Coming To God's Defense

I’d like to come to God’s defense, not that He needs me to. I often hear it said, and even preached, that God gave Israel the commandments, all 613 of them, to teach mankind that we can’t keep them. As if that statement sums up the whole of the Law (Torah) and God’s entire motive for giving it to Israel. But was that how Yeshua (Jesus) saw the Law? The Law, Christians are often told, was to show how much we need Yeshua. Of course, we need Him. Entirely and completely. But let me ask you this? Would God as Yeshua revealed Him to us demand of His people what they would be incapable of? Would Abba God set it up so that anyone who longed to do His will would live in constant frustration, failure and fear of the consequences of displeasing Him? Is that what your heart tells you is true of the God you know and love?

But what if it was true? Let’s see, the Commandments were given to Moses, according to some estimates, approximately 1491 B.C. That would mean it would be about 1500 years till Yeshua’s resurrection and the Holy Spirit was given when His followers were counted by God as having kept Torah “in Him” because He fulfilled it completely. Let’s consider 40 years to be a generation; that would be 375 generations – millions of people – attempting to observe the commandments unsuccessfully. Why would people continue such a futile endeavor generation after generation? Perhaps a more important question is, what would such unrealistic requirements say about God and what kind of relationship He supposedly would be wanting with His people if it were true?

Perhaps some of you feel that God is always expecting of you what you seem to be unable to fulfill but should be able to. That would foster an awareness of something you need to do to somehow get right with God, yet you just never get there. That’s what it feels like to live under a demanding God whom you cannot satisfy. Does that kind of consciousness of failure make for a loving and trusting relationship in which you find rest in Him? Or does it leave you always somewhat stressed, continually conscious of how you’ve missed the mark He’s requiring of you? That is what it’s like to live under what we call legalism. But legalism is what comes from adding to God’s commandments, not from the commandments themselves. Unless, of course, God really did mean for Israel to live in continual exasperation until Messiah came. Their relationship then would be like demanding of a paralyzed man that he get up and walk on his own, knowing he is incapable of doing so. That’s irrational. Well, we certainly wouldn’t say that about Yeshua. He’s not irrational! But neither is His Father. If we somehow, even a little bit, envision the God of Israel as the irrationally demanding God of the Old Testament (Covenant), that is likely to bleed into our concept of what God expects of us under the New Covenant, despite how good we may see Yeshua. Could how some of us see God in relation to the Law be the cause for difficulty in entering into Messiah Yeshua’s rest?

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Siding With The Lion of Judah

Shalom. As you may be aware, whenever America has taken a stand against Israel, or for that matter even so much as snubbed her Prime Minister in the past, we have suffered either a natural disaster or a significant stock market dip, numbering over sixty of them since the “Peace Process” began. [For more info, watch Sid Roth’s interviews with John McTernan on www.sidroth.org, Go to: TV shows and type McTernan into the Search browser]. God's name is upon Israel. To come against Israel is to stir the Lion of Judah to wrath!

Our president has taken steps to show disdain for Israel and to move toward severing our ties with her. How arrogant of America to think we can settle a dispute between brothers that has been going on for 3,000 years, not to mention that this isn’t a political battle anyway, it’s a spiritual battle. While his decisions affect Israel, your life is likely to be affected by them too. The night Obama won the election, as it was being announced, the Lord clearly said to me, “America has you have known it has just ceased to exist.” It’s appearing to be more and more true.

This year at Shavuot (Pentecost), I had the sense that next year at Shavuot our world may look much different. Now may be the time to put aside what may be less critical issues and be praying for the people of God to rise up and be all that Jesus intends for us to be. And to pray for Israel, and for the Jewish people world wide for they will be greatly affected if Israel is (further) discredited in the eyes of America and the world. This move will undoubtedly then affect the Christians – for it is God’s people whom satan hates. Islam boasts that they will destroy first the Saturday (Shabbath) people, then the Sunday (sabbath) people. But satan's boasts do not stand up against God's truth and sovereignty, nor His protection and blessings. And he cannot destroy what is eternal - souls that are the Lord's!

By the declaration of our president, America is no longer a (Judeo) Christian country. But he seems not to be aware of the Christian force for righteousness that is swelling in our country right now. In asking the Lord what I was to do with my frustration (read, anger) at those in authority who are making such unwise decisions in clear rebellion against the Word of God, which is to say, against the Lord Himself, His answer to me was: “It’s about savings souls, not saving the nation.” That does not mean we are not to be concerned with praying for the nation or taking a stand for righteousness, but not to let political or national concerns take priority over Kingdom concern for the saving of souls.

I also heard Him tell me yesterday during a time of worship at my church (Pentecost Sunday), that just as the first believers were blessed and enjoying God’s favor even to God adding to their numbers daily, they would have stayed in Jerusalem or at least Israel had He not allowed the Temple to be destroyed causing the Jews, which meant thousands of Believers, to be thrust out into the world. What I sensed God saying is that if we, the Believers in Messiah, do not “go and make disciples,” we may find ourselves thrust out of our comfortable congregational buildings where we remain out of touch of those in great need of the Gospel and God’s loving impact on their lives. We keep preaching the Gospel to each other without getting “out there” where the needy and lost souls are! How many people do we walk or drive past in a day, or a week, and never tell them about the treasure we carry within us? WWJD?

This is not a word of judgment, doom or cause for fear. “Fear not, neither let your heart be troubled.” We have just come through Pentecost. I believe God has released a new anointing of the Holy Spirit’s power and purity upon us that will begin to carry us over the waves of any difficulties, if we keep our eyes on Him and stay focused on the tasks of bringing others into the safe harbor of God’s love and His truth. The earliest followers of Yeshua didn’t try to be anointed, they just were! They didn’t “do” or “go” out of a sense of religious duty. They overflowed with Jesus. I believe the Lord is giving us opportunity to come closer to Him than we have before. When we come closest to Him, He will impart His heart to us and fill us with Himself.

Not only will we know His love for us at a deeper and life-penetrating level, but we will be able to throw off grave clothes that have kept us weighted down, and like the blind beggar who threw off his beggar’s cloak, we can rise up and come to Him for new eyes to see as He sees, with eyes of love and compassion, eyes of discernment and truth, of power and anointing. Kingdom eyes!

It could just be that our redemption does indeed “draweth nigh,” and that perhaps Yeshua (Jesus) could break through the clouds within the next several years or so and put an end to the devil’s ways in the earth. We may be the people whose eyes see Him come! We may experience the setting up of His Kingdom during our lifetime. It may be that He’s waiting until all those He intends to save (not the least of whom are the Jews), are saved. So we have some work to do as co-workers with Him; we have some overflowing to do. We must first get alone with Jesus and let Him fill us to overflowing with Himself! Then we can go in His power. Then we will experience His joy, and the angel’s joy, because He’ll share it with us when we bring others to Him.

There is a reason why God says to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.” Because when Jerusalem is at peace, the world will be at peace. Jerusalem is the city God says is His own. It’s the “city of the great King.” The King is Jesus! That’s why there’s such a battle for it, especially as we grow closer to the coming of the Lord. Jerusalem is the epicenter of the conflict between God and satan. It always has been. It is the type of the Kingdom of God. It is also the type of the whole earth. If the devil can take Jerusalem from Jacob and his descendents, then he will have made God a liar and rendered Him impotent and the earth will be his. He’s so deceived he keeps trying to make that happen. It can't and it won’t. No matter what it may look like at some given moment, God’s word, the Bible, will prevail. It will all come to pass. Yeshua (Jesus) is The Word of God and He alone is Lord over all.

In the meantime, we pray. Our prayers are effective in praying God’s word, in declaring it prophetically. Don’t just ask Him to fulfill His word, declare it! Prophesy it. Agree with Him that it’s the only reality. “If any two of you agree” gets even better when it’s God you’re agreeing with! Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for Israel, and for Jews everywhere for their salvation and protection. Pray also for America to protect her Jews, for if we do not,we may arouse the Lion of Judah to wrath.

The hatred against Israel is spewing forth from the lies of Islam. But there are two sides to this situation. We would do well to pray for the millions of Muslims who have been caught in the strangling net of the Liar to believe the rebellion against the Word of God that they have been taught. Thousands of Muslims (I’ve been told millions) have been coming to the Lord in these past few years. When they do, their hatred for Israel turns to love for Israel and the Jews. Their lives are at risk for their faith in Jesus already, but also many of them are now praying for the peace of Israel having received God’s heart and His word for her. Pray for their protection and God's supernatural peace and protection for them as well.

During prayer at a recent Joel Richardson conference (See Sid Roth’s interviews with Joel [www.sidroth.org]about the intended Islamization of America & the world) the Lord imparted to me the heart of Abraham for both his sons, Jacob and Esau. I believe I was feeling God’s heart for both of Abraham's sons, the Jews and the Arabs (most of whom are Muslims). We must distinguish between the lie of terrorism and the souls of people. A verse reverberates through my mind: “Forgive them, Abba, for they know now what they do.”

We have a choice as to how to look at things that may happen. We who belong to Yeshua are seated above in heavenly places with Him. When we learn to come to the Lord there, we can see things as He sees them. The News media doesn’t often tell us much about what God is doing, nor can they see things from His perspective. (There are a few exceptions.) In actuality, the end is aleady written. He’s already won. We are already on the winning side when we’re on God's side. We fight not to win but because He has already won. We fight the good fight OF FAITH, expecting our Lord to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can imagine, and beyond all that has been done in His name thus far. This is a time for outrageous faith and confidence in God that He will make this time the church's strongest hour, to His glory. Amen.