Holy, Not "holier Than Thou" Series

NOTE:

This is a manuscript, and not a transcript of this message. The actual presentation of the message differed from the manuscript through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is possible, and even likely that there is material in this manuscript that was not included in the live presentation and that there was additional material in the live presentation that is not included in this manuscript.

ENGAGE

On New Year’s Day, Mary and I woke up to this view in our back yard.

[Show photo of snow in back yard]

Although that snow melted pretty quickly, on Friday of that same week, when we went for a hike in Catalina State Park, there was still a fair amount of snow in the upper parts of the Catalina Mountains, although it’s a little hard to see in this photo.

[Show photo of mountain with snow]

And while there was same water flowing in the Canada del Oro, we were able to rock hop over the crossings without getting our feet wet.

Now I understand that snow is not an inanimate object. But if snow had feelings, I would imagine that it would want to remain right where it is, preferably in the shade, and in the coldest possible weather so it wouldn’t melt.

Unfortunately for that snow, we had another storm come through last Sunday, a much warmer storm. And if the snow did have feelings, it probably felt like this during that storm.

[Movie clip from the Wizard of Oz]

So when I went for another hike in Catalina State Park again this week on Tuesday, the same stream that we had easily been able to cross without getting wet just a few days before that, looked more like this.

[Video of stream]

That snow that fell on New Year’s Day was doing exactly what it is designed by God to do – to fall on the ground, where it eventually melted. Some of it soaked into the ground right where it fell, but most of it flowed down those slopes and watered plants, provided refreshment for the animals and replenished the groundwater. And had it been able to somehow remain on those slopes without ever melting, it would have never accomplished all that it was created by God to do.

TENSION

As I was hiking on Tuesday, it occurred to me that is a pretty good metaphor for how Jesus wants His disciples to live. He never intended for us to enter into His kingdom and then just plant ourselves there, live comfortably, and ignore those who are not yet part of His kingdom. Instead He wants us to flow into the world and to bring refreshment to those who do not yet have a relationship with Him.

But unfortunately there is a common barrier that often prevents us from doing that. This morning, we’ll discover what that barrier is and talk about some practical things we can do to overcome it.

TRUTH

We’re nearing the end of a section of Paul’s letter to the churches in Rome where he is addressing the question of whether God’s plan for Israel has failed – a question that arose because of the fact that not very many Jews were recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and putting their faith in Him.

That section began in chapter 9 where Paul made the point that this was completely consistent with God’s sovereign plan, since He had always intended that only a small remnant of the Israelites would put their faith in Jesus. Not all those who were physical descendants of Abraham were chosen by God and that had been the case all throughout the history of Israel.

Then in chapter 10, Paul addressed a second reason that God’s plan for Israel had not failed – the Israelites were responsible for their own choice to rebel against God time after time until their hearts had become hardened. So those two chapters clearly reveal the balance between God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility.

Then, as we began in chapter 11 last week, we saw that Paul addressed the question of whether God had rejected Israel. And, while at first glance that question might seem irrelevant to most of us who are Gentiles, we saw that it was indeed a very relevant question for two reasons. First, if God’s promises to Israel can fail, then how can we be assured that the promises he has made to us, especially those in Romans 8, won’t fail, too? And second, if God rejected Israel due to their disobedience, how can we be sure He won’t do the same with us when we inevitably fail Him? We learned in that passage that since God had not rejected Israel that we can be confident that He is not finished with us yet either.