Jesus Part One E-Book

Riaan Engelbrecht

• Herausgeber: Riaan Engelbrecht
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Who is Jesus? A mere historical figure? A man with a vision? A prophet? A teacher? A philosopher? It is simple. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God Himself. He is our Saviour, Redeemer, Master, the King of kings, Lord of Lords, our Teacher, our Messiah, our Hope, the Way, the Truth, the alpha and the omega, the one worthy to open the scrolls, and He is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world was laid and He is the Lion that returns in all His Glory! Jesus is the most important person in the whole Bible. He's the most important person ever to walk this earth. He's the most important person for you to know. He's the King our world needs, the hero all our stories reveal we long for, and the Saviour we desperately need. He is the bread of life. He is the door to our salvation. He is the good shepherd. He is the resurrection and the life. He is the way and the truth and the life. He is the true vine. He is the Son of David, the Righteous King. He is the Word. He is the Balm of Gilead. Hs Blood still saves, heals, delivers and redeems! He is the author and finisher of our faith and unto Him comes all the praise and honour, indeed, unto Him comes hosanna in the highest.

Leseprobe

Also by the same author:

Perilous Times

In Pursuit of God

The Holy Spirit

The Disciple of God

Deliverance

Crossroads to Freedom

The Kingdom of God

The Prophetic

Apologetics

The Vine

End-Time Remnant

Table of Contents

Title Page

Jesus Part One (End-Time Remnant)

Who do you say I Am?

Follow Jesus, no one or nothing else

Set your love on Jesus – the Name above all

The Beloved Son

Hosanna to the King of kings, Lord of Lords

Jesus in the Trinity

Building on the true foundation of divinity

Jesus is the Way of the Now, the Past and the Future

Jesus as the Bread of Heaven

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Door and Narrow Gate

The all-conquering Lion of Judah and the suffering Lamb

Jesus the Prince of Peace

Jesus the foundation of righteousness and justice

Identity in Christ: forged by blood and fire

Jesus in the order of Melchizedek

Jesus the author and finisher of our faith

Baptism is all about Jesus

Christ must be all important

Come and drink freely from Jesus!

Do not treat Jesus as an afterthought

A firmament is in place – His Name is Jesus

Hidden mystery of Christ

Hold onto Jesus, the anchor of our faith

Compassionate Son of Man

Legal victorious right in Christ

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Also By Riaan Engelbrecht

About the Author

Jesus Part One

This is a distributed edition from Avishua Ministries.

The author’s intellectual property rights are protected by international Copyright law. You are licensed to use this digital copy strictly for your personal enjoyment only: it must not be redistributed or offered for sale in any form.

Scriptures quotes from the New Kings James Bible, Amplified, and the New International Version.

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Table of Contents

Who do you say I Am?

Follow Jesus, no one or nothing else

Set your love on Jesus – the Name above all

The Beloved Son

Hosanna to the King of kings, Lord of Lords

Jesus in the Trinity

Building on the true foundation of divinity

Jesus is the Way of the Now, the Past and the Future

Jesus as the Bread of Heaven

Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Door and Narrow Gate

The all-conquering Lion of Judah and the suffering Lamb

Jesus the Prince of Peace

Jesus the foundation of righteousness and justice

Identity in Christ: forged by blood and fire

Jesus in the order of Melchizedek

Jesus the author and finisher of our faith

Baptism is all about Jesus

Christ must be all important

Come and drink freely from Jesus!

Do not treat Jesus as an afterthought

A firmament is in place – His Name is Jesus

Hidden mystery of Christ

Hold onto Jesus, the anchor of our faith

Compassionate Son of Man 

Legal victorious right in Christ 

Who do you say I Am?

There is a Scripture in Mark 8 that reads: 27 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?” 28 So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

This is a question I strongly believe the Lord is asking us all in this day and in this hour. To us and to you, who is He? Sadly, even in some churches, Jesus has been reduced to being a mere historical figure, or to a Santa Claus prototype of delivering gifts, while some religions have reduced Him to being a mere prophet and other esoteric movements have reduced him to merely being a master of knowledge.

In the Scriptures, we find three powerful encounters between man and God – one being at the burning bush, two on the road to Damascus, and three, on the island of Patmos. At the bush, Moses encountered the Great I Am, Paul encountered the living Lord and John encountered the victorious Lamb that returns as the Lion of Judah. All three could say without a doubt who this mighty God is ...

Who is God to you? A mere friend? A confidant? Do you treat him like a bank manager? Sure, He is our friend, and we may not all have a powerful encounter as Moses, Paul or John did, but God reveals Himself to every one of us in a unique way. The encounter may be different, but the purpose remains the same. The purpose is to answer the question posed by Jesus in Mark 8, “But who do you say that I am?”

I don’t know about you, but this is I know, while He is indeed a friend, He is so much more. He is God divine – the Great I AM. Peter answered and said the Christ, or in some versions, it speaks about the Messiah. Who is this Lord? A mere historical figure? A man with a vision? A prophet? A teacher? A philosopher? It is simple. Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is God Himself. He is our Saviour, Redeemer, Master, the King of kings, Lord of Lords, our Teacher, our Messiah, our Hope, the Way, the Truth, the Lily of the Valley, the Rose of Sharon, the alpha and the omega, the one worthy to open the scrolls, and He is the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world was laid and He is the Lion that returns in all His Glory!

Jesus is the most important person in the whole Bible. He's the most important person ever to walk this earth. He's the most important person for you to know. He's the King our world needs, the hero all our stories reveal we long for, and the Saviour we desperately need.

Yes Lord, let it ring out, let it be shouted, let it be proclaimed forevermore, You ARE God and there are no others gods, no other like you, for all dominion and power and glory belongs to You! You are our healer, our saviour, our deliverer, our refuge, our hope, our joy, our beloved, our all and all that we desire and yearn for oh precious sweet and all-conquering Jesus! Give Him praise, give Him praise! Who is He? He is God!  Maker of all creation. He is all-powerful, mighty, glorious, beautiful, majestic, and our provider, our substance and our present and future life!

The vison of Jesus in Revelation 1 reminds us God’s incredible majesty, divinity, power and glory, “12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”

Yes, Jesus is the First and the Last. Sing glory to the great I Am. There is none like Him. He is love. He is Fire. He is Life. In Him is our strength, hope and the promise of an eternal life! He is the first among the dead. All honour, worth and glory belongs unto Him!

Philippians 4 (New International Version) says, “6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul the Apostle wrote this letter to the Philippians on his second missionary journey. He came to the city around 49 CE. At the time Philippi was an urban centre at the eastern end of the plain, a few miles northwest from Neapolis. The people there were both Romans and Greeks. The religious life of those in Philippi was marked by very syncretistic practices including the worship of the emperor (Julius, Augustus, and Claudius), the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis, as well as many other deities. It was against this backdrop that Paul established His church and spoke to the followers of Jesus, who were under enormous pressures from the pagan citizens of Philippi to stay true to God. Talk about stress and anxiety!

Paul was a man who walked in great faith and trust because He understood, grasped and acknowledged the greatness of the Lord. Isn’t it also time that we need to grasp the truth that the same God to whom we pray is absolutely awesome, amazing, and all-powerful and omnipotent? If we can grasp how great God is then surely we shall not be anxious or fearful, for as Paul wrote, we must bring all our cares and worries to God for He is the One who upholds the heavens, who gave us life, who is the Lord of all and nothing is too great for Him to handle! Praise the Lord for He is great, He is beautiful, He is majestic and He is incredible. Why then be anxious?

There is an old Christmas song called the Little Drummer Boy. And so the lyrics go “Come they told, a newborn king to see,  Our finest gifts we bring, To lay before the king, So to honor him, When we come, Little baby, I am a poor boy too, I have no gift to bring, That's fit to give our king, Shall I play for you ... I played.”

A song we know and over Christmas time you might even hear it filter through the speakers in the malls and shopping centres. You know, this song has always stuck with me for it is a simple song, nothing heroic in praise or adoration, nothing grandeurs in exaltation or edification, but it is a song with such a powerful truth – WE HAVE NOTHING TO GIVE TO GOD EXCEPT OUR LIVES. You see, the drummer boy had nothing to give fit for this king. So he did what he could – he gave his time, he gave his very best, by simply playing his drums. Yes, he was poor, because God is not moved by our wealth, riches, or offerings. He is moved by our love for Him. This song is about true intimacy and sincerity of heart.

At times, we think we please God with all kinds of clever “gifts” or through ministry, or through our praise and worship, which is all good and well, but let me tell you something in this day, what God wants us is us – he wants our affection, our fellowship and a heart that truly yearn for Him. This little drummer boy did not want to play for the newborn king to be known or to receive something back; he just wanted to honour the Lord. Why do we serve Him? To honour or for self-gain? The reality is, no matter how great we think we are, no matter what we have done in ministry, no matter how much money we have or don’t have, or our education, we HAVE NOTHING FIT TO GIVE TO THE LORD AND KING OF ALL. All that we can give is ... us. The reality is, WITHOUT GOD WE ARE BUT POOR AND WRETCHED IN THIS LIFE, BLIND AND LOST. Only in God do we find our meaning and peace.

All that we can do is to but kneel. And so God, for by Your grace there I go. Maybe it is just time that in this world of ‘microwave’ instant results, we just need to slow things right down, and come back to the Lord and say “Lord, we are here to honour You”. Lord, help us to come back to the heart of worship – YOU. There is a King on the throne who loves us and who has given His life so that we may come as we are before Him – so let us return to Him, give our hearts, for this life without Him means nothing and holds no value without the King of king taking His place on the throne of our hearts. And so we cry, “For our Lord God Almighty reigns, For our Load God Almighty reigns, Holy Holy, Are You Lord God Almighty, Worthy is the Lamb ... Worthy is the Lamb.”

Is Jesus a mere prophet? A mere teacher? Never, for by His Name all disease, all illness, all things that are dreaded and all things that are vile and unnatural shall bow. He is Jesus! He is Yeshua! Glorify Him. Who is He to you? This is the question God is asking us all in this day. For some a curse word, for others a passing thought, but He is the reality, He is the Truth, He is the Way, He is Life, He is Love so just praise Him!

Two thousand years ago a man set foot on our planet who claimed to be from a place beyond space and time. Although he had no credentials or political backing, His life and words changed our world. His name is Jesus Christ. While most great people simply fade into history books, Jesus of Nazareth is still the focus of thousands of publications, documentaries and media controversy. Although some sceptics have called Jesus a myth, historians acknowledge He was a real person.

Of all the world’s great men, Jesus has been considered the supreme example of moral perfection in both His character and teaching. Jesus obeyed all of God’s commandments. And He selflessly demonstrated love and compassion to the needy. Martin Luther King said of Jesus: “He did not seek to overcome evil with evil. He overcame evil with good. Although crucified by hate, he responded with aggressive love.” And renowned French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, wrote: “When Plato describes his imaginary righteous man . . . he describes exactly the character of Christ.” Jesus’ impeccable moral character was reflected in His teaching. Whereas most moral teachers spoke of rules to live by, Jesus taught that our priority should be to love God and others above ourselves. A trait he continually demonstrated.

Jesus said his primary mission was first to suffer and die for our sins. Seven hundred years earlier the prophet Isaiah had foretold the Messiah’s suffering for our sins (Isaiah 53). There have been many opinions of Jesus. Some have called Him a myth, others say He was a morally good man, and some even say He was a magician like Moses, but the truth is He is the Son of God who became a man in the flesh to say us the heart of the Father and the way of the eternal Kingdom. Jesus reveals Himself to all who seek Him, and He is seeking to walk with us all on a unique path of spiritual. Discovery. Yes, He is not some spiritual guru or mystic teacher, He is God. He is Life. And by His Blood, we are saved and redeemed.

While on earth, Jesus fulfilled nearly 300 Old Testament prophecies, including his lineage, city of birth and miracles. As His followers saw Him heal the lame, deaf and blind, they became convinced He was the promised Messiah. And when Peter proclaimed him as “the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the living God,” Jesus acknowledged His statement as true. But Jesus also revealed another mystery about His identity that was so shocking it eventually led to his trial and crucifixion. As a man, Jesus became hungry. He felt pain. He required rest. He was tempted. Yet he was never accused of sin. However, Jesus made claims that no ordinary man could make. He spoke of Himself as one with God the Father (John 10:30). This so infuriated the religious leaders that they attempted to kill Him.

Later when His follower Philip asked to see God the Father, Jesus replied: “I have been with you a long time now. Do you still not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (John 14:9, NCV). The name for God in Israel—“I AM” (Yahweh)—was so holy that no Jew would utter it. However, Jesus shocked the Jewish religious leaders by calling himself, “I AM.” After telling them he had pre-existed the Jewish patriarch, Abraham who had lived two thousand years earlier, Jesus exclaimed, ‘The truth is, before Abraham was, I AM!’” (John 8:52-58). By using God’s name for Himself, Jesus was claiming deity. He was not mere a man. He was never a myth. He is holy, beautiful and the Saviour of all who call upon Him.

We cannot claim Jesus to being a great moral teacher, healer and prophet but deny that He is ALMIGHTY GOD. Jesus claimed to be God. So was He lying, was He a self-deceived lunatic—or is He God’s Son, deity in human form? Of course not, He is Almighty God, and all will acknowledge Him one day. Yes, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to His Lordship and Kingship.

Oh, blessed be the Lord, oh praise Him my soul, for we shall worship the God who has made this world.

Lyle C Rollings III said the following in a poem, “The Greatest Man in History... Jesus; Had no servants, yet they called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer. He had no army, yet kings feared Him. He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He did not live in a castle, yet they called Him Lord, He ruled no nations, yet they called Him King, He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.”

Glory today. How beautifully this sums up Jesus! He is the creator, the author and the glory. It is time to return to the Ancient of Ways. For a long time I have beheld the state of this broken world, be it revelation or common sense, and also the state of idolatry amongst His people. Great has been the impartation of vision that has led the sight to be a burden. Many days and nights I have cried for answers to all this decay, as surely as Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah cried, yet in one moment before the altar of the Holy One, the Lord Almighty gave the following answer to all my questions and struggles. Jesus.

The Father says the answer to everything is Jesus, the Son of the Living God. His pure love for us and our pure love for Him is all that is important and it is all that matters. Thus the Lord showed that all that I have learned and all that has been revealed, even though disturbing and tragic, is the truth but also because of one simple reason: to show and reveal how the eyes of the world and the eyes of His people have for a long time not been on precious Jesus. For the Lord placed these Scriptures on my heart: Jesus is the Way, Truth and Life; those who know Him will know His voice; He is the only Shepherd and He is the only way to the Father.

Oh glorious Jesus, you are all and everything, for all, has been made for you, unto you, through you, in you and all is upheld by thee! For millenniums the world has been led away from Jesus by following many different other voices, so many different paths, so many false ways and so many false shepherds. O, Jesus is the only Voice that we must listen to, He is the only Way, He is the only Shepherd, and He is the only answer and the only way to the throne room of God the Father.

For centuries the voice of man has tried to replace the voice of the Lord in providing truth, but there is only one true voice and vision.  Jesus is Wisdom, yet all the false wisdom presented through thousand ages has drawn us away from the Lord. Oh, it is all about Jesus, yet all that is false has now for so long drawn our eyes from the truth and the answer, the salvation and the glory!

God does not call us to build on any other foundation but on the only foundation of Jesus. When the people are led back to the throne room of the Lord, there will be praise, there will be worship, there will be a humble heart and a contrite spirit, there will be truth and there will be victory! For God is faithful and true, yet the world and His people have for too long not adhered to His Voice and His Wisdom. For too long our eyes have not been turned upon Jesus and for too long we have failed to build on the only foundation which is Jesus. We have preached and taught so many doctrines, built on so many other foundations, yet the only true and everlasting foundation of Jesus has been discarded.

Oh people of the Lord, turn your eyes upon the Lord, your heart upon His ways, and let us lay down our wisdom and pride, for our law and our way is surely not a pleasing offering unto the Lord. Listen to this simple truth: anything that draws our fully devoted love from the Lord is idolatry. The Lord cries that our eyes are not on Jesus. Our love has run cold and we have worshipped not Him alone but golden calves and ideas of who He is. We have worshipped other gods, have become kings and have not shown the world Jesus. We have failed to listen to His voice and adhere to His Wisdom. Instead, we have exalted our own voices, exalted shepherds and created a new law that we call wisdom and truth.

Oh, all that the Lord desires is for us to return to Him, to remember Him, to honour Him, worship Him and give Him all the glory. When we look at ourselves, there is either condemnation or commendation. When we look at ourselves and not God, our failures and weaknesses either overcome us, or our pride and hunger to be gods overcome us. When we look at ourselves, there is the world and imperfection, there is the reminder of the flesh and our past, and there is the control of the emotion, the gratification of the senses and the sharp realization we are but human.

Yet, when we look not at ourselves, casting away self-absorption and self-centeredness, but looking upon Jesus, beholding Him in all His holiness and splendour, we see the author and finisher of our faith. We then behold the majesty and the glory, we see the resurrection and the life, and we bow before the Rose of Sharon, the Lilly of the Valley, the Lion of Judah and the Lamb who is worthy to open the seals. We behold the truth and the power, and we know, yes we know, He is God and He is Lord!

With our eyes upon Jesus, this world fades, our past and future fade, for only the here and now is where we long to live and breathe. With our eyes upon Jesus, we see His plans, His ways, His perfection and His beauty. With our eyes upon Jesus, we know in our hearts that His grace and mercy are new every morning. Truly, his grace is sufficient for us. His grace makes us strong when we are weak and by His love, we are forgiven and strengthened to reign with Him.

With our eyes upon Jesus, there is peace, there is hope, there is comfort, there is joy and there is the cry of the heart just to worship and serve. All the shackles and burdens shatter. All that remains is His perfect and pleasing will. Oh, let us lay down our ways and follow completely His will! Oh, with our eyes upon Jesus, there is only one desire and only longing: to worship Him and to glorify Him. There is the only desire to live and please Him! Oh, by the power of His love, by the power of His grace, by the power of His touch, we bow the knee, our hearts melt, and we know that He is God and we are but man!

With our eyes upon Jesus, everything in this world pales in comparison and fades away. At His feet, we lay down our crowns, we lay down our plans, our ways, our deeds and our pride and we surrender. At the feet of God, our longing is stilled, our thirst and hunger quenched and we can be at peace. O, the Lord says be still and know that He is God. Let us be still, our eyes upon Jesus, our hearts upon Him, beholding Him, crying out for Him, seeking His touch and love, for then we will be satisfied and then we will be free.

Let every race look upon Jesus. Let us behold Him, love Him and cherish Him. He seeks our heart and He seeks our love. Who shall listen to His voice, who shall heed His wisdom and who shall run after Him and sit at His feet? With our eyes upon Jesus, there is settled faith, there is certainty, there is assurance and there is comfort. With our eyes upon Jesus, there is trust, there is calmness, for we know no matter what storm, no matter the trials and tribulations, no matter the days of splendid joy or the days of fire and ice, our Lord Jesus is faithful and true, always walking with us.

Oh, to look into His eyes, for there is fire, there is holiness, there is so much love, there is so tenderness and there is so much peace. Oh to hear His voice, for there is so much authority, there is so much kindness, yet both are like the thunder and a peaceful river. Oh the Lord is beautiful and gracious, kind and true, yet we have not looked upon Him for all of our days. He is the host of the army, the prince of peace, the great high priest and the great high judge. He is the power and He is the might!

In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes seven statements beginning with the words I am. We glorify Jesus for He is the bread of life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51). He is the door of our salvation (John 10:7 and 9). He is the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14). He is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). He is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). He is the true vine (John 15:1, 5). In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the mob came to arrest Jesus, He asked them whom they sought. They said, “Jesus of Nazareth,” and Jesus replied, “I am he” (John 18:4–5). Then something strange happened: “When Jesus said, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (verse 6). Perhaps explaining the mob’s reaction is the fact that the word he has been provided by our English translators. Jesus simply said, “I am.” Applying God’s covenant name to Himself, Jesus demonstrated His power over His foes and showed that His surrender to them was entirely voluntary (see John 10:17–18; 19:11). Yes, this is the God who we serve for He IS life, sustenance, the Kingdom, hope, and the truth.

Yes, He is the answer and the truth. He is the Life and the Way. There is no other foundation and there is nothing else. He desires our comfort, our love, our worship and praise. He desires our heart and spirit, all of it, so He calls for obedience and submission. Yet with our eyes upon Him, with our eyes beholding the cross and the empty tomb, how else but to abandon all to walk in His love? People of the Lord, let us not look at the failures of this world, but let us look at Jesus. He is the answer and He is coming back to rule for all time. This world is already covered by His glory, yet we fail to see His Spirit. This world is already covered by His love, yet we fail to surrender to Him. This world is already covered by His peace, yet we fail in our unrest for our eyes are not on Him.

Jesus: You are the Son of David, the Righteous King and the only one to be praised and worshipped. Let us again hear Your Voice, follow your Wisdom and bow the knee to you as our only Shepherd. The wisdom of man is but feeble and not the way. Let us then shout it from the rooftops and the mountains, let us speak the word in the valleys and the forests, let us worship in the towns and cities, for God is King and Jesus is the only way, truth and life!

Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams] - To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Let us always remember we are God's children, His sons and daughters of faith, and that we serve a Father who gives what His children ask. Let us remember that we are filled with the resurrection power of Jesus, working through and in the Holy Spirit, that we are able to do all that God has called us to do, that we are victorious, alive, free, brought into the light, bought by the precious Blood, cleansed, consecrated, sanctified, adopted, anointed, called and blessed! Let us remember that Satan's power has been crushed and he has no more hold over God's children. Satan's lies and deceit deserve to be torn down, crushed, broken, bound, and made useless. Let a cry arise in the hearts of the children of God that we are powerful, loosed, walking with authority, walking with faith, dancing, singing, rejoicing, for the hand of the Lord is upon us.

Hallelujah, praise Him and worship Him. At His feet there is surrender, there is forgiveness and there is peace. He is the fulfilment of the Law and the mediator of the New Covenant. By His blood we are free!  With our eyes upon Him, there is vision and understanding. Oh let the Lord awaken in us the living truth. Let His sword cut through our spirit and soul, burning into us the living epistles of His word and truth.

Everything is about Jesus. Healing is about Jesus. Deliverance is about Jesus. Everything we do as children of God should be about Jesus! We must seek Christ, embrace Christ, know Christ, and then we shall know true life! In him resides all truth, values, virtues and gifts in living colour. In Christ, so beautiful, we find our beauty. Our entire spiritual walk is about Jesus Nothing more. Nothing less. Christianity is not an ideology. Christianity is not a philosophy. Christianity is the “good news” that beauty, truth and goodness are found in a person. Biblical community is founded on the connection to that person. Conversion is more than a change in direction; it’s a change in connection. Jesus’ use of the ancient Hebrew word shubh, or its Aramaic equivalent, to call for “repentance” implies not viewing God from a distance, but entering into a relationship where God is command central of the human connection.

Everything we must do should be Christ-focused and orientated. Everything. It is not about our ministries, but all about Jesus. Always. We are called to be followers of Christ, not called to draw followers unto us! If people follow us, then it is no longer about Jesus, about His beauty, glory and majesty! Being a follower of Jesus does not involve imitation so much as it does implantation and impartation. Christians don’t follow a mere book. Christians follow a person. The written Word is a map that leads us to the Living Word. Or as Jesus himself put it, “All Scripture testifies of me.” The Bible is not the destination; it’s a compass that points to Christ, heaven’s North Star.

May we remember that Christians don’t follow Christianity; Christians follow Christ. Christians don’t preach themselves; Christians proclaim Christ. Christians don’t point people to core values; Christians point people to the cross. Christians don’t preach about Christ: Christians preach Christ. Jesus Christ – the crucified, resurrected, enthroned, triumphant, living Lord. He is our pursuit, our passion, and our life. Amen.

Follow Jesus, no one or nothing else

Jesus gave two key instructions to His disciples. Follow and go. He said to His disciples to follow Him, and then in Matthew 28 to go into the world to teach all mankind to be disciples. And therefore, to teach people to FOLLOW and to GO. This is the heart of the disciple – to FOLLOW and to GO. And we go because we follow, so where you go determines who you follow! We are called to follow Jesus, and no one or nothing else. If we follow Jesus, we go where He leads to His glory to fulfil a divine purpose, yet if we follow someone else or an idea or a different narrative to the Gospel, we end up at the wrong destination, fulfilling a wrong purpose!

To GO and to FOLLOW are verbs. It speaks of action. It speaks of constant movement forward. Daily we must FOLLOW and GO. Constant movement. Constant progress. Always following, and always ministering in the Kingdom of God.  It is a constant action of staying in step with Jesus, always listening, always obeying, always being faithful and always surrendering to His will and way.  Jesus said He is the Way (John 14:6). So to follow Jesus is the right way, the best way and the only way.

If we follow the Lord, we shall fulfil our God-given destiny and embrace our purpose. We shall go where the Lord leads, and such a path is one of the quiet rivers and green pastures (Psalm 23). If we follow anything else, be it a person, idol, demon, system, idea, ideology or philosophy, our path shall be tainted with thorns and darkness. After all, Jesus is the true and only light, and as we follow and as we go, we shall find rest in the assurance of His love, beauty and majesty.

If go astray as lost sheep, we run the risk of not heeding what Jesus said in “Revelation 3:11 Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.” If we follow and keep in step with Jesus, we shall keep our crown of righteousness, paid by the King’s ransom, yet if we follow and go after a world so darken in sin and spiritual corruption, our reward lies beyond the gates of the New Jerusalem. So, make sure to follow the right, the true and only Master, for the rest are all charlatans, thieves and robbers who only steal, destroy and kill. In God is our joy, for He is the hope of glory who leads us home to the glorious and eternal Kingdom of a loving and all-sufficient God! Jesus, may we keep in step with You, always hearing as Your breath gives us life, holding fast to Your garment, and may we obey Your every word for You are the Lamb and the conquering Lion of Judah!

In mathematics, a proven formula always works. And with the discipleship formula, it is the same case. If we want to be a disciple of God, then we have to follow the formula, for the formula has been proven to work and is thus foolproof. And ‘foolproof’ means incapable of going wrong or being misused. Yes, Jesus gave us the formula for discipleship! And it is as clear as daylight to follow and to understand. You don’t need to be a mathematical genius like Einstein. Yet we have remarkably failed as believers to adhere to the formula, to teach it, to preach it and to uphold it. Thus, we sit with a church with so few disciples, because we are simply not obeying God, including fulfilling the Great Commission.

Jesus said in the simplest of ways, without using a parable that IF WE WANT TO BE HIS DISCIPLE then we have to do the following – follow Him, deny the Self and carry the cross. It is a foolproof way to serve Him. You cannot manipulate this equation to suit your own needs. It is set in stone. The values of ‘a’, ‘b’, and ‘c’ denotes action, a determined approach and a passionate plea to remain on the course of serving and obeying the Lord.

So, are we following Jesus or are we following man, an idea, or a vision detached from God? To the first disciples, God said ‘follow Me’. Simple. Nothing spectacular. Thus, if we want to be His disciple, we need to ‘follow’, meaning He leads. We follow in His steps. We leave behind our old lives and old ways, after all, you cannot put in new wine in old wineskins. We do as He commands. We obey His truth. We listen to His instructions. He is the Master. He is the Way, so we follow His Way. Yet, still in churches, we follow not His will, or His way, or His Truth. And then we wonder why things are not working out? To ‘follow’ means above all following His Kingdom and His righteousness and then the rest shall be added. What simple instructions!

Are we truly following, or are we dictating to God to follow us? Think about that. Is it your will or the will of the Lord? You way or God’s way? Your truth or God’s truth? The Great Commission calls us to make disciples, thus followers of God, and not disciples who will follow our ministry, our ways, our doctrines, our truths and our ideas of truth. Yes, we are called to disciple others to follow not us but in the way of Jesus! We can only follow Jesus and walk in His Way when we have denied the self and seek only His glory and presence. 

It says in Jeremiah 6 from verse 10: To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the LORD is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. 16 Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it. 17 Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

NIV: 16 This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.  But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  Compare to “Jeremiah 31: 6 For there shall be a day when the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim shall cry out, Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God. “

Jesus is the path of God. It is the path of the Kingdom. There is no other path. There is no other way. Want success? Follow the path. Want to be blessed? Follow the path. Want favour? Follow the path. But the path is one of sacrifice, dedication, loyalty, determination, and dying to the Self. It is not easy to follow this path. It is not easy to follow Jesus. For there will be persecution. There will be tough times. There will be many highs and lows. But we need to stay true to the path, thus staying true to the ways of the Lord Almighty. But if we want to follow the path, we need to follow Jesus.

There is only one way – through Jesus (John 10). No other god, idol or system will do. There is only one way into life, and no other way will suffice to deliver and heal us. There is only one way unto life and hope, and that through the Blood of the Lord. Any other way leads to the devouring ways of Satan – he who comes to steal, destroy and kill. And so the Lord says it is time again to ask and search and seek for the ancient path of the Lord. This means it is time to go back and find His Way, His Truth and His Wisdom above all. The First Century believers were followers of what they called "the Way" (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23). The Way is Jesus – not an idea about Jesus or involving Jesus, but Jesus Himself.

In says in “Matthew 4: 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.”

To be a disciple means we ‘follow’. We are not called to ‘follow’ any man or idea or thought of Gospel or Truth if it in any way contradicts the teachings of the Lord as taught and upheld by the Holy Spirit. We uphold this habit of teaching Pauline theology, meaning the teachings of Paul, but at the expense of teaching what Jesus taught as the foundation of all. Paul’s teaching upholds the teachings of Jesus but doesn’t supplant it. And this is what has been happening over the last 2000 years. Mankind, especially in the Church, has come up with “new” ideas and thoughts and ideologies and gospels, but with the Lord nothing is new, but everything has already been established and settled in heaven. There is no other truth or any other magical mystery to be uncovered.

The revelations of the Lord and the discernment of the Spirit of the Lord is to understand what has already been and what has always been from the ancient days until all eternity. Yet we create byways of “new” thought and teachings, thinking we are clever and rich in our knowledge. We are creating a different truth, a different Gospel and we are leading people away from the true Highway of the Lord. Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.

Indeed, mankind has in its wisdom and folly pursued the path of becoming a self-god and has followed his thoughts and own path to walk. We see this very often in the churches, where our interpretations of the truth have been preached and taught high and low, but in the end, only leads people astray and away from the Lord. We should always heed the warning of Jesus in "Revelation 22: 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll."

We can never add anything or take away anything regarding the Truth, for the Lord is the Truth. There is no room for interpretation, and if we do, we do so at our folly and danger. So the Lord speaks in Jeremiah 6 that it is time again we must seek the True Path and Way. If we do not walk in and on His path, then we should take of the following: “1 Samuel 15: Amplified Bible (AMP): 23For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim (household good luck images). Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.” For those who stay not on the path of God, they walk in rebellion, and rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. Woe indeed to those who stay not on the path of God.

We find throughout the Old Testament where the Lord admonishes Israel for not following Him and His ways. For the people of Israel, it had become a habit to fall into rebellion, serving the gods of Assyria and Baal. God would however often punish the people by causing drought and famine because agriculture was and is still today the backbone of living in Israel. It says in Galatians that God cannot be mocked and that we reap what we sow. We cannot fool God by following our ways and following our path. The Lord knows our ways, where we wander, our motivations and our intent.

And for us to walk in His ways means repentance and turning back from our ways and returning to God’s ways. The Lord indeed wishes to bless us and prosper us, but only if we rely on Him, seek Him, trust Him, follow Him and give ourselves as a living sacrifice. The people of Israel could after all only enter the Promised Land if they followed God’s way. Of course, rebellion and stubbornness caused them to wander the wilderness for forty years. The same principle applies today. If we don’t follow God’s way, meaning His Truth and Order, we will wander life – even as believers – never entering in God’s greater rest and purpose for our life.

It is time again to return to the ancient truths and the ancient paths. It is time to open our eyes, open our ears and let our spirit soar high above the ancient grounds to discover that which has been lost and that which has been blinded from us. Shall we realize that returning to the Ancient of Ways implies returning unto the very ancient purpose of mankind – to worship God and for us to stand in a relationship with Him as sons and daughters? As sons and daughters, we are therefore becoming like Jesus Himself.

Shall we consider that beyond all the cluttering of modern-day religion, dogma and doctrine, beyond all the teachings that cloud the issue, the ancient of purposes and the ancient of truths is that we have been created to glorify and worship Him as His children?  Above anything else, above any work, deed or word, the ancient of purposes is for us to be united with divinity, our spirit reawakened to be united with Him, the Great I Am. The Ancient of Paths is that road that takes us back to realizing the greatest priority and the greatest desire of the Father is for us to be united in Him, worshipping in Spirit and Truth. Beyond all the teachings on purposes and gifts, our greatest and most ancient of purpose is to be with one with God (John 17). It is to be sons and daughters.

Where did we begin to lose this ancient of truth? Above all things that we do for the Lord, when the Lord says it is time to return to the Ancient of Ways, then it is time to get back to God, become His child, worship Him as Father and seek His face and presence above anything else! Where have we lost this truth and purpose? We run around doing so many things for church and man and country, yet we neglect the most ancient of purposes and the very purpose of being created: AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD ABOVE ANYTHING ELSE (Deuteronomy 6).

What is our true purpose on earth? For Jew and Gentile, it is to be united with God in a pure relationship, calling Him Abba as His redeemed sons and daughters. The rest is an outflow – but from that very nucleus flows all. Are we hearing what the Lord is saying? Get back to Him! Get back to His feet! Worship Him! Even if we have to spend years just worshipping Him to get this relationship right, then that is what we have to do! How can we tell the world about God yet we do not know Him?

To know Him is to know His presence and to know His presence is to dwell permanently, habitually and reverently in His presence. It is that simple. Yes, we have a role to play in His Kingdom and yes we have been given gifts to fulfil that role – but never can we lose sight that our greatest and most ancient of purposes is to dwell with Him in spirit and truth. Now, what is the true ancient way to the Father – JESUS! Jesus is the Way, Truth and Light. He is the very wonder and the very truth of it all. The first Christians called their faith “The Way”. The path they walked was the ancient path of Jesus for it led them to God the Father!

Where is the most ancient of places in the Bible? The Garden of Eden. Do we in the most ancient of places find the most ancient of ways and the most ancient of purposes? Yes. In the Garden, the Lord demonstrated His most ancient of purposes – mankind united with divinity. God walked and talked and laughed with man. He gave man dominion overall – there was a divine union forged by a covenant.

What else was in the Garden? How about the Tree of Life? The most ancient of trees – this is representative of Jesus, who is the ancient way to the Father.

The will of the Lord, which is always to give Him all the glory, is so precisely illustrated in the Garden of Eden. The Lord wished for Adam and Eve, and for us, to eat only from the Tree of Life, which is Jesus.  In Revelation, the New Jerusalem is the complete restoration and fulfilment of God’s Paradise on earth, after the processes of redemption have been completed. In New Jerusalem, there is also the Tree of Life, which feeds us all.  The Tree of Life feeds us and it is this same tree in Revelations that will feed all nations one day. This Tree bears the holy fruit, nourishing us to draw closer to the Father and to abide in Him.

By eating from the Tree, we partake in the New Covenant by becoming part of the Tree, thus becoming part of the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. The Tree is the Way, Truth and Life. It is guarded by the Spirit and by the Word. For those who seek the Lord, will find the Tree of Life, thus abiding in Spirit and Truth and abiding in the Father. For in that state is the Sabbath rest, as we submit and surrender to His will. The Tree of Life is the blessing and our sustenance. Let us remember that as we are called to lead the people back to the Son, we are ultimately leading them back to the Father.

When the Lord, therefore, calls His children back to the Ancient of Ways, He is calling us to again return to the Tree of Life, which gives us life. In Jesus, we find our answers and truth. The Tree of Knowledge leads us away from the ancient of paths. It has forever been God’s way or Satan's way. There is no other option. If Jesus has forever been part of the Grand Design by which man returns unto the Father to fulfil the greatest of purposes, it stands to reason that the ancient of paths and ways of Jesus and the Father are embedded in the history of Israel. God has and will never change. The entire history of Israel reflects His character and nature and His grandest of purposes, which is the redemption of mankind through the Blood of His Son.

To the Jew first and then to the Gentile did He reveal Himself, did he show His glory, present His truths and opened the doorways to true spiritual growth. Shall we then heed the call of the Lord and return to the ancient of ways, where His presence burns like a furnace during the night and day? Shall we heed his call and again walk these roads to discover how we are but ancient ruins when we are walking without His presence?

We need to understand and grasp that the Old Testament has not passed away. It is not a mere account of ancient stories and boring laws. In the pages of the Old Testament, we discover and we have in black and white the great ancient truths of who God is, His truths and what children He desires to worship and love Him. In order to understand how the Lord is working these days, we need to understand who He was and still is, just like the need to understand history in order for us to progress into the future.

One has to understand that the Old Testament is rich with deep spiritual truths that are everlasting, for it reveals a God who has and always will be the same and operates as divinity in this world and beyond this world. It is for this reason that much of what happened in the Old Testament served as blueprints of the real thing: Jesus in the embodiment of man was the real deal in terms of God and our relationship with divinity. As Jesus was the real thing and His ministry and everything He did was the real model, it stands to reason that everything that happened in the OT was a blueprint pointing towards Jesus, for Jesus points towards the Father and the Father is the Ancient One. The blueprint of the ancient ways and the ancient truths is found in the OT and revealed in the true real model found in Jesus.

For this reason, all the ceremonial rituals, the moral laws, the feasts and all the things pertaining to the spiritual aspects of the people of Israel, such as the Tabernacle, was not merely a distinct and separate set of rules only given to Abraham’s children. Within these rituals and laws and ceremonies, are the ancient truths for they served as a blueprint of Jesus’ teachings, His truths, His ways – all to the glorification of the Father alone. And the amazing thing is that the Father firstly took the ancient truths that are within Him, translated them into a truth that man can understand and for a time relate to, and then these truths as a blueprint bore fruit when Jesus came to reveal the great spiritual dimensions of these paths. To therefore ignore the OT, dismissing the laws of Leviticus or the ancient offerings or ceremonies, or even regard them as something of the past, is of grave concern as we will miss the ancient paths leading to the Ancient One.

Colossians 2 says, “16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Here we can see that Paul had turned to the topic of Old Testament laws and practices by referring to a “festival,” “new moon” and “sabbaths” (verse 16). But do these verses then mean that all Old Testament law is null and void? As mentioned, God’s festivals foreshadow actual events prophesied to come, including the return of Jesus Christ, the binding of Satan, the rule of the Kingdom of God on earth and the resurrections. Calling them shadows is not a put down of the festivals, but an acknowledgement that they show us the outlines of the wonderful things God has planned.

It is dangerous to also say that the Old Testament laws weren’t real (they were only a shadow) and that genuine reality is in Christ. The fact is that the 613 Laws of Moses played a very important role in showing us as believers under the Now Covenant the way of God, which is one of holiness and purity.

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17–18). Jesus goes out of His way to promote the authority of the Law of God. He did not come to abolish the Law, regardless of what the Pharisees accused Him of. In other words, Jesus’ purpose was not to abrogate the Word, dissolve it, or render it invalid. The Prophets will be fulfilled; the Law will continue to accomplish the purpose for which it was given (see Isaiah 55:10–11).

Jesus said that He came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets. In other words, Jesus’ purpose was to establish the Word, to embody it, and to fully accomplish all that was written. “Christ is the culmination of the law” (Romans 10:4). The predictions of the Prophets concerning the Messiah would be realized in Jesus; the holy standard of the Law would be perfectly upheld by Christ, the strict requirements personally obeyed, and the ceremonial observances finally and fully satisfied.