The History of Israel PART 2 with Pastor Jeff Shipley - SMSS

The Two-Phase Study of Israel’s History

Well, I shouldn't say many years, but we're in a two-phase study of the history of Israel. And I highlighted on this piece of paper where we are. We're here in the first part, I call it 4 -4. That is 4000 BC to 400 BC, and that's the first part of the history of Israel.

The second part, which I hope to get to in the fall, will be 4 to birth. And that's from 400 BC to the birth of Christ. And then hopefully in late winter, we're going to be to the birth of Christ to the present, okay?

And that's how I've broken 6 ,000 years of history up into three parts. The reason I'm doing this, Church, is because not—and I don't want to get into a big dispensational discussion— but the promises that God made to Israel—and for you all millennialists out there, I know you're about to cringe— the promises God made to Israel are still in effect.

In 1948, Israel became a nation again after 1 ,500 years of obliteration and not even appearing on any map. You can go to your Google machine right now and look up Israel in 1917. It's nowhere to exist.

You look it up in 1941, it's nowhere to exist. Yet today, Israel stands as a nation again, and I believe that is only by the hand of Almighty God. I love biblical history. You know why? Because it is history.

There is no such thing as Bible science or Bible history. The Church has done a really bad job of that, okay? There is history, period. There is science, period. It does not change based upon someone's paradigm or perception.

The reality of God's Word does not change. And if you're one of those people that struggle with the reality of God's Word, I encourage you to study history and study science and study the Word of God, and the parallels that you will see will validate.

Remember, God's Word said in Romans 1 that His attributes and eternal nature are self-evident. In other words, you don't need a preacher. You don't need a church. You don't need any of that to know there is a God.

It actually says people are without excuse because God is so visible in creation, okay? It's just visible. And for those of you that doubt or know someone that doubt, I will pay you a thousand dollars in cash and rip up my license to preach and burn my Bible if you can prove to me the lies of this world.

If you can prove to me evolution, that we came from nose-picking apes, okay? I know when you look at some of the men in here, there is a validation that it might be true. You know, if you see a guy eating a banana and swatting flies going, uh, uh, Sharr sent me a video of Shane.

I call him Silverback the gorilla, and he was home from duty on lunch, and he was eating a banana and there were flies in the window, and he was going, uh, uh. It was perfect, alright? But besides Shane and some of you other guys, the reality is we were created in God's image.

Now remember, we all were created in God's image, alright? So Israel was delivered. Last two weeks, we talked about Israel was delivered out of Egypt. After 430 years of slavery, they were delivered out of Egypt.

God took that generation, and that generation that was delivered from that bondage failed to follow God in totality. He said that generation is going to die out, wandering in the wilderness. And then God brought up another generation after that, and that generation went into the promised land, believed God and His Word, did not look at what was facing them, did not see the adversity of more modern technology in their military.

They believed in their God, and they followed their God wherever He told them. And they won. And they were victorious. Yet, that generation died out. And the generation that came up after them walked away from God again.

Now, the entire 21 chapters of the book of Judges can be summarized as this, as my life. I'm going to be real honest with you. I love the book of Judges because it's my life. In my life, I've been a Christian since 1989.

And in my life, I see this cycle. I get fired up for Jesus. Man, I feel like I could spit on the gates of hell and put Him out, right? And then I walk away from God. My pride, my arrogance, my fear, whatever it is, I get weak, and I fall.

And I stay there, and I self-pity, and I make excuses, and I rationalize, right? And then I cry out to God because God takes me to task. Y 'all ever been to woodshed with God? He will paint your back porch red quick, fast, in a hurry.

Those of you that have never been punished by God, there's a reason why. It's not because He loves you more. It's because you're not one of His. You're not a Christian. I don't care how many times you've been to church.

You're not a Christian. There is nothing more miserable than being a child of God and being out of His will. Man, it is miserable. I'm telling y 'all, it's miserable. And you cry out to God, and you say, Daddy, I'm so sorry, forgive me.

And then God gives you that breath of grace. You feel like you can breathe again. That sin is broken again. And the grace of Almighty God and the mercy of God gives you a strength and a power that no song or no sermon ever can.

And you get fired up with Jesus again. And then what happens? Maybe not in y 'all's life, but I'm just going to be honest, in my life as a pastor, I mess up again. And then I mess up again. And then God does, and it's this cycle.

The book of Judges is just that. It's God's people cycling all the way around. I had a chart on here, but it wouldn't fit that I stole off the internet. So I made my own because of the JPEG 32 series.

Mike, I made my own little chart right here. Huh? Is that technologically genius or what, right? So I put this little thing in here where Israel is God, God punishes them, and God delivers them. Six different times, really seven times, but I'm not going to get into that.

This is what happens in 21 chapters of Israel. We're going to look overall, though, if you will walk with me, we're going to look overall at the strategic implications on this rather than one of those particular things.

The Call to Remember God in National Life

First of all, the United States of America. How many of y 'all celebrated yesterday's independence? It sounded like West Beirut outside my house yesterday. I mean, my agent Orange was acting up, I was under the table with my AR.

I was just, it was crazy, man. On and on. And I finally told my kids, stop it! But then the neighbors took up the mantle. But that's not really celebrating, is it? How do you celebrate something? How do you celebrate?

How do you celebrate your independence? How do you celebrate God? Is it really in here singing songs and going to church, listening to a sermon? Or is it living it out in a way that it actually teaches others?

See? Read with me, Deuteronomy chapter 6. And we're going to be in the book of Judges, so I included Deuteronomy 6 on your little paper here, so you wouldn't have to go back and forth, okay? But Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 through 9, when they were wandering around, when they were delivered out of Egypt, three generations ago, this is what God told the people of Israel.

The number one and number two thing that you've got to do to keep right, this is it. Number one, listen Israel, the Lord our God. Not the God, not the God, the white guy with the white long beard in heaven somewhere.

The reality of the reason we are here as created beings, the entire universe that gives glory and evidence that there is a God, that God, the Lord thy God is one. Can you say systematic theology doctrine of the triune nature of God?

Why does he have to say the Lord thy God is one? I'll give you all a second. We ain't going to go until you all get this. Hunter, why does it say the Lord thy God is one? Right. Great job, man. I love that Mason, Tennessee homeschool education.

Great job, brother. God bless you. Because of the triune nature of God, just like in Genesis 1, 26, where it says, let us go down and make man in our own image. The plurality of that word is God the Father.

God the Son. God the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God in that flaming fire and that cloud that led the children of Israel out in the wilderness, that led them every day as the same Spirit of God that was the angel of the Lord that came and spoke to Joshua and Moses.

It's the same finger of God that etched his wall into stones. It may manifest himself as the Holy Spirit, as God the Father and God the Son, but the Lord thy God is one. Remember this, people. You will never, ever, ever have to guess the will of God if you know the Word of God.

Because the will of God and the Word of God will never contradict. And so God says this, the Lord thy God is one. And then it says, are you ready? Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength on Sunday mornings from 10 .30 to 11 .30, then live like God's heathens the rest of the week.

That's what it says in the Hebrew, I think. No? It says, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind. Some of you in here, listen to me. Some of you in here have the desire to have the desire.

Okay? Now, yes, I know you people think I'm rabbit trailing, but I'm not. It's the Spirit of God telling me to tell this to some of you in here. Okay? Some of you in this room want to live that sanctified life.

You want to live it. You really do. But you're struggling to live it full-souled out. The reason is, your heart is loving God, but your mind and your strength are not. You're putting your strength into the codependent relationship of a significant other.

Boys and girls, you're putting your mind contrasting one with the world. What you listen to in music and what you watch on TV is either going to sap your strength or it's going to strengthen your walk with the Lord.

That's why it says, all of your heart, all of your strength, all of your mind. Quit relying on emotions to dictate where you are with God and sell out to God 100 in every aspect of your life, and you will get where your heart wants you to be.

These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Parents, listen to me. They are to be in your heart. Now watch. Repeat them to your children. Christian families, listen to me. If you give your children the standard but fail to live it out in your heart and in your life, do not be surprised when they rebel against your hypocrisy.

Do not be one of those people that come in my office and say, I raised them in church. I don't know what happened. God says to raise them in the admonition of the Lord. That's what He says. You can show up at a church, but the rubber hits the road is what you do on a Friday night.

That's when the rubber hits the road. Are you out honky-tonking? What's the fresh smacking phrase edgy thing that I'm supposed to say? What's clubbing? There you go. Are you out clubbing? You know? Man, y 'all, I'm Jason Mimosa.

I can do this. All right, watch this. It says, talk about them when you sit in your house, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, when you get up, bind them as a sign on your head, let them be a symbol on your forehead, write them on the door post and house and your gates.

Listen to me. It is not Witten Baptist Church's responsibility to educate your children. We are a tool. That's all we are. Look at me. It's very obvious. I'm a tool, right? That's all I am. I am a tool in your parents' hand, the Sunday school teachers, the children's ministers of this church, the youth ministers are a tool in your hand.

It is your responsibility. If you rely all the spiritual education of your children to be handled by people in this building, your children will rebel. Mark my words. I'm waiting for the amen. Because some of your amens need to be an act of repentance rather than an act of affirmation.

All right. So, I need to hurry on here. Listen to me. So, God told them way back here, listen, God told them way back here, teach your children, all your little children, teach them. Because if you don't, they're going to have to learn it through scar tissue.

The Failure of One Generation to Teach the Next

Well, that first generation did okay. But we'll see that that chosen great generation did a great job following God. But look with me in Judges chapter 2. Oh my gosh. They did a horrible job as parents.

Judges chapter 2 verse 10. That whole generation was gathered to their ancestors. After them, another generation rose up. Now listen, who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel. This generation saw the Red Sea parted.

This generation saw manna fall from heaven. This generation saw quail land in the wilderness for them to eat. This generation saw Moses strike a rock and water pour forth. That generation believed. That generation was sealed.

That generation understood. But they failed to teach it again and again and again. Parents that are my age and older, have you entered that time where your kids lie about you all the time? It's amazing how children will build legends and legacies of your actions that never happens.

Right? I mean, well, man, my daddy, he used to... And when, man, we got in trouble... And, man, let me tell you a story about when I grew up. And I'm back... Huh? Huh? Be silent, woman. I mean, we've entered that legend time, you know, where they all talk about how hard life was.

And I'm sitting there back going, What? I took you on vacation to pools and buffets. You act like, you know, you were in Egypt making bricks or something, you know? Life wasn't that hard for you, trust me.

But that's not the legacy I care about. My legacy as a pastor, my legacy as a father, God will never be in buildings or my name on some stupid plaque somewhere. The greatest legacy I will have as a pastor is that I am forgettable, but the fruits of God's Spirit in the lives of people that I pastored and raised will move on.

In other words, God will get the glory, not me. You know, parents, Christians, when we're so worried about whether we're going to be remembered for the acts we did rather than the fruits we invested in someone else, it is a height of arrogance and a way to absolutely guarantee the loss of another generation.

You see, this generation, they did great things for God, but they forgot to teach the important things to their children. Look at this, Judges 1, verse 19. Look what else they did. They did this, 19. The Lord was with Judah and enabled them to take the position of the hill country, but they could not drive out the people who were living in the valley because these people had iron chariots.

Guys, here's what happened. This generation, when tough times came, they folded like lawn chairs. Guys, we got a lot of tough things. There is actually, Christian Javier told me this yesterday. He said that there is a petition going around to sign it to end the year 2020 in the month of August.

In other words, redo it. In other words, if we actually change the year from 2020 to 2021, everything's going to be okay. Now, Christian, I'm not saying he's part of that, but I mean, that's the idea, okay?

Now, it's humorous, but it's stupid. Because Christians, as we face adversity, the greatest testimony that we can give our children in a lost and dying world is how we handle that adversity. When the world sees us backing up, backing away, backing down, quitting, giving up, and saying, Oh God, Christian, don't ever say, What's this world coming to?

Oh, I can't watch the news. I'll tell you what it's coming to. An end. And the glory of God will reign forever and ever and ever and ever. It's something to celebrate. It's something to look forward to.

Guys, why are you so scared? What are you scared of? God is in control. God has not been Captain Kirk on the bridge saying, Sound the red alert. Oh my gosh, what are we going to do now? The whole world is going according right to his plan.

If you ever want to figure out what God's trying to do, just remember this. Figure out where he's going to get the most glory, and you've just figured out what God's going to do. God is the Calvary coming over the hill.

God is going to be the one who's going to be glorified. And may his name be glorified forever and ever and ever, starting right here and right now. Oh, but Pastor, this is happening. Oh, Pastor, the government.

Oh, Pastor, the pandemic. Oh, the stock market. What do you expect an heir to the throne of God to do? To go, Guys, some of you men need to act like men. Pull your shoulders back and stick your chin out.

Let your family sit there going, bring it. Bring it. Bring it. Oh, but you don't understand what's happened to our family. You don't understand the God that you serve. Listen to me. That generation failed to teach, and they failed because they were afraid more of what the world had, that God had already given them the land, but they got scared of the technology of a military.

Iron chariots. Ooh. Elijah went home on a chariot of fire. I think that trumps an iron chariot. Amen? Now, look at this. Here's another thing they failed to do. Look at chapter 3, verse 5 and 6. It says this,.

But they settled among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Presagites, Hivites, Jebusites. The Israels took their daughters as wives for themselves and gave their own daughters to their sons and worshiped their God.

Interracial marriage. People is ungodly. A white person should marry a white person. A black person should marry a black— because they're different races, guys. You don't even need to date. Where's Jeremiah?

Where's Joshua? Don't even date someone of another race. I'll tell you this right now. None of my children will ever marry someone of another race. Never. You know why? Because there's only one. Only one race.

Guys, there's not multiple. Don't listen to the culture of this world. Don't listen to it. There's only one race of people. And guess what? We're all sinful, godless heathens who need to be saved by the grace of Almighty God.

The intermarriage it's talking about here, some of you old Baptists need to listen because you still haven't repented of this sin, you godless pig. Listen to me. The intermarriage that it's talking about has nothing to do with skin pigmentation, you moron.

It has to do right here. This is what doesn't need to intermarry. Right here. If you are a believer, you have no business dating or marrying an unbeliever because you're setting yourself up for failure.

Okay? Guys, if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, you're going to want to marry that which reflects that which you love the most. But see, it's a great indication that you love your fears and your insecurities more than you love God because you're looking for acceptance even in a lost person.

Nobody will ever fill your heart like Jesus. Trust me. Little girls, listen to me. Stop relying on the affirmation of a male to find security in your life. Stop it. Because all it leads to is scar tissue.

And there is no 18-year-old boy who is spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally ready to marry you. Some of you idiots over there shaking your head, yes? Need to listen. Guys, if you're over there, y 'all look up here because some of y 'all have already been there and got the scars to prove it.

So don't think you don't have an exhaust fan in your bathroom because your children are some of the ones I'm talking about. Guys, it is an understanding that if you are going to have a marriage built on Jesus Christ, it has to be formatted in both parties.

Covenant Faithfulness in the Midst of Human Failure

Alright, last thing. Next to the last thing. No, last thing. We're done. Turn to Judges 2, verse 1. Judges 2, verse 1. We'll stop here. Because this is a good place to stop. How many of y 'all have failed in your marriages?

How many of y 'all have failed being children? Raising children? How many of y 'all have failed to live a godly Christian life constantly? Shane's like, yeah, man. I got some good news for you. And I'm not even going to read it.

I want you to read. Now, listen. No, look up here. Before you read it, look right here. Lo 'ohos aki. I want you to read it in silence. Don't read a Bible verse. There's no such thing as Bible verses, okay?

When God wrote it, He just wrote it. Listen. I want you to hear God, your Father, who loves you, speaking to you right here and right now. Now read it. It ain't religion. It ain't church. It ain't fat, bald preachers.

It's the Word of the living God. Now, I want you to focus on something. This is reiterated. For those of you from Mississippi, Seth, that means it's spoken again and again and again. It was reiterated in Judges chapter 2, verse 1 of something that was read, that was spoken of way back in Deuteronomy.

But here's what's really cool. Those eight words, I will never break my covenant with you, was spoken with God knowing what was going to happen in the next 19 chapters. No matter how big of a failure you think you are, God is never going to break His covenant with you.

No matter how many times you have failed as a parent, as a Christian, it ain't over if you're still breathing. Because God will never break His covenant with you. Oh, pastor, you don't know what I've done.

I don't have to know what you've done because I know what Jesus did. It is finished. The covenant that I stand here today with you is not in a license or an ordination. It's not in my religion. It's not in my position as pastor.

It is in the fact that God's Word never fails. And He said to me, Jeff, no matter how many times you fall down, no matter how many times you are faithless, no matter how many times you fall away, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

The strength of being a Christian comes from the power of God's Word and the power of the Holy Spirit verifying that Word in you. If you feel like you have been beaten down, if you feel like you cannot please God, trust me on this, you don't have to because God will never leave you or forsake you.

My destiny as I stand before you today and remember these words many years from now when I'm dead, you don't have to weep at my funeral, you don't have to guess where I am, you don't have to use one of them fancy church sayings like, well, he's in a better place now.

I'm in glory with Almighty God not because of my faithfulness but because of God's faithfulness, His grace, His mercy. The doctrines that we study are not an intellectual pursuit. They are the pursuit of peace and power.

To understand God's Word is to understand your position in the heart of Almighty God. God knew they would fail. God knew that we would sin. When God created Adam and Eve, Jesus Christ was already destined to go on the cross.

When God said, do not touch that tree. When God said, do not eat of that fruit. When God said, do not eat of that fruit, He knew what was going to happen. And He said, Jesus, you're on. Man, that fruit had no sooner hit the ground than Jesus Christ was spreading His arms on Calvary.

But the cool thing about it is this. It isn't just the blood of Christ that gives me power. Okay? It's the fact that He became the example of my destiny. You see? They whipped Him. They nailed Him. They stabbed Him with a spear.

They put Him in a hole with a rock on top of it. But the ground began to quake, right? And death in the grave could not hold Christ. What if God calls Him the firstborn among many brethren? You know what that means?

I'm going home too. And this world cannot stop me. Death cannot stop me. Not because of who I am, but because of who I put my faith in.