Shalom Saints,
In late 1947, a 17 year old young woman secretly made her way to the Train Station in Detroit to meet a 21 year old young man who had returned from World War II. The odd thing was that they met there often. This was one place where no one questioned young people running into each other’s arms and kissing in broad daylight. However, the train station rendezvous became much more and I was conceived. My mother was stricken with fear, anxiety, and shame. She came from a religious family, was the oldest of 3 girls and had 7 brothers. Her mother would be heart-broken and her father furious.
She decided that she would abort me. She couldn’t afford to go to the illegal abortion doctors, so she thought about using a wire coat hanger to end my life. She couldn’t bring herself to use the hanger for fear of killing us both. So she decided to try to flood me out by using Coca-Cola. When I survived the deluge, she decided to get married.
When I was born, I looked just like her. She loved me. She shared this story with me when I was a preteen. I took the story in stride because I never felt rejected by my mother.
When Arthur said to reflect on how Yehovah has been with you from very early in life, this story came back into my mind. The enemy wanted me dead, but I was protected by the Elohim of the whole universe. I am humbled and grateful.
Summary of the Teaching
One of Arthur’s Messages before the Message on listening was so important. We have been given the gift of the spirit to discern spirits by the words that are spoken. When we listen, people will tell you where they are and what spirits they are dealing with. Spirits identify themselves. And even more important, we need to listen to ourselves. Arthur reminds us that we must take authority over our thoughts, our tongue, and not allow a spirit, that is not us, to speak though us. A big benefit of that will be fewer apologies made because, “I didn’t mean to say that!” This is powerful!
Another Message before the Message focused on the bountiful gifts our Elohim has given us. These include the power of the Holy Spirit and the instructions by which we become holy. However, we have to determine within our hearts to obey to His will and receive His gifts. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit. Listen as Arthur gives a military example to further clarify our submissive role to the Almighty.
Romans 16 Part 3 is the conclusion of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul continues to send greetings to the Saints in Rome and Arthur continues to point out so much that we can learn from the mention of these Saints. Just think of the honor Yehovah bestowed on these faithful servants that their names would still be mentioned nearly 2,000 years later.
Arthur was able to pull out so much from the last 7 verses of this letter. Here are the highlights of this teaching.
- Our job is not to know when the end is, but to endure to the end. The end hasn’t come because the true gospel of the Kingdom has not gone to the ends of the earth as yet. We have work to do!
- Timothy was the son of a Jewish believing mother and a Greek father. Paul had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3) as an adult because Timothy had not be circumcised on the 8th day as instructed in the Torah. Arthur took this fact to speak about what happens when a believer marries a non-believer. Because they are unequally yoked, the believer will often compromise their faith and relax in the keeping of the commandments of Torah.
- Jason’s house was assaulted and he was arrested for allowing Paul to stay with him. Arthur mentioned that there is no way to avoid opposition when we stand for what we believe. In this country, we have the freedom of speech, but there are always people who will challenge what we say. And, don’t be surprised by what Messiah taught, a man’s foe will be from his own household!
- Some Messianic/Hebrew Roots groups want to say that Paul taught another gospel other than what Messiah taught. So, they throw out Paul. Listen as Arthur reveals the travesty of this grave error.
- It is hard to minister to someone who will not listen because they have already made up their mind about what you want to share. Their eyes are not open because they believe they already know.
- Lastly, take the time to reflect on how the Almighty has worked in your early life. The more you can recognize how Yehovah has been with you, the stronger your faith will grow. Your confidence will solidify that He is with you now and forevermore.
Buzz on the Teaching
In the late 1990’s in Michigan, I was a member of Evangelical Friends, a Quaker denomination. We attended church on Sunday; bible study on Wednesday nights; I taught Sunday school and Vacation Bible School; we attended all the Ladies and Men’s Days; I went to the Women’s Retreat in West Virginia; we were at all the picnics, and every other function. As Arthur said, there is a lot of preaching being done in the denominational churches, but very little discipleship. From my experience, I agree with Arthur, there was no opportunity to ask questions and get clarity after the preaching. I remember asking the Wednesday night teacher to do a study on Romans. He told me that Romans was a difficult book. I agreed, but that was why I had asked him!
Well, glory HalleluYAH, I finally got my request answered. Thank you Arthur for being willing to devote your time to this study and being willing to transmit messages to us from the Holy Spirit.
Speaking of messages, my Sister Saint sat directly behind me during the teaching. When Arthur was talking about discerning spirits and listening to what a person was saying, I heard my Sister Saint say, “What about when they don’t say anything?” I turned my head towards her to catch her eye to let her know that I heard her. Then one minute later, “When they don’t say anything…” jumped out of Arthur’s mouth!! I turned towards her and we both smiled and shared the look that said, “There goes the Holy Spirit again, showing up and showing out!” My Sister Saint was overcome with emotion as she testified that many of her concerns had been addressed during the teaching. HalleluYAH!!
Until next time… Blessings to You and Yours,
Sharon