Shabbat shaloms~

I AM SECURE – PART 2

B -- Eternal Protection:
Not only does YHVH give us eternal life but He guards us and our relationship with Him. In other words, YHVH’s desire is for us to be with Him forever and He not only saves us, He keeps us. There is no one that can take you away from this relationship with YHVH. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My Hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s Hand. -- John 10:28-29. The Shepherd is watching over His sheep and He will not let them be taken. Let us look at just a few more verses where we find this promise: All that the Father giveth me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. -- John 6:37. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Moshiach Yeshua, who walk not after the flesh, but after HaRuach. -- Romans 8:1. For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have Committed unto Him against that day. -- 2 Timothy 1:12. Our salvation is not found by relying on ourselves but on YHVH. We have the unmistakable promise of YHVH that He will keep us safe in His arms.

C -- Eternal Unity:
When we accept Moshiach as our Saviour and Adonai, we are becoming one in relationship with the Father, Son and Ruach Kodesh. I and My Father are One. -- John 10:30. Yeshua is emphasizing the relationship that He has with the Father in conjunction with His emphasis on the relationship He has with each of us. He does this again just a few verses prior to this one. I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down My life for the sheep. -- John 10:14-15. Just as the Father is in relationship to the Son, the Sheep are in relationship to both the Son and the Father; we are united to YHVH because we have been adopted fully into His family. This unity that we enjoy is not just for the here and now, but for all of eternity. that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. -- John 17:21. What is Yeshua saying? He is saying that our relationship with Him is as solid as His own relationship with the Father. Further-more He says that we are connected to both Him and the Father in the same way They are connected to One Another. If you haven’t thought about that before, when you have the time, sit down and meditate on these passages and let it sink in. So, if I am a believer, I can rest assured that Yeshua is my Shepherd and that Yeshua promises me these three wonderful truths. But we need to understand that we are also expected to give back to Yeshua:

3 – Yeshua Expects Me…:

When a person gets married, the marriage vows are not just made by one party. Both the bride and groom make solemn promises to each other; there are a set of expectations for both, that when met, make the marital relationship go smoothly. When Yeshua becomes our Shepherd and promises us eternal life, eternal protection and eternal unity, He is expecting us to live in a certain way. Now we are not saved by living in the ways I am going to describe, we are saved by grace through faith in Moshiach, but if we want our relationship to always be at its strongest point, we will live in these three ways:

A -- To Live in Confidence of My Future:
We need to know with out any doubt that we are saved. Those who do not know this fact tend to be the weakest believers. If I do not have confidence that YHVH will keep His Promise, I also will lack confidence in my own faith walk. One of the saddest types of people I run across, are people who have given their lives to Moshiach but they are unsure of their salvation. When I know that I am saved, I will be much more motivated to live the type of life that Yeshua calls me to, because I know I am not working to earn something, I am working toward something He has already given me. I am not talking about having confidence in ourselves, but confidence in YHVH. It would be highly arrogant to state that, I am worthy to be saved. It is an act of faith to state, I believe in YHVH’s Promise that I am saved. We can state with boldness that we know we are saved and then we are empowered to live like saved people.

B -- To Live in Obedience to My Calling:
IF YE LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS! -- John 14:15. I am not obedient to try to earn salvation; I am obedient because I am in love with Yeshua Moshiach. Yeshua does not say, I want to save you and then you can go live however you like. He is saying that if we are saved, we will like to live the way He wants us to because we are grateful for what He has done and we have accepted Him as Adonai. Let us be very clear here; we are not living and working for the Kingdom and by Yeshua’ ethical code because we think we can somehow earn our salvation. He has already granted us salvation; now we begin to live like saved people and saved people are people that want to live in obedience to Yeshua’ Commands.

C -- To Live in Boldness in My Witness:
Knowing that I am secure in my relationship allows me to be bold in sharing my testimony with other people. Can you imagine witnessing to someone and at the same time not knowing for sure whether you were saved or not? Well, if you accept Yeshua, He might save you but you really cannot know that until after you die. That does not sound too attractive to me or very biblical either. When I am secure in my relationship with YHVH, I can share the Promises of YHVH with others with the complete confidence that what YHVH says is true. And when I do that, I will start seeing results as more and more people join with me in YHVH’s Kingdom. Some of you might be at that point in your faith walk; you believe in Moshiach and you are saved, but some days you just do not feel quite so secure. My advice to you is to keep reading the Word, stay steady in your prayer life and the more time you spend getting to know YHVH, the more you will understand and accept this wonderful promise of security.

