Awesome Hands – Part 173: “As He is so are we”

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Awesome Hands – part 173

“As He is so are we”

September 6, 2020

 

News alert! You are sin and were made in sin!?!

Psa 51:5 KJV  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Rom 7:25 KJV  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

Rom 8:3 KJV  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Do you doubt this?

Well, here we are in our sin, so what do we do with our time? For this moment, we participate in fellowship that might get us thinking a little more about our Lord and His Kingdom.

Other times, we might just be living in our lives, in the world not of the world, while adhering to the principles of the things we learn to be like in the bible.

For example, we are learning to be as He is IN THIS WORLD.

As He is ….. ========== > AS HE IS ………so are we  … in THIS WORLD.

Said another way, and combined as Husband and wife, the Head and the body.

The H stands alone. He is the Head and the H of the body. He is the Head and we are the ead, we are the body. That is why I capitalize the H in He and Head.

He, Jesus, was the bridge of the Father to making everything through Jesus Christ, and now we have everything else in creation. Likewise, Jesus’ inheritance, is to the world, what Jesus was to the world. We are a gift given to now spread Jesus Christ.

But, that doesn’t always show itself up the in the ways you might be thinking.

In our study today, we are going to cover the second book in Judges.

We are going to attempt, once again in this study and the others like it, to connect our flesh with the spiritual message given in the study, so that the new man in us can learn to cope with the old man that we are.

While living in this flesh, we must contend with it. Our spiritual mind is battling the mind of that old serpent, the serpent which preys on … and EATS dust, for that is his lot.

Gen 3:14 KJV  And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

That old serpent, goes too and fro, seeking whom he may devour…. slithering along on the earth…. seeing what flesh he can temp into becoming his dinner.

More on that later.

In this second book of Judges, we find ourselves serving others gods again, even after being told my Joshua that we cannot serve the Lord…. because we serve other gods. Yet, whatever we are doing, we refuse to acknowledge who it is that we are.

Jdg 2:1 KJV  And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you.
Jdg 2:2 KJV  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Jdg 2:3 KJV  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.
Jdg 2:4 KJV  And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spake these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
Jdg 2:5 KJV  And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD.

What did we just witness? What we just witnessed is what everyone one of us, down to the last person, do to the Lord even after He redeems us while we were slaves in Egypt.

I mentioned that the old serpent is roaming too and fro seeking whom he may devour, but notice where it is that he is doing this.

Jer 22:29 KJV  O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.

Job 1:6 KJV  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
Job 1:7 KJV  And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.
Job 1:8 KJV  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
Job 1:9 KJV  Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Does anyone find it interesting that the Lord tells us not to tempt Him, but you find satan border line tempting the Lord of Job’s fear of the Lord not being real….by saying “Does Job fear you for no reason at all, what has Job ever had to fear you for?” … in my own words 😊

That old serpent does this while “going to and fro in the earth…walking up and down in it.

You heard it here first, satan is near unto you … seeking you day and night.

The snares that early Israel had to endure are the same snares we have to endure today.

Jdg 2:2 KJV  And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this?
Jdg 2:3 KJV  Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you.

That is why we weep/wept, because this walk can get pretty hard depending on your perspective and individual trials.

“gods” are a snare unto us… snares are anchored somewhere… and in this case, we are snared to the earth, earth, earth.

Have you ever noticed that that majority of “other gods” are “earthen” bound gods. They have something to do with our flesh. Fertility, health, wealth, crops, cattle, etc. We very much want to succeed in the flesh, as well as in the spirit. That is the law working in us every single day.

We want to feed our belly… the same belly that is crawled on when that oil serpent feeds on the dust that we are.

However, even the “sky” gods, are really like gods for sunshine, rain, etc. Physical weather related. Regardless of all of that, we have the One True God, but we don’t always focus on Him our His mind.

We tend to focus on the other because it screams the loudest, and the squeaky wheel gets the oil until the Lord forcibly steps back in 😊.

The devil tempts God, and satan gets his mandate. A mandate satan the serpent cannot break.

Job 1:10 KJV  Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
Job 1:11 KJV  But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
Job 1:12 KJV  And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

So, that old serpent is given a job to do but he is still a hired pit bull, completely in the control of the Lord.

Jdg 2:6 KJV  And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
Jdg 2:7 KJV  And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.
Jdg 2:8 KJV  And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old.
Jdg 2:9 KJV  And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.
Jdg 2:10 KJV  And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.

Peace was known while Joshua, and the elders that outlived Joshua ruled, but as soon as they died (there is a type and shadow here, I know you can almost “see” it😊), Israel turns their back on serving the Lord.

Jdg 2:11 KJV  And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim:
Jdg 2:12 KJV  And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger.
Jdg 2:13 KJV  And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtaroth.
Jdg 2:14 KJV  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
Jdg 2:15 KJV  Whithersoever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed.

Now, we have Israel with the very hand of the Lord raised against His own people because they are not serving Him.

If you are only seeing physical Israel in this, then you are missing it. This is us.

Whenever we are serving other gods, we are going to be having the hand of the Lord against our flesh.

And if that is too heavy of a topic for some of you, let me introduce a new section to my studies called, “Stupid Jesus Jokes”.

Actually, I just made that up, but I do have a funny little joke I think to myself sometimes which would fall under this category.

I have always wondered why we don’t see too many miracles workers, much like social workers, but not to be confused with them, going around doing miracles we can see?

Then I thought to myself, what would be the qualifications for such a gig? I assume you’d have to be like super holy or something, and I already fail that.

Why do I fail at that? Cats. Yep, cats.

If it were left up to my “free will” I would fail the Jesus test right away because cats. I couldn’t be like Jesus left to my own devices, but for the glory of God go I into the world, because He is my Head with His mind in it.

If I had Jesus miracle powers, they would be revoked on day one or upon meeting the first cat I didn’t like. Why? Because poof, that’s why. I’d get my first round of cat-itude, and poof, no longer here. Poof into a floating hairball, then my Jesus miracle powers would be revoked and I think humanity would have been doomed. Cats can be cool once you figure out their personalities, which takes some deep medication or meditation sometimes, but once you get on the good side of a cat you might be okay.

But yeah, cats would end my Jesus powers because my fleshly carnal minded self would poof a cat because I can’t stand their cat-itudes, and because I think that would be a sin somehow, and you laughed at some of that joke too, making you a partaker of my sin, you now are proven to be a sinner.

Boom.

All because of a cat.

But seriously, our thoughts can at times become rampant, and we must get them back into submission and obedience to Jesus Christ. This isn’t some super holy test you have to undertake, but it is simply a mindset we must possess, so that we can counter the darts and wiles of the devil – which are spiritual in nature – taking place in the heavens.

We do this by judging our thoughts against biblical measurements (the Word of God), and then seeing what happens with that.

Jdg 2:16 KJV  Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.
Jdg 2:17 KJV  And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so.
Jdg 2:18 KJV  And when the LORD raised them up judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them.
Jdg 2:19 KJV  And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way.
Jdg 2:20 KJV  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and he said, Because that this people hath transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice;
Jdg 2:21 KJV  I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died:
Jdg 2:22 KJV  That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
Jdg 2:23 KJV  Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua.

The Lord is always giving us trials in our flesh, but of which are spiritual in nature. That is one way we are in the world, but not of it. Our mindset is on heavenly things, where the war is at, but we still must contend with whatever the Lord has us contending with while in this flesh.

We are always being tempted to give in to all that is in the world, (lust of the flesh and eyes and the pride of life).

I will give some examples so that isn’t just such a blanket statement.

In the bible, the Lord is always changing the names of His people. Abram and Abraham, Sarai and Sarah, Jacob and Israel, etc.

All my life, I have been known as Stevie to my family. To most others I am known as Steve. Some people call me by my name Steven. Some people known me from before, some people know me from recent history, but in all of this God has me realizing more and more that He just has been in this like as a bridge to Him.

I am being trained as bridge to Him. Jesus Is, was and will be a bridge to God the Father, but also, Jesus is Jesus the Christ. We are the Christ of the Christ!

We are a part of this process.

Therefore, people from my past are bridged to people of my future, but mainly to God who is all in all in the future.

See, I am the blind man who is the bridge to Jesus. Jesus uses me as a bridge to other people because they can see themselves in me, and if I am me (and they can see themselves in my a little bit) then they can see Jesus COME out of ME, thereby infected them with Jesus during social distancing…. Thank you very much.

My testimony in me, of who I use to be, can be verified by others, and then I find Jesus I get healed, because Jesus finds me one day with a gaping hole ion my face to be filled.

Jesus bends down and grabs some earth, and instead of ingesting it, Jesus SPITS on it, giving it LIFE via the water from His mouth, and He places that lump of life into my dead and blind sockets of darkness.

I can now see, and as I live my life, I live in such a way as to try to bring others to the truths of the gospel as easily and as painless as possible, depending on what the Lord’s plans are.

I get to live my life now as the chosen elect, hopefully being given the gift of FAITH, given that gift UNTO TO THE END, so that I can have it around the throne when I need to be called, chosen and faithful.

We are called to live in this flesh, with the knowledge we have, by contending with whatever the Lord challenges us with in flesh as a PAYMENT for being given this understanding now. Our payment is LIPS of THANKSGIVING while serving the Lord in sincerity and Truth.

However, that is only a portion of our calling as well, because there are people who will rise up spiritually after us, whether in this life or not, who will need guidance.

Let me paint a picture for you. For MANY MANY years, most humans have not know the secrets of the Kingdomg of God nor the fact that when they physically die the next stop is not heaven or hell.

Most Christians are going to rise to a very different situation than what they were planning. We will be there as spiritual stewardesses guiding people to their proper destinations while having the power of God ourselves.

I say this to say that just like in Judges, our flesh … which we are, is always being pulled at. The carnal mind is a tool used against our flesh to temp our flesh to give into sin.

At the same time, as Paul says, we have a law in our members (flesh) that battles the law of his mind that is in him.

Rom 7:22 KJV  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
Rom 7:23 KJV  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 KJV  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25 KJV  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

So, then in the mind I MYSELF SERVE THE LAW OF GOD. In my mind of the inward man, I serve the law of God. However, there is an opposite to the inward man, That man also has a mind that we must not serve, or we will be serving other gods just like the Israelites did when the elders and Joshua died. We do not want to go back to old ways and the old ways of the old man.

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