Hidden Treasures

By Larry Cooper

The nature of this book Hidden Treasures is based on certain principles that God desires for us to live by that we might be better equipped to live for him and to be a light in this world that we live in. This book is designed to detail some of the principles that we talk about daily and how important it is that we apply them in our everyday lives. It is not that they are hidden to us, but the fact that until they become practical and practiced in our lives, all they will be is something that we read about but never become effective in.

This book I believe is also a road map to living a life in the spirit that will bring glory to God by allowing our lives to be a tool that he can use for the sake of showing others the grace, power, and the ability of the Holy Ghost to change lives.

It has been written with the purpose of being easy to read and follow.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638144069

Book preview

Chapter 1

Perception

The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.

—John 4:19

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.

—Acts 10:34

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

—1 John 3:16

Perception means how a person sees or views a thing, which would have all to do with how they also respond to it. Also, our response to any situation, natural or spiritual, will show just how we perceive a thing and where we are spiritually.

I know it is safe to say that so many people have such a flawed perception not only of God but also of his Word. When I say flawed, what I mean is that we do not see or understand God or his Word in the same way he is saying. Therefore, we must continue to study the Word of God and ask the Holy Ghost to reveal to us his truth and not our own.

When we have our own truth and not his, it can only affect how we live and determine whether or not we give God what he deserves, which is always praise, worship, and a life of holiness. It is normally because of the wrong perception that so many today will sit quietly in church, while others literally lose their mind in praise to God.

Paul talks in Romans 10:2 how so many even back then had a zeal, meaning an excitement for God, but it was not according to the knowledge in his Word. He goes on to record that they made their own standard of righteousness, which might be what so many are doing even today. There are times that we hear some people doing some things in the name of Jesus that goes against his Word that you cannot tell them that they are wrong.

Let me also let you know that our perception can be a very powerful and dangerous thing as well. When our perception is according to scripture, it will be hard for anything, even the devil himself, to knock us off the path God has us on. Then, even when the devil does, we will be able to bounce back up and get right back on course.

Our perception can be powerful when it lines up with his Word, which we will get into in a few. It can also be very dangerous when it does not, for whatever reason we choose, because it can do us so much damage in our walk. It could very well be because we do not read the Bible or choose to form our own opinion without reading, one that satisfies us.

I remember what the Bible tells us in Matthew 7:21, Not everyone who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. This made me do a lot more digging and soul-searching.

Would you believe that at one point in my life, my perception of God was that while I believed that he could heal and deliver others, in my case, I was too far gone even for God to help me? What I came to find is that in so many of us, it is much easier to believe and have faith for someone else yet not so easy when it comes to our own selves.

Glory be to God that was back then, and my perception has certainly changed by leaps and bounds today. This is what studying the Word of God and sitting under sound biblical teaching have done for and in me.

Let me say this before I go any further. If we expect to get what God has for us, be what God has called us to be, do what he has called us to do, and stand in the midst of difficult trials, struggles, and failures from time to time, it will be our perception of God that will make all the difference. It is in any of these situations that a wrong perception of who God is and what he can do would cause us to be in a bad situation longer than we have to.

I can tell you how this kept me bound and in bondage to crack cocaine longer than I had to be. When we have this incorrect perception of who God is, it will always cause us to be in an improper place with him. It is not that God will not help us. It is usually because we continue asking all the wrong questions or looking for God to move in the wrong manner.

Help me, Holy Ghost.

What helped me with my perception of God was God’s perception of how he saw me according to his Word. Oh, come now. It was then I began to see myself like God sees me, and that alone gave me a great advantage not only over the devil but also over every negative situation that I encountered. This also released the chains of guilt and shame of not being able to do to me what they could always done. This was when I could honestly say and stand on Isaiah 54:17 that says, No weapon formed against [me] shall prosper.

There was another thing that really helped me understand more concerning who I am in Christ. I hear so much from other people who are born-again that they are still sinners. When I hear this, my response is always, Really? Wow! or Well, I am glad that I know better. What they are saying is that not only were they born sinners, but also they will die as sinners.

If this were the case, then somebody tell me what exactly did Christ do for and in them. Just asking.

