14th of the 1st month 2015/2016
Shabbat Shalom all,
Titos/Titus 1:16 “They profess to know Elohim, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unfit for any good work.”
Sha’ul, in his letter to Titos, was making a clear reference to so many who profess to know Elohim, yet by their works they show that they do not, as their works deny Him! He was speaking of those who are unruly, senseless talkers and deceivers, and he says, “especially those of the circumcision”! He was clearly warning Titos about many who are claiming to be teachers, yet they are teaching what they should not, for the sake of filthy gain, and in the process they were upsetting entire households and leading many to follow in their depraved traditions and commands of men. Titos was given the task of appointing elders and Sha’ul made it very clear to him what the requirements for a true overseer should be. He also told him not to pay attention to Yehuḏite fables and commands of men that turn people from the Truth!
This warning and instruction that was given to Titos back then is still an very real warning to all today, as we see many who are led astray by fables and commands of men that are turning people away from the Truth, causing them to work unrighteousness and lawlessness. The lawless and unrighteous works of many that has been taught by the establishment of false dogmas, theologies and commands of man, clearly renders them as people who are denying the Master, even though they profess to know Him! Tonight in a message called, ‘LET NOT YOUR WORKS DENY THE MASTER!’, I want us to be reminded that we are to keep our feet firmly placed on the Rock of our deliverance and stand in the complete armour of Elohim, which is to be dressed in His Torah and serve as a faithful set-apart and royal priesthood, as we are clothed in righteousness and guard to do all He has commanded us to do!
Tonight is the beginning of the 14th of the 1st month, and while we will be celebrating the Pěsaḥ/Passover Meal together tomorrow evening, what we can consider tonight is a very sobering warning against denying our Master, even while we think we are standing.
In speaking of those who whored in the Wilderness and died, and those who tried the Master and were destroyed by serpents, and those who grumbled and were destroyed by the destroyer, Sha’ul says:
Qorintiyim Aleph/1 Corinthians 10:11-12 “And all these came upon them as examples, and they were written as a warning to us, on whom the ends of the ages have come, 12 so that he who thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall.”
Many today think they are standing in the Master yet their understanding of what it means to stand armed in the Torah is severely lacking, as vain traditions and false misleading commands of men have caused many to be building their belief on sand and not on the True Rock!
In the last words we have of Kěpha in the Scriptures we see that he tells us in:
Kěpha Bět/2 Peter 3:17-18 “You, then, beloved ones, being forewarned, watch, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the delusion of the lawless, 18 but grow in the favour and knowledge of our Master and Saviour יהושע Messiah. To Him be the esteem both now and to a day that abides. Amĕn.”
Why I mention these words of warning given to us by Kěpha is simply because he was a man who understood the seriousness of standing firm! It was on this night around almost 2000 years ago, that this same Kěpha who warns us to watch lest we fall, fell himself and denied the Master!!!
Mattithyahu/Matthew 26:69-75 “And Kěpha sat outside in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him, saying, “And you were with יהושע of Galil.” 70 But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you say.” 71 And as he was going out into the porch, another girl saw him and said to those there, “And this one was with יהושע of Natsareth.” 72 But again he denied with an oath, “I do not know the Man!” 73 And after a while those who stood by came to him and said to Kěpha, “Truly you are one of them too, for even your speech gives you away.” 74 Then he began to curse and to swear, saying, “I do not know the Man!” And immediately a cock crowed. 75 And Kěpha remembered the word of יהושע who had said to him, “Before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times.” And going out, he wept bitterly.”
Kěpha wept bitterly for he faced the reality of what he was warned about and despite his own confidence he had failed to confess the Master as he claimed he would. He would have remembered the words of our Master that says:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 10:32-33 “Everyone, therefore, who shall confess Me before men, him I shall also confess before My Father who is in the heavens. 33 “But whoever shall deny Me before men, him I shall also deny before My Father who is in the heavens.”
Kěpha was very bold and serious about his commitment towards the Master, as it was earlier in the evening on this same night that he had said:
Mattithyahu/Matthew 26:33-35 “And Kěpha answering, said to Him, “Even if all stumble in You, I shall never stumble.” 34 יהושע said to him, “Truly, I say to you that this night, before the cock crows, you shall deny Me three times.” 35 Kěpha said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I shall not deny You!” All the taught ones said the same too.”
What you will notice here is that all the taught ones said the same thing – that they would never deny the Master!
I will never stumble!!! Bold words indeed! The Greek word translated as ‘stumble’ is σκανδαλίζω skandalizō – Strong’s G4624 which means, ‘to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way upon which another may trip and fall’, and metaphorically can mean, ‘to offend’. It also carries the meaning, ‘fall away, led into sin, stumble, to cause another or be caused to begin to distrust and desert one whom he ought to trust and obey’.
“I will never distrust you and I will never disobey you, even if everyone else does, I never will…”… That is what Kěpha was declaring to the Master, yet יהושע Messiah tells him very clearly that this night he would deny the Master 3 times, before the cock crows!!!
How many times have you made a similar kind of statement yet found that you did not stay true to your bold confession of steadfastness and trust in the Master when pressures and persecutions came? How many times have you, because of the pressing weight of worldly pressures and relational breakdowns, been caused to stumble?
Kěpha must have been distraught as he failed at keeping his bold confession after being confronted by others who recognised him as being a taught one of the Master, even pointing out to him that his speech gave him away! The way we talk and the way we walk will be clearly different to the world, yet when confronted what do you do?
As I mentioned earlier, this same Kěpha who denied the Master 3 times, is the one who clearly warns us against falling from our own steadfastness! He knew the danger of falling and what gave him the ability to give us a sober warning is that the Master, after He was raised from the dead, came and reinstated Kěpha, as we see in Yoḥanan/John 21 the great account of how the Master came and manifested Himself for the third time to His taught ones after His resurrection. Kěpha, and a couple of the taught ones, had gone out to fish and that night they caught none at all. In the morning יהושע stood on the beach and they did not know it was Messiah. יהושע asked them if they had food and they said ‘No!’, and the Master then told them to throw the net on the right side of the boat and they would find fish. They did so, and the catch was so huge that they were not able to drag it on their own. One of the taught ones then said to Kěpha that it was the Master and he immediately put on his outer garment, jumped into the sea and headed for the shore while the other taught ones dragged the fish with the boat. Kěpha then helped drag the net to land and saw that they had caught 153 big fishes and the net had not even broken! After making breakfast from some of the fish they caught we see how the Master asks Kěpha 3 times if he loves Him:
Yoḥanan/John 21:15-19 “When, therefore, they had eaten breakfast, יהושע said to Shimʽon Kěpha, “Shimʽon, son of Yonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yea, Master, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to him again, the second time, “Shimʽon, son of Yonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yea, Master, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Shimʽon, son of Yonah, do you love Me?” Kěpha was sad because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Master, You know all, You know that I love You.” יהושע said to him, “Feed My sheep. 18 “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you wished, but when you are old you shall stretch out your hands, and another shall gird you and bring you where you do not wish.” 19 Now this He said, signifying by what death he would esteem Elohim. And having said this, He said to him, “Follow Me.””
This was a very significant moment in Kěpha’s life, as we can in many ways see a complete restoration taking place in the life of this ardent believer and taught one who had denied the Master 3 times before His death! Now after His resurrection Kěpha was asked 3 times if He truly loved the Master! He was asked if he loved the Master more than “these”, which can represent a number of things, yet I believe we are able to see a great challenging question being asked, and the “these” can certainly represent the fish which they had caught, as well as the family and friends that were with him. This is a challenging question that is presented to all of us today too…! The fish can be representative of one’s career or work, and so the Master asks, “Do you love Me more than your work, friends and family?”
Kěpha answers a resounding yes, and this time he was not going to fail the Master, as He was now commissioned to feed and shepherd the sheep. Kěpha could now, in the resurrection power of Messiah, stand and be steadfast in the Master, warning us to be watchful lest we fall from our own steadfastness! He had denied the Master before the death of the Master, but now after the resurrection of Messiah, Kěpha could make a bold declaration of his love for the Master, equipped in the full resurrection power of our Mighty Elohim and King! He was also told by what death he would esteem Elohim and then was told to follow the Master and Elohim of our deliverance, and he did!!!
As we consider the Pěsaḥ Meal we are having tomorrow we too must take account of our lives and ensure that we do not partake of the Master’s table in any unworthy manner as we assess our lives and be confident in the bold declaration of our love for our Master, having our feet firmly planted in Him and dressed in righteousness and endure as faithful ambassadors of His coming Reign!
Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 2:12-13 “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also shall deny us. 13 If we are not trustworthy, He remains trustworthy, it is impossible for Him to deny Himself.”
To deny the Master and His mighty like power that has given us all we need for live and reverence will result in Him denying us! If we do not endure we shall not reign with him!!! Lack of endurance under pressure reveals a denial of the Master!
The Greek word that is translated as ‘denied, deny’ is ἀρνέομαι arneomai – Strong’s G720 which means, ‘contradict, deny, reject, renounce, disown’, and this word can have a twofold meaning for us, as we are to renounce and disown all works of darkness and lawlessness, yet we are not to disown or deny our Master as we guard to do all He has commanded us to do – for this is our righteousness!
Deḇarim/Deuteronomy 6:25 “And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.”
We are clearly told in:
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:7 “Little children, let no one lead you astray. The one doing righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.”
It is the one ‘doing’ righteousness that is righteous!!! This clearly tells us that righteousness is a verb, it is an action and an active submission to walking in the commands of Elohim as we clothe ourselves in the fine and uncorrupted linen of the Word that Messiah came to manifest before us and show us how we are to live and stay in Him!
There are many who are ‘doing’ unrighteousness, which are simply actions of disobedience toward His Torah and commands, despite how ‘righteous’ they think they are. Through the very life, death and resurrection of our Master who knew no sin, was made to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of Elohim. To stay in Him requires our active obedience to walking in His Righteousness and keep our garments clean by guarding to do all He commands us!
As I mentioned that the Greek word for deny teaches us what we are to deny and what we are not to deny. We are able to learn from Mosheh:
Iḇ’rim/Hebrews 11:24 “By belief, Mosheh, having become great, refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh”
The Greek root word translated here as ‘refused’ is ἀρνέομαι arneomai – Strong’s G720, and so we see a great example of how Mosheh ‘refused’ or for purposes of this message, ‘denied’ being identified with Pharaoh, which teaches us how we too must deny any association or identity with the world and fleshly ways, lest we end up denying the Master! We must deny the flesh, yet not deny the Master! This Greek word we see being used in the LXX (Septuagint – Greek translation of the Tanak):
Berěshith/Genesis 18:15 “But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said, “No, but you did laugh!”
Sarah denied the fact that she would have a son and so she denied the promise of life by the Word of Elohim! When Sarah did give birth she said, “Elohim has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of it laughs with me.” (Berěshith/Genesis 21:6). And in many ways we see the restoration of her denial at the birth of the promised seed!
The Hebrew word used here for ‘denied’ is כָּחַשׁ kaḥash – Strong’s H3584 which means, ‘to be untrue, to lie, deny, disown, fail’. This is the first time that this word is used in Scripture, and we see this word being used in:
Mishlĕ/Proverbs 30:8-9 “Remove falsehood and a lying word far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me my lawful bread; 9 lest I become satisfied and deny You, and say, “Who is יהוה?” and lest I be poor, and steal, and seize the Name of my Elohim.”
Iyoḇ/Job 31:24-28 “If I have put my trust in gold, or called fine gold my refuge; 25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gained much; 26 if I have looked at the sun when it shines, or the moon moving in brightness, 27 so that my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand – 28 that too is a punishable crookedness, for I would have denied Ěl above.”
Iyoḇ made it clear that if he had in any way put his trust in the wealth, riches and ways of this world then he would have denied Elohim. Works of unrighteousness, which is to do works without the proper boundaries of the Torah and commands of Elohim, is a denial of Him. Many people may be doing many great works, yet when done from a base of lawlessness, that is – when done from a base of foundational teaching that teaches that the Torah is no longer valid and is done away with, then their works are in vain and they shall be denied by the Master!
Luqas/Luke 13:25-28 “When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Master, Master, open for us,’ and He shall answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you shall begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 “But He shall say, ‘I say to you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness.’ 28 “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Aḇraham and Yitsḥaq and Yaʽaqoḇ and all the prophets in the reign of Elohim, and yourselves thrown outside.”
