When I Am Weak, He is Strong | Bill Cloud | Jacob's Tent

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] um [Music] [Applause] [Music] bye foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] so [Applause] [Music] so [Music] i [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] ah [Music] [Applause] [Music] shabbat shalom hope everyone's doing well this morning well we got several seats in here don't we all right wonderful family visitors a lot of first raise your hand if you're visiting with us for the first time oh oh my goodness wow good to have you guys with us pleasure to to have you joining us today uh right we're going to go ahead and get started so if everyone wants to get situated we're going to we're going to begin with prayer this morning how is the princess doing this morning is she dope he's gonna do the happy dance again yeah there's not enough room to do the happy dance up here if you can and will let's all stand please as we pray our father in heaven god of abraham isaac and jacob first of all father we want to thank you for this day that you have set apart and that you have given to us as a time to rest and to cease and desist from all of our cares and labor and our toil and i pray father that we would use that time to focus all of our energies on you to serving you to honoring you to uh to worshiping you in song in the things that we share and just the interaction with one another that everything would be pleasing in your sight and would be received by you with happiness and rejoicing to see your children gather together in the name of your son yeshua to honor you to hail you as the almighty to acknowledge that you are the creator of all things and in the beginning you established this day as that one that we set aside all of the cares of this world and acknowledge your goodness and your greatness i pray father that you would be with us today and lead us as we sing and as we rejoice and as we dance and as we wave banners and flags as we wave our hands before you as we sit across the table from one another and break bread and have conversation may you be sanctified in all things today may you be glorified in everything we do here today may your son be lifted up above all things all of our cares all of our concerns all of our considerations all of our aches and pains and attitudes and failures and victories may he be lifted up above all things we pray that you will watch over us today let your peace be upon us today let your shalom settle upon us all and permeate our minds our hearts and every facet of our being so that we can unfettered lift up holy hands to you today that we can from our spirit praise you today and that as we do these things that our cares will dissipate that our aches and pains will subside that all of the things that would try to get in the way of what we've come here to accomplish that all of those things father would fall aside that when we leave here today that we would know that we have been in your presence that you have allowed us to commune with you today and you have visited us for all of the folks that are joining us online we pray that the same peace the same shalom the same presence that we sense here that they will feel there as well that the same attitude that we have here that that is the attitude they will have there that is one body that is not confined to space and walls and streets and state lines and but father that is trans that transcends those things because your presence is where your people are and i just pray that across this nation across this world as your people gather in whatever community whatever fellowship that your great name is sanctified and for all of these things that we pray and seek you for we we believe you for them as well because we've come to you in the name that is above all the name of our messiah and king yeshua amen and amen [Music] [Music] is [Music] is how lovely how lovely you are thy tense [Music] is thy great compassion i will come into your house there i will bow [Music] there i will fear thy holyness [Music] we could have our shofar choir assembled [Music] today is the 14th day of the counting of the uma or some of our friends are a little farther along in that but we count the omer to remember that each and every day he gives us our daily bread and sometimes the bread he serves is not the bread that i wanted sometimes the things that he has to say to me are not the things that i really want to hear but there are the things that we need to hear so whatever that is for you whether it's that word that encourages you that word that challenges you that word that causes you to reflect or be thankful whatever it is we want to receive that word from him today so you know we'll share some things and i'll share with you what he's placed on my heart but i always want it to be that whatever he has and whatever he wishes to impart to you as an individual or is that family that you'll be able to hear the word within the words and to perceive the message that's within the message that's specifically for you because our father is quite able to do that and one person can hear thunder and others can hear the voice of god i want us all to hear the word of god today and so as they sound the shafar this morning we're reminded that it is emblematic of his word and some shofars will sound a little different some lower some higher some a little polished some need a little practice but all of it is to remind us that our father speaks to us if we'll listen amen sound the shofar [Music] huh [Music] [Music] shabbat shalom everybody [Applause] [Music] shadow [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] named [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] in [Music] so [Music] [Music] behold [Music] for others to dwell together in unity [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] for others to dwell together in unity [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] all right good morning there it is all right we're having a good day me too so today you're gonna have to help me out it's pretty much just me up here so because my wife is slowly losing her voice because of allergies it'll probably be me next week so okay i won't say that but um anyway so you'll help me sing all right now arise o lord to your resting place with all your power and might as we stand here clothed in your righteousness we will sing and dance for joy for you have chosen zion has a place for you to dwell we will run we will ride to the mountain of god we will sound the alarm salvation is calm we will dance we will praise we will worship the name and all will bow me for the glory of god glory of god [Applause] [Music] you swore an oath unto abraham your covenant will stand and on your throne in jerusalem you provided a land before you have chosen zion to make your glory known we will run we will ride to the mountain of god we will sound the alive salvation is calm we will test we will praise we will worship the name and all will be for the glory of god [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] salvation is [Music] before the glory oh of god amen [Music] go open the eyes of the blind cause no [Music] [Music] you shy oh out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you [Music] there's nothing oh our god is greater our god is stronger god you are higher than any other heart goddess healer awesome empower our guide our guide [Music] into the darkness go into the darkness to shine and out of the ashes we rise there's no one like you [Music] [Applause] is greater our god is stronger god you are higher than any [Music] is [Music] is [Music] and if our god is for us then who could ever stop us and if our god is with us then one can stand against and if our god [Music] and if our god is with us then what could stand against and if by god is for us then it could ever stop us and if our god is with us then one could stand against [Applause] then what could stand against [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] i got our god is [Music] god [Music] [Applause] [Music] seas you walk with me through fire and heal my [Music] i trust in you i trust him [Music] i believe you [Applause] i believe you're my portion i believe you're more than enough for me jesus you're [Music] every moment [Music] you walk with me [Music] is [Music] [Applause] i believe you're my i believe you [Music] [Applause] [Music] are [Music] me jesus [Music] nothing [Music] nothing is impossible for you you hold my world in your hands think nothing is nothing is [Music] is [Music] you are and i believe you're my portion i believe you're more than enough for me [Music] jesus you're all i need sing jesus your own jesus you're [Music] i believe in you i believe in you [Music] you're the gods i believe in you i believe in you you're the kind of miracles and then again i believe i believe in you you're the god of miracles i believe in you i believe in you you're the god of miracles [Music] i believe in you you're the god [Music] [Applause] i believe in you i believe in you you're the god [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] the god who brings the dead to life you're the god of miracles you're the god of miracles that die to [Music] [Applause] [Music] us [Music] is you're the god of miracles [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] i believe in you [Applause] i believe in you you're the god in a miracle [Music] [Applause] and i believe in you i believe [Music] i believe in you i believe in you you're the god of miracles we believe in [Applause] you [Music] and i believe in you i believe [Music] i believe in you you're the god of miracles god miracles your blood speaks a better word than all the empty claims i've heard upon this earth speaks righteousness for me stands in my defense jesus it's your blood [Music] your blood speaks a better word than all the empty flames i've heard upon this earth this righteousness for me stands in my defense jesus it's your blood [Music] oh [Music] nothing but the blood nothing but the blood of jesus and what can't wash [Music] nothing but your blood [Music] your cross your cross testifies and grace the tales of the father's heart to make a way for us now boldly we approach not earthly confidence it's only by your blood sing across your cross testifies and grace tells of the father's heart to make way for us now boldly we approach [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] nothing but your bloodiest [Music] and what [Music] nothing but your bloodiest shoes [Music] of god nothing but your life nothing but your blood is true [Music] [Music] [Music] nothing but the blood nothing but the blood of [Music] jesus [Music] welcomed as the friends nothing but your blood nothing but your blood [Music] is nothing but the blood of jesus [Music] is [Music] is [Music] all the precious [Music] is [Music] for nothing but the bloody [Music] [Music] [Applause] amen it's because of that blood that we are able to call the creator of all things our father it's because of that blood that we have been reconciled to him that he has taken us as his people and that we can call him our god and it's really because of that that we're here that he has allowed us to come into his kingdom and be part of his house and then and because we are part of his house there are certain things that we are to do and so one of those is why we've assembled today to honor this day that he's set apart because yeshua is the lord of the sabbath amen so let's all stand and recite the bashamru together and the lord spoken to moses say speak thou also unto the children of israel saying verily my sabbaths you shall keep for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations that you may know that i am the lord that doth sanctify you wherefore the children of israel shall keep the sabbath to observe the sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant it is a sign between me and the children of israel forever for in six days the lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed in mark chapter 12 it says that one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together and perceiving that it answered them well ask him which is the first commandment of all and joshua answered him the first of all the commandments is hear o israel the lord our god the lord is one and you shall love the lord your god with all of your heart with all of your soul with all of your mind and with all of your strength this is the first commandment and the second like it is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself there is no other commandment greater than these [Music] let me hear the man loud and clear [Music] is [Music] ladies [Music] all together please [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] god hear o israel the lord our god the lord is one blessed be his name and his glorious kingdom forever [Music] [Music] and you shall love the lord your god with all of your heart with all of your soul with all of your mind with all of your [Music] strengths [Music] you shall love your neighbor as yourself [Music] and upon these two commandments stands a whole lot love your neighbor love your god [Music] and you shall love the lord your god with all of your heart with all of your soul with all of your mind with all of your strength amen shake somebody's hand and smile and greet them and gentlemen let's get the hoopa ready if we can [Music] [Music] all righty let's get all of our littlest members under the hoopa first here comes the loudest my granddaughter let's get all the little itty bitties under the hooper [Music] first [Music] let's let our little guys get under here [Music] first [Music] so all righty so now can we have the rest of our sons and daughters gather up we're gonna have to fill in this center section here y'all right in here so let's try to bunch up as best we can [Music] [Music] try to squeeze in best we can guys got a lot of a lot of folks not near enough hoopa [Music] all right now while y'all are gathering are you going to stretch that one out there sirs all right what i need to do everybody pay attention real quick here why aren't you up there under that hoop okay earl or whoever's got the the wide angle who's doing the wide angle he's got the wide shot you or a wrath i need that camera right over here all right mr director jonathan i want you to pay attention over here carson's got something he wants to say so we got some big news well it's little right now but it's due december 14th and it's gonna be the newest part of our family [Music] so bless the father for the new life into our family and this journey that we're gonna be taking down now so [Music] i'm gonna squeeze through here [Music] so they're moving in in several different ways now they're coming from near and from far we're thankful for our sons and daughters our children our grandchildren once again let's remember that there are those that for whatever reason can't be with us right now [Music] but we remember them we have our treasure box right here and so as we pray this blessing pronounce this blessing over our children and grandchildren in some cases great-grandchildren we do that for those who are present and those who are not so extend your hands this way please [Music] if your children there are at home with you and you're watching the live stream try to gather them up close and let's pray this blessing may the lord protect and defend you may he always shield you from shame may you come to be in israel a shining name [Music] may you be like ruth and like david and may you be deserving of praise strengthen them o lord and keep them from the stranger's ways may god bless you and grant you long life [Music] and may god make you good husbands and wives [Music] may the lord protect and defend you may the lord preserve you from pain favor them o lord with happiness and peace i want the new grandpa patrick tyree to come up here and pray over our children [Music] heavenly father thank you so much for your blessings and just as we pour the kiddish cup and overflow it as a picture of our blessings that are overflowing that's the way i feel right now and our congregation is obviously overflowing as well as you look down the hallway and and see all the people and father i just pray that you would continue to bless us the sound of all these babies talking and it's such a joy and as our heavenly father i just pray that you would just wrap your arms around us and comfort us and just as we were singing earlier about the healing that you have in your blood and the wholeness that comes from that father there's people here today who need healing there's people here who need that miracle in different ways whether it's relationships in their family father i just pray that right now people at home they're sitting on their couch or holding their family at home that there's relationships that you would just provide that healing if it's a physical touch father i just pray that those miracles would happen today that your blessings would truly overflow and touch lives and provide healing in people's lives today to the things that the doctors say that there might not be any hope for for pain that they've lived with for a lifetime that you would provide a touch to their lives lord for healing in our minds for the one out there that might have an addiction that they just can't do it it's your blood it's nothing but your blood that can overcome that [Music] so father that those healings that need to take place today i just pray that you would just overflow your holy spirit that the words that are spoken today would be powerful that your holy spirit would reach out and touch families and bring them together even when miles and miles and miles might separate people father we love you and we thank you that you do provide this blessing and this healing and we ask these things in your holy name amen amen you may be seated [Music] so [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] she's a cloud all right i'll tell you what last night she was they were at the house and we had dinner together and you know i'm still wanting her to eat like little baby food out of a jar and they were crumbling up hamburger meat on the thing and she was grabbing it and peas and carrots and yeah dentally but nevertheless still shove it into her mouth and i'm like yeah i'm related to her she's related to me she's related to us for sure all right how's everyone doing this morning how's everybody doing this morning all right good all right so i know we've got a lot of folks in the hallway and we have a lot of folks on the other side can you hear me on the other side okay did you hear him yeah thank you so we have some empty chairs in here if anyone wants to come and and sit in here um i know that some people are on their way back to the chairs but we do have a few so if you want to be in here how many do how many empty seats do we have i mean i know that there's some that are spoken for we got we probably got a dozen empty chairs over here if anyone from the other side wants to be over here okay well good morning shabbat shalom everybody [Music] i hope everyone's had a good week hope everything's gone well for you just a very quick announcement we have opened up registration for our event that we're going to have next month and we are calling it up to the mountain because the idea is we're going to go up to the mountain there's things that we need to hear from our father and how we are to live that's what the whole mount sinai experience was about and of course this is the weekend prior to when we will as a congregation observe shavuot so some people are asking why are you doing it on that weekend it's very simple anytime this congregation wants to do something special we have a lot of folks who want to join us have you noticed okay how many of you think we could fit four or 500 people in this building [Music] yeah yeah i hear that yeah right yeah well that's why we're having it the weekend before because we could not get the oci venue the weekend that we would have liked and so just to give people an opportunity that want to come in from out of town and and be with us and celebrate we're going to have our event the weekend before and paul wilbur will be with us the plan is the plan is that he and i'm thinking his wife is going to join him that the plan is they would come in on friday they may not be with us friday evening but they would come in on friday they would be with us for shabbat that morning just to kind of be part of what we do every shabbat and then that afternoon weather permitting underscore circle highlight weather permitting uh we have we'll have opportunity for those who want to have a mikvah service that afternoon and for those who want to take advantage of that and then that evening uh paul will lead us in praise and worship and then on sunday morning which will be the 16th then we're going to have a special service then as well again i know that some people are like i don't understand pay attention we're going to observe shavuot on may 23rd all right but because again i knew that we would have lots of people that would want to join us for you know a celebration and we couldn't get the venue we wanted that particular weekend we're just going to have a lot of the celebration the weekend before so we can have as many people as we want to come that's why we're calling it up to the mountain we're going to make our way toward the mountain that weekend and then the next weekend we will observe shabu does that make sense okay so that's why we're meeting at oco the weekend before that's why we're bringing paul wilbur in the weekend before because he asked me said so you want to just have it at your regular building and i was like no no i don't think that will work paul but anyway that's what's going on so registration is free of course but you can go to jacobstet.org there's a big banner that says up to the mountain click on that and get registered and the only reason we're asking you registers we're just wanting to have an idea about how many people will be joining us and that will be may 14th 15th and 16th all right enough announcements thank you my dear we need your voice to get well okay well he's good but you're prettier okay all righty so we have a double tour portion this week and uh the tour the tour portions are called taziriya and mitsura and this begins in leviticus chapter 12 verse 1 and with both portions combined it goes all the way over to chapter 15 verse 33. and of course these uh the things that are dealt with in these particular torah portions are not it doesn't make the best table topic uh you know it's it's um it's a little can be graphic a little bit you know and yet we're going to try to find a way to take the concepts and principles that are in these torah portions and apply it apply it to our lives as a as families and as an assembly so we're going to begin to read in leviticus chapter 12 verse 1. he said then the lord spoke to moses saying speak to the children of israel say if a woman has conceived and that word is tazria if a woman has conceived and born a male child then she shall be unclean seven days as in the days of recustomery impurity she shall be unclean and on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised she shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days she shall not touch any hallowed thing nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled so prior to these portions we had a torah portion that detailed laws pertaining to the priests and the things that were considered to be holy and as we talked about last week things that pertain to food and those animals that go into the body those things that are permissible to go into the body so now the torah is going to turn its attention to laws of purification um pertaining to those things that emanate from the body and so there's a reminder here i want to kind of build on last week what goes in is not necessarily as offensive as what comes out now i better add a little to that so our minds don't linger too long on that idea but the idea i had and this is what i brought out last week and by the way some people thought i