Rosh Hashanah 2021 (2)
Notes
Transcript
Rosh Hashanah
The head of the year
become more in tune with your reality
Investigate your life
a wake up call
Declaration of your year
Yom kippur
Day of atonement
The return
The repentance
Acknowledgment Forgiveness
Judgement of the heart
Turn Receiving your purpose
Walking in it
The blessings that “come on us” are the blessings that God determines for us during Rosh Hashanah. The implication is that these blessings are hanging over us but not yet upon us. They are in storage, so to speak, ready to rain down on us. However, there is work to be done on our part in order to release God’s blessings so that they “accompany us” through the year.
This means daily devotion and service to God. Through our prayer and acknowledgement of God as our provider and sustainer, we open the spigot to our blessings so that they can flow into our lives. We must create this opening each day so that we might receive what is promised to us.
1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.
2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God:
3 Your towns and your fields will be blessed.
4 Your children and your crops will be blessed. The offspring of your herds and flocks will be blessed.
5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards will be blessed.
6 Wherever you go and whatever you do, you will be blessed.
7 “The Lord will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!
8 “The Lord will guarantee a blessing on everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The Lord your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in his ways, the Lord will establish you as his holy people as he swore he would do.
10 Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the Lord, and they will stand in awe of you.
11 “The Lord will give you prosperity in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you, blessing you with many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops.
12 The Lord will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens and will bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.
13 If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom.
14 You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today, nor follow after other gods and worship them.
The Head of the Year
New Year’s Eve is generally a time for celebration. As we sweep out the old and welcome in the New Year, most people celebrate with festive parties, relish the good times as we temporarily escape reality and our everyday lives. However, Rosh Hashanah approach to the New Year is exactly the opposite. Instead of taking a step back from our reality, we zoom in on it. We don’t get lost in the festivities; instead, it’s through the celebration of Rosh Hashanah that we find ourselves.
Rosh Hashanah means - The Head of the Year.”First one they believe was when God said to Adam: ‘Where are you?’ after he sinned by eating the forbidden fruit.” ..... one rabbi “Do you believe that the Scriptures are eternal and that every era, every generation, and every man is included in them?” “Then.... in every era, God asks every person, ‘Where are you in your life? So many years and days of those allotted to you have passed, and how far have you gotten in your life?’”
Every year, in this season God asks us the same question –
We need to take a good look at where we have been and where we plan on going.
We need to answer for the wrong turns we may have made and get back on track to where we want to be.
God already knows where we are – physically and spiritually.
On Rosh Hashanah, we are the ones who need to take notice where we are, and most importantly, determine where we are headed.
❤️A time on reflection
Too often, we go through life in a “slumber,” not really governing what we do or thinking about why we do it.
-we wake up to the reality that every day has an end and so does every life, Only then will we use our time for what matters most.
you can begin afresh and anew
Begin each day as we begin the New Year — with clarity, energy, and a new appreciation for life. Each day, let us love, give, and serve,.
“Help us to remember that our days are numbered, and help us to interpret our lives correctly. Set your wisdom deeply in our hearts so that we may accept your correction.”
Psalms 90:12 TPT
“So teach us to number our days, That we may cultivate and bring to You a heart of wisdom.”
Psalms 90:12 AMP
All year long, we are caught up in the humdrum of life. We begin to forget the purpose of it all.
Once a year we make it a point to remember that we are here for a specific purpose.
During these High Holy Days, we reassess our lives and make any necessary changes.
it is on that day that we define which way our year is headed. When we recognize that God is the King who directs our lives and we adjust our lives to reflect that truth, we will have set the New Year in the right direction.
Where are you?
Where are you?
Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). God already knows the answer. His question really is, “Where are you spiritually?” In other words, God was saying, “Somewhere in-between the time that I created you and now, you veered off the path of righteousness.
-Take a look at where you are and find your way back.”
Means
“to return,” and it also means “answer.” This is because our answer to God’s question, “Where are you?” is to return to the path of righteousness.
From all of God’s creations, humans are the only ones who have the ability to reflect on their lives and do something about it.
We have the ability to raise humanity up to a higher level.
Where am I? Who am I? What needs to change? These are the questions that we need to ask
Happy or Good
Happy or Good
There is a big difference between pursuing a happy life and pursuing a good life. Seeking a happy life is usually focused on getting things for myself. We say, “I’ll be happy when I take that vacation,” or “when I get that new car,” or “when that person treats me better.”
Seeking a good life, on the other hand, is about giving to others. My life is good when I do the right thing, help others
God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Genesis 1:31).
explain that by labeling His creation good, God meant that all He had created fulfilled the purpose for which He had created it.
God created human beings to be givers. We are here to perfect ourselves and perfect the world. When we wish people a “Good Year,” we are wishing them a year filled with purpose, meaning, contribution, and fulfillment.
Physically- De clutter
Physically- De clutter
I make decisions about every single thing that you own. Do we really need it?
Does it serve a good purpose?
If you do a good job, you end up throwing a lot of stuff out.
Spiritually-Repentance
Spiritually-Repentance
Do I really want to behave this way? Do I really want to be that kind of person?
Is this the direction I want my life going in?
We take note of all of the junk cluttering our minds and interfering with our souls and we throw it out! We say to God, “I’m getting rid of all that garbage!”
We recognize that we have done things wrong and we accept our verdict, acknowledging that it is for our own good.
when we are able to take responsibility for our shortcomings on our own, God doesn’t have to correct our behavior for us. Instead, He hands out His love and mercy.
In Deuteronomy 30:19, God tells us: “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
It’s up to us to choose life.
So many of us aren’t really living. Some of us spend our days angry, depressed, resentful, and bitter. We refuse to give life a chance; We refuse to be grateful, loving, or kind.
This is not living! This is not the kind of life that God wants for us. God wants us to choose hope, faith, obedience, and kindness.
God wants us to embrace Him and those around us. How can we dare ask God to select us for the Book of Life, if we ourselves have not chosen life?
2 Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises.
we have an incredible opportunity for forgiveness. But in order for that to happen, we must admit our errors and resolve to be better. We can only do that if we are willing to uncover our greatest shortcomings and confront our hidden vices. We can fool others and even ourselves, but there is no deceiving God.
Yom Kippur - is a time to come clean. We need to take an honest look inside the places that only we can see. We have to determine where we have gone wrong and make amends. Only then can God cleanse us of our sins.
People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7). Let’s de clutter these areas
it’s also about recognizing the good things that we could have done, but didn’t. For those things, we must also ask forgiveness.
We also need to take stock of all our lost opportunities. It’s a time to ask ourselves what our calling is in life, and if we are indeed living up to it.
❤️A time of repentance
We have a clean slate; we are starting life anew. The question is: What will we do with it?
Everyone has some kind of calling — a God-given mission of some sort. But we don’t always fulfill it. We have all kinds of excuses: I’m too old, too young, too prestigious, too poor, too tired, too busy.
Some people know what their mission is from a deep place inside. Others have to look around at what’s broken in the world and then assess what tools they have to help fix it. This week, take time to discover your God-given calling – and then answer it!
Remove distractions:
focus on the goal of the day: To connect with God, regret our mistakes, and regain clarity on our lives. All year long we are distracted
we are souls. On Yom Kippur, we remove the physical distractions and remember who — and what — we really are.
During this week, let’s focus on God and let physicality take a back seat.
Consider how we can reveal more godliness in our lives and live a life that fills.
The three components are:
repentance, prayer, and charity.
why verbal confession is required at all. Why can’t we just think our confession? After all, God knows our thoughts!
The answer is that we don’t confess our sins so that God can hear them. We confess them so that we can hear them.
Speaking is more powerful than thinking. God didn’t think the world into existence; He spoke it into existence. So, too, our words have power.
When we confess our sins, we break down barriers that block us.We let go of toxins that poison our spirit. Most importantly, we engage God in our cleansing process, and it is only He Who can truly purify our souls.
1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!
2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.
4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude
5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude
8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.