By Every Word

A Need For Understanding

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Nov 172010

Psalm 119:34
Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
KJV

In order for us to keep God’s commandments, we must have understanding. If we do not have understanding we cannot keep God’s laws. David stated here that if he had understanding he would keep the law and would observe it with his whole heart.

The problem is people do not observe God’s laws with their whole heart because many have already said in their heart that they cannot keep His commandments. This mentality is compounded by teachers, preachers, and pastors who instruct them grace was given to cover all their sins… and so they continue sinning willfully because they believe they’re not accountable anymore to uphold the law because of grace. God forbid.

Some believe it’s because the Spirit of God can now dwell inside of us that we’re able to keep God’s laws- but look at this.

John 8: 2-11
2. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
3. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4. They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6. This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11. She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
KJV

Jesus tells the woman to go and sin no more. Keep in mind the fulness of the Spirit of God dwelled in Jesus after He was baptized and no other miracles and wonders do you hear about. The Spirit of God did not dwell in man at this point… yet Jesus tells the woman to go and sin no more… evidently it was possible.

Do we mess up sometimes? Do we fall? Yes sometimes we do, but that is what repentance is for. Now hear me when I say this- write it down, tweet it, do whatever you want to do to document this… KINGDOM CITIZENS DO NOT SIN EVERY SINGLE DAY! I am so disgusted with teachers of the word saying this. When I hear a confessed believer saying this it reflects to me on their teacher… that is if they are consistent in assembling themselves together each week. Anyone who teaches this IS NOT teaching according to the word of God. I am not perfect by no means- but I’m going to do my very best to obey God’s laws.

Think about this. As of this writing I have been married for over 9 years going on 10. I love my wife so much! Now because I am married their are certain things that I cannot violate or it will impair, cripple, hurt, or destroy my marriage. Here are some examples of things that would violate the bond of our marriage.

Talking to other women flirtatiously
Going on a date with another woman
Sleeping with another woman
Talking on the phone with another woman for hours as if I was single
Lusting after another woman
Trying to get another woman’s phone number
Spending income as if I was single again without communication with my wife

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that are unacceptable behaviors once you are married. Now if I had a document with this on it and I had to carry it around constantly reminding myself throughout the day…

“Ok ok, let me make sure I don’t commit adultery today, I’ve got to make sure I don’t stare at any women today, I don’t want to ask another woman for her phone number today because after all I am married and this would make her mad.”

Even if I kept up with these laws of marriage throughout the day, my wife would not be very happy. Why? Because if I love her I shouldn’t have to remind myself day in and day out to stop myself from committing adultery. Imagine me coming home and saying everyday “I’m sorry I messed up today, but this sister was fine!

Yet, we do this very thing with God…

See God doesn’t want us having to constantly follow a set of laws routinely like this… It doesn’t mean anything, because we’re following the letter of the law. We’re going through a routine- there is nothing real behind it, there isn’t any passion behind what we’re doing. Remember without understanding you’re just following a list of “To-Dos”. Without purpose you have nothing to motivate the action- and you cannot keep anything without motivation.

My motivation to please my wife and keep our bond sacred is I love her with all of my heart and I will abolish anything in my life that would distance me from her. I don’t have to keep a list of “What to do and not to-dos” in order to do the right thing because my motivation is our relationship and the love I have for her.

God is the same way.

John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
KJV

We build on our relationship with God through time in prayer, reading and studying His word, praise and worship… Being obedient to His laws and commandments becomes natural because we don’t want to do anything to distance our self from Him. Now read this…

Hebrews 10:16
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
KJV

The pharisees problem was that they followed a list of 613 laws (the letter of the law) without having a true passion to please Him and to draw close to Him. (the spirit of the law)

I don’t have to remind myself not to hook up with someone else because I’m married- it’s automatic because I love my wife and I can’t let anything divide us.

I don’t have to remind myself not to steal something because God told me not to- it’s automatic kingdom culture because I love the Lord and I can’t let anything distance me from Him.

-For the Kingdom

Lord

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Nov 162010

Would you go to a lawyer for legal advice who didn’t understand the difference between interpreting the “spirit of the law” and the “letter of the law”?

Would you let someone cut your hair whose experience is primarily their 4 year old child’s?

What about having a health diagnosis made by a Doctor… of Veterinary Medicine?

Of course these are all ridiculous questions- the answers are fairly obvious. The point of these questions is not to say one needs a specific education from a particular university to be chosen, but that we want those associated with a certain field of study… to have studied! We want someone who has a passion for what they believe in, a passion for their purpose.

Most would agree with the above statements… but when it comes to being citizens of the kingdom of God, the country we associate our self with, whose King we say we follow… many times it doesn’t seem we understand God’s laws nor his word. I say this because of those who, I dare say, say Jesus is their Lord but they don’t do what He says.

Remember Lord comes from the word Adon- where we get Adonai which means Owner. So if He owns you, why do we still disobey His commandments. I’m afraid in today’s theology of many peoples we have made grace a religion. I have heard it said of those “I’m no longer under the law, I am under grace.” And this is a scripture that is wonderful to us… but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted by many and is used as a weapon against God’s laws in order to break God’s commandments. Many have set in their minds that they cannot obey God’s laws and so they live as if grace covers any sins they continue to commit and live in… because after all, their not under the law any more. Paul said “God Forbid” that we may break God’s laws just because we’ve been grace. We’ve been given grace so we can be once again in the kingdom of God, be in right positioning with the kingdom, right standing with the King because of the blood of Jesus.

Will a judge pardon someone for theft so that he can now break into as many banks as he wants to without fear of consequence? No. If he was pardoned it meant he was released from the judgment that was due for his crimes, so that he can be a part of society again. He was deserving of punishment according to the law but he was pardoned by grace given from the judge. This is what Jesus did for us.

Ask yourself this… if grace is given to cover every sin you could ever commit going forward… then what is the purpose of repentance anymore? If you are on your way to heaven no matter what you do, because of grace, what is the need for repentance?

God gave us grace, ability, to keep His laws again- Not sacrificial law, because that was the works that Paul was speaking of that cannot save, but ability to keep God’s laws- which never change.

Kingdom Obedience

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Nov 042010

Where is the discipline of His disciples? We have interpreted grace as a weapon that destroys having to be obedient to law- when actually grace came to destroy the condemnation of the law we were under and the sacrificial law of the past. Every where you look there are people who claim to belong to God but “they don’t do what He says.” Did God give us grace so that we could violate His commandments all of our lives? God forbid. It is time for His citizens to return to obedience.

Myles Munroe is currently this year teaching on “Kingdom Law for Kingdom Living” and I was deeply inspired by just the few short messages that I heard on the subject. God begin to reveal things to me in my own life that I needed to put under subjection to the King of glory. God began to open up revelation to me on the subject and show me His desire for us to walk in His ways. The result is blessings, benefits, and an abundance from Heaven being poured out because of the natural laws that are built into being obedient to His commandments… and it will overtake you.

Not Kingdom

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Nov 012010

A pastor of a mega church has come out and said “Being gay is not a choice.” He claims his wife has known about this secret for a long time and he is now breaking it to his kids and church.

http://freakoutnation.com/2010/10/30/megachurch-pastor-comes-out-being-gay-is-not-a-choice/

You can go to the above link to see the pastors personal views on this.

Me personally? I have no opinion on the matter because my opinion doesn’t matter. I represent the kingdom of God and if I will to remain in His kingdom, I will only reflect His values and His laws. To go against His word is to go against the word of the King. So let’s see what the king has to say about this…

Leviticus 18:22
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
KJV

Leviticus 20:13
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
KJV

Romans 1^26.For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:²⁷. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
KJV

Jude 1:7
⁷. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
KJV

I must be obedient to God’s word and to His commandments. The kingdom of Heaven is a country with a government. Jesus is the King of that government, and the decree of a king is law. So I must adhere to His laws. See in religion you can vote and allow someone to be ordained a gay bishop… but not in the kingdom of God. You can commit adultery and be in a religion, but not in the kingdom of God. Citizens of the kingdom of God must hold to God’s word and not the compromise of man. I know this is becoming unpopular today but we’re going to have to make a choice of whom we serve. There isn’t any “wishy-washiness” in the kingdom of God.

Unfortunately there are many denominations covered under the umbrella term of “Christianity”, but there is only one “Kingdom of God”.

Let me make one more thing clear- it is horrid to label degrees of sin. There isn’t any degree- the bible says if you commit one of these you have committed them all. So if you tell… what we like to call a “white lie”, you have disobeyed God’s word. If you commit a homosexual act, you have disobeyed God’s word. If you take something that is not yours, you have disobeyed God’s word. Disobeying God’s word is an act of unrighteousness, which means to be unaligned with the kingdom, to not be in right standing, to not be in right positioning. You cut off interaction between you and the home government, Heaven. You distance yourself from the King and ultimately sever your relationship with the King and the influence of the kingdom of God in your life… no matter what commandment or law you break.

If you continue to only listen to your pastor’s point of view on any subject in the bible you will only reflect your pastor’s point of view. We must all read, study and meditate on God’s word until we understand His precepts and then can reflect the culture of the kingdom of Heaven in our own lives because… after all… culture is natural. You must know God’s word for yourself and have a relationship with God yourself. No one is a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven by association- only by divine emancipation- by acknowledging Jesus as your Lord, Adon, Adonai, your Owner. And if He is our Lord, our Owner… then we’ll do what the King says.

Let us pray for this pastor, his congregation and our nation.

-For the Kingdom

Impacting Earth

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Oct 282010

Colony • a group of people sent to a new land in order to influence and impact the settlement with the culture and ways of the parent country from which it was sent and is subject to.

Are you demonstrating the ways of Heaven in your life? Can people see you and know you’re from another country?

Numbers 15:16
There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.
NASB (Emphasis Added)

What laws do we live under? The laws of God? Or do we overrule God’s laws with man’s ways.

If you’ve kept up with our video lessons, you will know we have been studying on the “purpose of prayer”. I haven’t been able to do another video yet on prayer because the Lord has really been speaking to me about obedience. Without obedience we drift into sin because we violate God’s laws and our prayers cannot be heard because of iniquity.

There is a dangerous teaching that must be addressed and only those who really want to be citizens of His kingdom will hear instruction. Jesus said “If ye love me… keep my commandments.” The question is… why are we not?

Because of grace?… ahhh but grace is misunderstood. We define grace as if it is the opposite of law.

Romans 6:15
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
KJV

The problem lies with our misunderstanding of law. See there are two laws. There is sacrificial law which was abolished with the coming of Jesus and there is the laws of God which never change. The law said we should die because of sin but God gave us grace from the condemnation we were born under so that we could live.

Live how? If we are under grace why can we not just rob all the banks, covet our neighbors things and take what we want, commit adultery and kill anyone we don’t like? …after all we’re not under the law we’re under grace… Does that make sense? No.

Grace in the Greek comes from the word “charis” where we get “charismatic” which is ability.

So what has He given us ability to do? To walk in newness of life, to be forgiven, to become a holy vessel unto Him.

He did not give us grace so that we can… continue in sin perpetually without consequence. Where did we get this definition? A judge grants you mercy not so that you can do whatever you want, but so you can be given the ability again to fulfill the law. You cannot decide to become a legal law abiding citizen when you’re still a convict. You have to come before the judge and plead.

Thanks be to God Who gave us grace, not to make a mockery of His kingdom, but to be out from under the law, the judgment we deserved, in order to be able to continue in His grace forgiven for the old and being obedient to His commandments.

I have a video I will be shooting this week and will have it online shortly afterward. I pray His knowledge will bring revelation to your spirit and awaken His purpose in you. The Lord is calling His people to return to Him, to return to His ways, His laws, His commandments and experience the full weight of His kingdom in our lives.

-For the Kingdom

Murder

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Jul 062010

I was talking to a Pastor friend the other day and discussing with him about prayer and the mind. See, I did something wrong.

I committed… murder. That’s right, I… committed… MURDER.

Now that I have your attention let me explain before S.W.A.T. breaks down my door.

I must start off by explaining something very important for kingdom citizen’s to understand. In law there is an idiomatic antithesis between “the letter of the law” and “the spirit of the law”.

The letter of the law is when you take and obey the literal wording of the law.

The spirit of the law is when you interpret what the original authors of the law intended by the law.

This is so important for us to grasp and understand when we read the bible. Let me explain a real life analogy that I used recently. If I am with my son about to cross the street, I tell him to ‘hold my hand’. Now the letter of the law would interpret from this that he is to hold my hand no matter what. Regardless of circumstances he must never let go, because he must obey the literal wording of what I have said.
The spirit of the law though interprets that the reason I want him to hold my hand is because I don’t want him to get hit by traffic. Both would accomplish the same purpose in most circumstances- but what if while crossing I faint and fall in the street unconscious? If my son holds to the letter of the law, he cannot let go of my hand for any reason, putting him in danger. But if he understands the spirit of the law then he’ll know I didn’t want him to get hit by traffic and so he will let go of my hand and get to the safety of the curb… and hopefully get me help! When we read the bible we must know and understand these two contrasting views- it’s important to know both.

Now let’s look at the bible when Jesus explained the contrast between the two.

Matthew 5:21-22
21) Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22) But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment

and this…

Matthew 5: 27-28
27) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

This is revelation right here. See, there is a difference in what “we say” and what “He says”. Verse 21 of Matthew 5 Jesus is saying (paraphrase) “Look, you say if a man kills a man he is a murderer- BUT I say, if you even hate your brother you have committed murder.” See the problem with the way the pharisees taught was- by the time they realized they had done wrong it’s too late… someone’s dead or a marriage is wrecked. But the spirit of the law is that you have already committed murder in your heart if you hate your brother, or committed adultery if you look upon someone to lust after them. We have to understand God’s laws in order to obey them. If we think we have to kill someone to violate the law, but God’s intent is even the thought of it, then we never repent because of our ignorance. Our understanding has to be of the spirit of the word- so when we have these thoughts we’re convicted in our heart and can turn quickly and change our thinking.

Now, back to my charge. Sometimes it can be hard to pray for your enemies. I’m not talking about the occasional incident of someone who won’t let you yield onto the highway and you blow your horn at them- I’m talking about when you’re tested constantly for a season by someone who is in your life every day. This could be a friend, a neighbor, a boss, etc. You try to be the peace maker but it can feel like they want to destroy you, at least in the season. Now Jesus says to pray for our enemies and do good to them who despitefully use you. Sometimes we can feel like we’re doing this- but is it your words or your heart?

See in my situation with my words I was saying “Lord, bless them and help them- they need you God…”

But somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I was praying “LORD! REIGN DOWN BLOWS UPON THEIR HEAD WITH BOLTS OF LIGHTING FROM THE HEAVENS!”

This is funny now, but it’s serious. I was trying to pray and concentrate on what I was saying but somewhere in the back of my thinking, though I tried to hide it from myself, I was thinking “Well, God will understand what I really mean.” Sometimes we get the idea because we’re saying one thing that God will do the other thing because of our words… how incorrect. I realized then I had committed murder in my heart because of my aggravation of the situation. Now this whole scenario took place in about the span of 30 seconds… but that’s enough. It’s my understanding of the spirit of God’s word and my seeking of the kingdom and His righteousness that causes me to turn. I love Him, and if I love Him I will keep His commandments.

So… are you guilty of murder? Is there someone you have let get to you? You’ve tried to cover it up by praying for them with words only… but your heart has been resonating something else. Get rid of it now. Repent before that hate turns to bitterness. It’s not kingdom and you lock up heaven when this is in your heart. God CANNOT answer your prayers or release great things in your life when you hold the keys to earth and lock up heaven. It’s His word and His law, so He must follow it. (Matthew 5:24)

Release it now and unlock -(loose)- heaven again in your life.