Repentance and His Return

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: For you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Shalom, beloved one. I want to share with you a message today that I preached during the Feast of Trumpets. This word that I have for you today, beloved ones, it's applicable for your life. You see, the first thing that Jesus said when he came out of the Jordan River is repent. I preached it during the Feast of Trumpets because the Feast of Trumpets reminds us that Jesus is coming back any day and we need to be ready. I want you to know, repentance is a process. And the deeper we repent, the more of God's glory rests on our lives. You see, the scripture tells us that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. There's a law of similarity that's in play. The more we become like Jesus, the more we experience intimacy with Him in our life. And this comes, beloved, through the process of repentance. May this message be a blessing for you and may it transform you for God's glory. I love you and shalom. I remember years ago, when I first came to know the Lord. I was a Jewish person and I knew nothing about Jesus. Jesus supernaturally revealed himself to me in a vision in 1978. No one had ever witnessed to me, I'd never read a New Testament, and I knew nothing about Jesus. Jesus was as foreign to me as the man on Mars. I never thought about him. But one night in the middle of the night, the Lord awoke me from my sleep. I was in a state of supernatural conscious awareness and knew that I wasn't sleeping. Suddenly in that state of conscious awareness, Jesus appeared to me in a vision on the cross. It was in color. I saw him staked on the cross. I could see the ground, I could see people looking on in the distance. And then a ray of red light, beloved ones, from straight through the sky beamed down on his head. When I saw that ray of red light from straight through the sky beam down on Yeshua, on Jesus's head, I knew that God was telling me that Jesus was the way to him because I knew the ray of red light was coming from God since it came from straight through the sky. And because it came down on Jesus, as an American, I knew enough to know that at least the person on the cross was Jesus. I knew that much. So when that ray of red light came down on Jesus, I knew that God was revealing himself to me, showing me that Jesus was the way to Him. So I just all of a sudden hope was birthed in my heart because I was living in a dark place at the time. I started telling everybody about it. Eventually someone said, "Go get a New Testament." So I went and got a New Testament. I started devouring it. And I came to the book of Hebrews and I read the chapter on faith, that God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him. And I read that verse and I'm a pretty focused person. When I wrestled, I trained year-round. I'm disciplined. If I know what I want, if there's something I can do about it, God has given me the grace to go after it. I said, "Father God, you said if I would seek you, you reward me." So the next day I spent all day just seeking him. I got up early in the morning. All I did was read the Bible, pray, and listen to worship music for 12 hours, 15 hours, however long it was that day. Then I remember, after seeking him all day long, I remember so vividly all those years ago, going into my bedroom that night. I was so excited because I thought, "Wow, God," I said. "I just got done seeking you all day. I mean all day! I can't wait to see what my reward's going to be." I went to sleep that night, beloved. I know it sounds horrific and I know for some of you it might be hard to receive, but I'm telling you, God is my witness. That night I was violently attacked in my sleep. I can't even explain it. I know it doesn't make any sense in the natural world, but I can only tell you it was like this: it was like I was a ball and it was like somebody took that ball and was slamming me, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, against the walls. I mean a violent supernatural attack I had never experienced anything like it in my life. When did it happen? When I was pressing on to seek God. So I'm at a place right now where I've been pressing forward and I believe I've been under attack. I need a fresh touch. And as I look to the Father for a fresh touch, the Father I think is also saying to me, "Listen, I'm going to do something new, but it's going to require a deeper level of repentance in you." Now some of you might say, "Well, I've already repented." Yeah, you think you repented. But let me tell you, there's a lot more to repent of. You know when we first get saved, if we smoke cigarettes and we cuss, we think if we get rid of the cigarettes and stop cussing, we've repented. We don't realize the jealousy, the pride, the hatred, the accusation, and all those other things that are in our heart. We just know, "Hey listen, I'm clean. I stopped smoking and I stopped cussing." There's always a deeper level. It's like you put a slide under a microscope and you look at that slide under low power and you don't see much. But if you turn the power up, you see a lot more on that slide. That's what happens. The Holy Spirit keeps on turning up the power. We keep on seeing deeper and deeper levels of repentance that are required to see God. And the call to action tonight, beloved ones, to prepare to meet Jesus and to experience him in a deeper way in this world as we're waiting for his return, is a deeper call to repentance. I want to take a look at a couple scriptures with you. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus's coming, do you know his first words were these? "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In other words, is the kingdom of heaven at hand? Jesus is getting ready to return. So what should our response to that be? To repent. Now the Hebrew word for repentance is pronounced Shuv. So if you're not a Shmita, you're a Shuv. The Hebrew word for repentance is Shuv, or repentance, Shuvah. And it comes from a word, a verb meaning to turn back or to return. What are we turning back to? What are we returning to? We're returning, beloved, get it now, to our Creator. We're returning to giving the Creator ownership of our lives. Satan said, "I will, I will, I will, I will." To return means to say, "Father, not my will but thy will be done." Examples of this concept and biblical truth in the Old Testament are as follows: Isaiah 30:15, "In repentance and rest you'll be saved." I think one of the areas of repentance that I need to continue to work on is just sometimes stopping my action to just trust. Ezekiel 18:32, "For I have no pleasure," the Lord said here—this is powerful—"I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore repent and live." Remember Jesus said unless you repent, you will perish. Help me, Jesus. I'm serious. Examples of this in the New Testament—I told you Shuv or Shuvah is the Hebrew equivalent. The New Testament, the word is pronounced something close to metanoeo. Examples in the New Testament used by Jesus, Luke 13: "Now on the same occasion, there were some present who reported to him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices." And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this fate?" In other words, these ones that suffered at the hands of Pilate, Jesus was saying, "Do you think this happened to them because they were so much worse than the other people living in Galilee?" Jesus said, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all the others because they suffered this fate? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." "Or do you suppose that those 18 on whom the tower of Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." There is a diabolical silence on the preaching of holiness in the church today. All we hear about is grace. We want to look cool, get our jeans out, our t-shirt, our little stool to sit on, our little minimalist table, look cool, look relaxed, have the coffee outside—Starbucks preferably. Make you comfortable. Then we're going to begin the service with our guitar players. We've got four guitar players up there. Then we're going to move into the cool announcements. We're the cool church. We're all cool here. Then we're going to talk about the grace of God. The grace of God. Then we're going to bless you. People go home, living together, and sleeping together. No one's ever spoken a word to them that convicted them. Living a worldly lifestyle. One foot in the church, two feet in the world. Jesus said unless you repent, you will perish. There's a diabolical silence on the church on holiness today. Without holiness no man will see God. Wow, help me, Jesus. Help me, Jesus.
Dustin Roberts: This is Discovering the Jewish Jesus, and Rabbi Schneider will be back in a moment. Did you know that you can receive direct communication from Rabbi? Sign up for text messages today. He won't bombard you with messages, but he'll send encouraging words and updates for special live shows as the Lord leads him. It's easy to join, just text the keyword "Rabbi" to the number 88777. That's "Rabbi" to the number 88777. Did you know that the shofar is a biblical instrument that's used to announce God's presence? And we would love to send you one when you become a new monthly partner. It's a special thank you gift that's been handcrafted in Israel. To join us and receive your shofar, visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Thanks for partnering with us each and every month. Your support helps us continue to share the Gospel worldwide. And now, back to Rabbi Schneider.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Revelation 2, verse 4 and 5, the words again of Yeshua: "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen and return, repent, and do the deeds you did at first, or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent." We'll lose a sense of God's presence in our life. Jesus's words to the church, Revelation chapter 3: "Those whom I love I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent." In other words, if Jesus challenges us by his Holy Spirit to repent of something, if he asks us to change, to discipline ourselves to obey him, Jesus said repent because I'm doing this because I love you and if you don't, you'll perish. Revelation 3:3, "Remember what you have received and heard and keep it and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour I'll come to you." It's interesting because Jesus used this same word in the book of Matthew, saying that we should be expecting his return and get ready for his return, because he's going to be coming like a thief. What does that mean? He's going to come when we're not expecting. Who goes to bed tonight expecting the thief to come? Matthew, Jesus' words, the greatest chapter in the New Testament outside of the book of Revelation about the return of Jesus: "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour and you do not think he will." "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes," in other words, the one that's living for him at his return. "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My master's not coming for a long time,' and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day when he's not expecting him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, in that place where there'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 24:42 through 51. I know that sounds hard, but you know what? Jesus talked more about hell than he did about heaven. And when we don't have preaching that accurately reflects the words of Jesus in the New Testament, then the Gospel, beloved, that is being preached is not fully the Gospel. I want to ask you to stand tonight. This night has been an exciting night, it's been a thrilling night. We get excited because we're expecting Jesus to return, but beloved, it's not enough to be excited. We also need to repent. Father, I just ask you for a grace tonight to repent. Father, I pray for a season of repentance. Your word says that it's the goodness of God that leads to repentance, that no one comes to Jesus, Father, unless you draw them. Father, I ask you to give me a special grace to repent tonight. Father, not just tonight, but in this season. Father, that anything that needs tuned up in our lives, Father, that we would take the steps required to get tuned up. Anything that we need to return to, that we've fallen away from, Father God, we would receive from you tonight a sufficiency of grace that would so motivate us and give us such clarity that we would take the actions that are required to fulfill the season of repentance that you're requiring of us tonight as we're celebrating the Feast of Trumpets, being reminded of Yeshua's return. Jesus, you told us to repent or we perish, that the response to your coming nigh was that we should be ready, that we should be like the five wise virgins that kept the oil burning. Father God, I ask you tonight, whatever is in my life that needs to be changed, Father, I believe there's going to be a special grace that's going to be given to me now, to take whatever steps are required to get into a place of divine alignment unlike any place I've been before. I wonder who else here tonight is open to this season of repentance and are ready to take the action steps required of you to enter into a relationship with him by grace through which you can live at a higher plane than you've ever lived on before, but it's not going to happen without your cooperation, church, without repentance. I love this time of year. It brings back such happy memories. Again, Jewish people celebrate this as the Jewish New Year. And I want to encourage you, if the Lord is blessing you through this ministry, if you've been being strengthened by it, encouraged by it, and if it's bringing joy in your life, would you make a commitment if you're not already to financially support us? It's a spiritual principle. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 that we should financially support those ministries that are feeding us spiritually. So a lot of times during a New Year, people make a decision to perhaps change a behavior in their life, to grow in an area that they want to see advancement in. And if the Lord once again is blessing you through this ministry, I want to ask you to honor him with your finances through this ministry. Beloved, not only will it come back to you pressed down, good measure, and running over into your lap according to the word of God, but you'll make it possible for others to be blessed as well. Thank you for your financial support.
Dustin Roberts: If you feel led to be part of that mission, we would be honored to have you partner with us. Make your special Fall Holy Days gift today at discoveringthejewishjesus.com, call 800-777-7835, or send your gift in the mail to Discovering the Jewish Jesus, PO Box 777, Blissfield, Michigan 49228. Together, we're reaching people around the world with the Gospel and we're helping them discover the Jewish roots of their Christian faith. And when you discover the roots of your faith, it revolutionizes your faith. I know because it did mine and I believe that's exactly what it will do for you. And you know what else? It's not just Gentiles that are being touched by this ministry. We're reaching Jewish people all around the globe with the good news of their Messiah, Jesus, the Jewish Jesus. Through billboards, free resources, and digital ad campaigns, we're challenging them with the words of the Torah and we show them how they can still be Jewish and receive Jesus. That's one of the most difficult hurdles for Jewish people to overcome. But we believe that God is going to open doors and guide us as we expand this outreach. And you know what? We can't do it without you. So I just want to say, help us reach the world for Jesus and help us reach Jewish people for Jesus. And once again, if God is asking you to give a special Fall Holy Days offering, just give it at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Now here's Rabbi.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: In the Old Testament book of Numbers, we find a blessing God speaks over his children through Moses and Aaron. It carries the idea of favor and expression. Open your heart to the spirit and the word today and receive Father's goodness into your life with confidence. 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. Yevarekhekha Yahweh veyishmerekha. Ya'er Yahweh panav eleykha vikhunekkha. Yissa Yahweh panav eleykha veyasem lekha shalom. 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. Be sure to join us again when Rabbi Schneider explains another Fall Holy Day, the Day of Atonement and the mystery of the blood. Learn more next time on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.