Can we find joyous blessings in all circumstances? I am confident, brothers and sisters in Yahweh, that there is alot to rejoice about in all circumstances.
HalleluYah!!!!
Blessed be the Name of Yahweh!
How many of you watching or listening to this broadcast today are going through some trials?
In the past year, I have definitely had my share of trials. In fact, I'm still going through some of them. But when I started to go through this and was trying to endure it, there was one thing which I felt Yahweh's conviction on. Something that I found a great amount of strength in. It really helped me a great deal.
And so I want to share this with you today. I know that if it encourages me, it can encourage someone out there and probably all of us.
What's amazing is that when I realized the amount of power and the amount of strength I could tap into by understanding this, I realized how much a hypocrite I was.
Because I have taught on this before, and here I was going through it and not living it.
But there were some new angles to it that helped me realize how much what I had taught before really applied. Now I'm not going to give you a re-run, you've had a year of re-runs.
But it's based on a principle I had learned a number of years ago with a very different angle to it. A different perspective.
But first I would like every one of us to think back to the time, to the first day when you first humbled yourself before Yahweh. To when you admitted that you were not wise enough to direct your own life, and you decided that you were going to put your life into the wise and trustworthy hands of Yahweh. When you sought His great mercies for going your own way, and found peace and contentment in knowing that when you put your life in the hands of Yahweh, that you were in good hands.
Think back to that time.
Maybe when you first believed, you called on the name of Jesus and started attending a Sunday church. There was always a time that we could point back to and say "that day, I really did give my life to Yahweh, to the creator of the universe." It was a time of rejoicing that our sins were forgiven, and being thankful that Yahweh in His mercy called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light.
1Peter 2:9 - But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light,
And the angels of heaven rejoiced:
Luke 15:8 - Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? Luke 15:9 - And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Luke 15:10 - Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of ELOHIM over one sinner that repenteth.
On the day that we repented, there was joy and rejoicing in heaven. That's what Yahushua taught us. Maybe we didn't really realize it at the time, but there really is alot of joy when a man is on his face crying his eyes out because he repented. He has been transformed from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.
They weren't rejoicing
because we sinned, but because we changed our attitude toward sin. And because
when we changed our attitude toward sin, that we received mercy and grace from
Yahweh. They know that when we receive Yahweh, we receive mercy and grace, that
mercy has triumphed over judgment.
Yahushua went through much suffering so that we could be granted the priviledge
of eternal life. So when we do choose to receive Him, then He knows that He did
not die for us in vain.
When we receive Yahushua, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach ha
Kodesh, and we begin bearing the fruits thereof. One of the fruits of the
Spirit is joy:
Galatians 5:22 - But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Galatians 5:23 - gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
If His Spirit is dwelling in us, the joy of Yahweh will be made manifest...in us
:)
Have we received this joy?
Many of us experienced it
when we first believed or when we were baptized.
Yahweh blessed me with the privilege of baptizing five believers in the name of
Yahushua, last Shavuot. It was a blessed time of joy and rejoicing in Yahweh,
for the abundance of His love and kindness. That grace appeared to all of us
and especially the souls who went down in the water that day and were raised up
a new creation in Yahushua ha Mashiach.
Some of them had been Baptized before, but they wanted to renew their
commitments and they wanted to be Baptized in the true and awesome name of
Yahushua ha Mashiakh. Making sure that when they stand before Him, they can say
"Yes I was Baptized in the name of Yahushua ha Mashiakh, just like your Word
says."For some of us that Baptism and this repentance all happened a very long
time ago. But I want to ask the question, "Do we have any reason to be less
joyful now? Have we forgotten the goodness and mercy of Yahweh that brought us
to repentance and salvation?"
It is the tendency of human nature, the nature of the old man, to forget the
good things that Yahweh has done.
When Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of slavery, out of the land of Egypt/Mitzraim, and the old men of Egypt perished in the waters of the Sea of Reeds, it was a time of great rejoicing:
Exodus 15:19 - For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and Yahweh brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
Exodus 15:20 - Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
Exodus 15:21 - And Miriam answered them: "Sing to Yahweh, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!"
So they're all rejoicing and everythings great and they're having a good old time and the timbrel's are out and there's all this jubilation. But then...
Exodus 15:22 - So Moshe brought Israel from the Reed Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
Exodus 15:23 - Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.
Imagine that. They come to water. "There's water! There's water!" And then they can't drink it. It's too bitter.
Exodus 15:24 - And the people complained against Moshe, saying, "What shall we drink?"
Exodus 15:25 - So he cried out to Yahweh, and Yahweh showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them,
Exodus 15:26 - and said, "If you diligently heed the voice of Yahweh your Elohim and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am Yahweh who heals you."
So right after their time of jubilation, Yahweh tested them. That happens alot, that after a person's been Baptized, Yahweh will test them.
So they came into this wilderness and they started complaining. They started complaining about this new walk. For some reason the rejoicing stopped.
They realized that they had crossed the Sea of Reeds and went through this huge, awesome thing. The sea split open and they went through dry land and Yahweh performed an awesome miracle. And they get to the other side only to find that there was no water on the other side.
Have we ever felt like this? We went through this time of rejoicing when we chose to walk a new life, only to find that our life in this wilderness isn't quite as glorious and problem free as we thought?
Did someone sell us a bill of goods, saying that once we come to Yahushua our lives will now be void of any major problems, and we won't have to suffer anymore...
....but then we find out that our life in Messiah isn't quite the bed of roses that we were told it was. Maybe now some of us are even bitter over this.
