Discovering The Jewish Jesus

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: We're chosen to be holy, to be set apart to God, to be his witnesses. Are you letting people see that you're connected to the Lord and not to the world? Are you ashamed to lift up his name? Never be ashamed of the Lord.

These things, beloved, that God has done for us—choosing us in him before the foundation of the world, forgiving our sins in Messiah Jesus, and calling us into his glory to be with him forever—beloved, he does these things not only because he loves us, but he also does these things for his own glory.

Listen now as I read in Ephesians chapter one. I'm going to begin here with verse number six. He did all these things to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. What things has he done? In verse number three, he blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. In verse number four, beloved, he chose us to be his in Messiah Jesus before the foundation of the world, that we should stand before him in all love and holiness and without blame.

Finally, we read that he predestined us. So he blessed us, he chose us, he predestined us and forgave our sins. Verse number six tells us that he did all this, beloved, to the praise of the glory of his grace. One of the things that we read in scripture, if we're really paying attention, is that God does all things for his own glory.

What that means is that you and I as his children should be deeply concerned with the glory of God. What does Jesus pray? "Father, glorify thy name." When Jesus teaches us how to pray, how does he teach us how to pray? He said, "Pray in this way: Our Father that art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Then he concludes the prayer by saying, "For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory."

Let me ask you a question. Are you and I concerned with the glory of God, or are we just using God to try to satisfy our own wants and desires? No, beloved, Jesus said, "Unless you pick up your cross, deny yourself and follow me, you can't be my disciple." We ask you, Father God, to give us the mind of Messiah and to give us the mind that you gave Paul, Father God, to understand that life is about your glory.

Help us to understand that in giving you glory, you share your glory with us. You see, beloved, the scripture says here that Paul tells us in Ephesians 1:17 and 18 that we would comprehend the riches of the glory of God's inheritance in us. That God's glory is in us, and the result of that is that he's going to be glorified as we throw our crowns at Jesus' feet and say, "To the lamb be glory and honor and dominion forever and ever."

We need to be filtering our thoughts and our actions with this: Is this resulting in the glory of God? Is what I'm doing now resulting in the glory of God? Is the way that I'm feeling giving God glory? God does all things, for from him and to him and through him are all things. So as Paul begins to unlock for us the deep mysteries of eternity, speaking of how the Father of glory chose us and predestined us and blessed us before the foundation of the world and he did it all to the praise of his glory, you and I need to get in line with that and start asking ourselves as we're living our life, "Father, how can I bring you glory?"

I love this section also as Paul is telling us what the Lord has done. In verse number four, he chose us in him. It's always important—I've been stressing this—the book of Ephesians is a book that over and over speaks about in him, in Jesus. Everything that we have is in him. Yeshua, Jesus, John 1:14 is the only begotten of the Father. Yeshua is in the bosom of the Father, and we've been adopted as sons of the Father in him.

It's only because we're in Jesus, beloved, that we have a relationship with God. It's only because we're in Jesus that we have forgiveness because Jesus shed his blood. So over and over Paul says in him, "You were chosen in him. In him, you have the forgiveness of your sins. You've been raised and seated in the heavenly places with him." We're in Messiah Jesus. That's why we stand before the mirror, we recognize we're sons of God. We don't look at ourselves; we look at Jesus.

We're in Jesus. I hope that quickens you today and encourages you. God's not looking at you as though you're standing alone. God looks at you in Jesus. Your sins have been paid for, and the same love that the Father loves Jesus with, he loves you with. He's your Father. That's why Jesus said in John 20, "I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." It's all because, beloved, we're in him.

That's why we don't approach the Lord anymore like Noah did as the God of Shem. That's why we don't even approach the Lord predominantly today as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the ancient Israelites did. But we approach the Lord, beloved, as the God and Father of Yeshua HaMashiach as Paul did because that's why we have a relationship with him. That's how we have access, that's how we're blessed, and that's how we're going to heaven because we're in him. So the Lord will always be known to the church, beloved, for the rest of eternity as the God and Father of Yeshua HaMashiach, and it's in him, beloved, that we stand today. Bless the name of the Lord.

I love this section right here that it says, beloved, that in verse number four we were chosen in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. We were chosen in Messiah before the foundation of the world, and we were chosen to be holy. What does holy mean? It means set apart unto God. You were chosen to be set apart unto God. Holy and blameless—your sin has already been paid for in Jesus. As far as God the Father is concerned, you're blameless before him because Jesus died for you and paid for your sin.

Too many of us are walking around with condemnation, but it's the devil and it's a lie. Listen once again: just as he chose us in him, in Messiah Jesus, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. So first of all, let's take it apart. The root definition of holy, Kadosh, means to be set apart. It means to be utterly unique, utterly different. So Jesus said, "You did not choose me; I chose you. I chose you out of the world."

What were we chosen out of the world for in John 15? We were chosen out of the world, beloved, to be Jesus—to be, according to the book of Revelation, a kingdom of priests. We've been chosen to draw near to God, to sacrifice our lives to God, and to minister to others on his behalf. We're chosen, beloved, to be holy, to be separate, to be unique. So I want to ask you a question. Is your life holy? Are you seeking, beloved, to walk in a manner worthy of your calling? What's your calling? Your calling is to be holy. It means a life that's set apart unto the Lord.

So the question is, are we leading lives that reflect that we have a holy calling? Paul says, "I encourage you in Ephesians chapter four to walk in a manner worthy of your calling." Ephesians 1:4, after Paul tells us we've been chosen, predestined, to stand before him holy in love, Paul says in Ephesians 4:1, "Therefore, I, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you've been called."

So I want you to take a look at your life as I look at my life. Are we walking in a manner that's holy? Are we separate from the world or are we part of the world? Do they not even know that we're believers? It's unfortunate that too many of us, the only people that hear us talking about God are the people that we sit in church with. Something's got to be wrong with that, beloved, if we're too weak to lift up the name of Jesus in the world.

We're chosen to be holy, to be set apart to God, to be his witnesses. Are you living a life that's holy? Are you living a life that's set apart? Are you leading a life that's not of the world? Are you letting people see that you're connected to the Lord and not to the world? Are you ashamed to lift up his name? Never be ashamed of the Lord. You have a glorious heavenly Father and you're his glorious child. Never be ashamed of the Lord. Don't be ashamed to be holy. Don't be ashamed to be different. Walk in a manner, beloved, worthy of the calling.

Paul says we're blameless. There's no condemnation in us. The Bible says there is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Messiah. God doesn't condemn you; he wants to help you. As long as you reach out to him, keep asking him, "Help me, strengthen me," keep praying constantly. Don't give yourself an excuse to sin. Keep on begging the Lord to strengthen you, to deliver you, beloved, and his blood covers you and you're blameless before him as you're seeking him with all your heart.

And then finally, beloved, we stand before him, the Bible says, in love. We've been chosen from the foundation of the world to stand before him holy, blameless before him in love. Isn't that what it's all about? God is love. That's why he chose us because he loves us. Father, we pray as Paul prayed that you would give us revelation of the length, the breadth, the depth of the love of God which surpasses knowledge. Reveal it to us, Lord, by your spirit, we pray.

Paul goes on to speak here about that which we have in Messiah, and he speaks about the glory that's in us. Look in verse number 18. He's praying in verse number 18 that we would get an understanding of the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. Paul's praying in 1:18 of Ephesians, "I pray that the eyes of your heart might be enlightened, that you might know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints."

Where is the glory? The Bible says, beloved, there's glory because you're a child of the Father of glory in you. And Paul wants you to gain an understanding of this. You know, in ancient Israel, the high priest was instructed to make a breastplate that he wore over his chest. And on the breastplate there were 12 stones. And these 12 stones represented the 12 tribes of Israel.

And these stones were made of beautiful rubies and diamonds and emeralds, and the most beautiful gems and stones, the most valuable commodities, beloved, is what Yahweh, what the Father chose to represent his children that he loved. That's who you are to God. What is in you, beloved, is so precious to God. You know, when we look at our face, we see the blemishes. No, God doesn't see that.

Remember, the Lord said to the prophet Samuel, "Man looketh on the outside, but the Lord looketh on the heart." There's something inside us, beloved, that we don't comprehend, something that's so beautiful, that's so deep, that's so rich. Paul says, "I pray that you would understand the riches of the glory of his inheritance in you." And that Hebrew word for glory is the word Kavod, and it means heavy. It's deep, it's great, it's full, it's wide, it's bigger than we know. We're more than what we think we are.

Many of us are walking around with very poor and destructive self-images. We're thinking about ourselves the things that our parents told us about ourselves, the things that some ex-boyfriend or girlfriend or husband and wife told us about ourselves and then left us. What some kid on the playground said about us 30, 40, 20, 50 years ago. We don't realize who we are. We've got these negative tapes playing in our mind. But you know what, beloved? You're more than you think you are. You're somebody, beloved. God has a garden of his glory that's in you.

And it's going to be revealed to you. And Paul wants you to be praying, "Father, help me to understand what's in me. Help me to understand who I am to you. Help me to understand the riches of the glory of your inheritance in me." You're an inheritance to God. He loves you and he's chosen you to give him glory for all eternity, and his glory is also, hallelujah, in you.

And Yeshua goes on to say there, he wants you to understand, he says to the Apostle Paul, he wants you to understand the hope of your calling. You're going to heaven. Jesus said, "I go and prepare a place for you. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would not have told you." Paul wants us to grasp these things. We need to be praying about these realities, beloved—the realities that Paul prayed for for us.

He said, "Father, give them a spirit of wisdom and revelation, enlighten the eyes of their heart to know you, to know the hope of their calling, to know the riches of the glory of your inheritance in them." This is what we need to be laboring for in prayer, beloved, not predominantly the earthly things. Pray about your earthly things, but make these things your primary concern and God will answer. Because the Bible says if we pray anything according to the will of God, the Lord will answer.

I encourage you to pray this prayer in the book of Ephesians, chapter number one, beloved, beginning in verse number 16 and continuing through the end of the chapter. I encourage you to pray it every day for 90 days. Pray it just like Paul prayed it. And I know, beloved, God is going to answer that prayer and bless you.

Look what else Paul prays for: that we would know in verse number 19 what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe. This greatness he says is in accordance with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Messiah Yeshua when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places. Paul says there's a power at work in your life.

Paul says the power that's at work in our life is the same power that raised Jesus, hallelujah, from the dead and seating him in the heavenly places far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And Jesus, hallelujah, has been given as head to the church. His victory, beloved, has become your victory. That's why the Bible says we've been raised with him and seated with him in the heavenly places. Paul wants us to understand this.

And there's going to come a time in your life, beloved, or in my life, there's going to come a time that we're going to find ourselves in a situation that's going to seem hopeless. There's going to come a time when you feel so defeated that you feel just like giving up. But I want you to hear today that the power that raised Jesus from the dead, that power is at work in your life.

That's why the Bible says you're more than a conqueror through him that loved you. That neither life nor death, things past, present, or things to come will ever be able to separate you from the love of God. You are more than a conqueror, hallelujah, beloved, in Messiah Yeshua HaMashiach who gave himself for you, and the power, beloved, that raised him from the dead lives inside you.

And Paul prays, hallelujah, that we would understand this. Let's listen to that again. Paul prays, "I pray that the Father would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, that he would open the eyes of your heart." And here's what Paul wants us to understand: the surpassing greatness, verse number 19 of Ephesians 1, of his power toward us who believe—towards you.

The power that's on you is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, that conquered everything in heaven and earth. That's the power that's at work in your life. You and I are conquerors through him that loved us. We're more valuable to the Father, beloved, than anything else. We're his sons. The riches of the glory of his inheritance is inside us.

You see, he sent Jesus for us. He chose us before the foundation of the world in his love, and then he sent Jesus his Son, beloved, to die in our place that we could be forgiven by his blood. And then he raised Jesus from the dead, beloved, for us, that we too, beloved, would be seated with him in the heavenly places, hallelujah, in Messiah Jesus.

Listen to what he says in verse number six, that we've been raised up with him. Ephesians 2:6, we've been raised up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places in Messiah Yeshua. Get verse seven, that in all the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Messiah Yeshua. You see, beloved, by grace you've been saved. You're a glorious child of God. You're a glorious son of God. You've been adopted by the Father by Messiah's blood. You're in Jesus.

You're going to heaven and you're going to spend the rest of eternity, the scripture tells us in Ephesians 2, seated in heavenly places in Messiah Jesus. And for the rest of eternity, Paul tells us, the Father is going to show the riches of his kindness towards us. Now if that's not something to get excited about, hallelujah, I don't know what is.

So let's do this. Let's throw off dread, let's throw off fear, let's throw off discouragement, and let's start praising God and taking a hold, beloved, of this revelation. So Father God, we just want to bless you today. We just want to thank you today. We just want to bless the name of the Lord Jesus, of Yeshua today and say thank you, Father Yahweh, for all you've done for me. Help me, Father God, to comprehend all that you've done. And Father God, I want to love you just like Jesus loves you and praise you all the days of my life.

A portion of scripture that I've really been examining my own heart in before the Lord is the portion where Jesus told the rich young ruler to go sell everything that he had and then to follow Yeshua, and then he would inherit eternal life. This rich young ruler, he was a moral person, but he clung to his financial possessions. It was the most important thing in his life.

And I've been lifting up my own heart to the Lord and saying, "Lord, are my surrender to you in the area of my finances? I know, Abba, that I need to be completely surrendered to you in every area of my life, so help me to completely release my possessions and my finances to you." You see, many of you are like me. You have a hard time trusting God with your finances. You trust him in other areas of your life, but you haven't yet trusted him here. Beloved, I want you to know Jesus wants to be the Lord of every area of our life. Let's honor him with our finances.

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Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Blessings trump curses, and in the book of Numbers chapter six, we find the Aaronic blessing that God commanded Moses' brother Aaron the high priest to speak over the children of Israel. There's power in blessing, beloved ones, so take part in receiving Father's blessing upon your life 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 ones, his peace. And now in Hebrew.

Yevarechecha Yahweh veyishmerecha.

Ya'er Yahweh panav eleycha veyechuneka.

Yissa Yahweh panav eleycha veyasem lecha shalom.

God bless you and Shalom.

Dustin Roberts: This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus, and I'm your host, Dustin Roberts. And today as we end, we just want to say we love you. Thank you as well from all of us here at Discovering the Jewish Jesus for listening. Join us next time Monday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.