Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000049S
|
00:01 The Bible tells us, "In the beginning was the Word,
00:04 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 00:08 It says, "To receive with meekness, 00:10 the implanted Word, 00:12 which is able to save your souls 00:14 and to be diligent to present yourself approved to God, 00:18 rightly dividing the Word of Truth." 00:21 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:25 Our study today is, Salvation by Faith Alone, 00:30 the Book of Romans. 00:33 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:36 We are so excited 00:38 to be having the opportunity to present this lesson, 00:42 Salvation by Faith Alone in the Book of Romans. 00:46 And we're glad that you are joining us. 00:49 We hope you have your Bible, we hope you have pen and pad. 00:51 And if you don't have the Sabbath School quarterly 00:55 and you would like to follow along, 00:57 you can go online 00:58 to ABSG.Adventist.org 01:05 and download the lesson. 01:07 That should be on your screen, but please do join with us 01:11 because this is going to be a great study. 01:13 We have... 01:15 Let me just introduce the panel that we have here today. 01:19 It has been such a joy to work with each one of you, 01:22 Pastor CA Murray, Mollie Steenson, Jill Morikone 01:26 and my own pastor John Lomacang. 01:29 Hasn't it been a joy just to get... 01:32 I think we've all been learning 01:34 as we've been going through this. 01:35 It's not just our own study but everybody brings something 01:38 just as you say that put them a bean in the pot 01:42 and we've been feasting on this pot, have we not? 01:45 Indeed yeah. Amen. 01:46 Well, we are going to look this Sabbath at Romans 9. 01:52 And the title of the lesson is 'Children of the Promise'. 01:56 Before we begin, 01:58 I would very much like it 01:59 if Mollie Steenson, if you could say a prayer 02:02 for God's anointing and His presence. 02:05 Yes, Holy God, praise You 02:07 and thank You for Your presence here, Father. 02:09 Lord, we just bring ourself... 02:10 We just present our hearts to you, O God, 02:13 and ask You Lord, 02:14 that you would look into our hearts and Lord, 02:16 if there be anything unlovely and unlike, 02:19 You just root it out is our prayer in Jesus' name, 02:21 Father, that we can stand before Your people 02:24 with clean hands and a pure heart. 02:25 Now, Father, we ask for a coal from the altar 02:28 to be placed on our lips, 02:30 the words we speak today will be anointed of you 02:34 and bring hope and deliverance to everyone that hears. 02:38 That's our prayer, in Jesus' name. 02:40 Amen. Amen. 02:42 Well, I want to kind of hurry things along 02:44 because I want to spend a little time 02:46 in Sunday's lesson. 02:47 And let's look at our memory verse 02:51 and say that together, 02:52 and people sometimes get so upset by this verse. 02:56 I want to take time to look it over. 02:58 This is Romans 9:18 from the King James Version 03:02 and saying this together, 03:03 "Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, 03:09 and whom he will he hardeneth." 03:12 Let me read that to you from me the Amplified. 03:14 It says, "So then, He," speaking of God, 03:16 "Has mercy on whomever He wills, 03:18 whomever He chooses 03:20 and He hardens or makes stubborn 03:23 and unyielding the heart of whomever He wills." 03:26 Now, to understand properly the character of God, 03:29 we've got to understand this scripture, 03:31 and to understand the scripture 03:32 you have to understand the character of God. 03:36 Paul uses Pharaoh, and that's the example that I want to use. 03:39 He has used the example of Pharaoh. 03:41 But I want to say this, 03:43 God's mercy is not based on anything 03:45 that God sees in a person. 03:47 It's not based on your worth or your... 03:51 He is not judging you the value that you have. 03:55 God wants all men to be saved, that is His heart of love. 04:00 But His purpose in election 04:03 also does not depend on a man's desire or effort 04:09 but He chooses on the basis of His purpose. 04:13 So when it says 04:15 that, "He hardens whom He will harden." 04:18 In Exodus, the Bible portrays that Pharaoh hardened his heart 04:24 against God repeatedly, 04:25 but it also says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. 04:30 And what you'll find that, in the Bible, 04:33 God is often presented as doing something 04:36 or doing something that He did not prevent from happening. 04:39 So they'll say, "Well, He did it 04:41 because He didn't prevent it." 04:43 What happened with Pharaoh? 04:44 He repeatedly was in stubborn rebellion 04:49 and God just gave him over to a hardened heart. 04:54 That's the flip side of mercy, is the hardening of the heart. 04:57 He just allowed justice to run its full course 05:03 and let Pharaoh have what he had deserved. 05:06 See, God had purposed 05:08 that He was gonna show His power through Pharaoh 05:11 but the way He showed His power 05:12 would depend upon Pharaoh's choice, 05:15 because when you think about the king of Nineveh, 05:17 when God sent Jonah to Nineveh, what happened? 05:20 He's saying, "Okay, I'm gonna destroy you," 05:23 but when he went and preached, what happened? 05:26 The king of Nineveh repented. 05:28 He brought his whole nation into repentance. 05:30 That's right. And God relented. 05:32 So I think that that was very important 05:33 for us to understand that, 05:35 had Pharaoh submitted to God's will, 05:38 God's name would have been magnified through the world 05:41 but He didn't. 05:43 So God's name was magnified 05:44 through the judgments on Pharaoh. 05:46 So let's look at Sunday, and this is Paul's burden. 05:52 Sunday's lesson begins 05:54 with one of my favorite scripture passages 05:56 from Exodus 19:4-6. 06:00 God is speaking to the children of Israel. 06:04 He is yet to speak the Ten Commandments to them 06:07 or appear on the mountain 06:11 but He tells Moses, 06:12 "Tell the children of Israel this. 06:14 You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, 06:16 how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself." 06:21 That's covenant love language. 06:24 God is saying, "I love you so much 06:26 that I bore you on wings, 06:30 an eagle's wings to bring you to myself. 06:32 And I destroyed the Egyptians for you. 06:35 Now therefore because of my covenant love for you, 06:39 if you will indeed obey my voice 06:41 and keep my covenant, 06:42 then you should be a special treasure to me 06:45 above all the people for all of the earth is mine 06:48 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priest 06:50 and a holy nation." 06:52 These are the words He says to Moses 06:54 that you are to go tell the children of Israel. 06:57 When God chose Abraham, 07:00 He said, his descendants would be missionaries for Him 07:05 to the whole world. 07:06 He said the whole world will be blessed, 07:09 His covenant people were to be the seed of Abraham 07:14 or to be a blessing to the people of the earth. 07:18 They were to reveal the character of God 07:21 and take His truths to a pagan world. 07:25 So His election of Israel as a covenant people, 07:30 a royal priesthood was not based on the size of Israel, 07:34 it was not based on any merit that Israel had 07:39 but rather that it was based 07:42 on the purpose of fulfilling His plan of salvation. 07:47 So now, the lesson asks us, what... 07:52 How is God's faithfulness portrayed in Romans 9:1-12? 07:58 "Amid human failures". 08:00 Because what's happening here, Paul's about to... 08:04 He's preparing to announce to the Jews, 08:07 the rejection of Israel as God's people 08:10 that are going to carry out His covenant purposes. 08:13 Now the Jews believed, 08:15 I mean, they thought they were it. 08:17 They believed that 08:19 because they were the physical descendants of Abraham, 08:22 that they were in. 08:25 They were in with God so tight, it didn't matter. 08:28 Did you know that the priest taught 08:31 that anybody who was uncircumcised 08:33 would not go to... 08:35 I mean, anybody who was circumcised 08:37 would not go to hell? 08:38 The priest... 08:40 It didn't matter how they lived their life, 08:42 what their character was like. 08:44 So Paul's going to announce that, 08:47 "Hey, the physical nation of Israel 08:52 is not going to be the one," 08:53 there's going to be a special remnant 08:55 but he knew that the Jews would vehemently reject this idea. 08:59 So now he is kind of softening the blow with this approach. 09:03 Let's read Romans 9:1-12. 09:06 He says, "I tell the truth in Christ, 09:08 I am not lying, 09:09 my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, 09:13 that I have great sorrow 09:15 and continued grief in my heart, 09:17 all for I wish that I myself were cursed from Christ 09:21 for my brethren and my countrymen 09:23 according to the flesh." 09:24 That reminds me of Moses, when Moses told God, 09:28 "Blot me from your book of life." 09:31 I mean, what love Paul had for his country men 09:34 to say that he wished he could be cursed 09:37 from Christ on their behalf. 09:39 He says, "Those who are Israelites 09:42 to whom pertain the adoption, 09:43 the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, 09:46 the service of God, 09:47 and the promises of whom are the fathers 09:49 and from whom according to the flesh Christ came, 09:53 who is over all the eternally blessed God." 09:57 Amen. 09:58 But it is not the Word of God that has taken no effect 10:02 and he knows that they're thinking it, 10:05 he tells them, "Hey, physical Israel, isn't it?" 10:09 They're gonna think, "Hey, you're setting the Word of God 10:11 had no effect." 10:12 He said, "Because they are not all of Israel 10:16 who are of Israel." 10:18 And verse 7 he says, "Nor are they all children 10:22 because they are the seed of Abraham 10:26 but in Isaac your seed shall be called." 10:30 We know that Abraham had a son through Sarah, 10:35 the son of promise was Isaac. 10:37 He had a son through Hagar, Ishmael. 10:39 And then he had sons through Keturah, no matter... 10:41 I don't know how many sons Abraham had. 10:44 But he had many sons. 10:46 But it was only in Isaac, 10:48 the child of promise that his seed would be called. 10:51 So Paul's beginning to reason this out now. 10:55 He's saying, God didn't choose all of Abraham's seed. 10:59 He only chose the child of promise 11:02 to carry out this covenant 11:04 and Abraham's seed 11:06 Isaac was of supernatural birth. 11:09 He's like a type of Christian, if you will, 11:12 because we're children of the promise, are we not? 11:15 That's what Paul tells the Galatians in 4:28, 11:18 "We're children of the promise." 11:20 But only those who received 11:22 and accepted God's promise to Abraham 11:25 through the seed of Jesus Christ 11:29 were the true children of Abraham 11:31 and heirs according to the promise. 11:34 So now, it wasn't their heritage 11:35 or their ancestry, 11:37 it depended on something other than fleshly descent. 11:40 So he goes on in verse 9 and he says, 11:42 "For this is the word of promise, 11:44 at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son, 11:48 and not only this 11:49 but when Rebecca also had been conceived by one man, 11:52 even by our father Isaac 11:54 for the children not yet been born, 11:56 nor having done any good or evil 11:58 that the purpose of God 12:00 according to election might stand, 12:03 not of works but of Him who calls," 12:05 saying, "It's up to God, election." 12:07 His purpose in election, 12:09 CA, it doesn't matter how good you are 12:10 if God didn't elect you to be a pastor, 12:12 you wouldn't have been one. 12:14 So he said, it was said to her, to Rebecca, 12:19 the older which was Jacob, excuse me, 12:26 Esau was born first, 12:28 the older shall serve the younger. 12:30 So God chose Esau, over to... 12:34 or chose Jacob over Esau. 12:36 I'll get it right here. 12:37 So what He's doing here, 12:39 see, it wasn't even all the seed of Isaac 12:41 that was chosen. 12:43 It was through Jacob that this election 12:47 and His purpose was to be carried out. 12:49 And all Paul is doing is establishing God's salvation, 12:55 His election flows along spiritual lines of faith, 12:59 not because of their physical ancestry. 13:04 So what does the Bible say? 13:07 Paul says, "We must be led by the Spirit of God 13:10 to be sons of God, 13:11 the covenant promises come through faith." 13:14 And I just want to say this 13:15 while I'm thinking of it because I'm rushing so much. 13:18 It is not... 13:21 Because your parents are Christians, 13:24 that doesn't make you a Christian. 13:27 You may be a third Adventist generation, 13:29 that doesn't make you an Adventist Christian. 13:32 It is only those who have personally embraced 13:36 the seed of the promise Jesus Christ. 13:39 So Paul is showing that from the plan, God's... 13:45 From the beginning God's plan through Abraham 13:49 was that there would be a spiritual seed. 13:51 There's going to be a remnant to carry on 13:56 because the children of the promise 13:58 are those who believe 14:01 the promise is given to the God of Abraham... 14:04 Are in the God of Abraham 14:06 and that their faith is imputed as righteousness to them 14:11 just as God imputed righteousness to Abraham. 14:14 That's right. 14:16 I don't know if it was well said, 14:17 it was a little bit jumbled but the points were in there. 14:21 You know, I appreciate 14:23 and I want to build a little pontoon 14:24 between where you started because... 14:29 There are certain nuggets in Romans 14:31 that are right on the surface. 14:33 You can pick them up fairly easily 14:34 and understand them, then you get to the point, 14:37 we've got to dig a little deeper to get the truth. 14:39 That's right. 14:40 Over the last couple of lessons, 14:42 we were at that point 14:43 where it's not sitting on the surface, 14:45 you got to dig a little deeper. 14:46 And you've got a little... 14:47 You must have an understanding of the cultural milieu 14:52 to try to get at this 14:54 because there are certain things 14:55 that are almost code language 14:57 that certainly his audience understood 15:00 but we may not 15:01 unless we are digging a little bit deeper. 15:02 Number one, looking at these texts, 15:07 you may think that we serve a capricious God 15:10 who is kind of, not only capricious 15:12 but little mean. 15:14 I take you, I reject you. 15:17 And you can come away with that idea, 15:20 a couple things we need to re-establish. 15:23 One, he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. 15:27 And that's not some time, that's all the time. 15:30 That's what He is, not just what He does, 15:32 that's what He is. 15:34 And then Malachi 3:6, "I don't change." 15:37 So you've got to kind of put those both together 15:40 in your understanding of where we're going with this. 15:42 Yes, exactly. 15:44 That He's not capricious and He does not change. 15:47 So if He loved yesterday, He's going to love today. 15:51 If He loves Shelley, He loves Mollie, 15:54 He loves Jill, He loves Pastor Lomacang. 15:56 I almost called him Lomie, Pastor Lomacang. 15:58 That's okay. 15:59 So He loves all the time. 16:02 He loves everyone, 16:03 there is no one who is outside of the realm 16:05 or the purview of that love. 16:07 Now, given that understanding, let's read the next two texts. 16:10 I'm in Romans 9, 16:13 dealing with the subject 'Elected'. 16:15 This is Monday. 16:16 Romans 9, I start at verse 12. 16:18 Romans 9:12. 16:21 "It was said to her, 16:23 the older shall serve the younger 16:25 as it is written Jacob I have loved 16:27 but Esau I have hated." 16:33 Yeah, let's stop there. 16:34 Let's stop there. 16:35 Lest I lip over into Miss Steenson's area. 16:40 The lesson takes pains to note. 16:42 And we should understand 16:44 that we're not talking about salvation. 16:48 I accept you to be saved, I reject you to be saved. 16:53 And, Shelley, you did this well. 16:54 I think you made this point very clear. 16:56 We're talking about being elected 16:59 to fulfill a specific purpose. 17:02 Because one is called to fulfill that purpose, 17:05 it doesn't mean that the other one 17:07 who is not called has no business with God 17:10 or God has no use for them. 17:12 They're just not called for that specific purpose. 17:17 We believe that the call to ministry is a call from God. 17:22 Everyone is not called to be a minister. 17:25 There are some who... 17:26 A pulpit minister, a pastor should I say, 17:29 because there are doctors who minister, 17:31 there are lawyers who minister, 17:32 there are teachers who minister. 17:34 Adventist teachers and Adventist classrooms 17:36 and Adventist schools 17:38 are ministers of the highest order. 17:39 They are not called to be pastors 17:41 but they are called to minister. 17:42 In fact, their life is ministry. 17:44 And we have great ones here at our Thompsonville School. 17:47 So because one is not accepted for position A, 17:52 does not mean they are rejected totally by God. 17:55 God has something else for them to do, 17:57 more in line with their talents. 17:58 So when we look at, "I have accepted Jacob and Esau, 18:03 I have hated." 18:04 We must look at it through that lens. 18:07 In accepting one and rejecting the other, 18:11 let's just take a look at the words, 18:12 the language that are used. 18:14 Yes, please. 18:15 Because it will help us to know 18:16 and understand what we're talking about. 18:18 "I have loved one," of course that is agape. 18:20 It's not an emotional attachment, 18:22 it is not setting on a erotic attachment. 18:24 It is love at the level of principle. 18:27 It is love in a moral sense, "I have loved this one, 18:33 I'm going to use this one to do this for me." 18:36 Hated is miseo, 18:39 which is an interesting kind of word. 18:41 It has a lot of nuance to it. 18:43 It doesn't... 18:44 It can be translated hated 18:45 and the Bible translates it hated 18:48 in some of its translations. 18:52 But there are other translations that say, 18:56 I've loved less or I've loved differently. 19:00 Or I have the word rejected is there. 19:04 But it seems, it simply means, 19:06 it's like trying to put a round peg in a square hole 19:09 or a square peg in a round hole. 19:11 They're not suited for this particular thing. 19:14 So rather than what we would call hate, 19:17 it's more than that you are not suited 19:20 to do a particular task. 19:22 Shelley is more suited for that task. 19:24 Mollie has another task that she should do. 19:27 So it's using one for this purpose 19:30 and not using one for another purpose. 19:32 And you touched on something that I think is very important. 19:34 In the Semitic mind what God allows, 19:39 He is actively spoken of as doing. 19:42 So if He allows a heart to be hardened, 19:45 it will be written as, "He hardened his heart," 19:47 but you see, we've got to understand 19:50 God only has one way of doing things. 19:53 He loves and everything is done through love. 19:56 And if love hardens your heart, what else can God do? 20:01 Because He cannot change the way He functions. 20:04 He just loves. 20:05 And if you don't want to be loved 20:08 or if love chafes you, 20:09 or if love hardens you, 20:11 He has no other mechanism because that's all God has. 20:15 Now Satan has a hundred mechanisms. 20:17 He can coerce, he can force, he can lie on, 20:20 he can do all kinds of things. 20:21 The only arrow God has in His quiver is love 20:25 and He cannot change that 20:27 because that's the way He is. 20:29 So if love hardens you, well, then you're gonna be hard 20:32 because He cannot change what He does. 20:34 He cannot change who He is. 20:35 He can no more be unfaithful to Himself 20:38 than a leopard can change his own spots 20:40 or an Ethiopian his skin. 20:42 That's what God does. 20:44 And so the New Living Bible says, 20:49 "I have rejected him," 20:51 but it also says, "I have another purpose for him 20:55 in the margin, I have another purpose." 20:57 So that rejection is not an outright rejection, 21:00 it is another purpose. 21:04 The lesson says, "He is here speaking of particular roles 21:08 that God is calling upon certain individuals to play." 21:12 So it's the role and function that God has given you. 21:16 Just a couple of texts, 2 Peter 2:3-9, 21:19 we know God is not willing that any should perish. 21:22 And we need to reemphasize these oft times 21:25 because you may think 21:27 in a light reading that God is rejecting people. 21:30 And of course, we talked about this 21:32 in last week's lessons, John 3:16-17. 21:37 "For God came not into the world to condemn the world 21:40 but that the world through Him might be saved." 21:43 So God is not trying to keep you out, 21:46 He is looking for reasons to get you in. 21:48 And He wants you to be saved. 21:50 So in this rejection, we're not talking about, 21:54 and this is important, 21:55 we're not talking about individual salvation. 21:57 And this is where many stumble. 