8-6-23 Sermon "Do We Care?" 17 Minuttes

Romans 9:1-5

This morning I'll be reading Romans chapter 9 verses 1 through 5. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Romans 9:1-5 In these verses,,, Paul is speaking about the sorrow that he has for the Israelite people,,, his people,,, that have rejected Christ. Paul cares,,, but do we? Hopefully when we finish,,, we will understand why this is important.

Romans 9:1–5 (HCSB) — 1 I speak the truth in Christ —I am not lying; my conscience is testifying to me with the Holy Spirit — 2 that I have intense sorrow and continual anguish in my heart. 3 For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises. 5 The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Messiah, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________

Last week we looked at Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52,,, and we seen that we,,, as Christians today,,, are given the job of dealing with the warnings from Jesus recorded in these verses.

We can see that while the church will grow very big and very quickly,,, which we know that it did after Jesus ascended back to heaven,,, we must continuously be on the lookout for those that try to lead us in the wrong direction.

And they can come from inside the church at any time.

We know that we were bought for a price,,, the precious blood of Jesus Christ,,, and because of that we hopefully can understand that we are very valuable to God,,, just as it says in Psalm 116:15 that says: 15 The death of His faithful ones is valuable in the Lord’s sight.

We must also be prepared for the separation of good from evil,,, as God judges everyone,,, during the last days.

That day is coming and we must be ready before that day,,, there will not be a chance when that time appears.

Then we must understand that we are given the instructions that we must let everyone know about these things,,, especially those of us that spend the time learning the scriptures as we are all supposed to do.

"Warnings and Instructions",,, words from Jesus to His disciples,,, and us today,,, that we need to understand,,, so that we can remain,,, on the path,,, that He has set for us,,, as we continue,,, down the road,,, towards our heavenly,,, home!

This morning we will look at these verses in Romans,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

___________________________________ Verses 1-2 said: 1 I speak the truth in Christ —I am not lying; my conscience is testifying to me with the Holy Spirit — 2 that I have intense sorrow and continual anguish in my heart.

In chapters 9–11 of Romans,,, we can see Paul’s answer to the Jewish objector who asks: Does the gospel,,, by promising salvation to Gentiles as well as Jews,,, mean that God has broken His promises to His earthly people,,, the Jews?

Paul’s answer covers Israel’s past (chap. 9),,, its present (chap. 10),,, and its future (chap. 11).

This section contains a great emphasis on divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

Romans 9 is one of the key passages in the Bible on the sovereign election of God.

The next chapter,,, chapter 10,,, sets forth the balancing truth —the responsibility of man— with equal vigor.

In verse 1,,, by insisting that salvation is for Gentiles as well as for Jews,,, Paul gave the appearance of being a traitor,,, a turncoat,,, a renegade,,, as far as Israel was concerned.

So he does his best to show his deep devotion to the Jewish people,,, by using a solemn oath.

He speaks the truth.

He is not lying.

His conscience,,, in fellowship with the Holy Spirit,,, attests the truth of what he is saying.

When he thinks first of Israel’s glorious calling,,, and now of its rejection by God because it rejected the Messiah,,, his heart is filled with great sorrow and continual grief.

___________________________________ Verse 3 said: 3 For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood.

Paul could even wish himself accursed or cut off from Christ,,, if through the forfeiting of his own salvation his Jewish brothers might be saved.

In this strong statement,,, we sense the highest form of human love,,, — ,,, that which constrains a man to lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).

And we feel the enormous burden that he feels,,, by being a converted Jew,,, as he experiences or feels the loss of his countrymen,,, since they did not experience the same salvation from Jesus Christ.

It reminds us of Moses’ prayer for his people seen in Exodus 32:32 that said: “Now if You would only forgive their sin. But if not, please erase me from the book You have written.”

___________________________________ Verse 4 said: 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, and the promises.

As Paul weeps over his people,,, their glorious privileges pass in review before him.

They are Israelites,,, members of God’s ancient chosen people.

God had adopted that nation to be His son,,, as seen in Exodus 4:22,,, and delivered His people out of Egypt,,, as told by Hosea 11:1.

He was a father to Israel,,, Deuteronomy 14:1,,, and Ephraim was His firstborn,,, Jeremiah 31:9. (Ephraim is used here by Jeremiah as another name for the nation of Israel.)

The pillar of cloud in the daytime,,, and the pillar of fire at night,,, symbolized God’s presence in their midst,,, guiding,,, and protecting them.

It was with Israel,,, not with the Gentiles,,, that God made the covenants.

It was with Israel,,, for example,,, that He made the Palestinian Covenant,,, promising them the land from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates,,, as seen in Genesis 15:18.

And it is with Israel that He will yet ratify the New Covenant,,, promising “the everlasting or eternal,,, future conversion,,, and blessing of a repentant Israel that we see in Jeremiah 31:31–40)."

It was to Israel that the law was given.

They and they alone were its recipients.

The elaborate rituals and service of God connected with the tabernacle and the temple were given to Israel,,, as well as the priesthood.

In addition to the covenants already mentioned,,, God made numerous promises to Israel,,, of protection,,, peace,,, and prosperity.

___________________________________ Verse 5 said: 5 The ancestors are theirs, and from them, by physical descent, came the Messiah, who is God over all, praised forever. Amen.

The Jewish people rightfully claim the patriarchs as their own — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons of Jacob.

These were the forefathers of the nation.

And,,, they had the greatest privilege of all,,, — ,,, the Messiah is an Israelite,,, at least as far as His human descent is concerned,,, though He is also the Sovereign of the universe,,, the eternally blessed God.

Here we have a positive statement of the deity and humanity of the Savior.

___________________________________ So we can see that Paul loved his fellow Jews,,, he cared for them,,, even though it probably seemed to them that he betrayed them,,, or had turned away from them,,, ignored them,,, etc.

So,,, Paul is worried about his countrymen,,, his people,,, and he wants them to know it!

His love for them showed!

When I read these verses earlier this week,,, I wondered,,, do we show the same concern for our community,,, the people around us,,, the people that we work with,,, are friends with,,, those individuals in our community that we see but may not know as well,,, or maybe know very well,,, do we care?

As I thought about this,,, the way that I became friends with a fellow turkey caller,,, Tommy Bourne,,, and the fact that if events hadn't worked out the way that they did,,, we would have never been friends,,, seemed to illustrate what is seen in these verses.

___________________________________ In the early days of my calling career,,, we traveled different cities in Mississippi,,, and many different states trying to attend as many competitions as possible.

As we traveled,,, we of course met many callers and got to know most of them very well.

Tommy was different.

He was a great caller and many people seemed to get along with him,,, but Darryl and I never got the chance to meet him.

Tommy never spoke,,, never acknowledged you as even being there,,, would just pass right by without any words whatsoever,,, even if you walked right past one another in a crowded hallway!

It was aggravating to me since I incorrectly,,, as I found out later,,, thought that he just thought that he was better than us and didn't have to speak!

One day,,, I decided that I would force the issue and begin to speak to him every time that we past each other.

And because of that,,, we ended up becoming very good friends after that.

So,,, one day whenever we were talking I asked him why he never spoke to us when we would pass him in the hallway or wherever,,, and he told me that he never spoke to anyone,,, unless they spoke to him,,, and since we never spoke,,, he never spoke to us.

So the point I'm trying to make,,, is that we almost missed a great friendship simply because I,,, did not speak,,, never acknowledged "his" presence,,, thinking all the time that "he" was the problem,,, when actually,,, "I" was the problem all along.

You see,,, Tommy was watching us,,, waiting for us to speak,,, wanting us to speak,,, probably thinking that we were too good to speak to him,,, and a great friendship was almost missed!

A friendship that I look back on with,,, 1 - "regret",,, because it was so short,,, since he lost his life due to a prisoner killing him during an escape attempt,,, (he was a deputy with the Jeff Davis sheriff's office),,, and 2 - "joy",,, because of the lesson that I learned from this encounter!

I've tried to tell my children about this and make them aware that sometimes they must speak,,, they must acknowledge others,,, put forth the effort to let those around them know that they see them,,, and they are valuable to them,,, as well as,,, valuable,,, to God!

___________________________________ That's true for you and me as well!

We must do our part to show others that we care,,, and,,, that,,, God cares!

In these verses,,, Paul lets his fellow peers know,,, that he feels sadness,,, that they haven't experienced the same love of Jesus that he has,,, and he would do anything to help them.

My question today,,, do we feel the same way,,, are we concerned for those around us,,, those that maybe are watching us,,, waiting for us to speak,,, waiting for us to acknowledge,,, that they exist,,, that they are worthy of our words,,, our love,,, and,,, most importantly,,, God's acknowledgement and love,,, and it's our responsibility,,, as Christians,,, to show them that love!

We must begin to speak up,,, speak to those in need,,, let them know that we see them,,, we are there to help them,,, and will help them,,, not just seeing,,, and walking away,,, like they never exist!

But always being sure that we go the extra mile,,, put forth that extra effort,,, as we show those around us,,, God's love,,, as Jesus commanded us,,, to do!

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------