1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,960 The appointed hour came and a large number of people gathered into the quarters that 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,840 were rented by this man. 3 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:14,440 They had come at his invitation because he desired to explain to them some things about 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:21,140 the Kingdom of God and particularly he wanted to persuade as many of them as possible that 5 00:00:21,140 --> 00:00:32,080 Jesus was the Christ, using as his means of persuasion the law of Moses and the prophets. 6 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:40,920 Some of those who heard during that day-long seminar and discussion actually believed, 7 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:44,400 but there are others who would not believe. 8 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:51,000 When the Apostle Paul saw the consternation and the confusion and the disagreement, before 9 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,720 they left, he said one final thing to them. 10 00:00:55,720 --> 00:01:02,720 And these are those words quoted for us in the book of Acts. 11 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:08,560 The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, Go to 12 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:14,760 this people and say, You will keep on hearing but will not understand, and you will keep 13 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:17,880 on seeing but will not perceive. 14 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:24,440 For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and 15 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,200 they have closed their eyes. 16 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:32,040 Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their 17 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:38,000 heart in return, and I should heal them. 18 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:44,680 And then that aged apostle undoubtedly looked up and he said, Let it be known to you therefore 19 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:49,320 that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. 20 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,720 They will also listen. 21 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:57,480 And when he had spoken these words, the Jews departed having a great dispute among themselves. 22 00:01:57,480 --> 00:02:02,400 I wonder if that doesn't pretty well summarize the Jewish condition for the last two thousand 23 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:04,080 years. 24 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:12,320 A lot of infighting, particularly over the question as to who Jesus Christ is. 25 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:19,400 Three or four years before that occasion, the apostle Paul picked up a pen and he wrote 26 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:27,520 to the believers in the city of Rome, a place he had not been up to that point. 27 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:36,540 To them he penned an explanation, a logical outline of what salvation is all about. 28 00:02:36,540 --> 00:02:41,680 And one of the key questions that came up in his letter, as the Spirit of God led him 29 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:47,200 of course, was what about Israel? 30 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:50,640 Israel has rejected this gospel. 31 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:54,880 Where do they fit in now in God's plan? 32 00:02:54,880 --> 00:03:00,120 We find the answer to that in the book of Romans where we've been studying. 33 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:08,120 In chapter nine, Paul explains to us that God chose Israel for himself to accomplish 34 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:11,080 his plan of redemption. 35 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:20,160 But as he writes in chapter 10, Israel rejected the message of God and consequently was set 36 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,000 aside. 37 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,000 Now what about the future of the Jews? 38 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,620 Is there a future for the nation of Israel? 39 00:03:31,620 --> 00:03:41,120 Is there anything today beyond the present turmoil and war and strife and danger for Israel? 40 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:47,560 The answer to that according to the Bible is a resounding yes. 41 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:53,720 Because for Israel the best is yet to come. 42 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:59,440 God has a future for the Jewish nation. 43 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:05,280 There are six evidences of that as found in chapter 11 of Romans. 44 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:11,000 I've outlined all six of those for you on the copy you have in your worship folder. 45 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:16,720 But today we're going to focus on just the first two evidences. 46 00:04:16,720 --> 00:04:20,400 God has a future for the Jewish nation. 47 00:04:20,400 --> 00:04:21,760 How do we know that? 48 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:28,400 Number one, because of the pattern of the apostle himself. 49 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:37,040 Notice in Romans 11, 1 these words, I say then, God has not rejected his people, has 50 00:04:37,040 --> 00:04:38,040 he? 51 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:40,080 May it never be. 52 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:48,640 For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 53 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:55,640 So the first thing the apostle does is to point to himself, not in a boastful or proud 54 00:04:55,640 --> 00:05:03,600 way, but simply to acknowledge that there is something about him that assures that God 55 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:10,800 has a future for the Jewish nation as a whole. 56 00:05:10,800 --> 00:05:15,800 He begins by asking a question that assumes a negative response. 57 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,800 God has not rejected his people, has he? 58 00:05:19,800 --> 00:05:22,160 And he responds by saying, may it never be. 59 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:27,840 Such a thing is reprehensible that God would forsake them utterly and completely. 60 00:05:27,840 --> 00:05:30,880 He says, for I too am a Jew. 61 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:32,960 He says, I'm an Israelite. 62 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,960 I've been descended from Abraham. 63 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,160 In saying that, he's pulling his notches out so people can see them. 64 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:47,000 He's saying, I'm even better than those who are proselytes and Jewish. 65 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,160 Rome had many of those, you see. 66 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:54,040 Gentiles who had come to believe in the Jewish religion. 67 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,400 And so they were converted. 68 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:04,400 They were Jews, and yet the natural born Jews felt that they were a few notches up. 69 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:06,160 And so Paul pulls that. 70 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,640 He says, I am a natural born Jew. 71 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:10,280 I'm not a proselyte. 