God, the Jew, and You - Part A

Bible says in Numbers 23. God is not a man that he should lie is not a human, that he should change his mind.

Has he ever promised and not carried it through you and I should live no other way other than being only confident in what God is given a some people think that because Israel rejected Christ that God has rejected Israel but today I'm connect with skip-Skip helps you understand God's continued relationship with Israel. From a biblical perspective. You will hear some encouraging truths about God and his promises that you can take to heart.

But before we begin want to let you know about a resource that will help you pray more soul-searching. Prayer inspires you to pursue God's calling for your life, ready to radically upgrade your prayer life still stuck in blessing mode, you have come to the right place. It you are ready for dangerous prayers really start playing three new players and I will warn you. These are not easy. Prayers does not say prayers is not benign prayer, recalling the dangerous prayers, whether dangerous, in a good way and that is just my opinion. Most people I know in this part of the world most people's prayers are way to say that Craig Rochelle from his book dangerous prayers.

And this is our summer resorts offer. If you are ready to get out of your comfort zone was some prayers are not safe to pray no going into the when you pray this prayer to really ask God to do something that will often take you out of your comfort zone. Unlock your potential with Craig Rochelle's book dangerous prayers as our gift to you when you give $35 or more today to help keep this ministry on the air. Request your copy when you get online securely connectwithskip.com/offer or you can call 892 1888 another clip from Craig's book dangerous prayers talk about where we as God gone prayer right but the last thing it was one of the other side of brokenness is a real intimacy with God and a dependence on him. Cannot get any other way will have enough encouraging books yet one that will grab you by the throat and get her attention, replaced send me know what I want to do this I got a blank contract basically whatever however available to whatever you want to do. My life is your son connectwithskip.com/offer or you can call 809 two 218 Romans chapter 4 study with skip-made parties other rhetoric amped up way too high and you will hear both sides of the political aisle accusing one another with words like a wire fraud, fake untrue. You heard on both sides might take on it is that doesn't just reflect a political condition.

It reflects the human condition. I found up a book some time ago as a chapter in it. It's a book of research and poles. Chapter called American liars and according to the polling 91% of Americans admit to lying routinely about matters they consider trivial. As an example, that meal was delicious.

Your thinking I wouldn't feed that to my cat. But you don't say that.

Nor should you say that, but you're not being honest, I don't quite know how to get around that. Or if you say all know you look great.

You don't need to lose anyway. Your perfect, you may not be thinking that you say that or you say no I I'm great I am good. You may not be all that fine.

So 91% of Americans admit to lying routinely about matters they consider trivial 36% of those say they tell big lies about important matters that hurt other people.

Here's the breakdown. According to this research man lie more than women was that funny men will have more than women young man lie more than older men, the unemployed will lie more than those with jobs and the poor will lie more than the rich. And finally, liberals lie more than conservatives… Shoot the messenger. I'm just telling you what what I read. I think most often the lies come from broken promise and the good news is that we have in our hands.

A book filled with promises from a promise giving, and promise keeping God. You know that in your Bible, you have 31,173 versus in total, that is 23,000 in the Old Testament about 8000 verses in the New Testament of all those verses. It is estimated there are 7487 promises that God made to us. The Bible says in Numbers 23. God is not a man that he should lie, he is not a human, that he should change his mind as he ever promised and not carried it through you and I should live no other way other than being extremely confident in what God has given us in terms of his promises. I do know how you treat God's promises. There is a story about when America was first being settled on a man wanted across the Mississippi River early in the wintertime the water where he was crossing was frozen over.

He did know how much the ice would hold his weight so he decided he had to cross that there was no bridge. He got on all fours to distribute his weight evenly and move very very slowly very cautiously, but then he hears a noise and he turns to look, and he sees a horse drawn carriage weighted down with all sorts of supplies driving over the ice. The man is sitting aboard with the horses and he singing in a smiling obviously very confident that that ice withholding, which it did. So what are you like you like the guy that is creeping on the promises. Are you standing firmly on the promises. With that as a background, we come to Romans chapter 9 and the issue at stake. In Romans chapter 9 is that the promises of God are under scrutiny, especially the promises that God made to the nation of Israel in the Old Testament. Let me explain. When Paul writes the book of Romans there is a shift occurring in the demographics of the church at the time. You know that the early church when it first started it was all Jewish started in Jerusalem. The people who believed in the Messiah were Jewish believers by as time went on, that began to change.

At this point there are far more Gentile believers in this Jesus than Jewish believers. Even though it's a Jewish Messiah and the promises are Jewish promises Israel as a nation has rejected Christ and the Gentiles have embraced and so the issue is, since they have pushed Jesus aside, has God rejected them that brings us to chapter 9 is a new section of the book of Romans and if you remember not all just tell you again. The book of Romans can be divided into four sections.

