For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.
#exodus 23:10-11 #mishpatim
The agricultural sabbath year, the #shemitah, is not just for the land, but for the poor. It is a moral and civil commandment, not a ceremonial.
In fact, there are no purely "ceremonial" laws in #torah. They are all moral laws. Moral vs civil vs ceremonial is a man-made distinction that is completely foreign to the Bible.
HOW TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY AND WIN --- CONTINUE
E. When YHVH is preparing us for a great work for His glory:
Every time an individual or a church is called by YHVH to do a great work for His glory satan goes on the attack. While you are preparing your heart, your mind and your soul for whatever it is YHVH is calling you to do, satan is preparing himself to bring you and the work down. Maybe YHVH has called you to be a missionary and you are ready to answer that call. You begin praying and studying about where YHVH could use you; you start looking into some education to help prepare you to do this work; the next thing you know things start going wrong for you, you start doubting the call and you begin to wonder if you really have what it takes after all. Or a ministry like TTN begins to sense that YHVH is calling us to grow, win more people to Moshiach and to plant ministries for His glory. All of a sudden, people begin to wonder if YHVH can really do the things through us that He is calling us to do. They become complacent and watch others around them doing all the work or they start to drop out because for whatever reason they do not see themselves being a part of the great work of YHVH anymore. Those are all satanic attacks that we need to be aware of; in fact, I doubt that anyone that is a Moshiach follower, has not experienced at least one of these types of things in their faith walk.
ENGAGING THE ENEMY:
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Elohim. -- Ephesians 6:16-17. Here we find three more weapons that YHVH has placed at our disposal;
A -- With the Shield of Faith:
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. -- Ephesians 6:16. In the New Testament there are two different words for -- shield. One is the small, circular shield, shaped like a rubbish bin lid and the other is a long rectangular shield and is taken from the word used for a large door because it is shaped kind of like a door. The large, door-shaped shield is what Paul is referring to here. A properly trained Roman soldier could use that shield so that no part of his body could be reached by the missiles of the enemy; it protected him completely. This is the kind of faith Paul was talking about when he referred to it as a shield. When we are doing battle with satan, the moment we begin to cause him any trouble, we are guaranteed that he is going to launch a counterattack. He will attack our minds, our hearts, our bodies and our finances, so we need to have a shield that covers us entirely. He will attack us at any point he can reach, which is the point that we are most vulnerable. If he cannot attack us, he will attack those that are closest to us, like our spouse or children. We must have a shield that is big enough to protect everything for which YHVH has made us responsible, including ourselves, our family and everything YHVH has committed to us. The fiery darts of the wicked one come fast and furiously and they are going to continue to come. The only thing that will bat them down is this shield of faith. The shield of faith is built and strengthened the more that we place our whole trust in the power of YHVH. Sometimes we have questions that we do not have answers to, sometimes things do not go the way we think that they should, sometimes people get sick and die and we do not want them to, but in every case, we have to ultimately place our faith in YHVH.
B -- With the Helmet of Salvation:
And take the helmet of salvation… --Ephesians 6:17. Here we find protection for our minds; the helmet protected the head from the enemy. We need to recognize that YHVH appeals to the heart, but He also appeals to the intellect and throughout the Scriptures YHVH uses reason with man. -- Come now, and let us reason together, saith Adonai: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. -- Isaiah 1:18. YHVH wants us to use our minds, to think, to understand, to reason, but that is very difficult to do when we leave our minds unprotected. It is in the mind that we are assaulted with images that fill our thoughts with things that keep us from keeping our focus on YHVH. In this day and age we need to guard this even more as we see the most graphical of sexual images everywhere that we look. We are bombarded with aberrant philosophies that try to dethrone YHVH and enthrone man. We are made to think that what YHVH’s Word says about homosexuality, purity and righteousness is old-fashioned and unnecessary in our day and age. We need something to protect our minds from this bombardment that is coming at us from satan and we have it, it is the helmet of salvation. He is not talking here about our initial salvation experience, but the hope that our salvation offers us. -- But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. -- 1 Thessalonians 5:8. The hope that comes from knowing that we are saved and secure in our relationship with Yeshua Moshiach gives us the ability to focus clearly on the things of YHVH. It puts all of the philosophies of the world and all of the attacks on our minds, in proper perspective. Knowing and cherishing the fact that we are YHVH’s children and that our salvation is sure, keeps us from giving into those things that would pull us astray. If you do not have that hope today, you have opened up your mind to the attacks of the enemy, but if you do have that hope, you have one of the greatest weapons of all at your disposal.
C -- With the Sword of the Spirit:
And the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of YHVH. -- Ephesians 6:17. There is one thing that distinguishes this weapon from the others listed: this is a weapon used as much for offence as it is for defence. Without it, we have no way to drive off satan and the demonic powers. If we put on all the other items of armour, we might be able to prevent the devil from wounding us, but we cannot drive him from our presence. The one thing in this list that can do this is the Sword of the Spirit, which our text tells us, is the Word of Elohim. The Bible compares YHVH’s Word to a Sword because His Word pierces and penetrates. -- For the Word of YHVH is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. -- Hebrews 4:12 YHVH’s Word penetrates to every area of human personality, to the very deepest parts of our inner being. In the book of Revelation, where John had a vision of Yeshua in His Glory and as Adonai of the Church, one of the things he saw was a Sword coming out of the Mouth of Yeshua. -- And He had in His right Hand seven stars: and out of His Mouth went a sharp two edged Sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in His Strength. -- Revelation 1:16. That sharp two-edged Sword is the Word of YHVH coming out of the Mouth of Yeshua. Yeshua Himself used that Sword against satan when He was tempted in the wilderness by satan and we would do well to follow His example. One of the most interesting things that took place in the wilderness temptation is that satan never questioned the authority of YHVH’s Word. In our text where Paul refers to the Sword of the Spirit being the Word of YHVH, it is important to note that there are two words for – Word -- in the original language. One stands for the written word, but the one Paul chooses here stands for the spoken word. In other words, it is not the Bible on your shelf that has the power; it is the Bible that is coming out of your mouth that has the power. And that word will only come from your mouth when you have filled your mind with it and have begun to live it out in your daily experience. Remember then, YHVH’s Weapons are at our disposal. They are not complicated, they are not hard to use and they are simply the weapons that come to us when we are fully committed to our relationship with YHVH.
HOW TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY AND WIN
YHVH’s people are pictured in many ways in the Bible; as tribes, as an assembly, as a temple, as a family and as the bride of Moshiach. The Church / army in which every Moshiach believer has enlisted is described as one that does battle against an enemy whose territory extends into the very heavens. We could say that we are involved in a universal battle that takes place, not just here on earth, but in every possible realm of existence. I want us to be reminded again of just who the enemy is that we are fighting: -- For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. -- Ephesians 6:12. As you noticed in -The Reality of Spiritual Warfare- that these evil principalities, powers, mighty rulers of darkness and wicked spirits were a hierarchy of demonic creatures, who we are called to do battle with. Take note also that, according to this verse, these evil beings are present in the unseen world and am described as the rulers of this world. Paul also describes satan as: -- in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Moshiach, Who is the image of YHVH, should shine unto them. -- 2 Corinthians 4:4. Yeshua called satan: -- Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. -- John 14:30. While satan and his followers exist in the unseen world, they do their work in this present world in which we live. With all that in mind, here are four facts that will assist us in the battle.
FOUR FACTS:
Fact 1 -- YHVH has objectively defeated satan and his agenda. At the cross Yeshua was victorious over satan and will ultimately be triumphant, but until the last day, we continue to do battle with an already condemned foe.
Fact 2 -- Moshiach followers have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light. According to numerous promises in the New Testament, we have already been given promised eternity in the Kingdom of Light, yet until we die or Yeshua returns, we still live in the kingdom of darkness.
Fact 3 -- The spiritual battle we fight involves a responsibility on our part to -put on- the spiritual protection that YHVH has provided us. While YHVH provides the equipment for battle, it is up to us to put it on.
