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Sermons Series 3:58b, 2 October 2006
The Third Wave
Part 13: Yom Kippur 2006 - Love of the World
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
Click here for Part 12
Shabbat Shalom and welcome to this gathering on this our morning service and solemn assembly of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. In about six hours' time Yom Kippur will end and we shall know who is to go forward in the core of this work and who will have to go through yet other cycles of moedim and refinings. For some it is already over and they have, to their surprise and horror - and sometimes to ours too - found themselves back where they first began when they first came to this work. Yahweh, who reads the hearts of every man and woman and discerns the intentions thereof, has already judged whether they acted out of pure or impure hearts. For a few, though, there are still a few hours left and what He will do will determine the location and callings of those still to be judged. My task today is a difficult one and perhaps even more challenging than at any other time, because today I am directed to raise issues which will upset and anger some and reveal idols either they never knew they had or which they have hitherto refused to look at. As a result of this sermon some will depart and not even wait for the conclusion of Yom Kippur. Of these, some may never return. Others may, after the long night of repentance, come to their senses and finally yield full sovereignty of their lives to Yahweh.
The content of today's sermon was directed by Yahweh in a prophetic dream He gave me last Thursday morning. I had spent the day before working with spiritual issues in a lady and had come up against a wall. I knew what the problems were but she did not want to deal with them. Though in her mind she had made her profession of intent, in her heart she was not yet willing. The deliverance session was ended by Yahweh Himself when the Internet lines were unexpectedly cut. I retired to bed very disturbed, aware of how little time left there was and how dangerous it is postponing repentance to the last minute. In fact I warned you most emphatically recently not to make your repentance a cliff-hanger but to get on your knees and cry out to the Most High for forgiveness and for a new vision and heart. I am doing that again today because I am most anxious for some of you still.
In the dream I was taken to this modern, American house in a typical American city. It was beautifully furnished, the walls were white and fresh, it was spacious and comfortable. It pleased the eye in every way and I began to feel at ease there. In the main lounge or living room was this enormous hearth or fireplace, made of brick, plastered and painted white. The hearth, as you know, is the centre or heart of the home. I was not quite sure who the owner was other than it was male. 'He' seemed familiar and yet not familiar, his identity somewhat obscured. There was something about the spiritual presence there that reminded me of someone I knew long ago, who had been a friend in the early days of my wanderings through the churches in search of a spiritual home. He was very committed to his religion - passionately, in fact - and had written at least one book and had been involved in many others. He remained faithful to his church after its liberalisation and at length got swallowed up into the one-world, globalist milieu, and I lost contact with him. He was a very friendly man, the 'friend of everyone', the all-inclusive liberal whose religion has more to do with people than with Yahweh Himself. His spirit reminded me of that described in the Kongsberg Vision which most of you who have read the Olive Branch will be familiar with (OB 467) which I related in a sermon to you recently. So important is this revelation that I must repeat some parts of it to you again:
"I saw a woman, a really beautiful woman, who was kneeling in front of a large stone church. She was worshipping with outstretched hands to heaven, and had an expression that radiated joy. I noticed at the same time that she was filled with a superabundance of spirit. I thought immediately in my heart that this woman was filled with the Ruach haQodesh. But at the same time a voice spoke from heaven:
"'This woman which you see is not exactly what you think - filled with my Ruach - but has received that spirit which is being poured out over the whole world - where religious people are to be found. This is a religious spirit, but not My Ruach, says Yahweh. Her worship does not only include Me, Yahweh, but all existing church congregations and religious organisations. This woman which you saw represents the assembly of religious organisations over which this spirit is being poured, but [it is] not My Ruach, says Yahweh. She has received this spirit which shows love to all religions, but she does not love My Word, because it speaks against her belief and way of being. She loves people more than she loves Me, says Yahweh. She is a prostitute in My eyes, says Yahweh, because she either perverts or rejects My Word'" (OB 467:2-13).
It is this spirit which fills nearly all the churches in the world today. It combines the worship of Yahweh with a humanistic spirit that 'loves and embraces all people unconditionally' no matter what they believe or do. It continues to minister and accept those who consciously reject Yahweh and His Word, who refuse to repent and change their ways. Well did the prophet Jeremiah record Yahweh's feelings about such people when He wrote:
"Yahweh told me to say to His people, 'When someone falls down, doesn't he get back up? If someone misses the road, doesn't he turn back? Why then, My people, do you turn away from Me without ever turning back? You cling to your idols and refuse to return to Me. I listened carefully, but you did not speak the truth. Not one of you has been sorry for his wickedness; not one of you has asked, `What have I done wrong?´ Everyone keeps on going his own way, like a horse rushing into battle'" (Jer.8:4-6, LB).
What do you suppose Yahweh wants you to do for such people? What in your heart would you do if you came across such people? What you would do will show to you which Ruach you are operating under. This is what Yahweh told Jeremiah:
"Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not cry or pray on their behalf; do not plead with Me, for I will not listen to you. Don't you see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather firewood, the men build fires, and the women mix dough to bake cakes for the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. They also pour our wine-offerings to other gods, in order to hurt Me. But am I really the One they are hurting?. No, they are hurting themselves and bringing shame on themselves. And so I, Yahweh-Elohim, will pour out My fierce anger on this Temple. I will pour it out on people and animals alike, and even on the trees and the crops. My anger will be like a fire that no one can put out" (Jer.7:16-20, LB).
Today, of course, under the New Covenant, the Temple is our physical body, and the Holy of Holies is the core or throne room of our heart. When we commit idolatry, Yahweh punishes us through our health. And all of a sudden, people have been getting very ill during this last part of the Third Wave, and in some cases mysteriously ill, both our own people as well as Satanists (though the Satanists are dying). One of the symptoms is violent vomiting. And whilst of course such illness usually has a physical base, like a bacterial or viral infection, there is always a spiritual base too. And those of you familiar with vomiting know that this nearly always happens when major demons are being expelled and they are putting up resistance. Typically, human nature refuses to accept the existence a spiritual base to such illnesses, and seeks 'alternative explanations' and yet it is odd that people widely scattered across the world and in very different circumstances are having the same symptoms and blaming completely different causes from food poisoning to influenza.
But I digress a little. Let me return to the dream which I had. I was, as I said, in this beautiful middle class American come, the envy of the world, for Americans are without doubt the masters of home-building. My attention, as I mentioned, was drawn to the spacious fireplace to which I felt drawn. As I got closer I saw an opening in the fire place itself and a passage that led behind the fireplace so that I was inside its actual wall. There, to my surprise, was a wall with five or six alcoves or niches. And in each alcove or niche was a a beautiful white statue of a god or a goddess. They were idols and this was a place of worship, because the fireplace is the heart of the home. These were the spirits of idolatry in a heart. As I was staring at these demonic entities, which looked for very lovely and were pleasing to the eye, so a little boy came into the heart next to me and reached to a dish in front of one of the idols and dipped his finger into it and starting sucking whatever it was that was in the dish. When I looked closely at the contents I could see that it was something refrigerated. I dipped my finger into it too and tasted it. It was cold, like a soft ice-cream, and it tasted very sweet indeed. The little boy walked out, evidently very satisfied.
I walked out of the fireplace and back into the living room where there was a young woman - a teenager, I would guess. She was very self-absorbed indeed and didn't seem too aware of my presence. Besides her was a young man and I struck up a conversation with him, speaking pleasantly to him. But he was very rude and arrogant, and began to mock and demean me. At that point I awoke, in a state of surprise.
Of course, the first thing I did upon awakening was to meditate hard on this dream and pray. Yahweh told me that this represented the woman I had been ministering to the day before but also embraced a lot of people in a general sense who called themselves Christian but who were lawless and were under the influence of the false spirit such as the woman depicted in the Kongsvinger Vision. Those who choose this spirit and come under its sway choose Yahweh out of self-interest. They want Him only because He has what they want - or what they think they want. It motive can be deliverance, marriage, career, wealth, fame, popularity, acceptance, or any number of things, some lawful and some not lawful. For as you know it is not only unlawful things that can become idols, but even lawful things - if they are desired more than Yahweh is desired, or otherwise get in-between us and Yahweh, they can lead to idolatry. That can also include our love of people. "How can the love of people be idolatrous?!" some might protest. Well, if you love people more than Yahweh, then you are an idolater, because the first and greatest commandment is this:
"Hear, O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is Echad (one). Love Yahweh-Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deut.6:4-5, NIV).
Not some or the majority of your heart but with all of it. Every single last particle. Not until you have done this, and made the Most High your #1 in absolutely everything, are we to then execute the Second Great Commandment as Yah'shua taught: "Love your neighbour as yourself" (Matt.22:39, NIV). But your modern Christian mostly does the reverse. He starts with the Second commandment to love people and accept yourself and then, with what is left over, they love Yahweh. Indeed, many of them see Yahweh as a dispensing machine giving them the 'power' to love people, get rich, or whatever.
Now when I asked Yahweh about the idols in that fireplace He told me that I already knew what they were. One of them was the demonic spirit of idolatrous music which included not only all the metal, rock, pop and some classical music that exalted man, but also nearly all the modern 'praise and worship' music that was concocted in hell specifically for the purpose of creating a 'religious spirit' that 'loves all people but which is lawless and does not love His Word - a spirit that picks, selects and twists scripture to suit itself whilst leaving behind its original meaning and intent. I have to say that this remains one of the biggest problems in this ministry and is also one of the most unpopular with the world. The world has its self-defence, claiming that music is morally neutral and is just a matter of 'taste'. That's a lie, a wicked lie. There is music concocted in hell - some rough and violent like metal, and some sweet but lacking certain aspects of heart like certain New Age music. The one dulls the senses, numbing them from the sheer force of its brutality; and the other lulls the heart to sleep, gently anaesthetising it. And once asleep, the discernment is gone, then the counterfeit demonic spirits take over the 'discernment' processes. These spirits are a wide ranging cocktail - some incite to violence, others to religious idolatry. Some play on vanity and others give false comfort. All of them cut off from Yahweh and all of them actually cut people off from each other in such a way that they can only interact through the demonic bridge which made the music in the first place. Therefore the music becomes the drug - people can't do without it because the demons behind it persuade them that they can only meaningfully bond and soul-tie though the music. And the world has been flooded with it - in the work place, the shopping malls, restaurants - it's there, thumping out its demonic message - breaking down walls of moral resistance, creating an 'alternative' psychic milieu for people to exist in - one that is apart from Elohim even if some of it speaks of Elohim and may even praise Him. It is all from the pit.
This was one of the idols in that fireplace - the modern, American heart, a heart which has penetrated the whole world - a heart which is today European, African, and Asian too. This is the heart of the world. What of the idol with the refrigerated sweet substance which the little boy came for? This is part of the worship of the senses - the spirit of pleasure - the world floods us with every imaginable kind of item that gives pleasure. Sweet foods and drinks, sophisticated toys like iPods, TVs, PCs, fancy cars - things which for the most part we don't need, things which drain our financial resources so that we have precious little (if any) for the Kingdom, things which compete for our time, loyalty, time and - yes - even for our worship. The Scriptures warn us against these things again and again:
"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world" (1 John 2:15-17, NIV).
Now such statements as these provoke many to wrath and accusation. "What do you want to do? Take us back to the dark ages? This is the spirit of fanaticism!" some might say.
I remember a girl in the school I used to teach in. At lunch break she would eat healthy food. Whilst the others had their lunch, which included lots of candy and other sweet things, she would eat wholesome fruit or a yoghurt. The other children used to make fun of her- but she was never phased. She had a beautiful complexion and was content. And she wasn't even a Christian. The others fought a battle with pimples and other things which they tried (if they were girls) to cover with lavishings of makeup. Because her body wasn't full of harmful substances, she had superb concentration, worked efficiently and was at the top of my class. Whilst the others complained about all the work I gave them, she silently worked on. At the end of the year, when I was no longer her teacher and she was about to leave the school, she came up to me and said: "Mr. Warren, thank you for making me work hard. You really pushed me hard and taught me things other teachers never taught me". That girl got a scholarship to a university. I later learned that she was of French Huguenot extraction. I hope she finds Yah'shua like her Protestant forebears did.
I did not ask Yah'shua about the other idols - these were the two principal ones that He drew my attention to, and reminded me of how one of them can so easily corrupt small children by teaching them to pursue sensual pleasure and entertainment before the higher values of the Gospel. How does one know that one has these demons? The chances are that at the beginning you won't know but those who can discern the Ruach will spot them a mile off. But here are some symptoms that pretty well anyone can recognise, even if the demonic will want to divert you from seeing them by 'changing subject' or any other number of distractions. The music demons are easy - challenge them and more often than not you will get a very angry, self-defensive reaction, that can include such sentiments as: 'Who are you to judge?' And defences such as: 'If I am glorifying Christ, who are you to say how I worship??' And usually true Ruach-filled music will be judged as 'boring' just as atheists think Christianity is 'boring' or 'repressive'. Moreover, this is not a debate that can be won with words. The only way demonic idols can be exposed is through deliverance, and the people with these demons must first want deliverance because they love the truth above all else. And very often that involves a big spiritual struggle, something which most people - who by carnal nature are lazy - don't want, and nor do they want the responsibility for change, or to run the risk of losing friends who are 'in' to this kind of music, the music which defines their fellowship. Like all truth, it comes with a price and the challenge: "Are you willing to pay it?" Well, if you are of the First Resurrection, what will you do? Yah'shua tells us:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matt.13:45-46, NKJV).
If you want the Kingdom of Yahweh, and if you want the fullness of this Kingdom as represented by this Tabernacles anointing, then you have to see and surrender everything - every last single thing - every interest, taste, hobby, relationship - everything that is to be found in this world, even the gifts you think Yahweh has given you which the enemy may have tampered with and perverted even if, like the woman in the Kongsberg Vision, these things lead you to worship with outstretched hands to heaven, even if that causes you to bubble with joy, even if it causes you to be filled with a superabundance of 'spirit' which you think is the Ruach haQodesh. You can never know whether what you have is the real thing or a counterfeit until you have surrendered it fully to Yahweh and let Him return to you what is of Him. It's impossible. For in this world we are surrounded by people who influence us for good and evil, even people preaching, teaching and singing in the Name of 'God' who may or may not have the true Ruach in them. And until you have laid all on the altar of sacrifice you'll never know.
Now we need to know something about demonic tactics here. As I said, demons ride on the backs of human self-interest so that when someone who is filled with the true Ruach haQodesh speaks a true Word of Yahweh, challenges someone thus demonised with truth and shows them the truth of Scripture, there are discernible reactions in the one thus demonised. Those who are steered by counterfeit spirits, after they have heard the truth, and the true Ruach has witnessed to their hearts, typically experience an inexplicable 'need' that is not being met by the witness of truth, a 'need' which draws them away in another direction. These perceived 'needs' suddenly popped up because the truth did not match up with their expectations. And when you have a false expectation, you have a lie; and when you have a lie, you have the original grounds for the demonic presence.
You know well how the demonic good cop/bad cop scenario works. You find yourself in a bad situation which you know is bad and wrong. You seek for a way out. Satan knows that the Gospel is the way out so He sets about providing an 'alternative' to the Gospel which seems to be right. Certainly it will seem 'righter' than that which is obviously bad, so the choice is 'loaded', and what seems to be a genuine choice isn't at all.
Let me give you a true example. I was working with a lady from a satanic coven who met Yah'shua, encountered His love, and made a choice for Him, starting her spiritual exodus with the Ruach haRishon. The struggle was hard, as all SRA victims know who have been through deliverance, or are still going through it now, and many temptations were laid before her path. At one point when she was flagging and weak from the battle, someone mysteriously e-mailed her with a link to a web site. And you'll never guess what the web page was about. Well, it was called Christian Witchcraft. My client was fascinated. Part of her was attracted because it was 'familiar ground' but the other part - the part ruled by the Ruach haRishon - knew it was a trick. Here was Satan trying to assimilate what she had learned from the Bible into her old demonic programming by offering a 'short cut' -- at the expense of truth, of course; and had she fallen for it, she would have lost the Ruach haRishon and been gradually led back to where she had been before. Do a Google search online and you'll see what I mean. And do you know what was particularly clever and deceptive about this so-called 'Christian Witchcraft' site? It contained truths that traditional Christianity denies - like a female Ruach haQodesh - and used the 'goddess' bait to lure back to the occult. Only the goddess of witchcraft is not the Ruach haQodesh but the dark mother, the very demoness that the inhabitants if Jerusalem were baking cakes for in the passage we read from Jeremiah earlier. Do you remember? "The children gather firewood, the men build fires, and the women mix dough to bake cakes for the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven". The 'Queen of Heaven' here is the pagan mother goddess - seven of them actually, who go by names you are familiar with - Astute, Lilith, Hecate, Jezebel, Athena, Morena, and so on. Satanists and Wiccans play on the ignorance of most Christians hidebound by Catholic Godhead dogma and drop a little truth into the poisonous mix as a lure. Well, my client didn't fall for the trick, but it was close
And that's the problem with what the King James Bible calls "familiar spirits" (e.g. Lev.19:21, KJV). Because something is 'familiar' it is comfortable to us. Yes, we grow 'comfortable' with demons and with sin. We grow comfortable with lifestyles, good and bad, because that's all we've known or otherwise have known it for a long time and it seems to 'suit' us or nothing better has come along ... that we have yet been able to discern. The longer we hold onto demons, the more familiar their effects become, and the greater the drug-like dependence results, and the less inclined we become to change. The carnal nature, which loves the world, or at least parts of it, is in charge, and so long as it has its 'fix' and controls the overall direction of our life, it's usually not too bothered about a 'spiritual' or Christian side provided it remains as #2. Christians can live their whole lives without ever realising they have a demon problem, though every now and then Yahweh will stir their lives up to try to persuade them to look carefully inside to see what is wrong. Inner conflicts are usually the telltale signs that Yahweh means business, often catalysed by external events in the form of problems.
