A Message from Israel
Ryan Van Deusen and Phil Hanlen are in Israel with a group of thirteen “Ambassadors of Christ” to minister to the people and the nation of Israel, especially the soldiers and the Arab Christians. Their purpose is to show the love of God on either side of the West Bank. There is a small number of born again Christians on the “other side.” They number only about two thousand and every day they face persecution from the Coptic Christians and Muslims.
This week Ryan and their entourage will be delivering gifts and messages of love and hope to Israeli soldiers. Even though they were not able to be on the military base in Israel, Dennis Prager, a popular conservative lecturer and talk show host, recorded a message to the Israeli soldiers. He also shared on his broadcast about Ryan and Phil’s ministry “Ambassadors and Embassies” and emphasized their mission of delivering the love of God to the people of Israel.
Ryan delivers this week’s Influencers’ message from a town in Israel. Most land in Israel is owned by the government, except for a parcel of land that was owned by Christians prior to the formation of the nation of Israel after World War II. Jesus told a parable about a landowner who built a watchtower on his land. The place where Ryan is speaking has such a watchtower. This land is near the hill in Canaan where Caleb told Joshua, “Allow me to take that hill.” This is also the location where Eli’s sons were killed and the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Philistines. The Philistines took the ark from town to town and displayed it as a trophy. At each town, plagues and sicknesses broke out. When they took the Ark into the temple of Dagon, the idol fell down and broke itself “bowing down” to the Ark.
According to 1 Samuel 7:1 and following: “AND the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the LORD.
2. And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
3. And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
This exhortation from Samuel to Israel could also apply to God’s calling to Christians today. Culture matters in every era. As Christians, we’re encouraged to live apart from worldly philosophies. God says, “Follow the Lord with all your heart and all your soul.” When Israel deviated from the Lord’s path, God had to correct them. The most important thing is to follow the Word of God and not cultural norms. The traditions of man develop “legalism.” Legalism claims that certain things are part of God’s law. However, legalism is contrary to God’s heart of love, grace, and mercy. Legalists love themselves and “perfecting the flesh,” but they don’t really love God. When they concentrate on keeping the law, they are under the devil’s control and God cannot deliver them. God’s deliverance is conditional on our dependence on Him. Cultural norms should be subject to the Word of God in order to find freedom in Christ. Legalism or “working out our own salvation through perfecting the flesh” separates us from the grace of God and dependence on Him. As Paul said, “in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.” All good things come from God according to His grace, mercy, and love. Humility is required before we can receive his grace.
There are four areas of bondage: Fear, pride, guilt, and the bondage of the law of legalism. This is the viscous cycle the enemy uses to imprison and defeat God’s people. The antidote to these areas of bondage is to “humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God.” The freedom to walk in Christ is to walk righteous in his presence because of the price Jesus Christ paid in our stead… For he who knew no sin was made the perfect sin sacrifice on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. The finished work of Christ covers every area of bondage.
When the spiritual leaders fell in 1 Samuel, the priestly tribe of Eli was wiped out. God himself takes over when his priests fail in their commission to represent the people to. God. God promised Israel, If you forsake your false idols, I will deliver you.
The freedom that we have in Christ is the freedom to walk in the light as he is in the light. The kingdom of darkness assaults the kingdom of light in the midst of the spiritual battle. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness from on high. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Is it Christ who died, whom God has raised from the dead? As it is written, are we killed and cast down all the days of our lives? Nay, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This is our freedom in Christ: for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael