Handling Hatred | The Beatitudes

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: We can't allow ourselves to be coddled by the world because we're afraid of standing out. God forbid, someone's going to see me as being different. You are different. The Bible says that we're strangers and aliens in this world, that we're not of this world. Baruchim Haba'im b'Shem Adonai. Welcome, beloved friends, in the name of the Lord. I'm in Israel right now. I'm speaking on the Sermon on the Mount from approximately the same place that Jesus spoke it from. Now, these key truths that I'm pointing out from Jesus's longest sermon in the New Testament are so important, my friends, because practicing the principles on the Sermon on the Mount will allow us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. A lot of people come to Israel because they want to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, right? They want to go on the Via Dolorosa. They want to go to the places that He taught. And that's a great thrill. But what's even more important and more incredible is to practice the principles that He taught. I'm going to jump right in now to where I left off last time. I'm talking about Yeshua promising those that are peacemakers divine happiness. When Yeshua said in the Beatitudes, "Blessed are those," what He's saying is, those that practice this will be made divinely happy. You see, the world offers us all types of supposed answers for happiness, right? But the older I get, the more that I see, my beloved friend, that the things that the world has promised to give happiness, they're not real. They're cheap trinkets. They're cheap imitations. And all you have to do is study the lives of the rich and famous and see how so many of their lives end, whether they're Hollywood movie stars, whether they're famous athletes, whether they are wealthy business people. How many of these people that had everything that we think we would want if we were looking to what the world had to give us? How many of those people are miserable? Have committed suicide, ended up in rehabilitation centers because of drug and alcohol addiction, have children that are really hurting and messed up and struggling. The world doesn't have the answer for happiness, beloved, Yeshua does. In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord said this, He said, "Why have you forsaken Me?" the Lord said. "The fountain of living water, and instead have you dug for yourselves cisterns that hold no water?" So let's listen to what Jesus said. "Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the gentle. Blessed are those who hunger. Blessed are those who are merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." I want to ask you a point-blank question. Are you a peacemaker? Or are you one that gossips, that divides? Examine your speech. Is your speech primarily speech that's building bonds of love and shalom between brothers and sisters, between family members, at work? Is your speech and attitude primarily one that's building bridges of peace or are you instead being used by the enemy to rather than build bridges, to bring division? I want to let those words cut for a second because I've been around the block a few times. And I know what's going on in people's lives. I've pastored congregations for over 20 years. I know my own heart. I've been around people a long time. Many of us are being used by the enemy to bring division. And you know what? That's one of the abominations that God hates. When the Lord lists the seven things He hates, one of those things, beloved, is he that sows discord amongst brothers. And yet you and I, if we're open and honest and being willing to be convicted and being willing to repent, we'll notice that there's been too many times that rather than walking in peace and being a peacemaker and building bridges, instead we've been used by the enemy as a tool for division. I want to encourage you, if you want to know Jesus, if you want to have peace with yourself, if you want to have peace with God, if you want to lay down your head on your pillow and know you're going to heaven because you've truly striven to be a follower of Jesus, be, beloved ones, to the best of your ability, a peacemaker. Be a peacemaker. Be a peacemaker. When you're tempted to say something about somebody, be willing to say in your heart, "I can sense this isn't right spirit," keep your mouth shut. Keep your mouth shut. Discipline yourself. Hold it in. I know it's hard sometimes to keep from saying that thing that you so much want to say because you've been offended or you've been hurt, or the enemy just wants to use you. But keep your mouth bridled. Be a peacemaker and know this, the Lord is a rewarder, beloved friend, of those that diligently seek Him. We must bridle our tongue. The Bible said that we should speak that which gives life, that we should speak that which edifies people. And if we don't have something that's going to give life, godly instruction, is beautiful, is going to edify someone, just keep your mouth shut. Let's be peacemakers, and the reward for that is going to be, we're going to experience more of the presence of Hashem and of Jesus in our life. Isn't that what we want? Well, take this to heart then with your husband, with your wife, with your children, with your neighbors, with whoever you know, keep your mouth shut. Be a bridge builder. Let shalom and love proceed from your mouth. Let's continue on. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." You know, some of us will do anything to avoid persecution. Some of us are terrified of persecution. But the Bible says that we've been appointed not only to reign with Christ, but get this now, to share in His sufferings. That's part of our destiny. Beloved, Jesus said if they rejected Me, they're going to reject you. Jesus said if you were of the world, the world would love you because you'd be just like them, right? But because I chose you out of the world, He said, "Therefore, the world hates you. The student is not greater than his teacher, nor the disciple than his master." In other words, the same things that happened to Jesus, we should expect for our own lives and even desire for our own lives. Listen what Jesus said. "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." So, you know what this tells me? We should want some persecution. Because being blessed, this is the word that Yeshua used, "Blessed are those," that means to be made divinely happy. And so, if you're willing to suffer some persecution for Jesus' sake, you know what the result's going to be? You're going to experience some divine satisfaction. Beloved, be willing to take a hit.
