Consider the different reasons people follow Jesus. First, there are seekers— those who follow Yeshua because they want something. They are seeking Him for what they can get from Him. Jesus confronts this: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled” (John 6:26).
They were only interested in what was in it for them—sound familiar? Unfortunately, the theme today of so much of what is being preached, blogged, and tweeted is all “me-centered rather than God-centered.” God has often been reduced to a “wish granter.” It is falsely being taught that we can have it all and God is like a magic genie.
Then there are His disciples.
“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine” (John 8:31).
Webster’s defines continue as: to maintain without interruption a condition, course, or action.
Beloved, we only become His disciples when we continue in His Word. It requires us to be steadfast, focused, and truly committed to Him. It is our only path to true freedom.
One of my favorite verses in the entire Word of God is John 8:32, where Yeshua tells us that if we continue in His Word: “You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
Consider this: Have you ever asked Jesus, what is the truth that He said would make you free? Think about that. Jesus said, you’ll know the truth and that this truth will make you free. But memorizing the Bible alone doesn’t make somebody free, does it? I mean, we know many people who know the Bible very well. They can quote Scripture after Scripture, yet many of them are not free, right? They’re not happy. So, what is the truth that sets us free?
I believe it starts with knowing how great God is and how much the Father loves us. This then leads us to realize how protected and safe we are in Him and that He is going to take care of every need in our lives. This is an essential part of the truth that sets us free.
If you think about little children, they are very free. They know that their parents love them. They just know it. Children feel secure. They are happy and carefree. They play. They laugh. They live in the present moment. They are free with their emotions because they know who they are in their parents’ love. Children get their identity from knowing how loved they are by their parents and how safe they are in their world.
Another aspect of the truth is that the longer we continue in His Word, the narrower the road becomes.
To pre-order Rabbi Kirt Schneider’s new book, Knowing God as Father, visit Amazon.com.
Remember, Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it” (Matthew 7:13).
Thus, as we continue in the truth, our way becomes narrower. What I mean is that as we continue on with Yeshua, we more and more die to our old nature in order to completely obey and follow Him day by day.
Remember when you were in school as a child and looked into a microscope at the slide beneath? When you first put your eyes onto the microscope and looked at the slide, you didn’t see much. But then, as you adjusted the power on the microscope, you suddenly saw little organisms moving around on the screen.
As you turned the power up, it brought things into focus.
This is what happens as we press in. The Lord turns up the power of the working of His Spirit in our life. As we continue with the Word of Jesus, the laser of God’s light shines into our soul, beginning to expose those parts of our life that need to be transformed—often parts that we were not even aware of. Beloved, as we shed this “excess baggage” and continually embrace new revelation—our path narrows.
But in order to really do that, we first need to wake up. We need to start paying attention to the thoughts we allow to go through our minds. We need to constantly take every thought captive and bring them under the truth of His Word and Lordship. God wants to bring us into a deeper relationship. He wants to deal with more things in our life. He wants to address our thought life. This is how we continue in His Word.
And beloved, when I say this, I am not just referring to the written Word called in Greek the logos. But it is also the rhema – what the Lord is communicating to our hearts subtly by His Spirit. It’s not always an audible word. It is often something that you just sense with your conscience. See, the Lord is trying to sharpen our walk with Him through the Holy Spirit’s witness in our conscience. It’s like an inner knowing. But we have to become aware of it. We have to practice awareness of the presence of the Spirit. And then, when we do feel Him speaking to us, we have to yield and obey. This is key to continuing in His Word.
Again, Yeshua promises, “If you continue in My word, then you’re truly disciples of Mine and you’ll know the truth and the truth will make you free.”
Rabbi Schneider hosts the impactful television program –Discovering The Jewish Jesus, which is available in more than one hundred million homes in the United States and nearly two hundred nations worldwide. In 2021 he began broadcasting on radio and now airs across America. Rabbi Schneider imparts revelation of Jesus’ Jewish heritage and His fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Questions of how the Old and New Testaments tie together, and how Yeshua completes the unfolding plan of The Almighty Yahweh, are answered with exceptional clarity.
www.discoveringthejewishjesus.com/about-2/rabbi-schneider/
