For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, & not of evil, to give you an expected end. 
Jeremiah 29:11
“The Mystery Law of Evangelism Revealed”
Free PDF Transcript:
Some have expressed amazement at how easily I lead people to the Lord. Wherever I go, I find that the unsaved are receptive to the Good News. I pray this booklet will equip you to move supernaturally in this same anointing gift as I teach you step by step how I evangelize. Always remember that anything I can do, you can do better. My ceiling can be your floor!
Many Bible believers know the spiritual laws about healing. Many also know the spiritual laws of prosperity. Both of these are valid and important. But you can't take your money to heaven. And you won't need healing in heaven. The only thing you take to heaven is souls! This is why Proverbs 11:30 says, " ... he who wins souls is wise."
The Law of Evangelism
I have found that most believers do not know that there is also a 'Law of Evangelism'. The key is to go "to the Jew first." When God wanted to reach the world, He went first to the Jew, Abram, who was renamed Abraham. We know God loved all people. So why did He go to the Jew first?
When Jesus wanted to reach the world, He went to the Jew first. Matthew 15:24 says, "But He [Jesus] answered and said, 'I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.'" We know Jesus loved all people. So why did He go to the Jew first?
When Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, wanted to reach the Gentiles, he went to the Jew first. In Romans 1:16, Paul writes, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Messiah, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
We know Paul was called to the Gentiles. So why did he go to the Jew first? He certainly received more than his fair share of persecution from unsaved Jewish people. Acts 18:6 states, "But when they opposed [Paul] and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, 'Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.'" Yet even after this statement of utter exasperation, the next two verses show Paul still went to the Jew first: "And [Paul] departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. Then Crisps, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household ..." (Acts 18:7-8).
God, Jesus and Paul knew that when you go to the Jew first you reach more Gentiles than if you go to the Gentile first. Why? When you go to the Jew first, you open a door of blessing based on Genesis 12:3. In this Scripture, God promises to bless those who bless the Jewish people. What is the greatest way to bless the Jewish people? Tell them about the Good News of Jesus. When you do this, you are planting a seed that will result in a harvest of Gentile souls.
If I create evangelistic literature to reach Gentiles, I will reach very few Jewish people. But when I design evangelistic materials to reach Jewish people, I will reach multitudes of Gentiles as well! I have found that I reach more Gentiles by going to the Jew first than by going to the Gentile first! This is the Law of Evangelism.
One of the Greatest Miracles in the Bible To understand the heart of the Jew you must understand that God promised to preserve the Jewish people: "Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (the Lord of hosts is His name): 'If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever'"(Jeremiah 31:35-36).
In other words, God promised that as long as there was an earth there would be Jewish people as a distinct race. This is one of the greatest miracles in the Bible.
Imagine a people that lose their country and are scattered to the four corners of the earth. And for 2,000 years they are murdered and persecuted in every country in which they settle - just for being Jews. You would think that by now every Jew would have either assimilated into another religion just to survive or been murdered.
How Did God Cause Jews to Survive as a Distinct People?
God put an instinct in the heart of every Jew that says, "I was born a Jew and I will die a Jew." Christians often assume that a Jew who never goes to the synagogue or who considers himself secular or even an atheist is not interested in being Jewish. Untrue! So if you tell a nominal Jew that in order to become a Christian he needs to stop being Jewish you are going against a God-given instinct. The rabbis say you cannot be Jewish and believe in Jesus. And many in the Church say you cannot be Jewish and believe in Jesus. The result is that we Jews feel we can believe in anything except Jesus.
Some Christians who argue that Jews lose their Jewishness when they believe in Messiah point to Paul's words in Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Jesus." Yes, in Jesus there is no male or female, Jew or Gentile, but in the natural there are still males and females, Jews and Gentiles. You don't stop being a male after you believe in Jesus. Even Paul, after accepting Jesus, said in Acts 21:39 "I am a Jew," not "I was a Jew"! I, Sid Roth, am a Jew, and I will die a Jew.
All You Need Is Love?
