God’s love – Sons of Issachar

492. Evangelicalism Unravelled: The Fall of ‘Sola Scriptura’

Mike Parsons –

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They didn’t believe it in the early church. There was no penal
substitutionary atonement. The atonement, or what Jesus did on the cross, was Christus Victor, mostly. Christ victorious over what? Our lost identity, our death, over everything. A very different view of what Jesus did.

But Protestantism very quickly picked up on penal substitutionary atonement and it became the cornerstone of Calvinism and lots of other streams of thought. When that got removed, and when that evangelical pillar crumbled, all the other pillars started to wobble.

So sola scriptura was the second pillar. Well, without evangelicalism holding it up, that went over, which is why it changed my whole view about the Bible, the way I see the Bible, and the Bible being ‘the word of God’ and all that stuff: “It’s got to be in the Bible!” and all the challenge that came
with that, because God totally took me to task over it.

363. Deconstructing the Pillars of Your Mind

299. PSA Sounds Nothing Like Jesus! (Penal Substitutionary Atonement [1])

403. So you think the ‘Word of God’ is the Bible? Think again!

470. Beyond the Norm: Finding Joy Outside the System

Mike Parsons

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Christians can’t have fun?

We can find ourselves really constrained within certain systems and among people who all think the same way—which leaves little room for personal growth or enjoying life. Christians, for example, often end up repeating the same routines—organising potluck meals and eating quiche and such things, which can become a bit staid and, frankly, rather dull and boring. That’s not to say Christians can’t have fun—but generally speaking, the world exists for us to discover, to enjoy, and to bring light into, ideally in a way that’s enjoyable and adventurous.

Sometimes I wonder why anyone would want to become a Christian when, so often, Christians come across as quite miserable. Then there’s the expectation of attending church three times on a Sunday. Why should that be necessary? If I’m enjoying myself by going out, why can’t I worship God in the fresh air? These mindsets persist: we invite people to join us, and then expect them to give up what they find pleasurable in order to join a ‘Christian club.’ In the process, such people often lose touch with real life—and many of the positive experiences they had with God in the past are lost. They end up just becoming ‘church people,’ which really doesn’t attract anyone.

Representatives of God’s love

Instead, we ought to show that life can be enjoyable, that we can have fun, love others, and care for them—that’s the sort of dynamic we should be bringing to the world. We’re meant to be representatives of God’s love, demonstrating care and compassion through what we do. When people hit a crisis, they’ll seek out those who are authentically loving, relatable, and understanding—the kind of people who can help them encounter God through genuine relationships.

I wholeheartedly believe in continuing to enjoy life. Since embracing this perspective, I enjoy life much more as I believe it was intended to be—without imposing a set of rigid rules and obligations that dictate where I should be and what I must do.

Going to church

I go to church meetings with Debbie because she enjoys fellowshipping with others. I like singing too, so I don’t mind joining in, but I doubt I would go if it weren’t for her. I value those friends and connections, but sometimes I do find it a struggle. In the home group, I occasionally bite my tongue to avoid offending others, but now and then God gives me permission to say something a bit provocative, to open up honest discussion. Ultimately, though, if Debbie didn’t attend the group, I wouldn’t go there either. This week, there’s football on—so I’ll watch that, as I’ll probably enjoy it more than wrestling with theological discussions I find hard to connect with. I don’t attend to cause trouble; I simply value the freedom to go or not to go.

No option

Reflecting on my past, especially when I was in church leadership, I remember having no option—I had to be there, unless I was on holiday. It was expected of me as a leader. I was often speaking—which meant there was little choice, and as I was being remunerated, there was a sense of obligation. I would have felt guilty for not going. Although it was genuinely more than just a job for me, there was still a mindset that I needed to “give them their money’s worth.” That way of thinking comes from conditioning: it is certainly not freedom.

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317. Leaving a Positive Light Deposit

328. Experiencing God’s Love: A New Approach to Evangelising Christians

443. Unconditional Love – NO RECORD OF WRONGS

Mike Parsons

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Jesus came to fully reveal the Father to us as His image, and the Father in Jesus forgave us unconditionally, reconciled us to Himself, and justified us — as if we had never sinned, never gone astray, never lost our identity. He kept no record of any perceived wrongs and made us the righteousness of God in Christ. Now that is pretty amazing. That is the power of unconditional love.

He did it all. The work on the cross was finished. Jesus did everything necessary for us to have a restored relationship with God. All we have to do is come to a realisation of that reality.

Love-conscious, not sin-conscious

The Father wants us to live in love-consciousness, not sin- or lost-identity-consciousness. That is why He kept speaking to me about living loved.

To live loved is to live in awareness of unconditional love — a love that enables us to love. Life takes on a completely different perspective when we are free from the bondage of trying to keep up with the Law, or earn God’s favour through duty or obligation. That just wears everyone out. But when we live loving, we are filled with joyous expectation. Every day becomes an opportunity. And in that we can live loving: the love we have received, we can freely give.

Religion makes love and acceptance conditional — but God’s love is totally unconditional. Therefore, we must be free from religious mindsets and obligations.

No record of wrongs

1 Corinthians 13:5 — the famous chapter about love — says that love does not keep score of the sins of others. It keeps no record of wrongs. So God keeps no record of wrongs. He keeps no score of the things we might do or not do.

Jesus came to take away the sins of the world, not to punish them. Love forgave unconditionally, on the basis of what Jesus did both in eternity and in time, on the cross.

Wherever you see the words “love” or “God”, they should be completely interchangeable. We should be able to substitute the word “love” for “God” in every instance — and if we cannot, in whatever we are reading (whether it be the Bible or anything else), then we should question the validity of what we are reading.

Because God is love. And therefore, God is pure love — and pure love is God. If we are reading something that does not make sense of God being love, then we must question it, because God is Love. The issue lies with our understanding, or with what we have been taught — because God is never anything other than love.

It goes on:
Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Love is not jealous.
Love does not brag.
It is not arrogant.
It does not act disgracefully.
It does not seek its own benefit.
It is not provoked.
It does not keep an account of a wrong suffered.
It does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth.
It keeps every confidence.
It believes all things.
It hopes all things.
It endures all things.

So if God, as love, keeps no record of wrongs — why is religion so sin-focused? Every church I was brought up in was always focused on sin and behaviour — and on how you had to maintain a standard of behaviour to be acceptable. But if we keep focusing on sin and lost behaviour, it only reaffirms our lost identity. That keeps people who think they are sinners coming back for more religious help to feel better. And of course, that never works — because religion is just an addiction. It always needs more to satisfy it. You will never truly feel righteous — never know you are righteous — if you are addicted to religion.

Unconditional Love – new book out now
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Love-conscious, not sin-conscious

Colossians 1:13 says:
When you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh” — again, in our lost identity — “He made you alive together with Him… – it was not because we did anything – … He made us alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings. He cancelled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us — and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

That is a powerful statement. It is all about being love-conscious, not sin-conscious. Because it is all dealt with. It has all already been forgiven.

As we read earlier:
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them. (2 Corinthians 5:19).

God’s love cancels all debts, holds no record of wrongs — and therefore His forgiveness is as unconditional as His love. That is so important: you have been forgiven for everything. Now, that does not mean you go out with the attitude, “Oh great, I can just carry on doing terrible things to people — it does not matter.” That is not what love is. Love is wanting the best for other people. Love never wants anything bad to happen to anyone.

What we have received in love — having been loved — we can now love with in the same way. And if love is conditional, then what we demonstrate to others will also be conditional. That means, for most people, forgiveness becomes conditional — based on someone saying sorry or “repenting”. (We will look at what that really means in another session.)

But it is so important to realise: we have been forgiven. Every debt has been cancelled. Nothing is held against us. Therefore, there is no longer any need for guilt or shame. All the things we may have done in our lives — and we have all got history — none of that counts before God. He remembers none of it. So I would encourage you — do not remember it either. Ask Him to completely remove any memory of the past so that you are not trapped in what you have done, but realise that you are fully forgiven. And therefore, there is no more need for forgiveness — because it was all dealt with on the cross.

That is the limitless grace of God — and His triumphant mercy.

Love wins

But of course, religion creates guilt and shame. It uses guilt and shame. But God’s focus is always on reconciliation and restoration of relationship — not on self-improvement.

If there is no record of wrongs, then there is no further need for forgiveness. Sin — lost identity — has been placed as far as the east is from the west. It does not say “as far as the south from the north”, because if you are in the south and then walk north, you end up north. But if you go east and walk west, you still end up facing east. In other words — you can never find it again. God has completely removed it. Yet our religious upbringings often keep us focused on feelings of guilt and shame. That is something we really need to get sorted.

God wants us to know the reality of forgiveness. God has forgiven unconditionally, because God is love — and love is unconditional. Therefore, love wins, because love has always won. That is true justice — the outworking of the judgment of the cross, which was a verdict of “not guilty”… innocent.

So receive that right now:
You are innocent.
As innocent, you are able to have face-to-face encounters with God.
You are not guilty of anything.

And if you feel guilty about anything — that is not coming from God.
If you feel condemned — that is not from God either.
That is either coming from your own inner conscience — which has not yet been touched by the love of God — or from religious programming, which functions through guilt.

Love never fails

I just want to finish with something the Father said to me in conversation:

“Son, My overwhelming love will conquer all things, as it will not fail and will never give up. My overwhelming love is stronger than death. It is more jealous than the grave. Nothing can quench its fierce passion and burning desire for restored relationship of face-to-face innocence. My love for each of My children cannot fail — can never ever stop — any more than I can cease to be I AM.

“Love is the atmosphere of glory.
Love is the frequency of heaven.
Love is the timeless now within the circle of the dance.

“There can be no end to love.
It is eternal and infinite — expanding throughout creation with My kingdom, government and peace.

“My love has no beginning, no end.
It is the Alpha and the Omega
— the Aleph and the Tav.
The Living Word and Truth.

“Love is the fullest expression and intrinsic essence of I AM that I AM.”

So learn to just be loved — living in the rest of love, joy and peace.

Our minds need to be deconstructed from false religious concepts and doctrines — anything that puts a condition on being loved.
We need deconstruction.
We need the renewal of our minds.
We need to be renewed to the truth of unconditional love.

Unconditional love is not a theory. It is not just an intellectual idea. It is something we can know by personal experience. The experience of unconditional love will transform us. It will free us from the religious version of the angry God — if we will just allow God to love us. That might sound so simple — and yet it has been such a long journey for me to come from all the religious experience I had, and all the wrong understandings I held about God, to come to the truth…

The truth of being face to face.
Of being innocent.
Of being in that place where the motives of God’s heart motivate me.
Where His passion causes me to be passionate.
Where His burning desire creates in me a burning desire
— to only do what I see the Father doing.

That is what unconditional love can do for all of us.
But we do need to experience it.

Activation: Washed in Unconditional Love

So I want, just for a short few minutes, to give us the opportunity to embrace unconditional love — to come into that place where we experience something deeper of the unconditional love of God.

So I encourage you: just close your eyes.
And in closing your eyes…
Just begin to rest.

Everything I have said — and I know I have given you a lot of information there — I want to set a foundation for what we are going to be looking at in the future.

But right now, I want you to embrace that you are loved unconditionally.

So I want to encourage you:
Just begin to fix your eyes…
Your thinking…
Your desire…
On engaging face to face,
Heart to heart,
With unconditional love.

Just rest.
Just be still.

As the unconditional love of God surrounds you…
Where love is poured out…
Lavished upon you…

Where every bit of guilt, shame or condemnation that you have felt —
That people have made you feel —
That religion has made you feel —

Right now…
The unconditional love of God,
As it is flowing all over you,
Around you and in you,
Just washes you.
Washes you clean
So that you see yourself the way the Father sees you:

Forgiven.
Reconciled.
Justified.
Innocent.
Not guilty.

Pure and holy.

Just let the truth — as the Father begins to speak words into your heart —
Words of love…
Words of affirmation…
Words of approval…

He is affirming you as His child.
He is approving of you as His child.

He wants you to feel completely, unconditionally loved.

Just let that love wash over you.
Flow through you.
Rivers of living water ,
Rivers of love,
Unconditional love flowing through your spirit, soul and body.

You are cocooned in unconditional love.
Soaking in unconditional love.

Feel the unconditional love…
That you are forgiven from everything from your past.
Completely innocent.
Every stain completely removed.
Every black spot in your DNA restored and made whole.

Bathed in unconditional love.

Just rest in that place of love.

406. Recognise the Finished Work of Jesus

319. Face to Face with God

397. God’s Love Remains

Mike Parsons

What has happened and what God has done—he is the same God, and he hasn’t changed. He remains a God of grace, mercy and love. If Adam hadn’t followed Eve, God’s grace, mercy and love would still have applied to her, and she could have received that if she had chosen not to continue on her own path. God would have made a way for her to be restored because his desire is always for relationship. He desires us to come into that relationship, but it requires us to let go of our own way.

Adam wasn’t deceived, though; Eve was. She was deceived into letting go of what she already had to try and attain something she could never achieve. That striving, born of separation, left her and the rest of mankind worn out, trying to become something God already saw them as. The idea of “you can be like God” was redundant because she already was like God. But now, this had to be done independently of him.

Adam chose to follow her. Perhaps it was out of a desire to see her redeemed, though he didn’t understand what would come from that decision. In doing so, both lost their identity, and the struggle to regain it brought a flood of emotions: “Who am I? Why am I here? What is all this about?” This separation affected how Adam engaged with God, no longer able to connect with him as he once had. Yet, even then, God met them. While they hid in the bushes, feeling guilty, naked and ashamed, God came to them.

Throughout history, God has continued to meet us, drawing us back into relationship with him. If Eve had chosen to turn back, would she have had to wait for Jesus? No. The fiery sword was there, and she could have chosen to enter. Perhaps Adam might have helped her to do so. But, in the end, they didn’t. They chose otherwise, setting humanity on this independent path that so many still follow today.

Jesus came to fully undo everything lost through their choices. God has remained consistent—a loving, merciful God who has always worked to restore us. This is why I don’t believe Eve would have been banished forever or left without the opportunity to return. God’s grace and mercy would have triumphed over her mistakes.

Their choice, however, shaped human history. Their line brought forth the promise of redemption in Jesus, as prophesied. He overcame, undoing the enemy’s deception. The same enemy who had deceived Eve tried to deceive Jesus in the wilderness, offering shortcuts and power apart from God. But Jesus resisted, succeeding where Adam and Eve had failed.

Through Jesus, we now have the opportunity to experience what Adam and Eve were originally designed to enjoy. God’s loving kindness never changes or fails, and whatever it would have taken for Eve to be restored would have been possible. His grace, mercy and love would always have been sufficient. Although they didn’t make that choice, Jesus came to undo the damage, restoring our vision of who we are so we can live in that truth.

338. A Glorious Entanglement

Mike Parsons

We are in a love awakening, a grace awakening, a joy awakening, a peace awakening, a true God awakening. The world is beginning to awaken, not necessarily the church, but the world – and those within the church who are open to pursuing something deep inside that’s calling them. I encourage everyone to embrace these awakenings and not hold back.

Video summary:

Restoring First Love

In this new series, I’ll share the journey that led to my restoration of my first love relationship with the Father, enabling me to discover my identity as a Son of God. Some struggle with being called a son or a bride, but in God’s eyes, we’re all sons. Gender doesn’t matter here; it’s about our identity and relationship with God. Our identity is rooted in our origin in God, discovered through first love. Sonship is about identity, relationship, and authority as co-heirs with Jesus.

Quotes

I’ve found some quotes to share. Don Keathley of the Grace Awakening Network says, “Not one single person on the planet is in Adam. If you’re in Adam, then Jesus was not the last Adam. We are new creations in Jesus.” We need to renew our minds to this truth. Jesus came to give us the doorway into full union with the Father now, in this world.

Luke Agee says, “Revelations are actually memories from your spirit that you forgot you knew, entering from your heart into your soul and mind.” Discovering our origin in first love can restore these memories, revealing who we were before and our full identity.

A Glorious Entanglement

Titus 1:2 in the Mirror Bible says, “This is the life of the ages, anticipated for generations.” All prophetic expectation was looking forward to our original design, which was in God’s heart before time and space existed. God’s desire for union and relationship with us inspired creation.

Galatians 2:20 in the Mirror Bible says, “Here I am, dead and alive at the same time. I’m dead to the old me I was trying to be, and alive to the real me, which is Christ in me.” This signifies our union with God. We’re co-crucified and now co-alive, in a glorious entanglement with Him. This union allows us to live freely, being our true selves immersed in His faith.

Living from Union

Our new nature is now a divine union. Jesus is resetting us from unbelief to knowing with certainty, so we can believe and experience everything He says. Let’s realign our internal world to this truth, trusting in Jesus’ every word spoken to us and living from the strength of our union with Him.

Activation: Be Entwined in Love’s Embrace

God wants us to experience rest, to abandon our soul into His unconditional love. Close your eyes and think about living loved. Breathe deeply, feeling His love flow through you.

Picture the door of first love within your spirit and open it. Welcome the presence of the Father, Son, and Spirit. Embrace the union and intimacy with them, and let their love surround you.

God calls us to step out of the boat of independence and sink into the ocean of love, joy, and peace. He calls forth our true identity as sons and co-heirs, inviting us to rest in His love, joy, and peace.

Stay in this place of rest and let it be a constant in your life.

335. Resonating Truth

Mike Parsons

There are certain frequencies and certain materials that have the ability to resonate and produce sounds, which in themselves carry something of God’s creational intention. We also have the ability to use sounds as a carrier wave for our intention. It’s like your intention is carried on a wave of sound to impart into something else.

You see this in all sorts of technological contexts. Sound waves and light waves, for example, can carry information. Fibre optics carry lots of information within light. They are now replacing and upgrading copper wire communication systems with fibre optics, which is essentially a different way of facilitating communication. I believe this is a picture of what happens spiritually in terms of communication and knowledge, which comes through relationships. It’s not just intellectual information; it is experience. You ‘know that you know’ what you’ve experienced.

Using sound waves as carrier waves, you don’t just have someone telling you about something; you experience it yourself. That experience brings about a resonance, an agreement, a vibrational energy. When something is brought close to the truth, it is entrained to vibrate at the same frequency, coming into agreement with the truth. The more time we spend close to the heart of God, the more we align with His heart, resonating with Him. When we speak, our voice resonates with His authority because we resonate His intention, not our own. Ultimately, our intention and His intention become one. As it says in Corinthians, “Whoever is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” We just need to be close enough to be joined, become one, to be in union. This is crucial in terms of frequency, harmony, and vibration.

Technological metaphors for spiritual communication help us understand these concepts. God is light, spirit, love, and a consuming fire. Other descriptions of what God is like are figurative, helping us understand from a human perspective. God is light, and God is love; therefore light and love are synonymous terms. The light of love and love’s light are about the nature of light, which carries the ability to create. It is the foundational building block of all reality, forming reality when possibilities collapse into realities.

Right now, there are billions of possibilities for what we will do, say, or where we will go next. If we keep choosing realities from our past experiences, we replicate the same life. However, if we choose realities based on what we see in God’s heart for us, we start to produce a different life, one aligned with who we really are.

We need to learn how to resonate in harmony with God and His frequency. Then, we will be creative, and light will respond to us as it does to God. We need to make sure to be in tune with God’s heart so our choices align with His, and we don’t act independently, doing our own thing.

321. Unveiling the Deceptive Path

Note: Mike was asked a question about how he views the fact that some prophetic voices seem not to be accurately representing the good news of the gospel at all, and what might be the way forward. This is his response.

Deception often starts with small distortions of truth, leading people astray gradually. These initial deceptions can lay the groundwork for larger falsehoods to take root. The enemy doesn’t usually present outright lies immediately; instead, the truth gets twisted bit by bit. Any prophetic individuals who now spread complete falsehoods likely fell into deception gradually. Minor deceptions accumulate over time, dulling people’s sensitivity to truth and making them susceptible to further deception as they operate outside of love.

This is what has led to recent political and judgmental ‘prophecies’. Eschatological beliefs, particularly those of impending judgment (invariably understood to mean ‘punishment’), exacerbate this; leading to prophecies of judgment on nations or individuals through catastrophes such as earthquakes and tsunamis. When I come across such messages, I always look to express mercy instead. My desire is for all to experience God’s love for themselves, which reveals His true nature of mercy, grace and love, so contrary to this kind of judgment.

Signs along the way, such as the excommunication of the Toronto Vineyard, marked a departure from values of love and acceptance. Judgmental attitudes infiltrated the prophetic movement, leading to further divisions and exclusions. This led to an increased focus on spiritual warfare and a judgmental mindset, causing the movement to drift away from its roots in love. Prophets began to pronounce judgments in alignment with their perception of God’s impending judgment on the earth – a mindset that has drawn some into extreme political views and conspiracy theories.

It is important we measure everything against love to avoid deception. Instead of engaging aggressively, let’s approach everyone with love and restoration. Embracing and loving perceived threats (rather than fighting against them) can lead to transformation. Restoration, not separation, aligns with God’s desire to reconcile all things. So, instead of getting into conflict, it will be better if we focus on helping individuals – even fallen heavenly beings – get back on track with their original purpose. I’m not going to fight against someone or something and so give them an opportunity to fight against me. All I will look to do is come in the opposite spirit: remind them of their true identity, that God has forgiven them, and that they have an original higher purpose which is so much better than what they are doing right now.

Even though there may be deception within the prophetic movement, understanding God’s original intent for it can help us move forwards. When we receive a revelation, we often interpret and implement it based on our own understanding. I believe in the importance of embracing principles like foundational government, but my approach has shifted towards viewing government as an intrinsic aspect of our identity as children of God, rather than merely a set of roles or tasks to fulfil. Our aim is to discover and express God’s kingdom and governance in our lives, so that we can each contribute according to our abilities and opportunities for growth and expression within a given blueprint.

So, rather than fitting people into predefined roles, it is more effective to allow their identities to naturally express themselves within a relational framework. Heavenly government is an expression of individuals’ identities coming together, not a rigid organisational structure. Initially, there might be a tendency to impose organisational structures, but the essence lies in organic development and honouring each person for who they are. The principles remain valid, but the way they are worked out evolves organically within the dynamics of relationship. Sometimes, we embark on journeys to discover better ways, learning from experiences along the way. If I had known then what I know now, I would not have taken the church here along the path I did; but ultimately it is God who takes us all through doing, to becoming, to being – that is our journey.

Key Takeaways

Let our desire be for all to experience God’s love for themselves, which reveals His true nature of mercy, grace and love.

Ultimately it is God who takes us all through doing, to becoming, to being.

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