[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Alright, take your Bibles if you would and turn with me to Romans chapter 9.
[0:10] Romans chapter 9. And we will read the first five verses of Romans chapter 9. And I'm excited that you get to hear the heart of the Apostle Paul.
[0:21] In the book of Romans we start off and he shows us how wicked we are as sinners. He shows the Jewish nation that with all of their advantages and all that they had going for them.
[0:35] That it wasn't enough. He takes us all the way down and shows us that we have all sinned. That everyone has come short of the glory of God. He takes us down and shows us what man is without him.
[0:46] And he shows us in Romans chapter 6 that we can have victory in Christ. And he's really been kind of leaving the Jews off to one side. And he's a Jew. He is an Israelite himself.
[0:58] And his ministry is primarily to Gentiles. To non-Jewish people. And it's probable that a person reading this that was Jewish would say, Paul you don't love us.
[1:10] You are one of us and you've kind of turned your back on us. I was a missionary in South America for 20 years. Betty and I traveled and lived in South America.
[1:20] Mexico and Peru. And there was one of my preacher friends. I mean a very good friend. And he would not take me on for support. And one day he told my son.
[1:31] He said, you know why I've never supported your daddy? Because he doesn't love America. All he ever talks about is Peru. And he said, I'm not going to support him because he doesn't love America. Well the truth is I did love America.
[1:42] But when you do such a strong ministry somewhere else, maybe you talk about that. So Paul's like, hey, let me tell you I love Israel. And he's going to talk to us about Israel. And I'm going to read these verses to you.
[1:53] But at the same time he's going to tell you about how his heart's broken. His heart's broken because Israel, who should know God, doesn't know God. And he's going to tell you how he hurts. And what he would do.
[2:04] And how he would do anything he could to get them to be believers. And so today I would like to talk to you about hurting for the lost. Hurting for people that don't know God. And as I read this chapter, and we talk about Peru.
[2:17] Excuse me. Thought about Peru. That messed me up. And we think about Jewish people. I'd like you to think about cultural Christianity. I'd like you to think about people who live in the southeast of the United States of America.
[2:29] And they have all the advantages. They sound a whole lot like these Jewish people. And they've grown up around Christianity. They've grown up around truth. But they don't know the real truth. They know what Mama told them.
[2:41] They know what has been passed down to them. They know what they hear in their culture. And we need Jesus. So read with me if you would. Romans chapter 9 verses 1 through 5. The Bible says, I say the truth in Christ.
[2:53] I'm telling you guys the truth. I'm not lying. Jesus knows that my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Ghost. Though God and the Holy Spirit both let me tell my conscience and help me know I'm not lying when I say what I'm about to say.
[3:08] That I have great heaviness in my, great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. Great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
[3:18] For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh. Who are 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.
[3:34] Whose are the fathers and of whom as concerned the flesh. Christ came who is over all God blessed forever. Amen. I pray Lord that you would deal with our hearts.
[3:46] I pray you'd help us to hurt for people that don't know you. I pray you'd help us to examine ourselves and to make sure that we are more than cultural Christians. That we're more than people that have mouthed outwardly that we believe in God.
[4:01] We believe in Jesus. We believe in Christianity. We believe in this. But that we have come to a place to know you. And I pray God that before the day is over two things would happen. That those who do not know you would come to know you as their personal Lord and Savior.
[4:15] And I pray dear God for those that are saved. That we might leave here with a greater hurt for those who don't know you. And a greater desire to share your gospel. And I'll give you praise for all in Jesus name.
[4:26] Amen. First thing I want you to look at here is he has a broken heart. He has a broken heart for his people. Verse 2. The Bible says in Romans. Verse 1 he just says this.
[4:36] He starts up and he says look. Tell you the truth. I am telling the truth. I am not stretching this a bit. Because he's going to say something so drastic in these verses that he wants it clear.
[4:48] I really mean this. And this is what he says. He says I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. I don't know if you understand. Boy that's kind of different than typical Christianity.
[5:00] We kind of think of a typical Christianity as Mr. Bluebird sitting on my shoulder. And everything is going my way. And I'm having a great day. And tomorrow. Tomorrow.
[5:11] We got all these wonderful thoughts running through our heads. But what Paul says. And I'll just be honest. I'm under. I have a great heaviness. There's something weighing me down. There's something that's pressing on my heart.
