Assembling and Preparing the Ecclesia
As in every generation, it is no different now as we approach the end of the age, that Father is continuing to call His remnant out. It should be an earnest effort that we seek to find one another and begin or continue the process of preparing our lives for our Master's return. As our understanding grows, it is often difficult to find true disciples of Messiah who are in close proximity to us. Therefore, if we desire to walk together, we must use all the resources available to assemble with one another. Thankfully, many of us have been given an abundance of resources to overcome this challenge and it is incumbent upon us to honor our heavenly Father and Master, Yeshua, by using them to their fullest potential.
So let us first determine: - who we are, - what we are to be doing - and how we might do it! WHO...
These are some characteristics of true disciples:
Personal Growth: Growing more deeply in the truth of Father's word, will ultimately lead to growing apart from those who are not. The usual fellowship that was once enjoyed, can sometimes become strained and uncomfortable when individuals within a gathering of believers are not desiring to know truth. And while we understand that everyone grows at a different pace and according to what Father is working on in them, there must (at a very minimum), be a DESIRE to know His truth more fully. An authentic assembly of Yeshua's disciples will always desire to test everything they hold dear and measure it against the plumb line of scripture. They must be willing to let go of ALL preconceived notions, personal agendas and traditions of men, in order to do so. Differences of understanding must be dealt with in love, patience and respect, until such time that the disagreeing parties will come to one mind, or it becomes clear that one or more who disagree, is no longer willing to consider plausible, biblically principled, possibilities. Personal Obedience: It is not enough to simply desire truth or know truth. It is impossible to love our heavenly Father and His Son, Yeshua, without walking in obedience to the measure of truth revealed to each person. A healthy assembly of disciples will exhibit obedience in personal behavior, decision making and lifestyle choices that conform to Yahweh's instructions as described in His Holy Word. They will also lovingly challenge one another toward more obedience as they assemble together and seek to love both our heavenly Father and our Master, Yeshua. They will be discerning when challenging one another and always do so with the love and patience of our example and Master, Yeshua, until such time as they are all walking in one accord, or one or more are walking in open rebellion to biblically ascertained truth. These are the results of being a growing disciple of the Master: An increased knowledge of truth and obedience to Yahweh's instructions will result in nothing short of being set apart from the norms of the cultures in which we have grown up. We truly become a "peculiar people" and will typically find ourselves to have much less in common with most of the people around us. This will often leave us with few or none with whom we might fellowship locally. But don't despair...trust, persevere and believe that even if we don't find that which we desire in this life, in due time, all of the promises and our blessed hope will come to fruition. |
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WHAT...
- First...if you realize that being a true disciple of the master, Yeshua, looks very little like what you see in corporations known as "church", you are well on your way to experiencing a more pure assembly of Yahweh's people.
- If you've passed that hurdle and are diligently seeking to learn how Father wants us to live, you will probably experience some alienation from many people who you may have been deeply connected. Again - don't despair...you may feel alone, but He will provide.
- We and many people around the world are hearing the call to embrace the scriptures as they were written and taught by Messiah Yeshua, and abandoning the traditions that have distorted true scripture. We are deciding to abandon the "pull" of the world and former religious affiliations and committing our lives to obedience to the Word. This results in huge life changes. We often realize that the very things we held onto so dearly, start to become more repulsive to us. This happens because we start to see them as Father sees them. Some examples of these kind of life changes include abandoning many things that are a mixture of the holy and the profane. Something that is holy will not purify something that is profane, but something that is profane, will certainly make something holy, unclean. This may come in a new consideration of traditions like Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentines Day, and the like. These may begin to be replaced with the ways our Father Himself has instructed us to worship Him. REMEMBER - we do not get to tell Father how he will be worshiped and honored - He tells us. We must always try to see things the way He tells us He sees them, which is clearly spelled out in His word.
- Another form of being set apart will affect the way we see the old things in our lives more clearly for what they are. This may be a new desire to eat more appropriately according to His instructions. We may begin to see that some foods are actually not food at all. We may also realize that many of the activities that seemed so innocent before, are actually very dangerous and leads us down a path of distraction that is far removed from the walk of a disciple. Many of us are examining our involvement and attitude toward things like sports, clubs, movies, television, music, alcohol, drugs, sex and even relationships. And even testing how our Father expects us to relate to politics, education, our health, medicines we take, our money, our jobs, vacations, luxuries and many other things we may not have given a serious look at before. Father will work through his Holy Spirit the Ruach HaKodesh to impart a sensitivity to us about what is to be in and out of our lives and we will diligently desire to TEST EVERYTHING.
- As we begin to purge the things we realize do not enhance our walk as a disciple of Yeshua, we also see our commitment, ability and strength increase in order to overcome the temptations of the world. Praise Yahweh! We are well on our way!
HOW...
So if you've read through all of the things we've outlined above, and can see the rationale of what has been described...you will inevitably ask yourself, "how do I move forward as a part of the remnant that Father is calling ...as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light."
We believe that the way we are to do this is to first continue to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. That means that all the things we described that define who the remnant is and what they are to be doing, must be a priority in our lives. Secondly, we believe that doing those things will be enhanced exponentially when we can do them in fellowship with others who are on the same path. And while this is not always possible, it is to be greatly desired and sought to the best of our ability to do so.
And this is where our ministry hopes to fill the gaps that some of us have in attempting to walk out our faith as best we can. We mentioned at the top of this page that we have resources available to us and the Internet is a very powerful and readily available one for us to utilize.
We are here to provide a two-fold resource for teachings and connections through the Internet that we hope will be found by the remnant and utilized.
Here is our focus:
Teachings: A library of teachings to help you grow in knowledge and encourage you to obey what you learn.
Connections: A connections hub to provide a way to help those who are the called-out remnant to find one another for the purpose of fellowship, encouragement and training to be worthy of standing before our King on that great day.
We believe that the way we are to do this is to first continue to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. That means that all the things we described that define who the remnant is and what they are to be doing, must be a priority in our lives. Secondly, we believe that doing those things will be enhanced exponentially when we can do them in fellowship with others who are on the same path. And while this is not always possible, it is to be greatly desired and sought to the best of our ability to do so.
And this is where our ministry hopes to fill the gaps that some of us have in attempting to walk out our faith as best we can. We mentioned at the top of this page that we have resources available to us and the Internet is a very powerful and readily available one for us to utilize.
We are here to provide a two-fold resource for teachings and connections through the Internet that we hope will be found by the remnant and utilized.
Here is our focus:
Teachings: A library of teachings to help you grow in knowledge and encourage you to obey what you learn.
Connections: A connections hub to provide a way to help those who are the called-out remnant to find one another for the purpose of fellowship, encouragement and training to be worthy of standing before our King on that great day.
