... All we need is a Pure and Undefiled Religion in the name of Him,the Lord Jesus-Christ ... |
"Whosohath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shuttethup his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of Yahuwahin him?"1 John 3:17. "Purereligion and undefiled before Yahuwah and the Father is this, To visitthe fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himselfunspotted from the world." James 1:27.
Yahushua was a manof sorrows, and acquainted with grief. His human life was one longtravail in behalf of the inheritance he was to purchase at suchinfinite cost. He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Andin consideration of the value he places upon those who are the purchaseof his blood, he adopts them as his children, making them the objectsof his tender care; and in order that they may have their temporal andspiritual necessities supplied, he commits them to his church, saying,Inasmuch as ye do it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye doit unto me. This is to be our watchword; and if we carry it faithfullyinto our lives, we shall hear the benediction, "Well done, thou good and joy faithful servant: . . . enter thou into the joy of thy Master." Matthew 25:21.
Speaking through his prophet of the work to be done by Yahushua in the world, Yahuwah says: "Beholdmy servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; Ihave put my Spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to theGentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to beheard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smokingflax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. Heshall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in theearth: and the isles shall wait for his law." Isaiah 42:1-4.And Yahushua himself declared: "TheSpirit of the Master is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preachthe gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, topreach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to theblind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Luke 4:18.
Thisis to be the work of every servant of Yahushua; and his professedfollowers would do well to ask themselves, Have I the mind of Yahushua?Have I, with humble heart, sought to help and bless the souls that areoppressed, those who are tempted and tried by poverty and affliction?or have I heard the voice of my fellow men asking for pity, forconsideration, and for mercy, and spurned their earnest cry? Have Imade it harder for them to place their faith and confidence in aprayer-hearing Yahuwah? Have I by harsh, unpitying words crushed thewounded spirit, and in hardness of heart quenched the last spark ofhope in the soul? In the sight of Yahuwah the richest treasure is a humble, contrite heart. The name of the
Master is magnified when the heart becomes tender, sensitive toanother's woe, and pitiful of his suffering. When the Holy Spirit worksupon our hearts and minds, we shall not shun duty and responsibility,and, like the priest and Levite, pass by on the other side, leaving thewounded, helpless soul to its misery. Angels of Yahuwah stand ready towork with us as we minister to souls.
It is possible fora man to think himself a follower of Yahushua, and yet have entirelyincorrect ideas of what it means to be a follower of Yahushau. He mayregard himself as a follower of Yahushua, and think he is doing anessential work, and yet do that work with such a spirit and in such away as to stir up the worst passions of the human heart. There are manyintelligent men who mean to be professed followers of Yahushau, but whodeceive themselves. Their religion is not after the order of Yahushua,but is a shadow of some other man's mind, and does great harm to thecause of truth when brought into connection with the work. If thesepersons would study the works of Yahushua, they would see that in theirlives are revealed the attributes of Satan, rather than the beauty ofthe meek and lowly Jesus.
There are many whobelieve the truth, but their faith is not that faith which works bylove and purifies the soul. At times they may speak the truth as it isin Jesus. They may be kind, and may deal with equity. They may haveright ideas, and at times come to correct decisions in regard to thework. They may have ability to teach others, to educate the young, orto deal with the erring; but self is strong in them, and if in theirwork something arises which cuts across their plans, they place all thestrength of their being on the enemy's side. They become unkind andunfeeling. They make unholy decisions, and act in a way to hurt soulsnigh and afar off. They lie against the truth, while claiming tobelieve. Bitterness is cherished against the souls who are the purchaseof the Son of Yahuwah; and when, through misconception, their ownspirit is brought into exercise, their unYahushua-like dispositionmanifests itself against those who are innocent. These men misrepresentYahushua. By the heavenly universe as well as by men, it is seen thatthey have not renewed, sanctified hearts, but are coarse indisposition, unsympathetic, unkind, uncourteous, unYahushua-like.
