God chose Abram. He chose Isaac instead of his brother. He chose Jacob instead of Esau; he hated Esau.
God changed Jacob's name to Israel. He demonstrated his power by delivering the descendants of Israel from the Egyptians.
God made his expectations known through Moses. He destroyed nations and made the name of Israel feared.
When the people of Israel rebelled against him, he punished them. He killed many, but always kept a remnant of faithful Israelites.
Jesus is the King of Israel.
God sent Jesus to save the Israelites from their sins.
Jesus told the Canaanite woman he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Except for that woman and the Roman Centurion, Jesus exclusively interacted with Israelites.
Israelites wrote all of the works of the Bible. Paul said they were entrusted with the words of God.
Of the twelve apostles, only Paul was sent to the Gentiles. He told Gentiles how to become Israelites.
Gentiles took Paul's works and used them to assemble the Bible. Then they created the Gentile Church, ... and scorned the name of Israel.
The name of God's people is Israel. He disciplines his people, and many are unfaithful. But God is always faithful.
Satan is a liar. He sets up counterfeits.
Many people desire to do what is right and follow God. They want to believe in Jesus and belong to him. But many have fallen for counterfeits.
Every Gentile church is a counterfeit. Each one looks right, but there is something wrong in every single one of them. That is because they are not Israel.
The name of Israel has God's blessing, and those who are a part of it receive the nourishing sap. The words and ideas in the Bible are products of that sap, so they are holy. They have power and authority.
Gentile teachings are not products of the nourishing sap. They contain lies and half-truths. They are spiritual dead ends.
What attracts flies? Death?
Gentile churches and their various manifestations are under constant harassment from the spiritual forces of evil. They are infiltrated, deceived, and worn down. It's like a swarm of flies.
Those who are in Israel are alive. They do not attract flies.
The flies don't even notice they are there.
All glory to God.
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NOTES:
- Exactly 33 years ago this morning, I got to meet my babies, ... and then I had to say goodbye. I believe my wife is with them now.
- Exactly 13 years later, I gave notice to my employer that I was leaving my career to "follow the Lord."
- Today, exactly 20 years after that, I am posting what I believe to be the key message I have been called to proclaim.
- I do not believe in coincidences. This was not planned by me.
UPDATE, November 21, 2023...
Yehoshua confronted the scribes and Pharisees, the "religious professionals" of the time, because they were misleading the people. We must do the same today.
I have learned to spot certain tells as I evaluate whether specific voices are worth listening to. Here are a couple of them:
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority..." (Acts 1:6-7 NIV)
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6:19-20 NIV)
These statements are almost always skipped and ignored. Similar to the seeds sown on the hardened path, these are seeds not even cast. This should make us question the "sower," and whether they can be trusted about anything they say.
My INTJ personality has learned to be very efficient at evaluating these things. Impersonal analysis may be foreign to some people, but someone has to do it or people will be led astray. This is a big part of my job.
People should simply read the Bible. Derivative works such as commentaries and workbooks can be helpful, but we must remember that they are works of men, and they can mislead us.
Also, I have observed many people hang on the words of certain pastors, theologians, and famous teachers. My question is, are we following them or are we following Yehoshua?
Just like the name "Jesus" is a distortion of a transliteration of a transliteration, the messages from Gentile preachers are almost always faulty in some way.