SEEING YHVH – PART 1
A young man was playing cricket in South Africa, he was caught out again without any runs and he walked back to the bench. [Rats! I will never be a big-league player. I just do not have it! All my life I have dreamed of playing in the big leagues, but I know I will never make it.] His manager turned to console him: [You are thinking too far ahead. What you need to do is set yourself some more immediate goals.] He looks up and asks [Immediate goals?] The manager replied, [Yes, start the next time you go out to bat. See if you can walk out to the field without falling down] The manager is not what I would call an optimist. When we talk about setting goals, we are saying there is an end in sight, there is something that we want to accomplish and that we are willing to do whatever is needed to achieve it. In Matthew 5:8, Yeshua tells us what our target is and how we are going to reach it. [Blessed is the pure in heart: for they shall see YHVH.] The goal is to [see YHVH] and the means to accomplishment is being people who are [pure in heart.] When Yeshua speaks about seeing YHVH I believe there is a double meaning here. Those of us who are Moshiach followers will see YHVH at a future date. But there is a sense that we see YHVH in the present and we see YHVH more clearly, the more closely we identify with Him. Those who are pure in heart are those who have examined YHVH’s Heart and decided to make it their own. When I adopt YHVH’s system of morality and when I join with Him in His purpose, I begin to not only understand Him better; I begin to see Him in a whole new light. No longer will I view Him as [YHVH Elohiym out there], Who from a distance, is watching over my every move. While I am always aware that He is the Creator and I am His Creation, I also begin to see Him in a new way, as my Companion and as the One with whom I am striving for a better world.
1 – If I Want To See YHVH, I Will Make a Commitment to YHVH’s Value System:
[Who shall ascend into the hill of Adonai? Or who shall stand in His Holy Place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from Adonai and righteousness from the Elohiym of his Salvation. This is the generation of them that seek Him that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.] -- Psalm 24:3-6. This is the passage that Yeshua is alluding to here in our text. To be pure in heart I need to value the same things that YHVH values. How do we do that?
A -- Let Down Your Guard:
When we are walking in our own way, we are actually running from Adonai. If we are committed to YHVH’s value system we must be willing to give up our own. [Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart and be no more stiff-necked.] -- Deuteronomy 10:16. [And Adonai thy Elohiym will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seed, to love Adonai thy YHVH with all thine heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.] -- Deuteronomy 30:6. Without getting too graphic here, we need to understand that physical circumcision is considerably painless compared to spiritual circumcision. While the former removes flesh, the latter removes the stubbornness of our hearts. The first is a simple surgical procedure, the second insists on a willingness on our parts to let go and let YHVH.
B -- Draw Close to YHVH:
[Draw nigh to YHVH, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted and mourn and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of Adonai and He shall lift you up.] -- James 4:8-10. Remember the Brady Bunch TV episode when Bobby Brady was running across the field with open arms to meet his girlfriend in the middle? YHVH is not waiting for us at the end of the line, He is right here, ready to meet us with open arms, no barriers in the way.
C -- Be Willing to Obey:
This is one of the toughest steps for us, isn’t it? Esther Schmidt’s daughter-in-law noticed that her two-year-old daughter was ignoring her food and asked, [Keri, why aren't you eating?] Keri replied, [I cannot eat; YHVH told me not to.] Her mother scolded: [YHVH would not tell you not to eat your supper.] Keri looked up at the ceiling and then conceded, [Well, maybe it was Moses.] [And Samuel said, Hath Adonai as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Adonai? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams.] -- 1 Samuel 15:22. We will never begin to see YHVH, to understand Him, until we learn to live a life of obedience. YHVH is more interested in a heart that is willing to follow His direction than He is in our religious exercises.
D -- Seek Guidance:
Purity of heart is not obtained by lone rangers. We only grow to see YHVH when we seek YHVH out and ask for His assistance. The Psalmist prayed: [Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.] -- Psalm 51:7. [Create in me a clean heart, O YHVH; and renew a right spirit within me.] -- Psalm 51:10. Perhaps he recognized something we are slow to learn; pure hearts are created and sustained by Almighty YHVH. But they are only cleansed when we honestly seek for YHVH’s guidance in our lives.
E -- Get Real:
One day Yeshua was teaching to the crowds and focused His message on the teachers of the Law and Pharisees; these were the legalists of Yeshua’ day, the people who saw everything in terms of black and white. They understood the letter of the Law, but did not understand its spirit. [Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.] -- Matthew 23:25-28. By all external measures these men looked great; anyone who saw them would identify them as men of YHVH, people who were spiritually superior to the rest of us. But Yeshua could look them in the eye and see deep down into their souls. And what He saw were religious counterfeits; people who claimed to be pure in heart, but their hearts were filled with bitterness and pride. The message to us is clear, [Get Real]. Be the same person on the outside as you are on the inside; prove yourself to be true to YHVH and you will begin to see YHVH.
Here are some worthwhile thoughts on keeping Sukkot with humility and gratitude from the Philippines by way of Jerusalem...
(I don't know anything about the group who sponsored this event, so caveat emptor.)
Shabbat shalôm, mishpochah! Abundant blessings to overflowing in Yeshua our great and mighty Messiah!!!??☝???????????❤️?
Where are all the men? https://www.theguardian.com/wo....rld/2022/oct/04/iran
Shabbat Shalom
Thought For Today: Shabbat October 08:
YHVH is an Elohiym of both intricate detail and overflowing abundance. When you entrust the detail of your life to Him, you will be surprised by how thoroughly He answers your petitions. He always takes pleasure in hearing your prayers, so feel free to bring Him all your requests. The more you pray, the more answers you can receive. Best of all, your faith will be strengthened as you see how precisely He respond to your specific prayers. Because He is Infinite in all His Ways, you need not to fear that He will run out of resources. Abundance is at the very heart of Who He is. Go to Him in joyful expectation of receiving all you need – and sometimes much more. He always delights in showering blessings on His beloved children. Go to Him with open hands and heart, ready to receive all the blessings He has for you.
Shabbat shalom!
Just felt like posting this video we did to help bring awareness to mental health. We tend to think that medication is what we need when we are mentally ill. However, The truth is that mental illness actually speaks to a sort of spiritual illness and often times there is demonic activity at work.
Just felt like posting this video we did to help bring awareness to mental health. We tend to think that medication is what we need when we are mentally ill. However, The truth is that mental illness actually speaks to a sort of spiritual illness and often times there is demonic activity at work.
TTN Music 
TTN Promo 
