Guest Preacher: Aaron Eime

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.

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.

No.

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.

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

The Lord 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,

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.

Daniel.

And it comes from

Daniel chapter 7,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

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,

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

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

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.

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.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

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.