Let's take our Bibles and turn in them to the book of Romans. We're going to look at the first thirteen verses of the ninth chapter today in a message that I've entitled, The Sovereign Selection of God. And so with that, why don't we stand to our feet that we might bow our hearts in the presence of God today. Father, we just find ourselves humbled in Your presence. We're just so grateful to be here to learn of You. But Lord, it's not that we just want to learn Your Word, we want to live Your Word. And so God, I pray that you would pour your spirit out in this time, that you would take us and teach us and mold us from glory to greater glory as by your spirit, just through the seed of your word finding root in the soil of our hearts. And so we give this time to you, Lord. Give us focus, free us from distracting cares, and help us, God, to hear you. and again, to respond appropriately to you, and we ask it in Jesus' holy name. Amen? Amen. Why don't you have a seat there? Guys, we're coming into a section of the book of Romans over the next three chapters that speaks to God's sovereign righteousness, both His personal righteousness and His provided righteousness. And the primary focus of chapters 9 through 11 is upon the nation of Israel. Chapter 9 speaks to Israel's election. Chapter 10 speaks of their present rejection. And chapter 11 speaking of the prophetic restoration of the nation. Now if you were to just read straight through the book of Romans and you got to chapter 8 and of course carried on into chapter 9, you would note what seems to be at least initially a sudden shift in Paul's demeanor. And he goes, if you can recall or recollect, he goes from these encouraging words how we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. And that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. And then he turns the corner and he's lamenting the lost condition of his nation. And we kind of scratch our heads and wonder at what seems to be a disjointed, almost random departure of previous thought. But it's not. In fact, if you follow the flow, it fits perfectly. The flow of thought would be something like this. Paul, you have been saying, you have been sharing that we are safe, that we are secure in the love of God, in the salvation of God. Yet, correct me if I'm wrong, but Israel seemed to be in that place once as well, but now it seems as though having missed their Messiah, they're not in that place anymore. And so if it can happen to Israel, well then who's to say that it can't happen to me? And so Paul takes on this topic, of Israel, election and how God's plan and purposes are fulfilled all under the umbrella of His sovereignty. Now having said that, I need to say this. The topic of election that Paul brings to the table over the next three chapters is within the context of national election, not individual election. In fact, he's careful to point out that he's speaking of Jews and Gentiles as people groups, not individual saints and sinners. And it's important that you realize that. Because some of you have, okay, let me make sure. How many of you have read in advance the text that we're in today? Come on. Okay, so at least eight of you have read in advance what we're going to be speaking of today, and perhaps you guys are already wondering, like, how's he going to handle verse 13? Now, the rest of you don't get to look at it now. You missed your opportunity. But when God refers to Jacob and Esau in that passage, He's not speaking of the individuals, He's speaking of the nations they became. And the words, I'll give you a teaser trailer, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated, were uttered some 1,500 years after they lived. They were at that point the nations of Edom and Israel. Beyond that, The context with which those words were uttered were within the confines of the covenant. He's saying that with regard to the covenant, Jacob or Israel he has accepted but Esau he had utterly rejected. Pertaining to their individual lives, guys, you can do the work, you can look it up, they were both blessed men, they were both wealthy men, they both became nations. But pertaining to the covenant, God elected Jacob. He rejected Esau. Now, you don't got to wonder what I'm going to say. I just said it, okay? So let's turn our attention to the first couple of verses of Romans chapter 9. And as for the rest of you, read ahead next time. I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience bearing witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. So let's stop right there. Paul goes, you remember in our remarks just opening, I told you from these words of grandeur and this summit of glory to sorrow and continual grief. To the positive, he says, I tell you the truth in Christ. And to the negative, he says, I am not lying. And before God, he says, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit. Guys, I am not sure that it is possible to give a stronger affirmation of honesty. Paul is preparing to say something so shocking, so radical, that he wants us to know beyond any shadow of doubt, he's not exaggerating, he is not embellishing for the sake of impact. This is truly where his heart is at. It is aching relentlessly over the spiritual position, the lost condition of his own nation due to their rejection of Jesus Christ. And what adds to our admiration of the apostle in this is the fact that his own countrymen wanted to kill him. I mean, they pursued Him, they persecuted Him, they beat Him, whipped Him, sought multiple times in different fashions to kill Him. But He knew what was happening in them because He was once one of them. in fact, a primary ringleader among them. He was, you remember, a Pharisee of Pharisees. He told the Galatians, I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. He thought he was doing God a favor and seeking to snuff out the church and he would have converts captured, placed on trial, he would cast his vote against them that they would be put to death. But having met Jesus Christ, having seen Jesus for who He is, having been saved and set apart through faith in Him, Paul wasn't angry at them for their hatred of Him, his heart broke for them. He had compassion for them. His heart was that they, like He, might have an encounter with Christ as well, that their eyes would be opened and their hearts would be changed. I've discovered, perhaps you have as well, that we tend to have a greater empathy and compassion for people who are trapped where we ourselves once were. You know their mindset. You know what they're thinking and why they're acting the way that they are. And you know that God loves them and that God wants to save them. And so your heart aches for them and you want desperately for them to have an encounter with Jesus that will change them forever. This is where Paul is at, but they're found constantly fighting against God. We'll look at verse 3. He says, For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren. my countrymen according to the flesh. Guys, do you see why Paul was like, listen, I'm gonna tell you something here, and I ain't playing. I am serious, because what he's saying, again, so radical, that if these words weren't bearing witness by the Holy Spirit, in other words, if they were not inspired scripture, I'm just gonna be honest, I don't know if I could believe him. Guys, he says, for I could wish that I myself were accursed, look at that word, underline that word, from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh, the Jews. This word accursed is the word anathema. You could understand it, I could wish that I was separated from Christ and devoted to destruction forever. In other words, Paul is saying that if it meant salvation for the Jews, he'd be willing himself to be confined forever to hell. Ladies and gentlemen, this is love. This is compassion on a level that I don't understand. Oh, we can envision. being willing to stand in the gap honestly without shadow of doubt or twinge of hesitation. Yes, for our children, perhaps our spouse, you know, if you got a good one. I did. But Paul's talking about a willingness to suffer the wrath of God against sin for a people who hated him. who wanted him dead. And guys, when I think about this, I could be wrong, but I believe Paul may have come to a place in his walk with God where his heart was closer to Christ's, made more like Jesus. I know this is a big statement, but maybe possibly more than any other person that ever lived. If not, he's certainly in that top tier group of people. By top tier, I mean most humble, you're right. Inversion, but he's certainly in that refined group of people. If what we're reading here isn't the heart of Christ, I don't know what is. I mean, Jesus didn't die just for his friends. He didn't die for those just who followed him or who loved him. He died for the ungodly, those who hated Him, those who wanted nothing to do with Him. Remember these words just a few short chapters ago? For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Moses, you may recall, having spent extended time with God, had a heart like this as well. After receiving the Ten Commandments, he came down from the mountain to find the children of Israel. And there they were, they were partying, they were committing idolatry, they were engaged in illicit behavior around the golden calf. And Moses came unglued, man, in a righteous kind of way. And the people were purged of the rebellious among them. And Moses made intercession for the rest that remained. And as he prayed, he said, Oh, these people have committed a great sin and have made for themselves a god of gold. Yet now, if you will, forgive their sin. But if not, I pray, blot me out of your book which you have written." To which God essentially responded, Moses, don't tell me what to do. And each one will be accountable for each their own sin. But this heart of being willing to be sacrificed for the souls of others, Paul was willing to stay out of heaven for the saved. You can write it down and read it later. It's Philippians chapter 1, verses 23 through 26. Remember, I'm hard-pressed, I don't know what to do, because to depart and to be with the Lord is far greater, but to be with you is needful. And he said, well, I'm just going to stay. He's willing to stay out of heaven for the sake of the saved, but he's willing to go to hell for the sake of the lost. Here's my question. How heavy is your heart for the sake of the lost? For the sake of lost souls. For the souls of men that apart from Christ will leave this planet under the heavy hand of eternal condemnation and separation from God. Guys, I want you to think this through, because we allow our hearts to be pained over petty things. You know, what people say of us, how people seem to treat us, or what they think of us, fill in the blank. I agree with Charles Spurgeon. He said, you'll be delivered from petty worries if you're concerned for the souls of men. He said, get your soul full of the great grief and the little griefs will be driven out. Paul says, the anguish of my soul is for the salvation of my people. Verse 4, who are Israelites to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God and the promises of whom are the fathers and from whom according to the flesh Christ came who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. Amen. For Paul, this is like adding insult to injury. God had, as we say, set Israel up for success. Here we have an overview of the advantages, a listing of the blessings and benefits that God had given to Israel that He gave to no other nation on the face of the earth throughout all of human history. throughout the history of all of humanity. He gave them the adoption notice, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, be it in the priesthood or the prophets. The priesthood being in view here, but I throw the prophets in for good measure. The promises, the patriarchs, and in the pinnacle of it all, the Messiah. Paul's pain is all the more magnified and profound in the light of these privileges that God had extended to them. The adoption. Family, there is no other nation on earth that God called His child. But when Pharaoh there during the days of the exodus to Pharaoh, God told Moses to admonish him, Israel is my son. my firstborn. And if you don't let my son go, God told Pharaoh, I'll kill your son." Think about that. Israel is the only nation God ever called His own. He chose them over every nation on the face of the earth. Not because they were so great. Not because they were more righteous than anyone else. In fact, God told them that they were a stiff-necked, rebellious, hard-hearted people. So why were they chosen? They were trophies of His grace. And so too with you, and so too with me. God called us, you know, we tend to think. that God called us because of something, you know, great that we had that He could really use, you know. He saw your dedication. Man, He saw your determination. He saw your devotion. Your skill set was second to none. He said, I got to have you, you know, kind of a thing. I'm going to tell you something. That is not what the Bible teaches at all. The Bible nowhere declares that we were chosen to the glory of God's wisdom. but to the glory of His grace, so that throughout all of eternity, as the angels speak with us, or perhaps from a distance gaze upon us, they'll be perpetually amazed, blown away by the mercy and the kindness and the grace that God extended to us. We don't deserve it. But God is so gracious. The glory. Which other nation was ever guided by a pillar of fire by night for decades? And a pillar of cloud by day? Which other nation ever saw the manifest The word is shekinah, glory of God abiding in their tabernacles, showing up at the dedication of the temple, shining in the temple. Guys, the glory of God does not manifest in like manner in the church today. Now you have the Spirit of God abiding in you. making real in you the presence of God. But they day after day, study the account, their tents would surround the temple and they would be facing the opening of their tent...pardon me, the tabernacle, the opening of their tents during the days of the wilderness wandering when they would stop to camp would always face the tabernacle. In fact, it's a pretty fascinating study. They were actually laid out in the form of a cross around it. But every morning they would get up, they would come out their tent. You know, kind of a thing. That's my, anyone ever used to watch Bugs Bunny, Looney Tunes in the morning, they would always come out and I'm sorry. But they would come out and there it would be. The pillar of cloud, the glory of God. They would see it every day. The covenants. God made covenants with Abraham, with Moses. He made a covenant with David that the Messiah would come through him. In which other nation did He ever move or minister in like manner? The giving of the law. God never gave the Gentiles His law to guide them or govern them. It was Israel who heard His voice booming from Mount Sinai to whom He gifted His law. The service of God. God gave Israel the priesthood. He ministered to them through the prophets. Again, be it the sacrificial system, be it the ministry of the tabernacle, Israel alone was blessed through the privilege of priestly service. The promises. I mean, be it the promise of land. We call it the promised land. Promises of blessing through obedience, the preserving of a remnant. restoration, serving Him through the millennial kingdom, again, the promise of the Messiah. He gave them the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the 12 tribes of Israel, and again, the pinnacle of it all, Jesus Himself who, notice, is overall the eternally blessed God. He came through the nation of Israel. Guys, I'm not sure you're going to find a stronger scriptural affirmation of the deity of Jesus Christ, the eternally blessed God. But what profound privileges, what blessings and benefits God extended to Israel. This is why Paul is so pained that they did not recognize their Redeemer. Look at verse 6. We'll read through the remainder of our passage here. He says, But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect, for they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children because they are of the seed of Abraham, but in Isaac your seed shall be called. That is, those who are the children of the flesh, These are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as seed. For this is the word of promise, at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even our father Isaac, for the children not yet having been born, or not yet being born and having done nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God, according to the election, might stand, not of works, but of him who calls. It was said to her, the older shall serve the younger, as it is written, now you see it, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. So Paul moves from the blessing of election to the basis for election. With the refusal to recognize their Messiah, the question is considered. Does that mean God's Word didn't hold? Does that mean His promise failed? And if God's Word didn't hold true for Israel, how can I trust that it will hold true for me? You see where this is going. This is kind of the back and forth Q&A that Paul is contending with. And he responds, Paul responds, no, it's not that God's Word hasn't taken effect. It's that there's a principle in place that you don't understand. By the way, can I just throw this out there? Anytime something, somewhere seems amiss to us that pertains to Scripture, the word isn't wrong. We are. Now, our arrogance and our pride prefers to find fault with anyone or anywhere but within ourselves. The problem is never with Scripture. The problem is in our perception or our understanding of Scripture. What's the principle that Paul points out here? Well, it's found in verse 6. You can underline it if you like, highlight it, maybe make a note of it. They are not all Israel who are of Israel. That's the principle that he's dealing with. You say, well, what does that mean? Well, he's making a play on words. The word Israel means governed by God. Perhaps you remember when the name Israel came into fruition. Jacob, there he was, and he was wrestling with God. like wrestling with God. It's found in Genesis 32. It's a fascinating read. You can write it down. You can read it later. Now, it happened literally there. But though it happened literally, physically, that he was engaging compatibly with the Lord there, it was basically indicative of his entire life. The name Jacob means liar. It means deceiver. It means trickster or literally heel catcher, one who trips up another. And Jacob lived up to his name. But when he wrestled with God, I'm going to tell you something, God broke him. You know, you have, some of you may know more than others if you've ever grappled or you've ever been a part of any kind of community like that, athletics, whatever. Some people, they just don't have any quit in them. I mean, they will not quit. And Jacob was this kind of guy. And I've, listen, Some of you know I did jiu-jitsu for years and years. And I have, they call it rolling. I have rolled with guys for like 45 minutes in the upwards of an hour. Normally a round is like five minutes. But sometimes they go, we're just gonna go till someone gives up or taps or quits or whatever. It's exhausting. Jacob rolled with the Lord all night. He would not quit, no quit in him. Finally, as the sun was coming up, the Lord touched his hip, dislocated, disjointed his hip. He said, your walk is going to be different. He broke Jacob. You can tell Jacob was stubborn because he rolled all night. But my point is this, God is the only one who can increase the value of a vessel by breaking it. If you have been broken by the Lord, man, you need to thank him for it. But Jacob, there he was, he was clinging desperately to the Lord. Albeit exhausted, but still just hanging on, refusing to let him go. By the way, another great place to be. Desperately clinging to the Lord. And the Lord made him say it. He said, What's your name? He made him say it, Jacob. I'm a liar. Deceiver is my And the Lord said, Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed. In other words, no longer are you going to be fighting against God. You're going to be governed by God. Are you with me? But here's what Paul is saying. circle back, he's saying not everyone who is of Israel is actually Israel. Let me say that in a way that is going to connect with you. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is a Christian. even having a Christian heritage. You had a grandpa who was a preacher. You had a mom and a dad who were strong believers. It does not place you in God's favor, does not give you amnesty or grant you access to the kingdom of God. If you have not been born again by the Spirit of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you are not governed by God, you have not been broken by God, you are not Israel. Are you with me? Just being Jewish is not enough. Just being a descendant of Abraham does not save you. You may recall the religious leaders tried that one on Jesus one day. They proudly proclaimed, hey, Abraham is our father. Remember, God made a covenant with Abraham. Abraham is our father, to which Jesus basically responded, yeah, you're Abraham's descendants, but you're not Abraham's children. If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham, meaning, you would rejoice in truth and walk by faith. And that's why Paul points out that Abraham had more than one son. Because simply being a descendant of Abraham, just coming from a Christian family, doesn't do anything for you. Ishmael was of the flesh. And you can go back and do your own research with that, we don't have time to delve into all of that. Ishmael, however you want to say his name, he was a product of Abraham's effort to help God out. How many of you understand God does not need our help in fulfilling His promise? God rejected Abraham's efforts and said, no, no, no, no. At this time next year, I will come and Sarah is going to have the son. Not Hagar. Not the handmaiden. Sarah is going to have a son. In other words, God was going to bring to pass His promise through the power of His Spirit. And so what we have here is Isaac representing the children of promise, those who are of faith, and Ishmael representing one's own works or the byproduct of trying to please God through the efforts of the flesh, which just BTW, God will never recognize. God will never recognize the efforts of our flesh. Okay, verse 10 again, and not only this, he says, But when Rebekah also had conceived by one man, even our father Isaac for the children, not yet being born nor having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of him who calls, it was said to her...this was said to her when she was pregnant, the older shall serve the younger. And then, 1,500 years later, as it is written, Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated. Now, we basically already discussed that, so I'm going to let that lie where I told you earlier. But ladies and gentlemen, the pill that I'm going to present you with is going to be a tough one to swallow. But you're going to have to choke it down if you want to remain biblical rather than biased, okay? The reasons for God's election of nations and peoples, why he chooses one and not another, are found in no other arena outside of the majesty and the mystery of his sovereignty. Now we can wrap our head around, yeah? We can wrap our head around why God chose Isaac over Ishmael. You know, you had that whole spirit and flesh thing, the struggle that I'm going to help God out, I'm not getting any younger and it seems like maybe he forgot about me, I'm going to go ahead and do what I can to help him fulfill his promise to me and all of that. We can understand that he would reject Abraham's efforts and bring to pass his promise by his spirit. But why did he choose Jacob to be the heir of his covenant over his twin brother, born first, Esau? Well, you might say, well, because Esau was a carnal man. He was interested only in material things. He was all about fulfilling the desire of his flesh. He sold his birthright for a bowl of stew. And concerning every one of those things, you would be correct. Perhaps those things factored in in some measure, in some way, but family, don't miss it. Paul goes out of his way. He bends over backwards here to assure us that God chose Jacob over Esau. Did you read it? Before they were born, neither of them having done good or evil. In other words, his election was not performance based, it was purpose based. Did you catch that in verse 11? Why did God choose Jacob over Esau? That the purpose of God, according to election, might stand. Not of works, but of him who calls. Now we're going to see this a little bit more next time, so we're going to let it go for now. Suffice it for now to say that God did not choose Esau because he knew what a rascal he was going to turn out to be. Trust me when I tell you. And I mentioned it a little bit earlier, Jacob was no model of godliness for a good chunk of his life. In their youth, they were different as night and day. Jacob was kind of a mama's boy. He was always hanging out in the kitchen. He was learning how to cook with mom. Nothing wrong with that. Esau was the man's man. He hung out with dad in the garage all the time. He went hunting. He was, you know, he was that guy. So though they were kind of different as night and day, on the one hand, on the other hand, man, these guys were two peas in a pod. Neither one of them were real great upstanding moral kind of characters. So the reason for God's choosing wasn't found in Jacob's character. The reason was found in him who calls. When God shows grace or mercy, it is not a testament to something great found in you or me. It's a testament to something great found in Him. The true mystery isn't why did God reject Esau, it's why did He accept Jacob? Or you? Or me? Know this, we're going to close with this. God does not choose for arbitrary reasons. You know, God doesn't go, well, eeny, meeny, miny, moe. The reasons for which he chooses are beyond our ability to grasp. They're always right and they're always fair. Now, when you wonder, will not the judge of all the earth do right? Remember, that was what Abraham, the question Abraham, well, I mean, you can rest assured, absolutely, yes, he will always do right. He has a plan. He has a purpose. Now, listen to this. Somewhere in there, that includes you. God has chosen you. Ladies and gentlemen, don't wrestle with it. Rejoice in it. Rest in it. How it should humble our hearts that God would choose. Behold what manner of love The Father has given unto us that we should be called the children of God. So let's bow our hearts, man. And let's thank him for that even now. Father, truly, our hearts are humbled before you. And we thank you for sending Jesus Christ to save us, for calling us your own. And we recognize that In calling us to yourself, it doesn't testify of anything great in us, Lord, but it glorifies everything great about you. And I pray that our lives would honor you, bring glory to you both now and forever. And if you're here, maybe you showed up with family. Maybe you showed up with friends. Maybe you've been here a few weeks. I don't know what your story is. Maybe it's your first time here. You're thinking, man, I don't know. I'm not saved. Does that mean God didn't choose me? Well, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll discover that he did. God's not willing that any should perish. That's not his desire. He wants all to come to repentance. Now, you can rebel. or you can repent, the choice is yours. I encourage you to turn from your sin, to trust in Jesus and be saved. So if the Lord be knocking on the door of your heart this morning and you're, hey, it's a new year, I wanna let you know, man, we serve a God of new beginnings. Doesn't matter where you've been, doesn't matter what you've done, God loves you. And He demonstrated His love for you in that while you were in your rebellious, sinful, wanting-nothing-to-do-with-Him condition, Christ died for you. And no greater love has anyone than this. And so if you wanna open the door of your heart, you wanna believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, I wanna pray for you. I'm just gonna ask that you would just raise your hand if that's for you. And if I see your hand, I'll say so, you can put it back down. But I wanna give you a second to say, you know what? I don't wanna miss this moment. My life's gonna change forever. I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Is that anyone here today? Now's your time. God bless you, man. Anyone else? You can put your hand down. Anyone else? Don't miss it. I'm just encouraging you. Okay, well listen. I understand a principle that when a hand goes up before me, really what happens is a heart opens up before God. The Bible says, whoever calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved. Wow. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever would believe on him would never perish but have everlasting life. Now the Bible says that we all sin, we all fall short of the glory of God. We've been given another precious promise that if we will confess our sin, He is faithful, He is just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. And so I can't believe for you, man, that's something you got to do between you and the Lord. And I just encourage you to reach down to that deepest place of your heart that you can. Just get on your face before Him in your heart. And just say, Lord, here I am. I believe on you. With all that I can. With all that I am. I am a sinner. And I'm not making an excuse for it. I'm not trying to justify it. I just confess it. I agree with you, God. I'm asking you to forgive me of my sin, to cleanse me of all unrighteousness and make me new. Fill me with your Holy Spirit, God. Make yourself real to me and help me to lead my life for you from this moment forward till I see you face to face. And thanks for putting my name in your book of life. I want to tell you the Bible says that if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things pass away. Behold, all things become new. We live in here different than you came in in Jesus name. Angels of heaven rejoice. over one that repents. Well, God, we thank you for your mercy toward us. Surely you are great and you are greatly to be praised. I pray that the adoration of our heart would ascend to you. That, God, you would search us and know us, you would try us, see if there'd be any wicked way in us, that you would lead us in the way everlasting. We need you, God. Lord, we ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.