Chag sameach Yom haBikkurim kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah as we gather together on the second day of Chag haMatzah, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, whose theme is Purity. Though no one festival is more important than another, it is nevertheless of critical importance because it is the third in a sequence of the three Spring Festivals which are about New Beginnings. Today is Yom haBikkurim (not to be confused with the 6th festival of Yom haKippurim which sounds similar, usually abbreviated to 'Yom Kippur); it is the Day of Firstfruits, also known as Resurrection Day, for this is the day that Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) rose from the dead. HalleluYah! What can be more important than that, other than, of course, His actual Return to inaugurate the Millennium of Peace on Earth and our own resurrection! It is the third of the 'personal festivals', and the personal festivals are all about our 1-to-1 relationships with the Resurrected One in whom we place all our hope.

But before we get into today's main message, I wish to preface it my something equally important, at least as far as knowing what is happening in these disturbing times in which we are witnessing the rapid rise of evil everywhere. A lot of people are in panic. There are a lot of frightened Christians out there some of whom feel so overwhelmed by what is happening all around them that all they want to do now is to go home to Yah'shua (Jesus) in Heaven. They want to quit. I understand them, truly, but we were not sent down here to run away.

Firstly, know this: our situation is never so bad that you feel you have no choice but to yield the field to Satan and scuttle off back home leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. That's not very brave, is it? If danger or difficulties were the excuse to quit the battlefield, we'd all be long gone out of here! We're here, though, to hold a front line intact while the Word of Salvation goes out until the whole world has heard it and had a choice to accept or reject Messiah. That's why we remain. When that has been done, then we can leave...by which time He'll be returning anyway. So don't hanker after Heaven too early, my friends, no matter how scary things may gert - and will get - down here sometimes. You and I have responsibilities on earth still, people who need us. And, truth told, there are people down here whom we need too while we continue - all of us - working out our own salvation in fear and trembling, about which I spoke yesterday. Every day on earth is another day full of opportunity to grow in sanctification, to further develop character, and to enable others to do the same. Why else do you think we are here? If the purpose of life is to avoid hardship we wouldn't be here in the first place because life is hard for almost everyone. We would have stayed put in the spirit world and carried on plucking flowers in the 'Elysian fields' were our birth down here not vital. No, it is not easy but it is absolutely going to be worth it! So don't quit! We queued up to come down here so let's not run back whimpering.

Three days ago, early on Monday morning, Yahweh showed me a vision. The day before I had had a hard day and was discouraged and I hid for a short while in Sound of Music Land. I'm sure you know the story and if you don't, I recommend you see the movie, at least the Julie Andrews version which is the better of the two that were made. It's all about a nun who just doesn't 'fit' into the monastic life (not that I recommend that Catholic and Orthodox practice for anyone) and the upshort of the story is that she leaves the nunnery and goes to serve as a governess of a wealthy but lonely Austrian widower's children. Cutting a long story short, she ends up falling in love with him, and he with her, and the governess becomes a wife and a step-mother, and everyone lives happily ever after once they have escaped from the nazis and find sanctuary in Switzerlandn (in America in the US version and the actual true story).

It is not untypical that we find ourselves in the wrong place, at least beyond a certain point in time, and it is time to move on. And even then the next stage of the journey involves journeying to another place that is only temporary until the final goal is reached. In Maria's case, the goal is marriage and settling down to family life, a stark contrast to the solitude of the nuns' existence. In your case, it could be something else. Anything. For we are all on a journey in life, each has a different set of circumstances but the goal and the road itself are identical. The Way is Christ, the goal is Christ, and specifically Christ in His 'Switzerland', His Paradise and our Eternal Home.

So, as I said, I was having a brief 'relapse' after an exhillarating spiritual time the last week or two that I mentioned to you in a recent sermon. We all get the 'blues' occasionally. They pass if we'll give them a chance to. Early Monday morning I was despondent, still in 'Blues Land' after another painful night. It was 6 am and I was determined to squeeze another two hours' of sleep out of the darkness if I could. I lasted 28 minutes when Yahweh woke me up with a vision. It was a vision both for me and for you - for all of us - presently on a difficult journey and perhaps yearning just a little too much to quit mortality and be in Heaven. Millions want to be raptured away from suffering and responsibility, a reason this false doctrine is so seducing.

