The Prophet Jeremiah says: “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’” (Jer. 31:10)
It is our mission to declare the magnificent deeds of our God concerning Israel to the isles afar off. Our new prayer initiative, the PrayerWave, is intended to accomplish just that: every morning, every day and in every time zone, God’s will regarding Israel will be declared. Please join us in this new and exciting endeavor. Give God no rest until He establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the Earth. Go to ICEJPrayerWave.com and register today to become part of our global praying family.
To kick start this initiative come to pray with us on 7th June 2018 at 8 pm at CT Hub, 11th floor, 2 Kallang Avenue.
Dear prayer partners,
Thank you for joining us in this Isaiah 62 prayer initiative. During the month of May, let us revisit some foundational verses of the ICEJ:
For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, and all Kings your glory. (Isaiah 62:1-2)
Indeed the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the world: “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Surely your salvation is coming; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him.’” And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord;
And you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken. (Isaiah 62:11-12)
Scripture tells us to give our Lord no rest until HE makes Jerusalem a Praise in all the earth.
This month the world focuses its attention on the US Embassy moving to Jerusalem. Following suit, the government of Guatemala has announced that it also intends to move its embassy to Jerusalem. We are also aware that Honduras, Romania and the Czech Republic will soon be moving their embassies to Jerusalem, but we are waiting to see who will be the first to take action.
May 2018 is a month where the world will be viewing Jerusalem in a new way. For the first time since the resurrection of Israel 70 years ago, nations are beginning to speak of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Positive words are being spoken about Jerusalem among the nations, and we are privileged by our Lord to see the beginning of God making Jerusalem a praise in all the earth.
Isaiah 62 also tells us that this is part of our Lord’s process of revealing his righteousness, His glory and His salvation to the Gentile nations. Therefore as we continually come before Him in prayer, reminding Him of His promise to make Jerusalem a praise in all the earth, we should also remind Him to bring Salvation in Jesus to the nations.
Not long ago, I was in a meeting where a rabbi was addressing Christians, and he referred to verses that speak about watchmen on the wall, like Isaiah 62:6. However, he read Jeremiah 31:6 because the Hebrew word used here for watchman is also the modern Hebrew word for Christian. I agree with his conclusion: “God foresaw the time when He would call Christians to be the watchmen who stand on the spiritual wall of Israel day and night praying for Him to fulfill His promises to Israel and the Jewish people.”
As God is making Jerusalem a praise in all the earth, we should also see that His Salvation is coming to His people. In Ezekiel 36, God says He will take out the heart of stone, put in a heart of flesh and then pour out His Spirit on His people He brought back to Israel.
On May 2nd, we here in Jerusalem will be fasting and praying for God to continue to move to make Jerusalem a praise in all the Earth. Join us by taking a meal time to focus your heart, mind, and soul on our Lord and His promises, as you say through your fasting; “Lord Your word and Your promises are more important to me than my hunger and food.”
Do not be quiet, you who call on the Lord, give Him no rest until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Thank you for being a part of our Isaiah62 prayer movement!
Blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus,
Barry R Denison
Vice President Operations
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
Dear prayer partners,
The world paused recently to mark the passing of Rev. Billy Graham, the preeminent evangelist of our generation. Graham was shown tremendous respect, as seen in the massive crowds of admirers lining the 130-mile route of his funeral procession. Because he focused so intently on preaching the Gospel and for the most part avoided politics, he earned universal respect – even from those on the ideological Left. Yet, he never compromised on the Gospel. In one memorable message at a large crusade gathering, Graham insisted there is only one path to God: There is no other name under heaven known to men by which we must be saved. There is no other way except the way of the Cross… If there had been another way of salvation, Jesus would have never died on the Cross. On the night he was betrayed, the night before he died, he knelt in the Garden of Gethsemane, and he said: “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” What was he praying? He was saying: “O God, if it is possible to save… the human race any other way, if they can work their way to heaven, if they can buy their way to heaven, if there’s any other way, O God, spare me the Cross tomorrow.” But the answer, as it were, came back from heaven: “There is no other way.” (…) Man cannot be saved by earning his way, by working his way… there is only one way that men can get to heaven, one road. Jesus said it is a narrow road. He said the gate was narrow. And it’s the Cross.
Indeed, Jesus offered a simple yet profound prayer at Gethsemane: “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
From the start, the Bible tells us that man is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27, 9:6). This means we are the thing most like Him in all of Creation, so that God might enjoy our companionship. What makes us the most like Him is that every human posesses a free will. The angels may have greater powers and abilities than us for now (2 Peter 2:11, Psalm 8:5, Hebrews 2:7), but they were still made to be ministering spirits who carry out His will (Psalm 104:4, Hebrews 1:7). In contrast, we each have an independent will and the freedom to make our own choices, just as God does. But the natural consequence is that at some point in every human life, our will runs contrary to God’s will, and this is what we call “sin”.
Thankfully, there was one human who lived out his life in perfect harmony with God’s will. His name, of course, was Jesus. And at Gethsemane, Jesus showed us how to surrender our will to the Father – through prayer and close communion with Him.
Prayer is that place where we empty ourselves of our own desires and seek God’s will. We must draw on the power He gives which enables us to surrender to His plans for our lives, no matter how difficult it might seem. For surely, the Cross – and the separation it would bring from the Father – was not an easy path for Jesus. Yet it was the only path that could open the way for man to truly have fellowship with our Maker.
As we give ourselves over to prayer this month, may we truly surrender to the will of God in all things, knowing His ways and His choices are so much better than ours!
Thank you for being a part of our Isaiah62 prayer movement!
Blessed be the name of our Lord Jesus,
David Parsons
Vice President and Senior Spokesman
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
Dear prayer partners,
The month of March usually coincides with the Hebrew month of Nisan, which “shall be for you the beginning of months.” (Ex 12:2) It is in this month, on the night of the first full moon of spring, that the Jewish people celebrate one of the most important Biblical feasts: the Passover. The Church usually celebrates Easter around the same time. This year, the Passover Seder, the festive meal to mark the beginning of the seven-day feast, falls exactly on Good Friday, providing a valuable opportunity to take a look at the connection between the Jewish and Christian traditions.
During the Passover celebration, the Jewish people recall a defining moment of their national history. They were slaves in Egypt and cried out to God for help. And God heard their groaning, and remembered the covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God rescued them with His mighty hand and outstretched arm.
When the showdown between Moses and Pharaoh came to its climax, God commanded the Israelites to take a lamb without blemish and slaughter it. Then they were to put the lamb’s blood on the doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they lived. They learned that the blood of the lamb would make the difference between life and death:
“For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.” (Ex 12:12-13)
What a splendid picture of the salvation through the blood of Jesus! When John the Baptist saw Him, he declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and His blood applied to our lives rescues us from death. Jesus said, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)
Jesus fulfilled the picture of the Passover lamb, and it is no coincidence that He died exactly on Passover. This biblical feast provides the most direct connection between the Old and the New Testaments. It illustrates that we Christians need to study the whole Bible, including the Old Testament, in order to fully understand and appreciate God’s perfect plan.
It is also useful to get acquainted with the Jewish tradition of keeping the Passover Seder. It is an elaborate meal with many symbolic elements and a complicated structure. It turns out that the description of the Last Supper in the Gospels contains many hints which can only be understood if we know the Jewish Seder. For instance, when Jesus took the cup after they had eaten and said, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood,” (Lk 22:20) he used what is known as the cup of redemption, which is drunk after the meal.
Let us celebrate the feast this year with a thankful heart, remembering that through Christ we have been joined to the commonwealth of Israel and share in God’s covenants with the Jewish people.
And let us pray for the Jewish people that as they sit at the Passover table, God might open their eyes to see His salvation. One of the traditional elements placed on the table and meant to symbolize the Passover lamb is a shank bone, in Hebrew called zroa. Although, the word zroa is not normally used for a bone. In the Hebrew Bible, it denotes the mighty Arm of God, and is featured prominently in Isaiah 53: “Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm (zroa) of the Lord been revealed?” Let us pray that the Messiah as described in this chapter is revealed to many at this year’s Passover table.
Thank you for joining our Isaiah62 prayer movement!
Shalom from Jerusalem,
Mojmir Kallus
ICEJ VP Interational Affairs