Israel's Role In Christ's Return

These are notes from my pastor's sermon series entitled "Last Days." While I am a copious note-taker (and don't want them to go to waste!), I do NOT intend that they replace Pastor Bryan's preaching! Hopefully they will serve as a helpful outline as you listen to the actual sermon, which is available for viewing here:
http://www.firstroanoke.com/HTML/Resources/0410-LastDays/062010/Viewer.shtml


ISRAEL'S ROLE IN CHRIST'S RETURN

Ezekiel 46:26-28

The reunification of the nation of Israel occurred in 1948, a key event in biblical history as zionist leader Chaim Wiezmann became the first Israeli president.

1. The BLESSING of Israel

According to Bible scholar John Phillips, one of the most remarkable things about the nation of Israel is that they are God's timepiece for the world. They also gave us our Bible, our Savior and our church.

Genesis 12 is the account of the calling of Abram (Abraham). God's unconditional covenant with him is just as applicable today as it was then. It wasn't about man's faithfulness to God, but about His faithfulness to us. What He promised to him had three facets:
Personal blessings - property and possessions
National blessings - descendants
Universal blessings - for all people through Jesus

Our relationship with God is also secure because of His faithfulness to us. Does that mean that God doesn't care if we sin? NO - He cares!

Sin won't affect our right standing with God, but it WILL cause us to miss out on His blessings and plans for our lives on earth. It will also effect our eternal blessing and reward, and it will cause us to lose the joy of having an effective ministry here and now. Our relationship with Him isn't only about going to Heaven when we die, but it's about experiencing the full power and blessing of a spirit-filled life here on earth.. Be obedient!

2. The PURPOSE of Israel

Jesus Christ and His redemption of mankind.

Sovereign design of His purpose:
Why Israel and not Egypt, Greece, Turkey or a larger, more powerful nation? He wanted to bring glory to His name so He chose an unlikely tiny nation to reveal His power, faithfulness, mercy and love.

The assault against His purpose:

- The world is united against them, even many in America are more sympathetic with the Muslim world

- God blesses those who bless Israel and curses those who curse her.
- She is still in a precarious position with fragile borders and radical, hostile neighbors who are forming alliances against her.

There is a dangerous international dependence on oil exports from the middle east, and there is a growing belief that there are significant oil deposits in Israel. If she has wealth that rivals that of her Arab neighbors, between the hatred of the radical Muslims and the threat of their economic collapse, the stage will be set for global unification. The world will feel the need for a global leader who can bring peace (antichrist). Men will trade freedoms when their hearts are overwhelmed with fear.

3. The RESCUE of Israel

Major prophecies waiting to be fulfilled:
- Reunification of Israel and the expansion of her borders
- Antichrist will make a seven-year peace treaty with them
- Jewish people will rebuild the third Temple in Jerusalem
- Russia and her Islamic allies will invade the nation of Israel when she is at peace
- Antichrist will desecrate the Temple
- Jewish people will flee into the wilderness/mountains
- Two-thirds of Jewish people will perish during the tribulation
- The armies will gather at Megiddo
- Jerusalem will be taken
- Jesus will return and many Jewish people will accept Him as Messiah

Remember:
- Israel is important because God made a covenant with her. If our nation takes a stand against Israel, we should expect God's judgment to come against us.
- There is still only one way for a Jewish or a Gentile person to be saved - believe on the Lord Jesus.
- Christians need to recognize and respect God's covenant and support Israel because of God's covenant.
- Every believe should live with expectancy and excitement that Jesus is coming again
- Rebirth of the nation of Israel and current events remind us that the last days are upon us.

Christ WILL return for His church, and then return to rule over the earth. Will you be ready? Click here to be sure!

Pilgrimage Prayers

I'm not wishing my life away but I can't wait for March 2011 when, good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise, I will make my third visit to the Holy Land! This eight-day adventure is a once in a lifetime journey through the land of God's chosen people, and it's a trip that is bathed in prayer and very carefully planned. Israel is a very safe place to be, regardless of the images we see on American television, and walking where our Lord lived and ministered is an experience that is second to none!

There are a LOT of Holy Land tours out there, many of them hosted by internationally known Bible scholars and teachers.  Kay Arthur regularly travels to Israel and Joel Rosenberg has planned a 12-day tour in May 2011.  In fact, we bumped into Chuck Swindoll's tour this past March and were bumped from our hotel in Jerusalem because the Insight For Living tour needed more rooms! This turned out to be a blessing in disguise when we got a hotel upgrade because of them - thank you, Chuck! When we toured Masada we constantly passed Insight groups, so we decided to count them. This task was easy because each was led by a person holding up a sign that identified their color-coded group, and so we counted... and counted... and counted... and stopped at 14! Do the math on that - 14 buses with 30-40 people on each bus... unloading at each site... with bags and cameras and jackets and hats... checking in and out of hotels... with all that luggage to move and identify... Don't get me wrong, I love Chuck and Insight For Living is a wonderful ministry, but it's just plain hard to travel with a group that size!

And that's what makes our tour unique. We purposely take smaller groups because we want to create an atmosphere of community. When you tour with larger groups you HAVE to keep to a fixed schedule for logistical reasons and to accommodate the various sites, but with such large numbers moving at a set pace, it looks more like a cattle drive than a pilgrimage. We intentionally and prayerfully work toward creating community in our group.

Worship in the Shepherd's Caves
in Bethlehem

We plan times of worship, both corporate and private, and we try to keep our schedule flexible enough to allow us to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. This past trip we had a time of prayer at the pools of Bethesda for one of our pilgrims who had been battling cancer. What a precious time it was to lay hands on him and lift him up in prayer, and to do it at the place where Jesus ministered!

This morning the Holy Spirit impressed on me to compile my list of petitions for the 2011 trip. I thought this was a little bit early to be doing that since we typically start praying about specifics a few months closer to our departure, but I went ahead and wrote them out. These are just a few of the things I am already praying for this trip:

Team: for focus; for us to guard our time in the Word; to be sensitive to the Spirit's leading before, during and after the trip; for our witness to our guide, driver, and hotel staff...

Logistics: for flights and connections and luggage, for a godly tour guide, for good weather and safe travel, for accommodations for worship at particular sites, for a God-ordained moment everyday...

Pilgrims: for the Lord to lead people to this trip, for their hearts to be prepared, that their relationship with the Lord would be deepened and forever changed, for us to bear much fruit with those around us, and to build meaningful relationships and feel a part of the family of God...

Jordan River baptisms

These are just a few of the things our team is praying as we anticipate our 2011 journey. There are lots more pictures - click HERE to see Galilee and click HERE to see Jerusalem and Judea. There is a downloadable brochure at our host's website - www.medskeens.com  If you are interested in joining us, we would love to talk with you! Please pray about it and contact me for details.

I am already praying for YOU!