Rabbi Schneider - A Reminder to Rejoice
Beloved, we're in the season of rejoicing. We say in Hebrew, the Hebrew word for joy is "simcha". And Simcha, my sister, changed her name actually to Simcha. It used to be Susie, and she changed it to Simcha. She just loved the meaning of the word "joy". And we're in the season of joy, because we're in the season of Sukkot or it's in English referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles.
This is a great time of year. The season that we're in right now began with Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets. Then the Feast of Trumpets was followed by Yom Kippur, which is a very solemn day, a very holy, sacred, a serious day. And now that we're through that season of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, it's time to celebrate and we land then on this season of the Feast of Tabernacles.
So many things that we could say regarding the Feast of Tabernacles. Most of all, the Feast of Tabernacles reminds us that we should live in a state of gratitude. The Lord commanded Israel to live in what we call in Hebrew "Sukkot," temporary structures that remind them of the temporary structures that they lived in when they were in the wilderness tabernacling. And Israel was commanded during Sukkot, now after they got to the Promised Land, to live in these temporary structures for seven days each year to remind them of how God took care of them in the wilderness, and they are to rejoice for seven days.
So I want to encourage you and I, as we're bringing this home for application today, we need to be reminded to rejoice. I want to ask you right now, take an inventory of all God's blessing in your life. It's easy to become bitter. It's easy to become discouraged. It's easy to complain. We're in a war against the power of darkness. The power of darkness wants us to complain. The powers of darkness want to discourage us. The power of darkness wants to cause us to focus on the negatives. He wants us to look at the glass as being half empty rather than half full.
But we need to adjust our attitude, especially now, because these feasts are given to us to be a spiritual tune up for us each year. I want to ask you right now to look at your life and take an inventory of everything. I'm talking to you right now. Take an inventory of everything that you have to be thankful for. What do you have to be thankful for right now? I know you've got challenges. We've all got challenges. But what do you have to thank God for? What if God took it away from you? Would you be grieving about, would you have wished that you would have been more thankful when you had it?
Every night almost, before I go to bed, I think about my beautiful wife, Cynthia Marjorie, lying next to me. And I think, you know what? I don't know how long I'm going to have Cynthia Marjorie. She doesn't know how long she's going to have me. Our lives are not guaranteed for tomorrow. We don't know what tomorrow is going to bring. We need to be thankful for what we have right now. We need to be in the present and not take things for granted. I know I'm talking to you right now because I'm talking to myself as well. We need to be thankful for what we have today.
If you've got a family, be thankful for your family. If you got a spouse, if you've got relatives that love you, if you've got good food that you enjoy, if you got to shelter over you head, whatever you have, my friend, be thankful for it. And when you live in an attitude of gratitude, you know what? You're going to be happy by focusing on the blessing in your life.
Get this pithy statement. Is the word pithy or pithy? I don't know, but one or the other. But get this statement. It's a great thing to remember. A rich man, somebody that's truly rich in soul, or woman, is not someone that has everything they desire. A rich person is not one that has everything they desire because our desires are unending. But rather, a rich person is thankful and content with what they have.
This is a season during the Feast of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, to thank God and be truly grateful and to celebrate and to bring up your heart and your mood, to be grateful and thankful and celebrate, beloved, what you already have. Friends, this is one of the three times of year that Yahweh commanded the children of Israel to come to Jerusalem to present a special offering to Him.
If you're being blessed by my life and ministry, would you present a special Tabernacles offering to the Lord through Discovering the Jewish Jesus at this time? There's directions on the screen. Thank you for your love and your financial support. Beloved, we can't do what we do, giving the Gospel to the world, without the financial support and help of viewers and listeners and those that are receiving from the ministry, people just like you. God bless you. Thank you for your love. Shalom.