Just before His death and subsequent resurrection, Messiah said to His disciples:
Indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. John 16:32
Messiah Jesus knew what was ahead both for Himself and for His disciples. He was giving them a warning in verse 32,
you will be scattered..
it was not a rebuke!
Within the next 24 hours He would be taken from His disciples, but three days later, after His resurrection, they would see Him again. Their sorrow would be replaced by joy, just as a woman’s pains before giving birth are replaced by joy after the child is born. John 16:16-22. Messiahs’ victory through death and resurrection would give them a confidence in the Father that they never had before. They would see Him as the mediator through whom they could confidently pray to the Father and receive the Father’s blessings with thankfulness. John 16:23-24.
Before His resurrection Messiah spoke to His disciples in figurative language and parables, the resurrection would give them a clearer understanding of the purpose of His mission and the fulfillment of prophecy; and their prayers no longer be dependent on Him. Instead, they would learn to come before the Father personally and with confidence and this would only be possible because of who He was and what He had done.John 16:25-28.
Quoting from Zechariah 13:7 Messiah said in Matt 26:31
For it has been written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
The disciples’ faith was strengthened by Yeshua/Jesus’ words, but they didn’t realize that a few hours later their faith would be put to the test. Frightened and confused they would leave their Rabbi/Lord and Master in His last hours. However, this would only be temporary; because through His victory, they would also be triumphant. John 16:29-33.
In other words He was saying to them:
You will very soon need all the faith you profess to have. Right now you believe Me to be all powerful; but it will be hard to maintain this faith when you see Me arrested, tried, condemned, and crucified as a malefactor/criminal. Then your faith will be so severely shaken that you’ll run away, each one of you will strive to save himself within his own home, or among his family.
Because of the events that were unfolding, Jesus/Yeshua knew that their faith was disordered and unfocused. They had not taken their thoughts captive, rather they were scattered and directed towards their own concerns and other interests they had apart from Him.
Our faith must become active too and be exercised in the realities of our every day lives. If our faith is sustained only by our physical feelings and the blessings we see in the natural realm, then we need to remind ourselves that without Him there is really only barrenness and an emptiness, because the things of this world are fleeting and will all pass away.
This is no doubt what the disciples suddenly experienced after He was gone. Initially they must have felt an emptiness and they looked to themselves; and in doing so their reliance on self, caused them to turn back to what they had known previously.
They returned to what was familiar, to what they knew how to do and were confident in, which was the fishing business.
Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.”
“We will go with you,” they said.
John 21:3
When Peter went back to the old life he knew, he also took 6 others with him. This reminds us we are to be mindful of those we influence by our actions. Their old ways/fishing, did not produce fruit – they caught nothing. Why? Was it because the Lord wasn’t with them? Was it because their faith was in the ways of the flesh rather than the Way of His Spirit?
Our faith needs to progress beyond feelings and blessings in order to sustain us. When there is no other option, then our faith in Him and what we truly believe and trust in becomes very real. When we find ourselves in that situation, no matter where that is, or whatever inner emptiness we experience; we know for certain that we can trust/have faith in Him. Then we can praise and thank Him that all is well.
This is what is meant by faith being exercised in the realities of our lives.
Have we left Messiah Jesus alone?
Have we been scattered and not focused?
Are we not seeing His provision and care for us?
Do we see Him at work, even in the tough, dark times, which He allows us to go through?
Are we prepared to be separated from the outward physical evidence of His provision and blessings, and still trust and have faith in Him?
Until Messiah Jesus is truly and unshakably our Lord and Master, we each tend to have goals of our own which we serve. They can come in many guises, distractions, personal preferences, etc. etc. Our faith although real, is not yet permanent and unshakable, not fully mature; which is what was meant by Him saying:
ye of little or immature faith.
When someone accepts Jesus as Lord and personal Savior, they receive the same quantity or measure of faith as every other believer previously.Romans 12:3.
Faith is like a seed,
it grows and matures just like any plant or tree.
It starts with faith in Jesus the Messiah.2 Tim 3:15; Rom 3:22-28.
He said to those whom He healed:
thy faith hath made thee whole, or
thy faith hath saved thee.
And then He added instructions such as,
Go and sin no more.
The idea was, that their lives were supposed to change as a result of their faith, and so too our lives should begin to change once we are saved.
Faith grows with believing His words1 Thes. 2:13.
Stephen was full of faith Acts 6:5, 8. Notice those who disputed with him were not able to resist his wisdom and spirit. Acts 6:9-10. His wisdom and spirit came from his knowledge of the words of God. Acts 7; Rom 10:17.
Paul encourages us that we are to have
Exceedingly growing faith.
How does faith grow exceedingly?
A believer with an exceedingly growing faith is not the one that doesn’t face any hard time or difficulty in life or spiritual walk; but is rather, one who can be recognized by how they handle hard times or adversity that comes their way.
Paul said concerning the believers with exceedingly growing faith:
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure. 2Thessalonians 1:3-4
The word exceedingly is from the Greek word,
perissos meaning:
Superabundant in quantity or superior in quality, and by implication, it means to be excessive.
Spurgeon said, “A little faith will being your soul to heaven; a great faith will being heaven to your soul.”
From the above scripture,
2 Thess. 1:3-4
it is clear that we can recognize believers with an exceedingly growing faith, by their patience and faith during persecutions, trails, testings and tribulations.
How many scriptures a person can quote, or how much faith they profess when everything is going well, does not identify a believer with an exceedingly growing faith. Neither are they identified by how much zeal or excitement displayed when everyone is in harmony and agreement with them.
Instead, believers with an exceedingly growing faith are known by their affirmation, profession, attitude, patience, perseverance, tolerance, confidence and assurance in our Heavenly Father while in the midst of strong afflictions or oppositions.
Many believers can agree with truths from the Bible, and profess them loudly with great fervor and zeal, however, when they face serious persecution, challenges or adversity, they waiver and falter in their profession, and some give up on the faith they have zealously professed before many witnesses.
Faith is like a muscle, and just like muscles, faith needs to be exercised through tests and trials for it to increase and become strong. Our Heavenly Father will point out to us where we have been only interested in His blessings instead of having our focus in and on Himself. We are always to ask Him about everything first and foremost.
Faith continues growing when we continue living by faith.
Rom. 1:17 the just shall live by faith.
In Hebrews 11, all those mentioned did something with the faith they had, it was action, they were doers. 1 Thess. 1:3 shows us what happens when what we believe begins to affect what we do, this is the work or working of faith. We are to not only believe what the Scriptures say, but we are to obey what they say.
Faith is not believing that God can, but that He will.
Faith is strengthened as we go through trials.
2 Thess. 1:4; Jas. 1:2-4.
Our Heavenly Father allows our faith to be tried, so that it will grow exceedingly strong. He brings the trials, and at other times, He allows the enemy to bring them. When we come through them, we will be
perfect, established, strengthened and settled.
1 Pet 5:8-10.
(perfect here has the meaning of: mature)
Our faith grows exceedingly when we survive the trials and keep believing by faith that our Heavenly Father’s words are working.
That kind of faith sees the invisible,
believes the incredible and
receives the impossible!
It all comes back to Messiah’s instruction to seek first, Him, His kingdom and His righteousness and then all these things will be added.
Seek Him first for Him, because we love Him, nowhere do the scriptures tell us to seek only blessings.
We are to ask, seek and knock.
At this Passover season when we think of Gethsemane and Calvary, it’s good to remind ourselves that although they represent something that happened long ago, yet they remain totally unique. These two locations offer the gate, the door, the way to life everlasting for us.
Was Messiah Jesus concerned that as the Son of man, the struggle He was about to face in the flesh body may be the harder test? As the Son of God, the devil could not touch Him and that had been proven in Luke 4. Satan’s final assault came in the garden, it was the opportune time he had waited for since the wilderness testings. Luke 4:13
BUT he was overthrown again!
The Son of man overcame for us as He fulfilled His destiny as Savior of the world.
Here the veil is pulled back and reveals all that it cost Him in order to make it possible for us to become Sons of God. His agony was the foundation for the simplicity of our salvation; and the way of access/door into the very presence/life of our Heavenly Father.
Though simple, we should not take it for granted or esteem it lightly. The new birth was gained for us that day and has enabled us to become born again from above. We are new creatures, new creations in Christ/Messiah, the old has gone. He gave us the power to become Sons of God.
The physical human body should no longer be a restricting controller, limiting us as we daily crucify the flesh life.
So what are we?
We are born from above, we are newly created beings from above, from heaven, more specifically we are truly new creations.
If we are still identifying with the old, we are not walking in the fullness of what He has paid the price for.
We are now Sons of God.
(Meaning His children, both daughters and sons.)
The whole world is groaning and waiting for
the Sons of God to be manifest,
to be revealed
and
to take up our position spiritually.
Time to wake up not to sleep!
It is Time to Watch and Pray… Matt. 6:21
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
Rom. 13:11
For this reason He says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine [as dawn] upon you and give you light.” Eph. 5:14
Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you. Revelation 3:2
No obstacle within us can restrict His grace and mercy because during the testing and maturing of our faith, our Heavenly Father’s mercy always flows in the stream of all our trials.
He uses many vessels while they are struggling with their failures; for in their conscious sense of need, they are more yielded to Him than they who think of themselves as being without flaw.
Nothing restricts the spirits work more than the smug, self satisfied attitude of the heart that is spiritually proud. To feel need is to openly receive His grace.
The amazing things we don’t comprehend and all the miraculous things which we don’t understand; these are the things our Father does through us in the times we humbly acknowledge we need Him. He acts in and through us, according to His grace and ability, not according to ours.
We are not to be scattered in any part of our lives and relationships concerning our Heavenly Father. We are not to be distracted or lured away by others things, nor seduced by fascination or empty promises.
What we do need to have is unyielding spiritual fortitude, patience and perseverance and this will be achieved by yielding our hearts towards His purposes and plans; and furthermore by being obedient to that which He has instructed us…
And some people will say knock on wood, as a form of hopeful luck similar to keeping your fingers crossed.
Naqash is a word used for a musical instrument
which you strike to make a loud sound,
like a drum or a symbol.
The idea is: a loud urgent knock.
In the first century people were poor and had few possessions not like today’s consumer society. So folks were always knocking on someone’s door asking to borrow something. Similar to war and post war times, when there was rationing on food and folks for example, would borrow a cup of sugar, milk, butter or flour.
It was a custom and an unspoken rule that, if someone needed something you had, you would give it to them as a loan; but you would never ask for a return because you knew that one day you would be knocking on that neighbors door in need.
There is an example in the parable of the man already in bed and a knock at the door and he finally gets up to give him bread that he is needing. Luke 11:5-8.
There were many different types of knocks, and people learned to recognize the knock of a friend or neighbor.
A beggar would gently tap the door with a stick. And the occupant would appear with a piece of bread.
A traveler/ Holy man or any stranger would get a soft tap with his knuckles.
The knock of a person with a bad reputation was always recognized and the door was never opened to them.
Luke 18:1
However that was one knock that always brought a quick and swift response and that was
the naqash knock.
This was a
loud rapid knock of urgency
the knock of an emergency,
and the door was opened swiftly no matter who it was and help was offered immediately.
Jesus said to simply ask and it would be given.
If we don’t get a response then we are to seek out the answer we need to search for it and find it by being persistent.
However, if you’re in desperate need then
naqash, knock…
start pounding loudly, urgently,
and the door will always open to you.
Those listening to Him, understood this concept very well.
We should ask ourselves,
are we asking forgiveness
and seeking His face?
And what kind of knock are we using?
The last thought is this:
Just as Messiah said in John 16:32
He is also with each one of us…
Indeed the hour is coming…let’s not be those who will be taken by surprise. Messiah warned us of the events that would unfold just before His return…
Indeed the hour is coming and is here as we see
those very things happening all around us today.
Matthew 24:1-31; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21:5-28
Indeed the hour is coming…
it will be the hour of testing…the testing of our faith in Him
….and when it does…
will we be scattered?
Or
will we trust and have faith
in our Heavenly Fathers
unfailing love, provision and protection…..
will we have exceedingly growing faith?
Faith to stand; knowing the everlasting arms are underneath us?
Maybe the knock we are hearing is
Messiah knocking on the door of our heart!
שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם,
Shalom aleikhem
chaverim and mishpachah!
Peace to friends and family.
Shavua Tov, Have a blessed week.
Make certain Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is your Redeemer, Savior, Lord and soon returning King and that you have a personal relationship with Him.
It’s all about Life and Relationship, NOT Religion.
You are very precious in His sight.
Not sure ..you can be…
SIMPLY SAY THE FOLLOWING MEANING IT FROM YOUR HEART..don’t delay one more minute,
SAY IT RIGHT NOW…
Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus/Yeshua asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry. I repent of them all and turn away from my past.
I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus/Yeshua is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus/Yeshua rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus/Yeshua. Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’/Yeshua’s name.
Just before His death and subsequent resurrection, Messiah said to His disciples:
