September 13, 2007

• Rosh Hashanah by Pastor Don and Rabbi Michael

  Last night was an incredible night at Living Word Chapel. We celebrated Rosh Hashanah and God showed up big. Both Pastor Don and Rabbi Michael spoke and the Spirit moved upon the people.

  Pastor Don said that this was a time when the people had gleaned their fields and brought in the harvest. Pastor Don said that he had peaches on a tree, and he harvested them, cut out the bad spots and preserved the rest. We too need to look at the harvests in our lives. Some of the harvests are good harvests and others we reaped what we did not really want. This is a time of a New Year, a New Harvest to be planted, and we need to examine ourselves, and sort out what we want to keep in our lives and what needs to be removed.

  If you had a year that is a disaster year, that year is behind you and you now have a new year. There is stuff in our harvests that we need to turn under and bury, so that we step forward new and renewed. We need to remember that God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, and that we need to begin to project our faith to line up with God’s hope and expectations for us.

  God knows what we need, and we want to hook our faith up with that.

  We prayed, “I’m believing God for what He hopes for me.” Hoping and expecting to prosper. If you have a prolonged illness, God can bring healing to it’s fullest manifestation. If you are bound by worry and stress, attach your faith to His Peace that passes all understanding.

  The trumpets announced Rosh Hashanah which was the beginning of the Civil New Year. And it is the time to get our house in order. To line up our faith with the trumpet’s announcing the New Year, get our business stuff straight, get out of debt, have our civil responsibilities met, take care of our houses and lands. To use our faith to line up with what God has planned for us.

  Passover brought the peace of God to protect us – that Peace we know as Jesus.
  Pentecost brought the power of God and the Holy Spirit.

  Then there was three months of summer in which the crops grew – this is likened to the church age.

  Now the Trumpets will sound for the return of Christ.

  Pastor Don told us that in Leviticus 23 the feasts are detailed. After the Feast of weeks (near Passover) the fields grow and there is three months of growth before the next feast. Leviticus 23:22 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

  We Gentiles are the strangers. Since the feasts follow Jesus’ life, the three months where the crops grow, represent the church age – where God is allowing those who are not of Israel to get saved and brought into God’s Kingdom. God provided for the Jew, but He also left harvest for the Gentiles.

  The promises of God are all fulfilled. God has told us that when the trumpets sound, He is coming to get us.

  The feast of Trumpets is followed by the Day of Atonement, and then the Feast of Tabernacles – where God will Tabernacle (abide) with us. God wants to tabernacle with us.

  Rabbi Michael then told us that God has called us a whole new creation. Rabbi Michael brought many passages for us to read and commit to God, we did that. Jim (my husband) took pictures of these and when he gets them downloaded I will share them with you. They involved the Shema, and many ways to examine ourselves to see if we fell short of God’s best for us. This took up some time, and included lots of praise to God and shofar blowing.

  Pastor Don said that there are two aspects to pray about during this Rosh Hashanah..

  There is a wave of people in the Body of Christ who are propagating the lie that Israel has lost their chance because of not recognizing the Messiah when He walked among them. They say that the Church is now replacing the Jews – this is called replacement theology. We have to remember that God never, never, never, never breaks His promises. He promised to save Israel. Yes, He may be upset with the nation of Israel, but that does not mean that He doesn’t have a plan for Israel. Pastor Don told us that when we were in Israel he noticed that the hearts of the people were soft toward the things of God, and God will use those softened hearts to save Israel.

  The second thing to pray about is the cults who deny that Jesus is God, that teach false doctrines. Those cults who try to be all inclusive of everyone, even though they are living in disobedience to God. The mormons, the jehovah witnesses, the moonies, and others who do not teach what the Bible says. Philippians 2:5-8 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did  not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking he form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

  Pastor Don talked about some moonies who keep coming to try and convince him of this one world peace and family concept that they have. They have been coming to him for about 20 years and Pastor Don told them that nothing that they can say would convince him of the truth of those statements they are sharing, all they have to do is really read their Bibles to see the lies. This time he begged them that when a leader comes to bring peace, and a peace treaty in the Middle East is signed for seven years, please, please, hit the ground on your knees and repent of the lies that you have been sharing with others.

  Pastor Don then told us that the Bible is being misquoted by many, and some even used to be on TBN, who are under the misunderstanding that all will bow to Jesus and be saved, but that is not what the scripture says. God will not include those who are acting in direct disobedience to His word, no matter how many good deeds they have done.

  Philippians 2:9-11 (bold/caps are mine). Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee SHOULD bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue SHOULD confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God, the father.

  Notice it is SHOULD, not might, not will. Not everyone will accept Jesus as Lord.

  The devil wants two things to happen. He wants replacement theology to prosper because then we will not be believing what God has said through Paul, Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

  God meant salvation for the Jew first, then the Gentile. satan wants us to separate from the Jewish nation so that we can be deceived. God HAS A PLAN for Israel.

  Everyone who preaches a different Christ, and who speaks against Israel will be judged and held accountable for what they taught, believed and carried out.

  Those who claim that another messiah has been sent before his final return at the last trumpet are missing something very, very important. If Jesus were going to send someone before Him of that kind of magnitude, HE WOULD HAVE TOLD US.

  The book of Daniel and Revelation speak of Christ’s second coming, but there is no mention of any other messiah like figure coming.

  Revelation tells us that Jesus is going to reign with an IRON hand – why – because there are many of those who will not bow (every knee SHOULD bow), but not every knee will bow, and there will be rebelion in the land. There are many in our land that would rather go to hell than to serve Christ.

  All it takes is to study the Word of God to see what He says will happen. Israel is not replaced by the Church. The Church is grafted into Israel.

  Pastor Don’s heart, as do all our hearts, break because of all the people walking around thinking that somehow they will not be accountable for their actions and beliefs. Pastor Don said, “If hell only lasted one minute, I don’t want anyone going there.”

  We prayed during this Rosh Hashanah for the harvest to come in. That this year, the harvest of souls in our church will increase, and that our church will be ready with open arms for any who are in need of Christ.

  We also sowed a seed for the harvest of the next year. By giving an offering, we are trusting God for the next harvest, for the harvest of prosperity, the harvest of freedom from bondage, the harvest of spiritual growth. Because this sowing is so important. (Heather’s note, I get very disgusted with many of the TV evangelicals who are begging money for harvests and suggesting donations, but when you are in a church home, being fed by the ministers, then you do need to sow seed into where you are getting your spiritual food. The TV evangelicals will not come to your hospital bed when you are sick, will not pray for you and counsel you one to one. But when you are being fed by your church, to sow a seed to God in this house is right. If you want to give an offering to a TV ministry, that is a different choice.)

  We then prayed and worshipped God – El Shaddai – our God is more than enough. El Shaddai, more than enough over our situation, over our cycle of defeat. When we run out of fight, don’t forget that we have El Shaddai, the All Sufficient One..

  Pastor Don said that many believe that God will be with us when we are in trouble, when times are tough He walks alongside us. But what they forget to do is read the next verses where God promises to DELIVER US OUT OF ALL OUR TROUBLE. Don’t accept the fact of our situation, that God can only walk alongside us. Know that HE IS ABLE to do SOMETHING about our situation, whether it is mental, physical, or financial. Hold on to the truth about God and don’t let go, don’t give up. HE WILL DELIVER YOU. Even if the situation has persisted so long, remember our God is ABLE.

  Hope this blesses you!

  Heather

  • 10:45 pm
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