Conditions of Peace
Luke 14:25-33, “Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, 26“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. 27And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—29lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. 33So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
How many of you believe Yeshua is concerned about the physical peace of the nations on this planet at this moment in time? What did Yeshua say in Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” The four horsemen of the apocalypse are riding now. The second horseman’s job is war. Revelation 6:3-4, “When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.” What did Yeshua state in His great end-time discourse in Matthew 24:6? “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
Let me ask you again, is Yeshua more interested in the nations of this world blowing themselves to hell in war, or is He more interested in the spiritual health of His children, no matter what is going on around them? Yahweh does not like to see any human perish, but He is especially concerned for the welfare of His children. Are we or are we not, as the children of Yahweh, considered kings and priests? Revelation 1:5-7, “and from Yeshua HaMashiach, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6and has made us kings and priests to His Mighty One and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.” Revelation 5:10, “And have made us kings and priests to our Mighty One; and we shall reign on the earth.” Now look at Luke 14:31 again. Are we the king disciple that should sit down and count the cost of this spiritual war we have been enlisted in? Yes, of course. But who is the King, with the larger force, Who is coming against the lesser force? We believe, we think, we hope, we are among the Master’s overwhelming heavenly force, but are we really? Do we allow abortion in our country? Do we allow homosexual marriages in our country? Do we allow that satanic religion Islam to be promoted from our churches’ pulpits? Do we allow criminals to run free, instead of taking them outside the city and stoning them? Do we allow corruption to run rampant in our civil governments? Are we really on Yahweh’s side in this moral, spiritual war?
Read Luke 14 again. Yeshua, with His larger, more powerful, heavenly army is coming back to earth to make war upon His enemies. Are we, as Yahweh’s rebellious children, fighting Satan, or fighting against Yahweh and His commandments? Look around you, look into your own heart. Have you really counted the cost of discipleship?
When Yeshua returns, what will we offer as our condition of peace? Do you think Yeshua is happy with His carnal, pagan, flesh-ridden church? If you do, you are deluded. Why should Yeshua reap you into His barn and not into His fiery furnace of judgment? The demons believe in Yeshua, but they are trembling in fear of their final destruction. Why should Yeshua spare me or you?
What does Luke 14 reveal as the conditions of peace with our King? Do you hate your family, or do you pamper their flesh? Do you hate your life, or are you chasing health, wealth, and prosperity above all else? Are you taking up your execution stake daily and dying to self and following Yeshua with your whole heart, or are you just using your new life in Jesus to get more of this evil world? Are we hungering and thirsting after Yeshua and His righteousness, or do we lust after the sensuality of this earthly life? Have we forsaken all we are and have to obtain Yeshua, or have we forsaken Yeshua to gain all this world has to offer? Do you want to experience Yeshua’s peace when He returns? You best be meeting the conditions of peace now, today, this instant. You were called to the execution stake, you were called to death, in order to gain life. You DO NOT get resurrection life, unless you die to your flesh life. Are you looking forward to resurrection day? Well, resurrection presupposes death.
After three and one half years of powerful, devil-busting ministry, Yeshua had only gained 120 disciples. The way is narrow, the gate is strait, few their be that find the way into the Kingdom. Yeshua is for you, but He is at war against the world, the flesh, and the devil. If you hang around any one of those three, you are in for a fiery end. Are you in the fiery iron furnace of affliction, or are you just cruising through life as a kite on the breeze? Discipleship will cost you everything in this earth life. You are called to suffer. You are called to affliction. You are called to crucifixion. You are called to die to the self-life. The real life of peace with Yeshua comes later. Right now He will dance with you in the fiery furnace, later, He will dance on the heads of His enemies burning in the lake of fire. You were called to choose. Choose life in Yeshua, which means death to you and your life. Baptism is the example of death to our old man, crucifixion is the experience of killing the old man. Crucifixion was the climax of Yeshua’s earth walk, crucifixion is the climax of your earth walk. Crucifixion of self is the ultimate condition of peace with Yeshua. It is your ultimate identification with Him; it is your ultimate union with Him. Count your cost of discipleship, do you, as Yahweh’s king and priest, have what it takes to pay the price of peace with Him?
Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of Yahweh, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Happy bleeding,
Gene Benjamin II
June 27, 2011 CE
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