DISCIPLESHIP

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HOW JESUS' MODELED LIFE & MINISTRY
JESUS' SPIRITUAL PATH
The Jesus Cycle of Ministry

With Christ's life within us and after our egos are yielded to him, we read, “As he is so are we in this world.” (John 16:16; 1John 4:17) Spiritually poverty is our natural human state despite the many who are gifted with great talents and intellects. We must come to understand that we all are unredeemed in a fallen condition. The best of us are helpless and without the enablement to live a truly spiritual life.

We can’t be the light of the world if God's light does not burn within us. We can not be witnesses of his resurrection if we have not been touched by the fiery hand of God that raised Jesus from the dead and quickened our own body and spirit. We can not reflect the goodness of God if he has not made us good. Who are once reprobates? The best to worst of humanity fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) We come into this world not knowing God. Some come and go from this world not realized that calling. If we are fortunate to have God reveal himself to us then we press on to the next stage, that of being a functional witness. We are called to be a light in a dark world and give testimony to the truth. It is also unfortunate that many are thwarted at this stage predominately by the incomplete or ineffectual teachings of religious tradition.

As we have noted, the institutional church has either lost sight of, or failed to actualize the provisions of the New Covenant which is the Gospel of Grace in Jesus Christ. Time has eroded true understanding, and spiritual subterfuge directed by an unrelenting adversary has come in to subtlety sidetrack our spiritual lives and foster a human-centered understanding instead. I am not sharing a private methodology that is contrary to Biblical teaching. What I share here is not a unique revelation but simply a restatement of the way that was presented by Jesus to his servants the apostles, in the beginning of this gospel age.

Any church or teacher (including denominational groups) who are attempting to mentor or direct others into a spiritual life are under divine obligation to be accurate, and to be doctrinally correct. Private interpretation risks wrong doctrine. Since there is always a danger of deception, it is important that we proceed cautiously, both as teachers and learners. We are obligated to discern all things with the wisdom, the help, and guidance of the Spirit of Truth who is the Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:21 “Prove all things, hold fast to that which is good.”) God tells us through the Word that we may ask for wisdom and for truth to be revealed to us. He instructs us to have confidence in asking, knowing that God is willing. God is willing!

God is willing to give good gifts which bring fulfillment and blessings and not sorrows. When seeking the revelations are of God, or from God, it is up to the seeker to be on guard against deceptions and to discern the true from the false. In asking for anything from God it is very important to invoke the name of Jesus Christ. This is the name above every name and above every spiritual entity and authority. This name will consecrate or make pure anything that transpires. It guarantees that anything which will be revealed or imparted spiritually will be free of any corrupt or deceptive influence. If you ask in the name of Jesus, the deceiver can not work his way into your transaction.

EVENTS IN CHRIST’S LIFE & MINISTRY

The Bible reveals that certain key Spiritual events ushered God’s Son into the world, the promised Lord Jesus. I believe the Bible reveals that we who are born of His Spirit as new creations of the Lord will replicate those same patterns in a very real way. These surely may not be as profound or dramatic as that Jesus experienced. We are still largely limited flesh bound human beings. We manifest too much our fallen nature the Adamic inheritance having lived most of our lives under the domination of the God of this world and the understanding of this world.

The Traditional religious world, however, will discount any such replications as to God making his abode within us. The religious world of Jesus' time accounted it blasphemous for a man (Jesus) to be made to be made a son and equal to God. For centuries of religious life church authorities had no interest in promoting the divine potential of the individual believer. We are crucified in the likeness of his death and have already risen with him in Glory. We are seated with him in heavenly places. (Ephesians 2:v6: “-And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”.) Amazing indeed is the fact that we have been placed above all things in this world in Christ Jesus.

The apostle urges believers to pray that their eyes be enlightened with respect to this amazing potentiality of the inheritance of the children of light. Reading the letter to Ephesus we find in Chapter 1 verses 18 to 22, Paul tells us to pray to have enlightenment on three specific large questions, "the hope of his calling;" "the riches of his glorious inheritance to us;" and "what is the exceeding greatness of his power given to us." The chapter concludes with the nature of the church placed, over all things as as rulership and power. As yet Christians simply can not fathom and don't know how much has been promised to be accessed of the divinity of Christ within each of us individual believers.

Yeshua, Jesus, Was Divinely Conceived By the Holy Spirit-God has come to indwell an earthen vessel, Human Flesh

It was a prophetic event that foresaw the birth of the Messiah. (Isaiah 7:14: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.) We know that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The virgin birth was a supernatural birth. It was not a natural process of the flesh but a supernatural work of the Spirit. The manifestation of the Christ in human flesh begins with a divinely planted "seed" which gives rise to a "miraculous conception." After this "conception," Mary brought forth her first born. In the fullness of time, the life of Jesus is revealed in the world.

When a sinner comes to the knowledge of Christ as a savior; repents and asks God to give him a new life, a parallel miracle occurs. The Holy Spirit conceives and implants a whole new Holy and Spiritual life within a mortal human being. A spirit once dead in the semblance of Adam is reborn. This is the baptism into Christ. Regardless of the measure of our sins and shortcomings in our lives, Even though our sins were as red as scarlet they become purged and made pure as that of the virgin. We are all part of a fallen world, typified by the "barn manger" and so the divine is again revealed in the presence of beasts and uncleanness. We were born in a corrupted form and are being raised incorruptible. We ascend from Glory to Glory as Christ is fully being revealed in us.
(1Corinthians 15:53: “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

Becoming a Christian, therefore is not just about believing something and judging it to be true! This would be merely intellectual assent. But in reality becoming a believer, or "coming to Christ" is a miraculous new life which has been birthed, imparted by God in the Spirit. It is a new birth from an incorruptible seed and becomes in an instant a new creation. The old ceases to be and the new commences.

Angels rejoice and give praise at the birth of Christ (the Holy Child)

The angels surround the place of the birth of the infant Jesus Christ. They rejoiced and gave praises to God. The Glory of the Lord shown forth in the heavens. The family of God is portrayed as universal in nature, it spans heaven and earth. Its kingdom includes heavenly beings and human earthly beings. Heavenly events touch happenings upon the earth, earthly events impact things which happen in heaven. The "cloud of witnesses" described in the epistles of Paul, may probably refer to angels who continue to applaud the victories and glories of salvation as they impact humans who find their place in the family of God. 

Jesus Grows in Wisdom and Stature and in the fear of the Lord

The life of the young Jesus is described with little detail. In the briefest description we read that he grew up in the fear and admonition of the lord and grew in wisdom and stature and favor with God and man. Jesus is aware of his divine calling though his ministry is not yet fully activated. He works and learns the Torah, the laws of Moses as any other Jewish youth. In this time we see growth in the knowledge of The Holy.

Each believer has a Spiritual infancy, and grows in subsequent levels of maturity. In the spiritual sense there is no set number of years which allow the foundations of wisdom and understanding. Many never leave the stage of novice. It is the availability of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth which (by the The Spirit of Grace) allows our growth in wisdom and authority. (If you continue in my word then are you a true disciple, and you shall know the truth; and the truth will make you free. John 8:31) The word of God is the guide to wisdom and understanding; the Spirit upon the Word is life and power as it is spoken into our inner Spirit.

Yeshua, Baptized by the Holy Spirit and is Equipped for Ministry

The gospel accounts begin with Christ having reached maturity at about 30 years of age. We read of the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river by John the Baptist. What was Jesus doing the day before, the week before, the year before? Probably finishing jobs in the carpenter's shop in Nazareth; attending the synagogue; studying and meditation on scripture; and praying (communing) with the Heavenly Father. The time came, however, when he was revealed to Israel. This time was precisely in keeping with God's prophetic timetable. (Daniel 9:v26)

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, the Spirit came to rest and remained upon Jesus.
From this moment on he was fully empowered by the Holy Spirit. He received the Spirit in full measure. This is when his ministry and teaching began. The Spirit of God descends from above, the voice of the Father proclaims, "This is my beloved, in whom I am well pleased!"

In God's time we ourselves, may partake in the same experience which Jesus modeled.
We are instructed to receive the Holy Spirit. It is commanded as seeking to receive the “promise of the Father.” Our growth and maturity in the knowledge of truth depends entirely upon this "good gift." We are born of God by being baptized into the body of Christ. Now we are invited to partake in the baptism of the fullness of the Spirit which we see throughout the book of The Acts of the Apostles. In all of the God empowered growth in the first century the new believers were baptized into the power of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speak in unknown languages. The power of the Spirit and His 9 gifts is predicated on this second act of grace. (Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?”) Act 19:2  And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 
In this passage Paul attends to the ministry omission of the disciple named Apollos. He then lays hands on the new believers and they receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit baptism. Acts 19:v6 - “ And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.” 

The Holy Spirit baptism causes the Holy Spirit to infill and empower the believer. This experience is called "the promise of the Father", after receiving the Holy Spirit's baptism we become "Witnesses of Christ." Christ begins to take those things which are his and reveal them to each of us as we seek him in fellowship. The father is well pleased to call us into his family. We are the latter borne of many brethren. The Father in heaven has many great plans and many precious promises which he is anxious to deliver to his sons and daughters. The numerous enablements of the Holy Spirit is what makes the life of a believer rich in deeds and experiences to share among the brethren.

Tempted and Tested (in the wilderness)

Until the Holy Spirit Baptism we have not really been very aware of the two Spiritual Kingdoms which stand continuously opposed to one another, but now after this initiation into the Spiritual kingdom and the "Mind of Christ" we now sense that the world is a spiritual place, and that thoughts and actions of others are inspired by spiritual influences and are not just "our thoughts." Satan who has possessed human flesh and human institutions and nations since the fall, is not willing to let go of his influence on the life and thoughts of human beings easily. Jesus experiences the temptation of Satan.

In the wilderness temptation, Jesus received temptations on three levels, of the flesh (physical), the soul (personal) and the spiritual. (The apostle John's includes the domains in his epistle as the Lust of the Flesh, Lust of the eyes, and the Pride of Life.)

Jesus response to each temptation was the Word of Scripture to answer the voice of the tempter: He was tempted through appetites and responded, "Man shall not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." He was tempted in the soul or ego when offered fame, fortune and power, and responded, "You shall worship the Lord only and him only shall you serve." He was tempted in the Spirit when told that he could exercise his God-given inheritance for vain reasons, and responded, "You shall not put the Lord thy God to the test."

Believers are no threat to the kingdom of darkness until we have been born of the Spirit and Baptized in the Spirit. Being religious offers no threat to the kingdom of darkness. Satan is religious too and in fact promotes religion and religiosity. Satan's kingdom is terribly at risk when a believer knows his inherited rights in Christ. Jesus said, as I am so are you in this world! (1 John 4:17) For this reason there are very attacks which are leveled against believers who know about the power of God.  Jesus through the Spirit was victorious in great trials, Likewise, refined, and fully empowered, the man of God is prepared for ministry. We are not ignorant of the enemies ways.

Jesus returned from the wilderness experience not weakened and discouraged but "full of the Spirit and power." Victorious in great trials, refined in affliction, the man of God is prepared for ministry; he is thoroughly prepared for every good work.
(2 Timothy 2:21)

Empowered to Minister through the anointing of the Holy Spirit

In Luke's gospel Chapter 4, we are shown Jesus announcing the whole purpose of his ministry to the lost, the bruised and the needy of this world. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, for He has anointed me -to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are bruised, and to preach the acceptable year of the Lord (the Lord's favor.)

This proclamation of ministry defines completely the purposes for which Jesus Christ was called. The same declaration may be claimed by every believer. This is a stark contrast to human religious tradition. Every redeemed soul is called to the same potentiality, the same anointing, the same ministry which is to be performed by the same unction or anointing of the same Spirit. This kind of ministry is hardly possible except for the empowerment which comes from God through the His Spirit. In our own natural abilities and strength all we can do little more than to discuss concepts of ministry and the nature of God, as a theological concepts. In the anointing we become as He was in this world!

This is where true ministry lies, not in services and rituals conducted in church buildings but in the power of God to impact lives whether in or out of a house of worship or any kind of building.

Jesus Sought Continuous Intimacy with the Father.

Jesus is described as continually seeking the father in the most intimate way. This is where the power and direction came from. This is where the revelation came from; This is where the authority came from; This is where the strength came from. This is where we who are seeking need to seek more. This is where we who are without power need to find our connection to power and authority. Without relationship in the secret place of the most high we can have no hope at all in doing the works of God. For in the most basic of understanding we have got to know that we can not in our natural ability do the works of God. Only Christ can empower and direct those works. Seeks intimacy with God, Daily, even Hourly.

Before anything like revival can happen in the Christian world, we as individuals have got to come alive in Christ. The "waste places" of human life and thought have got to be restored and rebuilt to make them a habitation for the life of God to make them flourish and bear fruit.

The soul thirsts or longs for various things. Most of these things have no bearing on the Kingdom of God or His righteousness. These things are the pleasures and longings of the heart of man. We long for human treasures and human pleasures. We fall short of seeking the life of God. It is the grace of God which can turn our hearts again to Him.

Until we esteem the life and reproach of the "life of Christ" more highly than the pleasures of this world and its lusts and pleasures we have not crossed the river into the land of fulfillment and of promises which are in Christ. Friendship with Christ is enmity to the world and friendship with the world is enmity with Christ. The meditations and treasures of our hearts can be focused on transient treasures or eternal treasures. The abiding in Christ which brings the Spiritual life is an unmet task in all but a few in the Christian world today.

Meditating on The Word Word a Token of Intimacy
"In thy law do I meditate, day and night." (psalm 1:2)

We can not meditate on the word of God if we do not know what that word may be. Part of discipleship is to learn the word and the Way of God. This requires that at some time we have to journey into that place of understanding and revelation that is written in the Word, from Genesis to Revelation.

The Scriptures are en empowering force and also allow the voice of God to speak to our hearts. It is the Word speaking to our hearts which defines meditation. Yes, we can also have meditations on any number of things, but when we see and hear things which are worldly, vain, sensuous or profane, we can be sure that God is not speaking to us but the spirit of the world, and the God of this world.

Christ Responds to the Father's voice

"My sheep hear my voice, and another they will not follow." (John 10:4)

To have an active spiritual life as Jesus did. The meditations of our hearts must be adjusted significantly. We need to address the issue of double mindedness which is discussed in the epistle of James. Double minded Christians do not receive things from God (the things of God.) The Christian who is not different from the world in thoughts, beliefs actions and attitudes is not yet the kind of Christian that Jesus encouraged us to become.

We have a benchmark or a high standard to conform to it is the fullness of the stature of one man, he is Jesus Christ. God grant us grace to understand and to know what is the greatness of his power to us which believe to empower us to become sons of God, having the same mind which was in Christ, having hearts which are ever turned toward the kingdom of the heavens.

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Disciples Handbook 07

Updated 01-13-2024