The Objects of His Mercy

Well, as I covered with you last month, or not last month, but last week, I guess it was last month. That was a correct statement.

But also last week, we were able to go over some of the settings, some of the background, some of the overview of the book of Isaiah. And as I mentioned to you, I realized that's pretty much all I'm going to be able to do. As I introduce these major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, we need to have at least some background for those in order to be able to benefit from reading them. And even as Tom was going through today, just a small section in one of the minor prophets, which is actually a pretty big minor prophet, actually, it helps to have some background. It helps to have specific information, but we're not able to go over all of that as we talk about, say, the book of Isaiah, as I'm planning to do today. And I just passed out to you, or Brad did, a sheet. And if we go through all of those scriptures today, we'll be here until three o'clock. And I'm not intending to do that. I'm just wanting to show you that there are many. And actually, this is the case, and I mentioned to you, I try to cover some of the information that is in Isaiah that is also quoted in the New Testament. And you can see from the listing that you have, you know, there actually, I guess the book of Psalms is quoted a little more often. It has about 90 quotations, and I think there's about 70 here.

From the book of Isaiah that are directly quoted in the New Testament. And, of course, some of those, as you can see with Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 53, they deal with what Jesus Christ was going to fulfill when he came to the earth, when he offered himself as a sacrifice for sin. And that, of course, is why Isaiah is called the Messianic prophet. You know, he has, and he doesn't have all of the information. You see many other things in different ones of the prophets that would deal with Jesus. But many of those verses in chapter 52 and 53 are referred to there, and one of the reasons why he's viewed in that way. As I was looking through these verses and trying to study the connection that you have between what God inspired Isaiah to write down, because it was under his inspiration. Isaiah didn't just come up with this information. God was inspiring him and writing down things that would be applicable for the time, but then also would have bearing on the future, because God is in control of the future. He's in control of a great plan. And it was a startling revelation to me that stood out when I looked at the many scriptures you have out of Isaiah that are quoted in the New Testament, because they reinforce what we see written in 1 Timothy 2 about God's desire. God's desire to have all men, those who would be considered Israelite, and then everyone else who would be considered non-Israelite. But the fact is that God desires to have all men come to repentance and ultimately have salvation. He wants people, all people, to be a part of his family. Here in 1 Timothy 2, I want to read a part of this section. And again, this is one that you are familiar with. 1 Timothy 2, starting in verse 3, it says, This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior. And so Paul is making this statement. And of course, this whole book is a book that he's writing in order to help Timothy to understand how he was supposed to do his job working in the ministry. But in verse 3 of chapter 2, it says, This is right and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone. His desire, his intention, his wish would be for everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now that is, I think, something many times we may take for granted. If we think about God, if we think about what he's doing, if we think about his creation and how that he created Adam and Eve, and he placed us here on the earth, but he also was working out a plan, a plan where he desires that everyone will come to agree with him. Ultimately, that's really what has to happen. You know, we've got to come to be aware, aware of the knowledge of God, the truth of God, and we have to agree with God and, of course, submit to God. And yet, Paul continues to write here. He talks about God a little bit in verse 5. There's one God. There's also one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ. And in verse 7, he says, For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle, and I'm telling you the truth, I'm not lying. I'm a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. Now, Paul directly was given a commission. He was given a mission from God that he was going to take the knowledge, particularly knowledge of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God. He was going to take that to the Gentiles.

Now, he always went to the Jews as well. He went to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.

But he's pointing out, you know, that God is concerned about everyone. He's concerned about people here in town in Fulton. He's concerned about them. He's concerned about us.

He has love for all. And yet right now, he's not directly working with absolutely everyone.

You know, whenever you read, you know, the prophetic statements that Isaiah makes that are mostly written to Israel. They're written to Israel or to the house of Judah particularly, which would also be Israelite-ish. They would be clearly a part of Israel. And he was telling them that, well, you're going to go into captivity or you're going to fall if you don't repent.

But then he also has many statements that show, you know, even though you may suffer loss, you're also going to be restored. That's what you find when you read through the book of Isaiah.

You find, you know, you need to repent, otherwise you're going to suffer loss, but then there's going to be restoration. And that's kind of repeated over and over again.

If you read through the book, you will see that because it is referenced many, many times.

But some of the things that I wondered about whenever I thought about, you read about God speaking to Israel, and then later speaking to the enemies of Israel. And he says, I'll use some of you to punish my people, and then I'll punish you because you get the big head and you become arrogant about the fact that we're being used to punish the people of God, and I'll punish you too.

And so God has a far bigger picture in mind than what we might normally think of whenever we read this. And so there are a number of questions that I think would be good for us to think about.

Does God show preference to his nation Israel? Does he show preference to people that are descended from Abraham? Is there injustice with God? Is he unjust by calling you right now instead of your neighbor, someone that you know, some relative that you have? Why does he extend mercy to some? And he doesn't extend mercy to everyone.

And of course, the answer to that comes in knowing that he is working out a plan.

There is an order to his sharing a knowledge of the plan and purpose of God. And of course, we could also ask, what part does grace have to do with our conversion? Why has he called us to be a part of his church today? And do we see the depth of his rich wisdom and knowledge? See, these are actually statements that Paul answers, as I'm going to go to here in the book of Romans a little later on. But in answer to the question, does God show preference? Or is he an unjust person? The answer to that comes down to it's all a matter of God's timing.

See, now you may think, and certainly as you have pursued the truth of God, and as you have wanted to study and wanted to learn and wanted to be a part of the plan that God is working out, you have participated in that. And every one of us have to participate, even as Brad was mentioning and Ewan and I were talking earlier today, that we need to accept what God is offering. But we need to understand it. We need to read it and understand it and know what it is that he's offering. But it's all a matter, or it is a matter of God's timing, of the order in which he is causing things to come about. Let's look at Matthew 13. I'm not going over that sheet, by the way. I'm not even going to remotely try to go over that sheet. You can study it as you might wish. But in Matthew 13, I think it's fascinating. Can you see why Jesus said that the parables were spoken as they are? Here in Matthew 13, starting in verse 10, the disciples came and said, why do you speak in parables? And he answered, well, to you it's been given to know the mystery or secret of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it's not been given. Now that sounds kind of prejudicial. That sounds kind of unjust. And yet Jesus goes on to say in verse 13, the reason I speak to them in parables is so that seeing they will not perceive and hearing, they will not listen, nor will they understand. See, this is directly from Jesus Christ. Of course, he was the one inspiring Isaiah. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Isaiah was writing down words that we see in verse 14 with them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says, you will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive.

For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes so that they might not look with their eyes and listen with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. See, this was Jesus' statement in explanation of why he spoke in parables. I'm speaking in parables. I can reveal understanding. God can open people's eyes and hearts, and he can also allow them to continue to be clothed. But the verse I really want to get to is in verse 16, but he says, blessed are your eyes. He was talking to his disciples. He was talking to those who were following. He was talking to those that he was going to work with and teach and train and open their ears and open their eyes so that they could understand. He says, blessed are your eyes, for they see and your ears, for they hear.

Hey, brethren, that's a fabulous privilege, a privilege and an honor that God has extended to us, and this is simply Jesus' explanation of how it's all a part of God's timing. See, I want to come to agree with God. I want to come to follow his instruction now. He's going to ultimately deal with the Israelite-ish world. He's going to deal with the non-Israelites as well. He's going to deal with all of humanity. He's going to introduce them to the truth of God, and he's going to do, you know, whatever is needed in order to help them see the benefit of following that. And yet, he's doing that for us today. So I think it's good for us to think, well, what do our eyes see and hear and perceive that's different? Do we see the hope of the kingdom of God and the hope of the rulership of Jesus Christ in that kingdom? See, many people have quite a confused idea about the kingdom of God. They don't understand what that's going to be. They don't comprehend how that's going to be brought to the earth. They don't comprehend how that's going to be a benefit to men, and how that's going to not only be a benefit to Israel, but a benefit to the entire Gentile world, because he's going to set a pattern that ultimately others will follow. And of course, it's important. I think it's important for us to truly respect God's choosing and his timing in our lives, and that we would appreciate the calling that he has given us. Sometimes, as we labor with our difficulties, and I know that we do, and we can be discouraged, and we can be struggling and thinking, well, you know, I'm not doing too well, or I wish I didn't have this difficulty, or that difficulty, or even as we live through our lives, you know, as things don't exactly turn out exactly as I thought, or I hoped, or wished, we can forget that God is working a great miracle in our lives. See, a miracle not unlike the birth of Isaac. Was the birth of Isaac a miracle? Well, as you read that story, you know, Sarah was barren. She didn't have any children, and she was beyond childbearing age.

But when God determined he would have a son of promise, and he would do that through Abraham and Sarah, a miracle happened. And see, the miracle that God is performing in our lives is not unlike the birth of Isaac to Sarah and Abraham, and it's not unlike the choosing of Jacob. See, Rebecca had twin sons, Jacob and Esau. What's the difference?

God favored Jacob. He's going to continue to work with the children of Esau, even as he's going to continue to work with the children of Ishmael, the son of Isaac.

But see, he favored Isaac and then Jacob, even as he also favored Abraham. And of course, Abraham in a sense, as we read it, kind of the beginning of this lineage that would produce the house of Israel. And yet, I hope it's something we can think about as far as just how it is that we can appreciate the miracle that God has caused to come about.

Because when we read what he tells Israel and then what he tells the nations that punished Israel, you know, he is going to work out a plan that will involve and include everyone, but it's going to be according to his timing. Let's take a look at Acts, Acts chapter 28. This is the very end of the book of Acts, and of course, this is after there are many other verses we could go to. Well, I want to just point out, you know, Paul had finally gotten to Rome. Here in chapter 28, he's a shipwrecked, and he finally gets to Rome. And in verse 14, he says, there we found believers, and we were invited to stay with them for seven days, and so we came to Rome. And the believers from there, when they heard of us, came as far as the Forum of Apias and Three Taverns.

I don't know why they were meeting at Three Taverns, but that's where they happened to meet.

Is that a congregational church issue? Or I don't know. And I don't know much more about it. I should have looked it up, but I didn't. But he says, whenever they came there to meet us on seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. You know, he was greatly encouraged to find believers who would come and in a sense embrace him and work with him. And in verse 17, it says, three days later, he called together the local leaders of the Jews. And when they assembled, he started to explain, see, he was going to the Jews to begin with. He was going to people who were known Israelites. He knew what his mission was. He knew what his commission was, but he would go to the Jews before he would then later go to the Gentiles.

And in this exchange, from verse 17 on down to verse 28, you see him discussing with them, you know, what he has to tell them. And they say, in verse 22, we'd like to hear from you what you think with regard to this sect that we know that everywhere it is spoken against. They were speaking of the church of God. They were speaking of the people of God, that God was drawing to make up a spiritual house of Israel, a spiritual Israel of God.

See, that's what he was dealing with. He was no longer, or he was not directly dealing with whether they were Israelite or Jewish, or Israelite or Gentile, I guess I should say, but that he was going to be drawing those who would have a spiritual understanding.

And in verse 23, when they set a day to meet with him, they came to his lodging in great numbers, morning until evening. He explained what they needed to know. See, he explained what these Jews who lived there in Italy, they lived there and they knew what they thought their religion was.

But Paul said, morning until evening, he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God. They didn't know a lot about the kingdom of God. They certainly were caught up in their own background, their own history, their own teaching, their own understanding of the Old Testament and what we do as Jews. That's what they were familiar with. But he says, he taught them testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets. He was clearly using the Old Testament as, of course, that's what was available at that time, to teach the kingdom of God that we see whenever you read the prophecies in Isaiah in chapter 2 and 9 and 11 and 35 and 32 and numerous other places, those predictions are about the coming kingdom of God. And he said, he tried to convince them about Jesus Christ, that he was the Son of God, that you ignored him, that you actually killed him, saying that as a nation they had put him to death.

But in verse 24 it says, some of them, some were convinced by what he had to say, but others refused to believe. You know, they didn't want to believe about the kingdom of God or about who Jesus Christ really was. So they disagreed with each other, and as they were leaving, Paul makes one further statement. He says, before you leave, I need to tell you something.

The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah, Go to this people and say you will indeed listen, but not understand. You will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that they might not look with their eyes and listen with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn and I would heal them. To hear Jesus, of course, quoted this in Matthew 13. You see Paul clearly using this instruction from Isaiah about Israelites.

He says you don't really get it. You don't really understand, and actually you don't want to know about the kingdom, and you don't want to know about Jesus Christ. And so he said in verse 28, Let it be known to you that this salvation of God, this plan and purpose, this ordering, this calling, this gathering by God of people who will have a spiritual understanding, be it known to you that this salvation of God is now being sent to the Gentiles because they will listen. See the Jews, they might have heard, but they didn't understand. They could see Paul, but they didn't accept or receive what he had to say. And so I think it's fascinating to see the references that we have of Isaiah and how it is that he said that the Holy Spirit inspired Isaiah to write down what all of us read in Isaiah 6. We read this last week about what was Isaiah's commission. Isaiah 6. We'll go to that here in a second. I want to mention one other verse here in the New Testament, John chapter 12, because this also has to do with believing who Jesus Christ was. Here in John chapter 12 and verse 36, it says after this, John 12, 36, Jesus said, He departed and hid from them, and although He had performed many signs in their presence, this is Jesus, they did not believe in Him. And this was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah, and now it's quoting Isaiah 53 verse 1, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

And so they could not believe because Isaiah also said, He has blinded their eyes. And this is Isaiah 6 verse 10, and hardened their heart so that they might not look with their eyes and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. And it says in verse 41, Isaiah said this, and see, Isaiah was writing down what is we can read in Isaiah chapter 6, verse 9 and 10.

He was writing this 700 years before Jesus would ever be sent to the earth. He was writing this under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He was writing it under the direction of God to be able to show what's required, what's needed. Well, clearly belief in Jesus Christ is needed for all Israelites to become converted. But of course, that's also a statement you could make about all non-Israelites. For everyone, anyone to come to be a part of the plan of God and the salvation that God has to offer, you've got to believe who Jesus Christ was and what He can do. But it says in verse 41, Isaiah said this because Isaiah saw His glory, Jesus' glory, and spoke about Him.

See, that's what we read whenever we read different verses in the book of Isaiah about Jesus Christ. See, that's why whenever the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 was going along and Philip was sent to Him, and he was asking Him, well, you know, I don't really, I can read this, but I don't understand it. He was reading out of Isaiah. He was reading out of the book of Isaiah. He was reading out of the Old Testament, and it was talking about, I think it's Isaiah 53, verse 7 and 8. And the eunuch was asking, well, who's this talking about? Is this talking about Isaiah? Is this talking about someone else? And, of course, Philip was able to tell him, well, no, this is talking about Jesus Christ. This is talking about the Son of God. This is talking about someone you have to believe in.

And, of course, as he said, he did believe, and he followed that up with obedience being baptized.

And then, you know, that short account, you've got a brief encounter there that is, again, I think a fascinating account. But you see Isaiah quoted in that particular issue where you could learn about Jesus Christ. You could learn about what he was going to go through. You could learn about how he would be rejected. You could learn about how he would not answer back, and how he would be slaughtered for the sins, for the Ethiopian sins. That's how he had to take that, as all of us can take that today. Again, I want to go back to Isaiah 6, and this is primarily what I want to focus on here today, because Isaiah, as he had this vision in Isaiah chapter 6, he saw the throne of God.

And down in verse 9, after verse 8, God said, well, who am I going to send? And he said, well, I'll go. Send me. And then God said in verse 9, go and say to this people, keep listening, don't comprehend, keep looking, but don't understand, make the mind of the people dull, stop their ears, shut their eyes, so they may not look with their eyes and listen with their ears, and comprehend with their minds, and turn and be healed. See, that was, in essence, the mission. That was not a very positive, optimistic way of going about doing the work of God.

He was going to proclaim messages of repentance that you needed to turn, that you needed to accept Jesus Christ, and yet the mission was that they wouldn't get it. They wouldn't listen.

They wouldn't hear. Their eyes would actually be blinded. So who's in charge of all this? Well, God is. God is in charge. And like I said, you have this reference to Isaiah 6, 9, and 10 numerous places in Matthew, and Mark, and Luke, and John, and Acts, and then in Romans.

And I want to eventually go to Romans here because in Romans chapter 9, and 10, and 11, you find a section that Paul wrote to the church in Rome, and he was directing them to gain some understanding. You actually have 32 references to Isaiah in these three chapters, Romans 9, and 10, and 11. And ultimately what we find, not only all the other references to Isaiah in the New Testament, but what you find Paul concentrating a lot of information, some out of Isaiah, some out of others of the prophets, where he is trying to help the church comprehend that God is in charge of drawing people. It is a miracle for Jews and for Gentiles to come to be a part of the Israel of God. And when I say the Israel of God, I'm meaning the church, the called-out people, the people who would embrace the message about the kingdom of God, and the message which is far fuller than most ever know about Jesus Christ and his rulership in the kingdom, but his rulership in our lives right now.

See, what we find in Romans 9, and 10, and 11, this section is kind of a middle section to the book of Romans. You have to begin with, in the first eight chapters, Paul writing to the church there that was made up of Jews and Gentiles. And they were in odds with each other. They were in conflict with each other, and they both needed to learn that the Jew was not superior or the Gentile was not superior because that's what they thought. What they needed to know was that it's through Jesus Christ that every one of you had been drawn to have a relationship with God today. That's what they needed to learn. And then in chapter 9, and 10, and 11, he elaborates on this a considerable amount. And as we know from chapter 12 on, the information about what we read in chapter 12, and 13, and 14, all the way to the end, 16, is mostly Christian living information. It's how you're supposed to live as a Christian. But here in chapter 9, and 10, and 11, Paul wanted to point out to them how much in charge of calling people God is. So let's turn to Romans chapter 9. Paul starts talking about, and again he's addressing Jews and Gentiles in the church there, and of course for our benefit too. He says in verse 4, he talks about Israelites. He says, these are my brothers, these are my kindred. He was of the house of Judah, he was a benjamite, he was a Pharisee. You know, Paul had a lot of, what, genealogy to rest on. He also had been struck blind, and he knew that he needed Jesus Christ. He knew what he was going to teach to the church. But he says regarding the Israelites, and to them, in verse 4, belong the adoption and the glory, the covenants, the giving of all the worship and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all God, to be blessed forever. See, this was his introductory statement to how beneficial it should be to an Israelite with all of the benefits that God had offered. How beneficial that should be, that they would grow in a relationship with God. What he says down in verse 14, again, I'm not going to read through all of this because we don't have near the time, but I hope that you would read through this and maybe even look up. Most of you have a cross-reference Bible, you know, where it just shows, you know, where each of the quotations from Isaiah are, and you could go back and look at them as well. But whenever he talks about the Israelites having come from Abraham, and through Isaac, and through Jacob, and even as he says in verse 13, as it is written, I love Jacob, but I hated Esau. See, that statement almost again makes it look like, well, God was favoring one instead of the other. But he says in verse 14, you know, what should we conclude? What should we say is there injustice on God's part? And Paul follows that up by saying, by no means. See, God is not unjust. God worked through Abraham, and then Isaac, and then Jacob, and their descendants.

But see, God is not unjust. Let's jump on down to verse 18. He talks about Pharaoh, and how that Pharaoh, you know, certainly, you know, was the enemy of God. He was opposing God. And yet it says in verse 18, then God has mercy on whomever he chooses, and he hardens the heart of whomever he chooses. Again, God did this. It's not that Pharaoh needed much prompting. He was already anti-God. He was already filled with idolatry and arrogance. He was, in a sense, almost the epitome of Satan's attitude instead of God's. I don't think God had to prompt that very much. And yet what we find in verse 18 is that God can extend mercy to whomever he wishes. We drop down to verse 23.

Actually, verse 19 and 20, he talks about, well, as human beings, you know, what business do we have questioning God? If God decides to extend mercy to someone, well, then, you know, maybe we should understand why he would do that instead of criticize what he does. But in verse 23, it says, And what if he has done so in order... and see, what if God has chosen to work things out the way he has with Israel, with the Gentile world? What if he has done so in order to make known the riches of his glory for the objects of mercy to you and I? We are an object of mercy. We have been extended the mercy of God.

What if he has done this in order to make known the riches of his glory to the objects of mercy which he has prepared beforehand for glory? God is working out a plan. He is going to cause a plan to come to pass that he has written about in the Old Testament and in the New Testament and offered to us, including which he has prepared beforehand for glory, including us whom he has called not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles.

He was making up the church, making up the people there in Rome, some having Jewish and some having Gentile backgrounds. And if we drop on down, he talks about how the the house of Israel, you know, really, and this is a totally another subject, but they did not understand the righteousness that they needed to seek. Matthew 6, 33 tells us to seek the kingdom of God and to seek the righteousness of God.

It doesn't tell us too much how to do that right there. Paul tells us how to do that. That's another subject. But I want to follow up with verse 32. Israel failed. They didn't listen. They were blinded. Why? And he goes ahead in verse 32 to say, because they did not strive for it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone. See, that's a very important statement. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. And of course, we can read, and most everyone knows the Jews were involved in putting Jesus to death, but it wasn't simply a matter of when he came.

They didn't accept him and did want to kill him. They hated him. They were so jealous of him. They, you know, were just foaming at the mouth to try to get rid of him. And yet they stumbled over the stumbling stone, which is described here again in verse 33. And yet, see, why is that important? Why is that significant? Well, it's significant because every person is going to eventually submit to Jesus Christ. Every Jew, every Israelite, anyone with that background is going to ultimately come to submit in this age or in the age to come to Jesus Christ.

And then every Gentile, every opposing individual is also going to come to submit to Jesus Christ. I'm not wanting to read through chapter 10, or at least most of it. I do want to read just one verse here in verse 12 in talking about the church that not only was made up there in Rome in that congregation, but in the church as a whole.

In verse 12, he says, there's no distinction between Jew and Dreek. The same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. And again, there's a lot more information here that we don't have time to try to cover. But what I want to show is what he says more so in chapter 11, because he talks about this blindness that it appears that Isaiah was very clearly involved. Now, Isaiah was not trying to blind people. He was not trying. He was trying to give information, but God says, you know, you can give it, they won't get it. They won't receive it. And that's the same thing that Jesus said.

I'm speaking in parables so they won't understand. Those objects of mercy are going to understand. And that's what I want to point out to us today. Here in chapter 1, or verse 1 of 11, Isaiah said, has God rejected his people Israel? And of course, he answered that. He backs it up. He says, by no means. I myself am an Israelite. I'm a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Judah. And God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

Now, he didn't open their eyes. He didn't open their ears.

But he's not forgotten them. He has not rejected them.

We drop down to verse 5. It says, so too at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace.

And see, this is the way that he's describing those who would be drawn into the church of God, who would be able to see the kingdom of God and see the wonderful blessing of Jesus Christ in verse 7. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect, though, has obtained it, but the rest were hardened. And then he again quotes Isaiah 6, I believe.

He actually points out in verse 9 some of the things that David said about people's eyes being blinded and not being able to see. But in verse 11, he says in verse 11, so I ask, have they, have Israel stumbled so as to fall? And again, he says, by no means.

He uses that. He asks a question, then he answered it. Absolutely not. Numerous times here. And also, if you'll recall in Romans 6, verse 1, because he said, you know, should we continue in sin just because we know we can be forgiven, just because grace has been extended to us. He says, by no means there as well. But here in verse 11, I ask, have Israel stumbled so as to fall by no means, but through their stumbling. Salvation has come to the Gentiles so as to make Israel jealous.

See, God clearly favored Israel. He clearly blessed Israel. He gave them his word, his law.

He gave them the promises, but they didn't want it. They didn't accept it. They didn't receive it.

They didn't understand it. And yet he says that understanding is available to the Church of God. That understanding is available to the Israel of God, and that's what I want to point out to us today. In verse 13, he says, now I'm going to speak to you Gentiles. He's talking to Jews and Gentiles in the congregation, but down in verse 20, he says they were broken off, talking about Israel. Israel was broken off because of their unbelief. But you stand only through faith, so don't become proud, but stand in awe. See, the Gentiles didn't have anything over the Jews. The Jews really didn't have anything over the Gentiles. All of them should not be arrogant and proud, but they should stand in awe of the fact that it's all according to God's timing. Timing, for all of us today, timing that's important for us to understand. Now, down in verse 25, he says, so that you may not claim to be wiser than you are, brethren, I want you to understand this mystery of hardening has come upon part of Israel until the fullness or the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And yet, he says in verse 26, all of Israel will be saved. Of course, that is all of Israel who will repent, who will be willing to believe and repent and change will be saved, as he says, out of Zion shall come the deliverer, and he will banish ungodliness from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. See, he doesn't say exactly when he's going to do all of this. He is clearly writing this to the Church of God, as Paul is writing this to the Church of God in Rome. But as we are applying it to the Church of God in general, as we understand our calling today and the blessing of being able to know how it is that God has chosen to work with us, and as he goes ahead and continues to write about this calling, he says in verse 32, God is imprisoned everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, in disobedience so that he can have mercy on everybody. See, I think it's important that we see or understand that we are the objects of mercy. That's a beautiful description of what the Church of God is. The Israel of God has been called to be a part of the work that he's doing today. We've been called to be a part of the first resurrection. That's a wonderful blessing. We've been called to be a recipient of the Holy Spirit, which isn't just available to everyone today.

