Milk and meat: laying on of hands part 4

 

 

 

 

1 Timothy 5:22

Bad CompanyOrdinationEvil AssociationsParticipation, In Sin

AssociationsRashnessPurity Of HeartCharacter

Do not lay hands upon anyone too hastily and thereby share responsibility for the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin.

 

Mark 10:16

Baby dedicationTendernessPersonal Contact

Everlasting ArmsTouching For Healing

And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.

 

Luke 4:40

SpiritsLaying On Hands To Healdoctors

HandsHealing

While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.

 

Acts 8:17

Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit.

 

Revelation 1:17

VisionChrist's HandsExperience, of GodJesus Christ, Eternity OfBeginning And EndDeliverance, Source OfNames And Titles For ChristChrist's Right Hand

BeginningThe I Am's Of ChristGesturesLaying On Hands To HealInferiorityAn Overpowering PresenceFeet

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

 

Leviticus 1:4

Animal Sacrifices, BurntHands On HeadsHeads

Laying Hands On SacrificesHandsSubstitution

'He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, that it may be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf.

 

Leviticus 3:2

Hands On HeadsSacrifices At The DoorwayFellowship Offering

Laying Hands On SacrificesSprinklingSprinkling Blood

'He shall lay his hand on the head of his offering and slay it at the doorway of the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons the priests shall sprinkle the blood around on the altar.

 

Leviticus 4:15

Hands On Heads

Laying Hands On Sacrifices

'Then the elders of the congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slain before the LORD.

 

Leviticus 16:21

Driving Out AnimalsLaying Hands On SacrificesWorship, Elements Of

Animal Sacrifices, As A Type Of ChristHands On Heads

"Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness.

 

Numbers 8:10

and present the Levites before the LORD; and the sons of Israel shall lay their hands on the Levites.

 

Numbers 27:18

The Spirit Of GodThe Holy Spirit, And Sanctification

HandsMoses, Life Of

So the LORD said to Moses, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him;

 

Deuteronomy 34:9

Spirit, Emotional Aspects OfWisdom, Human Importance

The Holy Spirit, And SanctificationHands

Now Joshua the son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; and the sons of Israel listened to him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

 

 

 

The laying on of hands is found throughout scripture. If we look at the development of this teaching we find its purpose for our modern faith.

It is seldom dealt with in large part by the church and when it is; commonly it is compartmentalized from scripture and as such loses much of its true meaning. At laying on of hands core in its simplest form is to share what is in one with another.

Some have described this as a transfer from one to another, but transfer has the idea of a thing leaving one and going into anouther. Yet Paul warns Timothy to lay his hands on no man suddenly that he would not be found to share in another man’s sins. In like manner, as a wire receives an electrical charge when a connection is made to it; not taking the charge out of the first wire but sharing and extending that same charge, the laying on of Hands connects us to another so that what has been given to us from God is shared with those upon whom we lay our hands.

In this example God is generator of all power, all authority, and all life, our Master, savior, and mediator is the strong arm of His living word,  and the Holy Spirit is the right hand of God laid upon us who believe. Thereby making us one with all by infusing the life of God into us; therefor if we connect to others with what is generated by us we steal, kill, and destroy those around us and disconnect from the life of God, but if instead we let the Life of God flow out of us to others then we become not a destination for Gods blessings but a conduit of His life.

With this in mind consider the following verses: Psalms 63:8, Psalms 139:10, Isaiah 41:13, Lamentations 2:3, Psalms 16:11, Psalms 48:10, Psalms 73:23, Isaiah 62:8, Psalms 60:5, Psalms 108:6, Psalms 17:7, Psalms 20:6, Psalms 80:15, Psalms 138:7, Psalms 44:3, Psalms 78:54, Isaiah 41:10, Exodus 15:6, Psalms 21:8, Hebrews 1:13, Matthew 22:44, Luke 22:69, Hebrews 1:3, Acts 2:33, Acts 5:31, Revelation 5:1-7, Matthew 25:32-34, Revelation 1:20, and Revelation 2:1

In the same way that the law taught that a man could be made unclean by touching what was unclean so it also teaches in the sacrifices that by the willful laying on of hands sin of the man was laid upon the victim. This also was a sharing not a transfer; for God tells them that the sacrifice of a thousand bulls and goats will not be accepted if their heart is not toward Him.

