Page 278 - Lunacy and the Age of Deception

Christ which dwells in us, many do not avail themselves of these things. The church elder James
lamented the following.

James 4:2
You do not have because you do not ask.

Over the course of years in which the Lord has called me to minister through writing, I have
repeatedly had Christians tell me that they were crying out to God, asking Him to guide them to
truth, to give them understanding of some matter of doctrine, when He led them soon afterward to
that which they sought. I too have experienced this. I have prayed many times during my life that
Yahweh would teach me truth and expose error to me. I have entreated Him to show me the presence
of deception and falsehood, and to guide me in the way of truth. Have you asked the same? Perhaps
you do not have because you do not ask.

There is something required beyond asking, however. Yahshua does not reveal mysteries and provide
counsel indiscriminately. You must qualify yourself to receive the counsel of Christ and to be
granted entry to His inner circle. Not everyone who confesses the name of Christ qualifies. You
cannot live a self-centered, material, or carnal life and expect to be granted access to the privy
counsel of the Son of God. Years ago the Spirit of Christ showed me a profound truth, affirming this
matter. The Holy Spirit drew my attention to the following verse from the Gospels.

Luke 8:10
And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the
rest it is in parables, in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.”

The Spirit of Christ had me break down this verse to understand some basic principles. One thing
I was led to consider is who “you” is a reference to. The answer is found in the preceding verse.

Luke 8:9
And His disciples began questioning Him...

I was then led to consider what a disciple is. Many Christians would quickly answer that a disciple
is anyone who believes in Jesus Christ/Yahshua the Messiah as their Lord and Savior. This is
inaccurate, however, and it has been the cause of many failures and evils among Christians. There
is much more required than confession of certain beliefs in order to be a disciple. Yahshua stated the
following.

Luke 14:26-28, 33
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and
brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry
his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple... So therefore, no one of you can be My
disciple who does not give up all his possessions.”

In these words of Christ we are given specific criteria for being a disciple. A man or woman must
place devotion and obedience to Christ above every other relationship in this life. A disciple must
love Christ even more than his own life. A disciple must take up his/her cross and follow wherever