Practice These Things and You WILL Enter the Kingdom
11/24/18 (09/16) Video Broadcast
We're ready to begin our study portion
for today's broadcast. A lot of times we
hear about the things that we shouldn't
do to avoid facing judgment in the Lake
of Fire. We hear about these things quite
often. And we want to know what the things
are that Yahweh expects of us, and what He
expects us to NOT do. But we wanna talk
today about the things that Yahweh says
if you do this-you will inherit the
kingdom. If you do these things, you
will inherit the kingdom. Some people
might say, "Well, since the Sabbath
is a sign between Yahweh and His
people-if you keep the Sabbath,
then you're His people, and
therefore, He will allow you
to enter the kingdom". Others
say, "Well, if you call upon His
name-it says that whoever calls
upon the name of Yahweh shall be
saved, and so if you use the name,
then you're in the kingdom." Others
say, "Well, you need to keep the
Torah because He says those who
keep the commandments will enter
into life." Or some say, "You
have to believe in the Messiah
because he who has the Son has life-
he who has not the Son will not see
life." And so, we have all these
scriptures, you know, telling us
that-things to avoid and things
we shouldn't do, and the things
that we should do are the things
I want to focus on during today's
message.
So, if we practice these things, there is a promise from the Word of the living Elohim, Yahweh, our Creator-if we practice these things, He says we will inherit the kingdom, and it's a promise-it's not a maybe- it's not-a you might make it in by the "skin of your teeth". He says if you practice these things, you will inherit the kingdom. And that's important for us to know because so many times there's confusion out there among people about what it takes to be in the kingdom. We know scripture has said that a very important thing that we must do in order to inherit the kingdom is
GENUINE BELIEF IN YAHUSHUA THE MESSIAH. Now, it sounds so basic- it sounds so obvious, but those of us who've been in the faith a long time-of course you have to have belief in Yahushua the Messiah. Scripture does say
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim abides in him. He who has the Son - First John 5:12 - has life; he who does not have the Son of Elohim does not have life. So, if we want to have eternal life, we must obviously
believe in the Son. Yahushua said- John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. So that is a guarantee - you will not approach the throne room of Elohim and enter into life unless you go through Yahushua the Messiah.
Romans 10:12-13-There is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Master over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of Yahweh shall be saved." Other scripture says
Acts 4:11-"This is the 'stone, which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Now-a genuine belief in Yahushua means we are not
trusting in our own righteousness, but we are trusting in HIS righteousness for salvation-not our own-not our own. Okay. And what's that mean? It means that if
you're thinking that oh, because you do a certain thing-you keep a certain command, you do this or you do that, or you go to church every week or you pay your tithe or you do this one thing or this other thing, and therefore, you will be saved because you do this one thing because of you-you-you-you-you. You got it all wrong. There's only one way you can enter in, and that is by HIS righteousness-NOT your righteousness. And that is what Paul was instructing to the Jewish people
here as he's writing regarding Israel, actually
It says-Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to Elohim for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for Elohim, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of Elohim's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim. They have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim because they are seeking to establish their own righteousness-and it's out of ignorance. The point being that we cannot be saved-he desires that they may be saved. We cannot be saved unless we have submitted to the righteousness of Elohim. There is the righteousness that was placed in Yahushua, the Messiah, and this righteousness was from Yahweh-from the Heavenly Father. And even Yahushua himself says, "Why do you call Me good? There is one good - Elohim." So, all the goodness He had, came from Yahweh, the Father-all the righteousness came from Him. Yahushua says, "The son can do nothing of Himself, but that which He sees the Father do", right? So, coming from Elohim-this righteousness. How much more so you and me? Our righteousness certainly could in no wise be from us. We could not say, "we are good." We can say, "there is one that's good", right? So, in light of this, we continue here in Romans 10
For the Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In other words, the law is not going to make you righteous. It is only going to declare what IS righteous and what IS unrighteous. The law which says Honor your Parents isn't what saves you even if you honored your parents.
There may be one other command you may have missed-ignorantly, perhaps or intentionally or if through temptation, you failed. Every single one of us have violated His standards. And so, there is only one way we can be made righteous-not through the law-it's through
Yahushua the Messiah. Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness, which is of the law,- it says, "The man who does those things shall live by them." Can you say that you have done every command that the law says you must do? Every one of us have violated standards, so only the one who does those things will live or have eternal life by them. So, it's not by our own righteousness, and it's for this reason scripture tells us
The righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Messiah down from above) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead). He's talking about the Word here coming from the book of Deuteronomy-we're gonna read that in a minute. But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach)- Yahushua: that if you confess with your mouth the Master Yahushua and believe in your heart that Elohim has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That's a promise from the Holy scriptures. Now this is coming-what he's quoting here is from the book of Deuteronomy.
Chapter 30 and verse 9 - Yahweh your Elohim will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For Yahweh will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, "if you obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. Then it says, regarding this book of the law, he says
"For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. - What? - this commandment-it's not far off, right? - That's what he's talking about - "It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it"' - He's talking about this commandment-it's not far off-it's not far away and when we look back in what Paul was saying about
these verses - who will ascend into heaven as to bring Messiah down from above. So look here-
It is saying, It is not in heaven-what's not in heaven? This commandment. Paul is interpeting that as the Messiah,right? This is because John 1:14-it's about Yahushua-says-He is the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. So He is the Living Word. He is a perfect example
of what Yahweh's Word looks like lived out. So, when we're referring to the Word, we're referring to Yahushua the Messiah, here in this text.
In Deuteronomy. And so, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it"' - talking about the Messiah-bring Him down that we may hear it and do it. "Nor is it beyond the sea, - that's to bring Him up from the grave-Hebraic thought here-the sea and the grave are related to each other in the text-sheol - that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' - that's to bring Messiah up from the dead - "But the word - this is the Messiah, the Messiah Yahushua - is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. So, Yahushua Hamashiach is dwelling in your heart, therefore, out of your mouth-the mouth speaks, right? - that we may do what? - Messiah-that we may do the commandments-one and the same-so that we may do His Word by His strength-by His power-by His Spirit dwelling in us, we have the living words of Elohim because we have the living word, Yahushua the Messiah dwelling in us. Make sense?
And so, that is how we not only receive righteousness when we have the Word of Yahweh right here. We also receive strength and power by His Spirit to walk out His Word and to speak His Word, and so therefore, we need Messiah Yahushua. We cannot come to the Father apart from Him, and the strength that He gives us.
So, the Word is near you-in your heart-in your mouth-this word of faith which we preach. So, therefore, since Messiah's dwelling in your heart
then you will confess
with your mouth the Master Yahushua, believing in our hearts Elohim has raised Him from the dead, and therefore, we become saved in Messiah's return. So, what do we say next? Therefore,
Romans 3:20-by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, - so by what the law is able to do-the deeds of the law-what's it able to do? It is able to do what? - it's able to die for you and give you eternal life- NO - it's only able to tell you what righteousness is. Therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified - this word "justified" means to be declared righteous. So, by the works of the law-what the law is able to do-you will not be able to be declared righteous because the only thing the law can do is tell you what the Word-tell you what Yahweh's standards are. And by that law because you learn what the standards of Yahweh are, you learn the knowledge of sin. And you realize this law does not declare you righteous-it only declares you unrighteous, and therefore, only through Yahushua the Messiah can you be saved, and not by your commandment keeping. Because the commandments-they only tell you the standard. Now, if you had kept Yahweh's commandments from the time you were born until the time you died, and never violated His standards one time-Yeah-it could justify you, just as it justified the Messiah Yahushua. But we haven't done that-it's not our situation. Our situation is-we have failed-we need a Savior; we need Yahushua to make us righteous where we have not walked in righteousness. But now the righteousness of Elohim apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of Elohim, through faith in Yahushua Messiah, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference- everybody-Jew, Gentile-the righteousness of Elohim apart from the law is revealed - Why? Because the Law and the Prophets predict Yahushua Messiah and His Righteousness will make you righteous through faith
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Elohim, - everybody has sinned and fallen short of His Glory - being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that is in Messiah Yahushua, whom Elohim set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance Elohim had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Yahushua. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith - and by faith alone - apart from the deeds of the law. There is no one commandment you can keep
that Yahweh says, "Well if you do this command, then you will enter into life." Because of the other commands that you ultimately are going to fail at. And so, we need His righteousness at all times. Now, what about-does that mean we no longer need to keep the commandments-we can just go through life-trusting in Messiah and not bother to keep the commandments?
Let's continue reading. Is He the Elohim of the Jews only? Because He said previously here -
A man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Or is He the Elohim of the Jews only? Is He not the Elohim of the Gentiles also? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one Elohim who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by faith. Do we then-do we then make void the law through faith? - Do we make void the law through faith-it means do we cause it to go away. Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. We establish it. So, the law has not been made void-contrary to what you may have heard-the law has not been made void. Rather, we establish it-that means we, by our faith, because Yahushua lives in us, we are able to walk as He walked. So, all these things about the law and how it doesn't justify you does not mean the law is null and void. It's still His standard that He expects us to live by-no different. But it doesn't save us. Yahweh saves us through Yahushua the Messiah who justifies us.
Galatians 2:20 says-"I have been crucified with Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of Elohim, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Awesome! Now, since He lives in you, what should be the end result - disobedience or obedience?
1 John 2:6 says-He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. So, Yahushua the Messiah came to make
you righteous, and He came because you abide in Him, and He abides in you. He came so that you would have the power to walk as He walked. And so, the fact that He lives in you should be evidenced by the actions that you do. And that's why scripture says-
that repentance is necessary.
GENUINE REPENTANCE - that means turning away. The word "repent" in the Hebrew,
"Teshuva" means to turn. You are going the wrong direction, and now you're going to turn and start going the correct direction. And therefore, repentance
is necessary. We're gonna see this many times in scripture. You cannot walk a life-you cannot live your life having never repented of your sins and expect the blood of Yahushua to cleanse you-it won't happen.
Here's what scripture teaches. Peter said to them - Acts 2:38- Repent,and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise-that's the promise of the Spirit-is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as Yahweh our Elohim will call. So, if you repent-right here and it says be baptized for the remission of sins, you'll receive the gift the of the Holy Spirit, and this promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off-and whoever Yahweh wants to call. Again, the Hebrew word for repent
coming from "shuwb" - to return, turn back, to turn back, return, turn back, return, come back. You're moving away from Yahweh - He's saying - "Come back-Come back-Return to Me". Teshuva-repent-turn back to Him. So, that's it. Repentance
and faith in Yahushua. You might suppose that the broadcast could end right here-the study portion could end right here. It probably could, but we're gonna go into more detail because there's confusion as to what it means to repent and have faith in Yahushua. Of course, the enemy wants to confuse everything- wants to make it difficult-wants to make it hard to understand. The reality is-it's very easy to understand. Now, what are we actually repenting of? We're repenting of walking away from Yahweh. From turning-from going the wrong direction. But part of repentance involves choosing to love. We were not walking in love before, and now we're going to make a conscious desire and effort to walk in love. That's what He expects of us-to walk in love. And so, the important thing to remember is our faith in Messiah must contain a willingness to walk in love-by His standards-by His definition. And so, as part of repentance and faith in Yahushua-here are some important elements to remember. Genuine repentance is living
in a way with recognition that Yahweh is always watching our conduct. And we don't try to sneak around in our hearts, you know, yearning to sin in some capacity, and so we ignore His presence in our life and His eyes being
upon us. Psalm 139 verses 1-4 says-O Yahweh, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, Yahweh, You know it altogether. So, He searches you out. He wants to know whether or not your repentance is the real deal. So, He searches you out to find out whether it really is true and genuine repentance from the heart.
Another-being transparent to Yahweh about our sins. If we love Him, we don't want to grieve Him. He is ready to be our strength, if we call upon Him and seek His face during temptations. So, we need to be willing to look
to Him to be our strength during those times. We have to be transparent and be open and honest with Him about our struggles. You might think - "Well if I approach Elohim about this terrible thing that I have done or have been doing that I'll feel condemned". You don't need to feel condemned-you need to go before Him and bring that sin to Him and ask Him to help you overcome it. Just be open, honest, transparent. I mean we're transparent anyway whether you realize it or not. But our profession in Yahushua should be done in such a way that, you know, we are genuinely pursuing the Father's Will for our life and that we are genuinely transparent before Him regarding any difficulties and challenges that we are being faced with in our times of temptation and seek after Him to be cleansed of our sins-to be forgiven of our sins and thereby demonstrate a true repentance. A
true repentance is willing to confess their sins and know that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness, right? So, we're willing to confess our sins because we know He knows it anyway. So, go before Him and say "Abba, Father-I just-there's this one thing in my life I can't seem to overcome-I need Your Strength-I need You to strengthen me as Your Word has promised". And He wants to do that for you-He wants you to overcome.
Genuine repentance will recognize that we serve a full- time Elohim. So, a full-time Elohim means that
we are willing to love Yahweh our Elohim with all of our hearts, all of our souls and with all of our strength. He doesn't want part of your heart-He's not looking for half-heartedness-He doesn't want part of your strength-He wants all of your strength to love Him. The word strength actually means in Hebrew "Me�od" means muchness-everything. He's not a part-time Elohim. He is on the throne all the time. He's not off the throne one minute and
back on another. He doesn't stop being Elohim after Shabbat ends. He doesn't stop being Elohim while you go and do what you want. If we're a part-time believer trying to serve a full-time Elohim, we're in big trouble. And Yahushua had a word for that-He called it hypocrisy.
Matthew 23:27 says-Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Torahlessness. So, anyone can look good, look
the part, play a part-come into Sabbath services or to a feast and appear to have their life in order-everything looking great, but then really, they're just whitewashed tombs. In their hearts, they're just consumed by evil thoughts and evil deeds.
First Peter says-laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that Yahweh is gracious. Yahweh's looking for full-time believers in the midst of a generation that seems to take a half-hearted effort toward being in a relationship with Him. He's looking for those who have a sincere faith and willing to put Him first. That's part of
repentance. Loving Yahweh's Word and loving Truth.
In Second Thessalonians it says-The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders-don't be seeking after signs and wonders-instead seek after righteousness. He says-and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason Elohim will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. We must love the truth. We cannot lack in love for the truth because if we have pleasure in unrighteousness, and we don't really love the truth, we may find ourselves believing some kind of strong delusion. We may find ourselves, you know, thinking we're saved, when really, we're not-thinking we're in a relationship, when really, we're not. Yahushua once spoke about those folks
in Matthew 7-He said-many may come to Him saying "Master, Master", but they don't do the things He says. And there are some people who live their entire life believing that they are going to be saved, and really down deep, they don't really care for truth-they don't really care to walk in uprightness-they don't really care to change their lives. Now, if a man had a son, and his son did not understand his father's will, and he did something wrong because of that-what would the father do? A father would take that son aside and explain to him what he should be doing, right? Now what if that son-while his father was trying to talk to him just kind of sat there not really listening - "Yeah dad, yeah dad". And the reason he wasn't listening was because in the inner heart, he did not want to do what his father was telling him to do. He didn't love the truth-he wanted to do his own thing. The son of course, would be disciplined, but what if his son wouldn't listen to discipline either? In his mind, the wrong things he was doing was worth the discipline he was going to receive because He didn't really love his father. Maybe he thought he loved his father but, it was just that he loved his own ways more. You know almost everything we need to know in order to be saved can be summed up in a father-son relationship. The son didn't know, and he says - "Oh, thanks dad-I didn't know that's what you wanted". That's one thing, but to turn your ear away when confronted with truth and not really loving the truth of what your father is wanting to teach you-that's where we run into trouble. That's where there is a lack of true and genuine repentance, and we can find ouselves in trouble. Another thing
is a willingness to put Yahweh first, ahead of what man may want you to do. Suppose that same son
he listened to his father, but then when he got around his friends, everything changed. Everything changed-it's sort of like - "Well, my friends are telling me this" - it'd be a different story, wouldn't it? So, if the son wanted to listen to the peer pressure and do what his friends told him to do, then that's not right. And that's what we find probably of all these things-it seems like the most common problem is people are too busy listening to each other or listening to their friends and not listening to Elohim. You know modern seminary students cannot fathom this thought that the church could have possibly abandoned the Sabbath so quickly. But just after 70 A.D., there was this antisemitism going around because of this Jewish uprising against Rome, and Paul had warned the Romans not to boast against the branches and not to haughty or wise in their own opinion, but to fear. Well false teachers were present in the first century, believe it or not. And Paul even warned the assembly at Ephesus about men who would seek to draw them away.
Revelation 14:12. Sorry wrong verse. I guess I don't have that up there.
Acts 20 verse 29 says-I noticed after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. He said-therefore, watch and remember that for three years, I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. He warned them about savage wolves. And it's quite possible in Ephesus-prior to the destruction of the temple, possibly, there were men rising up teaching against Yahweh's Word. You know, there are two kinds of false teachers-one teaches against the commandments, the other teaches against the Messiah. An illustration of how the modern church follows the church fathers in modern Judaism basically follows the teachings of first century rabbis. The Mishnah is the focal point of the Talmud. And then the Gemara, which is the rabbi's commentary on the Mishnah and the Torah and Rashi's commentary on both. But in both cases, we have men who have become stumbling blocks. The seminary teachers and professors have taught doctrines that are contrary to Elohim. And in these cases-both of these cases, you have two religions-mainstream Christianity and mainstream Judaism. Mainstream Christianity teaching that we don't have to keep the commandments and mainstream Judaism teaching that we don't have to believe in Messiah Yahushua. And so, the Gentiles won't come to the Torah because they're highly impressed with the church fathers, and it's a persona that people want to follow. A Baptist persona, a Pentecostal persona, a Mennonite persona, and most of the leaders of the various denominations within Christianity have been highly impressed with church fathers and their faith and their martyrdom. And it's difficult for them to fathom that those men could possibly have been so, so wrong. We can't follow man-we gotta look back to what the first century assembly and congregation was truly like. The Jews also have their highly decorated men whom they respect, whom they call rabbis and they're following. The amazing thing is that both religions are doing the same thing. The Jews in the first century did not receive Messiah because of the teachings of the rabbis. And the Jews in the 21st century are still following those same teachings of those same men preserved in the Mishnah and Talmud. So, the Jews won't come to Messiah because of the rabbis. And many Christians will not come to the commandments because of their pastors and teachers who follow the teachings of the ancient church fathers, and that's why I say
we need both the commandments of Elohim and the faith of Yahushua. We cannot put man ahead of Yahweh's Word. Also, another scripture to look at
Yahushua said-"Enter by the narrow gate- enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Why is this faith so simple to understand and yet so few find? It's in many ways because
people are following the majority; they're content to follow the majority. And whenever they're approached with this decision, and Yahweh will bring this decision to every human heart-He says He will-Deuteronomy 13 says He will test you-whether we will follow what man tells us to do or whether we will follow what He says to do. And it's so easy to minimize His voice when the voices of the crowds and the people are so loud-so easy. So, there's huge crowds of people who will walk in a way that's not right-why? Because everybody else is doing the same thing. And only a few are willing to go against the grain and be different-and be the oddball-and be ridiculed-and be mocked. And Yahushua said
in the context of this verse, He said this, He said-
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. So, you know them by their fruits-what comes out-what's coming out of them.
"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Master, Master,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. So, just because lots of people are going one direction, don't take any confidence in that. We must do the will of our Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Every
tree has a root system. a root system that's not feeding on the nutrition of Yahweh's Word is going to be a bad tree, and for this reason, it's fruit will not be good fruit. We need to examine our root system. Is our root system the writings of church fathers, the persona of a denomination, a grandpa, a father, a mother, a grandmother, a friend we're impressed with, western Gentile Christianity? Where's our root system rooted in? Is it based on the living Word of Elohim? Our root system, one day, will be revealed. And then the fruits that coming out of our lives will be revealed as either being from Elohim or from some other place. We can't be impressed with what men do, and then fear what men will say. We have to be impressed with Yahushua the Messiah and Him crucified, and the way He lived His life. Because there's a danger-there's a snare-it says the fear of man brings a snare.
Whoever trusts in Yahweh will be made safe. In the end, it will not be church fathers, rabbis, spouses, children, brothers, anyone standing next to you on judgment day saying, "Yep, you can let them in". They will not be declaring you guilty or not guilty. We will stand before the judgment seat of Messiah
and give an account-not for whether our lives were pleasing to men or in accordance with some man's teachings-we will give account as to whether or not we lived our life in submission to Yahweh's Word. And if we did fail in our submission to Yahweh's Word, whether we trusted in Yahushua the Messiah to cleanse us and fill us with all righteousness. So, we want to walk in the way of Shalom, trusting in the grace of Yahweh through our Master Yahushua for forgiveness of sin, and cleave to the Law of Yahweh for direction and guidance in our lives. And when we do that-make that our priority-nothing will cause us to stumble.
It says-Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. Because they love Yahweh's Word-they love His Word. Now, if we love His Word, we're really gonna love Yahushua because His is the Living Word that became flesh and dwelled among us, right? So, if you really love Yahushua
you're gonna love the Word, and if you really love the Word, you're really gonna love Yahushua. It all goes hand in hand; it's all one. So, there's not this division between the two-it's not like there's law here and Yahushua over here and somehow, they're at odds - NO! It's not New Testament on one hand and Old Testament on the other and they're all battling each other-NOT AT ALL! In fact, it's all one. But the law in its role-it cannot save you, right? It can only instruct you in righteousness. Yahushua's example is the example of one who keeps the commandments that's in the law. So, we have to be willing to put Him-Yahweh-ahead of everything- anyone else in this world and what they tell you to do. I don't care if it's a father or a mother, or a son or a daughter or a sister or an uncle or aunt or grandpa-if they have the priority-if we love them more and we let them and what they teach us override something the scripture has said, Yahushua said this
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who does not take his stake and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. Putting Yahweh first-the most important thing. He must come before your family members. He didn't say we shouldn't love our family members, He said we must put Him and love Him more. Scripture says-John 17:5
or Jeremiah 17:5-Thus says Yahweh: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from Yahweh. Think about that! You're making flesh your strength by putting man first ahead if what Elohim says! And therefore, you become under this curse. Who wants to live under a curse-who wants to be under a curse? Not me! Hopefully not you! But if you're relying on flesh to be your strength-your heart departs from Yahweh, you'll be like a shrub in the desert-and shall not see when good comes, but will inhabit parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Nothing to drink. Man cannot give you what you need.
but blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose hope is Yahweh. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, not will cease from yielding fruit. So, there is one who trusts in Yahweh and
there is one who trusts in man. And it is so, so important
Yahweh comes first. That's true repentance-Yahweh first- no matter what. We put Yahweh first and all our life will just fall into amazing things-amazing things.
And so then, in this context, Yahweh says - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? The heart is deceitful-you may think you're really trusting in Yahweh, but the reality is-something in your life, you are putting your trust in man-you're putting man first. And Yahweh will expose it. It says-I, Yahweh, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. So, He will give according to the fruit of your doings. On the day of judgment, it will be exposed. So, the thing that we need to do-
true and genuine repentance-love Yahweh with all of our heart, soul and strength. And if we are approached and something in our heart, we begin to see we're putting our trust in man and not Elohim-and we're choosing to obey man rather than Elohim, then we need to go before our Heavenly Father with that problem, and we need to ask forgiveness and confess it as sin and turn away from it. Then begin on this journey of putting Yahweh first in our life. We can't make another man, we can't make a human being our idle-the one that we actually follow and expect us, on the day of judgment, to not be accused and be guilty of practicing idolatry. We're supposed to be monotheistic, right? There's only one Elohim, and so we can't be putting man in that place of Elohim, right? So, we must be willing to put Yahweh first above all things. We must have
GENUINE FAITH and GENUINE REPENTANCE.
Practice these and You WILL inherit the Kingdom. That's a promise from the Word. The Gospel is simple, but we must be sincere in our willingness to walk out these two elements of repentance and faith in Yahushua. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6
says-Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to Elohim must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We need to learn to put the things of Yahweh in a higher place of importance and say, "I'm gonna walk by faith, even if the thing that I'm doing here, about ready to do sounds crazy to some people-you know, even though it may sound really out of whack to some people-I'm going to believe-listen Yahweh's a rewarder of those that seek Him, and I'm gonna walk by faith in this area even though I may lose my job, I may lose my respect in the community, I may even lose my family-I'm going to put Yahweh first. And He will be a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I'm gonna choose to walk by faith". Okay-
Example-you know Yahweh says, "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy". You know He says it, and the man who chose to go around and gather firewood on the Sabbath was stoned, right? But somehow, you think you can get away with violating the Sabbath because some man told you - "You need to work that day", and some family member said, "You know what? You gotta provide for your family". And by that, you're putting man first, and you're not willing to walk by faith
and trust that if you seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, all those things you worried about will be added unto you. That's what He says. Don't worry about tomorrow, right? Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. That's a promise from the Word. So, we must be willing to put Him first, and put our faith and our trust in Him. Yahushua says "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. He wants to reward you-He wants to bless you-He wants to fill you with every blessing. In fact, He will bless you in this age and in the age to come-not just later on. There will be things happening to you in your life-there will be a closeness you will experience with the Most High that you never would have otherwise, having gone your own ways. So-Practice these and
you will inherit the Kingdom, and that's a promise from the Word of Yahweh. Did you know that Yahweh pays wages? He does-He pays wages
This scripture here says He's a rewarder. Look up the word
there-one who pays wages, a rewarder. Our work for Him does not go unpaid. It's not wrong to seek those wages either. In fact, it's impossible to please Him unless we believe He is one who pays wages for those who diligently seek Him. But then the wages of sin is death, right? The wages for walking out by faith and walking in righteousness-repentance and faith in Yahushua may or may not be a reward in this land between, but we know- the scriptures where Yahushua says
The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. So, it does not go unpaid. The word "reward" in this particular verse
comes from this Greek word 591-to deliver, to give away for one's own profit what is one's own, to pay off, discharge what is due, debt, wages, tribute, taxes, produce-all these things had to do with payment. You know you're working for Elohim- putting Him first. But a major problem is sometimes the body of Messiah does not
really value the rewards. We're too satisfied with quote "this world's riches". We're too satisfied with earthly pleasures-we don't really seek the pleasures in the age to come-we think we don't need it. You gotta be very careful about that mindset because Jacob, who understood the value of spiritual treasures, said to
Esau, he said-"Sell me your birthright as of this day." Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so, what is this birthright to me?" In other words, he didn't care about his children-he only cared about his own life, and what he was gonna get right now. And so, Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So, he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And so, Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. He hated it! Scripture says he didn't value it. Scripture says about Esau
"Jacob, I have loved, but Esau I have hated." Yahweh wants to know-do you treasure the spiritual blessings-do you treasure His rewards-that birthright into the kingdom of Elohim? What we're talking about here is a change in
perspective. We're talking about giving to Yahweh-our giving to Yahweh is not always monetary-it's the giving of ourselves, of our heart, of our work, of our lives. That's giving to Yahweh-being willing to go out of our comfort zone and seek His blessing-seek His face and be willing
to say, "You know what? I'm blessed when people hate me, exclude me, revile me, cast me as evil for the Son of Man's sake. In fact, I'm gonna rejoice-I'm gonna leap for joy!" Can you do that - leap for joy, knowing that rewards are great- that He paid His wages? You're gonna get a paycheck-you work one week-maybe two, and you're willing to do that because you're expecting one day, "Hey, I'm gonna get my paycheck-I'll buy me some food-I'll buy me some necessities, and maybe a few extra things. Well, why not labor for the Kingdom-why not labor for heavenly things? And when Yahweh gives a reward-noone can give a reward like Him-I mean, seriously. Then He says-"Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation". HA! All your earthly stuff-you know what? You don't have anything! You don't realize how much better what I have to offer really is. So, what we're supposed to do here is part of our way of storing up treasures-storing up wages-serve-serving other people
freely. Yahushua says-"Freely you receive, freely give". Give without expecting service in return. You see, Yahweh is looking for - not a few good men, He's looking for a few humble men to join the military-His military-the heavenly military-a call of duty. And we'll receive wages for our service too, you know, by being willing to go out into the mission fields and labor.
He who is greatest among you, Yahushua said will be your servant. Yahushua was the greatest servant that ever lived. He poured out His whole life in service to us and to Yahweh, His Father, and therefore, all power and authority was given to Him in Heaven and earth. And what He's saying to you is-
"Join the military". Be willing to
look to Yahushua, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the tree, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim. He looked to the joy set before Him, and He was able to endure. If you find difficulty in putting Yahweh first in your life a challenge-if you choose to look to the joy set before you,the reward. Do you know what the reward really is?
Remember what He said to Abraham? He said, "Don't be afraid Abraham-I am your shield, and I am your reward". And your reward is very great. So, He wants to be your protector, and being in His presence is a tremendous reward. Are we willing to labor for Him-are we willing to set aside earthly cares and be one who serves? An important question for us. That's part of serving- part of repentance and faith in Yahushua is being willing to put Him first in everything. You know what happens when everyone serves? If I'm serving you, and you're serving me, we all get served in the end, right? Yahushua said, "By this, all will know you're my disciples-if you have love for one another". Not love just, "Oh, I love you man." - but love as in real love, as in serving your brother and blessing your brother in his time of need - that's true love. Are we willing to walk out true love? I hope so. Are we willing to put our faith and our trust in Elohim-and seek after the heavenly things-the Kingdom-a true and genuine faith-a true and genuine repentance? I hope so-it's so important. So, I ask you-
are you willing to put your faith in Yahushua for forgiveness of sin? Are you willing to walk out genuine, true repentance? Yahweh wants you to join Him in His presence and
He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you? Very simple-do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your Elohim.
Three things here: Do justly-meaning repent-cease from walking in sin. Seek now to walk in justice and goodness, following Messiah's example. Love mercy-seeking His mercy through the Messiah Yahushua and because you love mercy, you're willing to extend that mercy toward your fellow man when he wrongs you. And then, Walk humbly-with Him. As you walk with Him, no matter where He takes you, remain humble. Remember, you did not save yourself. Don't boast against branches-don't be wise in your own opinion. If you think you know anything, you know nothing yet as you ought to know, and walk humbly. Say, "You know what? No matter where He takes me, He gets the glory because it's by His righteousness I'm saved." Are you willing to do that?
Let's pray. Oh, Father Yahweh-I thank You for the simplicity and yet, the power of Your Word. Yahweh-we pray that you would hear every humble heart that's approaching Your throne right now. Minister to them-strengthen them-cleanse them-purify them. Show them the glory of Your amazing grace. Reveal to them the wisdom that they're seeking after-to put You first in their life. We pray, Father if there's any who have heard the message today and recognizes an area that they're falling short, that they would approach Your throne room with boldness, knowing if they confess their sins, You're faithful and just to forgive them of their sins and cleanse them of all unrighteousness. For truly Yours is the kingdom and power and glory. Oh Father-I pray that the words I have spoken will truly, truly manifest themselves in the lives of those who hear. I've sought to repeat the things that You have said-that they might echo in our hearts and truly bring forth good fruit. Father, bring forth the fruit of Your Word. For truly Yours is the kingdom and power and glory and majesty, and all praise honor and worship belong to You-Yahweh Elohim- Yahweh, our Mighty One-forever and ever. In Yahushua's great name we pray. Amein.
So, if we practice these things, there is a promise from the Word of the living Elohim, Yahweh, our Creator-if we practice these things, He says we will inherit the kingdom, and it's a promise-it's not a maybe- it's not-a you might make it in by the "skin of your teeth". He says if you practice these things, you will inherit the kingdom. And that's important for us to know because so many times there's confusion out there among people about what it takes to be in the kingdom. We know scripture has said that a very important thing that we must do in order to inherit the kingdom is
GENUINE BELIEF IN YAHUSHUA THE MESSIAH. Now, it sounds so basic- it sounds so obvious, but those of us who've been in the faith a long time-of course you have to have belief in Yahushua the Messiah. Scripture does say
The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe in the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim abides in him. He who has the Son - First John 5:12 - has life; he who does not have the Son of Elohim does not have life. So, if we want to have eternal life, we must obviously
believe in the Son. Yahushua said- John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. So that is a guarantee - you will not approach the throne room of Elohim and enter into life unless you go through Yahushua the Messiah.
Romans 10:12-13-There is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Master over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of Yahweh shall be saved." Other scripture says
Acts 4:11-"This is the 'stone, which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Now-a genuine belief in Yahushua means we are not
trusting in our own righteousness, but we are trusting in HIS righteousness for salvation-not our own-not our own. Okay. And what's that mean? It means that if
you're thinking that oh, because you do a certain thing-you keep a certain command, you do this or you do that, or you go to church every week or you pay your tithe or you do this one thing or this other thing, and therefore, you will be saved because you do this one thing because of you-you-you-you-you. You got it all wrong. There's only one way you can enter in, and that is by HIS righteousness-NOT your righteousness. And that is what Paul was instructing to the Jewish people
here as he's writing regarding Israel, actually
It says-Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to Elohim for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for Elohim, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of Elohim's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim. They have not submitted to the righteousness of Elohim because they are seeking to establish their own righteousness-and it's out of ignorance. The point being that we cannot be saved-he desires that they may be saved. We cannot be saved unless we have submitted to the righteousness of Elohim. There is the righteousness that was placed in Yahushua, the Messiah, and this righteousness was from Yahweh-from the Heavenly Father. And even Yahushua himself says, "Why do you call Me good? There is one good - Elohim." So, all the goodness He had, came from Yahweh, the Father-all the righteousness came from Him. Yahushua says, "The son can do nothing of Himself, but that which He sees the Father do", right? So, coming from Elohim-this righteousness. How much more so you and me? Our righteousness certainly could in no wise be from us. We could not say, "we are good." We can say, "there is one that's good", right? So, in light of this, we continue here in Romans 10
For the Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. In other words, the law is not going to make you righteous. It is only going to declare what IS righteous and what IS unrighteous. The law which says Honor your Parents isn't what saves you even if you honored your parents.
There may be one other command you may have missed-ignorantly, perhaps or intentionally or if through temptation, you failed. Every single one of us have violated His standards. And so, there is only one way we can be made righteous-not through the law-it's through
Yahushua the Messiah. Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness, which is of the law,- it says, "The man who does those things shall live by them." Can you say that you have done every command that the law says you must do? Every one of us have violated standards, so only the one who does those things will live or have eternal life by them. So, it's not by our own righteousness, and it's for this reason scripture tells us
The righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?" (that is, to bring Messiah down from above) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead). He's talking about the Word here coming from the book of Deuteronomy-we're gonna read that in a minute. But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach)- Yahushua: that if you confess with your mouth the Master Yahushua and believe in your heart that Elohim has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. That's a promise from the Holy scriptures. Now this is coming-what he's quoting here is from the book of Deuteronomy.
Chapter 30 and verse 9 - Yahweh your Elohim will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For Yahweh will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers, "if you obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul. Then it says, regarding this book of the law, he says
"For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. - What? - this commandment-it's not far off, right? - That's what he's talking about - "It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it"' - He's talking about this commandment-it's not far off-it's not far away and when we look back in what Paul was saying about
these verses - who will ascend into heaven as to bring Messiah down from above. So look here-
It is saying, It is not in heaven-what's not in heaven? This commandment. Paul is interpeting that as the Messiah,right? This is because John 1:14-it's about Yahushua-says-He is the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. So He is the Living Word. He is a perfect example
of what Yahweh's Word looks like lived out. So, when we're referring to the Word, we're referring to Yahushua the Messiah, here in this text.
In Deuteronomy. And so, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it"' - talking about the Messiah-bring Him down that we may hear it and do it. "Nor is it beyond the sea, - that's to bring Him up from the grave-Hebraic thought here-the sea and the grave are related to each other in the text-sheol - that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' - that's to bring Messiah up from the dead - "But the word - this is the Messiah, the Messiah Yahushua - is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. So, Yahushua Hamashiach is dwelling in your heart, therefore, out of your mouth-the mouth speaks, right? - that we may do what? - Messiah-that we may do the commandments-one and the same-so that we may do His Word by His strength-by His power-by His Spirit dwelling in us, we have the living words of Elohim because we have the living word, Yahushua the Messiah dwelling in us. Make sense?
And so, that is how we not only receive righteousness when we have the Word of Yahweh right here. We also receive strength and power by His Spirit to walk out His Word and to speak His Word, and so therefore, we need Messiah Yahushua. We cannot come to the Father apart from Him, and the strength that He gives us.
So, the Word is near you-in your heart-in your mouth-this word of faith which we preach. So, therefore, since Messiah's dwelling in your heart
then you will confess
with your mouth the Master Yahushua, believing in our hearts Elohim has raised Him from the dead, and therefore, we become saved in Messiah's return. So, what do we say next? Therefore,
Romans 3:20-by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, - so by what the law is able to do-the deeds of the law-what's it able to do? It is able to do what? - it's able to die for you and give you eternal life- NO - it's only able to tell you what righteousness is. Therefore, by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified - this word "justified" means to be declared righteous. So, by the works of the law-what the law is able to do-you will not be able to be declared righteous because the only thing the law can do is tell you what the Word-tell you what Yahweh's standards are. And by that law because you learn what the standards of Yahweh are, you learn the knowledge of sin. And you realize this law does not declare you righteous-it only declares you unrighteous, and therefore, only through Yahushua the Messiah can you be saved, and not by your commandment keeping. Because the commandments-they only tell you the standard. Now, if you had kept Yahweh's commandments from the time you were born until the time you died, and never violated His standards one time-Yeah-it could justify you, just as it justified the Messiah Yahushua. But we haven't done that-it's not our situation. Our situation is-we have failed-we need a Savior; we need Yahushua to make us righteous where we have not walked in righteousness. But now the righteousness of Elohim apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of Elohim, through faith in Yahushua Messiah, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference- everybody-Jew, Gentile-the righteousness of Elohim apart from the law is revealed - Why? Because the Law and the Prophets predict Yahushua Messiah and His Righteousness will make you righteous through faith
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of Elohim, - everybody has sinned and fallen short of His Glory - being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that is in Messiah Yahushua, whom Elohim set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance Elohim had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Yahushua. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith - and by faith alone - apart from the deeds of the law. There is no one commandment you can keep
that Yahweh says, "Well if you do this command, then you will enter into life." Because of the other commands that you ultimately are going to fail at. And so, we need His righteousness at all times. Now, what about-does that mean we no longer need to keep the commandments-we can just go through life-trusting in Messiah and not bother to keep the commandments?