22:00 They're thinking, "Well, He's rejecting that person. 22:02 That's not fair, that's not God." 22:04 No, it is not God. 22:05 He's talking about fitting you into a particular position 22:10 for a particular function. 22:12 And for other people 22:13 He has other kinds of functions. 22:15 I'm gonna read a couple things from the lesson 22:16 and then I'll be done. 22:17 Again, Paul is not speaking of individual salvation, 22:20 lesson says it two or three times 22:22 because in that area God extends mercy to all 22:25 and we can praise the Lord for that. 22:29 "It is His will that all men be saved," 22:32 1 Timothy 2:4. 22:34 "The grace of God, that bring us salvation has appeared," 22:36 praise God, "On to all men". 22:39 So we all have that's Titus 2:11. 22:41 "But God can choose nations to play roles. 22:44 He can choose people to play roles. 22:47 They can refuse to play those roles 22:49 but they cannot prevent God's choice." 22:52 Now, He can put His hand on you, Shelley, 22:54 and you say and say, "I want you to do this for Me." 22:56 And you can say, "I'm not doing it." 23:00 You can choose to reject the call 23:02 but you cannot change the fact that God called you. 23:06 Yes. You know, He makes the call. 23:08 You can say, "I don't want that call." 23:10 But He did call you, that does not change. 23:13 Now, Israel was called. 23:15 And after nearly a millennia, they never fulfilled that call, 23:20 they never did actually get it right. 23:22 But the fact is they were called 23:25 and God called them and He wanted to use them 23:27 and as they allowed Him, He did use them. 23:31 There were times when they actually get it right 23:33 for short periods of time, 23:35 but ultimately they didn't get it right. 23:37 And when of course, the Messiah came, 23:39 the ultimate rejection came in the killing of the Messiah. 23:44 So we need to understand 23:46 that God does not call one 23:52 or reject one unto salvation 23:55 but He does call people 23:57 and use people for particular times. 24:00 Oh, 3ABN. 24:02 Danny was looking for someone to lead. 24:04 There are... What? 24:05 Four Shelton brothers and one sister. 24:08 So it wasn't Ronnie, it wasn't Kenny... 24:11 Tommy. It wasn't Tommy, wasn't Tammy. 24:14 He called Danny. 24:15 Now does that mean that He rejected Kenny? 24:17 No, Kenny is a preacher. 24:19 Did He reject Ronnie? No, Ronnie is a preacher. 24:22 Did He reject Tammy? No, Tammy works here. 24:25 But Danny got the call to lead 3ABN. 24:29 So everybody's getting used 24:31 but He had a particular function for Danny 24:34 and Danny, praise God, has filled that function 24:37 these, almost 33 years. 24:39 That's the call. Amen. 24:40 And that's what God wants to do for each of us 24:42 to give us something to do. 24:43 You know, Ellen White says this and then I'm done, or I'm over. 24:46 "No more surely is there a place in heaven for you 24:50 than there is a particular role and function 24:52 that God wants all of those people to fulfill 24:54 down here on earth." 24:55 He's got something for everybody. 24:57 Amen. Amen. 24:58 Every one of us have a purpose and a function. 25:00 Amen. Amen. 25:01 Everybody has a part to play 25:03 and if we'll all play our parts, 25:04 then the whole gets accomplished 25:07 through what God's called you to do. 25:08 Well, on Tuesday, I look at Mysteries. 25:13 There are just mysteries in the Word of God. 25:16 Things like they have been talking about, 25:17 Shelley and Pastor CA talked about that make you go, "What? 25:21 God said that?" 25:22 Well, let's look at Isaiah 55:8-9. 25:27 This is what the scripture says, it's talking about God. 25:30 Now, this is God talking, 25:32 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts 25:35 nor are your ways my ways," says the Lord, 25:39 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 25:42 so are my ways higher than your ways 25:45 and my thoughts than your thoughts." 25:48 Now, we don't know His ways and we can't know His thoughts 25:52 but there is something we can know about God, 25:55 that's His character. 25:58 He is always, always totally faithful 26:03 and totally trustworthy. 26:07 But we do find instances in the Bible 26:11 that we don't understand. 26:13 On the face of it, it may look like God isn't being faithful 26:17 and He isn't being trustworthy. 26:19 And we're going to look at one of the incidences. 26:22 And Shelley covered it beautifully 26:25 but let's look at where, I'm in Romans 9, 26:29 that's what we're teaching from. 26:30 I'm going to look at verses 17-24 26:33 but let's look at verse 17 now. 26:36 Verse 17, "For the scripture say to the pharaoh, 26:41 for this very purpose, I have raised you up 26:44 that I may show my power in you, 26:48 and that my name may be declared in all the earth." 26:53 Now Paul is talking about Exodus 9, 26:57 where God tells Pharaoh. 27:00 First He pronounces plagues on Egypt 27:05 unless Pharaoh will do something. 27:07 What is it that Pharaoh must do 27:09 so these plagues won't come on Egypt? 27:12 Let the people go. 27:13 Let my people go. 27:16 Verse 9 says, "But the heart," and this is Exodus 9. 27:20 Pardon me, Exodus 9:7. 27:23 It's the B part. 27:24 "But the heart of Pharaoh became hard 27:27 and he did not let the people go." 27:30 What was the result? 27:32 It was exactly what God said the results would be. 27:36 Those plagues came on Egypt, 27:39 and God said in Exodus 9:16. 27:43 "But indeed for this purpose, 27:46 I have raised you up that I may show my power in you 27:51 and that my name may be declared in all the earth." 27:55 Now Paul continues in Romans 9:18. 28:01 "Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills 28:06 and whom He wills He hardens." 28:09 Now that sounds like a difficult saying, doesn't it? 28:13 That's a mystery. 28:15 A mystery that we're looking at. 28:16 "You will say to me then, 28:18 why does He still find fault for who has resisted His will 28:24 but indeed oh man, 28:25 who are you to reply against God?" 28:28 That's a good question. 28:30 Will the thing formed say to Him who formed it. 28:33 Are you a formed thing? 28:34 Oh, yes. 28:35 We're like the clay, He's the potter. 28:37 "Why have you made me like this?" 28:40 Why I cannot be like Shelley? 28:42 Why I cannot be like Jill? 28:44 No, God made us just... Why I cannot be like Mollie? 28:46 God made us just like we are. 28:48 "Does not the potter have power over the clay 28:51 from the same lump to make one vessel for honor 28:54 and another for dishonor." 28:56 Verse 22. 28:58 "What if God wanting to show His wrath 29:01 and to make His power known endure 29:04 with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath 29:06 prepare for destruction 29:08 and that He might make known 29:09 the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercies." 29:13 See, God's got a master plan. 29:15 We don't know His thoughts and we don't know His ways 29:17 and we sure don't know His master plan 29:20 which He had prepared before hand for glory. 29:24 "Even us whom He called, 29:26 not of the Jews only but also with the gentiles." 29:29 Not just the Jews but hey, we gentiles too. 29:32 By dealing with Egypt at the time of the Exodus, 29:36 in the manner He did, 29:37 God was working for the salvation 29:40 of the human race. 29:42 And that's something we've got to know, 29:44 God always deals redemptively. 29:46 I've shared this so many times and you can say, 29:49 "Oh no, but look at what He did?" 29:52 The end result 29:55 is for the redemption of humanity. 29:57 God never deals punitively. It's always for redemption. 30:01 It's just like us with our children, 30:03 and I've got to be quick today. 30:05 With and I've used my son who happens to be 30:08 one of the camera operators here today. 30:10 So often there were times 30:11 he would do things that I told him not to do, 30:13 for instance put himself in a position 30:16 where he could get hurt. 30:17 Well, now I would tell him, 30:19 "Son, if you do this, I'm gonna have to correct you, 30:21 I'm gonna deal with you maybe in paddling 30:25 or what the end result would be." 30:28 Now, am I doing that 30:29 because I want to punish him, to hurt him? 30:32 No, I'm doing it to redeem him, to protect him. 30:35 So God always deals 30:37 with the ultimate goal of bringing people unto Him. 30:40 Oh, He wants everybody to be saved. 30:43 Now, let me go on. 30:46 "By dealing with Egypt in this way, 30:48 God was working at the salvation 30:49 of the human race. 30:51 God's revelation of Himself in the plagues of Egypt 30:53 and in the deliverance of His people 30:56 was designed to reveal to the Egyptians, 30:58 as well as to other nations 31:00 that the God of Israel indeed was the true God. 31:04 It was designed to be an invitation 31:07 for the people of the nations to abandon their gods, 31:11 and to worship Him." 31:13 You see, and something we've got to know, remember, 31:16 we know God's character, He always deals redemptively. 31:21 Jesus Christ died for Pharaoh just like He did Moses, 31:25 just like He did every one of us. 31:28 Pharaoh had already made his choice against God. 31:33 God gives us all free will. 31:35 His heart was hardened against God 31:37 and God wasn't cutting him off from salvation, 31:40 God wants everyone to be saved. 31:44 Christ blood was for the whole world, 31:47 for God so loved the world, 31:49 not just one individual or individuals. 31:53 The point that is being made 31:55 is that we are a fallen human beings. 31:59 We're all fallen human beings 32:02 with a very narrow view of the world 32:07 and how God works. 32:09 Let me ask you this question. 32:12 Is the world flat or is the world round? 32:16 Now, for how many years, how many centuries, 32:19 how many thousands of years 32:21 did people believe that the world was flat? 32:24 Was that the truth? No. 32:26 We have a narrow view, 32:28 we don't view everything correctly. 32:31 Just our quarterly tells us this, 32:34 just a 171 years ago, 32:38 doctors learned that it might be a good idea 32:43 to wash their hands before performing surgery. 32:47 Do you know there were many that kicked against that. 32:51 When talking about germs or explaining that germs 32:55 could be passed from one patient to another, 32:57 they didn't think anything 32:59 that small could harm another person 33:02 or could be harmful to us, or germs harmful. 33:05 Just a 171 years ago, 33:08 the surgeon started washing their hands. 33:10 Did it save a multitude of lives? 33:12 Yes. 33:13 The human race still has much to learn. 33:17 As smart as we think we are, we've still got much to learn. 33:20 But one thing we do know is that 33:24 we don't understand God's ways 33:27 but we know His character, and we can trust Him. 33:32 That's right. 33:33 The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, 33:36 but they found they couldn't stop Him. 33:38 It's good. 33:40 Pilot couldn't fault Him, Herod couldn't kill Him, 33:44 death couldn't conquer Him, 33:46 and the grave couldn't hold Him. 33:48 He is the Alpha and Omega, He's the first and the last, 33:53 He's the God of the future and he's the God of the past. 33:57 We know His character, 33:58 He is for us and if God be for us, 34:02 who can be against us. 34:03 We know His character, and we can trust Him. 34:08 Amen. Amen. 34:10 Beautifully done, Mollie, thank you so much. 34:12 You know, sometimes as we read the Word of God, 34:15 and I have to say I've come to this. 34:17 And you think, "Now what is it exactly saying? 34:20 I know God is love, 34:21 but what does this passage really mean?" 34:23 So thank you so much each one of you 34:26 for unpacking and opening some of those mysteries 34:29 or deep things to understand. 34:31 I have Wednesday, army, my people. 34:34 We're looking at Romans 9:25-29, 34:38 and 25 and 26 actually quote from the Book of Hosea. 34:43 So what I want to do first 34:44 is to just set a little background. 34:46 We're gonna look at those verses in Hosea. 34:48 Then we'll jump and read it in Romans. 34:50 So if you have your Bibles, turn back to the Book of Hosea. 34:55 It's a minor prophet, 34:56 one of those difficult books to find. 34:58 It's right after the Book of Daniel. 35:00 Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea. 35:04 Now, Hosea was a prophet to the kingdom of Israel, 35:07 the Northern Kingdom. 35:09 And he was a prophet from 750 to 722 BC, 35:14 till the time 35:16 when the Israelites were taken away, 722 35:20 is when the Northern Kingdom came to enact. 35:24 And they just passed out of history really, 35:26 they just completely passed out of history. 35:28 So he was a prophet right at those, 35:30 you could say closing years of the nation of Israel, 35:34 the Northern Kingdom. 35:35 And just appealing and calling to the people, 35:39 they worshipped idols, 35:40 they had forsaken God 35:41 and they had turned their own way. 35:44 And God called Hosea to do something, 35:46 that to be honest with you, I would not want to do. 35:50 We're all married here on this panel, 35:52 and I don't think any one of us 35:53 would want to do what God called Hosea to do. 35:56 That was we're in Hosea 1:2, 36:00 "When the Lord began to speak by Hosea, 36:03 the Lord said to Hosea, 36:04 'go, take yourself a wife of harlotry 36:09 and the children of harlotry, 36:11 for the land has committed a great harlotry 36:14 by departing from the Lord." 36:17 Take yourself a wife of harlotry, 36:18 literally it means unfaithfulness, fornication. 36:23 Figuratively, of course, 36:24 it's referring to the idolatry and the infidelity 36:30 that was taking place with the children of Israel 36:33 because they were had turned 36:34 from worshiping their Creator God, 36:36 the one true God. 36:37 And they were turned now to worshiping false gods. 36:41 So Hosea was called to take her, 36:43 and he went 1:3, 36:44 "And took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, 36:47 and she conceived and bore him a son." 36:49 And she bore him three children, 36:51 two sons actually and a daughter. 36:53 But what we're looking at is the name 36:55 of the third son, that is in verse 9. 36:58 "Then God said call his name Lo-ammi, 37:02 for you are not my people, 37:06 and I will not be your God." 37:09 Literally, it means, Lo-ammi means not my people. 37:13 That's why Wednesday, 37:14 we're looking at Army which means my people. 37:17 But this literally means not my people. 37:20 The Book of Hosea is really about, 37:22 of course, you could say the beginning 37:23 about his love life. 37:25 But it's really an example of God's steadfast love. 37:29 If a person's love is temporary and fickle, 37:33 then unreturned love or rejection 37:35 doesn't really present any major problem. 37:38 Weak love simply finds another object 37:40 that it's gonna reach out to in love. 37:43 However when love is steadfast, 37:46 rejection and unfaithfulness cause unspeakable pain. 37:51 Amen. 37:52 Since love goes on 37:54 while the object no longer returns that love, 37:57 tremendous suffering results. 38:00 Israel's unfaithfulness caused unspeakable pain 38:05 to the heart of God. 38:07 Unspeakable anguish to his heart of steadfast love. 38:12 "You are not my people," he said. 38:16 And then we would jump 38:17 over Hosea and 2, the first part of Hosea 2. 38:23 Talks about the punishment, 38:25 Israel's going to get really what she deserves, 38:27 because she's been worshipping other gods, 38:29 other idols she has turned from God. 38:32 And there's many verbs of separation, 38:33 we won't read it. 38:35 It talks about take back, uncover, cause to cease, 38:41 destroy, punished. 38:43 Now those all sound like harsh words. 38:46 But then at verse 14 a significant shift occurs, 38:52 all of a sudden beyond all expectations. 38:57 God promises what they do not deserve. 39:01 That is verbs of healing. 39:03 "I will allure you, I will speak comfort to you, 39:07 I will give to you, I will betroth you, 39:12 I will have mercy." 39:15 And then we see the last verse of chapter 2:23 39:17 and this is what Paul is quoting 39:19 from in Hebrews 9. 39:21 "Then I will say to those who were not my people, 39:25 you are my people," there is our word army, 39:29 I don't know if I'm pronouncing it right. 39:30 "And they shall say you are my God". 39:33 So this is what Paul is quoting from, in Romans 9. 39:38 So let's go to Romans 9. 39:42 We get that picture of God's incredible love for His people 39:45 even when they turn their back, even when they rejected Him, 39:48 He said, "I will call you again, 39:50 you are my people." 39:53 Romans 9:25, 39:55 as he says also in Hosea which we just read. 39:58 "I will call them my people, who were not my people, 40:02 and her beloved who was not beloved." 40:06 And it shall come to pass in the place 40:08 where it was said to them, "You are not my people, 40:11 there they shall be called sons of the Living God." 40:17 That word for Sons, huios in the Greek adoption. 40:21 Sons by adoption or birth either one, 40:24 but it means that they will share 40:26 the nature of their father. 40:30 Now, who are the people, 40:32 and then we'll go to the next verse. 40:33 Who are the people? Who are God's people? 40:35 He says, "You are My people now." 40:37 Was he referring only to the Jewish nation? 40:39 No, because you just read verse 24, Mollie. 40:43 Go back a verse, 40:44 "Even us whom he called not of the Jews only, 40:49 but also of the gentiles." 40:51 So not just the Jewish people are called army, 40:55 My people, My sons. 40:58 Each one of us have the privilege and opportunity 41:01 to be excepted in Him. 41:04 Let's go on, verse 27. 41:07 Isaiah, now this is quoting from Isaiah. 41:09 "Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel 41:13 though the number of the children of Israel be 41:15 as the sand of the sea, the remnant shall be saved." 41:20 Now I know there are several different words 41:21 used for remnant. 41:23 This particular one, I can't pronounce it right, 41:26 hypo leipo 41:28 and it means to leave behind pass 41:31 and left surviving. 41:32 It's used twice in the New Testament. 41:34 Once here, once in Romans 11:3, 41:37 where Elijah, remember, 41:40 after the Mount Carmel experience 41:42 and then he fled from Jezebel 41:44 and he said to God, "I only I am left alone." 41:49 That's the same word that's used here. 41:51 "A remnant shall be saved." 41:54 Paul is saying, he had great sorrow of heart, 41:57 verse 2 you started with Shelley. 42:00 Romans 9:2, 42:02 "I have great sorrow 42:03 and continue a grief in my heart." 42:04 Why did he have sorrow? Why was there grief? 42:07 I think one of the reasons he had sorrow was 42:09 because God's people, 42:12 the Jewish people had turned away, 42:14 had rejected Jesus as the Messiah. 42:17 They had turned away from this gospel 42:20 that the Christians were trying to bring to them. 42:24 They had turned away from them. 42:26 So he had this sorrow of heart that they had turned away. 42:30 But the encouraging thing is the remnant will be saved. 42:32 We are called to take the gospel message to everyone, 42:36 to a lost and dying world. 42:38 It reminds me of Revelation 14. 42:40 I think we have time just to turn there. 42:42 Revelation 14:6, 42:45 the first of the three angels' messages. 42:48 Revelation 14:6, John's writing, 42:52 "I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 42:54 having the everlasting gospel to preach to those 42:57 who dwell on the earth." 42:58 And who does he preached to? 43:00 Who was called to be God's people, 43:03 to every nation, tribe, 43:05 tongue and people and then it continues on. 43:09 "Fear God and give glory to Him 43:10 for the hour of his judgment is come." 43:12 So the promise is that there will be a remnant. 43:15 There will be a group of people 43:18 who love the Lord Jesus with all their heart. 43:20 And that He can look at them and say, 43:22 "Army, you are My people. 43:25 You have not gone after other gods, 43:28 you have not turned away to idolatry," 43:31 or to be honest 43:32 we all have turned away to idolatry, 43:33 "But you have repented. 43:35 You have turned back to me." 43:37 And now God looking down can say, 43:40 "You are My people." 43:41 Amen. Wow. 43:43 Pastor John. Thank you all. 43:44 I've been sitting here like a volcano on a very hot day 43:48 wondering well, I'm about to explode a bit. 43:50 Thank you. 43:51 This takes us now 43:52 to the single phrase stumbling, stumbling. 43:57 I want to begin in an odd place. 43:58 I want to go to John 4. 44:01 And I want to bring into the picture 44:03 that Paul has so aptly introduced. 44:07 I pointed in one of our prior studies we had, 44:09 I think a few weeks ago about the phrase husband, 44:14 your desire will be for your husband. 44:16 And then Paul introduced the very same thing, 44:19 woman who has a husband is bound by the law 44:21 to her husband as long as he lives. 44:23 But I want to show you, I want to show you 44:24 that getting to Christ is sometimes a journey, 44:29 it's not an instant jump 44:31 from super sinner to super saint. 44:34 And I want to illustrate this in John 4:16-18. 44:37 Remember, the Samaritan woman at the well 44:39 when Jesus went to visit with her. 44:41 He sent away His disciples because they had this issue 44:43 with Samaritans, 44:45 they had not yet gotten over their prejudices. 44:48 They had issues, they called those who were not Jews, dogs. 44:51 They throw the children's food to the swine. 44:54 They had issues. 44:55 So the Lord had to clear 44:56 the table to get access to a woman, 44:58 who the disciples would have scorned 45:00 had they been there in this transaction. 45:03 But Jesus bringing the issue to her 45:06 knowing that he is the water of life, 45:08 she said, "You have nothing to draw with in," 45:09 we know the whole story, 45:11 if she knew who He was then she had just said, 45:13 "Lord, give me this living water," 45:14 and she eventually did. 45:16 But when she asked for the living water, 45:17 He said something that was very instrumental 45:19 to the topic of righteousness. 45:21 He said in verse 16 of John 4. 45:24 "Jesus said to her go call your husband and come to me, 45:27 and come here. 45:29 And the woman answered and said 45:30 I have no husband. 45:31 And Jesus said to her 45:33 you have well said I have no husband, 45:35 for you have had five husbands, 45:37 and the one 45:38 whom you now have is not your husband, 45:41 and that you spoke truly." 45:43 And I thought to myself 45:44 and I was dealing with this topic 45:46 in a couple of sermons in the past. 45:47 But what the Lord is pointing out, 45:49 since we know the husband is the ruling factor, 45:52 the husband is the ruling nature, 45:54 this woman had to overcome one ruling factor in her life 45:59 after the other. 46:01 And there are many of us that come to Christ and we say, 46:04 "Okay, now what are you struggling with?" 46:05 "Well, I finally got over alcohol, 46:07 I'm dealing with the cigarettes now." 46:08 "Now what do you are struggling?" 46:09 "Well, I got rid of the cigarettes and alcohol, 46:11 now I'm dealing with lust." 46:13 "What are you struggling with now?" 46:14 "Well, I got over the alcohol, 46:16 cigarettes and lust but I'm dealing with anger." 46:17 "What are you dealing with now?" 46:18 "Well, I got over alcohol, cigarettes, anger, lust, 46:20 but I'm dealing with..." 46:22 I tell you, I just can't stand people. 46:24 All these husbands, 46:25 and we know 46:26 if you're a Christian of honesty, 46:28 you know, that the battle to be a Christian 46:30 is we've got to confront 46:31 every controlling element in our lives 46:35 and replace all those controlling elements with one 46:39 controlling element, that is Christ. 46:40 Amen? Amen. 46:42 So the woman had many husbands, she had five. 46:44 And so what I am pointing out here is 46:47 there are many obstacles 46:49 that the devil will present to us to say 46:51 that you can't really get to him. 46:53 And this woman before she found the Christ, 46:55 she had to go through five husbands 46:57 and finally was able to declare, 46:58 "I finally found a man, come see a man." 47:01 And for those who knew that she was familiar with men, 47:04 they recognized something different in her, 47:06 and as we know the story 47:07 the entire town came to see Christ 47:09 because of the testimony of a woman. 47:11 And here's the connection. 47:13 When Jesus becomes the husband of our lives, 47:15 witnessing for Him would not be an issue. 47:18 That's true. 47:19 When Jesus becomes the husband of our lives, 47:21 all the distractions that kept us 47:23 from introducing Him to others will instantly evaporate, 47:27 and the things that we embrace the most 47:29 will be willing to lay down. 47:30 She left her waterpot. 47:32 And so the question I would ask as I go into the topic 47:35 of this issue of lineage because the problem here, 47:38 the Jews and the gentiles, there was an issue here, 47:40 the Jews never saw the gentiles 47:43 as worthily connected to any father. 47:46 But they saw themselves as God is our father, 47:48 He's not yours. 47:50 So let's look at Romans 9:30-32, 47:53 "Whatever is between us and the Lord 47:54 must be laid down," 47:56 and when she found Jesus she left her waterpot. 47:59 And lineage was no longer the issue 48:00 because she talked about 48:02 the well-being inheritance of Jacob, her father. 48:06 Verse 30 of Romans 9, 48:09 "What shall we say then that gentiles 48:11 who did not pursue righteousness 48:13 have attained righteousness 48:14 even the righteousness of faith, 48:16 but Israel pursuing the law of righteousness 48:18 has not attained to the law of righteousness. 48:21 Why? 48:22 Because they did not seek it by faith. 48:24 But as it were by the works of the law 48:28 for they stumble at that stumbling stone." 48:32 Well, the problem was they were trying to pursue 48:36 their destiny without the vehicle of Christ. 48:39 You cannot pursue your destiny without the vehicle. 48:42 We've got to use the vehicle to accomplish our destiny. 48:45 They saw the letter, but they didn't see the Christ. 48:50 They embraced and fell in love with the letter, 48:53 but they did not see the Christ. 48:54 And here's the caution, 48:56 because we are a people 48:57 that honor the commandments of God, 48:59 The Ten Commandments of God, 49:00 we cannot allow the commandments of God 49:02 to be our boast. 49:03 Amen. Amen. 49:04 Not one, not the first four, not the last six. 49:07 We cannot allow any one of those 49:09 whom we proclaim with great endearment, 49:13 I don't want to use the word pride, 49:15 but we proclaim our allegiance to the commandments of God, 49:18 keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus. 49:21 Now the Jews would have said the same thing, 49:22 we keep the commandments of God, 49:24 but they didn't have the faith of Jesus, 49:25 they rejected the Christ. 49:27 Jesus is the vehicle. 49:29 Our destiny can only be accomplished 49:31 through Jesus who is the vehicle. 49:33 Not relegating Him, 49:35 but He became the stumbling stone, 49:38 because they didn't want Him, they wanted the righteousness. 49:42 But you cannot get the righteousness of the law. 49:45 And I want to make it very clear, 49:47 the righteousness of faith is not separate 49:50 from the law of righteousness. 49:54 Did you get that? 49:55 The righteousness that is by faith 49:57 is not separate from the law of righteousness, 50:00 they are both together. 50:01 But the Jews wanted one without the other. 50:04 The gentiles pursued the righteousness of faith 50:08 that enabled them to live in harmony 50:11 with the law of righteousness. 50:16 Now 2 Corinthians 3:4-6, 50:18 I want to bring another point out. 50:21 This was the focus of the Jews, 50:22 I'm gonna go to the end of verse 6. 50:25 2 Corinthians 3? 2 Corinthians 3:4-6. 50:29 Go down to verse 6, just very quickly because... 50:32 Well, let me read the whole thing 50:34 because it's context. 50:35 "And we have such trust through Christ toward God 50:37 not that we are sufficient of ourselves 50:39 to think of anything 50:41 as being from ourselves but our sufficiency is from God 50:45 who also made us efficient as ministers 50:49 of the new covenant not of the letter, 50:51 but of the Spirit. 50:53 For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 50:56 Now, the letter kills. 50:59 We would think well... 51:01 Whether we make the Ten Commandments 51:02 the letter or the moral 51:04 or the ceremonial law the letter, 51:06 what is being said here 51:08 is anything you try to accomplish outside of Christ 51:12 will only bring death. 51:14 Yes. 51:16 Anything we try to attain outside of the power 51:18 that is residing through Christ 51:20 is going to produce only death. 51:23 Because life is in Christ, 51:24 life is not in the law whether it is what is that, 51:27 it is the Mosaic Law or the Moral Law, 51:30 life is not in the law, life is in Christ. 51:33 I died... Daily. 51:35 And Christ is the one who lives in me. 51:38 I died and I've said to people before, 51:40 I've never gone to a funeral where I've seen the person 51:43 that has died follow me home. 51:45 But let's go even deeper than that. 51:47 The Jews claim to be the children of God. 51:50 They always said the gentiles were not. 51:52 Romans 9:6, 51:54 "But it is not that the Word of God 51:56 has taken no effect 51:58 for they are not all Israel who are of Israel." 52:00 Shelley brought that point out in her lesson study, 52:02 but let's go on, 52:04 how do you become children of God? 52:06 And I want to go back to this very short journey 52:08 but very imperative one. 52:10 But as many as received Him to them 52:12 make a power to become 52:13 the sons of God or the children of God 52:16 not only receiving him, but Romans 8:14, 52:19 "For as many as are led by the Spirit." 52:21 It's not enough to just receive Christ, 52:24 but the day to day journey is He leading us in our lives? 52:28 Because that's a powerful thing 52:30 because after Jesus submitted to the will of the Father, 52:34 remember the Bible says, 52:35 "He was led by the Spirit 52:37 into the wilderness to be tempted." 52:38 Now this is huge. 52:40 When you are led by the Spirit 52:42 you are not in control of the circumstances 52:44 that he leads you in, 52:46 but because you are led by the Spirit 52:47 He will never lead you into any circumstance 52:50 that is too great for you 52:52 to overcome by the power of God. 52:54 He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 52:56 So if you are led by the Spirit, 52:57 here's the point, 52:59 don't try to tell the spirit where to lead you 53:01 even if it's in difficult circumstances 53:03 He never lead you where he does not keep you. 53:05 True. 53:07 And because He leads us, 53:09 the spirit now testifies 53:10 that we are the sons and daughters of God. 53:12 Very carefully, 1 John 3:1, 53:16 "Behold what manner of love the Father bestows on us 53:18 that we should be called the Children of God." 53:20 Now here's the point I want to bring out 53:22 as I end on this whole note. 53:23 The Jews claim to be the children 53:24 but they reject the Christ, so they are not the children. 53:27 The Gentiles didn't claim to be the children, 53:28 but they accepted the Christ and became the children, 53:30 grafted in. 53:31 Now we may not look like the children of God now, 53:34 but he said, it has not... 53:35 "Don't be discouraged, it has not yet been revealed 53:37 where you shall be but the joy is, 53:39 but when I am revealed you're gonna be just like me." 53:43 So here's my encouragement to you. 53:45 Don't be discouraged but make this decision 53:48 because he has purified us 53:50 we will daily walk in the spirit 53:52 to maintain that purity, 53:55 that one day we will become in vision 53:57 and in physical nature, 53:59 and in character children of God eternally. 54:02 Amen. Amen. 54:03 Children of the promise, 54:04 what a blessing the writings of Paul are. 54:08 Thank you very much, that was very good John. 54:11 I think that 54:12 what I'd like to do is give you each 54:15 just about 30 seconds or so 30 to 45 seconds, 54:20 and kind of put a little bow tie 54:22 on your day. 54:24 If I had to say anything about mine 54:26 that I had left out it would be this, 54:29 that God does not make any man evil. 54:34 You know, God does not make any man evil. 54:37 He, in fact, restrains men from evil. 54:42 But when a man persist in his evil ways, 54:47 then God lifts his restraint 54:49 and that man's heart becomes hardened. 54:52 Mercy is beyond, it's too late at that point, 54:56 his heart becomes hardened. 54:58 So we just want to make sure 55:00 that we understand the character of God. 55:02 CA, how about a bow on yours? 55:04 The greatest thing you can do in your life 55:09 is find God's will for your life. 55:12 And then function in that will. 55:15 God has selected something for each of us to do. 55:19 Spend your time finding that, 55:21 and then spend the rest of your days 55:23 doing that. 55:24 Amen. Mollie. 55:26 When you're tempted, 55:27 if you're ever tempted to question God 55:31 to think like people do sometimes, 55:36 when there's a big storm, they call them acts of God. 55:40 To question, to blame God in a situation, 55:43 just remember God's character is one of trust worthiness. 55:47 You can trust him, 55:49 he is always faithful, he's always true, 55:52 he will never do anything 55:54 that isn't designed to redeem you 55:56 and to draw you to Him. 55:58 Amen. 55:59 You might be feeling like you are lo-ammi, 56:02 not God's people, like, you drifted far from Him, 56:05 you're serving over other idols, 56:07 other gods but God says, 56:09 "Come back, come back home to me. 56:12 I love you with an everlasting love, 56:14 and right now 56:15 I want you to become my son and daughter." 56:18 That's right. 56:19 And simply by the right action of the will, 56:21 we align ourselves with the power 56:23 that is far more capable 56:26 of making us sons and daughters of God. 56:29 By the right action of the will, 56:30 we yield up our will to Christ. 56:32 We now partake of the divine power. 56:35 So I don't have to look for the will of God, 56:38 I got to simply accept Christ and he works in me both to will 56:42 and to do of His good pleasure. 56:44 Decide today to simply yield your will, 56:48 to the controlling 56:49 and changing powerful will of the Father. 56:53 Amen and amen. 56:54 Praise God once again for this wonderful study, 56:57 Salvation by Faith Alone, 56:59 as we go through the book of Romans, 57:01 and we pray that you will 57:03 join us again next week, same time. 57:05 You know these are also on Youtube, 57:07 so let people know, 57:08 they can watch them on Youtube. 57:10 Our prayer for you 57:11 is that the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 57:14 the love of the Father 57:15 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:17 will be with you today and always. 57:20 God bless you. Join us again. |
Revised 2023-11-22