1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,360 I said last week that I was feeling led to address the 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:09,080 conflict in the Middle East, particularly between Israel and 3 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:14,320 Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and and ask for prayer on that. 4 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:15,920 I've spent a lot of time praying on that. 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,680 I am following through with that this week and I want to preface 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,680 what I'm the the sermon and the message by saying this. 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,960 For what it's worth, this is the hardest message I've ever had to 8 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:31,280 prepare and ever had to preach. I'm not even exactly sure why, 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,400 but it it, it has been very challenging to prepare and to 10 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,240 preach. One of the reasons I'm running 11 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,640 late today is I went along at, at Rock Springs and at Chester. 12 00:00:41,840 --> 00:00:44,840 I'm going to try not to do that here today, here at New 13 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:50,960 Beginnings. My goal in this is not, again, 14 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:55,720 not to be partisan. I, I, I believe what I'm going 15 00:00:55,720 --> 00:00:58,960 to be preaching isn't, isn't a promotion of any political 16 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:02,560 agenda, any political ideology, certainly not of any political 17 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:07,280 party. I, my goal is to present a 18 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:15,240 biblically sound, gospel faithful way to look at and 19 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:18,160 respond to what's happening in the Middle East right now. 20 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:23,640 And, and that's my goal now. I, I am a human being, I am 21 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,560 flawed, I make mistakes. And I have said before and I 22 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:28,600 will say again, no one's ever going to go to hell for 23 00:01:28,600 --> 00:01:32,240 disagreeing with me. And, and if I say something 24 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:38,440 today or many things today that you find distressing that you 25 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,240 find disagreeable, please contact me. 26 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:45,400 I'm going to, I'm going to be out of town this week, but 27 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:48,760 contact me this week anyway. We'll get something on the 28 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:50,800 schedule. We can get a cup of coffee or 29 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,520 river roasters or eat a slice of pizza foxes, wherever we can sit 30 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,240 down and talk about it. And I want to hear your thoughts 31 00:01:57,240 --> 00:01:59,280 on that. And I want to say that upfront 32 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:05,080 that that because this topic is so divisive, even though I don't 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:11,120 want to drift into ideology and politics, if I do drift in that 34 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,480 direction, I pray that that portion of what I say will be 35 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,040 forgotten. But also anything that you say, 36 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:21,760 man, I just can't believe he said that or I can't believe he 37 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,440 believes that. Let's, I'm happy to talk about 38 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,440 that. OK, so all of that said, we're 39 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,000 going to be talking today about choosing life and death. 40 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:35,240 And I am, I have only one slide today. 41 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:37,320 I thought that would make things easier. 42 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:42,160 It's turned out that that's made things harder, but I, I, I'm 43 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:45,440 going to try to work through this in a, in a way, and I've 44 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:47,720 already lost my place. I'll need to use my notes a 45 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:50,280 little more than I usually do, but I don't want to use them too 46 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:54,880 much because that slows me down. Choosing life and death. 47 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,520 We have seen, and this sermon was never intended to be part of 48 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,640 The Walking Through the Bible series, but but what we've been 49 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:10,080 looking at in Genesis bears on what I'm talking about today 50 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,280 because we see from the very beginning that our God is a God 51 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:16,360 of life. He's a God of life, not a God of 52 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:19,440 death. That God created the world and 53 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:23,000 God created life in the world. And when it came to human life 54 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:27,680 in particular, God breathed into us his own breath, his own 55 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:31,240 spirit of life. God is about creating life. 56 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:34,600 God put human beings in the garden and gave them everything 57 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,520 they needed for an abundant, peaceful life. 58 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,240 There was a tree in the garden. That was the tree of life. 59 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,360 There was another tree that we know of, the tree of the 60 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,000 knowledge of good and evil. And God said, don't eat from 61 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:49,560 that tree. If you eat the fruit from that 62 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,640 tree, you will surely die. And Adam and Eve did, and they 63 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:59,680 brought death into the world. And then Cain literally brought 64 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:01,960 death into the world when he killed his brother Abel. 