Reality
Check
By Dani’el Rendelman
www.emetministries.com
It
is hard for us, to grasp
truth and to have trust
when we've been lied, to
for so long.
Did
President Bush mislead the
country on Iraq and weapons
of mass destruction?
Is
the medicine that the doctor
prescribes safe to swallow?
Are
there unhealthy side effects,
known only to the drug companies?
Was
it honestly a "wardrobe
malfunction" that flashed
us during a past Super Bowl?
Is
there really a place called
Sesame Street?
Perception
is reality
From
the serious to the ridiculous,
our reality is based upon
perception. To a two-year-old
child, the purple dinosaur
Barney looks and acts real.
To a child, Barney is real.
Graphics and violence on
a video game are so captivating,
that many teens actually
believe that it is exciting
to kill. As adults, we've
been taught certain things
for so long, that we have
actually convinced ourselves
that our dearly-held beliefs
and theologies must be true.
It is hard to tell the difference
between fiction and non-fiction.
Yet, how we perceive or
view the world, isn’t necessarily
so. There is not a big,
purple, singing dinosaur.
Life is different from what
we think. Regardless of
the lies of the world, we
believe and trust what our
senses tell us. We trust
what we hear, see, touch,
taste, and reason. Doing
this just leads us into
more error. Our perception
is our reality, that is,
until our lives come face-to-face
with YHWH and His reality.
Someone
once said, “if you tell
an untruth long enough,
it will believed.” This
is a major hurdle for believers
today. Since we have been
lying to ourselves, for
so long, we don’t know what
to believe. It is time for
a reality check. It is time
to put our convictions to
the test. It is time to
line up our perspectives
with the Creator. But where
do we start? If we can’t
trust the President, preacher,
or plumber, in whom can
we trust? If, what we have
believed for all our life,
is incorrect, what are we
to do?
The
only reality
The
first place to start is
with the Creator. The Creator
is the only reality and
truth.
“He
is the Rock, his work is
perfect: for all his ways
are judgment: a El of truth
and without iniquity, just
and right is he,” Devarim
32:4. Before everything
else, the Creator was. The
universe, and all it holds,
came forth from Elohim.
And, the creation and the
Creator are “Echad,” are
one. “For by him were all
things created, that are
in heaven, and that are
in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones,
or dominions, or principalities,
or powers: all things were
created by him, and for
him. And he is before all
things, and by him all things
consist,” Colossians 1:16-17.
Everything that is in creation
was made for His good will
and pleasure, to accomplish
His will.
Everything
that is in creation is loved,
wanted and sustained by
the Creator, or else it
would not, and could not
exist. “We, who are a conscious
part of that creation, are
inspired by the Creator's
love, which creates and
sustains us. Love is the
ultimate source of energy
of all creation,” wrote
one unknown source. This
energy of love restores
Creation to its intended
purposes and wipes out the
effects of sin and evil.
The curses of the fall are
broken by the love of the
Creator.
In
the Messianic writings,
when Yahshua said that he
was one with the Creator,
He was also saying that
He was one with creation.
Because of the power of
oneness or “echad” He could
perform what, to others,
seemed to be miracles. Yahshua
wasn’t really doing “miracles”
or “impossibilities,” He
was just reconciling the
creator to the Creation.
Miracles?
When
Yahshua was healing the
sick and raising the dead,
He was just establishing
the Malchut – His Kingdom.
He was bringing heaven to
earth and rectifying the
world. Yahshua was restoring
life, to the way it was
meant to be, and to the
way it currently is in the
spirit realm. He revealed
the enlightening truth that,
as we acknowledge Elohim
and understand our oneness
with him, then, we can also
unite creation. “Believe
me when I say that I am
in the Father and the Father
is in me; or at least believe
on the evidence of the miracles
themselves. I tell you the
truth (emet); anyone who
has faith in me will do
what I have been doing.
He will do even greater
things than these, because
I am going to the Father,”
Yochannan 14:11-12. This
does not mean that we become
‘little g/ds.’
What
this message does mean is
that through the Moshiach,
the Living Torah, we are
actually one with the Creator.
The Zohar says that, "Elohim
looked in the Torah and
created the world, so that
man looks in the Torah and
keeps the world alive."
We who follow Moschiach
are an active part in the
restoration of creation,
back to the creator. We
are part of the “restoration
of all things,” Acts 3:21.
Most people though, are
alien to this idea. The
world is loved and sustained
by Elohim, but because YHWH
is not of this physical
world, most people pretty
much forget about him. Time
is consumed with the physical
body and momentary happiness.
The Almighty is only an
afterthought, until some
tragedy or act of terrorism.
This only leads to unhappiness
because fulfilment is so
unsatisfactorily limited.
If we are not brought to
remembrance, by encountering
the truth of Torah, we will
just live our lives for
ourselves. We will never
consider being one with
others nor being one with
the Creator. We have to
trust and obey the Creator,
the psalmist prayed, “Into
thine hand I commit my spirit:
thou hast redeemed me, O
YHWH Elohim Emet,” Tehillim
31:5.
The
world is not real
The
second thing to realize
in our search for truth
is that this world is not
real. Let's read this again
– this world is not real.
We are real and YHWH is
real, but this world is
not. Yes, it is physical
– we can touch it, yet we
are living in a lie. We
perceive that our day-in-day-out
world is all that there
is. Yet there is a higher
dimension, more real than
this world, into which we
must ascend. We are spiritual
beings in a physical world.
To truly live, to experience
the abundant life promised
by the Messiah, we have
to tap into the spiritual,
unseen world.
In
Hebrew, the word for world
is “olam.” According to
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
and dictionary 'olam' literally
means, “concealed.” It comes
from a root Hebrew word
‘alma’ meaning “to veil
or hide.” This world is
like a mask upon Elohim’s
face. We see the creation,
but we don’t always see
the Creator. We don’t see
that YHWH and His creation
are one. So, we must peel
back the olam and reveal
“Melek Ha Olam” – the king
of the world of hidden things.
Each time we repeat a blessing
with this phrase, we can
be reminded of our need
to search and study, to
reveal the world’s lies
and the Creator’s hidden
truths. We can be reminded
that YHWH is king of the
hidden things. “From now
on I will tell you of new
things, of hidden things
unknown to you. They are
created now, and not long
ago; you have not heard
of them before today. So
you cannot say, ‘Yes, I
knew of them.’ You have
neither heard nor understood;
from of old your ear has
not been open,” Yesha’yahu
48: 6, 7, 8.
This
physical world is just an
illusion. The truth is hidden
in the olam. To really grasp
this concept, we need to
think about the blockbuster
movie “The Matrix.”
Take
the red pill
In
“The Matrix”, the world
has been taken over and
run by an artificial intelligence.
“Humans are living in a
computer-generated, dream
world. Humans are being
harvested like plants to
be part of the Matrix. Humans
live their lives in an artificial
reality, never realizing
that they are slaves of
an evil system that has
a false claim on the world.
A few rebel humans discover
the horror of the Matrix.
They believe that the computer-programmer
named Neo, is "the
one," who according
to prophecy, will save the
world from cyber-slavery,”
wrote David Bruce. When
Neo is confronted with the
truth of the Matrix and
a false world, he is given
a choice. He can take a
blue pill and forget about
the revelation or he can
take a red pill and see
how far the rabbit trail
goes. He takes the red pill,
and is never the same. At
one point in the movie,
Neo asks the question that
begs to be answered, in
our world, even today, “What
is real?”
The
real truth is that we, in
essence, live in the Matrix,
the Olam, the hidden. The
Torah is the red pill that
forever changes our lives.
Once we swallow the truth
of Torah, we can never be
the same. The Torah changes
our perception of the world.
The Torah changes us.
The
Zohar calls this physical
world the ‘olam d’shikra’
or “world of illusion or
lies.” This falls in line
with the Messianic writings
that call the adversary
the “g/d of this world”
and also the “father of
lies,” Yochannan 8:44. We
live in this world of lies
ruled by the father of lies.
