I Will Place Salvation in Zion

[00:00:00] I would like to say what a joy it is to be back here in Ireland, and in particular in this place. I always feel that this assembly place has got a special atmosphere of the Lord's presence. I'm very glad to be here. I didn't come forced here. I came because I just felt I ought to. And I love you all, especially the Irish. [00:00:36] I want to turn you into three places in the word of God in the prophecy of Isaiah in chapter 46. I'm going to read from verse nine, remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is none else. I am God, and there is none like me. Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times, things that are not yet done. Saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Calling a ravenous bird o from the east the man of my council from a far country. Yea, I have spoken. I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed. I will also do it. Hearken unto me, ye stout hearted, that are far from righteousness. I bring near my righteousness. It shall not be far off, and my salvation shall not tarry. And I will place salvation in Zion, for Israel my glory. And then in the prophecy of Jeremiah and chapter 31. Jeremiah and chapter 31. [00:02:08] From the street the Lord appeared of old unto me, saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, o virgin of Israel. Again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabarets, and shall go forth in the dances of them that make merry. Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit thereof. For there shall be a day that the watchman upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God. For thus saith the Lord. Sing with gladness for Jacob and shout for the chiefs of the nations. Publish ye, praise ye, and say, o Lord, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the outermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travel us with child. Together a great company shall they return. Hither they shall come. With weeping and with supplications will I lead them. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born. Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations, and declare it in the isles that are far off. I think Ireland comes into that category. And say, he that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his block. [00:04:12] And lastly, in the new covenant, in the roman letter of the apostle Paul. [00:04:20] The roman letter of the apostle Paul, chapter eleven. I will just read from verse 24. For if thou that is the Gentile, was cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive twin tree, and was grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these, which are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For I would not, reverend, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own conceit that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel until the fullness of the gentiles become him. And so all Israel shall be saved. Even as it is written there shall come out of Zion the deliverer. He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. As touching the gospel, they, the jewish people, are enemies for your sake. But as touching the election, they are beloved for the patriarch's sake, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. [00:05:42] Just a further word of prayer, beloved. Lord, we dare not come to the ministry of your word. At least I dare not. Without recognizing that without you, we can do nothing. Lord, only when your anointing is upon us will we hear your word. And will something be planted in our hearts that will take root and grow and bear fruit. Now, Lord, we don't want this time just to be a time of information, nor do we even want it to be merely an outlining of truth. Important as that is, we want it to be a meeting with yourself. Therefore, Lord, we ask you that in the weakness of the one who speaks, you will be the fire. You will be the power. [00:06:34] You will be the anointing. Thank you. Lord, you have provided an anointing both for the speaking of your word and for the hearing of it. We want it to be anointed speaking this evening and anointed hearing. Now, Lord, manifest this anointing in the person of the Holy Spirit in this place this evening. We ask it in the name of our messiah, the Lord Jesus. Amen. [00:07:05] The theme that was given to me for this time is found in Isaiah, chapter 46. And in verse 13, I will place. Or the Hebrew can be set, or the Hebrew can be give salvation in Zion. [00:07:27] It's a marvelous title. [00:07:31] Howard said to me I think you have plenty of scope with that title. [00:07:36] Hey, there. The scope is as wide as the infinity of God. [00:07:43] There is nothing more wonderful than the salvation of God in Zion. [00:07:51] It sums up the whole Bible and the whole purpose of God. [00:07:55] All 66 books are somehow rather connected with Zion and with the placing or giving of salvation in life. Now, there is something very wonderful about the Hebrew, and one would expect that since that's the language the Lord gave 39 of the books of the Bible in originally. [00:08:22] And actually, what it says is, I will place Yeshua in Zion. [00:08:30] It's as simple as that. [00:08:33] Everywhere you turn in the Old Testament, you will find the term Yeshua. Yeshua. Yeshua, or its derivatives, it is Jesus. The name of Jesus means salvation. [00:08:50] I will place Yeshua in life. That is precisely, precisely what happened. [00:09:00] After all, the Lord Jesus was born just a few miles from Jerusalem. It was in Jerusalem that he died. It was in Jerusalem, in Zion that he was buried. And it was in Jerusalem that he rose again on the third day. It was from Jerusalem he to the right hand of God. [00:09:26] And although it seems to have escaped the notice of some church leaders, it is to Jerusalem that he will return. [00:09:36] This is quite extraordinary when you have this little phrase addressed to the stout hearted that are far from righteous men. [00:09:46] I will set Yeshua in Jerusalem. The whole work of the Lord Jesus, the whole purpose of his coming, is bound up with Zion. [00:10:01] The salvation that he completed, the work of our salvation, which he finished, was, of course, in Zion. [00:10:11] And when he rose from the dead, it was that you and I might be born again. [00:10:18] His death dealt with our sins, but his resurrection dealt with the possibility of being born again. [00:10:27] This term has unfortunately been greatly devalued. It seems to be just the kind of presidential election where you vote for Jesus, you decide for Jesus. And if you decide for Jesus, hell do you good. He'll fulfill your agenda, fulfill your ambition. That's not the gospel I know. The gospel I know is that you and I are hopeless sinners. We have not a chance of getting into glory. We have fallen short of the whole purpose of God. And it is the Lord Jesus who only could save us. When you have that kind of gospel, you have conviction of sin. And where you have conviction of sin, you have restitution. And where you have restitution, you have real, genuine new power. [00:11:18] Not just people who sit in pews, but people who have been made alive to God. They hear him. [00:11:31] They follow the law. [00:11:35] I have set Yeshua in Zion. Salvation in Zion. There is another scripture that is also wonderful. [00:11:45] In the 59th chapter of Isaiah and its the last verse of the chapter. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion and to those who turn away from ungodliness in Jacob. This was fulfilled, of course, in the coming of our Lord Jesus. [00:12:09] The Redeemer did come to Zion and he did save those who turned from ungodliness in Jacob. Jacob is a name for the jewish people. [00:12:21] That was the early church. It comes, as I often said to folks who maybe you've heard me say it on tape or here, that it comes a great shock to some christian people to find out that the church was totally jewish. [00:12:35] They seemed to think that it was christian, but in its first decades it was totally jewish. It was an enormous shock to the jewish church when the first Samaritans got saved. It was an even greater shock when a whole bunch of gentiles got saved, absolutely non kosher. They got saved in the most. And thus began the greatest evangelistic mission the church has ever launched. It brought all of you, even in Ireland, to the Lord. It began in Caesarea, and it has come to the very ends of the earth. [00:13:15] But you know, the apostle Paul, and I want to look at this chapter a little more fully in a moment. But the apostle Paul was a prophet. [00:13:29] What is contained in romans eleven is prophecy. [00:13:34] He tells us something we could not understand would be great. [00:13:39] He tells us something that even through study, we cannot come to. He calls it the mystery, not meaning that it's fathomless, but that it is only revealed to be initiated. In other words, if you are not a brother, if you are not a sister, if you're not born into the family of God, you don't have this birthright. But if you're born of the spirit of God, you have a birthright. And the birthright is to know the mysteries of God. There are secrets that are revealed to be initiated. It's a term. It's a special term in Greek. [00:14:19] It doesn't mean what we say. Oh, it's a mystery meaning that's fathomless beyond us. We'll never understand it. What it means is a secret that is only revealed to those in the circle, in the club, if you like. Those who are born of the spirit of. In the family of God are in a covenant relationship with God. And now the apostle says, listen carefully, dear. I would not, brothers, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own conceit. You think you are the beginning and the ending of the purpose of God. The beginning and the ending of the church there are hardening in part hath befallen Israel until the full number of the gentiles become in. [00:15:07] And so all Israel shall be saved, even as it is written. Now listen. Now he's quoting this prophecy in Isaiah 59. Even as it is written, there shall come out of Zion a deliverer, and he shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. [00:15:32] The Hebrew is the Redeemer. A redeemer shall come to Zion and to those who turn away from ungodliness in Jacob. This is the Septuagint, the greek version of the Old Testament, translated in the third century before Christmas. And I believe it is a marvelous work of the Holy Spirit that you have the same thing, slightly different. Why? Because it is revealing that this salvation, this yeshua in Zion, is one of these days going to move out from Zion and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. It is the promise of the salvation of the house of Israel, the promise of the salvation of the jewish people. No wonder Satan hates this people. No wonder he has tried again and again to exterminate them. No wonder we're in another run up to a holocaust. Is it any wonder, why does Satan hate these people so much? Good question. [00:16:38] Well, you say, is it because they rejected the messiah? Wouldn't you think Satan would favor them? [00:16:45] They rejected the Messiah. Why doesn't he favor them? Why doesn't he mollycoddle them? Why does he hate them so much? [00:16:55] The only other people who have suffered in the same way are the true church. [00:17:00] They have also suffered, persecuted, hounded from pillar to post. [00:17:09] It is very interesting. [00:17:12] Satan doesn't know everything. [00:17:14] I always comfort myself with this. [00:17:17] You know, some christians got an idea that God is here and Satan is there, and that these two are in a kind of fight. They're equal. It's a question of who's going to get on top. It's absolute nonsense. Satan is a created being. I thank God for that. He can only be in one place at one time. Which means when he's visiting you, he can't be visiting me. [00:17:40] Very simple. [00:17:43] He has a vast intelligence network. [00:17:47] Normally, it's these little minions in his hierarchy that come to visit us. [00:17:53] It is amazing to me that Satan has picked up something. [00:17:57] He knows that the true church, and I'm not talking about the institute, the outward, the traditional. I'm talking about the body of the Lord Jesus. He knows very well that's a