May 2003

RAISING UP A REDEEMER

(Part Fourteen)

“GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD”

[G]

         We have recently differentiated the OT BREAD OF DEATH- which is the “bread of men“ (Eze 24:22) which God calls “polluted bread“ (Mal 1:6-8); the “bread of sorrows“ (Ps 127:2); “bread of adversity“ (Isa 30:20); “bread of idleness“ (Pr 31:27); “bread of tears“ (Ps 80:4-5) and “bread of wickedness“ (Pr 4:17) that sinful man “eats by the sweat of his face“. (Ge 3:19)- from the NT BREAD OF LIFE- which is the person of Jesus Christ- and is eaten men of spirit! We saw Heb 3898 define bread as: “Fight, war, devour, eat, prevail and overcome”; then we saw Gk 142 define bread as: “To lift, take up and away; raise the voice; keep (the mind) in suspense; weigh anchor and sail away, expiate sin, bear up, carry, loose, remove, put away and make to doubt!” This Greek word is “aero” and is also the root for our word, AIR!! This means that bread and air are synonymous! Therefore,

In the same way that air is necessary for the natural man to live, so also
the Bread of Life- the Word of God- is vital for the spiritual man to live!

As AIR is necessary food for the natural body; so the WORD OF GOD is necessary food for the spiritual body! But only the Anointed Word is a Word of Life! Only the Living Word of Jesus Christ spoken to our hearts by the Holy Spirit can bring Life to our spirit! Ro 7:4-6 says,

“My brothers, as members of the Body of Christ, you are now dead to the OT Law!
You should think of yourself as married to a new husband, Jesus Christ, Who now
is raised from the dead! You should be producing for God His Fruit of Life (seen
in Gal 5:22-23). For when you lived according to the dictates of the mind of flesh,
your sinful passions were aroused by the (dead letter of the) Law which worked in
our members to produce fruit of death!! Now we are delivered from the Law that
held our souls prisoner; we have ended our evil intercourse with legalism!! Now
we must serve Christ in the newness of Spirit, and desist from serving death in the
oldness of the letter of the law!”

As natural bread is best eaten when it is allowed to rise; so also is Spiritual Bread best to eat after it is risen from the dead; and that is what happened to God’s Word! Now 2 Co 4:14-16 says,

“He that raised up our Lord Jesus from the dead will also, through Jesus,
raise us up together with you (from carnal-minded death) and present us
to our heavenly Father! Therefore we do not lose heart; for even though
we are wasting away outwardly; we are renewed inwardly day by day!”

         The old bread of violence introduced by one man of flesh has been supplanted by the new Bread of Peace introduced by One Man of Spirit called the Prince of Peace! Since His Birth, Death and Resurrection more sons of spirit have been raised up to feed the nations with this Bread of Life. But why would any believer whom “God has made an able minister of the New Testament Truth, which is a Life giving Spirit”, fall victim again to “the old letter of the Law that kills”?! (2 Co 3:6) The answer is simple: F-E-A-R! Things that threaten our personal world can make us afraid so we look around for anything that seems stable and unmovable. But often what we think is a “rock” turns out to “shifting sand” that makes us fall when storms come! Just because the Law of Moses is set in stone does not mean it can support us in times of trouble. For a stony heart is little comfort in the midst of trials and tribulation! The only true Rock of Salvation for all men is Jesus Christ! Everything else, including: fortune, fame, family, friends, or even religious fables- are shifting sand! The Rock of Truth lifts our heart high above sorrow and suffering so that, “For the Joy set before us, we endure the Cross, though despising its shame!” (Heb 12:2) Only in Christ can we “endure persecutions” (2 Th 1:4); “endure hardness” (2 Ti 2:3);“endure afflictions” (2 Ti 4:35); “endure chastening” (Heb 12:7); “endure all things” (2 Ti 2:10); and finally “endure to the end” (Mk 13:13); but never do we “endure unsound doctrines!” (2 Ti 4:3) Selah (pause and calmly think of this!) For “We are no longer debtors to the flesh; we owe no oath of allegiance to live by the dictates of the flesh; in fact, if you submit to the flesh, *you will surely die; but if, by the Spirit, you abolish the deeds of the body of flesh, you shall live! For as many as are led by the Holy Spirit (even into a wilderness to be tested by the devil as was Jesus Christ in Mt 4:1) they are God’s sons. But you have not been given again the bondage to fear; you have received the Spirit of Adoption; whereby we now cry, Abba, Papa!!” (Ro 8:12-15) The Holy Spirit comforts the Body of Christ as He repeatedly says, “BE NOT AFRAID!” Let these Words become your necessary food!!

[TO BE CONTINUED]