Not of this World! Completing our Purpose as God intended it.
SHALOM friends and family in Christ!
The New Year has begun and I pray that God Blesses you all with hearts, minds, ears, and eyes open... truly open to what He desires for each and every one of you!
Psalm 37:4 - 5 (ESV)
Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act.
The desire of our heart should always be what the LORD desires of us. Not the things of this Earthly life, but with hearts and minds fixed on him... delighting in HIM... a full longing to complete the purposes and plans HE established for our lives even before we breathed our first breath.
Our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob... Who does not change, Who was and Who is and Who will ALWAYS be... knew that your life would be taking place RIGHT now, and knows the Plan that has established for each one of us.
Are we ready to allow Him to complete that work in us?
Are we willing?
Do we have a longing for it, or are we too nervous to fully commit?
We live in a broken world... and it is going in the wrong direction at a rapid pace.
This is a world that we should feel very alien in. But do we? Or have we become comfortable and just try to go with the flow? Complacent in our ever day lives.
Why is it even important or "a thing" to be uncomfortable in this world? Because we are not meant to be of this world, but only living in it to be a reflection of our Maker... to Image Him and to be HIS light in a world of darkness.
I have come to cherish Jesus's prayer in John 17 - spoken just prior to Jesus heading out with his disciples, across the brook Kidron (John 18:1) to the garden.
The night He would be taken to SAVE US ALL.
John 17 -
1 When Jesus had spoken these words, He lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify You, 2 since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified You on earth, having accomplished the work that You gave Me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify Me in your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.
6 “I have manifested Your name to the people whom You gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. 7 Now they know that everything that You have given Me is from You. 8 For I have given them the words that You gave Me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 All Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in Your name, which You have given Me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. 18 As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. 22 The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are One, 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know You, I know You, and these know that You have sent Me. 26 I made known to them Your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus prayed this prayer fully aware of the pain, torture and burden He would be taking on for the entire world and throughout time (past, present, future)...
He prays in verse 20 -"...for those who will believe in Me through their word" and continues on in verse 21 "...so that the WORLD may believe that You have sent Me." And continues this crucial message in verse 23 "... so that the WORLD MAY KNOW that YOU SENT ME and LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU LOVED ME."
Think about that for longer than a minute! How powerful that is... GOD loving us, the dust of the Earth, children who continually dis-obey and rebel against Him, creatures of habit and a false sense of control, sheep who have gone astray....
HE LOVED US even as HE LOVED HIS ONLY and UNIQUE SON... Yeshua - WHO LITERALLY KNEW NO SIN, Who was God in Flesh Form - HE LOVED US THAT MUCH!
This prayer in John 17, is very much tied back to the passage in John 3:16 - 21 (CJB):
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only and unique Son, so that everyone who trusts in Him may have eternal life, instead of being utterly destroyed. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but rather so that through him, the world might be saved. 18 Those who trust in Him are not judged; those who do not trust have been judged already, in that they have not trusted in the one who is God’s only and unique Son.
19 “Now this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness rather than the light. Why? Because their actions were wicked. 20 For everyone who does evil things hates the light and avoids it, so that his actions won’t be exposed. 21 But everyone who does what is true comes to the light, so that all may see that his actions are accomplished through God.”
As believers in Yeshua, and of the Most Holy One on High - we should be daily on our knees asking what we can do FOR HIM throughout our day, and how can we bring HIM JOY through our actions. More often than not, I feel (at least personally) I am asking HIM to fulfill needs in my life or in the lives of others... But how often are we checking in to see what we can do to make HIM smile... to fulfill HIS desires? Which should be our heart's desire if we truly delight in Him.
Again, in Yeshua's prayer in John 17:20 - He says... "...for those who will believe in Me through their word"
Are we proclaiming him through word and action as we go about our daily lives?
Do our daily lives put Him at front and center?
If we answer yes to this question - make a list of what your day typically looks like and give a percent to the time you spend on each activity... then answer this question again.
How are we expressing our belief and our oneness with Him on a regular basis?
