Thursday, July 4th
3 sets, 1 Tanakh and 2 special conversations
Two women were out on a warm and windy evening doing door to door in a local suburb. The team was in an area of duplex buildings and came to a home where the first bell they rang was for the 2nd floor dwelling. A man shouted down to them saying they were not interested and not to bother the person downstairs as he was not religious. They thanked the man and went next door where a woman received the gift set with great thanks.
At the next door, they spoke with a religious man, dressed in traditional religious clothing. His mother called to him from the background, but he responded that he was speaking to someone at the front door. Here, they were able to speak with him for about 25 minutes. He said that he believed in the Oral Law and so they had questions for him. For example, would he be able to recognize the Messiah and what prophecy could he use to identify the Redeemer? Surprisingly, one of the things he said was that the Messiah would not do any miracles. This answer surprised the team and they responded by saying that there were messianic miracles written in the Tanakh in the book of Isaiah. He also said that the next temple would be the messianic temple and at this point he took the Isaiah 53 leaflet. Noting that he could read Hebrew, he was shown where it was written that the Messiah was able to make him righteous. He was told than no man could do that, and that only God was able to cleanse man from his sins. He recognized that the team believed in Yeshua and asked if they belonged to Jews for Jesus. They informed him that they were not from this particular organization, but that they did believe Yeshua was the Messiah and fulfilled the prophecies spoken of in the Tanakh. He also took the bookmark and comfort card. As they left, they hoped that he would read Isaiah 53 and would listen to the teachings that could be found on the Beth Ariel website. Interestingly, they did meet him once again later that night as he drove past them in his car, waving and smiling.
At another door, at a second story apartment, they met a woman who came down the stairs to greet them. She was suspicious of the free gift but did take the Tanakh and was thankful.
At the following door a woman received the set gratefully.
Moving on, the team began another street where only 3 mezuzahs were noted. A Moroccan Jewish lady who was clearly religious as identified by her hairpiece, opened the door to them. During the conversation she realized that a team member was a Messianic Jew and despite this, she invited them into her home and spoke with them for about 40 minutes. She believed in the Oral Law and yet the team was able to tell her about the Father, His Son and the Holy Spirit and how sin separated man from God. They pointed her to Isaiah 53 and how only the Messiah could make her righteous and only a remnant would be saved in Israel as foretold in Isaiah 10:22. She listened to everything the team said and although she did not want the literature, she took the contact card and was told to go to the website where she could find the pastor’s teachings. They spoke briefly about the Catholic Jesus and of the true Jesus spoken about in the Tanakh who was the Jewish Messiah. She was touched that the team had such a love for Israel and was happy that they believed in the Messiah as they quoted from Micah 5:2. They hugged each other and they invited her to call the office for questions or to set up another visit with them. The team was thankful for this evening.
Friday July 5th
1 set in English, 1 Tanakh, 2 Brit Chadashah and 1 Bible were given.
On a hot and windy day, the team had just stepped out of their car when they approached a father and his children, who seemed to have their eyes fixed on the two team members. The team offered the father an anti-Semitism pamphlet, a bookmark and a comfort card. The father was appreciative and surprised to see that they were there to bring the Word.
One Brit Chadash was given to a woman who already had a Tanakh.
A Bible was given to a man who supported Israel. He was very interested in the situation in Israel and spoke happily about Jesus as they told him that Yeshua Jesus’ Hebrew name. He was informed that Yeshua was announced as the coming Messiah by the prophets in the Old Testament and how these were fulfilled in the New Testament and how He was coming back to reign in Jerusalem. He was told that there was only one way to the Father as found in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me”. He was given the contact card and invited to the congregation.
One Tanakh was given in French to a religious man from Marocco who was wearing a kippa. He did not accept the Brit but they still had a 25-minute conversation with him. He recognized that they were Messianic believers who believed in the Messiah written about in the Scriptures. A team member quoted a passage when Yeshua spoke of Moses in John 5:46,47 because he said he believed the rabbi’s words and the Oral Law. They spoke about sacrifice and blood atonement and they quoted Lev. 17:11, telling him that the last sacrifice was Yeshua as seen in Isa. 53. They told him that the Messiah would return and reign in Jerusalem. Leaving the Isaiah 53 leaflet with him, they told him that the Messiah alone could make him tsadik, and that God loved him and was calling him. He was given a comfort card as well.
The team then saw a sister from their congregation and chose to spend time with her. They thanked God for the outing and for the prayers offered for them.
Monday, July 8th
On a hot and windy evening, the team was out going door to door when they met a man wearing a kippa who answered his door. He was surprised at the offer of a free gift and wanted the team of women to speak to his wife who was not yet at home. He called her on the phone and invited them into his home. He called his wife on the phone and the team observed a tone change in his voice. One team member went to the car to get a Hebrew only set and while out, the other team member was asked to speak to his wife on the phone. The wife was explained about the gift and told that it included the Brit Chadashah. She asked to speak to the husband who was told not to accept anything, but he took the Tanakh anyway as he was determined to do so. He offered the ladies water and spoke to them for about 15 minutes. He had difficulty understanding English, so he brought his Tanakh to the table. Searching for Isaiah 53, he was unable to find it but did find Samuel and Judges. The team opened the Hebrew Tanakh and showed him where to find Isaiah and to read chapter 53. They told him that this was the Messiah who could make him tsadik. It was a great conversation, and he took the time to show the ladies a beautiful necklace from Israel that held the star of David and the form of Israel together as one piece. He was proud of this piece of jewelry. At that point, the wife had returned and was very quiet but when she saw the Tanakh was in Hebrew and English and that one of the ladies was wearing a necklace stating, “Bring them home” (referring to the hostages held in Gaza), she smiled. She kept the set and said she would take it to the synagogue to bless it. The husband kissed the Tanakh and the team was touched by his hospitality and love for the Word. They received a comfort card as well.
At the next door, there was no answer but a man from the second floor apartment answered them. He was from Portugal and married to a Jewish woman. He said there had been a problem because of the religion. They showed him that Yeshua was indeed the Jewish Messiah for all nations and that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies of the Messiah in the NT. He was touched and encouraged to read the Scriptures with his wife.
At another door, a woman from Israel was thankful to take the gift set. She lived with her parents and the team saw the woman’s children walking with her mother. This was beautiful to see and was asked if the people next door were Jewish. She exclaimed that her sister lived there, and the team joked asking if she was as nice as her. Besides this woman taking a set, the sister living next door also took one as well as for another sister. They spoke for about 20 minutes and prayed for their family in Israel.
The team met a man on the sidewalk and as they spoke to him, and the woman he was conversing with appeared to be in opposition to the team, so they left.
They then offered an anti-Semitism pamphlet to a couple pushing a person in a wheelchair. They declined to take it and the team saw this couple speak with the woman who opposed them minutes before, so the team decided it was time to leave and go back to the first door that did not have a response.
Here a man did open the door to them, and they spoke to him about Yeshua. He did not believe that Yeshua was for the Jewish people and that many religions could unite in order to reach God. The team told him that the Scriptures wrote that God states that there is only one God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that there is one Messiah and one truth. They spoke of sin and also who was to be considered a Jew. He took the Isaiah 53 leaflet only and the contact card to listen to the teachings. The team mentioned that their pastor was from Casablanca and was presently teaching on Exodus. He was touched and they told him that only God could reveal the truth to him. They thanked him for taking the time to speak with them as his wife called him to dinner.
The team was thankful for the evening conversations and thanked all the prayer warriors.