To yearn to be there with Christ is good, because Paul did too. A question we must constantly ask when we desire something intensely, that seems to be right, is this: is there something better I should be desiring? Not that there's anything 'better' than Christ, of couurse, but remember He is also with us down here in the Ruach (Spirit). You see, what you desire might be good, it might be holy, it might even be lawful, it might be kosher, but does Yahweh want me to desire something better? That's the question you have to ask yourself because all too often we opt for, and settle with, the mediocre choices, ones that at the same time are both unchallenging and unrewarding. You have to take risks for the greater prizes in life and not be deflected when mountains apparently block the way and appear unclimbable. Indeed, have we not all overcome the imaginary threat of such mountains and run to the top to worship? Mountain tops are were our Heavenly Father dwells! How does the Sound of Music song go? 'Climb every mountain!' Maria was right about that!

You see, Paul taught that "it is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall" (Rom.14:21, NIV); "it is better to marry than to burn with passion" even when the time for starting a stable family is really too danmgerous because of persecution (1 Cor.7:9, NIV); and he also said this, which is the illustration I was leading to:

"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Ruach (Spirit) of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus) will overflow on account of me" (Phil.1:18-26, NIV)

So, thank you, all of you who prayed for me yesterday to remain at my post through sickness. I managed to sleep 6 hours after nights of only one hour's sleep. The brethren here all had sleepless nights the night before, and no wonder, as I will explain shortly. It may be better to be with Christ in Heaven but it is necessary that we remain at our posts to serve here. You see, I was under strong temptation to quit and be with Yah'shua (Jesus) because I could not bear the pain and exhaustion any longer. I was not sure I would be able to preach today. But I am glad now to be with you today.

So from a personal, and potentially selfish, point-of-view, it is always better to want to be with Christ, better than any other choice there might be, because not to have that desire is to confess that you want something more than, or instead of, Messiah. So it's not wrong, or sinful, or unlawful but - and this is an awfully big 'but' - we are not called to think of ourselves first, but what Yah'shua (Jesus) wants of us and what others need of us. Paul made his choice, and remained, to the great blessing of those he served in the messianic communities (churches) and to us who continue to ministered by his counsel to them in his letters which otherwise would never have been written. So consider the great purpose, the greater good, and the reason you were sent down here in the first place. Some of you who are older think your life's work is done. Think again. Our life's work is not done until He takes us home, no matter what impediments we may have, no matter what obstacles still stare us in the face!

Which brings me to the vision I was shown. It was, as I said, both for me personally and for all of you - for the whole Body of Christ and anyone who will receive it. It is for the Believer. In the vision I was up in the air looking down at a scene. A narrow road ran alongside the edge of a cliff and far below that was the sea lapping on the shoreline. I would say that the road was no more than maybe six feet from the edge of the cliff. What the road was, or depicted, was made perfectly clear by the fact that both it, and the edge of the cliff, ran in a perfectly straight line like a ruler. There wasn't a kink in it anywhere. The road was not particularly wide, no more than six feet too, I would estimate. And on it, moving from the right to the left, from the east to the west, was a chariot pulled by a single white horse with a rider holding the reins. The chariot moved in a dead staight line along the dead straight road next to the dead straight cliff edge and so long as the rider made sure that is how he went - straight - he was completely safe. He did not look to the left or to the right - not to the left to the precipice, nor to the right which seemed to be some sort of desert land. He went straight ahead. And in case anyone should be in any doubt - and no one who knows his Bible should be - the straight road is the Derech or the Way of the Master, who said:

"I am the Derech (Way) and the Emet (Truth) and the Chayim (Life). No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you really knew Me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him" (John 14:6-7, NIV).

So said Yah'shua (Jesus) to the doubting apostle, Thomas, who asked to be shown the Heavenly Father, as part of a longer discourse which is often sidelined in order to quote John 14:1, which reads:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in Elohim (God); trust also in Me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going" (John 14:1-4, NIV).

"Master, we don't know where You are going, so how can we know the Way?" (John 14:5, NIV).

Back to the vision and the times we live in. We know it because we sense it and some panic because of it: we are nearby to a cliff's edge of destruction BUT the Way runs safely alongside it and all you have to do is keep your eyes on Yah'shua (Jesus) and move forwatrds apace. But there are two more important pieces of qualifying information you need if you're to do this, if you are to be stable and successful:

• 1. You need to be riding a chariot - you don't need to be on foot; and
• 2. The chariot needs to be pulled by a white horse.

