The Road to Romans!
We cant
have everything our way
Romans 9:25–33 (ESV)
25As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my
people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call
‘beloved.’ ”
26“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You
are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”
27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the
number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them
will be saved,
28for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the
earth fully and without delay.”
29And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not
left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not
pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by
faith;
31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to
righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as
if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
33as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone
of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be
put to shame.”
As I sit in my office and reflect on the events of the last few days, I
can’t help but ask, what is your plan? And as I gather my thoughts and but them
on paper, God is speaking to my heart, Saying its all right in front of you! You
are a seed, a seed of my chosen people. Yes, times are difficult, but I am merely
separating the chaff fro the wheat. Preparing all of the earth to receive me.
My heart is heavy, my thoughts are with those in Paris and the world as
we mourn the loss and sift through the destruction, but as I cling to Gods
word, I know he has a plan for us all!
God has seeds, what Paul is saying is there are only a remnant, a handful
of seeds that come out of his original people. And from those seeds more will
be planted, and his people will be spread among the whole earth! And all this
ties to Jesus!
So as his seeds, we are to continue to plant, to sow for the harvest. Until
he returns.
God has always had
a plan to save all
25As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my
people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call
‘beloved.’ ”
26“And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You
are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’ ”
·
God has always
had a plan to save all who Believe!
·
God never
intended to leave anyone out!
·
We are all his
children, we all come form the same Adam and Eve
·
And the Jews
people got so arrogant that they thought that God only wanted them!
·
And so do a lot
of Christians!
o
We want to hide
him for ourselves
o
Making it to difficult
for people to come in
o
We make dress
codes
o
And come up
with our own language
o
We put up walls
that no one cam climb!
o
Jesus said this
to the very people we as a church have become!
Matthew
23:13–36 (ESV)
13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you
neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in.
23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the
weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you
ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
25“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they
are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside
of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear
beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.
28So you also outwardly appear righteous to
others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
33You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are
you to escape being sentenced to hell?
36Truly, I say to you, all these things will
come upon this generation.
What have we become!?!?!
·
Let’s learn
from history
o Lets stop being like the Jews who turned a blind eye
to gods word
·
We can be a beacon
a light mike no other time
·
The world
around us needs a savior!
·
We are his
seeds! Let’s spread the seed while the ground is good and in need!
God choose to save
some seeds!
27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the
number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them
will be saved,
28for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the
earth fully and without delay.”
29And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not
left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”
The prophet speaks volumes as to Gods intent with Israel
·
Yes, the seeds
of Abraham would be many only a few would be saved!
·
And God carried
out his sentence
·
That only a few
would remain
·
They fulfilled their
role and God gave them all a choice
·
Live by faith
or die by religion
·
That has always
been the message, but they chose not to here
·
Don’t we all
o We all want a
easy fix
o the fast track
o the less painful way
·
but being a
follower by faith is not easy
But God saved a few seeds
·
or we would all
be treated like Sodom and Gomorrah
o destroyed wiped off the face of the earth
·
as I was
reading Isaiah 1 I’m wondering is
that how God feels today?
o Paul use a harsh scripture to get their attention
o And I think Christians today need to here the same
harsh words!
Read Isaiah
1: 9-??
·
God is tired of
all the stuff we are hanging on to
·
The buildings
·
the ceremonies
·
the holier than
thou attitudes
·
its time to get
real
o with ourselves
o with the world
·
we need to show
the world who God is through his broken people
o we aren’t perfect
o we are sinners, save by the grace of God
·
Lets get out of
the building and in to the fight!
o Lets take this fight to where it is
o To the lost people looking for answers
o And it starts right where you live
§ Your family and friends
§ Your coworkers
§ Your community!
Faith in Jesus is
the key to Salvation!
30What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not
pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by
faith;
31but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to
righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
·
The gentiles
had no bad habits
·
No old ways to
get in the way
·
The Jews had
laws added on to laws
·
And after a
while it became their stumbling block
·
The law didn’t save
them, and our rules wont save us
·
Only Jesus can!
We do the same thing
·
We lose the
very thing that saved us
·
Our faith
·
We start to
make it about what we do
·
We start look
at the world as if we are better
·
Like God loves
us more
·
We forget the
very state he found us in
·
We as a nation
and a people are spoiled
·
We need to get
back to basics
·
Back to the
feeling we first felt when God saved us
o Broken
o Humble
o Meek
o Aw struck
o Bewildered as to why God would save a sorry sinner
line me!
Jesus is the rock for some and the stumbling block
for others
32Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as
if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
33as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to
shame.”
Jesus is the rock of offense to some
Isaiah 8:14 (ESV)
14And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense
and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
·
There is no
other way to heaven than through Jesus
·
And to some
that is offensive
·
To the Jews the
coming of the living God (Jesus), was their biggest stumbling block
·
God said it 700
years before he came
·
They had waited
so long for him to come, to prove that they were the chosen
·
And didn’t see
him
·
Because they weren’t
the chose, the carriers of the word yes, but all who believed were chosen
·
And many of us
are caught in the same trap
o
We say
§
We are better
§
We are Gods
people and you aren’t
§
Look at our
rules
§
Look at our
buildings
§
You can’t come
in
o
And we are as
lost as they are
o
We have lost
our way
But to some he is the ROCK!
Isaiah 28:16 (ESV)
16therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in
Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
·
To the humble
·
The meek
·
The broken
·
The faithful believers
in Jesus Christ
·
He is the rock
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