72 00:06:10,280 --> 00:06:14,640 And he says, I'm from the tribe of Benjamin. 73 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:16,160 What would that mean? 74 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:20,120 The tribe of Benjamin was the smallest of the tribes. 75 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:21,680 And from Benjamin came Saul. 76 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:25,360 Now he was the first king, but he was a bad king. 77 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:26,880 He was disobedient to God. 78 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,920 Why would he say, I'm of Benjamin? 79 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:40,360 Well the reason is that the tribe of Benjamin was the only tribe, the only family that stuck 80 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:46,720 with Judah when the nation divided after the death of Solomon. 81 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:54,420 They were the ones who had continued the line of David, his seed, on the throne. 82 00:06:54,420 --> 00:06:58,960 They did not go with the apostates in the northern kingdom who began to worship false 83 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,200 gods and the Baal, as we'll see a little later. 84 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:05,760 Rather Benjamin was faithful to God. 85 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,040 So Benjamin had that little mark in which to boast. 86 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,840 And so Paul says, look, you want to brag about being Jewish? 87 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:13,840 I'm Jewish. 88 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,440 I'm a natural Jew. 89 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,760 I'm even from the tribe of Benjamin. 90 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:22,040 And he says, God hasn't forsaken the Jews. 91 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:23,960 I'm proof of it. 92 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:32,160 Now he may have been trying to cut short those who would accuse him of anti-Semitic feelings. 93 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:38,280 After all, he has said some pretty harsh things about the Jewish nation. 94 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,080 And he has some more to say. 95 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:46,680 Lest anyone should say that he hates the Jews or has turned against them, he wants to emphasize 96 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:48,800 himself as a Jew. 97 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,760 But I believe there's more than that. 98 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:58,160 Paul points to himself at this point in his argument because there is something about 99 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:10,600 him, something in his conversion that speaks to the point that God has a future for Israel. 100 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,200 Let me explain what I mean. 101 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:21,240 In 1 Corinthians 15, 8, the apostle calls himself one untimely born. 102 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:26,240 The idea really is a premature birth. 103 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:32,480 He says, I was born ahead of time, before I should have been spiritually. 104 00:08:32,480 --> 00:08:35,080 What does he mean by that? 105 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:40,160 I think we understand if we keep that in the back of our minds and turn to 1 Timothy chapter 106 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:44,400 1, I'm going to ask you to turn there with me. 107 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,800 Verse 15, we have this familiar statement. 108 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,240 It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. 109 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:57,560 The Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners among whom I am foremost of all, says 110 00:08:57,560 --> 00:09:00,000 Paul. 111 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:08,280 Now verse 16, 1 Timothy 1, And yet for this reason I found mercy, in order that in me 112 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:14,960 as the foremost, that is as the foremost of sinners, Jesus Christ might demonstrate his 113 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:23,080 perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life. 114 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:26,040 What does Paul mean by this? 115 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:33,720 He may mean that his conversion is an example of how patient God is with sinners. 116 00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:38,400 If God is patient with Paul, then he's going to be patient with us. 117 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:41,320 That certainly can be an application. 118 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:48,560 I believe that Paul means more than that because you see the word example here is a word that 119 00:09:48,560 --> 00:09:57,120 means a sketch, an outline, a delineation of something. 120 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:03,120 Paul is saying what happened to me is a sketch of something. 121 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:08,480 And here's what I think Paul really means. 122 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:14,360 Think with me of Paul's conversion for a moment. 123 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:21,280 He saw a bright light from heaven, so bright that he was blinded. 124 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:26,360 He saw the Lord Jesus Christ before his eyes went black. 125 00:10:26,360 --> 00:10:28,840 He heard the voice of Christ speak to him. 126 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:34,320 They had a conversation and so overwhelming was this vision he was stunned and knocked 127 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,360 to the ground. 128 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:39,080 How was Paul's conversion? 129 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:42,320 When was the last time you saw an invitation that something like that happened? 130 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:45,920 It's been a while, huh? 131 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:48,920 You see, that's not normal. 132 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:54,780 Paul isn't saying that what happened to me on the Damascus road is a pattern, an outline 133 00:10:54,780 --> 00:10:58,240 of what's going to happen every time a person gets saved. 134 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,320 That's not what he's saying. 135 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:01,320 Here's what he's saying. 136 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:10,800 He is saying what happened to me in that spectacular incident is a sketch, it's an outline of what 137 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:17,800 is going to happen to the people of Israel in the future. 138 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:27,640 Just as he was dramatically converted by the appearance of Christ and the overwhelming 139 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:33,840 pressure of that vision, so much so he was stunned by it, so someday Israel is going 140 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:39,320 to be converted in such a dramatic occasion. 