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Rabbi K.A. Schneider: "Blessed are you when men insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." And so, Yeshua is using two verses for this topic. Think about it. All the other Beatitudes that we looked at, the merciful, the gentle, all the other attributes that comprise living a Beatitude lifestyle only had one verse describing them. But this one about persecution has two verses. "Blessed are you when you're persecuted." And then Yeshua said, "Blessed are you when men speak falsely against you and say all kinds of evil against you for My name's sake." He said, number one, "for yours is the kingdom of heaven," and number two, "your reward in heaven will be great." So, if you want a great reward in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, you know what this tells me? You should ask the Lord to appoint you to suffer a little godly persecution so that you can share in His sufferings and have a great reward in heaven. But unfortunately, too many of us just like to sit behind the Christian television set, and we don't mention a word to anybody about our faith in Jesus because we're afraid of rejection. But Jesus said we should welcome it. He said you should be happy because when you do get rejection because of Me, you're going to get a great reward in heaven, and you're going to be experiencing the same thing that the prophets of old experienced. We all marvel at the prophets of old. They are our heroes. I mean, think about it. Why do so many people want to come to Israel, right? Why do they want to see where prophets of old are buried? Why do they want to see Hezekiah's tunnel and all the different landmarks here that mark the different Hebrew prophets? Because these prophets are our heroes. But it's more important to actually experience what the prophets experienced and to try to emulate their lifestyle than it is simply to just visit the physical place where they walked. Jesus said we're the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We stand out. I'm going to get into being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, which is what comes next. But I just want to stay right here for a while. This Beatitude about being persecuted for the kingdom and for Jesus' name sake and being in a position where men insult you and speak falsely about you because of your testimony of Jesus. I wanted to stress, my friends, you have to be willing, please hear me. You have to be willing to stand out for Jesus. You have to be willing to come out from the shadows. The enemy wants to hold you back. He wants to keep you from being the salt and from being the light that God has called you to be. But if you let the devil hold you back, you know what? You're going to lose your reward. In fact, in the book of Revelation, the prophet wrote it through the Holy Spirit that hell, listen to this, is for the fearful and unbelieving. We usually don't think of fear as a sin. But you know that fear is the most common command in the entire Bible. More than any other command, Jesus said, and the Hebrew prophets said, and the Lord said, "Do not be afraid." What did God say to Joshua? "Be strong and courageous and do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous and be not dismayed. Do not be afraid. Joshua, you will inherit the land. Only do not be afraid and do not be intimidated." To Ezekiel, "I've made your head as hard as theirs, as hard as stone. Do not be afraid." My friends, if we're going to truly be disciples of Jesus, we can't live in fear. We can't live in the shadows. We cannot allow ourselves to be coddled by the world because we're afraid of standing out. God forbid, someone's going to see me as being different. You are different. The Bible says that we're strangers and aliens in this world, that we're not of this world. Jesus said, "I chose you out of the world." You're not of the world. So if you're going to be a disciple of Jesus, accept it. You're not going to be a hero in this world. You're going to be spat on, at least in the sense of people, if you verbally out your faith, verbally misusing you, if you're loud enough often enough for Jesus, if you're bold for Jesus enough, you will be rejected. And this is why the next thing that Yeshua said was, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men." And then He continues in the next verse, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven." So right after Yeshua talking about being persecuted for Him, and being insulted because of our love for Him and testimony for Him, right after saying that, talking about that our reward is going to be heaven and that our reward in heaven's going to be great, the very next thing He does is He encourages us even more by telling us that we're the salt of the earth. Now what does salt do? Salt makes food taste different. You can't put salt on food and immediately not taste that that food tastes different. What that means is if you're the salt of the world, whenever you walk into an atmosphere, whenever you walk into a relationship, whether it's an individual relationship or whether it's with a group of people, whenever you walk in, you know what? Your presence there should immediately change the flavor of that relationship. But if the salt loses its saltiness, Yeshua said, "What good is it except to be trampled under foot by men?" You're not there to blend in. If you're there just to blend in, you're just going to end up being trampled over by the world. But Jesus said, "Don't be afraid of persecution. Don't be afraid of people insult you and even speak false things about you because you're the salt of the earth and the light of the world." Your presence is to change dynamically every relationship you encounter. And your changing those relationships are going to testify to the great light of God in heaven, and some will look up and receive Him. But in the lives of others whom you try to salt in and who you try to bring light to, you're going to be persecuted and insulted. But Jesus said, "It's not up to us to decide whether we're willing to pay the price or not." We're chosen to pay the price. We are the salt of the world. We are the light of the earth. This, beloved, listen please to me. This is our calling. This is our destiny. This is our identity. This is who we are. We've been called to make a difference. Not a difference because we we know what football team is playing next week, or we know the players on each team and we know how many touchdowns they scored. Not that kind of a difference. Not because we know more about golf or fishing or cooking or sewing or fashion or whatever other interests people put on their social media pages all about this and that. No, our testimony is about Yeshua and the Kingdom of Heaven. So every avenue of life that we walk down, whether it's in person, whether it's in social media, wherever it is, we're to be salt and light. And we're to accept that we will be persecuted at times and rejected and insulted at times because we are salt and because we are light, beloved, just because, listen, you're doing your job. Let me ask you, humbly and lovingly, I want to ask you, Rabbi Schneider, on behalf of the Lord, just is asking you, are you doing your job? Are you taking advantage of every open door that the Lord has given you, every relationship, every social media site that you're on? Are you taking advantage of all those open doors to be salt and to be light for Him? Don't do it for a little while. Don't try it one time. Don't put out one post. This is your calling. This is your destiny. And it's to remain so, my beloved friend, all the days of your life. You've been chosen not only to reign with Him, but to suffer with Him as well. This is what it means to pick up our cross, deny ourself, and follow Him. Beloved, let's truly be His disciples and let's be marked by suffering for Him.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: Beloved, almost everybody knows that there's the Gospel of John, but some may not be as familiar with the three letters that John wrote. They're towards the end of the New Testament. I'm right now at John's third letter, and I'm reading the eighth verse. Listen to what the word of God says. "Therefore, we ought to support such men so that we may be fellow workers with them." What John is saying here is that the church ought to support men that are faithfully teaching the truth. I want to ask you, beloved one, if you believe in me, if you believe in the truthfulness and integrity of the message of this ministry, I want to ask you to financially support us. It's a biblical principle that we ought to financially support those, beloved, that are preaching the truth. And in doing so, John says, "we share in their reward." Thank you for your help.
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Rabbi K.A. Schneider: In the book of Numbers chapter 6, the Lord gave instructions to Moses and Aaron to speak this blessing over His people. And the Lord said, "When you speak these words over My people, I will place My name on them and bless them." Receive the impartation of the Lord's blessings. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with His countenance and the Lord give you, beloved one, His peace. And now in Hebrew. Y'varechecha Adonai v'yishmerecha. Ya'er Adonai panav eilecha v'yichuneka. Yisa Adonai panav eilecha v'yasem l'cha shalom. God bless you and shalom.
Guest (Male): I'm your host Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. Join us Wednesday as Rabbi Schneider shares God's personal words for you through the Aaronic Blessing, on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.