Holy Scriptures and Israel

Gideon Levytam: 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 Levitan.

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Gideon Levytam: Hebrews chapter 12 you know when you look at those three statements endure the cross despising the shame think of the shame that he had to go through in his lifetime. They spit at him. They mocked him. They rejected him. And if you would come today men will do just the same. They will despise him and reject him and will do the very same thing in his life. And then it says here that he also endure the cross not only that he despised the shame in life but he endure the cross means that he received the judgment from God that you and I deserve to be receiving.

And then thirdly after he died and he took upon himself the judgment of God he was set down on the right hand of the throne of God. He was resurrected and God have placed him in his right hand at his right hand. Isn't it wonderful to see how God had been satisfied with Yeshua the Messiah and that's what the writer is telling the Hebrews to look to him. We cannot look at each other even. We cannot look at ourselves because we often getting disappointed and discouraged but when we look at him we see the beauty of the person of the Lord and that encourages us to continue to follow after Yeshua the Messiah and therefore it does encourages us to move on and to live for him in this world.

And so that's what they needed. These believers needed to admit the weights that they have the sin that so easily to beset them but not only to look there now to look to the Lord. Looking unto Yeshua the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endure the cross despising the shame and he set down on the right hand of the majesty on high. There's another verse in Isaiah 53 that I want to read that we read about the Lord Jesus look at it despising the shame. Listen verse three.

He is despised and rejected of men and men of sorrows that have been acquainted with grief. And that's what he's saying to those Hebrews he says you have grief look at Jesus. You have sorrows in your life look at Yeshua. You are being despised by your brethren by your people by your nation. Look at Yeshua. He was the one that the Bible tells us about him and he's the one that have already died and gone to heaven. He's the one that we read about him that he's despised and rejected of men and men of sorrow which have been acquainted with grief.

Do you have grief in your life? Look unto Yeshua. That's what he's saying to us. And dear brothers and sisters how precious it is for us to do so. That would help us to run that race. We cannot run the race without looking at the person of the Lord Jesus the Messiah. He the one the object he is the one that can help us. And you know when sin comes in we can always turn to him in confession and tell you to him. He knows that. Repentance towards God and ask him to restore us and to give us the strength to continue on because we cannot continue on unless we get the strength and the help from him.

And so here in verse three now he says look consider Jesus you notice he's still occupying the believers with him. He says consider him that endure such contradiction of sinners against himself. Now the Hebrews of a century to whom he wrote they had contradiction against him. Their own family and people said to them how can you follow this Jesus this Yeshua from Nazareth? How can you say that he is the Messiah? If he was the Messiah why we don't have peace? Why we don't have Shalom? Why we don't have our nation restore? Why is it?

And yet those first century believers were saved because they did believe in the Messiah. They have accepted him as the Messiah and the Lord and their savior but they had to make a choice. They cannot follow him but also go offer sacrifices in the temple. They cannot follow him and go through all that which only pointed to him. They have to recognize that that is done for the season. And he is the one that they have to focus upon and to follow after. And you and I the same thing. When we get contradictions against us people who seek to slow us down from our spiritual progress we need to look to Jesus to consider what he had to face in his own life.

Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners. You notice how many times the word endurance here mentioned and patience mentioned. Verse one run with patience. Verse two the joy that was set for him he endure the cross. Verse three consider him that endure this. It's an endurance. It's patience. That's what we are being trained through trials tribulation works about patience in our life. If you don't have trouble in your life you will never learn patience. You will never learn endurance. It's not an easy road though we love it to be easy road. I you know we sometimes wish we get saved and that we know that our sins forgiven and everything going to be easy smooth.

Our family are fine. Our children are fine. Our health is fine. Our finances are fine. Everything is fine. Easy road. Nobody contradict us. Everybody accept us. Everybody loves us. But it doesn't work this way. It is not so the reality is there is constant contradiction constant counter act constant struggles which constantly teach us to depend upon the Lord. And then patiently develop endurance and patience in our lives. And so that's what he's telling them here. And then you notice what he said in verse three B the second half of verse three lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

See you notice that? You see when we get constant pressure and constant discouragement and contradiction against us there's an inclination to get wearied. Wearied in our mind ah what's the use? What's the point to all this? I cannot bear this anymore. I cannot take it anymore. And I cannot handle this anymore. I'm sick and tired from all these problems that I have. And then you can get wearied as it says here and faint tired and weak. And then you can say so I'm not going to read my Bible. I'm not going to pray anymore. There's no use.

Seems like I'm praying and praying and praying and there's no answer. And then I'm not going to the meetings with other believers. I'm not going to seek to live for the Lord and represent him. And then we can get very quickly fainted in our mind. That's what he's telling them. You got to look at the Lord. You got to consider what he have gone through and what he have done for you so you will be encouraged to continue on and not get faint and tired. That's what we need to do. You know this is a responsibility that we have towards each other.

You know it's not enough for us to only think of ourselves but when we see a brother or sister that discouraged how do we treat that brother? You know the people need to be encouraged. We cannot only put people down. We need to lift people up. That's a job that we all have the responsibility that we all have. We need to encourage each other in the things of the Lord. That's what we need to do. And that's what God had to say to Israel and to remind Israel in the past to remind them the fact that they need to continue on not to get tired to that extent that they are not moving on for him.

And he told them in a prophet as well he spoke to Israel and he said sometime you getting wearied and tired. You remember what he said? Why sayest thou oh Jacob and speakest thou oh Israel my way are hidden from the Lord and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God the Lord the creator of the ends of the earth he fainteth not neither is wearied. There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint. And to them that have no strength he increases strength.

Even the youth shall faint and be wearied and the young men shall utterly fall. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run here's the race and not be wearied. They shall walk and not faint. See he's saying to Israel what he's saying to these Hebrew believers of first century and what he's saying to you and I. We need to look to the Lord to get the help to continue on running. You know I think we just came back from and I think of the believers there.

You know with all the problems that they had it's so nice to see those that turn to the Lord and take it and turn their eyes to the person of Yeshua. All the problems that they had. And they have problems. They have financial problems. They have health problems age problems. They live in a country that don't have the liberties that you and I have. And yet to see those that are still trusting the Lord it's so encouraging. Now you ask me if I ask you and I prefer to live in a more comfortable country where we have many more liberties and much more that we can express ourselves freedom to meet no problem with the government and so on in that sense at least so far.

But that's what we get encouragement from others. An example that they continue on looking unto Yeshua. He is the one that we can look and get encouragement from. He's the one that we should be occupied with and he's the one that he is the example the supreme example that we have. Natami passing by but I still want to move on over the next verses that we have. Not only that we are to look unto the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and we are to be encouraged by him looking unto him but now in verses five to nine he gives them another encouraging thing to those believers.

The second encouragement thing that he give them there to those Hebrew believers of first century is to be assured when you are being rejected persecuted going through trial never forget that God loves you. Never forget the love of God. You know when we go through problems we often say God doesn't love me. God doesn't care. Had he really cared he would take away the problem that I have. That's how we think. But let me tell you brothers and sisters doesn't matter what a believer goes through God's love towards us is so high. We can never measure the love of God.

We think of the verse in John 3:16 for God so loved the world. But then look even closer we read in Ephesians the Messiah loved the church and gave himself for her. We think of the prophet Jeremiah speak of the love of God for Israel. I have loved you God said with an everlasting love. We can never say that God doesn't love us. We often don't love God but we can never say that God doesn't love us. And that's what he reminding them now in verses five all the way to verse 13 in verses five to nine first of all he want to show them the assurance of the love of God towards them.

Look what he says. First of all in verses five and six he's saying to them and ye forgotten the exaltation which speaketh unto you as unto children did you forget this exaltation? My son despise thou not the chastening of the Lord nor faint when you are rebuke of him for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. You see he first of all show them the love of God. And in verses five and six he directing them to the word of God. Earlier we read Proverbs chapter three. Specifically there's verses 11 and so on.

And taking them to the Bible to the word of God to the Hebrew scriptures and he telling them what did you forget? You Hebrew believers did you forget what the Bible teaches us? How can you forget he's telling them? Do you forget the exaltation which speaks unto us you children? My son despise not the chastening of the Lord nor faint when you rebuke of him whom the Lord love he chasteneth. And he scourgeth every son that he receiveth. You know sometime when we are being disciplined by God it's a proof of his love towards us.

Because he loves us so much and he want to discipline us so we will live a life that will be good for us and honoring for him. You know we are parents. We haven't been always successful in our parenting. But why did we spank our children? Why we discipline our children? Because we love them. Not because we hate them. We love them so much. We want the best for them. They don't understand us all the time. But whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. And he scourgeth every son every daughter that he receiveth. That's what he does.

God thank God for the discipline of God. We sometimes shrink from that. We don't want that. But the discipline of God is in order to have his children living a life that is pleasing to him. And encouragement from the writer to the Hebrews was look to the word of God. What does this scripture say? God loves us. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and he scourgeth every son that he receiveth. You know you and I when we have accepted Yeshua the Messiah we became sons and daughters of the father. And so he deal with us now as children.

And he scourgeth us and he discipline us because he does love us and care for us. That's what the Hebrews needed to remember because they were discouraged and they sought all this as you know God could have take this and avoid all the ex- exercise that they have gone through and he could have take them to heaven right away. This morning when I was talking with Naina she was crying because we were telling her story about somebody's parents that died a little boy's parents that died. And the question that she asked that she cried so why didn't God stop them the terrorists or whoever did what they did?

Why didn't he stop them? Then I said you know well the God knows everything. He allowed this to happen. Well then we talk he says you know everything is stored in the garden of Eden. Well why didn't God stop Adam and Eve from doing what they have done and so on? And you know we have those questions like the little kids. Why God? Well we don't have all the answers. But the fact that God loves his children never changes. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth he scourgeth every son and daughter that he receiveth. That's the encouragement from the scriptures.

Now continue verse seven quickly. Verse seven eight nine and ten not only encouragement from the word of God but look from your own experience as an individual. Look it says in verse seven if you endure chastening God deals with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement discipline training whereof all are partakers he says then you are illegitimate children. You are not really the children. You are not sons. Verse nine. Furthermore we have had fathers of our own flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence.

Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chasten us after their own pleasure but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness. You notice that? He says now look at your own individual lessons from your own life. You had a father I had a father. We had parents grandparents and so on. And he saying to them in this verse seven look God deal with you like children adult children. If he doesn't deal with us like children then we are really not his own children.

If he doesn't discipline us when we are wrong then we really don't belong to him. You never need to go to discipline your neighbor's children. They are not your own. You are only disciplining your own children. And sometime as it says here in the next verse that they furthermore we had fathers of our flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence. You know we still thank our moms and dads that have disciplined us and trained us and taught us. We honor them. We give them reverence. We didn't always like what they did. We didn't always like to be disciplined but we gave them reverence.

He says much more he says we shall be rather be subjected unto the father of spirits and live. It should be so much more appreciate what the Lord is doing in our life how he trained us and to be thankful to him for that. They our own parents discipline us for a few days after their own pleasure. Many times our own parents did not discipline us correctly. They have corrected us from anger like we have many times have done so. For our own pleasure because we didn't like something. But God discipline us as it says here in a way that he's totally right.

And he says here in our verse ten but he for our profit. He discipline us our prophet because he want us to be partakers of his holiness. Our God is a holy God. And we are sinful by nature. If he does not discipline us we will never be living a life that is sanctified set apart for him a life that is holy for him because sin is so easy to beset us. And we each one of us know our very own hearts in our very own state. And finally here as he's speaking about the race that we are running the third way now he's speaking about the need of fruit in our life.

And so these are the less verse 11 12 and 13. He's now telling them now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. And you know what he says? It says you know no discipline a certain time that we receive it it doesn't seem to be joyous. We are not enjoying. We not say God give me discipline punish me more and more. We don't say that to God right? What we do say we do not like it but you know he says nevertheless after we are being disciplined it yieldeth peaceable fruit of righteousness.

When we been disciplined by the Lord it yieldeth in fruit for God. You know you can see when people walk with the Lord those that do walk with the Lord you can see that their life have been changed for the glory of the Lord because they have allowed God to deal with them. They didn't run away from all the discipline. They confessed their sins before the Lord. They have been rebuked by him and they have had to deal with it. They have to judge them but then you can see what a fruit for God coming in their lives.

Why? Because they have allowed God to deal with them and they have confessed it and took the discipline from the Lord and learned from the lesson. And then eventually they brought on for the Lord. And you notice it says here to those which are exercised thereby. You know there are those who are not exercised thereby. There are those who says I'm not you know children that just don't want to listen to their mom and dad. I'm not going to listen to what my mom and dad telling me. I'm the captain of my life. I'm going to do what I want.

It's my will. It's my life. I don't care what God think about me. I'm going to do my own thing. My parents are not important what they say. I have my life to live. It's my life. Well there will never be fruit of holiness in their lives never. Why? Because they haven't submitted to the authority of their parents. When we are not submitting to the authority of God there will never be peaceable fruit of righteousness in our lives. Why? Because we are not exercised thereby. It doesn't appeal to our heart. It doesn't speak to us.

We are not subjecting ourselves to the will of God. And that's what he's saying to those that are exercised thereby. Wherefore now he's saying to them in verse 12 lift up the hands which hang down. And the feeble knees you know the knees and the hands are getting feeble and coming down because of tired from the walk ex- problems in life sin creeps in and the discipline needed rejection contradiction and all these things that are part of the life of the believer come into our life. And we are so tired and the feet as it says here the feet in verse 12 feeble feet.

Feet speaks of walking. Hands speak of doing. The hands are hanging down. The feet are feeble. What's the use? He says lift up the hands which hang down. Lift up the knees that are the feeble knees. Lift them up now and get encouraged. Look to the Lord. Face the face of the beauty of the Lord of the person of the Lord Jesus. Look to him. Allow God to deal with you. Confess your sins. Set aside the weights. The sin which that is so easy beset us set it aside so you can run the race and be a victorious believer.

He says in verse 13 and make straight the path of your feet. Make it straight. Walk in a straight way pleasing to the Lord. Make it straight. And then they look at this last expression less that which is lame be turned out of the way but let it rather be here. What does that mean that which is lame? That which is lame has to do with the one that are weak in faith. In other word what he's saying to the Hebrew believers he says you I'm exalting you. He says make straight path for yourself. Lift up the hands which are down and lift up the feet which are feeble.

Make straight path for yourself because you want to be an influence on those that are weak in faith. And they are going to be turning out of the way discouraged. So but rather let it be healed. Encourage them. Be the one that is setting and being example for those individuals. That's the path beloved that we have here. And let us run he says let us run the race with patience with endurance and looking unto Yeshua the author and the finisher of our faith. That's the first half of Hebrews chapter 12 the race that the Hebrews were in the race that you and I are in every day of our lives.

May the Lord help us to run that race with the help of the Lord recognizing our weakness and our needs of him not in our own strength but in the strength of the Lord. Can we say amen to that? You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levitan. 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 7:00 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.