A KINGDOM HEART - XXII

WBS.052

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XXII

John 7:17 If anyone chooses to do Elohim's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from Elohim or whether I speak on my own.

Last week’s post ended with this comment: 

	…we must provide for the continuous renewal of our thought processes by routine  and persistent exposure to the Scriptures and to the voice of the Holy Spirit… because the whole focus of our lives is to learn to think as He thinks, in order to learn more accurately and correctly how to know and to do His will.

 

When we first repented and bowed in allegiance to the Master Messiah Yahushua, we consciously forsook the sins of our past and the sins that were present in our, then, current life. We also consented to the justice of Elohim condemning our sinfulness...the very nature of our fallen humanity.  What we did not recognize at that time is the intrinsic evil of our own human will.  We held on to that, and in so doing, we retained an enemy of the will of Elohim.

Remember the story of Yahushua speaking to Peter and rebuking Satan?  Peter had simply told the Master that He should not go to Jerusalem to be crucified.

Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest (value the deductions and judgment of your own thoughts) not the things that be of Elohim, but those that be of men.

Peter's offense was not that he was thinking like the devil; it was that he was allowing the devil to manipulate him to value thinking like a man.  Peter’s will was to protect his Master. How could that be wrong? His will, however, was in direct conflict with his Master’s will and with the will of IAUE.  Even the apostle Paul battled with this conflict of wills.

Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

7  After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

This conflict of wills is such a prevalent problem with man that it is mentioned twice in the book of Proverbs:

Proverb 14:12 / Proverb 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Thinking like a man and acting upon our own thoughts of what is right or wrong, leads us down the wrong path. This is why it is necessary that our minds should be saturated with the Word of IAUE; why we should aggressively learn to hear and recognize the voice of the Spirit; and why we should earnestly seek to have our minds renewed that we might recognize the corruptness of our own thinking and the righteousness of the will of IAUE.  

What was the objective of the renewing of our minds?

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 Elohim.

The purpose of renewing our minds is to know the will of Elohim.  The word “prove” in this verse is from the Greek word “dokimazo” and it means “to recognize after examination that something is genuine; approved as the real thing.” This brings us to today's verse.

John 7:17 If anyone chooses to do Elohim's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from Elohim or whether I speak on my own.

A disciple of Yahushua who is learning to do Elohim's will must first contend with this problem of a conflict of wills.  Where there are two wills from which to choose, there will ALWAYS be confusion as to which one is Elohim's will.  This is actually guaranteed by Scripture.

James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of Elohim, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of IAUE.
8  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Until this problem is resolved, most believers do not even concern themselves with knowing the will of IAUE.  They are content to follow their own will.  Those that actually want to know the will of IAUE usually experience self-questioning.  It goes something like this:

"I think Elohim has directed me to do this; but do I think that because I really want to do the other thing, and I know Elohim would not want me to do what I want?"

Or the reverse:

"I think Elohim has directed me to do this; but do I think that because this is what I also really want to do; and I am just trying to convince myself that it is Elohim's will?"

The problem, then, is what I simply refer to as “preference.”  If I have a preference in any matter, then I will always have room to doubt what the will of IAUE is for my life in both the small, seemingly insignificant decisions, as well as in the big decisions.  You might say, “That is ridiculous!  We are always going to have a preference. We have likes and dislikes regarding every imaginable thing.  We are only human, you know?”  That is EXACTLY the problem.  We are only human; and the ways that seem right to us are the ways that lead to death.

So, what is the solution? 

John 7:17 If anyone chooses to do Elohim's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from Elohim or whether I speak on my own.

Before we ever ask for guidance, or listen to the voice of the Spirit regarding any matter, rejecting our own preferences as possible or even likely temptations to proceed down the wrong path, and choosing in advance regardless of the direction, to do Elohim's will is the solution to our confusion about spiritual guidance. Far too many of us, as disciples, seek to know Elohim's will about a matter so we can evaluate it and compare it against our own will.  

We seek to know Elohim's will because we know we are supposed to obey it; but in reality, we want first to be able to assess His will in terms of the reality and practicality of our own life.  This mindset betrays the fact we have not truly come under the authority of the Master; for a servant does not have the luxury of serving two masters.  This, then, is a litmus test of genuine discipleship. A disciple is one who has embraced the will of his Master, relegating his own will to a place of uselessness.

How many times have we prayed for guidance only to receive it and then to deny its usefulness as an option? We pass judgment on the will of Elohim as though our wisdom exceeds His.  It sounds something like this:

"Father, if I do or say 'that'...he will react very poorly; and I will have to deal with the fallout of his anger."

Or like this:

"Father, I can’t do that. It would be too embarrassing for me."

These are subtle forms of pride; and they need to be cauterized from our heart. Why?  It is because our Father Elohim resists the proud. He gives grace to the humble; and grace is the power He gives to "do" His will, not just to hear it.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

If we seek to know Elohim's will with the preemptive decision already in place that we will DO it when we discover it, He WILL make us to know His will. However, as long as we have our own will in place as an option, our own preferences as to what we want to do, the certainty of the counsel of Elohim will forever remain a mystery to us; and we are NOT his disciple.  A disciple wants to do his Master’s will no matter what it is.

We came to Messiah recognizing, as Paul did, that there is absolutely nothing good in ourselves to offer on our own behalf to receive Elohim's mercy. We were lost in darkness and in bondage to sin. We "trusted" Yahushua Messiah to rescue us and to provide us with His own righteousness. It is only a simple step of trust again to relinquish confidence in our own corrupted pitiable human will to rely upon the wisdom of Elohim's will for our lives.

It is what a kingdom heart does.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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A KINGDOM HEART - XXI

WBS.051

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XXI

Deuteronomy 6:4  Hear, O Israel: IAUE our Elohim; is one IAUE: 
5  And thou shalt love IAUE thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Last week’s post ended with this comment: 

	The gospel is not a message of “Just accept Jesus into your hearts and you will go to Heaven when you die.”  No, it is a command to a change of heart.  It is a transformation of life from enslavement to our own will to willful servitude to the Master’s will.  The end of this command is a loving and pure relationship with the King.

 

Yahushua came to prepare a people who will do the will of His Father. He demonstrated what that kind of life would look like by living it himself.

John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.

One of the most significant differences between contemporary Christian “believers” and “disciples” of Yahushua Messiah is that believers, once having believed, embrace a religious culture and live out their lives within the parameters of their church’s expectations.  A disciple is totally unconcerned with religious culture and is focused daily on the knowing and doing of the will of IAUE.  A believer can go about a normal week and seldom give thought to his/her faith; but a disciple finds it impossible to exist without a continuously attentive ear to the voice of the Holy Spirit. 

This ability of a believer to have very little conscious daily interaction with Messiah or with IAUE is a natural consequence of having responded to a false gospel message. When believers rest their confidence upon having once prayed to accept Messiah into their life to assure them of a blissful eternity; they are no longer placing “present continuous trust” in Messiah. Their faith has been replaced with confidence in a subjective experience in their own life.  The moment that happens, they step out of the flow of IAUE’s grace; and doing the will of IAUE becomes impossible to them.  (Note:  We are saved by grace; and grace is the power that IAUE gives that enables us to do His will.)

Part of the problem associated with this syndrome is what I have referred to in a prior posting as “the problem with the invisible god.”  Because we cannot SEE Him, we can lose awareness of Him; and the natural world around us takes over our lives, because it is what we can see, taste, hear, smell and feel.  These are the senses of our flesh; and our flesh is not to rule our lives.  IAUE understood this problem and made provision for it; and that brings us to our verses for today.

Deuteronomy 6:4  Hear, O Israel: IAUE our Elohim; is one IAUE: 
5  And thou shalt love IAUE thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

"Shema Yisrael, Adonai el-oheinu, Adonai echad."  It is the prayer that, for millenia, the Hebrews have prayed when they rise in the morning and when they retire at night.  It is the prayer uttered when full of joy and when bowed low in despair.  It is the first prayer taught to the children, and the last words uttered by the dying.  "Hear, O Israel: IAUE our Elohim, is one IAUE."