These are very serious words indeed, as the Master is clear – those who work unrighteousness are not known by Him and therefore shall be denied by Him, despite their claims to have ate and drank in His presence and that He taught in their streets! By their own confession they will declare that He did teach, but their unrighteous works will prove that they did not listen and therefore denied Him before man, to which He too will therefore deny those who are lawless!
Mattithyahu/Matthew 7:23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’”
Many may have a form of reverence yet they deny its power, and Sha’ul warned Timotiyos to turn away from those who deny the Master through their fleshly works of lawlessness (that is works without law/Torah)!
Timotiyos Bět/2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But know this, that in the last days hard times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, thankless, wrong-doers, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, haters of good, 4 betrayers, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Elohim, 5 having a form of reverence but denying its power. And turn away from these!”
As we consider the words of Sha’ul to Titos that we read at the beginning, in that many profess to know Elohim yet in their works they deny Him, we are able to understand this clearly as we take a look at this Hebrew word in the ancient pictographic text.
In the ancient pictographic lettering the Hebrew כָּחַשׁ kaḥash – Strong’s H3584 which means, ‘to be untrue, to lie, deny, disown, fail’, looks like this:
Kaph – כָּ:
The ancient form of this letter is – meaning ‘the open palm of a hand’. The meaning behind this letter is ‘to bend and curve’ from the shape of a palm as well as ‘to tame or subdue’ as one has been bent to another’s will (under their hand), as an open hand symbolises submission. This also can picture for us a palm or palm branch from the curved palm shape. The hand also speaks of one’s work, or under whose hand you submit and obey! Your works reveal who you serve!
Ḥet – חַ:
The ancient script has this letter as which is a ‘tent wall’, and carries a meaning of ‘SEPARATION’, as a tent wall separates two halves of the tent; or it can also reflect the outside walls that separate the people inside from that which is outside and so can also symbolise protection and security to those inside, while picturing a cutting off of those who are outside. Hence this letter can mean ‘established, secure’ as well as ‘cut off, separated from’. As a tent wall we are also able to recognise the picture of stones being built up to make a complete wall, having been separated from the world and built up in the master! This can also render for us a resistance to submission as we take note that many put up walls in defence of their own wicked ways, being offended by the fact that their sin is made known through the mirror of the Word. An offended brother is like a fortified city!
Shin – שׁ:
This is the letter ‘shin’ and in the ancient script is pictured as, , which is a picture of ‘two front teeth’ and carries the meaning of ‘sharp or press, chew or devour’; which is what the teeth do. This also speaks of the sharpened word that comes forth from the mouth, as the teeth ‘chew’ or ‘meditate’ on the Truth, making what comes forth pure and sharp! It also carries the understanding of consuming or destroying – as teeth do to food.
When we consider the grouping of these letters in the ancient pictographic script that renders the word כָּחַשׁ kaḥash, we are able to see that the meaning is clear:
The open hand represents ones works, the tent wall represents division or to be against, and the teeth represent the Word. In a nutshell these three pictures collectively describe the lawless, as it means:
WORKS AGAINST THE WORD!
I will repeat the verse from Titos, which makes this word very clear for us:
Titos/Titus 1:16 “They profess to know Elohim, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unfit for any good work.”
Tonight is, as we know and as I have already mentioned, the night upon which the Master was betrayed and handed over to be impaled for our sins, and the night that Kěpha denied Him. As I meditated upon this during the week I began to wonder how many times we all have denied our Master, and put our trust in other things or people. How often have you found that you have put your trust in your work, your family or any other relationships and in the process have actually found and discovered that you have actually denied the Master? How many times through works of compromise have you denied the Master? How many times have you found that through your disobedience to the Torah that you have actually denied the Master by your working of unrighteousness?
Tonight I submit to you the clear truth that we should not allow this to happen any longer!
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 3:2-6 “Beloved ones, now we are children of Elohim. And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone having this expectation in Him cleanses himself, as He is clean. 4 Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Everyone staying in Him does not sin. Everyone sinning has neither seen Him nor known Him.”
Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness – for sin is lawlessness!
The Greek word here, as we know, for sin is ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 which means, ‘sin, failure, miss the mark, to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong’, and also carries the meaning of, ‘wandering from the law of Elohim, violate the law of Elohim’. We also know, yet I will once again remind you, that the Greek word used for ‘lawlessness’ is ἀνομία anomia – Strong’s G458 meaning, ‘lawlessness or lawless deeds, unrighteousness’ and comes from the word ἄνομος anomos – Strong’s G459 meaning, ‘lawless or without law, transgressors’.
This verse spells it out very plainly for those who seem to miss the fact that to not walk in the Torah is sin! It is as though Yoḥanan was spelling out this fact very bluntly and straightforward for those who struggle with a falsified mind-set and see no need to walk in the Torah – well right here in the Greek it is clear – If you are lawless (that is to walk contrary to the Torah) then you are indeed sinning!
ἁμαρτία hamartia – Strong’s G266 is ἀνομία anomia – Strong’s G458
Yoḥanan goes on to make it clear that in the Master there is no sin, which is clearly telling us that in the Master there is no lawlessness, which means that in Him there is ‘law’ – there is ‘law and order’, His Torah which He came to reveal in the flesh! Everyone staying in Him does not sin, which clearly teaches us that everyone staying in the Master and Elohim does not do lawlessness! Anyone who is lawless and has no regard for the proper hearing, guarding and doing of His Torah has neither seen Him nor known Him, despite their claims of knowing Him yet by their works are continually denying Him.
Messiah came to redeem us from all lawlessness, so that we do not deny Him any longer!
Titos/Titus 2:11-14 “For the saving Gift of Elohim has appeared to all men, 12 instructing us to renounce wickedness and worldly lusts, and to live sensibly, righteously, and reverently in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed expectation and esteemed appearance of the great Elohim and our Saviour יהושע Messiah, 14 who gave Himself for us, to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a people, His own possession, ardent for good works.”
Perhaps many of your works have denied the Master, especially as you allow the pure mirror of the Word to show you what you look like. Hear this urgent call and forewarning that Kěpha gives us in making sure that we remain watchful, and not be led astray by the delusion of the lawless, lest we fall from our steadfastness, as we grow in the favour and knowledge of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light.
Tomorrow night we will be having the Pěsaḥ Meal and observing a night of watches. May the events that took place on this night cause each and every one of you to be sober, alert and watchful as you make your bold confession of the Master, as you hear, guard and do all He has commanded us to!
LET NOT YOUR WORKS DENY THE MASTER! – Lest He deny you!!!
When Kěpha had gone down to the house of Cornelius at the clear instructions of Elohim, we see in:
Ma’asei/Acts 10: 34-35 “And opening his mouth, Kěpha said, “Truly I see that Elohim shows no partiality, 35 but in every nation, he who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.”
We all desire to be accepted in the Beloved, and therefore we must take heed to these words tonight and fear Elohim and work righteousness, which is to guard His commands:
Qoheleth/Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Let us hear the conclusion of the entire matter: Fear Elohim and guard His commands, for this applies to all mankind! 14 For Elohim shall bring every work into right-ruling, including all that is hidden, whether good or whether evil.”
Let this night be a night where you carefully consider your ways before the Master, in preparation for the Pěsaḥ Meal, knowing that through the life, death and resurrection of our Master and Elohim, we have been given all we need to walk in righteousness and be able to stand firm in Him and never deny Him, but rather proclaim Him and His coming Reign!
Let our works of righteousness be according to the clear plumb-line of the Word of our Master and Elohim and never let our works deny Him!
Yoḥanan Aleph/1 John 2:29 “If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone doing righteousness has been born of Him.”
Let this night remind us of how we are to get rid of all the leaven in a proper preparation of being joined faithfully to and firmly in our Master who, has through His life, death and resurrection washed us clean, and calls us to keep our walk in Him pure as we allow His Word to wash our feet daily!
LET NOT YOUR WORKS DENY THE MASTER!
As you continue to be steadfast in your bold confession, fear Elohim and work righteousness and stay in our Master, may the favour of our Master יהושע Messiah be with your spirit. Aměn.
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!