Father, we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
Pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
We ask, Father, that as we hear your word and we think about your word,
that it might enter deeply into our minds, our hearts, our wills, our souls, our bodies,
and that, Father, you would grow us into disciples of Jesus,
gripped by the gospel who live for your glory.
And we ask, Father, that you would pour out your Holy Spirit upon us as a church.
Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us and build us into a prayerful church,
a Bible-teaching church, a church which has received the gospel,
is grounded on the gospel, is shaped by the gospel,
and shares the gospel with a heart for the city and a heart for the whole world.
And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and the only Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
Shalom from Jerusalem.
Shalom.
It's wonderful to be here.
And I bring you a blessing and a greeting from your brothers and sisters in the Messiah from Jerusalem.
Hopefully, as we go through the text, also some good news from the Middle East.
Not always the bad news.
I'd like to start by saying that having studied in Jerusalem and having lived there for 17 years,
I understand a little bit about, not to be an expert, but a little bit about the Hebrew mind.
And the Hebrew mind, the Jewish mind, the Middle Eastern mindset, is it loves mystery.
It loves mystery.
And the Bible is mysterious.
And the Western mind, that is sometimes called the Greek thinking mind, we actually don't like mystery.
We like to solve everything.
And so when we watch a murder mystery, we watch a cop show, you have to catch the killer.
At the end of the 45 minutes, you better know who done it.
And if you don't, we're going to call the TV company, we're going to complain.
We're going to tell them, you did not catch the killer and I can't sleep tonight until I know what's going on.
But the Jewish mind can actually dwell on a mystery for thousands of years.
Sometimes they allow the mystery to play out over time.
King David says, I meditate on your word day and night.
I don't solve it.
Sometimes the mystery unravels thousands of years later.
And you can see that in our passage this morning, which is a great passage.
Reverend George mentioned that the gospel writers, they deliberately choose the words that they use
and they deliberately put the order of the miracles in a particular order to tell us something.
And you can also see that Jesus indeed starts with a question.
That is the way you actually teach in the Middle East.
There's a rabbinical proverb that says,
you're closer to God when you're asking questions than when you think you have answers.
Because if we answered this book, if we knew everything, what would we do?
We'll close it.
Put it on the shelf.
I understand the Bible.
Great book.
Now on to something else.
Let's go through the Harry Potter series.
But the Bible is mysterious.
And I read it.
And I search it.
And I look for the mysteries that are contained inside.
And then my son will do the same thing.
And his son will, if the Lord parries.
And that's why this book is alive.
And it never finishes.
And you can see that when Jesus is running around gathering his disciples,
as he passes, one of them says,
look, the Lamb of God.
And straight away, none of the other disciples go,
the Lamb of God?
What's that about?
The guy said he was a door.
He was a shepherd.
He's a sheep.
Where's this Lamb of God business?
The Lamb of God is a Jewish term.
And it's one of those mysteries that they've been pondering
ever since the book of Genesis.
Because you see, when Isaac and Abraham are going up the mountain,
what are they not carrying?
A lamb.
And Isaac even turns to his father and says,
you know, Dad, I see the knife,
and I see the wood,
and I see the fire,
but I don't see the Lamb.
Where's the Lamb?
And what does his father say?
The Lord will provide a lamb.
And does God provide a lamb?
No.
He provides a ram.
But if you're Jewish,
and you know this is the Word of God,
this is the Holy Bible,
so you read and you said,
no, wait a second,
Abraham said that God will provide a lamb.
So what are we waiting for?
We're waiting for the Lamb of God.
So when you see the Messiah,
you go, that's the Lamb of God.
And it's a code word.
It tells you a lot more than just a few words of the Lamb of God.
So when Jesus is calling his disciples,
one of my favorite little calls is Nathaniel's.
Because Nathaniel is,
what's Nathaniel doing?
Sitting under a fig tree, right?
And there's Jesus,
and he meets Nathaniel,
and he says,
this is an Israelite in whom there is nothing false.
That doesn't mean that a guy doesn't tell lies.
What that means is this guy is a true Israelite bearing good fruit.
He is studying,
and his life is mimicking his life.
He's not a false student.
He's a real student.
Remember, that's actually the mission of Yeshua, Jesus.
He says,
go into the world and make disciples.
He doesn't say,
go out in the world and get them saved.
Salvation is actually implied.
When you become a student of Jesus,
when you study the Gospels themselves,
you'll realize what the Gospel is,
which is,
that the Messiah rose from the dead.
That's the Gospel in one line.
The Messiah rose from the dead.
Now, when Nathaniel meets him,
and he says,
well, how do you know me?
He says,
I saw you while you were under a fig tree.
And then straight away,
Nathaniel goes,
you are the Son of God.
You're the King of Israel.
And you go,
wow,
that's amazing.
Because it took Peter three and a half years
to get to that conclusion.
He had to have three and a half years with Jesus.
And finally,
when he's up in the north of the Galilee,
at Caesarea Philippi,
and Yeshua asks him,
so who do you think I am?
And he says,
you are the Messiah.
You're the Son of the Living God.
You know,
Jesus doesn't say,
well, man,
it took you long enough.
Nathaniel died in 10 seconds.
And he's like,
well, yeah,
you didn't tell me where I was sitting.
Is this the way that the Messiah reveals himself?
All he has to do is walk up and say,
Daniel,
I saw you while you were sitting in Starbucks.
Joey,
I saw you while you were shopping in Walmart.
And the guy's going,
wow,
this guy's good.
He must be God.
You know?
If that's all the Messiah has to do,
if the only thing he has to do is say,
where you were,
and that makes you believe that he's the Messiah,
man,
he could have had all of Israel saved,
couldn't he?
He just wanders around telling people.
But it's more than that.
Remember,
this book is a Jewish text.
And so,
it's full of Hebrewisms.
Has anybody actually been to Bethsaida?
It's a little fishing village
in the north of the Galilee.
It's actually not on the Galilee coast anymore,
because the Galilee has actually receded down a bit.
But it used to be a fishing village.
And there's one thing it doesn't have in it.
It doesn't have any fig trees.
Because it's not about Nathaniel
sitting under a literal fig tree.
What is the first time in the Bible
that we hear of a fig?
When's the first time you actually hear of a fig in the Bible?
In Genesis.
Yeah, Adam and Eve.
And you know the story.
Adam bites the fruit.
And, you know,
it's a little...
Oh my gosh!
What's that doing there?
I haven't seen that before.
And in Jewish tradition,
he's actually eating a fig.
But then he realizes he's naked.
He's got to cover himself.
He's in shame.
So he covers himself using a fig leaf.
Little does he know
that the sap of a fig
is a skin irritant.
Okay?
It's going to hurt.
And just imagine the Lord coming down
and going,
Adam, Adam, where are you?
Oh man, I bet that's itchy.
Let me...
Here's some cream.
You know?
I'll help you out.
I'll get some...
You need some real skins.
And so the first time
you actually see a fig in the Bible,
it's to cover.
It's to cover your sin.
It's to cover your nakedness.
It's to cover your shame.
It's to defend yourself
from God.
From looking bad
in the presence of God.
And so the whole...
The image of a fig
became something
that covered you,
sheltered you,
protected you,
and nurtured you,
and defended you.
And what defended
the Jewish people?
The Torah.
The Torah that the...
Well, we call the law,
but in Hebrew,
Torah,
laharat,
from the verb
to teach
or to instruct.
The instructions of God.
The teaching of God.
That is what defended you.
If you followed
the teachings of the Lord,
if you found yourself
a good rabbi
who would actually
teach you the Bible properly,
then you would put
that Bible into practice
and you would produce fruit.
When the Messiah
is walking into the temple,
on his way
into Jerusalem,
he encounters
a fig tree.
and he walks up to it.
And what's he looking for?
He's looking for fruit.
But does he find any?
No, he doesn't.
So what does he do?
Pow!
Right?
Curses the fig tree.
And then the thing
withers and dies.
But the gospel writers
are pretty clear
to note
that they say
it was not
the season for figs.
So what is Jesus
not going to find
on the tree?
Fruit.
So it's not
the tree's fault
that there's no fruit,
is it?
I mean,
you don't go
at the beginning
of the season,
where are my apples?
Oh, there's no apples?
Okay, rip everything up.
Start again.
It's not about
Jesus
just deciding
he's hungry one day
and going,
wow, there's no food here.
Now I'm really annoyed.
You should have known
I was hungry.
What he's doing,
he's making a statement
by saying,
I'm walking into the temple.
I'm going to be
asking questions
of the temple teachers.
I'm going to be
looking at their Torah.
I'm going to be
looking at their fruit.
What have they produced?
They have produced
no fruit.
And so,
bang,
it's gone.
And so,
the Torah
was the covering.
So what is Nathaniel doing?
He's not sitting
under a tree.
He's studying
the Bible.
It says,
we have found
the one
Moses wrote about
in the law
and about whom
the prophets speak.
So what Nathaniel's doing,
he was probably
studying the Bible.
Which verses
is he studying?
There are so many
to choose from.
And
in Israel,
I've had the
privilege
of working
with the oldest
Protestant church
in the Middle East.
That's what Christ Church is.
It's actually
an Anglican mission
started by a guy
called William Wilberforce.
And
I lead
a small team
of Jewish believers
in Jesus
and we share
the gospel
with
close to
25,000 Israelis
every year.
And Israelis
would come
to church.
They come to us.
We don't stand
on the street corner.
They come to us.
And then we have
the opportunity
to share.
And
there are many
scriptures
in the Torah
with which to search
and look
for the Messiah.
And often
our accusation
that they accuse us
is they say,
but you
Christians,
you guys worship
three gods.
I know you do.
How many gods
do we worship?
We worship one.
Yes,
it's mysterious.
It's a mystery.
But that mystery,
and I'm so glad
Trinity Sunday
only comes around
once a year.
Okay?
Because you
preach on the Trinity
for more than five minutes,
you're going into heresy
by about now.
It's a mystery.
And we've had to
walk this mystery
out for 2,000 years now.
But you know what?
It's in the text.
And Nathaniel
would have been
searching for it.
And Jesus
would have been
looking straight
out of the Bible
right back at him.
And so
we say to these
Israelis who come
to us,
we don't worship
three gods.
I know it's a mystery,
but allow me
to share a passage
and we'll see.
We'll go on
a journey together.
So we go to Isaiah
and in chapter 48,
verse 12,
we read,
Shema alai Yaakov
ve'Yisrael mikrei.
Shema,
that's a loaded
Hebrew word.
Okay?
If you hear the word
Shema,
that's like
the oath
of allegiance.
Shema Yisrael
Adonai Eloheinu
Adonai Echad,
hear O Israel,
the Lord our God,
the Lord is one.
So when you hear
the word Shema,
you sit up,
pay attention,
because the
following sentences
are loaded.
The Hebrew language
is an oral language.
The Bible was
an oral culture.
You listened
to the stories.
Listen to me,
Jacob.
And I like
the way God
announces himself
as the God
of Jacob.
Because it tells you
something about your God.
Like,
what's Jacob's character
in the Bible?
What's he like?
Jacob is a...
He's a deceiver.
He's an usurper.
He tricks his father.
He tricks his brother
out of a birthright.
And not only that,
he's a coward.
Every time you read
in the Bible
about Jacob,
usually the next sentence
is,
and he was afraid.
He's constantly fearful.
So even after
he usurps
and deceives
his family,
he then runs.
He runs away.
And even when
he's coming back
to make restitution,
and he knows
he's going to have
to meet Esau,
this guy is so brave
that he sends
the women and children
in front.
Okay?
This is our hero type.
And then God
comes along and says,
I am the God
of Jacob.
God,
who is so mighty
and so powerful,
is also still
so merciful
and so humble
himself,
even though he himself
wraps himself
in pride,
is to identify himself
as the God of Jacob.
And so here,
listen to me,
Jacob,
and Israel,
whom I have named.
Anihu,
Ani Roshonaf,
Ani Achoron,
I am the first
and I am the last.
So who said
he was the first
and the last?
Who did?
God.
Well,
at the moment,
the prophet
has just said,
I am the first
and I am the last.
But we don't know
who that is yet.
So just pretend
your Israelis
for a second
and I ask you,
who's the first
and the last?
I'm not sure.
Next sentence,
Af Yavdei Aretz
V'Yemeni T'Tachash
and my hand
has laid the foundations
of the earth
and my right hand
has stretched out
the heavens
or opened them up.
Ani Karei Alehem
V'Yachadu Yachadu
When I call them,
they stand up.
So who made the heavens
and the earth?
God.
So you're right.
The first and the last
is God.
Excellent.
In verse 16,
Kiyavu Alai
Now come close to me.
Shmauzot
Now when you have
the word Shmau
in two very close
sentences together,
in Hebrew exegesis,
you actually link
those two verses together.
Okay?
That's the way rabbis do it.
That's the way Jesus does it
in Luke 4.
So come close to me
and listen to this.
Not since the beginning
have I spoken in secret.
Now devar,
the word to speak,
is also the word for word.
Devar.
It's also the word for thing.
So the word
is a thing.
Me'et haita shamani
Me'et
That's a biblical Hebrew time word.
