Is God Through with the Jews? Absolutely not!

In spite of what even some misguided evangelicals would have us believe, and even though the seed of Abraham is certainly not living in obedience to God’s desires, according to the Word of God, (Romans 9-11) He has not revoked His promise, and He never will. In fact, as goes the nation of Israel, so goes the world. Israel is God’s time clock for the future, and what happens to Israel affects God’s prophecy for all other nations.

Tonight at 6:00 PM, I will start a new series of sermons on Israel and God’s Purposes. In tonight’s study, we will lay the foundation of what it means, and what it doesn’t mean that the Jews are God’s chosen people.

Generally speaking, the term “Lord” is used to identify those with authority, control, or power over others. A servant recognizes their position of submission by referring to those they serve as “my Lord!” In Jesus’ day, when the leper called Jesus, “Lord” he was showing Him respect as a healer and a teacher.
However, after Jesus’ resurrection, the title “Lord” became much more than a title of honor or respect. Saying, “Jesus is Lord,” became a way of declaring Jesus’ deity, i.e., the “Lordship of Christ.” It began with Thomas’ exclamation when Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection: “Thomas said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:28).
From then on, the apostles’ message was that Jesus is Lord, meaning “Jesus is God.” Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost contained that theme: “Let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah” (Acts 2:36). In Romans 10:9-10, the Apostle Paul linked one’s eternal salvation with their public confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord!
We will explain this further in our Sunday, July 30th sermon, “Certain and Sure: The Essential Elements of a Confession of Faith.”

While the question is not original to me, it really sets the stage for our next sermon on the Assurance of our Eternal salvation. The question is: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
· Would your family members, friends and co-workers testify to your claim to be a Christian?
· Would your bank statements reflect your financial support of the Church?
· Would your calendar of activities show your devotion to the Lord and your desire to get the whole gospel to the whole world?
· Would your choice of television programs, movies, magazines, and music reflect your commitment to love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind, and might?
We will explain this further in our Sunday, July 30th sermon, “Certain and Sure: The Outward Evidence of Our Eternal Assurance,” based on 1st John 5:1-21

Many Christians could add the prefix “doubting” to their names, like “Doubting Thomas,” for they are plagued with doubts about their eternal salvation. Instead of being shouting Christians, they are doubting Christians, and Satan has silenced their witness for Christ.

Someone said, if you could have salvation and not know it, you could lose your salvation and not miss it. Beloved, I assure you of this: If you have salvation, you know it, and if you have salvation and know it, you can never lose it. So, if you are saved and you know it, say “Amen!”

We will explain this further in our Sunday, July 23 sermon, “Certain and Sure: The Theological Basis for Our Eternal Assurance.”

Recent polls suggest that nearly 80% of all Americans believe there is a place called heaven, and most people expect to go there when they die. However, when asked, “Do you think you will go to heaven when you die?” the majority of people said, “I hope so,” or “I think so,” or perhaps “I think I’ve got a good chance.”
There is a 100% chance that we all have loved ones who have died and their souls have gone to heaven, and there is a 100% chance we all have wondered about what their life is like in heaven. While poets, songwriters, and pastors have tried to comfort us with their descriptions of heaven in earthly terms, the only thing we can know for certain about heaven are the things revealed in the Bible. Everything else is just speculation and hearsay.
We will explain this further in our sermon, Our Immediate State After Death – “What Life is like in Heaven.”

The religion of “Wokeism” is an evil ideology incompatible with a Biblical or Christian worldview and, therefore, Western Values. The goal of this movement is the complete dismantling and rebuilding of western culture from the ground up. Or, to put it in the words of the former President who inaugurated it, “The Fundamental Transformation of America.”

The cultural war we are in today is Satan’s final effort to destroy the last hindrance to the establishing the New World Order, which is the biblical family. The contest is between the truth of God’s Word and the lies of Wokeism. While the main issue is the redefinition of the family, the immediate goal is to require everyone to embrace the sin of every form of homosexuality.

We will explain this further in our Sunday, July 9 sermon, The Battle for the Soul of America: “The Truth of God’s Word Vs. the Lies of Wokeism.”

For the past six thousand years, the current heavens and earth have been subject to God’s curse because of mankind’s sin. Since Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, all creation “has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth” (Romans 8:22) as it awaits the fulfillment of God’s eternal plan of redemption, which is the New Heavens and the New Earth.

This event comes after the rapture of the Church, after the tribulation, after the Lord’s second coming, after the millennial kingdom, after the final rebellion, after the final judgment of Satan, and after the Great White Throne Judgment. The current heaven and earth will be replaced by the new heavens and new earth. At that time, the Lord Jesus will ascend to His throne, He will remove the curse of sin, and He will make all things new. The new earth will be free from sin, evil, sickness, suffering, and death. It will be similar to our current earth, but without the curse of sin. It will be earth as God originally intended it to be. It will be Eden restored.

We will explain this further in our final sermon in this series: “A New Heaven and a New Earth.”

A 2010 survey showed that about 40% of Americans believe that Jesus is likely to return by 2050. However, according to the Pew Research Center, a January 2023 survey showed more than half of all Americans now believe Jesus will return to earth, and even soon! To be precise, 55% of all American adults aged 18 and over, and 92% of American Evangelicals believe Jesus will return to Earth, possibly in our lifetime.

Given how rarely Bible prophecy is taught in churches these days, and how many Americans are drifting away from the Church, that really is a shocking number. Why do so many Americans believe we’re living in the last days – and that Jesus is coming back to Earth, possibly in our lifetime? I believe the Holy Spirit has opened their eyes to the vanity of this world, and He is stirring people’s hearts to long for the day the Messiah will return to make all things right.

We will explain this further in our next sermon entitled “When Jesus Comes Again.”

The Bible says as this age comes to a close, there will be three attempts to destroy the nation of Israel.

The Psalm 83 war – Israel’s neighboring nations will attempt to “destroy them as a nation, so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.” (Psalm 83:4)
The Isaiah 17 war – Syria will provoke Israel to completely destroy the city of Damascus “from being a city; it shall be a ruinous heap.” (Isaiah 17:1)
The Gog-Magog war – the largest military force to ever come against the nation of Israel will ascend upon them “like a cloud to cover the land,” but God will show His “greatness and His holiness” in such a way the whole world will know that He is Lord. (From Ezekiel 38-39)

In our next sermon in this series, “God’s Unfolding Drama of Redemption,” we will look at “The Repudiation of Gog and Magog.”   

The purpose-driven, seeker-sensitive, fad-driven, easy-believism, cheap-grace philosophies of church growth caused such spiritual blindness, the average Christian knows nothing about Bible prophecy. Therefore, they do not see the sure signs of our Lord’s soon return FOR His church, and seven years later WITH His church. However, Bible prophecies written 2700 years ago are falling into place with incredible speed.

· Those who are not saved, those who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, see these events through the lens of fear, and they should.

· Those who are saved, those who know this world has nothing to offer us compared to what Jesus has promised us, see these events through the lens of our faith, and we say, “Maranatha” – even so, Lord Jesus come.

Even before He created the world, God set a date on His prophetic calendar for His Son to enter humanity and give His life to redeem us from sin. He also set the date for His Son to return to this earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and establish His kingdom on this earth, and while we cannot know the specific date, He has revealed the “season” of His return:
· Through the seven Jewish Feasts.
· Through the spiritual characteristics of the Seven Churches of Asia.
· Through the decay of society, as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24, the Apostle Paul predicted in 1st and 2nd Timothy, the Apostle John predicted in his three minor epistles, and finally in the book of Revelation.
From a human perspective, we are living in uncertain times and society is falling apart. From the biblical perspective, we are living in the most certain times of our history as the end-time events are falling into place, just as God ordained them to be at this time. We will explain this further in our next sermon entitled “The Beginning of the End.” (Part # 2)