Sukkot

            Oct 1 began the Feast of Tabernacles.  This joyful fall celebration of seven days is commanded in scriptures as one of the “appointments” God wants to have with His children every year.  It is the time to remember how the Israelis lived in temporary “booths” for 40 years after fleeing Egypt.  It has come to be a time to celebrate with family by eating and even camping outside in a temporary structure built with a roof covered with natural branches so one can see through them into the sky and view the stars at night.  Sukkot is also called the Feast of Ingathering, a time to celebrate the harvest and remember all the blessings God has reigned down on us over the past year.

            Sukkot is also marked by great joy.  We are commanded to be joyful in the succah!  Joy usually is an emotional response to something good or something we like.  But in this case we choose to be joyful in obedience to God’s instructions.  We can command our emotions to be thankful, joyful. 

            The final day of Sukkot is the most joyful day of the year—Simchat Torah.  This is the day when Jews finishing reading through the Torah for the year and begin reading Genesis 1 for the coming year.  It is a joyful celebration of God’s gift of His Word to us marked by huge celebrations of music, dancing with the Torah, food, etc.  There are many other layers of meaning and symbolism that surround the Succah.  It is a picture of our bodies being a temporary dwelling for our spirits while we sojourn on this earth, but our real home is the eternal body we will receive when we step into eternity. 

            I believe we ought to join with our Jewish Cousins in celebrating joyfully God’s great gift of the Word.  The Bible is the greatest source of wisdom and life to us and is God’s love letter to every Believer.  But we ought to take this celebration to new heights by celebrating the Word made Flesh, Yeshua,  Messiah.  Here is the greatest reason for joy.  Here is truly our harvest of the heart.

            May you be joyful this Sukkot!

 

Practical Politics

            When we lived in Jerusalem for six months, I would often walk six or eight blocks from our apartment to the Promenade, a popular park on the South edge of Jerusalem from which I had a perfect view of the Old City, the Kidron Valley, and the new parts of Jerusalem.  What an awe-inspiring place to sit, read my Bible, pray, and intercede for Israel and the Messianic Believers there.  I often hoped that Yeshua would suddenly appear and set foot on the Mount of Olives, just across the Kidron Valley while I was having my quite time. 

            One of the vacant lots I passed as I walked to the Promenade was purported to be reserved for the U.S. Embassy.  It has been seventeen years since both the House and Senate approved the building of an embassy in Jerusalem by the end of 1999.  But a small loophole has allowed every president since then to delay its construction—that loophole is a short sentence in the bill passed by congress allowing the President of the U.S. to delay by executive order for six months the location of the embassy in Jerusalem.  So far, no President has had the back bone to stand up to the Arab countries and do so and so every six months the embassy is kept in Tel Aviv.

            What a travesty.  In no other country, except Israel, would we or any other foreign government, dare to do such a thing.  By not locating our embassy in Jerusalem, the capitol of Israel, we are bowing to the pressure of the Arab bloc.  The Arab countries want Jerusalem designated as the capitol of Palestine, which is not yet even a country.  But for 64 years, since Israel became a State, we, along with the rest of the world, have refused to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capitol of their country.

            The pressure is not just from the Arab countries.  The real lack of fortitude is found in the halls of our own State Department and White House primarily.  There has been a long and ugly anti-Semitism that has tainted the State Department of the United States.  This is seen in various key leaders of that department over the years refusing to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol.  When questioned as to what State the city of Jerusalem sits in, Hilary Clinton replied:  “That has yet to be determined.”

            Until our national leaders get a Biblical understanding of God’s covenant with the Jewish people and its link to the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, there is not much hope of change.  The Jewish people have looked to Jerusalem as their homeland, their capitol, for over 3000 years.  Jerusalem is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible but not once in the Koran.            

            May God open our eyes and hearts to agree with His plans.

Learning to Intercede

            The longer I walk with Jesus, the more important prayer becomes.  Jesus Himself modeled a prayer life during His life on earth.  He took time away from the pressing crowds to be alone the His Father.  He would steal away and spend a night in communion with Father.

            Rees Howells: Intercessor by Norman Grubb is an important book that every person should read who is interested in being used of God in prayer.  It traces how God led Rees Howells step by step in learning how to be an intercessor.  Rees began by taking baby steps of a disciplined, focused prayer life.  Then God laid on his heart certain people to intercede for.  Slowly, over many years, Rees took on larger and more challenging prayer targets.  Finally, after 30 or 40 years of praying, God led him to join his prayers with those in a Bible College he had founded to intercede for various key battles in World War II.  Their prayers made a difference in the outcome of that war.

