Month: February 2022

Milktoast Christianity

Do you want to know what’s wrong with America and the world at large?

I’ll tell you.

Very early in the church, from its foundation, we were taught how to “preach the gospel,” how to “save souls,” but never did we learn how to disciple nations (Matt. 28:19-20). From the beginning, His people were to be a kingdom of priests (Ex. 19:5-6), but they were afraid and changed the contract: “Speak to us yourself, and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us, or we will die!” (Ex. 20:19).

What do you think He meant when He said, “the government will be on His shoulders” (Isa. 9:6)? Did you think Jesus was going to come down to earth and run things from day one, or did you think God wanted us to go to hell in a handbasket until the 1,000-year reign of Messiah?

No, neither.

We are the body, He is the head, and the government was designed to rest on His shoulders. But mistakes were made, and consequently – at the end of this age – we have a global society filled with milktoast Christians who are comfortable tolerating things worse than a bogus POTUS and Watergate-esque corruption.

Many of this generation’s Christians shall pass in their tribulation: we are likened to the Israelites that crossed the red sea, to those who would not enter, who would instead take orders from a preacher than enter into a real relationship with their King.

You need to decide this: will you be a complainer and a sitter, or will you be a Joshua or a Caleb in the days to come? Are you willing to choose something new?

But what is God’s answer to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not knelt down to Ba‘al.” It’s the same way in the present age: there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 

Romans 11:4-5

Seeking first the Kingdom of God – Part II

But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  

(Matthew 6:33)

What is the Kingdom of God?

the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, shalom and joy in the Ruach HaKodesh. 

(Romans 14:17 CJB)
the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit 

(NASB)

I once heard someone say that the Kingdom of God is the Holy Spirit. That is a simplistic view; it is not entirely incorrect, neither is it entirely correct. It is better to focus on righteousness, peace, and joy, and work backward from there.

Recall that everything we do can be manufactured from any spirit we choose to align ourselves from. We can choose happiness in a legalistic spirit or joy in a religious spirit. We can find joy in evil:

Don’t let those who are wrongfully my enemies
gloat over me;
and those who hate me unprovoked —
don’t let them smirk at me. 

(Psalm 35:19)
For I said, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, would exalt themselves over me.”

(Pslam 38:16 NASB)

Thus, our fruit, the expression of Holy Spirit – the qualities of the Kingdom – must be grown from our relationship with Holy Spirit:

Beware of the false prophets! They come to you wearing sheep’s clothing, but underneath they are hungry wolves!  You will recognize them by their fruit. Can people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles?  Likewise, every healthy tree produces good fruit, but a poor tree produces bad fruit.  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, or a poor tree good fruit. 19 Any tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown in the fire!

So you will recognize them by their fruit.  (Matthew 7:15-20)

Remember: trees do not labor nor choose to produce fruit at will. Fruit is a natural by-product of WHAT they ARE. Such is the fruit of the spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things.

(Galations 5:22-23 CJB)

“… So you will recognize them by their fruit.”

What is Righteousness?

There’s no good, succinct way to explain righteousness as a concept, so I’ll refer you to this scripture and allow you to infer the implied qualities:

It will be righteousness for us if we are careful to obey all these mitzvot before Adonai our God, just as he ordered us to do.

(Dueteronomy 6:25 CJB)
and it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to follow all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us.

(NASB)

What is His Righteousness?

Jesus the Christ is God’s righteousness: 

It is his doing that you are united with the Messiah Yeshua. He has become wisdom for us from God, and righteousness and holiness and redemption as well! Therefore — as the Tanakh says — “Let anyone who wants to boast, boast about Adonai."

(1 Corinthians 1:30 CJB)
When those days come, at that time,
I will cause to spring up for David
a Branch of Righteousness.
He will do what is just and right in the land.

(Jeremiah 33:15 CJB)

And the Kingdom of God is?

The Kingdom of God consists of these qualities:

  1. Seeking after Jesus and His righteousness
  2. Living by the spirit, so that the fruit of the spirit is naturally produced in your life.