Saturday, September 16, 2006

Could This Be The Catalyst That Triggers The Greatest Spiritual Awakening This World Has Ever Seen?

Romans 11:15 says, "For if their rejection and exclusion from the benefits of salvation were overruled for the reconciliation of a world to God, what will their acceptance and admission mean? It will be nothing short of life from the dead."

Their (the Jewish people's) acceptance of Yahshua (Jesus) as their Messiah and Saviour WILL trigger a worldwide domino effect (like we have never seen) of people getting saved, submitting their lives to the Lordship of Yahshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah). Can you imagine that?

Isaiah 27:6 says, "...Israel will blossom and sprout and they will fill the whole earth with fruit."

2Peter 3:11,12 says, "...You should lead holy and godly lives, as you wait for the Day of GOD and work to hasten its coming."

Praying for Israel is like working to hasten the coming of the day of the LORD and is a major key to the Kingdom of YAH breaking out.

Think about this: Messianic Jewish believers taking the Gospel to non-Jewish people, the world over; then, Jew and Gentile coming together (as one) to praise and worship the LORD.

Isn't that how it should be. . . isn't that the way YAH intended: the Jewish people taking the Gospel to the Gentiles? Think about it: Jewish believers witnessing to Gentile (as well as Jewish) non-believers, telling them about Yahshua, the Messiah, the Jewish Rabbi, born of a virgin, who died for our sins. This would surely please the Father, the God of Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov.

We need to get serious: to earnestly pray for the people and the Land of Israel. Israel's acceptance of Yahshua (Jesus), as their Messiah, will be the catalyst that triggers the greatest spiritual awakening this world has ever seen.

There will come a time when the Jewish people cry out "...blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord," (Mat.23:39). Yahshua's return, His Second Coming, will not happen until this occurs.

Look at Yashua's words in the last three verses of Matthew 23. This is what ("Complete Jewish Bible" translator) David H. Stern has to say about them: "As if to refute the theology (developed later by the Church) which teaches that God is no longer interested in the Jewish people as such, Yashua here gives the condition for the salvation of national Israel, as distinct from salvation of individual Jewish and Gentile people. In these verses, at the end of His ministry, He addresses the nation of Israel, speaking to the capital, Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and thus continues the Tanakh's tradition of corporate salvation, which will come when Israel as a nation blesses the Messiah, who comes in the name of Adonai. The fact that Yahshua will not return until Israel receives national salvation is a powerful motivator for evangelizing the Jewish people." ("Jewish New Testament Commentary" by David H. Stern.)

When Yahshua came first time around, He wasn't welcomed. Indeed, He was spurned, rejected, despised, spat upon and more, especially by the religious leaders of the day. He has no intention of coming back until the people of Jerusalem are ready to welcome Him as their Lord and Saviour, Son of God, Yahshua HaMashiach. He IS Lord of Lords and King of Kings, Jesus the Messiah.

YAH is calling His people home; He is tugging at the heartstrings of the Jewish people still living in the Diaspora. Many have already made aliyah (returned to Israel) and for the first time, there are now more Jewish people living in the Land of Israel than in the USA.

Mid-2006 saw the Jewish population of Israel top 7,000,000 for the first time. But there's still a long way to go, with something like six million still residing in the USA alone, not to mention Russia (717k), France (606k), Argentina (395k), Canada (394k), UK (302k), Ukraine (142k), Germany (107k), Brazil (95k), Australia (90k), South Africa (88k), Belarus (72k), Hungary (60k), Mexico (53k), Belgium (51k), Spain (48k), Netherlands (32k), Moldova (31k), Uruguay (31k), Italy (30k), Venezuela (25k), Poland (24k), Iran (20k), Chile (20k), Sweden (18k), Uzbekistan (17k), Turkey (17k), Switzerland (15k), Panama (10k), and many other countries around the world with varying numbers (up to 10k) of Jewish people living there. This is something we should be praying into. (The figures given are from a 2005 census.)

I cannot over-emphasize the importance of praying, at least daily, for the people and the Land of Israel. While doing so, pray for the scales to fall from their eyes, for the spiritual fog to be lifted from their vision, so they can clearly see what is required of them. Pray that they may realize that Yahshua IS Messiah; and that they may understand YAH's calling on their lives. Pray that they realize that the safest place for them to be is in Israel, not America or Canada or the UK or anywhere else, for that matter. YAH wants His people back in the Land!!!

Each of us may have different reasons for praying, but pray for Israel we must. We are obliged to. . . instructed to. Isaiah tells us to. David tells us to. YAH (the God of Israel) tells us to. Yahshua (Jesus) tells us to. The Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) is leading and guiding us to pray and make a stand, once and for all, for Israel.

I'm certain YAH wants to put His heart for His Covenant people and Land onto the hearts of all born-again believers. But first, He wants ALL traces of anti-semitism, anti-Zionism, anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli thoughts and feelings cleansed from our systems, so He can fill us with the compassion He has for the people and the Land of Israel. Invite Him to place on your heart that which is on His.

Pray for the Jewish people to come back to their Creator, Yahveh Elohim. "If My people who are called by My name, would humble themselves and pray and seek My face, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their Land," (2Chronicles 7:14).

The history of the Jewish people and their relationship with YAH has been a turbulent one, to say the least, swinging to and fro, to Him, away from Him, to Him, then away from Him. They would turn to YAH and then turn away. When in trouble, they'd cry out to Him. Life would be good and then they'd become complacent, thinking they no longer needed Him and slide away from Him.

They would get themselves into trouble again and turn back to Him. Life would improve and then they'd fall away from Him. On and on they went, like a giant pendelum swinging to and fro. To Yah, away from Him. Back to Him, away from Him. It's as if they couldn't (or wouldn't) learn their lesson.

At this point in time, they are very much away from Him, so we need to pray for them to turn to Him; we need to cry out to Him on their behalf. . . to intercede for them. Build momentum and keep it going, individually, in prayer groups, in churches, the length and breadth of the land. The onus is on us to pray for Israel, YAH's Covenant people and the Land.

The Church, by and large (and with very few exceptions) is not just sleeping, it's dead! And has been for many years. Most Church folk believe that the Church has replaced Israel; that the Jewish people and the Land of Israel are now irrelevant and no longer feature in God's plans and purposes. How wrong can they be!

We need an Esther Church to rise up and take its place for such a time as this. Mordecai's words of warning should be ringing in our ears: "For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14).

The word "perish" reminded me of another stark warning from YAH, this time in Isaiah 60 and verse 12: "For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you (ISRAEL) will perish; yes, those nations will be utterly destroyed."

Think about it!

We need to pray with a sense of urgency for YAH's plans and purposes for both the people and the Land of Israel. We must pray for YAH to raise up an Esther Church to fulfill "the Church's" responsibilities by functioning in the way He expects it to function, as opposed to the way "man" wants to do it. His heart must surely ache when He sees what is going on in the Church in name of Christ! Isn't it time church leaders all over this nation laid down their own agenda's and picked up YAH's agenda?

Please note: the Church is NOT and never will be the new Israel or Spiritual Israel nor has it replaced Israel in the eyes of YAH. Only in the eyes of those who have fallen into apostasy can such heinous lies be perpetuated. The perpertrators of this garbage will have to stand before the LORD on the Day of Judgement and account for their blasphemy. We believers are heirs, members and sharers together in the promises of YAH through His Son, Yashua. We have NOT replaced Israel but have become a part of her by becoming members of her family, grafted in to the one true vine. "...we are no longer foreigners or strangers; on the contrary, we are fellow citizens with God's people and members of His family," (Ephesians 2:14). Halleluyah.

As believers, it is our duty to stand with Israel, so we -- just like Queen Esther of old -- must rise to the opportunity YAH has given us. We need to function as an Esther Church, a "grafted in to the Cultivated Jewish Olive Tree with its Hebrew roots and Biblical culture" Church that never forgets that it is part of the Commonwealth of Israel. Doing so would enable us to be fed and nourished from the rich roots of the genuine Olive Tree, the one true vine. What a difference that would make!

The Jewish people are the parents of our faith. Without them we would NOT have known the one true God. Our Bible says that in the last days, the hearts of the fathers will be turned to their children and the hearts of the children turned to their fathers (Malachi 4:6). We should turn our hearts to the Jewish people.

The Bible also says that if we "honor (esteem and value as precious) our fathers and mothers -- and this is the first commandment with a promose --, that all may be well with us and we may live long on the earth," (Ephesians 6:2,3). I don't know about you, but I want ALL the blessing that YAH has to offer me.

It is right that we honor (not despise) the Jewish people, YAH's Chosen people, the world's host people, through whom the Messiah chose to come to us. It is right that we demonstrate unconditional love for the Jewish people and stand up for their God-given homeland.

The principal cause of all Church divisions was the separation of Jews and Gentiles in the 4th century when the Gentiles became dominant in the Church and turned their backs on their Jewish brothers and sisters. Their actions and attitudes were the very antithesis of what Paul teaches in Romans 9 through 11.

As believers, we need to challenge the Church: to be aware of the terrible history of anti-Jewish persecution from the Church; and to strive to unite and bless the Messianic Jewish movement (that is increasing and developing very quickly) and recognize it as the original host "Church."

The Church talks about becoming the Bride of Christ: does it realize that doing so means becoming the Bride of a very JEWISH Messiah (who has NOT discarded His Jewishness)? If so, why is the Church ignoring the Jewish people and the Land of Israel, carrying on as if they don't exist?

Why is the Church not standing with Israel? Why is it not serving Israel in these days in the way YAH intended? Why is much of the Church pretending to be "the new spiritual Israel"? Why are so-called "Christian" organizations like the International Council of Curches and the World Council of Churches pursuing an anti-Jewish/anti-Israeli agenda, deliberately trying to further inflame anti-Israeli feeling around the world?

If we profess to believe in Yahshua as Lord and Saviour, our Spiritual homeland is Israel, even though we (physically) reside somewhere else. Our principal earthly city is Jerusalem (and one day will receive the new "Jerusalem" from above, Revelation 21:2). Our supreme ruler is Yahshua, King of the JEWISH people, who will reign over all the earth. How will today's (largely) anti-Jewish Church cope with that, I wonder?

Our government pretends to support Israel, but when push comes to shove, it pursues it's nauseating policy of appeasing the Arab oil producers (at Israel's expense). If a political leader tries to step out of the mold and lend any kind of support to Israel, he is immediately targeted by the political (self-serving) bomb throwers and subjected to a barrage of abuse.

What these clowns fail to realize is this: If we -- the nation, the Church, a church, individuals -- are to prosper in every way, we can NOT ignore YAH's clear instructions to bless the Jewish people, especially "those of the household of faith [those who belong to God's family with you, the believers]." See Romans 15:26-27 and Galatians 6:10 for further confirmation.

Earlier this year I wrote to some of those big (US) churches that you see broadcasting on the satellite system, regarding their stand on Israel. What I got back was shocking. One ministry in particular concerned me; I used to watch their broadcasts. The man seems a plausible preacher, but I should have spotted some of the tell-tale signs. Israel did not figure in this man's ministry at all (and his ministry is huge, with a mult-million dollar-a-year budget).

They had just opened an office in Washington DC to lobby politicians, when I quit watching. But that wasn't the reason I ceased watching their broadcasts. They seemed pre-occupied with their own good works. Israel, and YAH's plans and purposes for them, were never mentioned; It was as if Israel (the people and the Land) didn't exist. So I wrote them and asked about their stand on Israel.

Their reply was very clear: they believed that the Church was the new Spiritual Israel, and that God had finished with the real Israel, both the people and the Land. And that they, the Church, had inherited the promises originally given to Israel and the Jewish people. They really believe this stuff, and through their huge ministry, will have taught it to untold thousands, hundreds of thousands, of gullible people. To say they're deluded is putting it mildly.

Most of those I wrote to did not respond; I wonder why?

Let's pray and keep on praying, wherever we are, whatever we're doing, let's keep praying until YAH's plans and purposes for the people and the Land of Israel are fulfilled in every way. It is important we don't miss the opportunity He has set before us.

As watchmen on the walls, we need direction, focus, dedication and persistence, purity and effectiveness. We need a prayer army of warriors doing battle for the LORD and Israel. And we need to be servant believers who speak out boldly about the Jewishness of our Messiah, the Jewishness of the Gospel, the Jewishness of our Spiritual roots, the Jewishness of YAH's Word (the Torah is not dead and buried), and the Jewishness of the Church as YAH intended it to be!

Let's get serious and pray for the people and the Land of Israel and YAH's plans and purposes for them, especially in these End-Times. Pray for Israel's acceptance of Yashua (Jesus), as their Messiah -- THIS will be the catalyst that triggers the greatest spiritual awakening this world has ever seen.

Shalom aleikhem
Peace be upon you
William

Thursday, September 14, 2006

It's Time To Stop Pussyfooting Around and Make A Stand For Israel

We pray for Israel because we want to be in the will of Almighty GOD. We want to be doing the things He has instructed us to do in the Word.

Several years ago I heard a Christian asking GOD to give him His heart. This made an impression on me. The more I thought and prayed about it, the more interesting, the more challenging it became. So I too prayed and asked the LORD to give me His heart.

My prayer was answered but in a way I had not anticipated. He gave me His heart alright; what I had not realized is that His heart is for Israel, the people and the Land. Knowing, as I do now, that the heartbeat of GOD is for His chosen people and the Covenant Land, it makes sense that when I asked for His heart, that's exactly what He gave me: His heart for Israel.

Somewhere along the way I was introduced to the "Complete Jewish Bible" translated by David H. Stern. I bought one. The Complete Jewish Bible is an amazing translation. As I read my Bible, the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaKodesh, was showing me things I hadn't seen before, especially the texts relating to the people and the Land of Israel and the teachings of the Torah. YAH's Word suddenly took on a whole new dimension.

The Jewish people are still His Chosen People and the "apple of His eye," (Zechariah 2:8). They remain "a people near to Him," (Psa.148:14). If His people and their Land are so close to His heart, then surely they should be close to ours too. We (Gentiles) who profess to have accepted the very Jewish Jesus -- Yahshua HaMashiach -- as our Lord and Saviour need to become more like Him which means embracing His heartbeat.

Do you want to be in alignment with His heart? Do you want to feel the heartbeat of YAH (GOD)? Then get close to the things that are close to His heart; and there is none more close to His heart than His people and the Land of Israel (they're inseparable), especialy the crucial role they play in YAH's End Time plans and purposes. (YAH is an abbreviated form of YAHVEH which translates as "I Am" and the "Ever Present God.")

Allow the LORD to tenderize your heart. Ask Him to place on your heart the delights and desires of His heart. Ask the Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) to give you His heart of compassion for Israel, the people and the Land. Your walk with the LORD will never be the same again!

As believers it is our duty to take a stand for Israel. If we accept the Bible as the infallible Word of YAHVEH, if we accept Word of YAHVEH as GOD-breathed, we should accept what He says, and DO what He tells us to do, and NOT cherry-pick the bits we like and ignore the bits we don't like. That sort of behaviour will eventually put us on a collision course with the Almighty.

Isaiah 62, verses 6 and 7, tell us that we should take no rest -- day or night -- when it comes to praying for Jerusalem; we should never fall silent and be persistent in reminding the LORD of what He has said about Israel, the people and the Land, until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

At this moment in time, Jerusalem is far from being "a praise in the earth," so we, as watchmen on the walls, must pray and intercede -- night and day -- until Jerusalem becomes a praise in all the earth. Not for our sake, but for Zion 's. This should be a priority with each of us if we profess to follow Yahshua (Jesus), our Jewish teacher, LORD and Saviour.

Will there be consequences? You bet! Positive and negative. Good and bad. Blessing and attack. But knowing you're in the will of YAH makes it all worth while. When excuses not to pray turn up, stamp them out. When thoughts not to attend Prayer For Israel meetings occur, get rid of them quickly. When distractions come, it's time for you to overcome. When interruptions happen, be firm when dealing with them.

Ask YAH to give you His heart so that we can pray with accuracy and discernment for His plans and purposes in these End Time days. YAHVEH wants His people back in the Land. He wants to give them a new heart; put a new Spirit inside them. He wants to restore the Covenant Land he set aside especially for them, His Covenant people, along with His laws and rulings. He says, "You will be My people, and I will be your GOD," (Ezekiel 36).

"Pray for shalom in Jerusalem; may those who love you prosper," (Psa.122:6). "May shalom be in your ramparts, prosperity in your palaces," (v.7). There has never been a more critical time as this for our works to match our faith. We have a responsibility to act on the Word and to DO IT NOW.

YAH continues to bless and prosper those who have risen to the challenge of His Word, serving the Jewish people. Those who facilitate aliyah (the return of the Jewish people to Israel). . . those who serve the Jewish people, feeding, clothing and taking care of them, especially the poor, the hungry, the thirsty, the widows and orphans. . . those giving/providing shelter for the homeless. . . those reaching out to Jewish people incarcerated for their stand for Israel and/or for being Jewish. . . those serving the Jewish people around the world and especially in Israel. . . these who serve will be well blessed. This is not to say we shouldn't serve non-Jewish people, we should; but the Bible says that our giving, our serving, our ministry is "to the Jew first."

When Yahshua talks about "these brothers of mine" and "these people" in Matthew 25, verses 40 and 45, He is talking to us about His Jewish people. He clearly tells us that whenever we "do these things for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, we do it for Him." Whenever we refuse to do things "for the least important of these (Jewish) people, we refuse to do it for Him." Think about it.

Genesis 12:3 says "I will bless those who bless you and curse him who curses (or uses insolent language toward you or makes light of) you. Those who make light of the (Jewish) people, who doggedly refuse to do what they are told to do (from the Word), Matthew 25:41 says such people will "go off to eternal punishment, but those who have done what YAH wants will go to eternal life," (v.46). Selah!

Shalom aleikhem
Peace be upon you

William

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Who Says GOD Has Finished With The Jewish People?

Many Christians wrongly believe that, because GOD rejected His people for a time, He relinquished any responsibility for them or obligation to them for ever. In effect, they're saying He abandoned His people totally and comletely from there on.

Some Christians feel that GOD finished with the Jewish people at the cross of Calvary; they blame them for 'murdering' Jesus (as they put it) and call them "Christ killers". Such people believe the Covenant promises that GOD made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob passed to the Church and that the Church has replaced Israel in GOD's scheme of things.

That is the biggest load of bunkum ever to come out of the mouths of otherwise friendly, reasonable, likeable and intelligent people. Unfortunately, such Sunday Christians -- pew warmers -- do not read and study the Word of GOD or ask the Holy Spirit to reveal scripture to them so that they might understand what The Most High is trying to say to them; otherwise, they wouldn't make such asinine statements or preach and teach such silly, stupid and ridiculous nonsense.

Replacement theology, as it's called, is extremely dangerous and has no place in the lives of the followers of Jesus the Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach.

YHVH, Adonai, the GOD of Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'akov has NOT, did NOT and will NOT EVER abandon His chosen people, Israel. Look at Jeremiah 31:35-37. . .

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, and the fixed order of the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; the LORD of Hosts is His name: "If this fixed order departs from before Me," declares the LORD, "then the offspring of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever." Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all they have done," declares the LORD.

Which part of that do the replacement theology advocates not understand? ;-)

Look at Jeremiah 31:37. . .
Thus says the LORD, "If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done", declares the LORD.
The sun and moon are still shining, and as long as they are, Israel will FOREVER remain His chosen people, a nation before Him, forever.

The sun and moon are still shining, and as long as they are, Israel will remain His chosen people, a nation before Him, forever.

In AD70, Emperor Titus went through Jerusalem stealing and destroying and killing and carried off many thousands of Jewish people into captivity. Many were scattered around the globe. God allowed their land and property to be taken away from them; indeed, He allowed them to be removed from the Land.

Against all odds, and in spite of being on the receiving end of the curses of Deuteronomy 28, they managed to retain and maintain their identity. In 1948 GOD decided to bring His chosen people back into the Land and Israel was reborn.

They have, with GOD's help, survived war after war and no matter what we as Christian believers think or feel about the Jewish people, they are still GOD's CHOSEN PEOPLE, and we are to respect that fact. So the sooner we get used to it, the better. The Jewish people are GOD's chosen people, the apple of His eye, and we as believers are called to serve them, to be a blessing to them, to help them in any way possible, and to pray and intercede for them. That's not me saying it, GOD commands it in His Word.

Isaiah 60:12 "For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you (Israel) will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined, destroyed"!

That is YHVH, the GOD of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob speaking through he prophet Isaiah and that statement alone should fill us with dread and great concern for the Church and the nation.

Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you, and curse him who curses (or makes light of) you".

We, the Church and the nation, are guilty of not serving Israel and of making light of Israel; we are guilty of disregarding GOD's instructions to followers of Yeshua (Jesus) regarding His People and His Land. The time to right those wrongs is way overdue. It is time for "The Church" and the Government to call a National Day of Repentance and Prayer NOW!!!

Look at what Jeremiah 23:7-8 says. . . (remember this is GOD speaking through His servant, Jeremiah). . .

"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when they will no longer say, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,' but, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I have driven them.' Then they will live on their own soil."

The days referred to in this scripture from Jeremiah are now. . . the days we are living in; we are seeing this prophecy unfold before our very eyes.

Right now, GOD is giving those nations (where Jewish people are living) a unique opportunity to bless His people by helping them make aliyah (return to Israel). We have many Jewish people living in our own nation; here is our opportunity to be a blessing to them.

GOD is calling them home. He wants His people back in the Land. Over recent years many have answered His call and made aliyah, in spite of all the troubles. The Jewish people responding positively to the call of GOD are in the will of The Almighty and Israel becomes THE safest place for them; far safer than where they have been living all or most of their lives.

By getting involved with those who are helping Jewish people to make aliyah to Israel, we can serve them and bless them. By donating finances to the various charitable trusts specifically established to help the Jewish people return to the homeland of their forefathers, we can be a blessing.

From the beginning of July to the end of August this year (2006), 4000+ people made aliyah to Israel from different parts of the world. On August 16 alone, three flights landed in Israel from New York, Toronto and London, carrying over 800 Jewish people to the place where GOD wants them to be. The Israeli authorities expect 24,000 Jewish people to make aliyah during 2006. And we can be part of it by giving our finances to organizations such as Operation Exodus, Ebenezer Emergency Fund, EbenezerUSA or Exobus, and/or volunteering to help wherever possible.

Shalom aleikhem
Peace be upon you

William