05-03-20, Romans 11;16-33, Mercy

Romans 11:16-33
Mercy
May 3, 2020
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi 39216
USA

What’s the number one thing?
The Glory of God!
1 Corinthians 10:31 NKJV
31Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or
whatever you do, do all to the glory of
God.

36 For everything comes from him and
exists by his power and is intended for
his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.
Romans 11:36 NLT

Mercy
Today’s Scripture
Romans 11:16-33

Romans 9 is about Israel’s past,
Romans 10 is about Israel’s present
Romans 11 is about Israel’s future!
As taught last week:

1. God’s call is forever.
• You can retire from your job but not
your calling.
2. The Lord is great in mercy!
3. Hoping is not the same as wishing.
Six keys to unlocking Romans 11:

4. Israel’s future.
5. God uses us to make Israel jealous.
6. God’s glory!

16 And since Abraham and the other
patriarchs were holy, their descendants
will also be holy—just as the entire batch
of dough is holy because the portion
given as an offering is holy. For if the
roots of the tree are holy, the branches
will be, too.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

17a But some of these branches from
Abraham’s tree—some of the people of
Israel—have been broken off. And you
Gentiles, who were branches from a wild
olive tree, have been grafted in.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

17b So now you also receive the blessing
God has promised Abraham and his
children, sharing in the rich nourishment
from the root of God’s special olive tree.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

18 But you must not brag about being
grafted in to replace the branches that
were broken off.You are just a branch,
not the root.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

19 “Well,” you may say, “those branches
were broken off to make room for me.”
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

20Yes, but remember—those branches
were broken off because they didn’t
believe in Christ, and you are there
because you do believe. So don’t think
highly of yourself, but fear what could
happen.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

21 For if God did not spare the original
branches, He won’t spare you either.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

22 Notice how God is both kind and
severe. He is severe toward those who
disobeyed, but kind to you if you
continue to trust in His kindness. But if
you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

23 And if the people of Israel turn from
their unbelief, they will be grafted in
again, for God has the power to graft
them back into the tree.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

24You, by nature, were a branch cut from
a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to
do something contrary to nature by
grafting you into His cultivated tree, He
will be far more eager to graft the
original branches back into the tree
where they belong.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

God’s Mercy Is for Everyone
25 I want you to understand this mystery,
dear brothers and sisters, so that you will
not feel proud about yourselves. Some of
the people of Israel have hard hearts, but
this will last only until the full number of
Gentiles comes to Christ.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the
Scriptures say,
“The one who rescues will come from
Jerusalem,
and he will turn Israel away from
ungodliness.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

27 And this is My covenant with them,
that I will take away their sins.”
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

28 Many of the people of Israel are now
enemies of the Good News, and this
benefits you Gentiles.Yet they are still
the people He loves because He chose
their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

29 For God’s gifts and His call can never
be withdrawn. He will never go back on
His promises.
Romans 11:16-29 NLT

1. God’s call is forever.
• You can retire from your job but
not your calling.
2. The Lord is great in mercy!
3. Hoping is not the same as wishing.

Jon Courson's Application
Commentary of the New Testament
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MuRmxkCObIY/hqdefault.jpg

• The Problem of Sinfulness
• The Problem of Rebelliousness
• The Problem of Cowardice

The Problem of Sinfulness
Can my sinfulness cause God to
withdraw His call on my life?

Are you more iniquitous, more sinful
than Samson?You know the story. He fell
in love with a lady who had honey lips
and a poison heart.

"Oh, please, Sammy," she said, "tell me
the secret of your strength." "Well, babe,
I'll tell you," Samson answered, "if you
put bowstrings of raw leather around
me, I'd be as weak as any other man."

The question cannot help but arise:Was
Samson really that dumb?
Jon Courson suggests that Samson knew
he was going to get a haircut when he
told Delilah his secret.

As a Nazarite, Samson was absolutely
forbidden to drink wine, touch dead
bodies, or cut his hair (Numbers 6).

Yet Samson had taken of wine at the
Philistine parties and nothing happened
(Judges 14:10).

He had touched the dead body of a lion
in which there was honey, and, again,
nothing happened (Judges 14:9).

Thus, what Samson was probably
thinking was, “Well, I've already drunk
wine; I've already touched a dead body.
Nothing's going to happen to me if I cut
my hair.” Samson thought he was an
exception—but he wasn't. And neither
are we.

Maybe we haven't yet felt the
repercussion of our sins but know this: If
we continue down that road, we'll find
some real trouble.Today is the day for us
to stop trying the mercy and testing the
patience of God.

Back to Samson. His hair began to grow
(Judges 16:22).And when he was
brought into the temple of Dagon, he
prayed, "Lord, use me one more time."

After requesting his captors to stand him
between two supporting pillars, Samson
stretched out his arms, pushed, and
literally brought the house down.

Three thousand people in the balconies
crashed to their deaths, and Scripture
records he killed more enemies of Israel
in his death than he did in his life (Judges
16:30).

Truly, God’s gifts and His call can never
be withdrawn.
Maybe we feel our experience has been
somewhat "hairy."

Know this: If, like Samson, we're willing
to die to self and say, "Lord, use me. I'm
tired of living for myself, focused on
myself, concerned about myself. Just use
me."

You, too, will bring the house down
because: 29 For God’s gifts and His call
can never be withdrawn. He will never go
back on His promises. (the callings and
giftings of God are without repentance.
KJV)

Can my rebelliousness cause God to
The Problem of Rebelliousness

Yes, the Lord did use a sinful person like
Samson—and then His grace and mercy
were seen all the more clearly. "But what
about me? I have already failed in what
He has asked of me. How could He ask
me again?"

"Go to Nineveh," God said.
Instead, Jonah went toTarshish—the
exact opposite direction.

In route, a storm arose and, you know
the story.
He was swallowed by a great fish.

Jonah was in a tight spot so dark he couldn't
see the hand in front of his face. No doubt
entwined with seaweed and sweating from
the internal body temperature of the great
fish, it is no wonder Jonah felt like he was in
hell (Jonah 2).

Maybe you feel that way. Perhaps God
called you to do something for Him. He
gifted and equipped you to carry out a
specific task for the kingdom, but like
Jonah, you chose to go in the opposite
direction.

And now you find yourself saying, "I
don't know where I'm going. Nothing's
happening. I can't think straight. No
wonder the Lord has given up on me."

Listen.The Lord didn't give up on Jonah.
All the time Jonah thought he was going
nowhere, in the dark, feeling cramped,
getting hot—the great fish was moving
in the right direction.Why?

Because: 29 For God’s gifts and His call
can never be withdrawn. He will never go
back on His promises. And once Jonah
said, "I'm sorry," the fish regurgitated
him on to the beach. His hair must have
been bleached from the gastric juices.

His clothes must have been tattered. He
must have looked like an albino. But at
last he was in Nineveh—right where God
wanted him all along. He walked into the
city, smelling like the digestive tract of a
fish, saying, "Repent. In forty days,
judgment will come."

The Ninevites saw him, smelled him, and
couldn't believe what they heard about
him.Yet, Scripture records that the entire
city repented. One of the greatest
revivals in world history came by way of
a man who previously thought he was
going nowhere because of his rebellion.

So, too, even though you feel like you
don't deserve it—God's not through with
you because: 29 For God’s gifts and His
call can never be withdrawn. He will
never go back on His promises.
He doesn't take them back.

Can my cowardice cause God to
The Problem of Cowardice

"I don't know Him," swore Peter. Why?
Because a little slave girl around a
charcoal fire said to him, "I think I
recognize you. Aren't you one of His
followers?" (see Matthew 26:71).

"I can't continue on in ministry," Peter
said. "I know Jesus is alive—but I've been
such a coward. I've failed miserably. I'm
going back to fishing" (see John 21:3).

So it was, that after fishing all night with
his buddies, he heard a voice calling,
"Caught anything, children?"
"Nothing," he yelled back.

It's true.When you feel like you've failed
so badly that you just have to go back to
fishing—back to the old places, back to
the old gang, back to the old stuff—you'll
always come up empty-handed.

"It's the Lord!" they said at last. And
when they reached the shore, what did
they find? Fish roasting on the charcoal
fire.You see, the very thing Peter went to
sea to find was in the hand of Jesus all
along.

"Do you love Me?" He asked Peter three
times (John 21:15-17). He didn't say,
"Peter, if you love Me, you're on
probation. Prove yourself for three more
years—and if you do well, we might
allow you to hang out with us again."

No, He said, "Peter, if you love Me, then
feed My sheep, and tend my lambs. Go
back to where you were before you went
on this fishing trip. Get going again."

And that's what the Lord says to you
who have felt as though you've
chickened out in cowardice, to you who
have dabbled in sinfulness, to you who
have fled in rebelliousness.

"Get going again. Feed My flock. Do
what you were doing before your
excursion into sin. Get back to it once
again."

8 The LORD is gracious and full of
compassion,
Slow to anger and great in mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His
works.
Psalm 145:8-9 NKJV

30 Once, you Gentiles were rebels against
God, but when the people of Israel
rebelled against Him, God was merciful
to you instead.
Romans 11:30-33 NLT

31 Now they are the rebels, and God’s
mercy has come to you so that they, too,
will sharein God’s mercy. 32 For God has
imprisoned everyone in disobedience so
He could have mercy on everyone.
Romans 11:30-33 NLT

33 Oh, how great are God’s riches and
wisdom and knowledge! How impossible
it is for us to understand His decisions
and His ways!
Romans 11:30-33 NLT

36 For everything comes from Him and
exists by His power and is intended for
His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.
Romans 11:36 NLT

Everything is intended for His glory
We're so blessed because we don't have
to say, "Someday, Israel is going to come
together."

Everything is intended for His glory
No, we can say, "We've already seen it
happen, Lord.Therefore, we know that
things are going to come together for us
as well.You've promised they would,
they did, and we trust inYou."

4. Israel’s future.
5. God uses us to make Israel jealous.
6. God’s glory!
Six keys to unlocking Romans 11:Six keys to unlocking Romans 11:

hope,
mercy and
glory!
(so does 1 Peter)
Colossians 1 connects:

27To them God willed to make known what
are the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you,
the hope of glory!
Colossians 1:27 NKJV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His
abundant mercy has begotten us again
to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:3 NKJV

18 But we all, with unveiled face,
beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are being transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as
by the Spirit of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV

21 He will take our weak mortal bodies
and change them into glorious bodies
like His own, using the same power with
which He will bring everything under His
control.
Philippians 3:21 NLT

spirit (justification),
soul (sanctification) and
body (glorification) will be glorified to
express Him.
Then your entire being:

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
11 Now faith is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.

11 For I know the thoughts that I think
towards you, says the LORD, thoughts of
peace and not of evil to give you a future
and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

The trees of Israel
Israel as a nation = the fig tree (Matthew 21)
Israel’s spiritual state = the vine (Isaiah 5)
Israel’s salvation = the olive tree (Romans 11)

In Judges 9 verse 8 Israel is the olive tree,
in verse 10 Israel is the fig tree and in
verse 12 Israel is the grapevine.
The trees of Israel

The vine speaks of Israel up to the time
of Jesus Christ. The fig tree speaks of
Israel from the crucifixion of Christ to the
present. The olive tree speaks of Israel in
the millennial period.
The trees of Israel

The vine is the symbol of Israel’s spiritual
blessings and privileges.
Psalm 80:8 NKJV
8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt;
You have cast out the nations, and
planted it.
The trees of Israel

.
Jesus, as a Jew, is not only part of the
vine, but is Himself theTrueVine.
John 15:5 NKJV
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He
who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do
nothing.”

.
Jesus, as a Jew, is not only part of the
vine, but is Himself theTrueVine.
Jesus is theVine, and we who are the
church are the branches, which bear
spiritual fruit. Thus, both Israel and the
church have their identity closely
connected to theVine.

.
The Olive Tree
Hosea 14:5-6 NKJV
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
He shall grow like the lily,
And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread;
His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And his fragrance like Lebanon.

.
The Olive Tree
This gnarled olive tree is a symbol of Israel’s
religious blessings and privileges.

.
The Olive Tree
The olive is one of the seven species with
which the land was blessed.
It is mentioned frequently in the Bible in
the context of blessings, fruitfulness and
health.

.
The Seven Species
There are seven agricultural products -
two grains and five fruits - which are
listed in Deuteronomy 8:8 as being
special products of the Land of Israel.

.
8 It is a land of wheat and barley; of
grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates;
of olive oil and honey. 9a It is a land where
food is plentiful and nothing is lacking.
Deuteronomy 8:8-9a NLT

Jeremiah likened Israel to the olive tree:
Jeremiah 11:16a NKJV
16a The LORD called your name,
Green OliveTree, Lovely and of Good
Fruit.

.
Romans 11:17-18 NKJV
17 And if some of the branches were
broken off, and you, being a wild olive
tree, were grafted in among them, and
with them became a partaker of the root
and fatness of the olive tree,

.
Romans 11:17-18 NKJV
18 do not boast against the branches. But
if you do boast, remember that you do
not support the root, but the root
supports you.

.
Grafted In
The church is fully assimilated into all the
traditions and writings of Jewish history.
But Paul warned, “Don’t let this go to your
head, church folk. Remember, you were
grafted into them, not the other way
around.” It is a different story when we
come to the fig tree.

.
Hosea 9:10a NKJV
10a “I found Israel
Like grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your fathers
As the firstfruits on the fig tree in its
first season.”

.
There is no assimilating – no grafting in.
It is in the fig tree that we find the Jews’
ownership over the land, their ownership
over Jerusalem, and their return to the
homeland. The church cannot be the fig
tree; it can only see the fig tree.

.
There is no assimilating – no grafting in.
Church members can be part of the olive
tree and the Vine because they have to
do with spiritual and religious privileges.
But the fig tree is all about national
privileges, and those privileges belong to
the people of the Jewish nation.

Romans 11:26 NLT
26 And so all Israel will be saved. As the
Scriptures say,
“The one who rescues will come from
Jerusalem,
and he will turn Israel away from
ungodliness.”

.
Provoking the Jews to Jealousy:
When a Gentile desires to be Jewish, they
are missing out on the vital role in God’s
plan. Paul says in Romans 11 that
Gentiles are to help provoke the Jews to
jealousy.

.
Provoking the Jews to Jealousy:
The church should be showing Israel just
how wonderful it is to have a close,
personal relationship with God – the
relationship that the Lord originally
intended to have with them. What is the
ultimate goal of stirring up that jealousy?

.
14 for I want somehow to make the
people of Israel jealous of what you
Gentiles have, so I might save some of
them.
Romans 11:14-15 NLT

.
15 For since their rejection meant that
God offered salvation to the rest of the
world, their acceptance will be even
more wonderful. It will be life for those
who were dead!
Romans 11:14-15 NLT

If you love the Jewish people, then what
better way is there to show it than by
embracing your close church-relationship
with the Savior of the world, and thereby
fulfilling your part in God’s plan to bring
salvation to the Jews?
Love the Jewish people:

32 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When her branch is tender and the
leaves begin to sprout, you know that
summer is almost here. 33 Just so, when
you see all these things beginning to
happen, you can know that My return is
near, even at the doors.
Matthew 24:32-35TLB

34 Then at last this age will come to its
close.”
35 “Heaven and Earth will disappear, but
My words remain forever.”
Matthew 24:32-35TLB

A parable.
Jesus Himself says that this is a
parable. He is telling a story about
something that represents something
else. He also says that when the fig
tree starts spouting, “you know that it
is almost summer.”

A parable.
You are not just wishing for summer,
there is no doubt that a sprouting tree
means that spring is about to move
off the scene and be replaced by
warmer weather.

A parable.
He said when you “see” these things
you will know that the time is near.
You will not simply hear about the
sprouting fig tree or thing about it or
maybe dream about it. You, with your
own eyes, will recognize these signs
and know their implications.

Psalm 90:10a NKJV
10a The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they
are eighty years,
A biblical generation is 70-80 years.

The Last Days
Israel burst back onto the international
scene as an independent nation on May
14, 1948. We are now in the optimal
generational timeline from that date.
Amir says that we are not simply in the
last days, we are in the last hour of the
last days.

1 God, Who at various times and in
various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these
last days spoken to us by His Son, Whom
He has appointed heir of all things,
through Whom also He made the worlds;
Hebrews 1:1-2 NKJV

The last days:
Jesus came and the last days began.
We have seen the tender branches
and sprouting leaves. As we watch
and wait, we must also be about our
Father’s business.

The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16-17 NIV
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to
condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 14:6 NIV
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Romans 3:23 NIV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NIV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this
life to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death”
explained in Revelation 21:8.

Revelation 21:8 NIV
8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral,
those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the
fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
• Anyone who’s lifestyle is one or more of the sins listed in Revelation 21:8,
will experience the “second death,” if they do not repent.
• To Repent means to turn around, to go in the opposite direction, to
turn away from sin and believe in Jesus.
Romans 5:8 NIV
8 But God demonstrates His own for us, in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23b NIV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NIV
7 “He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be
his God and he will be My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explain to us how to be overcomers.

Romans 10:9-10 NIV
9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and
are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and
are saved.
Romans 10:13 NIV
13 for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”

Do you have questions?
Would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/

05-03-20, Romans 11;16-33, Mercy

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05-03-20, Romans 11;16-33, Mercy