New Moon Meeting: June 04, 2:08 EST
The Bride and Her Testimony

 

Zahakiel: Okay, so is everyone ready?

Pastor “Chick”: Yes.
Qinael: I am.
Crystle: Yes :)
Jerri Mae: Yes.
Israfel: Yes.
Solomon: Hi.
Barbara Isenburg: Ok, I’m here.

Zahakiel: Okay, there we all are :) Let’s open with a prayer, then:

Almighty and loving Father in Heaven, we thank you for this wonderful opportunity to gather in your name. We are told that it only takes two or three, but we rejoice when we see more than we usually do here in attendance. Continue to expand our borders, and to bring wheat into your House, that the world may have a testimony of unity and strength, and a joyful camp to receive those who have escaped back to the Israel of Promise.

Bless our time together, and send your Spirit to watch over our words and our hearts; in Yahshua’s name we pray. Amen.

Pastor “Chick”: Amen.
Qinael: Amen.
Crystle: Amen :)
Barbara Isenburg: Amen.
Israfel: Amen.
Solomon: Amen.
Jerri Mae: Amen.

Zahakiel: All right, this month I would like us to look at a parable that comes to us from the book of Esther, but first I would like for us to go over Psalm 50. I was reading it the other night, and it struck me as being very significant for where we are in history.

So starting with verse 1: “The mighty God, even Yah, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our Almighty shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that He may judge His people.”

That should immediately put us in mind of the judgment to come; and the wording there is an interesting rebuttal to most of the false ideas people have of Yahshua’s return. He comes with a great fury and tempest, and only those who are gathered to Him survive, as the next verse points out:

“Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” There it speaks of a unity, a membership, and a covenant made by Sacrifice. We’ll be looking at that a bit today. Going down to verse 16, though the whole Psalm is very revealing, we find an indictment, a charge, against much of the evil that the Remnant is standing against.

“But unto the wicked God saith, ‘What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.’” This speaks to those who take the name of Christ in vain, while doing ungodly things, being members of organizations that perform abominable acts, and who will not be instructed otherwise... Verse 18: “When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.

“These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself, but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.”

That is Psalm 50, and there is much in there worthy of study. As I was reading other Psalms, I found something also in Psalm 67 that sort of re-iterates the idea in the last verse of Psalm 50, that of the connection between worship and praise. Verses 67:5-7: “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.”

Now, last month we looked at unity a bit, but what we see from these Psalms is that if Yah’s people do not praise Him, we cannot work together, or even individually for Him. The lesson is this: Let not adversity, or circumstances, or even the painful things from our own past get us to take our eyes off Yahshua. If we’re going through a hard time, if we’re finding it difficult to make a firm decision about something, let your sanctuary be the praise of Yah.: I found this interesting verse also: “But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.” (Psalm 22:3)

His very presence is represented as being in the praises of His people. Understand, to the extent that we find pleasure in our service to Yah, to exactly that extent He can generally use us. Now, this is not an “absolute”, but more a principle – for consider Jonah and that incident with Elijah – but in general our ability to be witnesses is severely limited if we are unable to find the blessing in every incident, every occurrence in life. But let’s talk more about the job itself this month, what exactly we are to do, and our witness as being joyful and praise-filled servants of Heaven fits right into that.

Our job, as a people, is to be revealed to the world. That is our whole duty as witnesses, to let others see Yahshua in us. The Scriptures teach: “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.” (Luke 11:33)

And we can apply the expression “they which come in” to both those who see us, and those who would “come in” to fellowship with us. As I have said before, if our floors are not swept for the ungodly, they will find nothing to keep them here. If they do not find people loving the life they live (and living the life they love), they won’t want anything, and they will be justified in declaring that we have nothing of value to offer. Let this be far from us. Everyone with this so far?

Qinael: Yes.
Crystle: Yes.
Barbara Isenburg: Ok.
Jerri Mae: Yes.
Pastor “Chick”: Amen.
Israfel: Yes.

Zahakiel: Okay. Now let’s see an example of some of these principles in the book of Esther. Esther, first of all, is an interesting book; some people don’t like it. A couple feasts ago, we had a visitor named Al. He said that Esther should not be considered inspired, and he had a couple reasons for this. One of them was that Esther’s name sounds a lot like “Ishtar,” a pagan goddess. And, well, he was right about that. But...

What Al did not consider was that this was not Esther’s real name... it was a deliberately chosen pagan name that her uncle Mordecai gave to her to disguise the fact that she was Jewish. Esther has lots of lessons for our application, because it directly deals with the bride of a King, and we as the Church of Christ are exactly that.

So here is the setup of the early chapters. The book opens by describing the palace of a king named Ahashuerus. In history and other sources, this is Xerxes of Persia. This record is of a time after the Israelites have been taken as captives to Babylon, but then Belshazzar is defeated by the Medes and the Persians in the last few years of Daniel the prophet’s life, and this is described in Chapter 5 of his book. Now, under the Persian king Cyrus, the Jews are allowed to go back to Israel and rebuild their country, starting with the Temple and Jerusalem as a whole – this is where books like Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah and Haggai come into the picture.

But the Book of Esther describes the mercy that Yah extended to even those who were unable, or unwilling, to return to their appointed homeland. In a couple of my articles and studies, I have used Ahashuerus as a model for Yah Himself when drawing spiritual applications. A couple of verses to justify that parallel:

“And the next unto him [the king] was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, and which sat the first in the kingdom.” (Est 1:14) The king had seven advisors, and the names of most of them are significant. But the verse reminds one easily of passages like Revelation 1:4, where seven spirits are described as standing around the throne of Yah.

[Note: Carshena = “Illustrious,” Shethar = “Star,” Admatha = “A testimony to them,” Tarshish = “Yellow Jasper,” Meres = “Lofty,” Marsena = “Worthy,” Memucan = “Dignified.”]

Zahakiel: Also, in Daniel 6:8 we read that there was a law among the Medes and Persians that no decree of the king could ever be changed. We know that this is certainly true of the King of Heaven. Perhaps most spiritually significant was a law that the king had about his own personal presence. My article “Whirlwind and Scepter” describes how Esther, whom we will look at shortly, took a “risk” approaching the King, because the law was that anyone who entered His presence without His express mercy should be put to death. Similarly, Yah is a consuming fire to those who are not as one with Him. (Deu 9:3, Heb 12:29)

But like Esther, we also must enter into the King’s presence, stepping through the “wrath” of His hatred of sin, and entering into His heart, wherein is peace, and calmness, and love.

But now this king, much like Yahshua (in a sense), had a bride before his current one. We read of a feast that lasted a number of days in the first chapter of the book... “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to shew the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on.” (Est 1:10,11)

The king had a desire to reveal his bride so that his guests would do him honor. We’re looking at the spiritual application of these things. Remember from before, our entire purpose as witnesses of Salvation is to reveal Yahshua in our lives, and to reveal ourselves to the world. But this queen was not willing to do that. “Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him.” (verse 12)

There have been some interesting ideas about why this is, and the Book itself doesn’t really tell us why... But one of the comments deserves some examination, because some like Josephus believe that it was actually unlawful for a Persian wife, even a queen, to be brought into the presence of male guests. History, however, does describe women being present at such feasts, and so this cannot be correct. The problem seems to have been something about Vashti herself, and she was simply unwilling to comply with the king’s command.

So that is one possibility about that... but for our purposes, we find yet another parallel with the history of churches. Matthew 21:43 reads: “Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” This was Christ speaking to the Pharisees of the Hebrew Church that had also neglected to reveal Itself and Yah to the world. But in language much like this we find it said, “If it please the king, let there go a royal commandment from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate unto another that is better than she.” (Est 1:19)

We find language like that also spoken by the prophet Samuel, who said that the Nation of Israel was to be taken from Saul, and given to one “better” than he.

Annetta: Wasn’t the queen invited twice? Verse 17.

Zahakiel: No, it was only one request :) In verse 17, the seven counselors were telling the king that if something was not done about the situation, it would be reported that Vashti had been requested (referring to that first time) and that she did not obey.

Annetta: Okay... I understand. I always thought that she was invited twice.

Zahakiel: <nods.> Just the once :)

Okay, so the counselors told the king that the best course of action would be to put her away, or other wives would “despise” their husbands also. Perhaps in that we can see something of our importance as an “example” of commitment and obedience to Yah. And we certainly know that when individuals are looking for excuses to stay away from religion, they quickly point out the actions of hypocritical “Christians” they have known. It is a fearful thing to take Yah’s name in vain like that.

But “it is not good for the man to be alone,” even kings.... and so the seven advisors came up with a plan to get another Bride for the king: “Then said the king’s servants that ministered unto him, Let there be fair young virgins sought for the king: And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the fair young virgins unto Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, unto the custody of Hege the king’s chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them.” (Est 2:2,3)

Things for purification...

