Reflections, by By Messianic Jewish Rabbi Jack (Yaacob) Farber, CMY

Reflections, by By Messianic Jewish Rabbi Jack (Yaacob) Farber, CMY
http://www.cmy.on.ca/newletters/aug2003.htm CMY NEWSLETTER
Congregation Melech Yisrael, Toronto, Canada
Vol. 8 No. 12 August 2003 / Av - Elul 5763
By Rabbi Jack (Yaacob) Farber

Over the years that I have been teaching at Congregation Melech Yisrael I have seen three effects of the ministry HaShem (G-d) has given me; no four. The first and perhaps the most important, which I will discuss further later on, is that I have seen people grow spiritually. Many people in the congregation have received from the messages that are being preached each week, the Bibles studies that are taught on a regular basis, the d'var Torahs (Torah commentaries) and the newsletters and they have incorporated what they have learned into their lives. The result is these people are now productive, both within the congregation and in the community at large. They are active, they are involved, they are committed and they are supportive of the leadership and the policies and direction of the congregation and we are moving forward together. The spiritual growth in their lives is evident because their relationships are better, their family life is better, the managing of their finances is better and all this is encouraging. It is amazing what happens when people focus on the Word and not on their own personal agendas - they grow in the L-rd. As the leader of this community I am blessed by these people and highly encouraged by their spiritual growth. In fact it is because of them that I am able to continue, many times in the face of great difficulties. I wish that there were more of this type of people in the congregation. Seeing lives change for the better makes all the effort I put in to Melech Yisrael worthwhile.

Now do not misunderstand me. Spiritual grow does not come without testing and testing does involve pain. However the result of passing the tests and overcoming the pain is amazing spiritual growth. For those of you who can relate to what I have just said and who are growing spiritually within the congregation I am blessed by you.

The second effect I have seen is people stagnate. These are people who grow to a certain level, usually a minimal level, and then just stop growing - they stagnate. Yes they come to services each week, perhaps they even eke out a Bible Study or prayer meeting once or twice a year but they do not grow spiritually, they are stagnant. I feel bad for these people because their lives are always in turmoil. They go from one crisis to another, their families are dysfunctional, they are unhappy with their lives and their marriages are usually on edge. Yes I try to work with them, but despite all the counselling, all the teaching, all the coming to services and hearing the exact same sermons the people who are growing spiritually hear, they stagnant.

Now what is surprising is that these people often get involved in helping within the congregation. However from my observation their help is purely motivated by guilt or it is simply works of the flesh. It is not that they are oblivious of their condition, I truly believe that the people I am identifying truly know their shortcomings and failings. They know that they are not living a biblical based lifestyle. They know they are not giving G-d one hundred percent of their spiritual effort, so they make up for their guilt, because they do feel guilty, by doing physical works within the congregation. These are people that show up for services and other social functions, but you rarely if ever, see them at a Bible study or prayer meeting. They want all the advantages of being part of the congregation but none or little of the commitment necessary for their own spiritual growth. Unfortunately for them, becuse they are not committed to themselves, they are not committed to anyone else either; therefore they are marginally supportive of the leadership and take little interest in the functioning of the congregation. These people are the ones most likely to be deceived and led astray by false doctrines or rebellious people..

The third effect is that people leave. More often than not the people who end up leaving the congregation are those who came in like gangbusters. They start out full of zeal, full of hunger for knowledge and full of the desire to become part of the congregation as quickly as possible. In my mind I can still hear the praises of some of them who are no longer with us. The promises of what they are going to do for the L-rd and the congregation, the blessings they showered over me for the wonderful teaching, warmth, kindness, love and hospitality they have received. Trouble is they usually left their previous congregation without having their leadership lay hands on them, bless them and send them out in perfect fellowship. In other words they came to us with issues. I try to isolate these people and encourage them to make it right with there past congregation. I may even contact their previous leader and attempt to broker reconciliation. However in most cases their previous leadership is either unwilling to cooperate or the congregation was so large that no one even knew they were gone or that they had even been there. So now we have to deal with the consequences of their unresolved issues. These people may stay for a short while or they may stay for a number of years but eventually they leave under the same conditions they left their previous congregation. Why do they leave? Perhaps they find the teaching too hard, too uncompromising or they have a theological difference and are unwilling to deal with it through prayer, patience and partnership. Whatever the reason, the way they came in is usually the way they leave - like gangbusters. It hurts for me to think that they will just go to another congregation and repeat the same cycle all over again. It also saddens me that they usually take some of the stagnant people with them.

The forth effect is I grow, and that I think is the best part of this whole ministry, because my growth effects the whole congregation. The necessity for me to study, read and prepare for the teachings, sermons and Bible studies has a wonderful effect on my life. I am not the same man I was when I started here at Melech Yisrael. In addition, having to deal with the people who stagnate, those who leave and those who grow has also broadened my relationship with the L-rd. Every experience has been a growth experience, whether it was positive or negative and I feel closer to HaShem then I have ever felt before. I still have a long way to go, but thank G-d He is using everything that happens in my life to make me into the man of G-d He desires me to be.

Thank you for reading this to the end and allowing me to share my feelings with you.There is, I believe no better Scripture to describe my philosophy than:

Pilifim / Philippians {3.13} Chaverim (Brothers), I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, {3.14} I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of HaShem in Yeshua HaMashiach (Yeshua the Messiah). {3.15} Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing you be otherwise minded, HaShem shall reveal even this unto you.

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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Jack (Yaacov) Farber


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