Matt instantly learned the Russian language Jim Bramlett May 30, 2009 Dear friend: This is the amazing testimony of how God supernaturally and instantly taught the late Messianic Jewish leader Matt Schwartz how to speak fluent Russian! The first part of May 2009 I was notified that dear friend Matt had been found deceased in his apartment. Matt was one of the greatest men and Christian examples I have ever known. He was a senior pastor, Bible teacher, motivational speaker, and founder and president of Intercessors for Israel Ministries with 35,000 Delegates in all 50 states and 62 nations. He was a great friend of Israel and a personal friend of Jewish political leaders, including the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.Previously I shared, "Matt had a gentle spirit and was a loving, kind and encouraging person. He had absolutely nothing to gain from being my friend and encouraging me, but he was, and he did, always. It was Christ working through Matt to bless others. I will greatly miss him." Subsequent to his death I have shared a couple of amazing testimonies of Matt's experiences. I wanted to share this one (below) but was missing some details, so I was awaiting information from our mutual friend Dr. Norman G. Marvin, M.D., who knew Matt much more closely than I did. Dr. Marvin met Matt through the great Messianic Jewish leader Art Katz of Ben Israel Ministries. You may have read Art's classic book, Ben Israel. Both Matt and Dr. Marvin served on Art's board of directors, and both spent many days and hours studying the Bible together, sometimes all day on Saturdays. Dr. Marvin gave me the details below. Matt had shared about how shortly after the year 2000, he sensed that God was calling him to minister in Russia. But Matt did not know the language. He tried and tried those self-teaching programs, but he simply could not learn. Matt continued to sense he was supposed to go to Russia and one day heard God say, "Only obey my voice. I'll take care of it." So Matt decided to obey, step out in faith, and go. While traveling to Leningrad on a sleeper train (not made for comfort), Matt could not sleep, so about 2-3 a.m. he decided to get up and go to the club car for a cup of tea. There was only one other person in the car, a Russian man in a military uniform. Assuming he understood Russian, the man spoke to Matt and invited him to sit down. Shockingly, Matt could understand what the man said to him! Then Matt started speaking to the man in Russian, and shared the gospel with him. It turns out that the man was a Russian naval officer who taught in a submarine academy. He was so touched by Matt and his message that he invited him to speak to the students about this Jesus about whom Matt spoke! Matt did later speak at the school to about 300-400 people, sharing from the Scriptures how the coming Messiah was prophesied in detail centuries beforehand, with all the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. About 100 of the Russians received Christ that day. No doubt much more seed was planted which will someday come to fruition. With his newly learned language, Matt continued to minister in Russia many times over the years, in Moscow, Leningrad, and Kiev, to God's glory. This is another miracle from our miracle-working God, whom we serve with gladness. God told Matt, "Obey my voice. I'll take care of it." Matt did. God did. Jim