He will be like a tree planted near water;
it does not notice when heat comes;
and its foliage is luxuriant;
it is not anxious in a year of drought but keeps on yielding fruit.
Jeremiah 17: 7-8
Complete Jewish Bible
“Those who have an ear, let them hear what the Spirit says to the Body of Christ!” [Matt. 11:15; Rev. 2:29]
The Vicarious and Redemptive spiritual benefits of trials, temptations, and tribulations in the lifestyle of faithful followers.
One of the most impressional prophetic warnings that the Lord has revealed to me since the beginning of 2020 is that His servants from now on will require additional spiritual grace and courage within the lives.
The emphasis of this warning centers around a spiritual reality that being a disciple of the Master, we must begin to be tutored, as well as how to welcome, embrace, the Master’s suffering as deeper spiritual, commissioning, calling and witness in our culture.
With Jesus of Nazareth as our model, the classical passage is Isaiah 53:1-12, which deals with the woes of the oppressed and afflicted Servant of God, [Jesus from Nazareth, as The Son of Man], prophetically communicates not only how He would suffer, but also it assists the reader of the Holy Scriptures, the important value and meaning ascribed to the Servant’s sufferings. This anointed Servant from the heavens suffered not due to His own sins, but because of all those who were in the first Adam. (Isaiah 53:4-6,8).
The next essential spiritual lesson affirms that His sufferings were not only vicarious (the punishment of all human sin falling upon him), but redemptive in their effect (peace and health coming to them as a result of His chastisement). Moreover, it was not only redemptive but expiatory (“his soul guilt-offering,” Isaiah 53:10) thus this truth is a remarkable foreshadowing of the Biblical doctrine of atonement.
Lastly, and the trust if not the purpose of today’s blog post espouses that if our Lord and Savior suffered to redeem us, we too will be like Him and experience various forms of suffering in this life for His sake.
The Priesthood that God always Intended
Our lifestyles as faithful followers of the disciplines and teachings that the Messiah passed on to the initial selected and commissioned disciples, throughout the ages, up to our current generation, will indeed necessitate waves of temptation, trials, and tribulations while we now live in Christ. [Matthew 28:16-20]
Having filled and sealed us with The Holy Spirit as His disciples in the earth, He sanctified and perfected us [making us mature in those matters concerning spirituality], by presenting us to the Heavenly Father by offering Himself once for all. [Hebrews 10:10-14]
The glorified One forevers functions from the heavens as our Prophet, King, and High Priest As the High Priest, Christ Jesus has spiritually recreated those who are within as the New Priesthood that God always intended His people to be prior to the entrance of sin into His creation.
As Lord over all creation, He has become the mediator between Himself and His own. “But you are a Chosen Race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10
We belong to the Father because Christ has selected us as His disciples which requires each faithful follower to be “Christlike” in all ways of our Master. “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;…, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.” 1 Peter 2:21-25
The Master’s instructional steps for His followers when we will suffer!
- Do not be deceitful or express deceit from one’s mouth, by any of us quilty of the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the truth
- Do not revile, despise, scorn during suffering. How do we demonstrate these emotions? A very strong negative emotional verbal response of dislike to loathing, to feeling indignant.
- Do not threaten others, we are not to dissuade or influence others by promising punishment toward those who are hostile toward us or when we experience distress or disturbing life experiences.
- In all of our suffering for Christ’s sake as His disciple, we are to entrust [fully yield our entire soul-care] to our Heavenly Father who will judge our accusers righteously, for we are in Christ who is our Shepherd and Guardian of our sacrificial souls.
Invocation
Father, Your living Word is our light, strength and daily subsistence. Please, my Lord, grant us who are called and commissioned to faithfully follow within the “Footsteps” of Messiah, additional spiritual grace, strength, and courage as His Witnesses and His “Pillars of the Temple of God.” Amen.
Pillars of the Temple of God
Just about the conclusion of the Book of Romans, Paul reminds and exhorts the Lord’s disciples of this age to “offer yourself as a sacrifice, living and set apart for God. This will please Him, it is the logical “Temple Worship for you. In other words, do not let yourself be conformed to the standards of the “Olam ha Zeh” [this world, this age]. Instead, keep letting yourselves be transformed by the renewing of your minds; so that you will know what God wants and will agree that what He wants is good, satisfying and able to succeed.” Romans 12:1-2 Complete Jewish Bible
As a faithful follower in Christ, we function as a pillar of the Living Temple of God by our willing submission at yielding our lives to God as servants and as His priest within this age. Any and all things that we do are to bring honor, praise, and glory. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16
One of the very best illustrations or meaning of a “Pillar” is something that is a bridge between heaven and the earth. As committed priests that are united in Christ as King and High Priest in the heavens. We now are sanctified human instruments in God’s hands that can separate and or unite these two realities. “even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:5-10 Amen!
The image of us being a Pillar also is closely connected to the symbolism of the “Tree!” This tree is the visible expression of stability in the spirituality of one’s calling and commission as a disciple of the Master! “He is like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its root by the stream and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:8
John 15:16
Some closing words of encouragement
Those who the Master has chosen, appointed to go out and bear fruits that continue to reproduce Christlike works into our culture and age, are truly blessed by the Father, through the Son and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
As a priest who is within Christ, our High Priest in Heaven, we are divinely blessed from heaven to prepare this age for Christ’s return. Yet in the meantime, the Bride of Christ is strong and mighty due to the successful seven spiritual pillars of our Faith.
- The Pillar of Praise and Worship
- The Pillar of Prayer
- The Pillar of the Word
- The Pillar of Faith
- The spiritual discipline of Fasting
- The Power and ministry of the Holy Spirit
- The Glorified Christ Jesus as our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Brother Alonzo