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.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
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.
"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.
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