Rabbi Schneider - Hanukkah, Victory is Assured
Greetings beloved ones, this is Rabbi Schneider, as many of you know, I want to greet you today in the name of Messiah Yeshua, as we are in now, the Hanukkah season. You know, Hanukkah is a season of victory. Many people don't realize that the only place Hanukkah is mentioned in the Bible is in the New Testament, in the Gospel of John, where Yeshua was in the temple ministering during the Feast of Dedication. Dedication is the English translation of the word, "Hanukkah", because it was during this season that a ragtag group of Jewish soldiers, warriors recaptured the temple in Jerusalem and dedicated it, rededicated it, back to God.
Hanukkah, once again, it's a symbol of victory and although in its original historical context, it speaks of the specific victory that the Jewish people had when the warriors, that were named the Maccabees, in 164 BCE recaptured the temple and rededicated it back to God. It's also a symbol of hope for everybody because you and I that believe in Yeshua, we are guaranteed victory. The Bible says that he who is born of God overcomes the world. And what was really interesting was that this little army of Maccabees, the Jewish soldiers that drove out the Greco-Assyrian army and then won the Temple back. They named themselves the Maccabees or they were actually called later the Maccabees and the word "Maccabee" means "hammer" because they were led by a man that was named Judah the Hammer, Judah the Maccabee, because he was such an effective warrior. But they were such an underdog, this little group of Jewish warriors, was able to drive out the incredible powers of the Greco-Assyrian army.
And the same thing is true for you and I. Oftentimes in life, we face things that appear so much bigger then we are. But you know what? The Bible says whether we are facing life, death, things past, things present, things to come, any created thing, beloved, we are more then conquerors in Messiah Yeshua. So as we celebrate Hanukkah this year, this Feast of Victory, this Feast of Dedication, I want to encourage each one of ourselves, let's re-dedicate ourself back to Father God through Yeshua, to love Him, to live for Him, listen, and to develop and cultivate an attitude of victory in our lives cause greater is He that is in you, Messiah Yeshua, that he that is in the world and the victory, beloved, belongs to everyone who has received the Spirit of God. This is Rabbi Scheider saying once again to you, Chag Sameach! Happy Holidays! And Happy Hanukkah.