Perception Moment 23: The Master Takes a Break and Thoughts About Faith

Perception Minute Podcasts – It's Not As You Perceive

Greetings Fellow Saints in Training. Another beautiful, sunny, pleasantly warm day in Southern, California. Today, according to the “Astronomically and Agriculturally Corrected Biblical Hebrew Calendar, today marked the 10th Biblical Month of 6013 (from creation), the 12th day of the month.

According to the Rood Chronological Gospels, we are in the period between weeks 45 and 53, roughly week 47. Hanukkah has concluded and by this point the Master has traveled beyond the Gallilee (Hebrew=Yarden). Yeshua has accumulated a pretty large following, seemingly larger than Yochanan’s (aka: John the Immerser). It is now winter and Yeshua seems to be settling down for the winter weeks ahead. John 10: 40-42 records a pretty benign event which would likely be overlooked by the casual Gospel reader in the 21st century: that is unless you are Michael Rood. I found a couple of interesting points to be considered here:

1. While wintering just beyond the Jordan (the region where Yeshua was baptized by John the Immerser), He was receiving many guests.

2. Yeshua’s fame had grown in part due to the miracles that He had wrought during the months prior.

3. Although filled with the Ruach Kodesh (the Holy Spirit) while in his mother’s– Elizabeth’s womb, John the Immerser performed absolutely NO miracles.

4. John the Immerser was in addition to the forerunner of the Messiah, a prophet. While conducting his ministry in the Gallilee (aka: Yarden), John was teaching his disciples about Messiah. We must bear in mind that Yeshua had been working His earthly ministry some 45 weeks up to this point. Only 25 weeks remained in the Master’s earthly ministry. John’s prophecies and teachings about Yeshua proved true, provoking many to believe in Him and in some cases follow Him.

Verse 42 in the King James Version reads: “And many believed on Him there.” The term believe here in the Greek is pisteuo, pronounced pist-yoo-o, and translates as having faith in, upon, or respect to a person or thing.

As believers of the Christian Faith, we are taught that “faith” is the bedrock of our spiritual and eternal life. Without faith, according to the writer of Hebrews, “…it is impossible to please him [i.e., God]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Heb 11:6 KJV) Faith can also be referred to as “a belief” in something, in the case of the passage just cited, believing in God, that He will reward those of us who diligently seek Him.

This is the crux of which the Holy Spirit has spoken to me this evening and that has to do with the second portion of the Hebrews 11: 6 passage which reads: “for he that comes to Yehovah must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” I ask you dear brother and sister in Messiah, what is it that you believe? What is it that you have faith in? Do you believe that Yehovah (or in the Traditionalist’s parlance, God) is some nebulous Being that is talked about in the pages of our Bibles? Do you truly believe that God or Yehovah is what the Bible says He is: Creator, Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, beyond the understanding of mortal men, all powerful, the Great I Am, the Common Denominator to all things? I mean, as a Christian, do you believe that there is a God who resides in heaven, but who’s Spirit is boundless and timeless.

Let me ask you: How do we show that we have a belief in God? Well, one way is that we attend Church each week. We pray often. We talk about God to others. We think about God on a regular basis. We rest our hopes for the future upon His existence and His guarantee that He, through His Son Jesus the Christ (aka Yeshua), that we shall have eternal life. These and many other things we do as a means of signifying, either to ourselves or others, that we believe or have faith in the God of the Bible.

But in all that we do, is it truly indicative of our true Faith? In other words, is there an ultimate means by which we can show or prove our faith to the Father? How many of you guys out there remember when you were courting your wife or significant other and would do the most crazy things to prove your love for her? Many of the things we’d do would not be the best thing for our health at times, heh? Yet most of the things that we do to show our faith or belief in the Lord God is less than notable; less than convincing; less than consistent; or even less than sensible. We have developed constructs within our lives and our society to provide a forum by which we show forth our faith and belief in God: churches, groups, books, Bibles, music, etc. Granted, these are pretty good forums by which to show forth faith and belief. But one must ask, is participating or having in our possession these constructs and forums guarantors of our faith in God? One can argue, for instance, that going to church each Sunday proves to ourselves and others that we believe and have faith in God. But is that really the case? One must ask further: apart from the faith and belief in God that we say we have, why do we go to church each week? There is no clear directive in the Bible for believers to go to Church each Sunday for purposes of substantiating one’s belief or faith apart from a widely overused perceived directive given by the writer of Hebrews 10: 25 that implores the reader not forsake assembling with other like-minded believers. The full reality and truth of this particular verse is not grasped with the reading of just that one popular phrase. The context of Hebrews 10 speaks, among other things, about living in true faith while exhorting fellow-believers in acts of love and good works. In other words, the assembling of one’s self is not to be entertained by singers and bands and sage words from a quick-witted speaker, but to encourage one another in good works and acts of love.

So how does one substantiate his or her faith and belief in God? I believe true faith and belief in the Father is exercised and proven through actions of obedience. When a believer is willing to forsake that which is common and acceptable in our society, instead obeying the commandments of the Creator via His Torah and the teachings of the Master, Yeshua, true Faith is established and supported. It takes for most humans, proof of something to act upon something. When we see a chair in a room that appears sturdy and sound, we will sit in that chair because we believe that that chair will support us and provide us comfort and security against falling to the ground. Thus, we establish faith or belief in that chair’s ability to provide us a service through our actions of sitting in that chair. Likewise, going to church, singing songs, speaking about things of God, and the like are indicators that we have faith in God. However, it’s not until we act upon the commands and precepts and ordinances of the Father that we prove and confirm our faith and belief in Yehovah. Being willing to be different from other people by doing that which the commandments of the Most High stipulate we do, certifies our faith and belief. Unfortunately, most Christians believe in God only to the point where they are asked to obey God and from there their profession of faith falls short. It is those who forsake the ways of the world for the ways of Yehovah who certify their faith and belief in the Father and the atoning work of the Yeshua Messiah.

Where does your faith and belief in God rank? Are you willing to do what the Father requires of those who would be His chosen children? The True Believer in Messiah will always certify his or her faith through acts of obedience to the Torah and the teachings of Yeshua Ha Moschiach.

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