Parasha Shemini (Eighth)

From Rabbi Jack...

1 Peter {5:1} "The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Messiah, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: {5:2} Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; {5:3} nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; {5:4} and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away."

Peter in verse 4 calls Messiah Yeshua the Chief Shepherd, and rightly so because He is God and all other overseers, as Peter refers to himself as, are under Him.

As a congregation leader and Messianic Rabbi, many people come to me with their burdens seeking advice and rightly so because God has placed me in the position of overseer. As such I am the one that is responsible to watch over, care and guard the souls God has entrusted to me. I am also responsible to teach, nurture, exhort and correct so that in the end they all will arrive safely into heaven. However, the Overseer over me (Yeshua), has a far better perspective than I. He knows every detail of every life of every member of His collective flock (the Body of Messiah), and can see past any burden into the full and godly solution. That is why Peter tells us:

1 Peter {2:25} "For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

Peter is referencing Isaiah {53:6} "where Isaiah prophesied; "All we like sheep have gone astray but the Lord laid upon Him the iniquities of us all."

Messiah Yeshua has taken upon Himself the oversight of His sheep willingly. He is ever vigilant of what is going on in our lives and promises to never leave us or forsake us. He is the true Overseer of our souls having been obedient unto death on the Cross so as to secure our salvation. Human overseers can only do the possible but the Chief Overseer of our souls we can trust to achieve the impossible.

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…I thought I had nothing to say but as Jack and I were going through Shabbat preparation this came about. A brother in the Lord is being immersed this coming Sunday at our immersion event in Karatina, Kenya. Subsequently he has been under spiritual attacks …PRAISE THE LORD!!! I say praise the Lord because the devil does not want us to publicly commit our lives to Yeshua! Our word to him straight from the Holy Spirit was to count it all joy because of his dedication and decision to publicly proclaim that he is YESHUA'S!!! Immerse yourself in Yeshua, immerse yourself in love, immerse yourself in deliverance, immerse yourself in the Word, immerse yourself in kindness, immerse yourself in generosity, immerse yourself in honesty and sincerity…IMMERSE yourself in the Lord Most High! Shabbat Shalom, we love you!!!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

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Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King.

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "Not You Own Understanding"

Parasha Tzav (Command)

From Rabbi Jack...

Whenever we want to download an App, we are denied access until we provide a user name and come up with a password. Even then, if the password does not meet the site's criteria, we are still denied access until we finally think up one that is acceptable. Also, many times when we try to access a site doing a Google search, we are denied access until we accept their cookies. Often, I have been denied access to a useful App because I refused to allow it access to my contact list. It is comforting to know, however, that this is not how it is when we try to assess God. We can come to God at any time, present Him with any question, seek wisdom on any subject and never be denied access!

Romans {5:1} "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Messiah Yeshua, {5:2} through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

Not only does God offer us unlimited and unrestricted access to Him, He encourages our boldness to come into His presence.

Hebrews {4:16} "Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

It does not matter who we are or what we are searching for. It does not matter if we are a Believer or a seeker, He has given us all the same simple, combined, easy access user name and password and that is Y-E-S-H-U-A. Why not try it!

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…I always try to do something spiritual and uplifting but this time will be different. Purim is over and this means Passover is around the corner. You have to thank God because He lines everything up prophetically and also secularly. The great Feast of Passover occurs, as you all know in the Spring. Our Abba wants us to clean our lives and come to Him in anticipation of great breakthroughs, hence Pass-over. We not only thank Him for saving us from death into life but also for "The Big Clean Up"! This is the perfect opportunity to rid our homes of any lingering leaven and residue of the past season. We clean out our cupboards of anything that would be used as a raising agent in cooking; I myself go through our personal wardrobe cupboard and remove things we haven't worn. In fact here in Israel we collected clothing for the Ukrainian refugees so the opportunity was spot on. So, get to work cleaning your homes with joy and praise of our wonderful Abba for all He has done and will do in our lives. Don't make it a drudgery but sing songs of deliverance and salvation…believe it or not you will receive a blessing even through the chore of cleaning. We love you all and pray for great and mighty things to happen in your lives this Passover!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

DONATE

If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King.

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "God is Ever Present"

Parasha Vayikra (And He Called)

From Rabbi Jack...

Matthew {18:21} "Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"{18:22} Yeshua said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Once when I went to someone to apologize, a person I apologized to in the past, they looked at me and using this scripture said; "That is 489." Of course, they were joking! Yes, even though in this scripture Yeshua suggests to Peter that he should forgive someone who sinned against him 490 times (70x7), the true meaning is that forgiveness should be unlimited.

However, forgiving someone who sinned against us, does not mean that we condoned what they have done. We are just saying that despite what they have done we have chosen to forgive and will not hold it against them, not now and not in the future. That is what Yeshua did?

Forgiving someone is as much for our benefit as it is for the person's because if we hold on to unforgiveness it will ultimately, totally disrupt our lives. Yeshua gave us an extreme example of what forgiveness is when He hung on the Cross; a heart filled with compassion!

Luke {23:34} "Then Yeshua said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do...."

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…Oh my goodness, so much going on in the world. It is all in one's personal perspective however. Jack and I have increased our reading of the Word and our prayer life as we seek answers to our questions. Abba is answering so many of our prayers there is no room for doubt that He is taking care of the smallest to the greatest prayer!!! We would like to thank God for Israel receiving plane loads of Ukrainian refugees and placing them in safe environments. Our God is not only a personal God but also a corporate God, He takes care of the smallest in the womb to the oldest needing care.

1 Corinthians {12.22} (ESV) "On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable…".

Now is truly the time for unity, fellowship, good works and gathering together for prayer. I beg of you to put pettiness aside and raise up a banner of commitment to our God Most High. I beseech you to join together with like-minded believers and pray. Time is short, Yeshua is coming and we all want to be found worthy of Him. Do not slack off, because our God sees all, hears all and knows all! This is a time to become truly transparent as Jack spoke about last Shabbat, and if you are not working for the Lord…Get Working! We all want to win that all important race and be found a blessing and not a harm. I hope that you will be praying for us here in Israel as we pray for you in all corners of the world. The only safe place now is under the shadow of the Most High God…blessings in Yeshua!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

DONATE

If you do not have a PayPal account and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King.

Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "Transparency"

Parasha Pekudei (Accounts)

From Rabbi Jack...

Ecclesiastes {1:9} "That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. {1:10} Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. {1:11} There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after."

Have you ever felt like the situation you are going through is somehow unique, that God never had to deal with the type of circumstances you are facing before you? Well, King Solomon in the verses I quoted assures us that there is nothing unique, everything under the sun, that is on earth, happened previously. God has heard it all, and He has dealt with it all before; there is nothing new under the sun that God has not heard or dealt with. Nor are our situations beyond God's ability to deal with. He hears our prayers and knows what the answer or solution is even before we ask.

Isaiah {65:24} "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear."

This means that God anticipates our necessities, and in love, lays the foundation for granting our needs before we even ask. God is omniscient and knows the end before the beginning. He knows the hearts of man and He knows those who are His. He can read the thoughts of the hearts of all His created beings and His plan to redeem those that trust in Him was formulated before the foundation of the world.

What a comfort and joy it is to know that God knows and understands the deepest longings of our heart and hears and answers our prayers even before the request forms in our hearts or crosses our lips. He also provides the answer that He has deemed best for us, that is why Yeshua taught us to pray "Your will be done, not mine."

From Ellen...

Hi Ellen here…I'm sure you all have heard the old adage "use it or lose it". Its practical meaning is that we must continually use and practice an ability which we possess. A good example is working out, you know… exercise! If we discontinue an exercise regime our physical body will suffer, it will lose strength and endurance.

When reading the Victory Bible plan the other day, we were in the book of Mark, specifically chapter 4 and verses 24-25, it said…. {4:24} "Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. {4:25} For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." When I read this, for at least the 30th time now over the years, it spoke, that in hearing the Word we must apply the Word. The more we hear the Word and do it, the more of the Word we will receive and retain. But if we hear the Word and do not use it, we will lose it! All that we have heard from the Lord will be diminished if we do not apply it daily. So, if you have not been keeping up with reading, praying, witnessing and serving…WATCH OUT because if you do not use it, you will LOSE IT!

Visit our blog for more teaching and to view previous Torah commentaries:

https://weeklyparasha02.blogspot.com/

DONATE

Please consider supporting the ministry to Kenya and Israel. In Kenya, for the poor and orphans and in Israel for the elderly poor and sick.

If you do not have PayPal and would prefer using another donation method, please contact me and I will send you other options.

Please meet Eugene, Brian, and Matara from the orphanage, pictured below.

Eugene, on the left and Brian, pictured on the right are orphans who were sent to us by a local church pastor. Matara is the son of the orphanage's director. The three are best friends.

  

Yours in Messiah Yeshua; our Lord, our God, our soon coming King.
Rabbi Jack & Ellen

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Parasha Commentary

Sermon of the week "Putting Off the Old Self"