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A famous Israeli YouTuber who was leading many into immorality and darkness has now surrendered his life to Jesus, Yeshua, and is leading others to the holiness and light that are found in our Messiah!
Even during this long and painful war, the Lord is saving Israelis from different backgrounds in unexpected ways!
From the “Good Life” to the Good News
Rafi* is an Israeli Arab whose parents are from Lebanon. He has a YouTube channel with millions of views where he focused on how to get girls and live the life that you want. He was highly successful, living the “good life,” and had his fill of the pleasures this world offers.
Then he found a Jewish woman he thought he’d marry, but her parents treated him harshly because he didn’t share their faith. He thought, “They claim to represent God, but they’re so full of hatred? This can’t be right.” He decided to research and find out who God really is.
He told us, “I searched all sorts of religions and philosophies, but every time I saw things that clearly contradicted history, truth, and logic. There were always gaping holes. But then my Mom saw one of your videos about Yeshua and sent it to me. It opened my eyes to things I’d never seen before, such as how He fulfilled the prophecies about the Messiah. I started reading the New Testament and studying in great depth. And there were no holes. Yeshua is the only One who is pure Truth!”
He recognized that there would be a tremendous cost to following Yeshua, as he’d have to let go of everything he had worked so hard to build and live a completely different life. But he knew that nothing could be more valuable than knowing Yeshua, and surrendered his life to Him! Hallelujah!
Rafi’s brother hasn’t decided about faith in Yeshua yet, but he told us, “I saw an 180 degree turnaround in Rafi’s life since he turned to Yeshua. That's definitely making me think that there must be something real behind this.”
Businessman Accepting Jesus’ Offer
Rafi even published some videos where he frankly admitted he had been wrong on some key issues, and shared truths he’d now discovered about faithfulness in marriage, honoring others, and honoring God.
One of Rafi’s close friends, Mati, is a Jewish man who fell in love with an Arab Israeli woman, whose parents also rejected him. Since he and Rafi shared such a similar experience, Mati was fascinated to hear how Rafi had found unconditional love in Yeshua, the true treasure.
Mati, a successful business owner, realized that this incredible exchange that Yeshua offers – where He takes our sins and dies in our place and we receive a new heart and eternal life – is a deal that couldn’t be passed up, and he gave his life to the Lord!
From Binding Religion to a Life-Giving Spirit
Rafi also started sharing the Gospel with Hilah, a woman who had grown up in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in a staunchly religious town. When she had asked about certain beliefs and customs in her community, she was ordered to simply accept them without question.
But then, as Rafi shared with her about Yeshua, she saw the beauty of His teachings, how He valued every single person and showed compassion, and how He invites us to a living relationship with God. She knew that basically everyone around her, including her own family, fiercely opposes faith in Yeshua, but she realized that, no matter what it would cost, the glory of knowing Him would be worth it all, and she gave her life to Yeshua!
Rafi, Mati, and Hilah all came to meet with us. We heard their stories, prayed for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and baptized them in the Jordan River.
We could see God working in them beautifully. Mati, who struggled with anxiety, said he felt a peace like never before after coming out of the waters. All of them were radiating with such joy – they’d found new life, the life God made them for! To God be the glory!
A YouTube fan of Rafi’s recognized him on the bank of the Jordan and asked, “What are you doing here?” Apparently Rafi’s going to have a lot of opportunities to share his testimony with people.
Prayer Changes Everything
But every one of these new Israeli believers needs constant prayer support. We’ve seen how the enemy rages when they come to faith and throws everything possible at them: intense persecution from family and friends, doubts, fears, strong temptations. They’re in a battle for their life, and we’d greatly appreciate your prayers for them!
Of course, they also need help to grow in their new faith. And by God’s grace, this week we’re starting a new discipleship and discovery group with Rafi and others in his area. Please pray that God will work deeply in all the young believers and seekers who will come, that they’ll all be grounded in His Word, filled with His love and power, and that the fire of the Gospel will spread through them!
Please also continue to pray for more laborers for our team, as we have so many Israelis ordering evangelistic materials and asking questions about Jesus that we can’t possibly respond to all of them.
New Online Meetings: Join Us Live
We want to reach everyone in this nation with the life-giving message of the Gospel. And you’re an important part of making that a reality through your prayers and support.
So we’d like to invite you to join us for live, online prayer meetings, where we’ll share testimonies of what God’s doing as well as key insights from Scripture and prayer points, and then pray together as “one new man” in Messiah! See details here.
One Last Thing
And one last thing: For many more inspiring stories of what God’s doing in Israel, you’re welcome to sign up for our newsletter, and get these stories straight to your inbox. You can also follow us on social media, and don’t forget to like and share this video so that others can be encouraged in their faith!
