Sid: There is a scripture that I’ve been thinking about it says “The Word of the Lord will go out from Zion.” Now people think that what that means is when the Messiah returns the word of the Lord will come out from Zion. But more and more I am being convicted by the Ruach Hakodesh, the Spirit of the living God, that there is one more time the word… well we know 2000 years ago the word of the Lord went out from Zion and affected the whole world. But I believe that we’re ready for one more time before the Messiah returns the word of the Lord will go out with fiery young Jewish evangelists from Israel. Now this is what I’m convicted of. So I said to myself “Self who can I talk to that really has a handle on what’s going on in Israel right now?” And the obvious answer was a friend of mine that’s been in Israel since 1967. She was on the front page of the Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine, papers all over the world back in 1973. And I have her on the telephone I’m speaking to her from her office in Tel Aviv Israel Shira Sorko-Ram. Shira shalom.
Shira: Shalom shalom.
Sid: Bring our audience up to date as to why you made headlines all over the world?
Shira: Well at that time the orthodox, the rabbinic orthodox of Israel, were quite a bit more powerful than they are today. And so they had heard that I was a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, Yeshua Hamashiach and they put it in their papers hoping to I don’t know what run me out of town or whatever. So one of their hot heads then came and put a Molotov cocktail at my door on the 3rd floor hard neck and it set the whole place on fire. Fortunately the police and the fire department came within a couple of minute. And it happened that a journalist passed by just at that moment. And so he ran upstairs after they put the fire out and he said “What’s going on here?” And I said well I think it’s because of who I believe in. And he said “Well who do you believe in?” And I said “I believe in God and I believe that His Son is Yeshua the Messiah; and through Yeshua I have come to know God.” And so the next day in Israel’s largest newspaper on the back page it said my name and it said “She said she knows God.” So from that it went all over, actually the world. I had reporters, I had actors and actresses and I had actually Yeshiva students from the Hebrew University, I had military people coming and asking me what I really believe, “Why would somebody put a Molotov cocktail in my house?” So I had great opportunities to witness. The only thing was back in 1973 there were so few Jewish believers in Israel that there was no way to follow up on the interest.
Sid: Approximately how many would you say back then?
Shira: Back then that could speak Hebrew in Israel?
Sid: Yes.
Shira: Oh my if maybe maybe there might be 100 but today in Israel how many Messianic Jewish synagogues are there? Oh, maybe 100 different groups, home groups, and congregations of various size. Anywhere from let’s say 20 people to there’s a couple of them that are with Russian immigrants that are like 300 something like that.
Sid: Is there such a thing as approximation of how many Jewish believers there are in the land of Israel today?
Shira: You know there’s really no way to know, we’ve always used this figure I think for the last many years we’ve said about 7000 but we know that they’re growing…
Sid: Russian congregations are they’re spring up all over the place now.
Shira: Yeah, so maybe it’s in the direction of 10,000 at this point believers but that’s believers. That’s including Russian, Ethiopian, those from the west speak English. But Hebrew speakers they’re might be something like a 1000 Hebrew speaking Israeli born again believers.
Sid: Hm. For those that are not familiar with Shira I’ll give you a bit of her background. Her father Gordon Lindsey started Christ for the Nations Bible College in Dallas, Texas. The reason that many people are familiar with the name Gordon Lindsey isn’t even because of Christ for the Nations but because he was the one that chronicled the great healing revivalists such as William Branham who happens to be one of my favorites. And Shira you provoke me to jealousy because as a child you got to know these great men and women of God. Did you actually see the miracles taking place with your very eyes under the Branham ministry?
Shira: I most certainly did I sat in William Branham’s meetings many many days and nights and I can tell you that that those services had everybody riveted on the edge of their seats because he head such an amazing gift of knowledge. He would have a line of people… actually my father would be standing at the bottom of the stage stairway and because there were so many people that wanted to be prayed for they always had to have a card to fill out and those who came according to the number then they could come otherwise it was just a mob scene. And on this card would be what they’re disease was. Now my father was a very exact man to him integrity was at the top of the list. So I remember him telling me that when Branham would tell a person through the gift of knowledge what was wrong with them and many things about their family, where they live, all kinds of things.
Sid: Would he actually know their names?
Shira: He would know their names, he would often know their doctors names.
Sid: Huh.
Shira: He would tell them where they lived, the address where they lived. But you see this was not like a witch telling you a bunch of fortune stuff. There was a heavy anointing of the Holy Spirit which was bringing these people both into conviction and also into a strong faith. Because when they would hear that Branham through the gift of knowledge knew so much about them it raised their faith level to say “Well if God knows this about me then He is able to heal me.” And because of this remarkable gift I saw many many people come into receive their healing instantaneously.
Sid: Was there any one a close second to Branham as far as percentage of people miraculously healed or was he in a class all by himself?
Shira: Well Kathryn Kuhlman had a very great healing ministry. She didn’t have the gift of wisdom to be or the gift of knowledge to the extent that he did. I have not seen anything that worked so perfectly. Now I want to say this, someone asked me the other day why did God not give these gifts to more people? And I really want to answer that.
Sid: Please.
Shira: Branham was one of the most humble men on the face of the earth. I as a child remember sitting under many different healing evangelists and some of them I don’t know there’s a certain perception a child can see a hypocrite if there’s one can see pride. But Braham was a genuine humble person but because of his incredible gift people looked to him like a god almost. I remember my father telling me that one time in a town somewhere they found out where Branham was staying in a hotel. When my father got there there was a line up to his room down the stairs, out the door and around the corner of the street. And he would take each one and try to talk to them but he was a small man and not very strong. So he would usually just collapse after talking to so many people. And so but because of this he had a lot of he began to have a lot of hanger on-ers people that were his yes man. He didn’t have people that he could listen to.
Sid: Was that the reason his teaching got off towards the end?
Shira: Absolutely, absolutely I know that my father who was so very close to him tried to get to him near the end of his life and he couldn’t even get to him.
Sid: Shira our time is slipping away today but this is what I believe I believe that ministries like Branham, Kathryn Kuhlman I’ve observed the best. I mean I’ve been studying the healing ministry for the past 25+ years. I have not seen the gifting that I saw in Kuhlman, I did not see it in Branham but I saw videos of Branham. I believe that they’re about ready to start and my conviction they’re ready to start in Israel. What do you feel about that?
Shira: Well we’re ready. I heard about a book the other day that I want to get that that they were only having a regular prayer meeting and they were only there because they were committed to be there and all of a sudden the fire of God came. Now we have that, we have prayer meetings every week, we’re there we’re praying. We’re expecting the prophecies in the Bible to come to past for us.
Sid: Is there something different in the air right now in Israel as far as evangelism?
Shira: Most certainly, most certainly.
Sid: Mishpochah I tell you this is the set time to favor Zion; this is a time that God is once again having mercy on His chosen people.
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth