THE KLEIN FAX
P.O. Box 245, Poriya Illit 15208
E-mail: ewisrael@emmausway.org
April 1, 2014
1 Nisan, 5774
In this
letter:
- The Burden of the Lord
- As In the Days of Noah
- Personal News
-
Galilee Worship Tour
- A Big
Thank You
Dear Praying Friends,
The
Burden of the Lord
As we were getting ready to
immigrate to Israel, our beloved former pastor David Wilkerson shared a most
precious truth. He said that at the
foundation of any God-inspired work or ministry is the burden of the Lord. It is the source of our motivation, strength
and direction. There have been a few
times when Father let me experience His heart.
The first was in relation to a struggle with one of our teenage
children. I felt like I was being torn
apart. My emotions were like a roller
coaster out of control. I cried out to
God, “What are you doing to me?” He answered, “Read Hosea.” He later added, “You asked to know My heart
for Israel. You couldn’t get it from My just
telling you. You needed to go through
this experience to understand.” The next time was just before taking our
pilot trip to Israel in 1989. Wanting to
know Him more deeply, I asked Father to show me what grieved His heart. On the night we returned home I got my
answer. He said, ”When my children fight.” At the time, I didn’t realize the deep effect
this had on me. The next encounter was
in the following year. After having been
told by the Lord the year before that we were to immigrate to Israel within
three years, Pastor Dave suggested that I spend a month by myself in Israel
waiting on the Lord without plan or agenda to get a word on where we should go
and what we should do. I was led to
start my trip in the Tiberias area (very near where we now live). On the very first morning of these days that
were set aside to get direction, I received my answer. The part of the story that amazes me is not
that it came so quickly, but that it took some seven years for me to recognize
that what I heard within hours of arriving was in fact my answer. Part of the reason I didn’t get it is that He didn’t specifically say the word
was for me -- unlike the year before when He said, “Here is the answer to your
question.” This time He just revealed His heart -- that
the Land would be filled with people praising Him when returns. He also showed me that it could not be
accomplished without the participation of the Body in the nations. The result has been that we have spent the
better part of the last twenty years endeavoring to bring Father’s heart for Israel to our
brethren in the nations. If we are knit
with Father’s heart, we will of
necessity share His grief, which in turn fuels our passion. To know Him in this way is to know our
calling and election. It releases a
river of never-ending faith and strength.
As In
the Days of Noah
If the Lord was grieved at
the time of Noah, who can imagine how He must feel now? Amidst the controversy of the unbiblical
elements of the film about Noah, could it be that it being done at this moment
in history is actually a prophetic statement of what is presently in God’s heart? It is today is as it was in the days of
Noah.
One recent morning,
standing in our kitchen, I was filled with a passion and grief the likes of
which I have not known before. I sensed
that my cries and groans were in sync with a Divine release that sealed a
moment -- as when the Bridegroom spoke to the five heedless virgins…as when God spoke to Israel
after they tested Him ten times in the wilderness…and as the Lord told those
who had done so much in His Name that He did not know them. This experience left me with the sense that a
door has been closed…that something has been
released that will not be turned back…that we have come to the
end of a season.
In Jeremiah chapter 3, one
hundred years after the ten northern tribes were dispersed, God harshly rebuked
the tribe of Judah (including Benjamin) for how lightly she considered her
sister’s judgment. Israel (the ten tribes) had openly sinned and
were sent into exile. Judah had made the
outward appearance of repentance but remained inwardly hardened. The Lord declared that faithless Israel was
more righteous than treacherous Judah.
As I read this passage many years ago, I was impressed that Israel then
is Israel now and Judah then is where the church is now.
Without grace it is
impossible to repent. In the hour of
judgment, the window of grace closes.
People’s hearts are fixed. When
the midnight cry goes forth, it will be too late to acquire the needed
oil. An hour has come that those who do
not hearken to the voice of the Lord will become dull of spirit…as did the five unwise
virgins. According to the root definition in Strong’s Concordance, their foolishness
is described as dullness, stupidity, and heedlessness, caused by an association
with religious rites. If we have not
listened when the volume was all the way up, how will we pay attention when it
is turned down? The injunction of
Hebrews 3 and 4 are words for this very moment:
“Today, if you hear His
voice, do not harden your heart.” The current level of spiritual activity is
unprecedented…and we do not expect it to
decrease. We must grasp the fact that as
loving and forgiving and filled with grace as our Father in Heaven is, He is
also highly sensitive and holy. After twenty-two years in Israel, we have
witnessed that we in the land are doing no better than anyone else in dealing
with trials and temptations. The conflicts, factions, and divisions in the Body
are not decreasing. We stand in dire
need of prayer and intercession. We too
are at a critical point of heeding or being dulled.
From our vantage point, we
see that things have gone to a new level in the nations, in the Land, and in
the Body. News has recently come out
that leaders of major ministries have spun off into apostasy. A former Israeli
Prime Minister has been convicted of a crime and is likely on his way to jail for bribery…a former Israeli
President is in prison for rape…a former Chief Rabbi stands accused of bribery
and fraud…a former IDF Chief of Staff is facing legal problems…numerous Mayors are
facing indictments…and a string of former MKs and Ministers have spent time
behind bars.
In the midst of this all, there is some very good news. As the sun shines and the rain falls on the
righteous and the wicked, the spirit of judgment likewise lands on all. It has one effect on the rebellious and quite
another on the righteous. While this
spirit fixes the hearts of the wicked where they are, it fixes and strengthens the
hearts of the children of the Kingdom to stand against every onslaught of the
kingdom of darkness. Halleluiah! (By the way, relating to
Pharaoh’s heart, the correct
literal rendering of “hardened” is actually “strengthened”).
Personal
News
On April 2nd we leave Israel for
Australia, primarily to see our son, daughter in-love and our FOUR
GRANDCHILDREN, the youngest of whom we have not yet met. We will be with them from April 11-28th. In the days before and after, the Lord has
arranged for a few ministry meetings.
The public meetings will be between the April 28th and May 4th
under the auspices of the Canberra House of Prayer. For specific details, you can contact Paul or
Hilary Moroney at: prayerworx@internode.on.net. We would really appreciate your prayers for
our 36-hour trip and our time Down Under.
Galilee
Worship Tour
We are encouraged to have received a good number
of responses from people interested in taking part in such a gathering. We are continuing to seek the Lord for the
dates and details. We ask you to join with us
in praying for the release of a stream of worshipers coming to the Land…specifically to the Galilee…beginning in this next year. Please pray for the right people to be
commissioned and sent by the Lord throughout their respective countries to
gather groups of worshipers, that by the end of the year there would be at
least one, if not two, groups each month.
A Big
Thank You
Last month we wrote of the
sizable financial investment it took to establish the new Emmaus Way Center for
worship and re-creation. We have been so
very blessed by the response of our friends to this little note buried in a
super-long letter. We’d appreciate your continued
prayers that all we need will be restored. Having said that, we should really
add that the new facility is already being well-used to build and encourage the
Body. We recently hosted some ten believing
Arab families (about 25 people) for a day of worship, fellowship, barbeque, and
games. It’s because of the support of
our friends and partners that we can be a blessing to the Body in the Land and
the nations. We cannot overemphasize
what a privilege it is to be able to so freely give ourselves. When we return from our trip, we will work on
getting pictures of the Center and some of the gatherings posted on our website
for you all to see and enjoy.
Thank you from the bottom
of our hearts for praying for us. Our
arms are upheld and we are able to press on.
May
we truly live all our days on earth...
For
the Glory of His Name,
Arni and Yonit
EMMAUS WAY IS ABOUT LIVING IN THE
PRESENCE OF GOD.
OUR GOAL IS TO GIVE HIM A PLACE ON
EARTH…
WHILE ON THE WAY TO BE WITH HIM IN
HEAVEN
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