A SMALL KINDNESS - By Carie denHartog-Terry

Though I met Katja more than twenty years ago, our brief friendship in a season of my life taught me a profound lesson which has stayed with me all these years.

I was the pastor’s wife. Katja was my neighbor. From all outward appearances there was nothing distinct or unique about her. Her short grey permed hair, slender physique and sensible clothing could best be described as ordinary. Her eyes, however, were remarkable and reflected a deep well of sadness coupled with an utter sense of resignation.

When I knocked on her door Katja responded very positively to my invitation to come to my home every Wednesday morning for a neighborhood coffee time – a time we would make new friends and study the Bible together, one book at a time. We were on a journey. How, we asked, was the Bible relevant to the issues we faced as women? What did it have to say about the purpose of our lives in the struggles, fears, joys and sorrows we faced each day?

Most of the women around my dining table, including Katja, had never read the Bible. She had grown up going to church all her life. Still, at the age of seventy, she rose to the challenge to study the Bible for the answers to the pressing need of her life.

That, it turned out, was a fifty-year marriage that was devoid of love. The tidy little bungalow with the well-manicured lawn she and her husband Ivan shared, reflected the pleasant exterior we all knew as their neighbors. But underneath gaped a chasm in their marriage so wide, Katja wondered if it could ever be bridged. This was not the love she and Ivan had dreamed of so many years ago when they had stood at the altar of marriage and vowed to love and cherish each other. Day after day, year after year, through the disappointment of childlessness and growing frailty, small hidden resentments continued to fester. They began to lead lives that intersected only occasionally to eat a meal together in total silence, each at a loss for what to say.

 “What”, Katja asked with a quivering voice, “can God do about this troubling situation?” Her eyes were downcast and she hurriedly brushed away a tear before looking around the table at her newfound friends. We sat in stunned silence. This was a deep and painful cry from the heart of our hurting friend who had dared to bare her soul with us. What did the God of all creation, the Creator of love and marriage, have to offer Katja? We bowed our heads and humbly asked God to help, to give her hope for the miracle to change this seemingly hopeless situation.

Weeks passed and we continued to pray with no apparent change. The icy finger of winter was beginning to release its grip and the joyful songs of the killdeer and robin welcomed spring.

One Wednesday morning Katja opened my front door and greeted me with a twinkle in her eye and a brightness in her entire demeanor. As we ladies sipped out coffee she suddenly burst out. . . “I think God has been speaking to me, except its not at all like I expected Him to!”

As her story unfolded, all their married lives Ivan had always thrown his clothes inside out into the laundry hamper. Gentle reminders had come first. Later harsh accusations and angry words. Then years of silence as each help to their positions. Ivan would not turn his clothes right side out. No way. He was a hard-working man and did not have time for small, insignificant stuff like that. Katja, however, was not going to be outsmarted by him. She was determined to get a step ahead in this unfriendly game. If a shirt was inside out, that’s the way it would be washed, dried and hung back in the closet. There! That would show him a thing or two.

One day Katja was on her knees in her garden. Her hands were wrestling with a crop of persistent weeds but her heart was far away in prayer. Suddenly the thought came to her, “Turn Ivan’s clothes right side out and, with a kind heart, hang them in his closet.” “Could this be God?” she wondered.

Instantly she was on her feet. Telling no one, she proceeded to do just that. Such an overflow of joy had come as she worked that before the day ended she had set the entire closet straight. Taking pains to do it just right, she redid every shirt and pair of trousers. Not one was left inside out. Soon, the clothes in the dresser were taken out and put back in place as they had not been for nearly fifty years. The simple, kind act had brought such delight to her heart it didn’t matter there had been no apparent response from Ivan. A great burden of long-held resentment in her heart was gone!  A fresh breeze of kindness was flowing through her soul.

One day while Katja was preparing dinner she opened the door to her refrigerator. Where once an assortment of Ivan’s favorite cheeses were stored, stood an entire row of her favourites! Her hand began to tremble as she counted out each package one by one. Ten different kinds! Her heart burst with thanksgiving for this small but lavish act of kindness. She alone understood its significance. Years ago, an act of bitterness had ended with each buying their own cheese, a silent weekly testimony to the coldness that marked every part of their marriage.

When she saw him later that evening Ivan said nothing about the cheese but she noted a tender smile and a softness in his expression that erased the pained and anxious look he had worn for more years than she could remember.

Years passed, bringing more changes quietly and naturally into their lives.

On a wintry day Ivan awoke to an indescribable feeling of weakness. The once-robust man now needed Katja to steady him as he stood to his feet. The family doctor delivered the devastating news that Ivan was incurably ill. It was a long journey, filled with sweetness and sorrow for both of them. For, she later told me, what began as a simple turning right-side-out of Ivan’s shirts and a row of Katja’s favourite cheese in the refrigerator, turned into the five sweetest years of their married life.

BY

Carie den Hartog-Terry

Bear One Another's Burdens

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Cross references:

1. Galatians 6:2 : Rom 15:1
2. Galatians 6:2 : Rom 8:2; 1 Cor 9:21; James 1:25; 2:12; 2 Pet 3:2

Galatians 6:2 (NASB)

This morning in my time of prayer I had a picture of two people. One was under an incredible load that he could hardly bear. The other was walking without any thing to carry. As they walked along the one without the burden was telling the other to stop falling behind. The one with the burden was asking for forgiveness and trying harder to keep up. Finally the one without a burden just left the other behind.

