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Romans 9:25-33 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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So we are continuing and going to finish now chapter 9 this morning, Lord willing, that I don't fall over on the stage.
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! And so let's begin this morning by reading together, beginning in verse 25, and we'll go through the end of the chapter.
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As indeed he says in Hosea, those who were not my people, I will call my people.
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And who was not beloved, I will call beloved. 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.
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And 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.
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For the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.
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And as Isaiah predicted, if the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have become like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.
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What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is a righteousness that is by faith.
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But that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.
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Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.
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They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.
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And whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.
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Join me in prayer.
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Father God, we thank you for the precious gift of your word.
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We thank you that you inspired Paul to write these words to the believers in Rome.
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And that they were recorded and preserved throughout bloody, bloody years of history.
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And many attempts to eradicate Christianity from this world.
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That these words have survived and have been brought to us for our good this day.
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We pray, Father, that you will be generous to us by your Spirit.
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That we might hear and understand the value found in these verses this morning.
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And we pray this in the precious name of Christ.
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Amen.
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So, Paul has been building a case from the beginning, just to remind you again where we've been.
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It's difficult often to fit our text into the proper context if we don't talk about it.
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So, he's built this case from the beginning of Romans that our justification before God, our right standing, is by faith alone.
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That it cannot be attained by works.
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Whether a Jew who has the law and works at it that way, no matter how zealous they were to attain justification by the works of the law, they were not able to.
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Or a Gentile who doesn't have the law, but yet we have the law of God on our hearts.
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And therefore, we are just as guilty before him for transgressing that law.
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So, all of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, chapter 3.
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Right?
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And therefore, all of us need a Savior.
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All of us need a way back to God.
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The only way that could be accomplished was through the blood, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
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There must have been a payment for sin.
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For God to be fully just, all sin must be punished.
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And for the sins of the church, they were punished in Christ.
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He took the wrath of God on our behalf.
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And we turn to the more practical part of these doctrines.
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And he gets us into chapter 8.
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He begins to talk about the internal struggle that happens as we still carry on the baggage of our flesh.
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It's still difficult to live in this life.
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We have the Spirit of God abiding within us.
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And yet, it still is so hard.
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But once we're regenerate believers, we don't just snap our fingers and things start working for us, do they?
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We still have to battle and struggle with our flesh.
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And beyond that, there are exterior issues happening to us.
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Because we're Christians, the world hates us.
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And we're going to suffer.
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If you live a godly life, you will suffer for your faith.
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And more, we'll suffer just in this world because it's fallen.
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It's not the way God intended it to be.
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There's sickness and pain.
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We're going to suffer.
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And then Paul encourages us.
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Verse 28.
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I hope you're familiar with this.
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And we know that for those who love God, all things work for good.
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All things.
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The momentary trouble of this world is not to be compared with the future glory.
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And he drives in a more pointed way the doctrine of election.
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See, verse 29 of chapter 8.
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For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of a son,
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in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
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And a question then arises, both in his mind, and I'm sure in the minds of many people he has talked to,
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well then what about the Jews?
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What about the Jews?
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We understood them to be God's people.
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We thought they were God's chosen people.
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But look at the scores of them that are rejecting the gospel.
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Look at how many of them have totally turned their backs on the coming of the Messiah.
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The one that they are eagerly waiting for.
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And yet, they've rejected him.
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And he laments that in the beginning of chapter 9.
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He says that he himself wished that he could be accursed, cut off from Christ,
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for the sake of his brothers, for the Israelites.
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They're the ones that have received all these privileges, verse 4 and 5.
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All these blessings of God.
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All these things that were meant to show them the Christ.
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That they might receive him when he came.
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Why haven't they?
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Verse 10 and 11 gets into that.
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So, it seems so random at this point that he unpacks the doctrine of election for us in chapter 9.
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He deals with some of the objections to it.
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But it's not at all.
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Because the question for these early Christians was,
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weren't the Jews God's people?
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Weren't they his chosen?
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Weren't they the elect?
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And look what's happened.
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So, it would seem that their disbelief discredits the gospel.
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If they were God's special people and they're not receiving it,
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then hasn't that somehow discredited the gospel?
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The gospel that's been carried now to the Gentiles as well?
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So, we've looked at the chapter in that light.
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Beginning in verse 6.
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That the large rejection of the gospel by Israel does not discredit the gospel.
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In fact, it's consistent in verses 6-13 with God's promises.
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And we saw together how the promises he made contained within them his sovereign grace.
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So, we look at Jacob and Esau.
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Before they had done anything good or bad,
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God said, Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated.
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Second half of verse 11.
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In order that God's purpose of election might continue.
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Not because of works, but because of him who calls.
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And the following week, it was last week,
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we looked at how their rejection is consistent with God's person.
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Verse 14-24, Paul uses three first-person direct quotes from God
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as he asks these questions.
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What shall we say then?
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Is there injustice on God's part?
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And he answers emphatically, by no means.
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No, no, no.
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But then God's response to that.
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We want to fully understand how the justice of God works.
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We want to totally unwrap that and understand it in entirety.
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But God's simple response to that is,
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I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
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and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.
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And we talk about how God is God,
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and you are not.
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You are a created thing, a pot later on.
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And how is it that you as a pot would ever question the potter,
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the creator?
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We know that there is a tension in the scriptures
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between God's sovereign election and man's responsibility.
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I will never deny that we must believe.
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Repent.
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Turn from our sin and believe.
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Know that there's nothing good within ourselves.
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There's no possible way that we can ever have
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a right relationship with God apart from Christ.
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We must believe that.
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The Bible teaches it to us very clearly.
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And so it seems to be a paradox.
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It seems to be inconsistent.
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You'll hear me call it an apparent paradox,
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because it's not.
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I don't understand why it's not.
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But God said it, and therefore I believe it.
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I hope that over the past couple of weeks
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you've positioned yourself humbly under the word of God.
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Let it come down to you as his words,
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the creator God, to a created thing,
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and begun to try to see how this doctrine will work
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into your life and then spill out of it.
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So, we're going to deal with the last two ways
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that Israel's large rejection of the gospel is consistent.
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It's consistent with God's prophecies,
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and it's consistent with God's provision.
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So first, let's look at how the unbelief of Israel
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is consistent with God's prophecies.
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And we find this in verses 25 through 29 of chapter 9,
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where Paul quotes from my favorite prophet, Hosea.
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You see there in verse 25 and verse 26.
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So let's turn to the book of Hosea together.
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We're going to take a little jump away from Romans for a bit.
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Spend a little time in Hosea to understand this passage,
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this incredible commentary on this Old Testament prophet.
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Hosea's ministry was in the latter half of the 8th century.
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There's some debate about how long exactly it was.
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The book itself is a little bit ambiguous
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as to the starting and stopping point.
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Somewhere between 35 and 66 years
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are the guesstimates of how long Hosea ministered.
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It's important to know, though,
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that it was during the most turbulent time in Israel's history,
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just prior to Assyrian exile.
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And it's also important to know,
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in a moment, you'll understand why,
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but it's important to know that he was a contemporary of Isaiah.
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His ministry started a bit before,
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I think 15 to 20 years before Isaiah came onto the scene.
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But they were both together ministering to Israel
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at the same time in the latter half of the 8th century.
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And Hosea had a very unique calling.
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Many of the prophets were asked to do interesting things
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to display God's gracious call to his people.
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Hosea's, I think, most of all.
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He was called to live a real-life pageant
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out in front of Israel
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as God told him to go take a wife of Hordom,
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a harlot.
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One who either was that before he married her
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or who, in marrying her,
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he knew she would be unfaithful to him.
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And it was meant to be a picture
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of how Israel is with God the Father,
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with their holy husband.
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So let's look together at verse 2 of chapter 1 in Hosea.
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When the Lord first spoke through Hosea,
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the Lord said to Hosea,
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Go take to yourself a wife of Hordom
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and have children of Hordom,
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for the land commits great Hordom
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by forsaking the Lord.
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So he went and took Gomer,
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the daughter of Deblame,
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and she conceived and bore him a son.
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Now this is probably the only child
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that he had biologically.
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We know that because of the language
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that she conceived and bore him a son.
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The others were not.
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She conceived again, verse 6,
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and bore a daughter.
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It doesn't say bore him a daughter,
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it just says bore a daughter.
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So more than likely,
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these were children of unfaithfulness.
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And he has three.
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He has a son,
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and then a daughter,
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and then a son.
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And God gives them prophetic names
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that meant something significant.
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The first was Jezreel,
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which means to scatter.
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The second was Lo-Ruhamah,
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or no mercy.
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And the third was Lo-Ami,
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meaning not my people.
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It seemed like such a miserable home.
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This must have been...
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People must have looked at this situation
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and just shook their heads at it.
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But they should have, right?
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They should have looked at this situation
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and recognized that this was a picture
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of who they were.
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That they had been betrothed to God,
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and yet they betrayed Him.
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They went out and sowed their oats
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and had children,
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spawned sin.
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It was meant to be disgraceful
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and look despicable.
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So he has these three children.
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And then verse 10 says,
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Yet the number of the children of Israel
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shall be like the sand of the sea,
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which cannot be measured or numbered.
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And in the place where it was said to them,
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You are not my people,
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it shall be said to them,
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Children of the living God.
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That's verse 26 in chapter 9, right?
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That's what he's quoting.
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You are not my people,
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it shall be said to them,
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Children of the living God.
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So it continues to play out.
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There's some action on Hosea's part.
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His wife actually leaves him,
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and he does some things
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that God orders him to do,
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some ways in which he protects her.
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And the whole thing is meant to be a picture
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of the way that even when
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we're unfaithful to God,
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he continues to be faithful to us.
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Hosea finally goes on God's command
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in chapter 3.
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We won't be reading this today,
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but he finally goes,
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as God commands him,
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and he buys her out of the slave market.
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She has gotten herself into a situation
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where she now owes so much money
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that she's being sold as a slave.
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And he goes and he buys her
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for a great price.
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A huge price.
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When you read this,
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it just lifts off some things.
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We don't really know how much that was.
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But the people in Israel understood
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the price he paid for her
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was immeasurable.
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And it's a picture of God
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buying us out of the slavery market of sin
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with the immeasurable price of Christ.
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It's such a cool, such a cool story.
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So I want you to go back and read it
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at some point later on.
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But look with me in chapter 2,
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at verse 14.
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God says,
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Therefore, behold,
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I will allure her
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and bring her into the wilderness
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and speak tenderly to her.
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And there I will give her vineyards
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and make the valley of Accor
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a door of hope.
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And there she shall answer
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as in the days of her youth,
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as at the time
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when she came out
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of the land of Egypt.
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And then skip down to verse 21.
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And in that day,
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I will answer,
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declares the Lord,
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I will answer the heavens
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and they shall answer the earth.
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And the earth shall answer
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the grain,
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the wine,
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and the soil.
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And they shall answer
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Jezreel.
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The same name of the first son,
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right?
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Which means to scatter,
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but it also means,
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in Hebrew,
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to plant.
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To sow.
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So he flips the meaning
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of the word.
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Jezreel.
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In verse 23,
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And I will sow her
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for myself
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in the land.
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And I will have mercy
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on no mercy.
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And I will say
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to not my people,
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you are my people.
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And he shall say,
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you are my God.
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And there's the paraphrase
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in verse 25
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of chapter 9
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in Romans.
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And you are welcome
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to flip there again
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if you'd like.
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But verse 25,
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Paul quotes,
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As indeed he says
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in Hosea,
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Those who were not
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my people,
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I will call my people.
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And her who was not
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beloved,
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I will call beloved.
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Remember our
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no mercy,
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our character,
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his daughter,
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Lo-Ruhamah.
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This can also be
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translated as
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beloved.
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So Paul is
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quoting
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the same,
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but using a different
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meaning of the Hebrew word,
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a different,
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a synonym,
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so to speak,
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of the Hebrew word.
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And Paul gives us
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incredible
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commentary
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on this.
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So when we're reading this,
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the Israelites are
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being prophesied to
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by Hosea,
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and we're thinking,
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okay, so God
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is speaking to
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the Israelites.
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They have been,
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they've betrayed him,
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but yet he is God,
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so he's calling them
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back to himself.
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He's going to
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love them just the same.
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He's a faithful God,
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gracious and merciful.
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His loving kindness
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never ends.
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This is what they're
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reading here,
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but Paul expands it
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for us,
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doesn't he?
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Because what did it say
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in Romans chapter 9,
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verse 24?
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After he has
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gone on to talk about
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how some vessels
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are prepared for destruction
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and some are prepared
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for mercy,
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to be this display
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of God's glorious grace
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to the vessels of mercy,
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it says,
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even us,
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Paul says,
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even us,
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wretched,
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wretched sinners,
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whom he has called,
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not from the Jews only,
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but also from the Gentiles.
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And so here we see
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Paul's commentary
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on Hosea
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is that when God says,
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those who are not
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my people,
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I will call
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my people,
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it's this great
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expansion of the gospel
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beyond just
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the original
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people of faith,
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the Jews,
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to the Gentiles.
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The one full of the Spirit
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reading Hosea
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would have said,
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that's awesome.
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He's not just talking
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about Jews.
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He's talking about
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the world.
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The gospel now
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is going to go forth
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from just a people
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to the people,
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to peoples.
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peoples.
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This should cause us
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to rejoice
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the doctrine of election.
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Seeing that the Jews
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have rejected the gospel
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doesn't discredit it
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at all.
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Because God is
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sovereignly working
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and calling
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His people.
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Right?
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Verse 6 of chapter 9,
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But it is not as though
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the word of God
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has failed,
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for not all
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who are descended
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from Israel
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belong to Israel,
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and not all
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who are children
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of Abraham
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are because they
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are His offspring.
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But through Isaac
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shall your offspring
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be named.
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So we
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are Israel.
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We are the
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descendants
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of Abraham
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by the Spirit.
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That is
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awesome,
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awesome
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truth.
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And it goes on
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in verse 29.
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And as Isaiah
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predicted,
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concerning
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the people of Israel.
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Right?
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I just lost my place
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in my notes.
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And Isaiah cries out
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concerning Israel.
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Excuse me,
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in verse 27.
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And as Isaiah cries out
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concerning Israel.
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So he has now
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talked about the gospel
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expanding to the nations.
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And now he's saying,
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but as Isaiah cried out
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concerning Israel,
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though the number
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of the sons of Israel
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be as the sand of the sea,
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only a remnant of them
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will be saved.
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Where is that language
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familiar?
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We were just there
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in Hosea,
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weren't we?
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Do you recall
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Hosea said that the
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people of Israel
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should be numbered
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as the sands of the sea?
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Do you recall
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that Hosea
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was ministering
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to the people
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of Israel
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a bit prior to
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Isaiah
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coming on the scene?
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So Isaiah
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takes this language
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and clarifies
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for us.
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Gives us
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some greater
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understanding
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in Isaiah chapter 10
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verse 22 and 23.
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For though your people
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of Israel
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be as the sand of the sea,
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only a remnant
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of them
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will return.
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And he's talking about
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return
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from Assyrian
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exile.
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Destruction is decreed
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overflowing
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with righteousness.
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For the Lord
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God of hosts
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will make a full end
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as decreed
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in the midst
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of all
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the earth.
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And as Isaiah
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predicted,
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verse 29,
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If the Lord of hosts
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had not left his offspring,
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he would have been
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like Sodom
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and become
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like Gomorrah.
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Also could be
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translated
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survivors.
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So we see
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that the gospel
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has expanded,
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it's gone out,
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gone to all the world,
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and yet
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has not rejected
21:11
the Israelites.
21:13
Has not rejected
21:15
the Israelites.
21:16
Paul himself,
21:17
an Israelite,
21:18
had received
21:18
the gospel of grace.
21:19
God has not
21:23
turned his back
21:24
on his original
21:26
special people.
21:28
Just that the promises
21:29
were not what they
21:30
thought
21:31
at first.
21:34
People have always
21:35
come to God
21:36
by grace alone,
21:38
through faith alone.
21:40
Always.
21:41
And now,
21:41
in Christ alone.
21:44
The people of old
21:45
were justified
21:45
before God
21:46
because of their faith.
21:47
They didn't even
21:48
understand how it was
21:50
that God would
21:50
fulfill his promises,
21:52
but they believed
21:53
that he would.
21:55
Now we know
21:56
exactly how he
21:57
fulfills his promises
21:58
in Christ.
22:00
All the promises
22:01
of God are
22:01
yes and amen.
22:07
So he hasn't
22:08
rejected Israel.
22:11
Chapter 9,
22:11
verse 6.
22:12
Again,
22:12
it's not as though
22:13
the word of God
22:13
has failed.
22:15
Shepherds
22:19
in these days
22:21
were hired hands.
22:24
A shepherd
22:24
never owned
22:26
his own sheep.
22:26
If you owned sheep,
22:27
if you had that
22:28
kind of wealth,
22:29
you hired somebody
22:30
to come along
22:30
and tend your sheep
22:32
for you.
22:34
And if a shepherd
22:35
was washing the sheep
22:36
and didn't do his job
22:37
as he should,
22:38
and one of those sheep
22:39
was carried away
22:40
by a lion,
22:42
some other threat,
22:43
a bear,
22:44
remember David
22:45
slaying both
22:46
a lion and a bear,
22:47
one of the sheep
22:48
was carried away,
22:50
they would actually
22:51
go after the remnant
22:53
of that animal.
22:55
They would try
22:56
to bring back
22:56
some piece
22:57
of the animal
22:58
to prove
22:59
to the one
23:00
who had hired them
23:01
that something
23:02
had eaten
23:03
the animal.
23:05
Not that they were
23:05
stowing away
23:06
a special flock
23:07
for themselves,
23:08
cutting out a little
23:09
of the flock
23:10
and putting it
23:11
over someplace
23:12
for their own good,
23:13
or not that they
23:13
had slaughtered
23:14
and eaten it
23:15
themselves,
23:16
but that something
23:17
had happened
23:17
and had carried
23:19
that animal
23:21
away.
23:22
Amos 3,
23:23
11 and 12.
23:25
Amos wrote,
23:26
Therefore,
23:26
thus says the Lord
23:27
God,
23:27
an adversary
23:28
shall surround
23:29
the land
23:29
and bring down
23:30
your defenses
23:31
from you,
23:31
and your strongholds
23:33
shall be plundered,
23:34
thus says the Lord.
23:35
As the shepherd
23:36
rescues from the mouth
23:37
of the lion
23:37
two legs
23:38
or a piece
23:39
of an ear,
23:40
so shall the people
23:41
of Israel
23:41
who dwell in Samaria
23:42
be rescued
23:43
with the corner
23:44
of a couch
23:45
and part
23:45
of a bed.
23:48
So,
23:49
God will,
23:50
in fact,
23:51
Jesus Christ
23:52
will,
23:52
in fact,
23:53
rescue a remnant
23:54
of Israel
23:55
to prove
23:57
that they're his
23:59
and that he did
24:00
his job well.
24:03
Now,
24:04
at this point,
24:06
so many of us,
24:08
so many of us
24:09
want to say,
24:11
but how is it fair?
24:12
How is it fair?
24:14
How is it possible
24:15
that this is the God
24:16
that we serve?
24:19
Isn't that the question
24:19
that was asked
24:20
in chapter 9,
24:21
verse 19?
24:21
You will say to me then,
24:24
why does he still
24:24
find fault?
24:24
For who can resist
24:26
his will?
24:28
Your perspective
24:29
of you
24:30
is so,
24:31
so wrong.
24:34
You have not yet
24:35
come to grips
24:37
with how holy
24:38
God is
24:39
and how very
24:40
not you are.
24:43
Mankind
24:43
is utterly
24:45
spoiled
24:46
by sin.
24:48
We inherited it
24:49
from Adam,
24:50
that original sinner,
24:51
we are the same.
24:53
We are
24:54
wretched
24:55
before God
24:56
apart from Christ.
24:58
We are as
24:59
filthy
25:00
rags.
25:03
Ask me later,
25:03
I'll explain to you
25:04
what that symbol,
25:06
that picture
25:06
is of.
25:09
Recognize that we were
25:09
created in the image
25:10
of God,
25:11
yes,
25:12
but that was
25:13
spoiled.
25:14
world.
25:16
A mirror
25:17
meant to look
25:18
at
25:18
perfect,
25:20
you've got all
25:21
these mirrors
25:21
in your house,
25:22
they're perfect,
25:23
glass,
25:24
coated with silver
25:24
on the back,
25:25
no flaw in them
25:26
whatsoever,
25:27
but sin
25:28
smashed that
25:29
mirror to pieces.
25:31
We can only see
25:32
a bit of the
25:33
reflection of God
25:34
and who we are
25:35
apart from Christ.
25:36
Christ,
25:36
you have a high
25:39
view of man
25:40
if you question
25:41
God's election.
25:45
The question you
25:46
should be asking
25:47
is why would God
25:49
save any of us?
25:52
We have all
25:53
rejected Him.
25:54
We have all stood
25:55
as His enemies.
25:56
He has set before us
25:57
a path
25:58
and we have said,
25:59
no,
25:59
I'm good.
26:00
We have said
26:01
as all sin
26:03
begins with
26:04
Satan,
26:05
Adam and Eve,
26:06
I want to be
26:07
God.
26:08
I want to be
26:09
like Him.
26:10
I want to be
26:11
the master of my
26:11
own life
26:12
and I will do
26:13
things my way.
26:16
We have tried
26:17
to set up
26:17
our own kingdoms
26:18
within the
26:19
kingdom of God.
26:21
Build armaments
26:22
up and battle
26:23
against Him.
26:24
Why would He
26:25
have mercy
26:26
on any of us?
26:29
Because He's God
26:31
is the answer.
26:32
Because He's God
26:33
and He loves us.
26:37
That's what your
26:38
mind should do.
26:40
Your mind should
26:41
be blown open
26:42
by the doctrine
26:42
of election
26:43
to the goodness
26:43
of God
26:44
towards you.
26:46
Right?
26:46
Not His unfairness
26:48
to others.
26:49
If God were
26:50
fully fair,
26:52
none of us
26:53
would be redeemed.
26:54
All of us
26:55
would be destroyed.
26:57
You hear that?
26:57
Have you ever
26:58
felt the weight
26:59
of your sin?
27:02
Read through
27:03
the scriptures
27:03
that men
27:04
who have beheld
27:05
God,
27:06
who have looked
27:07
at His holiness,
27:09
what do they say?
27:11
Whoa,
27:11
to me,
27:13
Isaiah,
27:14
I am a man
27:14
of unclean lips.
27:17
They fell
27:18
on their faces
27:19
recognizing
27:20
how insignificant
27:21
they were
27:22
in comparison.
27:23
person.
27:25
So do you have
27:26
a higher view
27:28
of yourself
27:29
and of mankind
27:30
than you should?
27:34
Now in turn,
27:35
we are humans.
27:37
Right?
27:38
We should
27:39
sympathize
27:39
with those
27:40
who are lost.
27:42
We were once
27:43
lost ourselves.
27:45
And there's
27:45
the great compulsion
27:47
for gospel spread.
27:49
There's the reason
27:50
that we get out
27:51
and we love people
27:52
and we share
27:53
the gospel with them
27:54
and we serve
27:54
their needs
27:55
because we too
27:56
were once sinners.
27:59
Because we've
27:59
experienced the
28:00
great gospel of grace
28:01
and we want others
28:02
to experience it as well.
28:04
That becomes
28:05
the compulsion.
28:05
Election drives us
28:06
to that.
28:07
It doesn't make us proud.
28:08
Rightly understood,
28:09
election never
28:11
makes you proud.
28:12
Never causes you
28:13
to sit on your hands
28:15
thinking in some way
28:15
you're God's special
28:16
chosen one.
28:17
In fact,
28:18
it should humble you.
28:19
It should put you
28:20
on your face.
28:21
It should make you
28:22
so appreciative
28:22
that all you
28:24
care about
28:25
are the things
28:25
that God cares about.
28:27
Because he has
28:27
loved you
28:28
in spite of you,
28:29
not because of you.
28:32
That is a proper view.
28:35
If you walk out
28:36
of here on any Sunday
28:37
and you are not
28:39
both abased
28:41
and gladdened,
28:42
we have failed
28:43
to preach the gospel.
28:45
Let me explain.
28:46
If you walk out
28:47
of here proud
28:48
of who you are,
28:50
we failed
28:52
to show you
28:52
who you would be
28:54
apart from Christ.
28:56
But if you don't
28:57
walk out of here
28:57
gladdened
28:58
in the good news
28:58
of Jesus Christ,
28:59
then we failed
29:00
to show you
29:00
how glorious
29:02
you now are
29:03
in Him.
29:06
What you were
29:07
was vile
29:08
and spoiled.
29:09
What you now
29:10
are in Christ
29:11
is beautiful
29:12
and perfect.
29:15
It should abase
29:16
and gladden
29:18
every Sunday.
29:20
And that's what
29:20
gives us
29:21
the motivation
29:22
and the drive
29:23
to keep going
29:25
and loving
29:26
and keep pushing
29:27
and driving
29:28
through this world
29:29
where we will suffer
29:30
if we live godly
29:31
because we remember
29:32
who we were
29:33
and now who we are
29:34
because of the great
29:35
love of God
29:35
to us.
29:39
That's what
29:40
election should do.
29:42
You know,
29:42
many people
29:42
who don't care
29:43
for the doctrine
29:44
of election
29:45
who stand
29:46
in direct
29:46
opposition to it
29:47
are those
29:48
who have experienced
29:49
Christians who do
29:50
believe in the doctrine
29:51
of election
29:52
and live
29:53
totally contrary
29:54
to it.
29:56
Please don't be
29:57
one of those people.
30:00
People need to hear
30:01
this truth
30:02
for their good
30:04
and for the great glory
30:06
of Jesus Christ.
30:08
Romans 11,
30:10
1 through 6.
30:11
I want to drive
30:12
this point again
30:13
that the Israelites
30:14
have not been
30:15
rejected.
30:17
I ask then,
30:18
and we'll talk about
30:18
this in coming weeks,
30:19
I ask then,
30:20
has God rejected
30:21
his people?
30:22
By no means.
30:23
Again,
30:23
that emphatic,
30:24
strong,
30:24
strongest Greek language,
30:26
no,
30:26
no,
30:26
no,
30:27
no,
30:27
no,
30:27
he's not.
30:28
For I myself
30:29
am an Israelite,
30:30
a descendant of Abraham,
30:31
a member of the tribe
30:31
of Benjamin.
30:32
God has not rejected
30:33
his people whom
30:34
he foreknew.
30:35
Do you not know
30:35
what the scripture
30:36
says of Elijah,
30:37
how he appeals
30:37
to God against Israel?
30:39
Lord,
30:39
they have killed
30:40
your prophets,
30:40
they have demolished
30:41
your altars,
30:41
and I alone am left,
30:43
and they seek my life.
30:44
But what is God's
30:45
reply to him?
30:46
I have kept
30:46
for myself
30:47
7,000 men
30:48
who have not
30:49
bowed the knee
30:50
to Baal.
30:50
So too at this
30:51
present time
30:52
there is a remnant
30:52
chosen by grace.
30:54
But if it is by grace,
30:55
it is no longer
30:56
on the base of works,
30:57
otherwise grace
30:58
would no longer
30:59
be grace.
31:00
So you see here,
31:01
you have Elijah
31:02
that cries out to God,
31:03
destroy Israel.
31:05
I'm the only one left
31:06
that hasn't bowed
31:06
the knee to Baal.
31:07
You destroy them
31:08
because they deserve it.
31:09
And God says,
31:11
wait a second,
31:11
Elijah,
31:12
I've actually preserved
31:13
for myself a remnant.
31:14
I'm still working
31:16
with my people.
31:18
So recognize
31:19
that that's the truth.
31:19
What does he say
31:20
there at the end?
31:21
If it's by grace,
31:22
it is no longer
31:23
on the basis of works.
31:25
And so secondly,
31:26
and finally today,
31:28
the unbelief of Israel,
31:30
their large rejection,
31:32
is consistent
31:33
with God's provision,
31:34
his way of salvation.
31:36
That's what I mean by that.
31:37
I had to get the P
31:39
to fit in there.
31:40
But with his way
31:42
of salvation.
31:43
And we see that
31:44
in verse 30 through 33.
31:46
That's been a little while
31:47
since we read it,
31:48
so let's read it together again.
31:50
What shall we say then
31:51
that Gentiles
31:52
who did not pursue righteousness
31:53
have attained it?
31:54
That is a righteousness
31:55
that is by faith.
31:56
But that Israel
31:57
who pursued a law
31:58
that would lead to righteousness
31:59
did not succeed
32:00
in reaching the law?
32:01
Why?
32:02
Because they did not
32:03
pursue it by faith.
32:04
But as if it were
32:05
based on works,
32:06
they have stumbled
32:06
over the stumbling stone
32:07
as it is written,
32:08
Behold,
32:09
I am laying in Zion
32:10
a stone of stumbling
32:11
and a rock of offense.
32:12
And whoever believes in him
32:13
will not be put to shame.
32:17
There's a continuing drive
32:18
throughout the book
32:20
of Romans.
32:22
Justification by faith,
32:23
not by works.
32:24
Justification by faith,
32:26
not by works.
32:27
The law
32:27
is a righteous picture.
32:30
It's meant to be
32:31
the way
32:32
those of faith live.
32:34
We can't do it
32:36
apart from the grace of God.
32:38
It was fulfilled
32:39
in Christ.
32:41
Jesus starts the Sermon
32:42
on the Mount
32:43
out that way.
32:44
Right?
32:44
He didn't come to abolish
32:45
the law,
32:46
but to fulfill
32:47
the law.
32:48
It's in him
32:50
is the yes
32:51
and the amen.
32:52
Right?
32:53
And the Jews
32:54
were zealous
32:55
in their pursuit of God,
32:56
but they missed
32:57
the point.
32:58
Right?
32:59
They missed the point.
33:00
The law
33:00
was meant
33:01
to point them
33:03
to Christ.
33:03
The sacrificial system,
33:05
when they betrayed the law,
33:06
was meant to show them
33:07
the need
33:07
of a final
33:08
and ultimate sacrifice,
33:10
but they missed it.
33:12
Right?
33:12
Their hearts
33:13
were darkened
33:14
and they thought
33:15
somehow that they had
33:16
the patent on God,
33:18
that they owned him.
33:19
They thought
33:20
they were God's manager.
33:23
They missed the point.
33:25
So,
33:26
it's by faith,
33:28
grace alone,
33:29
through faith alone,
33:29
and Christ alone,
33:31
forever,
33:32
right?
33:32
As our song says.
33:34
And so,
33:35
they stumble
33:36
over the stumbling stone.
33:38
Isaiah 8,
33:39
14 and 15.
33:41
And he will become
33:42
a sanctuary
33:42
and a stone of offense
33:44
and a rock of stumbling
33:45
to both houses of Israel,
33:47
a trap and a snare
33:48
to the inhabitants
33:49
of Jerusalem,
33:50
and many shall stumble on it.
33:51
They shall fall
33:52
and be broken.
33:53
They shall be snared
33:54
and taken.
33:56
Also,
33:57
Isaiah 28, 16.
33:58
Therefore,
33:59
thus says the Lord God,
33:59
Behold,
34:00
I am the one
34:01
who's laid a foundation
34:02
in Zion,
34:03
a stone,
34:04
a tested stone,
34:05
a precious cornerstone
34:06
of a sure foundation.
34:08
Whoever believes
34:09
will not be in haste
34:11
or will not be disappointed
34:13
or will not be put to shame.
34:17
In all ways,
34:18
that word can be translated
34:20
from the Hebrew.
34:22
So,
34:24
Christ himself
34:26
is the cornerstone,
34:28
the necessary element,
34:30
the way that was laid out
34:33
that all things be built
34:34
around him.
34:35
That's the purpose
34:36
that the cornerstone
34:37
served
34:37
in building
34:39
in this time.
34:41
Extremely valuable.
34:42
Without it,
34:42
the whole building
34:43
would fall.
34:44
And Christ is that cornerstone.
34:46
Yet,
34:46
for those
34:46
who think
34:47
they can reach
34:48
God
34:48
by works,
34:51
as they're pursuing
34:52
God in works,
34:53
Christ is laid
34:53
in front of them
34:54
and they fall over him
34:56
and they're crushed.
34:57
They're destroyed
34:58
because they're works.
34:59
That's ultimately
35:00
what all of our works
35:02
are going to buy us.
35:05
But our faith
35:06
in Christ
35:06
buys us eternity
35:09
with him.
35:11
Romans chapter 4.
35:12
We're going to go back
35:12
and I want to re-read
35:13
to you
35:14
the argument
35:17
he makes
35:17
concerning Abraham.
35:18
So,
35:19
so Abraham
35:21
was given a command
35:22
to get up and go,
35:25
leave his people,
35:26
to go to a promised land.
35:27
He was given a promise
35:28
that God would bless
35:29
the nations in him.
35:31
It would seem
35:32
in reading the narrative
35:33
without any commentary
35:34
whatsoever
35:35
that it was Abraham's
35:36
obedience,
35:37
his working
35:38
that was the value.
35:41
Right?
35:41
But it was his faith
35:43
that justified him.
35:45
It was his faith
35:45
in believing
35:46
in the promises of God.
35:48
The working,
35:49
the getting up
35:49
and the going
35:50
was the result.
35:52
It was the action.
35:53
It was the evidence
35:54
of his faith.
35:56
His willingness
35:57
to sacrifice
35:58
his own son
35:59
was the evidence
36:00
of the fact
36:00
that he believed God.
36:02
He believed
36:02
that God was going
36:03
to bless the nations
36:04
in him,
36:05
that his offspring
36:06
were going to be
36:06
as the stars,
36:09
but yet God
36:09
was calling him
36:10
to kill his only
36:11
son.
36:14
He believed
36:15
that God was going
36:15
to do the thing
36:16
he said he was going
36:16
to do,
36:17
and therefore
36:17
the taking of Isaac
36:18
and his apparent
36:19
willingness to kill
36:20
his son at God's
36:21
command was the
36:22
evidence of the faith,
36:24
but it was the faith
36:24
that justified him.
36:26
So, look with me
36:27
at chapter 4.
36:29
What then shall we say
36:30
was gained by Abraham,
36:32
our forefather
36:32
according to the flesh?
36:34
For if Abraham
36:35
was justified by works,
36:37
he has something
36:38
to boast about,
36:39
but not before God.
36:40
For what does
36:41
the scripture say?
36:43
Abraham believed God,
36:44
and it was counted
36:45
to him as righteousness.
36:47
Now to the one
36:48
who works,
36:49
his wages are not
36:49
counted as a gift,
36:50
but as his due.
36:52
And to the one
36:52
who does not work,
36:53
but believes in him
36:54
who justifies the ungodly,
36:56
his faith is counted
36:57
as righteousness.
36:59
Just as David
36:59
also speaks
37:00
of the blessing
37:00
of the one
37:01
to whom God
37:01
counts righteousness
37:02
apart from works.
37:03
Blessed are those
37:04
whose lawless deeds
37:05
are forgiven,
37:06
and whose sins
37:06
are covered.
37:07
Blessed is the man
37:08
against whom the Lord
37:09
will not count his sin.
37:12
Is this blessing
37:13
then only for the circumcised
37:15
or also for the uncircumcised?
37:17
We say that faith
37:18
was counted to Abraham
37:19
as righteousness.
37:21
How then was it counted
37:22
to him?
37:22
Was it before
37:23
or after he had been
37:25
circumcised?
37:25
Which is a work.
37:26
You get that, right?
37:27
Circumcision would be a work.
37:29
It was not after,
37:31
but before
37:31
he was circumcised.
37:33
He received the sign
37:34
of circumcision
37:35
as a seal
37:35
of the righteousness
37:36
that he had by faith
37:37
while he was still
37:38
uncircumcised.
37:39
The purpose was
37:40
to make him
37:40
the father of all
37:41
who believe
37:41
without being circumcised
37:43
so that righteousness
37:44
would be counted
37:44
to them as well.
37:46
And to make him
37:47
the father of the circumcised
37:48
who were not merely
37:49
circumcised,
37:49
but who also walked
37:51
in the footsteps
37:51
of the faith
37:52
that our father Abraham
37:53
had before
37:55
he was circumcised.
37:57
So you're catching that?
37:59
Interject in there
38:00
anything he did
38:02
as a result of his faith.
38:03
It wasn't his works
38:06
that justified him
38:07
before God.
38:08
It was his faith.
38:13
Ephesians 2, 18-21
38:15
Through him being Jesus,
38:18
we both have access
38:20
in one spirit
38:21
to the Father.
38:23
So then you are no longer
38:24
strangers and aliens,
38:25
but you are fellow citizens
38:26
with the saints
38:26
and members
38:27
of the household of God
38:28
built on the foundation
38:29
of the apostles
38:30
and prophets.
38:32
Christ Jesus himself
38:33
being the cornerstone
38:34
in whom the whole structure
38:35
being joined together
38:37
grows into a holy temple
38:39
in the Lord.
38:43
I want to answer
38:44
all of your questions.
38:47
I have some answers
38:48
to some questions,
38:49
but there are so many
38:50
that I cannot answer.
38:52
How it is
38:53
that this tension exists
38:54
between God's sovereignty
38:56
and man's responsibility
38:57
is beyond me.
39:00
And let me tell you,
39:00
it's beyond anybody
39:02
who claims they understand it.
39:05
No one understands it.
39:06
The scripture doesn't speak to it
39:08
in its completion.
39:10
For us,
39:11
it's to accept
39:12
both of those truths.
39:15
God sovereignly elects his people.
39:17
He calls them.
39:19
He regenerates them.
39:20
He causes them
39:21
to believe in him.
39:24
Yet we are held accountable
39:26
for our faith.
39:27
If we do not place
39:29
our faith in Jesus Christ,
39:30
we are condemned.
39:33
But if we do,
39:35
we are glorified.
39:39
We hold the responsibility.
39:41
This doctrine is not meant
39:43
to discourage your faith.
39:44
It's meant to encourage it.
39:46
If you have affections
39:48
that are moving towards God,
39:49
that's not natural.
39:51
Your flesh does not desire God.
39:54
But if you're being moved
39:57
towards him,
39:58
you can rest
39:59
that he is at work
40:00
in your life.
40:02
Repent.
40:03
Believe.
40:05
Do that for the first time today
40:07
if you never have.
40:08
Do it again
40:09
and again
40:10
and again
40:11
if you ever have.
40:14
The answer to everybody,
40:16
to all of our problems,
40:18
is repent.
40:19
Believe.
40:20
Turn from your sin.
40:21
Turn to God.
40:22
He's the only one
40:24
that can put us back
40:26
in right relationship
40:27
with him.
40:30
We remind you
40:31
that this doctrine
40:33
does some very specific
40:35
practical things for us.
40:38
Specifically,
40:40
it serves as a comfort
40:41
to our souls.
40:42
I was just talking about this.
40:43
Romans 8, 31.
40:45
What then shall we say
40:46
to these things?
40:47
If God is for us,
40:48
who can be against us?
40:51
If we are gods,
40:52
who can stand against God?
40:55
It should comfort your soul
40:56
in any trouble
40:57
you may experience.
40:59
Right?
40:59
It could be the very words
41:00
you need to speak
41:01
to somebody around you
41:02
that may be experiencing
41:03
something difficult.
41:04
If God is for you,
41:06
who can be against you?
41:07
You are His.
41:10
It should cause us
41:11
to praise God.
41:13
If we are humbled,
41:16
properly humbled,
41:18
because of who God is,
41:21
we will be moved
41:22
to praise Him.
