You Can't Get to Heaven in a Wooden Crate

The Jewish nation who rejected the light of the world. He screamed as you know, for Ron to extinguish the light I find it fascinating that God in that scene gave them and I was free to what they wanted. You want the darkness that I give you what you want so you remember regarding the Luke's gospel for three hours. The sun was miraculously obscured and darkness fell across the land. Deep, thick darkness, as if the father was saying to humanity it all the life you want. Darkness will you ever they think the spiritual void might be something mystical or it might be in keeping the set of rules to help find spiritual peace. Grace seems too good to be true doesn't it's free, it's eternal. It's divinely given that those qualities which make it so desirable to some also make it hard to believe for others. Israel lost its way. Spiritually, but does that mean Israel is lost forever, or does God still have a plan for that. Stephen called this message, you can't get to heaven in a wooden crate. I read this particular news article that ran in the Associated Press ran a story about Charles McKinney, a 25-year-old shipping clerk for New York warehouse. He decided to visit his parents who lived in Dallas Texas but didn't want to spend the money on a plane ticket so he concocted a plan to ship himself in a postal crate from the warehouse where he worked to Dallas and charge his company, the freight well on Friday, September 5, 2003 after filling out paperwork describing the cargo is clothing in a computer. McKinley called for a courier service, and then crawled into the wooden crate and mail themselves in the crate was picked up by truck driven to New Jersey before being loaded onto a cargo plane eventually the crate was delivered to the McKinley home in Desoto Texas on Saturday. The next day Charles kicked open the box.

Startling his parents and the deliveryman I'm sure he did well without food or water on the 15 hour journey. This article went on to say he had actually taken huge risks.

He hadn't thought of the crate could have been handled roughly breaking. Perhaps bones the box he was in happen to be placed in the pressurized heated storage cabin, but it could just as easily been placed in the lower unpressurized compartments where he would have died. Stun could've cost of everything. It did cost him something.

He was fined $1500 and placed on probation he could find $100,000 and put in prison for one year where he probably ought to be thinking about this for a while at least. I did find it was interesting that the shipping charges incurred ended up being $550 and that would've bought him a seat. Well, I thought of humanity when I read that you know he turned on their well you thought about it, absolutely. I know I'll get there my own way. Research crazy to go to Texas in a wooden crate, but my religion is sophisticated. It is developed. I have thought of everything. I know it will take me to heaven. What's the picture that Paul has certainly been developing with his painting of the Israelite nation. They are proud they are self-confidence. They are secure. They are expert craftsmen who have made their crates of creeds and they believe it's going to deliver them to heaven. They forgotten something I haven't thought of everything.

In fact, they have overlooked the condition of their hearts. God is about to inform them through Paul and us through Paul that they have a serious medical condition. Their heart will never be able to take the journey there is a divine prognosis of the heart of this nation that has sought to create their own way to heaven. Spiritual prognosis of Israel is not good. Look at verse seven what then that which Israel is seeking four which happens to be righteousness. Of course it has not obtained, but those who were chosen or of the election ordained it literally an arrest were hardened. The Greek word translated hardened his pro rata O which gives us our transliterated Word process the medical term used even today refers to the growth of bone in joints creates problems in some condition. This particular condition and the original intention of the word would've been understood by that world to be referred to as a callous tele-word was originally used the cover over with thick skin hardened by the covering of a callous he was saying to them, you literally have a callused heart you have a hardened heart. My grandfathers hands the calluses that were permanent reminders of his hard work on the farm in Minnesota. You could've taken a stickpin and you could've poked it all around the palm and fingers of his hand without ever causing him any pain, callous causes of particular part of your body to lose feeling becomes insensitive and unfeeling with the divine physician examines the Israelite nation and says, among other things, they have process all the hard they have a callused hardened heart terminal condition. By the way that's going to require a heart transplant. If they're going to survive the journey from Earth to heaven. Paul goes on in this text and gives them the symptoms of the prognosis.

The prognosis itself.

Is this hardened heart. This process of the heart and now the symptoms he gives to us in the first symptom we could call this the loss of spiritual direction. He writes in verse eight notice just as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor of this verse is taken from Isaiah, who wrote in chapter 29 verse 10 the Lord has poured upon UAs spirits of a deep sleep. Paul uses it here in changes of the bed. He's given you the spirit of stupor like you're walking around in a trance. In other words, you don't know which way to turn your confused by your own spiritual wandering. It's a mark not only of Israel was wandering around but of any nation or any human being who rejects the gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the marks of unbelieving humanity. Is this spiritual wandering and you read the newspaper and you want to lustration after another got another one this past week. Actually, over the last few weeks.

Perhaps you've noticed the growing popularity among celebrities who begun to wear this red string notice that pictures of them there wearing a red strand or string around her left wrist, believing that the left part of the body is the entrance into the soul. This is the following of a mystical Jewish cult notice Kabbalah. The red string supposedly carries mystical powers to protect the wearer from the evil lie saw the newspaper and Madonna was wearing another celebrities and shows pictures of them and there's a little red string on their left wrist. They believe that the red string has mystical energy that comes from the belief that this bracelet is made of a longer red string that was at one point wrapped around the tomb of the Jewish matriarch Rachel then cut into pieces and worn by followers who believe there now protected by this energy from the grave of Rachel. Whether it is a string my friends around the wrist or putting a mirror in the foyer of your home to direct the positive energy.

One way and for the negative energy of the University spiritual wandering and speculation of those who reject the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Listen, you don't need a string, you need a Savior staggering. He says of Israel from one day to the next without any true spiritual direction, you make your wooden crate you hope for the basket think you identify the risks they don't look in the direction of God's word. You just make it out whether it's hanging a crystal on your rearview mirror to reflect mystical energy and light or making sure your house faces the right direction or implants are placed in the right location or running water. The right spot diverted direct energy or maybe you just cannot skip all of that anywhere. Red string God calls it wandering spiritual cleansing for truth the wrong places. The great Christian thinker and author CS Lewis once said, very simply, there are two kinds of people in the world. Those who say to God, thy will be done and those to whom God says all right then. Have it your way. You rather have a string than a Savior, have it your way is rather yoked to the universe and the flow of energy you believe is out there than where my yoke is easy in life, have it your way, you'd rather fight evil energy by hanging mirrors on the wall rather than by applying the mirror of the word, have it your way, but be warned that your spiritual experimentations may be symptoms of hardened heart. Paul goes on in this paragraph to give us the second symptom of hardened hearts against the gospel of grace not only loss of spiritual direction but a loss of spiritual discernment as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor eyes to see, not Deuteronomy chapter 29. It refers to the spiritual blindness of the people, their inability to discern truth from error, which is the condition of the unbelieving world effect even as a believer, you know, according to the New Testament didn't wake up and all of a sudden have the ability to discern everything that's true from everything is there.

You learn that by practice of the writer of the New Testament passage that you learn discernment by practicing that which you apply in your own life you've discovered in the word of God.

What people who do not believe never get even to the point of beginning the learn they simply cannot see parts of the Corinthians in natural or an unbelieving man does not accept the things of the spirit of God for their foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, why because they are spiritually discerned. Jesus Christ is the physical manifestation of triune God. But as you know, the nation rejected the light. John would write later in chapter 3. This is the judgment that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil.

For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. John 319 and $20. Leave me in the dark I don't like deeds exposed by the light it hurts my eyes.

So I'm thinking are doing or saying or planning or dreaming. Leave it alone. See conversion to faith in Christ is exposure were voluntarily to the gaze of God to refuse it is to wonder without spiritual direction to wander without spiritual discernment. Third, the third symptom is the loss of spiritual discrimination. Verse eight and ears to hear, not down to this very day that ears, but they couldn't hear spiritually speaking. In other words, we want to stay in the dark as unbelievers since our deeds are evil. We don't want any lights turn on. But when we come to faith in Christ we have the light, as were turned on with spiritual direction and spiritual discernment and spiritual discrimination. Paul writes to the Jewish nation here in Romans 11 you have chosen the darkness you want the darkness, but the where there are consequences and will go on to give them but first let me give you some consequences.

We can see all around us.

There is the consequence. First of all, of moral darkness.

There is moral darkness to any person or any people who reject the light of the gospel moral wandering the loss of any moral absolute. Nobody today can say this is wrong or this is writes, is it any wonder then that little more than 600 teenagers will contract syphilis every single day every day.

Is it any surprise in his wandering moral world of ours that during the next 24 hours. More than 35,000 Americans will contract a sexually transmitted disease is 13 million a year. Is it any wonder that there are 3 million alcoholics in this country between the ages of 14 and 71, the lead wonder.

In fact they choose the darkness. Is it any wonder that homosexuality or fornication or any other form of sexual deviancy.

According to the Scriptures not only accepted but defended in our world as a personal right does yesterday another picture was in the newspaper of a lovely woman in a white flowing wedding dress with a long veil holding a bouquet of flowers standing in civil ceremony next to another woman also wearing a white wedding dress with a veil than a bouquet of flowers. I thought how sad, how sad. I studied their faces while in the newspaper.

I thought to myself how sad or wondering one side of them dreaming to be a bright and white dress the other side through the choosing of the darkness.

Perhaps abuse deviancy rebellion bound in a natural union. Paul writes to just another one wishing for the same thing to my friend you reject the light of God's moral standard and you choose moral darkness. There is the consequence.

Secondly, of intellectual darkness. This is the inability to integrate and interpret what's truth and maybe as you attempted and I trust you are reach those unbelievers around you. Your startling times with their inability to connect the dots to interpret and integrate truth brilliant people in society at spiritually beginners not even that.

On the way to college to drop off our guys. We swung by the side and some theater and in the middle Amish country. We went to see with our guys said Noah and the ark live animals stage so designed that he came around that when the storm began the way they had it said would put you literally inside the ark was unforgettable and visually it brought a lot of things to my mind they would bring animals down the aisle of that huge auditorium across this massive stage. I remembered thinking of imagine being there. You've heard for 120 years. The warning then rains coming and then if you're not in the boat you don't make it, then you're there, you see errors showing up, and surely you think I'm doing something a little unusual early something strange is happening there they go yet to know, according to the Scriptures, nobody made a reservation outside the family of Noah fed Paul writes in significance for miss the connection between reality and biblical truth. They can't see it again here. Why because the God of this world is blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. They just can't see in us the spirit of God by the grace of God opens their eyes. I love the satire of this incident I read recently involving Sherlock Holmes and his bumbling friend Dr. Watson on the trail of some adventure and they have to camp out doors and so they pitched their tents under the stars in the went to sleep sometime in the middle of the night sure like will Dr. Watson and said Watson looked up at the stars and tell me what deductions you can make Watson rubbed his eyes looked up and said well I see millions of stars in this even a few of those have planets. It's quite possible. There are some planets like Earth, and if there are few planets like Earth and I suppose we could. The doctor would be additional life homes eventually interrupted no no Watson know somebody stole our tenant that sink in here how brilliant we can sounded guessing and at the same time miss what's directly in front of her nose.

One old Puritan leader once wrote it this way, the man who deliberately shuts his eyes against the light of truth shall gradually lose power of seeing, these are the consequences of moral and intellectual darkness.

We give you another one more. The consequence of spiritual darkness. We've Artie talked and given ample illustration of this. In Roman Israel and certainly even in America. The Jewish nation who rejected the light of the world. He screamed as you know, for Ron to extinguish the light I find it fascinating that God in that scene gave them an illustration of what they wanted.

You want to darkness you want to extinguish the lights that I give you what you want and so you remember regarding the Luke's gospel where the sun was miraculously obscured and darkness fell across the land. Deep, thick darkness, you could almost touch it. It's as if the father was saying to humanity you don't want the lights you want. Darkness will here you can have that they were given the physical demonstration of separation is a word from God. The land was covered with darkness and less come to the gospel of grace. There is eternal darkness in the future of our unbelieving world, but for the believer.

By the way, this is off the rabbit trail exposed to Revelation 21. It's interesting to me that describes heaven is a place filled with light. Light. For those of you who've accepted the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Your future won't even have any remnant of moral and intellectual and spiritual and even ethical darkness things that we may even struggle with now as we struggle in this journey to be conformed to the image of Christ our hearts easily calloused our hearts hardened, God would keep us clear and clean and fresh before him of the Jews felt secure in what we could consider their handmade Craig you know they had a lot of the prophecy of the writing.

They constructed their trade out of those and they felt confident as they clutched them, as it were, to their chest and Paul. I think it's very interesting in this paragraph.

