Proverbs 14:12 12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Proverbs 14:12 12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."

Helena Montgomery
5 years ago
Views:

1 Religion Many of us started out on our journey to the truth of YHVH s Word, by belonging to some religious organization of some sort. Depending on the size of the organization, there were churches and congregations in different areas that belonged to the parent organization. There are always requirements that must be met, in order for a church to maintain its membership to the parent organization. Everyone must toe the party line and support the church. There must be agreement in doctrines and beliefs. The organizations are structured and run as businesses. The doctrines are established at the administrative level of the organization and the same consistent set of doctrines and beliefs are taught and preached throughout all of the churches that are part of the organization. Some doctrines are based on YHVH s Word, some are loosely arranged around YHVH s Word and still some others are largely fabricated by the organization itself. Each organization has its own special twist or spin on YHVH s Word. While each of us was part of the church, we were really just happy to show up, listen to the sermon and then get on with our lives. We went through the weekly rituals of whatever church we belonged to, made our donations, sang in the choir, took communion and our obligations were met for that week. We did not question, we did not think, we did not verify, we just did as we were told and assumed it was all in the Word of YHVH. Surely the pastor or whoever was in charge knew what they were doing right? They were deeply religious men they understood things in a much deeper way. They knew exactly what everyone needed to do to be saved and go to heaven. After all, they had been to school and were learned in all of those hard to understand things in the bible they knew Greek! Why study for yourself, when they knew it all and could explain it all to you in a way that made you feel that everything you were doing was right and all was fine in the world. Sure, things were going to get bad the pastor had already explained all that stuff in Revelation. Secretly it scared you to even think about it, but the pastor had explained that you were going to be taken up in a secret rapture and would be long gone before all of the really bad stuff started happening here on earth. Whew! It is a good thing the pastor had all of that figured out! As long as you were going to church and doing everything that the pastor said to do, you would be ok right? Right? When you belong to a religious organization, you are participating in religion. Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to belong to a religion? A church? Most religions and churches have qualifications for membership do they not? I remember one particular organization that I was a part of I had to meet with the

2 pastor and be interviewed before I could even attend service. It was all very secretive and you could not even find out where the church was meeting, until you met with the pastor and got the seal of approval. If you passed inspection, then you were awarded the coveted address to the meeting place and granted permission to attend the next meeting. I was more than happy to jump through all of the hoops, because this was the true church and I had finally found it! If I could just get in and belong to the church, then I would make it into The Kingdom! I quickly adopted and put into practice all the beliefs, rituals and doctrines of the church. It was like our own little secret club and nobody else could ever know if they wanted to get into the church, they had to search for it and find it on their own. It is amazing what religion can do to people and how it can completely consume and control your life. I saw what happened to people who stepped out of line. The organization put the fear into people. Any infraction was harshly and swiftly dealt with. The most horrible fate imaginable was to be disfellowshipped. When you were disfellowshipped, you were dead to everyone else you had been cut off from the church and your fate was the lake of fire. People spoke about those who had been disfellowshipped in hushed tones and how they were no lost forever. I put myself in that position willingly. I have had to repent of that. I had to admit that I was misled. I had to admit that I put an organization, the church, and people who I thought were chosen and appointed to preach and lead the church until Yeshua returned, above YHVH. It was those people that I looked to first for guidance and help. It was those people that I clung to; because they had the knowledge and understanding they knew what was coming and how to avoid it. It was those people who knew how to get the church to its meeting with Yeshua at His return and then into The Kingdom. I was practicing religion I was NOT following The Way. I was caught up in a system that I believed, along with everyone else there, was going to get me into The Kingdom of Elohim. There are many people who are practicing religion. Some people trade one religious system for another religious system. Practicing religion is NOT following and obeying the Elohim of Yisrael! When you come out of religion, stay out! Proverbs 14:12 12 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Religion is an invention of man. It is a system created by man, to control and manipulate mankind. People are passionate about their religion, they are loyal to their religion, and they will even fight and die for their religion. Religion is capable of evoking great emotion and feeling from people. How many wars have been fought in the name

3 of religion? How many people down through the ages have been killed in the name of religion? How many heinous acts, some of the very things forbidden in the Word of YHVH, have been committed by religious people, all in the name of religion? YHVH brought Yisrael out of Mitsrayim (Egypt) to FREE them from a system that had them in complete and utter bondage a system of man. He freed them and took them out into the wilderness to learn His Way. He gave them the choice to serve and obey Him, or not. He did NOT force them into submission to another system. He taught them His Way and they agreed to live by it. In return, He would bless them, protect them and provide for them they would be His People. What do the religious systems of man have to offer? Will they protect you? Will they provide for you? Will they point you to the One, True Elohim? Can they grant you entrance into The Kingdom of Elohim? When YHVH brought Yisrael into The Land that He had promised them, He warned them to NOT wonder after the religions practices of those around them. Deuteronomy 12: When יהוה your Elohim does cut off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 guard yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire about their mighty ones, saying, How did these nations serve their mighty ones? And let me do so too. 31 Do not do so to יהוה your Elohim, for every abomination which hates they have done to their mighty ones, for they even burn their יהוה sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones. Those people were even practicing the sacrifice of their children! Did those people just learn those practices on their own? There were priests and leaders of those systems who guided and taught the people how to worship their mighty ones. Deuteronomy 12:32 32 All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it do not add to it nor take away from it. YHVH tells us to guard His Word, His Commands, and not to add to them, or take away from them! Why then do men create systems of worship, religion, that do the very thing that YHVH told us clearly NOT to do? Why do people follow after men and their religious systems? They are deceived into believing that those systems follow the Word of YHVH. They are deceived into believing that those systems teach them how to worship Him! We cannot worship YHVH in any other way, than that which He clearly tells us. His Way, The Way, is a way of life. It is something that you live out every single

4 moment; of every single day you are alive and breathing in this world. It is not something that you put on and take off once a week! It is not something you do to just appease Him and then go back to your normal lifestyle and routine! If you are following after religion, you are in serious trouble! Why are there so many different religions and denominations? Think about it! Can they all be right? Can they all lead to the One, True Elohim? Isaiah 45:5-7 5 I am,יהוה and there is none else there is no Elohim besides Me. I gird you, though you have not known Me, 6 so that they know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none but Me. I am,יהוה and there is none else, 7 forming light and creating darkness, making peace and creating evil. I,,יהוה do all these. YHVH tells us what we are to do and how we are to worship Him. It is not about following a man-made set of rules and regulations. It is not about following man-made rules and traditions. It is not about following a man-made service. It is not about following man-made doctrines. It is not about belonging to a denomination. It is not about belonging to a church. It is NOT about religion! It is about a relationship with our Abba. Where does YHVH ever tell us to organize ourselves into religious bodies? Deuteronomy 10: And now, Yisra ĕl, what is יהוה your Elohim asking of you, but to fear יהוה your Elohim, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, 13 to guard the commands of יהוה and His laws which I command you today for your good? 14 See, the heavens and the heaven of heavens belong to יהוה your Elohim, also the earth with all that is in it. There are many people who have come out of some sort of religious organization there are also many people who are still carrying around baggage from those religious organizations. You must leave religion behind! Religion will stifle you it will suffocate you with its traditions and rituals. That was not YHVH s intent that is not His Way. He puts His Word before us and it is our choice whether to follow Him or not. One problem, is that religion has been deeply ingrained into people. They come out of an organization full of error to seek YHVH and His Truth, only to end up in another religion they trade on set of practices for another. People have been very well trained to be obedient and loyal to a system it is all they know; it is a comfortable place for them. If you want to truly seek after YHVH, His Word and His Truth you may have to walk alone. You may find yourself on the outside of everything that you knew. That is not a bad place to be. Sometimes we need time away to get things straight in our minds and unlearn all of the error that we have been taught. It is the

5 beginning of learning how to be set-apart to YHVH. He took Yisrael out into the wilderness to cleanse them from the system He had brought them out of. They had to unlearn those ways and learn His Way. Some people are afraid to be out on their own, but YHVH is always there and if you are truly following Him, you will never be alone. You must be willing to give up what does not YHVH s Word is complete as He gave it to us. We do not need to add to it we do not need to put practices in place that are not found in His Word. Doing that always led Yisrael into trouble. YHVH warned them Deuteronomy 13:1-4 1 When there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he shall give you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder shall come true, of which he has spoken to you, saying, Let us go after other mighty ones which you have not known and serve them, 3 do not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for יהוה your Elohim is trying you to know whether you love יהוה your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being. 4 Walk after יהוה your Elohim and fear Him, and guard His commands and obey His voice, and serve Him and cling to Him. We need to learn YHVH s Ways and not the ways of man, or a religious system of man. Yeshua did not come to change anything, or to start a new religion. His message was consistent with the Word of YHVH that was established from the beginning. He was hated and despised for pointing out the errors and hypocrisy of men men who were part of an established system. There is a world system that is coming, that will enforce its will, its practices and its beliefs upon men even now it is already beginning to rear its ugly head. We will have a decision before us. We can either become part of a system of man, we can be forced into a system of worship a religion, or we can stand firm and follow The Way of YHVH. Revelation 13: And there was given to him to give spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause to be killed as many as would not worship the image of the beast. 16 And he causes all, both small and great, and rich and poor, and free and slave, to be given a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads, 17 and that no one should be able to buy or sell except he that has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. There were three men who were faced with the same situation. They had a decision to follow the Elohim of Yisrael, to stand firm and not waver, to be loyal and true to Him or to bend to a religious system and defile themselves with a false system

6 of worship put into place by man. They were threatened with their very lives, but their faith and trust was in YHVH no matter what happened. May we all have the courage of these three men Daniel 3: Sha ra, ĕysha, and A ĕ - e o answered and said to the sovereign, e u a netstsar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 For if so, our Elah whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning furnace of fire and from your hand, O sovereign He does deliver! 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O sovereign, that we do not serve your elahin, nor do we do obeisance to the gold image which you have set up. Those who are used to following a religion, a system, will be very susceptible to fall into the practice and rituals of a false system. It will be similar and familiar to them. The same practices with another name. They will be deceived into believing that all religions lead to The One, True Elohim. Those who give in to that system will suffer the wrath of YHVH. Revelation 14: And a third messenger followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark upon his forehead or upon his hand, 10 he also shall drink of the wine of the wrath of Elohim, which is poured out undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he shall be tortured with fire and sulfur before the set-apart messengers and before the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torture goes up forever and ever. And they have no rest day or night, those worshipping the beast and his image, also if anyone receives the mark of his name. That is not a pleasant picture but it is reality. How many will be disappointed to find out that they were not raptured and taken away to heaven before the system was put into place? If you look at the Words of Yeshua truthfully and honestly, there is no promise of people being removed ahead of what is coming. Matthew 24: And pray that your flight does not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there shall be great distress, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the sake of the chosen ones those days shall be shortened. Who are the chosen ones? Are they not the People of YHVH? The days are shortened because of His Chosen Ones. Religious systems have been deceiving mankind for too long. Get out of religion! Stay out of it! Look to the One, True Elohim of Yisrael and Him only! It is His Word, His Torah that is our guide.

7 Stop practicing religion! Come out of her! Leave it behind, forget the rituals, the traditions, the doctrines, the practices and the additions to His Word. Cling to the pure Word of YHVH! I know it is hard to rid yourself of religion. It is hard to remove the lies, the deception, the false doctrine and all of those things that you were taught, but they must go! I know it is painful, but it is the only way that we can become clean and undefiled before Abba. Look to Him, trust in Him. He can and will guide you into all truth, but it is your choice it is always your choice Isaiah 66:2.יהוה And all these y hand have made, and all these that exist, declares 2 Yet to such a one I look: on him who is poor and bruised of spirit, and who trembles at My Word. Copyright 2013 Jeff L Mills

Can You Take Torah Too Far?

Can You Take Torah Too Far? Is it possible to take Torah too far? Before you pick up stones and start to circle me, think about it. What was YHVH s intent and purpose to give Torah to Israel? He had just