As we have come towards the end of the Third Wave, so the pressure has mounted for decisions to be made. And as I said at the beginning, some have already chosen and withdrawn inwardly, causing Yahweh to return them to the place they began. He will not be mocked. And we who are teachers of the Word carry the greatest responsibility and are held to a higher accountability. Therefore don't rush ahead trying to be a leader before your time - you may find a heavier sentence being dished out by Him than on someone who had no such ambitions or pretences.
So I have to ask you this very sobering question: "Why do you want to come to this Mishpachah? What interest motivates you? And what are you prepared to sacrifice to enter it?" As I have told you many times before, the entrance fee to the Kingdom of Heaven is free, but thereafter it will cost you everything you've got. The blood of atonement is free to you but it cost Yah'shua everything, and in return for this free gift of redemption, He wants your mind, heart, body and soul - everything. No exceptions. No shortcuts. No trickery. You'll not fool Him. "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it" (Matt.13:45-46, NKJV). So what will He do once you have surrendered everything? Well, Yah'shua tells us in the next parable:
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away" (Matt.13:47-48, NKJV).
Now this refers to both people - those who are called and are chosen (the good fish), and those who are called but are not chosen (the bad fish) - at the end of this age when the Malakim or angels separate the people out, and throw the wicked out - both the rebellious believers and the unbelievers - into the "furnace of fire" where there will be "wailing and gnashing of teeth" (v.49-50) - that is, the children of the Second Resurrection. But there is another level of understanding here that relates to the first parable about the pearl. What Yah'shua is also saying is that when you sell everything to purchase the Kingdom, everything that is 'you' goes to Him for 'sorting' - the good is retained and the bad is cast into the fire to be burned off. That's now, not at the end of the age, but during the season of Teshuvah or Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, Yom haDin, the Day of Judgement. Why are some not with us today? Why have they already been judged? The answer is - they haven't been judged. They ran. They ran from the fire. Like the rich man challenged by Yah'shua to sell all he had and give it to the poor, because this was his particular idol, he turned around and sorrowfully went his way. Yah'shua did not pursue Him - He respected his power of free choice and let him go back to the place he had come from. The Kingdom did not reject that rich young man - the rich young man rejected the Kingdom.
What are you 'rich' in? What is it that you 'have' that you are not willing to give to Yah'shua for sorting and burning? What are you still clinging on to, believing that without it you will either be miserable, perish or disappear? Why won't you trust Yahweh to see you right? He knows what's good for you! And He knows what's bad for you! So why trust these mysterious 'needs' from within your being that would lead you away from the fire and the Kingdom? Don't you know this is Satan frightening you into believing that the fire of purification is the fire of punishment?
Throughout our lives Yahweh has been merciful to us. Even when we have been driven by self-interest - whether it is to get out of a sadistic and murderous satanic coven, or away from controlling and manipulative parents, out of financial disaster, or whatever - He has responded and helped us every step of the way. But there comes a point in every man's and woman's life where a greater choice has to be made. We have been willing to follow Him to get out of trouble but will we now follow Him to get out of ourselves? Will we actually respond to the call of the Messiah, "Come, follow Me?" And will we accept the conditions of 'following Him'? Perhaps we should look at those as see what following Him actually entails.
"'Come, follow me,' Yah'shua said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed Him" (Matt.4:19-20, NIV).
To follow Him, means to abandon what you are familiar with and perhaps even what you have loved, like your career. He might want you to be an evangelist and to go and preach. Or He might want you to change your job which is more honouring to Him, or which gives you surplus wealth for the Kingdom, or which gives you more time with your family, or any number of reasons. Whatever He wants of you, the chances are is that it will involve a radical change in circumstances.
"When Yah'shua saw the crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.' Yah'shua replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.' Another disciple said to Him, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' But Yah'shua told him, 'Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead'" (Matt.8:18-22, NIV).
Here are two more challenges to "follow Me" but following Him is not always quite what we imagined it to be. Most people seem to think that following the Master is just a jaunt into the countryside for a picnic. 'Look', He says, 'if you follow me it's going to cost you. Look at Me. I have no home to speak of. If you follow me, neither will you.' Now you might think that refers to a physical home, and it might well include that. But what He is principally saying is that the world, which seemed to you to be home, will no longer appear to be one. You will become a stranger, an outcast, rejected, hated, unwanted. The world will not receive you for following Yah'shua! It will cast you out. 'Are you sure you still want to follow Me?' Those of you who have followed this ministry know what it has cost us, and is still costing us, and will probably have some idea of what it will cost us in the future. Is this what you really want? You see, there is no glory, fame and honour here with which to feed your carnal nature. There is no fanning of egos, low popularity stakes, indeed everything the world disdains. Will you then still follow? The glory that we do have is inside, and in the hope of the world to come.
