What if the Church in the 1930’s had had the wisdom to earnestly and courageously pray that Adolf Hitler and Nazism be exposed and stopped?  World War II could have been prevented, and over fifty million lives could have been saved! Now here we are just a generation removed and a new Nazism is on the rampage. I am talking about radical Islam. And if the Church doesn’t have the wisdom to courageously and earnestly pray that it be exposed and stopped, then instead of thousands being killed it will be World War III and millions being killed! Therefore, I am asking you to have the courage and the passion to join me in prayer and ask God Almighty to intervene and do whatever it takes to stop this Satanic evil that is threatening our generation. If that means God using drastic means to open the eyes of president Obama, then so be it! And if he stubbornly refuses to see and act, then may the Lord remove him from power and raise up new leadership which will! To pray “whatever it takes means whatever it takes!”  If you are in agreement, then please like and share. Dear friends, we have reached critical mass, and time is of the essence. Through a simple act of obedience, we together can start an intercessory prayer chain that can shake the gates of heaven which in turn can and will shake the gates of hell!  Thank you!

TEXT: Isaiah 62:1-5
SUBJECT: God’s Plan for Jerusalem, Part III
INTRODUCTION:

In this message, we will continue unfolding and unwrapping God’s plan for the literal, physical city of Jerusalem by listing nine things that are a part of that amazing plan as seen in verses 2-5 of our text.

As I have said previously, it will be as we receive God’s revelation about Jerusalem and understand His heart for this city that we will grow in our desire for her and in our understanding of how to pray for her according to His will.

Church, we are entering into the season on God’s prophetic calendar where the Holy Spirit is revealing the heart of Jesus—the Bridegroom King—to the Church—His Bride!

In the last days the heart of the Bride will become one with her Bridegroom-King. What is on the heart of Jesus will be on the heart of the true Church.

As He burns with passion for the city of Jerusalem because of His plan for her, so too will His Church burn for the city that is on His heart.

Let us today be thankful that the Holy Spirit is giving us a prophetic voice to help prepare the way of the Lord. And a big part of that preparation is to help remove the veil that is covering much of the Church’s eyes as to the Lord’s heart and plan for Jerusalem Israel.

Sadly, at this juncture, much of the Church doesn’t even give Jerusalem a second thought.  Most pastors never preach on it. And this is in spite of the fact that the battle for Jerusalem is constantly in the 24/7 news cycle. It is no accident that Israel is mentioned in the news 362 out of 365 days each year!

Be that as it may, by the grace of God we can yet be a voice ministering under the anointing of the Holy Spirit to help awaken the Church to the reality of Zechariah 8:2, where God said, “I am very zealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

May God open our eyes, and the eyes of the Church, to His heart and plan for Jerusalem.


1. First on the list from our text in God’s plan for Jerusalem is that “The nations will see your righteousness.” (V.2)

Since I preached on the “righteousness that will shine forth from Jerusalem like the dawn,” in last week’s message, I will only make a brief comment or two here.

First of all, the prophet said, “the nations will see your righteousness.” What the Lord is going to do in Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus will not be done in secret or out of sight from the rest of the world.

God’s righteousness, that is the true standard of justice for all, will flow out of Jerusalem and will touch and transform the whole earth. And “This same Jesus”  of the New Testament, who now has a resurrected and glorified body, will extend His righteous rule to every person on the planet.

The scripture says that the nations, all 195+ of them,  will see (and be impacted) by His righteousness! It will be a glorious day for everyone who truly loves and desires God’s righteousness! Beloved, righteousness will flow from the city of Jerusalem.

2. Next on the list in God’s plan for Jerusalem is that all kings (rulers, presidents, prime ministers and all of those in authority) will see the glory of God.  

Under the leadership of Jesus from Jerusalem—along with His Church and saved Israel—there will be no lack of resources anywhere in the world. True prosperity will flow from Jerusalem to all the nations of the world.

The rulers of the nations will come to Jerusalem to encounter the Greater Solomon—the Lord Jesus Christ—to learn His ways and take them back to their countries.

As I said last week, there will be no need for any third world countries during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ.

But along with the glory of abundance will be the much greater glory of the presence of Jesus where people will come to the Holy Land and to Jerusalem just for that reason.  Just to be in the glorious presence of King Jesus will be life-changing!

3. Third on the list in God’s plan for Jerusalem is this: “You will be called by a new name which the Lord will bestow.”

Jerusalem’s history as a city of war and bloodshed because of the devils desire to possess it will no longer be remembered.

Because of how God is so abundantly blessing the world through His Son Jesus Christ, Jerusalem will have a new name.

The Hebrew word for “name” here is “shem.” It means “fame, glory and reputation.” God’s plan for Jerusalem is to give her a new name—a new reputation that will be glorious.

In the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus, Jerusalem will be a name and a city that the whole world will speak of with appreciation, honor and respect. I believe that there will be many number one hit songs about the city of Jerusalem and what it means to people world wide!

4. Fourth, “Jerusalem will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand.”

The Hebrew word for “splendor” also means “beauty and honor.” It can refer to beautiful garments and jewels. In God’s plan, Jerusalem will be the most beautiful city that has ever been.

This beauty and splendor will not be because of its geographical features but because of Who is king there, even the Lord Jesus, and because of what is coming out of Jerusalem—the very beauty of God Himself!

Beloved, God is coming to Jerusalem! That is and has always been His plan. And when He does the entire world will be transformed by His divine beauty that is flowing out from there! This will be one thousand years of the earth experiencing the glory of the eternal God up close and personal.

5. Fifth, Jerusalem will be “a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”

A royal diadem was a head piece, usually a piece of cloth wrapped around the head like a turban, and in many cases studded with gems or precious jewels and worn by Monarchs.

Jerusalem will be ruled by the beautiful God-king, Christ Jesus. Think of a city ruled by the One Who is perfect in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22).

That is God’s plan for Jerusalem Israel—to be ruled by the perfect man! And in this way the whole planet will be impacted and blessed with His beauty!

6. Sixth on the list in God’s plan for the city of Jerusalem is that she will no longer be called deserted or its name desolate.

I will only say here that once Jerusalem has been transformed into the millennial capital of Jesus, all negativity of her past will be forgotten forever. And she will never be deserted or desolate again!

7. God’s future plan for Jerusalem is that she be called “Hephzibah.”

“Hephzibah” means “my delight is in her.” Because Jerusalem will be “God’s delight,” she will also be the delight of the world.

The literal city of Jerusalem will literally be a blessing to the whole world. Because the God-man King will be in Jerusalem, His presence and wisdom will be what delights the whole planet.

As it was in the New Testament when God in the flesh—even Jesus of Nazareth—fed the five thousand; healed the sick; raised the dead; calmed the storm and spoke words that have blessed people for over two thousand years, so will it be when He is ruling and reigning from Jerusalem in His resurrected and glorified body! The God-man will be living on the earth!

And the entire world will find their delight in Jesus Christ. There will never have been a time like it! Beloved it will truly be the day of days up to that point in God’s redemptive plan.

All the nations will come to Jerusalem to delight themselves in Jesus. What a day it will be when Jesus Christ has returned to planet earth—this time as Lord and King!

8. Along with Jerusalem being called Hephzibah, it will also be called Beulah.

“Beulah” means “to rule, to be a husband.” From Jerusalem Jesus Christ will be “husband” over the whole world. He will have authority over all nations.
All the rulers and all of the nations will submit to the righteous king who is ruling from the chosen city of Jerusalem.

Let me say it this way: King Jesus does have a strategy for dealing with ISIS and all other kinds of evil and unrighteousness. And He will do more than just talk!

As the old song says, “I’m kind of homesick for a city.” And that city is Beulah land—Jerusalem, Israel.

9. And number nine on the list in God’s plan for Jerusalem is found in verse 5, “As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will God rejoice over you.”

Beloved, God passionately desires the city of Jerusalem.

And He desires her because from there he will fulfill His heart’s desire of forever dealing with sin and its effects on HIS CREATION.

He desires Jerusalem because from that city he will restore back to Himself all that was lost when man joined Satan’s rebellion and so caused the earth to be subjugated to bondage, corruption and decay.

He also desires Jerusalem because from Zion He will completely and totally liberate the earth and bring it into divine perfection.

And God Almighty desires the city of Jerusalem, Israel because it is the place where He will completely remove the veil that separates Him from His eternal desire to dwell completely and fully dwell with His eternal family on a perfect earth in a perfect universe.

CONCLUSION

Beloved, let it now be our increasing desire and prayer to grow in the revelation of knowing God’s heart and His plan for Jerusalem. This is our blessed hope in Christ Jesus the Lord.

This is an insightful article from Joel Rosenberg on the need for American leadership in defeating radical Islam while we still have the opportunity.

Here is the new op-ed I just wrote for theFoxNews.com Opinion page.

Jordan’s King Abdullah is in a winner-take-all war with the Islamic State

By Joel C. Rosenberg, special for Fox News Opinion, February 17, 2015

With the barbaric murder of Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh — the Jordanian pilot locked in a cage and burned alive by operatives of the Islamic State, for all the world to see — Jordan’s King Abdullah faces the most dangerous moment since ascending to the throne in 1999.

ISIS jihadists in Syria and Iraq have publicly threatened to invade Jordan and “slaughter” Abdullah, whom they denounce as a “tyrant.” Extremists inside Jordan took to the streets last summer shouting, “Down, down with Abdullah!” The latest ISIS propaganda video attacks the king as an “ally of the crusaders.” One figure in the video proclaims, “all Arab tyrants should…be burned.”

While Jordan has remained a source of calm in the region, the roots of radical Islamic extremism run deep there. A Jordanian, Abu Musab Zarqawi, was the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq — the precursor to ISIS — before he was killed by a U.S. airstrike on June 7, 2006. Today, an estimated 2,000 Jordanian nationals are fighting with ISIS. What happens when they come back to Jordan?

Meanwhile, 1.3 million people, mostly Muslims, have fled Syria and are currently residing in Jordan. Some 600,000 are contained inside refugee camps. The rest are freely moving about the country. How many are plotting against the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and how advanced and sophisticated are their plans?

The good news is that King Abdullah understands full well that he is in a winner-take-all showdown with ISIS, which he describes as “a Third World war.” As a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad, the king sees himself as a moderate Arab reformer. He believes Islam is the answer to the challenges facing his region, but he does not believe violent jihad is the way forward. He has built good relations with the West, maintains a solid peace treaty with Israel, and has worked hard to protect Christians in Jordan. But he is acutely aware that the jihadists are gunning for him. Indeed, upon hearing the news of the pilot’s murder, he immediately cut short his visit to Washington and returned to Amman to launch an “earth-shaking” military response to ISIS.

The urgent question right now is whether American leaders fully understand just how catastrophic it would be for Jordan to fall to ISIS, and whether they are truly committed to taking all measures necessary to crush ISIS and stand firm with Jordan, one of our most important Arab allies.

Friends and enemies alike have pointed out that President Obama has been indecisive and inconsistent in responding to the turmoil caused by the extremists. U.S.-led airstrikes have slowed the jihadist advance in Iraq, but ISIS is steadily expanding its control of Syria. Yet inexplicably, the White House has failed to set forth a clear strategy to defeat the Islamic State in either Iraq or Syria, even as the rest of the neighborhood — from the shores of Tripoli to the Hindu Kush — is falling apart before our eyes.

Obama is now asking for congressional authorization for his half-hearted war on ISIS. Yet his very request shows how unsure and unserious he is. Congress should pass a resolution authorizing the use of “all means necessary” to defeat the enemy. But the president’s draft explicitly rules out any serious use of ground forces, even if America’s military leaders deem them essential.

Obama specifically refuses to put an adequate number of U.S. special forces and technical advisers on the ground to help Iraqi forces retake their country. Last month, retired four-star U.S. Army General Jack Keane testified before Congress that at least 10,000 U.S. special operators are needed in the theater to prosecute an effective war against ISIS. Thus far, the administration adamantly disagrees.

At the same time, President Obama refuses to directly and adequately arm the Kurds in their fight against ISIS, despite their heroic efforts on the battlefield. Obama should be providing Jordan and the Iraqis far more arms and other resources to fight ISIS, but he hesitates.

Meanwhile, he exhibits a dangerously dysfunctional attitude toward two key American allies in the region, namely Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Like Jordan’s King Abdullah, both Netanyahu and al-Sisi clearly see the grave threat posed by the Shia brand of radicalism advanced by Iran and Hezbollah, and the similarly ominous threat posed by the Sunni brand of violent extremism advanced by ISIS, Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Netanyahu and Sisi are quietly but actively working together – and with Jordan – against these threats. Yet Obama’s public disdain for the Israeli and Egyptian leaders in the midst of a hot war is both counterproductive (the Egyptians are now turning to Moscow for help) and risks undermining the trust and confidence of Jordan’s leaders, as well as that of other Mideast allies.

With so many other major challenges in the Middle East at present, it would be easy for American policy-makers to overlook Jordan’s importance — easy, but a mistake. Jordan is the cornerstone of any future Arab-Israeli peace plan. If it fell to ISIS, Jordan would quickly become a launching pad for terrorist attacks against America and its allies.

Fortunately, the American people instinctively understand the magnitude of the threat posed by ISIS. In a recent survey74 percent of Americans said they worry ISIS will launch a “catastrophic terrorist” attack inside the U.S. if they are not defeated soon. Nearly as many Americans (72 percent) worry ISIS will soon try to launch a massive attack against the State of Israel. At the same time, 65 percent are afraid ISIS “will also try to overthrow the King of Jordan – an important, moderate Arab ally of the United States – and use Jordan as a base camp to launch terrorist attacks against America and Israel.”

Not surprisingly, therefore, Americans want President Obama and congressional leaders to work closely with America’s most trusted allies in the Middle East – including Jordan — to crush ISIS quickly and decisively. God help us if the president does not start making the right moves before it is too late.

Joel C. Rosenberg is a New York Times best-selling author of novels and non-fiction books about the Middle East. His latest political thriller, The Third Target,centers on an ISIS plot to attack the U.S., Israel and Jordan.

You can make your voice heard by going to whitehouse.gov and sending president Obama an email encouraging him to destroy this evil of Islamic radicalism while we still can.

TEXT: Isaiah 62:1-12
SUBJECT: God’s Plan for Jerusalem, Part II
INTRODUCTION:

Writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Isaiah makes a personal declaration about the city of Jerusalem: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a blazing torch.”

What was it that was motivating this man of God to have such a passion for Jerusalem? What had God shown him about this small Middle Eastern town that so captivated his heart and his passion to cry out for her?

Although Isaiah didn’t have the full and complete picture of God for Jerusalem, he had been shown enough to know that this city was where the redemptive plan of God for the whole earth would be centered. Isaiah knew by the Spirit of God that Jerusalem was not just another city. It was the city where God’s salvation would be accomplished and from where His righteousness would fill the whole earth.

Beloved, this prophet was taken into the private counsel of God to be shown the importance of Jerusalem. God deposited into him the significance of Jerusalem not just for his own time but for the eternal future. There is a reason why Isaiah spoke so passionately and prophetically about this particular city.

And it is our prayer and desire here today, by the help of the Holy Spirit, to be able to enter into these inspired words of the Holy Spirit about God’s plan for the city of Jerusalem Israel.
We need to know God’s plan for Jerusalem because it is impossible to understand the end times without knowing it—plain and simple!

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that you would reveal to us your plan for the city of Jerusalem so that we may enter into the same passion that Isaiah had for this city. We ask it in the name of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. Amen

I. ISAIAH’S PASSIONITE AND PROPHETIC DECLARTION FOR JERUSALEM.

1.) The prophet says that he will not remain silent or keep quiet until the righteousness of Jerusalem is shining like the dawn.
After the long and dark ages of man’s sinful history, looking down the prophetic tunnel of time, the prophet sees the righteousness of God breaking forth like the dawn from the city of Jerusalem!

At the end of the age, the world having experienced the full grown evil of Satan in the Beast kingdom of the Antichrist, the prophet sees the city of Jerusalem as a shining light beaming with the righteousness of God which will fill the whole earth!

At long last, righteousness, true righteousness will be the rule of the day. God’s righteous Word will be exalted. Scriptural and moral truth will be not just a standard but will be the standard for the entire earth! God’s pure and genuine justice will be for all people. And it will go forth from the city of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem will be the model city of God’s righteousness. And this righteousness will flow out of Jerusalem where the King of righteousness, the Lord Jesus, will be reigning from. And the entire world will be impacted by this mighty river flowing from Jerusalem!

There will be no more time or space for those seeking unrighteousness; for those who would exalt sin and do harm and commit injustices against others.

The righteousness of God which is shining forth from Jerusalem, the city of the Great King, will raise the joy and blessing of life to levels never before experienced on the earth. This will so motivate the nations that they will seek and pursue His righteousness!

Beloved, Jerusalem will be the model city of God in the Millennial Reign of King Jesus upon the earth. Jesus, the King of Jerusalem, will rule over the whole world in perfect righteousness.

Radical Islam will be no more! Evil will be dethroned by Him who sits upon the throne in Jerusalem Israel!

Politicians and government leaders will be motivated to provide justice and equity for their people under the leadership of King Jesus. The glory of His righteousness will flow from Jerusalem and cover the whole earth.

And this Godly righteousness will transform the world into a millennial paradise where the blessing of God will be the lifestyle of choice for a thousand years.

Beloved, imagine turning on the television and hearing nothing but Good News! News anchors and reporters will be reporting on the amazing ways that people and nations are being blessed by God because of righteousness which has become the standard form of behavior.

How glorious to see television shows and movies where the splendor and beauty of true righteousness is lifting up people and families and creating a stunning atmosphere where God’s blessings are literally overtaking them!

Not only on Fox but also on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN and even MSNBC is more breaking news of an explosion of cures coming out of the scientific community! Diseases that had ravaged the human race are becoming obsolete!

There will also be a worldwide network of nations working together—because of Jesus and what is coming forth out of Jerusalem—that will vastly improve the quality of life for people around the globe!

Because sin and its consequences will be tremendously reduced, the way to economic prosperity will be open for every person on planet earth! Everyone will benefit because of the righteousness that is flowing from the City of the Great King! No third world countries then!

This is why that the nations will flow to the model city of righteousness, Jerusalem Israel, to learn the ways of Jesus the Messiah.

It is said of King Solomon in II Chronicles 1:15 that he made silver and gold as common as stones in the city of Jerusalem. And under the Greater Solomon—even Christ Jesus the God-man—the whole world will enjoy abundant prosperity!

All of these blessings will be possible and available to the whole world because of the righteous king ruling the earth from the model city of Jerusalem—the city of righteousness!

As referenced earlier, the prophet Isaiah may not have known the complete plan of God for Jerusalem, but he knew enough through the Holy Spirit to pray for the day when God’s righteousness would shine forth from the chosen city and touch the whole world!

And I believe that the Spirit’s call for us to day is to do exactly what Isaiah did: we should not be quiet or silent when it comes to the eternal God’s plan for the city of Jerusalem.

Our continual intercession and prayer to God should be for His plan of filling the earth with righteousness from Jerusalem to become a reality! Beloved, this is praying according to God’s will.

And as we align ourselves with God’s end time plan for Jerusalem, we will learn to hunger and thirst for His righteousness to fill our own lives. As it does, not only will we be blessed but those around us will also be blessed.

Learning to walk in righteousness, as it will one day be in the model city of Jerusalem, we will be a model for others to follow now—a model that will bring God’s abundance to their lives!

The point is this: As we pray for the ultimate revelation of God’s righteousness in Jerusalem when Jesus sets up His Millennial capital from there, we can even now know a measure of that righteousness in our lives, our families, our church and in our circle of love.

“Oh God, as we pray for the day when Your righteousness will flow from Jerusalem like the dawn, we ask You to fill us now with that same righteousness which is in us through Your Son Christ Jesus. Let now your righteousness flow out of our lives like the dawn!”

2.) The second part of Isaiah’s passionate and prophetic declaration is found in these Spirit- inspired words, “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.”

The prophet is saying that he will continue to cry out until Jerusalem becomes that shinning city set on a hill for all to see. I believe that Isaiah was under a mighty anointing of God as he penned these inspired words of holy writ. He was feeling the heart of God for Jerusalem and what God desires and plans to accomplish there.

This is not just about a small dusty city in the Middle East; rather it is about what is on God’s heart to accomplish from this chosen city. It is about God’s eternal plan that will be centered in this city.

And the prophet said he would not remain quiet or silent until Jerusalem’s salvation is burning like a torch.

It is interesting and telling that the Hebrew word for “salvation” is “Yeshua.” We all know that “Yeshua” is also the English name of Jesus. In Matthew 1:21, the angel said that His name shall be called Jesus, for He will “save” His people from their sins. His name shall be called “Yeshua,” “salvation.”

I will show you the relevance of this to our text in Isaiah 62:1. Once again, Isaiah didn’t have the whole picture, but He knew enough through the Spirit to know that God’s salvation would be in the city of Jerusalem.

The best way that I feel that I can bring this truth home to you is by referencing the Seven Feasts of God: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles.

Keep in mind that these Seven Feasts are a stunning prophetic revelation of God’s plan of salvation from beginning to end.

So to make it simple, I will ask you seven questions that all have the same answer.

1. Where was Jesus/Yeshua (salvation) crucified as the Passover Lamb of God? Jerusalem!
2. Where was Yeshua’s (salvation) sinless body, God’s Unleavened Bread, buried? Jerusalem!
3. Where did Yeshua (salvation) rise from the dead as the First Fruits of those who sleep in death? Jerusalem!
4. Where did Yeshua (salvation) pour out the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost and begin and empower His Church? Jerusalem!

So Yeshua/Jesus fulfilled the first four of God’s Seven Feasts in the city of Jerusalem! Salvation burned like a torch in Jerusalem with the first coming of Yeshua/Jesus! Isaiah’s prayer was partially answered with the first coming of the Messiah.

Now let’s look at the last three Feasts of God which will be fulfilled at Jesus’ Second Coming.

5. Where will Yeshua (salvation) come when He raptures His Church and returns to the earth on the Feast of Trumpets? Jerusalem!
6. Where will Yeshua (salvation) fulfill the Day of Atonement when He kills the Antichrist, saves all of Israel, is welcomed back by the Jewish leadership and enters through the Golden Gates to be crowned King? Jerusalem!
7. And five days later, from what city will Yeshua/Jesus (salvation) begin the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles when He will bless the nations of the earth? Jerusalem!

Beloved, there is no other city on earth like the city of Jerusalem! It is the one place from whence has come and will come the salvation of God Almighty!
Therefore, it is right for us today in 2015 to join with the prophet Isaiah, who is now interceding from the balcony of Heaven, and to pray for the city of Jerusalem.

Especially today, when the devil is working so intensely and passionately through radical Islam to keep God’s plan for Jerusalem from becoming a reality, let us rise up and declare God’s strong and sure Word, which is forever settled in the heavens:

FOR ZION’S SAKE I WILL NOT KEEP SILENT; FOR JERUSALEM’S SAKE I WILL NOT REMAIN QUIET, TILL HER RIGHTEOUSNESS SHINES LIKE THE DAWN AND HER SALVATION LIKE A BLAZING TORCH!

Beloved, may our lives continually point people to the cross and empty tomb in Jerusalem where Yeshua/Jesus died and rose again for our salvation and also toward the Second Coming of Yeshua/Jesus to Jerusalem where He will complete our salvation!

Let’ pray.

TEXT: Psalm 122:6; Isaiah 62:7

SUBJECT: God’s Plan for Jerusalem, Part I

INTRODUCTION:

Why should a church in the small town of Warrior Alabama care about the small Middle Eastern city of Jerusalem Israel that is approximately 7000 miles away on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean? Why should anyone care about Jerusalem Israel—including you?

The short answer to that question is simple: We should care about Jerusalem Israel because our God and Savior cares about Jerusalem Israel. And whatever He cares about we should care about! Also, it will be as we grow in the revelation of how much God cares about Jerusalem and why, that we will be able to better enter into His unique passion and plan for this small city in Israel.

Beloved, there is life—real life—when you discover and grow in what is on and in the heart of the eternal God. And I can tell you that Jerusalem is most definitely on and in God’s heart!

Therefore I want to share with you in this message several reasons which will reveal how and why Jerusalem is special to the eternal God and to His Son Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray: Heavenly Father, reveal to us your heart for the city of Jerusalem. In the strong name of Messiah Jesus we pray. Amen!

I. The first reason in which we see that Jerusalem is special to the heart of God is how much He talks about it in His Word.

The name Jerusalem is mentioned 669 times in the Old Testament and 154 times in the New Testament. That is a total of 823 times! Also, the name Zion—another name for Jerusalem—is referenced 154 times in the Old Testament and 7 times in the New Testament.

That means that Jerusalem is so important to the heart of God that the Holy Spirit spoke of it an amazing 984 times in the written and inspired revelation of God to man!

Beloved, you can tell what is on someone’s heart by how much they talk about it, and God talks about the city of Jerusalem a lot!

That means that if we are going to know what is on and in God’s heart, then we must know about the city that He is always talking about—the city of Jerusalem Israel. And that leads to reason number two.

II. The second reason in how we know that Jerusalem is special to the heart of God is by observing what He actually says about it.

(1). In Exodus 15:17-18, in the prophetic song of Moses, after bringing out the people of Israel in the exodus from Egypt and having come through the Red Sea on dry land, he said/sang, “You (Jehovah God) bring them (your people Israel) in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance—the place, O Lord, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, Your hands established. The Lord will reign forever and ever.”

Approximately five hundred years before David conquered the Jebusites and made Jerusalem his city and the city where the Temple, God’s dwelling place would be built, the Holy Spirit spoke of Jerusalem as God’s inheritance and dwelling place! Think of it: Even before His people were in the Promised Land, God was prophetically singing His song about Jerusalem as His dwelling place! Church, Jerusalem has always been on God’s heart!

(2). Then in 2 Kings 21:7, the Lord said, “. . . In this temple and in Jerusalem, WHICH I HAVE CHOSEN of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name there FOREVER!”

Beloved, God Almighty said that He has put His Name in Jerusalem forever! Not just for a generation or for a lifetime, or even until the end of the age, but FOREVER!

God has put His Name in the literal, physical city of Jerusalem FOREVER—FOR ALL ETERNITY! That means that there will never be a time in this age or in the age to come when God’s Name is not in the city of Jerusalem!!

God does not say that about any other city. God has chosen to put His Name, which is a revelation of Who He is, in the city of Jerusalem Israel forever! 

So not only is our past tied to the city of Jerusalem, but our eternal future is also tied to the city of Jerusalem.

Understand this Beloved: God didn’t choose Jerusalem because it is special; rather Jerusalem is special because the eternal God chose it! And He chose it to put His Name there forever!

(3). In Matthew 5:34-35, Jesus Christ the God-man, the Word of God in human form, said this about the city of Jerusalem: “But I tell you, do not swear at all; either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by earth, for it is His footstool ; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.”

Jesus is referencing Psalm 48:1-2, “Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, His holy mountain. It is beautiful in its loftiness; the joy of the whole earth, like the utmost heights of Zaphon is Mount Zion (Jerusalem) the city of the Great King.” 

I recently mentioned that when I was reading this familiar verse of scripture in Matthew 5:34-35, it almost jumped off the page at me! Jesus was telling us that the massive universe—seen and unseen—is God’s throne; the amazing earth which is now home to over 7 billion people is His footstool; and the one city on this earth that God chose to put His Name for all eternity is Jerusalem Israel—the city of the Great King! Jesus, the God-man, said Jerusalem is His city!

III. Beloved, that statement has so many implications for us—for you and me, and for the world! And this will be the third reason which reveals to us why and how Jerusalem is special to God.

1. First, since Jerusalem is the city of Jesus, then it is also my city! When I was in Israel back in November 2011, I remember when I saw Jerusalem for the first time:  I felt and said in my heart, “I am home!”

As I have told you before, when I was standing on the Mount of Olives and looking at the old city—the wall, the Golden Gate and the Temple Mount—where once the Shekinah glory of God was manifested on the earth—I literally became transfixed!

I was thinking in my mind and heart, Lord, that is where Abraham offered up Isaac—Mount Moriah—Zion—the Temple Mount. And that is where Jesus died on the cross to purchase our eternal salvation.

As I was frozen there in time, the Lord spoke to me and said, Yes, I have done many things in this city and it is right to remember them. However, this is not only the city of your past; it is also the city of your eternal future! That is a moment I will never forget!

Beloved, Jerusalem is not only the place where Jesus died, rose again, and poured out the Holy Spirit on the Church, it is also the place where He will return, save the nation of Israel from the Antichrist and set up His throne to rule and reign over His Millennial Kingdom!

2. So Secondly then, Jerusalem will be the capital of Jesus’s Millennial Kingdom.  Listen to what is recorded in Revelation 20:1-2, “And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the abyss and holding a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”

As Jesus begins the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles from His capital city of Jerusalem, there will be no devil on the earth! Can I have a major league amen?

 Listen to what the Holy Spirit said through Isaiah about Jerusalem, the city of the Great King. Isaiah 2:1-4 “This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz saw concerning Judah (Israel) and Jerusalem: In the LAST DAYS the mountain of the Lord’s Temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills and ALL NATIONS will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, come lets go up to the mountain of the Lord, the house of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths. The law will go out from ZION, the Word of the Lord from JERUSALEM. He will judge between the nations and settle disputes for many peoples; they will beat their swords into plow shears and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation nor will they learn of war anymore.”

Beloved, Jesus as the Greater Solomon living in the city of Jerusalem will be sought out by the leaders and nations of the world. All nations will come to the literal, physical city of Jerusalem because God chose to put His Name there forever and because it is the city of Jesus the Great King.

Jerusalem will be the model city for all nations. From Jesus and the city of Jerusalem, the world will finally know peace.

Also, the economic plan of Jesus will eliminate debt, poverty and hunger worldwide. The leadership of Jesus from the city of Jerusalem will create the environment for the arts and sciences to explode to levels never dreamed of. Discoveries and creativity will reach a height never believed possible!

In short, Jesus Christ ruling from the chosen city of Jerusalem Israel will release God’s blessings and goodness to the whole world!

Beloved, are you beginning to see and feel why Jerusalem is so special and important to God? That is why the Lord said in Zechariah 8:2 “. . . I am very jealous for Zion; I am burning with jealousy for her.”

Why? Because God’s eternal plan of redemption and restoration of the earth will flow from the city of Jerusalem Israel!

I have one final reason in this message as to why Jerusalem is so special to God and consequently why it should be special to you and me also.

IV. Jerusalem will be the epicenter of God’s plan of bringing heaven and earth together forever.

In Ephesians 1:9-10 we read these amazing words, “ And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect  when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one Head—even Christ (Messiah).”

After the Millennial Reign of Christ comes to its close, the devil will be set free for a short season to stir up the nations one more time. God will then defeat Satan and cast him into the lake of fire forever!  In this way, God will have purged both the heavens and the earth from sin for all eternity!  

Following this in Revelation 21&22 is the fulfillment of Ephesians 1:9-10. In and through Jesus, the natural and spiritual worlds are brought together. The veil between these two dimensions is completely removed in Jesus—the God-man. Faith will have become sight!

And this will happen in the place where God chose to put His Name forever. The earthly Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem will be brought together by the power and wisdom of God.

How will that happen pastor? I don’t know, just like I don’t know how that God created the   heavens and the earth. But I do know that one day the natural and spiritual world will be brought together forever, and Jerusalem will be the center of this new and ultimate level of life in God. It is quite a plan that God has for those who love Him!

Jerusalem will be the center of the universe forever and ever! Why? Because God Almighty chose Jerusalem to be the place of His eternal redemption.

Heaven is God’s throne; earth is His footstool and Jerusalem is His city forever!

CONCLUSION

So then, what is the answer to the question: why should a church in a small town in Warrior Alabama care about the city of Jerusalem? Why should anyone care? Why should you care?

1. Because God speaks about 984 times in His Word! It’s on His heart!

2. God put His Name in Jerusalem Israel forever!

3. It is the city of Jesus the Great King!

4. It will be the Millennial Capital of Jesus!

5. It will be the city where God brings heaven and earth together forever!

ALTAR

Let our response of faith to God’s Word be a time of prayer for the city He has chosen forever—the city of Jerusalem Israel!

Psalm 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 62:7 Give God no rest until the day that Jerusalem is the song that the whole earth sings!