In this same way we must believe in our heart that Christ has brought His Holy life into us before the confession of our mouth can be effective.  If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead but our heart does not cleave to Him we are liars and what comes from our mouth is just a lie.

Now we begin to see the why of laying on of hands and also the how of the sick can be healed by such. Do we also see the reason for James instruction to call for the elders; there is a certain maturity of trust in the life of Christ to live through us and a necessity of abandonment of trust in what can be generated by ourselves. Faith is not a trust in what God has made me but instead a reliance upon who He is, through His Son, by His Spirit, living in me, shared with my brethren that as is written we may know to be one.

Perhaps we can also see why John warns us not to pray for one who has committed a sin unto death (if you are worried you have done this you probably have not; for those who do such have no desire to have the life of God), or why Paul says lay hands on no man suddenly, and an elder should not be a novice to the faith.

At the same time we are warned not to make ourselves partakers of another man’s sins we are also taught that we must share with others the life, and power and witness of Christ which God has shared with us.

The warning of the parable of the talents is that what God gives to us cannot be hidden or it will be lost. Also we may share in each other’s reward simply by providing for one another as our Lord has said if we give a glass of water to a prophet because He is a prophet then we receive a prophet’s reward. One body, one Faith, one life, one reward no man can have the life of God if he remains by himself.

Milk and Meat: babtism part 3

HEBREWS 6: 1-2

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

The author of Hebrews has listed the foundational “milk” of our Christian lives as being contained in the foundation of repentance from dead works, faith toward God, and the teachings of baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. He goes on to conclude that for as long as we are not in a full knowledge of these things we will not walk in the meat of righteousness.

 This righteousness spoken of is not merely a correct action but a change of the life in us to the place that all that we are is from and toward God that we may share the testimony of Jesus that if you have seen me You have seen the Father; not that I say any born of man have attained to such but we are to press forward toward that mark of the high call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let us look at the teachings of the scripture as to the nature and purpose of baptisms. In the modern church we have divisions over water baptism both in its effect in the life of the believer and in the proper way the baptism should be conducted and the formulas by which it should be officiated.

These divisions come in most part from trying to draw an understanding from a surface look at the subject.  This is very much like trying to judge the worth of a house by its brick and paint and windows. We know that the framework of a house has a greater value than that which is seen by the eye, and that the framework can only be as correct as the foundation is solid and squared.

When we begin to see this subject in its fullness we see that it permeates both the old and new testaments. This post will hopefully start us on a path to discovering all God has taught us by baptisms as it cannot deal with the massive volume of this teaching throughout the scriptures.

Before I move forward I would like to point out the author says baptisms, plural, and that to group our baptism into His death, into repentance, into His body, into the Holy Spirit and fire, the washing of His word, and feet washing all into our water baptism is to short the vast truths that the Spirit will lead us into if we follow His lead. If you think you know you cannot be taught in the same way that our Lord said it is the sick that need a physician so only those who realize their need for truth are lead to it.

1 PETER 3: 20-21

…when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water, The like figure whereunto baptism does also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience toward God) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

1 CORINTHIANS 10: 1-4

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  

It is by these two witnesses that we find the foundational basis of the framework of the washings and purifications found in the Law leading to fulfillment in Christ by whom the ordinance of baptism has been given to us. What basic understanding can we learn by these two events: in both there is a necessity of destruction of the will and the work of man? We can draw that the very nature of man is to do evil and to bring about the destruction of both himself and those around Him, that He considers himself to be the power by which he draws his life.

