For who hath resisted His will? And I love the fact that Paul
does not, does not go on the defense. We never defend God. He doesn't need defending. God
is God. Nay, but O man, who art thou? Who are you that replies against
God, that you dispute with God, Shall the thing formed, if we'll
just remember that we were made from the dust, shall the thing
formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor? What if, just what if God willing
to show His wrath and to make his power known, endured, put
up with, much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction. And that he might make known
the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had
before prepared unto glory. Even us, whom he hath called,
not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. As he saith
also in Osea, or Hosea, I will call them my people, which were
not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it
shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto
them, you are not my people, there shall they be called the
children of the living God. You cannot put God in a box.
Just as soon as you think you might have figured it out, He
goes another direction. Isaiah also crieth concerning
Israel, though the thunder of the children of Israel be as
the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. For God will
finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short
work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said
before, except the Lord of Tzabaioth, had left us to see we had been,
as Sodom, been made like unto Gomorrah. What shall we say then,
that the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have
attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of
faith? But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness,
hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore?
Why? Because they sought it not by
faith, they didn't believe God. but as it were by the works of
the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone, as it is
written, Behold, I lay inside him a stumbling stone and a rock
of offense, and Christ is that stumbling stone, and Christ is
that rock of offense. And whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed or guilty." Guilty. Let's pray. Our Father, once again, we bow
in your presence, asking for your help, for your spirit to
be with us, that you be among us, and we can leave this place
this morning rejoicing in God our Savior. I pray that you would
enable me to preach the gospel here in the power of your spirit. I confess, Lord, that I am not
sufficient for these things. I'm not sufficient to handle
such matters as life and judgment and eternity. Lord, I look to
you. I look to you. And we pray for
those in this congregation. Pray for Gene, Angie, and others,
Lord, that are sick, others that are hurting. Pray for Larry Chris. Lord, we pray that your Let your
hand be upon them. That's it. They would truly experience
your grace under trial. Help us. Help us to believe.
Lord, we believe. Help our unbelief. In Christ's
name we pray, and amen. the work of mine. Mayst Thou, dear Lord, the bliss
of mine. Thou who hath borne of old for
me, and I am now, come be to me. Thy praise hath conquered it
within, Thy voice shall make the tempter flee, And I shall
stand complete in Thee. Amid in the age-long supply,
had no good thing to be denied, since the one portion ? As no more complete can be ?
? Dear Savior, when before thy bar ? ? All tribes and tongues
assembled are ? ? Among thy chosen hillocks ? ? That thy right hand
complete in me ? Go back to Romans chapter nine. The title of the message, God is God. Our God is God, our God is sovereign. He's sovereign over all, that's
what this chapter tells us. All this chapter is telling us
is that our God is God, and He's sovereign in all things. He does
as He will, when He will, with whom He will. And you and I will
never worship until we worship at a sovereign throne. I think
it was J.W. Pink said, all others we'll bargain
with. But when we bow at the sovereign throne, that's when
we truly, truly worship God. We recognize And every believer
in here has recognized this, that God can do with me as He
will. I think that's no doubt. I know
that's the first thing that struck me so strongly when I heard the
gospel, that God did not have to save me. That He was not waiting
for me to accept Him as my personal Savior. He was not waiting for
me to let Him do something. But I realized for the first
time that I needed God to do something for me. And that I
needed God to save me. And I was at His mercy. And I believe that's the first
thing. A sinner learns when God is dealing with him, with him
or her. You're at the mercy of God. It says that Christ has
life in himself, over in the Gospel of John, and he giveth
it. He giveth life to whomsoever he will. Now, Paul has established, as
we read in the first part of this chapter, that not all that
were born of Abraham are the children of Abraham. We do not
inherit the kingdom of God. We do not inherit salvation.
I may have had the two godliest parents on earth, but they couldn't
pass that on to me. They cannot pass that on to me. The children are only, he said,
those of the promise. Verse eight, but the children
of the promise are counted for the seed. They are the true Israel
of God. Look over in Philippians chapter
three. Paul, writing to the Philippian
church, He says in Philippians 3, for
we are the circumcision. We are the true Israel of God,
which worship God in the Spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and
have absolutely zero, no confidence in this flesh. It doesn't matter
who my mother and father are. I have no confidence in that. They had confidence and their
confidence was in this. We are Abraham's seed, therefore
we are the circumcision, therefore we are automatically in the covenant.
No, you're not. That's what the Lord said. Circumcision
is that of the heart and not of the flesh. Paul said he is
a true Jew, not the one who's been circumcised in the flesh,
but in the heart. You're looking at, and I'm looking at some true
Israel of God. And those, he tells us, who believe
the gospel were chosen before the foundation of the world.
God set his love on them before the foundation of the world.
God did not create this order, or this world, and then the fall
happened, and now he's trying to fix it. He's not trying to
fix anything. When God created this world,
before He created this world, before God created the first
thing, He took care of all matter, of all things. God's purpose
is being done. God purposed all things. He's
a God of order. He's a God of infinite wisdom. God is never, ever reactive. He's proactive. God has always demonstrated his
sovereign right over all of his creation. He created the world
as he purposed it, didn't he? He did not create Adam first
and get his opinion. He created everything first.
He finished everything first, then he created Adam, then he
put him in the garden. God has always, and that's what
this chapter's about, is God having the right to do with his
own as he will. Now, the natural man hates that.
He absolutely hates it. Here's what's interesting. We
don't hate it when it's in our hands. You know, we don't hate
it when we have the right to do with our own as we will. You know, you put up a no trespassing
sign, I own this land, stay off of it. You know, that's my rights, my
land. Well, you know what? The earth is the Lord's and the
forest thereof, and they who dwell therein. And He has the
right to do with it as He will, and He has the right to do with
everyone in this world as He will. And He will do that. And
He's doing it. He's doing it. It says here in
verse 11, For the children be not yet born, neither having
done any good or evil." They didn't do anything to impress.
Jacob did nothing to impress God. In fact, if you read Jacob's
life, it was a mess. It was a mess. You know what
his name means, Jacob? Deceiver. And that's what he
did to his brother. He deceived him on his birthright.
And Esau hadn't done anything evil. And Jacob hadn't done anything
good. They hadn't done anything. that
the purpose of God according to election, according to the
election of grace might stand. It was said to her, the elder
is going to serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. And I'm not going to defend that.
That's just what it is. God loved Jacob, He said, and
He hated Esau. But let me tell you something,
Esau hated God too. He hated God. Jacob have I loved. Is it not
God's royal prerogative to choose whom
he will? Does he not have that right?
Is it not his right to do that? Is it not his right to set his
love on whom he will? Esau didn't want God, he sold
the birthright. Esau proved his hatred of God
when he sold the birthright. I don't want anything to do with
this birthright. Give me a bowl of soup. That's what he thought
of the birthright. Now Paul knew that there would
be some objection to God's sovereign rights. Overall, among the unbelieving
Jews and the unbelieving Gentiles, people fight this. They hate
this. If you want to make somebody mad, You just tell them of God's
sovereign right to save whom He will. Not, they don't want, here's
what it comes down to. You do not want God to be God.
You do not want God to be God. Do you know anyone, do you know
anyone that's wiser to make that choice than God? I'll never forget,
and I've told you this before, but Henry said once, he said,
God will save all that he can wisely save. No one wants him anyway, not
by nature, not by nature now. It's not like you got five people
standing here and they're all wanting to be saved, and then
God says, no, I'll take this one, not this one. No, you got
five people standing here that hate God. You got five rebels
standing here that would like to shoot him. You got five rebels
here that would just like to annihilate him and him not exist.
No God for me. That's what the wicked say. That's
what the foolish say. No God for me. And yet God says,
you're mine. I'm gonna have you. And my son's
gonna die for you. I'm gonna give you to him. He's
gonna be your surety. He's gonna be your righteousness.
He's gonna be everything that you need to stand in my presence. Now, did God do any injustice
to the others? No. They didn't want Him anyway. You know who's willing to be
saved? Whosoever will. Let Him come, take His water and life
freely. Whosoever will. I say that to everyone in this
room. Whosoever will, come. Come. Believe on Him. Look to Him. But you know who will? It is
written in Psalm 110, thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. That's the only ones willing.
The ones that God makes willing. The one that God gives a new
heart to, a new birth to. They are the only one willing
to come to him. They are the only ones willing to bow to Christ.
They are the only ones to receive him as he's revealed in the word
of God. Only ones. Paul knew there was going to
be an objection here, and he said, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? Is God unrighteous at doing this?
And I like what Paul says. God forbid, don't even think
that way. God's ways are higher than our
ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. As the heavens
are higher than the earth, so are His thoughts and His ways
higher than ours. We can't comprehend that. We
cannot comprehend the way of God, the wisdom of God, the knowledge
of God, the purpose of God. We can't comprehend that. Not
with these peanut brains. Is God unjust for choosing Jacob
and not Esau? Is there injustice in God for
doing that? If he hadn't, nobody would be
saved. When the angels fell, a third part of the heavenly
host fell. Do you know why the rest of them did not fall? Because
they were called the elect angels. God chose them to keep their
first estate. He didn't let them fall. They owe their existence
and their standing to God who kept them. He kept them. God is never unjust in anything
He does. God is never unjust in any of
His ways. Paul doesn't even... He doesn't
even say more about it. He just says, God forbid. God
forbid that any of His creatures should call Him into judgment. Now think about that. I'm going
to call God into judgment for what He's doing? Scripture says
he gives no account of any of his matters. God is God. God is not to be charged with
folly by the foolish. All that God does is consistent
with his nature. Abraham said this, shall not
the judge of the earth do right? Shall he not do right? Paul does not defend the sovereign
mercy of God, he just quotes Scripture. I cannot explain to
you why God does what He does, why He's chosen the multitude
of sinners that no man can number. I can't explain that. It's too
high for me. The Scripture says the secret
things of the Lord belong to the Lord, but the revealed things
belong to us and our children. It's God's royal prerogative
to do with His own as He will, and He will do what's best. Guarantee
it. And to find fault with that truth
is my fault. That's a fault in me. If God's
to have a people like His Son, He must choose them, He must
call them, He must sanctify them. He must do it. Or none will come.
Christ said this, you will not come to me that you might have
life. What's the problem? Your will. You love darkness
rather than light. You will not come to me. That's
the problem. Everyone born in this world is
born dead in Adam. We are all equally evil. We are
all equally depraved. Now God keeps a lot of it in
check. He keeps a lot of it in check. It says in Romans 5, 12,
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world, and death
by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for they all have sinned. If Adam hadn't fallen, I would
have. I would have. I would have fallen. I can see the wisdom of God in
this, and I'm so glad that it happened this way. He let the
whole human race fall in Adam. And one fell swoop, they fell
on Adam. And he let the whole heavenly
race be saved in Christ, the second Adam, and raised in him,
given life in him. So Paul's gonna draw this conclusion.
So then it's not of him that willeth, Now when God saves a
sinner, that sinner may will Him. He said that in Psalm 110.
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. But salvation
is not based on my will. Never has been, never will be. It's not of Him that willeth,
nor of Him that runneth. It's not because of my efforts.
But the salvation is this, but it's of God that showeth mercy. That's why I stand here saved
by the grace of God, saved by the sovereign mercy of God. I
remember my life, I remember my past, and God was not, I wanted
nothing to do with Him. And then one day I did, one day
I did. Well, what happened? Did I grow
up? No, I'm still doing that. Still doing that. I'll tell you what happened.
God sent out Fetching Grace, just like he did to Mephibosheth.
Go get him, bring him. He's mine. He's mine. Now, brother, I'm no better than
Esau. I'm no better. I know this. I know I'm no better
than all the people locked up in prison. I'm not. By nature, I'm not.
And you're not either. But by the grace of God, I've
been brought to Christ. Some of you have been brought
to Christ. You've been brought to faith in Christ. And that's
all of God's grace, isn't it? That's all of the sovereign mercy
of God. That's what it is. Sovereign
mercy. It's not of him that willeth,
You can take free will and just toss it in the trash. There ain't
nothing about this old Adamic nature of mine that's free. There's
nothing about that old man that's free. My will is captive to my
nature. It's captive to my nature. You know why a lion loves to
kill and eat meat? Instead of pick apples? It's
its nature. It's the nature. That's why. Listen to this in
John chapter 1 verse 11 through 13. Which were born, he's talking
about those who are born of God, which were born now, which were
born. And no decision here, it's a
birth. It's a birth. which were born,
not of blood. It's not because of who I'm related
to. That's not why God saved me. It's not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man. I cannot
will you to be saved. If that were so, all of our children
would be saved, wouldn't they? We'd will them to be saved. It's
not of the will of man, but it's of God. No man has ever, and this is
what Paul's saying, no man has ever attained salvation by who
he is, his ancestry, or by what he's
done. Keeping the law. No man's ever
kept the law. Only one. There's only one person who's
ever kept the law of God perfectly. Nobody else has done that. No
one. James 1.18 says, of his own will
begat he us with the word of truth. Of his own will. Now Paul's gonna use another
example of God's sovereign right to do as he will with his own.
And this is what this is all about, is God's sovereign right
to do as He will with His own. He said, for the Scripture saith
unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised you up,
I put you on the throne. Pharaoh thought, I know, don't
doubt it. He thought, you know, he's a pretty sharp guy. He thinks,
I'm a pretty sharp guy. Look what I've done, look. Wasn't
that what Abba Kenazer did? God put him out to pasture for
seven years. Walked down on that balcony, said, ooh, look what
I've created. Look what I've done, and God
said, Out the pastor, buddy. And it says his fingernails grew
like eagle's claws in his hair. And for seven years, he lived
out there in the field like a madman. And then he learned this. He
learned that the most high God rules in heaven and earth. He
said, now I know who built this, not me. Now I know who put me
on the throne, it wasn't me. God, for the Scripture says to
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose, if I raise the earth, that I
might show or demonstrate my power in thee, and that my name
might be declared throughout all the earth. Everything about
Pharaoh was divinely appointed, just as everything in this world
is divinely appointed of God. The Scripture says, even the
wrath of man shall praise God, and the rest he will restrain.
He maketh wars to cease until the ends of the earth. Whatever they accomplish, they
accomplish. Whatever God's purpose is in it, it's accomplished. Me and Joe Terrell was talking
about this last night. I said, you ever read over in Daniel?
I said, where I was, I believe it was Michael, the archangel.
He said he had to go, he was talking to Daniel, he said, I
gotta go. He was fighting, he says, with the king of Persia.
I said, now all those Persians saw was a bunch of men out there
on the field killing each other, fighting. I said, but what they
did not see, what they could not see is that spiritual warfare,
the purpose of God going on, they couldn't see Michael there.
They didn't see that. In every war, every conflict,
the purpose of God and a spiritual warfare is going on that we can't
see. It's not just a bunch of men
fighting each other. There's a spiritual warfare going
on. There's a whole world that we can't see with these eyes.
If you could see what was in here this morning, it would just
shock us. Remember, was it Elijah, that
young man scared to death? And Elijah said, when the army
was coming against him, Elijah said, Lord, open his eyes. And
he opened that young man's eyes, and that whole hill was full
of chariots and angels. He's like, oh, we're not alone. We're not alone. It says in the
scriptures in Psalm 91, he shall give his angels charge over thee
to keep thee. To keep thee, yeah. I tell you
what, you go ahead and sleep with your gun under your pillow.
Go ahead and take your defense classes. Go ahead. But I can
tell you one that's going to keep you is God. I'm telling
you, it's God. Thou only makest me to dwell
in safety. That's what the Scripture says. Go buy you a guard dog. Can you imagine trusting your
life to a dog and won't trust God? That's amazing, isn't it? It's amazing to trust my life
to a guard dog and won't trust myself to God. What a slam. What a slam. It says in verse 18, Hath he mercy
on whom he'll have mercy? You better be glad of that. Somebody's
gonna receive mercy. He's gonna say some sinners,
I mean some ungodly sinners, he's gonna say. Scripture says
a multitude that no man can number. No man can number. He'll have mercy on whom he'll
have mercy, and whom he will, he'll harden. How does God harden
a man's heart? How did he harden Pharaoh's heart?
I was saying this to Joe last night, because he's telling me
the message he's going to preach, and I said, you've got to put
that on the Internet so I can hear it. But anyway, I said, Joe, if you think about
it, because we had the Lord's Supper here, and I'm a priest
from the Passover here. Last Thursday, I think, or Thursday
before last. I said, the first time it really hit me, I never
really thought about it, but all those plagues that God sent,
all those plagues, Not one of them, not one plague delivered
Israel. It wasn't until the blood was
shed and the blood applied to the doorpost and it's feeding
on that lamb in that house. I said it was not till the lamb
died and they were set free. Set free. How does God harden a heart?
The same way he did Pharaoh. He sent those plagues and left
him alone. The only thing God needs to do
to harden your heart, to harden my heart, is leave me alone. That's all. Just leave me alone.
Trials to an unregenerate person, to a false religionist, it'll
have a hardening effect. You'll get offended at God. You'll
be offended at God. Why did God do this? Why did
He do this? Why not? Would you rather do
it to somebody else? Aren't you a good spirit about
you? All he needs to do is leave me
alone. I know this, God must deal in justice with everyone. He must deal in justice with
all men, but in mercy to whom He will. Now, you will not worship
God until this comes home. Until you stand before His sovereign
throne, Lord, you can do with me as you
will. That's what David said, against thee and thee only by
sin done this evil thy sight, that when you judge, when you
judge us, you're right. Whatever you do with me, God,
He said, you're right. You're right. Now, Paul's gonna
deal with a third objection. I'm not gonna get through this,
He's gonna deal with the third objection to God's sovereign
mercy. If most of Israel perishes, then
the word of God has failed. The word of promise has failed.
And Paul says, not as though the word of God has not taken
none effect, for they are not all Israel, which are Israel.
Here's what you need to understand. Not all those Jews were Israel. Not all of them. He said the children of God are
the ones of the promise. And God promised Christ a multitude
of sinners. And they are the ones whom God's
calling out. That's just the truth, isn't
it? That's the truth. And who are they? Well, the scripture
tells us in Romans, they are sinners and they are ungodly.
Does that describe you? If that describes you, Christ
died for you. You can't even find a sinner
in prison. You can't. They all have an excuse for being
there. They all have an excuse. They have an excuse for doing
what they do. But a sinner, a sinner saved by grace, John Bunyan called
them Jerusalem sinners, makes no excuse. Against thee and thee
only have I sinned and done this evil that I say. I have no excuse. I have no excuse. And Paul says
this, oh man, who are you to dispute with God? Who are you? We never go on the defensive
to start trying to explain. Trying to explain God's sovereignty
to the satisfaction of a bunch of rebels. Not gonna do it. God is God. This kind of replies nothing
but rebellion against God's right to do as He will with His own. That's what Paul is setting forth
here in Romans chapter 9. Has not the potter power over
the clay to make one lump as He will? If He wants to make
one lump a vessel of wrath, if He wants to make one lump a vessel
of mercy, does He not have that right? That's what He says. What
if? What if He does that? Does He not have the right to
do that? Yes, He does. He's the Creator. He's God. As
I said before, I cannot understand all that God does, but here's
what I do understand. I understand God is holy. I understand God can do no wrong.
I understand God is infinitely wise. He can make no mistakes.
I know God is infinite in knowledge. He knows all things. I know that. Therefore, I trust Him. I trust
Him who is holy, wise, and can do no wrong. Even though I can't
comprehend what He's doing, there's no way that can happen. I can
comprehend such wisdom and such knowledge and purpose. Can't
do it. Can't do it. But I'll tell you
what it can do. I can believe God. I can believe
Him, trust Him, and what He has revealed about Himself, about
Christ, about me, about salvation, I can believe. I can trust Him. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches, let not the strong man glory in his mind, but let
him rejoice in this, let him glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth Me." That's what we rejoice in. It says, the Son of God has come
and given us an understanding that we may know Him that is
true. We are in Him that is true. Even in His Son, Jesus Christ.
He's given us an understanding. And those who perish, those who
perish, they don't want God anyway. They
don't want Him, don't love Him, don't want anything to do with
Him. Because He said, the Lord said,
Whosoever will, let him come. He says that to everyone in this
room. Come, drink of the water of life freely. Now, if He doesn't
do something for you and in you, ain't nobody coming. Not to Him. It ain't gonna happen. Because
we love darkness rather than light. Our God is God. Our God is God. Our God is sovereign. Our God
can do no wrong. And I thank God. I thank God
for His sovereign mercy. Or I would not be standing here.
That's what I know.