First, let's ask yourselves, what's a chariot? A chariot was a two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle developped for the battlefield and not principally for transport. It was fast transport, a mobile firing platform, furnishing the soldiers that rode them with psychological shock-power when charging into the ranks of foot soldiers more numerous then themselves. They were known for their speed, maneouverability and stability. This is the spiritual platform, brethren and sisters, that the men of the Kingdom - the fathers and husbands - use. Men rode them, not women, though there were one or two exceptions historically like Boudicea of Britain who led a[n unsuccesful] revolt against the Romans. Chariots were also used for peaceful purposes, and you will remember that Joseph, as food administrator of Egypt, rode a chariot of honour, second only to that of Pharaoh. So there is that aspect too. It was in his chariot that he rode to meet his father Jacob when he came to Egypt with his wives and other children to escape the famine in Canaan (Gen.41:43; 46:29). And we too, my friends, need to be ready to escape the literal famine that is descending on the world thanks to lockdowns and war. That's why you must be prepped and to take the call to do so seriously.

The vision, of course, is showing us something tangible in a figurative way. Chariots are ancient symbols of war, and it is the men of families and congregations who are to lead the charge against the enemy hosts when needed, footsoldiers who outnumber us. This is Joseph's time, Ephraim's time, so on that level, he and his brethren are needed for spiritual warfare. One of you in this assembly today is dedicated to intercession for the nations, a kind of spiritual warfare. Psalm 66 tells is that:

"The chariots of Elohim (God) are tens of thousands
and thousands of thousands;
Yahweh [has come] from Sinai into His sanctuary"
(Ps.68:17, NIV).

Where are the women and the children? They are symbolically behind the men under their protection and covering. They also accompanied them into battle anciently to take care of their needs. This is the order of Yahweh's House too. This is the way He expects families, congregations and nations to operate. Fail to do that and you are not safe. And if the men fail to be the protectors they are called to be then no one is safe, no matter what the movies and computer games tell you!

Now the chariot, you'll remember, is also a picture of the prophetic and I am sure you all recall the association of Elijah and Elisha with chariots. Elijah was taken to heaven in one symbolically-speaking (2 Ki.2:11-12). Of Elisha's experience it is written:

"When the servant of the man of Elohim (God) got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. 'Oh, my master, what shall we do?' the servant asked. 'Don't be afraid,' the navi (prophet) answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, 'O Yahweh, open his eyes so he may see.' And I fervently pray now that you here will see too!) Then Yahweh opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, 'Strike these people with blindness.' So He struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. Elisha told them, 'This is not the road (way) and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.' And he led them to Samaria. After they entered the city, Elisha said, 'Yahweh, open the eyes of these men so they can see.' Then Yahweh opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria'" (2 Kings 6:15-20, NIV).

Sisters, don't try to drive the cariots. Get behind your men, your husbands and your fathers. Men, your eyes must be on Christ and you must operate in the prophetic, looking neither left nor right at the dangers around, for we are all surrounded by danger and peril. Keep on the straight road. We are at war but the instruments of our warfare are spiritual, not carnal or material, even if these weapons impact the spiritual and the physical. You know they do. The Enemy knows they do, and fears them. The only thing He can do against you is to get you off the Way, which is Christ, in the hope that you will tumble down over the cliff to your death or in the hope you will wander off into the desert and there thirst and starve to death. So your task is simple: 'fight the good fight with all your might, for Christ is your stength and Christ your right,' as the Anglican hymn that I love so much goes. Ladies, get out of the chariot rider's seat and into your place of safety, under covering, unless you happen to be a Deborah called by Yahweh to the task because there are no men around 'man' enough to do it, but do so only as a last resort and if and when Yahweh calls you, else you are stepping beyond your bounds. Otherwise, as we say in the army, 'fall in behind your officers'. And officers are supposed to lead in the front, as German officers always did. So lead, brethren.

This all sounds very wonderful and thrilling but let's not forget the white horse. In fact, we dare not forget the white horse. What do horses symbolise in Scripture? Many things. In reproving Job, Yahweh, the creator of this animal, points out its great strength, its impatience (when it paws on the ground and snorts with its nostrils), its excitement at the prospect of battle, and its not being terrified by the clashing of weapons (Job 39:19-25), all male traits when men are are being proper men and not wimps.

Now I could list for you all the negative traits of horses used in scripture to illustrate, for example, sexual permissiveness, prostitution and adultery, apostacy, stubbornness and a lack of repentance (Jer.5:7-8; 8:6; Ezek.23:20-21; Joel 2:1-4; Rev.9:7) but this is a white horse and whiteness indicates purity of heart which is what the Feast of Unleavened Bread calls us to, is it not? Yahweh's invisible heavenly war equipment is represented by fiery horses and chariots (2 Ki.2:11-12) and you have just heard the passage where Elisha's attendant had his spiritual eyes opened so that he could see the heavenly horses and war chariots of fire around the navi (prophet) to protect him from the surrounding horses of the Syrians sent out to capture him. Centuries after Elisha, Zechariah received a vision involving four chariots, that we recently talked about, one of which was of white horses - the four kinds of horses...red, black, white and speckled...are identified as the "four ruachot (spirits) of the heavens" (Zech:6:1-8; cp. 1:8-11).

Brethren, we are entering similar times, in a modern setting, that the nevi'im (prophets) of old faced; and back then, you will recall, if you know your Tanaks (Old Testaments) well (as you ought and need to) Yahweh frequently rescued His people dramatically by bringing destruction upon their enemies, but perhaps even more importantly than that, a time is prophesied when horses will no longer be used for war but will be employed as instruments of service to Yahweh's glory:

"On that day Qodesh laYahweh - Dedicated to Yahweh ('Holiness to the LORD' in English Bibles) will be inscribed on the bells of the horses..." (Zech.14:20, NIV)

As we have already seen, and shall yet see in our current study of the Book of Revelation, the glorified Messiah is depicted as riding a white horse and accompanied by an army, all of whose members are seated on white horses, with whiteness here representing the righteousness and justice of the war that Christ will wage, and is already waging, against all enemies on behaf of Yahweh (Rev.19:11,14). And you'll remember from earlier on in the course, Christ taking kingly action, and the calamities that follow, are represented by different horsemen on their mounts (Rev.6:2-8). And John also saw, you will remember, armies of cavalry to the number of 200 million empowered to execute the destructive judgment of Elohinm (God). The horses had death-dealing power in both their heads and tails, all of which were under the direction of the four malakim (angels) that had been bound at the Euphrates River (Rev.9:15-19). Remember?

Cavalry and chariots may be said to be 'rapid reaction forces' (as they call them in the army) and there are those in the Kingdom who must ready themselves for such service. Others are foot-soldiers, no less valuable, who work in masses. Purity distinguishes all these soldiers from the Enemy's forces. And that, brethren and sisters, is why Yahweh has assigned Chag haMatzah - the Feast of Unleavened Bread - such a prominent place in the festivals. Only there are two annual festivals that span seven days - this one and the one at the end - Sukkot or Tabernacles, for similar reasons. Chag haMatzah is all about individual purity and Sukkot is all about collective purity - the purity of the Bride or Remnant, the Chavurat Bekorot or as our English Bibles call them, the "Church of the Firstborn, whose names are written in heaven" (Heb.12:23, NIV), Yahweh's priests after the Order of Melchizedek.

None of this is possible, none of this can be accomplished, nor the Kingdom arise in its fullness, without the resurrection power of Messiah. Today is the Day of the Resurrection, of the rising of the Son of Man from the dead into a permanent, immortal physical body - an 'eternal-life'-body. This same body is promised to all who are united to Him by faith, in covenant, and proactive response in obedience. The resurection of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) is the cornerstone of our faith and without it our faith is worthless (1 Cor.15:17). It was, is, a physical fact. He is risen! He Himself prophesied His own death and raising on the third day. Today too is the third day of the Passover Season and Yom haBikkurim bears witness of that resurrection, He being the bikkurim or firstfruits thereof. When He was raised, He spoke to two talmidim (disciples) on the road to Emmaus, instructing them on what the Tanakh (Old Testament) taught about this momentous event (Lk.24:47). The Tanakh (Old Testament) is full of prophecies concerning Christ and the Resurrection. I don't have time to go through them with you today but if you go to the website afterwards you will find some tables collating all the messianic scriptures (see below).

The Resurrection totally transformed the lives of the first believers. It can transform your life too. Overnight, fearful talmidim (disciples) became bold witnesses, proclaiming the resurrection of Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). And after seeing the ultimate proof of Yah'shua's (Jesus') deity, thousands of Judeans abandoned the traditions of the elders to follow the Messiah! Truly, the Son of Elohim (God) has power over life and death, and He is alive to transform lives today. All who repent and trust in Him will, in the words of Paul to the Philippians, "know Him by the power of the resurrection" (Phil.3:10, NKJV) - they too will encounter the risen Master and be given eternal life. But you must come as a little child, nothing doubting, with a real conviction of your sinful life and with a willingness to change direction.

That "power of the resurrection" is absolutely vital for the tasks that lie ahead. It can't be make-believe, or just in your head; it has to be real, involing your whole being, and that means you have to have an authentic, life-changing encounter with the risen Master through personal surrender, repentance of sin, and proactive faith in His Name - His Character and Being - that swiftly leads you into action like that charioteer. This is not play-acting. We don't just pretend at purity, which only the cleansing power of Christ can generate in us, and we don't just fantasise at riding chariots as a schoolboy might watching the movie Ben Hur. This is all, so terribly, and wonderfully, real! It is what existence is all about. Everything else must subtend to this, take second place. Nothing else matters. The resurrection is, according to Dr. Simon Greenleaf, a founder of Harvard Law School and one of the greatest legal minds in the United States in his day, one of the best supported events in history. He was so convinced he committed His life to Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). And if you have never done so yourself, I invite you to do so today and take your first step on a wonderful journey. That is what Pesach /Passover) symbolises.

If you have wandered off the Way, having once walked it and known it, I invite you back onto it. It's never too late. There is always forgiveness that follows genuine remorse for both sins of commission and sins of ommission...not doing the things you were supposed to do. Yah'shua's (Jesus') heart wants reconciliation. You haven't done anything so terrible that you are excluded from this pardon provided your repentance is sincere. We're here to help you if you need counselling and ministry. Just get in contact if you do.

Now there is more that happened last Monday but I cannot speak of it here. Everyone is called. Everyone has a calling. The charioteers are called to mount their chariots and ready themselves for war. Their women are called to back them up to the hilt as helpmeets for they shall receive the same rewards as their husbands and fathers for their participation, just as he who "receives a navi (prophet) because he is a navi (prophet) will receive a navi's (prophet's) reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward", said Yah'shua (Jesus) (Matt.10:41, NIV). This is all our fight. This is all our journey. The cliff may be steep and foreboding, the desert brutal, but you are not to look at them or fear them. You are, instead, to look ahead and be about your Heavenly Father's business, not concerning yourselves with the dogs that menacingly bark as the caravan goes by. You are to ignore them because they will always there, and giving attention to them will simply distract you from your course and away from your Divine Appointment.

You're here today, assembled at Yom haBikkurim, because it's a Divine Appointment, a Heavenly Moed. Yahweh has called you here to bless you if you will receive that blessing. This is unlike any other Yom haBikkurim we have ever gathered together for because history moves on and new callings are given. Indeed, we are moving out of one dispensation and into another one during this 2023 Passover Season, it's that big - from a Dispensation of Grace to a Dispensation of Judgment because Yahweh's forebearance and patience is at an end. Some of you have felt it and know what I am saying, and you've heard me speak about it often enough. I was discussing it with the brethren here a couple of evenings ago because we had independently received the same testimony. The bullets have been whistling past for some time, but now they start hitting their targets. Just read or listen to the news in the days ahead. The Enemy will not wait for you to make up your mind, he's already on a war-footing and is very busy. But he does not have the last say. Yahweh and His heavenly army do. And we have already won. Do you know why? Because the Announcement of Yah'shua's (Jesus') Victory was made 2,000 years ago! Hallelu-Yah!

Unless Yahweh gies me a special message and you are called to another assembly between now and the end of the Passover Season (and I suspect He will), I will see you again in 5 days' time on the 7th and last day of Chag haMatzah, followed by the regular Sabbath message the day after in case Yahweh has any parting message. We need to be ready in case the new Priesthood is called, so that you can be interviewed, weighed and ordained at Shavu'ot, or sooner if Yahweh commands it. Men and women, brothers and sisters, you are call called to take up your positions on the front line and in the frontier forts to serve your King. The day of waiting is over, for now we mount up and ride those chariots! He who was dead is alive and reigns forever at the right hand side of Yahweh Almighty! Amen.