Showing posts with label forgiveness of sin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forgiveness of sin. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Only one person responded—but what a miracle

 Testimony of Mike Evans
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Jerusalem Prayer Team
"It was 1991 during the first Gulf War. I had just had a nine-hour surgery for a serious neck problem, and I was physically discouraged. I threw my pain medications in the toilet and said, “God, I want to get my mind off of myself and do something great for you.”

He said, “Then go to Saudi Arabia and preach.”


Dr. Mike Evans in the Middle East during the first Gulf War
I said, “Lord, I can’t. I am Jewish, and they cut heads off there.” But I went as God commanded. In downtown Dhahran just before I was going to preach, I said, “We will have a song,” and a U.S. African-American soldier began singing “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me”!

The next morning, the Lord said, “Go to the Dhahran International Hotel and shake the hand of the first man through the door and say 'May I go with you?'” I did, and that man said yes. I later learned he was a Saudi prince and a commander of the Saudi Air Force and multinational forces in the region. He interpreted as I shared Christ with the Egyptian high command officers and Syrian army leaders!

You see, the Lord promises us power only after we step out by faith and attempt something great for Him. I did what God said; radical obedience is when we do whatever He says no matter what. After days of preaching wherever God opened the door, I went to northern Iraq after the fighting ended to bring help and comfort to the Kurdish refugees who had been gassed by Saddam Hussein.

I heard the still, small voice of God instructing me to preach one last sermon on Jonah and Nineveh. I did the best I could, telling how Jonah rebelled against God but finally went to Nineveh. I told of the king’s repentance and the revival that broke out because of Jonah’s obedience. When I asked if anyone wanted to come to Christ, only one person responded—an old man in a dusty robe. I was as disappointed as Jonah had been. My interpreter was concerned about my reaction and asked, “Why aren’t you rejoicing?”

“I’m happy for one soul,” I said, “but I was hoping for more.”

“My dear brother,” the interpreter said, “the one soul who just found Jesus is the current king of Nineveh! He is the Kurdish sheik of sixteen provinces, and the capital is the site of ancient Nineveh. He has accepted Jesus and has invited you to go to Nineveh, because he believes if you will preach, they will repent.” Many, many people were saved there through that open door that God’s favor provided. Years later I was invited back to Iraq on a state invitation by the president just because he heard that I was willing to give my life to save his people.

What is God’s favor, and how can you live in it? Favor is “unmerited grace; regard shown by another, especially a superior; an act of kindness; a token of love; effort on one’s behalf.” Because you are His child, God, in an act of kindness and as a token of His love, extends unmerited grace and works tirelessly on your behalf. Not only does He bestow favor on you, He blesses you with favor and affirmation from those around you. Keep reading for how you can get this teaching that transformed my life…but first I must share this urgent need with you.

So far 2,470 loving friends have given $246,980 toward the Operations Center on the Ambassador Floor (5th floor) of the Jerusalem World Center, but we are still $28,020 short of reaching this crucial goal. But I have some wonderful news to share with you. But I have some wonderful news to share with you. A dear friend and partner has agreed to match your gift! Whatever you give today will be doubled. If you give $100, it is like giving $200. If you give $500, it is like giving $1000. Please be as generous as you can when you send your gift.

If there was ever a time when we need to rally behind Israel, it is right NOW. We have a huge opportunity to touch the world from the Holy City through the construction and equipping of our new Operations Center in the Jerusalem World Center. This will be the command and control center for everything we do, including organizing help for victims of terror, Holocaust survivors, and every possible need we can help meet. Our goal is based on the prophetic word of the Lord: “Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your God” (Isaiah 40:1).

The team that will operate and manage all of these outreaches (and more in the future) is being assembled. We have legal, management, property development, construction, programming and other staff—and they must have a place to work. The fifth floor of your Jerusalem World Center will be the Operations Center…but we must make this happen now so we can stay on schedule for everything that is to follow.
        For your gift of any amount…

We will send you this brand new Star of David bookmark.

Each time you see it in your Bible or the book you are reading, you will be reminded of your commitment to stand with Israel and the Jewish people in prayer.

   
        With your gift of $30 or more…

We will send you the bookmark and a copy of my book Living in the F.O.G. (Favor of God).

In this book I reveal the most important revelation God has ever given me—a truth from Scripture that revolutionized every part of my life…and can do the same for you.

If you are able to send a gift of $80 or more, we will send you an autographed hardback edition of the book.

   Perhaps you would be able to do even more.
    For your gift of $1000 or more…

We will place your name or the name of someone you wish to honor or remember in the Hall of Righteous Gentiles in the museum.



In addition, we will send you the bookmark, a copy of Living in the F.O.G. and this large silver-trimmed Yemenite shofar. I have one in my office, and it is both a beautiful piece and a great reminder to pray.        
Remember that your gift today will be doubled by the matching gift offer to do twice as much to help us reach this urgent goal.
Your support of the Jerusalem Prayer Team today allows us to continue our work on the Righteous Gentile Heritage Center, to stand up and speak out for Israel, and to meet urgent humanitarian needs among the poor Jewish people living in Israel. Thank you so much for being part of this vital worldwide prayer movement.

Barukh atah Adonai eloheinu melekh ha-olam, ozier Yisrael bigvurah.
Blessed art thou, Lord our God, King of the universe, who girds Israel with might.

Your ambassador to Jerusalem,
Dr. Mike Evans"
To give by phone, please call: 1-888-390-7946
Reach us via Fax: 281-257-2476
Write us, or give by mail: P.O. Box 30246 Phoenix, AZ 85046

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Jewish people need a Redeemer

Behind the curtains of Jewish faith.

Looking at the hope of  the awaited  Messiah when  the whole Israel  will live in a 'peaceful perfect land' - is such a long awaited   dream - times of the  great things  on earth, and -sadly  saying-mainly  to those who will be alive at that time.. There is much more we should expect!
We wait and wait, yet  forget we all have a free will and are not free of sin, we tend to harm each other very easily and not always make the best choices. How can we expect with such nature to have a 'paradise' on earth anywhere? Do we hope that in another hundred years people would get 'smart enough' and give up any evil action, any evil thought, any selfish desires?  We tend to  believe that one day  the whole evil world  will change 'magically' into a good one and  people will be able to live happily ever after. Let's look at ourselves how long can we endure ' being good' and not allowing  any selfish  evil thought  into our heart, no anger and no irritation, we will just love each other no matter what...

There is no 'magic' in changing peoples hearts. We are what we are and that's why we need a Redeemer, a Savior! His involvement in our lives is what  changes our hearts!  This is what God  promised through different prophets that one day He would send a Redeemer. A Savior  whose mission is not just to create a  'peaceful world' with evil people  who are dying  but with people whose hearts will be cleansed by Him.

As`soon as the sin entered the world, Adam and Eve were removed from a paradise. Death entered the world  and other bad things we know as the result of sin. The only way to be free from eternal death is through promised Redeemer. We can't limit  the Redeemer to the earthly things only. What is he going to accomplish is much more than  gathering all Israel into their land, building the Temple and bring  peace on earth.

Isaiah 65;17 "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind."
Isaiah 25;8 "He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord has spoken it."

God is the God of love and justice. He didn't create us  with the purpose of a short time  as if He was watching an  TV opera on earth in which you are alive in only one episode, and then the others replace you after you die. He is the author of  everlasting life and created us for the fellowship with him. We are created for a purpose. Our earthly life is to get to know Him! Only He offers us the way out of sin and out of eternal death!!
That is why  Christ's accomplishments are  beyond the earthly things!
 Even David  was holding to God  of  fellowship and  to  hope of everlasting life. David knew that the things God was going to accomplish through Christ  were more than  expectations relating to earthly life.
Psalm 37;28
"For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;"
Psalm 41;13
"Because of my integrity you uphold me   and set me in your presence forever."

Psalm  49;16  "But God will redeem my life from the grave; he will surely take me to himself."

God put eternity in our hearts because`He created us with the purpose so that we would live with Him forever. But not in our sinful nature. We need to be redeemed .We need a Redeemer who will set us free from our sin. About our Redeemer God has been telling throughout years  through different prophets.
In God's grace a Savior is for every sinner.
From the Scriptures we know that the great fathers of the history were saved by faith,God justified them based on their faith. Although many of them failed and  sin was present in their lives, they were justified by God's grace. Jacob cheated his brother out of  his dad's promised blessing.
Isaiah  admitted his sinful nature  after he saw His glory saying
" Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. "   then he was cleansed by God. "And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."  Isaiah 6;5

David sinned with Bathsheba, Salomon  was in sin  deceived by many women. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend. These people were saved by God's grace.
We all  are under the same condition!  If not God's grace, nothing would save us as nobody is righteous enough to stand before The Holy One and survive. God's grace is free but it cost  God  a lot to pay for our redemption. He is the One who had to pay the price of our sin or else would be all a subject to His judgement. Sending a Savior wasn't costless.

We usually imagine a Savior as a great mighty hero a great politician who will impose his power over sinful people and force them to be good. It is not like that. God doesn't  force people, He wants a change of heart. A Savior  is to deal with our sinful heart. First- redemption from sin, before we can expect any peaceful future God is talking about in the Scriptures!
We have to be forgiven and start with a clean new heart!

Christ  was to take the penalty for our sin  and that is what he did!
Do we have a right to reject the only one  person in the history that manifested power over death and life witnessed by thousands? Many hide behind  the words " he is just  not ours to consider") yet thousands of people all over the world  accept Christ's forgiveness and find peace in heart. Christ is real.

 A simple prayer would help, ask God for His revelation of the truth with open and honest heart. Does your  pride not allow you to believe that God would send  His Son to wipe our sins away? As the perfect picture of that event to come was Abraham asked by God to offer his son. God  put Abraham to test to show what would come in the future and how hard is it  for the Father to offer his son.
 That is how much are redemption was to cost as God was to offer His own Son for us.

Isaiah 53 ;11 is claimed that it talks about Israel yet verse 11 clearly states it is about God's Savior for us ;
"He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities."
It says '  he shall justify many, he shall bear their iniquities" 
How would Israel justify others, bear their iniquities?

V 12." (...)numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many,and made intercession for the transgressors." 
Can the nation be called ' righteous servant' where God is grieving over it's sin in  every century? There is no righteous nation on this earth before God!
A nation can't redeem others from their sin!

People have to come to God in person for forgiveness, everybody is responsible for himself, Israel's nation can't  justify others before God. A nation is not a Savior!!
God is not going to put up with peoples sin forever. Those who are rejecting His forgiveness, they will be a subject to judgement. God is holy  and will judge every sin. But God is also love and mercy and knows that nobody would stood up  righteous before him. That is why  He is giving us   a Savior to redeem us from our sin. His Son has already paid a high price to buy us out. He paid the high price by death for us, as the wages of sin is death. Come to him in prayer.
God said ' Now is the time of salvation"
Christ said;   " He that rejects me, and receives not my words, has one that judges him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." (John 12;48)
 "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3;36)