Word & Spirit
Date - 4.6.2022During the UK Watch of the global Rosh Chodesh prayer meeting this Jewish month of Sivan, prayers were prayed for the second of the Feasts, the Feast of Shavuot or Pentecost. The three Feasts are Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. These feasts are not feasts imposed by Jewish religious leaders, they are called (in Leviticus 23) the Feasts of the Lord. The Lord commanded that the three Feasts should be kept forever. They became known as the Shalosh Regalim or the three pilgrim festivals. The Lord wanted his people to make pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to worship Him at the temple at an appointed time known as the Moedim.
To keep the Feast was not meant to be a religious observance – to keep the Feast of the Lord was to have an encounter with the Lord of the Feast. Now for the Jews, Shavuot was the time when they remembered the giving of the Torah to Moses on Sinai. As Christians we specifically remember the giving of the 10 Commandments, in fact the Jews record that subsequently there were 613 commandments given. To remember 10 Commandments is a difficult task, but to remember 613 is an impossible one. Nevertheless, these commandments of the Lord were there for Jewish society to be protected and blessed by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
To this day, the Jewish celebration of Shavuot is centred around the giving of the law or the Torah. It was always a puzzle to me why the Christian church, in celebrating Pentecost, celebrated it as the coming of the Holy Spirit and the birthday of the Church with no mention of the Torah.
In coming to an understanding of the Jewish roots of the Christian faith, a light went on in my mind and spirit. I realised that when a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit the commandments of the Lord (under the New Covenant) are written in our hearts. The power of Pentecost is fully come when believers can experience power from on high to live the life that God intended.
The mandate of ICEJ is to bring comfort to Israel, and recently the UK branch has been able to bless both Jews and Arabs with the provision of bomb shelters, educational equipment, and incredible Aliyah support, especially from Ukraine.
However our mandate is also to bring enlightenment to the Church. As we come out of lockdown, we want to see the fulfilment of that mandate. We have been incredibly blessed with increase in both giving and support towards Israel. Our conferences have begun again, visits to Israel are taking place and we are preparing for the Feast of Tabernacles. However, in the UK the biggest challenge is to bring an understanding to the Church that we have been grafted in to God’s ancient Olive Tree, Israel. It is part of the key to divine blessing.
Please try and come to one of our regional conferences to hear more about what your prayers and support have provided.
Do follow us on social media and keep in touch via our new website and our YouTube channel where you you can find out about what we are doing in the UK and also watch past recordings of our podcasts and programmes from Revelation TV – Jerusalem Dispatch and our webinars.
Most importantly pray with us that at this season of Pentecost a new power from on high will come upon the church of Jesus Christ. May all believers find a deeper understanding from God’s word of His eternal plan and purpose for Israel. May the Word and the Spirit guide us in these difficult days in which we live.
Blessings and Shalom,
Dr David Elms
On behalf of ICEJ UK