Join Rabbi Schneider as he explores the true nature of priesthood and sacrifice throughout biblical history. This episode offers a compelling look at how these ancient practices resonate in our modern journey of faith, calling believers to rekindle their passion for God-centric worship. Through the story of Abraham and the symbol of the tabernacle, Rabbi Schneider illustrates how genuine worship involves self-denial and sacrifice, leading to deeper intimacy with God. We are invited to reassess how we approach worship in our own lives, ensuring it’s aligned with the divine intent set forth centuries ago.
People come to church like consumers. It’s not about blessing God, it’s about what the church and what God can do for them. Father God, we ask you to use this revelation, Lord. Use the study of your word, Lord, to sanctify us in truth and to draw us closer to the Lord Jesus in you, we pray. And we give you glory, Father God. Let this preaching, Father God, bring forth much fruit in the lives of your people and in the building, hallelujah, of your kingdom. As we begin, we’re going to talk about worship. The Hebrew word for worship is shachah, and it’s actually an action verb because worship is something that we do. It’s active. And when we think about worship, beloved, worship is fundamentally, beloved, recognizing God for who he is and praising him for his glory, his ways, and his love for us. One of the primary ways that the Levitical priesthood, the Kohanim, worship Yahweh was through, beloved, the offering of sacrifices. And in this series, we’re going to get into the five major sacrifices that the Kohanim or the priesthood offered to Yahweh in the tabernacle. We’re going to look at the burnt offering, beloved. We’re going to look at the meat or the meal offering, which was a gift offering. We’re going to look at the peace or the fellowship offering. We’re going to look at the sin offering, and we’re going to look at the trespass offering, and we’re going to conclude by showing that all these offerings, beloved, culminated in the sacrifice of Yeshua HaMashiach, the fulfillment, as always, of everything. Now, when we think about worship and we think about our own lives, recognizing that the worship that took place in the tabernacle was a shadow of how you and I are to walk with God, and we think about the primary way of worship inside the tabernacle was the way of sacrifice, And we think about the fact that you and I today have been called to be priests of the Lord, even as the Levites ministered as priests inside the Mishkan or inside the tabernacle and offered sacrifices. And that God is calling us also to present to Him continuously sacrifices just like they did in the tabernacle. And so the scripture tells us in the book of Romans chapter 12 that we’re to present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice to the Lord. Why? Because, beloved, from him and to him and through him are all things. And so when we offer the Lord a sacrifice as the priesthood, what we’re doing, beloved, is making him the center, rather than ourselves the center. And this really is fundamentally what worship is about. Worship is about abandoning ourselves to make Him the center. And think about how different so much of modern Christianity is today from the divine pattern that we see in the tabernacle. You see, if we want to measure where we’re at today, we need to go back to what took place inside the tabernacle. Because remember, the Lord said in Exodus, and we’ll go Shemote chapter 25, verse eight and nine, that the purpose of the tabernacle was that he could dwell with us. So if we wanna know how to relate to him, how to worship him, how to walk with him, what we do then is we go back and study the tabernacle, And we study the sacrifices because the Lord is the one that gave us the sacrifices. And we study the priesthood. The priesthood, beloved, were those whom the Lord, those whom Yahweh, listen, called upon to draw near to him and to offer sacrifices to him and to minister him to others on his behalf. And so again, we are called to be the priesthood today. The priesthood was transferred from the Levitical priesthood once Yeshua came to all those that were bought by the blood of the Lamb. The book of Revelation tells us over and over that Yeshua purchased us by his own blood to be unto him a kingdom of priests. And what does it mean to be a priest? We go back and we study the tabernacle. And we find that as a offering of sacrifice unto him, the visible manifest presence of Yahweh fell and we find this same pattern in scripture over and over and over again. But if we think about that pattern and compare that to what happens in so many modern Christian circles today, it’s radically different because in many modern Christian circles today, it’s not Yahweh that’s at the center, but rather it is us at the center and we’re using Yahweh to bless us. In other words, when the ancient Israelite came to the tabernacle to meet with God, the priests came, beloved, not first to be blessed, not to see what Yahweh could do for them, The priest and the worshipers came, beloved, to bless Yahweh. Yahweh was at the center, not man’s need. And yet today, if we think about what happens in modern Christian circles, people come to a church which would be the equivalent, you could say, conceptually, of a modern-day tabernacle. But people aren’t coming to services. They’re not coming to church to first bless God. to give Yahweh the praise and the glory and the sacrifice that’s due him. Instead, people come to church like consumers. It’s not about blessing God. It’s about what the church and what God can do for them. It’s did I like the service? Do I like the menu of activities that they sponsor here? It’s a consumer mentality. And then people sample it. They decide if they like it or not. And then they decide they’re either going to stay until somebody disappoints them or they’re going to move on and shop someplace else. It’s a consumer mentality. mindset, rather than the mindset, beloved, that’s pure and that’s holy and that’s biblical, where you come to meet with God to bless Yahweh and to make him, beloved, the center. Worship is first of all, beloved, about abandoning oneself to the Lord. It’s not about our comfort. It’s about coming and reverencing him and worshiping him and giving him glory. For from him, And through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen and amen. Why is it that the Lord, in showing us the pattern for intimacy with him, creates the tabernacle and then tells us, now I want you to draw near to me because I desire to dwell with you. And when you draw near to me, I want you to offer me these sacrifices. In fact, the Lord said, let no man come before me empty handed. Why is it that the Lord is calling us to come before him and offer sacrifices to him? Is it because he’s an egomaniac and he constantly needs us to tell him how great he is? Is he so insecure that he’s constantly needing from us a pat on the back? No, beloved, the reason that Yahweh is calling us to come and present a sacrifice to him in our worship is to give him ourselves and to make him the center. Because it’s only when we’re in line, beloved, with making him the center of all things that we place ourselves in a position to experience him, to dwell with him, and as a result of that, to be blessed by him. So the Lord doesn’t command us to worship him just because, beloved, he wants us to bless him. But deep in his heart, beloved, it is a reflective desire of his to bless us. And it’s only when we make him the center, beloved, that he can bless us. Worship, beloved, involves the abandoning of ourselves to him. Only as we make the Lord the center are we placing ourself in proper alignment. See, the Bible tells us that when the Lord saved us in Ephesians chapter one, verse number six, he saved us to the praise of his glorious grace. That one of the reasons, beloved, that we’ve been saved is to experience Yahweh’s glory forever. And the result of that is gonna be to the praise of his glorious grace. As Romans chapter 12, one says, we’re gonna worship him, presenting to him the sacrifice of our lives, forever and ever and ever and ever. We read in the book of Revelation that the entire creation worships God, that those in heaven cast their crowns at his feet, a living sacrifice that goes on to Yahweh, making him the center of everything forever and ever. It’s no longer making ourselves the center. It’s about making him the center.
SPEAKER 01 :
You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first, I want you to know you can find us on TikTok. Make sure to explore our quick and inspiring insights into scripture, Hebrew teaching, special highlights, and so much more. You’ll discover content that encourages your walk with God and dives into the Jewish roots of your faith. Search for Discovering the Jewish Jesus on TikTok and join our community today. Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. We take that command very seriously here. And through our online media platforms, TV, radio, and our overseas crusade, we’re sharing the truth of the gospel with people of all different nations and tongues everywhere. And if the Lord has put a burden on your heart to support our missions work, please give today, discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Now, back to Rabbi.
SPEAKER 02 :
Revelation chapter five, verse 13 says this, and every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them, I heard saying, Revelation 5, 13, to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever and ever. and ever all eternity beloved praising him casting the crowns at the feet of the one who deserves to be crowned now we read in the book of Revelation chapter 1 verse 6 as well as other places 20 verse 6 in Revelation many other places Peter says that we’ve been called to be a royal priesthood a kingdom beloved serving the Lord as priest the Hebrew word once again for this in the singular is the word Kohen In the plural it’s kohanim. The priesthood as we trace it through the Hebrew Bible evolved. We find, for example, that at one time it was the firstborn in a family was functioning as the priest of the home. In terms of the children, the firstborn child was offered up to the Lord to be the Lord, to be, in effect, a priest. It was then transferred, for simplicity purposes, to the Levitical priesthood. But the Levitical priesthood has ceased. In 70 AD, when the temple was destroyed, the priesthood was scattered. It’s true we still have Levites today with the name Levine or something, a Levite, something similar is from the tribe of Levi. But the scripture doesn’t say that God is gonna reinstitute the tribe of Levi to be the priest for the world. But rather what the scripture says is that you and I, Jew and Gentile alike, that have been redeemed or bought for Yahweh by the blood of Yeshua, are a kingdom of priests unto him forever and ever. In the book of Exodus, chapter number 30, verse number 8, we find that the priest who was continually offering up incense unto the Lord, it’s a lifestyle of walking in sacrifice. I want to read now from the book of Genesis, the book of Bereshit, chapter number 22, verse 5 through 9. As we look at this concept of priesthood and sacrifice in the life of Abraham. Remember, Abraham, the scripture says, is the father of us all. The blessing of Abraham, the Lord says to the Gentile, has come upon you, that Abraham is a pattern. He’s the father of all that belief. Here’s the concept of the priesthood and sacrifices operating in Abraham’s life. Hear the word of God. Genesis chapter number 22, I’m gonna read now in verse number five through nine. And Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go yonder and we will worship and return to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering. Notice that word offering. Oftentimes in Scripture, the word offering or sacrifice comes from the Hebrew word korban. And it actually means to draw close or to draw near. So oftentimes when we think of an offering or when we think of sacrifices, we’re thinking of something that we give up. But an offering or a sacrifice in Hebrew, korban, is not just something that we give up, beloved, but it’s something that God calls us to do, even though it feels like we’re giving something up. But Yahweh calls us to present this offering, this sacrifice to him for the purpose, listen now, of bringing us, hallelujah, near to him. So I’m going to pick up again. Remember, Abraham is called by the Lord, the father of all believers. What does the father call him to do? To give him this incredible sacrifice. Think about it. God calls on Abraham to present to him, to offer to him the most costly sacrifice that was possible for Abraham. Remember, the Lord made the promise to Abraham. God said to him, through your seed, Abraham, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Abraham waits his whole life for this seed to be born. He’s waiting, waiting, waiting. It doesn’t seem to be happening. Finally, he takes matters into his own hands and tries to bring about the promise through Hagar. And the Lord says, no, Abraham, it’s not going to be through Hagar. It’s going to be through your own wife. And finally, after waiting all these years at the end of Abraham’s life, Isaac is finally born, that which Abraham had set his affection on for years and years and years. And now the father calls him to offer up Isaac back to him. And so we’re continuing once again. beginning in verse number five. And Abraham said to his young men, stay here with the donkey and I and the lad will go yonder and we will worship. Here we have the connection again of worship and sacrifice. The Lord is calling on Abraham to offer up his son. The same thing is true we see in the tabernacle, which is the pattern of intimacy. What was in the center of Israel’s worship? It was sacrifices. We think today, because we go to a church somewhere and sing some praise songs that we’ve worshiped. But beloved, it goes a lot deeper than that. It’s abandoning ourselves and giving ourselves over to Yahweh. That’s why Yeshua says, unless you lose your life for my sake, you can’t find it. It’s this concept of abandoning ourselves and crowning Yahweh king. So once again, And Abraham said to his young men, verse 5, stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go yonder, and we will worship and return to you. Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son. By the way, Isaac was about 30 years old at this time. He voluntarily, beloved, cooperated in this. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac, his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife, so the two of them walked on together. And Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, my father. And he said, here I am, my son. And he said, behold, the fire and the wood, but where’s the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, God will provide for himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son. So the two of them walked on together and they came to the place which God had told them. And Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood and bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Continuing on in the 10th verse, and Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, here I am. And the Lord instructed him in verse 12 not to stretch forth his hand against his son. And God was so moved that Abraham was willing to offer up his only son that God said to him, because you have done this thing, Abraham, I will greatly bless you. You see, beloved, when we offer up to the Lord a sacrifice, truly sacrificing our lives to Him, like Romans 12, 1 promises, the blessing of Yahweh comes into our life just like it did, indeed, beloved one, in Abraham’s life. God wants to go deeper with you and I. So much of the Christianity that we experience today is superficial. So much of the preaching that we hear today is superficial. So much of the preaching that we hear today, listen to this, is man-centered. It’s not God-centered. It’s give, we hear people say, so that God will make you rich. Do this so you can become all you can be. And we’re going to structure our services around making you comfortable. It’s not honoring God. It’s not prostrating ourself before him and humbling ourself before him and worshiping him by presenting to him our life, giving ourselves up to him. but rather so much, beloved, that takes place within the world of Christendom today is man-centered, and God is just someone that man is using for man, beloved, to be able to fulfill his own desires. And it’s not the gospel, beloved, that Yeshua preached, and it’s not the pattern that the Lord revealed to us in the tabernacle. You see, beloved, you, if you belong to the Lord, you’re getting ready to go to heaven. And when you get to heaven, beloved, the atmosphere there is going to be filled with sacrifice and worship. In the book of Revelation, we read in chapter number four that the elders that were in heaven fell down at his feet as they worshiped him. Holy, holy, holy. And then we read in the 10th verse, they casted their crowns. They gave Yahweh themselves. They casted their crowns at his feet. I wonder today, if the walk that you’ve been living with God and the Christianity that you’ve been practicing is biblical Christianity, or have you been deceived and have been following a man-centered gospel? Beloved, I want to call you and I back to true obedience, to true sacrifice. Father, we ask you today that you’ll teach us how to offer ourselves up to you as living sacrifices, that even as the priest of old, Lord, the Kohanim in the tabernacle presented sacrifices to you day and night continually. Help me and help those that are listening today, Father, to present ourselves to you in spirit and in truth. Beloved, whether you’re from Africa, India, Israel, the United States, it doesn’t matter. We’re all on the same journey if we’re following Father through Yeshua, and that is to be changed into His likeness, to experience personal transformation. In order for this to take place, a lot of work and effort is required on our part. We have to be obedient. And God brings us through certain tests in order to bring us to the next level. And one of the tests that all of us must pass is putting Him first with our finances. It’s a test of faith, it’s a test of trust, and it’s a test of personal denial. Jesus said, unless we pick up our cross, deny ourself and follow Him, we can’t be His disciple. I want to encourage you today, if you’re not already, let’s put Him first with our finances. And I would say this, if discovering the Jewish Jesus is being used by Father God to bless you, consider making a financial sacrifice to him today through this ministry.
SPEAKER 03 :
Beloved, this is Rabbi Schneider saying I love you and God bless you and Shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. And to take that step of faith right now, visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And you can also send your donation of any amount in the mail. Our address is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And you know, every gift that we receive, it’s a blessing. And as our way of saying thank you for your financial support, we want to send you our current newsletter. It’ll be full of updates and special announcements. Plus, we’ll also send you Rabbi’s exclusive monthly teaching booklet as well. It’s an amazing resource that has insights into scripture that I believe will help you grow in grace. And right now, I just want to say a word of thanks to those of you who support this ministry. Thank you, because today this program reaches over 100 million homes all across America. And we’re also broadcasting in nearly every country around the globe and into Israel, sharing the gospel. You make this ministry’s global impact a possibility. Thank you very much for your gifts and for your support. You’re making an eternal difference. And we’re so grateful for your heart. And if you haven’t given and you’d like to, once again, call us today at 800-777-7835. or go to discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Now let’s wrap up today’s message with God’s sacred and special blessing. Rabbi?
SPEAKER 03 :
The Aaronic blessing in the book of Numbers chapter 6 is not a blessing that comes from an impersonal being out there somewhere in the heavens. This special blessing comes from a person, Yahweh God Almighty, our creator and maker. So receive God’s blessing into your life right now.
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 one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Join us again next time when Rabbi Schneider explains God’s response to sacrifice. That’s coming up Tuesday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
