The Choices We Make
The choices you make today will affect who you will be tomorrow.
Similar videos like this as well as other resources on the good news of the Kingdom can be found at: http://www.coyhwh.com/
Similar videos like this as well as other resources on the good news of the Kingdom can be found at: http://www.coyhwh.com/
Transcript
00:00We have hundreds of choices we make every single day, from the time we get up, to the food we eat, to all kinds of things.
00:09And the job we do, the people we associate with, the books we read, the TV we watch.
00:17And every decision we make, I don't know if we think about it every day as we're doing it,
00:21but every decision we make is either bringing us closer toward the Kingdom or away from the Kingdom.
00:28So today I'm going to talk about that and a little bit about how we make these decisions and what we can do.
00:35Psalm 119, 105. Psalm 119, 105. It says,
00:42Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
00:47I don't know how anybody could ever read the 119th Psalm, the longest psalm in the Bible, right?
00:54And could ever come up with the Torah being done away with.
00:58And written not just by somebody, but written by King David, right?
01:02That loved Yahweh's Torah.
01:06And the word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
01:11So we know our feet, everywhere we go, our feet are the first part of our body to go there.
01:17And the Torah is lighting that lamp. It's making that path that we go.
01:23And the decisions that we are making.
01:26If we go to Deuteronomy 28, Elder Bernard read the chapter that parallels this for the Torah reading in Leviticus.
01:38I'm going to read the part in Deuteronomy.
01:42Because we see that with our choices, there's cause and effect to everything.
01:47And a lot of people in the world today, not just in the world today always, but more in the world today,
01:52they don't want to be under any kind of instruction or law.
01:59They want to be free to do whatever they want.
02:01And Yahweh does give us free will.
02:03But there are consequences to our decisions, as we're going to see here.
02:06Deuteronomy 28, I'll read 1 through 10, and then drop down to 15.
02:12It says, And it shall be, if carefully you listen to the voice of Yahweh your Elohim,
02:18taking heed to do all his commandments which I command you this day.
02:22Yahweh your Elohim shall give you to be on high above all the nations of the earth.
02:28And all these blessings shall come on you and overtake you if you will listen to the voice of Yahweh your Elohim.
02:33You will be blessed in the city and you will be blessed in the field.
02:37The fruit of your body shall be blessed and the fruit of your ground.
02:40And the fruit of your livestock, the offspring of your oxen and the young ones of your flock.
02:47Your basket and your needing trowels shall be blessed.
02:50You will be blessed when you come in, you will be blessed when you go out.
02:53Yahweh will cause your enemies that rise up against you to be stricken before your face.
02:58They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.
03:04Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and all that you set your hand to.
03:10And he will bless you in the land which Yahweh your Elohim has given to you.
03:13Yahweh will establish you a holy people, a kadosh people to himself.
03:18As he has sworn to you, if you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim and walk in his ways.
03:24And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of Yahweh and they will be afraid of you.
03:33And I've had this happen before.
03:36Many times in Israel where people said, they wanted to know, who are you people, what are you?
03:41And several times where Yahweh did certain acts, some could even be called a miracle.
03:49And people said, who are you?
03:52Who are you?
03:53Because they don't see it in the world, right?
03:55So it shows the choices we make.
03:57The choices we make bring the results.
04:01So in our life, and this is a lot what we're going to be going over because we all want to make choices.
04:06That's the reason we're here.
04:07And we have to think to ourself, for the most part, whatever it is in your life you want to change, it didn't just happen that way.
04:15It's not by circumstance, you know.
04:17With Yahweh there are no coincidences.
04:19There's choices you made that got you to the point you're at today.
04:24And there's choices you'll make from today on that will bring you to your next point.
04:28And that's the key.
04:29The key to here is changing.
04:31You know, what do they say?
04:33Somebody who is insane?
04:35It's somebody who keeps doing the same thing over and over and thinking he's going to get a different result.
04:40So this is where we're here really to analyze.
04:44We're analyzing the results we've gotten to this point.
04:48And now what can we do different?
04:50And sometimes it could be a tiny little change.
04:53It could be one little thing we weren't thinking about.
04:56And I don't know if you ever had that with a food, right?
04:59Maybe there was a food you had and the food looked really good.
05:03And you went to eat the food and you're like, hmm, that's not as good as I thought it was going to be.
05:07And maybe you just put a little bit of salt on.
05:09And then you're like, wow, that made a big difference.
05:12So, you know, when we're new, sometimes there are big changes in our life.
05:16You know, people coming from the world, I know when I became a believer, I had to change everything.
05:20I had to start from square one, you know.
05:23But a lot of times as we're going along, it may not be such a big change.
05:27But there has to be some changes.
05:29And then we see we're either blessed for the good or as we're going to see here in verse 15, a curse for the bad.
05:37Verse 15 of chapter 28.
05:40And it shall be if you will not heed the voice of your Elohim to take heed to do all the commandments and the statutes which I am commanding you today.
05:47Even all these curses shall be on you and overtake you.
05:50You will be cursed in the city and you will be cursed in the field.
05:53Your basket and your needy trout will be cursed.
05:55The fruit of your body shall be cursed and the fruit of your land.
05:58The offspring of your ox and the young ones of your sheep.
06:01You shall be cursed when you come in. You shall be cursed when you go out. Right?
06:05And one thing I think of when I'm looking at this is the fact of health.
06:10Because when your health, if your health is not proper, and I know this firsthand from my life, you know,
06:18the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.
06:21You're limited to what you can do to Yahweh.
06:23You're very limited.
06:25So, making one bad choice, say, of eating white sugar every day,
06:30that will not just limit you in, you know, how you're feeling.
06:34That limits everything else in your life.
06:37Even your mind, you know.
06:39Your immune system cuts down four to six hours when you take white sugar.
06:43And it affects your mind. It clogs your mind.
06:46You know, and it affects your thinking.
06:48So, that one little tiny decision on eating maybe every day a jelly donut
06:54will affect everything else in your life, spiritual and physical.
06:58You know, and this is why here we're going to go over a lot of choices.
07:02And you have to start really looking in your life and making those choices.
07:06And unfortunately, certain things like white sugar is an addiction.
07:09It is definitely an addiction.
07:11So, you might think, ah, I can do without the jelly donut.
07:14Well, you know what's going to happen?
07:15Just like somebody that's addicted to cocaine,
07:17your body is going to feel, you're going to sweat, you're going to get sick,
07:20you're going to get headaches because of the addiction.
07:24And the second thing, though, is addiction is idolatry.
07:28It doesn't matter whether you're addicted to a cup of coffee.
07:30It doesn't matter if it's herbal tea.
07:31It doesn't matter if it's something good for you.
07:33If you are addicted to it, any addiction is idolatry before Yahweh.
07:37So, this is where you also really have to be looking in your heart.
07:42And no one's going to tell you.
07:44You have to seek Yahweh's spirit to show you what's in your life.
07:48What is your white sugar?
07:49You know, you might be thinking, I don't take white sugar, but maybe it's something else.
07:52You know, what is that idol in your life that could be holding you back?
07:56Because as we see here, you know, curse, curse, curse.
08:00And it doesn't just come from one thing.
08:02It comes from a pattern in your life that you're doing.
08:06And then verse 20, Yahweh will send cursing on you, trouble and rebuke,
08:09and all that you set your hand to do, which you will do until you are destroyed,
08:13or until you quickly perish because of the badness of your doings by which you are forsaking me.
08:18Yahweh will make the plague cling to you.
08:21I highlighted this when COVID came, right?
08:24You know, because COVID went all over the world.
08:27It wasn't just in one area.
08:28And look what it says.
08:29Yahweh shall make the plague cling to you until he has consumed you from the land where you are going to possess it.
08:34And Israel was.
08:35And Israel was.
08:36They were the test case, you know, for the death shot vaccine.
08:39And look at verse 22, the last one I'll read here.
08:41Yahweh will strike you with lung disease and fever.
08:44That's what COVID is.
08:45COVID is a lung disease.
08:47And with an inflammation, right?
08:49And again, inflammation in your body will affect other things.
08:53And with extreme burning and with the sword and with blasting and mildew.
08:57And they shall pursue you until you perish.
09:00So, like the word, you know, the saying goes around, comes around.
09:05You know, when I say Yahweh works in the circular.
09:07But we see even some of the things that are happening today in the land of Israel are coming from these blessings and cursings or things that are not being done.
09:16Deuteronomy 30 in verse 10.
09:18A couple pages over.
09:23Deuteronomy 30 in verse 10.
09:26For you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your Elohim to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in the book of this Torah.
09:32For you shall turn back toward Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and all your soul.
09:37For this command which I am commanding you today is not too wonderful for you, nor is it too far off.
09:44It is not in the heavens that you should say, who will go up to the heavens for us and bring it to us and cause us to hear it that we may do it.
09:51And it is not beyond the sea that you should say, who will cross over for us to the region beyond the sea and take it for us and cause us to hear it that we may do it.
09:59For the word is very near to you in your mouth and in your heart that you may do it.
10:04Why? And that's what it is.
10:06Yahweh's spirit has opened our minds.
10:08He's given us eyes to see and ears to hear.
10:11So, these commandments, they're not that far off.
10:14They're not that far away.
10:16They're right before us.
10:17It's just making that decision.
10:22For the word is very near to you in your mouth and in your heart that you may do it.
10:26Behold, I set before you today life and good and death and evil.
10:31In that I am commanding you today to love Yahweh your Elohim, to walk in His ways, to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments.
10:38And you shall live and multiply.
10:40And Yahweh your Elohim shall bless you in the land where you're going in to possess it.
10:44But if you turn away your heart and you do not listen and are impelled to even bow down to other gods and serve them,
10:51I have declared to you today that you shall certainly perish.
10:54You shall not prolong your days in the land to which you are crossing the Jordan to go in there to possess it.
11:00I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.
11:07Therefore choose life that you and your seed may live.
11:13And you read that and you wonder how on earth can countries make laws of killing unborn babies.
11:19Choose life that you and your seed may live.
11:22Because whole countries sometimes are being cursed because of laws that are enabling them to do things like murdering unborn babies.
11:30To love Yahweh your Elohim, to listen to His voice and to cleave to Him.
11:35For He is your life and the length of your days so that you may live in the land which Yahweh has sworn to your fathers,
11:42to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give it to them.
11:46So that is Yahweh not forcing us, because like it says in Isaiah, He gently guides and leads us.
11:53But it's Yahweh urging us to make these decisions toward life.
11:59And that's why I say, sometimes we think it's just the big decision.
12:03But it's all those little decisions in life that go along the line that lead to other things as we're going to see here today.
12:11John 1 in verse 17.
12:17John 1 in verse 17 says,
12:19For the Torah was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Yeshua Messiah.
12:25The Torah was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Yeshua Messiah.
12:29So you know what? When Christians come and they say that you're not saved by the Torah, they're absolutely right.
12:37The Torah was never meant to save us.
12:39The Torah is meant as a lamp to our feet. The Torah is meant to teach us right from wrong.
12:43But why is the Torah powerless? Because it can't change the heart.
12:47It's words that can tell you right from wrong, but it can't change your heart.
12:53So it was never meant for salvation.
12:55The Torah was not meant for salvation.
12:57Yeshua Messiah came for salvation.
12:59But it can teach us right from wrong.
13:01That is the purpose of the Torah.
13:03Galatians 3 in verse 21.
13:09It says, Then is the Levitical law against the promises of Yahweh?
13:11Elohim forbid.
13:13For if a law had been given which had been able to make alive, indeed righteousness would have come out of law.
13:19So if there was a law that Yahweh can give to make us alive, of course he would have given it.
13:23But he can't because, again, it can only tell us right from wrong, but it can't change the heart.
13:29So if you're an evil, you know, murderous person, you could know killing is wrong or killing brings a death penalty, but it's not going to change your heart.
13:41It's not going to make you not want to do it.
13:45So the Torah cannot change the heart, it can simply tell you right from wrong.
13:49Romans 7 in verse 7.
13:53Romans 7 verse 7.
14:03Then I'll drop down to verse 9 through 14.
14:07He says, What shall we say then?
14:09Is the instruction sin?
14:11Let it not be.
14:13But I did not know sin, except through the Torah.
14:15For also I did not know lust, except the Torah said you shall not lust.
14:19Right?
14:21So it's teaching us right from wrong.
14:23Drop down to verse 9.
14:25And I was alive apart from the Torah once, but the commandment came and sin came alive and I died.
14:31And the commandment which was to life, this was found to be death to me.
14:35For sin taking occasion through the commandment deceived me and through it killed me.
14:41So indeed the Torah is holy and the commandment holy and just and good.
14:45Did that which is good therefore become death to me?
14:47Far be it.
14:49Sin, that it might be seen to be sin, perfected death in me by means of that good Torah.
14:55That sin might be more condemned by means of the commandment.
14:59For we know that the Torah is spiritual, but I am fleshly having been sold under sin.
15:05That's the $99,000 question.
15:07Why people don't do it?
15:09Because human nature has a corrupted nature.
15:11We have a corrupted nature since the Garden of Eden.
15:15And mankind has chosen not to follow in the perfect law of Yahweh, which is the land of the feet, but to go their own way.
15:21And Yahweh said, okay, that's what you want to do?
15:25Okay, you know what, we'll try it for one week.
15:27And to Yahweh 1,000 years is a day and a day is 1,000 years.
15:31So we'll try it for 6,000 years, let's see how it works out.
15:35And he told Adam, go ahead, you go outside of Eden, make your own governments, make your own schools,
15:43make your own education, make your own society, let's see how it works out, and here we are.
15:47We're just about at 6,000 years.
15:49And why will Yeshua have to come now?
15:52Because we're at the point where mankind will destroy every man, human, being, child on the planet.
15:59So what have they done?
16:01We're living in the time where Yahweh has allowed the information and the knowledge to increase like it talks in the time of Daniel.
16:09And you would think, wow, knowledge is increasing, we're going to get the cure to cancer.
16:12Right, we're going to figure out how to help these suffering people.
16:16No, what did mankind do instead?
16:18They figured out how to make bombs to kill every man, woman, and child on the planet.
16:22That is the corrupted human nature.
16:24And that's why we need to surrender to that nature to the spirit of Yahweh to fill us.
16:32We have to, if we put aside the Torah, all decisions will be made from our evil human nature, it's that simple.
16:39Verse 15 of Romans 7.
16:43He says,
16:44For I do not know what I do, for I do not do the thing I want, but I do the thing which I hate.
16:50This is what I do. This is the Apostle Paul speaking, can you imagine?
16:53But if I do what I do not wish to, I agree with the Torah that it is good.
16:57Now then, it is not I who do it, but the sin that dominates in me.
17:01For I know that it does not fully dominate me, that is in my flesh.
17:06But as far as good is concerned, the choice is easy to make, but to do it is difficult for me.
17:11For it is not the good that I desire to do that I do, but it is the evil that I do not desire that I do.
17:18But if I do what I do not desire, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin which dominates me.
17:24I find therefore that the Torah agrees with my conscience to desire to do good, but evil is always near distracting me.
17:36For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man.
17:42But he sees another law that is in his members, warring against the law of his mind,
17:47taking him captive by the law of sin being in his members.
17:50And it says, a wretched man who will deliver me from this mortal body and only Yeshua Messiah.
17:55Right? Only him living in us through the ra-ka-kodesh can any true change make.
18:01So again, our human nature is evil, and Yahweh will save through putting the nature of Yeshua into us.
18:09And apart from that, there really is nothing in us to do good.
18:14Romans 8 and verse 7 and 8.
18:17He says, because the mind of the flesh is enmity, it's hatred toward Elohim.
18:23For it is not subject to the law, to the Torah of Elohim, for it is not possible to be so.
18:29And those being in the flesh are not able to please Elohim.
18:32Right? So we know we cannot please Him without faith, and we know we cannot please Him if we are in the flesh.
18:39So the cardinal mind is hatred toward the Torah.
18:44And it proves who has the ra-ka-kodesh.
18:51Matthew 10 and verse 38.
18:55Matthew 10 and verse 38.
19:00It says, and whoever does not take up his torture stake and follow after me is not worthy of me.
19:09The one finding his life will lose it, and the one losing his life on account of me will find it.
19:15So we have to die to the flesh.
19:18And most people allow the conditioning of the environment around them to make decisions instead of the ra-ka-kodesh through the Torah.
19:27How much in the world is normal, that is an abomination to Yahweh.
19:31You know, like I said, murdering of babies. You would think that at any time.
19:34No one would agree with that.
19:36But no, let's just change the phrase, right?
19:39We call it a woman's right to choose.
19:41And that's what they do.
19:43The evil society around us, you know, global government, all they do is try to change the terms, the names of it,
19:50and think that they're getting away with something.
19:52But they're not with Yahweh.
19:54They're not with Yahweh, they're not kidding anybody.
19:58So, we have to make sure we're not allowing the environment around us to condition our decisions.
20:06We want to make sure it's the ra-k.
20:0890% of your battle is your environment.
20:11I say every year at the school I learned a very valuable lesson in my life,
20:15and that was the very first school was the lesson I learned.
20:19You can't be in an environment that is not conducive to your spiritual life and think you're going to change.
20:25You know, like I said, that's the insane person,
20:28doing the same thing over and over and thinking he's going to get a different result.
20:31So, 90% of your battle is your environment.
20:34You have to be sanctified.
20:36You know, it's not just in the end time either, it's everywhere in the Bible.
20:39I've done messages on this even in the last year,
20:42showing from the Garden of Eden that that was always the way.
20:46Since Adam decided to go out of Eden and make his own society in the world,
20:52from that time, no matter it was the Israelites, whoever Yahweh was working with,
20:56he basically commanded them to be sanctified away from the world.
21:011 John 2 and verse 15.
21:07This will be one of those scriptures that we will be reading a lot and analyzing.
21:11Do not love the world nor the things in the world.
21:14If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him,
21:17because all that which is in the world,
21:20the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
21:23is not of the Father, but is of the world.
21:26And the world is passing away in its lust, but the one doing the will of Yahweh abides forever.
21:30And I think we've probably read this so many times,
21:33we're not really grasping what it's saying.
21:36But it literally is saying that if anyone loves the world,
21:41the love of the Father is not in him.
21:43I think the problem is as we read this,
21:46we're saying we don't love the world,
21:48but I say, you know, like,
21:51how many times has anybody took their hand and put it on a hot stove and just kept it there?
21:56Probably nobody in this room, hardly anybody I know,
21:59or anybody would do that unless they, you know,
22:01they have a little bit of a problem up there.
22:04Why? Because it's not comfortable.
22:06So if you really hate the world that much,
22:08then what are people doing staying in it?
22:11And you can make every excuse in the world of why you have to, you know,
22:15but there's a lot of other things you're not doing because they're not comfortable.
22:19And if we're going to change, you've got to admit,
22:22you've got to admit what you like there, you know,
22:25and it is comfortable.
22:26It is comfortable in Western society, right?
22:28It is comfortable with air conditioning.
22:30It is comfortable to have a refrigerator.
22:32These things are comfortable, and they're not necessarily wrong in themselves.
22:37But the society, commercial Babylon,
22:39is something that Yahweh says to come out of because it's affecting your mind.
22:44It's affecting your mind.
22:45So the ones who make the excuses, you know what they're called?
22:48They're called Laodiceans.
22:50And, you know, the thing is, you might say,
22:52oh, well, I'm not a Laodicean.
22:55Just by saying that may make you a Laodicean
22:57because that's the Laodicean.
22:59He thinks he's not one, you know?
23:02So we really, if we're going to have change,
23:04we've got to go deep down and look.
23:06What are the things, and we have a whole class on this,
23:09and I'm not going to come up with the answers.
23:11You are.
23:12I'm going to ask the questions, and I'm going to get the answers from you.
23:15We're going to have some classes where we're going to make changes right there on the spot.
23:21And I'm praying to Yahweh for his Ruach to inspire whoever is ever in this room
23:25to tell us what do we need to change today,
23:28not tomorrow, right then on the spot.
23:31So Rai is laughing because she knows a couple of the things I might do in that class.
23:41Keep everybody guessing here.
23:44Galatians 6 and verse 6.
23:47Galatians 6 and verse 6.
23:49But let the one being taught in the Word share with the one teaching in all good things.
23:53Do not be deceived. Yahweh is not mocked.
23:55For whatever a man may sow, that he will reap.
23:58For the one sowing to his flesh will reap corruption of the flesh,
24:02but the one sowing to the Spirit will reap everlasting life from the Spirit.
24:06So that's the key.
24:07You know, we're going to reap what we sow.
24:09And, you know, it's amazing because I will tell you,
24:13the most deprived spiritual place on the earth today is in Western society.
24:21And it's not only in Babylon.
24:24I think actually there's places in Europe and other first world countries that are worse than Babylon,
24:30to be honest with you, in a spiritual sense.
24:32But you know where the best, you know where we're seeing the greatest spiritual growth coming?
24:37In the communities.
24:39And they're all in third world.
24:40I have people sometimes contact me in America asking me if we have a community in the United States.
24:46You know, they're not even part of our congregation yet.
24:48We have a lot of new people coming in.
24:50And they're saying, wow, yeah, well, I'd like to join.
24:52You know, do you have one in the United States?
24:54I say, sorry, we don't.
24:56You know, somebody will ask, do you have a congregation in, you know, over here in Idaho?
25:00No, we don't have one in Idaho.
25:01Do you have one, you know, close?
25:03Maybe even towards, no, not in the West Coast.
25:05No.
25:06To be honest, we don't have one elder in Babylon today.
25:10And it wasn't that long ago.
25:11We had about eight to ten elders.
25:13We had ten congregations all over.
25:15But we don't have it anymore.
25:16But where's the spirit thriving?
25:18It's thriving in the communities which happen to be in third world.
25:22And you know why?
25:23Because it doesn't take money to start a community.
25:25That's what people think.
25:26They think you need a billion dollars in putting up, you know, a house.
25:29You know, our most thriving community is in Sudan.
25:33The poorest place on earth where it takes maybe a hundred dollars to build a thukul.
25:38You know, a thatched house where they live in.
25:40And they love it.
25:41You know, they really love it.
25:43You know, 900 people living in one community.
25:46And thriving, you know.
25:48So, this is what it comes down to.
25:50That what is it?
25:52We have to be thinking about that because, you know, maybe if it was the 1800s
25:57and things weren't so bad, the decision would be hard.
26:00Because it would be like, wow, you know.
26:02But it's not so bad.
26:03My neighbors are nice.
26:04They may be Christian, but they're honest, good people.
26:06And, you know, I got my farmland I'm doing.
26:08And in those days, you know, it was a different decision.
26:11But today, especially after COVID, man, how hard is it to make a decision?
26:16How can't you see what's coming?
26:18They already did it.
26:19They locked down the world.
26:21They already said, unless you take that shot, you can't buy food.
26:25We went through it.
26:26Not for a month or a week.
26:28We went through it almost three years.
26:30And I used to go to the supermarket just to condition myself.
26:32I knew they weren't going to let me in.
26:34And Petra would have to ask the policeman there.
26:36So, you're saying we can't buy food unless we have that COVID?
26:40Yeah.
26:41But what if we have no food?
26:42You know, we have a child.
26:43Don't make a difference.
26:45Get the shot if you want it.
26:47There was no heart.
26:48There was no mercy.
26:49There was no caring.
26:50And the next one is going to be worse.
26:52So, this is what it comes to now.
26:54This is why it's a blessing that Yahweh has given us a little bit of time.
26:57And if after COVID, after they opened up your country,
27:00after they allow you to go back to the store,
27:02if you just went back to your own life, wow!
27:05Shame on you.
27:06If you didn't learn anything from that of what's coming,
27:09because what happens?
27:10When the next one comes, then all of a sudden everybody panics again.
27:15And I tell this story years and years ago.
27:17We were in America.
27:18And it's when the first anti-fire broke out in 2001.
27:22And people pleaded with us not to go back to Israel.
27:25There were some people that had dreams that I was going to be killed there,
27:28you know, by an Arab or something.
27:30And the ironic part was, you know,
27:32they said, well, that's where Yahweh has us.
27:34That's where we went.
27:35We weren't back there more than a couple of weeks,
27:38and that's when 9-1-1 happened.
27:40And you could not believe the amount of people trying to contact us.
27:43They couldn't contact me.
27:44I don't have public email.
27:46But trying to contact my dad or contact someone,
27:48that they had to get in touch with me.