The Noah flood and the red sea experience where not about the reformation or rehabilitation of the carnal man that is received from the inheritance of Adams flesh, but about its destruction. The only thing that remains in either instance is what God has set aside by His word.

His word is life. Noah and his family were not saved by their work on the arc; instead their work on the arc was the direct result of faith that what God had spoken was true and sure to come. The children of Israel in a similar way have the name given by God for His set aside promise and as such the promises of an inheritance from Him as opposed to the inheritance from Adam of slavery to sin and death.

So we can see that the purification of baptism is a judgment by which man (symbolized by the dust of the earth) is taken away from the promise of life in God’s word. For both Noah and Israel though they lived among the children of men and though the children of men had rule of them the grace of the word of God had set them apart.

Also of note is that not only did baptism destroy the old way of life, and save out the individuals who had trusted in God’s word, but it also was the coming into a new place of life and relationship, and revelation of God.  

We must remember these things are given to us not so that we know history or the story of the fathers of our faith, but that we might learn what it is to live the life given to us by God. If our meanings to these things remain in the life outside of us then we cannot live out the things that they instruct us in. In other words these lessons are about what happens within us not around us. Pharaoh is our self-life who declares “who is this God that I must listen to him.” The might of Egypt coming against the promise and declaration of God is that battle that Paul mentions as the flesh warring against the Spirit and that battle is within us.

These washings do not end at the shore of our red sea, but are found in the ordinances of the law in several respects: to cleanse one for priestly services, if one becomes unclean due to contact with menstruation blood, ingesting unclean meat, part of preparation of burnt offerings, the High Priest and the one that lead away the scape goat on the day of atonement, cleansing of leapers, and several more.

The Jews in addition also washed or baptized any pot or pan or cup that a gentile had touched in case they had transferred uncleanness to it. Also a baptism for those who wished to convert to Judaism; this could well be the genesis of Johns baptism of repentance and later the baptism into the way of Christ.

The language of baptism is not solely used in teaching about conversion to the faith in the new testament but we find it used regularly.  

Milk and meat: repentance and faith part 2

*[[Heb 6:1]] KJV* Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

*[[Zec 4:6]] KJV* Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

*[[Joh 6:14-15/KJV]]*

14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.

15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

*[[Gen 3:4-5/KJV]]*

 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

*[[Gen 1:12]] KJV* And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

*[[Gen 1:25]] KJV* And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

*[[Gen 2:7]] KJV* And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

*[[Gen 3:19]] KJV* In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

*[[Gal 5:17-26/KJV]]*

 17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

*[[Exo 5:4]] KJV* And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

*[[Exo 5:13]] KJV* And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

The first ingredient of the Christian life is repentance from dead works. This is far more than being sorry for our works; for being sorry is more often than not only caused by suffering or fear of the results of sin not the sinfulness itself. This is because sin in any form cost us something but true repentance is about understanding that our own actions cannot produce the life of God in us.

The instruction of the scripture is about who we are not the things we do. To try to do what is right is to only imitate life;  we are not taught to imitate life but instead to possess life. To imitate what we believe is right but not possess those things as our nature is to be an actor. The word for actor in Jesus day was hypocrite.

In the book of John we are told of a time when those who had seen Jesus multiply a few loaves and fish into a meal for five thousand people, had seen the healings worked through Him, and had even heard as He opened the meaning of the scriptures to them; recognized that He was the promised prophet (Messiah) determined to take Him and make Him king. However Jesus knowing their intentions escaped away. Why?

He was the Messiah, He was the son of David and therefore their King, but these men as we are later told are willing to do this for the benefit it will bring to them. If we seek to make Him our Lord for the purpose of receiving His blessings instead of who He is then we too will find that when we search for Him He will have gone away from us.

