Remnant
(Romans 11:1-15)
Intro
1. BERLIN (Reuters) - A German telecommunications company said on Tuesday it is developing the first mobile phone that will alert users when their breath is bad or if they are giving off offensive smells.
The phone will use a tiny chip measuring less than one millimeter to detect unpleasant odors, a spokeswoman for Siemens Mobile said. A research team in the southern city of Munich is developing the device using new sensor technology."
2. The marvels of modern technology will now address bad breath!
3. But bad breath is a symptom; there are many possible causes.
4. This last Tuesday, our flock group went out to dinner at Pastariffic. As we were talking to Lisa Leonard, she mentioned that her husband, Bob, does not like garlic bread-- nor garlic breath.
5. So Lisa is trying to get all the garlic she can now while Bob is away!
6. How do we develop tastes for different foods? Who knows. Sometimes it seems as though it "just happens."
7. A lot of things in life seem random, and I believe many of them are.
8. But God’s Kingdom is not randomn.
Main idea: God’s Kingdom may seem to just "happen," but behind the scenes is God’s Sovereign hand; He has a plan and He executes His plan perfectly.
TS------------„³ There are two principles we can draw from God¡¦s Sovereign dealings with Israel and with the gentile nations.
I. The MAJORITY is Not Always Right (1-10)
1. MOST Jews rejected Jesus, but not all did; some believed
2. PAUL believed (1)
„h If there is one exception to a rule, it is not completely universal
3. Those whom God ELECTED believed (2a)
* There were many, many exceptions; thousands of Jews believed; these were the called
1 Corinthians 1:23-24, "...but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."
* As a matter of fact, by the end of the first century, a higher percentage of Jews had believed in Christ than the Romans or Greeks
* But still only a minority; but majorities do not impress God
4. God always has a REMNANT (2b-4)
* Example of Elijah and the 7,000 Reserved by God
* 450 prophets of Baal, 400 of Asherah
* Elijah is the sole prophet of God
* After this victory, Elijah flees to Horeb, depressed
(1) God tells him, "I have reserved 7,000"
o Paul takes an incident that is descriptive and makes it prescriptive: God always has His remnant¡K
o The idea of a remnant fits well into the word "church" (called out ones); the implication: true believers will always be a minority
o Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
(2) Get this point: It is important for us to realize that we are part of a team, though in a minority, we are a sizeable minority; we are not worker bees without a hive, but our efforts, combined and networked with that of many others, produces sweet honey to the glory of God
(3) This is another reason why it is important for Christians to GET TOGHETHER and serve God together; when we isolate ourselves, we get depressed and begin thinking we are the only true servants God has; cults start this way!
(4) On the other end of the spectrum, Christians in American are having a hard time adjusting to their new minority status; do we lie down and play dead, do we enter the debate and persuade others (my view), or do we try to bring out the steam roller and remain a mystery to those with differing world views? Do we vent our aggravations in mass or do we seek to reasonably and fairly argue our case? Are we after truth or intimidation?
5. God chooses by GRACE (5)
* In His grace, God planned it that that way
* Grace means favor; it means God chose to be unusually kind to us even though we did nothing to deserve it!
6. If I lift a FINGER to be saved, then I am no longer saved by grace (6)
* A work is anything we can DO
o So even our response of faith and repentance is a work of God within us
o 2 Timothy 2:25, "Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth."
7.The CHOSEN obtained salvation, but the non-elect of Israel were hardened (7)
* This hardening is a judgment of God upon those who willfully reject the Messiah and the Gospel
* They get to the point where they will not even CONSIDER its validity
* None are as hardened as those who make professions but then turn away, which is what Hebrews 6 is all about
8.Paul is not just MAKING this stuff up (8-10)
God’s Kingdom may seem to just happen, but behind the scenes is God’s Sovereign hand; He has a plan and He executes His plan perfectly.
II. God Can Sovereignly REDIRECT His Efforts And Then Return Back Again If He Wants to Do So (11-15)
1. The Old Testament talks about what God HAS done with Israel and what He WILL do with her in the end times, but what about now?
2. For now, God is including MANY gentiles in the church but only a REMNANT of Jews. (11-12)
* But this rejection was not total, nor is it forever
* Their rejection makes room for a great harvest of gentiles
* Had the Jews accepted Christ in the first century, the Tribulation would have happened and the millennium would have been over with
* Acts 3:19-21, Peter is preaching to the Jews and says:
Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you--even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
3. Paul was hoping God would use the jealousy of the Jews OVER the gentiles to reach the Jews (13-14)
* God had not revealed the details of His timetable to Paul
* Sometimes not knowing is a blessing!
* But note Paul¡¦s BURDEN for his people: we too should be burdened for the Lost, both Jew and Gentile
4. But the rejection of the Jews indicated a greater HARVEST among the gentiles...(11, also 15a)
5. Paul begins to ANTICIPATE the reception of Jesus by the Jews in verse 15b,
* This refers to the end times when the dry bones of Ezekiel assemble and come to life, the restoration of God’s focus upon Israel
* If gentiles are blessed now through Israel’s rejection, how much more will they be blessed when Israel is in her glory as a regenerated people?
* This parallels the work of Christ in Romans 5:10, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."
* but we’ll pick up on that next time (15b)
6. We’ll also answer the question as to why Christians should, in some sense, identify with the Jewish heritage.
God’s Kingdom may seem to just happen, but behind the scenes is God’s Sovereign hand; He has a plan and He executes His plan perfectly.
CONCLUSION
1. God loves you and has a master plan for His kingdom.
2. Do you want to be included in that plan, to know and serve the God of the Universe? To have your sins forgiven and have God as your friend instead of experiencing Him from afar?
3. Then you need Jesus in your life.
4. And the rest of us: do we appreciate our status as a remnant, the privileged minority? Do we use our position in Christ to the advantage of God’s glory, telling others about the Lord, showing the Love of Christ, and growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ?
