131006 Paul, Set Apart, Called and Awakened

Galatians 1:11-24, For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. ¹² For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, ¹⁶ was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) ²¹ Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me.

Paul’s concern for the Galatian Christians was so great that he went to great lengths to convince them that he was truly an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wanted them to know, first of all, that he was amazed at their so quickly deserting the gospel and returning to pagan works. Next, he wanted them to know that he did not learn the gospel from another man. He received “his gospel” through a revelation of Jesus Christ. He reminded his Galatian friends that he had been a persecutor of the church and had violently tried to destroy it. He was extremely zealous for the Jewish traditions before he came to understand the truth about Jesus Christ.

The truth that he now saw led him to understand that God had chosen him before the foundation of the world. As a persecutor of the church he knew that he was not saved because of his good works. It was God’s grace that gave him eternal life. He knew that God had a plan for his life that he could not see for himself. Satan had blinded his eyes just as he blinds the eyes of everyone before they come to faith. In the case of Paul, God had to go to an extreme measure to stop him and put him on the right path.

God set Paul apart. Many preachers and teachers mistakenly call for an individual to choose Christ. They fail to see that…

God does the choosing. Listen while I read from, Ephesians 2:1-2, And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Before Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road he was unable to make a spiritual decision. He was dead in trespasses and sins and dead people can’t make decisions. Paul, or Saul of Tarsus as he was then known, could not have decided to follow Jesus until God imparted spiritual life to him.

Every salvation experience is a miracle of God and Paul’s was especially so. He had been an opponent of the gospel. He had stood by while Stephen was martyred. He led the persecution of the church in the early days and was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and take them back to Jerusalem for trial and execution. However, God had a different plan for Paul.

Those who come to faith in Christ were chosen by God…

Before we were born. Listen while I read Ephesians 1:4-6, …even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Isaiah, the prophet, knew that he was chosen by God and named by God before he was born. God told Jeremiah that he was chosen and called to be a prophet to the nations before being formed in the womb. John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb when Mary came into her presence. Immediately Elizabeth knew that Mary was the mother of her Lord! Clearly, John was chosen at or before his conception. This passage goes further. Here the Bible says that he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. I never cease to be amazed at our God! He knew us before we were born! He knew our names before we were born! Still, after knowing all about us — and in spite of that, he chose us! He chose us for his own reasons and…

Not because of our good qualities. We are saved by grace through faith that is a gift of God and not because of works. In fact, God doesn’t measure us by human standards. Listen while I read 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

We can see in this passage of Scripture that if you look at any particular group of Christians you will find, as Paul did, that there are not many wise, powerful or noble by the world’s standards. If we were doing the choosing we would often choose the rich and powerful or the famous. Certainly, we would not choose the down and out or the despised people of the world to fill the ranks of the Church of God. God particularly chose all of those classes of people so that we could understand that our choosing is by God’s purpose not ours. Verse thirty is especially important. “And because OF HIM you are in Christ Jesus”. All of the qualities that we look for are bypassed by God and then, IN HIM, we’re given the things that we really need: wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.

This is so that we can boast in the Lord and not in ourselves. It is very clear that…

God called Paul (and us) by his grace. Grace, and grace alone, is the source of our relationship with God. And…
Grace came through Jesus Christ. Look at what John had to say about grace in John 1:14-17, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. ¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

The law was given through Moses and served a purpose in God’s plan. God knew that no one would ever be able to keep the entire law. Instead, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. No one, apart from Jesus, ever kept the entire law without breaking one commandment. The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in all ways as we are and yet without sin. He fulfilled the law’s demands on our behalf.

The glory of the only Son from the Father was full of grace and truth and that’s what he brought into our life. Grace can best be described in the acrostic: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense! Jesus brought grace into the world…

And reflects the kindness of God. Look at what Paul wrote in Romans 2:4, Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Grace is nothing less than the kindness of God expressed through Jesus Christ. Often, people mistakenly think that it is the wrath of God that causes people to come to repentance. God does have wrath at the sin of mankind. But his wrath does not call people to repentance. It is his love and mercy, his forbearance and patience that calls us to himself. We do not serve a God that we live in cringing fear of. We serve a God who is kind and at the same time — just. Jesus brought grace into the world reflecting the kindness of God and…

It is God who calls. In many times and in many ways God has called his people to himself. Paul knew that God had called us by his grace with a special purpose in mind. Listen while I read what he wrote in Romans 8:29-30, For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. ³⁰ And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

This is one of many passages in the New Testament that teaches us that there is a process in salvation. God knew in advance who would be saved and he predestined them to be conformed to the image of his son. Those he predestined he also called, those he called he also justified. And ultimately, in the world to come, he glorifies those whom he has justified.

Grace came through Jesus Christ and reflects the kindness of God. Part of God’s kindness is that he calls his people to salvation. In the case of the apostle…

God awakened Paul. Satan had blinded Paul’s spiritual eyes so that he could not see. It became necessary for God to show him what his condition was. On the Damascus Road Paul met Jesus and his…

Spiritual blindness led to physical blindness. As he went along the road planning his attack on the Christian community in Damascus he was struck to the ground. Let’s look at Luke’s account. Acts 9:8-9, Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

He had been so sure he was right that he was willing to take the lives of those who disagreed with him. And now he found himself on the ground in the presence of the living Lord Jesus whom he knew to have been crucified years before. He had been able to see his path clear up until that time. Now suddenly, he not only saw the risen Lord Jesus but he heard him speak. Jesus called him by name and gave him specific instructions as to what to do. He needed time to think and I can think of no better way to meditate than to suddenly be blind. No distractions could bother him! He opened his eyes but he could not see. He had been hit right between the eyes with truth that he could hardly believe. This Jesus, whom he persecuted, was now talking to him with love and compassion. This Jesus, in love, had blinded him…

So that he could open others’ eyes. Several years later Paul remembered the experience again and tells of some of the things that were not recounted in the earlier account. When he gives this account Paul is standing before King Agrippa. He’s had years to think over his past experience. Now he fleshes out the earlier account by adding the words that he heard from Jesus that he had not told earlier. Listen while I read Paul’s account in Acts 26:15-18, And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, ¹⁷ delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you ¹⁸ to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Jesus gives him specific instructions. First, he had stopped him from fulfilling his evil intention in order to appoint him as a servant and a witness to Jesus Christ. Second, he would be sent to the Gentiles to open their eyes. He would be sent to lead many nations out of darkness into light and away from the power of Satan to the power of God. As result of his work many Gentiles would receive forgiveness of sins and a place among the people of God.

It is amazing that God would choose a blasphemer, a persecutor and an insolent opponent of God to become his ambassador to the Gentile world. Years later, Paul would write to the Philippian church and describe himself in the following manner: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. (Philippians 3:5-6)

Not only did God choose the weak things of the world he chose an arrogant opponent of the gospel to become its greatest defender. Nothing in Paul’s background could have prepared him to be the ambassador of Christ to the Gentile nations. In fact he would even be more likely than Peter to despise all non-Jews. God awakened Paul penetrating his spiritual blindness so that he could open others’ eyes and…

So that he could preach Christ to the Gentiles. Remember that Paul was a Pharisee and as such would have had a great dislike for all non-Jews. It was not so much a matter of hating Gentiles as it was a matter of despising them. And yet, he was singled out for the very purpose of preaching Christ to the very people he would’ve despised. I suppose this is a reflection of God’s sense of humor. Let’s look at Paul’s own account of his call in Ephesians 3:7-10, Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. ⁸ To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, ⁹ and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, ¹⁰ so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

Paul could see that his being made a minister of the gospel was a gift of God’s grace. It was not something he chose to do or had been trained for. It was the miraculous work of God in his life by the power of the Holy Spirit that did this work in him.

The proud, insolent blasphemer had now become a humble man who saw himself as the least of all the saints. Being able to preach to the Gentiles was seen by him as a gift of God’s grace rather than being an obligation that he would resent. He was gifted with a knowledge of the mystery of the gospel. The mystery was simple and therefore had been overlooked for generations. The “mystery” was that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus. When this ministry came to light it revealed God’s eternal plan to the rulers and authorities in heavenly places.

The prophets of old did not understand what they were sharing nor did the angels understand what God’s plan was. None of the rulers of the age, human or demon, understood what was happening. If they had understood they would’ve never allowed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ because his crucifixion fulfilled the law’s demands and his resurrection destroyed the power of death for those who believe in him.

God set Paul apart before he was born. God called him by his grace that comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s calling in grace reflect his kindnesses that draw people to repentance. It is God who chooses and God who calls. Paul was not seeking the truth he was convinced he already had it. He was spiritually blind. In order for him to be brought to the light of the glorious gospel of Christ God first physically blinded Paul and then, after he had time to reflect on his blindness, God opened his eyes physically and spiritually. Before the creation of the world God had chosen Paul, at the right time, to carry the gospel to the nations of the world. With such a calling in his life Paul became the human author of much of the New Testament. Mankind without Christ is blind and with him is able to see.

Have you trusted him with your life? If not yet — don’t put it off! Come to him now!

All scripture quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Believe and Confess 120916

Romans 10:9-13, because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

 

Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart. The heart believes and the mouth confesses. In verses 9 and 10 Paul summarizes the gospel for all the world to see. He uses belief and confession in both verses and reverses the order from one to the other. Both confession of the Lordship of Christ and belief in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead is necessary for salvation. Both confession and belief are necessary to salvation. I do not believe they are steps that occur in a particular order. They sort of happen together rather than one leading to the other. If Jesus is Lord, then the resurrection is part of what we believe about him. Verses 11 through 13 are an expansion on verses 9 and 10 and shows the Old Testament proof supporting the earlier verses.

