2015: Year of Rebuilding the Walls
2015 is the 70th Jubilee Year in the history of Israel. It follows the Shemitah or Sabbatical Year. Both carry a great significance into Bible prophecy.
By the time the final Jubilee begins on the Day of Atonement in the fall of 2015, there will have been 40 complete Jubilee cycles following Christ’s death and resurrection.
In such a significant year, when the inheritance of the covenant is restored, rebuilding of the walls is not just appropriate but mandatory in order to protect the results of our return to God as people and as a nation.
Naturally, the enemy is determined to shock and stop the rebuilding of the walls, especially in regard to our families and churches.
A personal encouragement comes from 2 Chronicles 20:15: Thus says the Lord to you: “Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
Rebuilding the Walls in Stara Zagora
This month the city of Stara Zagora remains in the focus of our ministry, as our travels across Bulgaria took us there several times. First, we were present at the opening of the new auditorium of the Apostolic Christian Center in the city, which has a special objective for ministering among the Romany Gipsy population of the region. Then, we were blessed to return to the Awakening Church of God in Stara Zagora for a powerful and blessed Sunday morning service. And finally, we were invited for a city-wide youth rally with all local congregations in attendance.
Our team held our first Mega Youth Rally in Stara Zagora over three years ago. It was a service one can never forget, for the presence of God was so heavy, that people literally left puddles of tears on the floors at the altar. We have often asked ourselves since then, why the Spirit had such a grave burden for Stara Zagora, expressed through the tears of the young people in attendance. But God had even more in store for this year.
Youth groups with their leaders representing some dozen churches came to the meeting this past Saturday evening. These were church from Stara Zagora and the surrounding villages, as well as from the cities of Plovdiv, Kazanlak, Chirpan and Radnevo. People kept on coming until the building of the hosting Messiah Church was literally slam packed. We delivered a message from the Book of Nehemiah on “Rebuilding the Walls of the Church.” The Word was essentially connected to the historical development of the church context in Stara Zagora, challenging the young people to advance to a new level of their vision filled life, Biblical holiness and unity in the Spirit. What a thrill it is to see God rising a new generation of young people out of the valley of dry bones of the past!
