TK Torah Keepers

And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³² And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. ³³ But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. ³⁴ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. ³⁶ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:31-36 KJV)

For generations the children of Israel waited for a Messiah that would restore the glory days of the kingdom of Israel.  In the time of Yeshua the Messiah was thought to be another King David who, as a great warrior conquered the Philistines, established Jerusalem as the capital of the kingdom and set the stage for the glorious days of expansion under his son Solomon.  The Messiah was to be a warrior king who would drive out the Romans occupiers and reestablish Israel as a mighty and self ruled nation to be reckoned with.

After listening to Yeshua’s powerful teachings of love, forgiveness, justice, integrity of worship, and especially after having observed the numerous displays of power evidenced in the many miracles and healings, the disciples were convinced that Yeshua was indeed one sent by the Father to restore life in Israel.  Yeshua taught with power and authority.  Yeshua boldly challenged the religious oppression of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Priests.  Yeshua was gaining a following among the poor, the down trodden, the common people.  Clearly there was something different about this wandering, miracle working, prophet and rabbi from Nazareth.  One could only hope that Yeshua was indeed the fulfillment of what Israel was waiting for.

But when Yeshua prophesied of all that he must endure as the “Son of man” there was an emotional and intellectual disconnect between the words of Yeshua and the expectations of his disciples. The thought that Yeshua would be rejected by the religious establishment of Israel seemed like a foreign concept.  Surely the religious establishment was waiting for the coming of the Messiah and would welcome him with open arms.  That the warrior king and Messiah would be rejected by Israel’s religious establishment and killed, was so contrary to everything that the disciples believed that it could not possibly be true. 

Upon hearing, what for Peter was an absurd and utterly preposterous declaration, Peter rebuked his Master.  This was NOT what Israel was expecting.  This was NOT what Israel wanted.  This was NOT what Israel believed. This was NOT what Israel was hoping for. Cleary, as far as Peter, and most likely all of those standing with him, was concerned Yeshua was way out of line with this statement.

We have rushed to judgment on Peter for lashing out and rebuking the Master.  Clearly it was inappropriate for the disciple to rebuke his Master.  However, there is a much deeper issue at hand.  Let us take careful note that what Peter was rebuking the Master for.  Peter was rebuking Yeshua for his failure to comply with his and all Israel’s beliefs.  All Israel was waiting for the Messiah to come and restore Israel to power and glory.  All Israel was waiting for the Messiah to kick the Roman’s out of Israel and to sit upon the throne and rule over the people like David.  This belief is still evident in the disciples even after Yeshua’s resurrection.

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? (Acts 1:6 KJV)

But we must understand that this was NOT the original messianic hope.  The original Messianic hope as it was declared to Havah in the Garden of Eden was NOT about restoring the Davidic Kingdom to Israel, but about overcoming the power of sin and death for all people. 

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15 KJV)

All humanity was in bondage to sin, fear, and death because of the fall of Adam and Havah.   

Yeshua answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. (John 8:34 KJV)

Yeshua did not come to throw the Romans out of Israel.  Nor did he come to sit upon the throne in Jerusalem to rule over the secular state of Israel.  Nor did he come to fulfill the political ambitions of men.  Nor did he come to conform to their religion, expectations, or hopes.  He came to win the hearts of anyone who would dare to draw near to the Father in love and submit themselves to keeping the Covenant as given to Moses at Mount Sinai.  He came to provide a means for humanity to draw near to the Heavenly Father.  He came as the provision by which YHWH would express his deepest love for sinful humanity.  He came as the provision by which sinful humanity could express their love for the Father.  To do this Yeshua had to teach his disciple the way of the cross.  Yeshua came for the cross.

Only by putting to death the flesh, with all of its political ambitions, self determination, selfishness, self-centeredness, self-beliefs, ambitions, expectations, hopes, dreams and desires, will one willingly submit to a life committed to living the Torah as received by Moses, and taught by Yeshua.  Only when we have embraced the cross (i.e., given up our all and all of us) will the Spirit of the Holy One write the Torah upon our hearts.  This is what Yeshua came to do. He came to fulfill the will of the Father not the will of the people.  To do this, Yeshua, likewise had to face the cross.

