Christian Zionism

[Jim Watt]

*"TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE" MINISTRIES*

*Jim & Marie Watt*

*PO Box **25116 – Federal Way** **WA** **98093-2116***

*Tel: 253.874.4265 – Email: jmbetter at gmail.com*

*Web: www.2rbetter.org – **September 24, 2007***

* *

*"WHY I AM A CHRISTIAN ZIONIST"*

*(A Testimony – by Jim Watt)*

* *

*In 1933. *I turned 10 this year, and my step grandfather, G.R. Gordon of
Vancouver, BC, let my family come for 4 years on his Sunny Brook farm in
Murrayville, a town of East Langley. It tided us over during depression
years until my father could be reestablished in steam engineering. During
that time my father had genealogical papers sent to him from Scotland
showing his direct descent from James Watt, the inventor, developer and
producer of the steam engine. During those 4 years my step grandfather
visited us monthly, leaving each time a 32 page Gospel story of the Lily
Series, printed in England. I read all 48, and hoped to go to England when I
grew up – to receive a conversion experience as recorded in these booklets.
I didn't know fellow Canadians with such an experience. Then about 1925 he
left a book by Agnes Reuter Springer entitled "Intra Muros" (Within the
Walls) later republished under a new title, "Within Heaven's Gates." This
made a tremendous impression upon me, and from then on I intensely desired
to know God in a living way.



*In 1938* I became a paper boy for the Vancouver Daily Province in Port
Alberni, BC, the geographical center of Vancouver Island. My father came
here in 1937 after the Great Depression of 1929, as Chief Engineer of
Bloedel Stewart & Welch, one of the two Lumber Mills of the town. There was
also a Plywood Factory there and later a Pulp and Paper Mill. One of my
customers was Mrs. Mary Bertha Allquist, a Jewish missionary to her own
people. Later when I became a believer, she became my first mentor. She had
literally memorized the entire Bible, much of it in Hebrew. I saw 4 of her
completely worn out Bibles to confirm this.



*In 1939* I was Young People' leader of St. Stephen's United Church of Port
Alberni. It was the duty of the leader to lead a Sunday evening service once
a year, and preach. I followed the example of my minister, and preached a
book review on Bruce Barton's "The Man Nobody Knows." I talked about the
humanity of Jesus apart from any Deity, and his rippling muscles as He drove
the money changers out of the temple. Mr. & Mrs. George Piggott were still
attending St. Stephens at the time. They were so shocked that one so young
(I was 16 at the time) could be so rankly liberal and modernistic, that they
vowed to pray for me daily until God converted me. And – they had the wisdom
and grace not to tell me until their prayers were answered.



*In 1942 *while a sophomore at the University of British Columbia in
Vancouver, while reading Psalm 107:23-24, the Spirit of God spoke to my
spirit – "Join the Navy, and I will reveal Myself to you." I did so in June
of 1943, and 9 months later in 1944 God fulfilled His promise. I had by this
time read 100 books in my seeking God, and finally turned to the Bible
seriously. Though I was acquainted with it, I had not heard the Gospel in my
liberal denomination. When I got to the book of Romans, I became well aware
that the entrance into God's Kingdom was by making Jesus Christ complete
Lord of my life, and believing that God had raised Him from the dead after
He redeemed mankind by His blood when He died on the Cross.



This was such a drastic requirement that for 3 hours, in a room so cold I
could see my breath, -- like Jacob I wrestled with God. Finally I said,
"Lord, if You will reveal Yourself to me, I will serve you according to the
Bible." This was the first time in my life I had sincerely prayed to God. It
was so new to me, that I prayed it twice more to make sure. On the third
time, I KNEW He had heard me.



It was a month following this that He led me to visit a former fellow
student at UBC and tell him of my decision. God said, "Go to Vern McMahon in
Victoria, and tell him you can't study Communism with him any more. You have
made a commitment to represent Me according to the Bible. When I obeyed and
reluctantly shared this with my friend, immediately I made this confession
to him, I was born again! Several months later I was baptized in the Holy
Spirit much in the manner as God did to Charles G. Finney. I have never been
the same since.



*In 1945* World War II was now over. I could get out of the Navy a year
early if I had either a job or a school to go to. I had neither. In
desperation I fasted and prayed in the ship's laundry all one night for
guidance. About 5 am. God gave me a vision with a condition for being
discharged from the Navy. I made a commitment to meet this condition.
Immediately the Spirit spoke, "Write George R. Hawtin, Bethel Bible
Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and apply as a student. I did so (no
address was provided), and shortly received application papers, which I
filled out and returned. Soon I received confirmation that my application
was satisfactory. I presented this to my Captain at HMCS Cornwallis in Digby,
Nova Scotia, and from him received permission to be drafted to Victoria BC
for my discharge. Following a visit with my parents in Port Alberni, I
proceeded to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where I attended BBI for one year, and
then attended the University of Saskatchewan at Saskatoon to complete my B.A.
degree.

* *

*In early 1948* I heard rumors of God's Visitation at Sharon Orphanage and
Schools at North Battleford, Saskatchewan on February 11th. I received a
direct report on this from a friend, and in April made direct contact
through Ern Hawtin, brother of George, the Principal. In 1947 the BBI had
moved to North Battleford, 90 miles NW of Saskatoon. Though I was but 25 at
the time, because of a good report on me from 1945-46 at BBI, George & Ern
Hawtin asked if I would be willing to serve as one of the 7 elders for the
July Camp Meeting at North Battleford, which I did. I joined with them also
in October of that year in Edmonton, at which time God restored "The
Heavenly Choir," based on my report of this event through "40 Years of Signs
& Wonders through the Life of Mrs. Maria Woodworth-Etter."



*In 1990* Stan Altaras, grandson of the First Sephardic Rabbi of Seattle,
introduced me to Ron Cantrell of Congregation Beth Simcha of Federal Way WA
in February. Both Marie and I attended there for 18 months, and in 1996
assisted in forming a Messianic Jewish service in Tacoma. I led in the
Hebrew Torah reading, and Marie led in leading a weekly prayer for Jerusalemand
Israel.



The service was closed in 1998. About 40 of those attending desired to
maintain a Messianic Jewish witness, and asked if we would lead them until
they obtained a rabbi. This latter did not happen, so we continued to lead
them for 9 ½ years, unto the late summer of 2007.



*During 1980-2005* Marie and I made 4 trips to Israel. In March of 2005, led
by Phil Israelson, we visited David & Karen Davis on Mt. Carmel, and saw
demonstrated the "One New Man" of Ephesians 2. At one service – a Jewish and
Arab pastor led us in Communion! "The Elijah Legacy" by David Davis is a
most challenging presentation of God's purposes for Jerusalem and Israel in
these last days.



*In 2006* Ron Cantrell, worker in Israel for many years with Carol his wife,
shared that his vision was as a "Christian Zionist" – to work under God to
help fulfill His prophetic word in all aspects for Israel. What God started
through Theodore Herzl in 1897, the United Nations in 1947 following
Hitler's Holocaust with the slaughter of 6 million Jews, the declaration of
Israel as a nation in May of 1948 after nearly 2000 years – Ron Cantrell was
dedicated to see it all come to full consummation.



*In 2007, April *of this year, Daniel Juster took part in an "Israel Mandate
Conference," speaking on "The Messianic Jewish Movement" and the churches.
Mike Bickle of IHOP of Kansas City joined in a Covenant Relationship with
Juster of Tikkun to realize God's Prophetic Goals. It was much based on an
understanding of Christian Zionism on the part of churches in cooperation
with the Messianic Jewish Movement.



So – there you have it! By all means receive a CD or DVD of this message,
"The Messianic Jewish Movement" (given April 13, 2007, at the Israel Mandate
Conference IHOP) from Daniel Juster. You can order his message as a CD
through *www.ihop.org *and click on* MP3 *store*. *It is also possible to
order it as a* DVD by phoning 1-816-763-3070 ext. 2400 or 2408.* The DVD's
cost $12.00 each and take 1-2 weeks to be duplicated before they can be
shipped to you.



The message shows the unity and diversity between the Messianic Jewish
Movement and the churches. When churches embrace the Christian Zionist
mandate based on Romans 11, and link up as with the Messianic Jewish
Movement – we will be at the beginning of the way to see God's purposes
fulfilled! THEN Israel can be born again in a day!



So do the Christian churches have to keep Jewish law and circumcision and
the Sabbath? NO! Daniel Juster does NOT join Seventh Day Adventists who
think the church will go to hell if they DON'T keep the Sabbath! Neither do
I. THAT is legalism and the epitome of the Pharisaic spirit. Check out Al
Houghton's *www.wordatwork.org *to see God's thinking on this.



But yet when the Christian Church is grafted into our "Jewish Roots" – can
we adapt things like Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles? Yes indeed, but
NOT slavishly in every detail!  Not even Jews can fulfill all of this,
because once the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, sacrifices were no longer
possible, and Jews were shut up to receiving Jesus as Messiah and Son of God
– if they wanted the fulfillment of all OT sacrifices.



200 out of the 613 Torah commandments for Old Covenant Jews can no longer be
kept by Jews because of the Temple destruction, so HOW can Christian
Zionists keep in detail what the Jews themselves are unable to keep? But
Messianic Jews CAN keep in Spirit all of these through Jesus' fulfillment of
them 2000 years ago! HE is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the
World!



JESUS fulfilled Passover on the Cross 2000 years ago, and animal sacrifices
ceased with Him. The Holy Spirit fulfilled Pentecost (Shavuot). JESUS WILL
FULFILL Tabernacles at His Second Coming, plus Rosh Hashanah (The Beginning
of the Year, the Feast of Trumpets) and The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).



Will all the above be easy to digest? Of course not! Change of thinking is
never easy. But to make the adjustment and move on with God is BLESSED
indeed, because it makes HIS great heart happy. And – we are created FOR HIS
PLEASURE – not for continuing to do "MY" thing.



So why am I a Christian Zionist? Just the reading of the above won't answer
your questions completely. But – if you pray and fast, reread the above –
and like good Bereans – go to the Scriptures and search them out – then I do
believe that the Spirit of God – our Inward Teacher – WILL MAKE the
Scriptures clear to you and satisfy your heart.



Your friend – Jim Watt











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