Are God's chosen people the same as God's family? Do Jews need to be born again, or just Gentiles? Come and listen to what God has to say about His chosen and His family.
Be a part of my team! With your prayer, passing along the message, and financial support you can help get these messages in the hands of all those who need them! And remember, you can text me questions and comments by clicking on "Send Us a Text Message". Until next time! God bless!
Are God's chosen people the same as God's family? Do Jews need to be born again, or just Gentiles? Come and listen to what God has to say about His chosen and His family.
Be a part of my team! With your prayer, passing along the message, and financial support you can help get these messages in the hands of all those who need them! And remember, you can text me questions and comments by clicking on "Send Us a Text Message". Until next time! God bless!
(This is a computer generated transcript of this podcast. This is NOT a typed transcript and it has not been edited. Expect grammatical and syntactical errors.)
Hello, and good day. This is B. R. Maul, and you are listening to episode number 36 of Living God's Way in an Ungodly World. Thanks for joining me. We have much to talk about. As today, this very moment as I speak, Israel is in a war. Now my prayers go out to the Jews. Hamas, not long ago, I think it's been about nine or ten days ago now, attacked their southern border of Israel, caught them off guard, and sadly has...
Slaughtered many civilians. Soldiers too, but civilians. They would just go up to their door. These people were sleeping. It would have been, I think, about 1, 2, 3 o'clock their time. And kill these people. Burned them, beheaded them. They killed babies, women. It didn't matter. And this episode is not about that, but I do want to take some time and just talk about two different things that pertain to the Jewish people and us as Christians.
Because as I listen to the news, there's a couple of things that there's a misperception about. People are perceiving a few things incorrectly. One of those is people are saying Israel should not be attacking Hamas. They should not be going after them now, which right now they are, in Gaza, as we speak.
And the reason for that is, people are pointing and really these are people who are not Christian that are pointing and saying, well, their faith, their religion doesn't allow them to kill. Their god says not to kill. And so they're blaspheming their own god. Well, that shows a lot of ignorance then, but before I get too critical, I understand that that can be confusing because there are some versions of the interpretation that does use the word kill.
Let's take that moment and look at a comparison of versions of the Bible. We have the NIV. And this is going by Exodus 20, verse 13. It says, you shall not murder. Now, murder is the more accurate. I say more accurate because Hebrew for kill, I'll get to that in a minute, explains it even better. The King James Version is the only one that I have compared that actually uses the word kill.
Thou shalt not kill. The New King James. You shall not murder. The AMP, which is the Amplified Bible, says you shall not commit murder, unjustified, deliberate homicide. That, too, is very accurate. NCV, New Century Version, you must not murder anyone. ESV, English Standard Version, you shall not murder. So, all but the King James uses the word murder.
And that is, when it comes to the English, more accurate. Why is this important? Christian, it's very important. Because when it comes to the evil that Israel is up against, and the evil that Christians all around the world are up against, and as the day, that is, the coming of the Lord, gets closer, it's going to get worse and worse.
Even in America right now, we have been issued the heads up warning because of what's going on in Israel right now and for the last three years because of the Biden regime, they have broken our southern border. And we have anywhere from 8 to 20 million illegal immigrants. And many of those are Chinese and Palestinian between the ages of 18 and 34.
They are male, 18 to 34, no wife, no kids. What are so many of those? Doing here to me. It seems pretty obvious as it does to many others But we have many in America right now who are just turning their faces because away from this situation and Pretending that nothing's going on, but it's going to kick them in the rear end.
These terrorists are nasty They don't care about life. Hamas in particular, they celebrate death. In their religion, they're rewarded for dying. They look forward to it. They don't celebrate life. And to them, there is no innocence. That's why they can behead an infant. That's why they can burn a family who are holding each other.
And they don't care. They celebrate it. So let's go right back to that commandment. Because if we take it as God is saying, You shall not kill, take any life, human life. Well, there are many of us who are in a whole lot of trouble. But we know that isn't what God is saying. Because even before I read the Hebrew for that.
