[0:00] We welcome you to the media ministry of Bethel Community Church, knowing Jesus, making Jesus known. All right, we're continuing a study in the book of Romans, and we've reached a, I'll call it a turning point, because since January, we've been very carefully, like 11 verses every Sunday, going through 11 chapters of the book of Romans in order to establish in our hearts the most basic and fundamental doctrines to our faith.
[0:43] I believe that Paul wrote this letter to the Roman church around A.D. 57. That's only about 25 years after the Lord was crucified and ascended into heaven.
[1:01] And he's already writing to a young church this letter. And I want to have you turn in your Bibles to Romans.
[1:11] But instead of the 11th chapter where we're going to be today, I want you to turn to chapter 1. Because I want to remind ourselves, perhaps, what is the purpose of our studying the book of Romans?
[1:26] And I believe it sets that purpose in two verses that we're going to look at. And I had mentioned these two verses about a year ago as being perhaps, no, not that far back.
[1:40] When I was doing chapter 6, I had mentioned also, and it's the same verses. So let's take a look at that. Romans chapter 1, verse 11 and 12.
[1:51] This is Paul. He would like to come to see these believers. He hadn't had a chance to do that yet. And it'll actually be many years before he does get a chance. But he says this in verse 11.
[2:03] For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established. And so this morning, we don't have the Apostle Paul here.
[2:17] We've got a poor substitute. But we have the Word of God. And the purpose of the Word of God for us each week is to establish, to have a firm foundation, a good foundation in what we believe in our salvation.
[2:35] And what we believe about our Heavenly Father. And what we believe about His Son. And what we believe about the work of the Holy Spirit. And so we had taken the journey to understand the basic doctrines of our faith.
[2:53] And so I'll have a little bit more to say about that later. Because in chapter 1, we saw the doctrine of God's wrath upon all ungodliness of men. And it told us what sin is like.
[3:05] And how devastating sin is. And so forth. And when we got to chapter 3, then it told us what a beautiful salvation we have. Because the righteousness of God has been revealed.
[3:18] And that righteousness is through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And then we moved on from that to understand justification of faith. And what a blessing it is that we've been justified by faith.
[3:32] And therefore, it has given us peace with God. It has given us access into His presence. And so many other things. And then we have gotten to chapter 6, which I spoke of many months ago.
[3:45] And that was that not only has the Lord come to save us. But He's come to enter our lives. So we talked about baptism. Not so much water baptism.
[3:57] But we talked about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because water baptisms depends on whether somebody's obedient to give that display of what God has done for them.
[4:09] But the baptism of the Holy Spirit comes with salvation. Everyone who has put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is baptized at that moment into Christ.
[4:21] And so not only has He saved us. But now we find out He's walking with us the rest of our journey. And so we've been through that. And then Paul tells us in chapter 7 the struggles he had with the old body of sin.
[4:36] And how that Holy Spirit wants to work in His life every day. And chapter 8, just a beautiful passage further on the work of the Holy Spirit. But even as in the last couple weeks, it seems like it's a shift in our discussion.
[4:54] Because some people say, well, this is kind of an interlude, this subject of Israel. But I see it as still a very fundamental basic doctrine of our faith.
[5:05] And that is, it's going to tell us that the Lord, when He makes a promise, He doesn't change. And you know what? Just take the things that we come to believe about salvation.
[5:18] What if there was a possibility that the Lord could say, oh, well, you know those things that you were taught and you accepted? Well, I've had a change in that. Well, that would be totally ridiculous for us.
[5:31] But yet our discussion today is going to be about what God's promises were to Israel. And yet we have groups in Presbyterian churches this morning, Episcopal churches, Lutheran churches, and others who will say, oh, you know those promises back in Genesis given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
[5:52] Well, that was really meant for the church. And so Israel, because they have rejected Christ, then those promises went over to the church.
[6:04] Well, today's lesson will clearly show that is not true. So some people of the, what do they call it, this persuasion of, I forgot the terminology that we use.