Jesus told us in Luke that the kingdom of God is within you. This does not mean as false religion teaches that God is in all of us we simply have to take away the wrong thinking and fear to find God at our core. Such a statement is stupid and completely ignores the facts of the human condition that any unsaved teenager can recognize. What Jesus was saying is that Gods manifested reign and sovereignty in your land can never be had until He completely reigns and is sovereign in our hearts and minds.

The sin and death that Adam took into him is all that He could produce from himself. It is because of this that all men are born with this same sin and death as their nature. We see that in genesis every plant and every animal produced in its kind. Adam though formed of the earth was breathed into by God becoming a living soul. So we see that in His original state His life was Gods life and would have produced children of God. However after his fall He that was taken from the dust returned to dust thereby His kind was born of an earthly condition of being after His fallen kind.

So the flesh of Adam produced flesh because He thought to be life from himself he became a self and passed to all future generations the same lifeless self of flesh. To repent of dead works is to repent of trying to produce life by the self; this being the case the very act of trying to do what is right to attain to life is to continue in the sin of the Father of all flesh Adam. In Galatians five Paul warns us what the flesh manifest when we try to live by it with the conclusion that those who try to use this source can never have the place of reign and sovereignty of God.

To repent of dead works is to place our trust and dependence in Gods redemption of us by His Son for through that redemption He has afforded us His own Spirit which Adam lost and made us one with His Son and Himself. So it is that His life has become our life. When we see sin in our life we are to know that somewhere in us we are leaning on the flesh of our old nature. It is to drive us to trust Him to tear down every stronghold of self-dependence in us. We trust His power and life in us to renew our mind giving us the mind of His Messiah to the end that all that we are is Him through us.

I wrote earlier that the teaching of scripture is about our life in Him and how it is attained to. We see an example of the battle between the flesh and the Spirit in the story of Moses confrontation with pharaoh. I have heard some compare Pharaoh to Satan and while I am not arguing against such it is easier to understand if you see him as your Adamic nature. This lesson is about the working within us not without. Pharaoh is our flesh, with YHWH, Moses and Aaron being the Father, Son, and Spirit in type. It is of note that Pharaoh who considers himself a god (source of generation) has one answer to prove he is sovereign to increase work. In genesis 5: 4 pharaoh denies that Moses and Aaron can cause you to cease from your working. The flesh ask you to work to make what is earthly into what is heavenly and when you cannot it beats you and says you are just unwilling and lazy.

The flesh will condemn you but condemnation is the opposite of faith; John tells us if our heart condemn us God is greater than our heart. Trust and rely on Gods life to be in you and will and do through you and God will give you the desires of your heart. This means He will make it your nature to act from His nature. This repentance from our dead works must be a foundation or we will gain the blessings of living Gods life through us and be lifted in pride believing we have gained this life by our hand leading us to idolatry of our flesh once more.    

Milk and meat: spiritual maturity part 1

*[[Heb 5:12-14/KJV]]*

 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.

 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

*[[Heb 6:1-3/KJV]]*

 1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

 2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

 3 And this will we do, if God permit.

When a child is first born they have a natural reflex to suck milk. Their mouth and intestines are not yet ready for more solid food; also their bodies need the high concentrations of nutrients found in milk.

Most modern doctors say to wait until around six months old before introducing a more substantial food into their diet. Some things to look for as signs that your baby is ready are; they stare at your food when you eat and mimic opening their mouths, they reach out for your food, they don’t push food out with their tongue when it is put in their mouth with a spoon.

Now I am not a pediatrician and am in no way giving medical advice, and while giving a disclaimer let me add; when I say more substantial I am speaking of baby cereal not animal meat.

The reason I have brought these things forward is to look at the comparison given by the author of Hebrews with our spiritual maturity. The things listed as being the milk of God’s word are called by the author the principles of the doctrine of Christ.

This word principle is not speaking of a level of morality or honesty as we commonly use the word in our time, but instead it indicates a basic ingredient. So while we as Christians have different gifts and callings; there are basic teachings that all of us must have understanding of if we are to ever grow and mature in Christ.

As an example there is many different flavors of cake; each having slightly different ingredients. However all cakes

have basic ingredients that make them cake: eggs, milk, flour, and oil/butter. In a similar way Christians must have the basic ingredients of Hebrews 6:1-2 understood if they wish to grow.

If you read that last paragraph and glanced back up at the scriptures you should realize that our modern church is perhaps not living at a high level of maturity. This is not surprising as Paul told the church long ago they had many instructors but few fathers, and again if we look to John’s description of young men and fathers we will have to be honest and say that we need to grow up as a whole in the body.

The church looks for the power of God and the glory of God to be manifested, but this power and glory is not in the signs and wonders we run after. The scripture is plain enough that signs and wonders are for the unbeliever and as such they are not evidence of Gods power in our life but of our need. Consider the children of Israel in the wilderness. They were in the wilderness and witnessing mighty signs not because they had faith but to the end that they could learn to have faith. Jesus spoke two warnings on this subject that we would do well to heed; it is an evil and wicked generation that seeks a sign in order to believe Gods word and not to rejoice that sickness and demons must obey you but instead rejoice that God has joined Himself to you and He is sovereign in your heart and life.

The true power and glory of God is the living as one with God to the place that He emanates from your earthen vessel. This place of being as your Father in heaven is, of being His child in nature not just a place of nurture, that as with our Lord when someone looks at you they see your Father. The place where our the life given to us from Jesus becomes life more abundant or as Paul says from faith to faith is His righteousness revealed in us is only possessed by those who have matured to a place where they can eat the meat of Gods table.

I would like to, God willing, look at each of these ingredients one at a time; though they all work together to describe the life of God in us. With Gods help we will see not only a clearer view of the pure milk of God’s nurture for those who young in the faith, but also to establish and encourage us who should be mature to take of the meat that Jesus ate and do the will of the Father.

The church has many children who play cops and robbers claiming authority of which they still do not yet truly understand. Some must mature to young men who will wield that authority in truth, and others still must mature to Father who can encourage and instruct to the order of that authority.

I do not wish to rush something so foundational so I will separate these posts…

What does it mean to count the cost

*[[Luk 14:27-33/KJV]]*

 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

 28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

 30 Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

 32 Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

 33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

The message of the modern church is a sound of many voices; one of the loudest is Jesus died for your sins because God loves you so much He punished His Son so you could be with Him and His account would be balanced…so trust Jesus died for you and God loves you and no matter what else happens you get to go to heaven forever.

 The word wicked means basically twisted like a wicker piece of furniture. This perverse gospel qualifies as wicked for it braids vague truth with hellish lies. God does love you, Jesus did die for you and you must trust in these two things but God was not trying to balance a scale He was taking away the death that Adam had taken into himself so that we in return could have His life.

Jesus explained before his death that our old man (wineskin) could not contain new life (wine) but it was necessary that there be a new wineskin (a new creation in Christ).

 In another place He told us the goods of a strongman could not be spoiled without the strongman first being bound; so he bound our old man to the cross to die. So He could break every chain, tear down every stronghold, and take away every thought that would be opposed to His life in and through us.

  By this he fulfilled what was written in Isaiah 53. The word fulfilled is not to take something away but to bring it to manifestation. Which brings us to the last lie above and the purpose of our text; it very much matters what we do after our conversion. If our conversion is true we have passed from the death of being a self to the shared life of God in us. Our very nature has completely changed and as such how we live our lives is made different.

Jesus gives very different good news. The passing from death to life will require both His death and ours for we must be crucified with Him if we are to have life. The word cross was well known as a place that people meet death the original word was in its generic form a stake or rod coming from the meaning of something that remained in a certain place. I have broken the word down to help us understand what the price Jesus told us to count is.

The cross of Christ is a place where the self goes to die and it is necessary that the self remains dead in that cross. Jesus who had never been a self but Had always been one with His Father took our self to death so that when the life of the breath of God was breathed into Him three days later we would rise with Him in the one life of God .

