The Wedding Feast (~19.49) - Moriel Ministries

Immanuel News 2009 – Continued
October 2009
Last week, a Jewish man and his wife
came in looking for a gift for the Philippine
care assistant of his mother. I showed them
the sorts of gifts we had available and they
chose something. I always try to engage
people in conversation as they wait at the
cash desk, and so I asked where they were
from. They replied that they were from Haifa,
and then the man asked if we had New
Testaments in both English and Hebrew together.
I asked “Are you interested in New
Testament?” “Not at all!” He answered,
“But I’m a teacher at Haifa University. I
teach Greek, and because Bible was originally
written in Greek we use it as literature
– as a text to study.” “So you’ve read
it?” “Of course! I teach it,” he said. “You
teach it just as literature? Nothing touched
your heart while you read it?” “No,” he answered
firmly. I told him the truth that could
one day save him; “You need to know that
without Jesus Christ, you can’t reach heaven.”
He explained that for him, the Bible is
just a book of stories, and Jesus was just a
good man. I continued, “It is written that
every knee will bow and every tongue will
confess that Jesus is Lord”. He told me that
he was happy to stay as he was until that
day. There was buy one get one free offer
on the book, so I gave him the free gift. He
thanked me and asked if students can also
come and get the special offer too. I said
yes, but that we had a limited supply. As
he prepared to leave and I suggested that
perhaps now, because he had heard these
words from me, when he reads and teaches
the New Testament, that he could ask God
to give him wisdom and open his heart. He
gave me a big smile and said, “Alright, alright”.
But please pray for this man the next
time he opens this most powerful of books
that he has in his possession. Pray that the
truth would become real to him, and that
God would take him by surprise and cause
him to become a great witness as he teaches
the scriptures at the University.
EVERY NATION TRIBE
AND TONGUE
Another day, a couple of tourists
stopped to look in the shop window. They
came an asked if they could look around, so
I invited them in. As they browsed around
the souvenirs, they were talking and I heard
that they were German, so when they came
to pay at the cash desk I greeted them and
introduced myself in German. They were
very excited and tried to speak more with
me but I had to admit that they had already
seen the extent of my knowledge of their
language! I asked them if they believed in
Jesus, and they answered, “No, no!” and
seemed a bit surprised. I told them, “You
came to the land of Israel without Jesus,
but this is your opportunity to take Jesus,
the Lord of this Land, into your lives and to
return to your country with him”. I shared
the gospel with them, and then asked if I
could give them a gift… they just looked at
me, confused. I knew that we had a couple
of Bibles in German, so I gave them one
as a gift. Wherever I go in the world, I always
try to take some Bibles back in that
language, because you never know who
will need it! I told them I would continue
to pray for them, and encouraged them to
read about Jesus in their new Bible. They
were very thankful, and I don’t know what
will happen to them – we can only sow the
seeds, but God makes faith grow. Please
pray for them.
“ONLY EVANGELICALS HELP
PEOPLE LIKE THIS!”
Najeeb was standing in the shop doorway
recently, and saw a Muslim lady with a
piece of paper, asking people for directions.
Eventually Najeeb saw someone point her
in our direction, and sure enough, she approached
him at the shop entrance. She
explained that many people had told her
to come to us. Her mother is very ill, and
each month needs some expensive medicine
– an injection that costs 700 shekels.
She had asked people in her neighborhood
for help, but because she needed it every
month, people were no longer willing to
give. They told her that Najeeb might be
able to give her money. Najeeb listened to
all of this, and told her that he did not have
a lot of money to help, but that the only one
who could really help her was Jesus. He
explained the gospel to her, and how much
Jesus loved her and wanted to help her carry
her heavy burden. He told her “I will pray
for you, and we will see what Jesus will
do,” and told her to come back in two days.
He then went to ask the congregation
and asked if they would be willing to make a
donation. They put what they had together,
and although it wasn’t enough, Najeeb
took the money and to the special pharmacy
where he could collect the medicine.
The pharmacist saw the name on the prescription,
and looked at Najeeb. “I know this
woman – how do you know her?” Najeeb
replied that he didn’t really know her. “Are
you an evangelical? A born again Christian?”
He asked. “Yes, I am,” replied Najeeb.
“How did you know that?” The pharmacist
said “Only evangelicals help people like
this!” There were many other people in the
room, also there collecting medicine, and
Najeeb explained to all who could hear that
this is simply what Jesus asked us to do:
“For I was hungry and you gave me
something to eat, I was thirsty and you
gave me something to drink, I was a
stranger and you invited me in, I needed
clothes and you clothed me, I was
sick and you looked after me, I was
in prison and you came to visit me.’”
(Matthew 25:35-36)
Najeeb told her to come back to the
shop to pick up the medicine, and she was
extremely surprised that he had done as he
had said. She cried and poured out blessings
on him and our family. He asked if he
could also bless her, and with her consent,
began to pray for her and her family, and
for healing for her mother. Praise God with
us for the opportunity to witness to all those
people in the pharmacy about the kindness
and generosity of Jesus, and please pray
for this dear woman and her mother – that
they will find something more precious
than money and medicine – the Lord Jesus.
RESEARCH AND YOU WILL FIND
A Jewish man came into the shop to
buy some gifts and when he had made his
selection, he made it clear that he expected
to get a good deal, and a discount. I replied
that it would not be possible for him - to
get a discount, because every shekel goes
to support the work of Immanuel Church,
caring for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics,
broken families, and other needy
people. He seemed very surprised by this
and as we were speaking, Najeeb’s cousin,
Carlos, came into the shop. Carlos has an
amazing story of God’s grace in his life – he
was once involved with drugs, crime and
violence, and is now a man of God studying
in Bible School. He was able to confirm
that the work of Immanuel Church was
valuable for people like him, and that Jesus
gives great hope to Israel in this way. He
then continued to share the great hope for
Israel that God gives in all the prophecies
of the Old Testament. The man suddenly
asked, “Are you born again Christians?”
“Yes we are!” I replied. He explained that
he was a professor of Tourism at the University
of Haifa, and that he had done some
research into the Christian guesthouses in
New Zealand that provide accommodation
for Israeli travelers. In his research he had
found the believers to be really wonderful
and kind people, who also knew a great deal
about the Bible. Carlos remarked that it was
a shame that with all his research and digging,
that he had not yet found the light of
Israel that makes believers shine like this.
We shared with him about Jesus, and told
him he was always welcome to come have
a coffee with us and to talk more. It seems
that God is reaching the professors of Haifa
University! Please pray for this man, and
for professors who are in contact with the
Bible, to come to faith soon as they read
about our wonderful God.
Many blessings in Yeshua’s name
Rev Najeeb Atteih & Elizabeth
Immanuel church book shop Haifa
32 Moriel Quarterly • December 2009