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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Once Saved....

I once believed this doctrine of man.  I have learned to be a Berean and test everything.  All Scripture interprets scripture and where there is not agreement or supposed disagreement it is in the interpretation and the interpretation must be changed to line up with the totality of Scripture.

 

Once Saved, Always Saved?

by Avram Yehoshua


 
Biblical salvation is a continual walk with Yeshua (Jesus), being loved by Him and loving Him back, which allows us to love our neighbor as ourself (Lev. 19:18). Salvation is not magic and it’s not a ‘one time’ mental ascent of ‘belief’ in Jesus as Savior. Our faith must be continually renewed in the Living God (Rom. 12:1-2). Just as the Sons of Israel ate the daily Manna came to the Sons of Israel in the Wilderness (Ex. 16:1-35), so too, must we eat the Living Manna every day or else our ‘belief in Jesus’ will die of starvation.

  The man who crystalized the concept of eternal security (once saved, always saved) was John Calvin (1509–1564). He said that salvation is guaranteed for the elect, but even he wouldn’t venture to say who the elect were, meaning that everyone had to walk out their salvation with the Lord ‘to the end.’ In other words, OSAS (once saved, always saved) does have a biblical nugget of truth to it. God knows who will persevere until the end (the elect). Not all who come to Christ Jesus thrive and persevere until the end (Mt. 13:3f.). You shall know them by their Fruit (Gal. 5:22-25), and just as fruit doesn’t grow on trees overnight, so too, it takes a while for a believer to have the Fruit of the Spirit, but so-called believers who have walked with Jesus for 10, 20 or 30 years or more, and don’t have the Fruit, will most likely not be happy on the Day of Judgment, no matter how many Sunday School classes they’ve taught.

The doctrine of OSAS, as it appears in some churches today, is a product of Greek–Western thinking on a Hebraic subject and seeks to make a three dimensional landscape into a one dimension picture. The starting point for any biblical discussion should be the Torah, the first five books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy). Everything pertaining to the Body of Christ is in picture-form in the Torah (Law) of Moses.

God delivered or saved Israel out of Egyptian slavery and promised them new life in the land of Canaan, but most of them that left Egypt never made it into the promised land because of unbelief (Num. 14:1-38; Hebrews 3:7–4:5f.).2 God concretely revealed that a New Testament believer can lose the promise of eternal life, even though he was Born Again. OSAS didn’t work for ancient Israel and it doesn’t work for us today.

It’s not a question of ‘sinning’ that determines who makes it or not. If it were, then Peter, who denied the Lord three times, would never have qualified. Repentance is a key here, as well as perseverance, but these concepts are only available to a heart that continually seeks the Lord and His way of living. Scripture teaches that eternal life is not guaranteed upon profession of faith. An example of this is seen in Paul’s writing:
Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Paul admonishes us to ‘work out’ our salvation. If it were a one time ‘set’ thing, when we first professed, if there was the guarantee that OSAS presents, there would have been no need for the Apostle to speak like that. The biblical believer is to be totally ‘sold out’ to the Lord, all his life, as the Apostles were. It is a struggle or a fight, as Paul also wrote of. We fight against both our carnal nature, which would rather rule and reign in our lives and rebel against God, and external things, like people who come against the believer who is walking out their faith in Yeshua (trials and tribulations). Paul exhorts Timothy, and then, just before his execution by Rome, speaks of having fought the good fight of faith to the end:
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1st Timothy 6:12)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2nd Timothy 4:7)
Yeshua also speaks of the concept of perseverance in His parable of the Sower of the Seed. Only one of the four actually attained to the promise of eternal life symbolized in the bearing of Fruit (Mt. 13:3-23), yet, three of the four were true believers. All three had a Born Again experience, but Yeshua said that one of the three believers had ‘stony ground,’ so that when tribulation arose he left the faith. Another believer allowed the cares of this world to choke the Seed of Life within him. Only the third believer received the Seed on good ground and bore good Fruit (Mt. 7:18-20), which speaks of his earthly walk.

Two of those three in the parable that were Born from Above. The word ‘joy’ in Mt. 13:20 reveals that the new birth actually happened. To claim, as some erroneously do, that they really weren’t true or real believers ‘to begin with’ misinterprets the text and destroys what Yeshua was teaching about the struggles of life in His Kingdom. While they walked with Yeshua they truly were believers.

Yeshua also spoke of those who had cast out demons in His name and had healed people in His name losing their salvation. These particular believers were told by the Lord to depart from Him because He never knew them (Mt. 7:21-23f.). Of course, not all believers who cast out demons and heal people will be told to leave Yeshua’s presence, but Yeshua used the illustration to express that even believers who walk in the power of His Spirit aren’t guaranteed eternal life. They must persevere.

Scripture speaks of the followers of Christ needing to ‘watch,’ meaning to continually be aware of his faith walk, lest he forget it and be lost:
“Watch therefore! For you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” (Mt. 24:42; see also Mt. 25:38; 26:40; Mk. 13:37; 1st Cor. 16:13; 1st Thess. 5:6; Rev. 3:3).
Watching means that we must be about our Messiah’s Business, just as He went about doing the Business of His Father. One who loves Yeshua with all his heart will want to know what His Messiah wants of Him, while another who only gives lip service to ‘belief’ won’t devote his life to Yeshua.

There are also admonitions to persevere or endure to the end, which can only mean that our faith must be living, and not just some mental assent to ‘Jesus’ being the Savior:
If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.” (2nd Timothy 2:12)
Obviously, that admonition can only pertain to believers. Some might say, ‘I won’t deny Him,’ but living a life of self is a form of denial of Yeshua. Paul wrote,
“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.” (1st Corinthians 3:1)
Paul was writing to Christians, but their lives were filled with ungodly attitudes and ways that could destroy their faith. Our lives must be in the process of being transformed into His Image and Likeness and this takes nothing less than a heart that is full of devotion and dedication to Yeshua based on our of love for Him. If a man loves a woman he wants to always be in her presence and wants to do things for her and with her, out of his love for her. This is the attitude that believers should have toward their Lord because He first loved us (1st John 4:19), and we can experience His love for us by His Spirit.

In the book of Revelation the Lord speaks to the seven assemblies and tells each one of them to persevere or overcome in order to be with Him in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1f.)
“He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” (Revelation 3:5; see also Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:12, 21)
It’s only those who persevere and overcome the obstacles of this life, relying upon the Master, who will be with Him in eternity. The essence of biblical salvation revolves around a living relationship with Messiah Yeshua. The person has come to know Yeshua and should continually seek to be loved by Him, and so, he is continually loving the Lord back through his thoughts, words and deeds. The Lord is able to change that person’s life from the inside out because he delights, perseveres and grows in that relationship. Like any other relationship it can grow or become stagnant and fade away.

With the concept of OSAS one can go around and around in endless, Greek–Western circles, but it’s the believer who has fallen in love with His Savior and who continually walks with the Lord that will be blessed in the End. This is the only way that we can deal with the evils and vices of this world:
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2nd Peter 2:20–21)
What does it mean ‘to be saved?’ The basis is that one has had a Born Again experience with the Lord, and hopefully, he has, or will be, filled with the Holy Spirit. There are many people in the Church that profess their ‘belief’ in Jesus, but it’s not an experiential belief, and so, it can be stale and one dimensional. Biblical belief is a belief in Yeshua that is based on an experiential reality. Look at all the men and women of God in Scripture (Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Peter, Paul and John, etc.) and you’ll find that they all knew God in a personal way.

It’s not without significance that Yeshua speaks of being Born Again (John 3:1f.). Believers are ‘birthed’ into the Kingdom of Messiah Yeshua by the Father and Holy Spirit, just as Yeshua was conceived in the womb of Mary. Like any baby born into the natural world, believers must grow, being fed on the Word and relationship (prayer/true communion) with their King. Their lives should revolve around their King and His desires for them, but as we saw in the parable of the Sower of the Seed, some are taken off the Road of Life due to tribulations and trials and/or being caught up in the things of this world.

The false doctrine of OSAS is given a ‘final nail in its coffin’ with the biblical concept of apostasy, which literally means ‘a falling away’ from the faith. It’s when a true believer, one who has tasted of the Holy Spirit and who is mature in the things of God, turns against God. As incredible as this may seem, this is biblical apostasy and God will cast all apostates into Hell Fire. One cannot be an apostate unless one has walked with the One true God and known Him intimately. Here is a Scripture that speaks of apostasy:
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” (Hebrews 6:4–8)
To be ‘enlightened’ and ‘have tasted’ of the ‘heavenly gift’ and to have been ‘partakers of the Holy Spirit’ all point to the same thing: the person was a believer in the Lord Jesus. Yet, this believer fell away (apostasy) and in the end will be in Hell.

I could never clearly tell if one were an apostate or not. I would always give anyone that I may have thought that of, the benefit of the doubt. Satan is very subtle and very evil and he delights in destroying believers.3

We all have a race to run and He is Faithful. We all sin and are complacent at times, etc., but how the heart responds to the Spirit will determine who goes on and who falls by the wayside. The teaching of ‘once saved, always saved’ is not biblical.
“Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13–14)

“But the Fruit of the Spirit is (God’s) love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Messiah’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:22–25)

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called sons of God! Therefore, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are sons of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1st John 3:1–3)

“But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (1st John 2:5–6)

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, but every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 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.’

‘I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be My disciples. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you—abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15:1-11)



2.  Of the 603,550 men over 20 years old who left Egypt, only two, Joshua and Caleb, made it into the Promised Land (Num. 2:32; 14:26-35).  


Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Gal 1:1-5

Gal 1:1 Sha’ul, an emissary – not from men, nor by a man, but by יהושע Messiah and Elohim the Father who raised Him from the dead –
Gal 1:2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:
Gal 1:3 Favour to you and peace from Elohim the Father and our Master יהושע Messiah,
Gal 1:4 who gave Himself for our sins, to deliver us out of this present wicked age, according to the desire of our Elohim and Father, Gal 1:5 to whom be the praise forever and ever. Amĕn.
 
We have met Paul or Shaul and how he became a believer in Yahshua Messiah on the road to Damascus.  Paul and Barnabus were set aside to be missionaries, ambassadors or emissaries for the believers in Antioch and Jerusalem to the gentiles.  They were not chosen by men or any denomination of believers but by Yahshua and  Elohim.  Here in these first 5 verses of the book of Galations we find the introductory statement to an assembly that was begun by Paul and Barnabus on their first journey as ambassadors.   
1:2 ­ Paul is not alone in his position concerning the gospel of Yahshua Messiah. He indicates that he "and all the brethren who are with me" are sending this concerned correspondence to the Galatians. This reference probably includes his fellow ambassadors, perhaps Barnabas, Timothy, Silas and Sosthenese (depending upon where he was when the letter was written) who were his colleagues and associates in the ministry. "All the brethren" could also refer to all of the believers who were in the local assembly in the community where he was residing at the time of writing.
   We don't know where Paul was when he wrote this letter. If this letter is the earliest of Paul's epistles.  It may have been written from Antioch of Syria between the first and second missionary journeys.
   The import of Paul's including his co-laborers and/or the local congregation in this greeting was probably to indicate that he was not working on his own, as may have been the charge of the infiltrating teachers (wolves in sheeps clothing) in Galatia. Paul had the solid support of many others who endorsed what he taught and lived. Obviously, "all the brothers" did not participate in the writing of this letter, but they stood with him and what he taught.
"to the assemblies of Galatia"  there are two primary interpretations of the identity of "the churches of Galatia": [(1) the "north Galatia" interpretation which prevailed for eighteen centuries of church history, identifying the Galatians according to their ethnic settlement in the north of Anatolia, in conjunction with the early (pre 25 B.C.) and later (second and third century A.D.) borders of the Roman political province of Galatia, and (2) the "south Galatia" interpretation which has predominated in modern nineteenth and twentieth century biblical interpretation, which takes into consideration the well-documented southern extension of the Galatian political province in 25 B.C. to include the cities of Lystra, Derbe, Iconium and Antioch of Pisidia, making this the proper designation of the territory when Paul wrote this letter in the middle of the first-century A.D. The historical evidence, as well as the biblical evidence of Paul's having visited these southern cities on his first missionary journey (Acts 13,14), with no record of his having established churches in the northern part of the province, combine to present a most reasonable option of identifying the recipients as the Christians of the churches in the aforementioned southern cities.]   James A. Fowler
This letter, as it was addressed to all the assemblies was sent from one assembly to another in the area of Galatia.
  Favor and Peace only come from Yahshua and Elohim through the atoning and sacrificial work of Messiah on the stake. 
Eph 2:8 For by favour you have been saved, through belief, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim,
Eph 2:9 it is not by works, so that no one should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Messiah יהושע unto good works, which Elohim prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once gentiles1 in the flesh, who are called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called ‘the circumcision’ made in the flesh by hands, Footnote: 11 Cor. 12:2.
Eph 2:12 that at that time you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ĕl and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Messiah יהושע you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.
Eph 2:14 For He is our peace, who has made both one, and having broken down the partition of the barrier,
Eph 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity – the Torah of the commands in dogma – so as to create in Himself one renewed man from the two, thus making peace,

Eph 2:16 and to completely restore to favour both of them unto Elohim in one body through the stake, having destroyed the enmity by it.

We praise Yahweh for the work He has done in our lives in bringing us peace and His favor. we remember our former estate as slaves of this world and without hope.  Next we will consider the reason for Paul's letter.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Galations 1:1

Gal 1:1 Sha’ul, an emissary – not from men, nor by a man, but by יהושע Messiah and Elohim the Father who raised Him from the dead

Last time we first find Paul mentioned in Acts at the false accusation and stoning of Steven.  Now let's go back in time.  Do you realize that it is possible from 2 different times that we might not even have a Paul or the books he wrote? 

Jdg 20:46 And all who fell of Binyamin that day were twenty-five thousand men who drew the sword, all of these were mighty men.
Jdg 20:47 But six hundred men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, and they dwelt at the rock of Rimmon for four months.
Jdg 20:48 And the men of Yisra’ĕl turned back against the children of Binyamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword from every city, men and beasts, all who were found. And they set fire to all the cities they came to.
 Jdg 21:1
And the men of Yisra’ĕl had sworn an oath at Mitspah, saying, "Not one of us shall give his daughter to Binyamin as a wife."
Jdg 21:3 and said, "O יהוה

Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, why has this come about in Yisra’ĕl, that today there should be one tribe missing in Yisra’ĕl?"
smite the inhabitants of Yaḇĕsh Gilʽaḏ with the edge of the sword, even the women and children.
Jdg 21:11 "And this is what you do: Put under the ban every male, and every woman who has known a man by lying with him."
Jdg 21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Yaḇĕsh Gilʽaḏ four hundred young maidens who had not known a man. And they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Kenaʽan.
Jdg 21:13 Then all the congregation sent, and spoke to the children of Binyamin who were at the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.
Jdg 21:14 And Binyamin turned back at that time, and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Yaḇĕsh Gilʽaḏ. But even so there were not enough for them.

Jdg 21:20 And they commanded the children of Binyamin, saying, "Go, lie in wait in the vineyards,
Jdg 21:21 "and watch. And see, when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then you shall come out from the vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Binyamin.
This is the first instance of losing the tribe of Benjamin.  The second occurs during the time of exile

Est 7:1 And the sovereign and Haman came in, to drink with Sovereigness Estĕr.
Est 7:2 And again on the second day, at the feast of wine, the sovereign said to Estĕr, "What is your petition, Sovereigness Estĕr? And it is given to you. And what is your request? Up to half my reign, and it is done!"
Est 7:3 And Sovereigness Estĕr answered and said, "If I have found favour in your eyes, O sovereign, and if it pleases the sovereign, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request. Est 7:4 "For we have been sold, my people and I, to be cut off, to be slain, and to be destroyed. And if we had been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent, although the adversary could not make up for the sovereign’s loss."
If Esther had not been chosen to be queen, all of the Jews would have been slaughtered by Haman.

So we see Yahweh Elohim at work preserving His people.

Paul, an Emissary or an ambassador.  Most of us know of Paul's salvation on the Damascus Road.  If not I would encourage you to read Acts chapter 9.  Paul, after his conversion was then set apart by the assembly at Antioch
Act 13:1 And in the assembly that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: both Barnaḇah and Shimʽon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaḥĕm who had been brought up with Herodes the district ruler, and Sha’ul.
Act 13:2 And as they were doing service to the Master and fasted, the Set-apart Spirit said, "Separate unto Me Barnaḇah and Sha’ul for the work to which I have called them."
Act 13:3 Then having fasted and prayed, and having laid hands on them, they sent them away.   Act 13:4 So they, having been sent out by the Set-apart Spirit, went down to Seleukeia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.
 
This is Paul, an emissary or ambassador for Messiah in his own words.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Php 3:4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Php 3:7 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

He Says To Wait

We are in a period of waiting.  Elohim has but the breaks on us leaving Minn.  We will have a least a month of waiting.  My wife is needing  to have a cataract removed from her right eye while we still have insurance.  This means she will need to be rechecked at the end of next month.  So we will wait patiently on Yahweh as He is the one who is directing our steps.  We don't know what the future is holding for us as we wait.  But we know He holds the future and all things work together for good to them who are called.
Rom 8:28 And we know that all matters work together for good to those who love Elohim, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He knew beforehand, He also ordained beforehand to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, for Him to be the first-born among many brothers.

