Join Rabbi Schneider as he passionately explores the spiritual depth of walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. By referencing Paul’s exhortations, listeners are reminded of the beauty of holiness and the call to be ambassadors of Christ’s love in the world. This episode is a powerful reminder that love transcends feelings; it’s an act of commitment and will. Through personal stories and biblical references, Rabbi Schneider illustrates the joy that comes from living a life centered on God’s purpose.
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One of the characteristics of an abundant life is that it keeps on increasing. It keeps on bubbling up, the Holy Spirit releasing more and more and more and more of God who is unlimited. Baruch Hashem, bless the name of the Lord. This is Rabbi Schneider from Jerusalem. What an awesome opportunity to bring you the word of the Lord from this place. And I’m particularly excited today to be with you in the book of Colossians, where we’re looking there at Paul’s prayer along with Timothy. Paul and Timothy were praying together for the saints at Colossus. I love this because Paul and Timothy are praying for God’s people that they would receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God’s will that they would be able to walk in understanding that it would produce within them the fruit of being able to walk in a manner that’s worthy of their calling. So we’re going today to Colossians chapter one. I’m gonna begin reading from verse nine and then we’re gonna continue to make some forward progress. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord abides forever. Hear the word of God. Paul and Timothy are writing together and they say this. For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, We have not ceased to pray for you and to ask you that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Now, I preached a whole message on that. If you didn’t hear it, I encourage you to go back and get that teaching. You can get it on YouTube. You can go to the information at the end of our broadcast today in order through Discovering the Jewish Jesus. It laid the foundation for where we’re going to go next. I find it very weighty that when we look at the prayer life of Paul and Timothy, that their prayers went beyond just their own needs. So that Paul begins this prayer in Colossians chapter one by saying, ever since I heard about what God is doing in your life, once again, writing to the saints in Colossus, and he’s saying to them, ever since I heard of it, he said, I haven’t stopped praying for you. And then he begins to pray with Timothy. And he says that God would give you, listen to this now, a spirit of the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and understanding. And so Paul is praying that the saints there would be able to walk in a supernatural understanding by the Holy Spirit of the will of God. And that they’d be able to take this perception that they’re receiving from the Holy Spirit, this divine understanding, wisdom that they’re receiving, if they would take that wisdom then and walk it out in such a way that the way they’re walking, Paul said, would be in a way that would bring glory to God. So listen to what he says. I’m praying that God will give you a knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you will walk, listen now, in a manner worthy of the Lord. And I want to stress this today because too many of us, all we ever hear about is God answering our prayers. That if you’ve got a need, turn to Jesus. That if you’re sad, turn to Jesus, he’ll make you happy. That if you need a job, turn to Jesus, he’ll give you a job. If you need a husband or a wife or a house, whatever you need, turn to Jesus, he’ll make you happy. He’s gonna give you a better life. He’s gonna give all these things to you. But what people are oftentimes unfortunately not hearing is the other half of the story which brings balance and truth. that God doesn’t save us just to fulfill us, beloved, but he saves us, listen now, to bring glory to him. You see, God wants our lives to reflect his glory. So Paul says, I want you to have these things in order, verse number 10, that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord. But are you challenging yourself? Are you holding a mirror up to your face every day, asking yourself, are my walking in a manner that’s worthy of the Lord that called me? I mean, I try to hold that mirror up to my face all the time. Is the way I’m handling myself pleasing to God? Am I witnessing here the way the Lord wants me to witness? I mean, it’s not about how we feel. It’s about us fulfilling our calling. It’s about us walking worthy of our calling. It’s not about us feeding the flesh. It’s not about us just satisfying our own wants and desires. It’s about us walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. The Hebrew scriptures speak about the beauty of holiness. Holiness is beautiful. You see, the Bible says that we stand before Him, listen now, holy and blameless before Him in love. And the root word for holiness comes from the word kadosh, and it carries with it the meaning of separation. So if we’re walking, as Paul prays for us here, in a manner that’s worthy of the Lord, what that means is that we’re walking a holy lifestyle, and by definition, to walk in holiness needs to be walking in a way that’s separate from the world. You see, the name of Jesus is always on our lips. We walk as a sweet and fragrant aroma to him that we’re a fragrant aroma of Jesus to the world around us, not just the people in church, but the whole world around us. In other words, wherever we go, the beautiful name of Jesus is on our lips. We talk about Jesus openly and publicly. We love him publicly and openly. We praise him publicly and openly. Sure, some will scorn us. But Jesus said, blessed are you when men persecute you for righteousness sake, for they did the same thing with the prophets of old. Your reward in heaven is great. But Jesus said, woe to you if everybody speaks well of you. That’s what happens when you’re a false prophet. So Paul says, I want you to be filled with spiritual wisdom and understanding and the knowledge of his will that you’ll walk worthy of your calling And to walk worthy of your calling, beloved child of God, is to fulfill God’s purpose for your life while you’re on earth. And one of God’s purposes over your life is that you’ll be his witness in the earth. Paul said that we’re ambassadors of God in the world reconciling the world to him, encouraging, begging, and treating people to be reconciled to him through Christ. So you can’t shrink back from being a witness. You can’t fear being rejected because Jesus said, if you deny me before men, I’m gonna deny you before the Father. You see, there’s a price to pay for walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. There’s a price to pay for following Jesus. Jesus said, pick up your cross, deny yourself, and follow me. So Paul wants us to be empowered to walk in spiritual revelation and divine insight in order that we’ll walk in a manner that’s worthy of the Lord. And part of this is carried out when we’re living in this world as His witnesses. You see, many of us want an experience with the Ruach HaKadosh. We want an experience with the Holy Spirit. But if we’re going to enter into an experience of fullness with God’s spirit, we have to be willing to pay the price for which he rests in us. And that price is that we’re willing to put Jesus first and not deny him in front of the world.
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You’re listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first, here’s a testimony from a listener who’s been touched by Rabbi’s teachings.
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God is using you to help me in my life. I am so grateful for His power in and through you.
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Amen. Thank you, Lord. And to submit your testimony, go to discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Just click on ministry and submit your testimony today. Matthew 25, it reminds us to care for people in need. So we’re making Rabbi’s teaching available to men and women in prison each and every day through a special app. And last year, thousands of inmates clicked the button on this app, telling us they were surrendering their lives to Christ. And if you want to help us in this mission, would you please support us? Give or become a monthly partner at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Now, back to Rabbi.
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Let’s continue on. Paul says, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please Him in all respects. You see, if you’re gonna please God, beloved, you need to be bold. You need to be a witness. Jesus said, you’ll receive power not many days from now and you’ll be my witnesses. You see, Yeshua came to Jerusalem to be crucified. Who crucified Him? The Pharisees of His day that had a form of godliness that was devoid of power. You see, they couldn’t do the miracles that Jesus did. Jesus caused the lame to walk. He caused the blind to see. Even the Jewish historian, Josephus, that didn’t believe that Jesus was the Messiah, said there was this man, Yeshua of Nazareth, he was accused of being a sorcerer. No one denied that he had supernatural power. The miracles traveled everywhere. That’s why Christianity is the largest religion in the world. No one could deny the experience they were having as the God of Israel was pouring forth his spirit in the land of Israel that spread to the entire world. And you and I have been given the privilege of carrying the message into the world. This is why Jesus said, greater works than these shall you also do. What are the greater works? The greater works, beloved, is that today we carry the message of the Torah, that Jesus fulfilled the Torah, and we carry that message to the entire earth. I want to challenge you today, those of you that are hungry for God, those of you that want more of His power, Those of you that want to experience a sweeter intimacy with the Ruach HaKadosh, you have to be willing to pay the price. Jesus said, unless you pick up your cross, deny yourself and follow me, you can’t be my disciples. Jesus said, as the Father sent me, so also now I send you. Go therefore. telling people to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, making disciples wherever you go. I wanna challenge you today. Yeshua of Nazareth, Yeshua HaMashiach, the King of the Jews is coming back soon. Will you be ready to meet him? Many of you are saying you’re ready to meet him, but it’s just like the story of the 10 virgins. All 10 said they were looking for him to return. But when he returned, only five of them had oil in their lamps. Only five of them were burning. Only five of them were engaged. Only five of them had the Ruach HaKadosh moving and churning through their