Messiah's 3rd Commandment

Messiah gave clear directions that we were to go and MAKE disciples. He told us HOW to make disciples; by teaching them how to obey EVERYTHING that He Commanded, (Matthew 28:19-20). 

So, if we do not teach people how to obey EVERYTHING that Messiah Commanded, then we are NOT MAKING successful DISCIPLES, and we are DISOBEYING even the so-called New Testament, which Christians CLAIM to believe. 

The 3rd public commandment Messiah gave in the New Testament was that we are to REJOICE when we are PERSECUTED for following Messiah, (Matthew 5:11-12).

We could study the multiple nuances of this passage for probably weeks and not exhaust every detail, but what struck me was the ORDER and PLACE where this third public commandment of Messiah landed in context.

1. The FIRST Command that Messiah gave in the New Testament was that we should REPENT, (Matthew 4:17); which we know means to CHANGE our mind; to CHANGE our desires, attitudes and intentions; and to CHANGE our actions and way of life; AWAY FROM what Yahweh considers to be SIN; and then to RETURN to YHWH and to HIS Ways. So, if we do not make those life changes, then we did NOT BIBLICALLY really REPENT.

2. The SECOND Command Messiah gave in the New Testament was, "Follow me…" (Matthew 4:19). Now, we know that in order to follow someone we have to come along behind them and walk in the SAME steps that they walked. Messiah DID NOT say, follow church leaders and denominations, or follow your traditions, or follow your own personal preferences. Messiah said, "Follow ME,…"

We know at a MINIMUM,

• Messiah LOVED Yahweh by OBEYING YHWH, (John 15:10). 

• Messiah's passion was to DO the FATHER'S will, (John 4:34).

• Messiah clearly taught KEEPING the Father's Commandments, (e.g. Matthew 5:17-20; Luke 10:25-28;Matthew 19:17).

• Messiah CONDEMNED LAWLESSNESS, (Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew13:41-42; Matthew 24:12-13).

• Messiah openly OPPOSED human religious traditions when ever those traditions contradicted or violated YHWH'S Commandments (Matthew 15:1-9; Mark 7:1-13).

• In summary, Messiah KEPT the Father's Commandments, He honored the Biblical Holy Days, Messiah AVOIDED human religious traditions when those traditions violated a God-given Commandment. Messiah did not mix any customs of pagan worship with the worship of YHWH.

These are the MINIMUMS of how Messiah walked. IF we are going to claim that we FOLLOW the Messiah, and that we ABIDE IN Christ, then we must learn to walk in the Same way as Christ walked, (1 John 2:1-6), because that's what it means to abide in Christ and to follow Christ.

3. Messiah's THIRD public Command is very interesting. It comes at the end of Matthew 5:1-10,which are most commonly labeled as the Beatitudes. This passage basically describes the ATTITUDES in which a truly healthy born-again citizen of YHWH'S Eternal Kingdom walks.

In order to truly possess these qualities, we really do have to grow in our RENEWED nature,because many of these attitudes and responses are not normal or automatic to our basic human nature. So let's face it. In order to successfully be able to  rejoice when we are persecuted for Messiah's sake, we're going to have to develop some genuine growth and maturity in our Born-Again, Eternal Kingdom nature.

I also thought that the placement of his command was interesting. Think about it. His first Commands to REPENT (Matthew 4:17). His second Command is FOLLOW ME, (Matthew 4:19).His third Command He gave us was to REJOICE when we are persecuted for His sake,(Matthew 5:11-12). This concept points out several things that we must not overlook.

a. Very early on Messiah openly warned people that because of the sinful world in which we live,that would mean that really and truly following HIM, was consequently NOT going to be easy. You honestly don't hear that a lot in church anymore. Genuine Christianity;truly biblical Christianity is NOT going to be popular. The sinful idolatrous world is going to hate authentic Christianity. The religious world which loves their religion and their own traditions more than they love God is also going to hate authentic biblical Christianity, just as they did when Messiah was here the first time.

b. If you are not being challenged by the THIRD Commandment which Messiah gave, then you should probably take a serious look at your life, and examine whether or not you are successfully doing the first two commandments in the first place. Seriously, it makes one wonder. If we are not being persecuted for HIS sake, and if we are not having to learn to rejoice in that, then we should probably examine our lives carefully, and also make certain that we have actually REPENTED, and also make certain that we are actually FOLLOWING the Messiah, or did we compromise somewhere we should not be compromising?

As it is written:

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and doe snot come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”” (John 3:19–21, NASB95)

As it is written:

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18–19, NASB95)

As it is written:

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12, NASB95)

Look, I don't enjoy being persecuted any more than the next person, but if I'm not really being challenged and persecuted for Messiah's sake, then one has to wonder, am I really repenting successfully, and am I truly following Christ successfully, or have I compromised somewhere that I should not be compromising, in order to get along better with the sinful world? When you water down the gospel in order to make it more popular and acceptable to the sinful world, and to  get along, then are you in reality BETRAYING the gospel in order to be accepted by people? If you truly believe the Scriptures, it does give one pause to wonder, doesn't it?

• How successful are you at repenting?
• How successful are you at truly following Messiah?
• How successful are you at developing an attitude where you are rejoicing when facing opposition and persecution for Messiah's sake?
• Are you truly able to rejoice when facing opposition or persecution for the sake of obeying Messiah, or are you compromising and watering down when you know you shouldn't in order to get along and make the gospel more popular?

These are all things to keep an eye on while we're trying to grow his disciples.

Closing Prayer

Be blessed. May YHWH greatly increase your desire to live godly in Messiah and Christ. May He fill you exceedingly with His love and courage, so that when you are persecuted for His Sake, you will remain true to YHWH and to the example of Messiah, without failing or without compromising. May you be true to YHWH. May you be true to Messiah. May you be a true child and citizen of the Eternal Kingdom, and may you be unashamed and rejoicing on the Day of Judgment, because of how well YHWH has helped you to endure and to overcome. Amen -

Brother R. Michel Lankford

A Prayer for Israel

This video is Self Explanatory. YHWH Almighty promised to Bless those who bless Israel, and to CURSE those who curse Israel, (Genesis 12:3). I LOVE YHWH ,  the Almighty Creator. I Love Israel. I Love the Hebrew people, and I want to see them BLESSED. I want to be blessed and to see all of you blessed. So I offer you this chance for a blessing.

I Choose the Fear of YHWH

The Idolatry of Preference

It’s a cornerstone question, but this is an all too often neglected question.

What is it that makes something Christian?

What is it that determines whether something is in fact truly Godly, biblical, or Christian?

Does YHWH Almighty God, His Word, and His Messiah’s examples determine these standards?

Does POPULARITY determine whether something is in fact truly Godly, biblical, or Christian? In other words, if the majority of people who claim to follow Christ have chosen to believe that a certain doctrine belief or practice is now to be considered, ‘Christian,’ does it then suddenly TRANSFORM, and BECOME Godly, Biblical or Christian, because the majority of professing believers have decided to accept it; regardless of whether or not YHWH, His Words, or His Messiah truly endorses those things?

Does LONGEVITY make something Godly Biblical or Christian? In other words, the mainstream of Christianity has accepted some Anti-Biblical doctrine belief or practice for a great length of time, (let’s say 1700 years or so); does the fact that they have accepted these things for so long cause these things to TRANSFORM and to BECOME Christian, regardless of the fact that they are Anti-Scriptural, simply because we have accepted and enjoyed them for so long?

Does a Pope, an Emperor, a King,  Ruler, or a denomination cause something to TRANSFORM and to BECOME Christian? In other words, if YHWH Almighty God has set a specific Standard in His Word, but a powerful earthly ruler has chosen to endorse a standard OPPOSITE to what YHWH Almighty has already declared, will YHWH Almighty Creator of Heaven and earth, step aside? Will YHWH honestly say anything close to the following?

‘Well, yes I am the Creator, and yes I said that certain attitudes and behaviors are SIN, but since your rulers have decided to call Godly what YHWH has called SIN, I will go ahead and CHANGE. I YHWH will now REVERSE what I have declared, and I will now ENDORSE and BLESS the beliefs and behaviors which I previously rejected and CONDEMNED as SIN, because your kings and rulers prefer THEIR NEW standards instead of upholding MY Standards. I, YHWH will change. I will overrule MY Own Standards and endorse what your rulers have said instead of upholding what I, YHWH have already decreed.’

Will YHWH Almighty God do that?! NOT a CHANCE!

Beloved, there is NOT one single righteous standard to even remotely indicate that YHWH Almighty will EVER reverse or change ANY standard concerning sin or righteousness which HE has decreed, in order to support what some Pope, Emperor, King, or Ruler has preferred, over what God has said.

Surprisingly though, many Christians, (even professing Protestants), routinely live as though Almighty God will somehow reverse Himself, as though He will now bless what He has called sin, because some Pope or other ruler has favored the practice, even against what Almighty God has decreed.

This is a challenging video. The truth is that any time that we choose to do what WE prefer, instead of learning, choosing and doing what YHWH says that HE prefers, we are then in danger of falling into Idolatry. We make an IDOL of OUR preferences, instead of worshiping YHWH the Almighty Creator in spirit and in Truth. This is often most evident in WHAT and HOW we celebrate. Choose what HE prefers, over what you prefer.

God Wants Me to be Happy

Some time ago Victoria Osteen, the wife of Mega-church pastor Joel Osteen made a STAGGERING claim from the pulpit:

Based on that clip I created the following poster or Meme:

Upon seeing this meme, a reader  on Facebook asked me:

"Are you on a witch hunt?"

It's a fair  question which deserves an answer, to which I reply in an open letter, in case other readers had the same thoughts. Here is my reply:

Am I on a witch hunt? That would depend solely on your point of view as to WHICH paradigm of "Grace" you choose to apply. You see, if you approach grace as many do; from a paradigm that trains you to believe that loving grace means we must accept EVERYTHING and ANYTHING that someone says, as long as they say it in, "Jesus Name," then yes, by THAT paradigm, you would consider me to be on a witch hunt. If you approach grace from a paradigm that tells you that in order to be loving and gracious, one must tolerate and indulge sin, and unrighteousness, because being loving and gracious means we must accept an tolerate everyone and everything, no matter how unbiblical it is, then yes, by THAT definition, I would be on a witch hunt; because my comment points out grievous error, and doesn't give you warm fuzzy huggable feelings. If it doesn't feel NICE, therefore, it can't be Christian, according to how many people have re-defined what that means.

On the other hand, if you approach and you define love and grace from a truly BIBLICAL paradigm, then there is NO WAY that I would be on a witch hunt, because the statements I made are in fact TRUE; and love does not rejoice in iniquity, but it rejoices with the TRUTH, (1 Corinthians 13:6).

NOWHERE in Scripture does it teach that God's ultimate joy is to see us be happy. That's false teaching and it makes it harder for us to become truly effective disciples. That's why that paradigm MUST be challenged, and exposed, for the darkness that it truly is, (Ephesians 5:11).

His ultimate objective is to see us transformed, and conformed into the image, the likeness and the character of His Son Jesus Christ, (Yeshua the Messiah); THAT IS His ultimate Joy. That's HIS Goal (Ephesians 4:11-15; Romans 8:29). His ultimate goal is to transform the church into a proper Bride for His Son. THAT is HIS goal, (Ephesians 5:27). His ultimate joy is that we would worship HIM in Spirit and in TRUTH (John 4:23-24). THAT is what the Father SEEKS. God's goal for us is that we would TRULY OVERCOME the world, and NOT conform to the world, (Romans 12:1-2; Revelation 21:7).THAT is God's ULTIMATE Joy. THAT is God's ULTIMATE Goal. Our being, "Happy," takes a far DISTANT second place AFTER those goals in God's priorities.

She may have been caught up in the excitement of the moment, but when Mrs. Osteen declared what she did, she spoke AGAINST a WHOLE LOT of Scripture, and based on how she defined "God's greatest Joy" being about making us happy, she just made it a lot HARDER for people in her congregation to accept, to tolerate, and to submit to God's CORRECTION in their lives, by making happiness the expectation instead of making God's Character and His Righteousness the expectation. She planted the seed that if we don't feel happy about whatever is going on in our lives, then it surely must not be of God. That is a destructive heresy to any up and coming disciple who hears and digests those words; and who builds their expectations about God based on those words.

IF God can reach HIS stated BIBLICAL goals in our lives by allowing us some happiness, He will CERTAINLY do that. 

At the same time, IF reaching HIS stated goals requires His correcting us, His spanking us, and His breaking us in some areas; IF reaching HIS stated goals requires Him to make us very decidedly NOT HAPPY, he will do that as well, and that is PERFECTLY RIGHT for Him to do that as our Father,and we should NOT build contrary expectations to that, (Hebrews 12:1-7), because His greatest Joy is our character, NOT our happiness. That's a CRITICAL distinction we don't want to miss, (Isaiah 5:20-24; Isaiah 55:7-9).That's WHY making these clear distinctions matters so much, because they create expectations within us, which will either power or they can pollute and poison our faith. 

Brother Michel Lankford

Choose WHOM You will Serve

Whether we understand it or not, every decision we make is in fact is spiritual decision, notwithstanding other factors.   Romans 6:15-16, tells us that we become servants, or slaves, (in effect worshipers), of whatever we obey. If we obey YHWH, then we are worshipers of YHWH. If we honor and obey someone other than YHWH, we become worshipers of someone else. So if we want to know who we truly worship, then we must scrutinize exactly WHOSE Commandments  and WHOSE customs we actually OBEY, because that proves whom we truly worship.

A Quick Review: Remember What the Almighty Defines to be SIN

"If you want to walk correctly with your Heavenly Father, you MUST make sure that you define your terms the way that HE does."- Michel Lankford

 How Does God Define What it means to SIN

Summary at a Glance

Scripture Defines Sin as Follows:

• Sin Means to "Miss the Bulls-Eye" Mark of YHWH's Highest Standards (HARMATIA Greek Strong’s #266; E.g Romans 3:23; Romans
  6:23).
• Sin Means to Violate, to break or to walk outside of YHWH's Laws Commandments and Instructions (ANOMIA Greek Strong’s #'s 458-459; e.g. 1 John 3:4; Hosea 8:1; Daniel 9:11; James 1:25; James 2:12).
• Sin is anything done outside of Yahweh’s definition of Love (e.g. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8; Matthew 22:36-40; Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Leviticus 19:34).
• Sin is anything done outside of faith in Yahweh (Genesis 15:6; Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 14:23b).
• Sin is anything done outside of obeying Yahweh and outside of obeying Messiah, who Himself also Obeyed Yahweh (e.g. Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10; John 5:19; 8:31-32; John 14:15, 21, 23; John 15:10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:24; 1 John 5:1-3).
• Sin is anything done outside of purposefully and intentionally glorifying Yahweh (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17-23).
• Sin is any time that I know what Yahweh considers to be good, and I choose not to do it, or I choose to do something else instead of what Yahweh has taught me to be what He considers good (James 4:17; cf. Isaiah 5:20-24).

The BIG Dilemma:  Modern Christianity often teaches that in order to live under grace we supposedly must not concern ourselves with God's Laws, Commandments, and Instructions anymore. The problem is that living outside of God's Laws, Commandments, and Instructions, is in reality what the New Testament defines to be SIN.  In fact, the Messiah Himself SAID that those who live a lifestyle of living outside of  God's Laws, Commandments, and Instructions, (Lawlessness/ANOMIA), and those who cause others to stumble into  living outside of  God's Laws, Commandments, and Instructions, (Lawlessness/ANOMIA); they WILL NOT inherit the Eternal Kingdom. According to Messiah, those who live a lifestyle of ANOMIA, or those who cause others to stumble into ANOMIA; they will be CONDEMNED to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, (Matthew 13:41-42; Matthew 24:12-13; Matthew 7:21-23).

 

Since Messiah CLEARLY SAID that LAWLESSNESS; ANOMIA; A.K.A. living outside of  God's Laws, Commandments, and Instructions, they will NOT be saved; they will be CONDEMNED to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42), THEREFORE, living outside of  God's Laws, Commandments, and Instructions, (ANOMIA), and then teaching others to live outside of YAHWEH'S Laws, Commandments, and Instructions, CANNOT possibly be what it means to live under Grace.

"Doing what MESSIAH said will be CONDEMNED, CANNOT be what it means to live under Grace."