Nitzavim – Vayelech
Deuteronomy
29:9 – 31:30
Today is a
special day at Beth Messiah. We are dedicating a new N=
er
Tamid. The Ner Tamid is a light that is situated above the Ark that houses =
the
Torah. Literally it means “continuous lamp”. In the Torah (Ex.
27:20 and Lev. 24:2) the children of Israel are to always have a
continuous burning lamp in the holy place. It served as a reminder of the
continuous presence of God. For us it certainly is a reminder of the presen=
ce
of God in our midst. But it is more. It symbolizes something new. It brings=
us
a step closer to the reality of a synagogue. Our Torah portion for this week
finds Moses toward the end of his life challenging the children of Israel =
to move
forward in their lives and to choose God as they enter the land. Moses is
challenging the people to move on, to move forward and to possess the land of Israel. In doing so, he was challe=
nging
them to live out covenant faithfulness, to possess the =
land and to serve God wholeheart=
edly.
That is a challenge for us today as well.&=
nbsp;
We as a messianic community need to choose which way we will go. If =
we
are going to serve God with a whole heart, we need to believe where he is
leading us. In ancient times, the people could have chosen to stay in the
wilderness. After all, they had lived there for a very long time. They had
learned how to live in the wilderness. But God had bigger plans for them. He
wanted them to possess the land. He wanted them to take a risk. He wanted t=
hem
to move forward and not be comfortable in what had become familiar to them.=
He
had bigger things in store for them. He wanted them to dwell in the “=
land
of milk and honey.” In chapter 30, Moses describes the ultimate day w=
hen
they would dwell securely in the land. He encourages them that it is not too
difficult for them to accomplish the will of God for their lives (Deut.
30:11-14).
We can re=
late
to our ancestors in some ways. Beth Messiah Congregation has been living in=
the
wilderness for many years. We have moved all over Columbus. All during this time, God has=
been
with us every step of the way. He has been our provider for everything. We =
are
a stable congregation. We could dwell in the “wilderness” forev=
er
and continue as we have been. But like our ancestors, God has something more
for us. Stability is safe. If we are going to be the place that we know God
wants us to be, we need to move forward in all aspects of our congregational life. Specif=
ically
we need to “possess the land”, so to speak. Translation: we nee=
d a
permanent building that reflects our attitude toward God, the glorious
attributes of God and the attention that the world is to pay toward God. Like our ancestors, there are obst=
acles
in the way. However, if we, as a messianic community, love God with every o=
nce
of our being and maintain close fellowship with Him, God will indeed bring =
it
to pass. In the lives of our ancestors, their devotion to God was manifeste=
d in
their willingness to take the land. How is our devotion to the Lord
manifested? Are we willing to=
do
what it takes to go to the next level and possess the land – build the
building that we need to conduct our ministry in a way that will bless the
community? Remember who we ar=
e and
where God is leading us: We
are the only full service messianic congregation in central ohio. In t=
he next
ten years we, see a community of people composed of more people under 40 th=
an
people over 40, who are growing to maturity and living transformed lives
via vibrant worship which dra=
ws
people to a deeper relationship with the Lord, an education program for all
ages that helps people learn the great truths of Scripture, fellowship
opportunities that build relationships among people and outreach of all kinds that tru=
ly
impact the Jewish community for Yeshua.&nb=
sp;
Therefore we are headed toward a building that is a synagogue and has a
sanctuary, a well equipped ki=
tchen,
fellowship hall, classroom space, and ample office space.
The mission: to complete the buildi=
ng
project while at the same time building up the community via evangelism,
discipleship, fellowship, worship and outreach, using all available resourc=
es
and keeping abreast of the latest trends in both the traditional and messia=
nic
Jewish communities. This
is the “land of milk and honey” that God has for us. It is not =
too
difficult if we focus on the end result, trust God to get us there, work v=
ery hard
to bring it to pass, and encourage our Christian riend=
s
to financially support us in this effort. As Paul said in Romans 15:27 about
the churches giving to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem: Yes, they were pleased to=
do
so, and they are indebted to them. For aif<=
/span>
the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to
minister to them also in material things.
Today the Ner Tamid, tomorrow the
building!
Shabbat Shalom!
&nbs=
p;