Rabbi Schneider - What Hanukkah Reveals to You Today?
Shalom aleichem, peace to you, beloved ones. And I come to you today with Hanukkah greetings. Now I know that everyone that's listening today has heard of Hanukkah, but some of you may not know what it's actually about. Hanukkah is the Hebrew word for dedication and Hanukah is the celebration of when the Jewish people recaptured their temple from the Greco-Syrian's, and then rededicated it back to the Lord. The Greco-Syrians had really desecrated, they were actually sacrificing pigs to Zeus in the temple of God. And so that temple needed to be cleansed and rededicated. Jesus himself was in Jerusalem during the feast of dedication.
We read about this in John chapter 10, as he taught there during this season. The lesson for you and I is this, that the Jewish people were able to recapture the temple from the Greco-Syrians when a Jewish priest, by the name of Mattathias so inspired those that knew him because it was uncompromising faith that something rose up in his countrymen that said we're not going to take this anymore. We're going to take back what is ours in the Lord. The point is, is that when you and I don't compromise during this age of compromise that we're living in, when we continue to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, when we will not compromise but continue to declare that Jesus is the only way when we won't compromise on Biblical values and Biblical morals.
When we continue to take the word of Jesus, to our friends and family and those around us, when we openly stand for the Lord with wisdom and gentleness in this generation, we become lights and torches that will encourage other people to follow Jesus, thereby taking back the temple of God, meaning taking territory for the kingdom of God on the earth, when more and more people give their life to him. I want to encourage you, beloved, to walk in the spirit of Hanukkah, walk as one that is fully dedicated to the Lord and in so doing, you will inspire others to dedicate their lives to Him as well. Happy Hanukkah.