Standing in support of Israel, Jews, and believers in all the nations, in the name of Jesus (Yeshua). Sharing biblical truth, encouragement, news and prophecy.
Derek Prince Sermons: Spiritual Warfare – Casting Down Strongholds – This is an original Bible Study, teaching by Derek Prince. We have an enemy that takes us seriously, so we should take our enemy seriously. In this insightful message, Derek Prince explains the nature and activity of spiritual warfare.
STEVE & LAURIE MARTIN - LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE FOUNDERS My good wife Laurie and I (45 years in October 2022!), through the ministry of Love For His People we founded in 2010, give love and support for our friends in Israel and in other nations with friendship, humanitarian aid, and social media support, along with Steve's messages, and our Ahava Adventures trips to Israel. Steve has also authored and published 34 books. We live in the Charlotte, NC area. We have four adult children, spouses, and eight grandkids.
To expose and dismantle the spirit of rejection, you will notice that I frequently refer back to God's covenant nation, the people of Israel. I do so because they are the physical type or foreshadower of what God wants to do in each of our lives spiritually. The people of Israel were double-minded and rebellious. They were rejected and separated from God because of their disobedience and failure to keep His covenant. But still the children of Israel were God's covenant people.
Remember the promise God made to Abraham? In Genesis 12:3 God promised Abraham that all families of the Earth would be blessed through him. Through Abraham came the promised son, Isaac, and then Jacob (who was renamed Israel) and his twelve sons (the twelve tribes of Israel). From there the genealogy continued to Jesus Christ. This is how God established Israel as His covenant people.
Israel continued to violate their covenant with God. Deuteronomy 28 lists certain stipulations that, if Israel obeyed and kept the covenant, would cause the people to be blessed; however, if the Israelites broke the covenant, they would be cursed. One of the curses that would come upon them would be actual physical captivity and bondage, which would result in the destruction and desolation of their homes, cities, health and all-around livelihood. Many times God sent prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel to warn Israel of their covenant violations and to call them to repentance and back to the covenant. If they did not repent, they would face the wrath or judgments of the broken covenant. But if they repented, they would have the mercy of the covenant and God would forgive them and restore them.
Israel did not listen to the prophets. Instead they persecuted them and killed them, and as a result God's covenant judgment and wrath came upon Israel. Then we get to the prophet Jeremiah, who prophesied during the last days of the kings of Israel when judgment was certain. The last godly king that Israel had was Josiah (2 Kings 22–23). In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, the book of the covenant, which had been lost because of idolatry, was discovered in the temple. King Josiah began to repent and call Israel back to its covenant with God. However, by the time he did, it was too late.
Judgment was already prophesied over Israel. But God told Josiah that since he turned to Him, He would not bring His judgment in his day; He would withhold judgment until after he was gone (2 Kings 22:18–20).
After Josiah's death the kings of Israel went right back into rebellion, disobedience and apostasy. The last king of Israel was King Zedekiah. He resisted the words of the prophet Jeremiah, who warned him that the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, was coming. Jeremiah told the king to submit to Nebuchadnezzar because there was no avoiding the seventy years of captivity coming. After seventy years, however, Israel would be restored back to the land.
From reading the books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, and Jeremiah, we know that Nebuchadnezzar did come. He broke down the city, burned it with fire, destroyed many of the Jews, and took the remaining into Babylon. For seventy years the Israelites were captives in Babylon.
The book of Lamentations, written by the prophet Jeremiah, describes the desolation of Israel, the judgment that came upon the nation, Jerusalem being burned and the people being taken into captivity and becoming slaves in Babylon. It describes the mourning, sadness, depression, oppression and total devastation of this nation. And as you read the prophets, you need to understand—and this is important for prophetic people—the prophets did not only prophesy judgment; they also prophesied restoration. You see this primarily in Isaiah. After Isaiah prophesies judgment, he says in Isaiah 54:1, "Sing, O barren, you who did not bear a child. Break forth into singing ... "
In Isaiah 60:1, he exhorts, "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." In other words, God is saying through the prophet Isaiah, "Israel, even though you have violated My covenant and My judgment has come upon you, I will still use you and restore you to bless the whole world." This would come through the seed of Abraham—the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
The Bible is not a history book of the entire world. It is only a history of redemption, primarily dealing with one covenant nation. It does not deal with the whole world. There are many nations outside of Israel that are not recorded in the Bible. So as I said, it is only redemptive history.
The reason why it is so important to understand this principle is because when you understand redemptive history, you understand redemption, salvation, reconciliation, deliverance and restoration. You understand what your salvation is about and what God did to secure it for you. The Bible also shows us the wisdom of God in using a nation that had broken covenant, a nation so full of rebellion and disobedience to show us the way to covenant with God.
In the book of Acts, after the coming of the Holy Spirit, we see that salvation began in Jerusalem. The entire church was Jewish. God used this group, or remnant, to evangelize and bring salvation to the rest of the known world. Paul talks about the remnant in Romans 9 and 11. They are also called the elect. There was always a remnant within Israel—a small group that never forsook God. They always kept covenant. Like in Elijah's day with the seven thousand who remained righteous, there is always that group who will not bow the knee to Baal or kiss his feet. So from the remnant the light of God was shown, and all the nations came into salvation. And here we are saved because of what God did more than two thousand years ago.
Understanding Israel's progression of going from desolation to restoration should show you this: No matter how much your life has been devastated, no matter how much desolation, ruin, pain, hurt and rejection has come into your life, God is able to restore you. That's good news. His mercy, grace, and kindness can come into your life, and that's what deliverance is all about. Deliverance is about being restored.
Excerpted from John Eckhardt's book, Destroying the Spirit of Rejection (Charisma House, 2016). To purchase the book, click here.
Apostle John Eckhardt is overseer of Crusaders Ministries, located in Chicago, Illinois. Gifted with a strong apostolic call, he has ministered throughout the United States and overseas in more than 80 nations. He is a sought-after international conference speaker and has authored more than 20 books, including Prophet, Arise!,Prayers That Rout Demons, Prayers That Break Curses, and God Still Speaks. Eckhardt resides in the Chicago area with his wife, Wanda, and their five children.
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Your time in the wilderness can give you a powerful testimony. (iStock photo )
Time. That space between planting and harvesting, between promise and fulfillment. Living in a world where we are widely accustomed to instant gratification, the concept of having to wait can be frustrating. Yet if we understand the purpose and potential of these times, we can learn to cooperate with God and enjoy the journey.
Many live with a sense of destiny and promise but struggle to see how it can be fulfilled in the light of their present circumstances. That can be a frustrating situation, especially when they see how God is already moving in the lives of others. It invites all sorts of questions: Why not me? I know God has called me to greater things, so why do I feel stuck where I am? What am I doing wrong? When will God fulfill the promises He gave me?
This is a very common experience, and it can be disorienting if we don't understand what God is doing or know how to respond to it. Some people call it a "wilderness" and for good reason. Like Joseph in Egypt, the Israelites on the their way to the Promised Land, David in exile, and many other figures in Scripture, we are in the midst of a process between calling and fulfillment. Through their experiences we are able to take hope in the truth that God will also bring us through whatever situation we may find ourselves in.
Jesus spent years waiting for God's timing in His life too. He didn't begin His ministry until He was about thirty (Luke 3:23) which means there were long years of waiting. He had a calling. He had a vision. And He had God's promises, but He was not yet walking in the fullness of what God called Him to do. He also had an actual wilderness experience in which He overcame temptation and was able to solidify the reality that God had spoken and could be trusted.
In the wilderness we have the same opportunity to have our trust in God's words tested and solidified until they become like iron in our soul. (See Psalm 105:18-19.)
The enemy came at Jesus in the wilderness with all sorts of temptations and distractions, doing everything he could to steer Him away from His purpose, distort His thinking, or question His identity. But when Jesus came out of the wilderness, He began ministering with power the world had never seen before.
A lot of Christian leaders and teachers are doing a great job equipping God's people for their calling, showing the way to walk in God's power, and casting vision. Not many talk about the process between promise and fulfillment or calling and destiny, so the wilderness can come as a shock to those who are unprepared.
I believe there is a great need in our time to understand the processes of God, the baptism of fire, and the joy and power of surrender. My personal journey included years of frustration and wondering what God was doing, but I learned to lean on Him in those times and came out with a relationship that could not be shaken. Whenever I teach on this, it seems to resonate with many people. Some remark on how rare it is to hear from speakers about their years of preparation and their behind the scenes stories of trials God has brought them through. Many are encouraged to know the process from wilderness to wonders.
I believe you can embrace your journey with fresh hope and perspective, and that not only will you survive the seasons between promise and fulfillment, but thrive in them. In fact, with the right kind of response, your wilderness season can become a time of accelerated growth and fruitfulness.
I hope that encourages you. Wilderness seasons are a great opportunity to lean on your Beloved and learn the deep things of His Spirit. You learn to anchor yourself in the One who gives you lasting joy. You learn to carry the peace of God in every situation because the Prince of Peace is within you. You learn not to let the wilderness or the enemy shape your identity because you find your identity entirely in Him.
In the wilderness we learn to dream God's dreams. We discover God as our source in every situation. We learn how to respond to temptation, injustice and pain. We not only endure obstacles and storms, we become victorious in them and rise above them. In the wilderness we learn to recognize divine invitation and wage war with the promises God has given to us. Regardless of what we are going through, in the wilderness we learn to find our delight in God alone.
God wants to be the glory and the lifter of your head in every situation (Ps. 3:3, KJV). No matter how difficult your circumstances may seem, He wants you to look up and see His glorious face. He wants to tell you how lovely, free, clean, and redeemed you are. God wants you to know you are the beloved apple of His eye and that He has created you to shine.
The wilderness cannot prevent you from shining. Jesus shone in His wilderness season and you can too. Jesus' wilderness experience became one of His greatest victories. That can be your testimony too. You are destined to shine just as He does and to walk in His power, doing even greater works than He did. And even if you are in the midst of a wilderness, that can begin right now.
Adapted from Wilderness to Wonders—Embracing the Power of Process by Katherine Ruonala, copyright 2015, published by Charisma House. This book examines the journey we take through wilderness seasons of test and trials, and emphasizes the importance of enduring the process. You'll be encouraged to stand in faith for all God promised you when you see how God is for you, believes in you, and is making all things work for your good. To order your copy, click here.
Prayer Power for the Week of April 3, 2016
This week pray that the Lord will help you embrace your life's journey with fresh hope and perspective, so that not only will you survive the seasons between promise and fulfillment, but thrive in them. Ask Him to help you have the right kind of response, so that it can become a time of accelerated growth and fruitfulness. Continue to pray for those who lost loved ones during the recent terrorist attacks, and pray for the peace of Jerusalem and the protection of our nation and allies. Lift up our spiritual, civic and government leaders and pray for revival to spread across the land and around the world. (Ps. 3:3; 1 Thess. 5:16-18; 1 Tim. 2:1-3).
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