07/18/2009 Sabbath Meeting Transcript

Would we change anything? What if everything we did and thought was going to be broadcast on the national news? Would our conduct be any different? Would we speak differently? Would we think differently?

Would we do anything differently? Would we be a little bit better at overcoming temptations during the time we knew we were being recorded on camera?

If so, let's ask the question, shouldn't we fear Yahweh more than man? Yahushua said:

Luke 12:1 - In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together, so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first [of all], "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Luke 12:2 - "For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.

Luke 12:3 - "Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Luke 12:4 - "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

Luke 12:5 - "But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

Yahushua gives us a very stern warning here. He desires that we love Yahweh in sincerity and in truth; so we ought to live.

We ought to live our lives knowing that everything is recorded. There is nothing hidden from the eyes of Yahweh. How many of us are living our lives as though Yahweh sees not?

Psalms 73:11 - And they say, "How does Elohim know? And is there knowledge in the Most High?"

Psalms 10:11 - He has said in his heart, "Elohim has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see."

Psalms 94:7 - Yet they say, "YAHWEH does not see, Nor does the Elohim of Jacob understand."

What would change if we truly pondered the presence of Yahweh with us at all times? Isn't it true that Yahushua the Messiah is living in us? It's no longer we who live, but it's He who lives in us.

Do we fully comprehend, as we should, that we are supposed to be His body on the earth, the body of Messiah.

Then we ought to have an awareness that we're connected to the Head. The Head knows what the body is doing, and it ought to be obedient to His will.

Yahweh sees us when we're in our cars, in our homes, in our jobs, visits with friends, relatives, wherever we go. No matter where we go, the eyes of Yahweh are there.

Psalms 139:1 - <> O YAHWEH, You have searched me and known [me].

Psalms 139:2 - You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.

Psalms 139:3 - You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

Psalms 139:4 - For [there is] not a word on my tongue, [But] behold, O YAHWEH, You know it altogether.

Psalms 139:5 - You have hedged me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me.

Psalms 139:6 - [Such] knowledge [is] too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot [attain] it.

Psalms 139:7 - Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?

Psalms 139:8 - If I ascend into heaven, You [are] there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You [are there].

Psalms 139:9 - [If] I take the wings of the morning, [And] dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Psalms 139:10 - Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.

Psalms 139:11 - If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me," Even the night shall be light about me;

Psalms 139:12 - Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light [are] both alike [to You].

Wherever we go, Yahweh is there. We cannot flee from His presence or hide from His face. In Ezekiel's day, there were some who thought so.

Ezekiel 8:1 - And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth [month], on the fifth [day] of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Master YAHWEH fell upon me there.

Ezekiel 8:2 - Then I looked, and there was a likeness, like the appearance of fire -- from the appearance of His waist and downward, fire; and from His waist and upward, like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber.

Ezekiel 8:3 - He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of Elohim to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner [court], where the seat of the image of jealousy [was], which provokes to jealousy.

Ezekiel 8:4 - And behold, the glory of the Elohim of Israel [was] there, like the vision that I saw in the plain.

Ezekiel 8:5 - Then He said to me, "Son of man, lift your eyes now toward the north." So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance.

Ezekiel 8:6 - Furthermore He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations."

Ezekiel 8:7 - So He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, there was a hole in the wall.

Ezekiel 8:8 - Then He said to me, "Son of man, dig into the wall"; and when I dug into the wall, there was a door.

Ezekiel 8:9 - And He said to me, "Go in, and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there."

Ezekiel 8:10 - So I went in and saw, and there -- every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed all around on the walls.

Ezekiel 8:11 - And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand, and a thick cloud of incense went up.

Ezekiel 8:12 - Then He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, `YAHWEH does not see us, YAHWEH has forsaken the land.'"

Yahweh revealed to Ezekiel and also to us what men thought they did in secret. It was all open and bare to Yahweh. How foolish to think that one can escape the judgments and warnings in the Word of Yahweh by hiding.

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of Elohim [is] living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:13 - And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things [are] naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we [must give] account.

Nothing can hide from the eyes of Yahweh. When the children of Israel murmured in the wilderness, it appears that the murmuring Yahweh was speaking about was not necessarily an outward groaning and complaining, but a murmuring in secret.

Psalms 106:24 - Then they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe His word,

Psalms 106:25 - But complained in their tents, [And] did not heed the voice of YAHWEH.

Let's also remember that Yahweh is listening to every word we speak.

Matthew 12:35 - "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

Matthew 12:36 - "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Every thought is known to Yahweh. Every word that is spoken reaches His ears.

We look around, and we don't have to look very far. All you have to do is read the newspaper, and you can see how wicked the world is, and every evil imaginable is reported.

Imagine, for a moment--the wickedness that we see in the world is vexing enough--imagine the things that Yahweh sees and hears, as He looks into the hearts of all men. What great mercy He is having upon all of us.

Jeremiah 23:23 - "[Am] I a Elohim near at hand," says YAHWEH, "And not a Elohim afar off?

Jeremiah 23:24 - Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?" says YAHWEH; "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" says YAHWEH.

Job 34:21 - "For His eyes [are] on the ways of man, And He sees all his steps.

Job 34:22 - There is no darkness nor shadow of death Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.

Ezekiel 9:9 - Then He said to me, "The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah [is] exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, `YAHWEH has forsaken the land, and YAHWEH does not see!'

All the evil they were doing during this time that they were being destroyed and carried away to Babylon, these people were deceived into thinking that since Yahweh had forsaken the earth, He did not see the things they were doing.

A question for us: "Are there any times in our own life where we have made decisions and chose to live a certain way or do a certain thing as though Yahweh seeth not?"

Job 24:14 - The murderer rises with the light; He kills the poor and needy; And in the night he is like a thief.

Job 24:15 - The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, `No eye will see me'; And he disguises [his] face.

Jeremiah 16:17 - "For My eyes [are] on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.

Yahushua said in Matthew 9:3-4:

Matthew 9:3 - And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, "This Man blasphemes!"

Matthew 9:4 - But Yahushua, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?

What must their reaction have been? They were just thinking something, and Yahushua was responding to their secret thoughts. They must have had this impression that their thoughts were not known to Yahushua, but Yahushua knew the thoughts they were thinking, and He responded to them.

A question for us: "How is He responding to our thoughts today?"

Are our thoughts His delight, or are they a burden to Him? Do our thoughts cause rejoicing in heaven, or do they grieve the Spirit of Elohim?

It was when the thoughts were continually wicked that Yahweh chose to destroy the entire world with the flood.

Genesis 6:5 - Then YAHWEH saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every intent of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.

Genesis 6:6 - And YAHWEH was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

Genesis 6:7 - So YAHWEH said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."

As awesome as Yahweh is, Yahweh can still grieve. Is He grieving over our thoughts, or is He rejoicing over our thoughts? Today, let all nations know:

Psalms 66:7 - He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

Psalms 11:4 - YAHWEH [is] in His holy temple, YAHWEH'S throne [is] in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

From His throne, Yahweh knows your thoughts today, in response to what you are hearing, and He even knows why you are thinking the things that you think.

David, a man after Yahweh's own heart, said to his son, Solomon:

1Chronicles 28:9 - "As for you, my son Solomon, know the Elohim of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for YAHWEH searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.

He was trying to communicate to his son, "Look, Yahweh knows all the imagination of your heart. If you forsake Him in your heart, He will cast you off forever."

We learn later the power of influence; his wives turned away his heart from Yahweh. Yahweh desires that we love Him with all of our hearts, not just a part of our hearts.

Aren't we supposed to love Him with all our heart? The thoughts of the heart ought to express love for Him. If we love Him with all of our hearts, then our thoughts will be one of love and dedication to Him.

He wants all of our hearts, not just a part of it. It's not good enough. He wants it all. Let's be sure we do confess our sins to Him and that we do seek His strength and wisdom to overcome the things we are thinking that are not according to Him and that do grieve Him.

The next time we enter into temptation, we need to remember that Yahweh is there in observation, wanting to know what we are going to do.

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 those temptations. We need to be willing to look to Him to be our strength during those times.

Will we just be transparent with Him and just be open and honest with Him about our struggles? We ought to be transparent with Him, because guess what? We already are transparent anyway, whether we realize it or not.

Do we fail to seek out wisdom, maybe, because we're afraid of what we might find, that we might have to change. We don't want to change. He knows all these little thoughts that go on in our minds.

Are we deceiving ourselves and pretending not to know that something is wrong, when down deep inside we know it's wrong?

Are we willing to look to Him to be our strength in times of temptation, or are we going to act as though He's not around?

Are we going to behave as those who thought, "Well, Yahweh seeth not."

Will we choose to love Him, or will we stray from Him and choose another kingdom to follow after? Will we walk in His image, as we're created to do, or will we walk in the image of His enemy, Satan, who does not want to do the Father's will?

Whose side are we really on anyway? Our decisions tell the story of our life, and our decisions will tell the story of our life on judgment day and will determine our ultimate destiny.

Let us all say, "I'm on Yahweh's side," each and every time we are tempted to do what does not please Him. Let's all say together, "I'm on Yahweh's side!"

The battles can be fierce battles. Nearly all sin begins in the mind. That's where victory is won, where we give in to defeat. The thoughts of the mind are affected by what the eyes see and what the ears hear.

Proverbs 4:25 - Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.

Proverbs 4:26 - Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.

Proverbs 4:27 - Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.

Our eyes and the direction thereof have a lot to do with where we end up going.

Proverbs 27:20 - Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of man are never satisfied.

We never just close our eyes and say, "Well, I've seen enough today." We're always looking at something. In Proverbs, it's compared to hell, and the grave, and destruction are never full, so the eyes of a man are never satisfied.

The direction to which we direct our eyes have a lot to do with the place that we go. If we're looking to the right, we're going to probably go to the right. If we get caught looking back, Yahushua says we're not fit for the kingdom.

Luke 9:62 - But Yahushua said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of Elohim."

Remember Lot's wife? No one having his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of Elohim. We need to make sure that our eyes are directed toward things that are good, and that our ears, as well. We need to sow good things in our minds and good things need to be our meditation.

If you think on these things, then guess what? You're going to be true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy, because that's your meditation.

Our meditation has much to do with what we become. If we keep our eyes on the straight and narrow path, not turning to the left or to the right, then we will probably remain on that path.

Let's be mindful of Yahweh's presence at all times, because He's testing us. He wants to know what's truly in us.

Psalms 11:4 - YAHWEH [is] in His holy temple, YAHWEH'S throne [is] in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.

Sins that we commit secretly are well known to Him.

Proverbs 5:20 - For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress?

Proverbs 5:21 - For the ways of man [are] before the eyes of YAHWEH, And He ponders all his paths.

As Yahushua pointed out, we don't have to physically embrace the strange woman. We only need to do it in our heart, and we have done wrong.

Matthew 5:28 - "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

That wasn't a new thing. That wasn't a new concept. In the Ten Commandments it says, "Do not covet your neighbor's wife."

Proverbs 15:3 - The eyes of YAHWEH [are] in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.

Job, a man whom Yahweh called blameless, who feared Elohim and eschewed evil, or hated evil, it says he knew this and lived his life accordingly.

Job 31:1 - "I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?

If you make your covenant with your eyes, you won't even think about the lust. A very wise thing, indeed, to make a covenant with our eyes. He knew what the eyes behold will influence what the mind thinks. What the mind thinks will affect what the body does.

Job 31:2 - For what [is] the allotment of Elohim from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?

Job 31:3 - [Is] it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity?

Job 31:4 - Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?

Job 31:5 - "If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,

Job 31:6 - Let me be weighed on honest scales, That Elohim may know my integrity.

Can we say that?

Job 31:7 - If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands,

Job 31:8 - [Then] let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.

It's quite a very high level of integrity. That's how we ought to walk, and we will receive the praise of Elohim, even as he did. Yahweh, it says, counts our steps. Think about that. He's counting our steps.

My wife got this thing called pedometer. It literally counts your steps, so you know how much walking you've done in a day. On an average day, she walks 10,000 steps. That's pretty amazing. Yahweh counts our steps.

He's numbered the hairs of our head. Ponder this the next time you enter into temptation, how valuable you are to Him.

When we are willing to place a value upon Him and His will, we are walking in His image. We need to let good things be our meditation, namely, the holy scriptures.

Psalms 1:1 - Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

Psalms 1:2 - But his delight [is] in the law of YAHWEH, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Psalms 1:3 - He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

As we meditate on Yahweh's law, His Word is being placed in our hearts. The words of faith are being placed within us. It's going to sow good things, the things that are right, and just, and good. What will happen? We will become right, and just, and good, and we will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth His fruit in its season.

Psalms 1:3 - He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

A tree that's planted by the waters doesn't have to worry about drought. We don't have to be concerned when the rains don't come, because we're planted by the waters.

When times of trouble, times of temptation want to drag us down, when our delight is in the law of Yahweh and in His law we meditate day and night, we will be like a tree that will not wither, because we're planted by the waters.

As terrible a thought as Yahweh's judgment upon anyone whose thoughts are evil, I want us also to consider the blessings and the rewards from Yahweh if our actions and our thoughts are secretly good. Yahweh weighs each thought.

Jeremiah 32:19 - `[You are] great in counsel and mighty in work, for Your eyes [are] open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

Yahweh wants to show Himself strong to those who are willing to walk before Him with a perfect heart.

2Chronicles 16:8 - "Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on YAHWEH, He delivered them into your hand.

2Chronicles 16:9 - "For the eyes of YAHWEH run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of [those] whose heart [is] loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars."

The eyes of Yahweh are running to and fro on the earth. For what? He wants to show Himself strong to you, if your heart is right in His eyes. He wants to show Himself strong to those who love Him and believe in Him with all their heart.

When we are not walking in ways of hypocrisy, but we do righteous things that only Yahweh may see, this pleases Him greatly. It shows that we care about Him.

1Peter 3:12 - For the eyes of YAHWEH [are] on the righteous, And His ears [are open] to their prayers; But the face of YAHWEH [is] against those who do evil."

Matthew 6:6 - "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who [is] in the secret [place]; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

It's actually an act of faith for us to go into our prayer closet and pray and believe. He told them to pray secretly, because there are very many hypocrites in the streets making long prayers as a show to men.

Such men are not praying to Yahweh; they're just praying for the sake of glory to self, selfish prayer. One who prays secretly and humbly, I might add, will be seen by Yahweh in secret.

It's also true that when we give alms in such a way to receive glory from men, we've received our reward. Yahushua taught us. We do these things in secret, that thine alms may be in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.

When we, through tears, face various trials for choosing to do what is right and just, Yahushua sees all things and knows. The One who knows our every wandering does something very special for us, as we cry out to Him.

Psalms 56:8 - You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; [Are they] not in Your book?

Our secret thoughts and secret actions are recorded, whether good or evil. We need to have a continual awareness of His presence. Do they advance Yahweh's kingdom, our thoughts, actions, and deeds in secret? Do they advance Yahweh's kingdom, or do they advance the kingdom that's risen up against Him?

Let's ask Yahweh to cleanse our thought life, that our works also may be clean. Let's bring every thought and every secret work into the subjection of Yahweh our Father, thereby building up treasures in heaven.

2Corinthians 10:4 - For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal but mighty in Elohim for pulling down strongholds,

2Corinthians 10:5 - casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Messiah,

We need to treat every thought contrary to the Word of Elohim as Yahweh's enemy and ours. We need to reject it, put it in a box, reject it, in Yahushua's name, and kick it out the door. We are dead to that. Then we can say:

Psalms 17:3 - You have tested my heart; You have visited [me] in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

Psalms 37:37 - Mark the blameless [man], and observe the upright; For the future of [that] man [is] peace.

Psalms 19:14 - Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O YAHWEH, my strength and my Redeemer.

Let's never forget that although Yahweh is in heaven above, He is still near enough to be pondering our thoughts and our works. For that, we can rejoice or tremble.

Let's be at the point where we always rejoice at the knowledge that He understands and knows and approves of our thoughts. Rejoice at the thought of His presence being with us, knowing every thought and every deed.

Let's hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Elohim and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.

When we fear Elohim, then we understand He sees every thought. He hears everything and our response.

Ecclesiastes 12:14 -

May our thoughts and our lives be a holy, pure, offering unto Him forever and ever, with every secret thing being pure, upright, and good in His sight. Every secret thing that is against Him, brethren, believe it, there is grace available.

We just need to confess to Him what He already knows.

1John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Yahweh wants us to overcome. He wants to help us. Let's seek His help diligently and love Him with all of our hearts.

Deuteronomy 6:4 - "Hear, O Israel: YAHWEH our Elohim, YAHWEH [is] one!

Deuteronomy 6:5 - "You shall love YAHWEH your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

He wants to reward us with blessing, sweet, sweet blessing. Let's journey back to reality where the things of this world are only temporary, and the ages to come worthy of our attention, worthy of our devotion.

Yahweh has given so much to us, and He wants to give us so much more. Let's give back to Him the sweet love He has given to us.

If we will do this, the eyes of Yahweh beholding our actions is a concept that will be very pleasant to our hearts.

May it be so at all times, and may Yahweh bless you and have mercy on us all.