Yield

My greatest fear, often times, is sharing the Truth that God has revealed to me through His Grace.  

As I prayed this morning, my head rested on my son's bed. 

 I asked the Lord to help me to be loyal to Him.  -That He would help me to avoid being loyal to man over being loyal to Him, for He knows that I sometimes hold back sharing all that He has taught me through His Grace for fear of offending man and the  doctrines of men.  

As I prayed for His anointing and presence in my heart to carry out His will, my eyes opened and went directly to a symbol on my son's blanket.   As I had prayed with eyes closed, unknowingly my head rested on this symbol:   It was a road sign.  I paused and really considered its meaning before rising up and going downstairs.    My son's blanket has a "construction" theme - trucks, dump trucks, etc.  The Lord had brought my eyes to this particular sign on the blanket -- a Yield sign.  

The YIELD Symbol on My Son's Blanket

It was one of those moments that I knew the Lord had put His finger on His instructions for me.  I am to YIELD to His will and what He has taught me through His Grace.  

The story doesn't end with this moment.  Even a few hours before this moment, I had shared a passing thought with the Lord.  

"If only there were a verse in the Bible, Lord, that says I am to share with others the revelations you have taught me through Your Grace."   

 I know that probably sounds silly because God has continually shown me that I am to speak what He says to me, but Satan truly battles me and makes every attempt to keep me silent.  So a few hours before my prayer in my son's room, I had shared that particular thought with the Lord. 

After contemplating the meaning of the YIELD sign, I went downstairs and eventually went outside to watch my boys play on their big wheels.  I read the Bible as they road up and down the driveway.  During that time, the Lord very obviously directed my reading to Romans chapter 12.  I will include it below;  His revelation did not stop with a YIELD sign, for the great Creator was still attempting to teach me, confirming and answering two specific areas of prayer  from moments before and earlier that morning:  

12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
³ For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
⁴ For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
⁵ So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
⁶ Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
⁷ Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
⁸ Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
⁹ Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
¹⁰ Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
¹¹ Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
¹² Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
¹³ Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
¹⁴ Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
¹⁵ Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
¹⁶ Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
¹⁷ Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
¹⁸ If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
¹⁹ Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
²⁰ Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
²¹ Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

While reading this chapter, the Lord instructed me to examine the word PRESENT in verse 1.  I'll include a picture of the word's original Greek definition as it appeared in my Strong's Concordance.   As I flipped through the Concordance in search of the definition of PRESENT, I quite literally thought, 

"What if it means yield..." 

No sooner did I think that, I turned to the page with Present's definition.  I have no recollection of this moment, but some time in the past, I wrote the word Yield using a pink pen right beside of the Greek word paristemi.  This Greek word ~paristemi~ is translated as eleven English words in the KJV.  What am I saying      ...     Present and Yield are both the same Greek word ------>  paristemi.  

The Actual Entry in my Strong's Concordance

1.  In Romans 12, believers are told to yield/present their bodies to and for the Lord's work.  The Lord had shown me the word YIELD earlier in the morning as I prayed, and then, soon after, had brought me to this verse.

2.  Earlier in the morning, I had what seemed to be a passing thought:  "If only there were a verse in the Bible, Lord, that says I am to share with others the revelations you have taught me through Your Grace."
 In verse 3, Paul states that he is speaking to us by the very GRACE given unto him.  What is he admonishing us to do....  to fulfill the function that the Lord has given us to fulfill.  He goes on to outline the list of offices. 

As Paul shares in Romans 12, believers do not all have the same office (practice, act, function).  Yet, whatever office the Lord's Grace has imparted to a believer, the believer is called in verse one to present his or her body a living sacrifice.  Share, do, speak, perform the very office (function) that He has imparted to each individual believer.  
 
Satan would have me deny the office that the Lord has given me.  The gift that His Grace has bestowed on me.  I must choose as to whether I want to obey the Lord and present (yield) myself a living sacrifice by sharing this gift/this office that His Grace imparts to me, or I can choose to be silent.  I can choose to YIELD (present in verse 1) or I can choose to resist the Spirit's  teaching and revelation.

