[MUSIC PLAYING] Good morning. Great to see your faces. Welcome. Next week, we have
Franklin Graham. Please think about
who you're going to bring with you
to hear a very, very unashamed representative
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who does
work all over the world in helping people through
their tragedy and miseries. But also is a very, very bold
proclaimant of the Gospel. So we're thrilled he'll be
here next weekend, Saturday and Sunday. Would you turn in
your Bibles, please, to the book of
Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11. It'll be a very different
study than perhaps what you're used to, simply by the
nature of the text itself. The sermon is always dictated
by the texts that we cover. Were in Romans chapter
11 this morning. Some people know the
Bible really well, but they misapply it
or they misquote it. And sometimes, it's novel
and even funny when they do. For instance, there
was a pastor who took on a pastor opportunity
in a little rural community, a farming community. The church was quite small. He was new to the community. So he thought that he would
visit everybody in the church, pay a visit to them,
get to know them. They could get to know him. He went out one day and visited
a family that lived on a farm nearby. A nice home, the cars
were in the driveway. Obviously, people were home. Music was blaring
through the house. The door was open. The screen door was shut. So he knew somebody was there. He knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again. A dog came out, licked him. So he knew somebody
has got to be here. Knocked again, no answer. So the pastor took his
business card out and left it on the doorknob, but wrote-- underneath his name, he
wrote, Revelation 3:20, which is a text that says,
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Clever. Left it there, walked away. Sunday morning, one of
the deacons in his church came up with that card-- it had been left in the
offering plate by that family-- and said, I don't understand
what this is about. And there was this card, where
he had written Revelation 3:20. And underneath was
written, Genesis 3:10. The Deacon said,
what's this about? The pastor looked
at it and he smiled, and he said, well, you know
Revelation 3:20 is, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Genesis 3:10 is,
"I heard your voice and I was afraid,
for I was naked. So I hid." [LAUGHTER] Again, very clever. But most of the
time, when a person misapplies a text of
Scripture or misquotes it, it's not all that funny. Let me explain. In Rome, when Paul wrote
the book of Romans, there was already a belief that
was developing that God was done with the nation of Israel. He had finished working
with them nationally. Simply put, since
Israel rejected Christ, God had now rejected them. That was the belief system
that was developing, for a very obvious reason. The Church that began in
Jerusalem, all Jewish, was now mostly Gentile
in the rest of the world. Most of the congregations
by that time are smattered throughout the
modern world, Rome, Asia Minor, were all non-Jewish people. So notice how he begins
Romans 11, verse 1. "I say then, has God
cast away his people? Certainly not. For I also am in Israelite,
of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away his
people whom he foreknew." Go all the way down
now to verse 25. This is really where we're
going to center our comments, just because of-- we don't have the
time to go through it. Beginning in verse 25,
the next few verses are a summary of
the whole chapter. "For I do not desire, brethren,
that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should
be wise in your own opinion that blindness, in
part, has happened to Israel until the fullness
of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be
saved, as it is written. The Deliverer will
come out of Zion, and he will turn away
ungodliness from Jacob." "For this is my
covenant with them, when I take away their sins. Concerning the Gospel, they
are enemies for your sake. But concerning
the election, they are beloved for the
sake of the fathers, for the gifts and callings
of God are irrevocable." Has God cast away his people? That's how he opens the chapter. Has God disowned his people? Has God rejected his people? And how does Paul answer that? No way, Jose. Or certainly not. But some would say, yes, God
has rejected Israel nationally. They call themselves
amillennialists. Now, I don't want to wax
theological on you today. But I want you to
understand the term. You know what a millennium is. It means 1,000 years. And amillennialist, to
put a negative prefix, simply means there
is no millennium. It is to deny the earthly
1,000 year kingdom. It is to deny all
the promises of God to Israel, saying that all
the promises that God made to the Jews in the Old Testament
were forfeited by Israel because Israel rejected
Jesus Christ, their messiah. Titus came and destroyed
the Temple in Jerusalem. So, they say, all those
promises God made to the Jews will not be
fulfilled in the Jews but are fulfilled in the Church. We, they say, we are
the Israel of God. He will not revive
Israel nationally. They even say that the
millennium is not really a millennium. It's not literal. It's figurative. It's allegorical. That the millennium takes
place between the first coming and second coming of Christ. In other words, we're
in it right now. I just gotta say, if we're
in the millennium right now, after all that I've read about
the Kingdom age in Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Zachariah,
and Revelation, et cetera, I am very disappointed
if this is it. And I wonder why God spent
the whole book of Revelation to tell us what is actually
not going to happen. Amillennialism spiritualizes
the text of Scripture. Not all of it. But the prophetic
texts of Scripture-- prophecy, last time
events, eschatology. Eschatology means the teaching
or the doctrine of the end times, especially the
second coming of Christ, the events that precede it, and
the events that come after it. When I say
spiritualize a text, it is a method or process
of interpretation that disregards the plain
meaning of the text. Now, I think you
know that most of us here believe in a very
plain interpretation of the Biblical text. We take it literally. Our approach is what's called
a grammatical, historical interpretation. That is, we read a
text of the Scripture. We take it's plain meaning. We take it in context. We regard the history
in which it was written, the background in
which it was written, the syntax and the grammar. That is the grammatical,
historical interpretation of the Bible. Unless the text itself compels
us to see it as figurative, and the text will do that. There's obvious
figurative language. Unless the text does that, a
plain rendering of the text, the plain meaning of the
text is how we approach it. Where plain sense makes good
sense, to seek any other sense is nonsense. I agree with Vance Habner,
who wrote, "It's always easier to understand what
the Bible says than to understand what somebody
thinks it meant to say." How many times do
people say to you, well, I know the Bible says
that, but it didn't mean that. What does it mean? I'll tell you what it means. Now, the question is,
where did all this start? Well, it started when Paul
was writing this letter. There was already
this development. Since there are so
many non-Jewish people, and you are quoting
to us Old Testament scripture that God
made to the Jews, it seems like God has
rejected them in favor of us. We are now the new Israel. But the ball really
got started rolling, in terms of a movement of
amillenialism, with a guy by the name of a Augustine. You've heard of
Augustine, St. Augustine. He borrowed that idea from guys
like Justin Martyr, origen. O-R-I-G-E-N was one of the
Church fathers who first started allegorizing
the text of Scripture, making it mean all
sorts of weird things. But Augustine really
got the ball rolling, especially influencing, at
his time, the Roman Catholic Church. So today, amillennialism
is the view of the Catholic church,
the Greek Orthodox church, the Russian Orthodox
church, the Lutheran church the Presbyterian
church, the Anglican church, the Episcopalian church,
and the Church of Christ. All of those congregations
largely opt for the idea that all the promises God
made to Israel are over with. They are fulfilled
in the Church. There is no literal
1,000 year reign of Christ from
Israel in the future. Well, Paul addresses
that in three chapters of the book of
Romans, specifically in the 11th chapter. He's very clear-cut about that. And because it's a
lengthy chapter though, we're going to look at a few
verses, besides what we just read to you. I want to give you three
summary statements. Three summary statements
about God's plan for Israel and the world. Blindness is on
Israel presently. That's number one. Benefits are given
simultaneously. That's number two. In other words,
yes, that is true. But that has allowed God
to bless in another way. And finally, number
three, blessings will happen ultimately. Let's begin with the first. Blindness is on
Israel presently. Verse 25. "I do not desire,
brethren, that you should be ignorant
of this mystery lest you should be wise
in your own opinion that blindness, in part,
has happened to Israel." Stop right there. In verse 25, when he
says the word Israel, what is he referring to? Israel. Israel means Israel. Literally, Israel. Israel in verse 25 is the
same thing as in verse 1, when he says, "Has God
cast away his people?" His people are
the Jewish people. Because he says, certainly not. "I also am an Israelite,
of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin." Israel is his people. It's also the same
as what he wrote about in chapter 9, verse 3. Do you remember what he said? He goes, "I have
continual sorrow in my heart over my brethren,
my countrymen, which are Israelites
according to the flesh." So Israel are God's
covenant people, and Paul was one of them. I also am one, he says. But blindness has
overtaken them. Stupor has fallen upon them,
especially in interpreting the Old Testament scripture,
especially those scriptures that refer to the
coming messiah . In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul writes,
"But their minds were blinded." Same language, they're blinded. "For until this
day, the same veil remains unlifted in the
reading of the Old Testament because the veil is
taken away in Christ. But even to this day,
when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart." I get this question
all the time. If this is true, then why don't
more Jewish people believe it? Paul says, I can answer that. I'm one of them. It's called blindness. There's a blindness over them. There is a national blindness,
though there is a remnant, there are some who believe. Paul was one of them, the
early Church in Jerusalem were others. There's a blindness. Today, in Israel-
by the way, there's a real nation still
in existence today, called the Nation of Israel. Happened since 1948,
May 14th of 1948, the modern State
of Israel was born. When that happened, just a
few years ago, 70 years ago, 1948, 71 years ago. Guess how many Jews in
Israel believed in Jesus as their messiah. Twenty three, in
the whole country. Only 23 Jews in Israel in 1948
believe Jesus was the Messiah. Today, over 30,000 of them
believe Jesus is the Messiah. That's quite a growth. However, the
population of Israel today is nine million
people, 6.6 million of which are Jewish. So it's a fraction of a
percent of those in Israel who believe in Jesus. The rest do not. Why do they not? Blindness. Blindness. Go back to verse 7. What then, Israel has not
obtained what it seeks, but the elective obtained it. And the rest were blinded. Just as it is written, God has
given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see
and ears that they should not hear, to this very day. And David says, let their table
become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and
a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened
so that they do not see, and bow down their back always. There is a blindness. It's true. It's undeniable. Jesus himself even
spoke of this blindness. When he came into the
city of Jerusalem, toward the end of his
ministry, to present himself to the Jewish nation,
He said, if only you had known, even
you, especially in this, your day, the things
that make for your peace. But now they are
hidden from your eyes. That's blindness. For the days will come upon
you when your enemies will build an embankment around you,
surround you, and close you in on every side, and
level you and your children within you to the
ground, and they will not leave in you one
stone upon another, because you did not know
the time of your visitation. What is he doing? He's predicting the fall of
Jerusalem under Titus in 70 AD, when the Romans came in
and destroyed that city. Blindness has happened to them. And because they rejected
Jesus as their messiah, they lost everything. They lost their temple. They lost their national
identity for 2,000 years. They lost their land. And worst of all, they
lost eternal life. Jesus said, you are
not willing to come to me that you might have life. Life was available. It could have happened for you. Your messiah has come. The fulfillment is here. But you would not come to me
that you might have a life. So blindness is on
Israel presently. But God has preserved them. God has brought them
back from captivity. After 70 years in
Babylon, back to the land. After a couple thousand
years of dispersion, they've been back on
the land since 1948. The question is why. Why are they there? Why do they keep coming back? Let me just say that if
you study Jewish history, and you should, if you
study Jewish history and you still don't
believe in miracles, you are not a realist. It is nothing short
of miraculous. What other nation has ever
survived as a distinct race after 400 years of slavery,
after two total destructions, after multiple deportations,
after 2,000 years of dispersion, and a Holocaust? Jerusalem has been fought over
numerous times in its history. It's been destroyed
twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, captured
and recaptured 44 times. Here's the miracle of Israel. There's nine million people. If you ever go to Israel, here's
what you're going to notice. It feels safe. It feels peaceful. The economy is thriving. It's robust. It's crowded. More and more people are
coming into it all the time. But what's odd about it is
you have 9 million people surrounded by a hundred
million enemies who don't want Israel in their
neighborhood, some of which want it completely annihilated. And bombs are going
off at the border from some of these
countries to destroy it. So the question is, will
Israel survive in the future? And why has she
survived in the past? If God has cast away
His people, why are they back in their own land? Could something be
happening for the future? Well, that's the first
summary statement. Blindness is on
Israel presently. That's verse 25. Here's the second
summary statement. Yes, blindness is
on Israel presently, but benefits are
given simultaneously. That blindness has brought
a benefit in another place. I want you to see it, verse 25. "I do not desire,
brethren, that you should be ignorant
of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your
own opinion that blindness. In part, has happened
to Israel until--" I commend that you studied
the "untils" of the Bible. They're quite revelatory.
"--until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." Yes. Israel has nationally rejected
Jesus as their messiah. That's tragic. But that tragedy has opened
a door to the Gentiles. And today, God is
mainly dealing with us. Because they rejected Him,
He's offered to the world. Remember the apostle
Paul said, you know, God sent me to Israel. And he'd always go
to the synagogue first, to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek. He'd always go to the synagogue. And one day, because he kept
getting rejected, he said, OK. If you deem yourselves
unworthy of eternal life, I am going to the Gentiles. And he became known as the
apostle to the Gentiles. But God had promised
Abraham a nation, a future. He made a covenant with Abraham. And God said that in you,
all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Have you ever stopped to
consider how much Israel has blessed the world? Let me frame it for you. Of all of the world's
population, 0.2%-- not even 1% of world
population is Jewish. A fraction of 1% is Jewish
in world population. And yet, they have captured
20% of the Nobel Peace Prizes ever given. They have captured over 30%
of all the honors in music, science, and literature. If you've ever taken
an aspirin, you should be mindful
that a Jewish man by the name of Friedrich Bayer-- Bayer aspirin-- is the one
whose pharmaceutical company developed it. If you've ever been
vaccinated for polio, you should thank two Jewish man,
Dr. Albert Sabin and Dr. Jonas Salk. If you've ever
gone to the dentist and had your gums
numbed, deadened so you wouldn't have
pain with Novocaine, you can thank Dr. Albert
Einhorn, a Jewish chemist. If you've ever had a
bacterial infection and be given streptomycin, it
was discovered by Dr. Abraham Waxman, a Jewish physician. If you've ever, God forbid,
been tested for syphilis, you can thank Dr.
Snoezelen, who developed the Wasserman test, Jewish. If you've ever gone to college
and studied the DNA molecule, it was two Jewish
gentlemen, by the name of James Watson
and Francis Crick, that first developed that double
helix coil model of the DNA. And if you've ever been
forgiven of your sins, it's because a Jewish
Savior did it-- Jesus, our Messiah. [APPLAUSE] The point of Paul,
in Romans 11, is yep, blindness has happened to them. But that blindness is temporary. And that temporary blindness has
opened a door of faith to us. We've been brought
in because of it. Go down to verse 15. I told you I'd be fishing
around some of these verses. "For if their being cast away is
the reconciling of the world--" opened the door for Gentiles-- "what will their acceptance
be but life from the dead? For the first fruit is holy,
than the lump is also holy. If the root is holy,
so are the branches. And if some of the
branches were broken off and you, being a
wild olive tree, were grafted in among
them and with them became a partaker of the root and
the fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against
the branches. But if you do boast,
remember that you do not support the root, but
the root supports you." Olives have always
been important in Mediterranean countries. In the ancient
Mediterranean world, it was a commercial mainstay. Even today, go to the
Mediterranean world, go to Israel with us, you'll
see olive trees in production everywhere. Did you know that olive trees
can live for hundreds of years? And though the tree, the
root, can live on and on, what happens is
individual branches can stop producing olives. So you know what they do when
those branches stop producing? Cut them off. They lop them off. And they take branches
from younger trees, off the younger
trees, bore a hole in the old trunk
of the old tree, and graft in a
young olive branch so that the older trunks can
be restored to productivity. That's the analogy. And it's a plain analogy. The old productive branches,
the Israelites, were broken off. That's the blindness
that happened. And then branches from a
wild olive tree-- that's us, Gentiles-- were grafted in. That's the simultaneous benefit. It means we get our
sap, our energy, our nourishment
from the covenant promises God gave to Israel. We are tapped into the
trunk of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the others, not
as a replacement of Israel, but in addition to Israel,
to add fruit for the Kingdom. Jesus, in Matthew 21
said, "Have you never read the scriptures, the stones
which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The Lord has done this and
it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore, I tell you
that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you,
and given to a people who will produce its fruit." That's the Gentiles
grafted in, temporarily. Temporarily. In John 10, Jesus said-- and using a different
analogy now-- "And other sheep I have,
which are not of this fold. Them, also, I must bring,
and they will hear my voice and there will be one
flock and one shepherd." So we've been brought in,
grafted into the blessing of God to the Jewish people. This is why no Christian
can be anti-Semitic. We owe them way too much. They gave us our heritage. They gave us our Bible. They gave us our Messiah. That's why He says, "Don't
boast against the root. The root support you." Back diverse 25. What does this mean exactly,
"the fullness of the Gentiles"? It says, "Blindness, in
part, has happened to Israel, until the fullness
of the Gentiles--" what does that mean? How many of you have a
New International Version you're reading from today? Lift your hand up. OK. It says something different. It doesn't say, "The
fullness of the Gentiles." It says "the full number
of the Gentiles," right? Anybody within an NLT,
New Living Translation? It says, "the complete number." these are better
renderings of this verse. The complete or full number. That is the Church. It indicates that there is a
number among the Gentiles, that will one day be the very
last Gentile, the full number of the Gentiles. After Israel rejected Christ
and the Jerusalem church met together, they were
scratching their little kipas on their heads, trying to
figure out what was happening. Because now all these Gentiles
were hearing the Gospel. And remember, the
very first Gentile was a guy by the
name of Cornelius. And Peter was very scared
to even go into his house. He came into his house,
and instead of going, hey, I'm happy to be here,
gave him a hug and said, you know, I shouldn't be
here because I'm Jewish and you're not. But he believed. And Peter said, God
has told me I can never call common or unclean that
which God has cleansed. So Peter, in that
Jerusalem council, said, "You know that
God chose among us that the Gentiles should hear
the Word of God and believe." So Cornelius was the first. And there have been millions,
and millions, and millions of us since Cornelius. One day, the very last
one is going to be saved. And when that
happens, that will be the fullness of the
Gentiles, the full number of the Gentiles. When the present age runs its
course, when the Church is filled with the last
Gentile believer, I believe the rapture of
the Church will happen. God will collect his
Saints on the Earth, 1 Thessalonians tells
us, and begin again dealing with the
nation of Israel. So if you've ever studied
Daniel's 70 weeks, if you've ever
wondered why it's put that way, why there's a gap
between the 69th and 70th week-- you know, it says there will be
70 weeks of years, 490 years. There'll be 69 of
them, 483 years. But then there's
sort of like, he deals with that last week,
that seven year period alone. Why is that? Why the gap? The gap is the Church. And when the Church
age is done and we're taken up in the
rapture of the Church, that's when the domino tips. And that last seven-year period,
that last 70th week of Daniel, is also called the Tribulation
Period, seven year period. It's also called, get
this, Jacob's trouble, or Israel's trouble. God again begins to deal
with the nation of Israel. So let me just say to any of
you non-Jewish people out there who have resisted
the Gospel this long. You might be the last Gentile
saved before that happens. Could be. So do us all a favor. Give your life to
Christ, like, now. Let's get this show on the road. [APPLAUSE] Of course, God is
sovereign in all of that. I'm not denying that. So blindness is on
Israel presently, but benefits are
given simultaneously. Now number three, a blessing
will happen ultimately. Look at verse 26. Let's do 25 and 26 together. They have to be read together. "I do not desire,
brethren, that you should be ignorant
of this mystery, that you should be wise
in your own opinion. Blindness, in part,
has happened to Israel until the fullness of
the Gentiles has come in. And so, all Israel will be-- what? Saved. "All Israel will be
saved, as it is written. Now he's quoting Isaiah 59. The Deliverer will
come out of Zion, and he will turn away
ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my
Covenant with them, when I take away their sins." That's forgiveness, folks. That's restoration. There's only one
way to be saved. That is, believe in Jesus
Christ as the savior. Concerning the Gospel, they
are enemies for your sake. But concerning
the election, they are the beloved for the
sake of the fathers. The fathers are
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. "For the gifts and the calling
of God are irrevocable." I've heard that quoted so
many times out of context. It specifically
remembers God's promises to the nation of Israel. OK, I want you to
notice something. I want you to notice a contrast. Look, for example, in verse 11. Notice the words
"stumbled" and "fall." Look in verse 12, the word
"fall" shows up again, and "failure." Verse 15, "cast away." Verse 17, "broken off." All of this language
speaks of the experiences and consequences
of national Israel, because they rejected
their messiah. They've stumbled, fallen. They have failed. They've been cast away. They've been broken off. But now compare that to these
words, verse 11, "salvation." Verse 12, "fullness." Verse 15, "acceptance"
and "life from the dead." Yes, their rejection has
caused God to set them aside temporarily, but they will
be restored ultimately. Now, what does it
mean when it says, "all Israel will be saved"? All Israel will be saved. So I looked it up. I looked up the
term, "all Israel." All Israel. It shows up 156 times
in the Old Testament. Whenever it shows up, it
doesn't speak of all Jews of all times in history. It always speaks of all Jews
alive at one particular time, in one particular instance. So it is used that way. So when He says, "All
Israel will be saved," is not every Jew who ever lived. It's those Jews at the time
of Christ's return, who will see Him and will
receive Him at that time. In the future
tribulation period, the Jewish nation will
believe in Jesus Christ. We already know, from
our study of Revelation, there's going to be
144,000 Jews saved. It says 12,000 from each tribe. Tribes are mentioned. Whether a person knows his
tribe or not is irrelevant. God knows. 144,000 Jewish people saved
in the tribulation period. They become evangelists
all over the world. Can you imagine? 144-- you know what
Paul the Apostle did. Imagine 144,000 apostle
Paul's running around. That's a power. That's a force. We also know, in
Revelation 11, there will be two witnesses that
preach from what city? Jerusalem. The world will be able to
hear them and see them, probably by
simulcast television. But by the end of
their ministry, it says the city of
Jerusalem will glorify God. In that future time of trouble,
during that tribulation period, the blindness that has been
on Israel will be lifted, will be gone. How will that happen? It will happen at
the second coming. And I'm glad you asked. In Zacharia, chapter 12, I'm
going to read a couple verses. Wish I had time to go through
the whole book or a few chapters, but of
course, I don't. Revelation 12, verse 10. Listen to this. "And I will pour out
on the House of David and on the inhabitants
of Jerusalem the spirit of Grace
and supplication. And they will look on me
whom they have pierced." Why is that an odd statement? God is speaking it. They will look on me
whom they have pierced. How can God, who is
Spirit, ever be pierced? There's only one
answer I can find. That Spirit has to become
incarnate in flesh. "They will look on me
whom they have pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him,
as one mourns for his own son and grieve for Him as one
grieves for a first born. In that day, there will be a
great mourning in Jerusalem." What is that mourning? They'll recognize He has
been the Messiah all along. Chapter 13, verse 1
continues, "In that day, a fountain shall be open
for the House of David, for the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, for sin, and for uncleanness." There is a fountain
filled with blood drawn from Emanuel's
veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood
lose all their guilty stains. There's only one way to
be forgiven of your sins. And that's through the
Messiah, Jesus Christ. Israel, in that day, will
recognize He is the one. They will turn back to Him. And all Israel will be saved. Now listen to what Jesus said. This is Matthew 23, verse 39. "For I tell you--" He
says this in Jerusalem, in the temple precincts. "For I tell you, you
will not see me again until you say blessed is He who
comes in the name of the Lord." One day the nation
will say that. The nation will receive him. And if you think it's impossible
for Israel to come to Christ, look at Paul the Apostle. He was a anti-Christian. He was so nationalistic
against Christians, so pro-Jewish, so blind. He admitted it. Said, I was one of them. And if you say God can't
save all of Israel, how do you explain God saving
the millions of Gentiles ever since Israel rejected Him? God can do it. And He will do it. So in closing, Israel is
really God's yardstick. By Israel, He measures time. By Israel, He measures
other nations. Even though God
knows those people, even though God knows
who He's dealing with. Eight times, in the Bible,
God calls them stiff-necked. seven times God refers
to them as stubborn. This is in the Old
Testament, in the law. Three times, God
says they do what is right in their own eyes. They complained in Egypt. They complained
in the wilderness. They complained in
the Promised Land. They persisted, and fell
away, and disobeyed, and were taken into captivity. They worshipped idols and
they rejected their messiah. Yet, yet, yet, God's calling
is irrevocable, irreversible. He will persist in his
covenant with Abraham. He will save 144,000
of them, and seal them in the tribulation period. The nation, when Christ returns,
will receive him as Messiah. In the millennial
kingdom, for 1,000 years, he'll rule and reign from
Mount Zion in Jerusalem. And in the eternal
state, when there is a new heaven and
a new earth, there is a new capital city that
comes from heaven to earth. Do you remember its name? The New Jerusalem. It's an odd shaped city. It's roughly the
size of the moon. It's square. It comes out of heaven. Says there's walls
around it with 12 gates. And on the 12
gates are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. Now, Jesus made his
apostles a promise. He said, you who have followed
me will sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. If there is no literal
Israel, I think Jesus just lied to his disciples. Or he was speaking so
figuratively they could never figure out what he was saying. I think it's literally
going to happen. There was a King of Prussia,
the ancient Germanic area. His name was
Frederick the Great. He didn't know what
to do with the Bible. So one day, he asked
his chaplain for proof. He said, give me proof of
the inspiration of the Bible. And the court chaplain said
to the king, your majesty, I can answer your
request in a single word. The Jew. You want proof of the
inspiration of Scripture? The Jew. The God elected, God selected,
God protected people of Israel. God made promises to them. God made some promises
that were one-sided. That is, I'm going to do
it no matter what you do. And one of them was to Abraham
for the land of Israel. Tell you what I walk
away with in Romans 11. I come away with this. It reveals to me
a God who will not let failure change his
determination to bless. We serve a God who knows
our failures, our mistakes, our fallings, our
proneness to walk away. He knows all that. But when God is determined
to change and bless a person, He's going to do it. We serve a faithful God. And to me, that's
really Good, Good News. [APPLAUSE] Our Father, we thank you that
all the promises that you make are unchangeable. You promised to Abraham
and his descendants a land. You made a covenant with Abraham
that was a unilateral covenant, one-sided. You made it. You were going to do it. You announced it. We know that they were
in the land you gave them for a while, then kicked out. But you always
brought them back. And you predicted those events. And Israel's rejection
of their Messiah, though Jesus was offered to
them, you knew all about it. You predicted that, as well. And you predicted their
fullness, their restoration. Father, we pray for
the peace of Jerusalem. We're instructed to do that
in your Word, in the Psalm. Psalm 122, "Pray for
the peace of Jerusalem. May they prosper who love you." And we pray for that. We know that when we pray
for the peace of Jerusalem, that we're praying for the
soon return of our Savior. We're saying, even
so, come quickly, because we know there's
not going to ever be peace there until
the Prince of Peace is ruling and reigning. We're living in some very
unusual times, politically and on the world stage. We pray, Lord, that we
would stay the course. We thank you for your
keeping power of us. Thank you for your
faithfulness to us. In Jesus' name, Amen. Let's all stand. Hey, let me just say that
I have good news for you. How many of you have ever
wanted to go to Israel? Raise your hand. You ever wanted to go. OK. You're going. Free of charge. One day, during the 1,000 year
reign of Jesus on the earth, you will go to Israel. You'll go to the Holy Land. So whether you can save up and
go now is really irrelevant. Although, I will say, it
helps to have something to compare it with. You know, when
you go and you go, yes, it's different than when
I came here on that tour. Because the topography
of Jerusalem, according to Ezekiel,
will be radically changed, won't even be recognizable
in modern terms. But anyway, whether you go or
not on one of our group tours, you're going to Israel. And you're going
to rule and reign with Christ from that land. It'll be an exciting time
we have to look forward to. How will you put the truths
that you learned into action in your life? Let us know. Email us at
mystory@calvarynm.church. And just a reminder, you can
support this ministry with a financial gift at
calvarynm.church/give. Thank you for joining us for
this teaching from Calvary Church. [MUSIC PLAYING]
