Shabbat Word
09/10/2021
Shabbat Shalom!
Welcome to First Generation Assembly Virtual Assembly/ Church, based upon the meetings of the early Believers.
“They continued steadfastly in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in breaking matzo and in prayer.” (Acts 2:42).
It is suggested that you start with a few praise and worship songs, either by singing, listening to a CD, radio, download or YouTube. The early Believers would have sung Psalms, and that is how this Assembly begins.
Covid-19 continues to ravage the world. Every night, I pray this Psalm for the continued well-being, security and prosperity of Yahuah’s people, Yisra`el, His land, Yisra`el, His set apart city Yerushalayim and my family spiritual and physical.
Psalm 91:1-16
91:1) He who dwells in the secret place of Ha`Elyon,
Will rest in the shadow of Shaddai.
91:2) I will say of Yahuah,
“He is my refuge and my fortress; My `Elohiym, in whom I trust.”
91:3) For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
And from the deadly pestilence.
91:4) He will cover you with His feathers.
Under His wings you will take refuge.
His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
91:5) You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day;
91:6) Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
91:7) A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it will not come near you.
91:8) You will only look with your eyes,
And see the recompense of the wicked.
91:9) Because you have made Yahuah your refuge,
And Ha`Elyon your dwelling place,
91:10) No evil shall happen to you,
Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
91:11) For He will give His angels charge over you,
To guard you in all your ways.
91:12) They will bear you up in their hands,
So that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
91:13) You will tread on the lion and cobra.
You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
91:14) “Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him.
I will set him on high, because he has known my name.
91:15) He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him, and honour him.
91:16) I will satisfy him with long life,
And show him my salvation (yeshu`ah).”
Psalm 47:1-10
47:1) For the Chief Musician.
A Psalm by the sons of Korach.
47:2) Oh! Clap your hands, all you nations.
Shout to `Elohiym with the voice of triumph!
47:3) For Yahuah `Elyon is awesome.
He is a great King over all the earth.
47:4) He subdues nations under us,
And peoples under our feet.
47:5) He chooses our inheritance for us,
The glory of Ya`akov whom he loved. Selah.
47:6) `Elohiym has gone up with a shout,
Yahuah with the sound of a shofar.
47:7) Sing praise to `Elohiym, sing praises.
Sing praises to our King, sing praises.
47:8) For `Elohiym is the King of all the earth.
Sing praises with understanding.
47:9) `Elohiym reigns over the nations.
`Elohiym sits on His set apart throne.
47:10) The princes of the peoples are gathered together,
The people of the `Elohiym of Avraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to `Elohiym.
He is greatly exalted!
.A Word
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link
When I was at sea as an Engineer, it was a regular occurrence that we had to anchor, waiting to enter port, await orders or anchor in the lee of land pending a storm. The anchoring system consisted of a large, heavy anchor attached to a substantial chain that was, in turn, attached to the ship’s hull at the point known as the ‘bitter end’. Although a small boat relied upon its anchor to bite into a soft sea bed to be effective, a large ship relied upon the weight of chain (or cable) on the sea bed.
It was shortly after I became a Believer, that Father, through His Spirit, gave me a vision and prophetic word using a ship’s anchor.
In the first part, He told me that every person was like a chain. Each aspect of our character could be likened to a link in a chain. Giving each link a strength rating of 0-10, I had, say, a Bible reading strength of 6, a sharing strength of 6, a witnessing strength of 6, a prayer life of 4 but a humility of 3. As the chain was only as strong its weakest link, my spiritual strength was 3, despite all my other strengths. My strengths could not bring up my weakest link, to average them out. Therefore, to improve my spiritual strength, Father had to teach me, through trials and experiences and other people, how to be more humble.
“According as each has received a gift, be ministering it among yourselves, as good stewards of the grace of Yahuah in its various forms. If any man speaks, let it be as it were the oracles of Yahuah. If any man serves, let it be as the strength which Yahuah supplies, that in all things Yahuah may be glorified through Yahusha the Messiah, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Ameyn. Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you. Nevertheless, because you are partakers of Messiah’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of His glory also you may rejoice with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:10-13).
Father wants all His children to be made perfect, as His Son Yahusha, was perfect. In all areas, the Master scored a 10. “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:7). When the Master was born, He laid aside all prerogatives of divinity, in order to be like us in every aspect. This included all the inherent weaknesses of Man. Beloved, as you search through Scripture, see how He turned those weaknesses into strengths. It did not come easy and He endured many trials, long periods being on the road, endless hours in prayer to Father. The Master knew that in His human form, He was weak but He also knew from where to draw strength. Hence the many times in Scripture that we learn He took Himself off to be alone with Father.
In the second part of the vision, Father showed me that every assembly and the Church Universal was also a chain made up of many links. Each link represented a person, and so, this chain was only as strong as the weakest member of the assembly. If in all areas I was a 6 but had a prayer life of 4, the brother or sister next to me may have been all 5’s, I was the weakest link in the assembly. However, through reading Scripture, listening to teachers and preachers speak and seeking Father’s strength, my prayer life went up to 6, I was no longer the weakest link, my brother or sister next to me was. That is why we must all seek to build one another up so that our weaknesses may be rectified.
In serving Father with every part of His being, Father gave Him everything that was needed to carry out His ministry. This is why Father has made Him the Anchor of the Church Universal. He is looking for people to form His chain so that the Church Universal will not founder.
Beloved, we must search our souls diligently and seek Father’s guidance to those areas of weakness. Look to that perfect example of the Master and draw upon Father’s strength. What are our weaknesses? What about our brothers and sisters in Yahuah? How can we build them up or let them help build us up?
For all who have not yet accepted the salvation offered by Father Yahuah, why not?
There is a storm coming soon. Whether it is the end of your life or Messiah’s return, a storm is about to break out.
Are you ready? How will you cope when the tempest strikes?
Only by true repentance and accepting His salvation through the Messiah Yahusha, will you survive. There is no safe haven to run to; no other anchor strong enough. By accepting His salvation, it will not cause the storm to abate or fall away. On the contrary, the storm will hit all the harder. However, by being securely attached to the Anchor of life, drawing strength from Father, eternal survival is assured.
Ameyn
HalleluYah
Father, we thank you for the power of your Word and that Word was made flesh in Messiah Yahusha so that in believing in His Life, Death and Resurrection we may have eternal life with you.
If you want to accept Father’s offer of salvation through the Messiah Yeshua, you need to ask Him in prayer along these lines. You may use these or your own words but they must be genuine as Father knows our very hearts and nothing is hidden from Him.
“Father, I am a sinner who needs forgiveness of my sins through your Son, the Messiah Yeshua. Please forgive me of all my past sins as I accept that, Messiah Yeshua my Saviour, has taken upon Himself my punishment. By your Spirit, help me to live a life worthy of His sacrifice. Thank you, Father, for making the perfect way back to you.”
Remember, the Judge looks into your heart, mind and future.
If you have honestly said such a prayer as this, and truly renounced the sin in your life and accepted Father’s salvation through the Messiah Yeshua, then please drop us an e-mail or call us at FGA to let us know. This helps build up our faith and offers an opportunity to prayerfully support you. Even if you have Believing friends or family, we at FGA would be privileged to pray for you. Please contact us at ezra710@firstgenerationassembly.com. Having believed and prayed, now please find a local faith-based church to attend. Drop FGA an e-mail or call us so that we can rejoice with you and pray and support you over the coming weeks.
If you have sincerely called out to Father for forgiveness, then eternal life is assured. Salvation does not take away the day-to-day questions of life, nor is it a short-cut away from trials or tribulations. Nevertheless, knowing your eternal life is secure, any temporary trial can be overcome by looking at the completed work of Messiah Yeshua.
All blessings to you.
“In the fear of Yahuah is a secure fortress,
And He will be a refuge for His children.
The fear of Yahuah is a fountain of life,
Turning people from the snares of death.” (Prov. 14:26, 27).
Breaking Matzah
Our Saviour welcomes all His Family to join in this memorial. If you have accepted Messiah Yahusha as your Master and Saviour please take the next few moments to seek Father and to ensure that all is right between Him and you and between you and your Brothers and Sisters. If not, please put this right before continuing.
If you have not yet accepted Him into your life, then we encourage you to seek Him while it is still possible, as time is running out. When He returns or if you pass away then it will be too late. Please do not partake of the matzah and wine as in doing so, it gives thanks for the broken body (matzah) and shed blood (wine) for and a witness of salvation.
On the night of the Master’s betrayal, He took the matzah, blessed it and broke it saying ‘This is my Body broken for you; take and eat it as a memorial to Me.’
Bless the matzah saying: Blessed are you, O Yahuah our `Elohiym, King of the Universe, who brings forth matzah from the earth.
Break and eat the matzah (sharing it if within a group setting):
After the meal He took the Cup, blessed it saying ‘This is my Blood poured out for you for the remission of sins; take and drink it as a memorial to me.’
Bless the wine saying: Blessed are you, O Yahuah our `Elohiym, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Drink the wine (sharing it if within a group setting):
Thanksgiving prayer: Blessed are you, O Yahuah our `Elohiym, King of the universe, who gives us, in Yahusha, all that we will ever need. In your lovingkindness and mercy, you rebuild broken lives. You bless us, in Yahusha, with a perfect blessing. Ameyn.
Dates to remember:
05/11/2021 – Rosh Chodesh 9th. New Moon
Father willing, we will meet again next Shabbat.
“Y’varekh’kha Yahuah v’yishmerekha,
Ya’er Yahuah panav eleikha vichunekka,
Yissa Yahuah panav eleikha v’yasem l’kha shalom.”
(May Yahuah bless you and keep you)
(May Yahuah make His face to shine upon you and show you His favour)
(May Yahuah lift up His face toward you and give you peace.).
First Generation Assembly 