Let's continue reading. Is He the Elohim of the Jews only? Because He said previously here -
A man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Or is He the Elohim of the Jews only? Is He not the Elohim of the Gentiles also? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one Elohim who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised by faith. Do we then-do we then make void the law through faith? - Do we make void the law through faith-it means do we cause it to go away. Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. We establish it. So, the law has not been made void-contrary to what you may have heard-the law has not been made void. Rather, we establish it-that means we, by our faith, because Yahushua lives in us, we are able to walk as He walked. So, all these things about the law and how it doesn't justify you does not mean the law is null and void. It's still His standard that He expects us to live by-no different. But it doesn't save us. Yahweh saves us through Yahushua the Messiah who justifies us.
Galatians 2:20 says-"I have been crucified with Messiah; it is no longer I who live, but Messiah lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of Elohim, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Awesome! Now, since He lives in you, what should be the end result - disobedience or obedience?
1 John 2:6 says-He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. So, Yahushua the Messiah came to make
you righteous, and He came because you abide in Him, and He abides in you. He came so that you would have the power to walk as He walked. And so, the fact that He lives in you should be evidenced by the actions that you do. And that's why scripture says-
that repentance is necessary.
GENUINE REPENTANCE - that means turning away. The word "repent" in the Hebrew,
"Teshuva" means to turn. You are going the wrong direction, and now you're going to turn and start going the correct direction. And therefore, repentance
is necessary. We're gonna see this many times in scripture. You cannot walk a life-you cannot live your life having never repented of your sins and expect the blood of Yahushua to cleanse you-it won't happen.
Here's what scripture teaches. Peter said to them - Acts 2:38- Repent,and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise-that's the promise of the Spirit-is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as Yahweh our Elohim will call. So, if you repent-right here and it says be baptized for the remission of sins, you'll receive the gift the of the Holy Spirit, and this promise is to you and to your children and to all who are afar off-and whoever Yahweh wants to call. Again, the Hebrew word for repent
coming from "shuwb" - to return, turn back, to turn back, return, turn back, return, come back. You're moving away from Yahweh - He's saying - "Come back-Come back-Return to Me". Teshuva-repent-turn back to Him. So, that's it. Repentance
and faith in Yahushua. You might suppose that the broadcast could end right here-the study portion could end right here. It probably could, but we're gonna go into more detail because there's confusion as to what it means to repent and have faith in Yahushua. Of course, the enemy wants to confuse everything- wants to make it difficult-wants to make it hard to understand. The reality is-it's very easy to understand. Now, what are we actually repenting of? We're repenting of walking away from Yahweh. From turning-from going the wrong direction. But part of repentance involves choosing to love. We were not walking in love before, and now we're going to make a conscious desire and effort to walk in love. That's what He expects of us-to walk in love. And so, the important thing to remember is our faith in Messiah must contain a willingness to walk in love-by His standards-by His definition. And so, as part of repentance and faith in Yahushua-here are some important elements to remember. Genuine repentance is living
in a way with recognition that Yahweh is always watching our conduct. And we don't try to sneak around in our hearts, you know, yearning to sin in some capacity, and so we ignore His presence in our life and His eyes being
upon us. Psalm 139 verses 1-4 says-O Yahweh, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, Yahweh, You know it altogether. So, He searches you out. He wants to know whether or not your repentance is the real deal. So, He searches you out to find out whether it really is true and genuine repentance from the heart.
Another-being transparent to Yahweh about our sins. If we love Him, we don't want to grieve Him. He is ready to be our strength, if we call upon Him and seek His face during temptations. So, we need to be willing to look
to Him to be our strength during those times. We have to be transparent and be open and honest with Him about our struggles. You might think - "Well if I approach Elohim about this terrible thing that I have done or have been doing that I'll feel condemned". You don't need to feel condemned-you need to go before Him and bring that sin to Him and ask Him to help you overcome it. Just be open, honest, transparent. I mean we're transparent anyway whether you realize it or not. But our profession in Yahushua should be done in such a way that, you know, we are genuinely pursuing the Father's Will for our life and that we are genuinely transparent before Him regarding any difficulties and challenges that we are being faced with in our times of temptation and seek after Him to be cleansed of our sins-to be forgiven of our sins and thereby demonstrate a true repentance. A
true repentance is willing to confess their sins and know that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness, right? So, we're willing to confess our sins because we know He knows it anyway. So, go before Him and say "Abba, Father-I just-there's this one thing in my life I can't seem to overcome-I need Your Strength-I need You to strengthen me as Your Word has promised". And He wants to do that for you-He wants you to overcome.
Genuine repentance will recognize that we serve a full- time Elohim. So, a full-time Elohim means that
we are willing to love Yahweh our Elohim with all of our hearts, all of our souls and with all of our strength. He doesn't want part of your heart-He's not looking for half-heartedness-He doesn't want part of your strength-He wants all of your strength to love Him. The word strength actually means in Hebrew "Me�od" means muchness-everything. He's not a part-time Elohim. He is on the throne all the time. He's not off the throne one minute and
back on another. He doesn't stop being Elohim after Shabbat ends. He doesn't stop being Elohim while you go and do what you want. If we're a part-time believer trying to serve a full-time Elohim, we're in big trouble. And Yahushua had a word for that-He called it hypocrisy.
Matthew 23:27 says-Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Torahlessness. So, anyone can look good, look
the part, play a part-come into Sabbath services or to a feast and appear to have their life in order-everything looking great, but then really, they're just whitewashed tombs. In their hearts, they're just consumed by evil thoughts and evil deeds.
First Peter says-laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that Yahweh is gracious. Yahweh's looking for full-time believers in the midst of a generation that seems to take a half-hearted effort toward being in a relationship with Him. He's looking for those who have a sincere faith and willing to put Him first. That's part of
repentance. Loving Yahweh's Word and loving Truth.
In Second Thessalonians it says-The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders-don't be seeking after signs and wonders-instead seek after righteousness. He says-and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason Elohim will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. We must love the truth. We cannot lack in love for the truth because if we have pleasure in unrighteousness, and we don't really love the truth, we may find ourselves believing some kind of strong delusion. We may find ourselves, you know, thinking we're saved, when really, we're not-thinking we're in a relationship, when really, we're not. Yahushua once spoke about those folks
in Matthew 7-He said-many may come to Him saying "Master, Master", but they don't do the things He says. And there are some people who live their entire life believing that they are going to be saved, and really down deep, they don't really care for truth-they don't really care to walk in uprightness-they don't really care to change their lives. Now, if a man had a son, and his son did not understand his father's will, and he did something wrong because of that-what would the father do? A father would take that son aside and explain to him what he should be doing, right? Now what if that son-while his father was trying to talk to him just kind of sat there not really listening - "Yeah dad, yeah dad". And the reason he wasn't listening was because in the inner heart, he did not want to do what his father was telling him to do. He didn't love the truth-he wanted to do his own thing. The son of course, would be disciplined, but what if his son wouldn't listen to discipline either? In his mind, the wrong things he was doing was worth the discipline he was going to receive because He didn't really love his father. Maybe he thought he loved his father but, it was just that he loved his own ways more. You know almost everything we need to know in order to be saved can be summed up in a father-son relationship. The son didn't know, and he says - "Oh, thanks dad-I didn't know that's what you wanted". That's one thing, but to turn your ear away when confronted with truth and not really loving the truth of what your father is wanting to teach you-that's where we run into trouble. That's where there is a lack of true and genuine repentance, and we can find ouselves in trouble. Another thing
is a willingness to put Yahweh first, ahead of what man may want you to do. Suppose that same son
he listened to his father, but then when he got around his friends, everything changed. Everything changed-it's sort of like - "Well, my friends are telling me this" - it'd be a different story, wouldn't it? So, if the son wanted to listen to the peer pressure and do what his friends told him to do, then that's not right. And that's what we find probably of all these things-it seems like the most common problem is people are too busy listening to each other or listening to their friends and not listening to Elohim. You know modern seminary students cannot fathom this thought that the church could have possibly abandoned the Sabbath so quickly. But just after 70 A.D., there was this antisemitism going around because of this Jewish uprising against Rome, and Paul had warned the Romans not to boast against the branches and not to haughty or wise in their own opinion, but to fear. Well false teachers were present in the first century, believe it or not. And Paul even warned the assembly at Ephesus about men who would seek to draw them away.
Revelation 14:12. Sorry wrong verse. I guess I don't have that up there.
Acts 20 verse 29 says-I noticed after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves. He said-therefore, watch and remember that for three years, I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. He warned them about savage wolves. And it's quite possible in Ephesus-prior to the destruction of the temple, possibly, there were men rising up teaching against Yahweh's Word. You know, there are two kinds of false teachers-one teaches against the commandments, the other teaches against the Messiah. An illustration of how the modern church follows the church fathers in modern Judaism basically follows the teachings of first century rabbis. The Mishnah is the focal point of the Talmud. And then the Gemara, which is the rabbi's commentary on the Mishnah and the Torah and Rashi's commentary on both. But in both cases, we have men who have become stumbling blocks. The seminary teachers and professors have taught doctrines that are contrary to Elohim. And in these cases-both of these cases, you have two religions-mainstream Christianity and mainstream Judaism. Mainstream Christianity teaching that we don't have to keep the commandments and mainstream Judaism teaching that we don't have to believe in Messiah Yahushua. And so, the Gentiles won't come to the Torah because they're highly impressed with the church fathers, and it's a persona that people want to follow. A Baptist persona, a Pentecostal persona, a Mennonite persona, and most of the leaders of the various denominations within Christianity have been highly impressed with church fathers and their faith and their martyrdom. And it's difficult for them to fathom that those men could possibly have been so, so wrong. We can't follow man-we gotta look back to what the first century assembly and congregation was truly like. The Jews also have their highly decorated men whom they respect, whom they call rabbis and they're following. The amazing thing is that both religions are doing the same thing. The Jews in the first century did not receive Messiah because of the teachings of the rabbis. And the Jews in the 21st century are still following those same teachings of those same men preserved in the Mishnah and Talmud. So, the Jews won't come to Messiah because of the rabbis. And many Christians will not come to the commandments because of their pastors and teachers who follow the teachings of the ancient church fathers, and that's why I say
we need both the commandments of Elohim and the faith of Yahushua. We cannot put man ahead of Yahweh's Word. Also, another scripture to look at
Yahushua said-"Enter by the narrow gate- enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Why is this faith so simple to understand and yet so few find? It's in many ways because
people are following the majority; they're content to follow the majority. And whenever they're approached with this decision, and Yahweh will bring this decision to every human heart-He says He will-Deuteronomy 13 says He will test you-whether we will follow what man tells us to do or whether we will follow what He says to do. And it's so easy to minimize His voice when the voices of the crowds and the people are so loud-so easy. So, there's huge crowds of people who will walk in a way that's not right-why? Because everybody else is doing the same thing. And only a few are willing to go against the grain and be different-and be the oddball-and be ridiculed-and be mocked. And Yahushua said
in the context of this verse, He said this, He said-
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. So, you know them by their fruits-what comes out-what's coming out of them.
"Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Master, Master,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. So, just because lots of people are going one direction, don't take any confidence in that. We must do the will of our Father in heaven. "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Every
tree has a root system. a root system that's not feeding on the nutrition of Yahweh's Word is going to be a bad tree, and for this reason, it's fruit will not be good fruit. We need to examine our root system. Is our root system the writings of church fathers, the persona of a denomination, a grandpa, a father, a mother, a grandmother, a friend we're impressed with, western Gentile Christianity? Where's our root system rooted in? Is it based on the living Word of Elohim? Our root system, one day, will be revealed. And then the fruits that coming out of our lives will be revealed as either being from Elohim or from some other place. We can't be impressed with what men do, and then fear what men will say. We have to be impressed with Yahushua the Messiah and Him crucified, and the way He lived His life. Because there's a danger-there's a snare-it says the fear of man brings a snare.
Whoever trusts in Yahweh will be made safe. In the end, it will not be church fathers, rabbis, spouses, children, brothers, anyone standing next to you on judgment day saying, "Yep, you can let them in". They will not be declaring you guilty or not guilty. We will stand before the judgment seat of Messiah
and give an account-not for whether our lives were pleasing to men or in accordance with some man's teachings-we will give account as to whether or not we lived our life in submission to Yahweh's Word. And if we did fail in our submission to Yahweh's Word, whether we trusted in Yahushua the Messiah to cleanse us and fill us with all righteousness. So, we want to walk in the way of Shalom, trusting in the grace of Yahweh through our Master Yahushua for forgiveness of sin, and cleave to the Law of Yahweh for direction and guidance in our lives. And when we do that-make that our priority-nothing will cause us to stumble.
It says-Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble. Because they love Yahweh's Word-they love His Word. Now, if we love His Word, we're really gonna love Yahushua because His is the Living Word that became flesh and dwelled among us, right? So, if you really love Yahushua
you're gonna love the Word, and if you really love the Word, you're really gonna love Yahushua. It all goes hand in hand; it's all one. So, there's not this division between the two-it's not like there's law here and Yahushua over here and somehow, they're at odds - NO! It's not New Testament on one hand and Old Testament on the other and they're all battling each other-NOT AT ALL! In fact, it's all one. But the law in its role-it cannot save you, right? It can only instruct you in righteousness. Yahushua's example is the example of one who keeps the commandments that's in the law. So, we have to be willing to put Him-Yahweh-ahead of everything- anyone else in this world and what they tell you to do. I don't care if it's a father or a mother, or a son or a daughter or a sister or an uncle or aunt or grandpa-if they have the priority-if we love them more and we let them and what they teach us override something the scripture has said, Yahushua said this
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who does not take his stake and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. Putting Yahweh first-the most important thing. He must come before your family members. He didn't say we shouldn't love our family members, He said we must put Him and love Him more. Scripture says-John 17:5
or Jeremiah 17:5-Thus says Yahweh: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from Yahweh. Think about that! You're making flesh your strength by putting man first ahead if what Elohim says! And therefore, you become under this curse. Who wants to live under a curse-who wants to be under a curse? Not me! Hopefully not you! But if you're relying on flesh to be your strength-your heart departs from Yahweh, you'll be like a shrub in the desert-and shall not see when good comes, but will inhabit parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited. Nothing to drink. Man cannot give you what you need.
but blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose hope is Yahweh. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, not will cease from yielding fruit. So, there is one who trusts in Yahweh and
there is one who trusts in man. And it is so, so important
Yahweh comes first. That's true repentance-Yahweh first- no matter what. We put Yahweh first and all our life will just fall into amazing things-amazing things.
And so then, in this context, Yahweh says - "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? The heart is deceitful-you may think you're really trusting in Yahweh, but the reality is-something in your life, you are putting your trust in man-you're putting man first. And Yahweh will expose it. It says-I, Yahweh, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. So, He will give according to the fruit of your doings. On the day of judgment, it will be exposed. So, the thing that we need to do-
true and genuine repentance-love Yahweh with all of our heart, soul and strength. And if we are approached and something in our heart, we begin to see we're putting our trust in man and not Elohim-and we're choosing to obey man rather than Elohim, then we need to go before our Heavenly Father with that problem, and we need to ask forgiveness and confess it as sin and turn away from it. Then begin on this journey of putting Yahweh first in our life. We can't make another man, we can't make a human being our idle-the one that we actually follow and expect us, on the day of judgment, to not be accused and be guilty of practicing idolatry. We're supposed to be monotheistic, right? There's only one Elohim, and so we can't be putting man in that place of Elohim, right? So, we must be willing to put Yahweh first above all things. We must have
GENUINE FAITH and GENUINE REPENTANCE.
Practice these and You WILL inherit the Kingdom. That's a promise from the Word. The Gospel is simple, but we must be sincere in our willingness to walk out these two elements of repentance and faith in Yahushua. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6
says-Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to Elohim must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We need to learn to put the things of Yahweh in a higher place of importance and say, "I'm gonna walk by faith, even if the thing that I'm doing here, about ready to do sounds crazy to some people-you know, even though it may sound really out of whack to some people-I'm going to believe-listen Yahweh's a rewarder of those that seek Him, and I'm gonna walk by faith in this area even though I may lose my job, I may lose my respect in the community, I may even lose my family-I'm going to put Yahweh first. And He will be a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. I'm gonna choose to walk by faith". Okay-
Example-you know Yahweh says, "Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy". You know He says it, and the man who chose to go around and gather firewood on the Sabbath was stoned, right? But somehow, you think you can get away with violating the Sabbath because some man told you - "You need to work that day", and some family member said, "You know what? You gotta provide for your family". And by that, you're putting man first, and you're not willing to walk by faith
and trust that if you seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, all those things you worried about will be added unto you. That's what He says. Don't worry about tomorrow, right? Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. That's a promise from the Word. So, we must be willing to put Him first, and put our faith and our trust in Him. Yahushua says "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. He wants to reward you-He wants to bless you-He wants to fill you with every blessing. In fact, He will bless you in this age and in the age to come-not just later on. There will be things happening to you in your life-there will be a closeness you will experience with the Most High that you never would have otherwise, having gone your own ways. So-Practice these and
you will inherit the Kingdom, and that's a promise from the Word of Yahweh. Did you know that Yahweh pays wages? He does-He pays wages
This scripture here says He's a rewarder. Look up the word
there-one who pays wages, a rewarder. Our work for Him does not go unpaid. It's not wrong to seek those wages either. In fact, it's impossible to please Him unless we believe He is one who pays wages for those who diligently seek Him. But then the wages of sin is death, right? The wages for walking out by faith and walking in righteousness-repentance and faith in Yahushua may or may not be a reward in this land between, but we know- the scriptures where Yahushua says
The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. So, it does not go unpaid. The word "reward" in this particular verse
comes from this Greek word 591-to deliver, to give away for one's own profit what is one's own, to pay off, discharge what is due, debt, wages, tribute, taxes, produce-all these things had to do with payment. You know you're working for Elohim- putting Him first. But a major problem is sometimes the body of Messiah does not
really value the rewards. We're too satisfied with quote "this world's riches". We're too satisfied with earthly pleasures-we don't really seek the pleasures in the age to come-we think we don't need it. You gotta be very careful about that mindset because Jacob, who understood the value of spiritual treasures, said to
Esau, he said-"Sell me your birthright as of this day." Esau said, "Look, I am about to die; so, what is this birthright to me?" In other words, he didn't care about his children-he only cared about his own life, and what he was gonna get right now. And so, Jacob said, "Swear to me as of this day." So, he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And so, Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. He hated it! Scripture says he didn't value it. Scripture says about Esau
"Jacob, I have loved, but Esau I have hated." Yahweh wants to know-do you treasure the spiritual blessings-do you treasure His rewards-that birthright into the kingdom of Elohim? What we're talking about here is a change in
perspective. We're talking about giving to Yahweh-our giving to Yahweh is not always monetary-it's the giving of ourselves, of our heart, of our work, of our lives. That's giving to Yahweh-being willing to go out of our comfort zone and seek His blessing-seek His face and be willing
to say, "You know what? I'm blessed when people hate me, exclude me, revile me, cast me as evil for the Son of Man's sake. In fact, I'm gonna rejoice-I'm gonna leap for joy!" Can you do that - leap for joy, knowing that rewards are great- that He paid His wages? You're gonna get a paycheck-you work one week-maybe two, and you're willing to do that because you're expecting one day, "Hey, I'm gonna get my paycheck-I'll buy me some food-I'll buy me some necessities, and maybe a few extra things. Well, why not labor for the Kingdom-why not labor for heavenly things? And when Yahweh gives a reward-noone can give a reward like Him-I mean, seriously. Then He says-"Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation". HA! All your earthly stuff-you know what? You don't have anything! You don't realize how much better what I have to offer really is. So, what we're supposed to do here is part of our way of storing up treasures-storing up wages-serve-serving other people
freely. Yahushua says-"Freely you receive, freely give". Give without expecting service in return. You see, Yahweh is looking for - not a few good men, He's looking for a few humble men to join the military-His military-the heavenly military-a call of duty. And we'll receive wages for our service too, you know, by being willing to go out into the mission fields and labor.
He who is greatest among you, Yahushua said will be your servant. Yahushua was the greatest servant that ever lived. He poured out His whole life in service to us and to Yahweh, His Father, and therefore, all power and authority was given to Him in Heaven and earth. And what He's saying to you is-
"Join the military". Be willing to
look to Yahushua, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the tree, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim. He looked to the joy set before Him, and He was able to endure. If you find difficulty in putting Yahweh first in your life a challenge-if you choose to look to the joy set before you,the reward. Do you know what the reward really is?
Remember what He said to Abraham? He said, "Don't be afraid Abraham-I am your shield, and I am your reward". And your reward is very great. So, He wants to be your protector, and being in His presence is a tremendous reward. Are we willing to labor for Him-are we willing to set aside earthly cares and be one who serves? An important question for us. That's part of serving- part of repentance and faith in Yahushua is being willing to put Him first in everything. You know what happens when everyone serves? If I'm serving you, and you're serving me, we all get served in the end, right? Yahushua said, "By this, all will know you're my disciples-if you have love for one another". Not love just, "Oh, I love you man." - but love as in real love, as in serving your brother and blessing your brother in his time of need - that's true love. Are we willing to walk out true love? I hope so. Are we willing to put our faith and our trust in Elohim-and seek after the heavenly things-the Kingdom-a true and genuine faith-a true and genuine repentance? I hope so-it's so important. So, I ask you-
are you willing to put your faith in Yahushua for forgiveness of sin? Are you willing to walk out genuine, true repentance? Yahweh wants you to join Him in His presence and
He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does Yahweh require of you? Very simple-do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your Elohim.
Three things here: Do justly-meaning repent-cease from walking in sin. Seek now to walk in justice and goodness, following Messiah's example. Love mercy-seeking His mercy through the Messiah Yahushua and because you love mercy, you're willing to extend that mercy toward your fellow man when he wrongs you. And then, Walk humbly-with Him. As you walk with Him, no matter where He takes you, remain humble. Remember, you did not save yourself. Don't boast against branches-don't be wise in your own opinion. If you think you know anything, you know nothing yet as you ought to know, and walk humbly. Say, "You know what? No matter where He takes me, He gets the glory because it's by His righteousness I'm saved." Are you willing to do that?
Let's pray. Oh, Father Yahweh-I thank You for the simplicity and yet, the power of Your Word. Yahweh-we pray that you would hear every humble heart that's approaching Your throne right now. Minister to them-strengthen them-cleanse them-purify them. Show them the glory of Your amazing grace. Reveal to them the wisdom that they're seeking after-to put You first in their life. We pray, Father if there's any who have heard the message today and recognizes an area that they're falling short, that they would approach Your throne room with boldness, knowing if they confess their sins, You're faithful and just to forgive them of their sins and cleanse them of all unrighteousness. For truly Yours is the kingdom and power and glory. Oh Father-I pray that the words I have spoken will truly, truly manifest themselves in the lives of those who hear. I've sought to repeat the things that You have said-that they might echo in our hearts and truly bring forth good fruit. Father, bring forth the fruit of Your Word. For truly Yours is the kingdom and power and glory and majesty, and all praise honor and worship belong to You-Yahweh Elohim- Yahweh, our Mighty One-forever and ever. In Yahushua's great name we pray. Amein.