A KINGDOM HEART - II

WBS.032

 FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART - II

Isaiah 2:12 For the day of IAUE of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

In our last post we introduced a new series of lessons we are calling “A Kingdom Heart.”  The foundation for this series is Luke 17:20-21 which tells us that the Kingdom of Elohim does not come with observation.  It does not begin with a majestic ruler taking command over the nations of the earth for all men to see.  It does not begin with an ultimate authority figure conquering and forcing all mankind to bow their knees before him.  The Kingdom of Elohim begins first by giving mankind the opportunity to bow their knees voluntarily in submission to the King before the Kingdom comes with observation.  It begins within the hearts of men.

Consider all of the movies you have seen in the past where the young heir to a throne has been whisked away out of his country, usually for his protection, until a time that circumstances would permit his return to assume his rightful place as king over his nation.  What are those circumstances that permit the rightful king to return?  It is a base of support of those who are loyal to him, who are prepared and willing to obey his every command; and who will stand with him to aide in the deposing of the authorities that have wrongfully assumed his throne and who have corrupted the kingdom for evil purposes and selfish gain.  It is a loyal populace that seeks to convince others also to be loyal to the rightful king.  Eventually, when all is in place, the young heir returns and claims his rightful throne, executes judgment upon his detractors and restores the kingdom in peace under his rule.

This is not unlike several of the stories/parables that Messiah told.  One of my personal favorites, and one which is most often overlooked, ends with this statement, after the Master has returned to assume his throne.

Luke 19:27  But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.

The Master called ALL who would not recognize his right to rule over them his enemy; and he ordered their destruction.

Before we can move further in our discipleship to Yahushua Messiah, there is a vital issue that must be resolved.  The apostle Paul identified this crucial problem in his epistle to the Romans.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of Elohim.

This is a verse we will revisit time and time again during this study.  For now, the issue upon which I want to focus your attention is a universal problem afflicting all mankind.  We think wrongly.  Our minds have been programmed to think like the world thinks.  If we look at this in terms of our illustration above, the evil one who has taken the place of the rightful king has been successful in training you to think about pretty much everything in the way he wants you to think.  To secure the permanence of his rule in your life, he has had to win on the battlefield of your minds.  Our judgment is skewed.  Our ability to process a rational sequence of thoughts unto a correct conclusion has been damaged by the value systems we have adopted during our life on earth.  We cannot ascertain what the will of the true King is because our thinking is alien to his.  Paul tells us that we must learn to think differently.  Our minds must be reprogrammed.  Our thought processes need to be renewed to think like our King thinks; and with that renewed thinking, our lives will be transformed to serve the King with honor.

Wrong thinking is not programmed within us exclusively just by what we regard as “the world.”  Religion is intrinsic to the world, and is not of the Master; but it is of the evil despot that has presumed to rule in His place.  Yes, much of the way we as believers think, today, has been programmed by religion as a tool of the enemy to prevent us from becoming that base of support that will welcome the return of the rightful King.

Note our opening verse, today.

Isaiah 2:12 For the day of IAUE of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

The day of IAUE will target EVERY ONE that is proud and lofty.  Notice the words from the last chapter of the Old Testament.

Malachi 4:1  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith IAUE of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

ALL the proud and ALL that do wickedly shall be burned to stubble.

Turning to the New Testament, we see a variety of verses that reiterate this concept.

Matthew 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Master, Master, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22  Many will say to me in that day, Master, Master, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Notice that men will appeal for acceptance in the Master’s kingdom is based upon outward activity, even activity associated with his name.  The Master says they will be rejected because he never knew them…because they were workers of iniquity.  They pursued their own will and not the will of the Master’s Father.

Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20  Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim.

This is a list of outward activities that betray a corrupted heart…a heart that seeks its own interests, its own will and not the will of the Master’s Father.  Those who do these things “shall not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim.”

Ephesians 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Messiah and of Elohim.

Again, we see a list of outward activities that betray a corrupted heart…a heart that seeks its own interests, its own will and not the will of the Master’s Father.  They will not have any inheritance in the Kingdom of Messiah and of Elohim.

1 Corinthians 6:9  Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of Elohim? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of Elohim.

Here is another very similar list of outward activity that betrays the character of a man’s heart. Those who practice these things shall not inherit the Kingdom of Elohim.

What do we find missing in these verses that our religious training has enabled us to see?  What is it that religion has enabled us to see and to believe that is NOT actually there?  What we have been led to believe, but which is not actually there, is the exclusion of those who have been born again.  We do not see in any of these verses an “exception clause” that allows born-again believers in Messiah who practice these things still being able to have an inheritance in the Kingdom of Elohim?  Why do we not see it written into these verses?  It is because there is no such exclusion.  Being born again provides absolutely no protection against the judgment of Elohim. He is still going to judge all who are proud, uplifted in heart, covetous, workers of iniquity, etc.  Our new birth in Messiah only provides us with the ability to become protected.

Look at these verses in which many Christians take comfort that they are safe from the judgment of IAUE.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Messiah Yahushua, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yahushua hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

See?  Does it not say that there is no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yahushua?  Yes, it absolutely does; but that is not where the verse ends.  There is no condemnation extended to those who are in Messiah Yahushua WHO WALK NOT AFTER THE FLESH, BUT AFTER THE SPIRIT.  You can be IN Messiah and still walk in the flesh.  You can be IN Messiah and still practice all those things in the verses above that guarantee that those who do such things shall have no inheritance in the Kingdom of Elohim.

But, doesn’t it say the law of the Spirit of Life in Messiah Yahushua has made me free from the law of sin and death?  Yes, it absolutely does; but that does not prevent you from refusing to acknowledge the Master’s right to rule over your life.  Paul goes on to say:

Romans 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against IAUE: for it is not subject to the law of IAUE, neither indeed can be.

8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please IAUE.

The carnal (fleshly, unrenewed, still programmed by the world) mind is enmity against IAUE.  What is enmity?  In the Greek, the word is derived from the word for “hatred.”  It is that strong resistance to reconciliation with someone that one feels when there is resentment or unforgiveness toward that person.  The very thought of that person makes you coil up inside, and you become prepared to resist whatever that person wants to do.  The gospel, however, carries with it what Paul calls the “ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).”  IAUE has removed the hindrance to a restored relationship; but the carnal mind refuses the reconciliation because enmity is still there.

What is that enmity?  It is the anger that one has at the thought of no longer being able to pursue the desires of their own heart; that they no longer get to do what they want to do when they want to do it.  The idea that they must now live the rest of their lives in obedience to HIS will is simply unsatisfactory.  This is wrong thinking.  It comes from a heart that refuses to recognize the Master’s right to rule; and it manifests itself in the kind of lifestyle that is under the judgment of IAUE.  It produces the kind of person that the Master will call before him and have slain in his presence.  They are such that have failed to recognize the purpose of his grace.

---

Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

---