[5:22] I'm under a continual sorrow. And in other words. He might have had a smile on his face. And he might have been chipper in his speech. But in his heart. He was hurting deeply.
[5:33] Because people were dying. And going to hell. And they were his people. You see Paul's preaching the gospel of grace. He is preaching that people are saved.
[5:45] Because they realize they're sinners. You know what the gospel of grace is. Are you ready to remember this. The gospel of grace is this. That you. Stink. We.
[5:56] Stink. We are sinners. We deserve to go to hell. That we could not. Keep the ten commandments. We have not kept the ten commandments. We have not obeyed the law. We have failed almighty God.
[6:08] And because of that. God stepped in. And Jesus paid our sin debt. And Jesus bore our sins. And Jesus offers us a free gift of eternal life. And that's the gospel of grace.
[6:19] Well that was kind of like. Brand new to these Jews. They should have known that. But they didn't know that. And it sounded to them like Paul had abandoned them. And abandoned their belief. And he said man I love you.
[6:31] You are wrong. I love you. And I care about you. And I want you to be saved. I have not abandoned you. He said I love you. I may have a ministry to Gentiles. But I love you. There is not a flippancy in him.
[6:43] He doesn't live a happy go lucky life. And think only about the blessings. He's in the pleasures of the prosperity gospel. And by the way. Can I just say. If you understood the Bible.
[6:54] And what it says about heaven and hell. It would probably affect you more. Can I remind you. There really is a heaven and a hell. Can I remind you.
[7:04] That every person. When they die. Will go to one or the other. Everybody. Nobody just quits existing. Nobody just dies like a dog. And it's over.
[7:15] No one is just dead. And it's done. We all live forever. Some place. After this life. We all live somewhere. After we die.
[7:26] We don't really die. We just quit living here. And the apostle Paul was broken hearted. He had a heaviness in him. Because he loved people. And he didn't want them to die. And go to hell.
[7:37] He didn't want that to happen to them. And he said. Man I'm concerned. I have a continual sorrow. A great heaviness. Because I know what happens. You know.
[7:48] I don't know if you. Let me kind of get you in the mood. You know. You know what it's like to walk in a funeral home. Boy that's a horrible place. Isn't it. How many of you enjoy going to the funeral home.
[8:00] Say amen. I didn't get many amens. How many of you enjoy funerals. You know. I mean as a pastor. It's not exactly like the favorite thing. You have to do. You walk in the room.
[8:11] And somebody's baby's died. Or their wife has died. Or their mom's died. Or their child's died. And when you walk in. Even if you aren't in the middle of that. You feel the heaviness. You feel the heaviness.
[8:23] Or somebody's dying. How many times does the pastor get called. To the deathbed. And he has to walk in the room. And buddy. You can be in your car. You can even be listening to some good music.
[8:34] And you can be singing some wonderful songs. You can have a great thought in your heart. But buddy. When you get out of the car. Start towards the house. You know. I am walking into death.
[8:45] Here in just a second. I'm going to face that. And so there's this heaviness that comes over you. And the fact is. When you leave the funeral home. You're like. Done.
[8:56] Finished. Out of there. But Paul said. It doesn't go away with me. It doesn't go away with me. I feel great heaviness. It's what you feel when a loved one dies. It's what you feel when you go to the funeral home.
[9:08] It's what you feel when you sit by the side of the bed. Of someone that's dying. Paul said. I feel that. All the time. For Jewish people. Israelites. My people. People that I love.
[9:20] Before I leave verse 2. And we move to verse 3. I'd just like to ask you. What do you feel? See. Romans chapter 9. He said. I have great heaviness. And continual sorrow. In my heart.
[9:31] I'd like to ask you. What you feel. Do you hurt for others? Do you hurt for. Worry about. Pray for those. In your family. That do not know. Jesus Christ. As their Lord and Savior.
[9:42] Do you pray. For those. That are your enemies. And hunger for their salvation. Maybe Muslims. Maybe foreigners. Or maybe illegal aliens. In our country.
[9:52] And sometimes you got an attitude. About them. Do you pray. For their salvation. Do you hurt for those. That are deep in sin. And have totally ruined their lives. Do you ever hurt for those. That have such great knowledge.
[10:04] And opportunities. But never take advantage of them. Could I stop and say to you. I hurt so much for Americans. I hurt so much for people. That live right here. In our area. Because the truth is.
[10:16] You know so much. I mean you got a head full of knowledge. You all know there's a God. You all know he's a creator. You all know he's a judge. You all know he had a son. You all know he came to the earth.
[10:27] You all know he died on a cross. You all know he was buried. You all know he rose again. But you only know it up here. And you honestly think. I know it up here. But you don't know it in your heart.
[10:37] You haven't trusted Jesus Christ. You have all this knowledge. You have all this. But when you have every reason to be saved. You have every reason to be born again. But you don't have it.
[10:48] Do you ever hurt for those people? That's what Paul felt. For the Jews. His people. Even while he was going for the souls of Gentiles. And let me just say to Vision real quickly.
[10:59] I know you care. I know you give to missions. I know you care about the world. But I would ask you. Do you care about those that live around you?
[11:11] Vision Baptist Church is one great missionary church. Man we have more missionaries than most churches. We send more money than most churches. For a church of our size. We train missionaries.
[11:22] And we send missionaries. But we live in the middle of a bunch of people that don't know Jesus. We live in the middle of a bunch of people that have heard the gospel. Time and time again. But no one's really cared for their soul.
[11:33] And here's what Paul said. I hurt. I hurt. I'm preaching to Gentiles. But I hurt. I hurt for my own people. I hurt for Jewish people.
[11:45] I hurt for people that have the law. I hurt for people that have the gospel. I hurt for people that know the truth. I hurt for people that walk around the truth. But they don't accept the truth. They don't take advantage of the truth.
[11:56] I hurt. And I want you to hurt this morning. For lost people. That's what Romans chapter 9 is about. You know we've been through eight chapters. We're going to continue through chapter 9.
[12:07] But in chapter 9 verses 1 through 5 it's this. It's time to hurt for lost people. It's time to care that people are dying and going to hell. Paul said in Romans 9 too.
[12:18] I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. Second thing I wish you'd write down is this. He had a willingness to pay any price. A willingness to pay any price to get the gospel.
[12:31] Check out Romans chapter 9 and verse 3. Read that with me if you would. The Bible said. I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ. For my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
[12:43] Let me remind you what he said in verse 1. In verse 1 this is what he said. He said what I'm about to tell you is the truth. God knows it's the truth. The Holy Spirit knows it's the truth. Jesus knows it's the truth.
[12:55] My conscience knows it's the truth. I'm telling you the truth. I hurt. I hurt. All the time. I have continual sorrow. I have great heaviness.
[13:08] And anybody could say that. We could say I feel all this. But Paul doesn't stop there. He said man I'll pay any price. I'd do anything. I want to see Jewish people saved. Now what he's about to say he can't even do himself.
[13:20] Only Jesus could and Jesus did. But Paul said I could wish myself accursed. That means I could wish I was cursed of God. That means in plain blunt English.
[13:31] I wish I could go to hell if it would save them. I wish I could give my life. And even if it meant me suffering for all of eternity.
[13:42] I would do that to get the gospel. He fully understood what it meant. It meant to be separated from Christ. It meant to go to hell for all of eternity. It meant losing his life and his hope and his future to save others.
[13:54] Paul wanted to see them saved. He hurt for him. He wanted them to know about it. Christ was his life. Everything about him revolved around Jesus.
[14:06] And what he had done on the cross. But Paul wanted to see them saved. Enough to risk his own comfort. His happiness. And his security. Just remember this.
[14:17] The apostle Paul is traveling everywhere. And he's going to all these foreign cities. With all these non-Jewish people. All these non-Israelites. All these people that weren't his people. And he's sharing the gospel with every one of them.
[14:29] And every Jew that knew him. He had been a leader in Israel. And then he got saved. He'd been a leader in Israel. He'd studied at the best universities. Two great universities of his day. He'd studied in one of those universities.
[14:41] He was a great Jewish leader. And now he seems to show no care. And he says, I do care. Don't you dare think I don't care. I do care. I promise you.
[14:51] God knows my heart. I do care. I'm under great heaviness. And continual sorrow. I wish I could even be accursed of Christ. To see you get saved.
[15:02] And I'd like to ask you today. What are we willing to risk? If heaven's real. And hell is real. Are you willing to risk your friendship. To tell them about Jesus? Paul said, I'm willing to be accursed.
[15:17] But you know, we won't do that. If it might mean we'd lose a friend. We'd rather our friend go to hell sometimes. We wouldn't really. Not in truth. But in our heart. We wouldn't want to lose their friendship.
[15:28] Are you willing to forego some of your comfort and pleasure. To put the Lord Jesus first in your life? Are you willing to sacrifice. To make sure your family knows Jesus? I would challenge everybody in this room.
[15:40] Men. Husbands. Dads. Paul said, man I feel great heaviness and continual sorrow. You are the father. You are the pastor of your home.
[15:51] You have a wife and you have children. Boy, they ought to see the Bible open. They ought to hear you telling them how to go to heaven. They ought to hear you explaining what Jesus did. They ought to see you as a spiritual leader in your home.
[16:02] Leading them to Christ. You ought to pray for the salvation of your kids every day. You ought to know this. Man, I want God to save my children.
[16:13] There ought to be a great heaviness and a continual sorrow. To do anything in power. To get the gospel to your family. Are you willing to put the gospel. And giving it to them before your business.
[16:24] And your pleasure in your life. Who are you willing to risk yourself for? Paul said, I'm willing to be accursed. I wish I could be accursed. And we're afraid to tell our families.
[16:35] Dad, you're afraid to sit down and say, let me just tell you kids. This is more important than school. This is more important than math. This is more important than science. This is more important than your retirement.
[16:46] This is more important than football and baseball. I want you to know Jesus. I want to tell you about Jesus. We send the gospel overseas and ignore our own family.
[16:57] Our friends and the ones that we care about the most. To Vision Baptist Church, I ask. Has giving to missions become a substitute for feeling any responsibility for your own people.
[17:10] Your own family. And where you live. What a great crime. If we honestly think that putting some money in an offering plate. And sending Travis and Terry back over to Northern Ireland and to London.
[17:24] And relieves us of responsibility about people that live right next to us. And people we rub shoulders with on a daily basis. And people that we are friends with.
[17:35] And they've never been given a gospel track. They've never been invited to church. Paul said, let me tell you. I'm telling you the truth. I am telling you the truth. I feel great heaviness.
[17:46] And continual sorrow. And I would do anything in my power to get the gospel to them. And so I question, when will we start? When will we start?
[17:57] Will you begin by praying for your friends by name? Do you even have a list of folks that you say, God save my buddy? God save the guy I work with. God save the people I'm around.
[18:10] Will you invite them to come and hear the gospel preached? Will you today begin to do what we waited to do? Or will you wait until they're on their deathbed? And frantically call the preacher.
[18:24] I'll come running. And I'll do my best. But man, do you want to talk about an unfair, unreal pressure you put on me? Or a pastor? You spent 40 years with them and you never talked to them about Jesus?
[18:37] And they're dying? And you're like, oh my goodness, we've got to do something. Call the preacher. They're barely lucid. But he better get in here and get on to pray a prayer and talk to Jesus and get saved.
[18:50] Though I never shared the gospel. Also, I'm telling you the truth. I feel a great deal of heaviness and a continual sorrow and I'm willing to do anything.
[19:01] Then verse 4, if you would, look at verse 4. Romans 9, 4. People with advantages that they waste. Wasted advantages.
[19:13] Look at verse 4. Who are 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. You see, Paul's saying to the Jewish people, I love you.
[19:27] And I know who you are. I know who you are. And he says, you are my people. If you notice in verse 3, he said, my kinsmen. My parientes.
[19:39] My kinfolk. You're akin to me. We grew up together. I'm one of you according to the flesh. I got Jewish blood running through my veins.
[19:51] He said, Israelites. You see, Paul said, I love you. By the way, Jesus was a Jew and Paul was a Jew. And Paul wanted them to say, hey, I love Jews.
[20:02] I love Israelites. Don't you dare think anything different. And God gave Israelites great blessings and great benefits. Look at verse 4, if you would with me. Mark it in your Bible.
[20:13] You know, we talked about adoption for us. You remember we talked about that as we came through Romans chapter 8. And how that he made us one of his. And he put us in the family. And he gave us a spirit of adoption where we could cry out, Abba, Father, or Daddy.
[20:28] Daddy to God. Which no Jewish guy had ever thought you could ever say. Paul said, you can. He's your family with him. And Paul said, Jews, you started with it. Man, you had adoption before we did.
[20:40] You had adoption before Christianity. You were God's people. He chose you. The Jews had seen the glory of God. The Jews really had a relationship. They'd seen the glory of God.
[20:52] It says, to whom pertains the adoption and the glory. You know what the glory was? The glory was like the cloud during the day in the pillar of fire by night. That led the children of Israel out of Egypt.
