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November 19, 2006 28 Cheshvan 5767 Dear Praying Friends,
Sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning last week our ministry van was stolen from right in front of Brian and Kari’s house. Whenever we join with other ministries for worship we need a van to transport our instruments and equipment. The van got much use bringing guests and their luggage to and from the airport. Recently we requested prayer for a new one. Living in the mountains was putting a great strain on our well-used vehicle. Though it was insured, being twelve years old, the insurance reimbursement is quite small. You might remember that a few months ago we thought our other vehicle had been stolen but turned out to just have been moved by the city traffic department without telling any one. Are we to think that the enemy is targeting us? It seems so and he most likely has a reason. Perhaps God is about to do something that is not to the liking of the prince of darkness. If you are interested in helping us, you can get more details and information by clicking on the “needs” link at the end of this letter.
This comes as Yonit and I (Arni) are flying out on Monday for three weeks, Brian and Kari are leaving on Tuesday for six days to renew their visa, Jonathan is leaving for Australia the following Monday and we are transferring the administration of the ministry from Jon to Michael. Perfect timing for a miracle!
The following word was given to us last week by a pastor from Australia:
“I see resources that have been hindered in the heavenlies, obstructed from manifesting in the natural and coming into your hands. The Spirit of God says, I am the Lord of breakthrough, and you are very close to your breakthrough. Keep pushing through, keep bearing down. As a baby bears down in the birth canal of the womb of it's mother, you have a baby in your birth canal, bear down, and push. Surround yourself with some seasoned intercessor midwives, and surely a child of breakthrough shall be born unto you.”
Would you join with us to get this child born?
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I (arni) received word of the theft while at a semi-annual overnight retreat of Jerusalem’s congregational and ministry leaders. We were about thirty-five in number and met in Qiryat Yaarim, the place from where David brought the ark back to Jerusalem. The theme of our time was prayer/intimacy with the Lord. Two streams of thought and direction emerged. One related to our need to pray more in the face of the work to be done and the ever growing challenges, and the other which became the cry of our days, was all about knowing God, being intimate with Him, and dwelling in His presence. We spoke of having enough of programs, methods, and techniques and just seeking His face. Not having lived in the Jerusalem area before last year, this is only the third such meeting I’ve attended. A brother that has been part of the city leadership group for 20 years said that there has never been a meeting like this before. Seeing this begin to manifest in Jerusalem is a great and marvelous thing...even a prophetic sign.
King David transported the Ark of the Presence of the Lord not just in a new vehicle but a new way...on the back of the priests. God was speaking to us. We cannot bring His Presence into the city with our former ways. He is calling us to a new way of being...to a different kind of relationship with Him as well as with one another. According to the relational dynamic in 1John 4:20-21, the way we are with our brethren is the way we are with the Lord. And certainly the way we are with God sets the tone for our relationships with our brethren. The recent fall of an international church leader speaks to this issue. Had he been walking in accountability and transparency with other brethren, he never would have gotten to the point he did. We need intimacy. We can’t exist without it. If we don’t have it with God and our brethren, we will search for it somewhere else.
Given that the call of Emmaus Way is to prepare a place for the Presence of the Lord, it struck me that our need for a new vehicle, which came about in the midst of the gathering, was a picture of what the Spirit had been saying to us all. The Body of Messiah needs a new way in order to carry the glory of the Lord. The old wineskin must be replaced. The situation is desperate. We are rapidly approaching critical mass. The signs are not just flashing -- they are screaming. Everywhere we look the pressure is building. Do we think Iran will back down? Is their ranting merely rhetoric? Is the world really paying attention? What can be said to a terrorist ready to blow himself up? When shall we stop sounding the alarm?
Look at the way the world, including us, has related to the Palestinian Authority for the last twelve years. We speak with them as though some reasonable solution was within reach, while the indoctrination of their children towards the destruction of Israel begins in pre-school (see www.obsessionthemovie.com/12min.htm). Everyone has this information but most of the world is too blind to see it. If the PA’s goal were a better life for their people, they could have done much with the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars they have received. They will never recognize Israel. They exist to eradicate us.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We can write that the greatest revival the world has ever seen is at the door. A whole generation in Israel is being made ready for salvation. What does that knowledge do for you? Does it drive us to our face to seek the Lord? Does it release a stream of worship and adoration that overflows into the streets? Does it give you strength for the next trial? If we understand by the Spirit, we know that satan fears the coming awakening in Israel perhaps more than anything else that has ever happened since the dawn of time. As you hear this what do you see? Can you imagine that the prince of darkness will sit by and watch? Do we think he did not see this coming? Has he not prepared to defend his life? In his darkness he has more understanding of the times and seasons than do many of the children of light.
Our encouragement is in that our names are written in the Book of Life. The only point to fix our eyes upon is what Yeshua saw looking beyond the Cross. We must lose our lives to posses them. The day is coming when no worldly hope or expectation will stand. It is not blessing we need to prepare for. Everything not built on the solid rock of our eternal relationship with the Lord will crumble to the dust. We received the following note from our German administrator: “Everywhere I look around me, people are squealing in pain because God is turning up the heat in the furnace of affliction and purification. The affliction is so thick that it virtually squeezes us through the narrow gate into the kingdom of God. Indeed, we will enter the kingdom through many afflictions... I've come to the conclusion that I should welcome the intense trial, embrace it, because it is the only way for me to die and to see that His grace is sufficient in my state of weakness.”
The hour is very late. The world has passed the point of no return. What has been released will not be averted. The watchman’s job is to sound the alarm. The training for battle happens individually between us and the Lord. May we not be confused. God has the dark prince on a short leash and is presently using him to spur us on. Things that might seem to be of the darkness are often sent for the purposes of the Kingdom of light. We need discernment not to misunderstand when God uses trials and hardship or when the devil appears as an angel of light.
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We were so encouraged by the outcome of our second School of Worship. One participant said it was the best time of her life. Up to now she had always wanted to be different than she was. By the end of the course she came to love herself! How awesome. Another came having heard from the Lord that the greatest blockage to her intimacy with the Lord was herself. By the end of the time she had a vision of a little statue... which was her. She watched as it fell over. She couldn’t say if that moment had happened or was yet to be, but she knew that something dramatic had shifted inside her and danced before the Lord for the first time ever! This is just a small sampling of what we are hearing from the participants. It seems that people’s experiences are much deeper than what we witnessed in Tel Aviv. It further confirms to us the decision to have these schools. No wonder the enemy is upset. The next school will run from February 18th – March 2nd. Please contact Terry for information and applications at terry@emmausway.org.
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In closing, we ask you to pray for our village. Yesterday we visited with a neighbor that has been battling cancer for the last year. We sat for some time, sharing about Yonit’s experience, alternative therapies, and the gospel of Yeshua. He was very interested and wants to get together to study and speak more when we return from the States. We told him about the Tabernacle and invited him to sit in the Presence of the Lord. He is not able to sleep. So we prayed for him in Yeshua’s Name. Oh that God would manifest a sign of His love and power here in the mountains of Judea! Oh that there would be a nes harim...miracle in the mountains, even as our moshav is named. We believe it is God’s heart. Please pray with us for Avi to sleep and be healed.
May God bless you from Zion!
Your servants… For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit |