Sacred Ground | Pastor Chris Kouba | United City Church

Let's worship a God that is here in this place, and He has never left us. Sing with us, you mad? I have a Savior here in my heart, and in my weakness He won't depart. I have a Savior who will abide, He's not just with me, He lives inside. Just go and stand your faith, our God will bring you out, and He will testify, He shuts the lion's mouth. Oh, I saw Hebrew boys in Houston by your side, they were like dancing by the fourth man in the fire. They'll tell you, oh, He's in the room. Yes, He is. Oh, He's in the room. I've got a treasure here in my heart, and in my weakness it won't depart. I have a Savior who will abide, He's not just with me, He lives inside. Just go and stand your faith, our God will bring you out, and He will testify, He shuts the lion's mouth. Oh, I saw Hebrew boys in Houston by your side, they were like dancing by the fourth man in the fire. They'll tell you, oh, He's in the room. Yes, He is. Oh, He's in the room. Oh, He's in the room. Oh, He's in the room. If I search the heavens high, if I search the earth below, if I make my bed in hell, no matter where I go. Where can I run from His Spirit? Where can I go from His presence? Even in the deepest depths, no matter where I go. If I search the earth, if I make my bed in hell, no matter where I go. Where can I run from His Spirit?

Where can I go from His presence? Even in the deepest depths, no matter where I go. If I search the heavens high, if I search the earth below, if I make my bed in hell, no matter where I go. Where can I go from His Spirit? Where can I go from His presence? No matter where I go. Oh, He's in the room. Oh, He's in the room. Oh, He's in the room. Amen, amen. You guys can go ahead and grab a seat. It's so good to see you. My name is Chris Cuba. I have the privilege of being lead pastor here at United City Church. Summer is officially here. It is incredible to think about. And I just want to encourage you to make sure you do everything that you possibly can to make this the best summer that you possibly ever can. And I can tell you how you can do that. You can make that by making it the most spiritual summer that you've ever had. I just encourage you to make sure that you're here, in the room, that you are a part of what God is doing in our midst this summer. If you're traveling, connect with us online and still stay with us. Make sure that you're not only doing that,

but you're reading in God's Word. You're making that a priority. You're coming and seeing Him every single day. Not getting out of the habit, but instead, making sure that you solidify that habit. Let this be a time as well, whenever you're faithful in your giving. Even when you're not here, set up recurring giving so that you aren't giving in response to God's faithfulness, but you're not here to do it. But instead, you're able to continue to respond to the goodness of the Lord and what He's done in your life. We'll see you next time. We do know we have guests that we have every single time that we gather together and we wanna make sure to say a great word of greeting to you especially. There is a first time guest booth out in the lobby. Do us a favor and come and find us there. We've got a gift that we want to give to you. We wanna personally follow up with you and just thank you so much for being a part of our church and coming and visiting with us today. I'm gonna ask our guys to go ahead and make their way forward as we prepare to receive the offering today. We do wanna make sure that we can just respond to the Lord and all that he has given us. I want you to know whenever you're giving to United City, there's a lot going on.

This month alone, we're gonna be seeing an incredible move of God, particularly in our next gen ministry. We've got sports camp taking place this week for our kids ministry, which we're very excited about. We've got youth camp leaving on Saturday, which we're excited about that as well. And then in two weeks, we've got four or five camp. We've got over 850 kids that are gonna be sent out, kids and youth combined that are gonna be sent out, going to various camps, gonna be various things. We've got 400 serve team members who are gonna be serving them. What I wanna do is I just wanna ask if we can just maybe, if you're physically able to, can we just go to our knees? I just wanna go before the Lord and ask his blessing upon this summer and specifically these next few weeks as we prepare to see God move in a powerful way in the life of our next gen ministry. Father, in Jesus name, we come before you. And first of all, we just say thank you for the privilege and the opportunity that you've put before us, giving us the ability to rise up right now, 850 kid and youth who are gonna experience you. Pray for salvation to take place. Those who don't know you would come into a relationship with you. For those who are already believers,

I pray God that you would disciple them. I pray God that you would call up church planters, missionaries, pastors, leaders in business with a kingdom mindset. God, that you would solidify those things in their hearts over these next few weeks. I pray God that you'd be with our 400 leaders. I pray God that you would use them, help them see beyond the surface. Pray God you'd give them the words to say, you would give them the eyes to be able to notice needs. I pray God you'd give them the ability to meet those needs. Pray for safety. Pray God for the weather to cooperate. You pray God for all the many distractions that so easily take us away from hearing you. That God we could put those things aside and we could focus our attention and our gaze upon you so that you could do your work. It's in the powerful name of Jesus that I pray, amen. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Calling on the God of Jacob ♪ ♪ Whose love endures through generations ♪ That's right. ♪ I know that you will keep the covenant ♪ ♪ So I'm calling on the God of Moses ♪ Yes, I am. ♪ The one who opened up the oceans ♪

♪ And I need you now to do the same thing for me ♪ ♪ For me ♪ Come on, all across this room, lift your hand to the heavens. Let this be your prayer today. ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you now ♪ ♪ How I need you now ♪ ♪ Oh rock of rock of ages ♪ ♪ I'm standing on your faithfulness ♪ ♪ On your faithfulness ♪ ♪ It's your faithfulness I'm standing on ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the God of Mary ♪ ♪ Whose favor rests upon the Lord ♪ ♪ I know with you all things are possible ♪ ♪ I'm calling on the God, yes I am ♪ ♪ Who made us shepherds for graces, oh oh oh oh ♪ ♪ I may not risk a life, but I'm calling on you now ♪ ♪ But I got my own giants ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you now ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you now ♪ ♪ I need you now ♪ ♪ Oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing on your promises ♪ ♪ I'm standing on your promises ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you now ♪ ♪ Oh God, my God, I need you now ♪ ♪ Oh rock, oh rock of ages, I'm standing on your promises ♪ ♪ On your faithfulness, I've seen you move ♪ ♪ You move the mountains and I believe you'd do it again ♪ ♪ Because you heard your children ♪

♪ And you'll hear your children now ♪ ♪ Cause you are the same God, oh you are the same God ♪ ♪ See you answered prayers back then ♪ ♪ And you will answer now ♪ ♪ Cause you are the same God, say you are the same God ♪ Come on, 1130. ♪ You are the provider now, you are the provider now ♪ ♪ Because you are the same God, you are the same God ♪ ♪ Your heart is the strength now, you moved in power then ♪ ♪ Now you moved in power now, you are the same God ♪ ♪ Yes you are the same, you are a healer then ♪ ♪ You are a healer, yes, you are the same ♪ ♪ You never changed, you never changed, ♪ ♪ You were the savior then, you are the savior now ♪ ♪ Oh you are, yes you are, hey, oh God, my God, I need you now ♪ ♪ We stand on your faithfulness, oh rock, oh rock ♪ ♪ I'm standing on your faithfulness, on your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh my God, Jehovah, I need you, I need you now ♪ ♪ Jehovah, I'm standing on, oh rock, oh rock ♪ ♪ I'm standing on your faithfulness, on your faithfulness ♪ ♪ Oh I need thee, oh I need thee, every hour God I need thee ♪ ♪ Oh I need thee, oh I need thee, every hour God I need thee ♪ ♪ My one defense, you are my righteousness, oh God I need you ♪ ♪ Oh God my God I need you, oh God my Lord I need you now ♪ ♪ How I need you now, oh rock, oh rock of ages ♪ ♪ I'm standing on your faithfulness, on your faithfulness ♪ Does anybody believe that we serve a God that is the same? That he never changes, that he is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. And because of that, we can exalt his name in this place

and say, King Jesus, we bless your name. Father, we exalt your name on high. Can you just give him a hand clap of praise for how good he has been, for how he is still seated and how he is still reigning above everything that is happening in this world, we sing. ♪ All hail King Jesus, all hail the Lord of kings ♪ ♪ Heaven and earth, all hail King Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ All hail the name Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail the name Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ It's the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ There was a moment when the sky lit up ♪ ♪ A flash of light breaking through ♪ ♪ When all was lost He crossed eternity ♪ ♪ The King of God was on the moon ♪ ♪ Or in the dark cold blue ♪ ♪ Where our Lord was made ♪ ♪ One miraculous breath ♪ ♪ And we're forever saved ♪ ♪ All hail the Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail the Jesus, we love you Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ All hail the name we worship in Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Lord of heaven and earth ♪ ♪ All hail the Jesus ♪ ♪ All hail the Savior of the world ♪

♪ He's the Savior of the world ♪ ♪ So let every knee come bow before the King of kings ♪ ♪ Let every confess that he is Lord ♪ ♪ Lift up your shout, let us join with all of heaven singing ♪ ♪ Oh, we're singing, we're singing, oh ♪ ♪ We're singing, we're singing, oh ♪ ♪ We're singing, oh ♪ Come on lift your voices. All hail. Come on we lift up His name. All hail the Lord of heaven and earth. All hail the King Jesus. We worship Jesus. All hail the Savior of the world. You are Alpha and Omega. We worship You our Lord. You are worthy to be praised. Can we lift that up all over the building? You're Alpha. You are Alpha and Omega. We worship You our Lord. You are worthy to be praised. Can we do that one more time? You are Alpha. You are Alpha. And O make us, we worship You our Lord. You are worthy to be praised. We give You all the glory. We worship You our Lord. You are worthy to be praised. We give You all the glory. We worship You our Lord. You are worthy to be praised. We give You all the glory. We worship You our Lord. You are worthy to

be praised. We give You all the glory. We worship You our Lord. You are worthy to be praised. You are worthy to be praised. We worship You our Lord. You are worthy to be praised. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. We worship You our Lord. them. In fact, usually there's an intensity and there's a passion that is very much the case underlying. But if you bring it up in the wrong setting, then it's going to cause people to not get along. For the next four weeks, starting today, I want to talk about those topics. I want to poke the bear. I want us to go to some of those things that you normally don't hear in church. Why? Because we're just trying to keep the peace. We're trying to keep everybody happy. And if you want to do that, you don't bring up these things. And what I'm going to ask is that you will allow the particular topics that we speak about for God to have His say to you. Today the topic we're going to talk about is one that when we talked about this with our team trying to decide which of the topics we would choose, it caused the most intensity of emotion. Israel. We're going to talk today about Israel. And what I'm going to ask you to do is not allow your emotion, not allow your history, the outlook, all these various things in the past that you may have preconceived ideas about. But you would instead allow God's Word to speak the truth. Please know that if you allow the cable news programs, if you allow your social media algorithm, if you allow your personal emotions to drive what you think about the topic of Israel, then you're going to be somebody who reacts more than you are biblical. And a lot of times what you begin to see when it comes to this issue is one of two extremes. On the one hand, what you have is that you have this Christian nationalism. We should basically all support Israel no matter what. It makes zero difference what it is that we do. And the thought of anything else means that you're not a Christian.

So over here, which is, why are we even talking about this issue in the first place? Like, why would you even waste breath bringing up Israel as something that is worthy of us? It's just like any other country that's out there. Why should we care? I'm asking you to let the Bible speak, not just today, but for the next few weeks. Let me give you a heads up as we get into this text. It's very important that you see that we're going to approach this very differently, this series, than we did the last one. The last series was one where we walked verse by verse through the book of Song of Solomon talking about relationships and dating and marriage and conflict, and I tried to make sure that you, every single week, had actual tangible tools that you could walk away with to be able to implement in your relationships. This is going to be a much more academic series. I'm taking the role of an apologist more than I am a pragmatist. I'm wanting to be biblical in both, of course, but I'm going to be teaching you in such that I'm going to ask you to begin to take notes and to make sure you turn in your Bibles and see and test, because I want to shape your mind so that you know how to think, which then results in how you act. We'll give you some practical application along the way, but to be honest with you, it's not one filled with a bunch of personal stories and antidotes. It's one that instead is filled with a lot of history and text, and what does the God's Word say? Question that I want us to consider this morning is this. As a Christian, what should I think about Israel? As a Christian, what should I think about Israel? Let's begin reading Genesis chapter 12, beginning in verse 1. It says, Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Oh, bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. I'm going to give you four things, four reasons why and what you should care about Israel, and then I'm going to give you three things to walk away with to do, okay? Number one, God established Israel. God established Israel. What I just read to you in Genesis chapter 12 is what I would call the Abrahamic covenant. It's when the Lord established an

unbreaking covenant with Abram, who later became Abraham, establishing what he would do through a people that he would later call Israel. And it's important to note in Genesis chapter 12, there are three key things that describe what biblical Israel is. Number one, land. Land. There are very clear and specific boundaries of land that were promised and given to the people of Israel. It's further expounded on in Genesis chapter 15. What's interesting is that this land, which gets all the talk and which gets all the conflict comes out of, is no bigger than the size of the state of New Jersey. It's a very small piece of land. But what I want you to see is that this land, another important thing to see, is that Israel in its history has never fully occupied all the land that God promises to it beginning in Genesis 12, repeated in Genesis 15, repeated again in Genesis 17. Second thing that we see mentioned in Genesis chapter 12 of biblical Israel, number two, people. There's land and there's people. God was gonna make a nation and he was gonna do it from Abraham's line. The promise is that the people would be great in number. Land, people, final thing is blessing, is blessing. He makes it very clear that he will bless those who bless this people and he will curse those who curse this people. The goal of their special choosing is that through this distinct group of people that he sets aside and blesses, through them, all other nations would be blessed. So God's plan all along is to bless all nations. But he's saying that he's gonna do that by blessing specifically the chosen people of Israel. Genesis chapter 17, there's an important distinction

about the covenant that is mentioned. What you're gonna see here is that Abram is gonna get his name changed from Abram to Abraham. We don't have time to go into that, but it's one of the Hebrew things that kind of shows what he's about to do. And then what we're also gonna see is that the covenant of circumcision was also established as a seal of the covenant. Genesis 17, turn with me over there and let's look at verse five. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make you into nations and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an, underline this, everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, underline this, everlasting possession, and I will be their God. There's an everlasting covenant that was unique because it was ratified in Genesis chapter 15 when Abraham was deep in sleep, meaning this, its fulfillment depends entirely on God's faithfulness rather than on human performance.

Think of it this way, whenever you sign a contract with someone, both parties are bound by their performance. But Abraham put, excuse me, God put Abraham to sleep and walk through the covenant alone, like signing a contract and then forging the other guy's signature. The obligation is entirely his, that's why it still stands, land, people, and blessing. Now let's talk about the important question, which is what is true biblical Israel? Is true biblical Israel the nation that was established in 1946 that has an identified border and land and a government that's in place? I wholeheartedly believe that the establishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 was the partial fulfillment of God fulfilling his long-term everlasting covenant to the people of Israel. That being said, it doesn't mean that the current state is biblical Israel, it's national Israel because it's largely secular and in rebellion against Christ, even as God remains faithful to his irrevocable calling. So I can affirm what God is doing now through the church while at the same time believing that God still has a purpose and a plan for that land a little smaller than New Jersey there in the Middle East and that God wants to do something specific and special

through the promises that he made with those people in Genesis chapter 12 and repeated multiple times in scripture after that. Number two, second thing I want you to see about why you should care about Israel, what you should think about Israel. Number two, our faith is a Jewish faith. Our faith is a Jewish faith. One of my greatest joys is taking people to the Holy Land. I've been three times. And when you walk those streets, scripture begins to stop being just something that's kind of like stories on a page and it becomes to be rooted in real life. What you see is that our faith is not just spiritual, it's rational. Like it's birthed in a historical context in time. But you also very clearly see that Jesus was born into a culture and a people who rejected him and that rejection became the very means by which me as a Gentile, it's offered and brought into his salvation. I want you to know this, our faith is a Jewish faith and we owe Israel an immeasurable debt. The connection between Christians and Jews is undeniable. We possess a Jewish Bible, written by Jewish authors, and when we preach from the Old Testament, we're reading the same text

that the Jewish people still study today. In addition, we serve a Jewish Savior, Jesus Christ, who was born in the lineage of David and the lineage of Abraham. When you read the book of Matthew, it was primarily written to show that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Jewish Messiah. It shows at the very beginning in the genealogy, literally, it walks you through and shows how Jesus came from the flesh all the way down from Abraham and from David. He is the greater Moses. He is the great high priest. Every time you read the New Testament, you cannot read it without seeing so many of the promises about Jesus that are fulfilled in Him, that are given in the Old Testament, that are ultimately from the Jewish people. The church began as a Jewish movement before spreading to the Gentiles and Acts. And God's desire has always been to bless the whole world through Israel. John 4, verse 22, you worship what you do not know, we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. When Jesus came as a fulfillment of the Jewish Messiah, He became the blessing that would be available to the whole world.

This means that we have an innumerable and immeasurable debt to Israel because our hope is found in a Jewish Savior. Yeshua, who is called Jesus. A big reason why you should care about the nation of Israel is just our proximity and relation to them. Like literally, we are not who we are if it wasn't for the Jewish people. And so in light of that, we should definitely care because we also see that God cares greatly about it. Third thing I want you to see, know about Israel that shapes how we should think about her. Satan hates what God loves. Satan hates what God loves. One thing is undeniably clear when you read our Bible and that's that God loves Israel. He not only loves her because He established her, He loves her because He has a very special and unique relationship with her. Deuteronomy chapter seven, verses six through eight says it so clearly. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession. Out of all the peoples, you were on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number

than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Psalm 134, excuse me, 135, verse four says, for the Lord has chosen Jacob to be His own, Israel to be His treasured possession. God very clearly loves Israel. It's found over and over again throughout the Scriptures. But one thing is also very certain. There's a lot of people, there's a lot of groups, there's a lot of nations who hate Israel and specifically hate the Jewish people. One of the questions that super perplexed me all along, I really didn't get clarity on it until I actually went to Israel, was why is everybody fighting so much in this land? Like it's the size of New Jersey, it's not like it's that big. Like, why are we getting so worked up about it? Like, you know, why can't you go to your corner and you go to your corner and God just be like, wait, if you guys are fighting over this thing, it's mine. All right, you go over here, you go over here, I'm taking it back. We see very clearly, turn with me to Genesis chapter 16.

I wanna show you exactly why there's so much turmoil in the Middle East. Genesis chapter 16. Let me give you the context. God had given Abram and Sarai the promise that they would be a father of a great nation. That he would be a father of a great nation, that he would have this land promise and that he would be a blessing. They're now finding themselves many years after this promise has been given and they have no kids. They're getting up to the point where it's like not making sense for them to have kids anymore. And so therefore they start to grow impatient and look at what happens in verse two. So this is Sarai speaking, said to Abram, the Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave, perhaps I can build a family through her. And Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So Abram, the man that God had personally chosen and personally gave the promises to, took matters into his own hands. And from this relationship that he had with the slave woman, he ends up having a child named Ishmael. Let me just stop right there. Anytime you take matters into your own hands, it's never gonna go well. It's never gonna go well. You may feel like God is late.

Make no mistake about it, he is right on time. And because of their impatience, they had a child, which here's the description of this child, verse 10. The angel added, I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count. The angel of the Lord also said to her, you are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man. His hand will be against everyone and in everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers. So here's the prophecy. It indicates that conflict would characterize the relations between the descendants of Ishmael, who became the Arab people because Ishmael settled in the Arabian Peninsula, and all of his brothers. The next chapter, Genesis 17, we see God coming yet again to Abram. He changes his name from Abram to Abraham. He changes her name from Sarai to Sarah, and he gives them a child, the child of promise, which would be the one who the lineage would be built through, and that was the child Isaac. So we see promised in Genesis 16 that Ishmael would not get along with his neighbors

and would not get along with his brothers. And then we see the promised child, which is Isaac, now born, and you can see there's a lot of tension. Folks, if you thought that you've got sibling tension or sibling beef, you got nothing on this family, all right, nothing. What you instead see is there's great tension, and here's how that begins to play out. Let's talk about this. What does this look like today? Islam is a religion that credits its founding to the same piece of land and to the same family as Christians and Jews. In fact, if you go to the Holy Land today and you go to the Temple Mount, there are three different distinct areas. There's the Christian section, there's the Jewish section, and there's the Muslim section. The Muslim section says that Ishmael is the actual true descendant of God through the lineage of the promise, and so therefore, all of Ishmael's descendants are the ones who to be blessed. They also reject Jesus as the Messiah and just call him a prophet. And instead, they would say that Allah is the one who they are to follow. And so you can imagine what we are seeing here

is not just people fighting over land. We are having a spiritual battle take place for who is actually God and what does he actually say. Because the Jewish people would say that the lineage comes from Abraham, and we now, as Christians, believing in Jesus, who is also from the lineage of Abraham, would also believe that Isaac was the true descendant, not Ishmael. So then the question becomes, why is there so much fighting over there, folks? It's because it's ultimately declaring what did God say. Like, it's all more than just I've been taught to hate you. It's instead very core battle of being, which is what does God's word actually say? Galatians 1, verses six through nine says this. I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we are an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preach to you, let them be under God's curse. Don't miss those words. If some other religion comes in, some other angel and preaches something counter to what God's word said, what does he say? Let them be accursed.

As we have already said, so now I say again, if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse. I wanna be clear, I'm not saying that every person who follows Islam is without value or beyond the reach of God's grace. We absolutely must go after them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. That being said, at its doctrinal core, any system that denies the lordship of Christ and the resurrection of Jesus is not a different path to the same God, it's a counterfeit. And what does God's word say about counterfeits? They're cursed. Satan has always hated Israel because she's the mother of the Messiah and he couldn't get to Jesus through her. Now his target is twofold. One, it's the church because we are living out God's expression here on this earth and so therefore, they wanna go against everything that we are and everything that we stand for. But please also know, this is also why there have been so many attempts throughout history to remove and eliminate God's chosen people. If you remove the Jewish people, then you remove God.

And that causes you then to go and serve what they would say is their true God. Whether it was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, the Caesars of Rome, Hitler in Germany, or Hamas. Hezbollah and all of Iran today, what is their stated goal? Take out Israel and remove the Jewish people. Why? Because here's what the Christian scriptures say, Romans nine, verse four and five. They're Israelites and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs and from their race, according to the flesh is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever, amen. Satan can't stand them. He wants Jerusalem destroyed because he knows what God promises in here will take place. Satan hates what God loves and God loves Israel. Final thing I want you to see about what you should think about Israel, number four. God still has a place for Israel. God still has a place for Israel. I believe in the priority and the preeminence of the church that's made up of Jews and Gentiles alike who've received the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ by grace through faith. The church is the hope of the world.

It's God's primary expression on the earth today. However, I do not believe that the church replaces Israel and the promises that God has given to it. Many of the promises found in the Old Testament have been fulfilled and are completed in the person of Jesus. But I do not believe that the everlasting covenants given to Abraham and are negated by the arrival of Christ, I believe they still have a future fulfillment waiting to be fulfilled. Romans chapter 11, verses one and two says this. I asked then, has God rejected his people? By no means. For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. The rest of Romans chapter 11 begins to explain Israel's current state and God's future plan for them. What he's saying is that they've rejected the Messiah. They've rejected who Jesus is. And so now there's this season where the Gentiles are able to be grafted in and brought in, but it doesn't mean just because they've rejected the Messiah that God has no future plans for them. Romans chapter 11, verse 11 says it this way. So I asked, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means. Rather through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles

so as to make Israel jealous. We've been grafted in as Gentiles into the salvation available through Jesus. And ultimately the Jews will still have to come to the father through Jesus. There's not another way, but we must recognize that it doesn't mean that God doesn't care about what happens in Israel or care about the Jewish people. I believe instead he still has future plans for them, specifically those promises of land, of seed, and of blessing. Let me close, give you three things to do in light of this. Number one, let the Bible be the foundation for your politics. Let the Bible be the foundation for your politics. One of the main reasons Israel is such a taboo topic is the idolatry of politics in our culture. I'm told that if I support a political policy, then that means I wholeheartedly endorse everything associated with that party or with the extreme version of that political agenda. But as Christians, we must resist the all or nothing categories that politicians so often try to put us in. Meaning I can believe that Israel has a right to exist based upon biblical promises, but it does not mean that we wink at injustice or approve of every action taken by the secular Israeli government.

This doesn't mean that we support Israel blindly, but in the same way that we don't agree with everything our own government does. Today, you are told that you are not allowed to vote for a policy, but not like the person. You are told it's all together, and in light of that, it has caused us to begin to allow politics to shape how we read the Bible instead of letting the Bible shape how we see politics. People say, oh, great, here we go, the church is getting too political. Please hear me, I am not getting political, I'm getting theological. The politics has gotten theological, that's the problem. So in light of that, I've gotta know, I can walk and chew gum at the same time. Amen. I'm gonna read my Bible, and then I'm gonna vote, and I'm gonna stand for things that are in light of that. And it doesn't paint me into a corner that means that I believe every bad thing that every politician in every party's ever done. But on the other hand, we sometimes allow the barrage of politics to lead us to check out and become extremely apathetic on things that God cares deeply about. Please hear me, we are in a situation right now, let me just speak to one of these specific issues where neither party is truly biblically pro-life. What we are seeing is a political expediency, and please hear me, I could care less how much of a football that that particular issue is, in terms of getting people elected or not elected. That being said, God cares about it, so we should care about it.

We should stand up for it, we should support life in all ways, because God says a lot about it. In the same way, do not allow the noise of politics to make you check out on this issue of Israel, because God cares about Israel, and we should too. We should have a biblically formed view that allows us to begin to process how we watch the news so that we put our filters on, instead of letting that filter tell us how we're supposed to read the Bible. Number two, speak up for righteousness. Speak up for righteousness. Part of speaking up for righteousness involves calling out evil. We have a moral obligation to speak out against the irredeemably evil and genocidal aims of groups like Hezbollah and Hamas and Iran, whose charter literally calls for the destruction of God's people. The just war principle that military force is justified when it's defensive and aimed at protecting innocent lives gives Israel, the nation, a clear moral right to defend itself against unprovoked attacks. In the same vein, we also must call out evil when it arises out of national Israel. We must not be cautious about calling out evil and remembering the biblical mandate to rescue those who are being taken away to death and to rebuke the wicked. We also must speak up for righteousness and praise those who are living out God's calling to love and to serve people of all nations. Pray for nothing. Pray for peace. Pray for peace. This is a touchy subject, but one thing that everyone can agree on is our need to pray. Psalm 122 tells me to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and that those who love her will be secure. We need to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We need to be in prayer for the Middle East. We need to pray for the salvation and the welfare of the Jewish people, that they would

come to see Jesus as the true Messiah and come to faith in Him. We should pray for the Arab believers and the innocent Palestinians who are caught in the crossfire of the ongoing conflict that takes place. We should pray for the growth of the church throughout the Middle East and within Israel where the gospel is moving forward many times underground and people are coming in great number to faith. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me? Let's pray right now. Father, we pray for that peace. Pray that You would work, that You would move. We pray, God, for the churches and the believers that are in this land, that You would mobilize them and that You would use them to share the gospel. We pray, God, for so many believers who are under the threat of persecution, that You would help them persevere, that You would help them stay close to You. We praise You for so many reports of Muslims who are seeing dreams of a Savior and coming to faith in Him. We pray for more of that. We pray for the Arab believers, for the innocent Palestinians. Pray, God, that not only would they come and see You as the Savior, but, God, You would protect them and their families. Father, we pray for us. Help us think why. Help us think biblical. Help us let the Bible speak. Let us not be a group that is apathetic, but let us instead respond as you lead and as you guide us to do so. As you continue to keep your heads bowed and your eyes closed, we're praying for national peace in this area, but here's the question that I want to leave you with. Do you personally know the Prince of Peace? Yeshua, Jesus, is the way, the truth, and the life, and He offers you deep, personal

peace right now. If your life is filled with chaos and brokenness, you can experience God's peace today. Jesus fulfilled the law's requirements that we never could, satisfying God's righteous demand for perfection through His own sacrifice for you and for me. Some of you are living in strife right now because you, just like Abraham, took matters into your own hands, and now you're living with the consequences. Today you can find rest in God's grace. It comes when you submit to the King of Kings and you follow Him with all of your heart. In order for you to make Jesus your King, you have to turn from your sins in your own way of doing things. Recognize that He died on a cross for you, that He rose from the dead, and He has the power to change your life if you'll receive that gift that He's offering to you right now. If you've never received Jesus, if you've never made Him the King of your life, in just a moment I want to ask that you come forward, let us talk with you, let us pray with you, so that you can leave here knowing with certainty that you have a relationship with Jesus. Others of you need to come and join United City Church, God's leading you to make this your church home. We're not a perfect church, but we are a church that wants to be faithful to the Word of God. God's leading you to be a part of that, to join with us in our mission, to reach northeast Houston and beyond across every divide to live united in Christ. Would you come and lead the way today? Others of you need to be baptized. This is your next step of obedience, to give public testimony of what Jesus has done privately in your life. Would you come and let us schedule your baptism? Maybe others of you need prayer. If you have a need today, we don't want you to walk it alone, come pray with us. Just a moment, I'm gonna pray. When I say amen, we're all gonna stand.

That's gonna be your cue to come forward. We'll have folks at the bottom of the steps, we'll have folks at the front of the church. I'm gonna ask that you respect this time, please no one be moving, no one trying to get out early. Unless you're coming forward to make a decision, would you just be in prayer for those that are around you? Maybe you can worship along with the song that's gonna be sung. This is the most important time of our service. Let's respect it, pray that God would move and honor Him as He does. Father in Jesus' name, we pray for boldness and courage for those that are gonna respond to you. I pray that you would move, I pray that you would call people to yourself. I pray God for those who have needs that today that could be prayed over and prayed with. Father, we pray for what you're gonna do, it's in the name of Jesus that I pray. Man, what an amazing time that we had today. Hey, if you know someone that needs to hear this message, we'd love for you to share that on socials. We'd love for you to actually go and check out our socials so you can stay up to date on everything happening in the life of United City, and if you need to take the next step, we'd love to help you do that as well. Love you guys so much, and we'll see you next week.