CHANUKAH [DEDICATED] comes from the same root as ENOCH - 'chanak' - to be instructed / trained /disciplined / discipled.
Enoch was TRANSLATED:
Enoch was translated because 'he pleased God'. A true disciple 'pleases God' in all his thoughts, words, actions. Translation is a 'lifestyle' - a 'finished work' - not a mere momentary experience.
Enoch was TRANSLATED:
Enoch was translated because 'he pleased God'. A true disciple 'pleases God' in all his thoughts, words, actions. Translation is a 'lifestyle' - a 'finished work' - not a mere momentary experience.
Colossians 1:13
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and
translated / conveyed [past tense] us into the kingdom
of the Son of His love.
At this time of year we need to consider our 'dedication to Christ': the quality of our commitment, our devotion, obedience and consecration. Consecrated, from the Hebrew, is to be 'dedicated', to be set apart. From the Greek, consecrate means 'to expose to public view'.
John 10
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem,
... and it was winter. [Matthew 24:20-21]
23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him,
...."How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ,
.....tell us plainly."
25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe.
....The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.
26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep,
....as I said to you.
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them,
... and they follow [ ak-ol-oo-theh'-o: become a disciple of] Me.
John 10
This time of year the world will be celebrating Christmas [See post 9 on 6-9-11]. This time of year, biblicaly, Christ's church is celebrating Chanukah, which is the Feast of dedication tknx also called the Festival of Lights. Numbers [BaMidbar] 7 tells of the dedication [Chanukah] of the altar, each prince to bring an offering on his day. Again in 2 Chronicles 7:9 we see 'chanukah'. Solomon is dedicating the temple and its altar during the High Holy Days of Tishrei. God appears to Solomon the second time , in fire, accepting the offering charging Solomon:
2Chronicles 7
observed the dedication [Chanukkah] of the altar seven days,
and the feast seven days
17 if you walk before Me as your father David walked,
and do according to all that I have commanded you,
and if you keep My statutes and My judgments,
18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom,
as I covenanted with David your father, saying,
"You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.'
19 But if you turn away and forsake My statutes
and My commandments which I have set before you,
and go and serve other gods, and worship them,
20 then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them;
and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of
My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.
As a Christian / believer - our life as a disciple is the 'keeping of the commandments' because 'we love HIM'. This is a time to cry out to be delivered of our habits and addictions, immoral behavior (according to the Word to include divorce and remarriage), our 'unworthy communion / communication [1Co 11] which betrays our dedication / commitment.
Philippians 2
1 Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love,
if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,
2 fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love,
being of one accord, of one mind.
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit,
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests,
but also for the interests of others
The first aspect of Chanuka is being 'like-minded' - in communion / communication. There is no life unless one eats Christ's 'flesh and blood'.
John 6:53
Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood,
you have no life in you.
Jesus is the Seed and offspring of David [whose name means love]. He is the Kingdom Heir of the Throne and His power is the 'power of the cross' [faith in God]. We, as kingdom offspring - kingdom heirs, are to 'rule and reign in and with the Word of God, the sign of 'communion' and discipleship, and the beginning of the 'demonstration of power'.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself
and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name
which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven,
and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence
only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without complaining and disputing,
15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God
without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine as lights in the world,
16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ
that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Chanuka is the 'feast of lights'. It is not enough to be a 'voice for the light', but we are called to be a 'witness of the light', as light. The fortune teller that followed Paul was a 'voice for the light', but the spirit of witchcraft was cast out of her. [1Sa 15:23] And rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. As a believer, are we a 'voice for the light' (talking / sending out devotionals) or do we 'follow' - 'walk' (not just talk) - in / of the light'?
You hear of many who eagerly wait for the 'rapture'. Then should we not be 'enraptured' with Christ, enough to lay down or cry out to be delivered from our sin? The apostles gave us themselves as an 'example'. We do not see any moral corruption or communication in Christ nor His apostles once the 'Holy Spirit' came upon them. The were totally enraptured - in love - committed, dedicated to their Messiah Redeemer - Christ, to the point of death.
