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THE PATH
Jacob had a dream: a ladder was there, standing on the ground with its top
reaching to heaven; and there were angels of G-d going up to it and coming down.
And the Lord was there, standing over him, saying: " I am YHVH, the G-d of
Avraham your father, and the G-d of Yitzak, " Bereshit 28:12-13
Bereshit describes this "ladder" as a sullam, a pyramidal shaped
structure with ramps going up to the top. I have seen it in a vision as like the
pyramid at Ur from which Avraham came. The sullam has exactly 49 way stations or
steps along its route. The Path consists of climbing through each of these way
stations or steps. Herein, I will briefly describe these steps and their
character as a method of allowing a soul to be united to the Ain Sof, the
Endless Light and to become a Tzaddik. There are some who will claim that they
have ascended to the heights of spiritual development without having gone
through these steps, but they are incorrect and reflection with a prudent
Teacher will allow them to discover the error of their thoughts.
The steps can be grouped into seven groupings which I call Plateaux. The first
three Plateau are common to every person and a rational person will go through
the archetypes necessary to create these spiritual supports in their lives. So,
for the purpose of this short essay, I will call them the Common Plateaux.
PLATEAU ONE: THE CALL
Every soul begins to try and find a connection to something
beyond itself. It seeks G-d. But the beginning of the Path cannot come from
within; it must come from without. It begins with the Call. The Call is a Voice
speaking within our being. It can be from chance meetings with friends, from the
preaching of minister or rabbi, from some spiritual event, in our minds as a
Voice, or very audibly in a room. When we hear that Voice begin to speak, we go
through seven stages of acceptance of its presence. They are: recognizing the
caller; trusting the caller; knowing the caller's voice; agreeing to give the
Caller's way a try; stepping on the waters; seeking instruction on the Path; and
wanting to join a community.
Recognizing the caller
When we hear a call, knowing who it is that is speaking is all important. The
best way to know the identity of the speaker is to ask. Today, asking has almost
become a sin because so much emphasis is placed on self-sufficiency. Pride of
this sort is clearly not of G-d. Rabbi Yeshua says: "Ask and you shall
receive." Believe me, the experience coupled with the testimony of the
Voice will leave little doubt of the origin of this Voice. The great mystic John
of the Cross warns that we should accept the message in a state of pondering.
The true test, however, of what the Voice says is whether it teaches some new
way or whether it sticks close to the revealed truth. The Voice must be from G-d
and attest to the truth already discernible as true. An angel will not do; the
Voice must be that of YHVH to be believed without confirmation; it was YHVH
himself who revealed Himself to Samuel. The Torah was written by YHVH on the
tablets given to Moshe which is the basis of our religion. After the first seven
steps have been completed, I would not be surprised by the visit of the angelic
beings, but in the beginning, follow the Voice of YHVH alone.
Trusting the caller
I can remember the first day the Lord spoke to me; He told me
not to go to a given place for if I did such and so, a given something would
happen to me. Not knowing who He was, I did what I had planned to do; but just
as He said, the something happened to me. Again and again, the Voice warned me
not to do things. After such successive locutions, I began to trust that the
Lord knew better that I what was going to happen and so I trusted that He would
lead me on the right Path. Jeremiah and all the prophets also had to learn that
the Lord knew the better Path. So do each of us. The original call to salvation
is a gift; it is by the grace of G-d that we are pulled onto the Path. But the
decision to trust in the Voice is called the gift of faith. To actually trust in
the Voice is a work which requires our assent to G-d's grace; we must always
choose that work if we are to progress in the Path to the Heavenly Kingdom. It
was not faith in Yeshua, but living by faith which Paul was trying to destroy.
Yeshua's was dangerous to Phariseeism because it relied on the mystical to lead
one, not on some created rules of mankind. Our faith likewise is dead if it is
not enlivened with the experience of a living Voice within us.
Knowing the caller's voice
It is not only the Voice who speaks to us; sometimes it is
the Adversary who seeks to confuse us and lead us astray; and sometimes it is
our own wants and desires which seek to exalt us and twist the gift we have been
given. Sometimes it is our friends who think that they know the truth and try to
get us to accept their point of view. Sometimes we are led by false or distorted
doctrines of men. It is not easy to know which Voice to follow, but there are
some sure signs of the presence of G-d.
