Hello Everyone! It’s fall time–fall season. It’s my favorite season because of….FOOTBALL! I play football and I just love watching football as well. I just enjoy playing football. But, at the same time, though many people may not realize…VOLLEYBALL is something fun to watch and play! Volleyball is during fall season, too.
Recently, my church had a Beach Volleyball League where we would team up and play beach volleyball against each other. My wife and daughter participated in the league. As I was watching them play, there were also other teams playing on other courts. There were about 4 courts. While watching, I became “aggrivated” at the fact how many teams would be so quick to bump the ball over the net–that’s just one pass– rather than passing it two more times before getting it over the net. You can bump, set, and then spike it. This is where the “show” is. A ball comes over into your court, you bump it, someone else sets it, another player comes by and jumps to spike it and it may hit the ground and your team gains a point. During the Beach Volleyball league, it was very common that the teams just bumps the ball so quick over the net without even attempting to let it be set, then spiked. This somehow bothered me because I knew the effeciency of bumping the ball then setting it and spiking it. I began to let my mind wander and I wondered how it could really apply to our lives. I think I figured something out.
While watching, I tried to figure out WHY the teams often were quick to bump the ball over the net. Was it because the player thought it would be easier than having to pass it to their teammate to set the ball then spike it? Y’know, this play requires SKILL. I will have to bump the ball into the right area for the player to properly set it to the right location and the right height for the other player to jump and spike it over the net. The spiker will also have to jump at the right time and the right length to spike the ball over the net and have it hit the ground. This play requires skill. It requires practice. It requires working hard. But being able to do this play does provide the best results than just passing it one time over the net quickly. Maybe for the time passing it one time over the net works, and you’re gaining points, but we have to realize that it is much more effective if we bump it to the next player for him/her to set it so that the other player can spike it over the net. Chances are high that you will get points doing it that way than just passing it once quickly over the net. Your hope is that the opponent would make a mistake for you to have an advantage in gaining points.
While watching, I realize this is the same way with faith. F.A.I.T.H. in YHWH (God). When I say faith, I’m not talking about one’s belief, “I believe in “So-So and that’s my faith. I’m fine. I’m good.” No, that’s not what I’m talking about because that is not the real definition of “Faith”. The real definition of faith is evidence of something that you cannot see–things that you are hoping for. In Hebrews 11:6, it says that when we come up to YHWH, we must believe that He’s real and that He is a rewarder. We are rewarded through our faith. This is because you cannot see YHWH and the things you are hoping for. Not being able to see YHWH with your eyes and the things you are hoping for, both combined, is called FAITH.
As I was thinking, we can live with “easy faith” like those who play volleyball passing the ball once quickly over the net. They just play “by ears” and hope the opponent fails. Living like this is like “accepting whatsoever comes our way”, “Oh, so this happened to me, oh well, what can I do?”, “Perhaps this is God’s will?”, “Bad things happen to us, That’s life.”. It may be percieved as something with “good attitude”. They’re really hanging onto dear life– trying to get pass it and really, this is not the effective way to go. They’re just ignorantly passing through life taking in whatever is coming their way.
Now, compare that life to people who actually practice faith. People who actually stand on the Word believing in YHWH for healing, trusting completely that YHWH will meet all of their needs, and things like that. This life is like the team that plays volleyball effectively; bumping the ball to the setter so that the setter sets it for the spiker to spike it. Maybe we may make mistakes and fail to do this the right way, but with working on our faith and practicing on it, in the long run we will become very effective in life. Just like volleyball. Bump. Set. Spike. Bump. Set. Spike. Bump, Set. Spike. Bump. Set. Spike. Playing the “pass once quickly over the net” is not as effective as playing “Bump. Set. Spike”. “Pass once quickly over the net” is living a “get by” life- sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. When you get through it, you will look back and say, “wish I knew a better way to get through this.” “Bump. Set. Spike” is doing it again and again and standing on faith to beat it always.
The question we can ask ourselves is: “Do I want to be on the “pass once quickly over the net” team or the “Bump. Set. Spike.” team playing much effectively?” The choice is yours.
Be blessed!
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
“Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to YHWH must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek him.” -Hebrews 11:6
I would like to talk about the topic of women teaching and being silent. It comes from two common verses that are used to say that women must not teach and to remain quiet.
First, I’d like to mention that I have made two vlogs in the past regarding women. They are titled, “I Am Crying Because I Am A Woman” and the other one is, “Some Leaders Are Born Women”. These vlogs talks about women in the Scriptures.
For this vlog, I want to only talk about the verses used in 1 Corinthians.
“Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak;but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.” -1 Corinthians 14:34-35
This verse and 1 Timothy 2:14 are the only two scriptures that oddly states that the women must be silent. I want to elaborate on the 1 Corinthians scriptures. I will talk about 1 Timothy in my next vlog. Keep in mind that this vlog only talks about 1 Corinthians so that we can understand why Paul said this.
We can see clearly in the Scriptures that YHWH (God) have used women multiple of times in the past. It’s all over the Scriptures. There are many women leaders, teachers, and prophetess. For example, we have Miriam (Exodus 15:20-21), Deborah (Judges 4:4-9), Isaiah’s wife (Isaiah 8:3), and Phillip’s 4 daughters (Acts 21:9). One of these women was a miltary leader and that’s Deborah. She operated and won a war against another country. There are also many women disciples such as Mary (Romans 16:6), Martha (John 11:23-27), Joanna (Luke 8:3), even some women were deacons like Priscilla (Romans 16:3), church leaders like Lydia (Acts 16:14-15), and Phoebe (Romans 16:1) was a minister.
UNDERSTANDING THE CORINTH CHURCHNow, the author of 1 Corinthians is the same man that said the “women remain silent” verse and also is the same man that praised and encouraged many women leaders. It is quite odd.
The Corinth (some people sign it that way (C as Greek) and some people spell it out) is a church in Greece. Keep in mind that it is the only church in the city of Corinth that believes in one and true YHWH. The country, Greece, is filled with many gods and goddess, a lot of myth and fable stories as well. There are also a lot of temples built for the greek gods and goddess. A lot of idols were put in the temples to worship the gods and goddess. The church of Corinth is located by the Gulf of Corinth. Across the sea from the Corinth church is the location of the Oracle of Delphi. The two buildings are only 40 miles across from each other by sea. The temple of the Oracle of Delphi existed for 12 centuries, that’s about like 1,200 years. The temple of the Oracle of Delphi have women prophetesses. There is an opening in the temple in the ground where the worshippers create a certain fume to come out of. It is mandatory that women carry out messages given to them by Apollos (a greek gods). You can do a research on the “Oracle of Delphi” off google.
(see picture of a woman in the temple where the Oracle of Delphi is)
(See picture of temple currently in Greece)
It seems obvious that the husbands and wives from the Temple of the Oracle of Delphi have mingled with the church of Corinth and caused a lot of problems. The Corinth Church had issues with idolatry, sexual immorality, marriage, and etc. Paul gave many different instructions for different issues the church had and it all can be read in the book of Corinthians. Also, in 1 Corinthians we read a passage where Paul becomes upset when he finds out that a man has had sex with his father’s wife. Paul becomes disgusted with incest problem in the church. So from bits of proof in the Book of Corinthians we know that there were a lot of problems in the church of Corinth and that it was a “messed up” church and Paul wrote down many instructions.
We see prior to the”women remain silent” verse, Paul insults the church of their being led by dumb idols.
“You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.” -1 Corinthians 12:2
Then in the next verse we see where Paul explains to the church how to tell the difference between a true and false prophet.
