Sermon Brief
Date Written: July 20, 2012
Date Preached: July 22, 2012
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Series Title: A Journey thru Romans
Sermon Title: God Chooses
Sermon Text: Romans 11:1-10 [NLT]
Introduction:
Have you ever stopped to think about God and what He has dealt with since eternity past? What God has done over the past eternity of time?
Well… God has done many things… God created the world and has kept it running for all of time… but when we look at what God does it all boils down to the fact that God makes choices.
I know that sounds completely simple… maybe TOO simple for many of you, but we serve a God of choices. Let me try to explain what I mean… God chose to create this world… He chose to populate it with plants, animals and humanity. God chose to clothe Himself in flesh and intermingle with His creation.
Then we see God chose to sacrifice Himself on the Cross of Calvary in the form of Jesus His Son. God chose to raise Jesus from the grave to conquer death and sin and God chose to offer redemption to sinful humanity. When we look at the Bible we can see that God has always been in the choosing business…
What does that have to do with this passage of Scripture? Well, when we read this passage, Rom 11:1-10 we will find Paul defending God’s choices!
There were those in the Jewish faith that felt that God had abandoned His people and may have thought God had forgotten about them! Many people of Paul’s day believed that God had somehow went back on His promises and covenant with His people…
However, Paul does not stand for such nonsense and he lays out a simple premise here… God chooses – we may not understand it, but God chooses!
I find when we read these 10 verses we can see 3 separate and totally different aspects of God’s choosing…
God Has Chosen (what God HAS done)
God Is Still Choosing (what God is still doing)
God wants YOU to choose Him (what God desires US to do)
So, as we take a look at this passage this morning I want us to remember that there has NEVER been a time in all of eternity when God was NOT making choices…
We may not understand His choices, we may disagree with His choices but God is always going to be God and God is going to make choices!
When we look at verses 1-2 we can see that…
God Has Chosen – v.1-2
1I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this?
The focus of these verses rest upon the phrase, ‘…His people…’ in other words the people God had chosen for Himself!
Paul wanted the Israelites to understand that God had NOT abandoned Israel. He uses himself as an example… I’m an Israelite and God has saved me…if he can save me he can and will save you is what Paul is insinuating here in this passage…
However the basis message we can see here from Paul is that God has made choices… or put it this way… God has chosen…
God’s choices are revealed thru His actions such as Creation when God CHOSE to speak the world into existence OR when God CHOSE humanity as His most excellent masterpiece above all other things in Creation.
God took the initiative and CHOSE Abram to come out and go to a land where God was going to bless him and from him build up a great nation… In Genesis 12:1 we find God calling Abram… This is God’s choice… this is God choosing out of his own pleasure and NOT because of who Abram was!
Here in these 2 verses we find Paul giving us firm indication that God’s CHOICE… that HIS CHOICE is not based on outside influences. God’s choices also cannot be revoked by our human frailty.
God also CHOSE Israel as His people, and continued to CHOOSE them even though they constantly disobeyed and strayed away from the covenant He had made with them…
Throughout Israel’s history there is a pattern of God calling His people, they would respond to the call and then rebel… and then God would call them back to Him. This is because God’s initial CHOOSING of them IS a firm and eternal choice…
That is the kind of God that we serve today! Today God’s choices remain eternal! Thru the Cross, God has CHOSEN to call humanity to Himself.
With His choice, God has revealed His love in the sending of His Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross… God has CHOSEN to offer salvation to all who will receive Him.
Here Paul illustrates God love for those He has CHOSEN by asking the question, ‘…has God cast away His people…’ in other words… Is God so unreliable that He can chose us as His people and then take it all back because He is not please with how we behave?
That type of unreliable and fickle attitude IS the way humanity reacts… I mean think about it! We have the tendency to love those who love us, and discard or ignore those ignore or try to hurt us…
The sad thing is that this is how many people today put God in that same category… they believe God reacts like they do to the sinfulness of the world… they think He is fed up with our world… with the sinners of this world… with THEM… and that He is washing His hands of the entire mess…
BUT Paul lets us know in NO UNCERTAIN terms that this is NOT how God acts… Paul says, “By NO means!” an emphatic way that says, “NO WAY DUDE!”
Paul tells us here that God does NOT throw away those He has chosen… and because we can know that God has CHOSEN us through His word we know He will never throw us away!
In John 3:16-17 Jesus tells us that God loves the world so much that He CHOSE to act… He CHOSE to provide salvation and redemption to a lost and sinful world.
God chose to offer salvation, not because the world deserved it but because God desired to choose that path of action…
The same goes for US today. We are CHOSEN to believe by God… Chosen to look to His Son and believe in Him for eternal redemption, forgiveness and salvation!
Jesus is God’s visible PROOF that God has CHOSEN us! God has issued an open call to all of Humanity, but sadly all of humanity will not answer that call…
Paul emphasizes here that God has chosen and that because He has chosen that He will never throw that choice away. We have been chosen for belief by God…
If we make the choice to reject God’s gift of redemption, God has NOT thrown us away… it is US who has spurned Him.
Today there are those who think Christianity is only for good people and that you must clean up your act before you can come to church… before God can save you!
I believe there is NO lie so damaging as this lie… This is a lie straight from the pits of hell!! The Enemy Satan is hoping that people will accept the lie that you have to get better before you can come to God…
But the truth of the matter is that God has CHOSEN you to know Him… God DOES desire you to know Him and experience His love and redemption! You don’t clean up and come to God… you come to God and GOD cleans you up!
God has chosen… but we can also see this from the prospective that God is STILL CHOOSING:
God Is Still Choosing – v.3-5
…Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, 3“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”4And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”5It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them.
Here Elijah felt as if he was the only one left… that all had abandoned God. But God was quick to let Elijah know that there are things He is doing that Elijah did not know about…
The lesson we ALL must learn from this is that just because we don’t know about it doesn’t mean it ain’t happening…
Let me try to explain what I mean here… I have been told that there is WAAAY more than 10 million dollars out in the world.
Now, I cannot imagine seeing such a large amount of money… I cannot imagine having such a large amount of money… I will probably NEVER see that much money… but that does not mean that it does NOT exist because we know it does…It is hard for me to imagine it but I can KNOW its true thru the witness of others…
Well Paul is telling us here with this example that just because we may not understand it or ‘see’ it… doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Paul tells us that God is always CHOOSING and as in the past where God HAS CHOSEN…God is still in the choosing business!
He chose to create the world; He chose to call Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He chose the nation of Israel – but here is the key thing we must remember! Gods choice of Israel was NOT only for Israel’s sake, but it was also to bless the world!
We read in Lev 26:12 NLT where God chose the nation of Israel… but I want us to understand the PURPOSE of that choice!
We may never fully understand the WAY God does things and makes choices… but God has revealed the purpose behind His choices.
He chose Israel so that the world could be blessed and come to know Him through their witness. The world could experience God’s love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and ultimately salvation… ALL thru Israel… God’s chosen vessel!
Now I want us to look at this from a spiritual perspective that is relative to us today… Today God is still choosing vessels to bless the world and reveal His love! Today it is through the Cross of Calvary and Jesus Christ that God chooses…
As Christians, we are CHOSEN by Christ… we are chosen for a purpose far beyond just our own salvation. Yes God’s choice benefits us, but it is for so much more! In John 15:16 Jesus said, ‘…I chose you…to go and produce everlasting fruit!’
God has called and chosen those who will accept Him to be HIS instrument in this world… to reveal His love, to share HIS salvation… to be a blessing to this world!
Just as God has called all to Him… God has ‘chosen’ all to believe as well! He has chosen us to be a part of His kingdom and the great thing about God is that He is still choosing…
HE will save you today, if you accept Him as Savior… He will CHOOSE YOU, not because of what you have done or how you have acted, but because of HIS decision and out of HIS love!
If you know Christ as Savior you are CHOSEN… and here Paul is telling you that you are NOT alone in your journey! Too many times as believers we feel all alone… like we are the ONLY ones living for God and the enemy can use that to discourage us and get us down.
But my friend if you know Christ as Savior you have been personally CHOSEN by God for HIS purposes… for HIS glory… to produce fruit for HIS Kingdom… do you think He would send you out alone and unequipped for that? YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
God has chosen and God is still choosing… In His sovereignty God has set it up like this… we cannot begin to fully understand WHY He does it like this, but God has revealed that this is how He has CHOSEN to do things… He has chosen and He is still choosing… finally we can see…
God Wants You to Choose Him – v.6-10
6And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved. 7So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. 8As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.” 9Likewise, David said, “Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, and let them get what they deserve. 10Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs be bent forever.”
Now in these verses Paul uses a negative example and paints quite a grim picture for those who reject God. It tells us that for those who reject God’s love… God gives them over to their own sin and desires and sense of self importance.
But we cannot take what Paul says out of context… YES this is a grim picture and it MAY seem hopeless, but the fact of the matter remains and is written all throughout Scripture… God is a patient God… God is a loving God and God desires us to know Him!
In Ps 94:14 NLT ‘…the Lord will not reject His people; He will NOT abandon His special possession…’
In 1 Sam 12:22 NLT ‘…the Lord will not abandon His people because that would dishonor His great name. For it PLEASES the Lord to make you His people…’
In 2 Peter 3:9 Peter wrote this about God’s patience…
‘…the Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise as some people may think. NO! He is being patient for YOUR sake. He does not want ANYONE to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent…’
God is patient in our disobedience! IF you have ever rejected God… If you have NEVER accepted Him as Savior! God is patient and I want you to know that it is GOD’s purpose and plan for you to know HIM! It is God’s desire that you NOT be destroyed, but that you be saved!
Satan would have you to believe that you have lived a life that is TOO bad for God to care about you anymore! Don’t believe his lies… He wants you to believe that God has given up on you… that is NOT true! It is NOT too late for you! God is a patient, loving and SAVING God and He wants you to choose HIM today!
Maybe you DO know Jesus as your Savior, but you have not been living like you know you should be living. You have secret sin and you think God NO LONGER has a use for you! God does not abandon those He has chosen!
God will not kick you out of His family! He will never leave us, NEVER forsake us! God is patient and He has promised that if we will confess our sin… He is faithful to forgive us and clean us up!
But let me give you fair warning… when we disobey God is patient and loving, but He WILL discipline you! He is holy and just as well.
Discipline by God reveals His LOVE for us… NOT His wrath! Discipline is NOT about sending us away from Him, but it is all about drawing us closer to Him!
This morning if you do NOT know God as your Savior… I want you to know that God has chosen to provide you a way to come to know Him! He is still in the choosing business and is waiting for you to CHOOSE Him!
It is God’s desire to see you come to repentance and know His forgiveness and eternal salvation!
Paul wanted His readers to know that God had CHOSEN Israel and even tho’ Israel had rejected God many, many times that God was still in the CHOOSING business and was a patient God! In Jesus Christ, God desired Israel to CHOOSE Him as Savior!
God has chosen… He has chosen to offer you salvation!
God is STILL choosing… He will not reject your prayer of confession, it is His desire that you know Him!
God wants YOU to CHOOSE Him today…
As Bro Ken comes this morning I want you to step out and come to know the ONE who has chosen to save you! Step out and come receive the salvation that awaits you if you are willing to confess your sin and accept Him as Lord… I want to ask everyone to stand as we sing our hymn of invitation…
