FROM REFORMATION TO RESTORATION

If we could have any wish we wanted, most of us would want Yeshua to return - NOW!  Many believe that He could actually return at any time. But consider these words of Peter: "That He (God) may send Yeshua the Messiah...whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time" (Acts 3:20,21). Peter was speaking prophetically of the Lord's return.  Whatever he thought needed "restoring" at that time, he had no idea of how much would need to be restored, or that it would be 2000 years and we'd still be awaiting His return. I dare say, Peter and the other disciples would barely recognize what we call church today as being the life they lived as believers in Yeshua.  What would they think would need to be restored?! 


Where are the Feasts of the Lord? (They have been replaced them with two pagan holidays, Ishtar (Easter) and Zeus' birthday we call Christ mass (Christmas)). Where is the power, the healings, the miracles? How about the casting out of demons on a regular basis to set people free from oppression, or even raising people from the dead? Where is the Shabbat as God ordained it as a day of rest with one's family at home? (How would that change our family dynamics if Mom and Dad and the kids spent a whole day together each week?)


There is so much more I could add to this list, but I'll leave it to you to consider as you read through your O.T. -- that would be the Original Testament. You will find, especially in Deuteronomy, that much of what Yeshua had to say came out of that book, so you can read many of His words in context. You will also find that Isaiah will teach you more about Yeshua that you would never have known from the New Testament alone. You may also recognize, for those who are astute to pick it up, that almost every verse in the book of the Revelation has reference to something in the Hebrew Scriptures. That is what validates the Revelation as being from God. 


There is much the Lord has been restoring since the Reformation, but that only "reformed" some of the faith, it did not "restore" us to the way of life of the early disciples as described in the Book of Acts. They understood that Yeshua is the light of the world more than just an expression to quote, and that He is the only Truth and the exact manifestation of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- as a man, as a Person. I hope we are not so familiar with that 'fact' that we loose the awesome mystery of it. 

And then, by His Spirit, Yeshua continued with them, manifesting Himself   through them! What He did, they found they could do too! Another astounding fact. As He is the same yesterday, today and forever, we should be walking in that same power and transforming revelation of Him. Increasing numbers of believers are beginning to live that kind of life in Him. The dunamis power of God is in fact being restored to those who look to Him to do so.  Yeshua "went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil," and He has equipped us to do the same. It's time to take the equipment ouf of the closet and practice using it till we become experts at blessing others.


I do not expect He will return for a bride who is not "suitable" to Him in every way. Priests were holy unto the Lord.It is for us to dress ourselves in the linen garments, the garments of the priesthood to which we have all been called, to prepare ourselves for Him: "It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints" (Rev. 19:8). Are we holy enough for His return?  This, please note, does not mean works to try and be more holy. No, we are only holy as we look to Him entirely to make us holy, to be so absorbed in Him that we flee from anything unholy. And to walk in faith that He is working through us in powerful and prophetic ways that we could never do on our own.  


When Yeshua met two of his disciples after He rose from the dead on the road to Emmaus, " beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures" (Luke 24:27). Every manifestation of God throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is about Him.  I'm sure you know that there was no New Testament when He said this. So we can assuredly say that according to Peter's Holy Spirit-inspired words, what needs to be restored can be found in Israel's prophets, which Yeshua said were about Him. It would seem then that we should give more heed to Israel's prophets so we might align ourselves with what needs to be restored so that Yeshua can return. 


The "restoration" of Hebrew roots to the church as is happening among many believers today is not just a cultural interest to experience what Yeshua did while on earth, but the essential restoring of the foundational revelation of God which He gave to Israel and which Yeshua fully embodied, upon which the early church was built. This restoration of theh proper place of the covenant given to Israel is a work that God is doing. He is bringing in about among His people. That's what needs to be restored, an understanding and adherence to the whole counsel of God, not by the letter of the law, but by the Spirit of Grace.


As we are not the holy world-changing people that the first century believers were (yet), we would each do well to take the Torah and the Prophets of God seriously as the foundation upon which the New Covenant sits and see what God will reveal to you. You too can be part of the Restoration that needs to take place in order that Yeshua can return. Each of us makes a difference, one way or the other, either to bring about His return or to keep Him in heaven for another generation. Which will you be a part of? 

  

Listening For The Voice Behind the Voice

Want a short cut to contentment in God?  There has to be a reason the Holy Spirit saw to it that Psalm 1 was the first Psalm in the book. Because it lays a foundation for walking in a life that can easily access God’s blessings.  It begins with “Blessed are…” What does that word blessing mean to you?  It’s such a “Christian” word that it can have some rather religious significances  to us and mean different things to different people. We know it’s good, but what does it actually mean?  Seeing what it meant to the people to whom David said it (or sang it) will help.  The Hebrew word for “blessed” here is ashray, which means calm contentment.  Ahhh, that sounds so peaceful, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t want that? 

What’s being said in this Psalm is that to live in that calm contentment, we must each be a person “who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (1:1). Okay, we know that, most of us.  At least we’re aware that’s what we should do – or not do.  But the world around us is, pardon the expression, hell-bent on everyone being aware of what the sinners in the world are doing, what the rebellious are up to, and reporting all the bad stuff going on in the world, and for many of us, including in your own city. We are inundated with reports of evil in this media saturated world we live in.  

So I ask you, whose voice is behind the voices speaking all those pieces of information to us?  Is it God’s voice? If it’s not “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, … pure, …lovely, …of good reputation,” (Phil. 4:8a) then it’s not the voice of God. God is a God of blessings, not of cursing. Therefore His voice is the voice of blessings. To speak the opposite of those Philippians 4:8 words, is to speak curses, not blessings. And they will not bring blessings or ashray to the speaker of those words, nor to anyone to whom they are said, whether said about them or about others.  God would have us be people who rather are aware  “if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise.”  He would have us “dwell on these things” (Phil 4:8b). 

We pray “They will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:2) and long for that to be true.  In heaven there are no words of curses, nothing that is unkind or unloving. There is no harm in heaven, nor anything negative in any way. Shouldn’t that be the way His people are if we’re to be God’s spokespersons on earth?  Now I have no doubt that some reading this are sure that I’m being “pollyannish” and unrealistic. After all, don’t we need to be aware of what’s going on in the world?  Are we just to be nicey-nicey and not deal with real issues?  Certainly we are to bring truth and God’s perspective where it’s lacking.  But if we are to be His voice to others, we must “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).  That also means not allowing the unloving words or attitudes of others to put us on the defensive or cause us to respond in kind. Hold to your position in God when responding ; hold onto your peace. Don’t take it personally even when someone is attacking you personally or speaking against what you believe to be true.  Don’t let the ways of the world suck you into acting or speaking like the devil instead of like God. Be who you are in the Lord, no matter what you’re up against!  Here's the turn around factor: "Do not be overcome by evil, but return evil with good!" (Romans 12:21).

King David has given us keys in this Psalm we would do well to heed perhaps more carefully than we are accustomed to, because we live in a world that increasingly speaks words of negativity. As things move more toward the end of the days before Yeshua (Jesus) returns, those of us who are the Lord’s must be more aware of what voice we’re hearing in what’s being said around us.  How many reports did you hear or emails did you receive this week telling you of one disaster that either has happened, is happening now, or is prophesied to happen in the near future?  Listen to the discussions going on around you and you’ll find that many of them are not the voice of God we’re hearing but the voice of the “accuser” and the voice of “the liar.” If what we’re hearing is contrary to what God would say about someone, or about a situation, then it’s the devil’s voice who’s “inspiring” the talk.  Like it or not, aware of it or not, we are caught in the clash between two kingdoms, God’s and the devil’s, and we would be wise to be sure we’re operating on God’s side.  While we might say, “Well, of course, I know that,” we must be discerning as to which kingdom we’re hearing from and responding to. 

While it is true that the Bible does predict that difficult days will come, some of which parts of the world may be already experiencing more than others even now, Yeshua (Jesus) did say, "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). When we know that, we can rest in Him, knowing He will take care of us whatever might come. It is through our trust in HIS FAITHFULNESS TO HIS WORD and all He has promised to those who are His, that we can live out from that as our truth and our reality.

The Psalm goes on to say that if we fill our minds with God’s word we will be successful in everything we do. That  indicates that filling our minds with what is contrary to God’s words, which is to say, contrary to God’s ways, will result in missing the blessings, favor and calm contentment we all long for. We can live in God’s peace in the midst of the crazy world we live in! But we must be aware of the voice behind the voices we hear to discern if it’s God’s message or the devil’s we’re listening to. So much of what’s being said today, even among Believers, is the devil’s public relatipns (P.R.) people.  How much do you think he is behind words or thoughts that cause fear or confusion about what is happening in the world today?  How many of our minds are cluttered with NEWS or discussions about things that are not lovely, not good, or not peaceful?   

We were praying for one another in one of my Bible classes when one of the women asked for prayer because all these political issues were beginning to really get her down. She was confused about what was important and what is true. She has been listening to the voices of the world, not the voices of the Kingdom of God. She had lost her peace.  Our advice to her: Turn it off. Those are pieces of information, most of which have little to do with what’s really going on.  We can pray for our nation without knowing the gory details of who is doing or saying what and trying to figure out where the truth is. Truth is what God says; the rest is opinions that really don’t matter.  Do you need to be informed to vote well? Yes, but you’re not going to know the real issues behind what’s going on anyway. Pray and ask God what to do. If you think that too is not dealing with reality, do you think that what you’re hearing in the media is reality? I think not. Opinions. Lots of them. And they often contradict.  Find out what God’s word says and pray accordingly. How about:  “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).  Could "turning from their wicked ways" include turning from listening to the wicked words the devil is spewing in our land?  Notice it says, "My people" - it is we who are Believers in Yeshua who have the power to bring healing to our land through seeking God and turning from evil however it presents itself to us, regardless of who is president.

Maybe your concern isn’t even about the election. What about the everyday things that concern us all?   In the world we live in today, we are bombarded with negativity, with the words of the adversary. In Hebrew the word for  the “adversary” is satan (pronounced sah’tahn, meaning one who is against). That isn’t the evil one’s name, it’s his title; the one who is against, specifically God; secondarily against you and me.  If what you’re hearing doesn’t come from God, somewhere or somehow it’s going to be against – against God, against people, against good, against whatever is lovely, pure…. You get the idea. 

If you recall, Scripture is written as the Holy Spirit inspired men to write.  He also inspires us who are God’s to speak for Him. We speak under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when we speak according to God’s word, when we speak the truth in love, when we share His truth to anyone, or when we reach out to pray for or heal someone.  It is not just we who are speaking or acting for God, the Spirit of God is anointing us and it is through His inspiration that we can speak or act for Him. The devil is only an imitator; he only wishes he could do/be as God does/is.  But he too inspires. Who do you think is the inspiration behind not just hate, but criticism, ridicule, or fear, or confusion, or any words that rob you of your peace and contentment in God?  So let’s not be satan’s P.R. people doing his work for him, advertising his lies or his deceived intentions.  He doesn’t rule this world, God does. “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (Exodus 9:29; Psalm 24:1; 1 Cor. 10:26, 28). Let’s be speaking and believing only what God is saying and not be in agreement with the devil.

King David didn’t have to deal with a lot of what we do, but he sure had his share of troubles and negative things being said to and about him. He too had to learn to listen for what voice was speaking and hold onto God’s word, not only in Torah but what God spoke to him personally.  Perhaps one of the reasons David was a man whom God considered worthy of being the type of Messiah was his refusal to entertain negative thoughts or to respond in kind to King Saul who repeatedly tried to kill him and spoke evil things against him.  Psalm 1 is largely autobiographical of David’s own seeking after God.  Let’s take the king’s wise advice and refuse “the counsel of the ungodly” no matter what form it comes in and opt instead to be God’s people of blessings.