Mishpachah Yeshua Newsletter

A Newsletter To The Family Of Jesus From Restoration Ministries

The Hebraic family is not simply an individual or private matter.
Rather, it is an institution in which the whole community has a stake.
Thus, the Hebrew word “mishpachah,” meaning family, not only refers to parents and children,
but to the whole extended family worldwide in the body of “Yeshua”—our Jesus.

[click here for a printable copy]

January 2001 Topic: When the Door of the Ark Closed, The Unprepared Got No Second Chance


Dear Friends,
With this month’s newsletter Sue and I begin a new focus — steps of preparation. You’ll notice  inside this letter the first of upcoming inserts. In December I emailed a series of revelations I had received from God about the forthcoming Dark Days of chastisement coming upon this nation and our preparation for them. We received overwhelming confirmation. To introduce you to the new focus in our upcoming newsletters, I’d like to share excerpts from two of those emails. If you’d like the full text, please contact us and we’ll get them to you.

Email #1 
A Just God: Warning Us About The Dark Days
“Remember the days of darkness, for they will be many.”
(Ecc. 11:8).
Our Father is faithful—and always has been— to warn His people of the consequences of violating His righteous standards and His holy character. The testimony of Ezekiel, among others, confirms this! God’s warnings demonstrate His love for His people. As a result of His chastisement, Ezekiel tells us 59 times, “Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

God’s Assessment of the United States
"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: This is the United States which I have set in the center of the nations. In her wickedness she has rebelled against My laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected My laws and has not followed My decrees. The land is full of bloodshed and full of injustice. They say, 'The LORD does not see.' [Humanism acts as though He’s non-existent. False religions deny Him as the God of the Bible. Churched people live as though He no longer holds them responsible for His righteous laws.]
"Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I Myself am against the United States, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations. Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because you have defiled yourselves in sexual perversions and no longer cherish the covenant of marriage, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you. You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the LORD have spoken. [The Lord God called Himself the Husband of His wife Israel. The covenant of marriage is sacred to our God. All throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel’s violation of that consummated love relationship is referred to as prostitution, adultery, and lust. Since we know that the scriptures were given as examples of warning to us, the Bride of Christ, let us consider seriously the same spiritual adultery in our midst and even in our own hearts as we have violated the heart of our Bridegroom Jesus.]
“When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food. I will send famine and pestilence against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the LORD have spoken.
“Then those who survive will remember Me — how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from Me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols of greed and pleasure. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them. [1 John 2:15,16 tells us the nature of the temptations of the world. Our Lord will not stand for any other “lovers”—lovers such as lust of the eyes, pride of life, and the erroneous notion that His people can pursue idolatrous pleasures. These “lovers” have deluded many in the body to avoid His path of self-denial and grateful contentment that will stand as a beacon of light in the darkness of greed-borne despair.]
Email #2     
A Time for the Men of Issachar
“There were men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what [God’s people] should do” 
(1Chr. 12:32).
Our Lord wants the loving trust of His own — a Theocracy in our hearts. I am firmly convinced that our Lord is preparing for dark days to come upon this nation by recruiting men of justice from different cultural and racial backgrounds to cooperate together. They will not stop His judgment, but they will gather a remnant to be light among their people as darkness descends.

Choices: Which Kingdom to Serve?
God had anointed David to be king many years before he received the throne. In the interim, David suffered greatly at the hands of King Saul, yet in deference would not usurp the right to reign. His suffering was God’s way to enable David to be a just king. Many men of valor—men with a sense of justice—joined him. Most of these had been disenfranchised from King Saul because they wouldn’t let their loyalty and support be purchased as Saul had done with so many others (see 1 Sam. 22:7,8). The tribe of Issachar came with 200 men who understood both the times and what God wanted them to do.
The lawlessness produced by the rebellion against God’s Word is bringing down both the church and this nation just as it did Saul’s kingdom. Yet God is recruiting specific men for His Kingdom purposes. There are men today dispersed among different racial and ethnic groups in this country to whom God is giving understanding to prepare their people. These men are not being heard now because they are being driven away from the mainline church community. Like David, many of these men are prophetic. For standing for God’s law and citing sin in their faith communities, they are being scorned away in ridicule.
Like King David, they have entrusted themselves to their Lord rather than becoming embittered over their treatment. Without realizing it, many of them have learned the path of walking justly before God through their suffering. This is crucial for any man from any race or culture whom God is going to use to stand as light in the darkness.
Justice is first and foremost a heart issue. “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12). Justice is found in a humble person who would never consider treating others in a way he would not want to be treated in the same circumstances. This attitude inherently carries the humble regard for one another’s interests that God requires of all people because we are made in His image. A truly just man has Theocracy in his heart. His life and purpose flow from God Himself.
The path for developing just men: “To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Jesus tells us what we must endure: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.* Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:10-12).”
*Definition: kingdom of heaven—choosing to live with God’s complete authority in all areas of your life.

Your Part in the Preparation
The Lord has prompted Mike to focus our newsletters and website on preparing men of justice to equip His people to walk as light during the dark days. Also, Sue will be preparing women to live as Sarah: “You are [Sarah’s] daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear” (1 Peter 3:6). The preparation of men and women for the dark days is mutually exclusive, while at the same time divinely complementary. As we have written in previous letters, men and women have different biblical roles to fulfill. They differ biologically in their method of training and in their response to situations.
Sue will be writing about the Hebraic Foundations with a focus of developing mature women who will stand with just men. These newsletters will be designed for interaction with your spouse or with others whom you walk together as family in Jesus.
God has warned His people as He did the Israelites when their nation was bent on sin. Having gone mostly unheeded, He is recruiting those who are responsive. Like Noah, who must have looked foolish building an ark when there was no sign of rain, those preparing for the dark days will initially seem foolish—not to the world but to the Christian religious system.
In our June/July 1999 newsletter entitled “Crossing the Jordan”, we described the journey from the Hellenist-Roman church system into the Hebraic foundations to be a pilgrimage out of the Sinai into the Promised Land: “Remember: Our Father tests our faith in the Sinai to expose and burn away the dross of distrust in Him and our propensity to yearn for the comforts of the flesh and the world. Our continued trusting obedience will lead us across the Jordan if we are willing to cross it under the terms He desires.”

The Lord impressed on us specific admonition for married people who walk in the restoration:
No married couple who enters the Jordan will set foot on the shore of the Promised Land unless both of them do so in union together.

As couples or individuals near or enter the Jordan, their crossing is often hindered by:
• Participation in faith community after faith community, ever seeking spiritual fulfillment and sense of belonging among the crowd.
• Continued bitterness toward those who pained them in the Sinai.
• Refusal to assume personal responsibility to God without a clergy intermediary.

Men With the Call of Elijah
The church which the Lord is restoring will be led by humble men of justice. The Hebraic Restoration is being poured out into a nation that is the most effeminate and Jezebelic of all time. Men of justice and the women who rejoice in this work of our Lord will face the scorn Elijah received as he stood for God. Men who are married need their wives to stand as Sarah—unwilling to be seduced by fear and the contentious spirit of this age.

Don’t Wait Too Long To Prepare
Followers of Jesus are being given a season in which to prepare. Just as when God enclosed Noah’s family in the ark, when the dark days come it will be too late to change your mind and wish you had prepared yourself and your family earlier.
If you think you will find support in the organized church system, think again. If the clergy and church leaders of today were courageous for Jesus no matter what the cost, this nation would be a Theocracy with Christ as its Head.
Consider this true account. “1945: The government had invited all the religious leaders — over 4,000 attended. First, they chose Joseph Stalin as honorary president. One by one, the priests and pastors of Romania stood and offered words of praise for Communism and declared their loyalty to the new regime. It was absurd and horrible — bishops and pastors arose and declared that Communism and Christianity were fundamentally the same. Out of fear, these men of God were filling the air with flattery and lies. It was as if they spat in Jesus Christ’s face.
“Richard, stand up and wash away this shame from the face of Christ.” Richard knew what would happen: “If I speak, you will lose your husband.” Sabina replied, “I do not wish to have a coward for a husband.” Pastor Richard Wurmbrand took the stage...”

Excerpted from the book Jesus Freaks, relating stories of men and women in the family of Jesus who stood with courage for their faith. To prepare yourself and your family in Christ we encourage you to read about others who “didn’t love their life even unto death.” You may obtain a copy of Jesus Freaks by contacting Voice of the Martyrs at 1-800-747-0085. Get to know more about their ministry while you’re on the phone.

Men of Justice in the Dark Days
Discussion: 
Compare yourself to David,
“a man after God’s own heart.”

David was a man of justice. Like Abraham and Moses before him, David was guided by Theocracy in his heart — an awareness and recognition of God in all matters of his life. “Theocracy in a man’s heart” is analogous to the “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of heaven”. As a just man he is no longer motivated by the things of this world but has become an instrument through which our Father extends His Kingdom on the earth.

What does a just man look like who has called on God as the ruler of his life? Consider David.

1. David sought God’s guidance, His rhema.

• Can you explain how God has guided you to your job, the place where you live, your spouse? Grab one or two witnesses and tell them about these, or other, key decisions in your life. Ask the witnesses to evaluate you: Does your testimony glorify our Father and also convince them that your decision was God-ordained?

• Do those who know your faith-walk well see you as a man who does not make major decisions without specific guidance from God? Ask them...

2. David hungered for God’s Word to discover what pleases Him and to recognize the boundaries that would keep him from sin.

• “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psa. 119:11). A love relationship with God (and with others) causes us to find out what pleases them. The goal is not to know Bible facts but, out of love, to discern the freedom and boundaries of our relationship with our Lord and to walk in them. Would people describe you as a man who hungers after God’s Word with loving purpose? Do you study it for that purpose? Ask them...


3. David purposed to not treat others in a way he would not want to be treated.

• Remember that justice is first and foremost a heart issue — treat others as you want to be treated. Is this how those close to you see you? Are there areas where you are unjust? Ask for feedback...

4. David quickly repented when confronted with his sin.

• A quickness to truly repent indicates a humble heart. When you have done wrong or caused emotional pain, is it enough that others let you know to stir you to repent, or must you be convinced and persuaded? Ask others...

5. David never excused himself for wrongdoing nor did he blame anyone else.

• If you have read Pastoring by Elders, you are aware that authority is based on not “passing the buck.” When something goes wrong, are you a person who quickly explains himself in order to justify your actions? Are there others close to you who live in apprehension that you will blame them? Ask them...

6. David knew God as his only Provider.

• God’s Word tells us to neither worry about provision nor to relish our wealth. Explain to those close to you your view of money and God’s hand in provision for you. Do they agree that your explanation authenticates what they see in your life? Does your perspective concur with the teachings in God’s Word?

Please don’t get caught up on your shortcomings,. With so few Godly mentors in the church, too many men have struggled for years without proper feedback as to how their Christian walk comes across to others. Feedback keeps us humble and prevents us from going on like a “bull in a china shop.”
• If you need repentance, then repent.
• If it requires help from those close to you, humble yourself and ask.
• If you find anything lacking in yourself, correct it.

Daughters of Sarah in the Dark Days
As followers of Jesus, we women are called to place our hope in God regardless of the circumstances or outcome. We are told in Hebrews 11 that by faith, “Sarah, who was past age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise” (v. 11). What does that trust in the faithful Lord of our lives mean for us in our daily walk?
Unless our Lord specifically prefaces a passage to men or kings or sons or husbands, His Word is meant to pierce my heart with trusting obedience! BUT, there are definitely different roles and responsibilities demanded of me as a woman, a wife, and a mother than those that face my husband. I’m now an “older woman.” I’ve walked almost 31 years with Mike, who is now an elder who walks with his Lord justly. There have been times along the way when he’s had to confront injustice boldly, and he has paid the price of being scorned and ridiculed. But through these trials our Father has molded us into greater unity. I rejoice that my husband can stand for truth even when it’s unpopular! That qualifies him to “sit at the city gates” and help other men to not duck their biblical responsibilities.
The biblical lessons I’ve learned at the Potter’s hands are universal to women everywhere, be they single, widowed, divorced, or married. Since we are called to be parts of one Body in Jesus, we are responsible to help one another fulfill our roles in life through whatever means at hand, be it direct experience, observation of a godly role model, or testimonies of our sisters who have run their race with endurance and victory.

God Designed Women To Be Under Authority
Authority, that is, “covering”, has always been part of His plan in order for you to find the rest and trusting peace of Sarah, Mary, and Hannah.
• Our Lord intended that first your father, and then your husband, be your covering to protect you and provide for you. Yet, the reality is that all fathers and husbands are imperfect. That’s one reason God raised you up to help them with your affectionate support, obedience, and earnest prayer. Just because your father or husband has failed you has never negated them as God’s covering for you. Permitting rebellion, independence or bitterness to become a wall between you opens you to an array of emotional hurt and spiritual oppression.
• Sarah “did not fear any terror”, the literal translation of 1 Pet. 3:6, because she was able in her heart to recognize her husband’s biblical authority and covering over her (i.e., calling him “lord”). When a wife gets out from under her husband’s covering she brings on herself anxiety and agitation. She becomes a public rebuke to both God and to her husband.
Remaining under Mike’s authority has given me a position of influence in the lives of others. Our Father gave me to Mike as a helper (ezer in Hebrew, the same word God used regarding His relationship to Israel!). I am able to voice my input to Mike and also to bring it up to my Father privately and ask Him to bring confirmation or conviction on Mike. Our Father is faithful to give me peace and to stir up Mike to seek His will. That way, God gets the glory and I am not a contentious nag! Mike and I have failed each other many times over the years. Both of us are imperfect while on our pilgrimage of His transformation. But Mike’s mistakes in walking out his role have never negated the position of authority that our Father bestowed on him when we married.

Getting Yourself Under God’s Authorities
• In small faith communities, especially those based on the Hebraic model, older men assisted by their wives are a covering and shield particularly for those without other protection, such as women without husbands and children without fathers. I recall asking women if they’d rather love or control their families. When they understood “control” as doing whatever was necessary to achieve an outcome they felt was best, over 90% admitted control! Sadly, control opens the door to manipulation and insecurity and a critical spirit—arenas that destroy peace as they undermine a man’s authority and negate your influence.
Does this concept of “covering” resonate in your spirit? I realize that it is certainly counter-cultural, as so many women feel their fathers or husbands have failed them. Their bitterness has produced an epidemic of independent, self-sufficient, achievement-oriented, but emotionally hollow, women.

Where You Can Begin Today!
• Start now by prayerfully identifying and eliminating all false expectations you have for those in godly authority in your life. Biblical justice demands that you never expect of others what you wouldn’t want expected of yourself. God never intended for a man to think or respond as a woman does, so eliminate that expectation. Prayerfully seek an older woman with whom you can rejoice, pray, and trust our Lord. However, DON’T use these conversations or prayer times to gossip, slander, or otherwise grouse about your life situation or those in it!
Please let me know what’s on your heart! I’d love to hear your story of peace in your obedient trust!