Running To Win 15 Minute Version

Dave McAllister: Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Missile attacks and terrorism, the violence in Israel knows no bounds. Israel, apart from the hand of God, it is unlikely it could have survived since its rebirth over 75 years ago. Today, why Israel's very existence is the first of the seven signs of Christ's return.

From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Erwin Lutzer is beginning a series on seven signs of Christ's return. Today we look at the miracle of Israel, the first of the signs that Jesus is coming soon.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: So why should we study prophecy? Well, the answer is that both the Old Testament prophets and the New Testament apostles, along with Christ himself, predicted his return. As a matter of fact, in the New Testament alone, there are more than 300 references to the fact that Jesus Christ is going to come again. The Bible is filled with warnings, warnings about those who are unprepared for his coming, recognizing that we should be alert and awake, spiritually speaking, lest he come in our generation.

Of course, even if he doesn't come, we are still accountable to God, there is still a judgment, but imagine being a part of that generation that the Christian church has looked forward to for 2,000 years, becoming a part of that generation when Jesus Christ appears in wonder and in glory. The scripture is clear we ought to live holy lives. We emphasize that in light of the fact that all these things will be burned up eventually, what manner of people we should be, because people and the word of God survive the fire.

Today we come to the first sign of Christ's return, and it is that Israel is reborn. Let me read what was read on May 14, 1948, when Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion read this official proclamation in Jerusalem: "By virtue of the natural historical right of the Jewish people and the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations, we hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine to be called Israel." Moments later, President Truman issued a statement granting official recognition to the new state.

The next day war breaks out. Five nations that surround Israel fight against this tiny country that was very unprotected and somehow, Israel was able to retain its existence. Since that time, it has suffered through four other wars, and Israel continues to exist. Now the question is, what possible connection could there be between this and the return of Jesus Christ? I mean, here you have a historical fact that took place many years ago, and yet we're talking about the possibility that this is somehow related to the return of Jesus Christ.

What is the connection? Well, let me tell you, the connection is this. I believe that the Bible teaches that the Jewish people, that is the descendants of Abraham through Isaac, that those people are going to be in the land that we call today Israel, though its borders will be much larger. They will be in the land when Jesus Christ returns in glory and he's going to come to the Mount of Olives as we shall explain in another message, and he will rule over them and they will accept him as their Messiah to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament.

Now you say, well, that's very interesting, but how do you know? Well, this I believe is what the Bible expressly teaches as we shall learn in the next few moments. But before we turn to the Bible, let me tell you that we have to discuss this question with a great deal of sensitivity, to realize that there are also Arabs and they have many good arguments and many good claims for the land. We can argue historically and politically and say that the Jews were there first, and that is true. But the Arabs have residency rights as well and therefore the conflict.

We need to treat this with a sense of evenhandedness, because a few years ago we had a man speak here who was a Palestinian Christian, an Arab Christian who lives in Bethlehem. He told me over lunch as we were discussing this, he said, "One person's prophecy is another's personal tragedy." He and his family lived close to Haifa in the land of Israel, and when the state was formed, they were forced to become part of a refugee camp and they lived there for many, many years and their land was confiscated, taken from them.

So let us recognize that no matter what we say, we need to recognize the legitimacy, the legitimate rights of those Arab communities. But there is another reason why peace will never be brought to the Middle East apart from the appearing of Christ. I will tell you because it is not just historical and political, interesting though that is. The real issue is religious. When Muhammad was born in 570 AD, and when he went into those trances and the words that he said were written down and they became the Quran, Muhammad rewrote biblical history.

What he said is that the promises do not come through Isaac but through Ishmael, and he believed that his descendancy was from Ishmael. He believed that really it is not Sarah who bears the child that will inherit the promises, but rather it is Hagar and therefore the promises, it is believed by millions, millions believe therefore that the promises are to be fulfilled to the Arabs and not the Jews. So what you really have going on in the Middle East is this: it is a conflict between Jehovah and Allah, between Isaac and Ishmael, between Sarah and Hagar, and between the Bible and the Quran.

That is why the roots go so deep and the antagonism seems to be so unrelenting. But now, let us take our Bibles and turn to Genesis chapter 12. Today I need to tell you that we are going to be reading a lot of passages of scripture. If you wish to follow, you may. If you wish to simply listen, you may. But the 12th chapter of Genesis is where it all begins, where God says to Abram, "Go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land which I will show you, and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you shall be a blessing, and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

What did God promise Abraham? First of all, that he would be a great man, and both Jews and Arabs today admit to that. You can go to Jerusalem and you can still see and think about the wonder of where Abraham lived and the honor that is given to him. Secondly, God says you are going to be a great nation, and through you all the families of the earth will be blessed, and certainly that was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ. Christ blesses the families of the earth because on his human side he was from the seed of Abraham.

God continues to talk to Abraham and he continues to make a promise to Abraham and always adds some more details. For example, in chapter 15, the Lord takes Abraham outside and says in verse 5, "Look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them." That is a challenge for the naked eye. Abraham, in effect, I'm sure said, "God, I give up, I cannot do that." God says, "In the very same way, your descendants will not be able to be counted." It does not mean that there's going to be the same number of descendants as there are stars, it just means that God says both are going to be uncounted.

Verse 6, "Then he believed in the Lord and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." When do you think Abraham was saved in the Old Testament sense of the word? Right here. Now he was not yet receiving the righteousness of Christ, but God credited Abraham's sin to Christ, knowing that Jesus would come hundreds of years later, die on a cross so that even Abraham is saved because of the death of Christ. No one can be saved without the death of Christ as the basis of acceptance before God. So Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

The Lord said, "I am the Lord that brought you up out of Ur of Chaldees to give you this land to possess it." The rest of the chapter is taking animals and cutting them in two. This was an old way that was used back then to make a treaty, and normally the two people making the treaty would walk through those pieces of meat together. But if you read the text, and we do not have time to, Abraham falls asleep and God alone walks through those symmetrical pieces of meat.

Why? Because God says, "I am making a covenant with you Abraham, and I am going to be the one to fulfill it and it is not even dependent upon you." It is important that you be faithful and if you are not I will discipline you, but at the end of the day, this is something that I am going to do and the book of Hebrews confirms that where God says there is nobody else to swear by, "I will swear by myself, I am going to give this land to Abraham's descendants."

So you will notice how it ends in verse 18: "On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abraham saying, 'To your descendants I give this land from the river of Egypt as far as the river, the great river Euphrates,'" and then it lists the Canaanites that are in there. It says in verse 21 the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Girgashite, the Jebusite, and as I am fond of saying, if you're into computers, the megabyte. God says I'm going to give you all that land and he even delineates the borders of it.

Now notice what he says in chapter 17 to Abraham. He says in verse 7, the Lord is speaking again. Wouldn't it be wonderful if God came to you every other day and you could have a conversation with him? That's what Abraham was doing. "I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your descendants after you, and I will give you and to your descendants after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God."

Dave McAllister: Of course, as we know, God always keeps his promises. Well, today is the last day we are making a very special resource available for you. It's a book entitled *Marx and Moody: Two Contemporaries, Two Gospels, Two Tombstones, and One Choice*. What this book will help you to do is to understand our own culture. As a matter of fact, one who emphasized bringing Marxism to America says that it is exactly the religion that must kill Christianity, and then he goes on to talk about how.

I hope that you take advantage of this offer. It will help you to understand today's culture but also thankfully help all of us to be reminded of the tremendous power of the gospel of Jesus Christ preached by none other than Dwight L. Moody, who was one of Marx's contemporaries. For a gift of any amount, this book can be yours.

Pastor Erwin Lutzer has brought part one of *The Rebirth of Israel*, the first sign in his series *Seven Signs of Christ's Return*. Next time on *Running to Win*, more details of why the rebirth of Israel points toward the coming of Christ. Today is the last day you can ask for a copy of *Marx and Moody*. It's our gift to you when you give a gift of any amount to support *Running to Win*. This book clarifies the contrast between darkness and light, and it will be sent at your request.

For full information, call us toll-free at 1-800-215-5001. That's 1-800-215-5001. Online, go to offerrtw.com. That's offerrtw.com. Or write to us at Running to Win, Moody Church, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614. This is Dave McAllister. *Running to Win* comes to you as a ministry of the Moody Church.