Shevet Achim gam Yachad

November 17th, 2012

The sixth message I have had the privilage to share with my mishpocha. But this time instead of diving into the difficult phrases of Paul, we dive into the even more difficult issue of unity within the Household of Faith. A most challenging topic, but one of the most important. May Your will be done Father.

* * *

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever."
(Tehillim / Psalm 133)

You know, it seems like when I get up here I love to talk about the difficult issues in our faith. The last few times I ministered from the word I talked about several of Paul’s so called difficult or hard to understand phrases. And I love that stuff and would love to keep doing that, but HaShem has led me to talk about an even more difficult issue; one that’s not as pleasant to talk about it but that we need to be reminded of as it is a constant issue: and that is unity within the household of faith. It’s something that we need to be conscientious of as a community within the Body of Messiah, and Rav regularly reminds us about it. BUT, one reason why I think HaShem wants me specifically to talk about this issue is because... relatively speaking, I'm kind of young and naive. Now, why is that a good thing? Well, when it comes to this issue of unity, I've yet to experience how often it actually fails within the household of faith. And considering that there are reported to be about 41,000 different Christian denominations, I'd say that it has failed quite often. But, being young and naive I'm still somewhat oblivious to this fact, even when I know the statistics. Or at the very least, I look at the statistics... and my heart gets a very heavy feeling. That feeling you get when you are exposed to something for the first time and haven't yet hardened your heart towards it because it is too difficult to deal with otherwise. Being young and naive is also like starting from scratch again, like when we are born again through Mashiach. And when we are born again through Mashiach, this time, instead of living for ourselves and relying on our own strength, we live for Him and rely on His strength.

When I came to faith, I made a very, very crucial decision. See, as a teenager I had become one of those proud intellectuals, where... I knew better... I could figure it out... I had morals... I did the right thing. And so, when it came to the things of G-d I had to be brought to a place that modern psychology calls "learned helplessness". In the academic world there's a saying that says "the more you learn, the less you know". This is because the more you search, the more you begin to realize how much you don't actually know. And this is how it was for me when it came to anything related to G-d and the universe. And, in my inability to comprehend G-d, I made a decision. I decided that instead of figuring everything out and then believing in G-d, I was going to believe in Him first, and simply trust that everything would be revealed to me in due time. This was my moment of surrender, and it's important when it comes to our discussion of unity for several reasons. First, it was my moment of humility where I put aside my own will, my own agenda, and I was willing to follow His will, and His agenda. Second, it was the moment where I really began developing a relationship not with a religion, but with HaShem. You see, all too often we get pre-occupied with ideas about HaShem or Yeshua, but we never actually walk with Him. We walk with an idea about Him that keeps us distracted and feeling good about ourselves long enough that we can ignore the sin in our life and the things we actually have to deal with.

Now after I had made that decision to believe in and follow HaShem despite my lack of understanding, I eventually began to read the Scriptures. It took what I described at the time as a train coming out of nowhere and smacking me upside the head in order for me to do this, but, Baruch HaShem, I eventually got into His word. Now I didn't really have a church, or any friends my age that were believers, I was just there with an old NIV flipping through. And when it came to anything "old testament" I felt kind of lost. But then I figured out that somewhere in the middle of it there were some books that seemed kind of practical to me. And I remember that it was at this time that I read Ecclesiastes for the very first time. This is a book that you traditionally read during Sukkot, because it emphasizes how temporal everything is in this broken world that is not our permanent home. And the first time I read this book it had such a profound impact on me. At that time I had just come from a background of very high level sports where I had grown up traveling the world competing, pushing my own body to the furthest limits it could possibly go, and always achieving whatever goal I had set. And yet... despite always achieving whatever it is I had set out to do, despite always having things seemingly go my way, there was always a level of dissatisfaction I could not understand. And here I was at a stage in my life where, I had no believing friends my age, and my other friends, because of my faith choices, slowly began to disappear. And then I read the famous words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes for the very first time...

VANITY! MEANINGLESS! IT'S ALL MEANINGLESS!

