6-1-24 Message to Beth Messiah Lusaka – B’Chukotai (in My statutes) Torah Portion: Lev 26:3-27:34;
Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14
Suggested Acheron K’tuvim: 1 Peter 2:1-6
You Are Uniquely Gifted to Serve
Central question of this message: What is holding you back from engaging in the service that G-d has ordained for you in His kingdom in this place?
Parasha B’Chukotai takes its name from the first line of the parasha found in Lev 26:3. “If you walk in My statutes and keep My
commandments so as to carry them out,”
Lev 26:3-10
3 'If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments so
as to carry them out, 4 then I shall give you rains in their season, so that the land will yield its produce and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. 5 'Indeed, your threshing will last for you until grape gathering, and grape gathering will last until sowing time. You will thus eat your food to the full and live securely in your land. 6 'I shall also grant peace in the land, so that you may lie down with no one making you
tremble. I shall also eliminate harmful beasts from the land, and no sword will pass through your land. 7 'But you will
chase your enemies and they will fall before you by the
sword; 8 five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of
you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall
before you by the sword. 9 'So I will turn toward you and
make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My
covenant with you.
In last week’s parasha, we saw the instructions which were given by G-d to Moses for the Sabbath of the Land of Israel, once the people entered.
Also found there were the commands regarding the special year of seven times seven, or 49. That was the year of Yuval, which is called by most normative Christians “Jubilee.” According to the best calculations I can find, the next year of Yuval will the year 5789 on the Jewish calendar.
Sept. 20, 2028–Sept. 9, 2029.
According to Torah, many things were to happen in that Yuval year.
Slaves were freed, debts were forgiven, and lands which had been sold returned to the original tribal and family owners.
The theme of today’s message is much in-line with the theme of Yuval and as well as B’Chukotai. I will hopefully be freeing you from some of the chains fashioned by others that now bind you. I hopefully will show you that you are to live by G-d’s commands, and that you can even today move into the place in G-d’s kingdom that He has prepared for you in what He is building in the world today.
I wish to begin by addressing some serious errors which seem to be gaining popularity in Zambia.
Some people might have suggested to you that because of one’s skin color, or because of the tribal affiliation, you are forever stuck in a certain lower level of society. Those same teachers seem to raise themselves up to a higher level of society, as they push others lower.
That teaching is against G-d’s word. This teaching is not of G-d and cannot pass beyond Isa 56 and 66. Although this prophecy has yet to be fully fulfilled, the heart of G-d in the matter is clearly shown.
Isa 66:16-24
16 For the Lord will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the Lord will be many.
17 "Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the
gardens, Following one in the center,
Who eat swine's flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end altogether," declares the Lord.
18 "For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is
coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall
come and see My glory. 19 "I will set a sign among them [the Jewish people] and will send survivors from them [the Jewish people] to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal
and Javan [the nations who came from the grandsons of
Noah], to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My
fame nor seen My glory [no place on Earth will be missed}.
And they [Jewish “missionaries”] will declare My glory
among the nations. 20 "Then they [these Jews] shall bring all your brethren from all the nations [those who have come to
faith in the G-d of Israel] as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels [they will come in any way they are able to come], to My holy
mountain Jerusalem," says the Lord, "just as the sons of
Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord [the harvest of souls will be so abundant, it will be like individual grains in the basket of offering being
brought to the Temple]. 21 "I will also take some of them
[those gathered from all nations] for priests and for
Levites," says the Lord.
22 "For just as the new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will endure before Me," declares the Lord,
"So your offspring and your name will endure.
23 "And it shall be from new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the
Lord.
24 "Then they will go forth and look
On the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm will not die
And their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind."
Isa 56:1-8
56 Thus says the Lord, "Preserve justice and do
righteousness, For My salvation [Yeshua] is about to come
And My righteousness to be revealed. 2 "How blessed is the
man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it;
Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand
from doing any evil." 3 Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, "The Lord will surely separate me
from His people. "Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a
dry tree." 4 For thus says the Lord, "To the eunuchs who
keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold
fast My covenant, 5 To them I will give in My house and
within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of
sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name
which will not be cut off. 6 "Also the foreigners who join
themselves to the Lord, To minister to Him, and to love the
name of the Lord, To be His servants, every one who keeps
from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; 7
Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them
joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." 8 The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,"Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered."
Then there is another teaching that I see gaining popularity. It is that Israel has been pushed aside by G-d and replaced by the people of the normative church. And that the promises and covenants to Israel as a people now belong to those in the church. That teaching is also against G-d’s word, and cannot persist past the clear teachings of the prophets regarding Israel in the present and future, and most certainly cannot persist past Romans 11.
In that teaching, Paul described the process of people from among the nations joining the Jewish people as a “grafting-in.” He does not speak of replacement, nor of Israel coming to join the Christian church. He speaks of Israel being even today the center of what G-d is doing in this world.
But first, he makes an important point. Regardless of the Jewish people’s national rejection of Yeshua, there were then, and are today, many Jews who have not only been steadfast with G-d, but who also have been fully committed to Yeshua as the Messiah and Savior. Their branches yet remain in the cultivated tree which G-d is still protecting in His garden. And more Jewish people believe in Yeshua as Messiah today than ever before in history. Those natural branches are being brought back into their holy tree by G-d even today.
Rom 11:1-6
11 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He?
May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant
of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not
rejected His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not
know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah,
how he pleads with God against Israel? 3 "Lord, THEY
HAVE KILLED YOUR PROPHETS, THEY HAVE TORN
DOWN YOUR ALTARS, AND I ALONE AM LEFT, AND
THEY ARE SEEKING MY LIFE." 4 But what is the divine
response to him? "I HAVE KEPT for Myself SEVEN
THOUSAND MEN WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE
KNEE TO BAAL." 5 In the same way then, there has also
come to be at the present time a remnant according to God's
gracious choice. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
And Paul continues to describe how those from among the nations can join the Jewish people, and be partakers of the promises of Scdripture made only to them.
Rom 11:11-30
11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?
May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has
come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. 12 Now if
their transgression is riches for the world and their
failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will
their fulfillment be! 13 But I am speaking to you who are
Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I
magnify my ministry, 14 if somehow I might move to
jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. 15
For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16 If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.
17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you,
being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and
became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive
tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if
you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who
supports the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will
say then, "Branches were broken off so that I might be
grafted in." 20 Quite right, they were broken off for their
unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited,
but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. 22 Behold then the kindness and
severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a
cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the
natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?
25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of
this mystery — so that you will not be wise in your own
estimation — that a partial hardening has happened to
Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; 26
and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written,
"THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION,
HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."
27 "THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM,
WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS."
28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for
your sake, but from the standpoint of God's choice they
are beloved for the sake of the fathers; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
So, if you are truly grafted-in to the cultivated olive tree of the Jewish people, you are able to function as part of Israel in this world. But to be truly “grafted-in” there are two things that are essential, and they are found clearly stated in the declaration of Ruth to Naomi.
Ruth 1:15-18
15 Then she [Naomi] said, "Behold, your sister-in-law has
gone back to her people and her gods; return after your sisterin-law." 16 But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you
or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will
go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall
be my people, and your God, my God. 17 "Where you
die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the
Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me."
This very passage has become part of the ceremony during which a person from among the nations transfers from his people group into the Jewish people.
I hear some today describe themselves as “gentile believers.” In the kingdom, there will be no group of people who are called “gentiles.” That term, as used in Scripture, universally represents people who are not “grafted-in” to the Jewish people. There will be no such group in the kingdom on earth.
If you carefully read the description of the Temple that will be on the earth when Yeshua reigns as King, as found in Ezekiel 40-45, you will see that there is no “Court of the Gentiles” This can only be true because there is no such people group any longer. There is one group in that Temple, and they are simply known as the “people of G-d”. Nobody who has not been circumcised in flesh and in heart shall enter the Temple. Thus, only the truly “grafted-in” shall come in.
Ezek 44:9
9 'Thus says the Lord God, "No foreigner uncircumcised in
heart and uncircumcised in flesh, of all the foreigners who
are among the sons of Israel, shall enter My sanctuary.
And in that day, all those who are circumcised in flesh and in heart (fully grafted-in) will each have a place in that Temple – within its courts – and there will be no dividing wall there, for there are no second-class believers at all. So, since we can be assured of a place within His Temple (regardless of our national heritage or bloodline), shouldn’t we be preparing ourselves today?
