Category: Thought of the Day

Behold brethren: a priesthood of the Order of Melchizedek arises according to the Word of the Oath written into hearts of flesh, in a Covenant made through the atoning power of the Blood of the LAMB.

Genesis 14:18 (NASB) reads:
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High.

John 6:48-63 reads:
48 “I am the bread of life.
49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”
52 Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.
54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.
56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.
58 “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
Words to the Disciples
59 These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”
61 But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this cause you to stumble?
62 “What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.

Psalm 110:1-4 (NASB) reads:
1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
2 The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.
4 The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.

Jeremiah 15:16 reads:
16 Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.

Hebrews 3:1-6 (NASB) reads:
1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;
2 He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.
3 For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.
4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.
5 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later;
6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house–whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.

Hebrews 7:11-19 reads:
11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest
16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life.
17 For He testifies: ” You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,
19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath
21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: “The LORD has sworn And will not relent, ‘ You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek’ “),
22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.
24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;
27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

1 Peter 2:1-9 reads:
1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “The stone which the builders rejected, This became the very corner stone,”
8 and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

This priesthood stands in the Rhema Word of the Oath …. manifested in the faithful and true Witness of YESHUA MASHIAH.

Revelation 3:14b (NASB) reads:
< … The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God … > Amen!

The Law of Faith is mentioned in Romans 3:27c. The Law of Faith is the spiritual conduit by which the Righteousness of YHWH is communicated into us and through us.

Righteousness is an eternal attribute of YHWH-TSIDKENU; in and from Whom, all Righteousness is sourced and developed – through faith in YESHUA MASHIAH.

Romans 10:10 (NASB) reads: < for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. >

Through faith in YESHUA, GOD’s Righteousness flows creatively into our salvation. The conduits of GOD’s Righteousness is the Word we have chosen to take hold of through faith.

Romans 10:17 (NKJV) reads: < So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. >

We Christians need to develop our faith according to GOD’s Word; not by our emotions.

And, we must be careful that the world and its philosophies do not poison the flow of living waters within the tabernacle of our being.

Hatred for the non-Christian is contrary to the Witness of the Cross (see Matt 5:43-48, KJV). Similarly the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life and the love of money are unacceptable (1 John 2:15-17; 1 Tim 6:10).

We must operate in Elim and not in Marah (see Ex 15:23-27; John 4:13-14; 7:37-39).

We operate in faith by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS, so that the life of YHWH will flow in us and through us (Rom 8:2).

The faith of YESHUA is a Mystery (1 Tim 3:9; 1 Cor 14:2) that we must open from our inward parts, by the SPIRIT, so that YHWH’s Righteousness will manifest the works of GOD in us and through us (Rev 15:3).

As there is a Law of Gravity that operates in the natural world, even so, there is a Law of Faith, defined in JESUS CHRIST and energized by the HOLY SPIRIT, designed to actually manifest the Righteousness of GOD into our lives.

The spiritual realities which GOD’s Righteousness will fulfill stand exclusively in YHWH’s Word, understood through the Testimony of YESHUA MASHIAH alive in our inward parts, by the HOLY SPIRIT (Rev 19:10c; 2 Cor 3:3, NKJV; John 16:14; 2 Cor 3:17-18).

The Law of Faith is explained in Romans 3:21-27 (KJV) which reads: < now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: … For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; …. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. >

May we each discover the Righteousness of YHWH so as to become the head and not the tail; to be above and not beneath in fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Amen!

It is the Righteousness of YHWH that will enable us to navigate these times leading to the end of this age.

The New Covenant is a living and progressive expression of the Righteousness of YHWH manifested into our inward parts – by Promise.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (KJV) reads: < Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. >

This New Covenant will be manifested through a new birth unveiled through a new heart and a new spirit that are an expression of YHWH’s Righteousness.

In Ezekiel 36:25-27 (NASB) YHWH declares: < “… I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” >

In John 3:3-6, YESHUA (NASB) declares: < … “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” …. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” >

YHWH’s Righteousness is manifested – by the SPIRIT (2 Cor 3:3, NKJV) – through JESUS CHRIST in the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

In Matthew 5:17 YESHUA (JESUS) declares: < “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” >

2 Corinthians 5:21 reads: < He (YHWH) made Him (YESHUA) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. >

We become the Righteousness of YHWH through the New Covenant being structured – by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS – into our inward parts in the fullness of JESUS CHRIST (YESHUA MASHIAH).

The fullness of YESHUA MASHIAH communicated into our inward parts is the Righteousness of YHWH progressively developed in us.

John 1:16-18 (NASB) reads: < For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God (KJV: SON) who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. >

Romans 3:21-28 (KJV) summarizes the Righteousness of GOD as follows: < But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. >

Galatians 3:22-29 (KJV) reads:
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

The faith of YESHUA communicates the Righteousness of YHWH into us (see John 3:16; 1:16-18) through the Promises of Scripture that we choose to pursue by faith in YESHUA.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB) reads: < For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us. >

The Righteousness of YHWH, communicated by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS, does all that is impossible for us. We are blessed indeed if we choose to live by faith, actualizing the righteousness of GOD in our thoughts, words, deeds and relationships. Amen!

This is the Law of Life: that we live in and develop all aspects of life, by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS …..

Romans 8:2 (NASB) declares all that YHWH has predestined by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS:
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For example: Where does obedience come from?

Obedience comes from the Testimony of YESHUA …. through the communication of: His Spirit and His Life; His Faith and His Life; His Nature and His Character …. into our state of being, in conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious terms.

Obedience comes through the power packed dynamic of YESHUA’s faithful and true Witness ….. into us, into the fabric of our being …. by the HOLY SPIRIT …. in fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

Man’s obedience was accomplished by YESHUA’s sacrifice. Hebrews 10:14 reads: < For by one offering He (YESHUA) has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. >

Our flesh is what is expressed in a man-centered reality of life.
And, trying to practice the Law in our own strength is a futile exercise.

In Matthew 11:11 YESHUA declares: <“Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.>

In Matthew 18:2-4 YESHUA declares:
2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

YESHUA is making a contrast between man’s righteousness (as epitomized at the highest level by John the Baptist) and the Righteousness of YHWH unveiled through the only Begotten SON in the Bosom of the FATHER (John 1:18, KJV).

Conversion – manifested by the Righteousness of YHWH – only comes through a new birth. See John 3:3-5.

And, we must develop by the HOLY SPIRIT all that has been opened in this new birth.

And, please understand that absolutely everything that the HOLY SPIRIT does will be based on the Word of GOD, understood in and through the finished work of the Cross.

We need to pray by the HOLY SPIRIT, for YESHUA’s Testament of obedience to the FATHER, to be brought into being in us and developed in us, by the HOLY SPIRIT, as we work out our salvation – by actually putting on CHRIST by faith – with fear and trembling.

Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB) reads: < So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. >

Ephesians 2:10 (NASB) reads: < For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. >

Philippians 4:13 and 19 (NKJV) reads:
< 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. … 19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. >

We need to get out of all forms of legalism and get into the salvation by which we are progressively saved as we actualize the fullness of JESUS CHRIST – in substance and witness – by the HOLY SPIRIT.

2 Corinthians 3:4-8 (NASB) reads:
4 Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,
6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,
8 how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NKJV) reads:
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.

There must be a portion of our prayer life that is focused on actualizing the fullness of JESUS CHRIST, by the HOLY SPIRIT (see John 16:14, 13-15). Because without CHRIST being progressively formed in us, by the HOLY SPIRIT, we are going no where.

As Colossians 1:17-20 (NASB) reads:
17 He (JESUS CHRIST) is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.
19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him [not in the Law],
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Pray perseveringly – by the HOLY SPIRIT – to actualize the power of YHWH unveiled in the fullness of the SON. Amen!

GBU.

(I) Truth is communicated as a revelation of JESUS CHRIST …… through His Witness and Testimony …. perfected into our inward parts ….

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NKJV) reads:
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

(II) We need to continuously pray for the revelation of JESUS CHRIST … in whom are hidden all the treasures of GOD the FATHER

Ephesians 1:17-19 (NASB) reads:
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

(III) All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in JESUS CHRIST …..

Colossians 2:2-3 (NKJV) reads:
2 that their (our) hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

(IV) All that the FATHER has belongs to the LORD JESUS CHRIST …. and everything that is of the fullness of JESUS CHRIST is brought to life in us and through us – by the HOLY SPIRIT ….

John 16:15, 14-15 (NASB) reads …
15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.
14 He (the HOLY SPIRIT) will glorify Me (JESUS CHRIST), for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

(V) Pray by the HOLY SPIRIT for the Mystery of CHRIST to be energized and formed in you so that you will be growing to be an actual Epistle of CHRIST …. understand that, that which is not of the substance and witness of YESHUA will never be a communication of truth in the eternal and the abiding ….

Isaiah 28:9-11 (NASB) reads:
9 “To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?
10 “For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.'”
11 Indeed, He will speak to this people through stammering lips and a foreign tongue

1 Corinthians 14:2 (NASB) reads:
2 For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries.

1 Corinthians 2:9-11 (NASB) reads:
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
9 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,
13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

(VI) Pray by the SPIRIT to actualize the fullness of JESUS CHRIST predestined for us in the FATHER’s will

John 1:16-17 (NASB) reads:
16 For of His fullness (YESHUA’s fullness) we have all received, and grace upon grace.
17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

Philippians 4:13 and 19-20 read:
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Sabbath: Understanding The Demand Of The Law Versus Its Fulfillment ….

Exodus 31:12-18
12 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.
17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’ “
18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.

The purpose of the Sabbath Day, including the sacrifices that commemorated the Sabbath celebration (see Num 28:9-10), was to point to a necessary day of sanctification that will be brought to fulfillment through the finished work of the Cross (hence the Sabbath sacrifices).

And, the intent of GOD was that He would use the Sabbath Day to sanctify His people. The Sabbath was a perpetual Covenant with YHWH-M’Kadddesh (the Sanctifier).

To be sanctified is to be made holy, so as to be set apart unto YHWH, so as to accomplish YHWH’s purposes.

And, the Law pointed to the need to be sanctified as an absolute necessity for the people of GOD; for without being sanctified they (and we too) would all die.

The Sabbath Law that proclaimed the death sentence for breaking the Sabbath foreshadowed this reality of death if the people of GOD did not find a sanctified state of rest in GOD by Blood Covenant.

YHWH pointed to this Blood Covenant, commemorated in a Shabbat-Shalom, being established through the two tablets of the Testimony, written by the Finger of GOD, being given to Moses (Ex 31:18). These two tablets were the work of GOD (Ex 32:16) pointing to the fact that actual fulfillment would only come through YHWH’s Righteousness being manifested into our inward parts (see Jer 31:33-34).

[In 2 Cor 3:3 (NKJV) the fulfillment of the Law, including the Sabbath Law is pointed to: < clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone (which were received by Moses) but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. > ]

Israel observed the Law of the Sabbath Day through most of their history (and they do so even today) and they have failed to be sanctified unto YHWH.

Centuries of observance of the Law of the Sabbath Day did not bless them for the simple reason that their righteousnesses were filthy rags (Isa 64:6, KJV).

Paul points to the spiritual reason of this failure in Romans 9:30-32, which reads: < What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. >

The key to the Sabbath Rest of Sanctification is CHRIST being formed in us (Gal 4:19; Phil 4:13) through faith, and our ability to function by the HOLY SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS (Rom 8:2; 8:1-4, KJV/NKJV); not the mere observance of a Sabbath Day.

Ps 46:10a describes the essential basis of this sanctified state of Rest: < Be still, and know that I am God … >

YESHUA says this about the Sabbath: < And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” > – Mark 2:27-28.

The ultimate aim of the Sabbath is to enable us to operate by the HOLY SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS, in a sanctified state of rest that is the “Shabbat-Shalom” of YHWH-M’Kaddesh and YHWH-Shalom manifested in a dwelling place that He has sanctified and consecrated for Himself – in us and amongst us, in fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.

In John 14:23-27 (NKJV), YESHUA explains:
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you.
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The writer to the Hebrews (4:9-10, NASB) explains the Sabbath fulfilled as a Rest we must enter into where we cease from our works and becomes instruments of GOD’s work: < So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. >

Our understanding of the Sabbath Rest is a prophetic foreshadowing of a functional state of rest in YHWH, by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS, so as to be set free from the Law of Sin and Death (Rom 8:2).

Hence the declaration in Colossians 2:16-17 (NASB) which reads as follows: < Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day– things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. >

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 (NKJV) describes the awesomeness of the Sabbath Rest as follows: < For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves. > Amen & GBU.

Salvation unfolds a new creation …. in and of the fullness of CHRIST JESUS …. in a process of renewal and regeneration by the HOLY SPIRIT …. through a washing of the water of the (rhema) word.

Ephesians 2:10 (NASB) reads: < For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. >

2 Corinthians 5:17-18a (NASB) reads: < Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God …. >

John 1:16-17 (NASB) reads: < For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. >

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NASB) reads: < Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. >

Titus 3:5 (NASB) reads: < He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit … >

Ephesians 5:26-27 (NASB) reads: < Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. >

The washing of renewal and regeneration flows by the HOLY SPIRIT through the Rhema Word of GOD. The end-product of this creative work is a spotless, holy and blameless Bride.

Renewal by the HOLY SPIRIT, that unfolds through the Rhema Word, makes the old new; while regeneration by the HOLY SPIRIT makes what is dead in sin alive and, free from the Law of Sin and Death.

The entire creative process of salvation, through renewal and regeneration, is of the fullness of JESUS CHRIST – communicated into us in substance and witness.

We can pursue this reality of salvation, by praying the Word of GOD, by the HOLY SPIRIT.

Activate / Energize, by the HOLY SPIRIT, the faithful and true Witness of YESHUA (Rev 3:14b) that stands in your mouth and heart (Deut 30:14-15) – in Spirit, Water and Blood (1 John 5:10a, 7-8).

Understand that YESHUA upholds all things – for fulfillment – in the Rhema Word of His Power (Heb 1:3b; Eph 3:20).

Luke 24:44-45 reads: < Then He (YESHUA) said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. > Amen!

Thought For The Day (July 22, 2012)

The Memorial-Name

Exodus 3:13-15 (NASB) reads:
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”
15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

John 17:6, 25-26 (NASB) reads:
6 “I (YESHUA) have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

2 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV) reads:
3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

1 Corinthians 4:1 (NKJV) reads:
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Revelation 19:10c (NASB) reads:
< “…. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” >

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB) reads:
20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (in JESUS CHRIST) they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

In Revelation 3:14b (NASB) YESHUA declares that He is:
< “… The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God … >

Understanding the importance of putting on CHRIST, by the HOLY SPIRIT …

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) reads: < Now faith is the substance (GK: ‘hupostasis’) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. >

1 John 3:2-3 (NASB) reads: < Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. >

When we set our hope for all things on YESHUA, [who is the Way, the Truth and the Life] then the substance of our hope will be of YESHUA.

The substance of our hope will be of His Fullness (John 1:16-17, NKJV/NASB): of His Character, His Nature, His Faith, His Love, His Spirit, His Life, His Witness, His Testimony etc. And, the substance of His Fullness stands in the fulfillment of the Law.

This is why Colossians 2:9-10a (NKJV) reads: < For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete (NASB: ‘have been made complete’) in Him. >

The substance of YESHUA justifies us because the substance of YESHUA communicates the actual fulfillment of the Law (Matt 5:17) into the fabric of our being.

So a Christian has to put on CHRIST to meet the demands of the Law. Nothing else will really work.

Ephesians 2:10 reads: < For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. >

Romans 13:14 reads: < But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. >

How?

Galatians 5:16 reads: < But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. >

Romans 8:1-4 (NKJV) summarizes the predestined will of the FATHER:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free [NASB: ‘has set us free’] from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Our attempts to observe the Law in our strength will never work. Why?

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV) reads: < But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. >

Romans 9:30-32; 10:2-4 (NASB), Paul clarifies what the Prophet wrote:
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;
31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. …
2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

So, we need to walk by the SPIRIT in CHRIST JESUS, so as to be set free from the Law of Sin and Death. GBU.