theroc
June 24th, 2008, 08:36 AM
Witnessing Encounters in NY/Israel
These are snippets from a few conversations that I had that really stuck out to me for some reason or another.
A Reformed Jew
I sat down in central park next to a guy in his 30s. I told him that ny is pretty big (just trying to start conversation...everyone knows Texas>NY lol)
and he asked if it was my first time visiting and i said yes. I told him i was going to jerusalem (the next day) He then said he went when he was in his college days like me. I told him i took hebrew last semester and got my tanakh out and showed him Isa 53.
He never heard of Isa 53!!
As he was reading this he kept saying wow, wow, wow and was pointing to it. To quote him he said that this screamed Jesus. I then took him through Daniel 9:26 and expalined it to him. So as he was realizing that Jesus was messiah I took him through the basics of the 10 commandments and our court system we have. I started to get into how God speaks to us by His Spirit and His word but he said that it was to much. I happened to get a little carried away because it was so awesome to see a Jewish man who never believed in messiah and saw so much in Isa 53. We talked about the new age stuff a little bit after words and gave him a Isa 53 tract (defended it being messianic) and he gladly accepted and said it was a beautiful verse.
2 muslim basketball players from germany
I saw a guy, looked similar in age and went up to him. He had a kobe bryant jersey on and i kinda made a joke about it (because his lakers are beating my spurs) and then we got to talking.I asked him where he was from and he said germany and he plays for a big university there. But that he was turkish. I told him that I go to a university as well. He asked what I was studying and i told him biblical theological studies. He said that he highly respected Christians though he is a muslim. I took out my tanakh and said let me read you a verse and read him Isa 53 (knowing that muslims do not believe Jesus died for our sins, which Isa explains so well.) He said that was Jesus before I finished. I said yes, do you realize that this was before the New Testament. ANd we talked about accuarcy in the Old and New testaments with greek manuscripts and dead sea scrolls. What was most amazing about this conversation was that I kinda hammered the law on him in a loving way of course and he said he was guilty and as we talked about everything he said he realized that none of the good in the world could clean his mistakes. So we talked about Lev 16,17 and Hebrews and the gospel.
Awesome conversation
Gave him a tract and left!
Well these are just two of the conversations I had in NY but these are the ones i really took lots of joy in.
Pray for these guys alot please
An orthodox older man on the plane
So I sat down next to this guy, and he started talking to me as soon as i sat down, an israeli man at that. very friendly but misslead very much so. He started talking about israeli politics and american politics which i really love. so we talked for a bit and since i was on the plane, with over 200 ultra orthodox men i decieded i needed to be really quite about how i go about things or this could get very ugly very fast. So i prayed hard for the Lord to open a way bc the last thing i wanted was for an orthodox to scream and start a riot. So this guy on the plane a chabad passed out a Judaism prayer with a false messiah and i asked waht do you think about messiah. he said the same ole isa 11 type and that he or Yeshua cant be messiah because they died and messiah cant come twice. So i said what about how in daniel its says he will come on clouds yet in zach it says he would come in on a donkey and in zach it also says He would be a priest and a melek (king)...then i explained daniel 9:26 and he asked well paul and peter changed the shabbat to sunday and i said no constintin did. He said really? and changed the subject. So i was wanting him to read isa 53 really bad but i couldnt look like i was witnessing because if i started a riot on the plane i was risking not getting in the country. So I prayed hard and waited and found out i decieded to write it down and thank him for teaching me more about israeli politics. It had isa 53. I gave it to him and he read it, and said thanks but i cant accept it and gave it back.
Update: In Israel
An american hebrew speaking Jew
I ran into a Jewish man who is visiting and thinking about moving. We started talking about the Jewish culture. I asked what branch was he and he said that he was really searchingfor something though he didnt know what he wanted. He asked me what branch i was and told him i wasnt jewish though later i told him that by messiah i am able to worship the God of Israel, the GOd of Abraham Issac and Jacob as Isa 11 says. I told him he can guess what i believe by reading Isa 53. I asked him to read it and he read it. After he read it he was saying over and over again how it was Jesus and he had a confused/glow as he was saying it (was amazing). I then explained daniel 9:26. We then talked about the law and how in lev 16 and 17 it says only blood can atone for sin. We talked about the court example and he very much agreed once i explained it to him. His friend came upto him and said it was time to leave and so i told him one last thing about talmud yoma 39:b. I said amazing huh and he agreed several times. PLease pray for.
IDF David
I ran into a very secular Jew. He was 22 and joining the IDF (israel military). He asked me if i lived here in israel and i told him no. He asked then if i was thinking about moving there for my rights and i told him i wasnt jewish. He asked me what i believed and i said read this verse and tell me what i believe. He read Isa 53 and he said wow your a christian huh. The conversation went straight in to law and was actually alot like witnessing to an atheist in America. Pray for David
I went to two Orthodox girls,
one name naomi she was 23. I spoke little hebrew to her and asked then i told her in english what does she think about governemnt. Both the girls said an explict. So i asked if they think GOd could bring peace. They said yes with Mosiach. THey asked me what i was doing in Israel and i told them i am thinking about moving there for school and right now i am with friends. She asked me if i was Jewish and I said no. SHe said why do you love Israel. I said read this and you will understand. She read ISA 53 and said we cant interperet this with out talmud. She asked me if i kept miztvot and i told her in a way yes and in a way not really. we kinda got into the different types of laws but we ended up changing it. She asked me if i wanted to get coffe and talk about this. SO we ended up talking for maybe another hr there. We really talked about everything from Isa 53 ( and its interpretaion, i told her what rabbis think and gave her lev 26 and 28) to God being one to daniel 9:26 to talmud etc. We talked about the law and court room example and she did shake her yes as she agreed. She even said that just praying for help is crap. She said she learned alot but nothing else was really said, at the end of the night i asked if she wanted a tract defending isa 53 and she said are you trying to convert me and i said no never. She asked if it was in hebrew i said no then she said it wouldnt do her any good. I walked them to a certain place and left.
Wouldnt believe it was Tanakh
i also wanted to tell you a very sad story yet it has lots of irony. I was witnessing to a follower of chabad and an orthodox man and i showed them isa 53 and they read it in hebrew (its a jps) and they were telling me that this was a christian bible (even though it had Jewish publications on it and information about talmud) and i told them no, and they flipped through the whole book trying to find Yeshuas name. Finally they left. This is how hard some of the Israelis hearts are, sad huh....but makes you think how strong truly isa 53 is.
An Amazing encounter
Another story from the other day that I wanted to tell yall was I met this guy from a company trying to get people to apply for credit cards. He spoke english and hebrew. I told him I would apply for one but would not activate it if he would talk to me for a bit about any topic. He said he didnt care if i activated it because he just got paid for the sheets he filled out. so I told him to read this part in Tanakh (isa 53) he read it and i asked what do you think this is talking about? He said he had no idea but looked very shocked. I told him i think he does know, and he used the I dont know how to interperet with out talmud line. (secular Jews often in excitment say Yeshua!!! while the orthodox i have witnessed to say i dont know how to interperet it) I said i think Yeshua came to your mind. He said ok ya you got me. We talked about Isa 53, why it cant be israel and he agreed. His parents are Orthodox but he has no idea what he is and has been thinking about christianity. So it was funny we ran into each other. We talked about Daniel 9 and Isa 7-11. He said that it really got to him reading this. I took him through the Law and then gave him Jer 31. He was reading this all in Hebrew. He said he would be guilty and such and said he deserved to go to hell through out the conversation. ( we talked about hell before in Daniel 12:2)....at the end of the conversation, i gave him a defending Isa 53 tract, a daniel 9:26 tract, and I told him i was given a book that spoke about a lot of the things we talked about and it was an easy book to read and said something on the lines of that it ment alot to me to give it away so if you want it, you can have it. He took it with joy and was saying that this was no accident. So please pray for this guy, truly!!
Some conversations I had in Eilat
A couple from Paris on the Bench.
This couple i saw in a fight but so i thought maybe to go to someone else but then i though just because they were fighting doesnt mean we should talk to them. So I went up talking about the government to them. Asking them what they thought and if they thought it would bring peace. They said no and that only God can bring peace so I asked if they read Tanakh and they said yes. I asked if they could read me a chapter out of Isa (53). They did and I asked this guy who does this remind you of? He just said someone suffering for others alot. ANd I said suffering for others sins yah? And he said ya. So I took him through the Law and he said he was guilty but he said God will forgive. So I asked what about Psalms 7 where it says God is Holy and just judge. And compared it to court. He then said ok like he understood. I then said thats why Torah in the 3rd book of Moshe it says blood covers sin and thats why the sacrifices where so important of Yom Kippur. But since the 2nd temple was destroyed we have no way to make sacrifices and fulfill Yom Kippur. And I explained who the suffering Servant is and he asked but Yes but didnt Yeshua die and I explained yes and he raised from the dead. and he said oh really? and then we gave him a new testament in hebrew.
young guy i felt convicted to speak to
We were supposed to meet up with the group around 230 yet it was 220 and we just finished witnessing. Yet God really convicted me to speak to this guy that looked young and I am said to say I did not. Though later that night when we went back out witnessing I saw him and knew I had to witness to him. It went very similar as the last conversation but I just wanted to say please pray for this guy. He is a 17yr old Israeli, he did accept the a new testament and really responded to what we said.
An Israeli man who spoke english like he was from englandSo my friend greg passed out a New Testament in Hebrew and a guy responded what is this in hebrew. My friend started talking and this guy said he was an atheist. I asked him to read Isa 53. And he did in hebrew. He said he could see where this suffering servant is Yeshua. He was filled with lots and lots of questions. He was very interested, it was truly amazing to see him backslide from an atheist to an agnostic to a deist to a "wow thats interesting". We talked to him for maybe 35 min. Though he had to work as he was a bartender. But we had a great deal of talk about regeneration, what truly is repentance, the law, the gospel and biblical prophecy. He then said he would read the new testament.
Orthodox man gets a little aggrivated
THis man came up as he saw us witnessing to IDF troops. He was very respectful (until the end atleast) and was asking questions yet at the same time trying to prove his point. We talked about every topic under the sun. Where is GOd a Trinity in the Tanakh which thats where I showed him where the Spirit of God creates and hovers and the WOrd conversates and saves and really didnt have any objections but thats not what its saying. His heart was very hard. Went through law and he was saying that we can do good and repent and God will forgive. I did the psalms 7 thing but he was not bite'n. SO I asked where in Torah does it saying anything but Blood atones for sin and Yom kippur etc. I said he was contradicting torah by saying stuff that wasnt there. He said no because of the Oral Law says it. I asked where does it talk about Oral Law in Tanakh? THen I told him about Talmud and Yoma 39.b and how yom kippur wasnt accepted in 30 ad. till the destruction of the temple. Long story short he just refused and said i need to stop trying to convert Jews.
A couple from a university
I saw a couple sitting down and went up to them and started talking. I then told them what i was doing and they read isa 53 with any problem. They said it was hard to read but it seemed like someone was suffering. We started talking about sin and the 10 commandments. I then talked about Torah and blood atonement and asked if it says in Torah that blood makes the atonement of sin and theres no sacrifices in Yom Kippur how do they atone for there sins? They said they didnt know and they didnt believe in God really so it didnt matter. I then went through messianic prophecy and the guy wasnt to perky about it but the girl was very interested in it and asked how and why i changed in reference to talking about regeneration. These were very smart people. I then asked if they wanted a book and the girl seemed like she wanted to grab it but the guy said no thanks. The girl thanked me a couple times.
Update:
Got back in from Galilee last night, heres a few of the witnessing encounters
A group of young Arabs
So I saw a group of young arabs, they were 18. I asked them what they thought would happen to them if they died. They all pretty much said they all would go to hell. I asked if that concerened them and they all pretty much said yes. So i told them that in Torah it says only blood can atone for sin and compared God to a just judge like in psalm 7 and i said they used to sacrifice a lamb/goat and it would atone for sins for a short time but now we dont have that options. I asked what they thought of Yeshua. THey said He fulfilled lots of prophecies and Tanakh speaks about him alot. I took out of gospel of John in hebrew (they read hebrew well) and said that it claimed that Yeshua was God. THey said they didnt believe Yeshua was God. So I told them John 1. And then I said if Yeshua says He is the only way, and Muhammad says you must follow him then one some must be wrong. THey nodded. and I asked if they wanted a gospel of John, and to check for them selves what i was saying was true. Two of them raised there hands.
An IDF officer and a student.
A girl came upto me, Naiomi 24, she saw I was watching the camp site we were staying at and asked me to come over and play a game. It was were i could watch the camp site and play the game and i thought i could open the conversation to the things of eternity. SO we played the game a few times and I asked them what do yall think of Yeshua. ANd i said we were going aroung yesterday asking this question and I wanted to know what they thought. Let me tell you, the spirit really set this conversation up awesomely. They said i guy who was killed by romans. And he is the God of the gentiles. I said, you know that He is a Jewish Rabbi who was born in Beth lachem and lived in this very place in Galilee. She said really, and God has been working because the officer came and sat down and nodded and said ya I have heard. I then said He was in the line of david and again the officer nodded and the girl was surprised. I asked what happens when you die in your views. They said Gen Eden (heaven) I then said do they follow Torah/Mitzvote. They said not really. I went through the Law and the deal with blood atonement and then asked how do you plan to get your sins covered if there is no blood like Lev 17 says blood makes the atonement of sin. I said Isa 53 says Messiah would be peirced brusied for our sins and by his wounds we would be healed and even i explained how it says he it says messiah would speak no evil or do any bad and Yeshua did this and was burried with rich yet died like a criminal just as this verse state the messiah would do. And the girl said, messiah is supposed to come in on donkey to jerusalem. I told her that Yeshua did this and I brought out the new testament in hebrew. I said messiah would come twice because it says messiah would be king yet priest in zach yet it said messiah would come on clouds yet it says in zach that he would come on donkey. So he must come twice. I then asked them if they heard that Yeshua rose. Both girls said huh. I talked about the eye witness account and the scholar accounts. THey asked where is he now, I said at the right hand of the father. I gave them the New Testament in Hebrew and she said she would read it. Though i think the most amazing thing in this conversation was when she asked how is GOd a man. I gave her a few verses of the Word of God in Tanakh and she then explained the Trinity to me amazingly better then i could of.
Update: Got in from Hafia
Two witnessing encounters i will share from there!
A Catholic in Israel
Me and my friend Tami, went upto a man on the bench in a park in hafia. I asked if i could sit and then Tami started playing with his daughter. I told him we were going around asking people what they believed and he said he was catholic (he wasnt jewish but working here on visa) He said he thinks you gotta do really good and then you will be judged on your works. So then that was my signal and I took him through the law. He confessed to everything and was very honest. He said that he trys so hard and I told him in the psalms it compares God's character to a holy and just judge so if that were the case God wouldnt just let those crimes fly. He agreed and said how does he save his soul. I told him the gospel and what Yeshua said. He agreed to everything I said. I then talked about the catholic church and he himself said that the church does not preach on what the bible says as then we got into baptism and eph 2:8-9. He told me about him family passing away and making it hard for him to believe sometimes and i told him i had just the thing. I gave him an english Isa 53 tract and he said it was the best thing anyone has ever given to him. We talked more about true salvation and i left!
Three Jewish young guys
So me and Tami then went up too 3 young guys on another bench a little bit aways. Talked with them for a second and then told them what we were doing. We then asked the question. They said nothing. So I went through messianic prophecy and proof in the earths alinement and eye witnesses of Yeshua raising from the dead. Then i said so if what i am saying is true, are you good enough? they said yes. So i went through the law and kinda left it on lev 17 needing blood to atone for sin and not having away unless it was messiahs blood like in isa 53. Tami then got personal with him gave her testimony and talked about God wanting a relationship with His elect. He seemed very touched and interested but still refused a new testament.
Talked to a few more people including a bahia security guard but these are the two that really stick out to me.
English Student by accident
One really amazing encounter that i was blessed to have was with a student from England getting his masters. I am going to try to explain this quickly. Basically, there is a guy named david who was supposed to be going around Israel with his friend but got in a fight. So they split up. He was walking around not sure what he would do and ran into some couple who were staying at the same hostel that my group was. They told him if he wanted a place to stay then he should go there. So he ended up there, and after we got back from witnessing that night in Elat we ran into him. We all witnessed to him a bit at a time and then he left for Tel Aviv. Didnt think I would ever see him again. He was in Tel Aviv and I was in Jerusalem witnessing when his friend offered him a way to Bethleham (though he was suppose to stay in Tel Aviv that day). He went with them but on the way they went to Jerusalem. I saw him and was very excited. We walked with him and his friend and invited to the house. On the way I witnessed to a senior at BCU who was here on birth right. He asked lots of questions and went fairly well. he left and it was just david, he ended up staying the night and we talked with him about the gospel for the whole day and night. Every question you can think he asked. At the end of the night he said he felt his heart to change. This is the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let me leave on a few thoughts
There were a number of Israelis who were very shocked and never heard about Yeshua raising from the dead.
This whole trip, in this last month....I didnt get rejected once by an Israeli when I tryed to witness to them, they are open.
Israelis often when they read Isa 53 will automatically say this is Jesus or you are Christian? Ect. Thats how amazing that passage is. The ones who havent heard much about Rabbi Yeshua are a small group but still out there but the othorodox often say they cant understand it with out Talmud.
The gospel was preached so God was def. Glorified, and He knows what went on and whats going on, i will though say people were very interested and asking questions open. So pray for the Holy Spirit to convict.
All the glory to God!!!
ps. you can view some of the pictures from the trip and witnessing here
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=137191571&albumId=1754391
These are snippets from a few conversations that I had that really stuck out to me for some reason or another.
A Reformed Jew
I sat down in central park next to a guy in his 30s. I told him that ny is pretty big (just trying to start conversation...everyone knows Texas>NY lol)
and he asked if it was my first time visiting and i said yes. I told him i was going to jerusalem (the next day) He then said he went when he was in his college days like me. I told him i took hebrew last semester and got my tanakh out and showed him Isa 53.
He never heard of Isa 53!!
As he was reading this he kept saying wow, wow, wow and was pointing to it. To quote him he said that this screamed Jesus. I then took him through Daniel 9:26 and expalined it to him. So as he was realizing that Jesus was messiah I took him through the basics of the 10 commandments and our court system we have. I started to get into how God speaks to us by His Spirit and His word but he said that it was to much. I happened to get a little carried away because it was so awesome to see a Jewish man who never believed in messiah and saw so much in Isa 53. We talked about the new age stuff a little bit after words and gave him a Isa 53 tract (defended it being messianic) and he gladly accepted and said it was a beautiful verse.
2 muslim basketball players from germany
I saw a guy, looked similar in age and went up to him. He had a kobe bryant jersey on and i kinda made a joke about it (because his lakers are beating my spurs) and then we got to talking.I asked him where he was from and he said germany and he plays for a big university there. But that he was turkish. I told him that I go to a university as well. He asked what I was studying and i told him biblical theological studies. He said that he highly respected Christians though he is a muslim. I took out my tanakh and said let me read you a verse and read him Isa 53 (knowing that muslims do not believe Jesus died for our sins, which Isa explains so well.) He said that was Jesus before I finished. I said yes, do you realize that this was before the New Testament. ANd we talked about accuarcy in the Old and New testaments with greek manuscripts and dead sea scrolls. What was most amazing about this conversation was that I kinda hammered the law on him in a loving way of course and he said he was guilty and as we talked about everything he said he realized that none of the good in the world could clean his mistakes. So we talked about Lev 16,17 and Hebrews and the gospel.
Awesome conversation
Gave him a tract and left!
Well these are just two of the conversations I had in NY but these are the ones i really took lots of joy in.
Pray for these guys alot please
An orthodox older man on the plane
So I sat down next to this guy, and he started talking to me as soon as i sat down, an israeli man at that. very friendly but misslead very much so. He started talking about israeli politics and american politics which i really love. so we talked for a bit and since i was on the plane, with over 200 ultra orthodox men i decieded i needed to be really quite about how i go about things or this could get very ugly very fast. So i prayed hard for the Lord to open a way bc the last thing i wanted was for an orthodox to scream and start a riot. So this guy on the plane a chabad passed out a Judaism prayer with a false messiah and i asked waht do you think about messiah. he said the same ole isa 11 type and that he or Yeshua cant be messiah because they died and messiah cant come twice. So i said what about how in daniel its says he will come on clouds yet in zach it says he would come in on a donkey and in zach it also says He would be a priest and a melek (king)...then i explained daniel 9:26 and he asked well paul and peter changed the shabbat to sunday and i said no constintin did. He said really? and changed the subject. So i was wanting him to read isa 53 really bad but i couldnt look like i was witnessing because if i started a riot on the plane i was risking not getting in the country. So I prayed hard and waited and found out i decieded to write it down and thank him for teaching me more about israeli politics. It had isa 53. I gave it to him and he read it, and said thanks but i cant accept it and gave it back.
Update: In Israel
An american hebrew speaking Jew
I ran into a Jewish man who is visiting and thinking about moving. We started talking about the Jewish culture. I asked what branch was he and he said that he was really searchingfor something though he didnt know what he wanted. He asked me what branch i was and told him i wasnt jewish though later i told him that by messiah i am able to worship the God of Israel, the GOd of Abraham Issac and Jacob as Isa 11 says. I told him he can guess what i believe by reading Isa 53. I asked him to read it and he read it. After he read it he was saying over and over again how it was Jesus and he had a confused/glow as he was saying it (was amazing). I then explained daniel 9:26. We then talked about the law and how in lev 16 and 17 it says only blood can atone for sin. We talked about the court example and he very much agreed once i explained it to him. His friend came upto him and said it was time to leave and so i told him one last thing about talmud yoma 39:b. I said amazing huh and he agreed several times. PLease pray for.
IDF David
I ran into a very secular Jew. He was 22 and joining the IDF (israel military). He asked me if i lived here in israel and i told him no. He asked then if i was thinking about moving there for my rights and i told him i wasnt jewish. He asked me what i believed and i said read this verse and tell me what i believe. He read Isa 53 and he said wow your a christian huh. The conversation went straight in to law and was actually alot like witnessing to an atheist in America. Pray for David
I went to two Orthodox girls,
one name naomi she was 23. I spoke little hebrew to her and asked then i told her in english what does she think about governemnt. Both the girls said an explict. So i asked if they think GOd could bring peace. They said yes with Mosiach. THey asked me what i was doing in Israel and i told them i am thinking about moving there for school and right now i am with friends. She asked me if i was Jewish and I said no. SHe said why do you love Israel. I said read this and you will understand. She read ISA 53 and said we cant interperet this with out talmud. She asked me if i kept miztvot and i told her in a way yes and in a way not really. we kinda got into the different types of laws but we ended up changing it. She asked me if i wanted to get coffe and talk about this. SO we ended up talking for maybe another hr there. We really talked about everything from Isa 53 ( and its interpretaion, i told her what rabbis think and gave her lev 26 and 28) to God being one to daniel 9:26 to talmud etc. We talked about the law and court room example and she did shake her yes as she agreed. She even said that just praying for help is crap. She said she learned alot but nothing else was really said, at the end of the night i asked if she wanted a tract defending isa 53 and she said are you trying to convert me and i said no never. She asked if it was in hebrew i said no then she said it wouldnt do her any good. I walked them to a certain place and left.
Wouldnt believe it was Tanakh
i also wanted to tell you a very sad story yet it has lots of irony. I was witnessing to a follower of chabad and an orthodox man and i showed them isa 53 and they read it in hebrew (its a jps) and they were telling me that this was a christian bible (even though it had Jewish publications on it and information about talmud) and i told them no, and they flipped through the whole book trying to find Yeshuas name. Finally they left. This is how hard some of the Israelis hearts are, sad huh....but makes you think how strong truly isa 53 is.
An Amazing encounter
Another story from the other day that I wanted to tell yall was I met this guy from a company trying to get people to apply for credit cards. He spoke english and hebrew. I told him I would apply for one but would not activate it if he would talk to me for a bit about any topic. He said he didnt care if i activated it because he just got paid for the sheets he filled out. so I told him to read this part in Tanakh (isa 53) he read it and i asked what do you think this is talking about? He said he had no idea but looked very shocked. I told him i think he does know, and he used the I dont know how to interperet with out talmud line. (secular Jews often in excitment say Yeshua!!! while the orthodox i have witnessed to say i dont know how to interperet it) I said i think Yeshua came to your mind. He said ok ya you got me. We talked about Isa 53, why it cant be israel and he agreed. His parents are Orthodox but he has no idea what he is and has been thinking about christianity. So it was funny we ran into each other. We talked about Daniel 9 and Isa 7-11. He said that it really got to him reading this. I took him through the Law and then gave him Jer 31. He was reading this all in Hebrew. He said he would be guilty and such and said he deserved to go to hell through out the conversation. ( we talked about hell before in Daniel 12:2)....at the end of the conversation, i gave him a defending Isa 53 tract, a daniel 9:26 tract, and I told him i was given a book that spoke about a lot of the things we talked about and it was an easy book to read and said something on the lines of that it ment alot to me to give it away so if you want it, you can have it. He took it with joy and was saying that this was no accident. So please pray for this guy, truly!!
Some conversations I had in Eilat
A couple from Paris on the Bench.
This couple i saw in a fight but so i thought maybe to go to someone else but then i though just because they were fighting doesnt mean we should talk to them. So I went up talking about the government to them. Asking them what they thought and if they thought it would bring peace. They said no and that only God can bring peace so I asked if they read Tanakh and they said yes. I asked if they could read me a chapter out of Isa (53). They did and I asked this guy who does this remind you of? He just said someone suffering for others alot. ANd I said suffering for others sins yah? And he said ya. So I took him through the Law and he said he was guilty but he said God will forgive. So I asked what about Psalms 7 where it says God is Holy and just judge. And compared it to court. He then said ok like he understood. I then said thats why Torah in the 3rd book of Moshe it says blood covers sin and thats why the sacrifices where so important of Yom Kippur. But since the 2nd temple was destroyed we have no way to make sacrifices and fulfill Yom Kippur. And I explained who the suffering Servant is and he asked but Yes but didnt Yeshua die and I explained yes and he raised from the dead. and he said oh really? and then we gave him a new testament in hebrew.
young guy i felt convicted to speak to
We were supposed to meet up with the group around 230 yet it was 220 and we just finished witnessing. Yet God really convicted me to speak to this guy that looked young and I am said to say I did not. Though later that night when we went back out witnessing I saw him and knew I had to witness to him. It went very similar as the last conversation but I just wanted to say please pray for this guy. He is a 17yr old Israeli, he did accept the a new testament and really responded to what we said.
An Israeli man who spoke english like he was from englandSo my friend greg passed out a New Testament in Hebrew and a guy responded what is this in hebrew. My friend started talking and this guy said he was an atheist. I asked him to read Isa 53. And he did in hebrew. He said he could see where this suffering servant is Yeshua. He was filled with lots and lots of questions. He was very interested, it was truly amazing to see him backslide from an atheist to an agnostic to a deist to a "wow thats interesting". We talked to him for maybe 35 min. Though he had to work as he was a bartender. But we had a great deal of talk about regeneration, what truly is repentance, the law, the gospel and biblical prophecy. He then said he would read the new testament.
Orthodox man gets a little aggrivated
THis man came up as he saw us witnessing to IDF troops. He was very respectful (until the end atleast) and was asking questions yet at the same time trying to prove his point. We talked about every topic under the sun. Where is GOd a Trinity in the Tanakh which thats where I showed him where the Spirit of God creates and hovers and the WOrd conversates and saves and really didnt have any objections but thats not what its saying. His heart was very hard. Went through law and he was saying that we can do good and repent and God will forgive. I did the psalms 7 thing but he was not bite'n. SO I asked where in Torah does it saying anything but Blood atones for sin and Yom kippur etc. I said he was contradicting torah by saying stuff that wasnt there. He said no because of the Oral Law says it. I asked where does it talk about Oral Law in Tanakh? THen I told him about Talmud and Yoma 39.b and how yom kippur wasnt accepted in 30 ad. till the destruction of the temple. Long story short he just refused and said i need to stop trying to convert Jews.
A couple from a university
I saw a couple sitting down and went up to them and started talking. I then told them what i was doing and they read isa 53 with any problem. They said it was hard to read but it seemed like someone was suffering. We started talking about sin and the 10 commandments. I then talked about Torah and blood atonement and asked if it says in Torah that blood makes the atonement of sin and theres no sacrifices in Yom Kippur how do they atone for there sins? They said they didnt know and they didnt believe in God really so it didnt matter. I then went through messianic prophecy and the guy wasnt to perky about it but the girl was very interested in it and asked how and why i changed in reference to talking about regeneration. These were very smart people. I then asked if they wanted a book and the girl seemed like she wanted to grab it but the guy said no thanks. The girl thanked me a couple times.
Update:
Got back in from Galilee last night, heres a few of the witnessing encounters
A group of young Arabs
So I saw a group of young arabs, they were 18. I asked them what they thought would happen to them if they died. They all pretty much said they all would go to hell. I asked if that concerened them and they all pretty much said yes. So i told them that in Torah it says only blood can atone for sin and compared God to a just judge like in psalm 7 and i said they used to sacrifice a lamb/goat and it would atone for sins for a short time but now we dont have that options. I asked what they thought of Yeshua. THey said He fulfilled lots of prophecies and Tanakh speaks about him alot. I took out of gospel of John in hebrew (they read hebrew well) and said that it claimed that Yeshua was God. THey said they didnt believe Yeshua was God. So I told them John 1. And then I said if Yeshua says He is the only way, and Muhammad says you must follow him then one some must be wrong. THey nodded. and I asked if they wanted a gospel of John, and to check for them selves what i was saying was true. Two of them raised there hands.
An IDF officer and a student.
A girl came upto me, Naiomi 24, she saw I was watching the camp site we were staying at and asked me to come over and play a game. It was were i could watch the camp site and play the game and i thought i could open the conversation to the things of eternity. SO we played the game a few times and I asked them what do yall think of Yeshua. ANd i said we were going aroung yesterday asking this question and I wanted to know what they thought. Let me tell you, the spirit really set this conversation up awesomely. They said i guy who was killed by romans. And he is the God of the gentiles. I said, you know that He is a Jewish Rabbi who was born in Beth lachem and lived in this very place in Galilee. She said really, and God has been working because the officer came and sat down and nodded and said ya I have heard. I then said He was in the line of david and again the officer nodded and the girl was surprised. I asked what happens when you die in your views. They said Gen Eden (heaven) I then said do they follow Torah/Mitzvote. They said not really. I went through the Law and the deal with blood atonement and then asked how do you plan to get your sins covered if there is no blood like Lev 17 says blood makes the atonement of sin. I said Isa 53 says Messiah would be peirced brusied for our sins and by his wounds we would be healed and even i explained how it says he it says messiah would speak no evil or do any bad and Yeshua did this and was burried with rich yet died like a criminal just as this verse state the messiah would do. And the girl said, messiah is supposed to come in on donkey to jerusalem. I told her that Yeshua did this and I brought out the new testament in hebrew. I said messiah would come twice because it says messiah would be king yet priest in zach yet it said messiah would come on clouds yet it says in zach that he would come on donkey. So he must come twice. I then asked them if they heard that Yeshua rose. Both girls said huh. I talked about the eye witness account and the scholar accounts. THey asked where is he now, I said at the right hand of the father. I gave them the New Testament in Hebrew and she said she would read it. Though i think the most amazing thing in this conversation was when she asked how is GOd a man. I gave her a few verses of the Word of God in Tanakh and she then explained the Trinity to me amazingly better then i could of.
Update: Got in from Hafia
Two witnessing encounters i will share from there!
A Catholic in Israel
Me and my friend Tami, went upto a man on the bench in a park in hafia. I asked if i could sit and then Tami started playing with his daughter. I told him we were going around asking people what they believed and he said he was catholic (he wasnt jewish but working here on visa) He said he thinks you gotta do really good and then you will be judged on your works. So then that was my signal and I took him through the law. He confessed to everything and was very honest. He said that he trys so hard and I told him in the psalms it compares God's character to a holy and just judge so if that were the case God wouldnt just let those crimes fly. He agreed and said how does he save his soul. I told him the gospel and what Yeshua said. He agreed to everything I said. I then talked about the catholic church and he himself said that the church does not preach on what the bible says as then we got into baptism and eph 2:8-9. He told me about him family passing away and making it hard for him to believe sometimes and i told him i had just the thing. I gave him an english Isa 53 tract and he said it was the best thing anyone has ever given to him. We talked more about true salvation and i left!
Three Jewish young guys
So me and Tami then went up too 3 young guys on another bench a little bit aways. Talked with them for a second and then told them what we were doing. We then asked the question. They said nothing. So I went through messianic prophecy and proof in the earths alinement and eye witnesses of Yeshua raising from the dead. Then i said so if what i am saying is true, are you good enough? they said yes. So i went through the law and kinda left it on lev 17 needing blood to atone for sin and not having away unless it was messiahs blood like in isa 53. Tami then got personal with him gave her testimony and talked about God wanting a relationship with His elect. He seemed very touched and interested but still refused a new testament.
Talked to a few more people including a bahia security guard but these are the two that really stick out to me.
English Student by accident
One really amazing encounter that i was blessed to have was with a student from England getting his masters. I am going to try to explain this quickly. Basically, there is a guy named david who was supposed to be going around Israel with his friend but got in a fight. So they split up. He was walking around not sure what he would do and ran into some couple who were staying at the same hostel that my group was. They told him if he wanted a place to stay then he should go there. So he ended up there, and after we got back from witnessing that night in Elat we ran into him. We all witnessed to him a bit at a time and then he left for Tel Aviv. Didnt think I would ever see him again. He was in Tel Aviv and I was in Jerusalem witnessing when his friend offered him a way to Bethleham (though he was suppose to stay in Tel Aviv that day). He went with them but on the way they went to Jerusalem. I saw him and was very excited. We walked with him and his friend and invited to the house. On the way I witnessed to a senior at BCU who was here on birth right. He asked lots of questions and went fairly well. he left and it was just david, he ended up staying the night and we talked with him about the gospel for the whole day and night. Every question you can think he asked. At the end of the night he said he felt his heart to change. This is the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let me leave on a few thoughts
There were a number of Israelis who were very shocked and never heard about Yeshua raising from the dead.
This whole trip, in this last month....I didnt get rejected once by an Israeli when I tryed to witness to them, they are open.
Israelis often when they read Isa 53 will automatically say this is Jesus or you are Christian? Ect. Thats how amazing that passage is. The ones who havent heard much about Rabbi Yeshua are a small group but still out there but the othorodox often say they cant understand it with out Talmud.
The gospel was preached so God was def. Glorified, and He knows what went on and whats going on, i will though say people were very interested and asking questions open. So pray for the Holy Spirit to convict.
All the glory to God!!!
ps. you can view some of the pictures from the trip and witnessing here
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=137191571&albumId=1754391