Rabbi Schneider - Easy Witnessing
Beloved, I have been commissioned by the Lord to challenge his people to be lifting up Yeshua's name and being his witnesses. I'm going to briefly review with you the dream that the Lord just recently gave me and the message of it for you and for I today. In this particular dream, beloved, I was in a small room. It was about 20 feet long, 10 feet wide. It was kind of dark. I was sitting on a couch. There was a lady next to me. I couldn't really see what she looked like. My head was leaning on her shoulder. It was just kind of like a comfort, like a child with its mother, just kind of comforted in a relationship of security. And next to this woman, beloved, was a man. And I asked the man the question, what do you think of Jesus?
Immediately after I asked him the question, the dream shifted. I found myself walking down a hallway. It was like a school corridor. There were lots of people. And somebody came up to me in the hallway and said to me, I really like the way that you handled that man, meaning the one that I had just witnessed to. He said to me, you were so patient with him. Immediately that first dream, beloved, rolled into a second dream. And it was because of this second dream that I knew that the first dream was also from God. In the second dream, I once again found myself in a very similar room, same size. I'm sitting on the couch, and standing in the room is a girl. She looked to be about 22 years old. And I said to her, listen now, what do you think of Jesus? And she said to me, well, I heard that he said like a lot of things to the church, but he never said anything to me, like about being boyfriend girlfriend. And then the dream was over.
I knew that I'd heard from the Lord. And I knew that the Lord was telling me these things. I knew first of all that he was telling me that my people are not witnessing for me because they're not secure. And that was the first thing that happened in the dream. I was just secure in that relationship like a child would have with its mother. Do you know that the Hebrew name for God, when the Lord reveals himself and he says I am rachum, the Lord says I am compassionate and gracious. And when he reveals himself to Moses, when Moses is in the cleft of the rock, the first word that the Lord uses to describe who he is, is the Hebrew word rachum, and it's taken from the meaning of a mother's breast. And what the Lord, beloved, is communicating here is that he is like a mother to his people.
And you know how a child is so secure, they want their mommy, right? They're always crying for their mommy. It gives them security. The Lord is saying my people need to become secure in me so they can be my witnesses. And so the first thing I want to challenge you with today, beloved, is to step out in faith and in security, know who you are in the Lord and take ahold of the fact that you're secure in God. Don't let insecurity stop you from witnessing. How many of God's people are not witnessing because they're insecure? They're afraid of what other people might think about them? No. You need to take a step of faith, beloved, an act of the will and say I will be secure in Messiah. I am complete, hallelujah, in Messiah. And as you take that step of faith and obedience, beloved, you'll become more secure.
I believe the Lord was also telling me in that dream, beloved, that especially for men, there's many men that won't talk to people about Jesus because of insecurity. They're afraid of what other men might think of them if they're talking about Jesus. They think it's not masculine. God is saying be secure in who you are in me. Do not let insecurity stop you. Jesus said he that's ashamed of me and my words in this wicked and adulterous generation, I shall be ashamed of him when I come again in the glory of my Father with the holy angels. Beloved, we must not allow insecurity to hold us back from lifting up the name of Jesus.
You know, the other day, my wife and I, we were having some Chinese food, and we always pray just kind of for fun, Lord, will you speak to me through the cookie. You know, God can speak to us in many ways. I'm not saying that he always does, but if he can speak through Balaam's donkey, he can speak to us in any way that he wants to. And so we opened up our cookies, and my wife's fortune was, unless you're not afraid to lose, you'll never win. In other words, some people never do anything, they never try because they're so afraid of failing that they don't do anything. And what my wife understood that to be for her was I can't be afraid of being rejected by somebody because I'm witnessing for Jesus. In other words, I can't not witness for Jesus because I'm afraid that they're going to reject me. And she took that and turned it into a command from the Lord and a call from the Lord to don't let the fear and the insecurity of being rejected, of looking foolish, of what others might do in response to you keep you from being my witness.
And many of you, beloved, are just like that. I asked my wife this question. She was at a church the other day, and the pastor was saying you know what? You don't have to be in people's face to be a witness for them, to be a witness to the Lord to them. You don't have to be in people's face. You don't have to be obnoxious. And I said you know what? That's very true, you know, but on the other hand, let me ask you this question. How many people have ever come up to you and just started talking to you about Jesus that were not in a church environment? You know what my wife said to me? Never. She could not remember one time that somebody started talking to her about Jesus without knowing first that she was a believer. Doesn't that say something? And I believe that her experience reflects many of your experiences from both respects.
How many times can you remember somebody coming up to you talking to you about Jesus without first feeling safe because they knew you were a believer? And let me ask you this question. How many times have you, Yedidim, beloved ones, gone up and talked to somebody about Jesus that you didn't know first already believed in him? And you know what? For many of us, beloved, shame on us. Not to put condemnation on us, but that ought not to be. When we look at the life of the apostles, beloved, they were boldly proclaiming Jesus. Yeshua said if you were of the world, the world would love you. But because you're not of the world but I chose you out of the world to be my witnesses, therefore, the world hates you. Beloved, listen. Jesus hasn't called us to be accepted by the world. He's called us, hallelujah, beloved, to be his witnesses.
Remember, Yeshua was crucified outside the city gates. That was the place of shame. And the Bible tells us that we too have been called to go with him and to suffer shame outside the city gates. Beloved, if you're not suffering anything because of your witness for Yeshua, you need to repent, beloved, and get right with God. Because Jesus said woe are you if all men are speaking well of you. Because if everybody's speaking well of us, beloved, if there's never any conflict or never any tension in our relationships, it means that we're fitting in with the world. But Jesus said blessed are you when men persecute you and say all types of evil things against you for my sake. So the first thing the Lord showed me was that many people, beloved, are not witnessing because of insecurity, and you need to rebuke that. It's a lie from the devil. It's demonic fear. You've been called to be his witnesses. And if you'll step out in faith, he'll anoint you with greater power in the Holy Spirit.
Now, the next thing that the Lord taught me through the dream was that we need to be patient when we're witnessing to people. Because remember, I had my head on the lady's shoulder. It just represented security that we need to have. And then I witnessed to the man. And I said to the man, what do you think of Jesus? And then immediately I was walking down a corridor, and a friend said to me in the dream I really liked what you did. You were so patient with him. And I believe the Lord was telling us we need to be patient in our witness, especially with our loved ones and people we have an ongoing relationship with. They're not always going to accept our witness, beloved, the first time we share Yeshua with them. They're not always going to receive Jesus the first time we tell them about him.
But we need year after year, beloved, every opportunity that the Lord gives us and looking for those opportunities and stepping through those doors even when it makes us feel uncomfortable, we do it out of obedience to the Lord, and we're going to see beloved, eventually some of those that have been rejecting for years will come to faith. In the dream, my friend said to me, it took me five years to believe all your stories. In other words, God's saying it takes people time sometimes to really have faith built into them, have patience, and don't stop witnessing to your family, don't stop witnessing to your loved ones, don't stop witnessing to your friends. There's somebody in my life, beloved, a very close relative that came to the Lord after my witnessing to them, get this now, for 30 years. It took 30 years, beloved, for this loved one of mine to come to the Lord.
And there was times that I was tempted to stop. There was times that I was tempted just to give up, what's the use? But you know what? God kept challenging me, no, don't stop. And one day, beloved, they received Jesus, hallelujah. Now, the next thing that the Lord taught me through this dream, beloved, was the strategic question that we're to be asking. This is not from me. This is from heaven. The strategic question is what do you think of Jesus? Listen, when we ask people that question, it will very quickly allow us to determine oftentimes where they're at. If we say what do you think about Jesus? They're going to begin to get heady about it. But if we say what do you think of Jesus, they just have kind of an off-cuff type of response. They're not going to think about it too much. They're just going to shoot from the heart and tell you what they think. And it allows us to be able to witness from there. And you need to trust the Lord, beloved, that when you begin to step out and witness, the Holy Spirit will anoint you to give you the words what to say.
I recently, as I shared on last week's broadcast, asked this question, what do you think of Jesus, and the man said well, I'm a historical scientific kind of guy, and the Holy Spirit just gave me the words. I said well, that's great, because Jesus is a historical person. You see, Jesus said when you go before kings and people in authority, don't worry what you're going to say, because the Holy Spirit will give you the words in the hour thereof. Listen, don't let the fear of man keep you from God's will. Don't let the fear of man keep you from God's best, beloved. Don't let the fear of man keep you from God's using you. You've been chosen out of the world and called to be a priest and to be a witness.
Now, as I continue on the dream, beloved, remember, I'm in another room now, similar to the first room. And in this second room, I'm sitting on the couch once again, and there's a girl about 22 years old. She's standing in the room. And I say to her, what do you think of Jesus? And she says well, I know he said a lot to the church, but he never said anything to me like about being boyfriend girlfriend. And when that happened in that dream, beloved, I knew that God was talking to me. And he was telling me that people have heard a lot about the Bible, you know, they've heard preaching, but they don't have a revelation of how much I love them personally and individually, and I'm calling you to share with people how much I love them personally and individually. When she said he never said anything to me like about being boyfriend girlfriend, that's the most intimate type of relationship.
Remember, marriage is the most intimate type of relationship. And how does the Lord describe his relationship to us? We're called the bride of Messiah, right? The church is called the bride of Christ. Revelation, where are we going? The book of Revelation, we're going, beloved, to what? The marriage supper of the Lamb. Paul describes the relationship between a man and his wife as a shadow, beloved, of Jesus' relationship to his bride, to his church. And so God is calling us to share with people how much he loves them individually and personally, that if they were the only one in the world, that he would have died for them.
And so I'm here to challenge you today, beloved, to be a witness. Many of you have never witnessed. Many of you have allowed the fear of man to intimidate you and keep you from being a bold witness, beloved, for Yeshua Ha-Mashiach, for the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm here to tell you today, beloved, today that stops. You must, beloved, step out and be a witness for Jesus. It's part of the calling. It's what we've been chosen for. Paul said he rejoiced that he had been chosen not just to share in the resurrection of Jesus, but to also Paul said, participate in the sufferings. I want you to know when you're rejected because of your witness for Jesus, it will do something for you. You'll begin to know, beloved, that he is yours and that you are his because you've identified with him in his sufferings, because it has cost you something to love him.
Too many people are in churches, beloved, right now, they've never witnessed for Jesus. They're only concerned about being comfortable. They're more concerned about being liked and accepted by man than being approved by the Lord. You know, Yeshua said in the gospel of John, he said to those that were around him, he said how can you believe when you seek the glory that comes from man rather than the glory that comes from the only begotten God? You see, Jesus said that he'd come not to bring peace, but a sword to separate mother from daughter and daughter-in-law and father from son and son-in-law, and all types of relationships would be broken up, beloved, because of our walk with him. But let me ask you, has your walk with him ever caused any disturbance in any relationship that you have? Do the people that you work with even know that you love Jesus? Are you lifting his name high?
Beloved, everywhere that we go, people should be hearing the praise of Yahweh, the praise of the Lord, the praise of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua Ha-Mashiach coming from our mouth. We should become so comfortable praising God in public that we don't even realize that we're doing it anymore. I know sometimes people get around me, and they're a little uncomfortable because wherever I go, no matter where I am, if I'm at a convenience store, in a barbershop, in a gas station, wherever it is, people say how you doing? I say praise the Lord, I'm doing good today. God bless you. How are you? I mean, I'm so comfortable giving praise to the Lord in public I don't even think about being uncomfortable with it.
That's what God has called us to be, beloved, lights on a hill. He said he didn't make us lights that we'd be hidden, that no one would see, but he made us lights, beloved, that people would see God's light in us and be drawn to him. And I want you to hear this, beloved. Not only will you be used of the Lord to bring people to him, but you'll also be encouraged when you ask that question to people, what do you think of Jesus, and you'll find that oftentimes that question will lift people up. They'll say I love him. They'll be at their work, struggling, a difficult day, and you'll say what do you think of Jesus? And they say I love him. He's my Savior. And that will encourage them, and it will encourage you to know that you're not alone in the world, and they'll know that they're not alone in the world in their love for Yeshua.
And I want you to know, beloved, you can't be afraid if someone's going to get mad. People will get mad. Yeah, they're going to get mad. Look what they did to Yeshua. They plucked out his beard, they spit in his face, they put the cross in him. They said crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. Yeah, they're going to get mad. But you can't let, beloved, the fear of somebody getting mad keep you from obeying Jesus. Who do you love more, yourself, or Jesus? What's more important to you, fitting in with the world or following Jesus? Amen. And so even if somebody gets mad, beloved, understand that, that might be the first step in them coming to Jesus. Oftentimes the first step in someone coming to the Lord is them getting mad. God might use your question, what do you think of Jesus, to get them mad. But you know what? They may go home and be haunted by it. And the Holy Spirit might keep on bringing it to their remembrance.
I remember a story years ago, beloved, as I was taking a sabbatical from ministry, and I was involved in industry, and I remember one day, this is going back like 10 years ago. And there was a bunch of guys. I was in financial planning. And there was a bunch of guys gathered together, and I started talking about Jesus. And I felt completely ostracized. I felt completely alone. I got no support from anybody there. And I have just a vague recollection of it because I so stood alone and again, no one joined in with me. And years later after that, it was like seven years later, I was in a church ministering one day, and I got to the church, and the pastor said to me I want you to set up here. I'm going to be back. He said I've got to run and pick somebody up. I got a phone call from somebody, and they don't have a ride, and they really wanted to be here tonight, so I'm going to go pick them up and bring them.
So the pastor left. I'm setting up. And as I'm setting up after about 15 minutes, the door opens, the pastor walks in, and who's behind the pastor? Who did the pastor go and pick up? The pastor went and picked up, beloved, this guy that was part of this group that I was sharing Jesus with years earlier in this setting in the business I was in. And you know, this guy had come to faith. He had ended up, beloved, unbeknownst to me, the guy had ended up getting addicted to cocaine. His drug habit got him into other problems. He ended up in jail. He came to the Lord. And now he's coming to this meeting. And you know what he said to me? He said to me, I never forgot when you were talking to me about Jesus. I had no idea that my witness was impacting him, and neither will you. But when you lift up his name, beloved, Yeshua will use it, because Yeshua said if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me.
Years ago, my wife and I were fly fishing. We went on a ministry trip somewhere, and we were in Pennsylvania. And I know Pennsylvania has really great streams for fly fishing, and I had never done it before, so I wanted to do something special with my wife. And so I hired this fly fishing guide. And so we went out one day. We really were fond of this guy, and he was teaching us how to cast, and he really give us the full experience, the culture of fly fishing. And in the process, you know, we just do what we ordinarily do. We shared Jesus with him. That was years ago. That was about three years ago. Just last month, right after I had this dream, after I had this dream, by the way, that I got done sharing with you, God began to give me all kinds of supernatural confirmation of people that were being impacted because of my witnessing for Jesus. And he's doing it for you. He wants you to know how important this is for you and for him.
So anyway's, I was witnessing to this guy, this fly fishing guide about three years ago, never heard anything from him again other than e-mail blasts that he would send out about his fly fishing business. And all of a sudden, right after I had this dream, just a few weeks back, I get a personal e-mail from him. And he tells me, he says I've been going through a real difficult time in my life, and you came to mind. He said when I was with you and your wife, he said, I never felt such peace neither before that time or after that time. And now I'm going through this difficult time in my life, and I know that I need something more, and you came to mind.
And beloved, the Lord connected us together, and I was able to give him a call and talk to him about Jesus, beloved, even more fully. I had no idea that our witness impacted him in this way. But he said you know, when I was with you, I never felt such peace in my life either before that time or after that time. It wasn't me, beloved. It was the Spirit of God. And the Spirit of God will come, beloved, and back up your witness. Because Jesus said these signs will follow those that believe. And Jesus talked about the supernatural signs that he would give that would lend credibility to the witness. And so when you're out there sharing Jesus, beloved, it's not up to you to save somebody, it's not up to you to convince somebody. All you need to do is lift up his name, hallelujah, and the Holy Spirit, beloved, will bring supernatural confirmation and supernatural witness to the word of truth, hallelujah, that you're bringing.
And so I want to challenge you today, will you step out from where you have been? Many of you have been lukewarm about this. You've been more afraid of man than you've been fearing God. You've been more concerned about being accepted from the world than you have been about pleasing the Lord. Beloved, that needs to change starting right now. I am challenging you to go out and begin to ask this question to strangers, family and friends. The question is, beloved, what do you think of Jesus? When you ask that question, some will get mad, some will be blessed, and some will receive. And the Holy Spirit will give you a supernatural anointing to know what to say next. And the more that you do it, the more comfortable you'll become doing it. Don't wait until you're comfortable. Step out and do it. It's always not going to be easy. It's always not going to be friendship evangelism. It's not always going to be that we won't offend people. Sometimes it will offend people. But praise God, beloved, Jesus is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. The question is, will you and I be obedient?
Father, we bless you today and we lift up the name of Jesus. Father, we want to lift up his name and be bold witnesses. And I ask you, Father, for power. In Jesus' name amen.