So says the king who literally had it all. King Solomon in essence lived life to the fullest as the world may see. He had all the wisdom you could imagine. He was King over the greatest nation of the earth during its most glorious days. He had wealth, status, as many women as he wanted; it was as if no pleasure was withheld from him during his reign. And yet, after having experienced all of that, he felt compelled to write the words of Koholet - Ecclesiastes - proclaiming that all of it was but vanity. All of it was meaningless. Now, I'm a little uncomfortable comparing myself to King Solomon, but in much the same way I too was blessed to have gone forth and experienced all that my heart passionately drew me towards, but like King Solomon, I was left with an emptiness. So as I flipped through the pages of his book, I was captivated by his words, able to closely relate to that exact feeling of vanity, emptiness. And then, I reached the end of the book... let's just go there for a moment. Chapter 12, verse 13 of the book of Ecclesiastes says,

"The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear G-d and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person / this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I can still remember the chills that came down my spine after I had read that passage. This was an incredibly pivotal point in my faith. It was the moment where I realized that the ONLY thing that matters in life, the ONLY thing that has lasting fulfillment, was simply obeying G-d. Serving Him and submitting to Him, in everything that you do, no matter where you are. And I knew at that point in my life that I could do and be whatever I wanted, but as Solomon says, what would be the point if G-d was not in the equation?

As I mentioned, I didn't have a church at this point, and I couldn't really remember anything from my childhood other than Jesus having died for my sins. So, in essence, I really didn't have a religion, or any religiosity you could say. I was totally naive in looking at this passage, having no agenda and no pre-conceived ideas about what anything in there meant or might be implying theologically. But I knew exactly what it meant, and it was at that point that my desires went out the window, and HaShem came to the forefront of my life.

This is the fundamental key to unity within a community of faith – HaShem has to be the focal point in all that we think and do. But in application, it might not necessarily look exactly as we might expect it. I'm a visionary... and I'm also an idealist. So, if you want to talk to me about the perfect way of doing things, ohh I'm all ears. And I'm all for it! BUT, the perfectionist side of me has had to learn something very important. And that's that we live in a broken world; a world of sin and imperfection with no quick fix. We live in a society where we think there should be a quick fix for everything; just pop a pill and it's good to go. But there is no pill that removes our free will from us, and until there is, we have to work within the confines of sin and imperfection.

So, how do we work within the confines of sin and imperfection? Well, first of all, don't think I'm downplaying the call that we have on each of our lives, which is to be Holy and blameless, walking as Yeshua walked. In Genesis 17:1-2 HaShem told Abraham to walk blameless before Him and to be perfect. And Mashiach reiterates this same thing on the sermon on the mount when He says in Matthew 5:48 "be you therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect". In this way we become the salt of the earth, sustaining it, and the light of the world, drawing it to the one who we serve. That's a big calling; one in which is very easy to undermine with what are otherwise good intentions. Because see, this broken world we live in is currently bound by the second law of thermodynamics. And as is relevant to our discussion in plain English, the second law of thermodynamics basically states that all things tend towards chaos. Your hair goes haywire. Your teeth fall apart. Your car breaks down. Wood rots. Metal rusts, and so on and so forth. So there needs to be an element of order or upkeep that is brought into the equation in order to sustain it.

Now when it comes to the Body of Messiah there is an element of order by which HaShem is preparing His people and expanding His kingdom through us. But I think many of us know and realize that there is A LOT of work that needs to be done. So let's think about this for a moment. When you have a big job to do, are you able to get it all done at once? Or are there perhaps steps that you need to take in order to accomplish it in a precise and timely manner? It's like when you build a house... you might have the best idea for a bay window, but until the land is dug up, the foundation is laid, and the basic frame or structure of the house is built, we can't even begin to look at that. And even then, in order for that bay window to fit in with the rest of the house, you have to let the project manager know about it and then he can coordinate it all, because that's his job, and then everything will fit, and your house will work. In the exact same way, the house of G-d has to have a structure and an order so that it may function and fulfill the task that HaShem has appointed it to. And HaShem calls upon and appoints people into leadership in order to carry out that vision that each congregation has. That's how I got up here. It wasn't something I sought after or even desired. It just so happened that HaShem had done enough work in my life that I was a suitable candidate for Him to use me in order to do what it is that He wants to do here. And so long as I keep myself in submission to Him I should assume that you'll keep seeing me around. But, interesting story: you guys might find it very surprising what kind of theological background I had coming in to this house. When I came here... I was following a different calendar for the feast days, and I was very anti Rabbinical. When I came here, I was very, very big on using the Sacred Name and on avoiding pagan terms. I would always say "Elohim" instead of G-d, or "Set-Apart" instead of Holy. And I had literally spent hundreds upon hundreds of hours studying the Divine Name and I had read the Scripture from front to back using... several different ways of pronouncing the Divine Name (and this was because my opinion on how to pronounce it changed as I was reading through Scripture; I even went so far as to not want to read the Scripture when I was at a point of uncertainty on how to pronounce the Divine Name, so this was clearly a very important issue to me!)

But... when I came here, the words of Ecclesiastes was seared into my heart, and I knew that it wasn't about what I wanted to do or accomplish, because I already knew how meaningless that could be or how fruitless it could become if I wasn't careful. Instead, what mattered was obeying my L-rd with fear and trembling, and seeing what it was that He was doing here in this place. Issues like the Sacred Name were important to me, no doubt, and I knew coming here that I would be entering an atmosphere that didn't promote its usage, but then I also knew that if it was important to HaShem that we use it then it would eventually be restored in His timing. But maybe that timing wasn't here at this point in this congregation.

You see, I believe very very strongly that each congregation has a role and a purpose to fulfill in the Kingdom of G-d. And all congregations together as a worldwide body should be working towards that eventual perfection where everyone will come to realize the true G-d and so live and worship perfectly according to His ways. But what one congregation does right another congregation might not be called to do right at this moment. Not yet. We might be convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is a proper way to do something, but in reality there is one of two possibilities: 1) you could actually be wrong, believe it or not (I've certainly had my moments where that has happened, and my own personal reasoning for using the Divine Name was actually one of them), OR, as I've said, maybe it's just not part of the work that that congregation is being called to do at the moment. I know that's tough for us perfectionists to grasp, but we have to trust that G-d is raising up leaders to accomplish His will in His timing in this broken, damaged, not perfect world. I mean, let's consider for a moment Jewish outreach. Assuming there are legitimate grounds for using the Divine Name, well, if someone were to use it in Jewish outreach, they would immediately put up a wall and ruin any chance they had with reaching that person with the good news of their Messiah. And isn't the will of the Father clearly established in that all Israel shall come to a saving knowledge of their Messiah? Of course it is! So let's forget about every other single issue we could come up with for the issue of the Divine Name and simply realize that it actually undermines the will of the Father in that specific area. I know several people who believe in using the Sacred Name but have no problem saying HaShem when they are around or ministering to certain groups. And this is so important.

Now, when it comes to a congregation, if we are walking in total submission to HaShem, then the question we always have to ask is not what do I want to see here, but what is HaShem trying to accomplish here, and do I fit into that? Now that doesn't mean if you have a different idea about something that you should just keep quiet about it because it doesn't fit inside a nicely shaped theological box and statement of faith. Many of us may have had bad experiences in that regard from christian churches, but things work a little bit differently around here. Let me back up a bit and tell you about my experience when I first came here. I remember when I first came here I was... first of all, totally outside my comfort zone, because I had zero fellowship before this and growing up in the Lutheran Church, things were... a lot different we'll say. But, even with my then differences in theology, I felt very strongly called to this congregation. I remember the 4th time I came Rav did an altar call for members of the congregation because he was addressing something that was going on with the community at that time. And I wasn't a member, but as I was sitting there I felt so uncomfortable and restless in my seat. And I kept telling myself "go up there, go up there, go up there" (I had never actually responded to an altar call before, so this was another "outside of comfort zone" thing for an introvert like me), but I finally lept up and went to the front. Now other than a typical "Shabbat Shalom", I hadn't really spoken to Rav that much. But as he and June came to come pray with me I just said frantically "I know I'm not a member of this congregation, but I just feel really really called to be here and learn about Torah and share it with other people, and, and and.." and then he asked me if I wanted to be a member of this congregation and I said "yeah, I think so". So, we go out for coffee the next week and he gets to know me and explains the membership process and such, and I think he really got to know my heart for wanting to be here because very soon after that he gave me a copy of the vision for the congregation. And, as I read through this vision, not only did it confirm for me that this was where I was to be, there was something very specific that stood out to me, and I've copied and pasted it directly from the 2006 vision casting,

