Can we do תפילות prayers for:
Harold Smith and his ministry
That through them The האור Light, רפואה The Healing and The ואהבה Love of ישועת יהוה Yeshuath YHWH may come back to הארץ The Land of Israel?
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"…let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Garden of God." Revelation 2:7 | |||
The Kingdom Series - Part Two by haRold Smith from Jerusalem, Israel "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. This parable Yahshua used with them, but they did not understand what He was saying to them. So Yahshua again said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have Life and have it abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, whose sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to My Voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd." John 10:1-16 Having just arrived in Israel this week from a brief stay in the States, the interwoven fabric of culture found throughout this extraordinary Land was illuminated by Yahshua's use of this parable from John 10. Occasionally, particularly in the territories, you will see clusters of sheep huddled together standing shoulder to shoulder, heads interlocked, completely oblivious to the sounds swirling around them. When they are spotted, most often they are seen while blocking a part of the roadway, forcing traffic to weave around them; or under the shade of the outstretched branches of a looming olive tree, waiting for the heat of the day to pass. If you are in just the right place as the soft light of day begins to break; small groupings of these sheep can be observed standing in formation near where the shepherds are conversing while drinking coffee brewed over a communal campfire inside a sheepfold. One by one, as a shepherd finishes his coffee and moves away from the others, he will give a distinctive call or whistle. His particular flock of sheep will respond by disengaging from their place to follow him as he leads them through the opening of the sheepfold and out to pasture. It is a fascinating scene to watch as they depart because all the other clusters of sheep stand still, not breaking apart until they hear the familiar voice of their own shepherd. They will not follow the call of another – only the voice they have come to know from spending hours alone with him in the mountains or near the desert. Some parts of the culture of this Land have not changed in centuries.  It was from this real life observation that Yahshua drew His parable. Notice that Yahshua said He is the door and the shepherd, which raises the questions – who, then, are the sheep, what is a sheepfold, who are the thieves and who is the gatekeeper? A "fold" comes from the Greek word aule and means "a house", specifically descriptive of the architecture of the times having an uncovered courtyard between the building and the outer wall holding the door to the street. This is the outer courtyard of the Father's house, providing protection to those abiding therein from the predators lurking outside its walls. It is the Kingdom of which Yahshua proclaimed the "good news" (click on highlighted verse to see scripture) of having been restored. It is the house we are instructed to enter into with thanksgiving and praise. Yahshua said He is the DOOR to this sheepfold. The word for "door" in this passage is thyra and means the vestibule; used of any opening providing passage. In the Hebrew, the word most commonly used for door is pethach meaning "gate" to describe the entryway to a temple, a house or a city. It is the Life Yahshua exampled that becomes the entryway, providing passage into the sheepfold, into the house of the Father. Anyone attempting to enter by any other means than the example of His Life is a "thief and a robber". What is the Life that He exampled? Yahshua's Life is as the GOOD SHEPHERD (from the Greek word kalos meaning excellent in nature and character, praiseworthy by reason of purity of heart and life), the Shepherd who sets the example by laying down His Life for the sheep. This example of His Life is the entry point, the door by which the sheep enter the Kingdom. Every one can quote John 3:16, but there are few that can quote 1John 3:16 which speaks of the doorway into the Kingdom. "My sheep hear my voice , and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal Life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand." John 10:27-29 Yahshua said those that embrace His Life hear His Voice - not will hear, maybe hear, or might someday learn how to hear. They hear His Voice. They hear because they follow the example of His manner of Life expressed in the Truth of Who the Father is – he who knows Truth hears My Voice. They are the sheep. In order to KNOW Truth, we must fashion ourselves after Who Truth says He is. This is how Yeshua did it. He said He knows the Father because He keeps the words of the Father. What words were those? - the words of the Commandments. This is the definition of a talmid, the Hebrew word for a disciple – one who bends his will to conform to the example of the Master. The disciple does not tell the Master what it is he will or will not conform to. (see Who's Your Daddy?).  Hearing His Voice is THE requirement for remaining within His Kingdom; otherwise, the sheep would be led astray by other voices. The sheep that know Him, know His Voice. Many would counter this statement by saying that the requirement for remaining in the Kingdom is just to believe in Yahshua. These folks would be well served by heeding to the definition of what it means to believe – to trust in, to adhere to, to rely upon, to fashion one's life after. The example Yahshua set was twofold - He did not do anything without first hearing the Voice of the Father and He said He knew He was loved by the Father because He kept the Commandments of the Father. The Hebrew word for "hear" is shama'. In Isaiah 1:19, this Hebrew word is also translated as "obedient". From a Hebrew perspective, to hear IS to obey - to obey IS to hear. How we obey, how we serve what we hear indicates what we believe. Yahshua said of those who hear, who know Him in this fashion, no man is able to snatch them out of His Hand. To Know is translated from the Greek ginosko and means to learn to know, come to know, to become known. But in Hebrew, from where this verse was written, "know" is yada` and means to be made known, to be or cause to know, to be revealed. Doing the words of the Father by revealing them in our lives causes them to become part of our being. It results in knowing them and, thus, knowing Him. (see what it means To Make Manifest His Name), The word thief used in the passage at the top of the article is translated from the Greek word kleptes which means an embezzler, pilferer, one who abuses the confidence given to them for their own gain. The tradition handed down to us has been that it is the devil who is the one who has come to "steal, kill and destroy". However, Yahshua is ascribing these characteristics to men. These are men who do not care to instruct the sheep in the Way of hearing and knowing the Voice of Truth, the most essential part of following the Good Shepherd - to be taught how to hear His Voice individually for themselves We just observed that, for those who hear His Voice, no man is able to snatch them away from the Father's hand. The thief would have the sheep continually dependent on coming to them for direction in their lives. These are men who have turned their gifts into "jobs" to benefit their own gain at the expense of the sheep. They have become hirelings - "benefactors". These are those of whom Yahshua will say, "I never knew you" and "depart from me", Yahshua said those who do not enter by the door of His example of Life are the thieves – so it would seem possible for men to be able to access the sheepfold, the Kingdom, by other means than the Door. Yahshua spoke of men who do not keep the Commandments themselves and teach others to do the same as being the "least in the Kingdom" – but they are still in the Kingdom, the tares among the wheat, "He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd , whose sheep are not his own, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." John 10:12-13 These thieves who gain entrance by means other than through the Door exampled by the manner of Life Yahshua set as the Good Shepherd are described by Him as "hirelings" that flee when the wolf appears, leaving the sheep exposed. We have also been taught traditionally that the wolf is the devil disguised as a sheep. But, in Matthew 7:15, He describes "false prophets" as wolves – men who utter falsehoods apart from the recorded Truth of who the Father says He Is under the guise of divine inspiration. Consequently, the sheep are snatched (mesmerized) by the lies of those prophets that teach something other than the words of YHVH and are scattered to "every wind of doctrine". The hireling "flees" by abdicating his responsibility to care for the sheep when, by his endorsement of the doctrine of the wolf, he allows the wolf into the sheepfold for his own gain of status recognition in the hopes of one day becoming as the wolf himself.  The apostle Sha'ul (Paul) also spoke of men as wolves "arising from among you speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them" and giving us, by the example of his own life, how a person's gift (called "overseer" in this instance) is to be used among the brethren. The definition of an overseer (also translated as "bishop") comes from the Greek word episkopos and means "guardian". In other words, a gatekeeper is someone who chooses to hear/obey the Voice of YHVH by keeping His Commandments and is what keeps them from becoming a thief and a wolf (see Pure or Perverse?). One of the effects of defending traditional theology instead of just reading the words on the page for what they say is deafness – an inability to hear the Voice of Yahshua, which is the prerequisite for abiding in the Kingdom of God. Now, listen to the words of Yahshua's disciple, Paul: "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly" and "For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God" Can you hear Paul's words? Would it be reasonable to see a wolf as someone who would have you believe the same person who wrote these words would also tell you to not keep the Commandments? How many times have we been told that YHVH changed direction and His Words that have been previously given to describe the Essence of His Nature and Character no longer apply? Paul is not saying, "do not keep the law", he is saying to use it properly; however, in most "Christian" doctrine, this is considered as an either/or definition - either you keep the law or you don't and, if you do, it is because you are trying to "earn" your salvation by works. This is the lie that comes straight out of Replacement Theology, the doctrine that says The Church has replaced the Jews/Israel as God's chosen people. Think about this - if God can un-choose someone He said "forever" to, where would this leave the rest of us who trust Him? Every Jew knew and knows that the Commandments do not "save" anyone; they are merely the protocol we adhere