Few there be that Find it

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4

For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Romans 2: 12-16

The list of reasons for why we do not see in our church and in our lives an equivalent experience to that of the biblical age saints is long and varied but in the end can be reduced to two factors pride and ignorance. These two states come together to form unbelief.

I assure you that the writer of what you now read does not exempt himself from this evaluation. As a rule we do not evaluate ourselves as spiritually ignorant or immature and will ignore any evidence that may show we are. If we bear no false witness of ourselves either we are experiencing in every way those things witnessed by Messiah and His apostles as a matter of common living for a believer or what they have witnessed is a lie.

Two of our greatest enemies in a war against unbelief are sparks of the new creation and assumption of knowing the truth. What I mean by sparks of the new creation is like if I had a light and a switch connected by wire that did not have proper connection.

If I flip the switch I will see a bright spark and smell the burning ozone but the light will only flicker leaving me still in the dark. This experience is like when we see YHWH move to answer prayer, or prophecy, or give peace and so on. The initial experience gives us light so intense that we see it even after its gone but slowly it fades leaving us to wonder if it was real or not. These flashes are caused by not having a sound connection; however they, by our own pride and ignorance, cause us to ignore that we are not experiencing the light as an every moment environment of our living. Yeshua testified His believers would live in the light as He was in the light.

The second major cause of unbelief is assumption. It is often the things we are certain we know already that cause us to not hear and understand what is being said. As an example if I were to ask any Christian “what is the gospel” the answer will for the majority of people Jesus died so my sins can be forgiven and I can go to heaven. Yeshua no doubt provided forgiveness and the promise of eternity with the Father and Him but that is a only a result of the gospel. Yeshua and the apostles teach about a forgiveness of past sins but this result is secondary to trusting in the redemption provided by Messiah which frees us from sin. The death of Messiah was not to settle an account of wrath but instead took the fate of our sin on him that we could be free from sin.

The death of Messiah is about binding the strong man inherent from Adam. The Adamic man we were dies in the cross so that by faith in our redeemer we join Him in the Fathers life. No man can have two masters; you cannot generate your life and be given His life at the same time. Yeshua referred to this as the kingdom of heaven and the heart of man while Paul spoke of the flesh and the spirit even YHWH spoke of it to Moses as life and cursing but all concluded that the solution is a complete giving of all that we are to YHWH and trusting, depending, and expecting YHWH to be our creator.

The body, soul, and spirit

I wanted to put something here on my blog for those who have come to read it regularly. What I have given is more stream of conscious and list like in its content. I have a tendency to waffle between a witnessing mode where thoughts are clearly defined and a study mode where my mind is attempting to understand how all these individual lessons are in fact one. The following is more outline for a section of a book about true redemption life that I am believing YHWH will work through me before I leave this present place as a gift unto all believers. I know it is choppy but in my present mindset it is all I have to offer…may the Spirit of truth teach you all things.

                My people are destroyed for a lack of seeing

(1)          The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit. Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour. The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy. The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14: 8-12

(2)          Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away. Yet let no man strive, nor reprove another: for thy people are as they that strive with the priest. Therefore shalt thou fall in the day, and the prophet also shall fall with thee in the night, and I will destroy thy mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4:1-6

(3)          And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. Exodus 24:3

                Trusting the life of I AM in us( if we have trusted in His redemption)

(a)          The blindness is not a lack of visual acuity but of perceiving the truth

(b)          Just as Israel did at the giving of covenant most today see the things taught as regulations and standards to be submitted to. The thought is that a desire and determination to do right will make righteousness within. In short an improving of the life at work in them.

(5)          Count the cost…submission to YHWH excludes submission to oneself…His life is not added to ours or strengthening ours. Our life must end in Messiahs death on the cross; the life found in us must be his life generating in us as He has promised…all we can do is trust He has said truth…believing YHWH is able is not the same as believing he is active.

                Separating between the soul and Spirit

(a)          There is a good deal of confusion about the difference between soul and spirit and definitive explanation seems to elude us.

(b)          The soul is catalyst which takes the form and substance of the world around us and converts it to a usable form by which we have existence.

(i)            The scriptures say the life of the unredeemed is in the blood. It is the blood that carries the air and food in a usable form to the whole body through which we exist.

(ii)           The philosopher Descartes  said I think therefore I am but go ten minutes without air and the fallacy becomes obvious.

(iii)          Some confuse the spirit with being the conscious; thoughts, motives, emotions are simply equations by which the dynamic between soul and spirit are quantified by us. The consciousness is therefore simply a part of the soul.

(c)               The spirit is the energy both driving and created by the interactions of all substance and form

(i)            An illustration of these things can be seen in the process of nuclear fission. When we look at the physical reactions taking place; we look at the soul. When we look at the energy released by these actions; we are looking at the spirit. The way we explain what we have witnessed is our consciousness…E=MC2.

(d)           Most have a conception that it is the soul and the spirit in man that is impossible to to separate; however in truth it is the body and soul that are codependant

                When Adam chose to be a self he became self-sufficient; however he soon realized that his self was not sufficient.

                He was mandated to be a multiplier of Elohim’s image and likeness; he became instead a subtraction, a consumer. From the time Adam (both he and all that came forth from him) was deemed a self every attempt to bring forth has consumed from the substance of things both around and from him.

 

Are You Faithful?

A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent. Proverbs 28:20

The scripture is saturated with the importance of a man’s faithfulness and of the immovable certainty of YHWH’s faithfulness. There is little argument from neither the brethren nor the world of the necessity of a man’s faithfulness.

It is the definition of the word where the difference comes. For the world faithfulness is a virtue comprised of loyalty, respect, and honor; the world list synonyms such as: loyal · constant · true · devoted · true-blue · unswerving · staunch · accurate · precise · exact · errorless · unerring · faultless · true · close. All of these things imagined into a man’s heart bring him a place of honor among men as a personality to which others should seek to become like.

This definition has nothing to do with the scriptures and if inserted into ones understanding of scripture it will fall out to fighting against the Spirit instead of receiving by grace.

To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress. He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.  Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer. He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat. He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.  He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.  Proverbs 28:21-27 

    These are the things a man who has been formed to faithfulness by Elohim (creator heavenly Father) has been made to understand through the instruction of YHWH (covenant relationship heavenly Father).

• To have respect of persons is not good…no man, including oneself, is better or worse than any other of by some self-made ability
• One’s life is not determined by either the gaining of or lack of temporary things. The faithful man has learned to have life whether he abounds or is abased
• Offending with truth makes a better relationship than placating with the tongue
• To assume we are entitled to receive for our self from those who love us brings destruction upon themselves and those who care about them
• Those who believe they deserve respect, fairness, and appreciation make strife compared to the faithful who are given more than enough from the YHWH
•  Those who trust in their own motives, desires, and ways will come to an emptiness of existence compared to those who walk in submission to YHWH are delivered up to goodness
• The faithful man gives of all he has received to those without knowing that YHWH’s providence is not diminishable compared to the man who does not consider another’s need who will only find a curse.

A faithful man in accordance with scripture is one who puts all trust, belief, and expectation in YHWH. The worldly man sees faithful as a virtue that lifts men up above their peers for honor. A true faithful man has allowed the self to be crucified in Messiah to the end that all honor or glory rest soley upon YHWH and His Messiah Yeshua.

The gifts of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.  

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many.1 Corinthians 12: 1-14

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 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.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Galatians 5:13-25

If you ask a person who they are it is common to receive one of two types of answers. There are some who will list degrees, certifications, or jobs while others will give a list of their morals and ideals. The same is common among believers; they will at times, whether solicited or not, find themselves “proving” they are in a good relationship with the Lord. The proof is offered in two ways some offer the works done by the Spirit through them and others offer their acts of kindness toward others.

The problem with these answers is that who a person is cannot be defined in such a way. The failure of such answers should be obvious enough after all was Balaam’s donkey in a closer relationship with YHWH because YHWH spoke through him, was Caiaphas a believer because he prophesied Messiah would die for the nation, is it godliness to give all one has to the poor? Paul concludes that a man can do all these things and still have not love.

• The Spirit witnesses that if we speak as a man or as a messenger of YHWH without love we are equal because all we say amounts to nothing.
• The Spirit witnesses that if we understand all mysteries, holy knowledge, if we prophesy nd move the earth with our faith but without love we are nothing.
• The Spirit witnesses that if we give all we have to the needy, and suffer torture and death before denying our beliefs without love we inherit nothing.

The treatise of love given through Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 is the conclusion of the 1Corinthians 12 charismatic gift teaching and defined in Galatians 5.

This being established should show us the wrong thinking and eternally dangerous results of those who judge their own and others relationship with our covenant keeping Father by the Spiritual works that have occurred in their lives.

It is perhaps even more dangerous to learn to act joyful, peaceful, longsuffering, gentle, good, faithful, meek, and temperate. Learning to act a certain way is an admission that those things are not our nature. It is no different than what is taught by fallen sons of Adam to their children; after all teaching a child to not act selfishly is for the most part a self-preserving act for both the parent and the child.

The new creation in messiah is not about conformation but transformation. It is not how we act but who we are. The Pharisees went to great length to do what was acceptable under the law and were concluded to be nothing more than actors (hypocrites). The law was not a structure of correct actions but instead a description of who Messiah is.

When we try to make ourselves obedient to the law we find that what we received from Adam (our life) is by nature a transgressor and we are not able to make it righteous. The church has not for the most part disagreed with what I have thus far stated. It is how one proceeds from there where we have failed. 

• The desire for righteousness is not righteousness
• Forgiveness is not salvation
• Trying with all that is in you to do right is not living by faith

Adams fatal error was to trust in himself as an equal to Elohim our Father; not to replace YHWH but to sit equal to Him. We do the same thing when we believe that YHWH will bless us if we do our part. We cannot find the righteousness we desire through effort but the just shall LIVE by faith.

If you claim Yeshua is living through you while the works of the flesh reign in your life you are deceiving yourself. If you have no desire to be made righteous you are not redeemed. Failure to do right is not a sign of hypocrisy but of blindness (my people are destroyed for a lack of vision).

• Pick up your eyes from the earth and look to heaven from which your salvation comes.
• Trust in His promise that He and His Father will abide in you and be one with you.
• Depend upon the fact that Adams life in you is dead (repentance from dead works) by means of the cross.
• Expect the Holy Spirit (the breath, life, being) of YHWH to be His shared life within you

The Spirit calls to us come out from among them who put trust in and attempt to prove the self, inherent from Adam. Let Adam’s death remain in the grave and come away with me my beloved into resurrection life.

Resurrection life is not set aside for heaven, but as Messiah the first fruit and first born among many brethren walked in resurrection life upon the earth until He was taken up so should our shared life with Him be upon the earth until we too are taken up.

Do you know the Lord?

As a child growing up in a small rural town the idea of a church denomination never occurred to me. There existed one community Christian church in town and it was the only flavor for miles; so in my mind there were only those who went to church and those who did not. The combination of maturing into adolescence and relocating to a more urban area of course brought with it an awareness that within Christianity there where multiple denominations each believing their own teachings where the most in line with the truth. However the idolatry of my self and desire to obtain those things that the world around me sought after had lead me so far from my Father that I gave such things no consideration.

When my brother Yeshua said He would neither leave us nor forsake us His witness is true regardless of how untrue we may find ourselves to be. I see His providence in the fact that He brought my wife of twenty five years to me even when I deserved only His wrath. My wife like myself had come to the Father as a child in a full gospel church but walked away into darkness in her teenage years.

In the early years of our marriage my wife attempted to return to church a few times, if for no other reason than to deal with the fits of anger and hatefulness that I had become prone to, but it is hard to be steadfast when your spouse is living worldly. However her prayers and tears were not unnoticed by our Lord and one night my faith in myself broke leaving me empty and alone. Messiah was there to bind my wounds and pour in His oil and wine and shelter me by a price He paid himself. I did not tell anyone what had taken place within me but my behavior change was evident and finally my wife asked me directly “what is going on with you?”

My wife had been attending at that time a UPC church with a friend of hers and upon finding out that I had surrendered myself to the Lords will she asked if I would attend church with my family on the following Sunday. I soundly informed her that I had no intention of attending a “tongue talking” church since such a belief was silly and furthermore I was “saved” with no such experience.

My wife was filled with hope and spent the entire ten hours I was at work the next day finding every scripture she could to show me the “baptism in the Spirit”. I found that the evangelical doctrine I was comfortable with did not address these scriptures with any truly solid foundational arguments. I would later find that the UPC fellowship would be offended by those things which the evangelicals did have solid foundation upon.  For those who would be curious I did come to what Pentecostals call the baptism with the evidence of speaking in other tongues; however eventually my UPC brethren asked me to no longer fellowship with them because of things I believed.

This was the beginning of the cup which my Father has given to me. Like James and John when this cup was set before me I saw opportunity for myself to become someone of position and power as a man favored of YHWH. However just as they had learned before me I have come to understand that the only way to partake of our Fathers cup is to first take Messiahs cup and die in order that the only life in us is the quickening of His Spirit.

The desire for the complete truth of YHWH has driven me since that time. In the childish manner of my early spirit life I went from church to church each time to find fault with wrong doctrine and refusal to consider the scripture beyond already held beliefs. The amount of study and research and fasting  and prayer that I poured into knowing what was right blinded me to the fact that despite my learning the truth I was not living right or true.

In the beginning no one would have thought anything was amiss, many Christians would have probably applauded my biting criticism of many “false teachers”. It is not without reason that the scripture tells us to not wander to the right or the left and that our eye must be single. The scripture also tells us that there are those who are ever learning but never coming to knowledge of God. I learned the hard way that learning the truth is not the same as being one with and living the truth. It crept up on me slowly like the proverbial frog in hot water; who does not realize the temperature is rising until they are dead.

I have said all this that it might be obvious that my subject is not just a theory but instead a truth that I fought hard to bend to my will to my own hurt. In the end this unrelenting truth is without price.

In the end Yeshua will either say come or I never knew you. On that day your personal definition of what knowing Him means will not persuade your destination in the least.

Some say that knowing Him is a belief.

Some say knowing Him is a confession.   

Some say knowing Him is a baptism in water.

Some say knowing Him is a spiritual manifestation.

Some say knowing Him is to be used by Him.

However the scripture says to know Him is to be one with Him.

 Moses said if you love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, mind and might then you will keep His commands.

Jerimiah prophesied His law will be written on our heart and mind (not written by us but YHWH is the author and finisher of our trust, dependence, and expectation.)

Yeshua said I and my Father are one and I shall be in you and you in me that you may all be one and again He says if you have seen me you have seen the Father.

Paul says it is no longer I that lives but Messiah lives in me, that from faith to faith the righteousness of Messiah is revealed in us, that those who knew not the law by their (new) nature do the things in the law, and again that I am dead in Messiah and the Spirit that raised Him from the dead now quickens my mortal body.

The author of Hebrews says not laying again the foundations let us go on to righteousness.

The man we are inherent from Adam can learn what righteousness is and by will worship for a time or season he can imitate the actions he has learned but it is not his nature. His true nature will emanate out eventually.

The new man is inherent of Messiah will emanate the life of Messiah. Amen