Program 14: The War for Worship

When you worship is important because obedience to Yahuwah’s stated will reveals who has your loyalty.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

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Main Program

Part 1:

Miles Robey: Greetings! Welcome to today’s program. I’m your host, Miles Robey and with me is Dave Wright.

Dave Wright: Hello! We’re glad you’ve tuned in.

Miles: We’ve got an interesting program lined up for today. It’s a topic that is synonymous with religion and that is: worship. However, Dave’s going to be sharing an aspect of worship that most people, well, sort of gloss over, don’t they?

Dave: They really do and it’s unfortunate because, by glossing over this aspect of worship, they get off on some really important points.

Miles: Right . . .

Before we get into that, though, I just want to make sure we’re all on the same page and give our first time listeners a heads up. Here on WLC Radio, and on our website, we prefer to use the actual names of the Father and the Son. “God” and “Lord” are just titles. The Father’s true name is Yahuwah, or, alternatively Yah. The Son’s name is Yahushua.

“El,” “eloah” and “elohim” are titles that are used in Scripture similar to the word “lord.” It’s a privilege to know the true name of the Father, so that’s what we prefer to use.

If you’d like to learn more about the sacred name you can visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. We’ve got a number of articles on the divine name and its significance to believers.

So, then, Dave. Worship. We were talking about this a bit before we went on air and I’ve got to ask you: does it really matter when we worship?

Dave: A lot of listeners, in fact, most of Christendom, would disagree with my answer, but I’m just going to say it: yes, it does matter.

Miles: All right, but aren’t we supposed to worship every day? Why set aside one specific day for worship when we could be worshipping the Creator every day?

Dave: Most Christians reason that way, Miles. And to answer your first question: yes, of course we should be worshipping our Maker every day. My wife and I have individual personal devotions every morning before starting our day. We pray together every night before going to bed.

Miles: Well, as they say: the couple that prays together, stays together.

Dave: It does make a difference! And when we still had kids at home, we had morning and evening family worship with them, too. So, certainly, we should worship every day. But that’s not the same thing as setting aside one day out of seven, as specified in the 10 commandments. Remember, the Sabbath commandment not only said, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy,” but it also said, “Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of Yahuwah thy Eloah. In it, thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.” [Exodus 20:8-10]

Now tell me, Miles, those who claim that worshipping every single day is enough, do they also remember to not work one day out of seven, while making sure to work six days out of seven?

Miles: Well, no. Generally not. They may take an easy day of it, but . . . no. Now that I think about it, they generally don’t set aside one day for nothing but worship.

Dave: There’s more, though, and it’s found in the very definition of worship. We’ve used your old, 1828 dictionary before and that’s why I asked if you’d bring it in today. Would you look up “worship” and read the definition?

Miles: Sure! Okay . . . worship, uhhh, it says: “To adore; to pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme respect and veneration.”

Dave: That is worship: to adore, to reverence with supreme respect and veneration. Now the word “adore” means “to worship with profound reverence” and the word “venerate” . . .

Miles: Now there’s a word you don’t hear very often any more.

Dave: You don’t, but “veneration” is: “The highest degree of respect and reverence mingled with some degree of awe.”

Miles: Interesting.

Dave: This all has to do with the true meaning of worship. So, now let me ask you: if you truly adore someone, if you hold him in the highest degree of respect and you wish to reverence him with supreme regard, what are you going to do if he asks you to do something?

Miles: Well . . . pfft! Under those circumstances, I’d pretty much do anything he asked!

Dave: Of course! Who wouldn’t? Because to not grant a simple request would hardly be treating the person with “supreme respect,” would it?

Now, here’s the infinite Father. He’s said: “I want to spend time with you. I want your undivided attention, just one day in seven . . .” – do we really pay Him “divine honors”, do we really hold Him in the highest regard and treat Him with the utmost respect if we say, “A whole day? Seriously? But I worship You every day! Isn’t that enough?”

Miles: Well, no. No, you really couldn’t claim to be treating Him with “utmost respect” if you didn’t honor such a simple, straightforward request, could you?

Dave: See, what most people don’t get is that worship cannot be separated from obedience.

Miles: Okaaaay. Say more. What do you mean by that?

Dave: Well, let’s use you as an example.

Miles laughs: All right. Careful there, now!

Dave, chuckles: Let’s talk about your wife. Lovely lady. Clearly your “better half!”

And clearly very in love with you. Now suppose for a moment that, what with your work schedules, you don’t get to spend as much time with her as you’d like—

Miles: Very true!

Dave: —so, together, you decide to set aside one evening a week as date night. Just the two of you together: no kids, no work obligations. Just time to be a couple and focus on each other.

Miles: That’d be nice!

Dave: Now suppose, every time date night rolls around, she’s got some reason to cancel. Her favorite show on TV is airing that night; she’s got something to prepare for at work the next day; she’s too tired, the kids have too much homework and need her help. But she assures you she really loves you and wants to spend time with you, too.

Finally, after about six weeks of trying to make this work, you two finally get an evening away and . . . she spends it checking messages on her phone, and texting! How would you feel?

Miles: Well, I’d feel as though these other things were more important to her. That she really wasn’t as invested in our relationship as I was.

Dave: Right! Well, how is it any different with Yahuwah? He told Moses: “Let them make me a sanctuary that I might dwell among them.” [Exodus 25:8]

Being with His children was Yah’s greatest desire! It’s still His strongest heart’s yearning. The Bible closes with a beautiful promise found in Revelation 21: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of Yah is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and Yah himself shall be with them, and be their God (or Theos).” [Revelation 21:3]

Being together with us, spending time with us, that’s still Yahuwah’s greatest desire! So, why would you not choose to spend time with Him on His Sabbath, just as He has asked?

This is what the entire great controversy between Yah and Satan boils down to.

Miles: What do you mean?

Dave: Well, Isaiah 14 contains a very interesting passage. It’s a boast made by Lucifer and it lays out what his end goal was in his rebellion against the kingdom of Heaven.

Miles: Hold on a sec . . . let me look that up and read what it says.

Dave: All right. Isaiah 14, verses 12 to 14.

Miles: Got it. It says: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of Yah: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

Hm. Interesting.

Dave: That was Satan’s master plan. He wanted to “be like” the Most High. Now what sets Yahuwah apart from every other creature, fallen or unfallen, is that He—and only He—is the originating source of all life. As such, He is the only one in the entire universe that is deserving of receiving worship. It’s His by right as our Originator.

And yet, what was Lucifer’s stated agenda?

Miles: To be like the Most High.

Dave: Exactly. And the way he does that is by stealing worship that rightfully belongs to Yah alone.

Miles: Okay, but now just how does he do that? Because really, very few people pray to Satan. I mean, sure! You get a handful out there. You get some weird cults. But you’re talking about Satan stealing worship due to Yah within Christianity as well! How has he done that?

Dave: He has done that just as he said he would in Isaiah 14. He said: “I will sit upon the mount of the congregation.” And he has done that!

Miles: Yes, but how? How has he done that?

Dave: By instituting false days of worship, calculated—first by pagan, later by papal—calendars. See, the word translated “congregation” comes from the Hebrew word mo’ed. It’s an interesting word and the definition is key to understanding just how Satan has stolen worship that rightfully belongs to Yahuwah.

Miles: Can’t say I’m familiar with the word. Can you share with us what it means?

Dave: Mo'ed means "appointed place of meeting." According to the “Lexical Aids to the Old Testament” found in the Hebrew-Greek-Key Word Study Bible,

The word mo’ed became closely identified with the Jewish feasts. It says, quote:

“Mo'ed is used in a broad sense for all religious assemblies. It was closely associated with the tabernacle itself. [Yahuwah] met Israel there at specific times for the purpose of revealing His will. It is a common term for the worshiping assembly of [Yahuwah's] people.”

So the very word is closely associated with worship and Lucifer boasted that he would usurp that ultimate position of influence and authority and take for himself the worship due to Yah.

Miles: Huh! The ultimate in blasphemy.

Dave: To fully grasp the significance of mo’ed appearing in Lucifer’s boast, though, we need to turn to Leviticus 23. Could you turn there for us?

Miles: Sure.

Dave: Leviticus 23 lists all of Yahuwah’s holy days. Could you read verses 1 to 4?

Miles: “And Yahuwah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of Yahuwah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of Yahuwah in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of Yahuwah, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.”

Dave: All right. The word “mo’ed” is used repeatedly here. It’s translated as “feasts.” The feasts of Yahuwah. And what’s interesting about Leviticus 23 is that in listing all of Yahuwah’s “holy convocations” the very first one listed, is the weekly feast: the seventh-day Sabbath. Then, after listing the weekly feast, the Sabbath, it goes on to list all of the annual feasts: Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Day of Atonement, etc.

And it’s right here, in worship, where Satan has stolen the worship that belongs to Yahuwah.

Miles: Well, now, obviously, if a person is worshipping idols, yeah. Satan’s stealing worship that belongs to Yah. But how can you say he steals worship within Christendom, too?

Dave: It gets back to the issues at stake in Satan’s rebellion against the divine government:

1. Worship: Treating Yahuwah with utmost respect;

2. Obedience: because you respect Him; and,

3. Love: Yahushua said in John 14: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” [John 14:15]

Love, worship and obedience go hand-in-hand. You can’t separate them. You can’t truly love Yahuwah and deliberately, knowingly disobey Him. And if you knowingly disobey Him, you’re not truly worshipping Him or treating Him with utmost respect mingled with awe.

Miles: But what about people who don’t know? My grandmother worshipped on Sunday her entire life. She honestly, genuinely believed that the law was “nailed to the cross.” She loved Yah with all her heart and did everything she knew to be right. I can’t believe that she was worshipping Satan!

Dave: She wasn’t, no. She clearly loved Yah and worshipped Him. And the Father, who reads the heart, accepted her worship. Nevertheless, Satan did attempt to steal it.

To see how this can be both, we need to turn to Acts 17. Here, Paul was preaching on Mars Hill in Athens and he shared a very important principle. He said: “And the times of this ignorance Yah winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” [Acts 17:30]

You see, believers today are commissioned to do a very special work.

Isaiah declares: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.” [Isaiah 58:12]

A breach has been made in the law of Yah. Strangely enough, people who claim the law was done away with at the cross never try to say that you can now go and worship other gods besides Yah; they don’t try to say you can now kill or commit adultery with impunity. The only one of the 10 they insist no longer needs to be kept is the Sabbath commandment.

Miles: So what you’re saying is, Satan steals–or attempts to steal–worship belonging to Yah alone, when he convinces people that they don’t have to set aside a special day for worship.

Dave: That’s it. He diverts worship away from the Creator and on to himself when he convinces people they can worship—or not—on any day they wish, calculated by any calendar they wish.

Miles: Well, that makes sense. Because while Yah lovingly “winks” at our times of ignorance, once we do know the truth, we have a responsibility to live up to that truth.

Dave: Yes. And that’s why your grandmother could love Yah with all her heart, mind, and soul, and the Father accepted her worship as coming from a heart filled with love, even if she, in ignorance, broke the Sabbath commandment—because that’s what she’d been taught all her life!

Miles: I can see that. But it also underscores how, for those of us living as truth is advancing, as more light is being poured out, it’s different.

Dave: Exactly. We are responsible for the truth we know now.

Miles: Stay tuned. We’ll be back in a moment.

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Part 2:

Miles: So, we’ve been talking about Satan’s rebellion against Yahuwah and that he wanted to be like the Most High. He wanted to sit on the “mount of the congregation” or the mount of the mo’edim.] And he’s done this by stealing worship due to Yah alone.

Dave: Yes. Convincing everyone that the Sabbath is no longer binding—even if the 9 other commandments are. It’s really inconsistent when you think about it. People will say, “Oh, but the other 9 are repeated in the New Testament, the Sabbath commandment isn’t.”

And that’s true, but why do you need any of them repeated when, Scripture tells us, Yahuwah is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes!

Furthermore, it is clear from Scripture that the seventh-day Sabbath was kept by the early believers even after the resurrection!

Miles: Good point. And I like what you said, too, that Yahuwah “winks” at our times of ignorance.

Dave: Well, of course! Yah is love! He’s not going to hold you accountable for something you didn’t know.

HOWEVER, once you do know, you have a responsibility for the truth you know. Ignorance is excused; knowing rebellion is not.

Miles: Fair enough!

Dave: It was in aspiring to be "like the most High" that Lucifer broke the first and greatest commandment: "Thou shalt love Yahuwah thy Eloah with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This, “Yahushua said, “is the first and great commandment." [Matt. 22:37 & 38]

Lucifer did not want to simply be like Yahuwah in character; if that had been his goal, he would never have rebelled! Instead, he coveted the honor and worship that were due to the Creator alone.

Satan has, in a very real sense, stolen the worship due Yah and he’s done this in several ways.

Miles: Can you expand on that a bit and tell us how?

Dave: Well, one we’ve already talked about, right at the first, is he has hidden the true name of the Father. He’s covered it up with titles that are also used to apply to false gods, demon gods!

Another way is by convincing people that they can’t come to Him for themselves, but they have to get Mary, or other dead saints, to pray for them.

Miles: You know, Dave, Protestantism does this, too. No, Protestants don’t pray to Mary or dead saints, but as we’ve discussed before, they do pray to Jesus! No where in Scripture does it say we’re to pray to the Saviour. Yahushua Himself taught us to go to the Father for ourselves and pray in His name.

Praying in Yahushua’s name is not the same thing as praying to Yahushua.

Dave: Excellent point.

Miles: Are there any other ways Satan has stolen worship from Yah?

Dave: Yes, a number. By changing the day of worship or by getting people to think that it’s unnecessary to set aside a specific day for worship, when you pray every day— You know, that doesn’t even make sense! Of course we’re to worship Yahuwah every day. As Paul said, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of Yahuwah in Yahushua the Anointed for you.” [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18] That’s still not the same thing as setting aside a specific day to worship Yah and focus on Him alone.

But there’s more. Satan has also substituted false doctrines that misrepresent the character of Yahuwah, and he’s substituted pagan feasts in place of the feasts of Yahuwah.

Miles: Can you give us an example?

Dave: Easter, for one! Easter is, from beginning to end, a pagan holiday. Yahushua was crucified on the day of Passover, and resurrected on the Feast of First Fruits. Furthermore, those feasts were calculated by the luni-solar calendar in use at the time. You can’t find Passover or Feast of First Fruits on the pope’s “Gregorian” calendar. They don’t exist on a solar calendar! It’s impossible to calculate them.

Another is Christmas. Yahushua wasn’t born then! That’s another holiday that comes directly from ancient paganism. Originally it was the feast of Saturnalia and that’s where we get all our modern Christmas traditions: from parties, to gift-giving, to singing carols!

Miles: And Christmas isn’t just a “Christian” holiday! People the world over get together with friends and family at Christmas.

Dave: Worldwide, it’s one of the most popular holidays of the entire year. But once you study Scripture carefully, once you understand that the feasts of Yahuwah were not done away with at the cross—only blood sacrifice was—you see what a heinous thing it is to celebrate any pagan holiday. Instead, we have been given the Biblical feasts. These are anniversaries of momentous events in salvation history! Why wouldn’t we wish to commemorate them?

Miles: But weren’t they given to the Jews? Why should Christians today keep the Jewish feasts?

Dave: Well, flip back to Leviticus 23 again and read the first two verses. That will answer your question.

Miles: Okay. I’ve got that here . . . “And Yahuwah spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of Yahuwah, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.”

Dave: Whose feasts?

Miles: Well . . . Yahuwah’s feasts!

Dave: Right. The Word of Yah declares that believers have been “grafted in” and by faith are the children of Abraham and heirs of the promise. Consequently, we have the honor and the responsibility to worship Yahuwah on His feasts: both the weekly feast of the seventh-day Sabbath, and the annual feasts. This is how we honor Him and pay Him the utmost respect: by our obedience.

Miles: I like that. A lot of people dismiss keeping the law as “legalism” but you’re not entering into true worship, you’re not adoring your Creator, you’re certainly not giving Him utmost respect if you knowingly break His laws, are you?

Dave: No, you really aren’t.

Miles: So . . . any pointers on how we can take back the worship Satan has stolen and return it to Yahuwah?

Dave: Yes. By applying the five important points of journalism. When I was at university, a journalism class taught us to always answer the five W’s in the first sentence of any newspaper article.

Miles: The five Ws?

Dave: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

The “who” is easy: we are to, always, worship Yah.

The “what” is true worship. And we can’t truly honor and respect Him, we aren’t truly worshipping Him, if we are in knowing rebellion against any of His commandments.

That brings us to the “when.”

Miles: When would be on all of His designated times of worship. The weekly, monthly, and annual feasts. But what about where? Most churches dismiss Yahuwah’s feasts as simply the Jews’ feasts.

Dave: You’re right. Oh, there are a few Messianic Jewish congregations scattered about, but if you’re following the Lamb withersoever He goes, sooner or later you are going to find that all organized religions have, on one point or another, rejected advanced light and clung to past errors. More and more people are realizing this and more and more are choosing to worship Yahuwah in their own homes or in small groups of like-minded believers.

Miles: There’s something so uplifting about such worship. There aren’t any distractions. No incredible cathedrals, no huge choirs. It’s pure, simple worship just as the early believers did.

Dave: Just you and Yah.

Now, as to the “why,” this is really beautiful. The reason for true worship is simply because it is when we worship Him in spirit and in truth that He prepares our hearts!

Would you read Ezekiel 36, verses 26 and 27 for us?

Miles: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”

Dave: Yah will write His law on our hearts! Just as He inscribed His law on the tablets of stone, so will He recreate our hearts and inscribe His law on them. It will no longer be a matter of legalism vs. cheap grace. We will obey His law because we want to, just like the Saviour did!

Miles: Like David said: “I delight to do thy will, O my Eloah: yea, thy law is within my heart.” [Psalm 40:8]

Dave: What was in his heart?

Miles: “Thy law.”

Dave: Exactly. And it is when Yah’s law is written in our hearts that His heart’s desire is finally met. In the very next verse in the passage in Ezekiel 36, Yah states: “And ye shall be My people, and I will be your Eloah.”

Miles: Beautiful. And that’s the whole point of the plan of redemption! To bring us back to Yah.

Dave: That’s right. But let me ask you this: if having the divine law is what prepares us to dwell with Yah, just when is He supposed to do it? When we’re rushing through breakfast, getting ready for the day? When we’re concentrating on work? When we’re getting ready for bed? When is He supposed to inscribe His law on our hearts?

Miles: Well, the logical time would be when we’re focused on worshipping Him. On the Sabbath.

Dave: And when His law has been inscribed on our hearts, the result is that we walk in His statutes, and keep His commandments, and do them. It gets right back to obedience being a part of true worship.

Miles: This whole concept reminds me of a conversation I had the other day with one of our WLC team members who writes for the website. She made the comment that “Redemption without restoration, is not salvation.”

Yahushua’s death redeemed us; but it is when Yahuwah writes His law on our hearts that we are restored back to the divine image. Then and only then are we truly salvaged.

Dave: A beautiful way to put it.

Miles: Don’t go away folks. When we return, we’ll be answering your questions sent in to our Daily Mailbag. Stay tuned.

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Daily Mailbag

Miles: It’s time for our Daily Mailbag. This question is from Galina in . . . Ussuriysk? Ussuriysk? I’m not sure if I’m pronouncing it properly. Anyway, it’s in eastern Russia.

She says: “On Sabbaths, my husband and I have been carefully going through the various articles on your website. We’ve really been blessed by what we’re learning but I must say, some of it has been quite shocking and there’s plenty that is quite different from what I hear at church. Could you please explain how you’ve arrived at the conclusions you’ve reached? Thank you.”

That’s a fair question. There are a number of beliefs WLC holds that are quite unique within Christendom.

Dave: It is a fair question. Well, Galina, WLC establishes truth by what we like to refer to as the “weight of evidence” rule. The Bible is a huge book. Even printed on the thinnest vellum, my Bible’s over a thousand pages long. There’s a lot of information in there! A lot of different Bible passages. And, let’s be honest, anyone can prove almost anything they want from the Bible!

. . . All they have to do is “proof text.”

Miles: You had me going there for a minute, but you’re right. And people do it all the time. Those who believe in an ever-burning hell quote Scripture to “prove” it. At the same time, those who believe in “soul-sleep” quote other passages of Scripture to prove that, at death, the soul doesn’t go to Heaven, but “sleeps” in the grave.

Dave: Precisely. That’s proof texting. It’s taking a single text and using it to prove your belief, ignoring what every other passage in the Bible has to say about the subject.

And you really can prove almost anything that way. The biggest problem with trying to establish doctrine that way is that such verses are usually taken out of context. And that’s why there are so many, many different beliefs and doctrines within Christianity.

But taking a passage out of context, manipulating it, twisting it around to support what you want it to say, is not how you can arrive at truth.

Miles: So then, how do you do it?

Dave: Well, if you are using the “weight of evidence” rule, you gather together all the passages in Scripture that address that particular topic. You carefully study every single one in context, you don’t ignore what the other verses around it are saying, and then you will see clearly where the weight of evidence falls. If a verse is unclear, look up what the word means! Take your time. Be careful. But if you will take every verse on any given subject, and study it in context, the Holy Spirit will lead your mind to a correct conclusion.

Miles: I like that. And, I just want to add here, Dave, that very method of Bible study is itself Biblical. Isaiah 28 says: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.” And that itself, is describing gathering information, studying it in context, and seeing where the weight of evidence lies.

Dave: There’s another Biblical principle that’s important to keep in mind. This principle is mentioned in Deuteronomy, Numbers, and the Gospel of Matthew.

Miles: What’s that?

Dave: The one that says, “Out of the mouths of two or three witnesses, the matter shall be established.”

Miles: Well, there you go. That keeps anyone from getting off by using a single text taken out of context.

Okay, we’ve got time for one more question. Richard, from Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada writes: “WLC has a lot of interesting material on its website but I’m troubled by the emphasis placed on the Sabbath and Old Testament feasts. How do you reconcile your keeping so much of the Old Testament requirements with what the Jerusalem council decreed in Acts 15?”

Dave: Well, first I want to say, I’m glad you asked that, Richard. A lot of people think all the Old Testament requirements expired, if you will, at the cross. And they base it largely, as you say, on Acts 15. First, though, lets read what it says.

Miles, would you read Acts 15, verses 28 and 29 for us?

Miles: Sure! It says . . . “For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well.”

Dave: If you take these two verses alone, you can see what Richard is saying, can’t you?

Miles: Well, yeah. It certainly sounds like here we’ve got the shortlist for Gentiles, with nothing else required.

Dave: Yes, but if you focus only on those two verses within the chapter, you’re missing out on the context. And when taken in context we find something very different.

Miles: What’s that? Because, you’re right. The last thing we want to do is “proof text.” Whenever you take verses out of context and use it as proof, you’re always going to get off.

Dave: And that’s what’s happened here. To understand it in context, would you now please read verses 19 to 21 of that same chapter?

Miles: All right. Uh, let’s see. James, the leader of the brethren in Jerusalem is speaking here, rendering their verdict on what they should require of the gentiles. He says: “Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to Yah: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.”

Oh, now that’s interesting.

Dave: Isn’t it?

Miles: Here we are, years after the crucifixion, and yet he’s saying that the law of Moses is still being preached in the synagogues every Sabbath.

Dave: Yes. They were still keeping the Sabbath and reading the law of Moses. It was a given.

You see, the whole dispute in Acts 15 was over whether the Gentiles could be saved by mere human effort in being circumcised and keeping the law without purifying their hearts by faith—verse 9—through the grace of Yahushua—verse 10. There’s so much more here than is generally acknowledged.

The “yoke” the apostles in Jerusalem did not want to put on the new converts was the erroneous idea that they could be saved by their works. However, obedience to the law has always been required.

Verses 28 and 29 quote the letter that was sent to the Gentile converts, but it must be understood in the context of the apostles’ discussion, as recorded in verses 20 and 21. And in those verses, it clearly included the on-going preaching of the law of Moses which the apostles knew the Gentiles were hearing preached every Sabbath.

Miles: I see. I’d never noticed that before.

Dave: Most people don’t, but the truth is, it was assumed that the law of Moses would of course still be kept. The only exceptions were blood sacrifices and circumcision, which was a type of blood sacrifice since it shed blood.

Miles: You’re right about that, Dave. Even Yahushua said, in Matthew 19: “Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is Yahuwah: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” [Matthew 19:17] I’d say that’s pretty clear.

Dave: The righteous gain entrance into the kingdom of Yah because they keep His law! Revelation 22:14 really hammers that home. It says: “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

Miles: So there you have it. Obedience is still a requirement.

Dave: Exactly.

Miles: We really enjoy hearing from our listeners. If you’ve got questions or comments, go to our website at WorldsLastChance.com and click on Contact Us. We want to hear from you, too.

Daily Promise

This is Elise O’Brien with today’s daily promise from Yah’s word.

In Luke 15, Yahushua told the story of a man with two sons. The younger son, being rather spoiled and self-indulgent, demanded his father give him his share of the inheritance early. Just as soon as the youth received it, he left the family farm and moved to the city.

It wasn’t long before the young man had squandered all his money. When a famine came, he was out of money, out of food, and had no opportunities to earn either. He realized that his father’s servants were better off than he was and determined to return home, beg his father’s forgiveness, and ask to work as a servant. He didn’t presume to think he could be reinstated as a cherished son. He knew he’d done wrong. But if he could just work as a servant, he’d be grateful. He traveled toward home.

But, here is where his experience took an abrupt departure from his expectations. Yahushua said that “While he was still a great way off,” his father saw him, ran to him, and embraced him. The young man had barely gotten out his apology, and before he even had a chance to ask to be allowed to work as a servant, his father was whipping off his own outer robe and wrapping it around his son. He was calling to the servants to hurry and prepare a feast to celebrate his son’s return!

You see, every single day he had been gone, his father had been missing him. What’s more, he had been watching for him. While the son was still a great way off, his father saw him and ran to him, because he had been looking and longing for him.

The Persian poet, Rumi, once wrote: “What you seek is seeking you.” No truer words could be spoken. Do you feel lost and forsaken? Are you looking for internal peace, but don’t know how to obtain it?

Arise and go to your Father. He will meet you a great way off. If you take even one step toward Him in repentance, He will hasten to enfold you in His arms of infinite love. His ear is open to the cry of the contrite soul. The very first reaching out of the heart after Yah is known to Him. Never a prayer is offered, however faltering, never a tear is shed, however secret, never a sincere desire after Yahuwah is cherished, however feeble, but His Spirit goes forth to meet it. Even before the prayer is uttered or the yearning of the heart made known, grace from Yahushua goes forth to meet the grace that is working upon the human soul.

Haven’t you waited long enough? Don’t delay any longer. Go. He’s waiting just for you.

We’ve been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

Ending Points

Miles: Well, Dave . . . You’ve really given us a lot of food for thought today. I have to admit, I never really thought about worship in quite this way before.

Dave: Well, most people don’t. If you’re a Christian, you just worship on Sunday because, well, that’s when everyone else worships! Most people have that day off from work, so, yeah. When else are you going to go to church?

There are over 500 denominations that worship on Saturday because it is, traditionally, the seventh-day of the Gregorian week. They usually have a better reason for worshipping on Saturday. They’ll say, “That’s when the Jews worship, so of course that’s the seventh-day Sabbath and that’s when the 10 commandments tell us to worship.”

And they never dig deeper to discover even the Jews admit Saturday isn’t the original Sabbath.

Miles: Well, I can really see how it’s a crucial subject. It gets right back to worship.

Dave: That’s right.

If it has been your habit to spend time with Yah, to be instant in prayer, always seeking to know and do His will, that’s not going to change.

But if it has been your habit to give in to get along, that’s exactly what you’re going to.

Miles: That is so true. Solomon said, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” [Proverbs 22:6] The same holds true for adults. In a time of chaos, you will do whatever has been your habit to do.

Dave: When King Darius set Daniel in charge over the 120 princes and 2 other presidents that ran the kingdom, the other men became jealous and tricked the king into passing a law that would implicate Daniel.

You know the story: the king was forced by law to put Daniel in the lion’s den. Why? Because even though the new law said that no one should pray to any god other than the king for 30 days, Daniel still prayed to Yahuwah. And he didn’t hide the fact, either! It had been his habit to open his windows toward Jerusalem and pray three times a day, and he still did. Honoring Yah was habitual with Daniel. Not even the threat of death could get him to change.

And that’s where every one of us needs to be. We need to put Yahuwah first, and last, and best in all things. And it needs to be a habit with us. And it all begins with worship, because when you worship, reveals just who you are choosing to obey and honor.

Miles: Like C. S. Lewis said, we only learn to behave ourselves in the presence of Yah. So, we need to actively seek to spend time with Him, learning His will, and receiving grace and strength to do His will.

Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

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This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.