Good News

by on September 30, 2020

Good News

(#282 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)

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When you think of ministry from a Hebraic perspective, think of power, resources and direction. From Noah to Abraham; from Jacob (Israyl) to Moses; from David to Yahshua; to all the early disciples; and then to us, the objective of ministry for Yahweh’s children has never changed. Ultimately, it has a singular purpose with a focused message. For all those who are ruled by and will rule for Yahweh, for all “overcomers” (Israyl), ministry is to preach “The Good News.” For indeed the Good News was preached to us as well as to them [those in the wilderness] … (Hebrews 4:2)

Yahshua and the prophet of old would agree. He [Yahshua] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isayah [Isaiah]. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of Yahweh is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Good News to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh. Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21 from Isayah 61:1-2)

In Yahshua’s day there was no Renewed Covenant (commonly known as “New Testament”) to read from. He taught in the Synagogues from the scrolls of the Torah and Prophets, as was the custom. Yaaqob (James), the early leader of the assembly, as directed by the Holy Spirit at the Jerusalem Council, clearly perpetuated this tradition in his ruling. “For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” (Acts 15:21) Shaul also abided in this! At Iconium Shaul and Barnabas went as usual into the synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. (Acts 14:1) There were Greeks in the Synagogues? Why? Think about it!

And with this fresh understanding you can now appreciate that all of the Good News came from the Law (Torah) and the prophets of the Old Covenant (commonly known as the “Old Testament”). Yes, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of the Almighty and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of Yahweh may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) And by “all Scripture,” Shaul was not referring to the Renewed Covenant (New Testament), as it was not yet written. Nevertheless, “The people of Berea were [considered] more fair-minded than the people of Thessalonica. [Because] They were very willing to receive the Almighty’s message, and every day they carefully examined the Scriptures [the Old Covenant] to see if what Shaul said was true.” (Acts 17:11) This is deep; the Bereans used the Old Covenant to confirm if what Shaul was saying about Yahshua was true!

You shouldn’t be surprised; Yahshua Himself even proclaimed that, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.” (John 5:46) So now you must ask yourself, “As a child of the Most High, what is the ministry I am committed to?” In other words, “What is the Good News you are anointed to preach?” To help you discover the richness of the answer, we’ll offer you this as a seed to plant in the, hopefully, fertile soil of your heart. What did you actually confess when you called on the name of the “Lord” in Romans 10:9-13? Hint: study Romans 10:1-8 in detail and reference from where the Good News Shaul was preaching came. “That is the word of faith which we preach.” (Romans 10:8) He was preaching Moses’ words from Deuteronomy 30:11-14 and Leviticus 18:4-5! (Read it!) True ministry has Yahweh’s fingerprint from His Word all over it. If you believe Moses, you can believe Shaul and Yahshua.

Is Yahweh’s fingerprint evident in your ministry? It was in Shaul’s; “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Master Yahshua, to testify to the Good News of the Mighty One’s grace.” (Acts 20:24) This is the Good News derived from the Torah and the prophets. Yahshua answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.” (John 7:16) And this is the Ministry Yahshua handed over to us. Tell everyone who listens; “The Spirit of Yahweh is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Good News…”

As we learned yesterday loved one, the Law is not “legalism” but the very Good News that saves our souls!



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