We see in the rich young ruler a man who was willing to act as God wanted as long as He received and could be blessed with that which he desired for himself so he walked away from a true offer of life for his own self existence. The multitudes that saw the healings and ate the bread and even heard the teaching wanted to make Jesus king for what they perceived they would gain from Him but left in droves when He said you must eat of my flesh and drink of my blood. Why because to do such required that one must lay aside the self.

If you can’t pay the price of letting the self die in Him and letting His life live through you. Can you become as a little child whose only source of providence is his father?  Can you leave at the cross every wisp of self-dependence, self-pride, self-worth, self-help, self-respect, self-awareness, your goals, your dreams, your desires, your rights, your possessions, your very existence.

If your answer is no then save your money and your time for you will be ever learning but never coming to a knowing of God…with a form of godliness through will worship but denying the complete sovereignty and omnipotence of God. If you cant die at the cross then  He will say depart I never knew you despite your protest of the things you did in His name….for only the Father works…only the Father wills, only the Father makes…only the Father lives.

If your answer is yes then God is your life and reward. He calls you His child and a new creation in Christ; one with Him all He is becomes yours. You cannot wield Him for your purpose for that is the old man.

I cannot end this without the how. The answer is simple fear not only believe. We take up this cross daily for Gods life in us must be desired by us it is never forced. You can repent of dead works of the old man and still have wrong thinking and wrong motives that cause us to still move in our flesh but Jesus said you believe in God believe also in me. He has been given the power over all flesh we can believe in the life that He lives in us. We come to life by faith…we come to faith by hearing but true hearing happens as the Spirit leads us into truth…it is an ever increasing faith…so as we trust Him we have life but He is always conforming us to a more abundant life that we become a living word and temple and body of His bride…so trust Him and if you sin He is faithful and just to forgive you…but if your heart condemns you He is greater than your heart. He has given us the power to become the sons of God…and a son is that which issues from his Father…so trust him…even if you must add to your faith patience.

 

The burning bush: God is a consuming fire that leaves life in its wake

*[[Exo 4:1-12/KJV]]*

1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.

2 And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:

5 That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.

6 And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.

7 And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.

8 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.

9 And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.

11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?

 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.



It is a shame that the modern church has determined that the Law of YHWH and the grace and truth of YHWH are in some way opposed. The determination of men’s flesh to “DO” the things in the Law to either prove or attain to goodness and worth in the eyes of men or God should not detour the believer from seeing that the Law is in truth a teaching and promise of what YHWH will make us into if we put our love, dependence, trust, and expectancy completely in Him.
I am writing about Moses not the Law; yet the man and his ministry as the law giver are so tied together that our misunderstanding of one leads to a reduction of the other.

This is a horrible thing since one cannot belittle the word of God recorded by Moses without making the living Word less. The things said by Jesus should clue us in on just how important a part YHWH gave to this man.

Consider the way in which Gods word came to this man. God told Noah to build an arc, Abraham had seen His fiery presence make covenant and heard His voice, the forefathers before, the prophets and apostles after had visions and dreams but Moses stood in the midst of the burning mountain, YHWH the Elohim spoke to him face to face, he saw with his eyes the glory of God from the back. No other man born from Adams seed had before or since been so saturated by Gods word and breath and presence. So saturated by God that the glory of God emanated from him, causing the people to put a veil over his face for fear of loosing their own life.
Many who hold Paul as the greatest example of a christian would place these two teachers in opposition, but this is a great error. As to the flesh they were very much alike and their message to us was the same. In fact Paul is pretty much giving the gentile church a commentary on the teachings of Moses. After all if both men are writing the word of God they cannot be opposed...common sense right.
The problem is in our flesh (the life we have received from Adam) YHWH gave Moses a description of who He is and that if we give Him all our heart and soul and might then He would place who He is in us; but the flesh of Adam made us blind and deaf and dumb and covered our heart with stone so that we said "we will do all that YHWH has spoken". We made the teachings of YHWH given through Moses into things to be done by us instead of who He would make us.
It was not without warning from YHWH that we joined down the same road as Adam and called it a new name; for Adam desired to produce life as a self but found that separation is death. Gods righteousness as described at Sinai comes from His life; so when we set out to do those things we are saying the self we received from Adam can bring life...same sin...same result separation and death.
The church has fared no better. We have replaced doing right with believing right will make God pleased with us; separate from our actions.
 So we set out to learn what we should believe and how we should act to develop the fruit of Gods life in our own lives. It is this that is the problem for we are still attempting to make ourselves be as God is...the temptation of Adam still living in His children.
We must let the self life of Adam be killed in the cross of Messiah. The life which makes us to live is the breath of God (His Spirit) in us. Jesus said we would be one and so we must fully trust and rely and depend on His life to be our life.
I have taken some things said to a brother through text and made the following bullet points:

