PRAYER ENGAGEMENTS AND TRUTH'S REVEALED IN TROUBLED TIMES

As believers in Yeshua, and for all of us as a nation we all now facing what seems to be unprecedented times. With political and social unrest to a virus out of control and with the very threat to our values and way of life - many are wondering where is there hope, where can truth be found and what are we called to do as followers of Yeshua?

At Beit Hallel Ocala, the very hallmark of our calling as a Messianic Community is to be a people of prayer, a people of action, and called out ones for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit. For us as a Messianic Synagogue, significant to this call I believe is what we do EVERY Tuesday night as we gather either online (or since COVID-19, through Zoom) and we intercede for not only the members of our community and our region but also in Messiah also as watchmen on the wall, in declaring the wholeness and healing of Adonai over the streets of our nation, in upholding the Lord's Age-Old Foundations and to come against the stirrings of the present demonic forces of socialism, radical-Islam, anarchy and divination, and witchcraft and perversion. Likewise, friends, our calling is as agents of peace and salvation in the precious name of Yeshua. Central to this calling is furthermore seen in the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and where we are commanded by God to bless Israel and pray for the Messianic community throughout the world. 

In Messianic ministry some might misinterpret this calling, thinking that this is far too political in nature (when it is not political at all) while forgetting that our calling as the Body of Messiah is to the world and to make a difference in the name of Yeshua in EVERY sphere of influence, every chamber of authority and to impact every sphere and to declare righteousness into and over the marketplace of ideas. 

In a recent leadership Zoom call, one person made a comment, stating that since Yeshua's Kingdom is not of this world then we should not be concerned with such things, and in essence "the church" need only preach the Gospel and not seek to impact internally secular spheres of influence. Sadly, this line of thinking was originally foster nearly 500 years ago by the Anabaptists who insisted on non-action and neutrality and as a result, the mission of the faithful suffered in that they made no impact in fulfilling God's calling to influence the world or make an impactful difference for the sake of Yeshua. Although their theory was on Messiah and his calling for holiness (separation from the world), they neglected the missional calling of the church to make disciples in every sphere of human life, existence, or social-structure. 

This is best validated by Dr. Rabbi Dan Juster who in defining the Kingdom of God states, 

"Where is the Kingdom of God? It is wherever the rule of God is established. To the extent that his rule is established in any sphere of human life, we can say: 'There is the Kingdom,' However, the Kingdom can only be established by his power; we in our human weakness and sin do not have the ability to establish it. Therefore, Yeshua comes with the power to establish his rule, beginning with the rule in our hearts'."

By this definition, what Dan Juster is defining is that which many through ecclesiastical history have called, "Common Grace Structures." Although there is a general common grace give to all of mankind (where that person is saved yet or not), Adonai nevertheless looks favorably on all of his creation as the rain to falls on both righteous and the unrighteous. (Matt. 5:45b) Yet apart from this grace, it is just that - "common," where apart from it, saving grace is given through Messiah alone and is made available only through the expansion of God's Kingdom on earth. If the Good News can be preached in the careful confines of a church or synagogue, then it must also go forth and shouted in every other realm, by the power of the Spirit and the risen Messiah! This is God's Truth in troubling times where we are called to impact every vestige of the world - for God's Kingdom, from the congregation- to the White House and in all places of secular influence where the Gospel must be heard and where lives can be changed! For us as American's today, this is highly important as we are now facing possibly the most important Presidential election in our lifetime! With it, no more than ever we all feel the pressure of being thrust as intercessors - headlong into a spiritual battle against dominions and principalities and moreover, as we see the truth of God demonstratively opposed by so many, we are reminded more than ever that as we pray - we are truly fighting for the heart and soul of our nation!

Case in point to this is revealed in the ahistorical inference "separation of church and state," which by definition the Body of Messiah is willfully removed from a place of influence in the world to the shadows of non-relevance and isolated church walls. Sadly, when it comes to this debate, advocates of "separation" forget that this was a philosophy which was never taught by our founding fathers who instead established the founding of America on the Judeo-Christian ideal, on biblical principles and specifically from the idea of common grace structures - while at the same time refusing the imposition all people must adhere to Church of England and in that, the English throne. In the end, America was to be a people liberated for worship and observance unto God and never against. In the end, all of this shows that the hand of spiritual warfare and battles of good vs. evil was present at the beginning of this "one nation under God" and now, Satan our Adversary is trying to destroy it altogether!

So, with this revelation - what should we do - especially now?

1. First, we must remember that as Dan Juster noted above, " the Kingdom can only be established by [Yeshua's] power ...." and in knowing that he alone can do it, we too must be people of prayer, power, authority, and influence for Messiah toward every sphere of human life and for the purse of every life influence.

2. Secondly, as with disciples who asked Yeshua how to prayer - we must be people of prayer who pray not according to our own understanding (the flesh) nor the influences of the world, but instead for Truth, Righteousness, Justice, and the Holiness of Adonai. In this, we must never forget that the only prayers the Father's answers are those in alignment with his Word. 

3. We must never forget that as intercessors, our calling is not only as the watchman on the wall who alerts of the attack of the enemy but also with our prayers we are called to act as agents of truth in as messengers of shalom in every sphere of life's influence and by doing so, at times to be the answer to our prayers as the Torah commands, "Justice, only justice you shall pursue." (Deut. 16:20; Jer. 9:23)

THIS IS TRUTH IN TROUBLED TIMES!

Rabbi Mark Rantz
Tuesday, October 11, 2020