Now, with that groundwork laid, let’s examine what each of you, individually, should be doing today to advance G-d’s kingdom in Zambia.
One of the difficulties in the analysis of individual giftings, is the error of comparisons. We have a tendency to compare ourselves to others, and even wish we were as gifted as they are, so we could also do good things for G-d.
We often say in our minds, “If I were like __(name of a person)__, then I could ___(do this specific good thing for G-d)____.” This statement is not of G-d, and I will now show you how I can prove it.
It began when a scientist by the name of Don Clifton set out to improve reading speeds in students. He conducted an initial reading assessment
of the group of students he would work with in this experiment. Most students in the group, when reading for 80% retention, were able to maintain 90 words per minute. A few began at a higher level, that of 350 words per minute. All the students got the same speed reading training for 6 weeks.
After this training, they were tested again. The students who started at 90 wpm improved to 140 wpm with 80% retention. That was nearly double their beginning score.
The higher group which began at 350 wpm improved to 2,970 wpm.
That represents an improvement of a multiple of 8.5 times.
This scientist was excited by this result, and concluded that the upper group had a certain talent for reading that could be vastly improved by training. He wondered if there were other types of talents which could be identified and improved.
He put together a 2000-question survey and gave this survey to thousands of people across the globe. During the next 40 years he identified more than 600 separate talents that people have for certain things. He considered that such a number was far too high, so he consolidated those into 34 talents.
He gave those 34 talents certain one-word descriptors, each describing a central theme of that talent, and he put together a longer description of that talent under that single descriptor. Examples are: “Achiever,” “Strategic,” “Focus,” and so forth.
His testing allowed him to determine for every test subject what their top 8 strengths are, and ranked them in order of strongest at top, and 8th strongest at the bottom. He did the same with the bottom 8 talents, which were the 8 things that the person was least talented at doing, also in order of least to most weak.
He determined that everyone’s top 6-8 talents are a sort of “baseline” for you. He postulated that if you identified your top talents, and began working to develop them by adding experience and knowledge to practicing that talent.
He wondered if he could, by applying these concepts to actual people whose talents had been identified, be able to show that their natural talents would blossom. He also wanted to see if he could take the bottom few, weakest, talents and improve them with the same techniques.
He found that working on the top few talents in any one person caused those talents to increase dramatically. He also found that working very hard to improve the weakest talents did lead to slight improvements, but those were short-lived. Without constant effort, those weak talents reverted right back to where they were before. He also found that when a person developed their top talents, they experienced not only great improvement, but the use of those talents gave the person great joy as well.
He also did some statistical analysis, and came up with some amazing findings, that are important to us today.
Let’s begin by knowing the estimated population of a few nations.
Zambia is 21,134,695.
Zimbabwe is 15,121,004
All of Africa is 1,500,000,000
How many people would have to take the same “strengths test” in order to get the same results as you did for only the top 5 strengths in the same order? One in 33 million. That means that there will be no other people in Zambia with the top 5 talents just like you, but there is a chance if you combine Zambia and Zimbabwe, there might be another. But not likely.
How about if we ask for a match for the top 6 strengths as you in the same order? One in 1 billion. That means that there could be one more person with your particular talents in all of Africa, with a possibility of one more. And in the entire world today, there might only be 8 people like you.
How about if we ask for a match for the top 8 strengths as you in the same order? One in 700 billion. That means we would need another 87.3 total populations of the Earth to find only one other person just like you with those same 8 strengths in that same order.
And consider that this scientist identified 34 separate talents, not merely 8. So, you can easily see that we might need at least another galaxy full of today’s Earths if we used only 34 talents as discriminators.
So, after all this science and statistical analysis, what can we now say with total certainty? After more than 31 million have taken the survey, we know that there has never, ever been, in all of history from creation forward, anyone just like you.
We are fond of saying about G-d, “There is none like You!” And now you know that He looks down and says of us individually – “Yeah, and there is no one like you, as well!”
It was at the time I learned this information that I finally understood the deeper meaning of this passage.
Josh 8:30-32
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, in Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had
commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones, on which no
man had wielded an iron tool; and they offered burnt
offerings on it to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings.
Why “uncut stones?” That specific requirement was first set out by G-d to Moses in Deut 27:6. And in this passage above, we see that Joshua follows the directions explicitly. There are the ruins of an altar of uncut stones today on the top of Mt. Ebal in Israel. I don’t know if it is the same one Joshua built, but regardless, it shows us how such an altar looks.
I have built with natural – uncut – stones. It is a decidedly more difficult task than building with stones cut to fit, or using bricks of uniform shape and size. In order to build with uncut stones, there is a process I use.
I must first gather the stones from places where I find them, where they are naturally occurring.
Then I place them around the place where I wish to build. I arrange them in ways so I can easily see what their unique characteristics and shapes are.
I lay-out the size of the thing I am building, and establish the corners.
I lay foundation stones, larger ones that will support more weight, first.
I choose the perfect size and shape for the stones that fill-in the gaps.
As it rises upward, I choose other stones that will fit perfectly in the spot that I have chosen it to fit.
The timing of the placing of that stone into the structure is important to the integrity of the entire structure.
Every stone fits the place I put it, and without it, there would be a defect in what I am building.
Every stone is supported by the ones below it, and it complements the structure where it is located. It doesn’t matter if the stone is high or low, or toward the center or at the edge. It is important to the structure precisely where it is.
I discovered that the building of an altar with uncut stones signified much more than merely the construction of a place of worship. It gave me deeper spiritual lessons. The steps that I take to build with uncut stones are the same steps that G-d take when building His kingdom.
Let’s look at those steps again, with spiritual eyes.
He gathers each of us from the place that He finds us. Ps 102:18-22
He assembles us together in a fellowship, at the location where He wishes to build. Heb 10:23-25
He is always looking at our unique characteristics. 1 Cor 14:26-27
He began building His kingdom by first laying-out the size of what He is building, and establish the cornerstones. Isa 28:16-17
He lays a firm foundation, using larger and stronger pioneers that will support more weight, and determine the strength of the whole. 1 Cor 3:10-11
He chooses the perfect size and shape for the persons gathered to fill-in the gaps.
As His work rises upward, He chooses other people who will fit perfectly in the spot that He has chosen for us to fit.
The timing of the placing of each of us into the work of the kingdom is important to the integrity of the entirety of His work. Eph 2:19-22 19, Eph 4:11-16.
Each one of us is supported by the ones who came before us, and where we are placed by His hand complements the structure He is building. It doesn’t matter if we are placed high or low, or toward the center or at the edge. There is no unimportant location in what He is building. We
are important to what He is building precisely where we are placed at the time we are placed there. 1 Peter 5:6-7
You are not only unique, just as every snowflake, blade of grass, flower, cloud and rock is unique… you are immensely valuable to what G-d is doing in His kingdom on this Earth, and beyond.
Nobody has ever existed in this world who is just like you. Discover your talents, and hone them to a fine edge. Then, when the L-rd’s hand closes upon you, and lifts you to the place that He has ordained that you occupy in the work He is doing, rejoice. And when you are placed in His structure, remember that you are a living stone, and exist for the glory of G-d.
1 Peter 2:1-6
2 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and
hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babes,
long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 4 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected
by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, 5 you
also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual
house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Do you remember the fill-in-the-blank statement with which we began our lesson?
“If I were like __(name of a person)__, then I could ___(do this specific good thing for G-d)____.”
Can you now see how that statement is completely inappropriate for any one of us to ask. Because you are already that perfect, uncut, unique, talented, living stone.
Do not allow the judgments of other men to hinder you. Do not allow the lies of Satan to stand in your way.
Become completely grafted-in to the rich root of the cultivated Olive Tree that is Israel. Walk in the commandments of G-d as Moses urged us in the desert. As you completely assimilate into Israel, as Ruth did, the rich sap from the root will go through your branch. You may still be among the tribes of Africa, but your true national affiliation will be with Israel.
Then, the incredible giftings that you have been given by G-d, which no other person in all of eternity does have, or will have, can be put to use to advance what G-d is building in this world.
You can discover your talents by taking the same survey that I did, at:
https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253868/popular-
cliftonstrengths-assessment-products.aspx
