Way of the Lord Part Two: In pursuit of God, #2

By Riaan Engelbrecht

Jesus said He is the Way, Truth and Life. There is no other way when it comes to following Christ. We follow the Way of the Lord, and not our way or any other way. His Way is secure, true and promises life, hope, joy, strength and love. His Way leads us along the blessed path of an intimate relationship with God, and along a path where we are led to the green pastures and quiet pastures. It is the path of the Good Shepherd who guides us with the Rod and the Staff. It is indeed the way of Psalm 23. It is the Way of Truth, for in such Truth is our victory and liberty. Yet we need to forsake our way for the true way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riaan Engelbrecht
• Release date: Mar 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393487753

Riaan Engelbrecht

Ps Riaan Engelbrecht is the founder of Avishua Ministries, the vice-president of Lighthouse Ministries International and the station manager of Lighthouse Radio. His ministry deals primarily with the prophetic, but he also has a passion to teach the Truth of the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom for only the Truth of the Lord sets us free (John 8:32).  He is also a qualified and seasoned journalist.

Book preview

Also by the same author:

The Holy Spirit Volumes 1 and 2

The Disciple of God Volumes 1 and 3

Discipleship Series Volumes 1 to 4

Deliverance Volumes 1 to 3

Perilous Days: Volumes 1 to 9

In Pursuit of God: Volumes 1- 10

The Prophet of God

Collection of Prophetic Thoughts and Teachings

The Will of the Lord

A God of Law and Order

The Kingdom of God

Devotions Vol 1 and 2

Prophecies Vol 1 Prophecies for the Nations, the Church and the Believer

Prophecies Vol 2 God’s Move of Glory, Deliverance, and Refinement

The Way of the Lord Part Two

This is a distributed edition from Avishua Ministries

The author’s intellectual property rights are protected by international Copyright law. You are licensed to use this digital copy strictly for your personal enjoyment only: it must not be redistributed or offered for sale in any form.

Scriptures quotes from the New Kings James Bible, Amplified, and the New International Version.

For more free study material visit http://avishuaministries.wixsite.com/avishua

Table of Contents

Walking in the image of the Lord   

Walking in the Light    

Paying attention to the Lord   

Keeping to Lord’s way and forsaking wickedness    

The Lord parts a way – seeing beyond the veil    

Hinder not the work of the Lord   

Laws of internal guidance  

A closer study of the Law    

Laws of Jesus enveloping spiritually the Laws of Moses

A disciple obeys the commandments of God     

Better way of Jesus  

God upholds heaven’s constitution and laws  

Abiding in God’s law and order   

Church governance out of order  

A Church of equipping and of soul winning  

What is broken with the discipleship blueprint?  

Restoring God’s tabernacle in the last days  

Order and blessing    

Remember the Lord at all times   

God’s way, God’s will and God’s path: A lesson from Israel’s history            

Walking in the image of the Lord

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, your pardon Lord;

And where there's doubt, true faith in you;

O Master,

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved, as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

This beautiful and famous prayer was spoken by the 13th-century Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis was a Catholic deacon and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. He was a man totally devoted to the Lord, and he was well known for spreading the gospel of kindness and love. People called him the little poor man of Assisi for he desired nothing but to be a blessing to others and in doing so glorify the Lord. For his simple and noble actions, he lives forever in the hearts of many.

Francis was humble. He loved God's creatures. He loved birds and beasts. He loved the depressed and the outcastes. He treated the birds, the beasts and all beings as brothers and sisters.

Francis was not unique in his actions – he was but merely mirroring the actions of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. St Francis was a living example of what it means to walk in the image of the Lord for he was a blessing to those around him. He sought to bring joy, love, and peace and hope where he went. He sought to be that light of the world and for that, he found inner joy and peace.

Sri Swami Chidananda, a spiritual leader of India said the following of this prayer: The simple prayer of St Francis of Assisi provides for us a mould in which to cast our own life's conduct and character. It provides a blueprint upon which to pattern our living in our thoughts, speech and actions within our day to day relationships with our fellow beings and with all life around us. Therefore, the prayer of St Francis is a precious document for us, an indispensable, invaluable frame of reference by which to judge our own lives, and referring to which we can do the necessary to bring about the needed alterations and modifications for the upliftment and purification of our own daily life.

