Mishkahn David Messianic Synagogue

The Book of Devarim (Deuteronomy) marks a shift. In the other books of Torah, G-d spoke to Moses and told him specifically what to say, word for word. In Devarim, Moses speaks on His own. It is as if G-d is saying, "I've fed you enough. Go now and feed."

"But we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place... We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance", said Reuben and Gad. Much to learn prophetically from their statement about how we are to walk beside the Jewish people and each other.

G-d promises through the prophet Zechariah that the fast days that commemorate the greatest of national tragedies will become days of celebration in the Messianic Era. How does G-d turn tragedy into celebration, fasting into feasting? Listen and find out.

Bilaam was a prophet who heard from the true G-d and had the Holy Spirit upon him. Bilaam also served Balak, the King of Moab, who hated Israel. He only spoke the words of G-d when on the mountain. Down below, he strategized with Balak how to defeat Israel. He served two masters. He was compromised. Are you also a compromised prophet? Do you answer to the Lord, but also have an unholy alliance with the Kings and systems of the world? You cannot serve G-d and mammon.

In this Torah portion, Israel was on the verge of completing their wilderness journey, and found themselves on the border of Edom. They requested safe passage through, but were denied. This is a prophetic view of the Jewish people's journey towards Messiah and their interaction with the Church. Listen to learn more.

In this Torah portion, the children of Israel elected to send spies into Canaan, without being instructed by Adonai to do so. That didn't turn out so well. We can learn a lot from their experience on fearing the future and trusting G-d when He says the land is good.

Rabbi Peter returns to Mishkahn David and gives a message on the Acharei Mot Torah Portion.

Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, offering unauthorized incense. And we know what happened to them. We all have contributions to offer into G-d's Kingdom. But are they what He needs at this time? Sometimes no. Sometimes, when we trust Him without offerings, He turns them into something even greater than we originally imagined.

In this week's Torah portion, Vayikra, we see the very first time the Hebrew word 'HaMashiach' (The Messiah) appears in the Bible. This gives us greater insight into the role of Mashiach in the economy of G-d.

In the Book of Esther, G-d is not mentioned even once. Yet we see His divine orchestration all throughout the story. So it is in our lives sometimes. He seems absent, but in reality He is working out a glorious story of deliverance.

Rabbi Brian gets sentimental on the 10th anniversary of when he and Suzi first stepped foot in Mishkahn David.

At Sinai, G-d made His voice heard, but it scared the people. G-d then promised to raise up a prophet to speak His words. That prophet is you! Are you using this gift well? Are you speaking G-d's words or are you wasting your divine voice on things of the world?

Today's Torah portion, Bo, outlines one of the most important events of the entire Bible... the Exodus from Egypt. Nothing foreshadows our salvation in Yeshua, our Passover Lamb, better than the story of the Exodus. So to more fully understand our salvation, what we were saved from and what we were saved into, it is helpful to see it through the lens of the Exodus, our original salvation experience.

We learn from the story of John the Baptist that he had a large, successfully ministry of declaring the coming of the Lord. But later, he spent his remaining days in jail wondering if he got it right. G-d wants us to not focus on perceived outcomes and our own understandings of success, but to trust the fruit of our actions to Him. Our contributions into the ecosystem of the Kingdom are good, useful for His purposes, and eternal.

If Adonai ordains the beginning of a thing, the end of a thing, and the road between them, then what is the value of praying for situations? Does our prayer mean anything, since the results are predetermined? This was something that I've been contemplating, and I believe the Lord gave me a firm answer.

The sermon from Shabbat was about our patriarch Judah. Judah's story is nestled within the account of Joseph in the book of Genesis. What's not obvious in the story is the depth of sin that Judah fell into. Yet through his deep, dark journey into depravity and isolation, in a single moment, Messiah rose up in him, and the salvation of Israel burst forth. And this broken, fallen man ultimately merited the most awesome blessing given by his father Jacob... that the scepter will never depart from him... that Israel's Kings and ultimately the Messiah will come from his lineage. The story of Judah is an incredible story of G-d's redemption.

Jacob is the child of promise. But to receive the blessing from his Father, he put in the skins of his older brother, who was an unrighteous man. Is there a blessing when a righteous man clothes himself with the unrighteous? I believe there is great blessing in this, and is at the core of G-d's heart. If this makes no sense to you, you'll need to listen to understand.

In so many places in Scripture, we are reminded that G-d is not limited to our human understandings of what is possible. When we have radical faith and believe beyond the boundaries of the possible, we then can operate in the realm of the impossible. As Yeshua said, with man it is impossible, but with G-d all things are possible.

We as believers ascribe many of our inclinations to the leading of the Holy Spirit. That may be true... but it is important to realize that there are other forces at work within us. Our own filters and perceptions also speak into our brain, and can trick us into thinking we are hearing from the Ruach, when really we are hearing from our past hurts, pains, experiences, etc. We need to ask Adonai for help in distinguishing between these two competing voices.

Noah's Ark not only survived the flood, it rose above it. Yeshua, who lives within us, walks on tumultuous waters. We as His Body need to learn to float... to not be consumed by the waters of the world, but to rise above it.