Rom 8:30 And whom He ordained beforehand, these He also called, and whom He called, these He also declared right. And whom He declared right, these He also esteemed.
 
Psa 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

Pro 3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Road Construction Again

Well, we can really see the hand of Elohim watching over our footsteps.  If we had our moving sale this week, today would have been terrible.  They are resurfacing the road today.











The girls just sit there and wave to all the workers as they pass by.
 

Whole Scripture Study - Galations 1:1 Who is Paul

Galations 1
 
 
Gal 1:1 Sha’ul, an emissary – not from men, nor by a man, but by יהושע Messiah and Elohim the Father who raised Him from the dead

Sha'ul:  Paul in the Greek.
    Paul is first found in Acts at the stoning of Stephen

        It is interesting to note what Stephen was teaching and preaching and why he was put to death.  He was being FALSLY ACCUSED OF CHANGING THE PRACTICE OF FOLLOWING THE LAW OF MOSES. 
The early church taught and believed in following the law as given to Moses.  Not the way the Pharisees or Scribes did.  Not as a means of Salvation for salvation is by Elohim's favor through faith. 
Eph 2:8 For by favour you have been saved, through belief, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim, Eph 2:9
it is not by works, so that no one should boast. 
Following the law becomes important as a means of demonstrating our love for Messiah and obedience to Him Joh 14:15 "If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.1 Footnote: 1See Ex. 20:6, vv. 21&23, 1 John 5:2-3, 2 John v. 6.
It will be important to keep this in mind as we study Galations.
Now back to Stephan and Paul

Act 6:8 And Stephanos, filled with belief and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
Act 6:9 But some of those of the so-called Congregation of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Kilikia and Asia), rose up, disputing with Stephanos,
Act 6:10
but they were unable to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
Act 6:13 And they set up false witnesses who said, "This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this set-apart place and the Torah,
Act 6:14 for we have heard him saying that this יהושע
of Natsareth shall overthrow this place and change the institutes which Mosheh delivered unto us." .....Act 7:51 "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Set-apart Spirit, as your fathers did, you also do.
Act 7:52 "Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who before announced the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers, Act 7:53 who received the Torah as it was ordained by messengers, but did not watch over it."1 Footnote: 1See Mt. 5:20.
Footnote:  Mat 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets.1 I did not come to destroy but to complete. Footnote: 1The Law and the Prophets is a term used for the pre-Messianic Scriptures.
Mat 5:18 "For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.1 Footnote: 1Lk. 16:17.
Mat 5:19 "Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens. Mat 5:20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,1 you shall by no means enter into the reign of the heavens. Footnote: 1Mt. 15:3-9, Mk. 7:7-13, John 7:19, Acts 7:53, Rom. 2:23-27, Gal. 6:13.
Act 7:58 and threw him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Sha’ul.

The Pharisees followed the oral traditions handed down over the generations and put a higher regard on it than on the Scriptures. This put a great burden on the people. It would be similar to many churches today putting their own rules and regulations above Scripture such as not dancing, drinking, or going to movies. Now don't get me wrong these may be good things but when we put them ahead of Scripture or on the same level as Scripture we then become just like the Pharisees. Messiah's problem with the Pharisees and the religious establishment is that they put oral tradition or Talmud before the written word which Yahweh Elohim had given to Moses.
Act 8:1 And Sha’ul was giving approval to his death. And on that day there was a great persecution against the assembly which was at Yerushalayim, and they were all scattered throughout the countries of Yehuḏah and Shomeron, except the emissaries
Act 8:3 But Sha’ul was ravaging the assembly, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, putting them in prison.
This was Paul before his conversion to Messiah.
Paul was born a Roman citizen in Tarsus.  It is possible that he received a Greek education besides that of his Hebrew education.  He was a full blooded Jew of the tribe of Benjamin and was taught by the Rabbi Gamaliel.  It is my understanding at this time that in order to be taught by this teacher one must have had the entire tanach or what we call the Old Testament memorized.  This tells us something of Paul's great mind for grasping the teachings of the Old Testament.  Along with his great mind and religious zeal he was far advanced in Judaism beyond any of his contemporaries.



