The world will hate you: Lessons in 1 John 3

 The Book of 1 John: Stay the Love Course Together

 

LESSON Three: The world will hate you

To watch this on video: https://youtu.be/NDtOu_QndSI

INTRODUCTION 

We are titling this series, “Stay the Love Course Together” because there are two major themes I see coming out of this Bible sermon book. One is the confrontation John has with the false teachings, and I guess by implication the false teachers, who are rejecting some authorized aspects of the question, “Who is Yeshua?” The other major theme I see in anything John writes is the love of God. The true and real God is known as love, his desire for us as his followers is love from a pure heart and a sincere faith. The course laid out for us by the Messiah is to love one another. Anything less than that, …is less than that. 

Today we see another hodge-podge of data designed to continue the theme of God is Light and we are his children, children of light, and thus we should act like it. Remember, when some of you hear that, you are thinking, oh, I need to get my act together. I need to be more in the light side of life than the dark side. I get that. And I’m all in favour of your being on the correct side of things. 

What John would tell you is that you ARE on the light side already, and actually you are LIGHT. Paul and John were on the same wavelength when Paul said something similar. In Ephesians chapter 5 we read, 

“You were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of Light, for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them…all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.” (5.7-13)

Paul doesn’t say you were IN the darkness; he says you were darkness. He doesn’t say you are now in the light; he says you are the Light. That’s exactly what Yeshua taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5. “You are the light of the world…”(verse 14). Yes, he claimed that title for himself to be sure (John 8.12), and yet he also notified the believers that we had a light vs darkness ministry. We are called to be the light. Let’s talk about what that looks like.

We saw in chapter one of 1 John that God is light. OK. What does light actually do or how does it behave? What benefits are there to light anyway?

1)     Light wins in the battle with darkness. They don’t actually go hand in hand. When light enters a room, darkness retreats. There is no relationship between the two. Paul mockingly and rhetorically asked the Corinthians, what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Cor. 6.14) John tells us that our fellowship is with the Father and the Son. (1 Jn. 1). If you are having a battle with darkness, with sins of commission like with alcohol or drugs, with lusting and acting out with prostitutes, or in other illicit sexual activity, if your sins of commission involve lying or stealing, all of these need a healer to attend. That’s Yeshua. He wants to surround you with light and make you light instead of darkness. Will you surrender yourself to the Lord of Light so that you will become light in the Lord?

What about sins of omission? Not loving the guy you walk by every week on the train platform—the guy who smells bad and who needs special clothing to get a good job. What about your not praying when you should or not fasting as often as you think you are being called to do. Sins of not tithing or not being generous to the congregation or your favourite Jewish mission. What about leading others in prayer or in Bible study? Should you not be leading others by now? 

Whether sins of commission where we do things God has said no to, or sins of omission, where we don’t perform what God has asked, both alike need the healer, the Messiah to come along and save us. We need Light to expose the darkness. 

2)     Light brings comfort. Late at night, the body wakes up and you cannot sleep. You lie in the dark. You consider rising. Then you do, and suddenly you slip as you step on the shoes you wore yesterday and didn’t tuck into their proper place. The things you would see in the light, you don’t see, because you are in darkness. And you are discomforted by your inability to see. When you turn on the light, you bring comfort to yourself.  Think of information coming to you when you are disoriented. You don’t know which way to go, or which turn to take, and suddenly, you see the road ahead and the map helps you to know that you should be turning right in 200 metres, and you are glad, you are comforted, the light has advised you and you are better for it. 

3)     Light warms us. You will know we just passed the equinox, that time in September and again in March, when the day and the night have equal lengths. Here in Australia, the solstice we don’t like is the winter solstice, towards the end of June, when we have the least amount of sunshine each day. Of course you may like the winter solstice if you are a Thredbo person and downhill skiing is your sport of choice. It’s cold. It’s winter. It’s dark, and the favorite place in our house for my wife is the fireplace. Right next to it is the gas heater, and either or both working together make her life that much better. She’s warmed by the sight of the fire, no matter how many layers she has to wear. I too find great comfort in the warmth of the hearth. 

When all else seems ice cold and frozen away from the love of God, the light of his glory, of his gospel of forgiveness and grace, brings a warmth like a hot chocholate in a steaming mug in the midst of a 3 degree evening, and my hands, my whole body warm up. From the inside. God’s light gives warmth to our whole being. 

 

We saw in chapters one and two references to God as Father. In our modern world, we are used to that nomenclature. Not only among Christians, but among Jews and Muslims and even naturalists in a way. God’s relationship with us as Father however, is very new in John’s day. Jews would never title him “Father” but rather the Almighty, the Glorious One, and then list his attributes. But ‘father?’ no way! When Yeshua taught that he was the Son of God and called God his “Father” the hearers were shocked.

Now John brings us this Father of Lights (James 1) and brings us into the understanding that we are his children. That’s huge. I don’t know what religion you had when you were a child, but mine was significantly rich in symbolism and Torah and dressing up on the Holidays and on Shabbos and full of wonder about a God who is far, far away. No distant galaxy could contain him, but he could withdraw himself beyond any of those. His rules were severe; his eyes ever dashing to and fro to catch me out in my sin. 

John says, nope, that’s not God. He calls us to marvel. Look at verse 1.

“See” or “Consider”. This is a plural command. Y’all, note this. Horao. It’s used of things actually visible. Like ‘see with what large letters I write to you.” (Gal. 6.11). And then the word “bestowed” or other versions say “lavished”. This word is another rarely used word in the NT, and ‘introduces a sense of wonder” (Smalley) Then one more in verse 1, the word “how great” which is found in Matthew and Peter meaning “what a great kind” of healer or teacher (Matt. 8.27, 2 Peter 3.11) , but here it’s more like Mark used in Yeshua’s words about the massive stones at the Temple site (“How great!”- Mark 13.1)

            I’m saying, that this opening line is a call to wonder, to be amazed, to shout, “Glory!” because God has been revealed to us as Father and we are therefore his sons and daughters. We are family. Thanks, Sly, we are family. And we are welcomed and not cast aside. We are insiders, and never again to be wondering if we are worthy. The Prodigal Father has welcomed us and forgiven us, and we are HIS!

I know some of you don’t want to hear this, but there is a great divide between believers and non-believers. The world will hate us, Yeshua said, because it didn’t know him. John repeats that thought in chapter three. He already said it in chapter 2 in “the love of the Father is not in him.” (2.15) Here he reiterates “the world does not know us because it did not know him.” (verse 1)

Does that mean we should only huddle with ourselves and never intermingle with the other? Of course not. Paul wrote the Corinthians about that (1 Cor. 5), but we should always know who is our real Family. 

Back in the turn of the 20^th century, there was a modern movement labelling God as Father. And the “fatherhood of God” movement was a sentimental washout and a misunderstanding of this reality. It labelled all of us as God’s children. It diminished the cross. It diminished sin’s reality. Listen how Oswald Chambers addressed that error here:

“The modern view of the death of Jesus is that He died for our sins out of sympathy. The New Testament view is that He bore our sin not by sympathy, but by identification. He was made to be sin. Our sins are removed because of the death of Jesus, and the explanation of His death is His obedience to His Father, not His sympathy with us. We are acceptable with God not because we have obeyed, or because we have promised to give up things, but because of the death of Christ, and in no other way. We say that Jesus Christ came to reveal the Fatherhood of God, the lovingkindness of God; the New Testament says He came to bear away the sin of the world.”

 

John is emphasizing three things in this chapter. The family relationship (Father and sons), the love of God that is his ever-present basis of all his enterprise and thus should be ours, and the separation of believers from the world. These are not unique to this chapter, but they bulge out of the manuscript, don’t they?

Verse two—we are not yet revealed. Think of it; we are not done. We are progressing toward spiritual maturity; we are not the finished product. He says in verse 3 when he appears, when he returns to set up his throne in Jerusalem, we will be like him. WOW—finally! The hope of Psalm 17.15 will be realized. “Then I will be satisfied, when I awake in your likeness.” I’m content now, but I will be satisfied then!

How will that change happen? Paul said, it will be in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, and John says that everyone who has this hope, this anticipation of the return of Yeshua, this hope on him, purifies himself, even as he is pure.

 Verse 4, we see the topic of sin again. The one who practices in a continual way, the one who sins again and again and again, because his nature is sinful and he desires to live in those wrong actions, he’s a sinner in John’s world. He says “sin is lawlessness.” Remember, Torah is light and rejection of that light leads to darkness. Sin is darkness and walking away from the Father of Lights. It’s a defiant walk away from the Lord of Light. And from our new nature. We are light in the Lord!

There are other definitions of sin in the Scripture: Romans 14.23 (not of faith), Prov 24.9 (the thought of foolishness), and later in this book John will say that “all unrighteousness” is sin. (5.17)

John says in verse 5, Yeshua appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. That’s the reason Yeshua came. Again in verse 8, Yeshua came to destroy the works of the devil. Satan is real. John says Yeshua won the battle, and by that the word translated ‘destroy’ should be rendered “to render inoperative” or “to rob of power.” Satan is not annihilated and his works like Covid 19 are not gone, but his power has been reduced. He is no match for the God of all power.

Verse 9 will confuse some of us. “No one who is born of God practices sin.” For that, we have to look to the Lord of Light to help us see him in our struggles to overcome, in our desire to live as John says ‘in righteousness.’

John is not teaching sinless perfectionism; we have an advocate (2.1). He is teaching that the general reality, the main life we are to live is to represent Yeshua, and live a life of right standing. 

Verse 11: we are to love one another. It’s the message we have said since the beginning. In contrast to Cain. Did you know that Cain’s deeds were evil? He brought an offering, but it was not in faith. Using Cain’s name brings to the mind of the Ephesians to whom John is writing that there are those who were close, but didn’t make it. 

Verse 13… don’t be surprised. The world hates you. How do you know love? How are you sure that you are an insider? You love the brothers. How do we know love? Verse 16. Yeshua died for our sins. He laid down his life for us. We ought to love one another. LIKE HE LOVED. Like James said, “so speak and so act” (2.12) It’s got to be working out in your ethics as well as your theology.

Verse 21, if you don’t let your heart condemn you, you will have confidence before God and pray and He will hear and answer you. What’s it based on? Our faith? Our love? Nope—his love! And because he has loved us and welcomed us into his family, I respond to that. That’s FAITH. It’s a response to what God has initiated. 

And as is typical of John’s writing, at the end of the day, “FAITH”, verse 23: ‘believe in the name of his son Yeshua the Messiah, and love one another.”  He uses the term ‘abide’ as is his custom. See John 15. There is a relationship. The branch abides in the trunk of the tree, and they share sap, which produces fruit. Branches don’t struggle to exist or to accomplish tasks. They remain. The sap of the tree produces fruit on the branches. 

So God wants us to stay the love course together with one another until Messiah returns. Will you join us? Will you be confident in the Lord? God’s promise is eternal life (Chapter 2: 25). Let’s live in that today.

 

INVITATION

Dear friends, if you’d like to have the forgiveness and the fellowship about which I spoke, you can do so today. Just now you can pray and find that the God of love extends his life to you in giving you pardon for all your sins. That forgiveness will usher you into the freedoms of knowing the God of love. Isn’t that a wonderful idea?

If you’d like that, please pray and ask God to forgive you your sins and to make you born again. 

Then let us know you have done this, won’t you? Write to us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) and tell us you have prayed for the first time. We want to send you some literature and welcome you to the family.  

And if you have any questions, use that same address, ok?

And join us next week as I continue the 5-part series from the first letter of John. 

Until then, Shabbat shalom.

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Bibliography

Smalley, Stephen, 1 John, Word Biblical Commentary Series, Thomas Nelson, Grand Rapids, 1973. 

Weirsbe, Warren, Be Real, Victor Books, David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, 1972. 

Also, to see the whole book in one short graphic and wonderful summary, watch this video:

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/1-john-introduction/#overview

Actual text

 

1John 3:1   See ^1ahow great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called ^bchildren of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because ^cit did not know Him. ^2 aBeloved, now we are ^bchildren of God, and ^cit has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He ^dappears, we will be ^elike Him, because we will ^fsee Him just as He is. ³ And everyone who has this ^ahope fixed on Him ^bpurifies himself, just as He is pure.

 

1John 3:4   Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and ^asin is lawlessness. ⁵ You know that He ^aappeared in order to ^btake away sins; and ^cin Him there is no sin. ⁶ No one who abides in Him ^asins; no one who sins has seen Him or ^1bknows Him. ^7 aLittle children, make sure no one ^bdeceives you; ^cthe one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; ⁸ the one who practices sin is ^aof the devil; for the devil ¹has sinned from the beginning. ^bThe Son of God ^cappeared for this purpose, ^dto destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ No one who is ^1aborn of God ^bpractices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is ¹born of God. ¹⁰ By this the ^achildren of God and the ^bchildren of the devil are obvious: ¹anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who ^cdoes not love his ^dbrother.

 

1John 3:11   ^aFor this is the message ^bwhich you have heard from the beginning, ^cthat we should love one another; ¹² not as ^aCain, who was of ^bthe evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because ^chis deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

 

1John 3:13   Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. ¹⁴ We know that we have passed out of death into life, ^bbecause we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. ¹⁵ Everyone who ^ahates his brother is a murderer; and you know that ^bno murderer has eternal life abiding in him. ¹⁶ We know love by this, that ^aHe laid down His life for us; and ^bwe ought to lay down our lives for the ^cbrethren. ¹⁷ But ^awhoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, ^chow does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸ Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth. ¹⁹ We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him ²⁰ in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. ²¹ Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; ²² and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.

 

1John 3:23   This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. ²⁴ The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

Freedom, where is it? A Yom Kippur message

Given at Kol Nidre service
Bondi Junction (Sydney) NSW
29 September 2017

Janis Joplin sang a song at Woodstock which was the anthem of a generation. Me and Bobby McGee, which contained this conclusion,

“Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose 
Nothin', don't mean nothin' hon' if it ain't free, no no 
And, feelin' good was easy, Lord, when he sang the blues 
You know, feelin' good was good enough for me, good enough for me and Bobby McGee.”

I sang that song along with Joplin, with Waylon Jennings in 1973, with Willy Nelson when he covered it in 1979 and still that conclusion about freedom lingers in my memory to this day.

Nothing left to lose. Like the North Queensland Cowboys who will be playing with nothing to lose on Sunday in the NRL Grand Final. When no one expected the boys to carry on after the loss of both their co-captains, they have nothing left to lose. Is that freedom?

One website, Live Science, defined freedom as “Freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint, and the absence of a despotic government.

Freedom for the Live Science mob is living without restraint, and without hindrance, mostly from government, but by extension, from anyone’s rules or authority. That has to be a fascinating concept given that science operates under a rubric of rules and authority.

For those reading this online, read Mike Treder’s piece from September 2009, AND the commentary/ responses of many after his article. https://ieet.org/index.php/IEET2/more/treder20090917

People usually define freedom as something we all long for. Mike Treder wrote, “Freedom stands for something greater than just the right to act however I choose—it also stands for securing to everyone an equal opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To most reasonable people, freedom means more than just ‘free to do whatever I want’. Taken literally, that approach would produce anarchy—every man, woman, and child for himself or herself. Fortunately, none of us has to live that way (unless you’re reading this in Somalia or a similar disaster area).

Franklin Roosevelt was the US president during WWII. He was elected four times and in one of his major addresses given in January 1941, he spoke of four freedoms, made forever famous by American illustrator Norman Rockwell. The freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These words would ring in the ears of Americans throughout the next four and a half years during the World War. And still ring in our ears to this day. Rockwell’s illustrations, Roosevelt’s words, Janis Joplin’s lyrics… all speak of a mystical, deep longing in the hearts of people, from Uganda to Utrecht, from Uluru to Uruguay, and here in Bondi Junction. Where then is true freedom?

Google ‘freedom’ and the word “Australia” and the top 10 sites are all related to the furniture store. Seriously. Capitalism and Google have met together and given us no philosophy on this one. But that doesn’t stop us from thinking about this just now.

So how would you define or notice or desire freedom?
Let me take you with me to Yom Kippur, out in Chicago. The year 1983. I was 31 years old. Patty and I had spent the US summer there and our daughter Jessica was born in August there. At the end of my ministry assignment, and as school was to begin in September, Patty and our two children went back to New York City where we lived. I stayed behind for the High Holidays, and the services Jews for Jesus ran then.

Most of the time, after big events, our staff likes to get together and debrief, and the best way to do that is over a meal. So after Rosh Hashanah services, we went out. After Friday night gatherings we often went out to eat. So when it was my old boss Baruch and I who were the skeleton crew running the Yom Kippur service, it didn’t seem odd that we would pack up the boxes, the bulletins, the other goods from the service into our van, drive to the Chinese restaurant and eat out. Oh, wait, we said, halfway through the chicken soup… it’s Yom Kippur! Oy! Guilty!

