The document discusses the importance and blessings of observing the Sabbath or Shabbat. It explains that God instituted the Sabbath as a day of rest after creating the world in six days. Keeping the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. The document outlines traditional Jewish practices for welcoming the Sabbath, including lighting candles and saying blessings over wine and bread. It encourages taking time to rest and enjoy God's blessings on the Sabbath.
1. A fixed frame of
reference; A habitual
mental attitude that
determines how you
will interpret and
respond to situations.
2.
3. The blessing of God can change your life. No
matter whom you are or what your abilities
and circumstances are, if you tap into the
blessing of God; you will be thrust forward
into a life of increase, multiplication, and
destiny.
The blessing of God is one of the most
important biblical principles. The word
“bless” or “blessing” is used 474 times in the
Bible. God wants us to understand and walk
in blessing, not just for our own sake, but so
we can demonstrate His kingdom by blessing
others.
4. God described blessing as the release of
fruitfulness and multiplication. This
gives us a significant insight into the
nature of blessing.
5. Blessing is the anointing of God to release
increase, prosperity, and the multiplication of
all that is good and pleasant in life.
He will love you and bless you and multiply you;
He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the
fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine
and your oil, the increase of your herd and the
young of your flock, in the land which He swore to
your forefathers to give you.
The LORD will remove from you all sickness;
Deut 7: 13 - 15
6. Deut 28: 3 – 12
The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against
you to be defeated…the Lord will send a blessing on
everything you put your hand to…the Lord will
grant you abundant prosperity..the Lord will open
the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send
rain on your land in season and to bless all the work
of your hands.
Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, and he
adds no trouble to it.
7. These verses show that God’s blessing is a
comprehensive blessing. This includes
fullness of protection, provision, perfect
health, and success in everything we put our
hands to.
God wants us to know the fullness of blessing
in every area of life.
By now Avraham was old, advanced in
years; and ADONAI had blessed Avraham in
everything. Genesis 24:1 He was blessed in
every area of life. That same measure of
blessing is God’s desire for us.
8. Christ has redeemed us from
the curse of the law, having
become a curse for us (for it is
written, “Cursed is everyone
who hangs on a tree”), that the
blessing of Abraham might
come upon the Gentiles in
Christ Jesus Galatians 3: 13-14
God wants your blessing to be
as full and comprehensive as
Abraham’s.
9. God wants every believer to experience a
blessed life. He wants you to rise to the top.
He wants you always to be at the right place
at the right time so you don’t miss any
windows of opportunity. Divine
appointments and supernatural connections
are open doors to your future.
10. A blessed lifestyle is
promised to EVERY
believer who meets
God and walks
humbly and
obediently in His
ways.
11. The Importance of Blessing:
When Believers fail to tap into God’s blessing,
His work on the earth is hindered. When they
fail to prosper, the Church lacks the resources
to carry out its mission. Being bound in
infirmity makes them too weak to carry out
their commission. The power of God’s
blessing is purposed to rescue you from all
lack and infirmity and propel you forward
into your destiny. Sickness and poverty are
not attractive to the world. The poverty
mentality that has afflicted the church has
12. Actually caused the world to despise the
gospel. But when the world sees God’s
blessing – when they witness Believers
experiencing a greater measure of prosperity
and health than the world system can
provide – the result will be that the world
will fear God.
13. The Conditions of Blessing:
An “IF” and a “THEN” is attached to every
promise or blessing mentioned in Scripture.
If we do what He says, then we will receive
what He promised. Blessing comes to those
who ALIGN themselves with God’s
purposes and timing.
14. When we align our lives with the revelation
of God, blessings begin to flow. God has
given us instructions for walking in blessing.
If you are not walking in blessing, read God’s
instructions and meditate on them daily until
your life comes into agreement with Him.
15. Blessings are not a result of saying the right
prayer or going to the right church. They
come from daily aligning our lives with God.
Elements of a Jewish Lifestyle:
At the age of 3 – The children start studying
Hebrew.
At age 6 – A diligent study of Scripture
begins.
At age 13 – They were expected to have
memorized large portions of Scripture and
be able to discuss them with understanding.
16. The result of this historical devotion to the
Word is that many of God’s principles of
blessing have become an accepted part of
Jewish life. Even unbelieving Jews often do
the things that release blessing.
17. While reading the Bible is always important,
there are levels of blessing we cannot enter
until we go beyond just “reading words.” To
enter God’s blessing, we must meditate on
the Word and gain an understanding of
God’s will and God’s ways. Then we must
allow our understanding of the Word to
change us.
God wants you to enter into a new level of
favor, so you can experience the power of His
blessing in your life.
18. God’s
God’s blessings comes to us when we are
linked into His cycles of life. A cycle is
something that rotates or moves in
sequence, sometimes repetitively, and leads
us to a destination.
19. God’s Three Cycles of Blessing:
The cycles were designed to break the
power of the enemy and draw His people
closer to God with an ever-increasing
revelation of His blessing.
1. He instituted a weekly Shabbat cycle at
the creation of the world. His design was
that man was to work diligently for 6 days
and take the 7th day as a Sabbath day of
rest. Shabbat was to be a special day, set
apart to rest, to enjoy God’s goodness and
blessing while meditating on the glories
20. Of the heavens and earth. He promised great
blessing to those who keep His Shabbat as a
holy day just as the Lord rested on the first
day after creation.
2. God designated a monthly “firstfruits”
cycle marked by a celebration the Jews
called ROSH CHODESH.
3. He ordained a yearly cycle of life, marked
by a series of “feasts” or “appointed
times.”
21. These were designed to take us through key
steps to deepen our walk with the Lord and
release the power of God by experiencing the
blessing of the feasts.
SHABBAT:
22. God knew we were going to be engaged in
battles against powers and principalities.
Warfare can be intense. We must always
be alert, diligent, and press on through to
victory. God want us to know He has
provision for rest – called Shabbat.
He has designated times for you,
individually and as a family, to rest and be
restored. These are times set aside for you
to savor His goodness and gain the
strength to press on through the obstacles
to pursue your destiny.
23. God wants you to take time to stop and
remember that He is good. Rest is part of
God’s will for us. His plan was that we
would take time to rest. Rest is a blessing of
God.
It is vain for you to rise early,
To retire late,
To eat the bread of anxious labors—
For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his
sleep. Psalm 127:2
24. If we constantly push ourselves beyond
God’s boundaries for our life, we will miss
a blessing.
The Blessings of Rest:
Rest brings physical refreshment.
It brings physical healing and restoration.
It brings revelation from God, often times in
dreams.
It brings mental creativity. There is a kind of
thinking your mind does in sleep that can’t be
done while you are awake.
25. Rest is to be an oasis on our journey. If you
take time to rest, you will be happier,
stronger, more prosperous, and live longer.
Where to Find Rest:
Rest originated as a gift from God, but we
have a choice whether to receive this gift.
The Bible describes 2 kinds of rest:
Sabbath rest and Dominion rest.
26. Sabbath Rest:
A time of rest that is a regularly repeated
time when you cease from normal work and
experience physical, mental, and emotional
respite. During this time, pressures and
responsibilities are to be lifted so that you
are free to simply enjoy God’s goodness.
God designed us to have a weekly rest. The
weekly Sabbath/Shabat is so IMPORTANT
to God that He included the weekly
Sabbath in the 10 Commandments.
27. Have you ever considered that failing to
keep the Shabbat is as much a violation of
God’s will as killing, stealing, or committing
adultery?
Don’t be
judgmental in
your observance
of Shabbat or
regarding how
others carry out
their observance.
28. The goal of the New Testament teaching is
to restore Shabbat to its original covenantal
purpose: To be a blessing from God.
If we continually miss our Shabbats, we are
missing a blessing. We lose our joy. We lose
creativity. We lose strength.
The essence of Shabbat is: If God created
the universe in 6 days; He is strong enough
to handle our responsibilities for one day
while we rest and enjoy His blessing.
29. Why do we Celebrate Shabbat:
1. God commanded it.
2. Shabbat is an act of worship, a way of
acknowledging His greatness as Creator.
3. Shabbat is a picture of salvation.
4. Shabbat is a time to rest from our works and
receive His blessings as a gift.
5. Shabbat is a picture of Heaven, anticipating
the day when we will rest from our works and
enjoy Him forever.
6. Shabbat is designed to restore us and give us
strength for the battles ahead.
30. Shabbat is in the heart of God’s covenant
plan. As we enter in by faith and
experience a day of material and spiritual
delight, the desires of our hearts are
purified, and we can savor being in His
presence. Shabbat is a time to “be still and
know” in order to triumph over our
enemies. This day provides a time to let a
new dimension of faith rise in our midst so
we can praise God in every circumstance.
C.Pierce
31. Shabbat is a time consecrated to enjoy and
celebrate what is beautiful and good – time to
light candles, sing songs, worship, tell stories,
bless our families, give thanks, share meals,
sleep, walk, and make love. It is a time to be
nourished and refreshed as we let our work,
our chores and our important projects lie
fallow, trusting that there are larger forces at
work taking care of the world when we are at
rest.
32. Plan a day to enjoy God and the blessings He
has given you. Ask the Lord what to do on
Shabbat. He wants us to continually
experience and walk in Shabbat rest.
33. Start with the women and girls in the house lighting
Shabbat candles before sundown. Every Friday
night two angels visit our home for Shabbat so we
start the dinner by welcoming them with the song of
Shalom Aleichem.
With the lighting of the candles, a woman ushers in
the holy Shabbat. No "weekday" activities are to be
done from that point on, as she has now entered a
world of tranquility.
SHABBAT
DINNER/LUNCH
34. •Say the blessing:
ָּנֹד ַא ה ָּת ַא רּוְך ָּב-א י-נּו ָּש ְּד ִק ר ֶשֲא םָּעֹול ָּה ְךֶל ֶמ ינּו ֵֹלה
ש ֶדֹק ת ָּב ַש ל ֶש ֵרנ יק ִל ְּד ַה ְּל ָּנּוּו ְִּצו יו ָֹּות ְּצ ִמ ְּב
Transliteration: Baruch a-ta A-do-nay Elo-hei-nu
me-lech ha-o-lam a-sher ki-di-sha-nu bi-mitz-vo-
tav vi-tzi-va-noo li-had-leek ner shel Sha-bat ko-
desh.
Translation: Blessed are you, L-rd our G-d, King
of the universe, who has sanctified us with His
commandments, and commanded us to kindle
the light of the Holy Shabbat.
35. Before both the Friday evening meal and lunchtime
on Saturday, there is an opportunity to affirm the
holiness of Shabbat through the Kiddush. This
blessing combines the regular acknowledgment of
God's role in feeding people with a longer blessing
on remembering creation.
The Friday evening Kiddush has three parts: a
reading of Genesis 1:31-2:3, a short blessing over
the wine itself and a longer sanctification of
Shabbat. Here is the translation of the entire
blessing, with a transliteration of the short blessing
over the wine itself.
36. And it was evening and it was morning, the sixth
day. The heavens and the earth, and all they
contain, were completed. By the seventh day, God
had finished the work which God had been doing,
and rested from all work. Then God blessed the
seventh day and made it holy, for on it God rested
from all the works of creation.
Baruch Atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam,
borei pe-ri ha-gafen.
Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the
universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
37. Blessed are You, Lord our God, Ruler of the
universe, who has made us holy with Your
commandments. Lovingly You have favored
us with the gift of Your holy Shabbat as our
inheritance, a reminder of creation, first
among the sacred days, recalling our
liberation from Egypt. You have chosen us and
given us a holy purpose from among all the
peoples, In loving favor, You have given us
Your holy Shabbat as a heritage. Blessed are
You, God, who makes Shabbat holy
38. After the Kiddush, the next blessing is over the
bread. It's often called Ha-Motzi, which means "who
brings forth" because it's a blessing on God bringing
forth bread from the earth.
Some perform a ritual hand-washing before the
blessing over bread.
For the ritual washing the blessing is:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam,
asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzeevanu al nitilat
yadaim.
Blessed are You Lord Our God, Ruler of the
Universe, who has sanctified us by Your
commandments and commanded us concerning
the waving of hands.
39. Some do this ritual washing with a cup. They fill the
cup with water and pour the water over the hands,
then wave the hands and dry them on a towel while
reciting the blessing.
For the bread, the blessing is:
Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, ha-
motzi lekhem min ha-aretz
Blessed are You, Lord Our God, Ruler of the
Universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.
After you've made the blessing you can slice or tear
the bread into pieces, salt it and distribute it.
40.
41. DOMINION REST:
The rest that comes when you have taken
dominion of your appointed inheritance.
Shabbat rest is a time of rest. Dominion rest is
a place of rest.
It is the enjoyment of your personal promised
land – your inheritance, (which may include
an actual physical location or your place of
ministry). DOMINION REST IS YOUR
CALL, YOUR DESTINY IN THE EARTH. A
purpose to accomplish in the earth realm.
42. When you take dominion of your inheritance
so the enemy can no longer steal it away, you
have entered Dominion Rest.
The exact nature of your dominion depends
on your own individual call from God.
Whatever your call and destiny is, God’s
Dominion Rest for you comes when you have
fulfilled your destiny, or when the enemies
are defeated and you dwell securely in the
land God has given you. When you have
taken dominion over the things God has
promised you, there is a time of Dominion
Rest.
43. Biblical Examples of Dominion Rest:
The LORD gave them rest all around,
according to all that He had sworn to their
fathers. And not a man of all their enemies
stood against them; the LORD delivered all
their enemies into their hand. Josh 21:44
But now the LORD my God has given me
rest on every side; there is neither adversary
nor evil occurrence. 1 Kings 5:4
44. “Is not the LORD your God with you? And
has He not given you rest on every side? For
He has given the inhabitants of the land into
my hand, and the land is subdued before
the LORD and before His people. 1Chro 22:18
45. Entering Dominion Rest:
To enter Dominion Rest, you must war and
labor, and at times, struggle.
Let us therefore be zealous and exert
ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest [of
God, to know and experience it for ourselves],
Hebrews 4:11
You only experience Dominion Rest when
your enemies have been defeated. Be aware
that the enemy always tries to occupy your
inheritance – just like the Canaanites
occupied the Promised Land.
46. But when you drive the enemy from your
inheritance, you enter Dominion Rest.
For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their
hearts,
And they do not know My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest. Psalm 95:10-11
Possessing your inheritance always requires
a battle. You have to fight to take it. If you
refuse to take dominion of your inheritance,
you forfeit the right to possess it.
47. How Do We Lose Dominion Rest?
1. Through unbelief.
2. By refusing to war for your promise as in
Psalm 95.
3. Through disobedience and idolatry as
happened to Israel.
4. When you are under a curse. Deut 28:65
And among those nations you shall find no rest,
nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place;
but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart,
failing eyes, and anguish of soul.
48. So God created man in His own image; in the image
of God He created him; male and female He created
them. Then God blessed them, and God said to
them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and
subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea,
over the birds of the air, and over every living thing
that moves on the earth.”
And God said, “See, I have given you every
herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the
earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you
it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth,
to every bird of the air, and to everything that
creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have
given every green herb for food”; and it was so.
49. Then God saw everything that He had made, and
indeed it was very good. So the evening and the
morning were the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of
them, were finished. And on the seventh day God
ended His work which He had done, and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which He had
done. Then God blessed the seventh day and
sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His
work which God had created and made.
Gen 1:27-31 and Gen 2: 1-3 In the original Hebrew
text, there is no division between them, pointing
out that the place of Dominion Rest and the time of
Shabbat Rest were meant to go together.
50. Then the LORD God took the man and put him in
the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. Gen 2:15
The word “put” man in the garden literally means
“rested.” The Hebrew word “nooak” is used,
which means “to dwell in safety and peace.”
The garden was man’s place of Dominion Rest. He
was to cultivate this land for increase. There was
work to do in the garden even before the land was
cursed by the Lord. Work was not the result of the
fall. Labor and productivity were part of God’s plan
for man to fulfill his destiny.
Even Adam and Eve had to “work” to enter “rest.”
51. From the garden they were
to increase and take
dominion and enlarge their
place of rest until it
encompassed the whole
earth. They were also to
“keep” the garden; to guard
and protect it. After all, the
Enemy was already at work there. Part of
taking dominion and securing their
inheritance for the next generation involved
man’s responsibility and effort to drive the
enemy out.
52. Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of
entering His rest, any one of you may seem to
have come short of it. For indeed we have had good
news preached to us, just as they also; but the
word they heard did not profit them, because it was
not united by faith in those who heard. For we who
have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,
“AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH,
THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST,”
although His works were finished from the
foundation of the world. Hebrews 4: 1-3
So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of
God. Heb 4:9
53. Hebrews 4 is the New testament counterpart
to Genesis 1 and 2. Verses 1- 3 rest is
“katapausis” meaning a dwelling place or an
abode. This is Dominion Rest.
Verse 9 the word sabbistosmos is the Sabbath
Rest. We need both kinds of rest. We enter
Dominion Rest through our work. We enter
Sabbath Rest through His work.
54. We obtain our Dominion rest when we have
secured the inheritance God has called us to
take. You will not gain your inheritance
without war and diligence. You must take
dominion to enter your rest.
As you are fighting to possess your
inheritance, you must also honor the Shabbat
and enter His rest each week. If you do not
stop and observe a Shabbat Rest as you battle
for your Dominion Rest, you will not have the
strength to win the war. The two must go
together.
55. This rhythm and interplay of Sabbath Rest and
Dominion Rest propels us into God’s cycle of
blessing, which releases blessing for us and for
those coming after us. God’s plan of blessing
is always generational. As one generation
secures the inheritance God gives to them, the
next generation can enlarge their inheritance
even more.
56. As we link our Shabbat Rest with Dominion
Rest, the joy of the Lord will be our strength
as we obtain the victory of walking in the
fullness of our destiny. Understanding the
times and cycles of God are powerful keys to
living continually in God’s blessing.