FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
RENEWING
THE MIND – XX
THE WILL
OF IAUE – 3
THE CALLING
OF THE BELIEVER
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 IAUE.
Once man recognizes he has been redeemed by the blood of
Yahushua, embraces deliverance from the power and consequence of sin, man can see
that he has been liberated unto the freedom of doing the will of IAUE all the days
of his life. Alternatively, he can
refuse such wondrous salvation and persist in doing his own will.
Today, I want to
address one of the “sacred cows” of contemporary Christianity. If we do not get this mindset corrected
(renew our minds), we will never successfully serve our Master.
Most of the failures,
weakness and ineffectiveness of the modern church can be attributed to the
false gospel to which its members have responded. Anyone who has been a long-time reader of
this blog will know that we have addressed this problem repeatedly. The contemporary “Christian” gospel has been reduced
to a “magic prayer” of accepting “Jesus” into your hearts, asking him to
forgive you of your sins, and then rejoicing in the fact that you just acquired
your ticket to heaven. They are like the illustration made in last week’s blog
of the man who exits his jail cell but still has his hands in cuffs behind his
back. He is free…but then, he is not
free; because he leaves his cell with the intention of using his hands to serve
himself, not the Master. The Kingdom has
not come near them because the power of the Kingdom was not a function of the
presentation of the gospel message. They
have responded to the wisdom of man’s words and not in a demonstration of the
Spirit and of power to demonstrate the authority of the Kingdom that commands
their repentance and obedience. Consequently,
they have no consciousness of the fear of IAUE; nor of their duty to lay down
their lives in humble service to the Master.
Millions of
professing Christians are just like that handcuffed man. They believe they have entered a spiritual
bless-me club. They have been told that
Messiah came to give them life and that more abundantly (John 10:10). To them,
that can only mean that Messiah came to raise their estate, their quality of
life, in this world…to give them a better life (which usually equates to more
money; because money is what buys a better life in this world.)
I remember as a
young boy, there were some “new” evangelism tools that spread through the
church in America. One method used a
question to open the door of conversation to share “the gospel.” It began by asking, “Do you have life at its
best?” I remember the first person I
asked that question. I was 16 years
old. The man’s name was “Hank.” He was probably around 23 years old. He lived near the church I attended and was
living in that city engaged in some sort of social work program. I asked him, “Do you have life at its best?” He replied, “Do you?” And that pretty much ended the conversation.
Another method that
was introduced back then that took hold so well that it still forms the basis
for most preaching today was, “The Four Spiritual Laws.” Here
is a quote taken directly from a website that explains these four spiritual
laws:
The first of the Four Spiritual Laws is, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan
for your life." John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave
His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have
eternal life." John 10:10 gives us the reason that Jesus came, "I have come
that they may have life, and have it to the full."
The second of the Four Spiritual Laws is,
"Humanity is tainted by sin and is therefore separated from God. As a result, we cannot know God's
wonderful plan for our lives."
The third of the Four Spiritual Laws is,
"Jesus Christ is God's only provision for our sin. Through Jesus Christ,
we can have our sins forgiven and restore a right relationship with God."
The Fourth of the Four Spiritual Laws is,
"We must place our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior in order to receive the
gift of salvation and know God's
wonderful plan for our lives."
This “evangel” begins with a lie and carries that lie through
the presentation unto the very end. This
insidious message has permeated the church throughout America and festers like
a boil making the whole church sick and useless to the world around it. What am I saying? I am saying that IAUE does
NOT have a wonderful plan for our lives. Instead, IAUE has a wonderful plan, and
OUR lives are to fit into His plan, and not the other way around. The “4-Spiritual Laws” directs man’s heart to
a selfish ambition and goal and uses IAUE to achieve it. The true gospel directs man’s heart to IAUE
and empties him of himself in order to serve the Creator to achieve His
objectives.
Listen to the testimony of those whose lives achieved the
notice of IAUE as successful servants to His plan.
Hebrews 11:36 And others had trial of cruel
mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted,
were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and
goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not
worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves
of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received
not the promise:
Christians are constantly being told they need to find out
what their calling is. Believers are
walking around all the time wondering what they are called to do. Recently, I listened to a popular minister all
week long on his television broadcast telling his audience they need to find
out what the will of IAUE is for their life; and by that he meant the objective
or goal of their life…their purpose…their calling. This “will of IAUE” was
represented to be what would bring them the greatest joy as well as material
blessing. They would have life at its best if they only knew what IAUE was
calling them to do; then devote themselves to achieving that purpose. This is a
misdirection of our true purpose which is to take our eyes off of what we want for
ourselves and serve IAUE.
I have a friend who for the nearly two decades I have known
him has been focused on trying to make come to pass a ministry he has believed
all this time was what IAUE had called him to do. Consequently, he has taken no joy in doing
the work that IAUE actually has had him doing all these years. He has been unhappy and unfulfilled because
he has failed to comprehend obedience to the will of IAUE for each day. His head is in the clouds focused on some
future fulfillment of a dream…a dream which likely will never come to pass
until such time as he learns to take joy in doing today what he is “called” to
do by IAUE, today. He has been
endeavoring by the arm of the flesh to bring to pass the fulfillment of some
spiritual calling. It doesn’t work that
way. You cannot arrive at a spiritual
destination without obeying IAUE’s will today and finding joy in your obedience
to Him no matter how menial the task or how seemingly unrelated to the ultimate
objective today’s duty must appear.
Philippians
3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark
for the prize of the high calling of IAUE in Messiah Yahushua.
Paul identifies a “high calling,” or an “upward calling” that
is upon all disciples. It is “THE” high
calling of IAUE in Messiah Yahushua…not “A” high calling. What is that high calling? He stated it a few verses earlier.
Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I
count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Messiah
Yahushua my Master: for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that
I may win Messiah,
9 And be found
in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which
is through the faith of Messiah, the righteousness which is of IAUE by faith:
10 That I may know him, and the power of
his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being
made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead.
Most Christians would look at these verses and say, “This is
not what I signed up for. I signed up
for a wonderful plan and life at its best.
I did not sign up for suffering and loss and death.” The reason they would answer this way is
because they have yet to respond to the TRUE gospel.
We are special to IAUE; but we are not special to man. IAUE can speak through a donkey if He chooses
to do so. We are replaceable in the earth. I remember Kathryn Kuhlman, the well
known and loved healing minister of the late 1900’s often testified that IAUE
approached two men with the healing ministry before He approached her with
it. The men turned it down.
This is your calling,
disciple of Yahushua Messiah:
James 4:17 Therefore
to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (disobedience to the will of IAUE).
Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
James 1: 22 But be ye
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
We are to DO what we
read in the Scriptures to do; not just amass knowledge. We are commanded to do
what the Scriptures instruct us to do.
If we receive a specific direction from the voice of the Holy Spirit for
the moment or for the day; then we are to do that; but lacking a specific word
from the Spirit; we are to give ourselves to doing what we already know to do in
the Scripture. That is our calling. To fail to do so is to deceive our selves.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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