Parashot Matot-Masei (Tribes - Journeys)

From Rabbi Jack...

Matthew {5:37} "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one."

Basically, what Yeshua is saying here is; Keep It Simple. Why did He say this? Because He was speaking to a group of hypocritical religious leaders. However, we too have a tendency to be hypocritical, so Yeshua is also instructing us to keep it simple by letting our 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and our 'No' mean 'No'. In other words, we are not to exaggerate and we are not to lie because anything beyond being truthful, Yeshua says, comes from the devil.

John {8:44} "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."

So, when we lie, we are speaking the Satan's language and becoming like him.

Do you remember when we were kids and we wanted to be sure someone was telling us the truth? We would ask them, "Do you swear to God?" or we would ask them say "Honest to God." Of course, they would say it and would still be lying.

We do the same thing as adults. We say, "As God is my witness" or "honest to God" yet we may still be lying or exaggerating. In court we are asked to place our hand on the Bible and swear that we will "Tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." But the reality is, taking that kind of oath will not make a dishonest person any more likely to tell the truth, and the lack of an oath on the Bible will not make an honest person any less likely to tell a lie.

This passage of Scripture as given to us by Yeshua is not an injunction against taking an oath in court. Rather it is a commandment to keep our lives free from elaborate oaths and schemes to assure others that we are indeed telling the truth. Yeshua is telling us to live simple, speak simply and to tell the simple truth. If we are people who have an honest character then we will not need to swear or promise to make others believe us, our character will be our oath and it will speak for itself.

Hi Ellen here...

It's a tough world out there and sometimes it is easier to be tough than to be Messiah like! As believers in Yeshua, we are to be like Him. God wants to give us the power to talk like him, live like Him and think like Him but we have to be willing to allow Him to do so. God would like His Word to come out of our mouths into a sin sickened world and our responses to it be His and not ours…mmm, sounds like self-control. This is one fruit that I deal with every day. Please pray for me in this area. We should strive to love everyone as God loves us! This world desperately needs healing and we can be a doctor of sorts. When we respond to a family member in anger; because remember not all our family members may be saved, we radiate the world and not the Messiah. When our children or spouse looks at us do they see wickedness, rage, even hatred or do they see love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, patience and yes self-control? Let's feast together on good fruit and throw out the rotten fruit today!

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 "Precious in His sight"

Mini teaching "Nothing but the Blood"

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Parasha Pinchas (Phineas)

From Rabbi Jack...

Exodus {15:22} "So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. {15:23}  Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Marah. {15:24} And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" {15:25} So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them, …."

It is obvious that God brought the children of Israel to Marah to test them. God is always going to test His children. The Children of Israel had already seen the miracle of the ten plagues, the miracle of the gifts bestowed on them by the Egyptians, the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh's army in the sea. Now, after wandering about for a while in the wilderness their water was running low, they were thirsting, their cattle were thirsting and, in the distance, they saw a pool of water only to arrive and find that the water was undrinkable. From the Scripture passages we can see two opposite end results of testing. The children of Israel complained and received no revelation from God and Moses prayed and the Lord gave Him the solution to the problem. There is not a problem or a test that God does not have the solution for, however, if all we do is complain He will never reveal it to us; try praying instead!

Hi Ellen here…

I was reading and thinking on the Scripture in Matthew concerning coming to Yeshua like a little child.  Kids, we love them and their innocence and we are a little envious of it!  Children have such freedom in the spirit and in the physical. What I am trying to express is that children are humble, forgiving, not seeking a position higher than who they just are.  They are trusting that their parents and siblings will protect them and instruct them in the way they should go and not lead them astray.  I remember as a child my oldest sister would take care of me as if I were her child.  My middle sister and I played and shared together and our parents did not put stumbling blocks in our paths that we should fall.  This is how we should come to Yeshua. 

What I would like to say to you today is this…stop analyzing and contriving everything, stop seeking to be someone else because God made you as you are and He loves you so much!  Shed the skin of the world.  Don't worry about what you should eat or what you should wear.  Stop and give it to God and come to Him as His little child.

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 "Under the Sun"

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Parasha Balak

From Rabbi Jack...

Proverbs {3:5} "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; {3:6} In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."

This Scripture passage recently came alive in our lives. The other week I reported that I had lost my wallet. It was a daunting experience, not because of the loss but because I would have to replace everything I lost. Ellen and I retraced the most likely place it may have fallen out of my tote bag – Assuta Hospital in Ashdod. We checked with the receptionist, we checked with the doctor, with no results. Despite the loss, however, we were at total peace. Yes, though I may not have known where my wallet was, God did. Therefore, I needed not to set my mind on the loss but on the good that God was going to accomplish through its loss.

Wednesday July the 6th a God incident happened. Our Israeli daughter (she adopted us), had a friend that was going to Assuta for a test. She had someone who was going to accompany her but at the last minute that person was unable to go. So, our daughter, who had no reason to go to Assuta and who was available only because it was her day off, offered to join her. While at the hospital, knowing that was the place I most likely lost my wallet, she took a shot and went to the security office to inquire. Sure enough, my wallet was there. Security had my wallet for days and could have very easily contacted me, but did not. It is so encouraging how God worked out all the circumstances in getting our daughter to Assuta, she was the last person we expected to find my wallet.

What good came from this loss? First, both our daughter and we experienced firsthand God's leading and intervention in our lives; our daughter was able to help a friend in need and whoever found my wallet, most likely a cleaning maintenance person, was blessed with the money they found.

We may never get to meet the person who found and turned in my wallet to security, but I believe that God wanted this perfect stranger, someone I would have never met or otherwise helped, to have the money which perhaps they desperately needed. We give God all the Glory!