My dear brethren, whoever
sold you that bill was probably also sold the same bill of goods... and they
will discover, if they haven't already, that our life in Messiah has many tests,
trials and tribulations.
In fact our life in Messiah is characterized as a life of suffering:
1 Pet. 2:21 - For to this you were called, because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.
That's what we're called to. Our calling is to suffer. That's what we've brought ourselves into. That's the decision that we have made.
It's sort of like, a man goes to College, he suffers through much College, much study, much difficulty, much trial, so that he may obtain a more worthy goal. Which is a nice job somewhere in some company. Where he can have a nice retirement and live the rest of his life happily ever after. Many pursue that and find otherwise.
But when we pursue the difficult things. When we choose Yahweh, not making the soft choices, but making the difficult, the hard choices, and we're willing to suffer. Well, His retirement program is out of this world, literally.
The point is that part of our calling is to suffer, and if we don't understand that, we are going to be very disappointed.
So the children of Israel went without water for three days. Finding good water wasn't an easy thing to do in the dry and barren wilderness of the Negev desert. I visited Be'ersheba and it's a miracle that there was ever a well found there, but Abraham found one.
But why did Yahweh do this to them? Why did He allow them to suffer hunger and thirst and adversity and trial and test and tribulation? Why was He doing this? Why didn't he just make it real easy? Then everybody would want to do it. Why does he make it hard?
He gives us the answer:
Deut. 8:2 - "And you shall remember that Yahweh your Elohim led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Deut. 8:3 - "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yahweh.
That's how we live.
So it seems that Yahweh wants to know if we truly believe in Him. Are His promises enough? Are the good things He's done for us already in granting us salvation enough? Is the time of rejoicing for the salvation of Yahweh and our faith in rejoicing for the promises He offers us in the future enough to carry us through this land in between?
And in this land in between, this wilderness, will we be thankful to Yahweh and rejoice for the blessings that we do have, or will we murmur in our tents and long to go back to Egypt?
Num. 11:1 - Now when the people complained, it displeased Yahweh; for Yahweh heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of Yahweh burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.
Num. 11:2 - Then the people cried out to Moshe, and when Moshe prayed to Yahweh, the fire was quenched.
Num. 11:3 - So he called the name of the place Taberah, because the fire of Yahweh had burned among them.
Obviously, Yahweh doesn't like complaining.
Num. 11:4 - Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: "Who will give us meat to eat?
Num. 11:5 - "We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic;
Num. 11:6 - "but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!"
They forgot. They forgot the great bondage they were in. They were acting as if the land of Egypt was a great place to live. In one place they had the audacity to say:
Num. 16:12 - And Moshe sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, but they said, "We will not come up!
Num. 16:13 - "Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you should keep acting like a prince over us?
They didn't like authority too well, did they? And they thought, in their eyes,
that the land they were coming out of was the land of milk and honey. It's
amazing how the rigors and bondage of Egypt were forgotten, and they only
remembered the good things that they had received there.
When we subjected our lives to the harsh rule of Satan, we endured slavery just
so that our flesh would be satisfied with temporary pleasures. But at some point
we all realized that it wasn't worth it. We began to see that Yahweh's promises
were far better than the hopeless end, that is destruction, that we were heading
toward.
So now that we have turned to Yahweh, it seems to me that Yahweh wants to know
now whether we will give up our temporary pleasures and feed instead on His
promises and His goodness? And will we believe Him that our life here in the
wilderness is well worth it that we might obtain goodness in the land of
promise? Will we give up our own desires, our fleshly desires, that we might
obtain a greater goal and a greater good?
Will we lift up our eyes and see all the good things that Yahweh has already
done for us, and continues to do for us and what He promises to do for us in the
age to come?
Notice all 'for us.' For us. For us. For us. And are we thankful for those
things to the extent that we say, "It is enough? What He's already done is
enough. I am thankful for what I have been promised and what I have been given,
and am not worthy to be sitting back here demanding more."
Will our souls feed on the good Word of Yahweh and His promises, knowing that we
will never find eternal life in the pursuit of temporary pleasures? You never
find the eternal in things that are temporary. We're only going to find life..
abundant life... in every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh, because
His Word and His mercy both endure forever.
Yahushua went through the same thing the children of Israel went through in many
ways. He was Baptized. He wasn't Baptized in the Sea of Reeds, but He was
Baptized. He was brought through water. And right after His Baptism, He was
led by the Spirit of Yahweh into the wilderness and He was caused to go without:
Lk. 4:1 - Then Yahushua, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Lk. 4:2 - being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
Lk. 4:3 - And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of Elohim, command this stone to become bread."
Lk. 4:4 - But Yahushua answered him, saying, "It is written, (HE REMEMBERED THAT VERSE FROM DEUTERONOMY 8:3 WE QUOTED FROM EARLIER) `Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of Elohim.'"
So Yahushua was tested like the children of Israel were tested. He was 40 days in the desert with no food, not even manna. But there was a hidden manna He was partaking of. It was the Word of Elohim and His focus was not on the temporal things.. His focus was on the eternal things, the eternal Word of Yahweh.
The three years the disciples walked with Yahushua, they found the same thing
also:
Jn. 6:66 - From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.
Jn. 6:67 - Then Yahushua said to the twelve, "Do you also want to go away?"
Jn. 6:68 - But Simon Peter answered Him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life.
Jn. 6:69 - "Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim."
So it was the Words of life. The Words of eternal life. Their faith in the Messiah, the Son of the Living Elohim that caused them to follow and to not turn away.
SHEEP FOLLOW SHEPHERD BECAUSE OF FOOD
I have a flock of sheep. As long as I have a grain bucket in my hand and I call
for them amd shake the grain bucket, they will follow me wherever I go. They
were a half mile away at my neighbors yard and they followed me through the
woods, through the briar patches, everywhere I went, they followed me. Why,
because I had a bucket of grain in my hand, I kept shaking it. They followed me
because I had the food. They love that food and they followed me everywhere I
went.
The illustration here is that Yahweh is our Shepherd and He leads us beside the
green pastures, beside the still waters.
Psalms 23:1 - {A Psalm of David.} YAHWEH [is] my Shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalms 23:2 - He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
As we lay down and relax and chew our cuds in the green pastures, that's what keeps us going, the Words of the Shepherd. And because of the Words of the Shepherd, the food that He feeds us, we'll follow Him anywhere.
Yahushua's disciples followed Him everywhere. Everywhere He went, they
followed. Like children. That's what children do. Children follow. So we
need to be like children and follow.
It's the Words of eternal life He was giving that prompted His disciples to
follow and prompted Yahushua to follow and prompted the children of Israel to go
through this wilderness (the ones that didn't die in the backside of the
desert). They followed right into the promised land because of the Words that
were promised to them.
We raise sheep, and as soon as they see me walking by, they follow me because
they think I might give them food. So sheep are motivated to follow because of
food. We also follow the Good Shepherd, because of the good spiritual food He
gives (His Word).
So Yahushua asks, "Will you also go away?" Because so many will go away. We
His sheep will reply "To whom shall we go? You have the Words of eternal life."
John 6:68 - But Simon Peter answered Him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.
What is it about His Word that keeps us going? What is the magnet or attraction that keeps us going? What do we find in the Scriptures that prompts us to go?
*L - O - V - E *
Love.
In the scriptures, Yahweh teaches us about how much He loves us. And how much
He wants to bless us. And He teaches us how to love Him and how much we ought
to love our fellow man
It is man's failure to love that creates all the problems in the world today.
It was man's failure to love Yahweh and the choice by Adam and Hawwah (or Eve)
to put forward their own will, their own desires to be in first place. It's
deceptive thinking that if we please ourselves and do what our own desires are,
that we're going to be happy. That is what created the condition we're in
today. We're never going to find the solution by repeating their mistake.
The solution is to walk in loving obedience to Yahweh's Word, which brings us
true life, deep down in the heart joy, and true blessing!
Yahweh created us, He knows what is going to ultimately bring us peace. He
knows what's going to bring us a deep down inner joy. A deep down inner
satisfaction that will keep us strong through every trial and temptation that we
face.
But are we like the children of Israel, yearning for the leeks and onions of
Egypt?
Will we chase after what appears to give us peace, joy and
satisfaction...satisfying the evil cravings of our flesh, or are we going to
trust Him, knowing that every good things comes down from the Father of lights?
James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
If we're seeking solutions outside the Word of Yahweh, we're going to find that man, he offers for us a manufactured joy. A plastic laughter, very temporary. Because only the mind is fed and not the spirit within us. Our heart still bleeds with sorrow and yearns for a solution. But Satan offers a ton of solutions that "seem right."
Prov. 14:12 - There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
Prov. 14:13 - Even in laughter the heart may sorrow, And the end of mirth may be grief.
Prov. 14:14 - The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.
Very wise words in these Scriptures here.
I've heard it said, that "America is going to hell, and their laughing all the way." This manufactured laughter is just a temporary medicine that doesn't heal the sorrows and the yearnings deep within our heart. We always have to have more.
The backslider will spend all his time pleasing himself, but we will only find genuine, true satisfaction in things that are eternal, things that are from above.
In fact, if you truly want to be miserable, here is what you can do:
1) Always think and talk about yourself, using 'I' as often as possible.
2) Value yourself by what others say of you.
3) Always expect to be appreciated.
4) Be suspicious and jealous of others.
Remember this is how you make yourself miserable.
5) Be sensitive to slights, keeping records of criticisms.
6) Trust only yourself and insist on respect.
7) And constantly be on the lookout for a good time for yourself, doing as little as possible for others.
Do these things I guarantee you, you will be miserable. A perfect recipe. It
work's every time.
But if we feed on Yahweh's word, we will learn something that is an awesome
eternal truth:
Acts 20:35b - "....remember the Words of the Master Yahushua, that He said,`It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
The true way of love, found in the word of Yahweh, teaches us that it's only when we begin to serve and bless others, that we find a blessing for ourselves.
The busier we are serving Yahweh & serving others, the more victory we'll gain
over temptations and trials, and the more joy we will find in this land
between. Serving others takes the focus off ourselves. Takes our eyes of the
vanity mirror and looks around us to see the needs of others out there.
Both Joseph & Yahushua both overcame trials temptation, & both of them had a
love-based servant's heart.
Joseph couldn't fathom the idea of sinning against the very ones he was focused
on blessing, Potiphar. He couldn't consider ever doing something wrong to
Potiphar by walking in this temptation of commiting adultry with the man's
wife. He couldn't consider such a thing. Why? He was so focused on serving
him and being appreciative of the blessing that he had.
Gen. 39:8 - But he refused (BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO COMMIT ADULTRY WITH HIM) and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
Gen. 39:9 - "There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against Elohim?"
He couldn't fathom it. He was so focused on the blessing and on serving. He couldn't fathom the idea of sinning against the one he was focused on serving. He wasn't self focused. He wasn't looking out for himself. So when temptation came, he overcame, because he wasn't self focused.
There's a connection between two scriptures that I encourage everyone to
meditate on:
Matt. 5:19 - "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Now which do we want to be. Obviously we want to be the great. Therefore we want to do, and teach the commandments. Now there's another scripture I want us to look at:
Matt. 20:26b - "...whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.
Matt. 20:27 - "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--
Matt. 20:28 - "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
There's a connection between these two verses. He said if you want to be great,
do this:
1) DO THE COMMANDMENTS.
2) SERVE.
The connection is that those who do the commandments are called great, because the ones who serve are the ones doing the commandments. The ones who are least in the Kingdom are the ones who are focused on "self" and what "SELF" gets in the here and now.
They find it hard to gain victory over their sin because they are self-focused. But the ones who are focused on serving are those who gain the most victory over trials and temptations.
They find joy in blessing others, and in pleasing Yahweh. They are too busy serving and blessing others to get caught up in this idleness and self-serving focus, that breeds sin.
Do we see a connection my brothers? If we're having trouble overcoming in trials or temptation or difficulty, start serving and see what happens. All of a sudden, it becomes a whole lot easier.
Yahweh's word is our food that we live by, and it is His word that teaches us how to love and how to serve Him, and how to serve our fellow man. That's why we are here on this earth. I will be talking more about this in the coming weeks.
So where can we find strength to do the things that Yahweh has called us to do?
So many times when someone requests prayer, they ask for strength. It's very
important that we ask Yahweh for strength. But where do we get that strength?
What's the source of our strength?
Prov. 24:5 - A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
The Word of Yahweh gives us wisdom and therefore the Word of Yahweh is going to give us strength. As long as it's falling on a fertile heart, and a desire to love, and not just puffing us up.
There are many ways that Yahweh's Word gives us strength, but I want to call
your attention to a particular story coming from the book of Nehemiah:
Nehemiah 8:1 - Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moshe, which Yahweh had commanded Israel.Nehemiah 8:2 - So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month.
Nehemiah 8:3 - Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.
Nehemiah 8:4 - So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithyah, and Shema, and Anayah, and Uriyah, and Chilqiyah, and Ma'aseyah. And on his left stood Pedayah, and Misha'el, and Malkiyah, and Khashum, and Khashbaddanah, Zekaryah, Meshullam.
Nehemiah 8:5 - And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
(I love the respect they had for Yahweh's word here!)
Nehemiah 8:6 - And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. Then all the people answered, "Amein, Amein!" while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped Yahweh with their faces to the ground.
Why? Because he opened the Book of the Law. You see we open the Book of the Law today, but where is the appreciation? We need to have appreciation and be thankful for the good Word that we're able to read from everyday.
Lets keep
reading:
Nehemiah 8:7 - Also Yeshua, and Bani, and Sherebyah, Yamin, Aqqub, Shabbethai, Hodiyah, Ma'aseyah, Qelita, Azaryah, Yozabad, Chanan, Pelayah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place.Nehemiah 8:8 - So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of Elohim; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.
Nehemiah 8:9 - And Nehemiah, who was the governor, \l Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to Yahweh your Elohim; do not mourn nor weep." For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.
Nehemiah 8:10 - Then he said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to Yahweh. Do not sorrow, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength."
Did you catch that? Do not sorrow, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength. A
very interesting situation, the fact that they were told not to weep. When they
heard the Words of the Law, they realized how they had failed Yahweh and they
started weeping over it.
One might think that this is a good reason to be grieved. They were grieving
and mourning over the fact that they had failed Yahweh. Have we ever felt like
that? You might think it's a good reason to have no joy at that moment.
Seemingly it is, but he told them: "Weep not. Mourn not. This is a holy day to
Yahweh, the joy of Yahweh is your strength."
"The joy of Yahweh? I've failed him miserably. How can I rejoice? What reason
is there to rejoice, knowing that I've failed Yahweh?
How can we just go from sadness and mourning to joy, just like that?"
It's in believing the Words of Yahweh that your sins are forgiven!
That when you have that attitude toward your sins. Your sins are forgiven, and
you are the kind of person that He will save. Because of your repentant heart
and your faith in Him. Yahweh's Word says that there is forgiveness available.
In fact at that moment all the Angels in Heaven are rejoicing. So the Spirit of
Yahweh within us ought to compel us to rejoice, because we were lost and now we
are found, and now the Joy of Yahweh is our strength! You get that? When we
pray for strength, the joy of Yahweh is our strength.
And let's look at that verse again:
It says to "send portions" for those who have nothing. Send portions. In other
words, "Serve." Rejoice and serve! Rejoice and now out of my abundance bless
others. Then, you will be given strength. He's telling them what will
strengthen them, in a time of mourning, in a time of sadness. In a time of
despair, what will strengthen you is the joy of Yahweh and serving.
Continuing....
Nehemiah 8:11 - So the Levites quieted all the people, saying, "Be still, for
the day [is] holy; do not be grieved."
Nehemiah 8:12 - And all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.
Nehemiah 8:13 - Now on the second day the heads of the fathers' [houses] of all the people, with the priests and Levites, were gathered to Ezra the scribe, in order to understand the words of the Torah.
Brothers, sisters, do you realize how much a blessing it is, how much a joy it
is, to understand Yahweh's Word? It's one thing to read it, it's another to
understand it. We've really been blessed very much. We understand some things
that not everyone is given to understand quite yet. How many of us have been
blessed with understanding? Do you realize how much a blessing that is?
Jer. 15:16 - Your words were found, and I ate them, (THEY WERE HIS FOOD. LIKE A SHEEP FOLLOWING A SHEPHERD) And Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O YAHWEH Elohim of hosts.
Brethren, His Word ought to be the joy and rejoicing of our heart because we...
Us? What are we? Nothing, and yet we're called by His name. When people look
at us they think, "There's those people of YAHWEH over there." Do you realize
what an honor that is? Do you realize what a blessing that is?
When we read His Word, we ought to rejoice, because we don't live by bread alone, we live by every Word that proceeds out of His mouth. And we realize how very blessed we are.
Deut. 8:3b ...to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh.
We are among the very few on
this planet of 6 billion people to have been revealed the truth that Yahweh's
Torah applies to us and His Messiah is something we need in our life. Both.
Christianity on one hand says "You need the Messiah. Commandments? Oh don't worry about it too much." Judaism on the other hand says, "All you need are commandments. Messiah? Oh he's going to come some day. Don't worry about it."
We are among the few who understand.
Revelation 14:12 - Here is the patience of the saints; here [are] those who keep the commandments of Elohim and the faith of Yahushua.
They come together.
There are 6 billion people in the world and you are one of the few people who
understand that, that we need both. You are very blessed. Don't ever forget
how blessed you are. Don't ever forget it.
Psalms 135:3 - Praise YAHWEH, for YAHWEH [is] good; Sing praises to His name, for [it is] pleasant.
Psalms 135:4 - For YAHWEH has chosen Ya'acob (Jacob) for Himself, Israel for His special treasure.
I think that's what happened to the children of Israel. They forgot. Yahweh chose them to be His special treasure. They stopped valuing that. They stopped seeing the blessing of that. They were like Esau. They didn't value the blessing of Yahweh. We don't want to be an Esau. We want to be a Jacob. We want to be an Israel.
Yahweh chose you to be His special treasure, my brethren. For the Creator of the Universe to reveal Himself to us; we oughta be jumping up and down every day the rest of our lives. That's how awesome that blessing is. You know, nobody can come to Him...
Jn. 6:44 - "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
There is enough blessing here, just in the knowledge of this, to fill us with a lifetime of rejoicing before Him.
The problem is, we "forget"
It's the habit of man to... "forget"
In Deuteronomy chapter 28, Yahweh gave a long long list of curses for those who do not obey Him. There's an insight here that I want you to catch:
Deuteronomy 28:45 - "Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of YAHWEH your Elohim, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.
Deuteronomy 28:46 - "And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.
Deuteronomy 28:47 - "Because you did not serve YAHWEH your Elohim with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything,
Deuteronomy 28:48 - "therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom YAHWEH will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.
I hope this gets our attention to the importance of serving Yahweh with joyfulness, with contentment, with gladness of heart! A lack of joyfulness, a lack gladness of heart can cause us to lose strength. We get weak which leads us to disobedience, which ultimately can result in losing out on the blessings. We end up walking with a yoke of iron around our neck.
We want to pull the yoke of iron off. Whatever trial you're going through, you
want to pull that yoke of iron off. Because it's a curse for those who are not
joyful and thankful. Start pondering, start thinking, "Am I forgetting the
blessings of Yahweh? Am I forgetting what He's done for me?
Most of that time that is where it's at. That is where it was for me. I walked
around with a yoke of iron for a long time, and I didn't realize. "Wait a
minute, I need the joy of Yahweh." Even when the most difficult time would
come, that's when I needed the most to remember, "It's time for rejoicing. It's
time to be glad that I'm going through this, whatever it is.
Because there is enough blessing right now, just in what Yahweh has already
done, to last us the rest of our life.
So if we start meditating on the goodness and promises of Yahweh. His blessing
in our lives. We truly are blessed with the abundance of all things, if we
would only lift up our eyes and see what Yahweh has done.
Yahweh provides, provides and provides continually!
Ps. 145:14 - Yahweh upholds all who fall, And raises up all who are bowed down.
Ps. 145:15 - The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season.
Did I mention that He feeds you everyday?
Ps. 145:16 - You open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
Did I mention to you, He gives you oxygen to breathe everyday?
Ps. 145:17 - Yahweh is righteous in all His ways, Gracious in all His works.
Did I mention to you, He provided you with eternal life? If you will only receive it from His hand, He offers it to you. Just serve Him with joy.
Oh, but what if we are going through difficult times? Yahushua wasn't exactly
jumping up and down with glee when He was bearing the weight of the world on His
shoulders:
Lk. 22:44 - And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Why was Yahushua in such
agony? Where is His joy? I asked myself that question. Where is His joy?
Yahushua had committed no wrong that would cause Him to need refinement. No dross to purge out, no refinement was needed and He had no rough edges that needed to be rounded off, like you and I.
When we encounter trials, it may not be through any fault of our own that we are
suffering. Maybe somebody else is doing something that is causing us to
suffer. When this is the case, it is written:
1 Pet. 2:20 - For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, (TALKING TO A SLAVE WHO GETS BEATEN) you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before Elohim.
1 Pet. 2:21 - For to this you were called, (THERE WE ARE AGAIN) because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
Yahushua knew exactly what He was going to have to go through, but we don't know the future. It might be even harder if we did know the future, we would realize what was coming like He did. But what sustained Him through it all, what sustained Yahushua through that difficult time of agony... believe it or not.. was joy, and His loving desire to serve. The joy of Yahweh was His strength as He endured these afflictions.
Now you might say, where was it? Let's go to Hebrews:
Hebrews 12:1 - Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, (THERE'S THAT YOKE OF IRON) and the sin which so easily ensnares [us], and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Hebrews 12:2 - looking to Yahushua, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the tree (the stauros), despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.
Think about that. Yes, Yahushua didnt look very joyful at that moment, but His
eyes were on the joy that was set before Him, should He endure. His eyes were
not on the present circumstances, that's not what strengthened Him. What
strenghthened Him and enabled Him to endure was this joy. This joy that was set
before Him.
Now it says in Hebrews chapter five:
Heb. 5:8 - though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.Heb. 5:9 - And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
To all who obey Him. So It's one thing to be obedient to Yahweh in the context of being in Yahweh's loving presence up there in Heaven and experiencing the fullness of Elohim and His joy at all times. But it wasn't until Yahushua suffered for His obedience, that His obedience was revealed as complete and perfect.
So it is with us. Even if at this moment we're going through a trial, some kind of suffering and we don't understand. We have not done anything we can think of to bring this about. You know it's an awesome purpose in and of itself to pursue and to attain the patience of obedience of the Messiah. Who even though He had done no wrong, He willingly suffered for that joy that was set before Him. That's why it says:
James 1:2 - My brethren, count it all joy (THIS IS HOW YOUR GOING TO OVERCOME, COUNT IT JOY) when you fall into various trials,
James 1:3 - knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
So if you want to overcome whatever trial you're in "count it all joy." That's why Yahushua said "Leap for joy when they revile you and cast your name as evil for My sake."
Luke 6:22 - Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile [you], and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.
Luke 6:23a - Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
That joy is going to give you the strength to overcome whatever trial you go through. I don't care what the trial is. If you want to be an overcomer brethren, you can pray for strength all day long, but until you begin to learn to appreciate the goodness of Yahweh that you have already been given, the goodness of Yahweh, you're going to have a hard time getting any strength.
That yoke of iron around your neck is going to weigh you down, because your
focus is not on the Father and His Promises. Your focus (and this was my
problem this past year) is on the problem, and how to solve it, how to fix it.
When really, what I needed was not the faith to fix it, but the faith to accept
that I had been given this trial by Yahweh and to thank Him for it. That's what
I needed, and I still need it.
So we count it all joy. I knew that these trials were for my good but for some
reason I had a hard time actually thanking Him for it. It's another step to say
"Thank you for this trial, I appreciate it. Thank you Father for this trial."
And when I couldn't thank Him for my circumstances, I knew there was something
not right in my heart.
Because Yahweh's Word tell us, "Rejoice in Yahweh "SOMETIMES." ahhhh no, sorry.
What does it say?
Phil. 4:4 - Rejoice in Yahweh always. Again I will say, rejoice!
It doesn't say to rejoice in Yahweh sometimes. It says to rejoice in Yahweh ALWAYS, and yet we're going through a trial. Can we do it? Can we find joy in our trials? Maybe we don't see anything to rejoice about in our current circumstance. What we're going through right now at this moment, we don't see anything what there is to be happy about.
But there is always at least one thing we can rejoice about. The often quoted
Scripture:
Rom. 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love Elohim, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Everybody quotes that to us. Why? It's supposed to give us some joy, so that we can endure. Yahweh has our ultimate good in mind. He has a purpose and a plan.
But at that moment we don't really see what could possibly come out of this, and
that's when it's a good idea to pray and ask Yahweh what You are wanting to
accomplish through this.
And then meditate, first of all on the goodness of Yahweh, what He's already
done for us. The fact that we are called. The fact that we have been revealed
the things He has revealed. The fact that He feeds us everyday and provides
everything we have.
First, meditate on that. And then mediate on "What kind of good things is
Yahweh going to bring out of this? What can I foresee are the good things
Yahweh will bring out of it?
As long as I've been a believer, I've never seen a situation where a trial
occured to a believer and he didn't bring something good out of it. A multitude
of good things in almost every case. Maybe every case, I just didn't SEE other
things.
So sit down brethren. Sit down and make a benefit list. Aww it takes a little
effort doesn't it. That little effort will go a long way. Make a benefit
list. You will be amazed (and maybe even excited) at the things that Yahweh is
working in everyone who is involved in this.
Because trials teach us things. It's one thing to hear about it and read about
it in the Scriptures and say "Oh yeah, a man's real frail isn't he? He's going
to bring some good stuff out of this, yeah."
But when we go through a trial, we really experience it fully. Trials teach us
several things.
Trials teach us:
1) Trials teach us: The frailty of men.
You know when we're not going through difficulties we feel strong. Men can do anything. rrrrrrrrr. We can do anything we want to. But when we're going through a trial we realize how weak we are, and how strong He is.
2) Trials teach us: The
temporary nature
of things on this earth, showing us that life is just a vapor.
If we don't go through any trials, we think it's Heaven on earth here. What do we need Heaven for? We can get caught up in the things of this age and end up sinning against Yahweh. So they teach us the temporary nature of things on the earth.
3) Trials teach us: to be
humble, so that
we may receive more grace (Yahweh gives grace to the humble).
Trials definitely humble us. Maybe we don't like to be humbled, but Yahweh says He gives grace to the humble. So if you want more grace, be glad that He is humbling you, because He's going to give you more grace when you're more humble.
4) Trials teach us: Self Control.
Trials teach us self control. It's one thing to be obedient in an easy context where everything is real simple, but then under some kind of adversity we still have to walk out our faith like Messiah did. We're learning and gaining self control through these trials. If we didn't have any trials we'd actually be very weak men. It's through adversity that we get strength.
It's like exercise. Unless you're bench pressing more than what you could
handle the day before, each day, then you won't grow any stronger. It's
through adversity, some kind of difficulty, that you are going to gain strength.
Other Benefits of Trials:
1) During trials we tend to give Yahweh more attention than we normally do (no wonder we have trials!).
One brother pointed this out to me, he was going through some trials and I was going through some trials, and we were talking back and forth on the phone every once in awhile, and he said "This trial is really lasting a long time," and I said "Yes, it sure is," and he said "Yahweh is probably very pleased with all the attention He's been getting."
Maybe if we learned to give Yahweh the attention He should be getting at times when it's easy, then maybe He wouldn't have to bring us through a trial to get our attention.
2) During trials we tend to examine ourselves more, and pay more attention to
the different things in our life that need improvement.
That's another benefit mbecause we're going to be more like Messiah as a result.
And finally:
3) When we are faithful in our trials, we end up justifying Yahweh and glorify
Him to all who are around us.
An example of this, was a brother who was wrongfully accused and thrown into
prison. He was like a Joseph, except he had a family. Now everytime I would
call him, I would ask "how are you doing?" And he would say "I'm doing great.
I'm thankful to be here. I know Yahweh has a good plan for this, and I'm just
trying to make the best of this."
I just marveled at the man. He was WRONGFULLY accused. He was in prison nine
years, maybe more, and he was rejoicing. Now when we do that, when we're going
through difficulty, when we're being falsely accused, and we still maintain our
joy in Yahweh. That is a testimony to the world that's around us. That's a
testimony.
Acts 16:25 - But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to Elohim, and the prisoners were listening to them.
We're justifying Yahweh. Some people would get bitter. But the fact that we're justifying Yahweh, knowing that He's in control of your life, and still being thankful. And knowing that He's a good Elohim and He will cause good to come out of this.
That glorify's Him. That glorify's Him greatly, because we're saying "He's
still Elohim through it all. He's still on the throne and I still trust Him.
We're declaring to the world, "Yahweh is worthy of our trust," when we glorify
Him in our trials.
And we're actually preaching repentance, because we're saying "Yes I serve
Yahweh, yes I've repented and I'm going through this trial, but I'm still
holding fast because I know there's a great promise for us."
Others look to us and say "What is he rejoicing about? What's going on here?
Why is he so happy in all this dificulty? I couldn't be happy in all that
difficulty. What do you have? Where does your strength come from?" "Well it's
the joy of Yahweh." "The joy of Yahweh? Hey, you don't look like you're going
through such a joyous situation." "Oh, but let me tell you about Yahweh, the
promises, and the good things He's done for me."
You're telling people to repent just by being joyful in your trials. What an
awesome thing. You know, when we're faithful we justify Him.
But a lot of the time i see people justifying themself. "Well I don't deserve
this." But you know what, you DO deserve it. You deserve fire and brimstone,
sir. You don't deserve anything but that. If we think we deserve anything,
we're not being humble. Because we don't deserve any good thing. If you think
for one minute that you deserve something, then you're going to be miserable
because you're disappointments will make you bitter.
In my walk with Yahweh, it always amazes me how Yahweh ends up taking the worst
of situations and causing good to come out of it.
Yahweh is ultimately in control of what evil He allows. No man, no enemy, no
demon, no one can do any evil thing unless Yahweh allows it. Unless He says
"You've got the free will, I'm not going to stop you."
Sometimes Yahweh intervenes and other times He does not. This does not mean
that He wants to see evil occur. When evil does occur, Yahweh will use that
very thing to torment His enemies. That evil He allows, He causes it to turn
right back on their head and uses it against them.
When satan inspired men to kill the Messiah of Israel, probably one of the
greatest crimes anyone could ever do. And Yahweh said "Go on, go ahead, see
what happens, because I'm going to use it to bring salvation to the entire
world.
He took the plan of the enemy, and now the demons hate the blood of Messiah.
You bring the blood of Messiah up, they hate that. It brings back to them that
time when they thought they had victory and it was turned right back against
them. Because they conspired to inspire men to accuse Yahushua and have Him put
to death.
1Corinthians 2:8 - which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Master of glory.
Yahushua's disciples were in total despair when the Messiah died. But out of that circumstance, the works of the devil were destroyed.
1John 3:8b - For this purpose the Son of Elohim was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
That's why He came. To take the works of the devil and turn it right back against him so that he destroys himself. That's what Yahweh does. That's the awesome Elohim that we serve.
Yahweh can use the worst things that have ever happened to us to cause the
greatest blessings to come, if we will stop fighting against Him. We can't
fight against Him and prevail.
Sometimes man will become bitter against Yahweh over the difficult
circumstances, rather than looking for the blessing that He wants to bring out
of it. But if we want the blessing, we need to start thanking Yahweh for the
blessing we know (by faith) that He is going to bring out of it rather than
letting the situation embitter us.
Did you know that sometimes the greatest blessings will come in the disguise of
an enemy? It may not be that they are really an enemy... it's just that we
assume they are an enemy when they aren't, because they don't make our life very
pleasant at the time.
Think back to Ya'akob (Jacob). Jacob, was a man who was in great fear of his
brother Esau. Esau was coming to destroy him with 400 men. But Jacob sent all
of his company ahead of him to meet Esau in peace...hoping to appease him.
