Assemblies of Yahweh Ministries Newsletter

Issue No. 20                                           India                                                   Sept. 2006

2006 Festivals

This year the seventh new moon will be seen from Ysrael and India on Sept. 24^th thus making Sept. 25 the Yom Teruah(day of Trumpets).  Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement will be ten days later on Oct. 4 and the festival of Tabernacles will be celebrated during the days of Oct. 9 thru Oct 16.  The high days of Tabernacles, in which no servile work should be done, will be Oct. 9 and Oct 16.  Both days will start with the previous evening.  Tabernacles is one of Yahweh’s appointed times that He has given for us to rejoice and learn from Him and prepare ourselves for His heavenly kingdom. 

It is a sacrifice of time and money to attend an eight day festival but Yahweh commanded that all the men of Ysrael should attend the feast as it was for their well being to do so.

Eight day festivals will be kept in the following places in Andrah Pradesh, S. India:

Lankapalem, W.G. dt., A.P. 534266 – br. Tony B. Suckla, Pas. David Mandru, Pas. M. Hariem, Pas. K. Raja Rao, Pas. G. Karunakar, br. D. Joel – contact numbers 08814-252402;  9949786028;  08814-227571.

Hyderabad, Medipally prayer hall – Pas. Y. Sunith Premanand, 9866485304

Vizakhapatnam, Zion School Premises, Pithapuram Colony, br G. Raja Prasad and family, 0891-2575569, 9848112403

Ruvulupalem area, contact br. M. Madhu Babu, 9395350337 or 08855-241646

Reddy Polovaram, W.G. dt., A.P.  Pas. MPS Raju  08811-251274

These are not the only places that are keeping an eight day festival but these are the places that are associated with the Assemblies of Yahweh Ministries.

AOYM Annual Body Meeting

All members of the Assemblies of Yahweh Ministries are requested to attend the Annual Body Meeting in Visakhapatnam on Oct. 1, 2006.  The meeting will start sharply at 10am and will be held at the Zion School Premises in Pithapuram Colony.  Current members include  1. G. Raja Prasad, President, Vizak dt.;  2. K. John Babu, Vice President, Vizak dt.; 3. Y. Sunith Premanand, General Secretary, Hyderabad;  4. G. Sarojini, Joint Secretary, Vizak dt.;  5. Tony B. Suckla, Treasurer, Lankapalem, W.G. dt.;  6. M. Hariem, Palakol, W.G. dt.; 7.  B. Aquilla and 8. B. Jyothi, Lankapalem, W.G. dt.; 9.  D. Devasahayam, Ayyapapagudem, W.G. dt.; 10. D.V. Rao, Ayyapagudem, W.G. dt.; 11. D. Samuel Paul, Rajamundry, E.G. dt.; 12. David Mandru, Abirajupalem, W.G. dt.; 13. Dixon Rupart, Repudi, Krishna dt.; 14. MPS Raju, Reddy Polavaram, WG Dt.; 15. M. Madhu Babu, Gopalapuram, EG dt.; 16. N. Mani Kumar, Kakinada, EG dt.; 17. K. Moses, Manchili, W.G. dt.;  18. P. Neelambaram, Eluru, W.G. dt.; 19.  B. Prabhu Dass, Srikakulam dt.;  20. B. Prasad, Seethamcheruvu, W.G. dt.; 21. Premramanada, Vaddadi, Vizak dt.; 22. K. Raja Rao, Elamanchili, W.G. dt., 23. M. Ranadhir, Illandu, Khamman dt.; 24. R. Ratna Paul, Rampuram, Khamman dt.; 25.  John David, Polepalli, Vizak dt.; 26. G. Samson, Guntur dt.;  27. Y. Samuel, Kothagudem, Khammam dt.; 28. P. Solomon Raju, Palakolu, W.G. dt.; 29. S. Solomon, Guntur Dt.; 30. Kakara Yadidiyah, Payakarao peta, Vizak dt.; 31. G. Karunakar, Tanuku, W.G. dt.

One side and a half travel charges will be given.  It is mandatory for all members to attend the meeting.  Failure to attend without notifying the Executive Committee members will be reason for removal from body.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”

What does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy or set-apart?  Does this mean that we have a meeting on Friday night and then go to our regular duties on Saturday morning?  Is this keeping the Sabbath day holy?  Are we keeping the Sabbath day set-apart when we send our children to school on Saturday morning?  Let us look closely at the fourth commandment from our Creator, Yahweh Almighty.  Let us also remember that this is a commandment and not a suggestion.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it set-apart. Six days shall you labor, and do all your work:  but the seventh day, a Sabbath of Yahweh your Elohim:  you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger, that within your gates:  for six days, Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  Exodus 20:8-11

This command is repeated many times throughout the Torah, thus showing that Yahweh was very particular in regard to this requirement of His.  This is the longest of the Ten Commandments, thus showing that Yahweh wanted to make sure that we fully understood what He expected from us.

Even during the busiest times of the year the Ysraelites were required to rest on Sabbath day.  “Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shall rest”. Ex.34:21  The people would be tempted to work on Sabbath because of the urgency of getting the harvest in, but Yahweh required them to rest even during these busy times.