I recently was privileged to hear a sermon on 'being saved'. The preacher mentioned 'sometimes we don't ask the right question'. The right question is not 'are we saved' but 'are we a member of the flock'? The Pharisees who thought themselves to be 'members of the flock' were told by Christ that they were not - that 'my sheep hear my voice and they follow Me'. The preacher then stated, 'When you see a Christian who is not 'following Christ', (preferring their sin versus the Word) a question arises in your mind - 'are they a member of the flock'? His sheep hear His voice. To 'hear' is 'to obey'.
Can we as 'believers' give ourselves over to idolatrous behavior and communication and yet say, 'I hear His voice'. He Himself said, 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments'. [John 14:15-21; John 15:10; Romans 13:9]
Romans 13:9
For the commandments,
"You shall not commit adultery,"
[unlawful intercourse with another's wife, married or divorced
faithlessness to God
as the intimate alliance of God with the people of Israel was
likened to a marriage, those who relapse into idolatry are said
to commit adultery or play the harlot]
[See post 41 on 7-16-11 Marriage, Adultery, Divorce in a Nutshell]
"You shall not murder," [homicide]
"You shall not steal," [take away by stealth]
"You shall not bear false witness," [false testimony]
Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives to the death.
Psalm 24:3
3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the LORD?
and who shall stand in the holy place?
4 He who has clean hands,
who has not taken my name in vain
[who has not taken a false oath by my life] ...
"You shall not covet, [lust after things that are forbidden]
and if there is any other commandment,
are all summed up in this saying, namely,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
I recently was privileged to hear a sermon on 'being saved'. The preacher mentioned 'sometimes we don't ask the right question'. The right question is not 'are we saved' but 'are we a member of the flock'? The Pharisees who thought themselves to be 'members of the flock' were told by Christ that they were not - that 'my sheep hear my voice and they follow Me'. The preacher then stated, 'When you see a Christian who is not 'following Christ', (preferring their sin versus the Word) a question arises in your mind - 'are they a member of the flock'? His sheep hear His voice. To 'hear' is 'to obey'.
Can we as 'believers' give ourselves over to idolatrous behavior and communication and yet say, 'I hear His voice'. He Himself said, 'If you love me, you will keep my commandments'. [John 14:15-21; John 15:10; Romans 13:9]
Romans 13:9
For the commandments,
"You shall not commit adultery,"
[unlawful intercourse with another's wife, married or divorced
faithlessness to God
as the intimate alliance of God with the people of Israel was
likened to a marriage, those who relapse into idolatry are said
to commit adultery or play the harlot]
[See post 41 on 7-16-11 Marriage, Adultery, Divorce in a Nutshell]
"You shall not murder," [homicide]
"You shall not steal," [take away by stealth]
"You shall not bear false witness," [false testimony]
Revelation 12:11
And they overcame him by the blood the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
and they did not love their lives to the death.
Psalm 24:3
3 Who shall ascend into the mountain of the LORD?
and who shall stand in the holy place?
4 He who has clean hands,
who has not taken my name in vain
[who has not taken a false oath by my life] ...
"You shall not covet, [lust after things that are forbidden]
and if there is any other commandment,
are all summed up in this saying, namely,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
In the Day of the Lord's wrath (winter), He shakes BOTH the heavens and the earth. [Isaiah 13:13, Joel 3:16, Zephaniah 1:3, 2Peter 3:5-12]. Shall any of us then escape tribulation? Pray that 'your flight' not be in the winter - nor on this Holy Sabbath. The word says:
1 John 1:6
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness,
we lie and do not practice the truth.
I John 3
10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest:
... Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,... nor is he who does not love his brother.
Matthew 13
41.The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His.... kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness......................................................................... do iniquity
- the condition of without law
- because ignorant of it
- because of violating it
- contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness
42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire.
... There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the
... kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral,
sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars [pseudes: false] shall have their part in
the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Esau, for one morsel of food - sold his birthright. Are we willing, for one moment of earthly pleasure, to sell our birthright and suffer the fate of ALL LIARS?
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral,
sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars [pseudes: false] shall have their part in
the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Esau, for one morsel of food - sold his birthright. Are we willing, for one moment of earthly pleasure, to sell our birthright and suffer the fate of ALL LIARS?
Selah
Shalom!
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