Text: Isaiah 62:6
Subject: God’s Plan for Jerusalem, Part IV (The call of the eternal God is an irresistible force!)
Introduction:
If someone was to walk into Warrior Assembly of God, they may be thinking to themselves, “why is the Star of David on that wall?” And, “why do they have a five by five poster of the city of Jerusalem on the other wall?” Further, “why is the pastor here preaching a series of messages on God’s plan for Jerusalem?”
After having done three messages on why the eternal God is so passionate about the city of Jerusalem, I thought this would be a good interval or place to give the background and context of how we have arrived at where we are as a church and why we are focused on Jerusalem, Israel.
It actually began in August of 2008 while on a trip to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City Missouri. While there, I had a prophecy spoken to me, that at the time, I didn’t quite fully grasp.
A prophetic lady named Gloria, under a strong anointing of the Holy Spirit, prophesied to me, “you are going to love Israel.” Although I liked Israel, I couldn't say that I loved Israel or even thought about Israel that much. So it was somewhat surprising at the time.
However, in that atmosphere of the Holy Spirit (there was a strong witness and presence of God) I found myself completely broken and weeping over what I was hearing because I knew it was God speaking to me.
Now, many times when the Lord speaks a prophetic word to someone, it is like a farmer putting a seed into the ground. Over the days, weeks, months and even years that follow (however long it takes) God will “water” that seed that He has placed into the heart and soul until that seed becomes full grown!
So in 2009, God watered that seed when a friend, actually someone who is a member of Warrior Assembly, gave me a set of videos by a pastor from the West Coast named Mark Biltz. The videos were about the Four Blood Moons that have occurred in the last five hundred years, beginning in 1493 and continuing to the year 2015, and which are connected to the nation of Israel! And as you know from the messages that I have preached on this subject, these blood moons are connected to the feasts of God that He gave to Israel!
Actually, the blood moons occur on Passover, the first of God’s seven feasts, and Tabernacles, the last of God’s seven feasts. The final two blood moons, which will occur for the last time in this century, will be on April 4, 2015 (Passover) and on September 28, 2015 (Tabernacles). This is an interesting subject, but is not our main focus today.
The point I want to make here is that these videos “watered” the prophetic word that God had put into my heart about loving Israel in 2008. I even attended a Messianic synagogue for a while to learn more about Israel.
Then in the spring of 2011, while Brother Tommy and I were talking in the foyer of the church, the Holy Spirit “blew in” on us like a wind. I was knocked down to my knees, and the Lord spoke ten words to my spirit: “The burden of the Lord is awaiting you in Jerusalem.” The Lord once agian watered the seed of His word that He had put into my heart in Kansas City.
When that happened, although I had never been to Israel, I knew that I was supposed to go. When I shared it with Connie, she was in total agreement. So in November of 2011 I flew to Israel.
Beloved, in sharing this, I hope you can see how that the Lord directs our steps even when we don’t have the full picture. Let that truth inspire your heart today—knowing that God is leading your steps, even when it doesn’t all make sense, and that He has an amazing plan for your life!
I recently shared with you what I experienced when I saw Jerusalem for the first time while standing on the Mount of Olives. I felt and said in my heart, “I am home!” It was a moment that God burned into my DNA that I will never forget!
I stood transfixed as I thought about what God had done in that city. It was there that God provided a ram as a substitute when Abraham offered up Isaac. And it was there that Jesus was offered up as our substitute that we might be set free from death as was Isaac! Jehovah Jireh—the Lord our Provider! From there, Jesus was raised from the dead as our hope of eternal life; and the fire of Heaven fell there forming and empowering the first Church!
As I was thinking on what the Lord had done there, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said “yes, but I yet have much more to do in Jerusalem!” God was watering the seed in my heart!
On the final night that I was in Israel, I walked from my hotel in the new city of Jerusalem to the “Wailing Wall” in the old city of Jerusalem. I went there to place prayer requests in the wall that had been given to me from you, my church, and from others.
While I was there, I was thinking about what a good time it would be for the Lord to enlighten me on the word which He had given me back in the spring: “the burden of the Lord is awaiting you in Jerusalem.” But as usual, He didn’t take my advice! What’s that scripture again, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding?”
On the flight back home, which is about a 14 hour flight, about two hours our from JFK airport, I began to talk with the two ladies I was sitting between. The lady on my left, who was a Catholic, had her doctorate in education, and the lady on my right was a Jew from Jerusalem and was a Psychologist.
I’m going to make this brief. We became engaged in a very intense conversation about the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and about the importance of Jerusalem to both Israel and the Church. Neither of them agreed with my point of view! They simply didn’t get it! So after a couple of hours, the plane landed before somebody got hurt! Actually I complemented both ladies, wished them well, and thanked them for the lively debate!
It wasn’t until I was making my way through customs that the Lord spoke to me. He basically said, “Did you get it?” The burden of the Lord that is yours is to help remove the veil that is over Israel’s eyes as well as over the Church’s eyes. Neither Israel nor the Church can see the importance of Jerusalem! But they will.
Although I understood a little of what the Lord was saying to me then, I really didn’t know what He meant. Again, He was patiently watering the “seed,” the prophetic word He had planted in my heart in 2008.
By the grace of God, I do believe that I have a little more understanding today that I did then.
Church, Warrior Assembly of God and anyone else who can receive this word, you and I have been called to help remove the veil that is over the eyes of the church with regard to God’s heart and His plan for Jerusalem!
We do that through the proclamation of God’s Word and through continual prayer and intercession.
Just as Esther “came to the kingdom for such a time as this,” so too have we been uniquely called and positioned in this prophetic season of time for this purpose!
Our text says, “I (Jehovah God) have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem…” I want you to really understand something very, very important here:
You are at Warrior Assembly of God (or you are reading this message)
because Jehovah God has called you!
Some of you may actually be wondering, “why am I at this church?” or “why am I reading these messages about Jerusalem, Israel?”
Let me answer that question for you: you are here or you are reading these messages because you are called by God for “such a time as this!”
Now you may be saying to yourself, “O yeah, well I didn’t sign up for this!” Maybe not, but the God who knows you better than you know yourself obviously has a different plan!
“But pastor, I really don’t get all of this stuff about Israel and Jerusalem.”
I know, it may only be a “seed” right now, but God will be faithful to water that seed and it will continue to grow.
“Well, maybe I’m just not into what God is doing here.” Okay Jonah, then get yourself the first ship to Tarshish and head on out. But watch out for big storms and big fish!
Dear friend, if God has called you to be a “watchmen for Jerusalem,” the city that He loves and has big plans for, if you resist, then you will end up in a wrestling match with God that you cannot win! You will be in way over your head! Trust me, I speak from experience!
However, if He has not called you, then go, find your place and be blessed!
But be warned, God Almighty can be very convincing. And let me say this: what a high honor and blessing to be called by God to be a part of what He is doing in these unique and amazing days in which we are living!
Beloved, what a privilege to be called by the eternal God to be a watchmen for the City of the Great King—even the city of the Lord Jesus Himself!
Dear friends, we are not just a small church in a small town in rural Alabama. Rather, we have been chosen by Jehovah God to be “a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.”
Just as God chose the ordinary people of the Bible to accomplish His purposes in their generation, so too has He chosen ordinary people like you and me to fulfill His purposes in our generation.
Dear Warrior Assembly of God, and all of those who can hear His voice, this call of God has been years in the making. From the fire of intercession that God deposited in our DNA from Brownsville Florida to the prophetic mantle that he placed upon us from Toronto Canada, everything that the Holy Spirit has done over the years has been to bring us to this moment.
We have been uniquely prepared “for such a time as this.” So let us rise up and fully embrace this call of God upon us!
You don’t have to understand it all right now. All you need to do is just keep living and walking in faith. Keep doing what God has put in your hand to do: keep coming to Church, keep hearing the voice of the Lord, and keep praying.
And Beloved, this is not something that we are called to do in our own strength. This call and commission of God is by the power of the Holy Spirit!
All we have to do is hoist the sail of faith and catch the wind of the Spirit! God’s plan and God’s purposes can only be accomplished by God’s power. And there is rest in that.
ALTAR
Today, let’s join all of those who walked in faith and fulfilled God’s purposes in their generation and so fulfill the purpose of God in OUR generation!
All that God needs from you and me is a simple yes. Will you say yes to God? Will you take your place on the wall and so be one of His watchmen for the city that He loves—for Jerusalem?
Subject: God’s Plan for Jerusalem, Part IV (The call of the eternal God is an irresistible force!)
Introduction:
If someone was to walk into Warrior Assembly of God, they may be thinking to themselves, “why is the Star of David on that wall?” And, “why do they have a five by five poster of the city of Jerusalem on the other wall?” Further, “why is the pastor here preaching a series of messages on God’s plan for Jerusalem?”
After having done three messages on why the eternal God is so passionate about the city of Jerusalem, I thought this would be a good interval or place to give the background and context of how we have arrived at where we are as a church and why we are focused on Jerusalem, Israel.
It actually began in August of 2008 while on a trip to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City Missouri. While there, I had a prophecy spoken to me, that at the time, I didn’t quite fully grasp.
A prophetic lady named Gloria, under a strong anointing of the Holy Spirit, prophesied to me, “you are going to love Israel.” Although I liked Israel, I couldn't say that I loved Israel or even thought about Israel that much. So it was somewhat surprising at the time.
However, in that atmosphere of the Holy Spirit (there was a strong witness and presence of God) I found myself completely broken and weeping over what I was hearing because I knew it was God speaking to me.
Now, many times when the Lord speaks a prophetic word to someone, it is like a farmer putting a seed into the ground. Over the days, weeks, months and even years that follow (however long it takes) God will “water” that seed that He has placed into the heart and soul until that seed becomes full grown!
So in 2009, God watered that seed when a friend, actually someone who is a member of Warrior Assembly, gave me a set of videos by a pastor from the West Coast named Mark Biltz. The videos were about the Four Blood Moons that have occurred in the last five hundred years, beginning in 1493 and continuing to the year 2015, and which are connected to the nation of Israel! And as you know from the messages that I have preached on this subject, these blood moons are connected to the feasts of God that He gave to Israel!
Actually, the blood moons occur on Passover, the first of God’s seven feasts, and Tabernacles, the last of God’s seven feasts. The final two blood moons, which will occur for the last time in this century, will be on April 4, 2015 (Passover) and on September 28, 2015 (Tabernacles). This is an interesting subject, but is not our main focus today.
The point I want to make here is that these videos “watered” the prophetic word that God had put into my heart about loving Israel in 2008. I even attended a Messianic synagogue for a while to learn more about Israel.
Then in the spring of 2011, while Brother Tommy and I were talking in the foyer of the church, the Holy Spirit “blew in” on us like a wind. I was knocked down to my knees, and the Lord spoke ten words to my spirit: “The burden of the Lord is awaiting you in Jerusalem.” The Lord once agian watered the seed of His word that He had put into my heart in Kansas City.
When that happened, although I had never been to Israel, I knew that I was supposed to go. When I shared it with Connie, she was in total agreement. So in November of 2011 I flew to Israel.
Beloved, in sharing this, I hope you can see how that the Lord directs our steps even when we don’t have the full picture. Let that truth inspire your heart today—knowing that God is leading your steps, even when it doesn’t all make sense, and that He has an amazing plan for your life!
I recently shared with you what I experienced when I saw Jerusalem for the first time while standing on the Mount of Olives. I felt and said in my heart, “I am home!” It was a moment that God burned into my DNA that I will never forget!
I stood transfixed as I thought about what God had done in that city. It was there that God provided a ram as a substitute when Abraham offered up Isaac. And it was there that Jesus was offered up as our substitute that we might be set free from death as was Isaac! Jehovah Jireh—the Lord our Provider! From there, Jesus was raised from the dead as our hope of eternal life; and the fire of Heaven fell there forming and empowering the first Church!
As I was thinking on what the Lord had done there, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said “yes, but I yet have much more to do in Jerusalem!” God was watering the seed in my heart!
On the final night that I was in Israel, I walked from my hotel in the new city of Jerusalem to the “Wailing Wall” in the old city of Jerusalem. I went there to place prayer requests in the wall that had been given to me from you, my church, and from others.
While I was there, I was thinking about what a good time it would be for the Lord to enlighten me on the word which He had given me back in the spring: “the burden of the Lord is awaiting you in Jerusalem.” But as usual, He didn’t take my advice! What’s that scripture again, “trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding?”
On the flight back home, which is about a 14 hour flight, about two hours our from JFK airport, I began to talk with the two ladies I was sitting between. The lady on my left, who was a Catholic, had her doctorate in education, and the lady on my right was a Jew from Jerusalem and was a Psychologist.
I’m going to make this brief. We became engaged in a very intense conversation about the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and about the importance of Jerusalem to both Israel and the Church. Neither of them agreed with my point of view! They simply didn’t get it! So after a couple of hours, the plane landed before somebody got hurt! Actually I complemented both ladies, wished them well, and thanked them for the lively debate!
It wasn’t until I was making my way through customs that the Lord spoke to me. He basically said, “Did you get it?” The burden of the Lord that is yours is to help remove the veil that is over Israel’s eyes as well as over the Church’s eyes. Neither Israel nor the Church can see the importance of Jerusalem! But they will.
Although I understood a little of what the Lord was saying to me then, I really didn’t know what He meant. Again, He was patiently watering the “seed,” the prophetic word He had planted in my heart in 2008.
By the grace of God, I do believe that I have a little more understanding today that I did then.
Church, Warrior Assembly of God and anyone else who can receive this word, you and I have been called to help remove the veil that is over the eyes of the church with regard to God’s heart and His plan for Jerusalem!
We do that through the proclamation of God’s Word and through continual prayer and intercession.
Just as Esther “came to the kingdom for such a time as this,” so too have we been uniquely called and positioned in this prophetic season of time for this purpose!
Our text says, “I (Jehovah God) have posted watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem…” I want you to really understand something very, very important here:
You are at Warrior Assembly of God (or you are reading this message)
because Jehovah God has called you!
Some of you may actually be wondering, “why am I at this church?” or “why am I reading these messages about Jerusalem, Israel?”
Let me answer that question for you: you are here or you are reading these messages because you are called by God for “such a time as this!”
Now you may be saying to yourself, “O yeah, well I didn’t sign up for this!” Maybe not, but the God who knows you better than you know yourself obviously has a different plan!
“But pastor, I really don’t get all of this stuff about Israel and Jerusalem.”
I know, it may only be a “seed” right now, but God will be faithful to water that seed and it will continue to grow.
“Well, maybe I’m just not into what God is doing here.” Okay Jonah, then get yourself the first ship to Tarshish and head on out. But watch out for big storms and big fish!
Dear friend, if God has called you to be a “watchmen for Jerusalem,” the city that He loves and has big plans for, if you resist, then you will end up in a wrestling match with God that you cannot win! You will be in way over your head! Trust me, I speak from experience!
However, if He has not called you, then go, find your place and be blessed!
But be warned, God Almighty can be very convincing. And let me say this: what a high honor and blessing to be called by God to be a part of what He is doing in these unique and amazing days in which we are living!
Beloved, what a privilege to be called by the eternal God to be a watchmen for the City of the Great King—even the city of the Lord Jesus Himself!
Dear friends, we are not just a small church in a small town in rural Alabama. Rather, we have been chosen by Jehovah God to be “a voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.”
Just as God chose the ordinary people of the Bible to accomplish His purposes in their generation, so too has He chosen ordinary people like you and me to fulfill His purposes in our generation.
Dear Warrior Assembly of God, and all of those who can hear His voice, this call of God has been years in the making. From the fire of intercession that God deposited in our DNA from Brownsville Florida to the prophetic mantle that he placed upon us from Toronto Canada, everything that the Holy Spirit has done over the years has been to bring us to this moment.
We have been uniquely prepared “for such a time as this.” So let us rise up and fully embrace this call of God upon us!
You don’t have to understand it all right now. All you need to do is just keep living and walking in faith. Keep doing what God has put in your hand to do: keep coming to Church, keep hearing the voice of the Lord, and keep praying.
And Beloved, this is not something that we are called to do in our own strength. This call and commission of God is by the power of the Holy Spirit!
All we have to do is hoist the sail of faith and catch the wind of the Spirit! God’s plan and God’s purposes can only be accomplished by God’s power. And there is rest in that.
ALTAR
Today, let’s join all of those who walked in faith and fulfilled God’s purposes in their generation and so fulfill the purpose of God in OUR generation!
All that God needs from you and me is a simple yes. Will you say yes to God? Will you take your place on the wall and so be one of His watchmen for the city that He loves—for Jerusalem?
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