“I will bless those who bless you….”— Genesis 12:3
by Matthew Crouch
Those who have been there will agree: There is no place quite like Israel. When you are there, walking the streets of Jerusalem, visiting the countryside, experiencing for yourself the places you’ve read about in Scripture, you really feel that you are in the center of God’s gaze. This is the land of His people, the land of the Bible, the land where Jesus walked and lived, where He died, where He rose again — and where He’s coming back. When you are in Israel, touching His people, His land, you feel you are in the most blessed place on earth. And the truth is, you are!
Laurie and I have been to Israel and the Holy Land many times over the years, and each trip we take with our family and friends seems even more memorable than the last. That’s why we are so excited about the upcoming Israel tour we’re hosting with our good friend, Pastor Joseph Prince, February 22nd through March 2nd of 2016. We’re calling it the Grace Israel Tour 2016 — or G16 for short — and we really sense that this trip, of the many we’ve led over the years, is going to be a blessing like no other for those who join us.
Of course, we’ll be visiting many of the locales we’ve all read and heard about over the years in Scripture, including the most profound places of Jesus’ life and ministry: Bethlehem, Nazareth, Capernaum, Old Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, the Upper Room, Gethsemane, Calvary, and the empty tomb!
We’ll also share communion, worship, and some unforgettable fellowship along the way, and experience the dynamic preaching, teaching, and grace message of Pastor Joseph Prince. Those of us who have been to the Holy Land with Pastor Joseph know that for him, every inch of Israel’s rich landscape is a living, breathing, Holy Spirit infused lesson in God’s grace and mercy. What he shares throughout this historic tour will impact you for a lifetime. Just as he told us recently, this tour, like no other we’ve been on, “is going to be life-transforming, and you’ll always be able to point back to this time, to Israel, where something happened there for you.”
Not long ago Israeli Pastor Samuel Smadja and I welcomed Israel’s esteemed Minister of Tourism, Yariv Levin, to TBN’s Inside the Trinity Family of Networks program, which we filmed on the rooftop of our TBN studio in Jerusalem. It’s Minister Levin’s job to make sure people who come to visit Israel have a safe, enjoyable, and memorable stay. And he emphasized that despite what the news media would have people believe, “Israel is one of the safest countries for tourists worldwide…. We consider the security of the people who come to visit us here as a top priority.”
It also became clear as we interviewed him that Israel is more than just Mr. Levin’s homeland. It is his passion, and he loves to share the beauty of his nation with others. That afternoon, as we looked out over the countryside toward the majestic mountains surrounding the “City of David,” Mr. Levin emphasized that when people come from around the world to visit Israel and Jerusalem, “they don’t just find themselves sightseeing. They find themselves having an experience for life, something that touches them in the depths of their heart and soul and that changes them.”
Laurie and I couldn’t agree more. Every time we visit Israel we come away changed, transformed, and touched in a way that is prophetic — as if God is speaking personally and powerfully into our lives through this land and people He cherishes so deeply.
There’s one more thing about taking a trip to Israel — which, by the way, everyone should do at least once in their lifetime. When my parents, TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch, began escorting groups to the Holy Land over forty years ago, they weren’t doing it just to take people on a great vacation (although it is that). They were actually taking seriously God’s promise that He would bless those who bless His people Israel (Genesis 12:3). And every group TBN has taken over the years has gone, not just to experience the land of the Bible, but to actively support, pray for, and bless the land of Israel and its people. We’re looking forward to continuing that mission with our G16 tour.
Make no mistake — we believe TBN’s G16 Holy Land tour is going to be a miraculous and life-changing ten days for all who join us. January 31st is the deadline for registration, so consider this your invitation. Plant a seed into your own future and destiny, and come with us to the land of Israel.
To find out more about how to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime adventure to the Holy Land, log on here to TBN’s G16 Tour Website.