A KINGDOM HEART XL

WBS.070

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XL

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which IAUE hath promised to them that love him.

Last week’s post ended with this comment: 

	The Scripture reveals that the prescription for maintenance of our heart AFTER we have allowed the Light of IAUE to expose everything we have kept in the dark is: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O IAUE..."  David guarded his mouth and his heart against anything that he would naturally want to keep in the dark.

 

Since the beginning of this blog, there has been a consistent theme running through many of our weekly studies.  You could say that they have all helped to enlarge the meaning and the significance of Solomon’s instructions:

Proverb 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Today is our 40^th lesson on “A Kingdom Heart.” It is the pure in heart that shall see IAUE (Matthew 5:8).  Every single aspect of our discipleship is coordinated to improving the condition of our heart.  Recently, we have been focusing on what it means to walk in darkness so we can better understand how to walk in the light; for it is only by walking in the light that it is possible for us to have true fellowship with IAUE and Yahushua, or with our fellow brothers and sisters in Messiah.  

We shall experience very little success in our spiritual lives if we refuse to be honest with ourselves.  Actually, honesty is not really the problem.  Pride in the heart of man is the problem.  It is for pride’s sake that we refuse to think, to speak or to act honestly.  Pride is what interferes with our ability to populate “the lists” (See post WBS006, Buy the Truth, 6/2/2013) to expose the darkness that is already in our lives.  It is pride that prevents us from confessing our sins and weaknesses to another brother or sister so it might be exposed to the light. It is pride that interferes with our ability to consider instruction from the Scripture that conflicts with what we have always been taught.  It is pride that keeps us standing comfortably with the masses that are walking down the broad path to destruction, rather than standing alone on the path that leads to life. Pride is killing would-be disciples every day.   If you are going to refuse to slay this dragon in your life, then you are not a disciple, nor are you interested in becoming one; and this blog is not for you.

James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

[First, let me acknowledge that many throughout the centuries have regarded the book of James as not worthy of acceptance into the canon of Scripture.  They think that James’ reference to the necessity of “works” denounces the truth of the gospel.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of Elohim:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Messiah Yahushua unto good works, which Elohim hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

James understood that one’s works could not save him; but he also understood, like Paul taught the Ephesians, that if faith existed, it could only be evidenced by works.  If works were not found, faith also could not be found; for the one yields the other.  We were created in Messiah Yahushua UNTO good works.]

So, how can we count it all joy when we fall into various temptations? James is not referring to trials, in the sense of hardships of mistreatment or difficult circumstances. He is referring to temptations to commit sin.

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Why should we be joyous when we are tempted?  Temptation exposes lust (strong desire of any kind for the things of this world). It exposes to the light the wrong desires of our heart. Temptation is the yellow light at an intersection in our life.  It tells us that the red light is coming and that we should stop what we are doing.  There are consequences every time we respond to temptation; and if you possess the fear of IAUE, I don’t need to list the possibilities for you.

The Scripture tells us in 1 John 1:9, that we are to confess our sins to each other; but sin only exists when lust has conceived…when we have acted on our lust.  Temptation is when the wickedness in our heart is exposed to ourselves; it is when our own lust is confessing to us.  How should we, therefore, respond to temptation?  We should rejoice that our own heart is confessing wrongful desire to us, begging us to overcome that desire with truth and obedience to the Master.

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.

Do you recall when earlier we discussed this verse, that Paul’s instructions to renew our mind implied that we all have thought processes that are conformed to this world, a way of thinking that leads us to sin, to disobey the Master? The only way we are going to discover that worldly thinking, those areas in our minds that need to be renewed, will be through those areas being exposed to the light; and temptation is the dross that surfaces to make us aware of that impurity within us. 

It is worldly thinking that controls how most believers deal with temptation.  We regard dealing with temptation as a battle over whether or not we are going to ignore the temptation, or succumb to the temptation and commit sin.  This becomes a battle of wills…and I am not referring to the will of IAUE as being one of them.  It is a battle between our own will to honor IAUE, and our will to please ourself.  Such battles measure the nature of our discipleship; for if we have died and our lives are hidden with Messiah in Elohim; if we have offered ourselves as a living sacrifice to IAUE, why then are we battling with a will to do evil?  Haven’t we already made that choice?  If we have made the choice to become the servants of Messiah, that choice transforms the very nature of temptation in our lives. Temptation ceases to be a force within us to do evil; and it becomes the flashing light of caution alerting us to the fact there is within us something that needs to be dealt with right away.  It makes us aware of wrong thinking and wrong desire; and allows us the opportunity to renew our minds and to purify our hearts.  This transformed perception of temptation will explain why James tells us that we can count it all joy when we are tempted. 

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which IAUE hath promised to them that love him.

Yes, James’s epistle was focused on good works; but only insofar as it evidenced real faith.  He tells us that when we view temptation as our heart’s way of confessing wrong desire and bringing it to the light, we can be grateful for temptation.  He further tells us that the proper response to temptation is to endure it, not to act on it.  The one who acts on temptation shall not receive the crown of life; for that is promised only to those who love IAUE.  When we act on temptation, and allow lust to conceive, we are loving ourselves, not IAUE.

The next time, and every time you are tempted, say this out loud:  “I have a choice.”  When you declare to yourself the awareness of the choice that is before you; you cannot succumb to temptation without the full realization that doing so would defy the purpose of your discipleship to Messiah, disobey the will of IAUE, and prove whom you love most. You will also know that you are subjecting yourself to the disciplinary action of IAUE.  The choice will reveal to yourself whose will you are committed to obey; and for whose kingdom you are preparing your heart.

---

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

---

A KINGDOM HEART XXXIX

WBS.069

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XXXIX

Psalm 19:12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O IAUE, my strength, and my redeemer.

Last week’s post ended with this comment: 

	This is one of the secrets of discipleship: to learn to recognize the utter unreliability and untrustworthiness of our own will, even in the smallest of decisions; and to learn to completely trust in the reliability and goodness of the will of IAUE.

 

Allow me to introduce a cast of fictitious disciples.

Steve drives to work every morning down a crowded three lane highway.   He cannot just follow behind the car ahead of him until reaching his exit.  He speeds up and executes lane changes constantly, ever striving to be the front car.  He derives a sense of satisfaction when he advances ahead of the pack more quickly than other drivers he sees doing the same thing.

Linda is never content to do only that which is required of her.  She always does much more than is expected because she is not satisfied with herself unless she does.  This often causes her to be exhausted physically, as well as to be late for meetings and appointments, because she is attending to matters that are not necessary at the time.

Bill is a "happily married man;" but no matter where he is, if an attractive woman is nearby, his eyes quickly make their way to her.

Kevin is a man who makes himself available to any and every brother or sister in Messiah who may need a helping hand or a listening ear.  He goes out of his way to care for the needs of his brothers and sisters; but he never has a need himself.  He never allows himself to be vulnerable to anyone.

Our fictitious disciples all have..."issues."  Beyond the principle manifestation of their issues, there is a whole gamut of secondary behaviors that spring from them.  There is something within them driving their improper behavior; and more often than not, they do not even know what it is. 

These fictitious disciples are typical representatives of the general population of believers.  We usually are not even conscious that we do the things we do.  On the contrary, we do not view these things as weaknesses or failures on our part.  We tend to see these aspects of our life as strengths that sets us apart from other "weaker" brethren.

These issues are what we might call a "blind spot."   A blind spot is a problem that someone has, but he cannot see it.  His/her friends and associates, however, are not at all blind to it Remember my account in previous posts of a brother who could not think of a single thing that needed to be written down on “the Lists?”  I could have filled out many items for him in all three categories; but either his pride or his blindness would not permit him to admit that there should be any sinful thought or deed recorded against himself.  Hence the biblical injunction to exhort one another daily while it is still called today, lest ANY should become hardened through the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). 

This brings us to our verse for today.

Psalm 19:12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.

The Psalmist recognizes that there are forces within his life that cause him to sin...almost as if against his own will.  They are "errors" ...mistakes.  They are the kind of things that, after we have done them, we are amazed at ourselves and wonder why we did them; that is, if we even noticed them at all.   The Psalmist may not have recognized his issues on his own.  His blind spots may have been pointed out by friends or family.  The really valuable thing to see here is the posture of David's heart. ("Who can understand his errors?")  He was not attempting to defend himself.  His errors were exasperating to him.  He wanted to be purified of anything that was not perfectly pleasing to his Master. "Cleanse thou me from secret faults."  David offered an earnest plea for Elohim to purify his heart of all that offended or displeased Him.  The Hebrew word used here means "secrets" or “things hidden" (cathar)...it does not include the idea of "faults."  David was asking Elohim to cleanse him of his secrets...his hidden life. He recognized that his proneness to sin was largely borne of things in his life that were kept in the dark.  David wanted to “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1).  To walk in darkness, keeping anything in our life in the dark causes us to make many mistakes.  It is the principle means by which the devil retains influence and sway in our lives.  Darkness is his domain.  Secrets are his delights.

Psalm 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

David repeats his plea of verse 12 by restating it in another way.  The errors that proceed from the secrets, the parts of our life that we keep in the dark, are "presumptuous sins."   This word, "presumptuous" (zed) is found thirteen times in Scripture, and only here is it translated “presumptuous.”  Every other time it is translated: "proud.”  In other words, the sins that proceed from areas of our life that we refuse to bring to the light lest they be exposed for the wickedness they are emanate from nothing more than pure pride and arrogance.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of IAUE is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.

It is important for the disciple of Yahushua to learn, and to learn quickly, that any part of his/her life that is kept in the dark is an aspect of their life that is turned over to the authority of the enemy of their soul…and IAUE hates it.  Why?  It is because you yield your heart to serve a different master.  No man may serve two masters; and when you choose darkness, you choose to serve Satan. Whenever you choose to think, say or do anything that is in the dark, you honor and give service to Satan, and you take IAUE’s grace and kindness for granted.  The Psalmist recognizes this terrible truth and prays that IAUE would prevent these prideful sins from having dominion over his heart. [Consider all the times that you have contemplating doing something, and for a fleeting moment, you realized, “I would not want (name) to know about this.”  THAT, my friend, is the litmus test of walking in darkness. If you ever prepare to do something that you know you would not want others to know, or even just one particular person to know, you should not do it; for it would be an act of darkness…a secret that you must keep in your heart…a secret that will yield prideful sins in the future.]

The Psalmist recognizes that if he brings his life into the light, and allows IAUE to cleanse him of the error of his way, his life shall once again be "upright" and he "shall be innocent of the great transgression."  (What is the "great transgression?”  David does not tell us, but we could speculate that, at the very least, it is any sin that causes Elohim to be displeased with him.  For David, any time he lost the smile of IAUE it was a great transgression regardless of what he might have done.  Like Yahushua, David longed to do always those things that pleased His Elohim.)

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O IAUE, my strength, and my redeemer.

The Psalmist had been to the Great Physician and his condition had been diagnosed.  His life was beset with prideful sins because he had secrets in his heart that he did not want exposed to the light.  The divine surgeon, however, had been invited to purge the defilement.  When David brought into the light that which was once shrouded in darkness, IAUE cleansed him of his secret things. 

The Scripture reveals that the prescription for maintenance of our heart AFTER we have allowed the Light of IAUE to expose everything we have kept in the dark is: "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O IAUE..."  David guarded his mouth and his heart against anything that he would naturally want to keep in the dark.

David did not depend on his own strength to do this.   "O IAUE, my strength, and my redeemer."   He knew he had to develop a dependency upon the strength of his redeemer if he was going to succeed in maintaining a pure heart before Elohim.  So, too, should we.

---

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

---

A KINGDOM HEART XXXVIII

WBS.068

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XXXVIII

2 Corinthians 4:6  For Elohim, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Elohim in the face of Yahushua Messiah.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of Elohim, and not of us.

Last week’s post ended with this comment: 

	We cannot move on in our discipleship from this point if we do not realistically address this urgent need in our lives and act as the Scripture expects us to act in confessing our sins to each other.  Not until then is there forgiveness and cleansing from unrighteousness; and without that, you can forget your discipleship to Yahushua.

 

Let’s face it.  Let’s admit to ourselves that the ONLY reason you or I would not readily confess his/her sin to another is pride.  Well, let’s face this as well.  Elohim resists the proud.  He gives His grace only to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5); and it is by grace that we are saved.  

How is it that we find ourselves continuously doing those things that our discipleship to Yahushua prohibits?  It is because we have not purified our hearts and renewed our minds.  As we have said a few times now in prior lessons, we MUST have a renewed mind that no longer thinks like men think, in order that the actions of our body might be given automatically to the performance of the will of Elohim.  Without a renewed mind, this is the process:

1. Elohim reveals His will to our spirit. 
2. Our conscience perceives what Elohim has placed in our spirit.
3. The conscience relays His will through our heart to our understanding. 
4. An unrenewed mind takes note of the revelation of Elohim's will and then makes its judgment upon it. 
5. Our own will decides what we will do and the body acts accordingly.

In so doing, even if we judge that we will do the revealed will of Elohim, we are still in prideful disobedience, for we have consented only that it is not inconvenient to our self-interest to do what He wants us to do; thus maintaining the ascendency of our own will over the will of Elohim.

Let me see if I can make this clearer.  When we believe that we have received divine guidance...when we perceive in our understanding anything that Elohim wants us to do or say; and we "evaluate" Elohim's will in terms of its practicality, its benefit, its risks or its cost to us, we are not thinking with a renewed mind.  We are thinking in that same self-preservation mode that cost Yahushua His life; where, upon the stake He endured the shame and the reproach of all men's worst imaginations, and bore Elohim's judgment upon man's sinful will.

A renewed mind looks unto the hearing of the Father's will as His daily bread.  A renewed mind does not evaluate Elohim's will in terms of personal preferences or even based upon human embarrassment, inconvenience, cost, pain or suffering.  Yahushua never promised that following the Father's will was going to be a cake-walk.  The New Testament writers assure us that a life of discipleship to Yahushua necessarily involves suffering.  Discipleship to Yahushua mandates that our minds become renewed by the Word of Elohim to recognize the will of Elohim as though it were our own will.  We never violate our own will. We trust it implicitly.  We must recognize, however, that OUR will is unreliable and wicked; and only the will of IAUE can be trusted implicitly.  We can only trust our own will to lead us in the wrong direction every time.

2 Corinthians 4:6  For Elohim, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Elohim in the face of Yahushua Messiah.

Yahushua knew exactly what He was doing when He commanded His disciples to go out into the world and preach REPENTANCE and remission of sins in His name.  Elohim gives grace to the humble.  Repentance is the act of a humbled man.  Through humility we become vulnerable to Elohim, allowing Him access to our walled hearts.  In that instant of vulnerability, He shines "the light of the knowledge of the glory of Elohim in the face of Yahushua Messiah" and we are born of His Spirit.  The light of that knowledge permeates our "issues" and reveals the love and goodness of IAUE in such a way as to begin to melt the mortar of the brick walls of our hearts.

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.

The plan of Elohim is that His very life and nature be revealed in our lives just as it was in the life of His only-begotten son, Yahushua.  If you will recall, Yahushua said that He came to do the will of His Father which was in Heaven.  He also said that He does always the things that please His Father. 

We have already observed the process of how the Word of Elohim becomes flesh in our lives.  He reveals Himself to our newborn spirit, whether by revelation of truth in the scriptures or His spoken word or dreams or visions...and our conscience perceives it.  The conscience then communicates it to our understanding where our mind becomes aware of what has been given to us within our spirit.  The mind consents to the revelation, that it is good and worthy, and the will of man yields to the will of Elohim, letting that truth be expressed in our words and actions.   As we renew our minds to consent to the will of Elohim that it is good and acceptable and perfect in all things, this process eventually becomes automatic; such that when He reveals something to our spirit, our bodies react.  Yes, this really is a possibility.  

This is truly an amazing privilege that the Messiah brings to every man who bows to His Mastery.  It is such a glory in the earth that it is evident "that the excellency of the power" is unquestionably "of Elohim, and not of us."

But, alas, there are those...issues.  We have patterns of behavior that have been developed through the years.  We have walls that we did not address in our conscious minds when we gave our lives to Yahushua.  You can readily recognize them in others.  You may know what they are in you.  In absolutely every instance, we began to build those walls in our hearts because (listen to this carefully) we resisted the grace of Elohim and reacted sinfully to the events, experiences or circumstances that were the catalysts to our wall-building.

"But, we have this treasure in earthen vessels."  Look at the following verses.  We will see Paul explain how a kingdom heart reacts to those kinds of formulative experiences of life.

2 Corinthians 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

When trouble approached on every side; Paul did not react in distress.  When he was perplexed or confused with the circumstances of his life, Paul did not despair. When he was persecuted, Paul did not feel like he had been forsaken by Elohim and man.  When he was cast down, belittled, ridiculed, insulted, accused, etc., Paul did not let that destroy him.

Note that in each category of hardship and suffering, Paul did not find it an occasion to blame Elohim; thus his conscience always remained clean and pure before Him.  And because He did not blame Elohim or question the wisdom or goodness of His purposes or motives; Paul had no call to react negatively to his oppressors or toward the hurtful experiences.  This enabled Paul to keep the understanding of his heart clean and pure.

What was his secret?  It is revealed in the next verse.

2 Corinthians 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Master Yahushua, that the life also of Yahushua might be made manifest in our body.

Paul took up his stake daily and followed Yahushua.  He identified with the impaled Son of IAUE in his reproach and shame and agreed and consented with the justice of Elohim in condemning sin in the flesh.  This released Paul from trusting in his own will and human wisdom and intellect, thrusting him into a devoted dependency upon the will of his Master.  This daily stake-bearing kept Paul's heart humble and protected him against pride.  It made him a recipient of the grace of Elohim (which is the power that Elohim gives to do His will).  In other words, it facilitated the process..."that the life also of Yahushua might be made manifest" in his body.  This is one of the secrets of discipleship: to learn to recognize the utter unreliability and untrustworthiness of our own will, even in the smallest of decisions; and to learn to completely trust in the reliability and goodness of the will of IAUE.

---

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

---

A KINGDOM HEART XXXVII

WBS.067

FUNDAMENTALS OF DISCIPLESHIP

A KINGDOM HEART – XXXVII

Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 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.

Last week’s post ended with this comment: 

	Just how do we accomplish this “return” to IAUE and the putting away of the abominations in our life?  Break up your fallow ground. Sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourself to IAUE. Take away the foreskin of your heart.

 

These four steps are actually just two steps repeated in a different way.

Break of your fallow ground / Sow not among thorns

and

Circumcise yourself to IAUE / Take away the foreskin of your heart.

There is a common misconception when it comes to “fallow ground.”  Generally, when one thinks of fallow ground an image of a dried river bed or creek comes to mind where the ground has hardened from lack of water, and the surface is cracked into a maze of separate puzzle piece looking clods.

This is not a correct image. Fallow ground is ground that has been plowed; but has been allowed to sit unseeded for a prolonged period of time.  Fallow ground, due to the lack of human attention, becomes overrun with nettles, weeds and, thorns. 

It is an excellent depiction of the heart of a newborn disciple who has never been shown or taught what he should do next; or of the disciple who ceases his training for a period of time and decides to…“glide" on his own for awhile.  Without the constant watch care, discipline and obedience, the flesh will provide its own seed to grow within our hearts.  If we are not actively committed to producing the fruit of the Spirit, we will produce thorns.

Fallow ground is depicted in the parable of the sower:

Mark 4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow…

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit…

18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

Here we see from the Master’s own mouth what characterizes fallow ground…hardened hearts.  Does it not sound familiar?

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

The love of the world is the thorns.  The thorns are characterized in three categories:

1 John 2                                  Mark 4

The lust of the flesh      /         The cares of this world

The lust of the eyes      /         The lusts of other things

The pride of life             /         The deceitfulness of riches

I doubt it is necessary to go into detail about any of these items.  We pretty much know what they are from intimate experience with them.  These are the thorns that grow in our hearts when our hearts do not daily attend to our discipleship, our service to the Master.  We are commanded to break up this fallow ground if we have any intention of having fellowship with IAUE.  We do not get a second chance at this.  It is not something that is going to “happen to us” in the resurrection of the saints.

We deceive ourselves into thinking we can retain this darkness in our lives and at the same time grow in grace and have fellowship with the Father and the Son and with the saints.  The clear command of Scripture is “Do not sow among thorns.”  The parable of the sower explains that the seed cannot grow among thorns.  The thorns will choke the seed, the Word of IAUE, until it becomes unfruitful.  Do you recall what the Master did when he found the fig tree without fruit?

Bearing fruit, however, is easy.  It comes naturally to the one whose heart belongs to the Master.  The Master has no problem growing fruit in a garden that has been prepared for him.

Circumcise yourself to IAUE / Take away the foreskin of your heart.

What we fail to understand is that when we walk in darkness, we erect a wall within our heart to prevent “interference” to our selfish inclinations coming from the spirit, where the Master speaks to us; and where the Father reveals His will to us.

The fleshly driven heart wants it both ways.  It wants to hear the voice of the Spirit of IAUE when it wants to; and NOT hear His voice when it wants not to hear it.  This reminds me of an experience in my youth when I was with my girlfriend in a very private setting.  She looked at me and said, “Let’s pray together.”  Talk about something I did not want to hear!  I did NOT want to introduce the Spirit of IAUE into that setting right then.  Had I been spiritually wiser when I was that age, I would have seen the experience as extremely illuminating and of great benefit to my spiritual growth; but alas, it was nothing more than an irritation to me at the time.

This resistance to the will of IAUE, this luxury of pursuing the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life, creates a wall…a foreskin upon our hearts that must be removed before any genuine spiritual growth may continue and be experienced.  Can you guess what circumcises that wall?  Yes, it is repentance; but as we have seen in recent postings, one of the most powerful elements of repentance is bringing our sin into the light…confessing our sin to another brother or sister in Messiah; or even to the body at large. 

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

This verse, as we have explained several times over the past year, is used routinely by Christians who imagine to do sin, recognize it is wrong; but convince themselves they will simply pray 1 John 1:9 after they have done or said or gotten what they want; and the Father will forgive them and cleanse them from unrighteousness. It doesn’t even occur to them that their theology tells them that they are already forgiven, even of future sins, and that there can be no unrighteousness to cleanse in those who are in Messiah Yahushua.  This verse, however, somehow stands as an escape clause to doing what they know is in violation of the will of IAUE.

The problem with this mentality is that it relies upon the understanding that it is to IAUE that one confesses his sin.  Unfortunately, that is not the point of this verse. IAUE already knows you sinned.  He does not need you to tell Him what He already knows.  In context, this verse is talking about our ability to have fellowship with IAUE and with our brothers and sisters in Messiah.  What is in the dark in our lives is not in the dark to IAUE.  We do not bring anything into His light by telling Him what we have done.  We bring our deeds done in darkness to the light when we expose the truth of them to our brothers and sisters in Messiah.  

How do you suppose this would impact the millions of “believers” in the world today, if they knew that their restoration into the fellowship of IAUE and of the saints is dependent upon them telling their spouse, their pastor, or their friends what they have done?  Only in this way is it possible to circumcise the foreskin of their hearts.  Only in this way is it possible for the thorns to be removed from our fallow ground.  

Hebrews 3:13  But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

“Gliding” is not allowed in the life of the disciple.  The Holy Spirit provided us this evidence that sin seeks to deceive and to overthrow us at the earliest opportunity; and if we are truly those who have bowed the knee to Messiah, we will not only want to confess our sins openly in order to be rid of them; but we will exhort and encourage each other to make their own confession…to bring every aspect of our lives into the light.  We must know that any darkness we allow in our lives is only giving opportunity for our hearts to become hard, again.

We cannot move on in our discipleship from this point if we do not realistically address this urgent need in our lives and act as the Scripture expects us to act in confessing our sins to each other.  Not until then is there forgiveness and cleansing from unrighteousness; and without that, you can forget your discipleship to Yahushua.

---

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

---