One Torah for All

back

Are You Planted?

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 40:24
Scarcely are they planted, scarcely are they sown, scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth, but He also blows upon them and they wither, and the storm carries them away as stubble.

This entire chapter basically consists of YHWH asking questions and pointing out that only He is Elohim and that there is none other besides Him.  Whatever man may devise or invent to worship, it is all in vain and will come to nothing.  It is YHWH who is Creator of heaven and earth and it is only Him who man can rightly worship. 

In the verse above YHWH is pointing out that His people have hardly been planted or sown and they have hardly taken root.  However, when the storm comes, it blows them away because they have no root.  This passage points to another passage in which Yeshua was teaching these same things.

Matithyah (Matthew) 13:3-8
3 And He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went forth to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them;
5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth;
6 and when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And others fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them;
8 and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Here is the interpretation of that parable as given by Mashiach Yeshua.

Matithyah (Matthew) 13:18-23
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower.
19 When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the evil one, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart.  This is he that was sown by the way side.
20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that hears the word, and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while; and when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately stumbles.
22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that hears the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23 And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that hears the word, and understands it; who bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Please note the close parallel between this parable that Yeshua gave with the passage from the prophet Yeshayah.  Here is a list of the two passages side by side for ease of comparison.

Notice that the prophet Yeshayah says that the storm comes and carries them away.  Notice that Yeshua taught that when the storms of life, like tribulation or persecution, come, those who are not firmly rooted will stumble and fall away from following Him.

Each and every person needs to make sure that he is firmly planted in Mashiach Yeshua and that he is following Him and not some man.  It seems that there is about to be a firestorm of trials and troubles for those who in particular are followers of Mashiach.  If a person sells out to this present world and is willing to go along with whatever this present world asks him to do, then those problems will be minimized.  However, for any person whose true desire is to please his heavenly Father and to do His will, then those problems, trials, and persecutions are about to become paramount in his life.  It is imperative that such a person who desires to do His will, be firmly planted and has good roots in Mashiach Yeshua.  Otherwise, the cares of this world will cause him to falter and stumble away from Mashiach.

One who is a follower of Mashiach needs to make sure all the fallow ground is broken up.  Fallow ground is ground that is not ready to receive seed.  It is ground that has not been plowed and broken up.  It is ground that is hard packed like ground that one would find in a pathway.  Then one needs to remove all the rocks and stones that prohibit the good seed from taking root, growing, and producing more seed.  One also needs to remove all those things growing in his life that are a hindrance to the good seed as well as those things that are not productive to His kingdom.  These things need to be done right away, so that good roots may be established in Mashiach Yeshua.

The most important preparation one can do to be prepared for whatever life brings his way is to be prepared spiritually.  Even if one makes all sorts of other preparations and does not prepare himself spiritually, then any other preparation will all be for naught.  In order to be spiritually prepared for any eventuality one must be able to hear His Voice.  There are so many voices in our world today clamoring to be heard, that at times it makes it difficult to hear His Voice.  The voices of those who make it difficult to hear His Voice, need to be turned off.  One needs to tune in to His Voice.  One needs to listen to those around him who are helping him to hear His Voice. 

This teacher does not desire for any other person to follow him.  What he desires and what he aims to do is to teach those who are willing how to hear His Voice.  He wants others to walk with him as his brothers and sisters in Mashiach.  He is not any better than anyone else is.  Let each person stop elevating other men (or women) up on platforms and let each walk this path together in Mashiach Yeshua.  Let each person lift up Mashiach rather than a man.

If one will do these things, then he will be prepared for whatever comes, the good or the bad.

Mishle (Proverbs) 12:3 
A man shall not be established by wickedness;
But the root of the righteous shall not be moved.

Here is one of the keys to having a good and deep root in Mashiach:  by doing what is right in His eyes.  It is not by following man, but by obeying the Voice of YHWH our Elohim.

Ephesians 3:17 
That Mashiach may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love

One needs to be rooted and grounded in love.  This is particularly challenging in the world of today since so many things cause one to move away from love into fear and anger.  This writer can remember when he learned that the hierarchy of the church knew the name of Mashiach, but that they choose to hide it from the people.  This made him quite angry.  He stayed that way for quite some time.  It was not a good thing to talk to him during that time.  Anyone who did, heard more than what they wanted to hear, and he most likely said more than he should have said.  He was not speaking in love, but out of anger.  This is never good!

When one speaks, he needs to speak in love, the love of YHWH our Elohim first and foremost, as well as love of one’s neighbor. 

Ya’aqov (James) 2:26 
For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

One must not only be spiritually prepared, but he needs to be prepared in any other way that the Spirit of YHWH leads him to prepare.  Whatever preparations His Spirit is leading him to do are not for him alone, but those preparations are also for the body of Mashiach.

Qorintyah Aleph (1st Corinthians) 12:25 
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.

Even Yeshua taught that the world would know His followers by their love for one another.  If the world can see that His followers are brothers by their love, then should they also not be able to tell who is a brother and who is not a brother by that same love for one another?  To be sure! 

It is these ways that one will be firmly rooted in Mashiach.  Let each person put aside the works of the flesh and put on the love of Mashiach, especially for one another as the night approaches when no man can work.

ABBA YHWH, cause us to be firmly rooted in Mashiach Yeshua, for it is in His name we pray.  Amein.

Shabbat Shalom
Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

© All material is copyrighted and no part may be changed, added to, shortened or edited; however, the entirety of the article may be reproduced as long as the author’s name remains attached to the article.  It is encouraged and a blessing for others to forward these teachings to others, and permission is hereby granted for this as long as the teaching is kept wholly intact, which includes the author’s name and contact information, the “One Torah For All” header, and this copyright paragraph.  Furthermore, it must be passed on without any cost whatsoever to those who receive it.  The act of forwarding or sharing this teaching in any way constitutes agreement by the party forwarding it that he agrees to the terms and conditions of this paragraph.