Jeff Andras's Blog, page 6

Just Maybe

A few weeks ago I wrote this up on Leviticus 16-24.  I shared with my small group that the previous several days had been incredibly emotional for me and at the same time, incredibly enlightening.  I shared that I believed that Torah had the answers and had given me a source of continuity that I wanted to share.  I have decided to post this here in an effort to share with those who may find it helpful.



Last week we are introduced to the term Kafar.  This word is used in connection with what we think of as atonement.  But what it really means is “cleaning away that which keeps us from being in the presence of God”.



This week’s Torah portion brings some nuances that go against traditional thought relative to how we are traditionally taught about the Old Covenant ways.  In this week’s Torah portions we are told that God understands, and even accepts under certain conditions, that even the High Priest (let alone the people) will become defiled (by exposure to uncleanliness).  This accepted, and even encouraged behavior is simply understood as a part of life.  At the same time, the priest is to understand that he cannot approach God in this unclean or defiled state.  It is understood that the priest must go through “Kafar” prior to approaching God.  There is no condemnation.  There is no shame.  It simply is.



This same understanding is applicable to all the children of Israel and arguably all the children of God.  Simply put, we are to understand that association with those things that He defines as unholy and unclean will leave us in a state that breaks our ability to approach and spend time with Him.  But this is not the end of the world.  Included within the context of His directions (Torah) He has told us what we need to do to cleans ourselves (or should I say, let Him cleans us) of these defilements so that we can return to that intimacy that we all so deeply crave.



This is an amazing thing that helped me to understand what I believe God is attempting to communicate to us through this physical pandemic and why plague is such a vital part of gaining a rhema word from God.  I am going to go in three directions with this but first I want to go back to the laws of leprosy discussed two weeks back.



Within the context of a culture that is obedient to God’s ways, that understands the difference between the clean and the unclean, and within the context of a society that lives by His standards, dealing with “plague like disease” is as simple as putting the “sick” person into quarantine.  This is even possible with something that is as infectious as leprosy.  Looking at this on the three levels we have:  A person who physically has leprosy, a person who is living an immoral life based on the standards of the secular world, and a person who is living an unholy life based on the standards of God.



Regardless as to which form of “sickness” this person is living, putting this person into quarantine resolves the situation and protects society from the “death” they are carrying AND the influence their behavior may have on others.  In a perfect world, or in a culture living in perfect harmony with God’s ways, quarantine of the “sick” works.



But, how does all of this shift when the society itself is “sick” with all three forms of disease?  What are we to do when society is filled with those who are carrying physical plague, immoral toward secular morality, and immoral towards God’s Holy standards (even within the church)?



Sadly we live in a culture where every day we are bombarded with “unclean” and if we do not recognize what we have allowed to defile us (physically through germs, morally through actions, or at a deeper level through misguided theology) we end up in a state of defilement that does not carry with it condemnation but does 1) keep us separated from God, 2) make us dangerous to others, and 3) hinders us in our ability to remain healthy.  Believing that God will protect us, our homes, and our children while not acknowledging the uncleanliness we have allowed ourselves to interact with simply will not work.  The entire foundation of our relationship with Jesus and the protection He provides starts with acknowledgment of what we need to be cleansed from so that we can then let His blood do that cleaning through confession.  Trusting that God will keep porn out of our homes while not acknowledging how the outside world has influenced our behaviors and doing our part in removing those things that tempt us from our lives won’t work.  Trusting that God will keep germs out of our homes while not acknowledging that we put ourselves into a germ filled environment without taking any precautions won’t work either.  I believe that both of these are examples of tempting Christ and I believe that many churches and many Christians will be humbled in this regard.



Throughout time God has used Plague to lead His people back to His ways.  Understanding what I have just shared leads to an understanding of how this should work and how this just might play out. 



We have to realize that the church had its greatest power during those early years when it was still deeply connected to its Hebraic life.  Once the Hebraic foundation was washed away in Rome around 350AD the church lost its power and it has yet to return.  Through plague and an understanding of the fact that we cannot avoid it, we can make a parallel to God’s ways and our inability to avoid unclean things, being defiled, and needing “kafar” to have the greatest unity with Him.  As we walk out life in the environment of plague we use face masks, antiseptic wipes/gels, etc… as a form of “kafar” with our families, friends, and even strangers.  This teaches us that living in a plague filled world takes responsibility, acknowledgement, and demands “kafar”.  We discover that there is no shame in acknowledging that we may be “sick” and “contagious” while not even knowing it.  In an effort to protect those we love and to be responsible to society we take every precaution reasonable without acting in fear.  For me this looks like wearing a mask around those that would be offended if I didn’t.  It means not wearing a mask around those that would be offended if I did.  It means spraying down the gas pump with antiseptic spray before using it and cleaning my hands with antiseptic gel if I accidently shake someone’s hand instead of substituting a fist bump.  It means saving eating out for special occasions and not going to the store every time I think I “need” something when in reality I just “want” it.



In other words, all of this is leading me to becoming a more responsible person, someone who is less wasteful, and someone who is more aware of what and how to make others feel acceptable and loved.  All this is leading me to understanding how far I still have to go before I meet that righteousness that will allow me to walk in the full power of the Acts church.  This is the pivotal understanding.  To acknowledge that God is using all that is going on to drive me into that place where I can spend more time with Him and where I can walk in that full power and full authority of one of His children.  If you disagree with this and think that we don’t need to walk in that righteousness and holiness to have that authority I would ask for scriptural support of that.  Personally I take God at His word and everything I see leads me back to the Holiness of the Hebraic ways and the 6,000 year journey of Him attempting to get His people to embrace that level of holiness as a life standard. 



What if what God says is really true?  What if He really will send plague when we refuse to honor His laws and statutes?  Would He really act that aggressively when we do those little things that make us unclean?  Maybe so and here might be why.



Let’s say that over the next year we allow God to really work on our hearts and we start applying what we have learned about acknowledging our physical potential to spread a physical pandemic and embrace “kafar” in our interactions with other human beings.  In and through this we discover a new way of life that enhances our love relationships, our economic state, and teaches us a few things about ourselves that we really need to know.  We take what we learn about “kafar” on a human perspective and start embracing what God has defined as clean and unclean and look to the blood of Christ to be our “kafar” for those things that we have never before acknowledged as needing to be cleansed of.  Maybe in and through this process God will honor the promises that He has made and we truly will feel closer to Him, maybe we will grow in our relationship with Him, and maybe we will gain a power that we have always known is possible but have never been able to tap into.  If all this is true, then isn’t this what needs to happen for the Church to step back into the power that it had in the first few hundred years of its existence?  I say all this with the notion of “maybe” but isn’t this exactly what God says?  And isn’t this exactly what we have observed?  If there is even a chance that all this is true, how many of us are willing to give it a try?  To trust Him at His Word?  To do it His way for once and see what actually happens?

God bless,
Jeff

What to dwell upon...finding the perfect peace of God

Earlier today I posted a quote from Philippians 4:7.  During my reading this morning God showed me the connection between the perfect peace of Christ, the protection we have as we walk through the struggles of life, and how Satan uses these struggles to lead us into temptation and anxiety.

The scripture reminds us that in Christ there is a power available that guards our hearts and minds.  It is only when we let this power be active in our lives that we can live in this perfect peace that "surpasses all comprehension".

In our carnal state, when things get tough, we tend to let our minds wonder; wonder to distractions, to false intimacies, and to those things that in reality will only lead to double mindedness and confusion.  In this state we become unstable in all things as our Spiritual man comes in conflict with the thoughts we are allowing ourselves to consider.

Later this afternoon as I continued to read, this section of scripture became even more alive.  As we progress into Philippians 4:8-9 the Spirit is given the opportunity to put an explanation point on this subject.

Philippians 4:8-9 NASB  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  the things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

We must accept that there is a connection between the "peace" being with us and the choices we make as to what we decide to dwell upon.  Simply put, when we allow ourselves to dwell upon those thing that are not of God, are not of the Spirit, and are not in harmony with who we have become in Him we will become unstable in mind and thought. 

As one would naturally understand, when we allow ourselves to dwell upon things that are not in harmony with who we have been called to be there will be a check in our Spirit.  We will know that we have crossed a line and that we have allowed our flesh to control.  Since this has become foreign to our natural state as Spirit filled believers we instantly feel out of balance, off kilter, and filled with an anxiety that would be similar to drowning. 

Consider sitting in a boat, in crystal clear water, and seeing a treasure chest 100 feet below that became uncovered in a recent storm.  We know we have not been designed to breather under water, but our minds have wondered to the potential outcome of this amazing find and without thought we jump in, swim toward the bottom, and at some point realize we have gone in too deep.  In this moment we become filled with fear, life becomes more important than treasure, and we desperately make headway for the surface.

Where would we be if we didn't realize we were in too deep until we actually had to breath?  It is through an instantaneous thought that we realize we are in too deep, are hit with the anxiety of truth as to life and death, and dedicate all of our being to returning to the surface where we can once again breath.  Where would we be if in that moment we allowed our minds to remain focused on the treasure, the promises it offers, and the future we believe it will provide?  Herein lies the truth of temptation...it promises to change our lives for the positive while delivering us unto an untimely death.  Unfortunately, many of us continue to swim downward as we fight against God as He tries to show us we are believing in lies.

Ultimately God loves us, He cares for us, and He wants us to be free.  He wants us to be a good witness and He wants our testimonies to be pure.  Simply put, God cannot provide us with His perfect peace when we are thinking thoughts and giving our hearts to those things that are not true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, or worthy of praise.

Fortunately we have a God who forgives, is on our side, and wants us to be free.  He will not give up on us and will not forsake us.  Sometimes this might include a little wake up call that shows us we have gone too deep, are being led toward death instead of life, and that it isn't too late to turn back.  Because of His love, He must leave us to our own double mindedness and in love He will bring about circumstances that are purposed to show us the truth of the lies we have come to trust.

I pray that if God has been using stress and anxiety to speak to you, that through this blog you come to listen.  I pray that if He is trying to show you that your thoughts and heart have believed a promise that will only lead you to death that you accept your humility and return to the truth of from where life flows.  I pray that each of us grow in our ability to resist temptations, see them for the lies that they are, and return our minds and hearts to those things that truly are of God.

I pray His perfect peace over all of us and that this day be the beginning of a new chapter in each of our lives.

A Loving Father

I have been in an interesting discussion with a friend of mine over the past few days and just finished the following email.  I have been longing to getting back into blogging and felt sharing this would be a good start.  I pray that this is a blessing to you.

I read a great article on the movement toward Torah observant gentiles and some of the complications this is causing. The author expressed a concern with gentiles looking to identify themselves as “Jews” because this supports a replacement theology.  Where they drew the line is with the singing, dancing, and other aspects of Torah observance that imply they are Jewish.  In other words, when they celebrate the Sabbath, they shouldn’t attempt to mimic Jewish tradition, honor traditional Jewish cooking, sing traditionally Jewish songs, or feel a need to pray in Hebrew, etc…  At the same time the author made a point that I had not seen and I believe it to be great revelation.
In Romans we are told that God is going to use the gentile believers to lead the Jews to jealousy in the end days.  This is supported in Deuteronomy 32 as well.  What are we to be jealous over?  He argued that a major aspect will be the result of gentile believers “taking what God gave to us” and making it their own.  This being Torah, the holidays and the way of life God put forth in the Old Covenant, but acclimated to their own gentile cultures.  What does this look like?  Sabbath with music, dancing, cooking, prayer language, and dress that are all culturally applicable to the gentile culture honoring it.
The argument is that this is exactly what God is bringing about in these last days.  God is leading gentiles back to Torah in a way that is distinctly “gentile” but still choosing to honor what He defines as “life” and “our wisdom” through His Old Covenant “commandments”.  As this progresses prophecy tells us that this will move the Jewish people to jealousy as they want to take back what they believe is rightfully theirs.  That being God’s ways and the relationship that is founded therein.
Right now millions of gentiles are coming to realize what the early church looked like, understanding what happened in Rome when the Jewishness was wiped away and replaced with Pagan ritual, and are turning back to the Old Covenant ways as a fulfillment to Jerimiah 31. They are reading Paul’s teaching from a new perspective that leads them into reading the Old Covenant with a new perspective.  This “new perspective” is seeing the loving, forgiving, kind hearted father that is laced throughout the Old Covenant Law and Prophets.
Seeing the Old Covenant this way is not possible when we have too great a buy in to traditional Christian theology.  Our teachings tell us that under the Old Covenant our ability to please God, be in relationship with Him, be under His grace, or enter into His salvation was by works.  This is simply not true as noted in Hebrews, elsewhere throughout the New Testament, and as proven through David’s relationship with God under the Old Covenant.
If salvation was always by faith and grace then our theology that says “Jesus fulfilled the “requirements” of the law” is pointless because there were not “requirements”.  The word “requirement” implies that something would be lost if the requirement was not fulfilled.  Over and over again in the Old Covenant God tells us how He is not looking for perfection but relationship.  Our ability to please Him, be in relationship with Him, be under His grace, and enter into His salvation has always been based on our heart relationship toward Him and His ways, not our ability to provide perfect works or lead sinless lives.
Bottom line, God is opening up the eyes of Jews and gentiles who are willing to let their eyes be opened.  He is showing all of us that from the beginning He has been a loving father who is not works minded but relationship centered.  It is such an interesting fact that so many fathers know exactly how they put forth rules in their own homes from a relationship centered, loving, and forgiving heart yet can’t see God’s heart in His commandments because the word “command” is used. 
Maybe it is because as children we felt like our acceptance from our earthly parents WAS based on our ability to meet the “rules of our homes” and we still haven’t gotten over these old wounds.  Maybe this leads us to seeing the God of the Old Covenant in the same way we judge our earthly father in the way he went about attempting to raise us?
Maybe, our earthly fathers were no more “works” based than God and until we get over our judgment and unforgiveness of our own fathers we won’t be capable of seeing the God of the Old Covenant for who He was to Israel in their infancy.
The bigger point here is that my greater calling is not to lead gentiles to Torah, but to lead people (Jew, gentile believers, and the anti-God) to seeing the God of the Old Testament as the same as the God of the new WHILE embracing who He says He is through the prophets and WHILE seeing His loving heart as it is woven through the Old Covenant commandments.
My calling is to help people of the world move from a childish and judgmental perspective of God toward seeing Him as a Loving Father who gave His young child (Israel) a way of life in the form of the Law that was presented in such a way that the young child would hear, listen, and grow. 
The church wants to make excuses for who God was, say that He has somehow changed, and lead people into believing that He is somehow different from who He claims to be.  In other words, we are attempting to rationalize God based on an immature, wounded, childish, flesh based perspective.  In doing this we are leading people into remaining infants in the Lord instead of helping them mature into spiritual adults who can embrace Him for who He says He is.  This keeps them locked in legalism, sin, and confusion.
Going back to Romans:  We are the continuation of that child, it is time we step into maturity and see our father for who He is, who He has been, and who He will be.  This will bring my people to jealousy over the relationship as our hearts open to claim Him as our rightful father leading us to embrace Him in spite of the 4,000 year journey He has subjected us to.  Our past, present, and future is all based on a loving relationship.  Nothing more, nothing less.
I pray that this blog has inspired you to look at God in a new way, look at your own parents in a new way, and lead you into a greater level of understanding of each.

