Equipped To Do His Will | Biblical Benedictions From the New Testament

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: As we depend on God, we walk in strength. This is why Paul followed up that scripture by saying, therefore, I will rather boast in my weakness than in my strength. For when I am weak, he is strong, then I am strong. Father, we just worship you, ask you to come and strengthen us by your word, by the power of your spirit in Jesus name. Amen and amen. You know, sometimes people ask why I do this, and it represents the word of God because the word of God is living and active, and the scripture says it's sharper than a two-edged sword. We're continuing today in a series that I'm calling biblical benedictions. I love the title of this series. Try saying biblical benedictions as fast as you can five times in a row. I guarantee you'll get into a tongue twister. But this is a really important word because these biblical benedictions represent God's blessing over the lives of his beloved ones. And so I want to encourage you today with these biblical benedictions to help you understand how active God is in your life and the many ways that he is every day blessing you and blessing his people. Now this is the third episode in the series, so I encourage you to go to our website, get the entire series. If you miss them, can watch them on YouTube as well. I want to continue straight away now into the next biblical benediction. We're going to go to Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20 and 21. Hebrews 13 verse 20 and 21. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of God abides forever. Here, beloved one, the word of God. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, get it now, equip you in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Now before I get right into the subject manner, when I say a benediction, a benediction is a blessing bestowed by God on his people. They oftentimes take place at the end of one of the books of the Bible, but not always. Sometimes if you're part of a conservative congregation or a more traditional congregation, your pastor or priest will end the service with a benediction. Once again, a benediction is an utterance from the Lord bestowed upon his people. It can take place in the middle of a book of the Bible as well. Now in the book of Hebrews, we're going towards the end of this book and looking at the subject matter of once again Hebrews 13 20 through 21. Because I have already spoken about the fact that God is a God of peace in a previous episode on this series, I'm going to focus more on some of the other content in this particular benediction. I want to draw your attention to verse number 21. Paul is speaking or the author of Hebrews is speaking over God's people, declaring that the God of peace, and here we go, would equip us, listen, to do his will. So let me read it again, and I want you to particularly pay attention when I say that word equip. Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, here we go, equip you in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight. So I want to focus here on this equipping that takes place in our lives by the spirit of God through the Lord Jesus, who shed his blood that we would be grafted in to the eternal covenant. Now it says here that this equipping once again, this equipping of God to you takes place because of the blood that Jesus shed that finished and accomplished for us what is referred to as listen now, the eternal covenant. You see, beloved ones, the blood of Jesus is the seal of God's covenant with his people. And the covenant that God has made with us was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible in the book of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, when the Lord said that the time would come when he would take out our heart of stone, a heart that's insensitive to him, and give us instead a heart of flesh. And that sometimes is confusing when we read there that God would give us a heart of flesh because oftentimes the word flesh in scripture is used to represent, you know, the lower animal nature. But in this particular prophetic portion in the Hebrew Bible, when the scripture says that God would take out our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh, God is not speaking there in terms of flesh being part of our animal nature and that needs to be overcome, but he's speaking of a heart of flesh that is sensitive. In other words, a heart of stone doesn't feel anything. But flesh, if you pitch flesh, you'll feel that. If you touch flesh, you'll feel it. So God is saying I'm going to take out your hard heart, your heart of stone, and I'm going to give you a heart of flesh. I'm going to give you a heart of flesh that's sensitive to me. And then we also read that this eternal covenant would sprinkle us and make us clean. And of course, we read that the blood of Jesus washes us and makes us white as snow. So I'm simply laying the foundation of the fact that this equipping that God does in our lives by his spirit can only take place because Jesus shed his blood sealing God's eternal covenant. And God's eternal covenant was a covenant of redemption whereby he would purchase back to himself his people that had fallen in the great fall that took place in the Garden of Eden. So now that Jesus has purchased us back by his blood and brought us in to an eternal covenant, remember Jesus said when he celebrated Passover and instituted communion of the Lord's Supper, he said this is my blood when he lifted up the Passover wine of the covenant. And so we are now grafted into this covenant. Jew and Gentile are part of this eternal covenant through the blood of the great shepherd of the sheep, Yeshua. And as a result of being in this covenant, this covenant of love, this covenant whereby now we have become one with the Lord in terms of our union with him through his son, as a result of this union, God is equipping us for every good work. Now I take great comfort in this because I have so many responsibilities to continue to feed God's people, to continue to lead the sheep, to continue to preach his word effectively. My confidence is in, listen now, his equipping. Now you may not have the same assignment as I. You may simply be a mother or a grandmother or a father. When I say simply, I don't mean any lesser than, but I'm just saying that you don't have some of the front line, you know, television ministry, but yet you've got a real assignment. I mean, what greater assignment is there than being a father, a good husband or a good wife or a grandmother or a faithful bond servant of the Lord, a handmaiden of the Lord. I mean the simple things in life that have to do with relationship. As a result of this, in order for us to be a blessing to those whom God has assigned us to be a blessing to, whether it's your husband, your wife, your grandchildren, your brother, the people that are part of your Bible study group, whoever it might be, God is the one that will equip you to continue to be a source of life and a vessel of transformation to those around you. If, listen now, we depend on him. You see, we will get depleted if we don't depend on God. And oftentimes we can feel depleted. Sometimes we are are are faced with an assignment and we just feel totally depleted going into that assignment. Maybe it's simply a relationship that you're needing to manage, and you want to manage that relationship in the love of Jesus. You want to manage that relationship in the power of God. You want to reflect God's light. You want to release strength. You want to release wisdom. You want to release leadership. You want to release direction. But yet in yourself, in the flesh, you feel so inadequate, incapable. Maybe you're feeling tired. Maybe you're feeling drained. Maybe you're feeling emotionally spent. And yet you still have to fulfill your assignment. Isn't it, beloved child of God, an awesome thing to know that it doesn't all depend on you and it doesn't all depend on me, that God himself is equipping us? And that he that began a good work in us will finish it. I'm just so blessed that with all the responsibilities that I have and that I know you have, we don't always have to be up to the task in our own strength in what we feel internally or emotionally, but God himself will be our sufficiency. So God says I am the great shepherd of the sheep and I will equip you for everything, listen now, that I've assigned you to do.
Dustin Roberts: You're listening to Discovering the Jewish Jesus, and Rabbi Schneider will be right back. But first, I'd love for you to stay connected with us by signing up for Rabbi's Seeds of Revelation newsletter. Each week you'll receive a powerful devotional direct from Rabbi along with other ministry updates including when Rabbi will be live. It's a simple way to stay uplifted and informed. Go to discoveringthejewishjesus.com and click stay connected today. Deception is rising, and many messages today, they're not the full gospel, but Rabbi's teachings come directly from scripture declaring truth with boldness. He's uncompromising. And if this ministry has blessed you, would you consider becoming a monthly partner today to continue reaching the world with God's word? We need committed supporters just like you. So to become a monthly partner, call us at 800-777-7835. And now back to Rabbi Schneider.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Now may the God of peace sanctify you entirely and in then a verse number 21 of Hebrews 13 and equip you in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight. We're looking to Father to work within us, to work within you and to work within me. Get it now, church. What is pleasing in his sight, it just takes all the weight off. It's not up to me to do it all, and it 's not up to you to do it all, but God is the one, listen now, that's working in you and working in me that which will bring forth from us what is pleasing in his sight. I 'm telling you, to believe this and to receive this, it takes the weight of the world off your shoulders. If we feel that it's up to us, that we've always got to be up to the task, that we've always got to be on an emotional high, if we think it all depends on us, that's a crushing weight. But to realize that it doesn't all depend on us, even though we have to depend on God who is working in you and in me, what is pleasing, hear me, in his sight. So let me read it again. Now the God of peace who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight. Now I want you to focus on another little phrase that's part of what I just read. He's equipping us now, get it, to do his will. Have you ever been in a relationship and the relationship was a challenge and yet you know you have to love? Maybe you're just emotionally drained. And you know, when we get drained sometimes, you know, we sink down into the flesh and we become irritable. All of us know what that feels like. Isn't it an awesome thing to know you may be stepping into a situation where you have to be a source of blessing to the people around you like I said just a moment ago? And you don't feel that you're going to be able to. But the word of God says that God is equipping us, listen now, to do his will. Every morning, every morning you and I can wake up and we can trust God to work within us that which is necessary to do his will that day. What a joy to realize that regards of what we feel like we can trust in the word of God. We can trust in God himself to work within us that which needs to be imparted to us so that we can please him. Get it now, church, and do his will. You see, if you depend on God, you will not fail. If you depend on God, you will bear much fruit. The root of bearing fruit is humility. And humility is depending on God. And as you depend on God and as I depend on God to work within us that which will equip us to do his will and that which is pleasing in his sight as we depend on him, we're going to receive everything we need to walk in power, to love him, to do his will and to please him. You see, when we depend on the Lord, the roots of our soul grow deep in God's spirit. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are those that depend on the Lord. Blessed are those that are humble. You see, Paul learned a great lesson. Remember Paul was struggling. He had what he called a thorn in the flesh. Paul said there was a messenger of Satan that was sent, Paul said, to buffet me, to come against me. It's kind of an old fashioned word to buffet, but it means to torment. Paul said there was a messenger of Satan that was sent to torment him. And this messenger of Satan, he doesn't tell us exactly what it was, whether it was somebody that was persecuting him, some have thought it was some kind of a physical challenge in his body. We don't know. But regardless of what the source was, whether it was a a persecutor or something in his body, we don't know. Regardless of what specifically it was, we know that it was an attack, that it was causing him torment. And Paul said that it came from the realm of darkness, that it came from Satan. And Paul said he prayed to the Lord three times to remove this thing, that his life would be easier, that he wouldn't have to be in anguish about this tormentor. And finally Paul said after the third time when he had asked God to take this away from him, to remove it, the Lord spoke to him and God said to him, no Paul, I'm not going to remove this thorn in your flesh. He said because my power is going to be perfected in your weakness. Get that again. Paul is struggling with something. This thing that he's struggling with is causing difficulty. It's causing pain. It's uncomfortable. Paul says, Lord, take it away. And God says, no Paul, my grace is going to be sufficient for you. I'm not going to take it away because this thorn in the flesh is making you depend on me. And as you depend on me, God said, you're going to be strong. And so the same is true in our life. As we depend on God, we walk in strength. This is why Paul followed up that scripture by saying, therefore, I will rather boast in my weakness than in my strength. For when I am weak, he is strong, then I am strong. And so we're talking here, beloved ones, about the truth that God is equipping us and he is working in us that which is needed for us to do his will and please him. And this equipping takes place as we listen now, depend on him. Even as Paul had to go through a difficult time, this messenger of Satan that was tormenting him in order to cause him to be fully dependent on God, so the same is true for you and I. You may be going through a difficult time right now. And it's possible that the reason you're going through a difficult time right now is God is breaking you down to become more dependent on him because God knows you're going to be more fruitful for him and walk in a way that's more pleasing to him as you become more dependent on him. But you won't become more dependent on him without being broken down. One of my favorite scriptures is in the book of second Corinthians, the first chapter. Here's what Paul says. Paul says, I have been burdened excessively beyond strength so that I despair even of life. But this happens to me, Paul said, that I would learn to trust in God that raises the dead. And so, beloved ones, I say to you right now, God prunes us. He causes us to go through difficult times in order that we would become more dependent on him. And as we become more dependent on him, he works in our life in ever greater ways to walk in the spirit, to accomplish his will, and to live in a way that's righteous and pleasing in his sight. I have found in my life that following the Lord is not the easiest path to take. It's a hard way. Jesus said straight and narrow is the way that leads to life. He said strive to enter through the narrow way. I used to wrestle when I was in school, and wrestling as many of you know, it's a very intense sport that takes a tremendous amount of energy. Well, I want you to know that walking with the Lord is harder than wrestling because a wrestling match is over in 6 minutes. Walking with the Lord is straining every day for a lifetime. This is why Paul said in the book of Ephesians, we wrestle not against flesh and blood. So I want to encourage you today. Continue to be faithful. Continue to depend on him and have this confidence. As you do, God is working in you in a mighty way to accomplish in you that which will give you the ability to please him in every way in your life. Listen now, and to accomplish his will. God bless you, beloved ones. I just want to speak God's blessing over you as we close today. Father, I thank you for these beloved children of yours. Father, I ask that you give them rest and peace as they continue to grow in their ability to trust in you, to do within them what they can't do for themselves. Father, we thank you. King Jesus, we thank you, and we love you, Abba. Think about this. Most of us know the miracle of Yeshua multiplying the loaves and the fish. But in order for the loaves and the fish to be multiplied that resulted in the feeding of thousands, they first had to bring to Jesus the loaves and the fish. And I think this is related to the Lord speaking to us and says, honor me with your finances, test me in this and see if as a result I will not open up for you the windows of heaven and bless you. I think honoring God with our finances is so huge, not just because God blesses us when we trust him and honor him, but because it opens up our heart and brings us to a place of living a yielded life unto him. And so this is just truth. And I'm just asking God's people, let's live in obedience. And if this message, beloved, that I'm showing right now is bearing witness with your soul and you feel a leading of the spirit, would you make an offering to him through this ministry?
Dustin Roberts: Amen. If God is stirring your heart to partner with Discovering the Jewish Jesus, you can give online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com or call us at 800-777-7835. You can also text to give. It's really easy. Just text the keyword give to the phone number 88777. And as Rabbi shared, the loaves and the fish had to be placed in Jesus's hands before they were multiplied. Giving, it's an act of trust just like that, taking something that God has placed in our hands and willingly offering it back to him. So thank you for putting your faith into action and helping us carry this message further. And when you support Discovering the Jewish Jesus, you're helping us create free resources for people. And we have one today that we want to bless you with. Whether you're able to give or not, we just want you to receive the gospel. You can get your free gift at discoveringthejewishjesus.com/prophecy. It's called 18 Messianic Prophecies from the Hebrew Scriptures. It's a written teaching and an MP3 audio guide. Rabbi Schneider, he traces prophetic passages revealing Jesus as the promised Messiah. You'll understand how Jesus fulfills the very promises that God gave us to know that Jesus is his son and Jesus is the Messiah. When I first learned this stuff, it really enhanced my faith. I encourage you get yours today, discoveringthejewishjesus.com/prophecy. We hope you're blessed by it. Thank you for your love and your support. And now here's Rabbi Schneider with the ironic blessing.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: In the book of Numbers chapter 6 the Lord gave instructions to Moses and Aaron to speak this blessing over his people. And the Lord said, when you speak these words over my people, I will place my name on them and bless them. Receive the impartations of the Lord's blessings. 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. And now in Hebrew God bless you and Shalom.
Dustin Roberts: I'm your host Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Tomorrow Rabbi Schneider shares a promise from the book of Romans revealing how God can renew lost hope. That's Thursday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.