Indeed, our behaviour, character and deeds should be moulded on the conduct and character of Jesus. This is what St Francis strived for – and for us, it is not impossible. It is merely a question of whether we seek to be a blessing to others or if we are solely living for ourselves.

Jesus showed us the way to a true and noble character in His Sermon on the Mount when He spoke regarding the beatitudes: 

Matthew 5 (New International Version): 3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And just so, Paul also touched on what it means to walk in the image of Jesus in his epistle to the church of Colossians (chapter 3): 1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.  5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.  12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Let us then strive in this day and throughout our lives to be a blessing and to show love, peace, joy and hope. Let us be a comfort, a light, a beacon of faith and let us forgive and pardon to bring unity and good cheer.

Walking in the Light

In John 8:12, the Lord declares the following: I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Of the Lord, David wrote the following in Psalm 27: The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

So our Lord is the light that will never dim. That light will continue to shine. It says of the New City in Revelation 21: 22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.

So the Light of the Lord is a light that will never fade or be extinguished. In the beginning, was the Light and the Light continues to shine to lead us home. It will shine forever. It is the light of truth, of justice, of beauty, or morality and of life. For our Lord is the Way, Truth and Life, but He is also the Light.  We also read in 1 John 1: 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

In God, there is no darkness. There is nothing corrupt, wicked and there is nothing that pollutes. He is pure and holy. He is the Light of our Salvation, the Light of Hope and the Light of our Redemption.

Let us be reminded of John 15: 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. Therefore, if we are called to abide in the Lord, we then shall abide in the Light. And once we abide in the Light, then the Light of the Lord shall shine. This is the premise of Matthew 5: 14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

So we must abide in the Lord for the eternal light of goodness and holiness to shine, for the light does not come from us. God is the Light. In the context of Psalm 27, He is Adonai Ori, the Light. Yet in order for that Light to be visible in us and through us, we need to abide, meaning we must obey, submit and follow our Lord. In Him there is no darkness, so we must abide in such a manner that we completely yield and follow. All that we do must be to the glory of God, and we must walk in such a manner that is pure and holy, therefore not corrupt.

We read in Luke 16 where the Lord is saying: 8 For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. Indeed, we live in a time where we are either sons (or daughters) of light, or sons of the world. For the sons of light seeks to walk the path of the Kingdom, thus the Way of the Lord, thus the path of purity and truth. There is no middle path. Either we live for the world, therefore walk in darkness and we embrace the carnality and the depravity, or we live as sons/daughters of the Light. There is no third option. And if we choose to be children of light, then we must walk in such a manner that there is no darkness in us to pollute the Light, for in God there is no darkness.

Also take of the following in John 12: 35 Then Jesus said to them, A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. So yes, we need to walk in the light and not in darkness. We should have no association with darkness and no fellowship with the corruption and decadence of this world, for in God there is no darkness.

And so Paul writes in Ephesians 5: 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are [d]exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light’.

Let us return to 1 John 1 which speaks about fellowship with Him and One Another: 5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Take note of verse 6. The Scripture thus says clearly if we walk in light but also walk in the darkness, then there can be no truth within us. Remember, those who are luke warm shall be spat out (Revelation 3:16). And this is serious, as Jesus is the Truth and the Truth sets us free. Thus, we must follow and abide in the Lord. We need to choose – the light or the darkness. We need to choose Truth or deception.  And if choose the light, then we must abide in the light completely, so that we walk in the light and thus in Truth.

Of the Lord it is written in John 1 New King James Version: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

As He is the Word, take into consideration Psalm 119: 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. The Word of God must lead us on the right path, so that we may walk in the Light and bring glory to God. Isaiah the prophet wrote in Isaiah 2: O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord. So we must remain and abide in the Lord – completely, utterly and fully – so that we may walk in the light and hold true to the light. For then we shall walk by the Light and manifest Adonai Ori’s glory in all that we say and do.

And more than ever it is important to hold fast and hold true to abiding in the Lord. The post-modern world is not an easy place to dwell in. We are subjected to tremendous physiological pressures, yes even us as Christians, as we face the extreme challenges of the day and we meet the Goliaths of our life on the fields of this broken and harsh world. It is so easy as a Christian to be pulled along by the currents of negativity, pessimism and skepticism as we look at this world, seemingly so shrouded and veiled in darkness, and we then become overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness internally in our soul and spirit and also on an external level.

Daily we hear of wars and rumours of wars as nation rises against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. For we see famines and earthquakes in various places (Mathew 24:5-7). Indeed, we see murder, death and corruption. And as the Apostle Paul wrote in the Book of 2 Timothy 3: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."

Jesus said to His disciples when He spoke about the end times that they should not be alarmed for such things must happen. It should not surprise us that we are living in such times, for Jesus said in John 12:31 that the devil is still the prince of this world but we have also received the promise that this prince shall be driven out. In the same breath, Jesus said that when He is lifted up from the earth then He will draw all men to Himself. What an eternal and beautiful promise to hold onto!

And so, in the midst of such temporary darkness on earth, the Lord calls for us to let our light shine, for us to stand tall and true as His followers, to proclaim the Good News that He is the Eternal Light and Eternal Hope.  For the Lord expects us to shine our light in hope, faith and love simply because He IS Love, He IS Glory and He IS the eternal hope for all we call upon Him.

Praise the Lord for He is the glorious light and in Him, there is no darkness.  For this reason, we shall and must rejoice, for our hope is secure in Him, our future is bright and true, our course is set on a solid path, and after a while, this world will fade away to be replaced by the Kingdom of Light. Because of this eternal hope and promise, we must let our light shine and be of good faith, leading people out of darkness into the His splendour and everlasting love.

For we know the Truth that in Jesus we are citizens of heaven – so let us shine our light and show this world that true hope and love rests not with the powers and riches of this world, but with God and He alone.

Paying attention to the Lord

Hebrews 2: Warning to Pay Attention:  1We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3 how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

We need to pay attention to what the Lord is doing ... we need to pay attention to what He is saying in and out of season, and we need to pay attention to His every movement. After all, the true disciples of the Lord know how the Master speaks and moves.

When the disciples followed Jesus, they paid attention and followed, always keenly aware of where He went and what He did. They paid attention to how He was doing things, what He was saying and teaching, and they then obeyed and followed.

It is a strange thought, concerning paying attention, but if we are not paying attention, then it means we are distracted and even at times deceived. It means our thoughts are not on God and we are not completely and utterly living in the Spirit all the time.

We need to pay attention to what He is doing – all the time.

We need to pay attention to the Scriptures.

We need to pay attention to our lives. For it says in Matthew 7:3: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

We need to become aware of those around us and we need to become discerning and mindful.

To pay attention implies being aware, all the time, of the Lord’s will. It implies taking heed of His movement, His voice and what He is doing.

Paying attention speaks of being mindful and of being aware.

Paying attention speaks of being in His will and acting according to His will.

Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites were reprimanded for not paying attention – therefore not being mindful of God and His ways and His will.

It says in the following Scriptures:

Jeremiah 7 says, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets.

Jeremiah 44 says, 4 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’ 5 But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn from their wickedness or stop burning incense to other gods. 6 Therefore, my fierce anger was poured out; it raged against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem and made them the desolate ruins they are today.

Zechariah 1 declares, 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the earlier prophets proclaimed: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Turn from your evil ways and your evil practices.’ But they would not listen or pay attention to me, declares the LORD.

Zechariah 7: 4 Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: 5 Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’  8 And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: 9 This is what the LORD Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’  11 But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.

The Israelites were reprimanded for not paying attention. They were not mindful of the Lord’s ways or His will or His commandments. The Israelites did not listen and continued in their ways of committing idolatry and spiritual adultery.

When the Lord spoke about paying attention, it is clear in my spirit that we are not taking enough effort or making enough time to know what the Holy Spirit is doing, to know God’s truth, to know what He is doing in our lives, to know what He is doing in the lives’ of those around us, to know what He is doing in the Church and what He is doing globally in countries and nations.

We can know by paying attention - paying attention to what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing, by paying closer attention to God’s Word and by paying closer attention to the prophetic being uttered.

We see the importance of the prophetic in the following Scripture of 2 Peter 1: New International Version (NIV): 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 We also have the