TO THOSE WHO HAVE AN EAR TO HEAR
There are many voices all around us telling us what it is to be a believer in Messiah, and how we should live. We need to discern who is telling us the truth and which voices we will listen to. The heart of the Father is always to draw us near in obedience to His Torah, as heard from the mouth of His devoted ones:
Moses, of whom Yahweh spoke with face to face—
"In Abraham will all the nations of the earth be blessed, because he obeyed My voice, and guarded My charge, My commands, My laws, and My Torah.
If you diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim and do what is right in His eyes, and shall listen to His commands and shall guard all His law, I shall bring on you none of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am Yahweh who heals you.
And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.
Oh, that they had such a heart in them to fear Me and to guard all My commands always, so that it might be well with them and with their children forever!
And Yahweh commanded us to do all these laws, to fear Yahweh, our Elohim, for our good always, to keep us alive, as it is today. And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before Yahweh our Elohim, as He has commanded us.
Cursed is he who does not establish the Words of the Torah, and all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
Yahweh does establish you as a set-apart people to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you guard the commands of Yahweh your Elohim and walk in His ways.
The secret matters belong to Yahweh our Elohim, but what is revealed belongs to us and to our children forever, to do all the Words of this Torah.
Yahweh will rejoice over you if you obey the voice of Yahweh your Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws which are written in this Book of the Torah, if you turn back to Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being. For this command, which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.
I have called the heavens and the earth as witnesses today against you; I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore, you shall choose life, so that you live, both you and your seed, to love Yahweh your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days.”
David, the man after Elohim’s own heart—
“You have commanded us to guard Your orders diligently. Oh, that my ways were established to guard Your laws! I delight myself in Your laws; I do not forget Your Word. Open my eyes, that I might see Wonders from Your Torah. Make me understand, that I might observe Your Torah, and guard it with all my heart. That I might delight myself in Your commands, which I have loved. That I might lift up my hands to Your commands, which I have loved, while I meditate on Your laws. Let me never forget Your orders, for by them You have given me life. Streams of water have run down from my eyes, because they did not guard Your Torah. You are near, Oh, Yahweh, and all Your commands are truth. Great peace have those loving Your Torah, and for them there is no stumbling block. My lips pour forth praise, for You teach me Your laws. My tongue sings of Your Word, for all Your commands are righteousness.”
Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived—
“The conclusion, when all has been heard, is to fear Yahweh and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.
And he who turns his ear from hearing the Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.”
Yahshua, Messiah, the only begotten Son of the Father—
“Think not that I came to abolish the law or the prophets.
If you wish to enter into life, guard the commands.
He who believes in the Son possesses everlasting life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of Elohim remains on him.
For if you believed Moses, you would have believed Me, since he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how shall you believe My words?
If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.
If you love Me, you shall guard My commands.
He who possesses My commands and guards them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I shall love him and manifest Myself to him.
If anyone loves Me, he shall guard My Word. And My Father shall love him, and We shall come to him and make Our stay with him. He who does not love Me does not guard My Words. And the Word which you hear is not Mine, but of the Father Who sent Me.
If you guard My commands, you shall stay in My love, even as I have guarded My Father’s commands and stay in His love. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
John, the disciple known as Yahshua’s beloved—
“And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands. The one who says, ‘I know Him’ and does not guard His commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.
And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we guard His commands and do what is pleasing in His sight.
By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim and guard His commands. For this is the love for Elohim, that we guard His commands, and his commands are not heavy.”
Paul, miraculously called of Messiah to be the apostle to the Gentiles—
“Do we then nullify the Torah through faith? May it never be! No, we establish the Torah.
What then, shall we say? Is the Torah sin? May it never be!
Is the Torah contrary to the promises of Elohim? May it never be!
So then the Torah truly is holy, and the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.”
But the plan of the Enemy is always to draw us away from the Father in disobedience to His Torah:
The Serpent, whose deception brought sin and death to all of mankind—
“Did Elohim truly say, ‘You shall not…’”
The Pharaoh, who enslaved and tormented the people of Yahweh—
“Who is Yahweh, that I should obey His voice? I do not know Yahweh and will not…”
Moses, regarding false prophets—
“That prophet or that dreamer of dreams is put to death, because he has spoken apostasy against Yahweh your Elohim, to make you stray from the way in which Yahweh your Elohim commanded you to walk. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.”
Isaiah, regarding rebels and liars—
“This is a rebellious people, lying children, children who refuse to hear the Torah of Yahweh, who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right. Speak what is smooth.”
Jeremiah, regarding false prophets and priests—
“From the prophet to the priest they all act falsely… Hear, Oh, earth. See I am bringing evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to My words, nor My Torah, and they rejected it.
Thus said Yahweh of hosts, ‘Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, they lead you astray. They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of Yahweh. For who has stood in the counsel of Yahweh, and has seen and heard His Word? Who has listened to His Word and obeyed it? I did not send these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, then they would have let My people hear My Words, and they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds. I am against the prophets who lead My people astray. The message of Yahweh you no longer remember. For every man’s message is his own word, for you have changed the Words of the living Elohim, Yahweh of hosts, our Elohim!”
Yahshua, regarding false prophets and teachers—
“I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice Torahlessness.”
To whom will you incline your heart? Whose voice will you listen to? Who will you heed? The voice that calls us to faithful obedience, or that one who desires to lead us astray from imitating the righteous life of Messiah?
The following verses were used to prepare this article:
Gen. 26:4-5
Ex. 15:26
Ex. 19:5
Deut. 5:29
Deut. 6:24-25
Deut. 27:26
Deut. 28:9
Deut. 29:29
Deut. 30:10-11
Deut. 30:19-20
Ps. 119:4-6, 16, 18, 34, 47-48, 93, 136, 151, 165, 171-172
Eccl. 12:13
Prov. 28:9
Matt. 5:17
Matt. 19:17
John 3:36
John 5:46-47
John 8:39
John 14:15
John 14:21
John 14:23-24
John 15:10-14
1 John 2:3-6
1 John 3:22
1 John 5:2-3
Rom. 3:31
Rom. 7:7
Gal. 3:21
Rom. 7:12
Gen. 3:1
Ex. 5:2
Deut. 13:5
Is. 30-9-10
Jer. 6:13-19
Jer. 23:16-36
Matt. 7:23
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