Book of Romans - Unity in the Church | Contemplating God's Greatness, Pt. 1 (09/12/2021)

Okay, well let's have a let's have a word of prayer and and we'll get started this morning Lord. Thank you so much for allowing us to have a time to be together today. Thank you for our online members and friends out there bless their families with safety and protection bless our church group here the same and Lord we're living in Unusual times now and we see things accelerating and that's both Frightening and exciting so Help us Lord to be focused on the good things thinking on things that are lovely of good report.

Things of virtue and keep our minds off the negatives and help us to pull together. Do things more together and be of one mind and help us to stay in the word. And Lord, we just ask you to give guidance each day for what we're supposed to do With you in these last days, thank you so much for this group here and the unity that they have and we ask you to bless each person this week with safety and protection and zeal and Power and bless the preaching of the word today in Jesus name.

Amen. Alright last time we started talking about five steps to unity in the church and that's basically what chapter 12 is talking about the Main big idea and of course, here's our verses. We've been talking about the last couple of weeks and I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.

We spent a little bit of time talking about how to do that. And that's really what we've been talking about the last couple of Sundays. Holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. Always remember the word holy means different than the world.

It does not mean perfect with regard to us with regard to God. It does mean both perfect and different separate. With us, it's just separate. Acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service. I don't say that about holiness to try to make you think you don't have to be perfect to try to be perfect.

You should try to be perfect. It's just you probably won't Be perfect. But but it debt the technically it means separate or different than the worldly people that aren't saved. Be not conformed to this world says that right but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

That you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God? We spent a little bit of time talking about how you don't find God's will you prove it? That means you got to take some steps you step into God's will right pretty cool things to think about so basically.

We've talked about three of the five points so far of how to have church unity. One is you must be a people of prayer. Number two and that kind of is alluded to that in verse 1 of chapter 12. It's really discussed in detail in Romans chapter 8.

Second step is walk in God's will you know? Proving his will talked about that and then this last thing we were talking about mostly last week. Contemplate God's awesome nature and being and that will help you give your body as a living sacrifice because when you stop and think about who God is and what he has Done and what he is doing in the enormous nature and awesome nature of God.

It makes the little petty things of this world become very small. And we have to think that way if we're going to continually every day get up and go and say Lord What are you doing today? I want to do it with you rather than just doing our stuff.

So we have to always be thinking about the enormity of God and all the end of chapter 11 talks about that. But then we went into the book of Job and started talking about it a little bit last time. And I'm gonna pick up where I left off there, so we're not quite through.

Contemplating God's Greatness in the Book of Job

Talking about the how do we give our body over as a living sacrifice? I mean how do you just make a list of rules that doesn't work? We know that that doesn't work so the best way is to learn to Contemplate Who God really is?

Knowing God better and being in all of him more often throughout the day. That in itself in and of itself will cause us to walk with him. If this happened to Job and you remember the story of Job God Instructed Satan on some things Satan couldn't do to Job and some things he could not do to Job which shows that Satan serves God.

God is sovereign. Satan and all of his demons serve God all the lost people serve God and all of us are supposed to serve God, right? All the animal kingdom the stars everything serves God. He's sovereign.

So he instructed Satan on some things he could do to Job and with Job and some things he couldn't. Satan had to work within those parameters and So Job was in a bad place. He had lost all ten of his children.

He lost all of his wealth and He lost his health and he was miserable. He was out just miserable and it has these three Self-righteous friends come going to comfort him right and each one of them had God in a different box.

Like they graduated from different seminaries. All right. And they had it all figured out each one thought they totally had God figured out all three of them got it wrong and God Said so in the book of Job and Job got it wrong, too.

But he was more nearly correct than those three were because Job was not a legalist. Job I actually knew God. The other three knew about God's they thought they knew little bits about it and They thought they knew all about him.

But they didn't they didn't and that's a great lesson in and of itself, isn't it? So this is the context we find this in so we get out to the place where Job, you know His wife probably is a lost person doesn't Bible and say she was but she has the fruits of it.

She just told him to curse God and die. That was her advice. So that was the worst advice of all but Job didn't their job never did that he never cursed God. He never just said just kill me. But he did question God and our flesh will question God won't it?

Sometimes and our spiritual man our new man or woman will not and When we're walking in the flesh, sometimes our first thought would be white God. Why'd you let that happen to me? Have you ever had that thought?

You know, but you but if you've walked with the Lord a long time. You've been in the word a lot. You will correct that thought instantly. You'll say to yourself your new man will take over and say no you don't talk like that if you had that happen.

I Have it happen every day pretty much. No, you don't talk like that. No, you don't think like that. Right. That's what we're supposed to do. We're exhorted for the new man to control this brain, which is part of the old man, right?

But our spirit lives in there too. So we got to walk with the spirit. We have no chance. Right, so we walk with the spirit. Well, Job is finding himself having some fleshly thoughts and he even argues with the Lord a little bit.

And here's where we are is where God comes in as he did in the Old Testament. Hebrews 1 1 3 3 says he does not do that now, although he will. Again in the last three and a half years of the tribulation period during the church age.

God does not come down talk to us. He doesn't appear to us. He doesn't give us dreams. You can debate it all you want but Hebrews chapter 1 verses 1 through 3 Show and many other scriptures where Paul said some of these things will cease and tell told when and why they would cease.

They did cease and they're coming back. Joel said your sons and daughters shall prophesy. So you can't start something up again if it never stopped. So there's another proof that it did cease all these sign gifts ceased when the Apostles went to be with the Lord.

And then when we had the Word of God canonized we live in a dispensation of faith not sight. It's put in one phrase. That's the best way to put it faith not sight. God deals with us during God himself the Father is invisible.

The Holy Spirit is invisible and Jesus is not but he's not here. He's in heaven so you can't tell me that these deceiving spirits can't act like the Holy Spirit and Tell you to do good things and go tell your friend and I just told you about him this and you think that's God.

But it's not God because you know how I know. You say well, you're awful dogmatic when probably two-thirds of every person in the country's charismatic. You're awful dogmatic. You know, I know because Hebrews 1 1 through 3 says he won't do that and God can't lie.

So the Holy Spirit will not operate in a way that he said he won't operate you got that a simple right good math. Good logic. He won't do it. So I know you have friends and you're tempted to think wow, they're so sincere and so sweet.

I do too. So the sweetest people in the world believe like that and you tend to well maybe there's something to it stay in your Bible. Because you'll be misled with them if you don't especially in the end times we were texting last night about The thing that says so much so that even the elect might and if the elect could be to say something like that, right?

If it were possible the elect even the elect could be deceived in the end times and we're in those times now. There are so many deceived elect people. All around us people that buy into these false spirits that are mimicking the Holy Spirit and I you know I get very frustrated dealing with this issue, but I've studied it 40 years and I know what the scripture says.

I know what church history proves and they're wrong. Okay. So anyway, that's not concern about it's good. But Back in Joe's day God would often not often about every 600 years. Historically, he would do a miracle major miracle.

He just appeared somebody and start talking to him. Guess what the first thing they did when that happened you talked about it in Sunday school. They fall flat on their face. It's another way. I know the charismatics are lying about it.

Oh God spoke to me. Well, I don't see your blood your nose hadn't been bloodied lately. So I don't think you fell on your face. You know, anyway, I'm going too far with that issue. It's not today's message.

But it did. God did deal with people that way in that dispensation. He does not do it in our dispensation. But he did so here he appears to Joe and he begins to ask him some interesting questions. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said who is this that darkened counsel by words without knowledge?

Who is this man he's talking about Joe. Who is this man? I'm hearing down here. Talking as if he's got wisdom and he has no knowledge of how anything works and he's speaking out of a whirlwind now. That's interesting in itself.

When Jesus left this world, how did he leave? Clouds received him out of his eye. That's same thing here. How is he coming back in the same manner? How does God appear here in a cloud and I'm of the opinion that the Angels come back and forth in a spacecraft and it's hidden in that cloud.

You can't see it. That's how they get here and it says Exos on it. But anyway. So that's what I think but anyway. It's always in the cloud. And so they're somehow coming into our dimension when that happens right from a higher dimension.

So God appears to Joe in a whirlwind. Says who is this ignorant fool down here saying stuff about me? That's not right. I paraphrase that. So it's interesting what he tells him. He says now look at verse 3.

This is how I know he's on his face. Buried in the sand hiding because God just appeared is because God says gird up now the Lord your loins like a man stand up like a man. For I will demand of thee an answer.

I want you to answer me some questions now. How would you like to be Job right now? Well, we are. He's not talking to us Verbally like that and appearing visually like that. But the Word of God is there in the Spirit of God.

The water and the Spirit are here with us. It's more real. It's just I won't say more real you can't get more real than God appearing. But I mean, it's just as real. Because God is a pure spirit being you don't have to see him.

There's somebody back there I guess it was been said or somebody in Sunday school said well, he's always you it was a debut. He said we're always kind of in God's presence. I mean, we're in God's presence all the time.

Well, yeah. He's invisible. He's pure spirit, which means everywhere at once and he's in us. So he's all around us and he's in us. That's what it means when it says we're baptized by the Spirit. We're immersed in God.

So we ought to be on our faces more often than we are. But we can't we're human right we don't seem so we don't fear him quite as much but we should. But I mean he could easily and does Have talks like this with us.

It's just not audible. But the Spirit puts thoughts in your mind that are from God. I mean Satan can put thoughts in there, too. That's where we have to try the spirits. God wouldn't say try the spirits if you didn't have to try the spirits, which means Satan can mimic the Holy Spirit.

I'll say it one more time. Try the spirits and one way to do that the best way is match it up The Word of God because he will never contradict himself. So what if one spirit comes to one of your brethren says?

Well, I spoke to you in an audible voice and and I'm telling you to go tell your friend He needs to go jump in the lake tomorrow. Do you need to go do that? Well, I would try that spirit and I would hold it up to Hebrews chapter 1 1 through 3 where it says he won't do that.

So wait a minute. That wasn't the Holy Spirit. So I'm not gonna do that. Thank you very much. I still love you though, but I'm not gonna do it. You need to study your Bible more in meekness, right? So He demands don't stand up like a man.

And he said I might ask you some questions Joe. You can learn from this. You know what the best way for you to win an argument ask questions, I mean if God does it Jesus did it all the time. They asked Jesus or like you have God or you have man.

He said well, I'll answer that but you got to answer this first. Can you ask them a question? Right, so. That's God even does it here. He says where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Well now that's an interesting question.

Where are you when I created everything that exists out of nothing where were you Joe and Joe was thinking well I was part of the nothing. Well, you still are part of nothing without me. God would be saying without me you would revert back to nothing.

Did you know that if Jesus took his finger off of all that is everything physical including us because we're physical. We have a physical component. But in even including our spiritual part that if he took his finger off of us and took the energy away.

We revert to nothing. In an instant, but will he do that? He promised in the Bible. He won't do that. So. Well, no, he keeps his promise or else we would just walk in fear all the time. Maybe we need a little bit of that fear.

I mean, what if he just let the earth just stop rotating for a second. Well gravity would just crush you in a nanosecond, I guess bill is that right something like that. Yeah. What if he turned the gravity off we'd fly and before long we'd be a little bit above the altitude where we could breathe.

So, isn't it nice that he stays in control all the time and that man's not in control. All right, so he says I laid the foundation of the earth. Declare if thou hast an understanding of that. So, do you know how I made everything that is out of nothing job and jobs thinking?

Can I get back on my face, please? Nope stand up like a man still talking to you. Who is like who has laid the measures of the earth? If you know tell me or who has stretched the line upon it. Who did all the physics that created this if you know tell me well who's job thing and well you did Lord.

We're a part of the foundations of the earth fast and what holds it up. How can it just be for out in space? It's what what makes it not just fall or float away or whatever. And Joe, you know Joe just standing there with his jaw open.

Who laid the cornerstone of the earth? Is it sitting on a giant turtle like the ancients thought or not? When the morning star is saying together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. What the heck is that talking about?

Were you there when that happened? Were you there? You know when the sons of God the angelic beings were created Bill were they created before the earth or after Dennis say before Genesis 1 1 or after well, they might have been but they might have been right between Genesis 1 1 and when the earth was Put together because.

Wouldn't you think you'd have to have time to have angels? So you'd have to have something physical so but they're they were they're one of the first things created were these angels. Long before I say long.

A good three or four days before man. We don't know. We don't know though. How long? Honestly, we don't know how long the angels Lived with God before because think about it when you when you come into Genesis 1 1 very quickly.

You see that the world the earth was without form and void. We don't know how long you stayed in that condition. There you've heard of the gap theory, right? That's between Genesis 1 1 and Genesis 1 2, isn't it bill?

I think I hadn't looked at that in a while, but I think it's right between the first two verses of Genesis if it exists at all. But and I don't believe in the gap theory. But I do believe that we don't know how long certain things lasted like we don't know how long adam and eve were in the gardens two of them before the fall.

We really don't know but we know it took a number of days to name all those animals didn't. Or would you say years? I don't know. But there's things like that. We don't know. But we know that joe had no clue what was going on when these angels were created.

He wasn't there was. And that's what god's pointing out. Or who shut up the sea with doors? What makes it where the sea? Comes up to the shore and just stops and then just go right on over the skyscrapers and ground everybody.

How does it just stop right there who makes that happen? That's what he's talking about when I made the clouds the garments there out of the thick darkness. He's starting to talk about the water cycle.

The water cycle which is scientific concept that hasn't existed forever in fact. When it first was talked about it was in ad 1580 was the first time scientific world ever talked about or understood anything about the water cycle.

But did you know that 3100 years about before that? God talked to joe about it. So it's in the bible 3100 years before science discovered it. How can that happen? How can man know about it before man knew about it?

Well, because god knew about it and told man about it and the scientists don't listen to the bible. Anyway, do they? They don't care about it. They don't think it's real. It's a story story book unfortunately.

A lot of science they're missing true science because they won't look at it. But I mean, there's just one example the water cycle existed. For 3 000 years before bernard Pallisy or how do you say his name?

Felicity. He talked about it wrote about it. Yeah. It just talks about how it evaporates from the oceans creates the clouds comes over. Drops rain hail snow sleep and god talks about all that. I didn't put all of it in here because we don't have time to read it all right now.

But he talks about all that the snow. He talks about the ice he talks about all of that in this discussion of the water cycle with joe. And joe is the oldest book in the bible. So man has had understanding of some of these scientific things for thousands of years before the secular Agnostic or atheist lost world came up with a scientist who thinks he figured it out.

All he had to do was like his great great great grandfather could figure it out if he'd read the book of joe. But he didn't so there you have it. I love hearing dr. Carl ball talk about that. He talks about the hydro hydrological.

Some some people call it hydrologic cycle. A lot in his writings and give some detail about what joe knew about it that the scientists didn't know about it. And then it goes on in chapter 38 has thou entered into the springs of the sea or hast thou walked in search of the depth.

Had the gates of the deep. Had the gates of death been open unto you or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death? He's talking about the depths of the oceans. You know, what's interesting about that.

He's asking joe. Have you uh put on your snorkel gear and. You know gone to see how deep the oceans are even. You know, we have theories about how deep it is, but nobody's been down there yet even in our modern existence.

So, did you know that more than 80 percent of our ocean is unmapped unobserved and unexplored today. More than 80. And god says well, I know all about it. Joe. Do you know much about it? You know, we know less about the ocean than we do the depth of the ocean than we know about space.

Has thou perceived the breadth of the earth declared if you know about that. Why is the way where light dwells? Where is the way that light dwells? And as for darkness, where is the place of that? So is light a particle or is it a wave?

Well joe doesn't know but god does. And he's pointing it out joe. Even physicists are puzzled by that it exhibits both characteristics. It acts like a wave until it acts like a particle. That thou should take it and bound thereof can you control light.

And that thou should know the paths to the house of that where does light come from. How does it work? I mean, isn't it interesting that that was discussed? Over 3000 bc. That there was a discussion between god and a human being about that that's.

Took physics years to get the place. I should have put that date on there. I don't think I did. I meant to but bill might could estimate about when was it einstein that talked about light being uh photon.

About when was it after the 1600s? Yeah, it was during the renaissance or a little after after 1800 night early 1900s. So that would have been 4900 years. Before man discussed it god discussed it with joe on the face of the earth.

Isn't that something? And then he talks about uh. Pleiades, uh, how do you say that's the right way to say it. Pleiades pleiades. It's one of the constellations that ben probably. Ben's not in here, but he's got pictures of it probably on his camera.

It's an open star cluster containing middle-aged hot b-type stars modern science thinks. In the northwest of the constellation torus. It is among the star clusters nearest to the earth and most obvious to the naked eye in the night sky.

And there's a picture of it. And god asked joe. Do you understand? The sweet influences. Can you bind or understand the sweet influences of pleiades or loose the bands of orion? Now we'll talk about orion a minute.

I've heard dr. Ball discuss this in a lecture before it is fascinating. What. Oh i'm only got five minutes, okay, it was fascinating because the gravitational effect. Of even a small particle In the universe affects everything else in the universe.

So the gravitational effects of objects like that have enormous effects even on the earth. And on each other. And man actually talked about that 3200 years before christ. And he was talking about it with the creator of it and had that information before the scientific world ever even thought about it.

So orion is another uh cluster celestial. It it's more obvious in the winter sky. I think I know charles spurgeon talked about that. And charles spurgeon felt like that this passage had to do with the fact that.

Uh pleiades reminds us of spring. And god's creation and orion reminds us of winter. And things like that, but I actually think it's a reference to the gravitational influence. Which the scientific world didn't understand that till newton.

The joke predated that by 3375 years. Before science ever talked about it.

Yeah. Yes, sir, please do. Uh, the two stars that are bound together, they are bound together like. Most stars look like they're close together. They just look like they're close together millions of miles apart.

These two Are in a star system orbiting around one another they're bound together. He's saying who can Unbind them. Who can unbind these stars that are bound together. You don't even know they're bound together.

We didn't know that until a couple hundred years ago.

Yeah, so we knew that a couple hundred years ago. So You know 5 000 years ago Joe knew it and modern science needed a couple hundred years ago. Yeah. Fascinating stuff. Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or who has given understanding to the heart.

So joe, do you understand why man has wisdom? Why does man have love? Why does man have emotions? Because if darwin was correct and everything came from. A primordial soup and crawled out like a Tadpole.

Grew legs jumped up the tree like a monkey and came down became a phd. If that happened, why how do we have those kinds of things? How can that come from inert material? Emotions love. How does that come from inert material?

It can't. It doesn't so it comes from god. But I mean, that's what he's asking joe here. Who provides the raven his food. What about the wings of the peacock. And that's interesting to read that little thing about the peacock.

Um and uh. He lays his eggs in the earth. And the earth warms him and then he forgets about him and the foot of man the foot may crush him. In other words, he doesn't have any sense at all. So god talks about the wisdom.

He puts in the heart of man and talks about the foolishness of this animal. It doesn't even take care of her own eggs and crushes their own eggs. Why is that why is man different than the animals. Is what he's asking joe and yet modern science says we are animals.

All the kids in public school are taught that we're animals. Aren't they? Well that some exhibited that around your apartment last night acting like animals out there attacking each other so animal husbandry.

Discussed there that that predated modern science by 3280 years. Isn't that interesting brother rocky wrote a book on scientific illusions in the bible and uh, He discusses a lot of this cool stuff. Or the lord answered joe and said shall he that contended with the almighty instruct him.

Are you like you you you're upset with me joe because you have lost some things and you have sores on your body. And are you going to instruct me that I was wrong to let that happen to you? Wow, you know I don't think so.

Shall he that contended with the almighty instruct him? He that recruit recruits god let him answer it. Give me the answer joe. Where am I wrong here? And then joe answered the lord and said Now he's in the physical presence of god.

We're talking about being in the spiritual presence of god in sunday school. But you also mentioned this. That before the church age people sometimes were found in the physical presence and of course it was jesus it was god on the earth.

And Here's what always happens. Look at verse four. Job says I am vile. What shall I answer you? I will lay my hand upon my mouth. That's what his three friends needed to do too Once and god did rebuke them by the way.

Once have I spoken but I will not answer yay twice, but I will proceed no further. So job said well, I was saying some stuff about you lord. And I was wrong and i'm going to shut up at this moment. Good healthy things for us to think about then answer the lord and job out of the whirlwind and said Gird up the loins now stand up like a man.

Don't tell me you're not going to talk to me. Would this be a little uncomfortable. I heard up the loins now like a man. I will demand of you and declare thou unto me. You said you've spoken twice. You're not going to speak anymore.

I am commanding you to speak. Tell me where am I wrong job? Wow. Without also this and all my judgment job. Like did I? Did my judgment, you know my justice my rightness? Did I come amiss in your life job?

Will thou condemn me that thou mayest be righteous. Job answered lord and said I know that thou can't do everything. And that no thought can be withholding from thee. I don't have to speak lord. You're already reading my mind.

He got that right, didn't he? He got that right. Who is he that hides counsel without knowledge. Therefore have I uttered that I understood not. Things too wonderful for me, which I knew not now here.

He is in sores miserable lost all his kids lost all his wealth and he's saying but everything's wonderful. Why. Because he's standing in the presence of god and he understands he is actually in control.

He is actually just he's actually right. And everything's okay in the universe. Totally a total change of mind here. Because of his time he spent with god. So what would happen with us if we spent a little bit more time reading the word every week?

A little bit more time studying the word and the words in the sentences in the word every week. Here I beseech thee and I will speak. I will demand of thee and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now I have seen you job said.

Now see that's a little difficult for us. We don't get to see god yet, but he's coming back physically so we have to be in the word of god and we have to be walking in the spirit to Sense the presence of god.

But sensing that presence of god is what causes us to yield our body as a living sacrifice. Which is what romans 1 1 12 1 is all about. This is how you do it right here. Isn't that interesting? This is the only way you can't make a list.

Oh, i'm going to be good. I'm going to read my bible. I'm going to pray 30 minutes every day. I'm going to do this. You won't keep the list very long. What you have to remind yourself is this is who you're dealing with.

And he's dealing with you this way all the time and you just bow down before him for a little bit every day. And it makes a huge difference. Wherefore I abhor myself joe said and repent in dust and ashes joe said look I have seen you face to face.

I knew about you now. I know you and I now abhor myself and love you. Wouldn't that help us be better christians? So that's the message for today and I got to go get on the airplane. So pray for the safety.

For my wife and I and dave and katie hubert and others. Boyce and christie as they traveled to a business meeting. All right. Good to be with you guys. I'm going to Stop the share for a moment. And um.

We will have a Prayer take your prayer request in just a few minutes and have the offering and things like that. I'm going to turn the camera off just for a second ben.