THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

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FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE

Psalm 34:1 I will bless IAUE at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Discipleship---What is it?  How do you know it when you see it?  A genuine disciple of anything/anyone is someone who studies what they teach, learns it to the best of their abilities, endeavors to reproduce in their own lives what they see and admire in their “master,” and attempts to pass on the joy of their relationship and experience with their master to others.  It changes the way they talk.

Consider anyone you have ever known who has become truly enamored with someone or something.  It is all they watch, study, learn, and talk about.  Sometimes you wish they would just shut up or at least talk about something else for a change.  The problem is, they have given themselves wholly to that thing or person, and it has become all consuming.  They would find discussing almost anything else a matter of insignificance, and even find it perplexing that you are not equally fascinated. 

A boy with his first girlfriend talks of nothing else but her.  All of his life’s experiences are now seen as through her eyes.  A techno-nerd with the latest “gizmo” or the next advance in computer technology is consumed by it and it is all he can talk about.  Both of them have a new vocabulary that distinguishes them from the “ordinary” person, and unless you are one of the “extraordinary,” their speech only demonstrates to you something you do not have.   

A disciple of Messiah is wholly given to Him.  He esteems every word from his lips.  He watches the way the Master moves, the way he acts, the way he reacts, the things he does, the things he doesn’t do, in order to evaluate and understand the nature of his life in action, in order to learn and to absorb every single bit of it; and he cannot keep from speaking of it.  It pours out like an over-filled glass.  “His cup runneth over.”

You can tell a lot about the measure of a person’s discipleship to Yahushua by the words he/she speaks.  Worldly speech and common emotion-driven reactions to things in life only reveal that they have nothing different than you have and clearly are not learning from the one who is meek and lowly in heart.  It is when the words do not match the person’s experience that something beyond the ordinary is revealed; and which demonstrates the distinguishing mark of genuine discipleship.  When insults, abuse, mistreatment, burdens, hardships, afflictions, wrongful attitudes assail and the words from your mouth are blessing and praise to IAUE (not through gritted teeth), your life demands others to take note that you have been with Elohim.  Remember Paul and Silas in jail in Philippi, having had their backs opened with stripes?  At midnight they sang and gave praise to Elohim.  The manifestation of the life of the Master within them was responsible for the divine rescue of the jailer and his entire household (Acts 16).

When one blesses IAUE at all times; and His praise is continually in his mouth, there is no opportunity to speak evil of another, to criticize or to complain, or to “speak one’s mind” about something that is deemed insulting or demeaning.  When even in those circumstances, blessing and praise comes out of the mouth, genuine discipleship is revealed; and the fragrance of the joy of the Kingdom of Elohim disseminates like bait to a world of fishes.

2 Corinthians 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of Elohim, and not of us.

What flows out of our lives naturally by the Spirit is perceived by the world as something extra-human.  Our lives, the way we live them, are expected to be understood as manifesting something of the divine.  Our lives are not supposed to be lived just like everyone else’s, and the only difference between us and those without the Master is what we believe; and one of the most “sure-fired” ways for this to be evident is when blessing and praise of IAUE are continually in our mouth.

It is fairly easy to implement this as a matter of practice; because it is something you can “do” as opposed to something you must “be.”  Remember the law could regulate only the outward behavior---something you could do.  It could not regulate the inner man of the heart---something you must be.  It is appropriate to implement into our lives something we have learned while still in pursuit of the “revelation” of that truth…to behave in accordance with doctrine learned while awaiting the revelation of the Spirit that makes such behavior the natural manifestation of the life borne within. 

In other words, practice this.  Become mentally conscious of your words.  When occasion arises (and it will, frequently) to speak negatively about someone, to criticize someone, to complain about your job, your car, your finances, your spouse, your children, your friends, your life in general, praise IAUE instead.  Give no occasion for flesh-driven speech to pass through your lips.  This is something you can consciously do.  At first, you may see it as just an experiment on your part; but the longer you regulate your speech in this manner, the more revelation will come to you bringing you life, such that blessing and praise will become natural to express what the Master has done on the inside of you.

1 Corinthians 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify Elohim in your body, and in your spirit, which are Elohim’s.

We have been bought with a price. We are no longer our own.  One died for us so that we who live would no longer live for ourselves; but would live for the one who died for us.  That is the great exchange of the disciple’s life.

Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

It is critical that we understand that as a disciple, we do not have the liberty of exercising even our own thought life as we please.  We are completely and utterly the Master’s possession.  Thoughts that wander off into fleshly regions, whether that be of “the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16), or thoughts of resentment, anger, frustration, haughtiness, etc., are unacceptable to the Master.  Such thoughts are symptoms of subversion.  Yes, allowing such a thought life to exist, to contemplate our own plans, our own attitudes, our own objectives, is to develop rebellion against the King and his kingdom.  No man can serve two masters.

2 Corinthians 10:5  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of Elohim, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Messiah;

Romans 8:6   For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim: for it is not subject to the law of Elohim, neither indeed can be.
8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please Elohim.

A mind that is not brought into captivity to the obedience to the Master is a mind that is an enemy to the kingdom; because, ultimately, it does not recognize the authority of the King, nor his right to rule over you.   It is imperative that “believers” realize that they have not simply received a free gift and are awaiting the date upon which it may be collected…pie in the sky bye and bye.  If we have “accepted” Messiah, we have embraced a King; and if a King, then we become His servant in every meaning of the word.

Like “the Lists” in a previous lesson, endeavoring to bless IAUE at all times; and letting His praise continually be in our mouths, will be very self-revealing.  It will demonstrate to ourselves how much of our heart really belongs to the Master, and how thoroughly (or not) our knee is bowed to his authority.  These are important lessons to be learned early in our adventure as disciples of Yahushua Messiah.

THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

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THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM

REPENTANCE

Matthew 4:17  From that time Yahushua began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

In our last lesson, I suggested a project that I call doing “The Lists.”  You were to populate the following three categories with everything you could think belongs on the list.

1.     Whatever is in your life that you KNOW is displeasing to the Father.  

2.     Whatever is currently in your life that you would resist if the Father required it of you. 

3.     Whatever is currently NOT in your life that you would resist if the Father required it be brought into your life. 

Once the lists were complete, you were to work through the items on the list one by one; removing each item from your list when you arrived at a place where you knew you would no longer resist the will of Elohim.  If you have taken up this task in earnestness, you have already discovered how extraordinarily revealing this project can be.  You have been shocked to see how easy it has been in your life to call Him your Master, but how little practical application of that relationship actually existed.  For some, just the thought of doing this task brought rushing to the front of your brain, things that you immediately realized you did not want Him touching.  Far from simply being a place of resistance to His will, you discovered you just absolutely did not want even to allow Him opportunity to speak into your life regarding certain things.  Some of you have discovered the shameful façade of your own commitment of faith.  What you need to understand is that you are not alone.  Most pastors and teachers and leaders in the church would have the exact same reaction to this task; and the majority of the church would never even take it upon themselves to allow an opportunity for such self-incrimination.

I recall an event in my life when I was a teenage boy.  I was alone with my girlfriend; and she said, “Let’s pray together.”  It was like dumping a bucket of ice water on me; because, as one might imagine, praying together was not on my agenda at that moment; and the very thought of praying brought Elohim into a place I did not want Him at the time.  An experience similar to this has now become common to all who have taken it upon themselves to do the Lists.  We have learned that there are many places in our lives where we would not want to invoke the Father’s presence, as that would upset the “balance of power.”  You know what I mean.  There are things over which we freely allow IAUE to be the authority, as long as we, too, have our own domain where we retain the right of control.

There are many benefits from doing the Lists; but the one I want to identify in this lesson is this.  Being awakened to see the extent that our hearts will go to resist the will of the one we say we serve and love, demonstrates in a very practical way the fact that we have never properly responded to the gospel.  By this, I am not saying that you do not have a relationship with Messiah or Elohim.  You very likely would not be reading this if you did not already have a fervent commitment to Messiah.

Last week’s lesson was about how to move from an academic understanding of doctrinal truths to possessing the revelation of those truths.  Paul tells us that “The letter kills. The spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). Doctrine alone does not give us the power to change our lives.  It is the revelation of that teaching that imparts the power to change us on the inside.  Anyone can act good on the outside.  IAUE wants our hearts. 

If you have been following this blog from the beginning, you may have noticed that I often contrast my words against the experience within “contemporary Christianity.”  In fact, the purpose of this blog is to identify and assist that handful of believers in every church that know deep within themselves that their church experience cannot be what Messiah died to produce.  So, you are already aware within yourselves that contemporary Christianity is sorely lacking in something.  You may not know just what that something is.  Well, it begins here.  The gospel of the modern church is not the gospel of the early church. 

When John (Yohannes) was raised up to prepare the way of the Messiah, this is what he preached:

Matthew 3:1  In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2  And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

When Messiah was revealed to Israel at his baptism, shortly afterward, he was led into the wilderness for 40 days and nights, where he was tempted by Satan.  The Scripture says that when he returned from the wilderness, he returned in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14); and:  

Matthew 5:17  From that time Yahushua began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

When Yahushua sent his disciples out two-by-two, empowering them to minister the gospel with power, what did they preach?

Mark 6:12  And they went out, and preached that men should repent.

After Messiah had been impaled, buried and resurrected; before he returned to the right hand of the Father, what did he tell his disciples to preach?  What was the charge he gave to his followers?

Luke 24:45  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
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.

On the day of Pentecost, when Peter preached the very first message of “the church age” to the Jews in Jerusalem, what did he preach?

Acts 2:37  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

When Paul spoke the gospel to the gentiles, what did he preach?

Acts 17:30  And the times of this ignorance Elohim winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

When Paul made his defense to King Agrippa as to why he was being held captive in Caesarea, what did he say he had been doing when he was arrested?

Acts 26:20  But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to Elohim, and do works meet for repentance.

In its purest essence, the gospel is this:  “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  The good news is that through repentance we may access the grace and goodness of Elohim and escape the execution of the just sentence upon man’s rebellious and resistant heart, and enter into a vibrant relationship with our Master and our Elohim right now.  The gospel declared by the church, today, is an invitation to accept a free gift and secure a place in Heaven when we die.  The gospel preached by Yohannes, Yahushua, and the apostles, was not an invitation, but a command to repent.  That message was not encapsulated in a declaration of wonderful promises and glorious things that we would inherit if we prayed “the magic prayer.”  There were no such enticements to the lost to accept Messiah.  All of that is the “children’s bread.”  To the lost, the message was, “repent.” 

Today, the church finds repentance an inconceivable message that would bring the lost to the Master.   We live in an age where the choice to be made must come with better benefits than what we are currently experiencing. What passes for the gospel, today, is not much different than an invitation to take a new job.  It had better be a job with better pay and better benefits if you expect someone to leave their current job for it.  A command to repent because the Master is soon to return in the power of his kingdom simply does not seem a wise message to us.  Our church pews could never be populated with people responding to that message…at least that is what we think.  But then…

Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25  There is a way that seemeth right to a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.

There are two words in the Greek New Testament for “repent.”  One means to “feel sorry for, to experience remorse.”  The other means “to change your mind, to change the way you think about something.”  The repentance that is common to the contemporary church is nothing more than the natural response to feelings of guilt.  It produces such comments as, “I knew better than to do that.” and, “I am so sorry for having done that.”  Even deep remorse that produces what I call “a balancing act” is not genuine repentance.  It is a natural instinct within man to want to do an equal amount of good to balance out the bad that he has acknowledged he has done.  Whole lives have been dedicated to missions or good deeds in an effort to balance out sins that are deemed to have been severe or even “disqualifying.”  All such repentance has value in the eyes of man, but is worthless in the eyes of IAUE, because it does not deal with the way you think about sin. 

Genuine repentance produces a change in thought.  With genuine repentance we learn to hate what IAUE hates and love what IAUE loves.  We can never be free of a sin that we still love; and we can only love sin if we think wrongly about it.  Someone once told me, “If our eyes could see the hulking demon lurching over us, laughing at us as we enjoy the sin he has enticed us to commit; we would never go there again.” If you have been working through your “Lists,” you have come to understand the nature of your resistance to the will of Elohim; and it is changing the way you think about the luxuries you have retained while still professing to be the servant of the Most High.

For those of you who have taken “the Lists” seriously, you know only too well that the gospel of repentance was missing from your life.  You now know why the Sunday sermons and even your daily Bible study were not providing you with the power to change your life on the inside.  Your head knowledge was in conflict with your experience. Like Paul’s testimony in Romans 7, you knew to do good, but the performance of it was not in you.  Believers around the world have been living their lives to look good on the outside with constant conflict on the inside.  It has produced secret lives in many believers…lives they would be ashamed of having exposed…lives, hopefully, that you have enumerated on “the Lists” and are now experiencing the grace of IAUE empowering you to repent and to be free on the inside.  

BUY THE TRUTH

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DISCIPLESHIP 101

THE FIRST LESSON IN DISCIPLESHIP - III

Proverbs 23:23  Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

Let’s recap what we have covered so far.

1.  We must choose to take upon ourselves the Master’s yoke.  Within the yoke, we forfeit all right to our own life and to self-determination.  We become the servant of the Master, and our lives are devoted to the performance of his will.

2.  As a disciple we are purposed to become like the Master in all respects.   The first attribute that he wants us to learn of him is that he is meek and lowly in heart.

3.  Meekness is power under control.  It is being content to be under the control of another; the resignation of our will to his.  We can be useful to the Master’s Kingdom only when our resistance to his will has been harnessed.

4.  Lowliness of heart is the firm conviction that you are no better than anyone else.  If pride exists, lowliness of heart does not.  If you seek to be noticed, if you feel the need to protect your image, if you need to make people think you are something special, your life is focused on you; and you do not see others as you ought.  This will forever limit your usefulness to the Master.  One must be at peace without and within.  This is the first lesson of discipleship unto Messiah.

Genuine discipleship is not marked or graded by the pursuit of training certificates or college degrees.  Accrual of information is necessary, but that is not an end unto itself.  When the Master says we must learn of him meekness and lowliness of heart, he was not referring merely to learning and believing the information presented in this and the last posting. 

1 Corinthians 8:2  And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

The Scripture, and all that is within it, serves a variety of purposes.  Paul told Timothy that “All scripture is given by inspiration of Elohim, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).  Such purposes can be gleaned by reading the words on the page and taken to heart.  Messiah said that the Scripture testifies of him; and that is the purpose that provides the change that takes place on the inside of man. 

Discipleship is concerned about both the regulation of the outward behavior and the inward man of the heart.  We see this in the first command to learn Messiah’s meekness and lowliness of heart.  Contemporary Christianity appears almost completely content with the former, allowing the heart to retain every imaginable negative attitude and pride as long as it is not demonstrated outwardly.  I attained a position of respect and leadership in the church and held that place for many years.  I was able to display the most spiritual deportment and attitudes required of the Christian culture; but inside, like the Pharisees, I was full of dead men’s bones---self-will, pride, ego, etc.  Mostly, this was due to my lack of lowliness of heart.  Though I could teach on any subject, knew the Scriptures better than most, ministered in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I had not learned the first lesson of discipleship in the way that it mattered.  I knew it with my mind, academically; but I had no revelation of it.  That is what we need to discuss in this lesson, today.

Some people refer to this as the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge.  I prefer to contrast it as academic understanding versus revelation. The question is, how do you move from a doctrinal understanding of a matter to actually possessing the revelation of it?   Even the simplest and most obvious of biblical truths is subject to this contrast. 

The quick answer to the question is, “The Father must reveal it to you.”  That is the bottom line; and we cannot force the Father’s hand to do anything.  He does not work for us.  We serve Him.  Since we cannot make revelation happen, we must look at how to facilitate it, how to provide the Father with an invitation such that He would be inclined to provide us with the revelation we desire.

Romans 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim: for it is not subject to the law of Elohim, neither indeed can be.
8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please Elohim.

A mind focused on self is the enemy of the Father.  Such a mind may earnestly desire doctrine, and to the extent study is devoted to that pursuit, doctrine may be obtained; but it is not a mind that is qualified to receive revelation.

James 4:6  …Elohim resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

This word “resisteth” in the Greek, is a military term meaning, “to be set in opposition against as to an enemy of war.”  The praise of men does not attain the grace of IAUE.  Any such attitude of heart that causes the Father to be our enemy is not an attitude that qualifies us for revelation.

A verse well known to the Christian community is:

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Who can know it, indeed?  Many years ago, the Father showed me a way to help understand my own heart.  It is a strategy that forces one to be honest with himself.  It can bypass the instinctive lies we tell ourselves in order to maintain our own self-image within acceptable parameters.  I call it “The Lists.”  I would encourage you to try this exercise as a step toward qualifying yourself for revelation.

On a sheet of paper draw three columns.  The headings of these three columns should be:

1.    Whatever is in your life (thoughts, attitudes, actions) that you KNOW is displeasing to the Father.   This is a list of sins you allow in your life.  It is usually fairly easy to compile this list, because if you have any sensitivity at all to the Spirit, He has already spoken to you on these matters.

2.    Whatever is currently in your life that you would resist if the Father required it of you.  This can include almost anything:  your comfort, your job, your home, your family, foods you enjoy, liberties you enjoy, your possessions.  This list helps identify things in your life that you enjoy, things for which you have any particular attachment. It could be the beverage you prefer to drink, a particular food you would not want to be without, an object that holds sentimental value, places you go, things you do, the music you listen to, the TV shows you watch, the movies you attend, etc. Think of things you love, appreciate, are fond of, hold dear, enjoy.  Any of these things that would be a problem releasing were it required of you goes on this list.  A person who belongs to the Master does not have the privilege of holding to anything if the Master should require it.  (I had to include such things as my enjoyment of popcorn or bread.  Yes, even the most innocuous things can be on this list if you know you would have difficulty giving them up if required.)

3.    Whatever is currently NOT in your life that you would resist if the Father required it be brought into your life.  This list is possibly the most difficult to compile because it is about things that are not currently a function of your life.  They represent changes to your life; a different job, a different home, a change of wardrobe, adding to your family, allowing a new or modified relationship.  It may include that thing you say you will never do, or would never want to do, like move to Alaska or be a missionary in Africa. Think of things you would not want in your life, things you hate, things that would be unpleasant or "go against the grain" of your personal preferences, your likes and dislikes. There is potentially no limit to what could populate this list; but if you enter this task with a true desire to be pleasing to the Father, you will be made to know what goes on this list. 

I can assure you that the Holy Spirit will work with you intimately to draw up these lists if you really want to weed out every vestige of resistance to the Father’s will. The Father knows your areas of resistance better than you do.  A sincere pursuit of this project will be very rewarding.

Once you are satisfied that your lists are as complete as the Holy Spirit wants them to be (which means it may only be as complete as He knows you can handle the first time), then go through the lists and strike off each item when you have found the grace to no longer resist the Father’s will in that matter.  This is not accepting that these things ARE the Father's will for you.  It is arriving at the place where IF they were to become the Father's will you would not resist obeying Him. When you are enabled to strike off the last item on the list your life will change. 

If you approach the lists with pride in your heart, you may be like someone I suggested do the lists.  He thought about it for five minutes and couldn’t think of anything to go on any of the lists.  As well as I knew him, I could have populated the lists for him, and they would not have been small lists.   His pride would not permit him to disclose even to himself that he was full of resistance to the Father’s will.  It was because he had a specific objective he wanted to accomplish in his life, and if he took this project seriously, he knew it would mean the death of his personal dream.

A disciple may have only one dream; and that is to do the will of Elohim.  Once this becomes the purpose of our heart, our lives invite the voice of the Spirit.  We become candidates for revelation.   We are instructed to “buy the truth and sell it not.”  There is always a price to be paid to receive the revelation of Elohim.  The first price to be paid is the resistance we would raise up against the logical consequences of what the Father would reveal.