Honour Him with our lips and be close to Him with our hearts

I know that sometimes when I am writing or when I am preaching I may come across as being a little angry about what is taking place in the Church today. I am not angry at all, but the way I write or speak is an expression of a very deep sadness. The reason is that despite the lessons in history many within the leadership of some Christian Churches and denominations are continuing to compromise with the world and are teaching our children to do the same. I am desperate like many of you to try and do all I can to help our young people recognise what is right and wrong so that they won’t make the mistakes that I have made through my lifetime. I am desperate for the lessons of the long history of Christian anti-Semitism not to be repeated and for young people to know the boundaries God gave us to prevent us hurting each other and of course Him. 

The attack against Israel and the watering down of the tenets of our faith by some leaders in Christendom is an alignment with worldly political views and humanistic opinion. How can Church leaders, who consider themselves theologians and well-read, ignore so much scripture in regard to the heart of God for the Land of Israel and the Jews and for the need for mankind to repent for our sins.

The Gospel of Mark shows us that Yeshua was frustrated with the leadership of His day. In Mark chapter 7 we see there was a discussion between the religious leaders about an issue involving the ceremonial washing of hands. This discussion highlighted the fact that the leaders held on to traditions of man rather than the commands of God. Yeshua quoted Isaiah 29 v 13 and said “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“‘These people honour me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain;     their teachings are merely human rules.

He emphasised “You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

Yeshua then said “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions” This is what many leaders in Christendom continue to do today. Who are hey honouring themselves or God?

The word of God is the foundation of our faith but that has been ignored throughout Church history by many whose pride has led them to create their own rules and traditions rather than submit to anyone else’s rules even God’s. These rules and traditions of man have led us into keeping pagan festivals i.e. Christmas Easter and Sunday worship rather that the Feasts of The Lord- Sabbath then Passover through to the feast of Tabernacles. Traditions of man have stood in the way of believers sharing bread and wine as families or in small communities without the need of a priest or leader and have created one man ministries above the ministry of all believers. This has removed our call to bless others through our individual gifts and ministries. The non-biblical traditional teaching that the Church has replaced Israel has created an antisemitic spearhead to the intended spreading of the Gospel and made the Church the Jews aggressor.

Today anti-Israel propaganda and that Palestinians have rights but Jews don’t is a continuation of that antisemitic spearhead. Another teaching that sin is acceptable in this modern society is simply a tradition of all societies since the year dot and allows many in Christendom to ignore the rules of God which are outlined in the Scriptures.

In our criminal law if a child under the age of ten years of age commits an offence then the Police have to prove that he or she knew they were doing wrong before a charge can be brought against them. The age of criminal responsibility is now under review and a study has suggested that at the age of ten the brain is still developing its decision making abilities. This may lead to a change in the age of criminal responsibility. I know from experience however that children who have been correctly taught not to steal or damage from a young age do know if they are doing wrong. They recognise that what they are doing is opposed to what they have been taught by their parents. Parents who teach children to steal, and I have known some, raise children who don’t know it is wrong. Teaching a child from a young age can help children determine what is good and bad behaviour.

Recognising wrong is often not always connected to our ability to work it out for ourselves but is connected to what we have been taught. Many in Christendom today are not being taught the rights and wrongs of what is happening in Israel or how we should practice our faith and therefore many are struggling with recognising our spiritual responsibilities towards God, sin and Israel.

The Bible makes it clear that sin is anything outside the commands of God and repentance and the belief in Yeshua’s sacrifice is an integral part of our salvation. Yet we hear some Church leaders supporting sin and in some cases advocating other ways of finding Salvation. Yeshua makes it clear that He will judge the Nations on the very subject of our behaviour towards Israel and yet we see Church leaders condemning Israel. In the same way many ministries are led by men and women who hold to the traditions of men and ignore the commands of God because they believe they have the right to overthrow the Laws of God in favour of their own ways and they teach others to do the same. Yeshua makes it very clear in Mathew 5 v 17-19 that they will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is also my sadness that these leaders will not hear the words good and faithful servant, so for us to remain silent is not an option.

We should of course speak out, we can’t be silent, Yeshua, as did His followers spoke out. If we are to speak out how can we do that? We have to put ourselves in a position to do so. If we are not able to do so on our own then we should join with others who can. Fathers House Sabbath Congregation, a congregation of Spirit filled Bible believing Christians, has arranged for a bus to take believers to the Greenbelt summer camp on 25^th August to pray outside the event because of Greenbelts non-biblical opposition to Israel. If you live outside of North Wales and can join us please do so. If you want a place on the bus please mail me. This is a way of making active what God has put in our hearts.

The New Wine summer camps, originally created to teach Biblical truths, are now not an option for us to take our children and Church families to because of their anti-Israel speakers. So what can we do , Fathers House Sabbath Congregation is planning a summer camp in Mid Wales between 18^th to 22^nd August next year. This is specifically to teach Gods word in regard to the Tenets of our faith, the Biblical practices of our faith and the need to support Israel with the Power of The Holy Spirit. I can’t encourage you enough to join with us in this time to learn together how we abandon the traditions of man and follow Gods laws and to teach our children to recognise right from wrong.

God is calling us to honour Him with our lips and be close to Him with our hearts and these things are a way of doing so alongside brothers and sisters who have the same passion for God, His Laws and His people.

Michael Fryer