Why Jerusalem Is the Apple of God's Eye

I did want to bring to your attention before we go into the message, you know, we talk about national challenges and global challenges. And, of course, this is in the context of our own personal challenges, and we certainly do want to remember some of our own members here in San Diego. I do want to mention that I hope that all of us will continue to remember and pray for Yoneko Morales. I believe this was mentioned last week.

It was a Sabbath ago, and Yoneko remains up at Tri-City Hospital in Oceanside. Some of our elders have been able to go by and visit with their wives. I had an opportunity to visit. I've been in touch with David throughout this, and some of our own members, so thank you. We don't probably need a lot of visits because Yoneko is in critical condition. Yoneko, as we know, has had health challenges for many, many, many years. And what a wonderful example of love and devotion and commitment David Morales has been. He's actually taken off this last year altogether just to take care of his wife.

Yoneko did suffer a stroke and a heart attack last week. They've been trying to work with her as much as they can in the hospital. It is limited because of her physical condition. She does basically remain in a state of... I'm looking for the right word I have. There's just not consciousness there. I'm not talking about being brain dead. I'm just saying that because of the stroke and everything, that there's just no response. There's no opening up of the eyes. So I need to be very honest with you and to ask that you pray that God's perfection be performed, His will, His perfect will, on behalf of David and Yoneko.

What a gift both of them have been to us. I think of these past eight years whenever I've walked down that hall and I see Yoneko coming down the way. It's always been, hi, Mr. Bubba! And just the cheer and the gift and the sheer joy that is locked up in that little body that has had to endure so much.

And that just reminds me that each and every one of us have a little joy to spread and to share. No matter where we've been, it's where we're headed and with the God that we follow and that His Spirit is inside of us. So please again, let's do Remember David. David does hope to be with us at the Feast of Trumpet's Son.

Also, I want to mention Dennis and Linda. Star Wars is that Linda's mother died yesterday. And you can only appreciate what the Star Wars are going through with the temporary loss of a loved one. I think all of us know how much Dennis and Linda love those moms of theirs. They always go back every year for about a month, at least Linda does. And as we all know, moms are special.

They only come one to a person. And so Linda just wasn't able to be here today. She is hoping to be at the Feast of Trumpets. She's going to be getting off and getting back there. She is the oldest. Good old Polish Catholic family. Eight kids. And she was no longer Catholic, by the way.

I just thought I'd bring that out. So that anyway, that... But she was the firstborn, and she really loves her mom. And of course, the two moms are back there in the Detroit and Ontario, Canada area. So Linda is going to be taking off, and then she'll probably be gone about a month between that. They're still hoping to get off to the Feast of Tabernacles.

I think they were planning to go to New Brunswick or PEI or something, wherever it is. And I'm trying not to covet, because I really do love that area. So does Susan of Canada. That is the Maritimes, and it's absolutely beautiful. So again, let's please do remember the Star Wars, and let's again please do remember the Miralysis at this time.

Well, I'd like to bring to you today a message of what I hope is encouragement, because right now the tidings that are coming to us through the media, whether it be electronic or whether it be published, is of and by itself not encouraging.

So I want to, today, my message is directly tied to encouraging you as the people of God. Two weeks from now, we're going to be coming together to celebrate God's reality, that Jerusalem is going to be the capital of a new society under Jesus Christ. Somebody mentioned to me the other night at the elders' meetings that I had not used as phrase for a long time, that I am associated with, so I'll just simply say it. Come with me, brethren, and let's open up our Bibles, and let's be planted in the Book of Isaiah. And the reason why I am reading this, brethren, is because I think all of us have been shook this week with the challenges that have been coming out of the Middle East and North Africa. Sometimes it can kind of get us off our rocker a little bit, and it can even we, the people of hope and the people that know what is coming, can shake us because we are indeed going through this right now. So I want to read the promises of God to you, and what he says is going to occur. In verse 2, chapter 2, That's God's reality. And he is going to make Jerusalem right there smack dab in the Middle East, the capital of a new society, of a new age, a period of time that spans the terms of presidents or prime ministers, or even rulers that reign over an empire for 50 or 60 years. That just for starters, the appetizer is simply this before we patch eternity, is that the millennial rule of Jesus Christ is going to be 1,000 years from Jerusalem. And it says, There are nations that are trying to head the opposite direction and or exterminate the capital of Jerusalem in the nation of Israel. And many people shall come and say, How encouraging!

