for the Christian who wants to know more about Jews and evangelism. November 1999 Volume 3:5760 BY DAVID BRICKNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Transcription

1 Volume 3:5760 N E W S L E T T E R for the Christian who wants to know more about Jews and evangelism. November 1999 It was Saturday afternoon and I had taken my two children bowling. As we drove home it dawned on me that neither of them had said, Thank you. When I pointed it out to them, my son Isaac said, Dad, I am thankful. I just didn t say it out loud. I d never heard that one before, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how I have done the same with my Heavenly Father. When questioned or pressed, I can recount the things for which I am thankful to God. Yet I often fail to volunteer outward or spontaneous expressions of my appreciation for His blessings. Something about thankfulness requires us to say it out loud. We can experience enjoyment or even gladness inwardly, but thankfulness is not a private experience. It must be voiced. This month we celebrate Thanksgiving, which by its very name, reminds us of the important link between being thankful and giving thanks. Again, giving is not something we do inwardly. If you have to remind someone to thank you (or if you have to be reminded), it means a whole lot less. When people offer thanks of their own accord, it means more not only because it recognizes the receiver of thanks more genuinely, but because of what it says about the character of the thanks-givers. So it is between God and us. We tend to think that the one whom we thank is the one who benefits from our recognition. Yet with my children, I am not as concerned about receiving their recognition as I am concerned for them. I want them to recognize for themselves what they receive, so that they will grow up to be thoughtful and grateful individuals. Likewise, God does not need our recognition, but He is delighted when His BY DAVID BRICKNER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR children are thoughtful and grateful. These proper attitudes reflect God s goodness and when we are reflecting His character, we are fulfilling the purpose for which God created us. Thanks-giving builds the qualities that God loves most within our own hearts and those qualities improve our lives and the lives of those around us. For the believer, every day should be a day of thanksgiving. Giving thanks is a spiritual discipline. God has commanded us to do it as much for our own benefit as for His enjoyment. Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name, make known His deeds among the people (1 Chronicles 16:8). When we give thanks to the Lord, we are not only benefiting ourselves and blessing our Maker, we are also making known His deeds among the people. We are extending God s blessings to those around us so that they can share in our thanks-giving. When thanksgiving flows from a heart that is truly grateful, it waters the souls of all those around. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify Him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bull, which has horns and hooves. The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live (Psalm 69:30,31). What do the humble see? They see the LORD magnified through our praise. They see more of Him and it makes them glad, it makes their hearts live. So when we give thanks to the Lord we delight Him, we build godly continued on page Jews f r Jesus

2 continued from page 1 character in our own lives and we extend blessing to others around us. It is a genuine three-way street. Over the years, we Jews for Jesus have tried to stay on that three-way street, looking for ways to reflect our thankfulness to the Lord and to you, our Jews for Jesus friends and family. I hope that our forthrightness and zeal for proclaiming the gospel flows from gratitude to God for saving us and giving us such a wonderful hope in Christ. Real evangelism is making known His deeds among the people. I believe that is the very best way of thanking God for His salvation. When we tell you about the good things the Lord is doing through Jews for Jesus, we are also giving thanks to the Lord in a way that we hope flows over to refresh your hearts too. And when we thank you for your friendship and support, I hope we do so in ways that help you to rejoice with us in God s goodness. Since the earliest days of Jews for Jesus, Moishe Rosen encouraged us to write personal notes of thanks on postcards to our friends and supporters. Many of you have commented how much you appreciate receiving these postcards from staff members, but they are only a small reflection of the gratitude we have for you and most of all for our Savior, Y shua. Nevertheless, I could wish to see more thankfulness in my own walk with God and I think most of our staff could also be more thankful than we are. The Jewish religion interpreted the command to give thanks into the ritual of reciting bruchas or blessings as a daily exercise. There are blessings to be said upon waking up in the morning and for going to sleep at night, blessings for hand washing, even a blessing for a man to say when he sees a beautiful woman. In a humorous scene from Fiddler on the Roof, a villager asks the local rabbi if there is a blessing for the Czar. Of course there is, the rabbi replies. May God bless and keep the Czar... far away from us. Jewish tradition offers blessings for just about every activity of life. Yet, the fact that my people have developed this ritual does not necessarily fulfill the command to give thanks. Ritual can become rote. It can be so for Christians as well. It is all too easy for us to be perfunctory in our thanks-giving. That does not mean we cannot express true thankfulness within various liturgies and set formats. We certainly can. Nevertheless, if we are not careful and focused, if our words do not express a heartfelt reality, then not only our liturgies but often-used phrases like praise God or thank you, Jesus can violate the commandment, Do not take the name of the Lord in vain. True thanksgiving requires care and thoughtfulness. We all need to strive for that kind of care. Dr. Vernon Grounds is president emeritus of Denver Theological Seminary, the author of numerous books and a long-time member of our Jews for Jesus Board of Directors. He has been an example to me of the kind of care and thoughtfulness that flows from a thankful heart. Over the years, I have received numerous notes and letters from Dr. Grounds which I deeply treasure. His annual Christmas letter, recounting the joys and sorrows of the year, always ministers to my heart. The reason, it seems to me, is because of the genuine heart of gratitude to God that flows throughout his thoughtfully worded prose. Even when he has, on occasion, thanked me for some small kindness, he does so in a way that brings glory and honor to the Lord. This remarkable ability is a gift I covet for myself and for the staff of Jews for Jesus. Remember the story of Jesus and the ten lepers? He sent them all to show themselves to the priest. While they were on their way, He healed them all; yet only one man, a Samaritan, returned to thank Jesus. Jesus asked, Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner? (Luke 17:17,18). I am afraid that those ten lepers are a fair representation of humanity in general, and Christians in particular. We have experienced the cleansing, transforming power of God in our lives. We, more than all others, have cause to give thanks to the Lord. Yet too many of us, like the other nine lepers, continue on our way with ungrateful hearts. We need to continually cultivate an attitude of thoughtful and heartfelt thankfulness, and we need to develop the art of voicing our thanks. As we do this, I know it will make us more effective servants of God. May He grant us the grace to be like that one Samaritan, returning each day to the feet of Jesus to thank Him for all He has done for us. WE EXIST TO MAKE THE MESSIAHSHIP OF JESUS AN UNAVOIDABLE ISSUE TO OUR JEWISH PEOPLE WORLDWIDE. JEWS FOR JESUS INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS: 60 HAIGHT STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, CA NOVEMBER 1999, VOLUME 3: jfj@jewsforjesus.org; HOME PAGE: ALSO WORKING IN: AUSTRALIA, CANADA, FRANCE, GERMANY, ISRAEL, RUSSIA, SOUTH AFRICA, UKRAINE and THE UNITED KINGDOM; EDITOR: RUTH ROSEN; ART DIRECTION: PAIGE SAUNDERS; DESIGN: DANIELA KOGER 2

3 Co-Laborers in Messiah! ABH K Jews for Jesus Co-Laborers in Messiah (CLIMs) are trained volunteers who represent our ministry in their area. We have 82 Co-Laborer in Messiah chapters throughout the United States as well as in Mexico City, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the former Soviet Union. These folks help us in so many ways. As volunteers, they choose their activities according to their individual gifts and/or preferences. David in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania assisted us at the Messiah 99 Conference at Messiah College in Lancaster. Rick and Beverly from Burke, Virginia helped our Washington, D.C. staff move into their new office. Jean from Madison, Wisconsin enjoyed handing out broadsides (gospel tracts) at a recent art fair in Madison. Steve in Roseburg, Oregon spends many of his lunch hours handing out broadsides at the University of Oregon. Stacy in Cambridge, Minnesota exercised her gift of hospitality by feeding The Liberated Wailing Wall but she really went over-and-above when she mended some of their costumes! Donna from Houston, Texas had been witnessing to her unsaved Jewish friend, Hilary, for a long time. Donna recently hosted a dinner party where she was able G to connect Hilary with a Jewish believer in Jesus. It was a great night of ministry and Hilary put her faith in Y shua. Kristy, a Jewish believer from Lynnwood, Washington is amazed at the opportunities the Lord has opened up for her to talk to Jewish doctors at her workplace. If you would like to personally invest ten or so hours a month in Jews for Jesus, please consider becoming a Co- Laborer. There are so many ways you can help us to do and be more. Whether you enjoy fixing a meal, making phone calls, setting up displays and/or schmoozing at conferences, providing lodging, visiting hospitals, witnessing on-line or even handing out gospel tracts... we need your help. And the list doesn t end there, because you can probably help in ways we have not even thought of yet! For more information on being a Co-Laborer in Messiah, contact Cecilia Butcher 60 Haight Street San Francisco, CA mcbutcher1@aol.com M 3

4 eet Our Missionary Trainees M y name is Shlomy Abramov. They call me a Sabra (in Hebrew Tsabar ) which means I am a native-born Israeli. Sabra is also the name of the Israeli cactus. I was once like that thorny cactus. I was born into a traditional Jewish family and as a boy I loved it. But when I was 13, I asked God to show Himself to me because, if I could not see, I would not believe in Him. I didn t get an answer. So I stopped believing in Him. It was very bad for my family, but it happened. Then started a time of rebelliousness in my life. I thought only of money and success. After the army I joined the police force, then went on to private security where I earned the nickname Rambo (I served as Sylvester Stalone s bodyguard when he came to Israel). All of this time, the Tsabar showed himself. But I was looking for answers anywhere: fortune tellers, cards, mystics. When they failed to provide answers, I went back to my roots in the synagogue. Even there I didn t find answers. During this time you would not even want to talk to me. My life was a string of night clubs, bodyguarding fights. While I was on vacation in the north, I met a young woman who talked to me about Jesus. I remember telling her, Don t talk about that and don t say His name in my presence. I m a Jew. If you were a man I would break you in half. But I didn t know the Lord was working. I kept asking her questions. And she made me look at the prophecies about the Messiah where I saw things they had never told me at school. I struggled within myself because, for the first time in my life, I wanted to make a decision for God by accepting Jesus. But what about my tradition and my family? I struggled hard. But the Lord is bigger than anything and He gave me the grace to receive His gift and make a stand for Him. I did it! I found myself on fire for Y shua day after day. I married the young woman who was so brave to lead me to the Lord. A big change happened in my life. As an Israeli, I had seen how my uncles and friends died in the army. Before I knew Y shua, no Arab could stand next to me without me trying to kill him. The Lord, in His grace, arranged for me to be baptized with a Palestinian who became my friend. Isn t the Lord wonderful? The thorn of the Tsabar is gone for good. Then the Lord did another thing in my life. I went on a Jews for Jesus Summer Witnessing Campaign in New York City and I came back on fire for witnessing to others. When I graduated from Shlomy Abramov Bible school with my wife, Miriam, Jews for Jesus offered us a place on their staff. Isn t the Lord good? He offered us the opportunity to share the gospel with my people and teach them our faith in Y shua. We jumped on the plane and we are now here in training. As I look ahead, I ask you please to pray Greg Rosenberg that I can finish my studies in English. And please pray for the work in Israel with all the opposition we face there. Finally, please pray for my family, that they will also find peace and life in Y shua. M iriam Abramov is the woman who had the nerve to witness to Rambo. While she was born and raised in the United States in a non-jewish household, Miriam is very comfortable living in Israel Miriam Abramov where she has made her home for many years. She and Shlomy recently graduated from Bible school in Israel, where Miriam says it was quite challenging for her to take all her classes in Hebrew. Now that she and Shlomy are training together with Jews for Jesus in New York, the shoe is on the other foot as Shlomy is challenged to do his coursework in English! Miriam s prayer request: Please do pray for our training and also that God will prepare the hearts of Israelis to whom we will return after our training. Igor Ashkinazi I found Jesus in the Yellow Pages, says Chad Elliott. Raised in a Conservative Jewish home, Chad became a bar mitzvah at age 13 (a religious ceremony that is a rite of passage into the Jewish community). However, he strayed from his Jewish upbringing for many years. Finally, in a state of frustration and turmoil he decided to re-establish contact with his Jewish roots. He opened the phone book to find a synagogue, preferably one that would be easy to locate. The ad said, Messianic congregation and proclaiming Y shua as the Jewish Messiah. Chad attended and was shocked to meet Jewish Chad Elliott people who actually believed Jesus was the Messiah. Through the testimony of their changed lives and a study of messianic prophecy, Chad found the case for Jesus convincing and accepted Jesus as his Messiah Larry Dubin and Savior. Chad s prayer request: Please pray that my eyes will be firmly focused on the Messiah. Pray also that He will use me to help my Jewish people come to know Him. How in the world does a nice Jewish boy find Jesus in Saudi Arabia? Greg Rosenberg did! Like Chad, Greg was raised in a Conservative Jewish home and became a bar mitzvah at age 13. After high school, he went into the Air Force and then got a job at McDonnell-Douglas. That is how he, along with his wife and daughter, ended up in Saudi Arabia. Since no Jews were allowed in the country, Greg was told to list himself as a Christian on his work forms. However, once in Saudi Arabia, he found himself living in a community of genuine Christians and they led him to faith in Jesus. Greg s prayer request: For my wife, Cheryl, and I to grow together in our commitment to the Lord and to serving Him. Home is wherever my head rests, says Larry Dubin, who describes himself as having been born in Arizona, raised in Colorado and matured in the United States Navy. God used two men to lead Larry to faith in Jesus. The first man attempted to share the gospel truth with me. The second man lived a godly lifestyle before my eyes. The Spirit of God used them both to overcome my lack of understanding of who Jesus is and what He did for me. Larry s prayer requests: First, salvation for my biological father, David, an elderly Jewish man who does not know the Messiah of Israel. Second, obedience to God s calling. I lack a helper and, sometimes, my desire for a wife causes me to take my eyes off Jesus. May I never stop looking to Him. He is the author and perfector of what I believe and what I am. Backflips for Jesus? Igor Ashkinazi is perfectly capable of doing them! Born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine, Igor s parents were both Jewish doctors. Igor, however, was not interested in medicine, but in aerogymnastics. Eventually he finished athletic college and became a Soviet champion. Later, he was invited to be an actor-acrobat in the Moscow Circus. After two years working in the Moscow State Circus, he emigrated to the United States. He accepted Jesus as his Messiah and Lord and was devastated when someone told him that by doing so, he had become a Christian. All I knew about Christians came from experiences in Odessa. Christians hated Jews and now I had become a Christian. I fell on the floor crying, wracked with pain that I cannot describe. Even so, I knew that I had to follow Jesus, even if it meant becoming a Christian. That same day Igor says, I discovered that Jesus was a Jew, that He loved Jewish people and gave Himself for them and that true Christians are spiritual Jews. What a joy that was! Igor s prayer request: That I shall be the Lord s good and faithful servant with the Jews for Jesus ministry; that I will truly fit here; that my wife, my children and I will become effective witnesses for our Messiah. 4 5

5 Tidbits W e wanted to pass on a sampling of blessings for which we are thankful: We are thankful for fruitful ministry in Israel. Recently two Israelis, Shlomo and Lenair, called after receiving our broadsides. Outreach worker Moshe Shuai prayed with them to receive the Lord. We are thankful that our last group of trainees are now serving effectively here, there and everywhere! Michael and Teresa Sischy are back in South Africa with their little boy Eliyah. (Natalie Sachs from the previous class of trainees left New York to return with them.) Asher Avromovsky is ministering in London and Nici Meyer will become Nici Smith later this month, joining her husband, Garrett Smith, in our Washington, D.C. branch. (We are always thankful when two of our staff members fall in love and decide to serve the Lord together!). We are thankful for our current class of trainees in New York City (see pp. 4, 5). We are thankful that, so far, our Future Hope Campaign has seen over 6400 people request this evangelistic end times prophecy book; more than 1700 of whom are Jewish*. We are thankful that our Summer Witnessing Campaigns continued past the summer. Following the New York, London and Paris Campaigns, we also had Campaigns in St. Petersburg and Moscow. We don t yet have the final reports in from Moscow, but Campaigners handed out a total of 1,900,789 broadsides in the other cities, and received names and addresses of 1621 Jewish people willing to hear more about Jesus. We are thankful to finally have our own building at our Chicago branch! Upstairs, we have apartments for our approved students who are attending Moody Bible Institute, and downstairs we have the office, a storefront bookstore, a meeting room and the necessary facilities. Since we ve been holding our branch Bible studies at the new building, attendance has increased to about 50 people who come regularly, and a deeper sense of community is developing. We are thankful that God truly does work all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. This often translates into a phrase our founder, Moishe Rosen, coined back in the 1970s: Every knock is a boost. That certainly proved to be the case over the summer with our Future Hope Campaign. When Joan Rivers lambasted our ministry over the airwaves in protest of our radio spot, she turned our Secular Media Outreach into a media event. As a result, we received additional airtime and newspaper coverage for the gospel. We sent her roses and a T- shirt with the message Jesus for Joan, about which she did not comment. The subject came up again when Larry King asked her about the controversy with Jews for Jesus on his live television show. Once again, the Messiahship of Jesus became an unavoidable issue! *We know that 1737 responders are Jewish, but this does not include the number of Jewish responders on the Internet. 6

6 Thanksgiving Reflections Please pray: A s I was editing David Brickner s article (pp. 1, 2), I was especially impressed by his thought that when genuine thanksgiving flows from our heart, it refreshes those around us. I wanted to consider other ways that thanks-giving promotes good spiritual health within the community of God. Here are a few thoughts for starters: Genuine thankfulness to God is more than a passing thought of appreciation for something we have received. It is a deeply-rooted realization that the Creator of the universe cares to meet our individual needs. Genuine thankfulness takes into account the fact that God s attentiveness to us is pure grace. It recognizes where we would be had He not taken notice of us, as well as where we are because He has. As a result, when we are genuinely thankful to God, we cannot be puffed up with pride any more than we can be genuinely thankful to Him and filled with self-loathing. Thankfulness focuses us not only on the gift, but on the giver. When we focus on God, we will not be putting one another down because we realize that it is He, and not us, who has the right to judge. How can a person be genuinely thankful to God while simultaneously judging a brother or sister? How can a person be genuinely thankful and offended at the same time? Thankfulness puts us in a place of realizing what we have, not what we think we deserve or what others owe us. Thankfulness focuses us on the good that God has done to us, not the bad that others may have done. Thankfulness also builds our trust in God. As we remember and recount His acts of kindness our thanks-giving reminds us that God looks after our best interests. When we trust God, we are more likely to obey Him and when we obey Him, He is more likely to to bless us. It s the opposite of a vicious cycle! Also when we trust God, we experience His peace and when we experience His peace, it makes us thankful... completing a circle of grace! 7 for our staff to grow in gratitude and in expressing our thanks (pp. 1,2) that God will bless our faithful Co-Laborers and add to their ranks (p. 3) for our current trainees, Shlomy and Miriam Abramov, Chad Elliott, Igor Ashkinazi, Greg Rosenberg and Larry Dubin to grow as they learn to be missionaries (please also see their specific requests on pp. 4,5) for new Israeli believers Shlomo and Lenair to grow in their faith (p. 6) that God will continue to use the knocks against us for good (p. 6) salvation for the elderly Jewish couple in Berlin, and for Shimon and Cecile in Paris (p. 8) grace and strength for Sammed, a former Muslim, who accepted Jesus in Paris (p. 8) grace and strength for new Jewish believers Ian in London, Eric in Palm Springs, Mark and Aaron in Toronto, Alik in the CIS, Sophie in Paris, Kaliyah in Israel and Cara in New York City (p. 8)

7 From London, missionary Rahel Landrum reports, Ian, a Jewish man whom Mark* has been meeting with for a year-and-a-half came to faith. He invited us to his home for a barbecue and when almost everybody left, we had the chance to speak with Ian alone in the garden. He had been under some financial pressure and found himself wanting to rely on Jesus to help him with his problems. When we asked if he wanted to pray to accept Jesus, to have God s forgiveness and His Spirit to guide his life he replied, No time like the present. The following morning, he called Mark to make an appointment to study the Bible and commented that he had slept well the night before without any worries. *Mark is Rahel s husband, also a Jews for Jesus missionary. Outreach worker Steve Babkow reports from Los Angeles, I received a call from a Christian asking if I could minister to her Jewish friend, Eric. He was open to the gospel and prayed to receive Y shua as his Lord and Savior! We are thankful for Christian friends who put us in touch with Jewish seekers like Eric. Please pray for Eric s spiritual growth. bits Andrew Barron, branch leader in Toronto reports, Praise the Lord! Two Jewish people recently came to faith! Mark has been a long-time contact who finally moved off the fence of indecision. And Aaron called the office after listening to the testimony of a Jewish believer (Stan Telchin) on tape. Please pray that these new brothers in the Lord would grow in faith and be instrumental in bringing their unsaved family members to Y shua. Dina Markova, outreach worker in the CIS reports, While I was passing out tracts, an elderly Jewish couple came to me, curious. They were from Berlin and told me that they had seen Jews for Jesus in Germany too! Intrigued by our international presence, they gave me their address in Berlin and are looking forward to receiving more information about the Lord. Please pray that they will come to faith in Y shua! Also from the CIS, outreach worker Larissa Savelieva reports, A year ago, I ran into a former neighbor named Alik. We talked about Jesus and the Bible and he told me that he had difficulty understanding the gospel. However, he did not want to receive any of our literature so I ve been from the branches 8 praying for him ever since. Recently, our CLIM (volunteer) told me that a new Jewish believer in Jesus would be attending our Sabbath service. That new Jewish believer turned out to be Alik! Praise the Lord! Branch leader Stephen Pacht writes from Paris, We are encouraged by the recent developments here. Sammed, a Moroccan Muslim, prayed with us to receive Y shua and has been attending church ever since. A Jewish woman named Sophie spent some time at the office and then prayed to receive the Lord. In addition, an Israeli couple Shimon and his French-born wife Cecile came to a branch party and I was pleased to see Yalli, a newish Jewish believer, talking to Shimon about Jesus. Please pray for Shimon and Cecile to open their hearts to Him. Missionary Efraim Goldstein reports from Israel, Kaliyah had given us her name and phone number during one of our sorties (tract-passing expeditions). After repeated unsuccessful attempts to reach her, outreach worker Moshe Shuai finally heard back from her. He and I met with Kaliyah at a Tel Aviv coffee shop. She was well-versed in the Scriptures and as the conversation progressed, it was apparent that she believed Y shua was the Messiah and wanted forgiveness for her sins. Moshe seized the opportunity and asked Kaliyah if she was willing to pray with him to receive Y shua as her Messiah. And she did! Please pray for Kaliyah to grow in her faith and to get established in a congregation. From New York, missionary trainee Miriam Abramov (see pp. 4,5) reports, During a difficult sortie, I prayed that God would send some encouragement. Soon after, a man approached me saying, Praise the Lord. I m Jewish and I love Jesus! As I was getting his name and address, he mentioned that the woman with him was also Jewish, but did not believe in Jesus. I immediately turned my attention to his friend, Cara. She told me she remembered that as a little girl, her grandfather had promised that her name was in the book of life. I explained the gospel and asked Cara if she was ready to pray a prayer of salvation and she did! Her friend bubbled over with excitement as I assured her that her name was now written in the Lamb s Book of Life through Y shua the Jewish Messiah.