"Let the dead bury their own dead" - what do you suppose Yah'shua had in mind here? He's saying that in the Kingdom your priorities completely change. Gone is the illusion of the false Kongsberg spirit - you'll not be able to please everyone. Gone is the illusion of acceptance and popularity with all people because of this false wishy-washy love that 'accepts all'. This is about fire first of all - the fire that purges and separates. Only afterwards come the waters of healing, relaxation, and love-bathing. Yah'shua said: "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!" (Luke 12:49-50, NIV). That's what we're doing in this ministry - lighting fires! Do you want to light fires too? If you love Yahweh-Elohim "with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength", then you will light the fires of truth first and leave Him to decide who is who, who you are to minister to and who not, and how to love and how not to. There is no place for the humanistic spirit of that Kongsberg vision! If you love people more than Yahweh, you're finished! If you love people more than Yahweh, you'll get upset when Yah'shua says "no" to going and burying your dead father. You'll believe that is uncaring and insensitive. You'll think that Yah'shua is 'cruel' for saying such a 'terrible' thing! And you'll ignore that scripture or make it mean something it doesn't. But what Yah'shua says stands: 'Let the spiritual dead - the carnal - take care of worldly matters' - instead, you "follow Me".
Yah'shua told Matthew the tax-collector to follow him (Mt.9:9). He's telling people involved in dishonest and exploitative careers to quit them. Don't serve the world system. Make a clean break. Do you still want to hear more? Do you want to know what discipleship really is, even at the cost of losing everything you have held dear up to now? Are you willing to risk the world accusing you of being 'cultic', or 'fanatical', or 'reactionary', or 'weird', or a 'family-hater'? Are you? If you are, listen on, remembering that I am just quoting the Master:
"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matt.10:37-39, NIV).
These scriptures are so familiar to Christians and yet so few actually realise what they mean personally for them.
"If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what He has done" (Matt.16:24-28, NIV).
If you're in this work for the real or imagined reward without having an overwhelming heart-love for Yah'shua that will lead you to give everything you have for Him without expectation of reward, you'll miss the mark. You won't make it. We don't need to anticipate our rewards. A person who is trusting is not counting the cost. A person who is trusting isn't fretting about the dividends. A person who is trusting loves for loves sake and doesn't let his left hand know what his right hand is doing. He gives for giving's sake without calculating the reward. Love doesn't measure. Love doesn't weigh. Love simply gives and loses self. That's following Yah'shua. That's why He did for us what He did.
"If you want to be perfect", said Yah'shua, go and follow my personal instructions to you. "Then come, follow me" (Matt.19:21, NIV).
That's what the Master said to the rich young man. His idol was money. Nothing wrong with money. It's perfectly lawful to earn money provided it is with the right intent. Nothing wrong in wanting to worship Yahweh with music provided it is with Kingdom-building and not hell-serving music. No amount of good lyrics will make filthy music right and acceptable worship just like no amount of 'smoking to Yahweh' will make smoking good. You must first know the things that are acceptable to Him, and the only way you'll ever be able to know that, is by laying everything you have on the altar of sacrifice with a willing heart, without begrudging it, without 'biting the bullet' or 'numbing your heart' because if you have to do this then you can know there's a demonic power behind it. Still want to follow Him? Then "sell everything" and buy that pearl!
"My sheep listen to My voice", said Yah'shua; "I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are Echad (one)" (John 10:26-30, NIV).
"My sheep listen to My voice". How many times when you read a Scripture you don't like, do you turn away and stop listening? Or start a long self-defence speech? If you react to any part of the Word that way, you have a problem. And the problem is wrong belief. "My sheep LISTEN to My voice". But more than that, "they (then) FOLLOW me". They come trotting after - trusting and obedient. They don't run around in circles. They don't need a noose put round their necks, they don't need to be dragged by a lead. They follow happily, without complaint, because they know Him and they know the source of their eternal life. It's not enough to say, "I follow Him" and then balk and complain at Scripture or spiritual truth! That's not 'following', that's resisting Him. If you suddenly find you have an inexplicable 'need' that would take you away from Him, or stop you listening to Him, or following Him, then guess what? An enemy is within, and you're following the enemy no matter how much you say you are 'following Yah'shua'.
"Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves Me" (John 12:26, NIV).
Now someone who claims to be a follower of Yah'shua doesn't go out smoking and wearing a T-shirt with the caption, "I'm smoking for Jesus", does he? A person who claims to be a follower of Yah'shua doesn't go handing out 'Christian pornography' wearing a T-shirt of a nude woman with the caption, "Porn for Jesus" written underneath it, does he? Yet do you know there are precisely 'Christians' who run nudist camps and 'Christians' who believe that there is such a thing as 'Christian pornography' provided the people involved are married!! Yes, we can be amazed and horrified, and yet what is the difference, other than degree or scale, when someone claims to be 'following Jesus' when they stubbornly refuse to observe the Sabbath, or follow Yahweh's dietary regulations, who cling on to the music of the world - even with a 'Christian' label on it - and refuse to surrender their heart-attachments to it to Him?
You may have come a long way down the road in your Christian discipleship. You may have emerged out of the extreme darkness of the world and into His light. And these are good things - wonderful things - and cause for celebration and praise. But so long as there are still idols in your heart - in that fireplace of your being - you're in trouble, especially when Yahweh says; 'Now is the time!' And stirs them up, forcing you to a decision. And the fact that He has not raised the issues before is not because He is casual, indifferent or careless, but because He is merciful. He knows what we can manage, and when. So all the good things that have happened up until this point don't invalidate your Christian walk up to now. It doesn't invalidate your conversion or the love you have felt - and still feel - for Yah'shua; but once lies and demons are exposed, you have no choice but to deal with idolatrous issues if you wish to retain the Name of Yah'shua and continue in your spiritual growth as a member of the commonwealth of Messianic Israel. Forget the 'once saved, only saved' lie, because the moment Yahweh exposes a lie in you, you become responsible. And if you refuse to choose to do the right, then you will start sliding backwards again. The demons will gain more control over you, one day at a time, and usually in such a way that you won't notice, until you discover that all your gains have been swallowed up. I've seen it happen, far too many painful times. And demons are more than willing to feed false doctrines to you to justify your choice of continue listening to them.
Last Thursday morning, after this dream, Yahweh showed me some good news. And the good news came in the form of a vision. I saw before me a ship at anchor in a bay - a white ship, a sailing vessel. I knew what it was at once, for He has shown us so many visions of ships before that have represented where we as a fellowship spiritually. The last ones were all motorised ships - white, of course - but powered artificially. This one, however, was a schooner with three masts. There were no sails on it yet, but the vessel was very definitely ready - brand new and seaworthy. It was a large ship with several rows of portholes and I would guess capable of carrying up to about a hundred people. As a spiritual vessel bearing sail it means that it can only be propelled by the wind, which is the Ruach haQodesh. This is the vessel of Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon, for the first crop of the Chavurat Bekorot or Assembly of the Firstborn.
We shall return here in five hours' time for our Neilah service before we break our fast for supper. I urge everyone to use these hours wisely while the Ruach haSheshi is amongst in this special way. May Yahweh bless you as you work through your repentance for the year so that you may come before Him with everything exposed ready for cleansing, is my prayer in Yah'shua's Name, Amen.
Click here for Part 14
Author: Lev-Tsiyon
Glossary of MLT Hebraic, Greek and English Terms For other terms and full details please see the Micropedia
A
Adon(ai) = Master, a pagan fertility god, Adonis; used by many Messianics but not MLT
(a)eon(ian) = 7 dispensation- or age-long time periods, not forever (see le-olam-va-ed)
Alef-Tav = Alpha-Omega, A-Z, first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet = Yah'shua
Amen = truly, let it be so, written Amein by some Messianics
Apocrypha = Hebraic Scriptures not a part of the Protestant canon (e.g. Baruch)
Anti-Messiah = Hebraic term for the end-time Antichrist or anyone opposed to the Messiah
antinomian = lawless Christian who disregards all or part of Torah/commandments
Ashkenazi Jew = East European Jew descended from the Turkic-Japhethite Khazars
Assembly = church, congregation, ekklesia, community, fellowship, koinonia, gathering
Azazel = the Yom Kippur scapegoat
B
Baal, Ba'al = any other master than Yahweh, usually demonic in MLT terminology
Bachor(im) = firstborn son(s)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah = Son/Daughter of Commandment, covenant to obey Torah at age 12
being = soul, the whole person (spirit and body), e.g. "my whole being"
Beit, bet, beth = house, e.g. Beit Yisrael (House of Israel), Beth Lechem (House of Bread)
Beit haMikdash = Yahweh's Temple in Yerushalayim
B'rit Chadashah = the New Covenant; B'rit Chadashah Scriptures = New Testament
B'rit Milah = circumcision - abolished in the B'rit Chadashah, replaced by Mikvah
C
canon = authoritative Scripture (Heb. qaneh, Gk. kanôn = measuring instrument)
Catechumen = a serious, covenanted investigator seeking Mikvah or Baptism in MLT
Chag haMatzah = Feast of Unleavened Bread, second of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Chavurat Bekorot = MLT's Priesthood Order, Holy Order and Assembly of the Firstborn
Cohen = priest; Cohen Gadol = High Priest (also spelled Kohen)
Council of Yah's elohim = the heavenly Assembly of the Firstborn or Chavurat Bekorot
D
demon = fallen malek or angel in rebellion against Yahweh (Heb. shad; see Êl-Shaddai)
derech = the Way, Path or Road - Yah'shua and the Gospel are the Way
Drash = moral or homiletic interpretation of Scripture - see PaRDeS
E
Echad = One, Union of two or more in one (as opposed to Yachid) - see Elohim
Echad Godhead Doctrine = Father Yahweh, Son Yah'shua and Sevenfold Ruach (Mother)
Êl, Eloah, Elah = God the Father, Yahweh
Êl-Elyon = Most High God, Yahweh
Êl-Shaddai = Master/Lord over all shads or demons
Elohim = God, the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), lit. 'Mighty One(s)', 'Ruler(s)'
elohim = Israelite judges, rulers, angels or gods (false deities, idols, demons)
emunah = faith, actively trusting, clinging or adhering to (especially Yahweh or Yah'shua)
emet = truth, Yah'shua is the Emet
Ephraimite = descendant of the patriarch Ephraim and head of Messsianic Israel
F
Feasts of Yahweh = the 7 annual Moedim (Pesach, Chag haMatzah, Yom haBikkurim, Shavu'ot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot)
G
Gan-Eden = Garden of Eden, Paradise and state of the purified heart in Messiah
goy(im) = nation(s), Israelites or gentiles not born in or converted to the Covenant
H
hallelu-Yah = praise Yah(weh)!
Heylel = proper name of Satan or haSatan = the Adversary, the devil
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Hochmah = Wisdom, title of the 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
I
IDL = International Date Line, false man-made time division in Pacific Ocean
IDL Zone = Area between the true Divine Date Line (Lake Van/Eden) and the false one
Israeli = citizen of the modern Edomite-Khazar Republic of Israel (not Biblical Israel)
Israelite = citizen of biblical state of Israel or a modern follower of the Messiah
J
Jew = post-biblical term describing descendants of Edomite and Khazar converts to Judaism
Johannine = pertaining to the Apostle Yochanan (e.g. Gospel of John)
Josephite = descendant of the patriarch Joseph, the head of Messianic Israel
Judahite = a person in direct descent from the patriarch Judah, forefather of the Messiah
Judaism = a Talmudic-based religion rejecting Yah'shua the Messiah
Judean = a citizen of the Kingdom or Province of Judah until the 2nd Century diaspora
K
Kadosh la Yahweh = set-apart or dedicated to Yahweh, 'Holiness to the Lord', MLT motto
Karaites = Jews (from 700 AD) who reject the Talmud and accept only the Tanakh
kashrut = keeping kosher, food laws of Yahweh and correspinding lifestyle
Ketuvim = Writings or Hagiographa of the Tanakh
Khazar = a Turkic convert to Judaism ~700 AD forming the Ashkenazi Jewish community
kosher = clean foods authorised by Yahweh for human consumption
L
Lashon Hara = evil-speaking, gossip or slander
legalism = false route to salvation through works (self-salvation)
le-olam-va-ed = dispensation- or age-long, aeonian, not eternal, forever or for eternity
Lev = heart, as in Lev-Tsiyon = heart of Zion
Lev-Tsiyon = Heart of the Fortress [of Yahweh], Hebrew name of MLT's founder
M
Master = Lord, Sir, Adon(ai) - (one in authority, a ruler - a king, husband, prophet, judge)
Malak(im) = Angel(s), heavenly supernatural messenger(s)
manna = wafers of honey, bread from heaven (lit. 'what is this?')
matzah = unleavened bread, see Chag haMatzah
Menorah = 7-armed candlearbra = the 7 annual Moedim and 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
Messiah = Christ; Anti-Messiah = Antichrist
Messianic Community = Body of Christ, sum total of all true believers; all true fellowships
Messianic Israel = all who worship Yahweh, trust in Yah'shua, obey Torah and overcome
Messianic Jew = Messianic convert from Judaism still clinging to Talmudic traditions
Midrash = aggadic interpretation of scripture viâ Drash, a scriptural discussion
Mikvah = baptism by immersion of convert into Yah'shua or of wife into husband
Mishpachah = family: nuclear, congregational, tribal or the whole of Messianic Israel
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon = family of the heart of the fortress [of Yahweh]
Mishpat = right-ruling or judgement
mitzvah/mitzvot = commandment(s)
moed(im) = appointment(s) of Yahweh, 7 Annual Feasts, Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh
N
Nefilim, Nephilim = giant offspring of materialised demons and human women
Nevi'im = prophetic writings of the Old Testament or Tanakh
New Birth = spiritual conversion in the Ruach haRishon, being 'born again' with new heart
Nidah = a woman's menstruation period during which no intercourse is permitted
O
Olive Branch = collection of revelations, prophecies and visions published by MLT
P
Paraclete = Comforter, Advocate (NEB), Counsellor, Ruach haQodesh (Gk. paraklêtos)
PaRDeS = method of textual interpretation (homiletics) - see P'shat, Remez, Drash, Sod
Patriarch = a father who is head of his family, clan or tribe (lit. 'father-ruler')
Pentateuch = first five books of the Tanakh (Genesis-Deuteronomy), also called Torah
peribolaion = headcovering worn by daughters/wives in submission to fathers/husbands
Pesach = Passover, first of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Peshitta = an Aramaic version of the Bible
Prototrinitarianism = early, simplified MLT formulation of the Echad Godhead Doctrine
Prush(im) = Pharisee(s)
Pseudepigrapha = Non-canonical Hebrew writings additional to the Apocrypha
P'shat = literal, contextual, philological, exoteric, outer meaning of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Q
Qadosh Qadoshim = Holy of Holies, most sacred set-apart room of the Beit haMikdash
Qodesh, Kodesh = set-apart, holy (see Ruach haQodesh)
R
Rabbi = Teacher, term used by Messianic Jews and some Messianic Israelites = Pastor
Refuge, the 12 Cities of = divinely protected MLT fortresses during the 7-year Tribulation
Remez = hint or allegorical level of Hebraic understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Rosh Chodesh = monthly New Moon appointment of Yahweh
ruach = spirit of a person (lit.'breath')
Ruach Elohim = Spirit of God (the Spirit of the collective Godhead or Elohim)
Ruach haChamashee = 5th Ruach presides over Yom Teruah and Yom Chamashee
Ruach haQodesh = the Sevenfold Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (lit. 'Set-Apart Breath')
Ruach haRevee = 4th Ruach presides over Shavu'ot, Yom Revee and Bar Mitzvah
Ruach haRishon = 1st Ruach presides over Pesach, Yom Rishon and the New Birth
Ruach haShanee = 2nd Ruach presides over Chag haMatzah and Yom Shanee
Ruach haSheshi = 6th Ruach presides over Yom Kippur and Yom Sheshi
Ruach haShleshi = 3rd Ruach presides over Yom haBikkurim, Yom Shleshi and Mikvah
S
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Satan = rebel archangel Heylel, father of lies, devil, chief demon (lit.'Adversary')
Sephardic Jew = West European Jew of mixed blood containing many Judahites
Septuagint = Greek translation of the Tanakh, LXX
Shegal haShabbat = 7th Ruach (Sabbath Queen) presides over Sukkot and Yom Shabbat
Shekinah = Divine Presence and Glory of Yahweh-Elohim
Set-apart = holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, separated (to and by Yahweh)
Shabbat-Shabbaton = High Sabbath (e.g. Yom Kippur)
Shalom = heavenly peace, standard Hebraic greeting invoking Yahweh's peace
Shamash(im) = servant(s), deacon(s), attendant(s)
Shavu'ot = Pentecost or Weeks, fourth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Sheol = grave or pit, euphamism for Hades or hell - also see Tartarus
shofar = ram's horn, blown during Yahweh's Moedim
simcha = joy, keynote of Sukkot
Sod = mystical, anagogic, inner or esoteric understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Sukkot = Tabernacles or Booths, seventh of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Synagogue = Greek word used by Jews and Messianics (but not MLT) for a meeting house
T
talmid(a) = male/female disciple or student
Talmud = scriptures, teachings and commentaries belonging to non-Messianic Judaism
Tanakh = acronym for Old Testament Scriptures - Torah, Nevi'im & Ketuvim
Tartarus = place of imprisonment under the earth for rebellious angels and Nephilim
teshuvah = repentance, remorse and contrition leading back to Torah obedience
Torah = Yahweh's teachings or Law; New Covenant Torah includes Yah'shua's teachings
Tribulation, the Great = the final 7 years of the present aeon when Anti-Messiah rules
Trinity = Catholic Godhead formula - see Echad Godhead Doctrine and Prototrinitarianism
Tsiyon = Zion, a fortress, a name of Jerusalem and a prominent hill
Tzitzit/Tizitziyot = tassel(s) worn by men in remembrance of Torah
U
Universalism = salvation of all at the cosmic Yovel, with different rewards and punishments
Y
Yachid = one, single person or item, as opposed to Echad (many in one, unity)
Yah'shua the Messiah = Jesus Christ (the Son)
Yahudah = Judah - see Judahite
Yahweh, Yah, YHWH = the true Name of our Heavenly Father, also carried by Yah'shua
Yahweh-Elohim = LORD God (the Father, Yahweh as Head of the Godhead or Elohim)
Yahweh haQatan = the sent Yahweh = Yah(weh)'shua, Malak of Yahweh's Presence
Yam Suf = Sea of Reeds, the true Israelite Exodus water crossing, not the Red Sea
Yarden = Jordan River (lit. 'meanderer')
Yerushalayim = Jerusalem
Yisrael = Israel (lit. 'ruling with Êl') = true believers under the New Covenant
Yom Chamashee = 5th day of the week (Thursday, Friday in IDL Zone)
Yom Din, Yom haDin = (the) Day of Judgement
Yom haBikkurim = Feast of Firstfruits, third of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Revee = 4th day of the week (Wednesday, Thursday in IDL Zone)
Yom Rishon = 1st day of the week (Sunday, Monday in IDL Zone)
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement, sixth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Shabbat = 7th day of the week and Sabbath Rest (Saturday, Sunday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shanee = 2nd day of the week (Monday, Tuesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Sheshi = 6th day of the week (Friday, Saturday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shleshi = 3rd day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Teruah = Day of Trumpets, fifth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yosef = Joseph - see Josephite
Yovel = Jubilee or Year of Jubilee
Z
Zaqen(im) = elder(s) of an assembly or congregation, or senior members of a community
Zoë Life = Greek term for spiritual life in the Messiah
Commonly Used MLT Abbreviations
For additional abbreviations and explanations, please see the Micropedia
A
Amp.V(er). = Amplified Version of the Bible
Aram. = Aramaic
AV = Authorised Version of the Bible - see KJV
B
BCAY = B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh - see NCCG
BoA = Books of Abraham (e.g. 1Abr., 2Abr., etc.)
C
cp, cf = compare with
CB(Q) = Chavurat Bekorot
CEV = Contemporary English Version of the Bible
ch. = chapter
CJB = Complete Jewish Bible
CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament
CYe = Council of Yah's elohim
E
Eng. = English
F
ff. = and onwards/forwards
fn = footnote
G
Gk. = Greek
GNB = Good News Bible - see TEV
H
Heb. = Hebrew, Hebraic
HEM = Holy Echad Marriage, eternal marriage
HO = Holy Order - see Chavurat Bekorot
HOC = Holy Order Collection of revelations - see OB
HRV = Hebraic-Roots Version of the Bible
I
ibid. = ibidem (lit. 'in the same place'), referring to a book previously cited
ICJC = Independent Church of Jesus Christ, earlier name of NCCF
ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version of the Bible
J
JB = Jerusalem Bible
JBP/Phillips = J.B.Phillips translation of the New Testament
JNT = Jewish New Testament
K
KJV = King James Version of the Bible - see AV
L
LB = Living Bible
lit. = literally or literature
LXX = Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT
M
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon
Moff. = Moffatt translation of the Bible
MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant Version of the NT
MS(S) = Manuscript(s)
N
NASB, NASV = New American Standard Bible/Version
NC&C = New Covenants & Commandments - see OB
NCCF = New Covenant Christian Fellowship, earlier name of NCCG
NCCG = New Covenant Church of God, earlier name of MLT - see BCAY
NCP = New Covenant Press, publishing arm of MLT
NCW = New Covenant Witness, MLT magazine
NEB = New English Bible
NIV = New International Version of the Bible
NKJV = New King James Version of the Bible
Nor. = Norwegian
NT = New Testament, B'rit Chadashah
NWT = New World Translation of the Bible, unreliable Jehovah's Witness version
O
OB = Olive Branch - see NC&C
op.cit. = opere citato (lit. in the work cited)
OT = Old Testament, Tanakh
P
p(p). = page(s)
pl. = plural - see s.
PWNC = Prophetic Words of the New Covenant, revelation cataloging system - see OB
Q
QED = quod erat demonstrandum (lit. which was shown to be proved)
R
RCF = Restoration Christian Fellowship, earlier name of ICJC
RhQ = Ruach haQodesh, Holy Spirit
RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition of the Bible
RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RV = Revised Version of the Bible
S
s. = singular - see pl.
S&G = Smith & Goodspeed Version of the Bible
T
TEV = Today's English Version of the Bible - see GNB
V
Vulg. = Biblia Vulgata, Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible
W
WEB = World English Bible
Glossary Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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This page was first created on 18 March 2007
Last updated on 18 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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