“SOUL TRAVEL OR SOUL TRANSFORMATION?”
By J.FARRELL FISHER, SEPT. , 2017
‘Soul Travel?’ Is that one person, maybe, leaning toward God or leaning further away from God? ‘Soul Travel?’ It was Aristotle, in his writing “Nocomachean Ethics”, who wrote: “As sight is in the body, so is reason in the soul.” And when I read that statement I wondered if Aristotle’s writing was “No-Common-Sense-Spiritually- If-God’s-Truth-Is-Avoided”? Reason in the soul can be the ‘traveling’ PhD professor who desires to live intellectually as far from God as his dense and empty and dried-up and rebellious mind will allow him, but he ‘travels’, and daily his ‘bright light’ of intellectualism grows darker and darker each step he takes!
‘Soul Travel?’ “Fate will carry me wherever fate wants to take me”! Would that be ‘soul-stupidity’ speaking? “I roll the dice, go with the flow of the world around me, determined by my own soul to succeed in life, yes, without your God!” ‘Soul Travel becomes Soul Tragedy’ when one has heard and determined ‘Soul Transformation’ by the blood of the Lamb of God is his/her only hope but is unnecessary for a man who knows he can prove himself worthy by his “best effort” way of life, saying, “Jesus didn’t have to die – we all have ‘worthiness’ in our bones!”
Would it amaze you to learn that most astronauts are true believers , that early mathematicians, even scientists of their day before our space crowd, saw God as the mathematical genius He is, and sought the mind of God in what they were unveiling in space travel, even in its infancy? Yes, there are still many like David’s song of praise in Psalm 19:1-2 that say: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork; Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge.”
“Soul Travel” is not a new thing, although modern, spiritually blinded men and women still try to omit Holy God and a Loving Savior from “their world”, from the beginning of earthly humanity, through Old Testament days, even still in New Testament times, down to our modern day! In Romans 1:16-32 the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wisely and with a broken heart for the unredeemed, shared the Truth! He wrote: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for IT IS the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For IN IT the righteousness of God is 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 suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man – and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, [The lie? “You can sin, it’s OK, you’ll not die!”], and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
For this reason GOD GAVE THEM UP TO VILE PASSIONS. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
AND even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, THAT THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS ARE DESERVING OF DEATH, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”
That, my dear friends, ought to “scare” Hell right out of you, if even a ‘hair’ of Hell hangs around your head or heart! It’s sad when, whether public or private, fallen mankind insists on thrusting their fists in the face of God, unaware of the Judgment Day that comes, and Jesus Himself faces them to say, “Depart from Me – I never knew you, you who continue in your sin!”
You’re aware in our natural world of government relationships with the general public, if a citizen fails to file their tax returns, that impending judgment is close at hand! I was reading again Chuck Colson’s book, “Burden of Truth”, when he said: (p.241-242), “Finding psychological disorders to excuse human behavior has become a cottage industry in America today”, and he was speaking of lawyers filling out tax returns for their clients, but failed over and over to file their own returns! Could it be that some pastors are faithful in teaching “being reconciled to God through repentance and faith” yet in themselves confession and forsaking sin seldom occurs?
As a result, yes, across America, in ‘church life’ today, numberless pastors “preach the Word” while they practice acceptance in the sinful world, doing what God has already condemned! Would you even, as an American citizen today, think that our spiritual, social, political, economic, religious liberty hangs by a thin thread? If you don’t, you’re descending into the deep grave of death to all Holy God holds onto for you, yes, Him reaching out to you to pull you, your family, your business, your city, county, state, and nation out of the grave of despair in the hands of Satan, intent on bringing you and yours down with him, but compassionate God proving His love for you and yours in the sacrifice of His Son as, yes, our only Savior and Lord!
A life, a family, a government, a business, a school, a church even, can find itself ‘divorced’ from union with Holy God and His eternal purposes! And the heavy majority of those being dismantled from His eternal foundations have no awareness at all of being “reconciled to God” – they think they’ve already determined the best way: “Us at our best for Him”, when He crucified ‘us’, ‘our worst and our best’, with Christ at the Cross, and they live ‘blinded’ to the “fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ” and absent of the redemptive truth, “Christ in you the hope of glory”!
Are you aware of spiritual jaded times when, for many, there are no consequences to human godlessness, or even no consequences for ‘church-member’ emptiness of an independent heart, and a lack of spirit loyalty to the Lordship of Christ? Are you aware of the ‘self-declared-intellect’ of man who assumes he’s “redeemed” because upon his soulish mind upon which he, not God, has printed, “I’m a believer”, while in his so-called ‘walk of faith’ he rejects God’s “Highway of Holiness”, and God responds, “I never knew you”?