I recently heard a popular Christian television host say the best way to reach Jewish people is through love. I agree we should love all people, but few Jews come to Jesus with the "love-only" approach. Frankly, I feel as if it is a cop out. In America, millions of dollars are spent on "bless Israel" events to which prominent unsaved Jewish people are invited with an unwritten promise that they will not hear the Gospel, but just experience Christians' love for Israel. Yes, we should show love, but love without sharing the Gospel is not real love.
Paul explained the problem in Romans 10:14: "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?"
One reason many Christians take the love-only route is because they are aware of the horrible history of anti-Semitism perpetrated by people who called themselves Christians. Misguided followers of the religion of Christianity, but not born again, based their hatred of the Jewish people on their belief that the Jews killed Jesus, among other lies. In truth, no one could kill Jesus unless He willingly laid down His life. In Matthew 26:53 Jesus says, " ... do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels [to defend me]?"
If you want to know who killed Jesus, the answer is found in Acts 4:27, "For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together." Who killed Jesus? If you have the Gentiles and Jews coming against Jesus, you have all people. But even all the people together could not kill Jesus unless it was part of God's plan. Jesus laid down His life voluntarily for the sins of the whole world.
If Love Alone Does Not Work to Reach Jewish People, What Does?
God tells us how to reach a Jewish person for Him - "For the Jews require a sign ..." (1 Corinthians 1:22 kjv). The reason thousands flocked to hear Jesus initially was not His great teaching. They came expecting to be healed and to see signs and wonders. The miracles drew the crowds. After the people saw a demonstration of the Kingdom of God, the spiritual scales were removed and they were receptive to the Gospel.
I have found that the way Jesus, the Apostles and the first disciples evangelized (with signs and wonders) not only is effective today, but is the best way to reach large numbers of Jewish people. The only major exception of evangelizing Jews without miracles has been the Russian Jews. When the former Soviet Union first opened up to the outside world, there were millions of Jews who had lived without the religion of Judaism for 70 years under communism. They knew they were Jews, but that was all. They had not heard the lie that "You can't be Jewish and believe in Jesus." Thousands came to Jesus and that is why in Israel today the largest Messianic Jewish congregations are filled with Russian Jews.
Are Jewish People Interested in the Supernatural?
I have observed that a very high percentage of the leaders and followers in the new age and other cult and occult groups are Jews! Since the Bible says we Jews require a sign and most Christians are ill equipped to demonstrate authentic miracles, we often settle for the counterfeit.
This is why I have developed a supernatural mentoring course to teach believers to operate in the true miracles of God.(Check it out at www.SidRoth.org/join.)
What to Say, What Not to Say
Wisdom dictates you do not use the word Christ when trying to share with a Jewish person. Why? Because we have been called "Christ Killers" for 2,000 years. The word Christ comes from the Greek, but the word Messiah comes from the Hebrew. I always say Messiah and not Christ.
There are other words that remind us of the persecution we Jewish people have endured over the centuries. For example, the word "convert" has a negative connotation because of being forced to convert or die. Instead, you can use the word "repent" or the phrase "turn to the Messiah." Even the word "Christian" can be a stumbling block to some Jewish people. They may think you are asking them to stop being Jewish. A good substitute for "Christian"would be "believer in the Messiah."
I usually use "Yeshua," the Hebrew name for Jesus, and "Jesus" interchangeably. I want people to know who I am talking about. Most Jews do not know the name Yeshua
When you are sharing with a Jewish person, it is completely appropriate to refer to passages from the Hebrew Scriptures. The Jewish Bible - the Tenach - is virtually the same as the Old Testament in the Christian Bible. Some of the words are translated differently and the books are in a slightly different order. Also the numbering of the verses is different than the Christian Bible in a few places.
Only in one place is there a serious incorrect translation. In the Christian Bible, Isaiah 7:14 reads, "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." As believers, we recognize this Scripture as a prophecy concerning the virgin birth of Jesus. The same verse in the Jewish Bible - translated after the time of Jesus - says "young woman" instead of virgin. This removes the supernatural element of the virgin birth. How did the rabbis translate this verse before the time of Jesus? The Septuagint, the best Greek translation of its day completed by Jewish scholars before Jesus came to earth, uses the Greek word that is exclusively translated, "virgin."