Again, check the Bible against the Bible, beloved. Time and time again, God himself in the Old Testament, kings and judges of Israel. King David went to war many a time with the blessing of God and God making it clear that there were times he was to wipe out a very evil people. But see, there's a difference now between murder and killing.
God does sanction war because he knows. That as we live here on this side of eternity, that evil abounds and evil will continue to grow and fester, become more brave. And as we get closer to the second coming of our Lord and Savior, not hide behind any rituals, not hide behind any myths. That evil is just out there.
So God isn't telling us that if somebody attacks our family that we are to sit there. God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New Testament, beloved, and we must remember that. We cannot afford to try to cram our God into a PC world, into a woke society. We can't do it. Because Jesus is the only way.
There is no other way. And for every single soul who does not believe in Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that His blood was pure and washed away all the sins of every believer, every born again person. And everybody who does not believe in that is going to hell. There is a hell. There is a heaven, and every single person is going one direction or the other.
And it is so unfortunate that the world as a whole, it seems pretty evident that there are far more going to hell than heaven. We know that because even Jesus says that the righteous path is very narrow and there are many who don't even find the path. But the way of evil is broad and easy to travel on.
Let's take a look at that Hebrew then. Because the Hebrew word, and I may not get the pronunciation correct, is ratashk. The definition is a primitive root, properly to dash in pieces, that is. Kill a human being, especially to murder, put to death. So properly to dash in pieces. Cutting somebody up in pieces is murder.
I mean, even in war, there's no need to go and be so hateful that one is cutting people up in little pieces. So the type of killing here is murderous killing. Slaying somebody. Putting to death and the way that sounds then is like being the judge of this person doesn't deserve to live and it's not about war.
It's just about not liking somebody or hating somebody or disagreeing with somebody, whatever the reason might be. So there is a distinct difference. between killing and murdering. And God is telling us as Christians that we shall not murder. We shall not go around taking people's lives when it is not through the act of war.
A war... That is justified. And you may think, well, war is horrible. It's never justified. Well, I agree that war is horrible, but I would disagree with the comment that it's not justified. War in this side of eternity is very much so justified. And these Israelis... That are responding to the slaughter of innocents.
The Hamas purposely attacked on a night where there was a big concert going on in the desert. People singing about peacetime and just celebrating life. And they knew this. And they surrounded them. And in that area alone, I've heard upwards of 300 people were gunned down. As they were trying to get away in their vehicles.
They were blocked and mounted machine gun driving around, shooting right into the vehicles. And to make it worse, there were a bunch of the terrorists on motorcycles going in and grabbing women and children. God isn't telling them to sit there and take it. That would be horrible. No, that is an act of war.
For Americans, we can relate to that when we think of 9 11. We lost over 3, 000 lives just in that day. And we did go after the terrorists. And Israel lost over 1, 000 people in the Hamas coming over, gunning down and slaying innocent lives. Now, I've heard the comparison there, that Israel being around 9 million, compared to the U.
S., that if you do the math, that would be an equivalent then of over 30, 000 lives in America lost in one night. Now, any life that is lost this way is horrendous, but I suppose if it's a matter of fewer lives being taken, that going in and getting the specific people who do that, I can see why perhaps that isn't an act of war.
But that's still not murdering, that's going in and getting somebody who has committed a crime, and we know that our God is righteous. He loves righteousness, He loves justice, and in Proverbs we know that He hates evil and wickedness, the unrighteous. My advice right now, brothers and sisters, is to be vigilant wherever you are at around this world.
Because we are Christian does not mean that we are to just take a beating and do nothing about it. We are to protect our loved ones. We are to do whatever we can to live out life righteously. I can see the difference between murder and killing due to wartime killing, for example. Going after perpetrators that are trying to fight back, and so law enforcement ends up killing them, that's not murder.
Murder is when we take it upon ourselves, and suddenly I become the judge, that this is what the person deserves. I am the judge and the jury and the executioner. And it's selfish. That is murder. But in the Old Testament, God laid down the laws. People were to be killed. And in ancient times, it was often stoning.
People would take rocks and just keep throwing it at the person. When they committed crimes. God made it clear it was punishable by death. So I said there was two things. The other thing I want to talk about is the difference between God's chosen people and God's family, because not all Jews are in God's family.