A young woman who lived with her boyfriend for years, recently got married and said, “Somehow I felt in bondage.” After three months of marriage, she went on a date with a work colleague, and it wasn’t long before she and her husband filed for divorce. She later said, “I felt free, for the first time in a long time.” Was that freedom for her?

Yeshua said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8.32) Is being dismissive of contracts or legally binding situations, where flat mates argue and fight over who paid what utility or who signed with the landlord…when one of them excises the other, is that freedom? When I was 19, in the South of the USA, I was in jail for 40 hours or so, in Florida, for vagrancy, and after a man in jail paid my fine, I left, kicked my heels and felt liberated, smiled, danced, but had nowhere to go, no one with whom to go. I was terribly alone. My freedom was escape, freedom from the bondage of jail, but not free to be alone with myself and with God.

Let me tell you a story, about a Jewish rabbi and jail. It’s a true story and happened in a Greek city of Philippi, which was a major city of the district of Macedonia.

Rabbi Saul, of Tarsus in modern Turkey, had disturbed the town, and was arrested by the police force, taken to the magistrates, and they found him guilty.

Here is the text:
They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the market place before the authorities, and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are throwing our city into confusion, being Jews, and are proclaiming customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans.” The crowd rose up together against them, and the chief magistrates tore their robes off them and proceeded to order them to be beaten with rods.  When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely; and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.  But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.  But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”  They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” 

The scene zooms in on Saul and his mate, Silas. They’ve had the worst day ever. The crowd has dobbed them in to the authorities; the beating was painful, beyond human capacity. Their aches and pains would have been substantial and grueling.
Arthur Katz in his book, “Reality” describes the scene,
“Can you picture Paul and Silas, their clothes stripped from them, publicly humiliated in the market place? Then the first crack of the whip. You see the ugly red welt appear as that rod comes crashing down against the naked flesh, and there are yet many more stripes to go. As those rods keep swishing and cracking, what was first red has been turning somewhat blue. Then the skin is torn. Those rods cut right into the open flesh all the way to the bone, and we have not yet counted ten. When those men were finally cast into the inner prison, they were as pitiful a sight as one could ever imagine.”

Then the Bible says it was midnight. Have you ever been put in stocks, or had a long grueling bushwalk, or gym exercise, and your body is aching. Your back hurts; nothing is without pain. And you lie on the hard ground in a jail cell. An inner cell, a lower cell, where the smell of human urine and feces still lingers. It’s a hellish incarceration. Katz goes on to describe the scene, “rats and vermin would scurry about, and the groans of other prisoners would be heard from other parts of the prison.”

What would you have done? What would have been your response? Aching and pain in the physical; wondering what you did wrong in the spiritual. Emotional outbursts, and arguing with the God of the universe.

What did this rabbi Saul and his offsider Silas do? They sang praises to God in the middle of the night. WHAT? Outrageous. What was going on?

Paul and Silas were in jail, but they were free. They knew a freedom the other prisoners didn’t know. They knew a freedom the jailer didn’t know. The jailer had the keys, but he wasn’t free.

The singing filled the jailhouse. Over the groans of others, the songs of praise to the Almighty were as a bouquet of fresh flowers. And the Bible says, “The prisoners were listening.” This is different than hearing; they were considering, even as some of you here tonight are hearing AND listening to the message. You are considering whether the message about Yeshua being our messiah is true. You are weighing in your heart this conclusion of Paul, Silas, Bob and all the others gathered here. The prisoners were listening; are you listening?

Then the amazing earthquake happened. A seismic reality, a particularized ground shaking that only touched the jail, and loosened the chains that locked in Rabbi Saul and Silas. And they didn’t run. The prisoners didn’t run.

Why didn’t they run? They were already free. Their freedom was not related to the new house in Vaucluse or Hunters Hill. They were not free because a government told them they had beaten the previous government and established a new nation. They were free because they had been forgiven of their sins and received new life in Yeshua. So whether in jail or outside, they knew the Messiah; they knew peace; they knew God’s love.

But the jailer was different. He was afraid for his life. The charge had been given, that if the prisoners escaped that his life was over.
So who holds the keys?
The jailer held the keys but was in bondage.
The prisoners were in jail but were free. Why were they free? They were forgiven!

How were they forgiven? By the blood of Yeshua. By faith in what Yeshua did in his dying for their sins. The Eternal Yom Kippur took place on a hill in Jerusalem called Moriah or Calvary. There the Son of God took our sins on himself and died to be the kipporah, the atonement for us. For each of us. If we will believe.

No wonder Paul and Silas didn’t run. They had been forgiven and knew true peace.

I’m reminded of the time when God gave the Jewish people the Torah at Sinai. There the Bible says in Exodus 32.16 that the two tablets of the 10 Commandments were God’s work, the writing was God’s writing, engraved on the tablets. The Hebrew word for ‘engraved’ is Harut.

Why does this remind me of the jailhouse rock with Silas and Paul? Because the Hebrew word for ‘freedom’ is herut, a variant of the word for ‘engraving.’ When God writes His Torah on our hearts, when we are born again by the Spirit and by faith in Yeshua, our Messiah, He engraves His Word in us, and we are free. Even as Yeshua said, ‘You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free.”

My prayer for each of you, for each of us tonight, is that you will know this engraving, this freedom, this encounter with Messiah.

It’s not another word for ‘nothing left to lose.’ It’s freedom in Messiah, who bore our penalty in Himself and gives us life abundant with Him. And may your fast be easy, may your life be free, indeed.

Yeshua: Chosen and Rejected

A sermon given at St Johns Anglican, Dee Why
31 January 2016

Introduction
The new teacher asked one toddler “How old are you, Brian?” Brian answered, “I am four.” Then the teacher asked, “When will you turn five years old?” The boy answered, “When I’m done being four.”

I guess we all like clever children, and today’s readings from Psalm 71 (.6, 17), Jeremiah 1 (.5-6), 1 Corinthians 13 (.11) and the Gospel of Luke 4 (.22) all remind us of youth who represent God. But the Gospel also shows us the problem of a person trying to represent the Lord in his hometown. I understand that, and maybe you do also. I grew up as an Orthodox Jew in Kansas City, in the middle of the US, and when I came to believe in Jesus, most who knew me ‘back then’ wouldn’t have anything to do with me nor listen to what I had to say about God. Sometimes the people closest to us, who knew us when, are the ones with whom we have the most difficulty in sharing what we believe about God and Jesus.

That said, let me thank Father Steven for welcoming me back here to the parish and thanks to each of you who is listening to me, both here live, and those who will hear this online or read the sermon there later. Thanks because you are listening to someone whom you might otherwise disregard. Also I hope you will fill out that white card which is inside the newsletter, which allows us to continue to communicate with you down the proverbial road through our email or print newsletter, your choice.

The scene at Nazareth
Let’s turn in our Bibles to the Gospel reading, Luke 4, and see what it has to say to us, as 21st Century people, both about our Messiah, who was chosen and rejected, and about our mission in the world, where we will probably receive similar response. And as I represent Jews for Jesus here in Australia, I hope you will consider sponsoring our mission as well, today and in the months to come. Back to Luke 4.

Verse 16: Yeshua came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, his hometown, and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and read: THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”

He closed the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. Everyone was watching. Then Yeshua said, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.

This reading is almost an entire quote from Isaiah chapter 61. Either Luke or Yeshua leaves out the phrase about ‘the healing of the brokenhearted’ which Isaiah prophesies. The reading of a portion of the Bible from the prophets or other writings is a custom in the synagogue even to this day. Yeshua has been teaching in the area, and has been performing miracles in the Galilee, which is his diocese, if you will. He was busy in Capernaum, which is 32 kilometres away which obviously was well known to the people of his Nazareth synagogue and home.

Yeshua says the hope of the Jewish people, for someone who will bring the jubilee to the people, who will free us from Rome, that hope…it is Himself! Even the word ‘anointed’ in verse 17 is the verb form of Messiah. The Messiah would heal us, bring good news to us. He would not only proclaim God’s favor, He would actually set people free.

And Yeshua says the wait is over. He is the Chosen One, whom God anointed to fulfill the prophecy. The fulfillment is literally “in your hearing” because it consists in the words from Isaiah being spoken by the One for whom they were prophetically destined.

Now look at the people’s response. “Everyone spoke well of Him, and wondered at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Keith Green was a musician who died in 1982. He was a rock and roller who came to believe in Jesus in the early 1970s. One of his songs that became a favorite for me was the “Song to my parents.” (Click to hear the Keith Green song)
The song ends with “It’s only that I care, I really only just want to see you there” about going to heaven. He urges them to consider eternity even though they often got into an argument about religion. The ending of the song however, is well worth our noting. After the appeal to his parents yet one more time, he says, “Isn’t that Jesus? Isn’t that Joseph and Mary’s son? Didn’t he grow up right here? He played with our children. What? He must be kidding. Thinks he’s a prophet. Prophets don’t grow up from little boys, do they? Do they?”

The question of course is begged in verse 22. Didn’t this man who just read to us the Bible passage and point it to himself… isn’t that the guy who used to fix our furniture in his carpenter shop? He’s just like us, so he cannot be the fulfillment of the Scriptures. And Yeshua knows that. Like we read in other passages of Yeshua’s awareness of what people are thinking. Verse 23 says, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself!” Yeshua knew what people were thinking. And it wasn’t good what the locals were thinking. No wonder Yeshua says, in verse 24. “Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his hometown.”

Being chosen does not necessarily produce natural cheerleading from the locals. In fact, Yeshua seems to be saying the exact opposite is in view. In fact, we are unwelcome. We will be rejected. That’s a guarantee from the One who copped this rejection Himself. And it’s historically accurate in the biblical record, too. Each of the prophets was dismissed as wacky and irrelevant, or too close to the bone to hear. Each prophet was rejected. That’s the lot for Yeshua, too. And for each of us who chooses to follow Him. You will need more than luck to accomplish this-- you need God's grace, amen?

Two Older Testament examples
Back to our story. Yeshua tells two stories which changes their reactions from acceptance to rage. What two stories? One about Elijah going to the woman, the widow of Zarephath, and second, about Naaman the leper.

From verse 25: “But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel ain the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

You might remember those two Bible stories. The first from 1st Kings chapter 17, and the second from 2nd Kings chapter 5. I encourage you to read these later, even today. The stories are great and demonstrate many things then, and to the people today, and certainly to the people of Jesus’ day. When He references each, the widow and the leper, he’s highlighting several things. 1) Neither took place in the land of Israel, or distinctly that is, among Jewish people in our land and territory. 2) Both involved healings, and a picture of life from the dead and 3) Both involved the provision of God’s promises of substance and health. And finally 4) each was unique in the area. And that’s the clearest takeaway from the Lucan account. Yeshua says, “none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman”

In other words, God didn’t go to the leper colony, He didn’t attend the hospital gala and later walk through and heal everyone. He only healed Naaman. Similarly, in the famine in the Land, He didn’t specifically provide for everyone, nor visit each person, but went only to one place, and to one person. God not only selects; He deselects.

