FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 4:1 If
thou wilt return, O Israel, saith IAUE, return unto me: and if thou wilt put
away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2 And thou shalt swear, IAUE liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
2 And thou shalt swear, IAUE liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
3 For
thus saith IAUE to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground,
and sow not among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to IAUE, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
4 Circumcise yourselves to IAUE, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Last week’s post ended with this comment:
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The
ministry of the Old Testament prophets was fourfold.
- Attempt to turn the people of
IAUE from their sins.
- To announce coming judgment
(having failed to accomplish Purpose #1).
- Assuring the people that IAUE
will not destroy them all. He will retain
a remnant.
- Proclaiming that one would come from among the remnant who would draw all nations to IAUE unto a glorious future.
Yirmeyahu
(Jeremiah) was a particularly
unpopular prophet because his ministry focused on a last desperate effort to
accomplish Purpose #1, accompanied by an absolute certainty of a swift
fulfillment of Purpose #2. Specifically,
he was preparing the southern Kingdom of Judah to prepare for the destruction
of Jerusalem and the people being taken captive by the Babylonians.
Although we must acknowledge that this is a specific
message to the Hebrews just prior to the 606 BC invasion by the Babylonian
army, the principles within Yirmeyahu’s prophecy are valid for us, today; for
at the heart of it was the prophetic purpose of IAUE for His peoples for all
times.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 4:1 If
thou wilt return, O Israel, saith IAUE, return unto me: and if thou wilt put
away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
“If thou wilt return…return unto Me…then shalt thou not
remove” – Repentance, the very foundation
of the gospel message.
Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Messiah
to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:
47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
There
is no “security of the believer” without genuine repentance. We must return
to IAUE in the correct relationship and attitude of heart. We cannot “return” to a condition in which we
rely on IAUE to give us all good things, while we continue to pursue our own
will and life choices. That isn’t
returning at all. It is remaining right
where we have always been.
“put away thine abominations out
of my sight” – This is the
evidence of repentance.
Matthew 3: 6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his
baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee
from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore
fruits meet for repentance:
There
is no “return” to IAUE if we bring our sins along with us. We must put them away from our lives. We must look upon them with contempt as
things which promise us pleasure and satisfaction; but which have the singular
purpose of keeping us from our Elohim. What
are some of these “abominations” specifically?
17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in
running to mischief,
19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord
among brethren.
Proverbs 17:15 He that justifieth
the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to
IAUE.
Proverbs 21:27 The sacrifice of the
wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a
wicked mind?
These
are dead weights, an anchor that pulls us downward, taking our eyes and mind
and heart off of IAUE. With them there
is death and the sure promise of judgment.
Without them there is freedom and light and life and joy.
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 4:2 And thou shalt swear, IAUE liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
How
does one glory in an Elohim in “truth, in judgment,
and in righteousness” unless one’s life is in a positive relationship
with truth, judgment and righteousness, rather than being the object of their
vengeance?
We
who have come to IAUE through the provision of His son, Yahushua our Master and
Messiah, know from personal experience that walking free from sin, and not
falling prey to some of the items in the above listed abominations to IAUE, isn’t
the result of a singular one–time
“magic prayer” or decision we have made in the past. Just how do we accomplish
this “return” to IAUE and the putting away of the abominations in our life? We have all attempted to do so; and I would
dare say that virtually all of us have been perplexed at our results from time
to time.
Yirmeyahu
4:3 For
thus saith IAUE to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow
ground, and sow not among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to IAUE, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
4 Circumcise yourselves to IAUE, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
The
answer provided by the prophet is four–fold:
- Break
up your fallow ground.
- Sow not
among thorns.
- Circumcise
yourself to IAUE.
- Take
away the foreskin of your heart.
This, we shall investigate
next week.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance
of the will of IAUE.
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