Why Netanyahu’s Congressional Speech Should Spark Urgency in Our Hearts

As I listened to the speech by Benjamin Netanyahu I realized that I was listening, not to just a politician, but to a statesman. He was very sober and somber and came across as being more concerned for the safety and security of his people than for the outcome of the next election and his own political career. He was a refreshing contrast to the politicians of late in America.

One thing that stood out was his warning that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon it will spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East because other nations already fear Iran’s aggressive character and vision for conquest. In other words, other Middle Eastern nations, to defend themselves, will begin building their own nukes creating a nuclear tinderbox in the Middle East that could well lead to Armageddon.

Another high point for me was when Netanyahu recognized an elderly Holocaust survivor in the audience and then admonished his hearers to not forget the lessons of history. He was, of course, referring to the Holocaust wherein six million Jews, and God knows how many Christians, were subjected to a genocidal slaughter by the Nazis while the world and the church silently stood by and allowed it happen.

The modern parallel he was referring to is Iran and its pursuit of nuclear weapons with the stated intent to destroy both Israel and America. Hitler, early on, also made his intentions known in his book, Mein Kamph, which delineated his hatred of Jews and his desire to see a change in the German form of government. Much like today the world paid no attention and allowed him to implement his genocidal program of exterminating the Jews and anyone else who stood in his path.

Netanyahu takes Iran’s threat of annihilation seriously and emphasized that, if necessary, Israel would act alone to deprive Iran of nuclear weapons. He would obviously agree with the Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who lost his life for opposing the Nazi regime, but before he died, wrote, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

The same evening after Netanyahu’s speech, in our live stream, Sue made a statement that lodged in my heart and added to the somberness I was already feeling. In discussing the power of the 17th-century Quaker Movement, she emphasized that they “maximized their moment in time.” Through their sense of urgency and all-out commitment to Jesus, they impacted their generation and played a profound role in the founding of the United States of America.

So today, with a sense of soberness about the times in which we live, I am asking how I can maximize the time I have left on this earth. My questions are not what, but how. I have no question about the call and commission, but how to maximize this moment in time.

I recall Jesus, with a sense of urgency, exhorting His disciples about how they must maximize their moment in time. He said, We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work (John 9:4).

This is no time to be passive or lukewarm. Let’s maximize our moment in time!

Eddie L. Hyatt is an author, historian and Bible teacher. He is the founder of The Revive America Project, which is dedicated to reclaiming the vision and restoring the hope for another Great Awakening in America and around the world. His books on the church and revival are available from Amazon and from his website at eddiehyatt.com/bookstore.html.