(Miles Weiss)
You've heard the phrase, "We need to mend fences".
We actually are in a much worse situation. There is
actually a large chasm now. As I have talked with Jews
since coming back from my trip to Israel, there is one
thing that I have encountered over and over again. Sometimes
these key words, New Testament, Christian and Jesus,
create an initial sense of nausea, not for all Jews,
but for many. Those words bi-pass the head and go straight
to the heart and something that they have to come to
grips with before they even have the conversation, because
they have learned, experienced, or their parents or
their parents' parents were literally murdered by those
who either claimed the name of Christ in some fashion
or those who claimed His name, stood by, applauded or
observed.
So, to follow Jesus, if you want to look and understand
this, is to join the enemy’s side, in the mind
of a Jew. That is something that is totally foreign
to our way of thinking. We have a huge, what I call,
educational problem. After I had finished speaking at
a congregation, a huge group of people came up to me
saying, "but they control the money system and...",
and I said to them that if they got kicked out of their
home for the past 600 years you would get into something
that sparkles too. Diamonds, money, whatever, you wouldn't
be looking backwards, because you might not have tomorrow.
It's one of those logical things that people just
don't think of, so we have an educational problem, we
have a heart problem of people who themselves are just
not paying attention or have had theological teaching
that shows no particular relationship to the Jews at
all, but we are called to pray and those that represent
the name of Christ, are to live such a life of love
and connection and holiness that not only Jews, but
all people would be drawn.
6th So, right now we're going to focus
on that light that should draw those that God first
called to Himself, and we need to realize our failure,
our hypocrisy, participation in enmity, etc. If they
don't see anything, what is there to be jealous of?
We have to live such a life, that there is a jealousy
of that life, that there is a desire to have it. So,
that is the first thing to be praying for,
that those who name the name of Christ would live such
a life that they really would become people who would
provoke jealousy among the children of Abraham.
Second point of prayer: The Jewish
people themselves, prayer for their own hearts. As we
were in Israel, we talked with...well. I've come up
with a different title, one that never existed in my
mind, and that is, Evangelical Jew. An Evangelical Jew
is one who loves God and they are Messianic Jews, but
part of the problem is that our labels don't work anymore,
and they are the Jews that are eagerly loving and seeking
the Messiah, they love the Lord their God and they are
full of the spirit.
Many Christians say, “Well how can that be?”
Well, if Elijah was full of the spirit, Moses and David,
well I guess that that could still happen! So, I had
to come up with some buzz word that no one had used
and that was what I came up with. The Evangelical Jews
told us that Islam is not the enemy of Israel, although
it seems today that it is, that the real enemy is our
own hearts apart from God. Our people have bought into
the world and until they come with the same heart attitude
they had when they carried the Tabernacle in, we're
lost. We need to pray that the hearts of the Jewish
people would warm to their God and the warmness would
be the most important part of their connection, wouldn't
it?
The third thing, is right now the
state of Israel and in this case I don't so much mean
the political stand point, but the Jewish people living
in the land that God gave them. He promised it to them,
it belongs to them and they have returned to it. Three
times the open warfare, the Arab nations around have
attempted to drive them out. Two addition times, through
military perspectives would have been considered Gorilla
Warfare, we know the terrorist acts of King Tut, two
of those, and now there is a sixth war going on which
no one seems to quite get and it is a diplomacy war.
The goal has never changed. Two weeks ago, I have been
following the sermons, in the Palestinian front; they
are translated to English very quickly. Two weeks ago,
just one week before current Palestinian President was
to meet with our President, the official sermon stated
that Israel is like the Aids virus in the center of
the Arab world and until we eradicate that virus, we
will all be sick. It concluded with, “Islam once
ruled the world. Islam will again rule the world and
we will rule America, and as Mohammad said, those who
do not follow Islam, the Christians and the Jews, will
be killed".
That was the sermon just last week. So, we are praying
for the nation of Israel to be preserved. They are in
war and most of their leaders don't even recognize it.
We need to pray specifically for God's will, and the
risk here is if you just pray for the Lord to keep their
boundaries or whatever, you've got to understand that
God may be in the process of bringing up breaking (I'm
sure that many of us understand or have experienced
personally God's breaking), but you know how to pray.
Let the Spirit guide you. Lord, preserve what you promised.
The fourth thing, which in some ways
may even be the larger miracle, because we're dealing
with people who are outside of a real faith. There is
a general Arab refugee problem. It was not solved back
in 1948; Syria, Jordan, Egypt and at that time even
Lebanon, could have absorbed the 6 to 700,000 refugees
and they refused to in the deliberate part of a strategic
way to put pressure on Israel's existence. Now there
is somewhere between 4 and 6 million. That is a genuine
problem and if it is not dealt with, the war in Israel
will continue on in some way. The only way that it is
going to be solved, is those Arabic countries that have
refused, have to open their arms to absorb these people.
There is not other way for it to happen, yet no one
has even proposed such a thing. If God can whistle up
the Assyrian army back in whenever, He can do any of
this. He can reach into the heart of a leader, and Egyptian
leader, Assyrian King, it doesn't matter, it is going
to take the supernatural finger of God to make it happen
and it could happen and it has to happen for all of
those other things to come into place. So, those are
the four items that I will leave you with for prayer.
(Pastor Sam Tillery)
What we want to do now is divide you up into groups
of 4 or 5 to pray. Now, because we are a symphony, if
you are all from the same church and you already know
each other then it isn't much different than what you
are used to hearing, so try to get with someone who
you do not know and pray with them. We are going to
go one by one through these prayer points in our groups.
(Miles Weiss)
As we begin to pray into the third point, we move
into a time of prayer for the state of Israel and the
defense against the war, and especially this time as
the deportation plan for the summer, it was originally
planned partition, diabolical plan, it is the gate where
the first and the second temple were destroyed and they
wisely chose to shift and at least plan for the summer
starting with 9,000 Jews coming out of Gaza which was
given to the Jews in Joshua 10:47.
We want to pray for their physical safety regarding
the physical war that is taking place. Now in regards
to the Diplomatic war, which has to do with right now,
in the last couple of weeks 86 rockets have fallen on
Jewish communities and Gaza on the southern part of
Gaza to Egypt, we don't get this on our news, but these
people are under siege and we just need to pray for
the peace of Jerusalem and the peace of Israel regarding
the physical attacks.
The Arabic people who are Israeli citizens and live
in peace with the rights of both, they are afraid to
pull out and are considered to be collaborators merely
for leaving near the Jews, and so they know that when
the Jews pull out, that they will be slaughtered by
oncoming terrorists and those coming in, and so, we're
not just praying for the Jews against the Arabs, we're
praying for all of those who are under attack by political
ideology that has it's roots in Nazism and worse that
wants to wipe out the Jews and anything that stands
in it's way, so we really want to pray for peace regarding
the physical attacks.
(Time for prayer)
(Miles Weiss)
The fourth area that we want to pray into is the issue
of the Arabic refugees. It's a dual refugee problem.
The first set you never hear about were the 800,000
Jewish refugees in 1948, at the same time that that
was happening, the surrounding 6 nations that were planning
the attack had instructed the Arabs to just move back
out of the way and to pull back out of their homes,
and there were about 600,000 living in Israel. Genuine
Palestinian Arabs who were instructed to get out of
the way for maybe a few days while the Jews were driven
into the Mediterranean and then the Arabs could move
back into their homes and those previously occupied
by the Jews.
So, the Arabs left and God did what He wanted to do
not by might or by power, but by His Spirit says the
Lord, He preserved once again the Jewish people. So,
there became this people group that didn't have a place
to live, they were racially Arabic people and are connected
by D.N.A. to the Jordanians, Egyptians and Lebanese,
it's all one people group, and then in the 1964 Yasser
Arafat
invented the Palestinian people. They were all Arabs
and Jews living in the area that was later called Palestine,
that's ancient Israel that belongs to the sons of Abraham,
Isaac, Israel and Jacob. Arafat invented a group that
has never had their own monetary system or government
or separate line of nationality or culture. They were
genetically and culturally connected to all surrounding
peoples, so we have a problem of the home-land so called
for these people.
Now, the heartache in this is that their own brothers
have not lifted a finger or spent a shekel to help them
and they have been kept in poverty, not by the giant
and dangerous Israeli's who have a sliver of land and
sea of millions of square miles of land, but have been
kept in poverty. Not been given anything from the oil
wealth that has been pouring into the Arabic countries
in order to have something to point to Jews to the whole
world. That's why we brought up the diplomacy war that
we are in right now.
When I was a young man, it was Paul Newman in Exodus,
a little tiny good looking Israel against the giant
world, well now it's the terrible, giant, Rambo of a
Jew oppressing these poor other people. The fact is
that there are Arabic people suffering that need to
be relieved of that suffering. The suffering is not
from the occupation by the Jews, the suffering is the
occupation of the lines put by the Palestinian authority
and generational teaching of hatred, so we want to pray
that there would be an awakening in the world to solve
the Palestinian refugee problem.
The most obvious solution would be for them to be absorbed
by the surrounding nations and to move across the Jordan
river and teach them to grow oranges the size of basketballs
like we do, you know, so there are solutions, but that
probably will not happen, so we need to pray that they
would find relief from their suffering, that they would
find the revelation of Christ and salvation and that
someone would open their hearts of the Arabic brothers
to help their own and do something for them and that
money wouldn't be going to arms and education for hatred
and for bombs, but would go towards their relief, so
let's pray.
(Prayer)
(Miles Weiss)
As we are wrapping up, I just want you to know that
without a doubt, what we are doing is Biblical, because
we are praying for the children of Abraham and in our
muddled world, the Muslims and Jews sometimes can forget
that Abraham had three women, one wife and two others
that children came from, so really when we pray for
the children of Abraham it's a very Biblical and correct
thing to pray for the sons of Ishmael (the Arab people)
and to pray for the sons of Midian (the Persian people),
because after Sarah and after Hagar there was Katura,
so there is a connection with the Abrahamic seed
that has to do with the Persians as well. They are not
Arabic people, the Muslims today, but they came from
the Median groups that grew out of that part of the
family, so as we're praying, it's always a good idea
to be praying for the sons of Israel (the Jews), the
sons of Ishmael (the Arabs), and the sons of Media (the
Persians), all were sons of Abraham.
(Pastor Sam Tillery)
So, as a symphony now, we'd like you to all gather
back real close and tight together. You've been in your
small groups, so go ahead and move up close, probably
within the first 5 or 6 rows. As your gathering closer,
let me bring to light some local things that are happening
in regards to this whole idea of jealousy. Now, you
know the scripture teaches that God will bless those
who bless Israel that as we lift Israel up God would
bless and uphold His purpose and plan. That we would
walk as a church before God in the right way, and the
right way is the way that Jesus prayed, is that we would
be one, so as we gather together tonight as diverse
expressions of the body of Christ, we are answering
the prayer of Jesus. Then as we begin to move into serving
in our community, we are answering the prayer of Jesus,
because we are serving as one, different parts as one.
Now, when the scripture says that when the Gentiles
come, they walk as God desires them to walk, as one,
in prayer (faith), in our love (our service), what begins
to happen is the Jews become jealous and God begins
to draw them in that respect unto Himself.
Last night I had a meeting with several others in follow
up with what happened at “The Spring Cleaning”, our loving service to the community, and what's
interesting is the city officials expressed to me the
term, jealousy. Let me explain. The impact of the United
Church with just the Spring Clean has so moved the City
officials that they are now calling us the church and
asking to come onto our turf and be a part of Spring
Clean in 2006, so we began the first of a monthly meeting
for the next almost a year, for the city to communicate
with those various parts of the body of Christ at Foothills
Community Church.
That didn't come by my suggestion as Pastor of Foothills
saying, "now come to my place", but it was
the city officials that said that they would like to
come to our place and come on their own time. Now we're
talking about the heads of different parts of the city
to plan for next year. I like what Pastor John Strong
said when we had Global Day of Prayer when he stated
that there is no reason why we can't have 1,000 workers
next year that is really easy for us if we are one.
Last night one of the city administrators said, "We
ought to go for 1,000 this next year". When he
said we, I don't think he realized that he had included
himself and our unity had brought him into a "we"
statement, because the body of Christ was one and we
served as one.
Now, we have been praying for years that we would
be one, and so, in the conversation last night we were
talking about the different plans and how we would go
about mobilizing 1,000 people and how the city needs
to organize itself in different ways.
The administrator said, "You know what's happening
here? You Christians, the United Church, are making
us jealous and we want to be a part, because how you
worked at Spring Clean, we observed the attitude at
which you did everything that you did was so much more
positive than the attitudes that we deal with in our
city workers and county workers, you see, they are watching
us.
They even keep asking us for the video for people that
are wanting to see it and the Mayor Jane Bender
wants to bring it before the city counsel and show it
to the city counsel, and I recommended that the Board
of Supervisors
has got to see this thing and what’s happening
with the church working together and the impact that
it is having on the city. This is happening, because
we for years have united faithfully and consistently
as spiritual leaders and in various other things like
this as one body, many parts and we prayed and we prayed
and we prayed.
God is beginning to unfold and open doors and now we
are moving into serving and loving and caring for, and
the projects we did this year related to what the city
said their needs were. We met all of them and beyond.
It's like they are eating out of our hands, and it was
interesting when they said, " you are putting us
to shame and I want the rest of my co-workers, we're
talking administrative level people, I want to make
them jealous and shameful to step up to the plate",
he said.
I said, "Well then, they should be serving and
not getting paid, because we are not getting paid".
He said, "Well, I just don't know about going
that way, because they just don't think that way".
So, I then told him that part of what this is, is that
this is not just an event, it is a movement of the body
of Christ to demonstrate the love of Christ, to bring
about a reflection in attitude and heart change in the
city.
He said, "That’s Christ". I sat in
the Mayor's office just a few weeks ago and I asked
her what her heart was and it was that thing. She said
that everyone is so divided and doing their own thing
that the single greatest need is that there needs to
be a heart change of people in this community that care
for one another. You know what? The God ordained example
of that for the world is the church!
In response to the prayer of Jesus, so as we begin
to walk as one, this whole jealousy thing, in a positive
way, begins to draw people into wanting to be a part
of and inviting us into their chain of groups to talk
about these things, and because of that, we can say
very boldly and clearly that we are united in Christ
and they have accepted that.
I have said that to the Mayor and to the various city
officials and their responding, because prior to saying
that, we've been walking it out. Something happens in
the spiritual realm, which opens them up and then something
happens in the physical realm when we walk in reconciliation
and in love for one another, "Behold how they love
one another", and they know that we are the disciples
of the true God. So, do you see how it works? As we
pray for Israel, part of the power of our prayer is
that when we walk in unity and in oneness. It begins
to fulfill the very heart and prayer of Christ to bring
about the jealousy, there has not been jealousy, because
we've been divided. So, it is so important for us to
move in that.
Those terms are coming from the center of our community,
who are now feeling comfortable to interact with the
body of Christ and to come together as one. Isn't that
cool! I've got lots of great stories of what's happening
in transformation.
Now we are going to pray as a large group and you’re
going to pray out loud so that we can all hear and agree.
Keep in mind that as we pray and are a symphony, you've
got to listen and when you not praying, you can't not
pay attention, you need to stay with the beat of the
music so that you know when it's your time to come in.
Typically what happens when we pray we are all off on
our own agendas, so, how can we be a symphony if we're
not playing the same score, the same song that is determined?
That is like the body of Christ coming together, it's
different than doing your own prayer thing at home in
your closet. So, pay attention to the instruction that
Miles will give to us, because that will be the clues
as to how to watch and what to pray.
(Miles Weiss)
Apparently Santa Rosa Christian Church
is the oldest church in Santa Rosa. It has been here
since 1854. We are doing a prophetic act by connecting
with the first church, which was Israel and the church
in the book of Acts. The 12 banners that you see around
this church were created and designed by a group of
volunteers that headed up by Wesley Bishop. The group
worked for 7 years to create those banners representing
each one of the 12 tribes and if you want to learn more
for yourself you can then teach others.
You can pick up one of these booklets at Santa Rosa
Christian Church business office. The booklet describes
the relationships of the tribes and the prophetic meaning
and historic meaning of those times. This is designed
to help one obtain a personal meaning and all of the
ways of tying to telling the gospel.
So, Wesley is an artist who has been working on these
three paintings and I asked him if we could use them
tonight, because he had been sharing them as they are
being prepared for a conference in July. The painting
are called, "The Concert of Prayer".