27:50What do we do?
27:51It's like, I was only here a month ago.
27:53I told you what to do.
27:54You know?
27:55So I realize now, that's another thing Yahweh showed me through COVID,
27:58that for the majority of the people, it doesn't matter what happens.
28:01They are not going to change.
28:02They'll change for that one second while the thing is going on.
28:05And if you want to know this for sure,
28:07just read the Israelites coming out of Egypt.
28:10Just read that story and you'll see
28:12that they were hard-headed and stubborn from the beginning to the end.
28:16And every time something happened,
28:18then they changed for a minute, right?
28:20One of the greatest things that Yahweh did when he parted the Red Sea.
28:24Look at Exodus 15.
28:26And read the song in Exodus 15, how they're praising Yahweh.
28:30And the very next chapter, they're cursing Yahweh.
28:35And that's the life of most people.
28:37And unfortunately, even some brethren, you know.
28:39Or Sabbath keepers, it doesn't matter.
28:41You can know the name of Yahweh.
28:42That really doesn't mean anything today.
28:44Yahweh says, He judges you by what you do.
28:48Right?
28:49You reap what you sow,
28:51and Yahweh judges you by the fruits of what you're doing.
28:54And that's the end of it.
28:55So, like I said, we can kid ourselves,
28:57but we're not going to kid Yahweh.
28:58Every decision has consequences in life.
29:02A decision to covet can lead to a decision to steal,
29:06which can lead to a decision to lie about it later, right?
29:09So, one sin can lead to another sin.
29:12And you can go, even just with Adam and Eve,
29:15with the original sin of eating of the forbidden fruit,
29:18you can see probably seven sins were committed from there, at least.
29:21And it could have been more.
29:25The job you have, the people you're with,
29:27the TV you watch, the websites you're surfing,
29:29the books you're reading, the CDs you're listening to,
29:32the teachers you're hearing,
29:34they all make up the person you are,
29:36and the decisions that you're going to make.
29:38Right?
29:39So, we're like a blank USB, you know.
29:43Everything that's coming in is filling us up to what we are being made of.
29:481 Corinthians 15.33 says,
29:52Do not be led away.
29:53Bad communications ruin good habits.
29:55So, are we simply Sabbath believers?
29:59Where on the Sabbath we come and we get together,
30:02and brother this one, sister that one, you know.
30:05And then all of a sudden during the week,
30:07all our friends and all our acquaintances are all people in the world.
30:10People we work with, you know.
30:13Who are the closest people in your life?
30:16What does it come down to?
30:18Bad communications ruin good habits.
30:21So, we want to make sure that we are building proper relationships
30:29with people that are going to uplift us.
30:31And I always say that when I look at the story in Genesis 3.
30:35You know, where right off the bat you say,
30:39Hmm, there's two problems here.
30:42Number one, why are Adam and Eve palling around with Satan?
30:46That's the first question I have.
30:47What are they even doing palling around with Satan?
30:49And the second question I have,
30:50Why is Eve palling around with Satan without her husband to begin with?
30:54So, you get two big lessons there to begin with right off the bat.
30:59Right?
31:00Bad communications ruin good habits.
31:02So, this is what we have to look at.
31:042 Corinthians 9 and verse 6.
31:092 Corinthians 9 and verse 6.
31:18It says, But remember this,
31:19The one sowing sparingly will also reap sparingly,
31:22and the one sowing generously will also reap generously,
31:25each one as he purposes in his heart,
31:28not grudgingly or out of necessity,
31:30for Yahweh loves a cheerful giver.
31:31And Elohim is able to make all grace to abound toward you,
31:34that in everything, always having all self-sufficiency,
31:37you may abound to every good work.
31:40Even as it has been written,
31:42He has distributed liberally, he has given to the poor,
31:45his righteousness abides forever.
31:48Now he that supplies need to the sower and bread for eating,
31:51may he supply and multiply your seed
31:53and increase the fruits of your righteousness.
31:56And I think we saw a lot of this during COVID.
31:58In everything, you being richly in all sincerity,
32:01which works out thanksgiving to Yahweh through us,
32:04because the ministry of this service
32:06is not only making up the things lacking of the saints,
32:09but also multiplying through many thanksgiving to Yahweh.
32:13Through the proof of this charitable service,
32:15they glorify Yahweh by your freely expressed submission
32:19to the good news of Messiah,
32:21and through your generosity,
32:22you have become partakers with them and with all men.
32:27So very clearly, if we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly.
32:31And this is not just physically, right?
32:33Because some people are blessed more financially than others,
32:36and they can give more financially.
32:39Others don't.
32:40At the same rate, Yeshua said,
32:42the greatest gift was the widow's might.
32:44So, everyone can give a little bit.
32:47But he's talking spiritually also.
32:49And that's another reason we're here.
32:50What kind of spiritual seeds are we putting out?
32:53You know?
32:55And that's the first key,
32:56why you have to understand what your spiritual gifts are.
32:59Because you have to understand what you can give
33:01before you can give it, right?
33:03So you want to make sure you're understanding
33:05what your spiritual gifts are,
33:06and then we're going to build from there.
33:10Ecclesiastes 11, in verse 1,
33:15says, send out your bread on the face of the waters,
33:17for in many days you will find it.
33:20So, you know,
33:22some people may be in areas where there's more growth.
33:25In Africa, in the last couple of years,
33:27we've had a tremendous amount of growth.
33:29You know, I just got an email this week
33:31from Elder Mirthus from Burundi.
33:35And it's amazing how much the congregation is growing there.
33:39It's just growing in leaps and bounds.
33:42And it seems like every month or so,
33:43they're baptizing another 30 people,
33:45baptizing another 50 people.
33:47And in other areas, it's sparse.
33:49You know, in other areas, it's, you know,
33:51the little bit of seeds you've really got to nurture
33:53to make sure.
33:55But in any case,
33:57and this is what happened when I was first ordained,
33:59you know, because I wasn't expecting to be ordained.
34:02When the elder came up and said,
34:03Yahweh told me to lay hands on you,
34:06I right away said, him?
34:08I wasn't expecting it,
34:10and I really didn't know what to do.
34:12So I looked at the scripture, and I tried everything.
34:14I went on local radio in Pennsylvania.
34:18We started missions to homeless.
34:20You know, we started with our congregation
34:22going out once a week,
34:23giving food to homeless people.
34:25I went down to places like the YMCA
34:27that had people that were living there,
34:30like homeless people,
34:31and I offered to give my services.
34:33I was coming there and giving sermons over there,
34:35and I was doing anything I could.
34:38I was casting my bread upon the water,
34:39and then I had a plan.
34:40Let me go a month later, see what's bearing fruit,
34:42and now we'll narrow it down.
34:45So this is where you have to, you know,
34:47think about working smarter, not harder,
34:50and you have to do it.
34:52You have to cast your bread upon the waters
34:54and see what sticks, you know.
34:57You have to see what's working,
34:58and then you modify that, and you do it.
35:02John 4 in verse 31.
35:09But we don't want to make excuses,
35:12you know, just like...
35:17because we really don't want to change.
35:19And this happened one time.
35:21One thing I don't like to do is,
35:23I don't like to just hand people money.
35:26At times, that helps.
35:27You know, there is a time
35:28where somebody just needs money.
35:30You know, they lost their wallet,
35:32and they need $10 for their train
35:34to get back where they're going.
35:35But most of the time, people don't need money.
35:37People don't need little pieces of paper
35:39with their dignitaries.
35:40They need what the money can buy.
35:42So, I try to help people
35:45with what the money can buy,
35:47and to help them, like it says,
35:48give a man a fish, you feed him for a day,
35:50teach him how to fish, you feed him for life.
35:52So, when we lived in Jerusalem,
35:54we would do this.
35:55You know, we had a ministry week.
35:56Me and Petra would go out every day,
35:58and we would look for somebody that needed help.
36:00A lot of days, it was just an old lady
36:01carrying a bag, and hey,
36:02can we carry that bag to your house?
36:05But I noticed that a lot of people
36:07really didn't want help.
36:09They wanted money.
36:10That's all they wanted.
36:11And, you know, we met a woman one time.
36:15She was living in the hostel.
36:17I'm trying to remember if she might have had
36:19like a son with her or whatever.
36:21And, you know, she came up and said,
36:23oh, she doesn't have the money, and she can't.
36:25And I met a lot of people in Jerusalem that way.
36:28And one thing I say is, it says in Romans,
36:31you have faith, have it between you and Yahweh alone.
36:33If you're coming to me and asking me for money,
36:38then that's not faith.
36:40You know, that's not faith.
36:41And you're going to go tell people,
36:43oh, how much faith you have.
36:44No, ask Yahweh for the money.
36:46And if Yahweh wants to inspire me,
36:48he can inspire me to give you money.
36:50But if you're asking all the people
36:51or brethren for money,
36:52and then going around saying how much faith you have,
36:55you don't have faith.
36:56You're just having money.
36:57So with this woman, we wanted to help her.
36:59So what we decided to do is,
37:01we decided, you know what,
37:03let's get her to see a place where she can live.
37:05So we went for almost a week
37:07talking to people, finding out.
37:09And we found a place where somebody that was handicapped,
37:12that needed somebody to live in their house.
37:15It was a beautiful house.
37:16They could live there for free.
37:18And all they had to do was help this woman
37:20by going out and buying stuff or whatever.
37:22And then all of a sudden, we'll come back.
37:24You're not going to believe the miracle.
37:26Oh, I couldn't do that.
37:27We don't even know where it is.
37:29Oh, I'm allergic to mold.
37:30No, there's no mold in the house.
37:32Oh, I can't really go upstairs.
37:34It's a one-floor house.
37:36Hmm.
37:37Well, you know, I've got to be in bed by 7 o'clock.
37:40And it was just excuse after excuse after excuse
37:42until we realized all she wanted was money.
37:46And that's what happens.
37:48So we want to make sure that
37:50when we're doing ministry,
37:53we're doing ministry by the gifts God has given us
37:56and we're serving somebody else.
37:58It's not we're doing it for us.
37:59And that's why I said,
38:00the trouble today with Christianity,
38:03not just Christianity,
38:04but let's say religion and leadership,
38:07the people are there for the leader.
38:09So if I'm your Christian pastor,
38:12I'm not here for you.
38:13You're here for me
38:14because I got to get paid by you, right?
38:16And I got to make sure I got a nice house.
38:17I got to make sure I got a brand new car
38:19and all the other stuff.
38:20So I have to entertain you enough
38:23that you'll give me enough money
38:24that I can live off you.
38:26And that's never the,
38:27that's the opposite of what it should be.
38:29He wants to be graced of money,
38:30you let him be your servants.
38:32And that's why in COIJ,
38:34we don't have paid ministry
38:36because it becomes too easy
38:38to become a hireling.
38:40And I said,
38:41I would rather starve to death,
38:43you know,
38:44than become a hireling.
38:45That's the last thing on earth
38:46I would ever want to do
38:47and I never want money
38:48to ever to become a part of it.
38:50So in that way, you know,
38:52even though the Bible says
38:54a pastor should be taken care of,
38:56I, like the apostle Paul,
38:58I gave that liberty away
38:59because I never wanted to be that way.
39:01And we have to make sure in our life,
39:03it's not always money,
39:05we have to make sure
39:06that as you're building a ministry,
39:09that ministry is based on the things
39:11Yahweh gave you
39:12to give to somebody else.
39:14Me and Moriah recently
39:16were watching something.
39:17It was a true story of a woman.
39:19Really, really good movie.
39:21And this lady,
39:23and she was an older lady
39:24and she would help people.
39:26And as she helped them
39:27and gave money,
39:28they'd say,
39:29no, we want to pay you back.
39:30And she said,
39:31no, you don't pay back,
39:32you pay forward.
39:34And that's my motto now.
39:36I want that in my life.
39:38You never pay back.
39:39We don't pay Yahweh back,
39:40you pay forward.
39:42Yahweh gave something to you.
39:43I remember when I was a young guy,
39:45I was 20 years old in the church,
39:46first year,
39:47and I got a brand new car.
39:49You know, I had the money to get a car
39:50and somebody said,
39:51wow, why'd you get a minivan?
39:52You're a single guy.
39:53Because now I can drive
39:54six people to work.
39:56I can get you to work,
39:57to services.
