June 18, 2016: Tour minus 12 days
T – 12: Tour Shabbat Fellowships
Tour minus 12 days…the Countdown has begun for Repairing the Breach‘s “Nourish the Nations” American Summer Tour.
Yesterday, we shared with you an overview of the five different events we are planning to hold in most of the cities we visit (if you missed that T-13 Update, read it here)
Today, with just 12 days left until we hit the road on our 2016 American Tour, it’s time to give you more details about our first event of each Tour week (which takes place on the last day of the week): Shabbat Fellowships….
Shabbat?
We have just one bumper sticker on our one vehicle, our trusty ’97 Ford Expedition, and it’s awesome…
In straight black letters on a plain white background, it asks the simple question: “IS IT SHABBAT YET?”
So, of course, that starts conversations. “What’s ‘she-batt’?”
In case you don’t know, “shah-BAHT” is the name of the 7th day of the week in Hebrew. It translates into English as “Sabbath”
And when you learn what it really means — by seeking to walk out the Biblical commands to keep the day set-apart — then it takes on a sweetness that turns those simple words on that bumper sticker into an intense longing in our heart for the week to end and Shabbat to begin!
Isaiah 56 tells both Israelites and foreigners alike that we will be blessed if we “shomer” (observe and guard) the Sabbath day. It has long been said, “More than Jews have kept the Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.”
Yes, we must “guard” this day, both because it is precious, and because many things will try and steal it from us. Our worst enemy in this respect, our biggest thief, is often ourselves.
Honestly, I’m convinced that without our Father instructing me to keep this day each week, and without me choosing obedience to the call, I’d be dead!
Dead?
Chaim, that’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?
No, because I know how much I work, and how much my natural man strives. But one day a week, the 7th day, for over 20 years, I have stopped. Some weeks I stop better than others, but I do stop and put aside the week as the sun sets on Friday.
My family can count on me stopping, my tired body and mind can count on me stopping, I can count on me stopping. Really stopping. And if my awesome Father hadn’t told me to do so, I truly believe I would have worked and stressed myself to death, or close to it.
For those of you who know Dr. Kim and me from the Biblical Health side of our ministry, you’ve heard us say many times, “The Bible is the best health manual ever written.” And that is very true. Rest, not just at night, but for a whole day each week, is completely necessary for a truly healthy balanced life. Scripture tells us so.
Yes, man was not made for Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man, and in my family we choose to receive that awesome gift from our Creator that he presents to us each week. We also try and make the most out, preparing ahead of time, and praying for the rest each of us needs before we head back into those other six days when “work shall be done”.
We observe the 7th day Sabbath, and maybe you have chosen Sunday or another day. Whatever you do choose, we encourage you to truly sanctify the entire day in the ways the Scriptures stipulate. Try it out a few times, and if you are not completely satisfied, ask God what the deal is. We’ve yet to find anyone who has any genuine complaints. 😉
7th Day?
Look, we’re not going to try to prove to you when you should keep “your Sabbath”. And we’re not telling you that keeping the Sabbath is a salvation issue. That’s not what any of this is about.
Yes, the Bible does talk about our true rest being in Messiah Y’shua (Jesus), but nowhere do we find an instruction to stop observing a specific day of the week as The Sabbath. In fact, the Church considers Sunday the day and keeps it, at least in part, as a sanctified day.
We can and should worship the Creator and His Messiah every day, not just one day a week. But for us to all suspend our work and get together as a community, our Father picked a day for all of us to rest. Halleluyah!
What we do know from Scripture is that from the time of Creation, the very first week, the 7th day was set apart by our Creator as a Holy Day. Regardless of when we believe “our Sabbath” should be, it seems clear from many passages, including Leviticus 23:3, that on a weekly basis the “LORD’s Sabbath” is on the 7th day. The “Christian Sabbath” was moved to Sunday in the 4th Century by a Catholic Church that believes it has the authority to do so (you can look it up); if you believe that the Catholic Church has that authority, then that is your free choice.
So, back to me being super-busy guy who would work all the time if he could: I don’t have time for multiple Sabbaths, and so we choose what seems to be the one our Father told us to take off. Then, renewed and refreshed, we get “back to business” (the Kingdom business we’ve been assigned) on the other six days…
Join Us?
Our “first order of business” when we come to a new area is not business at all, but spending a sweet Shabbat with the local Messianic/Hebrew Roots community and any other followers of Messiah who would like to join us.
So, whether you already observe a complete Sabbath day of rest, or you’ve never experienced it before…
Or whether you currently believe it’s Saturday, Sunday, or even Tuesday…
If you are a true Believer in the Messiah Y’shua (and even if you call him Jesus), we’d like you to come fellowship with us on Shabbat when we visit your town.
The exact plans will be different from city to city, but we are finding a way to bring as many individuals and congregations together as possible for a time of teaching, Bible study, worship, prayer, and fellowship — and, of course, food.
What an awesome way to begin in each new area, huh? Just hanging out as a family, resting, and worshiping together as one!
Take the day off and come spend it with us. We’re so looking forward to having you there!
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE TO ATTEND — and we will be asking you to let us know ahead of time if you plan to be with us at the Shabbat Fellowship.
As we confirm locations and time, we’ll inform you how to tell us to expect you.
Until then, please make sure to go to our Tour page and (if you haven’t already) get on our Notification List, so we can keep you informed about the events we’ll be hosting closest to you!
SUPPORT THE TOUR
Remember our ’97 SUV with the bumper sticker? Well, our ‘trusty steed’ is being called on to take all eight of us more than 5000 miles during this Tour, towing our stuff in a 16′ trailer. And she could use some fixing-up to make sure we get where we’re headed.
As we complete all the massive amount of preparations to get us on the road in less than two weeks, we greatly appreciate your continued grassroots support!
Our “Support the Tour” campaign has been launched for all you “repairing the breach-ers” out there who believe in what we are doing, and want to help get us and keep us on the road.
So, along with hosting and volunteering in our tour cities, promoting us locally and nationally, and of course through intercessory prayer, there are three primary ways to assist us financially:
1) Equipment: We have specific priority equipment needs listed on our website, and you can make a directed gift to pay for all or part of it.
2) One-Time Gift: Give a one-time donation of any amount to provide for our immediate “getting on the road” needs.
3) Support the Tour: Make a monthly commitment of any amount for six months of giving to support us all along the way. (1 payment now, and then 5 more monthly automatic payments)
And do NOT think that even small donations, especially monthly ones, are not helpful. They are more important than you can even believe.
So, please give whatever you can to our “Support the Tour” campaign.
When you make a donation of any size, one-time and/or monthly for the next six months, we’ll invest it all in this Kingdom work.
GO HERE to Support the Tour in whatever ways you are led.
And CLICK HERE for our current Tour page and get on our notifications list for cities near you!
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE TOUR!
Next, read our “T-11” Update about our exciting, community building, Saturday night event that we will be hosting in each city: “Repairing the Breach: Realizing the Gospel of the Kingdom in Your Community”.
#RepairingTheBreach #NourishTheNations #SupportTheTour