Entering Faithfulness

There is an age old and timeless question that has been asked for millennia by those that seek and follow the God of Israel!  What does God want, what is God asking of me?  This question couldn’t be more prevalent as we prepare to enter into the Fall Moedim, the Fall Feasts next month.  The sages throughout biblical history have pondered this question so we have examples to read.  King David, a man after God owns heart gave eleven overall things God desires.  Psalms 15 is considered a teaching Psalm, teaching the listener to become a person who “shall not be moved”.  David expressed ideal human qualities that would allow one to enter into and remain in the presence of God:
 
Psalm 15.  A psalm of David: ADONAI, who can rest in your tent? Who can live on your holy mountain?  2 Those who live a blameless life, who behave uprightly (tamiym {taw-meem'} Truth, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity, what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact), who speak truth from their hearts 3 and keep their tongues from slander; who never do harm to others or seek to discredit neighbors; 4 who look with scorn on the vile, but honor those who fear ADONAI; who hold to an oath, no matter the cost; 5 who refuse usury when they lend money and refuse a bribe to damage the innocent. Those who do these things never will be moved (Y’ mowt {mote} to totter, shake, slip, totter, to be shaken, be moved, overthrown, dislodged).
 
David isn’t just revealing the qualities necessary to come into and live in Adonai’s presence, David is also revealing the qualities necessary to enter in a place or level of trust and faith where you cannot be moved or shaken from.  When the storm hits (whatever the storm is) you will not be dislodged, moved, or shaken from your trust in Him and your covenant relationship.  Isaiah gives us 6 similar qualities regarding who may dwell in the presence of God:
 
Isaiah 33:15. (TLB) I will tell you who can live here: All who are honest and fair, who reject making profit by fraud, who hold back their hands from taking bribes, who refuse to listen to those who plot murder, who shut their eyes to all enticement to do wrong.
 
Micah lists three:
 
Micah 6:8. Human being, you have already been told what is good, what ADONAI demands of you - no more than to act justly, love grace and walk in purity with your God.
 
Yeshua gave us five qualities:
 
Matthew 19:17-19. "Why are you asking me about good? There is One who is good! But if you want to obtain eternal life, observe the mitzvot." 18 The man asked him, "Which ones?" and Yeshua said, "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't give false testimony 19 honor father and mother and love your neighbor as yourself."
 
We observe common threads through all these examples: righteousness, integrity, holiness, justice, love for your neighbor, love for your brother, no gossip, no slander, and no immorality.  These aren’t new concepts, in fact we can trace them all the way back to Mt Sinai with the revelation of God’s Torah, His Devarim, His words of love and teaching to us that detail how to live and approach Him.  Fear of the Lord, trust, and faithfulness to Him are the Keys in living this out in your life as we see in;
 
Deuteronomy 10:12-13.  “So now, Isra’el, all that ADONAI your God asks (sha’al {shaw-al’}:desires, asks, inquire, request, to demand) from you is to fear ADONAI your God, follow all his ways, love him and serve ADONAI your God with all your heart and all your being; 13 to obey, for your own good, the mitzvot and regulations of ADONAI which I am giving you today.
 
All that God asks, requires, even demands of us is to live our lives according to His ways, to choose to walk His path of life that leads to eternal life!  Gods own words, as recorded here in Torah do not call for meritorious works or radical orthodox religious practices or rituals.  He asks, He requires our obedience and loyalty which flows from our trust! This is the first step in entering into faithfulness.  Faithful, faithfulness first appears when Avraham’s servant is sent to find Isaac a wife:
 
Genesis 24:27. Then he said, "Blessed be ADONAI, God of my master Avraham, who has not abandoned his faithful (emeth: firmness, faithfulness, truth, sureness, reliability, stability, continuance, reliableness, truth as spoken, of divine instruction, truth as a body of ethical knowledge) love for my master; because ADONAI has guided me to the house of my master's kinsmen."
 
If we enter in a faithful covenant relationship with Adonai, He maintains a loving, faithful covenant relationship with us.  King David, who wrote Psalm 15 captured this powerfully when He refused to touch God’s anointed King Saul in:
 
I Samuel 26:23.  ADONAI will give every person a reward suited to his uprightness and faithfulness. ADONAI put you in my power today, but I would not raise my hand against ADONAI's anointed.  
 
We submit and obey the Torah, Tanach, and the Brit Chadesha not to win God's favor, but because we are depended upon His Faithfulness.  We walk in that trust, that faithfulness of his mitzvah’s, commands, and teachings which allow us to live an upright, holy life of faithfulness in Him.  Then God rewards you according to your uprightness and faithfulness!  We are to delight in God's law, meditate on it day and night, and sing of its value unto all generations.
 
A prayer of David:
 
Psalm 86:15 (NLT). But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
 
Sha’ul shared this with Timothy:
 
I Timothy 6:11. But you, as a man of God, flee from these things; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love, steadfastness, gentleness
 
This is not legalistic observances, it’s not Orthodox Judaism or oral traditions.  This confuses many believers today because they are taught that half the bible is thrown away so they become confused! Just read the bible and stop relying on man and you’ll see Adonai’s faithfulness, the truth of God!!  Obedience to God does not rely on your understanding or agreement.  Faithfulness requires humility, a circumcised heart, a teachable spirit, and the boldness to walk in justice and truth as we see in another King of Judah who was like David.  
 
II Kings 23:24.  Yoshiyahu got rid of the mediums and the people using spirit guides, as well as the household gods, the idols and all the disgusting things spotted anywhere in Y'hudah and Yerushalayim. He did this in order to establish (HaKoom: establish, set, fix, confirm, ratify, raise up, carry out) the words of the Torah written in the scroll Hilkiyahu the cohen had found in the house of ADONAI.
 
God asks of us ascending levels of trust. To walk in, love, serve, and to establish, confirm, raise up, carry out His instructions and commands.  We are to obey God and refuse the ways of this world and seek Him!  The result is nothing short of spectacular and supernatural:
 
Deuteronomy 30:9-11.  Then ADONAI your God will give you more than enough in everything you set out to do - the fruit of your body, the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your land will all do well; for ADONAI will once again rejoice to see you do well, just as he rejoiced in your ancestors. 10 "However, all this will happen only if you pay attention to what ADONAI your God says, so that you obey his mitzvot and regulations which are written in this book of the Torah, if you turn to ADONAI your God with all your heart and all your being. 11 For this mitzvah which I am giving you today is not too hard for you, it is not beyond your reach.
 
We begin the fall feasts next month, October 2024. There is great discussion about this topic within the messianic movement and the Body of Messiah. I believe the entire body, both Jew and Gentile, should be celebrating God's Moedim's (feast Days) and living and following God's calendar and timeline.  Obedience to God results in Blessings from God.  God told us when to start our calendar:
 
Exodus 12:1-2.  ADONAI spoke to Moshe and Aharon in the land of Egypt; he said, 2"You are to begin your calendar with this month; it will be the first month of the year for you.
There are those who, when they hear something like this decry "Rabbi is Judaizing" and I would answer "No, we are Godaizing". Too those who seek separation, a division between the Jews and the Gentiles God said this in the same exact chapter:

Exodus 12:49.  The same teaching is to apply equally to the citizen and to the foreigner living among you."

God's word Translation:

Exodus 12:49. The same instructions apply to native-born Israelites as well as foreigners."

And for the "King James " only translation people:

Exodus 12:49. One law shall be to him that is home born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you

No matter what translation you read it says the same thing! Yeshua taught the same message:

Matthew 5:17-19.  "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah -- not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
 
This is very clear in the end:
 
Revelation 19:6-9.  Then I heard what sounded like the roar of a huge crowd, like the sound of rushing waters, like loud peals of thunder, saying, "Halleluyah! ADONAI, God of heaven's armies, has begun his reign! 7 "Let us rejoice and be glad! Let us give him the glory! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his Bride has prepared herself - 8 fine linen, bright and clean has been given her to wear." ("Fine linen" means the righteous deeds of God's people.) 9 The angel said to me; “how blessed are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb!'" Then he added, "These are God's very words."

There is only one bride mentioned, not two separate brides, not one for a Christian wedding and then another for a Jewish wedding!  It is incumbent upon us as a "One New Man" congregation to be a standard of truth, to be the messenger of change and begin the preparation for the return of the Groom for His bride, one bride!  To espouse, teach, or even condone duality of faith makes us enablers vice agents of change! People will fall in apostasy when they discover that most of their hallowed traditions, rituals, and religion has nothing to do with the Bible and the Kingdom of Heaven!

Throughout the Bible we are commanded to be set apart, Kadosh, Holy, Sanctified, and obedient.  This means not just being set apart, but to be set apart unto Him in the same manor, both Jew or Gentile.  
 
Are we/you willing to sacrifice your schedules, time, money, and material things to serve Him?  Yeshua commands us to deny ourselves and follow Him.  This is not the “poverty” vow of monks etc.   It is a call to drop what your flesh desires and do what G-d desires.  We are called as Messianic Believers, Messianic Jews and Messianic Gentiles to be unfaltering Kingdom examples. Choose you this day whom you shall serve.  Serving God and being kadosh (holy) unto Him requires sacrifices.  
 
Our societal problems today are not Gay marriages, Teenage pregnancy, prolific pornography, divorce, abortion, drug and alcohol abuse, and various other maladies.  Our problems are our lack of holiness, fear of G-d, and the unwillingness to sacrifice ourselves unto G-d and to teach others to do the same!  As believers we tend to treat the symptom rather than the disease.  I'm not against anti-abortion rallies but it’s small change.  If we want to stop abortion raise up a generation who are holy and pure and Abortion clinics will go bankrupt!  

We are entering into the last days!  From the time of Mt. Sinai we have been guided by 4 concepts or components that define who and what we are.
Love of God above all else.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5.  "Sh'ma, Yisra'el! ADONAI Eloheinu, ADONAI echad [Hear, Isra'el! ADONAI our God, ADONAI is one]; 5 and you are to love ADONAI your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources.

Living a Torah/word centered life that places us in God's calendar, timeline, and righteous living.  

Deuteronomy 30:14.  On the contrary, the word is very close to you - in your mouth, even in your heart; therefore, you can do it!  
 
Psalms 119:11. I treasure your word in my heart, so that I won't sin against you.
 
Jeremiah 31:33. "For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra'el after those days," says ADONAI: "I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Centered and focused upon Israel and Jerusalem:

Psalms 105:7-11 he is ADONAI our God! His rulings are everywhere on earth. 8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded to a thousand generations, 9 the covenant he made with Avraham, the oath he swore to Yitz'chak, 10 and established as a law for Ya'akov, for Isra'el as an everlasting covenant: 11 "To you I will give the land of Kena'an as your allotted heritage." "
 
Revelation 3:12. I will make him who wins the victory a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he will never leave it. Also I will write on him the name of my God and the name of my God's city, the new Yerushalayim coming down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

Be a Light to the Nations.  

Isaiah 11:10-12. On that day the root of Yishai, which stands as a banner for the peoples - the Goyim will seek him out, and the place where he rests will be glorious. 11 On that day Adonai will raise his hand again, a second time, to reclaim the remnant of his people who remain from Ashur, Egypt, Patros, Ethiopia, 'Eilam, Shin'ar, Hamat and the islands in the sea. 12 He will hoist a banner for the Goyim, assemble the dispersed of Isra'el, and gather the scattered of Y'hudah from the four corners of the earth.
 
Matthew 5:14. "You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Father has commissioned and mandated us to bring revival to Israel, both the people and the land, to make talmidim of the nations, and to change our world.  We are to challenge all false secular and religious of our societies and of the Nations.  We are commissioned to be the moral conscience of our society and ourselves because we hold to a higher standard than the world!
 
Are you noticeably different than your surrounding world?  Do your neighbors, friends, and family see something different about you?  It’s not giving up life, rather it's choosing a Godly life!  Will you live in obedience and honor to God?
 
Blessings and Shalom,
 
Rabbi Eric S Carlson