We need to look at the promises of God and not just simply be trapped in our own human premises. God sees things as if they already are. Now, this doesn't come humanly easy, like I said. We can, if we get into the cable news cycle and see this riot and that riot and this assassination and this body being drugged from a car and hearing about our military men, exseals being killed, you know, that news can just kind of come at us and just begin to kind of sink into us and can paralyze us from the promises of God. You see, brethren, God sees things as if they already are. And He brings the future to us beyond sometimes the panic that you and I might feel on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. And we must, as people of faith, keep our eyes on the big picture. Keep our eyes on the ball. Keep our heart and our nose stuck in the Scriptures to where they are more real than what we even see on our color televisions or on the screens of our Internet or on the pages of our newspaper in a world that is fraught with despair and gloom and indecision. You and I are about to go up to keep the feast, and it's not just simply a vacation. That's a byproduct. You and I are a part of a vocation. We are in training to be rulers and to be teachers and to be priests under the high priest, Jesus Christ, and to be a part of the solution. Now, this past week, the Middle East and Jerusalem are again flaring up in the headlines of our newspapers. We need some perspective on this. Allow me to share a few thoughts. Here we are from the Atlantic to Asia, and there is an eruption of violence, once again, in the Muslim world towards our embassies that are under siege across North Africa, across Middle East, and we still don't know if this is going to expand or contract. If it does contract, it is only a part of a movement that is even going to ultimately crescendo more. Additionally, which is sobering as we come up to the festival season, the State of Israel is rattling its saber louder than ever that it will not allow the Islamic State of Iran to be the world's next nuclear power.

Again, nationwide, it is interesting in our own nation, in this political season, some Americans that carry coins in their pockets, that say in God we trust, don't even desire to have God mentioned in their party platform, or to give Jerusalem the same status as indicated in the Divine Revelation. Now, that's not all that are in that party. I'm sure there are many good Bible-believing people in that party. But what their platform nearly stated is not logical. It's not consistent with the Divine Revelation. I'll tell you something, brethren. If God wants Jerusalem to be the capital of the wonderful world tomorrow, then that needs to be first and foremost on our minds. Now, where does that lead you and me as we talk about some of the promises of God? While cities like Benghazi or Tripoli, Damascus or Aleppo, Washington, D.C., New York, London, Baghdad, Tehran continue to dominate the headlines and will in the near future, let's make no mistake about it. Let's zero in once again as we come up to the feast. And that is simply this. The big headline, the most important city to always look at, the geopolitical goalpost is Jerusalem. What flag will fly over Jerusalem is the great geopolitical question that mankind down here below is trying to answer. Always has been, always will be. Has been since the time of the Crusades. That's the big question.

Here is the big question that I want to share with you today as we begin to prepare to go up to keep the feast in preparation of one day going up and keeping the feast in Jerusalem in the wonderful world tomorrow. Number one, why is Jerusalem so important? Why does its name just glare out of the Bible? Why does God want us to pay attention to it? Number two, what is to become of the city of Jerusalem? You think of the Jewish community right now, the Israelis, surrounded by a sea of uncertainty. Just their own neighbors, you think about it. If you look at Syria, if you look at Lebanon, if you even look at a more stable state like Jordan being troubled today, next to them then being Iraq, take Iran.

And then for nearly 35 years of our lifetime, basically somewhat of a peaceful state between Egypt and Israel, now up for question.

What would you be thinking about if you were watching things and where do you think Jerusalem might be in years ahead?

God's Word does tell us and we can be assured. And that's why today we're going to talk about it. About this city of Jerusalem. What makes it so special? What makes it so famous? You know, when you think about Jerusalem, let's just consider this for a moment. Why does Jerusalem at times dominate headlines? Why does it fill our history books? It should be no reason. It should be no reason. It does not lie on a harbor. It does not sit on a river. There is no oil underneath Jerusalem. It is on no known migratory path. And yet Jerusalem is the geopolitical goalpost of where everybody wonders what flag ultimately is going to fly over it.

There is no reason why this Judean hilltop town should be more famous than any other. And yet it is Jerusalem. And here's what I want to share with you again. Simply this. And here's the concept I want to get across to you today. If God touches any place on earth, He touches Jerusalem.

It is in Jerusalem and the environs of Jerusalem that the divine will might be known.

Jerusalem, where heaven has chosen to touch earth. What can you and I learn from that? And beyond that, not only how God touches Jerusalem, but how Jerusalem's story intertwines with your story and my story. Because God is not just touching Judean mountain tops, hilltops. He is also touching our life and wants us to be a part of that mountain of the Lord that is mentioned in Isaiah 2. With that stated, today I systematically want to demonstrate from the words of your Bible. And here's the title of my message. And we're going to center on this at the end. Why Jerusalem is the apple of God's eye? Why is Jerusalem the apple of God's eye? He never loses sight of it. Jerusalem's story is our story. Because we too are a people that are selected and elected to serve His purposes just as Jerusalem was. Let's begin by going back in Scripture for a moment. Let's go back to the book of Genesis.

Because when I said that when God touches earth and touches Jerusalem, it's for a purpose for us to learn lessons. And I'd like you to turn back to Genesis 14 because the first thing that we're going to learn about the environs of Jerusalem is simply this. That reminds us to be faithful to God.

Jerusalem became a symbol of faithfulness through the act of one visionary and faithful man, and his name was Abram. It is there where he learned and demonstrated that God is sovereign in his life by offering tithes of the booty that was captured. Let's look at a story in Genesis 14 and verse 18.

Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, king of peace, brought out bread and wine, and he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.

And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hands. Now, it's interesting that the author of the book of Hebrews builds and expands upon that if you'll come over with me to Hebrews 7, because the story expands here in Hebrews 7 and verse 1.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, and remember Jerusalem's name is what? Jerusalem. Selim, meaning peace, priest of the Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, meaning king of peace. Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. It is my sincere belief, as I read the Scriptures, that this is what we call a theophany. That means a God appearing, that this was the pre-existent Jesus, and who recognized what occurred here. And I think that the author of the book of Hebrews points this out. This priest-king was no ordinary person, for zedek means righteousness, and Salem means transfers as the city or possession of peace.

And Abraham, after this battle, did not in any way give the king of the land, the Canaanites, those that he was fighting with. They got nothing. The battle was the Lord's, and he gave God full honor and full tribute.

And he was faithful. He knew who had preserved him. He knew who his maker was. And this offering of a tenth of all that was taken showed and demonstrated his faithfulness. That he recognized that his life and his well-being did not rely on the princes of this earth, the politicians of this earth, the men that were in his neighborhood.

That ultimately it was God, his God, the God that he gave the tithe to, to show his faithfulness. Let's take another thought. Here, come with me to Genesis 22. Again, another story about the environs of Jerusalem. And again, how heaven touched earth to demonstrate God's will for his special creation called humanity.

In Genesis 22 and verse 1, we pick up the story. Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and he said, Here I am. And then he said, Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. The land of Moriah, on one of the mountains I will show you.

One of the hills in Jerusalem is a city of hills. Some of you have been there. One of the hills is Moriah.

We pick up the story then in verse 14.

After the thought that here, God asked Abraham not only to offer to him the possessions by the tithe that he had done in Genesis 14, but he said, I want you to take that which is near and dear to you, even the promise that I shared with you, even your son, Isaac, that you are to offer him up as a sacrifice to me.

Now that doesn't make sense. And yet that's the story that unfolds here to the point of verse 11, where the angel of the Lord intervened finally because God knew that Abram had surrendered himself to the divine will. And he said, Abraham, Abraham, and he said, here I am, and he said, do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, you respect, you revere me, and since you have not withheld your son, your only son from me.

And then we pick up the thought here in verse 14, and Abraham called the name of the place, the Lord will provide as it is to this day, the mountain of the Lord, it shall be provided.

Moriah, the environs of Jerusalem. And here the man of faith was tested to the very hilt that he would surrender to the divine will, even when humanly it doesn't make sense.

Later, Jerusalem would become identified with unity and oneness and worship. Join me if you would in 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel, and let's pick up the thought in verse 6.

2 Samuel, chapter 6, and let's pick up the thought in verse 12.

Now it was told, King David, saying, The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all the things that belonged him because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David. And he noticed, it says, that he did it with gladness. And so it was when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Now you think about that, six paces, and this room is probably about 48 feet from one end to the other. So we already have three sacrifices going on right in our midst. If you thought about what was happening, just think about that. You know, we read over this sometimes. This room is about 48 feet or so wide. And that as they moved to Jerusalem, every six paces, they were sacrificing before the Lord. And he danced. And it says in verse 15, So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet. And now as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, and it goes on, and the wife had a problem with David leaping around, etc. But in verse 17, So they brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place in the midst of the tabernacle that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. And when David had finished offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Hosts. What's happening here? The kingdom had been divided. Saul was now dead. David had only been operating in a part of the kingdom. Jerusalem, an ancient Canaanite, Jebusite town, was now the capital. And what he is doing is he is bringing in the ark of the covenant into this city that is to be known as the city of David. And it is this act that would, in that sense, solidify Jerusalem's religious significance. Bringing the ark of the covenant, bringing God's law, God's ways into the walls of this city. This act demonstrated uniting of a kingdom. It demonstrated oneness. It demonstrated worship towards God.

But now let's take it one step further. We've dealt with Abram being faithful, Abraham surrendering his will to God, the aspect of Jerusalem as God touches the earth and the divine will being on display, that he wants his special creation to be united and to be won and to be worshipping him. But now notice the fourth point I want to bring to you. Join me if you would in 2 Chronicles.

In 2 Chronicles 5 and verse 1. Now David brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem, but Jerusalem was going to gain one more item. And that would happen under David's son Solomon. Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5.

In 2 Chronicles 5. So the work that Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished, that's in Jerusalem, and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated, the silver and the gold and all the furnishings, and he put them in the treasures of, notice, the house of God. Verse 13.

Coming down, indeed it came to pass, when the trumpets and the singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard, and praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good, and his mercy endures forever, that the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God. Can you just imagine what that must have been like as the Shekinah presence, the cloud of God came into this building that was built, in that sense, with human hands.

You know, sometimes when we think back about the Jews longing for Jerusalem, and thinking about the temple that was going to be built, and how small it was going to be compared to that which Solomon had been built, brethren, we diminish what was happening here.

It was not just simply the size of the building in comparison to Solomon. They read the Scriptures, and they knew that God's holy presence, had been in their midst, that the Shekinah presence, in essence, had been in their midst. And that was the true longing. That was the element that they longed for. It was not a building, but it was the presence of God. But speaking of that presence, notice what it says in verse 18 of chapter 6. And this is out of Solomon's thoughts and words.

Stephen would later address that to the Sanhedrin in the New Testament, where it says, But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold heaven and earth. And the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, how much less this temple which I have built. Yet regard the prayer of your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry, and the prayer of which your servant is praying before you, that your eyes may be open towards this temple day and night, toward the place where you said you would put your name, that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes towards his place.

And may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray towards this place. Hear from heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. Interesting. Now, through the points that I've already shared with you, we clearly begin to see that God has always had designs on Jerusalem.

If God touches earth, I say this figuratively, if God would touch earth and to share the divine will, He touches Jerusalem so that we can understand what He ultimately wants for all humanity. With all of this spoken, when we read the rest of the book, we realize that Jerusalem lost its way. Jerusalem and Judah would forsake that very same God that had delivered their tribe along with the other tribes out of Egypt and would go their own way.

God didn't want that. Join me if you would in Ezekiel 16. In Ezekiel 16, we notice the love affair that God has with Jerusalem. In Ezekiel 16, and let's pick up the thought in verse 1. Again, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations.

And say, Thus says the Lord God, Jerusalem, your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan, where your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. Basically, the bottom line of these verses says, You are acting like the people that I didn't want you to really be a part of. You are acting like them rather than me. As for your nativity on the day that you were born, your naval cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you. You were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling clothes. No, I pitted you to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you.

But you were thrown out into the open field when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. And when I passed by and saw you struggling in your own blood, notice I said to you, In your blood, live! Yes, I said to you, In your own blood, live! God's desire has always been that Jerusalem might live. But we pick up the thought in verse 15. But you trusted in your own beauty, played the harlot, because of your fame and poured out your harlotry on every one passing by.

That would happen. Thus, in verse 37, as we go down the chapter, Surely therefore I will gather all your lovers, all of those that you have played the harlot before, that you took pleasure, all those you loved and all those you hated, and I will gather from all around against you, and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see your nakedness. You want to play the harlot? You want to be naked? Okay. I'm going to grant you your wish, and you will indeed be naked before all the nations.

You will be stripped. Now, as I say that, let's understand something. Because God chastised Jerusalem does not mean that he ever took his eyes off Jerusalem. God always offers a way of return. We realize that Jerusalem would kill the prophets.

We recognize that, only the greatest prophet of all, the very Son of God, would come to Jerusalem. And we recognize that what would occur there, that they would put the greatest to prophets, the Son of God himself to death. And even as he went to his death, he said, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, oh, how often I would want to gather you under my wings. Just as much as a mother hen tries to gather her chicks.

But he said there would be a day of reckoning. And that day of reckoning did come to Jerusalem. Just nearly 35-40 years after he died on the cross, Jerusalem would come underneath the Roman boot. Vespasian, his son Titus, would lay siege to Jerusalem. Jerusalem would be crushed. The temple treasure would be taken to Rome. Nearly 50 years later, 134-135 AD, during the Bar-Kofa Rebellion, that Jerusalem again would suffer underneath the Roman boot. At this time, they would salt the earth, just as they did with Carthage in North Africa.

They would turn, they would destroy the rest of the temple, and they would put a temple of Jupiter up on the Temple Mount. And they would name Jerusalem Aelia Capitolina. That's quite a mouthful. Aelia Capitolina. Aelia was the family name of Hadrian, and Capitolina was the Mount in Rome, of which the Temple of Jupiter was built upon in Rome.

So they matched that, and they built a Temple of Jupiter on the Temple Mount. And in that sense, a type of the Abomination of Desolation. That time forward since, we recognize that for nearly 1,800 years, the Jews were basically kept out of Jerusalem until this century. And then you recognize, and I recognize, that what happened in our lifetime, or a little bit before, don't try to date me, back in 1947, we had the opening up to where Jerusalem would ultimately be once again, not Jerusalem, but Israel would become a country to itself. But even then, the Jews were not allowed into certain sections of Jerusalem until 1967.

Now, all of this is playing out, brethren, right now for the next step. And we see these developments that are occurring in North Africa, in the Middle East, and Iran, and we need to be prepared. I'm not saying tomorrow, I'm not saying next week, but what we have been speaking about in the Church of God community for 50 to 60 years is not further away but closer.

The good news is that we recognize what's on the other side, and that is the establishment of Jerusalem as the capital. You know, we're all excited. I'm sure all of us are excited right now about going up to the feast. Let's go up to the feast. Let's celebrate the thousand years. But we also have to recognize literally what is going to happen before those thousand years are actually going to occur. Humanity is going to have to be conquered by Jesus Christ and the armies of heaven. And we need to understand that. Join me, if you would, for a moment in Zechariah 14. Zechariah 14. Now, we don't know when this is going to occur, but we do know where it is going to occur.

