The Amazing Results Of A True Believer's Agape/True Love

This week, we continued in the study of Philippians, from the Original Messianic Perspective, the original Church.

Philippians 1: 9-11

And for this I offer my prayers, that your commitment exceeds to the greatest degree and more in precise and correct knowledge of ethical and divine things and all perception, not only by the senses but by the intellect, cognitive discernment, so you, can test and discern, to distinguish between good and evil in order, that you may be found pure and without offense until the day/time of Y’shua Messiah, to bring forth fruits of righteousness, which are through Y’shua Messiah, for the glorious worship and praise of God.

The word, translated as commitment, is Agape. Many have already heard this word, for it is used a lot in the modern church. It is considered Godlike Love. However, I believe that Godlike Love is somewhat vague, because many don't understand many true attributes of God. A good example of this can be found in 1 John 2:15-17.

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

In Corinthians 13:2-18, it is gives the true definition of Agape.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Notice that Paul desired and prayed that your agape, your commitment, would exceed the greatest degree. Yes, there are varying levels of maturity that a True Believer goes through, on his/her quest towards true Echad/Oneness, with God. This maturity could take a moment in time or last your entire lifetime. This is the resulting maturity, that comes naturally, when you place you complete faith, in the work done by God, through his son, Y'shua. This maturity quest is what Paul is talking about in Philippians 2:12-13.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure.

Many interpret this as a list of "Have To's" to fulfill your salvation. No. Working out your salvation is the progress through which you gravitate, by faith, towards being Godlike. Notice, in the above verses, that it says that it is not you doing stuff to obtain or fulfill your salvation, ... it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure, based on your ever increasing faith. This is reiterated in Ephesians 2:12-13.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by ones own works, so anyone can boast.

Your agape will result in Godly knowledge. What is Godly knowledge? Knowledge isn't just knowing things. It is living it. Making it your own. It's having an inward Godly perspective to perceive the difference between good and evil, which is only possible by having the precise knowledge of ethical and divine things. Is this really possible? Many say, No. But, here in Philippians, Paul alludes to the possibility. How? Again, by living the Word of God, not just knowing it.

Making the Word of God your own, for the betterment of others and especially yourself results in having the mentally knowledge and cognitive discernment to test others and yourself and distinguish between good and evil. This naturally results in you and others becoming pure, which results in the manifestation of fruits of righteousness. What are fruits of righteousness? They are the natural resulting righteous and just actions of the True Believer, when they place an ever increasing faith in God and in God's Word, which was manifested in Y'shua.

These verses also tell us that this quest of Godlike pureness and its resulting acts of righteousness, only through the Messiah Y'shua, the Word of God, will result in being without offense, blameless, at the time of the return of the Messiah, which includes the Day of Judgement.

As a side note, these two events will be the fulfillment of the Fall Feasts of Yom Teruah and Yom Kippur.

As an additional benefit of this quest is that you will have the strongest spiritual armor possible, so you can, as Ephesians 6:10-18 says

...be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

You will automatically have

...on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground.

And after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Finally, if you ask most people to define Godly Praise and Worship, they will begin to describe their music service, prior to a sermon. Even though that is true, here, we are told that living our Agape, our total commitment is Glorious Praise and Worship, through the Word of God, the Messiah Y'shua.

Yom Kippur-The Day Of Reckoning

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most solemn day of the year, started at sundown. On this awesome day, on a future Yom Kippur, all accounts between Yahweh and His covenant people are settled. And it is on this day that the final jubilee year is reconciled. God's people will be gathered themselves together in a solemn assembly before Yahweh, to present themselves before the final judgement seat. According to Messianic Judaism, Y'shua, the Son of God, the Messiah, along with the saints, will stand in judgement over those who refuse to believe. On that day, the Book of Life will be opened. Therefore, is this yearly day of Atonement a prophesy Of a future day of reckoning? 

Gemar Chatimah Tovah.(May your final sealing be in the Book of Life)

Shabbat Shalom (Sabbath Peace) 

BREAKING NEWS!!! The Tenth Red Heifer Has Arrived. Is The Prophesied Third Temple Just Around The Corner?

On the 17th day of Elul, 5778, (August 28, 2018), a red heifer was born in the land of Israel. The red heifer candidate is being raised and specially cared for under the auspices of the Temple Institute's 'Raise a Red Heifer' program.

One week after its birth, the heifer underwent an extensive examination by rabbinical experts, who determined that the heifer is currently a viable candidate for the Biblical red heifer, as described in the book of Numbers, chapter 19. This is a necessary prerequisite for the renewal of the Divine service in the Holy Temple.

For almost 2000 years, the world has dismissed the Third Temple prophecy, as impossible. However, they said the same about the Israel becoming a nation again for the Jews. Then there was the Jerusalem becoming the Jewish capital and earlier this year, that too became a reality.

The ancient Jewish scribe Maimonides prophesied that there would only be ten red heifers, in the Temple's History, before Messiah come. This would be the tenth and final one. Obviously, the Temple would be built on the Temple Mount, with the Dome of the Rock presently in the court of the Gentiles. This would be very controversial and cause turmoil for all nations. This is also prophesied in the Bible.

“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.”

“And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.”
Zechariah 12:2-3

Amazingly, there are people and actual Christians, that say that all Biblical prophecy has been fulfilled, even when the prophecies continue to be fulfilled in front of our eyes. Now, is the time to get into the Bible and check it out. It's time to sit back and see how God makes this happen.

Happy Rosh Hashanah!!!!

Beginning tonight at sundown, Yom Teruah, the beginning of the Feast Of Trumpets begins. Most Christian believers believe that the Messiah, Y’shua, Jesus, will fulfill the Fall Feasts, in the same way, he fulfilled the First Four Feasts, by snatching up the true believers, the Remnant, at the last Trump, of Yom Teruah. If it’s this year, I’ll see you there.

On the other hand, some believe that it will mark the appearance of the Antichrist and start the beginning of the End of Days. Whether you are a believer in pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation or post-tribulation, one thing that the Bible guarantees the Remnant is that the Rapture will occur prior to the Wrath of God. Whatever happens, we’re in for a wild ride.

 

We Are Echad. The Natural Flow Of Christ-Like Love And Committment

Philippians 1:7a

In so much, it is right I think this of you all, because I possess you in my heart.

Wow! What love Paul had for the Philippians. He felt this way for all true believers, regardless of the church, assembly, synagogue, etc. they attended or attend. He felt that all believers were his responsibility, to the point that they were actually a possession for which he was intimately responsible. That's a love, a commitment that all the Remnant has for each other. Notice that I didn't say, "… should have for each other.". It's not a forced commitment, but a natural outpouring of love, as a result of the Spirit of God, that is within all true believers. We all belong to each other as a possession of each of our hearts. Let's act that way. Let the Spirit naturally flow.

Philippians 1:7b

Also in my bond/chain and defense of the proclamation of the news of the grace of God manifested and pledged in Messiah, you all are partners of my grace.

Notice the word bond/chain. The Greek word used here is "desmos", which could mean chain or bond or obligation. The funny thing here is that it's also a singular noun. Therefore, to properly translate, it would be chain not chains. Obviously, Paul was in prison at the time of this letter and it is to directly imply his actual chains, but the word also could be used to convey his and our position in the Messiah...our bond or bond-servitude. So, what is the Holy Spirit trying to get across, if anything?

I believe that he is telling us that once we become Christians, Bond-Servants of Y'shua, the Messiah, we have an eternal obligation to his Gospel, his Good News. Why? Because Y'shua has paid that sin debt that we were unable to pay for ourselves. A debt that otherwise would have resulted in eternal damnation. Therefore, our natural obligation is to be grateful and wanting, not willing, to spread the Gospel, the Good News. To make the Gospel your own. As a result, you will defend it like your own, in the same way that Paul did. But, what is the Good News?

** As a quick side note, keep this in mind, the duality of "desmos" (bond/chain), when we get to verse 13.

What is the Gospel/Good News?

As you can see, if you compare this literal translation with others, such as NIV, KJV, etc., you'll notice that the actual Greek word, "euaggelion", actually means, "the proclamation of the news of the grace of God manifested and pledged in Messiah". It is my understanding that it was a new form of a Greek word, "euaggelizō", which means, "Good News". I think it's important to understand the distinction. The word, "euaggelion", actually says that the Good News is about the Grace, the Mercy of God made possible by the act of the Messiah. It's also says that this Grace was pledged. It was promised in the Tanakh, the Old Testament, long before the B'rit Hadashah, the New Testament was written or before Y'shua walked upon this earth.

*** As a side note, in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the Apostle Paul tells us that the Gospel is the following:

...that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures.

Paul also tell us that we are partners, co-owners of his grace, which flows from God himself. This shows that the Grace of God is a Grace that is one within all believers, a theme that is a Jewish concept of Echad, onesness, constantly proclaimed by Y'shua, during his ministry on Earth. This is also iterated within the daily Schma of the Jews.

Hear Israel, Yahweh, Elohim is One. Yahweh!!!

Love Yahweh Elohim with your inner being, mind, will, heart, soul, spirit, understanding with all your might.

Philippians 1:8

For God is witness how I long for you in the compassion of Y’shua Messiah.

Finally, how we are to commit ourselves to one another is through the natural compassion within all true believers. The Compassion of Y'shua, the Messiah, which permeates our body, soul and spirit, by way of God's Holy Spirit, that dwells within us. That compassion comes from a internal yearning to be filled with the fullness of God, in the same way Y'shua was indwelled. We should long to be with each other, teach each other, be edified by each other, as we are committed to the spiritual and physical well being of ourselves.

Remember, We Are Echad, One With God Through His Son, Y'shua, the Messiah.

Finally, notice how many witnesses there are. Two. God and his Son, Y’shua. This fulfills the requirement of the Law, stated in Deuteronomy 19:15.

A matter is established by two or more witnesses. 

I think we’ll be surprised when we stand before Jesus and our righteousness is shown to fall severely short of God’s Law. Praise God for Y’shua being obedient unto death on our behalf.