20/02/2021

Shabbat Word

20/02/2021

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 24:1-11

24:1) A Psalm by David.

24:2)The earth is Yahuah’s, with all its fullness,

The world and all those who dwell therein.

24:3) For He has founded it on the seas,

And established it on the floods.

24:4) Who may ascend to the Yahuah’s hill?

Who may stand in His holy place?

24:5) He who has clean hands and a pure heart;

Who has not lifted up His soul to falsehood,

And has not sworn deceitfully.

25:6) He shall receive a blessing from Yahuah,

Righteousness from the `Elohiym of His salvation.

25:7) This is the generation of those who seek Him,

Who seek your face — even Ya`akov.                                              Selah.

25:8) Lift up your heads, you gates;

Be lifted up, you everlasting doors:

The King of glory will come in.

25:9) Who is the King of glory?

Yahuah strong and mighty,

Yahuah mighty in battle.

25:10) Lift up your heads, you gates;

Yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors:

The King of glory will come in.

25:11) Who is this King of glory?

Yahuah of Hosts, He is the King of glory.                                                 Selah.

A Word

                        Feed your faith and starve your doubt.

On the night of my youngest daughter’s twenty-first birthday, she had a party for family and friends. There was plenty of food and laughter. With family, my eldest daughter was having her recent marriage blessed, so the next day was going to be another very busy day. With her friends, there was hardly a care taken for the next day.

As the food was being served during the wedding breakfast, my youngest daughter let out a scream. She had received a text from one of her friends stating that one of the friends had had a motor-cycle accident and was in intensive care, not expecting to last the night.

My daughter and her husband left immediately with my wife and I close behind them, still in our wedding outfits. When we got to the hospital it was not good news. The friend was in an induced coma and on a life support system due to his injuries, especially to his brain. The prognosis was that, if he was to survive, he may well be in a vegative state: it would be best for him to be taken off the life support system and left to slip away.

Under most circumstances, this would be the case. However, this group of friends had grown up together in the church youth group, and were not giving up on him. His family were in the hospital room with many young Believers in corridors and outside the hospital, all praying. After awhile, my wife and I went back to the reception, just in time to quickly finish the meal. My eldest daughter was hosting a buffet party at her home later on. We took some sandwiches and soft drinks down to the group.

We were praying in the hospital room, with his family deciding whether to follow the doctors’ suggestion to take him of life-support or to wait a while. My wife noticed a very brief movement of his eyes. Drawing the medical staff’s attention to this, my wife explained that any decision must wait. The staff replied that this was impossible due to his induced coma state. Nevertheless, it was enough to convince the family to postpone any decision. He was put into a head halo to isolate his broken neck but had to be kept in a deep coma state.

This was a pivotal moment in my faith. I knew that he would survive and not in a vegative state as his prognosis suggested. It was not my prayers or that of any person nor the quantity of prayers that made the difference.

“Now He who made us for this very thing is Yahuah, who also gave us the down payment of the Ruach. Being, therefore, always of good courage and knowing that, while we were at home in the body, we are absent from Yahuah. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are of good courage, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with Yahuah. Therefore, also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.” (2 Cor. 5:5-9).

It was faith!

All the medical experts knew that there was no way that the friend would survive. All their combined years of training and experience assured the family that he was all but gone. This was walking by sight. Hallelu-Yah that the family and friends walked by faith and not by sight. “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, for proof of things not seen. Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes to Yahuah must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Heb. 11:1,6).

For many months prayers were offered up continually around the clock. My son-in-law went to his friend’s bedside every afternoon after he finished work, reading out aloud Psalms and praying with his friend. Eventually we were all rewarded with our friend coming out of the coma. He would tell us later that he could hear the psalms being read out and knew the support that he had despite his comatose state.  It was still to be many more months before the halo was removed and our friend was allowed home.

Beloved, is there something in your life that has reached a critical state, and all the so called experts have written you off? “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before Yahuah. Happy is he who does not judge himself in that which he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.” (Rom. 14:22, 23). Have faith and doubt not.

Faith is not like a meal where a person can have a little bit of faith and a little bit of doubt on the same plate. It is more like a set of scales whereby actions are put onto the ‘faith’ pan lowers it at the expense of the ‘doubt’ pan. The contrary is also true that actions put on the ‘doubt’ pan is at the expense of the ‘faith’ pan.

Beloved, where are you putting your actions? Read Hebrews 11:1-40. Noach built the ark, the Patriarchs received their promises, Moshe led the Yisra`elites out of Egypt and so forth. Each one acted upon the promises of Yahuah and was not disappointed.

Without being weakened in faith, he [Abraham] did not consider his own body, already having been worn out, (he being about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. Yet, looking to the promise of Yahuah, he did not waver through unbelief, but grew strong through faith, giving glory to Yahuah, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able also to perform.” (Rom. 4:19-21).

Beloved, this is not a Name-it-and-claim-it theology. It is standing on the promises of Yahuah.

Now, there are a vast number of people that are approaching a critical moment in time: their death. Are you one of them? How are you approaching this crisis? It is not going to go away so it is no use sticking your head in the sand.

“For Yahuah so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). Are you going to place your faith in a loving Father who knows you intimately or doubt what Scripture says and believe in the sceptics and mockers who have no personal interest in your eternal well-being?

Even if you are one of these mockers, Father sent His one and only Son to live and die for all Mankind; that includes you. Messiah Yeshua took upon Himself the punishment due to all sinners; if only they believed this fact. His resurrection was the proof that Father accepted His sacrifice on our behalf.

Ameyn.

HalleluYah

Father, we thank you for the power of your Word and that Word was made flesh in the Messiah Yeshua 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.

“Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep.

The idle soul shall suffer hunger.” (Prov. 19:10).

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

14/03/2021 – Rosh Chodesh 1^st. New Moon

27/03/2021 – Pesach

28/03-03/04/2021 – Chag haMatzah

04/04/-22/05/2021 – Counting of the Omer

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.).