bell chiming out his end. [00:18:11] He also knows that the jewish people, in their blindness are another bell chiming out his end. [00:18:21] He knows that the moment that people are saved, it is the end him. [00:18:28] So he will do everything in his power to put that day off, to frustrate the purpose of God, to wipe out this people so that there are no jews to save. [00:18:44] Do not think for a single moment, as some do, that the holocaust was the last such attempt. [00:18:52] I have friends who believe that I respect them. They really know the word and they love the Lord and they follow the Lord. But I don't agree at all with them. [00:19:02] I say to them, is Satan dead? [00:19:06] While Satan still is alive, he is eaten up with a hatred of this people. [00:19:14] And if nothing else comes out of our time this evening, ask yourself the simple why? [00:19:24] What is perhaps the saddest feature in this is that evangelicals, sometimes real believers, are also eaten up with a dislike, and I'm putting it kindly, a dislike of the jewish people. [00:19:38] They only too readily swallow what the media says in its misrepresentation. [00:19:46] Of course Israel makes mistakes. Of course there's sin in Israel. Of course, sometimes soldiers behave brutally. They always do, all soldiers do. [00:19:59] But it seems as if in some christian people there is a hunger for anything that satisfies them. That the Jews, vermin, subhuman. [00:20:17] Is it not remarkable, this little phrase, I will place salvation in Zion. It encompasses the whole purpose of God. It began with the Jews. It will end with the Jews. It began with Abraham. When God said to him, I will make of you a great nation, and you shall be a blessing. And in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed in another place. He told him, see the stars. Look down, see the sand. This is what your seed will be. I don't think it is fanciful to understand the stars as the spiritual seed of Abraham and the sand as the physical seed of Abraham. But the whole purpose of God, to redeem a people, to produce a church. Now, I don't always like using the word church, because immediately people think of a building, a place where you leave your handbag, you lose your umbrella. [00:21:28] So sad. [00:21:31] But the church began with the Jewish people, and by the grace of God, it will end with them. [00:21:40] Because the word of God says, the natural branches will come BacK into their own olive tree. What is their own Olive tree? Their own olive tree is the church of God. [00:21:56] Those saved by the grace of God, right through all generation, they are in this olive tree. [00:22:05] And the natural branches have been laid on one side in the wisdom of God. And the wild Olive Bunches, some more wild than others, have been grafted in. [00:22:20] And he says, how much more shall these which are the NatUral BrAnches, be grafted into their own Olive tree. For I would not bothers have you ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own conceits. The hardening imparteth befallen Israel until the full number of the gentiles become in. And so all Israel shall be saved. Now, you know, once one gets on this kind, kind of subject, it's difficult to get off of it. [00:22:51] We are approaching the climax of the ages. [00:22:55] You know, there's going to be an antichrist, and I imagine most of you believe in a rapture of some kind, even if it's after the tribulation. [00:23:07] But I find it amazing. We are watching a world fall apart. [00:23:14] It is not just the Middle east. There is no part of the Middle east that is not in turmoil. From Afghanistan to Pakistan to Iran to Iraq, horrendous to Turkey to Lebanon to Gaza to the so called West bank, everything is in turmoil. It's not flesh and blood. [00:23:37] It is huge. Spiritual forces, principalities, powers that have arisen and are in conflict with one another. [00:23:49] We tend to think that everything to do with Satan is absolutely united, which is not where there is pride, there is always division and faction and jealousy. And that explains a tremendous amount of about the evil powers of darkness. Well, I only say something about this in passing, but you see, we are approaching the climax now of the ages. [00:24:19] And that means that the full number of the gentiles will be gathered in. [00:24:31] It also means that the house of Israel will be saved. It also means Jesus rule at home. [00:24:42] It's the climax of the ages. Some people can't read the book of revelation. They tell me, oh, I couldn't read that. I couldn't sleep if I read that book. It's very interesting because for 400 years, the church debated whether they should, whether revelation was canonical for the same reason. But I mean, what are you looking for? Are you looking for the serpent? You'll find him in revelation. Were you looking for the dragon? You'll find him in revelation. You're looking for martyrdom? You'll find it in revelation. Looking for a world that is utterly evil? You will find it in revelation. [00:25:21] Are you looking for Satan? You'll find him there. And the powers of darkness. Darkness. [00:25:27] But if youre looking for the lamb, the lion of the tribe of Judah, hes there. If youre looking for the throne of God, the throne of God is there. And if youre looking for the overcomers, theyre there. And if youre looking for that new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven, having the glory of God that is there. If youre looking for the bride, the wife of the lamb, it's in the book of Revelation. What are you looking for? If you're looking for the dark things, of course you'll parent. If you're looking to the Lord, you will be an overcomer. So simple. You don't really need me to come to Ireland to say these things. It's all in the book. [00:26:13] Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification. [00:26:26] 40 years is a biblical generation. [00:26:30] It is significant. [00:26:32] Many christian leaders said, don't for one moment think that this is a fulfillment of prophecy. [00:26:40] It will never stay in the hands of the Jews. But for 40 years it has stayed in the hands of the jewish people. [00:26:49] And Jerusalem has grown incredibly, suburb after suburb, unbelievable, with its parks and its gardens and everything else. It's a beautiful city. I don't mind speaking about it. [00:27:07] If you want to come, come see for yourself. It's a beautiful city. [00:27:16] On the 40th anniversary that Israel is going to make such a fuss about, an incredible storm hit Jerusalem on the anniversary. Now, we never have storms so late in the year. One thing is wonderful about Israel is you can have, you can work out or weeks and weeks ahead a picnic, because you know it's going to be dry and sunny. There's absolutely no question about it. And I mean, once you come to April, normally the rains have gone and they don't come back till September, normally toward the end of September. But this, on this occasion in May, a storm hit Jerusalem and rolled round and round. All the traffic tunnels had to be closed because there were floods everywhere. Hail fell, at least in the area where I live, like marbles, the size of marbles, and yet it was warm. [00:28:18] Now, normally, for us, rain is a blessing, but I can't help feeling that God was saying to Israel, now the storm really begins. [00:28:32] The status of Jerusalem, the future of Jerusalem, what Zechariah called all the nations coming against Jerusalem is about to begin. [00:28:44] It's a good thing we know the Lord. [00:28:48] A very good thing. So, dear child of God, this is wonderful. If you followed me, are you saved? [00:29:03] Have you had a saving experience of the Lord Jesus? Are you born of God? [00:29:11] When a person is born of God, the first thing that happens with their eyes open and the next thing their mouth opens. [00:29:24] In other words, they begin to see another world and they begin to cry out and they begin to feed and drink and so on. So a person grows from just this little bit of flesh and blood. When a human being is truly born of God. They have a hunger for the Lord. [00:29:48] When people have no hunger for the Lord, I question whether theyre really born of God. [00:29:55] Thats why the apostle Peter says, make your calling and election. Sure. [00:30:00] Do you have a hunger for the Lord? [00:30:03] Some people find it much easier to read the newspaper than the Bible. [00:30:08] Isnt that interesting? [00:30:12] Hunger for the Lord, a thirst for the Lord, a longing for fellowship with the Lord. You know, in the early days of the charismatic, I know there were lots of things that were way out and overboard and radical. I don't know any revival, including the first evangelical and the second evangelical, that didn't have these weird things that happened. But one of the most amazing things was the hunger that suddenly developed in people for the Lord. The hunger for fellowship, the hunger to be together in worship, the hunger just to be lost in wonder, love and praise. [00:30:49] It's a sign that someone's born of God. [00:30:53] We don't have to be afraid. We are in between two tremendous things. The completion of the work of the Holy Spirit in which bringing out from every tongue and kindred and ethnic group and race a people for God and the salvation of the house of Israel. Now I must watch myself. I say, I get carried away in this and I see already we've nearly gone by a good over well over half an hour. [00:31:29] There are two wonderful scriptures that I would like to underline tonight. [00:31:36] You know what the Lord says? [00:31:39] I am God declaring the end from the beginning. I dont understand some of these theologians, and ill be quite honest with you, I think theyre nuts. [00:31:54] I know that Rhapsody some people, but I just think I can understand. I mean, would you have a salesman stand up here selling a car and saying it doesn't work? You know, I don't understand theologians who tell me that everything in the Old Testament is fulfilled. [00:32:15] What are they talking about? [00:32:20] And when they tell me there is nothing in the New Testament that can be taken as a foundation for believing that Israel and the recreation of the jewish state is the handiwork of God. [00:32:37] What are they talking about? [00:32:42] Well, I would just like to take two clear, precise, irrefutable prophecies. [00:32:51] Let me say it again. Clear, precise and irrefutable. [00:32:59] Forget everything else. [00:33:04] If these two prophecies are obviously for now, it will change our whole attitude to God's prophetic word. [00:33:18] The apostle Peter said we had the word of prophecy made more sure whereunto you do well, that you take heed unto a lamp shining in a dark place till the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. [00:33:36] We had the word of prophecy. Actually prophecy means forth telling. It can be about the past, it can be to do with the present and it can be to do with the future. Most christians think all prophecy is to do with prediction. [00:33:53] But actually you would never know how sin came into the world if you didn't have the book, the Bible. [00:34:01] That's to do with the past. [00:34:03] Did you know how Adam and Eve felt? Do you know about the two trees? Do you know what they symbolize and signify? [00:34:10] That's prophetic. [00:34:13] We have an understanding that we sinned and fell short of the glory of God. That's the past. The angelic fall is another revelation. It's prophetic what we could never understand academically, we could never reach it by brain power. God has revealed to us. Thats prophecy. [00:34:35] So sometimes prophecy has to do with the past, sometimes do with the present, and sometimes it is to do with the future. [00:34:44] Now I just said a little while ago that romans chapter eleven is a prophecy because here you have something that you could not understand with your natural mind. And I find this tremendous. [00:35:05] It is a prophetic word of God given by the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul. And it is so interesting that it is in the greatest exposition of the gospel in the 66 books of the Bible. [00:35:23] Tell me, why isn't this thing about the jewish people? Why is it all in the Old Testament? Why is it not in the New Testament? [00:35:33] Isn't it interesting that the apostle takes three whole chapters to deal with this thing? And isn't it interesting that most christians skip these three chapters? [00:35:45] Some have been told that the apostle Paul was genius and he had a wine, a mind that wandered, and this is one of his wanderings. You don't have to take it seriously. It's sort of something a bit elite and beyond than that, the normal. [00:36:04] There are those who believe it's to do with predestination. Interesting. Always predestination of the church and not the jewish people, which I found very interesting. [00:36:15] Therefore, since most of us find predestination completely beyond us, we might as well skip these chapters. [00:36:26] If you take the first chapters, nine and ten, you have pure replacement theology. [00:36:33] It is absolutely clear from what the apostle Paul says that they are not all Israel that are of Israel. That's verse six. And he goes on to say they are not all the seed, the promised seed. [00:36:49] In other words, it is the. [00:36:52] Let me. I better read it lest I make a mistake on it. Let me read it to you neither because they're Abraham's seed, are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, it is not the children of the blessed of the children of God, but the children of the promise are reckoned for that. Now I find this very interesting. And then he says, and where it was said, you are not my people, there it shall be said, you are my people. Replacement theology very interesting. Right through these chapters nine and ten. So strong is the apostles argument that in chapter, remember, this letter wasn't written in chapters and verses. It was a monk who did that for us and went there. [00:37:44] We're very thankful for the work he did or we wouldn't be able to look around so quickly in the world. But the fact of the matter is it wasn't written in chapters and verses. And when you come to this argument, there's a strong argument. It is so strong that he says, well, then has God rejected Israel? [00:38:03] And then he says, certainly not. [00:38:08] The rest were hardened, he said. [00:38:13] Then he comes to his second question, well, then did God trip them up? [00:38:19] Certainly not, he said, but salvation has come to the gentiles through their fall. [00:38:30] In other words, from romans eleven, the apostle begins to qualify and condition everything he has said in romans nine and ten. [00:38:45] So I understand why many believe in replacement theology, because if you take only romans nine and ten, you've got ground. [00:38:54] But why don't you go on to romans eleven? [00:39:00] There you find. Listen now, if their fall is the riches of the world and they'll lost the witches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness. [00:39:11] So has there been a fall? Yes. Has there been a loss to the jew? Yes. Yes. Will there be a coming fullness? Yes. And it's not as if the apostle Paul said one thing, a little off, and it got into scripture, as some seem to think it could be a possibility. [00:39:31] He goes back to the same thing by saying, I'll read it again, lest I misquote verse 15. For if the cast casting away of them is the reconciling of the world, what will the receiving of them be but life from the dead? Did you get it? [00:39:54] Cast away. [00:39:56] Reconciliation of the world. [00:40:00] Receiving of them, life from the dead. [00:40:06] So has there been a casting away the Jews? Yes. [00:40:10] What did it result in? [00:40:13] The gentiles coming into the salvation of God. [00:40:18] And what will the receiving of the jewish people be? [00:40:22] Resurrection, like a power. [00:40:27] Now isn't that wonderful? I think so. I don't know about others. I think it's simply wonderful. [00:40:34] Now, just so that I can ram this home, there's a time frame in this prophecy. That's why I said it's clear, precise and irrefutable. I'm sick to death of hearing that. Everything in these kind of things is already fulfilled. [00:40:53] There's a time frame, and the Holy Spirit has deliberately put it into this prophetic word. Listen, I would not whether and have you ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own conceit that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel until time went, until the full number of the gentiles become in. And so all Israel shall be saved. [00:41:26] So there is a timeframe. Here it is. When the gospel has gone out to the very ends of the earth, and when from every tongue and kindred and race, ethnic group, there are those who have been saved by the grace of God and brought into union with God in the Messiah. When that is coming to complete completion, God will turn back to the jewish people and. And remove the hardening. Oh, someone says, I've had. [00:42:02] I hear this again and again. How blind the Jews are. Yeah. Who blinded them? God. [00:42:10] God always does a good job. [00:42:13] People say, do they read Isaiah 53? Yes. [00:42:17] Do they read psalm 22? Yes. Do they read Zechariah twelve? Yes. On the day of atonement, we sing psalm 22. [00:42:29] Then the people say to me, how can anyone be so blind? [00:42:35] Only someone from a christian home could say that. [00:42:38] I'm not being funny. I mean, listen to me. Those of us who came from Paris, from pagan backgrounds or from completely non religious backgrounds, we know very well how blind could we have been till God touched our sight? [00:42:54] Who touched our sight? God touched our sight. You didn't open your eyes. It was Jesus who opened your eyes. It was the blessed ministry of the Holy Spirit who touched your hard, sinful heart. And somehow, for the first time, the lamb of God who bore away the sin of the world. [00:43:15] Why then, do you think the jewish people are so blind? If you and I were once blind, and may I say something about those brought up in christian homes, lest you get to, you misunderstand what I've said. [00:43:29] You know very well that your parents faith cannot save you. [00:43:36] There came a day in those of you who are alive to God and not just dummies, there came a day when that. That you knew from childhood suddenly became your flesh and blood. It became. It somehow open. God, the spirit opened up your heart and you were saved. [00:43:56] Then all of a sudden, all the things you'd heard from childhood became a living reality. [00:44:04] Why can't God do this with the jewish people? [00:44:07] Well, the answer is he can and will it's so simple. [00:44:16] They are hardened in part until the full number of the gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved. Isn't this one unjust? So that you get this absolutely clear, the apostle goes on, as touching the gospel, they are enemies for your sake, but as touching the election, they are the love for the patriarchy, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. [00:44:51] Let it sink in. [00:44:54] Irrevocable. [00:44:55] The gifts and the calling of God, irrevocable. [00:45:02] What a God we have. [00:45:04] Well, I find this wonderful, this Romans eleven. It is. [00:45:10] If what I'm saying is right. It is the explanation of all the conflict, all the controversy and all the war that we are the witnesses of in the Middle east. And more to come, much more. [00:45:27] It's all because the powers of darkness believe this book and they believe that they have to do something to somehow or other frustrate the purpose of God. Well, you say, surely Satan knows he can't do it. Have you ever met a proud person, a really proud person, consumed with their pride? [00:45:51] I have a number of them in my life and I won't stop to illustrate. [00:46:00] But I can only tell you this, these people are so proud. It doesn't matter how much you talk to them, how much evidence you bring, they will not take it. They are right, you're wrong. [00:46:13] Eaten up with pie. [00:46:16] That explains Satan. He believes he can still win. [00:46:20] We know he will fail and God. That is the prophecy in romans eleven. [00:46:29] Satan will fail and God will try. Is it any wonder the Paul bursts into a pan of praise in the last verses of this chapter? It's as if his heart just bursts with the very thought that God is so faithful, so powerful, so patient. [00:46:54] Well, I, I must go on or we won't finish. Here is a, that was the New Testament, right? That everybody says that nothing in the New Testament about the jewish people. There you've got it. Is there any need for the New Testament to say more than that? You've got the whole Old Testament. [00:47:12] I mean, all it needs to do is touch on it. Don't you think that's a touching on it? I would say that's a clear definition of the truth that is in the old covenant. Now you come to the other clear, precise and irrefutable prophecy. It is Jeremiah 31. I have loved you with an everlasting love. Everlasting. Some of these dear theologians, they say that everlasting, in Hebrew, it doesn't mean everlasting. Well, what in the world are we to do? The word ulam, they said, no, no, no, no, that's just time lasting. Just. [00:47:49] In other words, everlasting is transient, everlasting is temporal. [00:47:55] But in Hebrew, Olam means basically something that outlasts everything else. [00:48:03] I have loved you with an everlasting love. Of whom is he speaking now? We fully understand if he's speaking about Jeremiah. Jeremiah had such a difficult ministry. He was in the midst of a backsliding gainsaying, prostituted people. And here he was damned by them. They couldnt bear him. [00:48:25] And for the Lord to say, Jeremiah, ive loved you with an everlasting love. But its not Jeremiah the Lord is talking about. It is this backslidden, prostituted, hard necked, disobedient, sinful people. [00:48:44] And God says, I have loved you with an everlasting love. [00:48:52] If you let the holy spirit touch your heart on this matter, you will just understand God's everlasting love for you. [00:49:03] Now, let me go a step further in this. He didn't just say, I have loved you with an everlasting love. He whose honour says, I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness. And I dwarf. And this word loving kindness is an awfully. I find it a victorian word. I can't explain it. It's a lovely word, but I don't like it. It is in Hebrew, chesed. [00:49:29] And there's no way we can put it into English. We have to use a whole number of words. We have to say loyalty, covenant, persevering, persistent, overcoming steadfast love that gets near to it, only you have to add another word, merciful. That's why the king James, the authorized version, uses the word mercy for this hebrew word chesed. [00:49:58] It is a word found throughout the Old Testament and it is every I have drawn you with a covenant. Persistent, enduring, merciful love. [00:50:14] When they came to translate the New Testament in Hebrew, they took the greek word charis, which is translated in English, grace. [00:50:25] And they used the word chesed, saved by graves. [00:50:35] There is no other explanation for the history of the jewish people. [00:50:41] Write it over that whole history, from the beginning to its final end in the glory of God. I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with grace. [00:50:58] Chezad, I have drawn you. The word drawn you, we could say, is a very also interesting way. I've lifted you out, I have dragged you along. [00:51:10] Did you ever know that God's grace sometimes drags a person along? I wonder if there's anyone here who's been saved from a background that was evil, darkness and you look back and you say, you know what? I was dragged into the salvation of God. It was the Lord who did it. [00:51:34] I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore with grace, with loving kindness have I drawn you. Think again. And what he says in this extraordinary a chapter. Listen to this again. Will I build thee and thou shalt be built, o virgin of Israel. Israel was anything but a virgin. You all know that once you have lost your virginity, you can't get it back. It's gone forever. What is the Lord saying here about Israel? She's prostituted herself to all the other gods around her. She's an adulthood. Rest. [00:52:13] And yet the Lord says again, shall you be built a virgin of Israel? It can only mean she's justified in the end. She will be justified by the finished work of the Messiah. I have said Yeshua in Zion, and to use the greek thing, the deliverer shall come out of Zion and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. [00:52:44] A virgin when she was anything other than a virgin. [00:52:52] Now just wait before you go to sleep. There's one other thing here. It's a time frame again. Shall you plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria? You shall plant them and you shall eat. Enjoy the food thereof. That's not in the Hebrew. It's left to your imagination. You will enjoy it. In other words, you'll enjoy the wine. You'll enjoy the grapes. I know most of you have signed the temperament, so I have to be careful here. But I'm just saying. Here it is. Now listen carefully to me. Wake up anyone who's been asleep. You will hear thousands of preachers in different pulpits who will tell you that this chapter was fulfilled in the return from Babylon. Which means they haven't studied this chapter very well. [00:53:40] Because the simplest fool, and we have many of them in christian circles, the simplest fool knows very well that when they returned from Babylon with Nehemiah and Ezra, they found the Samaritans. [00:53:59] And the Samaritans wanted to help them. And Ezra and Nehemiah said, not on your life. [00:54:06] You're not pure in your bloodline. You have mixed yourself up with all kinds of other people. We cannot allow you to be part of the house of God or of the nation. [00:54:18] You know the story. You may find it rather hard. You remember how one of them, I think, was Nehemiah, chased one man right out of the the temple and tore his beard out. Not exactly sweetness personified. [00:54:32] You know the story. So where is all this talk about this was fulfilled? Of course. The problem is, they said, it's poetry. [00:54:41] It's just poetry. I mean, you don't have to take it too precisely. [00:54:47] I think it is absolutely precise. [00:54:51] Every Christian worth his or her salt has at least heard the story of the woman at the well in Samaria and remembers the words she said. How is it that you, a jew, a rabbi, ask of me water, when you know that Jews and Samaritans have no dealings with each other? Remember the story. [00:55:14] So even in the New Testament, testament time, in the time of Jesus, this prophecy was not fulfilled. [00:55:23] It wasn't even fulfilled in 1948 on the 14 May when the state was recreated. In spite of unbelievably unbelievable odds, it was fulfilled after the 7 June 1967 heaven. When settlers for the first time went back to Samaria and planted vineyards upon the mountains. Today, some of the most prestigious wines are produced from the mountains of Samaria. They have won gold. I shouldn't be telling you this, but they've won gold label prizes in all the great wine festivals. Now, isn't this interesting? What does it mean? It means simply this. This prophecy has not been fully fulfilled in the return from Babylon, nor in the time of Jesus. It has been fulfilled not in the time of 1948, but in 1967. [00:56:30] And that means that when you read, I will bring them from the north country. It means exactly that. The north country. It means Russia. And Russia had the largest jewish community outside of North America. And Marxism would not let them go, wouldn't even allow them to learn Hebrew, wouldn't allow them to practice Judaism in any shape or form. [00:56:57] Then God spoke word. Give up. I will say to the north, give up. That's Isaiah 43. [00:57:05] And they gave up. Today we have one and a half million russian Jews. [00:57:11] All come within the last few years. We have problems and glory. [00:57:17] We have some of the most marvelous music and art from these we also have the mafia and drugs and alcohol with them as well. [00:57:27] They came home. [00:57:29] It was a miracle. God said, I will say to the north, give up. I will bring them from the north country. [00:57:37] You go back and take out an atlas and look for Jerusalem. And you will find that directly north, you come to the Black Sea. Go further north, you will come to Kiev. Go further north, you come to Moscow. [00:57:50] Then again, and from the outermost parts of the earth. [00:57:54] For they've come from the outermost parts of the earth, from the far north, from the far south, from the far east, from the far west. [00:58:04] Now listen. Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations. And the word is voim, gentiles. [00:58:14] And declare it in the isles that are afar off. [00:58:19] This is one of them. [00:58:21] He that scattered Israel will gather him and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:58:33] This gathering back of the exiles is one of the most extraordinary events in the whole history of the nation. [00:58:42] No other people has a similar story of being scattered to the ends of the earth for 1900 years thereabouts, and then brought back. Not at the best time in their history, not at the time when they were most powerful, but at the time when they were most heartbroken and hopeless in the whole Holocaust, when two thirds of the jewish people died out of the ashes of the Holocaust, Israel was born. [00:59:24] Hear the word of the Lord, o ye nations. Declare it in the isles that are of our. [00:59:30] He that scattered Israel will gather him. Listen to this and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. [00:59:41] We have had eight wars in 59 years, and in every one of them, God has brought Israel through. We have more to come. [00:59:54] Have you ever seen a shepherd keeping his clock? [00:59:58] The cottage I have. In one of the islands in Greece. I watched this old shepherd. [01:00:06] He's now well into his apparatus, comes with his huge flock. He used to come playing a dreadful version of the bagpipes. [01:00:19] I mean, nothing like the Irish or the Scots. [01:00:22] It was a dreadful thing. [01:00:25] He didn't have much music in him, but he. He sang at the top of his voyage, and he spoke a language to his flock that I had never been able to interpret. I don't know what it was, but it was a definite language. They all understood him and he understood them. I don't know what he said, but he used to yell and scream at them. And it wasn't Greek, it wasn't Hebrew, certainly wasn't English. It could have been, I suppose, from the west of Ireland. But I don't know. I mean, I couldn't understand what he was saying at all. All I know is that the sheep understood him. [01:01:06] Sometimes he took stones and buzzed them at some sheep or goat that was out, gone, out of the way. [01:01:16] Did they come back? [01:01:19] And I always tell her this little story because I was sitting in my home, which was up the valley, you know, looking down, and I saw two little lambs born. [01:01:34] And then, to my horror, I saw the shepherd take one of them, danced away the moment it was born, dancing around almost immediately, but the other didn't. And he took this. This poor little creature up by its back rings, and he whacked it on the rock. I was horrified, and I thought to myself, I should really phone the animal protection society over this man. I've never seen him do anything so wicked as this. I mean, this poor little thing, just born. But that little thing of the moment, he whacked it, got up and ran away. [01:02:10] Whatever he did, it would have died. I take it that he did whatever was necessary and it lived. [01:02:17] The shepherd has the most extraordinary relationship with his sheep and goats, at least in our part of the world, both Israel and in Greece. And I think it is quite sure he sleeps with them. He plays his bagged pipe and the full moon and we shut the windows and hope that we can't hear too much. But what an amazing thing this is. When God says, and I will keep them, as a shepherd does his love. [01:02:48] Did you know that God was saying that about a people who are disobedient, sinful and blind? [01:02:58] Did you ever realize that God has such a heart? [01:03:02] He describes it as everlasting love, as grace, that he brings these people back and that he keeps them. [01:03:13] Now, do you think that's the end of the story? I don't. For God, salvation is far more important than bringing exiles back from the ends of the earth or recreating a state. [01:03:27] All the other things we're building cities. This is peanuts, if I may so say. Compared with salvation, salvation is the end of the Lord. So, my dear friends, I must finish. You have been very patient with me. [01:03:43] How should we respond to this? Well, I'll tell you, we should respond with God given faith and total commitment. [01:03:54] Don't let the enemy depress you. [01:03:57] There will be many more miracles worked by God over this little nation in a pot of postage stamp of territory. A tiny little population buried in the midst of 200 million Muslims. [01:04:16] God will defend this state even in its blindness and in spite of its present government, we had the most incompetent and inept government Israel's ever had. [01:04:30] I mean it. We had a vote as to who was the most corrupt politician in the whole country. By far and away, our prime minister led. [01:04:41] We had our defence minister, thank God he's resigned, who, when he went up to see the north with the generals, they were pointing out fortifications of the Hezbollah. They gave him a field glasses and he looked and said, yes, yes, yes, I see, I see. And he never took the caps off. [01:05:03] You can see what kind of condition we have. No wonder Israel's apprehensive. [01:05:10] What's going to happen now? Are we going to have another war? What's going to happen with this? At least we have a new chief of staff who is brilliant. Gabi Ershkonov. [01:05:19] But here I'm just saying you have something so tremendous in this. How are you to respond with God given faith? Do you believe the word of God? Do you believe that what God has said about you and your salvation he will, will fulfill? [01:05:37] Do you believe that what he said about the church he will fulfill? [01:05:43] Do you believe that what he says about Israel, he will fulfill God given faith? And more than that, total commitment. [01:05:53] That means there may be times when you have to stand up and say something, when you need to write a letter, when you need to protest. [01:06:01] Total commitment. If german Christians had spoken in Germany early on in the nazi period, could have been a different story. But german Christians believed that Hitler was actually speaking the truth when he said that Jews were the poison in society. [01:06:22] Secondly, how should you respond? With powerful prayers, intercession. [01:06:29] You can stand in the gap and pray for this people. [01:06:36] I will say no more than that. And thirdly, how should you respond with the same heart that the apostle Paul had when he said, I could wish myself cursed for my brethren's sake, who are Israelis, and in another place, he says, I have unending sorrow and pain in my heart. Do you know what's been missing in the church's relationship to the jewish people? That at the very best, they look upon them as a parable. [01:07:16] At the very best, they look upon them as some kind of, well, you know, if they get saved, it means the Lord's coming. There's no passion for them, no heart for them, nothing like Knox when he prayed for Scotland and said, give me Scotland or I die. [01:07:42] And God gave him Scotland in those days. [01:07:47] Well, I say we need that kind of passion in our hearts. The only way that we can respond to this. If what I've said is right, and I, of course, believe it is, even if it's been very poorly presented, the fact still remains that you have a responsibility. [01:08:11] There was a time when the jewish believers, I'm talking about messianic Jews, those Jews who were saved when they laid down their life for you. [01:08:23] They went out over the whole of Europe. They came to Britain. They preached the gospel in London. 14 years after the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Jews, they went down into Ethiopia. They went across into India. They went up to Armenia. [01:08:48] The story is unending. [01:08:51] They laid down their lives for the Gentiles. [01:08:55] Is it too much to ask that the Gentiles might begin to lay down their lives for the salvation of the jewish people?