Like Father, Like Son – Pt 1

By Blake Higginbotham

There are tons of books and expose’s being published in these hours that were written to help us explore and plummet the depths of the human psyche. Some of them possess keys to helping us understand what makes us who we are because of genetic predispositions, and others help us access the damage caused by our upbringing or environment. Whether you need to know and understand what makes you tic, or you need to take damage control in order to move on, it is my intent over the next few weeks to write to what I have experienced in life, and what I have come to understand about it.

That said, nothing that I can say, or that is written, will speak to all of the questions you should be asking, and they certainly will not contain all of the answers for which you seek. In some cases, you have to ask the right questions in order to arrive at the correct conclusion, in other cases you have to be able to deal in truth with your own heart in order to be made freer to cope with life as it comes. How you arrive at that conclusion will determine the details of your destiny, and you will discover that the best you can be is not enough in light of who you will become, as you embrace the reality of who you are in Him.

Now, I am not writing from a position of having a degree in psychology, nor do I embrace every theory out there; but I have learned a few things over the past 56 years. I hope to clearly communicate them with you in a way that will help you discover yourself in Him, and answer a great many of the questions that you may have concerning life in general.

Hebrews 2:1-10 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. (In other words, we need to listen to someone who has walked it out before us)²For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,³how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, (Every choice we make in life carries with it a good or bad consequence) which at the first began to be spoken by Yahshua, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, ⁴Yahweh also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts – (Merismos –a separation or distribution: dividing asunder, gift) of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? ⁵For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. ⁶But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You take care of him? (The answer to that question is; we are the expression of His person and His family in Earth, and we are a part of His divine will and purpose) ⁷You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of Your hands. (This speaks of Yahweh’s original intent) ⁸You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. (Dominion is our destiny) But now we do not yet see all things put under him. ⁹But we see Yahshua,(The Pattern Son) who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of Yahweh, might taste death for everyone.(Some of you will not taste death, until you see the Kingdom or Yahweh coming in Power) (In Him, we live, move and have our being) ¹⁰For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, (This is Yahweh’s will and purpose) to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Yahshua was made perfect through sufferings and the sons will also drink of that cup)

If you can hear it, most of us are the product of our genetic predispositions and environments. A few of us have identified our family tendencies and personal traits and have developed our personalities and character beyond our upbringing. We can all be thankful for that! J It really does not matter where you are in the process; all that is important at this point is you are learning and adjusting as you walk things out for yourself. I, for one, believe that I have separated the best from the worse of my parents influence and impartation. However, much of whom I am today, without a doubt, came from my mother’s love for her firstborn son.

One of the greatest things that my mother imparted to me is the sincere desire to help people discover the best in themselves, while gently nudging them in the right direction. She was a great inspiration to me when it comes to life, talent and loving people; but the greatest thing that she ever imparted to me was loving people for who they are. She loved everybody the same, and tried to help them discover their innate abilities, and thereby lay hold of their purpose for living. She also, fashioned her love and care around the individual needs of the person, and did not give up on anyone to my knowledge.

Years after I left home, the maids (Nannies) that raised me and my siblings were still in my mother’s life at some level. By that time, they had introduced their children, and kept in touch with her down through the years. My mother outlived some of the people that her life touched, and though she is no longer with us in person, a part of her is living on in the way we live, love and communicate with others.

As I write this piece, I am reminded that Mother’s day is just around the corner, and my tribute to her in this article may serve to further her cause. Her cause lives on in me today because it truly represented the Father’s love expressed through a mother’s heart. She was a wonderful example of love and endurance beyond anything or anybody that I have encountered in life, and she was one of the greatest people that I have ever known. Thanks be to Yahweh for loving mothers.

My only regret is that it has taken me so long to really see it. L

(To Be Continued)

Like Father, Like Son – Pt 2

Re: The Divine Nature Attitude of the New Creation

By Blake Higginbotham

I woke up this morning with the thought that everything that man makes or builds is primarily a testimony of his genius or a monument to his ingenuity; but everything that Yahweh has created or made, speaks of who He is in the Glory of His creation!

Some people associate ‘The Kingdom’ with ‘The Garden Life’ and they believe that the close, personal and intimate relationship that Adam had with Yahweh, speaks of the reality of a state of being with Him. That said, others have been indoctrinated contrary to the truth concerning ‘The Kingdom’ or what it means to eat from the tree of Life, and have rather partaken of the ‘Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.’ Consequently, they have lost their way as it pertains to original intent and divine purpose. The Kingdom is not about going back, going up, or a gold city coming down. It is about seeing and entering that which was ours all along. Simply put, we are presently remembering who we were in creation before formation, and from a position of rest and peace, we are living out of eternity.

I am reminded of something that an old apostle shared with me recently.

“The End is same as the Beginning” fnb

Many years ago I saw something that changed my whole perspective concerning the Kingdom.

Note: I saw a picture of an upside down tree that was rooted in Heaven.  Its branches, limbs and fruit hung downward. The fruit was reachable to everybody on earth, and all we had to do was reach up to partake of it. You see, everything in creation is a direct representation of what exists in the Spirit, and when we are the praise of His Glory, the mountains and the hills break forth into singing, and the trees of the field clap their hands.

Isaiah 55:12 “For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

I have come to understand that man’s best attempt to manufacture or duplicate the wonders of nature are an exercise in futility and at best artificial. Man, apart from Yahweh’s divine design, becomes the center of his own universe, and everything he is revolves around his ego. Man without a sense of origin and destiny is lost, and easily distracted as the quest for purpose in life is never ending.

“Who you are, is not wrapped up in your personal pursuit of happiness or achievement” blh

“A well lived life is purpose filled” blh

Everything that Yahweh created is both good and perfect. All of creation works in concert and perfect harmony from the sub-atomic level to all things visible throughout the universe. Nothing works contrary to His divine design, and it is self-sustaining, self-supporting and self-replenishing for the most part. Case in point, the Earth is a living planet that sustains itself based on the divine design of Yahweh. He created everything in our solar system to work in concert with life on Earth. The distance of the Sun from the Earth is such that it produces just enough energy, warmth and life to support and replenish this planet. If it were not for the placement and position of the Sun as the center of our Solar System, life on Earth would cease to exist. Man without Yahweh is a destructive creature and when he tampers with Yahweh’s divine design he is saying that I am god, and I will improve upon perfection. Man always creates things in his own image and after his likeness which testifies to his finite, existential existence. When anything in nature is tampered with it takes away from something else, and if it is permanently altered, it can and will result in something less than Yahweh’s original intent or divine design.

The truth is Yahweh’s Order, Government and Law is built into everything He has created. You see, the enemy of our soul knows how to divide and separate us from Yahweh’s original intent, and he is constantly trying to force us to consider “Hath God Said” He is relentless in his attack against our minds and ruthless in his assault against our lives. He is always looking for a way to take advantage of our naivety and ignorance. He is the master of disinformation and deception, and truth is not in him.

We must deal in truth with our own hearts concerning everything that does not represent Yahweh’s New Creation, and repent and be converted as it pertains to knowing who we really are in Him. Under the first man Adam all men died; but under the last man Adam all men live.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28 But now Messiah is risen from the dead, and has become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah all shall be made alive. ²³But each one in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits, afterward those who are Messiah’s at His coming. ²⁴Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to Yahweh the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. ²⁶The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. ²⁷For “He has put all things under His feet.”But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. ²⁸Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that Yahweh may be all in all.

2 Corinthians 5:16-19 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Messiah according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸Now all things are of Yahweh, who has reconciled us to Himself through Yahshua Messiah, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹that is, that Yahweh was in Messiah reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Made – H6213 עָשָׂה BDB Definition: 1) to do, fashion, accomplish, make 1a1) to do, work, make, produce 1a) to do 1a1b) to work 1a1c) to deal (with) 1a1d) to act, act with effect, effect 1a2) to make 1a2a) to make 1a2b) to produce 1a2c) to prepare 1a2d) to make (an offering) 1a2e) to attend to, put in order 1a2f) to observe, celebrate 1a2g) to acquire (property) 1a2h) to appoint, ordain, institute 1a2i) to bring about 1a2j) to use 1a2k) to spend, pass 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be done 1b2) to be made 1b3) to be produced 1b4) to be offered 1b5) to be observed 1b6) to be used 1c) (Pual) to be made 2) (Piel) to press, squeeze

The Ekklesia- Here & NOW – Pt 2

­­­­­­By Blake Higginbotham

Matthew 16:13-20 Now when Yahshua came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim.”¹⁷And Yahshua said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.¹⁸“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock [the revelation of Messiah by the Spirit] I will build My Ekklesia and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.¹⁹“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”²⁰Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Messiah. NASB

Ekklesia – ‘A called out and gathered together people’

Note: It speaks of a people who have been called out of the religious systems of this world. They have been gathered together by Holy Spirit for the greater purpose of the Kingdom of Yahweh. They represent the judicial branch and legislative arm of the Kingdom of Yahweh. If you can hear it, they have been strategically repositioned and synergistically placed in order to advance the Kingdom of Yahweh. They have been divinely commissioned and empowered to represent Yahshua the Messiah in every area of life and ministry.

Ephesians 4:1-10 Therefore I, the prisoner of Yahshua, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,³being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism,⁶one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.⁷But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.⁸Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” ⁹(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) NASB

• In light of all this, here’s what I want you to do. While I’m locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don’t want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. ²And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, ³alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. ⁴You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly.

⁵You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.⁷But that doesn’t mean you should all look and speak and act the same. TMSG

I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord,urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received,²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love,³diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling; ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism,⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.⁷Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of the Christ’s gift. HCSB

Challenge & Charge:

We need to ask ourselves some gut-wrenching questions about what we really believe to be true concerning this passage of scripture. As long as we are content to function and operate divided by boundaries and separated by the walls of religion, we will never fully realize oneness of purpose in Him. As long as we allow a spirit of pride and competition to rule our hearts and minds, we will never be able to fully comprehend the value and worth of the gifts that He has given. If we are truly one body, then why are we still saying MY, YOUR or THIER ministry? If we are one Spirit, then why do we withdraw our hearts from one another and separate over nothing at all? If we are called in one hope of our calling then why do we go here and there trying to gain acceptance and fulfillment in everything but Him? If we are of one faith, one Lord and one baptism, then why are we not walking together in agreement, being further empowered to change the world in which we live? Why, When & How long will it take for us to repent, change and make this right? If you can hear it, this is a 2^nd Chapter of Acts moment for the Ekklesia, and we have an opportunity to make some things right in our lifetime!

Prayer & Declaration:

Father, we ask you to grant us the grace to repent and change today. We ask you root up and pull down all the idols of our hearts, that do not honor and glorify Your name. Father, change in us the things that we are either unwilling or unable to change and help us find ourselves in You. Father, forgive us for falling short of Your glory and for being dull of hearing, hard hearted and stubborn, as it pertains to Your greater Kingdom purpose. Father, we ask you to save us from our own demise, and deliver us from the clutches of evil. Father, cleanse us, purge us and make us whole. Thank you for another chance to make things right as we fully surrender to your will, and by your loving embrace finally come together.  So it is!

Ephesians 4:8-10 Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” ⁹(Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) NASB

Note: Yahshua is the Door. He is the only way in or out. Yahshua is the way, the truth and the life, and no man comes unto the Father; but by Him. The way up is down, and we must lower ourselves and become of no reputation in order to see the worth and experience the value of the gifts that have been given.

Until the walls of religion that divide and separate us from one another are removed from our hearts, minds and vocabulary, we will not be able to receive or experience the full benefit of the gifts that have been given.

Ephesians 4:11-16

There is a sound emanated forth from the Father’s heart, and the true sons are being drawn to it. The closer we get to the sound, the more it becomes a voice, and the more we hear His voice, the more it becomes a word. If you can hear it, the word that is proceeding out of His mouth in this hour will reconfigure all of us to His will and purpose.

John 14:1-4  “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in Yahweh, believe also in Me. ²In My Father’s house are many (Dwelling Places)-(Abodes)-(Habitats); if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. ⁴And where I go you know, and the way you know.”

Note: The house the Yahshua is building is already built in the Father’s heart. It behooves all of us to find ourselves at home in Him, and then we will truly know the way.

Brethren, think on these things!

Dying Don’t Come Easy!

Echoes from beyond the grave – Part One

By Blake Higginbotham

I have been meditating this thought for the past few days, and what I am going to share with you next is coming out of my own personal journey and experience. The above suggestion is an understatement in light of what it really means. I have heard and used most of the ‘Brave Heart’ type phrases like, ‘Remember Your Freedom’ ‘It’s a good day to die’ and ‘Then we will fight in the shade.’

To be honest with you, death and dying does not naturally come easy for any of us in life. My old apostle and spiritual father used to say, “You don’t need dying grace until you are ready to die” Let me confirm that he was absolutely correct and I concur with that statement. As I see it, death is something that most of us try to avoid at all cost. We will do whatever it takes and everything in our power to cancel our appointment with death.

Unfortunately, the reason that most of us choose to live is because we do not like the dying process and in most cases we do not really know what is coming next. The fear of pain and the agony in death is real. Not knowing if you really fulfilled the practical will and purpose of Yahweh for your life is also a concern. You see, deep down inside, we all know that not fulfilling His will and purpose for our lives could result in hearing something other than “Enter into the joy of the Sovereign, My good and faithful servant”

Over the past few years, I have lost some of my friends and family to death and even though I know that we may be reunited in the future, it hardly addresses the empty pain and deep sadness that I felt at the time. We can think and say all of the right things when a loved one passes away; but all we have in the end is the memories that we had in life together. “Live the life you’ve been given” and “Precious and few are the moments we can share”

Get your dying done! It truly is a good day to die, and we may as well die sooner than later. Think about it this way, if we die to ourselves today, we will not have as far to go when we reach the end of the road.”

Hebrew 9:27-28 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: ²⁸So Messiah was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

If you can hear it the moment that you choose to die to yourself, (your desires, dreams, aspirations & ways) and live only in and by Him, you will find that He will come to you in a brand new way, and you will begin to live out of a finished work mentality. His Salvation is a gift of the Father’s love and you need to receive the full embrace of His love and forgiveness. Salvation is more than deliverance and healing. It is more than blessing and favor. It is wholeness and abundant living.

1Corinthians 15:20-31 But now is Messiah risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. ²¹For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah shall all be made alive. ²³But every man in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits; afterward they that are Messiah’s at his coming. ²⁴Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to Yahweh, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. ²⁷For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. ²⁸And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that Yahweh may be all in all. ²⁹Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead? ³⁰And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? ³¹I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Messiah Yahshua our Sovereign, I die daily.

I must admit, that until the last few years, I read this passage of scripture with a limited understanding. The last few years have been for me like three days and three nights in the belly of the earth, and I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have a brand new understanding of ‘I Die Daily.’ Paul was not saying that he spent all day dying; but he did do some moment-by-moment daily dying. His decision to reckon himself dead was a deliberate choice to live and walk only by the Spirit. That decision almost cost him his natural life on several occasions, and finally did cost him his life when he was beheaded in Rome.

Corinthians 4:1-12  Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. ²But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of Yahweh deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of Yahweh. ³But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of Yahweh, should shine on them. ⁵For we do not preach ourselves, but Messiah Yahshua the Sovereign, and ourselves your bondservants for Yahshua’s sake. ⁶For it is the Yahweh who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh in the face of Yahshua Messiah. ⁷But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of Yahweh and not of us. ⁸We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Sovereign Yahshua, that the life of Yahshua also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹For we who live are always delivered to death for Yahshua’s sake, that the life of Yahshua also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So then death is working in us, but life in you.

The Ekklesia – Here & Now!

By Blake Higginbotham

­­­­­­Matthew 16:13-20 Now when Yahshua came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim.” ¹⁷And Yahshua said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.¹⁸“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock [the revelation of Messiah by the Spirit] I will build My Ekklesia and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” ²⁰Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Messiah. NASB

Ekklesia – ‘A called out and gathered together people’

Note: It speaks of a people who have been called out of the religious systems of this world. They have been gathered together by Holy Spirit for the greater purpose of the Kingdom of Yahweh. They represent the judicial branch and legislative arm of the Kingdom of Yahweh. If you can hear it, they have been strategically repositioned and synergistically placed in order to advance the Kingdom of Yahweh. They have been divinely commissioned and empowered to represent Yahshua the Messiah in every area of life and ministry.    

Hebrews 10:19-25 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Yahshua, ²⁰by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, ²¹and having a High Priest over the house of Yahweh, ²²let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. ²⁴And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, [The Ekklesia]-[What Yahweh is assembling and putting together by His Spirit] as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 12:22-29 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living Elohim, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, ²³to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to Yahweh the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, ²⁴to Yahshua the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.²⁵See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,²⁶whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”  ²⁷Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve Yahweh acceptably with reverence and godly fear. ²⁹For our Elohim is a consuming fire.

v  Over the past few days I have been asking some hard questions concerning the issues that we are facing in the modern-day Ekklesia. The following represents some possible answers. These observations do not represent a comprehensive approach to the problems that we continue to experience; but they are some thoughts that we need to consider.

Questions:

I. What did the first-century Ekklesia have that we don’t have?

1. They had eye witness accounts of the death, burial and resurrection of Yahshua the Messiah.

2. They had divine empowerment through the revelation of Messiah and Holy Spirit Baptism.

3. They had a better spiritual and practical understanding of the Kingdom of Yahweh.

4. They had the first-hand, personal testimonies of the Apostles of the Lamb. (Living Witnesses)

5. They had one another and the strength of the corporate expression. They had community and family that sincerely loved and cared for one another.

• They understood and embraced the City Ekklesia concept. They were the Apostolic/Kingdom Ekklesia of their time.

  A. What didn’t they have?

6. They didn’t have a book (The Scripture, Holy Bible, The Word, Etc.)

7. They didn’t have nice, cushy places in which to assemble. (Church Buildings and Other Facilities)

8. They didn’t have celebrity preachers and king-pin ministries with whom to contend.

9. They didn’t have books, CDs & Christian television upon which to stand and depend.

10. They didn’t have as many walls, barriers and territorial boundaries in which to overcome.

11. They didn’t have a tolerant government or system in which to live and thrive. (The government and system of that time, was hostile to their operation and very existence)

II. What do we have that the first-century Ekklesia didn’t have?

1. We have a Book. (The Scripture, Holy Bible, The Word Etc.)-(Multiple Translations with Commentaries)
2. We have nice, cushy places in which to assemble. (One on every street corner in every major city)
3. We have celebrity preachers and king-pin ministries with whom to contend.
4. We have books, CDs & Christian television upon which to stand and depend.
5. We have numerous walls, barriers and territorial boundaries in which to overcome.
6. We have a government and system that is tolerant of our operation and very existence.

• The above statements of fact should not be used to summarily condemn all of these practices; but they do represent some things we need to consider as we move from a popular, acceptable way of thinking to a new way of seeing and processing the revelation of Messiah.