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Ariel’s Testimony My name is Walter Ariel Keren-Or. I am 42 years old, the seventh of 14 children, and a Jewish Brazilian. I would like to share a little about what the great God of Heaven did for me. From an early age, I desired to be righteous, to please my parents, and to uphold the religious practices and traditions of our people. Along with that, I was deeply interested in the spiritual world. By the age of seven, I was fascinated by the fact that it is possible for human beings to communicate with spirits. This curiosity led me down a dangerous road to Macumba (a form of an African demonic worship), and from there I tumbled deeper and deeper into the dark side of spirituality. The fact that I was raised and educated in the Jewish faith did not deter me from seeking the spiritual among the gentiles. So dedicated was I to Macumba that I was practically considered a prince among them. It was at then, too, that I got into drugs. By the time I reached the age of 16, the thought, very oddly, occurred to me that I would become a Christian when I was old, in my seventies. This was influenced, perhaps, by the dramatic conversion of a friend at the age of 11, and by the fact that I had read a book of David Wilkerson’s at the age of fourteen. At a time when the Lord was seeking to make me His own, I came under the attack of the enemy. The leader of the satanic fellowship of which I was a member declared that another more powerful spirit was about to claim me. Then he touched my chest, and by the laying-on of hands, transferred demons into me. Before long, I was struck with a very serious undiagnosed illness. I had fluid on the lung, which left me immobilised and literally on the verge of death. My family committed me to a hospice. Nevertheless, 18 months later the Lord sent an angel to my bedside in the form of a nurse. She prayed against the specific demonic spirits with which I was involved, and I was immediately delivered and healed. However, because nobody showed me the way to salvation I carried on with the dark life I had been leading. It was not long before my dear mother was taken ill. A debilitating spirit of migraine took hold of her for 30 days. After seeking help from various medical and spiritual people – all to no avail - my father finally allowed a group of Assembly of God sisters to come and pray for her. It was a miracle in itself. They prayed in the Name of Yeshua, and miraculously my mother was healed. This was a turning point in my life. I could now see that there was power in the prayer of these Christians, and it got me thinking. Two months later, I was invited by one of my brothers to assist with a Christian service in a Baptist Church. I had not been aware that he was attending a Church (although I still do not believe he is born again), and was shocked when he invited me to go. One Sabbath evening I decided to go to the Church. The whole experience was very strange to me. We arrived early and there was a group of young people practicing for the Sunday evening service. Some of them gave me a songbook and it wasn’t long before I was singing along with them. I remember the songs to this very day! “If you have any serious problem, have faith in God and He will solve it for you!” Afterwards they asked me about my church background. I could not tell them my real religious identity and to which people I belonged. They then proceeded to testify to me about the salvation of the Lord Yeshua. All of what they told me deeply touched my spirit and I decided to go to the pastor and ask him to pray for me. At the end of the prayer, I knew that something wonderful had happened. The pastor invited me to come back on Sunday. I went back home with a different attitude in my spirit and a spring in my step. By 8am on Sunday morning, instead of being on the beach, I was at the gate of the church looking for the pastor in order to find out more about salvation. He gently and clearly explained that there were some things of which I needed to repent and for which I needed to ask forgiveness. This I could not understand, until he shared the Gospel of Grace. Something had happened to me at the Sunday morning service – a miraculous transformation had taken place – and I knew for sure that I was saved! I went home exhilarated and immediately shared the Good News with my family. “Guys, guess what!” I said, “I have found the Messiah!” This, of course, was devastating news to them: their Jewish son accepting Yeshua as his Messiah! My father made it clear to me that he would accept and support any decision or behaviour in my life as long as it had nothing to do with Yeshua. However, I could not accept this, because I simply knew that Yeshua was the Messiah of our people, and of the whole world. Then, he opened the door of the apartment and declared the kabalistic curse on me, as he threw me out onto the street. None of my 11 siblings did anything to stop him. We were a very conservative family, and in our small community, everybody knew everybody’s business. Our religious leaders controlled our lives. Therefore, when I confessed Him as my personal Lord and Saviour it would no longer be acceptable for my family to receive me. At the age of 17, I was made homeless – without family or belongings. It was at nightfall that the reality of the situation really struck me - I had nowhere to go – and I cried many tears. That was July 1983. From that moment to this very day, they have not received me back into their home. After about 6 months of living on the streets, with barely enough food for survival (there are approx. 45 million homeless people in Brazil, out of a population of 200 million), God in His infinite mercy used a precious sister, a woman of God, to help me find a place to live. She not only provided for my rent and food, but also paid my way through Bible College. Up to this day, we are still in touch. For over 13 years now, I have been serving the Lord Yeshua in Jerusalem, ministering among Arab Muslims, Arab Christians and the Jewish community. The service that the Holy Spirit has called me to is related to teaching the Body of Yeshua – on a national and international level - from the perspective of the Hebrew language and helping the Body to understand it’s Hebrew identity in order to live a more graceful and fruitful life. I also enjoy teaching Hebrew from a biblical perspective to believers. I thank the Lord for what He has done in my life, and what He continues to do. Praise His holy name!
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