What Are You Going To Get?

Title: What are you going to get?

Scripture: Romans 2:4-6

Romans 2:4-6

4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

6 God "will give to each person according to what he has done."

Introduction:

Hey, what am I supposed to get out of this deal anyway? Why do I have to do this to get that? The world tells us to buy two and get one free. The world tells us to take advantage of the great explosive sale. The world wants us to turn into a bunch of materialistic seekers. Always on the lookout for our own selfish desires and wants. Always on the lookout for ways to build ourselves up and to put our friends and family down.

The world will tell you that a new alarm system will protect your car. The world will tell you that a gun or knife will solve all your problems. But, it doesn’t tell you what the circumstances of those actions will be. It doesn’t tell you what will happen to your insides when you purposefully seek to hurt someone or take advantage of someone.

God is the opposite of that. In Psalm 40, it tells us,

11 Do not withhold your mercy from me, O LORD; may your love and your truth always protect me.

May your love and your truth always protect me…

Those seem like peculiar or strange pieces of defense, don’t’ you think? I mean how can love protect someone? Wouldn’t a sword and a shield, or even strong arms be a better defense? Why say, may your love and your truth always protect me? Why not say may your omnipotent strength protect me?

Faith, hope and love, the Bible tells us. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 13:13, “But the greatest of these is love.”

John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

God is love, and that love surrounds us and protects us. God is truth, and that truth surrounds us and protects us. These two, love and truth protect us and point out the evil in the world. These two, love and truth protect us and point out the sin in our lives. These two, love and truth protect us and condition our hearts in our pursuit of God.

Why so much talk about love and truth? Because our verses, Romans 2:4-6, are similar. Our main points concerning these verses are:

I. The Riches of His Kindness, Tolerance, and Patience.

II. The Effects of God’s Kindness

III. The Damning Effects of Stubbornness and an Unrepentant Heart

I. The Riches of His Kindness, Tolerance, and Patience

I recently saw on the news that the world has managed to add over 30,000 new millionaires. Why did they report that? Why don’t they ever report the opposite of that? Why don’t they report that this many people became poor and are unable to care for themselves and their families?

Why doesn’t the news ever tell you how many people lost their life savings last year because of selfish and evil people in the world?

It doesn’t tell you, because everyone believes that the world is getting better. Everyone believes that things are not as bad as they used to be.

Did you know that the majority of the world is in debt to someone? Companies are in debt to other companies. Banks are in debt to other banks. Countries are in debt to other countries. The old saying that, the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer has never before meant as much as it does today.

People want what they don’t really need and end up putting themselves into debt. People seek after dreams of riches in the material world around them. People seek after a better life on this earth, and are led astray by sin, selfishness, and Satan.

Jesus tells us in:

(Matthew 16:26) What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

In the our verses today, Romans 2:4-6, verse 4 tells us:

4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience…

The riches are not found in this world, they are found in the kindness, tolerance and patience of God. Let’s look at His Kindness:

a. His Kindness

King David knew the riches of God’s kindness. He knew the benefits of God’s kindness.