We are a congregation with clearly outlined theological beliefs yet respectful of diversity of lifestyle practices and theological expressions on the non-salvation issues of our faith.

Do you know what that means? It means that it's okay if you disagree!! As a congregation we must stand unified in the vision, purpose and calling of this congregation, BUT, there are a lot of things that we can personally disagree on and still remain totally unified, did you know that? Disagreements are actually very Jewish so long as we don't allow them to be divisive. Rav and I walk in total unity, and yet, we don't always agree on everything. You should see us debate sometime, it's really fun. And like I said, it's a very Jewish or Hebraic thing to disagree. The Greek mind is the one that always has to be logically correct and understand it all, but the Hebrew mind is concerned more with concepts and attaining the will of HaShem by repairing this broken world bit by bit wherever we can see there's a need. They don't care about being right, they care about doing right! You could say that it would be better to do one thing right and be incorrect about everything else, than to have all your theology in a row but not actually walk out any of it out in a practical, fruit bearing, life changing experience that not only touches your heart, but the hearts of others.

So, if we're going to keep talking about getting back to our Hebraic roots, then this is something we have to get a handle on. It is often said that where you have two Jews you have three opinions! And yet the Jewish people, relatively speaking, are one of the best examples of unity. Who else stays unified without having a common language that's currently practiced and without a land to call their own for 2000 years? That's incredible! Yes, maybe it helps that they're G-d's chosen people, but guess what? So are we. If we belong to Mashiach, we are of the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise, sharers of the rich heritage, and fellow citizens of the same status. Paul makes this very clear as he writes to the Romans, the Galatians and the Ephesians. So, we have no excuse! We might be closet scholars with all sorts of ideas, but the only thing that matters is that HaShem's will goes forth, and He's getting it done, even if it doesn't look as pretty as we'd like it during the process. And I can guarantee that until Mashiach comes back we won't ever have all of our theology 100% correct or down, but I don't believe that's the point, either. HaShem says He delights in mercy rather than sacrifice, the acknowledgement of Him rather than burnt offerings (Hosea 6:6). There is something much more important and much deeper than having all of our outward actions correct, and that's a humble, submissive heart towards G-d. Without this, as Solomon says, all things are truly and utterly meaningless. But because of this, even when all of our bells and whistles aren't in order, we can still stand in unity and bring forth HaShem's will because as He increases and becomes the L-rd of our life, then we must decrease and allow Him to do His work.

I have a good story about this. There's a Hebrew Roots scholar that I used to follow quite frequently when I came into the Hebrew Roots movement, and he takes a very strong stance on several controversial issues and he is very adamant about being correct about them. He's also somewhat of a closet scholar who keeps to himself and just contributes to the body of Messiah through the work that he publishes. But then his publisher helps him get out of his shell and takes him to Israel for Sukkot one year. And while there HaShem did a work and a half in this man's heart. He was brought way outside of his comfort zone and attending several different services and congregations in which there were stark doctrinal differences. But yet, he was overwhelmed with the joy of the Holy Spirit the entire time and it was... kind of freaking him out a bit. I'm going to read to you exactly what he said as he conveyed a discussion he had with one of his travel mates during this. He said,

"After the dust settled I couldn't even make sense of my feelings which is rare for me. I was sharing a room with Teddy and we always had good conversations. People told us they enjoyed hearing us debate because we come from opposite perspectives but meet in the middle. So since Teddy was the "churchy" one now into Torah I knew I had to ask him about my weird feelings. I said, "Ted, you and I both know each place we went to is way outside in terms of this or that doctrine that we agree on." He nodded, and then I said, "And yet, while I was at both assemblies I never even thought of those differences. I just sort of let it all in and enjoyed myself."

"Great!" he said.

"Weird!" I said back. "These issues are serious...you and I both know about all the division that comes out of these places, am I right?"

"Of course."

"So WHY did I feel like I gave them a pass? Why did I seem to approve of those things and totally let my guard down--which I never do!"

And you know what Teddy said to him? He said..."You felt the love of the Father, through you and towards them. The Father knows all our mistakes and our mistakes count and are serious, but He also rejoices in what we do right. So you came and saw what they did right and you rejoiced along with the Father and you felt His love for them and for you in a double portion."

And then he says that for once he was speechless...because he knew that Teddy was right. That's exactly what happened."

So in that scenario, do you think he furthered or hindered the work that HaShem was doing there? He furthered it of course, even though he disagreed with some things.

But, okay, what happens when you want to join a congregation or are actually part of a congregation, and you have a different idea about something? If we are to walk in total submission to HaShem and not undermine the work He is doing in a congregation, specifically, in our congregation, then what do you do? Simple, talk to leadership about it! Believe it or not, we actually love talking about this kind of stuff and we're all on the same side here. And that's HaShem's side, right? Nothing else matters except furthering His will here on earth as in heaven. But as I keep saying, there has to be a certain level of order and structure for this to happen. This is what Acts 15 was all about in the early Body of Mashiach. There were some alternative ideas floating around that Paul disagreed with, so they went to the leadership, James, Peter and John, and it was discussed, addressed, and a solution was come up with that was, according to Acts 15:28, agreeable to the Holy Spirit. We as Torah Observant believers are trying to get back to how it was in the first century, right? So this needs to be our model. And when it comes to our congregation, when I said that things are different around here, I really meant that. I figured out very early on that I could go and talk to Rav about anything. Any issue, any theology, no matter what it was he was always open to discussing it with me, and I want everyone here to know that you should feel the same way. If you're zealous for Torah and want to give some input, great! That's why we have these theological workshops, and yeshiva, and all the other community events that we do, so that we can bring all these things to the table and discuss them properly and orderly where everyone can be edified in the end. So if you have an idea and want to be part of the community, come and join us and we'll talk about it! When I was new to this congregation I came to everything I could and was constantly bringing up everything I knew, or heard about, or had learned in my own study. Not as a means to argue… because arguing sows division. But as a means to lovingly discuss, which results in edification. And of course, we must keep things relevant to the topic; we always have to be careful about going off on bunny trails! But I remember we had a blast with all those discussions I brought up! So don't be shy to get involved; even if you think you believe in something that's totally left field for what we stand for here. And in that case, you can come talk to us privately; it’s often those private discussions that really build the bonds of friendship and love. I remember this one time that something was just stirring inside of me, and my girlfriend at the time thought I was crazy and off my knocker, and she told me to go talk to Rav about it so that he could set me straight. And she convinced me that he might even downright call me a heretic. So I spent a considerable amount of time talking to him about this, and to my surprise, he agreed with me! He had looked at the same things and come to similar conclusions! But then we both agreed that that point had no relevance within the ministry that HaShem was doing among us and although we were really into these deep points of theology, we knew that it would be a needless stumbling block for others and that there was more important and pertinent work within the Kingdom to be done.

And this is the key within ministry. See, ministry is all about expanding HaShem's kingdom, and not about promoting our own ideas or theologies that we're currently into. And so, we have to realize that sometimes what we want to say isn't necessarily what that person needs to hear right now. Even when we don't intend to minister, still sometimes what we want to say isn't what the guy next to us needs to hear right now, and as servants of HaShem we have to be sensitive to that and the guiding of His spirit at all times. That same girlfriend I just mentioned, she had come from a strong Baptist background, and her dad was really into the church fathers and aspects of Catholicism. To top it off, both of them loved to be dogmatically correct all the time, so you can imagine the kind of fun I had with just getting into the Hebraic Roots of our faith. I could say what we consider to be the simplest, most basic harmless thing; even a mere Scripture, and it would just send them flying off the wall. A total freak out that I think can only be explained by the fact that we're dealing with spiritual warfare. And so, it was not the most pleasant experience for me, but it taught me so much about how to share and minister to others. And I believe very strongly that it was those sorts of pivotal experiences that has allowed HaShem to prepare me so that He could use me in a leadership role here.

So when it comes to the issue of unity and leadership within our congregations, what we really have to grasp is what HaShem is trying to do in a particular congregation, realize that He is the one who is doing the work, and then that those called into leadership are simply those who HaShem has prepared for that specific work within that congregation. So, when we come into a congregation, we have to ask ourselves: do we have a heart for the vision that HaShem has for this congregation? This is the pertinent question for those of you who are taking new members class. If not, well, you're still more than welcome to keep coming and be edified with the fellowship, learn, midrash, and so on - so long as you don't hinder the work HaShem is doing and respect the leadership He has in place. And that's how it should be in every congregation within the Body of Messiah. Now, if you do have a heart for the vision of the congregation, then that's when you become a member and come under the spiritual covering HaShem has placed here, and so work with the leadership that He has appointed. And that's when we all grow. That's when we are all edified. And that's also when we are actually recognizing the sovereignty of HaShem Himself! Now I realize the controversy of what I just said, because so often in the Hebrew Roots movement, many of us are coming from backgrounds where we're now very weary of leadership, and rightly so in many cases. I'm not surprised that when the subject is brought up people all of a sudden think of Roman Catholicism or have some combination of words go through their head like "babylonian pagan hierarchy". But such cases are good examples of when the position of leadership has been abused, and we always know whether or not it has been abused by the fruit that is coming out of the ministry. Mashiach rightly warned us that we shall know them by their fruit, and so if they are not bearing any fruit, then HaShem will find someone who will. That's what I believe jump started the reformation. The other thing that you will always see when a ministry has been rightly called of G-d is an attitude that Paul sums up in 2 Corinthians 4:5,

For we do not preach ourselves but Messiah Yeshua as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Yeshua’s sake. (2 Corinthians 4:5)

The Scripture says very clearly that all things and all authority have been given to Messiah Yeshua. Not to the pope, not to the rabbi, not to any religious institution of man here on earth. But those called and appointed into leadership by HaShem are given some authority by G-d. A passage we are all familiar with in Romans 13:1 says

"Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from G-d, and those which exist are established by G-d"

We have often interpreted this as looking at our political leaders; however, some Jewish scholars believe that the context Paul is speaking of is the governing authorities of the local synagogue. Regardless though, the principle would apply over to the leadership within a community as well since the passage clearly says “there is no authority except from G-d and those which exist are established by G-d.” But, Scripture makes it abundantly clear that this authority and position should not be used as a means to exalt oneself; Matthew 23 drills this in very well, telling us also that those who wish to be greatest shall be servants. It’s very opposite of how the world tells us that leadership works. And then James warns us that those in leadership are going to be held to a much, much stricter judgment; so leadership is not something to be taken lightly because if it is abused as I think many of us have seen, then it won’t necessarily pan out very well for that person.

But this is where Torah Observance becomes very important, because the Torah says that each community should have a Beit Din, a ruling council of three or more Elders or Overseers who are trained in the matters of Scripture to help set up community halacha, how we walk out Torah, and to help keep everyone united and accountable to HaShem’s word so that not only do we all stay on track, but in this way positions of leadership are not abused. This is part of our vision as well: Rav doesn’t want to be the only one in charge he has simply had to take complete charge for awhile in order to build a foundation and begin the process of setting up a true Torah Observant community. And when I think about that, I look at where we are now and say to myself “wow, this is just the beginning”.

So, as the Scripture says, leaders are to be bond-servants of the Body of Messiah, held accountable by other leaders, all of whom walk humbly in submission to the authority of Mashiach. This is so important because it is only because of Mashiach that we are here doing what we do; studying, fellowshipping, supporting one another; this is all supposed to be for Him, right? He gave His life for us, and we give ours in return.

Now, when we as leadership are bondservants to you then we are in essence being bondservants to Mashiach. And it is at this point then that HaShem can work through us and give us a vision and a purpose, and when everyone becomes unified in carrying out that purpose… that’s when miracles happen. And none of it is to exalt ourselves but, going back to 2 Corinthians 4:5 it clearly states that it is for Yeshua's sake... for His names sake! Truly, it is for HaShem's very reputation since we represent Him here on earth as a light to the world, right? He’s the boss and we, all of us (not just leadership) work for Him, that’s what it always comes down to. Now consider the Kenya project as a great example. A vision was given, hearts were stirred, and we came together with no agenda other than to do the will of the Father, and we've all heard about what's happened because of it. We've brought entire tribes into the Kingdom; we've brought both Mormons and Muslims to the truth about Yeshua; that's something that almost NEVER happens. And just think about when all 150 of those kids are grown up and able to share the Gospel just like Choi - things are going to spread exponentially like wildfire! This is really just a small beginning in comparison to what's down the road. And it's all because we came together in humble, selfless unity to fulfill a vision that HaShem has given.

In our initial passage from Psalms 133 - "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity" - many of you know the Hebrew from Paul Wilburs song - Hinneh ma tov uma nafshi, shevet achim gam yachad. That word yachad, unity, comes from the same root as the word yachid. Yachid is a special term to describe Yeshua in Zechariah 12:11. The same term is also used in John 1:18 to, and it is often translated as "only-begotten", but the etymology of the word really denotes the imagery of something utterly unique; as in never before, and never again! So when we come together in unity to carry out His plans and His purposes, we become the utterly unique like the light of the world Himself. We become One, as Yeshua was one with the Father. And it is all for the sake of serving Him.

The next feast day coming up is the Feast of Dedication, Chanukkah. And I really encourage everyone in this upcoming season to dedicate yourselves to what HaShem is trying to do here in this house. I have some copies of the vision that we have in this congregation on the back table, so feel free to pick up a copy and review it. And let me just say that I know some of you already understand very well what I'm talking about, and I also know that some of you have grasped this already despite some theological disagreements that we may have. And that's so encouraging, and a huge blessing, and I hope that my reminder of these things is an encouragement to keep supporting the work HaShem is doing here. But let’s not just dedicate ourselves not just to what HaShem is doing in this house, here, but let’s dedicate ourselves to what HaShem is doing in every facet of our lives. If we can truly empty ourselves and have HaShem fill these houses called our bodies, then behold, the Kingdom of G-d shall be brought forth. Because remember, it must be brought forth in His way and on His terms. We might see a need for things to be a certain way, and if it be G-d's will, they will be that certain way at some point. But it only works when we do things step by step according to the work that HaShem is doing, how He is choosing to do it, and who He is choosing to do it through.

I know this can be a difficult and sensitive issue for some of us in the Hebraic Roots movement, and I sympathize with everyone who has struggles with this. But I’ve learned is that when the mission of HaShem comes to the forefront, suddenly all of our desires vanish as He takes over. So now, all of a sudden that personal issue we have with the guy beside us doesn't matter anymore. Why? Because it's not about you, it's about HaShem. As He increases in our life, we decrease, including any offense we've taken and anything that sows division because all that matters is Him and His love and His saving grace. And that’s what we want to have filled within us as opposed to all the garbage that the world offers. His love… His grace… His purpose… and His will. Because He knows what to do; He knows what’s best.

Therefore as the elect of G-d, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another and forgiving one another...(Colossians 3:12-13)

That is the wonderful heart of every born again Believer as they are set free from the chains of this world and dwell together together in unity. Oh how good and how pleasant it is!

“And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them, and of their children after them” (Jeremiah 32:39)

So, the conclusion, when all has been heard is, "Not my will Father, but let Your will be done in this congregation and in every facet of my life". Let's just ask for the L-rd's blessing on the word this morning...