LOVING YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

Our God and Father Yehovah sees every person you encounter as an extension of yourself, When you give to a person, you will receive back because he is as yourself. If you hold something back you will lose it because you have not given it to yourself in the other person.

We need to think as God thinks because His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. God sees the other person as being me. If I don't forgive, I won't be forgiven. If I forgive, I will be forgiven.

Giving is a way of gaining treasure in heaven. [Luke 18:22] What you give is registered in heaven. In giving to others, you are giving to yourself. What you keep on earth, you will eventually have to leave behind.

SPIRITUAL EQUATIONS

When we understand that what we do to others is what we are doing to ourselves, our thinking will be reversed, and barriers will be torn down.

Consider these three statements:

1. You shall love Yehovah your God with all your heart, mind, being, and strength.

2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

3. Jesus tells us: "love one another as I have loved you."

Notice: Loving your neighbor is to love him with all your heart. The third statement, "as I have loved you" brings the Messiah Jesus into the picture and raises the standard for "love one another" and "love your neighbor". Now we see a link between, "as I have loved you" and "with all your heart" and "as yourself," since all these express total self-giving love.

The first statement, "you shall love Yehovah your God," is seen in the fact that what you do to your neighbor, you do to yourself and above all to God who is hidden in your neighbor who expresses His image.

Another equation is that our God and Father Yehovah loves us as Himself. This remarkable principle is found in Deuteronomy 32: 9-10: 

For Yehovah's portion is His people; Jacob is the line of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple [pupil] of His eye.

Yehovah found Israel in the wilderness and cared for him, even protecting him as He would protect the pupil of His eye. Just as our body reacts to a hurt finger. so Yehovah regards Israel as the pupil of His eye, the most sensitive part of the body, the part that one protects at all cost. This shows the extent of Yehovah's care for you: You are as valuable to Him as the pupil of His eye. 

We see this in Psalms 17:8: "Guard me as the pupil [apple] of your eye,"  and Zechariah 2:8: "He who touches you, touches the pupil [apple] of His eye." Yehovah's love for us is seen in His deep sensitivity to what happens to us. Whatever happens to us happens to Yehovah in a profound way. He cares about our needs and sufferings, for in all the afflictions of His people, Yehovah is afflicted: Isaiah 63:9:

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them, and he bore them and carried them all the days of old.

What "as I have loved you" means to us: four points!

The first point: When Jesus says, "love one another as I have loved you" [John 15:12], he is speaking as one who has done the very things he tells us to do. As a sin-offering sacrifice of himself, he himself fulfilled the law summed up in loving your neighbor as yourself.

Second point: "as I have loved you" sets a high standard for how we are to love one another. The words, "as I have loved you" bring out a love that is total and self-giving, and exemplifies how Jesus loved us and gave himself for us. Galatians 2:20:

I am crucified with the Messiah: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but the Messiah lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Third point: "as I have loved you" brings out the truth that Jesus loves me every moment of every day, his love for me is ongoing! Because I am in the Messiah Jesus and united to him by his Spirit, I live in the confidence of his love for me every moment of every day.

Forth point: "as I have loved you" expresses Jesus' total identification with us. This identification is seen in other statements such as, "He who receives you receives me" [Matthew 10:40]. "and "He who rejects you rejects me" [Luke 10:16]. The identification extends even to the least of brethren [Matthew 25-46], the parable of the sheep and the goats.

How Yehovah and His son Jesus identify with us: Five points

1. The image of God What I do to my neighbor is done to God because my neighbor bears the image of God by reason of creation and redemption

Genesis 1:27: And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them.

James 3:9: Therewith bless we God the father, and therewith curse we men which are made after the [image] similitude of God.

God's image in man has not been eradicated but is seen in man in its full glory 1 Corinthians 11:7: For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God,

2. What we do or fail to do to the least of our brethren we fail to do to Jesus himself Matthew 25:31--46, the parable of the sheep and the goats. When Paul was persecuting Christians he was persecuting the Messiah himself [Acts 9:45]. What you do to a believer you do to the Messiah, for the neighbor identified with the Messiah. The identification is so strong as to bring out this representation: "he who receives you receives me" [Matthew 10:40] and "he who rejects you rejects me" [Luke 10:16].

3. This is total identification with the Messiah because we are in the Messiah:

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man is in the Messiah, he has become is a new creation. Old things are passed away, behold all things have become new.

Romans 12:5: so we, though many, are one body in the Messiah, and individually members of one another.

What we do to someone who is in the Messiah, we do to the Messiah himself.

4. The Messiah identifies with us because we are members of his body the called-out Assembly:

1 Corinthians 12:27: Now you are the body of the Messiah and members in particular.

Colossians 1:18, 24: And he is the head of the body, the called-out Assembly: who is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of the Messiah in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the called-out Assembly. We have been baptized by the Spirit of God into the body [the called-out Assembly] of the Messiah 1 Corinthian 12:13:-14:

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we are Jews or Gentiles, whether we are bond [slaves] or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

Continue: uniting us with him and with one another Romans 6:3-5:

Remember you not that all we who are baptized in the name of the Messiah Jesu, are baptized to die with him? We are buried with him by baptism for to die [to self]: That as the Messiah was raised up from death by the glory of the Father: even so we also should walk in a new life. For if we are grafted into death, like unto him: even so we will be in the resurrection.

Our union in the Messiah is seen also in the fact that we are betrothed to him. 2 Corinthians 11:2:

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to the Messiah.

5. The believer's body is a Temple; a dwelling place of Yehovah. What we so to a believer is done to Yehovah's dwelling place and to Yehovah Himself. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17:

Are you not ware that you are the temple of God, and how that the spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defiles the temple of God, he shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20: What? know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own [you are bought and paid for by the blood of the Messiah Jesus]? For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which is God’s.

Therefore we must honor the sanctity of the body. Harming one's own body by drug use or gluttony is an action against Yehovah and His dwelling place. 

In this article, we have seen how much our God and Father Yehovah and His son the Messiah Jesus love us. The Father and His son have given us their all and we should give our all in a loving response! Yehovah's Spirit continues to work in us. But on our part we cannot be passive; we need to strive to enter by the narrow gate. When we determine to follow Yehovah with a full obedient faithful commitment He will give us the strength to enable us to be totally committed to Him! What amazing grace and love!

Most of what I have written are not my words but words taken from chapter 14 of Eric Chang`s book Totally Committed. I highly recommend that you study Totally Committed reading it for what it is a spiritual instruction manual on how to live the Christina life as new creations in the Lord Messiah Jesus. 

Totally Committed:

 https://christiandiscipleschurch.org/sites/default/files/bookstore/books/Totally_Committed.pdf

 

THE NEW BIRTH

John 3:1-8: There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: The same came to Jesus by night, and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from [commissioned by] God - Yehovah: for no man can do these miracles that you do, except God - Yehovah be with him.

Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, except a man be born again, he cannot see [experience] the kingdom/kingship of God - Yehovah.

Nicodemus said to him, how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?

Jesus answered, truly; truly, I say to you, except a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. [The new birth that takes place when one is baptized and receives the Spirit of Yehovah] That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said to you, you must be born again.

The wind blows where it wants, and you hear the sound thereof, but can not tell from where it comes, and where it goes: so is everyone that is born of the Spirit. [This will be the end result of being born again, for all who become glorified, immortal men/women, as members of the New Humanity, in the kingdom of God, that Jesus will rule over when God sends him down to sit on the throne of David at Zion]

What an amazing display of Yehovah’s grace that we as members of a fallen race, sinful men/women should have the offer and opportunity of becoming sons and daughters of Yehovah Elohim - God; and if children, then heirs, heirs of Yehovah and joint-heirs with the Messiah [Notice we become joint-heirs of God and then become joint-heirs with the Messiah the son of God and our elder brother]. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be!”

Note: 1John 3:2: Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

When we stop and think about how many who were headed for death and destruction have been pulled out of the fire to become washed, set apart, and made righteous in the name of Jesus by the power of the Spirit of Yehovah.

“And as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become the children of God, even to them that believe on his name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God” (John 1:12, 13).

It is in the spirit that the birth from above takes place. “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

It is by the spirit that we pray and meditate and grow in grace and knowledge. It is by the eyes of the heart (another name for the organ of the spirit) that we come to know what our God and Father Yehovah has given to us.

Note what our God – Yehovah gives to us who believe and walk before Him in obedient covenant faithfulness:

Ephesians 1:17-23: That the God – Yehovah of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints [holy ones], and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in the Messiah, when He raised him from the dead, and set him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the called-out Assembly, which is his body, the fullness of Him that fills all in all.

What amazing grace that our God and Father Yehovah has bestowed upon us who were dead in our trespasses and sins!

The Spirit of God, resident in the Word of God, must be received into our nature that we may be born again not from perishable, but from imperishable seed [the word of God] through the message He gave to His son Jesus to give to us, the message of salvation.

Note: 1 Peter 1:22-23: Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever. For all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower thereof falls away: But the word of the Lord - Yehovah endures forever. And this is the word which by the gospel [good news message of the kingdom of God] is preached unto you.

“He that sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:36, 37).

Here are five signs that we have become sons and daughters of our God and Father Yehovah:

1. The world does not know us: 1 John 3:1: Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

2. We will not make a practice of sinning:1 John 3:9, 10: No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed, abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this, it is evident who are the children of God,

3. We will love our neighbors as we love ourselves and especially our brother and sisters in the Lord Messiah: 1 John 3:14: We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers/sisters.

4. We will experience Yehovah’s love working in us and through us. 1 John 5:1, 2: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.

5. We know that we are protected by the Messiah who has given to us an understanding to know him that is true: Jesus 1 John 5:18-20: We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in His Son Jesus the Messiah

The most convincing and helpful sign of all is given to us in John 1:10-14: He was in the world, and the world was made because of him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And the word was made flesh [Genesis 3:15], and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

2 Peter 1: 2-4: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus, our Lord, according to as His [Yehovah’s] godly power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him [Yehovah] that has called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these you might be partakers of the nature of God, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

What an amazing privilege to be among those who have been called out from among the nations to have a place with the Lord Messiah when his Father Yehovah sends him down to take his place on the throne of David at Zion.

What a privilege to be among those who have been born again by the Spirit of the only true God Yehovah. As born-again ones let us all strive to go forward toward the goal our God has called us to have a part and place in. 

There is nothing on this earth that is worth holding on to; if it will impede our progress to walking in faithful obedience toward the call our God and Father Yehovah has given for us to attain! Be on fire to achieve what God has called you to do!

YEHOVAH WILL NOT DISPISE A BROKEN ANDCONTRITE HEART?

A contrite attitude of mind comes from a person who has come to realize their poverty of spirit, their total incapability to do anything that is pleasing to God by their own self will, that it is impossible. They realize that they are poor in spirit and need God's Spirit to indwell them, to enable them to accomplish all that He requires of them as His adopted sons/daughters. They indeed come before Him in an attitude of repentance, asking for His forgiveness.

Notice: Whatever God requires or commands you to do He will always provide you with the power to do what He has asked you to do!

Now, God responds by forgiving that son/daughter because of the sin-offering sacrifice of His beloved son Jesus who by his shed blood has reconciled all mankind unto his God and his Father Yehovah.

We should also realize that we are bought and paid for by the blood of the Lord Jesus and are no longer our own. We are as a result slaves of his God and God Yehovah, and as such have no right to act according to our self-will following the ways of this world. We have now become as Paul says slaves of righteousness - right doing according to the will of Yehovah our Master, and of His son Jesus our Lord!

The amazing result of our becoming a slave of our God and Father Yehovah and the Lord Jesus is; that they as our masters, our slave owners are required to provide for us in every way and to enable us to live according to their righteous requirements! He came to indwell all those whom his God and Father will call, through the power of His Spirit which He has given to His son Jesus, to give unto those that are His. It was Jesus who poured out the promised Spirit of God at Pentecost! God has given to him not only to have life in himself but to give us to have life in ourselves, resurrection life, new age life as new creations in him; to be enabled by His Spirit to walk in faith obedience before him!

Notice: The Jewish law of Agency says that whatever the agent says or does it is as if the principal was saying it and doing it!Notice: The Jewish law of Agency says that whatever the agent says or does it is as if the principal was saying it and doing it!

So in summary, our repentance and baptism are just the beginning of our salvation walk. As regenerate persons we are to now seek to be renewed in our mind and spirit, to become more and more like the Lord Jesus. Jesus was the outshining of his God and Father on this earth and still is at His right hand in the heavenly places! May we all strive to become the sons/daughters that our God and Father Yehovah who has given us every means to enter into His rulership/kingdom. The Lord Jesus has given us his all, we need to respond by giving him our all, in total commitment to him and to his God and our God Yehovah.

Notice: Luke 11:23: Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. We should understand to be with our Lord Jesus is to give him are all! If you give him your all you will gather others to be enabled by Yehovah's Spirit to come under His kingship/kingdom rule, and enter into great rewards.

An example Jesus has set before us: John 8:29: And He who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." He gave his all for his God and Father Yehovah!

Revelation 22:12: "Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.

We need to abide in his love and walk through this sin-sick world as a light to all those we come in contact with. To show forth the Lord Jesus God's anointed one in our lives, in all we say and do. We do so as his willing slaves seeking to do our master's will which is to love our neighbors as ourselves as he did, and in doing so will have entrance into the coming new age and the Kingdom of God. May that day soon come!

Notice: The following is my response to a person's question about overcoming substance abuse:

A person with substance abuse problems who prays to God for relief and help is on the right track. God looks at the heart of anyone who approaches him and acts accordingly.

If anyone comes to God with a contrite and humble repentant heart seeking His help in anything He will hear and will give the power of His Spirit to all who ask in a right attitude of mind.

Addiction to anything whether it is drugs, alcohol, sex, money, or power, are all signs that the sin in us is exercising its control, and those who are in such a position are in a condition of bondage.

Thank God, He has provided the means by which we can be free and that He gave His uniquely begotten Son in order that we may have life, and walk in newness of life, walk in the spirit, and as such overcome the desires of the flesh.

Amazing grace that saves a wretch like me and gives me the strength to be set free from the bondage of sin, to regard the old man as dead, and enables me to walk in newness of life, in resurrection life. That life is available for all who come to the lord Messiah Jesus and desire to live in him according to faith-obedience.

DISCIPLES OF THE MESSIAH ARE LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Our God and Father Yehovah did not commission his son Jesus to have his followers try to build a better nation. Jesus was not commissioned to make any country great again.

He was commissioned to build his called-out Assembly, who would be members of his body, from every nation, tribe and tongue. The Messiah Jesus is gathering people who will become totally committed to loving his God and his Father Yehovah with all their hearts, minds, and strength and being as he does; and walk before Him in obedient faithfulness. The most important part of Jesus’ commission was to become a sin-offering sacrifice when he died on the stake, to reconcile all of humanity to his God and Father Yehovah.

Those who put their faith in him and have died their self-centered life, walked into the waters of baptism and were buried with Jesus by baptism into his death and rose up out of the waters of baptism in newness of life, becoming new creations, born from above by the Spirit of Yehovah.

Romans 6:4: Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as the Messiah was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.

Colossians 2:12: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also you have risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised him from the dead.

At their baptism, they became indwelled with God’s Spirit which is a seal that they belong to Him. They also understood that they had been bought with the most precious price in the world, the shed blood of the Lord Jesus and as a result, became his slaves and slaves of his God and Father Yehovah before whom he was acting as his agent.

Notice: The Jewish law of Agency says that whatever the agent says or does it is as if the principal was saying it and doing it!

If you are in the body of the Messiah, the called-out Assembly of God you have become children of Abraham, and members of God’s household as His sons and daughters! As His sons and daughters, we are to love one another as Jesus loves us. We must live out this truth: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35). We should be willing to die for our brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus if that ever becomes necessary. We are also commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, which is impossible for us to do unless we are filled with the power of God’s Spirit enabling us to do so.

1 Peter 1:18-23: you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of the Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who truly was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and stays forever.

The world should know that we are disciples of the Messiah because we love one another. We live in a wicked and adulterous generation. The whole world is becoming more and more violent. Divisive hatefulness is on the rise exponentially. More and more governments are becoming more right-wing in their political environment and are heading toward becoming authoritarian in these end times, which is all the more reason that we ought to show people around us that we truly love one another as a witness to them. That being said, what people see from most people who call themselves Christians are attitudes of division, hate, and all the things that the people in the world express and do. Indeed wide is the path that leads to destruction and many walk on that path.

Jesus never promise his disciples that their walk would be easy. Our walk is like walking through a rose garden and getting struck by a bunch of thorns. We have been called to walk on the narrow difficult path that leads to age upon age lasting life in the soon-coming kingdom of God as glorified immortal men and women. Men and women who will have a place in the  Theocratic Government Jesus will establish; when His God and Father Yehovah sends him down to sit on the throne of David at Zion to rule over the nations as King of kings, Lord of lords!

Brothers and sisters, we are living in the last days, the time of the tribulation is right around the corner. Are we preparing for the troubled times that are already upon us? Are we going in love with one another and expressing love to all the people we come in contact with, looking at them as those reflecting the image of Yehovah, as all human beings do.

If we do not act towards our neighbors with love, it is as if we do not love our God and Father Yehovah, because they are made in His image. What we do to our neighbor is as if we are doing it to our Father Yehovah. God our Father Yehovah is love and we are to walk in love as His children. If we do; it will present to the world an amazing witness and many will be added to walk on the narrow path that leads to age upon age lasting life!

A note of encouragement for us in the last days of this age:

Heb 10:19-25: Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and [having] a high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of [our] faith without wavering; (for he [is] faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some [is]; but exhorting [one another]: and so much the more, as you see the day approaching [the last days approaching].

DO WE EVER REACH THE PLACE WHEN WE CANNOT BE FORGIVEN?

The only point that one can not have his/her sins forgiven is when they stop asking their God and their Father Yehovah for forgiveness! Yehovah loves mankind so much that He allowed His uniquely begotten Son to be crucified in order to become a sin-offering sacrifice so that all of mankind might be reconciled to Himself. That reconciliation comes about when we come to believe in the One whom He has sent! Jesus gave himself up to be crucified and become a sin-offering sacrifice willingly in order that you/I might be able to come into the throne area of his God and Father Yehovah to seek forgiveness and help in our times of need and to praise His righteous and holy name, Yehovah.

Yehovah is our strong tower, our keep that we can run to in time of need and His ears are always open to the prayer of a broken and contrite heart.

Contrite: feeling or expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt. "a broken and a contrite heart"

If a man/woman approaches God with a broken and contrite heart seeking forgiveness He will never turn away from them.

Notice the one exception: BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT.

Matthew 12:32-37: And whosoever speaks a word against the son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaks against the holy spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, neither in the age to come. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by its fruit. O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things?

FOR OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART, THE MOUTH SPEAKS.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men/women shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

FOR BY YOUR WORDS YOU SHALL BE PRONOUNCED NOT GUILTY, AND BY YOUR WORDS YOU SHALL BE CONDEMNED [FOUND TO BE GUILTY]. IF OUR WORDS ARE NOT SPOKEN WITH LOVE TOWARDS OUR NEIGHBOR WE HAVE SINNED!

A BENEFIT OF HOLY FEAR

I have seen men mightily used by God's Spirit, who were later put on the shelf by Him. Yehovah basically told them: I can no longer allow you to represent me. 

To me, this is one of the most dreadful things that could ever happen. It happened to Saul, the king of Israel. “Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of Yehovah your God, that He commanded you. Yehovah would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue…” (1 Samuel 13:13-14, NKJV). What sad words!

God basically told the king, “Saul, you could have had my blessings in your life continually. I had great plans for you, but you wouldn’t deal with your sin. You became bitter and hardhearted.” That’s the end result when you continue in sin. You become barren and fruitless.

The word declares: “The fear - reverence of Yehovah is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death” (Proverbs 14:27). 

The fear -reverence of Yehovah is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7)

Those who desire to walk in deep reverence - fear of Yehovah - God will be led into the full revelation of the promises and provisions that He has made available for them.

Perhaps Yehovah - God is dealing with you about your sins right now. He has shot His arrows of conviction in your heart. Don’t panic! That’s a gift from Yehovah - God. He’s planting His enabling power in you, teaching you that: “Only through  a holy fear - reverence of Him will you depart from your sins.”

What exactly does it mean to walk in reverence - fear of Yehovah? In part, it means reminding yourself of His warnings. It means allowing His Spirit to bring your sins out into the open for you to acknowledge and cast aside. It means to be in a totally committed walk of obedient faith before Him. In doing this, He will lay the foundation enabling you to fulfill every one of His commands and promises, as you walk before Him in obedient faithfulness.

The book of Acts tells us, “Then the called-out Assemblies throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the reverence - fear of the Lord - Yehovah and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and they were multiplied” (Acts 9:31).

Do you see the writer’s point here? As these first-century Christians walked in the fear of Yehovah - God, they received the indwelling empowerment of His Holy Spirit to do His will and were multiplied. We can come to know the same indwelling empowerment of His Spirit also and draw others to want what we have been freely given by our God and Father Yehovah.

Written by David Wilkerson (1931-2011) and edited and added to by Bruce Lyon

What a tremendous reminder and encouragement David Wilkerson has given us in this article.

THE NEW CREATION IN THE MESSIAH

It is vital for us to see what the new creation has to do with the very foundations of the Christian life. When we speak of the new creation, we are talking about the basics of salvation.

First: Let us see what the word “creation” means in the word of God? This question is vital to an understanding of salvation.

The biblical definition of “creation” in the Bible is: “the act of bringing into existence something that had never existed before.”

It is crucial to understand that being a Christian is not a matter of a moral reformation, but, as Paul says of becoming a new creation:

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in the Messiah, he/she is a new creation. The old [person] has passed away; behold, the new [person] has come.

In the “old self” our federal head was Adam. As a “new creation” our federal head is the one who our God and Father Yehovah, has made lord and Messiah. To become a new creation we must consider our “old self” as dead to sin:

Romans 6:11: Likewise reckon you also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God through Jesus the Messiah our Lord.

Romans 6:8: Now if we are dead with the Messiah, we believe that we shall also live with him:

In the Messiah Jesus as new creations, we have become members of the New Humanity that God had in mind, as part of His overall plan, from before the foundation of the ages.

When you become a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, you are not just a morally reconditioned person but someone with a totally new life in the Messiah! In that life, you will become totally new. It never existed before. You become a new creation, a new life in the Messiah, by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.

Before you are baptized you repent and make a commitment to die to self, and to the things of this world, then you enter into the water and are crucified with the Messiah Jesus and come out of the water in newness of life and upon receiving the indwelling empowering Spirit of God you become a new creation in His uniquely begotten son Jesus.

Romans 6:3-6: Know you not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus the Messiah were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death: that as the Messiah was raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Galatians 2:20: I am crucified with the Messiah: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but the Messiah lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh [as a new creation] I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

When we speak of a “creation” out of nothing, it is something only made possible by God’s power. To understand how one can become a new creation in the Messiah is impossible for the natural man/woman to comprehend. It takes the indwelling power of Yehovah – God to open one’s eyes to comprehend what it means to be a new creation in the Messiah.

We are not saved by our own efforts in trying to be a good person. The new creation is by God’s power, for it is His power alone that saves us.

Notice: in Scripture, the two metaphors “creation” and “birth” are interchangeable. An example:

Psalm 90:1-2: Yehovah, you have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.

Ephesians 3:14-19: …. I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, because of whom the whole family in heaven and earth came into existence [was created], that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts by faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints [holy ones] what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of the Messiah, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.

Have we put our faith – committed obedient covenant faithfulness - in the only true God who has given us new life, the God of the new creation?

Notice: Paul speaks of the new creation in order to contrast it with the old and material creation that exists round about us. It is a contrast between the new and the old, though the old, like the new, was also brought into being out of nothing.

Romans 4:17: … as it is written, "I have made you [Abraham] the father of many nations"; in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

The new creation is a wonderful mystery:

The physical creation is visible, not hidden, for you can see it all around you, whereas the new creation, which is spiritual, is hidden. You need spiritual perception to see it, which is why it is called a mystery. In the Bible, a mystery is something that is hidden and made known only by God’s revelation.

Paul says that the gospel has been hidden all through the ages, and has now been revealed. But you need to have eyes to see it.

1 Corinthians 2:6-7: … we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God marked out beforehand – predestined, before the ages for our glory,

The word of God is a sharp two-edged sword that penetrates the heart (Hebrews 4: 12). It wounds in order to heal and kills [causes one to die to self] in order to give life [new age life, resurrection life, creation life].

Where then do we find this new creation life which is hidden? It is found only in Jesus the Messiah. Salvation and the new creation are found “in him”. To be a new creation is to be “in the Messiah”.

2 Corinthians 5:17: “If any man is in the Messiah, he is a new creation”.

This new life, this power of God to save, is found only in the Messiah. We enter into him by faith, believing he is the one whom our God and Father Yehovah has sent it.

John 5:24: Truly, truly, I say to you, he that hears my word, and believes on Him that sent me, has age upon age lasting life, and shall not come into judgment; but is passed from death to life.

Faith in Jesus the Messiah is our God and Father Yehovah’s way of saving you. By God's amazing grace you enter into the Messiah, putting on the Messiah, to order to be saved. “We are saved by grace through faith, not by our works or achievements” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

We enter into the lord Messiah through baptism. By the Spirit of God, we are baptized into one body, the body [the called-out Assembly] of the Messiah (1Corinthians 12: 13).

At baptism, we are buried with the Messiah and united with him through death to our old life, to be raised with the Messiah by the working of God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 6:3-5). That is how we enter into the Messiah and put on the Messiah, and how our God Yehovah gives us new life, transforming us to be like the Messiah which makes us become perfect in him.

God created the old creation out of nothing, ex nihilo, by His powerful Word. God spoke “Let there be light” and there was light (Genesis 1: 3). This is also true of the new creation, for Paul has Genesis 1:3 in mind when he says: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus the Messiah:

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

In the old creation, the first words were, “Let there be light.” Paul likewise says that God brings the new creation into existence by the power of His word. The new creation is wrought in us when we allow the spirit-filled word of God to speak to our hearts.

Are you a new creation?

Until you genuinely say to God, “I will live by every word that you have taught us.” Can you do this? You can only live by every word of God if you have the indwelling of the Spirit of God enabling you to live by every word He has given us to obey. He has given us the laws of the New Covenant we are to obediently live by through His beloved son Jesus.

All that Jesus did and said he did as the agent of His God and Father Yehovah. According to the Jewish law of Agency whatever the agent does it is as if the principal has done it. So all the words Jesus spoke were as if his God and our God were speaking.

You become a new creation only if you let the word of God enter into your heart day by day, which is where the word of God belongs. So the life-giving word is what will make you a new person [creation in the Messiah]. Let God’s Word speak to your heart and live by every word that God has spoken.

When you become a new creation in the Messiah you will rejoice and be delighted to study and meditate on God’s word every day. The psalmist says, “his delight is in the law of Yehovah, and on His law, he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1: 2). He meditates on God’s word day and night because he delights in it. Psalm 119:103 says: “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Notice: In the old creation, we were given physical life through no choice of our own, for it was something that was bestowed on us at birth. We could not say yes or no to it.

Physical life is a wonderful gift. How much more wonderful is the gift of spiritual life that God desires to give you! But the difference is that He won’t give it to you without your choosing it. This time you will have to make the choice between believing, or not believing in God.

Faith is simply saying “yes” to God, unbelief is saying “no” to God. Faith is simply saying “yes”. Look at this verse:

“For the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah, who was preached among you by us — by me and Silas and Timothy — was not “Yes” and “No,” but in him, it has always been “Yes.”” (2 Corinthians 1:19)

With God, nothing is impossible! If you say “Yes” to Him from your heart you will be on your way to becoming a new creation in the Messiah. God will do amazing things in your life as wonderful as creation ex nihilo, creating something out of nothing. He will bring new life into you, and you will know that He is the only true God, the living God Yehovah.

Most of the excerpts I have used in this article were written by Eric Chang and can be found in his book, “Baptism and the New Life in Christ: The Practical Meaning of Baptism in the New Testament” It can be obtained on Amazon.com, the paperback or the Kindle Edition. I have added to his amazing work, editing parts here and there, Bruce Lyon

I highly recommend to all who read this article to get “Baptism and the New Life in Christ” by Eric Chang, it could be a life-changing book for all who read it!

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST, AFTER THE MESSIAH’S RESURRECTION?

What “Christendom” teaches is that “The Church” began on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell upon the Apostles with tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-4). The Apostle Peter stood up amongst God-fearing Jews and proclaimed the “good news” of the Messiah to them. Nearly 3000 Jews accepted Peter’s message and were added to “The Church” (Acts 2:41, 47). According to this view, these were the beginnings of the 1st century “Christian Church.”

From this modest beginning came the formal, institutionalized, religious entity we call “The Church,” which is referred to as “Christendom” with all its denominations trappings that exist in the world today. But, is this what happened on the day of Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection? Was what happened on the day of  Pentecost about Yehovah - God creating “The Church?” Or, was Pentecost about Yehovah’s – God’s continuing love story with Israel under a New Covenant, which would replace the Old Covenant, as the rule of law for the Israel of God.

The Unfortunate Misuse of the Greek Word Ecclesia

The word “Church” is intentionally used in most Bible translations when the word “Ecclesia” is found in the Greek text. But the use of “Church” is a distorted translation of “Ecclesia.” The Greek word “Ecclesia” has been misused through the centuries to create a worldwide network of religious institutions known as the universal “Christian Church” - whether they be Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Protestant, non-denominational, or any other “Christian” grouping. The result has been divisiveness and strife and is contrary to what actually happened on that first Pentecost after the Messiah Jesus' resurrection.

The Greek word “Ecclesia” simply means “a called-out assembly” or “congregation.” It could be referred to as: “the called out of darkness assembly” of believers who make Jesus the Messiah their Lord. Yes, there is a “called out assembly” of believers in the Messiah Jesus whose roots began after his resurrection on the day of Pentecost.

Notice:

1Corinthians 12:13: For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body; Jews or Greeks, slaves or free; and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

Ephesians 5:23: For the husband is the head of the wife even as the Messiah is the head of the called out Assembly, his body, and is himself its savior.

Colossians 1:18: And he is the head of the body, the called out Assembly.

However, it was not “The Church” whose beginning was rooted in the day of Pentecost. Yehovah - God did not create the religious institution(s) called “The Church,” that makes up “Christendom” today, men did. Yehovah - God did what He had foretold through the prophet Jeremiah.

Yehovah made a New Covenant with Israel:

Jeremiah 31:31-34: 31: Behold, the days come, says Yehovah, that I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 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 a husband unto them, says Yehovah. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says Yehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

Hebrews 8: 6-13:6-13: ... now has he [the Messiah Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them [Israel], he said, behold, the days come, says the Lord [Yehovah], when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, says the Lord [Yehovah].

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord [Yehovah]; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord [Yehovh]: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

As a result, many in Israel believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and those who did were baptized and became members of the body of the Messiah -  the called out Assembly and were sanctified – set apart as the “Israel of God.” This is what had its roots on that day of Pentecost – the New Covenant Israel of God.

What The Day Of Pentecost Revealed

As we dig a little deeper, we’ll see that this first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection is proof of several things: that Jesus the Messiah is on his throne ruling over the Kingdom of God from heaven. That God’s New Covenant with Israel has been enacted. That Paradise lost due to the rebellion of Adam and Eve has now been regained. The indwelling Holy Spirit is being poured out bringing eternal life to the Israel of God that has been reoriented and redefined. This particular day of Pentecost reveals when all these things began.

Pentecost also known as the Feast of Harvest or Feast of Weeks in Israel was observed yearly. The feast was celebrated in Jerusalem the seventh week and one day after Passover in grateful recognition of the wheat harvest [Interesting that wheat is represented in the parables as people]. The first fruits of harvest [the wave sheaf offering] were presented to God at this time. As we’ll see, this Old Testament feast was a shadow or type of reality that would be fulfilled on this first Pentecost/Feast of Harvest after the Messiah Jesus' resurrection. The first fruits of a harvest of believers took place on that Pentecost.

