June 7, 2023 Wednesday
A team of two went out to a Jewish area in the evening. We were struck by the number of people who said they had more copies of the Tanakh than they knew what to do with. These came from their children who had used them in school or in synagogue. We encouraged them to READ them! Still, we gave out four full sets, without any long conversations.
Friday, June 9th
1 Brit Chadashah, 2 English sets, 1 French set, 1 French bible and 26 pamphlets
A team of two ladies set out on a pleasant day to a local mall. There they met a French, Jewish man and when they approached him he began to speak about Yeshua being a Jew and about the persecution of the church. They could see that he had an open heart to receive the word of God. This flung the door wide open for the team to share and offered him the Isaiah 53 leaflet and spoke to him about Yeshua being the Messiah. Together they read some passages with him about how the Messiah removes sins and how He became the atonement for those sins. They told him that some rabbis of the first century believed that the passage of Isaiah 53 referred to the Messiah as written in the Talmud and asked him to read this whole passage on the Messiah. He was so hungry to receive the Word so they took the bookmark and showed him the passage. To this he asked “Can you please leave me this leaflet?” They replied that he could ask God to show him the truth as his heart was open to receive. They spoke of the verse in Daniel 9:26 where the Messiah had to be cut off (die) before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. As well, they showed him Zechariah 12:10 where the Messiah will come back and reign in Jerusalem. They clarified the fact that the writings in the Talmud were written by men but that God’s word was revealed in the Tanakh and Brit Chadashah. He received the Brit Chadasha with joy and he took the Tanakh in Hebrew/French.
They confirmed that the scriptures were written by the Holy Spirit through Jewish men and that the Brit Chadashah fulfilled the prophesies foretold in the Tanakh. They were not finished with their conversation with him just yet as they told him that Yeshua had already come to establish His kingdom but was rejected by the religious priests and leaders and that today there was still a temporary blindness over Israel and referred to Romans 9:11. They told him about the persecution of Yeshua by the Jewish people in Isaiah 53 and that one day Yeshua will reply after hearing people say, “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do this in Your name” and he will rely “Depart from me, I never knew you”. This was a spiritual hatred and that even in the beginning of the scripture an Egyptian wanted to kill Moses. He was given the set, bookmark and contact card so that he could call the office for more information. Pray that this man who lives close to the church will one day attend the congregation.
An English set was given to a woman and a French bible was given to a young man who said he was Catholic, but they presented the plan of salvation to him and he was thankful for their time.
Report from Team #2
2 English sets, 1 Russian/Hebrew set, and approximately 35 Anti-Semitism pamphlets were given.
The team of two ladies encountered many Muslims on this day who were happy to receive the pamphlets.
One woman of European decent was getting out of her car to go for groceries and stopped to receive the pamphlet at her car. She decided to sit back down in her car and said she would definitely read what was said. She was asked if she would like to receive a beautiful gift for free and being curious she peeked into the bag and exclaimed, “It’s a Tanakh!” The team member took the Tanakh from the bag and held it out to her and showed her the Brit Chadashah explaining that it was a very Jewish book and that the writings explained about the Messiah and how the prophesies foretold in the Tanakh showed how he had come and fulfilled those prophesies. Putting her hand out to receive the gift she lowered her head as if bowing and shyly covering her face with her hand replied, “I don’t know what I did to deserve this”, to which the member said it was because Haschem loved her very much. The woman left then but returning to her car later spotted the team member and smiling waved. It was obvious that the woman had been lifted in her spirit by the act of love offered to her. Please pray for this woman who thinks she does not deserve such a gift of love from her God.
The team met a man who had just arrived from Connecticut, USA and they had a short conversation with him. He received the set for a friend of his and was grateful for the pamphlet as well. A young man was also interested in the pamphlet and the team member spoke to him about Jesus and recited John 14:6 where it states that Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. He was not interested in receiving a bible. However another Jewish man was on his way to buy groceries and stopped to ask the team what they were giving. He took the pamphlet and wanted to know more about the Messiah and so after a short conversation was given the contact card so that he could go online and listen to the teachings of the pastor.
At another shopping center the team hoped that they would have more opportunities to speak with Jewish people however the men that gathered the carts were out in number and two in particular kept staring at them. They wanted to stay and so began to ask God in prayer to cover them so that they could stay and have some conversations. Within a minute a van came driving straight for them with a sign on the front plate in red stating JESUS. They waved and he stepped out to greet them. Seeing the bibles in the back of the car he greeted them with praises to God. He said he was from the Congo and did outreach as well. His car also had a sticker on the back saying “True men serve the Lord”. He left with a pamphlet and the team took this as a sign that God wanted them to stay.
They met a French Muslim man who was attentive to hear about his question on faith differences between Christianity and the Muslim faith. He spoke about similarities in some of the writings concerning Yeshua and Abraham and Moses but when the conversation turned to current events and faith today he reacted by returning the pamphlet and stepping back, and quickly retreating. Pray that a seed for Yeshua was planted and that he becomes curious once again.
They met a Ukrainian man who spoke Russian. He had just returned from a visit to Israel where he saw his parents. He was offered a set in Russian and he happily accepted it. He was encouraged to read the leaflet Isaiah 53 that was included and he said he would. He was very surprised and thankful for the gift. The team concluded that this was the person that God had wanted them to meet and were thankful for answered prayer.
Both teams were thankful for the good weather and for the opportunity to see many receive the pamphlets and scriptures. They again want to thank all those that prayed for them and for the Lord answering their prayers.
June 12, 2023 Monday
A team of two went door to door in a new section of the Jewish neighborhood. The days being so long this time of the year, a total of seven sets were given over two and a half hours.
The area had many young families who were getting their children ready for bed. One young father spoke to us at his partially opened door while his wife and young children stood nearby on their staircase. He happily took a set. A young mother also took a set with her children near by.
We spoke to an older man and his adult son on their front porch for quite a while. One team member, who grew up in Montreal, was able to relate to a benevolent loan organization for Jewish people that was founded by the man’s grandfather. She had also gone to Jewish school in the city like he had. He recognized the meaning of Brit Chadeshah and took a full set. We spent around half an hour speaking together.
June 13, 2023 Tuesday
Another team of two went back out on a cool evening. A total of five full sets plus a Brit Chadeshah were accepted by individuals at their front door.
At one of the first homes, they met a Ukrainian woman who expressed concern about anti-Semitism and persecution. She left Ukraine to escape it and has found it increasing in Montreal. We said she could find peace in knowing Messiah’s atonement and trusting Him to care for her. She took a full set, promising to read Isaiah 53 in Hebrew.
At another home, another Eastern European woman was gardening in front of her home. We walked up the driveway and struck up a conversation. Her husband joined them soon after and wanted to know if we were Jehovah’s Witnesses. We assured them we were not and that they were right to be on guard. The grandparents of one team member had also escaped the pogroms (deadly riots of persecution) in Eastern Europe, so we exchanged on that subject for a little while. The wife, M., told us she was worried that things would get worse here before getting better according to “Christian programming” she had heard. We showed them Ezekiel 38 and 39 about the upcoming Russian-led alliance which will attack Israel but be defeated by God. It was so encouraging to hear they were open to Christian sources. This gentle and kind couple, who read Hebrew, took all we offered them and gratefully shook our hands as we departed after nearly half an hour. Later, we saw them taking a walk and hurried over to offer them a business card so they could listen on the radio to our programs.
At the end of the evening, we met a middle-aged woman at her door who immediately asked us if we were Messianic. We affirmed we were, but it did not scare her off like it does most others. She seemed curious so we continued to speak, going into messianic prophecy and how Jewish the Brit Chadeshah is. After a while, she said she was orthodox and carefully kept the Sabbath. We said that other orthodox people have come to believe in Yeshua. At the slightest mention of Shavuot, she quickly asked if messianics celebrated Jewish holidays. She seemed fascinated to hear of how we were “the light to the nations” and that our congregation had members from dozens of cultures who also celebrated the feasts. It was truly one of the most amazing conversations we have ever had at someone’s home as we exchanged on many subjects for close to an hour. We were thrilled that she accepted to read Isaiah 53 and Matthew in Hebrew with an eye for the prophecies which were fulfilled, especially those on the bookmark. She really seemed open, despite being so religious.
Please remember that the success in sowing these seeds is a direct result of your continued prayers, which we cherish. We all share in the heavenly treasure which results from these outings as we faithfully hold out the Word of God to the lost sheep of Israel.