Leave Your Wilderness Behind | The Holy Land Season 4

SPEAKER 03 : 0:01

I want to share an experience as we begin today that I had that really helped me to appreciate how special Israel is because God is still very connected to the physical land of Israel today. Going back over 15 years ago, I had a desire in my heart to go to Israel, but as many of you know, it’s expensive. And at the time, it would have been a huge financial sacrifice for me to go there. But I went to sleep one night during this time period, and I had a vision of the night in my sleep. And the Lord was communicating to me in that experience that Israel is lifted up on the earth in a way that no other place on the earth is lifted up. God is connected to the land in a very unique and special way. Now, I don’t want to discount the fact that God is everywhere, and we can experience him fully everywhere and anywhere he wants to manifest himself. But still, the other side of that coin is that Israel is God’s chosen land. I’m just outside of En Gedi, and it reminds me of how David hid in the caves of En Gedi when he was fleeing from Saul. It amazes me how David was persecuted by Saul, how his life was pursued for such a long time, and yet he refused to rise up against Saul, and he said, I will not arise against the Lord’s anointed. That was truly supernatural, that as ungodly as Saul’s behavior was, David would not stretch forth his hand against him because he had such a respect for the office that Saul was standing in. You know, oftentimes today we’ve lost that in our culture. We have a great sensitivity to sin, but we don’t have much of a sensitivity to authority. And yet when we look, for example, at Noah, when Noah got drunk, we find out that two of his sons protected his dad’s office. They protected Noah’s dignity by walking into the cave backwards. But one of the sons exposed his father’s nakedness. And you know what? The one that exposed his father’s nakedness ended up being cursed. Again, I want to say to you, it’s important that we learn to cultivate not just a sensitivity to sin, but also, beloved, a sensitivity to authority. Let’s state it again. Consider, Saul is king. He’s pursuing David. He wants to take David’s life. David is hiding in En Gedi. On several occasions, David had the opportunity to take Saul’s life, to protect himself from Saul killing him. But instead, David did not retaliate against Saul because David said, far be it from me to strike the Lord’s anointed. And what really strikes me about this is that here David was dealing with a corrupt king. Saul was defiled at this point, and yet David would not touch him, although Saul was defiled because Saul was standing in the office of God’s anointed. It showed that David respected God’s authority. You see, the reason David didn’t take Saul’s life is not because David respected Saul so much as an individual, but it was because David respected God, God’s sovereignty, and God’s authority. And the reason I’m driving this point home is that our culture has become so defiled in spirit towards authority figures. But here’s what we need to remember. Although the authority figures, beloved, in our generation oftentimes are not pure, oftentimes their motives are not right, oftentimes what they do is not legitimate, just like Saul was not pure and just as he was not showing legitimate actions. But we need to be like David. David didn’t take out vengeance on people that were standing in an office of authority because he recognized that authority figures represent God’s authority. Now, I realize that there could be exceptions to this, but the problem is, in today’s generation, we always want to make it the exception. In other words, We don’t like something our pastor said, so what do we do? We start gossiping about him. Beloved, just because we didn’t like something our pastor said, that’s not a reason or an excuse that we can use to start gossiping about our pastor. David wouldn’t have done that, not because he respected everything that Saul said, but because he respected God, and because he respected God, he respected the office that Saul was standing in. Listen, without respect in our culture, our culture is going to crash. We need to respect police officers. Yes, some are defiled, some are corrupt, but we can’t just hate the whole police department. We’ve got to respect the institution. This is what the book of Romans teaches us. We’ve got to respect the elderly. We’ve got to respect our teachers. We’ve got to respect people in government offices. Not that we have to agree with them, but we can’t develop a defiled spirit against them, even if they themselves are defiled, because we recognize the Scripture said, all authority comes from God, and he that resists authority is resisting the ordinances of God. Now, I realize that there’s a mystery and a balance to this. But, beloved, I just want to restore to your heart today the basic and the general principle that we must learn, listen now, to show respect and appreciation for authority figures. And it’s not based upon the individual. It’s based upon the fact that God is authority. And because we recognize his authority, we respect authority figures in the world. I hope this helps you. I think it teaches us that no matter where we go, we wanna respect the authority figure in that place. In other words, if we go into a restaurant and the manager in that restaurant is the authority figure in that restaurant, we wanna show simple respect. We wanna respect, again, the elderly. I wanna really encourage you to show love and respect to your spiritual leaders. The scripture says to not do so would be unprofitable for you. So let’s restore, beloved, a culture of sanctity and respect to our hearts, because you know what? When we show respect to other people, listen now, it makes us taller. The same thing, I believe, applies for women today. So oftentimes women, they think they’ve got to fight against men because too oftentimes men have not acted appropriately. And because men maybe, you know, have misused their office of being a husband as the head of the home, they’ve misused it. And so as a result, Women are oftentimes feeling like they can’t trust any man. They have to just, you know, defend themselves, always be on the offense. But I want you to know, woman of God, you don’t have to be like that. You just have to submit to God, walk in His ways, and you know what’s going to happen? It’s going to make you taller. To be submitted and to show respect when it’s done with the right spirit does not make one weak or short. It makes one strong and tall. Let’s learn for the life of David, who is a man that loved God with all his heart, how to show respect for authority, even oftentimes when the person that’s in the office of authority falls far short from being perfect. Well, I’m going to take you to a new segment in Israel right now. We’re going to switch gears completely. Let’s go to Sodom and Gomorrah. I’m here in Israel at the biblical city of Sodom that’s spoken of in the Torah, in the Old Testament. Beloved, the Lord destroyed this city. There were many sins that were going on here, but the primary sin that this city was destroyed was the perversion of homosexuality. Now, I know today in our culture that it’s considered normal, that it’s an acceptable lifestyle, but if we’re basing our faith, if we’re basing truth on the written Word of God, we find that in both the Hebrew Bible, the Torah, as well as several places in the New Testament, that this city was guilty of sodomization, of homosexuality. Beloved, what God created we cannot say is no longer applicable. In other words, God created male and female in his own image, he created them. And just by looking at the uniqueness of the male anatomy and the female anatomy, we can see that sexually they were made to go together. That’s why a child can be conceived between a man and a woman, but no child can be conceived between a man and a man or a woman and a woman. So I just want to say this, as culture is changing and as people’s value system changes, it should not affect the believer. We as believers need to keep our value system rooted in the Word of God regardless of what the culture outside of us says. See, the Bible says, Do not be conformed to this world, but let your mind be renewed by the word of God. I believe that the spirit of homosexuality is gonna continue to increase around the world. Not only is it intensifying in the Western world, but countries and nations around the earth that haven’t been affected by it are now beginning to be affected. I often travel to Africa, and they’ve tried to resist what’s going on in the United States in terms of our value system here, but they’re finding slowly the value system of the United States, including the acceptance of homosexuality, is now permeating into parts of Africa. I just want to encourage you, beloved. We love all people. Your sin has been forgiven just as a homosexual, someone that’s practicing that lifestyle is forgiven. But we can call what’s wrong right and what’s right wrong. Homosexuality will always be in disarray with what the Word of God teaches. Listen. we have to choose right we have to choose truth and even those that may feel that they’ve been homosexual ever since they’ve been born to the world you know what the bible tells us that in christ jesus old things pass away and all things become new my love goes out to people that are trapped in that lifestyle in the homosexual lifestyle but jesus loves us too much to leave us where we’re at. If you find yourself trapped in a homosexual bondage today, I want you to know King Jesus is able to change you, wash you, and transform you. Beloved, God loves us, but we can’t make God in our own image. If we say we believe in Jesus, then we’ve got to believe in the Jesus of the Bible, because it’s the only record we have of who Jesus is. The Bible teaches us that God made man in His own image, male and female, and He created us distinct. I want to encourage you today, don’t be conformed to the culture of the world. Take your cue from God’s Word. God loves you too much. And he loves me too much to leave us where we’re at. Let’s get into alignment with him. And if we need help in this area, beloved, call out to him with all your heart, strength, soul, and mind, and he will conform you to the image that he originally designed you in.

SPEAKER 01 : 11:50

This is Discovering the Jewish Jesus and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first, we have a free gift for you. If you’re battling heaviness or patterns that you just can’t shake, it may be spiritual oppression. Don’t wait for others to deliver you. Rabbi’s free self-deliverance bundle, it includes a step-by-step PDF with scripture and an MP3 guide to help you close every door to the enemy and live free in Jesus. Get yours at myfreegift.com forward slash freedom. Do you want to be an instrument for God’s work on the earth? Well, join us as a new monthly partner and receive a handcrafted shofar that’s made in Israel. This instrument will announce Jesus’ second coming one day. And by supporting these teachings, you’re helping prepare the way for His return. So would you prayerfully consider joining us? Visit DiscoveringTheJewishJesus.com or partner with us by calling 800-777-7000. And now back to Rabbi.

SPEAKER 03 : 12:55

Now I’m going to take you to the wilderness of Sinai. It doesn’t look like there’s much there, but beloved, that’s the point. I’m going to come back in just a few moments and make a very practical application from the wilderness for your life today. I’m in the Sinai wilderness of Israel. You can see the incredible beauty behind me, the beauty of the wilderness. Do you know, this is the place that the Lord called the children of Israel to, out of Egypt, to worship him. We read, for example, in the book of Exodus, chapter five, verse one, that Moses and Aaron went before Pharaoh and they said to Pharaoh, let my people go on behalf of the Lord, that they might come into the wilderness to celebrate a feast and to worship me.” This is an incredible spot. Think about it. The Lord called Israel to worship him, to sacrifice him, and to celebrate before him in this place, in the wilderness. If you think about it, it’s kind of puzzling. I mean, why would God call Israel into the wilderness to worship him? And why did he tell them to make a feast before him and to celebrate before him in the wilderness? Because often as we think of the wilderness as really a place that’s lacking, a place where there’s not much water, very little food, there’s not much to look at. So why the wilderness? Because beloved, it’s in a place like this that the Lord oftentimes meets us most clearly. You see, it was only when the children of Israel were in the wilderness that the supernatural manna appeared on the ground six days a week for 40 years. And it was only while they were in the wilderness that they were able to visibly see the Shekinah glory of God as it rested over the tabernacle as a fire by night and a cloud by day. I wanna say to you today, if you’re in a wilderness, Don’t waste your wilderness because it’s often in the wilderness where Father’s voice will be most clear. It’s often in the wilderness that we learn lessons that we’re able to carry with us for the rest of our life. In fact, beloved ones, there are some things let me say it again there are some things that we can only learn in the wilderness so let’s not waste our wilderness the apostle paul said in second corinthians chapter one that he was burdened excessively beyond strength so that he just spared even of life but then he said this wilderness so to speak happened that he would learn to trust in god that raises the dead remember he His power is perfected in our weakness, and oftentimes the wilderness can be a place of weakness, but I’m telling you, God will meet you there. I want you to know you can’t escape a wilderness. In fact, I believe that our life consists of a cycle of wilderness experiences and then release into greater joy and breakthrough. You see, God, as I said, does things in our life when we’re in the wilderness that He can’t do when life is going easier and we’re surrounded by comfort. You see, the wilderness represents the fact that we have no provision other than God. That’s where Jesus went when God empowered him for ministry. Remember, he came out of the Jordan River and the Spirit of the Lord immediately led him into the wilderness where he fasted there for 40 days. I want you to know if you’re in a wilderness right now, it’s probably just where you’re supposed to be. And you don’t want to miss what God can do in your life by complaining, but rather recognize that it can be a great blessing for you. Because generally we make the most spiritual progress and receive the most from God, not during the easiest times in our life, but during wilderness times where we have to dig deep. Of course, wildernesses look very different for different people at different times. Wildernesses can come in many ways. But a wilderness experience is when you feel perhaps empty inside or you’ve lost something in your life that’s very important to you, a time when you have no crutches that can satisfy you, when you have a need that no one can meet but God. These types of experiences force us to depend on him. And depending on him, because there’s nowhere else we can go, beloved, this dependency creates a river for God to flow into our lives from. I want you to hear me today. When I look back in my life, the times that I’ve grown the most have been the times that have been the most difficult times. And now I look and I see the platform that I’m on and the place of ministry that I’m able to minister out of. And you know what? The foundation is the wilderness. So listen, don’t waste your wilderness. Learn how to walk through wilderness times with a sense of expectation and anticipation that even though things might feel empty, God is doing a great work, get it now, underneath the surface. You’re drinking deeply during these times, even though they may feel very unpleasant. Remember, Paul learned this lesson He learned when he was in a wilderness, he was dealing with a messenger of Satan. It was a wilderness experience of types. He called to God, God, take this away from me. This is painful. This hurts. But you know, the Lord said to him, Paul, my power is going to be perfected in your weakness. And in your weakness, Paul, I am going to make you. you strong beloved i love you most importantly god loves you and if you’ll learn to walk through your wilderness praising god by faith thanking him that you’re receiving something deep in it god’s going to do some very special things that he can’t do for you except when you’re in the wilderness remember Life is a cycle. It’s seasons of joy and breakthrough and then seasons of trials and wilderness. Let’s learn how to handle both with a joyful and a thankful heart. Let’s walk by faith, not by sight and not by feeling. And when we do that, we’re going to get strong. And when we get strong, beloved ones, we’re going to become happy because we are strong. I think one of the greatest things that the Lord is doing through this ministry is using Discovering the Jewish Jesus in a huge way in the earth to prepare the Gentile church and to equip them to share their faith with Jewish people. In fact, Paul said in the book of Romans that he magnified his ministry to the Gentiles because he said through Gentile believers, his own people would be reached. And so Gentile believers being equipped To share their faith with Jewish people is a huge part of God’s redemptive purposes. So I want you to know every time you sow your finances into discovering the Jewish Jesus, you’re sharing, you’re sowing seed into good ground that is right in God’s redemptive strategy to prepare the world for King Jesus’ return. Maybe you’ve never presented an offering to the Lord through this ministry. I would humbly ask you today to open your heart to the Lord and consider doing so. And if you feel the Holy Spirit knocking at the door of your heart to move forward with this, just be obedient. And because of you, we’re making a difference.

SPEAKER 01 : 20:34

Thank you for helping us reach Israel and the world. And you can give a financial gift of any amount to Discovering the Jewish Jesus online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And if it’s easier for you, give us a call. Our number is 800-777-7000. That’s 800-777-7835. And then if you’d like to send your financial donation in the mail, our address is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, PO Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And today we’d like to make you aware that this ministry has partnered with a trusted service called Freewill. It makes it simple and completely free to create a legally valid will. So many people delay taking the step because it feels complicated or scary. But I can personally say from using this service myself that free will guides you through the entire process in a really clear and uncomplicated way. It can help you to steward well what God has placed in your hands even after you’ve passed on. So if the Lord leads you, the platform also provides an option to include discovering the Jewish Jesus in your estate plan, which allows you to help carry the message of Jesus forward to future generations. There’s absolutely no obligation to give, and we thank you for considering the opportunity of supporting us. So to create your free will today, just visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Click on the resources tab, and then I need a will. Now here’s Rabbi with the Aaronic Blessing.

SPEAKER 03 : 22:12

The words from the Aaronic blessing in the book of Numbers, chapter six, verses 22 through 27, helps us to realize how good God is to you and I personally. So receive his blessing into your life, and then beloved one, go bless somebody else in Jesus’ name today.

SPEAKER 02 : 22:31

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yissa Yahweh, penavei lecha, ve’asem lecha.

SPEAKER 03 : 23:21

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 : 23:40

This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I’m your host, Dustin Roberts. Make sure to join us tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider shares a special Christmas Day message. That’s Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.