Did you know there’s a cost to following Jesus?
Well, there is. The Lord requires you to lay down your life and follow Him. And sometimes that means we have to do really hard things, like walk away from the spiritually dead or not mourn those that we love. Listen to this... In Matthew 8 verses 18-22, "Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.' But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.” Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.” Now some would think Jesus is being way too harsh. I mean, really, who would tell another human being not to mourn their parent’s loss? Even worse, who would refer to a person's father as spiritually dead? Well, Jesus did not worry too much about a person's feelings, rather He preferred to speak the truth in love. It seems many people wanted to listen to Him, even when His words were offensive. Scripture says large crowds would follow Him from all kinds of cities, just to hear Him teach! That's so different than what we see today. People will come to a building when a preacher is speaking about unity and love, but they refuse to attend when a pastor shares the actual Word of God. Unfortunately, today's "Christians" do not accept the majority of what Jesus said because the Word of God does not go with the times of the culture, and is not very progressive. But Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." We must remember that "God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" Numbers 23:19 When we see Jesus as our Savior but not as our Lord, we have totally misrepresented who he is. We must remember that Jesus is the "Word of God that became flesh and dwelt among us." John 1:14 He is the Lamb of God - the only One worthy to open the scroll. It's so important that we don't flip the script, and create our own narrative based on who we think God is. He spoke His thoughts into existence and gave us His Word in so many ways - through the Prophets, the Law and the fulfillment of Jesus. God wrote us a Book so that we would not forget where we come from and who He is. He sent His Seed into the world to break the curse and be a blessing to us. And all that He asks for is for us to believe that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior - the fulfillment of His promise! In this heaven, Jesus is known as the Lamb, who sacrificed himself to save the spiritually dead. But when he returns he will come as a Lion, ready to rule those who spiritually live, in the new Jerusalem - when Heaven and Earth are reborn. You see, when a human comes to the end of their physical life, their body returns to dust. Their spirit ascends into the courtroom of heaven, where God administers his final judgment based on his just justice. If a person chooses to accept God’s gift, the blood of Jesus pumps through their spiritual heart. And Jesus who is our great advocate, will rebuke every accusation that comes out of Satan. And the sevenfold Spirit is witness to this. If the Spirit of God is not in them, then the gavel of God will come down, and that spirit of man is cast out of heaven, like chaff in the wind. Don't you see the importance of this? We spend so much time attending to the cares of this world, that we forget how important salvation is. So many people focus on the works of the flesh, that they forget to impart the Word of God! We do such a good job at feeding the poor, but we forget to attend to the spirit of the man who is physically rich. And while caring for the poor is our Christian obligation, so is ministering to the man who has not heard the gospel message. Do you know what God told His prophet, Ezekiel? He told Ezekiel that he was about to lose his treasure, his wife; and that he could not take time to mourn her loss - because the Word of God had no time to stop! “Then this message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, with one blow I will take away your dearest treasure. Yet you must not show any sorrow at her death. Do not weep; let there be no tears. Groan silently, but let there be no wailing at her grave. Do not uncover your head or take off your sandals. Do not perform the usual rituals of mourning or accept any food brought to you by consoling friends.” “So I proclaimed this to the people the next morning, and in the evening my wife died. The next morning I did everything I had been told to do.” Then the people asked, “What does all this mean? What are you trying to tell us?” So I said to them, “A message came to me from the Lord, and I was told to give this message to the people of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will defile my Temple, the source of your security and pride, the place your heart delights in. Your sons and daughters whom you left behind in Judah will be slaughtered by the sword. Then you will do as Ezekiel has done. You will not mourn in public or console yourselves by eating the food brought by friends. Your heads will remain covered, and your sandals will not be taken off. You will not mourn or weep, but you will waste away because of your sins. You will groan among yourselves for all the evil you have done. Ezekiel is an example for you; you will do just as he has done. And when that time comes, you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.” Then the Lord said to me, “Son of man, on the day I take away their stronghold - their joy and glory, their heart’s desire, their dearest treasure - I will also take away their sons and daughters. And on that day a survivor from Jerusalem will come to you in Babylon and tell you what has happened. And when he arrives, your voice will suddenly return so you can talk to him, and you will be a symbol for these people. Then they will know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 24:15-27 Brethren - for some reason the Lord has laid on my heart the need to speak His Word out loud! Do not take what I write for granted, because it reflects the Word of God! Take what you hear back to scripture, and discern for yourself if it is a reflection of Him. If there is something that does not line up, then shame on me for being a false prophet. But if I write what the Word of God says, then you can be sure it is trustworthy and true. I pray the words that come into my heart and out of my mouth glorify the Most High God!
0 Comments
“When Jesus returned to Capernaum,
a Roman officer came and pleaded with him, “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.” Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.” But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, Do this,’ they do it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world - from east and west - and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. But many Israelites, those for whom the Kingdom was prepared, will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the Roman officer, “Go back home. Because you believed, it has happened.” “And the young servant was healed that same hour.” Matthew 8:5-13 The faith of this Gentile is unbelievable. He probably did not know the written Word of God, the Law or witnesses to it, yet he recognized His sovereign power. Jesus responded by saying the promise was his; he would have access to the Kingdom of God, which was created for God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I wonder if the Kingdom that Jesus speaks of is the city of New Jerusalem that sits at the top of Mount Zion? Faith over fear is to be revered “for the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God.” For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” Romans 3:19-20 The Roman Officer, upon seeing Jesus, knew that he did not come “to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai.” He did not hear the awesome trumpet blast and a voice so terrible that he would beg God to stop speaking to him." Hebrews 12:18-19 The Roman Officer did not stagger back under God’s command: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” Hebrews 12:20 The Roman Officer was not like Moses who experienced God’s voice - “so frightened at the sight that he was left terrified and trembling.” Hebrews 12:21 Instead, the Roman Officer saw Jesus, and the Love of God. With a heart of faith, produced from God’s spiritual DNA, which only is birthed through the divine Holy Spirit, this Roman Officer, a Gentile, came to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering; to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven.” Hebrews 12:22-23 The Officer came “to God himself, who is the judge over all things; to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect; to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.” Hebrews 12:23-24 We must remember what the Apostle Paul said, “We are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.” Romans 3:28-30 “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and there was no sea anymore. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Now God’s presence is with people, and he will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain, because all the old ways are gone.” The One who was sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.” Revelation 21:1-5 While on earth, completing His mission
of reconciling men back to God, Jesus healed many people. At this point, in Matthew 8, a man with a chronic skin condition asked Jesus to heal him - And Jesus did. This is what Matthew said, “Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus and knelt before him. He said, “Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Matthew 8:2 Jesus reached out and laid hands on him. “I am willing.” “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared.” Matthew 8:3 After Jesus healed the man, he told him not to tell anyone. Instead he sent him to the priest to be examined, and told him to take the offering required in the Law, as described in the Book of Leviticus. Jesus said, “This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” Matthew 8:4 At first, it didn’t make sense. Why would Jesus send a healed man to the priest? And why would he tell him not to tell anyone else? But then I realized this... The priest was considered a professional skin diagnoser, and he would confirm the healing occurred through the authority of God. In this way, the Law would testify to the priesthood of Jesus. Also, once the priest accepted the offering; the priest could then declare the man fit to return to the community. Everyone would know that Jesus healed him. Not to mention that Jesus was giving the priest an opportunity to consider the spirit that the healing power was coming from. In Mark, Chapter 11, the teachers of the law questioned Christ’s authority. “As Jesus was walking through the Temple area, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right to do them?” Jesus responded, “I’ll tell you by what authority I do these things if you answer one question,” - “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human? Answer me!” They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. But do we dare say it was merely human?” For they were afraid of what the people would do, because everyone believed that John was a prophet. So they finally replied, “We don’t know.” And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things.” Mark 11:27-33 You see, It’s not miracles or the powers that reveal the essence of God, for scripture says that Satan himself will show all kinds of power, signs and wonderful things. Rather, sheep know their shepherd’s voice, and they respond through their faith. You would think that a priest could discern the Spirit of Christ, but that is not what we see. The priest did not see the Promise of God, the Passover Lamb, the Suffering Servant, the Prince of Peace, the High Priest, standing right in front of him! As Christians, we must know, that we are in the royal priesthood; heirs to the kingdom of Almighty God. And when we walk in fellowship with God, no other human stands between us and Him. In the past, priests were humans who made intercession for all men. They were anointed and ordained and to offer sacrifices as atonement for humanity's sin. “But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises." If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, He said: “The day is coming, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them." "But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” "When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.” Hebrews 8:6-13 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly, without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment, and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death, without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.” Hebrews 10 Today I write about the last doctrine
taught by Jesus in Matthew Chapter 7. Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” This is written in Matthew 7:15-20, right between his teachings on The Narrow Gate and True Disciples. As I am writing this I feel the weight of its importance. Holy Spirit, give me a deeper understanding of what you mean. This is what I hear... "This passage is about discerning truth. False prophets will look like sheep but be wolves. They will appear to do all the right things. They will baptize people in My name. They will feed the poor and cast out demons in My name. They will prophecy about future things. But they are not My sheep. They are not listening to My voice." The Lord says, “Remember what I said in Matthew 7 21-23. I will tell many people who do these things in MY name to depart from Me.” The fruit that Jesus speaks of is not necessarily the works that we see; it’s the reason behind why the fruit is happening. The Lord is speaking about Kingdom trees, and the fruit that grows from Kingdom seeds. Let’s Dig. There are four types of human hearts; and only one produces a Kingdom result. Each of us has spiritual ground, and each of us will experience the voice of God, the question is... Will His Seed Grow? Scripture says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20 Good soil hears the Voice of God and responds. God's rain gives life to their bones, and their thirst is quenched from His unending cup. Then there’s those who have hard hearts, they hear God’s voice but they don’t receive it. Many people are just like that: they come to church, hear the Word, and seem to like it, but the Word is ON their hearts, instead of In it. Some have hearts of stony ground. The soil is shallow and superficial. These are the the people who say they know God, but when push comes to shove, they give up on Him. Finally, there’s hearts that are full of weeds, They tend to be double-minded and preoccupied with money. These are the people who are very worldly. To me, these are the ones that are most scary! These hearts have lost their first love, because the weeds of the world get out of control and before you know it Satan is suffocating their souls. We see this in the church today, Pastors who are driven by what people say. They are the ones who speak about God’s love, and hold on to the culture that pushes being progressive. Unfortunately, they choose not to speak the truth in love, and they omit the scripture that speaks about correction and discipline. The gospel they teach is limited, because they don’t share ALL that Jesus said. They sow into a worldly kingdom, and Satan certainly rewards them. Many grow in worldly success, attaining money and many possessions. These are the the ones who behave like Ananias and Sapphira, who gives some but not all of them. It’s very rare to hear Christians preaching the truth in love, because of what Jesus said in Matthew 10 - “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves. But beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips in the synagogues. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. When you are arrested, don’t worry about how to respond or what to say. God will give you the right words at the right time. For it is not you who will be speaking - it will be the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed. And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved.” “Don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.” “What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!” “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.” “I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household!’ “If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me.” “If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs.” “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Matthew 10:16-42 You see, a prophet is one who speaks what they hear, the seed of the Word that is planted in their heart, a prophet is one who hears from their "god / GOD” and then speaks what they hear into the world. Either the soil of the heart of the prophet is good and they speak the truth in love, or the soil of the heart of prophet is bad and speak to the twisted word of Satan. “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority - quite unlike their teachers of religious law.” Matthew 7:28-29 May those who have ears to hear, respond. This is the way we bring the light of God into this dark world. Are you ready to consider another juxtaposition?
In Matthew Chapter 7:8, Jesus said, “Everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Then, at the end of Chapter 7, Jesus said, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘ ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ Which is true? If a person comes to the door of the Kingdom, and says, "Jesus, Jesus...let me in." Doesn't that mean that person knows the Lord? According to scripture, people are distinguished by the desires of their heart. And Jesus divides us into "sheep" or "goats." Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." “He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And then Jesus proceeds to say the same, but in opposite, to the goats. “For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,.” “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Jesus ends with this, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-26 Now, at first, it looks like the separation occurs because of “good works.” But, we can trust that Scripture does not contradict itself; the Bible says, over and over again, that salvation comes by faith alone through God's grace alone, and not by the works of men. In Matthew 25:34, Jesus said the inheritance has belonged to the sheep, “since the creation of the world” - which means long before people were born they were chosen by God. And we all know “faith without works is dead.” James 2:14-26 The good works by people of faith are not the cause of salvation but the effect of it. As Christians become more like Christ we grow the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 The good works completed by faithful servants occur because they are led by the Spirit. And this explains why I have to share the truth in love. A mission given by God that I am NOT comfortable with but I do it because I am obliged. On the other hand, the same works completed by the spiritually dead occur because they are trying to earn salvation. You see, the difference lies in a person's heart, and whether their desire is to please God or to please themselves. While “goats” may be able to talk the talk, by hiding themselves in sheep's clothing; the "sheep" walk, taking many small steps, constantly listening and responding to the voice of the Lord. Do you think Jesus was lying
when he said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom ONLY through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and ONLY a few ever find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 It seems to be a very important question because most human beings believe the opposite is is true. Most people I know, whether “Christian” or secular; believe that everyone goes to Heaven; unless of course, a person has committed an unforgiveable sin, then they believe that God will not forgive that! But we must consider this observation - Either Jesus’s character is completely flawed, and sometimes his words are true, and sometimes they’re not, OR it is the human heart and the human mind that decides what is true and what is not. And going along the same line... Many people believe that since the Bible was written by a variety of men, then they should not trust all the content. Ask anyone. Most people do not believe that scripture is the inspired Word of God which was given as profitable for doctrine, for rebuking, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 The prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things; it is completely sick and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Well, let me tell you, I used to be a person of great pride, who "believed in Christ" and rationalized the way I have just described. I cherry-picked the parts of the Bible I wanted to believe; the parts that seemed loving and endearing - and I tossed out the rest as man-made doctrine, especially the parts that spoke about God’s wrath! I believed that since God so loved the world, and sent His son to redeem us, that every person would go to Heaven. But then the Lord allowed me to die to self; and in that position, dire submission, God treated me like his child and provided correction. He said, “My child, don’t make light of My discipline, and don’t give up when I correct you. I discipline those I love, and accept to be My children. I provide divine discipline to those who have legitimate spirits. My discipline is always good, so that you might share in My holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - in fact, it is quite it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living and you will be trained to follow My way.” Hebrews 12:5-11 Then the Lord encouraged me with this, He said, “You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.” And I finally realized that “Since I am receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, I am so thankful! My desire now is to please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe, for He is a devouring fire.” Hebrews 12:23-29 I send out this call... Let those with ears hear the Spirit; heirs of the Kingdom come to understand, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” Numbers 23:19 The true heirs of God’s heavenly Kingdom are not the ones who think they can decide what is considered righteous. The true heirs to the throne are the ones who believe that God is sovereign; and though they don’t understand fully, they are faithful. You see, Jesus is an extension of God’s love. He is the Lamb in Heaven - the ONLY ONE worthy to open the scrolls! He was birthed as man by the Spirit - God-incarnated. He came to earth to break the Genesis 3 curse and give us freedom. JESUS is the Highway to Heaven, the Way of Holiness; and He is there for those who choose, to trust and believe and follow Him. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it." Isaiah 35:8 Jesus IS the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets; for they knew Him and obeyed him before they saw Him. He is the Word of God and from the beginning He was spoken! Know this - For it has already been declared! “Open the gates to all who are righteous; allow the faithful to enter. You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord GOD is the eternal Rock. He humbles the proud and brings down the arrogant city. He brings it down to the dust. The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot, and the needy walk all over it. But for those who are righteous, the way is not steep and rough. You are a God who does what is right, and you smooth out the path ahead of them. Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. For only when you come to judge the earth will people learn what is right. Your kindness to the wicked does not make them do good. Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong and take no notice of the Lord’s majesty. O Lord, they pay no attention to your upraised fist. Show them your eagerness to defend your people. Then they will be ashamed. Let your fire consume your enemies. Lord, you will grant us peace; all we have accomplished is really from you. O Lord our God, others have ruled us, but you alone are the one we worship.” Isaiah 26:1-13 Have you heard about the golden rule?
“Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.” Matthew 7:12 “This sums up all that is taught in the Law and by the prophets” What do you think Jesus meant by this? Automatically, I think of what He said in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” It appears to me that the LOVE of GOD IS the fulfillment of the Law, and the WORD that the prophets foretold. The apostle Paul said in Romans 13, verses 8-10, “Owe nothing to anyone - except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, 'You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.' These, and other such commandments, are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.” In the verses that follow, verses 11-14, Paul exhorts us not to drag our feet. In essence, he says time is running out and that we need to be urgent and put away our doubts. Because we belong to the day, and not to the night, we must put on the shining armor of right living by clothing ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you see? Jesus is the fulfillment the Law, He is the Passover Lamb! In John 15:9-17, Jesus says, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master does not confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other.” Jesus modeled exactly what love means - to lay down your life, swallow your pride, and all of your fleshly desires. From the fall of man, God showed his love. He prepared His Word to come as a Lamb, as a blood sacrifice for humans - to save us from eternal damnation. Christ nailed our sins to the cross and took on our punishment. Romans Chapter 3, verses 19-28, does a good job of explaining this. “Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands.” “The law simply shows us how sinful we are. But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago." "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” “For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time.” “God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.” “Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith.” “So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.” “Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.” Romans 3:19-28 Jesus told His disciples: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 We must understand that Humanity is not capable of loving the way God loves without the help of God Himself. “We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 Matthew Chapter 7
is full of Christian doctrine, and it’s all built upon the rock of our salvation. In this section, Jesus gives specific instructions on how to govern our thoughts and our actions according to a Kingdom position. He says, “Anyone who listens to My instruction gains wisdom. He is like a person who builds a house on solid rock instead of sand." Matthew 7:24-27 In this poem, I will focus in on what Jesus says about passing judgment on one another. He said, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging others is the standard by which you will be judged.” Matthew 7:2 Paul spoke about this same concept in his letter to the Romans. In Romans Chapter 2, Paul said, “You may think you can condemn such people (the people described in Romans Chapter 1 as being wicked and evil in the eyes of the Lord), but you are just as bad!” He said, “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” The Lord says, “Why worry about a speck in your brothers eye when you have a log in your own eye? How can you think of saying to your brother ‘let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? You Hypocrite!” Matthew 7:3-5 Let me ask... Do you remember the story of the woman in the Book of John, who was caught in an adulterous act? The religious leaders brought the woman to Jesus, and made her stand in front of everyone - accusing her of what she had done wrong. They literally put her on display for all to condemn, and all to stone - but in the end, the Word of God was a giant mirror for each of them. They said, “Teacher, we caught this woman in an an adulterous act. In his teachings, Moses ordered us to stone women like this to death. What do you say?” John 8:6 says, “They asked this to test him. They wanted to find a reason to bring charges against him.” So here we see controlling men who were accusing a woman for her sin, who were actually trying to condemn the Son of God. Let us see - how did Jesus respond? “Jesus bent down and used his finger to write on the ground.” “When they persisted in asking him questions, he straightened up and said, ‘The person without sin should throw the first stone.” "Then he bent down again and continued writing on the ground." “One by one, beginning with the older men, the experts of the Law left, and Jesus was left alone with the woman.” “Then Jesus straightened up and asked, Where did they go? Has anyone condemned you?” “The woman answered, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I you. Now go and sin no more." John 8:8 This has to be my favorite Bible story, because it speaks to the heart of everyone who was lost but found. Isn’t it amazing how the Lord chases after us? What man intends for bad, the Lord turns into good! In Matthew 7 the Lord teaches another doctrine, He said, “Do not waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Do not throw your pearls to swine; If you engage, they will trample your pearls, then they will turn and attack you.” The religious men that held to the Law had no idea that they were perfectly imperfect. They didn’t understand that the Law, given by God, to His servant Moses was actually meant to be a mirror for them - to be a true reflection of their imperfections, and their need for God. In Matthew 5, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” By grace through faith, we are made right with God. Jesus came to forgive all the sin that separates us from an eternal life with God. You see, none of us are good or holy on our own, for we all fall short of the glory of God. The first doctrine of being a Christian, after accepting Christ as your Savior, and being baptized by the Holy Spirit, is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind, and to love others as you love yourself. |
Archives
April 2022
|