A KINGDOM HEART - VIII

WBS.038

 FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART - VIII

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

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John 8:29  And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

There are very few direct references to the will of IAUE in the four gospels; but when they occur, they are notable.  Every believer, and even a lot of non-believers, will glibly acknowledge that Yahushua was born, lived a sinless life, died, and rose again; but there is virtually no real attention paid to the fact of his living a sinless life.  “Sin,” by definition, is disobedience to the will of IAUE.  That means, if Yahushua lived a sinless life, then he was born to do his Father’s will, and not his own will.  

Hebrews 10:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O IAUE…

Doing his Father’s will was the root purpose of his existence. Everything else he was designed to accomplish was a by-product of doing this one thing. In our opening passage of Scripture, we see this commitment to the Father’s will spoken by the Master about himself; but what about us?  Do we as believers, as disciples, not get the point?  Doing the will of IAUE is what man was created to do. Every other purpose under Heaven is a by-product of this one thing. Why then has man experienced separation from his Creator and suffered toil, hardship and death?  Our every act of disobedience to His will is a departure from the design of our creation; and it destroys our potential to experience the joy and satisfaction that comes from fulfilling the purpose of our design; a significant element of which is to be in the family of IAUE Elohim.

Luke 3:38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of IAUE.

Here at the end of the genealogy of Miriam (Mary), we see that Adam is referred to as the son of IAUE.  The Scripture tells us that he was made in the image and after the likeness of Elohim.  IAUE related to Adam as His son.  Adam was family; but that family relationship was forfeited when he turned against the will of IAUE. 

Mark 3:32  And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33  And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34  And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

35  For whosoever shall do the will of IAUE, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

In this passage, the Master concedes no significance to those who are related to him through his birth family.  His true family is comprised of those who do the will of IAUE. 

Today, many believers think that they are “saved” because their sins have been forgiven; but they fail to recognize that being forgiven does not change their hearts.  It does not mean that they are now purposed to do the Father’s will.  We see in 2 Corinthians 5 that all men are already forgiven.  What difference does that reality make in the way they live their lives?  Are we really so naïve as to think that the moment we acknowledge the fact that our sins have been forgiven that we are somehow any better off than those who have not done so?  “But,” you may say, “I have been born again.”  If that is true, that is a wonderful reality for you; but let’s take a closer look at what that actually means for us.

John 7:16 Yahushua answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of IAUE, or whether I speak of myself.

Here, the Master states plainly that it is to the one who has determined to do the will of IAUE, (unto him who has set his will to obey whatever IAUE speaks to him) that the source of Yahushua’s teaching shall be known.  We could extend this to say that revelation knowledge is the heritage of those who are committed to doing the will of IAUE.  Of what value or benefit is there for IAUE to reveal His will to one who is not already purposed in his/her heart to obey His will?

We have stated in earlier posts that there is a difference between academic understanding of doctrine and the revelation of the Truth.  Anyone with a mind to study and learn may understand doctrine; but an academic understanding of doctrine does not bring life to the student.  Only the revelation knowledge that IAUE gives can breathe life into that doctrine and change men’s lives.  We have likened this in prior posts to embracing the advertising without buying the product.  

Without the purpose and commitment of will to do the will of IAUE, all of Scripture is just an academic text book from which we may learn facts without actually understanding their meaning.  This is not unlike the common experience of so many high school students who merely learned facts to restate them on tests in order to make high scores.  It is not until they begin their college experience that they discover that regurgitating facts no longer works.  They must actually “learn” the material rather than simply memorize facts. 

Without access to the revelation of Truth that comes from IAUE, man uses his brain (not his spirit) to understand Scripture.  Especially for the western man, his brain functions diagnostically.  I call it having an “empirical mindset.”  We tend to read Scripture and assimilate the facts in a formulaic fashion.  The most commonly used formula in the study of the Scriptures is: If A = B, and B = C, then A = C.  It is how we bridge from one doctrine to the next. 

The Eastern man is not of an empirical mindset.  It is reported that a poll was taken many years ago of 100 westerners and 100 easterners.  It was posited that cotton does not grow in a cold wet climate; and England has a cold wet climate.  The question was posed, “Does cotton grow in England?”  97 out of 100 westerners said, “No.”  97 out of 100 easterners said, “I don’t know. I have never been to England.”  We should take note of the fact that the Scriptures were written by easterners, not westerners.

John 3:3 Yahushua answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of Elohim.
5 Yahushua answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Elohim.

Of all the times we see Yahushua teaching or preaching in the gospels, this is the one and only time he ever makes reference to being born again; and yet, this one verse has become the fulcrum upon which most of contemporary Christianity teeters.  The “false hope” to which we referred in the last posting begins with these two verses.  The formula built upon these verses goes something like this:

If A = C:  If I am born again, then I am a child of Elohim, and I can enter in the kingdom of Elohim.
If B = C:  If I am a child of Elohim, then I am saved.
Then A = C: If I am born again, then I am saved.

From this reasoning, the logical extrapolation is, “If I have become a child of Elohim through the newbirth, I can never NOT be a child of Elohim, thus…once saved, always saved.”  The problem with this reasoning is that it is just that…human reasoning; and “there is a way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Prov 14:12).  Look at the comments the Master made just moments later.

John 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in Elohim.

The gospel message is not, “Get born again and go to Heaven.”  No, it is, “Repent, for the kingdom of Elohim is at hand.”  What is the objective of repentance?  It is to stop doing our own will and return to doing the will of IAUE.  There is no repentance that is not marked also with a commitment and a follow-through of obedience to the will of IAUE. 

Unto what then does the Master refer when he said that one could neither see nor enter the kingdom of Elohim unless he/she is born again (born of the Spirit)?  We have seen that the Scripture declares that all men’s sins have been forgiven and we are to entreat them to be reconciled to Elohim.  Both the heathen and the believer are forgiven; but it is through the new birth that Messiah breaks the power of cancelled sin in the life of the repentant ones.  The new birth severs our natural connection with the world by changing our own nature, making the very core of our being at odds with and alien to the things of this world.  It orients us to the kingdom of Elohim.  It is how IAUE equips us to respond to His grace…the power He gives that enables us to do His will.  The “lost” do not have this equipping; and are thus, incapable of doing the Father’s will; and therefore, can never see nor enter the kingdom of Elohim.  The kingdom of Elohim may be seen and entered only by those who take advantage of the equipping of the new birth and begin seeking and doing the will of IAUE. 

One can truly say, after a fashion, that he was “saved” when he was born again, in the sense that the word “saved” means “rescued” or “delivered from” that which made doing the will of IAUE impossible.  Being delivered out of the hands of my enemies and all that has prevented me from doing the will of IAUE (Luke 1:74-75), however, does not necessarily mean that I am taking advantage of that experience.  I may have been delivered from that which made obedience to IAUE impossible; but having been delivered, am I now doing that which is now made possible? Am I doing His will?  Doing His will is experiencing salvation. 

Being equipped to do his will (being born again) is merely a means to an end.  It isn’t the end in itself.  If we stop at being born again; and then place our confidence that we are “going to Heaven when we die,” in that subjective experience, we have removed our faith away from Messiah and have placed it upon an experience that is now in the past. 

We are saved by grace (the power IAUE gives us to do His will) through faith (present continuous trust and reliance upon the completed work of Messiah to restore our relationship and fellowship with IAUE); and faith is NOW (Hebrews 11:1). The moment we move away from a present continuous trust in Messiah to having confidence in being born again, we begin to walk in darkness and the Truth is hidden from us.  We must be renewed again unto repentance.