Nor-02 the Mystery of God With Israel — Art Katz

On Israel with you in this last hour.

And I'm speaking these things not because I'm a Jew,.

Or this is a personally precious thing to me because I'm Jewish, but because it is so critical to the church itself. It's a mystery of which Paul speaks,.

That is being fulfilled at the end of the age.

The Mystery of the Church and Israel

And to ignore this would be to limit the church according to God's intention. That God has intended that we would be in a collision course with Israel. We have a reciprocal destiny. In such a way that Israel can never come to God's intention for it independent of the church.

In such a way that Israel can never come to God's intention for it independent of the church. And yet at the same time, the church cannot come into its eternal destiny.

Independent of its relationship with Israel.

We are locked in.

And the devil knows this better than the church.

And has sought to rob this from us, or to distort it.

So I want to speak this in the apostolic context. God's view of the church and Israel in the apostolic setting. And Paul speaks of this in three chapters in the book of Romans 9, 10 and 11. And of course we don't have time for any kind of real treatment of this important theme.

But just to give you a first beginning. And then to remind you that last night I spoke here on this subject. That those tapes are available to you. And that you can hear a fuller presentation by listening to them.

But for now in Romans 11, verse 25.

I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceit that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

And so all Israel shall be saved.

There is a remarkable thing that is soon to take place. Of which God would not have us, the church, to be ignorant. Indeed the church is the key to this fulfillment. Israel is presently blind.

They cannot see the issue of Jesus as Messiah.

God has used that blindness in order to open the gospel to the Gentiles.

Until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. What does Paul mean here?

He means until all of the full number of the church be complete.

See how we have had to wait for you. The church would not have been complete without you. You had to wait for the fullness of the full number of a people for his name from among all nations.

And that is presently happening. And coming to completion. And when you go out in your own evangelistic work, this is the mystery that you are completing. So that even if you are not making direct personal contact with Jews, you are yet affecting their destiny by your obedience to the Gentiles.

Bringing this fullness in. So I am talking now about the numerical and the quantitative aspect of the fullness. Now comes a more difficult question. The qualitative aspect. What does Paul mean there? That the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.

I think he means that every Gentile thing should be finished. Remember I said to you in the last hour that when Paul came to the Thessalonians, he did not come to them as a Jew.

Yes, of course, naturally speaking, he was Jewish. But he did not come to them in that sense.

He came to them in a transcendent sense. Beyond nationality, beyond culture.

He was the man of the kingdom. And he says, you received the word of God. And he said, you received the word from us. Not as a word from man, but for what it really is.

The word of God that performs a work in them that hear it. Because it turned you from your idols to serve the living God. And now God is wanting you to do the same thing at the end of the age. But only if you come in the transcendent way.

Confronting Cultural Religion in the Church

For example, Dick was with me a few months ago at a black church in America.

A black Pentecostal church.

I felt like I was in an occultic situation. The place was squirming with snakes. It has become in America a black culture.

And they had invited me to speak. And they did not know what they were getting. My heart was pounding. Because I knew that the hour had come. When God was going to blow the whistle on that.

That Gentile stuff had to end. That Gentile black religious culture had to end. And the kingdom of God had to come. And we could not allow them to remain in that condition.

And we could not allow them to remain in that situation. Even if we liked their song a lot. So I went up there and I prayed. And Paul also prayed. And you will also pray. But we will still be obedient to God.

And I spoke such words to them. Their eyes were like saucers. They could not believe what this man was saying. When I left the church that night a woman stopped me in the hallway. She had been one of those who had given a testimony earlier in the night.

It was a performance.

It was a lie. I want to say that the Lord for me, I want to say it. It was a fixed piece of performance. Which brought her a soulless gratification. And those who heard it. It reinforced the culture. But it was a lie.

And God says that the church is the ground and pillar of truth. And I was not going to affirm them in their lie. I was going to address the lie.

In the power of the Spirit.

Some white people who had come that night as guests said to me that when they heard me begin to speak they feared for their lives. Because how would these black people take a statement like that? How dare that white man speak like that?

And be critical of our religion. From his white point of view.

His cultural perspective. But they never reacted that way.

Because I did not come to them from a white man's point of view. I came to them from their kingdom point of view. About culture and about race.

