Wishful Thinking
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I heard about this airplane that was about to crash. There were four passengers, but only three parachutes. The first passenger said "I'm a leading heart surgeon. My patients need me. He grabbed the first parachute and jumped.
The second passenger said "I'm a rocket scientist. One of the smartest men in the world. My country needs me. He took the second parachute and jumped.
The third passenger was an aging Rabbi. He said to the fourth passenger, a ten year old boy "son I'm old and frail, God has given me a good life, you take the last parachute." The Boy said "That's okay sir, there's still two parachutes left. The world's smartest man just jumped out of the plane with my back-pack.
Ha-Foke Bah
Ha-Foke Bah
For many people, the discussion about this passage of the Year of Jubilee amounts to trying figure out dates on calendars so that they can calculate …? I am not sure what they want to calculate. I think this is a great thing to do if you are living in the land of Israel and sitting as a lawmaker trying to bring Israel back to Torah observance. Good luck with that by the way.
For me, the year of Jubilee represents more than a date on the calendar. It represents so much more that. It represents God’s desire to give people a second chance at having His best. People who faced financial hardship or even complete and total financial ruin are given an opportunity to restart, to begin again and to do things differently for a next generation.
It is also represents a challenge. It is also God’s challenge to give back to others what we feel now belongs to us.
The year of Jubilee is both obedience and faith, commitment and grace, second chances and radical actions.
Today I want to talk to you from my heart about this passage. There are so many amazing spiritual principles to draw from this passage and I just want to give you my top 4.
These are my hopes for you, my wishful thinking for you.
It will make your family stronger, most important relationships better. It will make your faith journey more exciting. If your spiritual life has gotten boring. There may be more wrong with you than the faith.
It is not point 1 times 4.
I really wish for you not matter where you are in life or age, I wish for you,
A Courageous Act of Obedience That Costs you Something.
1: Lev 25:13, 18
“In this Year of Jubilee each of you will return to his property.
“Therefore you are to keep My statutes and observe My ordinances, and carry them out, so that you may live securely in the land.
You may not wish this for you but I do. This is a nudge but not just any nudge.This is a divine nudge that is prompting you to do something contrary to what you would normally do. Not some carnal nudge that tempts God. This is not foolishness. Not quitting your job marrying the first person who walks out the door.
Deep
This is how you grow deep with the Messiah. Growing deep is not information, it is doing more, it is transformation that results from obedience to God.
This is my Grandfather’s faith.
Lauren’s grandmother’s faith.
Deep - When you can’t touch the bottom. Obedience with no guaranteed outcome.
You will not need to worry about people asking you “have I prayed.” Are you kidding. I am deep right now, better bet I am praying. Better bet I am reading the Bible. Better bet I am leaning into God.
When you talk about this courageous act, this going deep. It will be a stake in the ground. You will cry when you say it. It will be the reason why you tell people you believe in God,
If you go to long ignoring those internal nudges. Your faith will get stale. It will get boring. You will have a flat faith. What makes you rich and joyful in faith is going deep, it is doing not learning. Yeshua’s initial invitation was not “come and learn from me” but “come and follow me.” Do something different.
This is why this is so important to me. Share story…Some of it???
Example of Stepping out on Faith: What about…
When you go deep. Let me tell you something. Everything will start to connect. Worship will light up. Prayer will become important. You step out no-one is going to have to tell you…
The older you get. The wealthier you get. You will ignore those nudges by writing checks.
Some of you have a relationship that you need to end. It is toxic. Your friends have told you to leave, time to go.
When you get out of that relationship your relationship with God is going to light up. This relationship has been distracting you from God and God has been nudging you, he is on your case because he loves you.
Some of you need to take a year off of dating and work on your field.
Felt that Nudge: Eduardo and Paulina. Evan and Penny. Gary and Artice. Terrance and Susan. Nicole and Kara. Name others.
You are surrounded by people who said “yes” to God and followed that internal nudge. That prompting of God.
The thrill of knowing you were instrumental in a Jewish person’s decision to follow Yeshua.
The Outsider Submitting to God’s Law as a witness: Lev 25:47, 53-54
“If an outsider or sojourner with you becomes rich, while your brother beside him has become poor and sells himself to the outsider dwelling among you or to a member of the outsider’s family,
He will stay with him as a hired worker, year by year. But he is not to rule with harshness over him in your sight. Even if he is not redeemed by these means, then he will still be released in the Year of Jubilee—he and his children with him.
I want you to have the thrill of seeing someone move from curious to crying out to God to cutting their teeth on the Word of God with you. Your faith will sky rocket. You will be deep. That memory will be emotional for you for the rest of your life. It will keep you stable when things seem out of control.
Deep - When you can’t touch the bottom. Obedience with no guaranteed outcome.
Some of you have been around so long you don’t have any friends who don’t know God. Some of you need to get involved with our youth or children. Some of you have like 0 relationships with any lost people.
Wide - When you can’t see the end of the horizon. Faith assures your heart of what your eyes cannot see.
The freedom and joy that come from organizing your financial world around Give, Save, Live
Give, Save, Live Principle Lev 25:18-24
“Therefore you are to keep My statutes and observe My ordinances, and carry them out, so that you may live securely in the land.
Then the land will yield its fruit, and you may eat your fill and live there in safety.
Now if you ask: What are we to eat during the seventh year if, see, we are not to sow, nor gather in our increase?
Now I will command My blessing to you in the sixth year, so that it will yield a harvest sufficient for three years.
When you sow during the eighth year, you will still be eating the old, stored harvest until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.
“Moreover, the land is not to be sold permanently, because the land is Mine. For you are sojourners with Me.
For any land you possess, you are to provide for redemption of the land.
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I want you to have all the stuff you need and some of the stuff you want. I just don’t want your stuff to control you. Your stuff reflects who you are. If your stuff is just about you. Your stuff screams out, “Who is in control fo your life” (Matt 6:21).
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
You want your heart in a different place put your money in a different place.
God never has access to all of you and all of me until he has access to all we have.
Must of you don’t have a spending plan: you know what that is it is called a budget.
If you start with a giving plan, you will end up with a spending plan.
If our congregation can start with this, if we can build this into every new family, do you know where this thing is going to go.
Lauren and I are trying to pump you guys up to get more money. I have only had one month where I took the full salary the Board of Beth El Shalom said I could have because I want this thing to work. Lauren took a job as a Dental Hygienist because she believes in this. This is not a gimmick. We are sold out for this.
If you are believer and you do not have a giving plan. You are missing out on God’s full blessing for your life. I want every single one of us to learn the Jubilee principle: Give first, save second, live on the rest.
4:Why talk about idolatry: Lev 26:1-2?
“You are not to make idols for yourselves, nor raise up an engraved image or a standing-stone, or place any carved stone in your land to bow down to it. For I am Adonai your God.
“You are to keep My Shabbatot and have reverence for My Sanctuary. I am Adonai.
With laws like these the average Israelite would be tempted to say, “this land belongs to Asherah and not Adonai” therefore these laws do not apply. This did happen in time and we know the land was lost for lack of observance of land Shabbat and the idolatry.
That you could see the difference your commitment and generosity has made and will make in lives all over the world.
Online audience.
Every pastor who has been scarred, hurt, cut off and abandoned.
I get the letters. I get the personal conversations.
People you will never meet and never visit will return to Messiah because of your engagement. Because of your involvement.
5: To those who are not followers of Messiah yet, hurt, skeptical, doubting but leaning in this direction: I wish that you would keep seeking, asking and knocking and not stop.
You would take a step before you believe. You can follow until you believe. You can follow while you get the answers. Yeshua said to men who knew nothing, “Follow Me” he did not say Know this then Do This. He said, “Follow Me” and then he spend three years answering all their questions.
My hearts desire for you is that you will not give up the journey.
These days the question that I get asked the most is, “Michael, why don’t you just do something else?” Haven’t you heard the rumors?
No one is more grateful for all that has taken place than me. No one is more aware that is not about me than me. What this congregation has done and is doing.
We are continuing a conversation that began in Leviticus 24, continues in and