The "Shema" (as it is called) is a declaration of faith.  In its few words, the Hebrews declared that they were a monotheistic people; that they belonged to and worshipped the One True Elohim.  It identified who they were, both as a people and as individuals within the Hebrew collective.  There were no others like them on the earth.  They were "the people of IAUE."

Today, another prayer has taken an equal role in the lives of "the people of IAUE."  Yahushua taught His disciples to pray, "Our Father..." thus recognizing the nature of family among those whose Elohim is IAUE, while continuing to instill the reality that Elohim is One.  He is the Father.

It is helpful to understand the context of this prayer, which is taken from three separate passages in the Old Testament scriptures.  It is very revealing of the strategy and wisdom of IAUE.

Deuteronomy 6:1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which IAUE your Elohim commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
2 That thou mightest fear IAUE thy Elohim, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as IAUE, the Elohim of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
4 Hear, O Israel: IAUE our Elohim is one IAUE:
5 And thou shalt love IAUE thy Elohim with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."

Deuteronomy 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love IAUE your Elohim, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 And then IAUE's wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which IAUE giveth you.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which IAUE sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth."

Numbers 15:37 And IAUE spake unto Moses, saying,
38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of IAUE, and do them ; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your Elohim.
41 I am IAUE thy Elohim, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your Elohim: I am IAUE thy Elohim.

Can you see what is transpiring in these passages of scripture?  IAUE had separated unto Himself a chosen people (In the Old Covenant, it was the Hebrews.  In the New Covenant, He has made of both Jew and Gentile, one person in the Body of Messiah.); and devised a strategy for setting them apart from the rest of the world, and for sanctifying them before Himself. Man is a fallen and depraved creature.  To aid the Hebrews in living differently, in living as the people belonging to the One True Elohim, He gave them commandments and statutes and testimonies and judgments.  He instructed them to teach them to each other and to their children when they woke up in the morning, when they sat around the house, when they went outside, when they went to bed at night, and again upon rising the next morning...over and over and over again.  They were to wear them on their clothes and place them upon their door posts and upon the gates to their property.  If they were not able to discuss the Word of Elohim, they would at least be able to SEE it, and seeing it, be reminded of what Elohim required of them.  It was virtually impossible NOT to be aware of IAUE because of all the physical reminders.

When you are discussing and teaching the Word of Elohim when you first rise in the morning, when you are awake in your home, when you leave your home, when you return to your home, and when you lie down for bed at night, when is there time not to be aware of Elohim; and being made aware, not sense a responsibility to do as He wills? Yet, believers today struggle to find even five minutes each day to read the Scriptures.  We can find twenty minutes for the daily newspaper; we can find an hour to read the latest best-seller; we can find hours to watch television every day; but we cannot find time to read the Scriptures. Even when we attend church, we are exposed to little more than a verse here and a verse there.  At what time in the life of the contemporary disciple of Messiah Yahushua does he/she ever become literally saturated with the Scriptures as were the early Hebrews that obeyed the instructions in the above cited passages of scripture?

(Consider your own feelings as you were reading this post.  When you saw three large sections of Scripture, back to back, did you not feel the desire to bypass reading the Scripture and to move down to where the commentary continues, instead?  Why would a disciple not rather see it the other way; and long to read the Scripture, and consider the commentary as secondary reading material?)

Paul gave us the New Testament equivalent of the Shema when he said:

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Elohim, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Elohim, which is your reasonable service.
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 Elohim.

If we read this passage as a commandment given to us by IAUE through His chosen apostle; then we must acknowledge that in order to be obedient to this commandment, we must provide for the continuous renewal of our thought processes by routine and persistent exposure to the Scriptures and to the voice of the Holy Spirit.  That does not leave us time to become unaware of IAUE in our lives; because the whole focus of our lives is to learn to think as He thinks, in order to learn more accurately and correctly how to know and to do His will.

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Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance of the will of IAUE.

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