Monday, April 26, 2010

LIVING THE MARRIED LIFE - TORAH LIVING

2 Chronicles 34

Grace and peace to you all from Elohim our Father and Yahweh Yeshua the Messiah! HalleluYah – it is good to be together! Today is really a special day for us as a fellowship and as a family of the Most High Elohim. As we walk and discover the wonder of His mercy and grace, we truly begin to understand the true freedom and peace we have with Him and so it is with great enthusiasm that I want to share with you today some crucial turning points in the life of ATFOTC. To better help you understand this I would like you to turn with me to read from 2 Chronicles 34: My message today is called, “Living the Married Life”, and I want us to learn today how we are to live as a faithful Bride, amen! Let us read together…
(Yahweh is the name of Elohim (GOD) and Yeshua is the name of His Son which means ‘Yahweh saves’)
Yahweh started to talk very clearly to me through this passage bringing great comfort in understanding the process of change and continually being purified in our worship unto Him. To put this story in a nutshell, we have here the story of a young boy, Josiah, who was 8 years old and he became king!!! What is so encouraging is that in verse 2, this young boy was very mature – he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh and walked in the ways of his father David, not his father Amon, and he did not turn aside(from walking in obedience), either to the right or to the left! In other words he walked straight – and I want you to remember this as we go on – he walked the straight walk! Progressively, as he grew and began to seek the Elohim of his father David, he began to make changes – in other words we see here a clear picture of hungering and thirsting after righteousness; he hungered and thirsted after the Elohim of Righteousness!
He began to purge the land of idol worship, altars and images and everything that had anything to do with Baal worship or sun worship were torn down, cut, smashed, broken – all through Israel – these were some pretty radical reforms if you begin to understand the major impact this pagan worship all had on the nation that was to be set apart as a Bride. By the 18th year of his reign, 26 years old, he began to purify the land and temple. During this restoration process, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law and it was read to Josiah; and after hearing it he tore his clothes in repentance and then went and gathered the nation, from least to greatest, to hear the Book of the Covenant and he renewed the covenant (of marriage) in the presence of
Yahweh, and he made everyone pledge themselves to this which they did and in turn went and removed idols, possibly out of there own homes etc. and all began to serve Yahweh, and they lived long and did not fail to follow Yahweh all the days of Josiah’s reign – this is pretty awesome stuff – to see such immense radical change that would have been very hard and uncomfortable to many – yet brought great freedom and joy in serving the true Living Elohim wholeheartedly with no idolatry being mixed in with their worship!

Why am I sharing this? Well it is a great encouragement to me in the fact that it reveals that we serve an Awesome and Gracious Elohim! When we give our lives over to Him and accept Yeshua as our Saviour, we then begin to follow in His steps – now I know at first we don’t or may not know all about Him, however as we walk in Him and grow in knowledge we begin to make changes. Last week I spoke about change that brings growth and is not always pleasant and often results in grumbling and complaining, however when we go through necessary changes with the right attitude – one of praise and not of complaining – then the growth is truly great and very much rewarding. This is where we as a fellowship are at present. We have, I firmly believe, been walking in a straight line and in the process have been stripping away or putting off those things
that hinder the straight walk, and so as we discover His Torah or ‘Law’ as we commonly know it as, we can with joy remove all forms of idols worship and engage totally in a life committed to walking wholeheartedly in Him. One of the controversial issues possibly to date that we find in walking out our walk ‘in Him’ is the matter of ‘Law’ and ‘Grace’ being pitted against each other, almost to the point that they are opposites and one has replaced the other (Replacement theology). Today I want to share with you how this sadly is a misinterpretation of this common understanding we have in the ‘Christian walk’ and see that in fact ‘Law’ and ‘Grace’ work together. To begin this we see in this chapter 34 we have just read that when Josiah heard the Book of the Law, he was really ‘cut to the heart’ and truly set out to walk in the fullness of it. We know that the Word of Elohim is sharper than a double edged sword – it cuts to the heart, amen! Now the word Law in verse 14 and other verse here is the Hebrew word “Torah”. Many of you have probably heard this word before and link it simply to a ‘Jewish’ person who is sadly still in bondage and has in fact bearing on us who are ‘saved’; and in effect simply contain great ‘stories’ of the past. Torah consists of the first 5 Books of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, written by Moses, and is even referred to as the Law of Moses. The Torah, as we will see, is more accurately defined as the ‘instruction’ of Elohim for His set apart people, containing instructions for those who desire to live righteous, set apart lives in accordance with the will of Elohim.
Having said that, please turn with me to John 1:17 for it says:
John 1:17 “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Earlier translations, such as the KJV and the New KJV have the word ‘but’ in between Moses and grace – law given through Moses, but grace and truth through Jesus. This sadly misinterpreted into English gives us the impression of two opposites that one has replaced the other and I am glad that the newer translations have corrected this, as there is no word in the Greek for ‘but’ and certainly has no place here. So in essence it is saying that Torah came through Moses, and it is this word Torah that I would like for us to examine today, in order to get a greater and clearer understanding of The Scriptures, amen!
Firstly when many people often hear the word ‘following the Law or Torah’, they so easily jump immediately to a perception that you are legalistic, that you are in bondage and you are doing a ‘bad thing’. After all we are taught that “The Law” was given to man to show him that he is not able to keep it and in need of Grace. How sad this perception is, as we will see has no Scriptural bounds to back this theory up! It is a wrong perception and misunderstanding that we do not need Torah, and I want to show you why. The English word ‘Law’ typically stirs up emotions and thoughts of police, judges, fines, punishment and even prison! And with this in mind it is very clear to see where translators have greatly influenced then how we read, how we understand and how we interpret Scriptures. Some people often refer to Torah as the Old Testament, again another sad and misleading title for a group of writings that can aid in the perception of ‘old’ and no longer in effect. The Old Testament as we have come to know it is in fact properly known as the ‘Tanak’, which includes Torah, the Prophets (Nebi’im) and the writings (Kethubim).
Are you still with me? It gets very technical I know, yet it is necessary in understanding the Truth, as we are on a great journey of discovery this morning!!!
The word Torah in Hebrew means: ‘utterance’, ‘teaching’, ‘instruction’ or ‘revelation’ from Elohim. Other definitions include: information that is imparted to a student; direction; body of prophetic teaching; instruction on Messianic Age; body of priestly direction. The Hebrew word Torah comes from the Hebrew word ‘Horah’ which means ‘to direct’ or ‘to teach’ and is derived from the stem word ‘yara’ which means ‘to shoot’ or ‘to throw’.
Therefore what we can clearly see here is that there are two aspects to the word Torah:
1) Aiming or pointing in the right direction and
2) Movement in that direction.
In other words it means that you aim or point in the right direction and you move in that direction. You can see that this meaning is way different as to how we understand the ‘burden’ that is typically associated with the word ‘Law’. It is also interesting and wonderful for me how the word Torah clearly reveals the Messiah, let me show you how. The original language spoken by Hebrews is now referred to as Ancient Hebrew or Paleo-Hebrew, and though the Hebrew Language went through a number of changes, we are able to discern the original symbols or pictures that were used which actually resembled their meaning. Each symbol or picture carried a meaning or meanings and when symbols were collectively put together they would spell a word that carried a meaning or clear description.
The word Torah is a combination of four symbols: (Remember Hebrew is read RIGHT TO LEFT):

                                       (Symbols below is Ancient / Paleo Hebrew) and ת ו ר ה Modern Hebrew


 ת = (t tav) a “cross” which means ‘to seal or covenant’ or ‘mark’ or ‘sign’ (Please remember these words for when we close!)


 
ו = (w vav) a “nail” or a “peg” which means ‘to add or secure or hook’



ר = (r resh) a head which means “a person, the head or the highest” or “first” or “top” or “beginning”



ה = (h hay) a man with arms raised which means “to reveal” or “behold” or “what comes from”


Combining these symbols gives us a profound definition of the word ‘Torah’ as:
‘What comes from the man nailed to the cross’ and ‘Behold the man who secures the covenant’ and ‘To a cross is nailed the highest, it is revealed in Torah’
Wow – how awesome is this!!! Now – does this sound like a heavy law??? Not at all – this description or definition does not make me think of fines or of a judge or of punishment or even of prison! Yeshua tells us that His yoke is easy – His yoke is Torah!
Now then understanding that sin (cha-ta - ח ט א ) means ‘to miss the mark or target’ – then it is so very clear that Torah becomes very vital to us if we do not want to miss the purpose and fulfilment of our life or ‘miss the mark’. Remember, Torah is aiming in the right direction and moving in that direction – Paul describes this as fixing our eyes on Yeshua – the author and perfector of our faith. We aim our sights at Yeshua, lock them in and run with perseverance that which has been marked out. Sin is missing the mark – running off the mark as you take your eyes off of Yeshua!!! Torah is the way to aim and go in Him!
Understanding Torah then could be more accurately defined as:
The instructions of Elohim for His set apart people as was given through Moses and revealed by the life, death and resurrection of the Messiah, Yeshua
The Torah came through Moses on Stone Tablets and then through the flesh in Messiah Yeshua! No more on stone, now on flesh!!! The Word became flesh!
The Torah contains instructions, guidance and direction for those who desire to live righteous, set apart lives in accordance with the will of Elohim, which Yeshua show us by walking in Him. Whoever claims to live in Him, must walk as Yeshua did (1 John 2:6) – How did Yeshua walk? He walked according to Torah! While these instructions were written on scrolls by Moses, they ultimately are written by the Almighty on the hearts of Believers, amen! Having said all this, it is very clear then that the word ‘instruction’ has a much different connotation to the word ‘law’. It is with this in mind that I would like to give an illustration of this word Torah in terms of our relationship with Yahweh Yeshua:
As we know Yahweh brought His people out of bondage (Egypt) by ‘Grace’ so that they could be a city and His House where He will live with them. He ultimately did this by sending His beloved Son, Yeshua, to build a house – the body of Messiah – for His name where He could dwell. His desire is one of a bridegroom and His Bride living together in His House. This marriage, I would like to tell you today, took place at Mount Sinai where HE gave His Commandments to them.
In order to understand the significance of this event, one has to understand the picture of a Hebrew marriage to fully embrace our ‘betrothal’ to our Saviour, for a Hebrew marriage is one of the most prophetic pictures revealing Yahweh’s plans to His people. In essence the marriage consists of two parts:
1) First there is a Covenant drawn up between the Groom and the Bride, and this is called the ‘betrothal’.
Understanding then that when a groom would seek out a wife, he would ‘save’ her from being alone and ‘call her out’, then he would offer her a cup of wine and if she accepted then she would take the cup and drink of it and then a bride price was discussed and a contract drawn up. How wonderful this is of Elohim who ‘saved’ His Bride out of bondage through ‘Blood’ (the cup) offering marriage, calling her out. They accepted this cup by putting the blood on the doorposts of their homes and so he delivered them and brought them to Mount Sinai where the ‘contract was drawn up!
2) The second stage is when He comes to fetch His Bride to live with Him forever, after He has prepared a house or room for them at His father’s house. Look at what Yeshua says:
John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”
So then, you enter the ‘first stage’ of ‘marriage’ as soon as the ‘betrothal’ contract is made between the two parties. The written contract is called the ‘Ketubah” pronounced ‘ke-tu-va’, and during the betrothal period you are legally married, yet do not physically dwell with your mate! Your mate has gone to prepare a room for the two of you. Betrothal is so legally binding that you cannot get out of it without a divorce. Marriage as we know it today is also associated with a contract or covenant between a man and a woman and in it; it has conditions to protect the relationship and to spell out how this relationship will be expresses successfully. Today we know this ‘Marriage vows’ and in the time of Moses, it was the ‘Ten Words’ or as we know it the ‘Ten Commandments’.
The contract was set up and Israel committed to it at Mount Sinai where they agreed to the Ten Conditions of their oath to Yahweh. They were now ‘legally married’. The second stage will come when Yeshua comes and rule as King in the New Jerusalem with His Bride. Understanding this, we see then how Israel committed ‘adultery’ by lusting and following after other ‘gods’ and in effect received divorce being sent into captivity for their disobedience to the marriage agreement. This marriage Covenant was repeated when Yeshua came to the earth, as a Prophet like Moses (Acts 7:37) and He re established the Marriage Contract in His Blood with His Bride and cleansed her from the perversion of the Pharisees. This often called ‘The New Covenant’ often gives one the impression that it is brand new, as we have the English word ‘new’ causing us to think that the ‘old’ is done away with! This word ‘new’ here in regards to the Covenant in the Greek 'Kainos' means 'refreshed’ or ‘restored’ or 'repaired'. Yeshua came to restore what was broken – how awesome is His love for us!!!
He then gave us the Engagement Ring or Seal (Sign) that we are promised to Him and that we belong to Him and that we are in fact married to Him, on the ‘Feast of Weeks’ or ‘Shavout’ or ‘Pentecost’ as we know it, where they celebrated the receiving of Torah – His Marriage Contract.! 2 Corinthians 1:22 tells us that He set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come!
The second stage of the marriage then will happen at His Second Coming where HE will come and fetch His Bride – that is us – to live with Him forever in the House He prepared for us – The New Jerusalem!
Now as we can see from History – Israel whored after other lovers (idols) and as a result He scattered them into the nations (divorce) and will take her back if she is willing to repent. Repentance is associated with the re-establishment of His Marriage Contract in the Blood of Yeshua and everyone who takes part in His Blood Covenant can be part of the Bride of Yahweh!!! In the symbolic sense then the ‘Wilderness’ is where the Bride lives out her new ‘saved’ or ‘married’ life. She can have a successful wedding, but a failed marriage!!! The wedding is where you have made the choice to follow Yeshua and decide to live your life with Him and agree to the conditions of the marriage contract. Marriage is living out that promise you have made in an environment where you will be challenged.
Let us not make one thing very clear at this point, as this is very critical in the understanding of Torah: you are not saved by ‘The Law’ or ‘Torah’, but you are saved by Grace; and after the “choice to be saved” (The wedding) comes instructions and living out what we call ‘good works’ that will bring you closer and not ‘bad works’ that drive you apart.
Matthew 5: 16-17 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” He came to interpret the Instructions of Yahweh, fulfil here means interpret or reveal!!! He came to make perfect or ‘fill up’ – to give meaning to and show the heart of Torah!
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are Elohim’s workmanship, created in Messiah Yeshua to do good works, which Elohim prepared in advance for us to do.”
Married life with Yeshua is defined as ‘good works’ that will glorify the Father and will ‘make you shine’ in this dark world. The ‘good works’ are certainly by no means a part of the ‘coming out of Egypt – Salvation’ issue – not saved by works! But it is part of ‘living in the Wilderness’ on your way to the Promised Land – this is our ‘betrothal period’. These ‘good works’ are rewarded at the end when Yeshua comes again, where He will reward each according to what they have done with His instructions.
Revelation 22:12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.”
These ‘instructions’ are known as ‘Torah’ and are given to the Bride to increase her intimacy in relationship with Him. Torah is not a set of laws that you MUST live by; rather it is a gift that helps us live a higher quality life in peace and intimacy with Him. As the Bride of Yeshua, we accept and follow ‘Torah’ as His gifts to us, used to beautify us and prepare us to be perfect when He comes again. You can, like so many people, call it legalism – which sadly is a very poor and failed translation – for I know that following His instructions is an expression of my relationship with Him, as I open up His gifts of perfection and purification in my life.
This will help me to know Him and have a better relationship with Him. It is an expression of my love towards Him, to show that I fall short but am willing to die to the old and put on the new, reinforcing my relationship and making it stronger! Yeshua tells us that if we love Him, we will obey what He commands – it is love that sums up ‘Torah’ and the Prophets. It is love expressed through obedience and it ultimately is for our own good – for He works everything out for our good, for those who are called according to His purposes – what is His purpose – to make us His Bride!!! I hope you can truly see and understand the enormous love of our Maker and Saviour. So why all the fuss about keeping Torah? Well Torah is the very written Words of Elohim – it is the Truth. The writings came through Moses, in other words the Truth came written through Moses and Grace and Truth came through the life, death and resurrection of Yeshua.

Elohim’s Word is clear that His ‘Torah’ or ‘instructions’ are not too difficult for us and let me show you this:
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”
The N.T. confirms this fact - that the commandments of Elohim are not too difficult:
1 John 5:3 “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome”
These Scriptures are very clear that to simply believe that we cannot keep the law is not true. There was, however, a law that was oppressive and too difficult to bear – and that was the laws and traditions of the religious leaders, which Peter clearly spoke about at the Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15:10 which met to discuss the influx of Gentile converts. He said: “Why do you test Elohim by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”
This Scripture is often taken out of context to assume that the Torah is a heavy yoke that was not be put on, a yoke which even their father couldn’t bear. Let me remind you that as we have seen – His Yoke is easy – His Torah is easy! They heavy yoke Peter was addressing was the laws of man – their fathers could not bear the laws of man in slavery in Egypt. Yeshua came to set captives free, break the chains of injustice and release prisoners from darkness, amen!
This yoke of the religious leaders was man made laws and restrictions that made it hard to live out a pure relationship with Yahweh. At the time of Yeshua there were many different religious sects in Jerusalem, the Pharisees and the Saducees being the two prominent ones. Now many laws had been added to the Torah, which was commonly known as the oral law, and was belived by some that Moses passed down oral laws as well as the written and these oral laws became know as the Talmud. There was no oral laws given by Moses – Scripture is very clear that Moses was commanded by Elohim to write everything down.
Exodus 24:3 “When Moses went and told the people all Yahweh’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything Yahweh has said we will do.” 4 Moses then wrote down everything Yahweh had said.”
The laws and traditions which constitute the ‘oral Torah’ are specifically known as the takanot and ma’asim. The word takanot means ‘enactments’ and refers to the laws enacted by the Pharisees. Ma’asim literally means “works or deeds” and refers to the precedents of the Rabbi’s that provide the source for Pharisaic rulings along with subsequent rulings based on those precedents. (The Hebrew Yeshua vs the Greek Jesus, Nehemiah Gordon, Hilkiah Press 2005)
The oral Torah has now been written down and is located primarily in the Talmud which includes the Mishna and the Gemara – there are also writings known as the Midrash. This oral Torah is full of opinions, man made laws, customs and traditions which in many cases are an attempt to place a fence around the Torah. To ensure that people don’t get too close too close to the Commandments to violate them – they put a fence in between man and the Torah. This keeps people far away from Torah insuring they don’t disobey the Torah, but it often times obscures the real Torah and hides it behind the commandments of men. Placing a fence around the Torah is not supported by Scriptures. The development of these man made laws provided the
Pharisees with power over men. When any religious system or denomination is able to develop rules that dictate the lives and actions of its participants – those who make the rules thereby become empowered. The Torah specifically commands not to add or take away from Yahweh’s commands (Deuteronomy 4:3), we are to ‘keep’ them. The Pharisees believed they had the authority to interpret the Torah and to instruct people how to obey the Torah. Yeshua came to challenge that man made authority and this was the underlying controversy concerning most, if not all, of their confrontations. Let me give you an example:
On one occasion, using His spit or saliva, Yeshua made clay and put it in a man’s eyes to heal him, which was in direct contradiction to the man made laws regarding what could be done on the Sabbath. According to tradition, it was a direct violation to make anything on the Sabbath and get this – it was prohibited to put saliva or ‘spit’ in a person’s eye to heal them on the Sabbath!!! How ridiculous is that?
Talmud – Mas. Sabbath io8b – “[To put] wine into one’s eye is forbidden; [to put it] on the eye, is permitted. Whilst the other said: [To put] tasteless saliva, even on the eye, is forbidden.”
It was also considered to be forbidden to heal on the Sabbath. So in effect, in this one instance or in this one miracle, Yeshua violated 3 of the man made laws but He did not violate any of the Torah Commandments!!!
These man made laws which were then written down over many centuries and constitute the Talmudic Law; we have seen this very same process at work, over the centuries within the church! Many denominations, all with varying rules and regulations which at times when neglected are disciplined more severely than the neglect of the instruction of Elohim! There is a church in USA that has a law that you are not permitted to eat peanuts in the church! Another church in the Congo teaches as law that one is not permitted to shower or bath naked as God is watching you and will see your nakedness!!! We may laugh at these however I do not think that we are far off from having some ridiculous ‘rules’ in many of our denominations today! We need to come back to Elohim’s Word and come out of man made traditions that sadly bind our freedom in following Yeshua in accordance with His instruction, as a faithful Bride.
The reason I am sharing these things with you today is to say that, as Josiah made changes in response to the instructions of Elohim, so too are we today. Coming back to understanding His Word in its truest and purest form is the desire of every Believer and in so doing our worship becomes purer enabling our worship to be in Spirit and in Truth. One of these critical changes has to do with Sabbath, the 4th Commandment. Now, before you all get freaked out, in order to understand the importance of Sabbath we need to understand what Scripture says and where man has influenced Scripture in adding new laws in order to ‘fence’ or replace Elohim’s instructions that are to be kept as lasting ordinances or all generations.
Yeshua Himself said that not one stroke of the pen will disappear from the Torah until heaven and earth pass away! Guess what guys – Heaven and earth are still here, unless I am missing something!!! For many of us we have grown up with the teaching and very reasoned understanding I might add that Sunday was the Christian Sabbath and we worship on Sunday to celebrate the Resurrection of Yeshua, which became known as the Lord’s Day. Now before we carry on I just want to say very clearly that we are to worship Him daily, amen – so it is not so much as when you are assembling together that is the real concern (for even Paul went and preached on Thursday night to an assembly of believers), it is the mindset that Sunday is ‘The’ Sabbath Day for us to come together.
According to Scripture we are to test everything according to the Word, not according to man’s words but Elohim’s Word; and so I tell you all today to go and test all that I am saying, just as the Berean church did when everyday they tested what Paul was preaching. This will take effort I know, effort that we have been accustomed to not being used to exerting – it is easier just to accept what someone who is supposedly in a position of authority tells me! Test everything! So then it has become very clear to us that we need to make a vital change toward purifying our worship and so we are going to be changing our corporate weekly worship, or rather ‘sacred assmebly’ as it is to be proclaimed according to Leviticus 23 which records the 7 Feasts of Yahweh, from a Sunday morning to a Friday Evening at 19:00 starting form this coming Friday, yes this Friday already – why so soon – well when you know the Truth it sets you free from bondage to man’s laws and you walk in it with great joy. And before everyone gets all freaked out, I want you to hear me out. We are not worshipping another ‘god’, we are worshipping the very same Elohim we have been and we continue to confess Yeshua as Saviour. Yahweh is our Elohim, He is El Elyon Elohim Most High, He is The Almighty, amen! We are simply and radically purifying our worship and so just as a Bride would keep the instructions of the Covenant with the Bride groom out of a deeper love, so too we are deepening our love to our Groom.

Once again, please hear me in this – I am here to encourage you today in Yahweh; to have a refreshed and a restored love for Him desiring intimacy in the purest form. So why the Sabbath – what is so important about it? Well as you know from creation, Elohim made the heavens and the earth and all creation in six days and on the 7th day HE rested from His work. He then commanded His people, His Bride, to keep the Sabbath. We have learnt recently together after enjoying the Passover meal together that the Sabbath is one of the 7 Feasts of Yahweh – His appointed feasts which were to be proclaimed as sacred assemblies. Ok so why can’t I keep Sunday as my Sabbath? Firstly it is not your Sabbath and secondly nowhere in Scriptures are we commanded to change the Sabbath Day! Strap on your seat belts as this is where it gets very interesting!!!
In fact I would like to read some quotes regarding Sabbath and Scripture:
John Wesley: “But, the Moral Law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the Prophets, he (Christ) did not take away. It was not the design of His coming to revoke any part of it. This is a law which can never be broken… Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and on the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.”(The works of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M., John Emory, ed (New York: Eaton & Mains), Sermon 25, vol.1,p.221)
D.L. Moody: “The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word ‘remember’, showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tablets of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they admit that the other nine are still binding?”(Weighed and Wanting (Fleming H. Revell Co.: New York), pp. 47-48)
T.C. Blake, D.D., Theology Condensed, pp. 474: The Sabbath is a part of the Decalogue-the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution. Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole Moral Law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand… The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath.

So if this is the case – Sunday never is Sabbath in Scriptures – then where did we get this from?
Well there was a decline in keeping instructions of Messiah and the Apostles as hundreds of years passed. It was during the year 325 C.E. that the Roman Catholic Church was birthed at the council of Nicea, convened by the Roman Emperor Constantine, who was an ardent worshipper of the sun-god Mithras, and he bore the title ‘Pontifus Maximus’ – The High Priest of Paganism – despite his politically motivated conversion to Christianity. This council was hand picked by Constantine, and excluded all Hebrew Believers!!! This council was responsible for outlawing synagogues and the Torah and on March 7th 321 A.D. Constantine issued a proclamation stating: “All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the Venerable Day of the Sun.”
The “official” change from Sabbath to Sunday occurred at the council of Laodicea which took place between 341 and 382 C.E. and according to Canon 29: “Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be Judaizers, let them be shut out from Christ.”
The transfer from Sabbath to Sunday seemed inevitable due to the ever increasing pagan influences which poured into the Assembly over the centuries and was eventually consummated thanks to Eusebius and his many followers known as Eusabians. Bishop Eusebius (270-338 C.E.), who worked with Constantine, admits the Church’s decision to change from Sabbath to Sunday and said that “all things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these have transferred to the Lord’s Day.” (Come Out of Her My People, Koster, C.J., Institute for Scriptural Research, page 14)
This Lord’s Day which we have always interpreted as Sunday, has always been a sacred day to sun god worshippers, thus the name Sun Day. In 341 A.D. Christians were forbidden to celebrate Passover at the council of Antioch and were instead instructed to celebrate Easter, a day rooted in pagan worship named after the fertility goddess Eater or Isthar also known as Astarte or Asclepius. As we have discussed before Easter has its roots from a religion birthed by the mother and wife of Nimrod. Nimrod was a wicked and evil ruler described in Genesis as ‘a mighty warrior before the Lord’. He had supernatural strength and ruled by fear. The correct translation of the text reveals that ‘he was strong and mighty and in the face of Yahweh’. In other words – he was in Yahweh’s face – now think about that – when you get in someone’s face you are not there friend! You are hostile – he was defying the power of Elohim! He became the first self appointed king. He set up many of the ancient major centres such as Babylon and Nineveh. His mother was Semiramis and became his wife. Nimrod was killed and way cut up and his body parts were distributed throughout the world to declare that ‘Nimrod is dead.’ His mother/wife went and collected all his body parts, all except one – his phallus! And she declared that Nimrod was ‘god’ who had gone to heaven and will not return until his phallus is found. She then began the practice of erecting obelisks in memory of Nimrod. She gave herself the name Ishtar, Queen of heaven and became pregnant, claiming that she was divinely impregnated by Nimrod who she now gave the official title of Baal, which means ‘lord’ in Hebrew. She had a son named Tammuz, who was killed in a freak accident by a wild pig when he was 40 years old. She told everyone that he had gone to be with his father Baal and so we see a counterfeit of the Truth. In mourning her loss she instituted a time of mourning of 40 days, 1 for every year of his life, and during this time people were not allowed to eat meat or do anything of pleasure and were to mourn Tammuz. This yearly time of mourning became known as ‘Weeping for Tammuz’, one of the abominations that Yahweh showed Ezekiel taking place in His Temple where the women were ‘weeping for Tammuz’. At the end of the 40 days it culminated into a ceremony at the spring equinox, which was called ‘Ishtar’ or ‘Easter’. Each year they would impregnate virgins and the following year the 3 month old babies from last years ceremony would be sacrificed on the altar where eggs, a symbol of fertility, would be dipped into the blood of these killed babies. It is clear to see how the ‘church’ adopted many pagan practices in worship to ‘sun’ deities – the 40 period leading up to ‘Easter is known in the Catholic Church as ‘Lent’. We also so very clearly see the similarity in symbolism of the ‘mother-son’ relationship and how ‘Mary worship’ is a modern from of ancient pagan sun worship and at Easter time people ‘paint eggs’ etc. Understanding the nature of ancient pagan practices, we can understand the fact that Sunday is considered to be ‘the Lord’s day”. Since as I have said ‘baal’ means ‘lord’ and so the fact that Sun Day was the traditional day of the week that sun god worshippers revered their ‘lord’ it is quite fitting.
This demonstrates the problem using titles instead of names in our worship. Sun worshippers refer to Baal, Mithra, Rha, Jupiter, Helios, Attis, Tammuz, Osiris and many more when they say ‘lord’ while Christians use the same title referring to our Saviour. Both use the same title and worship on the same day which poses quite a dilemma for Christians, especially when the Creator of the Universe calls the seventh day Sabbath set apart. Listen to this statement:
John Theodore Mueller: “They err in their teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel… These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect.” (Sabbath or Sunday, pp. 15,16)
Catholic leaders make no bones about the fact that Scriptural Sabbath is the seventh day and it was the Catholic Church which altered the Sabbath within her religious system.
James Cardinal Gibbons, a prominent Catholic Authority affirmed this by stating: “The Catholic Church… by virtue of her divine mission changed the day from Saturday to Sunday. You may read the Bible form Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorising the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.”(The faith of our fathers – James Cardinall Gibbons 88th ed., pp. 89) In other words – they say in essence –‘Scripture says … - and we don’t follow it!’
And on November 11 1895 Chancellor H.F. Thomas stated: “Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act… and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power.” And from the Catholic record London, Ontario, Canada on September 1st 1923 states “Sunday is our mark of authority!.. The Church is, above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.”

Only if you believe that the Catholic Church has the power to change the Scriptures should you recognise and observe Sunday as the Lord’s Day!

It is clear it was changed – They declare that this change is there mark of authority, or sign! Now what does Yahweh say about His Sabbath?
Ezekiel 20:20 “Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your Elohim.”
Yahweh’s Sabbath in holy – keeping it is a sign between Him and us. The question is – who’s sign, or who’s mark do you want to be recognised by?
This sounds pretty harsh but the reality is we, as Believers today, need to purify our worship, living the Marriage Covenant with great freedom and joy. Sabbath starts Friday sunset and ends Saturday sunset. Elohim’s calendar day has evening first – go and check Genesis creation account –there was evening and there was morning – the … day! Purifying our worship is certainly not Judaizing ourselves – we are not becoming Jews – we are already His Bride, we are believers in Yeshua – we are not changing who we are or who we worship – we are with great freedom purifying our devotion and obedience! Sabbath according to Scripture is not burdensome at all – the focus is holiness and to do no regular work – you are to rest and not to have anyone work or you! According to Isaiah 58:13-14 we honour Him on the Sabbath by not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words for then your shall delight yourself in Yahweh. The point of Sabbath is not to limit a person or make them miserable by imposing restrictions on their movement or activities. To the contrary, it involves focusing our sights on Him and allowing Him to make necessary changes so that He can lift us up to a higher place where we find His bounty and blessings. Approaching it with this mind set should not propose a problem on how we spend this day set apart.
I am truly excited as to how we are growing forward in intimacy and obedience to our Bridegroom, let us in our hearts and minds choose to walk in Him with our all. I want to assure all of you that this change was not an easy one to make, it has been birthed in much prayer, study and seeking Elohim and being in a way like Josiah in weeping before Yahweh!!!
Freedom is not living without law – living without law is anarchy!!!
The following will be our revised times of fellowship:
Friday – 19:00 – 21:00
Saturday – Band Worship/ Practice – 08:00-09:00
Prayer 09:00 – 10:00 …
No More Thursday Night Cell – this fellowship will continue on Sabbath after time of prayer and worship on Saturday!
Wednesday – Scripture Study
Mon – Men’s Discipleship Group
Let us go and truly live the “Married Life”!!!

WPS YOUR WAY OUT OF THE DDA TRAP

Sermon from 21 March 2010
Luke 21:5-38 (Signs of the End of the Age)

Hallelujah – Praise Yahweh, amen! Good to be here together in the presence of El Shaddai, amen! As we sit here and reflect this morning on what is going on in our time, we can be more sure today that the return of Yeshua is closer than ever before, and it is very interesting to see many of the signs that Yeshua speaking of taking place before our very eyes. We are living in a time where people are running this way and that, knowledge is on the increase at such an alarming rate – I mean you buy a computer today and next month or even next week it is almost old!!! What is very sobering for me is that while knowledge is on the increase, it seems harder and harder to find the knowledge of Yahweh our Elohim. Well, why is it easier to learn how to be a doctor, or to study to be a banker, or to learn more about what we would like in life, than it is to learn and study to live in Yahweh and to hear His word? It is hard to live for Yahwehen you have so much going on in your life. In other words, it is hard to live for Yahweh when you are living for yourself. We know the Word says that in the last days men will become lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Yahweh! The desire to satisfy self increases as the desire to please Elohim decreases and I believe that as we see this happening, we need to take heed of these signs and certainly die to self and draw close to the Living Elohim – The Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel! How many of you, at times, allow the desires and cares for the things of this world to become your forethought – they consume your thoughts and you become stressed out, overwhelmed and ineffective for Yahweh our Elohim?
I want to also ask you, how easy is it to run after Yahweh when you find yourself running after the cares of the world? You can’t do it!!! Yahweh said you can’t – you cannot serve two masters!!! You either run after things of the world or after Yahweh, or if you find yourself stressed out, overwhelmed and chasing after things that don’t satisfy you may just miss our Saviour and King Yeshua when He comes again!!! I would like for us this morning to hear the words of Yeshua when speaking to His disciples on the last days and His instructions to them then and to us today as how we are to conduct our lives in great anticipation and hope of His imminent return. I would like us to read this morning from Luke 21:5-38, with a message entitled, “WPS your way out of the DDA Trap!” The what? It will make sense – let us read! (Pray)

This is certainly a wonderful passage of instruction from Yeshua shortly before the Passover festival, and I believe very fitting for us today! If you are still confused about the title of the message – then let us clarify His encouraging instructions to us.
First off from our passage today we see how Yeshua gave us a threefold warning as well as a threefold admonition to equip us as we look for His coming. Let us look at the threefold warning:
1 – DO NOT BE DECEIVED (v8) – STUDY THE WORD!
1 Corinthians 10:12 “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
Deception wouldn’t be deception if you recognised it as deception, right! Well we are always to be o our guard and even when we think we are standing firm, be careful not to fall. Satan is the deceiver and he did it in the garden and he still does it today. Deception simply means the acts or practices of one who deliberately deceives. Well that is Satan alright – deliberately out to deceive. We are told not to be deceived – but how do you know when you are deceived? Well Satan uses primarily 3 progressive steps in deception and they are:
A – Dispute Yahweh’s Word – He disputes the Truth, He comes along and says, “Did Yahweh really say….” Remember the garden and his deceptive words to Eve. He comes and disputes that which has already been spoken. Yahweh had spoken, He had given instructions and commands – in fact already in the garden Elohim gave His Spoken Torah or spoken instructions to man. And Satan is there straight away to dispute it. What happens when the devil comes and disputes the Truth in your life? You get confused, you begin to doubt. We need to be a people who study the Word of Yahweh that we may be able to recognise deception straight away. Today sadly though, people have become so ‘busy’ after the cares of this life that they neglect the study of what matters most – Elohim’s very Word. So when you receive truth and do not act on it and live accordingly, you are open for deception – James tells us that we are not to just simply listen to the Word and deceive ourselves, we are to do what it says. When we do not live according to The Word of God, it is easy to doubt His Word which leads to the next step of deception:
B – Deny Yahweh’s Word – Let me tell you the road from doubt to denial is very short. When you doubt the Truth, through lack of knowledge and undisciplined devotion to the Word – it becomes very easy to deny the Truth. What happens when one begins to deny the truth?
C – Displace Yahweh’s Word – Let us face it, we even see within many churches today, Yahweh's Word has been displaced! There is a notion that ‘do what you think is acceptable’ is an accepted norm. So it has become for many no longer important what Yahweh thinks or what is Scriptures say, what His Torah or instructions say!!! Think about this for a moment, Leviticus 18 is an entire chapter with regard to unlawful sexual relations and even tells us that these, including homosexuality are detestable practices that we as His children are to have nothing to do with. Homosexuality is an abomination in Yahweh’s eyes and yet today we see mainstream churches displacing Yahweh’s Word by accepting these detestable practices as merely ‘alternative living’! Same sex marriage is not seen as improper, and only as different and so slowly this is just one example of how absolute truth has been eroded out of our lives, and it all sadly begins with us not knowing the Word, and just accepting what someone tells us without us putting in the effort to test the Word ourselves.
Yeshua was very clear that we must not be deceived and to watch out for those who come in His name claiming the Truth and telling you to follow them. This is a charge and wake up call for all of us to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness – seek His ways with our all, forsaking all to follow in His ways and letting His commands, His yoke which is light, His Torah, His instruction to lead us, amen!
2 – DO NOT BE FRIGHTENED – PREACH THE WORD
What Yeshua tells us here is that we are not immune to hardships – we will see some fearful events, we will be persecuted, hated – even by our own family and friends – but we are not to be afraid for He promises us that not even a hair on our head will perish. We are to stand firm and gain life!!!
He is always with us not matter what we face or what we may see or hear, and we are therefore to remain faithful and be His witness. We are to stand out – being the salt and the light – by standing firm in the truth, even when others are fleeing the truth in fear. The nearer we are to the End of the Age the more we are to share His very saving Word and so we must study the Word as a matter of extreme urgency and live it out diligently and fearfully that we too may not become deceived. You may see all negativity around you – don’t let these frighten you – hold on to His truth and be a witness!
The 3rd warning:
3 – DO NOT BE DISTRACTED (v34)
This is the heart of my message this morning – not to be distracted. Last week in looking at walking in His steps, we touched very briefly on not being sidetracked on your walk in Him, and so as we look at this passage today we see Yeshua telling us not to be distracted or rather not to let our hearts be weighed down because of what we see around us. This is where the DDA comes in – the things that distract us – Dissipation, Drunkenness and Anxieties – DDA!
Yeshua tells us to be careful or else our hearts will be weighed down or distracted. Be careful or else can also be translated as keep watch – be awake – have your eyes open – do not be deceived! Let us take a look at the DDA that can weigh us down:
A – Dissipation – dissipation can be described as wasteful expenditure or surfeiting which means overabundant supply or simply put excess. You see if we are not careful, we may easily find ourselves weighed down by excess, excess of stuff – be it materialism, the need for more, never being satisfied or content, always seeking more, of stuff that doesn’t matter. This word also carries with it the understanding of having a headache or becoming sick from overindulgence! Why do we chase after stuff that just gives us headaches? If we are not watchful, we can get caught in the trap of living without hope, trying to find the next fix now. This is a warning to pay attention that we do not make ourselves sick from an unhealthy lifestyle, a lifestyle without the Word being the primary source!
B – Drunkenness – This is self explanatory. The Word is clear that we are not to be drunk on wine which leads to debauchery but rather be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18), and Proverbs 20:1 tells us that wine is a mocker and beer is a brawler and whoever is led away by them is not wise! Be careful not to be deceived and enticed in the need to drink to have fun or be accepted. International stats reveal that in America 1 in 13 adults are alcoholics, and if you add drug abuse to these stats you may even get lower than 1 in every 10 people affected with substance addiction and abuse. The major factor causing these frightening numbers is due to the fact that people are trying to hide from their problems and think that hey can numb themselves from reality. It is very interesting to note that in the 12 step recovery programme of the AA, the process begins with a need for a spiritual awakening! It is so sad to see how relationships are lost through addictions, and primarily the relationship with Elohim is lost where people have no hope of a future – they find themselves barely living on a sliver of the past and present – and so it becomes a life without colour! Now let us not think that this picture limits it to alcohol and drugs, but for me this is a warning to us to be careful not to be weighed down in our hearts by anything that drains us from the loving relationship of our God. This could be any form of idols that have been set up – things that take preference to a devoted relationship with the Maker of the Universe – this could be getting so addicted to success, a career, a hobby, a sport, a relationship other than with the Lord etc. Yeshua is saying, I you are not careful you will be weighed down by other things that will cause you to become addicted to and not have the strength to live without! Drunkenness causes one to lose focus and capacity to think clearly – there are many things in this world that can cause us to lose focus and not think clearly about the ways of our Lord!
C – Anxieties of life – The worries of life. The Word tells us that the deceitfulness of wealth and the worries or anxieties of life come and choke the Word! Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that we are not to lean on our own understanding, we are to trust the Lord with all our heart, in all our ways acknowledge Him and He will make our paths straight. It is that simple, well at least it ought to be!!! The sad reality is we allow anxieties to consume us and when this does, then the very Word that has been deposited gets choked out – now think about this choking in not a nice experience – worries choke out the good deposit. We are to be on guard and watch, be careful for this not to happen! How many of you have worries? Just think about it, we all have bills, we have bills, bills, bills – sometimes we even dread looking in the post box. People have credit card debt that look like car loans and boy you gonna work long top pay that off. You begin to panic and think about your job – “is it good enough? I need another job, more money, got to work harder, how can I get promoted? Will I even keep this job, what happens if I don’t make target, what if I lose my job – how am I going to…?” Sound familiar!!!
Concerns or anxieties may not be money related – they may be people related – “What do people think of me? Nobody takes me seriously? Nobody cares what I have to say? Nobody is interested in me?” We can get so consumed with anxiety over what people may or may not think of us and it is crazy. How about the cares of the world? You may get sucked in to seeing all the bad news or the propaganda on the news and get so caught up in fear about what is going on and how everything is a conspiracy! You see when these anxieties over money, relationships, cares of the world etc grip you, then you very quickly will lose sight of the hope we have in Yeshua the Messiah.
You know it is interesting to realise that on average, for the first 5-8 minutes when a person comes in to church their mind is elsewhere. That is why I encourage you always to come early that you can come with focus into the presence of God together as His temple – no more late coming guys!!! It has been shown that it often takes 5-8 minutes to disconnect mentally from the fight you had yesterday, or the breakfast you ate this morning or even the lunch you have to prepare this afternoon! So on average 5-8 minutes of prayer and worship may in fact be fruitless and that is not what our Lord requires! Now here is another scary though – by me mentioning this, for some of you – your minds have now wandered off on to the cares and anxieties of life. We are told to be careful or else our hearts will be weighed down by these things – the DDA – Dissipation, Drunkenness and Anxieties.
Ok so now we know that Yeshua warned us about as we look for His coming again – Do not be deceived, do not be frightened and do not be distracted. You see it is a process – from deception through lack of knowledge to being distracted.
And then find yourself falling into the DDA trap. Some of you may have at many times found yourself in the DDA trap, you may even be in it right now in your life, well Yeshua gives us a threefold solution to avoiding this trap and getting out of this trap. Let us briefly look at the WPS of our message title: Watch – Pray – Stand!!!
That is it guys – watch pray stand. Let us take a look at each one:
1 – WATCH – Be alert - and this always – always alert – for some this is a wake up call. Wake up oh sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you, Paul writes in Ephesians and goes on to tell them how they ought to live. God’s Word brings light to everything and we must realise that – it is the light and lamp for our walk – hobbies, jobs, worldly interests are not! In light of us living with a secure hope of our Lord’s return we are to live prepared. We have a secure I.D. that is always with us – we are disciples of Yeshua – that is our Identity – not our career, our talent or our social status. We are His disciple and we are to live according to our established identity, amen! We are to watch for His coming, we know that the Kingdom of God is near and so we are to be prepared, ready, proclaiming the Kingdom of God and not get caught up in the weighing down of our hearts – come on we have an eternity with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords – what we face now is light and momentary troubles – we fix our eyes on Him who is enthroned, amen! This does not mean we ignore our responsibilities, for we are to be diligent stewards and realise that He rewards those who diligently seek Him – he will lead us in victory as we look to Him. We are to watch ourselves from falling to temptations as the spirit is willing but the body is weak and we need to keep a close watch on how we live. We are to be watchful of the schemes of the devil, He is like a roaring lion who just wants to devour you – he is a destroyer, a deceiver, a distracter - but let me remind you – he is defeated, amen! So we are to watch, wake up from slumber, too many are sleeping their way through life in a sense being drawn further and further from the Truth – it is time for an awakening in the body the Lord, amen! Are you watchful – over His coming, over His bride and over the enemies attacks?
2 – PRAY – We spoke on prayer last week as one of the key characteristics that marks a disciple who walks in the steps of Yeshua. Prayer – what more can I say – you cannot have a life without prayer. This word prayer here is this passage is actually plural and not singular, and so it is referring here to the body – the bride. We are to be praying for each other and with each other unto Him. Recovery from addictions is never an individual act – yes it is done by individuals but they need the whole group’s encouragement and participation in helping them press through to victory. This kind of prayer shows our need fro others, how we are to pray for each other – pray through the storms and the battles, strengthening each other in prayer – it is vital for the body to pray. I want to encourage you to come and pray on a Saturday morning, for one hour as we come together, but it doesn’t stop there – everyday I charge you today in the name of Yeshua to pray for one another!
We are to pray everyday; through the parable of the persistent widow, Yeshua showed His disciples that they were to always pray and not give up. 1 Thess 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing and Philippians 4:16 tells us to pray about everything. Pray – Pray – Pray!!!
3 – STAND BEFORE THE SON OF MAN – That is stand before Yeshua! Everything we have is from the Lord – He has purchased for us life, abundant life, amen! Whatever money we have – is from Him – and so we are to stand before Him as a good steward – being obedient with our finances according to His Torah or instructions. Our job or career is from Him – it is a gift from Him as we faithfully utilise the talents and abilities He has given us – and we are to stand before Him as being diligent workers unto Him. Every relationship we have is from Him – be it family, friends – church – they are all from God – we are to stand before Him in serving every relationship He has given us with our all.

In light of the times in which we live, we are to watch we are not deceived – this means we have to spend more time getting to know the Word – we are not to be frightened – for when we know the truth it shall set us free – and not be enslaved to fear and we are to not get distracted which can cause our hearts to be so heavily weighed down by the DDA and so hear the Word of the Lord today as His Word clearly shows us that in these days you can WPS your way out of the DDA trap!

You know Yeshua tells us that at the coming of the Son of Man it will be as in the days of Noah (Matthew 24: 37) where people were drinking and eating, basically they were all having a good old time clueless to what was to come, and they did not listen to Noah. Will you listen to the Word of God today or will you too be found eating and drinking, having a good old time being clueless of what is coming, not understanding God’s plan – or will you be like Noah – who preached righteousness fearlessly or 120 years, will you too be like Him – not for 120 years but for as long as it takes, working with your all to complete what God has entrusted you with?
Watch, pray and stand – will you? Isaiah 7:9 tells us that if you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. The KJV says that if you do not believe, surely you will not be established. The Message translates it as follows. If you do not take your stand of faith, you won’t have a leg to stand on!
Perhaps you have been trapped in the DDA – Wake up today as the sound of this Word penetrates your soul, stand up pray and stand firm and He will make your paths straight.
Watch Pray Stand