As evangelists and follow-up workers in Israel, we often get to meet with people from all walks of life and from different backgrounds, as well as various countries of origin. We’ve come to see that nearly every time we get to share the Gospel with them, the Holy Spirit comes and touches them.
The Bible says in John 14:26 that “the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” We see this played out every day in our evangelistic work!
We recently met Olga, a new immigrant who had made aliyah from Moscow. We began speaking with her about Israel and what it means to find salvation through faith in Jesus. Olga admitted that she had heard about this Jesus before and often felt a tugging in her heart to know more about Him. She had also wondered what it would be like to read the Bible.
In response to this sincere confession, we presented Olga with her very first Bible and explained how the Bible daily would help her apply God’s wisdom in her daily walk. We also shared that in order for the Word to come alive in her heart and find that everlasting life that the Bible speaks about, she needed the newness of life that only be found in Jesus.
We continued meeting with Olga regularly for Bible study and prayer. We invited her often to pray the prayer of salvation with us, but she would always declare that she didn’t feel ready.
That all changed last week! Olga had experienced a profound change in her heart and expressed her sincere desire to receive Jesus as her Lord and Savior. We offered to pray the sinner’s prayer with her, and she agreed, telling us she was finally ready to make that step. We all joined hands and prayed with Olga to receive Jesus into her heart. Peace and joy flooded her face, and we could see that she had been transformed and renewed by the Spirit of the Lord. We remained in that attitude of prayer and peace for quite some time as the Holy Spirit ministered to Olga.
Afterward, we invited Olga to start attending our Shabbat meetings and one of the local home groups in her area. She eagerly accepted our invitation and told us she also looked forward to our next Bible excursion to Jerusalem and our next evangelism event during Shavuot.
It is such a privilege to see the Word of God in action and experience the true change and liberty it can bring to someone’s life, like Olga’s. Heaven rejoices as another lost sheep has been found! Hallelujah!