WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD STAND WITH ISRAEL
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Wednesday, August 3, 2022
The Gospel is the story of a Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel. Jewish Christians proclaimed that Good News to Gentiles of polytheistic religions. Those Gentiles who trusted in Christ were not required to be circumcised but were embraced by a Church of primarily Jewish people. The Church embraced them as participants in their Jewish faith in Jesus, spiritual children of Abraham.
(Galatians 3:29) “And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”
The new converts were inwardly circumcised.
(Romans 2:28–29) “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.”
These New Covenant believers viewed these new Gentile believers as grafted into Israel, while unbelieving branches were broken off.
(Romans 11:17, NLT) “But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.”
The Bible never says the Church replaces Israel, but salvation comes to all people, Jew, and Gentile, through faith in Jesus Christ.
(1 Thessalonians 1:10, NLT) “And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.”
(Romans 11:26–29, NLT) “And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.” Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.”
(Zechariah 12:10, NLT) “Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.”
(Isaiah 66:8, NLT) “Who has ever seen anything as strange as this? Who ever heard of such a thing? Has a nation ever been born in a single day? Has a country ever come forth in a mere moment?”
(Matthew 23:39, NLT) “For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Let’s pray for the full number of Gentile believers to come in and for the hardening of Israel to be lifted.
(Romans 11:25, NLT) “I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.”
The place of Israel as a nation is a global issue with worldwide significance.
The fulfillment of the end of the ages.
(Zechariah 14:2a, NLT) “I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem.”
1. God promised the land to Abraham.
(Genesis 12:1–3, NLT) “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
a. Life Lesson – God touched Abraham’s heart before calling him to follow.
2. God tells Abraham the land will his descendants but will have to be reoccupied.
(Genesis 15:18, NLT) “And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. … So the Lord made a covenant with Abram that day and said, “I have given this land to your descendants, all the way from the border of Egypt to the great Euphrates River—”
a. Life Lesson – Do not yield any part of your life to the enemy.
3. God makes a covenant about the land with Abraham.
(Genesis 17:8, NLT) “And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.”
a. Life Lesson – Believe the promises of God for your family.
4. The occupation of Israel in Biblical times was Assyrian and Babylonian.
5. The Romans occupation in the life of Jesus through 1948 began the times of the Gentiles.
(Luke 21:24, NASB) “Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
GROWTHWORK
1. Pray for the peace of Israel with thanksgiving.
(Romans 9:4–5, NLT) “They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned. And he is God, the one who rules over everything and is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”
(Psalm 122:6, NLT) “Pray for peace in Jerusalem. May all who love this city prosper.”
2. To stand with Israel does not mean we oppose Arab people or oppose the rights of Arabs living is Israel to a peaceful, politically secure, and prosperous life.
3. The hatred of Israel is not just political but it is motivated by spiritual powers.
(Ephesians 6:12, NLT) “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
These same dark powers are equally opposed to Gospel believing churches.