I will pass out a sheet of paper describing them and
so what we will do is pray off of this sheet of paper.
We can pray in relation to this art that God has created
through Wes and kind of seal what is shown here in these
3 paintings. (3 paintings described) This first one
is called “The
Fullness of the Gentiles
”. It is hard to see it from where you are, but
there are churches and that there is the Sonoma Coast
line, which by the way is the Israeli coastline. If
you take a ship from Tel Aviv to the Sonoma Marin coast,
that is the uttermost parts of the earth, we are there.
So, when we preach the Gospel to Judea, Samaria and
to the uttermost parts of the earth, that's us.
So, back to the painting, this is the churches lovingly
being exploded and open so that the music is coming
out of them in concert to create one symphony, being
conducted by the Lord, so as to produce His concert
there (Israel). Rather than a building are being in-tact
and all of us being in our own house doing our own thing.
What happens when we come through the roof or come out
of the walls, we believe that God can do exceedingly
above and beyond what we could ever hope or imagine
for.
The second painting as you can see how the music goes
all the way around the world and settles back to the
heart of Israel. By the way, to encourage you, Pastor
John has decided to pray into the repentance of the
Church for the treatment of the Jews, but raise your
hand if your Jewish here tonight. Ok, for this handful
of people, this is like a giant birthday party to have
a group of Gentile believers and Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach
come together and pray for Israel. I can't tell you
how awesome it is and incredibly encouraging that you
care enough to do this, that you are out here on a Friday
night to do this.
So, now the music here goes around the world from Sonoma
County, conducted by the King of Kings and it lands
in Israel producing the fruit that He is looking for
which is salvation to all people. Then the third painting
is called, "The Light of the Nations", and
out of the Judean desert, the place where Jesus walked,
out of the desert rises up this light, the awareness
of the God of Israel, He is the God of the whole world.
As we come together, Jew and Gentile, and we come out
of our denominations, out of our groups, we pray just
as St. Paul instructed us, to the Jews first and then
to the Gentiles, and what is going to happen is that
God is going to raise us up out of His heart and His
light will be seen around the whole world. I am going
to pass this paper out now and we are going to take
a few minutes to pray corporately.
(Prayer specifically for Wesley Bishop and for
God to continue to anoint the art work to the open eyes
and bring God glory)
(Miles Weiss)
If any of you have seen Schindler's List, you know
that Oscar Schindler's work was to preserve the Jews
during the time of Nazism; well Rosemary Schindler (Oscar's
niece) has taken up that mantle. God has given her incredible
favor with Israel and the churches to explain the connection
between those two and make it known. There was a group
of pastors that went along with Rosemary and me to Israel
and we would like to take you there as well. I have
asked Rosemary to come and share some with us about
the modern moment that we are in, in Israel and specifically
something phenomenal that we saw on this trip. We were
at a hospital where the Gospel was preached in this
way. In this hospital, Jews and Arabs as victims of
terror are treated equally, so it doesn't matter if
the Jewish soldier comes in with a light wound and the
Arabic terrorist comes in all blown up. The Terrorist
is going to be treated first, because of the Judeo Christian
ethic that is in place in the community of the Bible's
commandment to preserve life. In fact there is a great
story about a woman living in the Lebanese war and she
was crawling out of a bunker to get some water for her
family. She was wounded and taken to this same hospital
and when she saw the Israeli doctors treat the Arabs
first with a severe wound before they would treat the
Israeli soldier with a lesser wound, she gave her heart
to Christ. She goes all around the world now and will
be with us in July sharing her testimony of how she
went from greed to love. I am going to have Rosemary
come and share now her heart and the prayer needs for
present day Israel.
(Rosemary Schindler)
Good evening. When I saw the banners here it struck
me. It is so beautiful how the artist has these displayed
and what the Lord said to me was that these are the
stations of the cross, and being raised a Catholic,
we remember the final moments of the life of Jesus and
twelve incidences where He poured out His life for us.
I just want to thank the Lord for this Judeo Christian
inspiration and teaching that is here. Today we have
such a privileged time. Watch what is going to happen,
what God will do in Gaza, in the World this coming Fall
season. He postponed, He let the world know...the world
had assigned death to Israel, but I assigned life, and
I fully believe at this point that Israel’s not
going to give up more land. God is going fight for His
land, it's His covenant and He Himself will defend it,
and as He is weighing the nations and allowing us to
show our purpose behind what is going on.
I believe that He is calling Christians to pray for
and with the Jewish people. This is our position, to
come along side of them as intercessors and believe
for the Holy Spirit to move in signs and wonders and
demonstrations as He did in the 6 day war, as He did
in 1948, it was a wake up call and we are coming up
to the big wake up call that we pray. All nations will
take notice of as God moves to defend His covenant.
I was connected to a hospital Shaare Zedek
2 years ago and its name meant Gates of Righteousness
and in the early part of the century when God began
to work in the hearts of Jews and Christians that He
was going again to literally bring Israel into existence,
that His word is true. There was a movement among Jewish
people to build another center in Israel to help the
community there, so they named it “Gates of Righteousness”
after Psalm 24. The whole hospital on the heart floor
has every scripture in the Bible that has the word heart
in it.
The whole hospital is Biblical, and a scriptural example
of God's love and purpose in saving lives, and last
year when I traveled with the hospital representatives,
we went to Poland and many of the camps. We were connected
sovereignty by the Lord to the Officials of the Israeli
army, so at most memorial sites that we visited, it
coincided that the army's was there at the same time.
Top officers were visiting the scenes of the holocaust
along with the people representing the hospital.
The Lord said, "These are my life saving institutions
in Israel today. They are both saving lives and they
are both representing me and it doesn't matter who you
are, they are going to save your life". We saw
the Israeli army in there purpose that it is just as
important to save the life of the Arab people as it
is the Jews. As they watched and defended the area,
they were all about preventing attacks. Just like the
hospital, it is all about saving those lives and this
is the heart of God today. And His army and His hospital
and medical centers are all very real and tangible things
and we have a very real, tangible office to demonstrate
the Kingdom of God to the world. This is what is causing
the world to wake up to the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. It's causing the Jewish people to wake up to
the possibility that, "Could Yeshua be the messiah?”
I've never seen such an openness as in this hour and
we need to jump in as the picture says, come out of
our enclosures and enter in to the glory that God is
showing for us today.
(Miles Weiss)
I am not sure if anyone was prepared to take an offering
tonight, but I want to ask if we can take an offering
on Sunday from your communities for the gathering that
will be taking place this year at Yerba Buena Gardens
and Rosemary is going to go there and we would like
to bring an offering from the Christians of the North
Bay, and so we can go to them and say this is what a
real Christian is and we believe in what your doing.
We support what you’re doing and we want to stand
with what you’re doing. So here is a tangible
demonstration of who those that love Jesus are, so I
don't even know if we have some little baskets or something
to do that. But I would like to take an offering and
we'll take every cent of this Sunday to the representatives
of the Israeli hospital. You can make the checks out
to Pastors Prayer Fellowship. Or you can donate online
directly to the hospital Shaare Zedek / Gates of Righteousness
.
(Rosemary Schindler)
Also, the agency that we went to Israel with is there,
and when they heard that some of us were going to come,
they were in total shock. "Why are Christians coming
to a Jewish event"? Now, you know that this has
never happened and especially it has never happened
that the Christian community has given an offering to
the hospital. Talk about a chunk of love taking place
in San Francisco and God ministered to the Jew first.
This may be the turning point for the city of San Francisco.
We've been looking at other areas where we think the
greatest offense to God is, but God said to start here,
and this is going to be public that the Christian community
church blessing directly the Jewish community in history.
(Miles Weiss)
1 Corinthians 9:11 - Paul was saying at the time to
be taking an offering up for Jerusalem, but really now
is the time. The first time since 1948 that poverty
is really throughout Israel, because of all of the wars
and there is great suffering. Almost everywhere we went,
we would see brothers in orange clothes and be suited
up, because orange has been chosen as the color of covenant,
so proud Israel is wanting to stand in not giving away
the land and not giving way to the terrorists, are wearing
orange as a symbol that they are standing with God for
the land, we are standing and believing with the Jewish
people, the true church of Israel, which by the way
is the only hope for the coastal Arabs. So, I am going
to do a little Shabbat service, but first I want to
pray over this offering.
(Pastor John Strong)
I want to say something about this offering. I don't
want it to appear that this is the limit of generosity
from the Christians, this is a seed offering. This is
the first opportunity we've heard. I want us to talk
about more than presenting this to a thousand people.
This happens every year right? I want us to see how
many churches we can immobilize by the end of the year
if we start at the beginning of this and see what kind
of combined offering the combined churches of the bay
area can give this next year, this is a seed planted.
In fact, a number just popped in my head. I don't know
how we are going to do this, but we have a year to do
it, but I see one million dollars.
(Sam Tillery)
Father, we would ask that you would release that. We
claim it in your name as that million dollars goes in
your name. So, take the seed money that is planted tonight
and multiply, compound it to your glory. Amen. Do you
all agree with that?
(Everyone sounding their Amen's and yes's).
Let me give a report on two weeks ago, we had the Global
day of prayer gathering at Redwood Covenant Church.
As Pastor's Prayer Fellowship and Ministry Alliance,
we have been forfeiting our meeting which is the means
for supporting what we do, but God will take care, so
tonight has been forfeited to invest in Israel, but
a couple of weeks ago we took an offering for the indigenous
people of our land right here, the Native American Indians.
Specifically, we gave to the Pastor Ben and his wife
in Round Valley, the reservation there. Three thousand
dollars came forth. Last week and I had lunch with Miles
and Ben and was able to present on behalf of the body
of Christ a gift that is a tremendous gift to them as
individuals, but it was also a seed of walking in reconciliation,
walking in love and meeting the need. Two weeks prior
to that on our Wednesday gatherings, the pastors decided
that we wanted to give pastor Ben a birthday gift, so
we collected some money and what he needed to care for
his land was a weed trimmer, so on the same day they
came by the office, we were able to present to them
the gift of $3,000 dollars from the body and then the
weed trimmer from the pastors. He was so blessed and
this is part of sewing into reconciliation. It's not
just about Israel, but about Israel and representing
other indigenous like the Native Americans, as well
as the Jewish people, and so we will be a blessing to
the nations. It is not about numbers. It is not about
being able to be loud or shout, it is about that narrow
road and small, but deep. We are endeavoring to walk
deep into the heart of God as we pray together and walk
in reconciliation and service together.
(Miles Weiss)
One of the practical ways we bless Abraham is through
world missions. Every time that the Gospel goes out,
it's a blessing from our people, because the gospel
has gone around the world from Israel and is now returning
to Israel and the people on the ground there are at
the finish line saying and waving their checkered flags,
"come on in. Come through that 10/40 window. Come
on, save them all and come through that East Gate and
save us". So, right now, on Monday Pastor Sam and
a team are going to Latvia where the Gospel will be
preached and is part of the fulfillment of the prophecies
that have come that God will no longer be known as the
God who brought you up out of Egypt. But I will be known
as the God who brought you out of the North, and so
for years now, over decades the Russians and others.
The Slavs and all the people from up north are going
to be coming to Israel, so the Gospel is going to go
forth. Relationships are going to be built that are
going to bless Israel in a practical way, but most importantly
salvation and the healing of souls is going to take
place. So, now we are going to pray for Pastor Sam and
the team.
(Sam Tillery)
Let me just give you a little bit of the significance
of this trip, it is not just another missions trip,
we are walking in the prayer of Jesus. A number of years
ago we began to open up the door and take representation
from the body of Christ and of the County of Sonoma
and last year 10 churches were represented and Santa
Rosa Christian School. This year 5 churches and Santa
Rosa Christian School. The goal is for S.R.C.S. to bring
back 2 Latvian students who will study here at S.R.C.S.
and exchange with the things of Christ and that Country.
The process of going is an expression of oneness. I
remember a few years ago Pastor Rob of West View Community
church traveled to Latvia and Russia bringing the message
of what God is doing here in Sonoma County and as a
result of that, the pastors now in Latvia are meeting
with an annual Pastors Prayer Summit of a hundred and
fifty pastors coming together and reconciling in Russia.
The pastors are now gathering on a weekly basis and
praying together. You see, from this place we may seem
small, but there is an influence. So, when you pray
for this, you are not praying for Sam Tillery, there
are 13 of us going, but the idea is the unity of the
body. It's a powerful message overseas and it's here,
but more-so, the smile that is on the face of Christ
as we are answering His prayer by walking in oneness.
What else is cool, is that last year Pastors Prayer
Fellowship wanted to multiply by extending into the
business community. We have established a weekly business
leaders prayer forum every Tuesday morning from 7-8,
and so business leaders are meeting together and doing
what the pastors have been doing and something is being
released.
Last year on their own accord, as we were traveling
to Latvia, they took up a collection and they gave the
money to me saying, "Would you plant a seed and
invest this in Latvia from the Christian Business Leaders
Prayer Forum?” So we took the money over and the
Lord didn't release it, so I brought the money back
waiting to see what God wanted to do. About two or three
months after that, I got an email, because one of the
men that we had met in the Ukraine who had come to Latvia
to serve, was being sent back to the Ukraine, because
he could not prove that he had legitimate stay as a
missionary. He needed a year’s salary upfront
in the bank before they would let him stay.
So as a result, the money that the business leaders
prayer forum gave and another local church in town,
provided a years salary upfront in the bank, and so,
he now is the one who is organizing all of the events
that we are doing in Latvia and some other places this
year. He has been serving on the ground and as a result
of God touching the heart of business leaders to give.
It is a beautiful picture of the multiplication that
God is doing.
(Prayer)
(Sam Tillery)
You know that God orchestrated things together in ways
that we could never do. As we go to Latvia in the city
of Daugavpils, the second largest city in the country.
It just happens to be the time in Daugavpils that it
will be celebrating the 730th anniversary of that city.
What's happening is a great celebration where all of
Latvia is coming to Daugavpils and it has been orchestrated
that we will have center stage downtown.
We will be able to present the Gospel thought the songs
that John's son and daughter in-law have created and
the dramas that we will do, and this all converged.
We could have never orchestrated having all of Latvia
come to Daugavpils, the armpit of Latvia, the black
sheep of Latvia, and positioned us on stage and in a
place to say, we are many, but we are pointing the way
to Jesus Christ. Isn't God good! When we pray, we tap
into the power of God, releasing the things of God.
I know that usually the Shabbat service is done at the
beginning, but we are doing it at the end, because we
are now beginning as we walk out of those doors.
(Shabbat service presented by Miles and Rebecca Weiss)
(Sam Tillery)
I am going to give what sounds like an announcement,
but really it is a call to action. I think that it is
important for all of us to evaluate and set boundaries
on our lives for the things that are most important
to the Lord. So, you and I have many choices, lots of
good things to do in His name, but what He has been
anxiously waiting for us to respond to is what we've
been doing tonight, coming together as one and communing
in fellowship and prayer with Him, as we move into our
respective areas of responsibility in ministries, we
serve Christ by serving others, beginning in our homes
and moving into the community.
The first Friday of every month is City Reach Prayer.
It's a call of the Lord uniting the body of Christ to
come together. It's different than your local church
gathering. Your local church gathering cannot accomplish
what city reach prayer accomplishes, because it does
not have the representation that comes as one. You come
as one within your local congregation and that is important
and there are plenty of times to do that, but once a
month we come together. We invite you to bring someone.
Next month we are going to the top of the mountain
at Mt. Gilead on a prayer walk, but whether you walk
or ride up, we will all gather at the top and be praying
over this region and adjacent to Mt. Gilead happens
to be Bohemian Grove and we have to pray and take possession
of it, and so we'll do that and pray for Mt. Gilead
and their ministry there as well. In just a few weeks
afterwards, the intercessors of Northern California
will convene at Mt. Gilead again and pray for what is
going on at Bohemian Grove. These are significant times,
so we encourage you to mark your calendar.
Then of course you are all invited to the "One
New Man Conference", which we have flyers here
that we will pass around, but it is a celebration of
Jews and Gentiles together in Messiah. There will be
some very special guests there from Israel, so you won't
want to miss that opportunity to understand the issues
of Israel and why we need to be connected.
(Monty F. dismisses us in prayer)
Monty represents the business leader’s prayer
forum.
Special Thanks to Christelle Eddy
who transcribed this document.
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