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Overcoming the fear
of man. Overcoming the desire for more and more
things.
God is
real! God is good! He loves us! We are constantly
in His thoughts. He continually helps us. He will
greatly reward those who faithfully serve Him!
What keeps us from serving Him the way we should,
and getting the best possible reward in the World
To Come? Several things, including the fear of
man and the desire for too many material things.
Yeshua
was and is the Messiah, and the eternal Son of
God. Sadly, He was like a good root in parched,
dry ground. Israel was spiritually dry - far from
really understanding God’s truth, far from God
Himself. Even though He did unprecedented miracles,
and gave the greatest teachings, the opposition
was intensifying against Yeshua - particularly
opposition from the religious leadership.
What tragic
error! How sad! Religious leaders are so very
important. Good shepherds are so beneficial to
a nation. False shepherds are so terribly destructive.
In an
anti-God, anti-Messiah, demonically controlled
world, it is easy to be intimated by these false
leaders into a compromised silence. We must not
yield to false religious teachers or their intimidations!
We must boldly oppose them, and speak the truth
- like Yeshua did!
Even though
the majority of the leadership of the Jewish people
led us astray from truth, from God, from Messiah
(and the majority of the population followed those
religious leaders), Yeshua was still very popular
among many Israelis. Luke tells us that in this
instance, a huge crowd was with Messiah.
Under
these circumstances, after so many thousands of
people had gathered together that they were stepping
on one another (it was really crowded! Lots
and lots of people who wanted to be close to the
Rabbi!), He began saying to His disciples first
of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,
which is hypocrisy.
The Pharisees
were the spiritual ancestors of Orthodox Judaism.
The Pharisees exerted a lot of spiritual influence
among many of the Jewish people. There were some
good things about the Pharisees, but there were
also some very serious problems with their faith
and theology and understanding of the Bible, and
their practice. Messiah, who was and is so wise,
was able to discern what was really going on with
them. He knew that there were serious problems
with them - serious enough that He felt it necessary
to warn the public about them! He called them
out by name. Specifically, they were guilty of
hypocrisy - saying one thing but doing other things.
I am sure
that the Pharisees were furious with Yeshua’s
public criticism. It took courage for the young
Rabbi to publically criticize them. Now, He called
on all of His followers to have the same kind
of boldness and courage.
But
there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed,
and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly,
whatever you have said in the dark will be heard
in the light, and what you have whispered in the
inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Truth
will be revealed! Truth about our real motives,
truth about the inner reality that is at the core
of our being. Reality will be manifested. Religious
hypocrites will be exposed one day! The truth
about God, about Messiah, about the Good News
will be made clear to the entire universe!
Live like
that now! Don’t be afraid to correct those who
are in error, and to boldly speak the truth! Tell
people about God, about the wonderful resurrected
and living Messiah; the possibility of salvation;
the Day of Judgment; the reality of Heaven to
be gained; the terror of Hell that is to be avoided!
If you do, you will encounter opposition! There
will be attempts to silence you and your testimony!
Don’t be intimidated! Don’t be afraid!
I say
to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those
who kill the body and after that have no more
that they can do.
Don’t
be afraid of human beings, because the worst they
can do is kill us, and what is that to us?! We
have to die anyway, and if we die and if we are
right with God, and if we are serving the Lord,
death for us is nothing! In fact, it is something
positive - the beginning of a better kind of life
- eternal and greatly blessed! Do you believe
that?
Don’t
be afraid of human beings who are limited in power
and authority and the harm they can cause. But,
Messiah tells us, there is Someone that every
human being should be very afraid about offending.
But
I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who,
after He has killed, has authority to cast into
hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!
Don’t
be afraid of the God-opposers, the Messiah-deniers
killing you. Know that He is very much aware of
each one of His precious sons and daughters. Know
that You are not alone.
Are
not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not
one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the
very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not
fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
The Creator
knows every little bird on planet Earth! He knows
each one of their lives. He knows when each one
dies. He provides for their needs. God knows each
one of His children personally and intimately
and in great detail.
Knowing
that we have the Supreme Being on our side, and
that we are very valuable to Him, should comfort
each one of us, no matter how difficult the opposition
becomes. The Lord knows The Lord cares! The Lord
is in charge! The Lord will help us accomplish
our mission! Knowing this, we can endure the worst
man can do to us!
And
I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before
men, the Son of Man will confess him also before
the angels of God; but he who denies Me before
men will be denied before the angels of God.
People
will tell you that is it not important what you
believe. They are wrong! Not only what you believe
is extremely important, but also what you say
is vitally important!
People
will tell you that as long as you are good (good
being defined by low human standards, not God’s
perfect standards), that is enough. They are wrong!
People will tell you that as long as you believe
that there is one God, that is enough. But, they
are wrong! Terribly, terribly wrong! The truth
is that believing in God the Father is not enough!
Since
the sending of the Son into the world, the Messiah
must be known; not only known, but believed in
and trusted in; and not only known and trusted,
but also publically and unashamedly confessed!
The right
words about the Messiah are part of salvation!
But, what about bad words directed to the Messiah?
Do they automatically result in damnation? The
answer is no.
At first,
people might not know or understand that Yeshua
of Nazareth is the Messiah. They might speak or
act in ignorance regarding Him.
And
everyone who speaks a word against the Son of
Man, it will be forgiven him; Ignorance, when
replaced by knowledge and faith and confession,
is forgivable. “Father forgive them - they don’t
know what they are doing”. But, there is another
kind of bad speaking against the divine that is
not forgivable. But he who blasphemes against
the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.
Speaking bad words against the Holy Spirit
means seeing a very clear demonstration of the
power of God at work, and speaking against it
- saying that it is not of God, but comes from
evil. Some of the leaders came close to this when
they saw Yeshua remove demons from people, and
claimed that He was not being used by God, but
by the Devil. Something so good was declared to
be pure evil! There is no redemption from that.
When a
person, maybe a religion, sees God at work in
the life of a Christian, a Messianic Jew, maybe
a whole community who are doing good, and filled
with the Spirit, and declares that individual,
that community, to be not of God, but something
demonic - that person, that religion, may become
guilty of blasphemy, speaking lies, untruths,
slander against the Holy Spirit.
Boldly,
courageously speak the truth to everyone, even
to the powerful, and even if you are on trial
for your life! Don’t be afraid and don’t even
worry!
When
they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers
and the authorities, do not worry about how or
what you are to speak in your defense, or what
you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach
you in that very hour what you ought to say."
If we
have the Son, we have the Father. If we have the
Son, we have the Spirit, and the Spirit has us!
The Spirit knows our needs, and can and will help
us in every situation. He will give us the wisdom
we need, the words we need, to face the opposition
with wisdom, grace and courage - like the Spirit
did for Yeshua. How fantastic is that? What an
Ally! What a Friend!
Yielding
to the fear of man will keep us from serving God
the way we should and getting the best possible
rewards. So will the desire for wealth while we
are here on Earth.
Someone
in the crowd said to Him, "Rabbi, tell my
brother to divide the family inheritance with
me." But He said to him, "Man, who appointed
Me a judge or arbitrator over you?"
God the
Father has appointed Yeshua the Judge and Arbitrator
over all of humanity - but at His Second Coming
- not during His First Coming.
Greed
can ruin families. Maybe you know of a family
that has been destroyed because of greed over
an inheritance. This request to have Him arbitrate
a dispute in a family over an inheritance led
Rabbi Yeshua to teach on the danger of greed.
Then
He said to them, "Beware, and be on your
guard against every form of greed; for not even
when one has an abundance does his life consist
of his possessions."
The world
views the accumulation of wealth as the premier
way to measure success. But, a successful life
is not about money. A good life is not about things.
A meaningful life is not about possessions. For
us living in a declining economy, that’s encouraging!
True and
lasting success is about getting right with the
Three-In-One God, and loving Him with the totality
of our being, and loving other human beings.
It is
smart to serve God and sacrificially love human
beings. It is foolish to pursue wealth here on
Earth. Here is one reason why: And He told
them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich
man was very productive. And he began reasoning
to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I
have no place to store my crops?' Then he said,
'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns
and build larger ones, and there I will store
all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my
soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up
for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink
and be merry."' But God said to him, 'You
fool! This very night your soul is required of
you; and now who will own what you have prepared?'
So is the man who stores up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God."
We don’t
know when we will die, so why pursue wealth that
we may never enjoy? Not only that, but someone
else may enjoy the fruits of our labors who may
not be very worthy. That makes no sense! Someone
may struggle and strive to gain wealth, and finally
get it, and then their life is over before they
can benefit from it. It makes much better sense
to pursue better rewards, rewards that will last
- rewards that come from wholeheartedly serving
God, serving people, speaking the truth, being
generous with things that advance God’s agenda
and help people.
Try to
keep your material desires to a minimum, and trust
the all knowing and the good God to meet the needs
of His valuable sons and daughters who love Him
and serve Him and have their priorities in order.
And
He said to His disciples, "For this reason
I say to you, do not worry about your life, as
to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to
what you will put on. For life is more than food,
and the body more than clothing.
Consider
the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they
have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds
them; how much more valuable you are than the
birds!
And
which of you by worrying can add a single hour
to his life's span? If then you cannot do even
a very little thing, why do you worry about other
matters?
Worrying
and obsessing about money and length of life is
useless since our ability to extend our life one
hour beyond God’s plan for our life is non-existent!
Consider
the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor
spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all
his glory clothed himself like one of these. But
if God so clothes the grass in the field, which
is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the
furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You
men of little faith!
And
do not seek what you will eat and what you will
drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these
things the nations of the world eagerly seek;
but your Father knows that you need these things.
Be different
from the people of the world who are fixated on
the comforts of this life. Our priorities must
be different from their worldly concerns.
But
seek His kingdom, and these things will be added
to you.
Here is
Messiah’s promise. If we make a priority to seek
God’s kingdom - His agenda, His goals, His priorities,
the Lord will meet our needs. What are you seeking?
God’s
people are a minority in this fallen world. Identify
with the godly minority. Be willing to go against
the worldly majority.
Do
not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has
chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
Know that
God the Father, the Good Shepherd loves His little
flock. He will be very generous to those human
beings who seek Him, who don’t seek more and more
money and things, who serve Him, who go against
the majority, who are willing to be part of the
little flock.
It doesn’t
make sense to make accumulation of wealth your
priority. Money and wealth is so easily lost in
so many ways. Seek the wealth that will last.
Sell
your possessions and give to charity. Rid
yourself of material possessions. The more you
do, the better off you will be; the greater the
reward you will have where it counts! Make
yourselves money belts which do not wear out,
an unfailing treasure in Heaven, where no thief
comes near nor moth destroys.
There
is a relationship between what we consider to
be precious, and what motivates us at the core
of our being. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also. Have faith in God,
in Heaven, in the knowledge that He will greatly
reward those who love and boldly serve Him! Focus
your thoughts on the eternal and praiseworthy
rewards that will be yours when you are in Heaven.
What is
really important to you? What do you treasure?
Whatever it is, that will be the motivating force
in your life. May it be God and His Kingdom, and
the desire to please and serve Him and not yourself
and not the world. And, may you receive a very
great and eternal reward!
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