FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
A KINGDOM HEART – XXII
John 7:17 If anyone chooses to do Elohim's will, he will find out whether
my teaching comes from Elohim or whether I speak on my own.
Last week’s post ended with this comment:
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Remember the story of Yahushua speaking to Peter and rebuking Satan? Peter had simply told the Master that He should not go to Jerusalem to be crucified.
Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art
an offence unto me: for thou savourest (value the deductions
and judgment of your own thoughts) not the things that be of Elohim, but those that be of men.
Peter's offense was not that he was thinking like the devil; it was that
he was allowing the devil to manipulate him to value thinking like a man.
Peter’s will was to protect his Master. How
could that be wrong? His will, however, was in direct conflict with his Master’s
will and with the will of IAUE. Even the
apostle Paul battled with this conflict of wills.
Acts
16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and
the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to
preach the word in Asia,
7 After they were come to Mysia, they
assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
This conflict of wills is such a prevalent problem with man that it is
mentioned twice in the book of Proverbs:
Proverb 14:12 / Proverb 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are
the ways of death.
Thinking like a man and acting upon our own thoughts of what is right or
wrong, leads us down the wrong path. This is why it is necessary that our minds
should be saturated with the Word of IAUE; why we should aggressively
learn to hear and recognize the voice of the Spirit; and why we should
earnestly seek to have our minds renewed that we might recognize the corruptness
of our own thinking and the righteousness of the will of IAUE.
What was the objective of the renewing of our minds?
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.
The purpose of renewing our minds is
to know the will of Elohim. The word “prove” in this verse is from the Greek word “dokimazo”
and it means “to recognize after examination that something is genuine;
approved as the real thing.” This brings us to today's verse.
John 7:17 If anyone chooses to
do Elohim's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from Elohim or
whether I speak on my own.
A disciple of Yahushua who is learning to do Elohim's will must first contend
with this problem of a conflict of wills. Where there are two wills from which to
choose, there will ALWAYS be confusion as to which one is Elohim's will. This is actually guaranteed by Scripture.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of IAUE.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Until this problem is resolved, most believers do not even concern
themselves with knowing the will of IAUE.
They are content to follow their own will. Those that actually want to know the will of
IAUE usually experience self-questioning.
It goes something like this:
"I
think Elohim has directed me to do this; but do I think that because I
really want to do the other thing, and I know Elohim would not want me to do
what I want?"
Or the reverse:
"I
think Elohim has directed me to do this; but do I think that because
this is what I also really want to do; and I am just trying to convince myself
that it is Elohim's will?"
The problem, then, is what I simply
refer to as “preference.” If I have a preference in any matter, then I
will always have room to doubt what the will of IAUE is for my life in both the
small, seemingly insignificant decisions, as well as in the big decisions. You might say, “That is ridiculous! We are
always going to have a preference. We have likes and dislikes regarding every
imaginable thing. We are only human, you
know?” That is EXACTLY the
problem. We are only human; and the ways
that seem right to us are the ways that lead to death.
So, what is the solution?
John 7:17 If anyone chooses to
do Elohim's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from Elohim or
whether I speak on my own.
Before we ever ask for guidance, or listen to the voice of the Spirit
regarding any matter, rejecting our own preferences as possible or even
likely temptations to proceed down the wrong path, and choosing in advance regardless
of the direction, to do
Elohim's will is the solution to our confusion about spiritual guidance.
Far too many of us, as disciples, seek to know Elohim's will about a matter so
we can evaluate it and compare it against our own will.
We seek to know Elohim's will because we know we are supposed to obey it; but in reality, we want first to be able to assess His will in terms of the reality and practicality of our own life. This mindset betrays the fact we have not truly come under the authority of the Master; for a servant does not have the luxury of serving two masters. This, then, is a litmus test of genuine discipleship. A disciple is one who has embraced the will of his Master, relegating his own will to a place of uselessness.
How many times have we prayed for guidance only to receive it and then to
deny its usefulness as an option? We pass judgment on the will of Elohim as
though our wisdom exceeds His. It sounds
something like this:
"Father,
if I do or say 'that'...he will react very poorly; and I will have to
deal with the fallout of his anger."
Or like this:
"Father,
I can’t do that. It would be too embarrassing for me."
These are subtle forms of pride; and they need to be cauterized from our
heart. Why? It is because our Father
Elohim resists the proud. He gives grace to the humble; and grace is the power
He gives to "do" His will, not just to hear it.
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
If we seek to know Elohim's will with the preemptive decision already
in place that we will DO it when we discover it, He WILL make
us to know His will. However, as long as we have our own will in place as an
option, our own preferences as to what we want to do, the certainty of the
counsel of Elohim will forever remain a mystery to us; and we are NOT his
disciple.
A disciple wants to do his Master’s
will no matter what it is.
We came to Messiah recognizing, as Paul did, that there is absolutely
nothing good in ourselves to offer on our own behalf to receive Elohim's mercy.
We were lost in darkness and in bondage to sin. We "trusted" Yahushua
Messiah to rescue us and to provide us with His own righteousness. It is only a
simple step of trust again to relinquish confidence in our own corrupted
pitiable human will to rely upon the wisdom of Elohim's will for our lives.
It is what a kingdom heart does.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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