“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of YHWH says, Yahushua (Jesus) be cursed,” and no one can say, “Yahushua is Lord.” except by the Holy Spirit.” -1 Corinthians 12:3
A true prophet is able to proclaim that Yahushua is the Messiah whereas a false prophet would not be able to do so. Instead, the false prophet will curse Yahushua.
As we continue in the chapter, Paul goes on to share that YHWH gives different gifts to each person. It does not specifically say which gifts are “for women only” or which gifts are “for men only”. The scripture says each one and to all persons.
Read 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 (also chapter 13)
“There are different ways YHWH works in our lives, but it is the same YHWH who does the work through all of us.” -1 Corinthians 12:6
“It is the one and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.” -1 Corinthians 12:11
As we go on to read the passage, we come to the verse where Paul says that YHWH is not the author of confusion but of peace.
“For YHWH is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” -1 Corinthians 14:33
Then comes right here the very scripture…
“Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.” -1 Corinthians 12:34
Strange, isn’t it? It says for women to be quiet. Hmmm…Being able to read the Scriptures in Greek is very important so we will break the Scriptures and read the Greek word for “woman”.
The greek word used for woman is “gyne”. It is the same word to use when referring to a “wife”. It can mean both “woman”, or “wife”. This is why we have to read everything in context to figure out what meaning is referring to.
Gyne- can be translated either wife or woman, for example it is translated “wife” in 1 Corinthians 7:3 and 27. Strong Concordance #G1135
When we read this sentence, “let the women remain silent”, we have to remember that the greek word used, “gyne” also means wife. This means that the sentence can be put this way, “let the wives remain silent”. We also have to remember that the Corinth church had a lot of problems in the church and there are things that we have to figure out.
Remember I mentioned earlier that there was the temple of the Oracle of Delphi across from the Church of Corinth by sea, history show that the people in that city were strongly influenced by the temple of the Oracle of Delphi. The Scriptures show that the church of Corinth had idolatry problems–they were led by dumb idols. The church also had sexual immorality. It is possible that the wives from the temple of the Oracle of Delphi also attended the church of Corinth. The same wives probably prophesized in the church that Yahushua is cursed. The church became confused because women/wives were prophesizing that Yahushua is cursed and the church was not sure whether or not they were true prophetess or not. This is why Paul made an expaination that a prophet who has accepted Yahushua as their personal Savior would not curse Yahushua. Paul makes the identification clear.
Now, “Let your wives remain silent…” would mean that Paul was referring to ONLY the husbands who had pagan wives that caused trouble in the Corinth church.
A correct translation would be best put as this: “Let your WIVES remain silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says.”
Now, in the very next verse we read, “and IF, IF, IF they desire to learn, let them ask their own HUSBANDS at home.”
“And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home…” -1 Corinthians 14:35
I want to specifically point out the word usage of “IF”. IF. IF. Do you actually think YHWH’s heart is about letting women have the option to chose whether or not they would like to learn about YHWH? “It’s entirely up to you if you women would like to learn about Me. Up to you.” THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. “And IF they DESIRE to learn, let them ASK their HUSBANDS at home…” If this scripture is really for all of us women of all generations, how should single women, who have no husbands, find out more information if she desires to learn? What about widows whose husbands are dead. We see now clearly that this scripture is not for all women of all generations. This verse was specifically for pagan wives of husbands who attended the Corinth church. Oh, I’d like to also add that suppose a wife attends church but her husband isn’t converted. Should she attend church and then go home to her unconverted husband, who has not declared Yahushua as his Savior, some questions? No! This brings too many contradictions if it really means for all women of all generation to remain silent.
In my next vlog, I will elaborate in details about 1 Timothy. The same concept can be found in the 1 Timothy passage as there were gods/goddess all over in Ephesus.
Check out the next vlog, alright!
Have a great day! Be blessed!
————–TEXT FOR 2nd VLOG———-
Hello!
Before you watch this vlog, I reccomend you to watch the previous vlog. This vlog is in connection to the previous vlog. You probably will understand this vlog but watching the previous vlog beforehand will give you a better understanding of this vlog.
Now, in this vlog, I want to talk about 1 Timothy 2:11-12.
“Let the women leaen in silence with all subjection, and I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” -1 Timothy 2:11-12
I mentioned in the first vlog that the word wife and women both have the same Greek word, “gyne”.Gyne- can be translated either wife or woman, for example, it is translated “wife” in 1 Corinthians 7:3 and 27. Strong’s Greek Hebrew Dictionary #1135Paul wrote a letter to a man named Timothy. Timothy was a pastor in the church of Ephesus. Ephesus is also a city filled with gods and goddess, idols, myths, and temples for the gods/goddess. Paul tells Timothy in the book of Timothy that he has left Timothy in Ephesus and encourages Timothy to stop false teachers.
“When I (Paul) left for Macedonia, I urged you (Timothy) to stay there in Ephesus and stop those who are teaching wrong doctrine.” -1 Timothy 1:3
The church of Ephesus was fighting the religion doctrine of Artemis. Artemis is the same goddess of Diana. Artemis is a Greek name for the goddess of fertility. Diana is the name the Romans use to call the goddess of fertility. Ephesus is the world center worship of the goddess of Diana. People from all over come to Ephesus to worship Diana (Artemis).
“And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?” -Acts 19:35
In Ephesus, there was a great temple made for the goddess of Aprodite, the goddess of love. There were many prositutes living in the temple.
(see picture of the goddess of Artemis (Diana) and temple of Artemis)
Artemis (Diana) is a female goddess who has a strong sense of war, superiority, fertility, and etc. The teaching of Artemis (Diana) were modifed from the Scriptures and that caused some confusion for the church of Ephesus as they were learning about YHWH. The religion teaching of Artemis (Diana) says that Eve was first created and that Eve recieved a special knowledge to go ahead and eat the fruit. Also, Eve recieved a special knowledge to engage in sex orgies. As a result of that, the prophetess in the temple of Artemis (Diana) would have orgies as an act of worship to their goddess. Artemis (Diana) religion also teaches that if the women get pregnant as a result of their orgy worship, she will have a safe childbirth. It is the belief of those who follow the goddess of Artemis (Diana).
Now, the Ephesus church, led by Timothy, must fight off false teachings of Artemis (Diana) and continue to believe that there is no other god but YHWH. In the book of Timothy, Paul says that he wants the women to learn in silence and that he does not permit a woman to teach or to usurp authority over a man but to be sumbissive as the law says. This scripture and the other one in Corinthians are the only two verse in the whole Scriptures that say of such about women.
“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection and I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” -1 Timothy 2:12
Now, the definiton of a word can change throughout the years. Like for exmaple if I told you that today I was feeling so gay. You may not percieve that I was feeling very happy today but rather a different definition in mind. Definitions of a word do change over time.
“To usurp authority” has a greek word of “authenteo”
This greek word is used only ONE time in the entire Scriptures and it is found in 1 Timothy 2:12.
Authenteo in English means “To usurp authority”.
“To usurp authority” -GREEK: authenteo
1) One who with his own hands kills another or himself
2)One who acts on his own authority, autocratic
3)An absolute master
4)To govern, exercise dominion over one
Strong Concordance #G831
Authenteo is a greek word that used to mean “to kill someone else with his own hands” or to “commit suicide”, but during Paul’s time the greek word authenteo had another definition. It meant sex or orgy worship. That definition is not used today anymore but if you google and do some research you will find out that some people have discovered the old meaning for that greek word. There are also a couple of documents from Catholic cardinals back in the 1st centry (100 AD) who have used the greek word “authenteo” in ways where it meant sex and orgy worship. The Catholic cardinals wrote letters and sent them out to different bishops explaining to them of a situation where in the church there is “authenteo” (sex or orgy worship). The cardinals mentioned that certain people think they have a license to perform sex or orgy as a form of worship in the church.
Now with this understanding, we understand that the word “authenteo” does not have the same definition we use today. Even the Strong Concordance does not recognize the old definition. The Strong Concordance recognizes the definitions mentioned above. Again, back during Paul’s time, the greek word “authenteo” had a meaning of “to kill someone with your own hands”, “to kill yourself”, “or to have sex or orgy worship”.
The proper translation would be put as this: “I do not permit that these wives teach or sexually seduce the men, but to be in silence.
This verse does not specially mean for all women of all generations. It specifically talks about the pagan wives of the church in Ephesus. A group of wives who brought false teaching into the church of Ephesus.
We also have to remember that the Corinth Church had wives who had an issue with the Oracle of Delphi, the same can be found for the church of Ephesus with the goddess of Diana (Artemis). Scriptures show that the Ephesians loved and worshipped the goddess of Diana.
“…but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.” -Acts 19:27
The same people who worshipped the goddess of Diana confused the church of Ephesus. This is why Paul instructed that Timothy stay in Ephesus and stop those who continue to bring in false teaching. It is quite obvious that the wives had brought in the false teaching of Diana into the church of Ephesus. Paul goes on in that same chapter to explain clearly to the church of Ephesus that Adam was formed first and then Eve (1 Timothy 2:13-14). Paul also states that Eve was decieved. This is to say that Eve did not get a special knowledge to eat the fruit. Then shortly after, Paul shares that women would be safe during childbearing by God (not Artemis/Diana).
“Yet she will be saved through childbearing–if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” -1 Timothy 2:15
Why would Paul talk about childbearing? This is because Paul knows the teaching of Artemis (Diana) for she is the goddess of fertility.
(see picture of Artemis (Diana))
Now, when we do research and find history behind something, we can clearly understand that the scripture Paul stated really is for the pagan wives in the church of Ephesus, not all of the women of all generations. It is really dangerous for people, both women and men, to oppress or prevent someone, both women or men, from fulfilling YHWH’s calling and message for other people. YHWH’s message is very important.
Now, maybe some of you will say, “Y’know, there’s a level of submission in the Bible.” You’re correct. There is indeed levels of submission found in the home and in this human world. This is the same as you would find at work: boss being in the upper level of authority, assistant boss is second in line. President being first, Vice President second, then Secretary, and so on. We are submissive to different position everyday in this world at work, at home, around friends and so on. The Scripture say that YHWH was first, then came Yahushua and man was formed then women. Now, among married couples in the home, there is a level of submission. The woman being a helpmate supporting the husband and the husband working with the woman as a team mate. There are NO power trips. It is NOT about power trips. This is because YHWH has commanded that husbands must love their wives just the same as Christ loved the church (he died for the church).
Hello everyone! This vlog is a continuation from my previous vlog comparing in & on related to the Holy Spirit (In = On?). If you have not seen that one, may I suggest that you go there and watch it first before watching this vlog.
It seems to me that the general population of believers have no problem with the Holy Spirit being inside of us in regards to salvation, conscience, differentating between right and wrong, and so on. It seems that further analysis of the word “on” in relation to the Holy Spirit is needed.
Now, why do we really need to know about the Holy Sprit being upon us? It’s because we want what’s best that YHWH has for us. It is His perfect design, therefore it is what is best for us. Once I find out what YHWH’s best is, I want to go for it and I believe that you feel the same way.
The enduement of power from the Holy Spirit upon us enables us to do many things in a more efficient way with the power that the Holy Spirit provides. That’s because His kingdom is not only in words, but in power also.
For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction… -1 Thess. 1:5
For the kingdom of YHWH does not consist in talk but in power. -1 Cor. 4:20
In this vlog I will attempt to answer three questions: How do I get the Holy Spirit upon me?, How do I know that I have the Holy Spirit upon me?, As a result of getting the Holy Spirit upon me, what can I expect to happen?
Question #1: How do I get the Holy Spirit to come upon me? The key to it happening is that the person must want it. It cannot be forced upon us. It cannot be bought. Really, there’s no other way around it. Each individual has to want it. Further, sometimes we make things more complicated than they need to be. Let’s keep it simple: Ask for it. Yahushua often spoke about people not getting what they need because they didn’t ask for it. He also said that if you ask, you will receive. So, along with wanting it, we will also need to ask for it. There is a third factor that can help us get the Holy Spirit upon us- by the laying on of hands by another person. We are designed to live with fellow believers as parts of the body of Messiah. We can use others to help us accomplish this.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you -Matt 7:7 & Luke 11:9
Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit -Acts 8:17
Question #2: How do I know that I have the Holy Spirit upon me? That’s a tough one. I’ve looked at it in the Scriptures and it seems that, as far as I understand it, the receiving of the Holy Spirit upon a person is accompanied with speaking in tongues. It can be done either vocally (spoken) or visually (signed). It seems to go hand in hand. For example, during the Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 the Holy Spirit fell upon people and they spoke
in tongues. Cornelius, a Greek I believe, in Acts chapter 10 received the Holy Spirit and then he spoke in other tongues.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. -Acts 2:4
… the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word… and they heard
them speak with tongues and magnify YHWH… -Acts 10:44-46
Now, I would like to elaborate a little bit more on the word ‘tongues’. ‘Tongues’ are used in most translations of the Bible as being simply “a language”. Futuher study of ‘tongues’ brings us to two different types of language:
1- known languages of the world that people speak such as English, French, ASL, BSL, and Spanish,
2-a heavenly language in which no person in this world is able to understand. The heavenly language can be communicated only between our spirit and YHWH’s along with the angels.
I have seen both instances of ‘tongues’ being used in Scriptures- known languages where other people can recognize it as well as unknown heavenly languages.
Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? -Acts 2:4-11In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how
to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; -Romans 8:26
For one who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to YHWH; for no one understands, but in his spirit he speaks mysteries. 1 Cor. 14:2
Question #3: As a result of getting the Holy Spirit upon me, what can I expect to happen? It is not limited to other tongues and languages. Looking at the example produced by Peter and John, we see another benefit. Peter and John were disciples, yet they were not known as courageous men. When Yahushua was arrested, scourged, and crucified, Peter kept hiding and denying that he knew Yahushua. However, when Peter received the Holy Spirit upon him, he was a changed man. He became bold and preached strongly the
gospel. It became so that other people who knew that Peter was an “uneducated man” became amazed that he was able to progress so mightily. When we have the Holy Spirit upon us, it enables us to be bold and have the ability to answer questions and be “educated”.
They observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men… filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of YHWH with boldness -Acts 4:13 & 31.
Another benefit is outlined in 1 Cor. 12. It explains in detail the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those gifts come from the same Spirit but works in different ways. Those different gifts and talents work in believers so that the body of Messiah is fulfilled and that people’s needs and lacks are filled.
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all -1 Corinthians 12:7
9 gifts outlined in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 are wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, & interpretation
Basically, as I said in the beginning, what YHWH has for us we shouldn’t neglect. We need to take every opportunity and benefit of His kingdom so that we can mobilize and go all the way for Him. Thumbs up and be blessed!
I would like to compare two words in the English language. I want to compare the word “In” and the word “On”. I want to compare whether or not those two words have the same meaning or not. Do they have similiar meanings? I have concluded that those two words have different meanings. We can see the examples of how those two words are different when we use them in a sentence. Let’s look at it.
“Get IN the car.” This means a person gets inside a car.
“Get ON the car.” This means a person is on a car–the person will have to hold onto the car for dear life when it drives away!
Riding IN a car and riding ON a car is a big difference. IN and ON both appear almost the same. Only one letter is different, “I” and “O” but they both have different meanings.
Now, the Scriptures have scriptures with the word “on” and “in” in it. We have to be careful as to how to understand it. The word “In” and “On” do not have the same meaning. They have different meanings. Let’s look at the Scriptures with the word “In” and “On” in it and I want to specifically talk about the Holy Spirit (Ruach Ha Kodesh in Hebrew). Yahweh (God) and Yahushua (Jesus) being ON and IN us is a different thing.
Let us examine the Scriptures. First, I will share with you all two Scriptures that have the word “IN” in it.
“But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God (Yahweh) dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” -Romans 8:9
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God (Yahweh) and that the Spirit of God (Yahweh) dwells in you.” -1 Corinthians 3:16
The first Scripture, Romans 8:9, explains that the Spirit of Yahweh (God) dwells IN us. If we do not have His Spirit inside of us, then we are not part of Him. The keyword is “being IN us”. The second Scripture, 1 Corinthians 3:16, tells us that because Yahweh (God) lives IN us, our body becomes a temple for Him. The keyword is “being IN us”.
Now, I will share scriptures with the word “ON” in it, however they use the word “upon”. It means the same, upon and on have the same meaning.
“…My beloved in whom my Soul is well pleased: I will put my Spirit upon him…”-Matthew 12:18
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.” -Acts 10:14
The Matthew 12:18 scripture, Yahweh (God) said He was well pleased with His Son, Yahushua (Jesus). Yahweh’s Spirit fell ON Yahushua. The Acts 10:14 scripture share that Peter was preaching about Yahweh’s Word when the Holy Spirit (Ruach Ha Kodesh) fell UPON (ON) the people.
Here we can see quite obvious that the word “ON” and “IN” has two different meanings and approaches. Maybe some of you will say, “Oh, okay, then what are the differences?” There are several Scriptures with situations that use the word “IN” and “ON” involving the SAME person and the same event.
Let’s examinate!
For Yahushua (Jesus), we know that he was not concieved by a man and a woman. He was concieved by a woman and the Holy Spirit. Mary was concieved by the Holy Spirit and Yahushua was born of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was already IN Him. Yahushua’s DNA is part of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is IN Yahushua. As Yahushua grew and walked, the Holy Spirit was already IN Him, YET Yahushua was not able to begin His ministry without the Holy Spirit being UPON Him. Yahushua needed the Holy Spirit to come UPON Him to begin.
Mark chapter 1 explains how Yahushua had waited until the Holy Spirit was UPON Him before he began His ministry. This shows a difference between the Holy Spirit being IN us and ON us.
“The child who has been concieved in Mary is of the Holy Spirit.” -Matthew 1:20
“Immediately coming up out of the water….the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove.” -Mark 1:10
Here is another situation. Yahushua and his disciples were talking and Yahushua told them that they would recieve the Holy Spirit now and that’s in John 20:22. Yahushua breathed the Holy Spirit and the disciples recieved it. How do I know this really happened? I know this because everything Yahushua spoke, it always happened. Never was there an incident when Yahushua spoke of something and it did not happen. The Scriptures is filled with prophecies and fulfilments. Yahushua spoke of it and it happened. Spoke of it and it happened. Spoke of it and it happened. Spoke of it and it happened. And this situation in John is not a situation that did not happen. We know that when Yahushua spoke for his disciples to recieve the Holy Spirit and it did indeed happen. The Holy Spirit was in the disciples and they became family of Yahweh. A relationship was formed. YET…YET…Yahushua told his disciples that they still needed to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit to come UPON them. Yahushua told them to wait for it. If the disciples have already had the Holy Spirit in them, then what is the point of going to Jerusalem? They already have it! The difference is….”IN” and “ON”. The Holy Spirit was IN them but they still needed to go to Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to be UPON them.
“He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit…’”-John 20:22
“I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on High.”-Luke 24:49
Now, there is another example in Acts 8. Phillip was preaching and sharing the Word of Yahweh (God) with people. He was also doing ministry work and witnessing people. There were a lot of people who were baptized into Yahushua’s name, into His family, and having a relationship status with Him. Remember the Romans 8:9 scripture where Yahweh’s spirit is IN us. Alright, but then later Peter and John does a follow up by asking, “Have you recieved the Holy Spirit UPON you?” The people that Phillip taught responded, “No, we do not know about this.” It’s strange. They were already baptized, saved, and born again. They already have the Holy Spirit IN them but Peter still did a follow up by asking if they had the Holy Spirit UPON them. The people replied, “No, we didn’t know about it.” So, Peter had the Holy Spirit come UPON them all and all of these people recieved power from on High.
Phillip preached the kingdom and His name. The people were baptized. (Acts 8:5, 12)
Peter and John went to Samaria and prayed and laid their hands on the people. And the Holy Spirit fell upon them. (Acts 8:14-17)
I hope that these have explained enough that there is a difference between the Holy Spirit being IN you and the Holy Spirit being UPON you. Now, with the difference being obvious, what can we do next?
If we are Believers who are baptized into His name, born again, and have a relationship with Yahweh, we do have the Holy Spirit in us. This will enable us to recognize our consciousness, recognize what is indeed the Truth, and with our relationship with the Father. But for boldness, for power, for Spiritual gifts, to move onward in a powerful way glorifying the Father, we need the Holy Spirit to come UPON us–clothe us with power from on High.
“You will recieve the power when the Holy Spirit has come UPON you.” -Acts 1:8
Be blessed and make sure you have the Holy Spirit UPON you, too. I expect to visit this topic again in the near future- keep your eyes out.
Hello, everyone! I would like to talk about Psalms chapter 23, verse 5. It’s a pretty long chapter, I want to talk about verse 5 and elaborate on it. The verse says,
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” -Psalm 23:5
That statement is quite powerful. Now, imagine that you had swapped positions with God. You’re hosting a special dinner. You invited a special and respected guest. You want to serve your guest well. What would you serve your guest? Would you serve your guest just what is good enough, bread and water? Or would you serve your guest something elegant, such as buying a very high quality meat and serving your best sides: potato au gratin and corn mixed with other vegetables. Your dessert would be the finest–homemade. Surely, you would serve your best foods to your respected guest.
This is the same way with God. Is God any different than you and me? No. God will give His best for you. Oh, yes, He will. God will put on YOUR table the best He has. He has put on the table His only Son. He was His best for us. What else does God have for us? Healing, prosperity, His angels to protect us, health, wisdom, and everything God has for us. He has placed everything on our table.
There is no need to “walk on egg shells” (scared) when it comes to being with God. Because God has given it to us, we should go ahead and take it.
This verse also follows after saying this: “…in the presence of my enemies…”
Now, I’d like to ask you if you will be having enemies in heaven? No, you will not. In heaven, everyone will be united and there will be peace. This tells me that this verse is not talking about, “One day… later… in the future… when we are in heaven.” This verse is talking about right now, here on Earth. Right now, at this moment. NOW. We all have enemies here on Earth. They are facing us. Our enemies are here in Earth. God has prepared a table for us in the PRESENCE of our enemies. Our enemies will be blown away at how God takes care of His children.
Keep in mind that there are no enemies in heaven so this verse refers to our time right now on Earth. Right now, at this moment. Keep that in mind.
Now, again, as an example, you are hosting a dinner for your special friend. As you prepared your table with all the things you did and suppose your guest showed up and, let’s pretend I am your friend, let’s say I’m your special guest and I show up at your house. I see all the elegant foods you have prepred. I notice your plate of gorment sides and high quality meats. I sit at your table and I decide I would like to taste just a little of your food, not all of them though, just a little and that’s enough for me. You would be perplexed at why I am only eating very little of your food. You go on to offer me your homemade dessert, and I decline it by saying, “No, Thank you.” You would be very puzzled. You would likely think that I may not like your food. Perhaps you would think I am rude.
This is the same way we are to God. God has prepared everything He has to offer to us on our table, and we go on to say to Him, “Umm, ugh, no, I don’t want that. No, I won’t take this. I won’t ask for that. I just got enough. I’m saved and that’s just about enough. I best be humble by taking very little.”
No, I’m telling you that God will not like this at all! He wants you to take EVERYTHING He has available for you. He has given them all to you on your table. Do not be selective and take little. Take it ALL! It is NOT considered humble to take little off the table. It is considered humble to accept something that we do NOT deserve. God is a Creator, a Supreme Divine, far more maginificent and He has willingfully shared everything He has with us. We have to grab everything He has for us. Wow! Like I said earlier, God sent His Son, His only Son to die for us for the sins we have committed. And that in itself is a gift, we should gladly recieve it. Grab that along with other things that come with Salvation.
Do not decline anything good that God has for us. Never. Grab everything and use it to glorify Him. Be blessed!
Hello. This vlog is really an elaboration of my previous vlog, “Thorn In The Flesh”. To understand this vlog, it is necessary to have already seen and understand my previous vlog. You can find the previous vlog on http://www.leforstribe.com/.
Like I mentioned in my previous vlog that the “Thorn In The Flesh” saying does not mean sickness, dieases, or any form of handicap. It means “Human Enemies”. It is an idiom used in the Bible.
Paul was clear when he mentioned what the ‘thorn’ was.
“…a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan…”-2 Corinthians 12:7
A messenger of satan. Let us remind ourselves who Paul was. Paul, formerly Saul, was a Pharisee, the best there was. A pure breed. He did not like Yahushua (Jesus). He was taught by those he worked with that Yahushua was a person who falsely clamed He was the Son of God. As a result, he killed so many believers who believed that Yahushua was the Son of God, he had a reputation for persecuting Believers in many places. Later on, Saul was on his way to Damascus when he saw Yahushua. As a result of this, he was convinced that Yahushua was the Son of God. When he became a Believer, he changed his name to Paul, and stopped following the Pharisees. Saul, before he became a believer, was a Messenger of Satan. He was helping Satan destroy the Truth. Yahushua said the Pharisees were from a brood of Vipers. The Viper always lies.
“You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” -Matthew 12:34
Also, Yahushua identified the theif as to only come to steal, kill and destroy and that Yahushua comes to give life and much more.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the fullest.” -John 10:10
Paul, now as a Believer was experiencing the same and greater persecutions by those who were against him. The Pharisees now hated Paul and started torturing him. They put him in prison. Ah, let me hold this up, IF the thorn in the flesh does means sickness, diseases, or any physical handicap, did God put Paul in prison? NO! It was the Pharises that put physical pain on Paul by putting him in prison. Did God stone Paul? NO! It was the Pharisees. All of Paul’s suffering came from HUMANS.
Also, Paul was setting up many new churches around. The Believers were Jews and also Gentiles. The Pharisees didnt like it at all. They were “losing business” so they kept going to the Believer’s churches and tried to confuse the new Believers by disorting the Truth. We can see proof of that in the Galatians book.
“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified…” -Galatians 3:1
This was frustrating to Paul. The pharisees, human enemies, was Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh.’ This has NOTHING to do with sickness, dieases, or even physical handicap.
God would not remove the ‘thorn in the flesh’ from Paul because God’s grace is sufficent. God is not going to control the Pharisees. The Pharisees have their own freewill. They chose to go against God. God’s grace is sufficent for Paul and even for Pharisees. God’s grace for Paul is that God will take care of him and and even if the Pharisees repent, God would accept them. It’s the same way we react towards unbelievers. Once an unbeliever tells you they realize that God is real, you would recieve them with gladness. That’s God’s grace.
If God’s words “my grace is sufficent’ mean that God is telling Paul to remain sick, it would be the first and ONLY saying in the Bible that God told anyone to keep his disease. It is with great irony that Paul heals everyone else but not himself. *hits head* Paul could do so many things, heal people, raise the dead back to life, bring thousands of people to the Messiah, establish many churches, and so on. He was a mighty apostle.
Let us read the main context of this chapter (2 Corinthians 12). In the beginning of the chapter, Paul is really talking about himself. He was the very man that saw Yahushua and was given the opportunity to hear the secrets of God and those are not permitted to be told. He was in a ‘WOW” postition. He was one of the “chosen” of all men to have this opportunity. Of course, we can get prideful about it. Paul was humble to refer himself to a 3rd person, “a man”, but we know he was talking about himself.
Please read 2 Cornithans 12: 1-6
“I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know–God knows. And I know that this man–whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows– was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say….” 2 Corinthians 12:1-6
Now keep that in mind: Paul was a chosen man who has had the opportunity to see heaven! He has had the opportunity to hear so many revelations from God. He’s one of a kind! The chapter goes on to say this,
“To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Do you see anywhere in this context the word sickness or diseases? No, NOTHING.
That concept is only a lie taught to us by Satan. We do not want to become Satan’s messenger. We will have to abandon that mentality.
I, myself, as a Christian have experienced perscution, some people have called me names and insulted me. I felt a moment of weakness, but in my weakess, I became strong. I am still standing. I’m sure many of you may have been in the same situation as this.
We also have to remember that Paul is not someone we should make a doctrine out of. Yahushua is the Truth. What does Yahushua say we can do in His name? Read the 4 books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Understand how Yahushua acted and then read the book of ACTS. Do you see the BOOK OF ACTS being practiced in you and in your church? If so, WONDERFUL because this shows that you are a doer of the Word. If not, then perhaps you should reexamine. James says,
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, or you will be deceiving yourselves.” -James 1:22
This message is to encourage Believers to live healthy, to live in victory, not defeated. Believers have what the world does not have. We have the victory. It has been given to those who believe. For this subject, I will cover the area of sicknesses and dieases. It is very clear in the Bible that it is NOT God’s will for us to be sick. Unfortunately, I have seen a COMMON “fall-back” among most Believers who want to accept that they are sick or have dieases attacking them. They go back to point out that Paul said he had a “thorn in the flesh” which can be found in 2 Corinthians 12:7. I will show you in this vlog that “the thorn in the flesh” DOES NOT mean sickness and I strongly encourage us to abandon that misleading understanding. It is a mentality that Satan has attempted to infest God’s church.
For those who are not familiar who Paul was: He was a pure Jew, a pharisee, who was anti-Messiah. He murdered a lot of Believers but one day he saw Yahushua (Jesus) in a vision and believed in Him. He became a Believer of the Messiah and established many churches and was inspired by God to write 2/3 of the New Testament. He was one of the powerful apostles of Yahushua. He said in one of his letter that he had a ‘thorn in the flesh’ and many Christians today view it as sickness and as a result, many accept the fact of being sick….because Paul was said to be sick, too. Some assume that Paul’s sicknesses are: earaches, headaches, eye afflictions, epislepsy, hysteria, malaria, speech impediment, or sexual lust.
Praise God for the TRUTH. Gosh, if there were no such thing as Truth, I’d be a mess. The “thorn in the flesh” DOES NOT mean sickness. I will show you some pointers where we can see that it does not mean sickness.
Paul preached ‘big-time’ on healing. Never do you see in the Bible where a sick person has healed sick people. Did not Yahushua say that a kingdom divided against itself would fall? You can read that in Matthew 12:25-30. Sickness vs. Health? We can see this is not so.
The truth is: In the Bible, God wants His children to be healed, well, and strong! Yahushua suffered beatings so that we could be healed.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” -Isaiah 53:5
Notice the verse says, “By his wounds, we ARE healed.” This means healing is possible and will happen. Satan wants you to be sick– he wants the opposite of this verse. He wants to limit us of what we are capable of doing. He wants to snap us away from God’s plans for us. What good are we if we are sick. We cannot do anything if we have to stay in bed and try to recover.Unfortunately, we as Christians, agree with Satan in this view. We think that the thorn in the flesh is a sickness put upon us.
Now, let’s get to the bottom of the “thorn in the flesh”. That mentality must be destroyed. It is a false teaching or ”concept” that Satan has infested in the Chruch today and caused us to believe a misconception of the Bible. Knowledge is power. God has said:
”My people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge…” Hosea 4:6
And later in that verse, he blames it on preachers. Preachers are supposed to be shepards– taking GOOD care of God’s flock but instead, many just take care of their flock allowing them to be sick and get worse.
Let’s see what kind of attitude did Jesus’s own brother, James, have when he wrote a letter to a church:
“Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;”-James 5:14
This clearly tells me that James is expecting to hear that there is no one sick. He asked if there was ANYONE among you that is sick…He expects that no one is to be sick.
Now back to Paul, himself, healed people and performed healing. He raised the dead back to life! It would be truly an ironic if he was dead-sick but healing everyone else.
“The thorn in the flesh” really means HUMAN ENEMIES.
‘Thorn of the flesh’ is an Old Testament idiom. That’s something the Bible uses. It’s a Hebrew idiom not used among us, Americans. If you mentioned that idiom to a Jewish person, they would know that it means someone is being a bothersome to you. Unfortunately, to Americans or to those who are not familiar with the customs of Israel, they think this idiom means sickness.
Joshua used that phrase and so did David. Let’s see the CONTEXT of what that idiom was used in the Bible. Joshua said:
“But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and **thorns in your eyes**, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” -Joshua 23:13
Joshua was not talking about sickness. The ‘thorn’ in that verse was regarding to the heathen nations in Caanan. We see that ’scourges on your sides’ and ‘thorns in your eyes’ are not sore eyes or sore body. It is human enemies.
.Again, David said:
“But the godless are like thorns to be thrown away, for they tear the hand that touches them.” -2 Samuel 23:6
In this verse, thorns means personalities from a human. A godless person. A human enemy.
Paul was clear when he mentioned what the ‘thorn’ was.
“…a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan…”-1 Corinthians 12:7
A messenger of satan = human enemy and is also angels of satan. It’s a CLEAR reference to what “thorn in the flesh” means but unfortunately many people do not get it. It’s a MESSENGER from satan.
First of all, if ‘thorn in the flesh’ were really sickness, then boy, the people were really stupid when they took Paul’s handerchief which was filled with mucus, booger, snots, from his sickness. The handerchief would be filled with g-e-r-m-s of his eye infection and all the boils and other infection and dieases Paul had, but interesting, the handerchief was used to heal many OTHER people, but not Paul?!?!
We can see the lie in the meaning of ‘thorn in the flesh’ being a sickness.Secondly, If Paul, “the sickest of men” was one of the mightest apostle accomplishing more work than a well man, then let us all pray for sickness in order that we also may do more work for God.
it’s not sickness. It’s a messenger of satan, which means human enemies.
Now, if some of the people say that Paul had the “thorn in the flesh” to prevent him from being boastful– and they have the same thing. Then in my perspective, they are SO arrogant to think they are so righteous, so like Paul, and so wonderful and that they have their thorn in the flesh to keep them humble. This is an issue of pride. that’s an arrogant mentality.
I want to close this with encouragement. Beloved I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers.” -3 John 2:1
We can see here that the apostles wish for their beloved brothers and sisters to prosper in everything and to be in good health just the same way as their soul prospers. When you are saved, you have a new creature– in this verse, John is saying he wants you to have it all.
I want to talk about hardened hearts. I tend to sign “hardened heart” in this way (signed as a rock) but the most appropriate sign would be to sign it the same way stubborn is signed. I am sure that some of you, Believers, know about the word I am talking about. The words, “hardened hearts” have been used again and again in the scriptures– beginning with the Pharoah, then throughout the Israelites when they complained, and here and there in the new covenant–Jesus calling the Pharisees of having a hardness of hearts.
What is hardening of hearts? I don’t mean the heart becoming hard like a rock. It’s a metaphor. Harden has other definitions: it means of having a characteristic of pitiless, unfeeling, stiff, rigid, and/or unyielding.
Hardening of the heart is considered negative. It’s not a positive word in the Scriptures. Many times the bible encourages us not to have a hard heart.
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”-Hebrews 3:13.
I want to specificially share that a hardening of heart is NOT limited to unbelievers. You as a believer can harden your hearts. We can have a resentment– not willing to be teachable– to hear what the spirit has to say to us I will share with you two situations as a proof that hardening hearts are not limited to unbelievers. Remember the famous story of the Pharoah in Egypt. He would not let God’s children go. His heart was hardened. He was so stubborn even to the point that it cost the life of his first born son. 10 plagues attacked Egypt because they would not let the Israelites go.
“Pharoah’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?” -Exodus 10:7
We can see here that the Pharoah had a hard heart but his officials softened up. The hardness of hearts can happen to those who believe in God. Those who may know A LOT about God. The Pharisees are a good example. They knew a LOT about God yet Yahushua (Jesus) called them stiff-neck. Hard heart. But, Scriptures mentioned that some of the Pharisees heeded to the word of Yahushua. Take Nicomodus for example. He was a pharisee. He loved Yahushua even to the point he helped Joseph bury Yahushua.
Often we like to stereotype. We label groups and often go as far to saying that the unbelievers have hard hearts. People who don’t know God. Or we go as far to saying that a certain group of people practice such strange religions. They’re the one who has hard hearts. We often say, “The hardness of heart does not apply to me. That’s not for me. Surely, not for me.”
Don’t forget the Egyptians recognized God and pleaded for Pharoah to let the people go. Also, of the Pharisees, some of them understood Yahushua and followed HIm.
Tradition is another thing that causes the hardening of heart. Yahushua said,
“Why do you forsake the commandments of God for the sake of your traditions?” Matthew 15:3
Traditions– “It’s something I grew up with. I’m used to it.” Or, perhaps when we have learned something new, we say, “I’ve never heard of that before…I don’t want to know about it.” Traditions are not of God. Traditions are man-made. Traditions also include ”rituals”. It can some kind of “teaching” or “doctrine”. Also, it can be a “way of life”- a lifestyle, etc. Some of us are so used to a certain ritual or teaching and we would say, “My church does that.” or “My pastor told me.”. No one can force you to do this or that.
The Holy Spirit teaches us the truth. He will stir you up. The bible says that the early Believers turned the world upside down. No, the world did not turn upside down. It’s a saying of when there was a time when so many people began to do something no one had ever done. Yes, the Holy Spirit will turn you upside down. Do not harden the heart. He will stir you up. If we harden our hearts, we will not be able to hear from the Holy Spirit anymore.
“Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands”-2 Timothy 1:6.
This is something that Paul said to Timothy and can be used for us, Believers. If we are not being sitrred up…we can start to live in what is commonly known as “Christian Boredom”. “I know everything about the Bible. same ol’ same ol’.” They do not have their spirit stirred up. People among them hear and tell the same thing over and over again. It’s as if they have hit the glass ceiling. There is so much more in the Bible. It’s alive. If we do not stir up, our spiritual being can be like living in a stagnant lake–comfort zone. A stagnant lake is yukky. It has a lot of algae on it– perfect home for mosquitos and many other yecky insects. leeches- I’m not fond of them. Our spirit being can be like that easily when we harden our hearts. Don’t let yourself get into that position.
