|
DO YOU KNOW THE DERECH HASHEM [REQUIRES LITERACY IN HEBREW]? ARE YOU DEPRESSED [THIS IS IN ENGLISH]? IF YOU HAVE HIGH SPEED ACCESS, TAKE A MOMENT TO LISTEN TO THIS MP3 FILE BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO YOU THAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING YOU IF YOU DO NOT HAVE HIGH SPEED ACCESS, TAKE A MOMENT TO READ THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE ABOVE MP3 FILE, BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO YOU THAT THEY ARE NOT TELLING YOU When we preach for the final time and leave this world, it is our desire that the Spirit of the L-rd will carry us away (1 Kgs. 18:12), even as that preacher Elijah was taken up. But Satan wants to carry us away captive to do his will. Satan wants to rob us of everything (2 Kgs 24:13), even the precious nefesh; Satan wants to drag us off with the spirit of this world, the spirit of whoredoms, the spirit that is demonic; that we be carried about with every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14), that we be carried away by strange doctrines, even doctrines of demons, that we be carried away unto dumb idols. The minister must be devoted to his wife, sober and immoveable and faithful. Worldly people have eyes full of adultery, but the minister must have sober eyes that only look faithfully toward his spouse (1Ti 3:2). The preacher must treat the women or men in the congregation in all purity as sisters or brothers and see them as the L-rd sees them, that is, as holy and chaste daughters and sons in the L-rd. We are children of the light, whereas the devil works under cover of darkness and underhandedness. In the last days there will be a spirit of inebriation, a spirit of headiness, a spirit of high-mindedness, even an idolatrous spirit of whoredoms, and many will be carried away like clouds that are driven by a demonic tempest. Ministers are warned to be sober and to keep their heads in all circumstances. Propriety, sobriety, modesty in dress and chastity in thought are indispensable for those in whose responsibility is the care of souls. We must live as sober children of light, watchful in prayer, faithful in all things, and we must not be as children of darkness that are spiritually inebriated and carried away with a worldly spirit of dissipation and intemperance. When we look at Kefa we see him in the Garden of the Kohen HaGadol denying our Moshiach Adoneinu and trying to save his life. We see the terrible spirit of fear in this denial. But then later in Acts chapter 2 Kefa is like a fearless warrior as he preaches in the power of Pentecost (Shavuos). What has happened to him? The Scripture says not to get drunk with wine but be filled with the Holy Spirit. And of course it was forbidden for kohanim to be intoxicated when they were performing their kehunah duties in the Beis HaMikdash, but Kefa was not a kohen doing avodas kodesh service in the court of the kohanim; he was a preacher in the part of the court of the Gentiles called Ulam Shlomo or Solomon's Colonnade. Remember this was a very dangerous place to be. The Temple guards could easily arrest Kefa and he could easily find himself in the same danger our Moshiach was in with the Temple authorities fifty days before at the season of Pesach. Anyone who has ever seen someone drink several glasses of wine because they have a fear of flying and have to board a plane knows that wine takes away fear. An Irish drunk will fear no one's fists in the bar room brawl because of the way his normal fears are anesthetized by alcohol. But the anesthetization of the Ruach Hakodesh is not like that anesthetization of new or sweet wine (Act 2:13). The Ruach Hakodesh had fallen on the Shluchim so that they would be empowered from on High and so that the spirit of fear would be anesthetized by the Spirit of Power and Boldness. This is why some of the people who witnessed Kefa and the Shluchim and the hundred and twenty Pentecostal Messianic Jews on Shavuos thought that they were drunk. Apparently they were staggering like inebriated or anesthetized hospital patients. They were anesthetized by the Ruach Hakodesh and rendered insensitive to the spirit of fear by an anesthesia of the Ruach Hakodesh. They were staggering like people in a drunken state. Notice that when the Power of the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in leshonot chadashot they were hidden in a relatively safe place, the Aliyyah or Upper Room. Kefa could have said, "Let's stay inside here in the Upper Room where it is safe and maybe someone will see the Pentecostal sign outside and come in." No, he did not do that. The believers had to be unafraid about going to the unbelievers because the unbelievers were afraid about going to the believers (Act 5:13). The signs and wonders and boldness and power of Pentecost was not meant for preaching to the choir. This Holy Ghost "new wine" anesthesia they had received was to embolden them to go into the "lion's den" and do street preaching (Act 17:17) in the open air to people who might prove to be very dangerous to them indeed. Rav Shaul, who spoke in leshonot chadashot "more than you all," was himself called to do the same kind of dangerous preaching. Consequently he reports that "no man stood with him, all men forsook him (2Ti 4:16)." Nevertheless, the L-rd stood with him and delivered him out of the lion's mouth and gave his strength. Pentecost is pressing with all possible effort to touch the only One who can make you clean (Mt 9:21). We seek to be clean vessels filled with the Ruach Hakodesh. This means forsaking all idols and understanding that Moshiach is not one. This means going with the Master into the press of the crowds and following him in the open air as he moves through the multitudes to raise the dead. If we have a carnal or profane or worldly spirit, Moshiach will not let us witness his Messianic ministry for he will use others and put us out. (See Mt 9:24-25.) Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. They loved money and loved to be called Rabbi and boasted in their learning and in their great teachers and thought that their accredited learning and titles of respect exempted them from this kind of dangerous preaching. But the accreditation of Moshiach's maggidim was that they went everywhere preaching and Pentecostal signs followed the preaching of the word. The devil wants to hold the truth down in unrighteousness and intimidate any Stephen from speaking the truth in love, but the power of the Ruach Hakodesh is for the purpose of breaking out of this intimidation and suppression so that the truth might be shouted from the rooftops. This is the way we must go to follow Moshiach. Kefa went that way. Rav Shaul went that way. It is a way of holiness and sacrifice and danger. But it is also the way of safety. Any Joshua or any Caleb can face the giants in the land as long as the anointing of the Ruach Hakodesh is on them. When kings go to war (2Sa 11:1) we must make sure we are with them, for any "Bathsheba" can be more dangerous than any giant, as King David discovered. A street preacher may actually be safer in a dangerous neighborhood (Psa 23:5) than anywhere else, just as King David was nowhere safer than when he was on the battlefield dodging enemy arrows. Today we need the old Pentecost, the Pentecost of the Bible, the Pentecost for street preachers, street preachers going into Muslim neighborhoods and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods and other "dangerous" street preaching venues. Isn't it time to come back to your spiritual home? PRAY THIS PRAYER AND THEN PRAY THIS PRAYER.
See the ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE.
SEE YESHUA IN AN AUTHENTIC ORTHODOX JEWISH MAHZOR
|