Everlasting Joy For All Peoples - Part 5

Praise the Lord. Now, this is really surprising because right here we find ourselves led right to Jesus Christ. It's not mentioned, but we're led right to Jesus Christ. How is that? As the basis of their joy. I find it in the very strange fact that the basis of the joy of the nations is God's steadfast love to Israel. You see that? Let's make sure you see it. Praise the Lord, all nations. Extol Him, all peoples. For great is His steadfast love toward us. Now, you've got to stop at that point and say, I'm not sure the peoples are going to be excited about that. God loves you. We should praise Him? I don't get that. Well, we've got to collapse the long sermon here into three minutes, maybe. Why is God's blessing on Israel joy to the nations? Next Sunday, praise God, next Sunday, at least I'm excited about it, we return to Romans. Finally. Chapter 11, here we come. And chapter 11 is all about Israel and the answer to this question. So I'm going to take 17 sermons at least to answer this question, right up through March. But I'll give you the answer ahead of time. Genesis chapter 12, verse 2, I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great. This is God talking to Abraham, the founder and father of Israel. Verse 3 of Genesis 12, I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. There it is. That's the fundamental structure of the Bible. I choose Israel for myself in Abraham and build a people and work with those people, pouring out my steadfast love on those people, because in connection with those people, all the families of the earth will be blessed. And now we get asked, How? How? How do you plan to do that? What's the way by which all the families will be blessed in and through the line of Abraham? Listen to the way Paul says it in Galatians 3:16. The promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring, or to his seed, literally. It does not say seeds, referring to many, but referring to one and to your seed, who is Christ. The meaning of God we are now granted eyes to see through the apostolic interpretation. The meaning of God in Genesis 12, I choose you and I plan to bless all the nations of the world through you, or Psalm 117, let all the peoples praise you because I love you, Israel. The meaning of those two verses and many, many more is God intends through Israel to bring a Savior into the world who will say, Whoever believes on me will not perish, but have everlasting life. Who will look out on the whole world and say, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Who looks out way beyond the banks of Israel and says, All authority is mine, go make disciples of all nations. Because I have come now, yes, as the seed of Abraham, yes, as the son of David, yes, as the Jewish Messiah, and I mean to break over the banks of Israel and bless the nations just as I promised in Genesis 12, 3 and as I implied in Psalm 117 verse. So, we are Christians and we believe that God has ordained that through Israel a Savior come into the world and by Him the nations be drawn to Himself. Praise the Lord, all nations. Extol Him, all peoples. For great is the steadfast love of the Lord toward Israel who then is given a Savior who then offers Himself to the world. He'll do that for you. He did that for you. And He will save you tonight. Amen.