A Measure of Hope for Israel

In one paragraph

On September 18, 2023, Pastor Brian walked Tribe fam through Daniel 11 as part of the church's twenty-one-day fast for Israel. The central question he kept returning to was this: when Israel faces its darkest hour, who will be the people that show up? The sermon was built around one phrase from that passage, a measure of help. Brian opened by situating the twenty-one-day fast in its origins. He...

Read together

1. Daniel 11:28-36 main passage read aloud and expounded upon as a prophecy concerning the antichrist and a future persecution of Israel
2. Zechariah 13:9 quoted to show God refining Israel through fire, paired with the Daniel passage as a foundation stone
3. Jeremiah 30:7 quoted to identify the coming time of trouble for Israel known as Jacob's trouble
4. Matthew 24 referenced to show Jesus warning that Israel would be hated across the whole earth in a coming persecution
5. Isaiah 62 name given to the IHOP twenty-one day fast and prayer guide focused on Israel

What was said

• If you are on the 21-day fast and you feel the hunger or discomfort rising, stop and pray instead of reaching for a distraction or a substitute comfort.
• Text someone on staff your phone number so they can send you the IHOP Isaiah 62 prayer guide PDF and start the 21-day journey for Israel even if you are starting late.
• Spend time this week in Daniel chapter 11 and let it be unfamiliar and messy rather than avoiding it because you are afraid of getting it wrong.
• If you feel a pull toward the Project Genesis pilot trip to Israel in November, or you want to help send someone who cannot afford it, talk to Brian after a service this week.
• Pick up Zechariah 13:9 and Jeremiah 30:7 and read them side by side this week as the two foundation passages Brian laid out for understanding God's heart for Israel.

Talk about it

1. Brian talked about the difference between God's chastisement and his outright judgment, using Zechariah 13:9 to show that fire can be refining rather than purely punitive. Has there been a season in your own life where you could look back and see God using hard circumstances to refine rather than destroy? What did that look like?
2. Brian described the church in Europe during the Holocaust as largely silent, singing in their pews while Jews were marched past to cattle cars, and said a measure of help came from almost no one. What do you think allowed that to happen, and what would have needed to be different in those congregations for the response to have been different?
3. Brian used the image of a coat hook to describe how the world is already building a narrative about Israel for us to hang our understanding on, and said the goal of the twenty-one days is to build a biblical hook instead. Where have you noticed the world's narrative about Israel showing up in your own thinking or in conversations around you?
4. Daniel 11:33 says the wise will give instruction to many, and Brian connected this to the image of a doctor from the word shared during worship, someone with years of focused preparation who can actually name what is killing the patient. What would it look like practically for you to pursue that kind of depth and preparation rather than staying at the level of a nurse or a nutritionist?
5. Brian said not to assume you have time down the road to decide whether you will stand with Israel, and he put his own yes on the table for the pilot program in November. What is one concrete step, however small, that you could take this week to move from thinking about this to actually acting on it?