Servias Ministries Blog

The Law does not deal with the intent found in the heart of man, it only deals with his behavior.  Thus the Law could not provide us fellowship with Our Heavenly Father by itself.  We should not exalt the Law as being the fullness of the Gospel but we should honor the fact that Our Heavenly Father provided the Law so that we could see our lawlessness.  Without the standard of the Law, how could we be sure of where we stood in the big picture?  The Law reveals the symptoms of the problem but does not deal with the root of the problem: intent of the heart.  The Law effectively provides a starting point in our journey in the Pentecostal Age of maturing.  To honor means to have high regard.  I have a high regard for anything Our Heavenly Father brings forth from HIS Divine Intent.  After all, HE is the Creator and deserves to be honored in every aspect that proceeds out of HIS Mouth.

The Jews had a problem in that they could not see that the Law was only the beginning point of the maturing process.  They rejected the revelation of Our Lord Jesus Christ and continued to walk in the flesh using the Law in it lowest form as being a “monitor” of the actions of the flesh.  Their intent of using the “letter” of the Law took them away from the presence of Our Heavenly Father.  They failed to embrace the “intent” of the Law which was to establish a starting point by which they would mature toward walking in the ways of Our Heavenly Father.  They were unable to comprehend the Love aspect of Our Heavenly Father’s Intent.  Instead, they used the Law to manipulate others to do their fleshly intent.  They rationalized their actions under the guise of the Law.  What was missing?  The revelation of the intent of the Law- Love.

It continues to be a problem today.  Legislators enact more laws to deal with the fleshly intent of the population, never dealing with the root of the problem.  The prisons are full and there are many that should be in prison but their lawyers are using the letter of the law to manipulate the system in order to keep their clients out of jail.  The lawyers’ focus is the love of money, not justice.  The law without the Spirit fails to bring forth the Kingdom.  What is missing is the Spirit of Our Heavenly Father in these matters.

Pentecost means “fifty” which is a jubilee number.  The Law did not bring forth a jubilee, it did the opposite.  It revealed the debt requiring payment.  It continues to fulfill its function of revealing sin.  The jubilee aspect of Pentecost is the giving of the Holy Spirit.  Those who are redeemed of the Blood of Christ need to be matured into vessels of honor.  The Law identified us all as vessels of dishonor.  We needed a change of heart, not just behavior.  Jesus is the door to the maturing process.  The Holy Spirit is to be our comforter, advocate, and teacher as we mature into the fullness as vessels of honor.  The Holy Spirit is to lead us into all truth:

John 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

The Holy Spirit provides us the means of rising to full maturity as Sons.  We must comprehend the Divine Intent of Our Heavenly Father.  We must be able to discern Truth from the lies of those who would exploit and manipulate mankind to satisfy their lusts.  No longer are we simply attempting to manage behavior with an underlying nefarious intent contrary to Our Heavenly Father, but now we are aligning ourselves with HIS Divine Intent of Love.  In this, I rejoice.

When we rejoice in the process of maturing, we set ourselves up for further revelation which promotes even greater levels of maturity.  The coming Feast of Pentecost is to honor the process that Our Heavenly Father put in place.  It is not to exalt the Law as being the preeminent focus of our lives.  As we walk in The Spirit, we are no longer under the Law for we are now lawfully oriented.  We should be focused on being led by HIS Spirit so that we are fully baptized in Love.  As we walk fully in Love, we are fulfilling HIS Intent and our behavior will simply by an outward witness to that Intent. 

DEFRAUD: To cheat.

1. To deprive of right, either by obtaining something by deception or artifice, or by taking something wrongfully without the knowledge or consent of the owner; to cheat; to cozen; followed by of before the thing taken; as, to defraud; a man of his right.

2. To withhold wrongfully from another what is due to him.

3. To prevent one wrongfully from obtaining what he may justly claim.

4. To defeat or frustrate wrongfully.

If we really want to break through to the fullness of what Our Heavenly Father has for us, we must deal with the most subtle issues of self-preservation.  Your mind will rationalize why you can act or not act in order to preserve your status quo.  You can hide behind the “letter” of the Law but become a vessel of dishonor by acting outside the intent of the Law.  You can claim that the Law doesn’t apply to you so that you can pursue a path of lawlessness and defraud your brother.  Jesus made it quite clear that the intent of the Law is Love and that the Law can be summed up by Love.

The church in years past has discarded the Law in order to be lawless, except for tithing of course.  That is in essence a form of defrauding your brother by deception.  When you selectively demand the sheep to follow one aspect of the Law and no others, you have created an environment of coveting and defrauding.  When this happens, you place yourself under the consequences of breaking the Law, being under the Law.  When you operate in Love, you fulfill the Law and you by nature are not “under” the Law but you supersede the Law by Love, the higher standard.  This does not discard the Law and its consequences, but the its consequences are not applicable to you because you are not a lawbreaker.

In 1 Timothy 1, Paul says it like this:

:8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,

9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine,

11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

Paul basically tells us that the Law is still in effect toward the lawless, and by necessity the Law is in effect to this very day.  Paul admonishes us against walking according to our flesh.  As we move toward the fullness of righteousness, we will no longer be under the Law because we walk according to a higher standard of being led by The Spirit of Love.  When we are walking according to the Holy Spirit, we fulfill the Law just as Jesus did and are not under the consequences of the Law.  However, the Law is still in effect for the lawless.  This is why we must embrace the Law and the Spirit, both given at Pentecost.  One to establish our starting point of lawlessness, and the other to establish our path to the fullness of righteousness by being led by The Holy Spirit.

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:

1 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

6 that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.

7 For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

Paul clearly states that Our Heavenly Father is the avenger.  An avenger is one who exacts the penalty against the lawless.  When you act lawlessly, you subject yourself to HIS judgment.  The Blood of Jesus Christ is your path to forgiveness but if you walk in lawlessness, especially habitual lawlessness, you will ultimate reap the reward of that path.

Does this apply to Christians?  Absolutely.  This is who Paul is talking to.  He urges us to “abound more and more” to the point of pleasing Our Heavenly Father.  Is is a process and the Pentecostal age and the associated Feast represent this process.  The self-preserving spirit would have us negate the need to focus on this process as though we are immune from the effects of the Law.  The Law effectively defines lawlessness and you cannot satisfy the Law by your own power or the children of Israel would have.  Jesus pointed us to the path through Him and by receiving the Holy Spirit Who would guide us into all Truth.

The Truth will expose any fraud you are participating in.  By seeking forgiveness, you remove the judgment of those past acts of lawlessness.  As long as you hold on to the lawlessness yet to be dealt with, you will continue to be subject to the Law and the Avenger of the Law.  When asked about prayer, Jesus instructed us:

Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

If you truly walk in Love, you will not defraud your brother or be under the Law.  That is the simple Truth.

PS: to cozen means: to deceive, win over, or induce to do something by artful coaxing and wheedling or shrewd trickery.

I was sent this study by a brother and I provide this for you to ponder:

A Study of 1 Cor. 12:1-12

The prophet Hosea said “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hos 4:6) The same can be said of Christians today. When it comes to spiritual matters Christianity seems to be polarized. Many choose to completely ignore anything to do with charismatic matters because they think it strange, bazaar and even devilish. Others have embraced it and then added strange fires to it making it strange, bazaar and even devilish. Brothers and sisters, we need only to go to the word of God and let it explain itself. It is there that we will find proper instruction so that we may bare good spiritual fruit. It is the common ground of the Word of God spoken in love that will bring men into unity on such a matter.

For this study we will be using the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible.

1 Cor 12:1A Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, The word gifts is in italics. In the KJV of the Bible, anything the translators added to the text is

in italics. The Greek word used here is pnumatikos, meaning matters of the spirit. Therefore the verse should read “ Now concerning matters of the spirit brethren.”

1 Cor 12:1B I would not have you ignorant. The word “would” indicates an intense passionate desire. So this verse could read “My intense

passionate desire is not to have you ignorant.”

Vs. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.

A man can go no further than what he is taught. We all have points of reference outside ourselves. Some are correct and some are incorrect. If a man is raised among people who believe the earth is flat, chances are, he will not only believe the earth is flat as an adult but he will also adamantly defend his beliefs. When Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic many thought he would sail off the edge of the earth. Until he proved them wrong by returning with evidence of another land. It takes courage to walk contrary to popular beliefs and a meek heart to learn otherwise. The people at Corinth worshiped man made gods with man made forms of worship. Today we don’t have many idols of wood, stone or precious metals but we have a plethora of idols of the heart. An idol of the heart is anything that takes precedence above our heavenly father. It could be money, social position, family, possessions, incorrect beliefs, etc. In this case it is false beliefs. Paul is lovingly correcting the misunderstanding of the church concerning spiritual matters.

Vs. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and [that] no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Here Paul is correcting a misunderstanding in the church. It was practiced among pagan worshipers to curse their gods when something went wrong. After all, their gods could not talk back to them so why not. This practice is still alive and well in our own society today when you hear someone say in frustration, anger or idle speaking “God damn this…” or “Jesus Christ that…” Hear at Corinth people would hear a Christian speak by the spirit, which is speaking in tongues, and not understanding what they were saying would assume they were cursing Jesus. Nothing could be further from the truth as we will see later in this study.

Vs. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

The word gifts is the Greek word charismata which means a gift of divine grace God to man. To the unsaved it is eternal life (Rom 6:23). To the individual believer it is the ability to operate a manifestation (Acts 2:38). To the church it is the five gift ministries in operation (Eph. 4:11). Vs. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. The word administrations is the Greek word diakonia meaning service ministries. These operate man to man on a horizontal level. For example one may have a ministry of helps another may have a ministry of governments.

Vs. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in

all.

The word operations is the Greek word energema meaning “the thing wrought or the effect” such as the nine manifestations listed later in this chapter. The word worketh is the Greek word energeo. The point being made here is that it is not the man that does the working but it is God that does the working.

Vs. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

Let’s take a moment to clarify something. There is one gift which is the gift of holy spirit. There are nine manifestations of that gift. God, who is Holy and is Spirit gives that which he is. The gift of holy spirit. Every man, who is born again of God, has this complete package which has several operations that manifest in the senses or quantum realm in different ways. The emphasis is that when the spirit is manifested there is profit.

Verses 8-10 list the nine manifestations of holy spirit according to their profit

Vs. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of

knowledge by the same Spirit;

The word of wisdom is listed first. The number one indicates unity and the beginning. Therefore, the word of wisdom must be used with all the manifestations. The word of knowledge is listed second because it divides off of word of wisdom. But with the two together, these manifestations are absolutely conclusive and complement each other.

Vs. 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit.

Faith, also translated believing, is third because it completes, makes entire and gives perfection. For without it, it is impossible to please God. Gifts of healing is listed forth. Four stands for the earth or material creation. Our bodies are refereed to as earthen vessels our earthen vessel needs healing when we are sick or injured. Every time we are healed it is a gift.

Vs. 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:

The working of miracles is listed fifth. Five is the number for grace and favor. Miracles are God’s grace and favor on our lives. Six is the number for man. Prophecy is listed sixth because it is always given man to man on a horizontal level. Discerning of spirits is listed seventh. Seven indicates spiritual perfection and completion. With this manifestation the overcomer can spiritually discern if there is the spirit of God (holy spirit) or devil spirits involved in a situation. Allowing him to walk in the perfection God desires for his people.

Tongues is listed eighth. Eight is the number for new beginning. All the prophets including Jesus Christ operated the previous 7 manifestations. They prophesied about speaking in tongues but did not have the spiritual ability until the fulfillment of the Feast of Weeks. The manifestation of speaking in tongues represents a new beginning with a new spiritual ability. The manifestation of interpretation of tongues is listed ninth. It signifies God’s visitation. When a person whether believer or unbeliever hears interpretation of tongues it is in his own language. He will understand the interpretation. It will be a message from God. It is God visitation. These nine manifestations of the spirit are the tools needed to produce fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:22). They are not an end in themselves but a means to an end which is the desired fruit.

Vs. 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man

severally as he will.

There is one gift, that is the gift of holy spirit. Each individual who has this gift has the ability to operate all 9 manifestations as that individual wills to. Another translation of this verse reads:

Vs. 11 All manifestations are energized by that one and selfsame spirit distributing to every man his own as the man wills. The adversary would have you believe that no one individual has the ability to operate all nine manifestations and that each manifestation is a separate gift. This very teaching has seriously limited the ability of many to function effectively in the body of Messiah. If you leave out one of the nine manifestations, you miss out on the profit and the fruit of the spirit that will be produced by its operation. The gift of holy spirit is “Christ in you.” Let me ask you this, is Christ limited to only one manifestation? Just because a man wills not to operate a manifestation does not mean that he doesn’t have the potential to operate the manifestation. God is no respecter of persons and He is more willing to give than his children are to receive. We the body of Messiah must rise up and claim our spiritual potential.

Vs. 12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

It takes a spiritually mature person to see and appreciate the one body of Christ. Not everyone has the same calling in the one body but each individual is important to the functioning of that body. Denominational dogma has ripped and tore at the body of Messiah for centuries. Separating into “us and them” by claiming to have “the right doctrine.” I ask you dear Christian. Where, in the Word of God, are we commanded to be right all the time. We are told to study to show ourselves approved unto God and with that studying comes the understanding that we are commanded to love. It is love (agape) that holds the body of Messiah together and allows it to function. Speaking by the spirit originates from the gift of holy spirit that is in each born again Christian believer. Among the first century Christians, speaking in tongues was the evidence they looked for, the proof in the senses realm of the gift of holy spirit. Today because of ignorance or wrong teaching it is the exception. In fact many Christian denominations look down on it. It is a travesty that this manifestation of holy spirit would be looked upon with such distain by the very people Jesus Christ poured out his life for.