Pentecost and the Promised Holy Spirit

Adam and Eve had sinned and rebelled against Yehovah and as a result, were kicked out of the garden of Eden. The consequence of their sin was a corrupted world. Adam and Eve’s rebellious sin brought both physical and spiritual death upon themselves and the entire human race. To be spiritually dead is to be dead in trespass and sins:

Ephesians 2:1: And you did he make alive when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins,

Man is now spiritually dead. But God had also promised a Savior to redeem the world (Genesis 3:15). By his sin-offering sacrifice, he reconciled mankind to Yehovah – God.

This reconciliation would allow men and women to choose to come back to God. Jesus Christ was the Savior mentioned in Genesis 3:15. He was born into the tribe of Judah, the descendant of Abraham. Jesus was sinless, and perfectly fulfilled every aspect of “The Law.” This was what the nation of Israel did not do because they were not filled to the full of God’s Spirit without measure. Jesus the Messiah kept God’s law perfectly and was without sin. He became the only perfect man who has ever lived. As a result of his sin-offering sacrifice, Jesus the Messiah became the representative and advocate for all people who place their faith in him as the one who paid the debt of sin on their behalf.

Upon the Messiah’s resurrection to the right hand of Yehovah our God the Father in heaven, the promise of the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost for the benefit of all mankind (Acts 2:17-39). Jesus the Messiah had been exalted to the right hand of Yehovah his Father, who gave him the promised Holy Spirit, that Jesus then poured out for the benefit of the whole world, starting with the Jews assembled for the Feast of First Fruits in Jerusalem). Yehovah’s promise to Abraham was fulfilled - that all nations/people of the world would be blessed through his seed - Jesus the Messiah (Galatians 3:16). Through the Messiah, mankind’s sin debt had been paid, which allowed the promised Holy Spirit to be poured out. “... in the Messiah Jesus, the blessing of Abraham has come to the Gentiles so that they with the Jews might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith... if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise... because you are sons. God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts...” (Galatians 3:14, 29, 4:6). This “promised blessing” is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, that brings eternal life (John 7:38- 39 / 6:33).

Eden had been lost because of the rebellion against Yehovah by Adam and Eve. They were separated from God, which results in the loss of eternal life, and cut off from access to the tree of life. They no longer walked hand in hand with God. They were now spiritually dead in trespass and sins. They faced physical death. The ground was cursed. As a result, the entire human race became spiritually dead in trespass and sins and will all die and return to dust. Humanity as a result of Adam’s sinful rebellion has been separated from God, unable to obtain eternal life in their present condition.

Let’s look at eternal life and what it means. Eternal life is not simply “forever and ever” that begins when we die. Eternal life is a “quality” of existence that begins right now, in this life, if a person has the indwelling power of God’s Holy Spirit. Eternal life is “intimately knowing” God the Father and Jesus the Messiah (John 17:3). However, it's not just having knowledge of God. Eternal life is our spirit is directly communicating with God’s Spirit which enables us to do His will. It is God’s Spirit interacting with our spirit in an intimate relationship. The word “know” found in John 17:3, is the same “know” found in Old Testament language (KJV) describing a husband “knowing” his wife intimately which results in the birth of a child (Genesis 4:1, 25; 1 Samuel 1:19-20).

Mankind's spirit is lifeless/dead. But when we surrender to the Kingship of Yehovah – God and receive His indwelling Spirit, our spiritually dead spirit is regenerated and brought to life - eternal life (Titus 3:5). Our spirit is made alive by the Holy Spirit of God who interacts with our spirit and gives birth to “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5: 17). It is the Holy Spirit of Yehovah – God within us that now leads us and produces the “fruit of the Spirit” within us to become more in the likeness of His son Jesus the Messiah (Galatians 5:16-18; 22-25). God’s Holy Spirit is a deposit of great things to come for those who are His heirs with His son the Messiah. We have a “new resurrection spirit”, but our bodies will have to wait until the resurrection to be completely transformed.

On the day of Pentecost after the Messiah Jesus's resurrection, God’s Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples of Jesus the Messiah. The Holy Spirit is the “living water” (John 7:38) and “it is the Holy Spirit that gives “life eternal” (John 6:33). On this day of Pentecost, Paradise that was lost was now regained. Not in totality, but to a stunning degree as God made a “down-payment” - the gift of the Holy Spirit that was given to believers when they were baptized (Acts 2:41; Ephesians 1:13-14.). The Spirit of God came to reside in human beings. This relationship with God had existed before the rebellion of Adam and Eve. The Holy Spirit brings believers resurrection life - eternal life. As a follower of the Messiah Jesus. God’s Spirit now interacts with our spirit.

We don’t go to some building to be in the presence of God. As disciples of the Messiah, we are in God’s presence every second of every day by way of His indwelling Spirit. His breath -  spirit is as close to us as our breath - spirit. God is with us, walking hand in hand with us. Yet, as wonderful as all this is, the Holy Spirit we have now is but a down payment, a deposit a seal of even greater inheritance believers will one day share with Jesus the Messiah (Romans 8:16-17). This is the most amazing thing that happened on that Pentecost, and it is wonderful indeed.

The Jews were the first to receive God’s Holy Spirit on the day of  Pentecost after the Messiah Jesus' resurrection. The Apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit and then Peter stood and proclaimed the “good news” to other Jews from around the world that has come to keep the Feast of First Fruits at Jerusalem. Thousands of Jews received the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit after their baptism on that day of Pentecost. Now all men and women have the opportunity to receive the Spirit of God if they are willing to die to self, be crucified with the lord Jesus in baptism, and be raised up in newness of life, becoming new creations in the Messiah Jesus.

God’s New Covenant with Israel Enacted

Let’s keep going because this isn’t all that happened on that day of Pentecost. God’s Old Covenant with Israel had been growing old and obsolete and was ready to disappear in the days of the prophet Jeremiah (Hebrews 8:13). With the death of Jesus, the Messiah on the stake, the New Covenant that God made with Israel was enacted (Hebrews 9:15). The Old Covenant that existed with Israel before the death of Jesus, was now gone. This New Covenant with Israel is a better covenant and was enacted on better promises (Hebrews 8:6-13). God’s New Covenant was brought into being by Jesus the Messiah through his sin-offering sacrifice on the stake that reconciled all of humanity to God.

This New Covenant would be based upon covenant faithfulness, which involves a total commitment to obey all the words that Yehvoh – God gave to His son to give to us. With that covenant faithfulness in Jesus the Messiah and the grace of our God and Father Yehovah, Israel would remain God’s Chosen people.

However, after the Messiah’s death and resurrection, God redefined what it meant to be His Chosen people and who would be included as His Chosen people – the Israel of God. Not all who were descended from Abraham or were physically circumcised would necessarily be part of Israel: “... they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants” Romans 9:6-8: But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

Romans 2:28-29: For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Instead, those who have placed their faith in Jesus the Messiah as Lord and Savior, and received the promised gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, become part of the Kingdom of God - the Israel of God - the Chosen people of God. If a person does not surrender to the Kingship of Yehovah – God and the lordship of the Messiah Jesus and has not received the indwelling Spirit of God, he/she is not part of the Israel of God.

The death, resurrection, and resurrection of the Messiah have changed everything. A new and better Covenant had been enacted and is now in place. The Old Covenant of Israel is gone. The New Covenant of Yehovah – God has been put in its place. The Old Covenant He gave to Israel through His servant Moses has now been replaced. It is the kingship of Yehovah – God that now matters, and it is the indwelling of His Spirit that circumcises the heart and brings disciples of the Messiah Jesus eternal life. Since that first Pentecost after the Messiah’s resurrection, the only way to be a Chosen person of Yehovah in the Israel of God is through Jesus the Messiah. This is true whether Jew, Samaritan, or Gentile.

John 6:44-45: No man can come to me, except the Father that sent me,  draws him: and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone that has heard from the Father, and has learned, comes unto me.

So, what have we seen so far in this Pentecost event? That Jesus the Messiah had ascended to his throne at the right hand of our God the Father Yehovah and is ruling as the head of the called out Assembly. The Paradise lost as a result of the rebellion, and the sin of Adam (separation from God’s presence) had now been regained through the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit that now indwells believers and brings new age life to them. The New Covenant with Israel has been implemented which redefines who is now has a place in the Israel of God.

God’s Reconstruction of Israel

As we dig a little deeper, we see that on that day of Pentecost, the Kingdom of Israel was about to be reoriented. Jesus’ disciples had asked about such an event on many occasions. But, the reorientation of Israel was unlike anything the disciples of the Messiah Jesus could have imagined. After God’s Holy Spirit was poured out, the Apostles were better able to understand as it was revealed to them.

The Israel of God - the Kingdom of God, is not about a piece of land or territory. The Kingdom of God is about the kingship of God within the hearts of men and women, those who submit themselves to the one who God has made to be the lord and Messiah of the Israel of God, the Messiah Jesus. Today, Jesus Christ rules from his throne on high the head of the called out Assembly and as the King of Israel. The territory is the hearts and minds of men and women around the world who have placed their faith in Jesus the Messiah as Lord and Savior and who have received the presence of the Holy Spirit of God within themselves.

In countries all around the world, wherever a disciple of the Messiah resides, there the Kingdom of God – the Israel of God, also exists. In countries all around the world, wherever a disciple of the Messiah lives, an “outpost” for God’s Kingdom – the Israel of God exists to counter the influence of darkness and evil, and shine the light and hope of the Messiah.

The Kingdom of God – the Israel of God is not limited to the borders of man-made countries because it spreads and conquers for the Messiah within the hearts and minds of men and women everywhere.

The Israel of God is not the tiny landmass in the Middle East known as the nation of Israel. The Israel of God is boundless because it is a people – a Chosen people scattered throughout the world who follow Jesus the Messiah as their King. They submit to the rule of God and the Messiah in their hearts and lives and have God’s Holy Spirit and the Spirit of the Messiah Jesus indwelling them.

As we look at the reorientation of Israel on the day of Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection, it wasn’t a restoration of Old Israel under the Old Covenant that involved only the descendants of Abraham and those Gentiles who joined Israel by being circumcised and keeping the Old Covenant laws.

No, the Israel of God established on the day of Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection was established involved all those who accepted Jesus as the one whom Yehovah had sent, whether they were Jews or Gentiles.

Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah. It was to the Jews/Judah that He first took the “good news.” Jesus said, “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). Jesus as a Jew most assuredly proved this statement true in His death and resurrection and bringing salvation to the whole world.

The Apostle Peter, also a Jew, was at the center of opening the gates of the Kingdom of God to Jews, and Gentiles. Peter brought the “good news” to countless individuals. On that day of Pentecost after the Messiah’s resurrection, Peter stood before a group of Jews in Jerusalem and proclaimed the “good news” of the Messiah (Acts 2:5f). Nearly 3000 Jews believed Peter’s message concerning the Messiah Jesus, repented and were baptized, and received the gift of God’s indwelling Spirit. These nearly 3000 Jews became part of the “called out of Assembly” the body of the Messiah and members of his kingdom (Colossians 1:13). They were now the Israel of God as defined by the New Covenant. This was the beginning of what is now called the Israel of God.

On this Pentecost or Feast of Harvest, the “first fruits” of the harvest were being presented to God in the form of all these thousands of Jewish believers who made Jesus their Lord and received the indwelling Holy Spirit when they repented and were baptized. In the coming days, more Jews heard the “good news,” submitted to the Lordship of Jesus, and received the presence of God’s new age life - eternal life through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.

Now in the establishment of the Israel of God under the New Covenant, the Apostle Peter was involved once again. The “good news” had been preached to the Samaritans by Philip and many men and women believed in Messiah Jesus and were baptized (Acts 8: 5,12). However, the Samaritans had not yet received the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. The Apostles Peter and John went to Samaria/the Northern kingdom and through them, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Samaritans who had made Jesus the Messiah their Lord and Savior (Acts 8:14-17). The “good news” was proclaimed to many other villages in Samaria as well (Acts 8:25). All Samaritans who submitted to the Lordship of Jesus the Messiah and received the gift of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit were now part of the Israel of God. They were now part of God’s Chosen people under the New Covenant.

However, not all Jews accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Those who rejected Jesus as the Messiah were no longer part of God’s Israel. They were no longer considered to be God’s Chosen people. The Messiah’s death and resurrection that brought into being the establishment of the New Covenant had redefined who God’s people were – His Israel. It was now based upon Jesus the Messiah and the Kingship of Yehovah and the lordship of His son Jesus.

But God wasn’t finished “building anew.” The reconstruction of His Israel wasn’t complete and it included a surprise for the Jews and Samaritans. The Gentiles could also become part of the Israel of God – the Kingdom of God. The Apostle Peter would once again be involved. Gentiles had long been excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. They were without hope and without God. But through Jesus the Messiah, they now could become part of the Israel of God (Ephesians 2:12-13). Peter was sent to the Gentiles – to a Roman army officer and his family with the “good news” concerning Christ. The gate was being opened for the Gentiles to become part of the Israel of God (Acts 10:27- 48). As this Gentile family believed in the Messiah Jesus, they also received the gift of God’s indwelling Spirit after which they were baptized and became part of the Israel of God. Peter was involved in opening the gate to the Kingdom of Christ for them. The gate remains open for the whole world to become part of the Israel of God. And all of this wonderful action began on that first Pentecost after Christ’s resurrection.