If you harden the heart, you will have separated yourself from the Spirit. Your ears will shut down and your minds will be stubborn. God is not going to force you to listen to Him. There will be no coercion (twisting of arms). Hardening hearts pulls you away from God. He always has his arms open. Perhaps you will ask me, “How do you know God will not force me?” The scripture says so. You have to act on it. It starts with your actions.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you.” -Matthew 7:7
Also, we see in the Bible of what Yahushua says of those who have hard hearts,
“Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch”-Matthew 15:14
See here where Yahushua says to leave them alone.
The hardening of heart is an individual thing. We already see here in the scriptures that if we harden our heart, God is not going to force you to listen to Him. He’s not going to twist your arms. He will leave you alone. He will encourage you with a desire of bringing you back to Him, but He will not force you. He’s a gentleman.
I encourage you to stir up your spirit. The Scripture says not to quench the spirit. Take heed to this Scripture.
“Do not quench the Spirit…Test all things; hold fast what is good… Abstain from every form of evil.”-1 Thessalonians 5:19.
I want to close this with an encouragement: If any of you lack wisdom, I want to let you know you can go ahead and ask God of it. He will be more than glad to give it to you.
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.’ -James 1:5
Y’all alright? I recently learned about some nuggets (short information) about Yahushua’s (Jesus) death and resurrection and how it parellels with the Torah (Old Testament). I just learned about them and really liked the information.
You know, sometimes we enjoy a rather large meal and sometimes we enjoy nuggets, tasting little foods, kind of like an appetizer. I will share with you six…hmm, a six piece “chicken” nuggets. Those are pieces I learned about the death and resurrection and found it very interesting.
Nugget #1: You know, Passover during Moses’ time, the time when the Israelites left Egypt. Prior to that, God sent 10 different plagues to the Egyptians. The Pharoah was very stubborn so it took 10 plagues before he finally let the Israelites go free. Anyway, just before sending out the 10th plague, God warned the Israelites that all the first born sons, animals, and etc would die. The Egyptians must let the Israelites go. There was a consequence for Pharoah’s heart being hardened against God. The Pharoah was stiff-necked. But God wanted to save the Israelites’ first born sons and animals. In order to save them, God gave them instructions. He told the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb and paint its blood over the doorposts. God will send the Death Angel and when the Angel sees the blood over the doorposts, he will pass over the house. This is where Passover got its name. The Death Angel will pass over houses with lamb’s blood over their doorposts and not take away their first born sons. Houses that did not have the lamb’s blood over their doorposts, the consequences would fall upon the house and the first born sons would die. Every year since then, God commands that we remember the Passover. Yahushua’s blood, a very perfect blood, is our Passover Lamb. Yahushua was innoncent as He was condemned. His blood is smeared on those who believe in Him from head to toe. This is a good one.
“And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses…”-Exodus 12:7
“For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed…” -1 Corinthians 5:7
Nugget #2: I mentioned earlier about the Passover lamb being sacrificed and using its blood to paint over the doorposts. There are criterias that must be followed. For example, the lamb must not have blemishes. It must be perfect without abnormalities, defects, or faults. It must be a perfect lamb. This is God’s commandment. He upholds a high standard on what lamb is to be sacrificed. This can be seen in the same manner for Yahushua. When Yahushua was arrested, about to be killed. Prior to that, they brought Yahushua to trial. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, questioned Yahushua. At the end of that trial, the Roman governor declared that he found no faults in Yahushua and saw that there was no reason to hold him prisoner. But, it was the Jewish community that did not want to free Yahushua. Pontius Pilate was in a high authority position and he saw Yahushua FAULTLESS. This parellels with the animal lamb used in order to make sacrifices. God expected that the animal lamb be faultless. Perfect. Yahushua was perfect and He endured this for us so that He could be our Passover Lamb once and for all. Wow. This is a good one.
“Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old…”-Exodus 12:5
“So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.”-Luke 23:4
Nugget #3: In Genesis, Adam and Eve had intimacy with God, but they lost that intimacy by disobeying Him. As a consequence for Adam, God said in order for Adam to eat, work, and make a living of, Adam had to work hard. He would have to sweat and work hard in order to get food. This was a curse. Now, before Yahushua was arrested by the high priests, Yahushua was in the garden. At that time, Yahushua was under a tremendous stress for he knew exactly what was to come. He sweated a lot while praying. Keep in mind that the sweats that came out of Yahushua’s head was not salt-water like. It was of blood. The blood always represents a new covenant or a new agreement. God values blood because there is life in blood. So while Yahushua was in the garden praying, he sweated blood and this parellels with Adam’s sweating salt/water sweat to live as a curse. Yahushua sweated blood in order to break the old curse and make a new agreement. This new covenant enables us not to be defeated in our trials and tribulations.
“By the sweat of your face you will eat bread…” -Genesis 3:19
“His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground…”-Luke 22:44
Nugget #4: For the same curse that Adam and Eve faced (the sweating to get food), there is another curse that came upon them. God told Adam and Eve that when they grow vegetables and fruits, their garden would have thorns and thistles being in the way. They would have to pull weeds, thorns, and thistles out of the ground in order to make their food grow healthy. This is a curse, a consequence of their disobedience. Now, Just before Yahushua was crucified, the Roman soliders mocked him since Yahushua said he was the king of Jews. The Roman soliders made Yahushua’s crown out of thorns. The thorns were long and strong. The thorns penetrated through Yahushua’s head and caused blood to come out. The thorns the Romans soliders used to make for Yahushua’s crown goes back to the old curse that Adam endured. Yahushua took the suffering of the thorns in his head to break that curse. In this way, in believing the Messiah, we do not need to worry about “thorns in our flesh” (sickness and diseases). We can break through it.
“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field…”-Genesis 3:18
“The soliders twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head…”-John 19:2
Nugget #5: This was a new information for me and I found it very interesting. The first time the Bible mentions the word “Love” can be found in Genesis 22. In that chapter, it talks about Abraham obeying God’s commandment to sacrifice Abraham’s son to God. This was a test of God for Abraham in order to see if Abraham would go that far in obedience. In that chapter, where the word, “Love” is first used, it states, “Abraham, the son you have, whom you love, you will have to give to Me as a sacrifice…” (paraphrased). In this chapter, this is the first time you will see the word “love” being used. This is parellelled to Yahushua. God’s only begotten son, whom He loved, was sent to Earth as a sacrifice for mankind for Him. By the way, just so that you know, Abraham did not sacrifice his son. Because Abraham obeyed, God stopped him in time by sending a ram to replace the son. I found this very interesting how the situation was when the word “Love” was first used–it was in a father-son relationship. Yahushua is Yahweh’s (God) son.
“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love…” -Genesis 22:2
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16
Nugget #6: The last nugget, savour it. During Moses’ time, there was a tabernacle that was built. It had many specific criterias in order to build that tabernacle. In the tabernacle, there is one room called, “Holy of the Holiest”. In that room, it was to remain holy. Not anyone can enter that specific room. Only the very highest priest could enter that room, and that only happens once a year to intercede with God for mankind. Everyone knows that this specific room is to be highly regarded, respected, and not something to take lightly. If anyone just walked into that room, they would immediately drop dead. There’s no games to be played when coming to that room. It is the Holy of the Holiest. That specific room is separated from all the other rooms in the tabernacle by a large thick curtain or veil. Some say that the curtain is three feet THICK. It is to completely separate the Holy of the Holiest room to all the other rooms in the Tabernacle. It is a very special place. Keep in mind that not anyone can just walk into that room. Only the High Priest can enter that room and that happens only once a year. If you and I or anyone else just walked into that room, ah, it would not be good. Anyway, when Yahushua was on the corss and just about to die, He said, “It is finished!!!” The earth began to tremble and there was an earthquake. The veil/curtain used to separate the Holy of the Holiest from all the other rooms was tore into half. It was torn completely apart. This action tells us that everyone, you and me, my mother and father, your mother and father, cousins, uncles, aunts, and everyone else has an equal right as the High Priest to have an access to God, the Father. We can talk with God, through Yahushua, the Messiah. Wow, this to me, blows my mind. It’s a good picture. Tearing apart the curtain/veil that separates the Holy of the Holiest to all the other rooms in the Tabernacle. All barriers, all circumstances, all religious rituals, and etc are destroyed and removed. Now it is just between me and God through the Messiah.
“Then the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom…” Mark 15:38
“Brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…”-Hebrews 10:19
I hope you were blessed by these nuggets just the same as I was. If you have a nugget you would like to share with us, please feel free to share! Be blessed!
“Remember My Death: Is Yahushua the REAL Messiah?”
Is Yahushua (Jesus) the REAL Messiah?
Is He really the Messiah? How do I know? There are a lot of people who say they are the Messiah. How do I know if Yahushuais really the Messiah? What are my signs? What’s Yahushua’s proof?
I’m not the only one who wonders about that. Surely, some of you have, too. In fact, in the Bible, the Jews asked Yahushua for a sign that He is the Messiah. Yahushua says that the sign would be that He would die and resurrect after three days and three nights. That’s THE sign. A sign is a PROOF, a 100% TRUTH, no fibs, no twisting, and no covering up. 100% truith as to show that there is NO mistake that He is THE Messiah.
For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. -Matthew 12:4
That’s quite hard to do. Can you get yourself to come back alive? Sounds impossible! You will have to have an “outer” source to bring you back to life. A defibrillator can bring you back to life and God also can. Yahushua’s proof that He is the Messiah is a TOUGH proof. He became specific– THREE days and THREE nights.
If Yahushua resurrected 2 days and 1 night. HE IS NOT THE MESSIAH. That’s another god…. I am looking for the Messiah that died and rose after 3 days and 3 nights.
The Easter holiday followed by million of Christians say that Jesus (Yahushua) died on a Friday (Good Friday) and was resurrected on a Sunday. That’s 1 day and TWO nights. It’s half filled. That’s a false Messiah– I’m not interested in any false Messiah who cannot FULFIL 100% of the sign: 3 days and 3 nights. If Jesus (Yahushua) was not in the ground three days and three nights, then He is a liar and not truly the Son of God. God forbid!
Unfortunately, Easter tradition pollutes the very sign that Yahushua gave of His identity as the Son of God. The Catholic church by Pope Constaine overthrew God’s feast, “The Passover” and replaced it with a pagan holiday, “Easter”. He even changed the dates making it Friday and Sunday. This is a total error. Yahushua was not crucified on a Friday and resurrected on a Sunday as, unfortunately, many people think.
Yahushua was crucified on a Wednesday and was resuurected on a Sabbath. Let’s stop spreading false signs about the Messiah and begin to tell the truth.
Here’s a timeline of Yahushua’ death and resurrection. Verses will be shown on the bottom (on video). Remember the Hebrew calendar begins a new day at sunset, not “midnight”. Nisan 15 is the Passover date. Nisan is the hebrew month which is between March and April.
Before Passover, Here in Matthew 26:1 and 2, Yahushua being the son of man now knows that He was going to be killed by crucifixion. He knows that He was the true sacrificial offering, the Passover Lamb of God. The Passover was sacrificed on the 14th of Nisan and Yahushua was talking in the evening of 11th Nisan going into 12th Nisan at sunset.
“When Yahushua had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, “As you know, the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”- Matthew 26:1.
Nisan 13, Tuesday (by sunset, Wednesday, Nisan 14): Yahushua ate an evening Passover meal with His disciples and insitutied the New Covenant symbols (Matthew 26:26-28)
Nisan 14, Wednesday-early morning (1 am?): Yahushua goes to Gethsemane (Matthew 26:30) and there Yahushua was then betrayed by Judas. (Luke 22:48). Yahushua is brought before the high priests. (Mark 14:53)
Wednesday morning: Yahushua is brought to Pilate and stands before the crowd. (Matthew 27:22). Yahushua is sent to be crucified at 9 a.m. (Mark 15:25)
Wednesday noon: Though it is noontime, it became dark as nighttime
Wednesday afternoon: Yahushua died around 3 p.m. (Matthew 26: 33-37)
Wednesday evening: This was the preparation day for the annual, not weekly, Sabbath, which began at sunset (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:31). Jesus body was placed in the tomb at twilight (Matthew 27:57-60).
FIRST NIGHT
Nisan 15, Thursday: Wednesday sunset to Thursday sunset was the high-day Sabbath, the first day of Unleavened Bread (John 19:31, Leviticus 23:4-7.) It is described as the day after the Day of Preparation (Matthew 27:62). The Pharisees go to the Pilate to have guards protect the tomb.
FIRST DAY
SECOND NIGHT
Friday, Nisan 16: The high-day Sabbath now past, the women bought and prepared spices for annoiting Yahushua’s body before resting on the weekly Sabbath day, which began at Friday sunset (Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56)
SECOND DAY
THIRD NIGHT
Nisan 17, Sabbath: THE THIRD DAY: The women rested on the weekly Sabbath, according to the Fourth Commandment (Luke 23:56; Exodus 20:8-11). Yahushua rose around sunset, exactly three days and three nights after burial, fulfilling the sign of Jonah and authenticating the sign He gave of His messiahship.
Nisan 18, Sunday: The women brought the spices early in the morning while it was still dark (Luke 24:1; John 20:1), finding that Yahushua had already risen (Matthew 28:1-6; Mark 16:2-6; Luke 24:2-3; John 20:1). He did not rise on Sunday morning, but near sunset the day before.
The gospel record of Yahushua the Messiah’s death, burial, and resurrection prove His identifying sign of three days and three nights (Matthew 12:39-40).
Anyone holding to a Friday crucifixion and/or a Sunday morning resurrection is polluting the very sign Jesus gave to prove that He is the Son of God.
What have bunnies and eggs done for you and me?
It was GOd’s desire that His children celebrate Passover forever. Certainly, God was not saying “forever” in vain.
“So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.” -Exodus 12:17
And Yahushua says to do so in the New Covenant.“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” -Luke 22:17
Yahushua says to REMEMBER his death (not birthdays as many of us do!) REMEMBER His DEATH– when we do the Passover, we remember Yahushua.
And Paul tells us in the New Covenant to keep the festival!
“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as you really are. For Messiah, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.”-1 Corinthians 5:6-8
Who’s your God that you will listen? The God that commanded us to celebrate Passover, or the god, the pope Constantine, that has commanded us to celebrate Easter and throw away God’s feasts?
Who’s your Messiah? The Messiah that fulfilled three days and three nights or the bunny, Ishtar, that died on friday and resurrected on sunday?
You have been spared because of the passover LAMB, not because of the bunny.
I did two vlogs last year titled “Easter is not a Bibical Holiday” and “A Messianic Passover” You can find them under http://www.leforstribe.com/ one in the month of March 2008 and one in April 2008.
Paul could do so many things, heal people, raise the dead back to life, bring thousands of people to the Messiah, establish many churches, and so on. He was a mighty apostle.
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