WBS.168
FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
THE
TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUL – V
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice
evermore.
Disciples are
often 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.
IAUE has
accomplished through His son, all that was needed to put man back on track to conform
him to the likeness of IAUE (Genesis
1:26). We have come to understand that what that means is
that He has restored righteousness within man’s spirit and He has unlocked the
door to that righteousness, that it might permeate and conform the soul of man
to its nature and character, making us more and more like our Father as we
persist in letting it flow through us.
One thing we can
know for certain; the soul is not transformed by simply learning what the will
of IAUE is. We were created to DO the
will of IAUE, not just to KNOW it. To
the degree we learn what the will of IAUE is and do not do it, the Scripture
says we are merely deceiving ourselves (James 1:22). Knowledge without
obedience is disobedience. Using an
electrical analogy, if what is in the spirit does not reach the body, there is
no current that will flow through the soul.
Where the power of IAUE is not, the soul is not changed.
You might have
certain prominent ministers in mind at this point…people who have studied the
Scriptures a lot, more than you; and they “know” stuff…stuff that can impress
you; but their lives have not been changed by what they preach due to a lack of
any DOING of what they preach. By not
doing what they know, what they know is without the power to change their
souls. The current does not yet flow through the soul to the body in obedience
to the will of IAUE. They are yet carnal.
They are proud; and IAUE resists the proud.
In our last post we
introduced a concept that will help kick-start the process in your life of
conforming to the likeness of IAUE. The
only way that happens is by abandoning ourselves to the performance of His
will; and though we may have never thought of this way before, when the
Scripture tells us to do something, we can know that is the same thing as IAUE
saying out loud to us, “This is what I want you, (put your name here) to do.” We do not have to wait to hear a word spoken
to us any more personally than this. The
Scriptures ARE personal; and they reveal the Father’s will. Last week we read in the Scriptures that we
are to give thanks in all things; in everything give thanks because THIS
IS THE WILL OF IAUE IN MESSIAH YAHUSHUA CONCERNING US.
Did you practice
doing that this past week? It didn’t
turn out to be as simple a task as expected, did it? Do you know why it was
more complicated than you thought it would be?
It is because the pathway from the spirit to the body was obstructed by
a heart that still resists the will of IAUE, a mind that needs to be renewed, a
will that is still proud, and emotions that were more in tune with the flesh
than with the spirit. In other words, we
need to grow up.
After we thank IAUE for
having a night’s rest, for the sunshine or the rain, for our friends and
family, for a job that provides for us, for our relationship with Him, etc.,
only five minutes have passed and we still have another 14 hours before we go
to sleep. What on earth are we going to
say for the next 24 hours? You see, we have to be able to see or recognize the
hand of IAUE working in our lives to know why we can give thanks to Him in all
things. When our minds are yet
unrenewed, we tend to automatically evaluate the “all things” in our lives
based on how they bless or inconvenience us in the natural world. We need to thank Him anyway. That completes the circuit and draws the life
of the spirit through the soul and outward into the body. If we persist in it, we can detect fairly
readily that it is changing us on the inside.
Our soul discovers a new dimension of walking in the spirit that is
transformative. It is really just that
simple. So, keep on thanking Him in
everything.
Now we move to
another easy way to help effect the transformation of the soul.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 Rejoice evermore.
This is the will of
IAUE concerning us. It is clear and
unmistakable. We are to rejoice
always. Rejoicing simply means to express
the joy that is within us. Joy is a
powerful force invested within our newborn spirit. It functions very much like a seed, that when
watered and cultivated bears fruit. (Hint:
This is the process of bringing EVERYTHING out of our spirit.) Joy is an
attribute of our newborn spirit.
Rejoicing is the fruit of joy manifested by our body.
Today, my wife and I
flew from Austin to Denver for the weekend (the 4th of July is her
birthday). We had made reservations for
a rental car and prepaid the fee. When
we took the shuttle from the airport to the rental car lot, we stepped off the
shuttle only to form the end of a line of about 60 people waiting to rent a
car. The counter was literally 30 yards
long with 16 separate stations for clerks to attend to the customers wanting to
rent cars…only there were only two clerks working the counter; and they did not
seem to be in much of a hurry. A man who
was about 40 people in front of us said he had been in line for an hour and a half. “Naturally,” (literally, out of my flesh) I
began to wonder out loud to my wife what was the point of a reservation if we
have to wait forever in a line of people who had not made reservations. She smiled at me and reminded me of who we
are in Messiah; and I remembered (I had already begun to write this post while
in Austin) that the first two words of my blog this week were “Rejoice
evermore.”
Immediately, we
began to thank IAUE in the present circumstance, and to rejoice in Him. The release from our spirit was immediate,
and joy began to seize our souls. Within
a couple of minutes there were seven people working the counter, and the line
began to move more swiftly. By the time
we neared the end of the line there was a different spirit in the entire hall
(not that anyone could hear us giving thanks to IAUE and rejoicing in Him…it
was simply the release of the power of the Holy Spirit through our obedience to
His will), more and more people began to laugh and make jokes; and the
oppressiveness of the circumstances were lightened to a virtual life-comedy. When people went up to the clerks as their
time arrived, they were not nasty to the clerks. They were friendly and smiling. The release of the power of the Holy Spirit
through thanksgiving and joy destroyed the anger, depression and irritation.
I share that
illustration to make a point. IAUE does
not require that we do His will as an end in itself. IAUE wants us to do His will also because it
releases His power through us to those around us. It also changes us…and that is the point of
this series of studies.
Try to make a
conscious point of giving thanks in everything on a daily basis; and to rejoice
in IAUE and in Yahushua all the time.
This is work at first; but the more we do it; the more the manifestation
of the power of the Holy Spirit is effected in us and through us. That only gives us more reason to be thankful
and to rejoice. It feeds upon itself
like an endless loop, growing greater and greater within us…to the
transformation of the soul. Get it?
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
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