39:58I can go and pick this widow up.
39:59I can come here.
40:00So you don't pay back,
40:01you pay forward.
40:03Whatever Yahweh blesses you with,
40:05you have to give that up
40:07to somewhere else.
40:08And whatever you're giving,
40:09that's the tithing principle.
40:11I've had people that,
40:12years ago in Church of God,
40:14when it broke up,
40:15and they wanted to prove to me
40:16that you don't have to tithe.
40:18They wanted to prove to me
40:19that that's it.
40:20And it's like,
40:21I said,
40:22so at the end of the conversation,
40:23I said,
40:24so okay,
40:25so at the end of the day then,
40:26if you don't have to tithe,
40:27what do you do with the 10%?
40:28I keep it in my pocket.
40:29The same as the Jews today,
40:30believe it or not,
40:31the rabbis,
40:32they don't tithe.
40:33So they'll sit there
40:34and they'll have a thousand laws
40:35and the Sabbath
40:36and cut you toward the paper
40:37before the Sabbath starts.
40:38But when it comes to tithing,
40:39we can't tithe.
40:41Because there's no priesthood.
40:43Whew,
40:44glad on that one.
40:45Then what do you do with the money?
40:46Keep it in my pocket.
40:48Keep it in my pocket.
40:50So I said to rabbis,
40:51well why don't you give it
40:52to poor people?
40:53Nah,
40:54that would be stealing from Yahweh.
40:56Hmm.
40:57You're giving 10%
40:58and giving it to poor people
40:59stealing from Yahweh,
41:00but sticking it in your pocket
41:01and spending it isn't.
41:02Yes,
41:03that's right.
41:04So we don't kid Yahweh.
41:05We don't kid Him.
41:06Anything you're blessed with,
41:07you give something back.
41:08Nothing is just for you.
41:10It's always to give back.
41:11It's always to give forward.
41:13Not to pay back,
41:14but to give forward.
41:17Genesis 2,
41:1816 and 17.
41:24In Yahweh,
41:25Elohim commanded the man saying,
41:26eating you may eat
41:27of every tree in the garden,
41:28but the tree of the knowledge
41:29of good and evil
41:30you may not eat,
41:31for in the day you eat
41:32you will surely die.
41:34Right?
41:35Life and death are in obedience.
41:37That's where it comes from.
41:38Life and death are in obedience.
41:40And to me,
41:42being somebody that
41:44had a very structured life
41:45even when I was young,
41:47when I learned of the truth
41:49and I learned of the Torah,
41:51it didn't bother me.
41:52I loved it.
41:53I love the fact
41:54that now I had a box
41:56and I knew what was right
41:57and what was wrong.
41:58Because that's why,
41:59like I said,
42:00we come here, right?
42:01There's rules here.
42:02Don't put the toilet paper,
42:04you know, in the bowl.
42:06Put it in a can.
42:07You want to know these rules
42:08before a big mistake happens.
42:10So it's a blessing
42:12to know right from wrong.
42:14It's not a curse.
42:15It's not a curse.
42:16But there's people that
42:17just have an evil mind
42:18that don't want to follow
42:20anything but whatever whim
42:22they have at the time
42:24and they look at the Torah
42:25as something that's evil.
42:26Nobody's going to tell them
42:27what to do.
42:28And like I say,
42:29we're not Elohim.
42:31We're made from dirt and water
42:33and each of us
42:34has so many days
42:36and so many seconds
42:37and so many heartbeats
42:38on this earth
42:39and then that's it.
42:40We can't give ourselves
42:41eternal life
42:42but the one who did,
42:43yes, he has a right
42:44to tell us what we need to do
42:46and what we don't need to do.
42:48He has that right.
42:49And praise him that he's given us
42:50free will though
42:51to make that choice.
42:53Proverbs 4 in verse 10.
43:06It says,
43:07O my son,
43:08hear and receive my sayings
43:09and years of your life
43:11shall be many.
43:12Right?
43:13So what does it do?
43:14Following the Torah
43:15adds more life onto us.
43:17I have taught you
43:18in the way of wisdom.
43:19I have led you in the right tracks.
43:21When you go,
43:22your tracks shall be narrowed
43:23and when you run,
43:24you shall not stumble.
43:26Take fast hold of instruction.
43:28Do not let her go.
43:29Keep her
43:30for she is your life.
43:31Do not enter the path of the wicked
43:33and do not go in the way of evildoers.
43:35Avoid it.
43:36Do not pass by it.
43:37Turn from it and pass on
43:39for they do not sleep
43:40if they have done no evil
43:42and their sleep is taken away
43:44unless they cause some to fall.
43:46Wow, you would think it's talking about
43:47the days we're living in today.
43:48For they eat the bread of wickedness
43:50and drink the wine of violence
43:51but the path of the righteous
43:53is in a bright light
43:54going on and shining
43:55till the day is established.
43:57The way of the wicked
43:58is his darkness.
43:59They do not know
44:00at what they stumble.
44:01My son,
44:02pay attention to my words.
44:03Stretch your ear
44:04to what I say.
44:05Let them not depart
44:06from your eyes.
44:07Keep them in the center
44:08of your heart
44:10for they are life
44:11to those who find them
44:12and healing
44:13to all flesh.
44:15So we see here,
44:17you know,
44:18that reaping bad decisions
44:20will bring bad results.
44:22Reaping good decisions
44:23will bring good results.
44:24Jeremiah 6.
44:30And unfortunately,
44:31you know,
44:32we're not living in the days
44:33of Little House on the Prairie,
44:34you know,
44:35and
44:41the days where things were easier
44:43and people might have been
44:44a little better and kinder.
44:45We're living in the last days.
44:46We're living in the days
44:47where it says
44:48it's the worst time
44:49the world will ever know.
44:50But Yahweh also tells us
44:51something in these days.
44:52Jeremiah 6,
44:53in verse 13.
44:54He says,
44:55For everyone
44:56from the least of them
44:57to the greatest of them
44:58cuts off a prophet.
44:59And from the prophet
45:00even to the priest,
45:01everyone deals falsely.
45:02We see it today.
45:04They have also healed
45:05the break of mine people
45:06slightly,
45:07saying,
45:08Peace, peace,
45:09when there is no peace.
45:10We're seeing that today.
45:11Were they ashamed
45:12when they made an abomination?
45:14They were not at all ashamed
45:15nor did they know to blush.
45:17But they shall fall
45:18among those who fall.
45:19At the time I visit them
45:20they shall be cast down,
45:21says Yahweh.
45:22So says Yahweh,
45:23Stand by the ways and see
45:26and ask for the old paths
45:28where the good way is
45:30and walk in it.
45:31And you shall find rest
45:32for your souls.
45:33But they said,
45:34We will not walk in it.
45:35I also raised watchmen over you
45:37saying,
45:38Listen to the sound
45:39of the ram's horn.
45:40But they said,
45:41We will not listen.
45:43So hear, O nations,
45:45and know, O congregation,
45:46that which is coming on them.
45:48Hear, O earth,
45:49behold,
45:50I will bring evil
45:51on this people
45:52the fruit of their thoughts
45:53for they have not
45:54listened to my words
45:55and my Torah.
45:56They have rejected it.
45:58So this is what we're seeing
46:00in the times we're living in today
46:02and we need to go
46:03to those old paths.
46:04We need to go back
46:05to the old paths.
46:07We need to go back
46:08to homeschooling
46:09and teaching our children
46:10the way the Bible says,
46:11not sending our children
46:12to Satan's society.
46:14We need to be thinking of ways
46:16to get out of society,
46:17even working in society,
46:19how to have businesses
46:20within congregation,
46:21how to have businesses
46:22within families and brethren.
46:24We need to be thinking
46:25about this.
46:26We need to be thinking
46:27about getting out
46:28into the old paths.
46:29Deuteronomy 4, verse 26.
46:41He says,
46:46I call the heavens
46:47and the earth
46:48to witness against you today
46:49that you shall soon
46:51utterly perish
46:52from off the land
46:53to which you go
46:54over the Jordan
46:55to possess it.
46:57You shall not prolong
46:58your days in it,
46:59but shall utterly be destroyed
47:00and Yahweh will scatter you
47:01among the people
47:02and you will be left
47:03few in numbers
47:04among the nations
47:05to which Yahweh
47:06shall lead you away.
47:07And there you shall
47:08serve other gods,
47:09the work of men's hands,
47:10as wood and stone
47:11which cannot see
47:12nor hear
47:13nor hear nor smell,
47:14eat nor smell.
47:15And if you shall seek
47:16Yahweh your Elohim
47:17from there,
47:18then you shall find Him.
47:20If you seek Him
47:21with your whole heart
47:22and with your soul,
47:23in your distress
47:24when all these things
47:25have found you
47:26in the latter days,
47:27and here we are,
47:29then you shall return
47:30to Yahweh your Elohim
47:31and shall listen
47:32to His voice.
47:33For Yahweh your El
47:35is a mercy for Elohim.
47:37He will not forsake you
47:38nor destroy you
47:39nor forget the covenant
47:40of your fathers
47:41which He swore to them.
47:43For ask now
47:44of the days past
47:45which were before you
47:46since the day
47:47that Elohim created
47:48man on the earth.
47:49And from the one end
47:50of the heaven
47:51to the other end
47:52of the heavens,
47:53whether there has been
47:54a thing like this,
47:55as great as this,
47:56or has anything like it
47:58been heard.
48:01Drop down to verse 39 and 40.
48:04Know today
48:05and lay it in your heart
48:06that Yahweh,
48:07He is the Elohim
48:08in the heavens above
48:09and on the earth beneath,
48:11nothing else.
48:12And you shall keep
48:13His statutes
48:14and His commandments
48:15which I am commanding you today
48:16so that it may be well
48:17with you
48:18and with your sons after you
48:19and so that you may
48:20prolong your days
48:21on the earth
48:22which Yahweh your Elohim
48:23is giving you
48:24all the days.
48:26So faith is obedience.
48:28All the commandments
48:30are for our good.
48:32And that's what Yahweh
48:33is sharing with us
48:34particularly in the end time.
48:35The scripture is Proverbs 3.
48:45Proverbs, the third chapter.
48:57Starting in verse 1.
48:59My son, do not forget my Torah,
49:02but let your heart
49:04and keep my commandments.
49:06For they shall add
49:07length of days
49:09and long life and peace to you.
49:11Like we were just saying.
49:13Mercy and truth
49:14will not forsake you.
49:16Tie them on your neck,
49:17write them on the tablet
49:18of your heart.
49:19And you shall find favor
49:20and good understanding
49:21in the sight of Elohim and men.
49:23Trust in Yahweh
49:24with all your heart
49:25and lean not
49:26on your own understanding.
49:28In all your ways
49:29acknowledge Him
49:30and He shall direct your paths.
49:31Do not be wise
49:32in your own eyes,
49:33fear Yahweh
49:35and depart from evil.
49:37Healing shall be
49:39to your navel
49:40and morrow
49:41to your bones.
49:43So, we see,
49:45like I said at the beginning,
49:47even your physical body
49:49and your health
49:50is dependent
49:51on your obedience
49:53and the decisions
49:54that we are making
49:56to Yahweh.
49:58So, here we are.
50:00You made a decision
50:02to come to this program
50:04to change your life,
50:05to get closer to Yahweh,
50:07to be trained
50:08to bear more fruit
50:09for the kingdom.
50:10In that decision
50:11you made choices
50:13to sacrifice certain things
50:14so you could make
50:15this program a reality, right?
50:16So, everybody,
50:17you made different choices
50:19you had to make
50:20in order to get here.
50:22So now,
50:23for the next 30 days,
50:26make a choice
50:27to commit yourself 100%
50:30to the reason
50:31that you're here,
50:33the classes,
50:34the homework,
50:35the exercises
50:36to get real,
50:37lasting change.
50:38Make a choice
50:39after you leave here
50:40to continue to follow
50:41the commitments
50:42you're going to make
50:43while you're here.
50:44You have a great opportunity
50:45that very, very few will get.
50:47And I can tell you that.
50:49One of the other people
50:50that would have loved
50:51to be here that didn't.
50:52You have a great opportunity
50:53that very few will get.
50:54Take advantage of it,
50:55embrace it completely
50:57and become the person
50:59Yahweh created you to be.
51:02Yahweh bless.
51:03Shabbat shalom.