The Jewish roots of Christianity

Home » Zola TV » Video Archives » ZLM Video

Bible teaching with an emphasis on Israel, prophecy and the Jewish roots of Christianity

This program is not available for playing in your browser (see below for alternatives).

Play video (28:30)

Note: You can control playback speed from the gear menu in the player above.

Episode: “Our Daily Bread”
Not all miracles are spectacular. Many tend to be very practical — from the feeding of a large, hungry crowd to finding a coin in the mouth of a fish. The Lord is our benevolent Father who wants to give wonderful gifts to His children.
Series: “The God of Miracles”
We can’t go far in the Bible without encountering a miracle. When the universe was created, the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). When all seemed hopeless, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 28:6). In this nine-part series, we show our miraculous God at work from Genesis to Revelation, with teachings from the Holy Land by Dr. Jeffrey Seif. We also hear testimonials from those who have experienced the Lord’s supernatural hand in their own lives.

Caption transcript for The God of Miracles: “Our Daily Bread” (6/9)

  • 00:01 David Hart: On today's program, we see how the Lord takes care of his children, even in
  • 00:07 the simple ways of daily life. Join us on "Our Jewish Roots" with Bible
  • 00:09 teaching in Israel by Dr. Jeffrey Seif.
  • 00:18 male announcer: To believe in the Bible
  • 00:20 is to believe in miracles.
  • 00:22 From Genesis to Revelation, the impossible became possible as
  • 00:27 God's hand moved across space and time.
  • 00:30 Land and seas were created, graves opened, water
  • 00:35 turned to wine, the sick and lame healed,
  • 00:39 the land of Israel completely restored.
  • 00:43 Past, present, and future, he's the Alpha and Omega.
  • 00:48 He is the God of miracles.
  • 00:57 David: We are so glad you've joined us today.
  • 00:59 I'm David Hart.
  • 01:00 Kirsten Hart: I'm Kirsten Hart.
  • 01:01 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I am Jeffrey Seif.
  • 01:03 Kirsten: Okay, Dr. Seif, today you titled the program
  • 01:06 "Our Daily Bread," we're trying to do no carb and low carb, and
  • 01:10 I'm gonna be really hungry throughout this whole program.
  • 01:13 Bread, bread, bread.
  • 01:14 David: My vest is feeling better.
  • 01:16 Low carbs, yes.
  • 01:18 Kirsten: From doing no bread, but this is a
  • 01:19 different kind of bread, kind of, daily bread.
  • 01:21 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, not really, you know, the ancient
  • 01:25 weren't as hung up on all that figure-perfect stuff, and bread
  • 01:28 was a basic food staple in antiquity.
  • 01:31 Kirsten: And we're supposed to pray for the daily bread and
  • 01:34 that he provides when our needs are present, not
  • 01:38 for the future, future, but today.
  • 01:40 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: We worry.
  • 01:41 I mean, a lot of us live just on the--we live with this anxiety
  • 01:46 in our minds and hearts, and we assess we're
  • 01:49 just at the edge of annihilation.
  • 01:52 The money's gonna wear out, the this and the that.
  • 01:54 And the story of a God who provides is extremely important.
  • 02:00 Kirsten: There's an old song, gospel song, he--
  • 02:03 that says he's an on-time God, and he is an on-time God.
  • 02:07 He--it may not be till the minute we need it, but he's not
  • 02:10 late, but he's not really early sometimes.
  • 02:14 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: That's what I was gonna interject.
  • 02:16 You know, he has his own reasons to grow us in our faith.
  • 02:18 And on a number of occasions, Jesus let him get to the ragged
  • 02:22 edge and he'd say fear not O men and women of
  • 02:25 little faith, but he does come through.
  • 02:28 David: Amen.
  • 02:30 Kirsten: That's a good thing.
  • 02:31 David: Amen.
  • 02:32 Right now we take you to Jerusalem where
  • 02:34 Dr. Seif is teaching on miracles.
  • 02:39 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: I'm coming out of what is arguably the most
  • 02:43 prestigious Protestant parish in the Middle East.
  • 02:48 Christ Church is situated right around the corner from Jaffa
  • 02:52 Gate, a main entrance into Jerusalem.
  • 02:56 It was built in the 1800s by money raised by Christian
  • 03:00 Zionists out of Europe that believed that God was going to
  • 03:05 prophetically reestablish the nation state.
  • 03:08 They invested a lot of love, a lot of money in the construction
  • 03:12 of a church that was built in effect like a synagogue.
  • 03:17 Very interesting, the artwork in is very Jewish.
  • 03:20 The way it's situated internally is much like a synagogue.
  • 03:24 And the person they installed as the pastor,
  • 03:27 Bishop Alexander, was a Jewish Christian.
  • 03:31 And here we are coming from this place.
  • 03:34 I'm reminded of the fact that God does miracles in
  • 03:38 establishing new things according to his purposes.
  • 03:42 It's amply attested in the literature that
  • 03:45 he's more than willing and able to do that.
  • 03:46 I mentioned that 'cause I'm looking at a story here
  • 03:49 in the gospel of Mark the 8th chapter.
  • 03:52 And we're told here there was a very
  • 03:53 large crowd with nothing to eat.
  • 03:57 Actually, the large crowd is numbered
  • 03:59 later on in the passage with 4,000 men.
  • 04:02 In the Matthew version of the story in chapter 5, we're told
  • 04:06 that it was 4,000 men, including women and children,
  • 04:10 families, we're looking in the vicinity of 10,000
  • 04:12 people that have been following Jesus at a certain
  • 04:16 moment and they have nothing to eat.
  • 04:19 Reminds me there's some kitchen noise in the background here
  • 04:22 because Christ Church is a church, there's a guest house,
  • 04:25 people are eating, people are coming and going.
  • 04:28 They go to the kitchen, I can hear it as I speak.
  • 04:31 Well, here Jesus cooked up a meal, and he did it miraculously
  • 04:36 and there was a question that was raised to him, and that is
  • 04:39 from verse 4, "How can anyone satisfy these
  • 04:43 people with bread here in the wasteland?"
  • 04:48 That's a question that people ask today.
  • 04:51 They can look at life culture as something of a wasteland.
  • 04:55 The prospects are extremely difficult and the question is,
  • 04:59 how are we gonna get our needs met here?
  • 05:03 Well, Yeshua, Jesus, goes on to perform a
  • 05:07 miracle that attest that he can do that.
  • 05:10 Someone with a few loaves of bread and a few fishes, what
  • 05:12 happens is he does a miracle and he
  • 05:15 feeds the equivalent of 10,000 people.
  • 05:19 We're told then in verse 8, "They ate and were satisfied,
  • 05:23 and they picked up the broken pieces left over--
  • 05:26 seven baskets."
  • 05:28 Very, very interesting that not only were they satiated out of a
  • 05:34 miracle from a few pieces of bread and fish, 10,000 people,
  • 05:39 but then he beckoned his disciples
  • 05:41 to do some KP afterwards, to clean up.
  • 05:45 And so they went around and policed the area and
  • 05:48 got seven baskets full of leftovers.
  • 05:52 What's a takeaway from this story?
  • 05:54 Well, I'll tell you what a takeaway
  • 05:55 is, that God can provide.
  • 05:58 There's an old song, Jehovah Jireh, my provider.
  • 06:01 It comes from a Genesis story.
  • 06:03 Here we find it in Mark and we find it elsewhere in the
  • 06:05 New Testament, that miracles are possible, God can provide.
  • 06:09 How do I know it?
  • 06:11 He wanted to show it, and so it is
  • 06:13 from the miracle that is Christ Church.
  • 06:15 I'm here telling the story to you.
  • 06:20 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Can God provide?
  • 06:21 That's the million-dollar question.
  • 06:23 Whether food in one text or finances in another, God shows
  • 06:29 up and he helps us as we make our way through life.