 
 
         










 






       

 
 




Sunday, August 18, 2013

Not Much News

What is Yahweh Elohim doing in our lives?  There is not a whole lot taking place right now that I can see on the surface.  I continue to get the camper ready to move into.  Laurie is in the process of trying to sell our whole homeschool library ( if anyone is interested in some great books ask for Laurie's 19 lists of homeschool curriculum, that doesn't include the 4 bookcases of great books).  Every morning I pray and ask that Abba El will sell these books for us.  Almost one bookcase full has been sold.  But even that has just barely made a dent in it.  So, on my part I take time away from remodeling to package up books and take them to the post office.  I think there has been about 60 packages sent, perhaps a bit more.  Praises to Abba El for His goodness to us. 
   Just this morning as I was finishing up my devotions my 13 year old came to me with a discovery from her own time with Him.  This is a fantastic promise as we head into a life walking by faith.  She was reading the faith chapter of Hebrews and found this gem.
Heb 11:39 AndG2532 theseG3778 all,G3956 having obtained a good reportG3140 throughG1223 faith,G4102 receivedG2865 notG3756 theG3588 promise:G1860 Heb 11:40 GodG2316 having providedG4265 someG5100 better thingG2909 forG4012 us,G2257 thatG2443 they withoutG5565 usG2257 should notG3361 be made perfect.G5048 Heb 11:39 And having obtained witness through the belief, all these did not receive the promise,1 Footnote: 1See v. 13.
Heb 11:40 Elohim having provided what is better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

Heb 11:40 GodG2316 having providedG4265 someG5100 better thingG2909 forG4012 us,G2257 thatG2443 they withoutG5565 usG2257 should notG3361 be made perfect.G5048

She looked up the word provided in the dictionary and them came and asked me if I knew what the definition of provided meant.  I told her the beginning "pro" means before and I wasn't sure about the second part "vide" would mean.
Now Rare to get ready beforehand; to make available; supply; to supply (someone) with something · to prepare ( for or against some probable or possible situation ...

It is not just the supplying or making available.  In the 1828 Websters it has the meaning of getting ready before hand.  Now let's take a look at the Greek.
προβλέπω
problepō




Thayer Definition:
 
 
 
1) to foresee
2) to provide
 
προβλέπω
 
problepō
 
prob-lep'-o  From G4253 and G991; to look out beforehand, that is, furnish in advance: - provide.

so we have Elohim  having looked out beforehand and furnished in advance what is better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

so, can this also be applied to our walk of faith?  What about prayer and the needs we bring before Elohim?  I will have to look into the Scriptures and see.
Mat 7:7 "Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.
Mat 7:8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.
Mat 7:9 "Or is there a man among you who, if his son asks for bread, shall give him a stone?
Mat 7:10 "Or if he asks for a fish, shall he give him a snake?
Mat 7:11 "If you then, being wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in the heavens give what is good to those who ask Him!

Mat 7:12 "Therefore, whatever you wish men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Torah and the Prophets.
Mat 21:22 "And whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

Mat 6:5 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the congregations and on the corners of the streets, to be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward.
Mat 6:6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place. And your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.
Mat 6:7 "And when praying, do not keep on babbling like the gentiles. For they think that they shall be heard for their many words.
Mat 6:8 "Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
πρό
pro



Thayer Definition:
1) before
Wow, Before we ask.  But the thing is... WE MUST ASK.Luk 6:38 Give,G1325 andG2532 it shall be givenG1325 unto you;G5213 goodG2570 measure,G3358 pressed down,G4085 andG2532 shaken together,G4531 andG2532 running over,G5240 shall men giveG1325 intoG1519 yourG5216 bosom.G2859 ForG1063 with theG3588 sameG846 measureG3358 thatG3739 ye meteG3354 withal it shall be measured to you again.G488 G5213

Mat 6:19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
Mat 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
Mat 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart shall be also.
Mat 6:22 "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, all your body shall be enlightened.
Mat 6:23 "But if your eye is evil,1 all your body shall be darkened. If, then, the light that is within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Footnote: 1This is a Heḇrew idiom – a good eye means to be generous, while an evil eye means to be stingy.

Are we just selling books?  No, we have also gifted individuals with books.  We have given as Yahweh has given to us.  Our goal here is not just be be blessed by Yahweh but to bless others that He brings into our lives. 
I trust that you will be encouraged to bring to Yahweh Elohim all your needs even though He already knows of them and is preparing in advance to the meeting of those needs.
Shalom.





Tuesday, August 13, 2013

One Portrait

Well, I finished John and Sarah's wedding portrait.  Now It's waiting time while it dries.
 
I took this photo and then did this oil from it
 
 

Teach Us To Pray

Joh 4:20 "Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you people say that in Yerushalayim is the place where one needs to worship."
Joh 4:21 יהושע said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Yerushalayim, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 "You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because the deliverance is of the Yehuḏim.1 Footnote: 1Ps. 147:19, Isa. 2:3, Isa. 14:1, Isa. 56:6-8, Ezek. 47:22-23, Zech. 2:10-11, Zech. 8:23, Rom. 2:20, Rom. 3:2, Rom. 9:4, Rev. 21:12 & 24.
Joh 4:23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also does seek such to worship Him.
Joh 4:24 "Elohim is Spirit, and those who worship Him need to worship in spirit and truth."
Joh 4:25 The woman said to Him, "I know that Messiah is coming, the One who is called Anointed. When that One comes, He shall announce to us all."
Joh 4:26 יהושע said to her, "I who am speaking to you am He."
The story of the woman at the well is the first mention of Yashua's teaching on prayer.
What we find here is that Abba El (daddy God) is seeking out worshippers, true worshippers.
Our worship is worship that satisfies His heart and is a joy to Him.
It is His son that has come to open the way for this kind of worship and to teach it to us.  So what does this kind of worship look like?
  We find three kinds of worship listed here.
1.  Ignorant:  Samaritans
2.  Enlightened:  Jews
3.  New:  Now, in spirit and in truth.

In spirit and in truth is not speaking of earnestly from the heart and in sincerity kind of worship.
The Samaritans had the Torah and some knowledge.  Some had no doubt sought out Elohim in this way - from the heart.
The Jews had the full revelation of Elohim in His Word (Tanach) as thus far given.  There were men who called upon Elohim with their whole heart yet not in Spirit and in truth.
The New:  The hour is coming and now is...  It is only in and through Yashua that the worship of Elohim can be in Spirit and truth.
Today we still have the same three classes.  We need to ask to be taken to this 3rd class to be taught how to pray, how to worship in spirit and truth.  This is what Abba El desires and seeks. 
Elohim is Spirit...
    1. Harmony.  Because El is Spirit we must worship in Spirit.  We are no longer limited to worship in a certain time at a certain place.  The Spirit is not bound by certain places and times.  Worship in Spirit involves our whole being.  The Spirit of our life.  Our life must be that of worship. 
Rom 12:1 I call upon you, therefore, brothers, through the compassion of Elohim, to present your bodies a living offering – set-apart, well-pleasing to Elohim – your reasonable worship.

Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you prove what is that good and well-pleasing and perfect desire of Elohim.

This Spirit must come from Elohim.  El is Spirit and He alone has His Spirit to give.  He sent His Son then Sent His Spirit. 

Joh 1:33 "And I did not know Him, but He who sent me to immerse in water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit coming down and remaining on Him, this is He who immerses in the Set-apart Spirit.’
Joh 7:37 And on the last day, the great day of the festival, יהושע stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me, and let him who believes in Me drink.

Joh 7:38 "As the Scripture said, out of His innermost shall flow rivers of living water."1 Footnote: 1Isa. 44:3, Jer. 2:13, Jer. 17:13, Zech. 14:8, Ps. 36:8,9, Prov.14:27, John 4:10, John 6:63, 1 Cor. 10:4, Rev. 7:17, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:1 & 17

Those who are redeemed, those who have repented, in Messiah receive a new position of children, the Father then sends the Spirit of His Son to dwell in our hearts.
Hei   Hei (He, Hey) is the fifth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It can refer to His glory. It is also used as an abbreviation for Hashem (His name). It is found in the tetragrammaton (Yahweh, more specifically Yud Hei Vav Hei), which also is indicative of divine revelation. In the Talmud, Hei is important also within teshuvah (repentance), more specifically the combination of the word teshuv and the letter hei. In a sense, it is to bring one back to hei (as an abbreviation of Hashem).
Millhouse, Roger (2012-12-17). Prepared in The Wilderness (Kindle Locations 734-739).  . Kindle Edition.

Worship is Spirit is then the Spirit of Messiah, the Spirit of Sonship.  Only the Messiah is able to open the way for worship in Spirit as He reveals the Father and sends the Spirit of sonship.

Notes from the Book Lord Teach Us To Pray by Andrew Murray.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

His holiness, Our set-apartness

This weeks post from Kyle takes a different view on why we guard and keep Yahweh's Torah.



FIRST THOUGHT
 
YHVH has an “issue” … He is Holy and we are not, but He desires to have a relationship with us!
 
Today’s “Torah (Law) reading” was from Numbers 4 regarding the sons of Aaron and the family of Kohath.  Everybody had a job to do and one of the jobs of Aaron’s sons was to make sure none of the Kohathites perished by touching or gazing upon the Holy objects within the Holy place or the Holy of Holies.  So, when it was time to move the tabernacle, the sons of Aaron had to first enter and cover all the Holy objects within these two rooms, and then assign a Kohathite to move them across the desert until they reached the place YHVH desired them to go.
 
Get this, though:  If a son of Aaron did not do his job correctly, and a Kohathite gazed upon a Holy object because a corner of it was exposed, or the wind blew a corner to expose it … the Kohathite would die.
 
“That is not fair” … “That is not just,” many may cry.
 
Oh, and remember Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6:6-7?  The oxen nearly upset the Ark so that it almost fell.  Uzzah reached out and took hold of it so it wouldn’t fall… and YHVH struck Him dead.
 
“That is not fair” … “That is not just,” many may cry.
 
Then there was Aaron’s own sons who sacrificed to YHVH, but used the wrong fire.  Zap … dead!
 
“That is not fair” … “That is not just,” many may cry.
 
LET US LOOK AT THESE EXAMPLES FROM A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW!
 
The reason many people today do not obey God’s Laws as given to Moses is because they have no fear of Him and no understanding of His Holiness.  YHVH chooses people to protect His name and holiness, and we are to do so as His anointed.  For those who think the examples above are “not fair,” they are looking at it all wrong!  They are missing the point!  The point is:  So why, really did they die?  They did what was forbidden.  They were specifically warned, yet for whatever reason, they disobeyed (This does NOT mean are no longer His children … just the consequents of their actions.  Remember Moses and the rock?  He was forbidden to enter the promised land because “in front of others He did not show YHVH as Holy” … but we know that Moses in in the coming Kingdom) .   That is how Holy YHVH is!  He warns us … He shows us … He even gives us examples of what happens if He is approached wrong or not obeyed … so that we will not die (many will not realize this until it is too late, though).  He explained how to protect His holiness so that He could dwell among us.  Remember, this is how Holy God is:
 
But He said, ‘You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!’”  (Exodus 33:20)
 
What more could He do?  Now that He has sent His Son, many men think God has changed.  However, God does not change nor does He lie about what He desires.  His Son has even said that HE can do nothing but what the Father says to do, as well as who is in the family “those who do the WILL of the Father” (Matthew 12:50).  The Son did not eliminate the holiness of God, but highlighted it.   Take for example, His Laws.  They are Holy! 
 
So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”  (Romans 7:12)
 
We are told many times and many ways to protect His laws and guard them.  These are HIS Laws for HIS set-apart people to show the world that HE is a set-apart God who desires to dwell among His people.  I obey His laws because they are Holy, and I am showing those around me that YHVH is unchangeable and does not lie.  I am protecting His character and holiness … like His Son did.
 
Do you really think that things have changed?  Let us look at just ONE New Testament example of “it is not fair”.  Look at Acts 5:1-11 about Ananias and his wife Sapphira.  It was their property to basically do with what they wanted.  That is the truth!  But once they decided to dedicate it to YHVH and then did not give all of it to the work of the apostles,  YHVH’s Spirit took their lives!
 
“That is not fair” … “That is not just,” many may cry.
 
They did not have to sell their land!  But they gave a vow that they will and that they dedicated the proceeds to YHVH’s work … that is when it no longer was theirs to do as they please!  Once they dedicated it, it became holy-set-apart unto YHVH.  They were now not to touch it!  But they did!
 
We are to protect His holiness and character.  Oh, do you want to know when many will cry, “That is not fair” … “That is not just”?  It is when the Messiah, the Son of God, returns and those who served Him, but disregarded the Father’s Laws are cast away:
 
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”  (Matthew 7:21-23)
 
“That is not fair” … “That is not just,” many WILL cry.  Well, we cannot say He did not warn us and explain carefully how to protect His Laws and guard them by doing them!  If I tell you, “Do not touch the hot oven,” yet you do … whose fault is it?  Yep … He warned us, so I am doing the WILL OF THE FATHER … protecting and guarding His holiness!  Not perfectly, but He never said we have to be perfect, just to practice them!