[PraiseNews] The Law

[Ministry]

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Praise Report
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Hello,

I already had my miracle......my wife came back two weeks
before we were to appear in divorce court in December of
2006. She spent the night and got to see the changes in me
for herself, changes that God had made in me. She spent the
night and never left. We have done GREAT since her return
and we are fixing to celebrate our anniversary in two weeks.
God is so good. He took a ruined relationship and rebuilt
it. I am thankful for all he has done in my life and in my
marriage. I owe it all to him. Thank you for your prayers
and I would like to join with you in praying that others
allow God to work in their lives and restore their
relationships. God bless you,

Brett C., Arkansas

Note:  Brett first contacted us in Nov 06 when his wife
was threatening divorce and estranged from him


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Reminder
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David Alan Carmichael will be our guest speaker during our
June 9th M.H.I. teleconference. (This Sat, 10 a.m. CST)


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Men's Discipleship Group
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Last call for men's discipleship group.  If you
are interested email the ministry with your name
and telephone number.


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The Law
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I want to talk today a little about the subject of the law.

The Law is a very interesting subject.  Having worked in the
law field a total of 12 years, caused me to see, experience
and consider many things that I would never have otherwise
seen, experienced and considered.  One of the things that
have impressed me very deeply was the truth that nearly all
people are practically, totally ignorant of the law.  Now
when I say that, I was thinking of the law as is commonly
understood by people, meaning the legal system of the world.
  After having said it, I realize now that it's largely true
about many people when it comes to what really is law.  And
that's where I really want to begin this thing is with the
definition of what really is law, where law came from, and I
want to challenge you because in my discussions with people,
countless times, in countless discussions, I have observed
that when people are challenged they nearly always give the
same answer.  Most people do not know what they are talking
about.  I don't say that to imply that I always know what I
am talking about or that I am better than anyone else, but
to bring out truth that is easily demonstrable.  Here is how
to demonstrate it:

If you ask someone what they believe about a particular law
for example, they will tell you what they believe. Ask the
same person if they have ever read that law; in other words,
have they actually read from the beginning to the end of
whatever law they believe in which they are supposedly
knowledgeable about.  Invariably the answer will be "Well,"
sort of sheepishly, "Ah, no I actually haven't read that."
So we find that so many people not only living and
practicing belief systems which they call the law or believe
to be the law but they are doing it based entirely upon what
someone has told them is the law.  You could almost call it
"gossip" when it should be objective fact. Now in other
words what we are saying is that they do not know if it is
law or truth at all, they just simply believe that it is
because someone told them that it is. I want to illustrate
to you just how dangerous this is.  Let's say for example
that someone told you that it was safe to remain in a
particular geographical location to live there, to work
there, to conduct your life however you want to in that
particular geographical location but they knew, for example,
or even if they didn't know (which probably would not
matter), an invasion was coming and an enemy military force
was coming to destroy that particular geographical location,
to take it captive, to plunder it, to kill the inhabitants,
to take them prisoner.  Well, if you simply listened to that
person and made your decision solely on listening to that
person, what would happen to you? Obviously you would
experience the consequences of that invasion.  They would
not be goodŠ

Let's put it in another light, if someone told you that if
you were to show up on the corner of First and Elm Street at
2 o'clock and a man in a banana colored minivan will show up
with a brief case with a million dollars in it.  If you
believe that to be true, then most likely you are going to
show up there at 2 o'clock and look for that van.  Now, if
it is not true, it really doesn't make any difference at
this point.  The point is, because you believed it to be
true, that belief will dictate and determine your actions.
So you see, just like it says in the Scriptures, as a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he (Pro. 23:7).  In others
words actions or reality is produced by what a person thinks
or believes. By the same token, if you did not believe that
that story was true, and you did not show up at 2 o'clock
and look for the banana colored minivan, then although the
story was true and a man showed up at 2 o'clock ready to
pass out the money, you would not receive the benefit, so
once again, your belief whether it was true or not true,
would dictate the outcome and in this particular example you
would not receive the benefits offered, you would  not
receive the blessing, you would not experience what could
have been experienced simply because you did not believe the
truth.

So now that I have given you a couple different ways of
looking at this, what is the point?  The point is that there
are two things which are critical and essential in our life:

1.  What is truth, and

2.  What do we believe.

Now we started talking about the law and if I were to ask
many people, what the law is we would get many many kinds of
answers.  Some would be more correct than others and some
would be totally incorrect. Most of these answers would come
from people based upon their own definitions, their own
understanding, their own belief and would be worded in their
own thoughts and would not be very likely or technically
accurate.  In other words, they would not really be the
truth, most likely (their experience).   It's sort of the
"you call it toe may toe" and "I call it toe mah toe".. its
still a tomato reasoning.  But there is a world of
difference between "how you see it" and "how it is."  We are
concerned with (the)[T]ruth, NOT (your)[t]ruth.

So let us start at the beginning, that is always a good
place to begin, at the beginning.

In the beginning, YAHWEH created the heavens and the earth
(Gen. 1:1).  And basically everything that is, was made in
His creation, everything was made by Him. He is the
originator of His creation. Even the laws of thermodynamics,
the law of gravity, the laws of various types, we will find
that He is the designer and the creator even of those laws.
Man certainly did not create gravity. Man did not create the
law of thermodynamics.  Man did not create any of that.  So
it had to be created, and was created, by our Creator.  He
is the creator of Law, therefore if we want to know what the
law is, we need to look to Him for the definition.  It is a
fallacy to look to man to define what YAHWEH has created.
Especially when YAHWEH defines it Himself. We find that very
same principle demonstrated in the book of Matthew 19.6 "So
that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what
Elohim has joined together, let man not separate." SeeŠ the
Truth is talking.  (Clearly Elohim has not joined ALL
together or there would be no need for a distinction)

Now, we have other types of so called law.  The word law is
used loosely to represent something that is commonly
understood but once again we need to compare what is
commonly understood, or commonly believed, to what is in
fact truth.

There is a famous parable, or children's story called the
Emperor's New Clothes.  And of course most of you have read
it or heard of it.  You can read it here. It is a story of a
ruler who is insane.  Here is an excerpt:  "A child,
however, who had no important job and could only see things
as his eyes showed them to him, went up to the carriage.
"The Emperor is naked," he said." .  The people eventually
recognize the ruler is insane because of the pure eyes and
heart of the child, and so does the ruler but the ruler
elects to go on in fantasy (falsehood, un-truth,
law-less-ness)  His "truth" is self-madeŠ yet clearly not
truth, clearly lawlessness, clearly un-lawful.

The bottom line is that the ruler believed a certain thing
and therefore that's really what the end result was for him
and for anyone who submitted to his unlawful rule(s).

So, with respect to the law, we have the same issue.  There
are many people who believe certain things to be law, but
that doesn't make it so.  It is just like the idea that if a
man believes himself to be an automobile and sits in his
garage all night and sprays tire black on his legs and arms,
he is still not an automobile.  Even if he is able to get a
group of his friends or  neighbors to come over and agree
with him that he is an automobile, now you have a whole
bunch of people that have the same belief (delusion).  And
that belief may dictate their actions as we have pointed out
earlier, but their belief nor their actions actually defines
what is true.  It only defines what has become PRACTICE for
them.

The Scriptures talk about this condition in the book of
Proverbs, they say 'there is a way that seems right to man
but the end thereof is destruction' (Pro. 16:25).  You see,
we can believe something to be right, and that belief as we
identified earlier, will dictate our practices.  It will
dictate our actions and our results, what we get, what we
experience and so forth.

If what we believed seems right, but in fact is a way that
leads to destruction, well, that is not a good thing.  And
we ought to be more interested in the truth than our own
belief.  Many people hold on to their own belief like an
idol that they worship.  Unmoving, unwilling to hear any
other opinion and consequently, stuck in their belief.  If
their belief is wrong, of course they get what they get and
that may be very bad, it may actually lead to destruction.
I want to encourage you that the most important thing is
that you have a mind that is determined to seek truth and to
prove truth to the best of your ability.  Now how do you
prove truth?   Truth and law are actually very closely
related.  In fact, the law is the truth and the truth is the
law.  Let  me say that again.  The law is the truth and the
truth is the law.

Now when Yahushua came one of the things that He said was
that 'you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free.' (Joh 8:32).  One of the benefits of knowing Truth, or
knowing law is liberty, freedom.  I believe that is
something every person wants, so, in order to know the Truth
we have to know Him.  We have to know the Giver of the
Truth.  We have to know what He says is the Truth because He
is the Definer.

Whenever a person creates something, for example, paintings.
  When a person creates a painting in the world of art, they
have different ways, from what I understand, they have a
system for identifying their creation, or their creations,
with their unique mark.  Their mark is the mark of
authenticity.  In other words, it is that mark, the mark of
the creator, that determines whether or not a painting is
real or counterfeit. In other words, whether it is true or
false.

Well, that principle holds just as true and even more so,
with our Heavenly Father and the subject of law.  He is the
creator of law, law must bear his mark.  If it doesn't bear
his mark then it is not his and if it is not his, then it is
not true.  Or it is not law.

This begs a little bit of clarification because within any
given organization or society or what is called in law, a
body politic, where there may be various types of contracts
or agreements or understandings, that the members of that
body politic agree to go by, if for no other reason, merely
to be participating in that organization as a member and/or
by receiving of the benefits thereof.  For example, when you
join a health club, the health club invariably has rules and
although they may not be called laws, basically that's what
they are for that particular health club.  They are that
health clubs laws or rules and when you make application to
become a member of that health club, the health club will
expose you to their set of rules.  You are expected to read
and to understand those rules and to agree to be bound by
those rules.  Now, you may not read the rules, you may not
understand the rules but once you make an agreement, i.e.
putting your signature on the paper, and making your
payment, from that point there is an exchange that takes
place where you are able to receive benefits that are due
the members of that organization. So in the example that we
are speaking of you go to the health club, you participate
in it's benefits:  You can use the spa, you can use the
swimming pool, you can lift weights, you can play basketball
or whatever the case may be and in exchange for the receipt
of all those benefits, you make your payment and you are
obligated to abide by the law or follow the rules.  That is
how it works in so many aspects of life that people
generally do not question.

In the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father, the Kingdom of
YAHWEH, it works the same way.  Before you can gain
entrance, you have to make application to the Authority that
created that Kingdom. Just like with the health club before,
you have to make application to the authority which created
that health club.  Well, in the Kingdom of YAHWEH, you too
have to make application.  When you make application you are
expected to understand the law or the rules of which is His
Word, the Scriptures, especially the Torah.  You are
expected to abide by those rules and you're obligated to
abide by His laws in order for you to receive benefits as a
child of the Kingdom of YAHWEH. ("Not everyone who says to
Me, 'Master, Master,' shall enter into the reign of the
heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the
heavens. Mat 7:21  "But why do you call Me 'Master, Master,'
and do not do what I say? Luk 6:46)

Once you have entered into that kingdom, once you have been
born again or converted, you now are entitled to many
benefits, but that entitlement is not a one way street.
That entitlement comes with obligations and expectations.
This is where some people use the term unconditional love.
There is a kind of love that the Father has for us that is
unconditional only in the sense that He loves us perfectly.
There are no conditions upon the fact that He loves us and
that He desires for us to become members of His Kingdom to
become born again.  The Scriptures say He does not desire
that any man should perish, but that all man would come to
saving knowledge of the Truth (2 Pet. 3:9).

There is that which is not the saving knowledge of truth.
There's knowledge but it is not saving knowledge.  And there
is knowledge of things that which are not true and therefore
cannot be saving knowledge. His desire is that we would come
to the saving knowledge of the Truth and once again the
Truth,  the law are really synonymous and the Truth is more
than a principle or a law.  The Truth is a Person.  And we
have to know that Truth in a very personal and intimate way.
  We have to understand it to abide by it, otherwise we will
not be keeping our end of the agreement.  That love is
conditional in the sense that it doesn't come without
condition.  If you study the Scriptures, if you study the
law, the law book, it is a book of law and a book of love,
but it is all one. You cannot separate the law from the
love.  And if you study the law book, you will find that His
love is offered freely to all. Now that is the unconditional
aspect that it is offered freely, but it is offered based
upon the acceptance of terms, just like a contract on the
earth here. The terms are that you will love Him with all
your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and all
your strength and that you would love others as yourself
(Luke 10:27), with the terms are that you would  keep His
commands (John 14:15).

I want to make a quick departure here for a moment and speak
some truth regarding His laws and His children:

For indeed by one Spirit we were all immersed into one body,
whether Yehudim or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we
were all made to drink into one Spirit. 1Co 12.13

...one body and one Spirit, as you also were called in one
expectation of your calling, one Master, one belief, one
immersion, one Elohim and Father of all, who is above all,
and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:4-6

And he who is joined to the Master is one spirit. 1Co 6.17

One of the meanings of the word "one" in the Greek is:
"only, once, once for all"  Denominations, religious
organizations, state churches are all creations of MAN.
Yahweh "only, once, once for all" created a society, called
out ones, set-apart (from this world), a body whose head is
His Son, Yahushua, the chief cornerstone.  Every other
organization known to man has been created BY MAN.

Now He makes provision in his Law book for when we make
mistakes, when we fall short.  There is a solution. Just
like in the legal system created by men, there are ways to
make right when you overlook a law or when you are caught
not observing the law, there are ways to make restitution,
there's ways to make right and continue to live on.  Well;
in the kingdom of Yahweh it works the same way.. it was the
forerunner of those systems and the pattern for them.  It is
called "the Law" or Torah.  He has made a way for us to be
able to achieve restitution, reconciliation with Him and
move on.  These are His conditions.  That is not
condition-less.  We just do not go up to the altar one day
and say "please save me, amen" and now we have our
membership card.  That is all there is to it for the rest of
our life that we are just covered, we have got the insurance
plan.  Well it doesn't work that way. It just does not work
that way.  It is based on conditions and you will see the
pattern over and over and over again throughout the Old
Testament and the New Testament.  If you, then IŠ.  that's
the Heavenly Father speaking.  If you, then I...whatever.

Now this is not to imply that we save ourselves or that we
are the sole force behind whether or not this works, whether
or not we receive these blessings.  The Scriptures say very
clearly, the law books say very clearly, that no man can
come to the Father unless He draws them (Joh. 6:44).  So
that puts it all in the proper prospective right there.  The
Scriptures say that even before the foundations of the world
were framed,  He predestinated us.  He foreknew us.  He
chose us out of this world.  The Scriptures say elsewhere
that He chose us and we did not choose Him.  But being
called by Him and knowing within our hearts that He has
called us, our obligation is to do our utmost to fear Him
which ultimately means to reverence Him, give Honor to Him,
but also to fear Him in the sense that He is the One who is
able to destroy our soul for all eternity.  He is able.  The
Scriptures say very clearly do not fear him who is able to
destroy the body, but rather fear Him that is (YAHWEH our
Heavenly Father) who is able to destroy both body and soul.

I want to continue this, perhaps we will have a bit of a
series on this discussion because the Law is not only the
Law that YAHWEH has given us, but which should be the
ultimate Law, the Law which dictates everything, every
decision in our life, but what is it's relationship to the
legal system and legal creations of man.  You have heard it
said over and over and over again that we must obey the laws
of the land because that is what the Scriptures teach.

I am going to leave you with a parting thought and we will
pick it up later from here, if the laws of the land are
contrary to the laws of the Heavenly Father, how can we obey
His laws and the laws of man?  Unless you think our Heavenly
Farther is schizophrenic, then you will have to accept and
understand that He would never ask us to obey something
contrary to His commands.

For example, if He says thou shall not kill, then that is
what it means.  So any so-called law(s) which allows or
actually promotes abortion is clearly contrary to His law.
The apostle Paul addressed that issue in the book of Acts
when he said that we ought to obey YAHWEH rather than man.
We have to come to a place of understanding of what truly is
law, not what people believe to be law or what people want
you to believe is law.  Good intentions are not sufficient.
In the book of Hosea (4.6) it says my people perish for lack
of knowledge.  That is a pretty serious statement.  They
perish.  Now, do they perish only on the earth, or do they
perish for eternity?  I don't know.  What I do know is that
they perish.  And the reason they perish is lack of
knowledge.  It is important, it behooves us to get the
proper knowledge, to get the truth to understand the truth
and to be obligated to the truth.  Honor the truth.  Obey
the truth.  Because it is the truth that will make us free
not good intentions. As it has been said, the road to hell
is paved with good intentions.  More to comeŠ. (Part II)