Monday, September 13, 2010

BRING A 'SHOUT' OFFERING - IT IS YOM TERUAH

Bemidbar/Numbers 29:1-6
1st if the 7th Month (Yom Teruah Message - Sundown 10 September 2010
Shabbat Shalom! Praise Yahweh – it is Yom Teruah – this is the day of the ‘Awakening Blast’!
Tehillim/Psalm 81:1-3 Shout for joy to Elohim our strength; raise a shout to the Elohim of Yaʽaqob. 2 Lift up a song and beat the tambourine, the pleasant lyre and with the harp. 3 Blow the shophar in the New Moon, in the covering for the day of our festival.
We have been singing and shouting, and we will do say shortly, but before we continue to offer up a trumpet shout of praise, I would like to just briefly share with you a little more on the significance of this feast of Yom Teruah. Last week I did share with you what this day means for us and what we can look forward to as a Bride who has made herself ready and we looked at the significance of the shofar and what it means for us. It was on this day that Scripture details for us the offerings that were to be made and that is what I want us to like at tonight and how we, today, can also come and offer up to YHWH our lives as a living sacrifice. Sha’ul tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to YHWH, pleasing to Him as our reasonable act of worship, and today let us look more specifically at the details regarding Yom Teruah. Please turn with me to Bemidbar/Numbers 29:1-6, in a message tonight called, “Bring a ‘shout’ offering”.
(Read)
The shofar was to be blown over the sacrifices as an ascending offering to YHWH. Now as we know, sacrifice is at the heart of obedient worship unto YHWH and is crucial to our faith and relationship with Elohim. Sha’ul (Paul) tells us that he died daily; that is died to self and presented himself as a living sacrifice every single day. This day however is a day to remember and bring to fullness our sacrifice and commitment to following our Messiah Yahushua, as we too die to self and put to death all that does not belong.
Yom Teruah is a wake-up call, and we are warned to not be found sleeping as we eagerly await the return of our Messiah and the reason to wake up is to praise and honour YHWH!
Tehillim/Psalm 57:7-12 “My heart is firm, O Elohim, my heart is firm; I sing and praise. 8 Awake, my esteem! Awake, harp and lyre! I awake the dawn. 9 I praise You among the nations. 10 For Your loving-commitment is great up to the heavens, and Your truth unto the clouds. 11 Be exalted above the heavens, O Elohim; let Your esteem be above all the earth.
We are to awake to praise – and a life of praise that is pleasing to YHWH representing a heartfelt committed life to walking in His ways – His Torah, and so for us today to come and celebrate His Feast of Teruah in accordance to His instructions is one way in which we get to draw near to Him and declare our love and commitment afresh before Him.
This is the beginning of the 7th month, also known as Tishri, and 7 as we know in Scripture is symbolic of completion. But the term 7 also can mean ‘oath’, and so in effect this is a time for us to allow Scripture show us where we have been asleep, and how we are to awake from and shake off any slumber in our walk of obedience unto YHWH. The term for month or cycle relates to renewal, for each month we see the renewed moon – a new cycle of the moon and so the seventh month can be seen for us as a time of ‘renewal of an oath’! Which oath would that be? Well as I said last week this day is also known as Zichron Teruah, with Zichron meaning remembrance, and so we are to remember the oath given to us through His very Torah, given at Mount Sinai in the form of a Marriage Covenant. As we remember the oath from the ‘Eloah’ - ‘the Mighty One of Oaths’ or ‘Elohim’ – Elohim being the plurality of the El of Oaths made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and confirmed and renewed with us through the Blood of Yahushua! We come to remember that we are betrothed to Messiah. And in remembering we understand that we are to ‘hear – guard and do’ His commands. We are to listen – to do and to listen again as a daily cycle. The first of the month can also be literally read as ‘united for renewal’ and so with 7 symbolising completeness we can have our hearts open to be reminded that it is time for complete renewal. This means going back to Mount Sinai and hearing the words of the marriage contract and renewing our minds and hearts in total obedience to Him.

Why I chose to read Numbers 29 today as the text for us is simply to remind us of our required sacrifices as pleasing offerings to YHWH. This passage lists some specific animals and various offerings that all carry great meaning for us still today. We may not physically go to the Temple Mount and slaughter some bulls and goats and rams and lambs, but let us be reminded that we are the Temple of the Living El, and that we can bring an offering of living sacrifice, sacrificing before Him that which must die!
I would like us to briefly look at some of these animals and how they truly symbolise for us at this time what we are to remember and what we are to offer up as pleasing worship before our Maker.
The expressions through sacrifice that we see expressed in Scripture carry great meaning for us and help us to live wholeheartedly devoted to Him.
1 – Burnt offerings or ascending offerings – that is that which was completely burnt up as a pleasing aroma to YHWH symbolises total commitment to YHWH.
2 – Meat offering (grain) – symbolises our gratitude and acknowledgement to YHWH that all we have is from Him – our abilities and provision is from Him.
3 – Peace offerings – represents for us the direction of our life is acceptable unto YHWH as we go forth is peace walking in His prescribed ways.
4 – Sin offerings – remind of His atonement and that we are to put to death the misdeeds of the flesh and throw off all that hinders us and easily entangles us and destroy it completely before Him.

Yom Teruah is a time of ‘gathering’ and presenting a ‘burnt offering’ and speaks to us of the entire surrender of an individual and the entire assembly/Bride unto YHWH, with the view of renewal and sanctification of the entire man and body of Messiah and a consecration of a life pleasing to Him.
As we remember this day Mount Sinai, as we remember the life, death and resurrection of Messiah, as we remember how He has delivered us from the miry clay, as He has called us out of darkness into his glorious light, we can look forward to the great promises of His Kingdom that is at hand!
As we look at these ascending offerings, we must understand that the word ‘offering’ means, ‘to draw near’!
Yaʽaqob/James 4:8-10 “Draw near to Elohim and He shall draw near to you. Cleanse hands, sinners! And cleanse your hearts, you double-minded! 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to dejection. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Master, and He shall lift you up.

Drawing near to Elohim is a serious thing and it requires total sacrifice that He may lift you up and fill you with His joy!
The purpose of offering or drawing near is to demonstrate our desire to draw near to YHWH! And this is what we come to do individually and corporately at this feast.
Let us look at some of these sacrifices and what it means for us here today:
1 – The young bull
This offering is a reminder to us of the ‘golden calf’ – remember at Mount Sinai, when Moshe came down and found the Israelites had made a calf that Aharon said had just ‘popped’ out the fire! This was an abomination unto YHWH and was idolatry right in His face! So what is a bull? A bull is an animal, and we know that in the dominion mandate man was given dominion over the beasts of the earth – man was supposed to rule over the animals, not worship them. What does this represent for us? It could be seen as our ‘animal instinct’ that so many want to use as an excuse for their often indecent behaviour! We are to have dominion over our flesh, our ‘animal instincts’, the lusts of the flesh etc.! How many times we find a whole lot of ‘bull’ in our lives, and we kind of have the same excuse – it just popped out of the fire! The bull also can represent for us a false security –because if you have a bull which you can ride on, and plough with and use to increase you herds and eventually have food from, then you can very easily feel very safe and secure in your own efforts! Some people put their faith and reliance upon their careers or their wealth and feel secure in their possessions or social status. What we serve as security will possess us! So a bull can be that which you put before YHWH, that which you worship and devote yourself to – be it career, hobbies, aspirations, relationships etc.
This is a time to come and sacrifice – put to death – that which may be a bull in your life – it is time to offer up all the bull!!! And get serious in your worship unto YHWH! Are there things that you have put as greater priority in your life than your walk with YHWH? Put it to death today!
2 – The Ram
The ram is a reminder to us of the faith of Abraham and his sacrifice of his son Isaac, and how YHWH proved a ram in the thorn bush – a beautiful picture of Yahushua with the crown of thorns. It was at this time that Abraham declared that Yahweh is the provider – Yahweh Yireh! The ram is a reminder and picture of our faith in the provision of YHWH and reminds us to continue to have faith in His provision. This offering reminds us not to put our faith in that which does not satisfy or meet our needs but to completely trust and rely upon our True Provider who is always on time!!! Perhaps you have been tested lately – will you offer up your worries and cares to Him and be reminded of where your help and provision comes from. Are you trusting Him for great things – then kill the worries and offer up a thanksgiving of praise with a shout of the shofar which we will do shortly.
3 – 7 Lambs
Again, 7 being the number of completeness and the Lamb being the symbol of the Messiah – this represents our desire and declaration to be completely identified with our Messiah – even unto death!!! This is a declaration of our desire to be perfect as He is perfect and that we accept His provision and Word to lead us to perfection, with the number 7 picturing perfection. This is a sacrifice to your own desires and self that He may life in you and lead you in His perfect Truth.
This is a reminder that He is the perfect lamb who has settled your debt and that you choose to walk and live completely in Him.
4 – The sin offering
This is a declaration to put sin to death, not to simply put it aside but to offer it completely up and kill it before YHWH, raising a victory shout over your offering up of sin to Him who took your sin upon Himself. This is putting to death the sinful nature. Si there sin in your life that needs to die today? Well then it is time for it to die.

These offerings indicate our desire to draw near to YHWH and walk wholeheartedly in Him, and as we offer up that which is pleasing to Him, we raise a shout and the shofar as a declaration that we His Bride are presenting themselves as a ready, spotless Bride washed in the Blood of the Lamb.

Where are you at today? Have you come with hearts prepared to bring a ‘shout’ offering?
This is the day of the Awakening Blast – a day we anticipate the return of our King and Saviour, our Groom for whom we make ourselves ready and a day we are commanded to raise a shout, blow the trumpet and be awakened in his Word to walk in Him.

Read Psalm 47:

Come and let us offer up these sacrifices with a great shout! Come before Him and offer up all the ‘bull’, all the compromise, all the sin, and be stirred in your faith as you put to death as a choice of commitment unto YHWH in response to His Awakening Blast and give up a shout offering of praise for victory – for our King is coming when the Last Trumpet sounds and so we are here to rehearse our readiness and to walk in the purity of His Word. Arise and Shine for your light has come! Let us make a resounding sound of great victory by the blowing of the shofar and shouting – this is Yom Teruah – blow and shout over your sacrifices unto Him today – HalleluYah!

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