Sid Roth - She Hated Jesus UNTIL He Came to Visit
Sid Roth: Welcome, Holy Spirit. Go and flow. My guest, Gennady Livshits, was born in Russia. He lived as an atheist because of Communistic persecution. What led you back to your Jewish faith?
Gennady Livshits: My encounter, first encounter, that I had the privilege with, we couldn't do this in the former Soviet Union. We grew up as atheists. We never attended a synagogue. We never had a Bible in our hands. We never had any encounter with our God. It was forbidden. But when we came to Canada, when we immigrated to Canada, then a few years later we were introduced slowly, little by little, step by step, starting to get encounter with our tradition.
Sid Roth: Why did you go to the synagogue?
Gennady Livshits: Well, because we had never been before in the synagogue. We were forbidden to have a synagogue. It was illegal, so we didn't have any, no persecution. We could openly express our traditional views and worship and have fellowship.
Sid Roth: But you still felt an emptiness. Explain that.
Gennady Livshits: Well, absolutely, because when we came to Canada, I had my goal to establish my life in a different direction. And I didn't understand that I could not do it because I really could not fulfill my goal. I was looking for something that, it was not probably for me from the beginning. So because of that, I began to fall back into a depression and dissatisfaction. And when I would go to the synagogue and have some fellowship, that would release us a little bit. But you know what, what the best was in the synagogue for me at the time?
Sid Roth: No.
Gennady Livshits: It was after the service. It was a good meal with a little vodka that they were giving. Yeah, you could have a little drink and had no problems.
Sid Roth: I know you're kidding, but you're very serious.
Gennady Livshits: I am serious.
Sid Roth: That was the draw that kept you going, food and vodka. Yeah, definitely, because I was a social drinker. I would have some alcohol on weekends, and because I was depressed, because I was going through some tough times, alcohol was my partner.
Sid Roth: Now, you had a new friend. Tell me about this friend.
Gennady Livshits: Well, we began to hear some radio programs on our local radio in that small town, and it was in Ukrainian language. So I thought to myself, "Who is this person that is speaking very well Ukrainian"? And I could understand that. So we got connected with these people, and we didn't understand what they were talking about. We didn't know that they were talking about Jesus. They were talking about God. It was a Christian program. But the language, and that brought us to them to have an encounter, to have a fellowship. So when we begin to talk to them and they begin to talk to us, they begin to tell us about the miracles that they saw, and I was shocked. I said, "Just wait a minute. What miracles are we talking about? What God are we talking about? And tell me: What are you all about"? So they begin to explain to us that they love the Jewish people. I said, "You love the Jewish people, Ukrainian, I mean Gentile? We used to have persecution from Gentiles. Now, you're telling me that you love the Jewish people"? I said, "Why"? He says, "Because we know the Jewish God". I said, "There is a Jewish God"? They said, "Yes. There is a Jewish God". I said, "What is His name"?
Sid Roth: Wait a second. You were raised, at that point, you would have been an atheist still.
Gennady Livshits: I was completely atheist.
Sid Roth: Okay.
Gennady Livshits: To me, God was not existent. And I said, "What are you talking about, 'Jewish God"? Said, "What is His Name"? He says, "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob". I said, "Really"? He says, "Yeah". I said, "How come I don't know about this"? I'm going to the synagogue, and I never get any information about this, just tradition, just tradition. So, I thought, "How is it that you know about my Jewish roots more than my parents do"? He says, "Because I read the book". I said, "What is the book"? He says, "The Bible". I said, "No, this is a Gentile book". He says, "No, it's a Jewish book". And we were arguing like this. And he says, "Compare. Look at the Torah if you can, and see what the Bible says. It's all the same".
Gennady Livshits: But you know what draws to them? Their kindness, their love, their... in my house, before I was born again, we, us, nice Jewish people, we sweared a little bit. We were arguing a little bit almost every day, but a little bit. It was a normal thing. But you come to their house, you feel peace. They don't argue. They don't swear.
