March 8th 2020 - HISTORY OF ISRAEL - PART 1 - Pastor Jeff Shipley

The History of Israel as the History of God’s Promises

To say I'm excited is an understatement. To say that the study of this is paramount for the church is an understatement. But I hope that in the next few weeks we can combine the two, and not only can we learn something, but we can be strengthened by the history of God's promises throughout His Word.

I hope all of you, if you didn't get one of these, either see Brother Al. Brother Al, do we have any more? Oh, we do have some more, guys. We have some more. Does anybody need one? Hold a hand up. Los Lovos Lomanois, a key.

Is Kayla here? She is? Where is she? Hey, Kayla! It's so cute. Y 'all are fixing to have a wedding shower. Baby shower. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Not the same thing. Not the same thing. Alright, here's how this is going to work.

I'm going to do 15 minutes of background historical education, and then I'm going to endeavor to do 15 minutes of an expository within that field to show the promises of God as revealed through history.

Can I have more up here? Whoever's in the back there? I just don't want to yell at someone. Yeah, right? Guys, do you realize that we cannot stand on the promises of God unless those promises were made in history?

In other words, the fulfillment of God's Word had to at one point be history. God came and He saw and He knew that we needed something bigger and greater than ourselves because of our failures, and He promised all the way back in Genesis 3, verse 15, He promised something that would bring about the salvation of God's people.

See, Genesis 3, verse 15 was fulfilled in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But God's not done yet. You see, each one of us is a promise waiting to be fulfilled. For those of you that are Christians, for those of you that have adopted religion or you're an atheist, your only destiny is separated from God in the eternal fire.

Hell, sorry, that's part of truth. Oh, but for those of us who we just sang for 10 ,000 years and even more, our hope is in the history of God's Word. History's important. Now, we're going to break this up into two different things.

Abraham to Jesus: The First Eight Weeks of Israel’s Story

Number one, for the next eight weeks, we're going to do the history of Israel. We're going to go from Abraham to Jesus, okay? And then in the fall, we're going to go from Jesus till now, and even in the future.

And that's how we're going to break it up. So how do I take 4 ,000 years of history? Well, here's something I want you to try to remember. Here we are in 2010. 2 ,010 years ago, and that's not exact, but 2 ,010 years ago, Jesus Christ was born.

And we are separated from that event by 2 ,000 years. What did I say? Whatever. So here's Jesus. Well, 2 ,000 years before Jesus was Abraham. So if you think Jesus is the centric time reference between us and Abraham, you will get that both in reality and allegorically, because Jesus is the central part of both, okay?

Now, I want you to understand something about the history of Israel. They were select and chosen by God. Now, here's what they were select and chosen by God to do. They were not select and chosen by God to be more perfect than everybody else.

They were select and chosen by God to be God's messengers to a lost and dying world. That's what Israel was chosen to be. When people say, well, they're God's chosen people, it's not that they're God's chosen people and that makes them more perfect.

It means they were chosen to bear the burden of fulfilling God's plan through telling of the coming Messiah. Now, here's the other thing you need to remember. They were nothing special. You had an idea of a people that were chosen by God for this reason.

God chose to. God chose to call the people of Israel, not because they were more perfect, not because they were more holy, not because they didn't have tattoos or earrings in their noses or whatever, or, God forbid, green hair.

It was that God... Sorry, I didn't mean to call you out, Mercedes. It was that God chose them for one reason and one reason only. His sovereign good pleasure and will. Now, you've got to wrap your head around that, and that's very important because, see, you're here today as a born-again believer in the Son of the living God, not by your will, but by God's will.

That God in His infinite mercy and grace called you out of sin, called you out of this world to be saved for no other reason than His great love, His sovereign will, and His plan for your life. You did not find God.

God found you. And that's what God does. God takes the most fallible and worthless thing, and to glorify His name, He manifests Himself in that, and by that which is broken, He repairs. It brings glory to who and what He is.

Moses, the Patriarchs, and the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Now, here's another reason history is so important. In Exodus chapter 3, Moses is called by God to deliver the people of Israel out of slavery, out of bondage. And Moses, you've got to understand, he grew up Egyptian.

He walked like an Egyptian. He was an Egyptian. He did not go to First Baptist Church of the Nile, okay? He grew up as an Egyptian. God chose him to be God's mouthpiece to Pharaoh. So he said, hey, I want you to go on back down into Egypt.

I want you to tell Pharaoh to let my people go. And here's what Moses said, who are you? Who are... You know, I understand Ra. I understand Isis. I understand this, that, and the other. Who are you? And this is how God identified Himself.