  • 06:36 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: It is a beautiful morning here at the
  • 06:39 Mount of Olives, on the Mount of Olives.
  • 06:42 I'm adjacent to the garden of Gethsemane, weather is perfect,
  • 06:46 and like I said, I am in a very good mood.
  • 06:50 Do you know what the number one mood killer is, however?
  • 06:56 It's a word referred to in Yiddish,
  • 06:59 a Jewish dialect, as gelt.
  • 07:04 It is said that it's what married
  • 07:06 couples fight over the most.
  • 07:09 And it is said, it is what makes people
  • 07:11 as individuals anxious the most, gelt.
  • 07:17 And what is gelt?
  • 07:18 It's this thing called money.
  • 07:23 As we're considering this series on miracles, the question I want
  • 07:28 to put to you is, does God have anything to say about that?
  • 07:33 Is there help for you with that?
  • 07:37 Is there heaven's help for life's difficult stuff?
  • 07:44 We're gonna take a look at the book and you're gonna find out
  • 07:47 the answer to it, but I'll tell you on the front end right now,
  • 07:51 the answer in no uncertain terms is yes.
  • 07:55 ♪♪♪
  • 08:04 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Looking at the fish,
  • 08:06 you might anticipate the story.
  • 08:08 Matthew tells it in the 17th chapter in verse 24, that folk
  • 08:13 came from Kfar Nahum, Capernaum, Kfar village in Nahum.
  • 08:18 The prophet is what named after.
  • 08:20 And they were collectors of the temple tax.
  • 08:23 By the way, I mentioned earlier, I'm coming to you from the Mount
  • 08:26 of Olives, the garden of Gethsemane is
  • 08:28 right over there, right next to the old temple
  • 08:30 complex, in Jesus's day, a big, big complex.
  • 08:35 Well, individuals came and inquired in verse 25,
  • 08:39 "Hey, does your rabbi pay the tax?"
  • 08:42 I mentioned that because it was incumbent upon Jews in the day
  • 08:46 to pay annually a half-shekel tax.
  • 08:51 Now, in today's currency, a half shekel
  • 08:54 would amount to about $50 or $75.
  • 08:58 And the question is, does--is he gonna pay that?
  • 09:02 It's maintenance for this big temple complex.
  • 09:07 Peter says in verse 25, "Yes."
  • 09:09 And then he goes and asks.
  • 09:11 I--you know, I love it.
  • 09:14 He answers the question then inquires about it.
  • 09:17 So subsequent to that, then there's some conversation with
  • 09:20 Yeshua, with Jesus, and in order to pay the tax,
  • 09:27 Jesus sets it up to perform a miracle.
  • 09:29 He tells Peter in verse 27, "Go to the sea and throw out a hook,
  • 09:36 and take up the first fish that comes up."
  • 09:39 Well, take up the first fish that comes up.
  • 09:41 It's probably a better way to say that, but in the first fish
  • 09:44 that comes up, there's gonna be something in it.
  • 09:49 I'm gonna pick it up in a second, but we have a shekel, a
  • 09:53 modern shekel, in the mouth of this fish right here.
  • 09:56 That's what happened. The money came from a miracle.
  • 10:01 It's interesting, by the way, it seems to me in the Mattian text,
  • 10:05 it says that there was a stater in the mouth.
  • 10:08 A stater is an old Greek coin, the equivalent in
  • 10:11 the day then of four drachmas or a shekel.
  • 10:17 Now, the question was, are you and
  • 10:19 your master going to pay this tax?
  • 10:23 And it was a half shekel each.
  • 10:25 What happens is Peter is instructed to go,
  • 10:30 and he goes, and he pulls out a fish, and in the mouth
  • 10:34 of the fish is the answer to the question.
  • 10:40 And it's not just an answer to the question, though it is, but
  • 10:44 it's an attestation that God can and does
  • 10:48 work even with something little called money.
  • 10:55 Now, it's not little at one level, I mean,
  • 10:57 I'd mentioned at the outset that it's a thing
  • 11:00 that concerns us the most in so many ways.
  • 11:03 Married couples fight over it, we worry about it.
  • 11:06 It's just on our mind, it might be on your mind right now.
  • 11:09 In fact, you might be needing a breakthrough right now.
  • 11:12 You might be needing some heaven's help for your stuff.
  • 11:16 And the question is, is it available?
  • 11:21 Well, the answer to that question is yes.
  • 11:30 Jesus tells them, "Get the coin, take it,
  • 11:33 and give it to them for me and you."
  • 11:37 That is to say, Jesus provides a financial resource
  • 11:43 to deal with the obligations of the day.
  • 11:47 That's what he did yesterday.
  • 11:49 Now, the question is, does he do it today?
  • 11:53 If he's the same today, yesterday, and
  • 11:55 forever, the answer to the question is in
  • 11:57 the statement, but how does that work?
  • 12:00 I think it's often misunderstood,
  • 12:02 it's misconstrued.
  • 12:04 Now, beyond working in television, and that's the way
  • 12:07 you see me, I have over 30 years as a Bible college and seminary
  • 12:12 professor, and I remember one time I was out and about by my
  • 12:16 office, more than one time I'm in my office, but there was a
  • 12:20 young student, maybe 19 or 20 years old, I
  • 12:22 always saw him meandering around the halls.
  • 12:24 It was in the library, so I'm glad
  • 12:26 he is there, that's where my office was.
  • 12:28 But I saw him all the time and I asked him
  • 12:30 what his plans were for the summer once.
  • 12:31 And he said, "Well, I'm planning on going on a missions trip."
  • 12:35 And I asked him how he was planning on paying for it.
  • 12:38 And he says, "Well, you know, I'm gonna write
  • 12:41 letters home to friends and family, and
  • 12:43 I'm trusting that the Lord will provide."
  • 12:47 Well, let me tell you what
  • 12:48 bothered me about that statement.
  • 12:50 I'm wondering why a 18, 19, 20, 21-year-old male can meander
  • 12:56 around all the day and not work and then expect people that work
  • 13:01 hard then just to give him money.
  • 13:03 There's a Jewish expression, "Don't beg for
  • 13:05 that which you have the power to earn."
  • 13:08 And to my way of thinking, there's
  • 13:10 too much of that in his mind.
  • 13:11 Well, he's spiritual and the Lord is just gonna bring the
  • 13:15 money spiritually without any effort on his part.
  • 13:18 Now, he's not here to defend himself, the reason why I make
  • 13:21 the point is not just that the Lord provided a miracle,
  • 13:26 but he told Peter to go ply his trade.
  • 13:30 Peter was a fisherman, and that in the process of his exerting
  • 13:34 himself in that capacity to do what he does, what he's
  • 13:37 trained to do, it's within that context
  • 13:40 he's going to discover God providing for him.
  • 13:44 And in so many ways with people with faith,
  • 13:46 that can be the missing ingredient.
  • 13:49 In effect, Jesus said to Peter, "Go to work, and I'm
  • 13:53 gonna show you something special there."
  • 13:55 And we see it not just here in this story, Peter saw it again.
  • 13:59 If you look at the Johannine gospel at the end, Peter says to
  • 14:03 some of the guys, "Let's go fishing."
  • 14:06 They came up empty after night's work, and they hear a voice from
  • 14:09 the shore, "Throw out the net again."
  • 14:12 And it's counterintuitive, I would've just said,
  • 14:14 sorry, you know, the season's over.
  • 14:16 I'm going to bed I've been up all night,
  • 14:17 but you know, he threw it in.
  • 14:19 All of a sudden there's this motherlode of fish.
  • 14:23 Peter experienced miracles with money.
  • 14:27 Now, if you're a fisherman, fish equals money.
  • 14:30 This is a fish, of course, but within the
  • 14:32 fish, there was this thing called money.