Fact 4 -- The great majority of spiritual warfare need never go beyond the regular practice of living out our position in Moshiach by faith. If you noticed last week, most of the things I described as being part of our defensive weaponry were simply things we should be doing anyway. This is not some complex thing where we have to learn how to chant, do parlour tricks or act weird, it is all part of being under King Moshiach. If I simply focus my life on obtaining the mind of Moshiach, the victory will already be won.
MOVING BEYOND -STANDING FIRM-:
According to a May 2002 article in the News and World Report, those who call themselves believers in the Word were asked, -- In general, how often would you say you have experienced YHVH's presence or a spiritual force that felt very close to you? They replied: Never = 10 percent; Once or twice = 17 percent; Several times = 23 percent; Many times = 49 percent; Do not know and not applicable / refused = 2 percent. It is obvious that most believers are neither looking for an experience with YHVH or with demonic forces. I think it is important that we are specifically looking for times in our lives when we are more vulnerable to an attack by the enemy:
A -- When we are taking significant steps of faith for spiritual growth:
The time I have come under some of the heaviest spiritual attack is when I have made the greatest leap in my spiritual life. This is especially true for those who first become believers, they are usually flying high because they have come into a relationship with Moshiach but they have also set themselves up as a target for the enemy. Those of us that have been believers for some time are also vulnerable when we make a new pledge to YHVH; we begin a quiet time or being seriously studying the Bible. And we think we have it all together, but that is when the attacks come. -- Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. -- 1 Corinthians 10:12.
B -- When we’re invading enemy territory:
I am talking specifically about evangelism here. When the enemy realizes that you are trying to get other people to join our side in the spiritual battle, he goes into overtime to try to keep it from happening. Many times he does this by trying to plant doubt in your mind or by trying to lead you into sin so that you will be a bad example to the person you are talking to. Satan wants to take as many people into destruction as he possibly can, when you are out there telling others about victory in Moshiach, he gets concerned.
C -- When we are exposing satan for who he really is:
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. -- Ephesians 5:11. I have to tell you, this war and battle has been very difficult for me and many others. Words have not come as easy to us as they normally do; it is taken more effort than usual to think of ways to communicate to people effectively. Sometimes, I have to force myself to clear my head to absorb what YHVH is teaching me. In other words, I believe that as I have been trying my best to expose satan for who he really is, he has been attacking me because he does not want to be exposed. I do not doubt that he has been attacking most of you too, because he does not want you to read what the Bible has to say about him and his methods of attack.
D -- When we repent and make a clean break with the world, a long-held sin pattern or an unholy relationship:
This is a serious point! You have not been living a believers life and have fallen into some type of sin or a relationship that is leading you away from Moshiach. You make the decision to turn away from whatever has been holding you back from that relationship and you find yourself under heavy attack. Satan does not want to let go of you, he thinks he has you in his grasp and did not think you would ever turn your life around. Now that YHVH is doing a good work in your life he starts throwing doubts into your mind, like -I can never go through with this, I am sure to fail.- Or he makes you question your worthiness before YHVH and you begin thinking thoughts like: -YHVH will never take me back; I have blown it too badly.- This is one of the things the enemy does best, he makes us believe the lie that YHVH does not want us anymore, that we are no good and unacceptable to Him. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, like the prodigal son, we know there is never a time when YHVH will not welcome us back with open arms.
It's Friday - the day of preparation! May you keep your eyes on Yeshua as you prepare your heart and home for the Sabbath.
#prepday #dayofpreparation #sabbathrest #sabbath #joycomesinthemorning #cornerfringe #seekhim #setapart #christian #torah #yeshua #friday #jesus #blessings
Don't consider anyone's opinion when giving testimony in court; just tell the truth based on actual evidence. Additionally, Judges should never consider the wealth, poverty, race, religion, or social class of the parties in a lawsuit or trial. The point is to determine the truth, whatever it is. Not to redefine reality or promote your pet social justice cause at the expense of truth.
#exodus 23:2-3 #mishpatim
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