Spiritual Warfare & Israel

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PRCUALife, protecting life through all its stages. Welcome to If Not For God, stories of hopelessness that turn to hope. Here is your host, Mike Zwick. All right, If Not For God with Mike Zwick, and today we just have a really special guest. She's a friend of mine. I met her, I'm trying to think, how did I meet you, Sharon?

Uh, at your Bible study at your house. Remember, Jeff brought me. Jeff, yeah, our friend Jeff Hoover from our Wednesday in the Word. I met Jeff at Wednesday in the Word, and he said, Mike, he says, I've got a friend of mine who I want you to meet, and she wants to come to the Bible study.

And man, it has been a wonderful, wonderful treat. Sharon Hungerford, she is the director of Shepherd Staff Ministries. It was founded in 1996, and she's been there for 25 years, and it started as a mom-and-pop-counseling, inner-healing deliverance ministry leading into spiritual warfare in 2006, 2007. And God had shifted the focus to interceding for Israel and the Jewish people. And right now, I just want to pray, Lord, I just want to pray in Jesus' name, Lord, that the people who are listening to this show right now, that you will touch their ears and touch their souls with what we know will be helpful for them in their lives.

And Lord, I just pray that in Jesus' name that they take something that they've learned from this show today, and that they're able to apply it to their lives, and that they're able to really just to understand more about what's going on in Israel in Jesus' name. So starting off with the spiritual warfare, Sharon, you know, she was at my Bible study, I think, the other week, and we were talking about this. You've done foster care, is that right?

Yes, we've had foster children. And you said there was one in particular who you were kind of watching over, and he was hearing voices. What was going on? We had a young man, he was 14, 14, large young man. He had just come to receive the Lord a few weeks, and we were just beginning to learn about spiritual warfare. So the enemy was coming against him, and he started hearing voices, and the voices were telling him to kill me.

And so he, actually I was home with my two young children, they were in another room watching TV. I was in my bedroom on the phone, I just hung up, and he comes in with a long kitchen knife raised back, and he's coming at me, and I just said, What have I done to you? What have I said to you?

What's upset you? And this was a couple weeks prior to that, I remember feeling like my life was stagnant with the Lord. And I said, Lord, do whatever it takes to change me and move me.

Little did you know. To a new place with you, Lord. But I remember that day, I hadn't prayed. I was really tired, and I remember thinking, Lord, I'm just too tired to pray today, which was disappointing, but that's where I was. And my husband prayed for me, and he always prayed, Lord, be our shield, our rear guard, and a wall of fire about us.

And so he had prayed that, that day. And so this young man was coming at me, and just like Satan wants to do, he stopped, and he turned and shut the door. Just, it felt very intimidating, like he had me locked in there. And then he starts coming at me, and then he gets about five feet in front of me, just right where he can't reach me. And he's got the knife coming, like he's gonna strike me.

But then it's like he hits this invisible wall, and he just starts flailing, and he can't get close to me. And then all of a sudden, he just flops on the bed, and I'm like, what have I said to you? What have I done to you? He said, nothing. And he could always think of something that bothered him that I would say. And he said, I've been hearing voices for the last two weeks, and they've told me to kill me. And I'm like, I said, well, we can do something about that. And he said, well, I don't want to do anything about it.

The voices keep me company. And I'm like, I said, that's a problem. Because I'm like, we could work through this, but if you don't want to work through it, that's a problem. That is a problem.

Yeah. And when you're telling that story, I'm reminded of Ephesians 6, 12 through 13, it says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness and high places, wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. I think you told me earlier that day, didn't you say that your husband Peter prayed? Yes, he prayed. And he asked very specifically that Jesus be our shield and rear guard and a wall of fire about us.

And so I had never thought about Jesus himself standing in front of me, even though we prayed it, even though we knew it was scripture, I never thought about Jesus himself standing in front of me. And so the young man was God afraid. It was like the enemy was just speaking to him, you need to run away. And he said, Oh, Peter's going to kill me. I said, he's not going to kill you, but he's not going to be very happy about this.

And so, but the next day, I'm usually pretty good in a crisis, but the next day I really fell to pieces. And so Peter was praying with me and he asked Jesus to show me where he was. And I literally had a vision of a nail scarred hands, like covering my full body, the place that he couldn't go past. And we realized that he was literally my shield and that he had, and then I heard him say to me, I've already died for you.

I've already paid this price for you. And, and so Jesus can literally be our shield, our rear guard and a wall of fire about us. And we need to know that we need to understand and have faith that his word is real.

It's it's the enemy cannot penetrate that. And my husband had the faith for it and he showed us our prayers were working. He changed our life.

Yeah. When you were, when you were saying that it reminded me of Psalm 27, one, it says that the Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear the Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid. And so, you know, in the natural, there was no way you could have stopped that. I mean, he was big, right?

He was big knife. I mean, you know, you know, but the Lord literally put a shield around you. And so, you know, that, and it talks about this again and again and again in the Old Testament and the New Testament, you know, whom shall we fear?

You know, the Lord is my shepherd. So that, that's, that's really, really good. You know, one of the other things that I was reminded of when you were telling that story about the young man is something that you told me, because there was a, there's a young man that we both know, and I was really trying to help him. I'm, I'm still trying to help him. And sometimes it seems like, you know, it's working. Sometimes it seems like he's listening, stuff like that.

And then, but it just doesn't seem like I'm getting through. And there's been several, there's been a few people that's happened too. There's been other people who we've gotten right through to them, but you said something to me and you said, Mike, you said, you can't want it more than they do. Right. In counseling, we learned very quickly that if we want their healing and their deliverance and their freedom more than they do, it doesn't work.

We can't do the work for them and they have to want it. Yeah. We were, we were talking about it on the way on the car ride over here, and we were talking about John 10-10. Right. That the thief comes but to steal, kill, and destroy. Um, but Jesus said, I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. And you said you've broken that down a little bit.

Yes. The Lord has shown us the Greek in those words. Uh, the thief does come to steal, kill, and destroy.

He hates us. And even in that testimony, what part of the vision was I saw the, the hand nail scarred hand covering me, but also so the wrath of, of Satan coming through the young man. It was almost like it wasn't about the young man and it wasn't about me, but the hatred that Satan had toward Jesus.

And it was like just stabbing that, that nail scarred hand. And so. Yeah. I mean, but, but, but that's it. I mean that we're, you know, it says in scripture that greater is he that is within you and he that is within the world. And that proves it.

I mean, there, like we said, there was no way in the, in the physical realm, in the natural that you could have stopped him, but God, he was your protection for you. Um, that's awesome. And so just for a matter of time, uh, you have gotten really interested in Israel and in something called Aliyah, A-L-I-Y-A-H. What can you tell us about that? Well, Aliyah basically is Jewish immigration. In the Hebrew, it means to go up. And so when the Jews go back to Israel, they are going up to Zion.

Aliyah is the return of the Jewish people. God made a covenant with Abraham and, um, God never breaks his promises. He never breaks his covenant. And so, um, let me just read the promise, the original promise he made with, uh, Abraham in, uh, Genesis 12 verses one through three.

It says, now the Lord has said to Abraham, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Um, you know, Abraham's father was an idol maker. And so he knew these idols were made out of wood and that the idols couldn't speak and they had no power. And I don't know what caused him to listen to the Lord, but he believed the Lord.

And so he got out from, um, or the Chaldees, you know, he got out from his family and went to the land that God, creator God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Uh, and he, he said, I'll make you a great nation. I will bless you.

I will make your name great. You and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. That second word curse.

Okay. We're talking about the Jewish people. We are not to curse that second curse means to belittle or take them lightly. Cause when we do that, we're belittling and taking lightly God.

Cause this was his plan. And, and then, and in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. So we're talking the nations, the Gentiles will be blessed by blessing the Jewish people.

Okay. And the church will be blessed by blessing. And if we curse, we will be come under a curse. Well, let me, uh, you know, I think I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the fact that, you know, in a lot of churches today, and I actually saw we, you and I watched a video on YouTube where up to 60% of the churches believe in something called replacement theology, where, you know, Israel of the old, that was something of the old Testament. And when Jesus came the new Testament, all that is done away with. And there are a lot of churches who actually don't, you know, they don't support Israel at all. And they believe that's been done away with, with the old Testament.

How would you, how would you respond to that? Done away with the first part of the Bible that has all the, um, prophecies about Jesus. I mean, Jesus is Jewish.

Yeah. The founding church, all the disciples were Jewish. Um, you know, if we're going to get rid of Jewish things, we need to get rid of our Bible. We need to get rid of, um, you know, even including the new, the old and the new Testament. I mean, the new Testament is our marriage contract with Jesus Christ and the old Testament, you know, we're going to throw out the commandments.

And let me interject it for a second here. Actually, what you're talking about, it reminded me of this verse is Matthew five verses 17. Do you not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets? I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. So Jesus is not saying, yeah, I've done away with the old Testament.

Absolutely not. He has fulfilled every dot, every tittle. He's, you know, nothing has not been fulfilled. The, what in about 2000 prophecies and most of those have been fulfilled. And so we wouldn't even know, you know, a lot of people think the new Testament can stand alone, but we wouldn't even know that Jesus would have been born of a Virgin, you know, or, and where he would be born and, and just all the things, you know, it's, it's to believe. I mean, every, the old Testament proves that the new Testament proves that the old Testament, that Jesus has fulfilled these prophecies and that the, all these prophecies have been fulfilled. That's right. And I've actually read this recently and I've, and Stu has talked about this as well, that if you take all of the prophecies of the old Testament, just about Jesus, you take the prophecies in the old Testament where they were all fulfilled and they were, they said that if you take a bunch of coins and you stack up the coins 10 feet high and you put them all across Texas and you take one of those coins and one of those coins, you, you color it red. They said the chances of all of those prophecies coming true is like picking up that one coin out of all those coins across the state of Texas. And let me tell you, that ain't gonna happen. Exactly.

Exactly. So, um, but that's, that is, you know, that is really interesting. And, you know, one of the things that, that we've talked about with Israel is that you've, I've had visions, I've had dreams, but you actually, was it a vision or a dream you had several years ago about the United States?

There was a flag with Israel and there were some other things going on as well. I have had, um, I would say a vision. Okay. Um, this was my husband passed about, um, seven and a half years ago.

Um, this was a few months later. I just, I just felt a strong sense of the Lord's presence and that he was comforting me. And then all of a sudden I see him dressed in fatigues and with the gas mask on and he's dressing me in fatigues and putting the gas mask on.

And then I'll, you know, how visions go. We were on a map of the US, we were running up the East coast, actually a map of the world. And, uh, it was like we were dodging warfare rockets and, uh, bullets. And so we were, uh, running up the East coast, then went over into Europe and ended up in Israel. I was carrying American flag, um, and I was anxious to plant it in Israel because I wanted, uh, America to be supporting Israel. And basically the Lord's, uh, said, actually, when I planted it, it just turned to dust and ash. And God said, um, Israel will go alone.

I alone will get the glory for what I do in Israel. And, and so, yeah. So, you know, and, and I think for so long, the United States has been such a strong supporter of Israel. Right.

Um, but recently there's been a lot of stuff going on as well. Um, and one of the things that had happened was that Hamas was firing, I think they were firing missiles into Israel, rockets into Israel. And then when Israel started firing back or intercepting the rockets and then firing some back, then Israel took a lot of flack and it's like, well, aren't they supposed to be able to defend themselves?

Right. They should be able to defend themselves, but this is a spiritual war. This is, um, Satan. If Israel is in its place, um, Satan loses and he knows that. And so if he can turn everybody that doesn't believe, and even those that do believe in, in the Bible and in Jesus, if he can, uh, trick them into believing that the church has replaced Israel, the Bible is very clear that, uh, God has made an everlasting covenant and there's 64 scriptures that even talk about, uh, God will bring his people back to the land.

He's made this promise to the people. And because, I mean, uh, if you look at Ezekiel, um, 36, it's a very important scripture and it's very important in understanding what's, uh, what's going on here. Let me find it. Okay.

Um. Oh, first of all, I wanted to, to share a scripture that God says, there's only one thing that God says he will do with all his heart and with all his soul. And, uh, I'm going to start in Jeremiah, uh, 32. I'm going to start with verse 36 and I'm going to read through 41, uh, says, behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in my anger and my fury and in my great wrath.

He's talking about the Jewish people. I will bring them back to this place. I will cause them to dwell safely. Uh, they shall be my people and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart in one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them and their children after them.

I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from doing them good, but I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me. Yes. And this is verse 41. Very important.

Yes. I will rejoice over them to do them good. I will assuredly plant them in this land, talking about Israel, with all my heart and with all my soul. And, and this is the only verse in the Bible that God says he will do something with all his heart and with all his soul. And so I want to turn to Ezekiel 36. In Ezekiel 36, uh, again, he's talking about blessing Israel, but then he's talking about Israel leaving the land. I'm going to start with, um, verse 16. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds. To me, their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her cup.

Marry impurity. Therefore, I poured out my fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land and for their idols with which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations. So God himself scattered his people among the nations.

They were dispersed throughout the countries. I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When, uh, when they came to the nations, whenever they went, they profaned my holy name. They're profaning them by actually living outside what God commanded them to do.

Okay. So they profaned his name. And when they, and when they said of them, these are the people of the Lord and they, and yet they have gone out of his land. Even the people outside the land knew that they were profaning from the nations.

And they said, land knew that they were profaning his name. Therefore, I say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord, I do not do this for your sake. Oh, house of Israel, but for my holy name sake, which you have profaned among the nations, wherever you went, he says, and I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. And the nation shall know that I am the Lord says the Lord God, when I'm hallowed in you before their eyes. So when the Jews come back to the land, when they make Aliyah and they come back to the land of Israel and they begin hallowing his name, setting him apart, it says, then the nations will know that he is the Lord.

It's one of the greatest evangelical pieces. And that's it. And for time sake, because we have about two or three minutes, I wanted to say you're doing something right now to help the Jews get back to Israel.

Could you tell us about that? Right. Since about 2007, the Lord brought this understanding. I help support people in the land of Israel, but I'm also about to go to work with his lighthouse, um, ink, which is in Israel. Uh, we are, uh, yes, their website is, um, his lighthouse, um, dot org. Okay.

His lighthouse.org. Okay. Yes. And they, um, they have a video clip, uh, under their, I believe mission or visions statement.

Okay. Um, but the Lord, I mean, we, one of the things that the Gentile part of the church is to do for the Jewish part is to help carry his people back home where care literally carry the sons and the daughters of the Jewish people. This is a very important function for the church to be participating in. So we've got like operation Exodus, which helps the Jews get to Israel, very, uh, excellent ministry as well to, uh, if, and if people want to get involved and support the work of Aliyah, uh, this is, it's, God does this with all his heart, with all his soul. And then on the receiving end, we have his lighthouse ministry who receives the called the Olean is, uh, the Jewish people coming back. And so I'm going to actually move to Israel when the doors open again. And so I'll be living over there and helping on the receiving end.

Yeah. I mean, it says in the book of James, I believe, believe it says, um, do not just be hearers of the word, but to be doers of the word and, and what you're doing is you're taking action and there's, there's no way that we could tell you everything that we need to tell you in 27 minutes of the show. But I do feel like, I hope if nothing else, that this can kind of get you started. If you're listening, please go to that website, uh, check out, um, and the name of the website again was his lighthouse.org, or you could go to shepherd single staff ministries.org, or you can just look up Aliyah, A-L-I-Y-A-H. And, uh, this absolutely, there's many really good ministries out there that are helping the Jews get back to them. And Sharon, thank you so much for telling us about this.

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