1) a love relationship is not about what we do for someone but to share who we are completely with another...when we give all of ourselves to Him...He gives all of Who he is to us...making us one...don't worry with what to do...the natural result of being made one with Him is you begin to emanate Him instead of uselessly trying to imitate Him

 2) he does through you... he makes you and does in you... all we do is trust, rely, depend, and watch Him...it is his Spirit in you working...it is not by you all we can do is refuse to trust in yourself to do for us or others or Him...but trust Him to move and act in and through us...the kingdom of God is not about you acting as He says...but to trust Him to make you and Him one...a child is as his Father is.. not because he was taught but because his life came from his fathers life.

3) it is hard to find words to say such a magnificent thing...but Adams nature in us to desire to generate life from the self makes it even harder to hear...we want to show we can do right...but Jesus said when he was called good why do you call me good there is none good but the Father... for there is only one God and only one life the other 7 billion ways lead to death. it is by His breath breathed into us that we can become his children; having life that comes forth from him

4) not a lot to say about me other than when I lived by my flesh I made other people feel better that they where not as bad as me...it took a while for God to show me didn't want me to just believe Jesus was the truth but also the way...and from there to hear He doesn't strengthen he is strength he doesn't improve life He is life...we don't imitate we emanate...so many believe He is life but still work to find their life in him instead of trusting Him to be the life in them... Jesus said if you try to gain your life you will lose your life but if for his sake you lose your life you will find your life...all we can do is give up and trust and rely....notice the God shared life is yours when you lose what comes from you

This article began with the idea it would be about the three signs given to Moses at the burning bush and in truth it is:
rod of YHWH was made our curse when He was hung on a tree and by this our curse is hidden in that cross.
the work of man (hand) reveals the sin in Adams heart but when the heart is of YHWH the work is clean and filled with health
the Spirit of YHWH(water) comes forth from His cup (messiah) when it strikes the dust (man) it becomes blood (life)

 These things describe Yeshua's life death and resurrection for Moses is His witness that He is life.

May His works be done in us as He is our life by His grace and peace

What is the new covenant: are you living right

 [[Jer 31:31-37/KJV]]
 31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
35 Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:
 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.
 37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.