JUST-A-THOUGHT    No. 410 May 7th. 2014

Do you relate to VASHTI or ESTHER?

(Esther 1:3–) In the 3rd.year of his reign, King Ahasuerus made a feast unto all his princes (those with vague expectations of one day ruling…) and close servants. The king desired to show the riches of his kingdom for 180 days and at the conclusion of those days he made a further feast for the people of 7 days making a total of 187 days of feasting. How can we link this to ‘Tabernacles’? (the 187th. day of the Hebrew year is the day of atonement in the Feast of Tabernacles … the 3rd. feast that God expected His people to celebrate … Leviticus 25). Vashti was conspicuous by her absence! She was the queen of the past seen by her actions, she “did her own thing” …She had the calling of the queen and enjoyed some of the privileges of that position …  but without a ‘now’ desire to please the King as a priority, she missed out on seeing the riches of the King’s kingdom. By contrast Esther fully submitted to the anointing and required only that which would please the king, she laid down her own desires and experienced the full blessings of a true union.

Now ‘the Church system’ is likened to Vashti who has been summoned to the Feast of Tabernacles and has refused to come… but … there is a people within the people of God that delight in pleasing the King.

Now which model is it to be for you … the Vashti or the Esther pattern?

My comment:  It’s all about Love!

The Feast of Pentecost symbolizes two aspects of the Kingdom message: Judgment and Jubilee.  I believe this Feast has been of little interest to most Christians because they were more interested in the “receiving” of the Holy Spirit for selfish reasons than to look at the big picture of service to mankind.  They focused on their “vertical” relationship with Our Heavenly Father.  They wanted the gift without the understanding of the ensuing aspect of service to others.  They were basically self-centered concerning the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. 

Few Christians realized the Pentecost began at the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus, also known as the Feast of Weeks:

Exodus 23:

14 “Each year you must celebrate three festivals in my honor. 15 First, celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, just as I commanded you. Celebrate this festival annually at the appointed time in early spring, in the month of Abib, for that is the anniversary of your departure from Egypt. No one may appear before me without an offering.

16 “Second, celebrate the Festival of Harvest,fn when you bring me the first crops of your harvest.

“Finally, celebrate the Festival of the Final Harvest at the end of the harvest season, when you have harvested all the crops from your fields. 17 At these three times each year, every man in Israel must appear before the Sovereign, the LORD.

Deuteronomy 16:

The Festival of Harvest

9 “Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest.10 Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest to honor the LORD your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him. 11 This is a time to celebrate before the LORD your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. 12 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees.

The Giving of the Law established the Standard by which righteous judgment would occur.  The Law judges sin.  Yet the Law was given 50 days after the Exodus and the number represents jubilee.  We were all destined to sin and death yet somehow the Law is suppose to expose our sin which guarantees our destiny?  No.  In order to properly appropriate a jubilee, the reality of the judgment must first be exposed.  How can you receive a jubilee without knowing the debt to be freed from?  The assessment of the debt must first be determined and the Law fulfilled that assessment.

The Giving of Our Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit completed the path to the Jubilee.  HIS Blood provided for the payment of debt and the Holy Spirit provided for the maturing of the saints by leading us into all Truth.  The Holy Spirit is our Advocate in dealing with the legal issues of sin as we are maturing as well as our Comforter to minister to us as we are being taught the needed truths discovered through the suffering phase in our training.

We must embrace both the Law and the Holy Spirit as both are needed to provide a full understanding of our growth toward maturity as Sons of GOD.  The Law is fulfilled in Love.  The ego or false self must die and the new man must rise to full maturity.  The Law did its job to expose our lawlessness so that there would be no question of our beginning point.  However from that realization that we all deserved death and destruction, Jesus Christ represented the door to life everlasting.  HIS Blood began our walk but we needed the Comforter to assist us in proceeding to full maturity and restoration.

This Feast celebrates Our Heavenly Father’s process to jubilee us fully and completely.  The Feast of Passover celebrates the initial step to our Jubilee.  The Feast of Tabernacles celebrates the presenting of the Mature Sons, the result of Jubilee.  Let’s celebrate the Feast of Pentecost as the bridge between these other Feasts that focuses on the process of maturing to our final state.