Section 1 chapter 1 to chapter 3 verse 20 is all about the wrath of God. Paul places all of humanity under the death sentence, but then that is eclipsed by the grace of God. So chapter 3 verse 21 all the way to chapter 8 verse 39 is all about the grace of God. Chapter 9, 10, 11, brings us to the third of the four sections of the book of Romans, which is under the banner.

The plan of God for the Jew and the Gentile. This is the plan of God.

So chapter 9, 10, 11 is like a trilogy, the Israel trilogy chapter 9 is about Israel's past chapter 10, principally about Israel's present chapter 11 about Israel's future working a look at chapter 9 vernacular read all the verses were to read many of them and I want to show you a four tiered strategy of God in relation to the nation of Israel.

I'm calling this message God, the Jew and you let me give you that strategy number one God's pick is Israel. God shows that nation for a very specific reason. Let's go to verse one of Romans nine I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart for I wish that I myself were cursed from Christ for my brother and my countrymen according to the flesh who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law. The service of God and the promises of whom are the fathers, and from whom, according to the flesh Christ came, who is overall, the eternally blessed God. Amen Paul begins by acknowledging that God picked the nation of Israel, why to reveal himself to reveal his plan and to eventually reveal his son.

If you look at those few verses that we just read. He lists several advantages.

Several benefits that they have.

I wanted a notice verse about the adoption. No other nation on the planet could say that they were God's special treasure like Israel could in fact, God even said in Exodus chapter 4 Israel is my son, my firstborn, he regarded that nation as like an adopted son brought into the family and in Deuteronomy chapter 7 the Lord declared, out of all the nations on the earth.

I have chosen you as my special treasure so they have the adoption.

Second, they have the glory, have you ever heard the term Shekinah or Shekinah glory. It is not a biblical term comes from rabbinic literature, but it's a word that means the presence of God, and it it it is a reference to primarily that cloud in the wilderness that led them on a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night and it arrested over the tabernacle and eventually the temple.

That's the presence of God for the glory of God. Third, the covenants of the covenant is in agreement impact ideal. So God made a covenant with Abraham.

For the land God made a covenant with Moses for the people of the land God made a covenant with David for the Messiah will come to those people in that land. Next, he says, the giving of the law. If you think about it every book of the Bible is Jewish, except for two old and New Testament. The two exceptions are the book of Luke, Gospel of Luke in the book of acts, both written by Luca Gentile. The rest of them are Jewish scriptures. Special revelation of God, Old Testament and New Testament.

Then he mentions the service of God. That is the temple service. They were allowed to administrate that worship center for the people could have fellowship with God as he dwelt among them next and this is really germane to the study. The promises I mention 7487 promises God made to us.

Many of them were promises God gave to that nation. God promised them a land God promised them an eternal kingdom and God promised them Messiah. If you were to go to the nation of Israel today make it to the West Bank. There is a town in the West Bank that was called in antiquity Bethel Bethel it is in the center of the land. We don't take groups there because of work situated but you can go there. I been there a couple of times there is a sign at one of the intersection just outside of Bethel, sponsored by a local grocer. He owns a store and the sign reads this here in Bethel 3800 years ago, the creator of the world promised the land of Israel to the people of Israel. It is by virtue of this promise that we dwell today in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Shiloh and Habre. In other words, are saying the only reason were still here is because God made promises to us for us to be here so there there as the list continues. Verse five of whom are the fathers, who were they the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the 12 tribes, all of them belong to Israel.

Israel began by God choosing one man one person by the name of Abraham. He wasn't Jewish he was a Gentile. He lived in or the Chaldees.

He lived in the Mesopotamian river valley and God said to him through you. I'm gonna make a great nation which proves that God has an incredible sense of humor that God is going to take an old man with an infertile wife and say I'm in a make out you guys a great nation but he did you know the story. She had a baby.

The family grew that family went on to produce lots of children are they eventually went down to Egypt as the family stayed there 400 years became slaves in Egypt were delivered from Egypt across the Sinai desert into the land of Canaan were they populated that Lance settled that land grew in numbers, developed a monarchy. There the King Saul, David, Solomon whole bunch of other things eventually taken captive but brought back into that land and if you go to the Middle East today still walk in the land of Israel, against all odds, it still exists today. There are 9 million people living in that small little state of Israel. 6.7 million are Jewish. It is indeed become a great nation with the $300 billion per year gross domestic product. It is the fourth leading exporter of citrus to the world. It is the third leading exporter of flowers to the world from one man who was old with an infertile wife to a nation of slaves in Egypt to a land God gave them so the guy could showcase his glory through that little nation the greatest blessing that they showcased is mentioned in verse five of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh Christ came, who is over all the eternally blessed God. Now if you're looking for a verse that encapsulates the humanity and the deity of Jesus Christ is hard to beat them sing Jesus as a Jewish background. But he's God, he's the eternally blessed God. Amen Jesus was a Jewish man. He was dedicated in the Jewish Temple. He went through the Jewish bar mitzvah. He went to the Jewish Passover and so salvation came to the Jews through 82. Remember the conversation Jesus had at the well of Samaria with the woman who said what. We have our own. The worship system. We do our own thing you Jews do your own thing. Jesus said we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews, God made promises to that nation singularly is why I love to go there. I think you guessed that.

