In Deut 6:16, we read, “Do not put Yehovah your God to the test as you did at Massah.”
When we read the Torah and read Matt 4:7, it is not difficult to understand it is a sin to test Yehovah. So often we see things in the Torah we dont fully understand. So what does it mean to test Yehovah? Could you be guilty of this sin?
As we will see, most of us have committed this sin without being aware of it.
1. John 1:9 says if we confess our sins and repent, Yehovah is faithful to forgive us. So even though you will soon realize you are guilty of testing Yehovah, do not despair. Choose instead to confess your sin, repent of it, and receive His forgiveness.
How do we know if we are guilty of this sin?
In the book of Exodus, our forefathers had just left Egypt, and now they had camped at Rephidim. When they left Egypt, they experienced supernatural miracles; most of us will never see in our lives. There should have been no reason for them to question Yehovah and His intentions. He had time, and time again proved He was real, proven His love for them, and proven He could be trusted.
We all have our “God moments” when we know Yehovah intervened in our lives because of our prayers, or someone else prayed for us. So if we think back to what we have experienced, we all know He is real, He loves us, and He has proven to us He can be trusted.
Here they had just seen miracles most of us would never see in our life. Seeing all the plagues in Egypt and how Yehovah protected them ought to have assured them He was well able to provide water for them. All they had to do was ask, and He would have given it to them. But because their faith was in Yehovah’s miracles, and not Yehovah Himself, the sudden lack of water made them question everything. Instead of praying to Yehovah, they made Moses their god and asked him to do what only Yehovah can do.
In Matt 4:7, the devil says to Yeshua, prove to me you are God’s son by throwing yourself off from this cliff. If I see a miracle, I will believe.
What the devil suggested to Yeshua was the same sin our forefathers committed in the desert. They both said: I will believe in God, but only if I see a miracle. And if I do not see a miracle, I will no longer believe.
The devil and our forefathers had one thing in common; their object of faith was miracles and what Yehovah could give, not Yehovah Himself.
What is your object of faith? In the Gospels, Yeshua repeatedly warns that there will come many false Messiahs being well able to do great and mighty miracles in the last days. They will lead many Christians astray. And in Matt 7:21-23, Christians who were well able to do wonders in the name of Jesus was rejected by Jesus Himself and sent straight to hell.
How you respond to a sudden unexpected lack of something shows you what your object of faith is.
So how do you respond to a sudden unexpected lack of something?
When you need healing, and you have prayed for healing, but nothing happens, how do you react? Do you respond as our forefathers, questioning Yehovahs love for you wondering if He has left you? Are you tempted to ask Jesus to heal you or to meet your needs, instead of Yehovah? Or do you feel that if you can only get this minister or that evangelist to pray for me, then I will be healed and delivered?
If this is you, then you are guilty of tempting Yehovah.
1. John 1:9 says, if we confess our sins and repent, Yehovah will forgive us. Confess you are guilty of tempting Yehovah, repent of it and receive His forgiveness.
So how are you supposed to react if your object of faith is not what Yehovah can do for you but who He is?
Some time ago, our washing machine broke, and a few days after, the heating cables in our floor stopped working. My wife and I rent a small apartment, so we knew our landlord would pay for repairing the heating cables, but we had to find some way to fix our washing machine.
After an extensive search online, trying to find a new washing machine we could afford, we had to accept it would be cheaper to fix the old one. Technically we dont have the money we need to fix it, but we can’t live without it. We booked a technician to come and repair it today, and yesterday an electrician came and fixed our heating cables.
Yesterday I had to take time off work to drive home, collect our cat, and take our cat to work because she could not be in the apartment when the electrician came to fix our heating cables. And today, I have to take time off work to drive home to meet the guy coming to fix our washing machine. It would be fair to say it has been a couple of stressful days and sometimes kind of scary, not knowing how we will pay for the repairs on the washing machine.
How do you respond to all of this if your object of faith is not what Yehovah can do for you but who He is?
I decide to use the key given to me in the Shema (Deut 6:4.) Instead of giving in to the stress, and the thoughts that go something like this “how will we pay for this?,” I decided to think “Yehovah is my God, Yehovah is one.” When I feel my emotions calm down, and my stress level subsides, I remind myself of Deut 28:1-13. I make an effort to remind myself that because I obey the Torah, Deut 28:1-13, Matt 6:25-34, says that I deserve Yehovahs help if I follow His Torah. Other times, I dont have to remind myself of Deut 28:1-13. Other times just thinking, “Yehovah is my God, Yehovah is one” is enough, and I can feel the Holy Spirit in me, bringing to mind the promises of Deut 28:1-13.
So how do we respond if Yehovah is the object of our faith? By obedience to Deut 6:4-6, which says the most important commandment in the Torah is Yehovah is our God, Yehovah is one. By obedience to the rest of the 611 commandments that apply to us. And if we are too stressed out to remember them all, the Holy Spirit in us will remind us of them if we at least obey Deut 6:4. Obedience to the Torah guarantees us the blessings we need and Yehovah’s help.
Ok, a washing machine and money issue is not cancer or a death sentence. How do you respond if you are going through a life and death situation right now?
By obeying the Torah.
No matter what we might go through, Deut 28:1-13 says that obedience to the Torah guarantees us God’s help. Obedience to the Torah is what heals us, what delivers us, what protects us, what blesses us.
Am I saying it is a miracle cure? Promising a carefree life without any problems?
No, not at all. But what I am saying is that the Bible promises us everything if we are willing to obey His Torah.
Paul, the Apostle, told his followers to obey the Torah, he taught them (in the book of Romans and the letter to the Hebrews) to always follow the Torah. Paul did not have an easy life; he was hungry, suffered shipwreck, was stoned to death a couple of times, whipped, beaten thrown in jail. Still, because he always obeyed the Torah, he never died of starvation, he did not drown, he got up after being left for dead and walked back into town preaching the Gospel.
Sometimes, life circumstances will almost break us; we will feel as if we have been through a shipwreck and almost died of starvation. But if we obey the Torah, Yehovah will give us mannah from heaven, and we will get up when everyone thinks we are dead, and walk back into town preaching the Gospel and our testimony on how we overcame the devil. (Rev 12:11, 14)
I still have no way of knowing how I am going to pay for the washing machine. But in the midst of it all, I have peace knowing Yehovah is working on my behalf, and Yehovah will one way, or the other give me the money I need.
And while I am waiting, my object of faith is Yehovah, so I do not doubt His ability or His willingness to live up to His promises in Deut 28:1-13. I know, because I obey the Torah, I will have the money I need because the Bible says I deserve His help if I obey His Torah.
I have no idea what you are going through right now. But as we have learned today, doubt is a sin. If you are tempted to question Yehovah or doubt His intentions, you are testing God, which is a sin. If your faith object is what Yehovah can do for you, and not who He is, you are testing God and living in sin. Repent of your sin and choose instead to make Yehovah the object of your faith. Make Deut 6:4 the most crucial commandment for you to obey. And if you are not to stressed out to remember the other 611 commandments, think of them as well so you know how to obey them. If you are to stressed out, allow the Holy Spirit to bring them to your remembrance. Then you will see that He can be trusted to come through for you no matter what it might be because you have earned His help by your obedience to the Torah.
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Welcome, my name is Ernie, and I want to pray for you, prophecy to you, and teach you how to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ.
If you need prayer/prophecy, contact me today on e.mail apostleernie@outlook.com or Messenger.
Prayer/prophecy is free of charge.
I want to teach you how to live as a disciple of Jesus Christ free of charge. You can access all my sermons, free of charge, on this link https://apostleernie.crossofchristlive.one/sermons/ but you can also contact me on e.mail/Messenger (free of charge) with any question you might have on how to live the Christian life.
This ministry believes Yeshua (the Hebrew name of our Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God) taught His disciples to obey the Torah. The Torah is God’s (God has a name, and it is Yehovah) instruction manual for life.
The Torah says a pastor/evangelist/minister of the Gospel is obligated to offer free ministry. Therefore, it is a sin to ask for a donation/love offering for a prophetic word/prayer/access to sermons and teaching materials.
Every day, and every week, I pray for prophecy and teach the Bible to hundreds of people who never give anything because they can’t afford to give anything. The Torah says if you have to choose between feeding yourself/your family and giving a ministry gift, your needs have priority.
If you need me to minister, but you can’t give anything, I will still pray for you/prophecy to you/teach the Bible to you. I will never ask why you never give.
On the other hand, the Torah says if you can afford to give a gift, but you choose not to, you are sinning.
It is a sin to receive free ministry and choose not to support it with your financial gifts.
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Sometimes, we find ourselves in a season where we need continued prayer and prophecy. If you want to partner with this ministry, I will pray for you every day, mentioning your name to Yehovah. You will also receive a monthly prophecy, and have the option of prophetic counseling included in your partnership. As a partner, you can contact me for prayer/prophecy, and your request will be prioritized. All partners have all of my e-books included in their partnership. To register as partner, click this link https://apostleernie.crossofchristlive.one/godspeakingprop…/
If you want to request a prophecy and at the same time give a gift, click this link https://apostleernie.crossofchristlive.one/godspeakingprop…/
If you want to buy one of my e-books, click this link https://apostleernie.crossofchristlive.one/godspeakingprop…/
You can also buy my e-books on Kindle Amazon. This is a link to my newest e-book.
https://www.amazon.com/Who-your-Lord-Antichri…/…/ref=sr_1_5…