Merriam Webster's definition for yield is "to give up and cease resistance."   Paul, through the Spirit, exhorts believers in this chapter to carry out whatever measure of grace each has been given.

His Grace imparts various gifts to believers.  We are not called to keep those gifts to ourselves.  Instead, they are to be shared with the body of Christ - for edification and for our perfecting, so that we can all come to the knowledge of the Truth.  

I want to continue yielding to the Lord and sharing the areas of Truth that He has taught me through His Grace. Man-made and man-led doctrines & practices are against the will of God and lead the flock astray.  I will continue to share as He leads.    If I do not fulfill the office that He has given me, then I will have denied Him.  And that is unacceptable by Him and by me.    

I humbly thank the Lord for His answers this day.  Satan seems to have fled, as he often does during such times.  

    

Lord of Hosts

While I was praying a few minutes ago, I was crying out to the Lord to equip me so that I could be a part of His HOST.  At that exact moment, my two year old (who had been in the toy room opposite of my location) walked up to me in the most sincere way with two pieces of army equipment in his hand.  He then proceeded to sit in my lap.  I then looked up the word "host" as it is used in the Bible to describe the Lord.

Almost three pages in Strong's Concordance are reserved for the following phrases that come from the Old Testament:   

Lord of Hosts
God of Hosts

The word hosts in the original Hebrew means:  "a mass of persons, especially organized for war (an army)."    

Satan's darkness is ever growing in our society, and although he hopes to confuse so many with lies, those who are a part of the Lord's Army -His Host- will be victorious!  

Fight the good fight of Faith!  

Stay in the Word of God, and I cannot stress enough how important humble prayer is in the eyes of the Lord.  He can transform even the most fearful person into a warrior for His Glory.  As I prayed to Him earlier, I said, "Lord, help me to live a life pleasing to you.  A life that emits Your Light, Lord.  A life lived without You is in vain."  

The Commander of His Hosts Trains His Army Well!  There is Victory in Jesus!  Stay focused on Him - no matter what.  Our nation is transitioning to a new and more diabolical persecution of the Christian Church. 

 No matter what, do not surrender!  

Remember how the Book ends.

 

1 Samuel 17: 45-46

Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

 This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

2 Kings 19: 31  For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this.

Psalm 46:11

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Psalm 48:8

As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah.

Psalm 59:5

Thou therefore, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to visit all the heathen: be not merciful to any wicked transgressors. Selah.

Isaiah 6:3

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

Isaiah 9:19

Through the wrath of the Lord of hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire: no man shall spare his brother.

Isaiah 10:33

Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, shall lop the bough with terror: and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down, and the haughty shall be humbled.

Isaiah 13:13

Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Romans 8:37

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

The Dangers of Being a Carnal Christian

1 Corinthians 3
There are ministers who plant the word and ministers who water the word.  Paul spends a great deal of time in Chapter 3 explaining the role of a minister to the carnal Christians who are at Corinth.

Paul calls them carnal early in chapter 3:  “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.  For ye are carnal: for there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Corinthians 3: 2-3).

 carnal - sarkikos - pertaining to flesh, i.e. bodily, temporal, or animal, unregenerate.
               
            Unregenerate means not reforming or showing repentance; obstinately wrong or bad.

The verses below further address being carnal or fleshly:
Romans 8:5-7
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

                             Notice that Paul is specifically naming the brethren here. He is warning believers against becoming an enemy to God = being carnal (walking in the flesh)

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Again, Paul uses ye several times in this verse to indicate that he is specifically addressing/warning the brethren.  Since every person lives literally and dies literally, Paul is not making a reference to physically living and dying.  Instead, he is confirming what so many verses of the Bible state:  If one does not abide in Christ and is not led of His Spirit, that once believer will face eternal damnation instead of eternal life.  

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

A believer is a son of God only if the believer is LED by the Spirit.  Verse 13    just before this verse shows Paul warning believers that they must through the Spirit - which means being LED of the Spirit - mortify the deeds of the flesh.  If a believer continues to be carnal, that believer is not being led by the Spirit of God.  

Throughout 1 Corinthians, Paul exhorts this group of carnal Christians for good reason.  A Christian must grow in the faith from milk to meat.  A babe in Christ does not have mature fruit, and we know that Jesus speaks of fruit many times to exhibit how we will know those who have eternal life. Before continuing in 1 Corinthians 3, it is necessary to further address why a believer must grow beyond milk.

In Hebrews chapter 5, those on milk instead of meat are addressed:
11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
        unskilful - apeiros - inexperienced, i.e. ignorant
14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Immediately after he states this to the believers who must be taught again (verse 12) with milk (verse 12 & 13), he begins chapter 6 of Hebrews.  The Lord showed me some years ago by His Spirit of Grace that a believer can reject the faith he once believed in, can remain carnal and never bear fruit ( fruit indicates maturity in Christ), and thus will not inherit eternal life. 

Immediately after ending chapter 5 with verse 13, he then moves straight into chapter 6 with an undeniable truth regarding believers:
1Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
        perfection - teleiotes - a completer, i.e. consummator
        He is telling these believers who are "back on milk again" that they must continue to grow and to mature. 
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.

Immediately after telling these believers in Hebrews that they needed to be taught again on “milk”, he then illustrates that a believer who has the Holy Ghost, is enlightened, and has tasted the word of God and the powers to come will be rejected and burned IF those believers fall away.  There remains no more sacrifice for sins because those who fall away have newly crucified Christ.  He is telling them this for a very specific reason.  He is using this as a warning.  This should be a warning to all believers who are carnal or who have made progress but falter on their journey in Christ.  Repent and continue on to perfection/completion IN CHRIST.  A believer’s heart that is gradually hardened can find him or herself in this very same situation of possible eternal damnation.

We must understand the danger of remaining a carnal believer or making progress only to digress and become carnal again.  Romans 8 and Hebrews 5 & 6 specifically warn us of the dangers.  

This is why Paul exhorts the Church at Corinth very specifically.

Again, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:,

“I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.  For ye are carnal: for there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Corinthians 3: 2-3).
            carnal - sarkikos - pertaining to flesh, i.e. bodily, temporal, or animal, unregenerate.
           Unregenerate means not reforming or showing repentance; obstinately wrong or bad.
He then goes on to explain that there are divisions within the church.  They are not united - some of them say, “I am of Paul, and another, I am of Apollos” (verse 4).    Both Paul and Apollos have ministered to the Corinthians.  Acts 19 shows that Apollos has ministered there:  “And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth” (verse 1).  

Paul explains that they are carnal in their divisions.  He explains that he and Apollos are ministers (teachers) and that the Corinthians should not say,”I am of Paul or Apollos”, but instead they should say, ”I am of God.”  

By the standards set forth by many today, many would say that Paul is "judging" these church goers. "Shame on Paul!", many would shout.  He would be voted out of many of today's churches, but those who read the Bible know that Paul had a genuine love for believers.  What a laborer Paul was for the Lord in so many churches.  ---> Paul addressed sin IN the church.  Laborers for the Lord cannot look the other way within the church when sin is present - when carnality rears its face.  As we read in Romans, 1st Corinthians, and Hebrews above, believers are urged and exhorted to grow in the Spirit.  If we are carnal Christians, our fruit will never ripen and instead will wither on the vine.  Useless branches that bear no fruit are cast forth from the vine of Christ.  It is serious!  Christians must call on the Lord daily and abide in His Power - His Grace - so that our flesh and carnality is nailed to the cross - the very cross He called us to carry daily! 

Remaining silent on these issues would be a grave sin on my part, a denial of what His Grace has taught me these last years.  I love Him and others too much to do that.