I then thought of the scripture that is at the beginning of this blog. Bear one another's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ.

As I meditated on that verse I suddenly realized that what I saw in my minds eye is what so often happens in human relationships. In the inability to empathize with her partner the unburdened person could only criticize her friend. It seemed to never occur to her that she should take some of the burden on herself.

Imagine what it means to fulfill the law of Christ. We might think it to be a whole set of religious disciplines. It might seem that it would require doing some great act of service in a missional setting. It might mean sharing our faith with hundreds of people.

But it is as simple as bearing one another's burden to fulfill the law Jesus gave.

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

Cross references:

1. Galatians 6:2 : Rom 15:1
2. Galatians 6:2 : Rom 8:2; 1 Cor 9:21; James 1:25; 2:12; 2 Pet 3:2

Galatians 6:2 (NASB)

Why is that? I believe it is because when we have a heart for one another to help each other along the way we have all kinds of other things in place.

It is what Jesus said to the lawyer who asked him what the greatest commandment was:

And he answered, “YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND; AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

Cross references:

1. Luke 10:27 : Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18

Luke 10:27 (NASB)

We sometimes forget that a our character can be seen in the smallest areas. And that our true heart is shown by the simplest everyday actions like caring enough for someone to move outside ourselves and help others.

Even loving God ends up being shown by loving another human:

 

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.

Cross references:

1. 1 John 4:20 : 1 John 1:6, 8, 10; 2:4
2. 1 John 4:20 : 1 John 2:9, 11
3. 1 John 4:20 : 1 John 1:6
4. 1 John 4:20 : 1 John 3:17
5. 1 John 4:20 : 1 Pet 1:8; 1 John 4:12

1 John 4:20 (NASB)

When we think about this in regard to Jesus' often pointing out the problem with the religious establishment of his day we might better understand what was a central issue that they missed:

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; ³ therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. ⁴ They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.

Matthew 23:1-5 (NASB)

See here that a primary issue for Jesus was the placing of burdens on others and then not even helping them to bear them.

Like the girl who would not help her friend but only condemned him for not keeping up, When we don't help others bear their burdens with a genuine care we are not loving them, and we are not loving God.

Jesus was so concerned about this issue that one of the most wonderful of his sayings which has brought so much comfort to so many was about his willingness to share our burden.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. ³⁰ For My yoke is ^[a]easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:29-30 (NASB)

The law of Christ is to care about others in a way that our hearts share in their burdens.

I have seen this is an essential aspect of every relationship. Whether it is in our workplace relating with customers, supervisors and fellow staff or in the covenant relationship of marriage the kind of care we have for others is seen when we help them in their burdens.

What is at the heart of Immorality?

See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; 16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. 17 For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.
Hebrews 12:15-17 (NASB)


In our highly sexulaized society it is easy to understand the biblical concept of immorality (the Greek word porneia) as only talking about sex. In this scripture however Esau is presented here as an archetypal example of one who commits the wrong of immorality. But what he did had nothing to do with sex. This points us to look for a more accurate understanding of what the word really means in it's deeper sense. As we understand the word we can also see why it is wrong and what we can do to stay our of it's trap.


First of all I believe we need to understand that when God gives a negative command it is not to harm us or keep something from us. In the specific case of the sexual use of the word porneia as it relates to sex, God's intention as we see from looking at the whole of scripture is to beautify sexual intimacy, not to take away from it. Biblically God tells us that any action that turns another human being into an object for our selfish gratification is immoral - porneia - pornograhic. The tendency of the church has been to devalue sexual intimacy altogether and in extreme cases to see it in a negative way in all cases except procreation. The Biblical picture of sexual intimacy is one of beauty, intimacy and wonderful pleasure which God delighted to create us able to experience....... if done in the way He intended.


Immorality - Porneia has been primarily understood as sex outside of marriage and while this is one aspect of it, the word actually means much more. Sexual porneia can actually happen in marriage as well as outside. Porneia is when we choose to give up an intended good that God desires for us to have for some immediate pleasure or perceived sexual benefit. Even married people can bring destructive actions which turn their spouse into objects. They can bring immoral acts into their intimate lives instead of choosing to follow God's design.


Once we understand this the biblical presentation of Esau as an archetypal immoral human the concept of immorality makes much more sense.


When Jacob had cooked stew, Esau came in from the field and he was famished; 30 and Esau said to Jacob, “Please let me have a swallow of that red stuff there, for I am famished.” Therefore his name was called Edom. 31 But Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 Esau said, “Behold, I am about to die; so of what use then is the birthright to me?” 33 And Jacob said, “First swear to me”; so he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew; and he ate and drank, and rose and went on his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25:29-34 (NASB)


Here we see the beginning of the attitude that destroyed Esau's destiny. He gave up something extremely valuable that God meant for him to treasure to satisfy a momentary physical need. This is the real meaning of immorality. It is a great enemy of our soul.
 
Because of a mindset that demphasizes the biblical understanding of actions producing consequences we might be tempted to see this lapse in Esau's as just a minor issue. After all he was hungry. It seems he was very hungry. In fact many would have great compassion on Esau. They would not understand why such severe consequences should arise from such a small act on his part. And in our grace based understanding of God's nature - which is true - we might think that God should have just forgiven Esau and made everything right. But we see that even though Esau repented with tears he forever lost the birthright he sold for a bowl of stew.
 
I do not believe that God did not respond to Esau's repentance. In fact the rest of the story does show that Esau found restoration  In fact the story of Jacob's deception in stealing away Esau's blessing from his father does not have such a happy ending for Jacob either. But in the facts of the story we must not miss the truth that God intended something wonderful for Esau that he lost forever through his not valuing it as he should have.

He exchanged what was precious for that which meant almost nothing. That is what is at the heart of immorality. That is what is at the heart of all sin. We exchange the eternal blessing of our Father for some temporal trinket that will disappear in no time at all.
 
This is the story behind all wrongdoing. It is following a path away from the best for ourselves, others and God.
 
When we see wrongdoing as the route to meet our needs we miss seeing the heart of God. He was the one who created every kind of hunger. The wonderful story of how he created the first woman is a perfect example of his delight to make a man hungry for something he could not find a fulfillment for until he had longed for it enough to recognize it when he saw it.
 
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” 19 Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. 21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:18-25 (NASB)


Before there was ever any wrongdoing there was a hunger in a man's heart for a relationship. God created it and he meant for it to be fully fulfilled. God created humans with needs and desires with a good end in mind. That good end in this case was to bless both the man and the woman. The man was blessed with a companion who would meet the deepest longing of his body soul and spirit. The woman would be blessed by being deeply valued, cherished  (“This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh;. . . ") and cared for (For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.) Through their relationship with each other both would find a place of complete transparency and belonging where they found no shame (And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.).


All this relational beauty was conditional on a negative prohibition - Do not eat of the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.


The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not [a]eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17 (NASB)


Here in the very beginning of creation we see the principle of immorality at work.


Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
Genesis 3:1-7  (NASB)


The lie of immorality is that it will meet a need or desire in our lives that God won't. It says we have to throw away what God wants for us to get what is best for us. But it is a lie. What actually happens to everyone who follows the lie is they lose the very thing they were trying to gain.


A further principle of immorality is the addiction cycle. The little that it gives must be continually found by more and more of the action that it first required. Because the actual need God intended to be met through following His plan to meet the need or desire is left unmet. it becomes like a black hole inside of us. The act that brought about a temporary meeting of the need..... Esau did have his hunger met for a moment..... has to be repeated over and over again with a continual diminishment of fulfillment. This is the core of addiction.
The shame and regret over the loss of the blessing God intended for us works like a prison cell stripping us of all hope that we could ever regain the lost blessing. In this state it makes perfect sense to continue the path of surrender of God's best which we now believe we could never gain anyway for the temporary binding fulfillment the wrong way gives. 
 
There are several points where the enemy of immorality can be defeated.
 
The first place is to understand God's intention for us in our place of need. God intended for Adam to feel the great desire in his heart for a woman to make her precious to him. He intended for the deprivation to create such gratitude in him that he would treasure God's gift of her. He wanted Adam to always remember the loneliness he felt when God brought each animal to him and he found nothing to meet the Eve shaped hole in his heart. 
 
God intended for Esau's hunger to remind him that He would meet that hunger for ever if he would value the gift he was providing through his birthright. Instead Esau forsook self control and destroyed the hunger God gave him by a temporary fulfillment of it. But the cost was the plan God had to meet his hunger forever. Sadly he was hungry forever....
 
This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”
John 6:58 (NASB)


Even if we fail to value our birthright of God's plan to meet the needs He created in us for good, immorality can be defeated by seeing it as the lie it is and turning back to God's plan.


It may seem this is what Esau tried to do but God did not respond. In fact God did respond and made provision for him in another way. But the birthright was forever lost.


We see this in the story of the prodigal son.


The son left home with half the inheritance. He spent it all. When the consequences of life caught up to him he remembered that his father was a kind man who was financially secure. He thought he would go and simply ask for a job as a hired person for his father. When he arrived home he was reinstated into sonship but many people miss an important aspect of his new situation in something the father said to the older brother:


But he (the older brother) answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; 30 but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.


Luke 15:29-31  (NASB)


The younger brother lost his inheritance forever. If he was to ever be financially secure again it would be by his own blood, sweat and tears. But even this is a grace. The power of free provision would never overtake him again. He would never forget what he lost and what it cost to live without the free provision of his father.


That is what happened to Esau as well. He came to be well provided for in the end of his life. But he lost his father's inheritance.


We cannot regain our initial innocence when we give it away by immorality. I could never give my virginity to my wife on our wedding night though I would have so loved to have been able to. I, like Esau had given it away for a momentarily fulfillment of desire. And though I sought it with tears I could not regain it. It was gone. But in my repentance I learned a crucial lesson. I could turn back to purity. I could choose to live the rest of my life in view of what I had lost. I could choose faithfulness and purity to God while I was single and to my wife when I got married. That is what I did. Today I still grieve the loss of what I could have given of my birthright but God has made a way for me to live in the joy of purity.


It can be the same for anyone who will turn back to follow His path.

Overcoming the Great Enemy of Resentment - Making Melody in Our Hearts

So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

Ephesians 5:17-20 (NASB)

Today as I was meditating on some of the issues that steal away the life of our soul I was struck by how many of us  allow low levels of resentment to poison us. No it does not kill us. But what it does do is steal away our creativity, energy, passion and makes sure that we do things in a reserved half hearted way.

What do I mean when I use the word resentment?  It is a mixture of unthankfulness, resistance and a muttering in our souls about how wrong or unfulfilling or unimportant most of the tasks of our lives are as we do them.

Very few of us really understand that, as our scripture tells us that we are commanded to "know" what the will of the Lord is in our lives. I believe that not understanding His will is where most resentment begins. I think you know exactly what I mean. We get captured in our hearts by an idea that God's will is some very amazing existence where we are heroes or saints distributing great love, insight, intelligence, wisdom or heavenly beauty to people who are so grateful for our presence in their lives.

The real life we actually do live seems so far from anything we ever dreamed that we are sure that somehow we missed God's life. We get trapped mentally. As one person I recently shared with about these things put it, "how many of us, when asked what kind of life we want, truly desire a mediocre life? Do we ever pray to God, crying out to Him saying, "GOD, PLEASE GIVE ME A MEDIOCRE LIFE!" I really doubt it. So why do we live a mediocre life and label it fantastic to make ourselves feel better?"


When I have started to feel like this I know I do not do my best in my work, relationships with God or others and most of all my own walk with God. I see resentment as a formidable enemy to my soul.

Yet I have come to understand that God's greatest work in my life will be done in the smallest, seemingly insignificant acts of my life when they are done with a right attitude.

You need not think to long to understand what I am saying. God wants us to reflect his love and character to the world. When we resent the things we have to do we do anything but reflect him.

Ever been served by a person who resented their job? Even if they were extremely talented, skilled or intelligent their resentment stole their success because they did not do their work with passion or pleasure.

On the other hand the one who served you with a passion for their task,  real interest in you and a commitment to serving you, even if they were not as skilful as the ones who resented their work will always be a success to you. 

For sure it takes both passion and skill to do a job well but it is interesting that it will most likely be the one who does not allow resentment to poison their hearts who will continually seek to build their skill. 

Most of all what a waste of our lives it is to do anything we do with low level resentment. The continual muttering that goes on inside, the weariness of hours spent hating what we do, the feeling that our lives are being wasted one little bit at a time, it is like water board torture. 

I have found that the remedy the scripture gives me today is one "how" to keep myself free of this curse of internal decay through resentment of my daily life's tasks.

..... be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

God gave us song to continually bless Him. He gave it to us to keep a focus on the goodness of His life in us. He gave it to communicate the joy of knowing Him to each other. I work on having a song in my heart all day long. It may be from the worship service.

This week one of our worship leaders sang a wonderful song and she has sang it to me for the rest of the week as I over and over join her in worship. Now I don't mean she has been actually singing to me but I have purposefully remembered the song all week. It has brought joy as I intentionally brought it to mind. As I did she sang it again to me. I have sang with her in my heart. I have done this simple practice for years and it has always brought me away from resentment into a wide place of thanksgiving.

For me thanksgiving is the key that unlocks all the promises of God. I learned years ago that when I found my soul in a place of ungratefulness it would not be long until resentment, lust, envy, pride, jealousy or discontentment would be invading my soul. I have found that when I simply return to giving thanks in what ever situation I find myself that soon the joy of heaven overtakes me.

For me one of the most wonderful ways to express thanksgiving is in singing either out loud or in my heart....

2 Samuel 22:50 “ Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name.

Psalm 7:17 I will give thanks to the LORD according to His righteousness And will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalm 18:49 Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O LORD, And I will sing praises to Your name.

Psalm 30:4 Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones, And give thanks to His holy name. . . . 12 That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Psalm 33:2 Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.


Psalm 57:9 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to You among the nations.

Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving.

Psalm 92:1 . . . It is good to give thanks to the LORD And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;

Psalm 107:22 Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, And tell of His works with joyful singing.

Psalm 108:3 I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the peoples, And I will sing praises to You among the nations.


Psalm 138:1 . . .  I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing praises to You before the gods.
 
Psalm 147:7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre,


Isaiah 51:3 Indeed, the LORD will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And her wilderness He will make like Eden, And her desert like the garden of the LORD; Joy and gladness will be found in her, Thanksgiving and sound of a melody.
 
1 Thessalonians 5:18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The Second Vision - Our Purpose

A sermon preached at Open Door Christian Fellowship February 26th, 2012

You can hear the sermon here:
http://www.odcf.ca/index.cfm?i=11810&mid=18&g=40637

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.
John 4:34-35 (NASB)

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”


Matthew 9:37-38 (NASB)


In 1977 My wife and I were preparing to return home from Kiriat Anavim in Israel. We had gone there on a short term mission with Project Kibbutz.

As I was in prayer about our return in our little stone room I saw a beautiful table set with the most wonderful food you could imagine. It was a huge table that was so very long. Beautiful place settings were arranged on it.

No animal substances could be found on the table. There were fruits, nuts, vegetables and breads of all kinds. There were beautiful adornments on the table including golden candelabras which were the light of the table.


As I watched intently to understand what the vision meant I saw three very thin men come and sit down at the table. I watched as they began to eat.


