The Blessing of Discomfort | The Beatitudes

Rabbi K.A. Schneider: You’ve got to be dissatisfied with where you're at in order to receive the riches that Yeshua wants to give you. I'm in the land of Eretz Yisrael today, and I'm standing on the site that has traditionally targeted as the place where Yeshua, where Jesus preached the sermon on the mount. We don't know if this was the exact spot. We just believe it was somewhere in this area that Yeshua recorded the sermon that we call the sermon on the mount, that's recorded in Matthew chapter 5 through chapter 7. It's actually the longest sermon in the Bible that Yeshua preached. So what we're going to do during this series from Israel, is we're going to go through the sermon on the mount, Matthew 5 through chapter 7. Now, I want you to pay very careful attention, and I really want to encourage you to make it a point to tune in to all these episodes, because this particular area of Jesus's teaching teaches us, his disciples, how to live in the light of the Kingdom of God. And so these are the principles as to how we ought to live as his followers in this world. Remember Yeshua said, "Broad and wide is the way that leads to destruction, but straight and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it. Strive then to enter through the narrow gate." And so part of walking in this narrow way is following the principles that Yeshua taught us in the sermon on the mount from Israel. So we're going to go right to Matthew chapter 5. We're going to go verse by verse, very critical, important teaching. Many people look at this teaching as poetic pleasantries. Beloved, I believe that Yeshua wasn't writing to put something on a Hallmark greeting card. He was literally telling us, "This is how you need to be transformed to live according to these principles." Here now then the Word of God. When Jesus saw the crowds, Matthew 5:1. He went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, I want you to listen to this, and after he sat down, and why am I making a point of this? Because this was a typical way a rabbi would have taught his disciples in this time. He would have sat down and his disciples would have gathered around to listen. So it says, "He went into the area on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him." He opened his mouth and began to teach. It's kind of a curious statement if you think about it, because if you were going to say what somebody did, you wouldn't probably say that Jim opened his mouth and began to speak. You would just say, "Jim said." So this phrase here, he opened his mouth, it kind of is making us aware that something spectacular, something revelational, something profound and powerful is about to come forth from his mouth. It's not just that so and so were talking and conversing. He opened his mouth. Words from heaven are going to begin to pour out. He opened his mouth and began to teach. And here we go. This is called now the first part of the sermon on the mount. We call the Beatitudes. So we're going to go through these Beatitudes, and again I want to state that oftentimes when we see the Beatitudes somewhere, it almost sounds like it's almost like a fairy tale, something that we'd see again like on a Hallmark greeting card, like poetic pleasantries. But Jesus wasn't playing around. We need to take these very, very seriously. He meant what he said, and he said what he meant. Here what he said. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God." You see, in our culture, we think of that word poor, and we don't associate the word poor with a good thing. Like if we speak about somebody being poor, generally we think about material wealth, and that they don't have enough to to get by, that they're barely able to survive, that maybe they're having a hard time buying food, and even putting a shelter over their head. And so we kind of connect the word poor to something negative. And so when Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God," we need to understand that Jesus said, "Blessed." This term blessed, it carries with it the meaning of divine happiness. So we need to kind of get out of the American mindset, and the mindset of our culture, regardless of where in the world that you're living, that we think of poor as a negative thing, because Yeshua is actually saying, "If you're poor in spirit," he said, "you're blessed." So we need to understand, what did he mean by this? What does it mean to be poor in spirit, and how can I possibly be blessed by being poor in spirit? I mean, who wants to be poor the way we normally process that? But what Yeshua is saying here, is blessed are those that don't have confidence, listen now, in themselves. Blessed are those that have come to the end of themselves. Blessed are those that have come to a place in life where they realize that they don't have all the answers. Blessed are those that come to a place where they realize that they're empty inside, and they begin as a result of feeling poor in spirit, to look outside themselves. And so the beginning of entering into the Kingdom of God is to come to a place where you're no longer self-satisfied. The beginning of entering into a relationship with Yahweh, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, is to come to a place where we cry out for help, because we realize that in and of ourselves, we don't have the answer. It's not in us. And so Yeshua said once again, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God." I think about some of the words of the Apostle Paul that help shed light on this subject. One of my favorite portions of scripture is in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. And in 2 Corinthians 1, the Apostle Sha'ul, that was his Hebrew name, because Paul was a Hebrew, right? He said he was a Hebrew of Hebrews from the tribe of Benjamin. And did you know that Paul actually considered himself a Pharisee? Look it up. So Paul was a Jew, he was a Hebrew. And in 2 Corinthians chapter 1, Paul said this about his life. He said, "I would have you know, brethren, that I am burdened excessively." In other words, there was such a weight on his life. He was so heavy in spirit. He said, "I am burdened excessively, so that I despaired even of life." In other words, his life was so hard, there was such agony that he was feeling, that he despaired even of life. So we sometimes think that walking with Jesus is supposed to be a rose garden, that every day is supposed to be blissful. But that's not what we find in the life of the Apostle Paul. Again, 2 Corinthians chapter 1, "I would have you know, brethren, that I am burdened excessively, so that I despaired even of life." But then he gave us the reason why. So that I would learn to trust in God, in HaShem. And the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ that raises the dead. So what Paul was saying was that the Lord brought him to the end of himself. He found himself going through a time that was so difficult. But he said, "God brought him into this time, that he would learn to trust not in himself, but in HaShem, in God that raises the dead." Let me say that one last time. I just want you to get this to sink in. Paul said, "I would have you know, brethren, that I'm burdened excessively, so that I despaired even of life." But this happened to me that I would learn to trust in HaShem, in God that raises the dead. So this is what Yeshua was referring to in the first Beatitude. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." And by the way, we find in scripture that the term Kingdom of God and Kingdom of Heaven are oftentimes used interchangeably. They're referring to the same thing. The Kingdom from above that Yeshua came to usher in. And so the first prerequisite to entering into the Kingdom of God is to come to a place where we recognize that we're poor in spirit, that we need help, so that we begin to look up, so that we begin to look outside ourselves, so we turn to God that can fill us with his spirit. Paul had a similar experience when he spoke about in the book of Corinthians, that because of the abundance of the revelation that was given him, to keep him from exalting himself, because God had given him so much revelation, he said there was a messenger of Satan that was sent to him, and this messenger of Satan was causing him torment. Paul said, "This messenger of Satan was a thorn in the flesh." And Paul prayed three times that the Lord would remove this pain from his life, that God would remove this messenger of Satan. But after the third time, the Lord said to him, "Paul, my grace is sufficient, for my power will be perfected in your weakness." So this is a similar example of being poor in spirit. Paul is struggling, a messenger of Satan is causing him pain. He's reaching up to God to get through because he doesn't have the resources in himself to get through this challenge that he's facing. And then Paul says, "God says to Paul, my grace is going to be sufficient for you, and your my power," the Lord said to Paul, "is you're struggling through relying on me. My power is going to be perfected in your weakness." So you're starting to see now, beloved ones, why Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God." We can't be filled with the power of God until we come to the end of relying on ourself and begin to rely on him. Again, as we turn from relying on ourselves because we realize that we're empty. As we turn to him because we can't find within ourselves what we need and nobody else has the answer. The doctors, the lawyers, our friends, no one can help us. And we turn to him, we're poor in spirit, then we begin to be filled with this power, and we begin to enter into the realities and the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.
Guest (Male): You're listening to Discovering The Jewish Jesus with Rabbi Schneider and he'll be right back. But first, did you know that this program is available in Hebrew, Russian and Spanish? If you know somebody who speaks one of these languages, now's your chance to share the blessing. To access the language version that's right for them, just go to discoveringthejewishjesus.com and click the watch/listen tab and choose an available alternate language channel right there. Go into the world and preach the gospel to all creation. We take that command very seriously. Through our online media platforms, TV, radio, and overseas festivals, we're sharing the truth of the gospel with people of all different nations, tribes, and tongues. And if the Lord has put a burden on your heart to support us, would you please give financially today at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And now, back to the second half of today's lesson.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." This is similar. This is similar to the first Beatitude because remember the first thing that Yeshua said is blessed are the poor, and we think, but who wants to be poor? We just covered that, but now Yeshua is saying something that sounds almost similar, "Blessed are those who mourn." And we think to ourselves, well, well, why would I want to mourn? I mean, we think of mourning as sadness. Right? We don't think of mourning as something that's positive. So a lot of people don't embrace the teachings of the sermon on the mount because they can't relate to them. They just kind of dismiss them because they seem like unpleasant statements. But we need to understand, Jesus said what he meant, and he meant what he said. And we need to take his words very, very seriously because these are the truths that help us to enter in to the Kingdom of God, and without living a sermon on the mount type of lifestyle, we will not be disciples of Jesus. And so listen again. Yeshua said, "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." So what's the point? The point is if you look around like for example, consider most teenagers. Are most teenagers mourning? No. Some are, I know. Some young people are hurting and struggling. But if you think about the youth, the youth are so kind of caught up in experiencing the newness of things that they've never experienced before. They begin to drive, they begin to become attracted to the opposite sex. They begin to be exposed to parties and the different things of the world and everything is brand new. And so many young people are not mourning inside. They're thrilled with the delights of youth. But when you're thrilled with the delights of youth, and you're getting joy from the things of the world, you're not able to receive the riches of the Kingdom. Because the riches of the Kingdom only flow into our lives when we're low. Yeshua said through the prophet, "God gives grace to the humble, but resisteth the proud." Humility is being dependent on the Lord. So the second Beatitude is similar to the first. The first is blessed are those that are poor in spirit, the second is, "Blessed are those that mourn." So what's the point? You've got to be dissatisfied with where you're at in order to receive the riches that Yeshua wants to give you. Because if we're satisfied where we're at, then we're not hungry for more. And we're going to see that Jesus speaks more about this in these same Beatitudes. You have to come to a place where you have what I like to call a divine dissatisfaction. You have to come to the place where you're not satisfied with where you're at. You begin to lament where you're at. You want something more. You're sad about life. You're sad about your life. You're sad with where you're at. And the whole purpose of this is you begin to turn your eyes upward and ask the Lord to fill you with the riches of his spirit. Because sometimes the Lord will lead you into the wilderness. He'll lead you into a place where you're sad. He'll lead you into a place where you're hurting. He'll lead you into a place where you're divinely dissatisfied so that you can begin to call out to him, and as you begin to call out to him, a channel is opened up in your soul for him to begin to flood you with the resources of heaven. This is the prerequisite for him to enter in. Again, his power is perfected in our weakness. Let's continue on with the third Beatitude. "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the Earth." Again, for many of us, this concept of being gentle, especially if you're a man, is counterintuitive. Because in our culture and in many macho cultures around the world, men don't esteem so much to be gentle. They esteem to be powerful. And many people look at gentleness and being powerful as two opposites. But beloved, being gentle is actually power that's under control. The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. Love, joy, peace, gentleness, and self-control. God can be hard when he needs to be. He can be harsh when he needs to be. He can drive out the enemy with a whip when he needs to like he did the money changers at the temple. But predominately and essentially, the Lord is gentle. Again, the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness. And so if we're going to walk in the light of God's Spirit, and walk in the fruit of the Spirit, we need to develop the quality of gentleness. You know, when I travel the world for Discovering The Jewish Jesus, and I'm exposed to different cultures, so many of the cultures that I visit are bombastic in their personality. Now, many people describe Israelis as a fruit called a Sabra. And a Sabra is a fruit that's prickly on the outside, but sweet on the inside. And perhaps that's true in the lives of many. But the outside culture is very strong. You know, they're trained in the military here. It's an intense place here. And so it's bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. I find the same thing in many other cultures in the world that I'm in. In many cultures in Africa, not all the African nations, but in some of them. Not a lot of gentleness. But you and I are not to be conformed to the world. We're to cultivate gentleness. I remember not long ago, I was in New York City with my team, and we were doing an interview there. And I went to sleep that night, and in my sleep, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He literally spoke to me, and he said to me this, he said, "You don't always have to use force. Sometimes gentleness is the most effective way of touching people for my Kingdom." Very clear word he gave me that night. You don't always have to be forceful. You don't always have to rely on raw power. Sometimes gentleness is the most effective way to build the Kingdom. I came down from my room that morning, and I met my partner that was traveling with me. We were waiting for the taxi, and he said, "Rabbi, I'm reading this book right now." And he brought out the title of the book, it was a book on gentleness. So I would encourage you, maybe you're not treating your wife or husband with gentleness. Maybe you're not relating to people with gentleness. God wants us to be self-aware and to transform ourselves so that the general disposition of our life, and the way that we treat people, especially those closest to us, is with a spirit of gentleness. "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed according to the renewing of your mind." Beloved, these are Jesus's words. And as we begin to live out and walk in the principles that he taught in the Beatitudes, we're going to enter into more and more light, and we're going to know the reality of Jesus more and more in our lives. Well, we've all heard of the Beatitudes, but if you're like me, I had to look up what the word Beatitudes means. It means supreme blessedness. Yeshua is teaching us how to live a lifestyle for which we will be extremely and supremely blessed. And one of the principles of the Kingdom that Yeshua taught us is, "Give, and it'll be given unto you." I just want to encourage you to be a giver. And if this ministry is feeding you, if this ministry is blessing you, if God's using it in your life, and you feel a witness from the Holy Spirit with what I'm saying, that you're to make a sacrifice to the Lord through this ministry, I just want to encourage you to be obedient, because Yeshua said, "Give and it'll be given back to you, pressed down, good measure, running over into your lap." And the Word of God teaches that we should support the ministries that are spiritually feeding us. So I just want to tell you that I love you. Thank you. And I pray that you'll continue to be blessed through this ministry, and give if the Lord leads.
Guest (Male): Amen. Thank you, Rabbi. And if God is prompting your heart today, pick up the phone, call us at 800-777-7835. Or give online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And you know, giving is one of the ways that we put our faith into action. And when you support Discovering The Jewish Jesus, you're helping God's Word reach people right when they need it the most. And we just want to say thank you. And also, did you know that Discovering The Jewish Jesus has a Spanish YouTube channel? We've got Hebrew and Russian as well. But the Spanish one, it's a wonderful way to share Rabbi Schneider's teaching with Spanish-speaking family members, friends and neighbors that might want to grow in their relationship with God. On our Spanish channel, viewers can find the same biblical encouragement and ministry content as our main channel, but it's fully in Spanish, even the graphics. It's not just a cheap dub over. It's a full production of Discovering The Jewish Jesus. And so if you want to find it in Spanish or share it with someone, they just need to search for Descubriendo a Jesús Judío on YouTube to explore what's available. Watch or listen on YouTube Spanish. And you know, through these videos, people who may never have encountered Discovering The Jewish Jesus in English, they can receive encouragement rooted in scripture and they can be introduced to Rabbi Schneider's perspective. So sharing this channel, it's a way to help the message reach beyond language barriers and into more homes. As this ministry continues reaching lives in multiple languages, your support, it makes a difference and enables us to do this. Thank you for partnering with us. God bless you. Now, here's Rabbi with the Aaronic blessing.
Rabbi K.A. Schneider: The Aaronic blessing in the book of Numbers chapter 6 is not a blessing that comes from an impersonal being out there somewhere in the heavens. This special blessing comes from a person, Yahweh, God Almighty, our Creator and maker. So receive God's blessing into your life right now. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with His countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, His peace. And now, in Hebrew. Yevarechecha Adonai veyishmerecha. Ya'er Adonai panav eilecha vichuneka. Yissa Adonai panav eilecha veyasem lecha shalom. God bless you. And shalom.
Guest (Male): I'm your host Dustin Roberts, and this program is produced and sponsored by Discovering The Jewish Jesus. Join us next time as Rabbi Schneider challenges a lie that a lot of us believe. Find out next time on Discovering The Jewish Jesus.