was saying things that i was not but i made the point that if we get a steady diet of cnn and fox and msnbc and facebook and twitter and all these things if that's us if we get a steady diet of that that's what's going to come out you know what goes in is what's going to come out that is not to be misinterpreted as i have a problem with people joining us and watching the live stream on facebook and youtube i mean how stupid of that would would that be me to do that when we have so many people watching us on you youtube and facebook so that was not what i was saying but what i am saying is what we feed ourselves that's what we're going to disperse to everybody else as well so matthew chapter 15 verse 17 yeshua said this do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated but those things which proceed out of the mouth comes from the heart and they defile a man for out of the heart precedes evil thoughts murders adulteries fornications thefts false witness blasphemies these are the things which defile a man so yes what goes in if it's unclean can affect us outwardly but the point in all of that was it's that those things that are inward will be manifest outwardly and so if those things that are manifest outwardly are unclean and corrosive and corruptive and on and on and on then what is the remedy to take care of the heart condition to take care of what is on the inside to take care of and to filter what goes into my mind my heart my spirit and even yes my belly because the physical will reflect the spiritual and the spiritual will reflect the physical in genesis chapter 6 verses 11 and 12 the bible tells us that the earth was corrupt in the days of noah and if you read it very carefully what you conclude or concluding can conclude is that the earth was corrupt because men had corrupted themselves they didn't just corrupt the earth they were corrupting themselves and their personal corruption then was manifest in the very earth itself so things that manifest in the physical world are often the result of things that are going on in the spiritual world emphasizing that what is present in us as an individual as a congregation as a nation what is present in us internally will eventually manifest outwardly and typically when those kinds of things manifest it's not so pretty which is why perhaps the father sees fit to not only address these physical things that people have to deal with but perhaps it's to make a larger point that these things when they do manifest they're not pretty and they have to be dealt with even something as wonderful as giving birth to a son which is how this torah portion begins even even something as beautiful as that as wonderful as that as joyous is that giving birth to something as precious as a child can produce something unclean so i want you to take that idea that's expressed in the torah portion and then consider that in terms of what god is doing in the earth in other words the things that he is orchestrating the events that he is bringing together you know why these things are happening you know why the bible calls them birth pangs because he's getting ready to birth something so take the idea that as something is giving as birth is happening even that produces things that are unclean and the father is causing things to come together so that something can be birthed so we're going to go to romans chapter 8 and verse 18. paul says i consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us for the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of god and i have to kind of interject this if something is going to be revealed it must first be concealed for the child to come into this world you know that little baby right now is developing in jessica's womb and if it's a he or she we don't know yet but we know that it's in there and it's developing and we can't see it but one day she's going to bring that little baby in here and mom and dad are going to present he or she to the whole congregation for all to see but between now and then you got to go through some stuff carson you got to go through some stuff pal you are going to learn what it means for better or worse [Applause] it's it's gonna be fun so there are these birth pangs so something that is concealed must be revealed and it has to go through this process and he continues for the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of him who subjected it in hope because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of god for we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now and so as the earth and the creation is producing these birth pangs how is it most often manifest and expressed for us to see and things that aren't so pretty in things that aren't so desirable and yet it's just part of the process for something to be birthed the process produces these things and brings to the surface these things that are not so pretty so if the earth is producing birth pangs so that the sons of god are revealed then in the process we should expect that unclean things will materialize as well and we would presume in this context that those unclean things would be produced by the world that groans but i also want you to consider this concept on a more personal level for instance if we believe that god is birthing something in and through this assembly called jacob's tent and any other assembly that he has conceived and breathed upon and is raising up then it is unfortunately just a part of the process that unclean and not so desirable things will come to the surface and so i want to talk to you about a few things that aren't really that pleasant to talk about and that is that number one the greatest threat to any fellowship is not so much the forces that are without it's those things that can happen from within it is the adversary's greatest ploy to corrupt what god is doing from within what god is doing and among those that god is working in and through that is why one of the reasons anyway yeshua gave us that parable about the wheat and the tares the tares are these things that are not fruitful they're not conducive to life but they're not content to stay in their own field the adversary's nature is aggressive he wants to steal kill and destroy and when we can recognize him coming at us from without that's one thing and i'm don't deny that there are those kinds of um situations but that's not how he likes to work the most he likes to sow the tear inside the wheat and so his greatest ploy is to try to corrupt what god is doing from within and that's why we've said this from the very beginning that's why all of us have to be very diligent to guard against this to be on guard for this to know that he's going to try not that he might he is going to try it he is going to make that attempt and that is why we have to stay on guard not just for the other guy but for this guy because my greatest enemy is the guy i see in the mirror every morning and so don't think that i can't fall victim to this and can't be persuaded to give into self and be the tear in the midst of the weed because i can and when we start thinking to ourselves i knew i would never do that then we've just set ourselves up to be a potential candidate so let's be very very diligent to keep guard first to guard this heart this mind this spirit and what goes in and what we allow to go out so as individuals we have to continually look to our father to be cleansed inwardly david said purge me with hyssop and i will be clean clean my inward parts he was saying the inner man because if you clean the inside of the cup then what's going to happen that's going to be expressed and manifest on the outside of the cup and let us not allow our weaknesses mine yours ours let's not allow the adversary to use our weaknesses against us because if we do then this baby that he's wanting to birth here might be aborted and how many of us want that to happen none of us do but all of us have the responsibility as i've said many times it starts here with me and with beth but it doesn't end with us it includes all of us when i was kind of putting these thoughts together my mind went back to when brandon was being born and the whole lamaze thing you know and all of that stuff and my job as coach was to help my wife keep her focal point stay focused and i if i recall correctly there was some kind of painting or picture on the wall in the in the hospital and so we you know we're going to use that as our focal point and she would try to stay focused on it but sometimes those contractions and those birth pangs just got so intent that that didn't become the focal point i became the focal point [Applause] keep your focus honey don't touch me i'm exaggerating a little no but no it wasn't quite that bad but it i mean my point is that it was hard it was hard for her to do that and and i understand it and it's hard for us to stay focused when we're feeling all this pressure and the intensity of the attack and what's going on inwardly in our family what's going on in the world and all these things are weighing on us and we're feeling that pressure it's hard to stay focused but it's necessary to stay focused romans chapter 15 when we lose our focus of what the father has called us to and we lose focus of the one who can lead us through that and it's easy for us to get our focus on everybody else and usually what's wrong with them romans 15 verse 1 we then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples or the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves let each of us please his neighbor for his good leading to edification for even messiah did not please himself but as it is written the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me so those who reproached god their reproaches fell on him speaking of the messiah for whatever things were written before were written for our learning so that we can learn from example that we through the patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope if this guy endured it and overcame then through the messiah and by his spirit i can overcome we can overcome it gives us hope it gives us encouragement now may the god of patience and comfort gra grant you to be like-minded toward one another according to messiah yeshua that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the god and father of our lord yeshua the messiah so i want to summarize this the way i understand it those who are more mature should strive to endure the issues that arise with the immature we're always going to have in a congregation a family what have you we're always going to have those who are a little bit more mature in some areas and we're always going to have people coming in that are new or you know they're trying to adjust or what have you in some ways might be more or more less mature than us and so what paul is encouraging us to do is to acknowledge look those who are a little less mature than you are probably going to make some mistakes and like you have it and so if you consider yourself to be mature in the faith then understand that it is incumbent upon us for the sake of the body at large to not condone or endorse bad behavior but to bear and when we when we go to our neighbor let it be for his good let's edify so all of these things are something that in every congregation we're going to be faced with we have been we are and we will be that's just the way of it until we see him face to face and we're made like him we're going to have to struggle with this thing called flesh so again this is not to endorse weaknesses but as the more mature we are to be a proper example to those who are weaker and the idea here is not that they would continue in their weakness but that they would learn from you who were more mature and they would grow and they would become mature and they would be less weak in that area and grow in whatever area the father is wanting to to to do some things in their life with so that's what we face as a congregation every day and that's something we need to keep focused on that it is for the benefit of the body that those who are mature learn to bear with the failings and the weaknesses of those who are less mature again i want to stress this not to endorse weakness not to encourage failing but to encourage overcoming so let's go to an even more personal level if god is wanting to birth something in me or if god is wanting to birth something in you as an individual then it is very likely that some unclean things will come to the surface some of those things might surprise even us i've been surprised by some of the things that i've thought said done and thought where did that come from or why did i say that that happened just the other day somebody did something stupid on the highway and i'm like huh and then i later i thought why did i say that where did that come from so again if the idea is something as glorious as a child being born simultaneously produces something that is considered unclean and unsightly then we can only guess and not guess we can only conclude that as he's birthing something in us as people as an individual then it is part of the process that these unclean things these things that are in there are going to come to the surface can you receive that some of it may surprise us but then there are those things that we know are there because we know that we've struggled with those things and if we're a little more agreeable with ourselves to just kind of push it aside or put it on the back burner then we've probably had people in our lives that are close to us to point out that thing that we have a weakness with or that we struggle with or that we've tripped over you know don't look at her gosh don't look at her [Laughter] but no in all seriousness we have those people close to us that the father has put in our lives to kind of be a mirror of who and what we are and so there are those things that we know good and well that we've struggled with and we've just been at times content to lay them aside and that's you know put them on the back burner and then there's those people in our lives that he uses to remind us you know this is something you keep tripping up over this is something you keep having a struggle with so i want to suggest something to you and i'm not i don't want to come across as preaching at you i want to come across as sharing with you because everything i'm saying pertains to me starts with me addresses me deals with me but if people close to you are continually having to point out something about you that isn't so attractive it might be time to listen it might be the time for you to sit back and quit being defensive and think maybe the father is trying to speak to me maybe there's something that is time that i need to take action on in fact not just listen but to embrace to internalize go to the father with it and if need be take action it's not enough to say well i've always been like that that's the way god made me it may not be the way he made you it may be the way you made yourself and again i'm talking to me okay my point is it's not enough to use those excuses that we've used in times past if we know there is a tendency to be weak in a particular area it's not enough to say oh i'm sorry it has to be that i do something about it and especially considering the season that we're coming into as his people hebrews chapter 12 verse 1 therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight not just the ones that are convenient to get rid of but the ones that are inconvenient to get rid of as well let us lay aside every every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us now there's a lot of you know opinion about what the writer means here is it just the sin nature at large well the sin nature was something i was delivered of when i was born again so i'm of the view and this is bill's opinion that the writer of hebrews is well acquainted with the idea that there are those things in our life that we continually time after time seem to trip up over same thing this is not an issue that's not an issue that is not an issue but dog gone it it seems like there are seasons in my life when i keep going back to that same thing and tripping over it or is bill the only one those are the things that we come back to him and say please forgive me of this again so it is time he says to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto yeshua because there's our focal point looking unto yahushua the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of god for consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls you have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin in other words you haven't gone nearly as far as he did in this war against sin and that corrupt nature because none of us to the degree he has anyway has shed blood over this so there's the there's the standard and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons my sons do not despise the chastening of the lord nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him for whom the lord loves he chastens and he scourges every son he receives my dad would put it this way it's going to hurt me more it's going to hurt you i'm like you're lying but as you get older and you have children no parent loves to do that no parent enjoys having to discipline their children but there's a reason we do that because we love them because we want them to grow we want them to mature we want them to be the man and the woman that god has intended for them to be and so it is our responsibility and it's one of those chores that we should not take lightly and we should not dismiss just because culture says it should be done a certain way we should do what our fathers instructed us to do that's part of the process of something being birthed that young man that young woman becoming the man and the woman that god has intended them to be part of the process is laid before our feet as parents and grandparents to train them and sometimes yes rebuke them because our father chastens those that he loves so there is a season that is given to us i believe and this is something that we is alluded to in the book of revelation when the messiah was talking to one of the congregations there but there is a season that is given to us in order that we might address these unsightly things that come bubbling to the surface but if we refuse if we dismiss it if we discard it ignore it then there comes a time when god deals with it and i don't like those times in first corinthians chapter 11 verse 31 for if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged now the context of this he's talking about those who come and partake of the lord's table but the concept remains the same for every issue really if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged but when we are judged we are chastened by the lord that we may not be condemned with the world so why does he step in and do things and rebuke us and chasten us because he doesn't want us to be condemned with the world because he loves us he cares about us so in an effort to preclude that and i would even add to that the scorn of the world because every time and i'm i'm not wanting to infer in any way that anything like this is going on in jacob's tent i'm just going to use this as an example anytime a high profile assembly doesn't deal with their stuff and the father has to step in and deal with it how does the world respond look at him and whose name is defamed whose name is profaned in that okay so it is in not only our interest but it's about his reputation that he has to at times unfortunately step in and deal with things but paul's point here is if we would do that of our own volition we would do that voluntarily he wouldn't have to so what's the best course of action here as he brings these things to our attention let's address them let's deal with them so that we don't have to go through all of those other kinds of things but these issues they do come to the surface so as the contractions intensify and the child is being birthed these unclean things will begin to materialize because the squeezing that's going on as that child is being born it's it's not only producing a baby but it's producing some pretty unsightly manifestations i'll just use that word you know when nathan are number two was born and beth knew that she was going to have a c-section we went in and they put this little curtain i don't know what you would actually call it was a little divider and it had a little curtain and they put it you know right here and so i was sitting at her head you know and all the action was down there you know and uh they had given her an epidural is that how you say it am i in trouble okay you just had this look on your face y'all pause just a moment i'll be right back with you okay i just want is this okay all right they gave her an epidural and um and after they started doing everything and i'm sitting on this side because i there's just things i don't want to see i'll just put it that way so i'm sitting over here and talking to her and she's like bill i don't think it's working i don't think the epidural's working i can i can i can feel what's going on i'm like so make sure that they know i can i can feel and i don't tell them before they get started and i did like that and i said it's working i saw all kinds of things going on there i'm not i ain't cut out for this but you understand the point i'm trying to make here is something as glorious as that child being born and that overshadowed everything else because nathan means a gift and he was our gift but it was the process produced all this other so that's what goes on that's the that's the concept here and so i don't i guess what i'm trying to say we shouldn't be surprised if and when that happens we should expect that it would but if we know it's going to happen tomorrow then let's prepare today for what we need to be as a people to address those things in the proper way in a way that honors him in a way that it edifies in a way that exhorts in a way that builds and matures and grows us in love for one another and for him so now this concept i'm talking about now is amplified by what the bible calls zoratz and if you'll show everybody this hebrew word we've talked about this several times before but the word zarat it's translated typically as leprosy and i'm not going to get into biblical leprosy and compared to what we know as leprosy today you probably most of you anyway probably already aware that the biblical zeratu leprosy is not the leprosy that we uh what we call leprosy today but the word zarat comes from a root word that means to erupt to project out it's something that is inside and like a volcano it builds up and then it erupts and is manifest on the outside so the zarat in the bible was the eruption that took place in the person who contracted this this this ailment there's another hebrew word i want you to see and that is this is a related word and zara means to squeeze it's a a word that we get zar from and it's a word that means pressure it can be heat these these kinds of things that are related to the idea of pressure and heat and friction things that squeeze and when the pressure or the squeezing occurs that's what causes what's on the inside to project outwardly so whether it is the contractions that mom has to endure when she's giving birth those contractions are squeezing creating that pressure if you can use that word and then that baby is being projected out or forced out of the birth canal but then sometimes in this particular case it is to indicate that there's something on the inside of this person that needs to come out and the reason it needs to come out is not just so that everybody can see it and point fingers it needs to come out so that it can be dealt with and so that it can be removed from this person's life or from that family's life or from that congregation's lie so in this case what needs to be removed let me show you the next hebrew word at the heart of the word zarat is the word evil or wickedness and so those things that are wicked those things that are evil need to be removed from that person's life and so the pressure builds and this eruption takes place and it's manifest outwardly and the bible is talking about a skin condition but what i'm talking about goes far beyond a skin condition these things that are manifest outwardly and again not so everybody can sit back look at what they did or look at what they are it's so that these things can be addressed dealt with and these things removed from that person's life what is to be removed that evil thing that was in them now you know when we use the word evil or wicked our mind usually immediately goes to things that are blatantly obviously wicked you know abortion that's wicked devil worship that's wicked some of these other things that we see going on in the world obviously blatantly wicked but anything that's not serving his purpose anything that's going against his will by definition that's wicked if my people which are called by my name if they would humble themselves seek my face and pray and turn from their wicked ways anything that is contrary to his will technically speaking is wicked wicked and so these inclinations we have these attitudes we have including bill these things are subjected to pressure so that they can come to the surface and be removed from our lives if we follow the pattern and follow the process the way we're supposed to i do believe something is being birthed here and i can tell you personally that in the process it's causing things that are in me to come to the surface and those things need to be removed it will manifest that way if he is birthing something so the zorat in the bible was to indicate that god was putting pressure on this person in order to purge the evil from their heart in other words it was something that was evidence of what was going on inside so then i want you to ask yourself this question and you don't have to answer it out loud i would prefer that you do not answer it out loud but ask yourself this what comes out of you when pressure is applied what comes out of you when pressure is applied in certain things those might be the things that those close to you have been mentioning to you those might be the things that the father has been dealing with you about now the rabbinic view of zorad or what caused it i want to underscore that word rabbinic view doesn't mean it's the only view doesn't mean it's the authoritative view it's just a view but nevertheless they believe that the z that zarat was the result of slander zurat the word is a contraction of this hebrew phrase come on bill matziora one who spreads evil speech so zarat so one who spreads evil speech they believe that this is what was going on and why you would have people who would be afflicted with this thing called zarat now jewish commentary connects that thought to an incident that involved miriam i want to read to you from numbers chapter 12 beginning in verse 1 then miriam and aaron spoke against moses because of the ethiopian woman whom he had married for he had married an ethiopian woman and so they said has the lord indeed spoken only through moses has he not spoken through us also and the lord heard it now the man moses was very humble more than all men who were on the face of the earth and suddenly the lord said to moses aaron and miriam come out you three to the tabernacle of meeting so the three came out as a child some of the most frightening words i ever heard were all three of my names i'm not going to tell you what they are but when mom called you by your first name and your middle name and your last name you knew something was amiss and that's when i started looking at the mulberry tree because i knew i'll see in a little bit i'm gonna have to come pull a limb off of you in just a second i have this feeling because some of you remember the switch right some of our younger folks don't know what a switch is it's the limb off a tree that they would discipline you with because they love you so the idea was and just just so you'll know where some of us are coming from when you were sent out to get your own switch this was an art it had to be big enough that it doesn't break on the first two but not so big that it's going to break your spine it had to break at just the right place in this process so she would feel satisfied and you would live so [Applause] so i when i read this i can't help but think of a parent saying get in here i got to talk to you about some of this father doesn't have that kind of accent i know let me skip on down to verse 9. so the anger of the lord was aroused against them and he departed and when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle suddenly miriam became leprous as white as snow then aaron turned toward miriam there she was a leper and that word is mitsura at she had this zarat that which is described for us in this torah portion so that's i think pretty good evidence for the idea that this might be related to the slander and gossip and if that's the truth then consider just how destructive slander and gossip is it's a cancerous cell and it affects the entire community thus the one who slanders and gossips in judaism anyway is regarded as a moral leper a mitzora the name of one of our torah portions and allowing it to remain in the community the metzora had to be put outside of the community not because it was a contagious disease as far as the skin disease is what is in the person's heart that's what's contagious that's what can infect and affect the entire community because it threatens the entire body so in this particular case in the torah portion isolation was called for but the isolation was intended not to cast that person off and forget about them the isolation was intended to provoke that person in their isolation to be provoked to get their heart right to turn back wholeheartedly to god now where miriam is concerned she was placed outside the camp for seven days and by the way because moses interceded for her but here's the question why is she afflicted with the zod and aaron is not and there's a lot of different commentary on this and you know you can take it for what it's worth but there's reason to believe that she may have instigated it and then aaron went along with it now i have no problem believing that because aaron can easily be swayed it would sing moses they brought the gold to me i threw it into the fire and poof out jumped this golden calf that's all i know it seems that aaron is easily persuaded now in judaism he's regarded as being a peacemaker he wanted to he's just wanting everybody to be happy everybody to be good and everybody to be okay but you can go too far with that you know it's a great thing to be a peacemaker but let's make certain that as we're making peace that we're not encouraging something that's going to cause a war like this did anyway she is afflicted aaron turns to moses said don't hold you know we sinned we messed up forgive us etc don't lay this on her and then moses intercedes on her behalf the issue had something to do with moses wife it says that she was an ethiopian so there was something going on there and there are different traditions about what it was but i'm going to boil it down for you it was really they were making issue of decisions that moses had made they were questioning his choices and decisions that he had made in particular where his wife was concerned and according to the same tradition when when miriam goes to say something she says it to aaron not to moses it's also inferred anyway that there is an apparent jealousy of the position that moses was in and there were questions about the methods now miriam was family this wasn't an outsider she was his oldest or older sister and as such she is the one who had watched over him when he was in that little basket floating down the nile there are traditions that say that she was the one who prophesied that he would be born she was the one that when she saw the daughter of pharaoh taking her baby brother from the water she approached the daughter of pharaoh so i know somebody who can take care of that baby she's the one that when the children of israel come up out of the sea she and ladies took some tambourines and they started singing and they started dancing they started celebrating and there in jewish tradition there's this thing this concept called miriam's well and how that throughout the wilderness experience when god gave water to the children of israel it was because of the merit of miriam my point here is that she did many wonderful things that benefited moses and that benefited all of god's people but those good things did not authorize her to do what she did where moses was concerned and what good things others had to say about her that's one thing but god took issue with what she said about moses and so because of the consequence of her choice and errands the people were delayed in moving on so my point here is every assembly knows that sooner or later things happen and we don't want them to we want to avoid those things in fact that's why i'm talking about this not because i think something's going on is because this torah portion this is what i felt like the father spoke to me bill you know these things are going to pop up you better be prepared to deal with them and in the right way would you agree okay so then people's choices when they make wrong choices doesn't just affect them it can affect everybody and it can impede the movement of god's people now think about that i've been thinking about it a lot what was the sin that was committed it was in a sense questioning god's judgment why does moses get to you know decide all this you know why is it that moses prophesied hadn't the father prophesied through all of us and he using all of us that's basically what they were saying which if you think about it is essentially the same thing that korah said later it's the same basic argument the wording might be a little different but it's the same argument because in numbers chapter 16 when you read about the rebellion of korah they said all the congregation is holy why are you so exalted moses who made you chief well the answer the question was he did so quran dathan and abiram and these 250 notable men that led this rebellion were in effect challenging god's decisions so i want to say something that is rather unpleasant but i think it's necessary i'm not aware of any congregation at least those that i know about that i've been involved with that have not had some kind of scenario like this to deal with and if you know that congregation we need to talk to them the one that hasn't had anything like that to go on we need to talk to them all right but i'm not aware of any congregation that hasn't had that kind of a scenario arise in some way or the other that doesn't mean that every congregation fails or every congregation splits it just means that this is part of the birthing process there's always going to be somebody who thinks they can do it better somebody thinks they need to be in charge of that they need to be in charge of this they're always going to be people who are not content to function in their purpose they want to function in somebody else's but to be fair it isn't always a korra sometimes it's a saul sometimes it's a leader who allows pride to grip their heart and he doesn't lead the people properly he doesn't treat them as the flock that's been entrusted to him to shepherd he treats them otherwise and unfortunately when that happens you know the people aren't read led righteously and then they follow suit and it begins to affect everybody so these things happen but whether it's the former scenario whether it's the latter scenario the end result is not good for anybody it affects that person and it affects others so what's my point here it's critical that we pay not just lip service to this but that we genuinely diligently consistently guard our hearts against these kinds of things if we know that there is a weakness in us then let's not be content to live with it let's be provoked to deal with it don't just say oh this is the way god made me that's just the way i am well it may not be the way you need to be it may not be the way i need to be it may not be the way we as an assembly need to be because just like that little baby that's forming in jessica's womb right now it has not yet developed into what it will be it's going through the process and you and i in this congregation we are going through the process and what we are today is not what he intends us to be right what we consider as our greatest strength is potentially our greatest weakness that thing that you consider to be a strong characteristic something that has been useful in your life something that has been put to use to help others in their lives that that you consider yourself to be strong in that maybe even at times you've prided yourself on also has the potential to be your achilles heel so just as our strengths can help us and serve others our weaknesses if they are indulged and if they are exploited by our enemy can hurt us and can hurt others as well so the ox and the field that's good the ox and the china shop not good right and because once those very fragile and very precious things are broken it's really difficult to put them back together again and there are always going to be those reminders that they were broken it behooves us to keep that in mind and especially as we're dealing with one another remembering that we who are mature are supposed to bear these failings of those who are weaker and as we deal with one another remember your critical words could be the blow that opens that crack back up because we all every one of us i'm sure bear those scars every one of us that's what one of the things that i think the father is wanting to do in our little congregation is assemble those vessels that have been broken and hurt and shattered and bruised and and scarred and put them back together again in an assembly with people that will love them that will care for them that will consider them that will help them to grow and to mature and be the people that he's called us all to be i don't want us to fail in that i want us to continue to be that kind of that kind of a fellowship so let's keep these things in mind our strengths were given to us for a purpose but we need to recognize that there are certain situations where those strengths need to be tempered because again the ox in the field that's good the ox and the china shop not so good you know what when a pig is serving its purpose that's good it's just that when we put it to use for other things you know like centerpiece on a dinner table that's when it becomes unclean if we see these weaknesses in others not just ourselves when we see that these weaknesses and others we are compelled to address them but how in love it would probably help if you had a relationship with them they don't know you from adam's house cat and you say i see this in you and i think i need to tell this you know what i'm going to do when you do that i'm going to turn you off but now if we have a relationship we have a rapport and you come to me and or i come to you then we should take the time to listen to maybe my brother maybe my sister's trying to help me not condemn me it's in our best interest as a whole to provoke each other to be better people here's what paul says in ephesians chapter 4 verse 1 i therefore the prisoner of the lord beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called with all lowliness and gentleness with long suffering bearing with one another in love endeavoring endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace there is one body and one spirit just as you recall in one hope of your calling one lord one faith one baptism one god and father of all who is above all and through all and in you all so then because he is one likewise we are challenged to be one one heart one mind one soul which means that we have to bear one another in our weaknesses and our frailties and our failings it has always been disgusting to me to see how god's people respond when one of god's people fail by and large you know what i mean that's not righteousness that's self-righteousness let's not be those kinds of people and again i don't want anybody to infer in this that i'm saying that's what we are i'm just was alerted that okay this is what happens this is the process it is not if it will it will it will try to arise there will be these things that come to the surface and we need to be prepared in the birthing process as mature people to address these things the way they need to be addressed with the idea of restoration maturing growing and coming together as one people so because we are to be one heart one mind one soul one people because he is one there are certain practices that we must not allow to be present in our assembly so i'm still in ephesians 4 but i'm going to go to verse 25. therefore putting away lying let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members of one another be angry and do not sin now i feel that it's a given that at some point in time we're going to be angry with one another for this reason or that reason i've been married to her for over 35 years she gets mad at me it's a shocker i know surprise surprise and i get mad at her but after 35 plus years we've learned that there are certain ways to address it certain ways that you do not i don't go pushing her buttons lord knows i don't go pushing her buttons and she tries not to push mine so we understand that there is a way to deal a right way to deal with anger anger is something it's just going to be there and it is part of that relationship that we have with one another we are at times going to rub one another the wrong way that doesn't mean that that's our sign to leave it's our sign to grow to mature because just as husband and wife are in covenant with one another because we are one in messiah we are in covenant with one another in that ways as well we are partakers of the covenants of promise all of us and as such we have an obligation and responsibility to one another that when you anger me or i anger you that there is a right way to deal with it and so again i want to stress this just because you get angry with somebody doesn't mean it's time for you to leave it may be time for you and that other person to grow to mature to do the righteous thing not the self-righteous thing when that happens it's probably not the best idea to confront them when you're angry i say this a lot but i mean it decisions made words spoken when i'm angry i've never thought about it the next day and thought that was the wisest thing i've ever done it's usually that was stupid why did you do that or why did you say that do not let the sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the devil because when we allow things to stew we're giving the adversary an opportunity to exploit our weaknesses to the detriment of the body let him who stole still no longer but rather let him labor working with his hands with his good that he may have something to give him who has need in other words be a giver not a taker let's be a congregation of givers not takers let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification that it may impart grace to the hearers here's bill's translation of that don't be critical of one another and especially don't be critical of someone to another in other words don't go to that other person and criticize that guy because that's not good to the contrary what we should all be are encouragers when we discourage what do we do we take courage away when we encourage what do we do we give them courage okay so let's be encouragers even if that person is doing things in a way that drives you insane there are things that i do that drive brandon insane and vice versa and we butt heads and we get angry and we you know hoarding hunt you know and all this kind of stuff but he knows that i love him and i know that he loves me and so we work it out and you know at the appropriate time i encourage him he encourages me sometimes he pushes me a little bit but some of those things have been good so in other words let's not give into critical words even when somebody has done something that absolutely just makes me livid critical words are just a hop skip and a jump from the thing that miriam did and we see what the result of that was and paul says this and do not grieve the holy spirit of god by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption it seems to me that if we don't heed these words and again i'm not saying that we haven't these are words that need to be spoken in advance of what god is doing and will do please understand that but let's also keep in mind that a place where critical words are prevalent grieves the holy spirit and if it grieves his spirit how long do you think his spirit is going to hang around and if his spirit isn't here we might as well shut the doors turn out the lights and go home let all bitterness wrath anger clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another even as god and messiah forgave you so these words that we've read are just they're much more than just words on a paper or a screen in this particular case this is a code of conduct that is required of us by our master and it's necessary if there is going to be a thriving lively congregation and assembly and family if the zara that's described for us in the bible is more than a physical condition if it's more a spiritual condition that's manifest outwardly then obviously the remedy is a spiritual one as well it has to be a change of heart and only a broken heart and a contrite spirit can create a healing environment i had no idea that the kids were going to sing certain songs they did today we never do but one of the things that i picked up on this morning the theme of our worship was healing when patrick came up and prayed he prayed for healing for people i asked him to to bless our children and he did but he but he incorporated the the idea that there are people out there that need to be healed physically emotionally mentally all these kinds of things and a contrite heart a broken spirit humility sincerity these these are the things that must be there to create an environment where there can be healing physically emotionally holy the healing itself that's only something that god can do but when our hearts are in accord with his miraculous things can take place so if healing is is needed in your life or in your family's life or beyond each every and every one of us have a responsibility to do what's required of us because we we say this all the time it's not about me and it isn't it's not about you it's not about us it's about god's purpose that he has for us for his family for this family for the body but it's one thing to say it's not about me it's another way it's another thing entirely to act in a way that it's expresses it really isn't about me so lest anyone think that i'm preaching at you again i want to make sure you make certain you understand that i am sharing with you i'm sharing with you things that i feel like he is dealing with me about let me share some things on a kind of a personal level and i'll close i'll start to close with this i'm going to go a little over today so just be aware sometimes people are placed in positions because of their strengths moses was a meek man we read it earlier earlier in scripture we see that moses really didn't want the job in fact he was pretty emphatic about it i don't want this job find somebody else to the point that god had to get a little testy with him but my point here is at least this is how i see it that's one of the main reasons he was given the job because he didn't want it because it wasn't about building a kingdom for himself it was about him having to rely on the father to lead and to guide this mass of people out of bondage into liberty and his meekness his humility was a big part of that that was a strength and so sometimes we are placed in positions because of our strengths but i want you to also consider that sometimes we are placed in positions because of our weaknesses don't think about that a whole lot do we but i want to tag that or tie that to the idea that sometimes our greatest strengths are potentially our greatest weaknesses moses was meek humble and i read into that that maybe kind and considerate maybe he wasn't real quick to confront people i'm not saying he didn't i'm just saying maybe that wasn't his first instinct because he was meek he was humble he was a kind person but it's possible also that that kindness was exploited by those who [Music] were a little more aggressive don't mistake kindness for weakness don't mistake mercy for approval likewise don't mistake rebuke for disdain don't mistake correction for inconsideration if he was this kind of man meek quiet perhaps prefer somebody else do the talking that that was a strength but potentially could have been a weakness because maybe that particular character characteristic compelled him not to say things sooner than he should and maybe that's why he struck a rock when he was supposed to speak to it maybe that he let things boil up on the inside just a little too long i don't know just something to consider but again sometimes we're placed in positions because of our strengths but there are times and maybe it's this but it's both that he puts us in positions because of our weaknesses i'll disclose the weakness that i have that has come boiling to the surface in the last two and a half years i hate pettiness it's abhorrent to me that's not the weakness that's just the stimulus the weakness is this that abhorrence for pettiness it breeds contempt and that contempt leads to a desire to just stay away from pettiness and anybody who is the source of it and then that turns into i don't like people now am i being too forward with you i'm just saying as this is being birthed unclean things things that are unsightly come rising to the surface and so you know some people would say well i don't like pettiness either i think that's a virtue bill well fine you may think that position is a virtue but god may consider it depending on your position to be a weakness it depends on your function what somebody would hail as a badge of honor god may say that's something we've got to work on so sometimes we're placed in position because of our weakness why was judas given the purse if messiah knew that he was a devil and a thief now judas he presented himself as someone who was very concerned about others the poor we could help the poor that's the way he presented himself but messiah knew different than that he knew what he was knew what he was from the very beginning so why did messiah allow him knowing that he was a devil knowing that he was a thief why did he give him the purse was it that he put him in position to fail or was it that he placed him in that position because of his weakness to expose his weakness perhaps even in the hopes of repentance well it was prophesied this that and the other yeah i know but you're not going to convince me that had that man acknowledged his weakness humbled himself and turned to the messiah you're not going to convince me that that there wouldn't have been a recourse for that man so again what i'm trying to say here is that sometimes we are placed in positions because of our weaknesses not our strength you may think i may think he may think it's because i'm good at this well what you're good at is potentially what you're bad at if it's not used in the right way the squeezing brings our weaknesses to the surface and then we're given a space of time to address it deal with it remove it from our life overcome our selfishness and self-indulgence because if we don't it could be our undoing but before it comes to that that's when the father is going to step in and say okay i'll give you time now i'm going to deal with this and we're going to take care of it quick fast and then hurry anyway all right i'm going to leave things on a little more positive note a little more hopeful note and i'll close with this second corinthians chapter 12 verse 7 and lest i should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations paul had a lot of revelation about something paul was a smart guy would you agree very knowledgeable in the torah what moses wrote what the prophets wrote and he had revelations and he could put things together and people i'm sure was said wow where did you get that i never saw that before paul lest i should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations a thorn in the flesh was given to me in other words god was going to make sure to keep me humble he was going to keep being he was going to keep reminding me this paul this ain't about you this is about me my purpose you're just a vessel and i chose you for a specific purpose now you function in that purpose but don't you get so high-minded in thinking that your strengths are all of that because i'm going to give you something that's going to keep poking you in the side to remind you i'm the one who did this i'm the one who put this in you a thorn in the flesh was given to me a messenger of satan to buffet me lest i be exalted above measure concerning this thing i pleaded with the lord three times that it might depart from me and he said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness therefore most gladly i will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of the messiah may rest upon me therefore i take pleasure in infirmities in reproaches in needs in persecutions in distresses for messiah's sake for when i am weak then i am strong that should not be taken and interpreted to mean let's just go fall into being weak people it's just to say that in our weaknesses if we allow him to work in and through us then his strength is going to be made evident in our lives and through our lives amen father i pray that your people will hear your word within the words those things that need to resound within our spirit those things that need to take take seed in our hearts and lives and minds i pray that those are the things that you would breathe upon that you would water that you would cause to prosper to grow and produce its respective fruit in our lives and life of this congregation father we know that as long as we your people though born again are walking around in these mortal corruptible bodies that we will have to contend with our flesh until that day that mortal is made immortal corruption is made incorruptable and so father help us strengthen us encourage us challenge us provoke us each and every day to keep our focal point to keep our eyes on our king on our redeemer on our savior to follow his example to prefer others before ourselves and to as we were admonished to bear the burdens of one another to bear one another in our weaknesses so that the body might thrive and might live and might and might be fruitful we know we we know in our hearts that you are birthing something in this assembly and we know that the adversary won't like what you wish to do and he will at every opportunity that has presented him try to exploit my weakness the weakness that is represented here by everyone father we pray that by your spirit you will help us to remain on guard to remain sober and attentive to the the ploys and the devices of our adversary and to be steadfast in our mission to be proper stewards of what you've entrusted to us i pray that you will help us to be quick to forgive slow to wrath to emulate you in that regard that we might be a healthy thriving body so that when these challenges do present themselves we will be well equipped well disciplined well trained to do what is pleasing in your eyes these things we commit unto you now in yeshua's name amen i think we've just had a very uh in-depth explanation of what it is to love your neighbor as yourself um i know i'm sitting there thinking okay father yes sir yes sir i know yes sir i did that i need to be better and but i know that it means he loves me because it's the way what we always told our children when they wanted to do something um growing up you know the older boys brandon and nate they wanted to go out and hang out with friends or whatever and we knew something maybe they didn't know or saw a danger they didn't see and we said no and as sometimes they will they're like oh you're just stopping all of my fun you know but it's not that it's that we see things they don't see and we do it because we love them and we want what's best for them and i know that that's why he chastens us the way he does as a family we must be proactive even a healthy family needs to be reminded what can happen if we become complacent so i appreciate this today on a very personal level as well as in the cloud household and then for our jacobs family at large it's so important that we that we just stay proactive we get these reminders occasionally and do you think it's because the father knows us so well yeah i'm glad he does um i i know i have a lot of maturing a lot of growing um and a lot of enduring yet all of us do and i just i pray that i never behave in a way that delays the father's plan i mean that just that really hit home it's like we can think of ourselves as insignificant oh well you know nobody ever pays anything to what i do nobody knows you know i don't really have any position or influence that's not true we could be the one who does or says something that it becomes a hindrance so that's something i really want to examine even deeper in my life is you know i never want that i never want to be guilty of that and if i have i i want to repent before the father i want him to show me so that i can fix it and not ever do it again and i think that's what is being said here that um it's not an accusation that we have just done these things it's a reminder of how to not do them why we should not do them and how to guard against doing them i can remember from my childhood i know well cora and his followers had done a lot of murmuring before the uprising actually happened came about and i can remember when i was a child i had a family member who was very precious to me um and i had another family member who really just didn't like that family member so as a child i would hear this one family member say just all kinds of critical derogatory things about this other family member so that by the time i knew i was going to get to see this family member again i had just this just ugly dark gross mean image in my mind now i couldn't participate in the conversation these were adults having conversations and i was just a child and so i didn't get to participate in it but i definitely heard it and i was looking back i was just always amazed at how the heaviness that came on me just made me feel so awful and i thought yeah i don't like that person either i'm always i was always thankful that when i did get to go and be around this person again even though i've had these ugly feelings that i had adopted just because of what i was hearing it affected me that way i was so thankful that every time i saw this person immediately the the love of our father was in their face and it just destroyed everything that the criticism had built up in me and if i was just a child and that affected me so much how much more does it affect you if you listen to it and then participate in it and my dad always said you know growing up gossipers wouldn't be effective if people would just quit listening and that's tough that's tough for us to do especially if you're the one who's wounded or hurt so we do need to learn to be proactive and to remember that if we have wounded somebody it's important to let them know that we're sorry but not be the person that just does whatever and goes oh i'm sorry that's just how i am because again i told my kids growing up you know you siblings argue they do hurtful things to each other and at least in our household that's the way it was you know but um you know me growing up and then our kids children or children and i would tell them you know you can say you're sorry and you can be very sincere in it you can really mean it but it's like this i told him you know there's this tree in the yard and if you think of it that every time you do something to hurt someone you go and you drive a nail in that tree and then the next time you go and you drive a nail in that tree until the nail is full of trees and