Hi Ellen here…

I have spoken to you all before concerning what the world has to offer and I reiterate, "All that glitters is not gold"!

Well, today let us talk about hearing and reading. We all know that rock music, especially heavy metal, contains satanic messages. As I was growing up everyone would say of that super talented group, The Beatles, that one of their albums carried subliminal messages, if you played it backwards! Just to make sure, I will give the definition of subliminal; "Perceived by or affecting someone's mind without them being aware of it"…Oh my goodness that is scary. It is not the music that is bad but the spirit behind the music. For example, heavy metal music, if you can call it music, has a satanic spirit!

Now, I will share something that maybe you have not thought of. Hearing or reading messages or teachings from unbelieving religious scholars, although they may seem insightful and harmless, carry an anti-Messiah spirit and really have no place in a Believer's life. Even the most dedicated Believer cannot, at times, discern between spirits when reading or listening to Jewish teaching, insights and commentaries. I have received unbeliever's TED podcasts from friends saying; "Oh you have to hear this amazing message," no I do not! Now, do not be fooled because even some Pastors and Messianic Rabbis are not always spot on with lining up with the Word and Spirit of God.

Brothers and sisters, now is the time to grow up and sharpen the gifts we've already been given…wisdom, knowledge and discerning of spirits. If you want to receive deeper insight into the Word then ask HIM, for our God is a generous and loving God.

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Listen to Commentary

Sermon of the week "Gift of eternal life"

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Parasha Chukat (Statute)

From Rabbi Jack...

Crises happen to us all. I do not think there is anyone who does not experience crises in their life with some kind of regularity. I am experiencing a crisis right now. I lost my wallet and besides the money, I lost all the things people usually carry in their wallet; credit cards, identification card, driver license etc. Ellen and I never leave the house without putting on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-18), so one would think that a crisis, like losing your wallet, would be covered by God. The thing is God uses crises to test where our hearts and loyalties lie.

Colossians {3:2} "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. {3:3} For you died, and your life is hidden with Messiah in God."

If I truly died to myself and my life is hidden in Messiah in God, then I did not lose my wallet, God lost my wallet and if He lost my wallet then He had a plan and a purpose for losing it. Yes, though I may not know where my wallet is, God does. Therefore, I need not set my mind on the loss of my wallet but on the good that God is going to accomplish through it because of its loss.

Romans {8:28} "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Barring me finding my wallet or someone returning it to me, I will have to go through the process of replacing the documents I lost. However, because I am dead but now live in Messiah, I can go about the process anticipating a blessing and who knows, maybe the person who found my wallet was blessed by finding the money. Moral of the story; when crises strike, and they will, be encouraged because your life is not your own it is hidden with Messiah in God and He has you covered!

Hi Ellen here…

Why should this week in the news be any different than last week in the news? Good question but the answers differ. Everyone is talking about the chaotic conditions at airports yet everyone is travelling. Last week as we ended Shabbat services with our friends in Toronto, someone prayed for these conditions to cease in the Name of Yeshua and we all said AMEN!

As I write all these things to you a friend who travelled last week from Israel to Wales sent Jack and I serene countryside pictures. Just the other day I looked at the parking lot from our balcony while a family disembarked from an airport van with huge checked luggage as they entered the apartment building across the way from ours. Seems everyone is travelling. My good friend and her husband sent us gorgeous pictures of snow capped mountains in Colorado as the temperatures rise each day here in Israel. Friends of ours are now vacationing in a lodge in Finland. Everyone is complaining but everyone is travelling! I will end this stream of words with Scripture, Daniel {12.4} says…" But you Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge will increase."

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Watch commentary

Sermon of the week "A living sacrifice"

Parasha Korah

From Rabbi Jack...

Proverbs {28:13} "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."

You would not think so, but many Believers in Messiah Yeshua delay in confessing their sin. Yes Believers sin, we all sin in one way or another; an evil thought, an idle word, a wanton look, failing to honor God, sins of omission, unintentional sin and so on. We are not immune from sin. We may no longer be sinners but we still sin. So, we must confess whether we know we committed a sin or not; confession should be standard procedure for a Believer.

A measure of the spiritual maturity of a Believer is the time distance between a sin and confession. The shorter the distance the more mature the Believer. Our goal as Believers in Messiah Yeshua should be confession the minute we sin or the minute we realize we have sinned; it is a Biblical directive. By being disobedient to the commandments of God we invite hell into our lives and into our homes. Confession is good for the soul and it clears and frees up our conscience and our life.

Hello Ellen here…

Jack and I moved to Toronto in 1995 to lead CMY. It was so cold and coming from sunny Florida, it hit us like a brick wall. We began the Lord's ministry and started to meet many people. One of our congregants set up a lunch meeting with a well-known man in Christian circles. Yes, a very interesting fellow and knowledgeable as well. What I am getting to is that at lunch he told us something very interesting as we talked about things to come and the return of Yeshua. He told us about his two daughters, ages 3 and 5 at the time, that he has enrolled in language school to be fluent in Mandarin. We asked why Mandarin and he replied that he believed this was our future. Yes, China has moved into many nations but our God is way bigger than China and we pray for the Believers there. Why am I sharing this? He was preparing his family for what he thought was their future. We do not agree with him about China.

Are you prepared? Are you preparing your family for the coming onslaught? Are you preparing for the return of Yeshua? Listen…if this man could do what he did you can do better. Be prayed up and most of all I say to all heads of households, pray with your families, pray over your spouse and your children, put on the full armor of the God most High, plead the blood of Yeshua over your homes and your lives and follow His lead not mans! This is so important - please…!

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 "Bought at a price"

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