©5 September 2014 Revive Israel Ministries

God in Search of Man

By Asher Intrater

At the beginning of the Bible, right after the sin of Adam and Eve, we see God coming to earth to search for His wayward creatures.

Genesis 3:9 – And God called to the man, and said, "Where are you?"

When Adam and Eve sinned, they turned their back on God; they betrayed Him; they were avoiding Him; they had negative thoughts about Him; they didn't want to see Him.   Yet God overcame all those obstacles. He actively sought them out.  The good shepherd leaves all to find the lost sheep (Luke 15:4).

Yeshua's mission to earth continued God's search to make contact with mankind.

Luke 19:10 – The son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

I used to think that I was searching for God.  And in a way, God does hide Himself to allow for everyone to search for Him (Acts 17:27). Yet more and more I see it was God who was seeking me out.  I was totally engaged in my own selfishness, and He pursued me despite all my rejection of Him.

II Timothy 1:17 – (Onesiphoris) was diligent to search for me until he found me.

Love searches for the other.  Love breaks down barriers to make connection. Love is active to go out of its place to find the loved one.  We must "strive to make contact."  Love does not wait passively for the other person to make contact, but is diligent to keep searching until the other is found.  We keep searching even while the other person is resisting our efforts to make contact.

In the past few months the "terror tunnels" of Hamas in Gaza were made famous. But Israel has also been building a few tunnels of its own. These tunnels will not be used for transporting weapons, but people - as part of a high-speed rail system between Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv; a trip estimated to take 28 minutes!

After 22 months of work, the construction of the longest tunnel on the track was completed.  The tunnel covers the distance between Mevasseret Zion and Nahal Yitlah for a total of 11.6 kilometers.  Once the entire project is completed, it is estimated that the train will transport 4 million passengers annually.

 In another large project, the twisting highway through the mountains of Judea leading up to Jerusalem is being upgraded with bridges, tunnels and widening of the road.  This new rail and highway system will have a transforming effect on the economy of the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv corridor.

By Betty Intrater

Asher and I serve at two sister congregations, one in Jerusalem (Ahavat Yeshua, with Eddie and Jackie Santoro) and one in Tel Aviv (Tiferet Yeshua, with Ron and Elana Cantor).  At Tiferet Yeshua there has been a lot of "action" this month. 

• There were Orthodox religious "anti-Messianics" at the door almost every week trying to persuade people away from their faith and from the congregation.  Please pray for protection for the young believers.

• In two of the meetings during the recent war, there were bomb sirens during the final prayers and songs and even as someone prayed to receive the Lord!

• A new Sabra (native Israeli), a businessman in his 60's received the Lord.  He shared this week that he was reluctant to tell his daughter (a well-educated physicist). However she called him (without knowing about his faith), and said "Abba, an amazing thing happened this week. I had a dream in which Yeshua appeared to me and talked to me."

• One of the young singles shared that her cousin (also a believer) was at the community pool this week.  He left to go to the rest-room and when he returned, he couldn't find their toddler. He turned towards the pool and immediately noticed the child face down in the water.  He dove in and pulled him out, lifeless.  He cried out loud, "Yeshua, have mercy on me!" and began to massage the child. After a few moments the toddler began to vomit water, and then started breathing!  The emergency teams rushed him to the hospital.  The doctors were shocked that he was fine, and couldn't understand how it happened.

• A young woman, declared fatally ill with anorexia, after visiting several times, came and asked for healing.  We anointed her with oil and commanded the demons to leave, while she proclaimed for the first time that she wanted to live. Please pray for her full restoration.  

• The mother of Shai Kushner, the Messianic soldier who was recently killed in the Gaza war, came to worship with us. (Her daughter is a member of the congregation.) There was a tremendous outpouring of love and compassion for her during the prayer time.

• There has been a steady flow of "not-yet-believers" visiting the congregation, as well as a new wave of young adults from Messianic families who had been distanced from the faith starting to return.

Please stand with us as partners in faith, prayer and finances for both the Jerusalem and Tel Aviv congregations.

Many of you will remember our brother and partner, Yoshitaka Ikarashi (“Ikapi”) from the days of the tsunami in NE Japan.  The radiation leaking from the Dai-Ichi reactor continues to plague the whole region.  Is there hope?  Ikapi is actually in the race for governor of the prefecture which contains 2 million residents.  The election is October 26th.  He needs our prayers for:

• The finances, partners and many volunteers he needs to run a successful campaign.
• Protection for he and his family (wife and 3 small children) as dad travels full time around the prefecture in order to campaign