Sid Roth: Did you really feel a peace in their house?
Gennady Livshits: Absolutely, and this is what draws me and my wife to them, that we actually had a refuge, a refuge place in their house.
Sid Roth: So when things were just too tough, you knew if you went to visit these friends, strange...
Gennady Livshits: That's why we were sent there.
Sid Roth: ...but there, you would have a peace.
Gennady Livshits: We would never argue with my wife in their presence, never. It was forbidden. I felt in my heart, you could not.
Sid Roth: Now, something, after your new friends introduced you to Yeshua, something very supernatural scared you.
Gennady Livshits: Yes.
Sid Roth: What was that?
Gennady Livshits: It was a year later as we were talking to them, they gave us enough information to call upon the name of the Lord, enough information. And I was at home, and I said, "Lord, here I am". And I said, "If you are real, and if, as they say, Jesus," and they said quite often, "Yeshua, is my Messiah," I said, "You're going to have to show me," and He did, and not the next day, not the next year, right away, right on the spot.
Sid Roth: And you were so hungry, and this is what I find with Jewish people that come to know the Messiah. We have been deprived for so long of knowing God experientially. We get so hungry for God. Is it true that you went to the Jewish synagogue on Saturdays and a church on Sunday, you were so hungry?
Gennady Livshits: Absolutely true, but the Rabbi didn't know about this. I was...
Sid Roth: Was there ever a point where the Rabbi found out?
Gennady Livshits: Yes, he did. At one time, it was a wonderful service, as always, in the synagogue. And that day, a Rabbi began to compare certain things, and he began to teach about the golden calf, as Jewish people have created in the wilderness. I was already aware of certain things in the Bible. I was reading the Bible and praying and so on. And then he says next, and I'm sitting in the middle of the crowd in the synagogue, and he says next, "The Gentiles, they made the same golden calf by raising Jesus to themselves". And I didn't know why, but the Holy Spirit rose me up, and I stood up in the midst of them and said, "No, He is our Messiah".
Sid Roth: Did you really do it that way?
Gennady Livshits: Absolutely. I stood up and I said, "No, He is our Messiah".
Sid Roth: It was almost like a righteous indignation that came over you.
Gennady Livshits: It was anointed. I didn't know about at that time that I was anointed by the Holy Spirit to speak these words with power.
Sid Roth: And what happened? What happened?
Gennady Livshits: There was an evil spirit in a woman in that synagogue, and they had a good business in Saskatoon.
Sid Roth: And.
Gennady Livshits: And she was a very good businessman, but that evil spirit stood her up and says, "That is not the place to talk about Jesus here". And I said, "Why not"? And she says, "Sit down". And the Rabbi says, "Shh. Everybody quiet". So after that service, he took me to the office and said, "Gennady, do you believe in Jesus"? I said, "Yes. Why not"? He says, "Why"? I said, "Because I have accepted Him through that encounter". And he says, "Okay. I have a book for you that will teach you how not to believe in Him, that He is false Messiah". I said, "Okay, I'll read you a book if you will give me a promise". He said, "What promise"? "I will give you some scriptures to read about Him". And I already was aware of the scriptures in the Old Testament, the prophecies about Yeshua. I said, "Will you read it"? He says, "Yes, I will, if you will read my book". I said, "I will read your book". So we made a covenant. I was giving him scriptures, and he was asking me to read this book, and that book was so anti-Jesus. It was written by who knows where. And they were twisting the stories. And so I laid this book aside because it was bothering me. But I was still giving him scriptures. About three weeks later, we were talking to him outside. He says, "Gennady, I see that there is no hope". I said, "What do you mean"? He says, "You cannot dance in both weddings. You cannot be a Catholic". He says, "I was never a Catholic. I was born again, Jewish. I was a fulfilled Jew. I never became a Catholic". He says, "You cannot be a Catholic, and you cannot be a Jew". He says, "You cannot dance on both weddings. You cannot come to the synagogue". I said, "Okay". So this way they actually stopped me from coming to the synagogue.