  • 14:34 I want you to know for the reasons that I just stated that
  • 14:37 I believe that God can look out for us.
  • 14:42 It's not at all unreasonable to expect
  • 14:45 us to participate in the process.
  • 14:47 Paul had mentioned in his earlier writings,
  • 14:49 in fact, he castigated some religious males.
  • 14:52 He said they're some real spiritual,
  • 14:54 they're not minded to work.
  • 14:56 And he says, "Don't deal with those people,
  • 14:59 discipline them, that behavior's not acceptable.
  • 15:02 If a man doesn't work, he shouldn't eat.
  • 15:04 If a man doesn't labor to provide for his own
  • 15:06 household, he's worse than an unbeliever."
  • 15:09 I mean, Paul's rather firm and fixed on it because sometimes
  • 15:12 spirituality can cause us to be a little too dreamy.
  • 15:16 "Well, I know God will provide."
  • 15:18 Well, I know God will provide too.
  • 15:19 It says it here in the book, and Peter learned it with a hook
  • 15:23 when he pulled that--not that fish out of the water, when he
  • 15:25 pulled a fish out of the water that is noted here.
  • 15:28 God has a way of doing it, but I want you to be entrepreneurial
  • 15:32 and work in the process and find the miracle in
  • 15:35 the things that you do, whatever you do.
  • 15:39 Now, if you're discouraged, you can stop the doing.
  • 15:41 "You know, well, I'm tired of putting out resumes, you know,
  • 15:44 it's not working," and people can depress,
  • 15:48 and I don't want you to do that.
  • 15:51 I want you to be engaged, I want you to be entrepreneurial, and I
  • 15:55 want you to see God at work in your life in a way that touches
  • 16:00 your pocketbook, and I'm telling you, it can happen.
  • 16:04 And you needn't take my word for it.
  • 16:06 It's not even me that's telling you that it can happen, it's the
  • 16:09 Bible telling you that the miracle can happen.
  • 16:13 And I don't want you to just see it in these ancient documents, I
  • 16:17 want you to see it in your modern experience.
  • 16:21 God is good and he cares for us, he can provide for us.
  • 16:25 That's Bible 101.
  • 16:26 When he led the Hebrews through the
  • 16:27 wilderness, he made manna come down.
  • 16:29 You know, they didn't have any other resource,
  • 16:31 he found a way to take care of them.
  • 16:34 And he's found ways to take care of people ever since from
  • 16:37 Genesis to maps, from one end of the Bible to the other.
  • 16:40 That testimony is reiterated over and over and again, and I
  • 16:45 believe that you can see that story come true with you.
  • 16:48 And why is that?
  • 16:50 Because when it comes to money, yes, even
  • 16:52 with money, I believe in miracles.
  • 16:57 ♪♪♪
  • 17:06 David: I am reminded of an old chorus in this
  • 17:08 series that you may have heard before.
  • 17:10 It goes, ♪ Jehovah Jireh, my provider his grace is sufficient
  • 17:15 for me, for me, and you, and you. ♪♪
  • 17:19 Do you believe that?
  • 17:20 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes.
  • 17:21 David: I know you do. Kirsten: That's good.
  • 17:23 I--that's a great song, and I really thought
  • 17:24 about that through all your teaching.
  • 17:25 How does God provide? But he does.
  • 17:28 And you've taught on he provides money.
  • 17:31 Isn't the love of money a sin though?
  • 17:34 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, it--the love of money is a sin,
  • 17:36 but I like it especially when bills come
  • 17:37 current at the beginning of the month.
  • 17:39 If you love what we're doing, please be gracious.
  • 17:43 When God provides in situations such as these, it's because he
  • 17:48 stirs the hearts and minds of individuals that like the good
  • 17:52 news through the eyes of the Jews.
  • 17:53 And if you believe in what we're doing and you care to share,
  • 17:58 please, if the Lord speaks to you, please open
  • 18:01 up your heart and open up your purse and help us
  • 18:04 do what we do, goes all over the world.
