Israel, The Jews, and The End Time Purposes of God Part 1

All right. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I want to welcome you guys. How many of you do not call the refuge your home church? Can I just see your hands?

We just want to welcome you. Thank you so much for coming. We welcome you.

If you're coming because you saw something that I posted. I said 6:30. Forgive me. It was really 6:45. That was not some ploy to get you here early.

But I was reminded of a quick story that I want to tell you when we have five kids, but we had four for a long time. And then our precious Olivia was born when I was 44.

However, we lived in Pensacola. And my kids would always ask to stay up late at night. Dad, can we please. No, no, no. You gotta be in bed by eight.

You gotta be in bed by eight. Well, one night they came to Beth and me. They said, hey, could we just stay up a little bit longer tonight? I said, yes, you guys can stay up till 10:00 clock tonight. Yeah, dad, you're the best.

You're the best. And what I did is I turned every clock in our house two hours later. So at 10 o', clock, it was really 8 o'. Clock. I was getting praise from my kids like never before.

Anyway, Wednesday nights start at 6:45. But I'm so, so glad you're here. I don't think that there's a more ultimate topic that we as a church can be talking about than the topic of Israel.

I just want to publicly thank Pastor Jay and Melissa for even having a heart for Israel, because there are people that avoid topics that could be controversial. Well, if we talk about this, maybe people won't come and visit our church. Sadly, as a Jewish man who believes in Jesus since I was 1051 years now, and as somebody who pastored a church in this very city, it took an encounter of God for me to speak on Israel. Through my whole life, I never spoke on Israel. As a matter of fact, I traveled with a man, a Jewish man who would sometimes speak on Israel.

And I would close my ears literally saying, oh, talk about something relevant, like revival, like Reformation, because Israel didn't mean anything to me. But here's what I've come to the conclusion. Here's how I've come to this conclusion. If Israel means something to God, then the enemy will do everything within his power to keep you from hearing about it or embracing it. Israel's mentioned over 2500 times in the Bible.

And if we have an improper understanding of Israel, we have an improper understanding of the Bible. No other nation is mentioned even close to the amount of times that Israel is mentioned. And we're going to be doing this for three weeks, three consecutive weeks.

But you can come next week. It's not like it's continuous. I'm gonna do three topics today. Why Israel? Question mark.

Why does Israel matter? Next week we're talking about the power of covenant. And then on the third week we're gonna talk about the church's responsibility where Israel is concerned. I love seeing your faces. You know what my heart is.

I would love to see 20 and 30 something year olds come. And if you know somebody, especially somebody, maybe in high school or college who is struggling with this issue, I just want you to invite them to come and I'd love to have a conversation with them after a service. I have a daughter that's in the 11th grade and she tells me what 11th graders think about Israel. No 11th grader 20 years ago ever even talked about Israel. But now in a TikTok generation, we're getting more information from TikTok than we are from the Word.

Tonight I'm gonna bury you in scripture. Is that okay? Here's what I wanna tell you. I've said this before from this pulpit. I think if you look at Israel through a political lens, you're gonna end up hating either Arabs or Jews or both.

If you look at Israel through a biblical lens, you'll end up loving both Arabs and Jews. So how about using the Bible? You ready? Okay. Why did God choose Israel?

What purpose did God have in choosing one ethnic group? People? I'll tell you this. He didn't choose Israel because they're more special than any other nation. He didn't choose Israel because they were the mightiest of nations.

We'll get into those scriptures in a second. He chose Israel probably for the exact opposite reasons, because the way he chooses violates our own understanding and, and sometimes offends us.

When he chooses David, the youngest, to be king, that's offensive to an entire family. But I wanna start at the very beginning of scripture because there's a pattern in the Bible that if we don't get, we're not gonna understand Israel. And this is the pattern. God gives life to the dead. When you profess Jesus, what does it say in the gospels?

Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you shall be saved.

I fear that many of us don't have a revelation of resurrection because when you do, everything changes.

Death is not the end ever with God. He didn't create us to die. He created us to live forever. That's why God chose one nation. Because when the devil came and said to Adam and Eve of any tree, you can eat, but don't eat of this one, because in the day you eat it, you surely will die.

He had to choose a people through whom the Messiah could come. I'm getting way ahead of myself, but open up if you've got your bibles and many of these scriptures will be on the screen. Genesis, chapter one, verse one. We're going to start at the beginning because I believe that the beginning of creation actually tells the story of Israel.

Father, I ask you to give grace in the speaking and in the hearing tonight that you would be glorified, that we might embrace your your heart for your people. Lord, that TikTok would be diminished and your word would rise high. Social media influencers would be quieted tonight. And may our hearts and our minds be open to your word. In Jesus name, amen.

Genesis, chapter one, verse one. That's a good place to start. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void. Everybody say void.

And darkness was over the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was moving over the waters. That word void means emptiness. It means waste. It means nothingness.

God is a God who gives life to the dead. He's attracted to nothingness. He's not attracted to the man who's got the muscles and says, look what I can do. He's attracted to the weak, to the poor.

He's attracted to the humble. And in the midst of the void, I love the very next verse. Then God said, because in the midst of death, in the midst of barrenness, in the midst of hopelessness, we hang on to the only thing that can give life. And that's the word of God. Because when God speaks, life comes.

I've come that you might have life and life more abundantly.

So look how he creates man. Genesis 2:7. Then the Lord formed man of the dust from the ground. I had it underlined. And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.

And man became a living being. Dust from the ground. You know what I do when I see dust in my house? I zip it up with my fancy little vacuum because it's worthless to me. It's an irritant.

It makes me sneeze. I don't want anything to do with it. You know what God saw in dust? You and me. And he breathed his.

He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became A living being. You can't get more dead than dust.

You might have a hopeless situation that you're walking in, and the devil will whisper in your ear, hopelessness. You might look at Israel and their situation today, and the devil and social influencers might whisper in your ear, hopelessness, lost forever. But if God could create the heavens and the earth out of nothingness, what can't he do for you?

So the issue of Israel has everything to do with our faith as God's people. We have to believe that there is a future for Israel. Do you know why? Because God said it. God spoke and God breathed, and man became a living being.

Genesis, chapter 2, verse 16.

The Lord commanded the man, saying, from any tree of the garden you may eat freely, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for the day you eat of it, you surely will die.

Death was never part of God's plan. I think it's John 10:10, I've come that you might have life. Jesus said, do you know in heaven there's no hospitals? Could you imagine how disappointed you would be if you walk through those pearly gates? And there's a cemetery over here, a lawyer's office over here, a doctor's office over here.

Prison. No, it's life. You know why the Bible starts with nothingness? And God gives life to the dead. You know how the Bible ends?

Oh, read the last chapter of the book of Revelation. Pretty amazing, this river of life teeming with life. There's no death in heaven, and I'm so thankful for that.

Man partakes of the fruit.

God comes looking for him in the garden.

Death was introduced into a perfect environment, and God went into action right then to right the wrong. He loved you so much that he prophesied about one who would come that would crush the head of the serpent. Let's look at this. Genesis 3, verse 15.

Genesis 3:15. And I will put enmity between you and the woman. God is speaking to the serpent. And between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise you on the head. Actually, the version that I have, the NIV says he will crush your head.

Who is this speaking of Jesus?

Why is God sending Jesus? To right what the enemy wronged. No more death, no more victory over man. God is going to send one who is going to crush the head of the serpent. And he needed to find a people who.

Who would carry that one.

Why does Israel matter?

John 3:16. Everybody knows this scripture. For God so loved the world. Oh, doesn't say, for God so loved Israel. God so loved the Jewish people.

For God so loved the world. Every nation, tribe, tongue, every ethnicity, every creed, every color. For God so loved the world that he sent his only.

You know what his name was and is Jesus. But can I tell you something? In our Bibles, his name was Jesus. But do you know what his mother and earthly father called him? Yeshua.

Scott, how do you know that? Well, because they didn't speak English.

There was a language that they spoke because they were Jewish. Mary. Her name was Miriam. But Scott, my Bible says Mary. Yeah, Cause your Bible's in English.

Father was Yoseph. No, no, no, it was Joseph. Yoseph.

Can I tell a quick mother story? My mom went to be with the Lord last May. One of my favorite stories I just have to tell you has nothing to do with this, but I just came into my head. I have a friend whose name is Robert Levine. And Robert, if you're watching or listening, I miss you, buddy.

My mother came to visit us 20 some odd years ago. I was pastoring a church here in the city. Robert Levine was at our meeting and he came up to introduce himself to my mom. He says, hi, June, you know, we love Scott. My name's Robert Levine.

My mother, typical New York Jew, she said, how do you spell your last name? He said, L, E, V, I, N, E. And she said, you're mispronouncing your name. She said, it's Levine. And he said, okay. Robert was such a wimp.

Anyway, Jesus name is Yeshua. He's a Jew. He was born into a Jewish house. He had Jewish parents and Jewish brothers and sisters. He studied the Torah and the Scriptures.

And by the way, do you know the scriptures that he studied? I love the New Testament and the New Covenant, but the Scriptures in those days was from Genesis to Malachi, studied them, celebrated every Jewish feast. He was in the temple at 12 years old reading the scriptures.

Yoseph and Miriam had a son. They named him Yeshua. That sounds more, more Jewish, doesn't it? I think we've lost the Jewishness of our faith. And I'm not saying become Jewish, please.

We need the nations because we have a role to play where Israel's salvation is concerned. That's two weeks from today.

God was looking for a people through whom that Messiah would come. And, and he chose Abraham. He could have chosen Noah. He could have chosen anybody before Abraham, but he chose Abraham. And I want you to get this scripture.

Genesis, chapter 12, verse 1 to 3. Genesis 12, 1 3. By the way, Emmy, thank you so much for being so great with these. If you don't, when you see Emmy, you've got to tell her what a great job she does every week. Emmy, Emmy, Emmy.

The Lord said to Abram, go from your country and your relatives and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation. And I will bless you and. And I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing.

And I will bless those that bless you. And those who curse you, I will curse. And in you. Listen to this. All the families of the earth will be blessed.

You know what's interesting? God didn't say, and in you, your family will be blessed. He said, in you, Abram, all the families of the earth will be blessed. In other words, Yeshua is coming through you. Whether Abram fully understood that or not, I can prove that's exactly what God meant.

Because Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. If you go to Matthew, chapter one, verse one, this is the genealogy of Yeshua. Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. No Abraham, no Jesus.

So God chooses the generations that come after Abraham to be the bearers of his image in the earth, the people of God. If anything that I've said up until now makes you uncomfortable, I'm sorry. I don't want you to be uncomfortable. But I do want you to make sure that you're honest with yourself and that you allow the Lord to search you if he's desiring to. If you're desiring him to.

Because there's too many in the family of God, Jew and Gentile. Like, by the way, the church capital C is Jews and Gentiles together as one new man worshiping the king. Do you get that? God doesn't look down and see Scott the Jew and Jay the Gentile, Southern Gentile, Alabama fan, Gentile. He sees one, he sees one, he doesn't.

Do you know there's neither Jew nor Greek in the Messiah? You know that. There's neither male nor female. Scott. Melanie.

Pastor Melanie. The Lord looks down. He doesn't see. He sees his kids. No hierarchy.

No loved one more than the other because it's a man or a woman or a Jew. He sees us as one, but he's given us roles as Jewish people and as Gentile people. Where our witness is concerned.

Check some of these verses out. Speaking of God's choosing of Israel, are you guys okay? This is just gonna be a bunch of scriptures, and I'm not. I shouldn't apologize for that. Genesis.

I'm sorry. Deuteronomy chapter 7, verses 6 through 8. Speaking of Israel, the Jewish people, for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. By the way. Let me just stop right here.

Just because you're Jewish, called Jewish, or just because you're part of Israel, God's saying you are holy. But not everybody that calls themselves Jewish or part of Israel are holy. Just like many of us call ourselves Christians, but we live like the dickens.

Sometimes I say the wrong words here. That was an okay one. Abe. I said a Spanish word last time I spoke here and it was. Was not a good one.

Just. Just because. And you don't have to remind everybody what it was. I thought it was a good word. It was a bad word.

I think Pastor J was on vacation. Woo.

Just because you call yourself a Christian doesn't mean you're living holy and righteously though you should be.

For you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Friends, if you have a problem with Israel and the Jewish people, you have a problem with God.

The Lord did not set his love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any of the peoples. For you were fewest of the peoples. Next slide. But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which he swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery and from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Can I just tell you something, you non Jewish people in here?

That's your story. He redeemed you. He plucked you out of your Egypt, of your sin, of your slavery, of your darkness, and he calls you now his own. That's good news. 2nd Samuel 7, verse 23.

What one nation on earth is like your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for himself as a people and to make a name for himself. Listen to me. Do you know how humble God is that he would choose an imperfect people to make a name for himself?

Let me tell you something. When somebody comes up to me and says, your kids are a blessing, you know what that does to my heart? There's nothing that makes me more satisfied as a father than to feel like my children are representing a family name.

And people say, I love your kids.

God has allowed himself to choose a people who by and large, up till today, many of whom are cursing his name.

You know how loving God is. It doesn't sway him and Iota because He's the God who gives life to the dead.

Hopelessness does not exist in our king's mentality. But the reason many of us have written off Israel is because we don't have a revelation of resurrection. The last scripture that I'm gonna tell you today, which will happen in about 21 minutes, is going to be about the resurrection of Israel. Listen to this verse, Isaiah 43:1, and then 10:12. But now, thus says the Lord, your creator, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel.

God, do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine. Everybody say mine.

When God says something is mine, don't mess with him.

Somebody spoke recently, I think it was here, talking about maybe the first word that children learn. Mine.

Your first child's always like semi angelic until the second one comes along and starts stealing his or her toys. Mine. You know what mine means? When God says, you are mine, he means nobody can take you out of the grasp of my hand. And by the way, that's what he says about all of us who've been grafted in to the kingdom olive tree, Jew and Gentile alike.

You are mine.

If it's not true for Israel, it's not true for the church.

Amos, chapter three, verse two. You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth. Again, let me just say this.

God didn't choose Israel or the children of Abraham because he knew that they would be perfect. That that's what makes God so beautiful. Romans 11 says, his ways are past finding out. If you try to figure it out, that might be the first big roadblock to you opening up your heart to saying, I understand God. We don't understand Him.

His ways are past finding him out. Finding out.

That verse is amazing. At the end of Romans chapter 11. Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are your judgments, your ways past finding out?

We can't figure out God, but we can trust Him. And when you start trusting him, then the figuring out becomes almost inconsequential because the one you trust will never fail.

God's choice of Israel did not originate in Israel's greatness or righteousness. It originated in God's sovereign love and purpose. So God chooses Abraham. But there's one big problem. He's choosing Abraham.

And he says, through you, I will make your name great. In order to make your name great, you've got to have kids. If I didn't have male children whose last name was Volk, Volks would soon not populate the Earth. They'd be another name. Here's the problem.

God made Abram a promise. But check out this verse in Genesis chapter 11. Just a few verses before God made that promise that we read about Abram's name being great, and through his family, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Check this out. Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves.

The name of Abram's wife was Sarai. We know her as Sarah. God changed her name. The name of Nahor's wife was Milcah. Sarai was barren.

She had no children. Wait a second. God's giving this dude a promise that his name was gonna be great and children were gonna come from him. And Abram marries a wife who could have no children. God's ways are past finding out.

Try to figure that one out. Do you think God was in heaven going, no, no, no, Abe, not her.

Mary, marry a fertile woman because I made you a promise? No. Sometimes I just think God was kind of figuratively just putting his hands together saying, watch what I'm about to do. If God could take dust and make man, if God could take something that's void and create the heavens and. And the earth, then God can take a barren womb and cause it to be fruitful.

Crazy Abraham, you know the story. He was 99. Sarah was 89. Three men show up at a tent said, abe, this time next year, you're gonna have a son. Well, you know what he did?

He laughed for two reasons. He's been trying for a long time.

Second reason, he was 99.

Anybody in their 90s here today?

No. 90s. 89. 88. Shelley Volk, 88.

My dad's 88.

If he came to me and said, scott, I got crazy news for you.

I'd say, dad, you are washed up.

That's actually what the Bible Sundays. In Romans 4, Abram's body was as good as dead.

Sarah was beyond the age of bearing children. So not only was she barren now, there were no, no, no. Nothing in her womb to be fertilized. She was dead. So you got Mr. Dead and Mrs. Dead.

And God shows up and says, this time next year. And just like you're laughing, Abraham laughed. Actually named his son Isaac. Laughter.

Maybe. Maybe there should be more laughing. I'm not talking about mockery laughing. I'm not talking about revival laughing. I'm talking about laughing at what God has done.

I'm not prophesying over you two.

No, I mean, who knows? We will all laugh. May Isaac's Come let me lay my hands on you. No, no, no. We think.

But you know what? We think that's impossible. I just sent a video. My wife and I had Olivia when we were 44. Our kids were saying, oh, mom and dad, we want you to have more kids on their Christmas list.

We want another child. We want another child. We decided we were gonna have all of our kids by the time we were 30. And we did. Boom, boom, boom, boom.

First four. We're 44. I come home one day and Beth goes, I think I'm pregnant. And I was like, what? Are you kidding me?

I have a friend, David Ravenhill. He called me up, he said, is this Abraham? Listen to this. Abraham's wife, barren. Isaac's wife, barren.

Jacob's wife, barren. Can you imagine this? The patriarchs of our faith, all married women who could not conceive. And that's the lineage of Jesus, because God gives life to the dead. You've got to grab.

You've got to grab this. Some of you may have made a profession of faith and said, yeah, I believe. I believe Jesus is Lord, and I believe God raised him from the dead. You're saved. That's great, but do you really believe it?

If resurrection is not a. It has to be more than a doctrine. It's got to be a reality that you live in life. From the dead void to creation dust, to man, barrenness, to the children of promise. Do you know why Abraham could offer Isaac up on the altar?

In Genesis chapter 22, when God says, take now your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and lay him on the altar. You know why he could do that? Because Abraham believed in God who gives life to the dead. Because if Abraham at 100, could have a son, then God who breathed life into dust, could raise him from the dead. And you know what's interesting?

When Abraham lifted his knife, God said, abraham. He called him from heaven on Mount Moriah.

1500 years later, you know who gave his life on Mount Moriah? Yeshua. And you know what happened to him? He rose from the dead.

God wasn't afraid to send his son because of his death. Glorious multitudes have come to a knowledge of Jesus as king. It's incredible.

Okay, I've got nine minutes.

God's heart for Israel. Isaiah 54, 10. Listen to this. Listen to these scriptures. And I'm just going to rattle them off like a machine gun.

And I'll make my notes available to you if you want them. Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed My unfailing love for you, Israel, will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Zachariah 2:8. For thus says the Lord of hosts after glory he has sent me against the nations which plunder you. For he who touches you touches the apple of my eye.

Do you think God meant that? Do you think he was speaking some kind of hyperbole? How must God feel when these social influencers start talking venomously against Israel? Oh, Scott. I follow her.

I follow him. They're not that bad. Friends, we gotta shut that garbage off because it will infect you with like a demonic dart that loves death.

Jesus. Well, throughout Scripture, God calls Israel my people. I'm going to skip over that. Listen to Jesus heart for Israel. Jerusalem.

Jerusalem who kills the prophets and stone those sent to you. How often I long to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you are not willing. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because his people, Israel, refused his love. Did he write them off? No, he wept.

I'd love to see some weeping on TikTok. Where are those influencers who will say, lord, I want to weep with you over your people, Israel?

John 4:22. You worship what you do not know. We know what we worship. This is Jesus, friends. Salvation is of the Jews.

No Jews, no salvation. You would not be here if it wasn't for the Jewish people. Does that give them a pass to heaven? Absolutely not. No man comes to the Father but through Yeshua, Jesus.

But rather than us being humble and. And crying out for the people of Israel, we've become so proud and arrogant, which actually Romans said would happen if we don't embrace Israel. It's all about me. It's all about the church. Yes, thank God for the church.

But the Bible says salvation's come to the nations. Gentiles, every family of the earth that's been blessed through Abraham, you've got salvation. You know what Romans says? Salvation's come to the nations to provoke Israel to jealousy. That's our role as the church.

And we've got church people with crosses on our necks talking about how the Jews killed Jesus and the Jews are done. I got. I received this week. Haven't shown it to Beth because it bothered me so much. I received a meme this week from someone who used to refer to me as pastor, and it's of a big Jew with an arched nose.

You are the synagogue of Satan.

I mean, it hurt me.

Paul's heart for Israel. Romans 9:1. I'm telling the truth in Christ, I'm not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow. Everybody say great sorrow.

This is the apostle Paul. Great sorrow. And unceasing grief in my heart. For I wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my kinsmen who are Israelites.

This is the apostle Paul. Great sorrow. Look, look. I've never known sorrow like I did when my mom passed away. That sorrow hasn't gone.

It's not disappeared. My dad. I'm so thankful he lives with us frequently. Frequently we talk about my mom. It brings water to my eyes.

Thank God that death has no sting anymore. But Paul, who understood resurrection because his Messiah was resurrected, had unceasing sorrow and grief. Why? Because Israel was lost.

Friends, that's staggering. Do we see that in the church? Thank God for the refuge.

May more churches rise up that refuse to put Israel on the shelf.

I want to bring this to a close. I've got so many more verses, but let's. Emmy, go to Romans 4:16.

This is speaking of Abraham. And then there's gonna be one more verse after this. Then I'm gonna turn it back over to Abe or whoever takes over. This is speaking of Abraham, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. As it is written, a father of many nations.

I have made you in the presence of him whom he believed. Even God, who gives life to the dead. Do you see this? This is the pattern throughout scripture. Don't write off Israel because they look dead right now to you.

Even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist in hope against hope. He believed so that he might become a father of many nations. According to that which had been spoken, so shall your descendants be. And the last scripture. I've got two minutes, friends.

We're gonna finish right on time. And Jay's gonna invite me back next week, okay? With no Romans 11:15. Look at this. This is speaking of Israel.

For if their rejection of Jesus. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world. Listen, don't be dissuade. If you don't grab what that means, I'm just going to make it in plain English. If Jesus.

If. If Israel's rejection allowed the nations of the earth to have an opportunity for salvation.

If their rejection of Jesus is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be? But everybody say it. Life from the dead. I want you to stand with me. I'm going to close with a proclamation Pastor Abe, are you coming up?

All right, everybody, repeat after me. We believe in God. Everybody. We believe in God who gives life to the dead and speaks into being that which does not exist. One more time.

We believe in God who gives life to the dead and speaks into being that which does not exist. Father, we believe for the resurrection of Israel as your people tonight. Lord, we ask you to give us tears like Jesus had, Lord, to give us sorrow and anguish like Paul had, Father, that we could be carriers of your burden for Israel. Lord, open our eyes, open our understanding. We.

We can't grasp this intellectually on our own. You've gotta do something. But, Lord, we're here tonight and we just say. Would you just take 30 seconds and just ask the Lord? Father, if I'm not seeing it, would you open my eyes?

Would you give me revelation? Lord, I wanna carry your heart for Israel. Father, I thank you that Israel matters. I don't understand it, but I ask you to reveal it to me. And.

And I'm going to be obedient to your word, Father, because we believe in God who gives life to the dead, speaks into being that which does not exist. Amen.