An Informed Response To Attacks On Israel

Announcer This is the Truth Network. Shirley Weaver Shirley Weaver I'm talking about the heart and the understanding of the Born Again believer, not only in the United States, but throughout the world.

That's the focus today. And let me just draw from something that is important to me, my Born Again experience. Because of the way I was discipled, specifically spiritual mothers very close to me, one in particular, who explained to me the biblical history of the Jewish people, which even though I was, I was in the church my entire life, grew up in the church, a strong history with the church, throughout my family, all of my brothers and sisters, my cousins, everything, our strength, our spiritual strength was connected to the church. I was never taught about the Jewish people, nothing on Israel, the history, nothing. I was unaware. And unfortunately, by confession, I have to say that I would be one of those who would cast aspersion, not only on a Jewish person, but on anything connected.

I just would. I think, again, applying to me, I would put that in the category of ignorance, but it was an innocent ignorance, I believe, because when I began to hear, again from someone I trusted who had a longevity in the things of the Word, my spiritual mother, I heard truths that I knew were true. As she spoke them, I could tell by the witness of the Spirit on the inside of my own heart that she was speaking the truth, and she passionately, often with weeping, laid out the plight and the severity of that plight, often at the hands of the church, other Christians, not only, well, worldwide, not just in the Middle East, but see just this thing of ignorance. So we want an informed response, because as she spoke, I saw the truth. She was, for one thing, skillful in the things of the Word, one thing I'd never encountered in my whole life in the church. I heard teaching.

I heard theories, even philosophies. I think that would be a proper description, but her skill in handling the Word is something that always gave me a sure path, because then I could go to the Lord with those verses and pray, seek the Lord for myself, not taking someone else's word only, but hearing directly from the Lord. So that's my experience, one for which I am so thankful. From that day until this, my determination has been to, again, respond to the scriptural mandate, bless Israel. If you bless Israel, God will bless you. Curse Israel, God will curse you.

So that's the foundation. And secondly, also so important to me personally, the prophetic view, because I know many things are associated with the concept of prophecy and the prophetic on this side, you know, of the ancient prophets. So without getting into those weeds, I appreciate all prophetic influence, all of it. I appreciate prophecy when they prophesy revealing and clarifying what the Lord is doing and what He is saying. And I say that I appreciate all of it. I understand that there is error.

I understand I have misgivings as well, maybe as you do, but listen, you know, here's the principle. The trumpets that were used in ancient Israel to signal war, alarm, also the call to worship, the call to prayer, different sounds on the shofar, the trumpet, the ram's horn, different blast, different length of the sounding of those blast. You may know something about that. It's worth looking into, by the way, the book of Numbers and other references. Like the trumpets in ancient Israel, prophetic voices clarify for me and reveal to me an understanding of what God is saying. I believe God has gifted me prophetically, probably more than any other gift, and has therefore gifted our ministry that way, but that is only to say for those who have the gift of giving or the gift of hospitality, like on that same level, a prophetic gifting. And the more that God matures me or you or anyone else in that gift, the accuracy of what we are saying helps other believers. It's the part we play. It's the role we have.

It's the joint we supply, the contribution we make to the whole. So that's just, again, a foundation for where I'm coming from for this informed response to what is taking place in Israel. A couple of references to this prophetic insight I'm describing, the most obvious, my most favorite and therefore the one I quote the most is out of the book of 1 Chronicles. And by the way, this is somewhat obscure referencing the sons of Issachar. Here's the quote, men who understood the times and therefore knew what Israel ought to do.

That's 1 Chronicles 12, 32. And then another more less obscure, the prophet Jeremiah's response when God's people were taken from their homeland into exile, chapters 27 through 29 in the book of Jeremiah and there are others. But if we are to respond in an informed way to the terror attacks and the terror plots that have infiltrated, especially the Middle East and the immediate ring of Iranian backed nations right on the border with tiny, tiny Israel, let's face it, do you know of another nation, country, nation state in the whole world who has this predicament? Iranian backed terrorists, Iranian backed destruction on your border on every side. So Christians need to take a stand.

You need to hear from the Lord what you can do. The day of the attack was a Saturday, but Monday morning first thing, I purchased a full size Israeli flag and attached it to the front of my house. I can tell by the passersby, they don't recognize the flag or have a clue why it's there.

They probably think it's a nice color. Others, however, will see it and know that I stand with Israel. Christians need to take a stand, a demonstration of our love for the people that God loves.

Our support for Israel, the land and the Jewish people, also Israel worldwide. The church must not be silent right now. So think this way. You got to be informed.

Don't take my word for it. Do your own study. You need your own eschatology, eschatology, your understanding of the end times.

You need your own understanding of God's word and you need to pray from that perspective. So just briefly, you know the Middle East, here are the nations that make up the Middle East. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, that's the United Arab Republic.

Wait, hold on. United Arab Emirates. United Arab Emirates. Kuwait. Israel. Egypt.

Jordan. Iran, some say Iran. Qatar, some say Qatar. Lebanon, talking about the nations that make up the quote Middle East. But here, we are talking about those on Israel's border.

So this is why we are praying for the Israeli leaders, all the people on the ground, the families of the victims of those who have been killed and who will be killed in this awful, awful thing. The families of those who are now held hostage. The Christians in these lands. Israel, Gaza, and countries that border Israel.

So let's talk about that inner ring. I've already listed those that are in the Middle East. Here's the inner ring of neighbors, most of which are Iranian backed. First of all, Lebanon on the north. Egypt on the south. Jordan and Syria on the west. Palestinian territories of West Bank in the west of Israel, within the borders of Israel. And Gaza on the east, right on the Mediterranean, again, within the borders of Israel.

This is profound here. And just parenthetically, let me say that Israel has good relations with Egypt, also with Jordan, but within these entities are infiltrated and embedded terrorists who are financed by, trained by, and motivated by, maddened by Iran and its radical Islamic leadership. The people of Iran, by majority, from a majority standpoint, do not feel that way, but they are under a cruel, cruel religious jaw that has clamped down on that entire nation. So knowing what is in the Middle East, knowing the inner ring of nations that are around the borders of Israel, see, we should pray and we should be. We should say, God, make us like Issachar and the sons of Issachar. Give us understanding of what's happening here so that we know what we are to do as individuals, as local congregations, as local communities, definitely the nation we live in, and also that we have prophetic voices, those with prophetic giftings who help us understand that even when something looks difficult and appears to be getting more difficult, we don't shy away. Like Jeremiah's response when he knew that something difficult was about to happen for God's people. This is what I'm admonishing, this is what I'm saying, and keep looking at Psalm 83, Jeremiah 49, and Isaiah 17, and we'll pick up right here next time. In the meantime, God blesses those who bless Israel and the Jew. He curses those who curse Israel and the Jew. From our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this is true. That's the truth. You gotta know the truth and act on it. A devotional, Running with Horses. Thanks again, and we'll see you next time.