Our guest today on KHCB has a ministry with a real focus of reaching out with the Gospels of Jesus Christ. So, of course, the focus is maybe a particular people, although he shares the gospel with everyone. Our guest today is Paul Scharf. Paul is with the Friends of Israel Ministry. And I'm guessing I can imagine a little bit about what you do. You've got friends, and that's what you want to be. And then, of course, to Israel, that's your focus. Tell us a little about Friends of Israel, and welcome to KHCB. Oh, thank you, Bruce. It's just always such a blessing to be here, and thank you for inviting me. I have the privilege of serving as a Church Ministries representative with the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. this great and historic ministry that God raised up during the very earliest days of the Holocaust and chose to continue and grow and expand to minister throughout the world for these 84 years. And God has blessed and provided for the friends of Israel and hope that everyone listening will continue to pray for our ministry. of proclaiming what the Scriptures say about Jesus, the Messiah, and teaching everything that the Bible says about Israel, from her biblical past now in her strategic present, and as God works to bring about fulfillment of all of His prophetic promises in the future. Yeah, when Jesus comes to establish His kingdom, amen. Friends of Israel has a website, FOI, Friends of Israel, FOI.org. There you can find out all kinds of details about the organization, about Paul's ministry. Obviously, for 84 years, you have not been there that length of time. Only four of them, Bruce. And a wonderful four, no doubt. You said you're a church representative. What does that mean? Church ministries representative, which means I'm primarily preaching and teaching in churches, telling about the biblical truth about Israel, filling a void in the church because Sadly, these teachings that we have emphasized for these 84 years are often on the wane in our churches today, and receiving less emphasis and some even turning away from them. And we want to continue to hold that banner high and promote the literal interpretation of Scripture, leading to the clear teaching of what it says about Israel, past, present, and future. As well as the church. As well as the church. Two different programs. And leading, that's right, and leading churches then to begin to think about having a really meaningful outreach, biblically meaningful outreach to their Jewish friends. And you were invited to speak, you get opportunities. I'm speaking in churches all the time and relish those opportunities and usually in at least one church a week. While I'm here in Texas, Bruce, which is not my home, I'm from Wisconsin. I'm averaging a little more than that, trying to make good use of this trip, and God is really blessed with opportunities. All right. Well, thanks for taking time with KHCB and interrupting your schedule for a few moments with us. Oh, thank you, Bruce. One of the things we need to focus on and something that you have had a passion for is history, and you have a look at, well, special holidays that are upon us and really opportunities to share the gospel based on those holidays. Right, Bruce. I've really, well, my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, and maybe that's a little bit unique, but it runs very deep in my heart through my personal history, and I have a real passion for understanding and teaching about the pilgrims. So this is not something that was a prerequisite to my ministry with Friends of Israel, although I think it works together very nicely, because I have a passion for studying the whole Reformation and the tie and how dispensational theology that we hold so dear ultimately comes really from some of the groundwork that was laid in the Reformation. I'd like to study and learn more and even perhaps find things that are new and unique about that. So I have just a real intense desire to learn and to teach about these things that happened in the 16th and 17th centuries, and I've just always loved the pilgrims. And there are, by the way, some unique ties. As you know, Bruce, you were with us last year when I spoke about the Geneva Bible. at a church here in the area, and the fact that its study notes contain some very unique statements about a literal future for Israel. Now, that's not part and parcel of everything the pilgrims did, but I just still love the pilgrims and love to talk about Thanksgiving. All right, so with Thanksgiving right around the corner, what do you have as far as the cross? Well, the last time I was with you, Bruce, we looked at just a verse, Psalm 26, verses 6 and 7. David said, I will wash my hands in innocence, so I will go about your altar, O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of Thanksgiving and tell of all your wondrous works. And boy, some of the wondrous works we could talk about. are what God did when the pilgrims came to these shores 402 years ago, far, far more than we can cover here. But if people are interested, I have done teaching on the pilgrims. I have about two hours total telling the story of the pilgrims. I've done it more than once, and you can find those on my page on sermonaudio.com slash P-S-H-A-R-F. That's my personal ministry page for my work with the Friends of Israel. And I place all my resources there, and people can always contact me there or sign up for my weekly e-newsletter. But all that to say, Bruce, the pilgrims came and were such an amazing group of people that were seeking freedom to worship as their consciences dictated. But they were also seeking to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. And their story, if you just heard it for the first time, you might think it was a fantasy. It's so incredible. And I was talking about these things actually here on this trip to Texas in a church meeting. And the pastor said afterward that our young people today so need to hear this. and that if some of them did hear it for the first time, it would be like listening to a foreign language. It would be so utterly removed from their daily experience, from the culture they're saturated in, and it's the foundation of our country. Absolutely not discussed in the history classes anymore, that's for sure. And it's the foundation of our Thanksgiving holiday that goes back to last year, 1621, 400 years ago last fall. And it's an amazing story. That's right. And not only Thanksgiving, but there's a dovetail with remembering what the pilgrims did, but also the whole Gospel message and how the Lord Jesus came to minister to the nation of Israel, but also to the world of the Gentiles. One of the feasts that we will be celebrating soon, or that many in the Jewish community celebrate, is that of Hanukkah. And you say that... That's right. I have a unique opportunity to speak about Hanukkah in churches, I'll be doing that all throughout December. And this is not something, unlike the pilgrims and Thanksgiving, this is not something that has permeated my life experience from growing up. It's something I've had to learn about. But it permeates the scriptures, Bruce. Hanukkah is not a biblically mandated feast in the law of Moses. It's not found in Leviticus 23 or other places in the law. the events that lead to its institution are prophesied in Daniel chapter 8. Daniel chapter 11 in specific details, and they take place in the middle of the 2nd century BC under the Maccabees as they're resisting Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes. And students of prophecy may recognize that name from their studies of these chapters in Daniel, where Antiochus really is a foreshadowing of the future Antichrist. So, there's Hanukkah in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament, there's Hanukkah related to prophecy, but did you know there's also Hanukkah in the New Testament? Did you know Jesus celebrated Hanukkah? I've had some pastors or some people say, you know, boy, I'm not sure we want to bring Hanukkah into the church. You know, and I say, well, did you know that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, that he had a Hanukkah sermon? that he used Hanukkah to emphasize his deity and his connection to the Jewish people and to share his mission for the world. And in fact, he pronounced that vision so strenuously that his opponents among those Jewish people that did not believe sought to seize him, they took up stones to stone him, in John 10. And this is all found in verses 22 through 39 of the book of John, chapter 10, at the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem in the winter. Solomon's porch. It's an amazing story, Bruce. It has absolutely fascinated me, and I have the privilege to teach on this, and many people have never considered these details about the importance of Hanukkah. So if I have a friend who does celebrate Hanukkah, how do I connect the two? Jesus did, and Well, they're probably, they may, if they're a Jewish person who's not a believer in Christ, they may not know anything about what Jesus did in John 10 at Hanukkah, but we can tell them. And first of all, I think we ought to say clearly and boldly, Happy Hanukkah. This is one of the major celebrations for the Jewish people all around the world, even though it's not a biblically ordained feast. And, obviously, some of that dovetails with the fact of this holiday season that all of us enjoy, and it's developed and grown, and there are all kinds of different customs and traditions, but at its base and heart, Bruce Hanukkah is right out of the scriptures. And we can say, Happy Hanukkah. And if they're willing, we can explain what we mean by that and why we think it's important, what we have to share with them. One thing we do with the Friends of Israel is send Hanukkah baskets. to Jewish people in many, many places. I don't have all the details of how far they've gone, but I know that here in America they go all over to Jewish friends. And people can order those if they're interested or find out more information by going to the website foi.org. But it's just a wonderful time of the year to reach out to Jewish people and to share the light Jesus, who is the real light of Hanukkah. Yeah, John chapter 8 verse 12. That's right, just shortly before this time, and that was at the Feast of Tabernacles. And the Feast of Tabernacles and Hanukkah, they connect in the Jewish culture, much like we sort of connect Thanksgiving and Christmas to bring back to Thanksgiving. And Jesus at that day shared how he was the light of the world. That had some very specific ties to the Feast of Tabernacles, but it really comes to fruition here in the message of Hanukkah. And John chapter 10, where he starts out talking about being a good shepherd. And that also is a Hanukkah theme because at Hanukkah, remembering what Antiochus tried to do to them and to deceive them back in the second century BC, the Jewish people were highly on guard and they were very focused on Ezekiel 34, which talks about the true shepherds and the false shepherds. And Jesus proclaims himself the true and good shepherd. That's right, all right. Our guest today, Paul Scharf, and he has some teachings that amplify much more than we have time on this short feature. Sermonaudio.com, Sermonaudio.com, slash P Scharf, Paul Scharf, our guest. And it's spelled S-C-H-A-R-F, Paul Scharf, our guest. Of course, he has a website or actually was part of the ministry of Friends of Israel, foi.org, Friends of Israel. If you just type a internet search, you'll get that as well, foi.org. They have all kinds of helps there as well. So as we head into the holidays and as we run out of time, is there a final verse that you can give us? What would you do if you had a chance to visit with someone and encourage them both about the pilgrims and how they focused on God and how? we need to be focused on the Lord Jesus Christ and try to make that transition to those that we meet with this holiday town. Well, Bruce, there are so many verses we could share. We could talk about... You get one. We only have that much time. We could talk about giving thanks and everything, couldn't we? But to tie the two things together, which don't necessarily fit together other than in my schedule, teaching about the pilgrims and teaching about Hanukkah, let me share one verse or, well, let me say two verses. Psalm 22, verses 30 and 31. And people have to read Psalm 22 and get the amazing context of all this, the Psalm quoted by Jesus on the cross. But the last two verses of Psalm 22, a posterity shall serve him. It will be recounted of the Lord to the next generation. They will come and declare his righteousness to a people who will be born that he has done this. We need to tell young people, as I said before, people who've never, or older people who've maybe never even heard the story of the pilgrims, the story of Hanukkah. They're both incredible. And we have all this to share, all these treasures to share with people, Bruce. All right, because we're not ashamed of the gospel of God. It is the power, we're not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation, both to the Jew as well as to the Greek. Paul Scharf, friendsofisrael.org, actually just their initials, F-O-I.O-R-G, puts you in touch with them. Paul's specific ministry is available through sermonaudio.com, sermonaudio.com, backslash Paul Scharf, or P. Scharf, S-C-H-A-R-F. Always a joy to catch up with you. Thank you for your time here at Christian Radio. Thank you, Bruce. God bless you. And Godspeed as you continue to serve Him. 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