January 18, 2003

Greetings from Hopkinsville!

I’ve just returned from Israel where 190 of us from 18 nations came together to intercede for the crisis in Israel, America, and the Church. It was an intense time of intercession, but a very fruitful time in the Lord. The fellowship we had this year was so sweet, and there was incredible unity as well.

When I travel to Israel, I fly on Continental Airlines out of Nashville to Newark, NJ, then on to Israel. I arrived at Nashville Airport in plenty of time, and made it through security without any hassles.  Three hours in advance is required for International travel. However, because the air traffic was backed up in Newark, their air traffic controllers would not allow our plane to take off from Nashville on time. So we waited and waited. Finally they announced that we would not be leaving until 8:30 that evening, which would cause me to miss my connecting flight to Israel.

I went up to the desk to remind them that I was ticketed on their flight to Israel, and the scheduled time of departure from Newark. Had I missed that flight, I would have had a twenty-four hour lay over in Newark. She said that she felt someway, somehow they would have me there in time. Nevertheless, I prayed and the Lord simply said, “Wait on Me!” Just about ten minutes later they made another announcement saying that we would board at 7:10, which we did. However that was still cutting it close.

As we boarded here in Nashville, they gave me a seat in Business Class so I would be able to exit the plane very quickly. Then they called ahead to order an electric cart to move me from one gate to another  quickly, for I would only have five minutes to leave one plane and board another.

When we arrived in Newark, one of their representatives came aboard, took my carry on bag in one hand, and my hand in his other, and rushed me to the electric cart, then thru security and on to my connecting flight. However, my seat had already been taken. The flight attendant apologized for that, but told me she had a seat for me which would give me a lot of leg room. I very quickly fell in to the seat and the plane began to back up. I was so grateful for all of the help that was given me to make my scheduled flight, that I didn’t really notice the young man seated beside me.

As soon as we were airborne, I slipped off my shoes to put on my slippers. As I did, the young man seated next to me leaned forward and said to me in utter astonishment, “He spoke to me!” I said to him, “I beg your pardon!” And, again, he said, “He spoke to me!” I asked him, “Who spoke to you?” I didn’t know what he was talking about. He pointed toward heaven and said, “Hashem! He spoke to me!”  I said, “Yoffie! What did He say to you?” And that began hours of delightful conversation with the young man seated next to me.

His name was “Josh” for Joshua. He was 26 years old, and from an Orthodox Jewish background. He shared with me that after he left home, he backed away from his faith. Then he finally had a job open up to him that takes him in to Israel, (Hertzylia), every other month. When he is in Israel, he is there for three weeks at a time. He told me how much he loved his trips to Israel, and how he has been able to make friends there. He went on to say to me, “I don’t know, but something is happening to me when I am in Israel!” 

Josh began to share with me how he is awakened every morning at 3:00 AM and just cannot go back to sleep. I explained to him that it was God calling him to come and spend some time with Him in night watch. I shared with Josh how the Lord, many years ago, began to call me to night watch, and how I spend 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM with Him most every night.

He went on to tell me that since this has been happening, he has found that he sees things so much differently now. He also has such a deep love and respect for his father and grandfather, for the way that they taught him the Scriptures. He is feeling a real closeness to the Lord.

Then he told me that during one of those nights when he was awakened, he said to the Lord, “Sometimes I feel alone. I’m twenty-six years old! Don’t you have the right girl for me to marry yet?” And it was then that he heard, “In three weeks you will know!” He was so shocked that he said, “What did you say?” And, again, he heard, “In three weeks you will know!” He said that he sat there thinking about what he had heard, and he finally asked to hear those words just one more time. And for the third time he heard, “In three weeks you will know!” He said to me, “You know what? Three weeks to the day that I heard Him speak those words, I met my fiancé.” She, too, is from an orthodox background.

The fact that his finance’ is from an orthodox background really blessed his heart, because it blessed his father’s heart. His father had always been bothered by the fact that all of his brothers and sisters had married non Jews. Although they had all converted to Judaism, his father could never understand why none of them had married in the faith. Josh said, “Here I am, the one who caused my family so much grief, and I am the only one to give my father the desire of his heart.” Josh went on to tell me that both of his parents dearly love his fiance.’ We talked for hours that night, and I was so thankful I had lost my seat, for I realized this was a Divine appointment.

After a pleasant flight, I found that my bags had made it on the same flight. I still don’t understand how it happened, but it did, and I am grateful. In the Sherut, which took me up to the Holyland Hotel West in Jerusalem, I met two pastors from Washington State. We found that we had a number of mutual friends. We also found that the Lord had been leading us in the same way, and sharing many of the same things with us. It was with great joy that we shared, as we made our way up to the city of the Great King!

When we arrived at the hotel, we were met by a group of pastors and intercessors from England. All of us enjoyed a bowl of hot soup together, and discussed the stance our governments have taken toward Israel. It was a great time of sharing, tired as we were. Finally we called it a night.

The next morning, we all began to gather together in the dining room for breakfast. It was a beautiful day. It was unseasonably warm, and the sun was shining bright. The skies were so blue!  I began to notice, as each one walked in to the dining room, their faces were glowing. I also sensed a very heavy anointing settling down upon us. The waiters came to meet us as we entered the room. They rejoiced that we were back again, this year being our eighteenth year to meet there for intercession.

Through the years I have mentored many in this group. It was so wonderful, this year, to see the growth and maturity that has taken place among the intercessors. It was also a blessing to see that many in leadership are beginning to relinquish control to the blessed Holy Spirit. Slowly, but surely, they are seeing and realizing, that is the key to entering in to His rest.  

 I was able to spend some time with a couple of ministers from Germany, and they were telling me that God has been sending a couple of prophets in to Germany from Uganda to try to awaken the Church. The response from His Remnant was very good, but not good from the Church. Very much like here in our country. The Remnant is hearing and preparing, while the Church sleeps on.

The Lord drew a journalist from Capetown, South Africa and I together. It was almost an instant bonding that took place. Sajha interviewed me for a book that she is working on, and I was able to interview her for radio. We prayed a lot together for both America and South Africa, where they are being plagued with unbelievable violent crime. Apparently it is far worse than it was when I ministered there in South Africa.

This year we had nine ministers and intercessors come in from Alaska. It was a blessing to meet them and to be able to fellowship with them. One of the young intercessors was my traveling companion as we took buses and drove down through the Jerusalem forest to go south in to the Negev Desert for a day. The theme for this year’s gathering spoke of re-digging the wells of Jacob. So we journeyed down to pray over some of the ancient wells, confessing the sins of the land and asking the Lord, in His mercy, to release an abundant supply of rain and snow in the Land.      

“And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham, his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names his father had called them.”  (Genesis 26:18).

As we drove down through the forest, everything was so fresh and so green as a result of the rains they have had in Israel. The rains have come and the land has responded. The Sea of Galilee has risen more than 57 centimeters. Everyone is so grateful for that much, but there is so much more needed. Please continue to pray for rain and snow both.

We visited Tel Beer Sheva, an ancient Israelite city. This ancient city was built on a hill covering approximately 23 acres. The city’s oval shape was extended on the eastern side to include the water system. We toured the remains of the city and went to the well that is similar to the wells that Abraham dug and Isaac re-dug. As Isaac re-dug the wells of his father, he began to walk in faith with God.

As Abraham, Isaac and Jacob traveled throughout the land and built alters, worshipping God, we, too, built an alter of prayer and worship. We called upon the Name of the Lord , praying for the Land and the people.

In many ways Israel is in the same situation that Isaac was in. Not only are they in conflict with the modern day Philistines, but they are trying to find their way to a relationship with God.

In the beginning, Isaac’s relationship with God was through, and because of, his father, Abraham’s, relationship with God. Through his obedience and encounters with God, Isaac entered in to his own relationship with God.

As I speak of digging again the wells of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I am not just speaking of wells of water. Though Israel is still in critical need of physical water, she is in even greater need of Living Water. Without ignoring or minimizing the desperate physical reality they are in, we must realize that the spiritual reality is the root of their problems and the ultimate way to a lasting solution.

Elyahu said, “God has a controversy with us (Israel) and this is the root of our problem. We have not been good stewards of the Land He gave us. We have ignored our water situation, and it has become worse each year. We have given away a goodly portion of our inheritance, we have worshipped man made idols, and we have not thanked God for bringing us home to the Land and keeping us. We have not sought relationship with Him. We, as a people, have not desired to know Him, serve Him, and we have rejected His Holy Word as our guide book. … God created Israel to be a Kingdom of Priests, to serve Him, to demonstrate Him to an unbelieving world, and to have fellowship with Him. We have failed Him and turned our back on Him. Thankfully, He has not turned His back on us. He is using our terrible situation to draw the people of Israel back to Him. Today many Israelis are crying out to Him, “God, where are you?” We know He will answer them.”

“This is how God fulfilled what He had foretold through all the prophets, saying that His Christ would suffer. Repent then and turn to God, so that your sins might be wiped out, that times of refreshing might come from the Lord, and that He might send the Christ, who has been appointed for you, even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything as He promised long ago through His holy prophets.”  (Acts 3:18-21)  Church, this speaks of the restoration of all things.

We all gathered together to pray for Israel to be restored to her right relationship with God. We prayed that God would cleanse them and that the wells of Living Water and physical water will flow once again in that parched land. We also prayed for the people of Israel to be restored to the Land. We prayed for the aliyah, (the return of the Jewish people from the nations to Israel). We also prayed for the land of Israel to be restored to the people of Israel. When Israel returns as a people, to the Lord, then Jerusalem will be a praise in all the earth.

From Tel Beer Sheva we drove east to the Tel Arad National Park where we all had lunch. Then we visited the ruins of a Cananite city from the early Bronze Age, and fortresses built by the kings of Judea, dating to the Israelite period.

Arad is mentioned in the Bible as one of the cities located in the eastern Negev, whose inhabitants prevented the Israelites from entering the Promised Land. (Num. 21:1). Again, we visited the well, and also saw the pagan alters like those which King Josiah destroyed during his reign, as he attempted to purge Israel of the “high places” and pagan alters.

From Tel Arad we made our way north along the Dead Sea, and then after dinner, we met with believers, city wide, at the YMCA auditorium to pray for Israel’s up-coming election.

As we prayed for the one who will be Israel’s Prime Minister, we prayed for the one closest in line with God’s will for His Land and His People.

Ezekiel 36:24-28 “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities, and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit in you and move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be My people and I will be your God.”

Ezekiel 37:21-23 “This is what the sovereign Lord says, “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back in to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over them all and they will never again be two nations or be divided in to two kingdoms. They will no longer defile themselves with their idols and vile images, or with any of their offenses, for I will save them from all their sinful backsliding , and I will cleanse them. They will be My people, and I will be their God.”

As we prayed for Mitzna, (Labor Party) we prayed that his true heart be revealed, and that all of the scandals that surround him be exposed. At the present time there is a lot of cover up. Mitzna is an atheist.

As we prayed for Sharon, (Likud Party) we prayed that he would know God, know His Word, and obey Him. We prayed that he would have keen eyes and fine tuned hearing. Also that he would be given understanding, wisdom, courage, and great discernment. If he is God’s choice for Prime Minister, that he would have favor with the Israeli people.  

As we prayed for Bibi Netanyahu, (Likud Party) we prayed that he would stay focused, be supportive, and obey God. Also we prayed that he would have the eye of an eagle, a keen ear, wisdom, understanding, and great discernment.

As we prayed for Ehud Olmert, (Likud Party), who is stepping down as Mayor of Jerusalem, seeking a major portfolio in the newly organized Knesset, we prayed that God would give him clarity of vision, divine guidance, discernment, protection, and that God would place him where He needs him to be for such a time as this. … We also prayed for God’s choice to replace Ehud Olmert as Mayor of Jerusalem. We prayed that he might be a godly man.

Ministry of the Interior – This office is the gateway in to Israel. Presently it is in the hands of the Shaas Party (Religious). They are blocking God’s people from coming home to make aliyah. They are deporting Christians, Messianic, Reform, and even Conservative Jews. They even split families. In a marriage, when one is a Jew and one is a non-Jew, the Jew is given permanent residency, but the non-Jew is given tourist status. They should have equal status. This has caused tragic problems. … They are the ones who determine who is a Jew! They determine if you can renew your visa to stay longer in the land! They also determine if clergy visas can be renewed ! … This is a very corrupt party standing in the way of the Lord, His plans and purposes for Israel and His People.  Pray that the Lord remove every obstacle from the Ministry of the Interior! Pray that their selfish ambition, and all corruption surrounding them be exposed. Pray that God’s man be given that portfolio. The Lord is saying, “Let My People Go!”