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

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