Hello, and welcome to Discovering The Jewish Jesus today. I’m your host, Dustin Roberts, and Rabbi Schneider, he’s gonna provide us today with a glimpse into the extravagance of God’s love.
God has blessed each of us with unique gifts and with talents, but did you know that He also blessed us with the power to build up one another? And today, Rabbi is going to explore the life of a woman named Mary. She used her talents to wisely serve the kingdom of God.
And this series is from our study on the wasted life. If you want to take some notes today, make sure to download our study guide. It’s available for most of our series online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com.
And right now, let’s get started with our message. Here’s Rabbi.
God bless you and shalom, beloved ones. I really believe I’ve got a word that can have a strong effect on your life and propel you forward. You know, God is changing us day by day, morning by morning, new mercies we see.
And the Bible says even though our outer body is decaying, the scripture says the inner man is being renewed day by day. And one of the ways that Father feeds the inner man, listen now, is when we ingest the Word of God. Jesus said, listen, Jesus said, if you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you’ll have life in yourself.
And then He said, for my flesh is true food, my blood is true drink. And He said, the words that I speak to you are spirit and life. There’s something supernatural about the Word of God.
And when it enters your soul, it changes you. Think about it. God created the heavens and the earth.
He created you and I by His Word. In the beginning, God said, let there be light. You see, the Word of God releases His nature into the created world.
So I want you to get ready today, beloved, because God’s got a Word for you that will transform you. Let’s honor Him right now and ask Him to come and change us. Father God, we worship you today.
And Father, we need you today. We ask you, Father God, to cleanse us and sanctify us for your glory by your Word. And Father, I ask you today to transform us, all myself included, into the image of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, I’m calling this message A Wasted Life. Kind of an unusual name. It’s kind of a pun because on the one hand, when you think of a message called A Wasted Life, you think about somebody that just, you know, lived their life and wasted it.
And that is one half of the meaning of the message. But when I get to the end of the message today, Lord willing, you’re going to see there’s another dimension to this title as well that’s completely opposite. So hang with me today for this word that we’re calling A Wasted Life.
I began by reading from the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, verse 11 through 15. And what we read there is that Paul said that everyone builds his life on something. Paul said some people build their life on gold, silver, and precious metals.
Paul went on to say other people build their life on wood, straw, and worthless things. And he said at the end of our lives, what we’ve built our life on, and what do I mean by what we’ve built our life on? I mean the things that you think, your thoughts are things that you build your life on.
When you dwell on something, you’re building your life on that thing, because as a man thinketh, so he is. What you say you build your life on, because your words, beloved one, will cause your life to go in a certain trajectory, so the way you talk is building your life. Remember, James told us the story about a big ship.
This thing’s huge. Yet James said, the direction of the ship is determined by the small rudder. And he said, so it is, my friends, with your tongue, that by what you say, it’s going to steer the direction of your life, even as the rudder of a ship steers a large ship.
Now, let me ask you a question as we’re talking about building our life and our works being tested. Listen to this. Who determines what you say?
Is somebody else making you say what you say? Is your mom making you say what you say? Are your friends making you say what you say?
Or are you choosing to say what you say? Let me ask another way. Do you have the power to determine what you’re going to say and how you talk?
Do I have the power to hold my tongue? And do I have the power to speak? I have the power.
Now, I know there are certain situations where someone’s maybe being tortured, where, you know, they’re being forced to say something. We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about normal life.
I have the power to determine whether I’m going to speak a word of anger or whether I’m going to hold my anger. I have the power to gossip or not to gossip. I have the power to forgive or to ask forgiveness.
I have the power to bless someone, affirm someone, encourage someone. I have the power to pick up the phone and to reach out to build a relationship. I have the power to determine whether I’m going to tell somebody about Jesus or pray for them or not.
The point that I’m making, beloved one, is this. A lot of times, we’re passive. We’re not taking responsibility for our life.
We’re just living our lives on autopilot. We’re letting the river carry us, being passive, rather than understanding that God is going to hold us accountable for what we do. You see, in this section of scripture that I just paraphrased for you, Paul said everybody builds their life on something.
Either they’re building it with precious stones of gold and silver, or they’re building with wood, hay, and stubble. And at the end of our life, Paul said, our works will be tested. Some will be rewarded, and others are going to suffer loss.
And what they have even will be taken away because they didn’t even use the talent that God gave them. Now, I continued by reading another parable from the book of Matthew. I read in the book of Matthew, beloved, one in chapter 25, verse 14 through 27, how Jesus shared a story about a man that went on a journey.
And before he went on a journey, he gave one man five talents, another man another amount of talents, and another man only one talent. And the master came back to settle accounts with the one that he had given the talents to, with the ones he had given the talents to. first, he came to the one that had five talents.
The man says, Lord, you gave me five talents. I multiplied them. I put them to use.
And now look, I’ve taken the five and I turn them into 10. And the master said, well done, my good and faithful servant. Now you’re going to be given 10.
And I want you now to enter into my joy and rest. And then there was one that had three talents. Same thing happened.
The man that had three talents came and said, Master, look, I took what you gave me and I multiplied it and I doubled it. And the Lord said, well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.
And the Lord gave him more. But then there was the one that thought he didn’t have anything to do. He said, you know what?
You gave me one talent. I was afraid I didn’t do anything with it. But here’s the one talent you gave me.
He said, you wicked, lazy slave. Yeshua went on to say, when people live like this, even what they have will be taken away. I want to make a few points here.
Number one, God has given everyone talents. Not everybody has the same amount of talents. A talent is the ability or the gifting that He’s given us to be a blessing and to extend His kingdom on the earth.
Some obviously have been given greater musical ability. Some have better speaking ability. Some have more money for education.
Everybody has been given a different amount of talents, and oftentimes we don’t determine the amount of talents that we’re born with. God determines that. But hear this, my beloved friend.
You determine what you do with those talents. And that’s the point that I was making earlier. You’re the one that determines who you’re going to speak to what you’re going to say.
You’re the one that determines whether you’re going to hold your temper or not. You’re the one that determines whether you’re going to show love or not. You see, you’re in much more control than you’re being responsible for.
So many of us are living our lives irresponsibly. We’re not recognizing that Jesus said every idle word that we speak, we’re going to give an account for. I’m trying to stress, beloved one, that you and I oftentimes are just coasting through life without realizing that God is going to hold us responsible.
He’s going to hold us responsible for what we think about, what we say, how we spend our money, how we’re acting for the relationships we have, for the places we choose to go to. You and I are going to stand before Him and what the scripture calls the Great White Throne Judgment, and we’re going to be held accountable. When I say the scripture calls the Great White Throne Judgment, it simply says we’re going to stand before His Throne, great and small.
You’re listening to Discovering The Jewish Jesus, and Rabbi will be right back. But first, did you know that you can receive real-time encouragement straight from Rabbi through text message? Visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com and click on the link that says, Rabbi, text me.
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That’s 800-777-7835. Or you can visit us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now here’s Rabbi Schneider.
We’ve learned that we’ve all been given talents, that we can’t always control the amount of talents we’re given, but what we can control is what we do with the talents we’ve been given. And that’s what the Lord’s expecting. Now, here’s this very important point.
Do you know that it’s possible, listen to me, it’s possible for somebody that’s been given two talents to get to the end of their life and have more fruit to give to the Lord than the person that’s been given a hundred talents. Because the person that’s given two talents may multiply themselves a hundred fold, and the person that’s given a hundred talents might completely waste their life and only have one talent to show. So at the end of the day, what’s important is not how many talents you’ve been given, but what you do with the talents you’ve been given.
That’s why Jesus said, at the end of the age, many that are first will be last, and many that were last will be first. You see, whether you’re given a platform ministry like me, or simply a dishwasher loving God and being a witness, the pay is the same as long as you’re in the will of God. What’s important is not what you’ve been given, but what you do with what you’ve been given.
And let me say it again. Judgment is very real. Jesus’ last words were these, Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give to each one, get it, church, according to what He has done.
Not what God’s done, but what you’ve done. I want you to take responsibility. I want you to wake up every morning and realize you’re responsible before God.
From the time that you get out of bed in the morning to the time that you fall asleep at night, God’s holding you responsible. He’s holding you responsible for every thought that you choose to dwell on, every spirit that you communicate to people, because a lot of our communication is nonverbal. It’s not what we say, but it’s the spirit that we’re giving off.
He’s holding us responsible for all of it. God’s given us a will. This should bring us joy because it gives us an opportunity, listen now, to love Him.
You see, you and I can love God. We can choose to love Him by choosing carefully again, the things that we say, the thoughts that we think, the relationships we cultivate, how we use the gifts and talents He’s given us. We can love God.
You see, you’re extremely powerful because you can love God, and you can move His heart. See, the Bible says God’s eyes are looking to and fro across the earth, looking for someone that will be wholly devoted to Him to show himself strong on behalf of that one. God loves you, and He’s looking for you and I to love him back.
Now, to show you what extravagant love looked like, I brought you to the story of Mary of Bethany. She was one that loved Jehoshua extravagantly. She was an example of one that bore fruit a hundredfold.
Jehoshua said some will bear fruit 30-fold, some 60, some 100. We all want to bear fruit a hundredfold. She loved him with her whole heart.
She had a hundredfold fruit. That’s why Jehoshua said what she did is going to be written about her forever and for all time. All the nations are going to know.
What did she do? She had this costly jar of perfume. It was worth a year’s worth of wages, 300 denarii, which the scripture tells us it was worth, approximately a year’s worth of wages.
It could have been used for so many things, but instead what she did, she broke it and anointed Jesus with it. In the one account, we see that she anointed Jesus’ head with it, and then in the other account, in the Book of John, we see that she anointed Jesus’ feet with it. Last time I read the account from the Book of Mark, let me read now about this account from the Book of John.
Hear the word of God. Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They made him a supper there, and Martha was serving, but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with them.
Mary, then, took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair, and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples who was intending to betray him, said, Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor people? Now, he said this not because he was concerned about the poor but because he was a thief and he had the money box.
He used to pilfer and take the money for himself. Therefore, Jesus said, Let her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial, for you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me. We read in the Book of Mark, concerning the same account, that many, when they saw Mary anointing him, were indignant.
They thought it was a waste of money. But Jesus said, Leave her alone, because what she’s done is going to be told to the whole world until I come again. All the nations are going to know about it.
I want to just take a look at this for a second. first of all, I said that Mary’s gift was extravagant, a whole year’s worth of wages. People didn’t understand it.
They thought it was a waste. Why was it extravagant? It was extravagant, beloved one.
Hear me now, child of God, for two reasons. Number one, because she gave this extravagant gift, listen to me, not because she was compelled to do it by somebody else. Not because somebody manipulated her.
Not because some preacher put pressure on her. But she gave it, beloved one, because, listen to me, she wanted to. No one was compelling her to.
She gave it all that. You see, her gift represented her entire life, her whole heart. She gave it, listen to me, because she wanted to.
That’s where the Bible says, don’t give under compulsion, but give to God with a joyful heart. Secondly, beloved, it was extravagant, hear me now, because she gave, hear me, without regard to the cost. She didn’t think about, oh, what am I going to do for money when I give this gift to the Lord?
She was so in love with him. She was so moved. She was so compelled by her love for him that she gave herself completely through this gift.
Listen now, without regard for the cost. I love this next point. As we read this here, we read that when she anointed Jesus’ feet after pouring the perfume on his feet, she took her hair and wiped his feet with her hair.
You know what I love about that? The Bible says when she did that, the fragrance got all over the entire house. Think about this.
This fragrance, which was symbolic of Mary’s love, it filled the whole house. Everyone smelled it. It was all over Mary too.
As Mary loved Jesus, this anointing of love not just came upon Jesus, but it came on Mary. They were bound together in this beautiful fragrance of love. And the love, beloved one, filled the entire house.
And Jesus said, you know what? This extravagant supernatural display of love, it’s going to be told through the whole world until I come again, Jesus said. It’s written about in the Gospels.
Jesus looked at Andrew. He said, you know what, Andrew? They’re going to forget about you.
You know what, Bartholomew? No one’s going to be talking much about you. Thaddeus, they’re not even going to remember you.
But Mary, they’re going to be talking about her until I come again. You see, my friends, there were those that scorned at this gift, but there was something they didn’t realize. You see, they accused Mary of wasting the money, the money that it cost to buy this bottle of perfume.
But you see, what these ones that scoffed didn’t realize is that everybody wastes their life on something. What about you? Are you going to waste your life on yourself, living self-indulgently, spending your time, your talent, and your treasure on the things of the world, on self-consumption?
Or will you, my dear child of God friend, will you waste your life on Jesus? Let’s be like Mary. Let’s give him everything.
I’d rather, beloved, be wasted for Jesus than waste my life on the things of the world. You may say, yes, that’s what I want to do. But you know what the Lord says?
Many have said yes, but many of those that have said yes have not followed through and really done it. You see, to really do this, you need to make a decision to get on your knees and give yourself completely without reservation to Jesus right now. No holding back.
Jesus is coming back soon. There’s only an hour left. You see, there is going to return or you and I are going to slip into eternity through leaving our body at death.
If you mean business with God, I encourage you, get on your knees and give him your entire life this second. The ancient Hebrew prophet foretold that there be a time coming to the earth, where there be a famine not of bread and water, but of the Word of God. There aren’t that many preachers and teachers left that are simply preaching the Bible.
There aren’t that many Charles Stanleys left in the world anymore. Beloved, I’m not saying I’m Charles Stanley, but I am saying I’m committed and have been committed to simply teaching and preaching the written Word of God. It’s easy to find a motivational sermon, but it’s not that easy to find somebody that’s broadcasting, simply teaching and preaching God’s Word.
I want to ask you to stand with me financially, because God’s kingdom must be preached to the end of the world before His return. That’s what we’re committed to do, and I need your help, beloved, to accomplish it.
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We’ll send you a CD, and on that CD is a little note to download it digitally, if you’d like as well. And then for our new monthly partners, you’re going to receive an authentic, handcrafted shofar made in Israel. And speaking of the shofar, the Feast of Trumpets, known as Rosh Hashanah, it marks the beginning of the High Holy Days on the Jewish calendar.
And this year, it begins at sunset, October the 2nd, and it ends at nightfall on October the 4th. And these sacred fall holy days, they’re not just for Jewish people. They’re for people like you and me.
They’re a great time for believers to reflect, to repent, and renew our commitments to God, and most importantly, understand and remember how Jesus is connected to these days and fulfills them. And if you’d like to give a special fall holy days offering this year, you can give one online at our website, discoveringthejewishjesus.com, or send it in the mail to DiscoveringTheJewishJesus PO. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan, 49228.
Now, here’s Rabbi with the Aaronic Blessing.
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.
Discovering The Jewish Jesus is a production of Shalom Ministries, and I’m your host, Dustin Roberts. Make sure to come back next week when Rabbi Schneider explains the law of resistance. That’s coming up Monday right here on Discovering The Jewish Jesus.