No wonder the people were enraged. It appears that they might be sidelined also. Even though the benefits should be theirs, naturally.

And one more thing about these two episodes. Zarephath is in Sidon which is in Phoenecia, that is, in modern Lebanon. The widow of Zarephath is not living in Jewish quarters. The prophet goes outside Israel to provide for anyone. The blessings of God are not limited to Jews.

Wait, you mean Yeshua wants people to go to foreigners and share this message? Yes. Yeshua wants us to go to those who are not yet believers to make His name known? Yes, sirree.

Naaman the Syrian is an outsider, too. And he even originally rejects the prophecy to wash in the river seven times, because the rivers in Syria are much cleaner than the Jordan. But his associates help him understand that he should obey the prophet and voila he is healed. Awesome.

But wait a minute, going outside your comfort zone, going to Gentiles, going to enemies, going away from the ‘insider’s place’…who does that?

What! You must be kidding. Prophets don’t grow up from little boys, do they? Do they? And then prophets are not really welcomed back home, are they? So what’s going to happen to me when I join your evangelism team? Rejection? Ha! Who wants that?

"and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way."

So what do the people of Nazareth do to Yeshua? In verse 29 we read that they formed a mob. They evicted him from town, and seemed to chain deliver him to the brow of the hill overlooking town. Yeshua is in trouble. He will definitely be tossed over to his death. Have you seen a place like that in Tamworth or Townsville, where the big crosses adorn the highest hill? Over in Auckland there is one-tree hill to which they might have gone. In our days, they would have taken him to the top of the Sydney tower in the middle of the CBD or the top of the Eureka Tower in Melbourne. Wherever they took him there in Nazareth, the end was near for our hero. But since He had not yet taken on the sins of the world (which He took at Gethsemane), death could not have impacted Him. In other words no one could take His life from Him just yet. So what does the Bible say? We read in verse 30, that Yeshua “passed through their midst and went His way.“

Wow. Mobs don’t let the enemy out of their sight. But this one did. Mobs don’t let the convicted one escape. But this mob did. Because no matter what, Yeshua is Lord of the situation. And He will choose when and where He will die. And He did.

What do we learn?
We learn from this episode at his hometown a few things.
1) Yeshua declared Himself to be the Messiah
2) That declaration was not welcomed by all Jewish people
3) His intention to set people free was not limited to Jewish people, but also included Syrians, Lebanese, and probably a few folks from the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Even as Jeremiah was told to be “a prophet to the nations.”
4) When He demonstrated His power in the past, in the Older Testament, He did not choose to make a major production out of it, but chose a single example so that women and men would understand that He can perform wonders.
5) No one can take His life from him. He will eventually lay it down of his own initiative and die on the Roman cross for our sins and take our sins on Himself so as to truly liberate us from bondage, and give us eternal life.
6) Finally, as He was chosen and rejected, so we are to be as well. God chose us in the beginning to walk with Him, (2 Thes. 2.13, Col 3.12) and as such we will suffer the same fates as our Messiah. (Rev. 17.14, John 17.18). If we want to rise with him, we must go to the cross with him. I know it’s early but next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, and the way of Lent begins in about 10 days. So it’s right to ponder this deep truth a moment longer.

If we suffer the rejection from others, don’t be surprised. That’s how they treated everyone sent from God to them. Romans chapter 8 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.” If you can’t bear the cross, then you can’t wear the crown.

We learned today that a prophet is not without honor, except in his own home turf. And maybe you find it most difficult to witness to those closest to you. May I recommend that you each one of you, understand that, and try to be involved in each others’ families? Ask the parents or children of parishioners who visit, “Are you a follower of Jesus?” When you meet someone’s family here or at the church picnic, ask the hard questions. Invite response. Some cannot possibly ask those of their own families any longer. But you can.

Just now into Sydney is arriving my old university roommate. We’ve been friends since 1969, a mere 47 years ago. And we will spend some time together later today and tomorrow for sure. He’s only here for a few days. And you know, he will find it easier to hear the Gospel again from someone not-so-close, or at least that’s what I’m telling myself just now. You never really know, do you? But at least we can be more sensitive to each other’s concerns. Please pray for Mike.

Chosen doesn’t always mean ‘received’, and more realistically those who are chosen by God receive more knockbacks than praises. Is that what you signed up for? If you are a believer, then that IS what you signed up for.

Thanks be to God for His strength, and His power to keep us, and to keep using us, for His purposes. Amen?

A bit about JFJ
Now let me say a few words about Jews for Jesus for whom also I’m here. Two days before Christmas our office received an initial email from a confused Jewish man out in Perth. He didn’t string his sentences together the way I’m used to and I wondered if he were having a go at us. But he said he was Jewish and curious about God, so I wrote him back straightaway. He replied. I replied. It kept going and a phone call ensued. And on Christmas Eve, Allen prayed with me to accept Jesus as his Messiah and Lord. And his darkness is going away. God is saving him daily by His priestly ministry. I hope you will join many in praying for him, his wife and children, and his finding rest in Messiah.

And we have loads more stories I want to tell you, from Budapest and Tel Aviv, from London and New York, to here in Sydney. I love our story. I have many others I want to tell you, but I’ll let the newsletter do that. Would you please fill out the white card you received on entry, tear the stub off, and begin to fill out the larger card. I won’t think it rude for you to write while I finish speaking. Please fill out the card completely, especially your email, so we can tell you stories quickly and you can pass them on via forward to many like this one. (For those online, just send an email will you please?) admin@jewsforjesus.org.au will be happy to receive your contact information and anything you want to let us know about yourself.