  • 18:06 And I believe there's blessings in store for those that
  • 18:10 participate in the gospel's advancement, even you and me.
  • 18:14 Kirsten: I've gotta say, I love the
  • 18:16 miracle of the coin in the fish's mouth.
  • 18:20 I--you know, we don't know, did that fishes eat the coin, or did
  • 18:24 God's miraculously have that appear?
  • 18:26 He--did he know which fish to pick?
  • 18:28 But the point is that we don't think--we don't associate God
  • 18:34 with money because so many ministries have overdone the
  • 18:39 money aspect, but yet we need money to survive.
  • 18:43 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You know, it's the thing that I like
  • 18:45 least in ministry, pastoral ministry and on
  • 18:48 television, saying can you please help?
  • 18:51 Because I'm humbled, I feel like a beggar.
  • 18:54 And there's been so much bad in that regard.
  • 18:58 We're humble, we're meager, we don't draw big salaries.
  • 19:02 And really the money that goes in really goes into getting the
  • 19:05 ministry out, I'm not lining my pockets with it and--but
  • 19:11 people are familiar with bad examples.
  • 19:14 Kirsten: Right, and it's beautiful to see Jesus didn't
  • 19:17 have a fish, you know, mouth full of coins,
  • 19:20 it was enough for the job that needed to be done.
  • 19:22 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: And what was interesting is the responses
  • 19:25 to the question, "Hey, are we gonna pay the tax?"
  • 19:28 And as I note, they needed a miracle just to come up with
  • 19:32 that little amount of money, which argues that Jesus and
  • 19:35 company, they're not traveling around with loads of cash on
  • 19:38 hand, that we needed a miracle just to
  • 19:41 fix that little moment there and then.
  • 19:44 David: Just to know that God is our Father and he wants the
  • 19:47 best for us, both in food and money.
  • 19:50 He cares for us.
  • 19:52 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yeah, and to the point
  • 19:53 raised earlier, he doesn't spoil us.
  • 19:55 And you know, if you have too much in hand, you get
  • 19:57 spoiled but we have to day by day--
  • 20:00 David: And depend on him. Excuse me, yes.
  • 20:01 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Walk it out, yes.
  • 20:02 No, interrupt.
  • 20:04 Kirsten: That's good. We'll be right back.
  • 20:07 David: Our resource this week, the Hebrew Names of God
  • 20:10 cards, this collection includes 12 vibrant high-quality art
  • 20:14 cards, each with Old and New Testament connections on the
  • 20:17 back with scripture and beautifully written devotionals.
  • 20:23 When you contact us, ask for our free monthly
  • 20:25 newsletter, "The Levitt Letter," which is full
  • 20:28 of insightful articles and news commentary.
  • 20:30 Call 1-800-WONDERS or visit us at levitt.com.
  • 20:36 David: We provide so much information for you on our
  • 20:38 website, it's easy to click onto, go to levitt.com.
  • 20:43 Kirsten: Also, we have many, many interviews on our social
  • 20:46 media sites, and we get to meet up with different people,
  • 20:51 interview them, for this program it's been all about miracles.
  • 20:54 And Dr. Seif was in Israel and met up with an
  • 20:57 Israeli believer who has experienced real-life
  • 21:01 miracles both in healing and financial.
  • 21:05 Let's go to Jerusalem right now.
  • 21:09 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Avi Mizrachi, I've known you for years.
  • 21:12 I want America to get to know you a little more.
  • 21:14 Avi Mizrachi: Thank you.
  • 21:16 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Here we are in Jerusalem.
  • 21:17 I know you live in Israel.
  • 21:18 I'm here doing a series on miracles.
  • 21:20 Have you ever had a miracle in your life?
  • 21:23 Avi: Yes. I have four daughters.
  • 21:26 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Four daughters.
  • 21:27 Avi: Four daughters and eight grandchildren.
  • 21:30 I'm blessed.
  • 21:31 Well, my daughter, Voa, about three years ago she
  • 21:35 gave birth to a beautiful daughter, Hadas.
  • 21:38 But before that, they--their doctors were concerned with her
  • 21:41 blood and they said, "We're gonna monitor you."
  • 21:45 And when she gave birth, that's what happened.
  • 21:47 After she gave birth, she had a eclampsia, there was
  • 21:50 like poison in the blood, and she fainted, and
  • 21:53 the doctors thought they're gonna lose her.
  • 21:55 And we knew that problems, so we were outside praying, and the
  • 22:00 doctors quickly did what they did, and she came back to life.
  • 22:05 And we prayed and prayed that there won't be any side effects.
  • 22:09 And later on, like half an hour later,
  • 22:12 one hour later, her husband came out.
  • 22:14 He said, "She's okay, she's fine."
  • 22:17 And we knew that while we were standing outside
  • 22:21 there where she was giving birth,
  • 22:23 as we pray to Yeshua, we cried out to the Lord for a miracle.
  • 22:26 God touched her and even the doctor said,
  • 22:30 "We were afraid we're gonna lose her."
  • 22:32 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: It's great to hear that God is in the
  • 22:34 business of solving problems that have been around for many,
  • 22:37 many years and I'm glad mom and baby are okay.
  • 22:39 Avi: Yeah.
  • 22:40 And I really believe when you pray, you and your wife you pray
  • 22:43 in agreement and trust God for a miracle for your children, he
  • 22:47 hears our cry and he does it, and he gets all the glory.
  • 22:51 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Amen.
  • 22:52 And you're over here in Israel with a ministry, Dugit.
  • 22:55 And it really is a miracle.
  • 22:57 So many miracles through your ministry.
  • 22:59 Can you speak to that?
  • 23:00 Avi: After I got saved and finished Bible school, all I
  • 23:03 wanted to do is come back home to Tel Aviv
  • 23:04 and preach the gospel, make disciples.
  • 23:07 So at that time, the Southern Baptist, they had
  • 23:11 a gallery in bookstore named Dugit, they
  • 23:15 were looking for someone to work there.
  • 23:17 So that's how I started after finishing Bible school, and my
  • 23:21 heart was, of course, to meet every Israeli, speak in Hebrews,
  • 23:24 share the good news with them, get them to salvation.
  • 23:28 And then a few years late--a few years
  • 23:29 later, the Baptist, they closed the place.
  • 23:32 And so I had to look for another place, but they came to a place
  • 23:36 where every time we rent, the landlords will find out we are
  • 23:39 believers, they will not renew the contract and kick us out.
  • 23:43 And then the religious orthodox will pressure on them.
  • 23:45 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: So you needed to buy
  • 23:47 a place, and it's expensive.
  • 23:48 Avi: Exactly. Tel Aviv.
  • 23:49 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: How expensive? Like, millions?
  • 23:51 Avi: Tel Aviv is one of the most expensive cities in the world.
  • 23:53 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: You had a dream and a vision, but then the
  • 23:55 Lord brought resource to make it happen.
  • 23:57 Avi: And that's the miracle.
  • 23:59 It's like for a year or so, we were closed and the Lord spoke
  • 24:02 to me very clearly that you need to put your
  • 24:05 foot on--the roots on the ground.
  • 24:08 So I've been going around speaking different
  • 24:10 places, sharing our vision and hope.
  • 24:13 And lo and behold, in his perfect timing, God provided the
  • 24:17 money and we went--I went to the same place, the new landlord who
  • 24:21 bought the place, I went to the same place
  • 24:24 and I was able to purchase the same place where
  • 24:27 I started 30 years or 35 years ago.
  • 24:29 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Well, your website's gonna go up on our
  • 24:31 program, we want people to know about you.
  • 24:33 Sorry, this has to be so brief, but I hope our friends visit
  • 24:37 your website and learn more about you.
  • 24:38 Thanks for giving us a few minutes here, Avi.
  • 24:40 Avi: Thank you, Jeff.
  • 24:51 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Like all people, Avi Mizrachi can worry
  • 24:54 about his children's health, finances, and particular needs.