Fulfillment of a Promise to Abraham

The promise God made to Abraham that through his Seed - Jesus the Messiah, all the world would be blessed, was being realized on this the day of Pentecost after the Messiah’s resurrection. Jesus the Messiah made it possible the forgiveness of our sins, by his sin-offering sacrifice and the receiving the promised indwelling Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit brings us into the presence of Yehovah – God. Jesus the Messiah is now reigning on his throne at the right hand of His God and Father Yehovah. His reign is over the Israel of God – the Kingdom of God.

All persons around the world who have surrendered to the Kingship of Yehovah – God and the lordship of Jesus the Messiah and have received the indwelling Spirit of God are part of the Israel of God. Those who allow the Kingship of God and the rule of the Messiah in their hearts and minds are part of this Kingdom. These are a Chosen people, a chosen race, a Royal Priesthood, a Holy Nation, and a People for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9-10). Anyone anywhere can become part of this Body – this called out of Assembly of God who desires to follow the Lord Jesus Messiah. This is the Israel of God, the Messiah’s Kingdom.

The Jewish law of agency says whatever the agent says or does it is as if the principal has said it or done it. As Jesus was acting as the agent of his God and Father Yehovah whatever he said or did was as if Yehovah His Father was saying it or doing it. As a result, the Isreal of God is the Messiah’s kingdom and the kingdom of his God and Father Yehovah.

That day of Pentecost after the Messiah’s resurrection wasn’t about the beginnings of a new religious entity known as “The Church.” Instead, it is God’s continuing love story for Israel under a New Covenant and eternal King. Anyone, anywhere who surrenders to the Kingship of Yehovah and the Lordship of Jesus the Messiah and has God’s indwelling Spirit, is part of this Kingdom, the Israel of God.

Notice: All disciples of the lord Jesus are his slaves and as his slaves, we are also slaves of his God and Father Yehovah on whose behalf he did all that he did for our salvation.

1 Corinthians 6:20: For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which is God’s.

1 Corinthians 7:23: You are bought with a price; be not you the servants of men.

Total commitment requires the willingness to be a slave of God. We cannot be spiritual without being poor, which happens when we become a slave of God. As a slave of God, everything we have belongs to God, we own nothing. However, being a slave of God is a wonderful position to be in! God is a wonderful Master who will make sure we have food to eat, clothes to wear, and shelter. He also gives us money to exercise stewardship over for Him. He also by the spirit of adoption has made us to become His sons and placed us in His household. So we first become slaves and then sons. 

Written by Dwight Anthony Hernandez and added to and edited by Bruce Lyon

THE COST OF SECRET UNREPENTED SINS

Notice one of God's great promises written in the Psalms:

I will sing of the lovingkindness of Yehovah forever: With my mouth will I make known your faithfulness to all generations.  For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever; your faithfulness you will establish in the very heavens.

I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant: Your seed will I establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.

The heavens shall praise your wonders, O Yehovah; your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies can be compared unto Yehovah? Who among the sons of the mighty is like unto Yehovah, a God very terrible in the council of the holy ones; to be feared above all them that are round about him?

O Yehovah God of hosts, Who is a mighty one, like unto you, O Yehovah? Your faithfulness is round about you. You rule the pride of the sea: When the waves thereof arise, you still them. You have broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; you have scattered your enemies, with the arm of your strength. The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours: The world and the fulness thereof, you have founded them. The north and the south, you have created them: Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name. You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, and high is your right hand.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne: Lovingkindness and truth go before your face. Blessed are the people that hear the joyful sound: They walk, O Yehovah, in the light of your countenance. In your name they rejoice all the day; and in your righteousness they are exalted. For you are the glory of their strength, and in your favor, our horn shall be exalted. For our shield belongeth unto Yehovah; And our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Then you spoke in a vision to your saints, and said, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: With whom my hand shall be established; mine arm also shall strengthen him. The enemy shall not exact from him, nor the son of wickedness afflict him. And I will beat down his adversaries before him, And smite them that hate him.

But my faithfulness and my lovingkindness shall be with him; and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

I will set his hand also on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers. He shall cry unto me, you are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. I also will make him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My lovingkindness will I keep for him forevermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. His seed also will I make to endure forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.

If his children forsake my law and walk not in mine ordinances; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. But my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness: I will not lie unto David: His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever like the moon and as the faithful witness in the sky. [Selah]  (Psalm 89:1-37).

God promises to never remove his lovingkindness from those who are His sons and daughters, no matter how badly they may fall. However, many Christians skip lightly over the heavy warning in this verse.

If we forsake God’s law and refuse to keep his commands and fail to be totally committed to obeying Him according to His will, He will visit our transgressions with His divine rod until we return to being fulling committed to walking in faithful obedience before Him, or until we completely reject His kingship rule over our lives.

The Bible tells us that whoever Yehovah loves, He chastens. We see this truth illustrated vividly in David’s life. Consider how Yehovah dealt with this man, a faithful servant who enjoyed God’s favor. At one point in his life, David sinned egregiously and then justified it and kept it hidden for months on end. Finally, God said, “Enough” and sent His prophet Nathan to expose David’s sin. The prophet Nathan used an analogy to tear apart every excuse David had until finally, king David admitted, “I’ve sinned. I’m guilty.”

Psalm 51 was written by David after he repented of his sin with Bathsheba and having her husband killed.

David also wrote, “For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away” (Psalm 31:10). Like a hole in the oil tank of a car, your sin(s) will slowly drain you of all peace, joy, and strength.

I know those who call themselves Christians who lead lives of utter confusion because they continue to indulge in sin(s). These hollow souls are always downcast and weak, forever struggling but getting nowhere physically or spiritually. If you harbor a secret sin(s), you will experience continual disturbances in your life, home, family, and work. You’ll become increasingly restless, confused, and tossed about by endless worries and fears. All of the peace and strength you had will be drained from you, and you will be heading to falling away from Yehovah, heading towards destruction.

Yehovah our God does not want to expose His servants; rather, it is in His heart to forgive, cleanse and cover their sin(s) when they repent. In love, He will discipline His sons and daughters, but His rod is for the lawless ones, those who are no longer committed to walking in faithful obedience according to His will. Exposure of secret sin(s) is God’s last attempt to save a rebellious, hypocritical child who is determined to indulge in sin yet play the part of a spiritual man, having a form of godliness God’s rod is reserved for unrepentant, hardhearted people who call themselves Christians, but have rejected His kingship in their lives.