It’s Time to Support Israel

It’s Time to Support Israel

Subject: Five Biblical Reasons Why We Should Support Israel

Genesis 12:1‑4 (NKJV) 

1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. 

2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 

3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." 

4 So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy‑five years old when he departed from Haran. 

1. It’s Time We Know God Promises to Bless Those Who Bless Israel.

--I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you. Do you see how God makes this so personal...I will bless “those” who bless you but I will curse “him” who curses you.

–This is God’s promise to Abraham and to the Jewish people for generations to come.

–God has promised to bless nations, churches, and individuals who choose to pray for, to bless, to do acts of kindness to bless Israel and the Jewish people.

Luke 7:1‑5 (NKJV) 

1 Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 

2 And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. 

3 So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. 

4 And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, 

5 "for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue." 

–A Roman centurion who was kind to the Jewish people and who had built them a place of worship has a servant who needs healing...we know the story...Great faith...healed.

–Another centurion also serves as an example of blessing the Jews:

Acts 10:22 (NKJV) 22 And they said, "Cornelius the centurion, a just man, one who fears God and has a good reputation among all the nation of the Jews, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to summon you to his house, and to hear words from you." 

–A good reputation among the Jews...treated them with respect and honor. Because of his kindness the gospel was preached to the Gentiles and the Holy Spirit was poured out. Result - Revival

John Hagee: The reason for unprecedented blessings on Cornerstone Church are tied to our thirty-year history of showing kindness to the Jewish people.

2. It’s Time We Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem.

–Again, it is not a request but a command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

Psalm 122:1‑9 (NKJV) 1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go into the house of the LORD." 

2 Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem! 

3 Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, 

4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the LORD, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the LORD. 

5 For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David. 

6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you. 

7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces." 

8 For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, "Peace be within you." 

9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek your good. 

--As far as God is concerned Jerusalem is the center of the universe. 3000 years ago David captured the city from the Jebusites and it became the capital of Israel.

–Jerusalem is where Abraham offered Isaac on Mt. Moriah...where Jeremiah and Isaiah wrote principles of righteousness that has become a moral compass for Western civilization.

–Outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem is where Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was crucified for the sins of the whole world.

Hagee: According to Bible prophecy, Jerusalem is the past, present, and future of the world. From this city, Jesus will rule planet earth with a rod of iron, and of His Kingdom there will be no end.

Isaiah 9:7 (NKJV) 7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. 

–When you are praying for Jerusalem you are praying for world peace. History has proven that when there is peace in Jerusalem there is peace in the world.

–When there is war in Jerusalem, blood is flowing on the planet. The universe revolves around Jerusalem.

Dr. Graham Lacey: As long as there is Jerusalem there is God; and as long as there is God there is Jerusalem. 

3. It’s Time We Are Watchmen on the Walls of Israel.

Isaiah 62:1‑7 (NLT) 

1 Because I love Zion, I will not keep still. Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem, I cannot remain silent. I will not stop praying for her until her righteousness shines like the dawn, and her salvation blazes like a burning torch. 

2 The nations will see your righteousness. World leaders will be blinded by your glory. And you will be given a new name by the LORD’s own mouth. 

3 The LORD will hold you in his hand for all to see— a splendid crown in the hand of God. 

4 Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.” Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight” and “The Bride of God,” for the LORD delights in you and will claim you as his bride. 

5 Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem, just as a young man commits himself to his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride. 

6 O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually. Take no rest, all you who pray to the LORD. 

7 Give the LORD no rest until he completes his work, until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth. 

–We are commanded as watchmen to speak up for Israel and to defend the Jewish people whenever they are attacked by their enemies, or are subjected to anti-Semitic attitudes. Universities. 

–We need to pray for our leadership that they will always support Israel and to ask God for forgiveness and mercy when they speak against Israel.

–The day we turn our backs on Israel as a nation will be the beginning of the end for us. Keep watching and keep praying for Israel.

4. It’s Time We Minister to Israel in Material Things.

Romans 15:27 (NKJV) 27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. 

–We must ask the question, what spiritual things have we received from the Jews.

* They have given to us the written Word of God.

* They have given to us the patriarchs...Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

* They have given to us the Old Testament prophets...

* They have given to us the first family of Christianity...Mary, Joseph, and Jesus.

* They have given us the church built on Jesus Christ.

* They have given to us the twelve disciples and Paul.

–Consider the monumental contribution given to us by the seed of Abraham. We give back by supporting missionaries who are there preaching the gospel.

John 4:22 (NKJV)                                                                                                                                                 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 

Hagee: If you take away the Jewish contribution to Christianity, there would be no Christianity. Judaism does not need Christianity to explain its existence; Christianity, however, cannot explain its existence without Judaism. When I refer to Christianity I am referring to the teachings of Christ, which were based on the principles of Judaism.

5. It’s Time We Support Israel Because Jesus Encouraged the Church to do so.

–We should support Israel and the Jewish people because it was one of Jesus’ final request to His church.

Matthew 25:34‑40 (NKJV) 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 

35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 

36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 

37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 

38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 

39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 

40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' 

–We must understand in looking at this verse that Jesus never called the Gentiles His brethren until after the cross. Before the cross we were, as described by the apostle Paul:

Ephesians 2:12‑13 (NKJV) 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 

–Jesus by His death on the cross caused us to be engrafted in:

Romans 11:17‑18 (NKJV) 

17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 

18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.