09/17/2004 Sabbath Meeting Transcript

In a week we will be observing the Day of Atonement

This observance is a very solemn one. It is a day of repentance, fasting and considering the sacrificial offering of our great High Priest, Yahushua the Messiah

And now is a good time to consider our ways.. and seek to change the things that bring us away from Yahweh's will

We should be asking ourselves.. What areas of my life am I falling short?

So let's take this opportunity

And let's solemnly consider the atonement of Yahshua given toward those who repent and accept Him.

Luke 13:6 - He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

Luke 13:7 - Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

Luke 13:8 - And he answering said unto him, Master, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

Luke 13:9 - And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Are we just taking up the ground?

Are we failing to bear figs in spite of Yahweh's efforts to assist us?

Are we wasting time in things that do not profit?

Once we have repented of our sins, scripture says that we must bear fruits worthy of repentance. John the Immerser said:

Luke 3:7 - Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Luke 3:8 - Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That YAHWEH is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

Luke 3:9 - And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

If we have indeed repented, fruits of repentance should follow

One of the fundamental aspects of our faith is Repentance:

Hebrews 6:1 - Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of the Messiah, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward YAHWEH,

Hebrews 6:2 - of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

Hebrews 6:3 - And this we will do if YAHWEH permits.

Yet, it seems that it is rarely understood fully

We are told in the book of Acts:

Acts 2:38 - Then Kepha said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahushua the Messiah for the forgiveness of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In looking at scriptural examples of repentance, it is very evident that first of all, repentance must involve humility

Here is the example of Josiah:

2Kings 22:16 - Thus saith YAHWEH, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read:

2Kings 22:17 - Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other elohim, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.

2Kings 22:18 - But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of YAHWEH, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith YAHWEH Elohim of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;

2Kings 22:19 - Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before YAHWEH, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith YAHWEH.

2Kings 22:20 - Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.

This is very important

Today, people are so interested in the prayer of Jabez

What people really need to be studying is the prayer of Josiah and Nineveh

In the example of Ninevah who repented at the teaching of Jonah,.we see that Repentance is accompanied by a commitment to change, to turn from Righteousness and to cease from unrighteousness

Jonah 3:5 - So the people of Nineveh believed Elohim, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

Jonah 3:6 - For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

Jonah 3:7 - And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:

Jonah 3:8 - But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto Elohim: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

Jonah 3:9 - Who can tell if Elohim will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

Notice the next verse

Jonah 3:10 - And Elohim saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and Elohim repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

We know that Yahweh has a certain standard of righteousness.

When man goes 'against' that standard of righteousness it is likened unto a man walking in the face of a mighty wind.

But when one repents, he changed direction and goes with the wind that was at one time against him.

In the case of Ninevah, Yahweh's planned destruction changed because THEY changed, not Yahweh.

Yahweh does not change, His standard of righteousness, His law endures forever. Punishment for disobedience and blessing for obedience remains forever. What we receive very much depends on where we truly want to go in our heart.. toward righteousness or toward unrighteousness. Where we stand in relation to His will determines our fate.

Today some people actually think that Yahweh had to repent for setting up the commandments. They behave as though He made a mistake

But Yahweh didn't make a mistake.. it is man that is making the mistakes

The final mistake would be to not repent for breaking those commandments

Jonah 3:10 - And Elohim saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and Elohim repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Repentance was accompanied by works

Repentance is accompanied by a commitment to change, to turn to Righteousness and to cease from unrighteousness

He saw their humility and commitment to turn away from evil. They fasted and "cried mightily to Elohim" in their repentance

Other examples of repentance in scripture:

Luke 18:10 - Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

Luke 18:11 - The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, Elohim, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Luke 18:12 - I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

Luke 18:13 - And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, Elohim be merciful to me a sinner.

Luke 18:14 - I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

But let it be clear that sorrow in and of itself is not necessarily repentance

There are many who are sorry for their sins but it produces nothing

True repentance starts with sorrow and produces good works.

Paul, when he wrote to the Corinthians in his second letter rejoiced to see their sorrow turn to true repentance:

2Corinthians 7:8 - For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it-- for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while--

2Corinthians 7:9 - I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to {the will of} Elohim, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.