The potential brides were not just called and brought into the presence of Ahashuerus. They had to be properly prepared first. And they were given things by which they could do that. Now, for us as the Bride of Yahshua, what are some of the things given to us for our purification?

Annetta: The Holy Spirit.
Zahakiel: Yes :)
Qinael: The gifts of the spirit... The word of Yah... prophecy...
Annetta: The Bible.
Qinael: The New Moons.
Pastor “Chick”: The commandments.
Annetta: The Sabbaths.
Barbara Isenburg: Promises.

Zahakiel: Yes. All those things :) And you’ve run out the list that I have made. Good.

The bride is to be made pure, and she is given things that allow her to BE made pure. I am reading currently through the book of Job, and one of the things that strikes me dramatically is that although Job had these three friends telling him he must have sinned, because Yah was punishing him... Job never compromises on what he knows to be true.

While he acknowledges that he may have had “unknown” faults, he insists that he was righteous according to all he knew. And we, of course, able to read Yah’s point of view from chapter 1, know that he is not merely being boastful or prideful, he’s actually right. But to humans, to the natural man, this is foolishness. His friend Zophar, for example, told him:

“...thou hast said, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in thine eyes.’ But oh that God would speak, and open his lips against thee; And that He would shew thee the secrets of wisdom, that they are double to that which is! Know therefore that God exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth.” (Job 11:4-6)

We actually hear this one a bit from the ones with whom we speak. “Nobody can say they have THE truth, or THE right message (pure doctrine), or THE right Church...” I had a conversation with a man by the name of Miller the other day who was frantically insisting that no one church could be the “right” one. He was very offended by my testimony, for he was saying that the Scriptures are too hard to truly understand, we just have to do our “best,” and take the interpretations that make the most sense to us, and that is the best we can do. So basically, nobody is “right,” and even if they were, it would be presumptuous of them to DECLARE that they were right. This is the thinking of many, and probably most, in Christendom today.

But when I said that we, the CSDA Church, do exactly those things, knowing that we both have and use the things Yah has given us for our purification, he said, “Well, it is obvious that you have a very high opinion of yourself and your church.”

My answer, of course, was the obvious one. “Of course I have a high opinion of my church, it is Yah’s Church! I had better have a high opinion of that, or what am I doing here? And how would I honor my Father who created this Church if I did not?” And as for myself, I told him what Paul did: “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Gal 6:14)

Let’s go back to Esther for a moment and look at that applied. The maidens were given 12 months to get ready for the king. They were given things to purify themselves... ointments, salves, jewels, clothing, special soaps... And after this time was up we read this: “Then thus came every maiden unto the king; whatsoever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women unto the king’s house.” (Est 2:13)

So at the appointed time, the maiden would take whatever special adornment she chose, and present herself to the king with these. But there was something different when Esther went in. Here is the passage, and see if you can catch it:

“Now when the turn of Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken her for his daughter, was come to go in unto the king, she required nothing but what Hegai the king’s chamberlain, the keeper of the women, appointed. And Esther obtained favour in the sight of all them that looked upon her. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.” That is verses 15 and 17. Any ideas?

Pastor “Chick”: Contentment was hers :)

Zahakiel: Right :) What were you going to say, Qinael?

Annetta: She was not a selfish person.

Qinael: Nothing Pastor didn’t sum up <smiles.>

Barbara Isenburg: She had no extra decorations or coverings.

Zahakiel: Right. All those things are it. She was content with what the king himself had provided her. His jewels were good enough :)

Annetta: You just said the exact words I was getting ready to have mom type.

Zahakiel: Ok :) So we see that she relied on the adornments given to her by the attendants of the virgins. Then she was worthy to reveal herself, and was chosen as the best Bride.

So going back to my reply to that particular gentleman... we are never told not to glory or boast, we must just ensure that we are “boasting” about the right Person :) In fact, if we are reflecting our Father to the world, how can we not boast? How can we not be overwhelmed by the beauty that Yah brings out of us? A sanctified spirit can do this, and not become proud of his “own” beauty as did Lucifer.

Annetta: Did Mordecai boast over Esther? When she became queen?

Zahakiel: I don’t think we are told that... we know he saw her selection as the providence of Yah to save the Jews when trouble came against them.

Qinael: I hope not. No one was supposed to know she was a Jew. :)

Zahakiel: Right. Well, that came out later in the story :) But we’re not going that far today.

Annetta: I meant, in his own house.

Zahakiel: I’m sure he was happy she was chosen. It certainly proved to be useful...

Annetta: :)

Zahakiel: Okay, so here is this principle, if we forget our beauty is borrowed, we are in trouble, but as long as Yah is our righteousness, and our glory, and our beauty, we will have something worthwhile to say, and to show people. I rejoice that I have talents, but I am not proud of them for myself. I rejoice equally in the talents of Qinael, or Sis. Barb, or pastor Chick. If we are one, then their talents are mine, and mine are entirely at their disposal, and we all belong to Yah. If my brethren need something I have, or if they require a service I can perform, it is done. I could no sooner deny my own desires, those desires founded in Godliness.

Now, this is the unity we have if we are esteeming others better than ourselves, if we are clothed with the righteousness of Yah, and not our own things. This is what the selection of Esther has to teach us.

Solomon: Luke 17:10 – “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.’”

Zahakiel: Right :) That is a good verse that brings this out. All we have is the property of another; every good thing in us was given to us by Yah, and they are like the talents we are expected to invest, and to nurture. But what about, as pastor might put it, when the “rubber meets the road?” How do we actually represent Christ on earth?

Zahakiel: Yes, it is by obedience, and yes it is by a joyful life lived in accordance with His commandments; but now we have seen the parable, and we may now speak plainly of the application of these principles. How do we “enter in” to this experience? Some have seen the task before them for some time, and may have made attempts to enter into the presence of the King. Some have had practice runs, while others have yet to make decided steps in that direction. The question these might ask is “how?” How are those steps made?

I was recently speaking to someone, when Yah revealed something to me that seemed at once obvious, and very, very significant. We, who have been studying the power of the Word for some time, “know” it already, but perhaps it was presented to me in a way I never saw before, and I would like to share it as the last thing I discuss today in terms of the notes I took. This is not one of our longest studies, but I believe THESE two things:

1) That our job is to reflect Christ with rejoicing and praise, and to present ourselves to the world wearing His righteousness, no matter what the circumstances around us are. And

2) The way in which we enter into this covenant by sacrifice, as said in Psalm 50...

It would be good if we spent the rest of this New Moon considering these things; at least individually in terms of how they relate to our own walks. Now here is what I saw, though one or two of you have heard me talk about this before. :)

Some have the belief, or have in the past (I know that I did) that it is only the action that matters, and not the declaration. Basically, that words of themselves have no real value, and we are only judged on what we “do.” Of course, we are judged by our faith, our actions only revealing what our faith is, but we are told that we are NOT only judged according to the deeds done in the flesh as the Bible does teach, but we also have this instruction: “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” (Mat 12:36,37)

Pastor “Chick”: “...him that ordereth his conversation aright...” Psa 50:23

Zahakiel: Yes. Right :)

Solomon: Words are actions too.

Zahakiel: And now in Hebrew, the word “conversation” and the word “behavior” are just about equivalent. So also in Greek, I think. When it talks about our conversation, it is also talking about how we act. The two ideas are so closely connected in Bible language that they cannot be separated.

[Note: “Conversation” in Psa 50:23 is from the Hebrew word derek, meaning “way,” or “walk.” In the New Testament it is the Greek anastrophe which translates to “manner of life.”]

And here is how this applies: The essence of our faith is that what Yahshua says comes to pass; so if He tells us we are clean, and to go and sin no more, we don’t start looking around to see if it’s true before we claim His promise. We don’t wait to be tested before we make a commitment to righteousness. Rather, our walk of faith begins with a declaration of that faith, for example, expressed publicly in Baptism. The testing of that covenant begins after the covenant is made, otherwise it’s just backwards, and nothing will ever get done. Every “test” or trial that comes before a covenant is not a test of that covenant itself, but a temptation to keep you from making that commitment... and if this is realized, and fully understood by those who are waiting for “something,” some feeling or some great breakthrough before they decide to commit wholeheartedly to Christ, then those last barriers as seen as just the smoke they are, and nothing remains to keep them from Yahshua.

To be like Christ means simply this: we speak faith, and therefore it is. But of course they must count the cost, and know that after they MAKE this committment, it will indeed be tested. Now this is where the power of that faith comes in; we must (and we are) confident that nothing can by any means harm us. Remember, Yah and His Word are one. For we who are made in the image of Elohim, our words and our actions are one; and as Solomon said, words are also an “action.”

As we become more like the Word of Yah, more like Christ, our words determine who and what we are. If we speak something, it is TRUE, and that is why we are a people of a “pure speech.” Now, we are talking about the need to speak our faith. It is in the act of speaking that we “touch” the power of Christ, the Word, and these things are given the authority by Yah to come to pass.

Pastor “Chick”: Well, don’t you think people always “speak their ‘faith’”?

Zahakiel: Yes; unless they are deceitful, people will “say” what they truly believe. Just as they will always act what they truly believe.

Pastor “Chick”: Amen.

Zahakiel: And so this is why our commitment to a pure speech is key to this.

Pastor “Chick”: You are suggesting that we “speak the faith of YAHshua” which is “our faith”?

Zahakiel: Yes. We claim it as our faith and we speak it.

Zahakiel: If we claim it, it becomes ours, for that is the invitation extended by grace, and language reform and things like that prepare us for that life, wherein what we speak is truth as surely as if Yah spoke it.

Pastor “Chick”: Exactly.

Zahakiel: This is an awesome responsibility... and will not be given to anyone who does not have the same Spirit as Yah Himself. It cannot be, or we would destroy ourselves by speaking one curse “accidentally.”

Pastor “Chick”: And this is an area where “Bad company corrupts...”

Zahakiel: Yes, because the tongue, as James tells us, is the hardest part to tame; and yet it guides the whole body, the whole experience. If someone says, “I can’t,” and that is given authority by Heaven, then they really can’t. If they say, “I am sad,” (vs. “I feel sad,” which is more accurate) or “I give up,” or “That is too hard...” These things all become true.

Pastor “Chick”: The “leaven of ungodliness” is taught in “word”, just as the leaven of godliness is by “the Word.”

Zahakiel: <nods.>

So to put all that in a way that is similar to the “chain of character” that we have all learned: For the Christian, the chain is this: What we believe, we speak. What we speak, we do.

Pastor “Chick”: Amen :)

Zahakiel: That is how our actions come about. They spring forth from our beliefs, but it is our testimony, our word, that bridges the gap between faith and actions. Now, I just saw this next thing as I was preparing the notes for this study... Remember the three things by which we will overcome the Beast and its mark? “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev 12:11)

Pastor “Chick”: Good.

Zahakiel: See the things there:

1) By the blood of the Lamb, for in this we have our faith

2) That they loved not their lives unto death, and this is because they are DOing the right things, and will not let any law of man or demon stop them from performing the actions declared by Yah,

but then that other one...
3) By the word of their testimony.

It is in the middle, and with good reason. It is the link between the faith and the actions. We cannot reveal ourselves as the Bride of Christ, we cannot boast in His beauty, we cannot even first appear before the King... if we do not have a connection between our faith and our actions. And yes, a true and pure faith will have this bridge as part of its very nature. What we declare is what Yah will give us the power to accomplish, and this is one of the great blessings of prayer. When we ask for something, and thank Him for it, receiving it in Faith, we can be confident of His reply. There are no limits to this promise inside of what Yah desires for His people.

Pastor “Chick”: I think the old phrase, “Actions speak louder than words” has been a potential leaven for ungodliness, but if reworded, “Actions speak louder than intentions,” it could be a leaven for godliness.

Zahakiel: Oh, I like that :) Hmm, and with Yah His intentions are what is carried out.

Pastor “Chick”: <smiles.>

Zahakiel: Okay, so let me see if I can summarize this... Yah and His Son, His Word, are one. We and our word are one. That is the “image.”

Remember, Yahweh’s name is “I AM,” and that means He IS. Simple, but profound :) But it is His Word that creates. Nothing exists without the “Word,” and this is a model also for what our testimony is to be. In our lives, nothing of spiritual value will exist without our word, our testimony that it is so. This is why it is called a “profession” of faith.

Our actions must (and will) follow that. Whatever we have the faith to claim, that is what we will receive. If you want something, be it “more” faith, or a desire for repentance, or a feeling of belonging in the Church, or to overcome temptations, it begins by declaring with confidence that IT IS SO. “By faith, I have overcome the world. I shall not fail nor be discouraged.”

Ellen White tells us to speak as if our faith were invincible, and this is why: because in doing so, our faith becomes invincible. Nothing can stop it, and Yah can use us to work the works of omnipotence.

[Note: That quote is found here: “Take the word of Christ as your assurance. Has He not invited you to come unto Him? Never allow yourself to talk in a hopeless, discouraged way. If you do you will lose much. By looking at appearances and complaining when difficulties and pressure come, you give evidence of a sickly, enfeebled faith. Talk and act as if your faith was invincible. The Lord is rich in resources; He owns the world. Look heavenward in faith. Look to Him who has light and power and efficiency.” Christ’s Object Lessons, page 146, 147]

Zahakiel: To close my notes...

Yahshua once said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.” (John 14:12) Take this study very seriously, and consider it carefully, for this is the way by which that promise is being fulfilled in our lives.

Pastor “Chick”: Rev 12:17 – “And the dragon was wroth with the woman [which is revealed to the world], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed [the 144,000], which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of YAHshua, the Christ.”

Zahakiel: Amen :) The dragon does not want the Bride to be revealed, or many would see, and marvel, and run after her :)

Has anyone anything else to add, or to ask?

Pastor “Chick”: Thank you for your insights...

Qinael: I have something to add actually, though short...

Zahakiel: Sure.

Pastor “Chick”: I am blessed to have some members of the Body share different facets of the Truth.

Zahakiel: :)

Qinael: That needs to be practiced in the aspect of thoughts as well. Pastor stated recently that the reason for an “age of accountability” is that, for one, a human must have a firm grasp of the language to think any actual thoughts, because thought is done by language. I think, for example, in English. Our physical words, said resolutely, have to reflect a resolute statement in our mind as well, an affirming in our thoughts. Not just uttering the words and expecting them to, by virtue of only being stated, perform their purpose without the decided faith.

Pastor “Chick”: Great :)

Qinael: That is the error Catholics fall into with their repetitions.

Zahakiel: Certainly. <nods.> Now, we know we are not to fall into growing weary of well-doing, but there may be a weariness in well-speaking as well; either not saying anything at all, or just vain repetitions of “Truths” without a firm conviction behind them.

Pastor “Chick”: Without the “fire” there is no “burning.” :)

Qinael: <nods.> Right. And the latter can break down faith like nothing else... Because the person sees their statements not bearing fruit.

Zahakiel: Right :)

Crystle: I would like to give a promise that came to my mind that I feel applies to this study. Psa 19:14 – “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Zahakiel: Ok :) Very nice.

Pastor “Chick”: And in the “glory of the Cross”, David says, “Hallelu-YAH, the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart IS acceptable in Thy sight, O YAH, My Righteousness.”

Zahakiel: :) Amen.

Crystle: :)

Zahakiel: Is there anything else by anyone?

Okay, if not then I’d like to ask for a volunteer to close us with a prayer. And I have a prayer request :) A friend of mine has invited me to speak to a little group of Bible students tonight. I intend to give them a short study on the victory, going over the promise verses we sometimes use, and that table from “The Two Pauls.”  And so I’d like to ask that the Spirit touch the hearts of those who hear it.

Qinael: Don’t get stoned. <smiles.>

Zahakiel: I’ll try not to.

Pastor “Chick”: Oh, by all means, be stoned; the fruit of it will be a healing balm.

Zahakiel: <smiles.> All right. So... is that a volunteer for the prayer? :)

Pastor “Chick”: Let us pray...

Father in Heaven, We thank you for wisdom... We thank you for mercy... We thank you for all the “tools of purification” which you have provided and will provide by your loving Providence each day...

We pray for Bro. David’s opportunity this evening to bring forth fruit for your eternal kingdom... We pray for each soul within the hearing (reading) of this study... that they may reach the depths of this teaching in their own individual lives...

Dismiss us from this study with your continued leading, that we may have “growth in grace and knowledge of YAH”... In YAHshua’s Holy Name, Amen.

Zahakiel: Amen :)
Qinael: Amen.
Israfel: Amen.
Barbara Isenburg: Amen.
Solomon: Amen.
Jerri Mae: Amen.
Crystle: Amen :)
Annetta: Amen.

Zahakiel: All right. Well, I will be getting my study for tonight ready for the rest of the afternoon, but I will try to have a refined transcript ready by the end of the week.

Pastor “Chick”: OK, be sure to send a copy to Ron, as he had to leave prematurely...

Zahakiel: And it will be posted on my site, so I’ll send the link by email and not a document (to save you all some space).

Pastor “Chick”: Thanks :)