Post by alon on Jul 27, 2016 14:34:16 GMT -8
The following are my notes from a talk given by Dr. Stanley Chester of 
Light Ministries, and is posted here with his generous permission:
Restoring Halacha
Psalm 23:1-3 (NASB) A Psalm of David.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Melech Dovid here is talking about halacha; the way he walks in .
2 Chronicles 7:17 (NASB) As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, even to do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep My statutes and My ordinances,
“Walk before Me” is speaking of halacha. This means studying , following biblical customs, and paying attention to the shl’chim, or sent ones (apostles). The teachings of the shl’achim are of Moshiach. Christians call this the “New Testament.”
Revelation 21:14 (NASB) And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
These foundational stones are Moshiach Yeshua.
Ephesians 2:20 (NASB) having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone,
We will receive more foundational understanding later:
1 Corinthians 3:10 (NASB) According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it.
We must be careful how we do this; going back to how Moshiach did in His synagogue. Also remember the Bereans:
Acts 17:11 (NASB) Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
How did they test these things? By going to the authoritative work which is the standard for all writings and revelations; they went to .
The Greeks and other goyim formed their own religion; completely apart from the Nots’rim, which was the sect of the first century Jewish believers and proselytes and of which Rav Sha'ul was a "ringleader":
Act 24:5 (KJV) For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:
Greeks began to call themselves 'Christians' and replaced halacha with man-made rules, names and dates. They mutinied against . Pesach became Good Friday and the method of determining the date was changed to the vernal equinox. Easter Sunday then replaced the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is celebrated at sunrise, because Semiramis, both wife and mother of Nimrod and who had set herself up as a goddess in Babylon was said to have been born of a moon egg and conceived her son Tammuz by being impregnated by the rays of the sun. Tammuz was a hunter like his father, and was killed by a wild pig. He was said to have ascended to his father, and they were to be celebrated as father, son and spirit. The birthday of Tammuz was celebrated at the winter solstice, which became Christmas. And all the pagan traditions of Christmas are too many to say here. Suffice to say everything about this holiday is pagan to its core.
Back to Easter; because First Fruits falls on a Sunday in the year HaMoshiach was raised, Sunday was changed to the day of worship and called “The Lord’s Day.” Shabbath worship was abandoned by the church. Christians say they are the “New Israel.” They say God is done with the Jews, and we are done with His laws. They have replaced the Jews as the chosen people of God.
Our mission as Meshiachim is to restore halacha. We need to restore the commandments to the Body of HaMoshiach. However we are fighting 2000 years of church tradition and lifetimes of church indoctrination. If our halacha is a ship, then is its rudder. The Christian Church has thrown away their rudder, and as a result the ship of their faith wanders aimlessly.
Isaiah 5:12 (NASB) Their banquets are accompanied by lyre and harp, by tambourine and flute, and by wine; But they do not pay attention to the deeds of the Lord, Nor do they consider the work of His hands.
HaShem has called us to restore the rudder!
We accomplish this by removing bad sections of the walls they have built against the truth. It is not our purpose to destroy their faith. And we give them only as much truth at one time as they can handle. If we eat too quick, we will choke. We are not here to choke church people; rather we are to raise up mature congregations.
Isaiah 28:9-10 (NASB) “To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast? “For He says, ‘Order on order, order on order, Line on line, line on line, A little here, a little there.’
They can relate to the truth; but only so much truth at a time.
1 Corinthians 3:2 (NASB) I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able,
Hebrews 5:13 (NASB) For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant.
When dealing with a church person, do not try to drive a tack with a sledge hammer. Teach a little at a time; systematically.
“Order on order, line upon line,” we need different levels of teaching in our synagogues. We should not bring anyone to advanced teachings who does not have a good foundation in knowledge and truth. This kind of restoration fits the biblical pattern. And the Lord will anoint those men He wants to lead. We are a forerunner group who are to prepare the way, just as Yochanon the Immerser.
Isaiah 57:14 (NASB) And it will be said, “Build up, build up, prepare the way, Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”
The church has many stumbling stones blocking the path to good halacha. These are mostly anti-Semitism and pagan practices, traditions of man and indoctrination. Just pointing out these stones does no good. We must work to remove them; and there is no one fix or formula.
Isaiah 40:3 (NASB) A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
John 1:23 (NASB) He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
It is the heart of God that we should clear the way. At some time there will be one who comes in the spirit of Eliyahu (Elijah); one who is anointed to lead. Our movement is splintered now, but it will not stay that way. Yochanon said he was one sent. Howevwr prophecy will not be fulfilled until Yeshua takes His rightful place on the Throne of Dovid.
Malachi 4:5-6 (NASB) “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”
The first coming was not that great and terrible day. Elijah will come, but again it will be someone anointed and in power. He will not be reincarnated.
Matthew 11:13-14 (NASB) For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
Who gave to Moshe? There is One God consisting of three parts- NOT a Trinity. He made us in His image, and we have three parts: body, mind, and spirit. So God is Adonai- Lord or Father, the Word- Yeshua (Ha Ben- the Son), and Spirit- the Ruach HaKodesh. Whenever He wishes to accomplish something, there is an order:
The WILL is from the Father
The WORD is Yesua
The WAY is through the Ruach
Every decession of God starts with Adonai, and the Word or instruction is spoken through Ha Ben Yeshua, and the Ruach performs the work.
Exodus 33:11a (NASB) Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.
So plainly YHVH spoke to Moshe face to face; but there is a contradiction here if YHVH is not the Son as well as the Father, since no one can see Adonai and live. Therefore Yeshua must have given the to Moshe.
John 6:46 (NASB) Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father.
Clearly no one has seen the Father, but many have seen the Son, Yeshua. Any time man saw or heard God it was Yeshua.
John 14:15 (NASB) “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
This means the commandments given to Moshe. There was no “New Testament” when Yeshua spoke this. [There is nothing "new" in the "New Testament" anyhow. ed]
Matthew 5:18 (NASB) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
When all this seems to be an uphill battle, we can rest assured on the fact will never disappear.
Are some commandments greater than others?
Matthew 22:36-38 (NASB) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.
So yes, there is a hierarchy to the mitzvoth.
Matthew 23:23 (NASB) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
We must be careful not to fall into the trap of nit-picking and leave out love and mercy towards those honest Christians who are trying to follow God the best they know how. We must ease them into their first steps in proper halacha. No one can do it all at once. Start with Shabbath and the four things enumerated by the Jerusalem Council:
Acts 15:20 (NASB) but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.
After this they should get good instruction in halacha in synagogue every Shabbath:
Acts 15:21 (NASB) For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he [the books of Moses; ] is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”
Don’t bog them down; help them, slowly.
Genesis 5:24 (NASB) Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.
Genesis 6:9 (NASB) These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.
These men's walk with God was halacha. Halacha is walking with God, keeping the commandments, and adding as you go.
