return to Deuteronomy and actually
go to chapter 32. Deuteronomy 32. But before I read my main text,
I want to give a brief overview of Deuteronomy 31 through 33. That was your homework I gave
you last week for this Sunday morning. Deuteronomy 31 through
33. Now, I'm giving, again, a brief
overview, and not everything I'm going to mention is in 31
through 33, but it leads up to 31 through 33. And I'll give
you this before I begin in earnest. Chapter 34 is next week's reading. You realize if God lets us live
that long, and I preached that last message on Deuteronomy 34,
we will have come all the way through the first five books
of the Bible. Now, it was not a verse-by-verse, and I never
intended it to be a verse-by-verse, for I am unable to preach those
five books verse-by-verse. It would take me forever, and
most of it would end up being a history lesson at best, and
that is of no value whatsoever. My desire has been to preach
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. God willing, we will then, after
Deuteronomy 34, start in Romans. And we will go through Romans
verse by verse. And I will not give you homework,
for I have no idea how many verses I will get through in any given
Sunday. So just start reading Romans 1. Brief overview. Israel will enter the land. They will enter the land. But up to this point, in the
past 40 years, God has overthrown thousands of them in the wilderness. God uses definite and strong
language. He says your carcasses shall
fall in the wilderness. That is the God of love. saying
to his own special chosen nation, Israel, your carcasses shall
fall in the wilderness. To whom he swear in his wrath
that all, what was it, 20 and above? Or above 20, whatever
it was, you are going to die and you will not enter the promised
land. As far as we know, only two people
above that age entered. That was Joshua and Caleb, two
men of faith. So thousands have been slain.
Moses, even Moses. And there was not a greater prophet.
Up especially, up until, there was not a greater prophet, the
book says so, than Moses. Than Moses. But Moses will not
lead Israel into this land. Joshua will lead Israel into
the land. And we know why. Because law
never gets us to rest. Only Jesus Christ. And it's the
same, Joshua's name in the Hebrew is translated Joshua in the English
for us. It is the same word as the Greek
Jesus. Jesus, Joshua, must enter, lead
us into the land. Israel, then, This is more overview. Israel is exposed. Chapter 31,
32, 33. Israel is exposed for who they
really are. Rebels. Stiff necked. And this is telling, Moses is
talking to the ones that are now, we're under 20 and some
of them now are maybe around 40 or 60, right? You're rebels? You're stiff-necked,
you're corrupt, you're perverse, and that's only a few of the
words that God gives Moses to give to Israel. I've only touched
the surface. Bear with me now. Those filthy
Jews, right? Those filthy Jews. Even Isaiah,
a few hundred years later, said, you're rottenness from the top
of your head to the soles of your feet, your wounds and bruises
and putrefying sores. But Paul comes along and only
quotes what the Old Testament has already said, and he said,
I tell you, we've proved before the Jews are not better than
the Gentiles. The Gentiles are not better than, we're all under
sin. By nature, by nature, we're all
rebels at our best state. We're here to worship God this
morning, and worshiping God we are. But there are still, down
in here, is that rebellion. There are things that take place,
and I think, oh, if I could just make it different. if it would
just be done a different way. You realize you have three men
that normally speak to you every Sunday morning, and we are total
opposites when it comes to our preaching. But we are not opposite
when it comes to our message. And that is Jesus Christ the
Lord. No, yes, they were rebels, but
so are we. The man that stands before you
this morning, the one you may be hearing later on TV or over
the internet, I am a rebel. I am stiff-necked, I am corrupt,
and I am perverse, perversity at its core. In me, that is in
my flesh, dwells no good person. And yet, these rebels are given
a song to sing. You remember reading that? These
rebels are given a song to sing. But in that song, I noticed that
God alone is praised. And these rebels are to sing
about their rebellion. They are to acknowledge in their
song God's glory and their corruption. And at the end, that hope has
not been abandoned. in spite of our rebellion, in
spite of our being stiff-necked, in spite of our being corrupt,
and in spite of our perversity. Moses also will view the land. And if you ever, when we look
at that, God willing, next Sunday, it's amazing, he goes up into
this one mountain, Pisgah, and the Bible speaks as though he
sees all the land. Now I've done a little research.
Now there is evidently a magnificent view of that one valley going
north and a little further valley over to the west going south.
And they say it's a great, great view, but you can't see it all.
But the book says Moses will see it all. That was a miracle
of God. Hmm. Moses then blesses the tribes. That is chapter 31, verse one,
through 33, verse 29. Now, one passage stands out for
us, but I'm not saying it's isolated. It's a part of this whole thing,
this whole book, and of course, 31 through 33 go together. If you read it and you take your
time to read it, read it well, you'll see it's its own specific
part, but look at what 32, verse 15 says. But Jeshurun waxed fat
and kicked. Thou art waxened fat, thou art
grown thick, thou art covered with fatness, and this is not
a good thing. This is not a good thing. Then
he forsook God, which made him, and lightly esteemed the rock
of his salvation. That's a little frightening to
me. Because I know I'm just like Jeshua. They provoked him to jealousy
with strange gods. Anything ever come between you
and the living God of heaven and earth? Ever had even one,
maybe just one day in your life when something else was more
important to you? Mac, I'm not pointing the finger,
but you taking your wife to that, that was important to you, wasn't
it? Important to you. But if you put that before God,
it's idolatry. It's idolatry. They provoked
him to jealousy with strange gods. With abominations provoked
they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils,
not to God, to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came
newly up, whom your fathers feared not. of the rock that begat thee,
thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
These are the Jews that's going into the land. He done killed
off all the older rebels, now it's just what? Younger rebels,
who are now a little older. And when the Lord saw it, he
abhorred them. How do I make that doctrinally
fit with a good sound Calvinistic theology? I don't have to, I
just preach what this says. I don't have to. As one preacher
used to say, I'm not in the explaining business, I'm in the proclaiming
business. And when the Lord saw it, he
abhorred them because of the provoking of his sons and of
his daughters. And he said, I will hide my face
from them. I will see what their end shall
be, not because God didn't know, but he's gonna manifest it. And
they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no, ooh. Right there, one of the very
few places the word faith in the Old Testament's used. Now
it's used, but nothing like it is in the New Testament. And
here it's in the negative, children in whom is no faith. These folks are in trouble, ain't
they? But so am I. I am no better than
them. They have moved me to jealousy
with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger
with their vanities. I will move them to jealousy
with those which are not a people. I will provoke them to anger
with a foolish nation. Now turn to Romans chapter 10. Romans chapter 10. The Apostle Paul in Romans chapter
10 and verse 19 quotes that last verse, Deuteronomy 32, I think
it was 21. Pardon me if I'm wrong with that.
The last verse I read to you. Now, the Israelites are examples
to us. They are examples to us. But
it's much deeper than that. But let me, I would be remiss
if I don't mention a little bit about them being examples. Anyone
here, and I'm not talking just to, I'm not talking to our friends,
I'm talking about this small group. It's tough to preach to
a small group, because you know one another. But I don't really
know you. I know what I see out here. I
don't know what's really down in here. We've had people be
here for years and years, and then turn their back on God.
I don't know what's in here. Israel is our example. Do you
say, well, but I believe like everybody else there at Sovereign
Grace Chapel. And I've had my experience. I've been baptized. And I'm sincere. You remember
what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10 verses one through 14? He
said, I wanna give you something. I'm paraphrasing. You remember
our fathers? They all went through the Red
Sea. They were all under the cloud, the cloud of pillar by
day for shade, and the cloud of fire by night for light. All
of them were, and they were rebels. They drank of the water that
flowed from Jesus Christ who appeared as a rock in their midst
and followed them around for 40 years. They ate the manna
that fell down from heaven. And Paul says, and they are examples,
many of them, God was not well pleased with them. And he overthrew
them in the wilderness. Don't ever take God's grace for
granted. Don't think just because you
hold, I've had people, well I believe in sovereign grace. That's not
enough. You must believe the sovereign
God. You must bow in faith and submission
to his blessed son. I don't care what your religious
experience has been in the past. There's a lot of people that
have great religious experiences, just like the believers have,
some unbelievers have had them, but God overthrows them for what,
idolatry? Fornication? I'm just naming
a few of them. Well, here's another one. Ooh,
murmuring. You know what the murmur means,
don't you? It means to complain. And if you ever said, well, I
complain, but I'm not complaining against God, I'm complaining
against man. Well, you have deceived yourself.