God’s perception of us who are in Christ is that we are no longer sinners but his children because of the shed blood of Jesus. This does not in no way mean that we won’t still struggle with sin because we will. What it does mean is because we now belong to him and when we do make a mistake, mess up, or fall down like we all will, then instead of him seeing our failures, he sees the blood of Jesus that covers us. What it also means is when we have the right perception of who we are, then even when we mess up like we will, there will be no room for guilt and shame to come and do what it does.

Guilt by the way is what we feel about a situation, while shame is what we feel about ourselves. If that isn’t shouting news for those of us who are saved, then I don’t know what would be.

It is so important for people of God to begin to view ourselves as God does and not by our shortcomings, mistakes, and failures. Let it be said that as long as we have this kind of perception of ourselves, all we will ever be is a victim. You must also know that being the victim will make it very difficult to walk in the victory that we are able to.

Let me ask you this. If we were born into sin or born sinners, which we were, but have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior yet still call ourselves sinners, then what exactly did Christ do for us? I am just asking.

Our perception of the Word of God is so important that it has all to do with just how much we will put our trust in him. This is why we must do all that we can, which includes prayer and fellowship, to make sure we have a proper perception. It is going to also require us to walk in humility to the place where we realize that we just might be wrong in some things, even our perception of who we are.

When our perception of his Word is wrong, then we will always come up with a different meaning of the Word rather than what God is saying, which will also show in how we live and treat others. This also could mean that we will be looking for God to do something for us that goes completely against his will.

I can tell you that so many times I found myself leaning on my own understanding of the Word of God, and my preaching was so far off that it was scary.

Glory be to God. And because of studying his word and sound teaching, I have gotten so much better. Thank God for the pastor who always corrected me in a way that did not break my spirit.

We are living in a time when this world has such a distorted perception when it comes to the Word of God that it again is downright scary, which it should be. I remember the Bible telling us that the world will never ever understand the things of God, nor will it obey because of the principles the world operates in.

If you have any type of spirituality at all, then it should not be too hard to see what is going on right here in the United States and how it is so far off from the principles of the Lord. This country has gotten to a place that, as a whole, it wants nothing to do with God or the things of God.

The reason I write this is because we as a country have gotten to a place that we accept any lifestyle that is contrary to God’s word and call it okay. The perception that the world will tell us is that the problem with all the crime comes from guns, which is not the real enemy. I have never known a gun to kill someone without someone pulling the trigger. The world talks about gun control. I am sure that you know that a criminal will always be able to find a way to get a gun, no matter what laws are passed. After all, laws are really made for honest people.

The world cannot, will not, and does not want to come to the conclusion that the problem comes directly from the scripture that lets us know that it is the heart of man. What I am writing to you is unless the heart of man changes, we will continue to see all the violence that we are seeing today and more. This is spiritual truth.

You also must understand that because the perception of the Word of God is warped and distorted, then so would be their perception of the devil. This has all to do with why the world is in the state of darkness that it is in, even these United States. The world and so many of our churches have gotten to a place where they are calling good evil and evil good.

The perception of the world is that God has changed his mind when it comes to homosexuality, which means the churches should too. I personally know some pastors who have no problem at all marrying two men or women. I can recall even a time when I was asked if I would marry people who were of the same sex. It took no thought at all for me to answer no.

The times that we are living in have truly taken sin to a whole new acceptable level and a scary one indeed. The truth of this whole matter is that it is going to get much worse as we get closer to the return of the Lord Jesus.

I really believe the only reason this country, the United States, has not been completely ruined is because of the prayers of the children of God and the fact that we will not give in to the enemy. In other words, the prayers of the saints of God are keeping this country and the world here so far.

The perception of us who stand for truth is because God must punish sin and that this country is soon going to get a rude awakening. It is not something that any of us want. We believe it is so simple because of the unrighteousness that we stand for as a country.

I heard in a sermon that if God doesn’t move on the homosexuality that goes on in this country, then he is going to owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology. Wow.

But the truth about this whole matter is that no matter what the perception of the world is, we who stand on the Word of God must continue to stand and not be moved by what we see no matter how cruel it might seem to be. We must continue to walk in faith and speak the Word of God no matter what the opposition does, even if it gets so bad that it cost us our very lives.

We are also living in a time when our perception on sin has taken a whole new turn. The church has gotten to a place where it looks more like the world to the point that when you step in a few of them, it’s hard to tell exactly where you are. Even the music used to be worship and holy. Now it has gotten to the point where you hear the same music from churches played in the night clubs or the other way around. It really doesn’t surprise me, which really is a shame, what you might see in some churches in this day and time.

While I understand there is no perfect church or man, it is sad that we still are so far from the holiness that was around when I was growing up. The perception of God that I grew up with was that his laws were to be respected and lived, no matter what our own personal views were. We had no problem at all coming out for prayer and fellowship. It is hard now truly to find a church that even has a night of prayer.

The perception of the church back in the day was that it was a holy ground and was to be respected and viewed as such by the whole community. If we were talking crazy while walking, it all stopped when we got by the church and would not continue until there was some distance between us and the church. I could even remember how we would turn our worldly music down when we got close to the church. It really is hard to tell the difference between church music and the world.

We as a people really need to get back to a proper perception of God, his Word, and the principles of the Bible if we ever want to see change in the world and in this country. I would go so far as to even say that if there is any hope for all in this country, then this would be where it is going to be found.

When our perception is flawed, then so will every other thing that we believe, live, and try to be a part of. When we look at the perception of the family structure, it too has suffered a great defeat today. The family has always not been what it should be according to scripture. Today the sad thing is that it has gotten much worse than it ever was.

We are living in a time when the children basically rule their families, mostly due to the absence of the parents. When you think about it, the perception of the church is not much different from that of the world when it comes to the family, which should not be.

If you look closely, the world or the unsaved live almost just as holy from the outside as those who are saved. Another sad truth is that you find most of those in church on Sunday mornings are in night clubs on Saturday nights.

The world does not believe in waiting to get married to have sex, nor does it have a problem with men and women living together before marriage. The world no longer has a problem when it comes to man on man and woman on woman.

I can assure you, people of God, that the church is overflowing with couples who live together and have sex before marriage. This has become the standard today because nothing is said about it, which could only mean that it is now acceptable.

You will most likely find these same couples in church on Sunday mornings singing in the choir and doing all kinds of church duties with no conviction at all because they really feel that they are doing nothing wrong. Wow.

I won’t even mention those families with both men or both women that the churches have accepted their lifestyles and have allowed for some of them to be in leadership, even some to pastor. It really blew my mind when I saw a church with the name the Gay and Lesbian Church of Christ. When you think about it today, it should be normal for us who are saved to be very afraid when we think about what the world’s perception of righteousness is. It really does get deeper and scarier when the perception of the church has gotten so far from the Word. The Bible tells us that apostasy, calling right wrong and wrong right, would take place. It is not hard at all to see this being fulfilled every single day. It is not at all hard to see how our churches have fallen into this trap simply by what you see in the churches of this day.

The world and some of the churches have such a strange perception of who Jesus is, like it has some way changed from the beginning. Remember that Jesus asked Peter, Who do men say that I am? Then Jesus asked Peter, Who do you say that I am? I can tell you that you would not believe the response I get from some church people when I ask them who do they say Jesus was. On a personal level, who you say that Jesus in your heart is will always determine how you approach him and how you live when it comes to his Word. I don’t even get mad at them because everybody is entitled to their own perception.

The good thing about this is when I find out where they are, it gives me the opportunity to minister to them right where I know they are, if they are willing to listen concerning a biblical perspective of who Jesus is.

I must admit that I used to get so mad when people had a different opinion on scripture or would not believe what I believed, but God had to grow me out of that for the sake of bringing glory to his name.

Here’s another strange perception that I want to mention. According to 2 Timothy 3:1, the last days will be perilous, meaning dangerous times shall come. We hear on the news almost every day about murders (even mass murder at times), children being killed, homosexuality, and sexual immorality running wild like never before. If you have any age on you, then you too should be able to say that when you were young, the world was nothing at all like it is today.