Pronouncements of Blessing | Biblical Benedictions From the New Testament Season 2

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Beloved, we've been called to love and serve, and I want to challenge us today to reach out and bless people even if it means at times people reject our friendliness.
Dustin Roberts: Reaching out to people can be a risk because it doesn't always go the way that we hope. Welcome to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. I'm your host Dustin Roberts, and today Rabbi Schneider, he explores Paul's blessing that we would increase and abound in love for one another. But that kind of love, it takes initiative and vulnerability. It's much easier said than done, which is exactly why Rabbi wants to give you the tools to understand how to approach doing this from a biblical standpoint. Now, let's get started. Here's Rabbi with our lesson on biblical benedictions.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: It's so important to have purpose and direction and meaning and hope. And this is what these biblical benedictions give us. They provide for us the conduit to connect with the Lord so that we can be empowered each day to press on and climb the mountain leading into, beloved, his light and his glory. The thing that is important for us is that we are only willing to sometimes be confronted with the truth that we have a tolerance for. In other words, it's easy for us to be willing to accept some parts of the word of God, but yet block out other parts of the word of God because we don't want to hear them. We see this phenomenon, for example, happening in the Gospel of John chapter 6 where the longer Jesus talked, the fewer people could listen because he kept going deeper and deeper and deeper. He began to say I'm the bread of life that's come down from heaven. And it's like people began to grumble like we know his mom and dad. You know, we know Joseph and Mary. How can he say he came down from heaven? But when they left in John 6 was after he said unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in yourself. That was too much. They couldn't hear it anymore. They couldn't tolerate it, and they left. That was an extreme example, and it's understandable knowing the Jewish mindset how they could not take that in because the Jews were commanded in the Torah not to drink blood. So, it wasn't an easy statement to accept. But the point that I'm making is that you and I, all of us, sometimes are willing to accept some part of God's will and truth in our life, but unwilling to accept other parts of his word. So, for example, right now in our culture, many Christians will not accept God's word as it relates to he created them male and female and also will not come into agreement with God's word when it comes to that true marriage is between a man and a woman. Some people that call themselves Christians, they reject that. They say, well, you know what, um, that's kind of archaic. That's the way it was, you know, in the Old Testament a long time ago. But you know, now I believe the loving thing to do is to just accept everybody just the way they are without demanding any change, blessing all expressions of sexuality, blessing all definitions of sexual orientation. So, there's people that identify as Christians, but they won't receive that part of God word because God's word clearly spells out that in his divine design homosexuality is not part of who he is or the way that he created humanity and that true marriage consists of the union between a male and a female. And so, I'm just giving examples of how people sometimes, all of us, are willing to accept some part of God's word. But sometimes there's other parts we reject. We have to receive all of his word. One of the portions of God's word that I want to urge us to accept today is that we are commanded to be people of self-initiation when it comes to reaching out to love and bless other people. And we are living in a culture today that is causing individuals to become more and more self isolated. This is the enemy's ploy. Beloved, listen to what I'm saying. What is happening in the earth right now is the enemy is pushing people more and more into the darkness so that people today are more isolated in the Western world in terms of their emotional and spiritual disposition than ever before. I used the example on the last episode on this subject where I talked about I do a lot of flying, and I'm just amazed at how much the culture on airplanes has changed over the last 5 years. It used to be when people flew, they actually looked forward to getting to meet somebody new that might sit next to them, to strike up a conversation, to learn about somebody else. They found that interesting and exciting. Now, we live in a culture that if you try to reach out to the person next to you on an airplane, more often than not in my own experience, they're going to be offended that you would dare to invade their privacy by saying hello to them or asking them a question about their lives. I remember recently I was flying. Lady next to me was reading a book. The flight had gone on for about an hour. I took a break from reading the book that I was reading. I looked over at the lady next to me. I said, oh, what what book are you reading? She didn't answer me. She just picked up her book and showed me the cover of it. I said, oh, I said, what's what's it about? She said, oh, it's too hard to explain. Didn't even look at me, just kept reading. But this is now the norm. We're living in a culture where the devil is trying to isolate us, make us afraid to love, make us afraid to reach out for fear of being rejected. But the Lord is calling us to increase in love. And so, Paul is saying the Lord may cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all people. Paul saying, I'm declaring a blessing over your life that you would increase in love, not decrease in love, not become more self-isolated, not retreating to the darkness, but that you would increase in love. And love means connecting with people. Love is an outward expression. People talk about the Dead Sea in Israel. And one of the things about the Dead Sea is that there 's no outlet for the water. There's no way for the water of the Dead Sea to flow out. And so, the analogy has been made is the reason that it's dead is cuz there's no outflow. And that's what happens to us if there's no serving coming from our hearts. If there's no loving, if there's no reaching out, if there's no connecting, if there's no blessing and strengthening and pouring into other people's lives. Beloved, we've been called to love and serve. And I want to challenge us today to reach out and bless people even if it means at times people reject our friendliness. Well, let's continue on now. Paul said that he might establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. It's interesting the right after talking about love and the admonition to increase in love, the next thing that Paul says is that doing this or following this pattern, it will establish our hearts without blame and holiness because above all God is love. Remember God is love. And he that loves, John said, knows God. And so, as we grow in love, we increase in holiness. Isn't that a beautiful thing? A lot of people think that holiness, you know, is following like this strict set of rules which many of them are traditions of men like it used to be, you know, back 50 years ago that certain denominations, you know, the holiness denominations, they said that the only way that a holy woman can wear her hair is in a bun. And there were all these like no makeup, this, that, and the other. And there was like all these rules of what holiness is. And of course, modesty is important, but I think in the eyes of the Lord true love is probably the greatest emanation of what holiness looks like because God is love. And so, Paul speaks a blessing over our lives that we would increase in love and that our hearts would be established without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of the Lord Jesus for all the saints.
Dustin Roberts: You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And Rabbi Schneider will be right back in just a moment. First though, I want to invite you to explore our Messianic content on our website. You can dive deep into topics like the feast of the Lord, the prophetic significance of Israel, and how Yeshua fulfills prophecy. Visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com and click on our ministry and Messianic contents tab helping you understand the roots of your faith today. It can be easy to spend money on small things without thinking twice. But have you considered how big of an impact if all of you listening right now give a small gift? Maybe you've thought about it but said one day if I have enough, I can give a big gift. But any gift matters. And maybe God is calling you to invest in his kingdom right now. So, please give today. Call 888 my rabbi. And now back to Rabbi Schneider.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: You know, I love this concept of having peace with God in our hearts, knowing that we're holy before him, knowing that we're accepted in him. We read in the book of Ephesians that we're accepted in the beloved, that we've been made holy and blameless, Paul tells us the book of Ephesians, in the beloved one. So, there's two concepts here that I want to connect with in terms of being holy and blameless before him. Legally, because of the blood of Jesus, because of the finished work of what Yeshua Ha Mashiach, what Yeshua of Nazareth has done for us, being pierced through for our sins and shedding his blood and giving his life for our iniquity, because of that we are now simply based on the finished work of Christ, based on that alone, we are holy and blameless before God because the Father is not looking at our sin because Jesus died for our sin. The Father is only looking at us through the eyes of love. Now, Jesus has made us acceptable. But there's another element, beloved, that's also important. And that is an outworking of holiness. And I think this is what Paul is talking about here, that we would be established in our hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father. And I know in my own life even though I know scripturally and legally I'm accepted in the beloved, that I'm holy before God simply because of the blood of Jesus. Even though I know that legally I also am aware that if my heart is not right that I don't have peace in my heart, that I'm aware sometimes that what is in my heart at any given moment it may not be holy. And so, there's a legal holiness that has been established for us through the blood of Jesus. But then there's a practical holiness that we're entering more and more into as we're being transformed by the word of God and the Holy Spirit that we become more and more like Jesus. That we're in the process of being conformed to his image. And this is what I'm speaking about right now, that the blessing and the benediction, the power that's at work in our life is that we would be conformed to the image of Jesus in holiness before the Father, not just legally but experientially that we would truly be people that emanate God's holiness through love and truth. And so, Father, right now I speak over these listening by radio. Father, we thank you that you're the God that's at work in our life both to will and do for your good pleasure. And Father, we thank you that you said that you would complete in us what you started. And Father, we desire, we crave that you would complete the work in us that we would be truly sanctified experientially holy before you that when Jesus returns we would be like Elijah and like Enoch, Father God, that we're ready to meet you. I think about Enoch and how the scripture says that he had a witness in himself that before you took him off the earth he knew he was holy and blameless to you. And so, Father, I pray that you would so transform us even through the hearing of your word that we would enter into a state where we would continually be living in a way that's pleasing to you. And that living in that state day by day, hour by hour, even second by second, we would have the pleasure of experiencing your affirmation over our lives. And we would like Enoch have that witness within ourselves that we're pleasing and acceptable to you in Yeshua's name. Beloved, that's God's purpose and blessing over your life. And that's what he's doing in your life. He is transforming you from glory to glory. A scripture that's important to us in so many ways is Philippians chapter 4 verse 19 and 20. It's the benediction that Paul speaks over God's people. Many of you have heard it before. Here's what Paul said. And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. You have been blessed with the reality that your Father is going to take care of you and supply all your needs for the rest of your life. At times it might seem like things are pretty sparse. That's how it felt to the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness, right? I mean they had no water, they had nothing to eat. It was pretty sparse. But supernaturally God supplied their needs by causing manna to fall on the ground 6 days a week for 40 years, water to flow out of a rock, the quails to come every day. And so, I want to encourage you, beloved. There's a blessing over your life for the rest of your days. He'll never leave you or forsake you. He will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory. If it's a financial need, a physical need, whatever a relational need, a need for comfort, need for peace, a need for joy, need for soundness of mind, let's take it to heart. Let's claim it. Father, you said you would supply all my needs according to your riches and glory. Father, I take a hold of that by faith right now. And sometimes the word faith is almost like you're putting a demand on God. Like this is your word, God, and I believe it. And because of your belief you put a demand on him, and he does it. He wants you to believe. He wants you to believe it enough to demand it. Not that you have authority over God but that you have enough faith in his word. You've taken a hold of his word. You've seized it that it becomes a demand and that pleases him that you believe him. I want to go to one of my favorite scriptures, the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 14. Beloved, the grass withers and the flowers fade but the word of our Lord, the word of abide forever. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ or Yeshua, the Messiah, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Now, if that doesn't make you feel good, come on. What will? The grace of the Lord Jesus, the goodness of God, the favor of God, the provision of God, the presence of God, the empowerment of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God. Love wins. Love always wins. Love conquers everything no matter what you'll ever face. Height, depth, breath, width, things past, things present, things to come, you're going to conquer it all because the love of God has been poured out over your life. And he's a banner of love over you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Why is the word fellowship here, beloved one, connected with the or the Holy Spirit? Because Jesus isn't on earth right now. The Father isn't on earth right now. The person on earth right now is the Holy Spirit. Jesus before he ascended to the Father, he said to his disciples, I will not leave you as orphans. He said, I will send you the Spirit. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. And the Holy Spirit has been poured into our life on the earth to reveal the Father and the Son to us and to bring all that is within God to our souls. So, comfort and peace and strength, all these are being imparted to us by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit literally on the earth hugs us in the love of God and comforts us in all our afflictions. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. The Holy Spirit is the one that is connecting you to both the Father and the Son. He is the one through whom you're able to have fellowship with God the Father and the Lord Jesus too. And so, Paul concludes by saying, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you. Let's celebrate, beloved. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit because there's no greater gift than you and I could have ever received. I want to ask you to think about something carefully with me. That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of spirit is spirit. Paul in his writings goes on to talk about the difference between the nature of the flesh versus the nature of the spirit. Now, one of the natures of the flesh is that the flesh, beloved ones, I think we can all identify is selfish. I mean, for example, when we eat food, do we eat for ourselves or somebody else? The flesh is by nature selfish whereas the spirit is by nature generous and giving. And if we're not careful, sometimes we can operate as takers in the flesh and not be a blessing to other people. I just want to simply say to you, beloved, we depend on you to continue to reach the world with the gospel. If this ministry is being a blessing to you, I want to ask you to open up your heart in the spirit, be generous and so financially into the ministry because we're to support those ministries that are doing good and blessing us.
Dustin Roberts: Amen. And to give today, visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call us. Our number is 888 my rabbi. And we have a free teaching as well for you today. It's called 18 Messianic Prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures. It includes written and audio teaching from Rabbi Schneider that shows how the Hebrew Scriptures revealed Jesus as the promised Messiah. You'll see for yourself how God fulfilled his promises. It can also be a great witnessing tool for anyone that you know that isn't really sure about Jesus being who he said he was. You can get yours at discoveringthejewishjesus.com forward slash gift. Make sure you type that forward slash gift at the end. Now, I want to share a note that we received from a listener named David. He said, dear brother, I've been listening to you for years and you've kept me going even when I was living in my car for a lot of years. David also told us how much he loves hearing Rabbi sing the blessing in Hebrew. He said wherever he is he turns up the radio so that everyone around him can hear it. Thank you, David. Keep turning that radio up. It means a lot to us to know that this program was there for you during a difficult season. And to me, your story it reminds us that we never know where someone may be listening or what they may be facing when Rabbi's teaching reaches them. That's only part of why your continued support is so important. Every broadcast and digital connection, it gives someone an opportunity to hear truth and encounter the message of Jesus. You can give a gift to support this ministry again at discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call 888 my rabbi. Now, here's Rabbi Schneider with the ironic blessing.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: The words from the ironic blessing in the book of Numbers chapter 6 verses 22 through 27 helps us to realize how good God is to you and I personally. So, receive his blessing into your life. And then, beloved one, go bless somebody else in Jesus' name today. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. And now in Hebrew God bless you.