The Sword
Mat 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Did Yeshua state that receiving the sword of truth would bring peace? I once believed so, and as long as I followed Jesus I would have peace in my life. I would never have to be burdened with anything again. I expected that as long as I was doing what I thought was right by Jesus then no one would really bother me. I was wrong, the simple truth is, being a true disciple and follower of Yeshua, is going to cause trouble in this world. For Yeshua did not come to bring peace to this world in its fallen state, not peace, but a sword. Being a disciple of our Messiah will bring trouble while in this earth. Lets take a look in Matthew 10:34-38.
Mat 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.
Mat 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
What is this sword spoken of? Is it a mighty blade like excalibur of pagan legend? Of course not, this is the sword of truth. It is the sword of righteousness that can only be found in truth. It is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,) The sword is the Word of God This is not a popular sword in this fallen world and there is nothing that the fallen nature of man fears most, it is truth, it is righteousness, it is grace, salvation, anger, life, and death. It is the Will of our Creator!
The sword of truth can seem from the outside to be a great burden. It holds us and other’s accountable for our actions. It can seem quite frightening at times. But we must remember that it isn’t the sword that causes misunderstandings, fighting, and even wars. It is the opposition to the truth, the Will of God, that breeds these reactions in our fallen nature. Yeshua never promised that the sword of the word of God would bring peace in this fallen world. Yeshua stated the exact opposite of this idea. He let us know that it is by the sword that is the Word of God. We are to judge our actions. He goes on to paint a true picture of how others will view those who chose to follow the Will of God in its entirety. It sets men against their father’s, daughters against mothers. It creates rifts in entire households. Following and trusting in the Will of God will cause tension in your life. Because not all, wish to accept this Will in their life. Keeping to the Will of God in our lives will provoke those who do not wish to even know the true Will of God to jealousy. They will begin to see faults in their traditions, theologies, and everyday lives. They will accuse you of judging them by your actions. And seek to stop what they feel are judgments by trying to pervert our understanding of Scripture. We are to seek the Truth of Scripture which is the Will of our Creator not mans approval.
Through the Truth that is the Will of God we are taught to put all things below our Creator. We must put the Love of our God over our families, friends, and especially our own selves. Yeshua warns us that whoever loves even the closest member of his earthly family above our Messiah is not worthy of our Messiah. For most of my life I could not have been thought to have kept to this in my life. Sure my lips said that I did, but when it came time to walk, or show my faith, it was my true weakness that always showed through We are to take up our cross and walk with our Messiah. Sure he suffered for us but because of that, we must be willing to suffer for HIM
When we decide to accept the Sword that is the Word of God, and follow the Will of God it conveys in our lives, others will attack us The closer to our Messiah we become the harder the attacks are.
Lets have a look at what the sword does to people. And as with all things lets take our own speculations, and pondering out of the equation and look to Holy Scripture to find our answers.
Luk 2:35 (yea, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Heb 4:12 For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Sword that is the Word of God shows what is in our true heart of hearts. It cuts through the praising with the lips and the false actions preformed by many to show the truth of the heart. That is why Scripture is so important in our lives. It gives us the ability to know and walk in the true Will of our Creator. And it allows us to get passed our fallen nature. The nature that, goes against the true Will of God, shows us when we are living for our selves, and when we are living for the One True God It is written that only God can know the true heart of man, but through grace the Word shows us our true hearts and allows us to change. It is through the truth found in the Word of God that we can take up our crucifix and follow our Messiah, and by doing so become that mirror image we are trying to change into, through true discipleship This is why our fallen nature is so against the sword for it takes away the justifications of fact and simply reveals the fact of the matter through the knowledge of the Will of God The sword shows our true thoughts, and intents of our true hearts.
What did, Yeshua state would happen if we follow his Commandments and walk in His path? I once had this all wrong as I stated at the beginning of this article. I thought from living in the Bible belt that if you followed Yeshua you would be loved and revered by men. And to be honest as long as I only kept half of the truth not much bad really happened. I was quite happy in the world, my friends, neighbors, and families were content with the level of faith that I had. Because my walking faith didn’t contrast the way, they lived their lives. And this was the first clue I had something very wrong
Mar 13:13 And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
This is one of those times that the sword can show us the truth in our hearts. I was not hated by anyone that I knew of. I was well accepted even by those who probably didn’t like me all that much. But the fact is I looked and acted so much like the world that I was accepted by it. It wasn’t until I started to really understand what discipleship meant, and by this I started to follow the Will of God in all that I could, did I really start to see anger, persecution, and in some cases even hate. When you live in the world yet not apart of the world, those in the world see you as an outsider. You will be called overly zealous as if this is an insult. You will be told a million times why your wrong for following the Will of God, and yet be given little proof. You will be asked to leave churches, and assemblies. Even your closest family and friends will turn from you, because they do not want to know the True Will of God. Most do not want to be held accountable, it is the ignorance is bliss argument. If you get the chance the next time you, or someone you know gets a speeding ticket tell them to simply let the judge know they didn’t know they couldn’t speed in that area and see how it works out. If this argument doesn’t stand up in a court of law today, what makes us believe it will stand on judgment day? But those who accept the Will of God, and are persecuted for it (Grace) that shall endure unto the end, and truly be saved
What does it mean to endure? Sure endurance is easy enough to define in the world. The dictionary defines it as ( en-dur-ance :noun
1.the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.