141 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:44,800 Now I want you to turn with me back to the Old Testament, to the book of Zechariah. 142 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,220 Zechariah is near the end of the Old Testament. 143 00:11:48,220 --> 00:11:52,920 You will find it if you go to Matthew and start backing up. 144 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:55,280 That's the easiest way. 145 00:11:55,280 --> 00:11:59,280 Don't get discouraged in Malachi, just go on. 146 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:10,280 Zechariah chapter 12, and look at verse 10. 147 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:16,080 I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit 148 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:26,520 of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on me, whom they have pierced. 149 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:33,040 They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over 150 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:35,560 him. 151 00:12:35,560 --> 00:12:38,620 Verse 1, chapter 13. 152 00:12:38,620 --> 00:12:44,520 In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants 153 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,040 of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity. 154 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:51,520 In other words, there will be cleansing of the nation's sins in that day. 155 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,720 Go on to chapter 14, verse 4. 156 00:12:55,720 --> 00:13:02,440 And in that day, the same day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in 157 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:08,400 the front of Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle 158 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:15,800 from east to west, verse 9, and the Lord will be king over all the earth. 159 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:22,200 In that day, the Lord will be the only one and his name the only one. 160 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:25,160 What is taking place here in Zechariah's vision? 161 00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:29,200 It is the second coming of Jesus Christ. 162 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:34,560 It is that same day the angels had in view when they spoke to the disciples gathered 163 00:13:34,560 --> 00:13:41,400 on the top of the Mount of Olives, and they said, You men of Galilee, why do you stand 164 00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,960 here gazing up into heaven? 165 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:50,400 This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as 166 00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,440 you've seen him go away. 167 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:57,360 Those angels were not talking about the rapture of the church. 168 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:02,000 They were talking about the coming of Christ to the earth when his feet would land on top 169 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:03,720 of that mountain. 170 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:10,480 Zechariah says, When he appears, when the sign of the coming of the Son of Man appears, 171 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:15,800 then the Jews will see him whom they have pierced, and they will weep and mourn and 172 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:19,880 repent nationally for their sins. 173 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:21,400 They will be cleansed. 174 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:26,360 His feet will touch the top of the mountain, it will break in two, and he will establish 175 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,760 his kingdom upon the earth. 176 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,720 Now that's dramatic. 177 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:37,800 And that's what the apostle Paul meant when he said, What happened to me is an example, 178 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:42,240 it's an outline, it's a sketch of what's going to happen in the future. 179 00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:50,240 For just as dramatic, just as overwhelming as was my vision of the glorified Christ, 180 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:56,800 so will be the vision of my people Israel when Jesus comes back. 181 00:14:56,800 --> 00:15:02,420 That look at the glorified Christ whom they have pierced will create national repentance 182 00:15:02,420 --> 00:15:08,360 immediately and they will turn back to the Lord their God and be restored. 183 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:12,560 So Paul is saying, Do you want proof that Israel has a future? 184 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:13,560 Look at me. 185 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:15,040 Look at what happened to me. 186 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:17,240 I was born out of season. 187 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:23,080 He said, I should have been saved then because of what happened to me, but God allowed it 188 00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:28,800 to happen ahead of time so that I could be a pattern, an encouragement so that you might 189 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:32,400 know that the Jews have a future. 190 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:37,240 Now let's go to the second evidence in verses two through 10 of our text in Romans chapter 191 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:38,920 11. 192 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:45,680 We have here the principle of the remnant. 193 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:50,600 A remnant is that which is left. 194 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,960 It's very small in relation to the whole. 195 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:57,380 It's just a little piece of it. 196 00:15:57,380 --> 00:16:00,800 It's a part of it. 197 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:07,720 One of the things that we notice in the Word of God is that God always works with a remnant. 198 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:09,720 You can mark that down. 199 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,480 God always works with a remnant. 200 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:19,380 There is a certain principle that's involved here that proves to us that the best days 201 00:16:19,380 --> 00:16:22,240 for Israel are yet ahead. 202 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:28,780 He begins by saying in verse two, God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. 203 00:16:28,780 --> 00:16:35,320 If you've been with us a while, you've seen that word foreknow before. 204 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:42,040 We talked about it in chapter eight, and we learned that when God foreknows, it means 205 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:46,040 more than that God knew something ahead of time. 206 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,940 That would be rather obvious, wouldn't it? 207 00:16:48,940 --> 00:16:55,920 What it entails is that God not only knows ahead of time, but he selects, he decides, 208 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,760 he determines ahead of time. 209 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,760 That's what foreknowledge is. 210 00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:07,760 What it means here is what it said in chapter nine of Romans, that God chose the nation 211 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:10,360 of Israel to be his people. 212 00:17:10,360 --> 00:17:16,400 He chose to accomplish his plan of redemption through them. 213 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:27,480 So he says, God has not abandoned, totally rejected his people whom he chose. 214 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:35,360 He immediately proceeds without further statement to an illustration from Israel's history. 215 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:40,460 He says, do you not know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he 216 00:17:40,460 --> 00:17:44,680 pleads with God against Israel? 217 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:50,520 Remember that man of God from the Old Testament? 218 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:55,080 First Kings, we read about Elijah going up to the top of Mount Carmel on what a day that 219 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:56,560 was. 220 00:17:56,560 --> 00:18:08,260 And he, as the lonely prophet of God, stood there in opposition to 450 prophets of Baal. 221 00:18:08,260 --> 00:18:12,160 They called upon Baal to answer by fire on their sacrifice. 222 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:15,560 Elijah called upon God. 223 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,360 And to shorten the story, of course, God answered by fire. 224 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:21,760 He is the only true God. 225 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:26,600 The prophets of Baal were put to death. 226 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:34,160 And when Queen Jezebel, who had brought them into the land, heard about the death of her 227 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:36,720 prophets, she was furious. 228 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:41,400 And she immediately put out a death warrant for Elijah. 229 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:47,320 And that man who had stood against 450 prophets could not stand against one angry queen. 230 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:49,840 He must have been exhausted. 231 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:51,640 And he ran. 232 00:18:51,640 --> 00:19:00,680 He went down into the desert, down to Mount Horeb, which is probably Mount Sinai. 233 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:09,520 And there, in that deserted place, by himself, he met God. 234 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:16,880 And one of the things he said to God is found in verse 3, Lord, they have killed thy prophets. 235 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:23,760 They have torn down thine altars, and I alone am left. 236 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,800 And oh, by the way, they are seeking my life. 237 00:19:26,800 --> 00:19:29,360 You knew he would get to that. 238 00:19:29,360 --> 00:19:34,160 How did God respond to him? 239 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:44,100 God said, Elijah, I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. 240 00:19:44,100 --> 00:19:45,960 What is God saying to Elijah? 241 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:52,200 Well, really, I think he's saying, it's time to stop the pity party. 242 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:54,400 You're not by yourself. 243 00:19:54,400 --> 00:20:02,200 Because Elijah, I want you to know that I have kept for myself in Israel 7,000 who have 244 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,480 not bowed their knees to Baal either. 245 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:10,160 Now, there were many more than 7,000 people in Israel. 246 00:20:10,160 --> 00:20:17,200 And the reason that Paul draws upon this illustration is to evidence to us that in that time when 247 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:24,000 the nation of Israel was in great apostasy, when they were worshipping false gods and 248 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,720 Baals brought in from Phoenicia. 249 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,520 Now, I'm talking about Jews. 250 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,000 They were worshipping these idols. 251 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:43,280 In that time of national idolatry and apostasy, there was a remnant. 252 00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:47,360 Not a remnant of people who were more intellectual than the others and therefore they saw the 253 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:48,360 truth. 254 00:20:48,360 --> 00:20:49,360 No. 255 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:50,360 A remnant that God selected. 256 00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:58,680 A remnant that God kept for himself. 257 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:06,840 Now the apostle applies that in a very spectacular way. 258 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:16,640 He says, in the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time, in this age, 259 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:20,280 a remnant according to God's gracious choice. 260 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:25,440 And if it is by grace, it's no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no 261 00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,680 longer grace. 262 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:31,160 Works and grace do not mix. 263 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:37,520 Works flows out of grace, but you cannot put them together and mix them, for it immediately 264 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,560 nullifies grace. 265 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:45,320 But what he is saying is that just like there was a remnant in that day when they rejected 266 00:21:45,320 --> 00:21:52,240 the word of God and turned to idols, so in this present age there is a remnant of Jews 267 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:53,800 who do believe. 268 00:21:53,800 --> 00:22:00,560 Now I don't know if you know many Jewish people. 269 00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:07,360 If you know many Jewish people, you probably know far fewer Christian Jews than Jewish 270 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:15,760 people and the reason is that there are so few, just a fraction of Jewish people who 271 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:23,760 have been completed, if I may use that term, who have received their Messiah. 272 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:35,200 Just a few, just a remnant, but folks the point is this, those few, that remnant are 273 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:45,280 proof, they are a pledge that God is someday going to restore the whole nation. 274 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:52,960 He is going to restore the Jews and fulfill to them the promises that he has given in 275 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,600 his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 276 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,360 It's a great thing. 277 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:07,960 The second evidence that God has a future for the Jews is that remnant of Jews today 278 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,240 who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. 279 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,480 Most Christians are Gentiles. 280 00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:18,160 By and large the church is a Gentile church. 281 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:26,400 The message has gone to the Gentiles, they've received it, but a few Jews have trusted Christ 282 00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:31,920 and they are God's pledge of what he is going to do in the future. 283 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:38,880 He goes on to say in verse 7, that which Israel as a nation is seeking for, it is not obtained, 284 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:41,000 that is righteousness with God. 285 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:45,240 But those who were chosen obtained it, that's the remnant. 286 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:50,840 Now look at this, the rest were hardened. 287 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,320 The rest were hardened. 288 00:23:53,320 --> 00:23:57,240 That's a difficult statement isn't it? 289 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:04,080 John Calvin would make that a very harsh statement indeed for he would say that God just arbitrarily 290 00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:06,280 hardened them. 291 00:24:06,280 --> 00:24:11,880 But that is not the case if I understand my Bible correctly. 292 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:17,280 The fact is that they as a people hardened their own hearts against God and for that 293 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,640 God hardened them. 294 00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,680 It was a reciprocal action on God's part. 295 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:32,640 They rejected God's message, God hardened them. 296 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:37,280 It happened to Pharaoh, God's message to Pharaoh was let my people go. 297 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,680 He said no, God hardened his heart. 298 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,960 God said let my people go, he refused, God hardened his heart. 299 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:52,080 And ten times in Exodus that whole procedure takes place again and again and again. 300 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:57,260 He hardened his heart against God and God hardened his heart. 301 00:24:57,260 --> 00:25:06,280 It is a dangerous thing to harden one's heart against the Lord. 302 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:11,680 The Jews did that as a nation and for that God judged them. 303 00:25:11,680 --> 00:25:18,400 God hardened their hearts as a nation and that's the condition they're in today. 304 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,640 This word hardened means to be calloused. 305 00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:26,320 It means to grow an extra layer of skin over something. 306 00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:36,560 A callous builds up in time and prevents that spot in your hand from being so sensitive. 307 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,200 And that's the way it is with the heart too. 308 00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:42,120 With the heart of the nation of Israel. 309 00:25:42,120 --> 00:25:45,480 They knew Jesus Christ, they rejected who he was. 310 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:48,660 His works testified of him, they rejected who he was. 311 00:25:48,660 --> 00:25:51,440 They heard his words, they rejected who he was. 312 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:56,520 And that rejection, that rejection, that rejection result in God's hardening, God's hardening, 313 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:04,440 God's hardening until a callous is built up. 314 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:08,680 And this has been prophesied in the Old Testament for he quotes now from Deuteronomy where it 315 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:13,280 says God gave them a spirit of stupor. 316 00:26:13,280 --> 00:26:17,180 The word stupor means to be stunned. 317 00:26:17,180 --> 00:26:24,160 It means to be slapped in the face so hard that you are just absolutely unable to respond. 318 00:26:24,160 --> 00:26:29,480 You're shocked, left speechless, unable to move. 319 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,460 And that's exactly what God has done to the nation of Israel. 320 00:26:33,460 --> 00:26:39,120 He has given them a spirit of being stunned, paralyzed. 321 00:26:39,120 --> 00:26:47,480 They're in a stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not down to this very day. 322 00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:54,280 And David says, let their table, here he quotes from Psalm 69, let their table become a snare 323 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:55,280 and a trap. 324 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:56,920 What's a table for? 325 00:26:56,920 --> 00:27:03,120 Well a table is a place, it's a place where you sit down with people and you eat and you 326 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:10,960 fellowship and you communicate. 327 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:12,960 It's a place of blessing. 328 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:22,440 And what he is saying is that the blessings, the table between God and the nation of Israel, 329 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:29,240 those blessings have now become a snare and a trap to the people of Israel. 330 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:36,440 Their very blessings have become curses, as Malachi says. 331 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:44,680 An example, they were given by God an elaborate ceremonial and sacrificial system. 332 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:49,960 Now the purpose of that system was to constantly remind the people of their heart's sins and 333 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,760 to bring them to repentance for them that they might atone for their sins. 334 00:27:54,760 --> 00:28:00,400 It was to bring them to faith in the promise of God. 335 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:07,740 But they set that aside, the meaning, and focused on the ceremony, the ritual, right? 336 00:28:07,740 --> 00:28:14,340 So that that which was to be a blessing to them actually became a curse because they 337 00:28:14,340 --> 00:28:21,420 began to trust then in the ritual, in the ceremony, rather than in the God who had given 338 00:28:21,420 --> 00:28:25,320 it to them. 339 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:29,360 Became also a stumbling block and a retribution. 340 00:28:29,360 --> 00:28:36,280 And he says, let their eyes be darkened to see not and bend their backs forever. 341 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:38,080 The word forever means continually. 342 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:44,140 And the idea is that as long as their hardened heart persists, let their backs be bent with 343 00:28:44,140 --> 00:28:48,860 burden and with judgment. 344 00:28:48,860 --> 00:28:55,260 Those are not very happy words, are they, for those who reject the word of God? 345 00:28:55,260 --> 00:28:59,800 But the point in the passage is on the positive side. 346 00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:05,280 It's the fact that in the midst of these people who have apostatized and gone away 347 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:14,060 from God, who are under the judgment of God, there is a remnant who are saved. 348 00:29:14,060 --> 00:29:20,680 And that remnant is God's pledge that someday the whole nation is going to repent and turn 349 00:29:20,680 --> 00:29:21,680 to the Lord. 350 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:29,680 Now, rather than going on to another evidence, I want to draw some application here for us. 351 00:29:29,680 --> 00:29:38,440 Because I see an alarming parallel between Israel of old and Christendom today. 352 00:29:38,440 --> 00:29:42,820 And when I use the word Christendom, I want you to know I'm getting out the biggest 353 00:29:42,820 --> 00:29:45,280 umbrella I have. 354 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:50,580 I am talking about anybody and anything that talks about Jesus Christ. 355 00:29:50,580 --> 00:29:54,840 Anybody that has a church or meets on Saturday or Sunday, I don't care, they talk about 356 00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,200 Jesus as being a prophet or a moral teacher. 357 00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:00,960 I'm including them in Christendom. 358 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:02,660 This would not include the Moslems. 359 00:30:02,660 --> 00:30:04,840 This would not include the Far East religions. 360 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,460 But you throw in everything else just about. 361 00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:12,380 That's Christendom. 362 00:30:12,380 --> 00:30:18,060 Israel of old, as a nation, had the word of God. 363 00:30:18,060 --> 00:30:27,620 But most of them rejected it and were judged and their hearts were heartened. 364 00:30:27,620 --> 00:30:30,580 Only a few believed. 365 00:30:30,580 --> 00:30:34,760 And so it is, my friend, within Christendom today. 366 00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:36,880 For all of Christendom has the Bible. 367 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,600 It has the word of God. 368 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:48,300 But there are only a few, there is only a remnant within this broad umbrella of people 369 00:30:48,300 --> 00:31:04,340 who genuinely know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and walk in obedience to Him. 370 00:31:04,340 --> 00:31:13,740 Yes, we have people today who call themselves Christians, who try to dilute the potency 371 00:31:13,740 --> 00:31:20,900 of what the Bible says, to twist its meaning or to undermine its authority, its reliability. 372 00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:26,780 They talk about traditions which are equal to or which surpass the Bible and authority. 373 00:31:26,780 --> 00:31:31,820 The words of men or new revelations which out date this. 374 00:31:31,820 --> 00:31:38,180 They talk about cultural problems that make this not applicable to today. 375 00:31:38,180 --> 00:31:46,460 In various ways, there are efforts within Christendom to dilute the message of God because 376 00:31:46,460 --> 00:31:49,340 they don't want to receive it, they want to reject it. 377 00:31:49,340 --> 00:31:57,060 And at the same time that they reject this, they turn to a false God. 378 00:31:57,060 --> 00:32:00,140 That happened in Israel. 379 00:32:00,140 --> 00:32:06,460 Israel not only turned from the Lord, but they began to worship Baal. 380 00:32:06,460 --> 00:32:15,540 If you know anything about Baal worship, you know it was an immoral, filthy religion. 381 00:32:15,540 --> 00:32:20,300 There was ritualistic prostitution. 382 00:32:20,300 --> 00:32:30,140 There was the offering up of children to be killed as sacrifices to the idol of Baal. 383 00:32:30,140 --> 00:32:36,300 The Jews adopted that religious system when they turned from God's Word and rejected 384 00:32:36,300 --> 00:32:39,620 it. 385 00:32:39,620 --> 00:32:43,220 That is why the prophets cried out so strongly. 386 00:32:43,220 --> 00:32:48,340 That's why Elijah got on top of Mount Carmel and did what he did. 387 00:32:48,340 --> 00:32:55,140 Because the ten northern tribes of Israel, descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 388 00:32:55,140 --> 00:33:07,060 who had the Word of God, turned from it and began to worship Baal. 389 00:33:07,060 --> 00:33:11,020 We have Baal worship today too. 390 00:33:11,020 --> 00:33:14,920 Only we are a little more sophisticated in our day. 391 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:22,860 We wouldn't put up a little statue of a man with a helmet on and horns holding a club 392 00:33:22,860 --> 00:33:26,740 in his hand, which was their god Baal. 393 00:33:26,740 --> 00:33:34,620 Today our God is man himself. 394 00:33:34,620 --> 00:33:39,860 We don't call it Baalism, we call it humanism. 395 00:33:39,860 --> 00:33:45,860 For man is put into the center of the universe, it all revolves around him and he becomes 396 00:33:45,860 --> 00:33:48,420 the source of all things. 397 00:33:48,420 --> 00:33:52,300 And whatever pleases him is right. 398 00:33:52,300 --> 00:33:54,380 He is the source of truth. 399 00:33:54,380 --> 00:33:58,860 If he discovers it and says this is so, then that is truth. 400 00:33:58,860 --> 00:34:03,340 It doesn't make any difference what the Word of God says. 401 00:34:03,340 --> 00:34:04,340 So what? 402 00:34:04,340 --> 00:34:05,340 That's for another age. 403 00:34:05,340 --> 00:34:10,140 I mean, we want to be relevant. 404 00:34:10,140 --> 00:34:22,100 And so there are those who call themselves Christians and yet agree with and even practice 405 00:34:22,100 --> 00:34:29,540 abortion. 406 00:34:29,540 --> 00:34:34,620 We are overlooking that too much, dear people. 407 00:34:34,620 --> 00:34:44,100 It is time for the people of God to rise up and say with a loud voice that that is murder. 408 00:34:44,100 --> 00:34:49,980 We would condemn the Jews of old because they would take their children to the god Baal 409 00:34:49,980 --> 00:34:53,940 or Malik, another god. 410 00:34:53,940 --> 00:34:58,200 Malik was a god with his arms outstretched like this. 411 00:34:58,200 --> 00:35:03,820 They would heat up Malik until he was white hot and then they would put their babies on 412 00:35:03,820 --> 00:35:12,380 the arms of Malik and offer them a sacrifice and fry them. 413 00:35:12,380 --> 00:35:14,680 You say that is heinous. 414 00:35:14,680 --> 00:35:18,260 You say that is terrible. 415 00:35:18,260 --> 00:35:23,060 Is it any more heinous and terrible than what takes place hour after hour in the abortion 416 00:35:23,060 --> 00:35:28,200 clinics of this land? 417 00:35:28,200 --> 00:35:31,440 They called themselves Jews and did that. 418 00:35:31,440 --> 00:35:38,180 People call themselves Christians today and do that. 419 00:35:38,180 --> 00:35:41,580 There's apostate Christianity is what it is. 420 00:35:41,580 --> 00:35:45,260 It's Christianity that has fallen away from the truth. 421 00:35:45,260 --> 00:35:52,100 I have seen a man in cloth, in religious cloth, stand before a state legislative committee 422 00:35:52,100 --> 00:36:00,780 and argue in favor of homosexuality because the Bible is irrelevant, you see, to him. 423 00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:01,780 He doesn't want it. 424 00:36:01,780 --> 00:36:03,460 He rejects it. 425 00:36:03,460 --> 00:36:11,740 As a Christian, he stands before the state legislature to say God okays homosexuality. 426 00:36:11,740 --> 00:36:17,700 We have the great movement of feminism in our land. 427 00:36:17,700 --> 00:36:20,740 Some of you have brought to my attention an article that was in the St. Paul newspaper 428 00:36:20,740 --> 00:36:25,860 a week ago, dramatic breakthrough, Baptist to host feminist play. 429 00:36:25,860 --> 00:36:32,500 Perhaps you saw it. 430 00:36:32,500 --> 00:36:35,700 The play's director, I quote from the article simply. 