Participants: Alex Schlussler
Series Code: AOT
Program Code: AOT000109
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00:13 Welcome to Anchors Of Truth, live from Plantation, Florida.
00:17 God Never Gives Up, with Alex Schlussler. 00:22 Well welcome, we are with you live. 00:25 And we have a beautiful congregation here today. 00:28 - Don't we, C.A. - Indeed we do. 00:30 I'm C.A. Murray, this is Jim Gilley. 00:32 We are in the Plantation Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:34 And this is a beautiful church. 00:37 And the building ain't bad either. 00:41 No, it really isn't. 00:42 What a congregation. 00:44 And they've been singing and praising God here. 00:47 This is the second service. 00:48 The first service was full, second service is full. 00:51 And we know that God is doing a great work 00:56 right here in Plantation, Florida. 00:57 The pastor told me that the church has grown exponentially, 01:01 dare I say, in the past several years. 01:03 And this is a good looking group of Seventh-day Adventists, 01:06 and guests, and friends. 01:08 And we've had a wonderful time these past several evenings 01:10 in our Anchors Of Truth. 01:12 We have, we've been so warmly received. 01:15 And the messages have been so clear. 01:18 We're getting a lot of response from around the world 01:22 with people saying, "Wow, I never looked at it 01:25 that way before." 01:27 And they're finding out a whole different way to look 01:31 at how God, through His people, transferred to a remnant 01:37 of His people, who were those at Pentecost. 01:40 They were still His Jewish, His chosen people. 01:44 They didn't go off and grab somebody somewhere else. 01:47 These were all Jewish people. 01:49 The remnant; that which was left over. 01:52 Not the official, but the remnant. 01:54 And they went forward and covered 01:58 the whole world with the message. 02:00 You know, Jim, I think we found during these past several days 02:02 that God didn't cut the tree down. 02:04 He grafted in others. 02:05 And that has been made so very, very plain. 02:08 When we put this Anchors together, you remember, 02:10 at ASI back in October, we knew God was 02:12 doing something special. 02:13 But these messages have been fabulous. 02:16 They've given us a new perspective on the 02:17 Christian work, the Jewish work, and how the two are 02:20 inextricably intertwined, dare I say, 02:24 and you can't separate the two. 02:25 One grows out of the other. 02:27 And when we see Seventh-day Adventists, we see 02:30 that completed Messiah. 02:33 We see the Messiah completed. 02:35 We see Sabbath keeping Christians who 02:38 believe in the second coming and who follow God's Bible 02:43 from Genesis to Revelation. 02:46 And we feel that Seventh-day Adventists, we are the 02:49 completed Jew. 02:50 Because we have the Messiah; 02:53 Jesus Christ our Lord, our God, and our Savior. 02:56 Amen to that? 02:57 Amen, alright. 02:58 And we need to tell the church today, 02:59 we like your pastor. 03:01 - Yes we do. - We really do. 03:03 And we hope you like your pastor. 03:06 But we really do. 03:07 He's been so gracious to invite us to his church. 03:09 He's been warm, he's a good preacher, 03:11 he's a singer; what a show off. 03:12 He preaches, he sings, he does it all. 03:16 And we like your pastor's wife. 03:18 She is a wonderful person, and a real Christian. 03:23 And we've enjoyed, she's made us feel very welcome here. 03:26 Amen, amen, amen. 03:27 Well listen, we are going to have some good music 03:32 in a moment, and then Pastor Alex is going to preach 03:35 his message; God Never Gives Up. 03:38 And we're looking forward to that. 03:41 Why don't you lead us in pray, would you. 03:43 Shall we bow our heads in prayer. 03:46 Gracious Father, we just bask in the sunshine of Your love. 03:51 We thank You, Lord, for the call that brought us 03:53 from darkness to light, from error to truth, 03:57 from the broad way to the narrow way 04:02 that leads us safely home. 04:05 We ask again that you will be the honored Guest, 04:08 that You will bless the speaker of the morning. 04:11 He who has been used in times past, use him 04:15 again this day, Lord. 04:16 Not just to preach a word, but to preach the Word; 04:22 to give us the truth, the whole truth, 04:25 and nothing but the truth, as it is in Christ Jesus. 04:30 And we promise You, Lord, we will listen, 04:33 we will hear, we will obey, and we will follow 04:39 if You will just lead. 04:42 So bless Pastor Alex, bless the Praise Team that shall sing. 04:47 Be our honored Guest and give us Your blessing. 04:52 We thank You, Lord, and we praise You. 04:55 In Jesus' name, amen. 04:57 Our Plantation Praise Team is going to sing for us, 05:01 Wonderful, Merciful Savior. 05:05 And then after that, the next voice that you will hear 05:07 will be the voice of Pastor Alex Schlussler. 05:11 And he will be speaking on the subject, God Never Gives Up. 05:42 Wonderful, merciful Savior; 05:49 precious Redeemer and Friend. 05:56 Who would have thought that a Lamb could 06:03 rescue the souls of men. 06:08 Oh, You rescue the souls of men. 06:20 Counselor, Comforter, Keeper; 06:26 Spirit we long to embrace. 06:33 You offer hope when our hearts have 06:40 hopelessly lost our way. 06:45 Oh, we hopelessly lost our way. 06:54 You are the One that we praise; 07:00 You are the One we adore. 07:07 You give the healing and grace our 07:14 hearts always hunger for. 07:19 Oh, our hearts always hunger for. 07:31 Almighty, infinite Father; 07:37 faithfully loving Your own. 07:44 Here in our weakness You find us 07:51 falling before Your throne. 07:56 Oh, we're falling before Your throne. 08:04 You are the One that we praise; 08:10 You are the One we adore. 08:17 You give the healing and grace our 08:23 hearts always hunger for. 08:28 Oh, our hearts always hunger for. 08:36 You are the One that we praise; 08:43 You are the One we adore. 08:49 You give the healing and grace our 08:55 hearts always hunger for. 09:00 Oh, our hearts always hunger for. 09:17 Thank you, worship team. 09:19 Happy Sabbath, church. 