then you realize what you've done and you go back and you start taking those nails out every apology is and i'm sorry some may take you a long time to get to and you take it out and what happens to a tree that's had a hole board into it is that it builds a scar over it to protect itself and it's very hardened in that place it'll heal it will go on it will flourish and it will bear fruit but the scars will always be there i never want to be guilty of doing that to someone and i repent before the father for the times that i have and we all need to be in that place so i am very thankful very thankful that my father loves me enough to give me today this gentle rebuke if it's necessary to look a little deeper to examine you know we don't have a feast coming up this week that is surrounding um cleansing our temple but look how much he loves us he just gives us today to think about it and and say maybe you need to do a little housekeeping so i know and i love ephesians and i never know what point he's going to bring out because the end of the week is just you know the shabbat sprint you all know what it's like but the father had been impressing me to read ephesians and today i see why because of what he brought out for us today so i'm very thankful very very thankful for that a couple of things before we pray first of all i want to thank bruce and martha for your sweet sweet email there there's some of our live stream family and for your expression of selflessness we greatly appreciate you and so many others just like you but today bruce and martha will be the names that represent all of the rest of the family who writes in sends things in all the time to let us know how much they feel a part of our family how much they appreciate being part of the family and the selfless acts that they do on behalf of the family so thank you bruce and martha and all of the other bruces and martha's out there as well um and in this house not just on the live stream i realize that you're in here as well we have some prayers one uh candace roberts we need to continue praying for her sister cammy for the father just to intervene there um little nessa bork she had an accident and accidentally stepped on some hot coals and burned her little foot and her mom was already doing all the right things to take care of it and it is healing um so just pray she's a little one and so somebody's going to be carrying her around for a little bit but they're preparing to make their way back here it will be home they're already in the process they've already brought something so pray for that for them that everything goes well and that also that little nessa's feet heal really fast i want to pray for bill's cousin and his wife they suffered a tremendous loss this week of a grandchild and also his cousin's wife lost her brother this week so that was a double blow i can't imagine losing a grandchild so if you will lift them up i want to pray for everyone who has allergies i know that it is an ongoing thing this time of year and i know i didn't see laura today i know she told me last night that she had really been suffering with allergies and heather said yes indeed she is out because of that today you know melody was suffering so let's continue to pray for our family members there you know bill has i want to thank the father that heather is here with us today and she is okay and we pray there are no more incidents with a kidney stone ever again in her entire life and i know she and her husband pray that as well because she had a rough week and her her husband dashed in came to the rescue and took her in to get it seen about and i'm just i'm thankful she's here today and i'm thankful for danny taking such good care of her i think i'll also remember laura hansen she is the one who's dealing with the bone marrow cancer and she's just been through so much and her treatments one day it's great the next day it's horrible and she's she's going through a lot she's saying that the cancer is being destroyed but it is a very grueling process so if you will she she had a close call this week so if you will just lift her up and the entire hanson family they're out on the west coast so there's a lot more and there there they come in all the time and we have our streamers who are even as i speak i'm sure they are uh online typing in their requests right now so we live in a fallen world but we serve a risen king and he is able no matter what amen so if you will just stand with me as we [Music] pray our king our messiah our salvation our redeemer the one who knows us so well thank you that you afforded a way for us to be your children and to have the opportunity to serve you and to show you that we we love you and just how much we love you father and in doing so father i pray that you would help us be even more kind to one another but not just those within jacob's tent father we know we love each other and family can be grumpy with each other and get over it but the ones out there who don't know you they don't know that so father help us to be kinder to the people who are outside of our tent walls to be a better representation of you and to [Music] exhibit some behavior that shines a light on who you are and it makes them thirst for it father that they would check it out whether it's with jacob's tent or somewhere else that they would check it out to get into that relationship with you that is so sweet and brings such peace and joy no matter what we're walking through abba you know all of these requests and so many more i just pray right now according to your will and your purpose that you would go and you would meet each need that you would touch those who are suffering physically like little nessa and her feet father that you would touch those who are struggling right now with things inside themselves that they they've never shared with anyone but that's okay they don't have to tell everyone they only need to tell you so help them do that and help them leave it with you just give it to you like patrick said if there's an addiction father you can flip that switch off today and so i pray you will father for those who are hurting in any way physically mentally emotionally relationally relationally father you can restore all of that so we pray that you will according to your will and your purpose for each person we thank you that we can come to you knowing you have the perfect answer father it's an issue his name we pray amen oh man at this time we want to invite those who have prepared and have a willing heart to bring your offering to the lord again those of you who join us online if we for those who wish we want to invite you to participate in that as well [Music] [Music] so i want to make two things clear here you can be seated for just a moment i want to make something very very clear here um my wife did not turn into the exorcist i just or the you know i was exaggerating a little bit to try to make a point so i want to make that very very very very clear and the second thing is that um i do hope that you hear my heart and in in why and i was sharing today what i did and what i was sharing and i just in case somebody came in on the live stream later i want to make sure everybody knows that i anything i i do anything i share it almost always first comes to me in a way that the father says bill this is what i need you to work on in you um everything almost everything i share with you is because that's what's going on inside here you know or what's going on inside here you know there have been many many many times in the course of this how you know where we've come so far is an assembly there have been many times that i just wanted to run i just wanted to run and keep running and run away you know he's not going to let us do that and so that's why i say you know sometimes we're placed in positions not because of where we're strong but where we're weak so that he can demonstrate his strength so i wanted to make that clear and with that now you may stand [Music] may the lord may the lord bless and keep you [Music] may his grace and his face shine upon you and may the lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace and give you peace [Music] [Music] [Music] alone this is the way you shall be blessed [Music] from day to day he'll be your rest may the lord may the lord bless and give you may his grace and his face shine upon you and may the lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace and give you peace and give [Music] okay we need to say shabbat shalom to the rest of our family there are more of them out there than there are of us here so over the door oh laura you are here yay if you'll point up to the camera heather and laura are standing under it we're going to wave to the rest of our family you're a very important part of us shabbat shalom everyone we love you and we're glad you're here don't go anywhere because we want you to hang out with us for kiddush and after that if we'll all keep our positions i have a couple of announcements about a new way we'll be releasing but for now let's go ahead with kiddish [Music] blessed are you o lord our god king of the universe who creates the fruit of the vine and forgiving us yeshua the messiah who said i am the vine and you are the branches the hype [Music] [Music] blessed are you o lord our god king of the universe who brings forth bread from the earth and forgiving us yeshua the messiah who said i am the bread of life amen [Music] sorry always before we dismiss we want to make sure that if you do not know the bread of life if you do not have that relationship with the messiah that today is the day of salvation there's no reason anyone should leave here without first knowing for certain that that relationship is as it should be if there is anybody here that you would like people to pray with you you know one-on-one specifically about something in the dorina o'neg where the little couch and lounge areas out here there will be some people out there that be happy to pray with you about anything that you want to pray with have them pray with you about specifically and of course all you who are online you know that we have the prayer page on the website that you can go to and many of the ladies will be going back over those and praying with you or about those different things so now with that beth's got a special announcement to make okay well you all know that we are increasing every day tremendously in number um the father is still working on increasing you know moving our tent pegs expanding our borders so until then uh we are always tweaking the system trying to figure out the best way to make it as comfortable as possible so to that end um and i'll make this really quick because i know we're hungry and ready to go so what we want to do is i can't get my nose to go here okay make it so that everybody can enjoy the entire service because what was happening is are the rest of our family who's on the other side of this wall which because of fire codes we cannot move um they were having to vacate to get tables set up and everything and they were in the hallway but now there's over a hundred of them and that's not a good scenario anymore so you can understand that so what we're going to do is we're going to ask everyone to keep your places for just a minute and we will release the wheelchairs coaches canes walkers etc you know if you have a reason that you can't stand very long in line we understand we want you to go to the front of the line now most of our youth should be able to stand in line so only legitimate reasons okay but we want you to go first and then our visitors we want you to go right after them we want to honor you and show you that we appreciate you coming today and being part of us wherever our visitors are even back there some on the other side we want you to be in the line first as well and then our families with small children the rest of us are going to stay seated for a

Channel: Jacobs Tent

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Length: 172min 38sec (10358 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 17 2021