Inappropriate: It’s Time to Value Our Treasure Before We Trash Our Value

By Paul Robbins

Inappropriate is an appeal to the church in the West to consider why there always seems to be something missing. The church has the tendency to swing like a pendulum from one program to the next in search of the right one, while the world is waiting for something of substance to capture their souls. Are we willing to admit that we may have veered from God’s original plan? Jesus said that He would build His church, one that is substantial and defiant against evil and unrighteousness, one that is fruitful, effective, and attractive—one that offers lasting peace and joy to those who come alongside Him to be His construction assistants.

When Jewish and Gentile believers first united, the church became rooted and began to grow according to the eternal purpose of God. Sadly, things changed and the ancient enmity returned. This book explores the history of separation that has caused untold damage and tarnished the name of Jesus. Inappropriate dives into many passages of scripture, which have been often overlooked, in order to reclaim our place of blessing. God will not be vindicated until we walk again on His redemption road together. Anything else is simply inappropriate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 18, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664108660

Book preview

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Review Comments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Inappropriate

Chapter 2 The Means Justify the End

Chapter 3 The Smoldering Wick

Chapter 4 Comfort

Chapter 5 Holy Unrest

Chapter 6 Restoring the Light to Israel, and from Israel to the Nations

Chapter 7 The History of the Promise

Chapter 8 The Blessing and the Curse

Chapter 9 The Neighborhood

Chapter 10 The Two Witnesses

Chapter 11 The Notzrim and the Amazing Story of the Olive Tree

Chapter 12 Admonition

Chapter 13 The Masterpiece

Chapter 14 The Age in Which We Live

Chapter 15 The Case for Biblical History

Chapter 16 Speaking to the Mountain (Matt. 21:21)

Chapter 17 The Prophetic Connection

Chapter 18 Persecution

Chapter 19 Understanding the Times

Chapter 20 History Paints Another Picture

Chapter 21 Another Look

Chapter 22 Seeing Spiritually

Chapter 23 To the Point

Chapter 24 Manifold

Chapter 25 In Every Way

Chapter 26 There Is No Plan B

Chapter 27 It Gets Personal (in Fact, It Must)

Chapter 28 The Church the Carpenter Built

Chapter 29 The Process of Vindication

Chapter 30 The Jewish Defense Witness, Part 1

Chapter 31 The Jewish Defense Witness, Part 2

Chapter 32 The Jewish Defense Witness, Part 3

Chapter 33 The Biblical Defense Witness

Chapter 34 Parables for Inspiration

Chapter 35 The Prophet in the Parables

Chapter 36 The Day or the Hour

Chapter 37 Midnight Joy or Midnight Sorrow

Chapter 38 Glory

Chapter 39 And the Two Shall Become One

Chapter 40 And the Verdict Is . . . ?

Afterword

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I don’t consider it cliché to first acknowledge, before any other name, that Jesus has given me the message of this book during each time I sat down to write. I’m humbled to even say that I am the author.

Dara Powers Parker was my editor and so much more. With her husband’s backing she sacrificially poured over the manuscript because she embraced its message, and considered it to be vital. Countless times I was inspired to continue because of her timely and professional counsel.

Virginia Tobias, who is also an editor, has been an endless source of encouragement, coaxing me to put my thoughts on paper for the sake of others to read and grow by.

William Zodhiates and Nate Bowen have given their artistic talent to convey a message that was in my mind, along with their patience to put up with my seemingly endless details.

For the many folks who have joined our Israeli Advocacy Tours and said how much it both changed or expanded their thinking, but specifically for John and Kerry Shuey, who asked for something written to help them rightly communicate the message they came to embrace.

And of course, Marla, my wife, who has sat with me morning after morning differentiating between my thoughts to determine what was of passing value and what was eternal.

To all of you who have been supporters of Comfort My People and for us personally—to you who believe in what we do and whom we represent—we would have never gotten here without you.

Shalom

REVIEW COMMENTS

INAPPROPRIATE is a compelling book that will draw you into God’s masterful plan through history. I have known Paul since his Bar Mitzvah so it is a special honor for me to write this review.

INAPPROPRIATE is a turning point book that identifies current Christian/Jewish interaction as inappropriate. This is especially poignant when it becomes clear that a unique relationship between Jew and gentile has been God’s intent for a very long time. The book explores, through scripture and history, God’s exceptional but unfulfilled plan to reach the world by the cooperation of Jewish and gentile followers of Jesus. It is the heart of God to gather like a flock from the void within groups who have some belief in Jesus, but are not able to reach out much beyond themselves. Original believers were all Jewish. Growth was dynamic. With time, the church became mostly gentile, and an antipathy between Christians and Jews developed. The relationship was at best ambivalent, and at worst, dangerously hostile. Now the time has come to bring Jew and gentile believers together in a genuine koinonia (fellowship) where a shared love for the same Messiah will cause the church and the world to stand in awe. And God will smile with the hinei mah tov… ("Behold how good..." Ps. 133:1) as His powerful witness to the entire world.

The author uses personal anecdotes and modern day parables to bring home his point of the long awaited unity of the One New Man theme. This book will inform today’s Christian, but more importantly, it will energize the reader to even greater works.

Chaplain Alex Taylor (Ret.)

Senior Chaplain Huntsville Texas maximum security/Death Row facility, Chief of Chaplaincy, Florida Department of Corrections

When I began writing this endorsement, the fear and trembling returned that I experienced when Paul, the Jewish carpenter, first called me over a decade ago. I remember my initial words after he spoke,

Paul, this is a holy moment. Let’s pray first before we go on.

I didn’t know what would be next, but I sensed clearly that whatever it was about, HE sent him.

Paul’s position on staff was designed to lead construction teams overseas, but I knew that God was up to so much more even from the beginning.

As I continued to read the book, I was again in awe of God’s divine orchestration.

Inappropriate is anointed, beautiful, and powerful because it is truth. It flows yet pulsates. I am equally impressed and fascinated - Isn’t this the carpenter...?

Yes, Israel has a place in my heart. How can a young boy who grew up loving Joseph, Joshua, David and Jonathan not love Israel?  Every true believer should.  It’s delightful to the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves those who love the apple of His eye.

At the end of my reading, I kissed it and lifted it up to The Author, ... for it is God who has worked (through Paul) both to will and to do for His good pleasure

For how can a mission work be global without Israel?

Bo Barredo

Co-Founder, President Emeritus, and Global Ambassador, Advancing Native Missions

I had no idea the weight of this book when I first opened it. Perhaps it wouldn’t be light reading, but I didn’t expect the magnitude of what awaited me. I never thought it would change me. But when I read the words, and the words traveled from my eyes and brain to my heart and soul, I felt all at once stunned and moved by the mystery that was revealed.

If I’m being honest, I thought anti-Semitism was mostly dead, at least in the western world. After reading Inappropriate, my eyes are opened, and I am shocked and saddened by the hostility I see—even in my own country and often under the guise of activism! I can no longer ignore it. (Is that how holocausts happen?) If I say that my Messiah is a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth, and if I believe I have been grafted into that faith, then I must never again close my eyes to the needs of my adoptive family and their holy land. The Chosen People of Israel are His people, and therefore, they are mine.

Dara Powers Parker

Author of The Highlands Tunnel (also writing as Elle Powers, author of Angel of Eventide)

INTRODUCTION

I am afraid, not of the times though they are very unsettled, and not of the future though it is very uncertain. I am not afraid of being unpopular or my book being unsuccessful.

I am afraid that you may be one of only a handful who will read this book in its entirety.

If you are thinking, Here comes another arrogant, disgruntled Christian, drowning in bitterness, whose pastime is criticizing pastors and churches, please read on. That was me once but no longer. It hurt me and it hurt others.

A critical spirit claims superiority and judges others from that perspective. It is the opposite of humility. God gives grace to the humble, not to the arrogant. My ambition is to live by the grace in which I was saved, not in opposition to the One who saved me. To do otherwise would be inappropriate.

With that said, this book is addressed to Gentile believers in the Western world because that is who comprises 99.9 percent of the church population, give or take.

49452.png

Allow me to tell you a story that may seem unrelated at this point, but it concerns the grace of God. I had a vision—perhaps my only clear one—followed by an explanation from God about what it meant.

It was in the late spring or early summer of 1996. A builder from the East End of Long Island was told I could help him with an unusual job in Montauk Point. We agreed to meet and then drove together to the end of Long Island, where houses are invisible until you drive through their gates and over a few sand dunes. The house we were working at was located close to where George Washington had a lighthouse built both for incoming merchants and in order to determine how long they had before their enemy arrived on American soil.¹

On the ride there, I became pretty certain that my new temporary boss, although very likable, was not a believer. When we arrived at the gate, a voice from the speaker told us to wait thirty minutes. The contractor said we might as well park by the beach at the end of the road. I was excited about the challenge ahead of me without the pressure of being in charge that often comes from extremely wealthy clients. At the same time, I needed to be fully focused. Not only did I want to do my best, but I wanted to be a faithful witness.

We parked at the beach, and as I looked out my window, I realized that we were not only at the end of the road, but we were also at the end of New York state—in fact, we were at the farthest point of the United States along our latitude. The next landmass to the east was Europe. This is why Long Islanders call Montauk The End.

Then it happened.

In the midst of the most beautiful blue sky I had ever seen, there floated a perfectly shaped white cumulus cloud. It seemed to hover above me before heading over the ocean. As I watched it pass over land to sea, I heard a voice inside of me singing,

America, America!

I shed My grace on thee,

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

That was it. I was startled as one awakened from a dream. Then I heard God’s spirit from within me say, "In the past, I have shed My grace on America. From now on, you will have to draw upon My grace." There was no other explanation.

I wanted to tell the guy next to me, but I worried it would be the end of my job, and it was a long way home on foot. So I kept silent. In fact, I have only shared this vision with a few other Christians because it may sound like I’m saying that grace is no longer grace, freely given, and that instead we must work for it. But that is a contradiction of what I saw and heard. This cloud, which represented God’s grace, was beyond beautiful. At the same time, it felt familiar. I could have sat there gazing at it for hours. I don’t believe that cloud was heading for Europe; it seemed to hover over the waters like the spirit of God did in creation, waiting to be summoned (Gen. 1:2).

God shed His grace upon America for over two centuries like no other nation in the world. His grace produced great abundance in every field. As Americans, we willingly and generously shared our goods and knowledge with the world. God had His reason for lavishing us like no other nation, yet with His favor, it became our responsibility to act appropriately.

At that time I had the vision, I believe we as a country entered into a new era. The atmosphere in America began to change, which required the church to adapt to a new level. At the same time, nothing had changed. God still required us to walk in humility in order to receive His grace—that is, the desire and the power to walk as Jesus did.

But before long, American history took a very different turn.

Within a couple of months after that beautiful morning, TWA Flight 800 exploded over the same coastline, less than fifty miles west of that parking spot, killing all 230 passengers and crew on board. Coast guard and navy ships crowded the Long Island shores in military formation, searching for bodies and clues to determine what happened.

Three years later and another seventy-five miles west, two more passenger planes crashed—this time intentionally, killing all on board and thousands of others. On that same morning, a passenger plane crashed into the Pentagon and another in Pennsylvania. We still wonder how that could have happened, and we have not been in the same country since.

Is the grace of God now gone from America?

Absolutely not!

The grace of God is what distinguishes believers from unbelievers. Neither is superior, but only believers can represent Jesus because He is full of grace and truth. The truth is we have not represented Him well for too long in the Western church. With great music and dynamic messages aside, we are made for far more. We need to recover from what we have settled into. We can no longer continue to pat each other’s backs for good service then put our faith in storage until the following Sunday. It is inappropriate.

There have been too many warnings from heaven in recent years about neglecting our great salvation. The warnings have gone unheeded, and we have been left with a lack of authority and effectiveness in our world. If you cannot honestly find those two ingredients lacking in your church life, this book is not for you. But if you believe that God has stirred your heart with anticipation and enthusiasm to do His will, we have a clear lesson from Israel’s history for the next step: repentance.

It’s no secret—God responds generously to genuine repentance. I am not talking only about personal sin—for that, repentance should be our routine. I am talking about our identity as the church. We must not fail any longer to confront the sins of our collective past.

When Israel was sent into captivity, Nehemiah was a righteous man, who held a high government position. Yet when he considered the wretched condition of the temple in Jerusalem, he repented for his sins, his father’s, and the nation’s (Neh. 1:6).

When Daniel was in captivity in Persia, he too prayed a deep prayer of repentance, confessing and identifying with the sins of the nation and their rejection of the words of the prophets and Moses (Dan. 9:3–19). In both cases, God heard their prayers and answered them. As a result, Jerusalem was restored, the temple rebuilt, and the people rejoiced as the nations beheld the God of Israel, who is to be feared.

Let me be precise. This book is about the church’s inappropriate response to two vital tenets in these recent decades:

1. the vindication of God

2. the eternal purpose of God

You may not be familiar with these concepts. But as the recipient of God’s grace and mercy, you should be eager to clear God’s name of the countless accusations against Him. You must grasp why you have been chosen to be a citizen of His kingdom. It’s not a guessing game—it is in the Word for us to discover.

We are in a courtroom with all of creation in attendance. It should be packed with zealots ready to declare God innocent on all charges and to testify of His kingdom and His glory through our lives and the life of the church.

Take a look at how the church first came upon the scene, and ask yourself if this is how it appears now.

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all (Acts 4:33).

These men and women were Jews. They would soon deliver the Gospel to the Gentiles, and together, this was how they lived and served until the Jews were no longer welcome in the church.

In order to usher in the grace of God that the world so desperately needs and unknowingly longs for, we need to come to terms with two major questions, each of which shouts for our attention:

• Why is the Jew in the Bible?

• What does the Jew have to do with me?

If we want to stop our cultural decay and societal breakdown, we need to restore the kind of brotherhood that was once evident between Jews and Gentiles—a way of life that only believers can experience. Without the grace of God poured out upon us, it is impossible. But pouring out first requires an emptying. We need to be rid of the notion that we know enough and we’ve done our part. Remember that beautiful cloud? His grace is released as we respond to His Word and His calling, even in the midst of a spiritual drought—or should I say, especially then?

You matter. You can and will make a difference, but the time is short. Allow me this baseball/basketball analogy with hopes that you will continue to read.

If it is the ninth inning of the seventh game of the World Series and the game is tied with bases loaded, it doesn’t matter if you hit the ball between first and second, shortstop and third, loop it into the outfield, or even if you walk—your team wins.

In basketball, however, if there is one second left in the final game of the championship, the teams are tied, and you have the ball, the only way your team will win is if you shoot the ball through the net. You can do it, but will you try?

This is not the World Series. We are in the last seconds of that final game, and the basketball is in your hands. We need you. You must be decisive and precise.

Inform yourself within these pages, and as you read, ask God what your role is in His eternal purpose.

CHAPTER 1

Inappropriate

Inappropriate is synonymous with improper. Its opposite, proper, can be defined as describing the correct use or treatment of something or someone, according to its essential nature.

As such, inappropriate can be used to describe the wrong usage of an object or the wrong treatment of a person with whom you disagree.

Speaking of inappropriate, I am writing this in the summer of 2020. A cartoonist described this strangely troubled year with a question posed beneath his sketch of an ice cream truck:

If 2020 was an ice cream truck, how would it look?

I took the liberty of embellishing his creative analogy with my own wild, fictitious imagination. As a bit of background, I grew up in Long Island. We had so many different ice cream trucks that they would cause traffic jams. In the summer of 2020, that was no longer a problem. The streets were barren.

Back in the day, as you and your friends were playing stickball or running bases, you would hear the melody before you set eyes on your favorite truck. Immediately someone would call a timeout.

As soon as you saw the bigger-than-life picture on the side of the truck of a chocolate-covered ice cream bar with a bite taken out of the top corner, you would drop your ball, bat, glove, or bicycle and run into the house, crying out, He’s here, he’s here!

Before your mother could answer your shout, you were searching for her purse because you wouldn’t dare miss him. She hands you some change, and you dash outside, the screen door creaking behind you as it closes. But before you make it to the edge of the driveway, you wake up from your afternoon nap, startled. Then you realize you were dreaming, and you remember, this is the summer of COVID-19.

It’s a new scenario. This year, there was no friendly jingle. In fact, there were no kids on the street playing ball. It seemed desolate until the day you looked out your window and saw what you thought was the