The Wonder of God’s Word
Romans 9:17-29
* Let’s Read a couple of verses together this morning;
* Psalms 119:11 “I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.”
* Ps 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
* Ps 119:160 “The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.”
* Notice that all three of these verse (In the HCSB) uses the identity “Your Word” while KJV says, “Thy Word”. But with either term, we get the idea, this is God’s word. Now think about that, this is a “word from God” to us which gives the instructions about all things. Whatever we want to know about life, death, truth, marriage, family, vocation, behavior, and eternity, are all found in this book which was given by the hand of the creator of all things. THIS IS THE OWNER’S MANUAL.
* About a year ago, the copier in our church office began to give us problems and (by the way) our lease had just expired. So Alice began the process of replacing it. After several demos, we settled on a great machine which has all kinds of capabilities. Just one of those capabilities was this new copier had the potential of serving as a network printer for our office network. That meant we could now print from our computers to the copy machine without leaving our desks. When I started setting up my machine, I got the setup completed (well, what I thought was completed) and tried to print something and nothing happened. So I went back through the same steps which I thought would setup this feature only have NOTHING happen once again. Candidly, I wasted about 2 hours trying to get this thing to work. When I finally consulted the owner’s manual, I discovered that there was one little, insignificant setup feature which I lacked. I knew this would have to be done, but had just forgotten to check it out. There was no cable between the copier and the network router. By the way, this was one of the first things that the owner’s manual said to do.
* May I suggest to you that many live their lives in this way? (I know that in times past, I have done so) We try our best to do what God wants us to and somehow it never seems to work out. Could it be that one reason for this is that we have forgotten or simply forget to consult the owner’s manual?
* When we fall in love with God’s word, study it, think about it, and digest it, supernatural things happen. Paul writes to Timothy and says, “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” This is the wonder of God’s word. It is that wonder which we discover today. I suggest 3 things about the scripture.
1. The Scriptures Teach Us – Let’s begin in verse 17 which begins, “For the scripture tells Pharaoh.” Now remember that Pharaoh is not a believer and yet, the scriptures teach and tell him. All the translations use the word “tell” or ‘says’ while the Greek indicates that this is a TRUTH which is laid forth. There is no debate or confusion; it’s simply an established fact. Paul uses Exodus 9:16 to make the case in three ways. {To remind you, Exodus 9 contains the story of Moses confront Pharaoh about letting the Children of Israel go and announcing the 7th plague (hail).}
a. About Position – The phrase here is “for this reason I raised you up and even let you live.” The scriptures teach us that wherever we are, whatever station in life, even the responsibility we might have; they are all a gift from God and controlled by God. He has a reason for the position you hold in life. Your position could be a reward for a life well lived or, just like Moses in Midian, a place to bring life in perspective. Can you make a determination today about what type of position you have today?
b. About Power – This is a concept which we get confused about. The power we are interested in is the power WE have. The power we are taught about in scripture is HIS power. He desires to display HIS power in us. Sadly, the power of God which we see displayed in Pharaoh was an overcoming power. That is, God’s divine power overcame the earthly power of Pharaoh. That same thing can and will happen to us if we are all about our own “personal” power. Acts tells us that ‘we’ll receive power’ only after “the Holy Spirit comes on us.” No other words bring fear into Baptists like “the power of the Holy Spirit.” Invariably someone will ask, “Are we getting charismatic or Pentecostal?” My question is this; “What exactly does that mean?” If by Pentecostal you mean we can “fall from salvation” or we “have to speak in tongues”, the answer is no. However, it you mean we are getting full of “charis” or grace, and we are excited about it, then YES, by all means. IN the SPIRIT is where power is found.
c. About Purpose – Here is the Biblical purpose for each of us as believers; “that the name of Jehovah God be proclaimed in all the earth.” The scriptures teach us that even in the life of this heathen God’s purpose is to have His name proclaimed everywhere, and that happened. It wasn’t like Pharaoh wanted it, but it was told about the God of Moses defeating the gods of Pharaoh. All heard about “I AM”. Scriptures teach that position, power, and purpose, all point to Him. Can you see this in your life?
2. The Scriptures Test Us – When we read verse 18 our minds have difficulty absorbing that truth. In our finite thinking, we are tempted to say that “God is not fair.” Yet, verse 18 simply reminds us that God is in control, He is sovereign over all, and honestly, can be trusted. Here is the issue we face today, “Will we trust God or will we be suspect of Jehovah?” Time and again our human depravity tests us in our relationship to the Father.
a. With Respect to our Attitude – Verse 19 begins with 3 words, “You will say” which reveal our attitude. And the question in the balance of verse reveals our distrust of God’s judgment. Now we can dissect the verse and give us historical perspective, but instead let’s personalize this. Ask this question, “Do I trust God, without any reservation?” Last Monday I attended the Alabama Pastor’s conference. Bro. Rick Evans, Pastor of Dalraida Baptist in Montgomery, was the president. He told the story of his youngest daughter bringing him to such a place in his life that he knelt and prayed, “Lord, I’ve done all I can. She’s yours. Do with her what you will. Even take her life if that’s what you need to do, but she’s yours.” How about you? You trust God like that? The scripture test us to see just exactly how much we trust God. By the way, after years of heartache it was less than 24 hours later that Amy gave her heart to Christ and was sitting in the choir when her dad gave that testimony. We can trust God.
b. With Respect to our Arrogance – Verse 20-21 reveals to us the test about being arrogant before God. In a masterful way, Paul exposes our arrogance with questions. “Who are you to talk back to God?” begins the arrogant questions. Before we attempt to dismiss this problem, we might care to ask ourselves some penetrating questions, like; have I ever wished that I had different gifts and talents? Or have I ever resented my lot in life? Or have I resisted doing what God obviously designed me to do? It takes little thinking to understand that we are who we are by God’s design. And as part of His body, we are critical to His family.
c. With Respect to our Acceptance – Verses 22 and 23 begin with the thought “What If God.” (Read) Now we can dissect this text until we are emotionally worn out, but the truth we need to get our minds around is this; God is in control, His ways are not our ways, He works in way we cannot see and don’t understand, and He does it for our good and His glory. In our arrogance we attempt to change His mind and in our attitude we refuse to trust Him, when our response should be acceptance.
* In many other places in the Bible we are taught that “tests come our way” to bring us to maturity. In our spiritual immaturity we will cop an attitude and raise our heads in arrogance, when we should accept Him, His will, and His way of doing thing. It is at this point we trust Him.
* We can trust Him with our kids, our families, our churches, and our lives. I would be remiss if I didn’t offer you one more truth of scripture.
3. The Scriptures Thrill Us – One of the worse diseases known to mankind is a type of dementia known as Alzheimer’s. All we have to do is mention the word and it bring tears to eyes, hurt to hearts, and probably fear to most. Although 2nd and 3rd stage Alzheimer’s has many more symptoms, we know that loss of memory, judgment, and initiative are 3 very recognizable signs which a person has. It is like we’ve lost our loved one, but they are still here. They forget of life and living and family and friends.
* This past week, Bro. Rick Lance, reminded us that we can get spiritual Alzheimer’s and forget the thrill of what God has done for us in Christ.
a. God’s Gift – ( Read v. 29) – As I read this, I think of the seed of Jacob & David mentioned by Jeremiah and I am reminded of the seed mentioned last week as the “Children of Promise.” However, although I find no one who believes or writes this, it seems to me that this seed is none other than Jesus Christ himself. Without God’s gift of THIS seed, we would be like Sodom and Gomorrah, with no righteousness, no hope, and no help. Without Jesus of Bethlehem becoming Jesus of Calvary we would have to pay the price for our sin, dying the death pronounced on sinners. You want a reason to be thrilled? This is better than Alabama winning and Auburn losing and better than Auburn winning and Alabama losing, it is better than anything you can imagine, it is THE reason for us to rejoice! It is God’s gift which opens the door to discover;
b. God’s Grace – (Read v. 27-28) Do you like that? The remnant will be saved. Yes, we can look back at the historical meaning or we can see the living word of God’s meaning for us in the here and now. You want something to thrill you? Just as surely as you woke up this morning and are sitting in this room, you (like me) are worthy only of the death of a convicted sinner! The compensation schedule for sin has been released, only one pay grade exists, and that is death. Were God simply a just God, you and I would have no hope, no help, and possibility of parole.
* Only through the wonderful grace of God do any of us have a chance of missing hell and making heaven. Only through the wonderful grace of God do we have any possibility of life that is fulfilling, meaningful, and purposeful. Only through the wonderful grace of God can we find joy, peace, love, and security. It’s all only through the wonderful grace of God! Never forget, grace is getting what you don’t deserve while mercy is not getting what you do deserve. The word of God thrills our heart when we receive His gift and know His grace, and then understand;
c. God’s Goodness (Read v. 25-26) – The story of Hosea is one of the most intriguing in all the Holy Scripture. The prophet is told to go and take a prostitute that is, a promiscuous woman, as his wife and he does so. After they were married they had 3 children (I.E. boy, girl, boy) in rapid fire succession. In those days, names were given with purpose. The oldest was a boy named Jezreel which means “God spreads or sows”. What God was going to spread was punishment to the house of Jehu for the brutal murders he committed at Jezreel. While God desired the destruction of wicked King Ahab and his family, the actions of Jehu went beyond God’s commands. Next came the girl, Lo-ruhamah meaning “no compassion” or “not loved” which carried a two-fold significance. First, God had lost compassion for the northern kingdom of Israel and would exact judgment on them and second, God still had love for Judah, the southern kingdom, and would save them in an extra ordinary way. The third Child, second son was named, Lo-ammi which means “not my own.” I heard one preacher say that Hosea felt that Gomer had returned to her old ways of living and He was unsure is this boy was His.
* But here is the message today from the hand of Paul. We were “not His own”, our name was Lo-ammi, and we had not known the love of God in a personal way. But in God’s goodness, in His Grace, and through His Gift, we are made SONS OF GOD!!!!
* Think about that; a SON OF GOD, JOIN HEIR WITH CHRIST. Here is the essence of the wonder of God’s word. That God could love us, provide for us, and even adopt us into His family.
* Have you been taught and tested by His word? Have you been thrilled?
