Talk by Claude Ezagouri, Pastor and Messianic Jew - Tuesday 30th October (Night)

 

Claude Ezagouri was born in Algeria but had to immigrate to France when he was thirteen. He is married to Michelle, they met and married in France but have lived and worked in Israel for the past 33 years and have pastored a church in Tiberias for the past 18 years. Claude is Jewish and Michelle's family is Italian. Malcolm played the guitar and led worship, 10000 Reasons and Faithful One Claude told us how our Christian roots are in the Old Testament, lots of prophecies that have been fulfilled in the New Testament. It isn’t a new religion but a continuation of Jewish tradition, opening up to gentiles. Jesus was a Jew and followed Jewish customs. We pray for Israel, for Jews to be saved. It is God’s plan for the Jews, when Jesus returns it will be to Israel, when all the Jews have been saved.

A very powerful testimony and plenty of food for thought.

I need to pray more on this.

I also downloaded two books.

• Why Christians Should Care about Their Jewish Roots by Nancy Petrey 
• Tree of Life Version of the Holy Bible

Why Christians should care is a short book around 45 pages, but is a great starter for realising Jesus is Jewish and Christianity was founded in the heart of the Jewish messiah. I read this in the evening before I went to sleep, it didn’t take long and will be reread as my brain has had so much information I think it is about to explode. See the book here

Tree of Life Version - A diverse community of Messianic Jewish and Christian scholars collaborated to produce The Tree of Life Messianic Family Bible-The New Covenant. Messianic rabbis, leaders, scholars, artists, professors, psalmists, linguists, writers, parents, and children came together to work on this ground breaking version that is meant for the entire family to read and enjoy together. Wisdom is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are those who hold her fast (Proverbs 3:18). If you are a Jew who is curious about Messiah, this book will help you, with guidance from the Holy Spirit, to see how Yeshua became the Prophet, like Moses, full of glory, grace, and truth. Compare what the New Covenant says with what the Hebrew Bible says-the footnotes point the way for you. Many modern-day Christians recognize the value of rediscovering the Jewish roots of their faith, and Messianic Jews are growing in numbers and scholarship. The middle wall of partition is crumbling, and unity is being restored, teaching that diversity is strength. I can read my bible with traditional Jewish words, have a look here

Both are enlightening and have opened my eyes and heart to understanding more of our Jewish roots.

I purchased 2 cards made by his daughter to support his ministry.

Holy Land Tuesday 30th October (Evening) - Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee (Hebrew: תֶּרֶּנִּ ם כ ָי , Judeo-Aramaic: יַ סיאנמּר, דטבראי אמּ ַר, Arabic:  بحيرة طبريا), Kinneret or Kinnereth, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias and is a freshwater lake.

We had two replica fishing boats that ran on electric.

Another Catastrophe on the water, Mandy lost her prescription glasses. The atmosphere here was pretty special. This is the place that Jesus calmed the storm and walked on water and asked peter to step off the boat.

A time of quiet reflection and then signing worship songs, it brought a tear to most eyes. Something special happened  here. 10,000 Reason

Dusk on the Sea of Galilee 

Matthew 14:22-33
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land,* for the wind was against them. 25And early in the morning he came walking towards them on the lake. 26But when the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified, saying, ‘It is a ghost!’ And they cried out in fear. 27But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ 
28 Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ 29He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came towards Jesus. 30But when he noticed the strong wind,* he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ 31Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’ 32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God.’ 

GOOD NIGHT!!

Holy Land Tuesday 30th October (Afternoon) - Capernaum

Capernaum (/kəˈpɜːrniəm/ kə-PUR-nee-əm; Hebrew: חוּם ַ ר נ ַפְכ , Kfar Naḥūm; Arabic: , ن احوم ك فر meaning "Nahum's village" in Hebrew) was a fishing village established during the time of the Hasmoneans, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500. Capernaum in the New Testament. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, brought up in Nazareth and preached in Jerusalem but it was the significant Galilean Ministry years which he spent in Capernaum and where he performed many of his miracles. Capernaum became his home and the Bible calls it Jesus' “own city”.
Matthew 4:13 13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other. A house turned into a church by the Byzantines is said to be the home of Saint Peter.
Mark 1:21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

Holy Land Tuesday 30th October (Morning) - Kibbutz Inbar, Nazareth Village

A Secret Heaven in the Heart of the Galilee – Kibbutz Inbar. 

Nestled in the heart of the green mountains of the Galilee it is the smallest Kibbutz in Israel!. 

It was very late when we arrived so here are some outdoor photos

From here we would explore Nazareth, Capernaum, The Sea of Galilee and meet Claude Ezagouri a Messianic Jew who talked to us in the evening.

Nazareth Village 

Nazareth is the capital and the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In 2017 its population was 76,551.
The Nazareth Village is located in the middle of Nazareth and is a first-century farm and village presenting the life, times and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth for all the world. It helped to understand what life was like during Jesus’ time, the site is largely untouched since Jesus’ time.  John 1:46 Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see.’ It is definitely worth a visit even to add to your own understanding and imagination when reading the bible, adding some colour to what you read.
Nazareth Village is the only place where they get to see what these ruins looked like where they were still in use. Seeing how they pressed grapes, a three stage process. The millstone is approx. half a tonne, the first press is the special oil, very little is pressed out., second press is the oil used in food for humans and the 3rd press goes to animals, it’s like a mulch at this point.
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth,  15and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. (Psalm 104:14-15)