Walk Toward the Light

On May 23, Aglow International takes some 170 travelers from several nations to Israel for our 9th journey into the land since our first trip in 2000. 
 

God chose the people. 
God chose the city. 
God chose it as a reference point of His ultimate authority. 
That is the issue!

Called for Such a Time as This
Down through the years, Aglow has received prophetic words that this ministry was called “for such a time as this.”  As early as 1992, a word came likening Aglow to Esther, an ordinary Jewish girl who risked all to stand in the gap for her people. 

The plot to annihilate the Jewish people had come through Haman, an officer of the king’s court, and would have succeeded in destroying the Hebrew race had Esther not been obedient to the call of God to risk her life and go before the king.  Her people were ultimately redeemed from destruction and the enemy’s plan failed once again. 
 
I believe God is again calling many to “stand in the gap” on behalf of His people –  the Jews — at this critical time in history  when the voice of the enemy is being expressed in threatening ways.
 
Ancient Promises Called Forth
As believers, it is important that we understand and call forth the ancient prophecies related to God’s eternal purpose for the Jewish people. It is important that we keep our heart centered on the biblical perspective of Israel’s role.
 
God has said, “I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.” 
 
Isaiah 60 says, “…the sons [and daughters] of foreigners shall build up your walls…”  As we go to Israel with our love, with our support, with our gifts, with our strength, and with our willingness to stand with them, we are helping to build up the walls that surround Jerusalem.

The scripture goes on to say, “Therefore your gates shall be open continually;  they shall not be shut day or night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles.” 

Verse 15 begins, “Whereas you have been forsaken and hated….I will make you an eternal excellence, a joy of many generations….You shall know that I, the Lord, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”

“Violence shall no longer be heard in your land, neither wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”

“And the days of your mourning shall be ended.” 
 
We Must Never Again Remain Silent
We can never again casually listen to the news or read a news report concerning Israel and the ever rising tide of threats against the Jewish people.  We must not allow our Christian brothers and sisters to be persuaded by the terrorist propaganda that paints Israel as the aggressor. 
 
Look in Psalm 83. The Bible says, “Do not keep silent, Oh God!….For behold, your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate You have lifted up their head.  They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and they have consulted together against Your sheltered ones.  They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’” 
 
In a speech given in 2002 at Yad Vashem, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel said, “I cannot begin to tell you, how disturbed I am, how worried I am, how dismayed, that the world does not seem to realize the danger that is before us, the danger of suicide bombings.

 “These are people who have made death into a passion, death into a theology.  The world doesn’t realize that we have learned in history that whatever happens to us, the Jews, is usually a beginning.”

Today Israel and the Jewish people need our voice, our prayers as never before.
 
Israel, Focal Point of all the Earth
It is no mistake that God chose to place Israel in the most strategic geographical location on the face of the earth.  It stands at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Europe; it is where the world’s attention is drawn repeatedly…to this tiny strip of land. And God chose it to be so!
 
Israel is in the midst of 22 Arab nations, sandwiched between an Arab population 55 times greater than the Jewish state, surrounded by Arab territories 800 times the geographic size of its land.

Many stand ready to carve up this small country again and again, to give it away to Israel’s enemies…one piece at a time.

Ezekiel 5:5 says, “This is Jerusalem.  I have set her in the midst of the nations and the countries all around her.” 
 
A Governmental Issue
This constitutes a test for all mankind:  The spiritual issue is a governmental one, an issue of God’s ultimate authority! God chose Israel as a reference point of His authority.

Psa 132:13  “For the Lord has chosen Zion;  He has desired it for His habitation: ‘This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell for I have desired it.’”

Psalm 2:6  “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”

Zechariah 12:9  “It shall be in that day that I will destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”

God chose the people. 
God chose the city. 
God chose it as a reference point of His ultimate authority. 
That is the issue!

To Hate the Jews is to Hate the God of the Jews
The Jewish people have given us the very foundations of our faith as Christians.
 
Think of the simple, yet astounding statement in John 4:22,  “…salvation is of the Jews!”  They were the first to hear the gospel and see the manifestation of the kingdom in their midst. They were the first preachers, teachers, and miracle workers.
 
Jews were the first to be persecuted for their faith in Jesus.  They were the first to show us the way of the Spirit and remove the “law” from us, showing us the way of Grace.  It was the Jews who were the first to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and the first to speak in tongues. Jews saw Jesus ascend into heaven and they were the first to be told that He would return again!

A Fact that Cannot be Challenged
“And who is like Your people Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people – to make for Yourself a name by great and awesome deeds, by driving out nations from before Your people whom You redeemed from Egypt?  For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord, have become their God”  (I Chronicles 17:21).
 
Aglow – Called for Such a Time as This
As we go to Israel, knowing God has sent us in the spirit of Esther to stand against the spirit of Haman, we are in agreement with what He has said about His own people, the Jews.  They are His very own people forever.