Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

A new beginning?

South Africa has like the rest of the world been in lockdown the last two month, and even now under a slightly relaxed set of rules, most are still stuck in our homes. But even though we are still restricted, I believe it is time to think about a new beginning. Over the past two months we learnt to live without having to go to work in the morning, facing traffic and all sorts of challenges and to live at peace with those close to us. Despite all the different theories going around we have actually learnt that staying at home could be beneficial to our health, even though some of us lost a portion of our salaries and even worse our jobs, as long as we remember that Elohim causes all things to work together for good of those who Love Elohim, to those who are called according to His purpose, as per Romans 8: 28.

YHVH our Elohim is not the cruel old taskmaster the way some groups who confesses faith in Messiah, betray Him.  In fact just the opposite is true as witnessed in Ezekiel 18: 23 & 32, in this way: “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares YHVH Elohim, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? (32) For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares YHVH Elohim. “Therefore, repent and live.”  Elohim’s Torah is like the law of gravity for our benefit, as long as we do not transgress it. We need to walk around with our wits about us all the time, if we want to avoid sinning. Similarly we need to walk around with our eyes wide open in unfamiliar territory - we need to be aware of sudden slopes and uneven steps on the way, or else we could fall down to the ground.Even those of us who are busy practicing righteousness by keeping Elohim’s Torah to the best of our ability in a very imperfect world, miss the mark on a daily basis. We are all familiar with baseball; in the game of baseball the batter is out after only three strikes. At the beginning of the season and at the start of a game this is a limiting factor to ensure that the game remains exiting to both who watch and play. However, when a batter is playing in the final innings of the game at the end of the season and his team members are counting on him to pull them out of the throes of another defeat and keep them in the race for the championship, he does not want to hear the words – strike three, you’re out! Our struggle with sin is much like a game of baseball, except that instead of a professional player spending up to 15 years in the game, we spend 60 to 80 years in our fight against sin.

Like in professional baseball despite our competition being very strong and highly skilled, we as believers need to keep coming back to the plate. Some might ask why we continue in our struggle to overcome the pulls of the flesh. The answer is partly in the gift of salvation which depends on the way we live our lives, striving against sin and doing battle against the enemy – as a result of Messiah’s sacrifice and our repentance of sin. Because most Nazarene believers in Messiah are familiar with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, we would all like to hear our Master say to us (as Messiah explained in verse 21): ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’That is something that lies in the future for all of us alive at this time, but people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has already qualified to be in the kingdom, as Yahshua warned in Luke 13: 24 – 28, saying: “Strive to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (25) Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Master, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ (26) Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; (27)and He will say, ‘Itell you, I do not know where you are from; ‘DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ (28) There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of Elohim, but yourselves being cast out. (29) And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of Elohim. (30) And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.” But, what did Yahshua mean by saying:‘some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last’?

We find the answer in Hebrews 11: 39 & 40, where talking about our fathers in the faith we read: ‘And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because Elohim had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.’ The Scriptures assures us that if we continue in our fight against the pulls of Satan, the world and our own human nature, we will ultimately succeed as long as we continue to strive to the end, as witnessed in 2 Peter 1: 10 & 11, saying:‘Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; (11) for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior Yahshua Messiah will be abundantly supplied to you.’ Elohim created mankind because He has a fantastic plan for us all. Rav Shaul wrote about Elohim’s plan for us in 1Timothy 2: 3 & 4, saying: ‘This is good and acceptable in the sight of Elohim our Savior, (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’ Elohim knows the depths we sink into when we fail to meet His standards for us. He is also aware of the penalties that He put in place for breaking His commandments and as His potential future spiritual sons and daughters He wants a great deal better for us.Faith is not only a warm feeling or an opinion, but true faithfulness requires an intimate knowledge of truth (or the word of Elohim as Yahshua defined truth in John 17: 17[1]), faithful obedience to what we are taught and trust in Elohim as the rewarder of those who seek Him.  The last two components should really be reversed, because if we trust in the promises given by what we have been taught, we will obey from the heart.If any of these three components are missing in our relationship with Elohim, we cannot have true scriptural faith or faithfulness. It is as Rav Yaa’cov explained in James 2: 17, in this way: ‘Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.’

If Elohim kept a record of the times we failed Him, no one could ever hope to succeed; we would all be lost, as king David also observed in Psalm 130: 1 – 3, saying: ‘Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O YHVH. (2) Master, hear my voice! Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. (3) If Thou, YHVH, shouldest mark iniquities, O Master, who could stand?’Even so, YHVH tells us through King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7: 20, saying: ‘Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.’ By righteous men Solomon means people who walked with Elohim, such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even David. At times we might feel that we are the worst of sinners, we are definitely not alone in our battles; people like David walked this path before. Elohim did not leave us in a hopeless situation. He is aware that as flesh and blood human beings we need help to make it into His glorious Kingdom and He does provide that help for us, as David witnessed in Psalm 34: 4, 6, 7, 15 - 19, saying: ‘I sought YHVH, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (6) This poor man cried and YHVH heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (7) The angel of YHVH encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. (15) The eyes of YHVH are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. (16) The face of YHVH is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. (17) The righteous cry and YHVH hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. (18) YHVH is near to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (19)Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but YHVH delivers him out of them all.’  If we get to know YHVH as a loving Father and trust and obey YHVH, He will deliver us, as David wrote in Psalm 130: 4, saying: ‘But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.’ But, we need to understand that our merciful Father is also Almighty YHVHthe Elohim of Israel, and as His chosen people He promised to redeem us as also witnessed in verses 7 & 8 of Psalm 130, in this way: ‘O Israel, hope in YHVH; for with YHVH there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. (8) And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’

Elohim is our redeemer, who paid the penalty for our sins with His own blood, as Rav Shaul declares in Acts 20: 28, saying to those who teach Elohim’s people:  “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Set-apart Spirit has made you overseers to shepherd the congregation of Elohim which He purchased with His own blood.” Those who believe in two (YHVH)’s like to emphasize the point that Elohim provided a redeemer for us, but we see here as also witnessed in Psalm 34: 22, where David wrote: ‘YHVH redeems the soul of His servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.’  This is confirmed in Psalm 49: 7 & 15, as follows: ‘No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to Elohim a ransom for him— (15)  But Elohim will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol (the grave); for He will receive me.’ Yes, some like the Institute for Scripture Research (Pty) Ltd in South Africa, who published their version of ‘The Scriptures’ in 1998 and believed in two (YHVH)’s at the time, added as a footnote to Thomas’ exclamation in Yochanan 20:  28 where he said to Yahshua after seeing His hands:  “My Master and my Elohim!”, that: ‘יהושע (Yahshua) is also Elohim.’ Yahshua is not also Elohim He is Elohim in the flesh or Immanuel, Elohim with us!  It is when we want to separate Elohim that we come up with ideas that there are two different sets of rules or laws – one given by YHVH and the other by Yahshua, which is a major fallacy introduced by Churchianity.It is as YHVH said in Deuteronomy 4: 39, “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that YHVH, He is Elohim in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.” It is for this reason that I prefer to use the ‘New American Standard Bible’ which even though it is aimed at mainly a Christian audience, most of us are aware of the few mistakes in it compared to say the King James Version. I believe most Scriptures specifically written for groups like the Messianic believers and/or Assemblies of YHVH always contain the agendas of those who wrote them, as is the case with the version published by the Institute for Scripture Research mentioned here.

Different to human beings, Elohim has an enormous capacity to forgive. It does not give us leeway to sin or treat Elohim’s redemption lightly. As mentioned before, Elohim knows our heart, but He also knows the power of sin. If we trust Him when we step back on the plate when it is our turn to bat again and this time we hit the ball, getting to first base and eventually home, he will be there when we need His help. He paid for our sins once for all and will continue to forgive us up to the time when the season of our life is over, as Yochanan wrote in 1 John 1: 9, saying: ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’Knowing that Elohim is all-knowing,King David knew that Elohim was fully aware of His sins and that he could not blame anyone for what had happened. Therefore, after he was approached by Nathan, he wrote Psalm 51: 3 - 13, saying: ‘For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. (4) Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge. (5) Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. (6) Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. (7) Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (8) Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. (9) Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. (10) Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (11) Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Set-apart Spirit from me. (12) Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. (13) Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.’

As David requested, Elohim’s mercy and forgiveness shown him, is a strong motivator for us today, knowing that despite David’s sins, because he acknowledged his transgressions YHVH willingly forgave him and referred to him, as ‘A MAN AFTER MY HEART’, as witnessed in 1 Samuel 13: 14, as follows: “But now your kingdom shall not endure. YHVH has sought out for Himself a man after His own Heart, and YHVH has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what YHVH commanded you.”When we get to the point where we are ready to turn back to YHVH, the only proviso for Him to forgive us for our past sins is that we must be willing to go before Elohim and acknowledge personal responsibility for our past sins or our transgressionsof His Torah commands. We need to tell YHVH that you are truly sorry for bowing before the image of a man Christianity calls J*e*s*u*s* who even though He was buried, resurrected and ascended to heaven are still portrayed wearing a thorn crown hanging on a cross; to stop doing so. Tell Him you have come to understand His command given in Exodus 20: 4 - 6[2], and understand that you did wrong in times past. Tell Him that you are sorry for not obeying His commandments about His weekly and annual Sabbaths; for not being careful to ensure that all the fat and blood from the meat you eat from kosheranimals have been removed, as per Leviticus 3: 17[3].It is only once we have committed our hearts to doing what YHVH requires, that we can expect the forgiveness Elohim makes possible. Even because of our hurried lifestyle we at times consume meat and milk products together without being totally aware of our every action, we must never give up. Every time you are at the plate staring the enemy in the face, you need to ask Elohim to provide you with the means to live up to the standard that He requires. It is important for us to measure our every action against Torah and to know how much we need Elohim’s guidance, direction and protection every time we bat.

If we truly want to be in the kingdom of Elohim and want victory in the game of life, Elohim will provide us the help to overcome those sins which so beset us, as the prophet Hosea assured us in Hosea 14: 1 - 4, saying: ‘Return, O Israel, to YHVH your Elohim, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. (2) Take words (Torah) with you and return to YHVH. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. (3) Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses; nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands; for in Thee the orphan finds mercy.” (4) I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them.’However, it takes the right attitude as YHVH told Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7: 13 & 14, saying: “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, (14) and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’Elohim provides a Nazarene believer the opportunity for a new beginning— not only once, but numerous times. In fact He has given us His annual Passover to remind and encourage us of His help.

Rav Shaul wrote about his personal battle to encourage us in Romans 7: 22 – 25, saying: ‘For I joyfully concur with the law of Elohim in the inner man, (23) but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  (24) Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (25) Thanks be to Elohim through Yahshua Messiah our Master! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of Elohim, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.’ Rav Shaul found a way to start over again and even though we may be overwhelmed with regret because of our sins, we have the same help which Rav Shaul had. Rav Shaul wrote accordingly in Hebrews 9: 8 – 14, saying: ‘The Set-apart Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, (9) which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshipper perfect in conscience, (10) since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. (11) But when Messiah appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; (12) and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (13) For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, (14) how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim?’

Messiah our Passover is a power greater than anything physically available to us and much more valuable than the cost of human sin. It is so important for us to know who Yahshua is and it was for this reason that in explaining about His power to forgive sin, even the sin of those in the second resurrection, such as the sinners who lived anciently in the land of Sodom (in Matthew 11: 23 & 24[4]), He said in Matthew 11: 25 – 27, “I praise Thee, O Father, Master of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. (26) Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. (27) All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” When we understand the meaning of Messiah’s memorial Passover, we should be strengthened because we will realize that we can start afresh, in spite of our mistakes. Continuing in verses  28 – 30, Messiah promised that He will give us rest in the Kingdom of Elohim, if we take His yoke (meaning His stricter way of interpreting Torah) upon us and learn from Him, saying: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (30) For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”If those who are called by Elohim hears and understands the gospel of the Kingdom of Elohim, will act upon it and realize despite our present physical nature, we will ultimately become sinless as children of Elohim, as witnessed in Hebrews 2: 11, in this way: ‘For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.’

To demonstrate His ability as well as His willingness to help us to start over, we read from Matthew 9: 1 – 6, as follows: ‘And getting into a boat, He crossed over, and came to His own city. (2) And behold, they were bringing to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed; and Yahshua seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven.” (3) And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This fellow blasphemes.” (4) And Yahshua knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?  (5) For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, and walk’?  (6) But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – then He said to the paralytic— “Rise, take up your bed, and go home.”’ The forgiveness of sins is the healing of a person’s life, release from thoughts that may be crippling to him and an opportunity to a new beginning. However, our forgiveness is also depended upon the way we show our love to our neighbors. Though we cannot grant anyone a new beginning in the spiritual sense, we are able to help make the way easier for others. By so doing it helps us understand Elohim’s will for us and help us to develop some of His character. After asking Yahshua how often we shall forgive our neighbor for sinning against us, Yahshua answered in Matthew 18: 22, saying: “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”  Yahshua explained the idea of forgiveness to His disciples when he taught them the prayer to model their prayers after in Matthew 6, saying in verses 12 – 15: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (13) And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amein.’ (14) For, if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15)But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Although we cannot provide a fellow human being with a guilt-free conscience, by being forgiving, we are busy developing Elohim-like character necessary to conform to the image of His Son. In addition, we know that when we repent a new beginning is ours every time we need one.

It is also for this reason that we as Nazarene believers in Yahshua are appointed as watchmen by Elohim to warn like-minded believers of their sins, as we read from Ezekiel 33: 7 – 11, in this way: ‘Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth, and give them warning from Me. (8)When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. (9) But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your life. (10)Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have spoken, saying, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?”(11)Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares YHVH Elohim, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’A second witness to this comes from Isaiah 58: 1, as follows: “Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.” Even though as watchmen we are required to warn fellow Israelites about their sins, we are often criticized for writing sermons to correct beliers. However, that is exactly what Rav Shaul charged us to do in 2 Timothy 4: 1 - 5, saying: ‘I solemnly charge you in the presence of Elohim and of Messiah Yahshua, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: (2) preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. (3) For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; (4) and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. (5) But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”  Knowing that YHVH our Elohim is a merciful Father Who forgives those who return to Him and His way, we do these sermons to try and bring some of our brethren back who were misled by the likes of king Jeroboam who instituted a feast a month later than the one kept in Judah and have as a result fallen away from the faith once delivered to the saints.

It is important for those of us who are called by YHVH to come out of the world, not to become rebellious because of unbelief like our forefathers did in ancient Israel and were not allowed to enter the Promised Land, as witnessed in Hebrews 3: 16 - 19, as follows: ‘For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? (17) And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  (18) And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  (19) And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.’ We read from Ezekiel 20: 33 – 38, that the same fate is awaiting the rebels among (YHVH)’s elect, in this way: “As I live,” declares YHVH Elohim, surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. (34) And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; (35) and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face. (36) As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares YHVH Elohim. (37)“And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant; (38) and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am YHVH.”Thinkcarefully about it!

 

[1] John 17: 17,”Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.” We need to bear in mind that when Yahshua was on earth, there was no Renewed Covenant available and He was actually referring to the Tanach as the word of Elohim at the time.              

[2]Exodus 20: 4 - 6: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness (including pictures of J*e*s*u*s as shown in some Bibles where he is portrayed with long blond hair) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, YHVH your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

[3]Leviticus 3: 17, ‘It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’

[4]Matthew 11: 23 & 24: “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”