| Dear fellow believers:
What does it mean to "bear fruits worthy of repentance?" (Luke 3:8)
"Fruit" is our behavior. Our behavior can be good or evil. In the context of Luke 3:8, good fruit and bad fruit. The trees in Luke 3:9 are human beings.
"But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." (Acts 26:20 KJV)
The fruit of the spirit is the following:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things. Moreover, those who belong to the Messiah Yeshua have put their old nature to death on the stake, along with its passions and desires. Since it is through the Spirit that we have Life, let it also be through the Spirit that we order our lives day by day. (Gal 5:22-25 CJB)
TRUE love is walking after Yah's commandments and obeying His commandments (2 John 1:6; 1 John 5:3).
Repentance is changing your mind and turning back to Yah. Yah, through the Apostles' commands all of mankind to change their minds:
"In the past, God overlooked such ignorance; but now he is commanding all people everywhere to turn to him from their sins. For he has set a Day when he will judge the inhabited world, and do it justly, by means of a man whom he has designated. And he has given public proof of it by resurrecting this man from the dead." (Acts 17:30-31 CJB)
The following are the sins that Yah desire us to repent from:
"All these bad things begin inside a person, in the mind: bad thoughts, sexual sins, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, doing bad things to people, lying, doing things that are morally wrong, jealousy, insulting people, proud talking, and foolish living. These evil things come from inside a person. And these are the things that make people unacceptable to God." (Mark 7:21-23 - Easy to Read Version - ERV)
"The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: committing sexual sin, being morally bad, doing all kinds of shameful things, worshiping false gods, taking part in witchcraft, hating people, causing trouble, being jealous, angry or selfish, causing people to argue and divide into separate groups, being filled with envy, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: The people who do these things will not have a part in God's kingdom." (Galatians 5:19-21 Easy To Read Version - ERV)
Right now, Yah is calling the firstfruits from mankind, a Bride for His Son (Matthew 25:1; John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 14:4; Ephesians 5:31-32). Eventually, all of mankind will be called (2 Peter 3:9).
"No one can come to me unless the Father — the One who sent me — draws him. And I will raise him up on the Last Day. It is written in the Prophets, 'They will all be taught by Adonai.' Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me." (John 6:44-45 CJB)
The goodness of Yah leads a man or woman to repent (Romans 2:4). The "goodness" is Yah drawing you to repent-to change your mind. When someone comes to Messiah then he or she is coming to the Messiah's body which symbolically is the TRUE believers of Messiah (1 Corinthians 12:27). In each assembly of Yah, you have leaders-Torah teachers who teach believers the basic doctrines of Messiah and the "meaty" doctrines of Messiah (Ephesians 4:11-16; Acts 8:30-31; Hebrews 6:1-2).
To summarize the process of receiving and maintaining the Holy Spirit-this is what Shavout is all about:
- Repent and prove it by a change in your behavior (Luke 3:8-14; Acts 2:38-40; Acts 3:19; Acts 8:22)
- Immersion of the entire body in the water (Matthew 3:15-16; Acts 8:36-39)
- An elder of the assembly lays hands on the top of your head and asks Yah to put His Holy Spirit in you (Acts 8:17-19; Acts 9:17; Acts 19:6; 2 Timothy 1:6)
- You must continue to have a desire to obey Yah and to change your behavior to receive the power to help you obey Him and to understand His words-the Holy Bible (1 Peter 1:22; Acts 5:32; Acts 7:51; Proverbs 1:22-23; Ephesians 4:30)
As John the immerser stated, one of the major ways we can prove we have repented is by sharing our food and clothes with those who have need (Luke 3:11).
Additionally, Yah states the following about how we can repent and turn to Him:
"For I am יהוה, I shall not change, and you, O sons of Yaʽaqoḇ, shall not come to an end. “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My laws and did not guard them. Turn back to Me, and I shall turn back to you,” said יהוה of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what shall we turn back?’ Would a man rob Elohim? Yet you are robbing Me! But you said, ‘In what have we robbed You?’ In the tithe and the offering! “You have cursed Me with a curse, for you are robbing Me, this nation, all of it! “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and let there be food in My house. And please prove Me in this,” said יהוה of hosts, “whether I do not open for you the windows of the heavens, and shall pour out for you boundless blessing! “And I shall rebuke the devourer for you, so that it does not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor does the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” said יהוה of hosts. “And all nations shall call you blessed, for you shall be a land of delight,” said יהוה of hosts." (Malachi 3:6-12 The Scriptures)
Giving tithes and offerings to Yeshua's Levites (Torah Teachers) and to the poor is one of the ways you show Yah you are repenting.
For those who think ministers who preach the Gospel are not considered spiritual Levites, please read the following scripture:
"Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me." (Jeremiah 33:18-22 KJV)
Remember, Yeshua stated that no man has ever heard the Father's voice or seen him (John 5:37). So, Yeshua, the Word of God, is talking in the above scripture and He stated He would always have ministers serving him. The assembly of believers are considered to be priests (1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6) and this includes Torah teachers or ministers.
Yeshua stated the following about tithing:
“But woe to you Pharisees, because you tithe the mint and the rue and every plant, and pass by the right-ruling and the love of Elohim. These you should have done, without leaving the others undone." (Luke 11:42 The Scriptures)
"Without leaving the others undone" is referring to tithing. Yeshua did not nail the concept of tithing on the cross.
"Don't you know that those who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrifices offered there? In the same way, the Lord directed that those who proclaim the Good News should get their living from the Good News." (1 Corinthians 9:13-14 CJB)
Ministers who preach the Gospel should get their living from the Gospel. Ministers, like Levites, teach Torah (2 Chronicles 35:3; 2 Chronicles 17:8-9; 2 Chronicles 30:22; Malachi 2:7). Torah teachers deserve to receive consistent wages. And, those wages come from the tithes & offerings of his students (1 Timothy 5:17-18; Galatians 6:6).
- Paul had to "rob" other assemblies to receive support (2 Corinthians 11:8-9; Philippians 4:14-18). I truly understand what Paul had to go through and what other Torah teachers are going through when it comes to receiving the proper support from students.
As of this date, I'm sorry to say I'm not getting my living from the Gospel. My full-time profession should be ministry and, following the example of Yeshua (carpenter) and the rest of the Apostles including Paul (tent maker), I also do part-time secular work. My "outside of ministry" work is sales writing. I help companies by writing about the benefits of their services and products; why someone should invest in a company's services and products.
- I feel forsaken and Yah's ministers should not be forsaken (Deuteronomy 12:19; Deuteronomy 14:27). I only receive donations from a tiny few who listen to me and learn from me.
Yah's TRUE ministers are considered among the poor and we have afflictions and difficulties. Yah's TRUE ministers teach the Law of Moses which is the Law of Yah (1 Kings 2:3; Nehemiah 8) and are scribes (Ezra 7:6; Malachi 2:4-7; Matthew 23:34). Scribes are writers.
"And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest." (Deuteronomy 14:29 KJV)
"But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true; As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed; As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." (2 Corinthians 6:4-10 KJV)
"For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day." (1 Corinthians 4:9-13 KJV)
A TRUE minister of Yah goes through GREAT difficulties and trials. And, just like TRUE believers, the world is not worthy of them and the world hates them (Hebrews 11:36-38; John 17:14; John 15:18-21; 1 John 4:5-6; Luke 6:22-23).
Please consider that the whole world is deceived and tricked by Satan in reference to religion (Revelation 12:9; Jeremiah 16:19-21; Revelation 14:8, Revelation 18:3; Jeremiah 51:7). Satan also has his ministers (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). There are more of Satan's ministers then Yah's TRUE ministers on this earth.
"Then He said to His taught ones, “The harvest truly is great, but the workers are few. “Pray then that the Master of the harvest would send out workers to His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38 The Scriptures)
"But it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:14 CJB)
Tithes and offerings has been a BIG problem among the tribes of Israel in the past and it is a problem today among the modern tribes of Israel in the 21st century (Malachi 3:8).
"Tithing remained stable in 2012, though at the lower end of the typical range. The research shows that 5% of adults qualify as having tithed—giving 10% or more of their annual income to a church or non-profit organizations. In 2009, before the financial crisis, tithing was 7%, then dipped to 4% in 2010 and 2011. (Note: Barna calculates this “tithing” rate based on total giving divided by household income, not by asking survey respondents to estimate percentages.) Among born again Christians, which includes both evangelicals and non-evangelicals, 12% tithed in 2012, which is on par with the average for the past decade.
“Finally, most American donors still give when they feel content and ready to give. For most Americans, giving is a luxury or a nice thing to do, but not typically viewed as a necessity. While the economy and donor outlook continue to show signs of improvement, it would be a tragedy if donors did not reevaluate the overall basis of their giving—that it’s not just an extra thing to do or for the tax benefits, but rediscovering the truest meaning of generosity.” (New Barna Study Explores Trends Among American Donors by the Barna Group, April 12, 2013)
- So according to this study, most Americans think giving is a luxury but not a necessity. No wonder Yah states Israel (the modern tribes of Israel geographically consist of the U.S., Canada, Britan, France, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel in the Middle East, the countries in northwestern Europe and Australia-for more information go to the following website: britam.org) is robbing Him (Malachi 3:8).
