Living A Peaceful Life
As humans we have failed to trust the wisdom God has given us. Currently the world as a whole is in utter chaos. Fear of viruses, fear of different political ideologies, fear of different races, and just plain fear in general. Our failure to trust the wisdom of God in each of our lives cannot be remedied by laws, rules, or rituals alone.
In Paul’s letter to the Romans we see damages humans cause by those very failures.
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, - Romans 8:1-6
If we operate in our own spirit to uphold the Torah, we find our resolve weak, no different than our own minds and bodies are weak without the Spirit of God living inside of us. The Torah was a perfect set of instructions when executed through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit living inside of us can only come when we submit our lives to Messiah. If we attempt to execute the instructions of God through our own wisdom, we improperly execute the entire intent of God’s instructions to us. Israel’s failure to keep God’s simple commandments and trust Him is a perfect example of this.
A mind set on the flesh is death. If our minds are set on what is good for ourselves through our own wisdom, we will bring harm to everything around us. This includes how we teach, live, and learn the commandments of God. A fleshly mind is operating out of millions of individual spirits rather than being unified by the One Holy Spirit given to us as a helper by God Himself.
Israel’s mission was all about living a life that brought honor and adoration to the King of Israel, so that other nations, other religions, and other cultures would see the difference and want to know more about the God Israel served. If corporate Israel operates as individuals, there is no honor or praise to God, but at best, honor and praise for individuals. God knew this would be a problem and early on gave instructions to the Israelites.
For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. - Exodus 34:14
‘Whose name,’ is an interesting phrase there. The Hebrew word “Shem” has a definition that includes “by implication of honor, authority, character.” Jealous is the Hebrew word “Qanna,” which includes “punishing those who hate him, and demanding exclusive service.”
God instructed Israel to not follow any other gods; otherwise, our service to Him would not be exclusive, thus instigating God’s jealousy and impugning His honor, this includes making ourselves idols. When we attempt to live life, execute the commandments, attend feasts and festivals, teach others, or do anything out of service to either ourselves or someone other than God we are performing a failed service. It is impossible for the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives to manifest itself if the spirit by which we do things is not of the Holy Spirit.
Nations, churches, households in the United States of America and possible other countries, have lost sight of why we have laws, why we have communities, what our mission on earth is. This shouldn’t surprise us, as we see throughout the entire Scriptures that people and nations have repeatedly done this throughout history.
It is very possible that we are in the end of days. Let’s look at what the Messiah had to say about the end of days in Matthew.
3As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
9“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:3-14
There is no doubt that we see some of the things spoken of above taking place in our current world. Some of these things have been happening for many years. Yet we want to dial into verse 10 of this passage.
“And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.”
This verse is not exclusive to one religious body. It says in the previous verse in effect that all nations will hate believers. This is more realistic now than ever before. We even see this spirit creeping into our own denomination of Christianity. Many fall away and denounce Messiah, many leave the commandments and Sabbath to return to other practices of beliefs. It is common when talking to these people to hear bitterness and hatred in their hearts towards the Messianic faith. Was it the Torah that failed them? Was it Yeshua? No, it was the people and experiences they had within the Messianic faith that failed them. This is no different than the churches we once attended. We forget that every pastor, teacher, person we learn from, or fellowship with, is just a human struggling to find the wisdom of God in their walks. We, just like Jacob, are constantly wrestling with how to heed the Holy Spirit’s direction in walking out the commandments of God.
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:13-14
Chaos in the world is due to a lack of trust in the wisdom of God. Those who quit God are choosing to serve themselves. Serving yourself is serving a law and spirit of death. This was not what God had intended for humans. God intended for us to be co-heirs with Him over creation. Instead, we fall into the same spirit that the adversary had in believing we do not need God, Messiah, or the Holy Spirit and that we can usurp the sovereignty of the Creator and reign as kings over a creation we did not create.
The Feasts, Festivals, Law, and Creation were not created for us to choose how, when, or why we decide what is right. They were created for us to accomplish what our Creator had asked us to do: tend to creation, meet Him at the Feasts and Festivals, and to show our allegiance to Him as our God by living the laws commanded of us through the Holy Spirit that He gave to us as a helper.
God is not a God of chaos. He is a God of order. Remember, it is His order. As Messianic believers, we live in a time where we have the written law (Torah), the writings of the Prophets to show us when men misapplied the law, the words of Messiah to show us how to properly apply the law, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit removing the law of flesh in this world. This is an exciting time to be alive. The challenge to us in this age is to properly balance our walk. This throughout history has proven challenging for many. Yet the financial fears, fears of the viruses, fears of different political ideologies should fade when we truly fear the Lord and His judgments.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”
Proverbs 9:10
If we were to take a step back from the chaos of this world for a second and truly put things into perspective as believers in Messiah, we would see that the lack of trusting in God’s wisdom stems from our lack of Fear of the Lord. If we truly feared the Lord, then we would begin to gain the wisdom of the Lord.
The Fear in the Hebrew is “Yir’ah,” means morally reverent and showing respect. You cannot truly fear the Lord if your life, thoughts, and actions are showing a lack of respect or reverence in our moral lives. This includes the movies we watch, where we spend our money, how we spend our time, and how we treat other people. If you are only showing respect and reverence to God on the Sabbath, then He is only your God on the Sabbath. If we don’t show respect to God in our workplace, our homes, in how we spend our money, then He is only our part-time God. This will cause us to be void of the Holy Spirit in our behavior, in our thoughts, and how we execute His commandments.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2
“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2
1“Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2You know that when you were pagans you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. 3Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. 4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; 6and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
It is highly possible that we are in the days Yeshua talked about in the book of Matthew. It is also possible that God is using our current chaos to restore His order on this earth for many more generations to live before the return of Messiah. Only God knows the exact time when He will send His Son back to this earth for His bride. Whether that be tomorrow or one thousand years from now, we have been given a unique opportunity as whole Bible believers to walk out the law, whether ritual or spiritual, through the power of the Holy Spirit. In order for us to walk out the commandments in reverence and respect so that we might grow in wisdom, we must look inwardly and remove things that are prohibiting the Holy Spirit from manifesting Himself in our lives. Now more than ever we need to see the gifts of the Holy Spirit manifesting Himself in the body so that we can be tools to bring some order to the chaos of this world.
