Will You Talk The Talk Or Walk The Walk?

[Semachiah]

Shalom,Scripture references are from,The SET (Stone Edition Tanach) or the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible) for the OTand the PNT (Power New Testament ) for the NT unless otherwise specified. 2 Thes 1.1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the congregation of Thessalonians in God our Father and Lord Jesus Messiah, 2. grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Messiah. 3. We must give thanks to God always concerning you, brothers, just as He is worthy, because your faith is increasing bountifully and the love of each one for one another fills all of you, 4. so that we boast of these things in you to the congregations of God concerning your patience and faithfulness in all your persecutions and afflictions which you are enduring, 5. evidence of the righteous judgment of God for you to be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are now suffering, 6. since it is just for God to repay affliction to those who afflict you 7. and to you, the ones who are now being afflicted, grant in turn relief from persecutions with us, by means of the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels 8. in flaming fire, giving vengeance to those who have not known God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 9. who will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His strength, 10. when He would come with His holy ones to be glorified and to be marveled at in that Day by all who believe, because our testimony was believed by you. 11. And we are always praying on your behalf that our God would judge you worthy of the calling and He would fill you with every delight of goodness and work of faith in power, 12. so that the name of our Lord Jesus would be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus MessiahThere have been some who have attempted to say that "2 Thessalonians" should be referred to as "1 Thessalonians" but verse 7 deals with this issue. In stating that the congregants at Thessalonika are "now" being afflicted, Paul is indicating that it is "their turn" so-to-speak, after his previous turn at being afflicted as indicated in the first letter that he had written and that we refer to as "1 Thessalonians". This simple indicator is really all that we need unless we are just attempting to make trouble. If we have an unruly spirit within us then this will not be sufficient but probably nothing more definitive will be either, so we will simply let this suffice and move on.To many, the difference between being YHVH and being Lord is very hard to distinguish. Maybe here we can define it a bit?Genesis (B'resheet) 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water. 3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light....When YHVH began the history of mankind, which we have just read, and as we generally refer to as time, we have these verses to indicate what YHVH was doing. HE had already formed the general concept of the earth but not exactly as we know of it. HE had formed it and was using it as the realm for the fallen angel Lucifer/satan and those angels that had chosen to serve him as their "master, lord or god". Next, as indicated in verse 2 of Genesis, YHVH starts to move upon this realm that satan was controlling. YHVH does this to remind satan and to demonstrate both to satan and the other fallen angels that HE (YHVH) is YHVH alone (Deut 6:4)! HE does this to demonstrate that HE is the only YHVH and that all others powers that be are given their power from HIM and use that power only as HE allows, shows or instructs them to (Jn 5:19;30). All other powers that be answer to HIM as YHVH.When YHVH puts HIMself into action HE does so by first "speaking" the action to occur. Thus as we read in Genesis 1:3 "YHVH said...." By this we say and/or see that YHVH's WORD is the second person or the second manifestation of the YHVH-head. Following YHVH's spoken Word we see action, we see things becoming something as is again indicated in verse 3 where we read...Genesis (B'resheet) 1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light....This "action", this power, this demonstration of authority, is YHVH's WORD manifest or acting by the authorization, permission or will of YHVH. This manifestation is what we refer to as the "Third person of the YHVH-head" or The HOLY GHOST or HOLY SPIRIT. Therefore in Genesis 1:1-3 we can clearly see the entire YHVH-head being manifest. This YHVH-head is what is also simply referred to as The Trinity.Psa 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?Psa 8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.Psa 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all [things] under his feet: This passage is what is known as a ‘mixed metaphor’. There are two reference groups mention in this passage. In verses 4 and 6 there is the reference to mankind while in verses 4, 5 and 6 there exist mention of Y’SHUA. I think it is obvious to anyone that has read The Scriptures that YHVH “made” mankind, visits mankind generally with HIS angels and that HE is concerned with them. What few want to admit is that YHVH also made Y’SHUA. That Y’SHUA did not always exist as "Y’SHUA". That in order to become Y’SHUA, The WORD or the second person of The YHVH-head had to strip Himself of what He was before! That in order to become the “son of man” He had to empty Himself of what He was when He was the second person of the YHVH-head; when He was The WORD. No place is this fact more apparent than in the letter written to the congregants at Philippi where we read... Phil 2:5. For you must live in harmony with yourselves, who are also in Messiah Jesus, 6. Who was in the form of God, yet did not think that this equality with God was to be eagerly clung to or retained, 7. but emptied Himself of His own equality, taking the form of a servant, when He came in a likeness of men: and, when He was found in a manner of life as a man, 8. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient until death, even of a death of the cross. This rendering is supported in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) where we read... Phl 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, Phl 2:6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, Phl 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, {and} being made in the likeness of men. Phl 2:8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.The point that we REALLY need to see and grasp hold of from this is that in order to be “made” (Ps 82:6; Hbr 2:6-9) The WORD of YHVH had to ‘empty’ HIMself of being YHVH. HE had to relinquish all authority or power to become a man. The problem is that as the second person of the YHVH-head this is not possible if there still exists a Trinity of YHVH, if YHVH still has a voice in other words as well as the power to create. When Y’SHUA was upon the earth YHVH still did have a voice and did still exist as a Trinity which is clearly demonstrated in...Color=blue] Mat 3:16. And after Jesus was baptized He immediately rose from the water: and behold the heavens opened up to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon Him: 17. and there was a voice from the heavens saying, “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.”[/color]Even though Y’SHUA existed as a man, YHVH also existed as The HOLY SPIRIT, had a voice (HE was still The WORD) and of course still was YHVH The FATHER of all of creation. This then creates another problem in that “MOST” CHRISTians think that Y’SHUA was YHVH while He was on the earth as Y’SHUA. With what we have just stated if this was the case then now we would no longer have only a Holy Trinity but now we would have a Holy Quartet of YHVH. A Quartet that would consist of...YHVH, The WORD, The HOLY SPIRIT and Y’SHUA. To be consistent with what we read in Philippians 2 however we can see in conjunction with what was written both in Psalms 8 and then reaffirmed in Hebrews 2:6-9 that Y’SHUA "emptied" Himself of being The WORD of YHVH in order to be "made" as a man. This process of "emptying" Himself allows Him to be made as a man while The Trinity of YHVH is still in existence. This little acknowledged fact allows for other doctrines that CHRISTians claim to be true, to in fact be true without contradiction such as...1) YHVH ever exists! HE has no beginning or end! YHVH is not born and cannot die.2) YHVH never changes!With this basic understanding we then can also state that...1) Y’SHUA was “made”; that He was “born” (Lk 2:6-7).2) That YHVH spoke Him into existence when through an angel HE "told" her that she would have a child; a son (Lk 1:27-38).3) That He was born by The HOLY SPIRIT coming over a virgin womb; by The HOLY SPIRIT filling a womb untouched by mankind (Lk 1:27-38).4) That He was fully a man and yet by totally yielding Himself to allow YHVH to have full expression from within Himself He, was also fully YHVH or what would be more honestly expressed is that the fullness of The YHVH-head dwelled within Him (Col 2:9). This point is the secondary point being made in Phil 2:5-8 and that we are being directed to have within us as well. This yielding is what Y'SHUA described as "the way" to The FATHER (Jn 14:6).5) That He died (Mat 27:50-57) and that He was ‘resurrected’, which could not happen unless He had first died (Mat 28:1-7) which is something that YHVH can NEVER do or death or the action that created death would be more powerful than HE is! This would then render YHVH as something less than death or that which created HIS death and thus HE would not be YHVH but the other would be!In YHVH's economy there is justice and equality as declared in our text in verse 2 Thes 1:6. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, as it is described in basic physics. YHVH stated the same principal when HE declared...Leviticus (Vayikra) 24:20 break for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth -whatever injury he has caused the other person is to be rendered to him in return. Once we have proclaimed this basic truth of what should be fundamental in CHRISTianity then we can continue in our text where we read...2 Thes 1:6. since it is just for God to repay affliction to those who afflict you 7. and to you, the ones who are now being afflicted, grant in turn relief from persecutions with us, by means of the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels 8. in flaming fire, giving vengeance to those who have not known God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 9. who will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His strength, 10. when He would come with His holy ones to be glorified and to be marveled at in that Day by all who believe, because our testimony was believed by you. There is a basic underlying principal taught by every TV preacher in America today to some degree or another and that is that you can simply speak things into existence. That basic concept is really saying that you are YHVH and that as HE is able, you too are able to do! This concept is expanded from another basic truth that YHVH is within you therefore what you speak is really HIM speaking from within you. At best we must declare this to be fallacious! I would like to declare this from every mountain top in the world as being a BIG FAT BALDFACED LIE but there is an element of truth within it so I won't.The first problem that this belief of being able to speak your way out of a situation or into YHVH's prosperity is that it contradicts YHVH's Word and presupposes that you are already and for all times "saved"! I have often already tried to drive the point home that this is not true by illustrating that the Greek word used for "saved" does not support this claim. That the word which is "Sozo is an ongoing action word that continues all through our lives until we either physically die or the Rapture; the taking or catching away of YHVH's family, occurs or we turn from serving YHVH. This then introduces the second problem, namely that we can turn from serving YHVH and that this can cause us to be removed from YHVH's family tree, HIS Tree of Life as is declared in...Rom 11:17. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, since you are a wild olive, were yourself grafted into them, then you would be a participant for yourself of the richness of the root of the olive tree. 18. Stop boasting of the branches: but, if you do boast, you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19. Therefore you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20. Just so: they were broken off by unbelief, but you have stood by faith. Do not be proud, but you must continually fear for yourself: 21. for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He in any way spare you. 22. You must now see the goodness and severity of God: on the one hand severity upon those who fell, but on the other hand goodness of God upon you, if you would remain in the goodness, otherwise you would be cut off.Understand that often those who want to take you down the Roman's Road don't want to warn you of the dangers along that road. This road is not "Easy Street"! There are many dangers along this road just waiting to attack and kill you. This road is narrow and few there are who will survive the trip. Also remember that as you pass through Hell, as you take this road to keep going! Do not stop and try to stay where you are, thereby making yourself an easy target and do not try to go back to where you once were, but continue to look forward toward that day when you will finally first meet with Y'SHUA and then be with YHVH for all eternity. Continue to follow the leading of YHVH's HOLY SPIRIT and do not let the slips or falls of others take you down with them but as Paul wrote at the end of his first letter to the congregants at Thessalonika help the others, pray for them, encourage them and/or love them back into strength from their moment of weakness.Further proof that one cannot simply "speak" their way into YHVH's prosperity is found in our text where Paul states...2 Thes 1:3. We must give thanks to God always concerning you, brothers, just as He is worthy, because your faith is increasing bountifully and the love of each one for one another fills all of you, 4. so that we boast of these things in you to the congregations of God concerning your patience and faithfulness in all your persecutions and afflictions which you are enduring, 5. evidence of the righteous judgment of God for you to be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are now suffering, 6. since it is just for God to repay affliction to those who afflict you 7. and to you, the ones who are now being afflicted, grant in turn relief from persecutions with us, by means of the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels 8. in flaming fire, giving vengeance to those who have not known God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, 9. who will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His strength, 10. when He would come with His holy ones to be glorified and to be marveled at in that Day by all who believe, because our testimony was believed by you. 11. And we are always praying on your behalf that our God would judge you worthy of the calling and He would fill you with every delight of goodness and work of faith in power,I have highlighted the salient points that you need to focus upon!If you could simply "speak" your way out of your troubles or problems and into YHVH's prosperity then why does Paul not declare this to them? Why does he not tell them that do not have to "endure"! That they do not have to "suffer"!That they do not have to be "patient" or to be "faithful"!The Roman's Road does not end when one meets Y'SHUA that is but the beginning of the walk. As The SPIRIT of YHVH leads one must then continue to walk Him until one reaches the end of the journey.Y'SHUA paid the price to redeem you, He paid the price as THE one and only perfect, spotless or sinless sacrifice worthy to repay the sins of mankind and HE will continue through The HOLY SPIRIT, to walk with you as long as you follow His way, His path or as long as you "follow Him" so-to-speak (Lk 9:23)!He suffered and endured pain, torment and temptations and so will you if you are walking along His path.Paul suffered and endured pain, suffering and torment and so will you if you are on the same road that he walk down.The congregants at Thessalonika were also enduring, suffering and being tormented in order to one day be with YHVH forever!Thus I must now ask you what you are willing to endure, what are you willing to suffer?Will you be patient and endure the torment and the suffering in order that one day you to could receive your reward, your inheritance...Eph 1:14. Who is a down payment of our inheritance, salvation, for a redemption of the purchased possession, in praise of His glory.What will you endure to receive eternal salvation?Will you talk the talk or walk the walk?