[21:04] The glory was like when they built the temple in God's glory. The Shekinah glory came down and flooded the temple so everybody stood back. The glory was what shone on Moses' face after he came down off the mountain.
[21:16] And they couldn't even bear to look at him. They knew God's glory. They knew God's glory. And God had also given them the covenants and promises. Look, if you would, in verse 4.
[21:27] He says, the Israelites to whom pertains the adoption and the glory and the covenants. He made a covenant with Abraham. He said, Abraham, you're going to be blessed. And you're going to be a blessing. And if anybody curses you, I'm going to curse them.
[21:40] And if anybody blesses you, I'm going to bless them. He said the same thing to Isaac. He said the same thing to Jacob. Come Thursday night, you'll hear, we'll be in Genesis chapter 28. You're going to hear that blessing, that covenant given to him.
[21:51] He gave the covenant to David. He said to his people, but you're the people of the covenant. Paul said, Jews, I love you. I know who you are. You're my kinfolk. God loves you.
[22:01] God chose you. God worked in your life. You've seen the glory. You've had the covenant. God used you to get the law. The Ten Commandments. What a great, wonderful day when the law was given.
[22:14] Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the books of the law. What a great thing that God allowed Jewish people. Moses went up on the mountain and God with his own finger wrote it down. And he said, man, don't you dare think I don't know who you are.
[22:27] I know who you are. You have great advantages. They were given, they're the ones God used to give us the word of God. Do you know this is a Jewish book? Jewish book written by Jewish people.
[22:40] Jesus was a Jew. The apostles that started the church were Jews. Paul said, don't you dare think I don't love you. I love you, Jews. I care about you.
[22:52] It's by the way, they were the servants of God to take the gospel to the world. It's impossible for anyone who loves God and his word not to love Jewish people. First of all, you love everybody.
[23:03] But you definitely ought to love the ones that brought us the Bible. You definitely ought to love the ones that gave us the word of God. You definitely ought to love the ones that God used to start the church. And Paul said, I love you. I love you.
[23:14] I'm telling you the truth. I'm not lying. I'm not stretching it one bit. The Holy Spirit knows I'm telling the truth. Jesus knows I'm telling the truth. My conscience knows I'm telling the truth. I'm under a great heaviness and a continual sorrow. I'd do anything I could to get you saved.
[23:26] You are the people of God. But those Jewish people had the same problem that many of you have this morning. They had cultural Christianity. Cultural Christianity.
[23:38] That's what it would be called in our day and time. You know, I grew up. There's a church on every corner. Good people going to good churches. All your neighbors go to church. Everybody you know.
[23:50] You know, you can't meet a person that's not a member of a church. Have you ever noticed that? Everybody's a member of a church. I remember I was out knocking on doors in Cartersville, the first church I started, back when Betty and I were old people of 23 years of age.
[24:01] And I was knocking, it had been several years, maybe five or six years, I was knocking on doors one day. And I knocked on this lady's door and I said, ma'am, I'd just like to talk to you about the Lord Jesus. She said, don't need to talk to you, I'm a member of a church. And I said, well, I'm sure you are, but I just want to talk to you not about being a member of a church, but about your relationship with Jesus.
[24:18] They tell me about that at my church. She said, I'm a member of a church. I said, well, what church are you a member of? She said, Liberty Baptist Church. That was the church I started. And I was the pastor of it. And I knew everybody went there.
[24:31] And I said, really? You're a member of Liberty? She said, yes, I am. I said, well, that's great. I said, where is that? She said, I'm not sure. I said, is it the one on Grasdale Road? She said, yep, that's it. That's it.
[24:42] I said, well, you know, I'm the pastor there. She said, well, I went there before you did. I said, there wasn't one before I went there. And then she's like, well, there's got to be another one.
[24:54] Everybody's a member of a church. Everybody's saved and everybody's going to heaven. That's what had happened to the Jews. The Jews had gotten to a place in their life when they really thought they didn't need a personal relationship.
[25:08] Go with me, if you would, to Romans chapter 10. We'll get to this again in a couple of three weeks. But look in Romans chapter 10, if you would, verse 1. Paul kind of explains where they are.
[25:19] And it reminds me of where we are. It reminds me of where you might be this morning. In Romans chapter 10 and verse 1. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel, for my people, is that they might be saved.
[25:31] Verse 2. I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. They, being ignorant of God's righteousness, are going about trying to establish their own righteousness, and have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
[25:47] For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. Here's what he says. Well, those Israelites have a zeal for God. They love Him. They do. They love God.
[25:58] And they work hard. But their zeal is not according to knowledge. They were doing what they knew to do from their parents, from their culture. But it wasn't the right thing.
[26:09] It wasn't what God had said. He said, boy, they've got a zeal for God, but they do it ignorantly. They don't know that God established righteousness, and they're trying to establish their own righteousness.
[26:21] In Philippians chapter 3, verses 3 through 7, and I won't take the time to read it, but in that passage of Scripture, Paul says, before he knew Jesus, he said, you know who I am? You know who I was?
[26:31] I was a Jew. I was born in the tribe of Benjamin. I was circumcised on the right day. I was trained the right way. And if you want to talk about keeping the rules, I kept the rules blamelessly.
[26:42] I was a really good guy. You want to talk about being zealous? You want to talk about being on fire for God? I was there. But he says, I realize that those things were to be counted as loss, that they were counted as gain and should be counted as loss.
[26:58] You see, the Jews didn't realize God had another plan, and he never intended for us to live up to the law. Now, you listen to this. Look this way. Just look here a second. Listen to this. Did you know God never meant for you to keep the Ten Commandments?
[27:13] Look this way. He never meant for you to keep the Ten Commandments. He meant for you to figure out you couldn't keep the Ten Commandments. He meant for you to try to keep the Ten Commandments and go, man, this don't work.
[27:26] I try and try and try and I just can't keep all the Ten Commandments. Too many rules. And you know what the Lord would say? Good. You figured it out. You can't. You can't keep the rules.
[27:37] And he would have said, now that you can't keep the rules, I have someone who can keep the rules. Jesus. And he kept all the rules and he died like a criminal for breaking rules he didn't break.
[27:48] And he can take your sin and put it on him and he can pay your sin debt. And so the rules come to an end. When grace steps in, the rules come to an end.
[27:59] And he said, they don't understand that. They go about trying to establish their own righteousness. They were only frustrating themselves. They struggled and struggled to be good enough, not realizing they could never be good enough.
[28:11] Doesn't that describe you? Doesn't that describe you? Think about this just a second with me. Would you? It describes you. You have lived your entire life trying to be a good person.
[28:22] The fact is, you're good at work and you're good in the family and you're good everywhere you go. And you work at being good and you work at trying to hide anything that's bad about you. And you've got this great veneer on, this great exterior that says, I'm a good guy and I do right.
[28:36] And I pay my bills and I treat my wife right. And I treat my kids right. I'm a good guy. But on the inside, you know, you're not what you say you are.
[28:46] You're not what others think you are. You know about you what nobody knows about you. And you are so frustrated. That's exactly where God wanted to get you.
[28:58] He wanted to get you to a place in your life where you'd realize, I give up. I can't. God, I've tried. I've tried. But the Jewish people marched around.
[29:10] Man, they made rules about rules. They said, we got a rule and we're going to make a rule so you can't break the rule. So they put what they call a fence around the law. They said, that'll be the rule. So let's make another rule that you couldn't work on Sunday.
[29:23] So they decided exactly how far it was walking before it was work. And they said, you can walk this number of steps, but not one more. Not one more. You can fix this much food, but not any more.
[29:35] You can do this, but you can't do that. And they made up all these rules so they could walk around saying, I keep the rules. God never meant you to keep the rules. God meant you to realize I'm a sinner.
[29:47] God meant for you to cry out from your heart. I can't. I'm frustrated. I give up. It's beyond me. That's what God wanted you to get where you would do.
[29:58] But in our pride, we don't want to admit that. We want to think that we're good enough. We never want to admit we're not. I'd like you to look with me at chapter 10 and verse 4 if you would.
[30:12] For Christ is the end of the law for the righteousness to everyone that believeth. Here it is. You ready? It's like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
[30:25] Except instead of a rainbow, it's frustration and giving up and sadness and realizing you don't measure up. And you're like at the end of your rope and you're ready to give up. And all of a sudden you look and say, there's Jesus.
[30:36] There's grace. Because when you come to the end of your rope, he steps in. He's the end of the law. He's the end of the law. He's what the law is for. The law is to take you.
[30:46] The law is to take you in the room and weigh you and cut you open and find your cancer and find out what's wrong with you. And say, you're in big trouble, buddy. And when you're in big trouble, you cry out and say, oh God, I need to be saved.
[31:00] There were two thieves on the cross. One said, hey, you're a criminal just like the rest of us. The other said, won't you hush? You know he's not. The one guy wanted to continue saying he was just as good. And the other guy said, I realize I'm a sinner.
[31:12] God, forgive me. The one guy walked into the temple and raised his hand and said, God, I thank you. I'm not like these other people around here. I see you've got a bunch of sinners in the room, but I'm not like that. The other guy bowed his head, struck his chest and said, be merciful to me, a sinner.
[31:29] I want you to go to verse five and we're through. Jesus has come in the flesh to save us. This is like one of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible. Look at this verse.
[31:40] This is a wild verse. Put on your seatbelt. You're in for a blessing. Look at verse five. Whose, the Jews, are the fathers, of whom as concerning the flesh, the Jews, that's how Jesus came.
[31:53] Christ came. Who is Christ? He's over all. He's God. Blessed. Forever. Christ. God. Blessed.
[32:03] Forever. You want to hear it? Look this way. Let me tell you something. Jesus is the end of the law. The law stops. Jesus starts. You ready to hear something? God came down in human flesh.
[32:15] John chapter one in the beginning was the word. The word was with God and the word was God. John chapter one, verse 14. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus became, or God became flesh so we could be saved.
[32:26] And Jesus is that God. And he's the one that came and he's, he's the blessing for all of us. What we couldn't do, Jesus did. Jesus is God in the flesh.
[32:37] He's over all. He's blessed above all. Jesus is the answer for the Jewish person. Mr. Jewish person, you can't keep the rules. You can't be good enough.
[32:48] You can wash your hands with exactly the right amount of water every day. You can eat the right foods and not eat the wrong foods. You can do everything you're supposed to do, but it won't be enough. It won't be enough.
[32:58] Mr. Cultural Christian, you know, you have tried every church. You joined this one and you joined that one. You've been baptized and sprinkled and circumcised and, and, and, and laundered.
[33:09] I don't know. You've had it all done to you, but you know, inside, God, you ain't there yet. Jesus is the end of the law. God come in human flesh.
[33:20] God come to die on a cross to pay a sin debt. He did not owe so you could be saved. God in flesh dying on a cross. Mr. Jew, only one answer for you.
[33:32] Christian, only one answer for you. God come in flesh dying on a cross, paying sin debt. So you can be saved. If you're here and you're frustrated, you need to know this.
[33:44] Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid it all. Who's are the fathers of whom is concerned the flesh?
[33:57] Christ came, who is overall God blessed forever. Amen. That's like saying, yeah, boy. He gets through. He reads that chapter, chapter nine, verse one.
[34:08] He says, Hey, I'm telling you all the truth. I'm not lying. I have a great heaviness and a continual sorrow. I wish I could do anything I could to get people saved. I love Jews.
[34:18] I know who you are. I understand what God's done for you. But let me tell you something. When you, what you couldn't accomplish and what we couldn't accomplish and what none of us were able to do. Jesus came in the flesh and he accomplished.
[34:30] And he ends up saying, amen, which means attaboy. Amen. Yes, I'm with you. That's the way it is. He was so excited. Jesus paid it all.
[34:42] Are you here frustrated? Are you here? Not sure that you go to heaven. If you died, are you here trying religion and being baptized? And I mean, you've done everything they told you and you know, it ain't worked yet.
[34:53] Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. Trust Jesus Christ, God in the flesh who died on the cross and paid your sin debt. If you're a Christian here, it ought to break your heart that people don't know about Jesus.
[35:05] And let's keep on sending mysteries and let's keep on praying for mysteries. Let's keep on caring about people around the world. But let's care about people where we live. Paul said, I haven't forgotten my people. I care.
[35:17] Do you? Father in heaven, I love you. Thank you for the chance to open your word. I pray you'd save people. I pray you'd convict Christians. I pray your name would be glorified today.
[35:27] God, save somebody. There's somebody here today, Lord, that's come. And you know that more than I do. And Holy Spirit, you're already dealing with their heart and they're ready to be saved. I pray you'd convict them and help them to say, I'm at the end of myself.
[35:38] I'm trusting Jesus. And dear God, I pray for some that are not as, they're just cold, really, about people getting saved. And we're not worried about caring your word.
[35:51] Give us a great heaviness and a continual sorrow for lost people.