Well, our Lord and Savior commands us to do the following:
"If someone asks you for something, give it to him; if someone takes what belongs to you, don't demand it back. "Treat other people as you would like them to treat you. What credit is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them. What credit is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that. What credit is it to you if you lend only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners lend to each other, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of Ha`Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Show compassion, just as your Father shows compassion . . . Give, and you will receive gifts — the full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!" (Luke 6:30-38 CJB)
- If you want to get Yah's attention, be generous and start consistently giving to His spiritual Levites (ministers), and to the poor in your community (Acts 10:1-4; Acts 9:36-43).
According to the scriptures and the Jews' example, you should give 10% of your net income (this is your take home pay) to:
- Torah teachers -1st tithe (10% of net income)
- Feasts expense - 2nd tithe (10% of net income)
- Feasts expense becomes the Poor man's tithe during the 3rd and 6th year of the 7 year cycle
I explain the three different tithes in the Bible study article Tithes & Offerings.
A summarized audio version of the Bible study article: Tithes & Offerings
- If you are struggling financially and can't tithe from your net income then you should give what you can and focus on giving offerings. Yah does not want your family to starve to death because you are giving to Torah teachers and to the poor in your community (1 Timothy 5:8).
- However, you should eliminate your debt and do the best you can to improve your financial situation so you can start tithing (Romans 13:8). Being poor does not disqualify you to consistently give unless you are disabled and can't work (Leviticus 14:21).
- Most Americans get paid every two weeks, so whenever you get paid you should consider either taking 10% of your net income (your take home pay) or if you can't afford to take 10% of your net income, then give what you can. If you have your own business (self-employed), then you subtract your business expenses from your sales to get net income and tithe from your net income.
"Now, brothers, we must tell you about the grace God has given the congregations in Macedonia. Despite severe trials, and even though they are desperately poor, their joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. I tell you they have not merely given according to their means, but of their own free will they have given beyond their means. They begged and pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service for God's people. Also, they didn't do this in the way we had expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord, which means, by God's will, to us. All this has led us to urge Titus to bring this same gracious gift to completion among you, since he has already made a beginning of it. Just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence of every kind, and in your love for us — see that you excel in this gift too. I am not issuing an order; rather, I am testing the genuineness of your love against the diligence of others.
"For you know how generous our Lord Yeshua the Messiah was — for your sakes he impoverished himself, even though he was rich, so that he might make you rich by means of his poverty. As I say, in regard to this matter I am only giving an opinion. A year ago you were not only the first to take action but the first to want to do so. Now it would be to your advantage to finish what you started, so that your eagerness in wanting to commence the project may be matched by your eagerness to complete it, as you contribute from what you have. For if the eagerness to give is there, the acceptability of the gift will be measured by what you have, not by what you don't have. It is not that relief for others should cause trouble for you, but that there should be a kind of reciprocity: at present your abundance can help those in need; so that when you are in need, their abundance can help you — thus there is reciprocity. It is as the Tanakh says, "He who gathered much had nothing extra, and he who gathered little had nothing lacking." (2 Corinthians 8:1-15 CJB)
- It is important to be a cheerful giver and not to be stingy. You should give Yah the best you can give without causing financial hardship for yourself or your family. It should be a sacrifice (Hebrews 13:16 CJB).
"Here's the point: he who plants sparingly also harvests sparingly. Each should give according to what he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God has the power to provide you with every gracious gift in abundance, so that always in every way you will have all you need yourselves and be able to provide abundantly for every good cause — as the Tanakh says, "He gave generously to the poor; his tzedakah lasts forever."
"He who provides both seed for the planter and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your tzedakah. You will be enriched in every way, so that you can be generous in everything. And through us your generosity will cause people to thank God, because rendering this holy service not only provides for the needs of God's people, but it also overflows in the many thanks people will be giving to God. In offering this service you prove to these people that you glorify God by actually doing what your acknowledgement of the Good News of the Messiah requires, namely, sharing generously with them and with everyone." (2 Corinthians 9:6-13 CJB)
Let's use this Shavout to continue to change and start giving consistently to Yah's Torah teachers and to the poor in our communities.
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| Warmest regards,
Kennard, Servant of Elohim (God) |
| You can listen to the Merciful Servants of God BlogTalk Radio Show anytime 24/7 or you can call me live every Saturday at 2:30 pm.
"Don't you know that those who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrifices offered there? In the same way, the Lord directed that those who proclaim the Good News should get their living from the Good News." (1 Corinthians 9:13-14 CJB)
Your tithes/charity/tzedakah (za da kah)/almsgiving & offerings will help pay for basic necessities.
We are not a 501(c)3 Church or Religious Organization that is associated with the Federal or State government of this world. Therefore, your contributions to this work of Elohim (God) are not tax deductible. However, we appreciate any tithes, offerings or donations you are willing to give to this work of Elohim. Click Tithes & Offerings to give.
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