The Other Side of the Cross

By Harold D. Dunckel

If you know God but seem to lack His power and strength, elementary things could be getting in the way. Jesus, in His teaching, spoke of this. Men do not “… put new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the wineskins burst “ (Matt 9:16-17).

Learn what these elementary things are and how they hinder your life with God. See how they can be removed and replaced with better things.

• Know the depth and richness of the born again stage.

• Know how it feels to live in the overcoming stage.

• Enjoy life in the ruling stage.

• Be crowned with life in the heavenly stage.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Feb 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781546276784

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Harold D. Dunckel. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   02/14/2019

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7649-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7678-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019900591

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KJV

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

NASB

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1: Another Side

Chapter 2: A New Way

Chapter 3: God’s Ministry To Man

Chapter 4: Elementary Ways – Part 1

Chapter 5: Elementary Ways – Part 2

Chapter 6: The Born Again Stage

Chapter 7: The Overcoming Stage

Chapter 8: Conquering The World

Chapter 9: The Ruling Stage

Chapter 10: The Heavenly Stage

Chapter 11: Beware

Acknowledgements

Through the years God has done a great work in my heart. Yes, He led me out of punishing ways and into pardon, release, and reward. I am forever grateful to Him. Those whom I have taught, walked with, and counseled have also played a big role in the forming of this book. Then, there are the skilled, caring people who helped me with the practical details of writing. Ilona Tabet is one of those people. She is a close friend of my daughter, Deanna and an excellent English teacher. She took on the challenge of reading and editing my first hard copy. Thank you Ilona! Doug and Marianne Reska are a faithful and dedicated husband and wife team. Not only did they encourage me to move forward with my book, but they worked at final corrections, recording it on disk, and preparing a printable copy. Thank you precious ones!

Introduction

I trust you are one that has received Jesus Christ into your life. If you have, how long has it been since you found Him? Thank goodness you did, for our Heavenly Father calls Christ, the pearl of great price. He has placed all the riches of Himself in Christ, and since Christ is in you, you have available to you all the wealth of heaven. The cross has made this possible, for it is the place where God accomplished His marvelous work.

One side of the cross, the suffering and death side where Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin, is the justification and cleansing needed for peace with God. It is our foundation. The other side of the cross, the resurrection side, is where Christ has risen from the dead, guaranteeing life and blessing to all who believe. It is here that we build a life for ourselves.

Most believers live their lives as though there is just one side of the cross: the death side. This alone can lead to a stunted, unfulfilled, and hapless life. When life is lived with both sides of the cross in mind, an ever expanding, fruitful life can be experienced.

Surprisingly, many believers have never heard that resurrection life can be lived right here on earth. Yes, they understand that they’re forgiven and justified but they believe that heavenly life will only come from God when they die and go to heaven. They fail to see that Christ brought salvation to earth, that heaven came with Him, and that His kingdom is supplied now.

Those who miss the resurrection side of the cross eventually end up becoming dreamers, thinking only of heaven and the treasures that await them someday. Their mindset is to suffer. To get by in this sinful world until they die and enter heaven where they will receive their well-deserved reward. Yes, there is death in the cross of Jesus Christ, but there is also resurrection life, power, strength, and victory.

Dear Reader, a new and living way has begun for you. Don’t waste your precious time and energy on morbid things that center on death. Think of it. God’s very life is within you now! This became a reality when Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of the world, came to earth. Since that time, all who receive the resurrected Lord can be filled up with His Eternal Spirit. Believe and embrace what Jesus prayed, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-13).

Has your life become a desert? Is the neat little place in your pew a hapless place? Does waiting for Christ’s return seem somewhat boring? Do you long to touch and experience the God of heaven for yourself? Have the rules you daily follow given you strength over sin? If not, then believe in the rest of the story. Heaven’s life begins now! Resurrection life is now. Refreshing streams of living water are flowing out of God’s kingdom now. You need only ask, believe and follow in faith. God will gladly share His eternal self with you. The banqueting table has been set. Do you have enough faith to eat from it? Pull up a chair, sit down, and begin feasting on everlasting life. You will not be disappointed. The life of God will begin flowing through your veins, sending new life to every part of your being. Drink up, eat and enjoy the life of heaven while you are still in the land of the living.

That new eternal day the prophets of old spoke about is not far off; it is here! Live in the light of the new day. The light of God’s Son is shining brightly within you. It is pure light revealing all darkness. All shifting shadows and deep hidden things will flee when you allow the light of Christ to shine in every part of your life. Go ahead, ask, seek, knock. The Holy Spirit will go to work exposing the dark areas where no life has been allowed to shine.

The second Adam, who is Jesus Christ, wants to initiate spiritual life within you. So, cast off the earthy, fleshly side of yourself and allow Christ to free you from nagging, besetting sins that have ruled you for so long. Move up from the lower realms of life. You are God’s now and don’t belong there! Hurry, before the precious spark of life burns out.

Through years of study, I have learned that resurrection life can be divided into four stages. They are the four main topics discussed throughout the New Testament. Though the word ‘stages’ isn’t mentioned in the Bible, however Christian maturity is. First we see the born again stage, when the Holy Spirit empowers the believer to begin new life. Then there is the overcoming stage, when a believer learns to face and conquer the difficulties of the world. Thirdly, there is the ruling stage when a believer uses God’spower given to rule and manage the earthly things He has placed in man’s care. And lastly, the heavenly stage. It is the most glorious of all, for there, the ability to live consistently in Heaven’s way is realized. God, in His fullness as He dwells within the believer by His Spirit, has a consistent effect on the believer and all those with whom he comes in contact with.

Chapter 1

Another Side

Sometime ago, I worked with a man who did some time in prison. In our times together, he described to me the way he and other criminals think. Not only was it interesting, it rang true with me. He captured it all in this catch phrase. If you do the crime you do the time. Hardened criminal minds are set on this law, the law of crime and punishment. It’s so deeply embedded in them that it’s difficult for them to think and function in any other way. Unmerited favor, mercy, gentleness and reasonableness are signs of weakness to them. Receiving mercy from God and granting it to others doesn’t compute. There has to be an angle of some kind. Those who don’t think like their criminal minds think are against them. Criminals are paranoid that way. If others think differently, punishment is dished out. As you can see, this is a distorted and self destructive mindset that if not changed will offer little hope for a fulfilling and happy life with God or anyone else.

I not only shared the grace and unmerited favor of God with this man, I demonstrated it. It seemed so strange to him at first, and I watched him strain trying to understand. But as the weeks passed, I noticed some of what I said was sinking in. The truth began renewing his crime and punishment mind to one of grace and mercy. He could see that God wasn’t against him. God wasn’t offended by his poor behavior or angry with him when he failed. Instead, God was his friend and actually there to help. When he failed, God did not judge him and cast him aside, but was always there to encourage him. The truth was beginning to set him free! It affected the angry hostile spirit of his mind, softening his hardened heart. I could see a marked difference in his attitude. He began to overcome his weaknesses and blossom in the good things of God.

Hard Facts

The UNIFORM CRIME REPORT, published annually by the FBI, is a compilation of offences reported by the law enforcement agencies of cities and towns of 100,000 or more. In the preliminary report of 2016 there are some astounding facts about crime in the U.S.A. There were 16,470 murders and manslaughters, 114,730 forcible rapes, 321,464 robberies, 763,994 aggravated assaults, 1,223,265 violent crimes, 7,514,851 property crimes, 1,421,556 burglaries, 5,353,887 larceny/thefts, 739,368 motor vehicle thefts, and 43,249 arsons; the grand total being 17,512,852 crimes. That doesn’t include the crimes of any other country, the thousands of crimes committed in small towns under 100,000, or the hundreds of thousands of crimes unreported.

Punishing Ways

Any time we see extreme criminal behavior in others, we’re disgusted by it, but the same nature that we see in them, though tempered, is also in us. It’s in all mankind! We have an inbred, unhealthy preoccupation with crime and punishment. Not only does it occupy our minds, but we are also more than willing to inflict punishment on ourselves, to allow others to inflict us, and inflict it on those who live and think differently than we do.

I have personally struggled with this punishing behavior, and most people I’ve been in close contact with struggle. Things just don’t seem right if we’re not in some kind of mental anguish or physical stress and pain, but let me ask you something. Do you enjoy punishment and the suffering that follows? I certainly don’t. I don’t know anyone who really does.

There is another law within us that is equally as strong. It is the desire for life and happiness. In the midst of our punishing and suffering ways, we hope for the good life. We think and dream of it. Ever meet someone who said, Tomorrow I plan on having a miserable day, or Today is a wonderful day because I’m going to suffer. No! All of us live and work with the hope of a wholesome, successful and profitable life. The provocative thing is that our creator desires the same thing for us too. When we get right down to it, happiness and success are rare for most of us, but not so with punishment and suffering. They are ever close companions. Why do we have this innate desire for the good life, but instead continue in the ways of crime and punishment?

A What?

The answer to this question is simple yet complex, and it is found surprisingly close to home, within each of us, in our inner self, in our person. There is in our mind, will, and emotions what professionals call a punitive spirit. What’s a punitive spirit? It is the tendency to behave in hostile, forceful ways. It’s an angry attitude, inciting us to inflict pain upon ourselves and others. When thoughts, words, and circumstances aren’t what we think they should be we’re easily offended. Our hostile mind then incites us to punish by inflicting pain in either verbal or physical ways, hoping to rectify the situation. This punitive attitude finds some of its strength in our struggle to survive. When our well-being is threatened, look out buddy, we’re ready to fight! When this punitive spirit is applied to religious matters, we exhibit even stranger forms of punishment on ourselves and others in the name of God.

Garden Of Our Heart

As you probably know, the search for relief from this punitive attitude is a long-standing one. However, most of those who seek an answer to being punitive stop short of the real root of the problem. If an honest answer is desired and historical evidence carefully followed, we find that it leads all the way back to the cradle of civilization. It is there that we discover the foundation for this punitive attitude.

In the earliest stages of our civilization, in the garden of man’s heart, Adam, who was God’s crowning glory, began eating from the wrong tree. For you see, God placed within Adam, as He has within all of us, two ways to live life. First there is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That tree is really our own reasoning and wisdom. With it, we feed our selfish desire, which is usually contrary to what God has planned for us. Immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissension, factions, and envy all flow from this selfish lifestyle. (Gal 5:19-21).

The second tree within Adam was located in the spirit part of himself. It was there he communicated with God. There Adam was free to partake of God’s wisdom and life. This glorious tree of life only produced good fruit, a completely different kind of fruit than Adam’s. It was Godlike and heavenly in every way: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control, God’s very own wisdom and nature. If Adam ate from that tree, life and happiness would continually be his. But Adam didn’t know this, of course. All he had to do was be obedient to what God said.

As you can see, the difference in the two trees was enormous. The fruit of the first tree had the power to reduce Adam to a mere mortal, for its roots led all the way back to a carnal, judged, fallen demonic race. It was an enticing wisdom, but a much lesser one. The other tree maintained Adam’s immortality for its righteous roots led all the way back to the eternal God Himself. This ancient wisdom was perfect in every way. It was the highest of all wisdoms. It was pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable and full of mercy, guaranteeing life, happiness and immortality for Adam and the human race.

Power To Create

With the power of reason and choice, Adam could eat from either tree. But do you remember what the Lord said would happen to Adam if he ate from the tree of his own knowledge, the wrong tree? "…He would surely die." (Gen 2:15-17). And sure enough, with a little enticement from Satan, Adam chose his own way over God’s, and the dying process began.

Reasoning and free choice. What a joy and privilege! Or was it? Adam didn’t understand the power he had been given, or the responsibilities and consequences that came with it. The power of choice was one of God’s greatest gifts. It gave Adam the ability to create. All human beings have free choice, giving them the ability to create both good and evil. Have you ever thought of reason and free choice that way? It is an amazing thing. Think of