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The Book Of Acts And The Good News Messianic Communities
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The speaker acknowledges that people may disagree with their teachings and perspectives, but they believe that God challenges and leads them to challenge traditional beliefs. They plan to discuss the Book of Acts and the establishment of Messianic communities. They mention that there are scattered Messianic people who are looking for connection and guidance. They read from 1 Corinthians 1:10, where Paul urges believers to be united and avoid divisions. The speaker emphasizes the message of the cross, which represents the power and salvation of God. They highlight the importance of the resurrection of Yeshua and how it brings life and destroys death. They discuss the wisdom and foolishness of the cross and how it contrasts with the wisdom of the world. They emphasize that God chose the weak and despised things to shame the strong. They conclude by encouraging believers to boast in Yahweh and His wisdom. Ah, there we are again, had a couple of, for some people heavier messages the last couple of weeks. Hopefully today will be nice and easy and light, you know, I'm always going to teach something, say something that is, that some people will disagree with, I understand it. Other people haven't walked the path I've walked. Other people have different lived experiences to mine and other people have different callings on their lives, it's just the way it is and I will see things from a perspective that sometimes other people don't see it from. That's fine, I don't have a problem with that. God is always going to challenge us, expand us, grow us, deepen us, take us places we've never been before. That's what makes life exciting, that's what makes serving YHVH wonderful. Because we go where we've never gone before, we climb the heights, we plumb the depths and we ask Father what have you got for us, where are you taking us, what needs to be broken, what needs to be changed, what needs to be challenged. YHVH leads you into things and you know it's going to challenge people's theology, it's going to challenge their traditions and doctrines, it's going to challenge their comfort zones. But that's the way it is, that's the Word of God, that's the Kingdom. The Kingdom has to march through a world that wants to destroy it, so the Kingdom has to be stronger than anything the world can throw at it, and it is. So people will disagree with things that I say, things that I teach, so that's okay because I disagree with some of the things they teach, both on the same page. Yes, Amen. I'm just going to share today on the Book of Acts and the Good News Messianic Communities. That's just a nice, easy title of where we're going as a fellowship and what YHVH is doing with us at the moment. Of course this is a theme that I've held and taught on and tried to see come to pass for twenty odd years, so this isn't a new thing and you've heard me say some of these things before, but they'll probably make more sense in where we're at now, in the context, in where we are as a fellowship. So the Book of Acts and the Good News Messianic Communities. You know there's lots and lots of Messianic people across our nation, scattered, lonely, not knowing where to go, who to hook up to, who to relate to, or what to do. Some people are happy like that, even though it's not biblical. Some people long for something more and can't find it, but God's going to open doors. He will bring people together, He will create families and He will bring about transformation in people's lives, in cities and communities all across our nation and around the world because we're getting to the end of time as we know it and the trumpet's not far off sounding according to our time frames. So we'll read 1 Corinthians chapter 1 from verse 10 and Paul says, Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, through the name of YHVH Yeshua the Messiah, that you all, how many, all, do what, speak the same thing. I mean, why does he ask us to do impossible things? But, here's Paul under the inspiration of the Ruach HaKadosh, he says to these believers and he takes this message to every church he goes to, every place he plans and every nation and city he goes to, he tells them the same things. Every place he tells the same things. So he says, I want you all to speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you, that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. Isn't that the most wonderful thing? To say that's what we want, that's what we plan, that's what we purpose, that is what we want to lay down and work together for, that we be exactly like that. He only said that because it wasn't there, but he said that's the challenge. For it has been reported to me concerning you, my brothers and sisters, by those who are from close households, that there are rivalries among you. I say this because you are each saying, I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Ketha, or I follow Messiah. Has Messiah been divided? Paul wasn't crucified for you, was he? Or were you immersed into the name of Paul? It's interesting they put into there, isn't it? I thank Elohim that I immerse none of you, or I immerse none of you except Crispus and Deus, so that no one should say that I had immersed you into my own name. Why would they accuse him of that? But obviously people were saying, you know, you're building your own kingdom, Paul. I also immersed the household of Stephanas. Besides them, I don't recall if I immersed anyone else. Putting a lot of emphasis on baptism here, isn't he? Like it's an important factor, it is an important factor. That's a challenging one to messianics. I don't recall if I immersed anyone, for Messiah sent me not to immerse, but to proclaim the good news, not with cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Messiah would not be made of no effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of Elohim. Interesting isn't the way he uses the term cross there, after we've studied this for two weeks, the cross. It can easily be misunderstood what he is saying here. What I've been saying, people could say, see you're wrong. See what that says? That's how we see it, understand it, interpret it and apply it. It has to match scripture, the whole of scripture. So, for the message of the cross, the cross has a message and the emphasis is on the message, not on the cross. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. Do you know why they're perishing? Because they're lawless, because they're sinful. And the message of the cross is you are lawless, sinful, disobedient, stiff-necked people. That's the message of the cross. And I'm going to put you to death. That's the message of the cross. But the one hanging on the cross, Yeshua the Messiah who shed his blood, he will redeem you from the curse that is represented by the cross. So, it is a wonderful message. It's the power of God, the power of God. The message of the cross points us to his power. What is the power of the cross? The power of the cross is death, to kill you. But the power of the message, it's a beautiful message because it is about our salvation through what? The resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah. The message of the cross is I will put you to death because you're lawless sinners. But Yeshua will rise from the dead and he will destroy death. Death is destroyed in him. The cross didn't give you life, Yeshua gave us life. The cross brought us to death, Yeshua brought us life. He said I'm greater than death, I'm greater than the grave and I'm greater than Satan who was put on that pole. Amazing, isn't it? It's how you look at it, see it, interpret it and compare it with the rest of scripture which is always the case. I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the intelligent. Where is the wise one? Where is the Torah scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't Elohim made foolish the wisdom of the world? For seeing that in Elohim's wisdom the world through its wisdom did not know Elohim. Elohim was pleased through the foolishness of the message proclaimed to save those who believe. He's going back to his previous verses. For Jewish people ask for signs and Greek people seek after wisdom. But we proclaim Messiah crucified. A stumbling block to the Jewish people and foolishness to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jewish and Greek, Messiah, the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of Elohim is wiser than men and the weakness of Elohim is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brothers and sisters, that not many are wise according to human standards. Not many are powerful and not many are born well. Yet Elohim chose the foolish things of the world, like the cross, to tell you how foolish and sinful and wicked and lawless you are. So that He might put to shame the wise and Elohim chose the weak things of the world so He might put to shame the strong. And Elohim chose the lowly and despised things of the world, the things that are as nothing, so He might bring to nothing the things that are. So that no human might boast before Elohim. But because of Him you are in Messiah Yeshua who became to us wisdom from Elohim and righteousness and holiness and redemption so that just as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in Yehovah. You know, but because of Him, that second last verse, verse 30, but because of Him you are in Messiah Yeshua who became to us wisdom from God and righteousness and holiness, and righteousness and redemption. That's the good news message of the cross, right there. That Yeshua became to us the wisdom of God, the wisdom of God. Death on the cross was the wisdom of God. Foolishness to the world but wisdom to us, salvation to us, blessing to us. And so, it's just as it's written, let him who boasts, boast in Yehovah. Boast in the wisdom of His ways, putting to death the curse, putting to death death, putting to death the grave, putting to death everything that keeps us from knowing God. And in Yeshua and His death on the cross, He rose from the dead in triumph over it all, victorious over it all. That's the wisdom, the wonder, the might and the power. So, if we've got anything to boast about, let us boast in Him and the wisdom of His ways and the wonder of the work that He's done in our lives. When it comes to establishing outreaches and new communities of believers for Yeshua, so what do we find in the scriptures and in the life of the apostles? That's what we have to look at. There is always a revealed structure and plan and pattern and purpose in everything Yehovah does. So, when it comes to planting new communities, establishing new fellowships and congregations, there is always a plan, there is always a structure, there's always a pattern revealed in scripture. Although the church I grew up in and served says there isn't. I taught that. You can choose how you set up and run your church. The Bible doesn't tell you. As long as you believe the gospel, as long as you believe in Jesus, how you run your church, what is your methods, it doesn't matter. The structure, the system, there are lots and lots of different methods and structures and ways in which churches function, whether you're a Catholic, a Presbyterian, a Pentecostal, they all structure differently. The bones are pretty much the same, but they're very businesslike in their oriented way in which they go about stuff. And because you can choose how to run, how to establish, how to appoint people, how to control ministers and churches and all of that kind of stuff in a thousand different ways, it's given rise to a multitude of denominations plus independents. There's a multitude of different constitutions and a mountain of bylaws to explain those constitutions. I've written some myself. But we say, what have we created? What have we created in all of this? Division after division. War after war. A multitude of conflicting doctrines and practices that represent nothing of the truths as revealed in Scripture. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 7 says, for this, verse 7, for the mystery of lawlessness is already operating. Only there is one who holds back just now until he is taken out of the way. Then the lawless one will be revealed. YHVH Yeshua will slay him with the breath of his mouth and wipe him out with the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is connected to the activity of Satan with all power and signs and false wonders and with every kind of wicked deception toward those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. We read about that in Corinthians. For this reason Elohim sends down a delusional force to lead them to believe what is false so that they may be judged. All those who did not believe the truth but delighted in wickedness. What does verse 10 say? And with every kind of wicked deception toward those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth. So we have a multitude of denominations with a multitude of different doctrines and teachings and traditions and practices because somehow, someway the love of the truth is not in their hearts. They're living under the deception and the delusion that even YHVH sends upon them because they're so full of the practice of lawlessness and so full of the traditions of man and so full of the systems of men's kingdoms that YHVH says, I will give them over to their own lawless delusions and I will strengthen their delusion because they don't want to know the truth. They don't want to change. They don't want to hear anything different. People believe the lie that lawlessness is of God. When he uses the word world, he's talking about any organisation, church, denomination, football club, anything. If it's not based on the word of God, it's the world. And so people believe the lie, as Paul is saying here, that lawlessness is of God. Grace did away with the law. You hear what I'm saying. You understand what I mean. Grace has done away with the law. So there are people, the church says that lawlessness is of God. Get rid of it. It's a lie. God didn't say get rid of the law. God didn't say get rid of Torah. God didn't say get rid of his traditions. The church says that and the people believe the lie that lawlessness, to get rid of it, is God's message. But it's not. And they live in that delusion. They live in that delusion and their eyes aren't being opened because they don't want their eyes to be opened. They don't want to hear what you have to say. And so it strengthens their delusion. And this has resulted in a dog-eat-dog religious world, a world of confusion with a pretence of unity. They call it ecumenicalism. And it doesn't matter what you believe doctrinally or how you practise your faith. As long as you believe in Jesus, you'll go to heaven. It doesn't matter which church you go to. It doesn't matter what your traditions and doctrines particularly are. We all agree Jesus died for our sins. And we could go into that with the Catholic Church and the Pope and what they're doing and how he's bringing all denominations together and they're all happy with one another. Just don't steal each other's sheep. Come together in ecumenical unity and we'll do great things together. The true message of the cross opens the door to the good news message of Yeshua the Messiah and of his kingdom. And so if we want to teach the cross and its true and genuine message, that cross, crucifixion, lawlessness, sin, death, resurrection, life, shed blood, out of that comes the good news message that brings life and salvation and brings an understanding of the truth that God's kingdom is against Satan's kingdom. But we want to have a look at the Messiah and his messianic communities that we find in Scripture and the book of Acts particularly. So in Matthew chapter 16 Yeshua said, and we know it very well, but when Yeshua came into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is? They answered, some say John the Immerser, others say Elijah, still others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. And he said, who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Yeshua said to him, blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I also tell you that you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my community and the gates of Sheol, death and the grave, will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever you forbid on earth will have been forbidden in heaven and what you permit on earth will have been permitted in heaven. And then he ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. So, Yeshua is going to build communities, bodies of believers, based on revelation truth and kingdom keys. And he is saying that Satan and the false will not prevail over what I build and establish. So, he's saying Peter, you had revelation from God about who I am. You didn't understand it because the rabbis told you. You didn't understand it because you liked my message. You had a revelation about who I am. And on the rock of revelation we will stand and we will move in a power and a blessing of YHVH's presence and goodness because he says I will build my communities based on that revelation. I am the Messiah. I've come to establish my kingdom. But he said don't tell anyone I'm the Messiah. Not yet, not yet. So, you know people tend to camp around personalities and charisma and giftings but they're not very good at checking their doctrines and their teachings against the word of God. Why? Because basically people don't want to know the truth. They just want their ears tickled. That is tell me what I want to hear. Don't bother me with the facts. That's the heartbeat of people. I'll come to your church if you don't make it too hard for me. I'll give you some money as long as you make it comfortable for me and I enjoy it. Then I'll be what you want. And people get attracted to personalities and charisma and giftings and if they preach what they like to hear well hang around. And if they don't we're gone. Matthew 24. I'll just move across a couple of pages to see what Yeshua said. Verse 11. Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray. Why? Because lawlessness will multiply. The love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come. So the one who endures to the end will be saved. A lot of people teach once saved always saved. You can't lose your salvation. It's unscriptural but people love to hear it. It doesn't matter much how I live as long as I go to church, believe in Jesus, honour what I'm asked to honour in the way I think I should honour it. That will get me into heaven. That will get me into the kingdom. It's not what the Word teaches. He says you have to keep Torah. Wow, wow, wow, you have to keep Torah? No, Christ is away with Torah. And so all this false teaching comes in into the whole process. But Yeshua, he will only build his kingdom in his name. Who do people say I am? Oh, you're one of the prophets. Oh, you're just John the Baptist come back from the dead. No, I am the Messiah. I am the king of the kingdom. I am the Son of God. And Yeshua is going to build his kingdom in his name. Nobody else's. And he'll do it his way and it'll be through his good news and his true apostles and prophets and teachers who are not lawless. Yeshua said in the verses that we read many false prophets, many false teachers, many false apostles, multitudes of them are going to arise in the end times and they flood the earth today. And he said many will fall away because they're lawless. They're not teaching truth. And so YHVH or Yeshua said I will build my community, my congregations, my body and it'll be in my name. It'll be based on the revelation of who I am, the Messiah and of my kingdom and I'll do it my way. I'm going to build it. If you try to build it some other way it will not get you kudos from the Father. Do it my way with my message and the revelation that I bring and he will establish it. We have to remember it's the good news of the kingdom that's being proclaimed. As we said there in that verse 13 but the one who endures to the end will be saved. This good news of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world. This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole world. That's the message he wants proclaimed. There are a million messages going out but who understands the truth of what it means to proclaim the good news of the kingdom and it's over and over and over again throughout scripture. The good news of the kingdom of God. What is that? Well we know that of course a million times but it's the good news of the kingdom that has to be proclaimed. And the good news of the kingdom that's the message of the cross as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10. The message of the cross is Yeshua defeated death. Yeshua defeated lawlessness. Yeshua overcame the curse of the cross. Foolishness to those who don't believe but salvation to those who do. The good news message must be proclaimed. Life in Yeshua and his kingdom. The cross is not the message. The good news of the kingdom is the message that flows out of what happened at Calvary and of course what we see and what we celebrate in PISAC. If we're Bible based then we must be community minded. Yeshua said, I will build my and of course traditional churches have church in there. I will build my church. Which church did he build? The Catholic church? The Anglican church? Baptist church? He didn't build the church. The church is not biblical nor scriptural in its application, interpretation there's no such thing as the church in the scripture. Yeshua said, I will build my I will build my Hebrew words. That's what he's talking about and that's what he said. He wasn't an Englishman and he didn't say church. I will build my congregation. I will build my community. My called out ones. I'm going to call people out from Babylon. I'm going to call people out from the world and I'm going to establish my communities. And that is the book of Acts. Scripturally based body of believers who are joined together as one community in those words of Yeshua. We see his words demonstrated right throughout the book of Acts. When we look through the book of Acts we see a scripturally based body of believers who are joined together as one community. One community. Isn't that amazing? From Genesis to Revelation Yeshua says, I'm one, you must be one and what we do must be what is according to my word and nothing else. And so we must have a little look at the book of Acts and just see what is it that Yeshua built through his apostles, through his prophets, through his dedicated leaders and elders and believers and what did he build and how did he build it and what was the pattern. There's always a pattern and a plan of how to go about it, what to do and what he wants to achieve. No matter what they say out there. There's always only one way and it's his way. In Acts chapter 2 verse 41. We know this scripture really well, don't we? So those who received his message were immersed and that day about 3,000 souls were added. That's revival. They were devoting themselves to the teaching of the emissaries, the apostles and to fellowship, to having meals together and to prayers. Fear lay upon every soul and many wonders and signs were happening through the apostles and all who believed were together having everything in common. What on earth does that mean? We know what it means but we don't want to know what it means. They began selling their property and possessions and sharing them with all as any had need. Day by day they continued with one mind. Wow, there's Paul's Corinthians message. With one mind. Spending time at the temple and breaking bread or having meals together from house to house. They were sharing meals with gladness and sincerity of heart. Praising Elohim, having favour with all the people and every day, every day YHVH was adding to their number those being saved. You know what? That's what Yeshua and the apostles built. That's what they built right there. There are many, many, many Messianic believers in our city and our nation who know the word of Elohim. They know the importance of Torah but have very little understanding of the way of Elohim. Why? Because they isolate themselves and they want nothing to do with anybody else. Mostly serving their own interests, their own way, with their own doctrines, with their own teachings. They don't know how to relate to others' ministries or communities that YHVH has raised up or how to submit to other ministries that YHVH desires to link them with. I've seen this pattern over and over and over and over over many years. Again and again and again. Do you know how many home groups I've been to to share a word because I've been invited but they want nothing to do with you? They want to stay on their own. They want to do their own thing. This is a trend. It's a pattern and it's a shame because it's not according to scripture. It doesn't fulfil the purposes of YHVH. Home fellowships, the church in the home, a good thing, a good thing. But what's the mindset? That's the thing. What's the mindset? Where's it going to go? What's it going to achieve? What's it going to accomplish? How is it going to establish the kingdom of God in this nation? How is YHVH going to reveal himself to a city through that? That's an important question. So, when people who are messianics and they don't want nothing to do with anybody else, then this makes the messianic community and message very weak and scattered. No strength, no power, no one voice, no one body, no like-minded. Most messianics I know still believe just about every doctrine the church believes. They do. I've taught on them all the time. They believe in keeping the feasts. They believe in keeping the Sabbath. But they still believe in the rapture. They still believe they're going to die and go to heaven. They still believe in the trinity. They still believe in lots of things that the church teaches because that's what they grew up in. And they don't know how to jettison or compare what they believe and what the church teaches with the word of God. And so they're messianic because they keep Torah and they keep Sabbath instead of Sunday. And they'll keep the feasts instead of Christmas and Easter. But that's about as far as it goes. And then they keep it to themselves. It weakens the message. It weakens the kingdom of God. It doesn't give it power and strength like we see in the book of Acts. There has to be a unity of the faith and a unity of the ruach established in every locality. We'll look at that a little further. Good news, messianic communities. Good news, messianic communities. That's what we see in the Word. We're taught on it lots of times. So how did the messianic community come about and how did they function at the beginning? That's what interests me. That's where YHVH has had my mindset for many, many years. Fifty years ago when I was in Bible college I challenged the teachers then because they would talk about church planting. And that was my heart. That's what God put on me. Before I went to college my first church plant was Geelong with another pastor. That pastor left, another one came. That pastor left, then they wanted me to take it over. I said, no thanks. God wants me to go and do some Bible training. He wanted me out of that mindset and system. And I would say to the lecturers and to the college class there has to be a better way of doing and planting than what the church does. Because I grew up in the 70s and 80s and 90s when the AOG had these great big plans to plant a church, a new church every seven days right across the nation. How many can we plant? How many new churches can we open? That's the environment I grew up in. And I said, why would you go into a city and plant a church on the corner, a Pentecostal AOG church on the corner when right across the road is another Pentecostal church that's of a different denomination? All you're doing is fighting each other. Is that the way God wants it done? It was a question. I didn't have the answers, but I knew there has to be a better way than this. Something's wrong. Something's wrong. And God has led me down this road for many years. So when I came out of the system 25 years ago, 26 years ago, and started HTTN, I got all the pastors together that I knew who had come out of their denominational structures and were independent churches. But I had good relationships with them because I was one of them. And I would bring them together and we would have prayer times. And I would try to get them to see that we have to work together. We have to be an eldership together in this city if we're going to make an impact. Otherwise we're just going to be another church on another corner doing our own thing our own way. What impact does that have on our city? None. Just another independent. We must do things together. And of course when I challenged them and said, what you preach on Sunday, you should bring that message to the rest of us and let us visit. Let's agree on what you're going to preach. Let's see if we all have the same mindset, the same doctrine, the same teaching. Are we all going to preach the same thing? Well that got rid of them in a hurry. The only interest in my heart was, can we be a city eldership? Can we work together? Can we allow the Spirit of God, the Ruach, can we allow YHVH to bring us into a unity of the faith and a unity of the Spirit so that we can be one voice for God? I couldn't find one person that wanted to do it with me because they wanted their own ministry, their own kingdom, their own beliefs, their own ways and didn't want to search the Word of God to find a better way. And I find that in the Messianic community it's no different, no different. So the Messianic community, how did it come about and how did they function at the beginning? We know that 3,000 people were added to the followers of Yeshua on the day of Shavuot in Acts chapter 2. 3,000 people got saved. We just read it. And then we find that many more were being added to the community there in Jerusalem. So in chapter 5 and verse 14 we read one verse and then one verse in chapter 6. So, yet more than ever those trusting in YHVH, Yeshua, were added large numbers of men and women. And verse 7 of chapter 6, the Word of YHVH kept on spreading and the number of disciples in Jerusalem greatly multiplied. Even a great number of the priests, the leaders, were becoming obedient to the faith. That's massive growth happening in Jerusalem without looking at all the stuff that's in between. This is what is taking place and happening in the city of Jerusalem from the day of Pentecost on. And so Messiah's community in Jerusalem was exploding. Yeshua said, I will build my kahal, my community, my body, my congregation and it will be based on a new revelation that I am the Messiah and my kingdom is going to be established on this earth. And I put to death the works of the devil and lawlessness that I find in my city. And we'll do it this way. Thank you Peter for the revelation. Thank you for the rock of revelation. Thank you for the rock of who I am. We're going to build together on this and this is what is taking place here in the book of Acts. So what did they do? When all of these multitudes, thousands upon thousands of people are getting saved in Jerusalem over this period of time and there's people coming out of their ears. I mean what would you do with that? What a challenge. I'd hate to have had to take control of that. I can't handle just the little bit that I've seen. Let alone something like this. It's just mega. But what did they do? Did they all go their own way and build mega churches around personalities? Corinth was going that way. I'm of Paul. I'm of Peter. I'm of Messiah. I'm of Apollos. They were starting to gravitate around personalities. Who's preaching they like best? Who's gifting was the best? No. They didn't build a big church around personalities and charisma and gifting and on different beliefs on every church corner or every street corner. No, they were doing exactly the same in Chapter 4 as they were in Chapter 2. In Chapter 4, verse 32, it says, Now the whole group of those who believed was one in heart. Again, one in heart. One in mind. That's an amazing thing. That only has to be Ruach doing that. They must have sacrificed their giftings, recalling teachings, beliefs on the altar and allowed Ruach to come and bring transformation and change. No one would say anything he owned was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power, the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of Adonai Yeshua. An abundant favour was upon them all. No one among them was needy, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds and set them at the feet of the apostles and the proceeds were distributed according to the need that each one had. Chapter 5, verse 42. And every day in the temple and from house to house they never stopped teaching and proclaiming Yeshua is the Messiah. So, he repeats it twice. What he said in chapter 2, he says in chapter 4. What they did then, they're still doing now. The heart beats the same, the mindset's the same. They're still pursuing the purposes of YHVH's way through the apostles. These people were gathering together and hearing teaching at the temple and from house to house. The apostles were at the centre of how this move of Elohim was being conducted and grew. They were keeping it in control. They were directing and guiding. They were establishing teaching and preaching and people were coming to hear their teaching, all of these people. Multitudes of people were gathering at the temple and the apostles were teaching in the temple precinct, thousands of people at the same time. And they were going from house to house as they met in their houses through the week. It's an amazing thing that was taking place. As Ruach led the believers out to evangelise and new communities of believers sprang up, it came under the oversight of the central home base of apostolic leaders and elders. In Acts chapter 6 and verse 1 we read, now in those days when the disciples were multiplying, grumbling arose among the Hellenists against the Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily support. So the twelve called together the whole group of the disciples and said it is not right for us to neglect the word of Elohim in order to serve tables. So brothers select from among you seven reputable men full of the spirit and wisdom whom we may put in charge of this duty but we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word. The statement pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith, and the Ruach HaKadosh and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch. They placed these men before the emissaries, the apostles, and after praying they laid hands on them. And the word of Elohim kept on spreading. The number of disciples in Jerusalem greatly multiplied and even a great number of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. So just emphasising what's happening and some of the problems that were beginning to surface in the whole process. Growth there was. So oversight was required. Things needed to be orderly and just. It needed wisdom and it needed spirit-led men. Stephen and Philip were two of these men. They were gifted ministries that took them beyond just being helpers and deacons at the local level. You know what happened to Stephen? He was a powerful voice and they stoned him to death. And of course we know the story of Philip. Chapter 8, verse 4. Now those who had been scattered went around proclaiming the word. Remember, they're under persecution now. The Jews hate them, the rabbis hate them, the high priest hates them. Stephen's been stoned to death because the hierarchy of the temple with Paul or Saul associating as being a ringleader of it stoned him to death. The Romans are not happy about what's going on. And there is terror. Paul is terrorising Jerusalem all the way through to the nations around him. He's off to Syria and Damascus. And he is terrorising, murdering and imprisoning people. And so those who had been scattered went around proclaiming the word. Philip went down to the main city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. The crowds were paying close attention to what Philip was saying. As they both heard and saw the signs that he was doing, a powerful ministry. For unclean spirits were coming out of many who were plagued, shrieking with a loud voice. You know, we're not used to that stuff. But when you stir up the enemy and the devil, taking over his territory, things can get pretty hairy. Many paralysed and crippled were healed also. So there was great joy in the city. Verse 12. But when they believed Philip proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God, that was his message, the good news of the kingdom, Yeshua the Messiah, the name of Messiah Yeshua, both men and women were immersed. Even Simon himself believed. And after being immersed, he continued with Philip the sorcerer. And when he saw signs and great miracles happening, he was continually amazed. Now when the emissaries, the apostles in Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had accepted the message of God, they sent Peter and John to them. They came down and prayed for them to receive the Ruach HaKadosh, for he had not yet come upon them and had only been immersed in the name. Again, it's the word ice that's in too. I've chosen to translate this time as in, they had only been immersed into the name of Yehovah Yeshua. Then they began laying their hands on them and they were receiving the Ruach HaKadosh. So the message was taken to the main city of Samaria. That's Israel, up north. And Philip's being scattered, one of the scattered, under persecution and trouble. And he's gone up north to Samaria. And so, as it said there, when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the message of Elohim, what did they do? They sent Peter and John to them. Philip wasn't planting a fellowship in his name to establish his church or his community. That's what we would have done today. He had a great move of God, great revival, miracles, healings, demons being cast out. He was being led by Ruach. And what did he do? He stayed connected to his roots in Jerusalem. Whenever a new body of Messianic believers is found or saved, then the apostles from Jerusalem went in and established a Messianic fellowship. Jerusalem was always the centre from where everything went out and to where everyone returned, right throughout the book. God moved in power and signs and wonders through whatever ministry and gifted person that went out and established stuff. The apostles came from Jerusalem and began to establish it and they'd go back to Jerusalem. That's chapter 9, verse 21. All those hearing him were amazed. They were saying, isn't this the one? This is about Saul who had been killing people. Isn't this the one who made havoc in Jerusalem? For all those who call on his name, and hasn't he come here to bring them as prisoners before the ruling priests? But Saul kept growing stronger and he was confounding the Jewish people living in Damascus by proving that Yeshua is the Messiah. And we haven't read the story because you know the story. He's on his way to Damascus in Syria to drag people back into prison, put to death any that he feels aren't going to listen to him. And he's still in Damascus because he got converted on the way with a confrontation with the Almighty. And he goes into Damascus blind and he's still there and now he is proclaiming Yeshua the Messiah. And when many days had passed, these Jewish people plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night to kill him. But the disciples took Saul by night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when Saul arrived in Jerusalem, where did he go? Jerusalem. He made attempts to join up with the disciples but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him in, brought him to the apostles. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord, YHVH, Yeshua, on the road and that YHVH had spoken to him and how he had spoken boldly in the name of Yeshua. So Saul was with them going in and out in Jerusalem. So Saul was with them going in and out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of Yeshua. He was speaking and arguing with the Greeks, the Hellenists, the Gentiles, that they were trying to kill him, even in Jerusalem. When the brothers found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus for the protection of his own life. So Messiah's community throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had shalom, Paul had been changed. He was the ringleader and he had a lot of people working with him and was built up, walking in the fear of YHVH and in the comfort of the Ruach HaKadosh, it kept multiplying. It's a great story, isn't it? Paul, known as Saul then, still as Saul, now enters the scene of apostolic activity. He is the apostle to the Gentiles. He is converted in Damascus but he travels to Jerusalem to converse with the apostles there. And he is not a law unto himself and he is not a self-appointed apostle or prophet. He goes to Jerusalem to identify with the leaders there to submit himself and his call to what they have to say. Acts 11, verse 1. Now the apostles and brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of Elohim. But when Peter went up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision took issue with him, saying, You went to the uncircumcised men and ate with them. We haven't read all the story in between. Peter went out on some ministry. So Peter began explaining to them point by point, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying and in a trance I saw a vision. I won't go any further than that. Peter had been used of YHVH to open the door into the Gentile world. Went to Joppa, Cornelius the Roman centurion sent for him and of course he went back there and we know the story of how him and his household and servants and all gave their lives to Yeshua and they were immersed and baptised, filled with the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKadosh. So YHVH opened this door into the Gentile world through Peter. For the Jews to be made aware that the Gentiles are as important to the kingdom of God as the Jews, because this was an amazing revelation to them, that the Jews would be as important to God as we are. And in verse 19 of chapter 11, now those scattered because of the persecution that happened in connection with Stephen, travelled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch telling the message only to Judeans. However, there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Hellenists, the Greeks. Also proclaiming Adonai Yeshua, the hand of YHVH was with them and a great number who believed turned to YHVH. News about these things reached the ears of the community in Jerusalem. Remember they're a long way away, they're in another country altogether. They're in other jurisdictions these scattered people and they're taking this message as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch and Cyrene and news about these things reached the ears of the community in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the great favour of Elohim he was thrilled. He encouraged them all to remain true to YHVH with heartfelt devotion for Barnabas was a good man. Full of the Ruach HaKadosh and faith and a large number was added to YHVH in these outlying places. So then Barnabas left Potashus to look for Saul and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met together with Messiah's community and taught a large number. Now it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called here in this translation Christiano the Greek but in the margin of course it says the Hebrew is Meshikim or Messianic's. They were first called Messiah's. Believers who changed their faith to believe in Yeshua as the Messiah. They were first called Messianic's. Followers of the Messiah which the Jews wanted to kill them because of. And so here we find that how rapidly the good news spread and Messiah's communities were being established everywhere. All over the place under this move of YHVH Messianic communities rising up in great numbers all over the place. And verse 27 of that chapter 11. Now in those days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Ruach that there was going to be a great famine all over the world. This took place during the reign of Claudius. So the disciples decided to send relief to those brothers and sisters living in Judea. Each according to his ability. This they did sending it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Barnabas goes looking for Saul because he must have become a good friend in Jerusalem. Saul got saved. They want to kill him in Damascus. He goes to Jerusalem to talk to the elders and leaders and apostles in Jerusalem. And Barnabas, the people were afraid of Saul because they knew that he was the one that killed Stephen and was killing everybody else and dragging people into prison. Barnabas knew who he was because he knew the change. He knew that Paul was now a true believer in Yeshua as the Messiah and took him to the side. And then they sent Saul to Parthias, his hometown, for his own safety. And now here we find that there is a revival breaking out in these other cities, in Asia Minor and these other areas of Cyrene and Antioch, etc. And so now Barnabas goes there and he has a move of God and people are getting saved and things are happening under his ministry. And then he goes to Parthias to find Saul. He says, Saul, come and help me. Come and help me. Come across to Antioch and work with me. And they stayed there for another year together in that region and that area. But the thing here I'm pointing out is they were always connected to Jerusalem as home base and the source of their life. So the apostles and elders at Jerusalem sent Barnabas up into Asia Minor, Antioch. He gets Saul, they come back and they're moving according to the purposes and the plan of YHVH. They were all being kept on the narrow path that leads to the Kingdom of Heaven. They were all hearing the same message from the same mouth, from the same source in Jerusalem. In Acts 13 and verse 1, now in the Antioch community there were prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, called Niger, Lucius, the Cyrenian, Manna-Agnan, brought up since childhood with Herod the Tetrarch and Saul. And while they were serving YHVH and fasting, Ruach HaKadesh said, set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then after fasting, praying and laying hands on them, they sent them off. Verse 13, setting sail from Paphos, Paul's company came to Perga in Pamphylia. John left them and returned to Jerusalem. But they passed on from Perga and came to Antioch of Pisidia, a different Antioch. Entering the synagogue on the Shabbat, they sat down. After the reading of the Torah and the prophets, the synagogue leaders sent to them saying, brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, speak. So Paul, standing up, no, won't go any further than that. Saul has gone from Jerusalem. He's now in Antioch and from that Antioch, Barnabas and Saul have been sent out from there to go even further afield. And in Acts chapter 14, verse 1, it says, now in Iconium the same thing happened. So you can put the dots together between the two chapters. They entered, as usual, into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a large number of Jewish and Greek people believed. But the Jewish people, who would not believe, stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. Did I read verse 19 and 28? Oh no, I'm still getting there, verse 7. So they stayed there a considerable time, speaking boldly in Yehovah, who was testifying to the message of His grace, granting signs and wonders to come about by their hands. But the population of the city split. Some were with the Jewish leaders, some were with the apostles. Now it happened that an attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jewish people, along with their rulers, to abuse and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Liconian cities of Lystra and Derby and the surrounding countryside. And there they proclaimed the good news. They're doing this under a lot of opposition, going from place to place. And every time they go into a city, they go to the synagogue first. They go to the local church. And then that's when the trouble starts and the rubber hits the road. Then they get into arguments and debates with the leaders of those synagogues. So in verse 19 of the same chapter, a Jewish people came from Antioch, where they'd just fled from, and Liconian. And after they won the crowd over and stoned Paul, they were dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went back into the city. On the next day, he left with Barnabas for Derby. And after proclaiming the good news to that city and making many disciples, they returned to Lystra, to Iconium and to Antioch. It's a game, isn't it? And they were strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to persevere in faith and saying it is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had hand-picked elders for them in every community and prayed with fasting, they placed them in the care of YHVH in whom they had put their trust. Then they passed through Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia, and after speaking the message in Perga, they went down to Italia. And from there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been entrusted to the gracious care of God for the work now completed. And when they arrived, they gathered together Messiah's community. They began to report all that God had done in helping them and that he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed quite a while with the disciples. There's a lot of opposition. But many, many good Messianic communities have been established. And wherever we establish a new body of Messianic believers, it comes under the oversight of the central home base of apostolic leaders and elders. And the new body of believers that were raised up wherever these apostles went, whether it was Paul, or Barnabas, or Silas, or Timothy, or Titus, or Apollos, or any that were part of their team works coming and going to all of these cities and places, supporting, encouraging, following up after Paul, Peter, John. There was this constant coming and going of people from Jerusalem to these places, and they'd go back to Jerusalem, et cetera, et cetera. And the new bodies of Messianic believers will also have a local eldership to oversee and take care of the sheep as Elohim's good shepherds did. As we read there in verse 23, it said, And when they had handpicked elders for them in every community and prayed with fasting, they placed them in the care of YHVH in whom they had put their trust. So, you have this overseeing body of men like Paul, Peter, John, Silas, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, men that had been raised up by YHVH to brave the onslaughts of the enemy in establishing new Messianic communities all over that part of the known world. And they were the front runners. They were the ones that took the heat. Those were the ones that went in where there was nothing and established something. And then Jerusalem would send support. And then when there was a drought being proclaimed, it must have been worse in Judea than other places. And the Messianic communities that were established were asked to help by sending money back to Jerusalem to help look after the people that were there. There was this connection. And then they appointed elders in every Messianic community they established. They set up local eldership in those places. What does Titus 1.5 say? The reason he's talking to Titus, Paul, the reason I left you in Crete was so that you would set in order the things that remain and appoint elders in every city as I directed you. It was the method. It was the plan. It was the way that they functioned and set things up. And so if we have a look at Acts 15, I'm just about at the end. Acts 15 verse 1. Now some men coming down from Judea, the top end of Israel, were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And when Paul and Barnabas had a big argument and debate with them, the brothers appointed Paul and Barnabas with some others from among them to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and to elders about this issue. That's interesting, isn't it? And these are well-established communities. These are Messianic communities all over the place. And there was something happening up there in Judea. So they were sent on their way by the Antioch community. So did I say Judea? Yes, from Judea. So there were these believers, Jewish believers, who believed in Yeshua as the Messiah from Judea had travelled up to Antioch with their message, with their slant, their spin, their belief, their tradition, their doctrine and they were bringing it into the Antioch church. And so he goes on to say, so they were sent, that is, the Jerusalem apostles heard about this and Paul and Barnabas, they had with these people a big argument and debate and the brothers were appointed and some others and they went down to Jerusalem to talk to the elders about it. So they were sent on their way by the Antioch community. They were passing through both Phoenicia, Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and they were bringing great joy to all the brothers and sisters. And when they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the community and the apostles and the elders. They reported all that Elohim had done in helping them. But some belonging to the party of the Pharisees, who had believed, stood up saying, it is necessary to circumcise them, to command them to keep the Torah of Moses. The apostles and elders were gathered together to examine this issue and after much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, brothers, you know that in the early days Elohim chose from among you that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the message of the good news and believe, Cornelius and his household. And Elohim, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving them the Ruach HaKadosh, just as he also did for us. He made no distinction between us and them, and then purifying their hearts through faith. Verse 22. Then it seemed good to the apostles and elders with the whole community to choose men from among themselves to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judah, also called Barabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren in Jerusalem, and this letter along with them. The apostles, the emissaries and the elders, your brothers, to the Gentile brothers of Antioch, Syria and Cilicia, greetings, since we have heard that some from among us have troubled you with words disturbing to your souls, although we gave them no such authorisation. It seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of Adonai Yeshua the Messiah. Chapter 16 verse 4. And as they were travelling through the cities they were handing down the rulings that had been decided upon by the apostles and elders where? In Jerusalem, for them to keep. So, Messiah's communities were strengthened in the faith and kept increasing daily in number. There was this unity, there was this strength, there was this commitment, there was this structure, there was this plan when Yeshua said, I will build my communities, my kahal. And he established that right on Shavuot and the apostles and it started there in Acts 2 and here we see in Acts 16 how it's unfolding, continuing and working. Everyone is of the same heart, the same mind, on the same page, establishing things in the same way and Jerusalem kept a hand on it all the time and where Messianic communities were being established they were relating back to Jerusalem. They were establishing elders who were of the same faith, of one heart and of one mind, of one belief system and when it got challenged by people they went back to Jerusalem and said, could you please advise us on this question and they would take the answer back to all the Messianic communities in all those different places. Differences and disagreements were always taken to the elders at Jerusalem. That everyone believed and practised the same thing was imperative to the good news message of the kingdom. You can't have 20 different messages about the kingdom of God. You can't have 20 different gospels or good news or anything else. It brings confusion, it brings people doing their own thing, their own way, establishing their own particular brand, gathering around personalities and charisma and giftings and as I said before, people don't care, they don't test their doctrines against the word, they just like the charisma, they like the personality, they like the people, they like... You know what I'm saying, YHVH didn't do it that way. It's dangerous, it does not advance the kingdom of God and his purposes in the way that he wanted. Every Messianic community in every city must preach the same message otherwise chaos and confusion and division and arguments reign. That's why Christianity today is powerless and useless to the kingdom of God and people are falling away as Yeshua predicted. The church may be strong in numbers, there may be megachurches of thousands, but it's not advancing the kingdom of God. It's not advancing the good news of the kingdom as we find it here. They're teaching another way into the kingdom, that's the wide way that will not get them there. Hard message, but it's the word. The unity of the faith and the unity of the ruach is the only way to deal with false apostles and prophets. Ephesians chapter 2, just about there. Verse 19. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with Elohim's people. Most of the church doesn't want to be a fellow citizen with a Jew. And members of Elohim's household. You have been built on the foundation made up of the apostles and the prophets, with Messiah Yeshua himself being the cornerstone. In him the whole building being fitted together is growing into a Kedosh temple for YHVH. In him you also are being built together into Elohim's dwelling place in the ruach. How can you fulfil that if you're not part of something greater than yourself? That's what God is saying. That is what YHVH is impressing, impassioning and enforcing upon my spirit day after day. That's the message. That's what I want to do and see happening. Chapter 4, verse 1. Therefore I, a prisoner for YHVH, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you were called with complete humility and gentleness, with patience, putting up with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the ruach in the bond of shalom. Therefore, all there is, one body, one ruach. Just as you were also called in one hope, one Adonai, one faith, one immersion, one God and Father of all who is over all, through all and in all. He doesn't want any division of any kind anywhere in doctrine or practice. He wants all to be the same as Paul outlines it in city after city after city after city. Verse 11 of the same passage. He himself gave some to be apostles, some as prophets, some as proclaimers of the good news, evangelists, some as shepherds and teachers to equip the Tadoshim, the body of believers, for the work of service, for building up the body of Messiah. This will continue until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of Elohim, to mature adulthood, to the measure of the stature of Messiah's fullness. As a result, we are no longer to be like children tossed around by the waves and blown all over by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of men with cunning, indeceitful scheming. Instead of speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all ways into Messiah, who is the head, from whom the whole body is fitted and held together by every supporting ligament. The proper working of each individual part produces the body's growth for building itself up in love. Now how on earth can you do that if you have nothing to do with anybody else? We are joined by ligaments. We are one in the Spirit. We are one in the faith. We are united by the same message, the same structure, the same plan, the same purpose, the same kingdom of God, good news. YHVH wants to make an impact upon this nation and he wants to raise up a people who are willing to sell themselves out to seeing God move in revival power. He wants to join people together so that one faith becomes a mighty powerful faith, so that one moving of the ruach becomes a powerful moving of the ruach. All united because we are one mind, one heart, one spirit. Paul teaches every community the same message and the same doctrines. It does not change. We see the apostles and the elders functioning as a central oversight from a central place of authority called Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the city of Shalom or peace. Jerusalem is the city from where the Torah will go out into all the earth at the millennial reign at Yeshua's return. Jerusalem is the place where YHVH has placed his name. That speaks of authority. That speaks of all authority is given unto me in heaven and on earth and you disciples, you apostles, you move out in that authority and he centralised it in Jerusalem and he didn't want everybody moving in their own authority but moving together as one authority under the authority that he put in place to establish his purposes and his kingdom throughout the earth. The plan, the pattern, the system, the structure is clear and plain if we want to listen to what the ruach is saying to the church. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the messianic communities. I wanted to talk about that but I knew I wouldn't have time. But the seven communities, and I'll get to it one day, the seven communities in Revelation 2 and 3 were spoken to as one body, one body. Every single community was given exactly the same message by John. He wrote the book what we call Revelation and every one of those communities got exactly the same message. They all read about every other group. They all knew what each other one was failing in and what was acknowledged as being a blessing. He said to everyone, you listen to what the ruach is saying to you as a fellowship because if you don't be an overcomer and deal with the issues I'm pointing out, this is the judgments that will come. I will remove you, your church will disappear. These judgments will come upon you and every one of them knew what everyone else was being told. And so that message came from the last remaining apostle alive at that time, about 90 AD or thereon. Isaiah 2.1, I close with these couple of scriptures. Isaiah chapter 2, verses 1 to 3. The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, it will come to pass in the last days, and we're in them, that the mountain of YHVH's house will stand firm as the head of the mountains. We know that mountains mean cities, governments, rulerships. And will be exalted above the hills every other place around the earth. Jerusalem, the main mountain, will be over and above every other mountain and every other hill. So all nations will flow to it. Then many peoples will go and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of YHVH, to the house of the Elohim of Jacob. Then he will teach us his ways, we will walk in his paths, for Torah will go forth from Zion and the word of YHVH from Jerusalem. There is only one message, there is only one place where authority is administered from, there is only one place that YHVH puts his name, and the whole earth is going to come under the authority of Jerusalem and its apostles, and its body, and those that YHVH establishes there in the millennial kingdom and reign. He said, if you are faithful, I will gift you and you will rule over this city, this city, five cities, ten cities, whatever. He said, I want a people who know my Torah. I want a people who are obedient to my word. I want a people who will walk in my ways. And I want you in the millennial reign to take that message to the ends of the earth. And the only message you will take is the one that comes out of Jerusalem. It will honour me, it will exalt my name, my greatness and my power. It will exalt Yeshua who sits on the throne of Jerusalem. The message is there that there is only one message, one king, one kingdom, and it's based in Jerusalem, and it's going to flow to the ends of the earth. It's what we see in the book of Acts. It's what he says is going to happen in these last days when Yeshua returns. Luke 24, last scripture, verses 45 to 47. On the road to Emmaus, then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. And he said to them, so it is written that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and removal of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations beginning from Jerusalem. The message comes out from there. It's the principle, it is the plan, it is that which is guiding and showing us there is a right and a wrong way in going about how we establish the kingdom of God. I drew a diagram. I've got Brendan to put it together for me because I don't know how to do those things. I'm going to throw that diagram up. This is how I see it. HTTN, Salem. Isn't it amazing that YHVH put us here in Salem? Salem means shalom, peace. It is the name of the city of Jerusalem when Abraham met Melchizedek. He was the king of Salem, the city of peace. And here we are in Salem. So, you know, this bit could easily get misconstrued and thrown at me with daggers because I, in some people's eyes, will be saying, where's Jerusalem? We've got the answers. You listen to everything we say. And that's not what I'm saying. But I am saying YHVH has a method. He has a plan. He has a system and a structure and he expects us to follow it in the new covenant mindset and way. We have to emulate what we see in here where we are at. And if you can't emulate and put into practice what we see in here, then it all falls apart and fails and we have what we've got today. So there has to be a system. YHVH will raise up places that will be central to his kingdom purposes here, there and everywhere. There should be a thousand like us. We will only touch our corner of the vineyard. But multitudes of others should be using the same pattern, the same structure, the same plan as we see in the Word so that his objectives will be fulfilled. And if people don't like it and don't want to do it that way, that's fine, I don't have a problem with that. But we will do it this way and it will be preached and proclaimed this way and others can do it any way they want. But I'm just saying this is what YHVH is saying to me, this is what YHVH is showing to me and this is what YHVH is wanting me to do and us as a fellowship. So, Salem. And of course these are all places that we are going to plant communities of Messianic believers. That's what I believe God has been saying to us. And as you know I've planted already Christian churches in some of these places. So, Mildura. We're in the process of planting one already. We have people interested, we've been up there for a meeting, we're going up there for another one and we're establishing a fellowship there. And we want to do the same in Flinders. We want to do the same in Echuca, already been there, already plowing the ground a little there. Do the same in Ballarat. I come from Ballarat, I've been to Ballarat, I've been to Ballarat, I've been taking a message to Ballarat for a number of years. Victor Harbour, I've been to Victor Harbour two or three times in the last month. To a church down there and talking to people down there, we'll see what comes out of it. Murray Bridge, we intend to do the same thing. Because these are places that YHVH has spoken to us about, not some random thing that we're choosing to do. YHVH has spoken to us about this. And He has done this in my life for nearly 50 years. He has taken me on this path, this way, and that's how it's functioned. And now what I did for the Christian church, I'm doing for the Messianic community. But I have a better understanding now of how it should have been and not how I did it in the first place. I was led and ruled by the hierarchy of denominations. He said, you do it this way, even though I'd always planted churches that were never exactly how they wanted it, because I did it my way, different to their way, but it was still part of who they were and those fellowships and churches belonged to them and not really to the Kingdom of God. So He's sending me back there to start another one, which always amazes me that where I started one wrongly and they still exist today, now I'm going there to start one rightly and some of them are not happy that I'm coming back. But that doesn't matter. What YHVH wants, YHVH wants, because He wants to establish what is right and put right what was wrong. And so you go to Mildura or we go to Echuca or wherever and then the dots on the outside, of course, they are home fellowship groups. Each major centre or city has a public face. That is, you meet in a main building, a hall or a meeting place and it also has gathering places in the home. So that can evolve in a way that may be a little different in every different place. But you want to establish, like Paul, when he was kicked out of the synagogue and he only went there just to make an inroad and to get some people to follow him and to bring the message to the Jews first. And then he went to the hired hall next to the synagogue and then they met in houses and houses and houses as well as they'd come publicly and have meetings there too. So it doesn't matter how it works in my mind at this point in time, whether you have a meeting in a public hall every Sabbath or you're meeting homes every Sabbath and sometimes you come together and have a weekend together. It doesn't matter how it works, but it has to have purpose, plan and in a way that matches what God is wanting to do in that place. And so we will come and go from Mildura to HTTN and I will always be there giving guidance and help and assistance. And whoever is in Mildura will relate back to us so that we're always on the same page, teaching the same things, establishing places with the same heartbeat and mindset as we find in the Word of God. And as you can see in the drawings there, every city is relating to each other city. So whatever we plant in Mildura and whatever we plant in Echuca, we'll have relationships. They'll work together, they'll talk together, they'll come and help and support each other. And we'll always make sure that we're all following the same plan because we will go in and out of all these places, one way or another. And each home group relates also to their own main fellowship because there is a body of elders in Mildura, a body of elders in Echuca, a body of elders in Ballarat and they look after the sheep together. And those elders relate to the elders back here because it's protection, it's security, it's strength. It keeps everyone on the same page and YHVH blesses and honours that because we're of one heart and one mind and each home group is relating to each home group. No one is doing their own thing because one is bigger and better than the other because their gifting is different is irrelevant. You have ten in that house and a hundred in that house. It depends on the size of the house. There's a whole lot of dynamics that go on and who looks after those home fellowships? A word I don't particularly like but it is the ecclesia in the home. But the point I'm making is they're all are interconnected as one body. It doesn't matter where they are in the earth. If they're part of us, they're connected to us and we support and encourage and bless and look after each other. We are one in the unity of the faith and the unity of the spirit. That's the objective. I'm not saying how well we could pull this off but I'm saying you've got to have a plan. You've got to have a pattern. You've got to have a structure that you know YHVH will honour and we will look to him for the results. Will people disagree with me? Yes. Will people have a better idea and a better way that could add to what I'm saying? Quite possibly, quite probably. I'm happy for it. It's input. It's elderships working together to achieve the objectives of God and what he wants is Good News Messianic Community Ballarat. We've already got Good News Messianic Community Mildura. We have a bank account already there to help us establish that and we have people there that are wanting, have said to us, please hurry and come. We want to be part of what you're doing and so we want to establish Good News Messianic Communities wherever YHVH opens the door and we will call them for the sake of having the same name. They were first known as Messianics as we read there in Corinth and was it Corinth? Antioch, sorry, Antioch, yes. So they were, the message that they always brought was the Good News of the Kingdom of God. That was the message they carried. Everywhere they went, the Good News of the Kingdom of God, the Good News of the Kingdom of God. That was their message and they were Messianics. They were believing in Yeshua as the Messiah which then in that day and age nobody believed. They were Jews. And so we will establish as much as we can Good News Messianic Communities wherever we can and ask Father to keep helping us because he's the one that's opening the door. He's the one that said go there and as I've gone there the door opened. People said yes, we want to be a part of this and we keep trusting him. So anyway, I just want to share this because where we're at now is important that we understand what we're doing, how we think and how we function and what my mindset is and we adjust as we go. Well, again, when we say denomination, that is a religious word that describes a group of people who follow a certain pattern of doctrine, of structure, etc. So that could be called you're a denomination. If that's what people want to label us so be it. It doesn't matter. I don't know what a different label is. We are just Messianic believers with a central base to operate out of because that's what I see. And Paul and the Messianics, they were called a sect because they were different to the others. Our message will be different to every other denomination. Our way of doing it will be different. And so it is still a structure that enables man to do his job in a manner that has controls and mechanisms that enable it to function adequately, safely, securely and with a structure that's identifiable. If that's a denomination, then so be it as long as we do it God's way. And I don't know how else to describe it. The denomination is just a commonality. A denominator. What's the denomination? It has negative connotations. But you can't avoid that. You can't avoid it. It is like democracy. We are not a democracy. The Word of God is not a democracy. God is a theocrat. He rules, he reigns. Nobody tells him how to do it and no one helps him with it. He is a theocracy. Underneath that theocracy called God there is not a dictatorship. What is another word for a strong leader? A ruler? No, not a king, not a ruler. You've got dictators that rule their nations and the world. And then you have an autocrat who is autocratic in the way they go. So, I could say that the system the judge has judges, yes. But for a term it's probably like an autocracy. And what you see in the Word of God, Jerusalem, it was autocratic. In other words, these men that God appointed ruled. They kept it and they had to follow what came out of Jerusalem. And the difference between an autocratic leader like Trump, who's not a dictator but he's definitely an autocrat, who wants to do things his way and don't let anybody get in the way because you'll get sacked and I'll do it my way and he has ways of exercising a power in an unjust way, autocratically. I see the Scriptures as being autocratic. And when you see what Paul said to Timothy, Timothy, you're young, don't let anyone put you down. When I send you to a place to do a job, do it. And you have the right to be strong, to be assertive, to demand, to make sure they follow the rules, to teach Torah and make sure the Torah is kept the way I've told you, taught you and then to keep it. You keep it in control. The difference between a biblical autocrat and a worldly autocrat is a biblical autocrat functions in the fear of God because he is under God, answerable to God and to his other team members. You give strong leadership, you teach the Word of God as YHVH reveals it and shows it. He brings revelation and understand and he expects us to be strong and unflinching in maintaining it. But it's in the fear of God. You're there to love the sheep, honour the sheep, bless the sheep, bring healing, support and encouragement. An autocrat that's not working under the fear of God just runs a rough shot over the sheep. He's there to fill his own pockets, to have his own fame, to build his own kingdom and to get the glory. That's not godly. If you're truly of YHVH, you will be working in the fear of the Almighty and knowing that if you don't do it his way and you do it wrong and pride and self gets in the way, you're going to answer to him and he's going to take you down. So you do it his way. It's still autocratic but in a godly way and not in a man-worldly way. There has to be strength in leadership and that's what YHVH raises up. Because it will get challenged as it did, as we read of Paul. Those Judeans, they come and they're challenged. No, you tell them to get circumcised or they're not saved. The only other thing I would say is YHVH joins people to groups. He is the one that develops who belongs to what family, where and how it functions and the timing of things. I know I've spoken to a lot of people around not just Adelaide but into Victoria and places that one day will be part of what we're doing but not yet, not now. We mightn't be ready. They mightn't be ready. YHVH will join people to us as he wants to join them to us and everyone will know YHVH is saying, become part of this, become part of this because you're weaker on your own. I say that understanding where Les is at. There's lots of groups. There is Olive Tree. I've spent a lot of time with Olive Tree. I have spent time with the pastor and his wife there several times going to meet and have coffee with them, wanting to become in partnership with them and asking him to come and preach at our fellowship. Didn't want a bar of it. I'm not running him down. I'm just saying that's the way it was. He wanted to do his thing his way and he didn't want to be a part of us. I was happy to be a part of him and to work together with something but he didn't want it. So it's all in the timing of YHVH and he will link people and find ways of helping us to work together to achieve the same objective, common objectives because when YHVH begins to move in power through a place, I know that people will come out of the woodwork that don't want to know us now. If and when, not if but when YHVH begins to move and people get healed and miracles take place and fellowships are established here and there, people will come out of the woodwork and say we don't want to know you and I want to get healed or I want to get blessed the way you're being blessed. I know how the mind works. I know what the flesh is like. People will come. But in YHVH's time, YHVH's way, when people are ready and the Spirit of YHVH has spoken to them, find ways of linking. I don't have all the answers. I just know I'm trying to establish something that I believe YHVH's raised us up to be as a witness in this world and I still have to get through lots of questions and answers I have for myself apart from the multitude more that you've probably got. Amen.
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