to by which we are to come into His Presence – the Source of Life Who is our salvation. The Commandments are what deliver us and set us apart from the world. It is true that the law was given for the benefit of those who embrace rebellion in their hearts, as the rest of this passage of 1Timothy states, but, if one is embracing the Truth of God's Nature - he will be keeping YHVH's Commandments as a natural outgrowth of his love for the Father. This is what Yeshua was trying to teach to those who would hear. Are you engaged in the rebellion of sexual fornication today? If not, then guess what? - you are keeping, i.e., doing, the part of the Commandments that says "do not commit adultery". Why do you do that? Because that part of your heart is not rebelling against God, i.e., you do not want to offend that part of His Nature that is Truth. Where we run into problems is when we begin to take it upon ourselves to classify what those Commandments are. If you are truly pursuing Truth for your own life, you would stop for a moment and ask yourself - "Why did Paul say that?" In order to see Truth, you first have to take off the blinders that prevent you from seeing, and then just look at the words on the page for what they say - not what you want them to say. The reason there is confusion over this issue is because that tradition demands using Paul as the benchmark for its doctrine instead of the Life of Yeshua Who speaks of the Father, YHVH. This is not to discredit Paul, but a person will never be able to see the Truth of the Savior Paul speaks of, YHVH, unless the focus is upon Yahshua first and, only then, Paul. The words of the disciple do not negate or elevate above the words of the Master, Would an attempt to enter the Kingdom by other means be the "violent" spoken of in Matthew 11:10-14? While the Greek word for "violent" (biastes) in this verse is used to give a more placid description of forcefulness with the utmost eagerness and effort, could Yahshua have actually been using the equivalent Hebrew word (gezel) meaning robber, one who plunders used in Ecclesiastes 5:8 and Ezekiel 18:18? We have been traditionally taught this verse is given as the justification for incessantly "pounding the gates of heaven" to force God to move on our behalf to get what we want. While that approach might work to a degree because of His generous mercy toward us – what does that say about the spirit of the one doing the pounding? Those who think and teach this way do not know the Spirit of YHVH and, consequently, are only out to plunder the Kingdom for their own gain. If we are to abide in the Present Presence in humility and contriteness, what do those actions say about how that person is hearing His Voice – the requirement for remaining within the Kingdom? And, if the Life of Yahshua is the benchmark by which we measure scripture, where do we find that exercise evident in His Life?  Traditionally, we have been taught the GATEKEEPER to be the Father, YaHoVeH. However, the Greek word used here is thyroros and actually means "a doorkeeper" – a servant who attends to who comes in and out the door. It is the same word Yahshua uses in Mark 13:34, in which authority (the Greek word ecksousia - see Authority) is given to the doorkeeper and to the servants He leaves in charge, "to every man his work" – the work, the gifts, assigned or apportioned to him by the Father. For those of us who embrace the Life exampled by our elder Brother, we become doorkeepers, gatekeepers, to the house of the Father - to the abode of YHVH, the Kingdom of God. In Matthew 18:18, Yahshua says He has given to us the Keys to the Kingdom, authorizing us to be the gatekeepers to His Kingdom, the House of YahHoVeH, the Holy Temple of the Father. The word “gatekeeper”, translated from the Hebrew word show’er, speaks of a porter or doorkeeper, one who guards the opening to the temple. The gatekeepers mentioned in this verse from 2Chronicles were men from the tribe of Levi, the Priests, set apart by God to maintain holiness (separation) throughout the Temple. Armed with a passion focused on the things of YaHoVeH, these men were the last line of defense from the outside world into the holy place where YHVH dwelt among man. Their role was to prevent anything unclean from entering the holy temple, whether it be ill intentions of plunderers to unclean animals; these guys guarded the gates of the temple night and day with a steadfast rigor. It was at the gate where Judgments were dispersed. These are the gates of the Kingdom of God. There is to be one sheepfold and one shepherd. The gatekeeper is at once an individual and Israel, both represent the whole community which carries to its supreme point the mission of the nation, while calling each person to enter individually into that mission, so that it shall be the mission of the nation and not merely the individual. Part One: the Gospel Part Two: Gatekeepers (NEXT) A Nation of Priests
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"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: They shall prosper that love you." (Psalm 122:6) (prosper - from the Hebrew, "shalav", meaning "to be at rest") Please visit the website http://hethathasanear.com for other articles and videos or for information if you feel led to contribute to this ministry. Click here to watch the short movie Maranatha!. | |||
 Shalom Alechem B'Shem Yeshua HaMashiach. (Peace be unto you in the Name of Jesus the Messiah) haRold Smith Jerusalem • Israel http://hethathasanear.com harold@hethathasanear.com | |||
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