65 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:07,240 And then things just went down from there until by the time of 66 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:12,960 Noah, God looked out onto the world and saw that the new norm 67 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:18,440 for human thinking, human feeling, and human doing was 68 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:24,320 violence and death. Death is the opposite of what 69 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:29,200 God wants and intends for us. We see Jesus state this 70 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:33,520 explicitly when Jesus he said and and and the and the Gospel 71 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,560 of John, he said I'm the Good Shepherd and I'm the gate for 72 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,000 the sheep. The sheep know me, they know my 73 00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:46,720 voice and I know them said the thief just comes to steal, kill 74 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,560 and destroy. But Jesus said, I have come so 75 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:56,680 that you can have life and have it to the full life. 76 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:03,480 Life, the tree of life, we're told at the very end of the 77 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,800 Bible, at the end of the Book of Revelation, the tree of life 78 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,360 grows sprawled over the river of life that flows from the city of 79 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:14,040 God. God's intention was and always 80 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:19,320 has been life and not death. So one of the ways we can look 81 00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,320 at situations in which we find ourselves, look at situations in 82 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,320 the world around us and and try to understand where is God and 83 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,640 what's God doing in this and how can I faithfully respond to it 84 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:34,240 is to look at it and ask ourselves what, who and what is 85 00:05:34,240 --> 00:05:39,320 bringing life in this situation and who and what is bringing 86 00:05:39,320 --> 00:05:44,400 death. God is on the side of life. 87 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:49,440 God is on the side of life. We can look at our own actions 88 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,400 or my thoughts or my actions. Are they bringing death to me 89 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:55,920 and to others in some form or another? 90 00:05:55,920 --> 00:05:59,080 Are they bringing life to me and to others in some form or 91 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:01,880 another? A way of recognizing where God 92 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:04,760 is and where God is not in a particular situation and 93 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,400 circumstance. Where is the life? 94 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,920 Who's bringing the life? But before we even get into the 95 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,720 details of that, I think it's worth asking what does this have 96 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:20,920 to do with us anyway? This conflict has been going on 97 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:22,520 for many, many, many, many years. 98 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:29,920 And and even more recently, it was reignited by the attack of 99 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:33,760 Hamas on Israel on October 7th, 2023. 100 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:36,920 And at that time I thought for a moment maybe I should address 101 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:39,560 this from the pulpit. I think it's appropriate to 102 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:44,280 address from the pulpit events that are significant events in 103 00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:46,080 the world. And this was certainly a 104 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,040 significant event in the world. But I thought, you know, and 105 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,120 maybe it was cowardice that I didn't, but I also thought this. 106 00:06:52,120 --> 00:06:56,520 I thought, you know what, the conflict is literally half a 107 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,120 world away. We don't have a significant 108 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:02,640 Jewish population in Meggs County. 109 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:06,000 We don't have a significant Muslim population in Meggs 110 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:10,080 County. the United States is not actively involved in what's 111 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,520 going on. I really don't know that this 112 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:17,680 it's about us right now. And if it's not about us, then I 113 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,600 don't believe in preaching about it from the pulpit because this 114 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:25,840 is for this is sermons for us and and the mission that we have 115 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:27,320 in the ministry we have in this world. 116 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,720 But then a couple of things happened. 1 is the United States 117 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,400 got actively involved when we dropped bombs on Iran. 118 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:41,200 The other is a conversation that I had at a local retail 119 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,800 establishment recently and I went to this. 120 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:46,680 I was in a hurry. I'm always in a hurry because 121 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:51,320 I'm always running behind. I was like procrastinate and and 122 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:54,680 I was in a hurry picking some some up and getting out someone 123 00:07:55,360 --> 00:08:00,200 folks in line ahead of me and and I was eavesdropping because 124 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:03,680 I do that. It's entertaining and 125 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:05,760 interesting. This time, though, I can't be 126 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,520 blamed because the guy was talking really loud and I got 127 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,480 the conversation in progress. I don't know what had been said 128 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:15,800 before, but I was, I walked up. What I was hearing was, and you 129 00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,960 know, there's going to be an attack on an American ship in 130 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:23,200 the Middle East, and it's going to be a false flag attack. 131 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:26,640 The attack, it's going to come under the flag of Iran, but it's 132 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,880 really going to be an Israeli ship that's going to attack one 133 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:32,559 of the American ships. But they're going to pretend to 134 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:33,919 be from Iran. They're going to put up the 135 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:38,440 Iranian flag to get us involved in the war on their side against 136 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:44,000 Iran. And me being me, I looked at him 137 00:08:44,039 --> 00:08:49,000 and I said that is ridiculous. That is just ridiculous. 138 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,040 United Israel is one of the strongest allies of the United 139 00:08:53,040 --> 00:08:54,680 States. They are not going to attack one 140 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:56,640 of our ships. They're certainly not going to 141 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,280 do it under a false flag of Iran. 142 00:09:00,760 --> 00:09:03,320 And then we conversed a little bit more. 143 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:07,720 And then the other person that was there said, and you know, 144 00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,560 well, I know what he said then in response to that was, don't 145 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:16,760 you know, the Jews run the media, the Jews run the banks, 146 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:21,520 the Jews run the government. And then the other person that 147 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:25,960 was there said, well, in Germany, they're protesting and 148 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:30,680 demonstrating for our freedom. Have to admit, I was 149 00:09:30,680 --> 00:09:33,680 dumbfounded, Like, I don't know what that means. 150 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:38,800 And so I looked at her and I said, freedom from who? 151 00:09:39,520 --> 00:09:45,800 And she said from the Jews. And I realized, this is our 152 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:50,640 issue. This is our issue. anti-Semitism 153 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:58,960 is a, is a, is an ugly beast. It's it's a non Christian, anti 154 00:09:58,960 --> 00:10:01,360 Christian. It stands against everything 155 00:10:01,640 --> 00:10:06,680 that Christ did for and leads us into any kind of bigotry, 156 00:10:07,400 --> 00:10:12,840 anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, sexism, racism, all 157 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:16,440 these different kinds of bigotries and isms and phobias. 158 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:20,600 All of these things, all of these things are contrary to the 159 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,320 scripture, contrary to the life of the Kingdom of God to which 160 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,560 we are called, antagonistic to it, destructive of it. 161 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:35,240 And once again, anti-Semitism is rearing its ugly head, not just 162 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:36,840 in this country, but around the world. 163 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,760 Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating around the world 164 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:46,240 chanting globalize the Intifada which is a call whatever folks 165 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:51,800 are saying it is a call for the killing of Jews and and 166 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,160 anti-Semitism is not it's not new. 167 00:10:55,160 --> 00:11:00,680 It's been around at least 2000 years and and Christian nations 168 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:07,840 and Pagan nations and atheistic nations and Muslim nations have 169 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:12,640 all engaged in it at one point or another and often in cycles, 170 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:19,400 scapegoating Jews, problems in the world around us, problems in 171 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,960 our country, economic problems, diseases, political problems, 172 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:24,560 these things. Who's to blame? 173 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:26,800 It's the others. It's the people that aren't like 174 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:28,840 us. And time and time and time 175 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:30,960 again, one of those people are the Jews. 176 00:11:30,960 --> 00:11:33,720 And they get persecuted, they get cast out, they get driven 177 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,400 out, their their rights get limited and curtailed. 178 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:38,480 And in the worst cases, they are killed. 179 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:43,160 And it's not a, it's not a partisan issue. 180 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,840 It's amazing the the the far left and the far right can't 181 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:52,760 agree on just about anything. And they don't agree on just 182 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:55,360 about anything. But the far left and the far 183 00:11:55,360 --> 00:12:01,240 right agree on blaming the Jews. The far right Nazis in the 20th 184 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:05,560 century murdered 6,000,000 Jews. The far left communists in the 185 00:12:05,560 --> 00:12:09,120 Soviet Union murdered, we think around 7 million Jews. 186 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,200 We don't have the records because they killed so many. 187 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:18,400 They killed so many. Those two countries disagreed on 188 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:23,040 just about everything, except they agreed on blaming the Jews 189 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:27,320 for their problems. And this is a real problem. 190 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,440 And I think that that it's important to address it. 191 00:12:32,680 --> 00:12:36,200 And the way I want to look at it is this is is to look at the 2 192 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,520 civilizations, not not the people groups. 193 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:43,720 I don't want to drift into Islamophobia any more than I 194 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:45,760 want to drift into anti-Semitism. 195 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:55,240 But but the leadership and the civilization being produced by 196 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,880 the governments and the ruling bodies and those countries and 197 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:02,880 areas. I want to look at those and see 198 00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,560 if one of those is producing life and one of them is 199 00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:11,080 producing death. And in the middle of a conflict, 200 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:15,440 in the middle of a war, that's that's hard because both sides 201 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:18,880 are producing death in a war. You don't go to war without 202 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,720 killing people. That's the purpose of war at its 203 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:26,400 most basic level is to kill enough of your enemy that they 204 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:31,320 stop fighting back. There is no war without death. 205 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:33,120 There is no war without destruction. 206 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,520 And, and war, I cannot remember who said it. 207 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,320 I've read the name. I've been told the name. 208 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:41,680 I can't remember who said it. But the simple reality is they 209 00:13:41,680 --> 00:13:44,160 were right when they said whoever said it, that war is 210 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:48,040 hell and urban warfare is the worst sort of hell. 211 00:13:51,080 --> 00:13:54,480 Because then more and more civilians, men, women, children, 212 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:57,560 who are not involved in the conflict in a military capacity 213 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:03,240 are killed, sometimes brutally, sometimes instantly, sometimes 214 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,920 over periods of time, through starvation and disease in the 215 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:12,240 aftermath of war. The carpet bombing of Dresden in 216 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:16,280 World War 2 and the dropping of nuclear bombs on Japan in World 217 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:23,160 War 2 are are egregious examples of the hellishness of war to 218 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:27,040 civilians, including women and children. 219 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:30,280 And you can't have war without it. 220 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,680 And so one possible solution is to say just be anti war, to be 221 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,480 pacifist. I I think that is an incredibly 222 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,800 powerful and potent position and many people have taken that 223 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:43,880 position out of a Christian faith and have nothing but 224 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:51,080 respect for that. Our our our Amish brothers and 225 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:55,200 sisters embrace that perspective, and I believe, and 226 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,480 they've they would rather be driven out or killed than take 227 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,400 up arms and violence against another human being for whom 228 00:15:01,440 --> 00:15:06,400 Jesus died. Quakers in the past have held 229 00:15:06,400 --> 00:15:10,200 that same belief in a deep way and at great cost to themselves. 230 00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:16,080 The challenge with pacifism is that it doesn't seem to be 231 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:21,240 possible at a government level simply because there are always 232 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,040 other bad actors in the world that are willing to fight and 233 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:28,000 kill you and your people, even if you're not willing to fight 234 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:34,640 back. And so one of my processes has 235 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:38,040 been through this is looking at someone like Benjamin Netanyahu, 236 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:40,560 who is certainly flawed as a political leader. 237 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,400 Sir, I'm flawed as a pastor. So that's not a, you know, not 238 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,800 throwing stones. It's just stating reality. 239 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:49,240 He's flawed as a political leader. 240 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:52,840 But I got to say, I don't want his job. 241 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:57,800 What would I do? What would you do if you were 242 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,360 suddenly put in charge of the nation of Israel? 243 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:04,280 And as their leader, your responsibility is to protect 244 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,960 your citizens. And you have an enemy with an 245 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:10,520 explicitly stated goal of destroying your country and 246 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:12,920 killing as many of your citizens as they can manage. 247 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,960 And they're firing their guns and their rockets from behind 248 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:21,440 women and children and hospitals and places of worship and 249 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:23,760 preschools. What do you do? 250 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:29,720 How do you respond to that? I don't want to make those 251 00:16:29,720 --> 00:16:33,520 decisions. I don't want, I don't want that 252 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:38,880 responsibility that that turns my stomach just imagining having 253 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:43,560 that responsibility. And so one of the things I have 254 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:48,080 been working on, and it's hard for me is exercising humility 255 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:53,920 and analyzing the decisions that others are making because I, I, 256 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:58,320 I find it difficult even to imagine myself being in the 257 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,440 position where I had to make decisions in that situation. 258 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:08,280 It was my, I couldn't just say, I'll pass, let someone else 259 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:12,800 decide. But if we look at the 2, the 260 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:16,240 civilizations as a whole, and we have to look at the 261 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,920 civilizations where in terms of the, the, what the government's, 262 00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:23,200 what the, the ruling bodies are seem to be trying to produce. 263 00:17:24,040 --> 00:17:26,920 And, and it doesn't mean that all Jews are all Jews aren't 264 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:31,920 good, just like all Muslims aren't bad, just like all 265 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,240 Christians aren't good and like all atheists aren't bad. 266 00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:38,200 They're bad actors in every group. 267 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,480 And there's, you know, I've, I've yet to meet a political 268 00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,000 body that didn't have some good actors in it either. 269 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:48,640 But on the whole, what are they producing? 270 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:53,240 Let's look at Israel and, and Iran and Hamas. 271 00:17:53,440 --> 00:17:55,880 We'll compare those. I, I will say this, I, I don't 272 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,120 have time today. I and I, I'm going over time 273 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:01,400 even when I'm not doing this. But I say I, I, I've got 274 00:18:01,560 --> 00:18:05,840 documentation, source, citations, whether you agree 275 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,880 with them or not, they seem to be credible to me. 276 00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,400 And, and if you want to hear those and receive those, I can 277 00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:14,720 share those with you, just not during the sermon. 278 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:16,760 But I'm not making this stuff up. 279 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:29,000 Israel versus Iran and Hamas in terms of the civilizations that 280 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,840 they are producing and promoting. 281 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:34,440 Israel is a Liberal Democratic state. 282 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:40,040 They have free and open elections in which all citizens 283 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:45,560 are able to participate. Jewish, Christian, Arab, Muslim, 284 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:50,600 Druze, others can participate in the elections. 285 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:55,480 They have a diverse government, mostly Jewish for sure. 286 00:18:56,520 --> 00:19:00,520 I believe something like 20% of the Knesset, which is their 287 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,720 version of Congress, is Arab. They have. 288 00:19:05,680 --> 00:19:08,440 I believe it's certainly an Arab person, and I might be 289 00:19:08,440 --> 00:19:10,400 misremembering. I believe it's a Palestinian 290 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:13,720 person on the Supreme Court of Israel. 291 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:20,520 Hamas is a military dictatorship. 292 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,600 The Islamic Republic of Iran, which has been in power since 293 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:25,880 1979. Iran was a very different 294 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:29,280 country before then also not perfect, but different. 295 00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:36,360 But the Islamic Republic is a a theocracy and authoritarian 296 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:39,480 theocracy. Elections are not. 297 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:43,200 Free and open in either of those areas, when elections are held, 298 00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:46,440 they're held to produce a specific outcome, and that 299 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,800 outcome is always the one the government wants or the military 300 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:52,680 leadership wants. There hasn't been an election in 301 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:57,080 Gaza since Hamas took power there in 2007. 302 00:20:00,800 --> 00:20:03,480 There's no freedom. To vote and choose your leaders, 303 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,440 Much less diversity among the leadership. 304 00:20:05,920 --> 00:20:08,480 Interesting, I did not know this until recently. 305 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:12,280 The largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of 306 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,480 Israel is in Iran. It's in Iran. 307 00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:20,640 Iran's official government documents explicitly state their 308 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:23,760 intention to bring about the government or the destruction of 309 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,440 the nation of Israel and the end of Zionism. 310 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,760 It's in their constitution. It's in, they do. 311 00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,440 Not in their constitution, in their chartering documents, or 312 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:37,600 in the official statements of their leadership express a 313 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:45,440 desire for genocide of Jews. However, Hamas, whom Iran 314 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:50,640 supports and trains and equips, and their charter explicitly 315 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,440 calls for the destruction of Israel and the death of as many 316 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,920 Jews as they can manage. They softened the. 317 00:20:56,920 --> 00:21:01,200 Language some when they revised that a few years back, but their 318 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,840 leadership has not softened their tone and their language. 319 00:21:05,520 --> 00:21:08,000 One leader in 2024 and I've got lots of quotes. 