Sid Roth: I tell you what. When we return, I'll introduce you to Gennady's Russian Jewish wife, Svetlana. Wait until you find out how she reacted to her husband's belief in Jesus. Be right back.
Sid Roth: Svetlana, who is Gennady's wife, could not practice her Jewish faith under communism, but she had such a supernatural love for all Jewish culture and poetry and literature. Then God visited her. I want to find out how Svetlana reacted when Gennady came home and said, "I believe in Yeshua".
Svetlana Livshits: Yes, that was... Sid, I'll tell you. I reacted very badly.
Svetlana Livshits: Nicely to say, I reacted, I thought, "He is crazy". It was a shock to me, and I thought, "My husband is no more Jewish. He's Gentile, and he's a Christian". And to me, Gentile and Christian is the same. And I thought, "That's it. I'm losing him. We are not together". I even wanted to divorce him. It was a very bad experience for me because for a Jewish person, raised in a Jewish surrounding like me, even though I was very atheistic and never believed in anything, but I couldn't understand, how can we Jews believe in Jesus? It was absolutely forbidden. It was absolutely no-no. It was almost like abomination. And not knowing nothing about our history, not knowing nothing about our Jewish roots and even the Bible, I never read the Bible. I still had the prejudice that Christians and Jews don't mix because of persecution, because of terrible antisemitism. And that was a perception in my mind, and I felt that he's going to be antisemitic even. I was really negative about his newfound faith.
Sid Roth: And of course, you had help from the invisible world.
Svetlana Livshits: Yes.
Sid Roth: Literally, I think the devil would have been very happy if the two of you had divorced over that issue.
Svetlana Livshits: Yes.
Sid Roth: But then God began to move in with a dream.
Svetlana Livshits: Yes. That something happened, and God is amazing. I'll tell you, I still, until today, I'm amazed at what He done in my life and our life. I was jealous. I saw the change in Gennady, almost like instant change. It was a transformation of his character, his nature. He was a different husband, a different father. He stopped swearing. He stopped drinking. He was not arguing with me anymore. He was very patient, though I was not. So I was really amazed. And deep in my heart, I was jealous. And I wanted the same transformation that he had, but I didn't know how to get to that point. I know that he did not pretend. I know that was supernatural, and I didn't really believe in supernatural. I wanted to, but I really didn't believe. Even when I read the Bible, I was just thinking, "Okay, God talked to Moses. God talked to Abraham, to Noah, to David, and they heard Him. Why I can't hear Him? There must be something wrong, either with God or with me".
Sid Roth: So you had a dream. Explain that.
Svetlana Livshits: Yes. One night, we came late home, and Gennady went to pray to his room. He usually went to pray in the prayer room. And I went straight to bed. It was very late. So that night, I had a dream, very amazing dream that completely transformed my life. I was desperate and hopeless. And that same feeling that I felt in my heart was resembled in a dream because I found myself in a dark house with no windows, absolute darkness, hopelessness, desperation, depression. Everything negative that it could be found in human soul, it was there. And I was alone, Sid. I was alone with no hope, with no one to guide me. Nobody cared, and I was so lonely. And suddenly, I heard the knock at the door, and I came to the door very surprised of who can come and visit me in this kind of an hour and this condition. And when I opened the door, I saw Jesus, Yeshua. I saw Him so vividly. I saw him so brightly. To me, He appeared as a human being, not in His Glory. But He was dressed in a beautiful Middle Eastern clothes like it was in the time of the Bible. And I noticed the hole on His feet, dressed with sandals. And His hands, I noticed the holes in His hands. And He came to me with piercing eyes, piercing through my soul and completely healing all my desperation, my loneliness, my shame, my guilt. Everything that was in me, it was like His eyes took it to himself. He said, "Come to me, and I will give you rest". And later on, I found that scripture in the Bible.
Sid Roth: Hm.
Svetlana Livshits: And later on, I found a scripture, another scripture in the Bible when I begin to read the Bible, about the door. "Though I knock, stand at the door and knock, and whoever open the door, I will come and dine," you see. So I said, "This is my Jesus". This is what's happened, "Gennady, this is what's happened with me". And Gennady, when I told him the dream, he was just dancing. Honestly, he was dancing.
Sid Roth: That wasn't... hey, come on. People use that but...
Svetlana Livshits: He was jumping, honestly.
Sid Roth: Were you jumping, Gennady?
Gennady Livshits: I was jumping, but I cannot dance. It's not my nature.
Svetlana Livshits: Yeah, it was his joy.
Gennady Livshits: I was dancing not in sync with my hands and my feet. It was a crazy dance, but it was a powerful, anointed dance.
Sid Roth: But you think that's something. Gennady, you said everything in your life changed when you went to the forest. What happened?
Gennady Livshits: I didn't go to the forest. The Lord brought me there.
Sid Roth: Okay.
Gennady Livshits: I would never by nature to go to the forest and be there for six months. There's nothing to do there. I'm not a forest guy. I'm a city guy. God took us to the forest because God decided and He predestined for us certain things in our life to accomplish, and this is why today we are in a ministry still. We're doing things for the Lord. But without this experience, me personally, I would think, I would never be able to make it. And what the Lord has done is this: raising up a guy from ground zero, being an atheist, passing through all these levels of life including the new tradition that I was encountered with, taking me to the realm of His intimate relationship with God that I never believed. I was an atheist. And that took that experience in the forest. And He began to speak to me audibly. I began to have an encounter with God face to face, praying not five minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour. I was praying for hours. Now, God taught me how to pray, how to be in His presence. Why? Because it is through that encounter face to face with Him He has released into my life the fire that I've never had in my life, and I'm so thankful to God that He has done it because even today, I am on fire.
Gennady Livshits: The fire is still in me. And, Sid, it is increasing. It is increasing.
Sid Roth: And you had actually, we don't have time to go into it, gone through a period in your life where you actually lost all hope. And you were broken and hopeless. And you reached out to God despite that.
Gennady Livshits: Amen.
Sid Roth: But I want you... Are you in a hopeless situation? Are you in a dark room like Svetlana was in her dream? God wants you to be in His light, in His glory. There's none righteous, no, not one. That's what God says. But God wants to exchange your uncleanness for His holiness. And holiness is not what you think. It's not religious. It's a relationship. It's relational. Repeat this prayer out loud. Mean it to the best of your ability, and watch what God does in your life. Out loud, "Dear God, I've made many mistakes. I'm so sorry. I believe Your blood washes away my sins. Jesus, thank You so much. I'm clean. And now that I'm clean, Jesus, come and live inside of me. I make You my Savior. You washed away my sins. But now, I make You my Lord. Amen". Gennady and Svetlana, look into the camera and pray what God shows you.
Gennady Livshits: Thank You, Father. In the Name of Yeshua, I pray for everyone today specifically who is suffering physically and emotionally. I pray, my Lord, that Your Spirit will reach out to them right now, in the Name of Yeshua, Yeshua, our Jewish Messiah. He is there for you to touch your life. Father God, I pray for their spirit, physical, actually, physical healing in Jesus' Name. Hallelujah. I pray, my Lord, that this back and the arms will be healed instantly right now in Yeshua's Name. And I pray that You will rise up from that wheelchair. You will rise up from Your misery right now. You will rise up from anything that you encounter right now and suffer in the Name of Yeshua. Just raise your hands to Him. Raise your hands to Him and say, "I receive. I receive my miracle in Jesus' Name". Now, rise up and walk and do something that you could not do because God is there to heal you and to deliver you and to set you free. Be whole.
Sid Roth: In Yeshua's Name.