© 17 May 2019 Revive Israel Ministries

Revive Israel May 2019 Newsletter

Dear Friend of Revive Israel

Amid the tragic news of synagogue and church shootings over the Passover/Easter period, we declare the goodness and faithfulness of our great God, who according to Psalm 23 “prepares a table in the presence of our enemies” and “anoints our heads with oil.” May the Lord send his comforter to each bereaved, traumatised, or injured family. 

Getting to Know the Team - Roni Rejwan

Roni’s parents made aliya from Baghdad, Iraq, in 1952 and Roni was born 5 years later in Jerusalem, where he mostly grew up.

“As a young man”, he says, “I was heavily into Hinduism, as well as Buddhism and also some drug taking. Because of New Age beliefs and my Jewish roots, I hated Christians – especially because they proclaim there is only one way to God. I even searched for God through religious Judaism, despite coming from a secular family, but was disappointed.”

Ronnie married Annie, a backslidden Christian from Finland, 6 months before coming to faith in Yeshua himself. He did not want children, preferring to focus on searching for truth, even willing to become a Buddhist monk in the Himalayas.

“Before coming to faith, someone prayed for me and I was clearly aware of demons leaving my body and so I became a believer, aged 29”, Roni reports.

Roni no longer wanted to do 6 hours daily yoga meditation and Annie soon returned to the Lord. Today they have two girls and a boy in their 20’s – all believers.

Roni started to love Christians and also joined a Messianic evangelistic group, where he stayed for the next 16 years.

Later, he started to help people come off drugs and alcohol and is now co-manager of a rehabilitation center and co-pastor of a linked congregation (see “Beit HaYeshua – Partner Project” below).

Ethiopia Report

Africa has one of the largest Christian populations in the world, and yet Revive Israel has so far engaged very little there. So, two of our team spent eight days exploring God’s purposes for Ethiopia, together with our close friends Birlie and Melkame Belay – Israeli Ethiopian apostolic leaders with a long history serving their birthland.

The trip built on a key conference last summer. In Addis Ababa the team met with a large congregation, some business leaders and also financially supported impoverished elderly Jews who have sold land and left their tribal homes in order to make aliya to Israel – yet have long been refused entry by the Israeli government and are stuck in Addis Ababa.

The team was warmly welcomed by a large dynamic ministry in the city of Nekemte, established on the basis of miracles – having the privilege of helping baptise hundreds of new believers and teaching. The day they departed the new Christian president of Ethiopia visited for the first time – it was as if the team helped prepare his visit spiritually. “We had no petrol to return to Addis Ababa and there was none in the town. God supplied through a man who had 40 litres, who overheard a conversation and offered what he had.”

In Gambella, on the South Sudan border, a network of congregations has been built with the help of teaching from Revive Israel. The team partnered with Joash, president of Tikkun Africa (currently unaffiliated with our Tikkun), in supporting and guiding this wonderful growth.

Nesher Asia Report

The new Eagle (‘Nesher’) Project is about preparing an emergent generation of young Israeli leaders, alongside their counterparts in the nations, to take control of the spiritual skies for Yeshua - as the darkness of the End Times increases towards His return. To this end a group of young people and their leaders spent two weeks in Taiwan and South Korea, gaining cross-cultural experience, serving through ministry opportunities and building relationship with their east-Asian contemporaries. One of the leaders related, “I saw people I had known for years suddenly blossom and come alive.”

Beit HaYeshua – Partner Project

Oleg* worked for the KGB in the former Soviet Union and was a severe alcoholic for 20 years, becoming very ill and developing mental health problems. However, through Beit HaYeshua rehabilitation outreach center and congregation he came to Yeshua and is now very much free of alcoholism, no longer needs medication and walks with the Lord.

Beit HaYeshua (House of Salvation) is a rehabilitation center closely connected to Revive Israel. Residents are delighted – they have just moved from Talpiot to a much better location in Jerusalem – quieter and with a garden.

Residents love to go out on the streets and reach out to those trapped in addiction. At least one person is coming to faith each month and there are currently eight in the home – mostly staying for a year for withdrawal and intensive discipleship - with 3 or 4 teaching sessions daily, as well as mentoring from the leaders.

The linked congregation is made up of 80% delivered from addiction – mostly, but not only, Russian speaking Jews. They would love to also open a women’s house.

*not his real name

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

Our Challenges Today VS the Book of Acts (Part 3)

Asher Intrater speaks about issues Israeli congregations are facing today that are similar to those in Acts 15. How should we balance law and grace, conflicts with authority and different ethnicities in the congregation?  Watch HERE!

Subtitles in: Danish, Dutch, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish.