FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
Luke
9:23 And
he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and
take up his stake daily, and follow me.
Last
week’s post ended with this comment:
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Pride is still very much appreciated within the rank
and file of Christendom, for it is never fully condemned. Only in the most egregious manifestations of
it is its evil ever perceived.
Our need for acceptance within the masses is
mandated by our prideful need for approval.
The readers of this blog learn from the very start that I do not use the
terms, “God,” “Lord,” and “Christ,” because these terms are all derived from
the names of pagan deities; and are not faithful English translations of the
Hebrew texts. I also do not use the name “Jesus,” because it is not the Master’s
name. There is no “J” in Hebrew; and “Jesus”
is actually a from an early English phonetic translation of the Latin “Iesus,” (when
the letter “J” in English was pronounced as a “Y”). The Latin was from the
Greek “Iesous,” which was a failed phonetic translation of “Yahushua.” The
Greek language did not have sufficient alphabetic structure to render his name
properly, lacking the letter “Y” as well as the “sh” dipthong. There is also
reason to consider that the Greek rendering is actually a compound word
connecting the names of two pagan deities, “Ieso” and “Zeus.” Despite all other considerations, we know
that his name was “Yahushua;” so why would we even consider calling him
something else? There is one
reason. If you embrace the correct names
and titles of “IAUE,” “Elohim,” “Master,” and especially, “Yahushua,” you will
immediately no longer fit in with the masses.
You will be looked upon as weird and unacceptable within the
contemporary Christian church setting. You will be looking for new friends and
associations within days. Most peoples’
pride will not allow that to happen.
The same is true for embracing doctrines that
contradict what the masses believe. I was raised in the Baptist church. Shortly after I received the Holy Spirit, I
was no longer welcome in the Baptist church.
(Actually, I was ASKED to leave my church; but it was not because I was
speaking in tongues or healing the sick or prophesying; it was because all I
wanted to talk about was the Master. I didn’t
want to talk about church socials, and picnics and the last football game. I did not want to waste a moment’s time
within the Body discussing anything that was not immediately relevant to our
walk with Messiah. That made them so
terribly uncomfortable that they actually asked me to leave.) The security of
being one of the masses over being the “odd one out” is compelling and
overwhelming until the root of pride is addressed. Elohim resists the proud. He gives grace to the humble. Before whom will we stand in the day of
judgment? Will it be 6 million Baptists;
or will it be IAUE? Will the masses
protect you then? No; and neither will
they protect you, now.
Luke
14:27 And whosoever doth not
bear his stake, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
What is this stake that Yahushua instructs His
disciples to take up daily? If we do not know, then we cannot take it up
and we are daily in disobedience to the one we call our Master. (Note: the Romans did not use a cross bar when they executed criminals
by impaling. Like the Hebrews always did,
the Romans used a stake, a tree trunk.
The cross was imagery taken much later from the Roman letter “Tau” which
letter was used to represent one of the Roman pagan deities.)
Deuteronomy 21:23 His body shall not remain all night upon the
tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged
is accursed of Elohim;) that thy land be not defiled, which IAUE thy Elohim
giveth thee for an inheritance.
To the Jews, the most significant aspect of death by impaling was that
the condemned man was "accursed of Elohim."
He was not simply convicted of crimes worthy of death in man's eyes; he was
deserving of Elohim's contempt. His death was a matter of divine
judgment.
Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Yahushua also, that he might
sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
On the night of Messiah’s betrayal and trial, in
great agony He besought His Father for any other option than the stake; but He
was resigned to do the will of His Father regardless the cost. When the Scripture
says that Yahushua "suffered without the gate," it implies that He was accursed of Elohim,
for the sentence of impaling could not be carried out within the city of
Jerusalem. The condemned had to hang upon a tree outside of the gates of
the city.
It was upon the stake that Yahushua received in His
body the sentence of death upon man's sins. It was there that Elohim
demonstrated His condemnation of fallen man, and His justice in delivering
death to the Lawbreaker. Though Yahushua was pure and innocent, He bore
the shame of Elohim's curse and the sentence of death on our behalf. His
identification with the stake demonstrated his agreement with the justness of
Elohim's condemnation upon all disobedience to His will.
Hebrews 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp,
bearing his reproach.
14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
The Hebrews author invites the disciple to obey the words of Yahushua as
set forth in our verse for today. The words are different, but the
message is the same. "Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp.” This first
element of the stake means that we, too, are to go outside of the gates of the
city and identify with Elohim's curse upon man's fallen nature. Though we
are not physically impaled, we are identifying with the purpose and meaning of
impaling. This identification is what Yahushua expects of us. We
are to regard our human will as under the curse of Elohim, not to be trusted
for wisdom any more than a vial of poison should be trusted for a beverage.
The second element of the stake is "bearing his reproach." This is the death blow to pride. It was
humiliating to be thought to be accursed of Elohim, to be regarded as under
Elohim's judgment. We should feel this reproach and humiliation every
time we regard our own will over Elohim's will.
What is our motivation to take up this stake every
day? "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one
to come." Just as the father of our
faith, Abraham, was called to go unto a place he knew not, unto a city whose
builder and maker is Elohim (Hebrews 11:8-10); we are united with him in that
promise. We are children of a kingdom whose day of revelation is yet to
come.
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his stake daily, and
follow me.
Each day we are to recognize Elohim's condemnation upon our human will,
and the justness of that condemnation. Each day we are to acknowledge the
shamefulness of our sinful human flesh. Each day we are to take up the
purpose to forsake our will and our right to exercise our will apart from its
agreement with the will of Elohim. This is the stake that our Messiah
instructs us to take up daily. If we
fail or refuse to do this, we cannot be his disciple.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance
of the will of IAUE.
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