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Have You Received The Power?  - Part 2
Have You Been Filled with the Set-apart Spirit Since You Believed?

And he said to them, "Did you receive the Set-apart Spirit since you believed?"  And they said to him, "No, we have not even heard whether there is a Set-apart Spirit."
Ma’aseh (Acts) 19:2
 
Have you received the Set-apart Spirit since you came to believe on the Master Yeshua Mashiach?

Some scholars translate the word "since" in the above passage as “when,” suggesting that we automatically receive the Set-apart Spirit “when” we first believe.  However, not only does the word “when” not harmonize with the rest of the Scriptures, but the word in the Aramaic Peshitta is לאחר , meaning “after” or “since.”

What is the significance of this word “after”?  What kind of impact does it have on us in our walk as believers, that this word should be “after” (or “since”), and not “when”?  Indeed, we shall find that the difference has significant importance.

So: have you received the Set-apart Spirit since you first came to believe on our Master, Yeshua Mashiach?

These talmidim (disciples) at Ephesus were believers, but they were not filled with the Set-apart Spirit.  They had repented of their sins and had been immersed in water, but had not received the Set-apart Spirit.

Again, have you received the Set-apart Spirit since you believed?

In this study you will learn exactly how to be filled with the Set-apart Spirit.
 

The Problem of Double-Mindedness

Yeshayah [Isaiah] 29:13
Then YHWH said, "Because this people draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me, and their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned.”

Where is your heart?  Do you still retain ownership of your heart?  Or have you given your heart to YHWH?

Ya’aqov [James] 4:8
Draw near to YHWH and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double- minded.

Notice in the above passage, that there are two distinct things that the reader is being admonished to do.  First, Ya’aqov is admonishing us to "cleanse" our hands.  This is a reference to the actions or works of the person.  This is how a person lives - what he does.

Next, Ya’aqov is admonishing us to "purify" our hearts.  This is a reference to the condition of the heart, a person’s motives, thoughts and intentions.  This is the "why" you do what you do.
 

What is the Source of This Double-mindedness?

Ephesians 2:12
That you were at that time separate from Mashiach, excluded from the commonwealth of Yisrael [Israel], and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without YHWH in the world.

Before a person comes to YHWH through Yeshua by having his sins forgiven, that person is outside the camp.  That person is estranged from the Kingdom of YHWH.

However, when a person comes to YHWH through the Blood of Mashiach by asking and receiving the forgiveness of his personal sins, that person now has conflict in his being.  YHWH has forgiven this person of his actions (sin works) against YHWH and His Torah.  But this person’s heart still has the stain of the previous Torah breaking life.  We inherited this from our father Adam.

This is the source of the double-mindedness.  Is this where you are?

Romiyah [Romans] 7:15-24
15  For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16  But if I do the very thing I do not desire to do, I agree with the Torah, confessing that it is good.
17  So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the desiring is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19  For the good that I desire, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not desire.
20  But if I am doing the very thing I do not desire, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21  I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who desires to do good.
22  For I joyfully concur with the Torah of YHWH in the inner man,
23  but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24  Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25 Thanks be to YHWH through Yeshua Mashiach our Master! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the Torah of YHWH, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

In this passage, Shaul very clearly describes this conflict of the heart of a person who has the strong desire to do right (keep Torah), but does wrong (breaks Torah) instead.  This is an example of a person who has two minds, double-mindedness; it is a description of a person who has repented of his sins but does not have the actual power to do right.

What dwells in you?  Sin?  Does this passage describe you?

Which law are your obeying?  The law of sin?  Or the Torah (Law) of YHWH?
 

The Double Cure

Tehillim [Psalm] 51:2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

In this passage there are two pairs of words that are exceedingly important.  The first pair is dealing with the person:  iniquity & sin.  The second pair, wash and cleanse, is teaching us about the action of the Almighty upon the repentant.

First, the word "sin" comes from the Hebrew root word חטא (chata) which means “to miss the mark, or miss the path”; while the root word for “Torah”, “means to hit the mark”.  While sin is the act of missing the mark, iniquity is the condition of the heart.  Iniquity is not an action, but a state of being.

YHWH’s cure for the act of sin is for us to ask for and seek His forgiveness.  YHWH’s cure for the condition of our hearts is for us to ask Him to cleanse us.  The Hebrew word that is translated as "cleanse" in this passage is טהר (taher), which means to be physically, morally, and ceremonially clean.  Notice how this connects to the state of being in iniquity.  

The problem of sin has the solution of forgiveness; while the problem of iniquity has the solution of cleansing.  In the first instance, the problem and cure are dealing with the actions or Torah breaking of a person.  In the second instance, the problem and cure are dealing with the wrongness of the heart, its condition.  Have you sought this cure?

The English word "iniquity" comes from the Hebrew root word עון (avon).  This means “to be bent, twisted or distorted”.  This word is dealing with the condition of the inner man, the heart.  This condition is not dealt with when a person asks to be forgiven of their sins, their Torah breaking actions.

The cure for this is to be washed, which comes from the Hebrew root כבס (kabac) which is a picture of a fuller.  This is dealing with the deepest possible cleaning, into the very heart or the inner being of man.  Have you experienced this inner washing?

Yochanan [John] 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Notice here the reference to this two-fold problem of man and the double cure of the Blood of Mashiach.  How is this cure attained?

For each of these problems, the sin actions and the sin condition of the inner man, attaining the resolution to each of these problems is the same.  One must confess with his mouth that he is in need of the cure for his problem, whether that is the problem of sin or the problem of the sin condition.

This problem can be illustrated with the story about a small boy whose parents had gotten him ready to go to shul on Shabbat.  After getting him ready they began to get themselves ready.  He asked to go outside, to which they said that was okay as long as he stayed on the porch.

When they came outside he was sitting on the steps of the porch crying, for he was covered in mud.  It had rained the night before and there were mud puddles around, and little boys being what they are, he could not resist the temptation to go and play in the puddles.

Now, his parents forgave him of this, for it was obvious to them that he was truly sorry.  He was forgiven of this wrong that he had done; however, he was still covered in mud.  They still needed to take him in, give him a bath, and put clean clothes on him.

This is exactly what happens to us: YHWH forgives us of our sin, but then we still need to be cleansed of all the dirt and filth in our hearts.

Forgiveness takes care of our wrong actions.

Cleansing takes care of the wrong condition of our hearts.

Ma’aseh [Acts] 15:6-9
6 And the apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter.
7 And after there had been much debate, Kepha stood up and said to them, "Brethren, you know that in the early days YHWH made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
8 "And YHWH, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, giving them the Set-apart Spirit, just as He also did to us;
9 and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith."

The fifteenth chapter of Acts records for our instruction the ruling of the council at Jerusalem.  There is much discussion in our day, as well there should be, about verses 20 and 21 of this same chapter concerning the five points of returning to Torah through Mashiach.

May I be so bold as to say that perhaps we are guilty of putting the cart before the horse?

Consider if you will, that before the actual ruling concerning those five points, there was discussion concerning the infilling of the Set-apart Spirit in Cornelius and his household.  Perhaps you should go back and read Ma’aseh [Acts] 10 to refresh your memory.

In this discussion by the Council at Jerusalem, Kepha makes the very profound statement that YHWH had filled these new non-Jewish believers with the Set-apart Spirit just as the Hebrew believers at Shavuot (Pentecost) in Jerusalem.  Kepha could have pointed out how these believers spoke in another language, just as the Hebrew believers did.  But he didn’t.  Rather, he says that their hearts were cleansed by faith, just like the Hebrew believers on the day of Shavuot.

This is the primary evidence of the infilling of the Set-apart Spirit: a clean heart.

Yochanan Aleph [1 John] 1:7
If we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the Blood of Yeshua His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Here we see a conditional promise to be cleansed, provided we walk in the light as He is in the light.  Also, it seems that in order for us to have true fellowship with one another, then we need to be cleansed of this inward bentness.  Otherwise, the fellowship that we are partaking in, is something less than what He has intended for us to enter into with one another.

 
To Be Filled With The Set-apart Spirit Is Normal!  And Expected!

Ma’aseh [Acts] 1:8
"You shall receive power when the Set-apart Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and in all Yehuda (Judea) and Shomron (Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the Earth."

Please note that the Person speaking here is Yeshua Mashiach.  He is teaching His talmidim (that includes us) that they shall receive the power to witness for Mashiach when the Set-apart Spirit comes upon them.  The implication is that a person does not have the power to be a witness for Mashiach without the Set-apart Spirit.  Why?

When a person functions outside the Set-apart Spirit, then that person is operating in the flesh.  And the things of the flesh are at odds with the things of YHWH (see Rom. 8:7).  It is only the Set-apart Spirit that is able to give life.  As such, a person must walk in obedience to the Set-apart Spirit if he is going to bring others into His Kingdom, for it is only by the Set-apart Spirit that one can say that Yeshua is Master. 

Otherwise, we are building something other than His Kingdom.

Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Set-apart Spirit.

Drunkenness is sin.  When a person is filled with wine, the spirit of the wine is in control.  Do you know what kind of spirit inhabits the wine you get drunk with?  It is surely not His Spirit!

Rather, Scripture admonishes us to be filled with the Set-apart Spirit, in order that the Set-apart Spirit can be in control if we choose to let it be in control.
 
1st Thessalonians 3:9-4:8
9 For what thanks can we render to YHWH for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our Elohim on your account,
10 as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?

What is lacking in your faith?  Do you have everything that YHWH desires to give to you and to bless you with?  Do you desire more? 

Are you set-apart in a way that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father?  What does His Spirit witness with your spirit concerning this matter?

11 Now may our Elohim and Father Himself and Yeshua our Master direct our way to you;
12 and may YHWH cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all men, just as we also do for you;

The truth is,  we should all be increasing in our love for one another every day.  The problem is that we do not see this very often.  We get hung up on other things and forget that we are to be loving those who Mashiach died for.  But the only way that we can actually be increasing in love for one another is if we are filled with His Spirit, for we cannot love our neighbor the way that He commands us to love him, if we do not have His Spirit.

13 so that He may establish your hearts unblamable in set-apartness before our Elohim and Father at the coming of our Master Yeshua with all His saints.

Are you set-apart to serve YHWH?  Shaul is addressing all the believers in the city of Thessaloniqa.  We can rightly apply this to ourselves as believers today.  Is our heart pure and without blame?  This can only happen with and by the infilling presence of His Spirit.

4:1 Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Master Yeshua, that, as you received from us as to how you ought to walk and please YHWH, just as you actually do walk, that you may excel still more.

Please note that Shaul is speaking about our walk with our Master Yeshua Mashiach.  He is not talking about excelling in our beliefs, but in what we do: our obedience to His Commandments.  This is accomplished by and through His Spirit.

2 For you know what commandments we gave you by the Master Yeshua.
3 For this is the will of YHWH, your set-apartness; that you abstain from sexual immorality;

Do you realize that it is YHWH’s will for us personally to be set-apart for service in His Kingdom?  Are you?  It is interesting to note the contrast that Shaul uses in this passage between being set-apart to YHWH and sexual immorality.  It was common then (and things haven’t changed much today) to have sex involved in the worship of false deities.  The sexual drive of man is one of his strongest drives that he has to overcome and bring into submission to the commandments and will of YHWH. 

4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in set-apartness and honor,

Do you know how to walk in such a way that it is pleasing to YHWH?  Do you have self-control of your desires?

5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know YHWH;
6 that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Master is Avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned.

Be cautious, my brethren, that you do not harden your hearts against the Set-apart Spirit in this matter.  It is YHWH’s will for you to be filled with His Set-apart Spirit.  It is not spiritually healthy to resist Him in this matter of being filled with His Spirit.

7 For YHWH has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in set-apartness.

Impurity is when a substance that is pure is taken and mixed with something dissimilar with it, as when a person takes the pure Word of YHWH and mixes in the worship of foreign idols with it.

Was not the nation of Ephrayim carried away into captivity for this very reason?  What makes us think that YHWH will properly and completely restore us if we do not ask Him to remove completely all impurities and things that are not pleasing to Him from our life and heart?

8 Consequently, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but YHWH who gives His Set-apart Spirit to you.

Please read and heed His words carefully.  It really is a matter of life and death to each and every one of us.  Not one of us can afford to miss this or to make a mistake in this matter.  We absolutely need to be filled with His Spirit.  We must get on our faces and seek Him in this matter and not stop seeking Him until He blesses us with the infilling presence of His Spirit.

Today if you hear His Voice do not harden your hearts.       Ivrim 4:7
 
Are you hearing His Voice in this matter?  As you hear His Voice, please respond to Him in a favorable way!  Your life depends upon it.

What Do I Do To Be Filled With His Set-apart Spirit?

I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of YHWH, to present your bodies a living and set-apart sacrifice, acceptable to YHWH, which is your spiritual service of worship.
Romiyah [Romans] 12:1

A person must totally and completely consecrate his life to YHWH for Him to be able to fill him with His Set-apart Spirit.  That means that a person must give up control of every aspect of his life, the past, the present, and the future.

A person must surrender all of his possessions, including his money, his job, his house, and his family, everything.  If anything is held back, then it is not a total consecration and what will fill that person is something other than YHWH’s Set-apart Spirit.  This would not be good or desirable.

Ma’aseh [Acts] 4:31
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Set-apart Spirit, and began to speak the Word of YHWH with boldness.

A person must pray and ask YHWH to fill him with His Set-apart Spirit.   Ya’aqov [James] 4:2 teaches us that a person does not have because he has not asked.  Have you asked YHWH to fill you with His Set-apart Spirit?  Have you asked with right motives?  That being: so you can serve Him with purity of heart and life all the days of your life.

 
Now What Happens?

Yochanan [John] 14:16-17
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you.

When we repent of our sins (Torah breaking acts) and confess Yeshua as Mashiach, we come into a relationship with our Heavenly Father.  He saves us.  At that time the Set-apart Spirit is with us.

However, when we take that new life that He has given in Mashiach, and give it back to YHWH in complete consecration, the Set-apart Spirit is not just with us, but now it is also in us.

Is He in you?  Has He cleansed your heart of the stain of sin?  If not, then now you know how to have that done.  Just ask YHWH in the name of Yeshua to come in all of His cleansing power and fill you and cleanse your heart.

This too is by faith.  You believe that YHWH will do just as He has promised He will do, and you act upon that knowledge.  Do you believe YHWH in this matter?

be filled with the Set-apart Spirit.                                         Ephesians 5:18

Amein & Amein.

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

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