Rabbi Schneider - The Ultimate Talk
We cover much in this series. I wanna pick up where I left off in last week's broadcast. We're talking now about walking closer with the Lord by paying attention to our dreams at night, because the Lord will speak to us concerning details of our life in our dreams at night. So if we wanna walk closer with him, and he's the Lord warning somebody giving us direction, or warning us, or encouraging us through our dreams at night, just like he did Abraham, and Jacob, and Joseph-Yeshua's father, and Paul. We covered all these in the previous broadcast. If he's giving us what we need beloved, in our dreams at night to walk closer with him, then we need to be paying attention as I have said. To disregard your dreams is to disregard the voice of God, because Scripture powerfully reveals to us that one of the most common ways that God speaks to man is through his dreams at night.
And so I'm continuing now where I left off on last week's broadcast, I'm talking about that sometimes the Lord will warn us in our dreams at night; we need to be paying attention. Elihu spoke about this in the Book of Job chapter number 33 when he says the Lord speaks once, yea twice to man while he's sleeping at night, to warn him and to keep his soul from destruction. I gave some examples of that on last week's broadcast I wanna give another scriptural example of through a dream at night as I go now to the Book of Matthew chapter number 27. This has to do beloved, with Pilot's wife. Here is Pilot's wife, Yeshua is before Pilot, and Pilot has a, he has the power to determine Jesus' future. Listen what his wife says to him in the Book of Matthew chapter 27 verse number 19: And while he was seating on the judgment seat.
Let me read it again, this is Pilot sitting on the judgment seat. And while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him saying: Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of him. Pilot's wife was warning him: God spoke to me in a dream about this man; don't have anything to do with him. Beloved, if you and disregard his, disregard the Lord's warnings to us while we're sleeping. If we're not paying attention, we're gonna suffer beloved, much pain.
I remember not too many years ago, there was a man in my congregation and this man, I felt good about the man, I didn't have any issues whatsoever with the man, I was glad he was part of the congregation. And one night I had a dream about this man, and in the dream I came into my bedroom and there was this man, he was lying in my bed like he had taken over my place. And I thought that's strange, it's like he, it's like he was stepping into my place, taking over where I was supposed to be. I didn't think, you know say anything to anybody about it, but I did pay attention to it, because I felt the dream was very odd. And a lot of times the Lord will get your attention, he'll cause your ears to perk up to know that it's him when it's so out of the box, when it's so forward you think you know what, this didn't come from my own psyche. And so it wasn't but a few weeks later, maybe three weeks later, this man called me. And he said you know I'd like to get together with you.
So I went to a restaurant to get together with the man, we sat down, we ordered our food, and he started going on beloved, one thing, after another thing, after another thing, criticizing, complaining, criticizing, complaining, criticizing, complaining; I just sat there, I had total peace, I had total security, I knew that the Lord was with me. How did I know the Lord was with me, how did I know the Lord was for me, how did I know the Lord was on my side? Cause the Lord already warned me, because he showed me in advance what was gonna happen. Finally I just, after listening to him for close to 30 minutes, I just stopped him, I said listen. As soon as I began to talk, he interrupted me like within about 30 seconds. I said listen, I listened to you, I said don't interrupt me while I'm talking.
After the man, after we departed from that restaurant, that was the last I ever saw him that day. God spared me and he also helped me to understand, I don't want you to give yourself to this person. God showed me, he warned me in advance so I could be prepared to deal with the situation accurately when it happened. And beloved, you and I are living in a world where there are dangers on every side, but God is able to warn us, because he sees what we don't see. He understands what we don't understand, and he wants us to be able to perceive supernaturally what we couldn't perceive in the natural, so that we can walk through this life as Enoch did beloved, ascending hallelujah, and victorious in him.
So we've talked about how the Lord speaks us to, to warn us, to give us direction, to give us assurance, and even to launch our future. I wanna talk now about how the Lord in our dreams at night can even speak to us; listen now, verbally and audibly. God can literally speak verbally to us beloved, in our sleep. I'm gonna show you how the Lord did this in the life of Solomon, then I'm gonna tell you a story beloved, of how we did it for me. Why do I share my stories with you? Because I want you to know beloved, these, this is real and this is for you; this is now and it's for today. I'm going to the Book of 1 Kings chapter number 3 verse 5. Many of you know this story. The grass withers and the flowers fade, hallelujah, but the Word of the Lord, bless his name, abides forever and ever. Solomon had become King of Israel, and he has a dream one night. He falls asleep and God comes to him in his, in his sleep.
So I'm reading now 1 Kings chapter 3 verse 5, the encounter that the Lord had with Solomon, and that Solomon had with the Lord through a dream at night. In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night, and God said, listen to this, God is speaking verbally, literally, intelligibly so that Solomon actually hears the words. And God said: Ask what you wish me to give you. So God speaks verbally to Solomon in a dream. I remember the first time the Lord spoke to me in a dream, verbally. It was back in the 1980's; it was after my first semester at Bible school. And here it was, it was kind of, Bible school was kind of an unusual experience for me. I really loved it, and I'm so thankful Yedidim beloved ones, that they didn't throw me out of the Bible school.
And the reason I say that is because almost everybody in the Bible school, you know they came from pastor's families, and they were, you know had been raised in the church, but here I was, I was this Jewish guy from Cleveland, I wasn't raised in the church, I wasn't raised as a Christian, so I didn't know all the rules. I didn't always have the sensitivity to know what was correct and what was not correct behavior for a Christian. I was kind of coming in right off the streets, if you will, and I'm just so thankful that they tolerated me in that Bible school.
I remember one professor said to me that I was like Peter, a diamond in the rough, so I'm thankful to the Lord that they gave the leadership, the Lord gave the leadership a heart for me there, that they could see beyond some of my rough edges. I cringe at some of the memories I have, some of the things I said, and some the things that I did. But at any rate, I remember it was after my first semester of going through the Bible school. I really loved it, but it was a big experience, it was like a baptism for me: this Jewish guy you know, going now to this Bible school, this really Christian culture that was very unfamiliar to me at the time. I mean I was a believer, but I'd come from outside you could say, the Christian culture.
And so it was the first semester, had just been completed and now we have a break. And I was on vacation with my wife, my wife's family, we were together and we were on vacation. And I went to sleep one night and the Lord verbally spoke to me in a dream just like he did Solomon. And here's exactly what the Lord said to me, he said to me this phrase, he said to me: Ascend the day. And I've never forgotten it, and I've shared it with a lot of people and sometimes some of the people under my congregation, one of our elders sometimes will say to me, Rabbi, ascend the day, reminding me of what the Lord said to me. And I believe what the Lord was saying to me was very day, regardless of what you're facing, regardless of what challenges cross your path; use those challenges to overcome in me. Use those challenges to be wind that causes you to ascend even higher in my Spirit, master every day, not that I'm perfect or anything even close, but use every day to cause it to lift you higher in me as you face it in me, seeking to overcome.
That was the first time I ever heard the Lord speak to me verbally. He said to me: ascend the day. And I believe that's a word beloved, for you; it's a word for all of us that every day we face is an opportunity to overcome and to ascend in Messiah, to go from strength to strength, and glory to glory. The second time the Lord spoke to me verbally that I recall right now, it was so specific. His Word to me was so sharp, it was like a razor. I could have never come up with the verbiage that the Lord communicated to me in one sentence that was so sharp and so concise.
Here was the situation. When I first got to the Messianic congregation that I shepherd right now, previous to that time, I'd just been traveling to the church at large, teaching on the Jewish roots of my, of the Christian faith. And I really enjoyed doing that; I wasn't responsible for a group of people, I'd just would go from church to church, I'd be at a different church every Sunday teaching on the Christian principles from a Judaic perspective, the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. And then this particular Messianic congregation that I had spoken in a number of times as a guest speaker; they had invited me to come and oversee the congregation.
And so when I got to the congregation, as the new leader of the congregation; I said to the congregation, just call me Kirt. My authority is not in my title. But after a few weeks, I started to see that this congregation was in tremendous chaos and it was in tremendous turmoil, and there was a lot of idol worship going on. They were worshipping Judaism in the law rather than Jesus. And the Holy Spirit began to impress upon me, I want you to put this place in order, I want you to cast down the idol worship, and I want you to tell the people to call you Rabbi.
Now we know in Scripture, the Scripture says: don't be called Rabbi, but you know the Scripture also says: call no man father. I think you have to take everything in context, and put everything in balance. In our generation, a Rabbi is simply the leader of a congregation, just as you would call your pastor, pastor; or just like you would show respect to a police officer by calling him officer. I believe the Lord was wanting to establish authority in the congregation to put it in order. So I said to the congregation: I feel that the Lord wants to put things in order here, and I'd like you to address me as Rabbi from now on. I didn't do it out of my pride, I didn't do it out of my insecurity; I did it beloved because I felt like the Lord was leading me to do so.
Well most people received it very well, but a few people resisted. Two of the people in the congregation that resisted beloved, they had both come from my perception, from, they were both divorced and remarried, and they had come in their previous marriages from abuse relationships, and so they were afraid of authority, because in their life, when they related to authority, it was painful for em. So they resisted coming under any authority, because the relationship with authority in the past; they perceived as abusive. So they were two people that were resisting calling me Rabbi, they didn't wanna put themselves in an authority relationship that they felt threatened by.
Now there was another couple in my congregation and in this particular situation, this couple; the woman had been walking with the Lord, the man had not been walking with the Lord. He was a real rough, tough guy and he had just come to Jesus, and he really needed somebody strong in his life to disciple him, cause he was such a strong personality that he could just roll over everybody, but he didn't need somebody that he'd be familiar with, he didn't need somebody that he could roll over, he needed a lightening rod of God's strength that could disciple him into the direction that would lead him into health and life.
So I'm out to dinner one day with these two couples at the same time. The one couple that's afraid of authority, so they're resisting calling me Rabbi. I'm out with the other couple, the man just coming to the Lord that needed somebody strong in his life that could disciple him. Well the one couple that was afraid of authority, they kept on calling me Kirt, and I thought you know, this is really unproductive, because this man that had just come to Jesus; he doesn't need Kirt, he doesn't just need a friend, he doesn't just need somebody he's familiar with, he doesn't need someone that he could dominate by his personality; he needs, he needs a lightening rod of God, he needs a presence in his life that represents the authority of the Lord that he can respect, that can have the power in the Holy Spirit to disciple him.
So I thought it was really unproductive that, that this couple was kind of bringing me down to a place of familiarity that was not gonna produce, I felt, the type of relationship in this other couple's life that needed to be there. But I didn't say anything about it. I just said Lord, you know I really think this is unproductive, I really wish this other couple would show some respect, this is not helpful, but I'm not gonna say a word about it, because if I, if I'm gonna speak about this Lord, I wanna know it's you and not me. I don't wanna speak out of insecurity, fear or pride, so Lord; I'm just bringing this to you. That night beloved, I went to sleep. The Holy Spirit spoke to me for the second time, clearly and audibly with these exact words, I mean laser sharp, Yedeed, beloved one; I could have never thought of this sentence myself.
Here is exactly what the Holy Spirit said to me about being called Rabbi. He said to me this, he said: The office you stand in is sanctified and respect for it needs to be cultivated. Once again, the Holy Spirit said to me: The office that you stand in is sanctified and respect for it needs to be cultivated. In other words, it's a special office, and in order for people to receive the benefit of the anointing through the office, they need to have respect for the office. The anointing that you respect is the anointing that you'll draw from. And so the Lord really strengthened me and gave me specific direction by speaking to me beloved, audibly in my sleep and I'll never forget it. And this is not unique beloved, to just a few of God's servants. God wants to speak to all of us, that's why he manifested himself in Acts chapter 2 as a tongue of fire. Cause God wants to speak, that's what a tongue does. A tongue beloved, is a speaking oracle.
Now I've talked about how the Lord wants to speak to us audibly, but I wanna go even one step further. Not only can the Lord speak to us audibly, but we can even at times, and beloved I haven't had an experience like this for years, so I don't wanna give a false impression as if this type of things happens to me every night. No, this is, you know this happens every four, five years, six years, how every eight many, however many years, but it happens. I wanna talk to you now about not only how God can speak to us, but how we can speak back to him, and actually beloved, "Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech Ha-Olam, Boreh Pri HaGafen; Blessed art Thou O Lord our God who brings forth the fruit of the vine".
We continue the story in 1 Kings chapter number 3; after the Lord speaks to Solomon and says ask me what you will. We pick up now in the 9th beloved, hallelujah, through the 11th verse. Hear the Word of the Lord: So give thy servant an understanding heart. God says ask me what you will. Solomon prays back to the Lord, Solomon speaks back to the Lord and he asks for understanding to shepherd God's people. Give thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, to discern between good and evil, for who is able to judge this great people of Thine. So Solomon feels overwhelmed with being the king of the, king of the whole kingdom, and he's asking God: give me the understanding I need to be a good king. And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. There's this friendship, there's this relationship; that's what kind of relationship we have with God. We walk with God like Enoch did. It's a real friendship.
Verse number 11: And God said to him: because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have you asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice; behold, I have done according to your words, behold I have given to you wise, I have given to you a wise and discerning heart so there's not been any like you, and nor shall there be any after you. So there's this conversation that's literally going on that God is speaking to Solomon. Solomon's speaking back to God, and God is speaking back to him. Isn't that exciting?
Beloved, we can have an encounter like this with the Lord. God is real. Jesus is here and he's now. He walks amongst his church beloved, even today according to the Book of Revelation as the lamp stand. We're the lamp stand and he walks amongst us beloved and he wants to speak to us. But we need to give him our full attention, because John 14: 21 and 23 says: He only discloses himself when we choose to love him by keeping his Word, and making him first. So let's seize his Word and when he speaks to us, let's obey it, because as we do, he's gonna manifest more, and more, and more of himself. We're gonna hear him speaking to us one way or another, just like beloved, these biblical figures that we're reviewing had.
I had an encounter in which I had a dialog with God. I shared with you the first part of it a little earlier. And in this particular encounter, I was laying in my bed sleeping one night beloved, and all of a sudden as I was sleeping in this mystical state that we call sleep. Do any of us really understand fully what sleep is? There's something beyond, we don't fully grasp what sleep is. We enter into these different dimensions, these different spiritual realities; it's a very amazing, and a very profound, and mysterious thing.
But one night as I lay in my bed sleeping beloved, the Lord allowed me to experience the pain in my soul. I wasn't aware that I had so much pain inside, it was terrible, it was horrific pain, it was years ago. I shared the first part of the story in an earlier broadcast. And as I was feeling the pain, an angel spoke to me. I didn't see the angel, I just heard his voice, and I knew it was an angel. And he said to me: you're on the right path. I spoke back to the angel in the dream. I said to the angel: if I'm on the right path, why does it hurt so much? And the angel spoke back to me and he said this to me, in a very kind voice he said to me: maybe if you'd cooperate more, it wouldn't hurt so much; a dialog through a dream beloved, with God through an angel.
To me these experiences angel. To me these experiences that I'm sharing, I pray and I hope that they're igniting faith in you beloved. That we're not just waiting to die and go to heaven, so we can experience Jesus, but Jesus is here and now on earth beloved, for you and for me. And so as for you and for me. And so as we begin to close, I wanna talk about what do we do when we have a dream? Many people when they have a dream, the first thing they do is they go and talk with other people about there dreams. They look to this person; I had this dream, what does it mean? I wanna go ask everybody and their mother-in-law, what does the dream mean?
Beloved, when you have a dream from the Lord, I wanna encourage you, we're gonna pick up here on next week's broadcast, when you have a dream from the Lord, I wanna encourage you to believe this: the same person, the Lord, the same God, Yahweh Elohim that gave you the dream, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus, the same one that gave you the dream; he will also, Yedidim beloved ones, give you the interpretation of the dream. So when you have a dream, don't panic, don't look to everybody else for the meaning; look to the one that gave you the dream, because only he can give you the interpretation of the dream. Now on next week's broadcast, I'm gonna help you to take some action steps beloved, to more fully remember your dreams and to be able to gain more from them. I want you to tune in; I want you to tell a friend.
Father God, as we close today, we just wanna thank you Father that you're speaking to us today in dreams and visions. Father, we desire to be led by your Spirit. We desire to walk with you, even as Enoch walked with you. Not just in broad generalities Father God, but through the nitty-gritty and through the details of our lives. Father, thank you that you can lead us and direct us through the details and the small affairs of life; so Father, we bless you today, and we ask you Father God, will you speak to us in dreams? Open our heart, open our ears to hear, for your Word says: he that has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.