431 00:36:35,700 --> 00:36:40,340 You've already read it so I don't reveal anything here that you don't already know. 432 00:36:40,340 --> 00:36:44,420 The play's director, Dr. Susan Ogden Maloof, who is head of the drama department at the 433 00:36:44,420 --> 00:36:50,460 Baptist affiliated Bethel College in Arden Hills, says the drama is an important expression 434 00:36:50,460 --> 00:36:55,780 of women's frustration with the male dominated power structure of the church. 435 00:36:55,780 --> 00:37:00,900 The title of the play she is directing, she did not write it, but she is directing it, 436 00:37:00,900 --> 00:37:07,100 now the title of it is I Have Prayed Our Father Too Long. 437 00:37:07,100 --> 00:37:11,300 And when asked by someone in our church this week how she would pray, she replied by saying 438 00:37:11,300 --> 00:37:17,740 I would say our mother. 439 00:37:17,740 --> 00:37:21,380 Now the point is not that there are some injustices to women in our land. 440 00:37:21,380 --> 00:37:25,300 There have been injustices and those should be corrected. 441 00:37:25,300 --> 00:37:32,180 I speak about the feminist movement which is something far broader than that. 442 00:37:32,180 --> 00:37:33,180 Far broader than that. 443 00:37:33,180 --> 00:37:35,660 The implications are staggering in that. 444 00:37:35,660 --> 00:37:44,780 It is a part of the worship of man himself, mankind. 445 00:37:44,780 --> 00:37:46,740 What about liberationism? 446 00:37:46,740 --> 00:37:52,340 We have a great movement for children's rights in the land. 447 00:37:52,340 --> 00:37:59,540 What about political liberation which is supported by so-called liberation theology which is 448 00:37:59,540 --> 00:38:04,500 neither liberation nor theology. 449 00:38:04,500 --> 00:38:09,980 The emphasis in the liberation movement is rights, not responsibilities. 450 00:38:09,980 --> 00:38:15,380 The word of God puts the emphasis on the responsibilities. 451 00:38:15,380 --> 00:38:16,380 You see this is humanism. 452 00:38:16,380 --> 00:38:20,420 It says the rights are the important thing. 453 00:38:20,420 --> 00:38:24,860 It argues for the separation of church and state and says the Constitution demands that 454 00:38:24,860 --> 00:38:30,340 when the Constitution doesn't mention it. 455 00:38:30,340 --> 00:38:42,220 Actually what that little slogan is representing is a movement to liberate government from 456 00:38:42,220 --> 00:38:44,860 biblical morality. 457 00:38:44,860 --> 00:38:46,860 That's what it's all about. 458 00:38:46,860 --> 00:38:52,100 It's man's attempt to liberate himself to what God says is right and wrong and the value 459 00:38:52,100 --> 00:38:55,620 system that God gives. 460 00:38:55,620 --> 00:39:04,620 You and I are today a part of Christendom which is by and large apostate and that should 461 00:39:04,620 --> 00:39:11,160 not surprise us because the word of God declares that that would happen. 462 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:30,180 Stand with me to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 for a moment. 463 00:39:30,180 --> 00:39:37,580 There were some believers there who had heard a word from someone that the rapture had already 464 00:39:37,580 --> 00:39:45,060 taken place and they were in the day of the Lord, the time of judgment and tribulation. 465 00:39:45,060 --> 00:39:49,260 Now he says don't be disturbed by those kinds of words. 466 00:39:49,260 --> 00:39:55,460 Verse 3, let no one in any way deceive you for it will not come, that is the day of the 467 00:39:55,460 --> 00:40:00,820 Lord, unless the apostasy comes first. 468 00:40:00,820 --> 00:40:05,580 The apostasy, the word means the falling away. 469 00:40:05,580 --> 00:40:14,420 It refers to a great falling away from the truth of God's revelation which will occur 470 00:40:14,420 --> 00:40:20,300 in the days immediately preceding that time called the day of the Lord. 471 00:40:20,300 --> 00:40:26,140 Turn over to 1 Timothy chapter 4. 472 00:40:26,140 --> 00:40:29,160 And here we have more indication of the timing. 473 00:40:29,160 --> 00:40:39,020 He says the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith 474 00:40:39,020 --> 00:40:43,920 paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. 475 00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:49,580 In the latter times, that is the closing time of this age in which we live, there will be 476 00:40:49,580 --> 00:41:02,700 a dramatic sudden movement causing Christendom to plunge away from the truth that it once 477 00:41:02,700 --> 00:41:06,080 professed. 478 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:10,540 And it will pay attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines being promoted by demons. 479 00:41:10,540 --> 00:41:18,320 In other words, a lot of the Baalism of our day, humanism that is, a lot of the philosophies 480 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:24,260 and the theologies that come out of all of that have their roots in demons. 481 00:41:24,260 --> 00:41:27,260 Now why are demons involved? 482 00:41:27,260 --> 00:41:33,660 Because you see they control the world system through Satan, or Satan controls it through 483 00:41:33,660 --> 00:41:35,700 them rather. 484 00:41:35,700 --> 00:41:43,300 They control the world system and their goal is to bring about the Antichrist. 485 00:41:43,300 --> 00:41:49,960 And so they work invisibly behind the scenes introducing these new ideas and relevant concepts 486 00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:56,300 and new philosophies and different theologies to bring the thinking of man away from the 487 00:41:56,300 --> 00:42:00,500 truth of God's Word to the lies of Satan. 488 00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:03,780 There is much at work in our day. 489 00:42:03,780 --> 00:42:09,500 Second Timothy chapter 3 with this one we close. 490 00:42:09,500 --> 00:42:16,620 Just realize this that in the last days difficult times will come. 491 00:42:16,620 --> 00:42:21,660 The word means times hard to deal with by God's people. 492 00:42:21,660 --> 00:42:23,540 Pressure packed times. 493 00:42:23,540 --> 00:42:29,500 And then he begins to describe what men will be like and I don't think there's been any 494 00:42:29,500 --> 00:42:35,660 civilization in history that so perfectly fits what's said here than our own. 495 00:42:35,660 --> 00:42:41,540 So skipping to verse 5 he says, holding to a form of godliness. 496 00:42:41,540 --> 00:42:47,140 In other words it will be a outwardly religious thing. 497 00:42:47,140 --> 00:42:50,180 It's not going to be totally secular. 498 00:42:50,180 --> 00:42:52,400 It will be a religious thing. 499 00:42:52,400 --> 00:43:00,940 There will be the structure of religion, a form of godliness, but in its essence it denies 500 00:43:00,940 --> 00:43:04,740 its power, its reality. 501 00:43:04,740 --> 00:43:07,180 He says avoid such men as these. 502 00:43:07,180 --> 00:43:12,500 Dear people that is where Christianity in its broadest sense is heading today. 503 00:43:12,500 --> 00:43:17,360 It's what the Word of God predicts. 504 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:23,300 Those of us who love Jesus Christ, those of us who love the Word of God and believe it, 505 00:43:23,300 --> 00:43:31,580 we are not in the majority and we are mistaken if we think we ever will be. 506 00:43:31,580 --> 00:43:36,200 We are a minority, we are a remnant in this world. 507 00:43:36,200 --> 00:43:42,500 But be encouraged, God has always had a remnant and with that remnant he has accomplished 508 00:43:42,500 --> 00:43:44,820 his purpose. 509 00:43:44,820 --> 00:43:45,820 Are you a part of the saved? 510 00:43:45,820 --> 00:43:49,880 Have you ever trusted Jesus Christ as Savior? 511 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:54,080 Would you do it today if not? 512 00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:57,100 And then what about those of us who are saved? 513 00:43:57,100 --> 00:44:02,940 Stay with me here in 2 Timothy just for a moment as we see four things that we are to 514 00:44:02,940 --> 00:44:09,860 do as we live for Jesus Christ in this day of spiritual apostasy. 515 00:44:09,860 --> 00:44:16,740 These are encouragements, these are exhortations to God's remnant in our day. 516 00:44:16,740 --> 00:44:22,900 Number one, expect persecution. 517 00:44:22,900 --> 00:44:27,340 Number two, expect persecution, number three, verse 12. 518 00:44:27,340 --> 00:44:35,220 He says, indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 519 00:44:35,220 --> 00:44:43,780 We have basically gotten off pretty easily in our own society, but I believe that the 520 00:44:43,780 --> 00:44:49,140 day could well be coming much more quickly than most of us realize if we will live godly 521 00:44:49,140 --> 00:44:54,340 in Christ Jesus, if we will stick with this book, if we will be faithful to Jesus Christ 522 00:44:54,340 --> 00:44:56,780 we will pay a price. 523 00:44:56,780 --> 00:45:01,740 And in that day there will be a sifting won't there? 524 00:45:01,740 --> 00:45:05,460 All who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 525 00:45:05,460 --> 00:45:11,540 My friend that time is at hand. 526 00:45:11,540 --> 00:45:20,260 Number two, continue in the things you have learned, verse 14. 527 00:45:20,260 --> 00:45:24,900 You however continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of knowing from 528 00:45:24,900 --> 00:45:27,060 whom you have learned them. 529 00:45:27,060 --> 00:45:32,100 In other words, he says in those days there is going to be a lot of pressure for you to 530 00:45:32,100 --> 00:45:34,340 change. 531 00:45:34,340 --> 00:45:40,300 New ideas will be presented to you convincing arguments as to why what you have been taught 532 00:45:40,300 --> 00:45:42,900 from your youth is not true. 533 00:45:42,900 --> 00:45:48,940 But he says continue in those things that you have learned knowing from whom you have 534 00:45:48,940 --> 00:45:51,140 learned them. 535 00:45:51,140 --> 00:45:56,580 In Timothy's case it was his godly mother and grandmother and from Paul himself. 536 00:45:56,580 --> 00:46:01,820 In your case it's from that godly pastor back home or those parents of yours that raised 537 00:46:01,820 --> 00:46:05,540 you up in a Christian home and who pray for you. 538 00:46:05,540 --> 00:46:11,780 It's that person who disciples you. 539 00:46:11,780 --> 00:46:12,780 Continue in those things. 540 00:46:12,780 --> 00:46:14,060 Do not be swayed. 541 00:46:14,060 --> 00:46:17,580 Do not compromise what you have been taught. 542 00:46:17,580 --> 00:46:23,260 You sit in the alien atmosphere of a classroom in college or university and you hear someone 543 00:46:23,260 --> 00:46:29,180 say things that do not match with what you have learned from people you trust. 544 00:46:29,180 --> 00:46:33,820 It doesn't correlate with what you understand the word of God to mean. 545 00:46:33,820 --> 00:46:40,940 And look at it very, very carefully and continue in those things that are true. 546 00:46:40,940 --> 00:46:43,220 Three, preach the word. 547 00:46:43,220 --> 00:46:44,620 And only continue it. 548 00:46:44,620 --> 00:46:45,620 Preach it. 549 00:46:45,620 --> 00:46:46,620 Chapter four verse two. 550 00:46:46,620 --> 00:46:49,660 It doesn't make any difference if people listen or not. 551 00:46:49,660 --> 00:46:51,340 That's not the important thing. 552 00:46:51,340 --> 00:46:53,340 Just declare it. 553 00:46:53,340 --> 00:46:55,860 Isaiah was told to go and preach. 554 00:46:55,860 --> 00:46:58,340 Nobody would listen, said God, but go and preach anyway. 555 00:46:58,340 --> 00:47:01,380 Jeremiah the same thing. 556 00:47:01,380 --> 00:47:06,140 Nobody would listen to poor Jeremiah and here he is out here with all these antics trying 557 00:47:06,140 --> 00:47:10,780 to communicate to the people of Israel that judgment was coming and nobody would listen. 558 00:47:10,780 --> 00:47:13,580 God said, that's okay, Jeremiah. 559 00:47:13,580 --> 00:47:16,700 Tell them what's going to happen anyway. 560 00:47:16,700 --> 00:47:20,800 You and I are called upon to be exactly the same way in a day of apostasy, just like those 561 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:24,580 prophets of old. 562 00:47:24,580 --> 00:47:27,940 And then in verse five of chapter four, we're to be balanced. 563 00:47:27,940 --> 00:47:33,820 In a day of extremism, it's easy to become an extremist. 564 00:47:33,820 --> 00:47:37,300 And we want with the grace of God to avoid that, don't we? 565 00:47:37,300 --> 00:47:40,340 He says, but you be sober in all things. 566 00:47:40,340 --> 00:47:44,300 The word sober means to be steadfast. 567 00:47:44,300 --> 00:47:47,780 It means not to be shaken. 568 00:47:47,780 --> 00:47:50,340 It means to have your wits about you. 569 00:47:50,340 --> 00:47:54,940 It means to be in control of what's going on. 570 00:47:54,940 --> 00:48:01,500 And he puts it in the present tense, he means continually live that way, be balanced. 571 00:48:01,500 --> 00:48:05,060 And then he says three things that seem to be subordinate to that idea. 572 00:48:05,060 --> 00:48:07,300 He changes the tense of the verbs. 573 00:48:07,300 --> 00:48:11,420 He says, endure hardship when it comes. 574 00:48:11,420 --> 00:48:14,580 Do the work of an evangelist as you have opportunity. 575 00:48:14,580 --> 00:48:19,960 Fulfill your ministry every chance you get. 576 00:48:19,960 --> 00:48:24,620 And in doing those things, you will be balanced. 577 00:48:24,620 --> 00:48:31,980 So how are we to live in a day of apostasy, a day when God's judgment is preparing to 578 00:48:31,980 --> 00:48:36,380 fall upon apostate Christendom? 579 00:48:36,380 --> 00:48:42,460 We are to do exactly what it tells us to do here, to expect persecution, but nonetheless 580 00:48:42,460 --> 00:48:48,740 to continue in the things that we've learned and to preach them in season, out of season, 581 00:48:48,740 --> 00:48:53,460 with all boldness to declare it to the world, not just from the pulpit, but out there in 582 00:48:53,460 --> 00:48:55,780 the office and the letters of the editor column. 583 00:48:55,780 --> 00:48:59,180 Wherever you have opportunity, tell them what God says. 584 00:48:59,180 --> 00:49:03,420 If they don't listen, tell them anyway. 585 00:49:03,420 --> 00:49:04,420 And then be balanced. 586 00:49:04,420 --> 00:49:12,820 Is that what your life is today? 587 00:49:12,820 --> 00:49:20,140 Is your life in sync with what God expects from you as one of the remnant? 588 00:49:20,140 --> 00:49:21,740 I hope it is. 589 00:49:21,740 --> 00:49:26,540 If not, will you make the decisions necessary today to get your life back in step with the 590 00:49:26,540 --> 00:49:28,780 Lord's plan for your life? 591 00:49:28,780 --> 00:49:30,780 Let's pray. 592 00:49:30,780 --> 00:49:40,160 Father God, I pray that you will bring to a fitting conclusion in each heart what the 593 00:49:40,160 --> 00:49:44,340 Spirit has been saying. 594 00:49:44,340 --> 00:49:49,380 And if there are some of us today that need to make specific public commitments, then 595 00:49:49,380 --> 00:49:56,100 may we have the courage and the faithfulness and the sincere repentance perhaps to come 596 00:49:56,100 --> 00:49:57,820 forward and indicate that publicly. 597 00:49:57,820 --> 00:50:02,820 Lord, if there be someone here without Christ today altogether who may even be a part of 598 00:50:02,820 --> 00:50:08,340 that which is falling away so very fast from the faith, from the truth, may they today 599 00:50:08,340 --> 00:50:19,340 come out and trust the Savior, be a part of your remnant in these last days in Jesus' 600 00:50:19,340 --> 00:50:20,500 name, amen.