©June 15, 2010 Revive Israel Ministries
Israeli Interest in New Covenant

by Sahar S.

Last week forty young Israelis came to visit us at Revive Israel. They were all part of a college level course on Israeli history and culture. They came for the purpose of learning from the Old and New Covenant scriptures why we believe that Yeshua is the Messiah. They were surprised to discover that the promise of a new covenant is written in the Hebrew prophets (Jeremiah 31). The biggest news to them was that Yeshua loved the God of Israel and that His teachings were focused on a fulfillment of the moral law in the Ten Commandments (Matthew 5).

A number of them came with pre-conceived ideas and even anger towards Messianic Jews.  At the end of the meeting a young religious man came and admitted that his perspective had changed about who we are - Israeli Jews who believe in Yeshua. "D," one of the girls who organized this meeting (not yet a believer), was greatly taken aback by the great love that we have for our people in spite of the religious persecution against us. Please pray that the Lord would open the hearts of those hearing His word.

Recently we sent you an article about Mosab Hassan Yousef, entitled "The Green Prince". At this time, our brother needs your prayers and support as never before. When his faith in Yeshua was first proclaimed, Christians around the world rallied with him in friendship. When it was revealed that he had been an undercover agent for Israeli intelligence, his support plummeted - so much so that on the phone with Asher he said, "You are some of the few friends I have left." 

On June 30^th, at 8 am, Mosab will appear in court to appeal the denial of his request for political asylum in the USA. He was originally denied on the absurd claim that he is potentially "a danger to the security of the United States." In the event of further denial, he may be deported to the West Bank, where his life will be immediately sought by Hamas.

Please join with us in beseeching heaven for justice and grace on Mosab's behalf. If you live in the USA, please write a letter or call the attorney in order to support Mosab's case. Here is the contact information: 

Kerri Calcador
Senior Attorney
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
880 Front Street, Suite 224
San Diego, California 92101 phone: at 619.557.5578

We are in the last days of an intensive 4-week evangelism campaign in the Sharon area of Israel, a region just north and east of Tel Aviv, Israel’s largest city. We have used many methods to bring the gospel to the Israelis in the area, including banners, gospel tracts, phone calling, an internet campaign, surveys, and street music. It’s amazing to see how God can use a small group of twenty-five people to have a big gospel impact! By His grace we were able to raise a strong image for Yeshua.

We encountered hotter opposition in some areas than we had expected, but we adjusted in ways that allowed us to do the most evangelism, while losing the least amount of time engaged with those who would try to prevent us from sharing our message. We received contact information from over 2,000 Israelis who want to hear more about Yeshua. We have sent them literature, and now comes the work of visiting as many as are willing to meet with us. Please pray for this sharing to bear much fruit.

Last week I traveled to the city of Khmelnitsky in the Ukraine with 12 young Israelis. We came to support the Messianic congregation in the area (led by our friend Roman S). This city of Khmelnitsky was named after an evil man, responsible for murdering almost 500,000 Jews in the 1600s.

We took part in an outreach festival sponsored by the congregation. After a cultural presentation of Jewish song and dance, I spoke of the miracle of the nation of Israel and the revival of the Hebrew language. I explained that in both cases the rabbis resisted. They warned European Jews to not join the Zionist movement, boycotted the first World Jewish Congress in 1897, and even excommunicated Eliezer Ben Yehuda, the father of modern Hebrew.

"If the rabbis missed it on two of the most significant issues in Jewish History-the language and the nation-is it possible that they were also mistaken about Yeshua?" I then shared about the good news of Yeshua in its original Jewish context.

At the end we asked those who wanted to receive Yeshua to pray after me. With the presence of the KGB there, we didn’t request people to identify themselves, but we estimated that about half of the 480 people present prayed with us, many of whom were Jewish. Everyone was given information on the congregation.

In addition to my message, Miri, one of our team members, was able to share her testimony of being healed of a tumor. The healing brought her to Yeshua. Also, our Hebrew-speaking worship group led by Jamie Hilsden was a huge hit. SI introduced several congregations to a song he wrote called Yeshua, Moshia (Yeshua, Savior). Eli Birnbaum and Yitzhak C both shared powerful testimonies. And my daughter Sharon was able to get most of it on video as she led the media team.

The goal of our "Isaiah 2 Vision" is to take the good news from Israel to reach Jews and non-Jews around the world.