Hello, everybody! This is Will Ford with 818 The Sign and this is God Today. Listen, I want to share with you a powerful encounter I had on an airplane once that actually turned my heart towards the nation of Israel. I was on an airplane and flying to the International House of Prayer in Kansas City for the first time. And I sat on the plane and all of a sudden, the Spirit of prophecy fell on me on the plane.
I turn to this young lady next to me. I said, So, you’re from Southern California, right?” She said, “Uh, yes.” I said, “Not, LA, but somewhere close.” She said, “I am from Fresno, but now live in Long Beach.” I said, “Oh. The Lord is telling me you go to Long Beach State.” She said, “Yes. I said, “You’re a sophomore there right?” She said, “Yes.” I said, “You’re a psychology major there.” She said, “Uh, yes.” I said, “Do you have a friend named Tiffany?” She said, “I have two friends named Tiffany, what is going on?” I said, “I don’t know. I usually don’t do this unless there is music playing in the background, I don’t do this on planes. All I know is God really loves you, Jesus has an incredible plan for your life.”
I started prophesying an Esther anointing over her life. I started giving her words of knowledge about different things going on in her life. She was wiping away tears and I feel this thing begin to lift. And the Lord says to me before it ends, “Ask her her name and tell her there is something very precious about her name.” I literally said to the Lord, I said, “God, this is so good why don’t you just tell me her name,” I said. “No, stick with the script. Ask her her name and tell her there is something very precious about her name.” I said, “God is telling me there is something very precious about your name, what is your name?” She said, “My name is Zion.” I said, “Really?” I said, “Zion, did you know your name is in the Bible?”
I went to Isaiah 62, and I started reading, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent until her name becomes a praise in the earth.” I get to this place where it says, “And her land will be married.” She says, “This is crazy because I am actually traveling from California to Kansa City to be in my cousin’s wedding.” I said, “Now the Lord is telling me there is something precious about your last name, what is your last name?” She said, “Redding.” I said, “Did you say Redding like Otis Redding?” She said, “No.” And she spelled it a little different, but it was pronounced like Redding. Listen, this girl’s name was Zion Redding and she was traveling from California to Kansas City to be in a wedding. And the Lord spoke to me.
He said, “I betrothed myself.” I prophesied an Esther anointing over her life. ”I betrothed myself to the fatherless Esther generation. Just as you major in psychology, I major in the heart and soul of the next generations because there is a major battle going on for the heart of this nation and the nations of the earth and I am getting Zion ready for a wedding. I marry different races and I marry different movements together. And the synergy of this agreement is going to break the power of the death culture in the nations of the earth.
Well, that day led me to a powerful study. And for years, I began to get this heart for the nation of Israel as an intercessor for all that went to another level for me when I went to Israel. I went to Zion. I went to Zion for the first time and though it was months ago, honestly, it feels like I just returned yesterday. While I was there, I learned about the heart that Martin Luther King even had for the nation of Israel as well. He wanted to bring 5,000 intercessors, and pastors, and leaders to Israel.
Now, I started studying the history of the Christian African American leaders and the civil rights movement and their connection to the Jewish community. I was blown away by what they call the Golden Age of that relationship. Listen, a lot of people don’t know this, but in the early days of those historically black colleges and universities, Jewish scholars, Jewish rabbis, and educators were some of the first educators and teachers in those universities. Some of those rabbis and some of those Jewish leaders actually taught for free because they love to share the history and share in that of overcoming that we shared as communities of faith.
Also, I learned that it was the NAACP that was started, it was actually started by Jewish leaders during that time period. Abraham Heschel went to march with Dr. Martin Luther king. He said when he marched with Dr. King he felt as if his legs were praying when we walked with Dr. King. So, I learned these powerful things, but then we had this breach that has happened in that relationship. My heart is literally broken over where it is right now over things that have happened. Things that have happened in New Jersey and other places. We see that there has been a shift, a breach in that relationship. Listen, God wants to heal the breach between Christian African Americans, the Jewish community, and African American leaders. He wants to heal that right now, and we are hearing powerful testimonies on how He is doing that right now.
The Bible says what? “To the Jew first.’ I have done a lot of work of reconciliation around the world. I have been doing that for over 20 years, but I believe God is calling, especially those in the African American community, right now to reconnect to that Golden Age and take up the unfinished business of Dr. King to heal this breach.
Can we pray for Israel right now? I want to do that right now. Lord, for Zion’s sake we don’t want to keep silent. To your name because of praise on the Earth. Lord, we resist antisemitism in all its forms in the name of Jesus Christ. And, God, we bless Israel. We bless the root people, we bless the nation of Israel. Lord, as you being our Yeshua Hamashiach, you being our Savior, your people, Lord. We say your people are our people. Would you release salvation, Lord, to every person, Lord, every person that is your cousin Every person there in Israel that needs to know your name. Would you reveal your son, release Zechariah 12:10, “On that day, He said they would weep on Him who lives here as a firstborn son and as an only son”, God all of us have pierced you because of our own sins. God, reveal your son, reveal Jesus Christ as the son of the living God. And Lord, we thank you for our Messianic brothers, we thank you, Lord, for all that they have stood against, but we take a stand with them right now for your purposes on the Earth We stand with the root people right now, in Jesus’ name. Amen. This has been Will Ford and this is God Today. God bless you.