WBS.041
FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
A KINGDOM HEART - XI
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against Elohim? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Our last post ended
with this comment:
Discipleship is for all practical purposes, an alien concept to Christianity. With the successful morphing of the “Gospel of the Kingdom” (which is the only true gospel; and is the only one preached by Messiah and by the apostles in the Book of Acts) into the “Plan of Salvation”(the epistle-based gospel, which is not the true gospel), submission to a Master is perceived as idyllic, but ultimately not necessary in procuring the desired end result. Once a person is made to believe that just believing that Yahushua was the son of IAUE, and that he died for our sins and rose again, and that a simple one or two sentence prayer seals the deal, every subsequent message that the Holy Spirit tries to get through to that believer to respond to the true gospel, falls upon the ears of one who truly believes that neither obedience or disobedience has any impact upon his eternity. “Self” remains on his throne; and his relationship to IAUE and Yahushua becomes focused on what they can do to better his life on earth, right now. They are not to be obeyed. They are to be used.
For the small percentage of converts to Christianity who actually spend time reading or studying the Scriptures, Romans 9 is usually a very unpleasant read. It is here that we find the scriptural foundation for what is referred to as “the doctrine of predestination and election.” In Romans 9, we find that IAUE chooses some and does not choose others. His choice alone determines whether or not a person will participate in His covenant. Even though this should not come as a surprise to anyone, the “Plan of Salvation” tells us that absolutely everyone on the planet could be “saved” if they simply accept the free gift offered to them. This, however, is not the teaching of Scripture.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of IAUE, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of IAUE.
Matthew 11:27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased IAUE, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
No man comes to know the Father except that man receives His son; and no man receives His son unless it is the Father’s will to reveal His son to that man. No man can be born of the Spirit until Messiah is revealed unto them; and that revelation is by the exclusive choice/will of IAUE. There is no amount nor manner of preaching that will convert the lost unless the Father chooses to receive that person unto Himself; and only then, until such time as He chooses to reveal His son to them. When one understands this truth, it is possible to understand why Messiah, in sending his disciples out in pairs to preach the gospel, told them that if they are not received in that city, to shake the dust off their feet and to move on to the next city. They could not win the lost. Only the Father can make that happen. Our job is to testify as a witness to what we know and have experienced. It is not our job to convict or to acquit. We are neither the judge nor the jury. We are just witnesses.
Like the well-known parable of the sower, the sower goes out to sow the seed; but he does not know the condition of the ground into which he is sowing. Only the Father knows the hearts of men. Only IAUE knows whether or not a man is capable of germinating the seed of the gospel unto life; and that is because only IAUE makes that possible. So, we preach, and we leave the rest up to the only one who can take it from there. However, if our gospel be the epistle-based “Plan of Salvation,” we are found to plead and entreat and repeat our preaching to the same person over and over again, as though they would be doing Elohim a favor by responding to His message. This is not the Scriptural way, nor the Scriptural mandate.
1 Corinthians 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as IAUE gave to every man?
6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but IAUE gave the increase.
7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but IAUE that giveth the increase.
No one comes to the Father of his own choosing. No one is born of the Spirit by his own will. No one understands or receives truth, unless it is revealed to him. All increase originates with IAUE. Paul told the Roman disciples:
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Master Yahushua, and shalt believe in thine heart that IAUE hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
The part in this verse that is overlooked by the “Plan of Salvation” is “the Master.” It is, however, the uncompromising focus of the “Gospel of the Kingdom.” We hear, today, that “Jesus is our personal Lord and Savior.” First, we need to eliminate that term, “personal.” It is not a Scriptural term within this context; and it breeds the notion that he died just for you. He did not. Yahushua died as an act of obedience to his Father, so the purposes of IAUE could be fulfilled in the earth. In his obedience, he was declared by IAUE to be both Master and Messiah; and that places a duty upon every man to respond accordingly; but that response is utterly dependent upon IAUE’s initiating the action to reveal the truth about His son to man. Secondly, we need to eliminate the term “Lord.” To a western man, that word holds no real meaning. (In fact, it is violation of the United States Constitution for any citizen of the USA to have such a title bestowed upon him.) We don’t really understand the concept of someone having the authority/power of life and death…of total domination over our existence. We have no human counterpart to demonstrate to us a lord whose will must be obeyed, and who has the power to assert his will into every aspect of our life. The word, “Master,” does have such a respondent chord within us; because the whole world has experience with slavery, where the master of a slave has total and complete authority over that person’s life, whether it is exercised or not.
If we eliminate the use of the word “Lord” altogether, and replace it with “Master,” it will have an immediate impact on how we view our current relationship with Yahushua…and many will not like the light it shines upon that relationship; but it will explain why the first word in the true gospel is “repent.”
Romans 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
In Paul’s instruction to the Romans, he demonstrates the thinking of the natural man. If He has mercy on whom He will have mercy and hardens whom He will, why should I be judged if He has not made it His will that I should receive mercy? Notice Paul’s statement: “For who hath resisted his will?” There are two different Greek words translated “will” in the English versions of the Scripture. One is the “thelema” of IAUE; and the other is the “boulema” of IAUE. The “thelema” of IAUE is His wish or desire, and EVERYONE resists that will. However, that is not the word used in this verse. Here we find the word “boulema,” which is the unchanging counsel of IAUE.
Let me illustrate. It might be the “thelema” of IAUE that you work through the day without taking a lunch break. If you take a lunch break anyway, you have violated the “thelema” of IAUE. All sin is a violation of the “thelema” of IAUE. In fact, that is the simplest definition of sin: disobedience to the will (wish or desire) of IAUE. On the other hand, it is the “boulema” of IAUE that Messiah Yahushua return to earth in the power of his kingdom. There isn’t a thing any man can do to prevent that from happening. There is no way to resist the unchanging counsel of IAUE. In this passage of Scripture, we see the choice of the one who receives mercy and the one who does not receive mercy is a function of the “boulema” of IAUE. It is not affected by how much you preach to someone; or how endearing you present your message of salvation. The choice of who will and will not be in the family of IAUE is His, and His alone; and it is set in concrete in the unchanging counsel of His will.
That brings us to the response, not of the natural man, but of the spiritual man.
Romans 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against Elohim? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
There are two irrefutable facts regarding mankind:
1. Man is created by IAUE.
2. Man exists to do the will of IAUE, whatever that might be.
We are the clay. The potter (IAUE) can make of us whatever He wants to make of us; and the clay never has the right to become whatever it wants to become. We are created by Him, for Him; and doing His will is the purpose of our design…whether that be unto honor, or unto dishonor.
It is for this reason that IAUE has made Yahushua both Master and Messiah. To restore unto Himself through His son, an obedient people that seek to do His will with the same perfection of execution from the heart as demonstrated by Yahushua. Any so-called gospel that suggests a different outcome is a message that is in rebellion against the Creator.
Next week, we will examine what repentance actually is; and we will see why it is an intrinsic element of the Gospel of the Kingdom.
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