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Subheadings:
The "Gospel"
goes Global,
The Sacred Assembly,
Ambassadors of the
Kingdom,
Hospitality,
HomeWorship,
Church Organization,
The Work,
Persecution of the
Faithful,
Resistance to
Persecution,
Church Membership,
Women,
Tithing,
Baptism,
Circumcision,
Prayer,
Bestowing a Blessing,
Invoking a Blessing to
Cancel a Curse,
The Laying on of
Hands,
Anointing with Oil,
Biblical Timekeeping. |
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THE GREAT COMMISSION:
- And Yahshua came and spoke to them saying:
- "All authority has been given to Me
- in heaven and on earth.
- Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
- baptizing them in the name of
- the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
- ‘teaching’ them to observe all things
- that I have commanded you;
- and lo, I am with you always,
- even to the end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20
- .
- This is the true business of the Church - to teach . .
.
In the year 31
C.E., on the Day of Pentecost (June 17), the New Covenant faith was
officially born. The Scripture says, "they were of one
accord," it is mentioned twelve times in the New Testament, only
one church, one voice, one body but many members. The
Disciples were to proclaim the Gospel [the good news] of the Kingdom of YAHWEH,
and "to feed MY
sheep" (which means teaching Divine knowledge needed to
develop in grace, spiritual knowledge, and GODLY
character).
<pg.107>
It has been suggested, that these dozen "called
out" men had more impact on world history then any other group of
twelve men who have ever lived. Yahshua did not choose men from
"the holier than thou" crowd, and they were not high society
types. They were common working men. From tentmaker to fisherman,
Yahshua "called out" men that generally were not at all
refined, cultured or educated. They were rough men living rough lives,
they would use profanity, smelled of fish and were dirty. Another
Disciple was a tax collector, not necessarily the most popular man in
town. They are listed in Matthew 10:1-4; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:12-16.
Paul was a tentmaker, he went on to become a great
church builder. Peter was a fisherman, and became a great fisher of men.
These were not perfect men and Yahshua occasionally rebuked them
(Luk.9:55). Some would cuss and some would spit, some had an irritating
manner, and some were impulsive. James and John wanted to get rid of
people who differed with them - instead of getting rid of the
differences. They were nicknamed "sons of thunder" because
they were always rumbling about something. Thomas always asked the extra
questions. He was a consummate unbeliever until the last minute
(Jno.20:28-29), he was nicknamed "doubting Thomas." Peter in
the end, denied knowing Yahshua three times to the Roman authorities.
Judas had his own agenda, and in the end betrayed Yahshua with the kiss
of death.
A point often missed is that, YAHWEH
always as a principal, used plain people to carry out important
spiritual missions, and Yahshua did the same. Today’s social
snobbishness would find these ordinary men, who were laborers for a
living, and then took up "the work" of preaching a Great
Message, unacceptable as ministers. Not to mention inviting them into
your home and listening to their spiritual concepts, and then wanting to
join up with them. Yet they have the highest positions in the church.
The lesson is, YAHWEH judges
the heart not outside appearances.
<pg.108>
On Mount Zion just southwest of the Temple, in the
"Upper Room" of the building that houses King David’s
sepulcher, is the headquarters of the Nazarenes - the first
Messianic Assembly (Jews that believe Yahshua is the Messiah). It is the
place where they shared their last Passover with the Messiah. After the
Crucifixion they continued using it as a meeting hall. The resurrected
Yahshua continued to meet with His followers for the next few weeks
coaching their spiritual training, outlining their next plan of action,
and counseling them. The day of His permanent ascension to Heaven
happened sometime before the next High Holy Day of Pentecost
(Luk.24:44-53).
Yahshua made a specific change in the governing of
the spiritual authority over the followers. His Disciples are no longer
learners, they have now graduated to Apostles, which means sent
forth. One chosen and sent with a special commission as an authorized
representative of the sender.
He transferred ministerial powers by stating, "And
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind
on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will
be loosed in heaven," Matthew 16:19. This means that they did
not have to accept the authority of the rabbis, they now have the
authority governed by the Holy Spirit, to make rulings and decisions for
the New Covenant assembly.
Many priests through the centuries will use the
authority of this passage to twist Bible lessons into their own
meanings, but this authority was only given to the Apostles because they
knew their Hebrew Scriptures, and they were personally trained by
Yahshua as to their full and true meaning.
The rulings and decisions of the Apostles are
recorded in the New Testament. The first four books are called the
"Gospels" which are the accounts of Yahshua’s lessons. Most
of the rest of the New Testament are epistles or letters of correction
and encouragement to explain the "Gospel" message in more
detail to the newly established Messianic churches.
The Apostles listened to Yahshuas’ final
instructions, and they continued to keep the Law and followed the
Scriptures, but they did not interpret it the way the Pharisees saw it.
Yahshua told them to stay in Jerusalem because a special blessing would
be bestowed from Heaven on the next high Holy Day.
<pg.109>
- "The Apostles merely
minister to the people,
- YAHWEH supplies the
miracles."
Fifty days
after the Day of Firstfruits is Shavuot, today it is known as Pentecost
(Lev.23:15-22). Jerusalem was crowded as some million-plus people would
enter the Temple on a typical Holy Day. The time was early morning and
it was the start of a beautiful midsummer day when Yahshuas’ Apostles
left their meeting hall in the Upper Room and joined the large gathering
of the Messianic faithful on the Temple Mount. They gathered along the
southern wall at Solomon’s portico. Many of the Essenes were also
there to witness the events.
The mood of the
crowd was bright and cheerful, and their anticipation was high. Many
pilgrims journeyed from all over the Roman empire to witness the
promised supernatural event. They were not quite sure what would happen,
but they knew it would be miraculous.
The assembled
were with one accord (like-minded). The Apostles were speaking to the
gathering when, ". . . suddenly there came a sound from Heaven, as
of a rushing mighty wind . . ." The Heavens opened up and Yahshua
sent the Holy Spirit (the promised comforter Jno.4:16) to three thousand
Believers in the assembly (Act.ch.2).
<pg.110>
The pilgrims
were astonished and perplexed. They actually saw the Holy Spirit, it
appeared as "cloven tongues of fire sitting on the heads of the
chosen ones." They saw the men, the rough-hewn Galileans, now
filled with new boldness and understanding, transformed and powered by
the Holy Spirit. They began to speak eloquently "with other
tongues" (the normal tongue around Judea was Greek and Aramaic),
now they spoke in other languages that they did not normally know how to
speak, and they spoke in the exact dialect. The pilgrims in the audience
were confused, remember they came from far away foreign speaking
nations, "and they understood them (the Galileans)
perfectly." How could this be?
The pilgrims
were awe struck, what they witnessed was an irrefutable miracle.
Coincidentally, they had just finished the morning service, where they
heard the traditional reading from the Hebrew Scriptures, which for this
day was from the Prophet Ezekiel, starting in ch.1, reading to verse 4
states: "Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of
the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and
brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the
color of amber, out of the midst of the fire."
And now only a
short while later, they witnessed this wondrous event, the symbolism was
astonishing - it got their attention! Just as Yahshua promised, the
Messianic New Covenant Assembly is officially born by this wondrous
event.
The dark powers
were also watching, and it signaled to Satan that his days are numbered.
The Messiah has the power, and He is now selecting called out ones to be
in His Assembly.
There is an
important lesson here that many churches forget, the Apostles already
had a little preview of the Holy Spirit in a private meeting just after
Yahshuas’ resurrection (Jno.20:19-22). They are now the heads of the
church, but the power of the Holy Spirit was not conjured up and
distributed by the Apostles to the assembled people - the power came to
the people directly from above. No one can decree that another person
becomes a Messianic Believer, it is a matter of the heart - and YAHWEH
knows our hearts.
Technically it works like this: Giving the gift of
the Holy Spirit originates in the mind of YAHWEH,
then the thought transfers to the Holy Spirit of YAHWEH,
from there it travels to our human spirit. From our human spirit it
travels to our mind and heart, and from there it transfers to our voices
and actions. If the receiver is at one with the Holy Spirit, it will
grow within. If you are not at one with the Holy Spirit, then internal
conflict begins, which will cause the Holy Spirit to wither and
eventually die . . .
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