And they knew it. The fullness of the Gentiles had come in.

That same woman who had given the testimony grabbed my hand as I was leaving the church. She said I want to thank you brother. Your word has set me free. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

And she heard the word of truth.

I'm giving you this as an illustration. Of what I think God is waiting for. That blindness might come off the eyes of Israel. Because the Gentile thing has fully been finished. Not only religion as culture.

But religion as manipulation. Platform control. Predictable services. This. So much more that I could say. That is Gentile. That is not of the Hebraic spirit. The spirit of God. That has distorted the church.

Corrupted it.

That has got to be finished.

And be the true and the real kingdom people of God. That's why in the same letter in the Thessalonians. Paul says at the end of that chapter. That you should walk worthy of God. Verse 12. Who has called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Salvation to the Gentiles and Jealousy for Israel

So the church is the key to the restoration of Israel. They are blind and waiting for something in us. For us to come to a certain fullness. And Paul says in the same chapter 11. In verse 11 of Romans.

Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid. But rather through their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles to provoke them to jealousy. Here is the mystery again expressed in another way. They seem to have fallen away from the purposes of God.

They have rejected the prophets and Christ. They have opposed the gospel right into modern times.

But they have not fallen in the sense that God is permanently finished with them.

Rather by the spirit Paul says they have stumbled. Momentarily. So that salvation should come to the Gentiles. But what is the purpose of the salvation coming to the Gentiles? So as to move them to jealousy.

This is what I shared with the school last night. There is a purpose for our salvation beyond ourselves. Which we need fully to take into our consideration. We receive many benefits being saved.

But there is a greater purpose for our salvation beyond ourselves.

That serves a purpose in God and for Him. Because it will move them to jealousy. That they might be saved. And Paul says that what should it mean if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world?

What shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead? Verse 15. For example, are you enjoying me this morning? I am a piece of life from the dead. I was a dead man for 35 years. As a Marxist and as an atheist.

An enemy of God. But there came a time when God saved me.

I shared last night how I was made jealous in one moment. When He had me to meet an ordinary Gentile girl as a hitchhiker. A girl without any qualifications. But in whose face I saw the light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of the people of Israel.

It's a light I had never seen in any university. Any ideology, any philosophy. It made me jealous. Where did she get that? That was the beginning. By which the Lord brought me to Himself. It's a picture of His program for the entire nation.

That there might be many art cats brought back to His service. To bring a special dimension of things to His people and to the nations. Which Paul says it's like life from the dead. But how are they brought back?

They are made jealous. Through those to whom salvation has come because of their fall.

It raises this great question. What kind of church could conceivably move Jews to jealousy at the end of the age? Clearly something more than what we've ever known. Something other, something beyond. Something glorious.

Paul says unto Him be glory in the church.

World without end. Throughout all ages.

Paul speaks about the church as if it is an eternal phenomenon. God's eternal masterpiece.

And it is. And you are it.

Can you see why He is willing to invest so much in you? Daily instruction. Raising up the best of His men and His women.

They pour their souls out for you.

Not as Paul said, not just to give you the gospel, but my life also. That you might be formed into such a church. That God might have the eternal glory.

And only such a church can move Jews to jealousy.

Daily Fellowship Beyond Sunday Religion

Now here's the point, children. We will not come to that glory. Because it's not going to be an easy trip. This is no light thing. The flesh just wants to rest in the pew. Religion as usual.

Via Sunday services. Few kronor in the collection place. Amen, hallelujah. Few choruses.

Biblical message. Go home. And our life is nothing more than the succession of services. We will never come to the fulfillment of this mystery that way. What then, brother? We're going to have to go from house to house daily, breaking bread.

The way they did in the beginning. We're going to need to speak the truth in love to each other.

We're going to have to exhort one another daily while it is yet today. Next Sunday it's too late. We're called to something earnest. Something real. Something totally demanding. Something totally real.

Something that's not just comfortable. Where we want to retreat into our privacy. And let things be as they are. Where we slouch down in front of the TV. God calls us to something more than that. And the motive is that he will be glorified.

And that's something we wouldn't even do for ourselves. But unto him be glory in the church.

Try and understand this. What will it mean for God's glory? To restore the nation of Israel again to himself.

