Shabbat Word
11/09/2021
Shabbat Shalom!
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 41:1-14
41:1) For the Chief Musician.
A Psalm by David.
41:2) Blessed is he who considers the poor:
Yahuah will deliver him in the day of evil.
41:3) Yahuah will preserve him, and keep him alive,
He shall be blessed on the earth,
And he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.
41:4) Yahuah will sustain him on his sickbed,
And restore him from his bed of illness.
41:5) I said, “Yahuah have mercy on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
41:6) My enemies speak evil against me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
41:7) If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood.
His heart gathers iniquity to itself.
When he goes abroad, he tells it.
41:8) All who hate me whisper together against me.
They imagine the worst for me.
41:9) “An evil disease,” they say, “has afflicted him.
Now that he lies he shall rise up no more.”
41:10) Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
Who ate bread with me,
Has lifted up his heel against me.
41:11) But you, Yahuah, have mercy on me, and raise me up,
That I may repay them.
41:12) By this I know that you delight in me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
21:13) As for me, you uphold me in my integrity,
And set me in your presence forever.
41:14) Blessed be Yahuah, the `Elohiym of Yisra’el,
From everlasting and to everlasting!
Ameyn and ameyn.
.A Word
So free we seem; so fettered are we.
When I first went to sea as an apprentice, every Wednesday morning was the Captain’s Rounds. These rounds were inspections of everyone’s cabins and galley and sometimes the engineroom and deck stores. The Captain was accompanied on these rounds by the Chief Engineer (representing the engineroom staff), the Chief Officer (representing the deck staff) and the Chief Steward (representing the catering staff). On one occasion, I was called to make the rounds with them as part of my training. Each of the senior officers was dressed in their uniform with white gloves. If any dirt was found in a cabin, the Captain would wipe his gloved finger and point it at the Chief who represent the cabin occupant. Nothing was ever said, but the accusatory finger shouted ‘Get this cleaned!’ After lunch, there was a fire and boat drill. Once this was completed, the Captain and Chief Engineer went to the bar to drink pink gins.
It was the formality of the inspection that I remember so well; and the white gloves. I was determined that I was going to be Chief Engineer one day, wearing the white gloves. It was the impression that the Chief Engineer did very little physical work, some paperwork around lunch time and an afternoon drinking pink gin and having a nap. Unfortunately, at each subsequent promotion, the harder I worked; and I never worked so hard as when I was Chief Engineer. I must admit that I could have had it easier, but I enjoyed engineering and was only too happy to work. Although I was the Chief Engineer (second in command only after the Captain), I was not there to take things easy. Life at sea must be a team effort and no vessel could function well with some of the crew not pulling their weight. I cannot, even now, sit around when I know others are working.
“Have this in mind, which was also in Messiah Yahusha, who existing in the form of `Elohiym, did not consider it robbery to be equal with Yahuah, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the execution stake. Therefore Yahuah also highly exalted Him and gave Him the Name above every name.” (Phil. 2:5-9).
It must be considered a great honour to be able to serve Father in anything He asks us to do. In fact, the root meaning of the word ‘minister’ is to serve. A person who wants to serve can only really do so by serving his fellow mankind.
“But Yahusha summoned them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles rule over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.’” (Matt. 20:25, 26). This must have been a difficult concept for the early Believers to come to terms with. Throughout their whole experience, people sought positions of power and influence so that they can have others working for them. All secular and religious authority is in the form of an hierarchical structure. Then along comes the Master and literally turns this up-side-down.
Unfortunately, the term servant is looked down upon as a menial worker; one who is of little worth. This is far from the Biblical viewpoint. Here is a list of some Biblical characters who have made it onto Yahuah’s list of servants:
Jer. 33:36 – David
Jer. 46:22 – Ya’akov (Jacob/Yisra’el)
Dan. 6:20 – Daniy’el
Dan. 9:11 – Moshe (Moses)
Hag. 2:23 – Zerubbabel
Rom. 1:1 – Sha’ul (Paul)
Jude 1:1 – Yahuda (Jude)
Jam. 1:1 – Ya’akov (James)
Rev. 1:1 – Yochanan (John)
This is a powerful list of people the Father calls His servants. So it is not a bad list to join. However, there is One who tops all these:
Zec. 3:8 – Branch/Messiah
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.
“My son, listen to your father’s instruction,
And do not forsake your mother’s teaching:
For they will be a garland to grace your head,
And chains around your neck.” (Prov. 1:8, 9).
Breaking Matzah
Our Saviour welcomes all His Family to join in this memorial. If you have accepted Messiah Yeshua 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 Yeshua, all that we will ever need. In your lovingkindness and mercy, you rebuild broken lives. You bless us, in Yeshua, with a perfect blessing. Ameyn.
Dates to remember:
16/09/2021 – Yom HaKippurim
21/09/2021 to 27/09/2021 – Sukkot
28/09/2021 – Shemeni Atzeret
07/10/2021 – Rosh Chodesh 8 New Moon
First Generation Assembly 