Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): 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 the book of Galatians chapter 1. I needed forgiveness. I needed grace. The law condemned me because I failed to fulfill the law. I needed the grace of God. So he was called by his grace. You know brothers and sisters, everyone of us that listen to my message today and if you are a believer you have been called by the grace of God. Ephesians 2 says by grace I am saved through faith not of works lest any man should boast. You received the grace of God like Saul Paul. And by the grace of God you have been saved.

He continues and notice what he says now in verse 16, the first part. Not only that God separated me, he says in verse 15a and not only that God called me by his grace in verse 15b but God also revealed to me and in me his son the Messiah verse 16. Notice verse 16 says to reveal his son in me. Now here is something that is also very interesting because many time people don't understand that God has a son. God the Father God the son and God the Holy Spirit God is a triunity. God the Godhead is consisting of the three persons of the Godhead and God the son came down to this world to become a man and to die on a shameful cross.

And so notice what God is done with Saul Paul. He revealed his son in him. Do you know brothers and sisters that the truth of the sonship of Yeshua is really problematic to many today in this world. In fact for the Jewish people, for our people, don't you share with them about the fact that God's son is Yeshua the Messiah? They will tell you you must be really like the pagan world who believe in all sort of idols and gods and so on. But the Bible, the Hebrew scripture teaches us that God's son will come to this world and he is the one that eventually will become that Immanuel, the one who will save his people from their sins.

Isaiah is said it in chapter 9 and verse 6 for unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the prince of peace and of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. That was spoken by Isaiah 750 years before the son of God Yeshua the Messiah enter into this world.

And Paul Saul is saying to the Galatian that God revealed his son in him and through him to the world in which we live in today. To reveal his son in me and he continued in verse 16 that I might preach him among the heathen. And notice that God wanted Saul Paul to preach the son of God, the Messiah of Israel, the savior of the world among the heathen. Notice that he used the word heathen. In in the Hebrew it says goyim. Because the heathen, the world did not know the true and living God. The world did not know that Yeshua is the son of God, that there is a way whereby men can be right with God.

So God used Paul, God used Saul to reveal through him the fact that God the son became a man and brought to this world with salvation through his death and burial and resurrection. So God revealed his son to Paul and through Paul. I want to mention one more time that unless God reveal it to you and I, we would have never know what we know today. Yeshua said flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you but my Father which is in heaven. Brothers and sisters, sometime we are wondering why our family members, why our loved one do not know that Yeshua is the Messiah?

Why they don't acknowledge him? Well unless God will reveal it to them, they will never know that Yeshua is the Messiah. Only the spirit of God is the one that reveal these truth to a sinner who need to be forgiven. So you notice brothers and sisters, the past history of Paul Saul, he was a persecutor of the assembly. Then later on he became a believer and a servant of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah because he met him and he brought him to himself. It was God who separated Paul. It was God who called Saul Paul and it was God who revealed to Saul Paul that Yeshua is the Messiah.

And notice that at the end of verse 16 and it is God who caused Paul to preach to the heathen, to the nations of the world. So I will preach him among the heathen. And then Paul said immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. So when Saul Paul became a believer in Yeshua the Messiah when he was separated by the Lord, when he was called by the Lord, when he was revealed the truth of the gospel by the Lord and when he was sent to preach you would think that now Saul Paul will turn around and will go to the city of Jerusalem because after all in the city of Jerusalem the apostles were.

In the city of Jerusalem is where the foundation was. Their word, apostles, they those that began, you might say, the truth of the days of the assembly. But you notice what he says here in verse 16 immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. I didn't go to Jerusalem. I didn't go to the apostles that were in the city of Jerusalem and something that he had to do before he even went to the city of Jerusalem and the apostles Saul Paul needed to go through a lesson from the Lord himself. And so you notice in the next verses verses 17 to verse 24 this rabbi Saul who became a believer in Yeshua now you notice that he become a servant of the Lord.

And in order to become a servant of the Lord he needed to spend some times with the Lord. And so we read in verse 17 neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were the apostles before me. But notice what he says in verse 17 b but I went to Arabia and I returned again unto Damascus. You see what happened when Saul became a believer? He actually first of all, if you notice, he went first of all to Damascus. There his eyes were open if you remember by Hananiah. But we learned something about Saul that happened to him even before he went to visit the city of Jerusalem he actually went to the desert.

