" The laws of sowing and reaping."
One thing that anyone who follows the news and the pre election build up will be in absolutely no doubt of is the importance of the issue of the economy.
I predict that the economic challenges that we will face in the next year to eighteen months will go far beyond anything that we can imagine. Most things are going to receed into the background in comparison to this, and really I am convinced that we have only heard the early warning shots of what is set to happen in the economy of this and several other European nations in the near future.
In my prayers for the election of a new prime minister I am praying along two primary tracks; first that whoever is elected will be sypatheticially and favourably disposed towards Christians and Christianity.
I pray this in order that the basic platform of freedoms that we have enjoyed to preach the gospel may be maintained and not further reduced. I am quite convinced that the church in great Britain is not where we are supposed to be, we are behind.
Thus I am praying that whoever is elected may be kindly disposed towards Christians in order that God in his great Mercy may give us time.
We need time to see some key leaders that God is raising up within the body of Christ come into their spheres and positions of influence and to begin to make known the manifold wisdom of God and Grace of God to our society at large.
We need time to see the churches that are called to be an influence in the major cities of this country grow into churches that when they pray and when they speak unitedly the world will take note.
And we need time to see the harvesters of this coming move of God brought up to the level of readiness and maturity, so that when God begins to reap the great harvest in these coming days they are ready to labour to bring the harvest in.
That is my first prayer for the coming general election and the second is for the man whom God appoints to be one who has the strenght of character to make the crucial decisions that will need to be made in order to lead this country through the most difficult economic times that we have possibly seen in over seventy years.
Rick joiner is a man of God that I admire and respect highly and recently I listened to a talk that he gave where he outlined his insights for the coming economic situation. Because of the position of leadership that God has given him he is in the fortunate position of relating to many individuals in field of economics who are well placed in terms of their knowledge and understanding to know the early warning signs.
Many of these individuals are saying that we have a window of possibly a year to eighteen months until the full unravelling of this economic crisis kicks in.
The unveiling of how sick the economy really is in the United States as well as many other European countries and in Japan is already beginning however the full revelation of just how serious the situation is has not yet come to the fore.
When the wheels begin to come off the economy in many of these countries seemingly simultaneously the immediate effect will be fear, panic and then inevitably anger as people turn their ire upon their governments and blame them for all the woes( when in reality this mountain of unsustainable debt has been growing for over three decades.)
There will also be great despair, and that is where the church is called to arise and to be the beacon of hope and point people to God in the darkest hour.
People who say that the economy is showing early signs of recovery and that we have turned a corner are simply not telling the truth. For whatever reason whether it be a misplaced optimism or a desire to conceal the full truth for the sake of popular gain one thing is certain things are going to get darker before they get better.
In that respect Mervin Kings reported comment about the enormity of the task of the next incoming government and that it would probably reduce them to a one term in office government because of the unpopularity of the measures that it would need to take was a more accurate prediction then will be heard upon the lips of many politicians these days.
I have said the above to say this, if that was the whole picture then it would indeed be bleak, however I believe that in the midst of this coming economic storm the Lord has called the body of Christ to so learn to walk with Him that we prosper and excel in the abundant Grace of God ,learning how to trust God to make us those who always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance unto every good work.
The church is not bound to the world in either its source of provision or in its liberty to give, however I do believe that at this time and this moment we need to diligently disentangle ourselves from the worlds way of thinking and to let what the scripture says with regard to sowing and reaping both inspire and govern our thinking as never before.
There is a powerful principle that runs through out the scriptures which is in reality one of the governing principles of the kingdom of God, and that is seedtime and harvest, or sowing and reaping.
We as the people of God really need to have more than a tacit agreement that it is a biblical truth, we must release our faith in this principle and reconize that our lives are governed by it.
The first mention in the bible of this truth is found in Genesis 8 22 where God is making a covenant with Noah and with his sons and with his descendants, verse 22 says
"As long as the earth remains, seed time and harvest, And cold and heat, And winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease".
Some people would say "ah yes but this is talking about the Lords covenant with the earth, with nature to order it and to regulate it"
This is obviously true however there is also a transcending principle in this which governs not only all of nature but all of life as well. Seed time and harvest.
Paul in Galatians Cht p6 demonstrates that this principle applies to all of life when he makes the emphatic statement "Do not be deceived God is not mocked. Whatsoever a mans sows that shall he reap. He who sows to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life.
Let us not become weary in well doing for in due season we will reap a reward if we do not faint and lose heart. "
Do not be deceived God is not mocked whatever a man sows that shall he also reap.
So it is evident that we can become deceived by not reconizing that everything we are sowing will come back in some form of harvest in our lives.
Many people choose to see this principle in a fearful light, however the exact opposite should be true.
This biblical principle is in reality a wonderful thing because every good seed which we have sown and continue to sow will return to us in the form of a good harvest.
It is not arbituary. We something think that it is, but that is only because we have not renewed our minds sufficiently to the word of God to be totally persuaded of Gods justice and righteousness contained within this law.
This explains why some christians also seem to grow so much more rapidly then others, when we look at their lives we will always discover that the law of sowing and reaping is at work. Here is a man who was saved out of drug addiction , abuse and a raft of other problems and yet when he came to Christ he was filled with the Spirit and had a hunger for Gods word.
Maybe he did not understand two pages together but he listens to faith building and faith inspiring messages and his heart hunger begins to grow.
