©8 August 2014 Revive Israel Ministries

Wisdom and the Fear of God

By Asher Intrater

Wisdom is the ability to know what is the right thing to do.  Before we can do the right thing, we have to know what it is. If God sees that someone really wants to do the right thing, He will let that person understand (John 7:17).

If someone wants to know just for the sake of intellectual curiosity, then there is no real purpose for God to give that person wisdom (Matthew 11:25). If we do want to do the right thing and don't know what it is, then God will be delighted to show us (Ephesians 1:17, James 1:5).

The first part of seeking wisdom goes against our natural inclinations.  The beginning of wisdom is the "Fear of YHVH" (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 1:7). Fear of YHVH is to know that God punishes sin and that we have all sinned.

Yeshua defined the fear of YHVH as fearing eternal punishment of hell after death (Luke 12:5). That is the bottom line of the fear of God.

Yet in that same passage, Yeshua spoke 7 times of not fearing any thing, person or circumstance (Luke 12:4, 7, 11, 22, 26, 29, 32). The fear of God eliminates every other kind of fear in life. To have the fear of God is to be totally fearless of every danger.  Therefore the fear of God can also be defined as "moral courage."

When we realize that God punishes evil, then we can:

1. Stop doing things wrong ourselves
2. Not be afraid of evil in others
3. Fight evil in the world.

Proverbs 8:13 – The fear of YHVH is to hate evil.

Unfortunately, most of us are active in being selfish, yet passive in fighting evil. The fear of God gives us an active power to resist – first in ourselves and then in others. It is said that, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” The fear of YHVH provides the moral courage to fight evil.

The fear of God is the "beginning" of wisdom. Yet for many, the fear of God is the last part of wisdom to be understood. Let us diligently seek  the fear of YHVH, even as Yeshua did, in a regular habit of early morning prayer with tears and groaning (Jeremiah 5:24, Job 28:28, Mark 1:35, Hebrews 5:7).

3 Israeli citizens killed
83 citizens wounded
64 Israeli soldiers killed
1,637 soldiers wounded

32 tunnels crossing into Israel destroyed
4,762 military targets in Gaza hit
5.5 billion dollars cost of operation to Israel

3356 Rockets shot from Gaza
            2532 landed in open areas
            116 in populated areas
            119 misaimed and fell inside Gaza
            578 intercepted by Iron Dome

10 Iron Dome systems are now in use
50,000 dollars cost each Iron Dome interception
1 Billion (+) dollars by US to fund Iron Dome

1,875 Gazans killed
            900 were Hamas activists
            430 were children
480,000 Gazans fled their homes
82,201 Israeli reservists called up

By Eddie Santoro

It was a beautiful summer evening in the hills of Ein Kerem, the very town where John the
Baptist was born. Rachel and Gilad, two very gifted evangelists in our congregation opened their beautiful home to have an evening of delicious food, wonderful music and warm loving fellowship. Over eighty showed up, with almost twenty coming from our congregation. The evening was special in every way. Rachel opened it with a bold declaration of her faith in Yeshua the Messiah of Israel and then we enjoyed a “Kabalat Shabbat” (the welcoming of the Shabbat) with the traditional blessing of the bread and wine.  Following this short ceremony, the evening naturally led into personal connections between believers and non-believers. Testimonies were shared, the sick were prayed for, local musicians played Israeli music, delicious food was enjoyed and one woman prayed to receive Yeshua. Many lasting connections were made and we are already planning a follow up event. 

It was to save the lost that Yeshua left his home in heaven to come to this earth and it was to this “Great Commission” that He called us, as His representatives before He ascended to heaven.  Please join us in praying for a fresh boldness for the members of Congregation Ahavat Yeshua as we have taken this endeavor to our hearts.  Please help us raise financial support to enlarge the outreaches at Netanel House.  To Donate, Click Here!

By Shaul Byunghyun Go

In Korea, there have been anti-Israel demonstrations whenever there are military conflicts involving Israel—some have even burned Israeli flags. But recently, for the first time, we are witnessing Korean believers standing up to show their support for Israel in public. First, a few Christian mothers who are interested in Jewish education came to realize that Korean news reports concerning Israel are very biased. They decided to make leaflets and plan campaigns in different locations. Their rally began in front of the Israeli Embassy in Seoul and then moved on to various places around Gyeonggi Province. They plan to continue their campaign at the Embassy weekly, and in different cities as well. Please pray for this movement, as there is tremendous opposition from the media, as well as venomous attacks on Twitter and Facebook. Please pray for more Christians in Korea to intercede and stand up for Israel.