SHEMA!
Shevat/Adar 5772 February 2012
<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><
=========================================================
MA CHADASH? WHAT’S NEW?
Donate Online
It’s
now possible to donate to Shema online
at the Shema website - www.Shema.com.
Coming Events
March
10: Purim.
April
6: Passover Seder at the Farmington
Hills Manor in Farmington Hills. Details to follow.
April
7: Passover Seder at the Farmington
Hills Manor in Farmington Hills. Details to follow.
May
26: Conference for Messianic Jewish
Believers.
Congregation Shema Yisrael is sponsoring
an afternoon of encouragement and unity
for Jewish Believers in Jesus living
across southeastern Michigan on Saturday,
May 26, from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m at the
Regency Manor in Southfield. We will
have lunch, then testimonies from Messianic
Jews and messages about why being Jewish
and believing in Jesus is a natural
extension of our faith - and worth enduring
the rejection of the larger Jewish community.
I would like to ask your help in
informing Jewish Believers about this
gathering. If there are Messianic Jews
that you know, would you please mention
this event and urge them to contact
us? I want them to know there are
other Jewish Believers in this area
and invite them to be a part of a support
network that will encourage them in
their Faith.
Jesus Made Me Kosher! Radio
Jesus
Made Me Kosher! is on WLQV, 1500 AM, Monday through Friday, from 3:30
to 4:00 p.m. It’s also streamed live
at www.faithtalk1500.com. Plus, the
programs are available for a week at
www.faithtalk1500.com/ContentPages/1483/. Click
"Listen Now" next to "Jesus
Made Me Kosher". Cut and paste
the show you want.
<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><
=========================================================
TODAH RABAH! THANKS VERY MUCH!
I
am thankful to the Three-In-One God
for the sure hope that He has given
us of eternal life in the New Jerusalem!
And I am thankful for you, my Messianic
Jewish and Christian brothers and sisters,
who will live in that Kingdom. As Western
Civilization continues its spiritual,
moral, political and economic decline,
I pray that the Kingdom of God would
become more and more real to you. In
2012, may you and those you love increasingly
live for God’s Kingdom and not the kingdom
of this temporary world!
<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><<><
=========================================================
AS SURE AS HELL
PART 2
Only God Can Save Us From Our Sins
But
what we are utterly incapable of doing,
God is completely capable of accomplishing!
God had a plan to make salvation possible.
As soon as Adam and Eve sinned, the
Lord provided a substitute, an innocent
animal whose life was sacrificed and
whose blood was shed. Those who had
faith in the one true God, and offered
a sacrifice, could be forgiven. Centuries
later, the Lord made covenants with
Israel. If we were loyal to God and
obeyed His Word, offering the sacrifices
that enabled us get close to God, we
could be forgiven. We could avoid Hell.
But those sacrifices were temporary
and were effective only when accompanied
by faith, and only until the Final and
Perfect Sacrifice came - the Lamb of
God, the sacrificed Messiah, who is
able to fully take away the sins of
the entire world!
God
the Father sent the eternal, self-existent
Son of God who was with the Father from
Heaven to Earth, and He became a man.
He allowed Himself to be whipped, beaten,
spit on, humiliated, stripped naked
and crucified! By dying in our place,
by bearing our sins on the cross, by
satisfying all the claims that a holy
God had against us, by taking on Himself
the curse for our violation of God’s
laws, becoming the ultimate sin-offering,
the problem of sin has been fully and
eternally resolved.
Because
of the Son of God's ultimate sacrifice
and the perfect atonement He accomplished
on the cross, God's ability to forgive
all of our sins is infinite and complete.
Because of His one perfect and final
sacrifice, whoever believes in Yeshua
has forgiveness for all their sins.
Not one of our rebellious acts remains
to be held against us to drag us down
to Hell!
We Can Be Saved From Satan’s Authority And Destiny
When
we are reconciled to God, our rebellion
ends and we are delivered from the domain
of darkness and transferred to the Kingdom
of God’s beloved Son (Colossians 1:13).
We are removed from the authority of
the god of this world and given citizenship
in a new kingdom. We no longer share
the destiny of the fallen angels in
the Lake of Fire.
We Can Be Saved From Our Corrupted Nature
Without
being born again, we can't enter the
Kingdom of God - we will wind up in
Hell - but with this spiritual rebirth,
we will experience life in God's eternal
Kingdom. When we come to God on His
terms, God creates a new nature in us.
We are no longer dominated by our old
sinful, willful, rebellious nature that
was hostile to God. When we are born
again, we are given new life, a new
heart, a new mind that is compatible
with a holy God, a new nature that delights
to serve Him. Instead of being children
of wrath and disobedience, we become
the children of God - the Almighty's
very own beloved sons and daughters!
We Must Boldly Proclaim The Good News To Everyone
If
we know the way to escape from Satan,
sin, death and Hell, we must devote
ourselves to bringing this Good News
to the world, prioritizing our efforts
to the Jewish people first (Acts 1:8,
Romans 1:16)! Keep in mind that the
Good News includes the Bad News - that
mankind is corrupted in nature, alienated
from God, captive to the Enemy, headed
to Hell and incapable of saving ourselves.
Why would people welcome the Good News
if there is no Bad News? Why would they
come to the Savior if there is nothing
to be saved from? We must engage
in bold, truthful, courageous evangelism,
which includes proclamation about Satan,
sin, death and Hell! What Messiah
has whispered in our ear, each one of
us is to shout from the tops of our
houses! There should be no hemming or
hawing, no evasiveness, no nuancing
or denying the facts.
But
we deny the Good News when we invent
theologies that suggest that transferring
our loyalties to the Messiah is unnecessary
- theologies such as the Two-Covenant
heresy, which teaches that Non-Messianic
Judaism is good enough for Jews; or
the "Unconscious Christian"
heresy, which teaches that human beings
don't need to consciously place their
faith, trust and belief in Yeshua; or
Universalism, which teaches that everyone
goes to Heaven, no matter what they
believe.
We
deny the Good News when we say to a
non-Christian: "I respect your
religion" but at the same time
don't make it clear that their non-Christian
religion won't save them. What we should
say is: "I respect your right to
have your own religion. It's wrong and
won’t save you from Hell, so I advise
you transfer your loyalties to the Three-In-One
God of Israel”.
We
deny the Good News when we are challenged
by an unbeliever about whether or not
he is going to Hell, and we say something
false like: "I'm not the judge.
I don't know what will happen to your
soul", instead of saying: "Based
on the Word of God, if you died now,
you would die in your sins and go to
Hell”.
We
deny the Good News when we justify our
unwillingness to engage in evangelism
with statements like: "I don't
push my faith on other people. I wait
until I am asked". And what if
you are never asked? Did the Lord’s
representatives wait until they were
asked? Don't wait until you are asked!
You’ve been commanded to go and declare
- not to wait until you are asked!
Objections To The All-Inclusiveness Of Hell
What
about those who have never heard the
Good News? God can’t send them to Hell.
That wouldn’t be fair! God is not obligated to bring the message of salvation
to everyone or even to anyone. He would
be righteous even if no one heard the
message and no one was saved! Not hearing
the message is no excuse and claiming
ignorance will not save anyone. In a
Biblical passage that is sometimes quoted
to suggest there is hope for those who
have not heard (Romans 2:14-15), Paul
also tells us that the Gentiles are
expected to know that there is only
one powerful Creator, and that there
is no excuse for not knowing and believing
in Him (Romans 1: 18-20). God has written
His moral laws on every human heart
and given everyone a conscience, and
everyone is expected to live according
to those moral laws. But all have missed
the mark and fallen short of the glory
of God (Romans 3:23). No one is good
enough! No one is moral enough! The
Gentiles are "under sin" (Romans
3:9); enemies of God (Romans 5:10);
and shut up in disobedience (Romans
11:32). However, the Lord is merciful,
and those who follow the light they
are given, are given more. If someone
is truly seeking truth and God, God
will send someone to him. Let's endeavor
to be that someone!
Are
You Saying That Most People Will Go
To Hell?
Yes. The reality is that the majority
of humanity will go to Hell. Only a
remnant will be saved. The Son of God,
who knows the truth, assured us that
the gate is wide and the way is broad
that leads to destruction, and many
are those who enter by it. The gate
is small, and the way is narrow, that
leads to life, and few are those who
find it (Matthew 7:13-14).
What
about children who die young?
If they are not the children of believers,
they are in trouble. In Adam (the progenitor
of fallen humanity) everyone dies -
not lives. Age makes no difference.
Neither the phrase nor the concept of
an "age of accountability"
is found in the Scriptures. But I have
found where King David taught: I
was brought forth in iniquity, and in
sin my mother conceived me (Psalm
51:5) - that from the moment of the
conception David had a sinful, rebellious
nature. The only hope for children is
if they are children of believers, based
on 1 Corinthians 7:14: For the unbelieving
husband is sanctified through his wife,
and the unbelieving wife is sanctified
through her believing husband; for otherwise
your children are unclean, but now they
are holy. God considers the children
of Christians and Messianic Jews to
be holy, set apart for special purposes.
So, let's reach the parents and their
children and help them find salvation
in the Messiah!
When
you are asked: "Are you are telling
me that if I don't believe in Jesus,
I'm going to Hell?", you should
boldly declare the truth. The world
has a right to know what we believe
and why. They have a right to a straightforward,
simple, clear answer to the question,
"Are people who don't believe in
Yeshua going to Hell?" They don't
need nuance. They don’t need hemming
and hawing. They don’t need a convoluted,
theological answer. Simply declare the
Bad News as well as the Good News. Tell
them we are saved from Satan, sin, death
and Hell by coming to know the Three-In-One
God of Israel, and transferring our
loyalties to the Father, Son and Spirit.
It is as simple as that! And encourage
your pastor to boldly talk about these
things, and let him know that you will
support him for his courageous stance!
Shalom!
Rabbi
Loren
SHEMA! (Hear!)
is the newsletter of
Congregation Shema Yisrael
P.O. Box 804
Southfield MI 48037
Phone: 248-593-5150
Email: Shema777@aol.com
Website: www.shema.com
Services: Saturday 10:30 a.m.
At Bloomfield Hills Baptist Church
3600 Telegraph Road
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
Jesus Made Me Kosher! is
broadcast
Monday through Fridays at 3:30 p.m.
on WLQV, 1500 AM
and streamed live over the Internet
