Yahweh's Summer Fruit Basket Part 3.

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Part 1 Shalom and welcome to Light of the Hill Ministries and in today's teaching we will be talking about Yahweh's summer fruit basket. If you want to follow along I will be posting this in the comment box below. Now onto the teaching: “And it shall be in that day,” declares the Master Yahweh, “that I shall cause the sun to go down at noon, and shall darken the earth on a day of brightness, and shall turn your festivals into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation, and bring sackcloth on all loins, and baldness on every head, and shall make it like mourning for an only son, and its end like a day of bitterness. “See, days are coming,” declares the Master Yahweh, “that I shall send a hunger in the land, not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the Words of Yahweh. “And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east - they shall diligently search, seeking the Word of Yahweh, but they shall not find it. “In that day the beautiful maidens and strong young men shall faint from thirst, those swearing by the guilt of Shomeron, who say, ‘As your mighty one lives, O Dan!’ and, ‘As the way of Be’ersheva lives!’ And they shall fall and never rise again.” (Amos 8:9-14) Yahweh had undoubtedly bestowed physical gifts on Yisra'el, but in addition to the physical blessings, He had also given them His Word through Mosheh and the Prophets. All of His people had access to His Word, and they were to bear the fruit of it. Today is no exception. Everyone has access to His Word. Yahweh promises Amos, however, that He will turn their festivities into mourning. Why? Because they refused to eat His Word. We, too, have the abundant fruit of His Word at our disposal today, and if we do not eat of it, we will not bear any good fruit that should last. We are to eat daily of His Word. We cannot rely on past meals for today and expect to survive, although for many, the only word they are seemingly eating is that which they hear on Shabbat if their ears are open and they are not distracted by the world. If you do not eat from His Word, it is an offense to Him and you will not be able to live fruitfully. Yahushua said in the Fourth Gospel commonly called John: “I am the living bread which came down out of the heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And indeed, the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” The Yehudim, therefore, were striving with one another, saying, “How is this One able to give us His flesh to eat?” Yahushua therefore said to them, “Amein, amein, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Adam and drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise him up in the last day. “For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him. “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me shall live because of Me. “This is the bread which came down out of the heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever.” (John 6:53-58) He also said, quoting from Deuteronomy while being tempted: “But Yahushua answered him, saying, “It has been written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of Elohiym.’” (Luke 4:4) “And He humbled you, and let you suffer hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of Yahweh. (Deuteronomy 8:3) There are people who argue that we don't have to follow Yahweh's every word, but without it, we would not be able to live a fruitful life with the summer basket that He desires for us. And those who don't hear Yahweh's word, He will take it away from them and send a famine of not having it in their lives. As the prophet Yeshayahu says: And He said, “Go, and you shall say to this people, ‘Hearing, you hear, but do not understand; and seeing, you see, but do not know.’ (Isaiah 6:9) Even today, they hear but do not understand. Thus for some Yahweh has taken away His voice from them. Yehudah had abandoned the living Elohiym at this moment and began again to worship idols. Although there were instances of spiritual change, they were mainly superficial. They never made it into the heart of the nation. Yahweh, on the other hand, was not about to let them perish in silence. They weren't going to pay attention to the witness, but Yahweh would still be faithful and bear witness to them. And it is an intriguing aspect of Yahweh that even if a person isn't going to reply or listen, Yahweh will still give them a chance. Yahweh will continue to communicate with them and He will never stop talking, because He desires all to repent. And so Yahweh told Yeshayahu that: “Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and shall turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:10) That is, send them a message. Deliver Yahweh's message to them. They won't be able to use it as an excuse. They'd have no defense against the impending doom that was going to hit them. Despite this, Yahweh would still continue to warn them and provide opportunities until the area was desolate and just the last person remained. Yahweh will keep bearing witness. They aren't listening even though Yahweh continues to witness to the world today. They're making light of Yahweh's witness. However, we must continue to bear witness. Yahweh will not leave Himself without a witness. It's encouraging to know that Yahweh never abandons us until our final moments. Even at the end of what we think to be our lives, there is always the possibility of bearing fruit. Even if we don't see it, He always has a plan for us. And even if you don't think you can grow fruit, trust Yahweh to produce the fruit He desires in you. This reminds me of the thief who died with Yahushua. Even in his final hours, he asked to be with the Master in the kingdom: And he said to Yahushua, “Master, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) And what was Yahushua's response to this repentant theif? “Amein, I say to you today, you shall be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) Yahweh will bear fruit, and Yahushua will say to us, "Today you shall be with me in paradise." The caveat is that IF we hear Yahweh's Word and we let His word grow inside of us, then we will enter into the joy of our Master. In Amos 8:11 it tells us that Yahweh will: ...send a hunger in the land, not a hunger for bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the Words of Yahweh. (Amos 8:11) The truth is, there are many who do not have an ear to hear what Yahweh is saying. They just don’t hear the Word of Yahweh. It isn't that Yahweh isn't speaking; it's simply that they are unable to hear Yahweh's Word. It's just a mess of words to people who don't hear; it doesn't make sense to them. You see, the problem is never on Yahweh’s side. It isn’t that Yahweh isn’t speaking; it’s that we’re not listening. It really isn’t that Yahweh can’t hear. Our lifestyles have made it inconsistent for Yahweh to respond. As once again, Yeshayahu tells us: Look, the hand of Yahweh has not become too short to save, nor His ear too heavy to hear. But your crookednesses have separated you from your Elohiym. And your sins have hidden His face from you, from hearing. For your hands have been defiled with blood, and your fingers with crookedness; your lips have spoken falsehood, your tongue mutters unrighteousness. No one calls for righteousness, and no one pleads for truth. They trust in emptiness and speak worthlessness; they conceive trouble and bring forth wickedness. (Isaiah 59:1-4) Now, note what happened because they weren't hearing Yahweh's Word, since there was a famine for His Word: “And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east - they shall diligently search, seeking the Word of Yahweh, but they shall not find it. (Amos 8:12). As they searched for something that would please them, they would get restless. Consider the current state of global unrest. How come people walk from sea to sea, from north to east, looking for anything to satisfy them? If you don't hear Yahweh's Word and your heart isn't fulfilled with it, you'll find yourself looking for something to fill the vacuum in your life. This unrest always results from your hearts' no longer hearing Yahweh's voice or His Word. That void causes the restlessness, and as a result: “In that day the beautiful maidens and strong young men shall faint from thirst, (Amos 8:13) Meaning that those who are supposed to have strength and who are at the prime of their lives won't have an answer to the destruction that is going on around them. They will realize before it's too late that they can't live without the Word of Yahweh. And they will faint because they will be exhausted in trying to find an answer as to why things are going on as they are. We need the Word of Yahweh, especially when things seem to be falling apart in our lives. Yisra’el had the Temple and they had the Torah teachings, yet they did not hear them. Today, there is still plenty of bread and water, so to speak, as there are many assemblies to choose from and plenty of Torah instruction available, but true obedience to His commands is severely lacking.

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Part 2 The Word is not far off or hidden, it is simple and plain for those who will but hear: “For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off. “It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ “Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ “For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart - to do it. (Deuteronomy 30:11-14) All one has to do is listen to Yahweh's Word and know it is very near us in our mouths and in our hearts. However, if we do not hear, we will all seek it elsewhere in false man-made attempts at worship, just as they did in Amos 8:14: those swearing by the guilt of Shomeron, who say, ‘As your mighty one lives, O Dan!’ and, ‘As the way of Be’ersheva lives!’ And they shall fall and never rise again.” (Amos 8:14) Dan was the religious center for the northern part of the kingdom of Yisra'el. These were two alternative worship sites that were not authorized by Yahweh. This is where Yarob'am, commonly called Jeroboam, made an altar and put a calf there: So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Yerushalayim. See, your mighty ones, O Yisra’el, which brought you up from the land of Mitsrayim!” And he set up one in Beyth El, and the other he put in Dan. (1Kings 12:28-29) Many today who are hungry for the Word and can't hear Yahweh will make alternative places of worship as they make their own golden calves of twisted morals and truth. At this point, they seek out the mighty one of convenience. Where it's easy to serve and fits their own agendas, but Yahushua says: "Come to Me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest. “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your beings. “For My yoke is gentle and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) To bear fruit from His word, we must take His yoke upon ourselves, which means we must walk alongside Him and let Him guide us through His Father's word. And what we plow is what we plant, and what we plant is what we bear fruit of, and what we bear fruit of is what we eat. We would do well to make sure we have the right word in our hearts in order to bear the correct fruit. This takes the Master's work and our willingness to allow Him to change our hearts. The question is: Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness, that is hear His Word? Are you studying His Word, or do you still believe that it is only for a select few who must teach? And to love His Word, live His Word, and share His Word is the best approach to avoid the famine of hearing His word. The fruit of obedience, worship, stewardship, and His Word. Keep them for yourself and they will rot, because they are not meant for display bowls only. They are to be eaten and shared, and the more you eat and share, the more you will have. What is the fruit of your worship? Have you discovered that you are sometimes just going through the motions, which is a huge burden, or are you truly living out what you are singing and declaring back to Yahweh? What is your fruit of stewardship? Are you faithful in bearing good fruit by faithfully stewarding what Yahweh has given you, as well as faithful in stewarding your obedient lifestyle by adhering to His Word in every way through a loving obedience to His secure love for us? Do you freely give of your time and resources, or do you find yourself using deceptive scales in front of Yahweh's eyes? Do you give freely with no strings or conditions attached? Are you cutting corners in your efforts to be a good steward of Yahweh's Word in your daily life, and as a result, you are neglecting to eat that which gives you life? Are you engaging faithfully in committing to working together in giving your all to building Yahweh's community that He is calling for us all to build or is building a community a big headache for you? How is the Fruit of His Word? Do you love it, read it, study it, meditate on it, recite it, live it and share it? Or are you simply getting by with a small weekly dose of an hour or two on Shabbat, that is not enough. Yahweh has filled your basket with unfathomable riches, and the fruit of such must be kept fresh through consistent use of pure worship, diligent stewardship, and earnest hearing and doing of His Word, rather than a false appearance through an uncontrolled lifestyle of compromise after compromise. When Yahweh asks you, like He did to Amos, "What do you see?" And you say, a basket of summer fruit. Do you only see what you want to see in order to appease your conscience through compromise, or do you see what He sees as you gaze intently in the mirror of His Word, and, if necessary, are you willing to change what must be changed? If you want Yahweh's basket of summer fruit then stay in Messiah and allow Him to make the necessary change and be found to have the very good fruit of righteousness that lasts. HalleluYah! 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