And I have deceived myself when I have that attitude. Because
that person or persons, they are in God's almighty sovereign
hand. They cannot touch you or do anything
to you other than what God Almighty sovereignly decreed for them
to do unto you. So when we complain, you know
what I said? When we complain, our complaints
are always, in fact, against God. no matter how holy we're
trying to be in our complaint. These people's clothes didn't
wax old and their shoes didn't wear out. They had water from
Christ the rock for 40 years and manna that fell down. Sometime
when they complained, God even gave them meat to eat from the
heavens. Did he not? and yet they still, what, complained
and complained. Now, what am I trying to tell
you? Oh, preacher, what are you saying? If I complain I'm lost,
I have no idea. Well, if I don't complain I'm
saved, I have no idea. That's not the point. We all
like it laid out black and white. Preacher, preach me a message
so that when you're done I can know whether I'm saved or lost.
I can't do it. The Holy Spirit has to witness
with your spirit that you're the Son of God. Not the preacher's
spirit witnesses with your spirit. This is something God's got to
give you comfort in or the lack thereof inside yourself. When he, that is the Spirit of
God, is come, he will reprove the world of just the first sin.
I can't do it. I can talk about it, preach against
it, but only the Spirit of God can ever convince you of it. Yes, they are our examples. And
he that thinks he stands, Paul puts it this way, let him take
heed, lest he fall. Now God is patient. He is long-suffering. And you
may stick it in his face, and stick it in his face, and stick
it in his face, and you think, well, I must be okay. Nothing's
happening. And then all of a sudden, God
show up on the scene. You remember King David? And
God did not condemn King David to eternal ruin, even in spite
of David's sin. But David's house suffered blood
from that time on. And his family, if you read it,
they looked like redneck trailer trash. Go look, go find you the best
redneck trailer trash up the holler here in West Virginia,
and then read David's sons and daughters. You'd think it'd come
right off of one of these TV shows that they have on TV. Why?
Because we've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. And all God's got to do is lift
his restraint for a moment and we will spiral into darkness
until he stops us and brings us back to where we belong. But
he doesn't have to stop us. He has mercy on whom we have
mercy. He'll have compassion on whom
we'll have compassion. I must move along. They are examples,
don't be like they were. Right? That's what 1 Corinthians
10, one through 14 says, and it's as true as Ephesians one,
verses one through 14. Right, just as true, just as
inspired, just as valid. So if I stick it in God's face
and God finally chops my hand off, I can't be mad at God about
it. No, I have to be mad at self. But Romans 10, look at verse
19, but I say, did not Israel know? Now this man, Paul the
apostle, loved his kinsman according to the flesh. At one time, he
was wishing, and knew it was still possible, he was wishing
that he could be a curse for Christ. He'd write, send me to
hell instead of them. But he knew, God taught him that,
that don't work, it don't work that way. You are not their substitute.
Jesus Christ is their substitute. But he says, but I say, did not
Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke
you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish
nation I will anger you. That's almost word for word is
what we have in the Hebrew context. Now this is my title, Our Hope
Amidst Israel's Fall. You know that? I started to say
something along the line, my hope in another man's sin. But
I thought, boy, that probably wouldn't look good on a marquee
somewhere, would it? The benefits, to me, of someone
else's rebellion. But folks, that's the facts.
That's the facts. Notice what he says, but I say,
did not Israel know? First, Moses saith. Clearly, Paul puts this prophecy
of Moses as the spiritual reality in his day, and of course, if
it was the spiritual reality in his day, it's still the spiritual
reality in our day. Our Lord has not returned yet.
Things are going on as they were, but God Almighty is having His
way in this world. This is the spiritual reality
in our day. This is no mere one isolated prophecy because he
said first, Moses said. Now he's not talking about like
you hear Joe and Paul and myself, I got point number one, point
number two, point number three, first, second, third. That's
not what he's talking about. He's not saying this is my first
point. He said here's the first witness. The first witness of
what? Notice we then are given four
witnesses, more than is even demanded by the law. Right? The law says you gotta have at
least two or three. God gives us four. Note four
witnesses to the present truth at hand, and these witnesses
are Moses, Isaiah, Elias, and David. I've read verse 19, here's
the second, but Esaias, or that is Isaiah, is very bold. and saith, I was found of them
that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them
that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, all day
long have I stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient Ganesan
people. Again I ask, how do you fit that
into your good sound Calvinistic theology? Don't worry about that.
Just preach what this says. God gave Israel opportunity after
opportunity after opportunity, and gave them great miracles,
many of which benefited them personally. I don't get that. Did God do that for you in your
life? Huh? Not to the degree he did them,
and yet they were what? Rebels, stiff-necked, corrupt,
and perverse. And you think that somebody like
us Gentiles, having so much less revelation than what they had,
that we're somehow going to be better? It's like these people
who, somebody talked about, you know, Dylan was seeing, Dylan
was seeing, and look back at Adam in the garden. He had no
other woman to mess around with. Now did he? He didn't have no
beer joints to go to. didn't have no picture shows
to avoid, didn't have no gambling, he didn't need to gamble for
anything, he had it all, but one tree, and he failed. And you think we're not gonna,
we're not, we're gonna do any better on this side of the fall
with all the temptations that are out there and the lust that's
in here? First Moses saith, but then Isaiah
says, but then I say then, now here we're getting, hath God
cast away his people? God forbid. But what is the real
truth behind this statement? For I also am an Israelite of
the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. I am a full-blooded
Jew, that's what he's saying. I am a full-blooded Israelite,
not even a half-breed Samaritan. I am full-blooded Jew, and God
saved me. Isn't that what he's saying?
Look, for God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew. There's the key. There's the
key. What ye not? What the scripture
saith of Elias? There's the third witness. How
he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying. There's the third. Three witnesses
so far against Israel. Israel Lord they have killed
thy prophets and dig down thine altars and I'm left alone and
they seek my life and of course we know Having studied somewhat
of his life. He was bellyaching and complaining
Wasn't he? Oh this ministry is so tough.
I can't say that I can't say that I Know he felt that way
he may have been sincere Joe, but he had some sincere problems
some things he didn't know about Look, but what saith the answer
of God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who've not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. And you
didn't have to know about it. Now I put that in there, but
that's what God's telling him. I've already had these men all
this time. And it's up to me to reveal to
who I want what I want. But now, when Elias needs it,
and is struggling, and at his wit's end, God says I'm gonna
tell you something about me. And not about Elias, but I'm
gonna tell you something about me and what I'm doing. Look,
I have reserved to myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee
to the image of Baal. Then Paul writes, even so then
at this present time also there is a remnant according to the
election of grace. So amongst the Jews were some
elect Jews. All Jews were elect in that they
were in that special nation, but they were not elected unto
salvation by Christ Jesus. But some were. And they existed
in Moses' day, and they existed in Isaiah's day, and they existed
in Elias' day, and they existed in David's day, and they existed
in the apostle Paul's day, and I have reason to believe they
probably still exist today. Even so, then, at this present
time, there's also a remnant according to the election of
grace, and Paul, knowing how adverse man is to the truth of
God, immediately is moved by the Spirit to explain what he
means. And if by grace, that is this
election, because it's the election of grace. And if by grace, that
is no more of human effort. Works. Otherwise, grace is no
more grace. But if it be of works, if it
is, then it is no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more work.
It has to be one or the other. There is no mixture of any kind
of the two. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it.
