Book of Romans - Ch. 9, Vs. 1-16 (03/12/2000)

Park Meadows Church

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Open your Bibles to the Book of Romans, to the 9th chapter, please. Verse 1.

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I say the truth in Christ, I lie not. My conscience also bearing me witness in the

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Holy Ghost. Now, before we start this chapter, I must warn you that this chapter deals with the doctrine of election.

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And it is not for newborn. It's not for brand new

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Christians. It was at this time that the events in Acts took place, and I'd like for you to turn to the 23rd chapter of Acts and follow along beginning with verse 12.

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Paul, all of his Christian life, was receiving persecution from his own people.

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Up until he was notified that he belonged to God, he was persecuting the

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Christians, the very ones that he now has joined. If you'll follow along in Acts 23, verse 12.

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And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed

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Paul. There were more than 40 which made this conspiracy.

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Now, the last we ever heard of these men was that they died from starvation. Paul says it is of a truth.

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Now, I am not lying to you, and I call on the Holy Spirit to witness the fact that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

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David, what does he mean, he's continually sorry or sorrowful in his heart?

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Heaviness, the word heaviness. He's very burdened with his own people, the

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Jews, that they don't receive Christ. But he was not, the

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Jew was not his commission, the Gentile was. He always went to the

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Jew first, wherever he went. Then in the third verse, and I want us to be sure and understand this verse,

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Paul continues, For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

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The word accursed in some translations will have anathema. Let's see if we can find out the meaning of his use of the word accursed.

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Greg, you're the one with the dictionary. But what does it mean as it's used here?

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I wish myself were accursed from Christ. All right.

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Joy? I wish myself were to be separated from God.

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I believe. As far as I'm concerned. He could give his life for them.

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He won't. Clearance? I read that as something.

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If he could exchange his salvation and go to hell for people he was trying to show the right way, he would gladly do so, even though he knows he wouldn't be able to.

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But he would be willing to sacrifice his own voice in heaven to save.

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That's a strong statement. He didn't know what he was saying.

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I think he knew exactly what he was saying. I think he did. I just think he had such a love and compassion for him that he thought that if he could have done that, he would have.

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Even though he knows it wouldn't be possible. Well, let's dig a little deeper. Bill? He was sober.

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I don't think that's what he was saying. All right.

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Did anyone look up the word accursed or anathema? How are you going to learn if you don't study?

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The expression accursed or anathema, the apostle here does not speak of a wish as a possible thing.

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Of course, we know it's not possible. It is a simple, though vehement expression of feeling, showing how strong was his desire for the salvation of his people.

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The word accursed means this in this place. It is not that he would trade his salvation, but that he would spend the rest of his life separated from God on this earth, and that he would give his physical body for that, just like Moses was willing to die physically for his people.

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Paul's saying that he would give his body as a sacrifice for the welfare of his people.

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Now, it's very seldom that you'll find even a good man that will give his life for another.

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Jesus gave his life for us on the cross, and Paul was so burdened that he would go as far as he could possibly go, and that would be giving himself as a sacrifice for his people.

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Of course, that didn't happen, and it wouldn't happen. And if you want to interpret it that he would give his salvation, that's all right, but I don't think he went that far.

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Is there any other comments from anybody? Well, maybe he made the statement, knowing full well that that's from God.

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Well, he knew that. He'd give his life. He certainly understood far more than we do about his position in Christ.

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The definition that I have here is that he was separated.

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David, do you have some further information? Yes, if you look at Exodus 32, verse 32, it says,

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And I think that book is a book that the

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Jews kept, that they were just living people on the earth. It was physical.

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It referenced physical death. So, that's a little problem that I have here.

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That would lend itself to your interpretation, that he would be willing to be separated from Christ, and his life, and his brothers and sisters.

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I've never thought of it that way until right now, but I think that's a good thought, because it's hard as a

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Christian to even contemplate that anyone could get to a place where they could honestly say,

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I would want to be separated from Christ forever once we do Christ, for anybody, for any reason.

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I mean, that would be hard to comprehend any Christian getting to that point.

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Well, of course, it would be an impossibility. But he would be infringing upon God's power to do that, because God's the one who called him and saved him.

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And to reverse that would be impossible. But it would be possible, under strange circumstances, to live a separated life, a hermit, whatever, or someone else.

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All this is doing is showing us the deep feeling that Paul had for his people.

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Anything else? Verse 4, he continues now.

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Well, let me back up to 3. Before I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, who are

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Israelites, to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises, whose are the fathers, of whom, as concerning the flesh,

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Christ came. Jesus came as a descendant of David in the flesh, yet he was virgin -born, had no earthly father.

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He had to be virgin -born, so he would not have the sin nature passed on by the man, not the woman.

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Concerning the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever.

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Christ is over all. Jesus Christ is the one by whom all things consist.

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Now, what does the word consist bring to mind? Glue. Hold together.

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In fact, we get our word glue from the same root that consist comes from. He is the glue that holds everything together.

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I challenge you to think about that this week. If it were not for him, and that power, things are not together.

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What are they, Bill? They are all. I can't even think in that realm.

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Verse 6. Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are not all

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Israel which are of Israel. Now he is getting into something that may be a little bit confusing, but let's be sure.

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Israel had the visible presence of the Lord, the Shekinah glory. Remember that? Everybody remember that?

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Anybody not remember that? Well then, Russell, explain to me the

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Shekinah glory. Where is

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Roger? He passed away. I think

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I recognize that voice. I can just see the top of his head.

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Explain to us the Shekinah glory. Show us.

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All right, but no one's told me yet what

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Shekinah is. Dennis? Mrs.

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Fisher? You won't be when you go home.

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Let's get to Diane. It's the light. He had a glow, the light of the

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Shekinah glory. And those that were able to go before him in the presence had that glow.

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Now Christ Jesus is our Shekinah glory. All right.

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So we don't have that eminent glow, but they should see Christ in it. All right.

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David, why do we not have this Shekinah glory like the Israelites did?

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Well, this, this means last days God revealed to us that we have the

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Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Right. They didn't have that. They did not have the indwelling

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Holy Spirit. The Jew demanded a sign. It had to be something that they could see. And God provided, not because they desired it, but because he desired that his presence would be made visible by a flame, a fire, a brilliance.

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We have no words to describe it. It was a flashing force that was visible, extremely visible.

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It was a brighter light than man has ever seen, yet it would not hurt your eyes to look at it.

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Now, how do you explain that? He didn't shield their face from the

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Holy Spirit. The rest of the people kind of shied away. Yes. They just couldn't look him in the eye.

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Right. They were fearful. And he put a veil over his face to let them come and talk to him.

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His whole appearance, not only his face, but his whole appearance. That's right. All right.

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Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, but they are all children, but in Isaac shall the seed be called.

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That is, they which are the children of the flesh. These are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

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Why are we called the children of promise? Clarence?

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The Old Testament is referring to God's promise of Abraham and Isaac and the children's nation and the nation of God.

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We are because of our... Okay.

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And it all started with the birth of Isaac. Well, it started before with the promise of the son.

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Remember, they had another son, Ishmael, that was not the child of promise.

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This was one that he and his wife and a handmaid conjured up. And God says,

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No way. And Abraham loved that child and wanted it, but God said,

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No. All right. You're not a child of God just because your parents are.

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Is that true or false? John 8, 39.

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Go to that, please. Diane, read 39 and 40 and 44, please.

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You want 39, 40, and what? 44. 44, okay. They answered and said unto him,

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Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, If you were Abraham's children, he would do the works of Abraham.

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But now you seek to kill me and men that have told you the truth, which I have heard of God, this did not

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Abraham. And then you want 44? Yes. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father he will do.

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He was a murderer from the beginning and a vote not of the truth, because there is no truth in him.

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When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.

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All right. Extremely hard words to these Pharisees.

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True. But I want you to see something else. In verse 44,

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Jesus says, You are of your father the devil, and you will do whatever he does.

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Now, if that's true for the unsaved, how true is it for the saved?

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Are we of our father God? Will we do that which he wants done or that he does?

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If it's true on one side, it's got to be true on the other. In verse 9,

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For this is the word of promise. At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.

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Goes right back to Isaac. And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father

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Isaac. For the children being not yet born, hold on to your seats.

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Neither having done any good or evil, how could they before they were born?

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Strange as it may seem, at the time Jesus was on earth, Christ was here, the

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Jews believed in a form of reincarnation. And they also believed that the fetus could sin.

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Do you remember, I think it was Peter asked the Lord, Who sinned?

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This man or his parents? That this man was born blind? Think about that.

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So it's not mentioned much except in just a few hidden statements. But this is what they believed.

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Now, For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, but that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth.

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It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have

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I loved, but Esau have I hated. This proves that there are two seeds in this world.

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I want you to get that fixed in your mind forever. You'll hear lots of opposition to that.

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You'll hear a lot of preaching that tries to tear that down. But that's not what's in the

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Bible. The Bible tells us very plain that Satan has his people and God has his people here.

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Well, that brings up a whole lot of questions. Since God is the ordainer of everything and the controller of everything, why did he make people that belong to Satan?

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Clarence, that's a good question for you. Well, that's true.

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And do what everyone? Can we find any logical reason to the fact that the children of Satan are in the world?

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Bill? All right.

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How do you prove that? Well, how do you prove that? Has that been shown to those people that aren't his people?

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If you're his, you need to reflect that in some way.

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And you need to reflect it in the presence of those things in the world around you that might interfere with that projection.

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If everybody else is doing the same thing that you're doing, then you're doing it because everybody else is.

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And so you need to be tested in the presence of opposition.

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Okay. That's what I'm trying to say. But doesn't it also say, in testing you show yourself? In the testing, it gives you confidence in your own faith.

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It proves your faith. That's right. Let me ask you something now.

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Say that we got together and designed a new type of fuse, something different than had ever been made.

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And from all of the paperwork and from looking at the finished product, it looks like it was the holdup of 15 people.

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Now, how are we going to judge whether it will or not? Well, there's nothing.

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You've got to sit on it. Right. You subjected to a test. The test comes to us from the children of Satan.

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I think I've told you about the story of a new bridge that they built over the Cimarron River where I grew up.

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The old one had washed away. And they built a new one, concrete.

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And come the day that they were going to open it and they were going to test it, well, how do you test a bridge?

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They had two locomotives come and drove them out on the bridge.

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And they tied the throttle down, tied the whistles down, made all the shaking and rattling that they could out of both of them.

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And the engineer that had designed the bridge was there and someone asked him, what are you doing, trying to tear it up?

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He said, no, I'm trying to prove it. So when the tests come, when those things that we don't like come, it's because they're needed for our growth.

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Without Satan, we wouldn't mount anything. I hope you understand that.

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Now, at the same time, we're not supposed to go out and look for sin just so we can grow big. No, you don't have to look for it.

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You don't have to go to school to learn how to do it. But this is the design of all the afflictions in our life.

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And he will never put on us what? More than we could ever handle. More than we could ever handle, he will not do.

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So everything that comes is designed by God. If we rebel, we've failed the test and didn't grow any.

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So don't do that. Thank him for it. Thank him for the conclusion of it.

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Don't pray that it goes away. When right after Jesus had been seen after his resurrection, the disciples were all gathered together in a room someplace.

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They were there for fear. They prayed concerning their welfare and everything.

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But one thing, if you read that, you'll see that they did not pray for it.

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That's poor English, but it's good theology. They did not pray that the persecution would cease or go away.

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We shouldn't do that. Because it's come for a reason. So look at every one of your problems that you think is a problem.

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It's really a growing situation. I wish

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I could remember what this teacher says. I have a problem. All right.

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So he says that just because you're an Israelite doesn't mean that you're one of God's children.

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Just because your parents are Christian doesn't mean you are. Just because they belong to the devil doesn't mean you do.

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He said here in 12, it was said to her, The elder shall serve the younger.

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As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Now, David, what does he mean by Esau have

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I hated? Well, I think in the Greek language it means

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Esau have I hated. What? In the

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Greek it means Esau have I hated. Boy, that clears it up. I studied that.

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I'm glad you can read Greek. It's important. He says

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Esau have I hated. I have pursued with hatred.

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I detest. I dislike. I loathe. I have horror and I despise him.

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Did he love him? Why did you look it up?

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Well, there's a Florina who sent a tape to one of our church members to prove that God didn't hate

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Esau. I haven't had the privilege of hearing the tape yet, but I'll try to get my hands on it.

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Well, I'd like for you to turn to the book of Psalms, the fifth psalm, and the fifth verse.

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John, would you read that to us? Boasters can have no standing in your sight, you who are all evil doers.

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Now, how many of you have ever heard the statement, God hates sin, but he loves the sinner?

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Did you ever hear that? Oh, yeah. What did that verse just tell us?

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He hates all workers of iniquity. Right. He hates those.

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Now, go to Psalms 11 .5. Diane, read that.

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This is beautiful. The Lord trieth the righteous, but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.

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That trieth is what you were just talking about. He trieth us. He trieth us right now here on this earth, every day, all of the time.

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We're subject to temptation. Not a one of us is above sinning. All right.

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So, when he says he hates these all, I have to believe. Just like our dear pastor says, that's what the

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Greek says. To reinforce what you just said, in my Bible there's a little translation of certain words or clarifications.

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So, what he says in this phrase, when he says, I have hated them, what he saw, he says, love less.

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And then he relates that back to Malachi and gives a citation.

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And what he says there is, I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say wherein hast thou loved us?

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Was it not Esau, Jacob, your brother, saith the Lord? Yet I have loved Jacob, and I hated

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Esau, and I have laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

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That doesn't say anything about loving him. It really doesn't. That part's not in the text, I don't think. But he takes the statement, and then translates it differently, and refers it back to a reference that has nothing to do with Malachi.

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Well, you see, what these guys are trying to say is that it's not that God hated Esau, but if you compare the love that he had for Esau to the love that he had for his own children, then it was like, hey, they try to use that logic to prove it.

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He shouldn't have hated that person. Why would he waste his mountains and destroy everything?

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And I didn't cite that. That was the editor of this Bible that cited that passage as his,

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I guess, proof for his citation. What is this

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Malachi? 1, 2, and 3. Is that a school book? Malachi 1, 2, and 3.

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That's why translations are so important. The mystery...

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Malachi 1, 2, and 3. The mystery out of all of this verse, that he loved

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Jacob and hated Esau, was, to me, how could he love Jacob? Yeah, it pleased him.

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We have to go back to his original... If he loved Jacob, then there's some hope for me.

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But see, as Martin Luther King said, he had to love me before I was born, because there's been nothing in me ever that pleasure.

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So it has to be before. It has to be from eternity past. He sent his love upon us.

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He did that, Russell. We can do nothing, good or bad.

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Of course, we don't know what good is. We only know what bad is. All right. Then in verse 14,

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What shall we say then? Paul's speaking. Is there unrighteousness with God?

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God forbid such a thought. For he said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom

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I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

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And you have nothing to say about it. Neither does anyone else. God has always done that which he desires.

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Now, we use human terms. He doesn't desire certain things.

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He just wills it. In Isaiah 40 and 13, Who hath directed the

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Spirit of the Lord? Or been his counselor? Or hath taught him?

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With whom took he counsel? And who instructed him? And taught him in the path of judgment?

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And taught him knowledge? And showed to him the way of understanding? Who did this for God?

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Somebody had to. He didn't go to seminary. He couldn't do it on his own.

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Well, what he said was, I will not have mercy on those that I hate. I will not have compassion on those that I will not.

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If he says I will have on those that I will, he also says I will not on those that I will not.

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Try to always look what it does not say. Verse 16,

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So then, It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.

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What is the it? So then, it. What choice?

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People say that you choose Jesus. So, John chapter 1 says it's not by the will of God.

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It's faith. It is faith. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. So, it's his word of faith he gives you.

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That's right. The faith is of God, the hearing is of God, and the word is of God. So then, it is not of him that willeth.

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Grant what it would mean of willeth. We don't have any choice. It's not of him. That's right.

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And it doesn't depend on your parents. It doesn't even depend on you. I heard a world -famous preacher this morning on the air.

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And he closed his sermon with saying, He will change your destiny forever if you'll just accept him.

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I mean, it was one that was a beautiful night.

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It was a lot of things. Yeah, I can believe that.

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So then, it is not of him that willeth. Greg, what's it mean here? Someone that wills.

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That means making the decision that you want this or you can't. Alright.

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Nor of him that runneth. What's that mean, Greg? Well, in this case, it means if you're a person.

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Period. He said,

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Pharaoh, I put you here for this purpose. He said, you're a son of Satan and I have a work for you.

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And this is what you're supposed to do.

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Do you suppose Pharaoh knew? Do the children of Satan know that they're fulfilling the will of God today?

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Do the children of God know they're fulfilling the will of God? They've been taught now for 50 years that they have to seek the will of God.

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And they're confused by what that means. That implies they can get out of this world.

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That's right. And they spend all their life looking for it. How do we do the will of God?

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Do that which you know to be good in the eyes of the Lord. What did

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Jesus say? No man does good. I just thought

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I'd let you know that. He told me that immediately. Immediately. When they asked the

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Lord, what can we do that we do the works of God, what did he tell them? Believe on him whom he has sent.

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Believe. Now how do you get to where you can believe that? You give.

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You have to know his faith. You receive Jesus' faith as a gift.

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Well, how can we prove that? He puts the belief in you. What? He puts the belief in you.

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Prove. Philippians 1 .29 I think.

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Everybody turn to Philippians 1 .29. Is that it? Philippians 1 .29

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it says, For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.

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I'm in the suffering right here. Did you realize that he changed your belief or you would never be saved?

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Now go to Philippians 2 .13. Go ahead and read that.

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For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

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It's God that works in you. Now that you is not collective, that's single.

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You and you and you and you individually. It is God that's working in you both to do what he wants you to do, to cause you to will to want to do it.

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And it will please him. The thought comes to me there that we ought to do the work that is

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God's work. And it's so clear that we have to do the work.

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All we have to do is just handle whatever you have right now. Do the best you can with whatever you have, wherever you are, right now.

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Alright, we need to stop here. See if I can find where here is. Let's start with 17 again.

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Now I have before we break up an assignment for you for next week.

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I would like for you to write down what is your God.

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I don't mean write that sentence. But I want you, excuse me, to describe your

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God without even mentioning what God does. We're not talking about his works or what he does.

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How do you perceive God yourself? What is

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God to me? You cannot relate everything he does now.

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We're not talking about the works. We're talking about what is he. Any questions?

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Any questions over the lesson? First, you have to be blessed.

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Well, we'll do that next week. It kills your life. My wife had a birthday this week.

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I cannot and I will not tell you how old she is. I will tell you that when we put the candles on the cage it fell.