320 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:10,960 I used way too many in Chester. Was way late for Rock Springs 321 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:16,040 but one of the leaders in Hamas in 2024 after the attacks of 322 00:21:16,040 --> 00:21:20,640 October 23. Called upon the. 323 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:23,920 Millions of Palestinians living around the world and said there 324 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,400 are Jews all around you, it is your responsibility under God to 325 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:36,160 kill as many of them as you can. Israel has killed civilians in 326 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:38,680 the war, there was no doubt about it. 327 00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:42,080 The international standard, and I could be misremembering this. 328 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,680 This is 1. Again I I I did not go back and 329 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:47,960 check my source so I might be getting the numbers wrong but 330 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,080 I'm like 80% confident this is right. 331 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,920 International standard for civilian deaths in an urban 332 00:21:54,920 --> 00:22:00,600 military conflict is 3 civilians for every 1 military personnel 333 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:04,720 killed in urban conflict. That's the standard. 334 00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:09,440 That's the gold standard for urban warfare in the world. 335 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:11,560 According to international standards and law. 336 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:16,040 There's 300 military combatants in an urban area and you want to 337 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:17,360 kill? I'm sorry, if there's 100 338 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,880 military combatants in an urban area and you want to kill them, 339 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:25,480 you can kill up to 300 civilians in your attempt to kill the 100 340 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:27,640 military. That's the gold standard. 341 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,840 Israel. And again, there's conflict and 342 00:22:32,840 --> 00:22:36,560 different reporting on the numbers, but Israel right now, 343 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:41,240 according to credible sources, is at a one to one ratio and 344 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:46,120 urban warfare in Gaza. They're doing everything. 345 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:51,280 They can, according to some sources, to limit the death of 346 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:55,280 civilians. Which is very different. 347 00:22:55,280 --> 00:23:00,360 Than what Hamas did on October 23, October 7th, 2023 when they 348 00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:02,560 deliberately targeted and killed civilians. 349 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,280 Raping women. Multiple women taking hostages 350 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,760 of civilians, murdering children, putting babies in 351 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:14,400 ovens. And recording it. 352 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:18,280 On social media and reveling in it and glorying in it. 353 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,400 Civil rights. In Iran and in Israel and Hamas 354 00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,440 are very, very different. Israel. 355 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:31,440 Has. Built into their. 356 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,200 Constitution into their legal structure. 357 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:36,160 The freedom of speech, press and religion. 358 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:39,800 Freedom of speech Press. You can criticize the government 359 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,360 personally out on the street. You can organize and protest 360 00:23:43,360 --> 00:23:46,000 against the government. You can criticize the government 361 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:52,320 in print media, social media, broadcast media without fear of 362 00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:54,080 legal consequences for doing that. 363 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,400 You can do that whether you're Jewish, whether you're Arab, 364 00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,960 whether you're Christian, whatever in Israel. 365 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:03,960 You can do that in Iran and and under Hamas's military 366 00:24:03,960 --> 00:24:07,840 leadership, you cannot. Criticism of the. 367 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:11,600 Government is not allowed. Media. 368 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:14,720 And speech are controlled and restricted by the government. 369 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:19,640 Social media is monitored and and restricted and censored. 370 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:22,920 And if you if. You say negative things about 371 00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,800 the government on social media, online, you will be tracked. 372 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:30,760 If you protest. Against the government, you will 373 00:24:30,760 --> 00:24:34,440 be arrested. Imprisoned. 374 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:45,280 Sometimes tortured treatment of women, Israel. 375 00:24:46,560 --> 00:24:48,080 Women have the same. Rights as men. 376 00:24:49,360 --> 00:24:50,840 They get a vote. They can have the same 377 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:54,600 education, they can pursue the same kinds of jobs and civilian 378 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:59,160 life and government life. They can dress how? 379 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:02,200 They want to dress. They can marry who? 380 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,320 They want to marry and they can get divorced if they want to get 381 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:10,240 divorced and they are treated as equals in custody battles if 382 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,480 there is a divorce by the courts. 383 00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:16,880 In Iran and. Under Hamas's leadership, 384 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:18,520 women's rights are severely limited. 385 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:24,400 In Iran, they have. Modesty laws Hamas to if. 386 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:26,160 You show too much. If you don't wear the hijab, 387 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,360 everyone, every woman is required to wear the hijab in 388 00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:31,960 Iran under the Islamic Republic, even if you're not Muslim and 389 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:35,320 and if you show, if you don't wear it properly, you can be 390 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:44,720 arrested, beaten, imprisoned. Some cases you have. 391 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,120 To get permission from a male relative to travel. 392 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:50,080 You can be highly. Educated, but your job 393 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,160 opportunities are limited. Your role in government is 394 00:25:53,160 --> 00:26:00,290 limited. In Israel, there's. 395 00:26:00,290 --> 00:26:02,970 Freedom of religion. Christian. 396 00:26:02,970 --> 00:26:06,610 Jewish. Muslim, Druze, other types of 397 00:26:06,610 --> 00:26:08,490 religions. You can express your religion 398 00:26:08,490 --> 00:26:10,090 freely. You can worship openly. 399 00:26:10,290 --> 00:26:12,650 Christians are even allowed to proselytize in Israel. 400 00:26:12,810 --> 00:26:15,810 They're allowed to seek converts from other people, including 401 00:26:15,810 --> 00:26:17,890 Jewish people. There are some restrictions that 402 00:26:17,890 --> 00:26:19,250 we don't have in the United States. 403 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:22,240 You can't proselytize children without their parents 404 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:26,760 permission, and you can't offer incentives for, you know, like 405 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:29,800 financial or other kinds of incentives for conversion. 406 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:33,680 You're not allowed to do that, which I think any church doing 407 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:37,160 that anyway has got other issues, but that's near here 408 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,080 than there. There are churches in Iran, but 409 00:26:41,080 --> 00:26:46,840 they can't proselytize, they can't seek converts, and they 410 00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:48,720 are restricted and limited in what they can do. 411 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,680 LGBTQ Israel recognizes gay marriage. 412 00:26:57,320 --> 00:26:59,120 People can be. Openly gay. 413 00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:02,480 Lesbian. Other. 414 00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,120 Expressions of, you know, transgender, bisexual, you can 415 00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:09,880 do that in Israel. With no legal. 416 00:27:10,040 --> 00:27:13,040 Ramifications. There are some groups within 417 00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:15,560 Israel, particularly the Orthodox Jews that look 418 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:17,960 unfavorably upon that. And so there is some cultural 419 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,080 pressure to be discreet or to hide that. 420 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:25,600 But legally speaking and and many folks are very openly LGBTQ 421 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:28,160 identifying within the nation of Israel. 422 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,440 In Iran. You will be arrested under 423 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:37,200 Hamas. You will be killed if they even 424 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:42,080 think you're gay. Hamas is known. 425 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:45,160 For taking folks that they believe are gay up to tall 426 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:51,760 buildings and throwing them off. I say all of. 427 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:54,760 This. To say that it. 428 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:59,160 Seems to me that the civilization that Israel is 429 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:03,440 trying to produce in that part of the world is, while not 430 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:08,320 perfect, no country, no nation, no human civilization is 431 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:11,080 perfect. That on the whole, Israel is 432 00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:14,280 promoting life. Where the Islamic. 433 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,440 Republic of Iran not all the people of Iran, but the Islamic 434 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:22,600 Republic of Iran and Hamas are promoting death and seeking 435 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:26,800 death and. Destroying. 436 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:31,280 Life. Now. 437 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:35,880 Again, none of us has a decision making responsibility in this. 438 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:39,800 We can write. Our congressmen and senators, 439 00:28:40,120 --> 00:28:43,560 whether that helps or not, or is even heard or not, I have my 440 00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:45,880 doubts. We can write the. 441 00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:50,680 President even less likely to be heard or read or have any 442 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:54,160 impact. But we do have. 443 00:28:54,160 --> 00:28:58,080 Responsibility for how we engage in conversation about these 444 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:03,000 things, for what we listen to. We have a responsibility to 445 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,880 promote life and I believe to defend others who are promoting 446 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,520 life. We have, certainly. 447 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:16,040 Have a responsibility to stand up against and actively resist 448 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:20,440 bigotry, however it presents itself, whether it's 449 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:27,040 Islamophobia, homophobia, sexism, racism, anti-Semitism. 450 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:31,920 And when we hear that and when we see that, to push back 451 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:38,360 against it, when, whether it's, you know, getting in fights 452 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,400 online is always a losing battle. 453 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,640 I can't remember who said this. Mark Twain. 454 00:29:45,320 --> 00:29:47,160 Never argue with a stupid person. 455 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:49,400 They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with 456 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:54,240 experience. And, and, and I know because 457 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:58,160 I've engaged in engaging in arguments online makes me 458 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:00,360 stupid. I don't do arguments online. 