Isaiah 41:8-10 ESV
“But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, ‘You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off;
fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’.”
When Jesus Christ died on that cross, and he put our sins to
death with him, he destroyed the barrier that stood between Jew and Gentile and
he made us both one in Christ, for his purpose was to reconcile both of them to
God through the cross. For Jesus Christ is the promised seed of Abraham. And so
not all who are physically descended from Israel belong to Israel. So it is not
the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the
promise. And if we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed and heirs according
to the promise whether we are Jew or Gentile by physical birth.
Yes, there is a physical nation of people who call
themselves Israel, but they are not biblical Israel unless they belong to Jesus
Christ and they have died with him to sin and they have been raised with him to
walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness. And physical Israel is now of Hagar the slave woman because she
is still in slavery with her children, but we who believe in Jesus are of
Sarah, the free woman. And the Scriptures teach that whoever denies that Jesus
is the Christ, such a person is the antichrist (all this comes from the
Scriptures).
[Eph 2:14-18; Gal 3:16,26-29; Rom 9:4-8; Gal 4:22-31; 1 Jn
2:22; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Pet 2:24; Eph 4:17-24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10]
There is a movement today which is raising up the physical
nation of Israel almost to God status, and many Christians are giving their
honor and praise to this physical nation, which is not of God, but which is of
Hagar, the slave woman. And many Christians are being convinced that if they
are more like Jews that it will make them more godly. But this is just a repeat
of the Judaizers of the New Testament who were trying to convince Christians to
be more like Jews and to follow some of their customs and laws. And this is
what Paul was addressing in the first four Scriptures noted above.
So, even though these words in Isaiah were written to the
Israel of the Old Covenant, who were the Jews, true biblical Israel today are
all who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior, but not in
words only, but in action and in truth. And so the chosen of God are now all
who are following Jesus Christ with their lives and who are living to please
the Lord and who are no longer living to please the flesh, in practice. We are
the Lord’s servants and so we are not to fear for God is with us and he is our
God and he will strengthen us, and he will help us and uphold us.
And we need to hear those words of encouragement when the
trials of life come our way to test our faith. We need that assurance that our
Lord is with us and that he will provide for us all the strength that we need
to endure those trials and tribulations. But we also need to be walking in
obedience to our Lord and we must not be living in deliberate and habitual sin
if we expect the Lord to help us and to give us his strength. For he is not
going to uphold us if we are resisting him and if we are denying him by our
sinful lifestyles. But if we repent in true humility he will help us.
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25;
Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn
15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11;
1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 4:17-24; Tit
2:11-14; Lu 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23]
Isaiah 41:11-13 ESV
“Behold, all who are incensed against you
shall be put to shame and confounded;
those who strive against you
shall be as nothing and shall perish.
You shall seek those who contend with you,
but you shall not find them;
those who war against you
shall be as nothing at all.
For I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, ’Fear not,
I am the one who helps you’.”
If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, and our lives are
surrendered to him, and we are walking in his ways and not in the ways of the
flesh, we have an enemy who is against us. His name is Satan. And we will also
have people who will be against us, too, and many of them may be professers of
faith in Jesus Christ, and many (or some) of them may be pastors of “churches,”
too. For not all who profess faith in Jesus Christ are of Christ. And not all
who say, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the ones
DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).
So, if we are following the truths of the Scriptures, and we
take God’s words seriously, and we are walking in holiness and righteousness,
and not in sin, we are going to be opposed by other humans. And again, many of
them may also be those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And especially if we
are sharing the truth of the gospel in contrast to the lies of the enemy that
are being spread by charlatans and wolves in sheep’s clothing, then we will
have even pastors and elders and other Christians incensed against us. And especially
if we are teaching the truth about who biblical Israel is.
At one point, when I was sharing on Facebook the verses I shared
above about who biblical Israel is today, I had at least two people want to put
me to death. One of them wanted to hang me on a post and burn me to death. He was
vehemently opposed to what I was sharing, but I was sharing what Paul the
apostle of Christ said. Now that is severe! That is being incensed. And why?
Because I was sharing what Paul taught about who is true biblical Israel today
and who is not. And both of them claimed to be Christians.
Now, I am not going to get into a debate with anyone on this
subject, but the point raised here is that if we are following what the
Scriptures teach (in context), and if we are teaching or sharing with others
what the Scriptures teach (in context), we should be prepared that even others
who claim to be Christians, and even some pastors may be incensed against us
like the religious people of Jesus’ day were incensed against him to the point
of hanging him on a cross to die as though he was a common criminal.
But one day, when Jesus returns, and he takes his true
followers to be with him for eternity, all this will be over. And in the
meanwhile, while we wait for his return, we can be comforted in knowing that,
if we are following Jesus with our lives, the Lord is with us, and he is
holding our hands, and he is there to strengthen us and to carry us through all
difficulties and all persecutions and all threats against our lives, too. And
so we need to persevere, in his strength, and we need to pray for our enemies,
too.
[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19;
Jn 15:18-21; Jn 17:14; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1
Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13]
Scripture: I
Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E.
Couchman
Consider the
mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new
beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms
may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks
cloudless in the morning.
Rise up to the
battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather
courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night
falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our
banner in the morning.
When the trumpet
sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection
Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious
gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet
him in the morning.
How long, my Lord?
Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my
Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us
through our troubles
Till we rise above
them in the morning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoelKw7M3aU
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