Tikkun Leadership Institute
Dan called up everyone under 35—there needs to more of these than everyone else.
• That's how it is in Israel , former Soviet Union , South America ,
• When Messianic movement got under way in 70's, most of leaders were under 30.
• The movement in America is aging… and weakening.
• Next year, be encouraged to bring more of your young potential leaders.
Dan's theme: Ruach HaKodesh in Jewish Faith
Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we will not break through with Jews who want to be Jews.
• Jews who don't want to be Jews can be won to the Lord through all kinds of Christianity
• But our mission is to reach Jews who want to be Jews
• Michael Wyschogrod , Orthodox Jewish theologian, argues that we'll know whether churches have repented of replacement theology when they teach Jews to live their irrevocable calling and destiny by living according to Torah
We have a problem: we tend to fall away from the power of the Holy Spirit.
• Many charismatic leaders have become seeker-friendly, who think that manifestations of the Spirit are not attractive to visitors. Yet this orientation is correlated with a lack of discipleship and growth in the North American church and Messianic movement.
• We've backslidden in America .
• Newton 's Second Law of Thermodynamics: the energy of the universe is wearing down from usable to unusable state, in entropy
• Unless there is an infusion from outside, the universe is moving towards death.
• Juster's spiritual law of thermodynamics: without new infusions of the Holy Spirit, the spiritual life of believers runs down
• John Wimber launched a third wave of renewal, combining the theology of George Ladd concerning the kingdom of G-d and supernatural power
• But since Wimber died, the Vineyard movement has also become seeker-friendly.
• We are dealing with the Jewish community, folks, not merely with Americans seeking spirituality, with Jews who want to become Jews.
• Unless we bring the power of the Spirit, it's not going to happen.
• The most effective outreach to Jews has always involved Holy Spirit power.
We must seek the power of the Holy Spirit, motivated by love.
• Other motivations, such as drawing crowds, getting rich, etc., are bad news.
• Love fills you with compassion for the lost, including the Jews, our people.
• Compassion motivates you to be more effective, motivating you for Holy Spirit power.
• Love motivates us to be effective; we want to be able to do something for people.
Problem: people who work in power all in various Christian sub-cultures.
• Sub-cultures in Black churches, Pentecostal, etc.
• The culture of American church has been Southernized.
• The Southern twang of Christians is perceived by American Jews as foreign, not Jewish.
• In Israel , worships songs are written in Hebrew, in a pop style, or contemporary American worship songs translated in Hebrew
• Yet even in Israel , the most Holy Spirit oriented congregation sings southern Gospel style, such as “Great big God, itty-bitty devil.”
• This seems inappropriate, yet I'd rather have “Great big God, itty-bitty devil” with the power of the Spirit than Amidah with no power. Yet it's not helpful to be culture-blind.
• “Culture is everything that people do. A specific culture is recognizable as what people think those people do.” –Asher Intrader
• In every culture, there are things that are good and they are things that are bad.
• Niebuhr describes several approaches of missions to culture: Christ against culture, Christ subsumed culture, or Christ the transformer of culture.
• We are to evaluate culture and transform it. We filter out the things that are bad.
• Juster's 4-part grid (see Dan's teaching from last year).
1. Jewish good | 2. Jewish bad
Shabbat, festivals, Yiddishkeit | Can't believe in Yeshua as Messiah
2. Foreign necessary & good | Foreign & unnecessary
New covenant Holy Spirit power | Southern twang.
Laying on of hands
• Quadrant 2 is Jewish biblically, rooted in Bible, but not in contemporary Jewish culture.
• There are analogies in Hasidic Judaism can make it seem less foreign
• There are synagogues that are prayer for healing services with laying on of hands!
• We must have both quadrant 1 and 2, and possibly some of quadrant 4 if it's good and culturally appropriate.
Idolatry of planned agenda and idolatry of spontaneous immediacy.
• God gave a planned agenda in the Torah, which remains crucial to Jewish worship.
• Yet you have to make space for spontaneous immediacy to release the power of the Spirit.
• Two large spaces: prophetic time and preaching.
• Don't rush through these times, but let the Holy Spirit speak and minister through people.
When I see the same manifestations in South America , China , Africa , Singapore , and cannot be traced to a preacher from Tulsa , then I conclude that some things must be universal in the Spirit.
• E.g., falling under the power of God.
• Dan's story about people falling under the power in an Anglican church in Singapore .
• Even though he thought maybe they were used to it, or Chinese are acrobats and know how to fall on a tiled floor without hurting themselves, the Rector assured him after that this not happen here, this is Anglican church, then Dan realized, oh, this is God!
• Dan recommends John Wimber's Power Evangelism ,
John Wright's, When the Spirit Comes in Power ,
Charles Kraft's Christianity with Power (need to change world view from Western rationalism),
J. I. Packard's The Kingdom and its Power ,
Mike Bickle's Growing in the Prophetic . Prove and test the prophet, not ostracize them.
W. B. Davie's Paul and Rabbinic Judaism , tremendously important book, a chapter provides a Jewish background of the Holy Spirit power.
Jack Deer's Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit ,
• Roland and Heidi Baker, Always Enough about power in Africa will motivate you.
• One of the keys in leadership development is to train people to hear the Holy Spirit.
• All of these books have cultural stuff that's not helpful.
People associate cultural context with the power and presence, so they can't distinguish it.
• So people who go to Pensacola and experience power they will want to sing Southern songs and hear Southern preaching.
• Need to train people that we can have the power without the cultural baggage.
Primary Jewish question, from first century on, is why didn't Yeshua usher in the kingdom of God ?
• First coming of Messiah is the inaugurating kingdom
• Shavuot and the outpouring of the Ruach HaKodesh are eschatological signs of the kingdom
• References to Joel 2, “your old men will dream dreams.”
• Teachings and miracles of Yeshua are manifestations of the kingdom, according to prophets.
• Yeshua does his miracles, motivated by compassion, as evidence of the kingdom of God .
• The disciples after his resurrection are still expecting the kingdom in its ultimate form.
• But Yeshua was demonstrating that the kingdom of God is breaking into this age.
• Scholars agree that charismatic power is evidence of the kingdom of God in this age.
• Healings, and good marriages, are manifestation of the kingdom—power and character.
How did the church develop so that it lost its sense of charismatic power?
• Catholic and Orthodox churches appreciated supernatural power, but it was tied to superstition, such as relic-worship. Miracles were the provenance of special saints.
• So Protestant theologians rejected supernatural manifestations altogether.
• When New Covenant era began, it started with the congregation in a circle.
• Yeshua and his 12 disciples was the first circle, who formed other circles [draws diagram]
• In the center of each circle was the Holy Spirit.
• The elders formed a circle, which governed all the circles (houses) in a city.
• [Diagram of a wheel of circles, with one circle (elders) in middle, linked to all other circles]
• The havurah/house group is the basic building block of congregational life.
• Dan endorses Larry Krieder, house/havurah groups, where everyone ministers, rather than row-based structure with passive recipients.
• By the second century, the church sees its gathering as a New Covenant recreation of the tabernacle/Temple based on Leviticus, with the altar, priesthood, Ner Tamid, etc.
• Constantine saw Christianity as a tool for unifying the empires, if he had unified church.
• The Nicean council ratified much of what was the majority of the church.
• What Constantine did by making legitimate was open the way for church buildings.
• Model of the building was recreate ideas from the Temple .
• Row-model of congregation engenders attitude of “feed me, feed me.”
• We're never going to have lasting Holy Spirit power until we return to congregation in circles.
We are Westerners, impacted by a particular part of Hellenistic philosophy
• Rational-empiricism is the mind-set of the western world: we trust what we can reason out with our minds on the basis of our sensory experience. • The realm of the Spirit is closed down because it does not fit this mind-set. • It's so difference in the third world. • Rudolph Boultman, a radical liberal New Testament theologian, wrote that people who turn on and off electric lights cannot believe in the resurrection. • S. Mbiti wrote a book on Africa and supernatural religions. In Africa , instead of arguments, one spirit shows it power by defeating another spiritual manifestation. • In the West, we still have this rigidity that things we cannot explain are not real. • Western church is basically humanistic, blinded by rational-empirical mind-set. • Is the pattern in the book of Acts normative for believers, or only for that time? • But what if it is happening now in the third world? Does that mean miracles are real? • The Bible says we are to salt and light, meaning we must be integrated with our people. • But to be a light to our people, we must have light to show them. Dan tell story about his first experiences with deliverance in Chicago area, when he was a Presbyterian who didn't believe in the supernatural but did have many crazy members.
• He understood then that when he spoke in tongues, he began to get perceptions about how to proceed.
• He also realized that if you going to have the gifts of the Spirit, you have to govern them.
• Otherwise, you attract crazies who will take over the service.
• But you also want to make room for the manifestation of the Spirit.
• Foundation: you've got to come to the conclusion that it is never the wrong time for the Holy Spirit to break through.
• Dan tells the story about Patty's prophetic dream of the transvestite who came, on all days, on Rosh Hashana—and that's what the Jewish unbelieving guests marveled at afterwards.
• This is a foundational issue with Tikkun: this pursuit and orientation to the Spirit.
Mark 16:14-18 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Even if this passage is part of the original text, it is a testimony to the faith of the early believers.
Luke 10:8-9 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.
9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.'
1 Cor 12:31 , “But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” Love must be the motivation of the gifts.
Then he continues, 1 Co 14:1, “ Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. ”
You've got to teach people to eagerly desire the spiritual gifts, or entropy will take over.
• Prophetic utterances can bring people to faith.
• Dan shares story of Joan Chopinsky going up to a Jewish woman with a word of knowledge about a pain in her uterus, she screams, is healed, and asks to receive Yeshua as Messiah.
• There is a use of tongues for intercessory prayer and devotional life, edifying the believer.
Romans 8:22 “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies… In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.”
• The Spirit prays through us, in tongues, as we pray with groaning that we cannot put into words.
• Importance of teaching people to seek tongues, but don't pressure people about it. It is not an automatic, necessary sign of salvation of the immersion of the Ruach.
Ephesians 5:18-20 “ Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in t he name of our Lord Messiah Yeshua . ”
• Singing the Spirit may be singing in tongues. Be filled with the Spirit is a command.
It's important for everyone to have a Spirit-filled life in the context of discipleship.
• Ethical life must be pursued in parallel with training in the power of the Spirit.
• You must train your people in both character based on Torah-life, as taught by Yeshua in the Sermon and the Mount and power of the Spirit in which Yeshua trained his disciples.
• All that we say here is predicated on quality of your devotional life.
• There is a sociological choice.
• In the Pentecostal world, there seems to be a hype associated with emotions, with loud music and preachers screaming, before the manifestations of the Spirit.
• In Dan's opinion (he stresses), this manner is not helpful to Jewish faith.
• On the other hand, John Wimber said that he believed the way to enter into the Spirit is to “dial down” to a reflective, meditative mode.
• The Spirit can manifest in a way that Jewish people can relate to, culturally.
We have a cultural/sociological mandate: be Jewish!
• Since the Amidah says he heals the sick, invite people to come up for prayer.
Foster devotional life
Foster being filled with the Spirit, again and again; create an atmosphere of being filled with the Spirit all the time.
• The Holy Spirit shows himself so that he can point to Yeshua.
Foster speaking in tongues. It sharpens peoples' spiritual sense.
Foster prophecy, even higher than tongues.
Foster hearing the voice of God and listening prayer.
• God speaks to people in terms that are relevant to them, e.g., to a child as a child.
• When God speaks to you, in usually speaks in one of two ways: images or strings of words.
• Scripture is filled with images and pictures; God speaks through imagination.
• Be wary of saying, “Is that just me, God?”
• We are constantly receiving messages from the evil one and the Holy Spirit.
• The way to ask the question is, “What is the meaning of what I am receiving?”
• You'll know it's evil if it's from lust or greed, etc.
• But if you are prayed up, you should expect to hear from God and be able to discern his voice
• Be discriminating about major words of direction.
• On the other hand, where people with strong anointing may provide words of direction, which can be confirmed.
• What comes in the intuitive and imaginative may be the Holy Spirit comes through.
• Dan mentions a book by Glenn Blank and God.
• Then he asks us to close our eyes and imagine a big blue ship and a big grey mangy cat.
• So he inspired us to see things. Similarly the Spirit can inspire us to see things.
• The difference is that the Spirit also has a meaning for us in what He show us.
• Come to the place where the intuitive and imaginative can speaks to us as well as the rational and empirical.
Foster accountability in hearing God.
• What to do with someone tells you, “God told me….”
• Michael Brown told someone: “Well G-d told me, he didn't tell you.”
• [Note Biblical precedent in the story of the lying spirit and Micaiah in 1 Kings 22.]
• For major direction, one should seek confirmation.
• It is in humility that we hear from the Lord.
Foster mutual ministry, through prayer, laying on of hands, through prophetic words, praying as the Spirit leads.
Establish the right government
• People need to be trained in small groups.
• Dan believes a contingent of people who have been tested in smaller groups.
• Government allows freedom in the Spirit.
Foster open-mindedness. If it doesn't contradict Scripture, it may be God.
• You have to come to a decision as to whether the God provides an exhaustive list of instructions. I.e., Church of Christ says you cannot play musical instruments, since the New Testament say anything about it.
• In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty.
• Derek Prince prayed for gold teeth. Marcia Corbett spoke up: she still has one.
• Yet some say, I believe in gold teeth, but not gold dust. So?
• Story of the depressed girl who receives gold dust, alone, after everyone else got it before.
• Why would God do such a foolish thing? I don't know, but he does foolish things.
• [See 1 Cor 3:18: “If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise.”]
Foster the prophetic; let others gifts flow out of the prophetic (see 1 Co 14).
Foster reading good stuff about the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit (see above).
Foster prophetic prayer in your witnessing.
• Teach yourself and others to be listening to what God is saying.
• Sometimes you will receive supernatural information.
• Then you will be able to do power evangelism, revealing things to unbelievers supernaturally
Foster use of Jewish symbols with supernatural power
• Patty once used the 10 drops at Passover this way.
Foster prayer for the sick
• Pray for the sick a thousand times before you give up
Foster meditating on praying on the word of God to build faith
Foster the abiding life in holiness, there's no substitute for us.
Connect to locales where power is being experienced.
• How people to distinguish Holy Spirit power from particular cultural expressions.
Create a culture where people don't get offended when someone prophecies or prays something that doesn't fit, or where someone says it doesn't fit.
Dan leads in an exercise that provides this training.
• Pamela received prayer for increasing love for her mother as a comfort in mourning.
• She also received prayer for accepting her role as a spiritual mother in the congregation.
• She had a vision of an Interstate with the road clear but a fog overhead, but eventually it clears; interpretation was that the Jack and Kate see the road for themselves clearly, but there is uncertainty around them for now, but it will eventually clear. It turns out that though they know they are called to permanent leadership, the congregation decided to reappoint them for a year.
• I prayed for blessing on their children and peace in their relationships. I connected this with a vision that they children would become like Dan's daughter Simcha. Jack and Kate confirmed that there children are in transition, with one graduating from college.
Strong response when Dan asked if people experienced the Holy Spirit leading them in prayer.
Dan's conclusion: m ost Jewish people who have come to know the Lord have come in the context of the supernatural.
• Decline of the church and Messianic movement is associated with a decline in pursuit of the supernatural, in a Jewish context. • We can have Jewish faith with spiritual power. • Amen? Ah-main.
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