YHWH is real and we are
real. Because of our reality,
we have the power to overcome
this world. The olam d’shikra
really has no power over
us. “Greater is He that
is in you than he that is
in the World,” says 1 Yochannan.
Like a person with a blindfold,
we perceive one thing, while
the truth is another. In
these latter days, YHWH
Yahshua, though, is healing
our blindness. “The g/d
of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of
Messiah, who is the image
of Elohim, should shine
unto them,” 2 Corinthians
4:4.
Peel
the mask back
When
Yahshua walked the face
of the earth, He raised
the dead and healed the
sick. According to tradition,
He did one miracle that
had never been performed
before – he gave sight to
the blind. Yahshua was just
peeling the mask of the
world away and revealing
YHWH’s reality.
In
YHWH’s reality, a burning
bush doesn’t burn, the humble
are exalted, truth is hidden
in parables, and man can
walk on water.
In
YHWH’s reality, fishing
nets are full, bread appears
from the heavens, and people
escape fiery furnaces without
a hint of smoke.
In
YHWH’s reality “the will
the eyes of the blind be
opened and the ears of the
deaf unstopped. The lame
will the lame leap like
a deer, and the mute tongue
shout for joy. Water will
gush forth in the wilderness
and streams in the desert.
The burning sand will become
a pool, the thirsty ground
bubbling springs. In the
haunts where jackals once
lay, grass and reeds and
papyrus will grow. And a
highway will be there; it
will be called the Way of
Holiness,” Yesha’yahu 35:6-18.
YHWH’s
reality, His kingdom, His
will, is for us to break
free from this world and
be renewed by this emet.
“Therefore, I urge you,
brothers, in view of Elohim's
mercy, to offer your bodies
as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to Elohim--this
is your spiritual act of
worship. Do not conform
any longer to the pattern
of this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your
minds so that you may test
and approve what Elohim's
will is--his good, pleasing
and perfect will,” Romans
12:1-2
Every
day on earth has 1440 minutes
in it. We all have the same
amount of time. How we choose
to spend this time though,
is left up to us to decide.
One of the greatest attacks
of the enemy is to keep
us busy and preoccupied
with the lies of this physical
world. We worry about work,
we complain about our food,
and we fret about our momentary
physical happiness. All
the while, our spiritual
self seeks the hidden, spiritual
world. If we really want
to tap into the spiritual
power of the Creator the
only question to answer
is ‘how badly do I want
it?’ Will we take the time
to dwell in His presence?
Will we press on through
the mask of this world?
Here are three simple steps
to help break away from
this world of lies and cleave
to Elohim. Our desire has
to be coupled with actions.
If we want to be different,
then we have to start acting
differently. If we want
to tap into YHWH’s power,
we have to “come near to
YHWH and He will come near
[to us],” says the book
of Ya’akov.
Action
Plan
First,
just simplify our life.
Take a few minutes each
day to think about what
we want to do and then cut
back. We need to simplify
the hours upon hours of
entertainment and mess of
our world and seek the Creator.
We don’t really need all
those hobbies, chat rooms,
and television shows. We
do need YHWH and His people.
Let's think about it this
way, we make time every
day to eat, sleep, and work
– all things that feed this
physical world. Now, we
must simplify what is going
on so we can make time for
the spiritual world. We
ought not be so busy.
Second,
slow down. Even after we
have simplified and cut
back our daily activities,
we need to take it easy.
The Sabbath is a great opportunity
to do this, to stop once
a week and reflect upon
the only reality, YHWH.
Yet, everyday we can seek
Him and see His hand behind
the events of life. We can
slow down and praise Him.
We can speak blessings to
YHWH when we see something
beautiful or realize a truth.
Thirdly,
we must separate ourselves
even more. We must break
the chains of this world,
and then, do it again. And,
again. We need to create
down time in our lives to
study the scriptures and
meditate upon Torah. We
can tap into the spiritual
realm through separation.
“Come out from the world
and be separate, says YHWH.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.
I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons
and daughters, says the
Malak YHWH,” 2 Corinthians
6:17-18. We have but to
realize that this world
is just an illusion and
the only reality is the
Creator.
*
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