Our reading this morning is taken from the second chapter of the book of Ephesians and starting at verse 11. Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision, that done in the body by human hands, remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility. by abolishing in his flesh the law of commandments and decrees, he did this to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross by which he extinguished their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access to the Father by one spirit. Therefore, you who are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone, in him, the whole building is fitted together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. And in him, you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God in his spirit. Well, as we enter into this new year in 2025, we find many people that are very anxious and fearful about the world situation and the future. Everything from current wars, the rumors of wars, climate change, destroying the planet, nuclear annihilation, a host of things that we're bombarded with day in and day out. There is no reason for the Christian to lose hope or to live in fear. And in order to understand, I think, the world in which we live in, this world system, if you will, we need as believers a complete change of thinking to understand what's really going on. And if you would, in a way, think of it in terms that we've been programmed to this world and we need to be deprogrammed. And in a loose illustration, think of the brain, the mind is hardware. And we've had this software implanted into our minds And this software is full of bugs and viruses that run contrary to the truth of Scripture. And according to Scripture, we're to understand and view everything from a Christ-centered perspective according to the truth contained in God's Word. Well, Romans 12 chapter 2 tells us, do not be conformed to this world. And prior to regeneration and newness of life in Christ, we are conformed to this world in which we've been raised. We've been conditioned to think and respond in certain ways which are contrary to the truth of the Word of God. And the Scripture says we are to be transformed, that is to change, by the renewing of the mind, the way we think and understand everything going on around us, so that we may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. And really what it gets down to, we need to think outside the current system that we've been raised and live in. We need something transcendent that's outside. When we're born into this world, and we're born inheriting that sin from Adam, that our mind is not perceptible to spiritual things, does not have spiritual understanding, and the scripture says our mind is at enmity with the true and living God. We need something outside of ourself in this world in order to instruct us on what's really true. What is the reality that we look at and understand so that we respond in a Christ-like way to the world around us? And certainly most of us struggle with understanding the bigger picture. And it's by the grace of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that leads us and guides us into the truth according to God's Word. Remember, anything that goes against the Word of God are these strongholds that need to be torn down. Every decision we make, every thought process needs to be weighed in light of God's Word. Is this true, what I'm being told, or is this opposed to God and his kingdom? And understanding that the overall big fight and big picture of understanding the current reality in which we live in God's created universe Ephesians 6.12, our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. That's what's really going on. The unseen realm out there that we're not aware of. or don't live our lives daily in light of the bigger picture so we don't live in fear that we have a hope that cannot be shaken and we have a confidence to go forth boldly to carry forth the great commission to the ends of the earth of the gospel of Christ. Well, understand what we're battling every single day in this spiritual warfare. This reality of the unseen things that are going on around us that influence us. You've got Satan. the Lord of this world. He's under the sovereignty of God, limited by God and what He can do, but He is very powerful. He's one of these unseen spiritual beings that was around before man was ever created. So you've got Satan, who is influencing this world in which we live in, this worldly system, and he uses that in order to attack and tempt your flesh. What does Satan want ultimately? We know that he is a destroyer. He's a murderer. He's a liar from the beginning. He is opposed to all godliness. He seeks death, destruction. What does he ultimately want? He wants to be worshipped as God. You remember after John the Baptist? baptized Jesus. And there's something interesting there. Remember he said that he beheld the heavens open in the Spirit of God coming down like a dove descending on Jesus? It didn't say he saw a vision. This is Stephen when he looked up and saw the heavens as if there's a portal up there in this other unseen dimension that we don't take into account in our daily lives of what's really going on. But you remember immediately after being baptized, Mark says that he went out into the wilderness where he was tempted for 40 days by the devil. And one of those temptations, Satan went to him and said, look, this whole world which is mine, I will give this to you if you do what? Bow down and worship me. He wants worship. He's a counterfeiter. Remember that Jesus said one of his greatest warnings about his second coming in the future of this world was, do not be deceived. Have discernment, have wisdom, understanding, ponder and think about these things. It's been said it's easier to fool people than to convince them they've been fooled. We've been living a lie. Satan, control of this world, which impacts our flesh. What are the tools that he uses? What are the schemes of the devil? To know those, we're told he's like a roaring lion. He uses government primarily, which is something that God has ordained for good to punish evil and to reward good. But he twists everything. It is the government. that has killed more people than all the wars combined. He uses his methodology through the institution of government, where government calls what is good evil and evil good and woe unto them. He uses popular culture. He uses the media, social media, programming into your mind to think. And perhaps most of all, he uses government education, which is nothing more than indoctrination into a worldly system that is antithetical to everything that God proclaims. I think one of the most destructive things that's infected our culture and the tool of Satan is Darwinian evolution. If there is no God, you're just a product of random chance. That's all been completely debunked now through the human genome studies and the complexity of human DNA with the information contained within there. It's impossible for evolution, as they proclaim, to have occurred. And Scripture tells us that Christ is the creator of all things, so we shouldn't have any problem with that. Another thing that we're bombarded with day after day, which is a lie, this idea of the radical environmental movement, where it puts the planet over people. When God says in his word that the man and the woman are to have dominion and stewardship over this earth. So it doesn't take much thinking to discern when you hear these things from the radical environmental movement. This is a lie. This is contrary to what God's word instructs us to do. As we're studying Proverbs 2130, there is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord, the Almighty. All the schemes of the devil will be a failure. Back during this Christmas season, I got a card in the mail from Parkside, which is the mental health facility. wishing me, well, I'll talk about it. I spent a lot of time at Parkside, not as a patient, but in a professional dealing with psychiatrists and psychologists. But this is the card they sent me. Peace in your mind, peace on earth, peace at work, peace at home, peace in the world. Who are they quoting? John Lennon. They're not quoting scripture to me, they're John Lennon. For those of you who have no idea who John Lennon, he's one of the members of the Beatles, who part of that culture that influenced modern music probably more than any other contemporary band. But probably John Lennon's most popular song that he ever wrote was called Imagine. If you remember that, it was a big hit. But just let me read just some brief lyrics to see, show you how contrary this is to the Word of God, but just comes into our minds as Christians. Here's what he writes. Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try. No hell below us, above us only sky. Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too. Imagine all the people living life in peace. It's a utopian pipe dream. There's not any truth in that. It's wishful thinking that has nothing to base it upon. In its contrary description, we're told not to live for today. No heaven, no hell, no religion, no God. And you think about, we're not alone. You think about those first century Christians that were under severe persecution from the Roman government, putting them to death. Because what they had to proclaim was contrary to what the government wanted. They wanted control of that information. They wanted the power, the control over the people. They want the state to be God. The emperor, Caesar, is to be worshiped. And you think of those first century Christians, and as we're going to eventually, Lord willing, get to the book of Revelation. But the purpose of the book of Revelation is to comfort and provide hope for the saints and for Christ, and that Jesus has He's in the ongoing fight against these forces of evil and wickedness in this present age in which we live. They were going through the same thing as people in our world today. The purpose of that is to give them a hope. It meant something to them. And the theme of the book of Revelation is the certain victory of Christ and His church over Satan, which is referred to as the dragon, and all of his followers. And this is going to be in the age to come or the eternal state with the new heavens and the new earth. So we have a real hope. I know Greg just forwarded an email from Mung P to Mike, who heads up the missions information. Just to make my point. This is from an article on December 9th, less than a month ago. The Burma Army's War Against Churches. It was published on the 13th of December. The war in Burma has escalated significantly since the 2021 coup, military coup. The Free Burma Rangers, a faith-driven frontline aid organization, reported a series of targeted attacks on churches in northern Burma by the Burma Army, resulting in the death of 12 civilians, including nine children. Over the past year, the Junta airstrikes have killed 107 people and injured 320." That's the government killing their own people. They see the Christians as a threat to their power, enemies of the state. Evidence of atrocities, including decapitations, that's beheading, and dismemberment by junta forces was presented at the United Nations, highlighting the junta's escalating brutality since its 2021 coup. Now, this is from people that we know that have been here in the church that are undergoing persecution. You know, you think, too, of what's going on in Sudan, terrible things that are going on. It is thought that the junta deliberately targets churches and civilians to instill fear and weaken support for the anti-junta resistance groups. Psychological warfare. Beheadings are nothing new. And according to Revelation chapter 20, verse 4, beheadings will continue until the Lord returns. We see this type of martyrdom around the world today as the forces of evil oppose the truth. And as it was in previous times, beheading is used as a means to terrorize enemies of the state and to silence any opposition. Going on with people we know today. Think of all the people that were beheaded in scripture. This is nothing new, shouldn't take us by surprise. But according to Luke 19, verse 40, God's truth will not be silenced. They try to suppress it. They try to control it. Try to discredit you. We must remember that even when our enemies in this world manifest their evil, Jesus told us not to fear. For what? He has overcome the world, He said. He's won the victory over this and over Satan, over this world system. He's given us His Spirit, the Comforter, to come, renew our minds so we will not fall and be deceived, tossed to and fro, unstable. Well, something that's really in the news, and it's been for a long time, is this pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel movement. And that ignited again last year, excuse me, on October 7, 2023, if you remember that. The surprise attack. It was no surprise. Israeli Mossad, they're the tightest security in the world. A gnat does not come across that border unless they know it. Another example of the government. I'm not anti-government. I'm anti-evil government. That's not according to God's word. It was a Hamas-led attack against Israel. Hamas, for those that don't know in the English translation, is Islamic Resistance Movement. It's a Palestinian nationalist group that seeks to eliminate the nation of Israel. replacing it with an Islamic state. They literally want to drive Israel into the sea. That's the Mediterranean. The group primarily operates in the West Bank and Gaza. You hear that all the time. What's going on? Hamas is heavily supported by nations such as Iran and Turkey. Hamas participates in anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish propaganda and media production. They do that on both sides. The Americans are real good at that too, propaganda. Mossads are masters at that. Media production. This involves programs targeted at children and the schooling and the education process that encourages martyrdom. Go blow yourself up. Hatred for the Jews and support for terrorist acts, indoctrination, brainwashing, programming, manipulation. Hate the Jews. They're the cause of all the problems. The greatest expression of the pro-Palestinian movement in the United States has been the organizing of protests on college campuses. It just got flared up in the past few days with the ex-military army guy that just did all the stuff down in New Orleans. It reignited the pro-Palestinian movement. A convert to the propaganda, if you will, social media. TikTok is one of the worst things out there. that's going on as far as influencing young people. Well, why are they on the protests on the college campuses? Well, you've got young, naive, easily manipulated people that are vulnerable to manipulation and programming by authority figures and TikTok, social media. They're basically non-thinking people, they're emotion-based. This is everything contrary to what the Word of God instructs us. Well, with this ongoing conflict that's going on, how should Christians, how should we understand and respond to this greater Arab-Israeli conflict? And first of all, you've got to understand, there are Jewish Christians and there are Palestinian Christians. And Jesus died to make peace between Jews and the nations, the Gentiles. That's just what Sam read to us, that's the whole point of Ephesians 2, 11, and 12. To take that enmity between these groups and bring them together into the one people of God, the church, for the glory of God, the one people of God. And therefore, our prayers and labor should be especially devoted to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus the Messiah whom the Jews reject as the only hope for any long-term peace and justice among Jews and Palestinians. That's the answer. Jesus is the answer. He's the Prince of Peace. He's the only one that can bring peace. This is a complex situation. And as Stephen taught us out of Philippians 4 or 5, it's crucial that we as believers demonstrate reasonableness. in these matters, not just simply being manipulated by little sound bites and parrot stuff that you've never even thought through or investigated for yourself, taking from the word of people that are out to deceive you. To support Israel does not require unthinking approval. Christians can justly condemn calls for Israelis' annihilation and denounce acts of terrorism. We can do that. It's not as if Israel just has a blank check to violate God's law, truth, and justice. We can also rebuke Israel when our actions are worthy of criticism. There's no moral equivalency between killing civilians and children in an effort to eliminate terrorists. You can't justify that. And Israel's guilty of that. They're doing it right now. We should seek peace through prayer and whatever other means are available as Christians, as the church. However, for most of us and Christians around the world, there's a little more than we can do but pray to the Almighty who controls all things. It could be frustrating. You see human suffering and tragedies. And often the best Christians can do after prayer is to denounce evil in every form and seek restoration and peace. Blessed are the peacemakers. We should be peacemakers. We should expose, as Ephesians 5 tells us, we need to expose the evil deeds of darkness, of wickedness. We need to stand against that. There is no virtue in ignoring evil. And through it all, we eagerly look for Christ to return and set all things right according to Revelation chapter 21. That's our only hope. the ultimate hope. The share of suffering in the Arab-Israeli conflict is borne by innocent people, just as is going on between Russia and Ukraine. Most of those that are afflicted, displaced, killed, or injured on either side have no influence on those acts of violence. They're puppets at the hands of these leaders that are evil and wicked. The Arabs living in Gaza or Lebanon are not identical to Hamas. They're not terrorists, Hezbollah up in north, up in Lebanon. Neither are the Israeli people always in agreement with the government of their own nation. We as Christians realize that all men are created in the image of God. We cannot dismiss human anguish and pain, no matter who is suffering on what side. We want the killing and the suffering and the pain to stop. And it helps to recognize how complex this situation is both spiritually and politically. You know, hostility between the Arabic and the Jewish people is foretold in scripture all the way back in Genesis chapter 16. The patriarchs of those two cultures experienced bitterness and division that last even to today. This animosity goes all the way back to Abraham. If you follow the history in the scripture, the Jews are descendants of Abraham's son, Isaac. The Arabs are descendants of Abraham's son, Ishmael. And with Ishmael being the son of the slave woman, Genesis chapter 16, you recall that. It's part of what Paul talks about in Galatians, the two covenants, if you will. Isaac being the promised son who would inherit the blessings of Abraham. Genesis chapter 21, and obviously there's going to be some animosity between those two sons, because you recall, as a result of Ishmael, he's mocking Isaac. And Sarah persuades Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away. You know, likely that caused even more contempt in Ishmael's heart towards Isaac. You know, just think of the human interaction. What's going on here? The dynamics. And then you get again one of these spiritual beings, an angel we're told, told Hagar that Ishmael would be the father of a great nation in Genesis chapter 21. And interesting that Ishmael would be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him and he will live in hostility towards all his brothers. God told us there's going to be conflict. and political factors in this conflict are equally ancient. This is nothing new. The region between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, geographically, is sometimes called Palestine. And that's been disputed land for millennia. You know, that was the homeland of the ancient Canaanites and Israelites. There's been a series of invasions by world powers. You know, just a little bit of world history. Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece controlled the region. Later you got the Roman Empires. That scattered the Jewish people around the world. The region of Palestine experienced further conquest through the Byzantine Empire, Islam, the Crusades, and finally the Ottoman Empire. Well, how did Israel come back as a political state, a nation state? Well, you got the Balfour Declaration. You can look this up. It's all easily obtained history that can be verified from primary sources and copies of the original documents. You got the Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government. They were in control of the Palestinian area or Palestine, if you will. And that was done during the First World War, announcing its support for the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people. And let me make clear, just so you understand, there's a difference between Judaism, the practice of the old covenant of the Jews, their religion, versus Zionism. Completely different things. The modern day Zionist movement started back in the late 19th century. I think a guy named Herzog or Herzal. Promoting a homeland for the displaced Jews. And that's part of what happened here. Then, back when they did the Balfour Declaration, that was part of the Ottoman region at the time. And there was a small minority of Jewish people that were there, mostly Arab. And the declaration was contained in a letter dated 2nd of November 1979 from the United Kingdom's foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour. That's where that Balfour declaration. And lo and behold to Lord Rothschild. And if you did any study and understanding that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, Rothschilds were originally Jewish. Changed the name, I forgot what the original Jewish sounding, but changed it to more of a German sounding name. International bankers. Well, his sons end up being in control of all the central banks throughout Europe. They had a monopoly on the money. So he makes this deal with Balfour and the British to give back this homeland. Well, guess what? If you're going to fight a war, World War I, what do you need to fight a war? Money. You've got to pay troops, you've got to buy armament. Guess who financed it? Rothschilds. Rothschilds, if you go back and study in history, they financed both sides of the war. They're making money on both ends. And you wonder today about what Eisenhower warned us back in time about the military industrial complex, and you wonder why we as a history of ongoing war never ends. I think of what, 17 years that we haven't been involved in the history of our nation? The war machine keeps turning. Young men and women are being blown apart. Families are being destroyed. Also, people profit from the war. Nothing's new under the sun, as Solomon said. But after World War II, when the United Nations gave a portion of the land of Israel to the Jewish people, the land was ruled by the British and primarily inhabited by the Arabs. About a third of that population was Jewish. And what's interesting to understand, because remember, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Back before 1948 and the establishment of Israel, The Jewish people, through two organizations primarily, one is called the Irgun, the other one is called the Haganah. I've read extensively on this throughout the history of this. They were basically terrorist groups. They were trying to dispel the Arabs and drive them out of the area. They were blowing up men, women, and children. Anybody ever hear of Golda Meir, one of the prime ministers? She was part of the Irgun. She was wounded as a 19-year-old. The Arabs and the Jews at the time, prior to 1948, they were basically living together at peace for the most part. Because most people just want to live in peace, have a job, provide for their family, and enjoy themselves, if you will. They're not looking for conflict. It's always the leadership. that manipulates the people for their own profit and the suffering and others. But Jesus is going to put away with all that. And is there exist on a small section of land surrounded by much larger Arab nations? You know, if you understand the geography, you've got Jordan, you've got Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt. And ever since 1948, there's been hostility between Israel and its neighbors. In 1967, they had the Six-Day War, if you recall that. It's where they captured the Golan Heights in Syria. I've been there on the Sea of Galilee. You can look and see the Golan Heights. Recently, you know about what's happened in Syria in the news with Assad, the fall of that. Islamic terrorists taking over that. Well, Israel's come in and captured Mount Hermon in Syria, which overlooks, it's the high point. Just basic military strategy and tactics take the high ground. They've taken that now. That's also what's considered by some where the Mount of Transfiguration occurred. I've had the privilege of being actually see Mount Hermon. That slide you showed last week from Dan, we were standing right there, brought back memories. And that's when we were up there, and it was a beautiful, clear day, and we had some people from Texas that were with us on our journey. They wanted to know about the thunder that we could hear. Well, the thunder was Hezbollah, because we're right up there on the border with Lebanon. That's Hezbollah shelling Jewish cities. And again, where's Hezbollah getting their money for the artillery shells? A lot of it's coming through Iran, Soviet Union at the time, the Russians, Chinese. Well, there's probably no more disputed real estate on the earth than the land of Israel. Indeed, without properly understanding all the history, and I'm just touching very lightly on it, it's impossible to understand the current situation. So what you do is you take a bunch of people that are easily manipulated based on their emotions, show them some pictures of suffering, and have them pair it a bunch of phrases where they don't even pay really any thought to what's going on. It's on both sides. Well, what's the land that God promised to Israel? That gets back to that question. And this gets back into the teaching when I was teaching on the different covenants, how all this plays together, how it goes into the book of Revelation and understanding. I'll give you my perspective. I'm just a finite man. I could be wrong, but I have given a lot of study and thought in my understanding. In Genesis 12, God promises Abram. Remember Abram. He's a Gentile. This was polytheism. They had a lot of different gods. So he calls Abram out of this pagan situation and calls him to go to a place that he doesn't even know where he's going. And this is huge. This is taking polytheism over to monotheism. One God. The Lord our God is one. So he takes Abram, who had just arrived basically in Canaan, And he says, you know, to your offspring, I will give this land. And then later in Genesis 15, God expands on that promise. To your descendants, I've given this land from the river of Egypt, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. Okay. Now this gets into your hermeneutics of how you interpret things. And I'm using my presupposition to explain my understanding of it. Well, then in Genesis chapter 17, God reiterates the promise to Abraham, because that's part of the argument today. No, this is our land, not the Palestinians. God gave it to us. And again, he says in Genesis 17, the whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you. Okay? God later repeats that promise to Abraham's son Isaac, and later to Isaac's son Jacob, whose name God later changed to Israel. That's just a brief overview of how we get where we are. And then you've got the Abrahamic covenant then laid out the extent of the land that would belong to the descendants of Abraham. They're going to be a great nation. And through Abraham was going to come the blessings. So you've got the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You've got a territory including all of Canaan and stretching from Egypt to modern day Iraq, which they don't have all that land right now. So several centuries later, when it came time for the Israelites to take possession of the promised land, God again spoke of a