Centennial Park Baptist Church – Sunday, January 18^th, 2009 – 10:30 am

HAVE YOU HEARD OF A MIRACLE REBIRTH

GOD’S AUTHENTIC PROMISES

God has always worked miracles in connection with the nation of Israel, His chosen people. Consider the ability of God to fulfill His promises to Israel in the face of what seems – to human minds – impossible odds.

Promises # 1 & 2 – Ezekiel 43: 1,4; 44: 1,2 and Isaiah 31:5

43: 1 Then the man brought me to the gate facing east,

4 The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east

44: 1 Then the man brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, the one facing east, and it was shut. 2 The LORD said to me, "This gate is to remain shut. It must not be opened; no one may enter through it. It is to remain shut because the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered through it.

Isaiah 31:5 - 5 Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will 'pass over' it and will rescue it."

The promise here is that the East Gate of Jerusalem will remain closed until the Messiah has come through it again.

1917 – FULFILLED

1967 – FULFILLED

Promise # 3 – Genesis 17: 8

8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."

Isaiah 66:8 – “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be Born in One Day? Can a Nation be Brought Forth all at Once?”

May 14, 1948 – FULFILLED

- Isaiah’s prophecy - written 740 years before Jesus’ birth

- Last year – Israel celebrated her 60TH anniversary as a nation

Why is Promise # 3 such a Miracle?

* RELENTLESS opposition

* RECOGNIZED by Jews and Christians alike

* Rabbi Binyamin Elon writing about his hometown of Bethel; “ Here in Bethel, 3800 years ago, the Creator of the world promised the Lord of Israel to the people of Israel. It is by virtue of this promise that we dwell today in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Shilo and Hehm.”

* RACE of people continuing from ancient times

* REGATHERING of historic proportions

* SCATTERED because of sin – Deuteronomy 4:27

* SUBJECT to huge suffering

* SIGNIFICANT milestone revealed in 2006 – 1^st time in 1900 years that Israel became largest Jewish Community in the world, surpassing the

UNITED STATES and RUSSIA.

* RIVIETS the attention of the world

* REALLY just getting started

Promise # 3 will be fulfilled in 3 stages or parts:

Part #1 – PHYSICAL- Ezekiel 36: 24

- 24 " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.

To this very day, the issue of who controls the Promised Land is most volatile in international politics. But we need not worry; the right to the Promised Land has already been determined by the only One who has the authority to determine it. The land is called holy because it belongs to God. The Bible tells us that the earth is the Lord’s to do with as He wills ( Psalm 24:1; Exodus 19:5 ) In His covenant with Abraham, God designated who would control this land; He gave it to Abraham and his descendants, the people of Israel. – David Jeremiah

Part #2 – SPIRITUAL - Ezekiel 36: 25-27

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

When will Israel turn on mass to the Messiah? TRIBULATION

Part # 3 – GEOGRAPHICAL

- Ezekiel 36: 28 - 28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Genesis 15:18 - 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates-

When? MILLENNIUM

What’s the other miracle rebirth? ____________________________________