459 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,960 I get stupid when I do that. But what we post? 460 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,440 Online matters, and I'm not saying you have to post the same 461 00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:11,520 things I post. I'm not saying anyone here has 462 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:14,240 to agree with me. No. 463 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,840 One goes to hell for disagreeing with the pastor, particularly 464 00:30:16,840 --> 00:30:21,920 when the pastor is me. But as you're posting, as you're 465 00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:25,440 conversing, as you're listening and hearing what others are 466 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:29,680 saying, we all have a responsibility to say how can I 467 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,440 promote life in this rather than death? 468 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:38,640 How can I stand against those who are promoting death rather 469 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:42,960 than life? How can I stand up for folks who 470 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:46,800 are suffering under the grip of those who are promoting death 471 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:51,880 rather than life? And this stuff is not easy to 472 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,680 sort out. And if you feel like that I 473 00:30:55,680 --> 00:31:00,320 have, I have not faithfully reported and and shared facts 474 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:02,640 here today, then please come talk to me. 475 00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:04,880 Don't, don't walk away just hating me. 476 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,840 You're free to do that. You can hate me as much as you 477 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:10,360 want. You're free to do that. 478 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:16,480 But I would much. Rather, we talk about it and if 479 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:20,240 I'm wrong, show me. If my facts are. 480 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,240 Wrong show me but. This is what I. 481 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:28,560 See, and this is what I know. That in the United. 482 00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:34,840 States and in so many other countries that anti-Semitism 483 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:39,800 rises up again and again and again as a scapegoat for 484 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:45,760 problems and to get blamed. Israel is being accused of 485 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:48,560 genocide. Being accused of. 486 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:50,400 Genocide against the Palestinians? 487 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:57,760 Just one Palestinian citizens in Israel. 488 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,360 These are not folks living in Gaza or the West Bank. 489 00:32:01,360 --> 00:32:05,560 These are citizens of Israel. 1948, when the modern nation of 490 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:09,480 Israel was established, there were 156,000 Palestinian 491 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:13,880 citizens of Israel. As of 2024, there were two 492 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,760 million Palestinian citizens in Israel. 493 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:23,000 Israel gained control of Gaza and the West Bank in 1967. 494 00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:28,440 At that time, there were 1.4 million Palestinians living 495 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,960 Gaza, in the West Bank, living in Gaza, in the West Bank. 496 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:35,160 Israel withdrew from Gaza in the West Bank in 2005. 497 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,760 Palestinian Authority, I believe, had leadership in the 498 00:32:39,760 --> 00:32:41,520 West Bank, took leadership in the West Bank. 499 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:47,400 Hamas took leadership in Gaza. But in 1967, there were 1.4 500 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,960 million Palestinians in Gaza in the West Bank. 501 00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,480 As of 2024, there were five and a half million. 502 00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:00,520 It's not genocide. It's it's just not. 503 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:07,640 And when when these kinds of slogans are repeated that are 504 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:13,960 just patently false, why does it so often seem to be against the 505 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:16,920 Jews? Why is that? 506 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:22,280 And decade after decade, century after century, millennia after 507 00:33:22,280 --> 00:33:25,640 millennia, when things are not going good, why do so many 508 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:29,880 cultures, so often everything from the far right Nazis to the 509 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:33,520 far less communists in the Soviet Union, say it's the Jews. 510 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,640 It's the Jews. That was the claim of the Nazis 511 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:41,640 and the the Soviets. The Jews are wrecking our 512 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,560 country. They are destroying us. 513 00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:46,560 That's why we have to destroy them. 514 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:52,000 And those same lies are getting repeated again and hundreds of 515 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:54,920 thousands of people are demonstrating to promote those 516 00:33:54,920 --> 00:34:01,840 same lies. And I I believe we as followers 517 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:05,280 of Jesus Christ. Have a responsibility. 518 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,320 To stand against that. Not to drift to. 519 00:34:08,320 --> 00:34:12,120 The other side and engage in a lot Islamophobia or or other 520 00:34:12,120 --> 00:34:15,800 types of death dealing rhetoric or attitudes. 521 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:20,159 But to look as much. As we can at what's really 522 00:34:20,159 --> 00:34:23,000 happening. And say where is. 523 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:27,639 God and this awful situation. And how can we? 524 00:34:27,639 --> 00:34:30,440 Support life in this awful situation. 525 00:34:31,679 --> 00:34:33,600 That is what I. Believe God has called us to. 526 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:37,320 In this in. This world. 527 00:34:38,600 --> 00:34:40,840 I know I make mistakes. I suspect you do too. 528 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:44,000 And. And trying to make these kind of 529 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:48,000 decisions faithfully. So we pray for the mercy and the 530 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,600 guidance and direction of God in all of that. 531 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:53,679 In Jesus name, Amen. Amen.