You don't use it
in modern Hebrew anymore.
It literally means
since the beginning.
Since the beginning of time.
Haita shamani
I was there.
So somebody was there
since the beginning of time.
Va'ata
Now that's another
biblical Hebrew time word
which means
right now.
As in
right now.
Right now and right now.
So since the beginning of time
until
right now.
Whoever the first
and the last is,
whoever made the heavens
and the earth,
he is
timeless.
He is God.
But then it says,
Adonai
Hashem
Adonai
Yahweh
Shalachani
Veruach
The Lord God
God
The Lord God
But we just said
that the first
and the last
who made the heavens
and the earth
who was there
in the beginning
of the time
was God,
didn't we?
And now the prophet
says,
The Lord God
sends me
with his spirit.
So,
looking at this text,
it's mysterious.
who is the first
and the last?
Who is this
very powerful person
who makes the heavens
and the earth?
And the gospel
writer of John,
when he starts
the gospel,
he begins by saying,
In the beginning
was the
word,
the davar,
which is the word,
which is also a thing.
In the beginning
was the word,
and the word was
was with God,
and the word
was God,
and nothing was made
without the word.
The gospel of John
is just
quoting again
Isaiah 48.
It's playing out
the mystery
that since the prophet
Isaiah,
you would read
and go,
No, I don't get it,
but I'm looking
for this person.
There's somebody here,
and Nathaniel's
doing that.
Nathaniel is looking
for this person,
and then what Yeshua
says,
Jesus,
when he sees him,
he says,
I know you,
because I was
looking back.
When you were
looking for me,
I was looking back,
and he says,
You are
the Son of God.
You are the King
of Israel,
and he gets it.
He gets it.
And then Jesus says,
Wow,
you believe so fast?
That's great.
You're going to see
even better things
than this.
You're going to see
even better.
In fact,
Jesus even tells
his disciples
that we're going
to do better things
than Jesus.
We're going to do
greater things
than Jesus.
Did we?
Yes.
We did,
but probably not
in the ways
we thought.
You know,
Jesus healed people.
He did.
Everywhere he went,
healed people.
I don't know
how many healed,
maybe a couple
of thousand.
What did the church do?
Built hospitals
all over the world.
Fought back the plague
in multiple countries.
Jesus taught people.
Jesus taught disciples.
Around about 120,
when you get to
the book of Acts.
What did the church do?
It built schools
everywhere,
and it educated
the world.
One of the things
that the Anglican Mission,
Christ Church,
did,
that I think is the best
thing we ever did
in our history
in Jerusalem,
is we built
a school for girls.
What's the value
of a woman
in the Middle East
in the 1800s?
Not much.
Right?
In Islam,
how many women
can I have, guys?
Now, four.
Right?
And if I don't like one,
I'm going to divorce one.
I'm going to get another one.
Okay?
In Judaism,
how many wives
can I have?
That's what everybody says,
that actually,
there's no number.
And so,
what the rabbis do
is they go,
wow,
why is there no number?
This would make it
real easy for us.
And so,
they look through the Bible
to see a man
after God's own heart.
How many wives
does King David have?
He has 18.
Okay?
So,
there's your magical number.
Not that I'm saying
Jews ever had 18 wives.
They didn't.
Okay?
But that was their
magical number.
And again,
it tells you something
about God.
Because out of which wife
does God bring
the Messiah in?
The last one.
Right?
Number 18.
Bathsheba is
wife number 18
of David.
Now,
normally,
in my little Western mind,
I would say,
excuse me,
but if we're going to have
a Davidic king around here,
we need to have
the wife number one.
That's the right thing to do.
And plus,
she's an actual princess.
She's actually
the daughter of King Saul.
So,
you know,
you want to have
a messianic king,
let's actually go
through the princess.
But what God does
is he says,
actually,
the wife that everybody
doesn't like,
the thing that's all bad,
everything that's wrong,
the adultery,
the murder,
the lying,
the stealing,
everything that's wrong,
I can redeem that.
I can make it better.
I can reach down
into darkness
and turn it into light.
It shows you once again
what God continues to do.
And so,
the Messiah comes
from her.
In Israel,
in the 1800s,
women weren't worth much.
So,
what did the mission do?
School for girls.
Arabs went,
Jews went,
Turks went,
Egyptians went,
Armenians went.
And because the British
are so meticulous
about record keeping,
okay,
if you went to the hospital
and took a band-aid,
they would write that down.
Okay,
we have these great records
in our church library
about how many band-aids
and yards of linen
and drops of iodine
we used.
But we also have
all the baptismal records
as well.
And 25% of all the girls
that went to that school
became believers in Jesus.
So,
wow,
just one little school
and all these girls
coming to faith
as well as getting educated.
But what happened is,
is there was a reaction.
And if,
if,
if you've got a daughter,
you don't want to send her
to the mission,
she might become a believer
in Jesus.
That's terrible.
So,
what do you have to do?
Build your own school
for girls.
So,
the reaction is,
the Arabs built schools
for girls,
the Jewish people
built schools for girls,
the Turks built schools
for girls.
We changed the face
of education
in the Middle East
just by doing that,
that little thing.
we have this little impact
on,
on the education
of,
of the Middle East.
And people come to hear
that story.
So,
we have the opportunity
to continue to share.
But here,
Jesus is talking to
Nathaniel
and he says,
listen,
greater things
you're going to do.
And they did.
And plus,
you are going to see
angels
ascending and descending
on the Son of Man.
So,
where do angels start?
If,
if you see angels
ascending
and descending,
where do they start from?
Here.
See,
in Jewish tradition,
angels
are here.
They're right here.
In fact,
in Jewish tradition,
every time you go off
to synagogue,
you actually come home
with angels.
They're everywhere.
Even the prophet Elijah
had to open up
the eyes of one
of his servants
and say,
just have a look
at how many
are with us
than actually against us.
They're right here.
We have
an incredible army
of people
surrounding us,
defending us,
shepherding us,
encouraging us.
We are most definitely
not alone.
And also,
the text is,
Jesus often identifies
himself as the Son of Man.
Notice,
Nathaniel says,
you're the Son of God.
And Jesus says,
I'm the Son of Man.
Why doesn't he use
the term Son of God?
Where do you get
the term Son of God
from?
Well,
in Jewish tradition,
the term Son of God
actually just denotes
a relationship.
And anybody
who has a relationship
with God
is called a Son of God.
So,
Israel has a relationship
with God.
So,
it's called a Son of God.
Angels have a relationship
with God.
So,
they're called
the Son of God.
You have a relationship
with God.
So,
you are called
Sons and Daughters
of God.
So,
if Jesus just walked up
and said,
hi,
I am the Son of God,
then everybody goes,
yeah,
me too.
So,
Jesus says,
I am the Son of Man.
Now,
that's also a strong
biblical,
prophetic
title.
Where do you hear
the Son of Man
term from?
Which book of the Bible?
Daniel?
Daniel.
And it comes from
Daniel chapter 7,
which is a fantastic passage.
It's one of my favorites.
We often use it
in Israel
to show people
to read
that there's this
special person.
In Daniel chapter 7,
in verse 9,
Daniel looks into heaven
and he sees,
he says,
I looked into heaven
and I saw thrones.
And the Ancient of Days
came and he sat
on his throne
and his head
was like,
it was white as wool
and his seat
was flaming with fire
and he's attended
by thousands
and ten thousands
and the books
are opened
and we're ready
to judge the world.
And then this other guy
shows up
called the Son of Man.
And all the world
actually worships him.
The Son of Man
is given authority
and a kingdom
and a dominion
and every tribe
will worship him.
It's like,
wow,
who is this
very powerful person?
And Yeshua,
Jesus,
comes along
and says,
I am the Son of Man.
I am that person.
That's me.
And even death
is not going to
hold me still.
Remember the gospel.
Jesus rose
from the dead.
He is alive.
But most Jewish people
can't get past
the first sentence.
I looked into heaven
and I saw
thrones.
What's the problem?
How many thrones
should be in heaven?
One.
But Daniel says
he looked and he saw two.
So who's sitting
on the other one?
And so for a couple
of hundred years
before Jesus,
there's this big debate
going,
who is sitting
on the other throne?
And for Jesus,
it's him.
He is the one
sitting on the other throne.
And in Israel,
when we share
these passages
with people,
it's kind of exciting.
Sometimes it's a bit
too challenging
and people
run away.
But sometimes
they do something
like this.
One day,
we had an orthodox man
and his secular friend
come in to Christchurch
and we began
to share the history
of the mission.
We described
the building.
We described
the stained glass windows.
We talked about
the history
of our place
and the rise
of Messianic Judaism.
Because the number
of Jews in Israel
is increasing.
We've been in Israel
for 17 years
and in 17 years
we've watched
the number of Jews
who believe in Jesus
go from 15,000
to 22,000.
Which,
when you do the math,
is a 46% increase.
Which is just awesome!
Because now
we're running out of space.
So we're talking
to these guys
and we share
about who we are,
share a little
about the history
of Messianic Judaism,
share some of these
Bible passages
and then
the conversation finishes.
And everybody's
still standing there.
No one quite knows
how to leave.
So we're all
looking at each other.
It's getting
a little awkward now.
And then the secular guy
leans in
and he says,
how do I
get saved?
We say,
the Messiah
rose from the dead.
Here's a New Testament.
Start reading.
Come and join us.
And the Rabbi guy,
the Orthodox guy
goes,
can I get saved too?
Yes.
Yes, you can.
You can search
the Scriptures,
you can look
at those mysteries
and you will find out
that the Messiah
is sitting on the throne.
That the Son of Man
is alive and well.
And God,
in His wisdom,
has been reaching out
and touching
Jewish people
and bringing them
to Himself.
And we have also
seen it
in the Muslim world.
When you turn
the TV on
and you look
at the Middle East,
it looks pretty dark,
doesn't it?
It looks horrible.
There's lots of violence.
And all of that
is true.
But God
is also working.
If He is sitting
on the throne,
if He is in control,
if He is alive,
then He is working.
If He is the King,
then He is in control.
And at Christchurch,
we had a conference
where we wanted
to hear what God
was doing
amongst the Arabic peoples.
So we invited
Iranians
and Iraqis.
We invited Jordanians
and Syrians
and Lebanese.
We invited the Turks
and the Moroccans
and the Egyptians.
They all came
to Christchurch.
And they shared,
this is what God
is doing
in our countries.
And there was
this Kurdish man
called Ali Pektash.
He doesn't mind us
actually using
his name at all.
And he used to be
a very staunch
Kurdish Muslim.
He actually used
to work for the PKK.
You heard of that group?
They blow up Turks.
Or currently,
now the Turks
are blowing them up.
But as a good Muslim,
he needed to go
on the Hajj.
So he takes
a pilgrimage to Mecca.
And while he's in Mecca
and he puts on
his little white robe
and he's going to be
walking around the Kaaba,
he has a vision
of Jesus.
The first time
he has a vision
of Jesus,
he's like,
wow,
I think I haven't
had enough water
to drink.
I'll just keep going.
I'm a good Muslim.
But Jesus kept
coming back to him.
Kept coming back
to him.
He wouldn't stop.
So the third time
Jesus shows up,
he says,
okay,
who are you?
And he becomes
a follower
of the Messiah.
And then he goes
back to Kurdistan
and in Kurdistan
they say,
hey,
Ali,
Hajji,
good to see you.
How is the Hajj?
And he goes,
oh,
it was great.
I became a Christian.
That doesn't normally
happen when you're on the Hajj.
But now,
instead of blowing Turks up,
he's working in Turkey
planting churches.
And that's the type
of Middle East
that we're actually
involved with.
Those are the types
of the good stories
that we actually hear.
God
is working.
The Son of Man
is alive.
And he is ruling
and reigning.
He is changing lives.
He is sitting
on the throne.
And we're not afraid.
Not anymore.
And that,
I have to say,
is good news.
Yes?
Very good news.
Brothers and sisters,
shalom from Jerusalem.
Amen.
Maybe just before,
we're going to have
some intercessions,
but before that,
let's just stand for a moment.
After the word is open
like that,
it's really appropriate
for us just to pause
in prayer.
So let's just pause.
I'll have a moment
or so of silence
and I'll pray.
Amen.
sovereign today, that you are sovereign in Canada, that you are sovereign in the Middle East.
And we thank you, Father, that when ideologies or cultures keep you out or try to keep you out,
that Jesus comes in dreams. Father, we confess before you that we human beings cannot keep you
out. We thank you, Father, for the work that you are doing amongst Muslims, bringing them to yourself.
We thank you, Father, for the work in Jerusalem and for bringing people to yourself. We ask your
blessing on Aaron and his team and Christ Church Jerusalem and CMJ. Father, may you use it in a
mighty and powerful way to share the gospel with many Jewish and others in Jerusalem. May many come
to a saving faith in Jesus through that work. And Father, we ask the same thing for ourselves.
Father, may we be fruitful for your glory. May you so pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and so draw us close to King Jesus that you might use us to share the gospel not only in Ottawa,
but beyond Ottawa to the ends of the earth. And all this we ask and thank in the name of Jesus,
your Son and our Saviour. Amen.