Rabbi Schneider - Called to Breakthrough
I've got a special message for you that I'm calling Called to Breakthrough. Now the reason this is an important message, beloved one, is because the Holy Spirit actually spoke to me approximately two and a half years ago audibly when I was waking up from my sleep. I was in a cabin in the deep forest of Colorado. And in those early morning hours, as I was coming out of that dream state to become awake, the Spirit of the Lord said to me, "Your only gift is breakthrough". Now, when I say that to you, I'm not saying that lightly. Again, I was in a half sleep, half dream state, I'm becoming conscious, and the Spirit of the Lord audibly spoke to me. And when I say audibly, I don't mean I heard Him with my ears, but I mean I audibly heard him internally. And once again, the word He said to me was "your only gift is breakthrough". As clear as a bell, I got out of bed and I thought, "What does that mean"? The Lord said to me, "Your only gift is breakthrough".
And to be honest with you, when I first began to process that word from the Holy Spirit, it made me feel bad about myself. Because I felt like, you know, I'm preaching and I'm teaching, but the Lord just got done saying to me that my only gift was breakthrough. And I thought, "Boy, are you..." it made me kind of feel to be honest with you dumb, because I felt like I guess I'm not a good preacher. I guess I'm not a good teacher. I guess the Lord's not really that thrilled about, you know, that part of what I'm doing. But as I continued to look to the Lord for wisdom and understanding, what I settled on and what I thought the Lord meant by that and means by this is that He has gifted many with the ability to preach and teach, including myself. But there's an apostolic anointing on my life, beloved, to empower the church to move forward in to breakthrough.
I'm going to show you a film a little bit later today in the broadcast that's going to show you some of the breakthroughs that we've experienced here at Discovering The Jewish Jesus to build your confidence that by connecting to this ministry you too will experience breakthrough. Because anointings are transferable. But when I speak about breakthrough, what I'm primarily speaking about is spiritual breakthrough. So that the breakthrough anointing that is upon my life that comes from the Lord, and that the Lord pours out in His church is an anointing to take greater possession and greater territory in the Spirit. In other words, Yeshua said, "I have come to give life and to give it more abundantly".
To contrast, a lot of us think, when we think of breakthrough, that the Lord is speaking first about things that are in the circumstantial, material, and visible world. And indeed, God gives us breakthrough in the physical world for jobs, to meet people that are important to our destiny, promotions at work, all those types of things. But I'm speaking about spiritual breakthrough first. So whether you're 8 years old or 80 years old, this message has relevance for you. You see, think of it this way. We live in a house. Think about the house that you live in. It's a physical house. Now, think about your dream house, a house maybe that you're not living in, but that you'd love to live in. My daughter sent me a Zillow link the other day, showing me that a friend of hers was thinking of buying this home. It was so beautiful. It was in Tennessee. Gorgeous on the water, brand new. So in other words, we live in homes, but sometimes we wish that we lived in a different space.
Well, I want you to think about this spiritually. We live in a certain space. I'm not speaking about a physical space now. I'm speaking about space in the Spirit. But the Lord wants to bring us into a new space, a new house in the spirit where there is more joy, more love, more freedom, more confidence, more peace of mind, more of a sense of being aware of His love in your life. So I'm speaking about breakthrough in the spirit to move into a new space in the Spirit so that you can more fully enjoy the abundant life that Yeshua, the King Jesus came to bring us. What I'd like to do now is go through seven very simple principles that I've observed operate in my life as a gift of God, that I think the Lord has used to bring me in to a greater place of breakthrough.
And let me say, I don't feel like I have arrived by any means. But to the extent that I have arrived and to the extent of the progress that I have made into a breakthrough and a greater space in the Spirit, I want to share principles that I believe are operating in my life that the Lord has used as channels to create the growth. The first principle for breakthrough, beloved, that I want to share with you is this. We need to recognize that breakthrough begins and ends with God. Too many times God's people are trying to create breakthrough in their flesh. They're trying too hard. Like somebody said one time, when you preach, let the word do the work. You don't have to do the work. Let the word do the work. We have to believe and understand that from the beginning of our faith, from the time that we were born again, it all began and it ends with the Lord.
The scripture says that He is the author and finisher of our faith. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's the beginning and the end. So let's begin by recognizing that breakthrough is not something that we first create. But rather what we do instead is we cast ourselves into the Lord, believing it's not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, declareth the Lord. Let's cast ourselves into the realm of the spirit. Secondly, we have to have a vision. If we're wanting breakthrough, beloved, we have to have a vision for more. We have to believe there's more. We have to expect there's more.
One of my favorite verses that some of you have heard me quote many times before is this. John 8, Jesus said, "If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed". You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Jesus said, "We could be free. If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed". Think about that. Jesus promised us that we could truly be free indeed. What would that feel like to you and your imagination to truly be free? No worry, no anxiety. Free. Free. Free. I mean, when you think about your fantasy of what you'd like to experience in your life, certainly whether you realize it or not, at the foundation of what you would want for your life, freedom is right at the core and right at the center.
Jesus said that we would overcome the world. That He that's born of God overcomes the world, that we would live in victory, that we would experience a supernatural glory in our life that's inexpressible. We have to have a vision that there's more for us to experience that then we're presently walking in. People that are just content, people that are lethargic, their experience will never rise above their expectation. What you settle for is where you're going to stay. So if you want breakthrough, you need to believe for more. Because if you're not believing for more, if you're not expecting more, you're going to stay right where you're at because you'll never rise above what you're looking for.
Number three. In order to have breakthrough, it's very important to develop a childlike trust, a childlike faith. Yeshua said, "Unless you become like children, you will in no wise enter the kingdom of God". What do I mean by having a childlike faith? Well, first of all, think about a child's life. They have an attitude of wonder. Everything is new to them. They're so full of thankfulness and gratefulness. They so are able to be in the present. They have a childlike trust. They don't look at themselves examining themselves all the time. They have a sense... even if they don't know who God is, children are born into the world with a sense of wonder. They know there's a God. This is why the Bible says that Jesus enlightens every man that's born into the world.
And of course, when I say "man," I'm speaking, man, woman, I'm speaking everybody that's born into the world comes into the world with a light. They see the beautiful, big, huge sky. They know there's a God. To have breakthrough, we must walk as a child. Simple trust, having a sense of wonder, ridding our heart of jadedness. We have to become, beloved ones, like children. Not putting on all these defenses that keep us from God. Not putting on all these false personas that guard us. No, we have to be open. Little children are open. They're open to life. Continuing on. When I look back at my life and I say, "What are some of the foundations, Lord that you've laid in my heart"? And it's all from Him. "What are some of the foundations, Lord, that you have laid in me, that you've used as channels for breakthrough"?
The next thing I think of that's an important one is that we have to be willing to pay the price. If you want breakthrough, if you want to enter into great things, if you want more, you have to be willing to pay the price. You see, people that just want to blend in, people that aren't willing to stand out, people that aren't willing to be different, they'll never get breakthrough. They're just going to be conformed to the world. Yeshua said to those that He was ministering to on the earth when He was here 2,000 years ago, He said, "How can you believe when you seek the glory that comes from man rather than seeking the glory that can only come from God above"? In other words, if we're not willing to pay the price and be different, we're never going to enter into the glory realm, we're never going to enter into the realm of the eternal.
Think about Abraham the father of everyone that believes. What did the Lord say to him? "Abraham, Avraham, I want you to leave what you know, I want you to leave what you're comfortable with, I want you to leave your relatives, I want you to leave the land you're living in, and I want you to follow me. And I'm going to lead you in to a place that you've never experienced before". Avraham had to pay the price. He had to be willing to step out. He had to be willing to be different. People that are more concerned with being accepted by man, people that are more focused on being accepted by the world and blending into the world and blending into everything that's around them, are they ever going to get breakthrough? Absolutely not. They're going to be trapped right where they're at, conformed to this age.
If you want breakthrough, beloved, listen, God's going to ask you to do some things and to step into some things that will be uncomfortable for you. And you need to be willing to pay the price of being uncomfortable. If you're not willing to step into new territory, if you're not willing to step in to do things that might seem strange to others and even odd to yourself, if you're not willing to obey the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life, although it's different from what you've known, and maybe even different from the mindset of the people around you, if you're not willing to pay that price, to follow Him, to be different, to stand out, you'll never get breakthrough, you'll never have that more that you're seeking for.
You see, breakthrough involves being the first one into something. Breakthrough involves going through that wall. It means that you're breaking through into something that is not common to everybody. That's why it's called breakthrough. Even when we're speaking of breakthrough in the spirit, you're breaking into new territory. And let me say this. The first one through the wall always gets bloody. In other words, there's a price to pay for breakthrough. When Israel was breaking through into the promised land, there was a price they had to pay. They got bloody. They had to drive out the Amorites, the Hittites, all of it. They had a drive all that out to break into the promised land. The first one through the wall will always get bloody.
My question to you, dear beloved friend, are you willing to pay the price? There's a price to be different. There's a price to get breakthrough. If you just want to fit in and be common, that's what you're going to get. If you want tremendous breakthrough, be ready to pay the price. Continuing on to the next point which this last point actually leads into, you have to be willing to take action. Now, this might seem to contradict my earlier point when I said it all begins and ends with God, "That it's not by might or by power, but my spirit," saith the Lord. It seems like what I'm saying now, what I'm saying "take action" contradicts just waiting on God to do it. But you know what? There's an element of both involved. It's like a diamond. There's different facets. We begin by waiting on the Lord. But then when the Spirit moves we partner with God and take action.
Remember Moses as he was leading Israel into the promised land, they got to the Red Sea, and Moses was crying out, "What am I going to do"? And the Lord said, "Why are you crying to me? Put your staff over the sea and move forward". There's a time beloved one, that if you're going to experience breakthrough, you'll need to take action. There's a time to wait on God, there is a time to take action. One of the things that my dad said to me years ago was keep shaking the trees and something's going to fall out. You see, some people, they're just sitting and waiting and waiting and God is waiting for them to take a step of faith and to take action. There's a time to pick up the phone. There's a time to go where it is the Spirit is leading you to go. There's a time to put yourself out there. Some of you need a prod to get moving and to take action because the Spirit has already gone before you and He's prepared the way.
And those of you that the Spirit is speaking to right now, you know you're supposed to do something. If you never do it, you'll never get breakthrough. Take action. And then I want you to understand that when you do take action, the next principle for breakthrough is that we need to expect opposition. You see people that are in bondage, if you're in relationship with them, and you begin to ascend to a higher place in the spirit, they're not going to bless you. They can't. They're in bondage. They're in bondage to the evil one. So when you begin to move up and above, they're going to try to hold you back. They can't help it because the enemy wants to hold you back. You need to expect opposition. Like I said earlier, the first one through the wall always gets bloody.
I remember years ago, we had a friend. I forget what her first name was at the time, but she wanted to change her name to River. And I thought, "Change her name? She wants me to call her something different now"? I mean, it just like something in me was just like repulsive to me. But you know what, she kept on going by River. And eventually I got used to the name and now I love it. But she had to go through the resistance when she started telling everybody listen, "I'm going to change my name". You too need to expect opposition as you begin to take steps forward to come into the new place that God's calling you to. And then finally, beloved, cling to God. His power is perfected in weakness. You need to talk to Him more than you talk to anybody else, sharing with Him your true feelings, sharing with Him how you... He knows how you feel. He wants you to be a best friend. He wants you to make Him your best friend.
How do you treat your best friend? You tell them everything. You tell them your secrets. All day long cling to God. Talk to Him about everything. And as you do, He's going to empower you and you will get breakthrough. It begins and ends with God. Have a vision for more, have childlike faith, be willing to be different and pay the price, take action, expect opposition, and cling to God. And now may the Lord empower you as you cling to Him and move out for more. Beloved, as you continue to look to the Lord, put yourself in His presence and submit to His Lordship, you will get breakthrough in your life. It's not a maybe thing, it's a sure thing. God loves you, He's called you and destined you, beloved one, for breakthrough.