John chapter 8
Today we are walking in: Qualified ToBe In Yah’s Presence
Genesis 22:5
And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, H7812 and come again to you.
WORSHIP
Today we look to the word-WORSHIP- H7812 shachah--to bow down; prostrate oneself before superior in homage; before the Most High in worship
The Torah testifies.........……
Genesis 24:26
And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped H7812 the LORD.
Exodus 4:31
And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. H7812
Exodus 34:14
For thou shalt worship H7812 no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 8:19
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship H7812 them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
The prophets proclaim..................
Nehemiah 8:6
And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped H7812 the LORD with their faces to the ground.
Nehemiah 9:3
And they stood up in their place, and read in the book of the law of the LORD their God one fourth part of the day; and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped H7812 the LORD their God.
Jeremiah 25:6
And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship H7812 them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.
Zechariah 14:16
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship H7812 the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
The writings bear witness............
Joshua 5:14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, H7812 and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
1Chronicles 16:29
Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship H7812 the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
2 Chronicles 7:3
And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, H7812 and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever
Psalm 66:4
All the earth shall worship H7812 thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
Chapter 10
QUALIFIED TO BE IN Yah’S PRESENCE
Sincerity is no substitution for purity.
Yah comes to those who meet His conditions. He doesn’t come because we want Him to come. Perhaps this is why so many Christians never experience the reality of Yah’s manifest presence. They truly want Him to come, but they have no idea of what qualifies them to receive this awesome gift.
Yes, Yah responds to our desire for Him, but our desire must be shown in ways that meet His standards. We must be holy, as He is holy.
As we saw in a previous teaching, Yah’s holiness means that He is pure in motive. He is integrated in His thoughts, words, and actions. He cannot lie; neither can He pretend. Those who want to live in His presence must be as He is.
Obviously, this is not our state apart from Yah. The father of lies (see John 8:44) has deceived us into rejecting Yah’s truth and accepting his falsehoods. The only way this can change—that is, we see HaSatan’s lies for what they are and accept Yah’s Word as truth—is if Yah’s holiness rubs off on us as we spend time with Him. In other words, we become holy by associating with Holiness.
Therefore, the whole purpose of Yah’s detailed commands concerning the Tabernacle and the Temple was to provide a way for His people to associate with Him without being destroyed because of their sin. In essence, the rituals of the priests and the people were the means by which man fulfilled Yah’s requirements for coming into His presence. When they did it right, Yah rewarded them, appearing to the priest between the cherubim in the inner sanctuary and to the nation in smoke or a cloud.
Consecrate Yourselves
Coming into Yah’s presence is not something to be done casually. This is why the command “consecrate yourselves” was a constant refrain in the Old Testament. Yah demanded that His people cleanse themselves from sin before they came into His presence. For the ancient Hebrews, this meant a series of ritual washings of themselves and their garments, both for the people and the priests (see Exod. 19:10,22). Consecration in preparation for serving Yah or meeting with Him also meant that the priests were to wear certain clothes and symbols and to present prescribed sacrifices (see Exod. 29-30;39-40; Lev. 8). Priests and common folks alike were also obligated, as part of their rituals and rules concerning consecration, not to eat unclean food or to touch anything that was unclean according to Yah’s definitions (see Lev. 11). To touch these things made a person unfit to gather with Yah’s people as they stood in His presence. Each rule and regulation concerning the work and worship of Yah’s people, both within the Tabernacle and within their everyday lives, was thus prescribed so that they could be holy in Yah’s sight.
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am Yahuah Elohaykem. And ye shall guard my statutes, and do them: I am Yahuah Meqoddishkem. VAYIQRA (LEVITICUS) 20:7-8 את CEPHER.
Yahusha makes it clear, however, that uncleanness on the outside is not the only form of impurity. In fact, it isn’t the most important source of contamination. Rather, uncleanness of heart is what pollutes our lives.
And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me everyone of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his Talmidiym asked him concerning the parable. And he said unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without enters into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it enters not into his heart, but into the belly, and goes out into the draught, purging all food? And he said, That which comes out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. MARQUS (MARK) 7:14-23 את CEPHER.
Truth and Purity
Coming to Yah with praise requires that we cleanse our heart from all the evil that has taken up residence there. This is the message of Psalm 15. What is in our heart matters most of all because this is where truth and righteousness, or lies and unrighteousness, start.
Yahuah, who shall abide in your Tabernacle? who shall dwell in your holy hill? He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the Truth in his heart. He that backbites not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honors them that fear Yahuah. He that swears to his own hurt, and changes not. He that puts not out his money to usury, nor takes reward against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 15:1-5 את CEPHER.
Truth is at the core of the requirements presented in this Psalm—truth with Yah and truth with our fellow man. What is in our heart and what we do and say must match. We can’t say one thing in public and another in private. We can’t act one way in worship and another way throughout the week in our homes and at our jobs. Righteous integration in all our life is evidently essential if we want Yah’s presence to come and stay with us.
This requirement of inner purity is also evident in Psalm 24 and 101:
Who shall ascend into the hill of Yahuah? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from Yahuah, and righteousness from the Elohiym of his yeshu`ah. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek your face, O Ya`aqov. Celah. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 24:3-6 את CEPHER.
He that works deceit shall not dwell within my house: he that tells lies shall not tarry in my sight. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 101:7 את CEPHER.
Clean hands, a pure heart, and truth in the innermost being: These are the distinguishing characteristics of the man or woman who may stand in Yah’s presence and offer praise in which Yah is enthroned.
Yahusha evidently agreed with this assessment, for He said that the pure in heart would see Yah (see Matt. 5:8). He also told the Samaritan woman whom He met at a well,
But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in ruach and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. Elohiym is that Ruach: and they that worship him must worship him in Ruach and in truth. YOCHANON (JOHN) 4:23-24 את CEPHER.
Purity and truth in our heart are thus the critical factors that determine whether our praise is acceptable to Yah. If the form and timing of our praise is right but our heart is not, we cannot expect to receive the gift of His presence.
Yah Comes When We Truly Want Him
The point I am making is that you don’t get Yah’s presence just because you ask for it. You get His presence when you qualify for it. Yes, the torn veil in the Temple because of the death of our Most High Yahusha Hamachiach now gives us direct access to the throne of Yah that the Israelites did not have. And yes, the way is open to all. Yet, we too must ascend into Yah’s presence, climbing the hill of the Most High much as the people of the Old Testament climbed Mount Zion on their way to the Temple.
Yah wants honest, pure, and committed worshipers. These are His standards for those who would approach Him through praise. Consequently, just any praise will not bring Him to us. Goose Pimples and warm fuzzies won’t do it. Neither will praise that is concerned more with what we can get from Yah than with who He is. Our praise must be tehillah: praise that has no ulterior motives; praise that comes from a heart cleansed from sin and wholly yielded to and controlled by Him; praise that acknowledges the reality of Yah, not the creation of Yah; praise that is wholly focused on Him and the glory of His name. This, I believe, is what Yahusha meant when He said: And said, Amein I say unto you, Except ye turn back, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. MATTITHYAHU (MATTHEW) 18:3 את CEPHER.
Have you ever watched a child praise and worship? Children are pure in praise. They have nothing else on their minds. Therefore, when they sing, “This is my story, this is my song ... “ they mean what they say in all simplicity. Older people, on the other hand, are often so busy trying to perform, and worrying about what they sound and look like, that Yah is completely absent from their thoughts. Both groups are singing the same song, but they have two different mentalities, two distinct attitudes. One is pure; the other is contaminated by division of thought.
This is why we are so captivated by watching young children worship. Their hearts are so turned toward Yah that His anointing comes upon them and they become one with Him. Nothing stands between the praiser and the One being praised, so He comes and reveals Himself in and through them.
Yah wants this praise from all His people. He wants our love for Him and our praise to be like that of children who come to us, hug us, and say, “I love you.” In such moments, we know their love is real. They aren’t considering how they can use us to get something or how they can make us love them. When they say, “I love you,” this is all they are thinking about and all they mean. There is no plotting going on in their young mind and no hidden motives.
Oh, if only we adults could relearn how to welcome Yah like children do. Now, I am not speaking of being childish. I am talking about being childlike—that is, like little children who are pure in thought, motive, and act. This praise stills the enemy of our souls: Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings have you ordained strength because of your enemies, that you might still the enemy and the avenger. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 8:2 את CEPHER.
Most of the time when we adults come to Yah and say, “I love You,” we have this long list in the back of our mind that we want Him to fulfill. Or we are worrying about our families, or about the mortgage, the car payment, or some other bill. We aren’t really focusing on Yah. He is not our heart’s true desire. Instead, we are trying to get Him to give us what we want. This is not pure praise because we are not approaching Yah in truth.
Yah looks through the crowds who come for a few who are totally given to Him in their praise. Many come to praise Him, and there may be singing, dancing, and noise everywhere, but few are true worshipers. These devoted ones refuse to be distracted by the events of this morning, yesterday, or last week. They are not concerned with what dress the woman beside them is wearing or what kind of haircut the teenager five rows up has. Their focus is totally on Yah, and He is their delight.
In essence, Yah doesn’t want you to be thinking about anything or anyone else when you say, “I love You.” Nor does He want you to come to Him only when you have a long list of needs and wishes. When you do this, He stays away because He knows that you don’t really want Him. You only want what you think you can get from Him.
Yah is holy—that is, He is pure in thought, motive, and attitude—and He expects you to be holy too. Consequently, don’t tell Him something unless you really mean it. He is not pleased when you do something on the outside that doesn’t match what you think or feel on the inside. If you sing, “Let us lift up holy hands,” but your hands are down at your side, or “Clap your hands all ye people,” and you aren’t clapping, Yah isn’t going to show up. He recognizes that your mouth is saying one thing but your body is doing another, because the impurity of your heart is showing. You don’t really mean what you are singing. You are saying the right words, but your heart is not at one with your mouth.
Yah is seeking true worshipers. He wants your praise on the outside to match what is inside your heart because then your spirit is doing what Yah’s Spirit is telling it to do. You are letting Yah’s holiness rub off on you. This is why Yahusha said that true worshipers would worship His Father not only in truth, but also in spirit (see John 4:23-24).
Yah isn’t looking for you to have a Holy Ghost fit. Screaming, jerking, and falling on the ground do not mean that you are worshiping Yah in spirit. They may mean that you are having an emotional fit. Yah doesn’t want you to have a particular feeling. He’s examining your spiritual attitude.
Please be sure you understand this. The word spirit in John 4:23-24 is spelled with a lowercase “s,” not an uppercase one. In other words, Yahusha wasn’t talking about the Holy Spirit, but about your spirit. He was saying that the time would come when people would fix up their spirit before they came into His presence. They would get their life in order.
Worship is intercourse with Yah, and He isn’t willing to be contaminated by the junk in your spirit. Therefore, He requires that you clean up your life before He comes to live with you. Once you have purified your attitudes, priorities, and motives, He can believe what you say to Him in praise. He can trust that you are really blessing Him when you say, “Bless the Most High” or “Glory to Yah.”
In spirit and in truth is the bottom line for praise and worship because you can’t fool Yah by trying to fake something that isn’t in your heart. True praise requires integrity of heart and humility of spirit that are not easily attained. Those who persevere, however, receive the high prize of Yah’s favor and Yah’s presence.
For all those things has my hand made, and all those things have been, says Yahuah: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite ruach, and trembles at my word. YESHA'YAHU (ISAIAH) 66:2 את CEPHER.
And as for me, you uphold me in my integrity, and set me before your face forever. TEHILLIYM (PSALMS) 41:12 את CEPHER.
WORSHIP IS THE PRIVILEGE OF THOSE WHO SEEK Yah WITH CLEAN HANDS AND A PURE HEART.
So, check yourself when you come to Yah. Be sure that what you are saying or doing is in agreement with your heart and spirit. Otherwise, you are wasting your time because Yah comes only to those who are qualified to enter His presence. These are the people He permits to worship Him.
PRINCIPLES
1. Yah is integrated in thought, word, and action.
2. Yah’s holiness rubs off on us as we spend time with Him.
3. Uncleanness of heart pollutes our life.
4. Truth with Yah and our fellow man is required of those who want Yah to come and stay.
5. Cleaning up our heart prepares us to worship Yah.
6. Yah is seeking true worshipers whose words and
actions match their heart.
7. Tehillah praise permits no thought other than Yah.
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