Houston, we have a landing. Because it says in verse 1, Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst, for I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem. See, Jerusalem is the bullseye of biblical prophecy. It's not Carl's bad. I don't want you to be mistaken here, and it's not La Mesa. It's Jerusalem. Always has been, always will be. As to what flag will be planted there. The city will be taken. The house is rifled. Things are going to happen to Jerusalem.

But then, notice what it says in verse 3, Then the Lord will go forth and fight against the nations, and he fights in the day of battle. In that day, that means not today, but in that day, which always means when God finally intervenes in human history. See, God is not just simply the first cause. He intervenes in the lives of men and in the chapters of history. That his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. Where's the Mount of Olives?

That's in Jerusalem. Which faces Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west, making a large valley. See, brethren, as we see these events that are occurring right now, and yes, our knees can be shaking. We are saddened for the loss of our countrymen. We recognize where the world is occurring. But we have to be firm with the promises of God.

The promise of God says that Jesus Christ is going to stand literally on the Mount of Olives. He is going to intervene. He is going to save humanity from itself. And He's going to establish the Millennial Rule. Here's something I want to share with you. Join me if you would in Isaiah 62. In Isaiah 62, some of you have heard me speak on this before, but I want to share something about God that is really exciting, that I want to encourage you with today. In Isaiah 62, notice what it says here.

For Zion's sake, that's speaking about Jerusalem, I will not hold my peace. And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not rest until her righteousness goes forth as brightness and her salvation as a lamp that burns. And the Gentiles shall see your righteousness and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will name. And you shall also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. That's not today, brethren. Many of the nations of the earth will not even put their embassies in Jerusalem.

So that's not talking about today. This is talking about when Jesus Christ comes back. He's not ashamed of Jerusalem. In fact, he's going to take Jerusalem as his own, and he's going to make it his capital. Things are going to change. And here's what I want to share with you. He is restless. Have you ever been restless? I know right now some of you are probably just restless about going to the feast. Can't wait to go to Hawaii. Can't wait to go to France. Can't wait to go to Italy. Can't wait to go to Puerto Vallarta. And really can't wait to go to Escondido.

Now, not only known as Maui East, but Puerto Vallarta North.

I'm having to hang out more shingles.

God is restless.

He wants his purpose to come to the full play. But he recognizes certain things have to work out down here below.

Now, how does this affect you and me? Let's conclude here.

How does this affect you and me?

I sent out a memo this week to you, a little bit about the matters that are going on.

And I reminded you in Psalm 122. Psalm 122.

Join me if you would there. Psalm 122 and verse 6.

Out of the Psalms of David. It says, verse 6, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And may they prosper who love you, and peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces, for the sake of my brethren and companions. And I will now say, peace be within you, because the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good. That's beautiful.

And I do believe, brethren, that we do need to be praying for the peace of Jerusalem. There are many people in many faith communities, apart from us, that are praying for the peace of Jerusalem. That believe something special is to happen there. But here's the thought I want to share with you, is that only to pray for the peace of Jerusalem now, for today, to get through the situation with its Arab neighbors, to get through the situation with its Islamic neighbors, to get through the situation with Iran.

Do we pray for the peace of Jerusalem in a momentary stance, for a year, for a decade, for our lifetime? The peace of Jerusalem that we need to pray for is the ultimate peace. And that is coupled with thy kingdom come. Because that is the only peace. Jerusalem has known no peace for nearly 2,500 years. You ask any inhabitant. You had the Babylonians, you had the Chaldeans, you had the Persians, you had the Macedonians, you had the Syrian kings come down and set up the abomination of desolation, you had Pompey the Great come and conquered Jerusalem, you had Vespasian and Titus, you had Hadrian, later on you had the Persians come in, again the second Persian Empire, then you had the Arabs come in, then later on you would have, watch out, you had the Crusaders come in, thinking that they were doing God a favor.

Later on then you would have other empires come in, you'd have the Turks come in, and on and on and on. It's so incredible that this city that is called what? The city of peace, Salem, has no peace. Here's my encouragement to you as the people of God. Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem beyond the moment, but for eternity.

Let's pray for the peace of Jerusalem that, Lord above, your kingdom does come, that we can in that sense pray that Jesus Christ does land on the Mount of Olives. And when he does, there's something incredible that is going to occur. Joel 3 verse 17. Join me there for a moment. Joel 3 verse 17. Again, in the Minor Prophets, little booklets with major messages. Joel 3. Notice what it says. A promise regarding Jerusalem, this city of peace that has seen so many wars over the years.

Joel 3. And let's pick up the thought in verse 17. Here is a promise. Notice what it says. So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy. And notice what it says then. And no aliens shall ever pass through her again. As we come up to the Feast of Tabernacles, can we be encouraged and strengthened by the promises of God? This city, whose walls have been battered down, whose temple mount has been stormed for 2,500 years.

That God makes a promise. And he says that never again will an alien ever pass through her again. This has not yet been fulfilled, my friends. This is yet in the future when Jesus Christ comes back to this earth. Now, here's what I want to share with you in conclusion. You say, well, this is Jerusalem. I'm not a Jew, and I'm not over there. All of us, brethren, are linked to Jerusalem. You and I have a future there. Let's remember that the Apostle Paul's words tell us that our mother is Jerusalem above, and that our citizenship is in heaven.

If our mother is Jerusalem above and our citizenship is up in heaven, we already, in that sense, have a passport. We have stamped Jerusalem, signed Jesus Christ, not signed in ink, but signed in the blood of the future King of Jerusalem. Therefore, what do we learn? We say that God has touched Jerusalem to show the divine will. Remember how I said that our story is linked to the story of Jerusalem.

Be ready to take notes. Here we go. It's going to go very quickly. What do we learn? Number one, as we've reviewed Jerusalem, we recognize that in ourselves, citizens of Jerusalem above, oven by ourselves, there is nothing innately special about ourselves. No rivers, no harbors, no mineral riches underneath. Nobody was crossing our path. God says He calls the weak of the world, that no flesh should glory.

Jerusalem, of itself, an ancient Jebusite Canaanite town, had nothing of and by itself other than God touched it and said, you will be selected and you will be elected to be my special city. Number two, it's simply this, that as Abram sacrificed or gave tithe to Melchizedek, that you and I faithfully surrender all that we have before God. Whether it be our substance, as Abram did after the sacking of the kings, or whether he surrendered something ever so special to him, as did Chris talk about, thinking of others and what you might do for somebody, that Abram gave his all, you and I are called to give our all.

And also, when you look at the lesson of Abram there in the environs of Jerusalem, that he let no man come between him and God.

We also recognize that you and I, in part, have an opportunity to open up our doors, just as the doors of Jerusalem were opened up to take in the laws of God and to live by his ways into the gates of our lives. To embrace as much as David did the covenant relationship, his was of the Old Covenant, ours is of the New Covenant, but he welcomed it in with jubilation, with excitement, and with dance, and with song, and with sacrifice. You and I aren't doing the bullocks and turtle dove thing every six paces. You and I are to sacrifice ourselves completely all the time, in every way. We are that living sacrifice to be holy and acceptable.

Number four, we are to recognize God's divine presence in our life as much as in the reign of Solomon, that he fills us as much as any temple of old. That God is not interested in this day and age, in brick and mortar, but we that are the citizens of the Jerusalem that is above are that temple of God. Have that Shekinah presence in us. Have the essence of God in us. Where Paul says in Corinthians that you are the temple of God. And if we have that Shekinah presence in us, we begin to recognize, as was Solomon's prayer, that there are no limitations on God, that we cannot box him in by our own human thoughts, our own human imagination. Those challenges that are facing you and me today, that seem like there's no answers for, that you and I worship the God of eternity, that cannot be boxed into time and space or brick and mortar, and that he has a plan for us. He has a love affair with us, a love affair with each and every one of us, as much as he does for the city of Jerusalem. Point number five, to recognize that even if we humanly falter, just like Jerusalem, God always makes a return. Maybe some of us have been faltering this week. Maybe some of us have been faltering this year. Maybe some of us have been allured by the world, or allured by our human nature, or thought that God has gone somewhere off and left us in the by and by. God says, live! Remember Ezekiel 16? Live! And as we come up to the festivals of God, it's not just meeting the brethren, it's not just having a steak, it's not just having a glass of good wine, it's not just being in some condo on a beach somewhere, it's coming before God and living! And recognize that he that is eternal lives in us and loves us, that we are the apple of his eye, and that he desires us to be forever with him. And therefore, we understand that a rescue comes from above, as much as Jerusalem is going to be rescued by God in the future, he has a plan of rescue for each and every one of us. Why do I share this with you, friends? All of us are going up to the Feast of Tabernacles. We're going to go through Isaiah 2, 1-4. How many times during the Feast? Probably six, seven, eight times. Thank God, because it has to keep on sinking in. It says there's going to come a time in the world when all nations are going to go up to Jerusalem. They're going to go up, they're going to learn God's ways, and they're going to go back and practice them. You and I are being given the incredible selection and election process to be teachers and priests and consecrated individuals under Jesus Christ to teach in the wonderful world tomorrow. We cannot teach what we do not know. We cannot teach what we do not believe in. And our teaching and our belief is shallow if we are not practicing it.

This story of Jerusalem tells us where the practice comes in. I just want to share one last verse with you. Join me with a few words in Zechariah. In Zechariah, and I'd like to just read through it. Sometimes, brethren, recently, as Susan and I are wanting to visit different congregations, I could give theological messages, I could give deep, deep, deep doctrinal messages. I leave that for Mr. Gartenhauer and others. Just smiling, Bob. Wherever I go right now, I'll be very honest with you. I think our brethren need encouragement. They need to have their eyes and their hearts lifted up beyond this world of time and space, and recognize that God is not further away. He is restless. He wants to come back and perform His will and perform His purposes, and establish His wonderful kingdom in Jerusalem. That's why I want to leave you today with Zechariah 2, again in the Minor Prophets with a major message. Let's just read through it together. Just one chapter. Then I raised my eyes, verse 1, and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in his hand. And so I said, where are you going? And he said to me, to measure Jerusalem, to see what it's with and what is its length. And there was the angel who talked with me, going out, and another angel was coming out to meet him, who said to him, run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls because of the multitude of men and livestock in it. That's not today. That's not yesteryear. That's yet in the future. Imagine Jerusalem, any picture of Jerusalem that you and I have in our mind today, is that picture of that old dusty town with the Turkish wall from the 16th century that goes around it. This is speaking of a time when Jerusalem's walls are not going to be block, they're not going to be brick, they're not going to be stone. They're going to be walls of salvation. For I say the Lord will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst. Up, up! Flee from the land of the north, says the Lord. For I have spread you abroad like four winds of heaven, says the Lord. Up, Zion! Escape! You will dwell with the daughter of Babylon. For thus, says the Lord of Hosts, He sent me after glory to the nations which plunder you. For He who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake my hand against them, and they shall become spoiled for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion. For behold, I am coming, and I will dwell in your midst, says the eternal. Many nations shall be joined in the Lord in that day, and they shall become my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and then you will know that the Lord of Hosts has sent me to you.

And the Lord will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem, even when man does not, by political platform.

Be silent, all flesh before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation. You and I worship a restless God. He has a love affair with Jerusalem. He has a love affair with each and every one of us that are citizens of that heavenly Jerusalem, that mother which is above. Let us go forth as we go towards the feast days of God, recognizing that you are the apple of God's eye. Jerusalem is the apple of God's eye, and you and I worship and have the honor and the privilege of coming before a God who will not rest, who will not stop, until Jerusalem and until you and I are fully His.