            One of the chief motivating factors in what Rees Howells prayed for was the establishment of Israel as a nation and the return of the Jews to their homeland.  Rees correctly saw that this was a key to world evangelization and the ultimate return of Messiah to the earth.  The motivation to “pray through” (pray until Holy Spirit assured them of victory) against the Nazi war machine came because Rees could see that if Alexandria fell in North Africa, Palestine would be threatened and fall into Nazi hands.  The same was true in the battle for Russia, particularly when the Nazis attacked Moscow and later Stalingrad—if the Nazis succeeded, the Holy Land would be invaded from the North.  At key times, God prompted them to pray against the Nazis and God turned what looked like sure victory for Germany into major defeats that saved the world from tyranny.

            The author Norman Grubb summed it up:  “…the prayer in the College for the Gospel to go to every creature, and for the Jew to return to Palestine, has always been with the one great anticipation of the return of the Saviour in glory, and the setting up of the Millennial Kingdom.”  What drove Rees Howells to pray was God’s heart for evangelization and the return and reign of Jesus.

            What do your prayers focus on?  What drives you to “pray without ceasing”?  Only a heart gripped by what is on God’s heart will have the motivation to stay in prayer until victory is won.  God could trust Rees Howells with truly large prayer initiatives because he was first faithful in the small things (like healing for one person or the salvation of one individual). 

            So what will ignite your prayers today?

Two Drops In The Ocean

            Nineteen years ago my wife and I prayed for the Body of Christ in Israel that God would unite them and bring about His kingdom in Israel.  That same year God prompted two Messianic leaders to make aliyah.  Those two leaders have established several congregations in Israel that are raising up a new generation of mighty men and women of God.  This is a direct fulfillment of scripture and an answer to our prayers.

            I’m not taking credit for what God is doing in Israel.  It is just a wonderful confirmation and encouragement that God hears our prayers.  Even though we didn’t know of God’s answers to those prayers for many years, now as we look back over two decades we realize He heard our petitions and answered them.  But it wasn’t just our prayers He heard.  We have learned that Holy Spirit has been prompting His Body all over the world to pray for Israel in these days.  Believers in China have been interceding for Israel year after year, even though most of them have never visited Israel.  We have received reports of the Church in Asia, Europe, Africa have all been actively praying for God’s move in Israel.  I know many in South America as well as many other nations have been praying the same prayers.

            Our prayers are just two drops in an ocean of intercession that God’s Spirit has raised up to accomplish His purposes in the Last Days.  But every drop is important.  When enough drops of water come together they can become a mighty flood that sweeps away even the most stubborn obstacle.  There is a mighty tidal wave of God’s power overwhelming Satan’s plans and devices in these days.  “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace…”  Isaiah 9:7.  Not even the gates of hell will be able to stand against the power of God’s Spirit.

            Keep praying for Israel and the expansion of God’s kingdom in the Earth.  Your prayers make a difference, even if you can’t see it.

Shavuot Fulfilled!

Shavuot 2012

            Just as Jesus perfectly fulfilled the first three feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread and First Fruits, the Holy Spirit came precisely on time and fulfilled the Feast of Weeks.  Shavuot means “weeks” and begins seven weeks after Passover.  In Jewish tradition it is the remembrance of God giving the Torah.  Christians call it Pentecost, or “Fifty” and see it as the birth of the Church.

            In the book of Acts, the first Believers were praying in an upper room on Shavuot and Holy Spirit came into the room, baptizing them with tongues of fire that empowered them to witness on the streets of Jerusalem about the Resurrection of Jesus.  This was a direct fulfillment of the promise Jesus had given that they would be filled with power.  They were changed from a fearful, hiding band of men and women to an energized, bold fire-brand that operated under the direction and power of Holy Spirit.  The result: thousands of people were added to the Body of Christ overnight!

            This coming week Pentecost (Shavuot) will be celebrated on May 26 at sundown.  It is marked in Jewish circles by staying up all night reading Torah and the book of Ruth (in remembrance that David is a direct descendant of Ruth).  Messianic believers in Israel are calling the Church to a renewed Pentecost by spending the night in prayer inviting Holy Spirit to come and fulfill Joel 2:28-29.  Yes, this was fulfilled in Acts 2—Peter uses Joel 2 as the basis to explain the strange behavior of the freshly baptized Believers.  But the total fulfillment of Joel 2 has yet to happen.  Holy Spirit will be poured out on “all mankind” in “the last days”.  We believe we are living in those last days.  There is a Messianic remnant living in Israel again.  Expectancy is growing, as it did in that upper room.

            Our prayer is “Come, Holy Spirit, baptize us afresh with the power to witness about Jesus Christ to our world that is lost and dying.  We need You.  Come, overwhelm us with Your Presence.  Remove the fear of man from our hearts.  Embolden us with a fresh fire that will draw all men into the Kingdom of God.”

            Join us this week in praying for this outpouring of Holy Spirit.  Gather with other Believers and pray expectantly!  The Father earnestly desires to pour out His Spirit on those who ask for Him (Luke 11:13)!

Passover--Our Reason to Celebrate!

This Friday evening, April 6^th, is Passover, the first of the three Spring Feasts God commanded Israel to keep annually.  Passover has been celebrated for 3500 years and provides the Jewish roots for our remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and the celebration of His resurrection. 

I Cor. 5:7-8:  “Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened.  For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Jesus perfectly fulfilled the prophetic actions Jewish homes re-enact in the Passover Seder.  He is the Passover Lamb slain on the very day the priests were sacrificing the lamb to commemorate God’s deliverance from the slavery of Egypt.  Four cups of wine are served in the Seder, based on the four declarations God made to Israel in Ex. 6:6, 7.  God told Moses to tell the people:  “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out (Cup of Sanctification)....I will deliver you (Cup of Deliverance)….I will also redeem you (Cup of Redemption)…..Then I will take you for My people (Cup of Marriage).” 

Jesus also is the sinless Bread of Life pictured in the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  Jewish homes will thoroughly clean their homes from top to bottom this week in preparation for the week long celebration of Unleavened Bread.  This is a wonderful picture of the work each of us should do daily in separating ourselves from sin.  “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Jesus also fulfilled the third Feast, First Fruits, by rising from the dead—the first fruits hope for resurrection that we all, as believers in Jesus, hold as our own glorious hope.  Because He defeated death we too have the hope of resurrection.  Paul sums it up clearly in I Cor. 15:  “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins…But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.”  We proclaim to the world the Good News.  He died and took away your sins.  But the grave is empty!  He is Risen!  Hallelujah!

One Thought At A Time

Ps. 132 speaks of David longing to find a place for the dwelling of God on earth.  Later in the Psalm, God promises that David will not lack to have a descendant sitting on his throne.  But there is a provision:  “If your sons will keep My covenant and My testimony which I will teach them, their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever.”

            The sad fact is the history of Israel as recorded in Kings and Chronicles shows that they did not keep God’s covenant.  David’s own son intermarried with pagan women and they led his heart astray.  David’s grandsons divided his kingdom between the Northern kingdom of Israel and the Southern kingdom of Judah.  The Northern kingdom had nineteen kings, all of which were evil—they refused to follow God’s covenant.  Finally God judged Israel, the Northern portion, by sending them into exile in 722 BC.  Less than half of the twenty kings of Judah were considered godly, but they too became so corrupt that Judah was sent into exile in 586 BC, not to return to the land for 70 years.

            How did this happen?  One choice at a time.  We my think our daily choices have much bearing on the direction of our lives, but every day we make choices that set the direction of our lives.  The decision to skip prayer and Bible reading one day.  The rationalization that one look at pornography won’t hurt anybody and it just feels so exciting.  The choice to ignore the promptings of Holy Spirit and just do what I want to do.  All these small choices, though seemingly isolated and insignificant, begin to deaden our sensitivity to God’s voice.  These micro decisions begin to add up and set us on a path of destruction that we usually don’t recognize until we are caught up in some large sin that is obvious to all and brings great embarrassment to us and our family.

            I used to worry when I heard about the fall of another pastor or great spiritual leader into immorality.  I questioned in my heart:  “If that person everyone has looked up to can’t hold his spiritual life together, what hope is there for a sinner like me?”  But then the Lord showed me this spiritual truth:  “EVERY EXTERNAL SIN BEGINS WITH A SMALL THOUGHT THAT IS AGAINST GOD.”   The progression is from thoughts to attitudes to actions, followed by habits that end in a lifestyle.  I have drawn it as a simple chart thus:

            Thoughts yield Attitudes yield Actions yield Habits become Lifestyle

            The battle ground is our thought life.  We make choices in our thoughts what to dwell on.  If you think about lust long enough, it won’t be long before your attitude toward lust will break out into actions of viewing pornography. 

            We can be forgiven by confessing our sins.  Jesus will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 

            But the secret of victorious living is to take every “thought” captive to the obedience of Christ.  II Cor. 10:3-5.  By submitting our thought life to Christ and asking Him to sanctify it, we set our minds and hearts to follow God and our attitudes and actions reflect godliness and holiness and integrity strengthens our character.