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Psalms 73:17-28 Then I went
into Your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
Truly, You put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to
destruction. In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by
terrors. When You arise, O Lord, You will laugh at their silly ideas as a
person laughs at dreams in the morning. Then I realized that my heart was
bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant—I must have
seemed like a senseless animal to You. Yet I still belong to You; You hold my
right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
Whom have I in heaven but You? I desire You more than anything on earth. My
health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of
my heart; He is mine forever. Those who desert Him will perish, for You destroy
those who abandon You. But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have
made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the
wonderful things You do. Father,
in the name of Jesus we give you praise and thanks for all you do in our lives.
Touch our hearts and minds and open our ears to your calling so that we can start
living according to the Spirit and not the flesh. We ask for rain Father God,
it’s may be too late for the corn crop, but we need rain to survive here on earth.
Our wells are low and they need replenishing. We give you all the glory and
praise. Amen!
Romans 9:6-13 NKJV
Paul began the book of Romans saying the Gospel is the
power of God to salvation for all who believe. Romans 1:16 For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. The Gospel
came first to God’s chosen people, the Jews, because of their privileged
position. But when the Gospel appeared in flesh and blood, meaning Jesus,
Israel rejected Him. John
1:10-11 He was in the world, and the
world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to
His own, and His own did not receive Him. Israel saw her problems as political
rather than spiritual, they wanted the Roman yoke to be removed from their
necks. They did not want the Roman government ruling them, they wanted their
freedom to live their lives without fear of the Roman laws interfering with
their customs. This is what the Jewish people thought the Messiah would do for
them, remove the Roman jurisdiction that was over them.
Jesus mission was a spiritual mission not a political
one. This is one of the reasons the Jewish people could not accept Jesus as their
Messiah because of their human thinking and reasoning, even though Jesus
performed many miracles. The preaching and miracles did not fit the mold of
their human reasoning and view of what they wanted in a Messiah. They were
looking for a Super Hero to solve all their problems. Someone of power, of
great stature, of mighty words, of boldness, of great respect, someone the
Romans would fear. Wow I can’t think of anyone but Jesus of Nazareth that fits
that description, but their human flesh wouldn’t allow their hearts to see the
truth. If they would have prayed to God and seek his wisdom and grace would God
have revealed the truth to them?
Our flesh, our thinking, gets in the
way so often in how we do things and how we reason through situations. For
instance three weeks ago on a Saturday morning I wrote up the lesson for the
week and in that lesson I made a statement that we need to include Jesus in all
that we do whether small or large tasks. When I was done with the lesson I went
out and saddled up Red for a ride. I worked him in the round pen for a while
and then took him down into the pasture. Since I had only ridden him a couple
times last summer and this was only the third time this year I was being very
cautious in what I was doing. Did you notice I said “I”, yes I was doing this
and didn’t ask Jesus for His guidance and protection. As it so happened I was
able to experience one of life’s trials through pain and suffering for the next
2 ½ weeks. As I was correcting one of Red’s, I don’t want to do that movement,
he stumbled and went down on his right knee. I thought he was going down all
the way so I bailed off. As I’m laying on the ground in pain trying to get my
breath back the first and only thought I had was, “Bill why did you try to do
this on your own, you didn’t include Jesus. By the way no broken bones, just
some sore and bruised muscles and chiropractic adjustments needed to get all
back in order.
We as human beings whether saved or
unsaved most often think we can solve our problems and do things of our own
accord. We are tangible thinking instead of spiritual thinking. Even Born Again
individuals struggle with spiritual thinking, even though the Holy Spirit is
living within that person. Spiritual thinking is something that is developed
over time. It is part of that sanctification process a true believer goes
through as they live their life out here on earth.
So when you get up in the mornings
give the whole day and all of its situations to Jesus, and as you go through
the day give Him praise and thanks for each thing whether large or small, good
or bad. Start thinking Spiritually in all you do!
Romans 9:6-13
6 But it is
not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are
of Israel, What is Paul stating and explaining here? Has God failed
to fulfill His promise to Israel? No, not at all, it is the human way of
thinking and reasoning that led the Jewish people to thinking it had failed.
They put their trust in their flesh, doctrine, and heritage. The Messiah came,
God’s plan was and is being carried out, it is the Israelites and us that have
failed when we place our faith in anything other than the Cross of Christ.
What about the last part of the verse? ”For
they are not all Israel who are of Israel” Here again it
is simply stating that not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly
members of God's people! Salvation is not guaranteed to anyone because of parents,
religion, culture, etc. If this were the case, and salvation was based on
heritage, then there was no need for Jesus to die for mankind.
7 nor are they all children because they
are the seed of Abraham; but, "IN ISAAC YOUR SEED SHALL BE CALLED." This verse
is stating once again that not all of the Jewish people are Gods children and
Paul is using Abraham and his sons as an example. Being a descendant of Abraham
doesn't make them true children of Abraham. It is through faith and trust in
God that grants them the privilege of being Abraham’s children. For the
Scriptures say, "Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be
counted." Ishmael was not included, even though he was one of Abraham’s
sons. Ishmael lived according to the works of the flesh while Isaac lived
spiritually with his faith in God. The same holds true for Cain and Abel, one
was works the other spiritual.
8 That is,
those who are the children of
the flesh, these are not the
children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. This means
that Abraham's physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only
the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham's children. The
promise of course is Jesus and believing in what He did on the Cross for them
and us. We must live by faith and not by flesh! The question is then, are you a
child of the flesh or a child of the promise? A child of the promise it is not
because you are a member of a church denomination, or because you have been baptized
in water, or partake in the Lord’s Supper, as important as these things are,
but rather because you have exhibited simple faith in Jesus Christ, trusting
Him implicitly, and have given Him your heart and life.
9
For
this is the word of promise:
"AT THIS TIME I WILL COME AND SARAH SHALL HAVE A SON." The key
word in this verse is “promise”. God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah that they
would have a son in a year is a promise they believed because God spoke it.
God’s word is something to live by. God’s promise to Abraham and Sarah goes
much farther than a son for them. Eventually this union of Abraham and Sarah
would result in the Messiah coming forth through their bloodlines. God’s
promise, is His plan of salvation for all. This is what faith is all about,
believing in what God has spoken, believing in what Jesus did for us on the
Cross, after all it should have been us suffering that awful beating and death.
If God has spoken and it is recorded in His Holy Word, the Bible, you can be
assured that it will come to pass. God cannot lie, his word was true when He
spoke it, it is true now, and will be true for all of eternity.
Speaking
of believing in God’s word, what is going on in current times? Are we entering
end time events? I don’t know, but it makes you stop and think. Jesus told his
disciples this; Matthew
24:7-8 For
nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be
famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are
the beginning of sorrows.
With
our current drought conditions, could they have anything to do with famines?
Could it have anything to do with the following verse with the price of cash corn
being $8.11, beans $17.29, wheat $8.66 per bushel? I don’t know, but it does
make a person stop and think. Revelation
6:6 And I heard a voice in the
midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a
denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil
and the wine."
10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac: With this
verse and the next three Paul is giving another example of God’s Promise, His
plan of salvation for all. The spiritual realm of believing in a divine plan,
that we must put our faith in and not a plan devised by man (flesh). Paul is
going to point out the twins of Isaac and Rebecca, with one living according to
flesh, mans standard and the other living spiritually according to God’s
standards.
11 (for the
children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the
purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who
calls):
The children not yet born, is referring to Esau and Jacob. Some will think then
the rest of the verse is stating that God chooses some people over other people
to be saved, but that is not what Paul is telling us. We have studied this in
previous lessons that election or choosing is referring to God’s foreknowledge.
God knows us, has known us from the beginning of time and He knows what is in
each of our hearts. He knows what we are going to do before we do it. So with
our simple minds, one can think that God is playing favorites when the verse
states, “God according to election”
but he isn’t. God’s call goes out to all, but many refuse his calling because
they place their faith in their own works for salvation.
So
the message Paul is reiterating to his Jewish brethren and us is that heritage
has nothing to do with salvation. It is not of works but of spirituality by Him
that calls to us.
12 it was said to her, "THE OLDER SHALL SERVE
THE YOUNGER.": The first phrase in this verse is referring
to God speaking to Rebecca. Genesis
25:23 And the LORD said to her:
"Two nations are in your
womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall
serve the younger.” This verse in Genesis also points out even
twins can be different as night and day when it comes to spirituality and such
was the case with Esau and Jacob.
What
about this part, “the older shall serve
the younger”? From a spiritual view it is connected with part of the
Genesis verse, “One people shall be
stronger than the other”. Here is the connection; the older is referring to
the sin nature we inherited; the younger is referring to the spiritual birth
one has when they give their heart to Jesus; one people being stronger than the
other is referring to the Born Again spirit that is stronger than the old sin nature.
It is only through faith in Jesus can we have victory over the sin nature.
Jesus defeated Satan at the Cross.
13 As it is written, "JACOB I HAVE LOVED, BUT
ESAU I HAVE HATED." This quoted phrase that Paul sites is found
in; Malachi 1:2-3 "I have loved you," says the LORD.
"Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the LORD. "Yet Jacob I have loved; 3 But Esau I
have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals
of the wilderness." Here again from a spiritual perspective, God
didn’t hate Esau, because God loves all of his creation, it is the sin in
people’s lives that He hates. God hated Esau’s lifestyle and that Esau put his
faith in his own capabilities, whereas Jacob was a man of God and his faith was
in God. Therefore God loved Jacob more than Esau or you could say God loved
Esau a little less than Jacob.
In closing Paul does an excellent job
in conveying the fact that faith and faith alone in Jesus and the sacrifice He
endured for us is the only way to Heaven. Paul’s analogies are plain and one
can’t argue against them, all we have to do is believe in Jesus and accept Him
as our saviour.
For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God
to salvation for everyone who believes,
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
Unless you are Born Again,
you cannot enter into Heaven, the Kingdom of God."
Bill Wiesbrock
Last Week’s Trivia: Who was Abiasaph?
Answer: A son of Korah a great-great-great
grandson of Jacob, Abiasaph was one of the heads of families of Levites that
left Egypt with Moses. Exodus 6:24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and
Abiasaph. Their descendants became the clans of Korah.
This week’s Trivia: Who was Abiathar?
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