Report for Thursday, April 13th
Team #1
1 gift set in English and 1 bible in Russian, plus 10 pamphlets were given.
A team of two ladies were at a local shopping mall and met a man to whom they offered the Passover pamphlet. He said that he had celebrated the Passover with some Jewish friends and was impressed with how beautiful the evening was. The team spoke to him saying that Yeshua, Jesus, is the Messiah and that there was only one way to salvation for all nations and that was through Jesus, as it is written in the scriptures. They also told him that though there are many denominations, there is just one truth through the Messiah. This man said that he was Protestant because of his parents and so the team members explained that God wanted to have a personal relationship with him. He mentioned that he hoped the Messiah would come back for the Jewish people and they exclaimed that it was very important what he said, as there was a lot of trouble in Israel lately. They told him that the Jewish people can receive the Messiah now while they are living because once they die there are only two places they can go, as mentioned in Daniel 12; one place is to everlasting life and the other to everlasting contempt. They assured him that Yeshua was coming back and that He will reign in Jerusalem.
They continued speaking with this man, telling him that he too could receive Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. They mentioned that no good work could save them, but that salvation was through faith by grace. The man was emotional with this news, so they gave him a business card along with the Isaiah 53 leaflet to give to his friend. He went back to his car and soon after while the team continued walking on, he stopped his car and with tears flowing said, “You don’t know what this meeting means to me”. They invited him to park his car but he had to return to work and so they quickly asked him, “Do you confess that Jesus is Lord?”, and he said “Yes”; and they continued “And do you believe He was raised from the dead?” and again he said, “Yes”. They encouraged him to listen to the messages from the pastor on the internet and invited him to the Beth Ariel Saturday service. They told him he could call the office if he had questions. The team rejoiced with him as he drove away.
They met a woman who had just been through double cataract surgery. She received the set with joy and was very touched at the team’s kindness. She continued for several seconds to say thank you and that they were so nice.
The team met a man who took the pamphlet but said he could not take the set as the words were too small for him to read. He said that he was not into the traditional aspect of his faith and so they spoke to him about having a personal relationship with God and compared this relationship with that of God and David. They read Isaiah 53 to him and asked him if he knew who this was about. He said he had a good idea who it was and compared this man to Job. They said that only the Messiah could remove sins and mentioned that Isaiah points out that even though our sins are crimson red, we will be as white as snow when forgiven. They spoke about Daniel 12 and the choice of going to everlasting life or condemnation. They affirmed that the Messiah was resurrected and will come back to reign in Jerusalem. The team was astonished when he told them that he had written a song about Isaiah and showed them the video on Youtube. They believe that he is a true believer in Yeshua as he mentioned Him in the song. The team was in awe of what God was doing that day, the work of His hands in the conversations and meetings that took place. They expressed many thanks for the prayers lifted up for the outing and praised God for His goodness.
Team #2
1 gift set in English, plus 15 Passover pamphlets were given.
A second team of two women went out later that day to three different shopping areas. The areas were very quiet and the Jewish stores and bakery were closed for Passover. They stayed for about half an hour at the first place but were only able to offer a few pamphlets. One team member did have a lengthy conversation with a man from Yemen. They spoke about the salvation through Jesus the Messiah.
Finally, they went to a large shopping mall but again they were there for about half an hour when they decided to move to the side of the building. There were a few Jewish people who they were able to approach but one woman who accepted the pamphlet gave it back after asking what synagogue they attended. Thinking twice about this, she asked for the pamphlet back and then as she walked away, she stopped to take a screenshot of it and began to make a call. It was then when the team agreed it was time to leave.
However, just as the team was getting into their car, they spotted a man waiting in his car so they approached him and offered the pamphlet. Taking the pamphlet, he said he was not Jewish but Italian and spoke of his Catholic faith and that his grandmother taught him the scriptures. He said that he prayed every night for his children because he had divorced twenty years ago and was having problems with them and wondered out loud if God even listened to him. The team member said that it was important to have a personal relationship with Jesus because this intimacy brought freedom to speak to God and that asking for forgiveness for his sins would open the door to a closer relationship with Him. She explained that only Jesus could forgive sins and when there was repentance, in His mercy and grace this man would receive forgiveness from Messiah and his guilt would be washed away. He was asked if he would like to have that personal relationship and to receive Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. Bowing his head, he followed the member in the salvation prayer, asking for forgiveness and was told that God loved him very much. He had tears as he was congratulated on becoming a child of God and was shown where he could visit the website for more teaching on the Messiah. God redeemed their day after all the rejections and interferences they had. All this was insignificant in light of this new confession. They too want to express their thankfulness for the prayer warriors who are committed to this outreach.
Report for Friday, April 14th
5 sets, 1 Brit Chadashah, 1 Tanakh and 14 pamphlets were given out.
This team of two ladies were out on a sunny day at a local mall when a woman was first approached and received the Brit Chadashah. She said she already had the Tanakh.
One man was observing this conversation from far and come in closer, asking what was going on. A member approached him at his car and found out that he was face-timing his brother in Jerusalem and they were able to have a conversation with the two brothers at the same time! Amazingly a woman nearby was also listening in who happened to be a bible teacher. The team gave the man the Tanakh and showed him the bookmark that listed the prophesies concerning the Messiah and also gave him the Isaiah 53 leaflet that pointed out that only the Messiah could make him righteous before God. They spoke of man’s sin nature and how there were no sacrifices being offered today and how the death of the Messiah was our atonement as written in Daniel 9 and informed him that he could have forgiveness for his sins forever as mentioned in Isaiah 1. They quoted Zechariah 12:10 where the Messiah would come back to his people and that He fulfilled all those prophesies in the Brit Chadashah. The team asked him to pray that he would be reconciled with God while he was still living and to make that decision before it was too late. They finished the conversation but afterwards the man stopped his car to speak to one of the team members saying that he was really touched. She encouraged him to go online and that he was welcome to come to the congregation at any time.
A woman was handed the Tanakh and explained that it contained the Word of God. She was offered the Isaiah 53 leaflet and the bookmark as well. They then handed her the Brit Chadashah. She was told that it held the fulfilment of the prophesies concerning the Messiah as well as the New Covenant found in Jeremiah 31. She was also informed that it was important to know these prophesies as many false prophets would come and false teachings would lead people astray.
Next a woman was given two sets, one in French and one in English as she wanted one for her sister. A set was also given to a man whose best friend was a rabbi. He happily received the pamphlet as well.
All praise to God and all glory to Him for His goodness and faithfulness.