Hope in Prayer

When God gives His oath, it’s done by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. We may have strong consolation. The first immutable thing is God’s Word, the second immutable thing is His oath. When you join God’s Word to God’s oath there is no way that God can say a thing more emphatically than He has said it.

Now, I have listed every place in the Bible where it says God swore with an oath to give this land. How many places do you think? Now if you’ve read the book don’t answer. How many places would you guess. (someone yelled 47?) That’s right, you read the book. Isn’t that amazing that the Bible records 47 times that God swore with an oath to give this land?

Now you cannot find anything else to which God has added His oath as much as four times. I think He swore four times to David. It’s an astonishing fact. I mean, if we once really see it, it gives us a totally different perspective on the situation in the Middle East, if we’re Bible believers. If we’re humanists, what does it matter what God says?

I would like to turn for a moment to Hebrews chapter 6 and just read, I’ll read from verse 13:

“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, ‘Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.’ And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath. His Word, His oath; two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie...”

And then the reason is given:

“...that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”

You see how we’ve come back to hope?

“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

There are two pictures given of this hope. Number one, it’s like the horns of the altar. When a man was being pursued, if he wanted a place of refuge, if he could get to the altar and hold on to the horns of the altar and not allow himself to be dragged away, he was safe unless he had committed some special crime.

And number two, it’s compared to an anchor. In my simplistic way I say to myself, Why does a ship need an anchor? The answer is a ship floats in an unstable element which is water. But to secure its position it has to make contact with a stable element. It passes the anchor through the water into the rock, or whatever it may be, and it’s the stability of the rock that holds the ship firm in the midst of an unstable element.

And brothers and sisters, we’re living in a very unstable world politically, socially, economically and in every way. We need an anchor that will pass through time and fasten in eternity. The hope is the anchor. Isn’t that wonderful?

I want to suggest in closing three themes for prayer which I submit to the leadership. They are prayers that I myself feel I can pray with faith. Number one, that God will intervene against the spirit of humanism. I do not feel that I can go out or even we can go out and simply challenge the spirit of humanism. It is far too big for us. But, it’s not too big for God.

Now, if God gives you faith, I won’t question that. But I’ve had considerable experience in spiritual warfare and I’ve seen people who’ve got into serious trouble because they went out like lone rangers challenging something that was much too powerful for them and they ended up usually in disaster.

The second is that God will raise up sons of Zion worthy to inherit this land. You have to bear in mind that God’s problem is not the land, it’s the people. The land is here. Maybe it needs care and change but the real problem of God is the people. In Ezekiel 36:33 God says this, and this whole chapter is devoted to the restoration of Israel to the land.

“Thus says the Lord God, ‘On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities I will also enable you to dwell in the cities and the ruins shall be rebuilt.’”

So the final occupation of the land by Israel will not take place until they have been cleansed from all their iniquities. I suggest that when we pray for the raising up of the sons of Zion we should have that in mind: a people who are pure, who are holy. I happen to be naive enough to believe that God will raise up 144,000 young Israelis. It says they will be virgins, they will be undefiled by immoral sex. I don’t want to be cynical but you’d have to look a long way in Israel to find 144,000 that answer that description right now. But I believe God is going to raise up a generation of younger Israelis. In fact, I believe He’s starting to do it. I believe they are going to be the ultimate messengers of the gospel to the nations.

The first half of Revelation 7 describes them, the second half describes a great multitude that no one could number out of all nations, peoples, tribes and tongues. I believe the second is the fruit of the first.

So, my faith is positive but we cannot set aside the moral requirements of God and pray into being something that is contrary to His moral requirements. That’s my second.

My third suggestion. God spoke to us twice and said, we believe He spoke to us, He will raise up a leader who will do His will whom the people will follow. It doesn’t say he’ll be a believer in Yeshua but he’ll be one who will do His will and the people will follow.

You see, if you study the history of Israel, every time Israel was in a crisis, how did God respond? He raised up a leader. He never sent a committee, it was never a parliamentary party. When Israel had parties, as they did in the time of Jesus, it was a disaster. God’s answer is a man. Somebody said God uses men, not methods. I believe somewhere not too far away there is a man whom God will raise up.

Let me repeat those three without any further comment.

Number one, God will intervene against the spirit of humanism.

Number two, God will raise up sons of Zion worthy to inherit the land.

And number three, that God will raise up a leader who will do His will whom the people will follow.

If there’s one thing that Israel desperately needs today, it is a real leader. The same is true of most other nations but we’re only talking about Israel.

Now, I’m really finished but there’s just one more thing that’s important. Enter into His courts with thanksgiving and into His gates with praise. That’s the only way into the presence of God. I want to give you two verses, favorites of mine, that will prompt us to allow excited, jubilant praise. Jeremiah 31:7:

“For thus says the Lord, ‘Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations. Proclaim, give praise and say, ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’’”

The last one is a prayer. But before that is praise, shout and proclaim. How many of you know what the word shout means? It doesn’t mean to sing loud, it means to shout. I can’t sing but I can shout. Verse 10 of the same chapter says:

“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles [or the coastlands] afar off.”

Now this is the word:

“He who scattered Israel will gather him and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”

Not merely is the Lord going to gather Israel. Brothers and sisters, He’s going to keep him, He’s going to guard him, He’s going to protect him.