We  look at our infant son or daughter and all we can  think of,  he or she is a gift from God, straight from heaven. What  is really  the case? This is a study I wish I had had at age  seventeen, my life would have been much different.

Jesus  spoke  to  the final church, the  seventh  church  of Laodicea:  "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in  the  fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment [the wedding dress],
that  thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy  nakedness  do  not appear; and anoint thine eyes with  eyesalve,  that thou  mayest  see. As many as I love, I rebuke  and  chasten:  be
zealous  therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door,  and knock:  if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will  come in  to  him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To  him that overcometh [the world] will I grant to sit with me in my  throne, even  as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father  in  his throne.  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 3:18-22)

The  test is: do the teachings of men  teach  selfrighteousness, a `we can do it' Gospel, or do they teach to wait on  Jesus Christ and His promises.

Jeremiah cried to the Lord: "The heart [is] deceitful  above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?  (Jeremiah 17:9)  "O LORD, the hope of Israel [also applies to the  lukewarm
church], all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, [and] they  that depart  from  me shall be written in the earth [not the  book  of life, see Rev. 22:19] , because they have forsaken the LORD,  the
fountain of living waters. (Jeremiah 17:13)
Are  the people representing the "church" in  the  political arena  and  mega churches, health, wealth,  prosperity,  success, physical  experiences with the Holy Ghost,  alternative  medicine healings, impartations - teaching the truth when in reality  they serve  men  and women's lusts. Somehow they wish  to  get  around God's  plan and avoid what the Bible teaches. We want it now  not later.  Are  we  not circumventing the development  of  the  Holy Spirit's fruit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,  gentleness,  goodness and faith," (Galatians 5:22) which comes through living  the life that God has planned for us without mental  gymnastics or processes.

"And He shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and He  shall  purify the sons of Levi, and purge them  as  gold  and silver,  that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness." (Malachi 3:3) This sounds kind of dreadful because  in purifying  metal, heat is used, but when you consider the  righteousness is Jesus's righteousness, which is what God offers then all  the  Scripture is saying is, we have to let go  of  our  old "lust"  nature and allow the Holy Spirit into our hearts to  perform  the cleansing. Might I ask, what does that have to do  with
taking control of America and the world?
"In  the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,  till  thou return  unto  the ground; for out of it [the ground]  wast  thou taken:  for  dust thou [art], and unto dust shalt  thou  return." (Genesis 3:19) In other words we are nothing, only God has  life. Here  is  what man did with dust: "Because that, when  they  knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful;  but
became  vain in their imaginations, and their foolish  heart  was darkened. (Romans 1:21)

Can  we  as the creature really deliver ourselves  from  the curse? That is what they are teaching when you get done with this report. They are teaching that we can be the manifestation of the
sons of God, in other words from dust we can make God happen when we  are  "vanity". Vanity is the most important word to  help  us understand  what is going on with us. Matalos; #3152 vain,  which is  characterized  by aimlessness, leading to no object  or  end, especially  that end being God. It is building a house  on  sand, chasing the wind, shooting at stars, pursuing one's own shadow in other words we add up to nothingness, worthlessness, emptiness of
the present in contrast with the living fullness of the future.

The new breed, as Hank Hanegraaff used to call them, tell us that  they  are the `manifest sons of God'  `now'  without  Jesus Christ  in the lead. May I remind you, He has not come back  yet. The fire which cleans up this planet will come from Christ  Jesus personally  not the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is  our  Comforter who will abide with us forever and who helps us endure till Jesus Christ returns (see John 14:16,26). "And I will pray the  Father, and  he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide  with you  for  ever." The sons of God are on hold  till  Jesus Christ comes back at Armageddon with His saints.

The  Bible  meticulously explains our situation  now: "This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being  by the right hand of God exalted, and having  received  of the  Father  the promise of the Holy Ghost, he  hath  shed  forth this,  which ye now see and hear. (Acts 2:32,33) Jesus  has  shed forth the Holy Ghost until He comes back.

The  Bible  consoles us to look forward to  a  future  worth waiting  for. "For I reckon that the sufferings of  this  present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us[the kingdom is God is within you, Luke  17:21]. "For  the  earnest expectation of the creature  waiteth  for  the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature [which is  us] was  made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of  him who  hath  subjected  [the same] in hope,  Because  the  creature itself  also  shall be delivered from the bondage  of  corruption into  the glorious liberty of the children of God. For  we  know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain  together until  now. (Romans 8:18-22) We are waiting for the adoption,  to witness  the redemption of our body (see Romans 8:23). Notice  we are  not  waiting for the tribulation but the redemption  of  our body  is the Resurrection/ Rapture which is next, not becoming  a member  of Joel's Army which is the goal of  today's  "Christian" movement.  Seems to me if you want to join Noel's Army,  you  are waiting for the tribulation to defend yourselves.

Ken Copeland teaches that we can command God and that we are in  control  of this planet which is also related  to  `manifests sons  of God.' Mormons (evolving gods) believe that they have  to clean up the whole world themselves for Jesus to come back.  They don't  call themselves manifests sons of God but they  might  as well.  They believe they are equal to Jesus, he is  their  spirit brother  same as Satan. Scripturally all angels are sons of  God.Are  we considered to be angels? I don't think so. Man  is  lower than angels and Jesus is God manifest in the flesh.
The  Apostle Paul wrote: "This I say therefore, and  testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles  walk, in  the vanity of their mind, (Ephesians 4:17) "Professing  themselves  to be wise, they became fools, And changed the  glory  of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts [barking dogs], and creeping things [serpents]. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through  the  lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour  their  own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie,  and worshipped and served the creature more than the  Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." (Romans 1:22-25)

"For when they speak great swelling [words] of vanity,  they allure through the lusts of the flesh, [through much] wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.  While they  promise them liberty, they themselves are the  servants  of corruption  for  of whom a man is overcome, of the  same is he brought in bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,  they are  again entangled therein,  and  overcome,  the latter end is worse with them than the beginning." (2 Peter 2:18-20)  Notice  the  blessing in this Scripture,  by  accepting  the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us, when He purchased us from the prince  of  this world, we escape the pollutions  of  the  world through knowledge (personal Bible study).
"And  with many other words did he testify and exhort,  saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation." (Acts  2:40) The Hebrew Word 'Awen [205] is a major word for sin. And when  we study  the word, it means vanity, breath, vainness,  nothingness, falseness, falsehood, idol, idolatry, sin,  wickedness,  sorrow, distress,  hardship, toil. The KJV adds mourners, affliction  and unjust. The word focuses on the planning an expression of  deception and pointing more to the consequences of sin. There are  two aspects  to  the primary meaning of the word: (a)  emphasis  upon trouble  which  moves onward to wickedness; (b)  emptiness which results  in  idolatry. `Misfortune' comes close  to  encompassing many  of the meanings above. It is the hard way of life of  those who are living without God. (Isa. 32:6) Some sinners enjoy making a difficult life harder (Job 35:35; Ps. 7:14).

May  I  give the `true' Mormons as an example: Not  only  do they have to fill all the jobs connected with running a church on a  voluntary  basis, pay 10% and up of their gross  income, but they  have  to spend hundreds of hours researching  their  family ancestry  and  spend hundreds of hours getting baptized  for  the dead  which didn't apply because it takes a living person to  die to sin which results in death to sin, and spend hundreds of hours performing  family entertainment for the membership  with  family programs. Talk about a hard life, some periodically broke down in front of the congregation in tears exasperated, wondering how  to cover  all  their  tasks when they had to  continue  their  adult education  and work for a living to boot. And to think  that  the end result has no meaning because it is done out of vanity.
Shaw  [7723] is another Hebrew word describing  what  vanity is. Again it means nothingness, emptiness, vanity, anything which disappoints  the  hope  which rests upon  it.  Lying,  falsehood, wickedness,  calamity, destruction. The term designates anything which is insubstantial, unreal, or worthless (whether  materially or  morally)  Taking  the name of the Lord "in vain"  is a very serious  matter. Not only does `shaw' mean profanity or  swearing falsely, but it also includes using the Lord's name (reputation) lightly or without thinking. Meaningless, repetition, rote verbal expressions used in prayer.
And  last but not least is Hebrew Tohu [8414], a word  which means  desolation, desert, a desolated city, a  worthless  thing, confusion,  emptiness and vanity. It means wasteness, unreality, nothingness,  a word which can only be interpreted in context.  I love  the  following Scripture which represents  God's  ingenuity which  puts  us in our place, if we think we can be even  little gods  : "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place,  [and] hangeth the earth upon nothing." (Job 26:7)
Addressing  God,  David said: "When thou with  rebukes  dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume  away like  a  moth: surely every man [is] vanity.  Selah..  I waited patiently  for  the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and  heard  my cry.  He  brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out  of  the miry  clay,  and set my feet upon a rock,  [and]  established  my goings.  And  he hath put a new song in my mouth,  [even]  praise unto  our God: many shall see [it], and fear, and shall trust  in the  LORD. Blessed [is] that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and  respecteth  not the proud, nor such as turn aside  to  lies. (Psalms 39:11, 40:1-4)
In  closing, we want to fill that emptiness  with  something and  turn  to idols of one kind or another. God  will  fill  that emptiness  in  His time, I can vouch for that. When He  does,  it
overflows  and your life as you knew it is over, which is why  He takes His time. A new life begins in Him.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into  the  ground and die, it abideth alone: but if  it  die,  it bringeth  forth much fruit." (John 12:24) Who is the wheat?  "And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired [to have] you,  that he may sift [you] as wheat:" (Luke 22:31)  
"Whose fan [is] in his hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn  up the  chaff  with  unquenchable fire. (Matthew 3:12)  (This  is  a Rapture Scripture, notice it is before the fire burns the  chaff, not after). The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen