SEPTEMBER 2023

September 21st, 2023

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Atonement

It has been my joy and great honor, to teach and train pastors and ministers around the globe all these years, in the mighty, majestic, and matchless name of the Lamb and the Lion of Heaven. I am so thankful that our King Jesus is both. The Lamb whose precious blood was worth all of humanity, past and future, the great fail-safe plan and purpose of God, to redeem all mankind. The Lamb without spot or blemish, the perfect Lamb with His perfect blood. He is also the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. We will deal with that at another time. God has always required blood for sin. In the Old Testament God accepted the blood of animals; bulls, goats, lambs, turtle doves and suchlike, but He accepted it as atonement for the sins of people.

The Day of Atonement was a big deal. This is a big word with a big meaning. Atonement means a “covering”. The High Priest sacrificed an animal and, with great precautions, took the blood of this innocent animal behind the veil into the Holy of Holies and sprinkled it on the Mercy Seat. That covered the sins of the people for one year. All the sins that had been committed in the past year were “covered.” Next, the High Priest symbolically laid the sins of the people on the head of a “Scapegoat” each year. Then He confessed the sins of the people over it and released it into the wilderness to be eaten by wild animals. That blood “Atoned” or covered the sins of the people for a year and then had to be repeated. But the next very important word for us is “Remission” or cleansing, washing away, making it as though it had never existed. That is what Jesus did for us. Our sins are not atoned for they are wiped out, obliterated, cleaned away, no longer exist. We have the remission of sins not the atonement of sins. Thank God Forever!

If you want to get technical, Christians don’t have the “Remission” of sins, but we have the Forgiveness of sins! Sinners get the Remission of sins, but not the Forgiveness of sins. I’m not trying to confuse you. If a husband or wife sins against the other it breaks fellowship with the other, but does not break relationship, they are still married. The offending party then must ask Forgiveness but not Remission. Remission would wipe away everything ever done, good, bad, or indifferent. First John 1:9 was written to Christians, not to sinners. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When we sin as a Christian, we know it inside, in our inner man. We immediately say, “Father, I’m sorry, I confess that as sin, and I ask you to forgive me. Thank you, now I am in right-standing and righteousness with you.”

Our Relationship with God is never broken, but our fellowship certainly can be. God cannot fellowship with sin, which is why He turned His back on Jesus at the crucifixion, as Jesus became sin for us. He didn’t just take a little sin upon Himself, but He became sin for us on the cross. When He did that, God turned His back, and Jesus cried out; “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Matt 7:46

Several times in the King James Version the Greek word that should be translated; “remission” is incorrectly translated as “forgiveness.” Acts 10:43 is correct however, “…To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive Remission of Sins.” Also, in Acts 2:38, Peter preached, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the Remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

Terry Mize in Mexico photos_p33 collage 1970-1977

Terry Mize More Than Conquerors 1979 Book Cover

Most, if not all of you, know my hitchhiker testimony of my picking up a hitchhiker, who was an armed and desperate escaped convict, in Mexico when I was a young missionary. In line with what I’m writing you today in this letter I want to share an important fact about this testimony that I have only shared a time or two in churches around the world. I believe it will help you. The 49th anniversary of this event is coming up, in fact it was October 16th, 1974. It was a Wednesday. We were living in the city of Guadalajara. The Spirit of God had been dealing with me even when I was still in the US Army, about learning to fly airplanes. I did not want to. I had tried a couple of times to sign up for classes in flight school, but something always came up.

In August of 74, living in Mexico as a missionary, literally living the dream that I had since I was 13 years old, we started a great church in Downtown Guadalajara plus I had two or three home Bible study meetings around town. I was having wonderful miracles right and left, everything was going my way and both Jackie and I were very happy serving God in missions. We intended to live in Mexico forever. Jackie was pregnant with our second baby, which the doctors had told her all her life she couldn’t have. I had a nice office in a new little strip shopping center, and all was well with the world. But driving to the office one day, the Lord said to me, “I never told you to live in Mexico forever.” ‘Wait, what? You told me when I was 13, I have lived for this and worked for this for years.’ “No, I told you, you are a missionary, a missionary evangelist, an apostle. That I have called you to reach leaders, to train ministers around the world. I told you to learn to fly. Now, you are in disobedience, and I can’t bless that anymore.”

I drove straight to my house and told Jackie what the Lord had said. She said, “What does that mean, that God is going to get us?” I said, “No, He didn’t say He wouldn’t bless us, He said He cannot bless us, which means the devil is going to get us and He can’t stop it.” That scared her, “What are we going to do?” “That is simple, we are going to get on our knees and repent and we will be fine. We will be back in right-standing or in righteousness with God again.” You see, I had accidently, innocently, broken fellowship with the Father, but I had not broken relationship. We prayed, “Father, Your word says if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. So now we are forgiven and in right standing with You and immune from the devises of the devil. I give you my word that as soon as this baby is born, and they can travel we will go to the USA, and I will learn to fly and prepare to go to many nations.”

A couple of months later I picked up the hitchhiker and he screamed at me, “I am going to kill you.” I answered, “No, you’re not, I am a man of God, I have authority over you, and you can’t kill me or hurt me in any way.” He shot at me 5 times, point blank range and the bullets did not hit me. What happened to them? I do not know. How did God do that? I do not care. I have never asked Him how He did it. But I do know that because I was in right standing with God, my faith and authority worked the way it was supposed to. Thank God for the Blood, the Name, the Covenant, the Word, and the Spirit, and for showing me to make things right so my faith would work!

Remember to watch our YouTube TV program every Thursday. We are on several other platforms as well. We love you and pray for you daily.

On Behalf of the Lamb and the Lion,
~Terry L. Mize

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