Revive Israel Community
Yad Hashmonah, Israel

We must give God's love. We receive God's love, but not only for ourselves. We must be a conduit of God's love and share it with others. To give His love to those on the street who need it most, to the ones who have nothing. Jesus said: He who believes in me, rivers of living water will flow from him. – John 7:38
These rivers of God’s love that flow through us, as His beloved children, are what brings life to those who are thirsting for love.
One of the most important principles for our ministry team in the Revive Israel Community is to reach out to the weakest, providing for those who are most in need. When we give ourselves to the weak and needy, we look beyond our own needs and see the needs of those around us. At times we are focused on what the Lord is doing in us, how He is working in our own lives, and how we hope to change into His image (Rom 8:29). While this may be good and true, if we stay focused on ourselves, this living water becomes stagnant water. This is not what God commands of us, He wants us to reach out to the people around us, He wants us to be servants.

Serving the needy takes us out of our comfort zone, it is uncomfortable and unpleasant to see them in their difficult state. They look homely, smell, are sick and wounded. Sometimes they speak rudely, are angry, and are not grateful for the help we give them. But Jesus did not call us to be comfortable - He called us to be servants. Jesus said: For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others. – Mark 10:45
When we are compassionate and serve others, we follow in the footsteps of the Lord, we stop thinking about ourselves and reflect the image of Yeshua to those who need Him, showing the gate to the Kingdom of God to those who most need a home, love, and security.
Serving in one of the toughest areas of Tel Aviv and with the Beit HaYeshua rehab center has given us a great opportunity to apply this love that we have received from the Lord. We have this opportunity to bring the hope and love of Yeshua into the lives of those who do not yet know Him.
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive. – Acts 20:35

Every week we visit the rehab center and go to Tel Aviv to distribute food and warm clothes, and to dress wounds and provide help to those who need it most. The encounters that take place between these young people serving and those they are reaching on the streets awakens the heart of Jesus and His love among them. Through these meetings, the Lord's love for the weak and the needy awakens in our hearts as we grasp how great and mighty the grace of Yeshua is in our lives. Any one of us could be where they are, and we are no better than they are.
Nili - This is a special opportunity to serve together, distribute food and tell people about Yeshua – this is the Lord's heart. My heart was very touched when I met a 24-year-old young woman who works in prostitution. She is about my age and I could’ve been in her place if life had turned out differently. I hope I was able to show her that we can have a new life, a new beginning, if only she would give her life to the Lord and invite Him to work. I know He loves her as He loves me.
Yair – In the past, when I came with the Revive Israel Community to serve the people on the street, it was difficult for me to feel compassion and mercy towards them, I felt that they were unwilling and unable to change. I blamed them for their current situation. I was very critical of them. This last week my attitude completely changed. God in His grace, softened my heart. I wanted to bring them food, I wanted them to see Jesus in me, to see that there is something greater and that God’s love is real and life-changing. I thank God for the change He made in my heart, the prayers He’s answered and how He’s changed me from the inside out. This is true love - loving the other.
Valerie – In the area of the central station in Tel Aviv we see poverty and people living on the street. Although they receive food and clothes from organizations of believers, the poverty is still great. There's a guy I see often, he's always on the same street corner and he's a flute player. Once I came to him, he was lying on the floor completely drugged and did not remember me. We had already spoken several times and he told me his life story. He was a talented musician but he had a lot of pressure and he turned to drugs and found himself on the street. The last time I saw him on the street I told him: I know you play the flute! His eyes opened. I want to give him a side flute that I have at home. We prayed for him and he said he wanted to get off the street and go to rehab. I feel that music will give him the strength to get out of this. I told him that the talent to play was a gift from God to praise Him. I prayed that the music that would come out of him, that the praise that he would play would honor God and give him strength to overcome his situation. I plan to give him the flute I have at home and I hope he remembers how to play, because he is such a talented guy who is imprisoned in death and depression. I stand in faith for him that one day he will open his heart to the Lord. I won’t give up on telling him again and again.
Roni – Alex was addicted to Fentanyl patches, one of the most horrible drugs out there: a very deadly drug, more dangerous than heroin, easy to overdose. It's a prescription drug that doctors give without much thought. In the USA every year between 100,000 and 200,000 die from an overdose of these patches. The withdrawal symptoms of this drug are very severe, the whole body hurts and it is very difficult to sleep for two to three months. Alex came to us and was deep into the drug, but on the first night of withdrawal he had a vision of Jesus, and after that he didn't have a seizure and was able to sleep. Under normal conditions this is impossible. Only with the power of the Holy Spirit can such a thing happen. God had mercy on Alex and in His grace saved him from the pain of withdrawal. When addicts come to us we pray for them and many of them manage to recover relatively easily, without much pain. There is enormous power in prayer and faith.
The Revive Israel Community continues to reach out and serve the needy, the hurting and the weak. It is already an integral part of our life as a community with the Lord. We will not despair, even though the situation of the people we meet is very difficult. Yeshua was crucified to give everyone a second chance, an open door to a new life. We received so much from him and now we must give what we have received. We are called to live a community life together in the light and then go out and bring the Kingdom of God everywhere, to the heart of Israel, even in the darkest places. Jesus said: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. - John 10:10
We believe this with all of our hearts – Until we see revival and salvation in Israel.