Rising Hate, Rising Hope!

Chris connects Bill C-9 and rising antisemitism as part of a deeper, shared issue. Bill C-9 threatens religious freedom, while antisemitism targets Jewish people. Both stem from a broader rejection of God, affecting Jewish and Christian communities alike. Despite opposition, Christians are called to be pur

Transcript

This morning I woke up to a [music] bright and sunny minus 15 in Ottawa. I'm really grateful for winter coming to an end. Minus 15 in the last week of March is kind of harsh. It's been a really long, cold winter here, but I'm not complaining because spring is coming. And spring time in Ottawa is pretty fantastic. It's We have the Tulip Festival. We have all kinds of blossoms and the parks are beautiful. So, if you ever get a chance to come to Ottawa, I would encourage you to come. It's a beautiful city. Come and pray. Come and pray in the House of Commons. So, anyway, I what I want to don't want to talk about weather and I don't want to talk spring time. But one of the

things that's important about spring time is the National Prayer Breakfast. And that is actually this week. And it's full. They are sold out. Praise the Lord. Over 1,500 seats sold for that great event. But also, there is a the Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast, which Marilyn and I are are a part of in a big way. And there are still seats available. So, check out the link in the prayer stream if you're in the Ottawa area and you still want to do. I think we have I have about 50 seats left. Maybe they might be sold out, but give it a try if you want to be here. But I want to talk to you today about C-9 and anti-Semitism and how they are connected. You know, it's really quite interesting that we

see this anti-Semitism and the C-9. For those who don't know what C-9 is, it is a bill that is going to take away some restrictions. And they're actually calling parts of the Bible hate speech. But I won't get into the whys and wherefores because we've we've done that in other videos. But it's interesting that we see this coalition between anti-Semitism and and and and the erosion of religious freedom. And that comes from not just Jew hatred or Christian hatred, but that comes from God hatred, right? And Jesus said this. Jesus says, you know, if you follow me back in John John John 15:18, you realize this that if you're walking with me, they're going to hate you

because they hate me, they're going to hate you. So, we shouldn't be surprised if there's persecution. We shouldn't be surprised if there's opposition because they hate him and they're going to hate us. But this is and and the and the coalition. So, how do we bring in in the the Jews into this? Well, it's really simple. Romans 11 talks about the olive tree that is the Jews. And we are grafted in. We're that wild olive branch grafted in. So, it applies to all of us. It applies to those that love God. And that's what they're after. However, we can get worried about C-9. And many of us have stepped in there in a wonderful way and using the tools in our toolbox,

contacting our MPs. And there are many of us that have been standing with the Jewish community. We did an anti-Semitism summit in Victoria just a couple of weeks ago with Stockwell Day. And I've done others in the nation. So, this is great building bridges. So, we can do these things that are part of our toolbox, which are good. But it can't stay there. It has to be bigger. Jesus said this in John 10:10. I have come to give life and life abundantly. Because Jesus lives in you, Jesus the hope of glory lives in you, we are facilitators, perpetrators, pourer outers of hope, of life, of joy, of peace. And we see this in Romans 15:13. May the God of God of hope fill you all with peace and

joy powered by the Holy Spirit so that hope would flow out of you. That's a paraphrase, but that's what we're supposed to be doing. We are called to be purveyors of hope. That means we are preaching the gospel. The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon us because he's anointing us anointed us to preach good news to the poor, to bind up brokenhearted, to set captives free. We are purveyors of hope. Thank you everybody for using the tools in the toolbox, but I want you to continue to preach hope, to live hope, to love, to share. The Apostle Paul said this, you are epistles being read by men and women. I want to encourage you. Be dispensers of hope. I'm Chris Biber,

director of the National House of Prayer. And we'll see you next time. Bye for now.