Forgiveness, Something New?

As we continue this series of using stories found within the bible to come to a greater understanding of the New Covenant, the Old Covenant, and the relationship they have to each other, we must consider the issue of forgiveness.  There are so many theologies out there that we can become extremely confused.  There are many reasons for this.  First of all, the way the Old Testament is written can lead us to feeling as if the God of the Old Testament was legalistic, imposing, and judgmental.  Adding insult to injury, we are taught that the way the Pharisees applied the law is the way God intended it.  After all, aren’t we taught that they were “experts in the law”?
Over the past several weeks I have been waiting on God’s direction in how to approach this subject and what scriptures would be best to use.  Interestingly, He has led me to simply use what can be found in the New Testament.  So, the question is, how can we, through the stories of the New Testament, come into an understanding of God’s love, forgiveness, and grace in the Old?
What I have come to see over the past few weeks as I have pondered this discussion is that the teachings of the church really help us in understanding this point.  We are taught that Jesus walked in the law because the transition between the Old Covenant and the New did not occur until He went to the cross, was crucified, took on the burden of all of our sins, overcame death, and was elevated to the right hand of God the father.  We are taught that at this moment, when the curtain in the temple tore, that the transition from Old to New took place.  So how does this help us?  In Matthew 9, Mark 2, and Luke 5 we are given the story of the paralytic who was brought to Jesus.
When He had come back to Capernaum several days afterward, it was heard that He was at home.  And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room, not even near the door; and He was speaking the word to them.  And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic, carried by four men.  Being unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him; and when they had dug an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic was lying.  And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."  But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,  "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?"  Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts?  "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'?  "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--He said to the paralytic,  "I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home."  And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."                                                                                                     Matthew 2:1-12
The main point comes in verse 10 "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins".  Let me give one more example and we will come back to why this is such an important point.
Within the writings of Luke chapter 7 we find another example:
And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner."  And Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he replied, "Say it, Teacher."  "A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  "When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both.  So which of them will love him more?"  Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have judged correctly."  Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.  "You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.  "You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.  "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."  Then He said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven."  Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?"  And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."                                                                                                          Luke 7:37-50
This particular story is so filled with opportunities to learn and grow that we almost skip right over one of the most significant parts.  In the last three verses Jesus acknowledges that He knows that she has led a life of many sins, that He forgives her, and that it is her faith that has “saved” her.  He ends this with telling her to go in peace.
We must stop and consider what these verses are telling us.  We must see that Jesus was the mediator of forgiveness and the provider of salvation through faith even under the terms of the Old Covenant (because the New did not come into effect until the end of His earthly ministry).  How can this be?  The answer comes in understanding what is actually being said in John 1.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.  In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.  The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. ….. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.                                                                                                             John 1:1-5, 14
What the early disciples understood, and is often lost in the translation, is that Jesus has always been, the entire Old Testament is His Word, He spoke it into existence, and it is who He is.  The very identity of Jesus is the embodiment of the Old Testament scriptures.  With this understanding we come to realize that He is the author, mediator, and provider of the man-God relationship from the very beginning of creation, through each of the various time periods, and within all of the covenants.  When we read what He said to the religious leaders who stated “who can forgive sin but God alone” we come to understand something very deep.  He responded by saying “But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”.  In this statement He is establishing not only who He is, but more importantly, what His role is within the Covenant that was in place at that time.  Everything He did during His earthly ministry was totally within the context of the role He had served since the establishment of the earlier covenants.  His role within the covenants did not change until after His earthly ministry ended.
Can we put ourselves in the place of those religious leaders, allow the words of Jesus to sink deep into the fabric of our being, and see that forgiveness and grace are not something new to the New Testament?  Can we see that Jesus, as all of the forgiveness and grace we know Him to be, was always in the middle of the man-God relationship from the very beginning?  Can we let God speak to us about this revelation and allow Him to grow our understandings of who He has been so that we may better understand who He is now?
I pray that you have been blessed by this time together.  I pray that God will grow your understandings and deliver you into a more powerful relationship with Him.

Breaking the Enmity; Where Did It Start?

We are going to be starting a new blog series that will be looking to use stories from the Old Testament along with teachings from Jesus and the New Testament authors to give us greater understandings as to where Jesus came to change, replace, and/or expand the understanding of the Mosaic Covenant.  
The intent of these blogs will be to create an atmosphere where we can open up our hearts to the truth of the Mosaic Covenant in such a way to help us gain a better understanding of the New.  Far too few of us really understand the Old Covenant and instead of allowing ourselves to see it from the perspective that Jesus taught, we see it from the perspective that the Pharisees applied it.  As we read New Testament teachings we tend to believe that Jesus changed or did away with rules and regulations that God had imposed on His chosen people.  If we misunderstand this it will completely undermine the intent of the Gospel message.  Through the use of biblical stories instead of theological debate we will create an atmosphere that will help us to open up our minds to the Word of God in a new and exciting way.  I pray that this series brings deep revelation into your heart. 
by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace,  and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. (Ephesians 2:15-16)As we read Ephesians 2 it is very easy to read this scripture and assume that the “Law of commandments contained in ordinances” is specifically directed at the Mosaic Covenant.  This assumption leads us to believing that the Mosaic Covenant disallowed association, relations, or marriage outside the framework of the blood lines of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This understanding also leads us to believe that the Mosaic Covenant disallowed anyone outside of the pure bloodline to join the covenant, become a part of the people, gain access to God, and partake in the fulfillment of the covenant promises.  With this understanding we conclude that “through the cross” a New Covenant was established that broke down the enmity that was created by the laws of the Mosaic Covenant.
In Matthew 1 we are given the blood line of Jesus.  Within this blood line we are told about five women.  They are Tamar who was Perez’s mother, Rahab who was Boaz’s mother, Ruth who was Obed’s mother, Bathsheba (noted as the wife of Uriah) who was Solomon’s mother, and of course Mary as Jesus’ mother.  Each woman’s role in the family history of Jesus is a little different.  Tamar, although an Israelite, plays the role of a prostitute to trick her father- in-law (Judah) into having sexual relations with her.  This action leads to the birth of Perez who becomes a part of the blood line to Jesus.  Rahab, on the other hand, was an Amorite and her occupation was that of a prostitute.  According to the genealogy referenced in Matthew 1, Salmon (one of the spies Rahab protected) ultimately married her.  Through this relationship she gave birth to Boaz who is also in the blood line to Jesus.  We learn more about Boaz in the book of Ruth.  In this story we discover that he becomes a kinsman redeemer for a woman named Ruth.  Ruth was connected to Boaz’s family through Elimelek who left Bethlehem because of a famine in the land.  Elimelek and his wife (Naomi) had two sons.  The two sons married Moabite women.  After a time all three of these men passed away leaving the three wives with no men to support them.  In time Naomi decided to return to her homeland.  She encouraged her daughters-in-law to return to their own father’s houses.  The one agreed and did as Naomi suggested.  The other, Ruth, refused and insisted on going with Naomi.  Boaz becomes the kinsman redeemer for this Moabite woman and through their union produce Obed who is also a blood relative of Jesus.  The next woman mentioned is Bathsheba.  Bathsheba enters into the royal blood line through the scandalous work of King David as his lust drives him into the spiral of seduction, adultery, conspiracy, murder, and self-justification.  The result of this affair is the birth of King Solomon who continues the blood line through David toward God’s promised seed.  Ultimately the last women mentioned in Jesus’ blood line is Mary who was unmarried and a virgin at the time Jesus was put into her womb.
Of all these women and the various circumstances surrounding their connection to the blood line of Jesus, I find the story of Boaz and Ruth the most applicable in this discussion.  Granted, if we wanted to discuss God’s favor and grace within the Mosaic Covenant there are better examples of God honoring His side of the covenant promises through a family tree compromised with incredible sin, deceit, and betrayal.  However, this discussion is focused on discovering the reality of the Mosaic Covenant in regard to the eluded “enmity and strife” that existed between Jews and Gentiles during the time of Christ.  The story of Boaz and Ruth provide particular insights into this discussion.
One of the most important things we learn about Boaz is his knowledge and respect for the Mosaic Covenant Laws and his obligation to work within the framework of those laws.  In Ruth 3:12-13 we find Boaz quoting the law regarding the due process for Ruth’s redemption.  Ruth 4:1-10 give us a perfect picture of how detailed Boaz was in the legal proceedings that ultimately led to the opportunity for him to redeem Ruth through acquisition and marriage.  Ruth 4:11-12 provides even greater insight into the understandings we seek.  During the legal proceedings Ruth was mentioned two times, in both cases she was referred to as “Ruth the Moabitess”.  Even considering this fact, All the people whom were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses.  May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel” (Ruth 4:11).
So how is it that the court and all the people were able to bestow such blessing upon Ruth, Boaz, and their family? For me the answer comes in Ruth 2:10-11 after Ruth asks Boaz “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”  and Boaz responds by saying “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know”.  What Boaz was getting at was this, in Ruth 1: 16 when Naomi is trying to convince the two daughters-in-law to return to the homes of their own father’s Ruth responds by saying “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodged, I will lodge.  Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.”
It warms my heart to read about times in the history of Israel and God’s people when they really understood God’s heart, understood His covenant, and understood His ways.  What Boaz and those who attend the court proceedings understood was that although Ruth was Moabite by birth, she was Israeli by choice.  In her proclamation of Ruth 1:16 she had converted.  Paul explains this in Romans 8:14 where he says “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.”
Unlike the time of the Pharisees, the story of Boaz and Ruth provides a glimpse of a time when there was an understanding of the Mosaic Covenant that was not legalistic, that did not approach God’s Word in such a way to strain out only the words that fit one's agenda, and through a deep understanding of the covenant relationship sought out God’s heart in all matters.  This heart toward God and His covenant is the same as referenced in 2Corinthians 3:5-6 when we read about being the servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
When we read scriptures such as this it is our natural tendency to think that the Mosaic Covenant “required” people to live to the letter and that it was the laws of the covenant that kills.  The simple truth is that what God gave Moses and the ancient Israelites was based on the same love, grace, and forgiveness of Jesus that we have in the New.
As we can see in this example, it is not the covenant, or the law itself that brings division and creates enmity between people.  It is the hearts of people who twist the letter of the law to form traditions that create social divisions that God did not intend.  This understanding is vitally important today as we come into times of great division within the church and from the church toward the outside world.  We are reminded of the past to protect us from repeating the same mistakes in the future.  We are every bit as prone to creating enmity and strife based on our “New Testament” understandings as the ancient Israelites were when their relationship with God was established on the Mosaic Covenant.
There are many scriptures throughout Numbers and Leviticus that further outline how foreigners living amongst the people of Israel were to be included in the feasts, holidays, and given the opportunity to honor the Sabbath rest.  There are scriptures that address how these people are to be dedicated to God, and be brought into the fold of God’s people.  The truth is that Jesus did not come to break an enmity that was created by the law, but to re-establish God’s desire to lead the gentile world away from sin, into holiness, into righteousness, and into the fold of His people where they would enjoy all the benefits of the covenant relationship.  In this case the law was not pointing toward Jesus as a foreshadowing, but Jesus was pointing backwards toward the law, going on record, and attempting to tell us what God’s heart was toward these things from the beginning.
I pray that this blog has led you to go back into the Old Testament, to spend some time in God’s laws, and let Him reveal His heart to you in a new and powerful way.  I pray that your relationship with Him will be blessed and that through this blessing all of your life will be impacted in a mighty and powerful way.  Amen.

The Curse of God's Law

Have you ever stopped to consider what the “curse” of the law really is?  Or even the "burden of the law" for that matter?  Sometimes we hear people say that Jesus came to fulfill the law.  Have we ever stopped to consider that what they are implying might not be what the scriptures are really saying?  How important would understanding these fundamental principles be to understanding the Gospel message?  How important would understanding these fundamental principles be to our Christian walk?  And how important would understanding these fundamental principles be to our relationship with God?
This blog is going to focus on what Paul was really attempting to convey in Galatians 5:1-4 when he wrote: It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.  Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you.  And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.  You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.  
So often we hear people using this scripture or ones like it to support an argument that Paul saw the law itself as a burden.  Is that what Paul really thought or are we taking these scriptures out of context?
Using Galatians 5:1-4 as our basis of study, we are going to learn how taking scriptures out of context leaves us exposed to the evil for which it was designed to protect us from while we are distracted fighting the very thing the Gospel message was given to protect.
As we progress our way through this scripture we see that Paul sees that there is some kind of yoke that Christ came to set us free from, the yoke represents slavery, slavery is connected to circumcision, circumcision is connected to the Old Covenant Law, and engaging in this ritual renders Christ useless in our walk even to the point of severing us from Christ.  At this point it would be very easy to conclude that Paul is totally against circumcision and the other rituals of the Old Testament Law.  It kind of seems blatantly obvious doesn’t it?
Here is where taking scripture into context is so important.  We must read scripture both before and after those scriptures that we believe are so revealing.  If we keep reading we find the most important part of the entire statement.  In verse four Paul reveals the heart of those whom he is writing to.  He identifies them as those “seeking to be justified by law”.  This verse changes EVERYTHING!!
At this point in our Bible reading, and in the reading of this blog, we have a very critical decision to make.  We have a choice, and the direction we go with this choice will determine who our master really is.  The question is this; Do we keep pressing on with what we thought to be so blatantly obvious, or do we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us forward into new understandings.  The truth is, our flesh hates the law of God, our flesh wants to see it as a burden, and our pride does not want us to be God’s slave.  On the other side, the Holy Spirit wants us to love God’s law, see it as a light yoke, and come into submission to God as a willing slave (a son or daughter). 
When we allow our flesh to control our theology we end up with a double hit against our spiritual journey.  First of all, we miss the very point the scripture is attempting to make and secondly, we end up falling prey to the very thing it is given to protect us from.  Let’s put this scripture to a test using some “laws” and “rituals” we see as profitable in our walk with Christ.
Is communion a burden in our relationship with Christ?  Does it remind us of how burdensome this Christian walk is and how we have been yoked to His ways against our free will?  Does communion remind us of OUR sacrifices and how much WE gave up to be His?
How about a marriage ceremony to our relationship with our spouse?  Does celebrating our anniversary make us feel like a slave to our spouse and as such celebrating it reminds us of how we are yoked to them in slavery?  I pray that none of us view these rituals in this manner.  But do you think there are some people out there who do?
These examples should have led us to the conclusion that we have misrepresented Paul’s teachings.  To confirm this understanding we should look to other scriptures that help us understand where Paul really stands in regard to these things.
Based on Acts 16:1-3 we have no choice but to acknowledge that Paul had no issue with circumcision when prescribed with a heart attitude instead of based on the belief that it would somehow “justify” the believer before Christ
 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy…. Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him
In Romans 3:25, 3:31, 7:12, 1 Timothy 1:8, and 2Timothy 3:16 we find Paul expressing a greater revelation toward circumcision and the Old Covenant Law.
For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision
Do we then nullify theLaw through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish theLaw
So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good
But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (the only thing Paul had to reference as “scripture” was the Old Testament)
There are many more scriptures that we could pull into this discussion.  One of the most revealing is found in the book of Acts.  In Numbers 6 God gives Moses the parameters of a very special vow called the Nazirite vow.  This “special vow” is a part of the law but is considered to be above, beyond, and set aside as an opportunity for a person who sought a special time with God.  The parameters of this vow called for special ceremonies, more stringent ordinances surrounding food and drink, and even added some other ordinances all together.  Certainly this “extra vow” would only be entered into by those who had a heart for the basic law, saw the basic law from the perspective from which God gave it, and who saw both the basic and the extra aspects of the law as good, not as a burden, and not as a yoke.  What would it say of Paul's perspective of the New Covenant if we saw him taking this "special vow" after coming to the full realization of the Gospel message?
In Acts 18:18 the bible tells us that Paul “ had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow ”.  The only vow attached to having a haircut is the Nazirite vow.  However, at this point it would be difficult to confirm that it is the Nazirite vow that this scripture is referring to.  However, Acts 21:23-24 clarifies the point.  The ceremony that Paul is encouraged to participate in along with the other four men is the ceremony that is conducted at the conclusion of the “special vow” described in Numbers 6.  This verse is specifically given to us from God so that “ all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you (Paul), but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law.”
You might ask me;  “Jeff, why is this so important?  Doesn’t the church embrace most of the Old Covenant moral standards?  Isn’t that what is really important?”  My response is that this really isn’t about the moral standards.
Without knowing it, we have implied that God’s laws should not be a burden to the flesh and that we should not celebrate holidays that remind us of His Lordship.  This opens up the door for each of us to define what we believe to be “a reasonable burden”.  This leads to the drawing of line that establishes what we can and cannot do based on our own flesh led perspectives.  In 2Corinthians 3:6 we are told that  the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.   In other words, when we start scrutinizing the law based on our own flesh and our own pride the door gets opened to Satan and he will sneak in, he will kill, and he will destroy.
This leads us to the point that Paul was really making; “Don’t let anyone tell you that you are justified before God based on works”.   When context gets twisted we start defining what it is to be Christian based on our values instead of God’s and we let Satan manipulate us into imposing these views on others.  Some examples of this are the  arguments over proper procedures for baptism and communion, teachings on what is “really” ministry work, or how much we should tithe to remain in God’s will.  Tens of thousands of denominations have grown out of this mindset as each attempts to develop new theology that properly grasp what we “need to do” and how we “have to go about doing it” to ensure our salvation and remain in God’s perfect will.  This is what Paul was warning us about.
Satan uses our attachment to pride, society standards, personal preferences, our heritage, and a lack of understanding to lead us into viewing God’s laws as “the yoke”.  This very notion breeds legalism as it analyzes God’s Word based on human intuition through our personal flesh filters.  The Spirit of the law is quenched and the letter becomes the basis of our teachings.  When legalism becomes the basis of our religion God’s people become yoked, our relationship with God becomes a burden, and our religion becomes a curse upon our lives.  It is time for the Church to grow up, embrace what God has given us, grow into the teachings of the New Testament, and let Christ be our example.
Dear God, please give us the strength to let go of our religion, to break the yoke of oppression from our shoulders, and to stop seeking the wisdom of man as our guide.  Dear God, help us to understand your Word in a new way, help us to dig deep into your commandments, and to open up our hearts and minds to the Spirit.  Dear God, help us put to death our flesh filters and our analytical thought process, help us to see the wisdom in everything you have given us, help us to find Your heart, and help us to embrace everything that Your Spirit guides us toward.  Help us drop our fear of man, our fear of failure, and our desire for perfectionism.  Help us to embrace who you have called us to be dear God, and help us follow You.  Amen

A Move Toward Unity; A Right Way and A Wrong.

Can we agree that the Judeo-Christian community is anything but living out the unity to which we were called to live?  What has led to the disharmony we see today?  Is Christ really that hard to miss in the prophecies of the Old Testament?  Was God really creating an entirely new religion?  How have we become what we have become?  And what are our chances of becoming what we were called to be?
If we would look back and see that the “reformation” movement had major theological flaws, what could be done at this point to set the Protestant faiths back onto a proper course?  Would Catholicism open up its heart to embrace the correction?  Is there a course that God could use in a more powerful way as He attempts to lead the Jewish people into embracing Jesus as the promised Messiah?  Has the protestant reformation made the concept of such a theologically driven correction impossible?  Are Judaism, Catholicism, and Christianity too far apart to ever be reconciled?  Is the unity that Jesus prayed for an impossible dream?
You see, there are two directions we can go in our quest to answer these questions.  We can either move more toward the world, or further from it.  Right now the Judeo-Christian communities are in the midst of an identity crisis.  Who do we want to be?  Do we want to be like the world, living like the world, and feeling secure in our relationship with God through our good works and demonstration of love through a coexistent agenda?  Or, do we want to look as different from the world as possible, feeling secure in our relationship with God based on our faith in Him and His ways?
Are we capable of seeing how it is possible to show love, extend love, and meet people where they are, while still not embracing what they embrace?  We must see that there are two opposing forces that are attempting to draw us to the unity discussed in this blog.  The first is Satan as he is attempting to lead us to what would appear to be the easy way.  The second is God who is trying to lead us in the direction that appears to be impossible.
We are in the midst of another great transition in God’s plan for redeeming this world from the death of sin.  He is in the process of bringing us back into the unity for which we were called to live and the world is pushing us to live in unity with how they want to live.  God’s people will become divided as the battle between these opposing forces wages on.  Fortunately, this is not the first time this has happened.  Through the historical record we are given confirmation and understanding as to which side we must choose to stand.
In 331 BC Alexander the Great began his campaign to conquer the areas of the Middle East from Persia.  As he gained control of areas his political mentality would be to “encourage” the people to embrace the Greek-Macedonian philosophy of life.  Scholars have named this process “Hellenism”.   After Alexander’s death, Israel came under the control of Syria-Mesopotamia for the next 200 years.  This system of governance used financial and political incentives to negotiate cooperation with the elite members of the conquered lands.  As such, those that were willing to become sufficiently Hellenized had great potential for political gain.  As time progressed, more and more of the religious identity was lost under the influence of the Hellenistic agenda.  In 167 BC Antiochus IV Epiphanes along with the Hellenized ruling elite moved to convert the Temple into a pagan shrine and eradicate distinct Jewish practices.  As recorded in 1Maccabee 1:41-50, anyone who was not willing to “make themselves abominable by everything unclean and profane, so that they would forget the law and change all the ordinances” would be put to death.  Fortunately, a priest by the name of Mattathias and his five sons led a guerilla-style revolt against the Syrian forces.  With God’s help, they were victorious and were able to purify and rededicate the Temple.  This victory is what the festival of Chanukah is all about.
As I watch what is happening in the church I can’t help seeing these same patters playing out today.  Based on history I already know where it will lead us.  Every day the Judeo-Christian populace is becoming more and more Hellenized to the world around us.  We are being pressured into moving away from our identity in God, His ways, and His Truths.  Just like before, God is waiting for His remnant to stand up, come together, and drop our own attachments to the world and come together in the form for which we were called to be.
Earlier in this blog I said that there are two ways to go about bringing unity to God’s people.  The first is to move closer to the ways of the world.  This is appears to be the easy way.  It lacks courage, and denies our identity as His people.  The second takes courage.  It holds onto our identity in Him, and it is willing to risk everything for the purpose of showing His true face to the very people that are attacking us for not becoming like them.
This second group is the true elites of God.  They have been the ones who have carried His flag through the great transformations in His redemptive plan for this world.  They are the ones who have trusted Him, trusted in His ways, and have been willing to fight for the right to live in harmony with the way of life that He calls His Word.  The early disciples were these kinds of people as they fought intense persecution as the opposing religious leaders attempted to lead them into the same political agendas for which they participated.
The church is going to be torn in half over this issue.  The wheat will choose God’s ways and the tares will chose the worlds.  It really is that simple.  The time of being lukewarm is over.  God is forcing our hand.  So given the choice what will you choose?  Do you have the courage to stand up and fight for your right to live God’s ways, to hold onto His Word, and to embrace His identity over the ways of the world?  I pray that you do and that you allow the story of Mattathias and his five sons to give you the faith to know that when we are on God’s side, anything is possible.
I pray that this blog has been inspirational, eye opening, and has challenged you to see life in a new way.  I pray that you have a blessed week and that God blesses the work of your hands.  Amen.

The Last Shout

How cool.  I just realized that this will be the seventh blog in this series and I have already named it "The last shout".  I just feel like there is something really appropriate here.
For those of you who have not been following, on February 9, 2016 we started a series that was designed to help God's people learn how to "hear" Him through what He is communicating through His physical interactions with us.  The following week we went into a little more detail and ended with a challenge to the readers to bring up things that are happening in the world and to discuss together how God might be attempting to communicate to us through these things.
The following Sunday we had an evangelist teacher by the name of Pat Schatzline as a guest speaker at our church.  He addressed all of the primary issues in a message called "God's 16 shouts for 2016".  Since that time this blog series has been dedicated to breaking down the specifics of that message.  We have discovered how God gave Pat not just His proposed blessings that are set to fall upon our nation, but He also provide Pat with the conditions for those blessings.  Even deeper within the message is how God is using the very brokenness, sickness, addictions, perversion, and immorality of this world to point us to the very things that He wants us (His people) to repent of and what we are to turn toward.  Today we are going to discuss the final three aspects of the message.
Continuing from where we left off: The first of these final messages is that God will surprise us with something "major" during the US presidential election.  One of the scriptures quoted in the blog that started this series was:
 [Isaiah 3:4 NASB]  And I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them.
Isn't it amazing that the message that God gave Pat ends by addressing the very issue that the first blog brought up.  The point is, if His people seek to have spiritual leaders who feed us false teachings, tickle our ears, and tell us what we want to hear, God will listen and put those people over us.  If this is who we ask to lead our Sunday morning services He will not stop there, He will continue by putting the same kinds of people over every aspect of our government, judicial systems, businesses, and every other aspect of society.
We can't argue that we want society to bend their knee to "God's standards" six days a week and then ask our pastors and teachers to bend their knees to "Satan's standards" on Sunday.  When we seek truth, God will give us leaders that will lead us to truth.  Until then, He will give us leaders that give us exactly what our hearts truly desire.  God’s direction with this “major event” hinges on God’s people standing up to the leaders of our churches and our temples and telling them that we want to be held accountable to the whole counsel of God and that we want to be taught the meat of the scriptures.  God will give us the leaders we choose.  It is that simple.
This leads us into the final two aspects of what God showed Pat.  Pat saw that the "global (financial) market will continue to grow increasingly unstable." and that  "His shout will not be heard by all, but only by those whom have made themselves attentive to His ear!". 
These two notions may seem a bit unrelated but in truth they are incredibly related to one another.  As the financial markets become more unstable so too will the faith of those who are not as well rooted as they think they are.  When God starts taking away our idols we will have two choices; we will either focus on our idols of luxury, comfort, good food, vacations, and the lives we have known, or we will keep our eyes focused on God.  We simply cannot watch both at the same time.
This image reminds me of Lot's wife as they were leaving Sodom.  God was leading them away from their past, their old lives of sin, and their old ways.  God was leading them into the unknown, into something new, and something filled with promise.  Lot's wife was too consumed by what she was leaving and could not help but look back.  She was turned into a statue of salt.  We simply can't watch where God is leading us while mourning over what He is delivering us from.
God showed Pat that when the financial markets become unstable there will be those righteous people who remain financially strong and in their righteousness will use their financial strength to bless the churches that are continuing to grow in the direction established through the earlier aspects of the message.  For the churches that have not bent their knee, readjusted their compass headings, and turned their hearts, minds, souls, and strength toward the true ways of God, there will be no future.  The money will not flow, and the people will turn away.
We have to understand that if people are attending churches that are promising a pre-tribulation rapture, health, wealth, and prosperity for God's people, and having their ears tickled, those people will not be prepared to look where God is leading them.  They will fall away and their churches will fall with them.  For those people who have remained steadfast on what is true, demanded that their leaders and teachers preach the whole Gospel message, and seek the deeper meanings of the scriptures there will be peace, comfort, and power.
God is about to turn things upside down.  The churches that have watered down the scriptures for the purpose of numbers who will keep them financially strong will become insolvent.  At the same time, the churches that have continued to trust God, preached His Word, and who have been responsible disciples over the members they have been entrusted with will flourish.  This is a message that every church leader, teacher, and administrative body needs to hear, pay attention to, and respond to in an appropriate manner.
I pray that you are one of the few who will watch, observe, and hear.  I pray that you will allow God to communicate with you through the circumstances of life and that you allow Him to grow your understandings in such a way that you always feel His presence and hear His voice as you travel about your days.  Amen. 
 

Social Reformation; Easy as 1, 2, 3

The next section of the message that God gave Pat promises some amazing blessings upon our families, our nation, and even the world.  The blessings include God healing our broken marriages, our discovering His presence within our homes, answered prayers over sickness and disease, children's rooms being places of worship, fathers being esteemed, times of repentance and revival, a great awakening across our land, and the enemies of God being inflicted with disease and confusion.  The message goes on to promise that God will strengthen the borders of Israel and the United States, that one terrorist attack will occur on our soil, but this will only lead to more revival, and ultimately the hand of our social compass will swing so far back to truth that the universities and colleges will actually start teaching truth and the hearts of those in bondage to sexual immorality and homosexuality will be returned to God and purity.
As I sat in church and watched the reactions of the people as they heard Pat sharing this prophetic vision I saw how excited people got.  I have to admit, these are some amazing blessings and when God brings them about it will stand witness to His sovereign power, grace, and love of us.  These truly are the answers to our prayers.  The challenge is, listening past the promises and hearing what God is truly saying and what conditions He has said must be met before He can fulfill what He has promised.  In our bliss we tend to miss the most important part of the message; what is God really saying and what does He want from us?
The first step to understanding these things is to listen to the message and discern what God’s “shouts” are.  Remember, the “shouts” are the negative physical occurrences in our lives.  As such, the answer comes when we look at the opposite of the proposed blessings.  In other words, God is shouting to us through: Our broken marriages, Our inability to feel God’s presence and intimacy within our homes, The sickness, mental dysfunction, and disease that our prayers are not healing, The brokenness & bondage that is ruling the atmosphere in our children’s rooms, Fathers being mocked, ridiculed, and put down by society and within the home, A fear of man that is keeping our mouths locked shut and scared to stand up for what is right, Our societies love of sin and rejection of God’s holiness, righteousness, purity, and name, The transforming power of the full Gospel message is not reaching the ends of the world, The enemies of God are gaining power and terrorist attacks are increasing, Previous terrorist attacks upon our soil have only led to short term revival and then a return to typical cultural norms returning to a worse state than before the attacks, University and college campuses are perpetuating the lies of society and opposing God’s truth, Satan is taking more and more hostages as the homosexual and other perverse agendas gain greater and greater momentum. Assuming we are capable of hearing and seeing God’s hand in all of these things, let’s take a look at what God told Pat must change and how these changes are connected to the proposed blessings.  First,  God’s people need to break free of our stagnant, comfortable, and lethargic approach to Him and His ways.  I believe that we have approached the Gospel as being about our salvation.  This has led us into a complacency that is totally contradictory to the Gospel message.  We were not chosen for salvation; we were chosen for a much greater purpose.  We have been chosen as His Bride.  This understanding should motivate us into opening up our hearts to a new kind of relationship.  A relationship based on His purposes for us instead of what we believe is necessary to maintain a righteous enough standing to ensure our “salvation". 
From here, God’s people need to come to a renewed sense of conviction where we have left God locked outside.  WOW….the locking of God outside is the product of our misguided understanding of the covenant.  When we truly embrace the covenant as being about God and His purposes and start searching the scriptures for what that really means this next step will fall right into place.  God will show us how we have allowed our flesh to choose the world over God.  He will show us where our homes are so filled with everything that is NOT Him, that there is no room FOR Him.
As God shows us these things we must kick Satan and his demonic influences out of our homes.  We must realize that we have been inviting them in as if they were relatives who have fallen onto hard times.  As God gives us the strength to kick out what never belonged He will show us how to pray, He will join us in prayer, and deliver us into deeper unity with Him.  As we dedicate our homes to God, reject Satan’s attacks through television, internet, gossip, sports, movies, materialism, and everything else the Spirit brings into our understanding God will restore the fathers to their rightful positions within the home.
Men must step up and become the spiritual leaders we have been called to be.  When we start leading our families away from the ways of this world by example instead of attempting to impose what we are not willing to follow, our wives will stand up and cheer.  With this said, wives must stop judging their husbands on a performance model.  In embracing their husbands for their effort and honest desire to make God the Lord of their lives they have earned the right to be leaders of the home.  None of us are perfect.  If wives do not embrace proper biblical order God cannot remove Satan’s influences from the home.  Women must respect their husband’s honest and sincere efforts.  This will fulfill the deep emotional needs of their husbands and drive them deeper into the role for which they were created. This will lead our families back into proper biblical order.
The men will need to take this renewed sense of family, life, and purpose and let God lead them into more frequent and deeper times of prayer.  As men respond in this area they will be flooded with greater revelation, greater understanding, and greater wisdom.  All of these things will be supported by a greater sense of strength.  This strength will lead them into being stronger men of God where they will become more and more aware of Satan’s influences upon them, their family, and their society.  Men must respond to God’s voice as He shows them the impurity in their homes, the unrighteousness in their hearts, and the weaknesses in their souls.  As men humble themselves in these areas God will raise them above these things and give them an unparalleled strength. He will use this strength to lead them into the world where their voices will be heard and the people will respond.
From here all we will need to do is return to the first step and repeat.  This is the process of growing in Christ and taking our role as His Bride seriously.  As we step into the role of being what we have been called to be the world will take note, God will step in and use what they are seeing to deliver them into deeper revelation, and an understanding of the truth.  As those that are opposed to us attempt to fight off this incredible move of God in the physical they will open the door for our victory in the spirit.  We will be given the opportunity to respond properly when the time comes.  An attack will occur and we will be spiritually ready to handle it.  As the world watches to see how we respond they will see the true face of Christ as we have allowed ourselves to become spiritually prepared.  Our response in this critical time will turn what Satan intended for evil into another triumph for God.
We must stand up and realize that the “war” we are fighting is in the spirit and not of the flesh.  Our battle ground is not in word but in self-imposed discipline followed by intercessory prayer.  Self- imposed discipline must come first as God simply cannot answer the prayers of the unrighteous.  The spiritual battle must begin with biblical order being restored within our families and the church.  As we fall into biblical order, God will break the chain of universal disorder.  This will be the catalyst that will bring universities and colleges into teaching truth instead of lies, children will be moved from disrespecting parents into respect of their parents, and sexual immorality will be turned back to sexual purity. 
Believe it or not it really is this simple.  The solution to all our prayers is really as easy as these few steps.  It begins with seeing the truth of the Gospel message, allowing God to move us beyond our goal of salvation, and to deliver us into a greater desire of what it is to be truly His.  As we fight the spiritual battle against sin, unholiness, unrighteousness, pride, and lust we win a much harder battle.    
In all reality, what chance do we have at changing the moral direction of this country through laws, political influence, or Supreme Court appointments?  Can we really change the gay rights agenda by teaching them away from it?  Can we really win a war against the radical Muslim agenda through sanctions, treaties, border control, immigration reform, or any other means?  Can we really win any of these battles in the physical?  Even if we could, how much energy would it take?  How much money?  How much time?  Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just make Jesus Lord over our lives?  Wouldn’t it be easier to kick Satan out of our homes?
The truth is, we want God to change the world without letting Him change us.  The problem is, it just doesn’t work that way.  The greatest expression of love is to make Jesus Christ Lord.  Making Him Lord opens up our heart to be His bride.  As His bride, we embrace His ways and become a suitable mother to our spiritual children.  The love of a mother is the greatest love.  God describes this love as that of laying down our life for another.  Laying down a life by definition requires death.  We must die so that they can live.  Making Jesus Lord requires that we die to the things of this world and embrace the things of God.  It really is that simple. 

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I pray that God delivers you into a perfect peace and that your effort in drawing closer to Him is rewarded with a new sense of being, a new sense of purpose, and a new fire for His ways.  Amen.
RECAP (continued from last week) If you have not been following this blog series, this is the sixth in a series that addresses how God communicates with us and what it is that He is saying through the dysfunction and pain that we see around us.  The series includes the following blogs:  Is This Really How God Works? (Scriptural introduction) Some Kingdom Principles (Apologetic discussion) Time To Dig In (Pat Schatzline's message--God Shouts & first assessments) A Call To Leadership (How lay leaders will lead theologians into repentance) The Esther Decision (Understanding the critical nature of where we are in time)

The Esther Decision

RECAP This is the fifth blog in a series that addresses how God communicates with us and what it is that He is saying through the dysfunction and pain that we see around us.  The series includes the following blogs: Is this really how God works? (Scriptural introduction)Some Kingdom Principles (Apologetic discussion)Time to Dig in (Pat Schatzline's message--God Shouts & first assessments)A call to leadership (How lay leaders will lead theologians into new understandings as God breaks flesh and pride of those who have led us so far astray)MOVING FORWARD Over the weekend I was working on three sermons assignments I have for LCU (Life Christian University).  As I worked my way toward the end of one of the sermons I considered how to close it out with a strong call toward leading a congregation toward the understanding conveyed.
The Spirit led me to share:  “I could end this sermon in a few different ways.  I could tie in Galatians 5 and provide an overview of the Fruit of the Spirit.  We could then use the image of what these scriptures say to hold a mirror up to our own lives and allow our considerations to bring the truth of our existence into the light.  What we would see would surely provide a true look at who we are, where we are, and what we truly have faith in.  And for the years gone by, this would have been a perfectly fine way to end this sermon.  But we are not in the same time as the years gone by.  We are at one of the most monumental times in salvation history.  We are at a time as critical as when Jesus came the first time.  This isn’t just another day, this isn’t just another sermon.  We are in a time period when every word counts, every thought counts, and every action counts.  As we read Esther 4:14 we come into an understanding that shows that the weight of some decisions far exceed the weight of others.  “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?”   
Those people who God ordained to be the religious leaders of our day were put into that position for such a time as this.  They have a calling on their lives and God has been showing them that the direction they have been leading us is not in accordance with His will.  It is not in accordance with His Word.  And it has not been what is necessary to bring about what needs to be brought about.  We all need to understand that the decision that Mordecai put before Esther is the exact same decision that is being put before the leaders of the church today.  They will follow His leading or they will perish.
This takes us to the weight of our responsibility to respond.  Their blood is on our heads if we do not tell them that we want to go deeper, we want to hear the whole Gospel, and we want to be held accountable to a greater truth.  God is shouting to us through the pain and brokenness of our lives.  He is telling us we have been allowing their false teachings to lead us astray.  As we have fallen away from the truth of God’s Word our lives have become a toxic mixture of stress, frustration, and brokenness.  We have only marginal intimacy within our families and sickness, disease, and mental disorders are growing at an alarming rate.  The land is about to spit us out as we go about our lives believing that this is what life is supposed to look like.  God is trying to get our attention so that He can use us to get theirs.
In Pat’s “16 Shouts of 2016” we find a grave ”warning for the leaders who no longer preach a message of conviction and truth, and those who declare their pre-packaged humanistic messages.”  Earlier in the message that God gave Pat we see words being used that lead us to an understanding of a great truth. 
If God’s people do not seek out the truth of the scriptures, become strong in the unity we were called to live in, and rebuild His church the way He intended it, He will take action.  The first action will be to destroy those that stand in opposition, those that hold on to the old, and those that are too prideful to repent and see the error of their ways.  If this is not enough, He will destroy everything and start over with a new remnant; a group of people who are willing to hold onto the truth regardless as to what it means to their natural lives, reputations, or influence.  Simply put, no cowards will enter the kingdom of God (Revelation 21:7-8).  This is a courageous journey.  It is time we step up and take our position.
Romans 11:17-21 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.
God is going to restore His olive tree to what He called it be and what was intended from the beginning.  This is our last opportunity to step into His will and be the witnesses that He called us to be.  Let us listen to the words that Jesus prayed to the Father when He was in the garden just before the events of His trial and execution began to play out.
John 17:22-23 "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;  I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me”.
We must let ourselves come into the full appreciation of what Jesus was feeling at this very moment.  I have to wonder if He already saw what His future church would look like.  I have to wonder if He already knew how little unity we would have.  I have to wonder if He saw how we would make the same mistakes as those who came before us.  I have to wonder if this is why He prayed this prayer to the Father.  How awful it would have been if even before He went to the cross He would have already known what was going to play out in His name through the course of the next 2,000 years.
Do you think He saw His own people chasing those that believed in Him out of the synagogues?  Do you think He saw Rome changing everything and making “Christianity” their official religion?  Do you think He saw the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the control, manipulation, and legalism?  Do you think He saw the protestant reformation and the 40,000 denominations that would ultimately follow?  Do you think He saw the Holocaust?  When we think about Jesus sweating blood in the garden I believe this is what He was seeing, what He understood, and what made everything so hard.  I don’t think it was the sin of the world that was so hard for Him to bear.  I think it was the sin of His church, the twisting of His Words, the infiltration of the flesh, the politics, and the control.  I believe this is what was going through His mind as He spoke to His Father “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  By that point He would have seen, known, and understood what the future of His church held.
The point is, we have reached the end of the line.  2,000 years ago Jesus allowed Himself to be put on a cross so that we could have the Holy Spirit.  Through the Holy Spirit we were to walk in unity and bring Glory to God and Christ.  We have failed but God will not be put to shame.  The message that God gave Pat is the beginning of the re-unification of what Satan tore apart.
It will be through the spirit of revelation that God leads those with an open mind, open heart, and open spirit into the full revelation of the Gospel message.  These people will start a “Christian Revolution” that will restore unity to the Body of Christ.  Every 500 years (roughly) God brings about a major transformation in salvation history.  Every 2,000 years (roughly) He brings about something monumental.  We are at one of those transitions.  We are not talking about the creation of another denomination that throws in their two cents on what the truth of the scriptures are.  We are talking about a complete and total Re-Formation of Christianity and Judaism.  The result will be the Bride of Christ, prepared for her role entering the Millennial Kingdom.  God has said “IT IS TIME”.
The words Mordecai spoke to Esther should weigh upon the souls of those church leaders who see what is going on and stand in resistance.  This is something they cannot fight.  God is bringing about this change and He will have the unity that we are commissioned to express.   “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise (for God’s people) from another place and you and your father’s house will perish. (Within parentheses changed for relevance to this message).
For the past three years God has given me a vision of a new Re-Formation within the church.  It will be a putting back together of what man, politics, and Satan have torn apart.  This is the message we are to take to the world.  We want the truth.  We are ready to embrace the truth.  We want the truth to set us free.  It is our responsibility to take these words to the religious leaders, and it is their responsibility to listen.  Do you have the courage?  Are you ready for Re-Formation?
I pray that this message has given you hope, given you a new purpose, and given you something to consider.  I pray that you have the strength to stand up for what we know to be true, and join this movement to restore God’s people into the unity in which we were called to stand.  Amen.