In 1 John 4:1, John tells us not to trust every spirit, but put every spirit to
the test to see if it belongs to G-d. Anyone who has knowledge of G-d will give
G-d a hearing, that is, he will give G-d a fleece. The true fleece for the Voice
that speaks is found at Deuteronomy 18:21-22. There the Lord says that you can
require that anything the Voice says to you be either fulfilled or verified in
some other demonstrable way. Obviously, if the Voice says to you something will
happen you may require that the something come to pass. If on the other hand the
Voice teaches you about heavenly things, you must require verification in the
Tanach. From Experience, I witness to you that even if the previous conditions
are met, there is one final condition to identifying the source of the Voice.
Your heart will burn inside of you or you will feel a deep conviction, if the
Voice is from G-d. With the Call always comes a conviction of the Truth.
Agreeing to give the path a try
Once we have heard the Lord calling and seen the wonders
described by His Voice, it is natural for us to trust in what He says. After we
have determined who it is who is speaking, we must respond, "Yes,
Lord." As did Samuel. This is a weak and tentative 'yes', but without it we
can go no further on this Path.
Samuel says: "Speak, YHVH, you servant is
listening." It does not imply that the servant is willing to do what the
Lord commands. It rather is a recognition of who is Lord and who is servant; who
is guide and who is pilgrim; or who is teacher and who is talmid or disciple.
This relationship is very difficult to accept and from it all of us sometimes
deviate. It is deviation from the order of this relationship between G-d and man
which causes all separation and confusion; we call this separation sin, but the
faults, the rebellions, the idea that we know more than G-d is the cause of sin.
The sin of Adam was essentially the sin of confusing who was Master and who
Servant. Adam should have known that G-d always knows what is best for us. When
we allow any other voice to lead us into a place the Lord has not said to go, we
are led into rebellion against G-d's plan for us. Until each of us have said
this 'yes' in our hearts, we cannot say that we have accepted that G-d is our
Salvation (Yeshua).
Stepping on the waters
Mattiyahu says in the Hebrew version: "Peter answered
and said to him: Master, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.
Yeshua said to him: Come. So Peter came down from the boat, walked on the sea
and came to Yeshua." 14:28-29. Symbolically, in this passage, Peter
represents us. Peter asked Yeshua to give him a sign. Peter recognized who he
was speaking to when the test was met. Peter then responded in faith when he was
called to action and he stepped out of the security of the normal and ordinary
faith. He found, as we also will find, that walking where the Lord commands you
to walk and how the Lord commands you to walk is possible even though it flies
in the face of human logic and reason. The world will call it foolishness, but
you will discover it the most reasonable of decisions. Note, however, that the
test was met, because Peter was on the Path and headed in the right direction.
Reflecting upon world history, the world would be a much different place if
Moshe had not ventured so far up Mt. Sinai and there seen a burning bush.
Sometimes, we must risk being wrong and even foolish when we compare our actions
to solid reason, in order to find out new things. Spiritual growth depends on
risks. Every scientist knows that the greatest discoveries are made by accident.
Western civilization rests firmly on the accident of Moshe stumbling upon a
burning bush that would not be consumed. I don't believe that the command of the
Lord is an accident, but I surely believe He chooses the time and place He
wishes to act.
Seeking instruction on the path
Understanding what G-d wants for us without seeking
explanations from others more advanced than we is very difficult and surrounded
with danger. On our journey, the first person to consult is the guide sent to us
to explain the Scriptures to us. The Tanakh teaches us how to trust G-d. The
person who helps us to understand the Word is also the one who should explain to
us how to join a community of believers. It is the community of believers that
we will focus on in the next plateau.
It is very difficult to feel a part of a group unless we understand their reason
for existing. Believing communities hold common beliefs, doctrines and customs
and we must understand and be willing to accept these beliefs, doctrines, and
customs before we can really be a part of the community. Our guide can instruct
us in these beliefs, prepare us in doctrine and custom, and help us to decide
whether we are called to a particular community. In this way, each person is
fully instructed in the faith before making a decision to join it.
Wanting
to Join the Community
G-d has thus far revealed Himself to us as a personal G-d
interested in us personally. It was in just such a way that G-d dealt with
Avraham, Yitzak, Yishmael, Ya'akov, and Yotsef. Yet, he sent seventy people into
Mitzraim (Egypt) and brought out four million or more. G-d is not content to
speak only to individuals. He speaks to families, tribes, and nations as well.
G-d's revelation to Moshe that Yisrael had a vocation was unique among all the
nations. Other nations had vocations, but this nation's vocation was to be a
kingdom of priests with G-d as king, that is, "You shall be my people and I
shall be your G-d," is the essence of being called. What is this nation of
priests called to? In step six, you were taught what that vocation is -
holiness. Now you must decide whether you want to become part of the true,
spiritual Yisrael. Not all persons who claim to be Jews are really Yisraeli.
Many who have no apparent connection to Judaism may have the blood of Ya'akov
and may be called to become formally Jews. I believe that the so-called Gentiles
or goyim who feel an attraction to Judaism are in reality descendants of the
Jews who did not return to Jerusalem after the Galut Bavel, the Babylonian
Captivity. If you feel called to become a Jew, you are one of those mentioned in
Jeremiah 23:7 and are being called to your spiritual home. It is this final
decision to step forward to the plateau above that is the most important
decision at each seventh step. At this step your choice is whether you will join
a spiritual community suitable for you, or die spiritually.
If you are a Christian or a Muslim, you are urged to write to the Tzaddik and
ask for the Christian or Muslim version of this book.
PLATEAU TWO: INITIATION
You have decided that you want to continue on the Path and learn
the signs, symbols, traditions, doctrines and customs of Judaism and
especially of the Nasorean version of Judaism. You believe that G-d is your
Salvation and revere Yeshua ha Meshiach as our greatest Rabbi and Teacher. You
want to share the faith, beliefs, traditions, and customs of his people. Every
faith community has certain signs and symbols by which the Jungian archetypes
are made real within the body of the community.
These signs and symbols when observed become formal acts
of worship and spiritually, they become steps on the Path of Holiness on our
trip to the Jerusalem above. As we understand the signs and symbols, we see how
to fit into our corporate calling of being a nation of priests. Essential to
this understanding is the wider meaning of priesthood and the doctrine of the
priesthood of all believers which is inherent from scripture in the teachings of
Moshe.
Baptism or Mikvah
John the Baptist completely submerged people as a sign of
repentance from sin and contamination from the world. The concept of
washing away sin by immersion is very ancient. Elisha sends Naaman to wash away
his leprosy and therefore his sinfulness in the Yordan. 2 Kings 5. In a very
real way, the Mikvah is a remembrance of the crossing of the Yisraeli through
the Reed Sea; it symbolizes that the chosen people have left the world
seen as Mitzraim (Egypt) to go into the providence of G-d, the Sinai. This
symbolism is completed after a sojourn in the desert by crossing the Yordan
symbolic of death into the promised land symbolic of heaven. To take
the analogy further, G-d will let the soul that
has learned all it needs to learn cross the River Above into
the Heaven without further rebirth. But before we can claim the baptism that
changes hearts and allows for entrance into the City of Jerusalem, we must adopt
the faith of our fathers.
During this stage, we who are Jewish must renounce the world
as a source of truth and turn to the Torah as the source of truth. We may look
for analogies in the world, we may glean the wisdom of the Desert from the
Scrolls. We may read the opinions of mystics everywhere. But finally, in the
end, we must adopt Jewish modes of behavior to be a nation of Priests. The
Mikvah is the appropriate method to accomplish this task. It symbolizes a
rejection of the world and its ways. Done frequently, it recalls to us our
freedom from the world and our acceptance of the Path.
Bar Mitzvah
Our parents claimed us for the People of G-d by brith milah,
but that was their decision, not ours. We must make an adult decision to be
joined to the People of G-d. We must choose to become a Son of the Ordinance and
to take up the holy life within us.
Part of learning to be a Bar Mitzvah is learning the Hebrew language. The Hebrew
language is a language well suited for spiritual matters because every word is
so open to interpretation and deeper meanings. Learning to read the Hebrew of a
word and to dissect the Hebrew to find deeper meanings is learning to put on
ones Priesthood completely. Priests are intercessors and hidden within the words
and their associations are methods to intercede better for ourselves and those
around us.
A Bar Mitzvah also takes upon himself the duties of tzitzit and tephilin. These
important reminders of G-d's presence follow him around throughout the day and
protect him from the onslaught of evil thoughts and the actions of those who
have given in to evil around us.
A Bar Mitzvah takes upon himself the duties of right eating and acting. Judaism
is not a religion of right beliefs, but of right actions. We are orthopractic
not orthodoxic. Among the positive results of a Jew who accepts the Mitzvot is
his commitment to social justice and service to the Poor. The Nasorean tradition
has always identified with the Poor and the downtrodden from the times of
founder until this very day.
We find ourselves spiritually called to turn the keeping of the Mitzvot over to
our spiritual guide so that he instruct us on the way and teach us the spiritual
meaning of each action and rule. In this regard, the proper Bar Mitzvah will ask
the Holy Spirit to take up residence within the person and a true Bar Mitzvah,
like David before him, will pray that the Holy Spirit not be taken away again.
Matrimony
On the Path, we continually repeat the same pattern: faith,
excellence, knowledge, self control, patience, piety, and brotherly love. In
this Plateau, knowledge comes from a better understanding of the nature of
Matrimony. Marriage is a contract between three people. The Ketubah sets forth
the obligations of all parties in the Marriage. As we seek to understand the
reciprocal duties of each party in the marriage, we see emerging a broader view
of Marriage. When we marry a person, we marry her traditions, her customs, her
beliefs, and her actions. If we seek to be holy within a community, we must
choose one who has actuated the same traditions, customs, beliefs and actions
which we want to adopt.
Marriage works not just because two people love each other.
Love has nothing to do with it. Marriage works because two people accept
reciprocal duties within the broader scheme of things: they agree to propagate,
to teach their young, to be a part of the community and live within the
community norms, and to join in the aspirations of the Priesthood. They are a
microcosm of the whole community and wherever they go, whether there be a
synagogue of any branch of Judaism or not, they are Judaism. Judaism centers on
the family first and foremost. The community is fully alive in a couple who have
joined themselves in holiness.
There are those who believe that we are Islands in the Sun. I
do not accept this concept. We are peninsulas joined to a greater whole that
constitutes the continent of our community. We are dependent on each other for
everything. Adam is a social animal. He needs Eve. He needs the community.
Marriage creates the community.
Ordination
There are not two 'settings apart". There is only one.
Yet from the beginning, Jewish tradition has recorded that G-d was pleased to
set apart persons to perform special tasks and have roles within the believing
community. Two separate classes of ministers were evident in Nasorean Judaism.
First, there were the cohens and levites who performed the sacrificial offering
in the movement up until 132 C.E. They did not stop their work when the Temple
was destroyed, because for over 125 years before they had considered the Temple
to be polluted. When Ya'akov became the High Priest in 28 C.E. he ministered for
the people in the Temple as is recorded by Eusebius and Hegesippus. In addition,
Judaism has had since the Galut Bavel a separate class of ministers led by the
presbyteroi or elders and the rabbim or spiritual masters. Likewise, in the
tradition of Jewish prophets and sages, the Holy Spirit called forth a bountiful
apostolic ministry composed of apostles, prophets, evangelists, bishops, and
deacons who continued the work of the Yeshua and the movement that he led. There
was in the early movement a clear separation of the ministries of the Word and
of the Altar which should be maintained today.
These special ministries continue in the Nasorean movement
today. They should be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Ordination to a
ministry of service is a normal and appropriate step upon the Path of Holiness
because it requires a commitment of service and a dying to oneself more complete
than at baptism. The community act of recognizing one's ministry to which we are
called may be formal or informal, but its significance is an important step in
becoming holy.
Penance and Reconciliation
At the eighth step we were purified. At the ninth step,
empowered by the Holy Spirit to take up the Mitzvot of G-d and carry them well.
At the tenth step, we were empowered to form a community and to exercise the
gifts within it. In the twelfth step, we who are priests of the living G-d must
show his loving face by delivering our brothers from guilt. Ya'akov ha Tzaddik
says: "Hence, declare your sins to one another, and pray for one another,
that you may find healing. The fervent petition of a holy man is powerful
indeed." Ya'akov 5:16. I am commanded to declare my sins
to my brothers so that I might find healing from guilt. It is the constancy of
perfection that we pilgrims on this Path must seek. A priestly people must be
constantly in a state of grace and righteousness. It is by our taking the
burdens of our brothers and sisters partially upon our shoulders; by lightening
their load; and by interceding for them in our daily prayers that we aid our
brothers and sisters to be reconciled to G-d. It is through this sharing of the
burden that we maintain a corporate holiness.
Healing
A priest who is ill cannot minister at the altar
according to Torah. G-d demands that his servants be both holy and whole. To be
whole, one has to be both well in mind, body and spirit. In the twelfth step, we
learned that we must intercede for our brothers and sisters' spiritual
wholeness. Now we discuss our duty to intercede for our brothers and sisters'
physical and mental wholeness.
We have authority to heal. The early movement believed that
and Yeshua promised it. He promised that in the age of the Meshiach all would be
healed of their afflictions. We are the residence of the Holy Spirit. We have a
divinely given soul within us. To be healed by a brother is an act of that
brother's priesthood. God causes a healing because he recognizes the
intercession of one of his holy priests. We have to cooperate in this healing;
we must want to be healed. Anything less makes us less than whole and while we
are ill we are denied our ability to be effective priests. Since the purpose of
our calling is to be a holy priesthood, to want to be healed is an exercise in
submission to G-d's will for us. In this submission, we recognize our poverty
before G-d, desire that which he wants for us, and accept completely his Will.
Therein, do we learn more fully how to participate in our priesthood.
Sacrifice
Having now reached the pentacle of the Second Plateau which
is called Goodness, we now become part of this Goodness' Brotherly Love by
participating in the Sacrifice. Sacrifice is expected in every religion and is
the essence of the Spiritual Path.
The first element of sacrifice is atonement. There must be
reparation for acts of disobedience and the species of that reparation is blood.
In blood is life says Deuteronomy 12:23. An equality, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth is required for reparation. Scripture teaches that one may substitute
something else's blood for our blood if we have sufficient connection and loss
by the substitution. It is believed that in some mystical way we can attach our
sinfulness to another as the victim to atone for our sins. If that victim is
perfect and innocent, its blood will wash away our sins. The priests can join
their sins vicariously to the victim to free themselves from blood guilt (ie.
Sin) which has been incurred so that they can intercede for our sins. In
Scriptural context, the intercession can be made by chanting our prayers into
the smoke from the immolating body of the victim. From a spiritual point of
view, sacrifice is the giving up some habit or important selfhood that changes
us irreparably by the act.
The second element of sacrifice is praise. The assembly can
make sacrifice by joining together in praise to God by singing hymns and
antiphons to his glory. This too can be attached to the smoke which rises to the
Throne of G-d and makes pleasant music in the Heavenly Realm.
The third element of sacrifice is thanksgiving. With the
thanksgiving offering, the offeror in addition to the offering gives some first
fruit of his labor to be offered to G-d. The first fruit offering dedicates the
work and labor of the offeror as holy and thus deserving of G-d's protection
because the offeror is a bountiful giver.
The fourth element of sacrifice is the consumption of the
victim with the giving of the praise and thanksgiving offering. In order to gain
the most spiritual benefit from joining in sacrifice we must also eat of the
victim.
The fifth element of sacrifice is the purity of the offeror.
The more pure the intentions of the offeror the more G-d will accept the
sacrifice. Genesis 4:3-7.
The Eucharist is the sacrifice which the holy priesthood
offers in faith, hope, and charity to atone for the sins of mankind. Because the
High Priest is forever offering the Blood of the True Lamb in Heaven, the
Eucharist is efficacious and mankind's sins are atoned for with the True Lamb's
blood despite G-d's just anger and wrath. Without our constant striving to be a
holy people, our sacrifices would not be sufficient to avert G-d's anger and the
world would perish. Genesis 18:16-33.
PLATEAU THREE: THE INFILLING OF THE SPIRIT
The third Plateau deals with the coming upon the believer of the
Holy Spirit and the period in which the Pilgrim first learns about Divine
Knowledge. The three Plateaux before the Gate may be had by every person who is
following the great path, the wide way, but no one can step off of that Highway
onto the Narrow Path without having acquired the Knowledge of this Plateau.
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
When you were Bar Mitzvahed did you receive the Holy
Spirit so that you could understand the ways of G-d? Reception is a formal term
which means to invite someone into a place and to welcome them upon their
arrival. Did you invite the Holy Spirit into your life when you accepted the
Covenant of G-d? Did you acknowledge the Spirit with open arms? Consider how
Maryam ha Tzaddikah gave us an excellent example when she was told that she
would conceive of the Holy Spirit. She said: "Let what you have said be
done to me." Luke 1:38. After she hears that the Holy Spirit is seeking an
invitation she calls herself the Spirit's handmaid or slave. She declares not
only that the Spirit may come, but she shows her earnest desire to have this
thing happen to her. In order to receive the Holy Spirit into us, we must make
the Spirit feel welcome by properly changing our lives into fit places for the
Spirit to reside.
During this fifteenth step, we must turn to the Holy Spirit
and ask Her in. If you do not invite her in, you can go no further on the path.
Many will be there with you.Why? Because it is the Holy Spirit which gives us
the gift of service from which all other blessings flow.
Acceptance of Mission
"The spirit of the Lord YHVH has been given to me, for
YHVH has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up
hearts that are broken; to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in
prison; to proclaim a year of favor from YHVH, a day of vengeance for our G-d,
to comfort all those who mourn and to give them for ashes a garland; for
mourning robe the oil of gladness, for despondency, praise." Isaiah 61:1-3.
The time of favor that is spoken of in this passage has two
meanings for two different times on the Path. In this step, we call that time of
favor the Gospel or Good News. Yeshua by dying and rising proved that there is
life after death and freed us from the bondage of death. By offering his blood,
he freed us from the bondage to sin. He brings hope to Holy Yisrael and they in
turn may intercede for the World. He truly frees us from our prisons. We as
pilgrims on the Path are to bring this Good News to people who are starving for
the food of earth and of heaven. We must show the Spirit's healing love by
healing the inner being of those overburdened with life's temptations. We must
literally proclaim liberty to those billions who are in self-created prisons by
caring enough and taking the time to love. We must speak not only of the curse
of death and hell, but also of the blessing of mercy which Yeshua has obtained
for us. His eternal High Priestly acts have opened the flood gates of mercy on
the contrite while closing them on the self-righteous. Those who mourn believing
that this world is all there is and that it is a terrible mess must see that
life is eternal and that rest is possible. How can we go to the world when we
are timid?
The Apostles were timid folk. They all ran away in fear when
Yeshua was arrested. Yet this motley crew spread the Good News through out the
known world and beyond. Many people who claim to have the Holy Spirit remain
timid and lukewarm. Why? The answer lies, I believe, in the call of Isaiah.
Isaiah recognizes his sinfulness; is cleansed; and miraculously sanctified. Then
the Prophet records: "Then I heard the Voice of the Lord saying: 'Whom
shall I send? Who will be our messenger?' I answered: 'Here I am, send
me.'" Isaiah 6:8-9. In order to become to receive power and to become bold,
we must ask the Lord to use us. To let our gifts lie is not to obey the command
to preach the gospel to all the world. Power from G-d is not given to those who
want it for their sake. Many people ask me why they have not received power and
my answer should be they have not been willing to serve G-d without being
recognized. Most people want the power from heaven, not to glorify G-d, by to
glorify self. Power is given exclusively to glorify G-d and therefore Yeshua
declares solemnly that the physician cannot heal himself. If you want power know
that timid people are transformed into prophets by their willingness to serve
others, to be willing slaves of G-d, to be handmaids of the Lord with the urgent
desire for Him to do with them as He pleases.
If we accept our mission to be the servants of all, Matthew
20:24-28, then G-d can anoint us to service. With the anointing to be sent,
comes power from heaven. As long as that power is used selflessly, it will bring
miracles. The power you receive will not work at all if you attempt to glorify
yourself. Therefore, let timid people desire to serve G-d with all their minds,
hearts, souls, and spirits and G-d will make them bold.
Understanding the Gifts of the Spirit
When I speak of understanding the gifts of the Spirit, I do
not mean understanding what they are, although that is surely useful. Rather
when I speak of understanding the gifts, I mean comprehending how they fit into
our calling to be a holy priesthood or our mission to be a prophetic people. We
receive the gifts of the Spirit to serve others better. Even our natural
abilities can be placed at the calling of HaShem and thus becomes gifts of the
Spirit.
All gifts are given for service to others. All talk of gifts
which does not lead toward the mission Yeshua gave us is vanity and pride. The
reason for our service is to spread the Good News of a loving G-d. Thus
spiritual gifts are given not for our good, but to witness to the unbeliever of
G-d's real power. Those who use their gifts properly will find that they are
receiving a spiritual benefit as well.
One of the byproducts of service to others is holiness. We
become holy or perfect by serving others in obedience to the call of the Spirit.
Service and holiness become, at this point, circular and self-supporting for the
one who is holy intercedes better; he who intercedes with personal sanctity
intercedes with power; intercession with power produces miracles; miracles
attracts more people needing service; more people served gives more experience
of the ways of the Spirit; and greater knowledge of the Spirit makes us
more perfected or holier. All things work for the good of those who love the
Lord.
Service to the Outcasts
Our co-founder and true Teacher, Ya'akov ha Tzaddik said:
"My brothers, what good is it to profess faith without
practicing it? Such faith has no power to save one, has it? If a brother or
sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and you say to them: 'Shalom
v'et mazel tov! Keep warm and well fed.', but do not meet their bodily needs,
what good is that? So it is with faith that does nothing in practice. It is
thoroughly lifeless." Ya'akov 2:14-17.
Charismatic prayer groups that I have observed seem to be
stagnant pools. Faith must grow through suffering to hope. Hope in us inspires
love for others. Prayer groups and charismatic churches all too often seek to
reinforce their own self-righteousness; but faith without works is dead. The
gifts and the greatest gift, the love of G-d with all our heart, mind and soul
flow only when you give them away. A pool without an outlet grows stagnant and
its water is unfit to drink. Similarly, the life-giving Jordan River flows into
a lake without an outlet called appropriately, the Dead Sea. When we stay in our
own little group of self-righteous people, we avoid dirtying ourselves with the
taint of the world; and we also avoid all growth and understanding. We are not
bad people, but rather we are dead people, living Pharisees. I pray that the
'living Pharisees' around me might soon be resurrected from the dead.
In the Gospel of Luke, Yeshua says, at the call of Levi the
tax collector, when asked 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and
non-observers of the law?': "The healthy do not need a doctor; sick people
do. I have not come to invite the self-righteous to a change of heart, but
sinners." Luke 5:31-32. How fully His words sound in my heart. The Spirit
impels me to love the sinner without loving his sin. Lo and behold! When I saw
that Jesus came to speak to prisoners in prisons, poor people on welfare,
prostitutes on the streets, and internal revenue workers, my entire perspective
of G-d's love for me changed. No longer do I fear judgment for I no longer wish
to judge the Outcasts. If Yeshua loves major sinners, He can surely love me
right where I am. Charismatics in their prayer groups and charismatic churches
have let that Spirit die for lack of an outlet. If you need an outlet, try
loving a queer for Yeshua today. Try walking in that persons shoes for a mile.
You will discover a whole new perspective on life. You will stop being among the
self-righteous dead and will be resurrected to a life of true righteousness.
Growth in the Gifts
It has been said that one-sided love is distrusted; likewise,
Yeshua said, quoting the proverb: 'A prophet is never known in his own
home." My walk with the Lord has well illustrated these truths. To grow in
the Spirit, we must allow the Voice to grow stronger in us and must mortify our
own wills. This requires more and more intense self-denial or what we want; more
and more rejection of the desires of the flesh; and more and more silent
suffering of slights and wrongs done to us by others. Even self-created
suffering can be beneficial if we can learn a lesson from it. Some do not want
to grow in the Spirit. They are satisfied with the plentitude of milk they are
supplied by a merciful G-d. They like being spoon-fed by the Voice. The most
self-centered beings on earth are babies and babies in the Spirit are no
different. Because they refuse to move to the solid food of suffering and
mortification of the body, mind and soul, they cannot progress in the
power of the Spirit.
Barnabas says in Hebrews: "Truly, anyone who is still
living on milk cannot digest the doctrine of righteousness, because he is still
a baby. Solid food is for mature men with minds trained by practice to
distinguish between good and bad." Hebrews 5:13-14.
To grow in the Spirit, you must suffer, die, and be
resurrected like Yeshua did. You must arise to a new spiritual self that
mortifies the flesh and sets the spirit free so that you may become a perfected
person.
Submission to G-d
As we progress in the use of the gifts of the Spirit, in service
to our brothers and sisters, and in sanctification, we must be more and more
willing to let G-d rule where once we let the world rule. Shaitan is the
adversary. He is not our enemy. His job is to tempt us to do what we want to do
anyway. Yet it is not Shaitan, but ourselves, our old selves, imbued in the
philosophies of this world, which are our enemies. We are enslaved by our
worldly and bodily appetites, but our G-d empowers us with the truth about these
things. We know we are enslaved and that truth can set us free from this slavery
to passion and false philosophy. The Way to free ourselves is to do the opposite
of what Shaitan offers us. He oppresses the poor, so we must serve the poor; he
advocates corruption and oppression, so we must advocate morality and justice;
and he calls for us to look to our feelings and bodily desires, so we must die
to the tyranny of the body and mind rising to the freedom of the soul submitted
to G-d's Holy Will. Many say, 'How can this death to self and submission to G-d's
slavery be freedom?" This mystery can only be understood by those who have
experienced the freedom of the Spirit that those at this step know.
When we claim the promise of sonship and rely upon G-d as my
succor, we find that the concerns of the world - security, hunger, shelter,
heat, and other necessities - dim and fade away. I believe through faith
strengthened by experience that somehow, some way G-d will come through. He has
not always come through with the abundance that I wanted, but I have never gone
hungry, been evicted against my will, had the heat shut off except in error, or
gone without something truly essential. G-d has protected me and my family from
ill-health; He has provided encouragement and friendship; and He has made up for
the fears of being a father with graces sufficient to do a good job.
Unquestionably, by my becoming more and more His slave, he has freed me from
this world's power, sanctified me, and certified my eventual perfection if I
continue on this Path.
Caritas
There are five words in Greek for the English word love. They
are: eros, sexual love; philios, love for parents; caritas, charity;
narcissus, love of self; and agape, the love of G-d. To properly
understand the gift of love, we must see how each kind of love develops in our
lives. When we are children, the principal love-force in our lives is
narcissistic love, love of self also known as self-centered love. At puberty,
that love exhibits itself as erotic love. Both of these kinds of love are
centered in the body which makes them especially open to use by the Deceiver.
Much of the evil that comes into our lives comes because of an improper use of
these forms of love. Walking as Pilgrims on the Path requires that we transform
these kinds of love into others.
The most basic form of mind-love is the love of parents. It is
the first love-form which shifts the center of the focus from self to someone
else. Peter says: "Above all, let your love for one another be constant,
for love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8. Constancy is best
expressed in honoring our parents. The love of self can be transformed to love
of parents by the infusion of Grace into our minds. As initiated members of our
respective communities, we are called to honor our parents and that means
keeping silent sometimes, bearing hardship for them sometimes, and imitating the
example of Yeshua and his love for his parents. This love we show for parents is
a second level of love and is the degree of holiness expected from priestly
people.
As the Holy Spirit infuses us, we must purify that love for
parents into a love for our brothers and sisters. Our parents are our closest
neighbors. Yeshua reminds us that what we do for our parents, we do for
him, but he also reminds us that even the pagans do as much. Yeshua says:
"If you love those who love you, what merit is there in that?" Matthew
5:46. A purer form of love is the kind Yeshua speaks of in this passage:
"None of those who cry out, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the
kingdom of G-d, but only the one who does the will of the Father in heaven.
When that day comes, many will plead with me, 'Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in your name? Have we not exorcised demons by its power? Did
we not do miracles in your Name as well? Then I will declare to them solemnly,
I never knew you. Out of My sight, you evil doers!" Matthew 7:21-23.
And again he says of the Judgment Day:
"Come. You have my Father's blessing! Inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the creation of the World. For I was hungry and you
gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you
welcomed me, naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me, in
prison and you came to visit me.' Then the just will ask him: 'Lord, when did
we see you hungry and feed you or see you thirsty and give you drink? When did
we welcome you away from home or clothe you in your nakedness? When did we
visit you when you were ill or in prison?' The king will answer them: 'I
assure you, as often as you did it for one of the least brothers, you did it
for me.'" Matthew 25:34-40.
As our love of serving others increases, our gifts and the
power with which they are manifested is multiplied. We are transformed into a
people with a mission, a prophetic mission, to serve the World and show the Good
News to every brother we meet. At this level, the gift of love is manifested in
service and our service cooperates with grace to sanctify us.
THE GATE
No doubt you consider that you are acting in a saintly way and
that your salvation is secure if you are doing all the things that I have set
forth in the previous 21 steps. Unfortunately, you are wrong. You are not saved
yet and you may never be saved. What does it mean to be saved. The Torah says:
'For I, the Lord, am your G-d; and you shall make and keep yourselves holy,
because I am holy.' Lev. 11:44. Nothing less that holiness will suffice.
You are still walking on the wide way. Yeshua says: 'Enter in the narrow Gate
because the Gate of Destruction is wide and deep and many are going through it.
How narrow is the gate and grievous the Path (that leads straight) to life and
few are those who find it.' Hebrew Gospel of Matthew 7:13-14. Now is the
time of decision. There is only one way to enter through the Narrow Gate who is
Yeshua ha Meshiach; you must submit.
Submission is the key to life. If you would walk the way beyond
the Narrow Gate you must stop setting the rules and the pace and let the Voice
do that for you. First, you will learn to be the Friend of G-d as was Avraham,
then the Servant of G-d as was Isaiah and then the Slave of G-d as was Yeshua.
At each stage, you become more and more purified. It is in that way that you
become a Holy Priesthood of Intercessors.
The Prophet Malachi put it best. 'But who will endure the day of
His coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire
or the fuller's lye. He will sit refining and purifying and he will purify the
sons of Levi, refining them like gold and silver that they MAY OFFER DUE
SACRIFICE UNTO THE LORD. Malachi 3:2-3.
In the steps 22-28, you will purify the flesh. You will learn to
subject it to the will of G-d to make it a perfect channel for his Light and
Love. In steps 29-35, you will learn to purify the spirit in what is
called the Dark Night of the Soul. In steps 36-42, you will learn to purify your
soul in what is called the Day of Community in which you will learn to serve as
a person with responsibilities to the Community of G-d. Lastly, you will learn
to purify your intentions in steps 43-49. Then you will be a perfect instrument
of G-d's love, a Tzaddik. The Tzaddikim either live on to do great service in
upholding the World and spreading light to Mankind or they achieve the Crown of
Glory and are united in perfection with the Pure Light.
It is not possible to succeed in steps 22-29 without a Guide.
You will go astray. It is nice to have a Guide at the other levels as well. I am
the Guide sent by HaShem to lead you on the Way. I stand in for the Archangel of
the Presence and the Holy Spirit and will aid you to walk on the Path with the
help of your Voice.
To walk through the Gate, to learn about the Higher Path, and to
get a Guide, you may write to me at the address below.
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