Rabbi Schneider - Get Back Into Fellowship

TOPICS: Song of Songs... Journeying into Divine Love

Hodoo L'Adonai ki tov
Ki le'olam hazdo
Hodoo L'Adonai ki tov
Ki le'olam hazdo

Hodoo, Hodoo, Hodoo, Hodoo,
Hodoo L'Adonai ki tov
Hodoo, Hodoo, Hodoo, Hodoo,
Hodoo L'Adonai ki tov.

Give thanks to the Lord he is good,
His mercy forever endures.
Give thanks to the Lord he is good,
His mercy forever endures

Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks, give thanks
Give thanks to the Lord, he is good
Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks, give thanks
Give thanks to the Lord, he is good

Father, we bless you today. Come and strengthen our hearts by your spirit through your word in the song of songs. Shalom yedidim, and God bless you, beloved ones. My name is Rabbi Schneider. Yedidim is the Hebrew word for "Beloved ones". We are the beloved ones of the Father. Welcome today to this edition of discovering the Jewish Jesus. We are on part number eight of a journey in the song of songs, called, "Journeying into divine love". Journeying into God's love. I encourage you to get this entire teaching, beloved, it will change your life. We're interpreting the song of songs at a deeper level, it was given to us by the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's primary purpose is to glorify Jesus. The Holy Spirit's mission is to take of Jesus, reveal it unto us, and to glorify Jesus, so we are looking at the song of songs not just as a natural love letter between king Solomon and the Shulamite bride, but we believe, beloved, that this was given to us by the Holy Spirit to show us Jesus love for us as the bridegroom God, and how we can journey as his bride deep into his love. We're going through the song of songs line by line, and precept by precept, it's called expository preaching. I encourage you to get out your Bible, get a notebook, take notes, tell your friends about the broadcast, get the entire series. Beloved, let's journey now deep, hallelujah, into the Word of God.

As we left off last week in chapter 1, we found that the bride who was once passionate about Jesus, who had encountered the kisses of his word, who had been brought into the bridal chamber, that through the course of life and the responsibilities of living, through being at work, and being under oppression of all the things that we deal with in this life, her love had begun to go cold, and she began to feel a distance between her and her bridegroom. And she called out to the Lord, and she says, "Where do you pastor your flock", in verse number seven, "Tell me, you whom my soul loves", she felt like she was at a distance now, "Where do you pastor your flock"? Where can I go to get back in your presence? I want to feel you again, where are you?

"Where do you pastor your flock, and where do you make it lie down at noon"? I want to get back to that place of being able to be at rest in you. "For why should I be like one who veils herself", again what that meant was that in the ancient world a woman would veil herself when she was around people that she didn't know, when she was out in an area working somewhere and she didn't know anybody, she would bail herself. But when she was at home with her familiar friends, those that she was intimate with, she wouldn't be veiled. So she's saying to Jesus, the church is crying out here, "I don't want to be like one that's a stranger to you, I don't want to be like one that veils herself, like one that isn't familiar with you, like one that you're not familiar with. I want to be close to you again".

"I don't want to be like one that veils herself", and that she continues on and she said, "Beside the flock of your companions". In other words she says, "I want to be with you. I don't want to just be with people that talk about you, and know you, I just don't want to be amongst your companions, those that might know you, I want to be with you personally myself". So she's crying out, she says, "I want to come back to you. I had this bridegroom experience with you", this king's chamber experience that she experienced earlier on in the chapter, "And I felt your love, and I felt the fire of your love on my heart, and I want that back. What can I do to come back"?

And Jesus, the beautiful bridegroom king God answers in verse number eight, "Tenderly..." you would think that he might come to rule with the rebuke, you think he might come and say, "Well, why didn't you keep your relationship up with me"? She said, "I left my own vineyard", she said earlier on, begin to disintegrate. You think that Jesus would come back with a rebuke, "Well why did you let that happen? Why did you let your fellowship with me grow cold"? Instead he comes back, beloved, speaking love and acceptance, coming against the shame and guilt that she was feeling. He speaks tenderly and softly, and listen what he says in verse 8, "If you yourself did not know, most beautiful among women..." isn't that an awesome thing that he comes, and he comes against the shame, and against the guilt, he breaks it off her, and he affirms to her, "How beautiful", hallelujah, that she is.

He continues on, and he gives her counsel. Remember the Holy Spirit is what called "The great counselor". So now Jesus, the beautiful bridegroom, God is going to give her counsel how to reconnect. Listen once again, "If you yourself did not know, most beautiful among women", and then he gives you the first counsel, "Go forth on the trail of the flock". So, this is the first counsel, "Go forth on the trail of the flock". Remember what Jesus said to those that were following him on earth? He said to them, "It's my Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom, little flock". And so, when he says, "Go forth on the trail of the flock", he's talking to her about getting back into fellowship with his people. He's saying, "Reject the spirit of isolationism".

Some people, because they've got burned or hurt in a church somewhere, because they maybe ran into some Christian person that made them angry, maybe they were doing business with a Christian person that they thought treated them hypocritically or they thought treated them without high ethics. Whatever the reason was, many people call themselves Christians, and yet they don't go to church, they're living a life of isolationism from the body of Messiah. And Jesus says, "Listen, if you want to be close to me, you've got to get into fellowship with my people. Get back where my flock is". I'm speaking to you now, if you're watching this show and you've rejected the church, if you're finding a problem with every church that you go to, if you think all churches are made up of hypocrites - well, you're right, we're all, none of us are perfect right. But a hypocrite, beloved, is not somebody that says something and then does something else. A hypocrite is somebody...

If that was the case, everybody would be a hypocrite, because none of us have perfectly done what we said we were going to do. How many of us said we were going to go on a diet and then broke the diet? How many of us said we never would do that again, and yet we did it again? How many of us said we were going to exercise on our new year's resolution, and then we fell short? I mean everybody's a hypocrite. A hypocrite is not somebody that says something, and then does something else. A hypocrite, beloved, it someone that says they're going to do something, but has no real intention of doing it. A hypocrite is someone whose heart isn't in alignment with what they're saying. That's a hypocrite. But we all are in the process of warring against those things in life that we need to overcome. That doesn't mean we're a hypocrite, it just means we're on a journey, and if we're really the Lords we're in the process of overcoming.

So, if you're living a life of isolationism right now, if you're living a life, beloved, of not getting in fellowship with other Christians, you're not part of a local church fellowship, a local church body somewhere, if you want to feel closer to Jesus, get reconnected to his body. Become part of the flock. You know, the promises of God, although their individual promises, beloved, the promises in the New Testament are also meant as corporate promises. There's promises to a body of people. You know, Jesus said, "Where would the hand be without a foot? And where would the mouth be without an eye? And where would the nose be without an ear"? In other words, we all need to be connected to each other. None of us are islands unto ourself. And the Lord has called us to be a people together. That's why Jesus prayed in John 17, before he ascended to the Father, that we would be one with each other, even as the Heavenly Father and he are one.

And so this is really important to get in relationship with the people of God. And so, once again, she says, "I want to feel close to you again". So, the first thing that Jesus tells her is, "Go forth on the trail of the flock". Get back connected to my people, get in relationship, because the way that we outwork our relationship with him, beloved, is in our earthly relationship. See, the Bible says, "How can a man say that he loves God, but then hates everybody else"? God said, "That's not really love, because if my love's in you, it needs to be displayed not only in your relationship with me, but in the way that you're connected and reach out to other people". And it's not about just what people could do for us, that we should be involved in fellowship, but it's about what we should do for them, it's about serving.

You see, in John 13 the Bible says about Jesus, knowing that he had come from God, knowing that he was going back to God, and knowing that the Father had given him all things, in other words he had a sense of completeness, he girded himself with the towel and began to watch the disciples feet. Jesus said, "The Son of Man has not come among you as one that is to be served, but to serve. And let he that is greatest among you be the servant of all". And so, Jesus said, "If you want to get back in the flow of my river, then get back connected to the flock again", and he said in the next part of the verse, "And pastor your young goats".

So, let's listen again verse 8, "If you yourself did not know, most beautiful among women", he affirms her once again how lovely she is to him. "I'm going to tell you how to get back to feel me again. First of all, get reconnected with my people". "Go forth on the trail of the flock", go whereby people are at. And then he says, "And pastor your young goats". In other words he's saying, "Get back involved in service". He says, "Get where the flock is, get on the trail the flock", and then he said, "And pastor the young goats", meaning, "I want you to start serving again". It doesn't matter how, but start serving again, because remember, Jesus said, "I am a servant".

I want you to understand something, beloved, that a lot of times when we think of Jesus coming to earth, we think that Jesus came to earth, and he served, and then he died on the cross for us. But we picture him coming again on a white horse from heaven with a two-edged sword out of his mouth, and eyes as a flame of fire, conquering and making war, exterminating sinners from the earth, that he's going to do all those things. But we fails as to realize, beloved, that he'll always be a servant, that the essence of God's nature is that he is a servant. God will forever be a servant, this is what gives weight to his glory, this is what makes us feel the weight of his glory, because he stoops down to you and i, he stoops down to humanity, beloved, to love us, and to allow us to experience him.

God is forever a servant. Do you feel the beauty of that, and the glory of that? God is himself humble, and he will always be. So, Jesus is saying, even as Jesus in John 13 stooped down and girded himself with a towel, and began to wash the disciples feet, beloved, this will always be his nature. He's here to serve us right now. And Jesus says, "If you want to get back in fellowship, and in experiencing my presence, you need to abide in me. And so, what you need to do is get back connected to my people, and begin to serve them again, because I'm a servant. So, if you want my spirit to be flowing through you, you need to be flowing in the direction of my spirit, which is the direction, beloved, of being a servant".

"He that's greatest among you", Jesus said, "Let him be the servant of all". It'll always be like this, in heaven it's going to be like this. The greatest in heaven will be the servant of all. And so, if you're out of fellowship, if you're out of church, I want to encourage you... I know some of you are not able to, because of health reasons, and so on and so forth. And if that's the case, I want you to know: God understands that, and God's grace is sufficient, so, God bless you.

And I pray for these, Lord, that may be sitting on a couch or in a chair right now, even in bed, Father God, they're at a place in life for health reasons, that they can't, Father, leave their home, I just speak blessing over them today, Father God, and your love over them today, and you're healing over them today, Father God, and your pleasure over them today, that they would know that you love them, Father God. And for those, Lord, that have served well, thou well done, thou good and faithful servant. And for those of you that might just be coming to the Lord, and that's your plight today, God bless you, God loves you right where you're at.

But for those of you that there's no reason: there's no health reason or financial reason that you can't get in your car, or have somebody pick you up, and get involved in fellowship, beloved, it's critical, it's important. The Bible says not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together, especially as we're moving into this last stage. So, if we're going to once again experience Jesus in a deeper way, we don't want to try to do it in isolationism if possible, because when the body comes together, behold, "How good and how pleasant it is, when brethren dwell together in unity", we say, in Jesus name, amen.

And so, once again, let's read that. He says, "Go forth on the trail of the flock, pastor your young goats", begin to serve. And where do you do this? Jesus said in the next phrase here, "By the tents of the shepherds". What does this mean? Jesus said, "I want you to get back in a fellowship. I want you to begin to serve. And I want you to do it", get this now, he said, "By the tents of the shepherds". What does that mean? It means learning how to relate to the authorities that God has set up on the earth.

You see, we need to understand that God is authority, that the nature of the kingdom necessitates that there is authority in the kingdom. You don't have a kingdom without authority. Jesus came, beloved, to institute the Kingdom of God. And within the kingdom there's authority. All authority is God's authority, and yet God invest his authority in human beings on the earth, and he expects us to relate to this authority on the earth, as if we're relating to him, so that we're not submitting unto man, but submitting unto God. But our relationship with man shows that we're submitting to the authority of God by submitting to the authority that God has placed on man on the earth.

And so, the Lord is telling the Shulamite bride here, listen, get back involved in fellowship, get back involved in service, and do it, he said, listen again, by the tenths, right by the tents, the church buildings, right, or the churches, the local fellowships of the shepherds. In other words, go and get connected and get under the authority of the leadership, where I send you to.

We live in a society today, beloved, where Satan is coming to the surface so strongly, that man is throwing off restraint, and throwing off authority. But I want you to understand, that we cannot walk with God unless we understand authority. We need to not only be sensitive to sin, but we also need to be sensitive to authority. See, when Noah we read about in the book of Bereshit, in the book of Genesis, got drunk... He shouldn't have got drunk, we all know that. But what happened was: when he got drunk, two of his sons respected their father, and they walked into the tent where Noah was, and they walked in backwards to cover up their father's nakedness, to cover up his shame. They didn't want to look at him in that shameful state, because they respected the mantle of fatherhood on him. But one of the sons exposed his father's nakedness, we know the story of Ham, how he exposed the father's nakedness, had no respect for the father, had no respect to the authority of the office of father, and as a result of that Ham was cursed.

You see, authority is important, to walk in sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. Listen, the people that God invest is authority are not perfect people, they're no different than you or i. But the thing is that there must be authority for there to be order. Without authority, beloved, there's chaos. The police force isn't perfect, but if there was no police force, then chaos and crime would reign. And so, we don't look at authority, and because it's imperfect we reject it. That's not the answer. The answer is to respect authority with the mind of the Holy Spirit.

You see, Moses wasn't a perfect leader, right? He wasn't a perfect leader, we know some of Moses's failings, he got angry and he struck the rock. We know some of these things, correct? We know that when God came to him, and called him to be the leader, Moses kept on arguing with God, "Lord, I'm stuttering, etc". Moses was not perfect, but yet God chose him. And when Moses, and it was was making the decisions, many in the congregation said, you know, "Who do you think you are, making these decisions? We're all holy, not just you". And what happened was the threat of anarchy and chaos developed, because now what was happening was there was no authority, but everyone was going to be alone to themselves. And so, Moses got down on his knees, he fell on his face, he said, "God, what do you want me to do"? And the Lord told him that each tribe was to lay out a rod, and to lay it out, and God said, "And the rod that I caused to supernaturally bud, that's the one that I've chosen to lead, and that's the one that my authority is being exercised through".

And we know the story that Aaron's rod butted, God was showing that, "No, I haven't chosen everybody. It's not that everybody has chosen to be an authority". Moses said, "Isn't it enough that God chose you to be his people, and now you're going to fight to be his authority"? No, God said, "No, that's not the way I'm doing it. I want order", because more than two visions equals division, right? So, there had to be one vision, one head, one person that God was speaking through as the final buck stops here, otherwise there was just going to be chaos.

So, God caused the one rod to blossom. That rod was actually put in the holy of holies, in the Ark of the Covenant, to show that we must be sensitive to authority, if we're going to walk in the deepest intimacy with God. And then what happened? God even caused the ground to open up and swallow in an earthquake Korah and those that rebelled.

And so, when this Shulamite bride is calling out to the great bridegroom shepherd, "Great bridegroom king Jesus, what can I do to be in fellowship with you"? Jesus said, "Get back in fellowship with my people, begin to serve, and get under the authority of the shepherds in the house. They're not perfect, but you need to respect my authority, you need to love them, you need to pray for them, you need to not walk around criticizing, and gossiping, and tearing them down, and tearing up their sermons and analyzing them. You need to bless them. I know they're just human beings, but you honor their authority, because it's my authority. Not because you're honoring men, but you do it unto me, and then you're going to be blessed." these are very important principles.

So, once again, she had been exposed to the Lord Jesus in such a way that her heart opened up to him, she developed a passionate, fiery love and hunger for him. "Kiss me with the kisses of your word", she said, "Draw me after you, and let us run this race together on earth". But over time, beloved, the stresses of life, the oppression of the darkness, circumstances began to cause her to feel a loss of intimacy. She began to cry out, "Where are you? I don't want to feel like a stranger", and Jesus comes and says, "Oh, I love you, you my soul loves. Get back in fellowship with my people. Resist the root of bitterness, get back in fellowship, forgive. And begin to serve, look for ways to serve".

And also he said, "Do it in the tents of the shepherds", "Do it where my leaders are, do it where my God-appointed authorities are". Now that's up to you to decide where God is calling you to fellowship, if he's calling you to fellowship, but once God calls you there, beloved, learn how to respect authority there, as if it's from the Lord. And God's going to use these principles, beloved, to strengthen you.

Now, Father, I want to pray again for those that might be bed bound today, that might be, Father, in their home, unable to get out of their home, maybe they're in a wheelchair or their health is not to permit them to leave. Father, I pray that you'll strengthen them today. These that are your children, Father, that love you, that are homebound. Father, strengthen them. Father, your word says that if the spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, that he will give life to our mortal bodies. I'm praying for these that are homebound today, Father God, that you will strengthen them by the indwelling Holy Spirit from the inside out. I speak healing, Father God, and restoration. Strengthen these. Father, release healing deep into the inner man, from the inner man although all the way into the outer vessel. Because your word says that if the spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, that he'll give life to our mortal body. So, I pray Father for a quickening into the mortal bodies of these that are homebound right now. Father, refresh them, bless them, let them experience your love.

And my beloved ones, until next time: May God bless you and keep you. Make his face shine on you and be gracious to you, and give you peace. I want you to know the bridegroom king God Jesus loves you, and your love for him, if you're his, it's real and authentic.