[6:20] Right. That, you know, so that's what we're getting into a discussion. We're going to see a discussion of God's sovereignty. We're going to see a question about how He doesn't change His mind when He makes a promise to somebody.
[6:38] And, but yet at the same time, we're going to learn about Israel's days that are coming. And what is so interesting about this is the fact we're going to be talking about a subject that is practically a stone throw away.
[6:57] Because we're going to see that when the Lord is finished with the church, then the promises to Israel immediately take place. And that's going to be part of our discussion today.
[7:09] So in that chapter one that I had just read about establishing us, Paul also said something that I think is very humble of Paul.
[7:21] In verse 12, he said, So Paul didn't come with a, he said, oh, you know, when I get to your church, I'm going to be a great enthusiast, deliver a great enthusiasm for you.
[7:44] No, he said, when I get there, he said, I want you as a congregation to enthusiast, to enthusiastic me. And so that's, that's kind of what he, I like that.
[7:57] Paul is going to say, hey, I don't have all the answers. I want to be in your fellowship and I want you to bless my life as, as though I, and as well as I could bless your life.
[8:07] So I think about our congregation each week. Isn't that a wonderful thing that you and I could say, you know what I'm going to do when I get to church today? I want to be an encouragement to the other believers that have arrived.
[8:21] And I want them to encourage me. And so that's what Paul, I believe that's the purpose of our study in the book of Romans. And so the elders have thought clearly that back in January, that this would be the book that we should tackle now and go over the fundamental doctrines of our faith.
[8:38] Because today, a lot of people say, you know, doctrine is kind of dry. I'd rather hear some stories and I'd rather get into, you know, discussions on marriage or children and all that.
[8:49] But we are founded and we could be shaken. We need to continually renew our foundation, the solidness of it, in the basic doctrines that we have studied these many months.
[9:08] Well, let me get to my notes. All right. Our message today from the book of Romans, chapter 11, verses 25 through 36.
[9:23] I had the opportunity to teach on this chapter a year ago, a year ago last week, under the title, What is Replacement Theology? Many churches and denominations teach that there is no future for Israel.
[9:38] They believe the promise made to Israel in Genesis and elsewhere have been taken away from Israel and given to the church. That's why we call it Replacement Theology.
[9:49] Today, we are going to look more at Israel's future from the same passage. In case you missed that message a year ago, I have some copies up here of interest.
[10:01] I made about, had David make about six copies. So if you weren't here for that particular week, it answers the questions of what is the definition of Replacement Theology?
[10:11] What are the origins? What church fathers were responsible for holding to premillennial truths about Israel? And what church fathers veered from that, such as Clement and Argin and Augustine in about the third century, to a different mindset that has carried down all these years through these denominations that I mentioned.
[10:36] And to me, they're missing out on some real opportunity of how God is working in the latter days. It kind of reminds me of what happened in 1973. Israel, already a nation since 48 for 25 years.
[10:51] And another battle of the nations around them, of course, Egypt and Syria and the Jordanians and the Lebanese, they attack.
[11:07] And Israel still doesn't have quite the power that they still need as a young nation. But they defeat these enemies with the Lord's help. And R.C. Sproul, he turns on his television.
[11:23] I think he was living in Boston at the time. And he sees what's happening on TV. He sees Israeli soldiers at the Wailing Wall. And this is the first time Israel, especially their army, is allowed in a city of Jerusalem for those 25 years since they had their independence.
[11:43] And he calls up a friend of his, another covenant theologist. And he says, hey, are you watching what I'm watching? And he says, yeah. He said, maybe we better rethink our theology.
[11:55] Because R.C. was of the school of saying that perhaps there is no future for Israel. And the way R.C. likes to put it, because I did a little research on that last week.
[12:06] He said, I never liked the term that people give us that is replacement theology. He said, I believe that it was always the blessing of the church from the time of Abraham.
[12:20] So the blessing given to Abraham was the beginning of the church. So, wow. I don't know. You see what happens when you start to spiritualize and start to have allegorisms and allegories and so forth.
[12:35] So, but anyway, let me move on from here. Okay. We want to look at, we've been on this journey for these great fundamental truths of our faith in the Book of Romans.
[12:47] And I'm going to say more about some details of that later on. But let's take a few moments of review. For several weeks now, we've been looking into God's relationship to the people of Israel through three chapters in Romans.
[13:02] Chapter 9, 10, and 11. In chapter 9, God reminds us through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his promises were affirmed. But also, to the Gentiles, God's sovereign choices have also been made clear.
[13:20] So let's, for the moment, look at only two verses in chapter 9 that our brother Teddy went over. Or maybe it was David when we were back in chapter 9.
[13:30] But it would be, let's look at verses 22 to 26. It fits part of our overall discussion of Israel. All right. Verse 22 says in chapter 9.
[13:42] What if God, although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?
[13:58] And he did so to make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory.
[14:10] Even us. Even us. Now we're up to date. Instead of talking way back, he says this. Even this. This is Gentiles. Even us, whom he also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.
[14:28] As he says also in Hosea, I will call those who were not my people. That's Gentiles. I'll call them my people. And her, Gentiles again, who were not beloved.
[14:45] I'm going to call them beloved. And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, Gentiles, you are not my people.
[14:57] There they shall be called the sons of the living God. So we have a quotation from a passage in Hosea that is clearly showing us that not only did God create a plan for Israel in the Genesis, but he clearly is pointing out that there's a place for the Gentiles in my future as well.
[15:19] And really, when we look at the blessing that came to Abraham, he talked about the blessing going down through Israel, but to bless all nations.
[15:29] So when you get to that, all nations, you got a lot of Gentiles in mind. And so the Lord, even back then, was saying that it's not only blessings for Israel, but there's blessings yet.
[15:43] All right. Chapter 10. Paul makes it clear with regard to salvation. That Jews have to come to Christ and his finished work on the cross just as Gentiles have.
[15:59] Both in the past 2,000 years and in the future, Jews have and will continue to be saved on an individual basis just as we have.
[16:11] And the reason I bring that out is because one of the arguments of replacement theology is, Hey, you know, these dispensationalists, they probably have about four different gospels.
[16:23] And I would say, that's not true. When we studied chapter 10, we saw verses that said, If he will confess your mouth, Jesus said, Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
[16:39] And this is a passage that Paul is earmarking to the Jewish people. He also said this in just a few verses later, For whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
[16:51] And so Israel has to come by the way of the cross for their future, for their eternal salvation. And so we learn that from chapter 10.
[17:06] And then in review of chapter 11, the first part of it, the past two weeks, our brother David, our brother Teddy, have answered the question, Has God rejected his people?
[17:18] We have learned very clearly from Paul's teaching and the Holy Spirit's inspiration that God has not rejected his people Israel. And they presented many proofs from scripture for that argument.
[17:32] So this morning, we continue on this great truth. I'm calling it the doctrine of last things, because we are dealing with both Israel's present situation and their soon coming tribulation and millennial period.
[17:49] But before we continue any further, let's look to the Lord for his blessing upon us. Heavenly Father, we thank you that we can turn to your marvelous word and we can just see your wonderful plan for all those that will come to your son for salvation.
[18:08] We thank you, Lord, that the gospel goes out through many avenues on this very day in many churches and around the world, presenting the truth, Lord, that our blessed Savior went to the cross to die for our sins, and that after three days in the tomb, he rose again to give us victory over death.
[18:31] And that today, Lord, you are seated in the heavens, ever interceding for us. And so, Lord, we thank you for the gift of your word. We thank you for this book of Romans that has been a blessing to us for the past year, that our hearts can be moved, Lord, by the great truth that we have learned in the past and that we want to learn even further.
[18:55] And so, Lord, make it be clarity of our thoughts today, and, Lord, that we would know the truth from your word, exactly what your Holy Spirit is telling us about a group of people and also about our own lives.
