back to index2017-09-24 Wholly Holy
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Romans chapter 11 and let me read from verse just to understand the context I'm going to 00:00:10.760 |
read it from all the way from 13 through 24 but our focus will be this morning on verse 00:00:21.560 |
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles and as much as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify 00:00:26.860 |
my ministry in order that somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some 00:00:32.160 |
For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean 00:00:38.920 |
If the dough offered as first fruit is holy, so is the whole lump and if the root is holy, 00:00:44.200 |
But if some of the branches were broken off and you, although a wild olive shoot, were 00:00:47.680 |
grafted in among the others, now share in the nourishing fruit of the olive tree. 00:00:54.280 |
If you are, remember it is not you who support the root but the root that supports you. 00:01:00.080 |
Then you will say branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. 00:01:04.280 |
They were broken off because of their unbelief but you stand fast through faith. 00:01:10.660 |
For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 00:01:14.560 |
Note then the kindness and the severity of God, severity toward those who have fallen 00:01:18.400 |
but God's kindness to you provided you continue in kindness. 00:01:22.040 |
Otherwise you too will be cut off and even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, 00:01:26.280 |
will be grafted in for God has the power to graft them in again. 00:01:30.300 |
For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree and grafted contrary to 00:01:34.880 |
nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be 00:01:52.000 |
Heavenly loving Father, we have gathered here to worship you, to take time to allow 00:01:58.320 |
your word to judge the thoughts and intentions of our heart. 00:02:02.400 |
I pray, Father, that nothing would be added or taken away and that we would be able to 00:02:12.200 |
We ask, Lord God, that you would anoint this time as we have come to worship you. 00:02:19.400 |
As we've been studying the book of Romans, again, we're in a section of the Bible where 00:02:23.440 |
the place of Israel in God's redemptive history and so he's been spending most of really the 00:02:29.560 |
book of Romans talking about this subject but intensified starting from chapter 9 through 00:02:34.960 |
And again, when we get to chapter 12, he's going to change gears a little bit and say, 00:02:38.880 |
"Therefore, considering this great mercy that God has shown us, this is how you ought to 00:02:44.160 |
Chapter 11, we've been talking about Paul has been emphasizing the place of Israel and 00:02:49.760 |
And if there's one thing that keeps jumping out over and over and over again is God's 00:02:55.520 |
continued patience and love for the nation of Israel. 00:02:59.840 |
That despite everything that Israel has done up to this point, and we're not talking about 00:03:04.320 |
a few years and we're not talking about one generation, but we're talking about generation 00:03:08.400 |
after generation, dozens and dozens of generations. 00:03:12.640 |
And it is natural that we would ask this question if salvation is by grace alone. 00:03:17.960 |
And it wasn't what the Jews thought it was, then is God done with Israel? 00:03:23.360 |
Not only is God done, would we think that God is done with Israel because what they 00:03:27.440 |
were thinking about how they were going to bring glory to God and what actually happened 00:03:32.720 |
is completely off, but even the way that they thought that they were going to be drawn near 00:03:37.180 |
to God was completely off, then what's the purpose of Israel? 00:03:41.000 |
So that's the question that God has been asking over and over again. 00:03:45.000 |
But if there's one thing that keeps popping out over is the depth of the love of God toward 00:03:52.280 |
And I know we talk about the agape love and it's unconditional and how we ought to share 00:03:59.040 |
But we have to honestly admit when we take a close look at the love that God shares with 00:04:04.160 |
his people, that is unlike anything else that you guys, you and I know. 00:04:09.880 |
You know, we could say it's like the love of a mother, it's the love of a father, but 00:04:13.240 |
we have to admit the more we dig into that, that this is strange love. 00:04:18.600 |
A love that would cause him to sacrifice his son for unbelieving and blasphemous sinners. 00:04:26.240 |
That is not a love that you and I know from our parents. 00:04:29.400 |
It may be closer, may be purer than any other love that we know, but it is not the same 00:04:36.480 |
In fact, if you can turn your Bibles to Hosea chapter 11, actually the passage is going 00:04:43.880 |
The background behind Hosea is about, Hosea is prophesying that the nation of Israel is 00:04:48.920 |
going to captivity because God, he lays out the history of God's love toward the nation 00:04:54.480 |
So some of you guys who know this, the prophet and the content of this prophet, basically 00:05:00.440 |
God tells Hosea to go love Gomer who was a prostitute and as he keeps loving her, she 00:05:06.560 |
would keep prostituting herself and then when he would return, he would say, "No, go after 00:05:11.240 |
And over and over again, God tells Hosea to go love this adulterous woman. 00:05:17.480 |
And he illustrates that, says that this is my relationship with the nation of Israel. 00:05:22.960 |
That despite my constant love of pursuing you, you continue to go after to other nations 00:05:31.900 |
And so it says, therefore, as a result of this, that they're going to go into captivity. 00:05:37.600 |
But even in the context of God bringing judgment upon the nation of Israel, you can see the 00:05:43.560 |
In Hosea chapter 11, verses 1, it says, "When Israel was a child, I loved him and out of 00:05:50.000 |
The more they were called, the more they went away. 00:05:53.440 |
They kept sacrificing to balls and burning offerings to idols. 00:05:59.960 |
I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. 00:06:04.280 |
I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one 00:06:16.040 |
It says, "I will not execute my burning anger. 00:06:19.400 |
I will not again destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not a man. 00:06:23.200 |
The Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath. 00:06:30.160 |
When he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west. 00:06:33.800 |
They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria. 00:06:38.900 |
And I will return them to their homes, declares the Lord." 00:06:42.640 |
So even as he is declaring judgment upon the nation of Israel, you can see the tender heart 00:06:50.560 |
And he prophesies, even though you will go away for now, there will come a time when 00:06:55.840 |
his anger will no longer burn and he will bring them back. 00:07:00.280 |
Even in chapter 14, verse 4 through 7, he concludes this judgment against Israel in 00:07:09.160 |
I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. 00:07:17.700 |
He shall take root like the trees of Lebanon. 00:07:21.680 |
His beauty shall be like olive and his fragrance like Lebanon. 00:07:25.000 |
They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow. 00:07:31.280 |
Their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon." 00:07:34.360 |
Again, we see in this context, and again, I just chose Hosea, but if you read the prophets, 00:07:42.920 |
every single one of these prophets, there's an element of God's anger and judgment where 00:07:50.700 |
And so finally, for their own sake, God's bring judgment upon them. 00:07:53.640 |
But even in the midst of judgment, you see God's tender love for his nation. 00:08:00.480 |
There's nothing that you and I know that comes anywhere close to his patience, to his forgiveness, 00:08:08.800 |
to his unconditional love against the people who keep rebelling over and over and over 00:08:17.600 |
Apostle Paul has said in the book of Romans that if it was up to him, if it was possible, 00:08:23.720 |
he said, "I would rather be accursed than my countrymen." 00:08:32.120 |
I'm not saying all these things because I hate my nation." 00:08:35.960 |
But Paul is not simply saying that because he's a nationalist. 00:08:39.080 |
He just grew up and he just loves his country. 00:08:42.120 |
You have to remember, his countrymen almost wholeheartedly rejected Paul. 00:08:51.680 |
He was on a fast track to become the leader among leaders. 00:08:54.600 |
He may have been sitting on the Sanhedrin already. 00:08:56.880 |
He comes from a royal, not royal, but I mean, you could say as royal as we could, he'd come 00:09:03.600 |
from a very high pedigree where he has Roman citizenship, he has money, he has education, 00:09:08.960 |
he is perfect by his own description when it comes to the law. 00:09:12.280 |
So in every aspect, if you were to pick the Jew among Jews, it would have been Apostle 00:09:18.480 |
Yet, when he turned and he began to preach the gospel and he began to exalt Christ, his 00:09:25.320 |
countrymen completely wholeheartedly reject him. 00:09:29.080 |
Paul says this in the first Thessalonians 2, 4, and he says, "But just as we have been 00:09:32.120 |
approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please 00:09:40.000 |
He says again in 2 Corinthians 11, 24, describing his ministry on frequent journeys in danger 00:09:46.220 |
from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, and even danger among Gentiles, 00:09:53.000 |
And one of the dangers that he describes is coming from his own nation. 00:09:58.720 |
He would go to the synagogues and first preach the gospel to his countrymen. 00:10:05.720 |
And everywhere he went, he would get kicked out and get rejected, and that's why he ends 00:10:11.160 |
He was rejected by the Sanhedrin, he was rejected by the leaders, he was rejected every city 00:10:17.340 |
In every way, his countrymen basically stopped him. 00:10:23.760 |
It was the Jews who beat him and took him to jail and hopefully trying to kill him. 00:10:34.640 |
Paul's love for the Jewish people was simply a reflection of God's love for them. 00:10:40.360 |
As an apostle of Jesus Christ, it's not up to him to decide who's going to love, who's 00:10:47.000 |
He's just to convey the message and the heart of the person that he's representing. 00:10:52.400 |
And so Paul's longing for his people is simply a reflection of the Father for his people. 00:11:02.560 |
And that's what Paul has been saying, that though they have experienced a temporary hardening 00:11:10.240 |
And so within that larger context of work, in verse 16, I want to read that passage again. 00:11:15.080 |
Paul says, "If the dough offered as first fruit is holy, so is the whole lump and the 00:11:23.680 |
So let's examine this and what does he mean by this and what's Paul's main point. 00:11:29.960 |
When he describes holiness, typically when we think of holiness, we think of somebody 00:11:36.880 |
So let me ask you, can somebody who's not a Christian be holy? 00:11:43.440 |
I just wanted you to think of it for a little bit. 00:11:47.960 |
So typically in our world, we'll say, you know, here's a Buddhist monk. 00:11:53.960 |
Or a, you know, or a leader in another religious sect, they would say, "Anybody who's man of 00:12:01.560 |
So a priest, a pastor, or a monk, or whatever it may be, anybody who's dedicated, morally 00:12:09.620 |
But according to biblical standards, can a man who's just morally upright be considered 00:12:19.560 |
And the reason why is because according to biblical standard, holiness is not just meeting 00:12:23.880 |
the standard of what we have set in our generation. 00:12:30.200 |
So what is upright is directly linked to obedience to God's Word. 00:12:35.000 |
So that's the first understanding of holiness. 00:12:37.600 |
But in here, when Paul says the first, the dough is holy because the first fruit is holy, 00:12:43.120 |
the dough clearly is talking about the nation of Israel. 00:12:47.920 |
So is he saying, when he's saying that the dough is holy, is he saying that the dough 00:13:03.160 |
He's not saying that dough is holy because it kept the commandments and it was obeyed, 00:13:07.080 |
and then the first fruit that they gave, they were also holy because they kept the commandments. 00:13:10.720 |
Clearly that's not what he is in reference to. 00:13:12.740 |
But there's a second meaning, a biblical meaning of holiness that's better applied here. 00:13:18.580 |
And that second meaning is whatever is set apart, and the word holy basically literally 00:13:24.900 |
Whatever is set apart for God's possession or God's use became holy. 00:13:31.360 |
So when they set up the tabernacle, they would set up the tent and the poles and different 00:13:35.420 |
articles that they would use, and though it may have been made for common use, once it 00:13:43.540 |
And once it became holy, God would have specific prescriptions of how to handle it. 00:13:48.940 |
So just as you would come into the temple, if you were to handle the cup that is dedicated 00:13:55.060 |
You would have an animal that may have been yours and you were raising it, but once it 00:14:00.180 |
was dedicated for the purpose of sacrifice, the animal itself became holy. 00:14:05.300 |
So it didn't become holy because it met certain standards and lived in obedience and was morally 00:14:11.980 |
It became holy simply because it was dedicated to the Lord. 00:14:16.100 |
So whatever belonged to God and whatever God chooses to use becomes holy. 00:14:21.700 |
So he's using that analogy as you know, the concept of tithing comes from what he's talking 00:14:30.340 |
Tithing was commanded in the Old Testament to signify that this first fruit that we give 00:14:35.860 |
to God symbolizes that all of it belongs to God. 00:14:39.800 |
So the first fruit that we give, the tithing that we give, is not just about the tent, 00:14:43.920 |
but is a dedication of everything that we own. 00:14:46.860 |
So the first act of lordship in the Old Testament was to dedicate our tithe, again, symbolizing 00:14:52.380 |
that not only the harvest, but everything that I own is yours. 00:14:55.220 |
So he's using that analogy to say that Israel is holy because the first fruits of Israel 00:15:08.380 |
If the dough is Israel, then what is the first fruit that was dedicated that made the rest 00:15:25.260 |
There are three people that are always mentioned in Israel's history and reminds them that 00:15:37.540 |
Why does even hundreds of years later they say, "I'm going to do this because I am the 00:15:45.260 |
Because Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the first fruits that God dedicated and made a 00:15:51.140 |
He made a unilateral covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying that I'm going to 00:15:56.020 |
possess you and I'm going to use you for his glory. 00:16:01.340 |
And so when he says that the whole dough became holy because the first fruits were holy, he's 00:16:07.040 |
referring to the very beginning covenant that he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:16:12.540 |
That's why over and over again in Israel's history, even as they are being unfaithful, 00:16:17.900 |
God says, "I will keep my covenant for my name's sake, for I am the God of Abraham, 00:16:24.820 |
So he's always going back to the first fruit and saying, "I'm going to be faithful to that." 00:16:28.900 |
Genesis 50, 24, "And Joseph said to his brothers, 'I am about to die, but God will visit you 00:16:33.860 |
and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to 00:16:40.860 |
So Joseph's confidence that God was going to be faithful to the nation of Israel goes 00:16:45.980 |
back to the promise, the covenant that God makes with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 00:16:50.260 |
Exodus chapter 2, 24, "And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant 00:16:56.660 |
So the beginning of the nation of Israel, as they are in captivity, God is faithful 00:17:02.660 |
and He begins His journey to establish the nation of Israel because of His covenant of 00:17:06.660 |
His first fruit with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 00:17:11.100 |
So the point that Paul is trying to make with the nation of Israel and what he was trying 00:17:15.500 |
to get us to understand is that Israel is holy not because they were morally upright 00:17:25.180 |
Israel is holy because the first fruits were dedicated. 00:17:32.260 |
God dedicated the nation of Israel for Himself. 00:17:36.000 |
So the question that he's answering is, God did not forsake them. 00:17:43.860 |
Because God dedicated these people to Himself. 00:17:47.280 |
That though partially they have experienced a hardening of their heart, the nation itself 00:17:58.700 |
Now how does that, what does that mean to us? 00:18:02.780 |
Well that's exactly what it says in Ephesians chapter 5, 25-27. 00:18:06.580 |
That's a passage we typically read and study whenever we talk about the marriage, the husband 00:18:12.180 |
ought to love their wives unconditionally and wives to the husband to submit as church 00:18:19.540 |
He's using the illustration of marriage to talk about Christ in the church, not the other 00:18:25.140 |
Typically we hear it the other way where this is the marriage is like love between Christ 00:18:30.740 |
and His church but at the end of this passage it says no, he's trying to highlight through 00:18:36.380 |
the marriage relationship, the relationship between Christ and His church. 00:18:42.980 |
Ephesians 5, 25-27, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church." 00:18:47.700 |
And then he describes Christ's love to the church next. 00:18:51.260 |
And he gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her. 00:18:57.860 |
Usually in a marriage ceremony you'd have the bride coming down and she would wear white 00:19:04.380 |
and it would signify virginity, her purity, right? 00:19:10.780 |
But in a Christian marriage we understand that her dress of whiteness symbolizes the 00:19:17.420 |
love of Christ, that she didn't earn that dress. 00:19:21.520 |
She doesn't have that dress on because she was morally pure and perfect like the world 00:19:27.480 |
The Christian marriage ceremony we understand that despite that she didn't deserve it, 00:19:31.900 |
Christ put that white dress on her and that's exactly what he says. 00:19:35.780 |
Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her. 00:19:42.300 |
What role does she play in her sanctification? 00:19:48.660 |
According to this passage, what role did she play to wear that dress? 00:19:55.860 |
It says that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with 00:20:10.840 |
She was a passive recipient of the love of Christ. 00:20:14.620 |
And so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spot or wrinkle 00:20:19.700 |
or any such thing that she might be holy and without blemish. 00:20:24.340 |
So how did she become holy and without blemish? 00:20:28.080 |
So when we talk about holiness, again there is an aspect of holiness. 00:20:33.740 |
The Bible tells us to be holy for our heavenly father is holy and it's talking about morally 00:20:41.080 |
But when he is describing the nation of Israel, when he's describing church and his people, 00:20:46.500 |
initially he says we are holy as the church is holy, as Christ made it holy. 00:20:55.280 |
And they didn't play any part in this, in sanctification. 00:20:58.900 |
So we became holy because God chose us, chose to love us. 00:21:04.340 |
Now what is the significance of this in all that we're talking about? 00:21:09.820 |
He's saying all of this because he's saying, well, the nation of Israel didn't live up 00:21:15.620 |
They didn't do what they were supposed to do. 00:21:18.860 |
And in the very, very beginning of the book of Romans it says because of you the name 00:21:27.360 |
They failed miserably over and over and over again. 00:21:30.420 |
So then what use does God have with these failures? 00:21:35.980 |
That's the question that Paul's answering here. 00:21:41.200 |
They were holy because it was first fruits were dedicated, because God made them holy. 00:21:47.680 |
That though, and we're going to talk about the second part of this next week where he 00:21:51.160 |
talks about the kindness and the severity of God, and we're going to talk more in detail 00:21:58.520 |
But in essence what Paul is saying first and foremost, what we recognize is that holiness 00:22:11.260 |
The reason why they exist and the reason why they will continue to exist and the reason 00:22:14.980 |
why he will remain faithful to them is because God chose that for them. 00:22:21.120 |
It's just that for now they've received the hearting of the heart. 00:22:24.040 |
When the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, he said he's going to fulfill the prophecy 00:22:41.540 |
This is basics of Christianity, basics of justification by faith. 00:22:48.740 |
It is easy to hear, but very difficult to apply. 00:22:54.780 |
Because the immediate application of justification by faith is humility. 00:23:03.720 |
That's why he says in verse 18 and 20, he says, "Therefore," well, if they're holy because 00:23:08.360 |
of the first fruit of holy, if the roots are holy and so we're grafted in and we're not 00:23:12.400 |
the ones who support the roots, but root supports us, well, okay, we get that. 00:23:19.920 |
Well, he says in verse 18, "So therefore do not be arrogant toward the branches. 00:23:25.100 |
If you remember, it is not you who support the root, but it is the root that supports 00:23:30.480 |
And you will say the branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in. 00:23:36.400 |
They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. 00:23:46.200 |
"Therefore," the immediate application one, he said, "Do not be arrogant toward those 00:23:51.800 |
We're going to talk about the second part of that application next week. 00:23:55.160 |
But the first part he says, "Don't look at them because they failed and think somehow 00:23:59.280 |
you're going to become proud and say, 'Well, we're right with God and you're not.' 00:24:06.880 |
And then he's going to say, and we'll talk about more next week, "Do not forget that 00:24:12.520 |
But first thing he says is, "You did not support them. 00:24:19.240 |
In Ephesians 2, 12 through 13, Paul reminds them, "Remember that you are at that time 00:24:23.460 |
separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and the strangers to 00:24:27.880 |
the covenant of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 00:24:32.360 |
But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood 00:24:41.920 |
In other words, what Paul is saying, it is because of the Old Testament that we have 00:24:49.160 |
I think that the mistake that we're making in our generation, at least where you and 00:24:53.720 |
I live, that predominantly the Word of God is centered around the New Testament because 00:25:02.080 |
Here's my point and here's my sub-points and here's my conclusion. 00:25:04.780 |
So it's easier to preach and easier to summarize, easier to teach. 00:25:07.960 |
And I remember years ago when I was, again, at Together for the Gospel and we'd say, 00:25:13.560 |
"Oh, how many of you were preaching through the Old Testament?" 00:25:15.960 |
And very few people were preaching through the Old Testament. 00:25:18.140 |
And I remember some of you guys who were there, it was so hard preaching through the Old Testament 00:25:22.160 |
because there's very little material for support. 00:25:28.080 |
In fact, a few commentaries that they do recommend, it's in German. 00:25:32.280 |
So any of you who know anything about Old Testament scholarship, they're all German. 00:25:36.400 |
So if you want to be an Old Testament scholar, first thing you need to do is to learn German, 00:25:44.480 |
If I want to study Romans, I mean, I have to choose from hundreds of commentaries and 00:25:48.600 |
out of that, I basically have about eight or nine different Roman commentaries and out 00:25:52.760 |
of that, I have a few that I read on a regular basis. 00:25:56.800 |
But in the Old Testament, I'll go to the book of Judges, there's almost no commentary. 00:26:00.320 |
And I try to look for other pastors who preach through it and I see two sermons in 1 and 00:26:07.000 |
And I'm trying to go through it from chapter to chapter. 00:26:09.160 |
And so I kind of had to figure it out myself how to preach the Old Testament. 00:26:13.480 |
And I didn't do a good job, but I kind of had to figure it out. 00:26:19.720 |
But the point that I'm trying to make is, God, there's reason why three-fourths of the 00:26:28.080 |
There's a reason why every part, there's reason why genealogy is in the Old Testament. 00:26:36.520 |
It's not just to calm you down so when your blood pressure gets high, so you can just 00:26:42.360 |
There's reasons why three-fourths of the written content of the Bible is the Old Testament 00:26:48.160 |
because all of the Old Testament supports the New Testament. 00:26:53.920 |
And here's the mistake, and here's the shallowness of how we understand the cross, because when 00:26:58.320 |
we get to the cross without understanding how we got to the cross, there's a reason 00:27:02.760 |
why there's an emphasis on grace without understanding the need for this grace. 00:27:08.600 |
And there's a reason why in our generation, anything that we talk about reverence for 00:27:13.640 |
the thing of Christ is just a very shallow understanding. 00:27:18.880 |
Because all of that was established in the Old Testament through Israel. 00:27:23.280 |
The coming of the temple, the giving of the law, and the seriousness of holiness, and 00:27:27.880 |
all of this, and character of God, the holiness of God, and how much God hates sin and judgment, 00:27:33.440 |
all of this was illustrated through Israel's history. 00:27:37.000 |
And all of this was to bring us to the cross and say, "We need Jesus." 00:27:43.320 |
But when you kind of skim through all of that, and when you get to the cross, there's a reason 00:27:50.400 |
That we talk about grace and it's like, "Oh, God forgives no matter what we do." 00:27:53.360 |
And we look at grace as a great-grandfather who just lets you get away with anything because 00:28:00.440 |
So there's an element of truth to that, but all that we know about the gospel is supported 00:28:07.640 |
by years of what He has been doing through the nation of Israel. 00:28:13.420 |
So if we have a shallow understanding of who God is in the Old Testament, and His work 00:28:17.500 |
in the Old Testament, and what He's been doing through the temple and the laws, by the time 00:28:21.480 |
we get to the cross, it's like one saved always saved. 00:28:27.240 |
God loves us unconditionally, which is true, but the weight of what that means is lost 00:28:34.080 |
to a generation that doesn't understand that we are supported by what God's been doing 00:28:41.940 |
Why it is so imperative for us to understand what God has been doing. 00:28:48.440 |
See, that's exactly what Jesus was saying in John chapter 4, 22, talking to the Samaritan 00:28:54.800 |
He's saying, "Well, we're Samaritan, we're Jews, we have different ideas of how to worship 00:29:03.760 |
And He's going to rebuke Israel and the Gentiles, but before He does that, He corrects her and 00:29:07.920 |
puts her in the right place and He says, "You worship what you do not know." 00:29:14.440 |
It's not simply about whether you're going to worship in that mountain, but first and 00:29:17.720 |
foremost, before I say anything, the God that you worship is a God that you created in your 00:29:26.200 |
You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know. 00:29:29.960 |
And when Jesus says "we," He's not talking about the Trinity. 00:29:34.280 |
When He says "we," He's talking about the Jews. 00:29:37.980 |
We worship what we do not know, for salvation is from the Jews. 00:29:43.200 |
See, this idea of reverence and worship and repentance and restoration and refuge, forgiveness, 00:29:53.560 |
all of this was illustrated in the Old Testament. 00:29:57.280 |
So if we simply dismiss Israel, dismiss the Old Testament, dismiss them as a foundation, 00:30:03.160 |
then again, we have a very shallow, shaky building that we're building. 00:30:08.120 |
You know, the older I get, the more I appreciate my ancestors. 00:30:13.920 |
I've been watching videos of Korea, videos that I've never seen before in 1960s and 1930s. 00:30:22.120 |
They have pictures and videos from as early as 1920s, pre-war, and all this stuff. 00:30:26.840 |
And it's just interesting to me because there's certain parts of Korea that I remember visiting. 00:30:31.720 |
Maybe some of you guys may know that too, but I look at old videos and it's just dirt 00:30:36.600 |
It just kind of, even though I wasn't born at that time, I feel a certain level of connection 00:30:47.400 |
And then so, you know, the older I get, the more interested I am about where I came from. 00:30:54.160 |
So when you're younger, you barely have any interest in your parents. 00:31:02.140 |
I mean, maybe on Father's Day or Mother's Day or birthday, you try to figure out what 00:31:06.480 |
But other than that, you know, it's not of interest until you get older and then you 00:31:10.480 |
have some interest or your parents and the older you get from that, it's like, "Whoa, 00:31:15.440 |
You're asking about grandparents and then you get a little bit older, you ask even beyond 00:31:20.000 |
There's some things that even your parents may not know. 00:31:23.320 |
And the reason why there's interest in that is because the older we get, the more we understand 00:31:31.520 |
There's so much of our great grandparents and some of the pictures that you might see 00:31:36.320 |
of them, it's like, "Huh, that looks like me." 00:31:42.480 |
See when we see God's people, not just 2,000 years, but thousands of years even before 00:31:48.480 |
Christ came, it is a reflection of where we came from. 00:31:53.280 |
That when He was talking about Israel, we weren't way over there. 00:31:57.120 |
He had us in mind when He wrote Hosea chapter 11. 00:32:05.960 |
So first and foremost, He says, "Do not be arrogant." 00:32:09.520 |
And that's exactly what it says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8. 00:32:13.920 |
Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, it says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, 00:32:26.840 |
If you grew up in the church, "For by grace you have been saved," you guys know that song, 00:32:34.680 |
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. 00:32:46.320 |
Why didn't He say, "I'm going to do my part and you're going to do your part, and there's 00:32:50.760 |
a part you're going to play and there's a part that I'm going to play." 00:32:56.840 |
He cleansed her, washed her, regenerated her, made her pure, all unilaterally, just as the 00:33:05.000 |
dough became holy because the first fruits were holy, and now as a result of it, we've 00:33:09.640 |
all become holy, and it has nothing to do with you, so what? 00:33:18.680 |
So the immediate application of the grace of God is not pride. 00:33:32.040 |
You could teach this to a child, and they'll understand it at a child's level, and you 00:33:35.880 |
could teach this to somebody who's been walking with the Lord for 50 years or 70 years or 00:33:39.400 |
all their life, and they know what to say, but so difficult to apply because at the core 00:33:46.400 |
of human rebellion is pride, and at the core of salvation is humility. 00:34:02.320 |
Because it is your boasting that brought condemnation. 00:34:10.400 |
It is your desire or thinking that you can somehow live outside of God that is causing 00:34:23.900 |
It was pride that he took a third of the angels with him. 00:34:26.620 |
It was pride that Adam and Eve rebelled against God to think that they're going to somehow 00:34:32.880 |
And ever since then, the core of mankind's sin is pride. 00:34:36.580 |
So that's why the first thing he says, "Therefore, do not be proud." 00:34:42.600 |
Do not be proud against the nation of Israel, and do not be proud. 00:34:53.360 |
Because the same grace that will save the nation of Israel is the same grace that is 00:35:02.320 |
First Corinthians 10, 12-13, "Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take 00:35:08.880 |
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man." 00:35:11.440 |
When he's talking about common to man, he's talking about Israel, because that's what 00:35:17.560 |
There's no temptation that they face that you are not going to face. 00:35:21.640 |
And as they easily struggled, you can easily struggle. 00:35:24.440 |
God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you are able. 00:35:27.640 |
But with temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to 00:35:33.240 |
We're going to talk more about this next week, his kindness and the severity of God. 00:35:37.920 |
But let me wrap up this morning with this, and so I want to open up the communion table 00:35:44.960 |
When we understand God's love for Israel, it gives us a glimpse of who he is, and it 00:35:51.560 |
gives us a glimpse of who we are, and the application is obvious. 00:36:01.080 |
As Christ was humiliated on the cross, anyone who comes to the cross must first be humiliated, 00:36:24.420 |
Think about how much of our life is wrecked because of our pride. 00:36:33.180 |
Think about every fight between your husband and wife, that at the core of it, how much 00:36:44.040 |
Think about how much of our rebelling against God at the core of who we are is, "I think 00:36:57.520 |
How much of sin that reigns in mankind comes through the form of pride. 00:37:04.840 |
So the first thing that we recognize when we recognize his love and his grace and how 00:37:09.400 |
he dealt with the nation of Israel and how the root supports us, therefore, do not be 00:37:18.000 |
The communion table ultimately is for that purpose. 00:37:26.200 |
Simple breaking of the bread, pouring of his blood, it saved us. 00:37:32.200 |
We don't come here, we're not going to invite anybody up to this table, and the only way 00:37:36.760 |
that you can disqualify yourself from coming to this table is to somehow think that you 00:37:40.840 |
earned this, and automatically you are disqualified because you do not understand this communion 00:37:48.120 |
The communion table is open for us to celebrate his grace, to celebrate his love, celebrate 00:37:53.360 |
justification that you and I did not deserve. 00:37:57.280 |
But a reasonable response to this is to live up to the calling. 00:38:02.760 |
We're going to talk about that next week, but this morning as we open up the communion 00:38:07.360 |
Again, I want to remind you that the communion table is meant for confessing believers who 00:38:13.440 |
And so if you have not been baptized and you haven't confessed Christ as your Lord and 00:38:17.440 |
Savior, we ask that you would stay in your seat. 00:38:20.720 |
And again, if you want to be baptized, we ask that you come and talk to us, talk to 00:38:24.840 |
one of the leaders, and we'll sit down with you and explain if you have some questions 00:38:29.740 |
Those of you who are going to come to the table, we ask that first, come humbly, recognizing 00:38:43.740 |
Come celebrate the life that Christ has given us. 00:38:50.140 |
So I'm going to read a passage and I'm going to open up the communion table. 00:38:56.540 |
Take some time to pray and confess that before God. 00:38:59.460 |
The only way that you and I can become righteous is from confession and forgiveness. 00:39:03.100 |
So again, we ask that you would take some time to do that genuinely. 00:39:06.020 |
And then when you are ready, again, come toward the middle. 00:39:09.880 |
So if you're sitting right in the front, you know, I'm not going to be legalistic and ask 00:39:17.980 |
So everybody else, just come through the side, take it, and go down the middle. 00:39:21.820 |
And I'm going to ask you guys to take some time to be reflective and in prayer as our 00:39:28.220 |
And really, this is a time, even though we are, it signifies the union of the body of 00:39:32.860 |
Christ, but ultimately the unity happens because individually we're right with God. 00:39:38.020 |
And so I'm going to ask you guys to take some time to pray when you're ready, one by one, 00:39:42.780 |
In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23, it says, "For I received from the Lord what I 00:39:46.820 |
also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. 00:39:52.740 |
And when he had given things, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. 00:39:59.300 |
In the same way, also he took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is a new covenant 00:40:04.860 |
Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 00:40:08.520 |
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until 00:40:19.220 |
Heavenly Father, we come to this sacred time in reverence and in awe and in humility. 00:40:28.620 |
I pray, Father God, that you would sanctify your church. 00:40:33.400 |
Help us, Lord, to open our eyes, see if there's any hurtful ways in us. 00:40:39.980 |
Help us to put away our pride and embrace the love of Christ and his gentleness. 00:40:46.060 |
I pray, Father God, that this communion table would sanctify your church. 00:40:52.060 |
We ask, Lord God, help us to think deeply and meditate, and that through your word that 00:40:56.260 |
you would continue to speak to us and bear fruit.