The nation who have so long turned against him.

And rejected his Messiah. And gave their own messianic alternatives.

Karl Marx was a Jew. Sigmund Freud was a Jew.

But they've turned from the knowledge of God. They've even opposed him. But God's love is greater. And Paul says in Romans, he will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy. How contrary to the wisdom of the world.

The world says they don't deserve it. But what can we deserve from God? If God gave us what we deserve, where would any of us be?

But he will have mercy upon whom he will have mercy. Because he will be who he will be.

And he says, now you've received mercy. Now by your mercy, let them receive mercy.

So that he might have mercy upon all. What a demonstration to the world.

Of what God is in himself. Full of loving kindness, mercy.

Even to restore this nation. To restore Israel again. Can you imagine what their message to the world will be?

Can you imagine Jews going to Saudi Arabia and Jordan and Kuwait and all of the Arab nations?

Full of the joy of the Lord. Full of the salvation of God. Because mercy has come to them. Which they didn't deserve. They're saved out of death. And now they have a message to the nations. As nations.

Come up to Jerusalem.

God is there. The word is going forth out of Jerusalem. It's salvation for the earth. When the world sees what God has done with this people. And if he has had mercy on them.

Upon whom will he not have mercy? It's life from the dead. And it begins with them. Through you.

We are the key to Israel's restoration.

And Israel is the key to the nations of the world. What a calling.

Becoming a People Formed for God's Glory

We have to say with Paul. Who is sufficient for these things?

Truly. The Lord is going to have to be all in all for us.

He's going to have to move us from faith to faith.

And from glory to glory.

And to deal with those Gentile things in our life that still remain. Insecurity. Fear. Self-consciousness. Jealousy. Envy. Resentment. Bitterness. He's going to have to change us. Form us in his image.

Apostolic people. Who love one another. With a pure heart fervently. Unto unfamed love of the reverend. That even the unbelieving Jews when they look at you have to say.

Look how they love one another. No man lives for himself alone.

There's not one among them that has need. This is a people of one soul and one mind. Who in the world were enemies against each other. Man against woman. Black against white. Rich against poor. Made one in God.

It will move them to jealousy. They are waiting on us. Something from us. And it is God's incentive to us. To bring us to maturity. No other motivation. But to fulfill this. That's why God wants to speak this into your spirit this morning.

Say brother I don't know any Jews. I don't think there are any Jews in Europe.

It doesn't matter. The mystery of the purposes of God. Your condition. Your situation. Will affect their destiny.

We're in this together. Paul calls it a mystery. God, no, Paul calls this a mystery. That has been hidden until now. But that he doesn't want us to be in ignorance of. And now this is a mystery. That will soon be fulfilled and fulfilled.

Through us. What a great and mighty calling. Who is sufficient for this? God must be all in all.

We must walk worthy of the calling which we've been called. Both of the kingdom and of the glory. And that's the last word that I leave for you. The glory. The glory.

The glory. Paul was jealous for the glory. That's what makes an apostle an apostle. Unto him be glory. Take that into your spirit.

Make that your chief motivation. Because you're going to suffer. Much will be required of us all. There will be difficult trials. Your flesh will want to run away from this. And go back to something easier.

The world will try to draw you back. And seduce you. Into false comfort. But God has called you to the way of the cross. Yes, there will be suffering. But it results in a glory.

It did for him. And it will for us. Be jealous for the glory.

And it will bring you through. I want to pray for a glorious church. Made up of living stones. Fitted and formed of God. To move Israel to jealousy. And fulfill the mystery of the ages. Life from the dead.

The key to the nations. Beginning with us.

Prayer for a Glorious Church and Israel's Restoration

So Lord in Jesus name. Help us. To understand. To take this into our deepest consciousness. Such a calling.

And Lord your mercy came to us. None of us deserved anything from you. You saved us out of death.

And you took us from where we were. And day by day. You are so patiently and lovingly building us. Forming us. As vessels for your glory. A true people. Above nationality and culture. Beyond that which is gentile.

A people of the kingdom and of the glory. We need your blessing. And grace upon grace. To fulfill this. And fulfill this we will. For the honor and glory of your name.

That we might eternally rejoice together. A world without end. Throughout all ages. Amen.