Are you ready? I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am, period. I am God. There is no other. I am God. You see, God invoked a history and a heritage when He identified Himself. Yes, Yahweh, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Nissi.

But many times He identified Himself in the God of history through the flawed individuals He brought to repentance. Again, in Matthew chapter 22, Jesus defined God as this. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

He is the God of the living and not the God of the dead. See, history is important, people. It's important. Now, I'm going to talk to you about what are known as the patriarchs. Real quick, the patriarchs.

And if you want to follow along with this, I'm going to give you a short history. On page... So cool. On page 11, 12, and 13 are the three people for further study. Now, I'm going to be gauche and I'm going to be a little silly right here.

But I'm being serious. Do me a favor, people. Take this binder. Put it in your bathroom. Put it by your bed. Put it wherever you can spend five minutes a day in this. And realize that this is going to be about 100 pieces of paper when we're done.

And if you just simply go through it, and more importantly, as you go through it, you open the Word of God and you read God's Word, you're going to see not just the stupid idea of history, you're going to see God's plan unfolding for your life.

You have to understand that if you're a born-again Christian, this is your history. It's not just Israel's history. It's your history. Okay? You with me? All right. So here we go. Three people you need to remember.

They are called the patriarchs. And all patriarch means is the head. Okay? The founding fathers, if you will. Okay? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham had Isaac. Isaac had Jacob. That's grandfather, father, and son.

In those three people, God had a plan. He had a person. And he had a people. But we'll get to that more in a second. Let me tell you about Abraham. Once again, and I want you to listen to me on this, God selected Abraham.

Go with me to Genesis chapter 12, starting in verse 1. Genesis chapter 12, starting in verse 1. Why did God choose Noah to go on the ark? Here's what people think. They think that Noah was going to Sunday school and church every day.

That's what they think. They read Scripture and it says, and Noah was righteous in the eyes of God. But if you have to go back a few verses forward or backwards, it actually says this, Noah found grace in the eyes of God.

Remember this today. I don't care if you're a crack-smoking prostitute hoe. Listen to me. Hear the Word of God today, people. Listen to me. Your righteousness and your works are never going to bring you peace.

Your legalistic holiness is never going to bring you peace. If you feel like you're this far away from God, it's because you keep looking to the outside and your own works and your own efforts to bring about a peace that passes all understanding.

Hear me today. It is but the grace of Almighty God that you hear the Word of God today. It is God's call to you for you not to be perfect, but for you to be holy. And the difference between the two is this.

Perfection belongs to God alone. Holiness is a call and a mandate of the body of Christ to be an example to a lost and dying world. Are you with me? So here's what that you walk away from that is. God uses flawed people.

Now, here's Abraham. His father was a man named Terah. Terah, that was his name. And guess where Terah and Abraham lived. They lived in a place called Ur. Now, there's a map there for you on page three.

There's a map there for you on page three. And most people think that that Ur was where Abraham left to go and follow God. That is not accurate. In fact, if you go to the last part of Genesis chapter 11, it actually says Terah and his family moved north to Haran, and then from there, God called Abraham out.

Now, why is that important? I'll get to more of that in a second. But the land of Ur was not a Bible belt. You have to understand, there were no Baptist churches in the land of Ur. There was no televangelists.

There was not a bunch of people who were loving and worshiping God. Third day was not even heard of, okay? Guys, it was a land of heathens. In fact, Abraham's family, you know what one of their jobs was?

They were the local idol makers. They made idols, false idols. You know, the ones that God was like, no, that's what their job was, is to make idols for people to worship. And God chose him. Now, think about that for a second.

Guys, some of you in this room are in danger of the flames of hell, not because you're unwilling, but because you have not heard the call of the grace of God. In your little brains, you still think that you got to take a bath before you go and get in the shower.

You can't do that. Well, Brother Jeff, I need to stop being an alcoholic before I become a Christian. Brother Jeff, I know what I need to do, but I don't want to be a hypocrite. That mantra is going to be written on your soul in the eternity of hell.

You see, God does not call perfection, see? Grace needs, grace and mercy need condemnation for them to actually be in service and work. God called Abraham, and Abraham was a godless heathen. Now, what saved Abram?

Now, his name used to be just Abram, but it wasn't flashy enough for God, so God changed it to Abraham, right? And then he said we couldn't eat pork. Yeah. Anyway, so God called Abram and he said, son, you are going to be the father of many nations, or you're going to be father of a nation, and all nations will be blessed for you.

Now, let me give you a backdrop of who Abram was, right? He was a godless heathen. He was also than this. He was 75 years old when God called him. 75. It's just Justin, guys. He's moving. It's okay. Focus right here.

Shiny ball. He was 75 years old. Let me say a word to those of you who say you're retired. Those are some loud boots. Guys, if you are a born-again believer in the Son of God, you do not retire until you die.

One of the most heinous things in the world is when I hear pastors say they retire. Oh, you self-centered, selfish pig. If God has called you to serve His people, it is not upon your time frame, it is upon the time frame of His call that you breathe your last breath.

With your last dying breath, may you speak the name of Jesus. See? Abram was 75 years old. And, watch this, he had no kids. Now, that doesn't make sense. God, have a little head start here, you know? Call a shipley with five kids, or, you know, get a rastman, you know?

They got four daughters. I mean, God, you know, what are you doing here? Abraham was old. I mean, he was older. Well, he wasn't as old as Rena, but he was old. Carbon is not as old as Rena, but he was old, he had no kids, and he was not a Christian.

And God chose to call him. And this is what God promised him. All peoples of the earth will be blessed through you. Whitten, listen to me for a second. We are not a huge church. But I promise you, and it's contemptuous, because you've been here so long, some of you, you don't understand how unique this place is.

You do not get it. Guys, I was telling the Wednesday night Bible study, do you know how easy you people make my job? Do you know how easy you people make my job? Because I can bring anyone through that door.

And when people tell me, oh, that's not a friendly church, or I was, I didn't feel welcomed, you self-centered, narcissistic pig, that's on you, it ain't on my people. Because I've seen my people, you put them up in your homes.

You put them up in your homes, you've given them cars. You've given them places to live. Guys, that right there is the beauty and the power of this little place. Abram was one man. So God called him and said, you're gonna be the father of many peoples.

Now, Abram kept going. And as he kept going, he kind of questioned God sometimes. Now this is really cool to me, y 'all listen to this. Has God ever given you the silent treatment? Some of you say no, and that's cool for you.

For me, the answer is yes. Oh, absolutely. I hate the silent treatment. Oh, Lord, I hate the silent treatment. Now people say, oh, Brother Jeff, you have God's revealed Word. I'm not talking about God's revealed Word.

I'm talking about that conversation you have with God in here. You know what I'm talking about? If you don't, you're going to hell. So anyways, but for those of you that know the Spirit of God moves in your heart, Abraham was in the same place.

You see, God made Abram this big promise. And He said, get up into this land. And Abram said, okay, I will tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. And Abram kept messing up. And in fact, when Abram did finally leave and go to the promised land, he went there and then there was a famine going on.

So he went on into Egypt because he wanted some food. Now, did God say go to Egypt? Nope. God said go to the promised land. But he was more concerned helping God out. Listen, he wanted to help God out.

He believed God and God's plan, but he thought God needed a little help. So he went on into Egypt. God called him back out of Egypt. Abraham was a liar. A lying pig. This is what Abram actually did. As he was going into Egypt, he was scared.

You know why? His wife was Stone Cold Fox. All right? Sarah looked pretty good. I mean, at 75 years old. I mean, right? Sarah looked pretty good, right? And so they're going into Egypt. Abram was a little concerned that the Pharaoh would take his wife.

And he was afraid that someone would kill him to get his wife. And so this is what he told Sarah. Hey, do me a favor. If anyone asks, you're my sister. And if they take you, that'll be better because they won't kill me.

This is the guy God chose. Coward. He basically said if somebody grabs you and goes on a date with you to the A &W to get a root beer, that's okay if they think you're my sister because they won't kill me.

I don't know. A &W. That's the first thing that came to my mind. Guys, listen to me. That's who Abram was. He was a wimp. He was a wuss. He was an idol worshiper. He was 75 years old and he had no kids.

After Abram did that, he went back to Canaan and God was absolutely silent. Hey, God, you know, you said I was going to be, my descendants were going to be like the Saiyans of the seashore. What's up with that?

I don't even have the first kid. Maybe God needs someone to prime the pump for him. So this is what he did. He looked at his wife and his wife had a servant, a slave, whatever you want to call her, but she was an Egyptian.

And she goes, Sarah and Abram said, you know what? Look, you sleep with my servant. Get her pregnant and that way we'll help God out. So that's what Abram did. I mean, he, you know, he and they went to A &W, had root beer.

And, you know, he had a kid and the kid's name was Ishmael. But here's the problem. God didn't need help. God has his own timeframe and his own plan. And when we get outside of it, we jack something up.

God comes back and says, what are you doing, dude? What are you doing? This is not my plan. Abram's like, oh, I didn't know. You said I was going to have a kid. I don't have any kids. God said, you are going to have a child by Sarah.

And they both went, God, seriously, man, come on. No. No. God said, oh, yeah, sure enough. Boom. She gets pregnant and they have a kid named Isaac. Guys, when God started the history of Israel, it really was not just the history of Israel.

It was the history of hope. And every single person God chose, they were specifically schmucks and losers. They were dorks. They were absolutely... God takes shepherd boys and turns them into kings. God takes harlots and turns them into rescuers.

God takes the lowest of the low and turns them because that's how he glorifies and honors himself. When you're in that place where you feel like you're not worthy, you know how many people have told me, well, I wouldn't come to church.

By the way, you can't come to church. Stop saying that. We are the church. This is a stupid building. But if I walk in, the walls would fall down. The ceiling would fall down. The place would burn down.

Man, please stop all the drama. You're a godless, sinful, pig human being. So was everyone else in this room. Guys, what it really is, is you're scared to change because you're codependent on sin to give you peace.

And even though it's raping and robbing your soul, you're going to hold on to it because you have no faith to trust in God. Now watch this. And you're the one God wants. You're it. The reason you keep coming back to this is because God still is going, hey, you know what the history of Israel is?

It's God building relationships with imperfect people to make a perfect plan. So Isaac, let me give you a little background on him. Isaac was born, and Isaac was a wuss. Mama's boy, little sissy, all right?

He had an older brother, okay? He had an older brother. Look, I'm getting carried away. If I start doing this, we're going to go into so many different details. So let me back up. Let me back up. Isaac was a little mama's boy.

We'll just say that. And Isaac had a kid named Jacob. And he had an older brother named Esau. And Isaac, if he was a little baby, sissy boy, he made Jacob even worse. Now, you get 12 tribes of Israel from the 12 sons of Jacob.

So here's Abraham, Isaac, and I made little charts for you. They're so cool. Hold on, let me go over there real quick so you can know what page they're on. Nine. Go to page nine. Oh yeah, there they are.

See? And I made them in blue. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That's who we're talking about today. Well, Jacob had four different women, and he got flat busy, man. He lived at A &W, okay? And he had 12 sons, all right?

Those 12 sons became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, okay? You with me? That's how we get Israel. Those 12 family units. But once again, I want you to come back to a place where who was Jacob? Now, I want you to understand this.

Jacob was a passive... Well, Isaac was a passive-aggressive father. You know what's amazing about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? They were the worst parents on the face of the earth. I'm not kidding you.

I mean, they were horrible. Horrible parents. I know all of you in here were perfect parents, and your kids turned out perfect, okay? No. God's plan doesn't stop because of our failures. Listen to me.

Jacob became a manipulating, backstabbing... Do you know what the name Jacob actually means? Deceiver. Deceiver. God chose a pathological liar. God chose a pathological liar. Guys, do you understand how beautiful that is?

Do you understand how beautiful it is that I can do this? Have you ever wondered if you're going to make it to heaven by the skin of your teeth? You never will. You make it walk boldly before the throne of God by the blood of the Lamb.

Guys, it is not your perfection that God sees. It's the blood over the doorpost of our hearts. Jacob was a deceiver. He was a codependent, manipulated individual. His mama was just as bad. Isaac was passive aggressive.

Isaac let his wife run all over him. Really did. And that's what happened with Jacob and Esau. Then Isaac also had favorites. He liked Esau, though he didn't like Jacob. Because Esau was the starting linebacker on the football team.

Right? He was a great mighty hunter. Kind of like Marty. You know, he would... Have you ever seen an elephant walk through the bushes? You know, it's kind of... That's how Marty looks when he's hunting.

It's like... Right? That's who Esau was. Esau was this mighty warrior hunter dude. And Jacob wanted to sit at home and crochet with his mommy. Right? And that's who God chose. God chose Jacob over Esau.

Have you ever found someone who has it all together? And you actually are jealous of them? You look at them and you think in your mind, well, they're perfect Christians. Let me tell you something. There is no such thing as a perfect Christian.

And they're just better at hiding it than you are. Okay? I am a licensed ordained senior pastor. Guys, I'm not sleeping with the secretaries. I ain't stealing your money. But I promise you I am just as sinful, if not more, than you people in this room.

But yet God still chose me. God still chose you. Here are the three things you want to walk away with. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. First one is this. God had a plan. God had a person. And God had a people.

God’s Plan Before the Fall and the Church’s Calling

And I'm going to close with this. First of all, in Genesis chapter 3, and you can follow along scripturally with me on page 10. God had a plan. Understand this. That God was not surprised when man fell.

I believe God created lions before the fall with canine teeth. Are you with me? God created lions before the fall with canine teeth. Now, lions did not eat lambs before the fall. But God knew what was going to happen.

And so God created them as they would be. God created man knowing he would fail. It didn't catch him by surprise. God said, don't touch this tree. And he knew it was going to happen. But that's the beauty of it.

Do you know when the Word of God tells us Jesus was slain? Before the foundation of the world. The blood of Christ was flowing before Adam and Eve ever touched that tree. Before that fruit hit the ground, God's plan of redemption was already in effect.

You see, God had a plan no matter what. God chose not just to fulfill that plan by his Son. He also chose people. Listen to me, church. We are plan A. We are plan A. That is what we're here to do. We are here to show the world Jesus.

Now, I want y 'all to maybe turn off some of the things you had in your past. Here's how some churches show the love of Jesus. God hates fags. It's okay to laugh. God hates fags. He really does. Oh, God hates them.

God hates harlots. God hates idolaters. And these are the same people who usually have little brass plaques on pews or have churches named after human beings. Like Whitten Memorial Baptist Church. But God hates idolaters.

Listen to me. God hates sin. The minute the church becomes known for what we're against rather than who we serve and love is the day that church begins to die. Listen to me. Homosexuality is a sin. But so is your gossip and tongue.

And if you read the sins that God hates the most, gay ain't one of them. You know what one of them is? Gluttony, Baptist fried chicken people. Be careful. You see, God chose peoples to complete his plan.

But the one characteristic they had in common is all of them were imperfect, sinful heathens. And that's whom God chose to invest in. And then the last thing, it ain't just Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he chose.

Jacob had 12 sons. They weren't a nation yet. Got to understand, we're going to talk about the nation of Israel next week. Right now, all they are is 12 sons with 12 wives having a bunch of kids. Guys, I got to close because I'm running out of time.

And I want you to know that my mind is spinning like 400 billion miles an hour because I could tell you all so much. It's not even funny. I believe cruciform is from a Hebraic alphabet. It's amazing what God's plan has done.

But we can't go into all that right now. What we can go into is this music peoples. Come here. All right. Would you please come up stage? Listen to me. Listen to me. Please listen to me. I promise we're done.

Listen, some of you in this room. I'm going to hell because you asked Jesus Christ in your heart to be your Lord and Savior. Listen to me. Abraham had faith. Isaac had faith. Jacob had faith. They didn't have little prayers.

Some of you have based your entire eternal life on a religious cultural decision rather than a surrender to the sovereign will of Almighty God. My job here is the person that God selected to go. Please stop.

Stop. Stop looking at people's tattoos and your lack of them to define your righteousness because you're going to hell. Stop looking at people's skin color. Stop it. Because that idolatry, that idolatry is just as bad as any bail worship.

Some of you are looking at your own righteousness because you get up and read your daily bread or your Baptist quarterly and you have a little quiet time and you don't obey any of it. You don't obey any of it, but you read.

You're culturally accepted, yet divinely rejected. And the difference between the two is this. You don't have any fruits of the spirit. You don't love God with all of your heart. You don't love your fellow believers as yourself.

You stick to the fear and the dependency of individual relationships or drugs or whatever to bring you a set of peace that just does nothing more than continues to rape your soul. You don't know the power of standing by the Holy Spirit of the living God.

You claim a certain religious sect over being submissive to the word of the living God. You want to know whether you're saved or not? Please stop listening to preachers. Listen to the word of God. It's real simple.

Do you obey God? Do you love God with all of your heart? And do you love your fellow believers as yourself? Well, brother, I can't answer that. Well, let me help you then. You need to repent. Now, here's the second thing.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You know how many times they repented? Dozens. Ladies and gentlemen, if this is your history and your story, and you could only go back one point in your life and find you repenting one time when you ask Jesus Christ in heart, baby, Lord, save you.

If that's the only time you can find yourself repenting, you've got religion. You don't have a relationship. I want you, listen, I want you to name another historical fact other than the nation of Israel to the stronger proof that there is a God.

God chose them. They fell. God lifted them up. They fell. They lifted them up. They fell. They lifted them up. They fell. They were utterly destroyed for a thousand years and didn't exist. Where's the nation of Moabites?

They don't exist. But there's an Israel today. You know why? Because God told Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, your people will have this homeland. They will. And nation after nation, 10 nations together tried to wipe them out.

And they're still here. You know why? God has a plan. God has a purpose. God chose his people. And no one is going to change that. Are you one of those chosen people? It's real simple to find out. As I've spoken, as you've heard God's word, has the Holy Spirit been knock on your heart saying you need to repent?

The choice now is yours. Will you repent to a holy and righteous God and submit? And not listening to religion or yourself when you submit to that leadership? Or will you continue to live in the obscurity of your own will?