Jewelry to Start Conversations with Jewish People
I intentionally wear jewelry that will cause a Jewish person to ask questions. From there I can direct the conversation to the subject of Jesus. I do not wear crosses as jewelry. It is too objectionable to Jewish people because they have been accused of killing Jesus. Instead, when I wear jewelry I wear a Jewish star or menorah (seven-branched lampstand from the Temple). Some feel the six-pointed Jewish star is pagan. But people say the same about the fivepointed star. And I don't hear anyone arguing that we need to remove the stars from the American flag! Actually, just because pagans have used thousands of symbols does not mean we cannot use them in a godly way. When you, as a Gentile, wear a Jewish star or menorah, a Jewish person might ask if you are Jewish. Your answer: "I have come to love the greatest Jew who ever lived!" That begs the question, "Who is the greatest Jew that ever lived?" What a perfect opening to talk about Jesus!
Now let me share with you the types of things I would say to Jewish people to lead them to Messiah.
My Visitation from God
When I share the Gospel with Jewish people (and all people), I begin by talking about how I came to the Lord or by describing a miracle I've had in my life or I have personally observed. There is power in testifying to what God has done (Revelation 12:11).
I have been a Jewish believer in Jesus for more than 40 years. I became a believer after I had a visitation from God that turned my world upside down. On the worst night of my life I went to bed so fearful, I didn't want to live. I can't even express in words how hopeless I felt. My brief, desperate prayer was "Jesus help!"
When I awoke the next morning, everything was different. My bedroom was flooded with the tangible presence of God. Every cell of my body was invigorated with His life. In this atmosphere of God's love, fear could not coexist. This was life changing. I instantly knew that Jesus was the Messiah and I wanted to know more of Him.
Sharing your testimony and healings you have witnessed, even if you are not Jewish, is powerful.
Why I Continue to Believe
People have asked me if I still believe in Jesus as fervently as I did in the beginning. They also wonder if I could have just imagined that first encounter with His presence. If that were my only experience, I possibly would have stopped following the Mesiah. It is not very popular for a Jew and for a long time it put me at odds with my own family and most of my friends.
However, my faith is stronger now than ever because the Spirit of God literally lives inside me. As I am writing this, I feel His presence. It's like rivers of living water flowing through my body. It's wonderful, and better than any high someone can have with drugs or alcohol.
I know Jesus as a friend, and in His name I have seen sickness leave people and more miracles than I can count. On my radio and TV shows I have interviewed thousands of people who have had their own miraculous and amazing encounterswith Him.
I have seen thousands of lives transformed when people come to know Jesus for themselves. My entire Jewish family eventually came to believe in Messiah Jesus.This is what I have discovered after walking with God for over 40 years. He is personal and interested in every aspect of my life. He is constantly smiling upon me and is always happy to see me. He is proud of me. Not for what I do, but for who I am. I am His son! I walked for 30 years without His favor. And now I am walking in His favor. Trust me. His favor is better!
His love is very different than human love. He sent His Son to forgive me of my sins before I even knew He was real or that I was a sinner. When I had my encounter with Him, I didn't even know about asking for forgiveness of sin. I was overwhelmed by His love and He captured my heart. Then I found that the sins I thought were important for my happiness gradually disappeared. Even stubborn addictions could not remain in the presence of His magnificent love.
God has the answer for all your faults and all your fears. Since God is pure love, what He did for me, He passionately desires to do for you!
I Also Share with the Unsaved How Bible Prophecies Concerning the Jewish People Have Come to Pass and There Are Hundreds More Ready to Take Place Soon.
There is a second powerful reason for my faith, and that is the phenomenal accuracy of the Word of God in predicting things that have come to pass. When you open your eyes and heart to the number of Bible prophecies that have been literally fulfilled, you too will feel humbled at the mystery and awesomeness of God.
Although I celebrated my bar mitzvah (when a Jewish boy is recognized as a man), and attended an Orthodox synagogue, I knew very little of the Scriptures. I had spent most of my time in the synagogue reading the prayer book and learning our traditions.
If you had asked me if I believed in God, I would have said, "Yes," but I had never really thought about it. God was just not relevant. My life was all about me. I didn't realize all humans are hardwired to know God. I hadn't studied the universe and comprehended how its complex magnificence proclaimed an Intelligent Designer.
Nor had I considered the intricate and balanced wonders of the human body. I hadn't even thought about how many times my life had been preserved in close calls with death or injury. Now that I have thought about all these things, I know they did not come about by chance.
Once I was confronted with the truth, I had to learn more about this God Who was pure love. I devoured the Tenach (Old Testament) and found that it was filled with accurate predictions about the future of the Jewish people, along with hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah that were fulfilled in Jesus.
Since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 20th century, we have proof that no one has changed the ancient Bible prophecies. These predictions, written thousands of years ago, are so specific and so amazing that it had to be an act of God for them all to come true. There are hundreds of specific prophecies that have come to pass! And there are hundreds more that are ready to take place soon.
God Requires 100% Accuracy
God tells us how to know if a prediction is from Him. He says that if a prophet makes one mistake, the prediction is not from God (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). After all, there is no such thing as time in eternity. Therefore, God had already seen the event before He dictated it to a prophet who wrote it in the Scriptures. The Bible is made up of thousands of predictions for the future. This is why not one has been wrong!
For example the Bible says the Jewish people would be the most blessed people on earth and live in the most blessed land on earth - Israel - if they followed Moses and the Scriptures. But if not, we would lose our country, many would die and the rest would be scattered to the four corners of the earth. Whatever country we would go to would eventually turn against us and we would be in fear for our lives (Deuteronomy 28). This sad history of the Jewish people has unfolded just as the Bible said.
But the Bible also says in the last days a nation, Israel, would be born in a single day (Isaiah 66:8). On May 14, 1948, in one day, Israel was proclaimed a Jewish nation - after thousands of years as a wasteland. The Jewish people, who were without a country of their own, without a Temple, persecuted and murdered in every country they migrated to, became a nation again! The Jewish prophet Jeremiah said as long as there was an earth there would be Jewish people ( Jeremiah 31:35-36). How easy it would have been for this prediction to be wrong! The prophets Amos and Isaiah predicted that the Jewish people would return to the land of Israel from the four corners of the earth and that they would rebuild the waste cities (Amos 9:14, Isaiah 11:12). Those who returned spoke many different languages and could not communicate with each other. But just as God supernaturally kept the Jewish people as a distinct people group after 2,000 years, and formed modern-day Israel in one day, He gave them the pure language of Hebrew as foretold by the prophet Zephaniah (Zephaniah 3:9). Hebrew is considered a "pure" language because there are no curse words in biblical Hebrew!
The land of Israel was a barren desert where no one wanted to live. But the Bible predicted the waste cities would be restored and inhabited. It also predicted the agricultural miracles of modern Israel (Isaiah 35:1). Centuries before the modern scientific breakthroughs that made it possible, how could Isaiah know that the barren desert would be full of vegetation? The only logical reason these precise predictions and hundreds more could come true is that God inspired the men who wrote the Bible.
Why We Need A Messiah
There was a major crisis in Judaism when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. Before Jesus was crucified, an animal sacrifice in the Temple was the only biblical way to have our sins forgiven. With no Temple, the Jewish leaders of that time either had to accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross or invent another way to receive forgiveness. They responded by creating a non-biblical alternative means of atonement. The rabbis said that if we attend synagogue, say our prayers and give to charity, somehow this would atone for all our sins. But this was not God's way. The Torah says, "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul" (Leviticus 17:11).
Prophecies of the Messiah
Just as God predicted the future of Israel and the Jewish people, He predicted a coming Messiah Who would restore man's fellowship with God, and told us how we could recognize Him. God said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem and gave a specific time frame in the book of Daniel (Daniel (9:25). Did you know that there were several Bethlehems at the time Jesus was born? But the prophet Micah was so precise he said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem Ephratah of Judea (Micah 5:2)!
He would be despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3). Live a sinless life (Isaiah 53:9). Be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13). Die by crucifixion (Psalm 22:16). Have His clothing gambled for at the time of His death (Psalm 22:18). He would die before the Temple was destroyed (Daniel 9:26). Arise from the dead (Psalm 16:10). And the majority of the Jews would not recognize Him (Isaiah 53:3), but the Gentiles would follow Him (Isaiah 11:10). All these things happened.
Moses told us a Prophet was coming Who would be like him. He would also come from the Jewish people. That eliminates Buddha and Mohammed. This One would be greater than Moses for two reasons. First, God would put His Words inside of Him. Second, God would require obedience to those Words. Most feel Moses was talking about the Messiah. (See Deuteronomy 18:15-19.)
Actually, there are over 300 specific prophecies of the Messiah that were fulfilled by Jesus! According to the law of compound probabilities, there is only one chance in 33,554,432 that even 25 of these prophecies could be fulfilled by a single person.2 Jesus fulfilled 27 Messianic prophecies in a single day!
Jew or Gentile, All Can Have Intimacy with God!
Just as God told us the history of the Jewish people and how to recognize the Messiah thousands of years in advance, He told us how to experience the presence, love and friendship of God for ourselves. God's original intent was to have an intimate relationship with man, and in the beginning, Adam and Eve had this kind of relationship with Him. But when they disobeyed God, the beautiful intimacy they had with Him was lost. The subsequent history of humanity has been cursed. When people have not been preoccupied with the pain of hunger, natural disasters, disease, crime and war, they have searched for comfort through worldly success, money, power, love, drugs, sex, gambling and a host of other things that always leave people feeling more empty and lost than before
There is a God-shaped hole in our hearts that only God can fill. We are designed to know God. It is literally in our DNA. There is a way to intimacy with God, and a way to fill that God-shaped hole. God desires that intimacy even more than you do.
The Jewish prophets have told us how to be restored to our rightful relationship with God - we must get free of the sin in our lives. We are told our sins separate us from the holiness of God.
We all sin, but when God forgives you, you are reconciled with Him and you gain the power to be free. Only God can forgive and give you the power to be free. I have met many who have been set free from all kinds of sins, addictions, compulsions and illnesses through the supernatural power of God. Now is the time to examine your life and remove any sin that separates you from experiencing the love of God. But you need supernatural help to be set free.
God's Remedy for Sin
The New Covenant that was predicted in the Jewish Scriptures would do three things the Old Covenant could not do. is is why it would be called "better" (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
How You Can Be Right with God
The penalty for sin is death, permanent separation from God, and it can only be removed by acting in accordance with God's instructions in which an unblemished lamb dies in our place. We must exercise faith in God's provision through the New Covenant. The unblemished Lamb of God Who died in your place is the Messiah, Jesus.
To be forgiven and reconciled with God is to experience His love, peace and friendship. This is how to really live for the first time in your life. Are you ready to be forgiven and reconciled to God?
Closing Thoughts
I have personally experienced the promise you are about to read from the Bible in my own life. I know this will also be true for you. How do I know this? God loves you as much as He loves me.
The Bible promises in Romans 10:9,13: "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved ... 'Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'"
God has taken the first step. Now it is your turn. You may or may not feel anything. The feelings and experiences will come as you grow in knowing God by reading the Bible. Your first step is based on a decision.
"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses ... You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life ..." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT).
Tell God you are sorry for your sins and ask Him to forgive you. He will! The blood of Jesus will wash you clean and God will no longer see your past sin. Now say this prayer out loud and enter into the joy of the Lord.
"Gracious God, I am a sinner. Please forgive me for my sins. I believe Jesus died for me and by His blood I am forgiven. You remember my sins no more. I ask You Jesus to live inside of me. Take over my life. I make You Lord of my life. Amen."
Welcome into the Mishpochah (family) of God!
Additional Reading:
My Orthodox Jewish father was taught all his life that Jesus was not the Jewish Messiah. However, when he read the following passage from the Jewish Scriptures, written seven centuries before Jesus was born, he was shocked. He knew this passage was talking about Jesus! Before he died, my father received Jesus as his Messiah. Read Isaiah 53 and decide for yourself whether this sounds like a prophecy about Jesus!
"Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord's presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected - a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man's grave.
But it was the Lord's good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord's good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins (Isaiah 53:1-11 NLT)."
© Sid Roth