41:23
If we understand
41:24
who we are
41:24
apart from Him,
41:26
we will praise His name.
41:29
Remember that Paul
41:30
is moving this entire argument
41:32
to the end of chapter 11
41:33
to this beautiful doxology.
41:36
It's a glorious doxology.
41:38
Oh,
41:38
the depths of the riches
41:40
and wisdom
41:41
and knowledge of God!
41:42
How unsearchable
41:43
are His judgments
41:44
and how inscrutable
41:45
His ways!
41:46
For who has known
41:46
the mind of the Lord
41:47
or who has been
41:48
His counselor
41:48
or who has given
41:49
a gift to Him
41:50
that He might be repaid?
41:52
For from Him
41:53
and to Him
41:54
and through Him
41:55
are all things.
41:56
To Him be glory forever.
41:58
Amen.
41:59
That's where your heart
42:00
should be
42:01
as you consider
42:02
these things.
42:03
It should also
42:07
encourage us
42:09
to evangelism.
42:12
I told you the story
42:14
of how I'm
42:15
trying to be a hunter
42:17
a couple of weeks ago
42:20
and I don't really
42:21
I've not killed anything yet
42:22
so I think I'm going to
42:23
kill someone
42:23
before I call myself
42:24
a hunter.
42:25
But I've been trying
42:25
and I've actually been
42:26
hunting here on this property.
42:28
There's some deer
42:28
that move on it
42:29
and I told you
42:31
that if God
42:32
guaranteed
42:33
how something
42:34
would happen
42:35
like He said
42:35
listen
42:35
you go in those woods
42:37
you're coming out
42:37
with a deer
42:38
I promise you
42:38
this morning
42:39
you're going to
42:39
drag it out.
42:40
I would be so
42:40
encouraged to go.
42:42
But when I wake up
42:43
at 5 o'clock
42:44
in the morning
42:45
wondering
42:45
if I should get up
42:47
and go
42:47
I'm kind of
42:48
trying to hack
42:49
the stuff out
42:50
of my lungs
42:51
and trying to get
42:51
ready for the day
42:52
and get going
42:53
and it's kind of like
42:54
I really want to
42:55
go sit in the woods
42:56
for an hour
42:56
before dark.
42:58
I really want
42:59
to go do that.
43:00
If there was a guarantee
43:01
that I'd get the deer
43:02
that morning
43:02
I would definitely go.
43:05
This last Friday
43:06
I was sitting
43:07
in the woods
43:08
and hadn't been sitting
43:08
for more than
43:09
5 minutes.
43:11
I was sitting
43:11
in a blind
43:12
on the ground
43:12
and I wasn't there
43:14
more than 5 minutes
43:15
and a buck
43:16
walked out
43:16
right next to me
43:17
and I didn't hear it
43:19
until it was
43:19
right next to me
43:20
so all I can figure
43:20
is that it was
43:21
bedded down
43:21
in the ditch
43:22
behind the tree
43:23
I was sitting against.
43:24
I heard 3 steps
43:25
and it was standing
43:26
right here
43:26
and it walked around
43:28
in front of me
43:29
I mean my feet
43:30
were out
43:30
straight in front
43:31
of me
43:31
and I probably
43:32
could have scooted
43:33
and kicked it.
43:34
It was that close
43:35
it was right there
43:36
and I won't tell you
43:37
the rest of the story
43:38
for the sake of time
43:39
I didn't kill the deer
43:40
it was really dark
43:40
and it got scared
43:41
by a truck
43:42
and ran away
43:42
but if I could
43:45
guarantee that again
43:46
like if I knew
43:49
that tomorrow morning
43:50
when I'm planning
43:51
on getting back out there
43:51
that that was definitely
43:52
going to happen again
43:53
I would go right?
43:56
I'm motivated
43:56
to see this happen
43:58
I would sit down
43:59
at the base of the tree
44:00
with my bow drawn
44:01
because that would have
44:02
been an easy shot
44:03
right?
44:04
So knowing that God
44:05
has people
44:06
and God intends
44:07
to call them
44:07
and he's going
44:08
to do it
44:08
should motivate us
44:09
to go
44:09
experience him
44:11
by seeing him
44:11
fulfill his plan
44:13
be part of
44:14
his redemptive purposes
44:17
chapter 10
44:18
verse 14 and 15
44:20
here's
44:20
recall
44:21
this isn't random
44:22
this isn't like
44:23
10, 14 and 15
44:25
let's pull it out
44:25
of its context
44:26
what has Paul
44:26
been talking about?
44:27
he's been talking about
44:28
the sovereign election
44:28
of God
44:29
right?
44:30
that's
44:30
it's consistent
44:31
that some of Israel
44:33
was meant to reject him
44:34
so that the Gentiles
44:35
can be brought in
44:36
he says
44:36
how will they call on him
44:37
in whom they have not believed
44:38
and how are they to believe
44:39
in him of whom they have
44:40
never heard
44:41
and how are they to hear
44:42
without someone preaching
44:44
and how are they to preach
44:45
unless they are sent
44:47
as it is written
44:48
how beautiful are the feet
44:49
of those who preach
44:50
the good news
44:51
Paul himself recognizes
44:53
that God uses means
44:55
for his end
44:56
and guess what church
44:57
we're the means
44:57
God loves us enough
45:00
to include us
45:01
in his master plan
45:02
it's glorious
45:04
and all of these things
45:06
are a result
45:08
of our affections
45:08
being moved
45:09
towards God
45:10
this great joy
45:11
that we have
45:12
as a result
45:13
of God's
45:15
unfounded love
45:16
in our own being
45:18
poured out upon us
45:20
immeasurably
45:21
for us
45:22
that will motivate
45:23
the proper living
45:24
that we need
45:26
to glorify him
45:27
let's pray together
45:28
God bless you
45:30
God bless you
45:31
God bless you
45:32
God bless you