EliYah:
- I believe our first call this morning, as usual, Brother Curtis. Shabbat Shalom.
Curtis:
- [blows shofar]
Curtis and Wife:
- Praise Yahweh! Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. Shabbat Shalom to you all.
Curtis:
- I wanted to read a verse. We're going to sing a song, right? Yeah. So we're going to do that. Then I'm going to read a verse that came to my mind today again. A lot of people say it. Anyway, my wife and I are going to do a song. The children are already down for naps resting. Here we go.
EliYah:
- All right.
Curtis' Wife:
- Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- Shabbat Shalom. How are you doing?
Curtis' Wife:
- Great.
EliYah:
- Great.
Curtis and Wife:
- [Music Ministry: "We Adore You"]
Curtis:
- HalleluYah.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah! Praise the Lord.
Curtis:
- I'm going to praise Him. I'm going to read this in the first version I read it in 20 years ago almost, 20 years ago next spring.
- "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
- "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful. It is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.
- "As for prophecy, it will pass away. As for tongues, they will cease. As for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect, and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.
- "When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.
- So, faith, hope, love abides, these three; but the greatest of these is love."
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. Amein.
Curtis:
- HalleluYah. Amein. Yahweh bless you all and keep you all, and I pray for everyone that's here listening and sharing, and may His face shine upon us all.
EliYah:
- Yahweh bless you all, as well. Good to talk to you, brother. Shabbat Shalom to your home.
Curtis:
- Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- Brother Curtis and his family. Didn't get a chance to hear his children read this time around, but I guess they're snoozing away, Shabbating. We like to call it Shabbating. That's a blessing.
- Our phone lines are open now. If you'd like to give us a call, the telephone number, once again, 417-683-3575, or you can call us toll free, 866-435-4924. We have both lines open. If you'd like to give us a call, we'll patch you into the broadcast.
- We'd like to hear from you, just say Shabbat Shalom, or if you have a testimony, or an encouraging word, or anything that would edify the body. We'd like to hear from you.
- In the meantime, I'll share another song from the library. Since we didn't get a chance to hear Curtis' children, I think we'll play a couple of songs here. This is by the Fournier children. Remember the Fourniers at last year's Feast of Tabernacles? They sent us a CD. There's a pretty good couple of songs here I'll go ahead and play for you. HalleluYah.
- [Music Ministry by Fournier Family]
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. A couple of songs there about obedience, the kind of attitude we want to instill in our children. I'm pretty sure that's the same kind of attitude that Yahweh wants to instill in His children, obeying right away and walking in His instruction. HalleluYah.
- I believe we have Sister Tahar on line one. Shabbat Shalom to you.
Tahar:
- Shabbat Shalom. How are you?
EliYah:
- Doing well. How about you?
Tahar:
- We're blessed.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah!
Tahar:
- Yohanan and I have been doing some really awesome studies this week. For awhile, I have been struggling with personal stuff, trying to be upright in Yahweh's eyes, etc., etc.
- I come from a background of, I guess, the Word of Faith movement is what they call it or whatever. In that movement, it's always about what you do. It's never about what Yahweh does in you, and always trying to attain, and always striving.
- It's like a light went on for me today. All we need to do is totally humble ourselves, get rid of ourselves, so that He can work through us. That's so freeing.
- I've been saying it for a long time, and I've heard it for a long time, but it really hit me today, really focusing on Him so that He can do the work.
- When we're weak, He is strong. He's been really doing that work in me. I wanted to thank you for stressing that point in your message today.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. That's very true. It's not our own righteousness that's going to cut it anyway and not our own efforts. He needs to do it in us, just like He did it in Yahushua.
Tahar:
- Yeah, that's true.
EliYah:
- He said, "Why do you call me good? There is One that is good, and that is Elohim." He's referring to His heavenly Father, and it was His heavenly Father that empowered Him to walk in the perfection He walked in. We can draw on that same power, as well. HalleluYah.
Tahar:
- Yeah, halleluYah. The other thing I wanted to ask for prayer. We have several things coming up for us. We have Feast of Tabernacles and then there's a couple of different family things we need to attend.
- They're really close together. And that Yahweh would provide for us to be able to travel, as far as work and all that.
- The other thing that's been really on Yohanan and my heart for a few months--we actually only found out a couple of months ago.
- When we first moved to West Virginia, about a month after, I guess it was maybe even less than that--a few weeks after we got back from FOT, Yohanan was really thinking we needed to go back to Texas, because his mom had been engaged, and unfortunately she'd been living with this man for a very short time.
- They were making wedding plans and everything, and he just up and left and took a lot of her belongings with him. She went through really, really severe depression. She's actually going to counseling and things like that. That was only in October. That was probably the end of October.
- I guess it's been probably about a month ago, maybe a little bit longer, Yohanan got a call from his mom saying she was getting married. He's been really grieved about it. Both of us have. A few days ago, he called his mom to find out really what was going on.
- She ended up meeting this person over the internet. This person has no spiritual life whatsoever, doesn't go to church on his own. He's going for her sake.
- We're just really both really praying on it. I don't know how Yohanan feels, but I'm really saddened by it. He said he was frustrated. She's getting married in November. She just met this guy at the end of April.
- We're really concerned for, not only the fact that he's not going to be her head in spiritual matters, but it's kind of like she's tossed things to the wayside. She's kind of got a whatever attitude about it.
- We'd like everyone to cover us in prayer and her. Her name is Kara Lee.
EliYah:
- Her name is what?
Tahar:
- Kara Lee.
EliYah:
- Okay.
Tahar:
- It's really affected us for awhile, even before we knew this last bit. We've tried a few times to minister the truth, and she really doesn't approve of our lifestyle. She thinks we're off in left field.
- It's really hard. On one hand, we can say, "That's our family. Oh, well." But this is our parents we're talking about.
EliYah:
- You've got to ask yourself whether you're able to help. People have to want it. A lot of times, our family members are people we want to help the most, but the ones we can least help, if they're not willing.
Tahar:
- Yeah, yeah.
EliYah:
- As a son, you can only offer so much counsel. Let Yahweh work it from there.
Tahar:
- Yeah, yeah. That's why we've been praying about the wedding, if we're supposed to go or not. She actually wants Yohanan to give her away, and he's very, very, very uncomfortable with that, because he doesn't agree with the marriage.
- We're praying on it, that maybe this is the opportunity He's going to give us to be able to sit down and just draw the division line or what have you.
EliYah:
- Right.
Tahar:
- But anyway, thank you so much, Tom, for your commitment to Yahweh and I am so blessed to be able to come together every week, and those of us that really want to know His truth. I'm very, very thankful. Thank you for giving all of us your time. Yahweh bless you guys. We love you so much.
EliYah:
- We appreciate your support, and love, and encouragement, and prayers. We're going to add you to the prayer list today. We'll continue to pray for you all. Yahweh bless you all, as well.
Tahar:
- All right. We'll see you soon.
EliYah:
- All right.
Tahar:
- All right. Yahweh bless.
EliYah:
- Shabbat Shalom.
Tahar:
- Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- All right. A lot of us face similar circumstances with parents doing things and causing us to want to enter into compromise. That's something we all need to be very aware of. Indeed.
- I believe we have Sister Candice on line two. Shabbat Shalom to you.
Candice:
- Shabbat Shalom, Eli. I think you know me, because we talked by email this past week.
EliYah:
- Yes.
Candice:
- I just called to say thank you very much.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. For those that don't know--probably hardly anybody knows--but our Sister Candice here has come into the knowledge of Yahweh's feast days through a lady in Arkansas, and she needed some assistance in coming to the Feast of Tabernacles, and we were able to help her with blessings of the brethren.
- Praise Yahweh for that. Yahweh's people came together and provided a way for her to have some fellowship. HalleluYah.
Candice:
- HalleluYah. There really isn't any fellowship here for me. I mostly just come on the internet and then through my friends. The closest person to me is like an hour away, and I don't drive, and I'm disabled.
- It makes it kind of really nice to be able to go meet the lady that Yahweh used to bring me to the truth. I'm really excited.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah.
Candice:
- So I just wanted to say thank you and let you know I really, truly appreciate it, the help.
EliYah:
- It's all the brethren and their gifts, the blessing for that. We have a feast fund we do for these kind of things. We just praise Yahweh for inspiring people to help others. Hopefully, one day, we can all return the favor, and it's all about everyone serving one another.
Candice:
- Amen, amen.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah.
Candice:
- I just love Him, and I can't begin to say how grateful I am for the truth. There's been times of discouragement, but when I get discouraged, and Satan comes--because sometimes you hear things that you know aren't right. It can get really discouraging at times.
- Then, too, the persecution, I've met that, too. I keep thinking this is the truth, and I can't turn back, and I've just got to keep going. No matter how hard it gets. I've got to keep going and trusting Yahweh.
EliYah:
- Amein, amein.
Candice:
- So I just wanted to call and say thank you and tell everybody, please, thank you. Thank you, thank you a million times, thank you. I'm sorry about the passing away of your grandmother.
EliYah:
- I appreciate that. She had Alzheimers for several years. The last time I was up there about a year ago, she didn't recognize me. We kind of grieved already, but that was a very touching funeral. My grandfather was married to her for 70 years.
Candice:
- That's a long time. That's a very long time.
EliYah:
- Yes, it is. They had a blessed marriage and, hopefully, one that we can all replicate.
Candice:
- Amen.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah.
Candice:
- HalleluYah. Well, thank you. You have a blessed day the rest of the day.
EliYah:
- And you, as well. Shabbat Shalom to you.
Candice:
- Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- Sister Candice from Texas. Beaumont, Texas, I believe. Good to hear from her. Yahweh's people are working to bless others. That's an awesome thing. I love to see that very thing happening where those that are able to help others are doing just that. HalleluYah. I believe we have Sister Marie on line one. Shabbat Shalom.
Marie:
- Shabbat Shalom. How is everybody?
EliYah:
- We're all doing good. How are you doing?
Marie:
- Everybody missing me? [laughs]
EliYah:
- Yeah.
Marie:
- I just got my computer back yesterday. I think one of the people I was letting work in my house stole my modem, so I couldn't hook my computer back up last night, which I'm in the process of moving anyway. I've got to be out of this house by tomorrow. If Yahweh don't send me no help, it's going to be pretty much difficult getting up out of here tomorrow.
- I wanted everybody to know that Laura and Vita are in safe hands at OneWay's house.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah.
Marie:
- In Texas. She got her divorce. It was granted. They've given her permanent custody. The way it was worded about visitation, he has to give her a reasonable amount of time. The way I look at that, he's got to find her to give her that.
EliYah:
- Mm-hm.
Marie:
- I believe with all my heart that Yahweh put them in the right hands.
EliYah:
- Good.
Marie:
- Somebody to care for her, to help her care for the baby and stuff.
EliYah:
- That's good.
Marie:
- At least for six months to a year until, hopefully, Michael will be home, and he will be able to help with the court system and stuff when all this comes up with Laura again about the visitation, because I'm sure it will.
- I will be getting out of here Monday. But I just wanted to let everybody know we are okay. I've been getting sick, because I've been on my feet a lot. I was real bad swollen this morning when I woke up.
- Jasmine wanted to say hi, so I'm going to turn the phone over to her.
EliYah:
- Okay.
Marie:
- We need extra, extra prayer for Yahweh to send people to actually help us get all this stuff up out of this house tomorrow.
EliYah:
- All right.
Marie:
- So if you can give us prayer there, it's much needed.
EliYah:
- Okay, we've got you on the list here, and we'll definitely add you to our prayers.
Marie:
- And pray that we get a house real fast, because my appointment isn't until the 20th, which is Wednesday. Here's Jasmine.
EliYah:
- Will do.
Jasmine:
- Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- Shabbat Shalom, Jasmine. How are you doing?
Jasmine:
- Fine.
EliYah:
- And you got a few friends with you?
Jasmine:
- Huh?
EliYah:
- Have you got a few friends with you, or are you by yourself today?
Jasmine:
- I'm by myself today, because they don't want anybody coming over, because we're about to move.
EliYah:
- I see.
Jasmine:
- And she don't want anybody knowing where we're moving to.
EliYah:
- I see. Very well. Do you have a song you'd like to share or a poem?
Jasmine:
- I was just wanting to say Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- Okay. Well, Shabbat Shalom to you. May Yahweh be with you wherever He chooses to take you. We hope to hear from you again soon.
Jasmine:
- We want to--if it's possible, a house to live in.
EliYah:
- I'm sorry, I didn't hear you.
Jasmine:
- As soon as we can find a house to live in and everything, we'll get back to you.
EliYah:
- All right. Sounds great.
Jasmine:
- Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- Shabbat Shalom to you. HalleluYah. Good to hear from Marie. She's doing well. I pray for her, as she moves, Yahweh will take her where He wants her and Jasmine to be.
- Looks like we've got another call here on line number two. I believe it is Sister Renee. Shabbat Shalom to you.
Renee:
- Well, Shabbat Shalom! It is so wonderful to talk to you.
EliYah:
- Good to talk to you, as well.
Renee:
- I'm calling you from Pasadena.
EliYah:
- Pasadena, Texas.
Renee:
- That's it!
EliYah:
- Okay.
Renee:
- I have a question.
EliYah:
- Yes.
Renee:
- Today's lesson I found very interesting, because it really falls in line with what's happening in the life of my husband and I. His boss has been forcing him to have to work on Shabbat, on the Sabbath. We know that Yahweh doesn't expect us to compromise our faith.
- I find this rather odd, since my husband has told him, "I don't work on the Sabbath. It is a commandment." Of course, His boss, being Catholic, he's saying the Sabbath is Sunday.
EliYah:
- Right.
Renee:
- Which it isn't.
EliYah:
- Mm-hm.
Renee:
- But I noticed he has worked more on the Sabbath since he told his boss, than he ever did working for the company before.
EliYah:
- Okay.
Renee:
- Where do we see this? How does Elohim see this? My husband also says, "We must be obedient to our bosses without complaining and murmuring."
- The way I look at it is you can't serve two masters. Is it a compromise, or should he just stand his ground and absolutely say, "No, I can't do this."
EliYah:
- What if his boss said, "When you come into work Monday, you need to commit adultery with my wife."
Renee:
- Right.
EliYah:
- You wouldn't say, "I have to obey my boss." Obviously, the answer becomes clearer when we relate it to another commandment. The problem is, in our society, we have a tendency to bite into their logic a little bit sometimes, that we place importance in areas where they place importance, and we don't place importance in areas where Yahweh places importance.
- We need to look at the Sabbath command as being important enough to where we wouldn't break it, no matter what anybody says.
Renee:
- That's exactly the way I feel about it. That's what I said. We are to guard it with our life, even to death.
EliYah:
- You can pray for your husband, and Yahweh will give him whatever conviction in this area. My understanding from the Word is even if a man put a gun to your head and said, "You must break the Sabbath," we don't break it, period.
Renee:
- It sounds ridiculous.
EliYah:
- We've got to put Yahweh first.
Renee:
- That's the way I feel about it.
EliYah:
- The day may come when that very thing may be required, and they will say, to the point of death, like it was. If you look in the book of Maccabees, for instance--it's an extra biblical book, but it's considered to be historically accurate--there was seven children of a woman, and they were faced with the decision of eating pork or being killed.
- Every one of them chose to be killed, rather than to eat pork. It all comes down to when there's a conflict between whether we disobey Yahweh or we obey men, we have to choose to obey Yahweh.
Renee:
- Yeah, we're called not to be conformed to the ways of the world.
EliYah:
- Right, and it is a corruption for us to think that in any circumstance, man comes first. We've got to make Him our Elohim. Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness. I know he may lose his job or whatever, but He'll add all those other things unto us.
- I've personally been faced with similar circumstances. I used to do refrigeration, commercial refrigeration work, rooftop units, and air conditioning and heating systems. I got hired on with a job where I was to do residential furnaces and things.
- I said, "I don't work on the Sabbath, period, but if there was an old woman freezing to death, of course, I would go out there and fix her furnace for free. I wouldn't have a problem doing that, but I won't do it for non-emergency reasons."
- Well, I got hired on, and they were wanting me to go on these jobs that just were not emergencies. They were emergencies to them, because they might lose their client, but it was not an emergency that had to do with saving anyone's life.
- I eventually told them, "This is a constant conflict. This is not going to work. I will not work on the Sabbath, period, under any circumstances, because I get out there, and all of a sudden it's not really an emergency."
- So he said, "Well, your last day then will be Friday." I said, "Okay."
Renee:
- I think that's the fear my husband has, too.
EliYah:
- Well, what happened was, what the world calls Friday came along, and he says, "Well, I'm going to need you Monday. I've got this going on and that going on." All right, so I came in the following week and "I'm going to need you next week." And I stayed, and I worked another week. "I'm going to need you next week."
- Three months went by, and they were putting ads in the paper trying to replace me, offering twice the salary I was making. Nobody was even calling. They couldn't find anybody. So, finally, I worked there three months. I knew my job was limited there. They were looking for someone to replace me.
- Yahweh, I think, was putting blinders on the ads. I said, "Do you mind if I take a couple of days off next week and go look for a job?" [laughs] He said, "I guess."
- In a couple of days, I found a job, and I didn't have to worry about the Sabbath. That was all taken care of. I put my two weeks' notice in. He still couldn't find anybody.
Renee:
- I know there's a lot of people out there that face this same dilemma. I just don't see where the compromise is acceptable. Are we going to be standing before the throne and try to make excuses for the reason why we didn't follow His commands? That's not going to be accepted, and I know that.
- I ask for everyone to pray for the ones out there that are faced with this, including my husband. I just wanted to say thanks for all you do for us. My husband and I found your broadcast and your website months ago. We have been doing your lessons on the weekends for months.
- Recently, my husband and I were blessed to buy some beautiful property right outside of Ava, and so we'll be moving up there soon. When I found out that you guys are right around the corner, I knew without a doubt that confirmation was there. This was what we were supposed to do.
EliYah:
- Isn't that amazing?
Renee:
- That was truly amazing.
EliYah:
- One of the reasons we moved out here was there was another family here. We were looking at finding an area where we could move closer to each other. Then there was another family we knew about who didn't know about this family we knew of. They were all looking in the same county and didn't even know each other.
- That was one of the reasons we felt led to come to this area. It turns out, I think his brother, Panama Rich, has family here, as well. It's one of those areas of the country where it seems like Yahweh's people are being drawn to.
Renee:
- For gathering. We're gathering, and we're gathering for a reason. There's a lot of other people here in the Houston area that said, "I'm really feeling Yahweh is really tugging at us to move to the Ozarks for some reason."
- I'm looking at them going, "No way." It's the movement of His Ruach HaKodesh that is pulling us together. He knows best. I just wanted to call and see what you thought about the dilemma going on with our family here. Just pray for that door to close and new doors to open, and the one that's closed never to be opened again.
EliYah:
- Amein.
Renee:
- And I just want to say Shabbat Shalom to everybody out there. May God bless you and keep you in His ways always.
EliYah:
- Amein. Shabbat Shalom to you, as well.
Renee:
- Thank you so much. Bye-bye.
EliYah:
- Take care. All right. Sister Renee. Pray for them. I know it's tough. You're working somewhere for a long time, and it's a tough decision. We really have to step out in faith and be sure about what we believe. It really is the society we live in that doesn't place the emphasis on Sabbath. That has an impact on how we view it sometimes.
- The man who commits adultery was worthy of being stoned, and the one who broke the Sabbath was worthy of being stoned, according to the law. Yahweh must place importance on both. It was important enough to be included in the Ten Commandments.
- We've got to look at it as one of those very important things that we are willing to observe. HalleluYah.
- There was a question that came through in the chat room about honoring--it actually kind of related here--about honoring those who are not acting very honorably. That's often the case. In fact, I'm a husband. I'm an authority, and not everyone is perfect, and I'm not perfect either; yet, I expect my children to honor me.
- My wife isn't perfect, but we expect our children to honor her. The truth be told, none of us are worthy of honor to begin with. Does that mean we don't have to honor anybody who's not acting honorably? We don't have to honor the things they do. We don't have to pretend like we appreciate the sin someone might be involved in, but we do need to honor the position Yahweh has placed them in.
- If they're in a position of authority, such as our father, or our mother, or in the case of a wife, her husband, then it's the position Yahweh placed them in that is worthy of honor.
- We honor the office, and so you honor the one in that office. If that one in the office commands you to disobey the heavenly Father, then at that point you pray and ask that the person--you make an appeal, nothing wrong with making an appeal--the person would not demand that you do that wrong thing, and you pray for Yahweh to make a way of escape, that you will not have to do that wrong thing.
- If it comes down to the last possible minute to where you're either going to have to disobey Yahweh or not, you have to choose to say, "Well, I can't do it, because I can't dishonor my heavenly Father, who is in the higher office."
- That's how I see that position of honor. That means we don't have to be insulting or irreverent or rude when we speak to that person in regards to these things, but that, even though they're not acting that position, to honor them. 1 Peter 3:1 gives a pretty good example of that.
1Peter 3:1 - Wives, likewise, [be] submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,- The righteous conduct, where you're honoring those who are really not acting very honorably--it has a way of pulling them and guiding them in a position to where they start to act in the way you're treating them.
Maria:
- Maria.
EliYah:
- Sister Maria. Shabbat Shalom to you.
Maria:
- Shabbat Shalom, brother. I just wanted to call in. I've only been coming online for the past two days, and everybody there has been so really nice to me, and I just wanted to say thank you. I'm reading on and learning from everybody. We're walking in the path. We still have a lot to learn, but that'll come slowly.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. That's great.
Maria:
- We just wanted to say hi to everybody.
EliYah:
- Wonderful.
Maria:
- And wish everybody a happy Shabbat.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. Good to hear from you. I'm glad you could join us. May Yahweh guide us all into His ways.
Maria:
- Amen.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. All right. Any other questions or comments?
Maria:
- No, that was it, just wanted to say hi.
EliYah:
- Very well. Hello and Shabbat Shalom to you and your home.
Maria:
- Shabbat Shalom, brother.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. Sister Maria from Arizona. On line two, I believe we have Finella.
Finella:
- Yes. Hi. Shabbat Shalom.
EliYah:
- Shabbat Shalom to you.
Finella:
- I just wanted to call in and let you know what was happening with me since last we spoke.
EliYah:
- Okay.
Finella:
- I don't know if you remember. I told you one time I was supposed to meet with my ex-pastor and let him know in what direction our heavenly Father was leading me. He finally met with me. I took all my books. I had all the sacred name broadcasters. I had the customs of pagan religions and so on.
- I sat with him, and I tried to show him the truth. I read about the name, the true name of our Savior. For some reason, nothing was accomplished. But he understood everybody has to follow their convictions and everything.
- Like I told him, I want to have to be responsible for my own salvation. I'm responsible for...
EliYah:
- Your own personal walk.
Finella:
- Yeah, I don't want to perish. I don't want to go to hell. So we parted. He understood where I was going. We left on friendly ground kind of thing.
- It was so touching. I had a couple of the members from the church calling me to confirm. And it was so touching, the love they were showing. I want to find a way to show them the truth. I've been trying to show them.
- How do you go about leading them to the truth? I'm trying to tell them some of the things I know. It's been like a war I'm up against.
EliYah:
- There's only so much we can do. We sow the seed. We pray that Yahweh will give the increase, but Yahweh is the One who has to give the increase.
- We're like farmers. You scatter the seed in different areas, and sometimes it'll fall on good ground, and sometimes it won't. We would hope that everyone would be the good ground, but especially pastors have a difficult time accepting these things. They've got a lot working against them, mainly because if they start to teach these things, they would be out of a job very quickly.
- Half their congregation would leave, and their income would be nothing anymore. They would have to go look for a regular job. There's a lot of things working against them, the respect of the community they enjoy currently.
- It really is a battle. There are some pastors who are honest and sincere in belief, the things they do, because they truly believe it. If they find truth, they don't care what anybody says, or they may not receive it now, but at some point in the future they may receive it.
Finella:
- That's right, because I know how it was for me, because let's say if I go to my mother with something like this. We're talking about so many years. She's in her 70's. We've gotten this from our parents and grandparents. To really make a change, it's really difficult.
- That's how it was for me at first when they told me, when I first got this information. I was like, "I don't want to hear, and I'm not changing anything, because this works for me. I know where He brought me from."
- This is what I was telling people. I got saved using the name Jesus, and I know that it really worked for me, because I know where I was and where what I became since I accepted Him.
- So I'm saying maybe the people who still use the name Jesus and Jehovah, we shouldn't write them off, because He could still bring them in like He brought me in. There's still hope for all of us.
EliYah:
- Exactly.
Finella:
- I guess we just need to be patient and still continue to give them that word so that eventually their eyes will open. The ones who truly want to believe, He has His people who will listen.
- Of course, He knows who's already going to come in, but we've just got to do what we have to do.
EliYah:
- See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth patiently. Even the seed that fell on good ground bore fruit with patience.
- Just because they don't receive it right away doesn't mean that they're not going to receive it at some point in the future. You're right.
- We have to not just be so sudden in shaking the dust off our feet, because there is a lot. I have a tremendous amount of respect for anyone in their 70's, just completely changing their life and following these things. You're talking about a whole lifetime of doing things a certain way, and then all of a sudden having to change.
- That, to me, is extremely hard and very respectable to do. The Father will deal with each one according to His mercies and the way He judges things.
- Our responsibility is not to judge anything before the time, but let the Father work things out.
- Sometimes we want to share some kind of truth with someone, and want them to receive it right away, but maybe Yahweh is showing them something else in their life right now He's dealing with them on, and He'll get to that, but we're sitting there trying to get ahead of Him, and getting frustrated because these other people aren't listening to what we think they need to accept right now.
- A case in point was when I first came to faith in Yahweh and Yahushua, and received the Torah and the Sabbath in 1989 and 1990, I went and ran to my family and said, "Look at this!" And they didn't receive it.
- I was shocked. My friends, I said, "Look at this." And they didn't receive it, and I was shocked. Why don't they see this? It took my parents, for instance, 12 years before they came to receive these things, and now they're believers as we are, keeping Torah, Shabbat, and calling on Yahweh.
- It's in the timing of when things are ready, and the soil is prepared, and we just need to be careful we're not trying to drive that seed in the ground and causing it to be hard-packed soil, so it never can grow, trying to force it in the ground. We need to pull back.
Finella:
- We have to do it with love, right?
EliYah:
- I've learned from gardening, you just gently pull the soil away, lay the seed in there, and gently cover it up. Don't smash it down into the soil. That's kind of how we need to be. We have to be careful.
- Sometimes people need the soil broken up, too. We've got to hear our Father's leading and be very responsible with this word we're carrying.
Finella:
- I'm trying to understand something. Are we going to be judged, based on the knowledge that we have? Now that I know all these things, I'm going to be judged, based on what I know. So if you never knew all of this, are you saying the judgment would be more lenient than it would having this type of knowledge? So it's better to not tell somebody. You know what I'm trying to say, right?
EliYah:
- I think I know what you're trying to say. We're responsible for proclaiming the truth. Even if somebody doesn't accept it right away, I certainly hope that it doesn't mean Yahweh then casts them off and rejects them. Maybe I've heard a thing or two, and I didn't understand it and pick it up right away, either.
- I think we all need to be careful about judging. Know that I think our Father in heaven deals with us as sons. Once we receive Yahushua, we turn away from sin in our heart. We receive Yahushua. He deals with us as sons.
- If my son did something wrong, and he didn't know it was wrong, and I did not tell him it was wrong, then I would have mercy on him. If I told him it was wrong, and he just didn't care and didn't really want to hear it, then that's where there's not going to be so much mercy.
- If I told him it was wrong, and he was in a fog, and he just didn't pick it up, and he really didn't know, and he thought he was doing the right thing, well, that's where I can give a little mercy, as well. I think our heavenly Father is the same way.
Finella:
- My mom, I'm thinking of my mom. She, as I said, is in her 70's. She really loves our heavenly Father. She's been worshiping and doing what she believes is right. For me to tell her this now, it's really been difficult for her. I just really mentioned it to her, that I stopped going to the church, and the Father has been showing me something totally differently.
- Basically, the foundation is the same, because it's the Father, the Son, His only begotten Son, who died for us. The basis is the same. It's just that His name is different. The Sabbath is different. You know what I mean?
EliYah:
- Yeah.
Finella:
- And we don't keep all the pagan feasts and the festivals that they have. For me to go to her with this knowledge now and this information, is she going to be judged? This is what I'm saying. I don't want to put her in that position, because she really, at first, didn't want to hear this type of thing.
- She believes everything is working for her the way--if I want to do this, it's up to me, but I don't want to make it more difficult for her. You see what I mean?
EliYah:
- Be sensitive to Yahweh's leading, but at the same time realize that if a person already has a heart in such a way that when they hear the truth, they don't want to follow it, period, that's already been exposed a long time ago.
- If you're sharing with them a truth, and they don't want to follow it, because they just want to do their own thing, you sharing with them the truth isn't going to change them. They're already that way in their heart, and Yahweh sees that anyway.
- But if they are the kind of person that really does want and love the truth, you show it to them, they don't quite see it yet, but sometime in the future they might. Whether you shared it or didn't share it doesn't change where their heart is.
Finella:
- This is what someone said to me.
EliYah:
- If your mom or you or anybody hears the truth, they kick it around in their mind for awhile, they think about it, pray about it, eventually they're going to receive it. I wouldn't that, necessarily, that in and of itself, stop you.
- If you feel Yahweh is telling you, "Not yet," then hear His voice.
Finella:
- This is what someone else said to me. The Father is looking at the heart. He's not looking at how many laws you kept. Remember the rich man? There as the rich man who had followed all the laws, but he couldn't sell all the riches and possessions that he had.
- So following all the laws, they were trying to show me, doesn't mean anything. The Father is going to look at your heart. Explain that one to me.
EliYah:
- Well, the rich man wasn't following all the laws. He was ignoring the very first one, which was Yahweh first. He was putting His riches before Yahweh. That's a very, very important one. Yahushua was revealing that when He said, "Then sell all your possessions, give your possessions to the poor, and come follow me." But he wouldn't do it.
- His riches were actually his elohim, and he walked away sorrowful. People say you're following all the laws and still don't make it. I don't agree with that. If you are following Yahweh's commandments, "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life."
- That man was exposed as not really following all the commandments. He thought he was, but he wasn't.
Finella:
- Well, let me let someone else call in. I thank you, again, for the enlightenment.
EliYah:
- Well, I love your phone calls and hope to hear from you again.
Finella:
- Okay, thank you.
EliYah:
- We'll pray for your mom, as well.
Finella:
- Okay, thanks. Bye-bye.
EliYah:
- Shabbat Shalom. HalleluYah. Always good to hear from her. I like her attitude. Thanks for the update information there about your pastor. They're always one of the more challenging kinds of people to talk to. They've got so much working against them.
- Older folks, too, are very difficult to talk to sometimes, because they've had a whole lifetime of doing things. "It works for me."
- We're all called to be seekers and lovers of truth. HalleluYah. Yahweh is looking for us to receive the truth He shows us. We just need to keep our ears open. If we start judging people, because they don't accept something right away, didn't Yahushua say, "With what judgment you judge, you shall be judged?"
- Maybe there's something in our own life we maybe have heard but didn't accept it right away. We need to be very careful. Any time I see someone in their 70's and older like that, I just get excited when I see them changing.
- About a week ago, I got a chance to visit with our brother Chuck's family. His father, Chuck, Sr., was out there and wanting to get baptized in Yahushua's name. He was in a Church of Christ, him and his wife, I don't know how many decades.
- Chuck had let him know about the truth of the name and the Sabbath, and he received it right away. Now he's growing a beard, wearing tassels, and keeping Sabbath, and Torah, and he's coming to the Feast this year. We're going to get a chance to meet him, all of you. I've met him a couple of times.
- He's a great man. I appreciate him greatly and his wife, too. Praise Yahweh. I believe we have another phone call, Jan Coffey, line one. Shabbat Shalom.
Jan:
- Shabbat Shalom, brother Eli. How are you today?
EliYah:
- I'm doing great. How about you?
Jan:
- Okay. I just wanted to give Yahweh the glory for being there for me. I've been through some tough times, like when He was fasting in the desert, in the wilderness. Satan tempted Him. He took Him up and told Him to cast Himself down.
- He told Him, "If you're the Son of Elohim, throw yourself down, for it has been written, 'He shall command His messengers concerning you. Their hands shall bear you up so that you should not dash your foot against a stone.'"
- Yahushua said to him, "It has also been written, 'You shall not Yahweh your Elohim.'" I just wanted to thank Him, because last month I sprained my ankle on July 8th. I was rushing, didn't want to be late to work, and ran outside, and it was raining, and I went to put my foot down on the step, and I feel down between the banister and landed on my feet.
- Then I got bit by a cat that month, too, and I ended up having to go to the doctor. I was afraid to catch a fever, so I had to get some shots and antibiotics and a tetanus shot.
- I ran out of antibiotics, and I had to go back again. Inflammation had set up. I'm diabetic, took, and I got a little bit scared. Diabetics have problems with their legs, and feet, and all that.
- I was just praying to Yahweh to try to help me, to keep me on the path. I lost my job, but He blessed me. I'm down in Knoxville. I was at the shelter. There was a couple that had come in from Harriman, and I ran into her last night, and she was crying.
- She didn't know her way around Knoxville, so I was trying to let her know there were things there for her. She gave me--I said, wow, Yahweh is going to bless me at the Feast of Tabernacles.
- So I'm out here on the road again, and I'm just wanting to praise Him for his holy days. I've been trying to deal with the perfectionist. I had to repent for worshiping on the first day of the week, Sunday, whatever, and getting my gold crosses for perfect attendance and all that.
- It's been kind of hard trying to adjust, to turn around. Shabbat, you don't really have to assemble on Shabbat, but we need to prepare for the holy days and all that.
- He will be there for us, and He'll help us. If you take one step, He'll take two. That's what I'm kind of stepping out in faith for. And the Golden Rule, love Him with all your heart, whole mind, and strength. That's what I want to dedicate my life to do.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. We've got your prayer request here from the chat room you sent me. We're going to pray for you and also your son.
Jan:
- Yeah, such as his understanding. We all have to grow in truth. I think we all cry Abba Father a little bit. He's a Baptist. I know He went to the Jews over semantics, because they do have understanding. They could understand the word and math, too. I think Noah's ark--I guess we all have our differences.
- I'm hoping He's preparing us for that. They used to live in tents. I appreciate what He does give us to get by in life.
EliYah:
- We're going to keep you in prayer.
Jan:
- I just hope and pray. This is just a short space and time we're all here.
EliYah:
- Amein. All right, sister, we'll pray for you all. Yahweh be with you. Let us know if we can help in some way.
Jan:
- Okay, thank you.
EliYah:
- Shabbat Shalom.
Jan:
- Yahweh bless you, too.
EliYah:
- Sister Jan from Tennessee. I believe that might be our last call for today. There was also a question in the chat room.
Q.
- How can I honor my parents when they are unbelievers, say things against Yahweh, think I'm crazy because of what I believe. I've not really honored my parents before I became a believer. How can I do it now? What can I do now to honor them? Should I now rather focus on honoring my Father in heaven?
EliYah:
- I think that if you haven't honored your parents in the past, it can affect, believe it or not, it can affect our health. I think it's the first commandment with a promise, and I think it would be appropriate to apologize and say, "I've not honored you in the past. I want you to know that I do honor you, and I'm not always agreeing with the things you do, but I respect you as my parents."
- Actually, think about it. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't be here. Just that, in and of itself, the fact that Yahweh placed them as your parents in your life, we honor Yahweh by honoring them.
- I think that's why it's probably the first command, not only with a promise, but the first commandment in the Ten Commandments, in the order of how we love our fellow man.
- We can honor those without respecting or loving the things that they do. All of us are falling short of Yahweh's glory or have, and have done things that were not honorable, but we don't allow our children to dishonor us simply because we haven't been perfect, but we still expect them to honor us, and that's the right thing, and it's commanded.
Q. Is it okay if I marry a second wife?
EliYah:
- There is a loaded question. I would encourage you to read a study on the website called "Divorce and Remarriage." I know it's a long study, about 40 pages long, I think, but that will be my answer, to read that study.
- Read that, and that would be what I believe. Personally, most people have already done something to prevent them from marrying a second wife, period, including marital vows, "Keep thee only unto her for as long as you both shall live."
- Even if you think you can do polygamy, according to the scriptures, there are certain things that people have done, which may prevent them from doing so. Never should it be done without the permission of the first wife, period.
- Read the study, and it will go into that topic. It's probably too long to discuss here. I believe that's all the questions, if I'm not mistaken. If there are other questions, feel free to ask. In the meantime, we'd like to go ahead and take your prayer requests.
- Someone mentioned that we can repent of foolish vows. I recall Joshua, the son of Nun, made a foolish oath or vow. The men who came with the moldy bread, remember them? Said, "We came from a far country."
- They made a covenant with a nation they were not supposed to make a covenant with. Joshua did not consult Yahweh. Their covenant they would not harm them. Later, Saul disregarded that agreement, and he ended up killing some of these men.
- He was judged for that and his sons were judged. The whole nation of Israel was judged. I've got to find the scripture for you. I'll do that while we're sharing a song from the library. We'll discuss that afterward.
- Please offer your prayer requests. This next song is called, "I Love You, Father Yahweh." HalleluYah.
- [Music Ministry: "I Love You, Father Yahweh"]
EliYah:
- Beautiful song there by Brother Bill Rodgers. I did find the scriptures we were looking at. We are married by covenant. The wife of our youth is a wife by covenant in Malachi 2.
- A covenant was made by the Gibeonites and Joshua and the children of Israel in Joshua 9:15.
Joshua 9:15 - So Joshua made peace with them, and made a covenant with them to let them live; and the rulers of the congregation swore to them.
Joshua 9:16 - And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they [were] their neighbors who dwelt near them.- The Gibeonites made a covenant, in spite of the fact that they had worked deceitfully. They had to honor that covenant. In fact, 2 Samuel 21:1 says:
2Samuel 21:1 - Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of YAHWEH. And YAHWEH answered, "[It is] because of Saul and [his] bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites."
2Samuel 21:2 - So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites [were] not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.- This famine, this judgment was coming down from Yahweh, because he did not keep this covenant, even though Yahweh had seen that it was something where they had made a mistake.
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. Indeed it is. Blessed be Yahweh's name. A few questions came through. I think I missed one by our Brother Henry. Sorry, brother. He's asked about Luke 8:20. Yahushua was told His brothers and mother wanted to speak with Him.
Luke 8:20 - And it was told Him [by some], who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You."
Luke 8:21 - But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of Elohim and do it."
Q. Does that mean or imply his earthly mother did not believe in Him?
EliYah:
- It's unclear. I wouldn't go that far. I think He simply was making the point that we can all be a part of His family when we are willing to be obedient to our heavenly Father's Word. HalleluYah.
Q. What about the vows in the Catholic church that we should raise children in the faith?
EliYah:
- I think any vow where we vow ourselves to do some kind of sin is a very unscriptural vow, and Yahweh wouldn't honor it, even if we did say it. He wouldn't find that to be acceptable.
- If we made a covenant with our wife, that they will be the only one, nothing sinful in that. None.
Q. I heard that Judaism stems from Babylonia. Hebrews are not Jews. Jews are Pharisees.
EliYah:
- The word "Jew" comes from Judah. Judaism comes from Judah or Yehudah. It's not a bad word in and of itself, but I understand it has kind of been associated with an anti-Messiah, anti-Yahushua faith.
- I would hesitate to refer to myself as a follower of Judaism for that reason. I'm just a disciple of Yahushua and leave it at that. Don't have to put any special name on it. Just try to read the scriptures. We're just regular people looking to follow Yahweh's Word and be among those who hear the Word of Yahweh and do it, and do it with all we've got. HalleluYah.
- I think that's all the questions. I think we'll play one more song, and then we'll go into our prayer time together. If you have any last prayer requests, make sure you make those known here in the chat room, and we will definitely offer up prayer for you. HalleluYah. Speaking of prayer, this is a song by Tammy Robinson.
- [Music Ministry: "Our Father Which Art in Heaven," "Lead Me to the River of Your Healing Waters"]
EliYah:
- HalleluYah. May Yahweh fill you with His Spirit, as you once again go out into the work week this week. May Yahweh fill you with His Spirit and guide you in all His ways on this great day, His holy Shabbat.
- Yahweh bless you, grant you His mercies. We love you all. Look forward to another broadcast next week. Shabbat Shalom to your homes.