Watch: Parasha Vezot Haberakhah: Be Grateful for the Blessing!
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:1-34:12, Mattityahu (Matthew) 5-7
Shalom and welcome to this week’s Parasha Haberakhah. This week is all about being blessed. And who does not love a good blessing? Who does not love Yahweh’s favor? Even the non-believer loves Yahweh’s blessings (whether they realize it or not) because as Yeshua says in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 45 that Yahweh caused “the sun to rise on the good and the evil and sends rain on the just and the unjust”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:45
45 “That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
All this basically means is that whether we realize it or not, we are very blessed to take another breath. When we stop to think about it for a moment, Yahweh originally created and designed mankind to live in peace with Him in the Garden and then we sinned against Him. He created us to serve Him and to love Him. Beyond that, we do not really have a bigger purpose. We are not divine beings. We have no authority in that sense. When our parents Adam and Ava (otherwise known as Eve) sinned against Yahweh, we have been on a steady decline ever since.
Looking at things in their proper perspective, Yahweh is the only Elohim. He is the king. Without Him, nothing would exist. This can be difficult for us to wrap our minds around because we are not Elohim. Our minds are not like His. We were not created to understand such complex and yet simple ideas like the very nature of His existence and how everything came to life through Him. This means that He is completely and totally Sovereign. Nothing in this life happens apart from His will. To break it down in a simple way, if one of us today defied an order from a respective leader in our governments (either the president or a king); if we defied a direct order, you can very well expect severe punishments and I am sure in some cases even death.
If this is what is expected amongst men In their kingdoms, how much stricter is Yahweh when it comes to matters of His own kingdom since He is perfect?
Shaliach Shaul writes in Romans chapter 6 and verse 23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Elohim is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Master”.
Romin (Romans) 6:23
23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Elohim is eternal life in Messiah Yeshua our Master.”
So the question is, what is sin? Sin is disobedience to Yahweh and His commands. He is the King of the universe. He is King of all of creation. So what is Yahweh’s counsel to us?
Shaul writes in Romans, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts”.
Romim (Romans) 6:12
12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”
I say all of that to remind everyone that Yahweh is King. Disobedience to Him (in whatever shape or form) is considered sin and sin is the path that leads to death. If you are alive to listen to these words of mine, consider it a blessing from Yahweh because we do not deserve life. No matter how difficult your life has been or may be, the very fact that we are breathing is a blessing.
Let us be grateful for Elohim’s mercy, love, and grace. Let us not spit in the face of the King who gave us life and continues to support His blessings upon us (even after we sinned against Him). He loves us and blesses us even though we do not deserve it. Please join me as we study Yahweh’s word.
In our Torah portion this week, we are coming to the final days of Moshe where he blesses the children of Israel just before he dies. Let us take a look at some of these blessings and see how they have played out throughout history and today.
When we look at Judah’s blessing, it reads, “Hear, Yahweh, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people; Let his hands be sufficient for him, and may You be a help against his enemies”.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:7
7 “And this he said of Judah: Hear, Yahweh, the voice of Judah, And bring him to his people;
Let his hands be sufficient for him, And may You be a help against his enemies.”
Many scholars agree that the blessing over the tribe of Judah is a king’s blessing. When we stop to think about it, hear Yahweh, the voice of Judah, many prayers, Psalms, and stories were written about the men and women of the tribe of Judah such as King David, Daniel the Prophet, Solomon, and others just to name a few. Out of all of Israel’s children, the tribe of Judah (arguably) has been the most influential. The Messiah came from this tribe. All of Judeo-Christian beliefs also came from the tribe of Judah in a certain sense.
Then we read, “Bring him to his people and let his hands be sufficient for him and may You (meaning Yahweh) be a help against his enemies”.
Judah was the tribe that was tasked with preserving the Torah throughout history despite the persecution they suffered. They may have done it imperfectly at times and have created and carried many man-made traditions throughout the ages, but nevertheless you cannot dispute their zealousness for Scripture. Yahweh has been the one to carry them throughout history.
The reason that brother Judah was able to go back home to the land was for a few reasons. They have always been zealous to keep Yahweh’s commandments no matter how imperfect they might have been. Second, just like Yeshua stated in Matthew, “Yahweh causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:45
45 “That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”
Yahweh has preserved our brother Judah because of the grace He extends to them despite the rejection of Yeshua. When we think of Judah’s zealousness and how that has paved the way for the Bible we have today, I think a practical example of this is when you look at King Josiah who heard the words of Yahweh for the first time and completely dedicated and turned his heart towards Yahweh (in full commitment) and tore down the idols made to false Elohim.
By this point in history, our ancestors (the House of Israel) were carried off into captivity because of their disobedience to Yahweh and the rejection of the covenant. For that reason, they suffered curses instead of blessings. They were exiled out of the land, and we are currently making our way out of that spiritual Exile today.
There is no doubt that the tribe of Judah (known as the Jewish people today) are a blessed people even though a good majority of them reject Yeshua. Because they have rejected Yeshua, they do still suffer a tremendous amount as well. When we look at the state of Israel today, they are constantly engaged in warfare with their surrounding enemies and that is a difficult place to be.
When we look at Levi’s blessing, it is a long one and it is a good one, and for good reason. Of all the tribes of Israel, they were the only tribe (as a whole) to set themselves apart when the rest of the tribes engaged in spiritual adultery with the sin of the golden calf. This is why Moshe blesses them by asking Elohim to bless Levite with his Thummim and Urim.
The definition of these two words is not completely understood, but most scholars agree that hummim means perfection (or completeness) and urim means light.
Basically, what Moshe is blessing Levi with is that Elohim’s perfection or His completeness and light be with His Set-Apart one (the tribe of Levi, the priestly tribe). Because they did reject their family by putting Yahweh first and not partaking of the sin of the golden calf. It is for this reason that they became the priestly tribe. It is for this reason that Yahweh’s inheritance is their inheritance.
When we look at Benjamin’s blessing, it is a special one for sure. It is agreed among scholars that when we read “The beloved of Yahweh shall dwell in safety by Him, who shelters him all the day long; and he shall dwell between His shoulders”…
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:12
12 “Of Benjamin he said: The beloved of Yahweh shall dwell in safety by Him, Who shelters him all the day long; And he shall dwell between His shoulders.”
When we read this, the blessing is that Yahweh would eventually choose to settle and call home (here on earth) in Jerusalem, which is in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. How cool is that?
As we move on, let us take a look at Joseph’s blessing. His blessing is the longest one. It is one of material blessings and riches of divine favor. It lines up perfectly with the idea that Joseph is Israel’s favorite son and even how the Christians (who are Joseph’s descendants on a spiritual level) have enjoyed the blessings here given by Moshe as well.
When we look at the inheritance that Joseph’s tribe received through his sons Ephraim and Manasseh in the land of Israel, they received a double portion because of his two sons. Their land was the very best land in Israel. They ended up becoming two very large tribes which ended up with their own kingdom with Ephraim leading the charge.
The very man who was asked to be king was Gideon from the tribe of Manasseh. He never did become king, but he was the first person who was asked to be king by his brothers. This lets us know that Joseph had a tremendous influence among his brothers and was always at the top.
The Christians have shared in much of these blessings in the sense that when we look at Christian nations (historically), they have been very blessed in the way they conquer other nations, take over their land, and take the choices parts for themselves.
This also kind of transitions into Gad’s blessing as well. Because the reason Christianity has been as blessed as it is, is because they preached the message of Salvation through Elohim’s Son Yeshua. Even if they use incorrect names and do not keep Torah.
When we look at Gad’s blessing and how it ties into Joseph’s blessing, it can be a bit confusing at first but please follow along with me and I will do my best to try and explain it.
Let us first read what Moshe says about the tribe of Gad.
“Blessed is he who enlarges Gad; He dwells as a lion, and tears the arm and the crown of his head. He provided the first part for himself, because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there. He came with the heads of the people; he administered the justice of Yahweh, and His judgments with Israel.”
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 33:20-21
20 “And of Gad he said: Blessed is he who enlarges Gad; He dwells as a lion, and tears the arm and the crown of his head.
21 He provided the first part for himself, Because a lawgiver’s portion was reserved there. He came with the heads of the people; He administered the justice Yahweh, and His judgments with Israel.”
I will not go into great detail regarding this blessing in Prophecy. We do have a study on our website that dives into greater detail if you would like to read that for yourself. It can be found in Nazarene Scriptures Studies Volume 3.
Basically, what this prophecy and blessing revolves around is the migration of the ten lost tribes and how eventually they went on to mingle into the rest of the nations which then became European Christianity. Yahweh then used European Christianity to spread the good news about His son Yeshua with the same principle that applied to Avraham when Elohim told him that anyone who blessed him shall be blessed and anyone who cursed him shall be cursed.
It is basically the same thing with Gad. Whoever is proactive in contributing to the building of Yeshua’s Kingdom will be blessed. As opposed to the one sitting on the sidelines waiting for others to do the work for them.
When we look at European Christianity and how it is being blessed in land, material blessings, and even divine favor, it lines up well with what Scripture is stating. “Gad dwells as a lion and tears the arm in the crown of his head” is a reference to European Christianity’s war like nature where they went out seeking to conquer lands and spread the faith whether it was always done in the purest way possible or not.
“The lawgiver’s portion was reserved there for him.” Meaning not only is Gad a warrior’s tribe, it is also a kingly tribe in a certain sense. When Yeshua came, He took authority and power away from the tribe of Judah to set halachah or establish the correct doctrine and reserved it for the Gadites or the tribe Gad.
Keeping the Faith is more than just keeping Torah as our brothers in Judah do. And it is more than just professing faith on Yeshua (or Jesus) as our brothers do in Christianity. The faith given to the Saints once and for all involves both professing faith on Yeshua and keeping Elohim’s Torah which is what we do here at Nazarene Israel.
An overall view of His blessing is, Yeshua came, removed authority from the tribe of Judah, and the Levitical priesthood, attached to the tribe of Judah, and established a new priesthood under the order of Melchizedek. This eventually went on to become Christianity- which is NOT the original faith.
That is a whole separate topic of discussion, but to keep the explanation simple and to the point, Christianity is a branch from the original faith once delivered to the Saints. Over the course of time, Christianity has walked in this authority traveling from continent to continent and conquering land by tearing off the arm and the head and reserving the best portion for himself. This has spread the faith of a Jewish Messiah named Yeshua, also known by many as Jesus.
Part of this prophecy is now for us here in Nazarene Israel, which is to re-establish the original faith that was given to the Saints once and for all spoken about in the letter of Jude.
Yehudah (Jude) 3
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Nazarene Israel is a breakaway from Christianity, and it is Nazarene Israel who has the authority to set halachah (or establish the correct doctrine). This no longer applies to our brothers in Judah but to those of us in the House of Israel. This doctrine is all done through faith in Messiah Yeshua according to His Father’s Torah.
As we move on to our Brit Hadasha portion, we have a lot of material we can cover here. So let us start off by taking a look at the Beatitudes. Like I said earlier, this week is all about blessings, and blessings are more than just material wealth and divine favor. Let us take a look at exactly what I am talking about.
Yeshua says “Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:3,10
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We see that blessings can be things for the future as well as for the here and now. What Yeshua is referencing here is a reward that comes later. From one perspective, what Yeshua is saying is to think long term. Do not be short-sighted because that is typically how the flesh operates. When we are all wrapped up in our flesh, we cannot focus on the spiritual things and the things of heaven. We end up making poor choices because we do not have the bigger picture in mind.
Being blessed is not about doing good things to get into heaven or doing good things because there is a reward. That is the wrong mindset. We live righteously because it is the right thing to do, and it is ’leasing in Yahweh’s eyes.
Therefore, Elohim wants us to be meek. And when I think of meek, I think of someone who is capable of displaying great strength but under control. They can demonstrate power without undue harshness. Think of a gentle warrior. Someone who is capable of extreme violence but reserves that violence for self-defense and the defense of others. A protector of those who cannot protect themselves.
The English word meek does not adequately portray this. Because Biblical strength is not weak and submissive. Biblical strength is the toughest kind of strength there is. It is greater than any physical strength beyond the shadow of a doubt.
How many of us know people who are physically robust and strong, yet are slaves to their sinful passions? Mastering and having control of your own mind and submitting it over to Yeshua is a strength like no other. It is a discipline like no other.
This is why Shaul tells us that, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. But the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in Elohim for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim. Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Messiah and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled”.
Qorintim Bet (2 Corinthians) 10:3-6
3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in Elohim for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Messiah,
6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
This is why we need to be warriors. We need to have a no quit attitude. We need to be in it to win it. We know that the enemy is fighting to win, but we also know that the victory belongs to Yahweh.
So why do we as the body of Messiah not step up and take the fight to the enemy? We are to love our neighbor but still fight sin. We are to love our neighbor but surely rebuke them when they sin so we do not bear sin because of them. We are to love our neighbor and not to compromise in our faith. We must be strong and united. As iron sharpens iron, so does one man sharpen another and the only way you can do that is if everyone is on the same page.
Men need to step up and lead despite how difficult or uncooperative their families might be. Wives and children need to step up and support the men in their family to ensure we have strong united families in Messiah. Otherwise, the enemy will try to divide us up and conquer us.
As we move on we read, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they mourn for righteousness sake and they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of Elohim. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see Elohim”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:4,6,8-9
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see Elohim.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of Elohim.
When we read about these blessings, the blessing is found in Yahweh, not in anything else. It is not about a material blessing so let that sink in for a moment. Apart from Yahweh we have nothing. Every step we take and every breath we breathe is a gift from Elohim so treat it as such. Do not waste your days living life in the world when the free gift of Elohim is right in front of us.
Yeshua is the free gift that Yahweh gives. Yeshua is the blessing. Let us not spit in the face of Elohim by dragging our feet to commit to His Son. Rather, let us be like the man who finds the buried treasure in the field, knows its value, and sells everything he has in order to purchase the field.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 13:44
44 ”Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Our salvation is not something we should gamble with. This is why I urge every believer to commit themselves wholeheartedly to Yeshua and to do everything He says to do. Place your faith and trust in Him.
This is why Yahweh tells us to rejoice when we are persecuted for His sake. When we come under persecution for our faith, this means that we are doing something right. We are standing tall and demonstrating the strength that comes from Yahweh and the enemy hates that. The enemy seeks to steal, kill, and destroy.
When we are demonstrating Elohim’s faith through us (by walking according to His will), we are walking righteously. When we come under persecution, we have a blessing that surpasses any material blessing that we can have on this earth. Our reward is in heaven and heaven is the place where Elohim resides. We can go to heaven because we have the free gift of salvation (through Yeshua’s sacrifice), so it does not get much better than that.
As we move through the other chapters of Matthew, I find it interesting that Yeshua had to start His teachings by telling the crowd that “He came not to destroy the Torah or the Prophets, but to fulfill it”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:17
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill it.”
As Yeshua goes through the topics of divorce, murder, lust, etc., He is going to say things that are not contrary to Yahweh’s commandments (Yahweh’s Torah). But He will say things that are contrary to man-made commandments. He will say things that are contrary to the religious leaders’ version of the Torah.
We know that brother Judah is still guilty of this today, but what about our brothers in Christianity? I know many in Christian circles might not look at it this way, but Christians are guilty of the same sin, and many Messianic teachers are guilty of the same sin as well. What the sin really is, is pride. Many rabbis, Messianics, and Christians arrogantly think they can alter Scripture to fit their doctrine, and not alter to their doctrine to fit Scripture.
We must be careful not to fall prey to this kind of sin. Because there is no grace for the one who knows the truth but refuses to obey it in favor of living out their own version of the truth.
There is only one truth and that is Yahweh’s truth. There is only one doctrine and that is Yahweh’s doctrine. There is only one faith, and that is Yahweh’s faith.
This is why Yeshua said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:20
20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
So please brothers and sisters, let us all humble ourselves to know the truth and not arrogantly think we have the truth and that somehow we will be saved by our own works.
Let us take a look at what Yeshua says about anger and murder in verse 21 and 22. He says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, “You fool!” shall be in danger of hell fire”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:21-22
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
What Yeshua is trying to tell us here is that if we desire to murder our brother in our heart, then we are just as guilty. It is not about the emotion of anger that is the problem, it is the unforgiving attitude. If we let emotions like anger fester in our heart, they can quickly spiral out of control. Even though we may never murder someone, we may still want them dead in our heart. Where is the love and mercy in that? Where is the love of Elohim in that person?
People will undoubtedly sin against us. Whether it is a justifiable cause to be angry with a brother or not, there is no reason to remain angry with that brother. We should all be seeking reconciliation despite the fact that they may or may not ask for forgiveness.
Even though David had a perfect reason to be angry with Shaul who persecuted him (even though David did nothing to deserve it), David still sought to love his brother. David still sought reconciliation with Shaul. This is Yeshua’s message to all of us. Do not hate your brother, but instead seek reconciliation. Seek to resolve things peacefully. Be a peacemaker and you will be a son of Elohim.
It is the same thing with Yeshua’s teaching about adultery. It is not that physical attraction is a bad thing. It is when we let that physical attraction sprout (in our mind) into unclean thoughts is where we begin to lust after the opposite sex. It is then where we are guilty of adultery and sexual sin in our heart.
This is why Yeshua is very adamant about avoiding the root cause of the sin. He is not advocating for self-mutilation. But He uses that metaphor as a means to drive the point home; about how serious sin is . And how if we let evil and sinful thoughts fester in our mind how quickly they lead to sinful action, which then leads to death. Elohim is not an Elohim of the dead, but of the living.
Yeshua tells us to “love our enemies and bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:44
44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
This is all part of turning the other cheek. When Yeshua says to turn the other cheek, He is not saying that we have to be passive, weak, and let others walk all over us. We are to be patient and not vengeful in the same way that Yeshua offered the other cheek when He was persecuted. Do not be scared to defend yourself, but again do not be seeking trouble where there is no trouble. Do not be seeking to right wrongs when you should be letting Yahweh fight our battles. Just be loving and patient. Do not be vengeful, but if you are in a situation where you need to physically defend yourself, then please do so.
When Yeshua tells us not to be like the men and women who do good to be seen by others, it is pretty self-explanatory. We do good and we live righteously; not to please men but to please Elohim. We do good not to get into heaven, but because it is the right thing to do. It all really boils down to our motives. What is our reasoning for doing good? Do we seek to gratify our own flesh and elevate ourselves? Or do we have an attitude like John the Immerser who said, “I must decrease so that He may increase”?
Yochanan (John) 3:30
30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
This is why Yeshua says when we fast, do not look all somber and disfigured. Rather, when we fast present yourself as if you are not fasting. When we fast, we are fasting to seek answers from Yahweh and not approval from men. If we seek approval from men, then we are selling ourselves out to the devil. If we care more about what man thinks rather than what Elohim thinks, then we are not connected with Yahweh.