They continued eating and it the room grew lighter then darker, lighter, darker, lighter, darker. I knew that this represented the passing of days and months....... perhaps years.


As I watched them eat, their bodies changed. They grew larger and larger until they were huge. Their clothes no longer fit. Their bellies were giant. They had rolls of fat all over them. Finally, one by one, they fell asleep.


The scene changed. This time I saw a beautiful field of ripened grain. It was glorious! The sun shone on beautiful golden stalks of wheat as far as the eye could see. In front of the field was a white picket fence with a gateAs I watched, I saw a man go and pick up a sickle laying on the ground. He then went through the gate into this marvelous field.


The man was terribly thin and emaciated. He looked like someone out of a concentration camp. He started to harvest the wheat but it was pitiful. He could barely cut a few stalks. Still, he persisted.


Again the cycle of light and darkness occurred. As it did a subtle change began to take place. The man began to develop muscles. His stroke became surer and more effective. He began to sweat and get dirty.


Soon he was pushing the sickle through the wheat with an incredible force. The stalks were being harvested in great number. In the end of the vision he looked like a gladiator.


The vision is self-explanatory. The first part dealt with those who came to the Lord's table to eat from His Word and gifts of grace but did not apply themselves to the purpose for which they were fed.


They remained at the table never ceasing to eat in spite of their obvious growing condition of obesity. Finally the very thing that was meant to give them the energy for the work God had for them did just the opposite. They fell asleep in their gluttonous state and became even incapable to eat.


The second part of the vision was about the work God intends for us to do. The effect of applying himself to work in the harvest was wonderful to the harvester.


He remained steadfast in the beginning when it seemed he was making no real progress and had such a little effect.


The discipline of work in the field gradually began to change him. Finally he was totally effective. The food he ate turned into muscles. He was completely alert to his task.


As I meditated on this vision I realized it spoke of the purpose and destiny of every Christian’s life.


But it was not a generic word about everyone. It cut deep into my heart. The question God asked me that day has stayed with me and continues to convict me as I share it with you today.


He asked me, “Which do you want to be? – The one who fell asleep at the Lord’s table or the one who worked in the harvest?”


I knew with all my heart which I wanted to be and answered unreservedly the one who worked in the harvest.


But I have found that to remain effective I have had to let him ask me the same question every day and often every moment of every day of my life.


Today God asks you the same question.


Which do you want to be?


If you answer, like I did this morning when I woke, “I want to be the one who labors in the harvest -- the one who goes into my world to extend the kingdom of God,” then the vision is one of instruction, hope and full of promise.


DOING of God's will is our purpose of life. It is DOING it that brings the transformation in our being.


The call of every Christian is fulfilled in doing God's specific will for their lives


"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?


Luke 6:46 (NASB)

Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.“


Luke 6:47-49

In his book “Principle of the Path” Andy Stanley correctly points out that when you follow a certain path it will take you where it takes everyone no matter who you are or what your intentions are. (NASB)


This is what the Lord said in the passage we just read. It is a simple principle and easily seen.


In Andy’s words:


“Direction, not Intention, determines your Destination.”


“If you head north on I-85, you won’t get to Florida, regardless of what you’re intention is.”


There is a path to safety and a path to destruction. Both paths treat everyone on them exactly the same.


You may want to build a safe secure house but if you do not follow the path of those who know how and have built safe houses you will not build a safe house.


No matter who we are we will find the same result from following any particular path anyone else has found that has gone down


So what path does God want all of us to follow?


And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.“


Matthew 28:17-19


And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.


Mark 16:15 (NASB)


Physical eating which is not used to produce work in our bodies produces obesity and slumber. So also spiritual eating without spiritual work produces the spiritual equivalent to obesity and slumber.


Many Christians believe that going to church, hearing sermons, listening to teachings, watching Christian T.V., going to Christian entertainment or even reading the Bible are the main activities of the kingdom life.


The vision gives a picture of what the Bible clearly teaches about this. Those who participate in these things without having the focus of going to work in the harvest grow spiritually fat, lazy and finally fall asleep.


The very things that God provided to give us the ability, instruction and energy to do his will becomes what keeps us for doing it.


And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.


Isaiah 6:9-10


The converse is also true. God created us to be physically active in work. When we are, our bodies become strong and healthy from the food we eat.


The man who was harvesting is the promise for all who will apply themselves to the work God has destined for them. They will experience the wonderful increase of spiritual strength, endurance and skill in the harvest.


Many want to be made instantly into gladiators for God but it is a process.


Here is the great hope for those of you who feel like I have so often when I have seen my almost non-existent strength and skill.


It will be the thin, emaciated weaklings that choose to press daily into the work of God who will become the gladiators.


Acceptance of the task and daily pressing on made the man in spite of his seeming ineffectiveness.


But first he was tested by the days of small beginnings. We tend to think that we will arrive fully matured and have no period of preparation in which we see little of effectiveness or fruit.


It is the purposeful intention and actual action to build God’s kingdom first that brings the transformation in our being. It is the practice of our ministry that turns us into effective servants of God.


The craving for more and more teaching – supernatural events – blessings and so forth is evidence that we have missed the point of our salvation.


God did not save us to give us a great life. He saved us to honor Him with the life He has given us.


So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.


Philippians 2:12-13 (NASB)


The way to honor Him is to do the work he predestined us to do to build His Kingdom.


For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.


Ephesians 2:10 (NASB)


Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.


Matthew 5:16 (NASB)


When we see God as our servant we think we should sit at the table all day long and eat from His provision and nothing more.


When we understand that He saved us to serve him we ask where am I to give my life away for you? Where am I to work for you?


Every believer should have an identifiable place where they are purposefully working to extend the Kingdom of God.


We are all called to service. Not one is exempt no matter what their limitations, inabilities or on the other hand how important they might think they are.


And as Jesus said, as we give up our own self-centered pursuits, our own pre-occupation with our lives and give our lives to Him. It is only then we truly find our lives.


For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.


Matthew 16:25 (NAS


He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.


John 12:25


So where are you giving your life away for God?


I had the wonderful privilege of having no hindrances to giving my life away to God. When I met Jesus I had nothing left to give and I knew it. Still on the night I first met him I realized that he was not just there to save me.


I knew I he was asking for my life.


All of it.


For the rest of it.


He was asking me for the rest of my life to go into all the world and extend his kingdom by living a life centered on serving him and others. To surrender my life completely to His will and keep on doing it for the rest of my life.


Only that which has been surrendered to God can bring forth his life to the world. Giving our lives to God through purposefully living out his will by doing it is the only cure for our soul.


The GOING is not so much about a change in location,  though in a very real way we need to purposefully go to where others are. It is ultimately about the movement in our souls. We go from the place of personal benefit to the place of serving God first and others before self.


So again I ask, “Where are you purposefully giving your life away to God and to others?


Where are you actually going?
What are you actually doing?


Let me give you the challenge God gave me when I was first a believer and which he has continued to challenge me with to this day.


Would you in this day surrender everything in your life to God?

Would you choose today who you will serve?

Will you give yourself unreservedly to God?

Would you offer the life he saved back to him as fully as he surrendered his for you?
Would you purposefully seek to live his life by setting a place that you and he spend together each day?

Would you purposefully study his word so that you can be equipped to do the work that he has prepared for you?


Would you set as your highest purpose to DO what he says to do no matter what he says to do? To go where he says for you to go, where ever that may be?


Would you choose to live the life of Jesus without limits?


If you do I can promise you that in the end of your life you will not look back with regret. You will have lived life to the full. You will have found the greatest joy possible.


The life of God will have transformed you into his own image.

ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE CHURCH

You can hear this talk here: http://www.odcf.ca/index.cfm?i=11810&mid=18&g=40109

In considering the topic of Anti-semitism in general we immediately face some challenges.
In my mind the worst way to consider it is to take the immense suffering of the children of Isaac throughout history and reduce it to a simple answer why.

This week during the bad snow storm one of my friend's daughter was killed in the horrific car pile up on the 402 near Sarnia.

Even if they knew all the reasons their daughter died the grieving parents will never be satisfied to just know the facts.

Though they want the facts, Far more important is they want for others to know the preciousness of their child.

They want others to know the joy they had in their child and the unfathomable depth of grief they hold in their hearts at their loss.

Even if they had a difficult relationship with their child (which they didn't) in the stark reality of death, because they are loving parents, their thoughts would not be fixed on the conflict they had. It would be on the love they continue to hold.

When we look at the perceived causes of anti Semitism we find that there are many.
But all of them relate to Abraham's relationship to God.
Genesis 12
 ¹ Now the LORD said 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;² And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing; ³ 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 will be blessed." 

But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
Genesis 17:19

Ultimately the fulfillment of God's promised covenant with Abraham and Sarah was to bear witness to the reality, character and saving work of God. 

The focus of that call led to the birth, life and resurrection of Jesus.

This understanding gives us perhaps the most important reason for the suffering of the Jewish nation. 

The enemy of God has always sought to destroy that which God loves.

Further he has always sought to destroy the life of word of God.

From Abraham what ever has contained the life of Jesus has been persecuted.
For this reason as we consider the evil of anti-Semitism we must understand God's heart toward the children of Abraham and Sarah. 

But Zion said, "the LORD has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me."
¹⁵ "can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.
¹⁶ "behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
Isaiah 49:14-16 (NASB)

We all understand the love a mother holds for her nursing child. No one harms the child without first harming her. While there are some women who would not do so most mothers would die themselves rather than let their child be killed. A good mother's love is perhaps the greatest love possible in human hearts. They love regardless of the condition of their child's heart toward them. A good mother never forgets her child.

Through Isaiah God tells us that his love for Israel is greater than the best mother on the planet. It is so deep that he will never forget them and to make sure he never does he has purposefully scared his hands with the sign of his love for them. Every moment of his life he embraces them. He will never forget them.

Another deeply moving affirmation of his love is found in the writings of Jeremiah.

Thus says the LORD,
Who gives the sun for light by day
And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;
The LORD of hosts is His name:"If this fixed order departs
From before Me," declares the LORD,
"Then the offspring of Israel also will cease
From being a nation before Me forever." Thus says the LORD,
   "If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel
For all that they have done," declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 31:35-37 (NASB)

God created the fixed order of the universe. We look at the majesty and the complexity of the universe and as far as we can see it's laws remain faithfully in place. The sun, moon and stars follow their set courses without fail. They continually speak of the faithfulness of the one who created them and set them in motion.

They are an awesome object lesson about God's ways. And what do the proclaim every day they continue? That God will never forget or forsake his ancient people.

The first principle we must have rooted and grounded in our hearts is that no matter what Israel has ever done God's heart remains forever bound to her. Even in his anger towards her actions he loves her forever and will never turn his back on the plans he has for her.

Further we can never accurately interpret the Bible unless we do so fully understanding God's heart for the children of His friends Abraham and Sarah.

If you are at all acquainted with the history of anti-Semitism you will know I just countered one of the strongest justifications for specifically "Christian" acts of hatred towards Jewish people.

Often in moments of violence against Jewish people living in Europe the cry rang out, "Christ Killers." This phrase and its underlying heart of revenge was a primary blinder to the church seeing the horror of their own hearts.

It not only blinded the church to the evil being done before their very eyes but it also fueled the fires of the holocaust. It gave the rationalization for why Jewish people could be treated as they were without conscience.

History bears record that Hitler was not a misguided fanatic who believed his mission was to take revenge on Jewish people for their part in the killing of Jesus. Nor does it say that even the church was convinced he was doing so.

But it was used as the rationalization for Christians to overlook what was really happening.
The tragic history of this thinking in the church did not start with Hitler. It was there almost from the beginning.

Justin Martyr - Dialogue with Trypho (Between 138A.D. and 161 A.D.)

We too, would observe your circumcision of the flesh, your Sabbath days, and in a word, all your festivals, if we were not aware of the reason why they were imposed upon you, namely, because of your sins and the hardness of heart. The custom of circumcising the flesh, handed down from Abraham, was given to you as a distinguishing mark, to set you off from other nations and from us Christians. The purpose of this was that you and only you might suffer the afflictions that are now justly yours; that only your land be desolated, and you cities ruined by fire, that the fruits of you land be eaten by strangers before your very eyes; that not one of you be permitted to enter your city of Jerusalem. Your circumcision of the flesh is the only mark by which you can certainly be distinguished from other men…as I stated before it was by reason of your sins and the sins of your fathers that, among other precepts, God imposed upon you the observance of the Sabbath as a mark.
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

The clear evidence of the hostility and the theological arguments made to justify that hostility are both found in this early anti-Semitic text from one of the earliest writings we have besides the New Testament.

An even earlier writing shows that just after the last apostle died the concept that the church had taken the place of Israel was common place. 

"Epistle of Barnabas" Chapter 4vs 6-7 (between 130A.D. and 138 A.D.)

Take heed to yourselves and be not like some piling up your sins and saying that the covenant is theirs as well as ours. It is ours, but they lost it completely just after Moses received it.
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

Building on a vein of anti-Semitism in the early church the fullness of that evil came in the later centuries.

Origen of Alexandria (185-254 A.D.)

We may thus assert in utter confidence that the Jews will not return to their earlier situation, for they have committed the most abominable of crimes, in forming this conspiracy against the Savior of the human race…hence the city where Jesus suffered was necessarily destroyed, the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God to the blessed election.
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

John Chrysostom (344-407 A.D.)

The synagogue is worse than a brothel…it is the den of scoundrels and the repair of wild beasts…the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults…the refuge of brigands and dabauchees, and the cavern of devils. It is a criminal assembly of Jews…a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ… a house worse than a drinking shop…a den of thieves, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, the refuge of devils, a gulf and a abyss of perdition."…"I would say the same things about their souls… As for me, I hate the synagogue…I hate the Jews for the same reason.
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

Peter the Venerable - From "The Roots of Christian Anti-Semitism" by Malcolm Hay

Yes, you Jews. I say, do I address you; you, who till this very day, deny the Son of God. How long, poor wretches, will ye not believe the truth? Truly I doubt whether a Jew can be really human… I lead out from its den a monstrous animal, and show it as a laughing stock in the amphitheater of the world, in the sight of all the people. I bring thee forward, thou Jew, thou brute beast, in the sight of all men.http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

While the Catholic Church through the inquisition and the Crusades killed many Jewish people, an even deeper hatred was being formed in the heart of the first leader of the Reformation. I believe that hatred directly set the path for the killing of over six million Jewish people.

Martin Luther – 1543 - The Jews and Their Lies

What then shall we Christians do with this damned, rejected race of Jews? Since they live among us and we know about their lying and blasphemy and cursing, we can not tolerate them if we do not wish to share in their lies, curses, and blasphemy. In this way we cannot quench the inextinguishable fire of divine rage nor convert the Jews. We must prayerfully and reverentially practice a merciful severity. Perhaps we may save a few from the fire and flames [of hell]. We must not seek vengeance. They are surely being punished a thousand times more than we might wish them. Let me give you my honest advice. First, their synagogues should be set on fire, and whatever does not burn up should be covered or spread over with dirt so that no one may ever be able to see a cinder or stone of it. And this ought to be done for the honor of God and of Christianity in order that God may see that we are Christians, and that we have not wittingly tolerated or approved of such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of His Son and His Christians. Secondly, their homes should likewise be broken down and destroyed. For they perpetrate the same things there that they do in their synagogues. For this reason they ought to be put under one roof or in a stable, like gypsies, in order that they may realize that they are not masters in our land, as they boast, but miserable captives, as they complain of incessantly before God with bitter wailing. Thirdly, they should be deprived of their prayer-books and Talmuds in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught. Fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden under threat of death to teach any more... Fifthly, passport and traveling privileges should be absolutely forbidden to the Jews. For they have no business in the rural districts since they are not nobles, nor officials, nor merchants, nor the like. Let them stay at home...If you princes and nobles do not close the road legally to such exploiters, then some troop ought to ride against them, for they will learn from this pamphlet what the Jews are and how to handle them and that they ought not to be protected. You ought not, you cannot protect them, unless in the eyes of God you want to share all their abomination… To sum up, dear princes and nobles who have Jews in your domains, if this advice of mine does not suit you, then find a better one so that you and we may all be free of this insufferable devilish burden - the Jews...
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

Martin Luther – 1543 - Of The Unknowable Name and The Generations of Christ

Even if they were punished in the most gruesome manner that the streets ran with their blood, that their dead would be counted, not in the hundred thousands, but in the millions, as happened under Vespasian in Jerusalem and for evil under Hadrian, still they must insist on being right even if after these 1,500 years they were in misery another 1,500 years, still God must be a liar and they must be correct. In sum, they are the devil's children, damned to Hell...
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

John Calvin - A Response To Questions and Objections of a Certain Jew

Their [the Jews] rotten and unbending stiffneckedness deserves that they be oppressed unendingly and without measure or end and that they die in their misery without the pity of anyone.
http://www.yashanet.com/library/fathers.htm

These quotes are only a small set of a much larger movement in the church that is rightly called anti-Semitic. You see clearly in them what later happened. The paralysis of the church to act in the holocaust was set in place long before it ever happened.

It is doubtful that Hitler could have ever done what he did had the church had God's heart for His people. In fact it is at least legitimate to say that in some measure the attitude of church was a major factor in causing the Holocaust .

Yet many in the present time would say that the roots of anti-Semitism are found in even earlier writings – the scriptures themselves.

Many people have used the scripture to justify extreme anti-Semitism. This has led to many claiming that the scriptures themselves are the basis of anti-Semitism.

Certain passages have been taken out of the context of the whole teaching of the Bible – both Old and New Testament – and have been used to foster hatred towards Jewish people. Martin

Luther is a perfect example of this. He said,

"the Jews too got what they deserved. They had been called and elected to be God's mouth as Jeremiah says...Open your mouth wide and I will fill it; they however, kept tightly closed their muzzles, eyes, ears, nose, whole heart and all senses, so he polluted and squirted them so full that it oozes from them in all places and devil's filth comes from them. Yes, that tastes good to them, into their hearts, they smack their lips like swine. That is how they want it. Call more: 'crucify him, crucify him.' Scream more: 'his blood come upon us and our children.' (Matthew 27:25) I mean it came and found you…"
http://www.Yashanet.Com/library/fathers.Htm

It is true, as we see in this writing of Martin Luther that some scriptures have been used in a deeply hateful way towards God's chosen people. For this reason we must look at the whole of scripture to understand the ones that have been used for hate as God actually intended them for love.

To fully understand God's communication the whole of the Bible needs to be considered. 

Many scriptures in the Bible which need to be considered when reading other passages are often forgotten or changed in their clear meaning. The result is a twisting of the meaning of scripture. This ends in an imbalance in interpretation. 

In this way the scriptures themselves can and have been used to promote hatred, violence, oppression and in our present topic anti-Semitism.

The only way we can accurately understand those scriptures which appear to support hatred of Jewish people is by understanding God's heart towards them as revealed in other parts of the Bible.

For example, Paul has been pointed to as being the source of most of the anti-Semitic theology of the New Testament. Yet listen to God's heart in him for his nation.

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Romans 9:1-5

Every passage Paul has written has to be understood with this one in mind. Whatever he says must be interpreted through the lens of God's love which he states perfectly here.

If we do not interpret all scripture with the love spoken in this passage for the people of Israel it will be true that those other passages will become and have been anti-Semitic.

I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. ² God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.
Romans 11:1-2 (NASB)

Paul rejects the already developing concept in the church that it has superseded Israel in God's plan. It has not and never will.

But it is vital to us to understand that the relationship God has with Israel is the actual basis by which we can understand our own relationship with Him.

I have often said that one of the strongest rational reasons to believe in the reality of God as the Bible presents Him is the nation that came from Abraham and Sarah's union.

In spite of the terrible suffering, persecution and exile from their homeland the nation of Israel has never ceased to be cared for by the God who revealed Himself to Abraham and Sarah thousands of years ago.

When God first gave the promise to them that their children would number as the sand of the seashore and the stars in the heavens someone could have accused them of religious delusions.

But we know from our vantage point in history that what this couple said God told them He would do, He has done.

He has done it in spite of almost never ending acts of hatred done against them.

Their national suffering rivals any that has ever been done against any nation. They have been scattered throughout the world, exiled twice for centuries.

Yet God has continually kept them "as the apple of His eye."
The resettlement of the land of Israel stands as one of the greatest testimonies of what we believe about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – that He is faithful to do what He has promised.

For the church to believe that somehow God would go back on His promise to Abraham and Sarah and choose the church in place of Israel undermines the very foundation of our faith in the promise He made to us.

Antisemitism and the Church