Your quotes from all three law profits. The writing in verse eight, the first parties quoted from Isaiah chapter 29 verse 10 in the second part of verse eight, he quoted from Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse four, or the law, and many quotes from the writings, verse nine. One of David's solves all three parts of sacred Scripture, condemning the choice of Israel to reject the grace of God through Jesus Christ is elitist and gentlemen, you have here the divine prognosis the nation has a hardened heart. You have the symptoms of the prognosis. I cannot see ears that cannot hear and now you have in verse nine the seriousness of the prognosis here. The unavoidable consequences and coming judgment. Look at verse nine. David says let their table become a snare and a trap in the stumbling block and a retribution to them that their eyes be darkened to see not. You can circle the words of warning in this text, snare trap, stumbling block retribution they trusted in their table.

David begins, but their table turns on them and becomes there snare could be there. Table of ritual to be there table of feasts. It could be there table of showbread were not told exactly which table it could be the table that David refers to in Psalm 23 verse five the Lord is my shepherd prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, but that table which they held such great confidence and is not turning on them. There will no longer be protection to the judgment of God. Verse eight. They moved from eyes that will not see the here in verse 10 eyes that cannot see it moves rely will not believe the gospel to. I cannot believe the gospel. So is Israel going to be discarded, and as a nation. This is quite a prognosis here. These are terrible symptoms and this is quite some judgment facing them both. You look over to verse 25. Paul says I don't want you to be uninformed, brethren of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation. He explains a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Hard to believe it or not, there is hope for this hardened nation.

He says the hardening of Israel's heart here is partial, not total, while the nation's hardened their individual Jews within the nation that can be part of that election, they can believe some Jews can affect I had one come up to me and introduced himself to me and he said I'm Jewish. I want you to know I've come to faith in Jesus Christ and one of these who are part of the partial members of Israel who have believed in the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. So the hardening of the nation's heart is partial, not total.

Furthermore, according the passage in verse 25. It is temporary and not eternal. In fact he says in verse 25 is going to be over after this fullness of the Gentiles has come in and use it. What is that mean well will get there to verse 25 eventually and will find out more.

Let me say one more thing.

By way of application hear from this text. The Israelite held to their law, the writings of the prophets. But God said, I see your heart and that's the problem you'll never make it. Your heart can't take the journey from Earth to heaven.

I don't know of an American that would ever consider taking a journey without an inspection tags current this, you forget like I periodically due to time slips up on proper identification and were so convinced we have to have it in working to be here for 4050 6070 8090 years and we have 8090 words that blessed assurance.

There is a vast difference between Blue Cross blue Blue Shield insurance and blessed assurance is under most people see the benefit of Blue Cross that many see the benefit of an old rugged cross, the truth remains the only way there is the light of the gospel shed through Jesus Christ, the only way of ever hoping to arrive safely home want to tell you one more story here by way of illustration and they were done in January 1985, a large suitcase was unmarked and it was unclaimed. It arrived at the Los Angeles international Airport went around and around and around until finally it was set aside finally caught the attention of U.S. Customs agents and when customs agents opened the suitcase they found curled up body of a young Iranian woman. She had been dead for four days story courting this article finally fell together under investigation. She was the wife of a young Iranian living in the United States. She was unable to obtain a visa to enter the states.

She took matters into her own hands and decided to ship herself into America via cargo bay of an airplane unlike Charles McKinley. We talked about him earlier. She wasn't put in a pressurized cargo bay and was killed in flight.

The truth is, even if she had survived the journey she would have been an illegal alien forced to return to our room and Paul is making it as clear as he possibly can make it here. You can sneak into the kingdom you can come up with some clever way, you're never smuggled in any can't get there in a limousine in the right in a rowboat wooden crate.

The good news is, God is already purchased a ticket us in first class. We don't know when it will take flight got his determine the days of our lives, but it is that vehicle of grace takes us safe home when we come to the gospel of Christ in faith, we gain entrance into God's everlasting kingdom of heaven. I'm glad you joined us today. Today's message from Romans 11 is called, you can't get to heaven in a wooden crate.

Stephen Davies, our teacher here on wisdom for the heart is also the president of shepherd's theological seminary. If you or someone you know would like to pursue graduate level seminary training. Consider shepherd's. There's a link to shepherd seminary on our website, you can study at one of our four campus locations across the United States and you can study online where ever you are. You'll find us online. If you go to wisdom online.org. The link to shepherd seminary is at the bottom of that homepage sure and visit our website often there's a lot of information there as well as many resources to help you grow in your faith.

It would encourage us to know that your listening to learn what God's doing in your life. You can write to us at wisdom international PO Box 37297 Raleigh, NC 27627. Join us next time.

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