[19:12] And so, Lord, we just leave these things in your hands, and we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay. I'm going to ask Tom to give a handout.
[19:25] I've got to tell you about this handout. I call it a take-home paper. And it's not my notes, because the notes are in the scripture. But this past week, from a group called...
[19:38] It's a mission group. It's a Jewish converted group. And I get this newsletter, and his message that I'm handing out is my scriptures today.
[19:52] So it's Romans 11, 25 to 36. And my thought is that if I happen to put any of you to sleep, you can wake your husband up at the end and tell him, well, we've got the message, too, to take home with us.
[20:05] So I call it a take-home paper. I kind of remember my childhood days of my take-home paper. You know, a little piece of paper that may, let's say, about four years old.
[20:16] It's got scribbled all over it. And maybe a picture of Joseph. And I was trying to stay within the lines of his coat of many colors. But when I showed it to my mom, she was telling me what great artwork it was and so forth.
[20:31] And then mom would probably ask me, well, what did you learn about Joseph? And I said, well, his brothers didn't like him. And they sold him into slavery.
[20:42] And he wound up traveling to Egypt. And, but, you know, he was good at tennis. What? Yeah, they said he served in Joseph's court.
[20:55] So, bad joke? I thought so. Okay, but one other thing I remember, too, about telling mom something when I came home. I said, Mom, I'm kind of worried about something.
[21:08] And she said, oh, what bothers you? She said, well, you know, I miss a number of Sundays. And the teacher said, you know, tell your mom that you should be here more faithfully.
[21:21] Because if you miss another Sunday, oh, yeah, he was worried about the thoughts they had about dropping him down into the church furnace and getting burned. And he said, the teacher told me that if I miss one more Sunday, they're going to drop me from the register.
[21:38] And so, another bad joke. You get it? Only you who have homes that are about 100 years old, that you have a register in your living room and the furnace is right below it.
[21:51] So, anyway, we'll let that go. Okay. So, this paper, I want to read just two paragraphs from Dr. Glazer's talk here.
[22:04] He's saying, grab a cup of coffee, and you did that just a little while ago, and a donut. And he said in this quote about the third paragraph, he said, God knows the beginning, middle, and the end of our pilgrimage on earth.
[22:18] He knows what is next, and all things are unfolding according to his plan. We should be comforted by this glorious truth. He knows everything, and is never surprised by what we're going through in this life.
[22:34] Therefore, we can trust him fully as we walk through challenging and sometimes dark days. And so, Israel is going to definitely face dark days, especially the tribulation period.
[22:50] But under the title, God is faithful to his promise. All human history is marching toward a Roman 11 future. So, that's why we're in that passage of Scripture today.
[23:02] That's where we happen to be this week. Which will be to the praise of his glory. Israel and the Jewish people, who are so critical in God's grand plan of redemption, are part of that bright and glorious future.
[23:20] As Paul wrote in Romans 11 25, I don't want you to be, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery. And so, that's what our study is going to be about.
[23:33] So, we're going to cover that subject, and then we're going to close later on with an interesting view of a doxology. Because in our passage today, the last three or four verses, is a doxology.
[23:49] And I have my own take on why it's there, and how it could be a very beautiful thing. So, we'll take a look at that as well. All right.
[24:01] So, let's go to the 11th chapter, verse 25. I'm going to read the first couple verses, and then we'll talk about it.
[24:13] For I don't want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, so that you will not be wise in your own estimation.
[24:29] This is key. That a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
[24:42] And so, all Israel will be saved, just as it is written. The Deliverer will come from Zion. He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.
[24:57] This is my covenant with them, when I take away their sin. And so, first of all, Paul is addressing brethren. So, that's this morning.
[25:08] That would be us in this case. And he doesn't want them to get wrong opinions about a subject.
[25:19] And so, he says, I'm going to tell you a mystery, and I want you to hear it, because we always have the possibility that we form our own opinions.
[25:31] And isn't that the truth? Sometimes, you know, the word is used, estimations here. We can have the wrong estimations. We can have the wrong suppositions and opinions. And even one translation goes this far, to say we can have the wrong conceit.
[25:47] So, in other words, we get really carried far on our own, instead of what the word of God says, our own thoughts on an issue, then it could be a measure of conceit, is also, is in the picture.
[26:00] And so, he goes on to say something about a mystery. And Paul has done this before in other passages of Scripture. And so, what is this mystery?
[26:11] The mystery in verse 25, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
[26:22] What hardening has happened to Israel? So, let's look at verse 5 of chapter 11. This is what, I believe, David covered two weeks ago.
[26:34] And it's a discussion where, on Mount Carmel, and I had the privilege of standing on Mount Carmel two years ago, a nice open place, maybe can hold 500 or so people.
[26:45] There's a big statue of Elijah up there. But it was this moment when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, the false prophets, to have the God of Baal come and strike the altar.
[27:04] And it didn't happen after lots of pleading. You remember the story. But for Elijah, God answered his prayer. But Elijah became despondent almost immediately.
[27:17] In verse 3, he says this, Lord, they have killed your prophets. Speaking of in the past. They have torn down your altars.
[27:29] And I alone am left. And they are seeking my life. And now the Lord's going to answer him. The Lord's going to say in verse 4, But what is the divine response to him?
[27:43] I have kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. And so that is being brought up to represent that God always has a witness, even if it's only of a remnant.
[28:01] And we're going to talk a little bit about the definition of a remnant. And so verse 5 is the connecting point about our discussions from this point on. In the same way then, there has also come to be at this present time a remnant according to God's gracious choice.
[28:24] But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise grace is no longer grace. And so the next several verses are very important as well.
[28:37] What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained. But those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened.
[28:49] So we're getting into this discussion of hardened. Just as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor. Almost a spirit of unconsciousness would be a good, we don't commonly use that word today, stupor.
[29:05] But a spirit of unconsciousness because they have eyes that can't see, that see not, and ears that hear not, down to this very day.
[29:16] And David says, let their table become a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a retribution to them.
[29:28] Let their eyes be darkened to see not, and bend their backs forever. And so we have this quotation from Deuteronomy and from the Psalms as well.
[29:39] And so we get a little idea of what this hardening is. But the word partial tells us something else. And that is, down to the last 2,000 years, Jews, individual Jews, have been coming to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[30:00] And so that's why I believe the word partial is there, because God has been in work in some Jewish lives. And the church I had previously gone to, there was at least four couples that was at least one or both parties in the couple were converted Jews.
[30:18] And so I got to know them pretty well as believers. And so the scripture goes on to tell us in this, oh, okay, the next part is in verse 25 where it says, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
[30:38] This is an expression of when the church age has been completed, which will be at the rapture, when the last person God has chosen to be saved in the church age, in this period of grace, has been completed.
[30:55] And so whenever you think about that phrase, it's speaking of the fact that when the Gentile, when that age has come in, that God will take up where he left with Israel.
[31:08] And that's what verse 26 was telling us. It's saying, and then all Israel will be saved. Well, from other passages, Isaiah 53 and so many others, it's always in the context, and this is being reinforced by those other verses, that the Lord is talking about believing Israel will be saved.
[31:29] And of course, that is also confirmed by the fact that in verse 26, he said, the reason they're going to be saved is because the deliverer, which in the translation from Isaiah 59, it's the redeemer, will come from Zion, from Jerusalem, and he will remove ungodliness from Jacob or from Israel.
[31:53] And so that's the confirmation of that. And then again, a reinforcement of his covenant promises, verse 27, this is my covenant with them from the time of Genesis when I take away their sin.
[32:10] So in the days to come, as we were studying in the book of Revelation, the witnesses of 144,000 to go out and win as many as the sands on the seashore of many Jews in the latter days to coming to Christ.
[32:28] So that, the verses 25 through 27 should set in our hearts and our mind that God did not take his promises to Abraham and turn it over to the Gentiles or to the church.
