These have been a blessing tonight. Appreciate that. Okay. We are going to be at question number 11 tonight. And I know there's a lot of people watching because they've told us that they wouldn't be able to make it in by way of social media. And so they're going to watch on the live streaming. So I'm going to just try to read this kind of carefully and slowly because they don't have papers in front of them. But what we've been doing is asking two questions each Wednesday night with answers. Most of them are pertinent questions. Others are just questions that might not come up. But this was an amazing, amazing insight that an unsaved man had named Samuel Clemens. We know him more famously as Mark Twain. Mark Twain asked a question. Now here's the short version of the question. Then I'm going to read the full question that he asked. The short version of the question, which is number 11, is this. What is the secret of the Jew's immortality? What is the secret of the Jew's immortality? Now this isn't on your sheet, but he asked this question in 1899. He was 64 years of age at the time, and Samuel Clemens was a world-renowned writer and traveler. He had just traveled and traveled and traveled around the world, and he was always amazed wherever he went to see the Jew. and to see the Jew thriving wherever he was, whatever country he was. And he asked the question, what is the secret to the Jew's immortality? But right now what I want to do is I want to read the entire question the way he wrote it. And this is fascinating. So let me read it, let me read it slowly. for those that don't have the sheet because his, the way he spoke and wrote were a little different than most of us. Here's the full question posed by Mark Twain. If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of 1% of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. In other words, they're just like a little puff of dust. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of. But he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people. and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's lists of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused of it or for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream stuff and passed away. The Greeks and the Romans followed and made a vast noise, but they are gone. Other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out. and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew. All other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of their immortality? He asked that in 1899. Now, Clemens was no believer in God. He wasn't a believer in... He was a Presbyterian. He was buried a Presbyterian. That doesn't mean anything. He despised Christianity. He despised Christians. He thought Christians were all hypocrites. In fact, he made a statement once, if Jesus came back to earth, he wouldn't be a Christian. That's just how twisted up he was. He was completely focused on hypocrites. And it's too bad. This verse doesn't have anything to do with our question tonight, but I'd like to have a sword drill right here. So if you can grab your Bibles by your binding and hold them up. I only have a few verses tonight for sword drills, but here's one of them. This will help you in dealing with this. This would have helped Mark Twain if somebody had taught him to live by this verse. Psalm 101.6. Go. Psalm 101.6. Alright. Mine eyes shall be upon the hypocrites of the land. Is that what it says? No. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land. Now there's not a lot of faithful. One question in the Bible is a faithful man who can find. But there are always faithful people in every church. There's faithful people, there's people who are as sincere as the day is long. Anyone can hide behind a hypocrite, even Mark Twain, all right? Anyone can find a phony and hide behind him and say, that's my excuse, why I don't believe in God or the Bible or accept Christ as my savior because of hypocrites. Well, if you want to go to hell for that, I mean, knock yourself out, I guess. I'd encourage you to go around hypocrites or go over them or whatever, because there are some faithful people and there are sincere people. And I just wanted to get that in there. But that's good advice for us. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land. Keep your eyes on the faithful, not on the hypocrites and the quitters and things. So anyways, he's 64 years old. It's 1899, he's traveled all around the world and he's made these amazing, amazing observations about the Jew. And he asks a question that the Bible could have very easily answered for him. What is the secret of the Jew's immortality? How is it that the Jews survived Egypt? And Egypt is just a base kingdom today. How is it they survived the Babylonians, the Assyrians? How is it they survived the Persians and the Greeks and the Romans? And all those rose and were so tremendous that at the time people thought that their empires would never die. And yet, what are the Greeks now? Where's the Roman Empire now? And the Jews survived them all. The amazing thing about this is Mark Twain didn't see World War II. The Jews survived the Holocaust. They survived Hitler, they survived Mussolini. He didn't see 1948 when the Jews got back into their own land and became a country. Twain didn't see 2019 where we see seven million Jews back in their land, being gathered in from all the countries of the world and becoming stronger by the day. There's still about one quarter of one percent of the population in the world and they are indestructible All these empires and kingdoms have come and gone and come and gone the Jews have outlasted them all What is the secret to their immortality? Well the Bible has the answer the answer is simply this God and his promises That's the answer Why are they immortal? Why are they in the everlasting nation? Because of God and His promises. Let's read Jeremiah and then we're going to look up some others. You can write them on your notes here. Jeremiah chapter 31 is on your notes. Verses 35 through 36, again this is kind of interesting language too. Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day, And the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar, the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. So how long is Israel going to be around? God says as long as the moon keeps shining, as long as the sun keeps shining, as long as the seas stay divided, as long as the stars give their light, as long as those ordinances, those things that I've spoken as ordinances, those natural things, as long as they last, Israel will last. If those ordinances ever end, then Israel will end. Now there's a lot of other promises. Let's look at some others. Draw swords. Amos chapter 9 verse 15 Go Amos 9 15 All right Malachi, I'm going to read that because the people watching can't see that, they can't hear the testimonies and once in a while we ask, people ask about that. Amos 9.15 says, and I will plant them upon their land and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God. So he did that in 1948 and he said they're never going to be pulled up out of there again. All right. Draw swords. Jeremiah 23.3. Go. Jeremiah 23.3. Okay, there's another one of the promises of the regathering of Israel. We know about the scattering. We've studied that before. Six different Old Testament prophets said they'd be scattered all over the world to all the different nations, and then they'd be regathered. What were some of those prophets? Anybody remember them? We've got two here tonight. Amos, Jeremiah, who else? Ezekiel. We're going to see that in a minute. All right. Hosea. Oh, what'd you say? Isaiah. That might be one. Hosea. I know one was Moses, one was Hosea, one was Amos, one was Jeremiah, one was Ezekiel. Who was the sixth one? I don't know about Daniel, but there's six that specifically say someday Israel will be scattered all over the world. And today there's still Jews in over 100 different nations. And then they would be regathered back into their land. And we've seen that day by day. So there's two verses. I will gather the remnant. He says there, if you didn't hear the verse that Brianna read, and I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and increase. They're having 100,000 boys every year. in Jerusalem, baby boys, 100,000 girls are being born in Jerusalem every single year. And the most prolific rate in the world is the Jews in reproducing right now. What does the Lord say right here? And they shall be fruitful in increase. Man, this stuff is happening to the letter. Right there, right in front of our eyes. These are exciting times. I know it gets, you know, sad watching the news, but we got good news in the Bible. Well, you probably lost your place at Genesis 12. That's the Abrahamic covenant, seven promises to a guy who's never even had a kid. He's never even had a kid yet. That is the son of promise, Isaac. And God gives him seven promises right here. It's called the Abrahamic Covenant. It begins in verse 2, Genesis 12. And I will make of thee a great nation, number 1. And I will bless thee, number 2. And make thy name great, number 3. And thou shalt be a blessing, number 4. And I will bless them that bless thee, number 5. And curse them that curse thee, number 6. And in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Did you hear Mark Twain say that? And in thee shall all nations, the Jews would be a blessing to all the nations. And remember his little comment here on your notes there where he talked about his contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. Mark Twain didn't know, but he was telling us exactly what the Bible said would happen. The Jews have been a blessing to the whole world. What a mind God has given them for invention and things. And so, that's the Abrahamic covenant. Go to Genesis 17. Genesis 17, verses 7 through 8. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, and their generations for ever." What's the next word? Everlasting. What's Twain's question? What is the secret to the Jews' immortality? God and His promises. God made an everlasting covenant with them. Let's read on. To be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee, verse 8. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for, and what? Everlasting possession. And I will be their God. Alright. So that's the answer to Twain's question. Now I'd like all of us to turn to Ezekiel 36. And Brother Kelly is going to read some verses. Brother Kelly, if you could read verse 19. And then skip to 24 through 28. Everybody, Ezekiel 36, 19. And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their ways and according to their doings, I judged them. For I will take you from among the heathen and gather you out of all countries, and I will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments and do them. and ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and ye shall be My people, and I will be your God." Alright, so you have the dispersion in verse 19, And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries. And then 24, For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land, And then the spiritual revival is going to happen, I think, very soon, where He's going to put a new spirit in them and take away their stony heart and give them a heart of flesh. He's going to put His Holy Spirit in them, verse 27. Now, how long is this going to last? Look at chapter 37, Ezekiel 37 and verse 25. Ezekiel 37, 25. Ready? It says, And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they and their children, and their children's children," what? Forever. Forever. What's the secret to their immortality? God and His promises. God and His promises. It's a forever nation. It's an everlasting nation. And the rest of it says, "...and My servant David," which is a reference to Christ, shall be their prince forever." And so there's an exciting day of conversion coming to the Jews very soon. Very soon. Poor Mark Twain. I wish he was still alive today. Maybe we could tell him that the answer is simple. God and His promises. Now here's the thing. God's Word is sure. God's promises are sure. So you believe the promises of God that are in regards to you personally. This is to Israel. This is sure. We see God keeping his word against unbelievable odds. I mean, you take 99 people over here and one over here and you say, who's going to win this fight? And God says, the one. He's going to knock down kingdom after kingdom after kingdom, empire after empire after empire. In the end, they're going to stand. And someday all the nations of the earth are going to gather themselves in the Valley of Megiddo God's going to fight for Israel with them all. Now, because he wrote it in black and white, God keeps his word and his promises. So remember that tonight. I know I'm probably preaching to the choir, but take this personally out of the church with you. God keeps his word and his promises, not just for Israel, but for us too. For us too. Learn. Be familiar with God's promises. and practice them in your life. Alright, one more sword drill and then we'll go to the next question. We'll have a little fun with the next one. Psalm 106.48. Go, Psalm 106.48. All right, amen, Hannah. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Let all the people say amen. Praise you, the Lord. So we see the eternality or the immortality of Israel. But you know, Twain, for being an unsaved guy, sure made quite an observation. That's an observation a lot of Christians haven't made about how amazing Israel is, the Jews. So if you're ever talking to somebody and you say, ah, prove to me there's a God, tell them Israel. Say one word, Israel. How do you explain that? And then see if they'll think about it. Oh, it's such a great testimony for God, the nation of Israel. Yeah, I believe that too, Brother Fred. All the benefits we have, at least a lot of them, it says, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee. We've prospered. America has loved Israel and Jerusalem, and especially this current president who moved our embassy to Jerusalem. And to save us a few bucks, instead of building a real fancy big one, He just did what he always does, Donald Trump, took an old building and renovated it and said, there's our embassy. That's a blessing. And there's been an upturn in our economy ever since. I don't know if that's a good thing, but God will bless those that bless him. Well, here's a question. Are we intolerant? We are accused of that. How do you answer that question? We should have an answer for this question. Are you intolerant? Well, of course. Of course we are. Who isn't? That's what we should do. We have to come up with answers. There's an answer. Someone says you're intolerant. Well, of course I am. Who isn't? Now, I got some facetious, I got a facetious quiz down here just to make the point, okay? But let's go through it anyway. And just to show how intolerant we are. All right. Everyone is intolerant. Thank the Lord. I'm glad we don't tolerate thieves breaking into our homes around here. We got policemen all over the place to make sure that don't happen. And I'm glad we don't, you know, there's a lot of things we don't intolerant. Explanation. Intolerance has become a swear word in our society. Nobody wants to be accused of being intolerant. Doesn't it sound like that way? Isn't that the prevailing spirit of our day? Boy, he's intolerant. And yet we all are. Take the test. Do you believe now, if you've got a pen or something, you can check these boxes if you want to, but you'll get the point. Do you believe, number one, children should be taught how to gamble? Yes or no. Heroin should be legalized and advertised. Hard liquor should be served in schools. People should be able to walk around in public naked. Youth should be given cigarettes. Video games should replace education. Communism should be taught to kindergartners. Hardcore pornography should be shown on TV. Youth should have no curfews. We should eliminate all speed limits on the roads. All right. Now, you know, if you were honest and humble, you probably wrote no down on every single one of those if you're not a goofball. I mean, if you're a normal serious human being, you probably wrote no down for every single one of those. Why? You're intolerant. You're very intolerant, in fact. You're at 100%, at least for this quiz. And so, I got a note here, and for that society would like to thank you. Thank God for intolerant. I thank God for intolerant parents growing up and grandparents and uncles and aunts. Man, they didn't tolerate us swearing and stealing and we couldn't talk back to old people. We couldn't even talk around old people. There was a lot of intolerance where I was growing up, and I'm glad for that. I'm glad. You get the answer here. It's a pretty easy one how to answer. We're trying to learn how to give answers, and we're going to be accused of being intolerant, and we should be bold. Say, yes, I'm intolerant. So are you. And then prove it on them. Prove it on them. And then people might start to think. But sometimes, I think one of the things that our current president is doing that's good for our country is he's fighting back. He's not just getting bashed and bashed and bashed in the media area, which he does, but he fights back and he's got methods to do that now like Twitter and stuff. But he's able to fight back and I think people like him or not, every one of us thinks this guy's got a backbone. He's got a backbone, you know. David DiPietro, that guy's got a backbone. He's so outnumbered down there in the assembly in Albany, it's not funny. But we're going to actually show you his speech on the floor of the assembly when he opposed abortion. You ought to hear that, man. He was in the lion's den, and that is fantastic. We're going to actually study it one of these nights as we study answers. He was tremendous, man. My respect for him was shot through the roof when I saw that. because it takes backbone. All right, let's have a sword drill. One more tonight. What's the score? I got one. Didn't you get one? He's the only one? So this one's worth three. Draw swords. Once again, should we wait for Brianna? Same book, same book twice tonight. Amos 5.15. Go, Amos 5.15. Three points on the line here. Oh. Who was it? Faith, okay, read that Faith. Well, that sure sounds intolerant. Let me read that if you didn't hear it. Hate the evil and love the good. Man. And establish judgment in the gate. In other words, have some rules. And maybe that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. All right. So, this is a little bit of an answer. And we got some more verses at the bottom. Let's just read. Some of these scenarios are facetious, but it makes a point. Society needs a lot of good intolerance to preserve itself for the next generation. Amen? Here's some verses we'll close with tonight. Psalm 9710, ye that love the Lord hate evil. He preserveth the souls of his saints. He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked. Proverbs 8.13, the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. And then this lists some things, pride and arrogancy and the evil way and the froward mouth, do I hate. Psalm 37.27, depart from evil. and do good and dwell forevermore. And so we see that we're supposed to hate evil and depart from evil, do good, and as it's said in Amos, hate the evil and love the good. So yeah, there's good intolerance, okay? We don't tolerate rape, do we? We don't tolerate child molestation, child abuse. We don't tolerate animal abuse, which is good. I mean, we should be, it says in Proverbs, kind to our beasts and take care of them. And, you know, we don't tolerate stealing. You don't steal your neighbor's mail. We don't tolerate vandalism. We don't tolerate violations of traffic laws and tax cheats and so on. There's tons of things we don't tolerate and it's good for us. It's good for us. So learn these answers. And if somebody ever accuses you, I don't know if they will or not, but we're certainly getting that way where if somebody says, oh, you're just intolerant. Yeah, of course I am. And so are you. And then start asking them these questions. or similar questions like that that come into your mind at the time. And people will realize like Romans 2, Romans 2 verse 1 says, thou that judgest another, doest the same thing. A lot of liberals who might call a conservative intolerant, guess what they are? They're intolerant of conservatives, you know. Unitarians, they say everybody's welcome in our churches. I'll bet I'm not. Hey, I see your sign. You say, everybody's welcome, diversity, blah, blah, blah. Good. Can I speak freely? See what happens. Non-tolerance. So let's learn that. It might come up. Who knows? So all right. We're going to close in prayer. And we got cake and ice cream downstairs. You're welcome to stay for cake and ice cream. Dear Father, we thank you for Israel. More than that, we thank you for your promises to them, because you even said they're not worthy of it. But you just fell in love with them, and they were the apple of your eye, and you married Israel, and they're not reckoned among the nations. You consider them your wife. Lord, what an amazing miracle we're seeing in our day. as they're having all those little baby boys and girls over there. Seven million people, Jews have gone back to that land. And Mark Twain never saw the Jews survive the Holocaust. And he had quite an observation. Oh, I wish somebody could have answered his question. It's because of the promises of God. And Lord, thank you that as we leave tonight, your promises are just as good for us, your children, as they are for Israel. So I pray not one person in this room would doubt the sure promises of God's Word. Because we see it in our day and age. Happening. Valley of dry bones coming back together again. They're standing up on their feet and they're becoming a great nation. And every promise you say to us is amen and to the glory of God. Lord, we do need to be intolerant of evil and yet tolerant or loving of evildoers and sinners like you were of us before we got saved. So give us the balance. Now dismiss us with thy blessing. We pray for safety going home and thank you for a little night of fellowship now and bless the food and our ministry as the weather breaks. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.