If you are giving financially to Jews for Jesus today, please put the amount on the front of the card when you fill it out so we can receipt and thank you. I really appreciate that. (to donate, using PayPal, click on this link Link to donate Thanks.

Our book shop and ministry centre in Bondi Junction welcomes people all week, and every week for a decade unsaved Jewish people come in, like this week when Sebastian from Chile and Nick from Russia and Ariel from Israel all came in, to talk, to learn, to discuss.

I have a resource table up the back, and really want you to get some books on messianic prophecy like this one, or messianic music and many other items on the table.

By the way I also have a credit card machine, so you can use your card, a cheque, or cash to pay for things. Father Steven, thanks for letting me come today. Thanks to each of you here at St John’s who make this such a good place in a dark world. Remember, be His spokesmen to the world that so needs to know Him. Keep doing what makes Yeshua happy, no matter if others reject you, and have a blessed February, Lent, and a joyful Easter season.

Yeshua Cohen (A priest too?)

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A priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek

A sermon given at Congregation Beth Messiah

Houston Texas

28 March 2015

By Bob Mendelsohn

Shabbat shalom to each of you here at CBM, and to those reading this online on my blog or on Facebook, also a hearty greeting.

Introduction: Tsav

Today is the Saturday before Passover and it is customary throughout Jewry to honor this day as the Great Sabbath, or Shabbat HaGadol. This commemorates the great miracle that happened in Egypt on this day, heralding the Exodus from Egypt five days later. Shabbat HaGadol customs include reading a portion of the Haggadah, which tells the story of the Exodus; it is also customary that the rabbi of the community teaches on the laws of Passover, in preparation for the festival. A survey was taken in Israel some years ago now, in which they found that less than 50% of the Jews believed in a personal God, but almost 90% observe Passover. That may put this in perspective a little.

Now, our parasha today entitled Tsav, means commandment and inside the 3^rd book of Torah, Vayikra, this makes sense. After all the majority of the 613 laws in Torah are found in Leviticus.  And like the book’s title in Latin tells us, Leviticus is the book of the Levites, or the priestly book.

Chapter 8 of Leviticus teaches us of the ordination of the priests and a bit of their duties. It shows Moses killing animals and sprinkling blood in appropriate places, and behaving like a priest, although he wasn’t officially one.

The entire chapter filled with ritual and blood and drama is an ordination ceremony that begins the work of ministry for Aaron and his four sons. Numbers chapter 8 highlights when the priests’ duties are fulfilled and they are told to retire, but that’s for another sermon, although I hear you are experiencing some of that at CBM just now.  May God lead you well in this time of transition.

Our role: The role of the priests

So I’m thinking about priests and about transitions and of course Passover, and I am led to teach you about a couple major things. First is the role of each of you, as a believer, if you are a believer in Yeshua as Messiah. He calls us to be a royal priesthood, according to the shaliach Shimon, Yeshua’s right hand man in the day. (“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2.9). Shimon would certainly have known all about this, as Yeshua actually ordained him to such a status as is recorded in Matthew chapter 16. You can read that later, but the reference will be important for you to write down. (And Yeshua said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My congregation; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16.17-19)

Yeshua ordains Peter to Gospel ministry, and that means one thing to those men that day. Peter is becoming a Cohen, a priest. Wow, who can do that anyway? Who can make someone who is not a Cohen to be a Cohen?

The only one who can really honestly do that is the Almighty himself. And Yeshua is saying of himself, that that is exactly who he is! What a claim!

He who is questionably a priest anyway, isn’t he? Remember a priest had to come from the line of Aaron, who was a Levite, Levi being the 3^rd son of Jacob. Yeshua according to the genealogies was a great, great, great…. Grandson of Judah, the 4^th son of Jacob. The writer of Hebrews will make a very clear and very important case for the priesthood of Yeshua, and I’ll explain that just now.

Yeshua: The great High Priest of our confession

Melchizedek is a character from the time of Abraham our father. He is also mentioned one time in the Psalms (110.4). And of course, he is mentioned several times in the book of Hebrews in the Newer Testament portion of the Bible. Who is he? And why is he so important?

According to the story (found in Genesis 14), he was a priest of another people, but geographically near Abraham. When Abraham had been successful in battle in retrieving his nephew Lot from his captors, Abraham wanted to demonstrate thankfulness to God right away. He went to Melchizedek, the King of Salem (and by the way his name means “King of Righteousness.”), who promised to stand with Abraham, Melchizedek brought out what we would recognize as Kiddush, that is, bread and wine, and served some of the military leaders in Abraham’s entourage. He also said a blessing over Abraham, which was powerful.

What Abraham did was surprising however. He gave a tithe to Melchizedek and honoured him above himself. In fact, the Bible makes clear that the greater blesses the lesser. So let’s read a bit from Hebrews 7 and unpack it as we go.

“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,  to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.” (This doesn’t mean Melchizedek was without parentage, but rather that in the record of Scripture, he just pops onto the scene. He did have beginnings and he did die, but the Bible doesn’t make mention of those events)

“Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater.” (The key word in the book of Hebrews is ‘better’ and Yeshua is better than angels, better than Moshe, better than… And here we see Melchizedek is better than Abraham because of the tithing)

“In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on.  And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” (In other words since Levi was in Abraham, and all the current priests were also there, then the priesthood of today (the Aaronides) is less than the priesthood of Yeshua (Melchizedek) because of the tithing!

“Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also.  For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life.” (Yeshua came from Judah and was as such disqualified from being our high priest in heaven, but cleverly the writer of Hebrews gets another order of priests to make this work)

 “For it is attested of Him,

                  “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER

                  ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” (Psalm 110.4)

“For, on the one hand, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. And inasmuch as it was not without an oath(for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him,” (Levites were such not because they swore to uphold anything, but it was simply biological)

                  “THE LORD HAS SWORN

                  AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND,

                  ‘YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER’”);

so much the more also Yeshua has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Yeshua, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.” (Hebrews chapter 7)

So what do we learn?

Yeshua is our Great High Priest, not because he came from Judah, but because He came from Melchizedek’s order. He is a forever priest. He is the one who hears us and who cares for us. He lives to make intercession for us. He saves to the uttermost. Glory to His name! Baruch hashem!

And what about you?

The topic in Tsav seems so remote to us as 21^st century people, doesn’t it? Priests and tabernacles, oils and ephods, 7-day ordination separation duties, and old old Old Jews. But if you have been listening, you learned like I did that The Almighty who made Yeshua a priest forever according to another order, other than Levi, is also making you into a priest, in a way.

There are a few parallel words in Exodus chapter 28.

“Then bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the sons of Israel, to minister as priest to Me — Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons. You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skilful persons whom I have endowed with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him, that he may minister as priest to Me. These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me.” (Exodus 28.1-4)

Three times in those four verses you hear that same phrase, “That he may minister as a priest to me.”

So priests have a job, to mediate between the people and God and between God and the people.

That’s why we celebrate that we have Yeshua now who is the only mediator between God and men.  No man needs to do it for us any longer. No man can do this any longer.

But listen to this text from a very obscure text in Rav Shaul’s letter to the Roman believers. After he tells the Romans:

“For I say that Messiah has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,

                  “THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO YOU AMONG THE GENTILES,

                  AND I WILL SING TO YOUR NAME.”

Again he says,

                  “REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE.” And again…“ (Romans 15.8-10)   He says this odd phrase, but is an exact parallel to our text in Exodus and Leviticus today:

“I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Messiah Yeshua to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15.15-16)

I say it’s odd because this is the only time in the Newer Testament that the word priest is used in verb form, just like we see in Torah today. And what we are as the Body of Messiah, here at CBM, and at Faith Lutheran last night in Sugar Land and at Second Baptist and at… you name it, wherever the Gospel of Messiah is proclaimed, we are to function as priests, if you will all of us together, reaching a lost world, bringing them to God and bringing God to them. We together are a witness and a holy one at that, of the Holy God.

We in the messianic community have a responsibility to serve as that royal priesthood, that holy nation, to our own people. And if you are Jewish and here today (or reading or listening online) I urge you to hear these words, to consider Yeshua, our Great High Priest, who alone went into the Heavenly Tabernacle, made without hands, and secured our eternal kipporah, our eternal forgiveness and atonement. Consider and receive Him as Savior and Lord; He is our Messiah and the One who lives to intercede, and to cry out on our behalf. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Then when you also join Him, and believe Yeshua died for your sins and rose from the dead for us all, then you can join us and make a clear proclamation to the world of God’s eternal message of hope and joy, of forgiveness and salvation.

That’s why I’m here today. To help you all see the priesthood of all believers, that is, that we all together, are a priesthood to the world, and to ask you to continue to pray for our work in Sydney, Australia and around the world. Quick story:  Last week one of our women was sharing at a church in Idaho, like I am out in Texas. Melissa met Ruth, whose Christian neighbour brought to hear another Jew speak about Messiah.  Long story short, Ruth prayed with Melissa that morning to believe and confess Yeshua as Messiah and Lord. Melissa called her dad on the phone, who also is a believer, and said, “I have someone here who wants to tell you something.” That’s in house buzz words for “I just prayed with a person, and they are going to tell you about it.” Sure enough Stewart answered the phone, and heard Ruth tell him that she had just accepted Yeshua as Messiah. How great is that? It’s even better… Stewart is also a Jews for Jesus missionary and was actually on the pulpit at the time of the phone call. And Ruth shared using the speakerphone with the entire congregation that she had just gotten saved. Spontaneous applause broke out as you can imagine. I love that story. I have many others I want to tell you, but I’ll let the newsletter do that. Would you please fill out the white card you received on entry, the one with my picture on it, tear the stub off, and begin to fill out the larger card. I won’t think it rude for you to write while I finish speaking. Please fill out the card completely, especially your email, so we can tell you stories quickly and you can pass them on via forward to many like this one.

If you are giving financially to Jews for Jesus today, please put the amount on the front of the card when you fill it out so we can receipt and thank you. I really appreciate that.

I have a resource table as usual up the back, and really want you to get the book entitled, “What the rabbis know about the Messiah” by Rachmiel Frydland, of blessed memory, The cover is on the screen just now. We ran out of them on this trip, but if you want one, just pay for it up the back, along with any other book, like my testimony, or the calendar, music you want, and without shipping charge, we will get it to you right away. I loved Rachmiel, a holocaust survivor, a Yeshiva bachur, and a holy messianic mensch. He died in 1984 in Ohio. His book is a classic and you have to have it in your library, for sure.

By the way I also have a credit card machine now, so you can use your card, a check, or cash to pay for things.

Rabbi Richard, thank you for your friendship in Messiah for over 30 years. Patsy, keep looking after the man; he turned 69 on Wednesday, which is also my wife’s birthday but she is much younger. He is a golden friend and a holy representative of Messiah’s body in Houston to a world that so desperately needs to see Yeshua.

Rabbi Ron and all the rest of the staff, all the volunteers who make this place such a good place I thank you as well.  To everyone, be His priests to the world that so needs to know Him. Keep doing what makes Yeshua happy; have a blessed Pesach next week, remembering the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and have a Shabbat shalom as well today.