life. Only five of them were mobilized in action. The other five were sleeping. Let me ask you, are you sleeping in the dark or are you going as Jesus told you to go? As the father sent me, Yeshua said, so also now I send you. Listen, everybody can share the gospel with somebody. Let’s continue on. Hear the word of God. Paul says, I want you to be filled with all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that you’ll walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work. Listen now. increasing in the knowledge of God. So Paul is saying I want you to bear fruit in every good work and I want you to be increasing in the knowledge of God. I love that word increasing because Yeshua said he came to give life and to give it, listen now, more abundantly. And when I think about the nature of abundant life, when Yeshua said, I’ve come to give life and to give it more abundantly, one of the characteristics of an abundant life, listen now, is that it keeps on increasing. It keeps on growing. There’s a continual, listen now, bubbling up of the Holy Spirit hatching, as it were, from inside us, releasing more and more and more and more of God who is unlimited. So Paul is praying that they will keep on increasing in the fullness of God. He says that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord to please him in all respects. bearing fruit in every good work, listen now, and increasing in the knowledge of God. When Paul says here that we should bear fruit in every good work, one of the primary good works that we increase in, beloved one, listen now, is just loving people. You see, we need to remind ourselves that love is not a feeling. In fact, oftentimes loving somebody is doing the exact opposite of what you feel like doing. Remember, right before Jesus went to the cross, he got down in the garden and began to pray. And the Bible says, he said, Father, If it’s possible, he said, let this cup pass from me, but not my will, but thy will be done. You see, Yeshua didn’t want to go to the cross. He said, Lord, if it’s possible, I don’t want to have to go here. But if it’s not possible, he said, Father, not my will, but thy will be done. You see, Yeshua was committed to loving and his commitment to love wasn’t based on his feelings. but rather it was an act of the will that was based on his commitment, his fidelity to do the Father’s will. And so when Paul prays that we would keep increasing in every good work, one of the primary ways that we increase is that we increase in love. The greatest of these, the scripture tells us, is love. Jesus said, all men will know you by your love. So we need to constantly be pushing ourself to be sacrificing to love people. And oftentimes this involves doing that, which isn’t natural, but we know it’s right. In other words, the Holy Spirit is laying somebody in our heart to reach out to, maybe to call them on the phone. Maybe we know they just went through an operation. And we know that we should call them to pray for them, to show them love and concern, to let them know we’re thinking about them, but we’re tired. We don’t really feel like calling them. We don’t really feel like we have anything in us to give. We don’t even feel a good spirit inside, but we know we should. You know what we do? Because of our commitment to love, because of our commitment to do the will of God, we pick up the phone and we call them, and we do it not because we feel like it, but because we’re committed to doing good works. Jesus said, not a glass of cold water given in his name would go on forgotten. And what you’ll find, as I often find, beloved, is when you go ahead and take that act, You pick up the phone to call that person that the Holy Spirit’s been laying on your heart to call, just to tell them that you love them, to pray for them, to see how you’re doing. Once you call them and begin to give, what happens is the Holy Spirit just begins to pour out. And that which felt unnatural in the beginning begins to feel natural. You spend a few minutes on the phone with that person, praying for them, blessing them, loving them. They’re so encouraged. They’re so built up by it. And you get off the phone. experiencing the sweetness of the Holy Spirit on your heart, in your soul, and upon your thoughts, listen to me, because you did the will of God. So I challenge you today, beloved, and I charge you, O Church of God, let’s keep increasing in our knowledge of the Lord, and let’s stretch the boundaries by increasing in love, walking in holiness, and as we do, we’re gonna become complete in Messiah Yeshua. I want to just continue to focus on the concept that you just got done hearing me teach on. You know, honey, when you think about it, the scripture says, he that has been perfected in love no longer has any fear in their life. At the end of the day, when we’re walking in love, we’re walking in victory. And yet the truth is, for most people, They have tremendous resistance when they try to walk in love because the fact that the enemy is trying to keep the atmosphere of love from overtaking the environment. Love is not just loving people that you feel good about. Jesus said, if you love your friends, what good is that? You know, even sinners love their friends. He’s calling us to supernaturally be able to manifest the power of love, even when it feels repulsive to us, even when it feels completely unnatural, that’s when we need to rise up and move in the power of the Spirit and love despite the resistance.
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Wow, you know, as you’re speaking, Rabbi, I saw the picture of Yeshua on the cross, the sacrifice of love. And it didn’t feel good going to the cross. You know, when he was praying ahead, he was pouring out blood in his prayer, knowing he was going to the cross. And yet now we’ve received the love of God. We’ve received that supernatural love, unconditional, supernatural love. And he’s calling us to go to the cross with himself, to love what seems unlovely in the beginning.
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I just want to stress it again, honey, and what you’re saying that our love is not first a feeling. Just because you don’t feel love for somebody, that doesn’t mean you can’t love them. Because love is not always a feeling. As you were saying, Cynthia, before Yeshua went to the cross, he prayed, he said, Father, if it’s possible, let this cup pass from me. Because he didn’t feel like going to the cross. But then he said, yet not my will, but thy will be done. He rose above what he felt. to do what was pleasing to the Father. And so, I just want to encourage our people to understand that they’re not failing because they don’t feel love. We’re only falling short if we fail to give the output of love.
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Yes, yes, to stretch. If we’re feeling nice and comfortable and we’re feeling the love of family or friends that we know love each other, that’s good, but He’s always calling us to stretch to another level. And as we stretch, there’s always blessings that come in. As we stretch to love someone that we don’t naturally think about or want to love, but He brings them to mind and says, I want you to go there. I want you to love them. They’re in need. Reach out. We hear and we see people in need. And as we’re moved by His love to love the unlovable, then the love comes right back to us in the end.
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Yeah, we get expanded in the spirit of God. And as we give, we receive. It may be simply reaching out to somebody, saying hello to somebody, even when in the flesh, you might not want to involve yourself. You don’t want to put forth the energy. It’s important to realize that Father is orchestrating many circumstances in the lives of his children in order to stretch them. So beloved ones, let’s overcome evil with good and let’s practice loving. As we do, we’ll become more like King Jesus. Amen. The Bible tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And when I think about fearing God, one of the areas that strikes me is, am I willing to honor the Lord with my finances? Now, I know some are probably objecting, well, as believers, we don’t have to fear the Lord. I’m talking about having a holy reverence for God and treating Him as holy. When we treat God as holy in our life, we’re going to put him first in our finances. Beloved, I just want to ask you, if you believe that I’m authentic, that this ministry is authentic, that it’s helping you, I want to ask you to open your heart to the Holy Spirit and allow him to speak to you regarding sowing a financial gift into this ministry so that we can continue to do the work that God’s calling us to do. When you sow your financial gifts into discovering the Jewish Jesus, you’re going to reap a reward from all the fruit that this ministry is gaining.
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Amen. And as Rabbi mentioned, it’s important that we honor God with our gifts and prayers. And you can give a financial gift of any amount to Discovering the Jewish Jesus by visiting us online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. If it’s easier for you, give us a call. Our number is 800-777-7835. That’s 800-777-7835. And you know, your generous support, it makes a huge impact. Did you know that right now, this life-changing program, it reaches over 100 million households in America, and we broadcast through TV and podcast in nearly every country around the globe. From remote villages in Uganda to cities across the United States, people are encountering Yeshua, the Jewish Jesus, through these broadcasts. And it’s your faithfulness that makes this global influence possible. So I want to encourage you, please give today. You can send in your generous financial donation in the mail. Just send it to Discovering the Jewish Jesus, P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. Once again, that’s P.O. Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. And during the summer, It can be really hard to catch every program. So I want to remind you that you can listen to Rabbi no matter what you’re doing or where life takes you by subscribing to our podcast. Just head over to your favorite podcasting platform and click the subscribe or follow button and you’re all set. Catch up whenever and wherever works best for you. Now here’s Rabbi to speak God’s blessing over us today.
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What I love about the Aaronic blessing is that it did not originate with man. The words actually proceeded from the very essence of God himself. The blessing comes from the book of Numbers chapter six. So listen to these words and receive the blessing of the Lord into your life today.
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Yevarechech Yahweh vayishmarecha Ya’er Yahweh panavelecha vichunecha Yissa Yahweh, penavei lecha, ve’asem lecha. Shalom.
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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.
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This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I’m your host, Dustin Roberts. Be sure to join us tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider explains how you can create with God. That’s Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.