Holy Scriptures and Israel

Intro/Outro Narrator (Female): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: The study of Ephesians chapter 5. They, that tarry long at the wine, that they go to seek a mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red. There's always a warning. It seemed to be in scripture concerning abusive way in which one is being allowing himself to be controlled under wine. You notice the word woe and sorrow. That's the two Hebrew words, oy va avoy. We often time in Israel when something happened, we say, oh, boy, oy va avoy. That's two Hebrew words: woe and sorrow.

In Israel, when some trouble happened, we says oy va avoy. That's those two Hebrew words in verse 29 of Proverbs chapter 23. So, let's leave that for a moment and let's look at the other side of this verse. It says, but be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

Now, what does that mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God? You see, the Spirit of God is a person. He is God, the Holy Spirit. When we have accepted Yeshua, we have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, and He's now residing in every believer, never to leave us anymore.

But as we go on in our walk with the Lord, and we live here in this world with many challenges and many difficulties that we have here in this world, well, the believer is exhorted now to be filled with the Holy Spirit of God. In other words, to allow the Spirit of God to control the believer.

What's going to happen when the believer is controlled by the Spirit of God? There will be a change in their lives. There will be an attitude that will be pleasing to the Lord because the Spirit controls us. The Spirit guides us. And many times we find in scripture, specifically in the Book of Acts, when Peter was filled with the Spirit, he preached boldness, the message of the Lord.

When Paul was filled with the Spirit, Acts chapter 13 and verse 9, he preached the word in boldness. When Stephen was filled with the Spirit, in Acts chapter 7, he preached the word in boldness. The Spirit of God filling the believer leads us to the person of the Messiah and enables us to preach the word boldly, but also to change the manner of our behavior as we walk here in this world. And that's why he's saying, do not be drunk with wine, but be controlled or be filled by the Holy Spirit of God.

And that will help us. Brothers and sisters, you show me a believer that he's filled by the Spirit of God, and I'm going to show you a person that is occupied with Jesus. You show me a brother or sisters that are really truly not only saved, but filled with the Holy Spirit of God. I'm going to show you a person that present before us something of the Messiah, something of Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

Yeshua said in John 16:14 that the Spirit of God will not speak of Himself. He will take of mine and He will show this unto you. So, being filled with the Spirit of God is simply learning from the features of the life in which Yeshua lived here in this world. We learn from Him, and we become a little bit more every time, somewhat like Him.

So in the next verses, that's why the next verses are very important, verses 19 to 30. We find three results of the ones that truly are being filled with the Spirit of God. And here are the three results. The first one is found in verse 19. The first result of a person that is really filled with the Holy Spirit of God, this person has a joyful heart. He or she are not miserable people that constantly are arguing and fighting and so on. A person that is really filled with the Spirit of God will have joy in his or her heart.

Look at this. It says in verse 19, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Here is a person that has been really filled by the Holy Spirit of God. In-filling, constantly, constantly are filling himself by the person of the Holy Spirit of God. There is a change in their life, there is joy in their hearts.

And notice what it says. Speaking to yourselves in psalms, in hymns, in spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord. A believer that is filled by the Holy Spirit of God, is a person that have joy. The joy of the Lord. Nehemiah said to our forefathers Israel many years ago in chapter 8, he says, the joy of the Lord is your strength.

There's joy coming to our hearts. Yes, there are problems, there are difficulties, there are many oppositions here in this world, but there is joy in the heart of the believer if he or she has been filled by the Spirit of God. They will sing to the Lord. Even in trial. You remember Paul and Silas, in Acts chapter 16, they were in jail.

They were in bonds, and at midnight, the darkest time of the day, guess who is singing? Paul and Silas. They are singing praises unto the Lord. Everybody hears them, hears the people that are redeemed and saved, and not only redeemed and saved, but they are filled by the Spirit of God, which made it possible for them to sing in the midst of trials.

You know, when we cannot sing and praise the Lord, something is wrong. That means that we are occupied with our problems instead of the person of Yeshua the Messiah. And we do so at times, don't we? We know that in our own self, in our life at a time we are so engaged with the problems that we have, that we don't think of the Lord and His love and what He has done for us, so we can't sing.

The Spirit is quenched. The Spirit is grieved, and we can't sing. And what about when we behave in a wrong way? We don't walk in love. We don't walk in light. We don't walk in wisdom carefully, and therefore the Holy Spirit of God is grieved because of this. And because He is grieved, we cannot be filled with Him, occupying with Yeshua, and therefore, we can't sing.

There's no joy, joylessness. That's what happened even with a believer that is not having the Spirit of God filling him on an ongoing basis. And you notice, it doesn't say that the Spirit of God will do so on our behalf. No. But it says, you yourself be filled with the Spirit. How? Well, walk in love, walk in light, walk carefully. Then you will learn from Yeshua and that will fill your heart with joy because the Spirit of God can now have His own way in your life. And therefore, now you can sing.

And the word for psalms comes from the Hebrew word Mizmor or Mizmorim. How many times will find the Jewish people, our own nation Israel, even in a time of trial, they are singing to the Lord because they were right with the Lord. But when they were wrong with the Lord, they couldn't sing.

You know, the first time we find song in the Bible is mentioned in Exodus chapter 15 in verse 1. Then sang Israel this song unto the Lord. The first time in the Bible. Why they could sing? They could only sing after they were redeemed out of Egypt. After God opened the Red Sea and delivered them out of their enemies, and they were now in a state of rest, and they were in a state in which they could sing to the Lord. And that's the first time in the Bible that we find the word singing in the scripture. Exodus chapter 15. Then sang Israel this song unto the Lord. This is so beautiful, brothers and sisters.

So psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord. It's so beautiful when our hearts are so filled with singing about Yeshua, our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who loved us and gave Himself for us. It is an evident that you have allowed the Spirit of God to fill you. In other words, you have sought the Spirit of God's guidance in your life and our life. That is an evident that we can see in the singing songs unto the Lord.

There are many other verses that I can make a reference. One of the fruit of the Spirit, in Galatians chapter 5, is joy. Galatians 5 and verse 22, it says, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. Well, if we have no joy, that means that the Spirit of God at the fruit of the Spirit of God is not in the life of the believer. And that is so important for us to be filled with the Spirit because it will produce joy in our life. And the consequence of joy is singing spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart unto the Lord.

So, the first thing, brothers and sisters, that is the result of the control of the Spirit in our life is joy. When we are not rejoicing in the Lord and have joy in our heart, we have to question ourselves and say, Lord, I've deviated. I'm not focusing on the right thing. I'm not focusing on you. I'm focusing on myself, and my problems, and my desires, rather than to focus on the Lord. And yes, brothers and sisters, problems will not stop to come our way, but the problems are not to control us. The Lord Jesus the Messiah is the one that should lead us and control us in our life.

By the way, do you know that Yeshua was singing? Psalm 22 and verse 22, He was singing. He is the chief musician in the congregation of Israel. He is the one who will lead the believers in the singing. It's not any one of us who is standing here in the front. That is the voice of Yeshua the Messiah, who is the chief singer, the one who is leading the brothers and sisters in singing.

We have a quotation of it in Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 12. Okay, so the first thing we learn as a result of being controlled by the Holy Spirit of God is a joyful heart. Here's a second thing. This time in verse 20, the Apostle Paul saying, you know, if you are really being controlled by the Holy Spirit of God, it will produce a thankful attitude.

You know, it is terrible when a child of God is not thankful. And that's why he says in verse 20, giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Jesus the Messiah. Giving thanks is another result of being filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

When one is unthankful, it's a terrible thing. And that's why he's saying, giving thanks always for all things. Now, how can you give thanks to God when you have problems in your life, right? You might say, and I might say. But the Bible teaches us, Romans 8 and verse 28, you remember what Paul said to the Romans? For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

So when he says in verse 20, giving thanks always, and giving thanks always for all things, he means even sometime for the things that are not so easy. Because all things work together for good. You know, sometimes there are trials in the life of the people of God. And how can we even enter in to some of the trials that some of our brothers and sisters are going through?

Some people lost loved ones, and they are now all alone. Some people lost family member, or sick and in the hospital, and on and on and on. But you see, a believer that is filled with the Spirit of God will also give thanks even for things that are not necessarily good, and so a good for us at the moment. But we know that all things ultimately work for our good because God has a plan for us.

So giving thanks all the time for all things, unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. This is interesting that thought of giving thanks. If you just turn in your page to the book of Colossians, look how many time Paul encourage the Colossians to give thanks. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 3. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, praying always for you.

Notice Colossian 1:12. Giving thanks unto the Father which have made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. We give thanks to the Father, because they made us suitable. He made us meet, to be meet to be partakers of the inheritance, what He had given for us through Yeshua the Messiah. Colossian 1:12.

Colossian 2 and verse 7. He says, being rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding therein. And then he says, with thanksgiving. Don't forget to give thanks. Colossians chapter 2 and verse 7. Turn the page to Colossian 3. And look at this. Colossian 3 in verse 17.

There he says, and whatsoever ye do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. And finally, in Colossian 4 and verse 2, he says, continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving. You know, the Bible is filled with verses that encourage the believers to be thankful.

There's so much to be thankful for, beloved brothers and sisters. And it is a terrible thing when one receives a gift from God. He receives something and not to have the courtesy to say, God, I thank you for what you have given to me. And when a believer is ungrateful and unthankful, it really shows that he or she are simply not filled by the Holy Spirit of God. Or they may be saved, because they have accepted Yeshua. And by the way, the book of Ephesians were not written to unbelievers.

It was written to the local assembly in the city of Ephesus. Just the same like the book of Corinthians was written to the saints. And yet there were terrible condition at the church at Corinth. But the saints can behave in an ungrateful way. And therefore he is telling them, you really been filled with the Holy Spirit of God, you ought to have a joy in your heart.

And if you are really being filled with the Holy Spirit of God, you ought to have an attitude of thankfulness in your life to the Lord. Psalm 106, Psalm 107, Psalm 118, Psalm 136 verses 1, all of them verse 1. The psalmist started by saying, I will give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.

He is good, and therefore we can give thanks. The psalmist of Israel understood the goodness of God when they were in a right condition and they gave thanks unto the Lord. And the believers today ought to understand the same thing and be thankful. And when we are not, brothers and sisters, the best thing to do is to go on our face before the Lord and say, Lord, I apologize that I have an unthankful heart. Help me to have a thankful heart, because then I know that I am in a right spiritual state because I ought to be thankful.

And there is so much to be thankful, brothers and sisters. Think about that for a moment, and I'm going to move on. All your sins that you have committed, that I have committed, past, present, future. Every sin that we have committed, Yeshua paid for it. And He died on the tree for it. He shed His blood for that and He forgave us.

He says, I know your need, and I laid down my life because I love you. I paid the price for you, on your behalf, for me, on my behalf. And the very thing that we need to do is to say, Lord, we are so thankful for what you have done for me. So, giving thanks always, for all things, unto God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

Notice, by the way, the triunity here. Be filled with the Spirit, verse 18. Give thanks unto the Father, verse 20. In the name of the Son, verse 20B. The whole three persons of the Godhead are involved in the life of the believer. The whole Triune God is involved in the way in which the believer is to live. So, be joyful, be thankful.

And finally, the last portion that I want to say now, is verses 21 to verse 33. I'm not to mention all of them today, but I want to say this. Verses 21 to the end, the word submission is mentioned here. And this is something we all have a problem with, beloved brothers and sisters, the necessity for submission.

You know, we often say, I'm the captain of my ship, I'm the pilot of my plane, I do my own thing. I have my own way. Nobody going to tell me what to do. I am the one that is doing everything in my own way. And the Lord teaching us the importance of submission. You want to show me a believer that is filled with the Spirit of God? Well, he or she will have an attitude of submission.

It says here in verse 21. Look what he says, submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Now that is very interesting. Submission? You mean, I am going to submit myself to someone else who is in authority over me. I am going to be submissive? No, I'm not. Sometimes we say that, because when we act in the flesh, we do not want to submit to anyone. Nobody going to tell me what to do.

And here, notice what he's really saying, you submit yourselves one to another in the fear in a reverence of God. God has an authority over our lives. And therefore, when we see submission, it's a moral feature of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, who Himself subject Himself here when He was here upon the face of this earth. That mean that we are to submit to our boss, we are to submit to our authority, we are to submit to our parents, we are to submit to our elders, we are to submit to those that are placed in authority over us, including in the relationship that we have with each other.

Submissiveness, it's something so beautiful because it shows us the way in which Yeshua the Messiah live here in this world. So, being submissive, it is essential in the life of the believer. Submitting. Notice that verse 21. Submit one to another. You know, we as believers, even though some of us are older, some of us are younger, but we have to have the attitude of caring for the other person. So in submissiveness, I'm really saying that I really care not only for myself, but for the other, for the brothers and for the sisters in the local assembly.

Just a couple of verses here. Turn to 1st Peter chapter 5 for a moment. Peter again, he wrote to the early believers, to the Jewish believers, and he was telling them, he says, likewise, ye younger, submit yourself unto the elder. Ye all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud and he gives grace unto the humble.

You see what he's really saying? One of the evidence that we are submissive is humility. And humility is that which show, revealed to us that we are willing to care for the brothers and sisters, and rather than just caring for oneself. So submissiveness, it's such an important thing. Paul is mentioning in our chapter in Ephesians. Peter is saying, younger submit to the elders.

And all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility. That shows us that we are to care for our brothers and our sisters, and to be clothed with humility. By submitting to each other, we are really assisting each other and building each other up because pride build ourself. Humility builds someone else. And that's why it is important to have this attitude in our life.

One more verse in Philippians chapter 2, verses 2 and 3. Fulfill ye my joy that ye be like-minded. That's how you get really submissiveness to one another will become like-minded. Having the same love, being of one accord, and of one mind, let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than themselves.

Now, isn't it nice when a local church, a local assembly, the brothers and sisters, of course, submit to the elders, but also submit to each other, as it says in those verses, in 1st Peter 5, and in Ephesians chapter 5. Caring for each other because what's happening is when we have such an attitude, brothers and sisters, one towards another, then there's nothing been done with strife and with vain glory.

If things have been done with strife, usually you'll find the people scattered, not together, not united, but scattered and dispersed. But when there is an attitude of lowliness, not looking for vain glory, then we esteem each other higher than oneself, then what happened, what we do here, we are building others, and therefore the local church, the local assembly can grow, and submissiveness is an evidence of the fruit of the Spirit of God in our lives.

All this is possible, brothers and sisters, if we are being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. He is the one that take the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah, reveal Him unto us, and we learn from Him. This way we can walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord in this world. So, next week, we're going to talk about the husbands and the wives, the children and the parents, the fathers and the sons, and ultimately the servants and their masters. And may the Lord bless His word. This way we can walk in a way that is pleasing to the Lord in this world.

Intro/Outro Narrator (Female): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0, or visit our website at HolyScripturesAndIsrael.com.

You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM, and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit HolyScripturesAndIsrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.