191 Do we follow Messiah's lead | nazareneisrael2house

Do we follow Messiah’s lead?

Messiah as Elohim’s perfect example came to show us from the lost sheep of the house of Israel the way to eternal life. Those who follow Him also obey Him as Rav Yochanan wrote in John 3: 36, saying: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim abides on him.” Belief in Messiah therefore also entails being obedient to His teachings. Basically it means that we believe in His saving name Yahshua, which means He will save His people from their sins, but it also means that we should believe in what He taught and did whilst He was on earth.

Now one thing that Yahshua taught whilst He was on earth, is that unless we believe in Torah, the five books of the Tanach penned by Moses, we cannot believe in Him, saying in John 5: 43 – 47: “I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another shall come in his own name (such as a minister of religion), you will receive him. (44) How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only Elohim? (45) Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. (46) For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. (47) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” Even though Yahshua spoke to the Jews of His day here, we need to once for all understand that they were the people among whom He lived and that the house of Israel were already dispersed into Europe during the time Messiah lived in the Promised Land. In addition, the Renewed Covenant or more correctly the “Writings of the Nazarenes” was addressed specifically to the lost sheep of Israel, whom Messiah came to bring back to the covenant relationship they had with YHVH together with the house of Judah, and not to the Jews. So, we see that those who follow Messiah do indeed believe, but shows their faith by their works or deeds. Those of us who believe in Messiah are similar to our father Abraham to whom YHVH promised that we from the lost ten tribes will ultimately return to Him through Abraham’s one see, Yahshua. We read accordingly about Abraham’s faith from James 2: 21 – 24: ‘Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? (22) You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; (23) and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED ELOHIM, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of Elohim. (24) You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.’ We show YHVH that we obey His word by our works, such as eating only kosher foods, keeping His weekly and annual Sabbaths, and believe in the good news of the coming Kingdom of Elohim. Just as Abraham was ready to sacrifice his family and later also his son to obey the word of YHVH, we should be prepared to serve Him before we serve our own family and friends, as Yahshua confirmed in Matthew 22: 35 – 40, in this way: ‘And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, (36) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (37) And He said to him, “’YOU SHALL LOVE YHVH YOUR ELOHIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ (38) This is the great and foremost commandment. (39) The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ (40) On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” That gives us an idea of our duty as Israelite believers. However, to be able to love YHVH our Elohim with all our hearts (belief system), souls (the way we live our lives) and with all your mind (the spirit in man, our brainpower) and our neighbor as ourselves, we are required to learn and apply Elohim’s Torah teachings in our lives, to fulfill the whole Law.

Let’s consider the ten commandments given in Deuteronomy 5; the first four commandments deal with loving YHVH our Elohim and the last six deal with loving our neighbor, even though the commandment to honor our parents also applies to YHVH our heavenly Father. But, today it seems that many of those who claim faith in Messiah only try to keep the commandments that have to do with loving our neighbor. Yahshua often stressed these commandments in His teachings because they were often neglected by the religious leaders of His day, as He indicated in Matthew 23: 23, saying: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” Note that Yahshua said: “but these are the things you should have done.” However, in this day and age, the majority of especially Christians ignore the first four commandments that have to do with loving YHVH our Elohim. Those who use the Set-apart Names without obeying the rest of the commandments, dishonor, but also blaspheme His Set-apart name, without even realizing it. Some bow down to idols; others break the Sabbath, or insist that it has been changed to Sunday. Sadly most people have lost their fear and respect for YHVH the one and only Elohim, the greatest commandment according to Yahshua the Messiah. Many are surprised to hear Yahshua saying that justice, peace, mercy and faith are all part of Elohim’s Law. But, these are the words of the Creator, as is confirmed in the Tanach, but also in the ‘Writings of the Nazarenes’, as follows:

Psalm 19: 7, ‘The law of YHVH is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of YHVH is sure, making wise the simple.’
John 14: 15 – 17: ‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (16) And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; (17) that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.’
Luke 6: 46 – 49: “And why do you call Me, ‘Master, Master,’ and do not do what I say? (47) Everyone who comes to Me, and hears My words, and acts upon them, I will show you whom he is like: (48) he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock (Yahshua); and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. (49) But the one who has heard, and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house upon the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”
James 1: 25, ‘But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty (Torah), and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.’

The one who built his house on the rock are obedient to (YHVH)’s word and has a firm foundation, but those who believe they are the deciding factor as to when and how to serve YHVH, built their house upon the sand and will only discover their mistake when the torrents (or great tribulation) comes.

We need to recognize that most people simply ignore what Yahshua taught, especially if they disagree with it. Nevertheless, Yahshua our Messiah warned those who wish to be His true followers, that His way is a narrow lonely road, as witnessed in Matthew 7: 13 & 14, in this way: ‘Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. (14) For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.’ Even if one becomes a true follower of Messiah, a real danger is that he/she may be deceived by Satan and his many agents to go right back to where he/she comes from, or follow another counterfeit religion, slightly closer than Christianity to the one true faith once delivered to the saints (true believers), as Rav Shaul warned about in 2 Corinthians 11: 3 & 4, saying: ‘But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be lead astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Messiah. (4) For if one comes and preaches another Yahshua whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.’ Rav Shaul was astonished how easily believers cast aside his teachings, instead of imitating him as he imitated Messiah; to embrace a counterfeit gospel together with a counterfeit Messiah. Satan as the master counterfeiter has managed to deceive the majority of believers to accept falsehood, even if some once embraced the truth. This happens time and time again; as people are called out of the counterfeit of the original Nazarene Jewish faith, namely Christianity, they are deceived to follow just another counterfeit faith, where people decide for themselves how and when to worship YHVH our Elohim.

Even though it is very difficult to deceive those called out of the world, Satan and his agents are persuasive teachers, peddling a counterfeit of righteousness, which is much closer to the true faith, once delivered to the saints or true followers of Messiah. Rav Shaul writes about such teachers in 2 Corinthians 11: 13 – 15, in this way: ‘For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Messiah. (14) And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. (15) Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.’ No wonder so many varieties of what some call the truth and righteousness are taught under the name of Yahshua Messiah. Yes, there is also a great deal of falsehood taught under the name of J*e*s*u*s* C*h*r*i*s*t, but it is not so easy to deceive those of us who have learnt the true name of our Messiah. We have over a period of time discovered that most of what Christianity teaches in the name of Messiah is based on lies and paganism. But, we need to be very careful of those who come to us in the true name of our Messiah and Savior. When Yahshua addressed His disciples privately in Matthew 24, He warned them in verses 4 & 5, saying: “See to it that no one misleads you. (5) For many will come in My name (we need to understand that Yahshua knew His true name and did not mean those who would refer to Him as J*e*s*u*s*), saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will mislead many.” Like His false name, Yahshua’s true name serves as a façade or disguise for religious viewpoints that did not originate with Messiah. Yahshua warned His disciples in Matthew 7: 22 & 23, saying: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ (23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’” If we practice lawlessness, which is the opposite of truth or Torah, we negate all other good deeds. As soon as we follow the teachings of teachers who contradict the words of Messiah and YHVH, we are not following truth any longer.

Lawlessness is the main component in the counterfeit righteousness taught by these false teachers. Under Satan’s influence mankind has been blinded to the true gospel of Messiah, who is the image of Elohim. The problem as identified by the prophet Jeremiah in Chapter 17: 9 is human nature, as follows: “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick (the KJV reads wicked); who can understand it?” Rav Shaul agreed with Jeremiah in Romans 8: 7 – 9, saying: ‘Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward Elohim; for it does not subject itself to the law of Elohim, for it is not even able to do so; (8) and those who are in the flesh cannot please Elohim. (9) However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, he does not belong to Him.” It is plain to see that alternatives to the true message of Yahshua our Messiah have been contrived to accommodate mankind’s natural unwillingness to obey Elohim. The sad thing about this is that most people who accept these false lawless ideas are totally sincere. It is as Rav Shaul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2: 7 - 12, saying: ‘For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (8) And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Master will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; (9) that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, (10) and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as the be saved. (11) And for this reason Elohim will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, (12) in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.’

The question is: What is the difference between true and false followers of Messiah? Yahshua our Messiah gave us a hint in the parable in Matthew 22: 14, when He said in conclusion of His Message, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Both the ideas of being called and chosen are Scriptural, however, they are seldom understood and are as a result often misapplied. But what did Yahshua mean when He used these two words in the quoted section? We need to understand that Elohim’s purpose is to eventually give eternal life to all of mankind, as witnessed in John 3: 17, as follows: “For Elohim did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.” Even so, all of mankind are not being saved during this age, as may be understood from Ephesians 1: 7 – 12, in this way: ‘In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, (8) which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight (9) He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him (10) with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Messiah, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him (11) also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, (12) to the end that we who were the first to hope in Messiah should be to the praise of His glory.’ It is only once we both learn and obey the truth, that Elohim chooses a person to receive eternal life.

Righteousness goes together with truth and is revealed in the Tanach to be Torah, as witnessed in Psalm 119: 142, as follows: ‘Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Thy law (Torah) is truth.’ When Yahshua was on the earth as a ‘man’, the only Scriptures (or word of Elohim) available at that time was the Tanach and in His prayer immediately prior to His betrayal by Judas, He also identified it as truth, as recorded in John 17: 17, in this way: “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth.” So it is clear that truth is what YHVH revealed to us in His word, the Scriptures. Those who want to be saved from the second death must both learn and accept the Scriptures (truth); and apply it in their lives: this is known as putting their faith into action. We read Rav Shaul’s exhortation in this regard, from first Timothy 2: 1 – 4, as follows: “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, (2) for kings and all who are in authority, in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. (3) 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.”

After we have come to the knowledge of truth, by guidance of a teacher and intensive self-study, we need to repent and clean our lives up in accordance to what we have learnt from the Scriptures. Repentance is a process which takes many years of studying and learning; and YHVH allows us a period of time to get our lives in order, as witnessed in second Peter 3: 9, in this way: ‘The Master is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish (in the second death) but for all to come to repentance.’ True repentance (transliterated as Teshuvah in Hebrew) means that we stop sinning (breaking the Torah teachings of Elohim) and return to obeying the commandments that we broke or neglected in the past. True repentance also involves believing in the one and only true Elohim, calling on His name. However, once called out of the religions of this world, we need someone who has completed Messiah’s discipleship program to guide and teach us in the way of Elohim, before we are able to follow the lonely narrow road that our Messiah walked whilst He was on earth. Rav Shaul puts it like this in Romans 10: 13 & 14, saying: ‘For “WHOEVER WILL CALL UPON THE NAME OF YHVH WILL BE SAVED.” (14) How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?’ We need to be taught by teachers who teach Torah righteousness in the name of Elohim and who are themselves faithful to His word; who teach that true repentance involves turning from sin to full Torah obedience, as we read from 1 John 3: 4, in this way: ‘Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.’

To fully understand the difference between the phrases ‘called’ and ‘chosen’, we need to see what the Scriptures have to say about it. We read therefore from second Thessalonians 2: 13 & 14, where Rav Shaul explains: ‘But we should always give thanks to Elohim for you, brethren beloved by the Master, because Elohim has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (14) And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Master Yahshua Messiah.’ So we see that, YHVH called believers by the preaching of the gospel (the good news about the coming Kingdom of Elohim); they are given knowledge of the truth (the Scriptures) and as a result need to repent of their lawlessness (or sin). Those believers, who respond by believing the word of truth, are then chosen for salvation. But how do they respond? They respond by accepting Yahshua as their Passover Lamb and are immersed in His saving name; after which they are given a portion of the Set-apart Spirit as a pledge of their salvation, as confirmed in Ephesians 1: 13 &14, as follows: ‘In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Set-apart Spirit of promise, (14) who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of Elohim’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.’

It all begins when Elohim calls us to come out of darkness into His marvelous light, as Yahshua explained in John 6: 44, saying: ‘No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.’ In fact Yahshua repeated this after explaining the need to partake of the annual Passover to His disciples, saying in verse 65 of John 6, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.” Elohim grants us an earnest desire to learn more about Him and His ways, after which He wants us to submit to His Torah way of life, as Rav Shaul explained in Philippians 2: 12 - 15, saying: ‘So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is Elohim who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (14) Do all things without grumbling or disputing; (15) that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of Elohim above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.’ Yahshua used the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 to indicate people’s different approaches to hearing the true gospel; in the parable, all who hear the gospel of the Kingdom of Elohim preached, respond differently. Only those who are called by Elohim understand the truth. Yahshua starts explaining that those not called will not understand what they hear (in verse 19), saying: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.’

Then Yahshua explains the three different responses from the people who understand. Even though Elohim has opened their minds to understanding, each one responds differently. We read accordingly from Matthew 13: 20 & 21: “And the one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy; (21) yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction and persecution arises (from family, friends and foes) because of the word, immediately he falls away.” Such a person is usually more concerned about what his/her family and friends think of him/her and cannot take their rejection. Such people are afraid to make waves and rock the boat (the proverbial comfort zones of his fellow man), and rejects the words of Elohim soon after hearing it. We continue reading from verse 22, “And the one on whom the seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” This person is not only concerned about the opinions of his peers, but is very busy with all sorts of pursuits in life, and as a result has little time to spend praying and studying the Scriptures. Material things finally get the better of him and he also ultimately rejects the word of Elohim.

Finally we read from verse 23, “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” This person immediately understands Elohim’s word and takes it to heart, and as a result changes his way of life to conform to the way of Elohim, as he learns more about Him. This person was chosen for salvation, as he put Elohim first in his life. So we see, that even though many are called to follow Elohim’s will and way, only a few are chosen by Elohim, because they choose to serve Elohim, above all else. We need to understand that the choice to serve Elohim whole heartedly or not remains ours. But like repentance the choice is an ongoing decision, and we need to commit to that choice and persevere until our dying day, or when Yahshua returns one day. We live at a time very close to the end of this age, as is also described in the book of Revelation. This is the time during which a great beast will arise, resulting from an economic and political union of 10 kings, who will resist Yahshua our Messiah at His return. These kings will be very powerful and will believe their union to be powerful enough to engage into battle with Messiah at His return, as witnessed in Revelation 17: 12 – 14, as follows: “And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour. (13) These have one purpose and they give their power and authority to the beast. (14) These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Master of masters and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” That is correct; we see that those who are with Messiah at His return, will not only be called and chosen, but they also remained faithful to the end.

How will these chosen, called and faithful get to be with Yahshua at His return. We read the answer in Matthew 24: 29 – 31,in this way: “But immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, (30) and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory. (31) And He will send forth His angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER HIS elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Those who remain faithful will eventually grow to become like our Master Yahshua the Messiah. Those of us called and chosen have been called because Elohim knows that we have the ability to make it into His everlasting Kingdom. However, once He has called us, He expects each one of us to conform to the image and stature of our Master and Savior Yahshua Messiah, as Rav Shaul confirmed in Romans 8: 28 & 29, saying: ‘And we know that Elohim causes all things to work together for good to those who love Elohim, to those who are called according to His purpose. (29) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born[1] among many brethren.’ YHVH accordingly allows us to develop through trials and tests that will expose our weaknesses forcing us to continue to make choices to obey Him under very difficult circumstances. If we learn to develop the fruits of the Spirit, of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and the like, we will slowly but surely develop Yahshua’s character in us. If a person is just sitting back and not seeking Elohim’s will and way on an ongoing basis YHVH will also treat him/her similarly and start neglecting to care for him, as we are warned in Revelation 3: 14 – 21, saying: “And to the angel of the congregation in Laodicea write; The Amein, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning (or Beginner) of the creation of Elohim (Yahshua), says this: (15) “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. (16) So because you are luke-warm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. (17) Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, (18) I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. (19) Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, be zealous therefore, and repent. (20) Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. (21) He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

To conclude we read how Rav Kepha sums this up in second Peter 1: 2 – 11, as follows: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of Elohim and of Yahshua our Messiah; (3) seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. (4) For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. (5) Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; (6) and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; (7) and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. (8) For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Master Yahshua Messiah. (9) For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. (10) 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.” I pray that this will encourage us to remain faithful to our calling, until our Master and Savior returns. Amein!

[1] Messiah is the first to be born-again from the dead as confirmed in Colossians 1: 18, as follows: ‘He is also head of the body, the congregation; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.’