Shavuot Gifts From YHWH

7/29/2019 Shavuot Gifts From YHWH

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Shavuot Gifts from YHWH

Emet Ministries www.emetministries.com

By Brother Rabbi Daniel Rendelman, Rav Dani'el Ben Shmu'el

Shavuot, also known as Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks, is a special time. This is one of the sevenfestivals of YHWH found in Leviticus 23. Shavuotcomes at the end of counting 7 weeks from Passover.It is a time of harvest and a time of celebration.Traditionally, the feast of Shavuot is called "MatanHaTorah" or the "Giving of the Torah."

Shavuot is recognized as the time that the Torah / theLaw of Moses was given on Mount Sinai to the nationof Israel . This can be easily understood by looking atExodus 19, which declares that it was during the thirdmonth that the children of Israel received the tabletsof the 10 Commandments. The Rabbis havetraditionally described this event as parallel to the

traditional Jewish wedding ceremony. As we all know,weddings are celebrated each year with ananniversary. Shavuot is the anniversary of the givingof Torah. And with any anniversary come times of intimacy and course gift giving. Shavuot is like awedding and a wedding anniversary.

One day a young man and his wife were invited to visit

an elderly couple for dinner. The elderly couple had

been married for about 60 years, and seemed to love

each other very much. The husband would always

address his wife as honey, pumpkin, etc. When the two

women disappeared to the kitchen the younger man

asked the elderly man, "How do you manage to keep

calling your wife honey and stuff after being married for

so long?" The man blushed as he looked away for a

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moment, then turned back to the young man and

replied, "I forgot her name ten years ago."

On this special anniversary YHWH has a unique gift just for you! Abba knows exactly what you need andhas provided this gift today.

This gift is "Matan HaTorah" - the anniversary of thegiving of the Torah. Now, before you gloss over thisimportant fact, please consider your definition of theTorah. Think about it...what is the Law of Moses toyou? What is the Torah to you? How much Torah doyou know?

Take that definition and that understanding and cast

it aside. Throw it away! Ignore your thoughts,regardless of how great a theologian you are!

There is only ONE word that accurately describes theTorah. This one word definition can change your faithand it can change your life.

The absolute best and only true understanding of Torah is...

It is a "GIFT.The Torah is NOT:

Rules, laws, commands, burdens, do's, don'ts,instructions, teachings, theology, or the OldTestament law.

The Torah is simply a GIFT from YHWH to mankind.And like any gift, the Torah can be received or it canbe rejected. Like Hallmark, YHWH loves us so much

that He has sent the very best - the TORAH. This isopposite to how many religious people think aboutthe Torah.

Christianity regards the Law of Moses as a collectionof stories given for principles but not necessarilyobedience. Most Christian pastors consider the Torah



only as a schoolmaster that brings us to Messiah andthen leaves us at the foot of the cross. Many Jewishpeople consider the Torah a burdensome way of lifethat was learned during Hebrew school. Friend, these

ideas are WRONG.The Torah was given by the very spirit of YHWH andthe very FINGER of YHWH! How could this be bad forus?

Deuteronomy 10:9

YHWH gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of YHWH. On them

were all the commandments YHWH proclaimed to you on the mountain out of thefire, on the day of the assembly.

If we can learn to view the Torah first and foremost asa gift from YHWH then our obedience will havemeaning.

Too many people get the cart before the horse andthink they can work themselves into a goodrelationship with YHWH. This is not so! YHWH lovesyou so much. He can't love you any more than Hedoes right now...no matter how much Torah youobey! You can NOT earn His love. You can not earn

His approval. The Torah was NOT given for us toplease YHWH but for us to live our lives in holiness.NOTE: the Torah was not given to YHWH or for YHWH. Instead, we are taught that the Torah wasgiven to mankind and for mankind.

The Torah is a gift, yet even a wonderful anniversarygift can be forgotten or abused.

I remember a great and meaningful gift I received on

Father's Day a few years ago. It was a handmadeshirt that said "World's Best Dad." The shirt had theactual hand prints of my children painted on thefront. I absolutely loved the shirt and the thoughtbehind getting my kids to only get pain on the shirtand not the walls, carpet, and ceiling of my home.However, the shirt meant so much to me that I never



wore it. Never. Not even once. I took the shirt andhung it in my closet to remind me of the love of mywife and children. How sad. I couldn't trulyappreciate the gift because I had put it on a shelf. I

considered it to special (and maybe a little too tacky)to wear. Did I use this gift properly? No.

Sadly, many people treat the Torah in the samemanner that I treated my hand-painted t-shirt. Weput the Torah on the shelf and consider it to besimply a nice thought but not practical. Manyconsider that the Law has passed away with Judaism.Maybe we place the Torah out of reach because it istoo hard, or too harsh, or too Jewish. We don't keep

Torah because we think that the Messiah completed itwhen He said "it is finished." Sadly, the Torah is on ahanger right next to my shirt.

Sometimes we let the preacher or the Rabbi get therevelation and teach us. We sit as sponges ready tosoak up the word and rarely crack the good book.Our Bibles collect dust as we consider it's thepreacher's job to teach, study, and visit the sick. Arewe really using the gift of the Scriptures properly?

Some place it on the shelf because they reason thatthey will never understand it. We have this idea thatwe can't know exactly how to keep the Torah so wesimply give up. Many are guilty of putting the trueTorah on a shelf as we focus on the smaller details.We trace rabbit trails about the belly button fuzz of Moses and Joshua while we leave the weightiermatters of love and mercy. A gift can be put on ashelf and we have done this with the Torah.

The opposite of forgetting a gift is using a gift.

A few years ago a friend gave me a one of a kind gift.My life-long dream of having a 2 cup coffee makerwas finally realized. This coffee maker was great as itmade coffee in two silver mugs. No filter needed and



not pot to wash. I used this coffee maker everydayfor over 2 years until it finally puttered out. My giftof the coffee maker was put to good use. This is whatthe Torah was intended for - to be used for life and

love.We need to accept the gift of Torah afresh and anewtoday and begin to really apply it to our hearts. Takefor example, Pastor Sylvia Silva and her family.Pastor Silva leads the ministry at Christ Central inColumbia , South Carolina . In the name of YHWH Y'shua they feed the homeless, cloth the poor,minister to the needy, and provide a place of comfort. This is TORAH!

Many of us are guilty of talking about Torah butseldom go outside of our family and live the law.Again, how sad. We settle for learning about ourHebrew roots than reaching out to those around us.Friend, you don't learn Hebrew roots! You DO Hebrewroots! It's not our Torah knowledge that matters.How much love do we really show? This is the giftthat Abba has given us and we must choose to use itand SHARE IT!

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does YHWH require of you but

to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your YHWH?

James 1:27

Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our YHWH and Father is this: to visitorphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Romans 10:4-5

For Messiah is the GOAL of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.For Moses writes about the righteousness that is from the law: The one who does

these things will live by them

We have the gift of Torah and many of us do use it forits true purpose. A gift can be used, shared, ignoredand also abused.



Do you ever buy yourself something nice? Iremember one day that I bought myself a new gift.Well, I went to Wal-mart and spent a few hundreddollars on a brand new lawn mower. The grass had

gotten way too tall and my wife didn't think a goatwas the answer. To solve this problem I neededsomething that was big, and green, and had lots of power. You can imagine the joy I had as I got homeand cranked up the motor for the first time. Iimmediately cut the front yard and then the back yardand then the front yard again. Oh the power of thatmower! Then, the unthinkable happened. Black smoke began to rise out of the motor of my newtractor. The engine began to sputter. The life of my

new mower was literally sucked away as my yard wasfilled with smog. What happened? In my earnestdesire to cut the grass I had forgotten a veryimportant part of correct engine maintenance. Mynew mower died on it's first day because of a lack of motor oil! I had the gift but I abused it.

The Torah is abused when we thrust our personalconvictions upon others. The Torah is abused whenwe beat people up with the commandments andexpect others to obey as we have been lead.Honestly, we all know people that have been hurt andcondemned by others because they didn't "keepTorah" the way others did. Our movement has beendivided numerous times over calendars, names,theologies, and personalities.

The Torah has been given for our freedom and for ourgood.

James 1:25

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being

not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his

deed.

This Shavuot may we begin to accept and love oneanother as Y'shua prayed - "that we could be one."



To have unity also means that we stop our constantattacks on our Christian brothers and sisters.

Do we really expect someone to want to follow theTorah if all we do is berate them about what they are

doing wrong?

The Torah scroll was never meant to be a weapon.Don't talk Torah to people... SHOW it to them throughyour actions and love! Let people come to you andstop trying to be the Holy Spirit for others!

I have seen so many Messianic followers fall becauseof pride. They think their way is the only true pathand therefore anyone else is wrong, wrong, wrong.

These people exalt their beliefs about diet, homeschooling, names, head coverings, and moons abovelove and acceptance. Many focus on the outwardcommands and forget the inward commands of loveand justice. Many are misusing the Torah today.

The scriptures teach that the Torah was given to usfor many reasons:

Romans 7:7 -

I would not have known what sin was except through the law

Deuteronomy 9:10

YHWH gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of YHWH. On them

were all the commandments YHWH proclaimed to you on the mountain out of thefire, on the day of the assembly.

1 Corinthians 10:11

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings

for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come

2 Timothy 3:16

All Scripture is YHWH-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correctingand training in righteousness



Let's make sure the GIFT of Torah is accepted andused properly.

Again, it is interesting that the Rabbi's of Judaism callthis day "Matan HaTorah." This is the day of the

giving of Torah. Shavuot is not called the day to"Receive Torah." This is because EVERYDAY shouldbe a time and a day to receive a blessing andrevelation from YHWH's word.

The Torah is only ONE of the gifts that Abba has givenus during Shavuot. There is more for us!

We can read in Acts 2 about how another promisedgift was received by the believers. This is the Holy

Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh.

What do you know about the Holy Ghost?

Again, take what you think about the RuachHaKodesh and put it aside for 30 seconds. Wipe yourmind clean of what you understand about the Ruachand get this one word definition.

The Ruach HaKodesh / Set Apart Spirit is... a GIFT!

The Ruach is NOT: a holy ghost, emotions, power,little voice, force, tongues, goose bumps, or the thirdperson trinity.

The Ruach is a GIFT!

John 14:25

All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit,whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind

you of everything I have said to you.

And like any gift, the Ruach can be rejected orreceived. This gift is being offered to you today.

Like my wonderful t-shirt from my children, we canignore the spirit. Pharaoh did this and his heart washardened. Jonah did this and he was in the belly of awhale. David did this and he sinned with Bathsheba.



The Israelites ignored the GIFT and wandered in thewilderness for 40 years. We ignore the spirit whenwe consider its power dead.

Many churches are themselves void of life and power

because they think that Pentecost ended at the upperroom. NO! The Gift of the Spirit should not beprogrammed out with bulletins or the Baptist Faithand Message.

1 Corinthians 4:20

For the kingdom of YHWH is not a matter of talk but of power.

The gift of the Spirit will convict us of sin and lead us

to the path of holiness. The probing power of this giftwill show us when we are wrong and help us correctour mistakes. If we ignore this gift we will go fartherand farther down the path of perdition.

We also ignore the GIFT of the Ruach when we allowenvy and strife to enter our lives. Stress, pain, sin,pride, and selfishness all grieve the gift of the Ruach.

Ephesians 4:30

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day

of redemption.

James 3:16

Where there is envy and strife there is confusion and every evil work.

The Gift of the Spirit can also be abused. The Ruachis abused as we try to operate without its power.

Think again about that lawn mower. It was used inthe wrong way and therefore didn't function verylong. What did the lawn mower need? It needed oil!We need the oil of the Spirit to operate in this faith!

Churches plan their revival and program a time forthe Spirit to move. Not a day early and not a day



late! Do we really think we can schedule "revival?"Doesn't such an idea seem a little strange?

We are also guilty of abusing the Spirit when we INTHE FLESH operate in its "supposed" gifts. For

example, you will read of no saved, sanctified, orbelieving person in the entire Bible who falls back under the power of YHWH. Every time people fellwhen the presence of YHWH would manifest - theywould always fall on their faces, not fall backward.Why do people fall back in the Spirit?

How many "words from YHWH" have heard that weredirectly "words from man?" How many feel goodprophecies do we have to hear before we realize thatit is man that is talking? This gift has been so abusedby many who want to have power yet put their focusin the wrong place. So many seek for signs andpower that they abuse the gift. Was the GIFT of theSpirit really given so we could have "tea time with theHoly Ghost?" Come on!

Sadly, many in the charismatic movement abuse thisgift. Should we really tell people that they are not

Christians if they don't speak in tongues?Condemnation and chaos results when the Spirit isabused.

The Ruach HaKodesh is a GIFT from YHWH that is tobe used properly. Like the Torah, we have MUCHFREEDOM when it comes to flowing in this GIFT. TheRuach helps us with guidance, protection,understanding, and wisdom. This is the power of YHWH. Like the two cup coffee maker, we are to be

open vessels that the Ruach may flow through.1 Peter 4:10

10Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfullyadministering YHWH's grace in its various forms.



Remember that this gift must be received. We canread of many people in the Newer Testament thatwere born again but had not received the gift of theSpirit, as in Acts 8:12-17.

1 Peter 4:10

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfullyadministering YHWH's grace in its various forms.

1 Corinthians 12:7

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

This Shavuot may we accept BOTH the gift of theTorah and the gift of the Ruach. The two go togetherlike love and marriage or peanut butter and jelly. Youcan't have one without the other! Do not bedeceived....it is not an either/or choice of the spirit orthe law. We can and should have both. The twocomplete each other and are NEVER in opposition.Indeed, if they ever are in opposition then you areeither reading the Torah wrong or hearing the Spiritwrong.

Too many churches and ministries focus on one

Pentecost. Either folks are all about Acts 2 or Exodus19. Most center their attention on the Law or theSpirit. We must choose to accept these as ONE gift.Then we must choose NOT to seek either!

READ THAT AGAIN... we must choose to accept theTorah and the Ruach as one and the same AND thenwe must choose NOT to concentrate on either of these gifts. When we focus on the Gifts we gowrong! Our focus should be on the GIVER! The

pendulum will swing far and wide and we will be off track if we focus on either gift.

James 1:17

Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comesdown from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no

inconsistency or shifting shadow.



We know that Y'shua was the Torah made flesh andthat He dwelt among us.

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his

glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and

truth.

We also know that He waked in the fullness of theSpirit.

Acts 10:38

How YHWH anointed Y'shua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and

how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of thedevil, because YHWH was with him.

Y'shua balanced the Torah and the Spirit. His Torahkeeping upset those who knew the letter of the Lawand ignored the spirit of the law. We must seek to belike Y'shua and balance the Torah and the Spirit.Taken separately we end up in trouble. The Torahand the Spirit are like sodium and chloride. Takenindividually, you will die as each of these elements

are poisonous. Pure sodium is lethal by itself.Chloride is lethal by itself. However, if you mixsodium and chloride together you get TABLE SALT.We have been called to be the salt of the earththrough walking in the letter and the spirit of theTorah.

Condemnation, legalism, and burden carryinghappens when a person focuses on the Law. Chaos,constant searching, and burden carrying happens

when a person focuses on the Spirit.

If all we do is think, live, breath, eat, sleep, and readthe Torah then we will die spiritually. Sorry! That'sthe emet...

2 Corinthians 3:6



For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

1 Corinthians 8:1

Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifieth.

We can not simply learn and focus on Torah or we willonly build our knowledge level and have littleinterpersonal skills. If all we do is study and studythen we will have little time to do and do. If all we dois focus on the Spirit then we will become a Spiritual"flake" that only repels people away from us. Theremust be balance.

"Rabbi Yohanan said in Talmud Bavli Tractate BavaMetzia 30B that Jerusalem in 70 C.E. was destroyed

because people followed "din Torah" (the Law of theTorah). He explained that they followed the letter of the law, but not the spirit of the law. They did notpractice "lifnim mi Shurat ha Din" (beyond the letterof the Law). They were destroyed. It is not justcorrect for a Jew to do ritual minutia while ignoringthe plight of those around him. That would bekeeping to the letter of the law, but not to the spirit.When we endeavor to keep to the spirit of the law, we

progress toward holiness," wrote Rabbi Arthur Segal.1 Timothy 1:5

The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good

conscience and a sincere faith.

Y'shua spoke to the woman at the well and said thatthose who have true worship will worship in Spirit andin Truth - Ruach v'eh Emet. It takes both gifts to trulyworship.

It is not enough to know Torah... we must act in aproper way with the Spirit of Torah on our hearts.This difference is found in a simple Hebrew concept of "kavannah." This is the idea of "devotion" and"intention." What is our true purpose for wanting to



know Torah? What is the reason that we seek spiritual gifts? How does the Ruach HaKodesh wantto use you to bring others to the Torah?

A true believer that is after YHWH's heart will seek

the GIVER and NOT the GIFTS. YHWH has given us HisTorah. YHWH has given us His Ruach. Yet power andwords are not enough. We must have the rightintentions. That purpose, that kavenah, should be tofurther our relationship with Abba. We are to seek YHWH through the Torah and the Spirit. Shavuot islike an anniversary and YHWH want us to bring closerto Him during this time.

Consider now - how is your relationship with YHWH?What is your personal one-on-one relationship like? Iam not asking how much Torah you know or howmuch Holy Ghost power you have. How close are youto YHWH? I am not asking how many times you speak in tongues or how many miracles you have seen.What is your devotion to YHWH?

The Torah and the Ruach are a GIFT from YHWH thatshould be used and shared with others. Today and

everyday YHWH is offering these gifts to us.Here are a few ideas to increase your kavenah:

• Pour out your heart to abba in prayer. Tell

Him how you feel. Release grudges and

unforgiveness.

• Read and meditate on verse of scripture a

day. Don't see how much Torah you can learn

but see how much you can learn from the Torah.

• Serve others. Focus your attention on showing

love to others. Get out of your comfort zone.

• Commit 10 minutes to prayer today. Then 11

tomorrow. Then 12 next week. Then 13.



• Speak in faith and not in doubt.

• Start a weekly Bible study to share the gift of

Torah and Spirit that you have with others.

Today you can choose to accept the GIFT of Shavuotafresh and anew. Or you can ignore this gift. May wechoose to walk in all that Abba has for us.

Jeremiah 29:11 is a very familiar verse yet the threefollowing verses are often forgotten. Let's take thispassage to heart on this Shavuot - Matan HaTorah.

Jeremiah 29:11-4

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares YHWH, "plans to prosper you

and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call

upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek meand find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,"

declares YHWH, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from

all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares YHWH, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

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Shavuot Gifts From YHWH