…Call on Him while He is near…
(Isa 55:1-13 MKJV)
Ho,
everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat. Yea, come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Why do you weigh silver for what is not bread? and your labor for what never satisfies? Listen carefully to Me, and
eat what is good, and let your soul
delight itself in fatness. Bow down your ear, and come to Me; hear, and your
soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David. Behold, I have given Him for
a witness to the people, a Leader and Commander of peoples. Behold, You shall
call a nation that You do not know; a nation that
did not know You shall run to You because of Yahoveh Your G-d, and for the Holy
One of Israel; for He has glorified You.
Seek Yahoveh while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to Yahoveh, and He will have
mercy on him; and to our G-d, for He will abundantly pardon.
For
My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor
your ways My ways, says Yahoveh. For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways,
and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain comes down, and the snow
from the heavens, and does not return there, but waters the earth, and makes it
bring out and bud, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall
My Word be, which goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall
accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do. For
you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the
hills shall break out before you into singing, and all the trees of the field
shall clap their hands. Instead of the
thorn, the fir tree shall come up; and instead of the brier, the myrtle tree
shall come up; and it shall be to Yahoveh for a name, for an everlasting sign which shall not be cut off.
“…Seek Yahoveh while He may be found; call on Him while He is near…”
When we
read the word of G-d in any translation, we are at a disadvantage. No
translation, or transliteration can capture the full flavor and nuances of the
language from which it is derived from. This is why we do word studies, why
each of us should consider him or herself a Berean, and act as they:
(Act 17:10-12 MKJV)
And
the brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. They, when
they arrived, went into the synagogue of the Jews. And these were more noble
than those of Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind
and searched the Scriptures daily to see
if those things were so. Therefore
many of them believed and quite a few of honorable Greek women and men.
To search as a Berean though means you have to have a
sense of what it is you are :
a)
Searching
for, and
b)
Searching
through.
What is it we should all be searching for? The Father.
What should we be searching through? The Son. How do we do either? The Spirit,
who leads us in all truth. Why is truth important? Let us see:
(Isa 65:1 LITV)
I
have been sought, not by those who
asked. I have been found, not by those who sought Me. To a nation not
calling on My name, I said, Behold Me! Behold Me!
(Psa 32:5-6 MKJV)
I
confessed my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess
my transgression to Yahoveh; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this let every
G-dly one pray to You, in a time when You may be
found; surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come near him.
(Psa 145:17-18 MKJV)
Yahoveh
is righteous in all His ways and holy in
all His works.
Yahoveh is
near all those who call on Him, all those who call on Him in truth.
Now, all
this aside, when we discuss the original intent of the Holy Writ, we have to go
to the original, we have to look at the Hebrew and the Greek. Now to fully
understand the Scriptures, you have to understand the mindset of its writers.
That takes looking at the Hebraic mindset…
“…Ancient Hebrew Thought
The definition of a word is going to
be directly related to the culture in which that word is being used. One word
may have different meanings depending on the culture that is using it. In order
to place the correct context to a Hebrew word from the Ancient Hebrew language
one must first understand the Ancient Hebraic thought…
Abstract and Concrete
Greek thought views the world through
the mind (abstract thought). Ancient Hebrew thought views the world through the
senses (concrete thought).
Concrete thought is the expression of
concepts and ideas in ways that can be seen, touched, smelled, tasted or heard.
All five of the senses are used when speaking, hearing, writing and reading the
Hebrew language. An example of this can be found in Psalms 1:3; “He is like a tree
planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in
season, and whose leaf does not wither”. In this passage the
author expresses his thoughts in concrete terms such as; tree, streams of
water, fruit and leaf.
Abstract thought is the expression of
concepts and ideas in ways that cannot be seen, touched, smelled, tasted or
heard. Examples of Abstract thought can be found in Psalms 103:8:
“The
LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger,
abounding in love”.
The words compassion, grace, anger and
love are all abstract words, ideas that cannot be experienced by the senses.
Why do we find these abstract words in a passage of concrete thinking Hebrews?
Actually, these are abstract English words used to translate the original
Hebrew concrete words. The translators often translate this way because the
original Hebrew makes no sense when literally translated into English.
Let us take one of the above abstract
words to demonstrate the translation from a concrete Hebrew word to an abstract
English word. Anger, an abstract word, is actually the Hebrew word Pa
(aph) which literally means “nose”, a concrete word. When one is very angry, he
begins to breathe hard and the nostrils begin to flare. A Hebrew sees anger as
“the flaring of the nose (nostrils)”. If the translator literally translated
the above passage “slow to nose”, the English reader would not understand…”[1]
The Greek mindset versus the Hebraic
mindset isn’t a war of contrasts, but more of the differences in ways the world
is seen.
“…Greek thought describes objects in relation to its
appearance. Hebrew thought describes objects in relation to its function.
A Greek description of a common
pencil would be; "it is yellow and about eight inches long". A Hebrew
description of the pencil would be related to its function such as "I
write words with it". Notice that the Hebrew description uses the verb "write"
while the Greek description uses the adjectives "yellow" and
"long". Because of Hebrew's form of functional descriptions, verbs
are used much more frequently then adjectives.
To our Greek way of thinking a deer
and an oak are two very different objects and we would never describe them in
the same way. The Hebrew word for both of these objects is lia
(ayil) because the functional description of these two objects are identical to
the Ancient Hebrews, therefore, the same Hebrew word is used for both.
The Hebraic definition of lia is
"a strong leader". A deer stag is one of the most powerful animals of
the forest and is seen as "a strong leader" among the other animals
of the forest. The wood of the oak tree is very hard compared to other trees
and is seen as a "strong leader" among the trees of the forest.
Notice the two different translations
of the Hebrew word lia
in Psalms 29:9. The NASB and KJV translates it as "The voice of the
LORD makes the deer to calve" while the NIV translates it as "The
voice of the LORD twists the oaks". The literal translation of this
verse in Hebrew thought would be; "The voice of the LORD makes the
strong leaders turn ".
When translating the Hebrew into
English, the Greek thinking translator will give a Greek description to this
word for the Greek thinking reader, which is why we have two different ways of
translating this verse. This same word "ayil” is also translated as a
"ruler" (a strong leader of men) in 2 Kings 24.15.
Ancient Hebrew will use different
Hebrew words for the same thing depending upon its function at the time. For
example an ox may be identified as an pfla (aluph) when referring to a lead ox,
a rfs
(shor) when referring to a plow ox, rqb (baqar) when referring to an ox of
the field or rp
(par) when referring to an ox of the threshing floor…” [2]
“…That is why we must make a
decision, a decision about what approach we want to take to G-d’s word. Is G-d’s word concrete, or abstract? Let us take a look this in another fashion.
Pick up your Bible. Hold it, feel the
grain of the material that covers it.
Turn its pages, feel the quality of the paper, hear their sound. If it is new, you can even smell it; new
Bibles smell like a new book, while old Bibles have a smell to them also, the
smell of well-worn pages and the hands that have handled them. This is concrete. Concrete is something that can be perceived
by the senses; with your senses you can tell something is real, solid and
actual. Now, take your Bible. Put it next to your heart. Does it enter into it? Of course not. You have to read it, interpret the message
given, and then do something with it to make it apply to your life.
When we look at G-d’s word, in the Tanakah (Old Testament) we see concrete ideas and situations
interspersed with those of the abstract; the rituals of sacrifice mixed with
the reason for the sacrifices. We can
see, touch and hear the act of the sacrifice, the smell of the blood, the feel
of the altar, the act is very concrete.
But can we touch the abstraction?
Can we get our hands around the remission of sin by the death of the
lamb or bullock? We know of the act, yet
the providence that gave us the act and the lifting of the weight of sin cannot
be held onto by our senses. The remission of sin is a concept, one that takes a spiritual dimension to make it come alive
in a man’s heart. This is the
abstract. This is parabolic imagery, the
types and shadows used throughout the Word of G-d, yet found most profoundly in
the B’rit Hadashah (New Testament),
the Messianic Writings. Parabolic imagery
is better known as the parables used by Christ in His teachings, and then later
by His Apostles; it is found in the Tanakah
but here we have to also grasp the concrete, that which was set in stone so
to speak. Eternal truths are concrete,
set down by G-d as never changing, never compromising, and yet, it takes the
abstract for them to reach a man’s soul. So to try to follow the Bible as a
literal device, we will run into problems that can only be surmounted by the
unyielding, relentless pursuit of our minds and hearts by the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit); this
pursuit by the Spirit drives us, the pursued, to the abstract- the making of
the application of the concrete into our hearts. The parabolic approach to understanding
Scripture is the piece of the puzzle that has been lost to the Christian
church, especially the western church….” [3]
So then, what does it really mean to
be “near” to G-d? Is it what we think of near? When I try to define English
words in the Scriptures, I don’t use a modern dictionary. Why you might ask? Language
is the one thing that evolves over time; what we say today might not mean the
same thing 100 years from now. Webster’s
Dictionary of 1828, on the other hand, was written and compiled by Noah Webster
and this dictionary is said to have the greatest number of Biblical
definitions given in any reference volume. Webster considered education
"useless without the Bible". Webster claimed to have learned 20
different languages in finding definitions for which a particular word is used.[4] I use it as to help understand how words were used; in the King
James 1611 version, it is best to
consult a dictionary from the 1600’s; since Webster based his dictionary upon
the King James, his is the closest we have in this modern era in which to see
how words were used in their proper Biblical context. So in that vein, how does Webster define near?
“…Near
NEAR, a. [This
seems to be a contracted word, from nigher, the comparative of neh, nih or
nieh; strait, narrow; to narrow]
1. Nigh; not far distant in
place, time or degree. Regularly, near should be followed by to, but this is
often omitted. We say, a house stands near a river; a friend sits near me; the
man fell and was near destruction.
And Jacob went near to Isaac his father. Gen 27.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed. Rom 13.
2. Closely related by blood.
She is thy fathers near kinswoman. Lev 18.
3. Not distant in affection, support or
assistance; present; ready; willing to aid.
Call upon the Lord, while he is near. Isa 55.
4. Intimate; united in close
ties of affection or confidence; as a near friend.
5. Dear; affecting ones
interest or feelings; as a near concern.
My nearest life.
6. Close; parsimonious.
7. Close; not loose, free or
rambling; as a version near the original.
8. Next to one; opposed to off;
as the near horse or ox in a team.
NEAR, adv. Almost;
within a little.
It is near twelve oclock. The payment of such a
sum would go near to ruin him.
NEAR, v.t. To
approach; to come nearer; as, the ship neared the land; a seamans phrase…” [5]
Notice the two definitions I
have highlighted in yellow. It is these that we build our thesis today.
“3. Not distant in affection, support
or assistance; present; ready; willing to aid.”
This is G-d while He is near. We are to look for Him
while He is still willing to come to our rescue. I know that this flies in the
face of all we are taught, that the possibility exists that G-d might not turn
His mercy upon us, but there is no guarantee that He will. We can resist Him to
the point that He can no longer walk with us:
Heb2:3
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which
at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by them
that heard him;[6]
And:
Heb 12:25-26
25 See
that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him
that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised,
saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
Now if all of this makes your head
spin, I’m sorry J…
Too much of the “bible studies” conducted in the corporate church today
contains a little Bible, not much study and a whole lot of stuff in between,
some of it not good for the Body of Christ. When we let pop psychology and
multi-culturelism into our church, we are killing ourselves and the next
generation. Please allow me to quote
myself:
“…Fathers, mothers; what is your guide to raising your children? Husbands, what tells you how to love your wife, what serves as your example? Wives, is there a source for you to go to that aids you in those difficult times? If you are using anything outside of the Word of God, stop. There is no authority outside of Scripture that we have that can instruct us in the right and proper way to raise our children and loves our mates. Trouble is, Churchianity has found an ally in its ever-increasing assault on the word of God and the Christian home. The whims and lies of this age, psychology and sociology, have all but replaced Godly instruction in our homes. What are we supposed to do? “…Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul…” When we implant the words of life into our heart and soul what need we of man’s supposed wisdom? Look at who are the “experts” today telling us how to raise our children; men and women that emerged from the cultural revolution of the 1960’s, children themselves in that time who were disrespectful of their parents and authorities, who turned to alternate philosophies and chemical solutions for the emptiness of their souls. Today these same people are hailed as the vanguard of the “progressive” movement that is shaking all that is right and just, calling the sin moral and the moral sin. What has this humanistic movement brought us? 48,000,000 plus dead children, slaughtered at the idol of choice; William J. Bennett gave some staggering facts in 1993:
“…Since 1960, the U.S. population has increased 41%; the gross domestic product has nearly tripled; and total social spending by all levels of government (measured in constant 1990 dollars) has risen from $143.73 billion to $787 billion--more than a fivefold increase. Inflation-adjusted spending on welfare has increased by 630%, spending on education by 225%. But during the same 30-year period there has been a 560% increase in violent crime, a 419% increase in illegitimate births; a quadrupling in divorce rates; a tripling of the percentage of children living in single-parent homes; more than a 200% increase in the teenage suicide rate; and a drop of almost 80 points in SAT scores…”[7]
To be fair, we have seen some improvement in these sad statistics since 1993, but the overall trend still puts America in a downward spiral of moral decline. The driving factor? The removal of God from public conscience and the liberalization of the church. What we are seeing are the symptoms of a sick society that has arisen due to the failure of the man of God to hold his ground and not compromise the tenets of God. We have pastors that spend long hours, devoted to their ministry, neglecting their families in the name of God. This in turn leads to a higher than usual divorce rate among pastors, incidents of immorality and other problems. These problems spill out among the congregations and soon you have no difference between what you see in the world and what is seen in the pew and pulpit.
2 And cdo not be conformed to this world, but dbe transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may eprove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. [8]
We
see from this verse that God’s will is perfect… God would never have a pastor
of His neglect his family for the sake of a ministry. In fact, we don’t have to violate the will of
God in order to fulfill any ministry – he who will sacrifice his family or his
principles for the sake of ministry doesn’t do it for God – he does it for the
sake of the kingdom he is carving out for himself. To violate the family is to violate God. Why do we forget God doesn’t need us to
accomplish His will; He does desire that we be obedient to His word, but He is
God, His will shall be done.
Genesis 18:19 (KJV )
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. [9]
19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. [9]
Does your church have a Sunday school? If you belong to a denomination, or are
affiliated with an organized religious order, it is a safe bet that
collectively across America Genesis 18:19 again. What does it say? “…For I know
him, that he will command his children and his household after him…”
God was referring to Abraham, the father of nations. He would instruct his children in the ways of
the Yahvey Adonai. How many programs are
there out there that teach men, fathers, how to pass along God’s word to their
children? I bet it is a safe bet that it
doesn’t even get one nickel spent on it in most churches… I’ll even go so far to say that the thought
hasn’t even been approached. Why? Re-read Deut. 6:4-9;
“…You
shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house,
when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up…”
This is God’s
plan “A”… He has no plan “B”, for if plan “A” doesn’t work, neither will plan
“B”. Sunday school classes are just
really a form of entertainment to the child, so in this vein, for what little
instruction it provides, it is okay. If
though, there is no plan in place to equip the father to teach his children of
God, if the Sunday school replaces the ministry of the father in the home, then
I have but one recommendation – kill it.
The school is no place for instruction, for it has no authority for
discipline; even if it did, chances are likely that they wouldn’t do it anyway
– they don’t believe in it. It is for
the father to “raise up the child”; this is his primary ministry – church, do
not deny him of it; teach him how to fulfill it.
Since we are taking about children,
what about the older ones? What about
youth ministries? Proverbs 13:20 says:
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyedf. [10]
Who does your
youth hang out with? Are they hanging out
with the wise, or the fools? How many
unbelievers are there in typical youth groups?
Most of the youth groups may have a core of believers, but more than
likely the group is not much more than one likened to an after-school activity,
a place for socializing or “getting out of the house”, or a way for parents to
drop off the kids and get a “night off”.
Who then should youths hang out with?
Trained, caring, accountable compassionate adults, not other youths, for
how else do they then learn to be adult and put away the “childish
things”? How do the blind lead the
blind? “But” you say, “What about the
lost youth?” What do these lost kids see
when they come into your church? They
see the same thing they see at their home: no parents, no caring adults, kids
teaching kids, or at least one a few years older with mousse in his hair doing
the teaching. What would happen if that
lost child stepped into a church and saw a loving committed relationship
between a father and a son, a mother and a daughter – quite possibly the very
thing that is missing from his or her life.
What would the impact be? Could
the revelation of love be what this child needs to have a heart of stone melt,
and be replaced by the Spirit’s heart of flesh?
O what walls fall when love is introduced! O what wounds heal when the love of Christ is
modeled…
Why do our children do what they
do? When we as fathers violate biblical
principle after biblical principle, is there any wonder why everything then
turns to madness?
1 Timothy 4:1-6
(NAB WRNT)
1 † Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will turn away from the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and demonic instructions
1 † Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will turn away from the faith by paying attention to deceitful spirits and demonic instructions
2 through the
hypocrisy of liars with branded consciences.
3 They forbid marriage
and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with
thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
4 For everything
created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected when received with
thanksgiving,
5 for it is made holy
by the invocation of God in prayer. †
6 † If you
will give these instructions to the brothers, you will be a good minister of
Christ Jesus, nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound teaching you
have followed. [11]
Paul warns
Timothy of what is going to happen; his words ring just as true today as they
did in the 1st century; all hell is going to break loose and the
culture will fall into madness. Does he
tell Timothy to then get involved in politics, to protest in the streets, to
wage a war against the prevailing culture?
No, God in His wisdom gives Paul simple instructions to give to Timothy;
he is to be “…nourished on the words of the
faith and of the sound teaching you have followed…” Brethren, how
else do we fight this war that has already erupted upon the world in which we
live? Can we fight it the same way that
the world fights us, and not compromise our walk? Sadly, no we cannot. If we adopt their tactics, then we have no
more moral authority in the name of Yeshua.
God is seeking men and women of character – polished swords. Believers that will devote themselves to
God’s word, to the unflinching, uncompromising bold pronunciation of the Writ
of God, calling sin sin and standing firm in the faith. We can’t fix what is broken with an empty
tool box; we must be hearers and doers of the word, “…nourished on the words of the faith and of … sound teaching…”
Sound doctrine; God’s men
cannot accomplish His aims if they aren’t first taught and then obey His
word. Now you may get a better
understanding of why I teach the way I do, why I try to go into the depth of
the words so that you may truly understand God’s intent. Not for my glory, or that any will applaud
me; please don’t. Honor God! Study His word! Test the words I say against His Holy Word
and if I teach you falsely, then may I be accursed! O brethren, a simple intellectual study of
God’s word will no longer do in these mad times we are facing![12] You cannot learn doctrine well till you are
following the doctrine you learn.
Obey! Do!
The “emergent” church movement, the
“expanding” church, the culturally sensitive “church growth” crowd; what price
are we paying for the throwing out of Biblical doctrine just to fill the pews
and the tithe box? The kingdoms of man
are being carved out of the hearts and souls of the hurt by a bunch of little
boys wanting to play church without the power of God in their lives. It is the lesser of David trying to fit their
selves into Saul’s armor. The more we
see the flesh in the church, the more we see men-pleasers and entertainers, the
less we’ll see of the power of the Living God.
God in these turbulent days will be
pouring powerful and sharps swords of the Word of God out of heaven; who among
us will be able to wield them? Is your
only concern with your best life now, or if and when Christ will rapture you
out of this cess-pool, even before you’ve done a lick of work? What about eternity? What about love, mercy, grace? What about the change, the regenerated life,
the move of the Spirit, the cross of Christ, the precious blood? “Who will go for me”, sayeth Yahvey, the
Adonai of Hosts? “Who will die, so that
others may live?...” [13]
There is a point to all of this. How
can you draw near to G-d if you do not understand what that really means? My
words may seem harsh, yet, sometimes it takes a hard poke with a stick to get
someone’s attention…
Heb 4:12
For
the Word of Elohim is living, and working, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, cutting through even to the dividing of being and spirit, and of joints
and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.[14]
So let’s look at our key words and see what we can
deduce…
“SEEK”: H1875 דָּרַשׁ darash
(daw-rash') v.
1. (properly) to tread or frequent
2. (usually) to follow (for pursuit or search)
3. (by implication) to seek or ask
“CALL”: Strongs #7121: AHLB#: 1434-E (V)
1434) Rq% (Rq% QR) ac: Call co:
Meeting ab: Event: The pictograph q is a picture of the sun at the
horizon and the gathering of the light, the r is a picture of the head of a
man. Combined these mean "gather the men".
The meeting or bringing together of people or objects by arrangement, accident
or purchase. (eng: occur; call - with the exchange of the l and r)
“…E)
Arq%
(Arq% QRA) ac: Call co:
Meeting ab: ?: A calling together for assembly.
V) Arq% (Arq% Q-RA) - I. Call: To
call or call out, to call a name or give a name. [Hebrew and Aramaic] II.
Meet: To come together to meet. Also a chance encounter. III. Read: To
read a scroll in the presence of those called to a meeting. [freq. 883] (vf:
Paal, Niphal, Hiphil, Pual) |kjv: call, cry, read, proclaim, name, guest,
invite, gave, renown, bidden, preach, read, cry, call, befall, encounter,
chance, happen, met, fall, meet, against, come, help, seek| {str: 7121, 7122,
7123, 7125}…”
[16]
קרא Call qârâ' kaw-raw' can be translated in a variety of ways (bewray
[self], that are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon), cry (unto), (be)
famous, guest, invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclaim (-ation),
pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say)[17]
“NEAR”: H7138 קָרוֹב קָרוֹב qarowb
(kaw-robe') (or qarob {kaw-robe'}) adj. 1. near (in place, kindred or time) [from
H7126] KJV:
allied, approach, at hand, + any of kin, kinsfold(-sman), (that is) near (of
kin), neighbour, (that is) next, (them that come) nigh (at hand), more ready,
short(-ly). [18]
It is also defined as “PROPI'TIOUS, a.
[L.propitius.] Favorable; kind; applied to men…
Disposed to be gracious or merciful; ready to forgive sins and bestow
blessings…”[19]
So in our key text:
“…Seek Yahoveh while He may be found; call on Him while He is near…”
So we are to follow, to pursue, to worship Yahoveh “while
He may be found”. What does this mean? What did Yeshua say?
(John 7:33-34 ASV)
Jesus
therefore said, Yet a little while am I with you, and I
go unto him that sent me. Ye shall seek me, and
shall not find me: and where I am, ye cannot come.
(John 8:21-30 ASV)
He
said therefore again unto them, I go away, and ye shall
seek me, and shall die in your sin: whither I go, ye cannot come. The
Jews therefore said, Will he kill himself, that he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot
come? And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am
from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins:
for except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. They said therefore unto
him, Who art thou? Jesus said unto them, Even that
which I have also spoken unto you from the beginning. I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you:
howbeit he that sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these
speak I unto the world. They perceived not that he spake to them of the
Father. Jesus therefore said, When ye have lifted up
the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father taught me, I speak
these things. And he that sent me is with me; he
hath not left me alone; for I do always the things that are pleasing to him.
As he spake these things, many believed on him.
“…While He may be found…” Brethren, this little segment
of Scripture should chill you to your soul. We see this same theme in Romans:
(Rom 9:20-24 ASV)
Nay
but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say
to him that formed it, Why didst thou make me thus? Or hath not the potter a right over the clay, from the
same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What
if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with
much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction: and that he might
make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he
afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom
he also called, not from the Jews only, but also from the Gentiles?
Like it or not, some are created to be
vessels of wrath, some vessels of honor and mercy. We know not to whom each
title falls; so we beg, we plead, we cajole others to know
G-d; for in our repentance as the redeemed, it should be
our desire that others find OUR G-d – He who redeemed us.
(Zec 12:10 ASV)
And
I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the
spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have
pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and
shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his
first-born.
You have to make G-d YOUR G-d. This is the reason why we
embrace the Hebraic Roots of our faith, so that Yahoveh will be known in the
earth. We must tremble before Him, for we seek Him while He can still be found.
One day, if we tarry, it may be too late…
Repentance means many
things to many people, yet what does it truly mean?
“…What it is to repent. There are two things involved in
repentance:--
[1.] It is to turn from sin; it is to forsake it. It is to leave it,
and to leave it with loathing and abhorrence, never to return to it again. The
wicked must forsake his way, his evil way, as we would forsake a false way that
will never bring us to the happiness we aim at, and a dangerous way, that leads
to destruction. Let him not take one step more in that way. Nay, there must be
not only a change of the way, but a change of the mind; the unrighteous must
forsake his thoughts. Repentance, if it be true, strikes at the root, and
washes the heart from wickedness. We must alter our judgments concerning
persons and things, dislodge the corrupt imaginations and quit the vain
pretences under which an unsanctified heart shelters itself. Note, It is not
enough to break off from evil practices, but we must enter a caveat against
evil thoughts. Yet this is not all:
[2.] To repent is to return to the Lord; to return to him as our G-d,
our sovereign Lord, against whom we have rebelled, and to whom we are concerned
to reconcile ourselves; it is to return to the Lord as the fountain of life and
living waters, which we had forsaken for broken cisterns…” [20]
To call means to “"…gather the men". The meeting or bringing
together of people or objects by arrangement, accident or purchase…”
Are we not bought with a
price? Has He not said He will gather those who are His? We are to call on him,
to be gathered.
For sure the words “seek,
near and call” yet
let’s replace the words “seek, call and near ” with their literal meaning…
“…Follow, seek, worship
Yahoveh while He may be found; gather the men to Him while He is willing to save His kinsmen…”
Makes a bit of a different reading doesn’t it? Conceptually, we see that we are to worship Yahoveh while He may be found… Pause here with me for a moment. We never really finished with this statement “while He may be found.”
Many
have sought the Savior since His ascension; the Jews are still waiting for
their Machiach, in one or two forms, the Machiach ben Yoseph (Messiah, son of Joseph) or the Machiach ben
David (Messiah, son of David). Catholics wait for their Savior; Protestants
wait for theirs; Lutheran’s, Methodists’, Baptists’, Adventists’, and on and on
all await theirs. Who is it they wait upon? Who is it they are seeking?
I tell you the
truth here today, if you are not seeking, calling and coming nigh to
the Risen Word, the
Living Torah, the Memra of G-d, the Machiach, the Anointed One, The Star of
Bethlehem, Counselor, Wonderful, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, King of
the Jews, Redeemer of Israel, King of kings, Lord of lords, Holy and Righteous
One, the Ancient of Days, the Great IAM, Yeshua Son of God
what you look for
is dust in the wind…
This is the image of the Holy One of
Israel; this is the image of the One who must be found. Gather unto Him, O
ekklesia! O you who are the called out ones! Gather unto Him, Worship Him for
He is still willing to save, yet the night approaches that no man may work! The
night encroaches upon a sleeping world, unaware of the destruction its pride
and haughtiness is bringing upon it. While He may be found is still day, while
light still shines, yet a time awaits:
(Rev 12:7-12 KJV)
And
there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and
the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place
found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old
serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was
cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and
the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the
sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time.
(Rev 12:17
WoY)
And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with
the remnant of her seed,
which keep the commandments of Elohim,
and have the testimony of Y’shua.
(Rev 13:4-8 KJV)
And
they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped
the beast, saying, Who is like unto the
beast? who is able to make war with him? And there was given unto him a mouth
speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue
forty and two months. And he opened his
mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and
them that dwell in heaven.
And it was given unto him to make war with the
saints, and to overcome them:
and
power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that
dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book
of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
The night comes; war is on the
horizon. The enemy will wage war with those who hold to the commandments of God
and the testimony of Yeshua. These are the true believers; what was it that we
said in the beginning?
(Psa 145:17-18 MKJV)
Yahoveh
is righteous in all His ways and holy in
all His works.
Yahoveh is
near all those who call on Him, all those who call on Him in truth.
He is near to those who call upon Him in truth:
“near”- kinsman, brother,
Father, Savior
“near” – willing and able
to deliver, to save, to preserve
I seek not to come against anyone’s beliefs, but I would
be amiss to not speak the truth. Look once more at the word of G-d:
(Rev 20:1-6 WoY)
And
I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and
a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him
into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he
should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be
fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and I saw
the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Y’shua,
and for
the word of Elohim,
and
which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;
and
they lived and reigned with the Messiah a thousand years.
But
the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
This is
the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is
he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of the Messiah, and shall reign
with him a thousand years.
There are eternal consequences to what you believe, to
the doctrines you hold. The enemy will wage war on the true Saints of G-d,
those that hold to the commandments (Torah) and the testimony of Yeshua. These
same will be martyred in the Great Tribulation, which means that folks, we are
going to go through it. It is they, the believers of Yeshua and His Torah that
will take part in the first resurrection – unless the Word of G-d lies, then
all believers everywhere have a decision to make:
Seek Yahoveh while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
It not only matters that we believe; it also matters what
we believe. Moses said it best:
(Deu 30:10-20 WoY)
If
thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Yahweh thy Elohim, to keep his
commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto Yahweh thy Elohim with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul.
For this commandment which I command thee this
day, it is not hidden from thee, neither
is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who
shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do
it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that
thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us,
that we may hear it, and do it?
But
the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy
mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
See,
I have set before thee this day life and good,
and death and evil;
In
that I command thee this day to love Yahweh thy Elohim, to walk in his ways,
and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou
mayest live and multiply: and Yahweh thy Elohim shall bless thee in the land
whither thou goest to possess it.
But if thine heart turn away, so that thou
wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other elohim, and serve
them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest
over Jordan to go to possess it.
I call heaven and earth to record this day
against you,
that I have set before you life and death, blessing
and cursing:
therefore choose life, that both thou and thy
seed may live:
That thou mayest love Yahweh thy Elohim, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that
thou mayest cleave unto him:
for he is thy life, and the length of thy days:
that thou mayest dwell in the land which
Yahweh sware unto thy fathers,
to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Different eyes; different mind.
G-d has given each of us a mind in which to ponder these words, yet only one
truth remains, His truth. Ponder them well this day. Think on these things. Be
as Joshua:
(Jos 24:14-15 WoY)
Now therefore fear Yahweh, and serve him in
sincerity and in truth:
and
put away the elohim which your fathers served on the other side of the flood,
and in Egypt; and serve ye Yahweh.
And
if it seem evil unto you to serve Yahweh, choose you this day whom ye will
serve; whether the elohim which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the
elohim of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell:
but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.
Be as Yeshua:
(Joh 17:1-25 KJV)
These
words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,
Father, the hour is
come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father,
glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before
the world was. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest
them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they
have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
For I have given unto them the words
which thou gavest me; and they have received
them, and have
known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst
send me.
I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all
mine are thine, and thine are mine;
and I am glorified in them.
And now I am no more in the
world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep
through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as
we
are. While I was
with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I
have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the
scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to
thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy
fulfilled in themselves. I have given them thy
word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as
I am not of the world.
I pray not that thou shouldest take
them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the
world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
As thou hast sent me into the world,
even so have I also sent them into the world.
And for their sakes I sanctify myself,
that they also might be sanctified through
the truth.
Neither pray I for these alone, but for
them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be
one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that
the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may
be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in
me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou
hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be
with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me:
for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have
known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
Truth.
Sometimes
our faith lacks it, yet He is near, willing to save, willing to show us His
way.
Ponder
these things brethren…
Don’t
trust me, take it back to the Word of G-d, trust Him.
