[0:00] Tonight we are going to give towards answering some questions, only just four questions, about the nation of Israel, Jewish people, and end times.
[0:10] And there's certainly more than four questions, but these four questions represent categories. I'll have the first one. But this morning I shared with you that I would love to see, spend more time with all of you throughout the week and we can get together for Dr. Pepper at McDonald's.
[0:24] And after the service, I was so excited. My little notification went off, just like we planned Pastor Bo. So people were signing up and I looked down at it and George Bush scheduled a coffee with me.
[0:35] And then all of Christmas morning was scheduled by all the guys in the sound booth back there. Bunch of trolls. And so they were all just, they were all pretend. But I felt a little bit odd about sharing it because it feels pretentious to act like I need an app for you to schedule time with me.
[0:51] And you don't. That's why I gave you my phone number. But when people visit our church or they receive emails, they don't know how excited we would be to meet with them. Maybe they came from another church or from a larger church and they don't think that's a possibility.
[1:05] And so by having that open schedule, it's my disclaimer why it's going to be promoted because I still feel a little bit weird about it. But if you would like to get together, please take me and write. I would love to do that. So we're going to look at this first question tonight that they can go ahead and put on the screen.
[1:20] And what do I mean when I say that I stand with the nation of Israel and the Jewish people? We have four different questions. I'll answer this one. David Dubois is going to answer a question next.
[1:31] And then John Pearson, then we'll end the night with a short video from Sam Wilson giving some practical application about what we should be doing inside of our community. And so we don't overlap too much.
[1:43] I'll try to keep this on topic here and just make a few statements about what I mean when I say that I stand with the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. I don't make a, it's not a political statement.
[1:55] There's a place for politics. I'm an informed voter. I want to know when I vote. I want to know what's going on. There are political statements that can be made about it, but that's not my responsibility.
[2:06] I don't even speak about military strategy. And this is not even primarily a statement about the inhumane treatment of people. And there will be plenty to say about all three of those when it comes to Israel.
[2:17] But what I would like to express is an understanding of God's Word. It's an understanding of hermeneutics or what it means to study the Bible.
[2:28] So it's not just the topic of Israel and end times, but it has to do with the way that we will understand the Bible and what it says. Before the service tonight, I was in the office talking to some people and then even this afternoon talking with Matt Malcolm and realized that many of the books that I've read over the last couple of decades, many authors wouldn't speak much about Israel's relevance in the future or even now.
[2:54] Because when you write a book, you normally don't talk about the things that might be divisive or controversial among Christians. When I was a kid, there seemed like every few weeks there was somebody with a whiteboard in front of us in the church drawing Israel and then putting up brackets and putting the church and then writing Israel again and speaking about Romans 11 and being grafted in.
[3:16] And as a kid, I just heard that over and over again being taught. But it's been a long time since I'd heard that or read much about it. It normally gets neglected. Not just people teaching a wrong understanding of Israel, like a replacement.
[3:30] And we'll get to that in a moment, that Israel has been replaced by the church. That would be in some writings and some people's understandings. But just kind of completely ignored that when people are writing about scriptures or different things that you'd read about, there's just no conversation that is happening.
[3:47] And that's one of the reasons I wanted to make sure that we spend some time in it. And so understanding the Bible. Quick story. I was in New York City many years ago with a friend of mine that had lived in Tel Aviv.
[4:01] And we were in Brighton Beach and we had a table of Hebrew and English Bibles that we were giving out. They're both Hebrew and English. And we were giving them out.
[4:11] And I don't remember what ministry paid for them, but they were really nice Bibles. And we were giving them out all day long. And a lady came up to us and she said in Hebrew to my friend, You don't see us here out on the street corner trying to tell you about the Messiah and Jesus, do you?
[4:29] So why are you on our street corner? She didn't know my friend spoke Hebrew and he answered her the question. And he said, Well, let me tell you. That was God's plan. That you would have been a light to the nations.
[4:41] That you would have been sharing with us about the Messiah and Jesus. But since that is not the case, we have been given the opportunity to do that to you and for you.
[4:52] And she didn't know who she was speaking with there. And he answered just in a great fashion. So let me do a quick review for you in here. As the seed of Abraham, the children of Israel were chosen by God to be a separate people, holy to the Lord.
[5:10] A unique people. And so it's the descendants of Abraham. And so God's design was for them to be a light to the Gentiles so that we too might know God. So you have Abraham, say it with me.
[5:22] And his son is? And his son was? Jacob. Jacob, all right? And just make sure the kids know in here when we're talking about the children of Israel. Talking about Jewish people. We're talking about Abraham and his family.
[5:36] Father Abraham had many sons. Meshita, we should sing that tonight. This will be the night for it. We've been looking for an occasion. Little Father Abraham in here, all right? Had many sons. And so that's the people we're talking about. Because Jacob had his name changed in Genesis 32.
[5:49] He said, You'll no longer be called Jacob, but you'll be called Israel. So that's who we're talking about when we're speaking about the children of Israel. And a promise that was made to Abraham in Genesis 12 says, God said to him, I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curses thee.
[6:04] And in these shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And from that, we follow in the Old Testament. We see them being obedient. We see great moments like in Solomon's temple where people were coming.
[6:17] The Queen of Sheba were coming and seeing just the wonder and the majesty of it all. And they were wanting to know about the one true God, the God of Israel. And then we see other times where Solomon leads them into idolatry and is just up and down, losing their land and being restored to them.
[6:33] And so we get through the Old Testament. And God knew that they would do this. And he had promised that he would restore the kingdom of Israel after they had rebelled and eventually had repented.
[6:44] And so God sent his son when grace appeared. And as we looked at this morning, Jesus came. Before that, John the Baptist came and was telling people to repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.
[6:57] And when Jesus was here, the children of Israel still did not receive him. Some did. The disciples, many of them were Jewish. But by and large, the nation did not accept him.
[7:08] He was rejected. And with his disciples, he started the church. And they gave, they have the opportunity, as I said in Romans 11, to be engrafted in, to have this unique purpose in sharing the gospel with the world.
[7:21] And the church isn't a Gentile organization. We're called an organism. We're living. But it's made up of Jews and Gentiles, a believing people. And so as Christians, we agree.
[7:32] David, you're up here next, all right? If you want to go ahead and make your way up here. And we'll just transition right into you. And then so as Christians, we agree on some things, which is that God recognized.
[7:43] So when I say I stand with Israel, I want to acknowledge that God recognizes Israel as a nation. That God in the Bible recognizes them as a nation because he created them as a nation.
[7:55] He did the work. And so that's important. I believe that Israel is a nation. And so they have rights as a sovereign nation as we have rights as a sovereign nation. We have rights to protect ourselves.
[8:06] They have rights to protect themselves. I would add in here, though, in believing that they are God's chosen people and they have a right to the land, that we don't say that every action that is made by an Israeli is sanctified.
[8:17] It doesn't mean they can't do wrong. It doesn't mean that they're a perfect people. It just means that God has made promises to them and that you should never try to stand in the way of that. And then when Israel is a chosen people, Deuteronomy 7, 6, they are a holy people unto the Lord.
[8:32] Thy God, the Lord God has chosen thee to be a special people unto himself. Above all people, they are upon the face of the earth. So they are a chosen people with purpose. I'm sorry, David.
[8:43] You might as well have a seat. Okay. I didn't realize I have a little bit longer than needed. You good? You need anything? You comfortable? All right. And so they're a chosen people.
[8:55] And then so Sam Rotman, if you all remember him, the Jewish man that came and played the piano, he said that he didn't, growing up, he said, well, we don't want to be a chosen people. Being chosen doesn't seem good to us.
[9:06] It seems to be a curse as he looks at history. So when we say, what does it mean for them to be a chosen people? Were they the only ones who could have known Christ? Were they the only ones created for salvation?
[9:18] Were the rest of us not going to have an opportunity to believe in Christ, to put our faith in the one true God? And that's not the case. They were chosen for special service, which is to take the gospel to the surrounding nations.
[9:31] And so we have been blessed by them. The Bible tells us that. You know that we are blessed by them. Romans 15, 26, it says, For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Archaea to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
[9:44] There will be Jewish people there at Jerusalem. And it has pleased them verily, and their debtors they are. For the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things. Their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
[9:56] And so we have been blessed. Our Messiah came from the line of Jewish people. The word of God that we have came from them as well. So for the sake of the kids in here, I think I should say, you have two different things.
[10:09] You have an ethnicity, that people are Jewish. They were born Jewish, and they can accept Jesus Christ. They can believe it. They go to a church, but they're still Jewish people. And then you also have a religion, Judaism.
[10:21] So you could be born a Gentile like us, and you could follow that. And there's a separation between the two. But we're talking about the people and speaking about the nation here. And so God loves Israel, Jeremiah 31.3.
[10:34] The Lord hath appeared unto the old, unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therewith lovingkindness have I drawn thee. There is dozens and dozens of scriptures that say that God loves the children of Israel.
[10:45] But this one here, I want to point out that it says, an everlasting love. And it doesn't mean that he doesn't love the other nations of the world. Genesis 15.16. For the fourth generation, they come hither again for the iniquity of the Amorites, not yet full.
[11:01] The Amorites, who had been the enemy, they would have been the ones trying to keep Israel out of their land. God still had patience and mercy upon them, giving them time to repent.
[11:11] Just like the Assyrians and Nineveh, God had mercy upon them. And heaven will be filled with praise from every tribe and tongue. From people from Israel, people from Palestine, and people from America, and all parts of this world.
[11:26] And that's where the conversation seems to be different that I'm having with people in the community, or people that Steph have been meeting, is why the churches only seem to care for the death of Israeli people, and they don't care for the loss of life anywhere.
[11:39] And that's not the case at all. We most certainly find no joy in unbelieving people meeting their maker. And so we're grieved by that.
[11:50] And so this is a spiritual battle. Here's another thing we would agree on as Christians. This is a spiritual battle, not only a political battle. Those who hate Israel will not be satisfied until Israel is no more.
[12:02] It's not just some land they want. They want all the land from all of it. And they also want Israel to not exist anymore. And at some point, we will stand between them and their goal.
[12:13] And so here's where Christians do disagree. And it has to do with the distinction between the church and Israel. God's reason for choosing a nation in Israel was not solely for just producing the Messiah to come from them.
[12:27] As we said, the Word of God. They were a nation of priests and prophets, their intent to be distinct and different. And they were supposed to point to the Messiah, to the Redeemer. And Romans 11.1 is a question. Has God cast away His people?
[12:39] God forbid. For I am also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. And Paul anticipated a question that would arise among us Gentile readers. And as Gentile believers, we should not be tempted to dismiss Israel because it appears that they will never recover.
[12:55] God still has promises towards them. He still has promises concerning the land. And so we'll end the night. We didn't come forward and pray, but we'll do that at the end of the night.
[13:05] And we will pray for them. We'll pray for peace in Jerusalem. So in summary, why do I say that I stand with the nation of Israel, Jewish people? Because there's promises that are made to Israel that are still going to be kept in the future because God is faithful.
[13:19] We can be sure that God has said it's true and it will take place because of His character and consistency. And because I believe that the church does not replace Israel, those promises that are made to Israel will take place literally and not just symbolically by the church.
[13:34] As you read the scripture, it's necessary to keep Israel and the church separate. And then practically, I simply believe that they are on the right side of history. Historically, that is land given to them by God.
[13:47] And God has chosen to demonstrate His faithfulness and covenant keeping through them. And so I do not need the world's news to come to this conclusion. But from my understanding of the Bible, God still has a place for them in history.
[13:59] And He tells us that we should bless and we should comfort them. And all right, that's it. If we go ahead and put up that next question and David will answer that one for you, which is why are people so focused on Israel when it comes to the end of times?
[14:15] All right. If you would go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 9, have a finger in Daniel chapter 9, and then put another finger in Matthew chapter 24.
[14:27] I'll try to show you from scripture how I think a good way to answer this question is. Trent basically gave us the groundwork of this in saying that, you know, God has made some promises to Israel.
[14:43] Those promises have not yet been fulfilled. And that goes right into the answer to this question. And that is, you know, believing people, when we see things happening in Israel, we get excited because that means, hey, maybe something is happening.
[14:59] And the more those things escalate, the more we think that things are coming to fruition there. What we're going to look at tonight, we actually looked at last week in the Institute and didn't answer this question specifically, but it's the same references, the same passages that we're looking at here.
[15:18] So you go through the Old Testament, you go through the New Testament. There's no question in your mind as you walk through this that God adores Israel. God adores Israel despite them being rebellious, despite them going after other gods.
[15:38] And just example after example after beautiful example of the way he pursues his people that we can take for ourselves because as being children of him, he's going to pursue us as well.
[15:51] I always think we go back to John chapter 1 where, you know, John is saying, you know, Jesus, he came into his own and his own received him not.
