Sunday, February 23, 2014

A KINGDOM HEART - XIV



WBS.044
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XIV



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



Psalm 14:1 "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no IAUE..."

Virtually every believer I have ever encountered has stated that at some time, or even frequently, they doubt.  They doubt in the existence of God.  They doubt the resurrection. They doubt the reality of heaven and/or hell.  One cannot be a disciple and doubt.  One cannot receive grace and doubt.  

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to IAUE must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

The person who comes to IAUE must first believe that He IS.  This might seem to be too elementary to be discussing at this stage in our study on the fundamentals of discipleship; however, it is a recurring issue in the lives of far too many believers.  It is important to make the effort to uproot the underlying causes of this unbelief. I believe at the root there are only two core reasons for doubt.  The first is what I call, “the problem of the invisible god.”

We cannot see IAUE.  He is invisible to us.  We are born, live and die in an environment ruled by the five physical senses of sight, taste, hearing, touch and smell.   If something cannot be perceived by one or more of our five physical senses, then our intellect informs us that it is either not real or its existence cannot be proven. If we cannot prove that IAUE exists, then there is always room for doubt that He indeed does exist. Such is the dilemma of “the unseen god.” 

Romans 1:18  For the wrath of IAUE is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19  Because that which may be known of IAUE is manifest in them; for IAUE hath shewed it unto them.
20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and divinity; so that they are without excuse:

Quantum physicists study matter that is too microscopically small to be observed.  They theorize on the properties of this invisible matter based on the evidence that they are able to observe.  For example, a super-collider rams “invisible” subatomic particles into each other.  The crash creates a fall-out in the microscopic world that can be seen and studied.  From observing the crash material and the nature and properties of that matter, scientists theorize conclusions regarding the properties of the un-seeable matter involved in the crash.

In the macroscopic world (the world that we perceive naturally with our five senses) that would be like driving into a town where you observe trees uprooted from the ground, rooftops peeled off the tops of houses, and general chaos and destruction all around.  You quite readily conclude that a tornado has recently passed through the area.  You did not SEE the tornado, but you BELIEVE in its existence based on the evidence it has left in its wake.  IAUE has provided evidence of Himself and of His nature in the things He has created.  It is as reliable a conclusion that IAUE IS as it is that a tornado caused the destruction in that town.

This brings us to the second root issue.  The first problem, the un-seeable nature of IAUE, also plays into the second issue.  They are inseparably connected. We are “creatures.”  We look at the universe and we refer to it as “all creation.”  There is an inescapable truth that pertains to all created things.  Before it is created, it did not exist.  When it was created, it began its existence.  We are finite creatures.  We have a starting point, a life-span, and an ending point.  We recognize all living things are finite, with a beginning, a middle and an end.  We also see inorganic things in our universe as finite.  Though we estimate the beginning of the sun, moon and stars was countless eons ago, we still are compelled to think of them as having had a beginning.  So, when you go to the origin of the entire material universe, we arrive at what scientists call “the big bang;” but where did that matter and energy originate?  What was responsible for even that original matter and energy having its beginning?

Some quantum physicists, in an effort to escape the inevitable conclusion, have surmised that the big bang originated from the contraction of the prior universe; suggesting that universes expand and contract and begin anew with a new big bang.  The problem with this mindset is that eventually, after allowing for the additional trillions of years for the life spans of all the prior universes, you still inevitably arrive at the original big bang; and you have to explain where that matter and energy originated.  The only conclusion possible is that it was created by something or someone who is NOT finite, who does not know a beginning, a middle and an end; and that is IAUE.  If something exists in the realm that is perceived by the five physical senses, there was a time when that thing did not exist at all.  Its beginning, therefore, is evidence of the existence of a Creator.  It is evidence of IAUE.

This is the point where our minds begin to explode; trying to comprehend that IAUE is not finite.  That He never had a beginning is outside of our mental capabilities.  Why is this?  It is because we are creatures, not creators.  We cannot possess an understanding of something that is outside the realm of our created existence.  We may theorize about it; but we can never comprehend it.  Does this mean we are hopelessly bound to doubt?  No, it does not mean that at all.  Let me provide you with an illustration that will make the removal of doubt simple.

Because we are 3-dimensional creatures, we live our entire lives aware of length, width AND depth.  Let’s consider, however, a 2-dimensional creature (were there such a thing).  The 2nd dimension knows only length and width.  You can imagine it as a world that lives within a sheet of paper (disregarding the thickness of the paper as a perception of this world’s inhabitants).  The totality of their experience would be length and width.  They could theorize on the nature of a 3-dimensional object; but they could not possibly comprehend it, because their existence has neither the tools nor the vocabulary to express such a thing as having depth.  What would a ball be to the 2-D creature?  A ball passing through the 2nd dimension would look like a dot, then a line that grows in length, shrinks in length, becomes a dot again, then disappears.  As a 3-D person, we can understand how that would be their perception of a ball; but we can also see in this illustration, they would not have a clue what a ball really looks like.  Does that mean balls do not exist?  Of course not.  They simply exist in a higher plane of existence than the 2-dimensional creatures.

Now let’s examine ourselves in the 3rd dimension.  We call TIME the 4th dimension; yet our entire experience with time is linear.  We have a past, a present and a future…and yet the sum total of our experience with time is always the current moment.  We may have memories of the past; and hopes and expectations for the future; but we cannot exist in either.  We exist in the “now.”  Is this all there is to the 4th dimension?  Is the complete nature of time really just linear.  Does it expend itself in the moment, always simply leaving a past behind to record what happened? This would be constraining the 4th dimension to be explained exclusively in 3-dimensional terms and experience.  This would be no different than our fictitious 2-dimensional creature insisting that a ball is just a dot that becomes a growing and shrinking line, then a dot again, before disappearing.  The properties of the 3rd dimension cannot be explained in terms known only by the 2nd dimension.  In the same way, the properties of the 4th dimension cannot be explained in 3rd dimensional terms.  The result would be equally limiting and incorrect.

How would a 4-dimensional creature experience time?  Is it not feasible that something existing in the 4th dimension would have as much command over its realm as we have over our 3-dimensional realm?  The problem is, what is obvious or comes natural to someone who exists in the 4th dimension cannot even be explained to someone in the 3rd dimension because they would have neither the tools nor the vocabulary to express that which is real to the 4th-dimensional person.  IAUE, however, transcends even the 4th dimension.  He has total control and command over all created dimensions.

Consider all of the prophetic passages of Scripture.  The prophets conveyed something that was revealed to them that had not yet happened in the 3rd dimension.  Sometimes, they were things that were going to happen very quickly; but other times, they were things that were not going to happen for centuries, possibly millenia; but they were already realities existing in the 4th dimension, which is why they could be revealed to the prophets as reliable facts.  Our 3rd dimensional linear experience with time would simply have to be endured until the prophecies were played out, i.e., “fulfilled” in our experience with time. 

Here is my point.  If we can understand how it would be impossible for a 2nd dimensional creature to comprehend something as simple as the shape of a ball; why can we not as easily understand or acknowledge that our “finite” 3-dimensional experience limits us from comprehending something that has no beginning…something that exists in or beyond the 4th dimension?  Any time I think about the fact that IAUE has no beginning and my brain starts whirling trying to comprehend something that is so totally outside the realm of my experience and existence, I just think of a ball; and my faith in IAUE surges.

Exodus 3:13  And Moses said unto Elohim, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The Elohim of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14  And Elohim said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.

It might sound too elementary or basic; but tell IAUE, today, that you believe that He is.  He would not have revealed Himself to Moses as “I AM” if He did not expect us to respond by saying, “YOU ARE.”

Sunday, February 16, 2014

A KINGDOM HEART - XIII


WBS.043
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XIII



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




Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance IAUE winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

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We are in our 43rd week of our study of the fundamentals of discipleship.  Much material has been covered in a very short span of time.  There is an intrinsic danger to the speed at which this information has been accessed. It is not practical to expect that every reader, and possibly any reader, could have assimilated beyond the academic information unto the revelation of the truths we have discussed in every single posting. I am sharing with you words that express truths I have learned over 40 years of walking in the Spirit and receiving the revelation and the discipline of IAUE.  Remember our discussion of the difference between understanding the information, and having the Truth within the information “revealed” to us?  Only IAUE can take the words I choose to express these truths and break them like bread to feed your spirit the revelation contained within them.  This is my great desire for you; but without that participation from IAUE, all you are capable of receiving is information…information that you may choose to act on as a standard for living; but not LIFE that actually redirects your choices and behavior emanating from a changed heart.

