(258) “Chosen People, Promised Land” with Gene Little

0:00 In Ezekiel 37, 12, I will bring you back to the land of Israel. This is a promised land, promised to the Jewish people, promised, chosen. And I'll put my spirit in you and you shall live. I'm waiting for that. Let's get excited. That's not just from a millennium. Ezekiel 37, 14, I shall put my spirit in you and you shall live. God promises in Joel 2 .28 to pour out His Spirit on all humanity. Welcome to Global Outpouring, where we contend for that promised outpouring, we equip for that outpouring, so that we may engage in that very outpouring. I'm Philip Buss.

0:49 And I'm Sharon Buss. Welcome to the podcast today. We have with us our friend of many, many years, Dr. Gene Little, who is involved, along with his wife, in running our house in Jerusalem. And he's going to be one of our speakers at Convention 2025, May 21st through 24th. We want to invite you to come. And he's going to be speaking about Israel. So he's going to be giving us a little taste of what's coming at the convention about God's chosen people and his promised land. Thank you so much for joining us today. We're really looking forward to this podcast ourselves, and so we expect you will be too. Hopefully, all of our listeners are very interested in what's going on in Israel. It's a very important thing on God's heart because the Bible comes from there.

1:47 And if you're a believer in the Bible, you need to understand how Israel functions. But before we get started, we want to encourage you, if you haven't already done so, to go to our website, globaloutpouring .net, and make sure that you're on our mailing list and our email list, that is. and that you are preparing to come to Global Outpouring Convention 2025, May 21st through 24th in St. Louis at the St. Louis Airport Marriott. We are going to have a glorious time there in deep worship and deep intercession and deep Word of God. If you love the things of God, if you're hungry for more of God, it doesn't matter whether you're a newbie or a veteran. You belong there, and you're going to find other people of life.

2:35 Like Precious Faith. And it's for all of the family. We have a nursery and children's meetings and teens are going to have their own special place and time that they can be meeting together. It's going to be a time for the family to grow in God. So we just encourage you to come. So today we have with us Gene Little, Dr. Gene Little. And he's, boy, we've known you for many, many years. And we've had your wife on this podcast as well, Mary Lois. So welcome to the Global Outpouring Podcast again. You've been with us before. Thank you, Sharon. Thank you. I'm so glad to be here. Both you asked me here and be on this podcast and say hello to all the listeners today. Yes. I was just asking you before we got started about, like, what are you a doctor in?

3:25 Well, I did my early education at the University of Washington, got a bachelor's degree in political science, and then I did a number of years in the military as an officer and got out. And we did one year at Chrysler Nations. And, you know, part of this came about when I was in the military. Mary Lois and I, we— We just fell in and got the Holy Spirit while we were in Italy. And that just, I tell you, being baptized in the Holy Spirit will change your life around for the good and bring the fire and excitement like you haven't seen before. So I really felt led in those early days to get out of the military. But I asked the Lord, I was on an aircraft carrier and loved everything that I was doing. And I said, Lord, if I do get out, I feel like Peter. I'm going to step out of the boat. I'm going to walk on water. And go into the ministry. But you've got to help me because I never looked at a Bible until I was 30 years old. And I need some help, Lord. So if you'd send me to a Bible school.

4:28 Well, I ended up going to Oral Roberts for three years, getting a master's degree in divinity with a specialty in books of the Bible and parables and Timothy. And I just loved it. I have a real gift to write. Yes. And I've spent many years either writing books or doing something on the Internet where you write little articles. So that's been my life. I've been in education and got a doctorate in literature from Sloan Bible College up in Des Moines. And here we are. Yeah. How many books have you written? I think about eight or nine. I'm always writing the next one.

5:09 Yes, you are. What's the next one about? Next one, my son suggested I write something called Tactical Devotions. That's good. Yes. So anyway, I'm having fun with that, although I've got two or three others that I really need to get, and I need to move on that too. Find something good to write about. It's easier than ever to write now and publish and print something. Oh, yes. Absolutely. So you also wrote a devotional about Jerusalem. Yes. Tell us about that. I have a book. It's called Jerusalem Lest I Forget Thee. And it's about 52 devotions that I sat before the Lord. Jerusalem is mentioned 800 times or more in the Scriptures. And I took 52 of them, one for each week, plus I had an added one in case of leap year. But you could read them like during the Shabbat meal. Oh, nice. You could sit down and read it all at once, but I think to get the really flavor, just read it one at a time, once a week. It's a very good one. That's a great one. We had a great time on Shabbat.

6:17 We used to do that. And it was about Elijah. Oh, yeah, the stories of Elijah. The stories of Elijah. I remember that. That was always exciting. So you also delved deeply into study about Islam, and you wrote a book about that. Yes. After you taught a course about it in our school of ministry. Yes. Tell us about that book. Originally, we taught a course. I was praying one morning. Sister Gwen had asked, what should we teach? We had to give her notice of what we were going to teach about. I felt the Lord whisper in my ear, His still, soft, silent voice, just before I got up, teach my children the tenets of Islam, for they're going to need to know these things in the days to come. And what year was that? That was, I think, before 9 -1 -1. Oh, yeah, I think it was in the 90s still, wasn't it? It was. I remember that. I taught it twice, and then 9 -1 -1 happened, and then we put it into a book, and I've had it all these years to study. The mystery of Islam. Mystery of Islam. It is in many ways a mystery. Some ways I know. My wife heard a word from the Lord, though, that in the days to come, the Lord will utterly humiliate Islam. And, you know, they come to know Christ in increasing numbers. I just believe in that for a revival in there. People get tired of that heavy cloak of Islam, and they're searching in dreams and in miracles and in ways to come. It's

7:48 easier than ever. Find the Bible on the internet and they can read the liberating word of God. It's true. It's true. The people who begin to feel free enough, feel daring enough to dare to read the Bible. And even though the Quran says that you should read the book and you should read the Injil, the Gospels. But, you know, I don't think they're even really reading the Quran that much, probably, unless they're studying to go deeper. We've really been praying for a great harvest in Islam because it's such a deception that, well, we weren't really planning on going down that bunny trail, but it's a serious, serious subject. And we've been praying a lot for the Muslims because they're so passionate about...

8:37 what they believe. And when they become believers in Jesus, they become passionate believers in Jesus. And where they were Israel haters before, when they meet the King of the Jews, everything changes. Hallelujah. And we're on the front lines. We see that happening, not a whole lot, but by the ones and the twos, people have their lives changed. If not only the Word of God, but worship. When they hear worship, they just get into that and just come to the true Messiah and find that hate drop off. And they come into really loving the Lord. Beautiful, beautiful. So tell us what the Lord has put on your heart. Don't preach the whole sermon, because we want everybody to come to the convention and hear the whole thing.

9:25 But what is the Lord moving you and leading you to bring at this convention? Ooh. A thimbleful. Thimbleful. We're going to talk about... God's miracle nation is miracle people. I have Israel on my heart. God has brought us over there. True miracle. It's been 27 years that we've been in that land, coming and going. And I really feel more than ever that we are God's ambassadors. And we haven't had any trouble. We just were there. And God opens the door. And I can't say that we've done an enduring work, maybe not a great work, but we've been on the right place at the right time. As you know, we have a hospitality house there that Sister Gwen, many years ago, heard the word of the Lord. going up to White Plains, New York. And I love it. You must know how the Lord can break into your life at any time. How he can just whisper something, totally shake you up. And like, where did that thought come from? Still soft voice. And she heard the voice of the Lord. saying, I am going to thrust you and your ministry into Jerusalem. And she asked Papa Jim and asked you, Sharon, what thrust meant. And then if I recall the story, she forgot all about that. Yes, she did. Derek Kuhn one

10:58 night was preaching on the future times of Israel, and somebody suggested. We need to have a house in Israel. No, he prophesied it. He prophesied it. He said, Sister Gwen, you have to have a house in Israel. And, you know, they ignited something right there. They sure did. People just started coming up. I've never seen. Yeah, with $1 ,000 checks, and Sister Gwen had stood up, and she sat down. I'm not taking an offering. Because she didn't want to do it. She had forgotten that word. That night, I think we raised $58 ,000, put it into account, and she sent Mary Lois and I out there to look for a house. And that was exciting. We had been coming to Israel, just briefly background there, that my wife had been coming since the 1980s to sing in the Feast of Tabernacles. Yeah, in the choir. Part of the choir with you guys as well. And then I came to Feast of Tabernacles a few years later to work in logistics. And God caused that love of Israel just to explode in our hearts. And I think it was something that Sister Gwen saw, because we were just surprised, as anybody else said, she asked us not only to find a house there, but to shepherd over it, to manage it. We actually found a Holy Ghost real estate agent, Messianic, as well as another real estate agent, and then set apart looking for God's promise to come to pass in His Word. And in, I think, a number of

12:30 weeks or months, we found... a home that fit all the requirements that we needed for ministry. And Sister Gwen saw it, and she just started crying. And she said, when I cry, I buy. And so that was the next step of faith that we had to do was to raise the funds. That was a big step of faith. Big step of faith for a smaller ministry. But I challenge you out there that if God has called you something to do, you may have to step out in faith, but He will. He'll back you up. If he's given you the promise, he's given you the decree, and you may have to stretch your faith like we did. And we were able to purchase a beautiful penthouse, I would call it, because there's no regular homes in Jerusalem. It's a city tightly compacted together, always has been.

13:23 We have been there for 27 years now with ministry meetings, with the hospitality. Been there in good times and in bad times. Oh, yeah. And welcomed the saints of the Lord and had just an ongoing work to let Jesus' light shine. Yeah. Yes. Now, didn't you tell us right before this what the Lord spoke to you when you said, you know, do you want me to be a pastor? What was your question to him and what was his answer? Going into the ministry, I had felt, first of all, you have your education. I felt really I needed an education to come into the ministry, and it was the desire of my heart. And as I finished up my degree in Oral Roberts, you know, I kind of did this kind of backwards, but I said, Lord, okay. what would you have me to do? What direction now that I'm graduating? And I heard a still soft voice of the Lord again, and you can, you get your spirit quiet, you can hear the Lord. That's true. And he said, I've not called you to be a pastor.

14:27 And I go, oh no, what else is there to do? Yeah, what did I just spend time and money for this education for? But he said, I'll give you a pastor's heart. So one thing led to another, but I had felt, What God was calling us to was really a missionary outreach work. And as there's lots of things you can do for the kingdom of God. And during those early years, we did go to Cuba and Mexico, Honduras, Canada, and a lot of other nations in there on short -term mission trips and some long -term trips. And I think it was good preparation work for God putting Israel on our heart. And so we're there. Not that you're out on the streets trying to get people saved because that's not legal there, right? No, it's not. I think my ministry here, I am not so much an evangelist, I'm a teacher. And that's a perfect venue to have to teach Bible classes for those that would like to come. And we've taught Zechariah.

15:33 We've taught some of the other minor prophets and special events that we've had, speakers that come and have ministry there. And it's a good place there. And it's a watering hole for the believers there. It's an oasis that we have. And we're not very far from Sukkot Alel, which is 24 -hour praise and worship ministry, and some of the other ministries that are. You know, there are a significant number of Christians in that land, as well as Muslims and Jewish believers. Yes. So you're talking at the convention about Israel, promised land and God's people. Give us some highlights. I want to start out, Sharon.

16:19 with Daniel 9, 25, and 26. Because that's what he laid on my heart. We have a believer there, a Jewish believer, that always says that the city will be built in troublesome times. Yes, that's what the Word says. She always reminds us of that. And in the 27 years we've been there, we've had times of peace, times of war, times of terrorism, but this city is being built. And I tell people, if you go away for a six months, you will not recognize what's happening. But even though in the midst of this war that started October 7th, 2023, and we may go back to that, it's an ongoing warfare right now as well with Hamas kidnapping over 200 people and they still hold 35. But Israel is in a building spree, especially Jerusalem, that you will see. We have the red line, which is a light rail system that goes from Nevi Yakov now in the far north by Ramallah, goes all the way to Hadassah Hospital. And that's a light rail for passengers. We have one, the blue line, that's going to be built and it's going to connect at the old train station. And they're going to put an underground train connection to Tel Aviv. Wow, underground. Underground, and it will connect with a light rail. And then the Green Line as well. So it's going to be an urban city with a lot of urban transportation. But

17:51 it is being built in troublesome times. And past the year, we've just come back from spending six months in Israel. And during even... The worst of times when Iran sent over 300 missiles one night and they were exploding over our heads. And, you know, it makes you a man of prayer, a man of faith as you lie there and hearing these things. But the city is not only being built with a light rail and other things. There's a lot of multi -story buildings coming up, high rises. And they're going to be all along Hebron Road and in other areas there. The Lord is preparing that city for something great. And it has always been. Jerusalem has attracted not only people from the nations there, and the nations are there, but so much more. And we are waiting in anticipation for so much more. We feel like we're one light that people can come and be refreshed. But I'm looking for a great wave of revival. And why not? Amen. Why not? Amen. So we pray to that end and many others. Beautiful. Beautiful. What else? Okay. When we look at this land, when we look at this people, how God originally made a promise to Abraham. And in that promise, he brought him up and showed him all the stars and all the sands and said, your seed is going to

19:22 be like this in Genesis 15. He gave him an eternal promise that I give you this land and your seed shall inherit it. You know, I think a younger generation forgets sometimes the promises that are in the Word, that this Word was to the Jewish people through Abraham, through his son Isaac, not through the bondwoman, not through Ishmael. You know, an eternal promise in Genesis 12, 7, to your descendants, I will give you this land. It's there. It's always been their land. Many times I think the devil through the Romans and through other persecutions have tried to eradicate the Jews from the land. They keep coming back.

20:10 It's an eternal promise. And even as you read through Genesis and Genesis 13, 14. Lift up your eyes now and look on this place, north, south, east, and westward. For all the land that I see, I give it to you and your descendants forever. Amen. Eternal promise. God doesn't go back on his promises. That's right. He doesn't abrogate them as the Muslims have in some of their, like in the Koran, that doesn't apply anymore. So he made a covenant and offered a sacrifice, and God went through. If you remember the covenant there, he went through as he split these animals apart. Oh, yeah. And God came through with a fiery torch. And God said. I am obligated myself to this covenant. This land is given to you.

20:59 And he repeated this to Isaac, repeated this to Jacob. And then even to Moses. What was Moses called? They were delivered out of Egypt into the promised land. And I know that God said this is an everlasting promise. I think the greatest miracle, though, was that. even after our Lord was there as the promised Messiah and walked the land. And you find the Romans coming in, exiling the Jews for 2 ,000 years. But then in 1948, they were brought back through not only the decision of the United Nations, but God brought his people back into that land. And it's been 77 years now, and we've had a front. door front window on what's happening in that land for we've been there almost 30 years and to see what's going on even though it's been troublesome times the people are coming back. He's bringing the bones back to life, and he's bringing the flesh back on the bones, as he said in Ezekiel. I'm waiting now for the Spirit of God to come in.

22:13 Yes. And even the name Israel may intrigue you, but Israel was given as a name to Jacob. He had wrestled all night with that angel, and he said, I'm not going to let you go till you bless me. Jacob was really a tough guy, even though Angel had put his hip out of whack and everything. And so he says, let me go. The sun's rising. He said, I'm not going to let you go. And I think that's a good word for us. Sometimes it's like, Lord, I'm going to hang on to you. I'm not going to let you go. said you're going to be called Israel now no more Jacob which means schemer which means uh more than that Jacob was he was a real prize God changed not only he changed his whole personality the name of Israel's prince Prince of God, a prince, you know, that has prevailed and struggled. And I think the nation, in taking that name, has taken upon the wrestlings like Jacob did. They've had to wrestle, and God wrestles with his people to bring them back and to unify them. So it has been having a front row seat, seeing this there. When you look at Jacob and Esau, and Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents.

23:29 Yeah, you don't think of him as being a wrestler. You don't think of him going out guiding sheep. I mean, he's got pale skin probably. He wasn't out in the sun like his brother Esau, out as a hunter. So he stays in the tent. He's not tough. He's not used to maybe being out at night in the desert or because you're hunting, you don't always get back at night. But he had to learn to be tough. Prophetic of Israel. They had to learn to be tough because they were pushed around for all these years, all through Europe, still being pushed around. But now they have a homeland and out of their homeland, they're making Jehovah's name known. Amen. The God of Israel. God of Israel.

24:12 Yes. Amen. One of the stories I like is found in Zechariah 8 .23. And I love the promises of God towards Israel, towards the Jewish people. They're not like replacement theology to where you think that, well, all these promises are now for the church. Some of these can only be applied to Israel and to the Jewish people. And Zechariah 8 .23 is... quite unique. It says in the last days that 10 men out of every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man saying, let us go with you for we've heard that God is with you. Yes. Now, I was down by the pool asylum and we'd taken Hezekiah's tunnel.

24:59 I was leading a tour group there. And while I was waiting for the rest of them to catch up, somehow I was in front of them all. I was near a guard. You know, he was kind of, I think he was nominal Jewish, older man, and I'm not young myself. And just to make conversation, he said, well, what brings you here? And I looked and I said, well, I believe I'm one of those 10 men that the Bible says that in the last days are going to grab the hold of a Jew and say, I want to go with you because I know the Lord is with you. And when I said that, he started weeping. He started crying because many Jews, they're rejected people. And you can easily take offense when you're rejected, but also just to demonstrate the love that the Gentiles or someone might have for somebody that's Jewish. Of course, what I didn't say, and I should have, was the robe of the Jew that I've grabbed hold of is Jesus Christ.

25:59 But even so, many of these people, they may appear to be secular, but they know the word. They know the word that in the last days, 10 men, 10 women are going to grab the hold of a Jew. And I think that's part of our challenge is to love the Jew and to know that God's promises apply to the Jewish people, as well as that I know we're grafted in. We can claim some of those promises, but praise God. So a little thing that I saw that he shall place you again. He has brought them this far after 2 ,000 years to place them in their own land. And we'll find that in Ezekiel 37. 13 and 14, I will place you in your own land.

26:46 Yes. Now, it hasn't been easy. It's almost like the time of Joshua where you've had to come against those that don't want you there. And maybe you have to come against terrorism. And it's exciting to live in that land. with not only the politics and different opinions. Somebody told me living in Israel is like a fruit salad, only it's not mixed. But let me tell you some of what God is doing in Isaiah 19, 18, five cities will speak the language of Canaan. Wow. And that refers to five cities in Egypt. God is moving even in Egypt where in their universities, they are teaching the Hebrew language. Wow. Usually after so many years being suspicious of Israel, there's an opening there that people want to learn of the Hebrew language. Five cities are going to speak that language. It appears to me maybe an increase of Israel's borders are also coming in time.

27:52 So this land may expand. It's prophesied. It's what's been promised, so we should expect it. That's because Isaiah 19, 23, and 25 talks about the Isaiah 19 highway. Yes. And he'd say, well, that's for the millennium, but why not now? Sure. We can make some efforts there to bring that highway to pass. Amen. You've got to start somewhere. You've got to start somewhere. So you pray it into being. You contend for it. Yeah, that's good. But it's been a real love to be there, to see fulfillment, what God is doing. And he's filling this land, different prophecies. Amos 9, 14, they shall plant vineyards and drink the wine thereof and make gardens and eat the fruit thereof. Yes. I challenge you when you come, not if you come to Israel, when you come to Israel.

28:49 go to the Shuk and see the fruit that this land produces. He's filling this land with fruit, not only fruit I believe in the natural, but I'm looking for the fruit of the Spirit. And I have faith and I have a love that God, you didn't bring them this far just to bring them into the land. So the Messiah is there. And right now he's revealing himself to his people one by one. He's doing it. He's doing it. He's doing it. But I'm glad to have our front row seat. Yes. We see what he's doing. It's fun to watch what he's doing. You know, we had another friend of ours, and I'll call him Yoni. He was fighting in the Lebanon War, one of the wars up there.

29:31 And he told us his personal testimony. He had been injured, a RPG, a rocket -propelled grenade had hit his Jeep, killed his two other buddies. And he was in the hospital for many months, paralyzed from the waist down. Could not get up. And finally the doctor said, Yoni, we can't do anything more for you. Send us home. His father was a rabbi in the kibbutz where he lived. And he was there. He said while he was in the hospital, some Swedish people had given him a Bible. And he remembered, he said, when I was a child, I got a Bible they handed out in the kibbutz, but they had ripped half of it apart. And the kid always wondered why he only got half the book. Well, they didn't have any Torahs. They had gotten whole New Testaments, and they ripped those apart. But now he had a New Testament and an Old Testament. But he was in his room. one night, and he'd been at home for a while, and he started reading Isaiah 53.

30:38 Oh, my. You will not find that even in the Torah readings. They skip over that. Some rabbis might say Isaiah 53 applies to the nation of Israel. Others will say, and we just don't want to deal with that, and they move on. But he read Isaiah 53, and while he was reading it, he saw this light come out of the Bible. All of a sudden it was a light and turned into the face of Jesus. And he saw Jesus beaten and just as described on the page. But then the light got bigger and the glorious form of Jesus appeared by his bedside, the whole form. Jesus reached out with his hand, touched him and healed him. Wow. Sovereignly healed him. And he got out and we hear these testimonies all the time. Yeah. And he said, I jumped up out of bed yelling. I've healed.

31:31 I've been healed. Look at me. Jesus healed me. Jesus healed me. I've been healed by Yeshua. Yes. Oh, my. About 2, 3 o 'clock in the morning. Oh, my. And he created such a ruckus in the house. Nobody was celebrating that he was healed. No. But the word was that if you don't. Take back what you've said, then you must leave. And that don't say this name and such. And rightfully, many of the Jews remember the Holocaust. They blame it on the Christians. They remember the Inquisition. Blame it on the Christians. And they persecuted people. So I could see that. He said, how can I take this back? I saw. From my own eyes. And so after three days, he had to leave his house, and they sat Sheva for him.

32:21 And that means they considered him dead. Yes, they did. Oh, wow. Sheva means seven. Yeah, you sit seven days after someone passes away. That's how you remember the one that is now dead. You're now dead. Wow. And he went on to have a different career with other places. Finally, after many years, he was able to come back, and the family had received him back again. Glory to God. I'm not sure where they are in the midst of believers, but sometimes it takes the working of miracles as well as the Word, as well as worship. Amen. I just see other people that I know that we hear a lot of stories that I don't often say too much just to. keep a low profile, but it is a land of miracles. Absolutely. And another thing is that this is in Amos 9 .14, another scripture, I will bring again the captivity of my people that were exiled, and they shall build away cities and inhabit them. Amen. We're seeing this nation is so young to see not only the way cities being rebuilt. But the older ones being new cities established and the other ones being rebuilt, it's just something else, a miracle that you see happening. So the way cities are being rebuilt.

33:49 And then one of the promises, I love Amos, go read Amos in there, said that I will plant them on their land and they shall what? No more be pulled up. No more be pulled up. You know, living in this land, we hear so much from the other side that Israel doesn't belong there. And Israel has no right to this land. Yeah, they left. They left and they were exiled. I want to share from the Koran as well in Surah Al -Ma'dah 5, 20 and 21. It said, O my people, enter the holy land which Allah has assigned to you, and do not turn back. That this land was assigned. Even the Quran says that. Assigned to whom? The Jews. The Koran is saying it's the Jews. Yes, it's in the Koran.

34:40 I have a surah right there. Wow, wow, wow. But, you know, as in anything else, oh, no, no, that doesn't apply. Right. It's been, it just meant they have to become Muslim first. You know, make all sorts of excuses. So I like that they have been called back and that God has established them, giving them this land. And even though the other side, wants to they say well forget that we're nation building we're going to build our own nation and the jews got to go back to where they were okay so they want to delegitimize israel being there right and so we're in the midst of that they want to dehumanize those that are there and demonize and even destroy everything about that yeah but we have an eternal promise God has brought them back to the land, even from ever since Abraham's days. And I believe that this, too, is going to be in the days to come that we'll see, even now that we're seeing that's happening as Israel's expanding and watching over the Druze up in Syria and establishing outposts in Lebanon and even in Gaza. But, you know, it isn't just one. scripture alone right in ezekiel 37 12 i will bring you back to the land of israel yep this is a promised land promised to the jewish people right promise chosen and i'll put my spirit

36:11 in you and you shall live i'm waiting for that let's get excited that's not just from a millennium ezekiel 37 14 i shall put my spirit in you and you shall live amen live So these are some of the close promises I keep to my heart, that God is working in this nation. It's taking a little longer than I'd like to see. I'm not getting any younger. But, you know, it's kind of like what Jesus said, when you put a little leaven or yeast in the bread, how it works. I don't know, but it rises up. And I think even through the misery of this war, we are going to see.

36:53 great changes coming back that people can change and find Jesus as well. Also, Isaiah 35, I can't forget that, said the desert shall blossom. Oh, yes. The desert shall blossom. We look about not only the natural desert, because some two -thirds of Israel is desert. And I just heard the other day they're going to build a new airport way down south, 80 miles from Tel Aviv, down close to the border of Gaza and Egypt. I think Israel has been forced to, in the days earlier, that place wasn't very well settled. Everybody went to Tel Aviv. Nobody wanted to go with Ben Gurion's vision of let's go into the desert and make this land produce. But now they're going to build an airport. And I think it's going to be 80 ,000 people used to build this airport, an international airport. But it will also build up that part of the nation that is. isolated.

37:56 And as a strong point, I've seen that in many of the other places close to Palestinian territories and stuff, Israel's built strongholds that you're not going to come across here. You know, when we were down in, when Ben -Gurion gave his speech in 1948 in Tel Aviv, the building where that happened, Independence Hall, they had a picture on the wall when you walk in of about Well, like 30, 40 people all had shovels in their hands to start building Tel Aviv. Yeah, they were turning over the earth. Turning the earth over, and that's where it started. So that they could start the city. Wow. On the sand dunes. On the sand dunes, they built Tel Aviv. Yeah, that's amazing. Wow, that's astounding. Yeah. Yeah. I think one of the other things that we forgot was many years, there was a man called Hayseed. Oh, yes. He was always looking for oil. Yes. And he had, I forget his name, his company, Zion or one of them. I don't remember. I don't remember. But not many years ago, Israel discovered vast amounts of oil in the shallow waters just off the shore.

39:08 And there's a prophecy in Deuteronomy 33, 24, that Asher shall dip his foot in oil. That's right. And many people, well, that's olive oil or that is some other different. type of oil in there that we get but they've found Massive amounts of oil that they're slowly developing, and that's another prophecy that's come to pass. So we thank God that not only they're in the spirit and in the natural, it's a wonderful place to be. I encourage everyone, don't listen to everything in the news, but come on the next tour that Phil and Sharon are going to bring on and see what God is doing and what the Lord has done. Yes. Amen. What are good news sources people can listen to out there where they're not going to get biased news? I listen to Amir Savati, and that is on Telegram. Yes, the Telegram app. I also go to some of the Israeli sites on the Internet, i24news .com. I think Mary Lois has a couple of sites. I can't remember right now. We'll add that to the show notes when we get that from her. Yeah. And then we have IsraelNationalNews .com. And J -Post, J -Post .com. So, of course,

40:39 as we come, just not only on the Internet, but there's other sources you can find. I think the best one is to grab the hold of a Jew, ask him about his land. And read the Bible. Read the Bible. Yes. How did I forget that? The Bible tells you a whole lot of news that, and especially if you do read the Bible and you get quiet before the Lord, like you were describing, you get so quiet that you can hear that still small voice. He will interpret scripture for you that you may have read it a hundred times. And all of a sudden, there's fresh revelation on it, particularly about his people and his land. Amen. Wow, okay.

41:23 So I think it's been my privilege over the years to meet many souls, not only Christian. And we don't call people Christian in Israel because there's so few. We're believers. And I love that term. So we're believers in Yeshua. You can run into Yeshua, too. He's still the light of the world. He's still making house calls. Yes, hallelujah. Especially in that land. I will never forget to the end of my days that I had an Emmaus encounter with the Lord. Mary Lawson and I did. And I've heard of people in different places. We were down in Jericho, which is an Arab city, but it used to be a city of priests. Yes. And many wells are there and water. It's a well -watered garden, as it were. We were by the tree of Sycamore Tree.

42:17 There's a little sign there that says this is the actual tree that Zacchaeus climbed up. And, you know, people in the car said, well, you think that's the real tree? And I go, oh, I don't know. It doesn't look like it's 2 ,000 years old. But I know Jesus must have passed very close to here. And that very microsecond that I said that, the whole car was filled with light, such an intense light. We were brought into the light. It felt like our very beings were sucked into the light. Wow. And it's an experience I'll never forget, that we were just into the greater light, and then it was like it exploded, and we just came into the light, and all our breaths came out at the same time. Just, oh, like that. And I heard, I love it. And you hear the still, soft voice. The Lord said, I'm still passing by here.

43:10 Amen. So, you know, sometimes you go, oh, I wish that could happen to me, Gene. But, you know, Jesus is not restricted to Jericho. Wherever two or three are gathered, I am there. Also, that you could run into him in your bedroom tonight. But also, we are people of faith. And if you never, ever have an encounter like I did, you know, he's there. He is wherever we are. If you can hear his still, soft voice, you'll never be lonely. You'll know that he said he's not going to leave you an orphan. And we serve an awesome God. And whether you come to Israel or not, come to Jesus first. Love the Lord. Ask him to fill you fully as Holy Spirit. Yes. With evidence and speaking in tongues. Yes. You have the fire of God within you. And what else do you need more than fellowship and the love of the Lord? Beautiful. And he'll bring you into his courts with praise. Amen. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please subscribe, rate and review this podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your review helps the podcasting platform suggest this podcast to other listeners who are also looking for a great move of the Holy Spirit. Check out our website at globaloutpouring .org to find out more information, read our blogs, connect with us and donate. You can also browse our web store for life -changing anointed books.

44:41 Until next time. This is Sharon Buss. And I'm Philip Buss. God bless you with His overwhelming, loving presence.