Every day he is staying with the word of God, and as he consistently does so, so his thought life begins to radically change. He is getting his mind renewed.
He is learning to be able to receive from God, healing when he gets sick, peace when he becomes fearful, courage when he becomes timid.
Now he is beginning to be in a position to help others to find the life transforming power of Gods word, and to encourage others to be able to receive from God for themselves.Why is he so fruitful?
Because he is sowing the Word of God into his life consistently and combining it with faith.
We think that Gods dealings with us are arbitrary but they are not. They are based upon the laws of sowing and reaping.
Overarching this law of giving and of receiving is the truth that God is a God of rewards who loves to reward us with good things.
This is the antithesis of religion which says that all we have comes from Gods Mercy and we can never do anything to deserve it.
It is certainly true that all the good that we ever receive from the Lord and every manifestation of His Grace and of His goodness we could never earn.
We are unworthy of it from the standpoint of human merit.
But sowing and reaping is not about earning something from God, it is rather about reaping the fruit of our obedience and faith.
Thus we will reap what we sow and if we cultivate and sow good seed good things will come forth in our lives in due season.
Bringing this back into the financial realm My daughter who is just eight years old decided last year that she was going to tithe every financial gift that she would receive.
I encouraged her that she would receive more from God if she freely gave.
I want her early on in her life to grasp the truth of giving and receiving, that as she obeys, God will provide her with more.
Some may object that our giving should not be coloured by the desire to gain more but purely by the desire to give freely as an act of love.
Certainly as my daughter grows into greater maturity I would look for the motive of Christs compassion to also grows in her, but for now I see nothing prohibitive about teaching her that God delights to give back to her as she gives to him.
Evidently neither did Jesus when he said "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure pressed down and shaken together shall men pour into your bosom. For with the measure that you give it shall be given to you."
This principle of having faith in a seed that you sow, a seed that will always grow is fundemental to the way that the entire kingdom of God operates.
When we were born again we received a seed from God, the imperishable seed of Gods word which he sowed into our hearts and germinated by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit. From that comes forth a whole new life from God.
Similarly when God desired to raise up a family of sons and daughters for himself and a bride for his son he first gave the seed of his only Son to fall into the ground and die but in raising him from the dead he raised us up together with him( john 12 24 & Isaiah 53 10)
Some Christians give in obedience to the word of God, however they rarely if ever actually release their faith deliberately and on purpose in that good seed bearing good fruit.
In other words they have no expectation of a harvest coming to them from the seed that they have sown,and when good does come back to them they never join the dots.
Behind this principle of sowing and of reaping is the reality that God is our ultimate and only source. He may use and employ many channels to bless and to provide for us but God is our only source.
This is going to be such an important principle I believe for us to grasp and to live our lives by in the days that lie ahead.
We may lose a job but that job was not our source and therefore God can give us a new and better one.We may lose support from one source but no human being, no person and no human institution is our source, only God is. He may close one channel and open another but if our faith is in him then that faith can never fail. For that faith will never be disappointed.
One of the most powerful examples in the scripture of this principle of having faith in a seed or seed faith is found in 2 Corinthians chapter 9 v 6 where Paul talks about the grace given to the Macedonian church. "But this I say He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity , for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to make all grace abound towards you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things my have an abundance for every good work.
Now may he that provides seed for the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the harvest of your righteousness, while you are enriched in every way for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God."
There is no ambiguity in this passage where Paul clearly carries the seed time and harvest principle over into the area of the giving of our money.
He does not say if you sow you are blessed but maybe you will reap in kind and maybe you won't.
On the contrary he is quite emphatic, He who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat will multiply the seed which you have sown.
What you have given to others will be accounted to you for a harvest and God will not only bless what you have given but also increase your very capacity to give.
Notice that the grace is given to those who give not to those who withhold from giving and it is a grace to increase and to multiply their capacity to give.
The heart is so central in this for it is noteworthy that the very church or group of churches that Paul sites as an example of this powerful spirit of generosity were those most impoverished in their personal circumstances.
But this lack did not hold them back from releasing what they could to give to those in need.
History indicates that the same group of churches were brought out of their impoverished circumstances within a few years.
I have no doubt whatsoever in my own mind that part of the Holy Spirits strategy to bring them out of their dire poverty was to empower them first with this extraordinary grace of giving. As they got their minds upon helping to meet others needs so the God of heaven moved to meet their own.They were sowing seeds for the future.
As the coming economic crisis deepens and expands the default response of anyone whose mind has not been renewed by the word of God in the ares of giving and receiving or of God being our only source is going to be one of fear and of wanting to hold on more tightly to what they possess. But Gods wisdom is to sow for a greater harvest.
There is a wonderful example of God blessing and prospering his people during a time of great national crisis in genesis 26
'There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Issac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Then the Lord appeared to him and said " Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and bless you"
V12 says 'Then Issac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him.
Then the man began to prosper and continued prospering until he became very prosperous.'
Going down to Egypt was synonymous with looking to the world and the worlds way as an answer to his need. (Abraham his father had gone down to Egypt in a previous time of national famine and it was a costly mistake)
God was in essence saying to Issac don't leave where you are and where I have placed you.
Stay in the place of great need and faithfully sow, and I your God will bless you .
This is a remarkable testimony of the faithfulness of God, that even in the midst of a national famine Gods hand was upon Issac and in the same year that he sowed he brought forth a hundred fold return.
Hundredfold return to me simply means maxim yield, to suffer no loss no blight no destruction upon what you have sown.
Compare this with the promise of Malachi 3 v10, 11
"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse that their may be food in my house, And prove me now in this " Says the Lord of hosts,"
If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such a blessing That their will not be room enough to receive it."
"And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field" Says the Lord of hosts;
And all nations will call you blessed, For you shall be a delightful land, " says. the Lord of hosts.
Contrast this with Genesis 26 28 29
' And Abimlech came to Issac with Phichol the commander of his army and said,'
"We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. "You are now the blessed of the Lord"
"And all the nations shall call you blessed." malaci 3 12
This was the promise for those who honoured God in the tithe and looked to him only as their source.
Abraham had learned this principle from God when he met Melchizedek and Issac in turn passed it down to his son faithfully,
"And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be Gods house, and of all that you give me I will surely give you a tenth of all" Gen 28
Genesis 26 is a powerful reminder that Gods blessing will operate in spite of adverse economic conditions for it is not dependant upon current conditions but only upon the word of God.
In addition the Philistines kept contending with Issac over the wells that his herdsman had dug, but he simply moved on and discovered fresh ones.
Eventually they came to understand that they were coming up against more than simply human ingenuity but rather against a divine blessing that they could not successfully contend against.
The blessing of God was greater than either the famine or their schemes to try to take Issac's wells of water for themselves.
We may well be facing the greatest challenge to our economy that some of us have ever faced within our lifetime however in our own families we can stand and see the exceeding Grace of God and Gods hand of blessing upon us to prosper us in these days.
The purpose of this Grace is only ever in one direction to enable us to more bountifully give.
One minister put it so well in saying "My needs are met by my giving not by my getting"
When we truly come to this settled conviction in our own lives the foundation of all fear has been destroyed, because I live to give and by my giving my own needs are abundantly met.
I believe that in 210 we need to take a courageous stand in the area of our giving, across the board.
We cannot allow fear to spoil our joy in our giving, but like Issac as we sow our seed in the midst of a "famine " that surrounds us we shall surely reap a reward, and our confession to a watching world is that the God of Abraham ,Issac, and Jacob is our only unchangleable source; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ even our very own heavenly Father is with us to bless us and to keep us and to supply and multiply the seed that we have sown and he will enlarge us in the fruits of our righteousness.
Friday, 30 April 2010
Monday, 12 April 2010
"The urgency of praying for Israel"
As this year progresses I have marvelled at the acceleration of events around the world, from political turmoil to natural disasters.
Many prophetic ministries of credibility have spoken of this decade beginning with a shaking of things on the earth to parallel the shaking that is now taking place in the heavens.
From the first devastation of the earthquake in Haiti to the subsequent destruction in Chile, one incident seems to have followed close upon the heels of the other.
From the volcanic eruption in Iceland to the floods in Brazil to the landslides in Italy to the eye of the discerning something is going on.
Our usual weather patterns are often Topsy turvy, consider that last month people were killed in freak storms in northern Spain and my own parents in law were cut off in their usually tranquil home without electricity telephone or running water by powerful snow storms that virtually dismantled the northern Costa bravas infa structure(over 75 per cent of the power grid was brought down)And this at a time of the year when people would normally be basking in the sun in tee shirts and shorts.
The question that needs to be asked is this "are these simply unrelated incidences or are they signs to us of a great shaking that is now taking place in the heavenlies precisely because of that which God is about to do to reap the greatest harvest of souls upon the earth that history has ever known"? I believe that the answer to this question is the latter.
There is a verse of scripture in the Old testament that has often been a challenge and a spur to me in my own prayers for wisdom.
It is in 1 chron 12 32 and speaks of the sons of Issachar who discerned and understood the times in which they lived and knew what they should do.
There are far to many Christians who are living in the past, their vision of the ideal Christianity goes back to John Calvin or Martin Luther or to John Wesley or George Whitefield or to Charles haddon Spurgeon.
But it is never now that they are excited to be alive never now that God is moving powerfully, never now that God is speaking, and never now that the Glory of God will be seen in a way that far eclipses anything that we have seen in the history of the church.I call this lopsided Christianity it is always weighted by the past being better.
The truth is however that the Lord wants us to be biblically aware of where we stand in terms of his purposes for these last days, furthermore we can only pray effectively if we discern correctly where the Lord is taking us and how we are to prepare ourselves(this does not imply an elitist mentality of I hear from God you don't but it does involve learning from and listening to cutting edge and freshly anointed ministries in other words those who are hearing from heaven and learning from them)
The book of Hebrews tells us to not refuse Him who speaks and the literal Greek is continuous present tense do not refuse Him who is speaking.
In other words we serve a God who did not cease to speak when the cannon of scripture was closed or cease to move with Charles Spurgeons generation, but who is constantly desiring to communicate with his children, and is moving in powerful ways in many parts of the body of Christ today as he sovereignly moves history towards its grand finale and the return of His beloved Son.
I have said all of the above to say this, there is no other event in twentieth century history and there is no other event this year that indicates where we are in the divine calender than Israel.
Furthermore it is my conviction that the most significant sign that is before us in 2010 is what is currently taking place between Israel and the United States, and as such requires the body of Christ to pray.
