WBS.167
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE
TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – IV
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.
If we are
going to guard our heart with all diligence, one of the first things we need to
realize is that “in me (that is,
in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing“ (Romans 7:18). We can NEVER look to the flesh for anything
other than death; and we are most assuredly guaranteed of damage every single
time we cater to the flesh.
I have taught Bible
studies in several States in the USA and also in Germany. Invariably, at some point, I have asked those
who attended the studies why they came. Most who replied sought desperately to provide
spiritual answers; hoping they would be giving the correct answer. Occasionally, some would provide honest
answers, like, “I like the music,” or “I enjoy the teaching,” or “I enjoy the
fellowship.” No one ever said, “The Holy
Spirit told me to come.”
Then I would ask
them if they considered themselves to be a believer or a disciple. They were a little confused about this
question; but most had the general concept that a disciple was somehow a
believer who took more seriously the need to study the Scriptures and to spend
time in prayer. Being a believer was
enough for them; but they all sensed that they should be disciples; because…well,
they should be. For most the difficulty
of being a disciple is the need for discipline, and time. Many believers think they have to have more
time in their day to DO what a disciple does; and if they only had the
discipline, they could probably carve out more time in their already filled
daily schedules to DO what a disciple does.
Notice in all of
this the perception of believers that discipleship is about them, what they
need to do; and not about Messiah and who he is. What is the purest declaration of the “gospel”
message? “Repent, for the Kingdom of
IAUE is at hand.” Well, what exactly
does that mean, and how does it relate to being a believer or a disciple?
“Repent.”
This is not turning from the bad things we have done, or turning from a self-centered
lifestyle. The other half of the message
tells you what repentance is: “For the Kingdom of
IAUE is at hand.” Repentance,
therefore, is a change of authorities and allegiance. The KING is near, at hand, almost
revealed. Do we really want to continue
to live our lives as though WE are the King of them? Repentance is turning from a life that has
rejected the right of Messiah to rule over them. When the King appears, he will gather all
those who refused to let him rule over them; and they will be slain before him (Luke 19:27). A believer
believes this is true. A disciple lives in
a manner that demonstrates he believes it is true.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:
shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Why are we
discussing this? It seems unrelated to
our study of the transformation of the soul.
The reason is that whatever message that purported to be the gospel to
which we responded formed the foundation of what we believe and how we
believe. The reason this is critical to
our study is that the TRUE gospel message does not leave any doubt in the mind
of the respondent that his life is no longer his own. He is not one who has received a free gift
and is simply living his life as he/she pleases awaiting his blessed heavenly
reward. He/she has acknowledged the complete authority of the King and has
bowed his/her knee to him. The one who
responds to the true gospel has “repented” and exchanged their right to rule
their lives to Messiah’s right to rule their lives.
Why is this so
important to our study? It is because
the one who truly understands that ALL AUTHORITY BOTH IN HEAVEN AND IN EARTH
has been given to Messiah; there is no more any personal authority to do as one
pleases. This means that a disciple of
Messiah is dead, and his/her life is now hidden with Messiah in IAUE. For the disciple to live IS Messiah,
now. This is important to our study
because it lays the axe to the root of our constantly being wooed by the
whisperer to walk in the flesh. The
sheep know the shepherd’s voice, and another they will not follow.
John 10:4 And when he putteth forth his
own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his
voice.
5 And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
To the disciple,
hearing the voice of the Master is a must; because a disciple lives to obey his
voice. A disciple is one who has yoked
himself with the Master to learn his ways; to learn his thoughts; to learn how
to become like him in every way. This is
not something a disciple does on Sunday morning. It is a 24/7 occupation of obedience.
With this mindset
and readiness to obey…to DO the Word and not be a hearer only; we are facing
the spirit and mindful of the spirit at all times. We do not take a pause to turn around and
look at the flesh and to be mindful of the flesh. The very act of considering the flesh is a
temptation to breed contempt for our Master; because everything of the flesh is
contrary to what the Master wants for us.
Nothing of the flesh will aid us in our pursuit of conformity to the
image of our Master unto the glory of IAUE Elohim.
There is a hidden
key in this text from James 1 about being a doer of the Word. In recent weeks we have discussed, and have
contemplated via graphic illustrations, how the Master desires that which is
invested in our spirit, in the new man we have become, to move through the
heart into the soul; and once embraced by the soul, to move outward into
expression though the body. Until we are
DOING the Word of IAUE the cycle is not complete, and the transformation of our
soul into his likeness is thwarted. The
hidden key is that there are certain things we CAN do to facilitate this
transaction of bringing the Word of IAUE out of our spirit and into
manifestation through our lives in the world.
Today, I want to speak about just one of these things.
THANKFULNESS:
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but
be filled with the Spirit;
I once read
Ephesians 5:18, and then closed my Bible; and in a genuine sense of desperation
and desire to be consumed by the Spirit of IAUE, I asked the Father, “How can I
be filled with your Holy Spirit” all the time?
After letting me wallow in my own anguish for awhile, He replied, “Read
the next verse.”
Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but
be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to IAUE;
I felt pretty
stupid, to say the least; but I looked at this verse and believed it must
surely hold the key to being filled with the Spirit. I should sing and make melody in my heart to
IAUE. This is contrasted with how the
world is filled with a different spirit:
“And be not drunk with wine.” Have
you considered how important it is to those in the world to drink alcoholic
beverages? They think about it all
through the work day, looking forward to that moment they can head out to a bar
or to friends to have a drink. They
think it is the way to connect to having company with the opposite sex: “Would
you like to go out for a drink?” They
cannot be entertained without it: “The game is coming on in a half hour, go out
and buy a case of beer.” Drink is the
spirit of the world; and they think about it and consume it regularly; and it
lowers their inhibitions and makes them more susceptible to the flesh. The Spirit of IAUE does the same thing for us,
as we drink in the Spirit of IAUE, we become increasingly yielding to Him to do
whatever He asks of us.
This verse, however,
did not tell me WHAT I should sing. It
tells me both to sing and to make melody in my heart; and that I should do this
to IAUE; but it is the NEXT verse that tells me what is the subject matter of
this singing and making melody.
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto IAUE and
the Father in the name of our Master Yahushua Messiah;
Giving thanks. In order for one to give thanks, one must be
thankful. This requires that we come to understand
the ways of IAUE, to know that He is always good, to be able to be thankful for
all things. That is a process; but the process is accelerated by our obedience
to this Word from IAUE…to DO the Word and not just hear it. In other words, if we will decide to give
thanks to IAUE in all things…all the time…all day long…every day, in song, in
heart and in words; we will become people of thanksgiving. No grumbling or complaining has room to be
uttered out of the mouths of those who are dedicated to giving thanks. There is no time to complain or argue. DOING these verses will literally suck the
life that is resident in the spirit of the newborn man, through the heart,
through the soul and outward through the body.
This maintains a stream of the Spirit of IAUE working and moving through
our lives. We cannot help but be
transformed by Him in this process.
Just think how
quickly this process can be halted by a single complaint; how quickly we can
terminate our experience of being filled with the Spirit. A thankful heart, a thankful mind, and
thankful lips keep the Holy Spirit active and moving within our lives. Grumbling and complaining activates the flesh
instantly. The Holy Spirit will not
compete against the flesh. The flesh
will usurp man’s will; but the Spirit will not.
We must yield to the Spirit in order to participate with Him.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 In
every thing give thanks: for this is the will of IAUE in Messiah
Yahushua concerning you.
Disciples are often
running around complaining that they don’t know what IAUE’s will for their life
is; when it is here in black and white.
We are to give thanks, all the time, in all things. This is the will of IAUE in Messiah Yahushua
concerning us. We cannot begin to walk
in the will of IAUE in other areas if we will not do that which is already so
plainly and clearly expressed to us as His will.
Be thankful to IAUE in
absolutely everything knowing that IAUE works ALL THINGS according to the
counsel of His will (Eph 1:11).
This is one key given to us in the Scriptures that will most assuredly
draw the Holy Spirit through our hearts and into our souls and outward through
our bodies. Sing your thanksgiving. Hum melodies to yourself that express your
gratitude. Give thanks in all things…for THIS is the will of IAUE in Messiah
Yahushua concerning you.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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