December 2015
Newsletter - eShmooze
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Messiah's Miracle Birth
Of all the miracles which the Bible attributes to God, it seems the virgin birth of Messiah arouses the most controversy. However, the same Bible that reveals who God is also speaks of the virgin birth. Some question whether this can be considered a scientific fact since it cannot be observed nor repeated. But what miracle can be? The virgin birth of Messiah is simply another unique and miraculous work of God!
An Issue of Miracles
Miracles may be irrelevant for those who dismiss the possibility of God. But if God is even a possibility, then so are miracles. “Still,” you might think, “the virgin birth is hard to believe.” Actually, though, it depends on how big your God is! For the One who is the Creator of all, no miracle is too difficult, and thus, no miracle should be dismissed out of hand.
Moreover, for the Jewish people, miracles are the only rationale for our own existence. After all, if left to the preferences of the Egyptians and Pharaoh, the Persians and Haman, or the Nazis and Hitler, we Jews wouldn’t be here at all! Yet while other ancient peoples have come and gone (do you know any Hittites?), the Jewish people remain. God promised to keep us as a people, and miraculously He has done it.
Miraculous births are a big part of our story. God decided to bless the world through a people by whom the Messiah would come (Gen. 12:3). God chose to use Abraham and Sarah, and as the Scriptures teach us, Abraham was old, and Sarah was barren (Gen. 11:30). God purposely chose to begin a nation through this one elderly couple who couldn’t even have children!
Far from being a problem, this was the point. If the promise of God would effectively bless the world, then it would take the power of God to make it happen. And miracle of miracles, Isaac was born. Isaac then married Rebecca. She too was barren, but again God intervenes (Gen. 25:21). And again with Jacob and Rachel, who was also barren (Gen. 29:31) For her, again, God miraculously provided a miracle birth (Gen. 30:22-24).
To recap, biblical history shows that the existence of the Jewish people is based upon miracle births from God. So rather than seem abnormal, it should be expected that the Jewish Messiah should have a miracle birth. After all, shouldn’t we expect the most unusual Person in the universe to have a most unusual entrance into the world? His unique nature would actually require it!
The Prophecy of a Virgin Birth
Through the prophets, God told us to expect a virgin birth for the Messiah. Even at the very first Messianic prophecy, we see this same hope: “And I will put enmity between you (Satan) and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
God promised to remove that serpent of old, Satan, the father of lies and anti-Semitism, through the Redeemer, who would come from ‘the seed’ of the woman. This is God’s first attention-grabbing clue: a woman would be the instrument of Messiah’s coming.
In the prophet Isaiah we read Messiah’s prophetic birth announcement, first given to King Ahaz when he refused to answer God and ask Him for a sign:
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
Some say that the word ‘virgin’ is not an accurate translation of the Hebrew word here, almah. Yet in the Hebrew Scriptures, the word almah is used seven times (Gen. 24:43; Ex. 2:8; Prov. 30:18; Ps. 68:25; Song of Sol. 1:3; 6:8), each time speaking of young women who have not had sexual relations.
In the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek for the first time. According to tradition, this was done by seventy rabbis (which accounts for the name of the translation: Septuagint, meaning “70.”) These rabbis translated almah as parthenos, or “virgin.” This was centuries before Messiah and thus objective, rightly used by the New Covenant (Matthew 1:23). There is no solid ground for thinking ‘virgin’ to be an inaccurate reading of the Isaiah text.
What’s in a Name?
But, why does the prophecy in Isaiah 7 say the Messiah’s name will be “Immanuel” rather than “Yeshua”? The Hebrew Scriptures tell us many times about the Messiah, each revealing Him by a different “name.” In Isaiah 9:5(6), His name is called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince Of Peace.” In Jeremiah 23:6, He is called “the Lord our Righteousness.” In Isaiah 7:14 it is “Immanu El.” As opposed to a “given name,” each of these names describe some quality of God’s nature or character.
Immanu El (two words) simply means “God is with us.” God will neither leave us nor forsake us in our sins, for Messiah, the hope of the House of David, will come.
We have, by faith in Messiah, the eternal relationship with God which our lives desperately need. For in Messiah Yeshua, “God is with us!”
Isaiah told wicked King Ahaz that “if you will not believe you will not be established” (Isaiah 7:9). The same is true for each of us. Let us have faith in the God of Israel’s greatest miracle, Messiah, that we may be eternally established before Him.
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Life from Dry Ground
As we remember our Messiah’s miracle birth, we consider another kind of miracle birth that God is performing today: the birth of new Messianic congregations. Each new congregation is a miracle, for each is a work of God, beyond human ability. Yet, in each of these miracles, God chooses to work through human instruments. What type of people does God utilize in His work? People like Miriam (aka Mary), Yeshua’s mother.
If it were up to one of us to choose the person who would become the mother of the Son of God, Miriam, an ordinary young Jewish woman with no experience in being a mother, probably would not have been our first choice. However, Miriam was exactly the type of person that God was looking for: a humble person of faith.
A person’s level of experience does not define their potential. In fact, the best congregation planters are not people of experience but people of faith, who don’t lean on their own understanding or experience but trust God. At Word of Messiah Ministries, we are doing all we can to encourage and equip these great men of God who are stepping out in faith in order to plant new Messianic congregations. One way that we do this is through our “Growing Healthy Messianic Congregations” conferences which are held each year in strategic areas throughout the US.
This October, Sam conducted one of these conferences in San Antonio, TX, for new congregation planters and established Messianic leaders. Through the conference, the new planters were trained and equipped in the first steps they must take in order to see their congregations established on solid biblical footing. The established Messianic leaders were given assessment tools to guide them in the development of their congregations, so they can leverage areas of strength in order to address what is weak. All were encouraged and challenged to renew their vision and to look to Yeshua, the only One who can give us what we need to fulfill our calling.
Throughout the weekend, there was much collaboration as the leaders came together for a common purpose. Several of the leaders who attended have expressed their thoughts from the conference:
“This conference was phenomenal and a great learning experience for our congregation. It was very important for us and impactful as we are an older congregation and really needed “a shot in the arm” regarding a refreshed vision of the place and purpose of a Messianic congregation. I appreciated the focus on discipleship and the practical guidance in how to move forward in implementing the things learned at the conference in our congregation.”[Rabbi Randy Shapiro, Congregation Beth Simcha, San Antonio, TX]
“For someone who’s not yet in congregational leadership, Sam provided a roadmap for how to get there, backed with tremendous amounts of experience and expertise.”[Jack N.]
“This conference was very helpful for me as a Messianic leader. The most important thing I got from it is the vital importance of prayer and discipleship for people in the congregation.
I would definitely recommend other Messianic leaders to attend future WMM conferences. When we as leaders start thinking we understand everything and are ok running things on our own, this is dangerous. Sam’s ability to relate and apply Scripture to the matter of how to build and structure a Messianic congregation is excellent.”[Billy Washburn, Shearit Yisrael, Poteet, TX]
Praise God for the many blessings experienced in San Antonio! Now we are looking forward to what God has for us next: an opportunity to conduct a “Growing Healthy Messianic Congregations” conference in Phoenix, AZ, from January 23-25.
What kind of miracle birth are we looking for in the Phoenix area? Though the Southwest can be seen primarily as a place of “dry ground,” we believe that God is able to accomplish a great work there, even as He brought Messiah up as a “root out of dry ground” (Isaiah 53:2). Yeshua was both fully human and fully divine. Every congregation is born fully human, but must depend on God in order to live out their calling. Like Messiah, every congregation plant is born in order to bring sinners to the Lord and to make disciples. In order to do this, every congregation planter must be a person of:
1- Vision
Just as God gave us His vision of what He’d be doing in the world through Messiah, so Messianic congregation planters cast vision for their community. The most effective leaders are those who have faith to see what is not yet there – to envision a congregation where the Body of Messiah lives out the values of the Head, Yeshua. Vision is key to overseeing the work of congregation planting and needs to be kept alive so people can catch it. Through healthy congregations, we grow into Yeshua and live out His burden, to “seek and to save the lost” (Lk. 19:10), making disciples of every nation (Acts 1:8).
2- Prayer
Prayer is vital to undergird the work of congregation planting. Indeed, “We have not because we ask not” (Jacob (James) 4:2). Just as Messiah ever lives to make intercession for us, so we live out our calling as believers depending on Him.
3- Action
Just as the Holy Spirit planted a supernatural seed in Miriam, we plant spiritual seeds of the Good News, believing that God will bring about the harvest He has promised, a remnant according to His gracious choice (Rom. 11:5). The same God who kept His promise of bringing Messiah, the Head, into the world has also promised to bring the Body – those who will believe in Him. Healthy Messianic congregations make contacts in order to make disciples in order to grow members who will become leaders who make more contacts and more disciples.
Through our conferences and coaching, we stand by these courageous congregation planters and leaders, ministering to them so that they can more effectively minister to others, in order to see many more people, Jew and Gentile alike, become disciples of Yeshua!
Please pray that the work of God in Phoenix will move forward through this conference, so that the desert may become a blooming field, white unto harvest.
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Sam will be Speaking:
December 6, 10:00 am - Eastside Church, Charlotte, NC
December 13, 11:00 am - Covenant Baptist Church, Lancaster, SC
December 20, 11:00 am - Asaville Baptist Church, Anderson, SC
To schedule a speaker click here or call 704.544.1948
"A Season for Miracles"
+"Christmas Through Jewish Eyes"
3 Audio Messages: Mp3 Bundle
"A Season for Miracles": Usually, the holidays of Hanukkah and Christmas arrive around the same time of year. In John 10, we see how Yeshua (Jesus) utilized Hanukkah in His ministry to speak of Himself as the "Greater Maccabee," one who would bring deliverance not merely politically, but spiritually. In Micah 5:2, we read about the humble birthplace of One who would be "ruler in Israel," and the glorious role of humility in God's plan. This is indeed a "Season for Miracles" as we consider the birth and life that Messiah humbly lived for us.
"Christmas through Jewish Eyes": Walk with Sam Nadler, a Jewish follower of Yeshua (Jesus), through Isaiah 9:1-6, one of the most striking Messianic prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures. What do these verses mean and how are they fulfilled by Messiah Yeshua? Grow deeper in your love of Yeshua during this season as you study His coming as the Jewish Messiah, and how as He fulfilled these credentials, He became Savior of the world.
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www.wordofmessiah.org
704-544-1948
shmooze@wordofmessiah.org
Word of Messiah Ministries
PO Box 79238
Charlotte, North Carolina 28271, United States
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