In this episode of Discovering the Jewish Jesus, Rabbi Schneider delves into the significance of understanding God as our Father. Through an exploration of biblical genealogies and teachings from the book of Hebrews, he reveals how our spiritual identity and destiny are intricately linked to our relationship with our Heavenly Father. Rabbi Schneider emphasizes the importance of receiving the Father’s discipline as a means of enjoying the serene fruit of righteousness and refining our spiritual journey.
I have run into so few Christians that actually pray for the Father to discipline them. The Bible tells us that when we’re disciplined by the Father, we’ll enjoy what the Bible calls the peaceful fruit of righteousness. We are in a special and remarkable series right now called Who is the Father? And my aim on this series is to transmit to you through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God how much Father loves you. that daddy loves you and he wants you and I to see ourselves as his son or his daughter. He wants us to see him, beloved one, in his glory. And he wants you and I to see ourselves as the son and daughter of his own loins. Do you know deep down inside our greatest need is to know God is our daddy and is our father? because we get our identity from our fathers. That’s why when we look at the genealogies in the Bible, we always see a person traced back to their father. For example, let’s go to the book of Luke today, chapter 3, verse number 38. the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. But the point is, is that whenever we see somebody in the Bible, we always see them. Listen to this, beloved one. We always see that one connected to his father because it’s through our father that we gain a sense of who we are. It’s through our father that we gain a sense of destiny. I remember as a young person growing up, even though I had a father that was present in my home physically, and my father was a good father in many ways, and I’ve received so much from my father, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the things that the Lord deposited into my life through my earthly father. And yet deep down inside, I needed more. I needed more from my father. And you know what? That’s true of every single one of us. Whether you grew up with a good father, you still need more from a father. This is why Jesus said, call no one father. It doesn’t mean that we don’t honor our father and mother. We still call our earthly father, father. But Jesus wants us to understand that we need to identify with our heavenly father because only through that identification will we receive into us the fullness of what we need to find that can only be received through a relationship with the Father. This is why Jesus said, when you pray, pray this way, our Father who art in heaven. And when we look at Jesus’ life, especially as we trace the dialogue that Jesus had with the Father in the Gospel of John, we see that at the center of Yeshua’s being, we see that Jesus’ primary focus was to be in relationship and to please His heavenly Father. Having a relationship with the Father means everything. And so what we’re looking at today, we’re picking up where we left off. We’re trying to get a better handle of what does a father do? You know, many of you today were raised in homes. You had not even a physical father present. I want you to know that Father God wants you to know him as father, and he can give you what you never were able to receive from an earthly father. So even if you grew up fatherless in every sense of the word, I want you to know you’re not without hope. that Father God wants to come into your life and fill you with his sense of fatherhood and love for you in Jesus’ name. Do you know, without a father, listen, beloved one, we’re isolated. Without being in relationship with a father, we’re alone in life. In the ancient biblical world, if a child was in a home, the mother was there, but the father was not, the child was considered an orphan. Because it’s only through a relationship with Father, beloved, that we come into the full type of relationship that’s necessary so that we don’t feel alone. This is why Jesus said before he sent it to heaven, I will not leave you alone. He was going to bring to us the revelation of the Father through the Holy Spirit. So I just want to continue on to help us understand more what it is that we need from a Father. What does a Father provide that nobody else can provide? We talked last time about the fact that the Father is the origin of life. Even as the Father spoke the heavens and the earth into existence and did it through His Son, Jesus, so too, beloved, we receive life through the Father. We see this principle displayed in the fact that when we look at the genealogies in the Bible, it’s always through the seed of the husband, the father, that the identity of the child is revealed and given. The mama does so much. She carries the child. She nurtures the child. You see, when a child needs to be nurtured, they’ll run to their mommy. But when a child needs to be protected, they’ll run to their daddy in a healthy home. Fathers protect. And on last broadcast, I talked much about that. Again, I encourage you to get this entire teaching. I want to continue on today as we continue to try to explore what it is that we receive from a father. More importantly, what it is that our Father God wants to provide for us. I want you to hear this, beloved one. Fathers discipline. Do you know, I have run into so few Christians that actually pray for the Father to discipline them. I’ve always prayed for Father God to discipline me because the Bible tells us that when we’re disciplined by the Father, the end result of that discipline is that we’ll enjoy what the Bible calls the peaceful fruit of righteousness. This is so critical. We need the Father’s discipline in our life. Fathers are typically the disciplinarians in the home. Now, I realize that this may not be true 100% of the time, but generally speaking, when things are wired according to the traditional biblical model, fathers are the disciplinarians. Let’s see this principle illustrated now. As we go to the book of Hebrews, I want to read for you from the book of Hebrews, chapter number 12, beginning in verse number 5. My son, the author says, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you’re approved by him. So once again, what does the author of Hebrews begin saying? My son. And when I speak of sons, beloved, I’m not speaking of only men. I’m speaking of daughters. We read in 2 Corinthians 6, verse 18, these words. The Lord says here, I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord God Almighty. And so when I’m using the word son, I want you daughters of the Lord today to understand this is talking about you. For simplicity purposes, the Bible is just written in the male gender. So this is the sons and the daughters of God. So once again, back to the book of Hebrews, chapter number 12, verse 5. My son and my daughter… Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you’re reproved by him. Again, this is a gift to be disciplined of the Father. Notice here that the Lord is saying here, my son. He’s talking to his children. And he’s saying, don’t take this lightly. Let’s continue on with what he says. Verse 6. For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines. And he scourges every son, and listen again, daughter whom he receives. It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you’re without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. So we see here, that one of the primary functions of our Father, get it now, is that He disciplines us. I’m going to continue talking about this when I’m finished with the Scripture, but this is so critical. It’s something to be craved. In other words, we crave for the Father’s discipline. It’s something the Father does. Let’s continue on. Furthermore… We had earthly fathers in verse number 9 disciplining us, and we respected them. Should we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they, speaking of our earthly fathers, disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them. But he disciplines us for our good, so that we might share in his holiness.” All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful. But to those who have been trained by it, it afterwards yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. And so I’m so thankful that I have a daddy that will discipline me. Let me tell you why this is so important. Here’s the option. you go without discipline. And that means when you begin to stray, no one disciplines you. And as a result of that, you’ll keep straying farther away. And the end result is you’ll miss being blessed. Because God’s not going to bless us when we’re off the path. Father’s going to bless us when we’re walking on the path. And because Daddy loves you so much, if you begin to stray off the path, Daddy’s going to discipline you to get you back on the path so that he can bless you. Listen to what it says once again. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful. Yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So Father is disciplined. And you know what discipline does? it creates security in us. Because when we know we have a Father that will discipline us, that we have a Father that will correct us if we get out of bounds, it creates security in the soul, even with children as it relates to their relationship with their earthly parents. Children that are not disciplined by their earthly parents end up with insecurity because there’s no boundaries. But children that are raised in homes where they know their mom and dad, where their father has set up boundaries and will enforce those boundaries, those children, beloved ones, feel secure. And I want to encourage you to do as I do. Ask father to discipline you, because when you’re disciplined by him, that’s going to keep you moving forward in him, propelling you deeper into his love. where you’re gonna experience more of his fullness and more of his blessing. So father’s discipline and your father loves you so much, he’s gonna discipline you. And this should give you security and a sense of confidence.
SPEAKER 02 :
This is Discovering the Jewish Jesus and Rabbi Schneider, he’ll be right back. But first, I want you to listen to this brief testimony from a Jewish man whose life was changed through this program.
SPEAKER 01 :
I first heard about Rabbi Schneider, I didn’t agree with him and everything he was saying because I was a reformed Jew at the time and I was coming from a whole different perspective. I was not yet a believer. Little by little, I picked up things and I began to grow in faith and shortly after I had watched Rabbi’s program, I did come to faith in the lord in yeshua and i believe so strongly that rabbi is one of the greatest teachers i’ve ever listened to in spreading the gospel and teaching it there’s more relevancy when it comes from a jewish person to jewish people
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen. You know, we’re so thankful to hear testimonies like this one. God is moving among Jewish hearts. And this month we’re believing for God to awaken Jewish people all around the world. If you want to be a part of it, give today at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Now here’s Rabbi.
SPEAKER 04 :
What else do fathers do? Fathers also, beloved, when they’re assuming their role, are the primary teachers in the home. Now, don’t misunderstand here because I am in no way diminishing the role of our mothers and of the feminine because God is male and female. And I have so much respect for the feminine. Within God is both masculine and feminine. And even within the father, because the scriptures only refer to God in the masculine, within the father is also the feminine. In other words, I shared on last broadcast that when the Lord revealed himself to Moses, when Moses was in the cleft of the rock, the Lord said, I am Yahweh. God. And then the Lord said, compassionate and gracious. And that word compassionate in the Hebrew is from the Hebrew word rachum, which is a feminine word. So I want you to know I’m using masculine language here, but within the masculine language is the feminine as well. But We typically speak of fathers as having certain attributes, and I’m simply highlighting those. So I just want to say to our women right now, I bow down to you in honor. I love you. I don’t know what I would do without my wife. That is, there’s no way I’d be where I am today as a person or in ministry. So I just want our ladies to know today, although I’m concentrating on the father, I have the utmost respect for the feminine nature of God. He created us in His own image, male and female. He created them. And if it’s any consolation to my beautiful daughters of God today, let me say this to you. We see in the order of creation that every day of creation, as we study Genesis 1 and 2, every day in creation where God began with the plants and He moved then to the animals, and every single day, the order of creation, in other words, the sophistication of what He created intensified. So we have the plants and then the fish and then the animals. And every day that went by in creation, the sophistication of God’s creation increased. And you know what the last act of God’s creativity was? It was the woman. When he took from Adam’s rib and created the woman. And so I want to say to our women today, you were the last of God’s creation. And perhaps that speaks to the fact that you are the most sophisticated of his creation on earth. And I’m especially thinking of the sensitivity to the Lord and to the Holy Spirit that so many women have. So I just wanted you to understand my heart today. I love you. And in Yeshua, there is no male or female in terms of discrimination. We are equal. equally honored and equally part of God’s unfolding glory. So with that said, I want to talk about the fact that if you think about in a home, speaking about fathers teach, when you have a strong father in a home, he’ll assume that role of priesthood in the home to become the covering for the home and to take it upon himself to be the primary teacher of certain aspects that will help their children be prepared to go into the world. In other words, when you have a home where there’s a strong relationship between a wife and her husband, a husband and his wife, there are certain things that the wife provides and predominantly women are nurturers. And the husbands are disciplinarians, and they play a primary teaching role. So, for example, in traditional models, the father will train their children to go into the world. They’ll train their children in such things as finances. We know that in a healthy relationship, it should be the husband, the father, that’s taking on the primary mantle of being the priest in the home and teaching and training their children in godly principles. So fathers teach. And you know what the Lord told us here? That He teaches every son and daughter of His. I’m reading now from the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verse 45. Gia said, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. I want to encourage you today, beloved one. Ask Father. to discipline you and to teach you. This is not just about a sermon. This message is designed to challenge you to pray. Here’s the reason why. I can’t reveal the Father to you. Only the Father can reveal Himself to you, and He’s going to do it through His Son. Jesus said, no one knows the Father but the Son, and whomever the Son chooses to reveal Him. Jesus also said, ask and you’ll receive. If we ask the Father for anything according to His will, we can be assured that the things that we’re asking for, He hears and will answer. And I want you to know, the Father’s aim in saving you was that you would know Him. That’s the aim of the gospel. That’s why He sent His Son, to save you, to bring you to Himself. Salvation in terms of going to heaven isn’t an end in itself. The destination, the end of this, all beloved ones, is to know the Father. Jesus said, in my Father’s house are many mansions. Jesus said the Father is looking for those that will worship Him in spirit and in truth. Of course, Yeshua taught when you pray, begin by saying, our Father. The goal of all this is that you would know Daddy, that you would know Abba Father, that you would have a revelation of His love for you, that you would see your Daddy for who He is, and that you would know yourself as the child of His own loins, the son and daughter of His own loins. And if you’re a man, God wants to affirm you in His strength. If you’re a woman, dear daughter of God, the Father wants you to know how beautiful you are to Him, the hidden person of the heart. You are a glorious daughter of God. You’re gloriously beautiful. Regardless of whether you’re short or tall or thin or heavier, I want you to know every daughter of God is so glorious, we have no idea how beautiful and how strong we are. You know, the Bible says that we should pray to understand the riches of the glory of God’s, of the Father’s inheritance in us. There’s something so special about you. There’s something so incredibly rich about you. It’s on the inside. And the only way to get revelation of this is to come into the revelation of the Father of His love for you and of who you are in Him, in Jesus. So I’m encouraging you, let these words provoke you to get on your knees and to make this a focus in your journey with the Father, that He would reveal Himself to you. So Father God, right now in Yeshua’s name, I ask you through your Son, Jesus, I ask you, Father, that you would reveal your love to the sons and daughters that are listening to me speak right now. Father, Your Word says that You sent Your Son to bring us to Yourself, and that Jesus, You’re knocking at the door of our hearts. We ask You to come in right now, King Jesus, and reveal the Father to us. Father, bring us into a new dimension. of knowing your love for us. Give us eyes to see you, Father, in your glory. Let us see in you, Daddy, what we need to see in you, that every area of lack in our life would be made whole. And let us know, Abba Daddy, how fiercely your love is focused on each son and daughter that’s listening right now to me. Let each one of them know how precisely your love is focused on them individually, uniquely, specifically, and purposely. You know why the Lord asks you and I to tithe? Because when you and I tithe, we open up our hearts to Him, and in so doing, we’re able to receive in an experiential way His love. You see, when we don’t trust God with our finances, what we’re unconsciously doing is agreeing with fear. That’s why most people don’t honor God with their finances, at least significantly. They might tip God, but they don’t really tithe, which is the precedent of the entire Bible, all the new. Why? Because they’re afraid to. They think if I tithe, then I’m going to fall on my face and I can’t really trust God. I want to encourage you, beloved, and I want to encourage myself. Let’s choose faith, not faith. fear god told us if you honor me with the first fruit of your wealth your barn is going to be full david said i’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread i want to encourage those of you today that love god listen take that next step if you haven’t already honor the lord and trust him with your finances be a giver jesus said it will come back to you press down good measure and running over into your lap
SPEAKER 02 :
Amen. And friends, if the Lord is leading you to financially support Discovering the Jewish Jesus with the gift of any amount today, call us. Our number is 800-777-7835. Or you can also give online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And as a token of our appreciation, when you give, we wanna make sure that you receive our latest newsletter. It’s full of exclusive content and exciting updates from the ministry. It also includes testimonies from people who the Lord has touched through this ministry. And for those who are seeking to go deeper with their connection with Discovering the Jewish Jesus, would you consider becoming a monthly partner? It makes a real difference. And when you do, we want to send you an additional gift. It’s a handcrafted shofar that’s made right in the Holy Land. It’s a beautiful instrument that reminds you of the impact that your financial gift is having. And it’s a great conversation starter to help you tell people about Jesus as we prepare for His return. If you’d like to become a monthly partner and receive your very own shofar, visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Thank you so much for partnering with this ministry and praying for us. Now here’s Rabbi again with God’s special blessing.
SPEAKER 04 :
In the book of Numbers, chapter six, we find a personal blessing from God our Father. This blessing should touch our hearts because it’s so personal. Father God wants to intimately bless you, so receive his blessing into your life today with gladness and an open heart.
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 02 :
I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Join us again tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider reveals three reasons why Jews reject Jesus. That’s Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