So what is the difference? Well, Jesus, in the book of John chapter 3, explains to Nicodemus that for one to see the heavenly kingdom, for one to enter into the heavenly kingdom, that one must be born again, one must be born Spiritually, that's the again, because we've all been born physically. So, everybody who was born physically, because we are born into sin, in other words, we already have a sinful nature, that without being born again, we are hell bound.
To be born again, we must declare the Lord Jesus with Our lips and believe in our heart that God the Father raised him from the dead. So with that, that's being born again. And that is what makes a person a child of God. Nothing to do with the blood in your body, your ancestry. Nothing to do with, of course, works at all.
And so the Jewish people cannot enter heaven unless they are born again. And that is one of the big reasons they killed Jesus, because Jesus was the one making it perfectly clear that just because they are Jewish doesn't mean that they can just walk right into heaven. Paul points that out, that it wasn't circumcision that made somebody a child of God, but a change of heart.
The cutting away of the evil, the getting away of the world, and just loving his son Jesus Christ. So, that is who is going to heaven. There is no other way, no other religion, right? So then, where does this come in that the Jews, then, are his chosen people? And I hear it at times, there seems to be a confusion as if, well, that was just Old Testament times, that's done, now everybody that believes in Jesus is God's chosen people.
And that's not biblically accurate, because the Jews still are his chosen people, as in a chosen nation. Not the individual Jew. Because Jews who die, who do not put their trust in Christ, and in the Old Testament, the Jews that died who did not put their faith in God, will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Period. With that said, let's take a look then at the very fact that God, if you recall, told Jacob his name is no longer Jacob. God says, you're Israel. So this is Genesis 35, verse 10. New King James. And God said to him, Your name is Jacob. Your name shall not be called Jacob anymore. But Israel shall be your name.
So he called his name Israel. Verse 11. Also God said to him, I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you. And kings shall come from your body. Verse 12, the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, I give to you and to your descendants. After you, I give this land.
That beloved is where God renamed Jacob the third patriarch Israel, and from him is where the nation started. So it's the nation of Israel, not individual Jewish people, but the nation. And why is that? Because God chose the Jewish people to be like a spokesperson. No, no, that's not even a good way of putting it.
Not a spokesperson. But it was through the Jewish people throughout all of the Old Testament that God reveals who he is. Because God put his finger on the Israelites. And made it clear, I am working through them, and if a nation comes up against them, what did God do? He'd wipe them out. And of course, there were times where suddenly the Israelites were worshipping pagans and doing all this other, they were worshipping pagan gods.
They turned their back on him, eventually he would allow another nation to come in and wipe them almost out. He always left a remnant, and that is why the nation of Israel has never completely gone away as a people. Now, for, you know, hundreds of years, they didn't have their own nation because they were scattered.
And what was it, May 14th, 1948, they were actually declared... a nation once again, never to happen in history. There is no other people, there's no other nation that was wiped out or scattered as such and then eventually come back together and boom, become a nation. And why is that? Because it's ordained by God.
God is using the Israelites to show the world, to show us Who He is. It's not about the Jewish people. It's about God. It's about who He is, what He can do, His power, His love, His righteousness. And he shows that over and over. And now that they are a nation once again, it's clear that no one will completely wipe out Israel.
It won't happen. It will not happen. Now, for those of us in America, I fully believe without any proof of prophecies from God's word, but in my heart, I truly believe that our Heavenly Father has lifted his protection from America because over the years, America has kicked him out just like Israel had done over and over in the Old Testament, we did the same thing, and as a nation as a whole, there's no repentance.
I pray about it. I know there are many other Christians who pray about it, and who ask for the Lord to protect us. But I think as a nation, the protection that God had given the United States is over. Now, I also believe that wherever God's children is, He's protecting us. Because when you are born again, beloved, your sins are washed away and you will not feel the wrath of God.
I embrace that. That my love for Jesus protects me. Protects me from the wrath that God will deliver to the rest of creation. Why is that? Because Jesus is our High Priest. He is our Advocate. He is there making it quite clear, as the devil continues to point his finger at each individual person, that for those who are born again, Jesus says, you got nothing on them.
You got nothing. It's paid for. They don't owe anything. I believe that we are in a time of history that, once again, we will see God protect. The people of Israel, the nation. Now, we know that's not individuals, because there's already thousands that are dead. And over history, over time, millions of Jewish people have died.
Old Testament and the Church Age. Pray for the Jewish people, beloved. Pray for the Jews who do not know Jesus as their Savior. My prayer for them is that more and more will realize who Jesus is. And they will be born again and will not just be God's chosen people, but will be in God's family. Do you see the difference?
Do you understand the difference between God's chosen people as a mouthpiece to the world versus God's family? I hope you do. Well, I spent more time than I was planning on. I didn't get around to teaching in the book of James today. So I'll look at James chapter 1. Starting at verse 12 next week, but this was some good ground that we covered as we live in this time of history Keep a close eye on God's chosen people Because he will reveal more of who he is through them because it is about God and Jesus Christ and the rapture can happen at any moment Where Jesus comes and takes his church, his people, not God's chosen people, but his family, his people.
How thankful I am that as a Gentile, I am a child of God because of Jesus. So beloved, if you have any questions for me, is there something certain that you would like me to talk about? You can go to my website, click on contact, and send me a message. Or, you can also just email me directly at preacher at brmaul.
com. That's B R M A U L dot com. I look forward to having you come again next week as we look into the book of James. And continue to pray for the Jewish nation, but also for all of God's children as the Lord guides us. And we want to reach out to as many people as possible who still do not know the name of Jesus Christ, who do not understand who He is.
So they, too, have the option of choosing Christ as their Savior. And remember, what we have as our biggest tool, our biggest weapon in all of this is reading God's Word. I can't think of anything more important than keeping in God's Word. Because as a Christian, we need to eat this food and drink this water that builds us up, that protects us, that gives us the weapons and tools we need to survive and get through this side of eternity.
Because with the world spinning out of control, it is so much easier with every passing day at this point, to be misled, to be deceived. And Jesus, when his disciples asked about the end times, the first thing Jesus said is, Let no one deceive you. He could have said anything, but his first concern is let no one deceive you.
Well, if you don't know what God is saying, if you don't know his word, you can easily be deceived. So Christian, get into his word daily, every single day. Give up whatever it is that you need to give up of the world. Stop watching some of this just junk that is on cable or the streaming Networks or whatever it is.
It's wasting so much of your time and Spend more time in God's Word. I Encourage you to listen to other pastors as well I love that you're here listening to this podcast But don't rely on just somebody else including myself by all means You need to rely on God, and God will give you the way. Pray to Him daily.
Speak to Him. In Proverbs, we're told to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, and lean not unto our own understanding. And in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. So you don't have to understand it all. That's where faith comes in. Just follow him, and more than ever, beloved, get with other Christians on a regular basis.
And I've always defined regular as weekly, because if it's once a month or once every two weeks, well, once a month and you miss it and then you gotta wait another month, that's two months. That's not enough at all to get with other Christians. Iron sharpens iron. If you take iron to sharpen a blade and if you only rub that blade once or twice and think, oh, that's it, you got, you got nothing.
You gotta keep on rubbing that together. And eventually that blade will be so sharp, very efficient. And if you're able to get to a Bible teaching and believing church to worship, definitely do it. Then definitely do that, because worship is also so important. But if that's not an option, Remember, worship isn't just going to church, because church is, we are the church.
The people are the church. We are the temple. The Holy Spirit is within us. We don't have to go to church to be in the presence of God, beloved. We go there for the convenience of being able to. See other brothers and sisters to come together, put resources together to do God's work. So we don't go to church.
We are the church wherever we go. But it is important to come together. Forsake not the assembly, we're told. And we are also told to confess our faults one to another. In other words, things that we are struggling with, and pray one for another that we may be healed. The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man, a righteous person, avails much the power of God.
Beloved, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. And may the Lord lift up His countenance upon you.
I love you so much, and God loves you so, so much.
So until next time,
God bless.
Songs
“Heroes Inspire Hope” and “Mountainscape” by Humans Win
“A Morning Breeze” by Boris Skalsky