January 2016 - Newsletter - eShmooze
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"God's Heart, Our Heart"
As we grow in our walk with the Lord, our priorities change to match those of our God, and we find ourselves rejoicing as He rejoices, and weeping as He weeps. We see this in Paul's letter to the Romans where, in just a few short verses, Paul goes from declaring the pinnacle of all promises ("Nothing can separate us from the love of God in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah."[Romans 8:39)], to the depths of despair ("with unceasing anguish in my heart"[Romans 9:2)]. What brought Paul to this point?
As we grow in our walk with the Lord, our priorities change to match those of our God, and we find ourselves rejoicing as He rejoices, and weeping as He weeps. We see this in Paul’s letter to the Romans where, in just a few short verses, Paul goes from declaring the pinnacle of all promises (“Nothing can separate us from the love of God in our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.” – Romans 8:39), to the depths of despair (“with unceasing anguish in my heart” – Romans 9:2). What brought Paul to this point?
To understand, let us briefly consider the theme of the book of Romans: “the righteousness of God revealed” (Romans 1:17). How does God reveal His righteous character? Through the Good News. God’s character is seen as He graciously saves lost people through their faith in the sacrifice of Messiah. This message was not something that Paul formulated just for the Romans, but rather the message he preached everywhere he went. This teaching was his way of introducing himself to Roman believers whom he had never met before (15:22-23). However, as Paul preached, some were hostile to his teaching. In fact, Paul received many charges and allegations which he addresses in his letter to the Romans (3:9, 6:1, etc.).
What about the Jews?
The most grievous of these charges is expressed in Romans 11:1: “I ask then, has God rejected His people?” In light of the number of Jewish people who had not yet accepted Yeshua, some were asking the question, “What about the Jews?” This allegation is of such significance that, if left unanswered, would undermine the validity of the Good News.
Why is this charge so serious? Because it questions the very character of God. All throughout the Old Covenant, we see God’s promised salvation to Israel (Joel 3, Zechariah 12-14, Isaiah 61, etc.). If all of these promises are null and void because of Israel’s unbelief, why would any of us believe a promise from such a God? After all, if a car salesman sold you a lemon, would you want to buy another car from him? Through Romans 9-11, Paul dives into this topic, arriving at the conclusion that No, “God will not forsake His people,” (Romans 11:1) but that one day, as spoken by the prophets, “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).
The Plight of Israel
This brings us back to Paul’s sorrowful declaration in Romans 9:2. Because Paul believed God’s unending promises, he had a great burden for his fellow Jewish people who were currently still in darkness, unwilling to accept God’s only provision of salvation in Messiah. Although Paul was called to be an “apostle to the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13), he writes emphatically of his sincere love and burden for Israel.
The love of God cuts both ways. If you are a believer in Yeshua, nothing can separate you from God’s love, and as such, you are “joined at the hip with God,” the pain that touches His heart now touching yours as well. If Messiah’s love constrains your heart, then you too will share in His burden, weeping over Jerusalem, even as Yeshua wept (Luke 19:41), and continues to weep to this day. Paul shared this burden for his people, and even though he had frequently been the recipient of persecution from them, he expressed, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation.” (Romans 10:1) This is where real spiritual confidence comes from: if we will weep with God, we will pray to God, and then we will hope in God according to His sure promises. Thus, we are “more than conquerors through Him who loved us!” (Romans 8:37)
"The Passion of God"
Some might think, “Who has the time to care for something else; I have all the burdens I can bear already.” Though it is true that we live in a busy, difficult world, when the love of God sincerely constrains your heart and the sorrow of that love moves your heart, you will find the time to pray, the money to give, and the strength to do. Paul went so far as to state, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Messiah for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:3). Paul knew that only Messiah could die for sins, but he felt as Moses did for Israel’s plight (Exodus 32:32). This explains how he could “die daily” (1 Corinthians 15:31), and “spend and be spent” for the sake of the Good News (2 Corinthians 12:15). The love of God constrained his heart and fulfilled his life.
If, like Paul, you are called to the Gentiles, and may have had little experience with Jewish people, you can still join God in His burden. That is, if the love of Messiah constrains your heart. A love for Jewish people is not only for people like Paul, or for those serving in Jewish ministry, but for all believers willing to open their heart to the passion of God who says of Israel, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people” (Romans 10:21). All day long, God is beseeching His people to return to Him. “Come back, O Israel, back to the God who loves you!”
But how will Jewish people today see God’s hands? Through God’s people! If your heart is yielded to God’s heart, then your hands will serve as His hands to reach out to Jewish people and to all people around you as you demonstrate the great love of God and His faithfulness to His promises. “God will never forsake His people whom He foreknew!” (Romans 11:2)
---------------------"A Year of Blessing"
As we move into 2016, we want to stop and say thank you to all who have prayed for us this past year! This has been a wonderful year filled with blessings and open doors from the Lord, and we are thankful for how He has brought the increase as we have brought the Good News "to the Jew first and equally to the Gentile."
We have much to praise God for as we look back on 2015...
As we move into 2016, we want to stop and say thank you to all who have prayed for us this past year! This has been a wonderful year filled with blessings and open doors from the Lord, and we are thankful for how He has brought the increase as we have brought the Good News “to the Jew first and equally to the Gentile.”