What is the punishment that Yahweh prescribed for knowingly working on and thus transgressing the Sabbath day?

“Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people.  ¹⁵ For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.” Ex. 31:14,15

Again, in Ex. 35:2, “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.”  In Num. 15:32-36 Yahweh commanded that a certain man be put to death for picking up sticks on the Sabbath day.  So we see that this is a salvation issue and that we can only transgress this law at the loss of our eternal life.  Now Yahweh is very longsuffering and He overlooks ignorance, but once someone has had a chance to know the truth, obedience is required.  

Some might say that it is impossible to live in this world without working on Sabbath day.  This is true according to human wisdom, but if we believe that Yahweh is the true Creator that made all things in six days and rested on the seventh.  Then we must also trust that if we sacrifice for His commands that He will reward us, and likewise if we transgress His commands that He will punish us.  When Yahweh commanded the children of Ysrael to leave Egypt and go into the wilderness they might have said that it was impossible to live there as there was no food and water, but Yahweh made water to come from a rock and bread to drop out of heaven.  Thus we see that Yahweh will not command us to do anything without also making a way for us to obey him.  The same will apply in our obedience to the fourth commandment.  We must trust Yahweh to make a way for us as we obey His commands. 

The prophet Yerimiyah told the Yahudites(Jews) in his day that Yarushalem would stand forever if they would be careful to keep the Sabbath day holy.  “And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith Yahweh, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; ²⁵Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Yahudah, and the inhabitants of Yarushalem: and this city shall remain for ever.” Yerimiyah. 17:24,25  But the people did not heed Yerimiyah’s warning and thus they were taken captive by Babylon.

When the Yahudites were allowed to return from Babylonian captivity to Yarushalem Nechemyah(Nehemiah) noticed that many were buying and selling on the Sabbath day and Nechemyah testified to them that this is the very reason that they were taken into captivity and thus he commanded that the gates of the city be closed at the beginning of the Sabbath and not opened till it was over.

“There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, which brought fish, and all manner of ware, and sold on the Sabbath unto the children of Yahudah, and in Yarushalem. ¹⁷Then I contended with the nobles of Yahudah, and said unto them, what evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? ¹⁸Did not your fathers thus, and did not Elohenu bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Ysrael by profaning the Sabbath. ¹⁹And it came to pass, that when the gates of Yarusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day.” Nechemyah. 13:16-19

Nechemyah knew that the blessings of Yahweh came only as the Ysraelites obeyed Elohim, thus Nechemyah was very diligent to stop all secular business on the Sabbath in Yarushalayim, even to the point of threatening those who transgressed, vs.20,21.

Yahshua Mashiach said that in the judgment many people would call Him Adoni(Lord), but yet He would tell them to depart from Him, because they are working lawlessness.  Our only hope is to be zealous and repent of our half hearted obedience lest we lose our eternal salvation, Rev. 3:14-22.

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith…”

Below is a testimony of a girl that put her trust in Yahweh in regard to Sabbath observance and the way that He helped and blessed her.

Sabbath Testimony from Chennai

Miss Sylvia H. Rani was a Sabbath keeper all her life, in first thru twelfth class she attended SDA schools and thus had no Sabbath observance problems with her schools.  When she went for her higher studies, the exams and practicals were many times scheduled on Sabbath day, but she never would give her exams or papers on Sabbath; Yahweh worked upon the leaders of her college to allow her to do her academic works on others days.  After completing her Masters degree she took a one year course in computers, all went well during the school year but the last exam paper was scheduled on a Saturday, May 26, 1990, being that it was an all India Exam, nothing could be done to change the exam date, as far as human wisdom could perceive.  If she did not take the exam she would fail the course and lose not only all the time and money that the course had required but she would lose in the future in prospective pay packages.  But, despite the cost, she decided that no matter what she would obey the fourth commandment.  But, she still kept praying that the Almighty would open some door for her.  On May 21, 1990 Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, was assassinated in Chennai.  Riots took place all over the country and so her final test paper was postponed.  Whenever it was finally rescheduled it was on a Sunday.  She took the exam and passed with second rank in the South Zone. 

After her schooling Miss Sylvia had good job opportunities to work in and outside of India, but she would not accept the opportunities as she would have to work on Sabbath day.  Finally, Yahweh opened the door for her to get a good job with a doctor in Chennai who allowed her to keep Sabbath days.  Thus if we stand firm for Yahweh’s commandments He will bless us.

“Trust in Yahweh with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6

Mispa Activities in Vizakhapatnam dt.

On June 7, 2006 Br. K. John Babu, President of Mission for Integration, Service, Peace and Awareness released a video in the Telugu language on the facts about Aids in India.  This video is available for free in CD format.  John Babu can be contacted at:  9885055981 or contact one of the numbers below.

Contact Information for Assemblies of Yahweh Ministries:                                                 

G. Raja Prasad                                      bro. Mattithyah:               

9-9-43 Mangapuram Colony                08814-252402

Vishakapatnam, A.P. 53001      email - Yahweh@vsnl.com                                           

 0891-2575569 or 9848112403    www.sevendayweek.com

“Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”  Revelation 22:14  KJV