I would strongly encourage you to revisit lessons throughout this blog with a heart open to hear the voice of the Spirit, and a soul that prays with a longing to have the Spirit bring revelation to you, so that you are able to move beyond knowledge of these lessons to the Truth contained within them.  Specifically, I would encourage you to study again:

   Lesson #2 to understand why I do not use the names/terms of Jesus, Christ, Lord and God;
   Lesson #3 to understand the difference between the “marketing” of doctrine/Scriptural
                     information, and “partaking” of it;
   Lesson #4 to understand that taking the Master’s yoke upon ourselves is forsaking ourselves
                    entirely to become what he wants us to become;
   Lesson #6 to do “the Lists” again to discover the true nature of our hearts more fully;
   Lesson #11 to realize that man’s thinking hinders the revelation of Truth from IAUE.
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Our last post ended with this comment: 

When we understand the mechanics of how this process works, we can readily understand how the grace to repent is accessed.  It is rooted in the choice of our relationship and fellowship with IAUE over our own will to please ourselves.  The sorrow of the world never removes us from the desire to do our own will; and that is why it produces death.  The sorrow that comes from IAUE causes us to grieve over the loss our sin brings to our fellowship with Him.  It separates us from our desire to do our own will.  It changes the way we think about the things we do that displease IAUE. 

Last week we explained that the Greek word for “repent” (metanoia) literally means “to change the mind,” or to change the way we think.  There is another aspect of this word that you have probably heard more often than “changing the mind,” and that is “to turn around.  This concept comes from the idea that when we change the way we think about a given thing, we turn from the direction we were heading, toward the opposite direction.  When we repent, we turn around.  We turn from our life toward IAUE.  There is a direction involved in repentance.  Look at the testimony of Scripture:

Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward IAUE, and faith toward our Master Yahushua Messiah.

Acts 26:20  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to IAUE, and do works meet for repentance.

Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Messiah, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward IAUE,

There can be no repentance (metanoia) without a very deliberate purpose of heart to turn toward IAUE…to become what IAUE wants us to become.  Any repentance that does not bring us back to IAUE is worldly sorrow (metamelein), which the Scripture says “worketh death.”  Worldly sorrow, regret, is about “us.”  Repentance, where we change the way we think and turn our lives back to obedience to the will of IAUE, is about “Him.”  Anything about “us” is self-focused and brings forth death, because it causes us to continue to walk in the path that has already been judged and convicted and which is awaiting the execution of IAUE’s wrath. 

Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

When the Pharisees and Sadducees came to John to receive his baptism of repentance, he challenged them to demonstrate in their lives the fruit of genuine repentance; and not just the fair show of false humility.  By this, we can know that genuine repentance produces a changed heart; and a changed heart produces a changed life.  The key to all of this is the desire to be in relationship and fellowship with IAUE.  Without that marking the very foundation of every aspect of our life, we are still living for self; and we are not partakers of the grace of IAUE.

We are “saved” (rescued from all that has kept us apart from IAUE, and set free to do IAUE’s will) by grace.  Never lose sight of that fact.  Grace is the power IAUE gives that enables us to do His will.  If we are of a mind NOT to do His will, then our minds need to be changed. We need genuine repentance that turns us from OUR way to HIS face.  If this is not what we want in our lives, then genuine repentance is not available to us; as true repentance is designed to bring us to IAUE.

I cannot express strenuously enough that IAUE did not send His son to die for us only to give us a ticket to Heaven.  He sent His son to procure that path of restoration for man to be able to fulfill the very design of his creation; and that is…to do the will of IAUE.  It is imperative that you decide if that is what you want for your life; or if you want to retain the right of self-determination for your years on the earth.  If genuine repentance is what you desire, there are ways to pursue the real thing.

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance IAUE winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

#1 – What IAUE commands, He gives grace to obey.  The grace that enables us to change our mind, to turn from “our” way unto IAUE is given to those who would obey His command.  We saw in last week’s posting from Hebrews 12:17 that Esau sought repentance carefully with tears but could not find it.  That is because Esau’s “direction” was incorrect.  He was not seeking repentance to turn to obedience to IAUE.  He sought his birthright to be restored. His focus was selfish.

Romans 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of IAUE leadeth thee to repentance?

#2 – This passage shows what we have been saying about repentance originating with IAUE.  If He gives us the grace to repent, we are empowered to repent; but if He does NOT give us the grace to repent, repentance is impossible.  Here we see that IAUE uses the agency of His goodness to lead us to repentance.  How does this work?  By demonstrating His goodness to us, He makes Himself desirable to us.  When He becomes desirable to us, we are drawn to want to be in relationship and fellowship with Him.  Thus, it is the goodness of IAUE that provides the directional draw, to lead us to turn from ourselves unto Him.

2 Corinthians 7:9 I now rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye were made sorry according to IAUE, that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing.
10  For sorrow by IAUE worketh repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

#3 – When IAUE moves upon our hearts to make us sorrowful over our sins and our self-focused lives, the sorrow He brings is the evidence that His grace is being extended to us to enable us to repent.  When that conviction comes upon you, turn to Him.  Forsake your own will and embrace His will for you.  Flee from your independent life to be yoked with His son in service to IAUE.