Meanwhile, he stayed back:
Gen. 32:22 - And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Yabbok.
Gen. 32:23 - He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had.
Then, suddenly at some point in the middle of the night, a man appears out of nowhere and starts wrestling with Jacob. Maybe he thought it was Esau. Maybe he thought it was one of Esau's 400 men.
Gen. 32:24 - Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
Gen. 32:25 - Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.
Gen. 32:26 - And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"
Gen. 32:27 - So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Y'akov."
Gen. 32:28 - And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Y'akov, but Israel; for you have struggled with Elohim and with men, and have prevailed."
Jacob may have thought (he's already living in fear) that this was an adversary, some kind of enemy.. maybe someone from Esau's camp?
He must have thought that he was alone. He's here in the middle of the night.
All of a sudden this man appears. I don't which one of them started the
wrestling march. Maybe it was Jacob. He starts wrestling with this angel in
the form of a man and even prevailed against him, when suddenly this so-called
"man" touched the socket of Jacob's hip so it was out of joint.
Quite possibly it was not until then that Jacob realized that this was not just
any man, but an angel of Yahweh. He realized that this was an angel of Yahweh
and thought" I've been wrestling with what I thought was an enemy."
But then once Jacob realized this, he would not let that man go. He wouldn't
let him go until he got the blessing. He knew that in every bit of adversity we
go through, there is a blessing. Jacob was blessed and became Israel, the
prince. Yisrael, a prince of Elohim.
Brethren, have you ever found yourself wrestling with a situation that you
thought was from the enemy, and you were doing all you could to fight against
it, when suddenly you realized that it was not the enemy you were wrestling
with, but... "Surprise... it's Yahweh!"
Sometimes blessings don't come in the package that we expect. Sometimes our
toughest battles are with Elohim Himself, not realizing that it's through
adversity that we receive the greatest blessings. The very thing we are seeking
to get loose from is the very thing that Yahweh is using to give us the greatest
blessings.
So if we want to be children of Israel and receive all the blessings and
promises given to Israel, we need to open our eyes and realize that we need to
go through adversity, trials, tests, and tribulations. Yahweh is trying to
change us, brethren.
Sometimes we need the faith to accept and thank Yahweh for our circumstances
just as they are, rather than thinking that we just need more faith so that we
can change them.
You know, when we share our faith with another person, he may think that we are
an adversary and he needs to wrestle against us. He may think that we're not
from Yahweh because we're not saying things according to what he understands.
But it's Elohim Himself that he's wrestling against, and not us. When they
don't change, we may think that they are an adversary and we need to wrestle
against them.
Nope! Maybe we just need to realize that they are not our workmanship, they're
Yahweh's workmanship, and He isn't ready to lead them into that which you are
trying to lead them into yet.
And you're trying to lead them into that which He's not ready to lead them into
yet. And so we find ourselves wrestling against Elohim.
Other times, Yahweh is trying to show us something and we find ourselves
fighting against it. We're the guy on the other side. Someone's telling us
something, and we
say "no, that's not Elohim." But someday Yahweh's going to open your eyes and
say "No, that's Me. That's Me you're fighting against, not the enemy."
Once Jacob was touched on the hip of the socket, Jacob would not let him go
until He received the blessing.
In spite of what many people consider to be Jacob's shortcomings here and there,
I marvel at Jacob's pursuit of Yahweh's blessings. Maybe he didn't always go
about it the right way, but one thing is sure, he valued the blessing of
Yahweh. He valued His blessings. We need to value that. Esau did not value
Yahweh's blessings, so
Yahweh hated Esau.
Let's be sure that we value the blessings of Yahweh, even if they aren't
packaged in the way that we would want or expect.
Let's learn to be thankful in all circumstances and seek out the blessing, even
pursue the blessing and not let Yahweh go until we have it. Don't let go of
Yahweh. Grab onto Him. Cleave to Him. Cling to Him.... until the day comes,
when you get the blessing.
He wants to bless us, we just need to open our eyes.. count the blessings that
we have already been given, and be humble enough to admit that we don't deserve
a single one of those blessings. Because in reality the only thing we deserve
is to be burning in a lake of fire and brimstone.
So let's give thanks to Yahweh in all things, because He is good. He is good to
us and His mercy toward us endures forever.
Ezra 3:11a - And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to YAHWEH: "For [He is] good, For His mercy [endures] forever toward Israel." Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised YAHWEH,
1Chronicles 16:34 - Oh, give thanks to YAHWEH, for [He is] good! For His mercy [endures] forever.
One more Scripture here. First Thessalonians chapter 5:16 through 18:
1Thess. 5:16 - Rejoice always,
1Thess. 5:17 - pray without ceasing,
1Thess. 5:18 - in everything give thanks; (IN EVERYTHING GIVE THANKS AND NEVER STOP) for this is the will of Elohim in Messiah Yahushua for you.
In everything, give thanks and never stop rejoicing for the goodness of Yahweh.
These are some of the many reasons that we can rejoice in our trials. These are
some of the many reasons that we can have hope in times of despair. These are
among many reasons that we can see the face of Yahweh when we seem to be
surrounded by the faces of His enemies; that we can seek and understand the
joyous blessings of Yahweh in every circumstance.
So my brethren, in your trials, if you seek and you find and you look for the
blessing, you will discover that it is so true:
That the Joy of Yahweh is Our
Strength.
And no man, no enemy and no circumstance will be able to take His joy from you.
May Yahweh bless you and may Yahweh have mercy on us all!