POSTED 01 AUGUST, 2006

The Work of the Holy Spirit:
Perfection of the Heart

by J.K. McKee
editor@tnnonline.net

delivered live at Shavuot 2006, Orlando, FL

In the past year-and-a-half (2004-2006), more or less, the emerging Messianic movement has experienced some major upheavals.[1] This is to be expected in any reforming movement, as the history of our faith has demonstrated that when lost theological ideas or forgotten concepts of how we are to relate to God are restored, certain people will “run with it” to promote themselves or a particular agenda. Consider all of the various groups that arose out of the Radical Reformation in the late Sixteenth Century thinking that they could raise people from the dead or establish a New Jerusalem here on Earth. We should not be surprised that with a movement as important as restoring our faith to its First Century Hebraic and Jewish foundations that we would have people going too far. In the past year-and-a-half, many have challenged and denied the Divinity of Yeshua the Messiah, questioned the canonicity and inspiration of key Biblical books, have promoted mysticism and/or beliefs that are not substantiated by Biblical history, but more than anything else have gotten many people confused and off track from performing the work of the Kingdom. What are we to do?

I would like to tell you about an incident that took place several years ago at one of the local churches here in the Orlando area.[2] This was a rather new and budding church, appealing largely to younger families and college students. It was multi-cultural, and was able to attract a diverse group of people. This church had a large facility and staff, and it appeared that it was performing a critical function in the community. But then some sin crept in. One woman, who was being counseled by the senior pastor for a divorce she was going through, fell into having an affair with him. The senior pastor, knowing that this forbidden relationship must end stopped the “counseling sessions,” and transferred her case to the assistant pastor. Shockingly, the assistant pastor also fell into an adulterous relationship while counseling the woman. Not too much time passed until the story got out, and the district superintendent of the denomination was brought in to take care of it. Both the assistant pastor and senior pastor were relieved of their positions, and on one Sunday morning the congregation got to hear that their senior pastor had fallen into sin. Then, if that hadn’t been enough, in the next moment they got to hear that their assistant pastor had likewise fallen into sin. As the church members came up for communion that Sunday, one of my seminary professors, who attended this church, was asked to help distribute it. As he gave the bread to each person, and they dipped it in the cup, he repeated a part of the old liturgy which was that “this is for the healing of your souls.”

Of course, the healing process was not over. Both the senior and assistant pastors were removed from their positions, and the church had a huge mortgage hanging over it. At least half of the church members did not show up the following Sunday. What do you do when something like this happens? Obviously, disciplinary action was taken against the offenders—but do you know who has the biggest responsibility? The new pastor! He has to minister to sheep who have been gravely wounded and whose spiritual confidence may be at an all time low. He has to get them focused on the future and what they need to be doing in order to grow spiritually and be walking closer with the Lord.

Some of the things that we have faced in the Messianic community as of late are no different than the story that I have just described. We have had sin, arrogance, insolence, gross unbiblical behavior, and even some perditious heresy enter into the camp. Some have been disciplined, and some sin continues. As a teacher and as a Messianic apologist I feel that it is my responsibility to you, the hungry sheep—or even the hurt sheep—to give you a message of encouragement. It is my hope that my two messages delivered this afternoon, and later tomorrow afternoon, are delivered in that spirit of working for the “healing of your soul.” Each one of us as Messianic Believers needs to focus on the future, and we need to know how we should be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and thus be a witness so others around us can likewise be transformed.

Every year, we as Messianic Believers read through the weekly Torah portions. We begin each cycle with Bereisheet, the Book of Genesis. While everyone has a distinct way of studying the Torah, and indeed the Bible, every year it seems—at least to me—that a substantial amount of the weekly Torah portions is overlooked. Much of this is unintentional, as a teacher can only exposit upon so much in a teaching, and because of the fact that our minds can only handle so much to consider. But in the first Torah portion, the one that sets the stage for the entire story of God revealing Himself to His Creation, one important concept often gets overlooked. Perhaps it is because it is so profound and complicated that many choose to just jump over it, deciding not to “go there.” Perhaps because of what it means not only to us as individuals, but also to those we interact with, it is overlooked:

“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27).

End of sample excerpt.

Enjoyed this excerpt? Purchase the Messianic Spring Holiday Helper
Paperback: $21.99; Amazon Kindle eBook: $9.99

J.K. McKee (B.A., University of Oklahoma; M.A., Asbury Theological Seminary) is the editor of TNN Online (www.tnnonline.net) and is a Messianic apologist. He is a 2009 recipient of the Zondervan Biblical Languages Award for Greek. He is author of numerous books, dealing with a wide range of topics that are important for today’s Messianic Believers. He has also written many articles on theological issues, and is presently focusing his attention on Messianic commentaries of various books of the Bible.

NOTES

$25.00 including U.S. shipping & handling