  • 24:59 Avi in many ways is unlike many people, he
  • 25:02 is an Israeli, messianic Jew who came to faith
  • 25:07 in the Lord who ministers there, wonderful guy.
  • 25:11 David: Sweet spirit.
  • 25:12 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: He really is sweet, yeah.
  • 25:13 Kirsten: Right, and his story about his daughter, I had some
  • 25:16 preeclampsia with our firstborn and we had--it was--it can be
  • 25:21 touch and go, and I love the miracle
  • 25:24 that he experienced through that.
  • 25:25 He had a miracle of a financial incredible blessing.
  • 25:29 His financial need was great and God gave him a great blessing.
  • 25:35 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: He's really out on the limb there, you know,
  • 25:37 it's a precarious existence doing mission-related work in
  • 25:42 Israel, he and all the messianic believers.
  • 25:45 And by the way, those that support us, a
  • 25:47 certain percentage of monies goes to support
  • 25:50 a variety of messianic works in Israel.
  • 25:54 And he's one of our friends, and we're
  • 25:55 happy to extend largest direction.
  • 25:57 Kirsten: And that's why I appreciate our ministry.
  • 25:59 We hope that you know we're talking kind of about little
  • 26:03 money miracles today that I believe that the miracle of God
  • 26:08 giving us gifts is for us to give to others
  • 26:11 and spread the gospel and spread the Word.
  • 26:13 We do that when you give to this ministry and God gives greatly,
  • 26:18 and then it's on us to also give greatly.
  • 26:21 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: Yes, and there's Christian
  • 26:22 monies God blessed that go to Israel to
  • 26:24 support various Jewish agencies, to help build hospitals and do
  • 26:29 other things, it's all good, but it's not
  • 26:31 directly related to sharing the good news through the
  • 26:34 eyes of the Jews in the Jewish homeland.
  • 26:36 That's a distinctive associated with "Our Jewish Roots."
  • 26:39 David: One of the other things that we've been talking
  • 26:41 about in this program today is food in Israel, bread.
  • 26:45 When we go to Israel, I know that right here she loves--
  • 26:49 Kirsten: The hala bread. David: The food of Israel.
  • 26:51 Kirsten: In Israel, there nothing better.
  • 26:52 We would love for you to go with us sometime.
  • 26:55 Travel to Israel, and we have the
  • 26:58 opportunity to host you in the land.
  • 27:01 And we have to finish up our program now.
  • 27:03 Time is out already.
  • 27:06 Dr. Jeffrey Seif: If you can't come to
  • 27:07 Israel, we'll keep bringing it to you.
  • 27:08 We'll do it again next week, till then, [speaking in Hebrew].
  • 27:12 David: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
  • 27:17 David: Join us right now for additional content that is only
  • 27:20 available on our social media sites.
  • 27:22 Visit our website levitt.com for the current and past programs,
  • 27:27 the television schedule, tour information, and our free
  • 27:31 monthly newsletter, which is full of
  • 27:33 insightful articles and news commentary.
  • 27:36 View it online or we can ship it directly
  • 27:38 to your mailbox every month.
  • 27:40 Also on our website is the online store, there you can
  • 27:44 order this week's resource or you can always give
  • 27:47 us a call at 1-800-WONDERS.
  • 27:49 Your donations to Zola Levitt Ministries helps us to support
  • 27:53 these organizations as they bless Israel.
  • 27:56 Please remember, we depend on tax-deductible
  • 27:58 donations from viewers like you.
  • 28:04 ♪♪♪
  • 28:09 ♪♪♪
  • 28:15 ♪♪♪
  • 28:24 ♪♪♪

Episodes in this series

  1. The Holy Spirit
  2. The Exodus
  3. Death and Life
  4. Exile and Return
  5. The Incarnation
  6. Our Daily Bread
  7. The Physical Realm
  8. Our Greatest Need
  9. Bonus interviews

Guest organizations and links