In John 3:21 - "But everyone who does what is TRUE comes to the LIGHT, so that ALL MAY see that his ACTIONS are accomplished through GOD."
How does the world, or those individuals that we literally come across each and every day, see Christ living through us... how are they experiencing His Light and Love?
How do they know that we are walking in the TRUTH and that our actions are of and from God?
Let's go a step further and ask... how are those closest to us... our friends, spouses, children seeing GOD's light and love pouring out of us?
Please don't just read through the questions above... take a piece of paper and pen out and literally write down what your answer would be to each one...
We are ALL a work in progress, but our faith CANNOT STOP at our acceptance and repentance ... it is a LIFE change, it is a full submission to all that we once were and a metamorphosis into what HE had intended us to be.
John 3:17 tells us that Yeshua did not come into the world to judge but to save. This was so abundantly clear through His life, His words, His actions... Yeshua came and gave us the most PERFECT example of how we should live our lives to bring Glory to the Father. And after completing the mission that God bestowed upon Him, being the perfect sacrificial lamb for OUR SINS, defeating death, and rising again in triumph - He was once again reunited with the Father in Glory.
That being said... Let us take that to heart and reflect on it, as there will be a Day of "Reckoning" of "Judgement" that is to come, and He will require an account from each and every one of us to whom He has created and blessed with time on this Earth.
What will we be able to account for?
What have we done with the time He has allotted to us?
Have we been more focused on our desires or His?
Is our heart's desire - HIS WILL?
How did we set ourselves apart in this world and show others His Light?
Were we the representatives in this life that He had intended us to be?
If we don't think we will have to give an account... we should open up the Word -
Matthew 12:36 (ESV) -
I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak
Jeremiah 17:10 (ESV) -
"I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds."
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (ESV) -
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Matthew 12:37 (ESV) -
"For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Romans 2:16 (ESV) -
On that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
Romans 14:10-12 (ESV)-
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God; for it is written,
"As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God."
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Hebrews 4:13 (ESV) -
And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Hebrews 9:27 (ESV) -
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.
2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV) -
For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may receive was is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
1 Peter 4:5 (ESV) -
But they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Revelation 20:12 (ESV) -
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
As we move into this new and exciting year ahead, one that I'm sure will present time of joy along with times of trials and tribulations. I urge and challenge all of us to develop a desire for what His Will is in our lives. To seek Him out continuously, to know Him on a more intimate level and ask Him to direct our lives as HE PURPOSED THEM TO BE.
Let us not only be children of God - but let us strive to bring our Father JOY in ALL THAT WE DO!
Never for a moment think that your past has to define who you are going forward. That is the beauty of being saved, being "born again", becoming a "new creation" through Yeshua's sacrifice, through God's sacrifice. It's no longer who we were... but who He will mold us into if we allow Him full control (and let's face it... He is the only One in control!)
Once you have given your heart to Him in full submission, surrender and repentance - and seek out His Will for your life... nothing in your past will limit you or restrict you from His ultimate Plan for your life!
Closing Prayer...
Av Harachamim (Father of Compassion/Merciful Father) I pray that You enable us, through Your Spirit, to bring a year of hope and light and love to all those around us. To be the image You had intended for us to be upon creation ... Your Image, a shadow of the Most High to represent You and set ourselves apart from the world in which we live. This is not our home, but while we are residing here, please equip us, not only with the ability, but the desire to carry out YOUR WILL and what YOU intended for each and every one of us. We will one day stand before You and give an account for our time here... let us be able to approach You in humility and awe as we will kneel before You and our lives will be fully exposed to You, our Father, Redeemer and King.
I pray that we will come to know Your intent for our lives. I pray that our time is not wasted here, but rather, others are made aware of Your love, Your Sacrifice, Your Mercy, Your compassion by the profession we make and how we conduct every moment You allow us to have. Blessed are You, King of the Universe, Who provided a way of Salvation for us, Who loves us even when we stumble, Who sees our potential and not our past, Who is patient, loving and kind and Whose depth of knowledge and ways are beyond our comprehension. Blessed are you, our God, Our King.
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