May
the Lord richly bless you this day my beloved
Amein.
[1] The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, Hebrew
Letters, Words and Roots Defined Within Their Ancient Cultural Context, by Jeff
A. Benner; © e3 2005 Jeff A. Benner; electronic edition, eSword,
v. 10.1.0, by Rick Myers, ©2000-2012
[2] The
Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, Hebrew Letters, Words and
Roots Defined Within Their Ancient Cultural Context, by Jeff A. Benner; ©
e3 2005 Jeff A. Benner; electronic edition,
theWord Software, ver 3.2.1.1167,
© 2003-2010 -
Costas Stergiou
[3] Excerpts taken from “…A Study in Revelation… A Search for the
Truth at the end of the Age…” by David E. Robinson
[4] Preface to The
American Dictionary of the English Language, By Noah Webster, © 2008 Merriam-Webster,
Incorporated
[5] Webster’s
Dictionary, 1828 Edition,
(electronic edition) e-Sword® v.10.1.0, Copyright ©2000-2012 by Rick Myers
[6]
THE HOLY BIBLE,
CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS,IN THE COMMON VERSION. WITH AMENDMENTS OF
THE LANGUAGE, BY NOAH WEBSTER, LL. D., NEW HAVEN: PUBLISHED BY DURRIE &
PECK; Sold by HEZEKIAH HOWE & CO., and A. H. MALTBY, New Haven; and by
N.&J. WHITE, New York.
1833
Webster Bible Electronic Format. PUBLIC DOMAIN theWord Software, ver 3.2.1.1167,
© 2003-2010 - Costas Stergiou
[7] Quantifying America's Decline by William J. Bennett, The Wall Street Journal, Monday, March 15, 1993
c Matt. 13:22 ;
Gal. 1:4; 1 John 2:15
d Eph. 4:23 ;
[Titus 3:5]
e [1 Thess. 4:3]
[8] The New King James Version. 1982.
Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[9] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
f destroyed: Heb. broken
[10] The Holy Bible : King James Version.
1995 (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version.).
Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
† [1–5] Doctrinal
deviations from the true Christian message within the church have been
prophesied, though the origin of the prophecy is not specified (1 Tim 4:1–2);
cf Acts 20:29 –30. The letter
warns against a false asceticism that prohibits marriage and regards certain
foods as forbidden, though they are part of God’s good creation (1 Tim 4:3).
† [6–10] Timothy is urged to be
faithful, both in his teaching and in his own life, as he looks only to God for
salvation.
[11] Confraternity
of Christian Doctrine. Board of Trustees, Catholic Church. National Conference
of Catholic Bishops, & United States Catholic Conference. Administrative
Board. (1996, c1986). The New American Bible : Translated from the original
languages with critical use of all the ancient sources and the revised New
Testament. Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
[12]
Paul Washer
[13] From “…Before Reformation: 10 Indictments of the
Modern Church… an exposition on the sermon of Paul Washer…” by David E.
Robinson; original can be found at: http://www.sermonindex.net/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?lid=17378&commentView=itemComments
[14] The
Scriptures 1998 ©by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR) "Scripture taken from The Scriptures,
Copyright by Institute for Scripture Research. Used by permission",
electronic edition, theWord Software, ver 3.2.1.1167, © 2003-2010
- Costas Stergiou
[15] Mickelson's Enhanced Strong's Greek and
Hebrew Dictionaries, by Mickelson, Jonathan Kristen, ©2008, electronic
edition, theWord Software, ver
3.2.1.1167, © 2003-2010 -
Costas Stergiou
[16] The
Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, Hebrew Letters, Words and
Roots Defined Within Their Ancient Cultural Context, by Jeff A. Benner; ©
e3 2005 Jeff A. Benner; electronic edition, eSword, v. 10.1.0, by Rick Myers,
©2000-2012
[17] Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive
concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English
version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular
order. (electronic ed.) eSword, v. 10.1.0, by Rick Myers,
©2000-2012
[18] Mickelson's Enhanced Strong's Greek and
Hebrew Dictionaries, by Mickelson, Jonathan Kristen, ©2008, electronic
edition, theWord Software, ver
3.2.1.1167, © 2003-2010 -
Costas Stergiou
[19] Jamieson,
Fausset, and Brown’s Commentary Critical
and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, by Jamieson, Robert; Fausset, Andrew
Robert; Brown, David first published 1871, electronic edition, eSword,
v. 10.1.0, by Rick Myers, ©2000-2012
[20]
Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary, by Matthew Henry, electronic edition, theWord Software, ver 3.2.1.1167, © 2003-2010
- Costas Stergiou