In the letter Paul wrote to the Romans he says in 11:11 that the gospel came to the gentiles in order that we might provoke Israel to jealousy...how?
Earlier in his letter he has told us that gentiles who had never studied the law of Moses but had placed faith in Messiah where showing the Spirit had written that law in their hearts in that by their nature they were doing the things written contained in the law.
Is the modern gentile church doing what Paul says we should be...so what has happened?
We left Judaism...not rabbinic Judaism but true Judaism...rabbinic is an alteration that came after the temple was destroyed...Messiah is the living temple of YHWH for the disciples of the way. Judaism as I understand the writings of Moses and the prophets needs both a tabernacle/temple and blood sacrifice. Yet that is not my concern...I do not judge those without.
These things are required understanding for those who say they live in new covenant.
1) the new covenant is with Israel we gentiles are adopted in like Ruth...As our Lord told a gentile woman it is not correct to give the children's bread to dogs...but as Paul points out he is God of the gentiles too...but sir keep your Noadic laws I need a covenant that has a promised redeemer...no replacement making God a liar...no two covenant making Yeshua a liar.
2)in the new no one has to say know God...why...because we have his Spirit abiding in us..his law written on our heart and mind (which seems silly if he did away with the law) we do not teach that one may know..the Spirit of truth leads into all truth...instead we strengthen and encourage the faith of our brethren. As Habakkuk has said the just shall live by faith...now I remember Moses saying he had set before us the way of life...and Yeshua said he came that we might have life and life more abundant. So as both Paul and James have told us...if we trust in only what we believe or what we do we will find ourselves as having no life ..separated ..alone...but if we rely and trust on the same life and Spirit of YHWH that lived in Messiah to live in us and that the old man received from Adam to die in his alter...then YHWH works his works through us showing the truth of our faith(of which he is author and finisher.
3)that the old is not done away and replaced...Yeshua is the word made flesh...the things Moses wrote where spoken to him by YHWH so he is that word made flesh....do not think I destroy the law...not one jot or Tiddle will pass away....I come to fulfill(to give full weight)...by grace(gift of Spirit)through faith(trust and reliance)
the flesh from Adam can never keep the law...but your flesh is crucified with Messiah and His Spirit is making alive your body if you have trusted in him...Paul says it is no longer I that live but Christ in me...but Christ does not sin...sin is the result of trust in self....
do you want to provoke Israel to jealousy...you should; our glorification comes after their acceptance...Trust in Him to will and do in and through you

Be a real Christian: don't buy a knock off

*[[Gen 2:9]] KJV* And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

*[[Joh 14:6]] KJV* Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

*[[Joh 14:23-26/KJV]]*

 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

 25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

*[[Joh 15:5]] KJV* I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

 

My daughter came to my house not long ago very excited: she had bought a designer purse from a man for a unbelievably low price. My wife inspected her treasure and had to break the bad news to her. She had bought a knock off. To a casual glance it looked the same as an original, but with closer inspection the materials and workmanship were not right. The biggest sign was when you looked inside the liner lacked the true makers design image.

If we make this same mistake with something we buy we lose money; that sucks but it’s not going to change our life. However if we make this mistake with our soul, and buy into a counterfeit relationship with God, the results have eternal results.

Yashua (Jesus) did not tell us He came to teach us to be good, but instead that we might have life. His witness was that even the goodness seen in Him was not from Him but His Father in Him.

The death that Adam took into himself was a knowing (to be one with by experience) of both good and evil. Life is a very different issue than goodness. Jesus concluded that life was to know the Father; which He further described as being one with Him. YHWH’s (God) life is the only true life that exists. Anything that is separated from His shared life, as we became when Adam determined to be a self instead of one with YHWH through sin, is not alive but dead. By His mercy YHWH lets us continue to exist to the end that whosoever will can be saved and redeemed back to the shared life of the Father.

So what are the differences between a true redeemed life and a knock off?

Morality (what man decides is right) instead of righteousness (what emanates from who YHWH is)

Loyalty (to support another regardless of situation) instead of faithfulness (complete trust in YHWH’s sovereignty in any situation)

Charity (to give of one own excess to help another) instead of love (to hold nothing back of all one is or has from the need of another)

Empathy (to understand ones suffering) instead of compassion (to with all that is within you act to ease another’s suffering)

The list could go on but in short anything that could be done by the will of a man determined to be good is still death…life requires YHWH to live and will and move in us.

The fruit of the tree of knowledge is poison it separates us from YHWH and makes us a self. It fruit is not a sweet apple or a bitter lemon but a sweet and sour candy laced with arsenic.

The fruit of the tree of life is YHWH’s own life shared in us that we are one with Him.