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Sharing the Gospel – How and Why?
Informative and Inspirational – In these three clips watch and listen as Jacob speaks on evangelism in practice. In his unique way, Jacob shares with deep insight drawn from 40 years on the streets. The miracle of God speaking clearly through you as you share the Gospel. Be Inspired!

Part one:

Part two:

Part three:

This article was published in THE JERUSALEM POST on 21.11.2017

Jacob Damkani is a man on a mission. In his case, it’s a mission to his people: the Jews.
Damkani is the founder of Trumpet of Salvation to Israel, a Tel Aviv-based ministry whose goal is to “bring the gospel back to the Jewish people.”
The 65-year-old Damkani was in Tupelo, Mississippi, last week as part of his first trip back to the States in eight years, conducting interviews and promoting A New Spirit, a recently released movie adaptation of his life story.
Damkani is warm and intense, with a resonant baritone voice, a thick gray beard and curly hair. Compact and vigorous, he begins his days back home with a 5 am swim in the Mediterranean Sea.

As a young adult, he moved from Tel Aviv to Brooklyn, New York, and lived in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish community before moving to Asbury Park, New Jersey, where he ran a gift shop.
“I got to be friends with Bruce Springsteen. It was before he became a big deal. He’d play at the Stone Pony, and we had a few conversations,” Damkani said in an interview from the studios of American Family Radio in Tupelo.

It was while living in New Jersey that Damkani made a profound shift in his beliefs, a shift that led him from Asbury Park to Woodland Hills, California – home to a religious community called Last Days, led by popular Christian recording artist Keith Green, who died in 1982.

Damkani lived in the community and studied under Green for a year in 1978, in the waning days of the Jesus Movement. A casual observer would say he became a Christian, but the keenly intelligent Damkani, never at a loss for words, whether in Hebrew or English, put a finer point on his change of heart.

“Wait a minute. When we say ‘Christian’ we think of another religion,” he said. “But the idea that Jesus came to establish a new religion is far from the truth. Jesus never intended to bring a new religion, and the church has to understand that Jesus is the natural continuation of God’s promises made to Israel. Men made a new religion of it, and the Jews will not accept a new religion. That is the obstacle for the Jews. I didn’t become a Christian if that means following a new religion. If it means a follower of Messiah, then OK, I’m a Christian.”

Damkani left the States and moved back to Israel in 1981, with his heart set on bringing this message to his people, and on helping others – especially Gentile believers – do the same. In 1984, he established Trumpet of Salvation to Israel. For 34 years, the group has been teaching Gentile believers how to reach Israeli Jews in a culturally sensitive and effective way.

Damkani said part of the challenge is helping non-Jewish believers understand the Jews’ natural resistance to Christianity.

“The mind of the Jews doesn’t see Christianity as followers of Messiah, but as a new religion; one that betrayed the God of Israel and Israel as a people,” he said. “When it comes to my people, Christianity is just another religion – the enemy of the Jews who have persecuted them all the way from the Crusades to the Inquisition to the pogroms and the Holocaust. Hitler is associated with Christianity, and Hitler quoted Martin Luther a number of times.”

Damkani said it can be a daunting task to train Gentile Christians to see Western Christianity from a Jewish perspective – a task which requires some deprogramming from the “replacement theology” taught in many churches.

“You cannot really blame the Jews for their hostility,” Damkani said. “For 2,000 years the church told them they aren’t relevant anymore. It’s all based on replacement theology, which is big in the church: the idea that God has sent the Jews away and now Christianity is for the Gentiles. The church has been blind to the place of Israel in the glorious final salvation and the kingdom to come on earth. Messiah didn’t come to replace Israel, he came to open the door, to reconcile all men to God, first to the Jews and then the Gentiles.”

If Western Christians are to make inroads with Israeli Jews, Damkani said they must first acknowledge the part the church has played in alienating them.

“The tragedy is the Gentile world, the church, has done everything it can to do away with Israel and to take Jesus for themselves. Gentiles need to say, ‘Please forgive us for what we have made of Jeshua, for making a blonde, blue-eyed Jesus and for turning the feasts that he celebrated into Easter and Christmas. He had nothing to do with that,” he said.

When Damkani finishes his American visit, he’ll return to Tel Aviv, and to the work he has devoted the past 34 years to, a work he describes as “a double-edged sword.”

“The task we have now is to open the eyes of the Jews to accept Jesus for who he is,” he said, “and to open the eyes of the Gentiles – the saints from the nations – to their calling to Israel.”

by Leslie Criss
Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal – Tupelo

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©2017 the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal (Tupelo, Miss.)
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Shma Israel – Hear oh Israel! When a group from West Papua sings that, you can hardly believe and simply cry with amazement…

The morning was filled with preparation for the parade. At 1 pm we set out having prayed for the right impact joining the parade at the end. Jacob Damkani donned the crown of thorns and wearing a long white robe and carrying a shofar flanked by two Centurions with standards (posters) reading in Hebrew, “ He was wounded for our transgressions” and “Bruised for our iniquities “.

Other banners read, ‘All we like sheep have gone astray, but the Lord has laid on Him the iniquities of us all,” and, “I will wipe away the sin of this land in one day.” The rest of us, an extra 12 or more were all in white robes with black blindfolds. We walked along the beach promenade receiving quite a bit of interest and came to the entrance of the fenced in area where the parade would end and party. We decided to stand at the entrance and let everyone pass by.
We had determined to stay silent no matter what. This was immediately put to the test people came up into Jacob’s face, “Who are you? What are you doing? Why are you doing this?” No answer, silence is powerful. Even when the police came, we remained silence, but then a brother, (without costume) answered a few people.
The police were amazing, truly keeping the law, they protected us. As the crowd grew bigger, we made way by moving back and the police even made a barrier which protected us. Many people manifested, shouting ever louder and cruder things. At one point one of us put a bloodied cloak in front of Jacob, (at last the blood,) then later Jacob was emboldened to put it on himself.
The atmosphere changed. Chants of ‘Shame! Shame! Shame! We stayed silent.
I prayed while wave upon wave of young people flowed across my view. Like sheep without a shepherd, streaming through the gate. O Lord God of Heaven and earth open their eyes that they can see, speak to their hearts! Look at them! These are our children O Israel, glorying in their shame, not able to blush, loving what is evil. God have mercy convict, let the fear of God enter. They poured through the gates.
Praise the Lord for putting us there at the Gate; what wisdom. If we had have been in their parade, we would not have lasted. Standing at the gate, they had to look at us to pass into the gated area. Inside there was someone representing the devil and witches dancing lewdly on the stage. Caged in with the devil, exalting the grossest evil. Oh let there be many whose eyes are opened, who shiver and tremble as they see where their lives are going. Make it real to them, let the imagery and word that confronted them at the gate never leave them. At four o clock the crowd began to thin. Jacob blew the shofar piecing the heavens, we turned and went.

One big Hallelujah! We are so thankful! The Lord has healed me! Praise be to him! And we thank you, our precious friends, for faithfully praying and standing with us! Please keep praying that my body will keep fit to build the Kingdom of God and nothing will be able to stop the Lord from making good use of his servant. May you all have a blessed new week!

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Please help us come up with Bible verses for this coming up Friday service in our congregation “Sacred Assebly Tel Aviv“. The subjects are mentioned in the video.

The call of God in our lives is “go and make discpiles”, however it is only said once. Why? May we not be listeners of the Word only but doers of His Word!

Let’s preach together again. Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The mind of the hasty will discern the truth, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. Isaiah 32:3-4

I write this as much to myself as to you.

When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to be older. When I was finally older, I couldn’t wait to go to university. When I was there, I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

It was the same with parts of my life. When I was single, I couldn’t wait to be with someone, when I was with her, I couldn’t wait to be engaged. For those who know me, that didn’t turn out so well.

If I’m being completely honest with you, I’ve wished away so many days in my life. I’ve spent plenty of time complaining about the difficulties of life. Always passing up a brunch with my Dad or that extra homework for tomorrow. Tomorrow came and went and with it, the same sentiment of passing on today for tomorrow. It goes by all so quickly.

My encouragement to you is to make the most of everyday. Don’t allow the discouragement of regret to rob you of today’s joy. Press on and receive God’s grace over any regret you may have in your life. And live today as a new day. More then that get out there. God called us to be a light to a dark world, to make disciples and build up the body of Yeshua. You can’t do that alone. You need brothers and sisters in The Lord.

Enjoy every surf with those around you, or walk, or whatever it is you do. Go out of your comfort zone and meet new people.

Yeshua was in the mix. He was out there in the market place, in the streets, at weddings. He was interacting with the world.

Enjoy carefree days outside soaking in God’s creation: Because if you do, I can guarantee that the amount of regret that you live with will decrease each day.

I write this from a copied note re-over in my own words because I can see the truth in them. At 30 odd years old I know it’s not to late. At 96 my Grandfather came to the full realization of Christ within him. He expressed such joy I am told, he was an inspiration to the whole family. I missed it because I thought I would see him when I got back from Israel. I want what he had. I want that for you and for me.

Action Steps What are you wishing away? Do you live with regret over anything in your life? Spend some time asking God what He would have you to do redeem or “buy back” some of those days where you wish you could go back. Going forth, allow Him to help you make the most of each day you are given.

Psalm 27:13-14New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living.

Ponderings by:

Joshua Mark Wood