Mark Huey of Outreach Israel Ministries delivers the following message, “Our Peaceful Messianic Mission: Never Look Back,” as we look at some of our family’s history of being involved in the Messianic community of faith.
Back in the Fall of 1997, the Holy Spirit was challenging our family’s commitment to Yeshua the Messiah—by impressing upon me the call to walk by faith, and to follow God’s leading to serve Him with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength. Our challenge at the time was to sell our house, and everything that we could not stuff into two twenty-foot containers, and move to Honduras to establish a shortwave radio outreach to proclaim the gospel in English to the north and Spanish to the south. During my prayerful deliberations, seeking to discern the Lord’s will, I placed a call to a Messianic Jewish brother living in Hawaii, who I had developed a relationship with by phone for over a year, for some of his wise counsel. I knew enough from my twenty years of pursuing the Messiah, that the Holy One of Israel resided in the hearts of His people, and that the proverbial wisdom of seeking many godly counselors when making major decisions (Proverbs 1:5, 8:14, 11:14, 24:6), would enhance the possibility that I would hear His voice from the utterance of others dedicated to serving Him. We had already had a number of positive witnesses regarding our relocation, but naturally, family and friends were concerned that we were going beyond the pale with such a radical move—to take our children out of school, and live in a foreign country without any “secure” means of financial support. So as one can imagine, with all of the mixed signals we were receiving—seeking clarity and knowing that you were truly “hearing” from the Lord—was one of our foremost challenges.
I will never forget this conversation with this brother, as we discussed the pros and cons of ministry, and of dedicating our family’s lives, time, talents, and resources to serving God. As our dialogue came to a sober close, Daniel concluded our discussion with a Scripture passage that profoundly penetrated deep into my spirit. It was the simple reminder from Yeshua to His disciples that, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). As I hung up the phone, the words in the red letters in my Bible began to haunt me, as I reflected on the decision at hand. For a few days, the thought of just “looking back” at the ways and means we had labored to support ourselves—while maintaining a firm grip on the plowhandle, with my eyes fixed upon Yeshua and His leading, would somehow make a follower of Yeshua “unfit” for the Kingdom of God. I began to think that it was impossible to maintain that level of allegiance to serve Him. After all, are we not all human, and is there not a natural propensity to “look back” at where we have been and how we arrived at where we currently are?
In my almost desperate, incessant search for answers to my questions—in discerning God’s will about our difficult decision—I was reminded of another trying time a few years earlier, when in turning to the Scriptures, the Lord impressed on my heart and the motivation for living, some words written by the Apostle Paul to the Believers in Philippi. It was this passage, and particularly v. 10, which I then clung to and incorporated into my walk of faith:
“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Messiah. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Messiah Yeshua my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Messiah, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Messiah, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Messiah Yeshua. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua” (Philippians 3:7-14, NASU).
“Knowing Him” was of paramount importance to me, in order to receive the power of His resurrection. But the tough part was experiencing the fellowship of His sufferings, in order to be conformed to His death. This aspect of Philippians 3:10 was not very appealing to my flesh. But, I committed myself to know Him—and if this is what was required—I was convinced in my heart and mind that I would do everything within my strength to die to self in order to live for Him. Upon reviewing the context of this verse, I was also reminded of the challenge to continually press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua, and realizing that the call had come—with the additional provision to not look back. I eventually accepted the call, and we sold the house and we all moved to Honduras—even after knowing that the shortwave radio station, and all the other ministry opportunities, were not going to materialize for a variety of reasons. Nevertheless, since I had given my word to a number of potential partners in this ministry endeavor, I was obligated to keep my verbal agreements, because for me, the following word of Psalm 15 is quite clear:
“A Psalm of David. O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken” (Psalm 15:1-5, NASU).
Needless to say, because my desire was to abide with Him—by walking in integrity and working in a righteous manner, while speaking truth in my heart—I was “checkmated” by the Lord to honor my word, despite the “hurt” or pain of financial loss that ensued. But the Almighty One is even more true to His word, and as a result of taking the call and enduring the test of leaving the country we love—without any plans to return at the time—we began by faith to follow the proverbial cloud of His leading, and have never looked back.
My willingness to serve the Lord has led us for the past fourteen years to the place where He has finally returned us to the Dallas, Texas area, where our journey began. Because we were first quantitatively introduced to the Jewish and Hebraic Roots of faith here—after years of being heavily involved with the Christian community—we have a considerable number of friends and acquaintances from our previous experiences, seeking the Lord in the distinct groups of Believers in the area. So now, as I have been pondering and praying about why the Holy One has returned us to this particular location, at this point in time—I have been asking Him once again for His will to be done through us. I do this, without any reservations or thoughts of ever looking back. But rather, keeping our eyes fixed on Yeshua, and what He wants to do with the materials we have produced and the understanding we now share through Outreach Israel Ministries—I sincerely look forward to some significant things in the years to come!
Before describing some of what I believe the Father has prepared us to do—because we have centered our lives on the infallible Word of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit—a recent cursory review of the context of the Luke passage mentioned above has given each of us some guidelines, for the next season of our ministry lives. For, it is in these instructions to Yeshua’s disciples, that we discover the profound principle that when it comes to all the people chosen to proclaim the gospel and serve the Lord in a variety of capacities—that it is not our responsibility to hinder them, because the one who is not against you is for you, despite our human inclination to believe that our individual call is most important:
“An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. But, Yeshua knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side, and said to them, ‘Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.’ John answered and said, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us.’ But Yeshua said to him, ‘Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.’ When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ And they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, ‘I will follow You wherever You go.’ And Yeshua said to him, ‘The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.’ And He said to another, ‘Follow Me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.’ But He said to him, ‘Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.’ Another also said, ‘I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.’ But Yeshua said to him, ‘No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Luke 9:46-62, NASU).
In this passage of Scripture, one finds the disciples arguing with themselves, about which one is the greatest follower of the Messiah. This unknowable, fleshly dispute, among those claiming allegiance to Yeshua, was gently responded to with Yeshua’s consistent words about serving one another (Matthew 20:28; Luke 22:26), with the emphasis that “the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.” He likened it to becoming childlike in order to receive Him (Matthew 18:1-6). But the most impactful instruction was the retort to John’s inquiring implication, that because some people were casting out demons in Yeshua’s name and were not among His inner circle of followers, something should be done to prevent those independent followers of Yeshua from using His authority to cast out demons or do other ministry work. Yeshua’s response to John’s statement, “do not hinder him, for he who is not against you is for you,” is a word which I believe has a profound message for the days in which we live. After all, with the proliferation of people and ministries using the name of Yeshua, or Jesus, to do their work around the world—the reality that they are not all doing ministry exactly the same, or via the auspices of a single authoritative group, should be obvious. Yeshua was communicating to His inner disciples the simple, yet complex reality, that even if people were possibly using His authority with impure motives, the very fact that He was being declared to whomever—His Father in Heaven would sort out the details in His time. Yeshua knew the spiritual reality that according to the words of the Prophet Isaiah, the thoughts and ways of the Most High were so beyond human comprehension, that the Father’s Word would never return void. Its declaration would accomplish whatever God intended it to achieve, among even the wicked and unrighteous, because of His incomparable compassion for all of humanity:
“‘Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it’” (Isaiah 55:6-11, NASU).
With Yeshua’s heart on the matter of not hindering others using His Name in ministry, and understanding that the Almighty’s thoughts and ways are so infinitely great—we are not to unnecessarily judge other ministry motivations for serving God (Matthew 7:1-2). Instead, we should discern exactly what the Father has purposed us to do, with our particular gifts and talents from Him. And so, given our family’s reintroduction to our Messianic and Christian brethren in North Texas—and now endowed with what we believe is perhaps a more complete application of the entire counsel of God—I know that I have been once again searching the Scriptures for His leading, on how we are to proceed in this next period of service to Him. As I have said many times in previous writing: we want to be genuinely used, and to help advance His Kingdom on Earth, until the restoration of all things…
Providentially, I was led into a search of the Scriptures—imploring Him for guidance—and was taken to some of Yeshua’s most insightful statements found in the Beatitudes. This primarily occurred, because one of my Messianic Jewish brothers, in a meaningful conversation during our move, simply mentioned the concept about us as Believers becoming the “sons of God.” It was here in the very beginning of His ministry (without going into a lengthy study of the text), where Yeshua succinctly described to His disciples and those listening, how blessed different godly attributes, evidencing belief in God, should come forth from His disciples:
“When Yeshua saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God’” (Matthew 5:1-9, NASU).
While Believers who are poor in spirit, mourning for others, gentle, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, merciful, and pure in heart—evidence true belief in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the heart—it was the statement about the blessings bestowed on the peacemakers being called sons/children of God, which really struck a chord in my spirit. In Romans 8, the Scriptures proclaim that the very Creation is yearning for the manifestation of the sons/children of God, who are being led by His Spirit:
“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Messiah, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God” (Romans 8:14-19, NASU).
Since the Scriptures indicate that peacemakers—with the possible goal of being regarded as sons/children of God—can actually assuage the anxious longing of the Creation, our ministerial efforts in our new location will be tempered by a sincere effort to be peacemakers, among all the factions of Judeo-Christian belief that we encounter, as well as seek to reach, teach, encourage, and disciple. We understand the often difficult, human challenges to seek peace with all people (Romans 12:18)—especially when attempting to adhere to the exhortations of Yeshua later in His ministry. He amplified some of the attributes found in His Sermon on the Mount, while instructing His newly chosen apostles among a hostile mixed crowd of listeners:
“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned” (Luke 6:27-37, NASU).
In this passage of Scripture, one finds the “golden rule” for living, with an even higher call to not just adhere to the Torah requirement to love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18)—but also to love your enemy, expecting nothing in return, but perhaps the blessing of becoming the sons/children of the Most High. However, because during our ministry life of not looking back, we have become dedicated, cross-examining students of God’s Word (Proverbs 18:17), desiring to share what we believe is a loving, balanced, and scholarly approach to walking in His ways—we have attained considerable Scriptural knowledge and understanding, much of which has been produced in writing for others to consider. The warning about arrogance, found in Paul’s admonition to the saints in Corinth, is something which speaks volumes to our hearts:
“Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know; but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him” (1 Corinthians 8:1-3, NASU).
There is nothing more annoying than one who considers himself or herself a “know-it-all”—especially when it comes to the Word of God—a person who is convinced in his or her mind that he, or she, has it all “figured out,” and needs to let everyone know it!
In order to avoid such an appearance, we are going to make a concerted effort to be absolutely led by the Holy Spirit, as we steadily reengage with God’s people in the Messianic and Christian communities found in our new surroundings. As those compelled to be peacemakers with the diverse spectrum of Believers, my personal goal is to be almost childlike—and only speak when spoken to—as advised years ago by my well-meaning parents. In so doing, the wise counsel of the Apostle Peter to become humble by the mighty hand of God, is well worth patiently waiting for:
“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Messiah, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE [Proverbs 3:34]. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:1-7).
I fully believe that this new period of our ministry life will continue to bear fruit for His Kingdom, as we learn to more faithfully abide in Him, the true vine (John 15:4), in a childlike way—as we model to others what it means to walk in the same manner as He walked:
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Yeshua Messiah the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:1-6, NASU).
We sincerely desire your prayers and support, for this next stage of our ministry’s life. We truly want our Heavenly Father to be pleased with our heartfelt desire to make peace and love the overall emphasis of our Messianic mission. We want to be regarded as utterly transformed children of God, looking forward, ever fixing our eyes on Yeshua, never looking back—and hopefully being used to advance His Kingdom here on earth, until the restoration of all things…