I AM SECURE – PART 1

I can still remember years ago the first time I picked up my son and tried to hold him upside down, he immediately grabbed hold of me as tightly as he could and he would not let go. He was very young and must have thought that I was going to drop him or something. He had not yet learned that I would never ever, let him out of my hands. Sometimes people view their relationship with YHVH with the same sense of insecurity. This is especially true when it comes to the issue of salvation. A commonly held view is that one day you are in, the next day you are out and there is no telling until the day that you die whether you will be in heaven or not. It is a common misunderstanding that has led to a tragically warped view of how YHVH operates in relationship to His children. Instead of building trust, it forces us to disbelieve that YHVH is someone that we can count on. The sad thing is that when a person does not know that they are secure in YHVH’s Hands they will spend their entire lives trying to please our Elohim they do not really understand. It is important that we start by understanding the secure salvation that we have in Yeshua. They that trust in Adonai shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so Adonai is round about His people from henceforth even for ever. -- Psalms 125:1-2. This theme runs throughout both the Old and New Testaments; we can trust YHVH to both save us and keep us as His children. One of the most striking passages in the New Testament concerning this truth is: My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My Hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s Hand. I and My Father are one. -- John 10:27-30.

1 – Yeshua Is My Shepherd:

The entire 10th chapter of John is devoted to describing Yeshua as a Shepherd and His followers as His Sheep. If you are a Moshiach follower then you fit into the Sheep category. Now a shepherd’s main job is to protect his sheep. Yeshua is protecting each of us now in our relationship with Him. Let us look at a few reasons why we have this Shepherd / Sheep relationship:

A -- I Have Heard His Voice:
When the infamous September 11th airplane barrelled into the Pentagon, Officer Isaac Hopi was nearby but outside the building. Immediately he began helping people straggle out of the building; in some cases, carrying them out. But Hopi wanted to do more. Wearing only his short-sleeved blue police uniform, no mask, no protective coat, not even a handkerchief, he ran into the inky blackness of the Pentagon. Someone yelled at him to stop. [We have to get the people,] he shouted back. Suffocating on smoke, Hopi heard the building cracking. He called out, [Is anybody in here?] Wayne Sinclair and five co-workers were crawling through rubble and had lost all sense of direction when they heard Hopi’s voice. They cried out and Hopi responded, [Head toward my voice!] Following his voice, Sinclair and the others soon made their way out of the crumbling building. Yeshua saves us in the same way. He says, [Head toward my voice.] As we find ourselves walking down the dark corridors of life, trying to find our way home, we hear the voice of our Shepherd calling out to us. My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me -- John 10:27). What is He saying about us? That we have heard Him call us and we recognize Him as the Son of YHVH that has given His life for us.

B -- I Have Answered His Call:
Not only have we heard His voice, but we have responded to that voice. We have come to Him believing that He is who He has claimed to be; that He is Yeshua Moshiach, the One that died on the Cross and rose from the dead three days later. We have responded to His offer of salvation by placing our trust in Him.

C -- I Have Promised to Follow:
My sheep hear My Voice, and I know them, and they follow Me -- John 10:27. When we talk about believing in Yeshua, it is not just mental assent that we’re referring to; it is not just a belief that Yeshua existed and that He is who He claimed to be; it is a commitment to follow Him as Adonai and Saviour of our lives. If any man serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serves Me, him will My Father honour. -- John 12:26) I become Yeshua’ sheep when I hear His voice, answer His call and commit to follow Him wherever He leads me. I am committed to Him as my Shepherd and He is committed to me as one of His flock. This Shepherd / Sheep relationship brings security to our lives. This leads us to the second truth concerning our security:

2 – Yeshua Has Promised Me…:

If you are a Moshiach Follower there are many promises that YHVH has given to you. Here are three of them that has to do with security:

A -- Eternal Life:
The promise to everyone that comes to Moshiach is that they will live forever. Now if that means living forever in this present life it might not be such a great promise, but this life we are promised will be lived in the presence of YHVH. We will never see, hear or experience sin again. Our bodies will never suffer any physical problems in anyway. We will not have any type of emotional breakdown, depression, stress or anxiety. The list could go on and on and on. Yeshua promised: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. -- John 10:28. He does not promise temporary life or a short period when we feel good about ourselves. He promises us eternal life; eternal means forever and it can mean nothing else. If you are in Moshiach you are promised that there will never be a time when you will be separated from YHVH; you will be with Him forever. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My Word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. -- John 5:24. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life. -- John 6:47. I find a tremendous amount of assurance in these words.

The wrath of man will die with him, but the wrath of God endures through death and resurrection. Whatever you lean on to protect you cannot protect you from God who created all things.
Isaiah 51

Have you made plans for Sukkot? We are having Sukkot on Oct 11- 19 in Far West Texas near Big Bend National Park. The file has most of the information in it. Contact us if you still have questions. https://hebraicrootsavivfellow....ship.org/index.php/c

 

hebraicrootsavivfellowship.org

Sukkot Campground - Hebraic Roots Aviv Fellowship

Keeps Appointed Times, Feasts and Festivals of Yehovah

https://rcg.org/realtruth/arti....cles/150409-001.html

 

rcg.org

Copying the Genius in Nature – What Biomimicry Reveals

Scientists, engineers and architects are looking to the natural world to solve problems in their fields—and it is yielding astounding results.