And the rest were what? Blinded. Now this is not a seeing
people and God takes away their sight. By nature they could not
see. But by God's providence they
had great blessings. Great advantage. Paul says the
Jew had advantage. He had the word of God, he had
the tabernacle. Although they kept it covered
up, there were people who made this ark and they would see the
Shekinah glory of God come down and lighten that tent. But yet,
they didn't believe God. But it says, according as it
is written, and this is what the book says, God hath given
them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and
ears that they should not hear unto this day. And sadly, most,
and I believe I can say that, because I've listened to a lot
of them on TV and stuff, most people, preachers, avoid that
truth like a plague. Because that can't really be,
God is love. Yes, God is love. But God is
also wrath, and jealousy, and holiness. And, here's the fourth
witness, and David saith, let their table be made a, what?
a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. That's not a positive prayer,
is it? He's crying out against his own
people because he knows what they are. They're rebels against
God. Let their eyes be darkened that
they may not see and bow down their back. Do you see that next
word? A-L-W-A-Y. Folks, I want to tell you something.
I don't know if I could pray that about some of my kinfolk. What about
you? I don't know. I say then, oh, here's the question. I say then, have they stumbled
that they should fall? Here's the second thing. Israel's
fall was not for a mere false sake. God's not about just causing
men to fall. That's not the point. Look at
what he says. I say then, have they stumbled,
that they should fall. God forbid. If your Calvinism
takes you down that track, your Calvinism is wrong. Although Calvinism is true. Your
Calvinism. You got that, didn't you? God
forbid. But rather, through their fall,
salvation is come to the Gentiles. and he offers no explanation
for that. Could God not have saved both? He's saving Gentiles and they
weren't even seeking after him. Weren't even looking for him.
Everything they were doing was idolatrous and contrary to even
one God. We believe as Gentiles in many
gods and we still do today. Even though we're quite refined.
And I've got on my tie. My coat today. Have they stumbled,
God forbid, but rather through their fall, salvation has come
to the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. You see, God
does what he wants, when he wants, with whom he wants. And that's
just who God is. You can't do nothing about it,
bow down to him. Quit fighting against him. As
Scott Richardson from Fairbanks used to say, lay down your arms
against God. Put down, he told Earl, put down
your musket, your guns, or something like that. He was just picking
at Earl. Earl liked the old muskets. Provoke
them to jealousy. Look, now if the fall of them
be the riches of the world. And it is. God purposed it this
way. You and I, as Gentiles, would
not be sitting here today trying to worship God in Christ had
these Jews not failed. Isn't that what he's saying here?
Whether I can wrap my puny little mind around it don't matter.
That's what Paul, being moved by the Spirit of God, says the
truth is. Now if the fall of them be the
riches of the world and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles,
how much more they'll fool us. It ain't don't count the Jews
out, it's don't count God out. It ain't about the Jews or the
Gentiles, it's about God and what he's going to do. For I
speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles,
I magnify mine office. If by any means I may provoke
to emulation them that are my flesh, and might save some of
them. Maybe God might just say, listen,
if God's blessing them Gentiles, I want some of that. I've turned
my back on it. It's just like our last preacher,
Greg, was the Jewish woman that says, she knew her Jewish friends
weren't keeping the law. She knew they were liars and
hypocrites. She knew that righteousness had to come through the messiah.
She just don't believe Jesus of Nazareth is that messiah. And she's so close, and yet so
far away. Because you'll believe that Jesus
of Nazareth is the messiah, or you have no messiah. because
he is the one Messiah. For if the casting away of them
be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them
be, but what? Life from the dead. For if the
first fruit be holy, and the lump is also holy, and if the
root be holy, so are the branches. Now he mentions a third thing.
He now begins to illustrate with gardening practices. specifically
grafting, right? Now let's look at it. First fruit
be holy, lumps holy, the root be holy, so are the branches.
Where did that holiness come from? The people itself, God. God. And any holiness in them,
God put it in them. because this is not a New Testament
truth. It's just something that clearly
is, or said this way in the New Testament. It is God that worketh
in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. If you
or I ever do anything that pleases God, it's because God put it
in us both to will and to do it. Therefore, who gets the glory? We can be glad for it. Thank
God for it. But who gets the glory? God does. So let's go on. For the first
fruit be holy, lumps holy, the roots holy, so are the branches.
In other words, if the root's holy, who's the root? Christ
is the root. And if I'm springing out of him,
whether it's a what? A lump, or a root, or branches,
it's holy. But look, and if some of the
branches be broken off, I've had people ask me this question,
not a lot, because it's not real prevalent around here, and I'm
probably gonna even get the phrase wrong. Are you, see, I've done
lost it. I didn't write it in my notes.
Do you believe that the church has supplanted, somebody know
the term for that teaching? Do you believe the church has
supplanted the Jews? No, if a Jew is foreknown of God. if a Jew
is elective of God. Because this is exactly what
he chose to elect Jews for, to believe on the Messiah. Those
who didn't believe on the Messiah are what? Broken off. Broken
off. Put that in your Calvinism. When
your Calvinism meets that, you got a good Calvinism. Okay? And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree, but notice you're
still an olive. God's not grafting an apple into
an olive. Is he? That don't work. He's
grafting an olive tree. A wild one, yeah, that's a chinta.
We're a wild, but we're still God's olive tree. So the branches be broken off,
thou being a wild olive tree, we're grafted in among them,
and with them partakest of the root and sapness of the olive
tree. Don't you boast against the branches,
the ones that were broken off. Don't you boast, well those old
dirty Jews. Be careful, be careful. Boast not against the branches,
but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.
And that's just the fact, whether you boast or you don't boast,
the root is bearing you, you are not bearing the root. God
is not lucky to have us on his side. We've been a thorn in God since
we ever existed. and he has to be long-suffering
with us, and patient with us, and the only way he can do so
and still be holy is in his blessed son. In his son. Boast not against the branches,
but if thou boast thou bar'st not the root, but the root thee,
thou will say then the branches were broken off that I might
be grafted in. That's true, he just said that a few words ago,
did he not? Well, because of unbelief. they were broken off. God didn't
take a bunch of believers and say, well, but I didn't elect
that one, I'm gonna break him off and throw him out and put him
in, uh-uh. And what's it about? An election ain't about getting
to go to heaven. Election is about being enabled by God to
worship the Son of God. To believe the Son of God. To
trust the Son of God. To serve the Son of God. And
those who do that go to glory. Those who do that. Go to glory.
Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest
by what? Faith. Now, where did that come
from? Is your faith a product of you? If it is, then it's up
to you to keep it. The faith of God's elect is a
product of who? Jesus Christ. It is his actual
faith given to us in measure. We don't have it like he had
it, but we got it the exact same kind he got, because he gave
it to us in measure. Joe, at least enough to bow down
to Jesus Christ and cry out for mercy through him. God, stand
us by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear.
For if God, oh, for if God spared not the natural branches, take
heed, lest he also spare thee not. Here's another point. God
is not one-sided, but that's what men and women believe that
God is one-sided. What do I mean by that? Today,
God is love. Now God is love, but his love
is only found in Christ, and he's sovereign in that love.
Look at what it says. Behold, therefore, the goodness
and severity of God. God is as severe as he is good. You know what this is? He's not
real good and a little bit severe. God's got a whole lot of goodness
and a little speck of severity down in there. Remember thousands
of them carcasses fell in the wilderness. Their loved ones
had to watch them die off. Some of them under great plagues,
conflagration of fire, right? Ground opening up and swallowing
up hundreds if not thousands at one time. Behold therefore
the goodness and severity of God. On them which fail, God
was severe. Right? But toward thee, goodness,
if thou continue in his goodness, otherwise thou shalt also be
cut off. Let me summarize this. Never
presume on God. Don't base your hope on another
man's fall. Though my title is Our Hope Amidst
Israel's Fall, my hope is not Israel's fall, my hope is Jesus
Christ the Lord. That's my hope. And they also,
if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in. So is God
done with all Jews? Not in any way. Not in any way. For God is able to graft them
in again. For if thou were cut out of the
olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary
to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these, which
be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? So
it's don't count out the Jew, but don't count out God. Somebody
says, what's God going to do for the Jew in the future? If
he saves them and takes them to glory, he's gonna do it through
Jesus Christ. They're gonna believe Christ.
They're not gonna go back and worship at some tabernacle or
some temple because Christ is the tabernacle and the temple.
Now that much is clear from this book. A man's not a Jew because
he's one outwardly. Circumcision ain't that outward
act in the flesh. A man's a Jew, which is one inwardly. Circumcision is that of the heart.
So this Gentile is as much a Jew as another believing Jew. And
that Jew is connected to this Gentile. If I'm a believing Gentile. Are we not? We're the same thing. Same thing. For if thou For I
would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery,
lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness
in part is happened to Israel. And that means some Israelites
were blinded, not seeing Israelites were only given so much sight.
Partial blindness ain't a believer, the believing Jew only has so
much sight. It's those who were broken off
that he's talking about there. For I would not, brethren, that
ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise
in your own conceits, that blindness in part It's happening in Israel
until the fullness of the Gentiles become in. That lets me know
there is an exact number of Gentiles that God's gonna graft in. Now
somebody, some of the real lies, they could say, well, for every
one unbelieving Jew, God broke off, he put in a believing Gentile.
That is not borne out by this text, because he can graft in
a broken off one, and if he gives them faith, he'll put them right
back in the olive tree, right? Isn't that what he's already
said? So this ain't about our numbers. This is about God's
numbers. This is about how many God's
been pleased to do this for. But here's what's great. And
so, not and so then. brought up in that, the kind
of pre-millennialism I was brought up in, and I don't mean to confuse
anybody here, but, you know, once God gets through saving
the Gentiles, that every Jew's gonna be saved just because they're
a Jew. And don't bear this out. A man or a woman's never saved
just because they're a Jew. Never have been, and never will
be. They're saved because God was
pleased before the world began to show mercy to them in Christ
Jesus, and in time, he will bring them to his son. So all Israel
shall be saved. Because if I'm grafted in, Joe,
ain't I a part of Israel? Yeah. I'm protected of the root and
the fatness of the olive tree, Joe. I've been broken off out
of that one over there, that wild one, I've been grafted into
the natural. So all Israel shall be saved
that is written. There shall come out a Zion to deliver and
shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. I'm trying to move along.
For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take away their
sins. As concerning the gospel, they
are enemies for your sake. But as touching the election,
they are beloved for the Father's sake. For the gifts and calling
of God are without repentance. Change is the word. God doesn't
change his purpose. What God determined to do before
the world began is being carried out in time, and when eternity
comes to fruition, and nothing but eternity exists, it will
be exactly what God purposed to do. But look, for as ye in
time past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through
their unbelief, even so have these also now not believed that
through your mercy they also might obtain mercy. So don't
count God out. You got a Jewish friend and they
just hate Jesus of Nazareth, God can change that. God can
change that. And you got a Gentile loved one
and they're just as religious as they could be and they think
they got it all fixed up, they better watch out. Better watch
out. Even so have these also now not
believed that through your mercy they also shall obtain mercy
for God. This is amazing. Look at this
statement. For God hath concluded them all
in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. That means Jew
or Gentile. Now not all the world, not every
Jew and every Gentile, but upon all. In other words, what do
you say to that? My conclusion is what Paul wrote.
Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God. How unsearchable are his judgments? You ever thought, I'm gonna figure
this one out. Yeah, even when you think you
know, when you think you got it, it's not but a speck of the
whole thing. It's just a speck, just scratch
the surface of who God is. Oh, how unsearchable are his
judgments and his ways past finding out, for who hath known the mind
of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor, who hath first
given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again. In
other words, you're not adding to God anything. God must add to you. That's a
very unsatisfactory paraphrase, but I'm trying to get this. Then look, here it is, four of
him, and through him and to him are all things. That includes
the unbelief as well as the faith. The severity as well as the goodness,
right? The breaking off, the grafting
in, includes it all. For of him and through him and
to him are all things. To whom be glory forever, so
be it. So why should I argue with that
with anybody? This is the God I rest in. Someone else don't. That's between them and my God. Them and my God.