© 2 June 2017 Revive Israel Ministries

Aggressive Fruit of the Spirit

Asher Intrater

Many people in the world are aggressive; aggressive for power, glory, wealth… in short selfishness. Yet the teaching of Yeshua seems to point to an opposite character. In His first recorded message, the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua said, "The meek will inherit the earth" and "Blessed are the merciful" and "the pure in heart" (Matthew 5:3-8).

This is an opposite aggressiveness. The opposite of aggressiveness is not passivity, but a focused effort to go in the exact reverse direction from the lusts and selfishness in human society. It is to swim against the stream. It is sacrificial love (John 3:16); victory over world (I John 2:13); crucifixion of the flesh (Galatians 5:24). We could call this aggressive "fruit of the spirit" (Galatians 5:22).

Love is a fruit of the spirit. Yeshua told us even to "Love our enemies" (Matthew 5:44). Joy is a fruit of the spirit. Yeshua told us to rejoice when we are persecuted for righteousness sake (Matthew 5:11-12). We are to have peace in the storm (Mark 4:39) and patience in suffering (Romans 12:12).

Not only are we to be generous, but to be "overflowing in generosity from the depths of poverty" (II Corinthians 8:2). We are called not only to be faithful, but to be faithful when others are unfaithful (II Timothy 2:13, 15); not only to have self-restraint, but to "put to death the works of the flesh by means of the spirit" (Romans 8:13).

Is it possible to think in terms of "aggressive humility" or "aggressive generosity"? Can we make it our goal to live by the teaching of the Beatitudes and the Fruit of Spirit? This is what it means to be "created in the image of God" (Genesis 1:26) and to be "conformed to the image of Christ" (Romans 8:29).

Moti Cohen

“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house” (Deut. 6: 7)

Recently, at Tiferet Yeshua congregation, we celebrated Bar Mitzvah for two young boys who’ve reached the age of 13.

The meaning of the phrase ‘Bar Mitzvah’ is – the son of the Mitzvah (commandment). In Judaism, the age of 13 is the age where a child becomes an adolescent, where he starts to take responsibility for his actions. Physiologically and intellectually speaking, a young boy at this age can finally understand the depth of the consequences of his actions. It’s important for us to teach these kids that they need to come to the congregation out of their own faith in God and in Messiah Yeshua, and not for the sake of pleasing their parents or friends.

In the Bar Mitzvah lessons, we study the many prophecies we have of the Messiah in the bible, we talk about the importance of all the covenants God had with our father Abraham, Moses, and, of course, about the importance of the New Covenant. In addition, every week we have a Torah Portion, which is a segment from the bible that we read from the more original scrolls. The Son of Mitzvah must know how to read his entire Torah Portion, which is very hard, as the original scrolls are rolled up and written on a leather parchment. They don’t have any punctuations to the words, no commas or dots, and that’s why the Sons of Mitzvah must practice reading their portion. In addition, the Son of Mitzvah prepares a small written sermon regarding his Torah Portion and he must read it in front of the entire congregation.

Every time it amazes me to see how our children grow up so fast. We as a congregation have a spiritual responsibility to teach our kids about the Kingdom of God. To give them values and encourage them in their faith in Messiah Yeshua, for we know that one of the reasons God chose our father Abraham was because he knew how to bequeath his faith in God to his family:

“For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” (Genesis 18:19).

Next time, we will share with you an incredible testimony of how God used our recent Bar Mitzvah celebration to change the life of one particular Israeli whose identity will surprise you.

In this teaching at the Baruch Haba tour 2017 Asher goes deep into the importance of alignment with God’s plan.

To watch in English click here.

In this video, Cody Archer shares what our team has been up to around the world over this past year, and what’s coming next.

Subtitles available in Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, and Portuguese.

[WATCH]