"These things says He who has the seven Ruachim Elohim (Spirits of God) and the seven stars: 'I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before Elohim (God). Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you" (Rev.3:1-3, NKJV).

Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and may the grace of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) be with us today as we gather to hear the Davar Elohim (Word of God). Today's message is a very simple one and yet for many will be one that is a matter of life or death, as today's passage makes clear.

Several mornings ago I was praying and asked Yahweh what it was that He wanted me to do and I heard Him speak back to me but one word: WATCH! Given all that's going on in the world with impending economic collapse, imminent world war and escalating violence in the Middle East, the breathtakingingly rapid rise of the totalitarian police state in once free and democratic countries like the USA and Europe, the spiralling immorality, the incessant attack on family values, the violent persecution of Christians, the recent revelation that the Japanese goverment has all but lost conrol of the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant which is spewing more radioative water into the Pacific Ocean than ever before, and the approach of Nibiru and Comet ISON with all that that implies, gives us very good grounds indeed to be watchful, because if we're not, as Yah'shua (Jesus) warned, "you will not know what hour I will come upon you". In other words, we are commanded to be watchful so that we do not come under the same judgments as the rest of the unbelieving and rebellious planet. Yah'shua (Jesus) 'coming upon us' is not a good thing - this is not a statement about the benefits of the Second Coming but a warning of imminent judgment.

Today's message is mostly for believers - Messianics, Christians - all those who name the Name of Messiah (Christ) and claim to follow Him. The vast majority are neither watching nor are they prepared. They're listening to preachers more than they are to the Davar Elohim (Word of God). And they love anyone who claims to have a prophetic word because they would rather go to an intermediary, just as the children of Israel did at Mt.Sinai, than go directly to Yahweh Himself and take responsibility for their lives. Worse, the most of the shepherds are teaching their own doctrines while claiming they are biblical - they are lawless, rebellious and tradition-bound. They refuse to change or repent even when confronted with the emet (truth) because they fear for their own reputations, positions and salaries than they fear El Elyon, the Most High! As a result, they lead their flocks down to destruction with them, instead of teaching them to become prophets for their own lives and families. They want to impart the spirits that they have instead of going to Yahweh and the Bible for the Ruach Emet (spirit of truth). They do not have the lev (heart) of Moses who declared:

"Oh, that all Yahweh's people were prophets and that Yahweh would put His Ruach (Spirit) upon them!" (Num 11:29, NKJV).

Instead of teaching reliance on leaders they should be teaching reliance on Elohim (God)! When calamity falls, people are unlikely to be able to congregate to hear sermons from their pastors or rabbis - they will be alone with their families, cut off, needing to make critical decisions on their own. Yahweh warned back in Jeremiah's days:

"An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely and the cohenim (priests) rule on their own toqef (authority); and my people love it! But what will you do when the end comes?" (Jer.5:30-31, NASB/RSV).

It is time for believers to grow out of their nappies, diapers or swaddling clothes. They have got to learn to cut the apron-strings of those who want to parent them to the grave. The world - and especially believers - have got to grow up now. Maturity will be demanded in an instant when calamity comes - none will be able to escape it, and especially not fathers and husbands. And those mothers who have no husbands will have to occupy that rôle too. Guarding your lives and the lives of your family is not all that Yahweh is expecting us to do now, though - He is expecting us to stand in the gap as awakened, faithful, obedient and watchful talmidim (disciples) reporting for duty. We are needed for intercession. Let us not disappoint Him as He was disappointed in Ezekiel's time:

"'So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,' says Yahweh-Elohim" (Ezek.22:29-31, NKJV).

A lot of people are dying in a brutal war in Syria, in Egypt, and elsewhere. And the élite globalists are trying to turn it into an even bigger war. Many people are going to die today. Almost as bad, there are people in our own countries who are so turned off Elohim (God) that they are perishing inwardly. People are desperate, committing suicide, people are being murdered and abused, and all because our nations and their wicked leaders will not repent. They will not make a national covenant with Yahweh, or they have already have broken it.

"Also I heard the voice of Yahweh, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then said I, 'Here am I; send me'" (Isaiah 6:8, NKJV).

Now Yahweh may not necessarily be sending you and I onto the streets to warn and witness as He does others but He is for sure calling us to be intercessors and to witness as the Ruach (Spirit) leads. If you're active on online social networks, use these to warn and witness - be bold, risk losing friends, but by every means get the emet (truth) out! This is not about you or me or our popularity or our being accepted, but about saving souls gambling with death and destruction, physical and spiritual, both of which we are to be keenly interested in.

Now you may not think you are anything. You may consider that you have no skills, no gifts, no aptitude, no charisma, but you would be wrong. Let me tell you, if you are of this attitude, why you are wrong by sharing this anecdote.

A young couple was visiting a renowned jewelry store in New York City. They browsed through cases of magnificent diamonds with their gleaming yellow light along with many other splendid precious stones. Among those beautiful stones, one in particular caught his wife's eye. It was completely lusterless and didn't seem to be in the right place. "That is one terrible looking stone, do you see that?", the she said. The curious husband asked a clerk if they could see the stone. The clerk opened the case, took out the stone and held it in his hand for a few minutes. When he opened it, there was a perfectly flawless stone. There was not a place on it that didn't gleam with the splendor of the rainbow. "How did you do that?", they asked in surprise. "This is an opal", he replied. "It is what we call the sympathetic jewel. It only needs contact with the human hand to bring out its wonderful beauty." [1]

If merely a touch brings out this stone's beauty, then what do you suppose Yahweh can do for you when He touches you with His Ruach (Spirit)? Do you not believe that you were perfectly fashioned in heaven, that the core of your being - in spite of any mistakes you may have made since - is flawless? It may lack lustre but that only requires a divine touch to change. We live in a world where beauty is hidden under pain, sin and suffering. How many lives only need the warm touch of human sympathy, ahavah (love) and compassion, to make them gleam with a radiant splendour? Reach out and touch someone this week for His glory! Share with them the Ahavah Elohim (Love of God) and not only will they receive a glimmer of simcha (joy), but I promise you will gleam with His radiance too! When Yahweh asked whom shall I send, Isaiah replied "Hineni - Here am I!"

"Bind up the testimony, seal the Torah (Law) among My talmidim (disciples). And I will wait on Yahweh, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him. Here am I (Hineni) and the children whom Yahweh has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from Yahweh of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion" (Isa.8:16-18, NKJV).

"For it was fitting for [Yahweh], for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying:

"'I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.'

"And again:

"'I will put My trust in Him.'

And again:

"'Here am I (Hineni) and the children whom Elohim (God) has given Me'" (Heb.2:10-13, NKJV).

You see, all you have to do is present yourself in a spirit of repentance by declaring "Hineni" - here I am, ready to serve You; and when we do that, Yahweh can use us by bringing out the beauty of those around us and the beauty that lies concealed within you, by simply touching us with His finger.

We have to be on watch. We are Yahweh's watchmen and watchwomen - His 'watchers' on the alert for hostile action against our families, fellow believers, our congregations and the Body of Messiah generally. Anciently the watchers in their watchtowers were to give word to the king of any person approaching the city wall (2 Sam.18:24-27; 2 Ki.9:17-20). In times of hostility the dangers of the night were especially feared and the watchmen eagerly looked forward to the break of day (Is.21:11). All are watchers - looking out for one another. Yahweh watches out for us and warns us through genuine prophets and seers of what is to come whether they be heads of families, of congregations, or of the whole Body. This is a sacred task! We must be alert to gaps in our spiritual and physical defences and fill them, standing in the gap and pleading for our families, congregations, the Body and indeed for the world. Had it not been for the watchful prayers of the godly, the wrath of Elohim (God) may have already purged many nations. We must never underestimate the power, influence, and toqef (authority) Yahweh has given believers through faith in Yah'shua (Jesus)! Through His Name you have the ear of the Father above:

"Therefore He said that He would destroy them (the children of Israel), had not Moses His chosen one stood before Him in the breach, to turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them" (Ps.106:23, NKJV).

Prayer is a great mystery - I personally find it baffling! But according to Scripture it is far-reaching in its influence and worldwide in its effects. It affects all men, affects them everywhere, and affects them in all things. Don't ask me how for I do not know, but if Yahweh says it does, then it must be so, and for deep reasons perfectly understood only by Himself. Prayer touches man's interest in time and eternity. It lays hold upon Elohim (God) and moves Him to interfere in the affairs of earth within the context of His overall will. It moves the malakim (angels) to minister to men in this life. It restrains and defeats the devil in his schemes to ruin man. Prayer goes everywhere and lays its hand upon everything [2].

Brethren and sisters, we have six immediate responsibilies as I see the situation:

• 1. Trust Yah'shua (Jesus);
• 2. Be obedient to the mitzvot (commandments);
• 3. Be watchful;
• 4. Be prayerful;
• 5. Witness where and when we can; and
• 6. Be prepared physically and spiritually for imminent calamity.

Endnotes

[1] From a Worthy Brief by George Whitten
[2] Ray Comfort, The Evidence Bible (Bridge-Logos, Alachua, Florida: 2011), p.1157 - adapted quotation of E.M.Bounds