Welcome to Joy By Surprise
YAHUSHUA YaHuWaH Jesus Christ Elijah Isaiah Antichrist Baal Feast Atonement Passover New Moon Israel David God Angel Angels Glory King of Kings Devil Satan False Prophet Pope Miracle Sign Wonder Homosexual Abomination Solar Eclipse Armageddon End Times End of the Age Two Witnesses Aviv Barley Harvest Judgment Nations Jerusalem Man of Sin Goliath Ark Noah Adam Eve Sodom Gomorrah GilGal Global Government World Leader Messiah Moshiach Moses Aaron Red Sea Elohim Heaven Earth Sun Stars Creator Lunar Eclipse Babylon the Great Islam Hebrew Lunar Tetrad Blood Moon Bethlehem Adonai Prince of Peace John the Baptist Tav Paleo Hebrew Sabbath Day Repent Covenant Daniel Belshazzar. Bible teaching, prophecy prophecy and end times and end times information that reveal the relationship of ancient prophecies with current major media events end of the world
1. Life's Greatest Mistake
Were you to question a number of people as to what in their opinion was the greatest mistake a person can make in life, you would receive a variety of answers. Answers such as: My greatest mistake was:
- To treat schooling as a joke ... "I wasted my time at school."
- To take up a dead-end job ... "I have no prospects at all."
- To take up drugs ................. "I ruined my health."
- To trust the wrong people ... "I was hopelessly let down."
- To marry the wrong person ."It's been a living hell."
- To buy the wrong house .... "It cost me the earth." etc.
Mistakes these may be; but there is a far greater mistake we mortals can make. It is grieving the Holy Spirit. This is a blunder of enormous magnitude and, sad to say, millions of apparently successful folk are making it every day. Man is a trio of body, mind and spirit. Meaningful life is not possible if any one of these three components is missing. The world is bristling with information about the body and its needs. The mind is also well catered for in our schools, colleges and libraries. But the needs of the spirit are badly neglected. Perhaps one person in every hundred gives thought each day to his/her spiritual needs. And even then, when spiritual guidance is sought, the wrong spirit is followed and the wrong books are read. The results of this mistake are confusion, chaos, unhappiness and often - suicide. Consider one of ancient Israel's mistakes.
Doubt
| Psalm 78:17 | And they sinned yet more against Him by provoking the most High in the wilderness. 18: And they tempted Elohim in their heart by asking meat for their lust. 19: Yea, they spake against Elohim; they said, Can Elohim furnish a table in the wilderness? 20: Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can He give bread also? can He provide flesh for His people? 21: YaHuWaH heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; 22: Because they believed not in Elohim, and trusted not in His salvation. |
In other words they made a major mistake in doubting YaHuWaH. To disbelieve a person is tantamount to calling him/her a liar. No one likes being disbelieved. It's an insult. To disbelieve Elohim is infinitely worse! It's a sin of enormous magnitude.
2. Who to Follow
The ignorant and inexperienced need guidance. But who are we to follow? Whose advice are we to take? And how can we be sure that that advice we take will lead to success, to happiness and to life everlasting? Here is good advice from two of the wisest men who ever lived:
| King Solomon's Advice | |
|---|---|
| Proverbs 21:21 | He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honor. |
| YAHUSHUA's Advice |
|
| John 8:12 | Then spake YAHUSHUA again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life. |
3. Faith / Obedience
But how are we to follow YAHUSHUA when we cannot see Him? It is one thing to follow someone you can hear and see; but quite another matter to follow an invisible person. Yes, how can one follow YaHuWaH and His Son when we cannot see them? The answer is:
- Believe YaHuWaH 's Word (the Bible). It is Life's User Guide and your spiritual chart.
- Follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit as He works through your conscience.
And so, like a captain would steer his ship across the trackless ocean using chart and compass, you will reach the Kingdom of Heaven. Faith and Obedience are the first steps in making life a success. Taking those steps is by far the most important in life.
4. Grieving the Spirit
But even obedient believers have problems. What do we do then? To whom should we turn? The answer is: call for help; pray to YaHuWaH. Failing to call for help is as bad a mistake as getting into trouble in the first place. Failing to call for help is evidence of either ignorance or pride.
Not Calling for YaHuWaH 's Help
| Isaiah 43:22 | But thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel. |
Ignoring YaHuWaH 's Call
Then there is the tragic error of ignoring YaHuWaH when He calls to you.
| Zechariah 7:12 | Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the Torah, and the words which YaHuWaH Tz'va'ot hath sent in His spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from YaHuWaH Tz'va'ot. 13: Therefore it is come to pass, that as He cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith YaHuWaH Tz'va'ot: |
5. Spirit Led Men
To follow YaHuWaH and His Son YAHUSHUA in your own strength is virtually impossible. You need power, spiritual power - from on high. The Most High will provide the spiritual motivation and power to all who truly want to follow Him. He will place His Holy Spirit in them and make the impossible possible. Here are a few examples of men who were motivated and empowered by the Spirit of YaHuWaH and who accomplished seemingly impossible tasks.
| Genesis 41:38 | Joseph | He saved the ancient world from starvation. |
| Deuteronomy 34:9 | Joshua | He led a whole nation to glorious victory against enormous odds. |
| Judges 11:29 | Jephthah | He was an illegitimate son; but YaHuWaH rescued Israel by his hand. |
| 1 Samuel 16:13 | David | He was an unknown shepherd boy who yearned for YaHuWaH. And when the Spirit came upon him he became one of the world's greatest kings and its most popular songwriter. |
| John 3:27 | John the Baptist | John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from Heaven. |
| Isaiah 11:2-3 | YAHUSHUA the Messiah | It was by the Spirit of YaHuWaH that the Savior accomplished everything He did. It was not by His own wisdom, nor His own might, not by His experience, nor by His righteousness - but by His Father's Holy Spirit. His testimony to this fact was: I can of Mine own self do nothing:.. (John 5:30) |
What does this mean? It means that no one can achieve anything of real value unless it is accomplished by the Holy Spirit of YaHuWaH working in and through him. All other accomplishments, no matter how marvelous and popular they may appear in the sight of men, are temporal and of little account. In view of this staggering fact let us re-arrange our priorities in life and:
- Recognize our utter inability to accomplish anything of real value in our own strength.
- Recognize that the source of holiness, wisdom, judgement, success, power and happiness is the Most High. He is the fountain-head from which flows everything of any value. It is by Faith in Him we link to that source.
- Determine that, aided by the Holy Spirit, we will obey Divine Law in order that we might not sin; but live successful and meaningful lives.
To this end we should:
Ask for the Holy Spirit
| Luke 11:11 | If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12: Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13: If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? |
Grieve not the Holy Spirit
Those who desire to grieve not the Spirit must put away sin in all its forms. Sin is the transgression of the Torah (the Father's commandments and instructions).
Joy By Surprise
