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Discussion Forum : Scriptures and Doctrine : Something God has pressed on my heart

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MaryJane
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Joined: 2006/7/31
Posts: 3057


 Something God has pressed on my heart

This was sent to me and I thought I would share it here for your encouragement this morning.
God bless
MJ

While considering Matthew 10 recently, I ran across the following. It is from a Messianic Jew, hence the Jewish references.

Matthew 10: What It Means to Be a True Disciple
I'm concerned that no one stands before the Lord on the Day of Judgment, and finds out that the Lord never considered him to be a genuine follower of Messiah. Wouldn't it be terrible to appear before the Lord, having thought that you were a religious person, and expecting to enter Heaven, and hear the Son of God say these horrifying words: "I'm sorry, I don't want you in my presence, or to share in My eternal Kingdom. You are not worthy of Me. Depart from Me. Go to the Lake of Fire, from which there is no escape."



What does it mean be a genuine Christian? A Messianic Jew? He must have faith in God and Messiah. He must trust. He must believe. But, genuine faith, true belief that saves is more than merely giving mental assent to the truth about God and Messiah. The demons believe in this way, but they tremble, knowing the punishment that is still coming to them. We must be a disciple. One who learns from his teacher; one who follows where his Rabbi leads him. A disciple goes where and when the Master calls and he does what the Master tells him to do. He has no other higher priorities - not family, not business, not wealth - nothing. Yeshua said to Peter and Andrew, "Follow Me" and they left their family and their work and followed Him. Yeshua saw Matthew at work, collecting taxes, and said to him, "Follow Me", and Matthew left his job and followed Him. Yeshua told the rich young man who was interested in obtaining eternal life, to sell all his possessions, and come follow Him, but the man was unwilling, and refused to follow Rabbi Yeshua, because he had his own interests, his own goals, his own agenda, his own priorities that were more important to him.



If we are saved, we will be a genuine disciple, which means that we will follow Messiah. We will go where He asks us to go. We will do what He asks us to do. What has He asked us to do? He asks us to share His burden. He asks us to share His mission: as the Father has sent Me, so I have sent you. We must share His mission. We must go and declare the Good News about the Kingdom of God, telling men and women to turn to God and do things His ways, and enter in salvation and eternal life. In Matthew 10 Yeshua makes crystal clear what it means to be a disciple:



Yeshua summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.



The Twelve Disciples were special men, chosen by Messiah, who traveled with Rabbi Yeshua, and learned from Him, and served Him over a period of several years. As they followed and learned and served, Yeshua entrusted them with more and more spiritual power and authority. The disciples were entrusted with special power to bring both physical healing and spiritual healing - to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. This special empowerment showed that they were sent by God. It showed that their message of spiritual salvation was true. The same spiritual measure of authority and the power to do miracles that they were given should not be expected from every Believer. Even in the first century, those that God enabled to do miracles were a relatively small number. That doesn't mean that the Lord can't use us to do a miracle or pray for a miracle. He can, and so we should pray and do what He has entrusted us to do.



Now the names of the twelve apostles - emissaries, special men who represent God and Messiah, and are sent by God and Messiah to us - are these: The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.



Most of these men had ordinary occupations. None of them were scribes and members of the religious parties who were trained theologians. Yeshua started with ordinary men who were willing to learn their theology from Him. He took these ordinary men, and transformed them into something extraordinary. And that's good news for us, since most of us are ordinary men and women. But God can use the ordinary, who are willing to draw close to Messiah, to do the extraordinary!



A disciple must understand that the whole world is lost, and the Message of Salvation must go to the lost: These twelve Yeshua sent out after instructing them:



"Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel."



This was their immediate mission. They were to limit their activity to the Jewish people, and not go to the Gentiles. The truth would eventually go to the Gentiles, and some of these very men would bring the saving message to the Gentiles, but not now. For now, they were to go to the ones who Rabbi Yeshua said were the lost sheep of the House of Israel. If the house of Israel, God's Chosen Nation and Holy People, were like lost sheep, who had foolishly strayed from God, the Good Shepherd, and were lost, and far from Him, and in need of salvation, how much more lost were the pagan Gentiles?



The whole world is lost - the Jewish world, the Gentile world, and we must bring them the message that will enable them to be saved. A disciple must understand and declare the sovereignty of God - that God is the King, and has the rule to rule us and give us commands that we are to obey:



And as you go, preach, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."



God, the High King of the universe, and the High King must be acknowledged, honored and obeyed. The Son of the High King, King Yeshua, must be acknowledged, honored and obeyed. You must live in the world as though the High King was ruling on His throne in Heaven right now - which He is.



A disciple must be free from the love of money.



Freely you received, freely give. Don't charge for your services. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support.



The disciples were to travel light, and depend on God to provide for their needs. This was said to the Twelve Disciples, but it applies to all of us. We must be free from the love of money, and the desire to accumulate more and more things. We want to travel light through this world.



A disciple must warn people about the coming Judgment:



And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that city.



To whom much is given, much is required. Rejection of the Message about the Messiah is more wicked, more perverse, more damnable than the horrific perverse sins that were going on in Sodom and Gomorrah! We must tell people to turn to God and Messiah. We must state it clearly. And if they won't listen, we must warn them about what is in store for them - the reality of the Day of Judgment, and Hell. That is our duty to God, and our responsibility to our fellow human beings.



A disciple must expect opposition:



Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves.



What happens to sheep among wolves? They are attacked, and bitten and ripped to pieces and eaten by the wolves, who are stronger than they are. This world is not a nice place for the sons and daughters of God. It's enemy territory. It's dangerous for us. It's important that we understand that life for a child of light living in the midst of world of great darkness, life for a follower of God who dwells in a world that lies under the power of the satanic tyrant, will not be easy.



Expect opposition. Expect persecution. Expect that from time to time we will be insulted, persecuted attacked, and some of us might be killed. We are not promised a long and easy and comfortable life in this world. So be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. The world is tough. It's dangerous. So be smart. Be wise. Use your intelligence to outwit and outmaneuver those who oppose you, but do so in a way that won't harm them. Play by God's rules, which include loving your enemies, and trying to do what is best for them, trying to redeem them, turning them to God and Messiah and salvation.



A disciple must expect opposition from entrenched political and religious authorities:



But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and whip you in their synagogues.



Those of us who grew up in religious traditions not firmly based on the truth, like within the Jewish community, must expect opposition from the rabbis and Jewish community leaders. Those who come from an Islamic or Hindu or Catholic background must expect opposition from the religious leaders of those religions.



And you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.



God will use the opposition from religious and political leaders who oppose us to proclaim the Message! He will use our arrests, and trials, and punishments to further the Message.



A disciple must expect opposition from family:



But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.



Following God and Messiah means God and Messiah come ahead of family. Faithfulness to your Creator and Redeemer comes before all earthly relationships. And, we can expect opposition from our non-believing family members, and we must endure it, and remain faithful to God in the midst of it. Messiah repeats for emphasis that a disciple must expect opposition from everyone:



You will be hated by all because of My name - because of Me, because of who I am, and because of your identification with Me - but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.



You must endure to the end! It's crucial that you end your journey through life well, serving God, being faithful, enduring, following, even to the bitter end. A lot of people start off well, but don't end well. They give up along the way. The way you end is more important than the way you begin. Frankly, I'm not very impressed with people praying "prayers of salvation" or praying "the sinner's prayer." Let's see if they are part of a good community of the faithful three months later, six months later, having been baptized, serving the Lord, growing in their knowledge of God, enduring some persecution.



A disciple must not let opposition discourage him.



But whenever they persecute you in one city, quit and give because it's too hard? No, there are other opportunities. Flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.



You witness to someone at work and they get offended and insult you? Speak to someone else.



A disciple must not think he deserves better treatment than the One he is learning from:



A disciple is not above his Rabbi, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he becomes like his teacher and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house ba'alzibbul (the lord of the flies, satan, whose presence and activity is associated with death and corruption, like maggots and flies feeding on a dead carcass), how much more will they malign the members of his household!



If the Righteous One, Yeshua our wonderful Rabbi, who is perfect, who perfectly kept the Torah, and loved God with His whole heart, and lived true Judaism, if He was despised and forsaken by men, unesteemed and afflicted, opposed, persecuted, arrested, humiliated, beaten, whipped, given a cross to carry to the place of His execution, and then crucified, can His disciples, who are not perfect, not like the perfectly Righteous One, who are flawed, who sin, who err, who make mistakes, can we expect better treatment than our wonderful and good and righteous and perfect Rabbi?



A disciple must not let opposition discourage him from carrying out his mission. He must be fearless. He must not give in to intimidation:



Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.



"The truth must emerge; the gospel and its outworkings in the disciples may not now be visible to all, but nothing will remain hidden forever. And if the truth will emerge at the End, how wise to declare it fully and boldly now" (D.A. Carson). Don't wait until you get to Heaven to declare the Good News to others. There is no need to declare it then! Declare it now, in this world of spiritual darkness and deadly confusion. Messiah continues:



What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Don't keep quiet! Don't keep this eternal-life-saving-message to yourself! Be bold! Be courageous! Speak up loudly and publicly! Don't be intimidated by threats of loss or violence! Your duty to declare the truth is more important! Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him - God, who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.



Don't fear human beings, who may be able to end your life in this world. It only makes sense to fear God, who if He is displeased with you, and He will be displeased with you if you compromise to live an easy, comfortable life, may destroy your entire life - body and soul, with the Second Death, in the Lake of Fire, from which there is no escape.



A disciple should know that if you are faithful to God, and faithful to your mission, the Lord will take care of you:



Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.



God knows you intimately and perfectly. He knows all about you, and your needs, and every aspect of your life, and what is right for your life.



So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.



Of the millions of sparrows, not one dies without the all-knowing God's knowledge and permission. Not one dies apart from the will of God. Not one dies apart from completing its purpose. Not one dies before its time. If that is true of birds, then how much true is that for the human being, made in God's image, who is doing the will of God? You get fired from work because you get too zealous? There are other jobs. God will provide. You get arrested for preaching the Good News? The Lord will take care of you! You get executed for believing the truth? It was the Lord's time for you, and His plan for your life, and now you will enter into a fuller and greater life in eternity! You are victorious! You are more than a conqueror!



A disciple should know that our willingness to confess Him or deny Him will affect our eternal destiny:



Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in Heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in Heaven.



If you want to live forever, you must publicly identify yourself with the One who gives eternal life. If you don't publicly identify yourself with the eternal Savior in front of weak, sinful human beings who live in this Earth, which will be destroyed, the Savior will not identify with you in front of His righteous, powerful and eternal Father, who dwells in the everlasting Heavens. It only makes sense to confess Messiah publicly here on Earth, and to continue to publicly confess Him and never deny Him!



A disciple should understand the Messiah's mission: It's not to bring peace to sinful human beings who won't turn away from their sins and refuse to submit to the King of kings; to lie to them and tell them that all is well, when things are far from well with them. What a disservice that would be! No, Messiah came to confront human beings with the truth, to rouse them from their deadly lethargy, and they don't like it! We don't like to be confronted with the truth about God and our need to turn to Him, and serve Him.



Do not think that I came to bring peace on the Earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword - conflict and warfare.



It's not good to be at peace if your sense of peace is based on a lie - that you are OK, when you not in a right relationship with God, when the reality is you are headed to Hell.



Most of us love our families, and we want to be at peace with them, but our love is not the truest love if we don't tell them about the truth about their real situation, and the truth about the Savior. We must upset our families with the truth, that they need Messiah! That they are in the gravest danger if they don't turn to God and Messiah and righteousness! Messiah continues:



For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household.



We must tell the members of our families about the Savior! We must not keep quiet, even if it causes conflict. We must not compromise even for the sake of family peace. And yet, so many fail this charge because they put their love of family and their desire for peace above their duty to God. But Messiah tells us,



"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."



Sadly, I have known many who won't stand up to their family, their husband or wife, their son or daughter, their father or mother, their sister or brother. They compromise, they keep quiet, and as a result they never fully follow the Lord. Most of them accomplish very little for God, and many fall away from the Faith. Those who are not faithful to be a witness to their family who they are a part of, and connected to, aren't faithful as a witness to those outside of their family. And what about those corrupt teachers who tell us that the non-believing members of our Jewish families who don't embrace the Savior are OK? That they have a relationship with God, that they will experience the mediation of the Savior while rejecting the Savior? They remind me of the vile false prophets of old who declared a message of peace when there is no peace.



A disciple must be willing to give up his own agenda, his own priorities and goals, and be willing to adopt the Lord's goals, the Lord's mission, the Lord's vision, the Lord's agenda, even if it means personal sacrifice, being humiliated, suffering and dying:



And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.



"Follow Me", the Lord said to His disciples. And where did the Lord go? Where did He ask His disciples to follow? Sometime He led them into danger. At times He led them into conflict with Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the Sanhedrin. He Himself was arrested, tortured, and put to death. In order to faithfully follow the Lord, are you willing to follow Him, if it means picking up a cross, which means that you have been arrested, tried and for to carry your cross and headed to your execution? Most of the apostles died a martyr's death, but this word is not limited to the apostles. Anyone who is not willing to follow Messiah into danger, and face humiliation and suffering and death is not worthy of the One who gives life.



The life of a disciple is not about his dreams, His desires, his goals, his plans, his aspirations, but about the Lord's agenda, the Lord's mission, the Lord's burden, the Lord's vision. How would you like to appear before Him and the Judgment, and hear these words, "I did so much for you. I sacrificed so much for you. Yet you were unwilling to do much for Me. I meant so little to you? You are not worthy of Me."



A disciple who is faithful carries much authority, because he represents God and Messiah in this world:



He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.



God sent His Son on a mission. The Son represented and revealed the Father and brought humanity the message of salvation. The Son likewise sends us on a mission. We are the Lord's ambassadors, His emissaries, His representatives to this world. We represent and reveal the Son, who represents and reveals the Father. We bring humanity the message of salvation. When someone receives and welcomes and embraces a disciple because that person knows he is a disciple of Yeshua, it is equivalent to receiving and welcoming and embracing the Savior Himself. What an incredible honor, what an amazing privilege, to represent Messiah and God!



A disciple who is faithful will get a great reward that will more than compensate for his difficulties and suffering here on Earth:



He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.



Israel's prophets almost always spoke out against a faithless majority, and were hated for it. A faithful prophet will receive a great reward, because it isn't easy to be faithful and speak out in such a situation. And, if we welcome that prophet, and identify with him because he is a true prophet, because he speaks for God, we too can be greatly rewarded. How nice to know that we don't all need to be prophets to receive a prophet's reward!



Disciples of Messiah are like the prophets of old, speaking God's message to a faithless majority. We will be greatly rewarded, as will those who welcome us. And that makes all of our difficulties and trials in this life worth it!



And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.



When a society grows dark and evil, and a righteous man continues to live the right way, and speaks out against the sins of that society, and receives persecution for it, he will get a great reward because it's not easy to do. And those who publicly identify with him and help him, will likewise get a great reward. Disciples are like that righteous man, and will be greatly rewarded, as will those who welcome us. And that makes all of our difficulties and trials in this life worth it!



And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.



All those who are genuine disciples of the holy God, and faithfully live in an anti-God, anti-Christian world, will receive a great reward. And all those who receive them and their message of salvation that they bring, will also get a great reward! And that makes all of our difficulties and trials in this life worth it!



Are you a genuine Christian? A genuine Messianic Jew? Or are you just a "believer" who gives mere mental assent to the truths of the Faith, like the demons do, but who tremble, knowing the punishment that is in store for them? Or are you a disciple?



Are you like Philip, who, when Messiah said, "Follow Me," followed Him and kept following Him, no matter what the cost? Or are you like the rich young man who was interested in obtaining eternal life, but when Messiah told him to sell all his possession, and come follow, the man was unwilling, and refused to follow, because the man had his own interests, his own goals, his own agenda, his own priorities?



Will you be like the scribe, a man who copied the Scriptures, and therefore knew the Word of God better than most, who promised Yeshua, "Rabbi, I will follow You wherever You go." But Yeshua responded, telling him that following Messiah wouldn't be easy or comfortable. "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but I don't have a home" and if you follow Me, there will be times when you won't either. Are you still willing to follow Me?

 2006/10/9 11:37Profile
NLONG
Member



Joined: 2006/8/17
Posts: 111
Middlebury, Indiana

 Re: Something God has pressed on my heart

AMEN. This article does little for the health and wealth prosperity gospel.


_________________
Neil Long

 2006/10/9 15:57Profile





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