[16:03] And that verse is a tragedy because he came to his people and his own people didn't receive them. But then right after that, you have this glimmer of hope because it goes in and says, but as many as received him, to him gave he the power to become sons of God.
[16:20] And the answer to this is that it's not going to end there. Jesus coming to his people and his people not receiving them will not be the end of the story. There's going to be an end to the story where his people will receive him.
[16:35] And so right now, this time of the Gentiles, there's a lot of passages we can't get to. God has turned his focus onto the church. But there's going to be a time when he focuses back on Israel and that shift in focus means wonderful things for us.
[16:54] That means we are getting out of here and that means we are getting to that culmination. Why do we say these things? Well, if you look in Daniel chapter 9, verse 24, this is a passage you have to be looking at.
[17:08] If you're thinking about end times, you need to be looking at Daniel chapter 9 and Matthew 24. But in Daniel chapter 9, verse 24, you have this prophecy. It's the prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel.
[17:19] And in verse 24, it says this. It says 70 weeks. And this is Gabriel. Okay, this is Gabriel talking to Daniel here. And he says this. 70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city.
[17:34] And if you just stop right there and think, who is Daniel's people and what is Daniel's city? Daniel's people are the? And his city is?
[17:45] Jerusalem. Okay, so this is what we're talking about here. And these things, he's got 70 weeks and something phenomenal is going to happen here. And so you have these seven things that are for Daniel and for Daniel's people and for his city.
[18:18] So we, all of this is for this group of people. You go down in that passage. And again, there's a lot more here. But if you go down to verse 27, there's this individual that comes on the scene.
[18:32] It's this prince that should come. This is not the Messiah. This is the Antichrist. You'll find out. But in verse 27, it says, And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.
[18:43] This is the 70th week of Daniel's 70-week prophecy. And in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And for the overspreading of abominations, he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation.
[18:58] And that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Now, lots of questions come out of this verse. But from here, if you don't have in your Bible the cross-reference to this passage, Daniel 9-27, if you don't have Matthew 24-15, I strongly recommend that you write that in your Bible somewhere or underline the cross-reference that you have it if you have it in your Bible.
[19:22] And then turn to Matthew chapter 24 and see what it is that we're talking about here. Before I read verse 15 of Matthew 24, Matthew 24 is the Olivet Discourse.
[19:34] This is the place where, basically, Jesus' disciples are like, So when is all this going to end? They straight up ask him, it's like, What are the signs of his coming?
[19:44] When's the end of the world going to take place? Tell us about what's going to happen here. And you go, you read through that, he's giving them some signs. And then in verse 15, he says this, And then it says, verse 16, And the connection that we're making here is that all of these things that were said about Jerusalem and all that culminating that's going to happen at that time period, Jesus is saying, Daniel is talking about the same thing I'm talking about.
[20:23] And we're talking about the end of the world and the tribulation and all of those things that are taking place. And all of that is centered around this group of people.
[20:35] So that is why we are looking at this nation and at this group of people. What is happening here? Because if God makes that shift, we know that things are really starting to move forward.
[20:50] There's a couple other verses that I want to point out to you in Zechariah that I think are really, really fascinating. In Zechariah 3.9, it says this, And so what that tells us is that there's going to be a day when Jesus is going to remove the iniquity, remove the iniquity of that land of Israel.
[21:24] And so we're looking for that. You go on in Zechariah 12, verses 2-3. It says, Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto the people round about, when they shall be in siege both against Judah and Jerusalem.
[21:40] If people are going to be in siege against Judah and Jerusalem, what are we talking about here? What's happening? That's war. And so we see war. And again, this is one of the reasons why we're so interested in what's happening here.
[21:55] But look at what it says God is going to do for those people when these end of times come. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people.
[22:07] And that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces. This is a really interesting analogy that he presents here, because what you see here is not Jerusalem, you don't see Israel going to war.
[22:18] What you see is people coming to war against Israel. But what happens when they do that? Well, they become a burdensome stone.
[22:29] And the picture here is if you think of like a huge stone out in the field, and a strong man comes and he tries to lift that stone, but it is too big for him.
[22:40] But he doesn't stop even when his body tells him he should, and he ends up rupturing himself because he is straining so much against that stone.
[22:52] And so what this is telling us is that as these people come against this nation, what are they going to do? They're going to rupture themselves. And what we have seen in history since 1948 is that take place.
[23:06] Israel is not going after people. Now, I'm sure that would spark some debate because they are going into Gaza right now. But the way we see all that took place from the very beginning is you have attacks coming after them.
[23:23] But then what happens whenever these nations collectively get together and attack Israel, it never works out good for them. And as you see that progress, that's an indication of what's going to happen here.
[23:38] And they're going to be cut in pieces. Zechariah 12 talks about them pouring upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and supplications.
[23:50] That is not there yet. Israel is not a believing nation. Very many of them don't even believe in Yahweh of the Old Testament.
[24:02] They are not ascribing to that. But there's going to be a time when God pours out the spirit of grace and supplications. And they are going to look upon me whom they have pierced.
[24:15] And they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son. And shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. God is going to save Israel.
[24:28] He's going to save them. There's going to be a lot of destruction that takes place. But the end of the story will never be he came to his own and his own received him not.
[24:39] He is going to come and there's going to be a time when those people are going to turn. And so as things are building up in that part of the world, we see things from the Old Testament that say these things are going to happen.
[24:53] And as we look at this conflict, we just know we are getting close to that time period where God brings in this tribulation.
[25:04] And he does all of it to bring people to a saving knowledge of him. And so that's why when we see these things happening in Israel, we get really focused on that.
[25:15] It's very exciting for us. We're not excited about the carnage, but it's one of those things. When you see these groaning times, even so, Lord, come quickly. All right.
[25:25] If you would take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 24. And the question is, does the world have to be reached with the gospel before the Lord returns?
[25:35] And one of the things I wanted to do also was direct you to foundations. There's a foundations chapter in book two, chapter 12. It covers the second coming of the Lord.
[25:47] And in the youth foundations, it's chapter 16, when Jesus comes again. And if you need foundations or interested in foundations, you can speak to Wendy. She can get you some books or let me know.
[25:58] And I'll try to connect you with somebody. But that material is available to you and you can get that. What you'll find in that section is, is that we divide the second coming into two parts or two stages.
[26:11] And the first stage is the Lord coming back or returning for his saints. We call that commonly the rapture or the catching away. And you can read about that in your Bibles most clearly in first Thessalonians chapter four.
[26:24] And also first Corinthians chapter 15. And one of the key characteristics of that is that there are no signs that need to precede that. And first we're in Acts chapter one, verses nine through 11.
[26:37] Jesus was standing, talking with them. And then the next instant he was in the heavens. And the men to help the apostles understand what that meant that showed up in white apparel said, that's the way he's going to return.
[26:50] And so suddenly without warning, this is the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We call this the Lord coming for his saints. The second stage of that is going to be the Lord coming back with his saints.
[27:03] And that will happen seven years later after the tribulation time. And because after the Lord comes for us, then the Bible says we will ever be with the Lord. So when he comes back, we'll be with him because that's where we've been through the tribulation time.
[27:19] For the Lord coming for his saints, the Bible says in Luke chapter 12, verse 40, be therefore ready also for the son of man cometh at an hour when you think not.
[27:31] Okay. And so the passage calls on us to be ready. Stage two, when the Lord comes and returns with his saints, there will be definite signs that precede that. And David's already directed you to Matthew 24.
[27:44] It's a great chapter to see those signs that precede it. Wars and pestilence and earthquake and all these sorts of things. The Lord will come back at the end of this. Now, terminology representing the end is typically not applied to the Lord coming back for his saints or what we call the rapture.
[28:02] Okay. And so that's kind of the, that's kind of how foundations lays that out. I encourage you to check that out. I just want to give you three reading rules for this verse we're going to read here in Matthew chapter 24.
[28:15] And those reading rules are this. First of all, there's only one gospel. There's only one gospel. Matter of fact, Galatians tells us that the notions of other gospels are a dangerous thing, but there's only one gospel and whether it's called the everlasting gospel or whether it's called the gospel of the kingdom or just the gospel, there's just one gospel.
[28:34] So we'll create a reading rule for ourselves with that. Second thing is we'll use plain verses to explain for us the difficult verses. And that'll help us just to come to the right understanding and give us a lens through which to look at this verse.
[28:48] And then we'll make sure that we understand the prophetic or the apocalyptic timing that's at work here in this passage. So in Matthew chapter 24, verse 14, I want to read actually nine through 14.
[29:01] The Bible says, Verse 14, And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto the nations.
[29:36] Then shall the end come. And so we're going to look at the gospel first as a part of this in our reading rules. It's just one gospel. All these words are synonymous. It's kind of like when I have new life in Christ or eternal life or everlasting life.
[29:50] It's all synonymous terms. But it then says the gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world. But I want you to know that even though this is a specific event, the gospel has already been preached into all the world.
[30:03] In Acts chapter 2, verse 5, there was a representative from every nation there to hear Peter's message at Pentecost. And in Colossians chapter 1, verse 15, the Bible says, And so the gospel is this preaching of the gospel talked about in this passage is a specific event.
[30:34] But I want you to know it's not a new event. This has already happened. And so for witness, he says also, and certainly for salvation and certainly in an evangelistic way.
[30:45] But this verse also emphasized that it's going to be preached as a testimony and as a proof that the gospel has been preached into all the world. It's preached by Jesus. It's preached by the apostles.
[30:56] It's preached by the church. Probably preached by the 144,000 during the tribulation time. And in Revelation chapter 14, there's a very nice verse that helps us understand some things about this witness.
[31:08] He says, And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people.
[31:21] And so the last thing I want to look at in this verse is the prophetic timing. And the prophetic timing is called the end. And the end is typically not a term that's used with the Lord coming for his saints or the rapture.
[31:33] It's typically more a term used as it was used in Daniel, the end of the 70th week or the end of the tribulation time, the time when the Lord returns with his saints. And so this is the prophetic timing.
[31:46] So the end really speaks about the Lord returning with his saints. Sometimes the end is actually used of the time after the millennial reign, but typically not for the rapture time.
[31:57] So shall the gospel be preached in all the world for a witness unto the nations before the end? Most definitely. The Bible very plainly says that it will and already has.
[32:08] But the term the end most likely does not apply to the rapture, which means that there is no event that needs to happen before the rapture comes. The imminent return of Christ is just as imminent today as it was for those men standing there in Acts chapter 1 and verses 9 through 11.
[32:26] Does it mean that it will happen before the rapture? I really find no evidence that makes me believe it's a prerequisite to the rapture happening. It's the rapture is imminent.
[32:36] How about the return of the Lord? I find it likely that it happens before the return of the Lord. Even though it has happened, it will happen again. And it will happen not only as an evangelistic moment, but also a witness that it has happened.
[32:52] And God will not be held. Nobody's going to stick their finger in God's face and say, you didn't preach the gospel. You didn't get the gospel out. The gospel was not shared with the world. Nobody's going to be able to do that.
[33:03] So what does that mean for us? Well, that means that the Lord's return in the clouds is imminent. And Matthew 24, 14 does not challenge that in any way. There are no signs that precede the rapture.
[33:16] As a matter of fact, if you're waiting for a sign to get saved, I suggest you just use the resurrection. That's a good enough sign for you to know that it's time to get saved. So how would a belief like this come to be?
[33:28] Here's two options. One option in history has been that it's been put, it's been a belief that's been used to create an urgency for those to get involved in the work of missions as a way to make the Lord come again.
[33:44] As a way for the Lord to be almost a triggering event for the Lord to come back. And on the opposite side, those wishing to take the imminent return of the Lord and use it to take the urgency out of making a decision for Christ.
[33:58] That's also been a way that this has been used. Nothing in Matthew 24, verse 14 takes the urgency or the imminency out of the return of the Lord for his saints.
[34:09] That's the next event. Almost everybody that we know in the Bible were Jewish people. Our faith came from Jewish roots. How could we not love these people?
[34:21] Through whom the scriptures, God gave the scriptures and through whom God sent Messiah. And so they're God's chosen people and so we ought to have a love for them.
[34:32] To me, it just comes natural that we would. Now, that's clearly not true for everybody. A lot of people in the world hate Jewish people. But I think for born-to-good Christians, to not love Jewish people would be very strange.
[34:48] So we should want to bless them. And one of the things that I find everywhere I go is that most Bible-believing Christians do have a love for the Jewish people. But that love is entirely theoretical.
[35:00] If we loved our wives the way we love the Jewish people, we would be in deep trouble. If we said, oh yeah, yeah, we love the Jewish people, how do you express that love?
[35:14] Express? We don't. And if we tell our wives, I love you, I love you, I love you, but we never actually do anything, she might really doubt whether we loved her.
[35:26] And the truth of the matter is, we do love the Jewish people, but we don't know how to express it. So let me mention a few ways briefly, practical ways that you could show love for the Jewish people.
[35:40] And the first one of those, I don't want to belabor the obvious, but Psalm 122.6 says, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee.
[35:51] We should be praying for the Jewish people. At a time like we're going through right now, we should be praying for the peace of Jerusalem. We should be praying for protection, for God's blessing on Israel.
[36:03] And so praying for Israel is good. Praying not just for peace in a military, political way, but praying that the Prince of Peace would dawn in their hearts, that they would open their hearts to Jesus Messiah and come to Christ.
[36:19] This is a time when they're in great crisis. It would be a great time for them to turn to the Lord. And so, number one, pray for the Jewish people.
[36:31] Number two, and this is very practical. Everywhere we go right now with the crisis going on in Israel, there's discussion about this.
[36:42] And the media around the world is saying, look, Israel is doing evil. Israel is doing wrong. And it's very popular to criticize Israel.
[36:52] People very quickly forget that this started with the vicious cold-blooded murder of 1,400 Israeli people. And now when Israel responds by taking military action against these terrorists, everybody blames Israel for everything that happens.
[37:10] This is a really good time for us to stand up for Israel. When people start criticizing Israel, you don't have to be ugly. You don't have to be combative. But you can say, you know, I don't really agree with what you said.
[37:23] I see it differently. Certainly, we care about Palestinian lives. But Israel is doing far more to try to preserve their lives than Hamas is.
[37:35] Hamas is putting civilian, even their own civilians, at risk, whereas Israel is trying to save them. And if you stand up for Israel, it makes a difference. And by the way, somebody in the room will be Jewish, quietly listening, and they will hear that.
[37:51] And that will be very meaningful to them. And so, pray for them. Number two, stand up for them. And then number three, sometimes we are just very, very, very shy people.
[38:06] This is a good time to pull together your initiative and say, I'm going to go to my Jewish neighbor. I'm going to go to my Jewish co-worker. I'm going to drop by the synagogue in my neighborhood.
[38:19] I'm going to actually intentionally reach out to them. I think a lot of times we have the idea, you know, if a Jewish person shows up in my life, if somebody comes up and identifies as Jewish, well, then I'll try to talk to them about Jesus.
[38:33] But you know what? We're going to have to go out and seek them. And there are Jewish people around. You can't live here and not come into contact with Jewish people. Now, some of you are going to say, I don't know any Jewish people.
[38:44] And I'm going to tell you, you're probably wrong. You probably do know Jewish people. You just don't know that that person is Jewish. There's Jewish people all over this area. There's 160,000 of them here in the Atlanta area.
[38:55] Most of them between here and downtown. And so you probably do know Jewish people. And so what I would encourage you to do is say, is to be proactive. It's an easy time to be proactive.
[39:07] Go to your Jewish neighbor and say, hey, I want to talk to you. And honestly, right now, they're scared. They're defensive. They, they're frightened. Okay.
[39:17] And so they might respond by like, what, what do you want? But when you explain, I want to show support for you. I'm praying for you. I love you. Folks, that is so meaningful right now.
[39:31] You can make a friend pretty easy right now. If you will go and talk to them and tell them, hey, I'm not Jewish. I'm a Baptist, but I love the Jewish people.
[39:44] I go to a church. Everybody at our church loves the Jewish people. We stand with you. We're praying for you. We care. How can we bless you? It'll make a difference. And so you can pray, you can stand up for them, and then you can go to them and show love.
[39:59] That means so much. Okay. And then fourthly, you know where I'm going with this. You can share the gospel. Now that, that's another step further, but they need the gospel.
[40:12] There is nothing more meaningful that you can do than to give a gospel to one of God's chosen people. That takes further. So after you go there, after you express love, engage them in conversation, ask questions, and pray to the Lord.
[40:28] Say, Lord, show me how I can, in a natural way, share the gospel with my Jewish neighbor. Maybe it doesn't happen in the first meeting. Maybe it doesn't happen in the second meeting. But as you go along, God will present you with opportunities to say, can I tell you what I do when I'm afraid?
[40:46] And tell them about what Christ means to you and how through faith you've been able to overcome fear. That, that would be one way. There's a thousand ways. But pray for them.
[41:00] Stand up for them. Intentionally go out and show love for them. And then share the gospel with them. Those are four ways that are very practical. They're very needful right now.
[41:12] That you can show love for your Jewish neighbor.