I have never regarded myself as an intercessor in the sense of those individuals who are called to pray intercessory prayers often, rather as one called to teach in the body of Christ I have tended to spend a greater proportion of my time in the word of God and in praying in other tongues which charges my spirit and sharpens me to the unction of the Holy spirit.
This year however I have sensed the Spirit of God laying the burden to pray for Israel upon me and as I have been obedient to that unction so I have watched as world events concerning Israel have developed at startling speed.
I have always recognized the importance of Israel to the purposes of God and have even done some teaching upon this subject as a pastor in my previous church,however until this year I never really endeavoured to study this subject with the intent that I am currently doing.
There is no doubt that anti semetism is on the rise and to an extent not seen since the 1930,s.
Partly this is seen in overt forms like the hostility in many university faculties across Britian,but partly it is being expressed in more devious ways but no less hateful towards Israel or Gods purposes for her.
With regard to the former sense of open hostility I was shocked on a recent visit back to my mother in Aberystwyth as she told me of her encounter with a student who positioned himself daily outside Morrison's supermarket to distribute anti Israel propaganda and to urge passeres by to boycott the sale of any goods from Israel.This is anti semetism in its most blatant form.
What strikes me most in this incident is the blatant hypocrisy involved in it.
Why is it that Israel has a standard applied to her that is applied to no other country on earth today?
Since Iran and Syria are currently the two leading nations in the sponsoring of terror and militant Islamist organizations why does not anyone call for the boycott of goods from those countries? The behaviour of such individuals as my mother witnessed has alarming similarities to the treatment against Jewish shops and businesses in Germany in the 1930 which began with calls to boycott those businesses and then turned to aggressive systematized persecution against all Jews.
If we think that history can never repeat itself then consider that as I pen this blog one of the most radical anti Semitic parties in Europe is poised to take power in Hungary. If that should happen what would that mean for the quality of life for those Jewish Hungarians?
By far the most serious development in my mind however is as I intimated earlier the shift of stance of the United States towards Israel which if it continues on its current course has major implications for not only the U.S but for Europe(since we are greatly affected by the U.S economic fortunes)
There is a scripture in Joel 3 v2 which says "I will also gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgement with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up my land".
This passage of scripture is a salutary warning against any nation that thinks that it can deal in a proud or arrogant manner towards Israel . "Dividing up my land" in contemporary speech is called partition, and this is precisely what the current U S administration, the EU and other middle eastern nations are seeking to put pressure upon Israel to do.
Consider this: In 1920 the league of nations(the forerunner to the UN) assigned to Britain a mandate for the land of Israel the terms of which were to provide a national home for Israel. In 1922 Winston Churchill with a single piece of legislation signed away 76 percent of that land to an Arab nation called Trans Jordan, now called Jordan, and in that territory no Jew is permitted to live.
They divided up the land 76 percent to 24 percent. In 1947 the united nations arranged a scheme to divide up the land so that out of the remaining 24 percent Israel would get maybe 10 percent and 14 percent would go to the Arabs.
What where they guilty of? Dividing up Gods land.
Derek Prince who taught so passionately and ably on Israel recounts how he was a personal eye witness of the birth of the Jewish state at the time that it was still under British administration.His observation was that short of open ware fare Britain did everything in its power to seek to prevent the birth of the Jewish state.
History bears eloquent witness to the fact that Israel was born into a nation in a day, in fulfillment of Gods Word and the British empire faded away almost overnight. God takes seriously the treatment of Israel by other nations.
Likewise America stands at a crossroads today as to whether she will side with Israels enemies or stand in a spirit of love and solidarity towards Israel.
Make no mistake God will not stand by and allow other nations to attempt to piecemeal Jerusalem up to satisfy political expediencies. Rather he will demonstrate his faithfulness to His word by being swift to judge the nation or nations that attempt to do so.
At this moment behind the face of thinly veiled civilities towards Israel America is acting with a high handed manner to place enormous pressure and threats upon her if she does not take steps to comply with the road map that they together with the EU and several other nations have drawn up.
To his credit Netanyahu recently spoke at a press conference in the U S and defended the right of Israel to Jerusalem, saying in effect that the issue is not over the building of some new houses (which was in a Jewish quarter) but the issue of their right to regard Jerusalem as their capital city.
Would any other country take kindly to the interference of another sovereign power dictating the rights and terms of their use of the land?
Let me state unequivocally that I love and hold a great affection for America , for its people and for the individuals and ministries that have blessed and continue to bless me. There is also a ground swell of Americans who are raising their voices in alarm at the direction that this present administration is moving in, from both within the church and amongst the resident Jewish people within the US.
We need to pray for this present US administration that it will act according to Gods wisdom and truth and come into agreement with his divine purposes.
It is a sobering thought to consider that Americas vast economic strength has been largely due to her unwavering support of Israel, one cannot imagine the possibilities of her renouncing this stance,but surely the history and fate of other nations that dealt treacherously towards Israel should be a sober reminder.
It is always important to remember that the bible states clearly that God has made sovereign provision for every nation upon the face of the earth in terms of the allocation of land.
Acts17 26 says that"From one nation He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;and determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."
If the Lord of heaven and earth has allotted the exact places where nations should live and the times that they should live there that reminds us that the boundaries of nations are not arbitrary, and that He has a place not only for Israel by Divine plan but for every other nation as well.
There is just something very important for us to consider, the place which he has assigned to Israel is not up for negotiation for other nations to occupy .Neither does this mean that Israel was called to function as a hermetically sealed unit excluding the presence of all other races or nationalities(this has never been the case in their history)
In Ezek 47 22 23 God makes an allotment for Israels land that still awaits future fulfillment.
In this passage of scripture he also makes specific provision for people of other nations to reside among the people of Israel, however that rests upon the understanding that Israel has a right to her own sovereignty within her own land.
Really when you consider the fact that at present the Arab nation from the Atlantic to the Persian gulf encompasses a land mass of 14 million square kilometers.By comparison Israel controls only 28,00 kilometers, and yet the nations are desperate for her to yield up more of her land mass.
Psalm105 is a powerful reminder of the Lords attitude towards Israel, for v 7 says He is the Lord our God; His judgements are in all the earth( which speaks of Gods sovereign right to rule and of his justice over all the nations of the earth.)
v8 continues He remembers His covenant forever, The word which he commanded for a thousand generations, The covenant which he made with Abraham, and His oath to Issac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant Saying "To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance"
In this one passage of scripture the Lord speaks of his unwavering attitude towards Israel by using repeated statements of his commitment, first he speaks of His covenant then of His word , also of His statute and finally of His oath.
All of these statements are given to underscore v11 "To you I will give the land of Canaan, As the allotment of your inheritance."
One thing that anyone who has read through the bible will discover is that the Lord does not waste words but such is the integrity and power of His word that He says precisely what He means to say.
So why does he employ so many different words here to express His chosen allotment of the land of Israel to the people of Israel? Precisely because He intends for us to know that His commitment towards the Jewish people in the land of Israel will never change.The wise thing for us to do is to bow before this and to bless Gods purposes and pray for their accomplishment.
In the book of Hebrews it states that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie we who have been given a strong consolation might draw near to God. The two immutable things are Gods word and his oath which he gave in raising Jesus from the dead and giving him as our great high priest to appear in the presence of God for us.
Similarly God has given not only his Word and His promises to Israel to give them the land of their inheritance but has confirmed it by His sworn oath.(when we really understand this we begin to realize how utterly foolish it is for us to go crosswise of his purpose for Israel.)
As a point of fact there are 47 instances throughout the bible where God has given his oath towards Israel concerning their settlement in the land. In three instances this oath is joined to an everlasting covenant that God established with the descendants of Abraham Issac and Jacob, and in three instances it is explicitly stated that Israels possession of the land is forever.
The simple truth is that the land boundaries that God promised to Abraham and to his descendants belong to Israel because God gave it to them by an everlasting covenant for an everlasting inheritance.
One thing that we should not be is uncertain concerning Gods intent to resettle the people of Israel in their land boundaries, given the clear and overwhelming testimony of the scripture.
It is tragic that in the history of the church antisemitism has often been nurtured and cultivated.
It has even been protected by various theological teachings that transfer all or most of Gods promises towards Israel over to the church in the misguided belief that Israel forfeited the right to these blessings by her unfaithfulness.
If that is so then I would like to ask just one question where does that leave the church? If Gods dealings with Israel have ceased to be founded upon His integrity and His Word and His sovereign election, then what is to say that He cannot discard the church on the same basis.For to be sure the churches record of unfaithfulness over the last two millenia is just as bad or probably far worse than Israel checkered history.
No thank God the same Jesus that said concerning the church that the gates of hell will never prevail against it also said concerning Israel that if the sun ceased to give light by day and the moon by night then the seed of Israel would cease being a nation before the Lord. And that if the heavens can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out only then would he cast off the seed of Israel for all that she has done.(jerm 31 35 37)
We need to understand that our commitment to pray for and to love Israel has nothing to do with our agreement with a particular political party or the thought as to whether Israel deserves the land, as I stated above all of the spiritual blessing in Christ that God desires to pour upon us have nothing to do with our deserving them, in both instances it has everything to do with the integrity of what God has said and of His great Love.
So what should our response be in our thoughts and prayers towards Israel?
In psalm 122 we read the following words "pray for the peace of Jerusalem may they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces." For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say "peace be within you ." Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.
We pray for Israel because we desire to be obedient to Gods word (and psalm 122 is pretty explicit) and because we want to see Gods kingdom come to this earth in fullness one day.
We also desire to co labour together with Christ in his purposes for Israel and for the church, and according to psalm 122 we pray also for the sake of the house of the Lord our God.
That is we pray for the release of the Spirit of the living God to be poured out mightily upon Jerusalem and upon the people of Israel in our day, that many would turn to the Lord our God and be saved.
The wonderful thing about this psalm is the promise of verse 6, "may they prosper who love you"
I believe in biblical prosperity and that begins with the prospering of the soul(3 john v1)
The promise of prosperity is all encompassing here but in the Hebrew scripture here in psalm 122 v6 the emphasis is especially laid upon that prosperity that speaks of the quality of our peace and the sense of well being .
If you and I desire to experience a greater measure of Gods peace and a sense of His well being in our souls then there is nothing calculated to bring this down upon us as quickly as praying for Israels and Jerusalem's peace.
I have been doing this for several months now and can testify first hand to the change that I have felt in the increasing quality of peace that I am walking in. Thank God that He is always faithful to his word.
Some Christians dont know how to pray for Israel but a good place to start is psalm 122,which can be prayed as virtually a single sentence each morning.
In addition I would pray for Israels protection, for her prosperity and blessing according to Deut 28, and for the wicked schemes in the hearts of wicked men towards Israels harm or destructionto be exposed brought into the light of day and come to nought.
Also we should pray for the success of the gospel not in word only but in demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit. I often pray the prayer of acts 4 that the Lord would once again strectch forth his hand to heal and to perform signs and wonders in the name of His holy child Jesus.
Pray that the eyes of many Jews would be supernaturally opened to look on the One that they pierced and to mourn deeply for him as a man mourns for a son, and for a fountain to be opened in that land a fountain of the blood of Christ for cleansing from all impurity and sin.
The truth is that if we in the body of Christ do not pray for and bless Israel and the Jews then who precisely will?
The Lord impresed upon me recently the importance and power of blessing Israel with the words of my mouth, in the spirit our words of blessing and of peace carry power.
Think of how many are cursing Israel and desiring her complete destruction and those words of cursing are being released and directed towards Israel every day.
How much more should we be using our prayers and words to create a bullwark in the spirit around Israel to open rivers of blessing towards the one whom Gods word describes as the apple of his eye.
As this year progresses I have marvelled at the acceleration of events around the world, from political turmoil to natural disasters.
Many prophetic ministries of credibility have spoken of this decade beginning with a shaking of things on the earth to parallel the shaking that is now taking place in the heavens.
From the first devastation of the earthquake in Haiti to the subsequent destruction in Chile, one incident seems to have followed close upon the heels of the other.
From the volcanic eruption in Iceland to the floods in Brazil to the landslides in Italy to the eye of the discerning something is going on.
Our usual weather patterns are often Topsy turvy, consider that last month people were killed in freak storms in northern Spain and my own parents in law were cut off in their usually tranquil home without electricity telephone or running water by powerful snow storms that virtually dismantled the northern Costa bravas infa structure(over 75 per cent of the power grid was brought down)And this at a time of the year when people would normally be basking in the sun in tee shirts and shorts.
The question that needs to be asked is this "are these simply unrelated incidences or are they signs to us of a great shaking that is now taking place in the heavenlies precisely because of that which God is about to do to reap the greatest harvest of souls upon the earth that history has ever known"? I believe that the answer to this question is the latter.
There is a verse of scripture in the Old testament that has often been a challenge and a spur to me in my own prayers for wisdom.
It is in 1 chron 12 32 and speaks of the sons of Issachar who discerned and understood the times in which they lived and knew what they should do.
There are far to many Christians who are living in the past, their vision of the ideal Christianity goes back to John Calvin or Martin Luther or to John Wesley or George Whitefield or to Charles haddon Spurgeon.
But it is never now that they are excited to be alive never now that God is moving powerfully, never now that God is speaking, and never now that the Glory of God will be seen in a way that far eclipses anything that we have seen in the history of the church.I call this lopsided Christianity it is always weighted by the past being better.
The truth is however that the Lord wants us to be biblically aware of where we stand in terms of his purposes for these last days, furthermore we can only pray effectively if we discern correctly where the Lord is taking us and how we are to prepare ourselves(this does not imply an elitist mentality of I hear from God you don't but it does involve learning from and listening to cutting edge and freshly anointed ministries in other words those who are hearing from heaven and learning from them)
The book of Hebrews tells us to not refuse Him who speaks and the literal Greek is continuous present tense do not refuse Him who is speaking.
In other words we serve a God who did not cease to speak when the cannon of scripture was closed or cease to move with Charles Spurgeons generation, but who is constantly desiring to communicate with his children, and is moving in powerful ways in many parts of the body of Christ today as he sovereignly moves history towards its grand finale and the return of His beloved Son.
I have said all of the above to say this, there is no other event in twentieth century history and there is no other event this year that indicates where we are in the divine calender than Israel.
Furthermore it is my conviction that the most significant sign that is before us in 2010 is what is currently taking place between Israel and the United States, and as such requires the body of Christ to pray.
I have never regarded myself as an intercessor in the sense of those individuals who are called to pray intercessory prayers often, rather as one called to teach in the body of Christ I have tended to spend a greater proportion of my time in the word of God and in praying in other tongues which charges my spirit and sharpens me to the unction of the Holy spirit.
This year however I have sensed the Spirit of God laying the burden to pray for Israel upon me and as I have been obedient to that unction so I have watched as world events concerning Israel have developed at startling speed.
I have always recognized the importance of Israel to the purposes of God and have even done some teaching upon this subject as a pastor in my previous church,however until this year I never really endeavoured to study this subject with the intent that I am currently doing.
There is no doubt that anti semetism is on the rise and to an extent not seen since the 1930,s.
Partly this is seen in overt forms like the hostility in many university faculties across Britian,but partly it is being expressed in more devious ways but no less hateful towards Israel or Gods purposes for her.
With regard to the former sense of open hostility I was shocked on a recent visit back to my mother in Aberystwyth as she told me of her encounter with a student who positioned himself daily outside Morrison's supermarket to distribute anti Israel propaganda and to urge passeres by to boycott the sale of any goods from Israel.This is anti semetism in its most blatant form.
What strikes me most in this incident is the blatant hypocrisy involved in it.
Why is it that Israel has a standard applied to her that is applied to no other country on earth today?
Since Iran and Syria are currently the two leading nations in the sponsoring of terror and militant Islamist organizations why does not anyone call for the boycott of goods from those countries? The behaviour of such individuals as my mother witnessed has alarming similarities to the treatment against Jewish shops and businesses in Germany in the 1930 which began with calls to boycott those businesses and then turned to aggressive systematized persecution against all Jews.
If we think that history can never repeat itself then consider that as I pen this blog one of the most radical anti Semitic parties in Europe is poised to take power in Hungary. If that should happen what would that mean for the quality of life for those Jewish Hungarians?
By far the most serious development in my mind however is as I intimated earlier the shift of stance of the United States towards Israel which if it continues on its current course has major implications for not only the U.S but for Europe(since we are greatly affected by the U.S economic fortunes)
There is a scripture in Joel 3 v2 which says "I will also gather all nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgement with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up my land".
This passage of scripture is a salutary warning against any nation that thinks that it can deal in a proud or arrogant manner towards Israel . "Dividing up my land" in contemporary speech is called partition, and this is precisely what the current U S administration, the EU and other middle eastern nations are seeking to put pressure upon Israel to do.
Consider this: In 1920 the league of nations(the forerunner to the UN) assigned to Britain a mandate for the land of Israel the terms of which were to provide a national home for Israel. In 1922 Winston Churchill with a single piece of legislation signed away 76 percent of that land to an Arab nation called Trans Jordan, now called Jordan, and in that territory no Jew is permitted to live.
They divided up the land 76 percent to 24 percent. In 1947 the united nations arranged a scheme to divide up the land so that out of the remaining 24 percent Israel would get maybe 10 percent and 14 percent would go to the Arabs.
What where they guilty of? Dividing up Gods land.
Derek Prince who taught so passionately and ably on Israel recounts how he was a personal eye witness of the birth of the Jewish state at the time that it was still under British administration.His observation was that short of open ware fare Britain did everything in its power to seek to prevent the birth of the Jewish state.
History bears eloquent witness to the fact that Israel was born into a nation in a day, in fulfillment of Gods Word and the British empire faded away almost overnight. God takes seriously the treatment of Israel by other nations.
Likewise America stands at a crossroads today as to whether she will side with Israels enemies or stand in a spirit of love and solidarity towards Israel.
Make no mistake God will not stand by and allow other nations to attempt to piecemeal Jerusalem up to satisfy political expediencies. Rather he will demonstrate his faithfulness to His word by being swift to judge the nation or nations that attempt to do so.
At this moment behind the face of thinly veiled civilities towards Israel America is acting with a high handed manner to place enormous pressure and threats upon her if she does not take steps to comply with the road map that they together with the EU and several other nations have drawn up.
To his credit Netanyahu recently spoke at a press conference in the U S and defended the right of Israel to Jerusalem, saying in effect that the issue is not over the building of some new houses (which was in a Jewish quarter) but the issue of their right to regard Jerusalem as their capital city.
Would any other country take kindly to the interference of another sovereign power dictating the rights and terms of their use of the land?
Let me state unequivocally that I love and hold a great affection for America , for its people and for the individuals and ministries that have blessed and continue to bless me. There is also a ground swell of Americans who are raising their voices in alarm at the direction that this present administration is moving in, from both within the church and amongst the resident Jewish people within the US.
We need to pray for this present US administration that it will act according to Gods wisdom and truth and come into agreement with his divine purposes.
It is a sobering thought to consider that Americas vast economic strength has been largely due to her unwavering support of Israel, one cannot imagine the possibilities of her renouncing this stance,but surely the history and fate of other nations that dealt treacherously towards Israel should be a sober reminder.
It is always important to remember that the bible states clearly that God has made sovereign provision for every nation upon the face of the earth in terms of the allocation of land.
Acts17 26 says that"From one nation He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth;and determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live."
If the Lord of heaven and earth has allotted the exact places where nations should live and the times that they should live there that reminds us that the boundaries of nations are not arbitrary, and that He has a place not only for Israel by Divine plan but for every other nation as well.
There is just something very important for us to consider, the place which he has assigned to Israel is not up for negotiation for other nations to occupy .Neither does this mean that Israel was called to function as a hermetically sealed unit excluding the presence of all other races or nationalities(this has never been the case in their history)
In Ezek 47 22 23 God makes an allotment for Israels land that still awaits future fulfillment.
In this passage of scripture he also makes specific provision for people of other nations to reside among the people of Israel, however that rests upon the understanding that Israel has a right to her own sovereignty within her own land.
Really when you consider the fact that at present the Arab nation from the Atlantic to the Persian gulf encompasses a land mass of 14 million square kilometers.By comparison Israel controls only 28,00 kilometers, and yet the nations are desperate for her to yield up more of her land mass.
Psalm105 is a powerful reminder of the Lords attitude towards Israel, for v 7 says He is the Lord our God; His judgements are in all the earth( which speaks of Gods sovereign right to rule and of his justice over all the nations of the earth.)
v8 continues He remembers His covenant forever, The word which he commanded for a thousand generations, The covenant which he made with Abraham, and His oath to Issac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute, To Israel as an everlasting covenant Saying "To you I will give the land of Canaan As the allotment of your inheritance"
In this one passage of scripture the Lord speaks of his unwavering attitude towards Israel by using repeated statements of his commitment, first he speaks of His covenant then of His word , also of His statute and finally of His oath.
All of these statements are given to underscore v11 "To you I will give the land of Canaan, As the allotment of your inheritance."
One thing that anyone who has read through the bible will discover is that the Lord does not waste words but such is the integrity and power of His word that He says precisely what He means to say.
So why does he employ so many different words here to express His chosen allotment of the land of Israel to the people of Israel? Precisely because He intends for us to know that His commitment towards the Jewish people in the land of Israel will never change.The wise thing for us to do is to bow before this and to bless Gods purposes and pray for their accomplishment.
In the book of Hebrews it states that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie we who have been given a strong consolation might draw near to God. The two immutable things are Gods word and his oath which he gave in raising Jesus from the dead and giving him as our great high priest to appear in the presence of God for us.
Similarly God has given not only his Word and His promises to Israel to give them the land of their inheritance but has confirmed it by His sworn oath.(when we really understand this we begin to realize how utterly foolish it is for us to go crosswise of his purpose for Israel.)
As a point of fact there are 47 instances throughout the bible where God has given his oath towards Israel concerning their settlement in the land. In three instances this oath is joined to an everlasting covenant that God established with the descendants of Abraham Issac and Jacob, and in three instances it is explicitly stated that Israels possession of the land is forever.
The simple truth is that the land boundaries that God promised to Abraham and to his descendants belong to Israel because God gave it to them by an everlasting covenant for an everlasting inheritance.
One thing that we should not be is uncertain concerning Gods intent to resettle the people of Israel in their land boundaries, given the clear and overwhelming testimony of the scripture.
It is tragic that in the history of the church antisemitism has often been nurtured and cultivated.
It has even been protected by various theological teachings that transfer all or most of Gods promises towards Israel over to the church in the misguided belief that Israel forfeited the right to these blessings by her unfaithfulness.
If that is so then I would like to ask just one question where does that leave the church? If Gods dealings with Israel have ceased to be founded upon His integrity and His Word and His sovereign election, then what is to say that He cannot discard the church on the same basis.For to be sure the churches record of unfaithfulness over the last two millenia is just as bad or probably far worse than Israel checkered history.
No thank God the same Jesus that said concerning the church that the gates of hell will never prevail against it also said concerning Israel that if the sun ceased to give light by day and the moon by night then the seed of Israel would cease being a nation before the Lord. And that if the heavens can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out only then would he cast off the seed of Israel for all that she has done.(jerm 31 35 37)
We need to understand that our commitment to pray for and to love Israel has nothing to do with our agreement with a particular political party or the thought as to whether Israel deserves the land, as I stated above all of the spiritual blessing in Christ that God desires to pour upon us have nothing to do with our deserving them, in both instances it has everything to do with the integrity of what God has said and of His great Love.
So what should our response be in our thoughts and prayers towards Israel?
In psalm 122 we read the following words "pray for the peace of Jerusalem may they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces." For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say "peace be within you ." Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.
We pray for Israel because we desire to be obedient to Gods word (and psalm 122 is pretty explicit) and because we want to see Gods kingdom come to this earth in fullness one day.
We also desire to co labour together with Christ in his purposes for Israel and for the church, and according to psalm 122 we pray also for the sake of the house of the Lord our God.
That is we pray for the release of the Spirit of the living God to be poured out mightily upon Jerusalem and upon the people of Israel in our day, that many would turn to the Lord our God and be saved.
The wonderful thing about this psalm is the promise of verse 6, "may they prosper who love you"
I believe in biblical prosperity and that begins with the prospering of the soul(3 john v1)
The promise of prosperity is all encompassing here but in the Hebrew scripture here in psalm 122 v6 the emphasis is especially laid upon that prosperity that speaks of the quality of our peace and the sense of well being .
If you and I desire to experience a greater measure of Gods peace and a sense of His well being in our souls then there is nothing calculated to bring this down upon us as quickly as praying for Israels and Jerusalem's peace.
I have been doing this for several months now and can testify first hand to the change that I have felt in the increasing quality of peace that I am walking in. Thank God that He is always faithful to his word.
Some Christians dont know how to pray for Israel but a good place to start is psalm 122,which can be prayed as virtually a single sentence each morning.
In addition I would pray for Israels protection, for her prosperity and blessing according to Deut 28, and for the wicked schemes in the hearts of wicked men towards Israels harm or destructionto be exposed brought into the light of day and come to nought.
Also we should pray for the success of the gospel not in word only but in demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit. I often pray the prayer of acts 4 that the Lord would once again strectch forth his hand to heal and to perform signs and wonders in the name of His holy child Jesus.
Pray that the eyes of many Jews would be supernaturally opened to look on the One that they pierced and to mourn deeply for him as a man mourns for a son, and for a fountain to be opened in that land a fountain of the blood of Christ for cleansing from all impurity and sin.
The truth is that if we in the body of Christ do not pray for and bless Israel and the Jews then who precisely will?
The Lord impresed upon me recently the importance and power of blessing Israel with the words of my mouth, in the spirit our words of blessing and of peace carry power.
Think of how many are cursing Israel and desiring her complete destruction and those words of cursing are being released and directed towards Israel every day.
How much more should we be using our prayers and words to create a bullwark in the spirit around Israel to open rivers of blessing towards the one whom Gods word describes as the apple of his eye.
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