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31st January 2025
FridayReflection
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"By FIRM Staff"
a network of almost 70 ministries
and organizations in Israel
"The Meaning of Romans 1:16"
'Messianic Bible Teachings'
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The Apostle Paul tells us,
"I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. "
This verse, reminds us that the Jewish people have a distinct calling and a purpose.
So, what is that calling and purpose?
Firstly, consider God's eternal plans and purposes.
Remember that God chose Israel to receive His law first and His Son came to the Jewish people first.
The Creator planned for the Gospel to come out of Jerusalem.
We see that the plan of redemption is not limited to the Jewish people, or to Israel.
Instead, it starts in Jerusalem and expands outwards - just as Jesus told the disciples before He ascended to heaven, as described in the book of Acts.
The disciples were hungry to know whether Jesus returned to restore the Davidic Kingdom.
To which He replied:
" ... It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
.... Acts 1: 7-8
God links the Jewish people with the Church in His Great Commission and to fulfill His Word.
By giving "to the Jew first", we honour God's design.
We bless the people He chose, and we seek the fulfillment of His promises.
Many people know Hudson Taylor for the profound and lasting impact he had on the spread of the gospel in China.
But not many know that on January 1st of each year, Taylor wrote a check to a group dedicated to blessing the Jews of Europe.
On that check he always wrote four simple words: "to the Jew first".
Hudson Taylor understood that there is spiritual power in prioritizing what God said to put first.
He believed what the apostle Paul had grasped thousands of years before.
That the Word of God links the awakening of the Jewish people to the success of spreading the Good News to the whole world.
And this was the original calling of the Jewish people all along!
In Romans 11:11, Paul gives a beautiful summary of the gentile calling.
"So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall?
By no means!
Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous."
Verse 12 continues with a glorious promise:
"Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!"
All of this is a cause for celebration and hope, as we can see that God's redemptive plan included the nations all along!
Israel had a means of accessing the Lord, whereas the Gentiles were not even able to enter His presence.
Greeks had neither the law, nor the covenants, nor the prophets to guide them.
The nations were left to either "seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him"
"But now in Messiah Yeshua you who once were far off (Gentiles) have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.
For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments ... that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two."
(Ephesians 2:13-15)
One day the Lord would make His house a place for all nations.
This coming reality was prophesied in places like Isaiah 56 and Zechariah 8.
In other words, the nations would be able to join themselves to Israel in varying ways in order to draw near to the Lord.
Jesus flung open the doors to God's presence!
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This is an edited version.
The full article and Bible references are avaiable on request
"We're on a mission to"
serve a network of almost 70 ministries and organizations in Israel that share a passion for reaching Israelis with the Gospel.
These local ministries are the true heroes, and together, we have a vision for a stronger and healthier Body of Messiah in Israel.
Michael Mistretta is the CEO of FIRM:
Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Michael was raised in the church and later received a call to Israel where he met Pastor Wayne Hilsden and helped to start FIRM.
From starting his own company as a teenager to his 10 years of ministry experience, Michael is an entrepreneur and innovator who is passionate about seeing ministries in Israel thrive and people coming to know Yeshua (Jesus) as Messiah.
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