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October 2, 200528 Elul 5765Dear Praying Friends,
There is nothing quite like hearing the voice of the Lord. When God speaks your whole body quakes. The living word brings new life. It creates reality. Without His word all we can do is to attempt to use what has been to build what is to come. But the Spirit of God is always going beyond what was.
Last week, the Word of the Lord came to me that we should begin laying claim to the place to which the Lord has brought us. At this moment that translates into negotiating with the owner for a long-term rental contract for the house we are living in. Though this is in keeping with the direction in which the Lord has been leading us, the call to prepare places for intercessors and worshipers comes sooner than we had anticipated. However, given the velocity of the winds of change blowing through the world, this is not surprising.
The house has three levels. Above our living quarters is an open space for worship of about 100 square meters, with a large terrace and an unobstructed view of the surrounding hills. Below us are two two-bedroom apartments and a one-bedroom apartment for guests and/or staff, plus another apartment to be built as a music rehearsal and recording studio. The faith leap is to commit for a long term. Everything about it says, “Yes, this is from God.” We “see” the Lord out there calling us to Himself…He just happens to be outside “the boat” standing on the water. Would you please pray concerning the negotiations and the subsequent necessary provision? The prices are reasonable and the setting and fit is extraordinary. The owner and we are within range of each other, but some points still need to be worked out. * * *
In keeping with the above, by faith, we are excited to put out a call for any one interested in devoting a season of time to minister to the Lord in the mountains of Judea to contact us at ewisrael@emmausway.org . At this point we are not relating specifically to a particular time slot, but just desiring to be in contact with those who would be interested to come sometime in the future. We will respond with more specific information and an application process.
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Having said that, the ultimate issue is not a long-term lease but the purchase of two side-by-side properties that would provide the necessary everything to raise up a Tabernacle dedicated to ministering to the Lord; a guest house for worshipers, intercessors and those with a call to practical service; and a facility where young seekers can interact with peers that have found the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The hub of all of the above is a worshiping community walking together in the love and unity Yeshua prayed for us to have. Except for the facility for outreach to seekers, we have done all the rest for the past number of years in Tel Aviv.
What we have heard from the Lord and seen in the works of His hands leads us to believe that it is in God’s heart for such a place to exist outside the confines and spiritual pressures of city life. From where we sit, the only thing missing is the financial provision. All the other elements seem to be in place. The vision has been tested and proven, current events stress the growing lateness of the hour, and if we as a team were ready in Tel Aviv, the subsequent fires and grace have surely made us all the more so. We could go on and on in sharing the undeniable amazing manifestation of God’s hand in every detail of our transplanting; neither would we tire in recounting the unprecedented and uncharacteristic acceptance we have received in our new home; nor would a deep longing and excitement fail to rise even at the one-hundredth envisioning of the potential of this mountain in Judea to be a place of the revelation of the glory of the God of Israel.
We ask your prayers that:
- Our hearts would not veer off course from our first love in the face of natural blessing; - Our ears would hear His voice and discern it from the sound of the “good” desires of our souls; - Our eyes would see Yeshua before us leading us into the works of our Heavenly Father; and - Our hope would be set completely on the grace to be revealed at the coming of the Lord.
To have all this, is to have all we need. If God has spoken this Center into being, then when our faith is joined to His Word, the vision will come to life.
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The yearly Beresheet festival will take place in the Galilee on the first three days of Succoth. In past years it has drawn close to thirty thousand young Israelis. The last two years have witnessed significant spiritual advances in the activity of the believing community at the various festivals that take place each year. Shavuot 2003 was the first time a Christian group was openly given a major place at any of the festivals. Thirty-nine believers from Hawaii, New Zealand, North America and Ireland presented their lives and faith in the context of cultural expression. For five years the Israeli National Evangelistic Committee has been sending teams of believers to witness at the festivals. We believe that the festival organizers’ accepting believers from the nations and the local Messianic Jews into their “family circle” was a significant breakthrough in the spirit.
The following year a quantum leap was made. The local believers, having "come in" on the coat tails of the Natives, were given the freedom to have a place of our own that was openly for the purpose of making Yeshua known to our people. It was called “Kfar Yeshua” ("Yeshua's Village") and was advertised as such in the festival information booklet. All over the grounds there were signs pointing the way to our area. The place itself was an open-air coffeehouse with a stage. The words of Yeshua were displayed on banners all around and it was open around the clock. Seekers came at all hours to talk.
This year the organizers of Beresheet have made a particular invitation for Christians from all over the world to come to the festival. Whether their motives are spiritual or carnal, cultural or financial, they have opened the widest door ever for the public proclamation of the Gospel at such an event in Israel. Two popular Christian music groups, the Newsboys and Seeds, have been given a place to perform on the main stage of the festival. This advance and what has happened in the previous successive years, in which those that are in authority over these gatherings have given the believing community the right to be ourselves and share our faith, is opening the heavens and rolling back the darkness from over a whole generation!!!
There has never been a generation in Israel better equipped or better positioned or better prepared (through trials, emptiness and hopelessness) to receive the message of Yeshua's atoning sacrifice. We believe this to be perhaps the greatest opportunity to date to multiply our efforts and magnify God's Name in Israel that has ever presented itself.
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We are so thankful for your prayers and support. May God bless you from Zion!
Your servants... For the Glory of His Name, Arni and Yonit |