THE SHOFAR
Good News for the Assembly of Bet Yeshurun No. 314 / January 28, 2012
Schedule of Gatherings
01/31/12 Lunar Sabbath Celebration 1:00 pm
02/03/12 Hebrew Class 6:30 pm
02/04/12 Traditional Sat. Sabbath Services 1:30 pm
02/07/12 Lunar Sabbath Celebration 1:00 pm
02/10/12 Hebrew Class 6:30 pm
02/11/12 Traditional Sat. Sabbath Services 1:30 pm
02/14/12 Lunar Sabbath Celebration 1:00 pm
02/17/12 Hebrew Class 6:30 pm
02/18/12 Traditional Sat. Sabbath Services 1:30 pm
02/21/12 Lunar Sabbath Celebration 3:00 pm
02/22/12 New Moon Feast Day Celebration 1:00 pm
02/24/12 Hebrew Class 6:30 pm
02/25/12 Traditional Sat. Sabbath Services 1:30 pm
Scripture Readings for the next 14 Days
Etz Chayeem Hoo (He Is a Tree of Life)
Exodus 1:1 to 9:35
Isaiah 27:6–28:13; 29:22–23
Jeremiah 1:1 to 2:3
Ezekiel 28:25–29:21
Acts 7:17-35
Romans 9:14-17
2 Corinthians 6:14 to 7:1
Hebrews 11:23-27
Revelation 16
Romans 5:3; 12:12; 1 Corinthians 3:11–15 on trials & tribulations
2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; Revelation 18:1–8 on leaving the wickedness of this world
Mark 12:26–27; Luke 20:37–38 Yahshuah on Moses at the burning bush
John 8:58 Yahshuah, the “I am” of the Burning Bush
LEARN TO LOVE THE LORD THY GOD
By Pastor ObadiYah Elohim
“Learn to LOVE THE LORD THY GOD and die for without GOD we all die!” I received this message from YAH when I was immersed in Ruach HaKodesh i.e. the Holy Spirit. I must say as astonished as I was at that time; I was also completely bewildered, for at the time I as most “christians” was convinced that I already loved HIM! In fact, this half of the statement so perplexed me that I put the whole saying on the proverbial shelf for awhile!
It was during this time that HE began to reveal who “THE LORD THY GOD” was, that is, the names behind the titles, even YAHUAH THY ELOHIM and HIS Son Yahshuah. I began to notice a seemingly intentional plot to cover or disguise the sacred names of YAHUAH and Yahshuah, “Thy Elohim” within scripture (KJV).
And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to you, Holy Father, keep through your own name those whom you have given me that they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those that you gave me I have kept and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:11-12) And I have declared unto them your name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith you have loved me may be in them and I in them. (John 17:26)
Hereby I learned how YAH keeps us through the sacred names! Could it be that those to whom the sacred names is revealed during this time are the very people that Yahshuah prayed for; even those who embrace and keep the sacred names of Elohim as the disciples and apostles of Yahshuah before them? Seeing that no one comes to YAH except that Elohim draw them, what does this say of those who are exposed to the Holy names, but do not feel led to embrace them as sacred? Selah…
My eyes opened to see that “Elohim” is “Echad” meaning ‘one’, but not necessarily “1”. Elohim being made up of more than 1 is one in purpose and design. HE distended this view to the point where I perceived that the message I bewilderedly stored on that proverbial shelf was actually a personal invitation to become “Echad”, i.e. ‘one’ with Elohim, holy creator of heaven and earth!
Please consider further Yahshuah’s prayer, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also who shall believe on me through their word that they all may be one; as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that you have sent me. And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them, as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-23)
Reflecting upon this concept of keeping HIS Word brought another scripture to mind, “He who has my commandments and keeps them, is he who loves me, and he who loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21) Yahshuah answered and said unto him, “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He who does not love me does not keep my sayings: and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's who sent me.” (Jn. 14:23-24)
I now understood that YAH my Elohim had revealed HIS sacred name unto me that HE might keep me therein, that I might be one with HIM and HIS Son Yahshuah, which came in HIS sacred name. Yet another prayer verse came to mind, “I have manifested your name unto the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (John 17:6)
At this point the message that I received during my immersion into Ruach HaKodesh fell off that proverbial shelf and hit me in the head like a ton of bricks. In doing so, it healed my spiritual blindness!
I could now see that even though I did love/phileo YAHUAH my Elohim, I did not LOVE/AGAPE HIM; but it wasn’t because I didn’t have a heart to, but rather because I didn’t know how!
According to scripture it’s impossible to LOVE YAH without keeping HIS commandments/words! Thereby I came to a very grim reality that not only did I not LOVE YAHUAH my Elohim, but neither did anyone else I knew at that time! That led me to further consider that even with millions if not billions of ‘self-professed christians’ only a few in the world might scripturally LOVE YAHUAH and Yahshuah their Elohim! I came to realize, that myself included with billions of others did not LOVE YAH, not because we didn’t have a desire to, but because we didn’t know how! Hence YAH telling me to ‘Learn to LOVE HIM’
But now I was at a crossroad as to what commandments of YAHUAH it is that Yahshuah wants us to keep? Is it the commands, the words of Yahushua Himself i.e. the “bread of life” that we are to live by? “I am that bread of life.” (John 6:48) “It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak unto
you, they are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63) Then Simon Peter answered him, “Adonai, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. “(John 6:68)
Or is it ‘Torah/Law’ (meaning teaching and instructions delivered to Moses) that we are to live by? “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.“ (Prov. 6:23) The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death. (Prov. 13:14)
Well, for the most part ‘the christians’ explaim that one should adhere only to those words given unto us via ‘The Bread of Life’ i.e. Yahshuah, whereas “the Yahudim” (Jews) teach that one is to only adhere to the ‘Torah/Law’ of Moses, but both Yahshuah and Moses are quoted as saying to live by every Word of Elohim. (Matthew 4:3-4; Deuteronomy 8:1-3)
Yahshuah was of course the fulfillment of the manna/bread from heaven that they “knew not”. But for what reason does it say that YAH exposed them to this manna? “That HE might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every/all that proceeds out of the mouth of YAHUAH does man live”.
Hereby we are taught not to follow “Christians” or “Yahudim”, but to only follow Yahshuah, who in turn is our teacher. Then said Yahshuah unto his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”(Matthew 16:24-25)
Hereby I learned that I must deny myself and raise up my cross (stauros-#4716 = meaning to stand). It was a stake, on which criminals were nailed for execution. The cross was an instrument of most dreadful and agonizing torture; and we are to rise up i.e. carry our ‘stauros’ and follow Yahshuah.
This statement teaches us that we are to deny ourselves, that is, nail ourselves to uprightness to the beyond point of torture, even until death, which is the purpose of ‘stauros’. Hence He follows the saying with “whosoever will save his life shall lose it”, that is, whoever shall come down from their ‘stauros’ of uprightness before death, shall die the 2nd death i.e. the death by which there is no resurrection: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches; He who overcomes shall not be hurt of the second death. (Rev 2:11)
Hence YAH’S Word for me to die! For if I, as well as you, would only die to this world via suffering to do YAH’S will for our lives we shall eternally live with He who is eternal. But if we seek to save ourselves by any other means other than dying for His sake He will not be with us, nor will He know us. Ironically we will die the second death of eternity!