Couldn't Be More Perfect
Here I am reading through my emails when all of a sudden, I'm reading about coming to Christ. Whoa! These words couldn't have spoken any closer to my heart! Let's continue our earlier conversations by reading this word from
Tiffany Ann Lewis of Dancing with the Flame of the Lord ministries.
November 27, 2011
Tiffany Ann Lewis:
Come... It's Imperative!
From the desk of Steve Shultz:
Are you carrying any heavy burdens? Well, we know what we are to do with those... It's been an intense season full of warfare, indeed. BUT give those burdens away to the ONE who took them for you as Tiffany Ann Lewis shares here.
Please remember us in your giving this year. We are a FOR-PROFIT organization, therefore, your contribution will NOT be tax-deductible. What you are doing is helping us take the prophetic word around the world. Simply go to: https://www.elijahlist.com/donations/donation.php and make a quick and easy donation today.
Blessings,
Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com
Tiffany Ann Lewis:
Come... It's Imperative!
"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 KJV
Hidden, yet revealed, within this Scripture there is a powerful revelation and an eternal invitation from the Lord Yeshua/Jesus. It has little to do with the submission of the servant, but rather reveals the heart of worship. Let's take a look at these incredible words from our Master and learn from Him.
In the Lord's invitation, "Come unto Me...," there is an intensity that is lost in the translation. The Greek word for "come" is deute (Strong's #1205) and it's in an imperative mood which is like a command in that it is absolutely necessary. Much like when a parent tells a child that it's imperative they don't touch the pretty glowing orange circle on the stove. That's the intensity the Lord is speaking to us with in this passage of Scripture. His intensity hinges on desperation – the kind of desperation that would drive the King of glory to a cross.
Using the imagery of an ox, our Lord and Master says, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me." A yoke is an emblem of oppression, and labor. It is a wooden bar or frame that joins two animals like oxen together so that they can pull a wagon or plow as their master leads. Here, Jesus is using it figuratively of the restrictions that a teacher or rabbi would place on His followers through the Mosaic Law.
Today we can rejoice that the requirements of the law were wiped out and nailed to the Cross and that we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. Yet, we can also rejoice because a yoke also speaks of any burden, any weight, not just that of the law.
I don't know about you, but I am in a severe season right now and have a list of burdens that I am praying about 24/7. We have this eternal invitation to come unto Jesus and cast our cares upon Him. He cares for us and wants to strengthen us so that we are able to endure the crisis and emerge victorious.
This is one of the reasons why it is imperative that we not only take His yoke upon ourselves but that we learn from Him, too. The Hebrew word for learn is lamed, which is made up of the letters: lamed, mem, dalet. I am using the Hebrew word instead of the Greek one because every Hebrew letter has a pictograph. Therefore, we can look at the ancient pictographs and see a spiritual picture of the word. Looking at God's letters of light, we see that to learn (lamed) from Jesus is to be guided/prodded by the Shepherd's cattle prod (lamed) – through the chaos/mayhem (mem) of life – to a door (dalet), a porthole if you will, to the destination that He is leading and guiding us to.
Meek and Lowly in Heart
Let's walk through the door that Christ has led us to in this particular passage and learn about our Master's meekness. He was meek and lowly in heart, tapeinos te kardia. The heart speaks of the center of our being. It speaks of our physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual being. Our heart holds our thoughts, passions, desires, affections, and even our purposes tenderly at its core. Thus at the core of who Jesus is, He is meek and lowly.
Notice, we have two expressions here: meek and lowly. Together they reveal that Jesus was completely dependent and completely devoted to His Father. I believe this gave His weak human flesh supernatural strength throughout His life and led Him all the way to the Cross. Let me explain.
We are in full fall splendor here in upstate New York. The trees are sporting their glorious colors. My garden is still in bloom with the mums smiling at guests as they come to the house. So picture perfect has this fall been that even my roses are still in bloom. However, we got a surprise snow storm and I woke up recently to creation bowing under the weight of the snow.
Bowing down in worship under the weight of God's glory.
What a beautiful word picture of what it means to be "lowly at heart." The Greek word for "lowly" used here is tapeinos (Strong's #5011). Tapeinos represents that which is low (lowly) and humble. It literally means not rising far from the ground. Interestingly, the worshiper of God is also seen as bowing down in Psalm 95:6, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker."
Beloved, in terms of nature, the trees and flowers had no choice but to bow down under the weight of the snow. Spiritually speaking, we have a choice. God's glory, which in Hebrew is kavod, is described as a type of spiritual heaviness or weightiness. Scripture reveals that we have beheld the glory, the splendor, the majesty of God in the face of His Son, Jesus Christ (see John 1:14). I don't know about you, but the reality that He would willingly go to the Cross and suffer shame and pain just for me is a wonderful weight of love, like a yoke, that when it is upon me I simply cannot stand.
Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that my critical circumstances suddenly disappear. Instead, as I consider the width, length, depth and height of His love, my perspective changes and I am filled with hope and wonder. A supernatural trust that defies my reality fills my heart. Now with tears rolling down my face, I fall to my knees and am able to worship the King of glory, bowing down every day in every situation.
Yoked by Trust in God, Not by Circumstances
Jesus' invitation calls us to be meek as well as lowly at heart. The Greek word here for "meek" is praos (Strong's #4235). Praos means what you would expect: gentle, mild, meek. However, there is a little more to be discovered in this word. It is a form of the word praus (Strong's #4239) and defines meekness toward God as a quality of spirit in which we accept God's dealings with us as good, even if the circumstance itself is bad. This trust in God is similar to the revelation found in Romans 8:28. Because of this inner strength, the Believer is able to accept God's will without disputing or resisting, thus... they can experience Divine rest for their soul.
We see this meekness in our Master Jesus Christ, our sacrifice. Similar to the ox that He is teaching about in our key Scripture, as a symbol of sacrifice and strength, Jesus was full of power yet He submitted His will to the control of His Father because of trust, and in so doing became our sacrifice.
Our Master's meekness was His greatest strength. Often we think that meekness is weakness. However, as we just learned, the Biblical concept of meekness is trust in God. Jesus trusted His Father even in His darkest hour. This trust in His innermost being gave Him the strength to bow down and say, "Not My will but Thy will be done."
This trust manifested itself in meekness, which became the strength through which He could endure the Cross. This is a yoke I need to take on today and every day just to get out of bed and face the day that lies ahead. I need to be burdened, yoked by my trust in God, not my circumstances! That burden is easy, that burden is light. Would you agree? Do you need this for yourself today? The question we are faced with though is... how do we get it? How can we create within ourselves a heart that trusts God unwaveringly through the good and the bad? We can confess we trust Him, but how do we get that confession deep down in our hearts where it really matters? Ephesians 5:18 gives us a clue.
"Be Filled with the Spirit"
"...be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18b). To be "filled" is also in the present tense with an imperative mood. That means we can be filled over and over and over again by the Holy Spirit. Actually, not only can we be filled, it is imperative that we are filled.
To be filled means: to be made full, to be made complete, to cause to abound, to furnish or supply liberally. Romans 5:5 teaches us that the Holy Spirit poured the love of God into our hearts. He speaks the Word to us reminding us of God's faithfulness. He will cause love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and even self-control to grow deep in the fibers of our being. Beloved, this is something we cannot afford physically or spiritually to miss out on. Everything we need is right here. The Holy Spirit will fill us with what we need, for His grace is sufficient to meet every need.
The invitation is eternal. Our meek Master continues to call out to those who are heavy laden saying, "Come unto Me." When we are burdened with a heavy heart, weary from a heavy load that life has given us and everything seems unfair, we can take on the yoke of Christ. Bowing down under the weight of His glory, being filled over and over again with His Spirit, we will find rest for our souls. Amen and Amen.
"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV
Tiffany Ann Lewis' Itinerary:
Note: Events are subject to change at the ministry's discretion. We suggest you always check first with the event contact listed here and/or directly visit their website for latest updates on each event.
December 10, 2011 (9:30am)
Girls of Grace
The Bridge Christian Church
2739 Hamburg Street
Schenectady, NY 12303
--
Girls of Grace
The Bridge Christian Church
2739 Hamburg Street
Schenectady, NY 12303
--