Saturday, January 23, 2016

Sermon Notes 1-24-2016

The Road to Romans 2016!
Because he showed us mercy we need to show others mercy




Romans 11:25–36 (NLT)
25I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.
26And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
27And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”
28Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
29For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.
30Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead.
31Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy.
32For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
33Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
34For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?
35And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?
36For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.



So know, Paul is summing up chapters 9-11 in his letter to the church in Roman. You can tell he is in pain over the fact that his fellow Jews have missed the great gift of Christ, that in the arrogance they have set them selves center stage and missed that its always and will always be about God, and the good news that his son Jesus brought to us. And this is the summation of what Paul wants to see for his brothers and that we should never count God out.



A very misunderstood set of verses!
25I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.
26And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
27And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”
28Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
·      This set of verses are very confusing
·      Is he saying no matter what all of Israel gets in, no matter what??
·      No he is saying God has given them the same gift of grace
·      Of mercy
·      And if they by faith will find Jesus, they will be forgiven

How easy is it for us to start looking down our nose??
·      At those in the church that have lost there ways??
·      It would be easy!
·      We can’t, we can never, ever forget where we came from
·      And continue to show the same grace we were given through Jesus!!




We can’t forget where we were when Jesus saved us!!
30Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead.
My testimony
I can relate to the story of Israel
·      As a kid, I found Jesus
·      With the help of the most amazing Godly woman
·      Until I was around 13 or 14
·      And I rebelled, hard
·      Drugs
·      Theft
·      You name it I did it
·      It was the 70’s

Then in 90’s I found myself sitting in the parking lot of a church one Sunday morning
·      Broken
·      Tore apart
·      Never finding the hole filler in my heart that Jesus once filled
·      And another amazing Woman helped me in that parking lot
·      And I went in a reconnected with Jesus!!

And yet again I rebelled
·      God was blessing me
·      I found the woman of my dreams
·      And yet a little money and fame
·      And I was right back where I was
·      But he never gave up
·      He let me fall
·      And when I thought there was no hope
·      That I had finally pissed off God, and he washed his hands

I found myself yet again wanting God back in my life
·      And another great woman
·      Helped me find my way back
·      And I have never turned back!

And Paul is saying God will do the same over and over again, if he wants you he will have you!!!

We never forget and so we always show mercy!
31Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy.
32For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.
·      We can never forget where we came from
·      How we got here
·      We have to continue to show mercy
·      Both in and out of the church
·      Nothing makes me mad like seeing a “Christian” with the attitude
o   I want it my way
o   I want it free
o   And I don’t want to contribute to make it happen!
·      I see it all the time
·      Everything that happens in this church is done through volunteers
·      And people complain if its not done right to there liking!!
o   Then get in the game and help!!

One more rant!!
·      You are not better than anyone else
·      We are all disobedient
·      We all sin
·      The only reason your going to heaven is JESUS
·      Is the MERCY OF THE CROSS!

Ok I’m done!!




How great is the God we serve!?!?!?!?
33Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!
·      We will never understand why God does what he does
Isaiah 55:8–9 (NLT)
8“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
·      We need to trust him
·      That he is great and wise
·      That he has all knowledge
·      That he is the giver and taker of life

34For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?
·      We need to stop trying to out think God
·      Stop putting our self in little “G” position
·      We have to stop using him as a peez dispenser
·      And start falling on our face and listening through his word and each other
·      We need to be obedient not, expect God to be obedient to us!
·      We must never for get we serve him!

35And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?
·      Why do we think God owes us anything?
·      He gave us a free gift
·      The greatest gift in the world
John 3:16 (NLT)
16“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
·      If that’s all God ever does, its more than we deserve
·      There is nothing we can do to put him in a position that he owes us at all!





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