Sunday, October 13, 2019 - Romans 11:25-36 - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd

Sunday, October 13, 2019 - Romans 11:25-36 - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd, Battle Ground, Washington, US

Sunday Service Time: 10 AM
Sunday Service Location: 1919 SW 25th Ave, Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: (360) 975-9356
Email: info@freedomcommunity.church
Prayer Request: wepray@freedomcommunity.church
Mailing Address: 1400 NE 136th Ave. Ste 201, Vancouver, WA 98684

Sermon Notes:
Romans 11:25-36

As we open to Romans 11:25 we come to one more week dealing with Gods promises in order to hammer home to Israel and the church that our God is the God who keeps His promises. And then through the rest of the book of Romans we come to the very practical application in the life of the Christian now.
• Which include topics such as 1) what our way of life should look like as followers of Jesus, 2) spiritual giftings given to the body of believers, 3) how to live like the family in Christ we all are, 4) our responsibility in regard to government, 5) how to live with and among our neighbors and more

But picking back up today with our study in Ch. 9-11, we need to remember that last week, although the information God is conveying is regarding Israel, verse 24 made it clear He is now speaking to the gentiles
• And with that, we are going to pick up in verse 25;
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, (and now He tells us what the mystery is) that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” (Isa. 59:20-21)
On behalf of ever follower of Jesus, if you are a gentile and have not yet come to faith in Jesus, I want you to know how great the desire of everyone in this room is that you would give your life to Jesus today and be saved
• And as you turn to Him today, and others continue to do the same, at some point the last one will come, and when they do, God is going to do an amazing work in Israel, washing and restoring them to Himself
• And if you think there are a lot of tears of joy at a wedding, when the bride comes down the aisle, you haven’t seen nothing yet

The website “Jewish Voice”, regarding these verses has said “More Jewish people have come to faith in Yeshua in the last generation than at any time since the first century. Through the ministry of Jewish Voice alone, we have seen some thousands of Jewish People respond to the Gospel in the last decade of outreaches alone! God is opening long-blinded eyes and softening thousands of Jewish hearts just as the Scriptures promised. The time during which the good news finds hearing only among Gentiles is coming to an end. We recognize this as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and a clear indication that the Last Days are upon us.”
• So, if this blindness is coming to an end, and the age of the gentile is coming to a close, then the time for us to being going home is drawing close

Now, I know there is a lot of confusion regarding what Gods plans are for Israel going forward, and I think in revealing some of those plans, I will also be able to address 1) who from Israel is going to be saved, 2) how God is going to turn away ungodliness from them, and 3) how He will take away their sins
• And so, we are going to start with 1) Gods plan for Israel directly after the rapture of the church, 2) during the second half of the tribulation, then 3) into the 1,000 year reign of Jesus upon the earth, and finally 4) into the eternal heavens

After the last gentile receives Jesus, I believe strongly that the church will be raptured and antichrist will soon after make a seven year peace deal (covenant) with Israel (Dan. 9:27) initiating the Tribulation. And during that time God is going to reinstate Israel as His time piece for the significant events of His coming into the world again (read Dan. 9:24-27 or listen to our study there for more details of the significance)
• And During the first 3 ½ years of this 7 year tribulation, we learned in Revelation of Gods evangelistic program during the tribulation, for 1) He sends out 144,000 sealed Jewish male evangelists (7:1-8 & 14:1-5), then 2) of the two witnesses which we believe to be Moses and Elijah, who will prophecy, perform miracles and then after being dead and unburied, 3 days later stand to their feet like nothing happened and then ascend into heaven while the whole world watches (11:1-14), and 3) finally, 3 angels will be making proclamations to the entire earth as they fly around it; which includes the everlasting gospel (14:6-11)
• And I will admit the angels are not Jewish 😊, but the 144,000 and two witness are as Jewish as Paul was. This is because God has reinstated them as His time piece, just as the bible tells us He will

Now, that was just the start of God reinstatement of Israel during the tribulation, for at the half way point (3 ½ years) antichrist will break that peace covenant (Dan. 9:27 & Matt. 24:15)
• Now hear Dan.12:1-2; “At that time Michael (angel over Israel) shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people (Israel) shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt
• This is written specifically of that last 3 ½ years known as The Great Tribulation or the time of Jacobs trouble. And Jeremiah 30:7 says “Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.
• So not only are we told its going to be horrific, but also that it’s going to come to an end and those who are ethnic Israel are going to be turning to Jesus as a nation (but not every one of them)

And as Jesus returns in what we know as His Second Coming, Israel will recognize Him as Messiah and God will restore them. (see Zech. 12)
• Of this time, Ezekiel 11:17-21 says; Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.” ’ 18 And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there (remember verses 26-27). 19 Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20 that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

• Which also supports what we have been hearing starting in Ch. 9, which is that is that those of Israel who receive Jesus then will be saved ( and we are told in Zech. 13:8-9 this shall be 1/3- a remnant still, but a much larger remnant) but those who do not, will not, and will not make it through the tribulation
• And this gives us more information on 1) who from Israel is going to be saved, and 2) how God is going to turn away ungodliness from them (verse 26), and 3) how He will take away their sins (verse 27)

This leads us into the period after the tribulation, known as the Millennium. Ezekiel 37:21-28 tells us God will bring them back into the land He gave them during the millennial kingdom, and I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore (this has obviously not happened yet). 27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28 The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.

• Isaiah 60-66 covers this time well and we see there you cannot separate the regathering of this people from the land given to them, for great blessing will come to them there
• And its from there they will serve the Lordi n the land that He has forever given to them
• And Isaiah 27:6, speaking to Israel, says “Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, And fill the face of the world with fruit”. Which means although Israel failed to bring many people to God during human history up to this point, they will be very fruitful in leading those who are born during the millennium
And going forward into the eternal kingdom, the promises of God that tie them to Him and the land He has given them, will never change;
28 Concerning the gospel they (Israel) are enemies for your sake (the gentiles), but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers (the patriarchs). 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

I like that a lot; that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable! And so, should everyone who has called upon the name of the Lord, because His promise is that if we repent and call upon Jesus, we shall be saved!
And I want to read just one more passage regarding this promise which God made to Israel to sum this up.
• Jer. 20-26 20 “Thus says the Lord: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, 21 then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’ ”23 Moreover the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 “Have you not considered what these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which the Lord has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus they have despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation before them. 25 “Thus says the Lord: ‘If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, 26 then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them.’ ”

Folks, God keeps His promises. It might not be in the way or in the timing you think it should be, but it will be exactly as He has promised. And you and I should be so grateful for that, because we are holding onto an eternal promise made to us
• And although I wish He would have called the church home yesterday, and the day before that…
• What I do know is that He will call the church home. And on that day, every Jew and gentile who has trusted in Jesus will be so overwhelmed with joy
• But until then, especially on those intensely difficult days between now and then, we stand on the promise of God (because of our relationship with Jesus) to carry us through
o So when the enemy comes and tries to get you to loose hope, cling to the faithfulness of Jesus.

30 For as you (gentiles) were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their (Israel’s) disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you (gentiles) they (Israel) also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

The truth is that both Jews and gentiles have had seasons where their disobedience as a people is focal, and God has desired to show mercy to both and all (1 Tim. 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9)

But what does it mean that God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all
• We must go back to the beginning to find this answer (Rom. 5:12). And there we find that God created Adam not as an infant but as a grown man (many believe he was in his early 30’s). And the reason this is important is to make clear that it didn’t take Adam decades before he and Eve sinned. For we know both he and Eve were created in the first 6 days of human history, yet no child is mentioned until after the fall
• And I have a feeling it wasn’t even months before they, in their fertility, conceived. Meaning I believe it didn’t take long after the creation for the fall
• And therefore we can see Adam was not some long term superstar in using of his free will untainted, and one day, long into the future, then blew it. Because free will provides decisions for us to make

Now before the fall, Adam had an amazing relationship with God but man’s potential for the type of relationship he could have with God was far greater after the fall then it was before.
• Before Adam communed with God but never had Gods righteousness. But once the fall occurred the scene was set, which pointed to Jesus coming, and therefore man’s eternal salivation.
• Which included man receiving Jesus righteousness in their account by trusting in Him (see Rom. 5 study)
• So, in saying God has committed them all to disobedience, I think clearly speaks of God giving every person freewill. Because in creating free will, God created the most amazing door for a transforming relationship with Him, which, by necessity, also created the potential for us to sin. You cannot have one without the other.
o And here Gods reminds us the decision now rests in each one of our hands (Josh. 24:14-15)

So, when all are born into sin, its because all are born with free will, for there would be no sin without freewill because then God would move us around life like puppets, and because He does not sin or cause anyone to sin (James 1:13-14), there would therefore be no sin, for the potential would be gone.
• But He has committed (or “consigned”) us all to disobedience, and therefore no one can say “well, that’s a problem for you guys but not for me, because I haven’t sinned”. (Rom. 3:23)
• And I for one am grateful because I couldn’t imagine what it would look like if it was up to us to decide if someone had sinned or not, and therefore needs salvation.
o It’s as if God has ripped the band aid off the open wound of sin, that resulted from our using freewill for rebellion, leaving all with a clear decision to make
• But to be absolutely clear on this issue, His hope and intent in giving freewill is that ALL would choose Him and therefore be showered in His mercy!!!
And for some, everything I just said sounds really theological, and therefore there might be some here asking why they need to know this. Well, as a pastor who gets to field a lot of questions, I can tell you these are the very kind of questions regarding salvation and Gods nature that are most frequently being asked. And As the church, I hope you have a desire to be able to answer these questions well when they come your way

And now he concludes this section, saying:
33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counselor?” 35 “Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?” 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

And I love this final section because after the Holy Spirit has used Paul to explain all of these things to us, there are simply things we are still trying to grasp and/or gain a greater understanding of.
• And the Rob translation of what God is saying here is, “Look, I’m God and you can’t know all that I know and think all that I think, so trust My love for you”. Of course, the Holy Spirit puts is far more succinct, but I think you get the point (I hope)
Folks, when we think about all that God has done 1) through the creation, 2) through giving man free will to love Him or chose sin, 3) in already having a plan for salvation before the creation was created and the fall occurred, 4) in choosing Israel as His set apart people to reveal Him to the world, 5) in using their temporary blindness as an opportunity for the gentiles to come in, 6) while setting a plan to reinstate Israel during the last 7 years and into eternity, and…
• I hope we are all smart enough to realize we have trouble filing our taxes, remembering where we set our keys, deciding what to have for dinner, and…
• that we would surrender the things we don’t fully grasp, as we pursue a greater understanding of God, to one simple and valuable truth- He gets it all, and Has secured forever, those who love Him!

And, it’s His creative nature that envisioned absolutely everything. And it’s His power that then created and sustains all of it. And it’s all perfect because it was all made for a perfect God!
• I believe this is the “of Him and through Him and to Him”
• And what should our response be? To simply worship and praise Him, so that the fellow believers would be mutually encouraged (Rom. 1:12) as we work together to bring Him glory, and make Him know to the lost!
• And this is pretty hard to do if in the back of our minds we are wondering if He might give up on us.
So, I hope after all of this, you and I can fully rest in the fact that He never will (Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5)