[32:43] He says, when I make a promise, and we're going to address that a little bit further from verse 28 now. We'll take a look at reading the next couple verses.
[32:54] From the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. He's speaking to us today. But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
[33:10] And so, you know, many of us perhaps have worked for Jewish people or worked or have friends that are Jewish people. And so, that comment is that we all perhaps have experienced this, that they are enemies for the gospel.
[33:30] See, they are rich, they are smart, they are hard to witness to, and so many other reasons. And so, I think that's what the scripture is telling us. It said, look, I've been trying to reach a Jewish lady for about 32 years.
[33:43] Actually, it was my wife who started it way back. But I had dinner with her about a month ago. We're still trying to reach her heart, but we just have to trust the Lord that it may happen.
[33:55] But anyway, she's not so much an enemy because she's willing to listen. But, but she's very slow to respond to this. So, but verse 29, oh no, the latter part of that.
[34:09] But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. Who is the fathers? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and so forth.
[34:20] And so, why does America, why does other democratic countries around the world have a heart for Israel? I mean, they're still obstinate people.
[34:32] They're still taking your job away or whatever. I mean, if you were to go to Israel today, their growth and their economy is just at an enormous rate.
[34:45] And their growth in people coming home, as Ezekiel would spell out. I have the letter, the rest of that, that letter that I hid out to you. There's a chart on the back and it shows that in 1947, there's a million Jews living in Israel.
[35:01] Now it shows the latest data from December 2020, 6.87 million. A 700% increase in Jews coming home to Israel.
[35:17] Now that ought to tell us something. When nothing happened for 1900 years, since the fall of Jerusalem by the Romans, in our day, 1948, the Six-Day War, 1973, and today, to see that almost half of Jewry has come home.
[35:39] And when Ezekiel speaks about the last days, it's including the idea that Israel's coming home, Israel will be at peace, that there are enemies who in the past would say, like Mark Twain, I wouldn't go to that God for a forsaken place.
[35:54] There's nothing there. It can't even grow a crop of corn, a nearer corn. You go there today, and I saw a picture by this fellow, Amir, on YouTube. He shows Mark Twain there, digging nothing but dead sand, and next to it, probably the same valley, as far as the eye could see, is nothing but lush trees and crops and flowers, and Israel is today exporting their crops.
[36:20] It was a desert for so many hundreds of these years. Now they're exporting their crops. And so, quite a change in the thing. So, they are enemies to the gospel, but they are beloved.
[36:35] And so, why do we love Israel? Because our Lord loves Israel. And if he loves them, then we love him. And verse 29, almost perhaps a key verse in our discussion today.
[36:47] For the gifts, or as we would say in the past, God's blessings to us, and so forth. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
[37:04] I think that's all we need to say in that regard. I did quote one time a verse from Malachi that puts a little bit more emphasis on that.
[37:15] And it's going to be in Malachi. You may not turn to that, but I'll read it to you. It's Malachi chapter 3. The Lord is in a discussion in verse 5 about the judgment to these wayward people.
[37:29] He says this, Then I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, and oppress the widows and the orphans, and those who turn aside the aliens, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
[37:56] And he says this, verse 6, For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
[38:10] You know what the Lord is saying in so many words there. If I was a changing God, you're out of here in so many up-to-date vernacular. So the Lord is saying, you still exist, unlike Sodom and Gomorrah.
[38:24] You still exist, even though you are what I just described to you, and there's judgment coming to you. I, the Lord, I do not change. Therefore, you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
[38:39] And so we have that type of God. We have that God is the one who says that when I make promises, they are irrevocable. All right, let's take a look at verse 30, 32 quickly.
[38:52] For just as you once were disobedient to God, that's speaking to us as saved Gentiles, but now have been shown mercy, granted, we sure have been a blessing to that, because of their disobedience, the Jewish nation.
[39:10] So these, now speaking of the Jews, also now have been disobedient, which they are, that because of the mercy shown to you, Gentiles, they also may now be shown mercy.
[39:27] So we have a God of mercy. He's a God of grace. He's a God of mercy. And so the Lord makes it clear. And verse 32, for God has shut up all in disobedience so that he may show mercy to all.
[39:49] And isn't that the truth? So the Lord has this great program for us. Okay, now I'd like to close by discussing a little bit about, they call it a doxol, doxology.
[40:04] And some of us can remember that we sing. In fact, we're probably at the end going to sing a doxology. But here's a doxology in verses 33 through 36.
[40:16] Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways.
[40:31] For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who became his counselor? Or who has first given to him that it might be paid back to him again?
[40:43] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever.
[40:54] Amen. Well, what I find interesting is a doxology should maybe appear at the end of a conference or at the end of a song or even at the end of the book of Romans.
[41:07] But we have five more chapters to go until we reach by December, Lord willing, chapter 16. But I believe that this is Paul who as he sits and writes this letter to the Romans, the Lord through the Holy Spirit is giving him these truths that we've been studying for eight months.
[41:31] And I believe that Paul reached the moment when he had to let loose. He said, oh, the riches, oh, the depths of that riches.
[41:42] And you know, in your mind this morning, can you think of something deep? How about the Titanic two and a half miles down in the ocean? That's some depth, right? And what about riches?
[41:54] All right, if I put a copy of our word of God here with some gold bullion next to it and some blocks of silver here and some stocks and bonds here may have some idea of value, but the greatest value is the word of God because that's what it's telling us.
[42:09] Oh, the depth. This is Paul crying out. The depths, I can't, I just have to let loose, Paul says. The depth of the riches, both of his wisdom and his knowledge.
[42:23] How unsearchable. I can't search his judgments and I can't fathom. It's unfathomable his ways. I can't, remember your English class, you're giving lessons in comprehension.
[42:36] I just can't comprehend that paragraph from Shakespeare or whatever it is. And so, here, Paul is coming to the realization that God is just so marvelous and that was in our songs today about his things that we cannot fathom and his riches.
[42:56] And so, but a beautiful ending. I'd like to have the musicians come up at this point. I think of Handel's Messiah and there's a doxology there too.
[43:11] How about the Hallelujah Chorus? After we have heard beautiful music about Isaiah 9, unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
[43:31] And then, we remember the soloist singing Comfort Ye, O Comfort Ye, my people. Well, if you were to go home today and you were to take Isaiah 40 through 45, you'd say, wow, what a marvelous God we have.
[43:45] He has spoken about his creation and all that he has done. And then, Mr. Handel thought, in the end, I need a doxology. And he created the Hallelujah Chorus.
[43:57] And we all stood when we heard that performance. And we were just blessed by the great truth of our Messiah in the book of Isaiah. And so, and you know, it wasn't a one-time incident.
[44:11] I'm going to have you go over to Ephesians chapter 2 at some closing thought. Galatians, Ephesians. And Paul wrote six chapters, of course, they weren't chapter divide, but halfway through his letter, after he had described great things about our Christian life, our being chosen, our predestination, our unity that we have with fellow believers in the body of Christ, and so forth.
[44:40] He has a doxology halfway through his letter, Ephesians 3, 20. Now unto him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generation forever and ever.
[45:10] Amen. So that last verse that we had in our lesson today, for from him, I often think of the entire Trinity, but I often think of the Father.
[45:21] What came from the Father? His Son. He sent him. And through him, what has passed through us? Redemption through his Son.
[45:31] and then to him would be the Trinity because all of it, when it's all wrapped up, the entire picture of Israel, our salvation, it's to him be the glory.
[45:45] These things are for him, for from him, through him, and to him. To God be the glory. Son. To God be the glory, be the third 하나, for from him, to him.
[45:59] And the holy son- he stood there for the volume. By the time the Lord, if he did number one, he into Islam, I to him, the angel- Let him go to Islam, so heladeth not yeandth à see See Mahall