We have much to praise God for as we look back on 2015:
Last February, we traveled to Israel in order to conduct leadership training seminars, assist Messianic congregations, and minister to the congregation planters and leaders who are faithfully serving the Lord in the Land. As many are coming to faith in Israel, we are thrilled for the opportunities God has given us to train existing leaders and help raise up new ones so that more Israelis will be reached with the Good News through the testimony of local Messianic congregations who are proclaiming God’s faithfulness.
The Hebrew translation of our Messianic Discipleship book continues to be used by congregations throughout Israel. Recently, we received this encouraging note from one of these congregations: “Shalom Sam, I go to Kerem El congregation in Haifa, and we’re using your great discipleship material to help follow up with new believers here.” Praise God for this congregation and for many more like them who are taking the time to help new believers become rooted and grounded in their Messianic faith through discipleship.
Opportunities for ministry this year have been both global and local.
Each year, we have the opportunity to share the Good News with hundreds of people through outreaches for each of the Feasts of the Bible, from Passover through the Feast of Tabernacles, as well as outreaches for other special days such as Purim, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and Hanukkah. We praise the Lord for the many Jewish and non-Jewish people who have given their life to Yeshua as a result of these outreaches. We are currently following up with discipleship for several of these new believers, and are excited to see them grow to be great men and women of God as they put God’s Word into practice in their lives.
This year we have also seen growth at the congregation plants with whom we are working. In the past couple months, two of our congregations, Hope of Israel Monroe, NC, and Roanoke, VA, have transitioned from meeting monthly to weekly as they continue to grow and reach out to their communities. We continue to assist multiple other Messianic congregations around the country and have traveled to visit a couple of them this year in order to help train leaders and give guidance in addressing issues which arise.
As we have been invited to speak at churches nearly every weekend, we have shared God’s burden for the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and have been blessed to see both pastors and individuals take this burden on as their own. Through our training seminars, local believers have been equipped to share Messiah with their Jewish friends and neighbors.
We have also had several opportunities to conduct various training conferences around the country. Messianic leaders were equipped at our “Establishing Healthy Messianic Congregations” conferences, which were held in Tampa, FL, last January, and in San Antonio, TX, in October. Also in October, Miriam encouraged women in our calling to abide in Messiah through her invitation to speak at Beth Messiah Congregation’s sisterhood conference in Columbus, OH. Along with our annual Messianic men’s and women’s conferences, each of these opportunities were occasions for great rejoicing as men and women are stepping up to God’s calling on their lives to serve as leaders, whether in their homes or congregations.
As we praise God for these victories, please continue to pray for us as we move forward into 2016, anticipating the opportunities God is giving us to serve Him here and around the world.
Back to Israel
We are anticipating our upcoming trip to Israel where we will be leading conferences for Messianic planters and leaders across the country. Please pray that the details will come together for this trip and that God will use us to encourage and equip believers there as well as share the Good News as He opens up opportunities.
Ministry in England
This coming fall, we also have been invited to travel to England where we will be conducting leadership training for the growing Messianic community there.
Planting Conferences
At the end of this month, from January 23-25, we will be in Phoenix, AZ, leading another “Growing Healthy Messianic Congregations” conference for planters and leaders from several congregations in the Southwest. Please pray for other conferences that are in the works for this year as we seek to address the needs of Messianic planters and leaders in various regions of the country.
Resource Development
Thank you for praying for our continuing book projects as we work to get more evangelism, leadership, and discipleship materials out to Messianic believers around the world. It is our goal that, Lord willing, an updated version of “Establishing Healthy Messianic Congregations” will be published this winter, along with two more new books, “Messianic Marriage Matters,” and “The Israel Factor” arriving in the coming months.
Translation of our materials continues to move forward through the Russian and Amharic translation of Messianic Discipleship, as well as a Spanish translation in the works.
Again, we cannot thank you enough for your continued prayers and support. Each prayer is of eternal value as we stand together in reaching out as the hands and feet of Messiah to Israel and the nations.
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Sam will be Speaking:
January 3, 10:00 am - Christ for the Nations, Shelby, NC
January 3, 6:00 pm - Flint Hill Baptist, Shelby, NC
January 10, 10:30 am - Mountain Grove Baptist, Hickory, NC
January 17, 9:15 am - Whitnel Pentecostal Holiness Church, Lenoir, NC
January 23-25 - Congregation Planting Conference, Phoenix, AZ
January 31, 11:00 am - Sulphur Springs Baptist, Hiddenite, NC
To schedule a speaker click here or call 704.544.1948
"The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven"
6 Mp3 Audio Messages on the Parables of Messiah
At the beginning of His ministry, Yeshua primarily taught in the local Galilean synagogues and at the Temple in Jerusalem. But when Israel's leaders rejected Him, Messiah took His message to hillsides, lakesides, and homes, where He taught in parables, addressing this question:
"What is the Kingdom of Heaven like?"
In this fascinating study, discover how Yeshua's answer has been played out throughout the history of the Jewish people, the Body of Messiah, and the nations, even to this present day!
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www.wordofmessiah.org
704-544-1948
shmooze@wordofmessiah.org
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Word of Messiah Ministries
PO Box 79238
Charlotte, North Carolina 28271, United States
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