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S2: Here are some of the news headlines we're watching.
S3: The conference was over. The president won a pledge.
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S1: Hi, friends. Welcome to In the Market with Janet Parshall.
S1: Question for you don't need to use a lifeline or
S1: call a friend. When is the last time you told
S1: somebody about Jesus? Think about that for a minute. You
S1: understand that the directive to tell people the good news
S1: is not a special gifting given to some people. It
S1: is not a special calling bequeathed to certain followers of
S1: Jesus Christ. It is a directive to every single one
S1: of us, which really sort of begs the question, does
S1: it not? I mean, if you have accepted what Christ
S1: did for you on the cross. If you've confessed with
S1: your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your
S1: heart that God has raised him from the dead, you're saved.
S1: And the minute you die, you will be absent from
S1: this body and present with the Lord. Your eternity will
S1: be in the presence of Jesus for the rest of time.
S1: That doesn't take your breath away. Hello. Wake up, O sleeper.
S1: As Paul said, that's the most exciting news any of
S1: us have ever heard. In fact, it's the cure for death.
S1: Death is so awful, so ugly, so horrific that Christ
S1: said I will conquer it. So the grave no longer
S1: gets to declare victory and the sting of the grave
S1: has been removed forever. In other words, you and I
S1: have been given the cure for death. We have to
S1: be prodded to tell somebody about that good news. We
S1: have to be nudged to get out there into the
S1: marketplace of ideas and tell somebody about Jesus. Isn't that
S1: the natural overflow of the heart? The Bible talks about
S1: that out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
S1: If your heart isn't overflowing with the good news of
S1: Jesus Christ, you're sleeping. Wake up, O sleeper. So we're
S1: going to tell you how to do this because the
S1: gospel changes everything. And I don't get it. I'm telling you.
S1: And I say this with great humility before a holy God.
S1: I wouldn't do it this way. I would fine tune
S1: specially gifted people who would be the singular mouthpieces for
S1: the message of the cross, but that's not what he does.
S1: He gives this imperishable message means nothing, and no one
S1: can ever take it away. Minimize it, minimize it, augment it.
S1: Footnote it, whatever you want to do. It's imperishable. It
S1: applies to all people in all times and all places.
S1: And what does he do? He pours it into not
S1: Royal Doulton China. He puts it in earthen vessels, cracked, flawed,
S1: fractured earthen vessels, and says, now go and pour out
S1: that message. And even with that, we don't go. So
S1: we're going to talk about how to get you excited
S1: to get out there and to never be ashamed of
S1: the gospel of Jesus Christ. Can I just say on
S1: a personal note, I absolutely love the ministry of Jews
S1: for Jesus. I have loved and supported and prayed for
S1: them for years and years and years. I love their boldness.
S1: I love the way that they are absolutely unashamed. I
S1: love the way they take it to the streets, boy.
S1: And they just tell people about Jesus. And I'm sure
S1: they've suffered a whole lot more than the slings and
S1: arrows of outrageous commentary. But they don't care. They care
S1: that people are going to step into eternity tonight without Jesus.
S1: And that's a thought they cannot bear. And neither should we.
S1: So we're going to talk to Avi Snyder, who is
S1: the European ambassador for Jews for Jesus, this marvelous organization.
S1: And I'm going to use their words to define them,
S1: an organization that relentlessly pursues the pursues the salvation of
S1: the Jewish people and helps Christians gain a deeper understanding
S1: of the Jewish historical and cultural context of their faith.
S1: Ivy's written a fabulous book called Never Ashamed Stories of
S1: Sharing Faith with Scoffers and Cynics. Boy, do we need
S1: a book like that today, right, Avi? Thank you from
S1: the bottom of my heart for who you are, for
S1: what you do, for the gift of an hour of
S1: your time that I cannot ever possibly give back to you.
S1: And thank you for nudging us to be like Jews
S1: for Jesus, relentlessly, unashamedly sharing the gospel. But I was
S1: thinking as I was reading the book, I absolutely. And
S1: by the way, welcome back. It's so good to have
S1: you on the program again. I would be wrong if
S1: I did.
S5: It's so good to be with you.
S1: Oh, Avi. Thank you. I need to hear your story again.
S1: How does a good Jewish boy come to find Yeshua?
S1: Tell me your story.
S5: Well, I'll give you the short version. I grew up
S5: in a very, very traditional Jewish home in the States,
S5: in New York City, um, a very traditional home. But
S5: by the time I was in my early 20s, I
S5: would define myself as a Jewish atheist first. Jews. That's
S5: not a contradiction in terms. There are many Jewish people, uh,
S5: who who define themselves as atheists. I was angry with God,
S5: though I wasn't really an atheist. I was just angry.
S5: I was angry because of the Holocaust. I was angry
S5: because I thought my life was was pointless. And one
S5: day I got so furious that I literally shook my
S5: fist at the ceiling and I screamed at the top
S5: of my lungs. I said, how dare you do this
S5: to me? How dare you? How dare you create a
S5: pointless universe and put me in the middle of it,
S5: you know? And then? Then this thought came to me.
S5: Now you know I didn't hear a voice. No bells,
S5: no flashing lights. But this thought was as clear as
S5: a voice, and the thought was, you're angry, huh? Well,
S5: who are you angry at? I thought you said you
S5: were an atheist, You know, that's when I realized that
S5: I wasn't an atheist. Um, so I decided to put
S5: aside my anger. You know, Scripture has a challenge for, um,
S5: for people like me who who say that God doesn't exist,
S5: but who blame him for everything that's wrong in the world. Right?
S5: And the challenge is, you will seek me and you
S5: will find me when you search for me with all
S5: your heart. And I will be found by you. So
S5: I decided to search. And God in his grace brought
S5: two types of people into my life. As soon as
S5: I came to that point in my life, he brought
S5: Jews for Jesus to cross my path. I got a
S5: track from them in 1975 on the streets. I was furious,
S5: but I kept the tract. Um, and he brought another
S5: group of people into my life. He brought a gentile
S5: Christian family into my life, who loved me enough to
S5: want me to know the truth. They weren't afraid of my, uh,
S5: New York abrasiveness. They weren't worried about offending me. They
S5: wanted me to know the truth and the whole process
S5: took a couple of years. But finally, um, March 14th, 1977,
S5: I came home, I made a cup of tea, I
S5: ate a sandwich, and I asked Jesus to forgive me. And, um,
S5: shortly after that, uh, I reconnected with Jews for Jesus.
S5: I was invited to join the staff. My wife and
S5: I have had the privilege of serving with Jews for
S5: Jesus for G. It's 44 years now. We've lived in
S5: in six different countries. It'd be easier if I just
S5: paid my rent. But, uh, we've lived in six different countries, so.
S5: So that's the short version.
S1: Wow. But such a rich version. Avi, I think that's wonderful.
S1: By the way, I want to point out that after
S1: you came to faith in Christ, you started working for Jews,
S1: for Jesus. And it's significant for those of us who
S1: know and love the history of Jews for Jesus. And
S1: I'm just going to put this out there and ask
S1: you to respond to it on the other side. But
S1: one of the things that Jews for Jesus on the map,
S1: God uses all kinds of things, by the way, to
S1: get his message out there sometimes the Supreme Court case.
S1: So Jews for Jesus and their inimitable style. Handing out
S1: tracks at the airport at LAX. And it became the
S1: stuff of a lawsuit, by the way. So, Avi, you
S1: were smack dab in the middle of all of that.
S1: Come back and share that with us if you can.
S1: Avi Schneider is with us. He is the European ambassador
S1: for Jews for Jesus, although he's an ambassador everywhere for
S1: Jesus Christ. He's authored the book Never Ashamed Stories of
S1: Sharing Faith with Scoffers and Cynics. Later on, I'm going
S1: to open up the phones so that you can ask questions,
S1: because I hope you're talking to scoffers and cynics. We're
S1: going to tell you how to do it better. Back
S1: after this. Are you going through a storm right now?
S1: Do you feel lost at sea? That's why I've chosen
S1: the Mediterranean Sea Rules as this month's truth tool. Robert
S1: Morgan reveals principles that will help you navigate rough waters.
S1: Learn how God is always with you through the storm.
S1: As for your copy of the Mediterranean Sea Rules, when
S1: you give a gift of any amount to in the market,
S1: call eight 7758, that's eight 7758 or go online to
S1: in the market with Janet Parshall. For I am not
S1: ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What does that mean?
S1: That's more than just a version memorized in Sunday school
S1: or studied in your small group. It means we live
S1: that we are totally unashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
S1: Abby Schneider knows that full well. For over 40 years,
S1: he's been serving with Jews for Jesus all around the world.
S1: He is currently their European ambassador, and he's written a
S1: wonderful book that applies to all people in all times,
S1: in all places, not just how to share the gospel
S1: with our Jewish friends, which I hope you're doing, but
S1: how to share the gospel with anyone. The book is
S1: called Never Ashamed Stories of Sharing Faith with Scoffers and Skeptics. So, Abby,
S1: I put this out there just before the break because
S1: I think it's hugely important because my husband works with
S1: Jay Sekulow. There's a whole bunch of intersections here. But
S1: tell me about the LAX case and Jews for Jesus,
S1: and how in many respects, God used that case to
S1: put Jews for Jesus on the map, so to speak.
S5: Well, I have to say that Jews for Jesus, by
S5: God's grace, had been on the map for quite some time.
S5: I just had the privilege of maybe, uh, turning up
S5: the burner a little bit. But, uh, it was, uh,
S5: I think it was 19. It must have been 1983. Uh,
S5: and I had the privilege of serving as the, uh,
S5: the Los Angeles director of Jews for Jesus at the time.
S5: And I and my colleagues would regularly go out to, uh,
S5: a number of places, including LAX, Los Angeles International Airport,
S5: to to hand out our broadside tracts and to engage
S5: people in conversations about about the Lord. Uh, and we
S5: could do that at LAX because, uh, technically it was
S5: private property or public property, so there was no law
S5: against it. So one day I'm in one of the
S5: terminals and I'm handing out my tracks, and this, uh,
S5: officer comes over to me and he says in a
S5: very polite way, uh, you can't do this. You have
S5: to leave. And I said, what do you mean, I
S5: can't do this? He said, you can't do this. I said,
S5: of course I can do this. It's public property. It's
S5: guaranteed by the First Amendment. And he said, oh, no, no, the, uh,
S5: the l a s board of directors, uh, uh, suspended
S5: the First Amendment.
S1: Oh.
S5: I said I said, you're right. Right. I, I said,
S5: I beg your pardon. I said, they suspended the First Amendment.
S5: He said yes. And I said, boy, you just told
S5: that to the wrong person.
S1: You know.
S5: So that started, uh, a long litigation. Uh, we went
S5: to court. We won, of course, in the court. They appealed.
S5: We won in the appellate court. They appealed. It ultimately
S5: went up all the way up to, uh, to the
S5: United States Supreme Court. And when we heard that the
S5: Supreme Court was going to hear the case, we thought
S5: that we had lost something because that meant that somebody
S5: on the Supreme Court thought that there was merit in
S5: Lax's case. So we figured, oh, something's something's not good.
S5: But when it was heard and argued finally, um, in
S5: the Supreme Court. We won nine zero. It was a
S5: unanimous decision in favor of the Constitution, in favor of
S5: our right to, uh, to continue to do what we
S5: were doing. So it's a great victory story. But, you know,
S5: there's there's an important application here for all of us.
S5: You know, it should really serve as a warning. It
S5: should serve as a wake up call that, um, we
S5: can't we can't take for granted, and we can't lose
S5: the opportunities that we have right now to share the gospel.
S5: It is so easy to share the gospel in this country.
S5: What are the what are the the severest repercussions you're
S5: going to face? Someone's not going to like you. You know,
S5: I remember moving to the Soviet Union when it was
S5: the Soviet Union to, to start the work of Jews
S5: for Jesus there with my colleagues. You know, that was
S5: a little more difficult. You know, the repercussions were a
S5: little more stringent, you know, but it's an imperative issue.
S5: We we have we have to seize the the freedom
S5: that we have now and use that because we're going
S5: to stand before the Lord. And he's going to say, and,
S5: you know, I gave you a country where you could
S5: freely proclaim my name. What did you do with it?
S5: What did you do with that freedom?
S1: Wow. By the way, you should know that I have
S1: a sticker right here on my microphone that says Jews
S1: for Jesus. This is what made me think of this,
S1: because you said, well, around a little bit more than,
S1: you know, when you got there. This case put it on.
S1: And this is why you're absolutely right. Jews for Jesus,
S1: established 32 A.D., give or take a year or so. Right?
S1: Just love it. So it did. It really helped to
S1: catapult the fact that Jews for Jesus was now a
S1: household name because they were in the evening news on
S1: a regular basis, and it was a great victory for
S1: religious liberty. And by the way, note to file nobody
S1: can suspend the First Amendment anytime, anywhere they like. So, Avi,
S1: you said something. I want to pull it out because
S1: it was profoundly significant, which is this idea of sharing
S1: the gospel. You and I know that we could rationalize
S1: why we don't till the cows come home. There's no excuse.
S1: We're told to do it. If we're going to live
S1: a life of loving obedience, we respond, yes, Lord, and
S1: we go where we're called. So I love personal stories
S1: because I think we glean the most by hearing a
S1: brother or sister who's had to do this. So you
S1: come to faith in Christ, you start out as an atheist,
S1: you realize you're not an atheist. You're given a track
S1: by Jews for Jesus. You go right back to them.
S1: And we just jumped into the fact that you started
S1: working for them. So because there is no shame in
S1: Jews for Jesus, tell me about the first time. If
S1: you can remember it when you shared the gospel, it's
S1: one thing for you to be having your coffee and
S1: your toast and say, okay, Lord, but now you have
S1: to hit the streets yourself. What was that like?
S5: Well, I remember early on when I, um, I was
S5: a volunteer with Jews for Jesus and again, um, um,
S5: I have to just say that your words are so
S5: kind to me, but but to give me a credit
S5: that isn't due, uh, Jews for Jesus had had made
S5: so many waves since its beginning. In fact, we're coming
S5: up to our 50th anniversary. We began officially. Well, we
S5: began 2000 years ago. But this ministry, this ministry officially
S5: began in 1973. I didn't get saved till 77 and
S5: become involved until then. So they were pretty, pretty active
S5: for those first four years, causing a lot of waves
S5: in New York and San Francisco and Los Angeles. Anyway,
S5: with that said, um, one of the first times that
S5: I remember, uh, sharing the gospel was when I was, um,
S5: a volunteer with Jews for Jesus. And, uh, I was
S5: invited by one of their workers to go down to
S5: Los Angeles. Where was it? It was a Westwood. And
S5: we were handing out tracts, and I didn't know what
S5: was going to happen. And I'm, uh, I'm handing out tracks.
S5: And before we'd gone out, the person who invited me to, uh,
S5: to come with him, he was discipling me, uh, and
S5: we were going through the book of Romans, and, uh,
S5: he said to me at one point in the in
S5: the middle of the discipleship session, he said, he said, um,
S5: what are you doing? Um, when? When we're done with
S5: the session. I said nothing much. He said, um, would
S5: you like to come with me and hand out some tracks?
S5: I said, no.
S1: Let me leave it there. Let me leave it there. Okay.
S1: You said no. Okay, we're going to keep our friends hanging.
S1: But obviously I bet that answer gets changed. And I
S1: want to hear how that happened. Ivy Snyder is with us.
S1: He's the European ambassador currently for Jews for Jesus, serving
S1: that wonderful ministry around the globe. He's the author of
S1: a book that is so timely because we live in
S1: a world just surrounded by scoffers and skeptics. But you
S1: know what? There's the other s word. They're still seeking.
S1: Don't forget that for one minute. Never ashamed. Stories of
S1: sharing faith with scoffers and skeptics. More with Ivy Snyder
S1: right after this. Never ashamed. It's the new book that
S1: Ivy Snyder has written. Ivy is the European ambassador for
S1: Jews for Jesus. And I want to get right back
S1: because I just asked Avi the question about what it
S1: was like the first time he went out and shared
S1: the gospel on the street. So he's studying the book
S1: of Romans. Someone says, what are you doing after this?
S1: And he said, you want to go out and hand
S1: out tracts? And the answer was no. But we all
S1: know the story. Avi doesn't end there, so please continue.
S5: Sure. He'd said to me, Will you come out? Would
S5: you like to come out and hand out tracks with me?
S5: I said, no. He said, okay, will you come out
S5: and hand out tracks with me? I said, yes, and
S5: so I went because I knew it was the right
S5: thing to do, even though every bone in my body
S5: didn't want to go, you know, and, uh, nothing really
S5: disastrous happened. It was it was an interesting experience. We
S5: were we were down in Westwood and we were handing
S5: out literature. And at one point, this very, very irate
S5: Jewish woman came up to me and she just she
S5: just railed. She just laced into me. I don't I
S5: don't remember a word that she said. And I just
S5: stood there and it hurt. And the only thing that
S5: I remember from her, from her, uh, barrage of words was, uh,
S5: at the end she said to me, why are you here?
S5: And I don't know why I said this, but when
S5: I said it just came out, I said, because I love.
S5: I didn't even know what I meant by that. But
S5: my words froze her and she just stared at me
S5: and the anger disappeared, and she shook her head in
S5: absolute befuddlement, and she walked away. Um, so you know
S5: I wasn't beaten up that time. Nothing terrible happened. But
S5: she heard the gospel. And, you know, later on, I
S5: was thinking to myself, years later, I was thinking, what
S5: did I mean when I said, I love? And I
S5: think that maybe what I meant was that I was
S5: learning to love the Lord. But, you know, Jesus said
S5: that if we love him, we'll keep his commandments. And
S5: what did he command us to do? Commanded us to
S5: tell people about him.
S1: You write this book. In fact, I fact, I want
S1: to point this out. You make it very clear that
S1: your book, Never Ashamed is not a how to book.
S1: If anything you say, it's a why book. And I'm
S1: so glad you did that. Because if we don't understand
S1: why we are directed by our most high and glorious
S1: king to go out and share his message, then there
S1: are all the how to's are meaningless. So I want
S1: to go back to some enumerated points that you talked about.
S1: So give me. In fact, you have a whole section
S1: called Why Share the Gospel? I put out a couple
S1: of things already and said that we're supposed to go
S1: until there's a directive in Scripture to be able to
S1: do that, that it should be the natural overflow of
S1: our heart, that it should break our heart, that there
S1: are people who will step into eternity without Jesus. And
S1: we need to tell them he's not willing that any
S1: should perish, and then turns around and gives us the
S1: opportunity to share that good news. But expand on that,
S1: because you have many more points on why we should
S1: share the gospel.
S5: We must share the gospel, number one, because it's it's
S5: a commandment. Number two, because it's an imperative. The gospel
S5: is not a choice. The gospel is a commandment. and
S5: it's an imperative that we that we really have to,
S5: to take up. I think that there are there are
S5: probably two things, two categories of things that stop most
S5: of us from being willing to share the gospel. One
S5: is fear. Uh, and the and the other is is ignorance.
S5: Which which would you like me to tell you about
S5: first fear?
S1: I bet that's a big reason for a lot of
S1: people listening. Fear.
S5: It really is. Uh, and, you know, there are a
S5: number of fears. In fact, there are there are at
S5: least five fears, uh, enumerated in the scriptures. The apostle
S5: Paul wrestled with, with three of them, uh, the fear
S5: of abandonment, the fear of of harm, the fear of
S5: fruitful labor. Uh, Moses struggled with two others. The fear
S5: of incompetence, the fear of rejection. I think in a
S5: society like ours in the West, um, I think the
S5: strongest fear that we grapple with is the fear of rejection. Um,
S5: we don't admit that we're ashamed of the gospel, but
S5: we are. We're ashamed when. When we. When we choose silence.
S5: Even though God has told us to speak, we fear
S5: the rejection of people more than we fear the reproach
S5: of the Almighty God. But we don't. We don't call
S5: it fear. You know what we do? We flatter ourselves.
S5: We say, well, I don't want to offend anybody, but
S5: that's not really true. What we mean is, I don't
S5: want that person to dislike me. I don't want that
S5: person to get angry with me, because the most important
S5: thing in my life is that everybody likes me. In fact,
S5: that's why Jesus died and rose from the dead, right?
S5: So that everybody will like me and think that I'm
S5: a wonderful person, right? No.
S6: You know, not exactly.
S5: You know, long ago we choose for Jesus made a
S5: very important strategic discovery. We discovered that what people think
S5: of us is not the issue. What people think of
S5: Jesus Mhm. Is the issue whether or not he's whether
S5: or not people have had the opportunity to hear the
S5: only message that can rescue us from sin and death.
S5: That's the issue. Can I, can I make you a promise.
S5: This is dangerous, right? I'm going to make you a promise.
S5: May I do that, please? I, I promise you, I
S5: promise anybody listening to this that if you spend hours
S5: each week in deep study of the word, if you
S5: spend hours each week in deep, fervent prayer and then
S5: you share the gospel, people still will not like you.
S5: That's a promise. Okay.
S1: You know.
S5: That's the power of the gospel. The gospel divides. It
S5: takes away our opportunity to be neutral. And we have
S5: to be. We have to we have to grapple with
S5: that fact, and we have to share the gospel unashamedly. Uh,
S5: but it's a fear of rejection that really stops most
S5: of us here in the States, at least in a
S5: Western country.
S1: Yeah, I think you're absolutely right. Avi. Let me take
S1: a break. I love this book. It in my classroom.
S1: You know, I always say this about books that are
S1: particularly personally impacting. It would be required reading. Never ashamed.
S1: Stories of sharing faith with scoffers and skeptics. And I'm
S1: going to give you an opportunity to ask questions. Maybe
S1: you're wanting to do this, but you had an experience
S1: recently where you're going, what did I do wrong? How
S1: could I do it better? What are some better ways
S1: to do it? But again, remember this book Never Ashamed
S1: isn't a how to, although those are certainly in the book.
S1: This is a why. Why we are directed by our
S1: glorious Savior to go and share that imperishable message. 87754836758775483675.
S1: When we come back, I want Abby to share the
S1: story of Dora. More after this. Friends, this is Janet Parshall,
S1: and I want to take a moment to remind you
S1: that today's program is prerecorded so our phone lines aren't open,
S1: but I sure do appreciate your spending the hour with us.
S1: And thanks so much and enjoy the rest of the program.
S1: Are you going through a storm right now? Do you
S1: feel lost at sea? That's why I've chosen the Mediterranean
S1: Sea Rules as this month's truth tool, Robert Morgan reveals
S1: principles that will help you navigate rough waters. Learn how
S1: God is always with you through the storm. As for
S1: your copy of the Mediterranean Sea Rules, when you give
S1: a gift of any amount to in the market, call
S1: 877 Janet 58. That's 877 Janet 58 or go online
S1: to in the market with Janet Parshall. What a privilege
S1: to spend the hour with Avi Schneider. He's the European
S1: ambassador of Jews for Jesus, a veteran missionary, former director
S1: of the European work for Jews for Jesus. By the way,
S1: join the ministry in 78. We talked about his time
S1: as the LA director, but he was also part of
S1: what happened when the Soviet Union collapsed. He was actually
S1: serving in Ukraine, and he pioneered Jews for Jesus ministry
S1: in Russia and Ukraine. That's not easy, by the way.
S1: And then he launched works in both Germany and Hungary.
S1: He got his theological training at Fuller Theological Seminary, the
S1: School of Missions. He joins us today because he's written
S1: a wonderful book that applies to all of us who
S1: have been asked by our great and glorious King, compelled
S1: to share the good news. It's called Never ashamed Stories
S1: of sharing faith with scoffers and skeptics. So, Abby, one
S1: of the delicious parts of this book is that you
S1: weave stories throughout, which I think is just wonderful. You
S1: can talk about the why, and then you apply it
S1: to stories of interactions that you've had in your life.
S1: I was fascinated with Dora's story over 100 years old,
S1: part of Lenin's revolution. Boy, talk about looking history in
S1: the face. Tell me about that interaction.
S5: Yeah, I met her. This was back in the 80s
S5: before my wife and I moved to the Soviet Union.
S5: Although I think God was already preparing us to make
S5: that move. And, uh, she was, um, a hundred years
S5: old then, uh, a Jewish woman living in, um, a
S5: retirement home and nursing home. She claimed to be a
S5: Marxist and an atheist, but she really wasn't. And she
S5: had a strong Jewish identity and she had a strong
S5: interest in Jesus. So I would come by and I
S5: would we would talk about the dialectics of faith. If
S5: you know anything about Marxist terminology. So, um, one day, um,
S5: we're talking and she looks at me and she says,
S5: you know, Avi, um, I know, uh, who you are,
S5: but but I don't really know who you are. I
S5: don't know what you do. What do you do, Avi?
S5: I know what you believe, but what do you do?
S5: And I said, well, Dora, you know, I meet and
S5: talk with people like you. I, uh, write articles, um,
S5: I conduct, uh, uh, discussions. I hand out literature on
S5: the streets. And as soon as I said that, it
S5: was like a light bulb went off over her head
S5: and she said, ah, you're a provocateur. And I said,
S5: that's right, Dora, I'm a provocateur. Um, so I finally
S5: gave her a word that she could she could, uh,
S5: hang her, uh, her her hands around. You know, you
S5: said something a moment before. Before the break. You're talking about, um,
S5: the why of why we must share the gospel. And
S5: I wanted to mention, if I may, that that one
S5: of the reasons, aside from it being an imperative, it's
S5: the only message of hope. We live in a hopeless world,
S5: and we're the only people with a genuine word of hope.
S5: And that hope is the gospel. Um, may I tell
S5: you another quick story? You know.
S1: Please.
S5: One of the reasons we know that Jesus, we know
S5: that Jesus was Jewish because he was always telling stories. So, uh,
S5: I'll tell you another story, if I may, but it
S5: has to do with hope. Um, I went to see
S5: a young woman. Her name was Leslie, and she was dying.
S5: She was in the hospital. And, um, we talked about
S5: unimportant things for for a few minutes. Uh, she said
S5: politely to me. She said, you know what's going on
S5: in your life? And I said, well, life's a storm.
S5: And she said, oh, really? What storms are you going through?
S5: And I realized, well, I said, well, they're they're nothing
S5: compared to what you're going through. And then I said, Leslie,
S5: tell me, how can I pray for you? And it
S5: was as though my question gave her the emotional freedom
S5: to drop her front. And she just she just started
S5: to weep. So I let her weep. And then after
S5: a moment, she looked at me and she said, in
S5: a very pointed way, she said, can your Jesus heal me?
S5: So I said, yeah, if he wants to. But that's
S5: such a minor miracle. And she said, how is that
S5: a minor miracle? I'm dying. I said, it's a minor
S5: miracle because you're still going to die. Everybody dies. And
S5: I said, but there's a major miracle that he always
S5: performs whenever we ask. And she said, what miracle is that?
S5: I said, he forgives our sins, and he gives us
S5: the gift of eternal life. Then explained the gospel. And
S5: I said to her, Leslie, if you ask Jesus to
S5: forgive you, if you make a commitment to follow him
S5: in whatever time you have left, he'll forgive you. then
S5: if you ask him to heal you. Maybe he'll heal you.
S5: Maybe he'll live another 60 years. Or maybe he won't
S5: heal you. Maybe he'll be dead in a month. But
S5: if you die in a month, I'll be jealous.
S1: Mm.
S5: She said what? She said. Why would you be jealous?
S5: I said because you'll see him before me. And that's
S5: not fair. So she gave her heart to the Lord.
S5: First she prayed and asked him to forgive her. And
S5: he said yes to that prayer. And she prayed and
S5: asked him to heal her. And he said no to
S5: that prayer, and she died within the month. Listen, Leslie
S5: is a lot happier right now than you or me.
S5: She's dancing in the presence of the Lord, you and I,
S5: we're still navigating through the storms, you know. Now, the
S5: reason I'm mentioning this, the reason I mention this story
S5: in the book, is because no one could help her.
S5: No one had any word of hope for her. The
S5: doctors had no hope. The nurses had no hope. The
S5: rabbi on staff at the hospital had no hope. I
S5: was the only person with a genuine word of hope,
S5: the gospel, for us to keep that hope to ourselves.
S5: It's just wrong. It's shameful. And that's why we mustn't
S5: be ashamed.
S1: Amen. Amen. Have you asked this question in the book?
S1: And I'll ask it of you now? Can people be
S1: secret believers?
S5: I would say no. I know that's a difficult answer. Okay.
S5: And I'm very, very familiar with the prices that people
S5: pay when they come out in the open. So. So
S5: to speak. But, um, ultimately, you can't keep your faith
S5: in him, uh, under wraps, even if it should cost
S5: you your life. You know, history is full of men
S5: and women who had the courage to openly believe and
S5: who lost their lives, and the church advanced because of it. Um,
S5: if God should call us to make that much of
S5: a sacrifice, we should be willing to make it. You know,
S5: those of us who come from what I call gospel
S5: resistant cultures, perhaps we understand a little bit better. Uh,
S5: this this difficulty of, uh, of coming out into the open,
S5: and I'm not I'm not, you know, I'm not disparaging.
S5: I'm not speaking ill of people who who have believed
S5: and who wrestle with coming out into the open about that.
S5: I'm sensitive to that. But what I'm saying is that ultimately,
S5: we have to be willing to stand up on a
S5: mountain and let people know who we are, because it's
S5: going to affect other people's lives. We mustn't be ashamed.
S5: We have to be open about the gospel. You know,
S5: for me, for me to be ashamed of, for me
S5: to be silent about my faith in Jesus, even if
S5: I say I love him, even if I say I
S5: follow him and everything else, you know, it kind of.
S5: It would be a little bit like me being ashamed
S5: of my wife. You know, I don't want you to know. Married,
S5: you know. Do I love my wife? Oh, sure. Do
S5: I want to spend my life with her? Absolutely. But
S5: I don't want you to know that I'm married to her.
S5: You know, that doesn't make any sense. You know, if
S5: she really means something to me, of course. I want
S5: you to know who she is. Well, it's it's even
S5: more with our savior. You know, we're his bride. We
S5: belong to him. And, um, ultimately, we have to let
S5: people know the one who's found us and the one
S5: whom we have found.
S1: Amen. Amen. You talk about using our voices forcibly. Why
S1: is that necessary? I mean, if you cannot be a
S1: secret believer. And I so appreciate your empathetic and discerning response,
S1: that to be an open believer in the United States
S1: bears little or no resemblance to living in a repressed
S1: nation where Christianity is outlawed, or by saying yes, Lord
S1: publicly is the equivalent of signing your death sentence. We
S1: don't have a point of reference for that here in
S1: the West. But then you tell us, and this is
S1: these are universal truths. Why is it imperative that we
S1: use our voice forcibly? And what does that mean?
S5: Well, we must use our voice because of the opportunity
S5: that's in front of us. Um, there's there's a false
S5: teaching today. Uh, and it's become very, very popular. Um,
S5: the teaching is that it is sufficient just to live
S5: a Christian lifestyle. That's a sufficient testimony in and of itself.
S5: People talk about being a silent witness. There's a there's
S5: a phrase that's ascribed to, uh, Francis of Assisi that
S5: people like to, uh, bandy about. The phrase is, uh,
S5: always be ready to preach the gospel if necessary, even
S5: use words. Well, there are two problems with that phrase.
S5: Number one, Francis never said it. Uh, all of his
S5: biographers deny that he ever said that. Okay. But more importantly, um,
S5: that thinking betrays, uh, it reveals a basic misunderstanding of
S5: the nature of the gospel message. Um, the gospel message
S5: is a content driven message. There. There are two types
S5: of messages in the world. There are messages that are
S5: driven by conduct. Um, parental love is a conduct driven message.
S5: Children know they are loved by their parents, by their
S5: parents conduct long before they understand any words. Okay, but
S5: there are other messages that are content driven messages. I'll
S5: give you an example. Let's say I have to fly
S5: from Budapest to Warsaw tomorrow and I have to be
S5: on flight Europa Airlines one, two, three. And I have to, uh, be, uh,
S5: at the gate at 930. I have to be there
S5: 15 minutes before I have to check in. I have
S5: to go through security on the right day. I have
S5: to be at the right gate. Are you going to
S5: love me onto that plane? Are you going to get
S5: me onto that plane on the right day, at the
S5: right time? By your conduct? No. There's information that I
S5: need to know. And that information has to be communicated
S5: to me in a way that I can understand and
S5: hopefully believe whether or not I receive it from you
S5: is really not your responsibility. Communicating it to me clearly
S5: in a loving way so that I can receive it.
S5: That's your responsibility. Whether or not I choose to accept
S5: that information and get on that plane is another issue. Well,
S5: that's a content driven message. The gospel is a content
S5: driven message. If there's information about our sin, about our
S5: need to repent and make a commitment to follow him,
S5: and that has to be communicated in words.
S1: I told you, the book is fantastic and this is
S1: why I love Jews for Jesus. Rabbi Schneider is with us.
S1: He's the author of Never Ashamed Stories of Sharing Faith
S1: with Scoffers and Skeptics. We're going to take a break
S1: and come right back. I've got a link, by the way,
S1: to Jews for Jesus on my information page. If you're
S1: not familiar with this marvelous ministry, check it out. I
S1: want you to learn more. Back after this. Never ashamed.
S1: Stories of sharing faith with scoffers and skeptics. It's the
S1: new book by Avi Snider, who is the European ambassador
S1: of Jews for Jesus. He's been serving in that wonderful
S1: ministry for over 40 years. Avi, in this last segment
S1: in an hour that's gone far too fast, but has
S1: been so rich in content. I want to talk about
S1: the little man on the little old man on 57th Street,
S1: and then I want to jump all the way to
S1: the Ukraine, because there's some interesting aspects to both of
S1: these stories. Tell me first about this little old man
S1: and how he became. This story becomes a launching pad
S1: for things again, for us to understand on the command
S1: the why of sharing the gospel.
S5: Well, this was 1967. I was 16 years old. So
S5: if you're good with mathematics, you can figure out how
S5: ancient I am really quickly. I was walking down the
S5: street in New York City, where I lived, where I
S5: grew up. Um, it was right at the time of
S5: what history now calls the Jesus Revolution. There was a
S5: real revival in North America from about 1967 to 1977.
S5: Didn't really spill over into Europe. It was a North
S5: American phenomenon. But millions of people got saved in that
S5: ten year period of time in North America, including thousands
S5: of young Jewish men and women. Actually, that was the
S5: birth of the ministry of Jews for Jesus. We grew
S5: out of that move of God. Anyway, 1967 I'm 16.
S5: I'm walking down the street and I see this little
S5: old man hovering against the side of a building, and
S5: he's handing out little pieces of paper. I watch him,
S5: and as I'm watching him, I'm thinking to myself, this
S5: is so strange. I'll bet this has something to do
S5: with God. So as a joke, I decided to take
S5: one of his little pieces of paper. And I was right.
S5: It had something to do with God. It had the
S5: words of John 316 from the old King James Version
S5: written on it. Okay. God so loved the world that
S5: he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in
S5: him will not perish but have everlasting life. And as
S5: a joke, I decided to memorize those words so that
S5: I could boast to my friends at school that I
S5: knew a verse from that other book. The book that
S5: we Jews aren't supposed to read. To my knowledge, to
S5: my knowledge, that's the first gospel seed that the Lord
S5: planted in my life. Now, there might there might have
S5: been others that I don't know about, but that's the
S5: first gospel seed that I know about that he planted
S5: in my life. And the point is this from 1967,
S5: with that seed until 19 until March of 1977, when
S5: I finally gave my heart to the Lord, there were
S5: so many other instances. There were other seeds. There was
S5: that Jews for Jesus tract in 1975. There were conversations,
S5: some of them long, some of them a word in passing.
S5: There were so many seeds. But the point is, none
S5: of those seeds were wasted. None of it was wasted.
S5: God promises. In Psalm 126 he says, he who sows
S5: with tears will reap with joy. Whether we even see
S5: the result or not, it doesn't matter. The proclamation of
S5: the gospel is never in vain. The prophets didn't live
S5: to see the fruits of their labors. We're the fruit
S5: of their labors. Whenever we share the gospel in any fashion,
S5: God is using that proclamation of the gospel to accomplish
S5: whatever it is he wants to accomplish. Whether it's the
S5: fruit of saving faith, whether it's the fruit of division,
S5: whether it's the fruit of, of of, of our own sanctification,
S5: there are at least eight fruits that he's always producing.
S5: Whenever the gospel is shared, therefore, our labor is never
S5: in vain. You know, um, I have one regret about
S5: that little old man. I can't remember what his face
S5: looked like, but I've made a decision. After Jesus has
S5: come back and we're all together, I'm going to know
S5: who he is. So I'm going to go up to
S5: him one day, and I'm going to tap him on
S5: the shoulder. I'm going to come up to him from behind,
S5: and I'm going to tap him on the shoulder, and
S5: he's going to turn around, and I'm going to look
S5: at his face, and I'm going to say to him,
S5: in 1967, you gave a 16 year old boy a
S5: piece of paper, and the words on that piece of
S5: paper started to change his life. And I think I
S5: know what he's going to say. He's going to look
S5: at me and he's going to shrug, and he's going
S5: to smile, and he's going to say, yeah, I know
S5: I read Psalm 126.
S1: Oh my goodness, what a wonderful story. Abby, I would
S1: be remiss particularly when the country of Ukraine is all
S1: over the headlines and people are praying and putting out
S1: their blue and yellow flags. Tell me some stories about Ukraine.
S1: Tell me about Connie. Tell me about some lessons that
S1: we can learn from the time you served the Lord there.
S5: Well, actually, I'd like to tell you about a very
S5: recent story. First, I was just there visiting, uh, friends
S5: and colleagues. I, uh, I was in Poland, and I
S5: crossed over the border into Ukraine, and, um, I was
S5: talking with a young man named Tolek. Emma Tolek leads
S5: our work in Ukraine. And, you know, it's by no
S5: means an easy time there. Obviously, you know, anybody who's
S5: watching the news knows something of what's going on. Um,
S5: but he told me that in the midst of, of
S5: of all the, uh, displacement and all the, the, the
S5: horrors that are happening, he said that on on the
S5: Polish Ukrainian border, he said, um, uh, Polish men and
S5: women who were raised in a traditional Catholic, uh, framework
S5: are giving their hearts to the real Jesus, he said
S5: on the Ukrainian side of the border, Ukrainian men and
S5: women who were raised in a traditional Orthodox Eastern Christian
S5: tradition are giving their hearts to the real Jesus, he said.
S5: Jewish men and women are giving their hearts to the Lord,
S5: he said. Atheists are asking them for prayer. And he
S5: summed up the whole thing with a phrase that that
S5: ought to be immortalized. He said, it's a bad time
S5: for Ukraine. It's a good time for the gospel. It's true.
S5: Very often these are the kinds of circumstances that that
S5: that provoke people to look above themselves, to ask the
S5: question from where does my help come? Because they know
S5: that it's not going to come from within themselves.
S1: Yes. Amen. Let me expand on that, if I may.
S1: That's such a precious lesson. So here in the United States,
S1: we've got stress levels at record highs. People are worried
S1: about gas prices and food and inflation. They're worried about
S1: what the future might hold. So we could say, I
S1: think with some impunity that it's a bad time for America,
S1: but it's a good time for the gospel. And what
S1: a way to end this conversation that, again, it's always
S1: the right season to share that hope that resides within
S1: us in and out of season, we're told, but particularly now,
S1: that compelling, that directive, that great and holy King who says,
S1: go and tell that message has always been important. And
S1: I think what we're reminded of today is there are
S1: no shortage of hurting people, skeptics, some yes scoffers, absolutely
S1: seekers always. So I hope you'll read Abby's book. I
S1: hope you'll be encouraged. I hope you understand the why
S1: of our being obedient in sharing the good News of
S1: the gospel of Jesus Christ. And while you're at it,
S1: take some time to check out the wonderful ministry of
S1: Jews for Jesus just precious, precious, life changing ministry. My
S1: heartfelt thanks to a wonderful hour of conversation with Avi
S1: Schneider and to be with you friends. Thanks so much.
S1: We'll see you next time on In the Market with
S1: Janet Parshall.