1. John Sutton
   Moderator

   This is a repost of a previous thread/review of a book written by a very good friend. I opted to repost and "get a fresh start" for the benefit of new members.

   Just for reference, the original thread is here:
   http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/bbpress/topic/1637

   ....

   Opinions and reviews of the book (and her website) are very welcome. The repost starts below.

   ....

   Firstly, I would like to say that Jeri Woods and her husband drove 2500 miles to my house, to help me understand Deep Repentance, the Submitted Life, and other things of Christ. They did not "lay hands" on me that I recall, or "impart" anything.

   While they were here we had a number of visitors and made some visits. At each turn we were Blessed with people breaking down before God for their sin. "There is nothing more beautiful than a sinner in the throws of Repentance" (thanks Kelsey for the quote there).

   Below is the intro letter on the front page of her website, and I am including a link to her Book. I'm not a fan of reading every book that comes down the pike really. I did help review this one before it went to print.

   Her website is here:
   http://www.holylivingnow.com/

   Her E-book version is here (pdf) (free of course):
   http://www.holylivingnow.com/images/kingdom_transfer.pdf

   Intro Below.
   ..................................................

   Dear Reader;

   The concept of “The Kingdom Transfer” is a simple idea that hopes to restore to the “professing” Christian church what it means to have the life of Christ indwelling the human soul. We must rediscover the requirements that a person must meet before Christ is able to take His rightful place in the throne room of their heart.

   The phrase “Kingdom Transfer” is synonymous with being “born again.” In modern Christianity the words “born again” have lost their meaning and it has been replaced with a faulty facsimile that has destroyed the foundation of true Christianity. The American Christian church has a religion in word only and one that is built upon a pretend faith, mere profession of words, and half truths.

   In restoring the church back to understand what it truly means to be born again, we must first ask ourselves some very basic questions; Why did Jesus come? Was it merely to save us from Hell? Or was it to save us from sin by His indwelling life? These few chapters attempt to answer these questions by looking at the scriptures-at what Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and all the apostles said. It is not an attempt to debunk long standing theological doctrines that leave “Christians” bound in their sin. It is an attempt to use everyday language to expose the simple yet profound truth about Salvation and what the true litmus test is regarding it.

   It is critical that all who read this book believe that the bible is the word of God and it is infallible and not just inspired. Many in the church believe the Bible to be only inspired and not infallible which enables them to ignore the parts they don’t like or understand in relation to how they live. If you believe only portions of the Bible and only apply the verses to your life that you want to then the bible is of no use to you; and so too then this booklet will be of little use to you either. Nor will it do you any good if you don’t apply the truth of scriptures to your own life.

   I implore you to understand that the Christ who I speak about is the most kind and loving ruler in the entire Universe. He lovingly waits outside of a human heart to gain access to that life. He will not force Himself upon a soul, but waits patiently to enter. As an intelligent and merciful Ruler, He has clearly laid out in His word (bible) what is required of man in order for Him to inhabit a life. He has not changed His entrance exam nor will He. Man and the church may change what they think God requires, but the truth is that God has not changed any conditions.

   God’s simple requirements can be related to in this proposal;

   Suppose a human King from a foreign country were scheduled to come and stay at your house for a few days. Imagine all the cleaning that would take place. How would you prepare for his visit? Would you vacuum, dust, take out the trash, sweep, scrub the floors, disinfect the bathroom, and wash the sheets? Even paint the walls, buy new bedding or furniture etc?

   Now suppose the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords desired to come and indwell the temple of your heart forever! How would you clean your “heart” (home) of all its dirt and sin? How would you prepare for the entrance of the Holy Righteous Living Christ to take up residency in your life? How do you transfer your kingdom to His Kingdom?

   This book will answer these questions and more…

   Jeri Woods

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. John Sutton
   Moderator

   Also reposted from the original thread:
   ( http://www.johnthebaptisttv.com/bbpress/topic/1637/page/3#post-32216 )

   I (finally) had to clean out my email box today (ug) and ran across this.. it was a post on RS from Jeri to me I think, and I copied it to myself...

   this was a looong time ago, but I asked her and she said it's cool to post here. This was the sort of thing that changed my life, and made me realize the futility of "trying" to live right. so, here goes....(below)

   ...

   If you’re living a Romans 7:14-25 life-repenting and sinning, repenting and sinning, or victory and sinning and repenting and victory and sinning and repenting you are NOT living a true Christian life. You are merely on the conveyor belt of Christianity resolving in your own strength not to sin.

   I’m not saying you don’t love God (what’s not to love) and desirously intend to do better, but the fact that you have no power within you to overcome inward sin consistently ,and yes, always, is evidence that His is NOT in you. You are merely relating to God OUTSIDE of you. If He was in you -you would be delivered for sin and live a life of peace, rest, liberty and Joy. His burden is easy and His yoke is light. Now when temptation comes and you rebuke it, the very power of your residing King vanquishes the foe. You actually feel His power rising up from within you to bring deliverance. You’re in a rested state of relying upon the person of Christ Jesus Himself!

   This has been my experience for 38 years-Thank God! I do not desire to do anything that would bring shame to my Lord and King. By the very fact that I have once and for all settled the matter of who was going to rule my life (38yrs ago). I transferred the rule over to Him completely. He accepted my deep repentance, and cleansed me and entered my heart to live as my Loving Lord, Master and King. By His love He has subdued my kingdom completely. I have eyes only for Him. Not the world, the flesh or the devil hold any attraction to me. Yes I hate these things. I live in the world but I’am not a part of it. It holds no glamour to me. I have been separated from it. And my King has always ruled me with love, kindness, and patience. He has made me His daughter. Our relationship is one of Father to daughter. It is beautiful and peaceful. Nothing can separated me from the love of God-except me taking back my rule. So I have no worries because I will never do that-ever! Now I continue to grow in grace.

   Most of American Christian preaching has directed us to the True Deliverer-Christ Jesus-but has miserably failed in explaining His true entrance policies with the evidence that you are actually delivered from sin(self rule).

   In other words:
   YOU HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TOTHE CORRECT DELIVER BUT YOU HAVE NOT YET BEEN DELIVERED YOURSELF!

   This is the question we must all ask ourselves. Am I relating to God OUTSIDE of me or is He INSIDE of me? with the above stated evidence. This is the most important question in your life with eternal deadly consequences-Hell.

   Some will be angry at this truth because it doesn’t match their experience and life.

   Some will be astonished and honestly admit to themselves and God that this is them (He is not in me)

   Some will say wow He is in me, but I have never clearly understood why I was so different from other Christians(professing ones) (why they struggle so much and I don’t)

   Some will rejoice that someone is preaching the truth

   Some who have Him in them will look around their churches and ask could this possible be the problem with so many-that He is not in them, therefore not saved, therefore going to Hell. And when this stunning reality grips their heart they will fall before their King in anguished prayer to save the lost in their churches. This is true revival praying.

   And some will want to kill the messenger. By saying to the prophet "don't be so harsh", "where is the mercy and love". Which in effect deflects all to start arguing about how the message is delivered and away from the message itself. The justifying mind says "If can stop the messenger then the message is not true and I don’t have to deal with this stunning new truth. Then I can justify my life and be ok again. Yes perhaps but only until Judgment day! Matt 7:23 and Luke 13:21.

   My heart has been gripped with this stunning realization and I weep in anguished prayer before the Lord. Will you weep with me and for all who may be lost in the Churches? Yes the Holy Ghost, prophetic, renewal churches.

   In His service

   Jeri

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. Darksword2
   Member

   Well.. scripture does say that "he who says he is without sin is a liar", and the apostle Paul said "I find no good thing in me"

   The author of this book seems to be arguing that unless we are ALREADY sinless and stay that way, Christ cannot dwell in us.

   But if that is so, then it seems self-evident to me that a sinless person has no need of redemption so therefore Christ coming to save the lost would be a pointless exercise, because those who have made themselves fit to receive him, would no longer need him in the first place.

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. Onesimus
   Member

   Darksword2,
   Is any sin acceptable to God?

   Can be continue in sin and be acceptable to God?

   Or has God provided a way for us to be cleansed of sin so that sin is no longer a barrier betwen Him and us?

   Jesus came to save the lost. He provided forgiveness and cleansing from past sin and made provision for us to live and remain without the stain of sin in the present.

   He equipped us with His Holy Spirit to empower us to avoid sin and through confession provided a way for us to be forgiven and cleansed IF we do sin.

   Posted 1 year ago #

5. John Sutton
   Moderator

   Darksword2
   Member

   Well.. scripture does say that "he who says he is without sin is a liar", and the apostle Paul said "I find no good thing in me"

   The author of this book seems to be arguing that unless we are ALREADY sinless and stay that way, Christ cannot dwell in us.

   But if that is so, then it seems self-evident to me that a sinless person has no need of redemption so therefore Christ coming to save the lost would be a pointless exercise, because those who have made themselves fit to receive him, would no longer need him in the first place.

   I sinned by the bucketload in my past, probably daily bucketloads.

   There was no good thing in me at all, ever, before Christ.

   .

   If Christ be in you, is something Good in you?

   .

   Christ said "sin shall not have dominion over you", and Romans 8:9 says "if we have not the Spirit of Christ, we are none of His".

   Can Christ co-exist in a person that is in sin? (they keep on sinning, even if they try to stop?)

   .

   Is there any way I can encourage you to give the book a real read?

   Posted 1 year ago #

6. Darksword2
   Member

   I will download the book and read it, but here is the specific part from your earlier comment that I disagree with.

   "but the fact that you have no power within you to overcome inward sin consistently ,and yes, always, is evidence that His is NOT in you. You are merely relating to God OUTSIDE of you."

   I have no problem with the 'consistently' - but I have a lot of trouble with the word 'always'.

   Posted 1 year ago #

7. John Sutton
   Moderator

   Darksword2
   Member

   I have no problem with the 'consistently' - but I have a lot of trouble with the word 'always'.

   Um, I may need to edit a bit as Jeri actually wrote that part.

   I always fell to sin in the past. Sure, I may have delayed it (maybe for months), but it still ended up happening - which ever type of sin I was fighting, it still got me eventually.

   Man I really was rotten - that doesn't mean I'm "perfected" in every way now either - HE still shows me traits in me HE wants to change.

   Posted 1 year ago #

8. sontrans
   Member

   Kingdom Transfer incomplete. Please read:

   I have read ‘The Kingdom Transfer’ by Jeri Woods and let me say first that I am sure, by her words, that she is a very serious (the only way to be!) Christian. I am sure she loves the Lord with all her heart, being a dedicated and spirit-filled Christian. Her article was
   very detailed, and MOSTLY backed up by a great deal of scripture. I say ‘mostly’ because it is incomplete, one-sided, and not the ‘full story’ concerning Holiness and the concept of a Christian who sins after being spirit-filled. So being, if a Christian believes
   only what she has written, based only upon those verses she has quoted, then they will feel quite damned and hopeless without recourse if they fall into sin. In fact she indicates that if a person sins after receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit that they had never received the Holy Spirit in the first place. This where she errs. Her article leaves out the whole aspect of the subject of ‘Chasetisement’ (for sin) and restoration. These two subjects give hope to what would be hopelessness, and encourages faith to what would otherwise be a living nightmare.

   To a sincere, dedicated, fully committed Christian, nothing is more important than living in a manner that pleases the Lord to whom he has pledged his life. Nothing. We have made a heartfelt commitment to place the seeking and the observance of His Will above all things not just in our lives but our very lives as well. We take ‘feeling after the Spirit’ so that we can ‘be led of the Spirit’ seriously. We believe in God’s Word as the written authority by which we judge all spiritual things, knowing that the leading of the Holy Spirit, the author of the God’s word, will never lead us to violate the written word. Therefore even the teaching and leading of the Holy Spirit, works within the confines of the written word. We also know that any seemingly contradiction of scripture is not truly a contradiction of His Word, but a lack of our understanding of what is being said. (It can be better said that ‘a correct understanding of scripture, will never contradict a correct understanding of other scripture’).

   So important in our lives is God’s word that we feel like Job when he said
   in Job 23:12b; “I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” Unlike some, who seek to bend the truth of God’s word to conform to the actions of their lives; dedicated Christians seek to make their lives conform to the truths of God’s word. If our actions and our lives are in alignment with God’s word then we stand righteous before God (because HE is righteous), and if our actions and our lives are contrary to God’s word; then we stand condemned. Regardless of our standing concerning righteousness and holiness, or as having sinned and in need of forgiveness; we hold God’s word as true, and judge ourselves by that word.

   If a Christian sins, whether through Satan’s trickery and deception, or our own weakness or lack of knowledge, Satan uses our own high esteem of God’s Word to separate us from the very God we love. Since Satan knows our high esteem for God’s word, he uses God’s word itself as a weapon against us to keep us from having faith that God will both forgive and restore us from where we fell.
   One concept toward common sense in understanding certain things about salvation, having the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and sin, I will relate in the following manner; “you cannot lose money that you never had.” In fact, you cannot lose anything, unless you first possessed it. Does this make sense? Of course it does. Another one is this: you cannot be taken away, or removed, from a place unless you at one time were joined to it. How can you be taken out of Chicago, for example, unless you were first IN Chicago? Does that make sense? Another thing I want to point out is that the letters of the new testament were written TO THE CHURCH. Not unbelievers at all, and does not pertain to unbelievers, it is written to the members of the body of Christ; spirit-filled believers, for according to scripture that is how one becomes a part of the body. The letters of the new testament were written, not for the lost, but for those already in Christ. I have read of late some people declaring that a born again, spirit-filled Christian CANNOT sin. That a Christian is somehow ‘above’ even the possibility of committing a sin. This theology comes from an erroneous understanding of 1 John 3:8 & 9; “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God DOTH NOT COMMIT SIN; for his seed remaineth in him: AND HE CANNOT SIN, because he is born of God.” Some people seemed to have taken these two verses and created a whole theology around them! Nevertheless, these two verses are scripture, so how can I say these people have misunderstood what is written? The answer is simple; weigh them in balances of other scripture. There are a great many verses that say something contrary to the understanding of the two quoted. Do we cling to how we understand the 2, and reject the many to the contrary? Doesn’t it make more sense to accept the many, and suspect our understanding of the 2? Because of those two verses some people think even the slightest or rare sin indicates that a person was never a spirit-filled Christian in the first place. That same apostle John also said in 1 John 2:1; My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And IF any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” IF, any man sin…John said. Not necessarily ‘when’, as if sin were going to be common place, but IF. No, we are not supposed to sin, at all. But this doesn’t mean sin is not even possible! And it certainly does not mean a person was never a true Christian in the first place! Many verses of scripture are devoted to CHASTISEMENT. Chastisement of who? God’s children. Not everybody, but His Children. Does God chastise when ‘no wrong’ (sin) is done? Does God punish us for doing no wrong? Common sense and knowing the love of our God says otherwise. Chastisment is something God does to HIS children, those born of His Spirit, when they do wrong (i.e., sin). Hebrews 12:5-11; (notes in parenthesis or upper case will be done to point out what I am saying):“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto YOU (writing to the CHURCH) AS UNTO CHILDREN, MY SON, (God’s children, born again) despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For WHOM THE LORD LOVETH he chasteneth, and scourgeth EVERY SON whom he receiveth. If YE (again, YE, the church, born again believers) endure chastening, God dealeth with YOU AS WITH SONS; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we MIGHT BE PARTAKERS OF HIS HOLINESS (the reason for chastisement). Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised” Take a good look also at James: 5:19-20; “Brethren, (those also ‘in Christ’, born again and spirit-filled) if any of you (Who? YOU) DO ERR FROM THE TRUTH, and one convert him (get him to repent); Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner (the sinner in this case is one of the “YOU” James referred to at the beginning of verse 19) from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” Yes, a born again spirit-filled Christian can sin! And do. But the result will be the same as those who were never Christians, for the wages of sin is death, and that applies to all. A Christian that errs must also repent, and endure the punishment for such sin that is given through chastisement. People should weigh these things and take not only a fresh look at 1 John 3:8-9, but do some study and research on them. I point one more time to 1 John 2:1; “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And IF any man sin, WE (not the world, not the unsaved, not the unbeliever…but WE) have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

   Psalms 118:18
   The LORD hath chastened me sore:
   but
   he hath not given me over unto death.

   Praise God!

   Posted 1 year ago #

9. Lucinda
   Member

   sontrans,

   I have not read ‘The Kingdom Transfer’ by Jeri Woods but want to thank you for your review of it and bringing balance and hope to Christians who may have come away feeling hopeless and damned.

   I thought you were sensitive in the defense of the Scriptures you presented and am glad you gave the other side, which to me seems more complete and balanced.

   Blessings,
   Lucinda

   Posted 1 year ago #

10. John Sutton
    Moderator

    sontrans thanks for the thorough reply.

    Personally, I have to say that I don't think I hold to things as I ~may~ be reading from you, so it's worth talking about it. (?)

    When I repented, confessing all my sin to God unto "the end my my self", HE came and changed me within. This change removed that "thing" in me (self rule from the deepest level) that led me back into egregious sin over and again. Yes, sadly, mistakes still happen, but they are not repetitive and/or "listed" sins (drunkenness, fornication, adultery, lying, etc..). Once the over-riding nature to sin was broken, the "peeling of an onion" of the layers of "me" is taking place. My wants are changed, things sometimes taken from me, sacrifices made, and more shaping occurs.

    Coffee. As silly as it sounds, coffee is one thing The Lord dealt with me about. Three (or more) pots of coffee a day is not good for a person. HE told me it was not good, and I could not continue in it.

    Harley-Davidson. The Lord showed me my Harley was an idol in my life, and I sold it. I still cringe when I hear a well-tuned Harley with nice sounding pipes on it.

    Marriage. I am called to be single, the want for companionship is hard for me to deal with sometimes. But I will not sin against His wishes for me since HE knows best (and I obviously don't!).

    These things, to me, are examples of things HE deals with me about, and if I choose to do something different they become sin to me. There was things I tried to do "my way", and oh Lord it went horribly wrong. (!)

    One thing for SURE, if it wasn't for Christ within me - there's no way I'd make it 10 minutes without falling backwards at light speed. Only GOD gets the glory - I myself can't do one single thing.

    .

    What I'm unclear about in your post in defining sin (to keep the context of your intent(?)) is egregious sin. I don't hold to the idea of repenting and sinning, rinse recycle repeat, falling in and out of Salvation, if/when people are stuck in drunkenness or some such "listed sins".

    I don't think that's what you mean, but I'm not 100% positive.

    .

    I was told recently about a pastor who was caught in a adulterous affair. It seems to me that people don't "fall into adultery" (like it's some mud puddle or something), but that they have to make a decision to do such a thing at some point. The lusts of their heart manifested in their actions.

    I strongly feel that person was never truly converted in the first place, how could they do such a thing against The Father once they've intimately known Him?

    (I'm going off on a tangent sorry)

    The modern churches thing about sin then repent, rinse recycle repeat endlessly, seems a rather Old Testament way of doing things - except there is no sacrifices now. The ONE sacrifice we have (Christ Jesus) is good for a lifetime - His sacrifice is capable of life-size change in every one who enters through Him.

    .

    There is a fellow at a local church who told me one day that he thought he could now resist smoking pot if someone lit up in front of him. That really disturbed The Spirit in me.
    I asked the guy who's righteousness he was relying on to keep himself from sinning that way, since he was fighting that problem himself. He admitted he was using his own righteousness, since The Lord didn't take the problem. However, he wasn't willing to confront the problem any further, and instead opts to keep himself busy "doing stuff" so he doesn't have to risk the temptation of smoking pot.

    I had the same problem once, btw.

    The righteousness that Christ Jesus can impart to a person takes those egregious sinful wants away, right out of the heart - all the way down to lust, bitterness, envy, unforgiveness, the whole deal. I'm 100% positive of that, I know it with every fiber of my being. Christ Jesus did all that work already, we have to find that place within us where we submit it all to Him, that's our part.

    Posted 1 year ago #

11. sontrans
    Member

    No John, I wasn't speaking of 'sinning' in the sense repent and sin again as a cycle. We know that just doesn't work, it shows wrong attitudes and wrong thinking! Although I admit a lot of people do this...but that's crazy. But what I am pointing out is the error of doctrine that says once a person has sinned, that there is no recourse, and no hope. I have met people who believe that there is no hope once a person sins, and some churches even preach that if you have that you might as well 'get all you can from the world because it's all you'll ever have!' Such teaching is very wrong, yet I have met people who believe this and therefore in hopelessness that they 'do' return to the world... because they feel they cannot be restored...and they are most miserable and even say as much. But scripture does speak of 'restoring' and 'converting' one who has fallen. To 'restore' a brother 'overtaken' in a fault (which refers to sin). My article is to give 'hope' to fallen, the wounded, the hurting who long for restoration... my answer is yes, a person can be restored. No, there's no excuse for sin; absolutely not, but IF one sins it doesn't mean that all is lost and beyond God's reach.

    Posted 1 year ago #

12. John Sutton
    Moderator

    sontrans,

    I know what you're meaning very well. God can use the hopeless, and in my opinion, those who are broken are the ones that God can work with the most sometimes - because they have no expectations, no pre-conceived ideas about what's going to happen, and no want for 'self' any longer.

    These are the ones that come boldly to the Throne, throw themselves at His feet, admit all their guilt shames sins and failures, and are made CHANGED in the root of their inner man.

    They only need persist at His feet - not mans.

    They die to their self - truly - and become His when they least expect it.

    I know this condition well. It is valuable in God's eyes, if a person loves God enough to not care about anything but God, and serving Him anyway, no matter what they've done. Just carry thru with dying to the right to do anything at all, "death to self" truly, and HE comes. Giving up is not an option.

    Posted 1 year ago #

13. John Sutton
    Moderator

    btw, sorry if I went on a ramble previously. Sometimes I just get started and......

    Posted 1 year ago #

14. sontrans
    Member

    Rambling is cool John. Sometimes even refreshing! Thanks for your response. I know my posts are quite lengthy, as I try to be thorough; but oddly enough, in person I am a very quite person of very few words. I enjoy the 'break' of writing and letting things out that way.

    Posted 1 year ago #

15. jeri woods
    Member

    I'm just trying to post

    Posted 1 year ago #

16. chriswoods
    Member

    I'm trying to post too

    Posted 1 year ago #

17. John Sutton
    Moderator

    Welcome aboard Chris and Jeri!

    (it might be a day or so before they get back, please feel free to continue posting comments.)

    Posted 1 year ago #

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