Kepha made this mistake a few times in life. Twice that it is mentioned. Once is when he denied Yeshua three times. And the second time is recorded when he withdrew from socializing and eating at the tables with Gentiles and Shaul opposed him to his face.
The same with Judas. He sought to please man in his flesh over pleasing Elohim. Because of this, Satan was able to enter him and lead him to betray Yeshua. This goes all the way back to what Elohim said to Cain just before he killed his brother.
“So Yahweh said to Cain, why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
B’reisheet (Genesis) 4:6-7
6 So Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
All of Yeshua’s teachings can be centered around this principle. If we do well by seeking to please Elohim with all our heart (by humbling ourselves and actually obeying Scripture) will we not be accepted? Will we not be blessed? But if we do not do well by placing Elohim as the number one thing in our life and we do not do well to humble ourselves and do everything Scripture says to do, then we will leave ourselves open for a spiritual attack. Sin lies at the door just like Satan prowls around like a hungry lion, seeking to devour whoever he can.
We have the power to overcome sin and the devil. We must place our faith in Elohim and not in our own ability. We must stay focused on Elohim and not the wind and the waves. No one can serve two masters. Either he will love one and not the other. Yeshua is our Master. He is the one who we must love beyond the shadow of a doubt.
This segues perfectly into Matthew chapter 7 verses 21-23 which says, “Not everyone who says to me, Master, Master, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”
I know I have covered this verse before, but it is so important. Our salvation is not a game. We are not promised tomorrow. We are not even promised the end of the day, so I urge everyone not to play games with their salvation. I urge everyone to quit being double-minded and serving more than one master. The only Master that we should love is Yeshua. He does indeed love us, but at the end of the day, He is still our Master. He bought us with a price. He gave up His life for ours so we need to start living it for Him.
“Be diligent in your seeking, asking, and knocking. For everyone who asks receives and he who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be open.”
Mattityahu (Matthew) 7:7-8
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
So when we ask, we must ask if it is our life’s mission to find the truth. When we seek, we must seek like our life depends on it. When we knock, we must knock as if there is no other door for us to knock on.
Now let us take a look at the model prayer and see how we should be praying. Yeshua starts off by acknowledging Yahweh in heaven. How awesome and wonderful He is. Yeshua’s model prayer starts off with us humbling ourselves and giving reverence to the creator.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 6:9
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Set-apart be Your name.
The next part is, we are supposed to be seeking that Yahweh’s will be done and not our own. We are supposed to be seeking that we are advancing Yahweh’s kingdom and not our own. After we have put Yahweh first, then we ask what we need, not necessarily what we want. If what we want is in line with what Yahweh wants, then we can ask for what we want because then we are asking for what we need.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 6:10
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Again, as John the Immerser said, “We must decrease so that He may increase”.
Yochanan (John) 3:30
30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Next, we ask for our sin to be forgiven as we forgive others who have sinned against us and that Yahweh would lead us not into temptation but give us strength to be delivered from the evil one.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 6:11-13a
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
13a And do not lead us into temptation,
In our own flesh, we cannot resist the devil, but when we are humble and connected in the vine, we can resist temptation and the devil.
We end it all by acknowledging that Yahweh Elohim reigns supreme and that He is totally and completely sovereign. We have no reason to fear, doubt, or worry because the kingdom, the power, and the glory are all His forever. Amein.
Mattityahu (Matthew) 13b
13b But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
If we want to partake in Yahweh’s blessings, then let us take a moment to humble ourselves and acknowledge where we are. We are alive today. That means Yahweh has extended His hand of grace and mercy to us one more day.
How are we honoring Yahweh with that day that He has blessed us with? Do we use the blessings He gives us to turn around and bless others?
We do not have to have great material wealth to be a blessing to others. All we need to do is love others as He has loved us.
So what does that look like in your life? Who in your life needs to see the love of Yeshua and what are you going to do to show them that love?