TK Torah Keepers

When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. ⁴⁴ Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. ⁴⁵ Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:43-45 KJV)

 In many respects the modern “Messianic Movement” is much like the “house” described in our Master Yeshua’s teaching above.  There are many believers in the Messianic Movement that have genuinely embraced YHWH’S call to come out of Babylon. Having discovered the pagan origins of many of the rituals, customs, and traditions that shape and dominate the worship, liturgy and piety of the Christian Church, believers have, and are, leaving the Christian Church in droves.  I would wager to guess that the bulk of those who identify themselves as members of the Messianic Movement are Gentiles coming out of the Church, and not Jews coming to faith in Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel.  Scandals involving sexual abuse, child abuse, marital infidelity, homosexuality, actively gay and lesbian clergy and bishops, a general disregard for scripture, and financial improprieties have given many believers plenty of reasons to leave the Church.  In other words, there is a growing “anti-church” sentiment among many believers.  This negativism toward the institutional church has led many believers to reject the “Christian Faith” as taught by these institutions and to search for the “genuine faith.”  Unfortunately many of these believers are drawn to the strong “anti-Christian, anti-Church, anti-Pagan” message of the Messianic Movement.  Believers angry over being taught “lies” and “paganism” for so many years want to “clean house”.  Christmas trees and decorations, Easter baskets and bunnies, statutes of the Virgin Mary, Crucifixes, Rosaries, and prayer books all find their way out of the attics, off the shelves, and into the garbage.  Sunday worship, First Friday Novenas, Ash Wednesday, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, and a number of other formerly acceptable celebrations are suddenly removed from the calendar and rhythm of daily life. While it is good to get the “leaven” out of one’s home and life, the feeling of emptiness left behind can at times be overwhelming.   

 Unfortunately, once the “house” has been cleansed of all the defiling objects and traditions many people feel a great void in their lives.  Once the purging work is complete the emptiness and quiet is deafening.  The whole world seems to stop for the pagan holidays, but the non-participating believer feels lost and displaced like a fish out of water.  Sooner than later, the recently liberated believer will begin searching for something to fill the time and space left by the zealous purging or paganism.  Many of the recent converts to the Messianic Movement erroneously and quickly fill the void left by the purging of all the man-made Christian traditions, by embracing and adapting the man-made Rabbinic Jewish traditions.  The Christmas tree is replaced with a Hanukkiah (9 branched menorah), the cross on the wall is replaced with a Star of David, and Ashes on the forehead are replaced with a kippah (or yarmulke) on the back of the head.   Such moves are truly lateral moves.  But, for a brief moment in time the new Messianic convert feels a sense of contentment, satisfaction, and belonging.  The novelty of the new traditions fills the void.  But, before long, the origins of these rabbinic traditions are exposed and the anger, and the purging, and the feelings of confusion and emptiness begin all over again.  So, the search to fill the void continues.  

 Unfortunately, these new converts to the Messianic Movement have little foundation in the Torah.  Many of these believers did not “convert” to the Messianic Movement because they understood the teachings of our Master Yeshua, the Messiah, or because they understood that he was teaching the Torah as Moses received it.  Many of these new brothers and sisters in the faith have joined the Messianic Movement because they are “anti-Church”, and are searching for something OTHER THAN THE CHURCH—that still teaches faith in Jesus/Yeshua.  Many of these brothers and sisters have run the gambit of Christian denominationalism and the non-denominationalism and were left hungering for more. The “icing” of modern Christianity did not satisfy the hunger, they now want cake.  The Messianic Movement is the next promising and novel thing to draw their attention.  Drawn by the anti-Church, instead of the pro-Torah, message, these believers are looking for something new and novel to stimulate them.  Once they have purged their lives and homes of all from the church that failed them, they willingly seek to fill their house with the latest and greatest novel revelation from the Messianic Movement.  This search for satisfaction without understanding leaves the new believer vulnerable to the incredible division and confusion within the Messianic Movement.  Almost daily someone invents another calendar to follow; first, it was the Julian Calendar, then the Gregorian Calendar, the rabbinic Calculated Calendar, the Enochean Calendar, and now the Equinox Calendar,  Kabala, Gematria, Bible Codes, Mishnah, Talmud, Paleo-Hebrew, Chiastic Structure, Aramaic, are all a part of the Messianic Movement’s “Fad of the Month Club.”  This spirit of “novelty” is clearly rooted in the lack of identity.  Most believers are simply not comfortable with quiet—with nothingness—with simply being.

 The biblical faith is not religion.  It is living.  Biblical faith is a life of submission to the perfect will of the Father as revealed by his Spirit, and testified to in his word.  The Torah, as received by Moses and lived and taught by Yeshua our Master is our identity.  We have been called to be the body of Messiah.  This means that we submit our flesh to the infilling of the Spirit of the Holy One to manifest himself through us.  In this we become the vessels by which YHWH restores his image in the world.  Since the Creator does not change, what he desires to manifest in the world through us is what is recorded for us in the Torah.  The Torah, as given to Moses and taught by Yeshua, reveals and affirms for us what the nature and character of YHWH is.  We need not search for an identity.  Ours is to merely embrace the cross and allow YHWH to manifest his identity in and through us.  We do not need to look for novelties to entertain us.  We are merely the vessels by which YHWH will do his work.  If we are genuinely being led by the Spirit of the Holy One then he will lead us to the truth.  WE do not need to follow the various mixed teachings of men.  There is one calendar—the CREATOR’S CALENDAR.  There is one truth—the CREATOR’S TRUTH.  Instead of searching for “things” to fill our house with, and “things” to occupy our time with, instead of shopping for “religion” we should be denying ourselves, picking up our cross daily, and following the Messiah.  We should be embracing the cross and we should be embodying the Pure Torah. 

 It is good and right to purge the old leaven from our homes and lives…but if we do not fill the void with the Pure Torah, as received by Moses and taught by Yeshua, then we will certainly fill it with every new and novel revelation, interpretation, translation, and desecration that comes down the pike—and as Yeshua has taught us, surely our last fate will be worse than the first. We must get the leaven out, and study the pure Torah.  Do not listen to the fantasies and fairy-tales of men.  Open your Scriptures and read.  Does the Torah tell you to follow the Calculated Calendar? The Enochean Calendar?  The Equinox Calendar?  No!  It calls for the children of Israel to follow the Creator’s Calendar!  Do not be deceived by novelty.  Once you have purged the leaven out of your house, do not fill your house with leaven that others are cast out.  Open the Torah and pray as you read.  The Spirit of the Holy One is the Spirit of truth that will lead you in all truth. 

 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. (John 16:13 KJV)

 Do not trust me or any other man to lead you.  You are to be disciples of Yeshua the Messiah.  What I share with you, I learned from my Master, Yeshua the Messiah.  But, I am only human, and may misunderstand his teaching.  I share these teachings with you, not so you will follow me, but so that you may turn to the same teacher that I learned from.  My heart is to lead you to the Messiah as your Master and teacher. I am NOT a rabbi.  I am but a disciple.

 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Messiah; and all ye are brethren. (Matthew 23:8 KJV)

 I am not asking you to follow me, but to follow Yeshua.  Instead of filling our houses with the philosophies, translations, interpretations, traditions, and abominations of men, we are to fill our houses with the Spirit of the Holy One and the leaven free word of Yeshua.

Help, YHWH; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men. ² They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak. (Psalm 12:1-2 KJV)

YHWH looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. ³ They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:2-3 KJV)

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and YHWH hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6 KJV)

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. ⁷ And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. (Isaiah 64:6-7 KJV)

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)

The truth of these words cuts deep into my heart.  There is no cause for pride among us. It is a sad reality to think that of all the billions of people on the face of the earth, and of all the millions who claim to be genuine believers, there is not one (including the author of this writing) that has not sinned, fallen, and been defiled.  God created us all to be the vessel or vehicle of his presence.  Adam (male and female) was created to be the expressed image of the Creator in the world.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:26-27 KJV)

But after the fall of Adam and Havah bore mixed seed…and their off spring was no longer in the image of God but in the image of fallen Adam.

This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; ² Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. ³ And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: (Genesis 5:1-3 KJV)

As a disciple of Messiah Yeshua, I am grieved, that I myself have been so defiled and polluted by my own wickedness. I recognize that even if everyone else in the world was without sin, the Messiah still would have gone to the cross because of me.  I am often overwhelmed in my prayer by the great shame that I feel when I consider how profoundly I have defiled the vessel that YHWH gave me to fulfill his sacred calling.  The creator has so graciously honored me with a profound calling to teach his word and tend to his people.  Yet, even with this great honor I have tarnished his image through my own rebellion, stubbornness, and wickedness. I have failed miserably in this divine calling to be his image in the world.

 Recently, I found myself in the Father’s refining fire.  It was a most painful and confusing time.  I wanted so desperately to turn to a tzadek (a righteous one) for counsel, understanding, wisdom and prayer, but found myself with nowhere to turn, and no one to turn to. I was afraid that if I turned to my brethren anything I said would be used against me, repeated as gossip, used to further hurt my already broken heart.  I know that I am not alone in this fear.  I have talked to many others who have lamented the same situation.  Who do we trust? Where are we to turn? There seems to be a great lack of godly and righteous men in the world.  It is true that all of us have sinned.  All of us have fallen and continue to fall short of the glory of YHWH.  We have all been touched and stained by the pollution and leaven of false religion, lack of understanding, worldliness, and overactive carnality.  We have all gone astray from the divinely appointed way that we were called and created to live in the world.  There are no perfect vessels.  The light of YHWH in man is greatly diminished by all of the defilement and pollution of sin, religion and worldliness.  While it is difficult to see the image of YHWH in the world today, the image of fallen Adam is quite evident in the world and even within the believing community. Therefore we must learn to turn to the Father in every circumstance. We must not depend on or follow man.

Thus saith YHWH; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from YHWH. (Jeremiah 17:5 KJV)

It is better to trust in YHWH than to put confidence in man. ⁹ It is better to trust in YHWH than to put confidence in princes. (Psalm 118:8-9 KJV)

Let Israel hope in YHWH: for with YHWH there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. (Psalm 130:7 KJV)

Let Israel hope in YHWH from henceforth and for ever. (Psalm 131:3 KJV)

Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in YHWH his God: (Psalm 146:5 KJV)

YHWH taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. (Psalm 147:11 KJV)

This great dearth of righteousness and righteous ones should also cause us to hunger and thirst for righteousness. This hungering and thirsting for righteousness should provoke us not only to grief but to repentance.  As disciples of Messiah Yeshua we should all be striving to cleanse ourselves of the stains of worldliness, religion and unrighteousness.  We should not allow ourselves to become content with whom or what we are until all the leaven and dross has been removed from our lives.  We must be ready to daily take our old polluted, defiled, and deformed self to the cross, until all that is left is the pure and perfect image of YHWH.  Like gold in the refiner’s fire we must remain in the heat until all of the dross is removed, and the refiner can see his face in the remaining pure gold.

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. (Psalm 17:15 KJV)

While we may lament the lack of righteous ones in the world today, we cannot point the finger of blame at others for this dearth.  When the Creator looked down he saw not one who had not gone astray.  The finger pointing must stop with ourselves.  We have fallen short.  I have fallen short.  And therefore I must repent and ask the Father to grant me the grace to embrace the cross and endure his refining fires until the leaven and the dross are removed and only his perfect image remains.      

One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts. (Psalm 145:4 KJV)

While serving as the pastor of an inner-city congregation, I was genuinely shocked when a young neighborhood boy came into my office at the church, looked around the room at all of my books, then spotted a wooden crucifix hanging on my wall and asked, “Whose that guy climbing on them sticks?”  In all of my years of ministry, teaching, preaching, door to door cold calling, and street evangelism, NEVER had I met anyone completely ignorant of who Yeshua was.  This boy was the first soul that I had ever met that, literally, knew nothing of God or Yeshua, heaven or hell, sin or salvation, or sadly, hope.  Life, poverty, fear, violence and death, were, however, very real to this young boy.  I was so taken aback by this total absence of knowledge or faith that I hardly knew were to begin.  Over the months that followed, I began reading to this boy from a children’s bible, beginning with creation and continuing through to the resurrection and out pouring of the Spirit.  Over time, this young boy became quite the little evangelist, teaching his brothers, sisters and father, the stories he had learned.

This simple encounter caused me to think about how I myself came to learn these stories.  How did I come to believe in the infinite, invisible, all knowing, all powerful, creator of heaven and earth?  How did I become aware that life was not a serendipitous accident of nature that began with a bang?  When did I come to know that man “climbing on them sticks” as the one who gave his life upon the cross that I might know life? 

Family!  Family is where I learned of God, creation, sin, death, the Messiah, hope, grace, and salvation.  From birth I was surrounded by believers.  From childhood I was taught to pray before meals and before sleep.  I watched and observed my Grandmother and Grandfather reading their Bibles and praying each morning.  I was dressed up and carted off to Church and Sunday-School where other grown-ups confirmed what my family was imparting to me.  Certain neighbors also had Bibles in their homes and prayed before meals.  The Apostle Shaul  has spoken the truth; faith comes by hearing.

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17 KJV)

In the Psalm quoted above, we see this truth confirmed.  One generation passes the faith to another.  While much may be learned about the Creator from his creation, merely observing creation is not enough to lead us to the Creator.  There are many who observe the wonders of creation but never come to understanding or faith.  We know that creation is the work of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Father of our Master Yeshua, only because those who experienced these things passed this knowledge down from one generation to another.  Fortunately for us, others saw fit to preserve these events for us in the writing of scripture.  The Sovereign Creator of the Universe commanded that we pass down this holy information to our children.

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: ⁷ And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 KJV)

And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (Deuteronomy 11:19 KJV)

One of the ways that we teach our children the faith is by the pattern and rhythm of our lives.  In the twenty-third chapter of the Book of Leviticus, YHWH our God, commanded that the children of Israel keep a pattern of appointed, holy, rehearsals; including the weekly Sabbath, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits Offering, the Feast of Weeks, The Day of Blowing, The Day of Coverings, and the Feast of Tabernacles.  Each of these appointed holy rehearsals, celebrate some part of YHWH’S interaction with his chosen people.  Each one of these appointed holy rehearsals likewise points to some present or future work of the Creator among his people.   By keeping these appointed holy rehearsals we are not only given the opportunity to teach these events, but also relive them.  By celebrating a past event in the present each generation is given the opportunity to experience these events for themselves and make the events their own.  By celebrating the appointed holy rehearsals we provoke questions from the next generation.

And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What is this? that thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand YHWH brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage: (Exodus 13:14 KJV)

By experiencing the deliverance from bondage as their own the next generation embraces the faith for themselves, takes up the standard of the children of Israel, and trumpets the truth of YHWH our God to yet another age.  The Psalmist encourages us, as the saints of YHWH, to recall and declare his wondrous works from age to age that all of the world, through all of time may come to know YHWH the Sovereign Creator of the Universe, and Yeshua his Messiah.

All thy works shall praise thee, O YHWH; and thy saints shall bless thee. ¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power; ¹² To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. (Psalm 145:10-12 KJV)

As the children of Israel and the disciples of Messiah we have been called to become a light to the world.  Our obedient lives are the living testimony of the living God shedding light on the identity, nature, character, love and will of the Sovereign Creator and Redeemer of the whole universe.  Let his works be declared throughout every generation that his name may be praised in all the earth.