TESHUVAH AND DOUBLE-MINDEDNESS

Song of Solomon chapter 6

Psalm chapter 27




Today we are walking in: Teshuvah And Double-Mindedness!!!!




1 Chrinicles 28:9

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, H3824 and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.




Today we look to the word-MIND- H3824 lebab--mind, knowledge, thinking, reflection, memory




The Torah testifies............…

Deuteronomy 30:1

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind H3824 among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,




The prophets proclaim..................

1 Samuel 2:35

And I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart H3824 and in my mind: and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine anointed for ever.




The writings bear witness............

1 Chronicles 22:7

And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind H3824 to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:




Teshuvah And Double Mindedness

"How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Most High is The Most High Yah, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). These words of Elijah the prophet are meant for us to hear today, at the beginning of this Season of Teshuvah. We are being called to make up our minds (metanoia) and turn (shuv) to the Most High. After all, what is more important to you than your relationship with the Most High The Most High Yah of Israel? Is there anything more important than this?




Our Torah reading this week (Shoftim) includes a verse that addresses this very issue: "You must be wholehearted (tamim) with the Most High your The Most High Yah":




"You shall be wholehearted with the Most High your The Most High Yah"

(Deut. 18:13)




In the Sefer Torah (i.e., the handwritten Torah scroll), the first letter of the word tamim ("wholehearted") is written extra LARGE in order to emphasize the importance of the word. Notice also the little word "with" that follows in this verse. This hearkens to Micah 6:8: "What does the Most High require of you but to do justice (mishpat), and to love kindness (chesed), and to walk humbly (hatznea lechet) with your The Most High Yah?" Having a humble heart walks with the Most High. Humility begins with the awareness that 1) there is a The Most High Yah and 2) you are not Him.... It is the practice of da lifnei mi attah omed: "knowing before whom you stand" and living your life in light of this fundamental truth.




The word tamim means "finished," "complete," or "thoroughly made." For example, tamim is used to describe completed years (Gen. 47:18); healthy animal sacrifices (Lev. 22:21-22); nourishing vines (Ezek. 15:5); truthful speech (Amos 5:10); finished building projects (1 Kings 6:22); and so on. In our relationship with The Most High Yah, tamim means being "blameless" in the sense of being wholehearted, resolute, and entirely committed to walking "with" Him in this world. Psalm 119 begins, "Blessed are the wholehearted in the way, who walk in the Torah of the Most High."




"Blessed are the wholehearted in the way,who walk in the Torah of the Most High." (Psalm 119:1)




Here we see that "walking in the instruction (Torah) of the Most High" is the means by which we are able to be whole with The Most High Yah. The study and practice of Torah, then, helps us to become tamim: wholehearted, resolute, and committed to The Most High Yah. Walking in The Most High Yah's truth also makes us happy (i.e., me'ushar:, from the verb ashar that means to "walk straight"). As we walk in the truth of The Most High Yah, we begin to experience inner peace and a sense of abiding joy...




The Scriptures warn that a "double-minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8). The word translated "double-minded" is dipsuchos (δίψυχος), a word formed from, "twice" and, "soul." The word describes the spiritual condition of having "two souls" that both want different things at once. It is therefore a state of inner contradiction, of having two separate minds holding contradictory thoughts. "How long will you go limping between two opinions?" Notice that the word translated "limping" is posechim, from the same root as Passover (i.e., pasach: How long will you pass from one thing to another? How long will you play "hot potato" with your commitments?




Having a double-mind makes us "unstable in all our ways." Such a cross-eyed approach leads to disorientation and confusion. The Greek word used to describe being "unstable" is the same word used to translate being "storm-tossed and not comforted". The image of a ship being tossed in the sea pictures a state of distress and peril. Interestingly, the description of being "not comforted" is lo nuchamah, which comes from the very word translated as "repent" or "regret" (nacham). When we are double-minded, we are "storm tossed" and unable to experience the comfort that comes from genuine repentance. We are like "a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6).




On the other hand, singleness of vision concentrates the will and produces wholeheartedness, conviction, stability, inner peace (shalom) and genuine character. As Kierkegaard said, "purity of the heart is to will one thing." "I have set the Most High always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken" (Psalm 16:8).




Someone might ask, how do we stop being "double-minded"? This is the essence of the problem, isn't it? How do we stop being of "two minds," experiencing that ambivalence of both wanting and not wanting something? In other words, how do we repent - both in the sense of "changing our minds" (metanoia) and in the sense of practically turning to The Most High Yah (teshuvah)? How do we find that purity of heart that wills one thing?




The antidote for having a "double-mind" is explicitly given in the Scriptures: "Draw near to The Most High Yah and He will draw near to you, cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4:8). Note that the verb used in this verse ("draw near!") means to come close enough to touch someone or something. Understood in this light, we are encouraged to come so close to The Most High Yah that we are able to "touch" Him -- and to be touched by Him as well. Drawing near to The Most High Yah is The Most High Yah's way of drawing near to you... In other words, as you draw near to The Most High Yah, He will draw near and touch you.




In practical terms, here are some specific things we can do to "draw near to The Most High Yah so that He will draw near to you." First we can simply pray and earnestly cry out to The Most High Yah for help. The Most High is not indifferent to our suffering and has promised to give us the Holy Spirit to help us. But genuine prayer requires honesty and confession, which means agreeing with the truth about your condition. This means, among other things, identifying the ways you have withdrawn from your relationship with The Most High Yah. Indeed, the word homologeo literally means "saying the same thing" - from (same) and (word). There's little use trying to pretend before The Most High Yah or to rationalize your own double-mindedness before Him. The Most High Yah knows the number of hairs on your head; He surely knows the condition of your heart!




Second, we must vigorously challenge ideas that attempt to seduce us away from the truth and thereby divide our affections. We must learn to take "every thought captive" to Messiah and be on guard for subtle appeals to compromise (2 Cor. 10:5). If we find ourselves in a state of recurring temptation, we must examine the underlying assumptions that are at work in our thinking. If we dig deeper, we are likely to discover that we doubt that The Most High Yah cares for us, or we are fearful that The Most High Yah will not meet our needs. We must therefore counter such assumptions with The Most High Yah's revealed truth, and that means regularly studying the Scriptures to remind ourselves about what is real rather than what is illusory. We then can learn to look at life as it really is - a spiritual world, a "valley of decision," a corridor that irresistibly leads to the world to come. Each soul is on a journey to meet with The Most High Yah for judgment... The Most High Yah does not leave us comfortless. He has promised to never leave nor forsake those who trust in Him. We can set the Most High "always before us" (Psalm 16:8) and walk with Him during our sojourn here in this temporal world.




Third, we can practice our faith by keeping up with Torah study, observing Shabbat (and the other appointed times), enjoying fellowship with other believers, singing to worship music, giving tzedakah, ministering to others in need, etc. These are the mitzvot of our lives, the "works of love" (John 15:12). Our faith is not meant to be a "head trip" or an intellectual exercise: we are meant to live it out in the world. And as we live it, our faith itself becomes strengthened and authenticated. Just as loving others increases - not decreases - the love we ourselves have, so with the practice of faith. The more we believe, the more we receive. The practice of our faith is upbuilding and encourages the inner resolve to be single-minded... "Upon three things the world does stand: upon the Torah and upon worship and upon acts of lovingkindness."




Finally, on a spiritual level what ultimately changes the heart is The Most High Yah's salvation, of course. "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail" (John 6:63). This salvation is not simply freedom from the penalty of sin but freedom from its power. Often, however, we are slow to realize this, and The Most High Yah allows us to revisit the various "waste places" of our own lusts until we have become sick of ourselves -- "to the bones." We have to be willing "to give up our sickness." Usually that means that we must experience repeated failures until we have "learned from the heart" that the Most High - and the Most High alone - is our Healer and Deliverer. Heartache and despair can lead to "The Most High Yahly grief (λύπη) that leads to genuine repentance in our lives (2 Cor. 7:10).




Ultimately "Salvation is from the Most High," and brokenness of our spirit is The Most High Yah's gift to us... "Blessed are the poor in spirit." This word pictures someone crouching as a helpless beggar, totally dependent on The Most High Yah for help. If you are struggling, ask The Most High Yah to help you surrender your "heart sickness" to Him.... It's HIS work, not your own, that saves... The Most High Yah alone truly changes the heart. Repentance is a miracle from heaven given to you, personally...




A voice says, "Cry!" And I said, "What shall I cry?" All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field" (Isa. 40:6). "All flesh is grass" - we are here today but gone tomorrow. We have only so many chances to turn to the Most High and make up our minds that we will serve Him. Our Torah portion this week intimates, "man is a tree of the field, Deut. 20:19). The righteous man is described as a "tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth fruit in his season" (Psalm 1:3). If you stand in front of a tree to watch it grow, however, you will see nothing. But if you care for the tree, nurture it over time, and provide for its needs, eventually you will see its fruit appear. The Most High Yah gives us each a season to repent, but if that proves fruitless in our spiritual lives, eventually we will be "cut down" (Luke 13:6-9):

"A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it but found none. So he said to the vinedresser, 'Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, but I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?' But the vinedresser answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"



As Yahusha also admonished: "Remember (zachar) how you have fallen; repent (metanao) and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your menorah from its place unless you repent" (Rev. 2:5). If you are lukewarm - neither hot nor cold - Yahusha will "spit you out of His mouth" (Rev 3:16). These are sober words that remind us that time is short for us all. Our lives are not our own; we were redeemed at a great cost to The Most High Yah Himself (1 Cor. 6:19-20).




We must decide whether we will serve the Most High or Baal. We must quit "limping between two different opinions." You cannot serve two masters. The Most High Yah wants us to make up our minds. He wants us to declare our loyalty in response to His love. Now is the time. Today is the day. We don't have all the time in the world... May the Most High help us all to wholeheartedly draw near to Him now... Amen.