Let’s pray

Romans 9:15-23

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Romans 9:15–23 “For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? 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 honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured 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 afore prepared unto glory,”

God is god and you are not

Your pride

your rebellion

your unsanctified flesh

your unkilled flesh

they all scream you do you

you know best

follow your dreams

be your own boss

Death

that mindset

that perspective

that lifestyle leads to death because it is sin and sin only produces death

Christians today tend to lean on themselves

man

programs

steps

works

all wrong

you can’t do anything to be justified on your own

addicts who put their faith in their own willpower or worldly programs...sometimes even Christian programs will always fail

why

because God and God alone through His grace and mercy and Son delivers

how arrogant for the creation

you and me

humans

to say to God the creator

i got this

i now better

i am good

Today’s scripture has two major themes

God will have mercy on whomever He wants....He will also harden the hearts of whomever He wants

God is the creator how dare the creation rebel

Let’s dive in shall we?

1. God’s mercy is His

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I believe you and I....today’s Christians have lost sight of this truth

we take God’s gift of mercy for granted

we look at it as a right not a privilege

rights you are born with...you get them because you are alive

privileges are given

God has full ownership and control over His mercy

satan

the world

your own rebellious flesh and nature

all want you to believe

God owes you mercy so live for you

you don’t need to accept Jesus because God has to give you mercy

you deserve it

if you just name it you claim it

FALSE

Jesus is the only way to salvation and God’s mercy

this is a hard truth for many, especially today

you and i...society...humans do not like absolutes

hard deadlines

either or

this or that

God gives two choices and only two choices

Accept Jesus and His forgiveness and mercy or reject it and go to hell

absolute

either or

this or that

death is the deadline....hard deadline

many wrestle with this and say how can God be love yet harden someone’s heart

how can God be love and withhold His mercy

How could i do all the right things....go to church...give to church...read my Bible...love others.....serve others and still go to hell

God’s mercy is His

Exodus 33:19

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Exodus 33:19 “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.”

God just said He will show mercy on whomever He chooses to show mercy

Exodus 4:21

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Exodus 4:21 “And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.”

Exodus 14:4

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Exodus 14:4 “And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. And they did so.”

God’s mercy belongs to Him

These two scriptures along with many others are hard for some people to hear

Just as when we talked about predestination you can’t look at this from our..human...perspective

God knew all things before it began

God knew the ending before He created the beginning

II Peter 3:9

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2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

God’s heart is that none should perish but all should come to repentance

that is what He desires however since you and I have free will that is not what always happens

Here is the deal

God doesn’t have to wait on people to make a decision

He knows their decision before He knits them together in their mother’s womb

It isn’t evil

it isn’t hate

He knows who will choose repentance and who will reject it

God knew Pharaoh’s heart and that he would reject God so God hardened his heart to show God’s righteousness

To show how just God is

To show His power

as we saw in Romans 8:28 God works all things for His glory and our good as Christians

this includes rejection

God used those who reject Him to demonstrate His power

His authority

How just He is

How holy He is

Today many hear this and think how dare He

Instead of the proper perspective of

Thank you God for your love and mercy

Justice demands God’s wrath be poured out on those who reject him

Justice also demands God’s mercy to be poured out on those who accept Jesus!

satan blinds

many oppressions Christians feel are because of unrepented sin

satan and his minions are allowed to oppress because of that unrepented sin

one of their biggest weapons is to blind you from the truth

to confuse you

God calls the Gospel a mystery because it takes the Holy Spirit teaching you and opening your eyes to God’s Word and way

sinful men and women can’t see or understand the Gospel because they are blind

The Jews Paul was writing to were blind because of their sin

their rebellion

their refusal to follow God

how do we know

their fruits

works based salvation

their obsession with pedigree

their obsession with bloodline

making works and pedigree and bloodline idols because they were put far above God and they in fact rejected God because they look to themselves for salvation

God doesn’t withhold His mercy out of hate but out of knowledge and justice

your pride hates this

your pride hates absolute truth

your flesh

your rebellion wants options so a choice doesn’t have to be made

you get this......you have two friends who are not getting along and you are in the middle

you do all you can to not have to pick a side

we hate picking a side

why

because then we are in absolute territory

so many times we turn our back on God and His call on our life because it forces us to choose

the absolute truth is to be alive in Christ you must be dead to you

Luke 9:23

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Luke 9:23 “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

kill yourself every single day

deny yourself.....you don’t matter

your wants

your desires

your pride

your greed

your sin

deny it

put God first and others second

take up your cross daily

crucify yourself daily

that is absolute truth and your flesh will fight it

your pride will fight it

your wants and desires will demand control in your life

your greed will demand that you follow it and not God

your sin will try to get you to justify not denying yourself daily

your sin will try to get you to justify not taking up your cross daily

you sin will try to get you to justify not crucifying yourself daily

your pride says you can’t have absolute truth because what if something better comes along

if you make a choice

if you pick a side

then you are out

what satan knows is when you pick Jesus HE is out

God is the God of absolute truth not what if

it is His mercy and He will choose who to give it to and who to withhold it from

2. Creation must know our place

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We must slow down and look at the truth...God’s Truth because it always makes sense but so many times you just don’t want to hear God’s Truth

that is on you not God

Here is God’s Truth

God created you

He made you

He knitted you together in your mother’s womb

He created everything

you don’t see a tree deciding it is a flower

trees dont look at God and say you created me a tree but I don’t want to be a tree I am a flower

you don’t see a snake saying God you made me a snake but I want to be a cat so I am going to act like a cat, dress like a cat and in fact become a cat

there is an old story/illustration that goes like this....my version anyway.....

a man had a brush pile and it was time to burn that brush pile

he set the brush pile on fire and in the midst of the brush pile he sees a snake not just any snake...a rattleheaded copper moccasin ......deadly snake

he has pity on the snake

he knows the snake is dead if he does not act so He acts

he reaches into the fire and grabs the snake and pulls him out of the fire

saves the snakes life

what does the snake do

he bites the man

as the man is dying he looks to the snake and says

I saved your life why would you take mine

because I am a snake that is what i do

snakes act like snakes because God created them snakes

today’s society hates this truth

creation is created and below the creator

society really hates the fact they are at the mercy of the creator

Isaiah 64:8

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Isaiah 64:8 “But now, O Lord, thou art our father; We are the clay, and thou our potter; And we all are the work of thy hand.”

you and I

all humans are the work of God’s hands

you and I

all humans are clay

clay brings nothing of value into the potters shop and hands

clay only has value after the potter creates something out of it

Isaiah 45:9

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Isaiah 45:9 “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? Or thy work, He hath no hands?”

so many today

maybe even you

strive against God

look at what God says here

shall the clay...you and me..humans say to Him that fashioned it what makest thou?

LBGTQ whatever else you want to add to that is evil

not because of people but because of the lost souls are doing this exact thing

they are striving against God

They say God made a mistake

I am changing my sexuality....I know God created male and female and marriage is between one male and one female but that is not right i am marrying the same sex....i am attracted to the same sex....that is of satan not God

today we go even further.....people pay big money to take hormones and even have surgery to deform their body and change what God made male into female and what God made female into male

that is striving against your Maker...what you made is not good enough so we are going to change it

God made you

God doesn’t make mistakes

the question is will you submit to His Lordship?

God is the creator

He has the right to create as He sees fit

II Timothy 2:20

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2 Timothy 2:20 “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.”

Everyone of us was created for a purpose

everyone of us was created for a mission

some reject outright

some rebel against God and what He created you for

where are you

are you grateful for God’s mercy and creation or are you striving against Him

now is the time to decide

now is the time to pick a side

now is the time to take up your cross and die to you so you may live in Christ Jesus