Sid: I have on the telephone my good friend Pastor Steve Gray; Pastor of World Revival Church in Kansas City, Missouri. They’ve been in 8 years of continuous revival. Steve has had a Jewish heart as long as I have known him. That means that he has a burden from God to communicate the gospel to Jewish people; to love Jewish people; to stand strong on behalf of the nation Israel. And Steve I mean I know there’s a lot of ingredients as to why your congregation as to one of the few to manage to keep the revival the presence of God in such a strong degree and to getting stronger than ever in your church. But I know one of the keys is that you proclaim God’s love for the Jew in Israel in your church…But you believe what is going on in your church should be taking place inside the Jewish people; inside of congregations even in Israel; tell me about that.
Steve: I absolutely believe it and there’s such power and glory and presence and enthusiasm and excitement in our church and I’d like to take that to the Jewish people. And of course what I’d like to see is you know how in the Bible Paul he got a little frustrated with the Jewish people and he says; “Well, I’m going to go to the Gentiles and they grabbed it.” And I’d love to see in my day; and my frustration is with the Gentiles.
Sid: (Laughing)
Steve: You then take it to the Jews and my heart just leaps; it just leaps inside of me with that possibility. I’ll never forsake the non-Jews of course and Paul did never forsake the Jews and that’s kind of a myth. But he…
Sid: No, right after he made that statement he wandered into a Jewish synagogue so it only lasted a few minutes.
Steve: Yeah, so I would love..it leaped inside of me and I thought of the possibility that would they go for it and I began to think about how I could provoke the Jewish people to envy with the glory of God the presence of God. I begin to see what’s happened to us happened in them and I didn’t know where to turn with it I even you know Sid I haven’t told anybody this really this much but I’m not afraid to say it on the air but I was at a point and still am that if God would make the way; if I had the sponsorship financially I would devote at least 50% of my ministry just to Jewish people if I could and it wouldn’t bother me if I eventually swung and that was my later after mid-life or later life ministry was dedicated to all the Jewish people. So I just didn’t have the means; I don’t know all the Jewish people I’d like to know; especially non-believers in Yeshua. So I’ve been going around believing that…I well had this vision I was out on our parking lot and it was 2:00 in the morning and I was laying down on the asphalt praying and I looked up and as the heavens opened and I saw tanks and missiles surrounding Israel. And it looked like everything was just aimed at Israel and I was in Israel and so I guess it was aimed at me too. But then I looked up in the sky and looked like there was a sulfur look on that yellowish, greenish look in the sky. So I didn’t know if a bomb had gone off or something but anyway suddenly from the left and right came this torrent of water in the heavenlies and it rushed from left and right. And it was rushing toward the center of the picture in my mind. And it God looked like it would crash together in huge waves up in heaven but instead of it crashing together it turns downward and it rushed like a torrent straight downward like a waterfall left and right. And the strength of it’s fall hit the tanks and missiles and it was like they were just were washed away. And it was like they were washed away and gone and it was the glory of God coming and the glory of God came down from heaven. And not just spiritually but I mean literally, actually rescued the people of God; the Jewish people of God there in one of the most dangerous times in their history where there seemed like no hope; every weapon was aimed at them and it had to be a God intervention. And when I saw that I see; well that’s I mean the glory of God came down and struck me; I’m no Israel I’m just an individual but I know it can happen it rescued me. And I believe God was trying to tell me that I need to tell Jewish people to build up their faith; don’t be afraid and learn to call upon the Name of the Lord; and the glory is going to come down to them. But I didn’t know where to start and so I thought about all my Jewish believing friends and as I began to think about congregations and those friends I thought my experience has been when I tried to take revival what happened to me some of them were kind of indifferent; uninterested un-budging. So I thought about I know if I talk about it happening to Israel it probably would be the same way. So I still would be willing and love to do it so I’ve got a new strategy so I began to find Jewish people; not believers. Most of them practicing or mostly pre-practicing Jews; Orthodox believers and I just sought them out and told them…this is amazing I told them who I was “I was a pastor of this church on the phone; something miraculous has happened in my life and I just believe if they would meet me for coffee or diner I want to buy you dinner and I’ll tell you about it.
Sid: Now did they really take a total stranger up on this that’s a pastor? (Laughing)
Steve: It was tough but I found some; I mean some were suspicious; some never answered my calls but I found some. And I talked to them on the phone first and they were…I’m looking for prominent people in the community. I went to their business; went into their own business and shared with them and I found some people. And when I began to talk about the rockets and missiles aimed at Israel they began to realize they had felt that same danger. And so that is where we connected. They said “They may not have that same vision but they were saying “I know that danger I felt it.” And I said “This is what I saw; I believe God’s going to come down and help you.” And the man that I was talking to he got tears in his eyes and he said “This is like Moses, this is like Moses and the burning bush.” And he got out his prayer book and began to read Psalms to me. “And so this is what it’s like to me; and so I had several meetings with him and he introduces me to others and I have another man that I’m going to call this week.
Sid: Now out of curiosity; so you tell them exactly what happened to you?
Steve: Yes, what I don’t exactly tell them right up in the beginning is “Now you need to do is make…you know you have to make Yeshua your Messiah.” Now I want to tell them that but the reason I don’t is because other people have messed them up and made them feel like they immediately cannot be Jewish; they have to be this somewhere the is new kind of person that’s nothing. And so what I tell them I try to tell them is tell them is “Whatever has happened to me it is Jewish; you don’t…your Jewish this is for you.”
Sid: Listen; between you and me Steve I think it’s a misnomer to call Christianity; Christianity; I think it’s New Covenant Judaism.
Steve: Yeah, I’m with you all the way. I don’t know where we’re going to change it but you know Paul did not invent Christianity as a new religion; he was a Jewish person that brought the Covenant in the newness of Yeshua. And so you know but their listening very intently and learning to trust me and I’m just hoping that it goes and goes and goes. So I mean it’s just the slow; it feels like I’m on the slow road. I would have liked to have gone to some of the more prominent and the powerful and all that of believer’s and non-believers but I thought “I don’t know they didn’t listen; the weren’t interested in revival a lot of them; and it seems to be the people that are interested are kind of the nobody’s and the outcasts and undesirables and the ones that you wouldn’t normally pick.”.
Sid: If I’m understanding you right most of the Messianic Jews and most of the Gentile Christians really they wanted revival; they didn’t want to pay the price so they never started or they started and stopped; and you’re just too pragmatic. So you’re saying “I’m just going to go to the unsaved Jews because I believe that the Spirit of God’s about to be released on them.”
Steve: Absolutely, and that’s exactly. It’s slow because they don’t know me and I’ve got to go through that door but that’s what I’m doing. And I look at them and once in awhile they’ll say “Yeah, I know; I know that Christians are our friends and I know that some people and they’re pro-Israel” And I say “You’re absolutely right; there’s a lot of people that are your friends; but they are not going to be able to help you and they will scatter when trouble comes and I’m not going to do that; I will not scatter and what I have to tell you about can help and rescue you; so don’t think I just another Gentile or another pastor trying to come and get you to join my church or something; I am coming with a message of power and rescuing that’s going to come down and say you.”
Sid: Listen; the whole world is sick; the whole world has a relative with cancer; has a relative with a heart condition; has a kid on drugs; we have the answer.
Steve: Yep.
Sid: We’re to provoke Jewish people to jealousy; that’s our destiny. Now it’s more you’re destiny than mine that may surprise you Steve, but the bible says in Roman’s 11:11 “The Gentile is to provoke the Jew to jealousy. That is the general calling for a Gentile believer. And as I study the old covenant the general calling for a Jewish person is to go to the nations. So the way that I look at it right now is the Jew went to the nations we were faithful; we have Christianity today. Now Christians have to go to the Jews to return the favor and when these Jews come in they’ll breathe new life to the church. It’s so simple you need help to get confused. The church needs new life and when these Jewish people; these red hot Jews get saved and they come into the church they’ll revitalise the church and the the rest of the Gentiles will come in; end of the story.
Steve: Yep; that’s how I feel. I believe it with all my heart.
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth