Now turn to 2 Cor. 4: read with me from verse 1 through 6.
4 1 G-d has shown us such mercy that we do not lose courage as we do the work he has given us. 2 Indeed, we refuse to make use of shameful underhanded methods, employing deception or distorting G-d’s message. On the contrary, by making very clear what the truth is, we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of G-d. 3 So if indeed our Good News is veiled, it is veiled only to those in the process of being lost. 4 They do not come to trust because the G-d of the >olam hazeh (this world)
Stop right there: Now this G-d is HaSatan. The scripture says hasatan has blined their minds and we will learn tonight how he does this. Now read on with me.
has blinded their minds, in order to prevent them from seeing the light shining from the Good News about the glory of the Messiah, who is the image of G-d. 5 For what we are proclaiming is not ourselves, but the Messiah Yahshua as L-rd, with ourselves as slaves for you because of Yahshua. 6 For it is the G-d (YHVH) who once said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has made his light shine in our hearts, the light of the knowledge of G-d’s glory shining in the face of the Messiah Yahshua.
What are we being told here? That the G-d of this world blinds our minds to the truth. We will se how he does this and see how much of religion does his bidding with such destructive doctrines as Prosperity Preaching, Miracle Healing Meetings, and feel good non-accountability messages of gratifying our souls and feeding our emotional selves.
Now turn to Matthew chapter 4. Read with me from verse 1 through 10
4 1 Then the Spirit led Yahshua up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary. (The Adversary is HaSatan) 2 After Yahshua had fasted forty-days and nights, he was hungry. 3 The Tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of G-d, order these stones to become bread.” 4 But he answered, “The Tanakh says,
‘Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of Adonai’ ”
5 Then the Adversary took him to the holy city and set him on the highest point of the Temple . 6 “If you are the Son of G-d,” he said, “jump! For the Tanakh says,
‘He will order his angels to be responsible for you.
They will support you with their hands,
so that you will not hurt your feet on the stones.’ ”
7 Yahshua replied to him, “But it also says, ‘Do not put Adonai your G-d to the test.’ ”
8 Once more, the Adversary took him up to the summit of a very high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their glory, 9 and said to him, “All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 “Away with you, Satan!” Yahshua told him, “For the Tanakh says,
‘Worship Adonai your G-d, and serve only him.’”
What was the ultimate temptation hasatan offered to Yahshua here? THINGS! MATERIALISM! Physical and emotional satifaction. This is how HaSatan turns more believers away from YHVH Elohim, by dangling THINGS before their eyes, than by any other method. I don’t mean just material things either. We can miss YHVH’s truth by being preoccupied with physical healing and comfort. Ask yourself, what has HaSatan offered you? Vainglory, physical healing for every little ache and pain, or most probably he has sold you on the idea that you need things… Those perfect vacations, that new shiny car, a more elegant house in that manicured neighborhood. Or maybe a high paying job that brings with it more stress, high blood pressure, and heart disease and the byproducts of a dysfunctional family that suffers because your job demands too much of your valuable time.
Now turn to chapter 13 of Matthew and read with me verses 11 through 16:
10 Then the talmidim came and asked Yahshua, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them. 12 For anyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have plenty; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away 13 Here is why I speak to them in parables: they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. 14 That is, in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Yesha‘yahu which says,
‘You will keep on hearing but never understand,
and keep on seeing but never perceive,
15 because the heart of this people has become dull—
with their ears they barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
so as not to see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and return for me to heal them.’
Now I want you to also take note that the healing just spoken up is something greater
than mere physical healing. Now let’s read on.
16 “But you, how blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear!
Now we see the secret! You must have eyes that see and ears that hear.
In Isaiah, chapter 6: 1-10 let me read the whole passage concerning the proper attitude and posture of a believer.
1In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the L-rd (YHVH Elohim) sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the YHVH Tzva’ot (L-RD of hosts): the whole earth is full of his glory. 4And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the L-RD of hosts. 6Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
We see from what we have read so far is we must have a clear understanding of ourselves and what we are in the sight of YHVH Elohim. We are filled with inequity. We are sinners, fallen, and lacking in any redeemable qualities. We must be cleaned and YHVH has given us an avenue of escape through Yahshua for reconciliation with Him and to have our inequity taken away. Then I want you to notice something else. The first thing Isaiah says in response to YHVH’s call to service is “Here I am, send me.” Did you notice that Isaiah does not know what the mission is? Believers come to me all the time and ask me, what is YHVH’s will for me, what can I do in His service? If I said will, the toilets need to be cleaned you can imagine the reaction for most really want me to tell them that they need to be teachers, rabbis, or some other highly recognizable and visible entity before people. Their attitude is wrong. Isaiah said Here I am, send me and he did not know what he was to be sent to do. His heart was right. He was serviceable whether for some menial job or some other undertaking. Now read on.
9And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isaiah 53: Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of G-d, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
I want you to understand something here. Preachers cite this passage all the time telling the people that we have authority over disease and sickness, but I submit that the healing YHVH speaks of here is not physical healing from disease. It is something surely deeper, the healing from a fallen condition that results in spiritual death.
Satan attacks all of us through the flesh’s weaknesses. Our sicknesses, our desires and even our needs. We need to wake up and see that many of those things are part and parcel of living in a fallen world, believer or not. We need to get our priorities straight and see the process whereby we approach and establish our relationship with YHVH Elohim. If we do we will not be susceptible to hasatan and his message that most of organized religion has grasped with both hands today. Turn on your TV or go to your nearest church and you will be greeted with Prosperity preaching, designed to satisfy our desire for things and with organized healing services to address our desire to be free form every hurt and physical discomfort. What we should be hearing is how do we have our eyes and ears opened to receive YHVH’s Word. For it is by the Word both Living and Written that we establish our relationship with HIM.
Now turn with me to:
John 12:39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again,
John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
What is this blindness, It is the blindness that hasatan has permeated throughout religions institutions causing the people to focus on Things, Comfort, and self-satisfaction.
The Bible is replete from cover to cover with the theme of Light and Darkness. People whose eyes have been blinded cannot see the light. The light that is Yahshua the living Torah and YHVH’s written Torah.
Let me close with this from Luke 6: 46-49
46 “Why do you call me, ‘L-rd! L-rd!’ but not do what I say ? 47 Everyone who comes to me, hears my words and acts on them—I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like someone building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the torrent beat against that house but couldn’t shake it, because it was constructed well. 49 And whoever hears my words but doesn’t act on them is like someone who built his house on the ground without any foundation. As soon as the river struck it, it collapsed and that house became a horrendous wreck!”
Amein,
Rabbi Davis