Shavuot Secrets

The Finding Emet radio program focuses on understanding and living the truth of the Bible from a Hebrew perspective. The host, Brother Daniel Rentalman, teaches about the secrets and significance of the holy day of Shavuot. Shavuot is a feast that takes place 50 days after Passover and is associated with the wheat harvest and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It is a commanded day of worship and a time to renew one's love and acceptance of the Torah. The teaching explores the meaning and importance of Shavuot and encourages listeners to appreciate its significance. Hello, and welcome to the Finding Emet radio program. Emet is the Hebrew word for truth. This program will help you understand and live the truth of the Bible from a Hebrew perspective. The Finding Emet radio program features the teaching ministry of Brother Daniel Rentalman of Emet Ministries. Prepare your heart to receive the Emet, the truth of the scriptures. More audio lessons and teaching articles are available at the www.emetministries.com website. Please visit our site to find all things spiritual, including a free online Bible search program, or submit your prayer request. That's www.emetministries.com, or www.findemet.com. CD copies of this teaching are available for free by submitting a request at the website. Let's welcome our teacher, Daniel Rentalman, as he helps us find the Emet. Today's teaching is going to be all about Shavuot, and it's called the secrets of Shavuot. We're going to expose some secrets regarding this message and regarding this holy day, feast day of Shavuot. So Shavuot secrets. We're going to talk about some powerful messages behind the spring feast day and go over what that means. So I want everybody at first just to kind of consider, as we begin this teaching, again called Shavuot secrets. What's it called? Shavuot secrets. Consider the power of a secret. There was this man, he decided to find the secret to a happy life. He was going to ask the first smiling old lady that he saw. So he walked up to this little old lady, and he couldn't help noticing how happy she was. So he said, ma'am, I just can't help noticing, what is the secret to an old life? She said, well, I smoke three cigarette packs a day. I drink, I spit, I take whiskey once a week, I eat junk food and never exercise, I do pills on the weekend. He said, I can't believe it. That's amazing. He said, how old are you? She said, I'm 24. I'm 24. Secret. Secret. Secret. Right? There's a secret to the happy life. Of course, consider the power of the secret. Secret top secret files, secret agent man, secret agent man. We've got the top secret counterintelligence or intelligence, whatever it's supposed to be. We also know about the secret affairs that can ruin relationships, don't we see those on the television? And secret recipe that's passed down from generation to generation, like a baked beans recipe or something that's really good that's kept secret. Have you seen the commercial for Bush's baked beans? And the dog is the one that knows the recipe, and the people in the family don't. So they know that there's power in a secret. Well, secrets can be good and secrets can be bad in the sense that sometimes a secret is something that you don't know. Sometimes it's a secret because it's something you should not know. Well unfortunately, the holy day of Shavuot has been a secret for us. It's been a secret for us. And it's been a secret that's not been shared. It's not that we couldn't know about it, but that we didn't know about it. So today, the teaching is Shavuot secrets, and we're going to expose several secrets about Shavuot. And again, it's not that we shouldn't know about it, but that we didn't know about it. So we're going to talk about, you know, did this holy day, you know, should we worship on this day in the first place? What does it mean? Why is it a secret? What can we learn from it? And is Shavuot in the New Testament? Now first of all, you may be saying, what in the world is Shavuot? Because there's this strange Hebrew word that Rabbi Daniel is using. Shavuot literally means a feast of weeks, feast of weeks. Chag Shavuot would mean feast of weeks. That you have a week, Shavuot, that's a week, Shavuot, so if you're going to wish someone a good week in Hebrew, you would say Shavuot Tov, Shavuot Tov. Well, Shavuot is the weeks, is the weeks, and this is a holy day that takes place in the biblical calendar. We're commanded to celebrate it, and it's after the weeks of counting what's called the Omer. So you have Passover, you have the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, you have first fruit, and during this time, you're starting to count the Omer, which is counting up to Shavuot. And it's seven weeks of seven days that pass by, and that brings you to the 50th day, everybody say 50, the 50th day of Shavuot. Now, 50 is a very important number in the scriptures, and here we see that you count the Omer for 50 days, and then you have the feast day of Shavuot. Now, during the counting of the Omer, there was a counting of a measurement of grain in anticipation to the full 50th day, which was a harvest of the grain, of the wheat. The wheat harvest, everybody say wheat harvest. The wheat harvest happened on Shavuot. So turn with me to Vayikra in English, that is Leviticus. Leviticus. You know, when I was growing up, I thought Leviticus was a Bible word. I thought Leviticus was a King James word. I thought that was a Hebrew word, but it's actually Vayikra, and that is Vayikra Leviticus chapter 23. Leviticus 23, we're going to look at verses 15 through 22, dealing with this festival of the weeks, the feast of Shavuot. Verse 15 in the restoration scriptures, and you shall count from the next day after the Shabbat, from the day that you were brought the sheath of the wave offering, seven full weeks, until the next day after the last week, you shall number 50 days. You shall offer a new grain offering to Yahweh. You shall bring out of your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour. They shall be baked with khametz, or leaven, for they are the first fruits to Yahweh. Verse 18, and you shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, one young bull, two rams, and they shall be for a burnt offering to Yahweh, with their grain offering, their drink offerings, even a fire offering of sweet fragrance to Yahweh. Then you shall sacrifice one kid, a baby goat, for a sin offering, and two male lambs, the first, and all these sacrifices. Verse 20, and the Kohen, the priest, shall wave them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before Yahweh with the two lambs. They shall be set apart to Yahweh for the priest. Verse 21, and you shall proclaim on that same day that it is a set-apart holy gathering amirkrei kodesh to you. You shall do no work on it. It shall be a judgment, chuk le'olam vayed, forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. And, when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not harvest the corners of your field when you reap, neither shall you gather any gleaning of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the stranger. I am Yahweh your Elohim. These verses talk about Shavuot, the period and the time of Shavuot, and how it's called amirkrei kodesh. What does that mean? A set-apart, a holy gathering we are to have, and it says here that we are to bring waves of offerings of loaves of bread. And it says that we are to use bread that has what? Chamet, leaven. This is the only time during the year that leavened bread was used in the temple. It was not allowed at any other time because leaven symbolized what? It symbolized sin. But during this time, during Shavuot, they were allowed to bring leavened bread, and they were called to bring leavened bread, and they were to use that there during this time of celebration. And it says this shall be a commandment forever. How long? Forever. Forever, it says. Now, this day is also called Chag HaKadzit, which means the day of cutting the crop. It's the wheat harvest time. It's when the last wheat is harvested. Now, this is a reference to this time of the book of Ruth, that what occurred in the book of Ruth occurred during Shavuot. Ruth says, Ruth says in the book of Ruth, it says that the events of that book happened at the beginning of cutting of the barley crop, which would be when? The days of the weeks leading up to Shavuot. And this day marked the end of the barley harvest and the start of the wheat harvest. So what is it? It's an agricultural holiday. You with me? It's a holiday all about agriculture. And it commemorates a time when they had this first fruits, they'd bring them to the temple, and they would do that. So it also comes at a time of where spring is ending and summer is starting. And we come to find out that as we study the scriptures, that there's also something else that was harvested during this time and another meaning of Shavuot. It's not just an agricultural day, but it's also the day of when the Torah was given at Mount Sinai, when the Ten Commandments and the Torah was given by Yahweh to Moshe. So Shavuot is a commanded day and time of worship. It is the second of what's called regalim. That's why I say regalim, regalim. Now regalim are three special feast days when all males were commanded not only to celebrate, but to come to Yerushalayim, to Jerusalem. Those being Pesach, Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. So Passover, what we would call Pentecost, what we would call the Feast of Tabernacles. Now I said Pentecost. Pentecost comes to us from the idea of Penta, of 50 days. That is the Greek version of Hebrew Shavuot of 50 days leading up to that. It's the second of these feast days and it's an important date on Yahweh's calendar. You see on this day we read in Exodus chapter 19 that Yahweh gave the Torah to the Hebrew Israelites, to the Hebrew people on Mount Sinai. So this is a day that we can renew our love and appreciation and acceptance of Torah. And it tells us in Leviticus 23, 21, you shall declare that on that very day it is a holy day to you, you shall do no work on it. It is an eternal statute in all your habitations, wherever you dwell, for all of your generations. So this is a day set aside for worship. Now here's the secret. It's a secret that what happened there in Shavuot is when the Torah was given. They were told to count 49 days. Remember? They were told. They said, you know, have your Passover, sacrifice the lamb, begin counting 49 days, and while they did that, that's when, during the counting of what's called the Omer is when the events of the Red Sea occurred. That's when they were going across into the wilderness. And it tells us this very clearly that at the end of those 49 days is when Yahweh gave Torah. On that day in the third month was when the nation is camping at the mountain ready to receive Torah. So we can read about this in the book of Shemot, or the book of Exodus chapter 19. So turn with me to Exodus 19, Shemot, and we'll read about the first Shavuot. Because they were coming out of Egypt, they were coming out of bondage, they're counting these days, and in Exodus 19, this tells us all about it. Now here's the secret. This is the day of the giving of Torah. It says in Exodus 19 verse 1, in the third month, when the children of Israel had gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai. So we see here in the third month. Third month from when? From Aviv. From when they took in the lamb, they kept the lamb, you know, for those days, they slaughtered the lamb on the 14th, between the evenings of the 14th and the 15th. It was the third month from then, which is the month that Shavuot occurs. And it tells us here that they were at the wilderness at Sinai, and here it tells us they pitched their tents, and it tells us in verse 3, Moshe went up to Yahweh, and Yahweh called him to the mountain, and he said, come. Come on up. And he said, I want to take you and I want to make you a chosen generation, a royal priesthood. He says a kingdom of priests, in verse 6. And Moshe came and he called for the leaders to come, and all the people answered him. They said, in verse 8, it says that they answered all that Yahweh has spoken, we will do. And Moshe returned to the people. Let's look at verse 10. Yahweh said to Moshe, go to the people, set them apart today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. So today and tomorrow they're going to wash, and then be ready, verse 11, for the third day. When have they got to be ready for? The third day. For on the third day, Yahweh will come down in the sight of all the people upon the mountain, and you shall set borders for the people around, saying, be careful that you do not go up into the mountain or touch the border of it. Whoever touches the mountain will surely be put to death. Verse 13, there shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through, whether it be a beast or a man, it shall not live. When the shofar sounds, the what? The ram's horn. The shofar sounds long, long, that's a tequila gadol, they shall come near the mountain. And Moshe went down from the mountain to the people and set the people apart and they washed their clothes. And he said to them, be ready for the third day, come not to your wives at intimacy. So here he tells them to abstain, to be ready for the third day. Well, guess what? That's a message for us today, because the day with Yahweh is a thousand years. We know that there were four thousand years before Yeshua came, we know that there have been two thousand years since Yeshua came, that we are approaching the third day, and we've got to make sure that we are washed our clothes, that we are ready to receive a fresh revelation from Yahweh, prepare, get ready, get ready, get ready for the third day. Now, here, they were told, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming, and look at verse 16. And it came to pass that on the third day in the morning there was thundering and lightning and thick cloud upon the mountain. And voice of the shofar was exceedingly strong and loud, and all the people that were at the camp assembled. So here they are, they're at the mountain, they're camped at the bottom. They look up, and there is a sound of a shofar getting louder and louder and louder. They see, it says, smoke. Where there's smoke, there's got to be what? Fire. Wasn't this the mountain where the burning bush was shown to Moshe? Yes. Where there's smoke, there's fire. And it says here that there was thunder and lightning. And in the Hebrew, it actually says that they saw thunder. In the Hebrew, it says they saw thunder and they saw lightning. I've never seen thunder. I've seen lightning and I've heard it, but this day it says that they saw it. Powerful. And we know later in the Scriptures, we're told that our very ancestors were there that day. We were in their loins when they stood there that day. Now what happens here at Shavuot in the giving of Torah in the third month in Exodus 19 is very symbolic of a Hebrew wedding ceremony. So we said this teaching was called Shavuot Secrets. Was there not a shotgun wedding, but a secret wedding? Could this have been a secret wedding for Yahweh and Israel? We're going to see this. That there are many wedding parallels as the traditional Hebrew wedding is clearly seen in Exodus chapter 19. Now we know, and we can go and read in Yirmiyahu, in Jeremiah chapter 2, verse 2, that Yahweh is betrothed to Israel. In Yirmiyahu 2, verse 2, it says, Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, This says Yahweh, I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your bridehood when you went after me in the wilderness, in the land that was not sown. Yahweh says, I remember those days as I was betrothed to you in the wilderness. He says, I remember those days. So here we see a betrothal. We also see vows, wedding vows that take place. If you look in Exodus 19, verse 8, Vayikra, excuse me, Shavuot 19, verse 8, it says, They say all that Yahweh has spoken we will do. What do you say when you get married? I do. This is a group together saying we will do. Their response was they said that they would receive Torah from Yahweh, they would receive his commandments, they would unanimously agree to obey what he says and accept his way of life. Now notice something, they agreed to do it before he told them what it was. Now my father was in the army and he said, Daniel, never, never, never volunteer for anything. I said, What do you mean? He said, Don't volunteer until you know what it is. He said, One day I was in the army and he said they asked for a volunteer and I was young and I said, I'll do it. He said, For the next 20 hours straight I peeled potatoes. 20 hours peeling potatoes. Can you imagine that? You've probably been there, done that, right Dean? He said, Never volunteer until you know what you're volunteering for. Well they volunteered and they said, Whatever Yahweh says we will do. Praise Yahweh. Now we also see in a traditional Hebraic wedding is what's called a wedding canopy or chuppah. Everybody say chuppah. Chuppah. That's a wedding canopy that goes above the bride and the groom and actually the groom stands in it and as the bride comes down she circles it seven times because the word tells us in the book of Job that a woman shall encompass a man. She goes around it seven times. That's also important and symbolic for us to remember. But this chuppah or wedding canopy is the mountain above them. But they are there at the foot of the mountain. Do you see that? They're at the foot of the mountain. Yahweh said we will do, we will obey and then there is a chuppah above them. Amen. So there's a chuppah above them, they've given the vows, they already are betrothed to Israel and guess what else? There's a ketubah. In every Hebrew wedding is a ketubah. Now a ketubah is a wedding contract, prenuptial agreement if you want to call it. And in this ketubah it is written primarily for the woman and she is there in this ketubah, she is promised that her husband will take care of her, will clothe her, will feed her and will not abuse her. Basically he will meet all of her needs. It's him saying I'm going to do this but they both sign it. Well guess what? The ketubah from Yahweh is, he says obey my word and I'm going to do this, I'm going to bless you, I'm going to take care of you. I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor see begging for bread. The ketubah was there and guess what, there's even a honeymoon. Because they were led to the land of milk and honey, right, come on, there was even a honeymoon after this wedding. It tells us in Numbers 14.8 that if Yahweh delights in us he will bring us to this land that flows with milk and honey. Sounds sticky but that's exactly what they wanted. So we see the parallels of a wedding. So who was supposed to get married? Yahweh and Israel. We can see this very clearly. So what was the wedding gift from Yahweh? What was this ketubah? It was the Torah. Yahweh gave the Torah to his people. Now Shavuot also has another name. It's also called Matan HaTorah. Matan HaTorah which in Hebrew means the giving of the Torah, the giving of the law. Now this day is called the giving of the Torah. It's not called the receiving of the Torah. The rabbis have told us that we are constantly receiving the Torah. We are constantly receiving his words. It's not the receiving that makes it significant, it's the giving. And notice that he gives us his Torah. His word is not too hard that we cannot obey it. It's not in the heavens, hidden from us. It is not down below but it is in our heart, in our being. There's a great quote I'd like to share with you from the book called The Jewish Holidays and the quote says this, that Sinai and the giving of Torah is a continuous event. It is not accidental that originally no date was giving for Shavuot. Remember it was 49 days after Passover. No date was giving for the revelation at Sinai. For the voice of Yahweh constantly speaks to us. The revelation continues to occur as the Torah unfolds before us if we pay attention to it. That's powerful. That is powerful because the giving of Torah is what Yahweh has done for us. So what are we supposed to do? Receive it, learn from it, obey it. He's given us his word, he showed us his way, what are we going to do with it? I just got to go there. Why would we want the law? People ask us that, don't they? Why do you want to go back under the law? Why do you want to do the law of Moses? That's legalism. People that say that have no understanding of what the Torah or what the law is. Therefore, they speak out of what? Ignorance. That is exactly right. You know, people say that ignorance is bliss. I say too bad ignorance is not painful. Wouldn't it be great if ignorance was... I'm sorry, forgive me, we'd all be asking for mercy, wouldn't we? What if ignorance was painful? They're speaking out of ignorance because they haven't opened their heart and their mind to really know why the Torah was given. Here comes Israel out of Egypt. All they know is Egypt. All they know is paganism and idolatry. And Yahweh brings them out. They don't have anything. They don't have any rules, they don't have any laws. So he gives them his Torah as a type of what? Constitution. They had no stop signs, did they? They had no rules that said you can't do this, you can't do that. All they knew was the fist of Pharaoh says this and you better do it or you're going to get beaten. So Yahweh gives them this. He gives them rules and instructions for everything you can imagine. Pick a subject, I guarantee you it's in the Torah or there's something very similar to it in the Torah. It's there. And so we have to understand that when our Christian brothers and sisters read about the law, LAW, the first thing you do is you think of law as something bad, something that holds you back. I got a speeding ticket last week. I fought the law and guess what? The law won. You got that right. Do you know what was bad about that? I didn't even know I was speeding. I speed every day in my life. If it's 55, I'm at least going much higher than that, okay? Much higher than that. And I've got my family in the car and I'm actually trying to drive a speed limit and I'm trying to save gas money, right? We know that you got to save gas. You don't floor it all the time and let go as you're going down the hill and, you know, don't go over 3,000 rounds per minute, right? So I'm trying to do these things. And I'm just doing that and I'm enjoying my time with my family and all of a sudden I get the blue light special. And I'm not talking about the Kmart one. I get the one from the highway patrolman. He said, did you know you were going 70? I said, I was going to 70? In a 55, he said, sir, I clocked you at 70. I said, man, I didn't know that. I didn't even get to enjoy it. If I'm going to speed, I want to enjoy speed, you know what I'm saying? I want to enjoy my speed while I've got it. Well, guess what? He enjoyed writing me a ticket. And you know what? That law, that man, that highway patrolman was there to protect me. He was doing his job to protect me. Because what happens when you go too fast? You can't watch. You burn up your gas. You flip and you kill people. You get in a car accident. Many people think of the law as something bad to hold them back from doing what they want to do, right? But it's really to protect us. Now, we know that. We know that. Torah is not the law. In Strong's, it's the word 8-4-5-1. Look it up in your Strong's Concordance. Torah literally means law, direction, instruction, body of prophetic teaching, or instruction in the Messianic age. That's what Strong says, that we're going to be doing Torah, when? In the Messianic age. But Torah is a divine will. It's the blueprint that Yahweh's given us for living. It's how we are to live on earth. Now, it starts with what's called in Judaism the Ten Words. In Christianity, it's called the Ten Commandments. And it continues through many other instructions that Yahweh's given us as His people. But it starts with the Ten Words. And let me tell you, the Ten Commandments are very important. We're going to talk more about that in just a little while. This is Yahweh's instruction, His will for us. Torah. But Torah shows us how to live as righteous people of Yahweh. Amen? You know what? We sin when we miss the mark of Torah. That's what sin is. And sin, in Hebrew, the word for sin is kaphat or chet. It means to sin. It means to miss the mark. 1 John 3, 4 says anyone who sins breaks the Torah. What is sin? It says sin is lawlessness. Sin is transgression of the Torah, of the law. So if you want to sin less, you need to have more Torah. If you want to sin more, you have less Torah. Does that make sense? I mean, I'm simple-minded, but that makes pretty good sense to me. The Torah not only shows us what sin is, but it shows us our need for a Savior. Amen? It shows us how much we need Yeshua. The Torah shows us our sin, and it shows us our need for a Savior. The Torah shows us our need for a Savior. The more Torah we know, the more we realize we need Yahweh. Galatians 3, 24 says where the Torah was our schoolmaster to bring us to Yeshua that we might be justified by faith. The purpose of Torah is when we're unsaved, it's to show us our sin. It's to show us that we need Yeshua. We're saved by faith in the blood of Yeshua. Then after we are born again, then the Torah becomes a path of righteousness. I mean, it was our schoolmaster before saying this is sin, and it continues to be our schoolmaster. Now let's read that verse in the Restoration Scriptures. Very interesting. It says that, therefore, the Torah was the pathfinder for us going forward to the way of Messiah that by trusting faith in Him, we may be declared righteous. That's from the Aramaic Peshetta. The Torah is our schoolmaster, showing us, just like a teacher does, what's wrong or what's right. Anybody have a good teacher before? My best teachers in life were the ones that were strict. I didn't like them when they were strict, but now the ones that I appreciate the most when I see them in the grocery store, the ones that were strict to me, the ones that taught me lessons in life, that's what Torah is about. That's what Torah is for. In fact, it has strict guidelines for living in Yahweh's will, and it shows us our sin. Romans 7, 7 makes it clear. We would not have known sin but by the Torah. One purpose of Torah is to show us what sin is. And the truth is, as much as we may try, we cannot obey Torah to the fullest. The Word tells us, Karen, that if we disobey one commandment, we have violated, we're guilty of them all. We might as well have broken all 613. Yaakov, the book of James, chapter 2, verse 10 says, For whosoever shall keep the whole Torah, and yet offend in one point, is guilty of them all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not kill. Now if you do not commit adultery, but if you kill, you are a transgressor of Torah. You are sinful. So speak and do, so that they shall be judged by the law of Torah. It tells us here that disobedience to one misquote, one commandment, imputes what? A deadly disease to the human soul, sin sickness. And we all have it, and all of our friends have it, and everybody has it. And here's what's great about Torah. This is a good verse to memorize, Romans chapter 3, verse 19. It shows us that the Torah stops us from rationalizing our goodness. You might have somebody that thinks they're a good person. Or maybe somebody that knows they're a bad person. The Torah, and specifically the Ten Commandments, stops people from rationalizing their goodness. Romans 3, verse 19. Now we know that whatsoever things the Torah says, it says to them who are under the Torah, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before Yahweh. Who is under the Torah? Everyone is under the Torah, in the sense that it shows us what sin is. And guess what? Every mouth is guilty before Yahweh. It shuts your mouth. Anyone that tells you that they are perfect are wrong. Now let's say you go up to a person and you're talking to them, and you know that they are an open, blatant homosexual. You can go to them and start telling them, oh, you know, you're going to be judged, and you're going to hell, and this and that. And they can fight back. They've got their boxing gloves. They know what they can say to you. Okay, I have one of my employees that is this way. And he came to me one day and he said, you know, Daniel, I know you think my lifestyle was wrong, he said, but I read that verse in Leviticus differently than you do. And I said to him, you're exactly right, because I read it in Hebrew where it says it is a sin. And you read it in English where it says it ain't, but whatever. And I said, really? So we talked. And anyway, he knew what to say. He had a way to fight back. But what if I were to go to him and say this, well, you know, I understand how you feel that way. I said, I've got a different feeling about that, but let me ask you about this. Have you ever lied? Have you ever lied to someone? Well, yeah, yeah. I've lied before. What about stolen? Have you ever stolen something? Well, no, I'm, you know, Daniel, I worked for you. I would never steal. I said, but what about when you were a kid? Have you ever taken bubblegum out of your mama's purse when she said not to? Yeah. I said, well, homosexuality aside, I said, if you've lied, if you've stolen, I mean, you're admitting to me you're a liar and you're a thief. Have you ever had lustful thoughts for someone? Yeah, come on now. We all have, right? So you're a stealing thief that also commits adultery. I said, homosexuality aside, you've already broken three of the Ten Commandments. Do you know what that makes you? It makes you a sinner. And you know what? The Bible tells us that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of Yahweh. That no thieves, no liars, no adulterers shall enter in. I said, so homosexuality aside, you're a sinner and you need to be born again. So think about that. That's an easy way to bring it about. That by looking at Torah and just saying, look, have you done this? And if you've not done it, you're guilty of sin. And you know what? We are all guilty. He was quiet because it stopped the conversation. Yes, I'm a sinner. The wages of sin is death. Doesn't the Word tell us that? But the gift of Yahweh is what? Eternal life. The only cure for our sin is Yeshua's blood. We are not born again by the Torah. All the Torah beings in the world is not going to earn you salvation. It'll make you a good person, but it's not being good that gets you into heaven. It'll make you happy, I believe. Happiness doesn't get you to heaven, does it? What gets us there? Faith, trusting in the blood of Yeshua. Ephesians 2.13, you who are far off have been brought near by the blood of Yeshua and are no longer aliens and strangers to the covenant of promise. That Yeshua's blood has brought us near to him and we're no longer strangers. We're no longer Gentiles. We're no longer a nation. We are now who? The commonwealth of Israel. Amen? So very important. That Yeshua's death paid a price for our sin. You know this. Why is that important? What does that have to do with Shavuot? It has a lot. If the Torah doesn't save us, what good then is it? Ah. Because people are going to ask you that, aren't they? If I'm going to heaven, why do I need to obey the law? Haven't you heard that before? If I'm going to heaven, I don't need those commandments. Psalm 19.7 is a perfect verse to memorize. It says the Torah of Yahweh is perfect, converting the soul. That's good. The Torah of Yahweh is perfect. That's what Torah does. It converts the soul. It changes us into his image. That is a verse, I want a bumper sticker, I want a t-shirt, I want a refrigerator magnet, I want to know that, I want to live it, because it says it converts our souls. Torah changes us to be more like him. It takes our fleshly desires and it transforms them. What good is the Torah? Hey, I'm already saved. I don't need to keep that law. Do you want to be converted? Do you want to be transformed? We can say, oh, your kingdom come, your will be done, all day long. But it's not until we do his will that his kingdom doesn't come, amen? When his will is done, what's his will, his Torah, his word, that's when his kingdom comes. And it converts the soul. People that are born again, excuse me, people that think they are born again, without a realization of their sin, probably are not born again. They've had an emotional experience. They've had a mind experience. But it's not until a person realizes they have transgressed the true word of Yahweh and have just stepped on Yeshua's sacrifice, violated his word, until they have a repentant heart, are they truly born again yet? No. I'm sorry, but they're not. We've got to have that. Because you know what? When we realize we're sinners, what happens then? The Torah brings evidence that we are sinners, and then what? Our soul is converted by trusting in Yeshua. First we acknowledge that we are in need of a Savior, because we all missed the mark. Then we accept Yeshua and are born again. Then we obey the precepts, because we don't want to live in sin. Now let me just, I'll tell you what I feel. You notice what I said. I'll tell you what I believe. I believe that a person can go to heaven without obedience to Torah. I believe that. I believe they'll probably go to heaven a lot faster than someone who is keeping Torah, because of the blessing and the curses. I believe that the straight and narrow path that Yahweh gives us in Torah is how we are made in His image. And the reason that we want to keep Torah is very simple, it's very clear. Romans chapter 6, verse 16. It says, Don't you know that to whom you yield yourself slaves to obey, his servant you become, whether a slave of sin unto death or obedience to righteousness. You can have a person be born again on their deathbed. There's not a lot of Torah they can do at that moment. Yahweh does accept that through His mercy, just like the person on the tree, right beside Yeshua on the cross. However, if you or a person thinks they're born again and they're not keeping Torah, then you know what? It says that they are a slave to sin, is what it says. That's what it says in Romans 6, verse 16. Daniel didn't write that. Yahweh wrote that. Now what does that mean? Well, it means that they're not being conformed to His image and they're not fruitful, they're not accomplishing what He wants. And just maybe they're not really born again in the first place. Maybe they're lukewarm. Do you know that a lukewarm believer is not a part of the body of Christ? Because what happens? It's sitting in the stomach of Yeshua and He's going to spit them out. Not part of His body. I want you to be hot or cold. But if you're lukewarm, you're sitting in my belly and I'm going to spew you out. Wow. Food for thought there. Got to go there. But I really believe that Yahweh wants us to keep His Torah and He desires because He wants the best for us, amen? Because the Torah transforms us. In this phrase, in Psalm 19, the word for converting the soul, where it says the Torah of Yahweh is perfect, converting the soul. The Hebrew word for converting there is shuv, shuv, like in the word teshuvah. If you're doing a Hebrew dance, and you know how they do the circle dances, the Jewish people do the circle dances, that the dance leader will shout out, shuv, and you turn to the other side. And so you're going to the right, and then the dance leader says, shuv, and you turn to the left. And then they say, shuv, and you turn to the right. When you do the hokey pokey and you turn to yourself about, that's what it's all about. That's what they do. They say shuv, they're saying turn, turn. The Hebrew word for convert here in the Strong's is shuv, which means to turn, return, restore, and reverse. The Torah is how we reverse the curse of the Garden of Eden. The Torah is how we go back and our souls return to its original state, perfect harmony with Yahweh. The Torah converts our souls and our nature so that we can walk in His will. Praise Yahweh. He's opened our eyes to that. Now, in Shavuot, which is when Torah was given, there's another secret, and it's that we've been commanded to keep this day and be reminded of our sinfulness. Remember that they were to bring two loaves of leavened bread. Leaven in the Bible is a picture of what? Sin. Comments is a picture of sin. Well, this day of worship was a strict day of rest, it says in Exodus chapter 34, 22 through 24. And on this day, they were to bake bread and to bring it before Yahweh as a wave offering in the symbol of bringing our Torah, breaking our sin to Him. This was the only time that this was allowed in the temple. Two loaves of bread, bringing it to Yahweh, symbolic of the two houses of Israel, symbolic of the two tablets that the Torah was originally written on, symbolic of us and Yahweh. And guess what else about Shavuot? The secret here? We're commanded to have joy. You know, sometimes you hear a sermon and you have to endure it. And sometimes you hear a sermon and you enjoy it. Well, the Word tells us that we are to rejoice before Yahweh in Deuteronomy 16, 11 on this day of worship. To have joy before Him in celebrating what Yahweh's done for us. Now, traditionally on Shavuot, how do you celebrate it? Well, traditionally, you get together, you don't work on that day, you rejoice, you bake two loaves of bread, you bake some bread, and you eat dairy products. Dairy products is traditionally eaten. Chalav is the Hebrew word for milk. Remember they were going to the land of milk and honey? The numerical value of chalav, the gematria of chalav is 40. Moshe was on the mountain how many days? 40 days receiving Torah. 40 days of receiving the Word. Now, we also know that the first believers celebrated Shavuot. So, let's turn to the book of Acts and Acts chapter 2 to see how they celebrated Shavuot and what happened here. We're going to see some secrets. We're going to reveal some things. In Acts chapter 2, we see here a little bit about Shavuot. It tells us in Acts chapter 2 in verse 1 and continuing through verse 8, when the feast of Shavuot or the day of Pentecost, when the feast of Shavuot, the day of Pentecost was fully counted by the Omer or had fully come, it says they were in one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from the heavens as a groaning spirit, as a mighty rushing wind and it filled the house where they were sitting. There appeared to them divided tongues like fire that sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues as the Ruach HaKodesh, Holy Spirit, gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem, Yerushalayim, Jewish people, Yahudim, devout men of every nation under the heavens. Now, when this was the noise abroad, the multitude came together and were confused because every man heard them speak in his own language. Verse 7, and they were all amazed and marveled, saying, See to one another, are you not all who speak from Galilee? How then do you hear them speaking in our own native tongue? They were amazed. This portion of Scripture has been so misunderstood, we've got to reveal a secret here. A big misunderstanding of this is the fact that they were not, not, not in the upper room. Where did you see the words upper room? We've been taught that the church was born, right? Come on. We were taught that the church was born in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. Well, for the church to be born, then something else had to die, separating Israel and the church. Do you notice that? This type of theology breaks the pattern that Yahweh had set. They were there not on the day of Pentecost. What is that? They were celebrating Shavuot, the commanded feast, commanded in the Torah. If the Torah was done away with, why were they doing this? They were gathering together, and where does it say they were in an upper room? It says they were gathered together in one place, and it says also they were in a house. Now, we've been told the Holy Ghost filled 120 believers in the upper room. Where's 120? Where are they at in the upper room? Now, in chapter one, it talks about they were together and they were naming a new disciple. Why do we think chapter one and chapter two occurred on the first day, on the same day? Do you know what absolutely could not have occurred on the same day? Because in Acts chapter one, Yeshua goes to heaven. In Acts chapter two, the raw kakodesh was given. That did not happen on the same day. How many days was Yeshua on the earth after the resurrection? Forty days, it says. He was with them. So at least ten days passed from Acts chapter one and Acts chapter two. But if we believe they were in the upper room and the church was born that day, it separates Israel and the church. Read it in context and understand that the church wasn't born that day. What happened that day was Yahweh fulfilled His prophecy. The King James says they were in one place in one accord. In verse two, it says, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a mighty rushing wind and it filled the house where they were sitting. Now let me ask you, where do you think they were sitting? We read earlier in the book of Exodus and Leviticus where were all men supposed to go on Shavuot? To Jerusalem, specifically to the temple to celebrate Shavuot. It said they were to go there and offer offerings. Now in this verse where it says they were all together in the house, how many know that Yahweh's temple is called the house? Don't you know that you are the temple, the house of the royal concordation, His spirit lives within you? We are called the house of Yahweh in 1 Corinthians? That the Beit HaMikdash or the temple, like the temple of David, the temple of Solomon, Herod's temple here, oftentimes was called the house. I'd like to read a quote from Rabbi Moshe Konachowski. It says, the phrase house is a Hebraic way of identifying this place as the house of Yahweh on Mount Moriah. Even in the land today, the temple mount is known as Har HaBeit. Do you know what Har HaBeit means in Hebrew? Har is mountain, Ha means the, Beit is house, the mountain of the house or the house of the mountain. The spirit fell in the temple or the house of Yahweh. Since that is the only place that the Israelites would have been gathered in obedience to the commandment, Deuteronomy 16 and Leviticus 23. Had they been in an upper room, Rabbi Moshe says that the set-apart spirit could not have been given because they would have been in disobedience to the Torah. The so-called church as a separate entity from Israel was never born on that day, since the events were promised and they were promised and fulfilled to the Israelites. That what occurred in Acts chapter 2 with the giving of the Ruach HaKadosh was not promised to a bunch of Gentile Christians, but was promised to the nation of Israel. Later in this chapter, we see that a multitude of people experienced the power of Yahweh and were born again. How many does it say? 3,000. That's a big upper room, that's a big upper room. Clearly the disciples were gathered in the house of Yahweh. This was prophetic to what happened here. In Acts chapter 2, other prophecies. The giving of Yahweh's spirit parallels what happened in Exodus 19. Didn't we read that already? What about the prophecy to Joel? Joel, Acts chapter 2, verse 15 through 21. Kepha or Peter said, these men aren't drunk. It's not but nine o'clock in the morning. This is what was prophesied by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the end days, the Akarit HaYamim, said Yahweh, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And upon my servants, who was Yahweh's servants? Israel. And upon my servants and on my female servants, I will pour out in those last days my spirit and they shall prophesy. And I will show wonders in the heavens above, signs in the world below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, the moon into blood before the great and terrible David Yahweh comes. And it shall come to pass, whoever calls upon the name of who, Yahweh shall be saved. This was in accordance to what Joel had prophesied about Israel. And then go back to Exodus. And when you read, when the Torah was given, Moshe comes down from the mountain and what are they doing? They're worshipping a golden calf, a golden idol. And all of those who were worshipping that idol were killed. Do you know how many were killed that day? Three thousand. Three thousand. Go back and read it. The three thousand who were involved in idolatry were killed. Well in the book of Acts chapter two, three thousand were born again, three thousand were saved. Yahweh was redeeming Israel. Israel had broken the wedding covenant, through their sin, and so he was renewing his wedding vows. And he does it by giving his spirit. At first he gave his word on Shavuot, then he gave us his spirit. So now we can worship him in spirit, ruach, and emet, the truth. That's powerful, and that's a secret. The church won't tell you that, because they don't know it, because they don't know it. Now, secrets are kind of hard to keep. For a lot of people, they just can't keep a secret whatsoever. And so we're going to talk about another special secret with Shavuot, but I remember I was talking to this lady a couple weeks ago, and she was just telling me that she's so good at keeping secrets. I said, you're not that good at keeping secrets. She said, yes I am, I'm great at keeping secrets. I said, what do you mean? She said, well women can keep secrets better than men. What do you think about that? I said, there's no way. She said, Daniel, I've never told anyone my age. She said, that is a secret. I said, there is no way. I said, you know, I don't know how old you are. I said, but there is no way that you've never told anyone your age. She looked at me, you know what she said? She said, for 42 years I've kept it a secret. 42 years, I said, oh no. You just told me, well I guess you're 42, it's a secret, right? Secrets, the secret's out, and it's got to be out. But the field of souls is ready. What did we say Shavuot was? A harvest festival, didn't we? It's a harvest festival. The nation of Israel is restored when the secret is out. But the filling of the spirit was so that we would not keep the good news of Yeshua a secret. That's why a spirit came. That's why they were baptized in the Ruach HaKodesh. For boldness to witness and for power. That's why there is, what I believe, the Mikveh and the Ruach HaKodesh. There's a teaching on the Emet Ministries website called The Restoration of the Ruach that teaches about the Mikveh, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. One purpose of Shavuot is that believers can be filled with the spirit of Yahweh, the power of Yahweh, and then proclaim what He's done. So it's my prayer that this Shavuot, that we're Mikveh fresh and anew in His power. Because they went and they began sharing the word. I mean 3,000 people were born again. I don't know about you, but I've not led 3,000 people to Yeshua. I've not led 2,000 people to Yeshua. I've not led 1,000 people to Yeshua. Kepha gives one message and 3,000 people are born again. You know how He did it? I can tell you a key secret. He did it through the biblical mode of evangelism. Now, for most Messianics, the great commission is the great omission. We focus on tying tzitzit and wearing kippahs and the right blessings, but we do not focus on sharing Yeshua. Now, I'm sorry, but that's the truth. However, we see in the book of Acts, and we see in this passage, the biblical mode of evangelism. And we read about this in Acts chapter 28, verse 23. In our quote, it says that Shaul persuaded people concerning Yeshua, both from the Torah of Moshe, the law of Moses, and the prophets. He persuaded them from the Torah, the law, and the prophets. Now, let's make this clear. Prophecy, you said you love prophecy, proves the inspiration of Scripture. You can show someone Psalm 22 and show them about the prophecy of Yeshua. You can show someone Matthew 24 about the end times. So, looking at the various prophecies, we have a very good convincing case of our faith. Prophecy is a good way to start a discussion with people. Then, we need to share Torah. Too many people out there, guess what they do? They go to you and say, Jesus wants you to be happy. Jesus wants you to be blessed. Jesus wants you to have lots of money. You need to accept them and all your problems are going to go away. Guess what? Usually, it's just the opposite when you get born again. And so, what happens? People say, well, I'll try that. I've tried drugs, I've tried sex, I've tried everything else. I'll try that. Give me that. Give me some of that Jesus. And they try it and their happiness goes away after a while, doesn't it? Do you know why? Because they were never presented with prophecy in Torah. They were never showed the biblical mode of salvation. They were never showed the biblical mode of evangelism. Therefore, it didn't stick. And they go back down a couple of weeks later and get saved again. Or they never go back to church and they're out there alienated and hate the church. Because what? They were promised a smooth ride, get saved, and you'll be happy. You know, I've said it to people. God wants to fill that God-shaped vacuum in your heart. You know what? I agree Yahweh wants to fill you, but even more than that, you are a sinner. Because you broke in Torah and you need Yahweh's grace. This is the secret mode of evangelism. All we've got to do is share one of the Ten Commandments and say, Have you done this? Have you ever lied? Have you ever wanted something that wasn't yours? Guess what? That means you're sinful. But Yahweh has paid the price, Yeshua has paid the price for your sin. One lesson we can learn from Shavuot is that the Ruach Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh came to dwell within us. Not that we would keep His good news a secret, but that we would shout it out. Remember that this is a celebration of the harvest. We should be producing the harvest of souls. What did Yeshua say? The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. The field of souls is ready. You can go back and read in Acts chapter 19 about the baptism of the Ruach and about how it gives us boldness. Did you know that being filled with Yahweh's Spirit is a commandment? Ephesians chapter 5 verse 18 it says, Be filled with the Ruach. We need to be like Kepha, like Peter, and let the secret out. Now, many people have taken Acts chapter 2 wrong and they've said, Oh, it's all about Holy Spirit speaking in tongues, talking about, you know, she rode a Honda, she rode a Honda, she rode a Honda. What if she rode a Cadillac? You ever heard that before? You say, she rode a Honda. In church, you're trying to get people to speak in tongues. We'll just say, she rode a Honda, she rode a Honda, she rode a Honda. What if she rode a Cadillac? What if she rode a Buick? I don't understand that. It's not just about speaking in tongues. I believe that is evidence of the fulfilling of the Ruach HaKodesh. We know that Yahweh's Word has not passed away. But notice here, they spoke in tongues and people in other languages understood them. So let me ask you, have you been baptized in the Ruach HaKodesh, in the Holy Spirit? Have you received it? Many people receive a baptism at salvation. For others, it is a separate experience where you say, you know what, Yahweh? I give you all of me. It's not that you get more of the Spirit. It's that He gets more of you. You're giving up more control. Ask and you shall receive. I don't believe you've got to wait. I don't believe you've got to tarry. I believe you've got to ask. Amen? And He will fill you with His Ruach. Now, I've got a tough question for you. Shavuot's about the harvest. I want to tell you, Gilberto, I'll give you $1,000 for every person this week that you share Yeshua with, that you share this message with about their Torah disobedience, how they need Yeshua. Henrietta, would you witness to more people if you got $1,000 each time you spoke up? I know I would. I know I would. And do you know what that means? I am more motivated for money than I am to see people come to Yeshua. Ouch. That step's on my toes. If someone gave me $1,000, come on now, if somebody gave me $1,000 just to share Yeshua, to share the gospel in three minutes with someone, I would do it more often. I'm just going to be honest with you. The Acts chapter 2 message needs to be our end time message. What did He say? He said, Israelites, listen to these words. Yeshua of Nazareth, a man displayed to you by miracles and wonders, just as you know, this man who was delivered up and nailed to a tree by the hands of lawless men, He is both Master and Messiah, whom you crucified. What did He say? Repent, and let each one of you be immersed, how? In the name of Yeshua, for the forgiveness of your sins, and then you shall receive the gift of the Ruach HaKodesh, the Holy Spirit. That's our message. We get confused. Sometimes we think our message is, you know, this or that. But we never want to forget. We never want to forget that, as we've said, the times are short. I mean, we're living in the end times. What is part of biblical evangelism? Repent. I've got to recognize they're a sinner and repent. What about the book of Ruth? We said earlier, the book of Ruth happened during Shavuot. Now, it's tradition in the synagogue to read the book of Ruth during Shavuot. Now, clearly, we can see that these events that describe there happened there. Now, Ruth was a sincere convert. She embraced the Israelite faith. And when we are like Naomi and Boaz, when we share our faith with others, guess what? Other people's hearts are pricked. And guess what they are to proclaim? Your people will be my people. Your Elohim will be my Elohim. Ruth chapter 1 verse 16. That's what Shavuot's about. It's about being a living witness, a living example of Yahweh's power and celebrating His power that's coming to embolden us and to give us strength. So, the secrets of Shavuot don't need to stay a secret. Amen? Shout it from the mountaintops. The Torah was given on Shavuot. The Exodus 19, the events in Exodus 19 resemble a traditional Hebrew wedding. And we are renewing our wedding vows with Yahweh. This year on Shavuot. It's a commanded feast day. It's a commanded day of worship for all Bible believers. The Spirit fell in the temple, not the upper room. We need to remember that the Torah shows us our sinfulness and how do we live after we are born again. But the Ruach HaKodesh empowers us to witness that we are to witness through prophecy and Torah that the book of Ruth confirms that the harvest is plentiful. Sadly, the laborers are few. So, it is my prayer that this Shavuot that we are filled afresh and anew with Yahweh's Spirit and we go forward as laborers in the harvest. We sing that song, These are the days of Elijah, declaring the word of Yahweh. It says, These are the days of the harvest. We sing it. Are we going to do something about it? Shavuot marks the harvest of wheat. But don't we know the wheat and tares grow up together? We are to plant the seed and to be that witness. But we can't do it alone. We've got to make sure we are empowered by Yahweh's Spirit. It gives us boldness. It gives us strength. It gives us witness. And I believe in the continual filling of the Rokkai Kodesh. Just as we are to continually be mikved and baptized. It's not a one-time experience. We continually need more of Him. Amen? John 3.30, that He would increase and we would decrease. That's our prayer. Amen? That's what Shavuot is all about. So, Father Yahweh, we just ask right now that as we prepare for Shavuot, Your Spirit would fill us afresh and anew. Right now we ask for that mikve in the Rokkai Kodesh. We ask You to fill us from head to toe that we could have strength, we could have power, we could have boldness to understand Your Word. Abba Yahweh, we renew our commitment to You today in this Shavuot. As a husband and a wife renew their wedding vows, we renew our commitment to You. We pray that You would fill us. We pray that You would use us. And we ask You to help us. Help us to walk in Your ways. Help us to show love and compassion to others. Not be motivated by anything else, but by love and compassion and joy for what You've done in us. You've taken our lives that were a muck and a mire. You've taken our lives that were going the wrong direction and You turned us around. And there is a lost and dying world. The harvest is plentiful. But Abba Yahweh, that Your Spirit would so dwell within us that people would be drawn to us and that we would speak up to them and we would share Yeshua just like Kepha did that day. Father, I have to believe that Kepha had butterflies in his stomach when he stood that day. And I know that we have butterflies when we stand up for You. And we know that You reversed the curse of when 3,000 died, 3,000 were born again. Abba, show us and help us that we could let the secret out. Shavuot is a blessing. Your Torah is a blessing. And Father, by Your blood we have been brought near. We give You thanks. We offer this prayer through Yeshua our Messiah. Amen and amen. Thank you again for listening to the Finding Emet radio program. Please visit our website to learn more about the Emet, the truth of the scriptures. Search the Bible, submit your prayer request, or read an article on various subjects. The website is www.findemet.com. That's www.findemet.com. CD copies of this teaching are available for free by submitting a request at the website. Or write to us at Emet Ministries, 1310 Trent Street, Newberry, South Carolina 29108. That's Emet Ministries, 1310 Trent Street, Newberry, South Carolina 29108. Thank you again for listening to Finding Emet with Daniel Rendleman. May you find the Emet, and may the Emet, may the truth set you free. Find Emet Find Emet Find Emet Find Emet Find Emet