Transcript [00:03] [music] [00:06] down the [00:20] Tell me why. [00:44] On the morning of October 7th, 1,200 [00:49] people were murdered. [00:53] Mothers and fathers, [00:56] sons and daughters, grandparents, [00:59] friends, [01:02] entire families. [01:06] We honor their memory here today and we [01:09] stand together against the evil that [01:11] took their lives in a single day. [01:15] >> [music] [01:16] >> Families murdered in their homes, [01:18] children kidnapped, communities burnt, [01:22] people hunted because they were Jews. [01:25] And as a Christian from this region, I [01:28] could not look at that hatred and tell [01:30] myself that it had nothing to do with [01:32] me. Because we Christians know too well [01:36] what happens when fanaticism takes [01:38] control of a society. [01:41] When forces arise in this region that [01:43] cannot tolerate Jews, [music] [01:45] they rarely prove to be tolerant to [01:47] Christians or anyone else who refuses to [01:50] conform. [01:52] Here at Banas, Jesus once asked Peter, [01:55] "Who do you say I am?" [01:59] October 7th confronted Israel with its [02:02] own version of that question. Who are [02:04] we? Christians [music] and Jews in this [02:07] country. We are the people who refuse to [02:11] be defined as victims of our tragedies [02:14] and then rebuild. And that is also why [02:17] this particular church is such an [02:20] appropriate [music] place to gather. And [02:23] first and foremost, a decision, a [02:26] decision that destruction will not have [02:28] the last word. [02:40] Ravaged by war, this Bas church lay in [02:44] ruins, broken and abandoned for decades. [02:49] [music] [02:50] Christians and Jews along with members [02:53] of the Drews community [02:56] began working together for one purpose, [02:59] to restore what was lost. [03:04] >> [music] [03:08] >> What evil [music] seeks to destroy, [03:10] together we will restore. We will [03:13] overcome. [03:16] On October 7th, evil shattered families [03:19] [music] [03:19] and devastated communities. [03:24] But we will restore what was broken [03:26] [music] and hold fast to God's promise [03:29] of victory over evil. [03:34] We are [music] not giving up together [03:36] with Jews to build our country and make [03:40] it strong forever. I want to thank the [03:43] guardians of the Lord who brought us [03:45] [music] together after renovating this [03:48] church of Bas. Please stand up. [03:53] [applause] [03:55] I see here so many people that came from [03:57] the Christian community. [04:00] Those Christians carry those values that [04:03] understand the importance of Israel [04:05] existence as a Jewish democratic state. [04:08] And those Christians send their sons to [04:12] the army to sacrifice together with the [04:15] Jews of defending this precious country. [04:20] And those people called us in October [04:23] 7th asking me [04:26] how we can serve in the IDF. We want to [04:30] defend our homes together with the Jews. [04:34] It's been three years. With each passing [04:36] year, we gain perspective on October 7th [04:40] and on the world that we woke up to on [04:42] October 8th. October 8th also became the [04:45] day when so many Christians raised their [04:48] voices and said, "Not on my watch." [04:52] 3,500 churches have planted flags and [04:55] are standing with Israel and the Jewish [04:57] people. This is the largest gathering of [05:00] Christians and Jews anywhere coming [05:02] together as believers in the God of [05:04] Israel to [music] pray to our father in [05:06] heaven who say like Ruth said, "Your [05:09] people are my people. Your God is my [05:13] God." [05:14] >> The year after October 7th, [05:17] there were Christians around the [music] [05:19] world who turned to Israel and said, "We [05:21] want to stand with you." And these flags [05:25] represent the silenced majority. [05:29] The millions of Christians around the [05:31] world who stand with Israel, who pray [05:34] for Israel, who love Israel, who seed [05:37] into Israel, who have never forgotten. [05:41] This is the land of prophecy. You are [05:44] the voice of reason, of holiness that [05:48] the world is trying to bury [music] [05:50] because there's something bigger [05:52] happening here. And we all know it. [05:55] There's a spiritual war [music] raging. [05:59] Flags of fellowship. It's a movement of [06:01] God. It's a movement of light. It's a [06:04] movement of hope. It's the movement of [06:07] bringing the words of the scriptures to [06:09] life. [06:11] And it's growing faster than [music] we [06:13] could have ever imagined. Planting these [06:16] flags around October 7th to say we will [06:21] [music] never forget. And we will always [06:24] pray for the peace of Jerusalem. [06:33] [music]
On October 7, 2023, the Jewish people experienced one of the darkest days in Israel's history.
In the years since, Christians around the world have responded with prayer and support through Flags of Fellowship. Thousands of churches and communities have come together in solidarity, each planting 1,200 flags for the 1,200 lives lost that day. This bold display of faith declares to the Jewish people that they are not alone and that faithful Christians are standing with them.
Today we remember, we pray, and we proudly stand with Israel.
#FlagsOfFellowship