09:21 You look marvelous today. 09:24 Once again, I want to say just a heartfelt "thank you" to 09:28 Jim, C.A., and the whole 3ABN staff. 09:31 You have just been a joy to work with 09:33 over these last several days. 09:35 I'm going to hate to see when you guys leave. 09:37 I think this is something we could get use to, 09:39 reaching out to the whole world every Sabbath. 09:42 Amen? 09:44 We're going to get right into it this morning. 09:45 So if you have your Bibles, which I hope you do, 09:49 please open them up to Romans chapter 11 09:52 and verse 11. 09:55 Romans chapter 11 verse 11. 09:57 You know, if you have your iPad, your Smartphone, whatever, 10:00 that works too, that you can follow along. 10:05 You know, as you're finding your place, Romans 11 10:08 beginning at verse 11:1, I had an interesting thought 10:10 hit me this week. 10:12 You know, most of you that come to the church on any 10:14 regular basis, you know that I'm a real fan of technology. 10:17 I preach from my iPad, and so on. 10:19 But this week, God really started touching my heart 10:23 about putting down my iPad sometimes and just 10:26 picking up a Bible. 10:28 You know what I'm talking about? 10:29 The actual book. 10:31 Do you remember what that looks like? 10:33 God started speaking to me about that. 10:35 You know, I have a beautiful reading chair in my office, 10:38 and just to take time in the morning and to not 10:41 read the Bible on my iPad. 10:43 Not that there's something wrong with that, 10:44 but something about holding the Word of God 10:47 in your hand in a book. 10:49 And you know, by the way, should the Lord come back 10:53 in our time, you know, there may be a time 10:55 when it's kind of hard to come by electricity. 10:58 And you know what happens to these things 10:59 when there's no electricity? 11:01 They become a paper weight. 11:03 Right? Amen. 11:05 Romans 11 beginning at verse 11. 11:09 It's Paul speaking. 11:10 "So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? 11:15 By no means. 11:17 Rather through their trespass salvation has come 11:21 to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 11:26 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, 11:30 and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, 11:33 how much more will their full inclusion mean." 11:39 Amen? 11:40 He goes on in verse 13, and he says, 11:43 "Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. 11:46 Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, 11:51 I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my 11:56 fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 12:02 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, 12:07 what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 12:13 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, 12:16 so is the whole lump. 12:17 And if the root is holy, so are the branches." 12:21 Verse 17, "But if some of the branches were broken off, 12:26 and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in 12:29 among the others and now share in the nourishing root 12:33 of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. 12:38 If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, 12:43 but the root who supports you. 12:47 Then you will say, 'Branches were broken off 12:51 so that I might be grafted in.' 12:53 That is true. 12:55 They were broken off because of their unbelief, 12:58 but you stand fast through faith. 13:01 So do not become proud, but fear. 13:04 For if God did not spare the natural branches, 13:07 neither will He spare you. 13:12 Note the kindness and the severity of God: 13:14 severity toward those who have fallen, 13:17 but God's kindness to you, provided you 13:19 continue in His kindness. 13:22 Otherwise you too will be cut off." 13:27 Wow. 13:28 You know, Paul is writing to the Romans here in this chapter 11. 13:33 And he's writing to a congregation that consists 13:37 primarily of Gentile Christians. 13:40 There are Jewish Christians, I'm sure, that are part 13:43 of this congregation. 13:45 But Paul is writing to a church where Gentile Christians 13:48 happen to be the majority. 13:51 And he is teaching them a correct understanding 13:54 of how God deals with both Jews and Gentiles 13:59 in terms of their salvation. 14:03 So I want to look at this passage now and bring up 14:07 several points that I think help us to, not just 14:10 understand what Paul is saying, but how do we take what 14:13 Paul is saying and apply it to our life in these times as well. 14:17 Amen? 14:18 And by the way, you can say amen. 14:20 Okay? 14:22 First, Paul teaches us that God's plan of salvation 14:26 is gracious. 14:28 You should have got a big amen about that, right? 14:31 Look what Paul does. 14:32 He begins by asking a question here in verse 11 14:35 right at the beginning. 14:36 "So I ask, did they..." 14:38 The "they" is Israel, the Jewish people. 14:40 "...did they stumble in order that they might fall?" 14:44 And he answers, "By no means." 14:48 Now you may be expecting him to say, "Well yes, of course. 14:53 Israel stumbled over the stumbling stone. 14:56 They fell. 14:57 Yes, they did finally fall. 15:00 God is done with them." 15:04 Paul, his answer is exactly the opposite 15:08 of what you may expect. 15:10 He says, "No, God did it for that purpose. 15:15 And he isn't finished with His people." 15:19 On the contrary, he continues, Paul said that God's purpose 15:23 in sending His Son into the world and being rejected 15:27 by His people, as well as sending the apostles 15:29 into the world, was that the gospel, though it was being 15:33 largely rejected by the Jewish people, 15:36 would be able to bring salvation to the nations. 15:40 To the Gentiles. 15:42 Amen? 15:44 But listen, church, that's not where Paul stops. 15:48 Salvation has not only come to the Gentiles, 15:52 it has also made Israel jealous. 15:56 See, Paul's point is this; the conversion of the Gentiles 16:00 itself has a view to the evangelism of the Jews. 16:05 Now you say, or at least someone is going to say, 16:09 "You know, that's all good, pastor. 16:12 And it's interesting. 16:14 But what in the world does that have to do 16:16 with my day by day walk with Jesus?" 16:21 Well the answer is this. 16:25 See, God uses the severest of judgments 16:28 for the purpose of His grace. 16:31 When we see, for instance, Christians martyred 16:34 in other lands, we need to remember that God 16:37 uses the blood of the martyrs for His own gracious purposes. 16:42 When we experience hard times in our lives... 16:45 And we will. Amen? 16:48 ...we need to remember that God's gracious purposes 16:51 are always at work. 16:53 Even in the hardest of circumstances. 16:59 You know, I know that I have learned this, 17:03 because so many times in my own life 17:06 God has brought me out of a situation that seemed hopeless. 17:10 That I seemed utterly lost in the midst of it. 17:14 And somehow, by His grace and grace alone, 17:17 I was able to walk through that situation. 17:20 Amen? 17:21 Next, Paul speaks that the salvation of the Jews 17:26 is a blessing for the Gentile believers. 17:29 Wow, did you really say that, Paul? 17:32 See, Paul repeats himself so as to be understood. 17:35 He says, both in verse 12 and verse 15, 17:39 "Now if their trespass means riches for the world, 17:42 and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, 17:46 how much more will their full inclusion mean." 17:51 "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, 17:55 what will their acceptance mean..." 17:57 And he puts it this way, "...but life from death?" 18:03 See, Paul's argument is that if it was a blessing 18:07 to the Gentiles that Israel, by and large... 18:10 Now remember, we know that not all of Israel, not all the Jews, 18:15 rejected Jesus. 18:16 Amen? 18:17 In fact, tens of thousands of them came to know Jesus. 18:22 In fact, the early church as we know it was nothing but Jews 18:27 in the beginning. 18:28 So when someone comes along to you and says, 18:30 "Oh, the Jews rejected Jesus." 18:31 No, no, no, no, no. 18:32 Some did. 18:34 Just as some people of all tribe, tongue, and nation 18:37 have rejected Jesus. 18:41 Paul is saying that God, His works of grace 18:44 in the presence and future are going to be greater 18:47 than His works of grace in the past. 18:50 And I just want to say hallelujah to that. 18:53 I want to see God's grace greater every moment. 18:57 Amen? 18:59 You know, this is an important lesson for you and I to learn. 19:02 We often have the idea, or people will have the 19:04 tendency to say that the greatest things 19:06 were done in the past. 19:08 "Those were the good ole days." 19:10 No, no, no, no. 19:11 These are the good days. 19:14 God's grace is new every morning. 19:16 We don't have to look back to what was and go, 19:19 "Wow, that was so good." 19:21 Amen? 19:23 We often have the idea that the greatest things that were done, 19:27 they were done in the past. 19:28 And God's grace is going to eclipse even the future glory 19:34 as it gets better and better and better till the return of Jesus. 19:40 Especially for those who trust and believe in Jesus. 19:43 His grace is just going to continue to pour out upon us. 19:47 Amen? 19:49 The apostle Paul, he's saying this; 19:50 God's work of grace in the future is going to eclipse 19:54 what he has done in the past. 19:58 I like that. 19:59 Thank you for that, Paul. 20:02 Now, there's many practical applications to this passage. 20:05 But one of them is clearly that this passage ought to move 20:09 you and I, Christians, to a practical love 20:13 for Jewish people. 20:16 Come on now. 20:19 Even as we ought to love all people for their salvation. 20:24 This passage doesn't teach us that we have to take, 20:27 now listen, it doesn't teach us that we have to take a 20:29 particular stance with regard to the modern 20:32 nation state of Israel. 20:35 I'm not talking about politics. 20:37 I'm talking about people. 20:38 It certainly says that we must have in our heart 20:41 a longing to see the salvation of God come to the Jews. 20:49 And other people groups as well. 20:51 Of course. 20:52 Second, I want to say, by way of I guess 20:56 practical application here, that God has designed the 21:00 salvation of His people in such a way that the salvation 21:04 of each serves the interest of others. 21:07 So what do I mean by that? 21:09 The Jewish people, they rejected Messiah. 21:11 Some Jewish people rejected Messiah. 21:13 But you know, the sad thing is that as time moved away 21:16 from the first century, more and more Jews began 21:19 to reject Messiah. 21:21 Not those that were there at ground zero, 21:24 because there were many Jews that believed. 21:26 But as time went on, more and more Jews 21:29 rejected all the way up to today. 21:31 And listen, don't take this personal, 21:34 but the body of Christ, the church, has had 21:37 more to do with that than anything. 21:39 Okay? 21:40 And it's how the relationship with God and the Jews 21:44 has been perceived, and anti-Semitism. 21:46 And on and on it has gone. 21:48 And the thing is, is that in turning against that 21:52 people group in the name of Jesus, that has turned them 21:55 away from Jesus. 21:58 This is what I'm talking about. 22:00 The Jewish people, they rejected Messiah. 22:02 And that resulted in conversion of the Gentiles. 22:05 That's the good news. 22:06 That's what Paul is saying. 22:08 Which in turn resulted in what? 22:11 A blessing to Israel. 22:13 That's what is suppose to happen. 22:15 You know, it's kind of like imagining that if you 22:18 stood in front of a pond of clear smooth flat water, 22:23 and you threw a pebble into the middle of the pond, 22:26 what would happen? 22:27 You would watch the ripples go out. 22:29 We have to imagine that pebble hitting the water was like 22:32 Jesus in the first century. 22:34 And the ripples began to go out away from Jerusalem, 22:37 away from the Jewish people. 22:38 But what happens when those ripples hit 22:41 the edge of the pond? 22:42 What happens? 22:44 Don't they bounce and start coming back? 22:47 And that's what we're seeing now. 22:49 That the ripples of the gospel is now beginning 22:52 to come back to the center of the pond. 22:56 You know, I find it amazing that the blessing for one 22:59 rebounds to the benefit of the other. 23:02 When you are being moved on by Jesus, 23:06 when you are blessed, then others around you 23:09 will in turn be blessed. 23:11 When we testify at how God has worked in our life, 23:15 it affects other people's faith. 23:18 And in turn, they're blessed. 23:20 Amen? 23:22 See, that's the way it should be. 23:26 Your salvation blesses me. 23:28 Your salvation encourages me. 23:31 It strengthens me. 23:32 I benefit from your walk with Jesus. 23:35 My salvation, in turn, means blessing and encouragement 23:38 not just to you, but others. 23:40 That's the way it's suppose to work. 23:44 Third, Paul now talks about a proper attitude 23:48 to the Jewish people. 23:50 And what is it? 23:51 It should be that they would come to know 23:53 the Jewish Messiah. 23:55 That's a proper attitude. 23:57 It's the attitude that we should have for every people group. 24:01 But I have to say, how much more so, as Paul spoke, 24:04 for the Jewish people. 24:06 Paul says in verse 13 and 14, follow along, 24:10 "Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. 24:13 Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, 24:16 I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my 24:21 fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them." 24:25 So what is Paul saying here? 24:27 Listen, Paul is saying, "I work with everything that I have 24:32 for the salvation of the Gentiles. 24:34 Why? Because I know that as the Gentiles get saved 24:37 and they walk as Jesus walked, the Jews are going to, in turn, 24:42 become jealous that here are the Gentiles, the nations, 24:46 walking in right status with the living God of Israel. 24:49 And they want what they have." 24:53 That's what Paul is saying. 24:54 The more Gentiles come to know Jesus, the more opportunities 24:58 for the Jews, in turn, to come to know Jesus. 25:04 Paul identifies himself as apostle to the Gentiles. 25:08 But then he says, listen, "I want you to understand 25:12 that I have an empathetically pro-Jewish ministry." 25:17 In other words, when someone talks that Paul turned 25:20 against the Jews, they don't know Paul. 25:24 Okay? 25:25 That's just so convoluted as far as a message. 25:29 Paul never turned away from who he was. 25:32 Paul taught that he was a Pharisee of Pharisees. 25:35 He was a Jew to the tenth degree. 25:40 But he was a Jew that found the Messiah, 25:43 and understood that the message of the Messiah 25:46 was for all people's. 25:49 And look, make no mistake, Paul always found himself 25:52 in the synagogue preaching to the Jews. 25:55 And when he was done there, he moved on to the Gentiles. 26:00 Always. 26:03 You know, I think that when Paul talks in terms of 26:07 being pro-Jewish in his ministry, you know, 26:11 I think there would have been many, in fact I know there are 26:14 many, that see Paul as a trader. 26:17 A trader to his people as a turncoat. 26:22 I want to share with you a testimony of a Jewish believer. 26:27 This isn't mine, by the way. 26:30 Let me read this to you. 26:31 It's very powerful. 26:34 And this is quote, "When I became a Christian, 26:38 my parents rejected me. 26:40 They refused to acknowledge that I existed. 26:43 They don't correspond with me. 26:45 They don't speak with me. 26:47 But my grandmother, she still loves me. 26:50 And she'll speak to me. 26:51 So I said to my grandmother, 26:53 'Grandma, I don't understand this. 26:57 Dad, he doesn't even believe in God. 27:00 He's an atheist. 27:02 He's Jewish, ethnically, yeah, but he is an atheist. 27:07 He doesn't believe in the Torah. 27:09 He doesn't believe in the writings, 27:11 he doesn't believe in the prophets. 27:13 But I believe in all of those things. 27:16 I believe in God. 27:17 I believe in the Torah. 27:19 I believe in the writings. 27:20 I believe in the prophets. 27:23 It's just an addition that I believe that Jesus 27:28 is the Jewish Messiah. 27:30 It's the natural progression of it all. 27:33 I believe that He fulfills all of those things 27:36 that the Torah and the prophets and the writings spoke about. 27:41 So which one of us is a better Jew? 27:46 Me or dad?' 27:50 She immediately responded and said, 'Of course, your father. 27:55 Because he doesn't believe in Jesus Christ.'" 27:58 Now, you know, I heard some chuckles, but 28:01 you have to wrap your head around the impact of 28:04 what was said here in this testimony. 28:08 That the first place that a Jewish person should turn 28:11 is the last place that they ever look. 28:15 Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. 28:17 Yet you heard me share, some of you, you've heard me 28:20 in the past that growing up, I didn't even know that 28:22 Jesus was a Jew. 28:24 Now who's fault was that? 28:25 Was that my fault or was that the fault of the Christians that 28:28 knew me that never even bothered to share 28:31 the love of the Jewish Messiah with me? 28:33 And again, I'm not saying this to make you feel bad. 28:37 What was is what was. 28:38 Now it's, what are we going to do from here as we move forward? 28:41 How are we going to see this scenario differently? 28:46 Just the fact that he believed in Jesus, in the eyes of the 28:51 Jewish community, negated him from being Jewish. 28:56 That's how it is for me. 28:57 That's how it is for most Jews who become a believer. 29:00 Once you accept Jesus, in the eyes of your family 29:02 and your community, you are no longer Jewish. 29:05 You know the irony is, you can believe in 29:07 Buddha or Confucius, you can even be a practicing Satanist, 29:11 and still be accepted in the community. 29:14 But as soon as you profess Jesus, you're out. 29:19 And you have to understand why that is. 29:23 And it's all based on the history of the Christians 29:26 against the Jews. 29:29 Is it your fault? No. 29:31 But can you do something about it? 29:33 Yes. 29:34 And that's what this has been all about. 29:37 See Paul's goal was to make his fellow Jews jealous. 29:42 How did he make them jealous? 29:45 He didn't spout off Scriptures. 29:48 He didn't go and run up into their face and 29:51 "You've got to do this and you've got to..." 29:53 No, no. He believed that as Gentiles lived like 29:59 the Jewish Messiah, as they practiced Christianity 30:02 as it was suppose to be, that Jews would say, 30:05 "Wait a minute. 30:06 How do you do that? 30:08 How can you live that way?" 30:12 You see, that's what we're called to do, church. 30:15 We're not called to evangelize the Jews. 30:20 Understand that. That's not what Paul is saying. 30:23 Because we think in terms of evangelism as handing out 30:26 tracts or preaching a gospel sermon to them. 30:29 There's no context for them to even begin to receive that. 30:33 You know how you affect? 30:35 Is that you live the gospel in front of them. 30:39 That's what Paul is saying, "Provoking them to jealousy." 30:43 Paul's goal was to make his fellow Jews jealous 30:47 and to save some of them. 30:49 He knew that not every Jew would come. 30:52 Just like not every other person. 30:53 Not every Jamaican or Haitian or Norwegian or German 30:58 or Italian is going to come to know Jesus. 31:01 Look, when we get down to it, there's going to be a very small 31:04 few of people at the end in comparison to the numbers 31:07 that have lived that surrendered their heart 31:09 and walked with Jesus. 31:13 I mean, it's pretty harsh when you think how Jesus says 31:16 that there will be people that profess that they did 31:18 all these things in His name, and He's going to say, 31:20 "Depart from Me. I never knew you." 31:23 That's a hard thing to hear. 31:26 Paul is saying that we ought to have a longing for the 31:30 salvation of the Jewish people. 31:33 Listen, jealousy is not the instrument of grace. 31:37 Faith is the instrument of grace. 31:40 Paul is saying that our experience of the grace 31:43 and the promises of God ought to be in display. 31:47 They ought to be evidence to the Jewish people 31:52 so that they desire to have the same thing. 31:57 When people see the grace of God and the love of Jesus 32:01 flowing out in somebody's life, they want that same thing. 32:05 Listen, I am so fully convinced that not only Jews, 32:09 but even the hardened atheist, desires to know that the message 32:13 of Christ is real and not just some rantings 32:16 of religious fanatics. 32:19 That the truth of the gospel is something that changes lives 32:23 and touches hearts in a way that nothing else can. 32:27 Fourth, Paul now wants to talk about a proper view of grace. 32:33 It's important for us. 32:37 See, in view of the fact that the spiritual root of the 32:39 Gentiles is found... Where? 32:41 In Israel, right? 32:43 ...it should produce humility and not arrogance. 32:48 Paul puts it this way in verses 17 and 18. 32:51 Follow with me. 32:52 He says, "But if some of the branches were broken off, 32:55 and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in 32:58 among the others and now share in the nourishing root of 33:01 the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. 33:06 If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, 33:11 but the root who supports you." 33:17 Wow, Paul. 33:19 Now I want you to think about this some. 33:20 Because maybe some of you don't understand horticulture. 33:23 Right? Fancy thing about how plants grow, 33:27 and what you do and what you don't do. 33:29 See, first of all, Paul using this illustration, 33:33 he knows that all of the people who are hearing it, 33:37 they know, first of all, that the olive tree 33:40 is an illustration, a metaphor, that is use throughout the Bible 33:44 to represent God's people; the Jewish people. 33:47 Okay? 33:48 The prophet Haggai uses it, Habakkuk uses it, 33:51 other prophets use it. 33:52 Israel is the olive tree and God is the gardener. 33:56 Over and over in the Bible. 33:58 Okay? That's a fact. 34:00 Paul knows also that this illustration that he's giving, 34:04 from the standpoint of horticulture, is wrong. 34:08 It doesn't make sense, if you don't know that. 34:10 Paul knows that it is not common practice, first of all, 34:14 to take a wild olive branch and graft it into an old cultivated 34:19 standing olive tree. 34:21 That's not what they did. 34:22 He knows that it's normally exactly the opposite. 34:25 Right? 34:26 Olive farmers, even today, would take a branch 34:31 from an older cultivated olive tree that's becoming 34:34 less strong, that's becoming less fruitful, that is beginning 34:38 to die off, and they would graft it into a wild olive tree 34:44 that was young and strong. 34:46 And thereby, from that branch of the older olive tree, 34:49 they would get good fruit. 34:52 Just the opposite of what Paul is saying. 34:55 Right? 34:56 Paul knew it was the opposite. 34:59 But he designs this illustration for a specific purpose. 35:03 And it's designed to show us even today what a surprising 35:07 thing God has done by bringing the Gentiles 35:11 into His people. 35:14 It was a shock to the Jews. 35:16 You know, really, you have to kind of imagine 35:19 Jews sitting around back then and going, 35:21 "Oy vey, what are we going to do? 35:23 Gentiles coming to faith in the Jewish Messiah." 35:27 Right? 35:28 And now it's exactly the opposite. 35:31 People in the church sit around and they go, "Oy vey." 35:33 No, they don't say, "Oy vey." 35:34 But they say, "What are we going to do? 35:36 Jews coming to faith in Jesus." 35:41 You know if you, in fact, if you let your eyes 35:44 run down to verse 24, jump ahead, you see, 35:47 Paul explicitly says that he knows that this is not natural 35:50 to take a wild olive branch and graft it into the root 35:53 of an old cultivated olive tree. 35:55 He says this is, in fact, contrary to nature. 35:59 You see, church, that is exactly the point. 36:04 God showing His grace to the Gentiles 36:08 was, as we say today, mind blowing to the Jews. 36:14 How can this be? 36:16 To the heathen nations, God is pouring out His grace. 36:20 And they're coming to know Him. 36:23 We think of it as the plan of God. 36:25 And it is. 36:27 You know, we have grown accustomed to this. 36:31 And it has become just a normal thing. 36:34 And perhaps we've taken it for granted. 36:37 Paul is reminding us again what a surprising thing God has done, 36:41 in fact, to bring Gentiles into the fold. 36:47 And you have to remember that. 36:49 Because there was a time when that was not the norm at all. 36:55 And why? Why does Paul bring this up? 36:58 It's as important then as it is today. 37:01 Because it should produce humility. 37:05 You know, too many Christians just take it for granted 37:08 that that's the way it is. 37:10 And just as I, growing up, had no idea that Jesus 37:14 is the Jewish Messiah; listen church, there's so many 37:17 Christians that have no idea that Jesus was Jewish, 37:21 or there's anything Jewish about the gospel. 37:23 As soon as you start talking about that, the first thing 37:25 they're going to say is, "No, no, no, wait a minute. 37:27 The Jews killed Christ." 37:31 Thank you, sister Angela. 37:34 I know that voice. 37:37 All of us killed Jesus. 37:40 Now listen to me, church. 37:41 If you did not participate in His death, 37:46 then you cannot participate in the resurrection 37:48 that He brought life from. 37:51 Our sin, my sin, your sin, put Him on the cross. 37:57 Plain and simple. 37:59 And if it's only the Jews that are getting blamed for it, 38:01 then everyone else is lost. 38:05 How do you like them apples? 38:13 Listen, our spiritual root is and always will be Israel. 38:20 There's no getting around that. 38:21 Whether you like it or not. 38:23 Now, let me give you a couple of applications. 38:26 I know all these voices. 38:28 I hear them and I think, "Oh, that's sister so and so." 38:31 First, the church is one with Israel. 38:33 Can you say amen? 38:35 Not separate entities. One. 38:37 The church, as the new covenant people of God; 38:40 that includes both Jews and Gentiles. 38:44 Jews and non-Jews. 38:45 You know, in the first century, there was no other peoples. 38:48 Right? 38:49 There were the Jews and the non-Jews. 38:52 The Hebrew term is, "goyem." 38:54 It's not derogatory. 38:55 It means, the nations. 38:57 There were Jews and there were the nations. 38:59 There was nobody else. 39:01 And you know what? 39:02 Today, it's exactly the same. 39:05 There's Jews, and the nations. 39:08 From a biblical perspective. 39:10 It's the only thing that we read God talking about. 39:16 The church as the new covenant people, 39:19 that we would want to say. 39:20 Now I'm talking about all of the body of believers. 39:22 That includes both Jew and Gentile. 39:25 You know, Sasha made a great illustration last night, 39:29 if you heard his sermon. 39:30 If you didn't, you've got to go back. 39:31 How he talked about what really is the two covenants. 39:34 You know, one, the first was located in one place. 39:38 God was there. 39:40 Now it's us, we're the new covenant; the moving tabernacle. 39:46 Amen? That's beautiful. 39:53 Paul doesn't say that there is an olive tree of Israel 39:58 and then there is an olive tree that we call, the church. 40:02 He doesn't say that. 40:04 He makes the point that we are one, 40:08 just one, represented by God's people. 40:12 You know, it's the title of this whole series; 40:16 One In Messiah. 40:18 That's what we are. 40:20 Isn't it interesting how the Scriptures says 40:22 there is neither, you know, Jew nor Greek, 40:25 nor bond nor free, nor male nor female. 40:28 Now of course, is there male and female? 40:31 Come on. 40:33 Of course there is. 40:35 So what was the idea? 40:37 That we are all one in Him. 40:40 The labels that we carry no longer exist. 40:43 One in Him. 40:45 It doesn't matter whether you're a man or a woman, 40:47 whether you're black or white, whether you're Jew or non-Jew. 40:51 We are all one when we receive Jesus; 40:54 one in Him. 40:56 That's what Paul's trying to get. 40:58 That's what he's trying to get this church in Rome 41:00 to understand. 41:04 Everybody who heard Paul's illustration, 41:07 they would have grabbed on and understood that. 41:10 However, there are some... 41:13 Now listen to me. 41:14 ...some very godly Christians who believe that the 41:18 church today has absolutely nothing to do with Israel, 41:21 God's people. 41:23 They believe that the church was the result of the Jews 41:26 surprising God... 41:28 I love this. 41:29 ...surprising God by rejecting the Messiah, and then God 41:33 had to drop back to plan B. 41:36 Please. 41:37 Do you think our God ever had a plan B? 41:42 I don't see a plan B in the Bible. 41:45 There is no plan B. 41:47 It wasn't like, pop, all of a sudden God was surprised 41:52 because, "Wow, I never expected the church to be born." 41:59 It wasn't like, then one day all of a sudden 42:03 it happened. 42:05 Understand, church, from the beginning of the foundation 42:07 of the earth, God knew, and God's plan was unfolding. 42:11 You can go all the way to the beginning of the book, 42:13 in Genesis, and God's plan is laid out. 42:16 And everything all the way through, all the prophets, 42:19 and the writings, and the Torah, it all leads to the moment 42:23 when Jesus walked on the earth. 42:24 It leads to the moment when Jesus died on the cross 42:27 for you and for me. 42:28 No surprises for God. 42:31 God knew that there would be those of the nation of Israel 42:34 that would reject the Messiah. 42:37 And He knew that because of it, it would open the door 42:40 for the nations to be able to receive. 42:46 And He also knows and expects that as the nations receive 42:52 and know, that they would be able to impart it back 42:57 to the Jews that they might come to believe. 43:01 Not in religion, but in Messiah. 43:06 In the Messiah of the Bible. 43:10 You know, I find it interesting... 43:14 You know, there's different ways of interpreting 43:16 how Scripture plays out. 43:17 And there's something called, dispensationalism. 43:21 And I'm sure some of you may be familiar, but 43:23 get past the fancy word and it essentially says this, 43:26 that one day God is going to finish His work with the 43:29 Gentiles, and all of a sudden all of the believers in Jesus 43:33 are going to disappear. 43:34 Right? Planes are going to drop from the sky. 43:36 Cars are going to crash. 43:38 You know, the world is just going to come to a standstill. 43:40 And the ones left are going to be the non-believers 43:43 and the Jews. 43:45 Okay, those who rejected Jesus, and the Jews. 43:47 And then God is going to turn all His energy on the Jews. 43:50 Please. 43:52 Please. 43:53 Okay? 43:54 God's desire is that all men would be saved even now. 43:57 And God doesn't have to remove His church in secret. 44:01 Okay? 44:02 When Jesus comes, make no mistake, the whole world 44:05 is going to know what's happening. 44:07 It's not going to be some kind of surprise. 44:12 And it won't be, all of a sudden the poor Jews standing around 44:14 going, "Oh, now what?" 44:19 No, God expects you and I to be working for His people now. 44:25 Because, listen, when Jesus comes back, it's done. 44:28 Alright? That's it. 44:30 Finished. 44:32 Game over. 44:34 Those who believe are those who believe. 44:40 Just that in itself should stir something in your belly 44:44 to go, "Wow, I've got to start living for Jesus." 44:49 Because that time could come... 44:52 Look, how does Jesus describe it? 44:53 ...like a thief in the night. 44:55 A thief doesn't announce, with planes falling from the sky, 44:59 "Oh, you better repent." 45:03 No, it's either you've done it or you haven't. 45:06 And if you haven't, it's too late. 45:09 And woe to those who had the opportunity to share the gospel 45:12 through their life to other people and didn't. 45:15 Because I think we'll be held accountable for that. 45:19 I don't want to stand in front of Jesus and have tears 45:21 in His eyes as He looks at me and says, "Yeah, you know, 45:24 that's great, you did what you did. 45:25 But what about all those people I placed around you? 45:29 What have you done? What did you do?" 45:36 You know, Gentile Christians are to view themselves 45:38 as united with the Jewish people. 45:41 Not separate. 45:42 Paul is talking about that we should be sharers of grace 45:46 in the same inheritance. 45:47 It's not that the Jews were promised to Abraham 45:50 at covenant and we were promised something else. 45:53 That's not the mentality. 45:56 The promises are the promises for God's people. 46:02 God spoke to Abraham, and I have a feeling that when 46:05 Abraham looked in the sky, you know, 46:08 shoot me if I'm wrong, but I think that those stars 46:11 that he saw had your faces on them as well. 46:15 That this is what God was trying to get to Abraham, 46:17 that, "Look, there's going to be so many people 46:19 that are going to follow Me because of what's going to 46:21 happen as I start this thing in motion with you." 46:26 It can't be just the Jews, because in comparison 46:28 to the world, the Jews are a little sliver of people. 46:32 It's the whole world Abraham was seeing. 46:35 All of those that would believe. 46:37 Amen? 46:38 Whether Jew or Gentile, whether male or female, 46:44 we all share in those blessings that God desires to roll out 46:49 lavishly upon us. 46:52 So Paul is pointing to the legacy 46:54 that we need to acknowledge. 46:57 Fifth, Paul says that grace produces faith. 47:02 Amen to that. 47:03 He says in verses 19 through 21, follow along, 47:06 "Then you will say, 'Branches were broken off so that I 47:10 might be grafted in.' 47:12 That is true. 47:13 They were broken off because of their unbelief, 47:16 but you stand fast through faith. 47:19 So do not become proud, but fear. 47:22 For if God did not spare the natural branches, 47:25 neither will He spare you." 47:28 So it seems like maybe Paul has somebody in the audience, 47:32 someone there at that church in Rome, that's arguing with him. 47:36 Maybe someone who thinks Paul is wrong. 47:39 And maybe the argument is basically this, 47:41 "Well Paul, you know, I understand that 47:43 God used the people of old, you know, Israel, back then. 47:46 But Israel today, they've rejected Him. 47:48 In fact, by your own theology, Israel has been cut off 47:53 so that I can be grafted in. 47:56 So, Paul, why should I worry about my salvation? 48:02 God grafted me in." 48:04 And I think Paul responds in one of his typical Paul ways 48:11 something like this, "Well, you know, 48:15 you have a point here. 48:17 But do you know how Israel got cut off, my friend? 48:21 They got cut off because of not believing. 48:24 Do you know how you'll get cut off, my friend? 48:27 You'll get cut off by not believing. 48:31 Instead of sitting over there and gloating about the fact 48:35 that Israel in this time has by and large turned its back 48:39 on Messiah, you better be careful to believe, 48:43 lest you fall. 48:45 For we all are saved by grace alone through faith 48:50 in Jesus alone, period. 48:54 And should you reject the Messiah, guess what. 48:57 You're going to find out you were rejected as well." 49:01 I mean, what a tremendous warning 49:03 to the nominal Christian. 49:05 You can't go to church and go through the motions and 49:08 never trust in Christ. 49:09 You can't memorize the Bible, okay? 49:13 You can't have an aunt who has prayed for you for years, 49:16 a father who is an elder; they can't believe for you. 49:20 You can't know Jesus without knowing Jesus. 49:23 I've said it a thousand times before, 49:26 there are no grandchildren in the kingdom of heaven. 49:30 It's first generation only. 49:33 You don't get in because grandma was a righteous old lady. 49:38 Right? Period. 49:39 It's all on you. 49:43 The apostle Paul is saying to the Gentiles, 49:45 "Instead of looking over there at those who have been cut off, 49:49 you need to do a little self-examination, my friend, 49:53 and ask yourself, 'Am I trusting in Jesus?'" 49:59 Finally, we've got to have a right view of God. 50:03 And listen, to even have a right view of God, in and of itself, 50:07 that is a gift of grace. 50:10 Because without God's grace, we can't even begin to see Him 50:12 in a right way. 50:14 Paul says in verse 22, "Note then the kindness 50:17 and the severity of God. 50:19 Severity toward those who have fallen, but God's 50:21 kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness. 50:27 Otherwise you too will be cut off." 50:32 See, Paul is saying that in the salvation of God and in the 50:35 judgment of God, you have seen two aspects of His character. 50:39 Two attributes, so to speak, of God. 50:41 You've seen His love, you've seen His justice. 50:44 And both have been served to the full. 50:46 Amen? 50:47 Seeing His love and His justice ought to make you and me 50:51 tremble right where we are. 50:53 Because we serve an awesome living God, 50:55 a consuming fire. 50:58 Paul's God is so completely politically incorrect. 51:04 I'm telling you, the God you've been hearing about on CNN, 51:07 and MSNBC, and Fox News, that's the God that's the 51:12 same for everybody. 51:13 The God who is the God of the Muslims, and the Christians, 51:16 and the atheists, a God who just loves. 51:19 Doesn't matter what you do, God is love. 51:22 Can I tell you that this God has no relation 51:25 to the God that Paul's talking about. 51:28 The God of Paul is a God of kindness, but a God of severity 51:34 at the same time. 51:37 And I can hear the people saying today, 51:39 "How out of step are you, Paul?" 51:42 And I think that's how people look at those who truly believe 51:47 in the God of the Bible. 51:50 You believe in a God who judges, then you believe in a 51:52 narrow minded, mean spirited, small hearted, shriveled up God. 51:57 But can I tell you? 51:59 It is exactly the opposite. 52:03 See, a God who is loving, a God who is nothing else, 52:09 cannot deal with the injustices that exist in the world. 52:13 If God is just love, well... 52:16 ...how does that work? 52:17 That it doesn't matter what you do? 52:20 Please, if that's the God that we serve, 52:24 I don't want to serve Him. 52:27 It's like somebody comes alongside of you 52:30 and your world is falling apart, and all they have to offer is, 52:34 "I really feel for you. 52:35 This must be really a tough situation that you're 52:37 going through, but there is really nothing I can do for you. 52:40 Sorry." 52:43 That's a shriveled up God. 52:46 You see, a God who is nothing but benevolent, 52:51 and is not holy, and is not just, and does not judge, 52:56 listen to me, it does not cost Him anything to 52:59 come into a relationship with sinners. 53:02 But a God who is holy, a God who is just, 53:05 a God who is awesome, and who is loving beyond 53:08 our capacity to conceive, it cost Him everything 53:13 to come into fellowship with you. 53:15 It cost Him the outrageousness, the injustice suffered 53:19 by His own Son coming to experience the outrageousness 53:25 of His love for you. 53:28 And that's the God that Paul speaks about. 53:31 And that's the God that we serve. 53:35 Not a sterile old man sitting in a chair, 53:39 a figure in the sky, distant from our injustice and 53:44 indifferent toward sin, but a God who loved us enough 53:49 to become involved in our condition and to shed His blood, 53:53 His own blood, His Son's blood, that we could taste 53:57 the lavishness of His mercy. 54:01 I'm going to tell you, that in the eyes of most of the world, 54:05 that is not a politically correct God. 54:08 But I'll serve that God anywhere anytime. 54:13 I think Paul is telling these Gentile Christians 54:16 to look at their God. 54:18 He's telling us, "Look at what He's done to bring you into 54:22 fellowship with Him." 54:24 Don't you have a heart of longing that everyone out there, 54:27 Israel included, would know the greatness of that love? 54:35 Don't you desire to share the blessings that God has 54:40 poured out on you with everyone? 54:43 You know, I've heard people talk about how, you know, 54:45 the big problem with Christianity is, the thing that 54:48 motivates them is, they've just got to make everyone 54:50 believe what they believe. 54:52 How narrow minded. 54:54 See, the idea is not to make anyone believe anything. 54:58 The idea is to live out Jesus in front of them 55:02 so that they see, "This is the way we're suppose to live." 55:06 It's not about belief. 55:08 Because if the only thing you do is believe, what good is it? 55:12 Scripture even says, "Look, even the demons and Satan, 55:15 they believe in God." 55:18 But do they follow Him? 55:20 Do they walk with Him? 55:21 We know where they end up at the end. 55:26 You see, for us to touch a lost and hurting world, 55:30 it is all about how we live. 55:35 Not what we say. 55:37 Because, listen, people hear it all, have heard it all. 55:43 And they don't want to hear it any more. 55:46 You know, as great as it is when someone holds up a 55:48 John 3:16 sign, how many people that see that John 3:16 55:53 are going to actually, if they don't have a Bible, 55:55 "Oh, I need to see what that says. 55:58 I'm going to go down to the bookstore and by a Bible 56:00 so I can look up John 3:16." 56:03 You know, the heart is in the right place, but it doesn't 56:06 get the job done. 56:08 God is asking us, just as Paul is asking us, 56:11 to live in a way that Jews come to know Him by our life. 56:18 It is our life that changes those around us. 56:23 To remember that can change everything. 56:27 Amen? 56:29 I want to close with a beautiful blessing. 56:33 I believe that as Jesus lifted His arms and ascended 56:36 into the heavens, He quoted from the book of Numbers chapter 6. 56:40 This is known as the priestly, or the Aaronic, blessing. 56:42 "May the Lord bless you and keep you. 56:44 May the Lord make His face to shine upon you 56:47 and be gracious to you. 56:49 May the Lord lift His countenance upon you 56:53 and bring you this peace." 56:54 And I believe that as Jesus ascended into the heavens 56:57 at the end of His earthly ministry, He looked down, 57:01 not just over His disciples, but over the whole world, 57:04 His children, and He said these words; 57:08 "Yevarechcha Adonai, veyishmerecho. 57:14 Ya'er Adonai panav 'eleicha, vichunneko. 57:19 Yissa Adonai panav 'eleicha, 57:23 veyasem shalom." |
Revised 2014-12-17