August 2020 Personal Letter

FROM SARAH, OUR SABRA
ON THE GROUND IN ISRAEL

Dear Friend,

Sharing with you what it’s like to live in Israel and the lessons that God is teaching me through my life here brings me great joy. I believe that relating our real lives and real truth can be transformational. I hope that as you read these words, God will work in your heart in accordance with His perfect purposes in your life.

DISCOVERING THE PIONEERS

Now, confidentially, I don’t like to exercise. If you are one of those people who do, bless you; I’m just not one of you. Recently however, I came to realize that to keep my strength and, dare I say youth, I needed to find such an activity. Consequently, a few weeks ago I started regularly running in the fields near our home.

We live in Binyamina (population ~16,000). It’s a little northern town built by some of the earliest Chalutzim (pioneers) in Israel. Immigrants mostly from Europe and Russia at the turn of the 20^th century — long before Israel became a state — formed this movement as they followed the call of Theodor Herzl (1860–1904), father of Zionism. After Herzl envisioned the rebirth of the Jewish state in 1896, pioneers began to build small agricultural villages.

When the first Chalutzim came, all they found were sand dunes and desert. They believed that even though they would not see the greater vision materialize fully in their lifetime, establishing what would later become the foundation of modern Israel in 1948 was worth their efforts.

As I was running one morning, I came across a sign that quoted an early pioneer from this area: “As pioneers, we gladly pay the high price on behalf of future generations.” This statement really struck me. I am here today, living in the fruit of this pilgrim’s labor and sacrifice.

I began to consider what these pioneers’ lives must have been like and the difficult times they endured. Hard work, harsh conditions, loneliness, disease, disappointments, and uncertainty were their mainstay. Still, they never gave up. Fueled by the ideals that caused them to set out in the first place, these pioneers, by definition, prepared the way for others — often with tremendous difficulty, profound faith, determination, and the optimistic view that the outcome would justify the struggle.

Building the nation of Israel was a monumental task. What you see here today has come about miraculously but also through tons of work and incredible sacrifice. David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, wrote in his book Chazon v’derech (Vision and the Way) that pioneering means “showing up with no intention of backing down when difficulty or danger arise. It is answering the call with a moral necessity of living your daily life dictated only by the demands of what needs to be accomplished to meet the goal.”

Many students of history think of pioneers only as historical figures; we read or watch movies about them. But Believers (“Believers” is short for “believers in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah”) need to ask ourselves whether pioneering relates to our lives in the Lord today. The Bible shows us that pioneering is a very Biblical concept. As early as the Book of Numbers, chapter thirty-two, we read about the pioneers crossing the Jordan River and conquering the land that would become Israel as the Israelite nation came up out of Egypt after 430 years of slavery.

PIONEERS OF THE BIBLE

An even earlier pioneer in the Bible was Abraham. Abraham accomplished exactly what the pioneers who came to Israel in the early 1900s did: He left his comfortable life, his known surroundings, and extended family. He set off to an unknown place, in pursuit of an unknown outcome. Abraham faced danger, being a stranger and a foreigner without the support of an extended family, friends, or community. He did this because he answered God’s call to set off in a new, uncertain direction.

Abraham’s decision to pioneer not only completely altered the course of his own life, but also impacted everything for “all nations” throughout history. God told Abraham in Genesis 22:18, “through your offspring all nations on the earth will be blessed.” One simple, seemingly inconsequential act of obedience began a legacy that would bless the world!

The Kingdom of God is a pioneering kingdom. It advances and influences even though it began from very humble beginnings. In Matthew 13, Yeshua/Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed. The smallest, insignificant seed grows in the parable to be a tall tree that brings help and comfort to many.

Smallness does not mean weakness. In the Kingdom of God, you and I must not be rooted in outcome, because results take time and patience when we are starting from scratch. If you despise the day-to-day small things in favor of a “big things” mindset, you will miss the point entirely. God works through humble beginnings — through what might seem foolish to the world and yet has tremendous value to our Lord.

We Believers are all called to be pioneers. From the beginning, God’s mandate at the creation was to pioneer. God blessed Adam and Eve and told them, “be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (fill) the earth, and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). The mandate that God gave to Noah continued the mandate that He had given to Adam. Successful pioneering always aligns with God’s Word and timing.

What is it that drives Jew and gentile alike to pioneer? Often, it’s a vision that is bigger than the challenge, excitement for the adventure, a mandate, a willingness to stay the course, to pay the price, and to fight the fight. Perhaps you have such a

vision but have yet to be moved to action.

Acting upon God’s call — especially when it means leaving “everything” — requires the rising of a holy discontent inside you. Sometimes God acts in ways that lead you to a point where you realize your circumstances must change, where you no longer can continue with your life as it is — a place where you are so uncomfortable with the status quo that you know you have to be the one to change it.

Nehemiah was such a man; he was a Jewish exile in Babylon and cupbearer for the king. When visitors from Jerusalem explained how God’s people in the holy city were open to ridicule and vulnerable to attack, Nehemiah determined that they needed a wall. He caught the vision and discerned that it was time to do something about that need. If he didn’t act, no one else would, and the indefensible situation would remain.

Nehemiah led an expedition funded by the king of Persia to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 52 days. He ruled over Judea and re-established proper worship in the Temple, ensuring a safe and prosperous future for the people of God in that region. He endured attacks and plots to kill him as well as ongoing opposition while facing demanding circumstances. His contribution to the people of Israel’s spiritual revival goes without question.

PIONEERS TODAY?

God is looking for people who won’t take “no” for an answer; who will make a way for others where there seems to be no way; who will scorn selfishness and willingly lay down their own lives to further His Kingdom on earth. If you would be such a person, you will experience Him in ways that you can only dream about today. What an honor to partner with God, Maker of heaven and earth, to bring about “the impossible”!

Catherine Booth (1829–1890) co-founded The Salvation Army with her husband, William. She had nine children and was a much sought-after, powerful preacher. Her beaconing words challenge us and remain as relevant today as they were 150 years ago: “Will you be content to go in advance? Will you endure the hardness of a pioneer? Can you bear the ridicule and gibes of your fellow men? Dare you go where the Holy Spirit leads and leave Him to look after the consequences? If so, you will have a harvest of precious souls; you will shine as the stars forever.”

Pioneering is risky business; of that there is no doubt. Why would anyone want to sacrifice, face disappointment and struggles with no guarantee of a satisfactory outcome … and possibly never see the vision fulfilled in our lifetime?

The spiritual world is unlike the physical world. Our greatest example is Yeshua. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that the ultimate outcome of pioneering in the Kingdom will be “fixing our attention on Yeshua, the Pioneer and Perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before Him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Im tirdefu lada-at oto —
“Press on to know HIM!” (Hosea 6:3 NLT),

Sarah Liberman

P.S. I’m still looking for a few more life stories or testimonials of being called to pioneer in the Kingdom of God. Do you have one? What life lessons have your experiences taught you? Please write and tell me your story!

COVID-19 causing further delays for all tours to the Holy Land Zola Tours

With End Times Bible prophecies unfolding before our eyes, no one knows how much longer we’ll be able to make such study pilgrimages. Tourism prices may spike due to the unavoidable losses this year, and chances are that our luxurious motor coaches will quickly fill to their restricted capacities once tourist sites do reopen. Therefore, we encourage you to make your reservations now to join us next spring or fall for this trip of a lifetime. Bring family and/or friends; you can be sure that your spiritual walks will never be the same! For more information, please contact Zola Tours manager Sandra at 214-696-9760, travel@levitt.com, or levitt.com/tours. She can help you prepare for your journey of a lifetime!

We certainly enjoyed Sarah’s inspirational insights this month. And we appreciate how much the pioneers of modern Israel and our founder Zola Levitt had in common: They foresaw what the future could hold! Every ounce of work, frustration, dead ends, sweat, and tears resulted in the Bible teaching we are able to accomplish today. Zola’s early years of live radio and national TV broadcasts paved the path for other ministries that focus on blessing Israel. Zola, as well as the Israeli pioneers, truly cast their bread upon the waters for the sake of future generations. Aren’t we blessed to reap the benefits of their perseverance?

Do you realize that you are currently a pioneer for future generations? By financially sowing into this ministry, you enable our outreaches to continue supporting Israel and proclaim the Gospel’s Good News through Jewish eyes. Zola prepared the way for us, Jeffrey Seif, and other Messianic teachers to be on television every week. Thank you for upholding what God continues to accomplish through Our Jewish Roots, the Levitt Letter, levitt.com, etc. For that, we sincerely thank you. Your vision sustains a weekly, on-location television program that teaches the Jewish roots of Christianity. Your gifts make a legitimate difference today and tomorrow.