The Real Jerusalem

This story actually begins in Spain where I met with Erez Soref, president of Israel College of the Bible. He came at his own expense from Israel so we could think and talk and pray together about mobilizing his students and graduates in Israel to plant churches. What a thrill it was to connect heart-to-heart with this brother. He is passionate about the prospect of our planting churches throughout the Holy Land!

Think of it!

For millennia, we’ve had to reapply the Great Commission-we’ve talked about reaching our own Jerusalems, our own Judeas, and our own Samarias-because we didn’t have the real Jerusalem, Judea or Samaria to reach. Then, in 1948, the state of Israel was born. Since then, Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria are now again real places we can reach out to-but maybe because we’ve been so accustomed to their nonexistence, today’s Church of Jesus Christ hasn’t made these actual places the focus of the original commandment! We’ve developed what I call a “pacified conscience” about them.

But I believe Jesus is actually calling us to a very real Jerusalem, a very real Judea and Samaria—it is time to answer the Commission of the One who, with all authority in heaven and earth, commands us to go!

There are so many positives to this solution:

• These servants are already in place!
• They’re just waiting for someone to empower them.
• They don’t have to cross mountains or valleys, nor overcome formidable barriers.
• They were born in the Land of Israel, they speak the language, and amazingly…
• They have received Yeshua their Messiah.
• They even earned a Bible education!

The only negative is that there are no pulpits in the land for them to occupy. Yet they are willing to preach just the same. We must remember: The biblical requirement to preach is not a pulpit. The question is not: “How will they preach if they have no pulpit?” The question is: “How can they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:15). These preachers—already in the neighborhoods—need to be empowered to preach . . . to bring their pulpits into existence!

In one fell swoop, the Lord has provided scores of people in the Land of Israel who are converted, trained, and in place to start preaching. Let’s “send” them! Let’s empower them! Our Savior and Lord, using all of His authority, has commanded it! Today, I urge you to prayerfully consider this extraordinary opportunity and give as generously as you can.