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Revised Edition 2019

ISBN: 9781543997613

John Fergusson

PO Box 307

Camperdown, NSW Australia 1450

Ph: +612 9898 0681

Ph: +614 1265 4621

Book and Music website:

https://www.intoplessheaven.com/

https://www.theascensiondimension.com.au/

My Email:

info@intoplessheaven.com

john@johnrfergusson.com

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www.stylemusic.com.au

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BookBaby INC.

Cover Artwork:

John Fergusson

Helen Worrall

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, except as provided by International copyright law.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Extracts from the Authorised Version of the Bible, the rights in which are vested in the Crown, are reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.

About The Author

John Fergusson is an accomplished and highly respected teacher, public speaker, tactical planner, a pioneer strategist and fellowship catalyst of God’s Kingdom. He is gifted in revealing new ideas with inspiration and revelation and wrapping them in practical, everyday social and communal living conditions for the wellbeing and transformation of every human being. With his wife Despina John lives, works, leads and serves out of Sydney Australia.

John was ordained into the ministry of the Christian church in 1968 in California USA after graduating from seminary in 1967 in upstate New York. He pastored for many years in fulltime ministry in the US and Australia, while travelling to teach in many countries of the world, which he still loves to do.

John is also a businessman committed to communicating the Gospel of the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ at every level of the community. Like many he holds God’s world view of the ‘Kingdom of the Son of His Love’ in which he sees Christ building His Church strategically at a local and global level. He believes that it is our responsibility as co-workers together with God to preach the gospel of the Kingdom to the entire world—it is Christ’s responsibility to build His Church locally with us as his many members.

Dedicated to a very close and dear friend—the late Dr. Don Lawson—California USA.

When we were young men, Don was the first brother in Christ to challenge me after graduation to think outside the religious status quo. Only God knows the effect and impact this dear man and his amazing wife Carol have had in my life.

Special thanks

Thanks and all glory and praise to my Lord and my God, who sat me down one night in 1997 in front of my old computer and told me to write what the Spirit was to speak into my heart from God’s work in all of our lives, in Christ, from the foundation of the world that God so loves! Twelve years later this book and a double CD album of 14 songs from the journey in this book.

Throughout the time of writing I worked full time in business with a very dear friend and colleague of mine, whilst ministering and giving of the Spirit of Christ and the living Word, along with my wife Despina, to wherever God opened the doors.

We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies for God’s will and purposes on earth. God gave us dominion in everything before the “Fall”. However, we lost that dominion when all of creation was lowered by God through one man (Rom 8.20). To live and move in this dominion now, we must “Rise” and enter with Christ, by His full and total provision, into “His Ascension Dimension—His Topless Heaven”, in order to be transformed and equipped for this divine dominion as the “one new man, with his new godly consciousness” on this earth! My hope is that you enjoy some of this journey with Christ and me in these very special pages. For those who are hungry for more, “get, search, hunt down, find and listen to the powerfully inspirational music CD’s”!

Despina – My gorgeous darling! My precious wife. Without her I don’t think I would have made it, but she made it possible with her unending love and support, being fixed to the commitment of the heavenly vision burning in our hearts for God’s Kingdom!

Thank you my sweetheart, partner and dearest friend! My wonderful wife!

My family and many friends and countless godly colleagues and associates too numerous to name, who have been so patient and supportive, who have helped bring this all to pass—who worked so hard to critique and examine so many different concepts and proposals, for being so wonderfully disagreeable where you felt it really mattered—my sincerest thanks and gratitude—my utmost appreciation for your gifts of love and prayers—for your faithful godly input into my life throughout these many years. You will never be forgotten! God will so ensure!

God bless you and God bless everyone who reads and listens to the living message in this book and to the living message and music in the songs!

His grace, peace and love be with you all,

John,…your brother and co-worker in His Kingdom.

CONTENTS

About the Author

Dedicated To

Special Thanks

Prologue

Introduction

Foreword

Chapter 1 My Body—What Use Egypt?

Chapter 2 My Soul—What Use Babylon?

Chapter 3 My Spirit—What Use Heaven?

Chapter 4 My Destiny—What Use Sonship?

Chapter 5 My Sonship—What Use Fellowship?

Chapter 6 My Relationship—What Use Creation?

Chapter 7 My World Plan—What Use Love?

Reviews and Feedback

Prologue

This book is written to help discover and open doors to a heritage or inheritance that is our birthright.

The amazing thing is that we can be oblivious to some of the wealth and treasures of God’s provision that is ours. He has given generously for our enablement, first for the understanding of Himself, secondly, His revealed expectations of us and who we are in Him, and third, the empowerment that was given to live His life on this earth. Instead, we are in poverty of spirit, weak of faith and continue in lack of knowledge and are ignorant of our condition.

Throughout this book I have felt as though I entered a treasure-house that not only beckoned with revelatory wonders, but also demonstrated some of the most practical assurances for daily spiritual life, stockpiled by God, that I had not realized, was for my growth and good. The miracle and marvel, it is for us to touch, explore, examine, and put on, and to enjoy now, not just in eternity.

It is not often you find one who writes with such revelatory disclosures, opening up each with solid scriptural basis, but I know each apprehension has been tempered and strengthened by struggles, powerful and deep, and by trials, fiery and fierce, and by daring to dive into the deep and fly to the highest height that has no beginning and no end, empowered by the Holy Spirit promised and sent by Jesus.

I praise God for bringing forth those who journal their journey, who spend, and are spent, who will allow the Spirit of God to excavate and rebuild, who wait and then see the unfolding of understanding of God’s loving character towards man, the decrease (of self) and increase of the Christ within, and the fall and rise of all that is good and evil. His empowerment is there for the knowing, for the receiving, for the life.

‘Lay up treasure in heaven’ the scriptures tell us. But whose treasure? We have nothing of ourselves! But what we have, we soon discover, is provided by God and we learn to live by this revelatory knowledge, allowing it to become inculcated into the very existence and framework of who we are. It is this treasure that is laid up in heaven, but I must first attain it. Hallelujah! It is attainable,

I believe this book will change thinking and so change lives. Not many know about the Godly dimension we can operate in.

The ‘thinking’ changed because now we know that this is the way He thinks. It’s His mind in us. It’s a dimension known only to Him, revealed, and, it’s my heritage.

And the ‘life’ changed, because now we know Heaven is topless with no ceiling and our ascension to touch the heights of Heaven, like Paul, (who saw the 3^rd,) is also our heritage. His Kingdom has no end, Praise God. This moves us up and out of the bottomless pit, which we so many times find ourselves wallowing in. I am living on a ‘higher plane’ filled with all the fullness of knowledge, wisdom and understanding, how to stay there.

Thank you John!

Carley Short (Dip. C.M.)

Scholastic Recognition from

North American Professors of Christian Education

Vice Principal. Co-Founder.

Faith Bible College, Welcome Bay

Tauranga, New Zealand

The Ascension Dimension

Raised and seated together,

With Him in Heavenly places…is

God’s intention for you and I.

So…

FAITH is the accelerator

And

Of course, the elevator,

To spur us beyond…and fly high.

HOPE then is the motivator,

And

LOVE is the activator,

To help us go that extra mile.

The Priesthood’s our vocation,

And

In Christ we learn to function,

Conforming always to His gentle will.

Such fellowship is pure enjoyment,

And

The mind renewed each moment,

And positioned and aligned with only Him.

It’s within…The boardroom of heaven,

And

The seat of governmental denizens,

Becoming the new dimension, for a bride.

T’is the seated position,

And

His Arms of love around us,

Hear the music, hear the song and Oh, the Praise.

And join in with His singing,

And

As the Bride and Citizen of heaven

Now seated together…WE ARE ALIVE.

RAISED AND SEATED TOGETHER

It’s true, if we want to access, receive, enjoy every spiritual blessing,

we know where they are…in the heavenly places…in Christ

Let us take our place!

Carley Short

(Inspired from the pages of this book)

THE ASCENSION DIMENSION

To a Topless Heaven—From a Bottomless Pit

Introduction

This book is written:

1.To present to people the reality of the New Covenant, its gospel and purpose, which is brought to fruition by the will of God in His Son Jesus Christ upon whose death the will and testament written in Christ the living word immediately became effective! This is God’s first and last will and therefore envelopes all of time.

2.To show this will and testament unfolds and unveils our destiny, our spirit’s eternality since we are born of God, our soul’s transformation and full development, finishing with a new immortal body in which God and I/you dwell eternally.

3.To help people come to terms with the purpose of body, soul, spirit, destiny.

4.To share the glorious purpose of being in Egypt, Babylon, Jerusalem.

5.To help many understand that the purpose of Jesus coming to earth; re His death, resurrection, ascension, is to qualify us in and by His perfection, to enable us to ascend into heaven immediately and instantly we believe in Him and His completed work for us. He came to earth so we could go to heaven now (not just in the future), and live our lives on earth from the ascension dimension realm, the heavenly places He promised in John 14.

6.To show that the “Out pouring of the Holy Spirit” on “all flesh” is the “how” we move into our heavenly places in and through Jesus Christ the door who is the “way” into His heavenly kingdom, which is not of the world of Moses and the Law, nor of empires such as the Roman Empire in the days of His flesh.

7.To reveal to all people that fellowship with the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ and each other (the members of Christ’s body), on personal levels, is God’s fast track into understanding and enjoying the ascension dimension. Large meetings/gatherings may deliver the “Loaves and Fishes”, but we must eat them in small/little groups, if we are going to have communion and fellowship. This alone builds relationship.

8.To help people understand “Sonship” and as God’s sons and daughters, stretch forward and upward to their eternal “Destiny” while on earth.

9.To challenge all to come to terms with the One source, many branches. One life, multiple expressions. One being, myriads of representations in His body. That there is only one road for us to reach God, this being in and through our Lord Jesus Christ, but God is ready and prepared to go down many roads to reach every one of us since it is His will and desire to dwell in us and us to dwell in Him.

10.To show that both Salvation and the Kingdom is an inheritance willed to us by God through our Lord Jesus Christ, for which we must qualify by grace through faith and by the disciplines of the Father’s living Word and Spirit, becoming co-workers and co-creators together with God revealing the will of God, the power of the Kingdom of God and the glory of God!

For centuries we have suffered a role reversal that nobody dared question – “God, you do your Kingdom thing, while we’ll build and run your church for you”! From the third and fourth centuries, in most countries and nations, man has taken over building “Christ’s Church” man’s way and has forgotten all about the Kingdom—forgotten mainly because God’s Kingdom doesn’t match man’s church—especially the way man portrays, plays and orchestrates church.

By keeping their members and congregations in a perpetual nursery state—the beginning state of ‘Christian life’—by majoring on the weakness and sinfulness of humans who are constantly fouling their sinful diapers (nappies) thus establishing their need for sorrow and constant repentance—the majority of Christians being systematically held in a perpetual state of ‘beginnings’ with most never leaving the nursery for the whole of their Christian life! It is absolutely shameful! Little progress (if any) is allowed! Just look at the content of the majority of so many songs still being sung with all lyrics majoring on the nursery state, the start and beginning of coming to Christ to be loved and made worthy to have their sins forgiven and then starting over and over again and again whilst being taught to placate God through it all by differing forms of worship.

All of this in order to be accepted as His lost sinful child cradled in a poor, weak and untrue portrayal of the ‘Gospel’ as preached or taught today as a way of escape, not from sin (that never seems to happen), but more as an escape route to bypass hell with an appeal to the sinner by offering an all-inclusive ticket to heaven for the afterlife! All this because you did God a favour by repenting of your sins over and over again and again and oh—not again!!! What a sick weak powerless ‘Gospel’ producing powerless workers by giving them a form of godliness with the power of God for the most part, wholly denied. There is no good news in that gospel, none whatsoever, so why do we tolerate it? This question needs to be answered! It is answered in this book.

As man’s church today stumbles around and glories in Old Testament ‘forms and rituals’, fumbling for existence in the minds of the secular, as secular society struggles to find the relevancy of New Testament spirituality as the searches for current structured social influence continues along with the quest for new adherents. Yet as the old dies off Christ is rapidly building His Church in a divine paradigm foreign to the religious mind and its long institutional bequest.

But man’s work is not all bad! We need to see the purpose that God has in all of this and find out why it is so important we all rise up to overcome the total lowered state in which we find ourselves BC (before Christ). We can achieve this only by realising we are seated with Christ in His ascension in the heavenlies, His Topless Heaven! Without man’s attempts we wouldn’t know God’s work. That is just the way it is! Without the child attempting to build for dad he won’t know how to become and do the real thing when he’s a man.

Nevertheless, we must move on and up from wood, hay and stubble, to gold, silver and precious stones, because one day, every man’s work will be tried by fire to see what we’ve all been using for God’s Kingdom and Christ’s Church.

Only with the reality of the Kingdom working within each of us will we see the reality of the church without! Remembering, that the church is a living organic body governed by the Kingdom within each and every one. The church is not an institution, nor an organization, but the living presence of God in His people who are being transformed and changed into the very same image of the Lord Jesus Christ by His Spirit. He uses everything to do this—yes everything and engages everyone sooner or later—whether descending, or ascending!

THE ASCENSION DIMENSION

To a Topless Heaven—From a Bottomless Pit

Chapter 1

My Body—What use Egypt?

Genesis 47:27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.

Exo 1:1 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt; each man and his household came with Jacob: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5 All those who were descendants of Jacob were seventy persons (for Joseph was in Egypt already). 6 And Joseph died, all his brothers, and all that generation. 7 But the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly, multiplied and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them. 8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, ”Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; 10 ”come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh supply cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel. 13 So the Egyptians made the children of Israel serve with rigor. 14 And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage; in mortar, in brick, and in all manner of service in the field. All their service in which they made them serve was with rigor.

Isaiah 30:1”Woe to the rebellious children,” says the LORD, “Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they may add sin to sin; 2 Who walk to go down to Egypt, And have not asked My advice, To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, And to trust in the shadow of Egypt! 3 Therefore the strength of Pharaoh Shall be your shame, And trust in the shadow of Egypt Shall be your humiliation. 4 For his princes were at Zoan, And his ambassadors came to Hanes. 5 They were all ashamed of a people who could not benefit them, Or be help or benefit, But a shame and also a reproach.”

31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, And rely on horses, Who trust in chariots because they are many, And in horsemen because they are very strong, But who do not look to the Holy One of Israel, Nor seek the LORD! 2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And will not call back His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of those who work iniquity. 3 Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; And their horses are flesh, and not spirit.

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Naive and Vulnerable

My Dad’s goal for my life was for me to become part of his business and eventually a partner.

I crept into his bedroom and laid my hands on his pillow and prayed earnestly to the Lord Jesus Christ, to give my Dad a dream that night which would change his mind concerning letting me travel to a particular seminary in the USA to study theology and become a minister in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The next morning Dad told Mom he couldn’t get out of bed until he spoke to me and asked her to call me.

When I entered the room he motioned for me to sit down on the near side of the bed. As I did so he began to tell me he had dreamt an awesome dream. My mother stood silently on the other side of the room as dad explained his change of heart and mind in between blotting tears, which to me appeared to be looking for a water course down his dry and chubby cheeks.

My focus on his face was intent, so much so, I have never forgotten to this day both the reflection of agony in letting me go and the ecstasy that he’d heard from God in such an awesome and clear manner, to send me off with his blessing.

It seemed to me at the time to take eternity to tell me the good news. Soon we both hugged and I ran from his room with great joy and high spirits in anticipation of the adventure of a lifetime all around the world, after training and much studious work of course!

Little did I know how long the line, nor the subtlety of the many Pharaohs and their gender were waiting to hold me in their purposes and lock me in their personal and corporate ambitions and goals. I was to learn eventually that my dear dad was not the first. Thus did I begin my journey in what I have found to be both a bottomless pit and a topless heaven.

Land of promise becomes land of law

In Israel’s biblical history, Egypt is initially synonymous with protection, provision, security, procreation, personal development (under Joseph by faith), growth, national development and eventual crippling bondage (under the Pharaohs by works) and deliverance, freedom, miraculous supply, a 40-year trek through the wilderness (under Moses by faith), to a promised land by a new generation under a new leader—Joshua.

This was the beginning of Israel’s nationhood and expansion into a land promised by God, a land of rest, a land of milk and honey, and priesthood so the nation could commune with God. It was everybody’s dream but it became many people’s worst nightmare. Why?

The land of Promise became a land of Law through unbelief and Israel would remain under the Law of Moses (until the coming of Christ and beyond, being there still to this day), right through their eventual dispersion back into Egypt, into Assyria and Babylon from whence a remnant would return for the birth of the second man and last Adam, the Saviour of the world and the first-born of the true inheritors of the promises—the ones from all ages who live by faith.

All begin life in families in Egypt

Israel went into Egypt as a family in strife, with great need and promises given to them from God through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and came out a nation in its own right with great riches, more promises and a dream confirmed with cloud and fire given them by God to follow by faith. Egypt turns out to be a place of bondage, limitation, and equates to slavery and crippling internal duality. It is the carnal conscious awareness or mind-set of a sense of separation from God, self, spirit and creation itself. The word Egypt is also the source of our English word for ‘misery’!

Initially, a coexistence with Egypt was enjoyed until Israel became a threat to the Egyptians for reasons more than sheer numbers would tell. Secure sensual enjoyment eventually reduced to endurance, endurance to suffering and suffering to great pain and loss of personal possessions, rights and self-worth.

Israel wanted to leave and when they finally did, they emigrated physically by default through divine intervention, the enemies of just about everyone, not only with the Egyptians who were now behind them, but eventually with all nations, present and future. But it doesn’t end there! Is there a parallel here today? You bet there is! We may leave Egypt in a moment of time, but Egypt never leaves us without crucifixion, resurrection and transformation in ascension.

In Egypt ‘Things’ are more important than People

It is in Egypt where we learn to build and develop houses, temples, cities, etc. It is where we learn and develop trades, businesses, professions, crafts, occupations, careers, cunning livelihoods, jobs, industries, ownership, possessions, subjugation and control etc. This in turn leads to envy, jealousy, malice, coveting, competitiveness, enmity, pride, classes and categorization of the citizenry, servitude to power groups whose tendency is to drive the value of people below the value of possessions, prestige and power, making them usable market driven assets, tools or commodities, expendable in the relentless production and consumption of riches, pursuit of prestige and power by the same few. I have called it “The Pharaoh Syndrome.” It is a bottomless pit!

The Pharaoh Syndrome

Egypt, to Bible scholars is a type of the world—secular, mercenary, mean, fiercely competitive, trend-setting and governed by ‘the law of the jungle.’i.e. The survival of the fittest, strongest and most powerful is what Egypt is all about. It firmly believes in the evolution of the fittest, fastest, fortuitous, pretentious, deceptive, fraudulent, fictitious, the most fashionable facts of fiction, claims of science though unproven as its still evolving, illusions of educated grandeur and the delusions of virtual reality caught up in the paranoia of pseudo (false) success.

In Egypt the secular/religious thinking is “pyramidal” in structure, and “dictatorial” in application. i.e. Everyone is taught they must be the best—the best that is of someone else’s standard, vision or dream, and under the control and discipline of those who just happen to be at the top of the pile of whatever the particular pursuit happens to be.

Each one sees oneself at the top of the pyramid of whatever area or domain they are part of with everyone else underneath them. It is where MLM (Multilevel Marketing) began. I’ve got to be top of the pile in my field, industry, profession, work, ministry etc. My destiny is to be a king. “God’s told me” to be at the top! Be the head and not the tail! To sit atop of a pyramid of people—it could be in sport, music, business, civics, politics, commerce, social programs and religion etc.

Each one of us would sit at the top until or unless we face another more formidable or talented than ourselves, whom we either choose to fight or compete with, to get or keep possession of position, prestige or power, or abdicate quietly by default to someone we recognise as much stronger and more forceful than we ourselves can or are prepared to be—and so the pyramids are built and the dictators appear, great and small.

Egyptians—Taskmasters—Empire Builders

How does a Christian know if he or she is living in, or is being controlled by, Egypt? (The criteria are both positive and negative. I have listed the following examples that I have experienced myself or unwittingly imposed on others, for which I am very sorry.)

You know you are controlled and living in Egypt when you are indebted to a host who at will can control your destiny. When good news begins to become bad news! When the wonderful provision starts to become your worst nightmare. When you are considered less of an asset to leadership and community and more of an ass to put burdens on. When the “workload” becomes unbearable. When you are condemned for not accepting tasks. When you find out people are using you when initially you believed them when they told you, God was using you. When what you thought were “halos” turn out to be required “hoops” to jump through, constantly being raised above your ability to achieve so that you never attain, and always being moved so that you never, never qualify.

When you want or need to rest and are judged unfaithful to the mission, work, or cause. When you are berated for not giving your all. When you are shamed for not saving the world (Egypt). When you are punished for complaining you can’t find any more wood, hay, stubble or straw. When you are told to keep cleaning out those toilets, shovel and mix that mud, keep making those building bricks at your own expense and laying them in your own time. When you are reminded about your ongoing responsibility to submission when you question the present authority.

When you’re promised you might be given a place of ’leadership’ if you are faithful with their ’loadership’. (Oh yes! Been there too!). When you realise the taskmasters’ promises are just that—‘promises’ and nothing more, but made in order to keep you working for their cause or mission, always finding another reason to not let you go, move up, move on, to be free to fulfill your own destiny.

When they must hear from God on your behalf as God only speaks through ‘the leader,’ because if God spoke directly to you, they would lose control. When you have no rest and you are full of stress, because Egypt has overcome you.

When you’re in bondage to the task or masters and you know you are in need of a deliverer, yet when God sends you a Moses and Aaron they appear to cause more trouble in helping you overcome Egypt, than you had with Pharaoh keeping you in bondage to it. The greatest Pharaoh you will ever meet is the one within. The only one you will ever need to see die in your ‘Red Sea Crossing’ is the one within and only God can do that! Your Pharaoh will chase you all the way to your Red Sea where he will help force you though the waters before God uses the same waters to destroy your Pharaoh! This is baptism! But today, we do well to remember, “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” See 1 John 4:4.

Warehouse Christians

How easy it is for us to forget the value of individual persons and see them only as numbers, like cartons of souls in a warehouse of storage (keep away, these are mine), ready to be used when it suits or their talent rented out according to the perceived value or trend of the day, or sent off as merchandise, implements and tools to execute and expedite someone else’s vision and dream or fight someone else’s battle. Leaders of Nations are experts in this field when it comes to dealing with the citizenry.

It is only worse, when of our own will we sit in a ‘cozy carton’ in a warehouse, waiting for someone else to tell us what to do, where to go or when to do something. Then there are too many of us who through willful ignorance or laziness make it easy for some to keep the masses ‘equal’ by holding them ignorant and poor in certain areas, making it easier for the rich and knowledgeable as ‘experts’ to be the leaders. Beware those who proclaim and teach equality! Find out why they are so enamoured by it? Ignorance and poverty are the trowel and the rake—the levelling tools the ‘experts’ use to create and keep equality, but at the lowest common denominator. God made us equal in value as persons by the highest of all common denominators, but not in function or ability. We are as different as chalk and cheese regarding our gifts and talents and calling.

Rented gifts and calling

How many of us rent out our gifts and calling to the highest bidder, as if that is the will of God? And let’s not kid ourselves, I don’t care how much time you spent in ‘prayer’ seeking God’s will, if you were anything like the rest of us in our early days in Egypt, you kept seeking opportunities until you found the highest offer. That’s natural! When the high offers came rolling in all the time we then switched to ‘seeking God’ for the opportunity that would give us the most prestige. That’s quite natural! After that (you discerned right), we switched to what would give us the greatest power and influence, because in Egypt God wanted me to build the greatest pyramid of all pyramids. That’s very natural, possibly ‘carnal’ do you think! After all, I can’t help it if it’s God’s will that I should be the head and not the tail! The head of “what and who and why,” is the question? Having a super ego is just the opposite end of a super selflessness. God isn’t interested in either as they are both false in His eyes. Selling yourself and your gifts and calling to the highest offer is not found in God’s kingdom and economy (scripture calls this prostitution—playing the harlot—harlotry—an abomination to God and why Babylon gets destroyed and burnt in the fire and is undoubtedly amongst the adultery and fornication that prevents us from entering the Kingdom (Rev 17:3-7, Gal 5:18-26, 1 Cor 6:9-11), and neither is false humility and doing everything for nothing.

We freely give that, which we have freely been given, then we may freely receive what God and His people freely give us. This is a lifestyle of abundance, not a storehouse! This is being the head. Storing up wealth is being the tail! If we are resorting to doing deals ahead of time to make sure we don’t lose we are nothing more than a tail covering up a dirty big hole of fear and unbelief and possibly greed! Well, what else did you think that scripture meant? Jesus said, “It’s not what goes in that defiles a man, but what comes out.” This too is a bottomless pit!

Wrongful selflessness

Poor me! I thought I was putting God first by doing what the Egyptian leaders wanted as the masters (covering) placed over me by God in His provision. Dummy! I grew up believing a destructive theology—which is still preached today in many of our churches—that my personal disregard of my own wellbeing and education, and self-sacrifice for the benefit of others, even to the point of a premature personal demise of myself was the ultimate Godly thing to do to hopefully persuade others to live like us for Jesus in this world. It is very much similar to the Muslim suicide theology of today. Unfortunately the Muslim suicide theology is not alone for there are many Christians who practice the very same, but in a more acceptably covert way in that they don’t give up their lives to destroy others in an instant blast to change our world. The deception is far more subtle in that our little Christian soldiers are destroyed much more slowly. I could fill a book on the casualties I have known so far over my lifetime, not to mention those who have suffered crippling burnout and abuse and then been tossed aside as collateral damage for the “cause”!

My own life almost ended in a New York City Methodist hospital when I was only twenty two years old, but for the grace of God. “Let me burn and wear out for Thee dear Lord”, was one of our theme songs in the seminary and city program I was working in at the time. It took many years before I realised how bottomless this path of destructive theology really is and even more to undo it and become disentangled from it. In fact I am still dealing with past vestiges of it to this day!

One can only be selfless for so long when one is hungry and there are bills to pay. When you become so skinny and have so little that no one appears to notice you, that even the dogs think you are a post in the street so they can enjoy a piss in the wind, you know you have reached the selfless limit and you can be really proud of it as you tell people how much you suffered. Nobody ever told me how far this selfless thing was supposed to go, but in Egypt it is preached not for its virtue, but so the endorser of the teaching can get in ahead of you and help himself to what was probably rightfully yours and talked you out of for whatever ‘godly reason.’ Egypt will piss all over you and then call it “God’s dealings” to ensure you don’t react—badly! Don’t you just love Egypt!

Using others for God?

It appears the more important we as individuals become, the less important others as individuals are and the more important numbers and crowds become to us—from a distance of course!

You know, the latest move of God, like God needs my help in generating new ways and means to reach His people and the world, or waiting for the fluctuating Christian market economy or the new trends and styles to determine where and with whom the value should rise or fall and thereby decide today’s new stars, yesterday’s has-beens and tomorrow’s super-stars, today’s obsession or trend, yesterday’s fads and phobias and tomorrow’s mania and obsessions. Well, if you haven’t got title, talent, position, prestige, power, fame, money or a madness of some kind, you’re a non-event! I just love mad people!

One-upmanship testimonies

I grew up in Christian circles that considered testimonies worthy of a congregation’s hearing had to include at least personal stories on smoking dope, drinking, illicit sex, fast women, slow horses, theft, beating up family, murder, larceny, mercenaries, drugs etc. Hence I never got asked to give my testimony because nobody wanted to hear about a cookie thief who stole cookies out of the cookie jar, who lived on M.I.L.K and H²O instead of LSD, crack, ice or heroin etc.

As a teen the only sexual material I had ever read was in the Old Testament in the Bible, the very book I was told along with everyone else I had to read in order to please God and be like God. Nudge, wink! Obviously not too many had read as much of the book as I had!!

The advantage was I had a very good memory and I never had to turn to those portions much to remember what was written there like some I knew had to. How do I know you ask? Because when I checked their bibles they were all worn and smudged in those places and I don’t think it was from them trying to rub the words out and don’t forget, I hate to remind you, this is “all God’s word”, so I’ve been told again and again and again!

The platform of Egypt

The church platform and pulpit looked for converted whoremongers and reprobates to tell their stories to draw the crowd while choirboys looked for virgins and sirens to get a story to tell the crowd. Talent wasn’t the only thing that got you on the platform when I was growing up, it was telling your dirty stories and all the sin God had delivered you from which we could never forget because people loved the re-runs too much. Who needed “Playboy” when you had “Playchurch” every Sunday! Thank God it’s not like that anymore, anywhere. Is it?

The real Person—do we know any?

How through our ignorance, we quickly bypass the real person, falsely placing our value of people on their wealth, performance, ability, talent, skill and capabilities as something to be exploited and capitalised on and when their glory fades, or through mistakes or changing trends they are no longer useful to us, we cast them aside for new stars because we see “titles and talent” not “testimonies and triumphs of grace,” “status and prestige” not “saints and priests,” “brand-names and pedigree” not “righteousness and holiness,” “personalities and performers” not “persons and people,” “natural ability” not “inherent spirituality.”

We see “entertainers, musicians, dancers, singers, preachers, teachers, bankers, politicians, upper-class, lower-class, millionaires, paupers, popular role-models, street bums, rock-stars, actors, models, fashion-designers, market-leaders, media-personalities, choir members, congregations, crowds etc.,” not real persons loved by God because of who we are and in spite of what we do.

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying the above abilities and capabilities or lack thereof are improper, because we all have one or more of them, but that none of them is the reason Jesus loves us and died for us nor are they the real reason why we are here on this planet.

Compulsive Pigeon-holer’s

We seem to have this dreadful compulsion to place people in categories and measure them by brand names, denominations, doctrine and sects, to pigeon-hole them so we can handle them I guess—either to venerate and look up to and perhaps follow, or to keep them confined perhaps because we want it all, and to keep them out of what we have determined is “our space” or “my thing,” you know “I’m the expert, I’m the talent, I’m the professional, he’s just a labourer, she’s just a housewife, those over there are false and teach false doctrine and these ones here are just laity etc.” They are not real persons; they are lower than real persons. At least lower than us! Why? Because we demoted them to what in our eyes is a lowly function or belief by outward observation. After all, I just want to make sure I keep my place in my pyramid and my advantage. What we fail to realise is the lower the value scale we see and place others in, the lower we value ourselves. So I’m really telling myself and everyone else that they are slightly more false than me and I’m more true than they, that I am just above the labourer, just above the housewife, but by not that much. In actual fact none of these has anything to do with our value as that judgment is related solely to function and perceived beliefs, and functions and beliefs can change before the end of the day.

Sons and Daughters of Kings

We entertain not even the slightest notion they could be a son or daughter of a king, queen, knight, noble or God enjoying some physical hard work or the pleasure of helping someone with their housework, or are on an equal journey from error to truth etc., like the rest of us. Nor have we thought seriously about the fact that we could be entertaining angels unawares as the apostle Paul postulates! (Heb 13:2)

Then we are just as guilty the other way where for personal advantage or want of recognition we place others on pedestals, almost worshipping the ground they walk on because of who we think they are, or have become. Unfortunately the “teenage idol” is not alone. There are far more “adult idols” locked into our subconscious minds, not excluding ourselves.

We must overcome the great difficulty in looking beyond what people have and what people do, all of which is past or measurable, to the measureless reality of who people are in their godly state of being with all our outward judgments of them stripped away!

What about the Crowd?

Everyone knows success is equated with large numbers, knowing popular or well-known individuals, having huge deposits, real-estate, big places to meet in, thousands waiting in lines flocking to see, hear and give themselves and their money to you and me. In other words, in Egypt we don’t see and value individual people for what we can give to them, we see and value only the usefulness of them and what they can give or do for us. This is typically Egypt. If I can’t use you in some way you are of little or no value to me! Unless of course you have money to give! The more money you can give the more important you will become—do you like that?

Crowds are not wrong, not all that is in the above paragraphs is wrong. How we see and perceive the above in our heart though, is extremely important.

People who’ve passed their Use-By Date

How do you feel when these dear people, for whatever reason can’t perform so well any more, they are all worn out, their beauty is fading, their money’s run out, they’ve lost their popularity, they are no longer a useful commodity, they’ve passed their use-by date and no longer help you make profit, prestige, numbers, a name and power? Well, come on, how do you feel? Do you still want them around? How soon would you replace them, what’s your criteria for replacement and what will you do with them after they’ve been replaced?

When do you think you should be replaced and what criteria would you be satisfied with? Should your value be placed on what you can do as performance, ability and capabilities, or who you are as a person? If no one in the world knew your talents, your abilities, your capabilities, your wealth both in money and experience, not even your name, what you could do, how you could help others, do you think you would be valued by the world? Absolutely not! I shall illustrate.

For almost two years I ran a coffee shop on my own in Kings Cross in Sydney from 6pm through to 1am six nights a week. On busy nights I had a helper come in to help. To all my customers and clientele I was just “The Coffee Man” and to me initially, they were just my “Coffee Drinking Guests”.

It took several weeks before I found out that an older gentleman customer who used to arrive on a bicycle every night wearing a shabby old gray duffel coat and bag was actually a professor of languages at Sydney University. Consequently my respect toward him changed for the better somewhat and likewise when he discovered eventually my academic forte was humanities and theology. He came in to study every night and to coach students individually on occasions because he loved he said, what he felt in the café. We had from time to time some very stimulating discussions on the authenticity of “Holy Scripture” and the power effect and impact language welds in the world of religion.

On another night, some months later, I spotted another “regular drinker” (who always turned up in T-shirts and jeans and used to crack lots of jokes with me and with whom I had great rapport, the two of us often enlivening up the whole place), park a beautiful Rolls Royce out the front. I was surprised for two reasons: 1. It’s almost an impossible mission to park anything directly out-front of that little café and 2. To me his ridiculous personal image (much like my own) didn’t match the sublime vehicle (not at all like mine).

I just had to ask him whose it was? “My wife’s”, he said. “My Lamborghini is in getting a service and you’ll never see me parking that around here. I usually walk, but tonight it was just too bloody cold”. Well, I somehow began to suffer immediately from Alzheimer’s disease when he promptly returned with the question, “And what are you driving these days, John?”

I thought for a minute as I cranked another porta-filter up into the bayonet fitting of the second group-head on the espresso machine and replied, “I’d like to be driving your Lamborghini George, with you next to me for insurance purposes holding my espresso in case I run out of adrenaline while we are still in the safety zone”.

It wasn’t long before he volunteered the information he was a property developer. Unfortunately for me, I was too old for him to become my “Rich Dad”. “Rich Brother” would’ve been cool!

Did this new knowledge spoil our fledgling friendship and growing relationship? Fortunately no! Because it was already forged before we knew each other’s importance, accomplishments, wealth or lack thereof. This is how Jesus first comes to each one of us—without reputation, without any show of wealth, and he comes in the form of a bondservant to serve us (this is real faith on His part), to lift us up and exalt us in a relationship with Himself and His Father, our true “Rich Dad and Big Brother”. It’s a topless heaven! Phil 2:7-8.

Egypt and religion spoils it all by promoting first reputation, wealth, prestige, power, accomplishments and importance, leaving an earthly veneer we must all break through before we can touch if at all, the real person less their attachments, cultivated images and personal façade without which the world says you’re not important or of any real value.

Unfortunately for most of us, we miss out on some really rich and rewarding friendships and fellowship because of the Egyptian and religious bias to spend time with or hang out only with “Birds of a Feather”, i.e. those of equal or similar thought, social status, education, wealth, prestige or power or again the lack thereof! Therefore, we know the answer is very clear and so, any person or church governing and living in such manner is still very much in Egypt and bound in its practices.

How do you know if you are an Egyptian Pharaoh Style leader? How do you know if you’ve become a power broker and a pyramid builder? By practising any of the above on or toward others to serve yourself and your own self-centered ambitions. Is Egypt useful to the believer today? You bet it is! That’s why we’re in it.

You’ve got to have guts to live in Egypt