[Special 1: Overseas Ministry] Awake, Israel! - 777 Days' Ministry in Israel
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October 18, 2009 |
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 Israel is the birthplace of the gospel of the Lord, but Israel is a nation still waiting for coming Messiah, not knowing that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and Savior for all mankind.
In order to awaken Israel, on July 23, 2007, Dr. Jaerock Lee departed from Seoul, Korea and began his 3-year ministry for Israel, and closed the ministry on September 7, 2009.
The finale of the ministry for Israel was the 2009 Israel United Crusade –The 2009 International Multi-cultural Festival in Jerusalem, held at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel.
The festival was a golden moment for all to see the fruits of this mission trip that took 777 days in total.
The First Six Trips of the Israeli Mission - Following the example of the Lord Jesus, Dr. Jaerock Lee travelled around the whole country of Israel from the north to the south and spread the gospel of sanctification and the power of God. He gives brief accounts of his mission trip to Israel:
July 23, 2007: Departure from Seoul
"According to the will and providence of God, I will conduct the mission to Israel over the period of 3 years. This mission trip will be my first step on the land of Israel, according to God's command to me, which was, "Let your first flight to Israel be a mere visit." This is because the mission trip to Israel will be totally different from many of the other crusades we held in other countries. At the former crusades, we were trying to spread the gospel to a big gathering, but for this Israeli mission, we will have to let the gospel of the Lord spread step by step, and it will eventually go even to the orthodox Jews."
July 24, 2007: Visit to the Sea of Galilee
"After arriving at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, we travelled to the Sea of Galilee and its neighboring regions, which were the main mission fields of our Lord Jesus. When I had the meeting with the local pastors there, I heard what our God was doing for our mission in Israel, and felt the touch of our Father God once again. In Israel, there are 138 churches and homes that have satellite receivers, through which they can watch and listen to my messages and experience Manmin's powerful ministry on TV. People say there are 300 churches in Israel. Many of them have heard my sermons and seen the work of our ministry through the satellite. In fact, when I was first asked to install satellite receivers at so many churches in Israel by an Israeli pastor at the 2006 New York Crusade, it wasn't easy for me to accept the proposal right away. But God moved my heart, so I said, "Amen", only with faith, and promised the pastor to support that project. Because I followed God's guidance solely by faith at that time, we were able to reap good fruits later on."
July 25, 2007: First Worship Service in Nazareth
 Prayer for the sick at the healing meeting held at the "Spirit of Life Church" in Nazareth
"The next day when I arrived in Israel, I led the Wednesday Evening Service at the "Spirit of Life Church" in Nazareth, which is a branch church of Manmin. It was July 25, the exact day of the 25th anniversary of commemorating the founding of Manmin Joong-ang Church. When God told me about the mission in Israel a few years ago, He had said that the beginning of my ministry for Israel would occur exactly on the same as the day of the founding of our church. God told me that the ministry of Israel would start on that day. And what kind of place is Nazareth? It's the place where Jesus grew up. It's the place where Jesus lived until He began His ministry, and there He always communicated with God and meditated on the word of God. It's the place where He prayed with all His energy and fervor for the forthcoming ministry. It's a very meaningful place which captures the traces of Jesus."
July 28, 2007: Healing Meeting in Haifa
"After preaching a message titled, "Why is Jesus our only Savior?" I prayed for the sick. The very first person that testified to healing was the wife of the pastor ministering to the church in Haifa. She had received surgery to remove a tumor from the breast and was suffering from its aftereffects and couldn't move her arms properly. But after I prayed for her, the pain in her arm disappeared, and she could move it freely. And many people testified to their healing."
October 10, 2007: Second Worship Service in Nazareth
"I was leading Wednesday worship service at our branch church, but so many people had gathered that the sanctuary was filled. In particular, Arab pastors and brothers and sisters heard the news of the meeting and joined us. So we had to use folding chairs to accommodate all the attendees. At this second visit to our branch church, I delivered a message titled 'Faith.'"
October 12, 2007: First Meeting in Ashdod
"In Israel, Sabbath begins from sundown on Friday. So most churches in Israel have the main service on Saturday morning. But the church we visited had their main service on Friday evening. As written in the Acts of the Apostles 8:40, the city in which Philip preached the gospel was Azotus (or 'Ashdod'). Forty percent of the population of Ashdod are orthodox Jews, and it is not easy for Christians to lead a proper Christian life there. When I visited the church in Ashdod during our first visit to Israel, the ministering pastor there asked me to make him my disciple. At this church, there was an elderly Jewish man leaning on a cane who stood out among all the other people and caught my attention. He wore a kippa on the head, which revealed him as a Jew. This elderly Jewish man threw away his cane and testified to his healing. He was a Jew and seemed too old to understand the word of God well. But God healed him because God simply considered his attendance as a proof of his faith."
October 15, 2007: Pastors' Meeting in Bethlehem
"On the last Monday before we left Israel, we held a meeting for pastors, which was the main purpose of our second trip to Israel. I explained to the pastors in Bethlehem about the providence of God for Israel and asked for the help necessary for evangelization in Israel. Through this pastors' meeting, the plans for the next visit to Israel began to be revealed to us, and this was a meaningful time in which we were able to begin working as a team with all the pastors there."
December 25, 2007: Christmas Celebration Service in Bethlehem
"This third trip was very special. On Christmas Day, Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind was proclaimed once again not only on this earth, but also in the spiritual realm as well. It had a great spiritual meaning. So, how much would the enemy devil hate this? Because it would have to acknowledge its defeat once again. It was also an amazing occasion in which the name of God the Father and the name of the Lord received glory in the whole universe."
 
1. Pastors' meeting in Bethlehem for the third visit to Israel
2. Christmas celebration service in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus
February 24, 2008: First Healing Meeting in Jerusalem
"As the capital city of Israel, Jerusalem is the headquarters for Judaism and holds the most population of Jews. We held a healing meeting at a church located at the center of Jerusalem. The pastor ministering at the church had much interest in the works of the Holy Spirit and the healing ministry. He said he had once been persecuted by some pastors there. He had experienced a great revival in his church in just two and a half years after he began his ministry in Jerusalem. The meeting at this church had special meaning because the pastor here would come to play a special part in fulfilling the Israeli mission in the future."
April 12, 2008: First Healing Meeting in Ashqelon
"Ashqelon is a place that is still frequently attacked by rocket guns from Gaza, Palestine. A week before we held the healing meeting there, there were rocket guns were being fired from Gaza, and Israel's retaliating guns were firing back. This area is always filled with tension and fear. But members of the church we visited here were full of grace and joy and had a longing heart for my visit. The sanctuary was crowded with people and some had to sit out on the stairs. Many were healed at the meeting, and an 86-year-old woman took off her spinal brace and began walking. This strengthened all of their faith."
April 13, 2008: First Healing Meeting in Beersheba
"On Sunday we had a healing meeting in Beersheba. On the way to Beersheba we dropped by Abraham's Well. This visit reminded me of the Scripture recorded in Genesis 21:33, "Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba, and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God." At the healing meeting in Beersheba, there were many works of healing. A 50-year-old woman threw away her crutches and began to walk, and an 87-year-old woman stood up from her wheelchair. She appeared as though she could never walk again, but she simply got up from her wheelchair and began walking. A 33-year-old man couldn't bend over his waist for 16 years, but was made well. An 88-year-old man threw away his cane, and a 60-year-old woman regained her eyesight."
June 11, 2008: Healing Meeting in Eilat
"The first healing meeting during the 6th visit to Israel was held in the southernmost city of Israel, Eilat. The city of Eilat is famous for tourism because it is adjacent to the Red Sea. The meeting was held not at a church, but in a theater. Here I felt a stronger presence of God's power upon me than ever before. It was not easy for me to ask each person what his/her disease was, or pray for him clearly, because we needed to be translated twice. Nonetheless, while I was lifting up a general prayer for the sick, a few people had already received healing and began coming up to the stage, lifting up their canes."
The Second Six Trips of the Israeli Mission - Becoming more assured that the Israeli churches were becoming strengthened, Dr. Jaerock Lee began the work of spreading the gospel to orthodox Jews and tried his best to fulfill the providence of God, as recorded in the Bible.
The city of Jerusalem
July 26, 2008: Healing Meeting in Tel Aviv
"From now on, we don't have much time to conduct healing meetings at many different churches. This is because the strategy for the mission in Israel is changing. Now the main purpose for the Israeli mission is to spread the gospel to the orthodox Jews. Of course we had been spreading the gospel to orthodox Jews from the beginning. But now it will be displayed on a full scale."
October 17, 2008: Healing Meeting in Nahariya
"From the 8th visit to Israel, we had a direct flight to Israel from Korea because a new and direct route between Korea and Israel had opened. But we had to be careful whenever we entered Israel, because we were travelling there almost every two months. But in reality, the more we entered Israel, the easier all the processes of immigration and emigration became. This was due to the change of Israel's international situation. God also gave us the opportunity to have fellowship with high-class political leaders of Israel for the future ministry of Manmin. They will become a strength to our Israeli mission, and a shield for the the Israeli churches that are closely connected with Manmin Central Church. Even though I may not be allowed to enter Israel ever again, the seed of the gospel will sprout and bear fruits. God has prepared those who can help us to do this and led us to meet them."
February 16, 2009: Pastors' Seminar in Ashdod
 The First Pastors' Seminar Held in Ashdod
"During our first visit to Israel in 2007, I noticed that most of the pastors were going to work on the weekdays and only working on their church ministries on the Sabbath day. It was difficult for them to become united and strengthened, and even more difficult for them to plan a Christian meeting and carry it out to spread the gospel as a team. But a few pastors who trust me and long to be united with Manmin became the main organizers of the Crystal Forum. The pastors of the Crystal Forum not only want to have a cooperative working relationship with Manmin, but they have a desire to work together as a family under God".
April 20, 2009: Pastors' Seminar in Nazareth
"When the pastors' seminar came to an end and I was about to get on the bus to return to the hotel, a pastor came to me and asked me to wait a few more minutes. He said a member of his church who had cancer was coming to see me by taxi. I prayed for him with a sincere heart, and he was healed of cancer. Seeing these kinds of powerful works of God manifested through me, those Israeli pastors came to possess true faith and the heart to cooperate with me to spread the gospel in Israel. One more thing occurred to encourage them and increase their faith to a higher level. They began experiencing the works of God through the handkerchiefs that I had laid my hand on and prayed upon, asking for God's power to work through them (Acts 19:11-12)."
June 22, 2009: Pastors' Seminar Held in Jerusalem
"This third pastors' seminar brought together many pastors from all the corners of the land of Israel. The message I gave was translated into four languages–English, French, Hebrew, and Russian. When the pastors in attendance heard the message on the "Spiritual Explanation on the Difficult Verses", they were so blessed to have their spiritual ears opened. God gave them grace when the spiritual message was preached, and they were able to experience the spiritual realm. Through the three pastors' seminars, many pastors were encouraged and strengthened in a whole new way."
 
1. Second pastors' seminar held in Nazareth
2. Third pastors' seminar held in Jerusalem
September 6-7, 2009: Israel United Crusade Held at ICC, Jerusalem
"Why is Israel called the 'remotest part of the earth'? This is because it is the most difficult place to spread the gospel. And this is the last place to receive the gospel. But Christianity in Israel is becoming strong now, because they have witnessed and experienced God's powerful works firsthand through my 3-year Israeli mission, and the powerful word of God has been planted in their hearts. They have become united in faith and love, and are gathering in the name of Manmin. All these works are only possible by God and the Lord. The duty which Christians in Israel will have to perform until the Lord comes again is great; and even during the Seven-year Great Tribulation."
The 2009 Israel United Crusade–2009 International Multi-cultural Festival was broadcast to 220 nations in 8 languages via 33 TV stations.
*Editor's note: The above writings are abstracted from Dr. Jaerock Lee's messages as he gave his Israeli mission reports during each Sunday Worship Service beginning on August 5, 2007 through September 20, 2009.
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