FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP
RENEWING
THE MIND – IX
THE
GOSPEL - 7
…..
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.
We have discussed
this before, but it bears repeating, especially regarding this series that we
are bringing to a close, today. Words
that we use exclusively within a religious context are virtually always
corrupted as to their true meaning. “Righteousness,”
“sanctification,” “redemption,” ”grace,” “faith,” “saved,” “salvation,”
etc. All of these words are
misunderstood by most because they are only understood within the context of religion.
One more word to add
to this list is “gospel.” We have already
thoroughly explained that to “preach the gospel” actually means “to herald the
good news.” Still, the word is so
ingrained within our thinking that just having read that particular post where
this was discussed was likely insufficient to replace your traditional
thinking. It is like the man who looks
in the mirror, then upon turning from the mirror, forgets what manner of man he
is. It is in your best interest never to use the word “gospel”
again, within any context; because of the religious corruption of the
term. It means, “the good news that the
long-anticipated Messiah has finally come.”
THIS is what the Jews heard whenever they heard someone say: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand.” It was THIS that was such
amazingly good news…the Messiah has come!
Mark 1:14 …Yahushua came into Galilee, preaching the
gospel (heralding the good news) of the
kingdom of IAUE,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of IAUE is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
What I want to
address in this post is why repentance is the proper response to this good news;
and what “the kingdom of heaven” (or “the kingdom of IAUE”) is at hand means. We will take this in reverse order.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN/IAUE IS AT HAND:
Simply put, the
Kingdom of IAUE, to the Jew, meant the kingdom IAUE would restore to the house
of David with the Messiah as its king. For the kingdom to be “at hand” means
that its manifestation is near…it is upon us…it is imminent, like a conquering
army just on the other side of the horizon battling its way to where you
live. Those that align themselves with
the King as he moves across the land become partakers of the power and wonder
of his kingdom, NOW. Those that do not
align themselves with the King find his disciples shaking the dust off their
feet as a testimony against them.
You will remember
that when Jeroboam led ten tribes to the north of Jerusalem (the northern
kingdom of Israel), he did so upon the call, “What portion
have we in David? (1 Kings 12:16)” The rejected the promise of Messiah,
forsook the bloodline of David and set up their own domain serving idols until
the day their kingdom was destroyed by Assyria.
The tribes of Judah
and Benjamin remained faithful to the promise of the coming Messiah. They suffered
through good kings, bad kings, captivity to Babylon, and oversight by gentile
nations for hundreds of years; always anticipating the word, the herald who
would proclaim that the promised Messiah has appeared.
The actual word/term
“Messiah” is only found twice in the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures,
and that is in Daniel 9:25-26. The
Hebrews, however, connected Daniel’s prophecy with many other Scriptures that
foretold of the one who would come from the House of David to assume the throne
and rule all the nations forever. A
definite legend of the coming Messiah was created, and the lore was passed down
from generation to generation.
You can look at the
record of the gospel of John and see what they expected.
John 1:25 And they asked him, and said unto him,
Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Messiah, nor
Elias, neither that prophet?
John 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh…when
he is come, he will tell us all
things.
John 4:42 …we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is
indeed the Messiah, the Saviour of the world.
John 6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Messiah,
the Son of the living Elohim.
John 11:27 She saith unto him, Yea, Master: I believe that thou art the Messiah,
the Son of Elohim, which should come into the world.
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye
might believe that Yahushua is the Messiah, the Son of Elohim;
and that believing ye might have life through his name.
John 7:31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Messiah cometh, will he do more miracles than these which
this man hath done? (Luke 17:19-22)
John 7:42 Hath not the scripture said,
That Messiah cometh of
the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
John 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Messiah abideth for ever:
and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
The
Hebrew people believed that Messiah would come of the seed of David, out of the
town of Bethlehem. They believed he
would work signs and wonders, healing the sick and setting the captives free of
demonic oppression. They believed he
would baptize his followers and teach them all things they could not understand
from the Scriptures by their own study.
They believed he would rule forever (which is why belief in the
resurrection of Yahushua is a requirement).
They believed his kingdom would be one of deliverance to the entire
world. They believed he would be the son
of IAUE. As such, his kingdom would exercise
total dominion over all the kingdoms of this world. Messiah would be their King; and they would
be his blessed subjects, as all the nations of this world would be put under
their feet, never again to rise up against them and subject them to bondage.
Matthew 2:1 Now
when Yahushua was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he
that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.
The Hebrews did not
have an understanding that Messiah would die to pay the penalty due their sins,
to bring forgiveness to them. They did
not understand the new birth, the gift of the Holy Spirit, possessing the mind
of Messiah. All such things were
mysteries to them. What was NOT a
mystery was that the Messiah was to be worshipped. This word “worship” (proskuneo) means to bow upon the knees and
kiss the hand of one who is deemed both of a higher status than you, and one
who deserves and requires obedience to his will. True worship requires a change of heart, a
change of mind, a change of attitude, a change of behavior.
REPENT:
Is there little
wonder why the wonderful news that Messiah has come is accompanied with the
command to repent? The history of the
Hebrew people is replete with their repeated refusal to obey the voice of IAUE,
which precipitated His judgment. Once
they were properly aligned to hear and obey His voice, all went well with them;
but that never lasted for long. They
knew that when Messiah came, they would HAVE to be of a mind and heart to do
his will as humble and obedient servants.
That meant that life as they knew it was over. If they were going to enjoy the benefits of
the Kingdom of IAUE under the reign of the Messiah, they would have to reckon
themselves dead to their former life and alive to the authority of Messiah.
One of the most
telling parables that Yahushua ever related regarding the nature of the Kingdom
of IAUE is recorded in Luke 19:11-27. It
ended with this somber declaration.
Luke 19:27 But those mine enemies, which
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Who are the enemies
of Messiah? All who do not want to be
obedient to his authority over them…all who want to retain the right to
determine the course of their own lives.
If the proclamation
that Messiah has come fills your heart with the anticipation of his majestic
and glorious kingdom and you are ready to serve him forever, then the
proclamation is good news to you. If,
however, it spells the end of your self-rule and you will not tolerate such
interference in your self-government, it is not good news. You, however, will be gathered at the end of
the age and slain before him. The
Kingdom of IAUE will not be permitted to be occupied by rebels.
A day has been set
by IAUE; a day when He will send his son back to Jerusalem in the power of His
kingdom to sit upon the throne of David.
Between now and that day, it is for us to choose if we will repent, lay
down our life, embrace the King, hear his voice, do his will, and enjoy the abundant
life he gives NOW.
The King is coming.
Kingdom
heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the
performance of the will of IAUE.
No comments:
Post a Comment