Welcome to Nazarene Israel. My name is Norman Willis.
In Ephesians chapter 5 the apostle, quoting the Father Yahweh, says:
Ephesim (Ephesians) 5:14
14 “Awake, you who sleep! Arise from the dead, the Messiah will give you light!”
Many of us feel that we are already fulfilling this verse. We feel that we have already awoken, as if from our spiritual slumber. That we have already arisen, as if from the spiritually dead. And our reason for believing this is because we are already aware of our identities as the Lost Tribes of Israel. We are already beginning to rest on the Sabbath and Feast days, and we are already reading the weekly Torah portions. And our worship begins to look more Hebraic all the time. But are we aware of the deeper implications of this passage? Are we awake to our requirement, for us to be the ones to establish the Messiah’s Kingdom in these end times? Consider.
We know that Yeshua is a great King. In Isaiah chapter 9, we are told the following.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 9:6-7
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His [Yeshua’s] shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty Elohim, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7a Of the increase of His government and of the shalom [peace of His Kingdom] there will be no end…
So we are praying and waiting for His Kingdom to be set up, and for the shalom of His Kingdom to continually increase. But yet instead, all we see is Matthew 24 knocking on the door. We see the foundations of the New-World Order being set up. We see threats of a coming time when we may not be able to buy or sell unless we take a microchip or a vaccine, or some other kind of a mark of a Babylonian beast-system. But are we aware that it is our job to establish Yeshua’s Kingdom, and that it is our job to help it grow and continue to increase without end? People say, ‘How could that possibly be? Is that not the Messiah’s job to establish His Kingdom? Is not that something He is supposed to do?’ Let us consider.
In Exodus chapter 17, Yahweh spoke to Israel and said that He would be the one to utterly blot out Amalek.
Shemote (Exodus) 17: 14
14 Then Yahweh said to Moshe, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”
So here, in this verse, Yahweh said that He would be the one to do this. Now, let us look at Deuteronomy chapter 25.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 25:19
19 Therefore it shall be, when Yahweh your Elohim has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which Yahweh your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.
So here, Yahweh commanded Israel, saying that they would blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven (and do not forget!). So, which is it? Was Yahweh to be the one to blot out the remembrance of Amalek, or was Israel to be the one to blot out the remembrance of Amalek?
Let us consider further. In Daniel chapter 7, as we explain this in the Revelation Study, this is about the time of trumpet 7.
Daniel 7:26-27
26 “But the [heavenly] court shall be seated, and they shall take away his [kingdom and] dominion [that of a character called the little horn, whom we explain in that study is the papacy (pope)], to consume and destroy his kingdom forever.
27 Then the Kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High [Nazarene Israel]. [Yet, it says] His Kingdom shall be an everlasting Kingdom, and all dominion shall serve and obey Him.
But, people say, ‘Wait a minute, I do not understand. How can His Kingdom be an everlasting Kingdom and how can all dominions serve and obey Him when the Kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven are given to the people, to the saints of the Most High? How can it be that the Kingdom and dominion is given to Nazarene Israel, and yet all Kingdoms and dominions shall serve and obey Him?’
The answer is simply that He is our head and Israel is His body. When the body does something it is the Head who gets the credit for it. And husband and wife are one flesh.
So, this is a wake-up call for those of us who sleep. This is a wake-up call to realize that it is our job to establish the Messiah’s Kingdom in these end-times.
Now, we read the news and perhaps we even understand where we are in terms of the Revelation timeline. But are we awake to our requirement to establish a single, global, unified ministry for Yeshua worldwide, which is to serve as the foundation for Yeshua’s coming Kingdom? The point is that there is something to do.
Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 5 are what we pray as the Great Shema.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4-5
4 “Shema [Hear and Obey], O Israel: Yahweh our Elohim, Yahweh is one!
5 You shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
There is something to do He says. If there is nothing to do, why do we need to worship Him and love Him with all of our strength? Clearly there is something to do. So, what does the word shema mean? The word shema means, not just hear, but it means hear and obey, O Israel.
Strong’s Hebrew Concordance H8085
shâma‛, shaw-mah’ (שָׁמַע)
A primitive root; to hear intelligently
(often with implication of attention, obedience, etc.; Causatively to tell, etc.)…
It means to hear intelligently, or to hear with wisdom. Not just to hear and then do nothing, but to hear and then obey. Because there is an implication of paying attention, because these are the words of our Creator and our Elohim. There is also an implication of obedience. Because if we hear the Creator’s words and do not obey them, if we do not do what it is He tells us to do, then that qualifies as rebellion. And rebellion is punishable by death.
Well, this is where the apostle James gets the concept in James chapter 1.
Yaakov (James) 1:22
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [i.e. thinking that we are going to be heir to some great reward when we are really in rebellion].
We need to not just hear what He says to do, but we need to actually do it.
The apostle Shaul (Paul) says the same thing in Romans chapter 2.
Romim (Romans) 2:5-6
5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of Elohim,
6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds…”
[Not what we believe, but what we do.]
Again, our recompense is not according to what we believe, it is not according to what we know, but it is according to what we actually do.
How many of us understand this?
Romim (Romans) 2:7-9
7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality;
8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness– indignation and wrath,
9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;
In context, doing good means, to do good for Yeshua’s Kingdom, and not to do good for Yeshua’s Kingdom is defined as the wrong thing. In other words, they knew what to do, they just did not want to do it. And that qualifies as obeying unrighteousness.
Are we doing what Yeshua says to do? That is obeying the truth, that is doing the good. Or are we hearing what Yeshua wants us to do, and then we are not actually doing it with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and all of our strength? That is considered rebellion in Scripture.
So, what are we required to do?
In Matthew chapter 28, Yeshua tells us to do the Great Commission.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 28:18-20
18 And Yeshua came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
19 Go therefore and make disciples in all the nations, immersing them in My name,
20 teaching them to observe [guard; (Hebrew; Shomer לשמר] all things that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Amein.
(If you would like to know why we immerse in Yeshua’s name only, please read the study on Why We Immerse in Yeshua’s Name Only. It is in Nazarene Scripture Studies Volume 3. You can find it free on the website, you can also download a pdf copy for free, or you can purchase a copy in paperback at amazon.com at our cost).
But in other words, Yeshua was to teach them to do all the things that He had commanded. We hear the things He commands us to do, and then we are to do them. And in Hebraic thought, if we hear the things that He tells us to do but we do not do them, it is as if we did not hear.
What does Yeshua command us to do?
Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:11-13
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of the body of Messiah,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah…
These are the five ministry gifts, they are known as the Five-Fold Ministry gifts. And the purpose is to equip the saints for the work of ministry, so that they could then edify (build up) the body of Messiah. These five gifts are necessary to build up and to edify the body of Messiah. And how long was it supposed to last? It was to last until we all come to the unity of The Faith. This has not happened yet. It was supposed to last until we all come to the knowledge of the Son of Elohim to be perfect men (to be a perfect body of Messiah). It has not happened yet. So, the reason we need to keep practicing with these gifts is because these gifts are the way we come to be in the unity of The Faith. These gifts are the way that we edify and grow up together as the body of Messiah. So we cannot do away with these gifts yet.
What is the promise? It says, if we will obey according to these gifts, if we will do according to the gifts that Yeshua gave, then we will no longer be spiritual children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men. (as stated in Ephesians 4:14). That is, by the trickery of the Messianic leaders and teachers, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting (by having more than one ministry).
Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:14
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
Because what Yeshua wants is one single-unified ministry in which all of His true servants all serve together.
What is the antidote? He says, by speaking the truth in love, that Yeshua’s body may grow up together in all things into Him who is the Head (Messiah).
Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:15
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Messiah.
The mental picture is as if Yeshua’s head is suspended up in the heavens and we need to come together, and help each other pull ourselves up (by our bootstraps, so to speak). So that we can grow into the Messiah. But we are all supposed to work together. Not this ministry, and that ministry, and another ministry in some other ministry. But there is supposed to be one single ministry, one single body of Messiah, in which everyone works together to form a unified-Kingdom of Messiah. That is why it continues in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 16:
Ephesim (Ephesians) 4:16
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
When every part of the body contributes together according to discipline and according to what it can, this is what causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. And once again if we obey what Yeshua said, it qualifies as obedience, and if we disobey what Yeshua says it qualifies as rebellion.
So, I do not know how many people I have explained this to over the years. But I will never forget when I explained to one brother, I explained to him the whole thing. I explained the Five-Fold Ministry and the Foundation of Apostles and Prophets. And I explained the Great Commission and what it is Yeshua expects for us to do. And this is a brother who considers himself a sold out, dead-to-the-flesh, disciple. And do you know what he said?
He said, “That just sounds like a lot of work.”
Luca (Luke) 6:46
46 [Yeshua says] “Why do you call Me ‘Adon, Adon’, [‘Master, Master’] and you do not do the things which I say?”
[Do you not understand that you are treasuring up judgment for yourselves?].
He continues.
Luca (Luke) 6:47-48
47 [Yeshua says] Whoever comes to Me and hears My sayings and does them [i.e. Shema; he hears what Yeshua says, and he does it], I will show you whom he is like:
48 He is like a man who built a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock [on Yeshua]. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”
In other words, he is dwelling in Yeshua, Yeshua’s dwelling in him. Yeshua in the Father and the Father in Him. He is making himself an empty vessel through which Yeshua’s Spirit can manifest. His foundation is secure. And when the flood arose and the stream beat vehemently against that house, it could not shake it. Because it was founded upon the Rock, it was doing the things that Yeshua said to do.
Luca (Luke) 6:49
49 “But he who heard Yeshua’s words and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”
Brothers, sisters! How many of us hear Yeshua’s words and take them to heart, and do all of them? And how many of us hear Yeshua’s words and do not do them all? That is what this passage is about. Are we awake to this requirement? To do everything that Yeshua says to do? Even if it sounds like a lot of work?
Well, our reward or punishment is based upon our work. Let us take a look at Revelation chapter 22.
Hitgalut (Revelation) 22:12
12 [Yeshua says] “And Behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work.
There are a lot of people who think that their reward is based upon what they know. A reward is based according to our works for Yeshua’s Kingdom.
• Are we helping to build Yeshua’s Kingdom?
• Are we truly doing Yeshua’s work? Or are we rather asleep to Yeshua’s commandment?
• Who do we have on the throne? Do we have Yeshua on the throne, and we are washing His feet?
• Or are we still on the throne, and Yeshua is still washing our feet?
You know, the funny thing about Yeshua is, He will let us sit on our throne, and He will come wash our feet.
But you know, when children are born, this is their job. To eat and to grow, and to have someone else feed them, someone else take care of them, someone else pays their way, changes them, cleans them. Someone does all the things for them, and that is just fine for a little brand new baby. But as the baby grows, first it needs to begin taking care of itself, it needs to learn to clean itself, and to clean up after itself. And then as the baby continues to grow and turn into a young adult, it needs to begin helping out around the home, if it has love for its father.
So, being that our Father is a Great King, do we love Him enough to begin helping His Kingdom grow? And if we are Yeshua’s bride, do we love Yeshua enough to help Him begin to build His Kingdom? Because that is really what He wants, is a Proverbs 31 bride who helps Him build His Kingdom? Are we being that Proverbs 31 bride? Doing the things that we know Yeshua wants us to do?
I do not know what the Judgment is going to be like. But we know that Yeshua is our Advocate and that He will advocate for those who help Him build His Kingdom, in the day of Judgment. And I just imagine, whether we are on our face or on our knees, Yahweh is sitting there on His Great White Throne. And He is going to read the list of everything that we did good and everything that we failed to do. And probably, at least for me, the list of the things that we failed to do is going to be a lot longer than the list of the things that we did good. But then (I just imagine, I do not know this but I imagine) He is going to turn to Yeshua and He is going to ask Yeshua what does He say. And for some of them He is going to say,
“Wait Father, this one really tried to serve Me. Now, he messed up, he did this wrong. He did that wrong. He did not get this right, he did not get that right. But you know what, I could tell that his heart was in the right place, because he really tried. So Father, leave this one for Me. I will work with this one.”
Considering the awesomeness of that day, are we leaving anything to chance? Are we truly giving Yeshua our utmost? Are we really giving Him the most that we can give Him? Understanding the awesomeness of that day?
Now, sometimes we think that the things were different in the first century than they are right now. But maybe not. Because as the disciples listened to Yeshua, He told them another parable. Because the disciples seemed to think that the Kingdom of Elohim would appear immediately. Now we know that there are different levels to the Kingdom There are certain levels and certain different aspects to the Kingdom.
But let us look at the parable that Yeshua spoke, in Luke chapter 19. He is talking about Himself going off to heaven to receive the Kingdom.
Luca (Luke) 19:11-14
11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought that the Kingdom of Elohim would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then to return.”
13 “So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us!’
Now, we might imagine that these are the 10 lost tribes. And He is delivering 10 minas, which refers to their 10 saved lives. What He is saying is, build My Kingdom, do business until I come. But then there is a second group (His citizens who hated Him and said ‘We will not have this man to reign over us!’). This is speaking of Orthodox Judah (the Pharisees). Let us continue.
Luca (Luke) 19:15-17
15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained for him by trading. [He wanted to know what we have done for Him to help build His Kingdom in His absence].
16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’
17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over 10 cities.
In other words, you did well with a little now let’s see what you can do with more.
Luca (Luke) 19:18-19
18 “And then the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’
Once again, you have been faithful with a little, let us see what you can do with some more.
Luca (Luke) 19:20-21
20 “Then another came, saying, Master, here is your mina [my saved life], which I have put away in a handkerchief.
21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. [Well, kings can be that way.] You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ [Again, kings can be that way.]
Now, what are we talking about here, though? Who is this man? Well, is this possibly someone who is reading his weekly Torah portion, and he is resting on the Sabbath and Feast days? He is taking a Hebraic outlook toward the Scriptures, but he is not helping Yeshua to build His global Kingdom. He is not actually doing anything for Yeshua. Could it possibly be that?
Luca (Luke) 19:22-23
22 “And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.
23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
I do not know, but I just imagine that the servant was very surprised by this. Because in his eyes he did not do anything wicked. He just wanted to make sure that the Master’s mina would be safe. So, he just laid it aside in a handkerchief. He did not set out to do anything evil, but he did not do the good that his Master expected him to do. And that is the difference.
Luca (Luke) 19:24-26
24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina [his saved life] from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’
25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’)
26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’”
The servants are thinking that everything is supposed to be even in the kingdom and that is not how it is. Because the master is going to give more to those who help him build his kingdom, and those who do not help him build his kingdom are going to be judged as being unfaithful.
The principle is that we need to obey Yeshua. We need to do the things that He says, not just hear His words.
So, this is a wake-up call for those who are asleep to the requirement of helping Yeshua build His Kingdom.