2.the ability or strength to continue or last, esp. despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina: He has amazing physical endurance.
3.lasting quality; duration: His friendships have little endurance.
4.something endured, as a hardship; trial.)
The type of endurance changes depending on the situation though. If you are running a race endurance is fighting through the exhaustion to finish right? If you are taking a test, it is doing the best you can through to the end. But we are not speaking of the simple endurance of the world. We are seeking the endurance as found in Scripture So let’s once again look to scripture to find our answer.
Rev 14:12 Here is endurance of the saints: here are those keeping the commands of God, and the faith of Jesus.'
The endurance we seek is found in the Word of God. It is the keeping of the Commandments of God, and Faith of Yeshua. Here are the two things that are needed to endure, the Commandments of God, and the faith of Yeshua. You see we can’t have one without the other, keeping the commandments is accepting Yeshua as Messiah, and breed’s faith in Yeshua. Not the Law without faith And not faith without the Law I believe James showed this best when he said :
Jas 2:17 Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself.
Jas 2:18 But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith from my works.
Faith without works is dead. The Law and Commandments show us the works. It shows us what sin is, how to remove sin, and The Will of God for our lives on this earth If you have faith you have works, if you have works you have faith We need both halves. One of my favorite quotes from outside of our Bible is “Beware of half truths. You may have gotten hold of the wrong half.” Author unknown. And though this is a great quote it is wrong, especially when dealing with scripture. Because if we only accept half of the truth in scripture it doesn’t matter which half we grasp we will be wrong It doesn’t matter which half you have, because the fact is if you only have half you are wrong In order to endure what our Messiah plainly states will come, once we fully accept him in our lives, we must keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Yeshua
And once again I hope that we can all read this with a prayerful heart and with an expectation to change. As we go forth to study this week, I pray that we can all be granted the fruits of the Spirit to know, understand, and teach the gospel to the nations. May we be Given Wisdom, understanding, Patience and strength. And be given eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to change for the Glory of our Creator in the name of Yeshua our Messiah. Amen!
Mat 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Did Yeshua state that receiving the sword of truth would bring peace? I once believed so, and as long as I followed Jesus I would have peace in my life. I would never have to be burdened with anything again. I expected that as long as I was doing what I thought was right by Jesus then no one would really bother me. I was wrong, the simple truth is, being a true disciple and follower of Yeshua, is going to cause trouble in this world. For Yeshua did not come to bring peace to this world in its fallen state, not peace, but a sword. Being a disciple of our Messiah will bring trouble while in this earth. Lets take a look in Matthew 10:34-38.
Mat 10:34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.
Mat 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
What is this sword spoken of? Is it a mighty blade like excalibur of pagan legend? Of course not, this is the sword of truth. It is the sword of righteousness that can only be found in truth. It is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,) The sword is the Word of God This is not a popular sword in this fallen world and there is nothing that the fallen nature of man fears most, it is truth, it is righteousness, it is grace, salvation, anger, life, and death. It is the Will of our Creator!
The sword of truth can seem from the outside to be a great burden. It holds us and other’s accountable for our actions. It can seem quite frightening at times. But we must remember that it isn’t the sword that causes misunderstandings, fighting, and even wars. It is the opposition to the truth, the Will of God, that breeds these reactions in our fallen nature. Yeshua never promised that the sword of the word of God would bring peace in this fallen world. Yeshua stated the exact opposite of this idea. He let us know that it is by the sword that is the Word of God. We are to judge our actions. He goes on to paint a true picture of how others will view those who chose to follow the Will of God in its entirety. It sets men against their father’s, daughters against mothers. It creates rifts in entire households. Following and trusting in the Will of God will cause tension in your life. Because not all, wish to accept this Will in their life. Keeping to the Will of God in our lives will provoke those who do not wish to even know the true Will of God to jealousy. They will begin to see faults in their traditions, theologies, and everyday lives. They will accuse you of judging them by your actions. And seek to stop what they feel are judgments by trying to pervert our understanding of Scripture. We are to seek the Truth of Scripture which is the Will of our Creator not mans approval.
Through the Truth that is the Will of God we are taught to put all things below our Creator. We must put the Love of our God over our families, friends, and especially our own selves. Yeshua warns us that whoever loves even the closest member of his earthly family above our Messiah is not worthy of our Messiah. For most of my life I could not have been thought to have kept to this in my life. Sure my lips said that I did, but when it came time to walk, or show my faith, it was my true weakness that always showed through We are to take up our cross and walk with our Messiah. Sure he suffered for us but because of that, we must be willing to suffer for HIM
When we decide to accept the Sword that is the Word of God, and follow the Will of God it conveys in our lives, others will attack us The closer to our Messiah we become the harder the attacks are.
Lets have a look at what the sword does to people. And as with all things lets take our own speculations, and pondering out of the equation and look to Holy Scripture to find our answers.
Luk 2:35 (yea, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also), so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
Heb 4:12 For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
The Sword that is the Word of God shows what is in our true heart of hearts. It cuts through the praising with the lips and the false actions preformed by many to show the truth of the heart. That is why Scripture is so important in our lives. It gives us the ability to know and walk in the true Will of our Creator. And it allows us to get passed our fallen nature. The nature that, goes against the true Will of God, shows us when we are living for our selves, and when we are living for the One True God It is written that only God can know the true heart of man, but through grace the Word shows us our true hearts and allows us to change. It is through the truth found in the Word of God that we can take up our crucifix and follow our Messiah, and by doing so become that mirror image we are trying to change into, through true discipleship This is why our fallen nature is so against the sword for it takes away the justifications of fact and simply reveals the fact of the matter through the knowledge of the Will of God The sword shows our true thoughts, and intents of our true hearts.
What did, Yeshua state would happen if we follow his Commandments and walk in His path? I once had this all wrong as I stated at the beginning of this article. I thought from living in the Bible belt that if you followed Yeshua you would be loved and revered by men. And to be honest as long as I only kept half of the truth not much bad really happened. I was quite happy in the world, my friends, neighbors, and families were content with the level of faith that I had. Because my walking faith didn’t contrast the way, they lived their lives. And this was the first clue I had something very wrong
Mar 13:13 And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
This is one of those times that the sword can show us the truth in our hearts. I was not hated by anyone that I knew of. I was well accepted even by those who probably didn’t like me all that much. But the fact is I looked and acted so much like the world that I was accepted by it. It wasn’t until I started to really understand what discipleship meant, and by this I started to follow the Will of God in all that I could, did I really start to see anger, persecution, and in some cases even hate. When you live in the world yet not apart of the world, those in the world see you as an outsider. You will be called overly zealous as if this is an insult. You will be told a million times why your wrong for following the Will of God, and yet be given little proof. You will be asked to leave churches, and assemblies. Even your closest family and friends will turn from you, because they do not want to know the True Will of God. Most do not want to be held accountable, it is the ignorance is bliss argument. If you get the chance the next time you, or someone you know gets a speeding ticket tell them to simply let the judge know they didn’t know they couldn’t speed in that area and see how it works out. If this argument doesn’t stand up in a court of law today, what makes us believe it will stand on judgment day? But those who accept the Will of God, and are persecuted for it (Grace) that shall endure unto the end, and truly be saved
What does it mean to endure? Sure endurance is easy enough to define in the world. The dictionary defines it as ( en-dur-ance :noun
1.the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.
2.the ability or strength to continue or last, esp. despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina: He has amazing physical endurance.
3.lasting quality; duration: His friendships have little endurance.
4.something endured, as a hardship; trial.)
The type of endurance changes depending on the situation though. If you are running a race endurance is fighting through the exhaustion to finish right? If you are taking a test, it is doing the best you can through to the end. But we are not speaking of the simple endurance of the world. We are seeking the endurance as found in Scripture So let’s once again look to scripture to find our answer.
Rev 14:12 Here is endurance of the saints: here are those keeping the commands of God, and the faith of Jesus.'
The endurance we seek is found in the Word of God. It is the keeping of the Commandments of God, and Faith of Yeshua. Here are the two things that are needed to endure, the Commandments of God, and the faith of Yeshua. You see we can’t have one without the other, keeping the commandments is accepting Yeshua as Messiah, and breed’s faith in Yeshua. Not the Law without faith And not faith without the Law I believe James showed this best when he said :
Jas 2:17 Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself.
Jas 2:18 But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith from my works.
Faith without works is dead. The Law and Commandments show us the works. It shows us what sin is, how to remove sin, and The Will of God for our lives on this earth If you have faith you have works, if you have works you have faith We need both halves. One of my favorite quotes from outside of our Bible is “Beware of half truths. You may have gotten hold of the wrong half.” Author unknown. And though this is a great quote it is wrong, especially when dealing with scripture. Because if we only accept half of the truth in scripture it doesn’t matter which half we grasp we will be wrong It doesn’t matter which half you have, because the fact is if you only have half you are wrong In order to endure what our Messiah plainly states will come, once we fully accept him in our lives, we must keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Yeshua
And once again I hope that we can all read this with a prayerful heart and with an expectation to change. As we go forth to study this week, I pray that we can all be granted the fruits of the Spirit to know, understand, and teach the gospel to the nations. May we be Given Wisdom, understanding, Patience and strength. And be given eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to change for the Glory of our Creator in the name of Yeshua our Messiah. Amen!
