29th of the 12th month 2014/2015
Shabbat Shalom all,
Luqas/Luke 9:57 “And it came to be, as they journeyed on the way, that someone said to Him, “Master, I shall follow You wherever You go.”
As we enter into the 29th of the 12th month and possibly the last day for this year (should we sight the moon at the end of this Sabbath), we are with great excitement looking forward to beginning a new cycle and celebrating the head of the year as well as the Feasts of Pěsaḥ and Matzot in a couple of weeks. As we consider our need to keep the Sabbaths and Feasts of יהוה, we must take heed to ensuring that we are continually dressed in the righteousness of guarding to do all our Master has commanded us to. We are called to be a daily living offering, and that takes a proper daily assessment, as we look intently into the mirror of the Word and not forget what we look like. Having said that we take note that many people often take more time to sit and evaluate their lives at an end or beginning of a period of time or cycle, and constructively evaluate where they are at and assess if their lives are being lived out as they ought to be. Tonight I want to challenge each and every one of you to consider your ways and determine the state of your called for walk of set-apartness in the Master, or lack thereof, especially in light of us approaching the Feast where we sit at the table of the Master and partake in His body and blood that He prepared for us, so that we can be grafted into His Covenants of promise that we were once far off from! There are many today who may claim to ‘know’ The Master and Elohim of our deliverance, and even claim to stay in Him, yet they do not guard His commands nor do they walk as He walked! Crowds of people followed the Master when He walked here on earth, yet few actually followed Him as true servants and students of the Good Shepherd! We too must take assessment of our lives and honestly determine whether we are of the remnant few who are making themselves ready in complete set-apartness or whether we are moving along with the indecisive and compromising crowds. In a message tonight called, “A FAN IN THE CROWD OR A FOLLOWER ON THE FIELD?”, I would like us to take careful heed of our Master’s words and be strengthened, encouraged and equipped to be a true follower on the field and not just another fan in the crowd! Please turn with me to Luqas/Luke 14:15-35 (Read).
After יהושע had gone into a house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, He healed a man that was suffering from dropsy, and then proceeded to speak a parable to those who had been invited, when He noticed how they chose the best places. He taught a clear lesson on humility and to be on guard against thinking more highly of oneself as you should! He teaches them to consider others above themselves. This Sha’ul teaches us too in:
Pilipiyim/Philippians 2:3-4 “doing none at all through selfishness or self-conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each one should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
After having addressed a clear lesson on pride, we come to the section we have just read for tonight, where one of those who sat at the table said to יהושע, “Blessed is he who eats bread in the reign of Elohim!”
There are many today that just assume that they will be eating bread in the reign of Elohim, and make a prideful boast of the fact that they are better than others, while they may just be in for a huge shock and be told that the Master never knew them and they will be thrown out for not being dressed in righteousness and humility, as faithful servants!
Messiah then proceeds with a number of illustrations that teach us our need to continually assess whether we are true followers that will be brought into the Reign of Elohim, or whether we are a part of the large crowds that make a lot of noise with their lips while their hearts are far from our Mighty Master, Elohim, Redeemer and King!
From verse 16-24 יהושע gives us a very sobering parable of a great supper that had been prepared and the call given to come, for all was ready! This parable is a clear lesson on hearing the clear call to come to the Master’s Table and do so with urgency as we clothe ourselves in the Righteousness that He has given us through His Blood, and guard ourselves to keep our garments clean, pure and undefiled as we guard His clear Torah and commands for set-apart living! As we consider the Pěsaḥ Meal that we will be keeping in a couple of weeks we must certainly take time to assess if we are truly living set-apart lives as we should, lest we find that when the Great Wedding Feast takes place at Sukkot we are thrown out for not being dressed as we should. One cannot gain entrance into the Sukkot Wedding Feast without having partaken of the Table of the Master at Pěsaḥ/Passover! The invitation to enter in and take our place in the Master has been given! The “Supper has been made ready”, and the invitation has gone out! While we may recognise this, what we also take careful note of here is that, just as according to the Master’s parable, this is when the excuses begin!!!
All has been made ready for us to enter in and partake of the Kingdom of our Master, as we are called to faithfully sojourn here and ambassadors of His coming Reign.
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 9:1-2 “Wisdom has built her house, She has hewn out its seven columns, 2 She has slaughtered her meat, She has mixed her wine, She has also prepared her table.”
Shelomoh gives us here a clear parable of how Messiah, through the full proclamation of the Torah and the prophets, has hewn out the Appointed Times of Elohim and has made His Table ready for all who respond correctly to come and partake of Him – for His table has been prepared. With the table of the Master having been prepared, we must take note that this does not bring in a nullification or destruction of His Torah, but rather fully proclaims it and any excuse given to not do so will result in expulsion and death!
When all has been prepared the excuses begin, and here Messiah gives us 3 examples of typical excuses many have.
Excuse No.1: “I have bought a field, and I need to go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.”
Excuse No.2: “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. I ask you to have me excused.”
Excuse No.3: “I have married a wife, and because of this I am unable to come.”
What you may notice here is that with the first two excuses, the ones who made them asked to be excused, while the third one simply said that he is unable to come, without asking to be excused! I find this very interesting as we recognise the three primary reasons for so many excuses: 1) possession or wealth, 2) work and 3) family. It is primarily under these three main categories that most, if not all, excuses for hearing, guarding and doing the Torah and commands of Elohim fall into, and while we recognise the asking to be excused when using ‘work’ or ‘possessions’ as an excuse, we also take note that a clear ‘I am unable to come’ being given when it comes to ‘close family’ being the excuse!!!
We often find that work and possessions, or the pursuit thereof, cause many to find quick excuses for the called for set-apartness that is given through the Word of Elohim! All have been invited yet most will give excuses, and even justify their excuses under a banner of man-made traditions and theologies that promote lawlessness! Messiah warns us in Luqas/Luke 12:15 to beware of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the excess of his possessions! Sha’ul told Timotiyos in:
Timotiyos Aleph/1 Timothy 6:9-11 “But those wishing to be rich fall into trial and a snare, and into many foolish and injurious lusts which plunge men in ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some, by longing for it, have strayed from the belief, and pierced themselves through with many pains. 11 But you, O man of Elohim, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, reverence, belief, love, endurance, meekness.”
We are also told in:
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor that which is in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 Because all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world passes away, and the lust of it, but the one doing the desire of Elohim remains forever.”
Possessions and wealth and the pursuit thereof can often be a huge stumbling block for many who have not learnt to be content in all circumstances and lack proper reverence as a result, causing them to make vain excuses as to why they cannot do what the Word clearly instructs and calls for!
The third excuse of not being able to come because of family is one that is given by so many, and the fact that the one making this excuse does not even ask to be excused reveals to me a state of cowardice and position of defeat, as many lack the courage and strength to stand up for the Truth in their own homes!
Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 7:33 “But he who is married is concerned about the matters of the world – how to please his wife.”
While pleasing one’s wife is certainly necessary and critical to the success of any marriage, what we must take note of here is that Sha’ul is highlighting to us how some may neglect the need to please Elohim, as they do not want to offend their spouse, or loved ones. Sha’ul in not teaching against marriage, for we know that any marriage should reflect the clear picture of Messiah and His Bride, yet what he is teaching us is that we are to attend to the Master without distractions, and it is often the case that the closest loved one’s can cause the biggest distractions, especially if they are not serving the Master! In Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 20:4-8 we are given clear instructions in regards to those who may cause distractions on the battlefield. We are clearly told that it is יהוה our Elohim who goes with us, to fight for us against our enemies and saves us. Then it is instructed that the one who has a new house or new vineyard or a new wife, is exempt from going to battle, in case he should die and never get to dedicate his house, use his vineyard or have a family. It then goes on to say that if any man is afraid or tender of heart that he should not go into battle lest he causes others to become faint like his.
Why am I linking this up to this text in Luqas/Luke 14 with the parable of our Master? Well it is clear – Messiah is the One who fights for us, and He has defeated death and the grave and calls us all to count the cost and have no excuse to not hear the call to come out and be separate and fight the good fight of the belief/faith!
What each of these 3 men symbolize for us as having in common is that they all have unfinished business at home and are unable to give their all on the battlefield! Being preoccupied with self disqualifies one from being fit and able to serve in the army of Elohim!!! Those who do not go to war will not taste the victory, and here in Luqas/Luke 14 יהושע carries on teaching us various aspects of dropping the excuses and counting the cost, as He teaches us that those who neglect prioritising the Kingdom of Elohim in their lives for the sake of their own desires are like those who put their hand to the plough and look back – they are not fit for the Kingdom and will therefore have not entrance into it!
The principle here is simply this – if your heart is not in it – don’t go to fight! This does not excuse away the need for us to get our hearts in it, but too many today are trying to face their battles with a half-hearted approach at serving יהוה, and this is not true service and worship, and you risk getting severely punished for causing others to stumble due to your compromise. Crowds will make a big noise yet lack the ability to follow 100%.
In Verse 25 we are told that large crowds were going with Him! The Greek words used here for ‘going with’ is συμπορεύομαι sumporeuomai – Strong’s G4848 which means, ‘travelling, journey together, going along’. This word is used only 4 times in the Renewed Writings and primarily gives reference to large crowds that go along, as opposed to those who truly ‘follow’!!!
In the verse I started with tonight, from Luqas/Luke 9:57 where someone said to the Master, “I will follow you wherever you go!”, we take note that the word for ‘follow’ is not the same word used to describe the crowds who were going with Him.
The Greek word translated as ‘follow’ in Luqas/Luke 9:57 is ἀκολουθέω akoloutheō – Strong’s G190 and comes from: Α, α alpha – Strong’s G1 which is the first letter of the Greek language and is used here as a participle of union, along with the word κέλευθος keleuthos – which means, ‘a road, or way’ and therefore this word ἀκολουθέω akoloutheō expresses the intention to ‘follow closely or going behind someone who leads the way’ or ‘to attend, to accompany, to go with or follow a teacher’.
The equivalent expression in Hebrew for ‘and I will follow you’ is – וְאֵלְכָה אַחֲרֶיךָ – ‘v’elḵa aḥarey’ḵa’ – which we find in the words Elisha said to Ěliyahu in Melaḵim Aleph/1 Kings 19:20 and comes from two root words: 1) הָלַךְ halaḵ – Strong’s H1980 meaning, ‘to walk, to go, to live, manner of life, cause to live’ and literally speaks of how one lives. It is used as a verb indicating that it is an active expression of one’s life. This verb is written in the ‘qal active’ tense and therefore renders the meaning, ‘to go, to walk, come, proceed, depart, move, go away, to die, live, manner of life (figuratively)’, and 2) אַחַר aḥar – Strong’s H310 meaning, ‘the hind part, following part, after, afterwards, behind, following’. Therefore we take note that in the Hebraic mind-set – to say that you will follow declares that you will live and walk as the one you are following, and do as they do. To follow Messiah is not for those who just want to go for a stroll to see what happens – it is a commitment to walk and live, even as He walked and lived!
You cannot follow the Master if you are not girded about with truth and have not put on righteousness, as you will be unable to walk as He walked!
Messiah lays forth some very clear conditions when He states that anyone who comes to Him and does not consider and follow His clear instructions will be unable to be His taught one! To ‘come’ to the Master’s call and invitation to set-apartness comes with a clear call to hear, guard and do all He commands us to! The Greek word used for ‘comes’ is ἔρχομαι erchomai – Strong’s G2064 which means, ‘to come, go, arrive, brought’, which is also used in:
Ḥazon /Revelation 22:17 “And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And he who hears, let him say, “Come!” And he who thirsts, come! And he who desires it, take the water of life without paying!”
Being used 3 times in this verse highlights the clear picture for us of those who are able to enter into the reign of the new heavens and earth, where no unrighteous will be allowed. It is obedient faith that gets one to be able to respond clearly to the call to ‘come’ to the Master and follow Him completely!
Ḥazon/Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city.”
Understanding this we take note of the Master’s clear words that show us what true coming to Him and following Him entails, as He makes it clear that those who come to Him and do not hate their father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and even their own life too are unable to be His taught one! This may sound harsh when reading a parable without proper understanding, yet as we listen attentively to the master we learn the clear importance that is being made here in separating true followers on the field of life versus the fans in the crowd who will wander along for the ride as long as it suites them!
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 13:6-8 “When your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own being, entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other mighty ones’– which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, 7 of the mighty ones of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth – 8 do not agree with him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pardon him, nor spare him or conceal him”
Families often have the strongest effect in enticing many away from walking in complete set-apartness and we must take heed to be on guard against this, and realise that this may indeed cause division in the home!
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 33:9 “who said of his father and mother, ‘I have not seen them.’ And he did not acknowledge his brothers, or know his own children, for they have guarded Your Word and watched over Your covenant.”
This verse is part of the prophesy over Lĕwi and may sound harsh and negative, yet it refers to the fact that the High Priest and priests who were in service could not even bury their own family, and reminds us how Lĕwi were the ones who stood up for the truth amidst the rebellion in the Wilderness and put to death their brothers who rebelled, highlighting for us the clear truth that when in service as a royal priesthood, יהוה comes first – and this separates the fan from the follower!
The crowds, or fans as I like to call them, will always be around for the excitement and all the seemingly fun stuff, yet will quickly run from any responsibility or accountability to do what is required and will shrug off any work to be done by using vain excuses. When we think of crowds or fans we can often liken them to fans of a sports team or of a music band etc. and what we learn from the nature of fans, who may have the appearance of being devoted to that which they claim to follow, is that they will definitely encourage in the good times and when all is on the rise, yet will also be quick to resort to being the biggest critics in tough times. Fans seek to be entertained and ‘get their monies worth’, so to speak, rather than seeking an opportunity to serve and give their all no matter the cost! The crowds who were going with Messiah were not all true followers! At this point I ask you… “How is your life and walk of set-apartness going?”
Do you find that you often follow as a member of a crowd out of a sense of compulsion or duty, or do you earnestly follow the Master – to do as He commands?
In the passage we read from Luqas/Luke 14 we are able to see two separate stories or parables that actually blend nicely into 1. First we see the picture of how the supper is ready – The Pěsaḥ meal has been made ready!
In fact it was made ready around 2000 years ago, and all have been invited. Messiah made it clear to us that unless we eat of Him we shall have no part in Him! His invitation has gone out and the requirements are clear – we are to be dressed in righteousness, guarding the commands and Torah of Elohim! Fans (the crowds) may often dress up, so to speak, and put on an outward show of a resemblance of the real yet they are simply fans who are unable to get on the field and do what is required! True followers are picked out of the crowd because they earnestly hear the call to come out and be separate and are constantly seeking to please the Master in every way by submitting to and obeying His Torah without compromise! Crowds will try to ‘buy their appearance’ through the traditions that they are compelled to be led by, yet never want to actually do what is required in order to become a part of the chosen and royal priesthood that serves in the field with joy and uncompromised set-apartness!
יהושע is not looking for fans, He is calling for true followers who will stay in Him and walk, even as He walked! It is easy to be a fan or a part of the crowd, or rather it is made to appear to be, yet they are going absolutely nowhere, and in fact it is easier to be a true follower as we take up the easy yoke of Messiah and walk in His Torah, not being weighed down and burdened by false traditions and twisted dogmas of man. Following takes commitment, while being a fan requires one to be constantly putting on a show! Fans are here today and gone tomorrow. Many claim to be followers yet are not, as they prove that they are merely one of the crowd that renders excuse after excuse as to why they cannot and will not do what is clearly commanded in the Word!
Crowds and crowd pleasers cannot be true followers – they are unable to be true taught ones of the Master!
The term translated in from the Greek as ‘unable’ comes from two words: 1) οὐ – ‘ou’ – Strong’s G3756 and δύναμαι – ‘dunamai’ – Strong’s G1410. οὐ – ‘ou’ is an adverb that simply means ‘no’ or ‘not’ and 2) δύναμαι – ‘dunamai’ Strong’s G1410 which means, ‘to have the capacity or ability, to be capable or have the power to’. So this compound word ‘unable’, from the Greek ‘οὐ δύναμαι’ – ‘ou dunamai’, simply means, ‘to have no capacity to do or no ability to do’.
Therefore those who do not give יהושע there full commitment do not have the capacity, power or ability to be followers of Messiah. In other words what יהושע is saying is that in order to be able to be one of His followers or talmidim (disciples) involves a standard that is no less than total devotion, supreme commitment and absolute surrender to Him and His will.
So what יהושע was doing here was warning the multitudes that were trying to follow Him that they need to understand the level of commitment that is required to be a true follower or disciple instead of being a fan.
יהושע used several illustration to make this very clear and in this passage He gives us five word pictures, snapshots or images if you will of what the cost true disciple entails:
IMAGE 1 – FAMILY (26) – He says that if you come to Him and do not ‘hate’ your family then you are unable to be His taught one! The Greek word used here for ‘hate’ is μισέω miseō – Strong’s G3404 which means, ‘hate, hatred’ and is seen as the opposite of having the ability ‘to love’ or ‘to be a friend’ and is the equivalent of not loving or to “love less”! What יהושע is doing here is contrasting love to family with love to Himself. He is asserting His position as Master and Elohim here. Family members are all human beings and the love we show to them compared to the love we show for Messiah, Elohim in the flesh, must be so different, that the love for family will seem like hatred. The meaning of the word μισέω miseō is made clear in:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 10:37 “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
If there is in any way a form of compromising a walk of total obedience to His Torah for the sake of family, then one is unable to be His taught one! There are sadly so many today who are unwilling to stand up for the Truth and therefore compromise to ‘keep the peace’ so to speak and this simply shows that they are unable to be ‘counted’ as being a fighting fit follower of Messiah!
IMAGE 2 – THE STAKE (27) – It may seem harsh when we begin to understand the words of our Master – He first says that unless we ‘hate’ our family and then says ‘unless we bear our stake…’! Walking in Messiah and following Him through a diligent obedience to His Torah is not for the faint hearted. We cannot just “love” Him in the erroneous way that they church teaches as being a ‘lawless love’ in order to follow Him; we must also ‘bear our stake’. And here the picture is typically to live like a dead person. For whenever someone was seen carrying a stake through the streets, everyone knew that persons fate – a horrible form of execution – it meant death! Although you were walking you were dead! And a real follower of יהושע is one who ‘bears his stake’. Sha’ul understood this very well and teaches us in:
Galatiyim/Galatians 2:20 “I have been impaled with Messiah, and I no longer live, but Messiah lives in me. And that which I now live in the flesh I live by belief in the Son of Elohim, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Galatiyim/Galatians 5:24 “And those who are of Messiah have impaled the flesh with its passions and the desires.”
What Sha’ul was saying is that there was nothing that this world had to offer that was of any interest to him.
Is the world and what it has to offer dead to you? Or do you find yourself laying down your stake and running to the pleasures, passions and lusts of the world?
Do the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out your ability to bear your stake? To walk as a true follower of יהושע Messiah means to be dead to the world! Don’t hold on to stuff that has no value.
One of the major problems with Yisra’ĕl in the wilderness was their inability to put to death the need to follow the carnal nature and so they fell into the abominable and perverted worship of Ba‘al, and the time came to count who had really committed themselves to walk in the Truth as the Promised Land lay right ahead for them, and those who were counted would be led by Yehoshua – a great shadow picture of those who have counted the cost and follow Messiah!
IMAGE 3 – TOWER (28-30) – Here יהושע gives a picture of a man who plans to build a tower, and before he starts he must count the cost to see if he has enough to get the job done. When we become followers of יהושע we may even ask, “Do I have what it takes to finish?” And typically the answer is always no! But it is not our resources that are necessary, for Elohim provides all we need. What יהושע is talking about here is total commitment – an enduring persevering heart – not giving up when the times get bad and the going gets rough.
Do not be one who gives up on following wholeheartedly after יהושע; for if you do others will then look on and say that you began but couldn’t finish it or follow through. Let me tell you that a true follower of יהושע does not shrink back and get destroyed, even when setbacks come, but a true follower is one who believes and is saved, one who lives by faith with works (Torah observance), even when it is rough and the chips are down! Often people are committed, but only for a while then through various reasons they drift away and walk away from following the Truth and walk away from יהוה. Do not be one of those. Are you willing to pay the price for true discipleship?
IMAGE 4 – A WAR (31-33) – The idea here is that of surrender – and how we need to surrender our lives to the leading and headship of Messiah, the King of Peace. Here the message is very clear – you cannot be a follower of יהושע if you are not willing to give up control, and for most people that is hard to do. יהוה is way stronger and mightier than we are and we need to make peace with Him and surrender to live in freedom. Most of the time people simply just don’t want to give up control. How many of you struggle to give control over to יהוה?
It takes humility to bow down and ask for terms of peace when there is a war raging in our lives. You cannot be a disciple of Messiah if you do not give complete control to יהוה.
IMAGE 5 – SALT (34-35) – The image and idea given here is to remain pure – to stay pure. Salt was a valuable commodity in Scriptural times, and often Roman soldiers would even be paid, at least in part, with salt rations. There is a phrase that we often hear when someone doesn’t do a good job or their work is mediocre and substandard: “He is not worth his salt”. We also know that salt was to be brought with every offering. Salt is also a cleansing and healing agent; and it renders the slaughtered animal unsusceptible to outside influences, reminding us that the absolute Covenant of יהוה is not to be altered. Salt can be ground up finer and finer, yet is still always salt. In fact, the Hebrew word for salt מֶלַח melaḥ – Strong’s H4417 comes from the word that means ‘to rub together, pulverise’. Salt cannot be destroyed by heat or water, but can be destroyed by another chemical agent. There is no safety net if salt loses its savour; there is nothing we can add to salt to make it salty again.
Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how shall it be seasoned? For it is no longer of any use but to be thrown out and to be trodden down by men.”
What יהושע was saying here was that if you mix in a chemical substance, such as false teachings and traditions of men to the pure Covenant of יהוה, then you may become tasteless and be thrown out and trodden down!!!
So how can salt lose its taste? The metaphoric picture here teaches us that we can become tasteless by sitting idle for long periods and not doing what is required or by adding foreign chemicals in the mix. The context for יהושע‘s calling us ‘the salt of the earth’ was persecution.
Mattithyahu/Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, because theirs is the reign of the heavens.”
If we undergo His grinding up, we must put what it teaches us into practice right away, or its purpose will be lost and we may just get pulverised!!!
As we consider these very stern words of our Master, I ask you, “how are you doing today?” Have you found yourself making various excuses, be it due to fleshly desires that rage within, or the deceit of wealth and possession, or due to the influence of family and friends? Have you actually found, when looking in to the clear mirror of the Word, that you have been more of a fan than a true follower? Being a fan when it suites you and when you can ‘afford it’, yet when things get rough and the test of true commitment comes you fade into the crowds and sit with many in the valley of decision?
Or have you truly counted the cost, and continue to do so day after day, sold our completely to our Master who gave His all for us and bought us at a price and respond perfectly to the call of Him who has made His supper ready? Do you give your all – in good times and in tough times, as a true follower should, or are there traces of you being revealed or shown up as being a fan rather than a follower?
Crowds fizzle out when the excitement and the wow factor fade, yet true followers never leave the set-apart way of our Master – for He is the Way!
We must be reminded how the 70 He sent out left Him very quickly when confronted with the deeper truth and revelation of the need to be completely and courageously committed! Out of the 12 that followed Him, 1 betrayed Him by going with the religious crowd who had turned against the Master. Fans or crowds do not last whereas true followers on the field endure and press on. Which are you? Do you honestly put יהוה first all the time and in all things, or have you found that fields, work, possessions, wealth and family often calls for your focus to shift away from having your eyes fixed on our Master and find that you lack proper judgement and discernment as excuses after excuse is being produced from your life instead of the good fruit of righteousness that should be brought forth in abundance!
Crowds will mix with other crowds and be easily influenced by the masses and the very broad way that leads to destructions and death, while true followers stay committed and true to their calling and choosing in the Master!
On the field (which is the world) there are rules, as in any game that is played, and crowds or fans do not follow the rules, nor do they want to. What they love to do is criticise every rule and move that a true follower makes on the field, thinking they know it all, while we know that it is only through proper application of the rules that a proper understanding of the rules becomes clear and obvious, while being scoffed at by foolish crowds and fans who position themselves on the side-lines of the broad destructive way that will quickly trample the innocent down during a riot against the truth!
True followers stick to the rules and do not despise the Master and His Torah when disciplined!
Our Master and Elohim, יהושע Messiah, came into this world to show us how to live in the field and live according to His clear Kingdom rules, and we as faithful ambassadors are to proclaim His coming reign in a field where there are many crowds and fans that are on the side-lines of this field, being influenced by lawlessness and the works thereof.
A FAN IN THE CROWD OR A FOLLOWER ON THE FIELD?
You know what you have called to be – what are you? Let your choice be made clear in the life you live – either seeking to please the Master in every way or falling in with the masses who are veiled from the Truth!
He who has ears, hear what the Spirit is saying to His Bride at this time – be a true follower in the field and be on guard against complacency, compromise and vain excuses that will only render one as a fan in the crowd!
A FAN IN THE CROWD OR A FOLLOWER ON THE FIELD?
Perhaps the mirror of the Word has revealed moments of being classed with the fans when you may have thought to be a follower in the field. Hear the clear invitation to set-apartness and make the right choice each and every day, and run with fervency and do not shrink back – fight the good fight and stand firm in our Master as a true follower on the field.
יהוה bless you and guard you; יהוה make His face shine upon you and show you favour; יהוה lift up His face to you and give you Shalom!