Are you aware of the masses of humanity, world-wide, who major on the importance of the education of the mind but never consider the condition of the heart? As a major representative of King Jesus, in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, Paul wrote: “For though we walk in the flesh, (that’s the human body), we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience (in yourself!) when your obedience is fulfilled (in your constant yielded-ness to the Indwelling, Resident Christ!).”
Our “old man sin-nature” was “crucified with Christ”! But Satan, the world around us, AND our own crucified sin-natures will seek to impose upon the lives He purchased with His own blood, and will seek to “take you down” to the disaster of “old-life domination”! What did Paul say in 2 Corinthians 10:5? “Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
SO…!! Rather than “Soul Travel”, there must be in our hearts the reality of, yes, “Soul Transformation”! If, which all fallen men live with, there is the deep, devilish, and demanding ‘natural’ fallen nature, is there “Hope” for lives that are slavish to the natural, enslaved to a ‘world spirit’, and bound by the power of Satan and his slavish demons? And when you do come to Christ in repentance and redemptive, saving, regenerative faith, are the wars over? Hate to tell you, but they’ve just begun!
But in Galatians 6:14-15 Paul gives us a strong word for the foundation of our ‘born-again-lives! He said: “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. FOR in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.” There’s an amazing word from Oswald Chambers in his book, “My Utmost For His Highest,” (p.266), where Chambers wrote under the powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit great Truth. He said:
“The Gospel of Jesus Christ always forces an issue of will. Do I accept God’s verdict on sin in the Cross of Christ? Have I the slightest interest in the death of Jesus? Do I want to be identified with His death, to be killed right out to all interest in sin, in worldliness, in self – to be so identified with Jesus that I am spoilt for everything else but Him? The great privilege of discipleship is that I can sign on under His Cross, and that means death to sin. Get alone with Jesus and either tell Him that you do not want sin to die out in you; or else tell Him that at all costs you want to be identified with His death. (JFF: I dare to ask you: ‘How many ‘church folk’ do you know who understand the ‘old sin-man was crucified with Christ’?’ Not many, because they’ve been convinced they can’t do anything but sin until they get to heaven!).
Chambers wrote on: Immediately you transact in confident faith in what our Lord did on the Cross, a supernatural identification with His death takes place, and you will know with a knowledge that passes knowledge that your “old man” is crucified with Christ. The proof that your old man is crucified with Christ is the amazing ease with which the life of God in you enables you to obey the voice of Jesus Christ.” WOW!
Do you rest in the reality of Biblical Truth? Colossians 3:3 says, Paul declaring, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Glory! My Holman Study Bible (NKJV) says in the footnotes of Colossians 3:3, “The Greek verb form of “hidden” connotes that God fully completed the action in the past with permanent results.” Are YOU ‘exposed in your old sin nature’ or “hidden with Christ in God”? Are YOU accepting of the historical fact that YOU “were crucified with Christ, nevertheless you live (victoriously)” because the Resurrected Christ resides, reigns, and continuingly raises you up in His fullness? Were you, through Christ, delivered from the domination of the world, the flesh or old sin nature, and from Satan’s deceit and domination of your ‘former’ life without Christ?
Do you know “the peace that passes all understanding”? Do you know “I am more than conqueror through Christ”? Have you “been raised up into heavenly places”, yes, living in His Kingdom under His Sovereign reign? Have YOU, because of His shed blood and resurrection, because of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, been made free from the law of sin and death? Are YOU ‘spiritually minded’, living in His life, His peace, and His purposes in you and through you? Are YOU “led by the Spirit of God”, unveiling you as a true son of God?
What was it Paul recorded in Romans 8:28-32? “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”
What HAS God GIVEN TO US WHO REPENT AND REST IN CHRIST ALONE? I close with Ephesians 1:3-14 where Paul defines our “gifts”, not our “trying our best”: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which HE MADE US ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED (THE LORD JESUS!).
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He MADE US ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED.
In Him (In Christ Jesus) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him.
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
In Him you also “trusted”, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” CAN YOU SAY “AMEN” TO WHAT YOU’VE JUST HEARD?
In the old “Broadman Hymnal” of 1940, there’s a hymn entitled “Seal Us, O Holy Spirit.” It says: “Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Grant us Your imprint we pray; We would be more like the Savior, Stamped with His image today.
Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Help us Your likeness to show; Then from our lives unto others Stream of rich blessings will flow.
Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Make us Your own this hour; Let me be useful, dear Master, Seal us with witnessing power.
Seal us, seal us, Seal us just now, we pray; Seal us, O Holy Spirit, Seal us for service today.” I ask you: Do you daily choose the altar of sacrifice to your “old man” that the Resurrection Life of Christ may be manifested daily in you and through you to His honor, His glory, and His praise? Let’s choose “empty tomb” living releasing Christ in us and through us!