2Corinthians 7:10 - For the sorrow that is according to Elohim produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

2Corinthians 7:11 - For behold what earnestness this very thing, this sorrow according to Elohim, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter.

Isaiah 55:7 - Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto YAHWEH, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our Elohim, for he will abundantly pardon.

Psalms 34:18 - YAHWEH is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Psalms 51:17 - The sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O Elohim, thou wilt not despise.

Isaiah 66:1 - Thus saith YAHWEH, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

Isaiah 66:2 - For all those things hath mine hand made, and those things have been, saith YAHWEH: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

Isaiah 66:3 - He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.

Joel 2:13 - And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto YAHWEH your Elohim: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

James 2:19 - You believe that there is one Elohim. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!

James 2:20 - But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Acts 26:19 - Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

Acts 26:20 - But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to YAHWEH, and do works meet for repentance.

While it is truth that we are saved by grace it is also truth that we are saved by grace because we have REPENTED.

And we should continue to do works worthy of repentance

It is an inner heart change that will result in a change in works. We should be growing in righteousness

Praise Yahweh for His great mercy, grace and patience while as we continue to learn His ways and grow in obedience to His word!

Now that we have established some meaning behind the word 'repent', the question should be asked "What exactly are we supposed to be repenting of?"

Many would simply say 'Our sins'.

Yes, this is true

Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Ezekiel 18:21 - But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

But what is sin?

What is righteousness?

What do the scriptures say?

The scriptures say that keeping the Torah/LAW is righteousness

Deuteronomy 6:25 - And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before YAHWEH our Elohim, as he hath commanded us.

His word is His law...His word is righteous.

It is true that we have not done the commandments.. thus the Torah cannot be our righteousness. But Yahweh can be our righteousness through Yahushua the Messiah and we can should to emulate Him!

If we want to know what Yahushua did, we can look into His example and we can also look into the Torah because we know that He obeyed every last word

Psalms 119:123 - Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy righteousness.

Psalms 119:124 - Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.

Psalms 119:125 - I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.

Psalms 119:172 - My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Psalms 119:160 - Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.

Yes.

It was true even in Yahushua's day

The parents of John the baptist...

Luke 1:5 - There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

Luke 1:6 - And they were both righteous before YAHWEH, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of YAHWEH blameless.

Romans 6:15 - What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under favor? By no means!!

Romans 6:16 - Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Sin leads to death and obedience leads to righteousness

Here is another verse showing that sin is simply "unrighteousness"

1John 5:17 - All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Well, if obedience to the law is righteousness...transgression of the law IS sin/unrighteousness. And with this, the scriptures agree:

1John 3:4 - Whoever commits sin trangresses also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.

1John 3:5 - And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.

1John 3:6 - Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.

1John 3:7 - Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1John 3:8 - He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of YAHWEH was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

1John 3:9 - Whoever has been born of YAHWEH does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of YAHWEH.

1John 3:10 - In this the children of YAHWEH and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of YAHWEH, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Whose children do we want to be?

Scriptures are clear that keeping Yahweh's law is righteousness. And not keeping Yahweh's law is unrighteousness/sin

So again, clearly transgression of the law is sin... obedience to His law is righteousness Let us look at verse 4 again:

1John 3:4 - Whoever commits sin trangresses also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.

Anomia, From 459; illegality, i.e. in violation of the law or (gen.) wickedness

There is a fascinating word study that can be done when we examine all the verses that this word (anomia) and also 'anomos' (458) is translated to.

So now that we know what sin is, what about all those that seem to say His law need not be kept by His people?

They are teachers of unrighteousness.. lawless (Torahless) teachers

His law is what tells us what sin is. They say His law has been replaced by "LOVE" but it is His law that teaches us HOW to love one another and love Him with all our heart.

We should always bear in mind that love is the purpose for the law.

Many times the law can be misapplied or misunderstood when we do not have this understanding as our backdrop

So all the scriptures that we see that tell us to repent..to turn away from sin, to live righteously.. ..are also telling us to cease from breaking His Torah/law. We should consider that the very definition of living righteously is to live according to His torah of love

But have we not failed?

Brothers, sisters.. ALL of us have failed

But His law includes a provision for that also

It's called MERCY

Yahweh is righteous, therefore He has to have mercy!

Being merciful is a part of being righteous.. and mercy is a part of His law!

Yahushua rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for not teaching men so:

Matthew 23:23 - Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Not only is mercy a part of the law, but it is one of the 'weightier matters of the law'

But did Yahushua condemn them in this verse 23 for keeping the finer points?

No, He said these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone!

We also must practice mercy if we want to be righteous. The Torah is full of mentions of Yahweh's mercy. Even the Ten Commandments say "Showing mercy to thousands.. to those who love me"

We also must practice mercy if we want to be righteous.

But it is true that on some, (Yahweh knows them) mercy doesn't work because they don't care.

Isaiah 26:10 - Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of YAHWEH.

They are called 'Wicked'

It is sad but we see many examples of this today. We hear plenty of messages from mainstream bible teachers telling us about His grace and mercy... And that's great (and needed)...but There are but very few messages on REPENTING and living righteously by living according to His commandments!

Yet all the while it is repentance that is required from our hearts to even receive His mercy in the first place!

Some even go so far to say that His law is a burden and need not even be kept

This is sooo far from the truth! It is satan's grand deception!

As we have discussed.... Unrighteousness is breaking/transgressing the law of Yahweh

It is an unclean spirit that tries to get us to be disobedient to His law, not the Spirit of Yahweh

Once we realize that unrighteousness is sin and sin is transgression of the law... we come to a startling revelation:

Most people who accept the Messiah are being deceived into NOT FULLY REPENTING because they are taught they need not repent of breaking Yahweh's law :(

Now I am not saying that Yahweh necessarily requires obedience to things we are not aware of

but Yahweh does know the heart

And as soon as we do know.. though it was an unintentional sin, he we then guilty

(we are then guilty)

Yahweh desires all to seek the truth

But if one decides instead to follow man everywhere, this is quite dangerous ground to tread

For it is Yahushua the Messiah that we ultimately must be following, and He kept Yahweh's law

And yet.. WWJD? they say

Well, to begin with...(as I've heard it said).. He would use His own name, Yahushua!

But those who claim to follow Him have changed His name and don't believe we must do as He did.. for He kept the Torah fully and they say we need not

Yet many will say, oh look at all the wonderful miracles that are done! How can all these people be deceived, do not the miracles testify that they are walking in righteousness and are accepted by Yahweh?

Countless times I have heard, "Hey, I know a person who had a demon cast out in Jesus' name, how can they not be following the truth"

Maybe some are following what they know to be truth.. I do not judge them and I believe it is possible for Yahweh to honor their faith in spite of not knowing certain things

Yahweh is the ultimate Judge

But we shouldn't use Yahweh's mercy as a springboard for continuing in false ways!

That is NOT repentance.. that is insulting the spirit of grace

Let's remember Yahushua's words:

Matthew 7:21 - Not every one that saith unto me, Rabbi, Rabbi, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

This is revealed in His torah and in the life of Yahushua the Messiah

Matthew 7:22 - Many will say to me in that day, Rabbi, Rabbi, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Matthew 7:23 - And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Therefore, let us not be decieved by the so called miracles. On judgement day, they mean NOTHING. It is probably all part of the "strong delusion" from Yahweh.

So in that sense.. it IS from Yahweh!

But as for us:?

Revelation 14:12 - Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of YAHWEH and the faith of Yahushua.

Judaism believes in cleaving to the commandments but rejecting Yahushua

Christianity believes in cleaving to Yahushua but rejects the commandments

Men and brethren, we must cleave to both Yahushua and the commandments!

The truth is not to be found in either religion.. we need to walk right in the center of both of them.. minus the baggage & false traditions!

It is true that we have not been perfect

Yahushua was and is perfect, therefore since we have sinned by transgressing the law (Yes, we all have!), it is thru Yahushua that we are made righteous.

Romans 5:18 - Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Romans 5:19 - For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Yahweh not only gives us righteous commandments that teach us how to love one another and to love Him but He also has given us His SON who has redeemed us, sanctified us and washed away our sins so that we are pure and blameless in His sight!

Not only that, He gave us His Son to be our example of HOW to keep His commanmdents! WHAT A BLESSING!!!!!!! HALLELUYAH!!!

Now we don't need to walk around in gloom and doom for our past failures to live according to His law, but now we are free...Free...FREE......TO:

Transgress His law again???? :((

No, but that is what is taught by the mainstream and it is total falsehood. This is an insult to our Master Yahushua!

He didn't come to this earth and be tortured to the point of death so that we could turn around and purposely & rebelliously break those same commandments again!

He came so that we could receive forgiveness for past sins, and be given the power to overcome any future potential sins... that we might become sons and daughters of Elohim

Romans 6:15 - What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under favor? By no means!!

Romans 6:16 - Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

Let's bear fruits worthy of repentance. When we see something in His law that we need to be doing, let's get on our knees and repent right then and there.

David did not delay when he was shown his sin. We should not either.

Psalms 119:60 - I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.

Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of YAHWEH, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Brethren, let us live according to the Spirit, Yahushua's words are Spirit!

John 6:63 - It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The law IS spiritual:

Romans 7:14 - For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.

His word is Spirit, let us not fail to live according to the Spirit but let us die to the flesh

Romans 8:5 - For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Romans 8:6 - For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 8:7 - Because the carnal mind is enmity against YAHWEH: for it is not subject to the law of YAHWEH, neither indeed can be.

But satan has deceived the whole world into thinking that it is only the New Testament that defines what is right and what is wrong.

A major problem with that is the New Testament was never even written when Kepha/Peter, Phillip, Paul, Barnabas, John, James and all the other men of Yahweh were telling people to repent!

People in those days couldn't just turn to the New Testament to understand what sin was so what did they have to look at?

Yes the Spirit can teach us

And the scripture should always confirm.

NEVER are they at odds with one another.

Yahweh's Spirit isn't divided in half!

Yahweh's Spirit isn't divided into Old Testament and New Testament!

Meaning, He doesn't have a double standard

Paul said it well:

2Timothy 3:15 - And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Yahushua ha Mashiach.

2Timothy 3:16 - All scripture is given by inspiration of YAHWEH, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

2Timothy 3:17 - That the man of YAHWEH may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

1. They made one wise unto salvation

2. They were given by inspiration of Yahweh

3. All scripture is profitable for doctrine

4. All scripture is profitable for reproof

5. All scripture is profitable for correction

6. All scripture is profitable for instruction in righteousness

7. Knowledge of scripture causes one to be perfected and equipped/furnished for applying good works

So again, the law and the prophets do teach us how to have works/fruits worthy of repentance.

Therefore brothers, let us seek diligently the commandments of Yahweh and walk according to the light He has given us

Don't let those who break even the least of the commandments and teach men so deceive us into following their example

The Ultimate Example given for us is Yahushua, and He didn't fail to do even one jot or tittle of Yahweh's law

If we do fail, do not forget the One who understands and knows the temptations:

Hebrews 4:15 - For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

But like David, I have found this to be true of Yahweh our Elohim:

Psalms 23:3 - He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

For His name's sake

He doesn't want people who are seeking Him and are called by His name to be lead into unrighteousness, He loves His name. HalleluYah because I do too!

He is leading us into righteousness.. to keep His Torah, let us follow that leading

And do not be afraid of those who call you a legalist and condemn you for trying to walk as Yahushua walked, if it is out of love for HIM, their condemnation is not from Yahweh

It is the enemy that wants us to disobey, not Yahweh

Where do we ever see Yahweh condemning someone for TRULY repenting and walking in righteousness by doing as He commanded?

Where does it say 'those commandment keepers get thrown into the lake of fire'?

Revelation 22:14 - Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

Let's look into His Torah and the rest of His word

And look at our example Yahushua.. seeking His strength to overcome and grow closer and closer to the image of Yahushua the Messiah

In the areas we fall short.. let's fall on our knees before Yahweh and truly repent

And pray for the strength to bear the fruits worthy of repentance. We can't do it without Him

Let's confess that we cannot

We give up, we surrender

And let's let the old self die..

and let the One who always does that which is pleasing to Yahweh.. dwell in us

John 8:29 - And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

And may Yahweh bless you and have mercy on us all!