And yet, ultimately, God is going to offer that. He's going to offer that. Whenever you read so many of the prophecies in Isaiah, they talk about needing to repent, and because of the lack of that, they are destroyed. They are suffering loss, but then they're going to be revived. So many of the other verses talk about restoration and reviving and a remnant coming back.

And even what Tom was reading in Zechariah earlier in chapter 8, the last part of that chapter, talks about a revival of Israel to be a model in the future. And so, you know, God is going to continue to use Israel, and the Gentile world is also going to be blessed by coming to see, you know, what it is the kingdom of God is about, and what it is that Jesus...you don't want to stumble over Jesus Christ. We want to clearly appreciate that wonderful blessing and benefit. And as Paul continues to conclude this, he says in verse 33, Ode to the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways. And he says in verse 34, For who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has counseled God about how He ought to work with human beings? Who has been His counselor? Who has given a gift to Him to receive a gift in return?

And we don't have anything to give except our lives. We don't have anything to give except our devotion, our appreciation, our gratitude, our thankfulness for God's timing in choosing to be merciful to us at this time. You know, that's why it's significant when we read over here in Peter and we can conclude with this. And again, I know I've not gone through many of the verses that are there on the sheet that show how Isaiah is so richly laid throughout the entirety of the New Testament. But I will say you may wish to do that on your own. And yet I hope that we can see, and actually I hope you can see how that in Romans 9 and 10 and 11, Paul quotes. I mean, Paul was very familiar with the Old Testament. He was schooled in the law. He was a Pharisee, and he says, my zeal was above everybody else. He was not a slacker in any way. He was very familiar with this. But he was saying that God's timing, God's choosing, God's extending mercy should be deeply appreciated. And of course, as I said here in 1 Peter chapter 4, you know, we find Peter writing to the church in general because he's talking about, you know, understanding our calling, understanding, you know, how it is that as a Christian we may suffer. This is a part of what is being written about here starting in chapter 4 verse 12. He says, don't be surprised if the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you as though some strange thing happened to you. He says, we go through lots of things. We want to remember, though, primarily God's mercy has been extended to us, and he will ultimately deal with everyone. But down in verse 16, yet if any of you suffer as a Christian, don't consider it as disgraceful. Glorify God because you bear this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. See, we've been drawn to a relationship with Jesus Christ, and we've been drawn to prepare to serve in the kingdom of God. And so we want to be mindful of the fact that the judgment of God is upon the church today.

And that, of course, puts a lot of emphasis on our desire to study the word of God, our desire to grow in the fruit of the Spirit of God, our desire in cultivating a closeness to God and to Jesus Christ that can ensure our success. God is the one who can enable that, but we can do our part to draw close to them understanding that judgment's upon us. So hopefully, this helps us to respect God's timing, His choosing, and actually His forethought in calling us in this age. You know, it's a tremendous blessing, a tremendous privilege. And of course, we want to be thankful for a calling, but we want to be participating in the transformation. We participate in the transformation, in the change of heart, in the conversion process by yielding to God. As I said earlier, everyone is ultimately, everyone who will be a part of God's divine family is ultimately going to yield to Him. Every knee is going to bow, every head is going to bend, as we all submit to our great Lord and King, and that we are thankful that He is clearly powerful enough to transform our heart. We just simply don't want to hang on to things that are destructive to us because the heart that we have, the nature that we suffer with, identifies with this world and with the destroyer of this earth more than we might imagine. But God is able to overcome that as well.

That's pretty much what I think we can cover today here in this kind of time frame. I hope, again, that you will continue to read in Isaiah some of the verses that are really uplifting and encouraging that point out how God is in control of a great plan and a great purpose for you and me and for all of mankind.