Completely Trust God! Series

Have you seen that commercial for ipads? Those things amaze me! You can actually point your ipad to the sky and it will tell you which star and constellation you are looking at! Amazing! But let me ask a basic question: How does the Bible start?? In the beginning ……..!

Why is it that we get fascinated with so many things, do many things, and learn many things and we forget that everything starts with God? We will really not learn anything significant until we accept the facts that:

God is the Creator of everything!

God knows everything (omniscient)!

God is always present (omnipresent)!

God sees everything all at once!

Before we read the Word of God, we must commit to these truths. You see, when God talks about the past, the present, and the future, God knows the reasoning for everything! The question is, will we totally trust Him?

Our tendency as human beings, because we are stained with sin, is to have proofs/records of what happened in the past, to feel good about the present (in other words we live with our emotions), and we question the future because it is unknown! On the other hand, God knows and sees everything all at once at any point in time! Will you trust Him?

If you are ready to trust God, then grab his Holy Word and open it to Romans Chapter 11. Before reading, let us together pray our commitment to God’s Word

(show prayer slide)…….

Read along with me Romans 11………

Verses 32-36 affirms what I shared at the beginning: God knows and sees everything all at once at any point in time! We human beings can not do what God can do! Why then do we question Him? We question God because we are sinners who think we can be God! We would say, I know the past because we have records of the past; I know the present because I am experiencing it right now; and I can know the future based on the past and the present!

Sounds logical? Let me ask a couple of questions: Can a person really know everything that happened in the past?? Can a person experience what everyone else in the world is experiencing right now??

If a person really doesn’t know everything that happened in the past and can only experience what’s around them, how can they really predict the future? Only God knows everything! We human beings can not do what God can do!

Why then do we question God? - because we are sinners.

Does God know this and does He care about man’s predicament? – Absolutely! Look again at v32……

God knows we are stained with sin. Therefore God shows His mercy because not only is He an Almighty, Omniscient, Omnipresent God, He is also a loving God! How are people supposed to respond to this good God?

V36! - To God be the glory forever! Amen!

Will we commit to this amen today and everyday?

This is the question for the Israelites in Rome 2000 years ago! And so in v1-12 of Romans 11, God tells the Jews of what He is doing and what He will do through Israel! What did God say about the Jews 2000 years ago?

v1: God did not reject His Chosen people.

v2a: God foreknew what was going to happen.

V2b-4: God reminded them that He is omniscient! Can the Israelites use the excuse that God never told them about judgment and salvation? Absolutely not!

God through the Prophets of the Old Testament over and over warned the Israelites that although God is a loving God, He is a Holy God who has to judge sin!

A quick note of application for people of today:

Is the Old Testament the Word of God? Yes or no??

Is the New Testament the word of God? Yes or no??

Does God warn people through the New Testament that although He is a loving God, He is a Holy God who has to judge sin? Yes or no??

Now, in relation to God’s warnings, what’s the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament??

In the New Testament, God’s solution to judgment is not just promised but realized! (realized through Jesus Christ!)

Now, let’s look again at Romans 11:5……

What is God saying to the Israelites? As the transition happens from the Old Testament to the New, God is saving people from Israel! And according to v5-6, does God save people from judgment because of the good works they do? God saves people because of His grace, not by people’s good works! No one can be righteous with god through good works or religion! We talked about this last week from Romans 10 as the Israelites tried to be right with God with their “religious” works.