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September 19, 2006 26 Elul 5766 Dear Praying Friends,
The last two months were like a marathon for us. As the last leg was ending, with the completion of our first School of Worship (which began the day we returned from a month away), fifteen guests from Germany joined us for diner on Friday evening to welcome the Shabbat with us and hear what was on our heart. We (yonit and arni) spent the next day in a deep horizontal meditation. We are left encouraged, blessed and sobered by the goodness of God and the seriousness of the hour we are in.
The school exceeded all our expectations. This is the first time (other than when we travel) that we taught a set series of messages rather than let the Spirit show us what to do from day to day. Formerly, at the worship center in Tel Aviv, the goal was for people to come bringing an offering of their lives to the Lord. The point of the school, however, was to impart a vision to be taken from here as seed and planted. It was very exciting to watch people really get it. Simply stated, the essence of the vision is for brethren to gather in small groups of likeminded souls to wait on the Lord without predetermined plans or human direction. We see it as giving God a clear landing strip. Over the last sixteen years the Lord has brought us to understand that this is very important to Him and is a key element in the preparation of the body for what is coming in the days ahead. In fact, it is the heart of the vision the Lord had placed in my (arni’s) spirit when we immigrated to Israel fourteen years ago. The recent surfacing of the ongoing war has deeply impressed us with the critical importance of moving forward to see this develop in the Body of Messiah while it is yet day. Our challenge now is to stay awake and tuned in to the Spirit as life returns to a semblance of outer normalcy.
So often at conferences, so much transpires and there is no time to process things in the midst of all the meetings. Then when we get home our fulltime life is there waiting. We have tried to have this not be the case with the school. The teaching sessions were in the morning and afternoon, most days interspersed with times of corporate worship and prayer and individual time alone with God. Twice we had four hours out in nature just sitting with the Lord. Here are a few of the comments we received back from the group:
Impacting, full of purpose, profitable, eternal. Way beyond my expectations…. I didn’t expect it to be so personal!…. The whole experience was far more overwhelming than expected, in the love, generosity and care the team gave to us…. What I learned is that worship is enough! The Lord is enough. I don’t need to plan or to imagine, I have only to worship him, only this! All the rest will be done, by faith and worship!…. I found Father's heart and he showed mine to me.
The Tabernacle is such a place of peace – I experienced a sense of the finished work of the cross – I could relax and not need to strive and work to enter His Presence…. How important it is to have a place to go to that separates you from everything and your focus can just be on the Lord…. The Tabernacle was essential to understanding the course material.
There was a feeling of unity within the group and the team, and we quickly developed a sense of family. It is incredible how people from so many backgrounds can fellowship and unite. It was a blessing to see the lesson on community being lived out.
The teaching was delivered very thoughtfully and challenged our thinking. I loved the relaxed style, that we were free to ask questions or make comments was very helpful. Stopping and listening to the Lord was an unspoken teaching in itself. It wasn't milk; it was bread, dark whole-grain bread.
The messages are in MP3 format and can be listened to from our web site. There is a free program that enables you to save the file to your computer and put it onto an MP3 player if you wish. The link is: http://download.speedbit.com/dap75.exe
Our next school is scheduled to run from November 3rd – November 14th. It will be on the subject of Preparing a Place for the Presence of the Lord. The teaching will be in English. We have space for up to fourteen participants. If you’d like more information or an application please contact Terry at: terry@emmausway.org
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During our years at the Worship Center in Tel Aviv, we worshiped and ministered from a place of hiddenness with a specific focus on where we were planted. When the Lord moved us to the hills of Judea in August 2005, He placed us on the top of a little mountain right in the middle of the Country. It seems that the winds of whatever is happening in the Nation swirl around our heads. Concurrent with the change in our physical location we found that our hearts have expanded in worship and intercession more for the Nation as a whole.
We have been sensing for some time that we are not able to effectively cover ourselves in prayer. Over the past months, as our work is moving forward and expanding both here and abroad, we have had a continual barrage of physical sickness in our midst. (We are not surprised that the enemy’s arrows would be more than before). The heart and vision of the ministry of Emmaus Way are expressed in the KleinFax. We feel the need for another vehicle of communication though which to relate more about our personal lives and the basic practical aspects of the every-day functioning of the ministry. It is here where we sense the need for more covering. Therefore we are looking to write a brief weekly or bi-weekly prayer update detailing the personal needs, weekly functions and spiritual concerns of the team. We are confident that those who partake in the inner workings of our lives through prayer and intercession will also partake of the fruit of those inner workings in their own lives.
This will not be a general mailing to all that receive the KleinFax, but will only be sent to those requesting to come alongside us in this way. If your heart is stirred by our call for help and you would like to be added to our “prayer shield” e-list, please contact Kari at: kari@emmausway.org.
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On Wednesday September 20, Mahmoud Amadinejad, the president of Iran, will address the United Nations in New York City. Jews and Christians are planning to gather there in peaceful protest saying, “We cannot allow the evil spewing forth from this fountain of anti-Semitism, anti-Westernism, and anti-Americanism to come to New York City and our and nation unchallenged in the spirit.” (quoted from Robert Sterns, Sept. 12)
Can it be that the UNITED NATIONS is receiving a man representing a nation that has openly declared its intention to destroy another nation...Israel. Is this incredible? Is it unthinkable? By all means gather and hold up signs declaring and supporting the truth in God’s Word. But let us also read the signs. This reminds us of when arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat was given the Nobel PEACE prize. To that we said that surely the world has gone mad. Our battle here is not about speaking to the mind of man because what is now manifesting was not born in the mind of man but in the twisted heart of the prince of darkness. We need to realize how deeply the world is asleep. Is it sleep or is it a coma? Or are we so given over so as to be brain dead? Have we passed the point of no return? Has the night already begun to fall? May we not pour out our lives trying to treat the outer symptoms of a cancer that has already metastasized to the inner organs.
There is a time to fight to the last man and there is a time to retreat and regroup for another battle. There is a time to confront the enemy and there is a time to go into our sealed rooms. There is a time to cry out to God in intercession and there is a time to turn our backs to the temporal reality and worship before the Throne. We need wisdom to know the hour.
This abomination in the United Nations is two days before the Feast of Trumpets. When world-shaking events correspond with the seasons of God’s appointed feasts, we need to take note. Likewise, major shakings in Israeli society, especially at governmental levels, are also indicators of changing spiritual seasons. In the wake of the war, two generals have resigned, many continue to express their serious dissatisfaction with the performance of the Prime Minister and Defense Minister, some sort of inquiry is about to take place, and the President is undergoing an intensive investigation over allegations by several women of sexual misconduct. Regardless of what is true, the pot is being stirred as never before. Something has shifted in the spirit realm.
Let us come before the Lord to pour ourselves out and wait on Him…that He might fill us afresh with His Presence and release us into passionate worship in the face of the rulers of this present darkness.
May God bless you from Zion! We send you our warm greetings for a Spirit-filled Feast of Trumpets.
Your servants… For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit |