What Is Desired? (Part 3) What Makes Us A Good Servant Of Jesus?

There is an important truth that we all need to understand, and that is the fact that we can not earn salvation by doing good works..  Being a good servant of Jesus is not what saves us, instead the works we perform validates our faith in Him. The works we do bear witness to the fact that we have spent time with Jesus and understand who He is and what He requires of us as His children.  The works we do validates our faith, showing we are genuine and because we are shown to be faithful to the end, we are welcomed to enter the kingdom of God.  The apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the Ephesians in Chapter 2, verses 8-10;

                       "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that NOT OF
                       YOURSELVES; it is the GIFT OF GOD, not of works, lest anyone can boast."
                        For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which
                       God has before ordained that we should walk in them"

Once we are created anew into Christ Jesus, then He can use us as vessels, through whom He can work in, as we walk according to where He leads us.  The apostle Paul wrote this to the Colossians in his 1st Chapter, verse 10;

                        "Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all aspects, bearing
                        fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

The works that a good servant of Jesus performs is not to earn anything, but to give evidence to the fact that as believer (Saint) you desire to spend time with Jesus, to get to know Him better and to yield to Jesus' desire in what He wants to do through you. If you know Jesus, you will naturally bear fruit.

As far as works, there is only one work that is required of man.  Jesus says what that is, as recorded by the apostle John in his gospel, Chapter 6, verse 28-29;

                       "Then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of
                       God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the WORK of God, that you
                       BELIEVE IN HIM WHO HE HAS SENT.'"

Not much labor required there.  That is as easy as it is.  Any other requirement put on someone, telling them that there are other things they to do to earn eternal life, is just religion.  Believing in Jesus and what He did on the cross, to give us the FREE GIFT of eternal life, is the only work that is required of us.  The apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the Romans, in the 10th Chapter, verses 9-10;

                       "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
                        that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart
                        one BELIEVES unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made
                        unto salvation."

When you do that, all your work requirements are fulfilled.  You have now become a New Creation with the capability of being a good servant of Jesus.  All you have to do now is to let Him live through you.  Jesus will equip you with all you need to bear the fruits of good works.  These will be works that will give glory to Him and validate your belief and faith in Him.

The apostle Paul gave an example of what you can do to be a good servant of Jesus, when he wrote this in his 1st letter to Timothy, in Chapter 4, verses 1-6;

                        "But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from
                        the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by
                        means of hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding
                        iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which
                        God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the
                        truth.  For EVERYTHING created by God is GOOD, and NOTHING is to be
                        rejected, IF IT IS RECIEVED WITH GRATITUDE; for it is sanctified by
                        means of the word of God and prayer (Giving Thanks).  In pointing out these
                        things to the brethren, you will be a GOOD SERVANT of Christ Jesus,
                        constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of SOUND DOCTRINE
                        which you have been following."

So we can be good servants by helping to keep one another free from the teachings of deceitful spirits who try to put us back into bondage with doctrines of demons.  "He who the Son sets FREE is FREE indeed."  Stay free.  Learn the word, keep the word, live the word and share the word. In sharing the word, there is nothing that you could share that would not be freeing. The word is easy and joyful, while religion puts burdens on people that can cause them to turn from the faith.  Religion, in most cases, will lead to shutting off people from the kingdom of God, with burdensome do's and don'ts, and unrequired requirements. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free".

We can't go without learning what Jesus says is required for us to be considered a faithful servant.  Jesus best illustrates this in Matthews gospel, Chapter 25, verses 31-46;

                       "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him,
                       then He will sit on His glorious throne.  And all the nations will be gathered
                       together before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as a
                       shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on
                       His right, and the goats on His left.  Then the King will say to those on His
                       right, 'Come, you are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
                       you from the foundation of the world.  For I was hungry, and you gave Me
                       something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was
                       a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and
                       you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'  Then the righteous will
                       answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed you, or
                       thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger,
                       and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?'  And the King will answer and
                       say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these
                       Brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.'  Then He will say
                       to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which
                       has been prepared for THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS;

It is very important to stop here and notice that the eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels.  It was never intended for human beings and the souls of man.  Jesus creates eternal things, because He is the Eternal Living God.  Every human being was born into this world with a eternal soul.  That soul can not be destroyed.  Until a person accepts Jesus into their hearts, their souls, though eternal, are in darkness without eternal LIFE. 

The eternal fire was never intended for the souls of men.  Unfortunately, there will be those who will never receive, "the love of the truth as to be saved".  There will be those who will just refuse to receive the eternal life that is free to them in Jesus.  They will choose their destiny.  So sad.

Jesus continues;

                        "for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you
                        gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in;
                        naked, and you did not clothed Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not
                        visit Me.' Then they themselves will also answer, 'Lord, when did we see
                        You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did
                        not take care of You?' Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you,
                        to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do
                        it to Me.'  But these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous
                        into eternal life."

I wrote in a prior blog (Part 2) about the two commands that Jesus gave us.  The second one was to "love your neighbors as you love yourselves".  I wrote of the parable of the Good Samaritan, who proved himself to be a neighbor to the stranger.  The Samaritan man was the only one of the three men that came upon the stranger, hurt and in need, that went out of his way to care for the stranger.  When we serve and meet the needs of someone with a need, notice who we are serving, it is Jesus we serve.  If we really want to serve Jesus, we must be willing to go out of our way to help the needs of others.

My last blog on prayer was very important as to the power of prayer and what we can accomplish with prayer, but when it comes to taking care of the pressing needs of others, we can not just pray for them and really believe that we did the servant thing.  I have seen this done too much in my walk as a believer.  The half brother of Jesus, James, wrote about this in his epistle, Chapter 2, verses 14-19;

                        "What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works?
                        Can that faith save you?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need
                        of daily food, and one of you say to them, 'Go in peace , be warmed and be
                        filled', and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what
                        use is that?  Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.  But
                        someone may well say, 'You have faith, and I have works; show me your
                        faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.'

James was saying that the works that we do give validation to our faith and what we believe.  This is what I explained above.  The works we do and how we respond to the needs of others is what shows the reality of our faith.  It shows that we did receive Jesus into our hearts and that He is working through us.  These type of works in no way earn us salvation, they only give witness to it.

Jesus explained this in a different perspective, when He said this in Matthews gospel, Chapter 7, verses 19-23;

                       "Every tree that does not bears good fruit is cut down and thrown into the
                       fire. So then you will know them by their fruits.  Not everyone who says,
                       'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven.  Many will say to me on that
                       day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in you name cast out
                       demons, and in you name perform many miracles?'  and then I will declare
                       to them, 'I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

Prophesying, casting out demons, and miracles, Are those bad things? Absolutely not.  I wish that there were more of these things taking place.  They performed them in Jesus name.  That is a good thing.  So what is so wrong with that, that Jesus would tell them, "depart from Me"?  Did not Jesus Himself tell His disciples this, as written in Mark's gospel, Chapter 16, verse 15-18;

                       "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who
                       believes and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved
                       shall be condemned.  And these signs will accompany those who have
                       believed; in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new
                       tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink and deadly poison,
                       it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover."

It pretty much sounds like what these people were doing.  Why does Jesus say, "I never knew you"?  When Jesus said, "You who practice lawlessness", what lawlessness was He referring to?  First we have to understand that we are just dust.  Apart from Jesus, we have no life.  Apart from what Jesus did on the cross, we have no eternal life.  Apart from Jesus putting His power in us, when we receive Him, we have no power.  No person can prophesy, cast out demons, and perform miracles, apart from Jesus or the name of Jesus.  It is only Jesus in us, working trough us, that allows us the honor and power to be able to do those things.  Only when we summon Jesus to do those things, though us, can these things happen.  It is not us who does it, but His Spirit in us, and to Jesus be all the glory. 

Jesus name is powerful.  These people who He never knew, were using that powerful name and power was coming from the name of Jesus to cast out demons and perform miracles.  It is no credit to them or evidence of their own personal faith in Jesus.  Doing those things alone, does not validate a persons faith.

Jesus told us what that lawlessness was.  They did not bear fruit.  I am going to write a blog in this series on the fruits of the Spirit.  The fruits of salvation must not have been evident in these people's lives.  The lawlessness was the breaking of one of the 2 commands that Jesus gave us.  That command was to "love your neighbor as yourself".  For these people it must have been all about the show of the power, but that power was not of them.  When Jesus was hungry, they never fed Him.  When He was thirsty, they never gave Him something to drink.  When He was naked, they didn't give Him something to wear.  When he was sick or in prison, they did not visit Him.  They ignored the least and those who were in need.  They never did anything to bear witness to the faith that comes with knowing and loving Jesus.

Each one of us is responsible for making sure that we are doing our part to serve Jesus by serving others.  No one will have the excuse that they thought that their church was doing those things in their giving.  With sorrow in my heart, I can tell you most churches probably don't.  Ask your church if they have a ministry within the church that resolves the needs of those who go there, or even those who don't.  If they don't, suggest to them that it would be a good thing to do and why, for their own benefit.  If they don't respond, give your support elsewhere. Seek out ministries that will fulfill this command in your place as you give. Whether it be your church or an outside ministry.  Always make sure that they are doing their work in the name of Jesus.  The apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the Colossians, in Chapter 3, verse 17;

                     "And whatever you do in word and deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
                     giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Ministries can't do the work without your financial support and you might not be able to personally meet peoples needs because you are working in a different stage of life.  You are being just as helpful and giving when you support the ministry that meets the needs. In this way, all of you are bearing fruit.

We are not all thumbs but many parts.  When it is within our ability and we see someone in need, we should not just pray that someone else would come along to help them.  Fulfill that law.  Love your neighbor as yourself.  In doing this, you will be a good servant of Jesus.  First meet their need, then pray for them.

May Jesus peace be with all of you.

What Is Desired? (Part 2) What Does Jesus Teach Us About Prayer?

Jesus left the disciples an example on how they should pray, when He taught them the prayer, that has been commonly referred to as, "The Lord's Prayer".  The prayer covers every aspect of the essential mindset that a follower of Jesus should have and what their main focus should be on in prayer and life itself.  Matthew recorded this prayer in his 6th Chapter, verses 9-13;

                     "After this manner therefore pray ye: 'Our Father which art in heaven,
                     Hollowed be Thy name.  Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth
                     as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts,
                     as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us
                     from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
                     Amen.'"

To put this in todays wording, it says this;

                      Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be kept Holy. Your kingdom come,
                      your will be done in earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.
                      And forgive us our depts., as we forgive our debtors.  And do not lead us into
                      temptation, but deliver us from evil; For yours is the kingdom, the power, and
                      the glory, forever. Amen

"Our Father who is in heaven";

First we acknowledge The Lord our God who dwells in heaven.  We do this to acknowledge who it is that we are praying to.  Addressing the Lord our God as our Father should, in itself, cause us to come to Him with great humility,  knowing that He, the Lord our God of the universe, has allowed us and has made it even possible for us to become His very own children.  He is not far away.  He is Emmanuel, God with us.  Heaven is not a place far away in the sky.  Heaven is the spiritual realm.  We, until we die, dwell in the physical realm.  Although our bodies are alive in this physical realm, a part of us also dwell in the spiritual realm, in heaven.  The apostle Paul wrote this to the Ephesians, in Chapter 2, verses 1-6;

                      "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly
                      walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
                      power of the air (Satan), of the spirit that is now working in the sons of
                      disobedience.  Among them we too ALL formerly lived in the lusts of the
                      flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
                      children of wrath, even as the rest.  But God, being rich in mercy, because
                      of His great love in which He loved us, even when we were dead in
                      our transgressions, made us alive together in Christ (by grace you have been
                      saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the
                      HEAVENLY PLACES, in Christ Jesus."

When we asked Jesus to come and dwell in our hearts as Lord,  that dark soul that was shut out from the kingdom of Light, which is heaven, was now opened up to heaven and heaven flooded in to our souls.  Our souls are a portal to the kingdom of heaven.  So basically,  Our Father of light, who dwells in that heavenly realm, which is now in our hearts, came Himself into our hearts when we welcomed Him in.

"May your name be kept Holy";

For our Fathers name to be kept Holy, He needs to have a name.  He chose to be called Yeshua, which mean, "The Lord Our Salvation".   How do we keep His name Holy?  First of all, we acknowledge Him by using the name Yeshua, (Jesus).  Although He is, "Father, Lord, God, Christ, He, Him, the Holy One, Jehovah, (YHWH)", the Lord our God chose to be called Yeshua (Jesus).  There is power in that name.  There is deliverance in that name.  There is Salvation only in that name.  Why not use that name? Those other names are nice, but  they hold no power.  Acts 4:12:

                        "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name
                         under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.'

Romans Chapter 10, verse 9;

                         "That if you confess with your mouth,"Jesus is Lord", and believe in your
                         heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is
                         with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth
                         that you confess and are saved. For everyone who calls on the NAME of the
                         Lord will be saved."

The word Holy means to be set apart and above all.  The Holy Spirit is a Spirit that is set apart from all other spirits and is above all other spirits. The use of His name is how we keep it Holy.  When we acknowledge Jesus as the Lord our God,  we set His name apart and above all other names.  The apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the Philippians, in the 2nd Chapter, verses 9-11;

                        "Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name
                        WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME, that at the name of JESUS every
                        knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on the earth, and under
                        the earth, and that every tongue should confess that JESUS is LORD, to the
                        glory of God the Father."

The apostle John recorded these words spoken by Jesus, written in his 17th Chapter, verses 11-12;

                        " I am no longer in the world; yet they themselves are in the world, and I
                        come to You.  Holy Father, keep them in Your name, THE NAME WHICH
                        YOU HAVE GIVEN ME, that they may be ONE even as WE ARE.  While
                        I was with them, I was keeping them IN YOUR NAME which YOU HAVE
                        GIVEN ME; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son
                        of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled."

What Jesus stated here is very revealing.  These are not words of an apostle that might be considered misunderstood or questioned.  This great revelation was declared by Jesus Himself and demands that we understand what He was saying.  There should be no misunderstanding as to WHO THEY ARE and what THEIR NAME IS.

"Your Kingdom come";

Your Kingdom come is a prayer that has a two part meaning.  First, when we pray, "your kingdom come", we are asking for His kingdom to come and be magnified in our hearts.  Jesus said this in the Gospel of Luke, in Chapter 17, verses 20-21, when the Pharisees had asked Him as to when the kingdom of God was coming;

                       "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they
                       say, 'Look here it is!', or 'There it is!'  For behold the kingdom of God is
                       within you."

So heaven, the dwelling place of God, is in our hearts, and that New Life that is now in our hearts, is now dwelling in the heavenly realm.  That is why I say that every believer in Jesus is a portal between this physical realm and the spiritual realm.  This is how we are ambassadors of the kingdom of God as stated in Paul's 2nd letter to the Corinthians, in Chapter 5, verse 17;

                      "Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating
                      through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God."

Ambassadors are people who communicate, as a representative of one kingdom, to another kingdom.  Believers, (Saints), are Ambassadors of the kingdom of God.  Their purpose  is to relate the goods news to the kingdom earth.  We are to communicate the Gospel truth of what God did for them to make it possible for them to have everlasting life and become a New Creation.  Telling them that the kingdom of God can come and dwell in their hearts and that they can dwell in the eternal kingdom.

The 2nd part of the prayer for Jesus kingdom to come, is that we are asking for His spiritual kingdom, that Jesus has gone away to prepare, would come.  Jesus told His disciples this, in John's gospel, Chapter 14, verses 1-3;

                       "Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My
                       Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told
                       you; for I go and prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for
                       you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that, where I am, there you
                       might be also."

Since flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of God, Jesus is preparing a spiritual kingdom in the spiritual realm.  The believers, (Saints), will occupy this spiritual kingdom.  At the last trumpet,  Jesus will call up all the bodies of the Saints that dead and alive, and their earthly mortal bodies will be transformed into spiritual immortal bodies, in the likeness of Jesus Glorified body.  Those who are raised from dead will be joined with their spirit that has been waiting in heaven. When a Saint dies,  their spirit is" absent from the body, but present with the Lord" 2nd Corinthians 5:8.  When we pray, "Your Kingdom Come", we are praying for this event to occur.  The apostle John also wrote about this Kingdom, that Jesus prepared, in book he wrote of Jesus Revelation in Chapter 21, verses 10-11;

                       "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a high mountain, and showed me
                       the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the
                       glory of God.  Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal
                       jasper."

When this city comes down, the New Creations would have already been living there a thousand years.  This kingdom that Jesus is now preparing will dwell above Israel during, what is referred to as the Millennial Period, for the thousand year rule of Jesus over the earth.  The New Creation will rule with Him from that kingdom, the Heavenly Jerusalem.  The City of Peace.

"Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven";

 If you notice here, Jesus said in earth and not on earth.  This shows the two realms.  Heaven, the spiritual realm, and the earth being the physical realm. What we are asking when we pray "Your will be done in earth as it is in heaven, is that what the will of God is in the spiritual, should be done in this physical realm.  Your will means, your desire and the most important desire that God has in heaven, is also the main reason God  made the earth and man.  This is the most important thing that a believer, Saint, should understand and know.  The apostle Peter instructed the church ( the body of God) to know this more than anything else. The will of God is why we want to be good ambassadors of the kingdom of God. The apostle Peter wrote this in his 2nd letter, Chapter 3, verses 3-9;

                      "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their
                      mocking, following after their own lust, and saying,, "Where is the promise
                      of His coming?  for ever since the fathers fell asleep, all has continued just as
                      it was from the beginning of creation".  For when they maintain this, it escapes
                      their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth
                      was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time
                      was destroyed, being flooded with water.  But the present heavens and earth by
                      His word are being preserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and
                      destruction of ungodly men.  But do not let this one fact escape your noticed,
                      beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand
                      years as one day.  The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some men count
                      slowness, but is patient towards us, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD
                      PERISH, but that ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENDANCE"

The will of God is that NO MAN SHOULD PERISH.  Jesus wants all people to become a New Creation.  That is why He made man and the earth.  Judgment was never meant for man.  It was for Satan and his demons.  It said, "the day of judgment and destruction for ungodly men', but you can find comfort in knowing what it was that made them ungodly.  This was explain by the apostle Paul in his 2nd letter to the Thessalonians Chapter 2, verses 8-9;

                       " there is one who is coming in accord with the activities of Satan, with all
                       power and signs and FALSE wonders, and with all the deceptions of
                       wickedness for those who PERISH,  BECAUSE THEY DID NOT RECIEVE
                       THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH AS TO BE SAVED."

They will perish ONLY because they," did not receive the love of the truth to be saved", which would have allowed them to receive eternal life and become a New Creation.  Therefore, they are ungodly, only because they are without God.  They choose their own destiny.

We pray for the will of God to be done in earth, because there are a lot of things that He wills to do that we don't even know.  If you notice, in the prayer we are instructed to pray collectively.  Like, OUR Father, give US, forgive Us, OUR debts, as WE forgive OUR debtors,  lead US, deliver US.  ambassadors of the kingdom of God.  We don't just pray for ourselves, but we intercede and petition prayers to Jesus on behalf of others.  Salvation for the lost should be on the forefront.  Jesus wills it that no person should perish.  That is why Jesus said this, as recorded in the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 24, verse 14;

                     "And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world for a witness
                     unto all nations ; and then shall the end come."

The end that will come, is the end of one age, but the beginning of a much better age.  You might be wondering why Jesus doesn't just save everyone if that's His will?  As I wrote before, the door to the heart can only be opened from the inside.  He draws all men by His Spirit, it is their choice to respond or not.  He wants a New Creation that wants Him. This is why He is very patient in His return.  I was asked once, and it was a good question, "If God knows everything and everything that is going to happen, why do we pray"?  Jesus told me to respond, "He knows what is going to happen because of what we have prayed."

"Give us this day our daily bread";

This has a couple of meanings to look at.  First the obvious, which most of us recognize as being the food that Jesus provides for our daily consumption, this includes for the nourishment of our bodies and as well as for our enjoyment.  Yes enjoyment, despite many peoples view of the life of a believer, (Saint), we who allow ourselves to stay free, are able to enjoy some of the things of this world that Jesus has blessed us with.  The apostle Paul wrote this in his 1st letter to Timothy in Chapter 6, verse 17;

                       "Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to
                       fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies
                       us with all things to enjoy."

Paul also wrote this in his letter to the Colossians in Chapter 2, verses 20-23;

                       "If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of this world, why
                       as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,
                      "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"(which refer to things destined to
                       perish with the using)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings
                       of men?  These are matters that have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in
                       self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but
                       are of no value against fleshly indulgence."

In other words, you have been freed from the requirements of this world and what man tells you is clean or not clean, ok or not ok to partake in as far as what you can eat or not eat, what is forbidden and what is not.  These things have nothing to do with the Spiritual Realm and the kingdom of God.

The principles of this world try to creep in to the realm of the believers (Saints) by the pressures of the world and even religious sects.  Do not succumb to pressure.  For example, one of the big pushes now is to get people feeling guilty for eating meat.  Whether you choose to or not, has nothing to do with right and wrong.  Jesus said this to the Pharisees and scribes, the so called men of the knowledge of right and wrong, in the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 15, verses 7-11;

                      "You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, 'This people
                      honors me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me, But in vain do they
                      worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of Man.'" And after He called
                      the multitude to Him, He said to them, "'Hear and understand.  It is not what
                      enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth,
                      this defiles the man."

A relationship with the Living God of the universes is not base on what you eat or drink.  These thing are not important to Him.  It is what a person speaks that bears witness to the condition of the person's heart.  This comes down to whether or not they confess, with their mouth, that Jesus is the Lord and their Lord.

As a side note, Jesus said this in the Gospel of Luke, when telling the parable of the Prodigal Son, when the son returned home and his father said this to his helper, in Chapter 15, verse 23;

                      "And bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry;"

Notice that it was a fattened calf.  A calf is a very young steer.  The meat would be what we would refer to as veal.  For a lot of reasons today many of the handlers of what is right and wrong would try to condemn a person for partaking in such a thing.  Notice also, that Jesus did not say that the father asked for the fattened pumpkin.  What people are saying, when they that say you can't eat meat and be moral,  is that Jesus was wrong.  They are saying that they are more the orators of morality and what is right and wrong, over what Jesus, the God of the universe said.  Very dangerous. 

What I just wrote was to tee it up for a very important thing that Paul wrote in his 1st letter to Timothy, in his 4th Chapter, verses 1-6;

                       "But the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will fall away from
                        the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by
                        means of hypocrisy of liars, seared in their own conscience as with a branding
                        iron, men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods, which
                        God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and KNOW
                        the truth.  For EVERYTHING created by God is good, and NOTHING is to
                        be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of God
                        and prayer. (giving thanks) In pointing out these things to the brethren, you
                        will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the
                        faith and of sound doctrine which you have been following."

The second meaning of what is referred to as "our daily bread" was referred to in the last passage, when Paul said, "constantly nourished on the words of faith".  The food that we are blessed with every day is a blessing, but there is a food that is a much greater blessing.  Jesus tells us what that food is when He stated this in Matthews gospel, Chapter 4, verses 3- 4; when Satan tempted Him after His 40 day fast;

                        "And the tempter came and said to Him, 'If you are the Son of God,
                        command that these stones become bread.' But He answered him and said,
                        'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
                        proceeds from the mouth of God.""

So our other daily bread is the word of God. We are giving daily bread for our bodies, and more importantly daily bread for our spiritual man growing in us.  The things that Jesus taught about Himself in the gospel of John, Chapter 6, explains what the spiritual food is;

Verse 27;

                        "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to
                        eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you, for on Him the Father,
                        even God, has set His seal."

Verse 33;

                        "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives
                         life to the world."

Verse 35;

                         "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who
                         believes in Me shall never thirst."

Verse 48-51;

                         "I am the bread of life.  Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and died.
                         This is the bread that comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and
                         not die.  I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of
                         this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for life
                         of the world is My flesh."

Verse 63;

                        "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the WORDS that I
                         have spoken to you are SPIRIT and are LIFE."

This is why it is very important for a believer (Saint) to feed on the Word of God.  Jesus is the Word of God that became flesh.  We feed and grow on the words that He has spoken.  He is the Holy Spirit and the words Jesus spoke are Spirit and the food that feeds our Spirits. Feeding on Jesus' words
causes us to grow and equips us in His Love for every good thing.

"Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;"

This is pretty straight forward.  We are saying here that we want Jesus to forgive us, after we forgive others who have transgressed against us.  We can't expect for Jesus to forgive us for the horrible things that we have done, if we can't even forgive someone who has done something that we thought was offensive to us.  I am not down playing the horrible things that one human being can perpetrate on another human being.  This is a fallen world.  That goes without saying.  Satan can motivate people who still dwell in his darkness to do horrific things. The earth, for a time, has been given to Satan to rule in.  No rational person will deny that. That is why it is vital that we pray for ourselves and others to be delivered from evil. Jesus' kingdom is in the spiritual realm and in the hearts of those who respond to His  FREE gift of eternal life. We must realize that our Spirit does not get offended, only our flesh does. People can do harm to our bodies, but they cannot harm the Spiritual person that is now growing in us.. Love does not keep account of a wrong suffered.  The Spirit is Love.  The Spirit does not keep account of a wrong suffered.

 No one can do anything to us that can effect the New Creation in us and the kingdom, that the New Creation is now dwelling in.  Granted, it is easy for our flesh to get offended, but if we can keep things in it's eternal perspective, it really is not a big deal what people do to us.  Some people have been violated beyond belief and forgiveness may require daily effort, but it is still possible only because of the power and grace of Jesus.  Jesus understands that scares are different for all people and some scares go much deeper for some.  Forgiveness will free you, but once in a while Satan will come and put salt in the wounds.  Just wash the salt out with the LIVING WATER and walk on without self condemnation.

When you forgive someone, that is good because now you can be forgiven, but there is something much bigger going on here that we need to see. Jesus said this in the gospel of Matthew, Chapter 18, verse 18;

                         "Truly, I say to you, whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in
                         heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

We need to realize the power we have when we don't forgive.  We must realize that if we do not forgive someone, then we are keeping them bound in their sin.  If we forgive them, we free them from their sin.  When Jesus forgives us our sin we our freed.  If we are not freed from our sin, then it is easy to live in self condemnation that can holds us in bondage in our minds. This is expressed by Jesus in the apostle John's gospel, Chapter 20, verse 23;

                         "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you
                         retain the sins of any, their sins have been retained."

We have the power to free someone or keep them in bondage.  As children of love it goes without saying what the right action is for us to take.  Sometimes it's hard, but it is easier than we think, if we consider eternity and the kingdom that we are now dwelling in.  But most of all, JESUS dwelling in us, our hope of glory.

"Lead us not into temptation;"

God does not tempt, as taught by James in his letter in Chapter 1, verse 13;

                         "Let no one say when he is being tempted, "I am being tempted by God";
                         for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt."

So if God does not tempt, then He would never lead us into temptation.  So we wouldn't have to ask Him to not lead us into temptation.  I feel that what was really conveyed to the apostles was something more like this, "Do not allow us to be lead into temptation."  Just a thought.  This is what causes us to be lead into temptation as James follows with this;

                         "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own
                         lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin;  and when sin is
                         accomplished, it brings forth death."

This is why all people eventually die in the flesh, even the believers (Saints).  Thanks to Jesus and the cross, we live beyond death.

"But deliver us from the evil one";

You can't be delivered from evil, if you don't believe that evil exist.  As Saints, we fight constantly against the realm of darkness.  When we become a New Creation we are transferred from the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of Light.  At that point we are delivered from darkness.  We must understand that now daily we are confronting the powers of that darkness, Satan, the demons and the evil spirits.  Everyday we must be prepared to take authority over these forces, as was given us through the blood of Jesus and the power of His name.  It is a constant battle over the souls of men.  There is a constant battle between the darkness against the Light.  Paul shows us how to do this in the letter he wrote to the Ephesians, in Chapter 6, verses 10-18;

                         "Finally, be strong in he Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the
                         full armor of God, that you may stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
                         For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
                         the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual
                         forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the full armor
                         of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done
                         everything to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with
                         TRUTH, and having put on the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having
                         Shod your feet with the preparation of the GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition
                         to all, taking up the SHIELD OF FAITH with which you will be able to
                         extinguish al the flaming missiles of the evil one.  And take the HELMET
                         OF SALVATION, and the sword of the WORD OF GOD.

The rest of this passage is very important because Paul instructs us to pray.  When I said earlier in the blog that Jesus' example of prayer was to be collective.  It was about US, WE, and OUR.  It is vital for the believers (Saints) to stand in the gap for other believers and people that are not equipped to battle these forces.  We must intercede for all the believers (Saints).  As it continues Paul says this;

                         "With all prayer and petition pray AT ALL TIMES in the Spirit, and with
                         this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for ALL THE
                         SAINTS."

Pray for yourselves, but the more we pray for one another and move things in the spiritual realm for the benefits and victory of all the believers (Saints), we all win.  "When one suffers, we all suffer."

"For Yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, forever. Amen"

We started with the acknowledgement of our Father and the importance of His name.  We then ask for His kingdom to come and most of that being the aspect of asking that His kingdom would work through our hearts.  When a person invites Jesus into their heart, that new spiritual person, that is created in them, is now seated in the heavenly realm also.  Without a person experiencing that, the kingdom that Jesus is preparing, will not matter for those people. That is so sad. 

This last part of the prayer is an exaltation.  In this we are acknowledging that all Power and Glory belongs to Jesus.  This Power and Glory will be with Him when He comes back with His Kingdom.  One day the skies will open up and the veil that separates this physical realm from Spiritual realm will be removed and the people left here on the earth, because, "They did not receive the love of the truth as to be saved",  will see Him return in all His Power and Glory, with all the believers (Saints) with Him.  Jesus showed the apostle John this, as recorded in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 19, verses 11-14;

                         "And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon
                         it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He will wage war.  And
                         His eyes are aflame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He
                         has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.  And He
                         is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His name is the Word of God. 
                         And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
                         were following Him on white horses."

"Amen"

Simply, "Let it be."

There is a whole other teaching on this event that I wrote about in earlier blogs.  I also wrote more about Jesus' kingdom.  I did a series on the Book of Revelation also.  You can either read my blogs to learn more or better yet, read the Bible and let Jesus show you like He did Me.

May the grace and love and peace of Jesus be with you all.

What Is Desired? (Part 1) What Commands Did Jesus Give Us?

Jesus gave His disciples two commands.  These two commands are the whole essence of what a believer(Saint) should train themselves in focusing on everyday.  If a believer wakes up everyday and premeditates doing these two things, their walk as a believer will be right on target.

Jesus was asked by one of the Pharisees, "Teacher, what is the great commandment in the Law?" and Jesus replied this to him in Mathews gospel, Chapter 22, verses 37-40;

                         "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
                         soul, and all your mind." 'This is the great and foremost commandment.'
                         The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 'On these
                         two commandments depend the whole Law of the Prophets.'"

If you notice here, Jesus main emphasis was on "love".  He desires us to love the Lord our God and our neighbors.  So what does that look like.  We have to look at what makes it possible for Humans, who were born in sin, the flesh, which instinctively is selfish, to be able to love and know what that love is.  The apostle John showed us this in his first epistle in Chapter 4, verses7-13;

                         "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone
                         who loves is born of God and knows God.  The one who does not love
                         does not know God, FOR GOD IS LOVE. By this the love of God was
                         manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world
                         so that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God,
                         but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (bearing the
                         sentence of another) for our sins.  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also
                         ought to love one another.  No one has beheld God at any time; if we love
                         one another, God abides in us.  By this we know that we abide in Him and
                         He in us, because He has given us His Spirit."

Good news, we are able to love because the Spirit that we have been again of, and now lives in us, is love.  God is in us and God is love.  I wrote in my last blog that it is all about what we allow Jesus to do through us.  We use the love Jesus gave us to love Him back and not just Him but also our neighbors.

How do we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind?  We honor Him.  We learn to know how He desires us to represent Him.  This is all taught to us in the scriptures, so it is very important for you to read the New Testament and find out what those who knew Him wrote about what He taught.  You should always have this in mind, that Jesus, being the Truth, wanted you to know the Truth so that you could be set free.  Nothing should ever be interpreted in scripture in a way that would put you in bondage to it.  In scripture we are taught principles from Jesus that show us how to yield to Him so that He can live and love through us.  Period.  That's it.  Everything else is just religion.  Religion is man's way of conforming God to themselves, instead of them conforming to God. 

So love Jesus with all your heart. The best way to do that is already done when you received what He did for you on the cross.  Doing that, you allowed Him to become your Lord and Savior. Hmmmm. That's right, YESHUA, the Lord our Salvation.  That is why you were created, that He might dwell in your heart and soul, so that He could make you an eternal being that He could live and love through.  In the Book of Revelations, Jesus said this to the church that was Laodicea, in Chapter 3, verse 20;

                         "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if ANYONE hears My voice and
                         opens the door, I will come in to him, and dine with him and he with Me."

Jesus knocks at our heart's door.  Before Jesus died on the cross, no human was ever able to open that door.  The Holy Spirit of God filled the whole universe and beyond.  The Light of God was everywhere except in the souls of man.  Man's heart was void of that Light and Life.  When Jesus died on the cross,  He broke that veil between man and God, as symbolized when, at Jesus death, the veil in the temple in Jerusalem was torn in half.  That veil in the temple separated man from the Holy of Holies that was behind the veil.  Before Jesus death, no man could ever come into the presence of God, only the High Priest could after the Passover sacrifice. 

When Jesus died on the cross, becoming the Passover sacrifice, you could say He unlocked the heart's door of EVERY human being.  He didn't open the doors and barge in, but He made it now possible for ANYONE, who wanted to, to be able to open up their hearts door and welcome Him in.  That door can only be opened from the inside. This is how we love the Lord Our God with all our heart. We respond to His knocking and welcome Him in, and let Him be the guiding LORD of our lives.  In return He gives you His Light and Eternal Life.  We become a New Creation.

We love The Lord Our God with all our mind when we make a decision in our minds that yields to the Spirit in us over what our flesh desires to do that is contrary to SELFLESSNESS, denying the flesh.  Our Spirit has power over our flesh, but we have to yield to it's power.  Jesus said to His disciples this in Mathews gospel, Chapter 26, verse 41;

                        " Keep watching and praying, that you may not enter into temptation; the
                        spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

The apostle Paul gave us another example on how to love the Lord our God with all our mind when he wrote this in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 10: 3-5;

                         "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for
                         the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for
                         the destruction of fortresses.  We are destroying speculations and every
                         lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God and we are taking every
                         thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
,
As you read the New Testament, you will learn more about Jesus and His Ways.  The Spirit will always be on the side of His Ways.  The flesh is that dirty part of us that we use to walk in when we lived in darkness.  We responded to the ways of darkness, because we had no power over it.  Now we do, because we have the very Spirit of God now living in us.  Although we have an adversary, Satan, who knows all our weakness and tries to get us to respond to our OLD WAYS of darkness, according to the fleshes desires, we now have the ability to resist those desires through the power of JESUS in us as He brings to our remembrance the things that He has spoken.

The apostle John wrote this in his first letter, Chapter 4, verse 4;

                       "You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because
                       GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, than he who is in the world."

Now, how do we love our neighbor as ourselves?  Are we suppose to love ourselves?  Isn't that being selfish?  Not at all.  We love ourselves enough to nourish our bodies to keep us healthy.  That is a good thing.  We sleep to rest our bodies to stay healthy.  That is a good thing.  We keep our bodies cleaned as to not be offensive to others.  That is a good thing.  We try to keep ourselves from undue harm.  That is a good thing.  We hydrate ourselves to keep us from dehydrating.  That is a good thing.

We love ourselves enough to take care of ourselves.  Jesus is telling  us to love others in the same way you love yourselves.  Be willing to take care of you neighbor in the same way you take care of yourself.  I know, who is my neighbor?  In Luke's Gospel, Chapter 10, verses 25-37, Jesus addressed this very question;

                         " And behold, a certain lawyer in the law stood up and put Jesus to the test,
                         saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?' And Jesus said to
                         him, 'What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?' And he answered
                         and said, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
                         your soul and with all your strength, and all your mind; And your neighbor
                         yourself.' And Jesus said to him, 'You have answered correctly; Do this and you
                         will live.'  But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, 'And who is my
                         neighbor?'  Jesus replied and said, 'A certain man was going down from
                         Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and
                         beat him, and went off leaving him for dead. "And by chance a certain priest
                         was going down on the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other
                         side.  And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him,
                         passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey,
                         came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him,
                         and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him
                         on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on
                         the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said,
                         'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay
                         you.'  Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man
                         who fell into the robbers hand? And he said, 'The one who showed mercy
                         toward him',  Jesus responded,  Go and do the same."

We will learn coming up in this series, how loving your neighbor as yourself is also loving the Lord your God.

May the peace of the Living God, Jesus, rest with you.

As A Jesus Filled Believer, What Is Desired Of Us?

I am going to do a 8 Part series on , "What is expected of us as a Jesus filled believer(Saint)?" It may sound like a lot of requirements, but you will see that all 7 parts blend into one heart.  Jesus does the work.  All we have to do is let Him.  The Spirit in you can do all of it very easily.  All we have to do is get our flesh out of the way.  We overcame the flesh by putting it to death on the cross.  We all have power over our flesh.  It is a battle that goes on in our minds.  Our Spirit meets and battles the flesh in our minds.  The mind is the boxing ring.  The Spirit wins when the result of what we decide to do is SelfLESS.  The flesh wins when the result of what we decide to do is SelfISH.  We have power over the flesh until we make a decision to yield to it.  That is as easy as it is.

Paul wrote this to the Galatians in Chapter 5, verses 24-25;

                        "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it's
                        passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."

And this to the Galatians in Chapter 2, verse 20;

                         "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
                         Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith
                         in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me."

And again Paul wrote this to the Romans in Chapter 6, verses 5-6;

                          "For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death,
                          certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing
                          this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might
                          be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

So if we are now dead in the flesh and alive in the Spirit, we have power over the flesh.  The flesh is what sins.  All of us, when we are born into this world, are all born of the flesh and sin.  The sin is what makes the flesh act out in selfishness.  Sin basically is selfishness.  That which is not of faith is sin.  Faith is trusting Jesus.  If we trust that Jesus is in control, then we are selfless when we yield to Him over giving in to our own fleshly desires.  When we  choose to give into the flesh and our desires over His way, we are being selfish and yielding to the flesh.  We can always know which one we are yielding to, the Spirit or the flesh, and that decision is made in our minds. 

This will all be painless. The purpose is to keep you free.  You can already do what the Spirit(JESUS) desires, by just doing what is selfless.  I think we all know what that means.  What I will do is show you what that selflessness involves and what Jesus wants to do through you.  You are Jesus to the world.

This is what will be covered in this series.

(Part 1)  What Commands Did Jesus Give Us?

(Part 2)  What Does Jesus Teach Us About Praying?

(Part 3)  What Makes Us A Good Servant Of Jesus?

(Part 4)  What Does Giving Look Like?

(Part 5)  What Does Bearing Fruit Mean?

(Part 6)  What Are The Gifts Of The Spirit?

(Part 7)  How Do We Love?

(Part 8)  The Ultimate Act Of Selflessness.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Who Is This Spirit In Us? (Part 2)

2nd Corinthians, Chapter 13, verse 5

                     "Test yourselves to see if you are of the fail; examine yourselves! Or do you
                     not recognize this about yourselves, that JESUS CHRIST is in you--unless
                     you FAIL THE TEST?"

Again I say notice, EXAMINE YOURSELVES! With Paul writing a sentence containing one of the few explanation points in the bible, it is something we must take notice of.  Paul wrote this so that you would know who Jesus is and who this Holy Spirit is that you have been baptized with, born again with, and filled with.  The God of the universe, who is the Holy Spirit, desired to be referred to as Yeshua (Jesus) The Lord Our Salvation.  The Profit Isaiah wrote this in his 45th Chapter, verses 21-23;

                       "...And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a SAVIOR;
                       There is none except Me. Turn to Me, and be SAVED, all the ends of the earth;
                       For I AM God and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has
                       gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to
                       Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance."

Philippians Chapter 2, verses 10-11, Paul wrote;

                       "...that at the name of JESUS every knee shall bow, of those who are in
                       heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should
                       confess the JESUS CHRIST is LORD, to the glory of God the Father."

Isaiah Chapter 44, verse 6.... GOD who is the HOLY SPIRIT said;

                       "Thus says the LORD, the KING of Israel, And his REDEEMER, the LORD
                       of hosts; I AM the FIRST and I AM  the LAST, and there is no GOD besides
                       Me.

Revelations Chapter 1, verses 17-18.....Jesus said;

                        ...."Do not be afraid; I AM the FIRST and the LAST, and the LIVING ONE,
                       and I was dead, and behold, I AM alive forever more, and I have the keys to
                       to death and Hades."

And in Revelations Chapter 2, verse 8.... Jesus said to the church in Smyna referring to Himself;

                       "The FIRST and the LAST, who was dead, and has come to LIFE, says this:"

Ephesians 4, verses 4-6, Paul wrote;

                       "There is one body and ONE SPIRIT, just as also you were called in one hope
                       of your calling; ONE LORD, one faith,  ONE BAPTISM, ONE GOD and
                       FATHER of all who is over all and through all and IN all."

Remember the first commandment;

                       "I am the LORD your GOD, you shall have no other gods before you."

If there is ONE SPIRIT, and GOD is SPIRIT, then GOD is the HOLY SPIRIT

If GOD is LORD, then the LORD is the HOLY SPIRIT

If there is ONE LORD who is GOD

And  JESUS is LORD, then JESUS is GOD

If  the ONLY GOD is the ONLY SAVIOR and JESUS is the SAVIOR, then JESUS is GOD

If God is the HOLY SPIRIT, and the HOLY SPIRIT Fathered JESUS, then the HOLY SPIRIT is the FATHER

If there is ONE SPIRIT, the HOLY SPIRIT, that we have been born of and baptized with through the death and resurrection of JESUS and ONE GOD and FATHER who is in all, and GOD is the LORD, and the LORD is the HOLY SPIRIT, and the LORD your GOD and Father is the HOLY SPIRIT, then JESUS IS LORD and the HOLY SPIRIT.

Understanding who Jesus is, is how these 4 verses would make sense.

Isaiah Chapter 9, verse 6;

                        "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the
                        government will rest on HIS shoulders; And HIS Name shall be called
                        Wonderful, Counselor, MIGHTY GOD, ETERNAL FATHER, Prince
                        of Peace."

John Chapter 14, verse 6-9;

                         "I AM the Way, the TRUTH and the LIFE, no one comes to the FATHER,
                         but through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known my
                         Father also, from now on you know Him and have seen Him.  Philip said
                         to Him, 'Lord show\ us the Father, and it is enough for us'. Jesus said to him,
                         Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me Philip.
                         HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER.; How do you say,
                         'Show us the Father'?"

John Chapter 10, verse 30;

                         "I and the FATHER are ONE."

In Deuteronomy, Chapter 6, verse 4.... Moses said;

                         "Hear, O Israel! LORD our GOD, the LORD is ONE!

If you notice, these are two more of the few statements in scripture that contain explanation points.  If the LORD our GOD is ONE, and JESUS and the FATHER are ONE, then they together are GOD.  If GOD is the HOLY SPIRIT, then they together are the HOLY SPIRIT.  Jesus explains this as He continues His conversation with the disciples in John's gospel.

In John 14, verse 18, Jesus tells His disciples;

                         "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

If Jesus is not going to leave them as orphans, then Jesus is their parent, a FATHER who will come back to them.

In John 14, verses 19- 20, Jesus tells them;

                         "After a little while the world will behold Me no more, but you will behold
                         Me; because I live, you shall live also.  In that day you shall know that I AM
                         in My FATHER, and you in Me, and I in you."

Jesus is telling them that He would not be here on the earth too much longer and the world will not see Him anymore.  He was telling them that because He will overcome death and live, they will live also.  They are already alive, so what is this new "live"?  They will receive this new "live" when they receive the sacrifice He is about to make on their behalf, to give them eternal life.  He will put a New Life in their souls.  They will have a second "live" that has been born of the HOLY SPIRIT.  Thus the phrases, born again, born of above and born of the SPIRIT.  When Jesus returns as the HOLY SPIRIT and a FATHER,  He will put a piece of His Spirit, the very LIGHT of GOD Himself in the soul of ANYONE who will acknowledge Him as LORD, accept the sacrifice He made, and invite Him into their souls.  This is why the soul was created.  The soul is an egg that when being fertilized by the light of the HOLY SPIRIT, for HE is LIGHT, will become a NEW CREATION born of the Spirit.  When this occurs a new believer(saint) will then know that JESUS is in the FATHER and the believer(saint) is in JESUS, and JESUS in them.

Jesus said this in John Chapter 14, verse 10;

                        "Do you not know that I AM in the FATHER and that the FATHER is in Me?

In John 14,verse 23 Jesus goes on to tell them;

                         "If ANYONE loves Me, he will keep my word; and my Father will love him,
                         and WE will come to him and make OUR abode with him."

The WE is the FATHER and JESUS.  The OUR are the FATHER and JESUS.  The abode is where they will live and that will be in the soul of the believer(saints).

Remember, in verses 16 and 17 Jesus said you will receive a Helper, the SPIRIT of TRUTH, that will be IN YOU.  We just learned that this will be the FATHER and JESUS.

In John Chapter 14, verse 26, Jesus says who this Helper is:

                         "But the HELPER, the HOLY SPIRIT, whom the FATHER will send in
                         My name, (JESUS), He will teach you all things, and bring to your
                         remembrance all that I (JESUS) said to you"

So if you notice that the HOLY SPIRIT comes having the name JESUS and that the HOLY SPIRIT is referred to as HE, singular, then this is in agreement that JESUS and the FATHER are ONE.  Both of them together are JESUS(YESHUA) meaning THE LORD OUR SALVATION in Hebrew.

I am about to put this all together in a summation that I hope will make all this make sense.  It starts off with what Jesus told His disciples in John Chapter 16, verse 7;

                         "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do
                         not go away, the HELPER shall not come to you, but if I go, I will send
                         HIM to you."

If JESUS is not the HELPER, who is the HOLY SPIRIT, then why would JESUS have to go away before He could send the HELPER.  It only makes sense that Jesus had to loose the fleshly part of Himself, His earthly body, because Jesus said that flesh and blood can not enter the Kingdom of God, the spiritual realm.  For JESUS to be able to send the HELPER, who He is part of Himself, He would have to die, rise from the dead, in the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, ascend in to heaven, shedding His earthly body, like we will also at the resurrection.  Why didn't the Father, who is the HOLY SPIRIT, just come HIMSELF? The reason is because the part of the HOLY SPIRIT that understood the suffering, the pain, the sorrow, the struggles of humanity, was the part of the HOLY SPIRIT that was JESUS.  Before the HOLY SPIRIT came into this physical realm, He existed in the heavenly realm where there has never been any pain, sorrow, suffering, struggles, and no tears.  How could the HOLY SPIRIT be a comforter unless He had experienced humanity?  That is one of the reasons He came here Himself and why that part of Him, JESUS, had to return with that experience to really be able to be a HELPER and a the COMFORTER.

Jesus told His disciples this in John Chapter 15, verse 26;

                        "When the HELPER comes, whom I will send to you from the FATHER,
                        that is the SPIRIT of TRUTH, who proceeds from the FATHER, He will bear
                        witness of ME."

He is saying that when a believer (saint) is indwelt by this HELPER, HOLY SPIRIT, that this HELPER will reveal to the believer (saint) who JESUS is. So who is JESUS?

This is the order of what happened from before the earth to the present.


The LORD our GOD existed as the HOLY SPIRIT, before the earth existed.

The LORD being a Spirit had no visible existence.

The LORD GOD created Angels who had a visible existence.

One third of the Angels rebelled and followed after the most beautiful angels, Lucifer, who they could see.

The Angels who rebelled were cast as fallen and rename demons.

The LORD formed a plan before the earth was formed, "The Lamb was slain before the foundation of the world" Revelations Chapter 13, verse 8

The LORD GOD had a two fold purpose and maybe a third.

1st) To make a visible Spiritual Body for Himself, so that the angels could behold Him in all His Glory.

2nd) He wants to create a NEW CREATION, in His glorified likeness. Colossians Chapter 3, verse 4;

                        "When Christ Jesus, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be
                        revealed with Him in glory."

This NEW CREATION will be different than the angels and above the angels, because they chose to be create anew when they accepted the sacrifice that JESUS made for them on the cross.  Unlike the angels who were just spoken into existence by the word of GOD.  I don't think they understood the nature of God, or one third of them would probably never have rebelled.  In the plan that the LORD your GOD came up with, He would show His true nature, by doing Himself the most remarkable act of LOVE imaginable.  God, who is LOVE, will prove He is LOVE and WHOSOEVER will chose Him for that act of LOVE, He will make a NEW CREATION that will have everlasting life.  They will be a CREATION, made from HIS LOVE, that will NEVER rebel against such a LORD and SAVIOR.

 3rd possible reason) The LORD your GOD wanted to know that the two thirds of the angels, that had not rebelled, didn't do so out of fear of the consequence of, receiving the same fate as the fallen angels.  By what He was planning to do would show them His nature and LOVE and assure them that they had made the right decision.

The LORD your GOD therefore created the Earth and put Adam and Eve on it with an eternal life existence.  They were given one command, " Do not eat from the tree of good and evil, on the day that you do, you will surely die."  They both did eat and on that day they continued to live, or did they? Something about them died.  It was the part of them that had eternal life.  The eternal life that was in their souls was now dead. They now had empty, dark souls. Their souls were now void of the life of God.  Because of their disobedience, the Lord your God now had the mechanism in place by which there could now come into existence human beings with empty souls, void of life, that could now have the ability to get that ETENAL LIFE back by choosing what He will do for them on the cross.  People that would choose Him for His act of LOVE, dying that they might live.  It was not just a man dying for them, it was the LORD your GOD dying for you.

So:

The Lord GOD, the LIGHT of the Universe, the HOLY SPIRIT, put a piece of His SPIRIT, LIGHT, in the virgin Mary, by which she conceived a child that would be call YESHUA, JESUS, because He would be a SAVIOR.  JESUS was not conceived by the seed of a fallen man, but by the seed, LIGHT, very essence of the LIVING GOD Himself.  John wrote this in his gospel, Chapter 1, verses 9-13;

                         "There was the true light, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
                         he was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world
                         did not know Him.   He came to His own, and those who were His own did
                         not receive Him.  But as many as would receive Him, to them He gave the
                         right to become the children of God, even to those who believe IN HIS
                         NAME, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of GOD."

The HOLY SPIRITS body, JESUS, is filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, FATHER..  In Luke's gospel, Chapter 3, verses 21-22, he wrote;

                         "Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was
                         baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit
                         descended upon Him like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "Thou art
                         My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased."

JESUS, the body of the HOLY SPIRIT, filled with the HOLY SPIRIT, the FATHER, would perform so many remarkable, supernatural miracles, that John ended his gospel with this in his 21st Chapter, verse 25;

                         "And there are also so many other things that Jesus did, which if they were
                         written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the
                         the books that were written."

The LORD GOD, the HOLY SPIRIT, was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to Himself, as described by Paul in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 5, verses 17-21;

                         "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION; the old things
                         have passed away; behold new things have come. Now all things are from
                         God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry
                         of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world
                         to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed
                         to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ
                         Jesus, as through God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of
                         Christ Jesus, be reconciled to God.  He made Him, JESUS, who knew no sin
                         to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"

JESUS, the LAMB of GOD, goes to the cross, to become sin, so sin would die with Him on the cross.

JESUS goes into the grave and while He is there buries the sin that He became, taking victory over sin and death.  Leaving the sin buried, Jesus then raises from the dead with the resurrection power of the HOLY SPIRIT.  Now having a resurrected body, JESUS, was another forty days on the earth and then ascended into heaven.

JESUS goes into Heaven, and now having a spiritual glorified body, can now join back up with the HOLY SPIRIT, FATHER.  Doing so, JESUS brings into the HOLY SPIRIT the experience of humanity in which the HOLY SPIRIT could now be the Comforter and HELPER to all those who will choose Him for what He did on the cross, allowing them to become a NEW CREATION.

Look at it this way.

The LORD our GOD, the LIGHT, put a drop of HIS LIGHT in Mary, that drop of LIGHT became a man.  At this Man's death, burial and resurrection, He became a drop of Light  again.  The drop of Light goes back up with a programed hard drive, and joins together as ONE with the LIGHT, bringing the knowledge of interacting with humans and their weaknesses and how to draw them to the LIGHT, TRUTH.  Then  the LIGHT, the ONE LORD GOD, the HOLY SPIRIT, who ARE YESHUA, JESUS, returns back to indwell ALL those who would believe, becoming their HELPER in teaching them the TRUTH of who JESUS is and how to live as a NEW CREATION.

In completing this teaching, I want to leave you with one of the most hidden nuggets in scripture.  I have been walking with YESHUA for 42 years on October 20th, my second birthday.  I have read the book of Acts many times and just found this nugget around three years ago.  It could easily go unnoticed, but I thank JESUS for allowing me to see this.  I think Jesus has been faithful in showing me things that help to teach my fellow believers(saints) exactly who He is and helping them to grow in knowing more about Him and His true nature, because He knows this is my passion and desire. This way they would have no confusion in who the Spirit is that is indwelling them, so that when they "Examine themselves!", they will not fail the test, knowing that they are indwelt with JESUS being IN THEM, their hope of Glory.

To have had the chance to find this nugget, you would have had to persevere through the book of Acts and made it to Chapter 20, verse 28, where Paul writes this;

                         "Be on you guard for yourselves and for ALL the flock, among which
                         the HOLY SPIRIT has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of
                         God which He purchased with HIS OWN BLOOD."

We have been purchased with the HOLY SPIRIT'S very own blood. 

Thank you Jesus!

I hope this helped you to grow in the grace and knowledge of the LORD, JESUS.

May the Prince of Peace guard your minds and soul.  Peace to you.