered how I had treasured my own righteous works until the Lord told me that it is his righteous works that are to accompany my faith; and all of the works that he had done for me since have simply been awesome. And there was one more thing that I remembered, and that is that I have come to learn that when the Lord comes to correct or to change something within me, then it does not come by punishment, but by his Spirit; and his Spirit brings forth that good life. In fact, because all of his works have been such a blessing to me, it has allowed for him to win my trust, my loyalty, my faith, my belief, and my love. I then gave him permission to open my eyes so that I could see the castle of my heart as he saw it.

I Samuel 16:7 NAS “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Suddenly my eyes were opened and what I saw did not at all resemble the castle that I has previously seen, but rather it looked like one of the most terrifying haunted castles that I have ever seen, whether in a movie, or on any TV show, or any that I have seen pictured in a book. There were no banners, or tapestries, or linen curtains blowing in the wind, and neither did I see any beautiful or lively colors anywhere in this castle. All of the rooms were filled with darkness inside, and it looked as though the entire castle was completely void of life. This castle had none of the glory as I had seen in the first castle. In fact, it was as if this castle was only a habitation of decay, death, and darkness. I then saw different kinds of dark spirits floating around as though they were ghost; and they just seem to freely drift in and out of the windows and the broken down doors. This entire castle appeared to be in a total state of disrepair, and decay, and neglect. I was really shocked to see this haunted castle because I really had not been expecting to see anything like this.

I Corinthians 4:5 NIV “Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”

Isaiah 57:12 “I will declare your righteousness and your works (of darkness), for they shall not profit.”

The vision of this haunted castle really took me by surprise. I then asked, “Lord, is this some kind of sin that may have been hidden in my heart? Is this truly how you see my heart because this haunted castle is so contrary to how I see my heart.” Then the Lord said, “If you have believed my word, then you would know that what I am showing you is true. Do not be afraid of what you see because the grace of my love always covers you. Is it not written that there are none who are righteous in the sight of God? Is it not also written that there are none who are good in the sight of God?” I knew that these words were true, but I had never really seen why they were written. I then answered, “Yes Lord. But what are the things within me that are haunting my castle?” The Lord answered, “The spirit of FEAR.” Then the Lord began to open my eyes so that I could see that all these ghost-like spirits that I had seen drifting around were nothing but spirits of fear. Then the Lord said, “All that which has been haunting your castle are these spirits of fear that have been haunting you in your own thoughts. This is the death that rules over the thoughts of the carnal mind.”

Romans 8:6 NKJ “For to be carnally minded is death…”

Psalm 94:11 “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.”

Isaiah 65:2 “I have spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious (will not listen or trust) people, which walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.”

Then the Lord opened my eyes to see that all of these ghosts were spirits of fear, and they all had different natures. I then saw that there were names written across each one’s chests that identified exactly what the nature of fear that fearful spirit was. These are just a few of the names of these spirits that I saw: the fear of dying; the fear of man; the fear of not being in control; the fear of loss, the fear of making a mistake; the fear of being judged by others; the fear of suffering; the fear of hearing the truth; the fear of insecurity; the fear of not being right; the fear of getting sick; the fear of failure; the fear of being different; the fear of abuse; the fear of poverty; the fear of being accused; the fear of heights; the fear of being used by others; the fear of not being able to justify mistakes or faults; the fear of losing; the fear of adversity; the fear of appearing foolish; the fear of shame; the fear of not measuring up; the fear of not understanding; the fear of the future; the fear of being deceived; the fear of the loss of possessions; the fear of growing old; the fear of being embarrassed, the fear of the loss of a job; the fear of being condemned; the fear of being late; the fear of not being accepted; the fear of change; the fear of being left out; the fear of weaknesses or sins being exposed; the fear that you will not get your will; the fear of the unknown; the fear of what others think; the fear of being asked to do something that you cannot possibly do; the fear of failing health; and the fears that one has for the safety and security for his children, or his family, or his friends, or for his brethren. I perceived that I was seeing one spirit of fear, but that this one spirit had a legion of different personalities.

Luke 8:28-31 AMP “And when he saw Jesus, he raised a deep (terrible) cry [from the depths of his throat] and fell down before Him [in terror] and shouted loudly, What have You [to do] with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? What have we in common?] I beg You, do not torment me! For Jesus was already commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many times it had snatched and held him; he was kept under guard and bound with chains and fetters, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the wilderness (desert). Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he answered, Legion; for many demons had entered him. And they begged [Jesus] not to command them to depart into the Abyss (bottomless pit).”

Romans 8:14,15 AMP “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear…”

As haunting as these group of fears were, it was the next group of haunting spirits that really frightened me. These were the spirits whose only nature and purpose for being was to try and haunt us in our relationship, our communion, and our fellowship with God. These were those spirits that by nature are fearful to believe God; fearful that God has lied to them; fearful to draw near to God; fearful to be corrected by God; fearful to trust God; fearful to confess sins; fearful to ask anything of God; fearful that God will not heal; fearful that God will not forgive; fearful that God would not be there when needed; fearful that God will not answer that which is asked of him; fearful of lack or coming up short; fearful of being persecuted for the name of Christ; fearful that God does not care; fearful because of it’s ignorance of God; fearful to surrender all to God; fearful that God was going to bring it’s shame into the light; fearful that God would forsake me; fearful that God would not be faithful to his word for me; fearful that I was not good enough for God; fearful that God does not love me; fearful that God will not do for me that which he has done for others; fearful that God would limit his mercy and grace towards me; fearful that I was going to be rejected; fearful of being condemned by God; and fears that did nothing but doubt God. I saw that it was impossible for any of these unclean spirits to act in any other nature other than what it’s name was. In other words, the spirit of fear that believes that God is going to reject it, to those who have surrendered their hearts to believe that it’s lying counsel is right and true, then they have no choice but to be in bondage to the belief that God is going to reject them also. As the spirit is, so is the nature of the soul that believes it; for they one in agreement.

Revelation 21:7,8 “He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving….shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.”

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Psalm 34:4 “I sought the Lord and he heard me, and he delivered me from “all” my fears.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord opened my understanding so that I could see that though all of these spirits of fear were of different natures, they all had the same purpose, to haunt me with troubling and tormenting thoughts. Because each spirit had a different nature, they could only haunt me when a situation or circumstance arose that agreed with their nature. That is, the fear of heights could only trouble and torment a man when he was in a high place; but for him to haunt that man, that man had to first believe that its counsels were right and true. The fear of man could only trouble a man when a circumstance or situation arose where that man perceived some kind of threat that might come against him from other men. I saw that each fear was limited to where he could only trouble or torment a man when the circumstance or situation arose that matched that spirits nature; and of course, a man first had to believe that the counsels of these unclean spirits was right before he could believe them. Once a man believed any of their counsels, then these spirits could be seen by the fruits of their works that were manifested in either stress, or despair, or uncertainly, or confusion, or terror, or unwillingness, or dread, or hesitation, or fret, or insecurity, or evil suspicions, or distress, or rebellion, or self-condemnation, or worry, or hopelessness, or impatience, or panic, or disappointments, or anxiety, as well as in the thoughts that doubt God, that do not believe God, and that distrust God.

I John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

I then saw another group of spirits that did not appear in the same form as any of these spirits of fear, but I perceived that they were somehow or another all related. When these spirits were present they were just as troubling to a man’s thoughts as any of these spirits the fear were because when they are present in a man’s thoughts, there is then no peace or rest in that man’s mind. These unclean spirits were named envy, malice, depression, jealousy, unforgiveness, confusion, rage, frustration, contention, bitterness, covetousness, vengefulness, strife, hatred, lusts, and anger. It was here that for the first time I began to understand why the Lord says that death rules over the thoughts of the carnal mind. Up until this time, I just thought the death of the carnal mind only had to do with man’s “separation from God”, but I now I could see that the very nature of these troubling, and miserable, and tormenting thoughts was death itself. I even saw that if a man had no fear of dying, then he would never be troubled with any worries or stress about dying. I could now see that there was no peace or life in any of the counsels that these spirits were haunted the castle of my heart. The Lord also opened my eyes to see that death is not only a separation from God, but it is also this actual thinking that is separate from God’s thoughts.

Jeremiah 6:16 “Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.”

Proverbs 1:30,31 “They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices (thoughts, counsels,).”

I then saw two more spirits that seemed to travel side by side, working hand in hand with each other to haunt my castle. One had the words “What If” written across his chest area, and the other had the words “Worst Case Scenario” written on his chest. I can only speak for myself in saying that I clearly recognized both of these spirits, and how they had infected my thinking. I saw how the “What If” seemed to always lead me to into the hands of the “Worst Case Scenario” spirit. The “What If” spirit would come and try to paint many pictures in my thinking that tried to dictate to me how I should fearfully respond or react to situations or circumstance before any of these events even happened. If I have ever met a false prophet, then my eyes were opened to see how these two spirits were nothing but false prophets sent to trouble and torment with their fears about events before they even happen.

I then said, “Lord, now I see how it was these two spirits that many times in my past have had me tossing and turning in my bed, or that have kept me awake most of the night with thoughts of stress, anxiety, and worry. Now Lord I see that all of these thoughts are birthed out of the prophesies that the “What If” or “Worst Case Scenario” spirits bring forth in my imaginations. No wonder your word has instructed us to take no thought for tomorrow, because so many of the thoughts about tomorrow do nothing but open the door for these two spirits to come in “now” to trouble and torment us about tomorrow. As I thought more on how much these two unclean spirits have corrupted so much of my thinking, the Spirit of the Lord then quickened to me that which is written Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them who love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Then the Lord said, “My word is true. This is the only prophesy that you need to be mindful of. No matter how bad a circumstance or situation looks, I am well able to bring forth good out of every one of them. I can part the seas; I can calm the winds; or I can cast out your fears. If you will take up your cross and die to the words of these two unclean spirits, declaring before me that none of their counsels is the right way for you to follow after, then I will come and redeem you from these haunting spirits. I will send forth the Spirit of Life that will set you free from the death that troubles and torments the carnal mind. If you will disown these lies, and not longer esteem their words to be right and true, then I will redeem the “What Ifs” and “Worst Case Scenarios” with the “All things will work together for good”. Then the Lord said to me that no matter circumstance or situation that I could be in, that there is only one worst case scenario that is true, and that is I could lose him.

Luke 9:24 NASB “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

Matthew 16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

The vision had ended, and many days went by when the Lord again took me right back into the same Castle Vision, but directly to the haunted castle part of the vision. This time he took me directly to two places in the castle that I had not previously seen. The first place that the Lord showed to me was the courtyard of the castle. In the first vision that I had of this haunted castle, all of the spirits that I saw were rather small faceless spirits that just seemed to drift about or hover in the air, but these spirits that I saw in courtyard walked upright on two feet. Other than being very dark black, these spirits had no other features that resembled any of other spirits that I had previously seen. These spirits seemed to be anywhere from ten to fourteen feet tall while all of the other spirits seemed to be anywhere from one to three tall. These spirits were not only much taller but they were much larger also, having very broad shoulders. Even though they were much taller and larger than the other spirits, what really separated these spirits from the other spirits was that they had faces; and their faces appeared like extremely vicious bulldogs. They not only looked like, but they carried themselves about as an extremely intimidating bully. I observed that these spirits walked about the courtyard as though they were on some kind of guard patrol, even though they were walking about aimless and random fashions. I could not see at that moment what it was that they were guarding, but I perceived that these spirits were the elite, like they were the strongest, the most skilled, and most powerful of all the spirits; something like the Nazi SS or the elite U.S. Army Special Forces.

Then the Lord said, “These are the spirits of Dread; the spirits of fear that guard and protect all of the other fears. These are the spirits that mock and scoff at anything that they do not understand or comprehend; and they do not understand or comprehend anything about the love or power of God. These are the spirits that continually scorn and make light of all things that are of God. As there is no fear in love, and no love in fear, so also are there no blessings in dread, or any dread in blessings. Any man who sets his heart to know come to know the height, the length, the width, and the depth of the love of God, he will certainly encounter these unclean spirits. These are the spirits that are always on the watch, seeking to find that opportunity to march right into that man’s thoughts to mock, or to intimidate, or to bully him around in his thinking with such counsels as “No way”; or “That is Impossible”: or, “That is just illogical”; or, “That is unreasonable”; or, “That is Ridiculous”; or, “That is irrational”; or, “That is foolishness”; or “Can’t happen”; or “Unbelievable”. It is impossible for these spirits of Dread to react to the love of God in any other manner than with scorn or mockery. What is impossible is for any of these unclean spirits to understand the grace of God; or, the faithfulness of God; or, the love of God; or, the power of God because the darkness cannot comprehend the things that are of God.

I Corinthians 2:14 NIV “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

II Peter 2:12 NIV But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.…20 If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”

Jude 17 NKJ “But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.”

II Peter 3:3,4 NASB “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”

Every single thought that does not believe that God will work all things together for good, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that reasons against the love of God, and the mercy, or the help, or the forgiveness, or any of the wonderful works that Father’s love desires to do for us, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that does not believe that the power of God is able to perform “all” that which is impossible for men to do, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that doubts the faithfulness of God, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that cannot believe that the grace of God is sufficient enough in times of sin, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that says that good can only come to those who do good for themselves, it is thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. Every thought that says, “Why bother with your prayers because God will not be bothered with listening to you”, it is a thought that comes forth from these spirits of Dread. It is impossible for any of these spirits of Dread to comprehend, or understand, or to believe, or to hope that God is able to do, or that he will bless, or that he will perform his words and promises. These spirits are enmity against God, and they watch at all times to resist any move of the Spirit of God. Everyone that agrees to surrender his heart to believe that these wicked and ungodly thoughts are right and true, he then is made like unto that unclean spirit; for a man is like unto the thoughts that he thinks. It is from these hopeless spirits that come forth the lies that say that God will reward a man for his “best efforts” and “good intentions”.

DREAD: to greatly fear; to be in extreme apprehension; to regard or look forward to with terrific apprehension; fearful expectation or anticipation

Proverbs 23:7 NASB “For as he thinks within himself, so he is….”

The consciousness of the spiritual mind is belief; the belief that God is always going to do good and to bless, no matter what the circumstance or situation may seem to dictate. You shall find not find any such belief among the thoughts where the spirits of Dread dwell. It is of these spirits of Dread that came the voices that cried out at the Red Sea, “God brought us out here to kill us”. It is these spirits of Dread that came the voices that cried out, “God brought us into this wilderness to kill us with famine”. It is of these spirits of Dread that came the voices that said, “We cannot take this land because there are giants in the land”. It is of these same spirits that came the voices that cried out, “Lord, do you not care that we are perishing”. In not one of these instances did these spirits of allow for any faith to come forth that believed that God was going to do good or perform that which he had promised to his people. Even when good does come from forth from above to do good and bless, the spirits of Dread cannot perceive or see that it has come forth from God because these spirits of darkness cannot know or understand the goodness of God; for light shined in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend.

Ephesians 5:8 NIV “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”

John 1:5 NIV “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

It is the work of these spirits of Dread to speak the lies that pervert the image of Satan, to make it appear as though it is the counsel of Satan’s words that are right and true; while also working to pervert the image of God, to make it appear as though God’s words are false and perverse. God loves all men, and he desires to do good and to bless all men at all times, but the spirits of Dread would not have any man to see or to believe that this is the way of God. It is these spirits that work to deceive men into believing that Satan is a god that should be dreaded, and that all should suffer who do not bow their hearts to believe the counsel of his demons. It is also these fears that deceive men into believing that God should be dreaded in the same manner as Satan; that is, that man should be brought into obedience to God through threats, control, fears, and intimidation. It is these spirits of dread that work to deceive men into believing that God would treat men in the same manner as Satan treats them, as a liar that cannot be trusted to do what he says. It is also these vile spirits that would have a man to believe that God looks and waits for a man to make just one error so that he can pounce on him with accusations, condemnation, and that evil is going to come upon him. Yet, in truth, it is the darkness that fears the light because the nature of fear only allows for it to fear; and the darkness cannot change. Remember that which I told you, that fear has no greater protector than fear itself. Those who worship these spirits are those who believe that their fears and dreads are real and true; and as the nature of these lying spirits are, so also will their nature also be because that is what they are in agreement with.

Isaiah 8:12,13 NASB “You are not to say, “It is a conspiracy!” In regard to all that this people call a conspiracy, and you are not to fear what they fear or be in dread of it. It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread.”

Hebrews 6:16-19 NASB “For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil.”

John 8:44 NASB “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

These dreadful spirits work to deceive men into believing that Satan is as sovereign as God; that he is able to exercise power and authority at the leisure of his own will to kill, to steal, and to destroy the lives of men as though there were no boundaries or limitations to contain that which he desires to do. Again, let me remind you that the only power that Satan has over a man is the power that comes when his words are believed to be right and true. If a man believes the counsels that come forth from these unclean spirits of fear, then those spirits shall receive power and authority to rule over that man’s thinking; to be the righteousness that he lives his life according to. It is for this reason that these vile spirits continuously work to bully and intimidate men into believing that their words are right and true, that Satan should be feared and dreaded. Satan, that old Devil, loves to exercise his lust to judge, to accuse, to threaten, and to condemn men when he sees their mistakes, their sins, and their weaknesses because it allows for these spirits of Dread to keep fearing that any of their mistakes, or sins, or weaknesses to be manifest, lest they suffer the judgment, the accusations, or condemnation that comes forth from the children of darkness. How great, might you ask, have these spirits of Dread blinded the eyes of men? Consider how many men you know that count it joy to confess their sins, or their mistakes, or their weaknesses. This is the power of darkness, the work of the spirits of Dread, to keep all mistakes, sins, faults, and weaknesses hidden from the eyes of others.

John 8:10-12 AMP “When Jesus raised Himself up, He said to her (the woman caught in the act of adultery), “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no man condemned you? She answered, No one, Lord! And Jesus said, I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more. Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.”

Revelation 12:10 “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

It is also the work of these same vile spirits that work to deceive men into believing that God is going to recompense their sins, or their mistakes, or their weaknesses or their faults with the same evil consequence as the darkness recompenses to them; with judgment, or with accusations, or with condemnation, or with severe punishment, or with a curse, or with, or with anger, or with suffering, or with destruction, or with sickness, or with affliction, or with disappointment, or with abandonment, or with death, or with ridicule, or with infirmity, or with some form of banishment, or with rejection. It is the work of these spirits of Dread to keep many tormented and troubled with the expectation that God is going to render evil unto them for the evil they do. It is impossible for the spirits of Dread to think that God will recompense to a man for his sins and weaknesses with mercy, or with compassion, or with forgiveness, or with grace, or any other work that comes forth from love. These spirits, as well as all those who are possessed by these spirits, are not able to see or to believe that God works all things together for good for those who love him, to even see that the goodness of God leads a man into repentance for his weaknesses and sins rather than into condemnation, or into evil, or into destruction. But these spirits of Dread would not have any man to see it this way. Who are those are led into evil, or destruction, or condemnation, or rejection but those who believe the lies that say that this is how God deals with sins and weaknesses.

I Thessalonians 5:14,15 NASB “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”

I Peter 3:8,9 ASV “Finally, be ye all likeminded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tenderhearted, humbleminded: not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

Romans 2:4 NKJ “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

Just like with the woman that was caught in the act of adultery, these spirits of Dread will not hesitate to use laws written in stone or the doctrines of men to exercise there desires to keep men fearful of judgment and condemnation. The more these spirits can exercise their threats and intimidation by perverting the use of laws and doctrines, the more control they are able to gain over the thinking of men. The woman that was caught in the very act of adultery, did she have any expectation or hope that see was going to see any of the goodness of mercy and grace to come to her by the hand of those who came against her with the law of Moses? The words that I spoke to her, did they bring any kind of threat or intimidation to her? If my people, who are called by name, will humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways, and seek my face, then what will I do for them? If my people will confess their sins before me, then what does my word testify that I will do for them? The consequences that God brings to a man for his sins and weaknesses are not like the consequences that the darkness brings with it. Those who are fearful to even see their sins and weaknesses are greatly oppressed by these spirits of Dread. Again, the more these bullying spirits are able to pervert the use of laws and doctrines, then the more my people will be haunted with their intimidations and threats that condemnation, or sickness, or judgment, or some manner of evil is going to come unto them for their sin instead of the grace of my love. The mouth of these spirits of Dread delight in bringing forth the words that will stone a man with intimidation and threats for his transgressions.

I Timothy 1:5-8 NKJ “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully.”

Romans 5:20 “The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Do you really believe that which the scriptures testify of me, that it is real and true? If a man were to confess his sins before me, that grace, and compassion, and forgiveness, and mercy would be the only consequence he would see coming from me? Do you really believe that my goodness would only lead him into repentance, and not into hell? And even if he kept committing the same sins over and over, but he kept bringing his sins to me; do you really believe that I would be able to forgive him seven times seventy, or even seventy times seven hundred? Would I ask you to treat your brother in any other manner than that which my heart delights in treating him with, even when he sins? When his sin, or your sins, abound, do you really believe that the grace of my love will abound even more and more? If you believe on me, then what habitation could these spirits of Dread find to dwell in?

Matthew 18:21,22 NKJ Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

James 1:12,13 NKJ “So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

Romans 2:4-9 NKJ “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness: indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil (believes their fears and dreads), of the Jew first and also of the Greek.”

Again I want to remind you that these wicked spirits could have no power at all over you unless you first believe them to be right and true. This is that strong delusion that deceives men into believing that it is God standing in the temple of their hearts, ruling over them with the threats and intimidations that evil consequences are going to come upon them for their mistakes, their sins, and their weaknesses. In truth, it is only the adversary, that accuser of the brethren, who abuses men with his fears and dreads. No man can have two masters in his temple; for he will either believe that one is right and true while he scoffs and rejects the counsels of the other. Either he will account the lies of Satan’s fears and dreads to be his righteousness, or he will account the truth of God’s love to be his righteousness. The one will receive the wrath and the anger that he expects to come to him, while the other shall receive the grace of Father’s love. Every man’s reward shall be according to that which he believes.

II Thessalonians 2:3-12 NKJ “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Did not my apostle Paul say that in time of his weaknesses, the only consequence that he witnessed was seeing the power of God coming to strengthen him? Did not Paul also testify that he took pleasure in his weaknesses? Is it possible for a man to take pleasure in anything when he is only expecting for dread to come? Did I afflict Paul with sickness, or with condemnation, or with any kind of disappointment when he asked for my strength? Would a loving father give a stone to his son when he asks for bread? Dread is only fulfilled in those who believe dread is coming, while good comes to those who believe that I will perform my words for them. Is it not also written that I said that if you would pray for each others faults, then I would come and heal each one of you of your faults? So what do you believe; would I bring healing or would I bring condemnation on those who believe my words and confess their faults? For by reason of these bullying dreads, many are intimidated into believing that they should keep their faults hidden in the darkness of their hearts for fear that condemnation or evil will come upon them.

II Corinthians 12:9,10 NKJ “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 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.”

James 5:16 “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

It is only these spirits of Dread that would keep a man oppressed with blindness so that he is not able to believe or see into the grace of my Father’s love. Those who are oppressed with this darkness are never able to see themselves worthy to receive any of Father’s goodness, or faithfulness, or blessings, or kindness, or love, or to be the recipient of any of his wonderful works because they only expect for evil to come. Do not let the spirits of Dread keep you in bondage to their filthy fears. I have come to set you free. Did I not move freely, and eat, and drink with sinners, with drunkards, with outcasts, with tax collectors, and with prostitutes? Did my Father bring any evil consequences on me for showing his mercy and spreading his love? To those who look for evil, evil they will find them; those who look for good, God will find them. Let not these dreadful spirits deceive you into believing that God renders consequences to you for your evil deeds, for God renders good for evil. And do not let any of these spirits of Dread deceive you into looking for any kind of evil consequence to come from above; for that which comes from above is love, and love never thinks to do any evil. Take heed what you choose to believe about God, that it is not that which any of these spirits of Dread would have you to believe. Also take heed to whose words you choose to believe, lest the same terrifying fear and dread that these demons have of God also become the fear and dread that makes you terrified of God. That which you believe will surely become your truth and your reality. As a man believes, so let it be done unto him; either the truth of Father’s love or the consequences of fear and dread.

Job 42:7,8 NIV After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.”

James 2:19 AMP “You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as make a man's hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!”

When the Lord finished speaking these words to me, the spirit of the Lord brought back into my remembrance an instance that happened about 15 years ago concerning my father-n-law. My wife had gotten a phone call whereby she was informed that her dad had just been admitted to the hospital in very serious condition. Before my wife left to drive the 75 miles to that hospital, she prayed and acknowledged the Lord and asked for him to direct her. The Lord spoke to her and said, “Do not fear their fears or dread their dreads.” This was the first time that the Lord had ever spoken anything to either my wife or I concerning any fears or dreads, and we did not even know at that moment that the word of this instruction was also scriptural. My wife arrived at the hospital and several of her aunts and uncles were there, and they all, including the doctors that were also there, were filled with nothing but fears and dreads about my father-in-law’s condition. In fact, every word that my wife heard spoken in that hospital room was filled with nothing fear and dread; so much so that she also began to be overcome by their words, and she began to fearfully dread what her father’s outcome might be. But then the Spirit of the Lord brought back into her remembrance the word that had been spoken to her, and she went down to the hospital chapel and began to pray. She just asked the Lord to help her not to believe any more of these fears and dreads, and to deliver her from the fears and dreads that she had begun to believe. The Lord came to her and took away from her all of these fears and the dreads, and then filled her with his peace; that peace that passes all understanding. He calmed the storm of fears and dreads that had been strongly blowing in the thoughts of her mind. After this, she went back to her father’s room, and she said that she then felt like a complete stranger or alien there because she no longer being affected, or afflicted, by any of the fears or dreads that were being spoken there. To make a long story short, contrary to the words that these spirits of fear had been prophesying about the future health of my father-in-law, none of the came to pass because he recovered and was soon discharged from the hospital and went home.

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

II Timothy 4:18 NASB “The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

One thing that we have observed in other instances is that when the Lord delivers you from these fears or dreads, then those that are still subject to these unclean spirits do not know how to interpret you in the times that distress men; that is, they cannot understand why you are not worried or stressed out as they are. In fact, some have even gotten angry because this peace of God is so alien and strange to them that this peace of mind appears to them as if you do not care. We have certainly been the recipient of some evil looks that tried to intimidate us into believing their fears and dreads; looks that greatly resembled the countenance I saw on the face of these spirits of Dread that appeared as these intimidating bulldogs. I now know that these are those intimidating spirits of Dread that would bullying us into believing that it is impossible for God to do any good in the situations and circumstances of life that daily confront us. Satan would only have us to focus on the evil that his spirits of Dread prophesy unto us, always trying to take the love and the goodness of Abba, Father out of the outcome.

Philippians 3:2,3 NASB “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision, for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”

The Lord then opened my eyes to see what these spirits of dread were guarding. Right there in the middle of the courtyard was this eerie and frightful looking entrance into the castle dungeon. Then almost immediately I found myself down inside this dungeon; and I also became aware that what I seeing was also what was in the deep places of my heart. I then thought, “Who should be afraid to see what is exists the depths of his own heart?” But once my eyes adjusted to where I could begin to see, what I saw was not desirable, and certainly nothing that should be accounted as the treasures of my heart. The first thing that I became aware of was that this dungeon appeared to have never been cleansed in any manner, and the stench from the smell there was unbearable. I then saw that in the middle of the room what appeared to be a giant pile of dung, but after some observation I realized that what appeared as dung was nothing but a shapeless spirit of Darkness. I was really surprised to find that I was not at all frightened by what I was seeing. I then observed as several of the spirits that I had previously seen haunting the castle coming flying into the dungeon in the same manner that bats return to their caves when the light comes. I then observed several other spirits departing from the dungeon just as bats depart from a cave when night falls, and I knew that they were going to haunt the castle with some worries, or anxieties, or whatever it might take to trouble and torment a man in his thoughts. I saw that when these spirits returned to the dungeon, they would fly straight over to and land on this giant spirit of Darkness; and then it was as if they would be absorbed into that spirit. The spirits that I saw departing from the dungeon, they all came out from this giant spirit also. It was as if this spirit was the mother ship or something like that. I do not know how I knew, but I was able to discern at that moment that this giant spirit was not actually one big spirit, but rather a mass of many, many small spirits in one big mass. It was like when Jesus asked that unclean spirit what his name was, and he answered saying, “Legion; for we are many”.

I Corinthians 4:5 NASB “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.”

Nahum 1:11-13 “There is one come out of thee, that imagineth evil against the LORD, a wicked counsellor. Thus saith the LORD; Though they be quiet, and likewise many, yet thus shall they be cut down, when he shall pass through. Though I have afflicted thee, I will afflict thee no more. For now will I break his yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder.”

I then discerned that it was from this dungeon that all these unclean spirits received their power to deceive: to make the darkness to appear as the light; to make the ways of death seem like the right way; to make lies to appear as the truth; to make evil to appear as good; to make the works of iniquity to appear as the righteousness of God; and to even make the miseries of death (the carnal mind) to be an acceptable form of life. I observed that these spirits would go in and out of this dungeon as the circumstances and situations changed. For example, I saw that the fear of heights could only haunt the castle of man’s heart when that man that believed it’s counsel was in a high place; but once that man’s feet were back on the ground, (so to speak) then that spirit of fear would return to the dungeon and remain quiet there until the circumstance would arise again that would allow for it to return to haunt the castle some more. I saw that this was the way it was with all of these unclean spirits of fear, that they all remained quiet in the dungeon until the right situation or circumstance arose that would allow for them to come forth to torment and trouble a man in his imaginations. This is the hidden place of darkness, that place in the heart that no man is able to look into; the place that only the light of God is able to see into.

Genesis 6:5 NASB “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Wow! Talk about a haunted castle; I saw so many types of fears that I wondered if there was any circumstance or situation that a man could face where he would not encounter at least one or more of these fears coming forth to trouble and torment him with some kind of dread, or anxiety, or uncertainty, or worry. Then the Lord said, “Do you believe me now? Do you believe me when I say to you that your thoughts are not my thoughts? Do you think for one moment that I would allow for any of these filthy, vile spirits to enter into my thinking to torment and haunt me? In this fallen world of darkness, death rules over the carnal thoughts of men through deceit. Death only rules in the darkness where fears and dreads are believed on to be right and true; for death is the reality of darkness. It is not possible for any of these thoughts to dwell in my kingdom because the darkness cannot dwell where the where the light of life reigns; neither now, or forever. Can death reign with life?” says the Lord.

Isaiah 55:7,8 NIV "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 65:2 “I have spread out my hands all day long to a rebellious (will not listen or trust) people, which walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.”

Proverbs 8:36 “But he that sinneth against me wronged his own soul; for all that hate me (the wisdom of life) love death (the carnal mind).”

As I sat meditating on all that I had seen and heard in this vision, the Spirit of the Lord again brought into my remembrance that which the Lord had said to me, that the treasures in a man’s heart consist of those things that he believes and trusts to be right and true. Then I suddenly realized that the dungeon that I had seen was also the treasury of my own heart; and that it was I who had allowed for these vile and unclean to dwell within me. I had been treasuring these lies to be right and true, whether I was doing this consciously or unconsciously I do not know, but now the Lord had surely brought them into the light. I saw clearly how I could make myself to be one with anyone of these unclean spirits when I had bowed my heart to agree that their instructions were right counsels for me to live according to. I saw that I was so accustomed to living my life with worry and anxiety that I was blind to see that I was doing any evil by following their counsels. I was in bondage to a bondage that I could not see. For the first time since the Lord had called me, I began to realize the magnitude of the bondage that a carnally minded man, whether a Christian or not, is captive to when these fears and dreads are the thoughts that he thinks upon. Truly, nothing can have any power over our thinking except that which we first believe to be right and true.

