Sid: Speaking about being red hot for the Messiah, I wish you could be a fly on the wall on some of my conversations with Jewish people that have received the Messiah. I’m thinking of one man in particular; he’s an orthodox Jew, he’s Sephardic; he’s got Hispanic type of accent and he started watching our television show, it’s supernatural. And he got up enough chutzpah, that’s nerve and he called the guest and the guest lead him to the Lord and prayed with him to be filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in supernatural languages and so then he called me. And he calls me about once a month and he is so hungry for God. At the same zeal that he had for Orthodox Judaism he now has for Messianic Judaism and I mean I have never met someone so hungry for God. And this tells me the times and the seasons were in; we’re in the season in which God is having mercy on Israel once more so that individual Jewish people can have personal relationships with God; where they can hear His voice and fulfill their destiny. And in the United States God has shown me that we have a window of opportunity and He’s told me; look its obvious and as you hear my guest Shira-Sorko-Ram, who is a living history of the nation Israel, will be talking to her in a moment. He has shown me what the orthodox Jewish people are saying, “We are in the footsteps of Messiah.” We can literally hear His steps; “They would say ready to come,” I would say, “Ready to return.” And that’s why God wants to have mercy on Jewish people, and in the United States I obtained the names and addresses of two million Jewish households. And God gave me a dream, He told me, “More Jewish people would come to know Him through this book,” He told me what book to do, I put it together and do you know what? We have mailed 600,000; I wish I had time to tell you the stories of so many, especially Orthodox Jews that this book is affecting; and having an impact on…and then we will seven books to seven Jewish families in the United States. We are seeding one of the greatest revivals in history. There is just something special when a Jew and Gentle who know the Messiah come into the love of Messiah and the love for one another. And there is nothing more exciting than a Muslim and a Jew coming to the Messiah and talk about having shalom on earth, peace on earth. Shira-Sorka-Ram is there anything neater than a Muslim that has an encounter with the Lord and then loves the Jewish people?
Shira: You know this is one of the most interesting things that’s happening in Israel for the Muslim people Israel is the freest place on the globe for people to preach and evangelize Muslims. Because Israel is a Democracy and even the ultra orthodox would be pleased to know that Arabs have become Christians instead of Muslims because they, you know the Muslim fanatism is a worry to the whole world. There is actually things going on that we can’t give details about, but there are Muslims in the territories that are coming to the Lord in a way that is just absolutely amazing. In one place I know whole village has come; now what’s going to happen to them, we don’t know. We had some Jewish people that were going up there and witnessing and teaching them and but now it’s too dangerous for them to go; but here’s a whole little village that has come to the Lord. They call themselves, Muslims for Yeshua. They don’t know anything else, what do you call yourself? But they have truly come and said, “I believe that Yeshua is the Messiah, and I have given my life to Him.” So, and then there’s works here in Israel also in Israel proper; we actually support one Pastor Yoseph Hadad; his wife came from Lebanon you know when Israel pulled out of Lebanon Sid, there was 7,000 Lebanese soldiers who came along and went with Israel back into our country. So they’re not all here anymore, but there still a couple of thousand Lebanese Arabs that are here that are nominal Christians. Okay that’s why they fought with Israel because they were nominal Christians and Yoseph Hadad this pastor has a congregation up in the North and is evangelizing these Lebanese soldiers. And I think what greater gift could God give to these Lebanese soldiers who fought with Israel, gave up everything; lost their homes; lost their extended family; came here but they’re now getting the word of God here in Israel.
Sid: This is such a strategic moment in history.
Shira: It is.
Sid: With, I mean I know you read the Bible every year through, and you’ve done this for many years, I know you have godly parents that now in Heaven that instilled the love for the Jew in Israel in your heart. And so you have this wonderful heritage, but what is going on right now in your opinion and where are we headed?
Shira: Right, well I remember back when my Father was still alive in the early ‘70s, someone came to him and said, “What’s going to happen in Israel, what’s going to be the future?” This is early ‘70s and my Father said, “Well according to the Bible, according to the prophets all the prophets, it’s simply going to get worse and worse and worse and worse until Israel sees that there’s no hope outside of the God of Israel; and then God, as they draw near to God, God will show them the way to salvation.” Now, I don’t think that He’ll do it by you know a puff of wind, I believe that He’s going to use the Body of born Again Messianic Jews in this country and that’s what we’re here for, that’s what we’re doing, the number is growing, but…
Sid: But what was it like forty years ago when you came to Israel as far as the number of Jewish believers in the Messiah?
Shira: When I arrived in this country in 1967 I don’t think that there were more than maybe one handful of Israeli, Israeli born believers here in this country. They just didn’t exist. There were a few immigrants that had come, some of them from the Holocaust, very traumatized people, but as far as any kind of strong body; there was one congregation in Jerusalem of faithful people; but I mean it was tiny, tiny, tiny there was almost no Jewish believers in the whole country.
Sid: Today, what is it like?
Shira: Today the newspapers are right, that there’s around fifteen thousand Messianic Jews around the country. And as you probably know, the Orthodox of the Ultra Orthodox do not let the Messianic Jewish people use radio or television; we have no television possibility stations or radio. Whereas they have multiplied billions of shekels that the government gives them from every possible corner, but they are very afraid of us and they don’t give us the freedom to use TV. But lately there are more and more items on the news itself that is talking about the Messianic Jews and it’s getting more let’s say objective, then it was in the past; when we were just considered a cult or a bunch of screwballs. In fact just a week or so ago there was a long I think thirty minute or forty minute broadcast on station Channel #1 of Israel and they even used part of the footage that we ourselves, MAOZ had filmed and we filmed a protest of Ultra Orthodox Jews in Ashdod. And in Ashdod it was in front of a Messianic Jewish Congregation and this Rabbi set himself up a platform, loud speakers and everything and he started yelling at his 1,000 guys, you know his Ultra Orthodox that they had bussed in. And he said, “The Messianic Jews are like Hitler. Hitler wanted to destroy us; the Messianic Jews want to destroy us just like the Nazis. Well, we filmed it. We sent someone there and we filmed it and the Channel 1 took it and blasted it across the screen and of course Israeli’s were horrified. So it really showed that we as Messianic Jews obeying the law, paying our taxes are people serving the army. And while as the Ultra Orthodox do not serve in the army, they don’t pay taxes, they don’t work, they expect the government to give them money to live on so that they can study the rabbinical books. And I think, I think the tide is slowly, its slow Sid, it’s slow, but it’s still turning.
Sid: But there is some pretty ferrous persecution of Messianic Jews in the land of Israel. It’s not as easy as they in the United States; we’ll pick up right here on tomorrow’s broadcast.