vast area from the Negev. I've been down there in the Negev Desert down by the Dead Sea. wilderness in the south to the Lebanese mountains in the north, that's up there where Dan is, right on the Lebanese border, been right on the Syrian border, standing there behind an Israeli tank, looking 100 yards across the fence to a Syrian tank pointed at us. And it was interesting to see what's going on over there. But you got the Lebanese mountains in the north, you got the Euphrates River, and then you got the Mediterranean Sea in the west. And he says also there, including the land of the Hittites. So different tribes that are in there. So even when Israel was expelled from their land, God promised that they would return. He doesn't lie. He says, even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors and you will take possession of it. So it's foretold we are again. He knows the end and the beginning. He's established it. No man can thwart his purpose. were foretold of this removal of Israel from their land. And you've got the Babylonian captivity. You know, that's 586 BC. And then you've got the Roman destruction of the temple in AD 70, and the Jews are dispersed. And now God's gathered them back into this political state, nation state in Israel. In both cases, the Jews regained their land and their nation. Then in 537, and again in 1948, that we just talked about. So to me this kind of stuff is just fascinating to see the hand of God work throughout history, that it's not just random chance. And then in Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 40, the Lord gave the Israelites this command, keep his decrees and commands while I'm giving you what I'm giving you today, that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land of the Lord your God gives you for all time. That's what he's telling him. And this passage, in my understanding of it, contains a conditional offer. Israel would have the Promised Land as they kept God's decrees and commands. It was the same, remember, with the Mosaic Covenant, the Mosaic Law we talked about. Came down, read the law to them, here it is, we agree, we're going to do it all. They didn't do it. The Israelites had to obey God's statutes in order to remain in the land. History reveals that the Israelites, they're just like us. They often disobeyed. They were stiff-necked, rebellious people. And it resulted in temporary times of exile under the hand of God out of their land. So I see that there's both a conditional and an unconditional aspect to God's promise in that. And this is why I'm going to talk about the mercy of God and the grace of God. This is the main point. But this is an excellent illustration right out of history and scripture to show us the character of our God. Israel was chosen by God from all the peoples of the world to be the focus of his blessing. This is all about redemptive history. He didn't chose them because they were the least of people, he said. Not because they were the mightiest or the smartest. Again, they have a history of being scoundrels. These are not good character people, but that shows you the mercy of God to work with imperfect people, the sinners, like you and me. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse. He didn't foresee anything good in those people, just like He didn't foresee anything good in us. Whatever good we have is because of what God's done on our behalf. He's given us mercy. And here's my understanding of this. Covenant breaking forfeits covenant privileges. You break the covenant, a two-party covenant, it breaks the covenant and the privileges associated with it. God said to Israel, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all the peoples. Exodus chapter 19. For example, when Israel was driven from the land of promise under God's judgment by the Babylonians, you got Daniel praying like this in Daniel chapter 9, O Lord, we have sinned and done wrong. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness. But to us, open shame to all Israel and all the lands to which you have driven them because of the treachery they have committed against you. They recognize their rebellion against the Lord. Recall Jesus in Luke chapter 19. He's standing there looking over Jerusalem with tears. And he says, would that you, even you had known on this day, the things that make for peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes. You did not know the time of your visitation. They rejected the cornerstone and they still do for the most part to this very day. The present Israel is mostly a secular nation. Tel Aviv has become the hub of LGBT activities, transgenderism, child exploitation. Tel Aviv is the center in the Middle East. Most Arabs wouldn't put up with that. They'd throw you off the roof. Israel, the current state, they're in a state of treason against their king. Remember, God was their king. Remember how they got Saul? They were under a real theocracy, and they rejected that, just as we would. We will not have this man to rule over us apart from divine grace. But they are in a state of treason against the king who sent his only son in order to save them. And a people in treason against their king cannot buy any legitimate claim on the king's promise to a covenant-keeping people because they broke it. And one of the ways in which God assures us and his people of his love for them is to describe himself as their husband. For example, the prophet says to Judah, your maker is your husband. The Lord Almighty is his name. The Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He is called the God of all the earth. Israel often proved to be an unfaithful spouse, committing spiritual adultery by worshiping false gods and forsaking the Lord. In fact, it was due to her idolatry that God spoke this very word in Jeremiah chapter 3. I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. He divorced Israel, the northern portion. Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense." He divorced his people. And in this passage, God warns Judah, the southern portion, against making the same mistake that Israel, their neighbor to the north, had made. Their idolatry, their harlotry. Israel had polluted the land and broken their covenant with God. And due to the enormity of that sin, God punished Israel, and he illustrates that punishment like this. He divorced them and sent them away. And again, that's referenced in history to the Assyrian invasion, which resulted in Israel's removal from their homeland. 2 Kings records that for us. And having just cause, God, the faithful husband, divorced Israel, his unfaithful wife. And to make matters worse, God had asked, Jeremiah chapter 3, if a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? And the answer, according to the Mosaic law, was no. No. A man who had divorced his wife could not later remarry her, Deuteronomy chapter 24. And according to God's metaphor here, Israel seems to be in a hopeless situation. She had been divorced by God, and she broke the covenant. She's unfaithful. And according to the law, she can never be accepted back. But then, the point of the message is God's mercy to sinful people. And you can plug yourself in there. God intervenes, Jeremiah chapter 3. Return faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful, declares the Lord. I will not be angry forever. God promises do what the Mosaic law Could never do. That would restore the broken marriage, if you will. That relationship, as He's done for each of us through this new covenant. It was unthinkable that a human husband would take back his unfaithful wife. But God is greater than that. His ways are not our ways. His ways are higher than our ways. He can and will forgive people, sinful people, His wayward people, when they repent of their sin and they seek Him again, according to the prophet Jeremiah. That's who our God is. That's his character. And of course, another example of God's mercy to undeserving people, to sinful people, is found in the account of the prophet Hosea. While his wife's out there living in immorality, committing holatry, the Lord commanded Hosea to find her and buy her back. God shows his mercy and grace. Listen to what our God says to Hosea. Remember Goma? Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods. Hosea's grace toward his unfaithful wife is a model of God's mercy and grace towards you and me, to unfaithful people that have nothing good in themselves, nothing to offer, Israel had been chosen and loved by God, yet they were unfaithful to him. How can a divorced wife return and be restored? The law forbade it. But mercy triumphs over judgment, according to James. We all deserve judgment. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment. Jesus said, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. That's what he was telling the Jewish leaders and the Jewish people. These were the ones who remember crucifying, crucifying. And then Jesus explained things this way. Many will come from east and west and recline at a table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown in the outer darkness. Those that have rejected Christ, for now a hardening has come upon Israel, in Romans 11. In my eschatology, I think there is a place for the regathering of Israel, the people I think Romans 9, 10, and 11, I think God is going to work through the new covenant of saving a number of Jews, if you will. I think these are the times of the Gentiles, of the nations, if you will. But I think this hardening of Israel is not God's last word towards those covenant people that he promised. Even though of their own faithfulness, I think he has a saving purpose for Israel. The broken off branches will be grafted in one day to be the one people of God, the bride of Christ, the church. That's my understanding of it. Who's the true Jew? Paul talks about this. We've talked about it before. It's not the ones that are circumcised in the flesh done by human hands. It's the ones that are circumcised in the heart. And that's the new covenant because the people cannot keep that old covenant. They couldn't obey. The old covenant had no power to save. That's why we have the new covenant and we celebrate it every week. Of the promises of God displayed the mercy of Christ displayed for us before us. So our plea as Christians to Palestinians and Jews is simply this. Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Jesus is our only hope. There'll come a point as you get older, the young people out there, that you're going to realize when death gets closer and closer that all the things that you had hoped for, all the things you had time and effort and money, It's not worth anything if you don't have Jesus. Jesus is all. You know, the scripture said, naked you came into this world and naked you're going to leave without anything. Somebody said, you know, there's no U-Haul behind the hearse, all your earthly possessions. But I wanted to at least demonstrate and get us to think of this new year about the faithfulness of our God. in the mercy of God and the love of God and the grace of God towards undeserving people, that we would remain humble and teachable, that Christ would be glorified among us this upcoming year. He would do wonderful works of the Almighty, even at times when we are perhaps unfaithful. Be kind and gentle towards one another as Christ has been with us. Well, please think about these things.