MISSION, NEWS & UPDATES God forgives Nehama Pages 4-5 Ilya professes faith in Jesus Page 5-6 INSIDE March 2024
2 Get in touch if you would like to arrange a meeting with your church group or congregation. We would love the opportunity to visit your church and share a message about the Jewish roots of our faith and news about our mission work to encourage you with what God is doing through our ministry to Jewish people. LEAVING YOUR LEGACY Include us in your Will, and help Jewish people to continue to hear of Jesus and be saved. For more information call us on (02) 9251 1166 or email vivi.joe@imjp.org.au Please get in touch with Mark Landrum at mark.landrum@imjp.org.au or 0439 428 548 to book a missionary meeting with your church today! A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR YOUR CHURCH THIS YEAR We are currently taking church bookings
When the Lord brought me to a saving faith in Jesus, he did so as I studied his Word. I had many questions and objections, but the Spirit of God used the Bible to confront my ignorance, unbelief, and doubts. Ultimately, the Lord spoke to me through the words of the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 31. My big question at the time was, ‘Why do we need a new covenant, a new heart, a new spirit?’ The Lord answered me in verse 32 where it says, ‘because they broke my covenant.’ Those words drove me to the Matthew’s gospel where the Lord brought me to repentance and saving faith in Jesus. We marvel at God’s personal and powerful interventions in the Bible, and yet God continues to work in this way in Jewish lives today. Even now, God continues speak to Jewish individuals in very personal and powerful ways which capture their attention. The stories in this edition of the Herald bear this out, and I hope as you read them your heart will be moved like mine is. Jewish people are crying out to God for answers. In over 70 years we have never felt so alone, misunderstood, and maligned as a people. With antisemitic attacks rising over 1000% in large cities in Europe and Australia, it is a scary time to be Jewish. But God is using this to open Jewish hearts. As Jewish people cry out, God is listening and acting. By his grace he is using us to open his word and speak personally and powerfully – and he is saving some. Thank you for your ongoing partnership. Your prayers and financial support continue to be vital in making sure Jewish people are reached and saved by God. Yours in Messiah, THE LORD WORKS PERSONALLY AND POWERFULLY Rev Joseph Steinberg, CEO Cover: New missionary Wim Rechterschot sharing the gospel on the streets of Amsterdam. See p10-11 for an update from his exciting new ministry in the Netherlands. 3
Aviel Sela began visiting Nehama, a Ukrainian Holocaust survivor, last year. On his first visit, it was clear that she loved talking about God. Nehama had been searching for answers to spiritual questions her whole life. She had never found answers that made sense until the Lord put me in her path. Born to Jewish parents in 1936, Nehama lived through World War II before training as an economist. Towards the end of the 1980s, the tragedy at Chernobyl took place. As she saw the government’s handling of the disaster and looked at the country’s economy, she was very disappointed. In Nehama’s opinion as a state economist, the government was only looking after its own interests as corrupt leaders lined their own pockets. She finally had enough and emigrated to Israel with her family at the beginning of the 1990s. Nehama’s daughter is already a believer and my contact with Nehama is an answer to her daughter’s prayers. Nehama had many spiritual questions, so I kept returning to answer them and talk to her about Jesus. During a recent visit, Nehama told me she had committed so many GOD CAN FORGIVE ME! JERUSALEM, ISRAEL 4
sins in her life and felt beyond God’s forgiveness. She couldn’t see how Jesus’ sacrifice for sin, thousands of years ago, could provide a way for God to forgive her many sins. So I shared the gospel again, explaining Jesus’ eternal nature and how his sacrifice on the cross and resurrection put an end to both sin and death forever. When I had finished going through God’s plan of redemption with Nehama, I asked what she thought. Nehama, now convinced, replied, ‘If Jesus is eternal and alive today, of course God can forgive me!’ At the end of their time together, my heart was full of joy as Nehama prayed, repenting of her sin and turning to Jesus for new life. Hallelujah! Please pray for Nehama’s spiritual growth as Aviel now disciples her and seeks to settle her in a local congregation. Aviel with Nehama, a new Jewish believer in Jerusalem 5
6 Igor Barbanel met Ilya, a Jewish man in his 70s, during a Jewish festival outreach in Moldova last autumn. They have been in contact over the past couple of months. During this time, Igor found out that Ilya is both an avid reader and interested in finding out more about Jesus. During a recent visit, as I entered Ilya’s home, I noticed a large-print Bible sitting on the side. Ilya told me that a believer had given it to him and he read it from time to time. Ilya also mentioned that he had been watching a TV programme featuring Jewish believers in Jesus and asked me if I would describe myself as a Jewish believer. I gladly confirmed that I would. Ilya asked how – with so many competing religious voices saying different things – a person could know the truth. He had spoken to his rabbi at the local Jewish cultural centre about spiritual things and the answers he received were convincing. He also said he had been in touch with Jehovah’s Witnesses, who gave answers to his questions which also seemed to make sense. ILYA PROFESSES FAITH IN JESUS KISHINEV, MOLDOVA
7 Then, at a relative’s birthday party, Illya met an Orthodox Jewish man who also gave similarly convincing answers to his spiritual questions. I told Ilya that the only place he will find the truth and the answers to any spiritual questions is in the Bible. We then opened the Scriptures together to see what they say about the Messiah. We continued to talk about Jesus and by the end of the conversation, praise God, Ilya sincerely professed faith in the Saviour. I am now discipling this new Jewish believer in Moldova. Please pray for Ilya as he begins his walk of faith with Jesus and for Igor as he disciples him. Please continue to pray for Igor and Galyna Barbanel as they take refuge in Moldova from the war in Ukraine. Pray for their safety as they temporarily travel to Odessa to hold outreaches and meet with old Jewish contacts, unable to leave the country. Ilya (right) meeting with Igor at his home in Kishinev. Please give thanks and pray for another new Jewish believer in Moldova 7
Last year, our Summer Outreach was held in Paris, where there were several challenges for our missionary Aurel and the team there, as he reports. We faced many difficulties last year as we set out to tell Jewish people in Paris about Jesus, First, there were the worst downpours Paris had in over twenty years which hampered street evangelism. Then a virus outbreak struck down eighteen members of the team. But these challenges presented new and unanticipated opportunities. During one day of torrential rain, a member of the team suggested singing Hebrew songs about Jesus in a local Jewish residential home. The Jewish residents enjoyed the songs and music, so the care staff said the team could come back and perform any time. More recently, one of my contacts from our first Summer Outreach in GOD WORKS ALL THINGS FOR GOOD 8 PARIS, FRANCE
9 Paris, a Holocaust survivor named Ilan who professed faith in Jesus after many years of witness, had a stroke. His daughter knew there was no chance Ilan would be able return home, so she reached out to me and asked if I knew of a suitable care home for her father. I quickly suggested the home where the team had sung. Shortly after, Ilan’s daughter made the arrangements and Ilan moved in. As I regularly visit Ilan to disciple and encourage him, I now have several other elderly Jewish residents with whom I can share the Good News. This unexpected open door of gospel opportunity is something I never saw coming after the challenges of last year’s outreach. Praise God for working all things for good! Please pray for Ilan as he settles into his new home and for the other Jewish residents in the home as they hear about Jesus from Aurel. Jewish believer Ilan in his home with Aurel, before moving to a residential home earlier this year.
Our new missionary in the Netherlands, Wim Rechterschot, has been reaching out to Omri, a secular Jewish man. After studying the Scriptures with him, Wim reports on an encouraging recent encounter, which gives him hope for Omri’s salvation. Omri was born in Israel and later moved to America before marrying Shie, from Taiwan, and emigrating to the Netherlands, where their son Jonathan was born. Omri is from a secular Jewish background but as our relationship developed, I asked Omri if he would like to study the Bible together. Omri thought this was a good idea and we started with the Gospel of John and then recently moved on to Luke. When we got to the conception of Jesus, Omri tried to quickly move on from it but I brought him back to the passage. Sadly, Omri confirmed he did not believe it. What happened next was a wonderful surprise for me as Omri went on to share that he does believe in God and his power. Omri told Wim, ‘In 2012 I was on holiday with Shie in Italy. I ventured into the woods alone for a walk but decided to leave the path. After a while, the forest 10 POWERFUL SIGNS FROM GOD AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
grew dense and I completely lost my bearings, so I decided to walk up a hill. Suddenly I slipped and lost my water bottle. A little later, a thought occurred to me: If I had broken my leg, I would not be found with my mobile phone as it was almost dead and had no signal. At that moment a prayer rose in my heart. I said, “Please God, if you get me out of this, I will never doubt you again!” And before I could say “amen”, a cyclist appeared right in front of me!’ He continued, ‘In 2019, Shie was pregnant with Jonathan. I was concerned because a few years earlier, I discovered I carry a gene for Tay-Sachs disease, a deadly Jewish genetic disorder which I can pass on to my children. During the pregnancy, my fear grew significantly. It got to a point that I couldn’t take it anymore, so I cried out, “Please God, give me a sign - but make it a gentle sign not a horrible one - that everything is ok with the baby!” At that moment I was walking home from the railway station and as I turned the corner I saw graffiti written in chalk on the pavement under an overpass: “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31,32)”’ These two stories that Omri shared showed that despite his struggle with the conception of Jesus, he is open to what God is showing him as they study the Bible together. Wim knows to persevere in his gospel witness with Omri. As Omri continues to hear about Jesus from Wim, please pray that a work of grace will take place in his heart and he will soon be saved. 11 PLEASE SEND A GIFT TO SUPPORT WIM’S EXCITING NEW MINISTRY IN THE NETHERLANDS If you live in the UK, you should have received a special letter about the appointment of our new missionary in the Netherlands, Wim Rechterschot. A gift from you will help this exciting next chapter of our ministry to Jewish people there and help sustain Wim’s mission work in the years to come. If you are outside the UK or didn’t receive the letter but would like to read it, please email info@imjp.org to request a copy. Alternatively, visit imjp.org/amsterdam
Level 3, 13-15 Bridge Street, Sydney NSW 2000 GPO Box 3266, Sydney NSW 2001 Tel: (02) 9251 1166 | Email: info@imjp.org.au www.imjp.org.au JOIN US TO REACH JEWISH PEOPLE IN SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE From 19 August to 1 September, come and join us in Australia as our local Missionaries, Mark and Rahel Landrum and Daniel Zeunert, lead our annual outreach. We will be spending a week in Sydney and a week in Melbourne telling the almost 100,000 Jewish people of those two cities the Good News of the Messiah Jesus. If you would like to join or find out more, please contact us on (02) 9251 1166 or email us at info@imjp.org.au. We would love to have you! EZEKIEL 33:7 RECRUITING NEW WATCHMEN In the Bible, Ezekiel was called by God to be a Watchman and warn Israel to repent. Today, we are called to be like Ezekiel, acting as Watchmen, making sure Jewish people everywhere hear that Jesus is the Messiah, the only One who can save them. We have created ‘Watchman’ resources to enable daily prayer for the salvation and discipleship of specific Jewish individuals, focused financial giving to support mission among spiritually-seeking Jewish people, as well as insight into how we can all better tell Jewish people about Jesus. If you have friends or family who would be interested in joining with us in the Watchman programme, please send them to www.imjp.org/watchman to sign up for our free resources today. They will receive specific prayer requests and stories from our missionaries which will enable them to be a an effective watchman like Ezekiel! ‘Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.’ Ezekiel 33:7
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