He went for a while to be separated from men totally. Notice he says here he says neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were the apostles before me. But notice that I went into Arabia. Some suggested the area may be even Saudi Arabia. We do not know where it is but he went to the area, to the wilderness, to the desert. And why did he go to the desert? You see brothers and sisters no one can ever serve the Lord unless he first takes some times alone with the Lord. You can never and we know it in our own life, in our own self, we can never speak the truth of God to people outside unless we first of all take some time alone with the Lord.

No one will be able to serve the Lord before he spends some time alone at the presence of the Lord, at the feet of the Lord and to learn from him. In fact many a time we stumble and we fail when we speak to others before we speak to the Lord. And that's what we learn here from Saul is going first of all before he went to even speak to the apostles. He went first of all to the wilderness to spend some time alone with the Lord. And beloved brothers and sisters in the desert when one is spending time alone with the Lord, the Lord can speak to that person can prepare that person for the ministry that he has to do.

Doesn't it remind us of Moses? Moses the servant of the Lord thought that he will be able to bring Israel out, if you remember, out of the land of Egypt when he first killed this Egyptian who killed, who harmed that Jewish slave there. So Moses killed him, hid him in the bush. And then somebody saw him and then revealed it to the king of Egypt Pharaoh. And the king Pharaoh was going to kill Moshe and Moshe Moshe according to Exodus 2 he fled into the wilderness. And it was there in the wilderness. He was there for 40 years and God spoke to him and God prepared him to become a servant of the God of Israel to deliver Israel out of Egypt.

Moses initially thought that he is going to do it in his own merit, in his own power and then he found out that he failed. Even the people of Israel said to him who made you a ruler over our people? And then he fled to the desert. And it's amazing when you read the story of Moshe in the wilderness because even after 40 years in the desert when God said to Moshe Moshe go to bring my people out of the land of Egypt and you know Moses then after 40 years alone with the Lord in the wilderness he said to him notice arise verse 6 and going to the city and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

And then he went to Damascus. It says in verse 9 he was there for 3 days without sight. And then neither did he eat or drink and there was a certain disciple by the name of Hananiah there in the Damascus and Hananiah was told by Yeshua the Messiah in verse 15 go thy way for he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel for I will show him how great thing he must suffer for my name's sake. So he went to Damascus. He was for a while in Damascus but according to his writing in Galatians chapter 2 it was not sufficient to go and start to preach in the city of the Damascus but he needed to be separated for a while and go to the wilderness, to the desert to learn the lessons that the Lord will teach him in order for him to become an apostle and a messenger of his.

And so I am back in Galatians chapter 1 verse 17. Paul said I didn't go up first of all to Jerusalem. I didn't go to the apostles which were before me. I didn't go to get instruction from them first of all but I went, I returned unto Damascus and after 3 years notice that verse 18 and after 3 years after he been in Arabia and in a desert and back in Damascus after 3 years he went now first again to the city of Jerusalem. Now he is a saved child of God but also a preacher and an apostle that was sent by the Lord himself.

So you see how he emphasizes here Paul emphasizes that his message of the gospel he received directly from the Lord Jesus the Messiah, the glorified Messiah. It was not given to him by men but by the Lord himself. So let me just finalize here what he's saying in verses 18 to verse 23. Two more points that he is mentioning here in these verses. Notice after 3 years after he went to Damascus and to Arabia and back to Damascus verse 18 tells us 18 and 19 and 20. Finally Paul went for a a private visit with some of the apostles in the city of Jerusalem.

It says there in verse 18. Then after 3 years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter. And I abode with him for 15 days. But he says others of the apostles saw I none save Jacob James the Lord's brother. Notice this how interesting it is. You know when he first went to Jerusalem the first time after he became a believer about 3 years after his salvation, after he have acknowledged that Jesus Yeshua is the Messiah he was preaching somewhat in Damascus went to the desert to spend time with the Lord, returned to Damascus and now finally he went to the city of Jerusalem.

3 years have passed by. And everybody here there was a man by the name of Saul. A Jewish man who was persecuting the the assembly. And now something happened. He is preaching the message of the gospel. He is now became like one of us, a child of God, a believer in Yeshua. And so he went to the the city of Jerusalem and notice he only saw two men according to these passages. The first one is Peter, Shimon Petros and the second one was James Jacob the Lord's brother. It's the half brother of Yeshua the Messiah.

And you notice why this so important that he saw Peter? Because after all if you remember Peter was chosen by Yeshua the Messiah to open the doors of the message of the gospel into the body of Messiah to the Jewish people in Acts chapter 2 to the Samaritan people in Acts chapter 8 and to the Gentile world in Acts chapter 10. Peter held the key, you might say. He was the one that the Lord have entrusted him to open the door and to the body of Messiah, to the Jewish people, to the Samaritan people and to the Gentiles.

And so Saul goes, Paul goes now to Peter and he spending 15 days with Simon Peter. I can imagine Simon Peter talked with him and and they began to talk about perhaps they continued on speaking in those 15 days about wow, you were the one that once have persecuted us all. Look what happened to you in your life. You have been changed now. You have been transformed. God have now opened your heart and you are now recognize that Yeshua is the Messiah and Saul Paul probably told Peter all that which the Lord have used him for already in the time when he was in the Damascus and in the wilderness.

And you notice that Peter did not tell him one word according to what Paul is saying that his gospel was not consistent with the gospel that these apostles were preaching. He didn't mention, we don't read here anything that Peter says no, no, no and you going to see it later on. You are not preaching the same message that we are preaching. And not only this, beloved brothers and sisters, he also saw Jacob James the Lord's brother the Lord's half brother. You remember after Miriam gave birth to Yeshua the Messiah she had more children from Joseph her husband.

In fact if you don't mind to turn to Matthew chapter 13 for a moment and I'm just going to mention that here for our benefit in Matthew chapter 13 we find out that Jacob James had been the first one to be mentioned when Yeshua was still there in the midst of our people, of all the people of Israel. Matthew chapter 13 in verse 55. Notice what we read. Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Miriam and his brethren James, Joseph, Simon and Judah Jacob, Joseph, Shimon and Judah. And his sisters are they not all with us?

From where then has this man all these things? You see in Israel our own people were wondered at the fact that Yeshua was such a tremendous individual in the midst of the nation. And they ask wait a minute. Isn't he not the carpenter's son? And is not his mother, his name, her name is Mary Miriam? And look, does not his brother call Jacob, Joseph, Shimon and Judah and his sisters, are they not all with us? How does he know so much? You see Yeshua the Messiah after he was born sinless, undefiled by the Holy Spirit of God, his mother Miriam gave birth to at least four brethren and at least two or three or more sisters.

Miriam gave birth to others and here is that Jacob or James that he's mentioning Galatians chapter 1 in verse 19. But others of the apostles saw I none save James the Lord's brother. So when he went to Jerusalem he only saw two people. Peter, Shimon Petros and Jacob James. That's it. 15 days, beloved brothers and sisters, Saul Paul spent with them and they didn't criticize his ministry. They didn't blame him because he is allowing the Gentiles to come in. They didn't tell him no, no, no, you should have tell them more than just simply to believe in Yeshua the Messiah and be saved.

He didn't they didn't say anything to him. In fact later on you will see that they commended him for the ministry that he had had. And so finally in verses 20 to the end. In verse 20 he says now the things which I write unto you behold before God I do not lie. I lie not. I am telling you the truth. Whatever is here it is honest truth and I'm sharing this with you Galatians he said to them. And then finally in verse 21 to 23 Paul now returned back to his city, city where he was born in Cilicia.

It says here afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia verse 22 and was unknown by faith unto the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ in Messiah. But they had heard only that he which persecuted us in time past now preaches the faith which one he destroyed and they glorified God in me. You notice brothers and sisters when he finished the 15 days in Jerusalem he went back to Syria and from there to Cilicia and the city of Tarsus was in Cilicia. So he really went to his birthplace and then continued to minister among the nations of the world sharing the gospel.

And then until finally it was necessary for him to go once again back to Jerusalem and he going to tell us about it in the second chapter of the book of Galatians where Saul will tell the Galatians what's happened after 14 years later, how eventually he went once again to the city of Jerusalem because he had to deal with the issue that salvation is only through faith in the Lord Jesus the Messiah, no more. No circumcision, no law keeping, no rules of men, no baptism, no speaking in tongues. What shall wash one's sins away? It is nothing but the blood of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

So it says there that the people in Judea only heard about him. They never saw him. They never saw his face but they knew that the one that once persecuted the assembly is now is the one that preaching the message of the gospel. So they glorify God in me. And we also need to glorify God because of the message of the gospel of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah that saved us, that forgave our sins and made us sons and daughters of the Father. Can we say amen to that?

Guest (Male): 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 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. 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.