Sermon Tone Analysis

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Revival in Kentucky.

Bible Study Friday

Youth on Wednesday

Last week - I stood with the Lord to deploy you into the church and into the world for the ministry of the Gospel.

To share the gospel with the world as evangelists, and to minister to the needs of the church as we are instructed to one another one another.

How’s that going?

Do you remember the things you’re supposed to be doing for each other?

How is loving one another going?

How are we doing at being faithful to one another?

What about using our gifts for one another?

If we want to see God glorified, we have a responsibility to provide care for one another as parts of the same body.

One another one another.

This morning we are going back to Romans.

We spent the majority of last year studying this letter to the Christians in Rome and have to date reached the beginning of Chapter 11.

In this epistle we . . .

find most abundantly the things that a Christian ought to know, namely, what is law, gospel, sin, punishment, grace, faith, righteousness, Christ, God, good works, love, hope, and the cross; and also how we are to conduct ourselves toward everyone, be he righteous or sinner, strong or weak, friend or foe-and even toward our own selves.

Moreover, this all ably supported with Scripture and proved by St. Paul's own example and that of the prophets, so that one could not wish for anything more.

Therefore it appears that he wanted in this one epistle to sum up briefly the whole Christian and evangelical doctrine, and to prepare an introduction to the entire Old Testament.

For, without doubt whoever has this epistle well in his heart, has with him the light an power of the Old Testament.

Therefore let every Christian be familiar with it and exercise himself in it continually.

To this end may God give his grace.

Amen.

(Luther's Works, Vol.

35, 1960, p. 380)

He goes even further and says something that perhaps a few of you will follow:

The epistle is really the chief part of the New Testament, and is truly the purest gospel.

It is worthy not only that every Christian should know it word for word, by heart, but also that he should occupy himself with it every day, as the daily bread of the soul.

(Luther's Works, Vol.

35, 1960, p. 365)

I have entitled this mornings message - “Know your place”

Starting in Romans 9, Paul asserts that if he could - he would take the place of the nation of Israel, so that they could know the wonderful things he knows.

They could experience the God he has experienced.

So Paul says, "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh."

At the end of Chapter 10, Paul quotes Isaiah where God expresses his frustration with the nation of Israel.

In that frustration, God says this:

Israel has spent much of history rejecting her God.

As a people, as a whole, they have rejected the Lord.

There are a good number of Jewish people today who reject Jesus as messiah, and even more who have rejected God entirely.

And yet, the question has to be asked, if God is GOD, then why does he allow that?

Why did he create Israel so that they would rebel.

The answer is, so that he could include the rest of us.

Jesus talks about this in Matthew chapter 22.

He sent out invitations to the feast, and no one came… but the feast was prepared.

So he sent some others, and they didn’t come then either.

but the feast was ready.

So he sent his servants out to find just whoever they could find… bring them in.

Though he dealt harshly with the one who came with out honoring the place he was given.

This brings us into chapter 11.

My message today is a little tough to get through.

It feels wordy, and we might get lost in some weeds.

Try to stay with me, because there are some things we need to understand here.

God Keeps a remnant.

God restores.

We praise him.

Paul gets to the end of chapter 10, lays it all out there about Israel… Really sends the message home, God is tired and frustrated.

Has he rejected them?

They are supposed to be God’s chosen people.

Has God rejected his promises to them?

And if he hasn’t kept his promises to them, who am I?

Am I Israel?

Do I get their promises?

As we ask these questions, we tend to get a little presumptuous.

And that is what Paul walks through here at the beginning of chapter 11.

And he starts to answer those questions with the story of Elijah and the nation of israel in rebellion.

Rejecting Christ wasn’t their first go around with going against God.

They were professionals.

Elijah has gone through a ton of stuff now, and believes himself to be the only one still following after God.

And he gets a little whiny for it.

So Elijah says… I am the only one still serving you, and they are going to kill me.

God’s response to Elijah was this “Thats not true”

Elijah made claims… Theres no one else left.. .woe is me, blah blah blah...

And God said - no, thats not true.

I have 7,000.

This is the same story where Elijah had to take a nap, and get a snack - in 1 Kings 19.

Elijah gets whiny - God says take a nap.

I have 7000 people who have not bowed.

You’re not alone.

What is God really saying ?

Elijah - You don’t know what’s going on.

Adam - you don’t know what’s really going on.

It looks like there aren’t many believers out there, even fewer that are of the nation of Israel.

But even now, there is a remnant, chosen by Grace.

They didn’t earn it, just like you didn’t earn it.

But the promises are being kept.

For a remnant.

A small group.

Gathered up.

For God.

As time goes on, there will only be a remnant of us - too.

We see that promised in scripture.

We get to a place once in a while where we think we know best.

We get to judge God and the decisions that he makes.

We get to question things.

We lose our place as creation.

And to some of that, yes..

We get to wonder, we get to ask and inquire.

We don’t get to put God on the stand, and call him to answer for his whys and why nots.

We don’t get to assume we know, we don’t get to pass judgement on others.

Paul then uses the metaphor of an olive tree to explain the relationship between Israel and the Gentiles.