| | | |  | The Jerusalem Prayer List – October 9th, 2009by Joseph Shulam
These are the last days of the Feast of Tabernacles. The city of Jerusalem is full of tourists and guests from all over the world. Last Sabbath our congregation was full of people and there were some fifteen different countries represented and we had translations to nine different languages. Most of the translations were done privately by those were sitting next to those who needed them. There were so many people in the congregation that were standing in the back and more were outside in the yard. We need you to join us in prayer for the expansion of our auditorium and the building. The Israeli District Court has given us the right to build. This alone is a major and wonderful accomplisment and the work of God, but now we have to substantiate this privilege and start to raise the funds that will be needed for the building. The building is not an end in itself, it is the means and a tool to serve the community and the people of Jerusalem. We have plans to use the building as a blessing to the whole community and also to many people who are not a part of our community but are folk who can enjoy some of the services that we offer to the poor of Jerusalem. Join us in prayer and ask God to provide the funds for building soon.
Next week I shall not be able to write this prayer list because the Lord willing I shall be traveling to the Far East to participate in a major conference in Japan. Our friends in Japan have been a great blessing to us over the last 12 years and with God's help they have been empowered to organize for the first time a conference that many different churches from different confessions (denominations) are cooperating together and putting their shoulder to the task to bless Israel and the Jewish Disciples of Yeshua in the Land of Israel. There will be three of us from Israel that will be going to Japan to speak and teach in this conference, Eitan Shishkoff, Peter Tsukihera, and your humble servant Joseph Shulam. I considere this conference as a mile stone in the Restoration movement in Japan and in the Far East. People from several Asian Countries will be participating in this conference and the main theme will be the salvation of Israel. I ask you to pray for me personally and for all the other teachers and speakers so that we can have a very positive influence in Japan, and after Japan I shall be traveling to Korea and Hong Kong. I shall need your prayers for good health and for strength and for wisdom so that I can do a good job in inspiring the Christians in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong. I shall be teaching many people who are not yet committed to the God of Israel and to Yeshua our Messiah who is also the savior for the whole World. Please keep Marcia, my wife, in your prayers because she will be traveling to the United States to be with our children and also spend some time with her mother and father.
I also ask you to pray for our congregation in Jerusalem and for the leadership of our congregation. We have wonderful teachers and leaders and they can do a great job teaching and leading the congregation, but like anyone they all and we all need the prayer support and the encouragement and spiritual support. It is such a wonderful witness that we have as a congregation of Jewish Disciples of Yeshua in Israel. Our youth group with the leadership of Yuda was three days camping on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and the report that I received is that there were people in the camp ground that came to our group and asked who they are and where they are coming from and complimented the group for their order and quite behavior and for their very positive influence. It is so wonderful to be a part of a community like ours and the difference is really in our relationship with Yeshua our Savior. It is difficult for many Christians to understand that our relationship is with Yeshua and with the Word of God. We are interested in Yeshua neto and in God's Word neto and not in all the devisions and sects that have developed in Christian history in Europe and than in the United States and from there moved all around the world. We never ought to stop praying for the unity and the oneness of the Body of the Messiah in the World and ought to never stop striving to do all that is in our power to accomplish a unity and coperation between all those that in any way have some hunger and thirst for God's righteousness and the Truth from God's Word.
This Sabbath will be the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. In the Gospel of John we find a very specific mention of what Yeshua did on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles.
“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, “Truly this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee?” (John 7:37-41)
As you notice in the text Yeshua said to the crowed that was around him: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
The last day of the Feast of Tabernacles is also the feast that is called, “The Celebration or Joy of the house of drawing water.” In other words it is the feast of water. This is the feast that celebrates the beginning of the rainy season in the Land of Israel. So, it is not strange at all that Yeshua was speaking of rivers of living wanter coming from inside of His disciples.
The basic rule is that no one can give what he does not have. “Rivers of living water” in the language of the time of Yeshua in the land of Israel was a euphemism for “Torah learning.” This in fact made clear when the editor of the Gospel of John says, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive . . .” In other words the Torah of God, the Spirit of God that is mainly delivered to us from God's Word is going to flow from our hearts or from inside our stomachs. We will become sources of Torah and God's Word. We have to work on filling up on the Word of God so that when that day comes that we start flowing out of our hearts the “Rivers of Living Waters” we will have something from God that will flow our of us. The spirit of God does not flow in the form of gama rays or microwave, but it will flow our of us in Words and in Actions that will demonstrate the Living Word of God in action. Let us work on getting filled with Living Waters so that God's spirit will have something to flow our of our Bodies that will be providing life to others. This in essence is the meaning of the “joy of the house of drawing water” that we will be celebrating on Sabbath and on Sunday.
Another thing that happens on this week-end is that we are finishing the public reading of the Torah by reading the last chapter of the book of Deuteronomy and immediately role the scroll back to Genesis and start the reading from the beginning of Genesis. We never finish reading the Word of God. Every year we finish and start immediately afresh going through it from Genesis on forward. This is a wonderful privilege to be able to fill our bodies and souls with the Living Water of God's Word and to be able to share it and allow it to flow our of our hearts to give life to so many who are thirsty for God and His righteousness. Study daily the Word of God, drink it, eat it, speak of it to your children, walk in it and use it as your comfort and your weapon. If you are filled with the Spirit and the Word of God you ought to know that God is going to use what you have inside of you. When you have the Word inside of you it will be used by God and it will flow out of you.
Please keep praying for the sick on our list and don't forget to pray for Paulo in Brazil, Ruby in Oklahoma City, Liz in Georgia, David in Jerusalem, Ahuva, Leah, Liora, Sara, Zvi, and Sarit, and Miriam, and Marcia.
God bless all of you and please stand with Israel and with us at Netivyah. The challenges that we face are great but so is the power of God that is in us. All of you who know God have to stand up in this battle and be counted as soldiers and generals and officers that fight for the good battle for the salvation of Israel and the World. It is a battle now and not a walk in the park anymore and only if you see this you will be able to be used and fight for the victory that is coming.
God be with us all and use us to be sources of Living Water for many!
Joseph Shulam
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