Romans 6:16,17 NKJ “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

I was still meditating on this when the Lord spoke and said, “Mitt, do you want to see how well Satan has deceived you?” Yes, Lord, please show me if that is what it is going to set me free all of these troubling fears and dread. Then the Lord asked, “Who is guarding and defending the treasures in your castle; the fears and the dreads that dwell in your heart?” With a sudden shock of realization, and feeling extremely foolish, I answered, “I suppose I am, Lord”. Then the Lord said, “Well, this is how well Satan has deceived you, in that he has you guarding and defending the very fears and dread that have been oppressing you. Never forget that I have told you that nothing could have power over you unless you first believe it to be right and true. Neither Satan or any of these haunting spirits could have power to take the castle of your heart by force. It is for this reason that they disguise their words so that they appear as counsels that can be received to help or to guide you. Otherwise, they could not gain entrance into the treasury of your heart or make your mind their dwelling place. Neither Satan, nor any of these spirits of fear and dread, have any power of themselves, but they receive power the moment their words are received and believed. Then once they have gained entrance, they go to work to haunt a man in his thoughts with anxiety, confusion, worry, loneliness, uncertainty, strife, unforgiveness, bitterness, stress, hatred, depression, envy, and every other miserable thought that robs you of peace and life that I created man to be partakers of. I have given you power that the world does not have, and that is the power to choose not believe that which seeks to oppress you. If you do not choose to use this power, then the forces of darkness will laugh and mock at you when they deceive you with the lies that haunt you. Would you account a man to be wise or to be foolish who defends and protects the very counsels that torment and oppress him?”

Jeremiah 4:14 “O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?”

Isaiah 53:13,14 NKJ “All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.”

Then I asked the Lord the only other question that I could think to ask at that moment, “Lord, what can I do now about all of these fears and dreads?” The Lord then answered and said, “I am standing and knocking at the door of your heart, but unless you are first willing to open the door and ask for me to come in, then I will not be able to enter in. I have not come to the door of your heart to fight against your pride, to force myself in. I will never force myself upon you, or any man. But if you will humble yourself and open the door to your heart, asking for me to come in, then I will come in. I am the light of the world. I am the light that reveals the hidden things of darkness and the secret counsels of the heart. I see the thoughts of the heart with all of it’s intents and purposes. I stand at the door of heart willing and ready to come in to set you free from all these lying spirits that have oppressed and tormented you. I am willing to come in and be the truth of what to believe; for I am the truth that makes you free. I am the truth that cast out lies. I am the love that cast out fear. I have showed to you how these fears and dreads have come only to haunt you, to destroy and rob you of the abundant life that I desire for all of you to be partakers of. My love is standing at the door of heart, ready to fill you with the joy and with the peace that is able to rule over your heart. I love you, and if you ask for me to come in, then my love will come in to judge and to cast out all of these fears. I am standing at the door of your heart ready to fill your treasuries with the blessings and riches of abundant life.

Revelation 2:20,21 NASB “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Malachi 3:9-11 NASB “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts.

I Am the Lord your God; and I alone am to be worshipped and served. How can you call me Lord and then bow your knee to serve the counsels of these unclean spirits of fear and dread? My love is jealous for you, and my love yearns for you to allow for me to cast out these lying spirits that oppress and haunt you. I am asking you to trust me, to open your heart to me, to allow for me to come in. I am asking not to surrender your heart any longer to any of these fears and dreads, to account any of their lies to be right or true. I am here to cleanse and sanctify this haunted castle, to cast out all of these filthy and unclean spirits. I am here to tear down this haunted castle, this temple full of unclean and false idols. I am here to tear down this temple that has been built on the lies that you have believed. I am here to build me a glorious temple that I will fill with all of the riches of life. I have given to you the power that enables you to choose what you are going to believe. Will you choose me? Will you have the righteousness of my love to rule over your heart and mind, or will you continue to choose to allow these fears and dreads to be the righteousness that you live by? Will you have peace or will you have torment to rule in your heart? As Darkness cannot have any fellowship with light, so neither can death have any fellowship with life. So I give to you this day a choice between the life and death, blessing and cursing. You choose who you are going to open the door of your heart to believe, whether it be to my love that loves you, or to the fears and dreads that oppress and haunt you.

Romans 6:16 NKJ “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

Hebrews 9:14 NASB “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

I Samuel 12:20 “Fear not; though you have done all of this wickedness, see that you do not turn aside from serving the Lord with all your heart.”

Psalm 127:1 NASB “Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman keeps awake in vain.”

II Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

I John 4:18 “There is no fear in love….”

I John 4:8 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which is written in I Samuel 16:7 NAS “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” With this word, I knew that it would be vain for me to try and discern the fears of my own heart, as though I could prove to God that I am able to cast out these fears and dreads that have been haunting me. So I surrendered to the Lord, and simply stood before the Lord and acknowledged to him that I choose life and blessings. “Lord, is really that simple, that all that you are asking for me to do is to choose?“ Then I asked for him to come in and do whatever he needed to do so that life and peace would rule over my heart and mind. This was a really easy choice for me to make seeing that left alone to myself, I freely chosen to allow many fears and dreads to enter into the treasury of my heart; I had chosen my own poison to haunt me. If that was not shameful enough for me to see, then seeing that I was also allowing for my pride to defend and protect my own poison was doubly foolish. Surely, the wisdom of man is foolishness in the sight of God.

Psalm 139:23 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”

Chapter 5

“You must take up your cross and crucify the righteousness of your fears and dreads. Be not joined in agreement with that old oppressive husband, that law of sin and death that brings forth all unrighteousness.”

Romans 7:3-6 NASB “So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law (of sin and death) through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”

Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

As I continued to seek the Lord concerning these fears and dreads, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Do not be afraid Mitt; for there is no fear in love, and neither is there anything to dread concerning any of the works of my love. My love comes forth to deliver you from all fears and dreads. My love comes forth to set you free. My love comes forth to give you life. Seek my love! Cry out for my love! Ask for me to open your eyes so that you may see my love! Let my love be your reality. My love is the remedy for all fears and dreads. This is all the truth that you need to believe on, the truth that will allow for you to open the door of your heart so that the love of God can come in.” I then felt like I was beginning to understand why Jesus said over and over, “Do not be afraid”, or “Do not be fearful”. It would not have been needful for Jesus to keep saying these words unless he knew about the fears and the dread that dwells in the hidden places of the heart; or rather, in the dungeon of our castles. Is it any wonder that his disciples fled in fear when they came to arrest Jesus? What did Jesus know about Peter’s heart? Peter had just boasted that he would follow Jesus no matter where the Lord led him, He even said that he would even be willing to go to prison for him, and that he would also be willing to die for Jesus sake. It sounded to me that Peter saw the castle of his heart in the same manner that I first saw the castle of my heart, full of my own glory and strength. But then Jesus answered Peter by saying that before the sun would come up the next morning, that by reason of his fears, he would even deny just knowing Jesus, much less go to prison or die for him. Where Peter thought there was love in his heart for Jesus, there was actually the spirit of fear there; and that fear became his reality.

Proverbs 16:3 NKJ “Commit your works unto the LORD and your thoughts will be established.”

Romans 8:6 AMP “Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].”

Then the Lord also said, “There is no righteousness without the presence of my love and neither is there any self-righteousness without the presence of fear. You have asked for me to create in you a new heart, a heart that is beautiful in my sight, but how can I do this unless you are first willing to open the door of your heart and let me come in? Will you let me come in and change the righteousness that your heart has trusted and believed on? Will you take the righteousness off your fears and dreads so that you will no longer rely on or trust their counsels to right and true? Will you dispossess the thoughts of worry, uncertainty, dread, confusion, doubts, anxiety, evil suspicions, stress, as well as any other thought of that comes forth from the spirit of fear? Will you rely on and trust in my love to be the righteousness of your reality? Will you let my love guide you and direct your paths? As long as you hold on to believe that counsels of these fears and dreads are right and true, then how shall I be your Lord? I say to you, the possessions of a man’s heart are all that which he believes and trusts to be right and true. If you will take up your cross to dispossess the righteousness of your fears and dreads, no longer allowing them to be your trusted friends and counselors, then my love will come in and redeem you from your bondage. How shall a shall man be cast out except one who is stronger come in to do so? I am that spirit of love that will cast out your fears. I am that spirit of life that sets you free from your captivity to sin and death. I am the righteousness of abundant life.

Psalm 34:4 NKJ “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.”

Luke 9:23,24 NIV Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny (disown; dispossess) himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.”

Philippians 3:7-12 “But what things were gain to me (my valued principals), I counted those loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things (the valued principals of fear) and do count them but dung (the filth of self-righteousness) so that I may win Christ (the treasures of the heavenly principals), and be found in him not having mine own righteousness which is of the law (the law of sin and death), but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, so that I may know him (his righteousness, his goodness, and his truth to live my live after) and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

Romans 8:2 NASB “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

John 14:6 NASB “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me.”

Proverbs 12:28 “In the way of righteousness is life…”

Daniel 9:8 NIV “Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord, but to us, open shame…”

Matthew 6:21-24 NASB “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and wealth….33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness….”

Matthew 19:16-26 NIV “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. "What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Are you willing to let me make the love that I have for you to be the riches that your heart will treasure? Are you willing to make my love to be your possession? Are you willing to let the love that I have for you become your reality? Open the door to your heart, and I will come in, and when I come in I will make my love to be your reality because my love is the only true reality. Only my love is able to change your reality from death unto life; but my love cannot become your reality unless you are first willing to believe on my love. My love will cast out all of your fears and dreads. My love covers all of your sins; and when your sin abounds, my love for you will abound all the more. My love forgives your sins. My love leads you into repentance. My love is able to make your heart beautiful in my sight. My love is able to transform your mind, to bring you up higher and higher into my thoughts. My love yearns to bless you. My love greatly desires your fellowship. My love for you does not change, but unless you are willing to change, to believe on my love, then you will not be able to receive my love. Will you allow for my love to cast out all these unclean spirits from your heart and mind? Do you believe that my love is willing to do this for you? Do you believe that I am able to do this for you? Where fear dwells, there is no presence of my love; and where my love dwells, there is no presence of fear. Fear only dwells in the minds of those who hearts are ignorant of my love. Open the door to your heart, and I will show you my love. Will you have me?” says the Lord.

II Corinthians 8:12 “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”

Romans 8:15 “You have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear…”

I John 4:18 “…perfect love casts our all fear.”

John 8:36 “If the Son shall make you free, then you shall be free indeed.”

Ezekiel 36:25-27 NIV “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”

Ephesians 4:23,24 “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

II Corinthians 5:17 NIV “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

There is a verse of scripture that almost from the moment that I first read it, it really aroused my curiosity and desire to know and understand what the Lord meant by it; and that verse is that which is written I John 4:18 NASB “Perfect love casts out fear”. From the beginning I wondered why this word would say that perfect love cast out fear? I wondered why it did not say, “Perfect love casts out all hate’, seeing that hate seems to be that which is contrary to love? Or, why is not written that perfect love would casts out evil, or pride, or wickedness, or iniquity”, seeing that the scriptures seem to portray anyone of these things to be that which is much more wicked than fear? Well, I felt like the Lord began to open the eyes of my understanding to comprehend the truth about this verse when he gave me the castle vision. The scriptures state very plainly that if we confess our sins, or offer our iniquities unto the Lord, then he will not only gladly forgive us, but he will also cleanse us from the unrighteousness of which we confess; whether that unrighteousness be hatred, or envy, or judging others, or unbelief, or wickedness, or lusts, or doubts, or impatience, or fears and dread, or pride, or even self-condemnation. But what would the Lord be able to do if our heart was surrendered to these spirits of fear that worked in us to keep us from confessing any of these things or asking for the Lord to cleanse us? Is it not written that we do not have because we do not ask? I began to see that it is the work of fear to keep us from drawing near to God, to ask for him to forgive and cleanse us. Simply put, these spirits of fear work to separate us from the love of God, lest they allow for the love of God to come in and cast them out of the castle of our hearts that they have been dwelling in and haunting.

Hebrews 9:14 NASB “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

As much as the Lord loves us and desires to forgive and cleanse us, I now know that he will not at any time force himself upon any of us. God is well able to change the most wretched of sinners, but he is only able to change that wretched sinner after he opens the door of his heart and asks the Lord to come in. The natural, or carnal mind, is not only afraid of God, but it is also afraid to face the truth about it’s own sins and weaknesses because it is not possible for the spirit of fear to respond to the truth with anything other than fear because that is it‘s nature. If there was no fear or dread, then who would be afraid to come face to face with any truth, seeing that the truth is always accompanied with the love of God, the grace of God, the forgiveness of God, the mercy of God, and the wonderful works of God? The counsels of these unclean spirits of fear will never direct any of us to draw near to God‘s love, nor will it think to ask the Lord to search it’s heart, and neither will any of these spirits allow for a man to simply confess his sins. The Lord has now opened my eyes to see how fear and love are really contrary to another; for one works to keep us from drawing near to God, while the other opens the door and allows for the Lord to draw near to us.

Isaiah 29:13-15 NKJ ‘Therefore the Lord said: “ Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men. Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hidden.” Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the LORD, and their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”

James 4:7,8 NKJ “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

After the Lord showed me these things, I then asked him how and when this spirit of fear entered into man. He answered saying, “The spirit of fear found it’s entrance into the hearts and minds of men through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. As soon as the two of them chose to reject my words so that they could believe the lies that Satan had spoken to them, then the spirit of fear entered in to bring them into bondage to darkness, and to oppress them continually with the troubles and miseries of death. It was this spirit of fear that blinded their eyes and perverted their thinking. It was then that they began to evil good, and good evil. Both Adam and Eve were both naked in the garden as well as in my presence, but there was no shame in their eyes or mine. Yet, when they fell, they did not see the shame in their disobedience to my words, but they saw the shame in their nakedness. Who told them that they were naked? The spirit of fear told them that they were naked, and because they were now in bondage to the darkness, they believed it’s words, and shame came upon them where there was no shame. It was also the spirit of fear that blinded their eyes so that they could not see or be ashamed of their sin of disobedience to my words. If the could not see their sin, then they certainly could not be ashamed of their sin. Fear had so blinded their eyes that they called their nakedness to be evil, and their disobedience to my words to be good.

Genesis 2:25 NASB “And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”

Genesis 3:6-8 NASB “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”

Then the Lord revealed what I consider to this very day to be one of two biggest and most important revelations that he has ever given to me concerning the darkness and it’s impact on all of man. The Lord then said. “When Adam and Eve chose to eat that fruit, their eyes were opened to see as spirit of fear sees. This spirit was not directing how they should see, and neither was this fear instructing them on how to interpret what they saw, but they were actually seeing through the eyes of the spirit of fear that had come into them. It is for this reason that when they saw themselves through the eyes of fear, they sought to cover themselves, as though leaves could justify their disobedience, and they sought to flee from the presence of God’s love. They were led to do these things by the spirit of fear because that is the nature of spirit of fear. As the nature of the spirit is in a man, so is the man who sees eye to eye with that spirit. Fear is ignorant of love, and it is the darkness of this ignorance that blinds the eyes so that the love of God seems like an alien concept. Yet, God created man to love God and to be loved by God; to be in the likeness of his own image.

Ephesians 4:17,18 NIV “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

Mark 12:29-31 NKJ “Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these.”

1 John 4:8 NKJ “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

1 John 4:16 NKJ “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that which is written in Luke 11:34,35 “The light of the body is the eye: therefore when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.” Then the Lord quickened unto me that how a man sees is dictated by the spirit within him. If the spirit of fear is within a man, then how he sees and interprets the situations and the circumstances that arise in his life, as well as how he sees and judges other men and God himself, will be as that spirit of fear sees these things. In other words, if what a man sees brings forth worry, or dread, or confusion, or unbelief, or stress, or uncertainty, or doubts, or evil suspicions, or anxiety, or self-condemnation, or self-justification, or any other manner of fear, then he is seeing all things through the eyes of the spirit of fear. If there is any of these evil fruits in the thoughts of a man, then all his thoughts are coming forth from darkness. And you shall know them by their fruits. For a long time I could not understand how the darkness could ever be mistaken for the light; that is, until the Lord showed to me that all my fears and dreads, that which I was so familiar with, were of the darkness. There truly is “no fear” in the light of God’s love. I was surely deceived, blind to see that my fears and dreads were nothing but spirits of darkness. My oppression was my nature; and my nature was fear.

Psalm 18:28 NIV You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.

Isaiah 42:6,7 NIV “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

Luke 1:78,79 “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Matthew 12:33-37 NASB “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 18:21 NASB “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

It was also during this time that the Lord began to open my eyes to fully comprehend what Jesus meant when he said to the disciples in Matthew 13:16,17 NIV “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” What a blessing, to eyes to never see as fear sees, or ears that never hear the thoughts of fear. The Lord has blessed me many times with visitations of his presence; and in his presence there are no fears to oppress or to torment. But they are only visitations. How great is this liberty and freedom that overcomes all of the fears and dreads that have so troubled the lives of men? Then the Lord said, “When the eye is evil, then the curses of fear and dread will seem like the right way for a man to walk in, but those ways always end in death; for darkness cannot lead a man anywhere except into more darkness. And when a man walks in this darkness, then his frets, his evil suspicions, his worries, his doubts, his anxieties, his self-condemnation, his dreads, his impatience, his unbelief, his hopelessness, as well as any of his other fears and phobias will be the thoughts that he accounts to be right and true; the thoughts of his reality. Can light have any fellowship with the darkness? O blessed are the eyes that see as the spirit of the Lord sees because they shall see that the darkness for what it is: foolishness, vanity, misery, emptiness, and oppression.

Ephesians 5:8-14 NASB “For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you."

Job 37:19 NKJ “Teach us what we should say to Him, for we can prepare nothing because of the darkness.”

Psalm 107:9-11 NIV “For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Some sat in darkness and the deepest gloom, prisoners suffering in iron chains, for they had rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.”

Psalm 107:13-15 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Isaiah 42:6 NIV “I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.”

I found one more thing that the Lord showed to me about the Castle Vision to be very interesting. Natural man lives his life subject to the desires to be as God: desirous to be in control of his own life; desirous to sit in the sit of judgment over other men; desirous to make his reality of what he believes to be right to be the reality of righteousness for all who are around him; desirous to make his own opinions to be the truth; desirous for to make his own name to be great; desirous to live his life according to his own will; and desirous for his own fame and glory. Natural man also desires great wealth because the more wealth he possesses, the more power he believes he will receive that will allow for him to satisfy these natural desires to be as God over his own life. The more a man is able to satisfy his desires to be as God, the more beautiful and glorious the castle of his heart will becomes in his own eyes. Natural man sees that his only purpose in life is to seek to satisfy all of these desires so that his dreams and goals may become his reality.

Matthew 16:26 NIV “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Even though natural man is subject to these desires, fear is that which has the ultimate rule over his own thoughts. When the Lord was teaching me these things, he finished by quickening into my remembrance four different men from out of history; and they were Caesar, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, and Sadaam Hussein. These were men in their own countries that had satisfied all their natural desires to be their own lord and god, over their own lives as well as over the lives of all the citizens in their respective countries. They had obtained absolute control, fame, authority, wealth, glory, a name, and that which was right in their eyes became the law in their land. Yet, after satisfying all of their natural desires, they had found no love, nor peace, nor joy, only paranoia. The more natural desires a man satisfies, the more his heart possesses; and the more a man’s heart possesses, the more fearful he is of losing it. It is for this reason that these men were not only paranoid, but they were extremely paranoid, fearful of losing all that they had obtained. They were very fearful of all those who were around them, even their own family members, that they were either going to be betrayed by them or that they were going to try to take their possessions from them. There is no amount of possessions that a man may gain that is able to deliver him from man’s oppression to fears and dread. But natural man is so accustomed to living his life trying to satisfy his natural desires that he is really blind to see the bondage and oppression that his fears and dreads have him captive to. And the Lord says, “Your thoughts are not my thoughts.”

Jeremiah 13:23 NIV “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.”

Acts 26:15-18 NASB “Then I asked, “Who are you, Lord?” “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the Lord replied. “Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

What turns a man from darkness to light? What turns a man from the power of Satan to the power of God? What delivers a man from his oppression and bondage to these vile, unclean spirits of fear? What cleanses a man from his sin? What turns a man from the iniquity of his hypocrisy to the righteousness of God? What delivers man from evil? Seeing! Seeing! Seeing! Paul was sent to open eyes; Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind to see what? To restore vision unto man so that man may see as God sees. It is written in John 9:39-41 NKJ “And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, “We see.” Therefore your sin remains.” Imagine that, whether a man is freed from his sins, or if they are retained depends on “the seeing” of that man’s vision. Adam’s sin of disobedience remained with him because he became blind to see the truth about his transgression even though he covered himself with leaves of hypocrisy and hid from God behind the lies of self-justification. Is this not the very thing that Jesus was trying to address with these Pharisees? Were not these the ones that were supposed to be experts in that law, as well as all of the rest of the scriptures? How many of these religious leaders, as well as pastors and prophets of today, have become like Adam and these Pharisees, seeing with their own eyes that their hearts are as that beautiful and glorious castle that I saw in my vision? If a man does not see with the vision that God sees with, then does he really have any vision at all, or is he blind?

Matthew 13:14,15 NKJ “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: “Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”

I John 3:6 NKJ “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

The Lord once told me that if I could understand the truth of that which is written in Proverbs 16:25 NASB “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death”, then I would be able to understand all of the powers of Satan. My eyes immediately focused on the word “seem”. The dictionary defines seem as who something appears to one’s own senses, mind, seeing, and judgment. Well, if natural man sees through the eyes of fear, then what seems right in his eyes is that which seems right in the eyes of fear. Adam hid from God; Abraham was fearful of those who did not fear God; all but Joshua and Caleb were fearful of the giants they saw in the promise land; the entire army of Israel was terrified of Goliath; the disciples were fearful of the storm they were caught in; Peter was fearful to even acknowledge that he knew Jesus; Ananias and Sapphira were afraid to give up all for the Lord….and so many other instances in the Bible that describe instances of how the people of God did that which seemed right in the sight of their fears because they were in bondage to see as the spirit was within them.

There is only one thing that is natural to those who are in darkness, and that is the darkness itself; and that which seems right is the darkness that appears like the light. Satan’s power lies in his ability to make wrong ways to appear as right ways, and right ways to appear as the wrong way. There was not one thing that any man will allow into the treasury of his heart unless it first seems right in his own eyes. Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind who were walking in the ways that seem right, to turn them from the ways of death to the strait and narrow path that leads to life; and to accomplish this, all that he needed to do was to open their eyes so that they could see as God sees. But have you ever seen a man repent of that which he believes and trusts to be right?

Job 34:32 NASB “Teach me what I do not see; If I have done iniquity, I will not do it again?”

I John 3:6 NKJ “Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”

III John 11 NIV “….Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.

I John 3:2 NKJ “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Jesus said that he did not come to judge or to condemn any man according to the flesh, but he came to teach us good judgment, the judgment of God. The judgment of God opens the eyes of the blind so that he is able to see the difference between that which naturally seems right from that which is right in the sight of God. If Jesus had come to judge according to the flesh, then he would have judged the woman caught in the act of adultery with the same condemnation as the blind were judging her with. No, Jesus came to judge the blindness of darkness with the seeing of the light. It is obvious from this story Jesus walked in a different light, seeing the sin of adultery in an entirely different manner than how those who were under the law were seeing this woman and her transgression. Who among us, at one time or another, has not been fearful that Jesus/God was going to judge our sins in the same manner that the blind hypocrites accused, and judged, and condemned this woman? Where is the church today that walks in the same light that Jesus walked in, not throwing stones at those who do those things that do not agree with what seems right in their own eyes, like those who commit adultery, or that have had an abortion, or child molesters, etc? Those who throw the stones of judgment at others are blind to see that they are only bringing condemn on themselves; for every man is going to be judged with the same judgment that he has used to judge others with. Jesus came to open our eyes, to change the way that a man judges himself, the way that he judges others, and even the way that judges God when things do not go his way. Jesus came to open the eyes of the blind, to free us from the curse of darkness that has alienated and separated from the communion and fellowship that our heavenly Father created us to walk with him in.

Psalm 119:65,66 NIV “Do good to your servant according to your word, O LORD. Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I believe in your commands.”

Psalm 34:4 “Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.”

Job 40:8 NASB (God speaking to Job) “Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Is it any wonder that Jesus told us to take the beam of blindness out of our eyes before we judged? In the judgment of my eyes, I saw that my heart was as this beautiful and glorious castle; but in the judgment of God’s eyes, he who sees the hidden things of darkness and the secret counsels of the heart, he saw the fears and the dreads that were daily haunting me in one manner or another. Who could have ever imagined that a man’s sin is not the results of his works or deeds, but rather it is the result that comes forth from the vision of his eyes? Of course, every man’s works and deeds are directed by how he sees things. Even when the scriptures are read, one may see a verse to mean one thing while another may see it to mean another; and yet, unless the Lord has opened their understanding, neither is able to see the truth of that word. Even so, each man will make that which he believes to be that which is right and true. I remembered a time when the Lord gave me a revelation of his word, and with much joy I sat back in my chair and proclaimed, “Wow Lord, I cannot believe that I was so totally blind to see this word in this manner”. Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “You just glorified me because I alone am able to open your eyes to see the truth of my words.” The Lord then taught me that he is glorified in the works that he does for us, and not in the “best efforts” or “good intentions” that the natural man thinks glorifies God. Even Jesus said, “Father, glorify me, and I will glorify you.” And how would Jesus glorify his Father, but with thanksgiving and praise for the work that his heavenly Father did for him.

Jeremiah 2:31 NKJ “O generation, see the word of the LORD!”

Ephesians 1:16-19 NKJ “(I) do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 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, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.”

Chapter 6

“Is that all there is to it, Lord? Is that all you have to do is open our eyes?”

Two Testimonies: From darkness into the light, from the power of Satan to God

The following are a couple of testimonies of how the power of God has opened my eyes to see his love, and his love then cast out the fears that had been blinding my eyes and greatly haunting me. Remember, the Lord told me that the reason that he desires for me to testify of the works of his love and his power is so that if there is any who will hear and believe, then turn to the Lord and ask of him, he will also do the same for them. Needless to say, these are just two of testimonies that the Lord has given to me that have been life changing experiences because when the Lord opens your eyes to see as he sees, then your even your life in this fallen world of darkness changes. God has been opening my eyes so that I no longer see with the vision of fear, but through the eyes of his love. If there is no fear, then there can be nothing to be afraid of.

John 17:15, 16 “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

Psalm 105:1,2 NKJ “Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; Talk of all His wondrous works!

This event actually happened long before the Lord began to clearly show me how it was the spirit of fear that was blinding the eyes of my heart. I had arrived at a place in my walk where I was reading certain scriptures that testified of how the Lord sees how hearts and our minds, yet I myself could see nothing in me at that agreed at all with what the scriptures were testifying of. Not only was I blind to see any truth in these verses, but my heart was really fearful to see if these verses actually did apply to me. These are just some of the scriptures that I seemed to be confronting on a daily basis.

Isaiah 94:11 “The Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are vanity”.

Romans 7:18 “I know that in me, that is in my flesh (the carnal mind), dwells no good thing.”

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?”

Isaiah 47:10 “You have trusted in your wickedness and you have said, “None see me (hiding behind the words and works of self-justification). Your wisdom and knowledge had perverted you and you have said in your heart, “I am”, and there is no else besides me (that is, the principles of my righteousness, and my goodness, and my opinions are truth)”.

Romans 3:10-12 NIV “As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Revelation 3:14 (Letter to the Church of Laodicea) “So then, because you are lukewarm, and are neither cold or hot, I will spew you out of my mouth because you say that I am rich (the treasures of the heart), and are increased with goods (your own righteousness, goodness, and understanding) and have no need for nothing, and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”

Nahum 1:11 “There is one come out of you (the spirit of fear) that imagines evil against God (fears, unbelief, reasonings, and doubts): a wicked counselor.”

Hebrews 9:14 “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

I finally came to the conclusion that no man could really know if any of these verses of scripture were true unless the Lord actually opened their eyes to see how the Lord sees; to actually give the Lord permission to come into the castle of his heart and reveal those things that are hidden in the darkness and the secret counsels of the heart. My faith was rather small at that time, so I was really not all that comfortable about asking the to do this, but I really had to know if these verses truly applied to me, as a Christian. Maybe these verses were speaking to fallen Israel or maybe even to natural man? One thing was for sure; if these verses actually described how the Lord God almighty saw my heart and my mind, then I was completely blind to see it. Because of my fears, I was really ready to just say, “Even if these verses are true, I am covered by the blood of Christ”; and then just leave it at that. But the Spirit of the Lord kept quickening these verses to me, which then did nothing but arouse my curiosity all the more to know this truth.

I Corinthians 4:5 “Therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and the counsels of the heart; and then shall every man have praise of God.”

After a time, and still not yet seeing if any of these verses really applied to me, I began to boldly pray, asking the Lord to search my heart and my mind, and to open my eyes so that I could see what he saw. I will not lie to you, I certainly had to battle with the spirit of fear to ask such a thing of the Lord. Even though I was curious, I was still afraid of what the Lord might actually open my eyes to see; but thanks be to God that my desire to know the truth was greater than the fear that desired to keep the truth hidden from me. I held tight to the words that Father had previously spoken to me, that he desired for his sons to be made to be just like him. Therefore I knew that whatever wickedness or evil the Lord might open my eyes to see, I believed in my heart that the Lord was going to redeem me by removing what I see and then manifesting more of his Spirit within me. I would rather see his truth than to remain blind have that come upon me that is written in John 3:19 where Jesus said, “And this is the condemnation, that the light comes, and men hate the light because it reveals that their deeds are evil”.

II Thessalonians 2:8-12 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all of his power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness (self-justification) in them that perish because they would not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion (the righteousness of fear) so that they should believe a lie: that they might all be damned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (self-justification).”

II Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn their ears away from the truth and be turned to fables (the lies of their fears; self-justification).”

I always thought that it was interesting that when the Spirit of the Lord quickened these verses to me, I was in a place in my walk where I had never felt more comfortable, or secure, or good about myself: I did not smoke, nor drink, nor curse, nor steal, nor hurt people, and I sought the Lord, read the scriptures, and prayed on a daily basis. So what evil could I possibly see? But then I started having all these wild imaginations as to what the Lord could possibly reveal to me that I did not already know about myself. Could the Lord open my eyes to show me that I was like Charles Manson, or Jeffery Dahmer, of Hitler, or Cain, or maybe even Judas? Though I thought myself to be a pretty good Christian, I was still uneasy about what the Lord might reveal to me. Even so, I began to prepare myself as to what I might do if the Lord showed to me that I was like these men. While I was preparing myself to see such things in me, the Lord began to open my eyes to see things like my fears, my doubts, my unwillingness, my judgments of others, my pride, my unbelief, the lies that I was using for self-justification, my distrust towards the Lord, the wickedness of my self-righteousness, my striving and arguments, as well as the pretenses and illusions of my hypocrisy (trying to appear as the best Christian I could make myself to be). The funny thing was that because I thought that the Lord might open my eyes and show me that I was like one or more of these men, I was blind to see that the Lord was opening me eyes to show me these other things in the manner that he saw them, and began to really feel awful about myself. I was still blind to see that it was the Lord who was bringing into the light the evil of my unbelief, my fears, and my doubts as well as the wickedness of my self-justification and self-righteousness.

Romans 7:13 NIV “Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

Revelation 12:11 NKJ “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

Then suddenly one day, the Lord finally opened my eyes to see and realize that it was the Lord that had been revealing the sinfulness in all of these things that I had been seeing in me. I was really amazed how these sins had become so evil in my sight. It was not like I did not know that these things were evil before, it was that I just could not see them in the same manner as the Lord saw them. I was here that I really saw for the first time how my fears had deceived me, blinding me from seeing the truth about these things. My fears had so deceived me that I was believing that the pretenses and hypocrisy in my heart was the right way that a Christian should walk; deceiving me into believing that I should make the best effort I could in showing Jesus in my life; deceiving me into believing that I was able to cover my sins, my mistakes, and my weaknesses with self-justification. This is when the Lord first spoke this phrase to me, “You are trying to be lord and god over your own Christianity. Do not be deceived, there is only one Lord and one God, and there will never be any more than one. I have not called you to be your own lord or your own God.” This phrase completely startled me because it just seemed so right in my eyes to do these things. It was here that I began to perceive why the religious hated Jesus with such enmity, because Jesus only goes for the “real thing”. He has no regard for the lies that deceive men into thinking that we should walk after self-righteous illusions or the hypocrisies that deceive by their appearances.

Matthew 23:27-28 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whited tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but within you are full of dead bones, and of all uncleanness (the righteousness of fear). Even so you outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Matthew 22:16 NIV “They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher (Jesus),” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.”

It seemed as though I walked about for many, many days loathing myself for the evil I was seeing within me. It was not really seeing the evil in my heart that was bad, but it was seeing that I was powerless to change anything about that which I was seeing. I had never really been in this position before. So I stayed before his mercy seat, hoping daily that he could come and deliver me from that which my eyes were seeing. I was really growing weary and I had just about lost all hope that the Lord was going to come redeem me. It had become in thoughts just like the verse that says, “When it is night, I wish it was day; and when it was day, I wished that it was night” because I felt like I could not stand the imaginations for one more day that were constantly having me to think about myself with thoughts filled with shame, frustration, sadness, disappointment, guilt, impatience, failure, and much, much self-condemnation. I felt like that I had lost all hope that I was going to be able to obtain any grace or mercy from the Lord because of the depth of the truth about how sinful I was in my heart. I also felt as though I was somehow experiencing the same suffering that Job must have felt when he said, “That which I have feared the most has come upon me.” I had no idea that I could suffer so much for seeing the truth about myself. Even so, it was in that moment that I found myself thankful that the Lord had given me enough faith and belief to come and pray before him. When I prayed on this morning, words came out of mouth that had never come out of me before. I acknowledged for the first time before the Lord that I now believed that his word is true; and I acknowledged that I now believed that my heart was desperately wicked and deceitful above all things, that all of my thoughts were nothing but vanity, that I was nothing without his love, and that I was blind, wretched, miserable, poor in the fruits of his Spirit, and that the intents and counsels of my heart were naked before him. When I was blind, I saw my heart as that beautiful and glorious castle, as a pretty good Christian; but now that the Lord had given to me his vision, I did not at all see myself in that manner at all.

Habakkuk 1:1-3 NASB “The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. How long, O LORD, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, "Violence!" Yet You do not save. Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises.”

Even in the midst of seeing all this wickedness and evil in my heart as the Lord saw it, that is not what troubled me the most. What troubled me was that I was treating myself with much sadness, much disgust, without any mercy or grace, feelings of failure, with contempt, with disappointment, with much hopelessness, and with continual thoughts of self-condemnation. If this was not enough to bring me down, there was one more thing that troubled me far greater than these things, and that was I was absolutely positive and completely convinced that the Lord had to be looking upon me with at least as much contempt, disappointment, disgust, and condemnation that I was treating myself with. After all, he hates sin, and I was seeing nothing other than the sins that had been hidden in me. At that time, I was at a place in my walk where I could not separate my soul from my sin; I thought that they were one and the same. I felt like I had in be in the valley of the shadow of death, except I was very fearful of all the wickedness and the evil that I was seeing, and I did not really believe that the Lord was with me. In 29 years of seeking the Lord, it was, without any doubt, the worst and most fearful dark place that I have ever been in because I felt that all that I was seeing within me was separating me from my God. I could not help but to ask this question, “How could anyone, even God, love a man whose heart and mind was as vile and wretched as mine was?”

Psalm 90:8 AMP “Our iniquities, our secret heart and its sins [which we would so like to conceal even from ourselves], You have set in the [revealing] light of Your countenance.”

Romans 7:20 NIV “Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 24 NIV “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Philippians 3:21 “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

That morning, when I had just got through praying and acknowledging before the Lord that I now agreed with his words, the Lord suddenly came and took me in the Spirit for the first time. It was not a vision that I was taken into and neither was it a dream, for I am very familiar with what it is like to be taken into both of those. No, it was as if he had had taken my entire consciousness out of my body and transported me into another realm. I found myself walking through fields of grass that were surrounded with gentle, rolling hills. Everywhere I looked I saw patches of flowers of all different varieties. All of my heaviness and burdens had instantly disappeared. My heart and my mind felt like I had just stepped out into the first wonderful day of spring after a really long and harsh winter. I found myself to be just strolling along enjoying all of the beautiful scenery that was around me. Suddenly I felt someone take my right hand and very tenderly place it in his hand so that we could walk hand in hand together. I immediately knew that whoever had my hand, he was much taller than I was because his height was so much greater than mine that it made me feel as though I was a little 5 year old boy holding his daddy’s hand. I then stopped and looked up into his face so that I might know who this was; but it was like the sun was directly behind his head, and the brightness of it’s light was blinding me so that I could not see his face. So I then tilted my head to the right, then to left, then up, and then down, as I was trying to find a position where this man’s head would not be between the sun and I. But no matter where I shifted my head to, I could not find a spot where the brightness of the sun was not blinding my eyes. Then suddenly I realized that it was not the sun that was blinding me at all, but it was the glory of the Lord on his face, and that meant that I was holding hands with the Lord himself. I knew instantly that it was not the sun at all that had been blinding my eyes, but rather it was the brilliance of his glory shinning from his face. Immediately I began to feel his love penetrating into my heart and my mind.

Psalm 67:1 “God, be merciful to us and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah.”

II Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

I was completely overwhelmed in that moment as I stood there realizing that I was really standing there holding hands with my heavenly Father. I was just looking at him in awe when he turned and looked down at me and said, “Now that we agree, we can walk together.” Then we just started walking, or rather, strolling along holding hands. Then it was like I had not heard what he had said, but I suddenly realized what he said; and I said with myself: “Agree? What in the world is he talking about? What is that we agree on?” Suddenly I remembered that the very moment before I was taken in the Spirit, I had been in prayer acknowledging before the Lord that I agreed with his word, that I saw that my heart and mind were exactly like that which the scriptures had testified of. I was simply in shock and awe when I realized that this was the agreement that the Lord had just spoken of. The only thing that I was able to say in that moment was, “Wow. Who could have ever imagined this? How could this be? How could the Lord take me by my hand and treat me with such tender love at a time that my own thoughts had convinced me that all that I was deserving of was for the Lord to treat me with some kind of harsh punishment, or rejection, or condemnation, or banishment? How could the Lord come and take my hand to walk in fellowship with me at a time when myself was so repulsed by the wickedness I had seen in my own heart and the vanity in my own thoughts?

Lamentations 2:14 “Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.”

I do not know how to describe how I felt in that moment but it was like a building that was imploding in on itself; and what was imploding in on me was all the lies that seemed to be crashing down within me. Just as Eve believed the lies that Satan had told her that God had been lying to them, so also had I believed his lies when he deceived me into believing that God was surely going to treat me for my sins and weaknesses in the same evil and condemning manner that I had been treating myself. In the twinkling of an eye, my eyes had been opened to actually see the love of God that I had been hoping to be true. Without any doubt, I knew that the Lord had just brought me into a new realm in my relationship with him. Up until this moment, I had been holding on to the belief that the love of God that scriptures testify of was true, but now I was experiencing that love in my heart like nothing I had ever experienced, and it was now my reality. To this very day, this is the single most wonderful, most powerful, most awesome and most loving moment that I have ever spent with the Lord; and it came in just a twinkling of an eye from the worst and most fearful dark moment in my entire life. Talk about shock and awe! My Father loved me.

Romans 5:20 (AMP) “But where sin increased and abounded, grace has surpassed it, increased the more, and superabounded.”

We were still just strolling along when Father looked down at me and said, “Mitt, why were so fearful to see the truth about how I see your heart and your mind? What I have opened your eyes to see concerning your heart and mind, it may be new to you, but it was not new to me. I have always seen and known that all of these things were in your heart since the day that I called you. I have loved from the beginning just as I do now. My love never changes. I have never been fearful or intimidated by any of your sins or your weaknesses; and I do not desire for you to be fearful or intimidated by them either. The grace of my love is far greater than any work of darkness; and it is the work of darkness to intimidate you, and to make you fearful to see the truth about your sins and weaknesses. My love for you today is the same perfect love that I have always had for you. I am love. I am the being of love, and I my being does not change. It is only lies that have deceived you and blinded you to the truth about my love. I do not love your self-image that tries to deny my truth, but I do love you. I do not love lies because there is no truth in lies. I love the truth; and I especially love those who love my truth. Now remember my word, that if and when sin may abound, then the truth is that the grace of my love will abound more and more unto you. My grace will always be sufficient for you, as long as you continue to diligently seek to know me. Just confess your sins and ask for me to cleanse you of them, and my love for you will do it, and my mercy will come to free you. Hold fast to the truth concerning my love for you, lest you let your fears direct you to flee from me and deny my grace. Let not your heart entertain any of these lies that would try to separate you from me.”

II Corinthians 12:8-10 NIV “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I then knew that the Lord had not just changed my relationship with him, but that he had also changed my world. My life would never be the same again. Never in my life have I ever felt as secure, cared for, comforted, and loved by the Lord as I did in that moment. The darkness had given away to the light, and my life had been restored. Much joy and peace had returned to me. A few days later, the Lord again spoke and asked, “Mitt, do you still see the same sins and weaknesses in your heart as you did before?” My life had been so filled with peace and joy from our little walk together that I had not really thought about any of the sins or the weaknesses that I had previously seen in me. I then considered what the Lord had just asked me, and much to my surprise, I could still see that many of these same sins and weaknesses were still there. “Yes, Lord I do see them”. Then the Lord asked, “If they are still there, but your heart is filled with such joy and peace, then what has changed?” I thought to myself about what a great question this was. I saw the same sins and weaknesses in my heart, but there was no self-condemnation or fears of any kind about what I was seeing. Then suddenly I knew. “Lord, it is my vision that has changed. I no longer see my sins and weaknesses through the eyes of fear, but I see them through the eyes of the grace of your love. Lord, I now believe in my heart that the grace of your love is sufficient for me.” In the twinkling of an eye….

I Corinthians 15:5152 NAS “Behold, I tell you a mystery: We all shall not sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Then the Lord said, “The light of the body is the eye. Take heed that the light that is in you is not darkness, lest you respond to your sins and weaknesses with self-condemnation and fear, instead of looking for my mercy, my forgiveness, and the grace of my love. Can darkness work anything other than darkness? Can death bring forth anything but death? It is the lies of these fears that were directing you into believing that it was right for you to be so disappointed in yourself and to condemn yourself. If you believe that it is right and true for you to condemn yourself, then condemnation will become your reality, for that will be the light that is in your eye. If you believe that it is right for you to be disappointed and to condemn yourself for your sins and weaknesses, then you will be believe that it is right for me to treat you in the same manner. If you believe that it is right for me to treat you in that manner, then you will also receive condemnation from men when they are disappointed with you or when they condemn you. And finally, you believe that it is right for others to be disappointed with you and to condemn you, then you will be disappointed and condemned when you see their sins and weaknesses. If you believe that condemnation is right, then condemnation shall be your reality. All of these works are nothing but the works of darkness that torment and trouble your soul with the fears and dreads of condemnation. Fear is always fearful of condemnation, because fear is of the darkness, and the darkness is condemned of itself. There is no fear in love. I am the grace of my Father‘s love and I am perfect in love. There is no condemnation in me, and neither is there any kind of condemnation to those who are in me. The woman who was caught in the act of adultery, from who did she receive threats of condemnation? From whom did she receive the grace of my Father’s love? He who walks in grace walks in the light of my Father’s love. He that walks in darkness walks in condemnation because the darkness condemns itself. Is it not written, “By your own words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned”? As the darkness cannot comprehend the light, neither can those who walk in condemnation understand the grace of Father’s love. If I do not condemn you, then who will?

Romans 8:1 NASB “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (They do not condemn themselves; God does not condemn them; they do not condemn others; and neither does the condemnation of others have any effect on them).”

John 8:3-12 NIV The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir," she said. “Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin.” When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Romans 1:17-25 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God (the grace of his love) is manifest in them; for God has showed it to them. For the invisible things of him (the love of his grace) 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: because that, when they knew God (the grace of his love), they did not glorify him as God, neither were they thankful. But became vain in their imaginations (their fears), and their foolish heart was darkened; and professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. And they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness (the righteousness of their fears) through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves (judging one another/fearing each others fears), who changed the truth of God (the grace of his love) into a lie (condemnation), and they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen…. 2:1 NIV “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”

Jude 4 NKJ For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 3:7 NAS “Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of that grace of God which was given me according to the working of his power.”

I Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Colossians 4:6 “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

Romans 16:24 NASB “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

Then the Lord said, “Are you enjoying our walk through these rolling hills and valleys fashioned with lush grass and beautiful flowers? Is it a delight for you to be walking hand in hand with me?” I answered, “Lord, you know that it is. If you left it up to me, I would choose to stay here and never leave this valley if I could spend all my days walking with you.” Then suddenly I realized that I was actually walking with the Lord in the same manner that Adam walked with God on a daily basis. I then remembered that this is exactly what the Lord had taught me, that he created all men for this very purpose, to love him who loves us so that we might commune and fellowship with him on a daily basis. I then could not help but think how utterly miserable Adam and Eve must have felt when all they had ever known was this daily fellowship with the love of God, and then the darkness came upon them. And seeing that there is no fellowship or communion between the darkness and the light, they had to depart from the garden of God’s presence. fear and love. Can you have any real fellowship with someone who is always seeking to hide from your presence?

Then the Lord asked, “Do you know the name of this valley that we are presently in?” I then thought that this might be actually be the garden of Eden, but there were trees in the garden, and there were no trees here. So I answered, “No, Lord.” The Lord then said, “It is the valley of the shadow of death. Just as the darkness was able to enter into the Garden of Eden with it’s haunting fears and dreads, so also is the light of my love able to enter into the Valley of the Shadow of Death to deliver you from these same fears and dreads. Do you see any sin or death among these hills and valleys?” I answered, “No Lord; none at all.” I then realized that my sins and weaknesses were still with me, but it was the fears and dreads of them that had departed from me. I then also realized that I was walking through the valley of the shadow of death, hand in hand with the Lord, and just like the psalmist, there was no fear of seeing evil within me.

Psalm 23:4 NIV “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

The Lord continued, “You know that the garden was the place where Adam walked with God, communed with God, fellowshipped with God, believed and trusted God, and where he shared his love for God, and God shared his love with Adam. But when Adam and Eve chose to believe Satan, desiring for his lies to become their reality, then in the twinkling of an eye, their vision was changed from light to darkness, and their eyes were opened to see as the spirit of fear sees. In the twinkling of an eye, the darkness was able to take away all of their fellowship and communion with God. Just as there is not any agreement between the light and the darkness, so also is there not any agreement between fear and love; for there is no fear in love, nor is there any love in fear. Is it not written that two cannot walk together except they agree? It was not the garden that changed, and neither was it that God had changed, but it was their seeing that had changed. In the twinkling of an eye, they became fearful of God, as well as fearful of all of those things that they imagined and perceived to be evil. It was the darkness of fear that counseled them to do that which they had never done before, to cover themselves and hide from God. This darkness is now that wall that alienates and separates man from the life that God created man to be partakers of.

Amos 3:3 NKJ “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?”

Ephesians 4:17 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.”

When a man sees as the darkness of fear sees, then the Garden of Eden can become as the hell of the Valley of the Shadow of Death; and when a man’s eyes are opened to see through the vision of Father’s grace, then the Valley of the Shadow of Death can become as heavenly as the Garden of Eden. As fear is able to blind the eyes so that the love of God cannot be seen, so also is God able to open the eyes of the blind to the works of his love. Those who see through the eyes of fear have no desire for me to draw near to them because the spirit of fear has deceived them into believing that I will treat them for their sins, for their mistakes, and for their weaknesses in same manner as the darkness treats them: with accusations, or with guilt, or with finger pointing, or with disdain, or with condemnation, or with feelings of failure, or with false banishments, or with disgust, or with hopelessness, or with disappointment. Those who see through the eyes of my Father’s love, they see the truth, that I will treat them for their sins, their mistakes, and their weaknesses with mercy, with comfort, with forgiveness, with compassion, with help, with hope, and with grace. The darkness has no power to separate any from my love, but it can receive power if it is able to deceive one to surrender his heart to believe the counsels of it’s lies. It was not I”, says the Lord, “that sought to flee and hide from Adam’s love, but it was the darkness of fear in Adam that led him to flee and hide from my love.

Psalm 116:3 “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.”

Isaiah 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

Luke 1:76-79 NIV “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Matthew 24:12 ASV “And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax (grow) cold.”

Am I like the darkness?” says the Lord. “Those who believe that I am condemnation, they are those who will flee from me, or shut their ears to my correction, or that will seek to cover their sins, weaknesses, and mistakes with the fig leaves of self-justification, or that will try to hide themselves from me behind the works of their hypocrisies. All these things are nothing but the works of darkness because darkness condemns sins, and mistakes, and faults, and weaknesses. I am not like the darkness. Those who love the darkness fear evil because they believe I am like them, that I will condemn or reject them in the same manner unmerciful manner that they condemn and reject others who do evil in their sight. These are blind to see that they are only defending their fears and hiding in the very darkness that condemns itself. Adam and Eve were both naked in the garden, and neither of them were ashamed; but in one moment, the darkness came, and their vision became as the vision of fear, and they were ashamed of their nakedness and sought to cover it up. It is not so with those who see their sins and weaknesses through the eyes of my love because they know the truth, that my love will treat them for their sins and weaknesses with much compassion, with much mercy, with much longsuffering and much patience, with much forbearance, with grace that abounds, and with much forgiveness”, says the Lord. Then my spirit returned to my body. I then knew that a man could have 20/20 vision and still not be able to see anything as God sees it.

Hypocrisy: “play-acting; pretend”

I had seen his glory. I had seen him face to face, though I could not behold the actual form of his face because of the brilliant glory of his love. I had seen the face of him whose love towards me is perfect; the perfect love that cast out my fears and dreads. I had seen the face of his love that brought death to the impatience, the disappointments, the disdain, the self-condemnation, the disgust, and the merciless way that I had been responding to my own sins and weaknesses with. I had seen the face of his love that brought immediate death to the lies that had deceived me into believing that God would treat my sins and weaknesses in a manner that was outside of the boundaries of the grace of his love. I had just held the same hands that made the heavens and the earth, and all things within. I had just heard the gentle and tender voice of his love, the voice that is able to shake the heavens and the earth. I had been compassed in the safety and security of him who is sovereign over all powers and principalities, whether they be in heaven or on earth, or whether they be of the darkness or light. I had been filled with the fullness of joy and peace that only comes from being in his presence. I was loved. I was forgiven. I was cared for. I was cleansed. I was the object of his affection.

I Kings 19:11,12 NIV The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”

As long as I draw breath in this life, I will never forget this walk with the Lord. What was really interesting to me was to still see the same sins and weaknesses as I saw before prior to this visitation, but they were now powerless to influence me in any way concerning my relationship, my communion, and my fellowship with my heavenly Father. I had just endured the most powerful attack that Satan has ever brought against me, using my own my own sins, my own faults, and my own weaknesses joined together with a legion of fears, to draw and separate me from my Father’s love. If another man had attacked me with accusations, or with disgust, or with condemnation, or with disdain, or pointing that judgmental finger at me, then I could have just departed from his presence and freed myself from his lying words. But when Satan attacks you in the imaginations of your thoughts, appearing as counsels that desire to condemn yourself, or to hate yourself, or to be disappointed with yourself, then where can a man go to escape these miserable and relentless thoughts that torment his entire being? The last place that Satan wants a man to go to escape his attacks is into the arms of Father’s grace and love, because that is the only place that he will find escape and freedom from the lies that torment and trouble. I then knew that never again would any of my sins or weaknesses be accompanied with any of these tormenting fears that either tried to condemn me, or that tempted me to cover myself with the fig leaves of self-justification, or that tried to lead me to flee from my Father’s love. I now know that the love of God is always with me, even when I am in the valley of the shadow of death where sin abounds; knowing that the grace of my Father’s love will abound greater.

Romans 8:35 NASB “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Isaiah 65:2 ASV “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, that walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts.”

I was reading one morning in the scriptures where Jesus said in John 15:15 “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.” I then asked, “Lord, am I your servant or am I your friend?” The Lord answered and said, “If you know that in your heart that I love you, even when you do not love me, then you are my friend. If you know that all the thoughts that I think towards you are always thoughts to do you good and to give you peace, then you are my friend. If you know that when you sin or err, that I will not condemn or be disappointed with you, but ready to show you the grace of my love, then you are my friend. If you are allowing for me to be your Lord and your God, then you are my friend. If you believe that all power belongs to me, and that I will do all things for you that are impossible for you to do, then you are my friend. If you believe on me for all things, then I am your friend. What more can I say but that the Lord has changed my relationship with him; for I am no longer in a servant relationship, but that of a friend.

Proverbs 29:21 “He that delicately bringeth up his servant from a child shall have him become his son at the length.”

James 2:23 “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

I now know in my heart that for one to say that the Lord cannot love them because of their sins, or their unrighteousness, or their weaknesses is like saying that no parent is able to love his or her child because that child is not perfect. I can now walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and I am not longer afraid of the evil of any sins, or faults, or weaknesses that I may see because the grace of my Father’s love is written in my heart. Though my love for my heavenly Father may not yet be perfected, I know that his love for me is perfect; and that his perfect love is always with me to cast out my fears when I offer them before him. Though it was grievous for me to see the things that were hidden in the dark places of my heart and mind, I now know that I could never have known the greatness of his love, and his mercy, and his forgiveness, and his power, and his grace had I not asked for him to search my heart, to open my eyes to see my heart as he sees it. If I had not seen sin abounding, then I could never have known that his grace abounds more. I have said, and I will say it again; my heavenly Father has won my trust, my belief, my respect, my trust, my honor, my love, my life, and my heart. I now shudder to think what it would be like to live the rest of my life, here or in eternity, separated and alienated from the only being that truly loves me. It is now even hard for me to even imagine that I had once believed that God was going to treat me with the disdain and condemnation that these unclean spirits of fear had deceived me into believing, that the image of God was like unto their lies.

Luke 7:40 NIV Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Not long after this visitation, I was meditating on this wonderful experience that I had with our heavenly Father when I came to realize that not once in my entire life had I ever been treated by anyone as wonderfully as the Lord had treated me. I even thought to myself how my natural dad, who loved me about as much as a fleshy dad could, yet many times I had disappointed or provoked him to condemn me for my failures, or my mistakes, or for my weaknesses, or for offending him; and it was also in those times that my dad would also remind me of my past failures, mistakes, weaknesses, and offenses. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have never been a member of any church, or bible study, or home group that would treat me or anyone else any differently than my natural dad did if I sinned against them as I saw how I had sinned against my heavenly Father. In fact, in most of the groups that I have been apart of, confessing one’s faults or sins was almost taboo. I suppose that this was one of the reasons why I was expecting for the Lord to treat me with disappointment, or with condemnation, or with disdain, or with ridicule, or with blame, or with rejection, or with disgust was because that is how I have seen Christians treating other Christians. In that moment, I also realized how wonderfully surprised that woman caught in the act of adultery must have felt when she, just like me, was probably expecting to Jesus to join in with the crowd and stone her to death. No doubt she had to be about as surprised as I was when the all that came upon her was the grace of God’s love. No wonder those sinners loved Jesus so much, seeing that he did not accuse, or judge, or point the finger, or condemn any of the them, but instead he openly loved them with much mercy and forgiveness. Thanks be to God that he has granted me repentance, and turned my heart from condemnation to grace. I still could not hardly believe the depth and greatness of Father’s love that had come to take my hand to walk with me in a time that I was not expecting any love whatsoever. I then knew in my heart that not only were all of these scriptures true that defined the wicked and evil condition of my heart and my mind, but so also were all those scriptures true that define the greatness of Father’s love, and mercy, and kindness, and forgiveness, and his grace that he shows towards us in those times.

Matthew 25:40 “The Lord of that servant shall come in the day that looks not for him, in the hour that he least expects him.”

II Corinthians 12:8 NASB “Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Not long after this, the Lord once again reminded me of the Castle Vision, bringing into my remembrance how the Lord had shown to me that all that which I believed to be right and true was that which my heart treasured. He also reminded me of how crafty Satan is because it is by reason of his lies that I was defending and guarding the very fears that did nothing but trouble my thoughts with such things as worry, stress, impatience, confusion, anxiety, and evil suspicions. Now the Lord had opened the eyes of my heart to see how Satan had again been greatly tormenting me when I saw my sins, my faults, my mistakes, and my weaknesses through the eyes of fear. It is almost embarrassing for me to admit that through deceit, I had allowed for self-condemnation, self-disgust, self-disdain, self-scorn, self-chastisements, self-blame, as well as all of my disappointments and failures to fill the treasures of my own heart, believing that this was the righteous way for me to treat myself. If this was not embarrassing enough, it was even more shameful for me to have been deceived into believing that my Father in heaven was also feeling the same way about me as I was feeling about myself. “Lord, I open the door of heart; please come in and cleanse my of all the unrighteousness of my self-righteousness.”

Proverbs 21:2 “Every way of man is right in his own eyes…”

Proverbs 16:2 “All the ways of man are clean in his own eyes…”

Jesus said that if any man chooses to follow after him, then he must first be willing to take up his cross, and deny (disown; dispossess) himself, and follow after him. To follow after Jesus, a man must be ready to disown that which the natural man values the most, the treasures of his own righteousness. This almost seemed impossible for me until the Lord began to open my eyes to see that the very things that my heart had been treasuring were also the things that had been haunting me daily in my thoughts with some manner of worry, or confusion, or uncertainty, or stress, or evil suspicions, or anxiety. I was so familiar with and used to these miserable thoughts accompanying me on a daily basis that I thought that they would always be with me. I never even had a thought that said that the Lord could make me free from all these thoughts that were haunting me. As much as I hated the idea of having unclean spirits in me, I was ecstatic to learn that Father’s love yearns to cast all out all of them so that he might free me from all their haunts.

It is written in Philippians 3:8,9 that the death that Paul suffered was the loss of his own righteousness; the righteousness which came by the law. I know that at first, Paul counted all of this righteousness to be according to the works that he did that he had performed according to the law of Moses; which also meant that he suffered the loss of his glory, his own honor, the name he had made for himself, his own goodness, and his own respect. I know that Paul suffered the loss of these things of these things because the Lord has led me down this same path. But then the day came when the Lord gave me this castle vision, and he opened my eyes to see I had so accounted my fears and dreads to be right and true, that I was allowing for these unclean spirits to have control over how I was living my life. Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that the law that Paul was speaking of in Philippians 3:8,9 was not actually the law of Moses at all, but it was also the righteousness of the law that Paul spoke of in Romans 8:2, the law of sin and death that he also suffered the loss of. It was not the law itself that Paul suffered the loss of but, but it was the righteousness of that law. The righteousness of sin is self-justification and pride; the righteousness of death is fear, and every other miserable thought For God did not create man to be in bondage to serve or be a slave to, the law of sin and death. No man is in bondage to any law except that which he sees and believes to be right and true.

Now when I see any fear coming into my thoughts in any form such as anxiety or worry, as quickly as I possible can, I take up my cross deny that any of these haunting thoughts are right in the sight, and I ask for the Lord to cast them out, and fill me with the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus; the Spirit that allows for the peace of God to rule in my heart because it knows that the almighty God is in complete control over all the situations, and circumstances, and cares that arise in my daily life. Now the Lord has opened my eyes to see with eyes the righteousness of his love; his grace, his goodness, his forgiveness, his provision, his mercies, his faithfulness, his blessings, his truth, and his fellowship. These now have become those treasures that my heart greatly values to be right, to be good, and to be true. What more can I say but I now value these blessings of Father’s love so greatly that I am more than willing to dispossess and die to the sin and death that did nothing but deceive me and haunt the castle of my heart. Thanks be to God, his love and his peace have now become my reality.

Philippians 3:8,9 “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord (the grace of Father’s love) for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law (the law of sin and death) but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

II Corinthians 1:9,10 But we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raises the dead: who has delivered us from so great a death, and who does deliver us: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us.”

Luke 18:9-14 The parable that Jesus speaks to all who think and trust that they are righteous.

Take heed that no man deceive you by any means…It does not say be fearful of men

I suppose that there are many ways that these spirits of fear are able to find an entrance into our hearts that we are not even aware of. When I was a child, I used to be fearless when it came to climbing trees. If my parents were not around to see me, then I would not hesitate to climb as high as I could in the biggest trees in our neighborhood. Then one night I had a dream, and in that dream I was standing on top of a high rise building. I then saw a man fall off the side of it, and I ran over to the edge and looked down just in time to see that man hit the sidewalk. When I woke up from that dream, I found that I had this terrifying fear of heights that I previously did not have. It’s impact was immediate because I never climbed another tree again because of that spirit of fear that had come in me. Thanks be to God, that is now one of the many fears that the Lord has delivered me from. Now I can, and have done, walked right up to the edge of tall buildings, looked down, and there is no fear at all. I can now fly on an airplane without any fear whatsoever. Because there are legions of fears, all having a different name and a different nature, I suppose that there are many different doors that one can unwittingly open that will allow these unclean spirits in.

I continued to ask the Lord to search my heart, to open my eyes so that I could clearly see these fears that had so cleverly hid themselves in my heart behind some illusion of righteousness. The Lord then opened my eyes one day to see a spirit of fear that I had actually allowed to enter into my heart through the very scriptures themselves. As I have testified of, I was an atheist when the Lord first came into my life, I knew that I had finally found the real thing; and by no means did I ever want to lose him. So when I starting reading in the scriptures those verses that warned us saying such things as, “Take heed that no man deceive you”, I then allowed for that exhortation to be joined with the fear that I had in me of losing the Lord, the only real thing. The fruit that started coming forth from this union was that I became very fearful that I was unknowingly going to allow for another Christian to deceive me. Then the Lord said to me, “Mitt, my word just says “Take heed (listen; pay attention)” that no man deceive you”; it does not say, “Be fearful (afraid) not to allow for any man to deceive you”. Up until that moment, I really thought that it was right for me to be fearful of other brethren so that I would not be deceived. It was then that the Lord opened my eyes so that I could again see how I had perverted his word again because I was “seeing” his word through the eyes of the spirit of fear; and when you see the word through the eyes of fear, then the only interpretation that can possibly come forth is that interpretation that is right in the eyes of that spirit of fear.

Then the Lord began to open my eyes so that I could see the evil fruit that was coming forth from this perverted interpretation of his word. I began to see that I was responding towards all of my brethren with evil suspicions; and when you have evil suspicions of your brother, then that is all that you are going to do is to seek to find evil in your brother. This fear had so deceived me that I actually thought that I was doing that which was right in the sight of the Lord. What I was blind to see was that once I allowed for these fears to be my righteousness, then I also found that it was right to judge my brethren; which is exactly that which Jesus instructed us not to do. As fear is only able to work evil, so also was it working in me to find evil in those who I was evil suspicious of. I saw that I had become so fearful that if I heard a brother speak a word that did not agree with that which I believed to be right and true, then I became suspicious of him and convinced that he was only trying to deceive. But the Lord was now opening my eyes to see how this fear was doing nothing but bringing madness into my thoughts. If I saw my brother sin, then my fears were direct me to go out of my way to keep my distance from him, just as Adam tried to distance himself from God. I also saw that my fears had me judging that some of my sinful brothers were really not Christians at all. I forgot that Jesus said that he came to save sinners and not the righteous. My fears had perverted my vision so badly that I was seeing this all backwards; just as the self-righteous Pharisees did.

I Timothy 6:3-5 “If any man teach otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine (love your brother), which is according to godliness (being like God, who is love) he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and arguments over words, from which comes envy, strife, railings, evil suspicions, perverse disputes by men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain (riches of this world) is godliness. From such withdraw yourself.”

Nahum 1:11 “There is one that comes out of you, a wicked counselor that imagines evil against your God.”

Again, it is shameful for me to admit, but I am so thankful that the Lord, in his mercy, has allowed for me to repent by opening my eyes to see the truth; and the truth is how God sees. I was so blinded that I had allowed for this madness to lead me to judge many of my brethren to be evil deceivers; and once I had judged a brother to be evil, I would then seek to break off all communion and fellowship, thinking of him to be nothing but a child of the darkness. But the truth was that I was the acting like a child of darkness because I was the one who had been deceived by the spirit of fear to have evil suspicious against my brethren. Thanks be God for the blood that covers us, even when our conscience is given over to the do the dead works of darkness. I thought that I was the righteous one who should be departing from the presence of the unrighteous, when in truth I was the unrighteous one that they should have sought to depart from. Then the Spirit of the Lord quickened to me that we are indeed to try and to discern the spirits that our brothers are speaking by. If we see them speaking in error, which may be by the spirit of fear that is in them, then we are not to judge them to be wicked, or evil, or corrupted, but rather we are to treat them in love and speak the truth in love to them at all times. I was amazed to see how my fears had so deceived me that I had been in a complete state of disobedience concerning how I should be treating my brethren. Later, after the Lord had removed this beam of fear out of my eye, I was able to observe how many responded to 9-11. Seeing that all of these terrorists were Arab, many became fearful of Arabs. Then their fears led them to be evil suspicious of all Arabs; and then their evil suspicions were perfected when they came to hate Arabs. Jesus said, “Love your enemy”. But fear cannot love your enemy because there is no fear in love.

I Thessalonians 4:9 “But as touching brotherly love, you need not that I write unto you because you know that God himself will teach you to love one another.”

James 4:11,12 “Do not speak evil one of another, brethren. He that speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law (the law of love), and judges the law: but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law (loving your brethren) but a judge. There is only one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy: so who are you that judges another?”

Matthew 25:45 Then Jesus answered them saying, “Truly, I say to you that inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.”

But thanks be to God for his loving correction; and that correction came when the Lord opened my eyes and revealed to me how I had been so deceived. I am still amazed that all that the Lord had to do to correct me was to open my eyes so that I could see my brethren with the same vision that Father sees all of us with. The Lord showed to me that by reason of my blindness, I was treating my brethren like I was some kind of oppressive father who would be continually looking and waiting for one of his own children to make one mistake so that he could find just one reason to reject them, or to condemn them, or to even kick that child completely out of his house. Again, I was ashamed to see how this spirit of fear had deceived me so greatly that I was now judging my brethren as to who, and who should not be, in the house of the Lord. But then the Lord in his mercy said to me, “Love your brethren; but know that there is no fear in love. Love does not think evil of, nor is it suspicious of any. But know this, that as long as you are surrendered to believe the righteousness of your fears, then it is not possible for you to love any of your brethren because there is no fear in love. Love forbears with all. Love is patient with all. Love is compassionate towards all. Love is kind. Love is full of grace, and love rejoices in forgiveness, even when a brother speaks in error. When Peter allowed for fear to speak through the words of his mouth to tempt me, did I banish him or cast him out of my house? No; and neither should you.

Matthew 16:21-25 NIV “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter (Fear) took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. "This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”

Then the Lord said, “Those who are blinded by fear look for the good in man so that they may find a reason to accept that man. The love of God does not look for good in a man, and neither does love look for God to be in a man, for that would only mean that God is only able to love himself because there is none good but God. It is the blind fallen man that loves himself, and those who are like unto himself. There is no blindness in the eyes of love. Love sees a man’s sins, sees his faults, sees his weaknesses, sees his offenses, sees his transgressions, sees all of his iniquities, and sees all of the mistakes that he makes, and yet love still continues to love him. It is not possible for love to do anything other than love. Love just loves. I am love”, says the Lord. Glory be to God! The Lord had now taken the beam of fear out of my eyes, I could now clearly see that the only right way for me to treat my brethren, or my enemies, was in the righteousness of Father’s love; the love that does good, that forbears with, that is merciful, that strengthens the weak, that is patient with, that edifies, and that always shows itself in grace during times of darkness and weakness. Love does all these things without any reason to do it because love just loves.

Luke 6:27-36 NIV “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” lend to “sinners” expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

II Peter 1:5-9 NIV “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

II Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: for they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves amongst themselves are not wise.”

Yes, yes, yes; take heed that you do not allow yourselves to be deceived, but do not for one moment entertain the lies of that unclean spirit that desires to deceive us all into believing that it is right for us to be fearful by our brethren; for the fear of man brings a snare. I then knew that before the Lord could teach me to love my brethren, I first had to die; to die to the righteous of these fearful spirits that had been instructing me to be suspicious of my brethren. I had to die to the belief that any of theses counsels of fear were right, or good, or true. When I called on the Lord and asked for him to deliver me from this fear, he came. And when he came, it was suddenly like a huge black heavy cloud lifted off of me, and I could clearly see my brethren for the first time without the vision of fear in my eyes. Though I could still see evil where evil was, there was a total absence of evil suspicions, and neither has there been any fears in me that I was going to be deceived. Here I had been fearful that I was going to being deceived by men when all along it was the spirit of fear within that was deceiving me with it’s vision.

I John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Acts 17:11 “These in Berea were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind (not in fear of being deceived), and they searched the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore, many believed…”

I Corinthians 15:36 “You fool, that which you sow is not made alive unless it dies first.”

The Lord has now delivered me from every fear and dread that I have confessed and offered unto him. He is cleansing his temple. I am now not afraid to see if there are any more of unclean spirits dwelling in me because I know that the love of God will cast them out of me as soon as I present them before him, asking for him to deliver me. Then the Lord spoke to me and said, “You have seen me deliver you from the lion (fears) and the bear (dread), and now watch me deliver you from the Goliaths that are about to come.”

Chapter 7

The spirit of the Son: Jesus

When the Lord first enlightened me, and then gave me the instruction to write these words, I could not help but wonder how many of the children of God understand what God has planned for this hour. The reason I wondered this is because if a man has no vision as to what the Lord is going to be doing in this day of darkness, then what hope could he have to hold on to, or what words could he believe in, or what promises could his faith stand on when Satan’s wrath is unleashed to torment and trouble the carnally minded inhabitants of the earth? What will those children do, those virgins who have not prepared and have no oil in their lamps when the call goes out that Jesus is coming, but they have not asked the Lord to prepare them? Surely, those who are not prepared for the coming of the Lord will not be prepared for the darkness that comes before him. How many hearts will fail for looking at and seeing those things that coming on the earth because the only eyes that they will be able to see these things with will be through vision of fear; and fear will only be able to see the doom and gloom that the spirit of fear prophesies of.

Revelation 12:12 “Therefore rejoice ye heavens (spiritually minded; the virgins that are wise), and you that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and the sea (carnally minded; the foolish virgins)! For the Devil us come down unto you having great wrath because he knows that he has but a short time.”

Many hearts will be unprepared because they have put their hope and their faith in doctrines such as the rapture fable; a fable that mixes the scriptures with man’s reasonings and man’s understanding, as many false prophets and false teachers have taught. Yes, there is “catching up” in the air for the saints to be with the Lord, but this event is not designed for the fearful to escape the days of ahead. Even if there truly was such an event as the pre-tribulation rapture, then those who are fearful about the days ahead would not be taken anyway because as it is written in Revelation 21:8, the fearful shall not be able to enter the kingdom of God. Yes, God surely does have a plan for the wise and faithful, the fearful shall weep and gnash their teeth. All the rapture fable has done is to keep the spirit of fear masked and hidden in the dungeon of the heart, rather than to let those fears come into the light of God’s judgment so that we may see them, and ask the Lord to show us his love that casts out these vile and unclean spirits. Seeing then that fear is truly a wicked and deceitful spirit, know that it is this same spirit that delights in twisting and perverting the truth of scriptures with it’s counsels and fables, let the truth of God comes forth to cast them out. Would it be wise for those who are see and interpret the scriptures through the eyes of fear that they could ever see any truth that would allow for that spirit of fear to be cast out?

II Timothy 4:3 NASB “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”

First, ask the Lord to remove the beam of fear from your eyes so that you may clearly see the truth about what Father has planned and prepared for those who love him in the days ahead. The Lord reveals truth, he does not teach fables because fables are not able to set a man free from his fears. So is it of any surprise that I, or any who have sought to know the truth from God, that we have never been taught anything about the pre-tribulation rapture fable? Speaking for myself, the Lord has led me instead to surrender my heart and my mind into his hands, praying and asking for him to prepare me for both for his coming, and for the days of trouble that precede his coming. Can his yoke be any lighter than for us to allow for him to prepare our hearts for both of these events that are to come, and even now is? How can the faith of your heart fail if there are no fears, or doubts, or unbelief dwelling within that could overthrow the thoughts of your heart? Is this not an awesome work of God; a work that is worthy of much praise and thanksgiving? Is it not written that those things which are impossible for us to do is possible for God to do?

Proverbs 16:1 “The preparation of the heart and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.”

The Lord is coming to his temple, our bodies; and just like it was when the Lord came to his temple in the Old Testament, that temple first had to be cleansed and sanctified before the Lord could come and dwell within, filling it with the glory of his presence. It took such a burden off of me after I understood and believed that Jesus is our High Priest, and that it is his duty as our high priest to cleanse and sanctify the temple of our hearts. We just need to seek and ask him to do so. As easy as it is, it still requires us trusting his love for us enough to open the door of our hearts and ask him to come in and prepare us. I am still amazed to see how much of my uncleanness was rooted in the spirit of fear, accounting so many of these ungodly counsels to be the righteousness of my decisions, allowing them to direct me in the decisions I was making to live my life according to. How greatly I was deceived to so freely consent and allow a spirit whose only purpose was to trouble and haunt me continually with thoughts of uncertainty, or panic, or stress, or dejection, or worry, or confusion, or dread, or evil suspicions, or anxiety. It was in my sanctification that the Lord opened my eyes to see that my old religion never allowed for me to see these things hidden within, but only had me focused on the righteousness of my works and appearances. But when the truth was revealed, I saw that the Lord is really looking only at the intents and desires of my heart. Who is able to cleanse or sanctify himself of that which he cannot see, especially those things that may be dwelling in and hidden away in the dungeon of our heart? With gladness l have now surrendered and offered up to the Lord all of the righteousness of these haunts and torments came forth out of that dung pile of darkness. I have opened the castle door of my heart, the Lord has come in, and is now cleansing and sanctifying my heart with the truth of his love; and the same love that casts out my fears.

Psalm 1:1 NASB “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked (ungodly), nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!”

Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing and all of our righteousness are as filthy rags…”

Philippians 3:8-11 “Yea, doubtless, and I count all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law (the law of sin and death), but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection of the dead.”

Who can know what is coming in the days ahead when scriptures like those that are written in Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:21; and Revelation 7:14 prophesy of troubles and sorrows that have never before been seen or experienced on this earth? If a man has not sought or asked the Lord to deliver him from his fears, then how could he expect to see anything other than the doom and gloom that has been prophesied of concerning these days? Can the darkness comprehend the light? The first word that the Lord spoke to me that gave me an indication that the days of ahead may not be all that doom and gloom which I had seen came one morning while I was praying. During my prayers, the Lord spoke to me and said, “Mitt, I have been patiently waiting 6000 years to perform that which I am about to do. Do you really believe that I would have been waiting this long to bring doom and gloom upon man? Consider how the spirit of fear had so blinded John and James that for a time, they did not even know manner of spirit they were of. They thought that I would destroy in times that I desired to show mercy and save. I came to save all who will have me, and I desire not that any should perish. I tell you that what is coming is far greater than anything that John or James understood, or anything that you could ever imagine.” These words were the beginning of my hope that something awesome is about to come forth, and it is not antichrist.

I Corinthians 2:9-11 “But as it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, the things of God no man knows, only the Spirit of God.”

When I came into this world, I did not come in the glory of my Father, but rather I came in the likeness of sinful man. So when I came to my own people, I was judged according to my appearance and I was measured by their laws and traditions. By reason of their blindness, they could not see the love in my heart that I had for my heavenly Father, nor the loyalty that I had for him. By reason of this blindness, they could not see that I only put my trust in Father, and I completely relied on him. By reason of this blindness, they could not see that I believed all of my Father’s words, nor could they see the desire in me to only give honor to him. By reason of this blindness, they could not see the holy faith that I placed in my heavenly Father, nor the hope and the confidence that I place in his hands. By reason of this blindness, they could not see that I sought only counsel from my heavenly Father, nor could they see how much I delighted in my daily communication with him. By reason of their blindness, they could not see the holy faith that I placed in my heavenly Father, nor could they see how I delighted in doing his will. By reason of their blindness, they could not see the Father/Son relationship that existed between me and he who sent me, that I was the Son who was/is well-pleasing in his sight. By reason of this blindness, they could not find anything in me that they desired for themselves, so they made light of me and mocked me.

John 5:44 “How can you believe who receive honor one another and do not seek for the honor that comes only from God?”…49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me.”

John 5:30 “I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just because I seek not my own will, but the will of my Father which hath sent me.”

Isaiah 53:1 NASB “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

John 1:10 NASB “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

Matthew 3:17 NKJ “And suddenly a voice came from heaven saying, “This is my beloved in whom I am well pleased.”

When I came to my own, they rejected me because I did not come to exalt them for their for their heritage or for their righteous works, but rather I came to restore relationship between my Father and his children. My Father and I are one. My Father is holy. I am the Son of the most holy. As my Father is holy, so also am I holy because the son is equal to the Father. I am the Holy Spirit. I am the spirit of reconciliation. I am the spirit of adoption. I am the spirit of relationship. I am the spirit of the holy Son that is well-pleasing in the sight of my Holy Father. Our relationship is holy. For this relationship, I was despised, and persecuted, and mocked by all those who desire to be exalted rather than to have a relationship with Father. I became like you so that you might see that sinful flesh does not prevent our heavenly Father from having a relationship with any man through faith, and belief, and reliance, and hope, and trust, and love. I came to win you to him who passionately loves each one of you, even when you have not loved him. I was willing to become like you, but are you willing to become like me so that you can have the same well-pleasing relationship with Father that I have with him as his Son? Will you be like me? I became like your flesh, but will you have the fullness of my Spirit? Will you allow for my mind to be in you so that you may intimately know your heavenly Father? Will you let my heart be in you so that you can receive Father’s love and give him the love that he desires?

Romans 8:2 NASB “For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did; sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh…”

Hebrews 9:19 “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw near unto God.”

Luke 11:13 NIV “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, then how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

II Corinthians 5:15-20 “And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Philippians 2:5,6 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God.”

I John 4:19 “We love him because he first loved us.”

Revelation 1:5 “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.”

