Breaking Through

This is great stuff worth reading. Taken from http://www.seedofabraham.net/kingdomv.html regarding Matthew 11:12.

KJV: 'From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.'


Yeshua was alluding to the prophetic passage in Micah about the Messiah being the Shepherd that would breach or tear open a section of the fence or wall of the Sheepfold (the earthly existence), for the Remnant of Israel. The Sheep (believers; breachers), would then continue to break down and break through the fence of the sheep-pen into greener pastures (the Heavenly Kingdom), as they followed their Shepherd. In Micah 2:12-13 we read:

'I will surely assemble all of you, Jacob. I will surely gather the Remnant of Israel. I will put them together like sheep in the fold' (Bozrah); 'like a flock in the midst of its pasture. They shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men.'

'The Breaker (Poretz from the same verb 'to tear down,' to breach), goes up before them. They break out, pass through the gate and go out by it. So their King goes on before them and Yahveh is at their head.'

This is what Yeshua was pointing to that day in Matt. 11:12. The Kingdom of the Heavens was presenting Itself, first with John's proclamation and then with Yeshua Himself. Not to disparage the Law and the Prophets (Luke 16:17), but on the contrary, to hold up what they spoke of as future, was now unfolding as a present Reality. Yeshua was declaring that He was the Shepherd (the Breaker; the Breacher), who would break down the Fence so that His Sheep (the breakers) could follow Him into their inheritance, the Heavenly realm. A more literal translation of Micah 2:13 reads,

'And the One breaking open will go up before them and they will break open and they will go through the Gate and they will go out through Him and their King will pass through before them, (with) Yahveh at their head.'36

It's not that the Kingdom is suffering violence but that the Shepherd is tearing open, making a hole in the Heavenly Fence that separates Man from God. He does this with His Death and Resurrection. The ones that are His, follow Him. They hear His Voice calling to them and escape from the Fold by running through the opening in the Fence that He made for them. It becomes widened much the same way that cattle, stampeding through a break in a fence, will trample it down and tear out more and more of it as they go through it.

Such is the 'violence' that Yeshua was presenting that day. Unfortunately, when Matthew was translated into Greek 'there was something lost in the translation.' The translators tell us that the Kingdom of Heaven 'suffers violence'. As we have seen, the idea of force is inherent in the Hebrew word. But the Greek lacks the Hebraic Scriptural link to Micah that begins to explain what Yeshua said that day and what he meant. Micah then opens up a Scriptural chain for us that will reveal both the Salvation of Yahveh and the Resurrection of Yeshua.

In ancient Israel, the shepherd would take his sheep and box them into a place for the night that would be safe from bear, wolf and lion. If possible, a little box canyon would be ideal. The canyon walls would afford protection on three sides with its high cliffs and the shepherd would build a fence of rocks and branches across the opening so the no wild animal could come in, and no sheep could wander off.

The sheepfold or fold was, 'a wall or hedge made of stones which might be used for a defense of a fold.'37

'Sheepfolds were of various types. At times they were located in or near a cave (e.g., 1st Sam. 24:3). Some were permanent enclosures with a roof and stone walls, while others were temporary, consisting simply of an open pen with thornbush sides.'38

When daybreak came, the shepherd would make a small opening in the fence for himself. This passageway would be known as a 'door' or a 'gate'.39 (Notice the 'Gate' in Micah where the sheep go through). Once on the other side he would call to his sheep by name and they would begin to break through to the other side (Edersheim and Micah), enlarging the hole as more and more sheep followed the others and, moving 'shoulder to shoulder,' they would naturally take out more and more of the fence so that the hole or breach would be further enlarged.

The Breaker or the 'One breaking open' in the passage is Messiah Yeshua, the Good Shepherd (John 10). His Sheep hear His Voice:

'the sheep hear His Voice: and He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. When He puts forth all His own, He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His Voice.' (Jn. 10:3-4)

Yeshua is saying that He will lead us out of this world of darkness into His Kingdom. This parallels Micah's Shepherd as 'He goes ahead of them'. The sheep will follow when they hear His Voice. The shepherd spent much of his day 'talking to his sheep until they all recognized his voice'.40

'So close is the connection between shepherd and sheep that to this day Middle Eastern shepherds can divide flocks that have mingled at a well or during the night simply by calling their sheep, who follow their shepherd's voice.'41

In Hebrew, the word for gate or door and opening are conceptually interchangeable. The concept is an opening or hole in something (a wall, a fence, etc.). The Hebrew word for gate is shah-are and means, 'to cleave, divide...an aperture, and then a gate'.42 It also means, 'break, break off, through...gap, opening...tear in two, dissolve...split, divide, tear down...gate'.43 'The root idea is 'to split open' and 'to break through.'44

Yeshua is both the Breaker and the Gate or Door through which the Sheep pass (Jn. 10:7, 9). The Sheep (breakers) go through the Gate (the Heavenly Fence or Wall). Ryken states that, 'Jesus used the imagery of a gate for entrance either into life or into destruction (Mt. 7:13-14).'45 He further writes that, 'Jesus elaborates the image of the gate ('door' in some older translations), in his Good Shepherd Discourse (Jn. 10:1-17). The good shepherd 'enters by the gate' and leads his sheep out through the gate of the sheepfold, an image of safety. In an extension of the metaphor, Jesus calls himself the gate: 'I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved' (Jn. 10:9 NRSV).'46 He further states that, 'In the context this certainly refers to being a door for the sheep and hence the gate or entry-way to salvation.'47

Is Balance Important?

After 10 years of working "behind the scenes" in ministry, I have heard multiple teachings on "Balance." How important it is. How important it isn't.

Some say, "Balance is the key to ministry."

Others say, "Forget, balance! Just live for Jesus and everything will work out."

I've tried both. Have I come to any conclusions? Well, here's what I have learned. Whatever your definition of balance is, however balanced you think you are, none of it really matters if your foundation is shaky.

Have you ever tried to carry multiple bags and items in both arms and found yourself holding a hot mug of coffee with your two free fingers? Then you walk to the car and open the door strategically until you can throw your bags inside and secure the coffee in your cup-holder. In this case, some would say you are balanced. You've got all your stuff equally distributed on both sides and still have an extra hand to hold the coffee and open the door.

We do the same things with life, too. We try balance our work life, home life and social life and still manage to squeeze as many other things in as we can. Most of the time, it works. Yes, we may get tired, even exhausted, but it's worth it. But let's go back to the case of the coffee mug. Let's say you are just about to approach the car, eyes intent on your goal and WHAMMO, you step on a skateboard that was left outside. Bags, papers, hot coffee and you hit the ground. What happened? The ground beneath you was not as sure and steady as you thought it was. At that critical moment, when you needed it most, it proved unstable.

How many times does this happen in life? Everything seems to be rolling along when seemingly out of nowhere, one thing rocks your world and you didn't even see it coming. I have seen this happen a lot in the area of health. People try to do everything they know to be healthy, and then they get a report that shocks them. However, as Christians who walk in the inheritance we received from the Father, the only thing that should shock us is when we are shocked by a bad report. That should be a sign that something is not right in our foundation.

I went through this recently after I received a bad report that through me off step. I allowed myself to think about the "what-ifs." After hearing some grounded teachings from the Word, and allowing the Lord to speak to me, I realized that my whole foundation of belief was off. I had a very small belief that I somehow deserved this bad report, which prevented my belief in God's Word from actually doing what it's supposed to do...be a shield of faith that quenches the lies of the enemy.

There are times in life when we just have to balance everything to keep all the wheels spinning. Then their are times, when we must shut off the engine, lock ourselves in and seek the Lord for specific answers to questions in our heart. The Lord will let us know when we need to do this, if we are paying attention. He will make an appointment with us and remind you to keep it. Why should we keep it? Because there are moments in life when we must grapple with the truth of His Word. We must do as Paul said and "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." Just like a muscle, we must work out the salvation (wholeness) that the Lord has provided into every area of our life.

Our salvation is our foundation. It is not only our saving grace from hell, death and the grave, but it provides the wholeness we need to the broken and bruised places of our heart. When we let that salvation seep into the tiny cracks, it creates good soil for the Word to grow and a strong foundation for our lives to be planted on.

The Fragrance of Christ

Do you leave the scent of Christ everywhere you go?

2 Cor 2:14-15

¹⁴ Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. ¹⁵ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.

More on this later....

Priorities

Almost a year since my last post. I just have a hard time writing when I'm not sure if people are reading it, but I guess if I just treat it like a journal that won't matter as much.

My husband is now part of an internship at our church www.gutschurch.com. He no longer has the hair that you see in this picture. (will get new picture soon!) He is busy all the time and I'm attempting to keep up with him. Of course, it's not much different than before. The only thing is that he can't just say "no" to something if we want to spend time together. He just got a job as a cook which means that I will hopefully see him on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons. (sigh) Only ten months to go...

In the midst of all this, I am leaning on God ever so closely. Literally, needing his guidance for every little decision. I'm so glad he doesn't mind. That he's not sitting in his recliner, behind a newspaper, telling me to figure it out. The Holy Spirit likes being involved in our lives whether it's in the big, or small, stuff.

And now, for my daily outing: bringing the mail downstairs. I know. I know. It's pretty amazing...

Use what you have

Sometimes, I need people to remind me to use what I already have. Like today, my husband reminded me that if I put insoles in my shoes they will be more comfortable. I forgot I already had some.

The same thing applies to our walk with Christ. Sometimes we forget to use the weapons of the Spirit that we already have. Love is our greatest weapon and it pulls down strongholds around our lives. If we do things out of love, no matter who we are dealing with, it will work in amazing ways.

Update

Well, I know it's been a long time since my last post, but I just wanted to check in for those of you who read them and let you know things are going well. I've been working on being a "doer" of the word and not just a "hearer." God has put many opportunities in front of me to give and serve others, so I am taking them. But I do want to encourage anyone who is reading this to just do the thing that is in front of you today. Don't worry about tomorrow or five years from now. Just focus on what's on your plate today and let God take it from there.

Peace!

Peace Be Still

Sometimes our emotions may feel like we are in the middle of a storm. The waves are crashing down on us and we fear that our boat is going to turn over, but those waves are only there to make you fear. If we can hold onto the boat and allow Jesus to tell our emotions, "Peace, be still," just like he did on the Sea of Galilee, then we will experience His rest which is beyond anything this world can offer.

James said that anyone who is in doubt is like a wave tossed and driven by the wind. Our emotions go buzurk when we are in doubt, but if we can get ourselves into a place of faith with whatever situation we are facing we will find ourselves to be more steady than ever. To get into faith you have to speak God's Word over your situation. Worried? Just proclaim, "God takes care of the birds. Of course, He's going to take care of me!"