But let us note that Peter, and probably the others, were hindered from receiving what Yeshua was teaching, because they were holding onto the convictions of their own understanding of what the Messianic hope was.  Because they could not let go of the belief system that they were raised with, that surrounded them, that was affirmed and confirmed by every religious expert and authority of their day, they could not receive Yeshua’s message, but instead stood against him to protect their belief, their religion, their hopes and ambitions.

I fear that many of us may do the same thing.  There is so much that we don’t know or understand about the mighty and magnanimous works of the Creator.  Truly, we see through the glass dimly and know only in part.  But, if we hold onto the doctrines and dogmas of our youth, our culture, our denomination, and our religious systems, we may also find ourselves standing against our Master!  I cannot even begin to tell you, how many of my once core convictions have been eradicated from my life, because I have come to new knowledge and understanding.  Now, I am slower and more tentative about what I proclaim as truth.  What I know, I know only in part and only imperfectly.  I am thousands of years removed from the events and teachings recorded in the scriptures.  I am inundated and infused with values and perceptions rooted in a culture completely foreign to the scriptures.  I read of the teachings of the Master only second or third hand after they have been filtered through years of mistranslations, misinterpretation, and ignorance.  I do not want to hold on to these things so tenaciously that when the Master speaks I find myself unable to receive his word, or worse yet, at odds with him.

Yeshua, rebuked Peter calling him “Satan,” the adversary.  He rebuked Peter not because Peter was possessed by a demon, but because he was possessed with the doctrine, theology, ideology, hope, expectation, and political ambition of men—who sought the restoration of the kingdom for sake of personal and political pride and glory and not for the sake of fulfilling the calling of YHWH upon the people of Israel to manifest the image of YHWH in the world, by submitting to the Torah.  In other words, those looking for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel were truly looking for the ejection of Rome and the re-establishment of “self-rule” rather the YHWH’S rule.

³³ But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.(Mark 8:33)

How many of us, are likewise waiting for Messiah to return that he may vindicate our theology and fulfill our personal agenda?  How many of us are waiting for the return of the Messiah so that all those people who thought we were annoying, crazy, pushy, and wrong will see that we were right all along?  How many of us are waiting for the return of the Messiah so that we will see all those people who rejected us, called us names, thought we were annoying and crazy, get what’s coming to them? How many of us are waiting for the return of Messiah so that we will be healed, the threat of death removed from us, and so that we may receive all the blessings of heaven?  How many of us are, like Peter and the people of his day, waiting for Messiah for all of the wrong reasons?  How many of us are only waiting for the return of Messiah for the fulfillment of what we believe, want and hope for?  How many of us are waiting for the Messiah so that we will have every dream, desire, ambition, hope, and idol that prevents us from submitting perfectly to the will of YHWH removed from our lives?  How many of us will be willing to lay down everything we have believed for years, and all that we once held dear that we may receive the truth as the Master speaks directly to us? 

Yeshua is speaking to us, in his call to pick up the cross and follow him.

 ³⁴ And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. ³⁵ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. ³⁶ For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (Mark 8:34-36 KJV)

We must be ready to lay down everything, if we desire to be a disciple of Yeshua.  We cannot come to him with preconceived ideas, theologies, convictions and beliefs and expect him to fulfill our thoughts, theological inventions, ambitions, and beliefs. The Master did not come to fulfill our beliefs. The Master came to fulfill the will of the Father.  The Master will not return in order to fulfill our desires, he will return to fulfill the will of the Father.  It is we who must conform our beliefs and lives to the Master’s teachings.  If we hold onto what we believe, in spite of what Yeshua is teaching, we shall surely find ourselves in the role of Satan the adversary, and may expect the Master’s rebuke.  There is, according to Yeshua, no profit in holding onto to what we believe if it in the end it prevents us from perfect unity with the Father.  If, on the other hand, we are ready to erase the board of all that we once believed, confessed, and taught as truth, then the Spirit of the Holy One will fill the void with all truth, and we shall be ready to receive the Master when he returns. 

And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. ²³ And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. ²⁴ And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. ²⁵ After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly. (Mark 8:22-25 KJV)

This story has puzzled me for a very long time.  Recently, however, I felt that I gained some understanding.  I have always wondered why the man could not see clearly the first time.  Why did Yeshua have to touch him a second time for the man to be restored.  There are really no clues given in the text itself.  Thus what I have come to understand is based purely upon speculation and must, therefore, be taken with a grain of salt. 

In the scriptures righteous men are often described as trees. 

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. ² But his delight is in the law of YHWH; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3 KJV)

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever. (Psalm 52:8 KJV)

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. (Psalm 92:12 KJV)

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30 KJV)

After the blind man’s first encounter with Yeshua his eyes were opened, but without discernment.  He could see but not clearly.  When unbelievers first come to faith in Messiah, they are often filled with zeal, but do not necessarily have discernment.  In their zeal anything that speaks of “Jesus” or “Yeshua” or God or YHWH appears to be good and wholesome to them.  The new convert, hungry for understanding and knowledge, is ready to eat from the table of anyone ready to feed him.  In the church, people almost immediately run to the “successful” congregations, and television evangelists and their ministries and begin devouring their teachings.  These preachers appear like “trees” or righteous men to those whose eyes have just been opened.  The same may be said of those in the Messianic movement.  So many “converts” to the Messianic movement have their “eyes opened” for the first time and quickly go running after the “kosher” teachings of the rabbis, who appear as “trees/righteous” men to them.  Unfortunately, as Yeshua clearly warns, not everyone is as the first appear.

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. (Matthew 7:15 KJV)

We know that there are indeed many ministers, teachers, prophets, priests, and rabbis that are genuinely serving themselves and their toxic religious systems.  They have polluted the pure water of the Torah with their takanot and ma’asim (precedence and reforms). They have twisted and perverted the truth with their self serving interpretations and poisoned philosophies.  To such shepherd, YHWH declared;

And the word of YHWH came unto me, saying, ² Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord YHWH unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? ³ Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. ⁴ The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. (Ezekiel 34:1-4 KJV)

Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of YHWH; ¹⁰ Thus saith the Lord YHWH; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. (Ezekiel 34:9-10 KJV)

I need not remind you that there were two trees in the garden.

And out of the ground made YHWH God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9 KJV)

But as we know all “trees” are not equal.

And YHWH God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Genesis 2:16-17 KJV)

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil may have looked pleasant to the eyes and as if it would be good for life sustaining food, but as we well know it was deceptive. 

In the story of the blind man, Yeshua touched the man a second time and he saw every man clearly.  Such is often the case with the new believer or convert.  It is our constant contact with the Master that not only opens our eyes but blesses us with discernment, knowledge, wisdom, understanding and clarity.  We learn from this story that appearances, especially first impressions, can be deceiving.  While it may appear that certain ministers and ministries are righteous, we must be careful not to jump to conclusions.  Instead, we should turn to YHWH in prayer and seek counsel from the one who searches the heart.  We are not to follow men—but Messiah.  When we are in constant contact with Messiah our eyes will be opened.  The more we know about Messiah, the more we will recognize him when we see him even in his genuine disciples.  The more we have contact with Messiah—the clearer the hearts, lives, and motives of others will be. The more we are connected to Messiah the easier it becomes to recognize who truly belongs to the body of Messiah, speaks in the name of Messiah, and is genuinely  motivated and animated by the spirit of Messiah within them.  We will begin seeing clearly who is bearing genuine fruit for the kingdom and who is but a fruitless branch waiting to be pruned.  The closer we are to the true “Vine” the easier it becomes to know the difference between a real “tree” and a “virtual tree.”

For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. (Luke 6:44 KJV)

Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf. ¹⁵ And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod. ¹⁶ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have no bread. ¹⁷ And when Yeshua knew it, he saith unto them, Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? ¹⁸ Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember? ¹⁹ When I brake the five loaves among five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve. ²⁰ And when the seven among four thousand, how many baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven. ²¹ And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand? (Mark 8:14-21 KJV)

I have been listening to Bible stories of the great works of God since I was an infant.  I was given my first King James Bible when I was only five years of age and could not yet read.  I “read” picture bibles, and listened to grandparents, parents, Sunday School teachers and preachers teach about God creating the entire universe in seven days, flooding the whole world in forty days, repopulating the earth with a handful of people and rescued animal.  I watched as the God of Israel turned the Nile to blood, overran Egypt with frogs, flies, lice, locusts, hail and fire.  I watched as Charlton Heston parted the Red Sea and the children of Israel passed safely to the wilderness of Midian.  I participated in various Christmas pageants, playing a donkey, a shepherd, a sage, and an angel.  I watched the King of Kings, the Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus of Nazareth, Godspell, Jesus Christ Superstar, and even the Passion.  I have a B.A. in Religious Studies, and a Masters of Divinity Degree. I have spent the greatest portion of my adult life reading, studying and researching the scriptures.  And yet, I still find myself relating to the disciples of Yeshua as they are portrayed in the story above.  

The disciples of our Master Yeshua, were blessed to have heard the Master teach in person. They did not have to read about Yeshua and imagine what he was like.  They were present in the synagogues, on the hillside, by the sea shore and in people’s homes when he taught.  Up to this point in the Gospel of Mark, the disciples have heard Yeshua teach (with authority), and observed him cast out unclean spirits, heal Peter’s mother-in-law, heal many of diverse diseases, cast out numerous devils, cleanse a leper, heal a man with palsy, heal a withered hand, heal a woman of a hemorrhage, raise a dead girl, calm a storm, feed 5000 people and then again 4000 more with but a few loaves of bread and a few fish.  One would think that after witnessing all of these miraculous events first hand, and after sitting day after day  in the company of Yeshua, while listing to the Master teach—one would have great faith.  But instead, we observe the disciples worrying about their failure to secure the necessary provisions for their journey.  They had just witnessed Yeshua feed 4000 people with seven loaves and a few small fish. After which the disciples gathered seven baskets full of leftovers.  They had also observed Yeshua feed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and gathered 12 baskets of leftovers.  Now, in the boat with Yeshua, the disciples are concerned about feeding 13 people with one loaf!  How could they so soon forget what Yeshua had done?  How could they so soon forget who Yeshua is?  The disciples were right in the boat with Yeshua, what could they possibly have to worry about?

Yet, I find myself empathetic to the disciples.  I too have heard and read all of the stories of the great and miraculous works of YHWH.  I too have head the testimony of the loving, patient nature of our God.

YHWH is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. (Psalm 103:8 KJV)

YHWH is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. (Psalm 145:8 KJV)

YHWH is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. (Numbers 14:18 KJV)

Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; (Deuteronomy 7:9 KJV)

I have read and been told that nothing is impossible for God.

Is anything too hard for YHWH? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. (Genesis 18:14 KJV)

Behold, I am YHWH, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27 KJV)

But Yeshua beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26 KJV)

And Yeshua looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible. (Mark 10:27 KJV)

For with God nothing shall be impossible. (Luke 1:37 KJV)

While I have hear all that YHWH did for Israel and while I have read of all that Yeshua did for others, when I am faced with my own temptations, tests, challenges, hurts, heartaches, etc, I find that I often forget everything I heard, read, or know from past experiences.  Anxiety, fear, insecurity, doubt and pain overwhelm my knowledge and my faith.  The miraculous stories of how YHWH delivered and sustained his people through persecution, famines, floods, wars and even lions’ dens all become distant memories in light of present pain and persecution. 

This failure of faith is purely the fruit of the fall.  In the Garden of Eden Adam and Havah were blessed with the ability to commune with the Creator.  Man was created with two natures, the spiritual nature through which the Spirit Creator could commune with man, and impart revelation knowledge and truth, and a carnal nature by which man could manifest this revelation knowledge to the world.  This carnal or animal nature contains man’s senses, to help protect and sustain the body that it may serve the revealed purposes of the creator.  In their created order, man was to be predominantly oriented to the spirit.  In other words, the Spirit of the Creator revealed knowledge to the spirit of man, which informed the soul of man, which in turn informed the flesh of man how to act and what to do in any given situation.  But at the fall, Adam and Havah chose to live predominantly by their carnal senses rather than their spirit.  (This is the mixed fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.) At the fall, Adam and Havah’s eyes were opened. 

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. ⁶ And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. ⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Genesis 3:5-7 KJV)

Now the first couple lived by what they saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched for themselves.  Adam and Havah would sensually experience the world around them and compare it to what the Spirit Creator had revealed to them.  With their senses awakened they would reason for themselves what was good and what was evil.  With their senses awakened Adam and Havah became their own elohim (authority).  The descendants of Adam and Havah progressively became more and more sensually oriented until finally what YHWH revealed is overwhelmed by what is seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched by the senses. 

The spies that were sent to scout out the land of Israel had received the promise of YHWH, that he would evict the Canaanites and others from the land of promise.  But when the spies saw the inhabitants of the land, they forgot all about YHWH’S promises and were overwhelmed by fear at what they saw and reasoned for themselves.

But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. ³² And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. ³³ And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (Numbers 13:31-33 KJV)

As children of Israel and disciples of Yeshua, we are to be a people of faith!  We are to trust YHWH at his word.  We are to live, not by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of YHWH. We are to live by the Spirit not our flesh.  We are to walk by faith not by sight.

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:4 KJV)

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16 KJV)

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25 KJV)

For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:17 KJV)

For we walk by faith, not by sight: (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV)

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4 KJV)    

To fulfill this calling we must develop spiritual discipline.  We must learn to take our flesh to the cross.  Not just our lusts and desires, but also our proclivity to live by what we see instead of the word of YHWH.  Yes, in the real world we must carefully observe and evaluate our circumstance, abilities, strengths and weaknesses.  But we must evaluate them based upon the word and promise of YHWH.  We must not be naïve in our faith.  The saints suffer and even die.  John the Baptist and the Apostle Shaul both were beheaded.  Yeshua was crucified.  The Great Tribulation is promised to be worse than anything that we have ever seen in the history of mankind.  However, we are still called to tenaciously hang on to what has been revealed to us.  The promises of YHWH are sure, certain and true.  We must discipline ourselves not to make snap judgments based upon what our senses have experienced, but instead we must return to the word of YHWH and search out what the Sovereign Creator has promised about any given circumstance.  We must train up our spirit and strengthen our faith by standing firm upon the word of YHWH in spite of what we see, hear, taste, touch, or smell with our own senses.  We must learn not to reason but to believe.  This is no small matter and clearly demands the grace of YHWH.  Our Master, Yeshua gave us a perfect example of this discipline when he departed for prayer and communion with the Creator prior to acting upon any challenge.  While our senses are screaming at us and filling our heads full of external information, raising our blood pressure and anxiety levels, there is a still small voice speaking from within our spirit that is reminding us of the word of YHWH.   The Spirit of Truth speaks of YHWH and is trying to bring to remembrance all that our Master has taught us. 

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. (John 14:16-17 KJV)

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: (John 15:26 KJV)

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 shew you things to come. (John 16:13 KJV)

But the Comforter, which is the Spirit of the Holy One, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. (John 14:26 KJV)  

Quiet prayer in the face of temptations, challenges, trials, and testings, is what will build our faith.  The Spirit will bring to mind all that we have forgotten or become suddenly blind to because of our fears, doubts and anxieties.  The testimony of scripture is overwhelming; YHWH is faithful to his promises!  Yet our immediate circumstances, pain and anxiety will blind us to this testimony unless we are able to hear the voice of the Spirit of YHWH speaking to our spirit.  Practicing this discipline regularly will help us to grow strong in faith in the times of our greatest challenges. Learning to listen to the Spirit of the Holy One is a critical discipline in our lives and walk.  Yeshua our Master declared,

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (John 10:27 KJV)

Note that we are to hear HIS voice and follow HIM…not hear our own anxiety and respond to it.  Now it the time to learn the Master’s voice.  We do this in quiet prayer, confirming everything we hear with the written word. If YHWH does not change then the voice of the Spirit will be consistent with the testimony of the scriptures.