I am coming again. I am coming as I AM is. I AM is coming. I am coming to be glorified in my sons. It will be just as it is written, “I will not give my glory to another, but I will give you me. I am the fullness of the glory of God. I am coming for all who will have me. I am coming for those who are prepared and sanctified so that they can have me. I am not coming again in the likeness of sinful flesh. I am not coming at all like the Jesus that walked this earth, and neither am I coming as the Jesus who was crucified and resurrected. I am coming in the fullness of the glory, in the fullness of the authority and power, in the fullness of the riches, in the fullness of the wisdom, in the fullness of the honor, in the fullness of the strength and might, and in the fullness of the all the blessings that I received after I took the book and removed it’s seals. In all the heavens, in all the earth, and beneath all the earth, I alone was found to be worthy to take the book and removed the seals which my Father had sealed it with. I am coming in the likeness of all that which is written in the book, and all those who see me when I come, they shall be changed into my likeness. I am coming in all of the brilliance, the beauty, and the majesty of the glory of God. I am coming in the perfection of Father’s love; and as I am, so shall you be. I told you that what is coming is far better than anything that you could ever imagine. I Am is what is coming.

Hebrews 9:28 “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

Romans 8:18,19 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us; for the earnest expectation of the creature waits for the manifestation of the Sons of God.”

I Corinthians 15:46-52 “Howbeit that it is not that which is first that is spiritual, but it is that which is natural; then afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, so shall we also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed; in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

If you put your hope in me and persevere, then I shall make you to be as me when I appear because I am coming to be glorified in you. I am coming to glorify myself in all those who desire to be as I am. Then shall the eyes of all see “me” when I manifest myself in my saints. Then shall the kings, the rulers, the rich, the poor, the needy, the blind, as well as all the nations see “me” in the brilliance of the glory that shall arise up in the sons of the living God. Then shall the eyes of all be opened to see, and blindness shall perish. Then shall the light of life swallow up all sin and death that inhabits the darkness. No longer shall my sons be despised or rejected as I was, but they shall be exalted. No longer shall my sons be ridiculed or mocked as I was, but they shall be exalted. No longer shall my sons be hated or persecuted, but they shall be exalted. I am coming to exalt all those who have humbled their hearts before me. For the darkness shall pass and all men shall see me in you, and with gladness shall they all come to you, worshipping and praising God. I have purposed this, I have declared this, and I will perform it. I will perform the desire of my heart, regardless of what the blind hypocrites believe, or think, or say. Be ready for my coming; but also take heed and be ready for the coming of Satan that is before my coming”.

I John 3:2,3 “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.”

Romans 8:24,25 NKJ “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Isaiah 40:5 “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.”

II Thessalonians 1:10 NASB “When He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--for our testimony to you was believed.”

Isaiah 60:1-3 NASB “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness (the fear that causes the hearts of men to fail) will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the LORD will rise upon you. And His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Through the years, the Lord has greatly blessed me by allowing me to be a partaker of many visions, prophesies, dreams, and revelations. But he has especially blessed me in the times that he has taken me in Spirit; like the time that he met me in the valley of the shadow of death so that I could witness first hand the grace and the tenderness of Father’s love, despite being compassed with the wickedness of my sins and my weaknesses. Truly, I have had some wonderful experiences with our heavenly Father. Aside from these experiences, the Lord has also spoken a couple of words that my heart has greatly treasured above all others. The first word came while I was praying one morning around 3AM. I had just said to the Lord, “Father, I want to be just like you”; and he immediately answered me in an audible voice saying, “Every father desires for his son to be just like him.” I wish that there was some way that I could write and describe the love, the desire, the tenderness, and the yearning that I heard in his voice as he spoke these words to me. They were spoken with such life in them. It was with this word that I knew what Father’s desire and purpose was for me, as well as for each one of us. This word was so powerful that with just this one sentence, Father changed my vision, my destiny, and the entire direction of my walk with him. With this one sentence, he revealed to me the entire purpose of my calling….to become a son who allows his father to raise him up in his own image. I mean really, can there be any higher calling on our lives that to have the almighty God call us to become a son of God? The scriptures clearly reveal that this is the journey and the destiny that Father has called us to because it is written that in the Holy Spirit, he has given to us power to “become” his sons, and that it is this spirit of adoption that cries out, “Abba, Father”.

John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

It is for the purpose of this high calling that I have bowed my knee and surrendered my mind, my heart, and my life into the hands of my Maker and my Creator; worshipping him only as he that is able to transform and change this vile, earthy image into the glorious image of his holy son; and Jesus is the Spirit of the holy Son. It is for this work that I have surrendered my life into his hands, waiting patiently for him until he has finished the work that he has started in me, changing my heart and transforming the thoughts of my mind until I have completely put off the nature of the old man and fully put on the nature of his son through Christ Jesus so that I might fulfill the destiny of my calling. It is in this adoption process that made the second word that Father spoke to me be just as important as the first. I was praying one morning when the Lord said, “Mitt, I am not going to make you great in my sight, but I am going to become great in your eyes.” There were times in my walk that I do not think that I could have rejoiced in hearing this word; in those times before the Lord corrected me of my pride, when I was still desirous for my name to be made great also. But now that my pride has been dissolved, my heart just about jumped out of me with great joy and excitement when I heard these words because I knew that the only way that Father could become great in my sight was if he actually did great things for me. I did not even have a clue at that time as to what these great works could be. But I think that I could sum up how I felt about these words with that which is written in Luke 1:46 “And Mary said: “ My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.” Now it has been revealed, and now I know, that Mary and I, as well as all who are being prepared, are waiting to give birth to the Son of God. The difference being is that Mary gave birth to the Jesus who came in the likeness of sinful flesh, but we are waiting to birth that Jesus who comes in all the fullness of the glory of God. We are presently living in the hour that not only Father, but the entire creation has been waiting 6000 years for; the hour that will bring forth and manifest his sons in all of his glory, before all the world.

Psalms 57:2 “I will cry unto God most high; unto God who performs all things for me.”

Galatians 4:19 NASB “My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you--”

Romans 8:29 “For whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate (destiny) to be conformed to the image of his Son, that we might be the firstborn of many brethren.”

Isaiah 37:3 “And they said unto him, Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy: for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.”

Knowing that the scriptures also identify the last days as days of trouble, as well as Christ coming forth in his elect, I asked, “Lord, why did they not have the strength to birth forth at the birth?” He answered and said, “Because they did not make me to be their strength, but tried to perform it of themselves.”

Psalm 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him.

Ephesians 6:10 “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.”

Now we know that the scriptures reveal that Father has called us to become the sons of God, but who has really considered and meditated just how awesome the purpose is that Father has called each one of us into? All of creation and all of the heavens are extremely excited about this plan of God, and are excitedly waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. But it is not so with the darkness, and all things that are of the darkness. It is engraved in the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem the words that declare that God has no son. These words stand in complete contradiction and opposition to the very purpose God created man. This statement not only stands in opposition to God, but to the very purpose that Father sent his Son into the world, and the destiny that each one of us has been called into. This religion denies that God has a Son, but it does declare that Jesus was a prophet. When Jesus said that he was the son of man, no one got upset. But the moment that he said that he was the Son of God, this so infuriated the religious hypocrites that they rose up against him and sought to kill him, accusing him of blasphemy because to say that you are a son is to say that God is your Father; and to say that God is your Father, is to say that you are equal with God. Even so, the Spirit of God bears witness with the truth; for that spirit cries out from within a man, “Abba, Father”, bearing witness that the spirit of God’s son is within.  

Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, ‘wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, and The Prince of Peace.”

Philippians 2:5,6 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.”

John 5:18 “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.”

Then the Lord said to me, “Be ready, I am coming. Again I tell you that I have been waiting 6000 years to do that which I am about to do, and nothing is going to stop me; not Satan, not antichrist, not death, not the governments of this world, not any religion, nor any of the powers of Darkness. I am coming and not even an alliance of all these things joined together is going to stop me. I am coming to recover my creation. I have spoken this, and I alone am going to perform it. I am coming, but remember that the work of darkness comes before me.”

Isaiah 46:11 “…yea, I have spoken it, and I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, and I will also do it.”

In 2007, the Lord led me, along with several others with prophetic gifts, to come together in Houston, Texas. I was really surprised when the first word that the Lord gave to us came through me that said, “You can take every interpretation that has ever been written about the book of Revelation, or the end times, and you can throw them all out of the window, because they are all vain and false.” Even though we are living in the times of new revelations, it still startles me when the Lord brings forth a word like this that goes against, well, against all the interpretations that have ever been written. While I was meditating on this word, before I had actually spoken it, the Lord spoke again and said, “The reason that all of these other interpretations are vain and false is because none of them are able to show the impact that the sons of God are going to have during this time. No one knows the impact that my sons are going to have because I have not yet revealed this secret to my prophets yet.” Wow! What a word to start a meeting with. Not long after I left Houston, the Lord spoke to me and said, “The sons of God are those who are going to be doing greater works than that which I did.” I was now in state of awe as I began to think, “O my; what kind of impact could 144,000 Jesus Christs have on this world who will be walking in the fullness of Father’s glory!” Who is able to hear, or comprehend, or receive, or believe that which Father has purposed to do? Surely, it as it written, that eye has not seen, nor ear heard the things that God has prepared for those who love him.”

I cannot speak for anyone but myself, and even with all of the healings and wonderful works that the Lord has done for me, I still have a hard time trying to wrap my little mind around the thought that we will soon be walking in a greater authority and a greater glory than Jesus did when he walked on earth. I mean, he raised the dead; he walked on water; and he fed 5000 people with food that was just barely enough for a dozen. He gave sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf; he had authority over the winds and the seas; and he even disappeared at times. He healed “all” those who were sick; he turned water into wine; and he replaced an ear that had been severed. He showed the grace of Father’s love to an adulteress when others wanted to stone her and he forgave all those that had so viciously and mercilessly hated him, mocked him, scourged him, and crucified him. He pulled money out of a fish’s mouth; he cast out all manner of unclean spirits and demons; and he had legions of angels at his disposal if he needed them. Now Jesus is telling us that we should be looking to add “greater works” to these things. All of these things Jesus did in his former glory, but now the former and the latter glory is coming, and greater works are going to be done because a greater glory is coming.

If eye has not seen or ear has hear the things that God has prepared for those who love him, then how could any man even imagine what these works may be? And if these works cannot be imagined, then who can understand or know the impact that the sons of God are going to have seeing that they are the ones who are going to be doing these greater works? But the scripture also goes on to say that Spirit is revealing these things to us, and that God will do nothing unless he reveals the secrets of his plans to his prophets first. Even so, my mind cannot comprehend such a greater glory; but thanks be to God, he has not asked me to try and comprehend it, but he is only asking us to put our hope, in him and believe that he is able to perform all those things which he has promised us. If we try to comprehend or reason these spiritual things, then all that does is give birth to doubts and unbelief because who can understand how God does any of his marvelous and wonderful works? Let us be strong in faith like Abraham was, who believed that God was, and still is, well able to perform all that which he says that he is going to do. I am thankful to know that it is the Lord who increases our faith to be that which allows for him to perform the promises of his words. I am so thankful that I now know in my heart that God is able to do all of those things which are impossible for men to do, as well as those things that are exceedingly, abundantly above what we are able to think or ask. And now….a greater glory is coming, and his sons are going to do greater works than Jesus did because a greater Jesus is coming, and nothing is going to stop him from coming in us…except if we account the fears, or the doubts, or the unbelief to be more right and true than the words of God.

I Corinthians 2:10-12 NASB “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. No we have received not the spirit of this world, but the spirit who is from God, so that we might know the things freely given to us by God.”

Amos 3:7 NASB “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret counsel to his servants the prophets.”

Now this is a testimony I feel led to share here concerning the sons of God. It is not a testimony concerning the impact that the sons of God are going to have in the days ahead, but it is a testimony of the seriousness that Father has for his sons to be just like him. The Lord had sent me to Tulsa, Oklahoma to meet Ted Cottingham. When the Lord first sent me to meet Ted, it was before he had delivered me from my fear about being deceived by another brother. Just like everyone else at that time, I was very suspicious of Ted because even though the Lord was speaking to him, and to me, there was very little agreement in our understanding of the Lord’s words. The tension between the two of us was so great that I was just looking to find a fault with Ted so that I could justify myself in leaving Tulsa as soon as I possibly could. I am sure that Ted would have also loved to see me leave at that time also. But the Lord spoke to me, quoting almost word for word that which is written in John 7:18, saying, “Now Mitt, Ted is seeking for my glory, and I do not see any unrighteousness in him, and neither do I want you to see any unrighteousness in him.” Even though I agreed to not try and find any fault with Ted, my heart still burned with contention. So I called out and asked the Lord to deliver me from being wise in my own eyes; that wisdom of the carnal mind that cannot subject itself or delight in doing Father’s will. Before I left Tulsa, Ted said that the Lord had told him that “he was going to hang planets”. Even though Ted did not know what this meant, and neither did I, my foolish wisdom tempted me to just roll my eyes at Ted, as though these words came from his own imaginations. “Hang planets”; whoever heard of such a thing?

Nevertheless, after a few months, and much to my disappointment, the Lord led me once again to go see Ted. I was driving to Tulsa from South Carolina, and I had just passed over the Mississippi River when the Lord spoke to me and said, “Mitt, when you get to Tulsa, would you tell Ted something for me?” I answered, “Sure, Lord”; and of course, I am really thinking that the Lord is going to speak a word to me that will somehow enlighten Ted to the fact that I am the one that has the true understanding of Lord. But that is not at all how it went. The Lord then said to me, “Tell Ted that I created the first heavens and the first earth, but you, as my sons, are going to create the second heavens and the second earth. I told you that as I am, so shall you be. As I am a Creator and a Maker, so shall my sons also be creators and makers. If you like roses, then you will be able to create an entire planet full of roses as you so desire. If you like mountains, and waterfalls, and roses, then you will be able to create an entire planet full of mountains, waterfalls, and roses. If you like new things, then you will be able to create new flowers and new things. As I told you before, ‘Every father desires for his son to be just like him.” I then understood what the Lord meant when he told Ted, “You are going to hang planets”. For the first time, I actually was able to agree with the word that says that eye has not seen, nor has ear heard the things that God has prepared for those who love him; but they are being revealed to us through his Spirit. What the Lord was opening my eyes to see was that he was really serious about raising up his sons to be like him.

There is no doubt that I marveled at this word that the Lord had asked me to tell Ted, even going to the point of imagining just what kind of planets that I myself would create and make. But as amazed as I was about hearing for the first time what God has planned for his sons, I also found that I was feeling ashamed and foolish for the way that I had judged Ted through my own eyes. I immediately repented of that wisdom and asked the Lord to open my eyes to see through his wisdom. Then the grace of Father’s love granted me the repentance that I asked for; and my eyes were opened to see Ted in an entirely different manner, as the Lord saw him as man with no unrighteousness. All that the Lord had to do to change my entire relationship with Ted was to open my eyes to see him with the same vision that the Lord sees him. At this moment, I am sure that there are still things that Ted and I do not see eye to eye on, but there is no contention there. Now that the Lord has delivered me from that spirit of fear that had perverted my vision, my eyes are now opened to just love Ted. There is no fear in love, and no love in fear. Just a few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from Ted that only said, “I love you Mitt.” That e-mail spoke to, and meant more to my heart than any e-mail that I have ever received.

It truly is an awesome thing to see and hear that Father is going to make us to be creators and makers as he is, but to me, it is just as awesome to see the works of God creating a new heart with new vision, new affections, and new understanding in us. Truly, as it is written, it is God who teaches us to love one another; and I am now convinced that all that the Lord has to do to teach us to love one another is to open our eyes so that we can see each other as he sees us. I do not want to miss out on being his son, nor on the impact that they are going to have on the days ahead.

Titus 3:3-7 “For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts (like for vainglory) and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

I Thessalonians 4:9 NKJ “But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.”