I love the go thereof been there 41 times now.

I plan to go back in February with a group of about 250 or so of you and and why do we go there.

Why do I keep going back with us were Abraham came.

That's where the prophets preached. That's where David reigned as were Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again from the dead, and is coming back to Jerusalem, the sort of mystifies some people.

Some even Christians, wonder why we evangelicals support Israel so much with the big deal that is what he got supported. First of all, and they say we don't support everything Israel does politically modern Israel. We really support God's covenant to his room.

Because of that we support Israel. God made all of these promises and he is keeping them and we believe, especially according to Romans 910 11 the God has future plans for this nation, God's plan for the future of Israel is will see, I've always loved that little quip I share with you before, by William Norman.

You were sent to Corky little thing this dollar goes how God of God to choose the Jews as half of how odd of God to choose the Jews, but not so odd as those who choose the Jewish God, but spurned the Jews. In other words, if you choose to follow God know that what you're getting is the God who developed this nation of Israel and still has future plans for the Jewish nation. So God's pic is Israel. That's the first tier in this four tier strategy. Second, God's preference is independent. Look at verse six, Paul says, but it is not that the word of God has taken no effect that word means fall short or fail God's word. God's promise didn't fail. Why not will keep reading for they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham, but now he's quoting Genesis 21 in Isaac your seed shall be called. That is, those who are the children of the flesh. These are the children of God. The children of the promise are counted as a seed for this is the word of promise at this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son and not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac for the children not yet been born and having done or 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. It was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. Genesis 25 as it is written in verse 13 Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated that's a bothersome verse I'll get to that in a minute. Paul is saying this look God's promise to Israel has not failed.

Why not because some Jews didn't believe. And for those Jews who did believe they are part of God's elect remnant so the rejection of Christ by the majority does not negate negate the promise of God to the minority. He still has a covenant with them.

In fact, God's choice to save is not based upon physical dissent nor human merit.

So God doesn't operate on the basis of human connection. Who you related to God's choice does not operate on the basis of human perfection working really hard earning your way to God but God operates on the basis of divine election so he could say before the kids were born. The older will serve the younger. Not after they were born.

The two examples he uses are Abraham and Isaac. Both of them had sons. Abraham had Ishmael first, then Isaac, but the promise was not to the firstborn, though that was the culture that was with the cultural law demanded the firstborn would get the inheritance but Skip the first one went to the second born Isaac Sutter promise. Same with Isaac and Rebekah.

They had two kids, Esau and Jacob.

He saw the firstborn to the gun the inheritance.

He didn't went to Jacob snuggled down verse 13. This is a bothersome verse as it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated what's up with that okay verse 13 is a quote out of Malachi's last book in the Bible and the Old Testament, Malachi chapter 1, when Malachi chapter 1 was written was the thousand years after Jacob and Esau were born so a thousand years after they were born nations developed from Jacob and Esau. Jacob developed the nation of Israel Esau developed the nation of Edom, which hated the worship of God hated the Jewish people were enemies sworn enemies to them. So what Malachi is speaking of is not the person of Jacob and Esau.

But the descendents of Jacob and Esau. It's a statement that has to do with national election, not individual is two boys produced two nations now. Again, this is a bothersome verse there was once a seminary student who said was professor happened to be Griffith Thomas the great, eminent British/Welsh scholar in the student said Prof. I'm having a problem with the Romans chapter 9 verse 13 Jacob I have loved Esau I have hated what's up with that and the professor looked down at the verses did you know I have a problem with that verse two, but my problem is different from yours.

I don't understand why God love Jacob. No matter how you look at this doctrine of election.

It's hard to get your mind around it is hard to figure out how God can predetermine and elect you before you are born within demanding you make the choice to follow him after you are born Skip message for you from the series heart and soul you Skip to tell you how you can help keep these teachings coming your way as you help connect others to God's word, the Bible is full of promises by a promise keeping God and our goal is to share all those promises. With friends like you to encourage and strengthen you in your faith. That's why we make these Bible teachings available to you, but we rely on listener support to make that possible.

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