Yahuwah has represented this work in his word, saying, "Ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad."Ezekiel 34:21. This has been the course pursued by many professingfollowers of Yahushua. They have driven souls onto Satan's battleground, to be tempted, to falter, and to fall. For a time the work maynot show the result of such a course of action; for Yahuwah works topreserve the honor of his cause. But when messages of warning and mercyare repeatedly rejected, these defects will become apparent; alienationwill be aroused, distrust awakened. Those who have connected themselveswith these men will find that they are losing personal piety and faithin Yahushua, that their characters are becoming molded after a wrongpattern. Temptations will be many and strong to be unmerciful,unsympathetic, untouched by the feeling of others' infirmities. Insteadof learning in the school of Yahushua, they are being educated in wrongways by teachers whose defects of character will close against them thegates of heaven.
When the judgmentshall sit, and the books shall be opened, these men will be called toaccount for the blood of souls that is upon their garments. In that dayYahuwah will ask them, "Who hath required this at your hand?" Isaiah 1:12.
No man is to betrusted with high responsibilities who does not take himself in handdaily, and through the grace given set his heart in order. Often thosewho do the greatest harm are those who accept positions of trust, butwho have not inquired at every step, Is this the way of the Master? Theone who allows his heart to become hardened by Satan's temptations, whopermits his natural disposition to gain the victory, fails to receivethe impress of heaven. He becomes sapless and impoverished, and bearsonly wild fruit. The professed children of Yahuwah who refuse theguidance of their Heavenly Father, and disregard Yahuwah's message andmessengers, will mourn too late the blessings they have lost. Withanguish of soul they will call to mind the opportunities and privilegesthat were within their reach, but which they failed to improve, andwhich are lost to them forever.
Men areslow to learn the lesson that the spirit manifested by Jehu will neverbind hearts together. It is not safe for us to bind up our interestswith a Jehu religion; for this will result in bringing sadness of heartupon Yahuwah's true workers. Yahuwah has not given to any of hisservants the work of punishing those who will not heed his warnings andreproofs. When the Holy Spirit is abiding in the heart, it will leadthe human agent to see his own defects of character, to pity theweakness of others, to forgive as he wishes to be forgiven. He will bepitiful, courteous, Yahushua-like.
Mark how tenderand pitiful the Master is in his dealings with his creatures. While wewere yet sinners, Yahushua died for us, and he stands ready to receiveevery wanderer who will return. The ear of the Master is open to thecry of every one who is poor in spirit. Even before the prayer isoffered, or the yearning of the soul made known, the Spirit of Yahuwahgoes forth to meet it. Never has there been a good desire, however weak, never a prayer liftedto Yahuwah, however faltering, never a tear shed in contrition of soul,but grace from Yahushua has gone forth to meet the grace working in thehuman heart.
OurHeavenly Father appreciates his erring child, and encourages him toreturn. The Father's arm is placed about his repenting son; theFather's garments cover his rags; the ring is placed upon his finger asa token of his royalty. And yet how many there are, themselves needingsalvation as much as he, who look upon the struggling soul not onlywith indifference, but with contempt. Like the Pharisee they say, "Yahuwah, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, . . . or even as this publican."Luke 18:11. How hard and ungracious are the thoughts cherished towardthe straying sheep! How can Yahuwah look with pleasure upon men andwomen who, claiming to be co-workers with Yahushua, regard the prodigalwith contempt; who, while the soul is making its first strugglesagainst the flood of temptation, stand by, like the elder brother inthe parable, stubborn, self-willed, complaining? Will he not judge forthese things? If those in positions of trust had realized what Yahuwahexpects of them in rescuing the human race, many lambs that have beenkilled by neglect would now be safe in the fold of Yahuwah. If one halfthe time and strength that is now devoted to sermonizing were spent inseeking to win back the straying ones, there would be rejoicing in theheavenly courts. These sermons lived would have a telling influence inwinning souls to Yahushua.
Weneed to make great changes. We need to hold to pure principles inreverence for Yahushua and respect for the purchase of his blood. Theremust be a continual growth in those attributes that tend to perfectionof character. When divine grace has opened our hearts, we shall impartto others of the grace we have received. And the peace of Yahuwah,which passeth all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds throughYahushua Jesus.
May Him bless you abundantly,and with all my best wishes toyou,your family and your ministry on this new year,placed for you onthe blood of Him.
Yours in His mighty name,
Pastor Johaness Joseph
The New JERUSALEM MINISTRY
thenewjerusalemministrysc@yahoo.com
... All we need is a Pure and Undefiled Religion in the name of Him,the Lord Jesus-Christ ...
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