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July 6, 2007 20 Tammuz, 5767 Dear Praying Friends,
In this letter:
- A report on the “One Thing” youth conference - A restoration of worship - A call for help - Answered prayer - Next school of worship - Prayer request for Germany trip
One Thing
The morning after the last day of the One Thing conference, we awoke to find a surprising sight in our front yard. The largest branch of our beautiful pomegranate tree had snapped off at the base of the trunk due to its size and weight. At first I was quite sad. It is our only grown-up tree. Right away two thoughts impressed my mind: that it happened right at the end of the conference, and our sovereign Father in heaven gives only good gifts. The parable of the great catch of fish, which almost broke the nets, came to mind. I sensed the Spirit saying that so it would be with the fruit of the conference. It is important to note that as lovely as this tree was, the way it spread actually got in the way of something else we wanted to plant. So even in the natural there was a blessing in it. I cut the branch fully off and gathered the fruit that had been on it. The number of the pomegranates was 273. Several people have told us that each pomegranate has 613 seeds in it, which is the number of laws given to Moses. That makes 167,349 seeds altogether. This was not a huge tree! We never would have imagined such a yield. Click here to see this sight.
This prophetic word did not come as a surprise. We already felt that the conference had been a landmark breakthrough. We made a point of not missing a meeting. Of the four things we asked prayer for, three were beautifully accomplished, having been orchestrated by the Spirit of God. The gathering opened with an Israeli brother from our generation, Asher Intrater, repenting in the midst of his message for the broken inheritance we had passed along to our children. During one of the worship times, the young generation acknowledged and blessed their fathers and mothers and thanked them for bringing them to this day here in the Land. It was very moving. In the last meeting Lou Engle exploded with a passionate revelation of the importance of bonding with Israel and praying for God’s blessing on the young generation here. He called for worldwide prayer to that effect. We expect that this will be a major emphasis at The Call--Nashville this Saturday. Of all the great things that took place in the gathering, God’s download about Israel into our brother Lou was one of the highlights for us. Please continue to pray for him to receive and release the fullness of God’s heart on this matter.
One thing we prayed for that didn’t manifest was for the youth of Israel to rise up and lay hold of their mantle to be a light to the nations. On that score, we realize that the seeds of passion and commitment need time to develop before that can take place. We have had the impression that it will take a few years for this present move of the Spirit in Israel to reach a level of fullness, so this will be an ongoing prayer. Will not every ounce of strength in the halls of the kingdom of darkness come against what God is doing in Israel? Your prayers, intercession, and financial support are needed now more than ever.
We’d like to say that from our perspective there was nothing that should have happened that didn’t happen, nor was there one moment when we sensed anything that hindered or grieved the Spirit. We bless Rick and Patti Ridings and the team at Succat Hallel that stepped out on the water in obedience and poured themselves out to give God this platform. Please pray refreshing and protection for all of them in the wake of this historic breakthrough in the Spirit.
On Saturday night, after Heidi Baker’s stirring challenge to poured-out love, the Lord working through Kevin Prosch released an anointing for warfare and dance that went on for nearly two hours. Surely not in Jerusalem, nor in modern-day Israel, have hundreds of youth so gathered in holiness and unity to call on the Name of the Lord and cry out for their generation. Estimates on attendance were around 1500, with over 500 being youth from Israel including about 50 Arab believing youth. From where we sit, it might not have looked like the summer of love in San Francisco in 1967 or Woodstock in 1969, but we suspect that the spiritual picture from above might amaze us all. (When the American Revolution began with the “shot heard ‘round the world”, there were only some 70 colonial soldiers present!) Click here for photos from the conference.
A Restoration of Worship
Our departure from Tel Aviv two years ago brought with it many changes and shifts both inward and outward. During this time it seemed that the anointing which rested on us as a team for worship lessened to the point that when the team was dispersed at the end of last year, the three of us that were left ceased regularly going up to the Tabernacle to worship together. The last months have been tumultuous days. The community disbanded, the ministry team was essentially no more, our son and family left the country for an undetermined season (after bring the ministry administrator for seven years), our van was stolen, our house was robbed, and our second car was stolen. All throughout this period the stretching brought me to the point of even hoping that God would free me from this responsibility. If it were not for our lease obligations, letting it go would have been a very attractive option. The thought of being just a simple individual able to worship and witness without the responsibility to administrate a ministry came near to becoming a longing of my heart.
But a change came, oddly enough, after the recent theft of our car. As I wrote, the Spirit came over me and in the face of God’s sovereignty in our lives I accepted the fact that God wanted this Center and that we would hold it for Him regardless of the cost or difficulty we would face. Since that day and that moment, the spirit of worship returned and we have been again daily before Him as a ministry. Furthermore, our focus and His Presence are as clear and as strong as they ever were in the former years in Tel Aviv. It is as a result of this fullness that we are being led out into the streets.
Help
As we have shared openly about all manner of things -- whether thoughts, experiences, blessings or trials, we’d like to relate some to you about our financial picture. Basically, from month to month, we are not receiving sufficient contributions to cover our expenses. Over the last six months or so, we have sold equipment and such that we do not presently need to make up much of the difference. The first thing to go is the Kleins’ salary. Honestly, we really don’t know how to look at the situation. Perhaps everything right now is just the way the Lord wants it to be. Perhaps God will show His glory by meeting our needs in different ways at each turn of the road, as He has so far. We have food to eat and a roof over our heads. The Presence of the Lord is with us. In the midst of our trials we experience His grace. And everyone that visits us, even for a few hours, comments on the peace they find here.
A thought came up that we’d like to put out. The work of building the Kingdom is divided into God’s part and man’s part. The anointing, the Presence, the peace, revelation, and spiritual things such as these obviously come from God alone. But concerning the natural realm, while everything originates with God, questions arise having to do with God’s sovereignty and man’s free will and responsibility. According to the Word, it is possible that something God desires does not come to pass because He could not find anyone to incarnate what was in His heart (see Ezek.22:30-31). Would you please pray with us that this would not be the case in the life of Emmaus Way? Really, this is not true just for Emmaus Way. We put this out as a call for all the ministries in Israel. It was so for the establishment of the State in the natural and it is so in the spiritual realm. Apart from something God might have done, without the help of other nations and the Jews living in the Diaspora, Israel would likely have been defeated in 1948. It will certainly not be less of a battle to establish the body in Israel in the spiritual realm. We are fighting a spiritual battle. We that live here are fighting every day for our lives. Though we are one in Messiah and stand together, there is a part that belongs to the Messianic Jews that is ours and ours alone. There can be no question about this. It is the call from the children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that the Lord will return to (see Mt.23:39). All the energy that the brethren here in the Land expend towards raising the funds to cover the material needs could be so much better used in fighting the spiritual side of the war. Dear friends and beloved brethren, please do your part as the Lord would lead you.
Answered Prayer
We are so thankful for the response to our call for volunteers! There are several that will be joining us in the next month. This is an ongoing need. If you think you’d like to spend some time serving with us but don’t have a date in mind, you can contact us anyway and look into it further. Contact Arni at arni@emmausway.org
Emmaus Way School of Worship
Our next School on Preparing a Place for the Presence of the Lord will run from August 12-24. If you are thinking about attending, please contact Michael at Michael@emmausway.org
Traveling to Germany
I (Arni) will be in Germany from July 17-30. The purpose of the trip is twofold. I will take part in a meeting in Munich on the 21st with worshipers and intercessors from the area to seek the Lord for His strategy to release Munich from a negative heritage of past events and to enable the Body in the city to enter into its destiny on behalf of God’s plan for Germany. We sense that part of the plan is for Messianic believers to bring a blessing from Israel in some form.
I will also be meeting with brethren in a few different venues to seek the Lord for the next step to bring the vision for the Fourth Generation prayer and worship movement, called to removed the veil from the eyes of young Israelis, to the church at large in Germany. It appears that God has now appointed and released the point person to oversee this work in Germany.
Please pray in earnest for these gatherings and for those leading. We have no doubt that the enemy is not pleased with what the Lord is doing. Both these items can potentially play a key role in the unfolding of God’s plan for Israel and Germany in the soon-coming days.
May God bless you from Zion!
Your servants…
For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit
For information on making a contribution click here. For an update on Emmaus Way’s current financial needs click here. For information on being part of our personal “Prayer Shield,” click here.
Emmaus Way is a faith ministry dependent upon the support of God’s people. |