Post by iris89 on Jun 20, 2007 10:38:37 GMT -5
Continue Following Jesus (Yeshua): [r]
INTRODUCTION:
Jesus (Yeshua) before his execution prayed to his heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH) at John 17:1-5, “These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the son may glorify thee: 2 even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life. 3 And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (American Standard Version; ASV).
Now after his execution and subsequent resurrection on the third day after his resurrection recorded at Acts 10:38-40, “even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree. 40 Him God raised up the third day, and gave him to be made manifest,” (ASV), and now he is about to ascend to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) and his apostles and close friends are with him on the Mount of Olives and he begins to rise from the earth, he gives some kind parting words at Acts 1:6-12, “They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority. 8 But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey off.” (ASV).
Now his followers are reminded by two angels at Acts 1:10-11, “And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.” (ASV), that he will return and they have work at hand.
The words that Jesus (Yeshua) spoke to the apostle Peter recorded at John 21:22, “Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.” (ASV), come into play.
JESUS (YESHUA) INDICATED, CONTINUE FOLLOWING ME:
We all need to obey the command that Jesus (Yeshua) gave to the Apostle Peter of continuing to follow him.
Upon Jesus (Yeshua) return to heaven, he presented to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) the value of his ransom sacrifice per Hebrews 9:11-12 and 24, “But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.” (ASV), and “For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:” (ASV).
Now did his heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH) accept it? This was shortly positively answered by the events that occurred a few days after his ascension. About 120 Christians were meeting in Jerusalem in an upstairs room when, Acts 2:1-4, “And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (ASV). This event signified the birth of a new nation as shown by 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (ASV) which was Almighty God’s (YHWH’s) creation of a new ‘chosen race’ as a replacement as his chosen people in place of the ancient nation of Israel.
Clearly Almighty God (YHWH) had approved of Jesus (Yeshua) sacrifice as shown by the birth of this new chosen nation; therefore, we should continue to follow Jesus (Yeshua) daily so we can have a bright hope for the future per John 3:16, “And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (ASV).
Why should we do this? Clearly Jesus (Yeshua) since his ascension to heaven after his resurrection by his heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH), he has been given very great authority per Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.” (ASV). How so? His heavenly Father has appointed him to rule over the genuine (true) Christian congregation per Colossians 1:13, “who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;” (ASV). To this end, he chose the apostle Paul to be an apostle to the nations charged with spreading the good news far and wide per Romans 11:13, “But I speak to you that are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;” (ASV); and 1 Timothy 2:7, “whereunto I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth, I lie not), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” (ASV). Jesus (Yeshua) thus is Head of the Genuine (true) Christian congregation as shown by Ephesians 5:23, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.” (ASV); and 1 Corinthians 11:3, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” (ASV).
Later, Jesus (Yeshua) was granted even more authority as shown by John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” (ASV); and Matthew 24:3-7, “And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places.” (ASV).
In fact 1 Corinthians 15:22-28 clearly show that Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH), gave him authority over all except himself for a period of time, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.” (ASV). Therefore it is vital that we take our stand on the side of Jesus (Yeshua), the Messianic King.
BRING YOURSELF IN HARMONY WITH JESUS (YESHUA):
Now the big question is what will help to bring your thinking into harmony with Christ? Let’s consider, 1 Corinthians 2:13-16, “Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words. 14 Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (ASV).
And, In what way do you intend to follow Christ more closely? This should be considered by all, and 1 Peter 2:21, says, “For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps:” (ASV). Remember Jesus (Yeshua) like his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) is by nature happy, he is for sure most unhappy, angry if you will, over all those false religious organizations that falsely claim to represent him. Jesus (Yeshua) showed this anger once when he was about to heal a man and looked at all the religious leaders around him with indignation due to the insensibility of their hearts as shown at Mark 3:1-5, "And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had his hand withered. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored.” (ASV).
Without doubt, Jesus (Yeshua), today he is thoroughly grieved by the religious leaders of Christendom who are blindly devoted to their traditions and doctrines which are not in agreement with the scriptures. In fact, in many parts of the world, the religious leaders, like those of ancient Jerusalem, also, persecute Jesus (Yeshua) followers. This was foretold at John 16:2-3, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God. 3 And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me." (ASV), and this has proved to be the case.
JESUS (YESHUA) IS PLEASED WITH THOSE WHO ENDURE:
The big question is how will you avoid the danger of cooling off in your love for Jesus (Yeshua)? As Revelation 3:14-18 show we must remain firm and not cool off, “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.” (ASV).
In order to do so, we must follow Jesus (Yeshua) example and share the good news with all sorts of people in keeping with 1 Timothy 2:4, “who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.”(ASV). As Matthew 24:13 says, “But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” (ASV). So be sure to keep in mind Jesus (Yeshua) comment at John 21:19, “Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” (ASV).
CONCLUSION:
Now the question all should ask themselves is, how can you show that you really want Christ to rule over the earth in the near future? And as Revelation 22:17 and 20, say, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” And “He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.”
To share in this wonderful blessing we must continue to imitate Jesus (Yeshua) and his Father, Almighty God (YHWH).
Your Friend in Christ Iris89
INTRODUCTION:
Jesus (Yeshua) before his execution prayed to his heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH) at John 17:1-5, “These things spake Jesus; and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that the son may glorify thee: 2 even as thou gavest him authority over all flesh, that to all whom thou hast given him, he should give eternal life. 3 And this is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God, and him whom thou didst send, even Jesus Christ. 4 I glorified thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which thou hast given me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (American Standard Version; ASV).
Now after his execution and subsequent resurrection on the third day after his resurrection recorded at Acts 10:38-40, “even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree. 40 Him God raised up the third day, and gave him to be made manifest,” (ASV), and now he is about to ascend to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) and his apostles and close friends are with him on the Mount of Olives and he begins to rise from the earth, he gives some kind parting words at Acts 1:6-12, “They therefore, when they were come together, asked him, saying, Lord, dost thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set within His own authority. 8 But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven. 12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey off.” (ASV).
Now his followers are reminded by two angels at Acts 1:10-11, “And while they were looking stedfastly into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 who also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.” (ASV), that he will return and they have work at hand.
The words that Jesus (Yeshua) spoke to the apostle Peter recorded at John 21:22, “Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me.” (ASV), come into play.
JESUS (YESHUA) INDICATED, CONTINUE FOLLOWING ME:
We all need to obey the command that Jesus (Yeshua) gave to the Apostle Peter of continuing to follow him.
Upon Jesus (Yeshua) return to heaven, he presented to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) the value of his ransom sacrifice per Hebrews 9:11-12 and 24, “But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption.” (ASV), and “For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:” (ASV).
Now did his heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH) accept it? This was shortly positively answered by the events that occurred a few days after his ascension. About 120 Christians were meeting in Jerusalem in an upstairs room when, Acts 2:1-4, “And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (ASV). This event signified the birth of a new nation as shown by 1 Peter 2:9, “But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:” (ASV) which was Almighty God’s (YHWH’s) creation of a new ‘chosen race’ as a replacement as his chosen people in place of the ancient nation of Israel.
Clearly Almighty God (YHWH) had approved of Jesus (Yeshua) sacrifice as shown by the birth of this new chosen nation; therefore, we should continue to follow Jesus (Yeshua) daily so we can have a bright hope for the future per John 3:16, “And by faith in his name hath his name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know: yea, the faith which is through him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.” (ASV).
Why should we do this? Clearly Jesus (Yeshua) since his ascension to heaven after his resurrection by his heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH), he has been given very great authority per Matthew 28:18, “And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.” (ASV). How so? His heavenly Father has appointed him to rule over the genuine (true) Christian congregation per Colossians 1:13, “who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love;” (ASV). To this end, he chose the apostle Paul to be an apostle to the nations charged with spreading the good news far and wide per Romans 11:13, “But I speak to you that are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I glorify my ministry;” (ASV); and 1 Timothy 2:7, “whereunto I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I speak the truth, I lie not), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.” (ASV). Jesus (Yeshua) thus is Head of the Genuine (true) Christian congregation as shown by Ephesians 5:23, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body.” (ASV); and 1 Corinthians 11:3, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” (ASV).
Later, Jesus (Yeshua) was granted even more authority as shown by John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” (ASV); and Matthew 24:3-7, “And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man lead you astray. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray. 6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in divers places.” (ASV).
In fact 1 Corinthians 15:22-28 clearly show that Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) heavenly Father, Almighty God (YHWH), gave him authority over all except himself for a period of time, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all.” (ASV). Therefore it is vital that we take our stand on the side of Jesus (Yeshua), the Messianic King.
BRING YOURSELF IN HARMONY WITH JESUS (YESHUA):
Now the big question is what will help to bring your thinking into harmony with Christ? Let’s consider, 1 Corinthians 2:13-16, “Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth; combining spiritual things with spiritual words. 14 Now the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually judged. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (ASV).
And, In what way do you intend to follow Christ more closely? This should be considered by all, and 1 Peter 2:21, says, “For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps:” (ASV). Remember Jesus (Yeshua) like his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) is by nature happy, he is for sure most unhappy, angry if you will, over all those false religious organizations that falsely claim to represent him. Jesus (Yeshua) showed this anger once when he was about to heal a man and looked at all the religious leaders around him with indignation due to the insensibility of their hearts as shown at Mark 3:1-5, "And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there who had his hand withered. 2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. 4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good, or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace. 5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and his hand was restored.” (ASV).
Without doubt, Jesus (Yeshua), today he is thoroughly grieved by the religious leaders of Christendom who are blindly devoted to their traditions and doctrines which are not in agreement with the scriptures. In fact, in many parts of the world, the religious leaders, like those of ancient Jerusalem, also, persecute Jesus (Yeshua) followers. This was foretold at John 16:2-3, “They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God. 3 And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me." (ASV), and this has proved to be the case.
JESUS (YESHUA) IS PLEASED WITH THOSE WHO ENDURE:
The big question is how will you avoid the danger of cooling off in your love for Jesus (Yeshua)? As Revelation 3:14-18 show we must remain firm and not cool off, “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.” (ASV).
In order to do so, we must follow Jesus (Yeshua) example and share the good news with all sorts of people in keeping with 1 Timothy 2:4, “who would have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth.”(ASV). As Matthew 24:13 says, “But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” (ASV). So be sure to keep in mind Jesus (Yeshua) comment at John 21:19, “Now this he spake, signifying by what manner of death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me.” (ASV).
CONCLUSION:
Now the question all should ask themselves is, how can you show that you really want Christ to rule over the earth in the near future? And as Revelation 22:17 and 20, say, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely.” And “He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.”
To share in this wonderful blessing we must continue to imitate Jesus (Yeshua) and his Father, Almighty God (YHWH).
Your Friend in Christ Iris89