Paul has quoted from Moses showing that the word from the Lord was not far away from the people of Israel as they entered the promised land. Now he applies the same idea to the men of his day, and incidentally, to the people of our day. The word is near — in the mouth and in the heart — the word of faith proclaimed in Scripture. Everyone who calls on the name the Lord will be saved. Now there is a false teaching surrounding this idea.

I remember when I was a boy listening to a preacher presenting his understanding of this passage. I thought to myself then that what he was saying could not possibly be true. He said that if you call on the name of the Lord you are saved. Then he went on to illustrate the concept that he had. Remember, when I was a boy was during and just after World War II. Millions of American men had gone into that war. Many of them found themselves in combat much more vicious than today simply because they had no body armor to protect them. The preacher said that most of them, in the middle of battle, had cried out to the Lord to save them. Therefore, he concluded that those men were saved because during their time of fear they called out to God. That just simply cannot be! I agree with the elderly lady in a testimony service who said, "It ain't how loud you shout when you yell hallelujah, or how high you jump, it's how straight you walk when you hit the ground.” I am not advocating works salvation. I am saying that confession with the mouth that Jesus is Lord involves more than using his name in a particular time of crisis or religious fervor. Confessing with the mouth must be accompanied by believing in the heart for salvation to occur. Never take one verse by itself, or a few selected verses by themselves, to build your faith. It must be based on the entire word of God.

God invites all to call on his name and be blessed with all the riches of God. God's riches are not always seen in material things. However, he is very generous towards those he can trust with material possessions. Though he is the richest person in the universe he chose to leave heaven's glory for the gloom of earth and become poor in order that by his poverty that we might become rich. Now that is not my opinion it is the word of God found in 2nd Corinthians 8:9. Now let us look at the passage before us…

God invites ALL. There is a general call to all people to come to the Lord. At the Feast of Booths Jesus stood before the crowd and said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ' Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37-38)

Jesus said, "whoever believes in him." Read with me, John 6:47, Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. In fact, twelve times in the gospel of John Jesus uses the term "whoever" in connection with belief in him. It seems obvious that he was saying anyone can come if they will. We know that not everyone will come and it is very obvious that many people will reject the gospel offer. God has made us in such a way that he ordains all that we do and we exercise our personal will and make real, voluntary choices. Many people reject this idea because we cannot understand it. Yet it is clearly presented in Scripture. Should we reject something that we do not understand? We cannot understand, in any final sense, how a plant lives or how a bumblebee flies. I do not understand what a carbohydrate is but I do not deny the existence of carbohydrates. I do not understand what a vitamin is but I take them everyday. Everyone has something they do not understand and yet they do not reject it simply because they do not understand it. So it is with the truth of the Bible concerning Election.

Most Bible scholars agree that Romans 1:16 states the theme of the book. Let us look that verse now…

The theme verse says, "everyone who believes". Read with me Romans 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel even though the gospel condemned his own people because they pursued a righteousness of the law rather than righteousness of faith. He was not ashamed of the gospel because he had, literally, "seen the light" on the Damascus Road, as a result, he now understood that all he had stood for in the past was just garbage. The good news about Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone. It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The Jews had the first opportunity to come to the gospel. Paul always presented it that way. He went to the synagogue and preached the gospel, and then, when he was turned away, he presented the gospel to whoever would listen. For that action he was condemned by his own people who believed that they were the chosen people of God. Paul had come to understand that the church is "The Israel of God" and now the gospel goes out all the world.

The theme of the book of Acts seems to me to be the gospel going out beginning in Jerusalem, then to Judea, then to Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth. Beginning with only Jews, Acts tells us about the gospel going to Samaritans, an Ethiopian, Roman soldiers, and spreading to non-Jews in many places. The last word in the Greek book of Acts is translated as "unhindered". Though Paul was in chains in Rome the gospel was not hindered — it was going out to everyone everywhere. And those who believed were being saved. It is a wonderful story and has continued until today. This is not some New Testament idea it was prophesied repeatedly in the Old Testament for example…

Joel spoke of everyone. If you have your Bible, turn to Joel 2:32, And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls…

This is the verse used by Paul in Romans 10:13. Repeatedly, Paul has quoted from the Old Testament prophets in support of this truth that the gospel of God has always been "The Gospel of Grace" and is available to all people everywhere. Remember, the call must come because the person doing the calling has believed in their heart. The basic belief in Christ is that he was born of a virgin, took our sins on the cross, was buried and raised again to live forever as the only mediator between God and man. This is not some simple repetition of a formula for salvation. Instead, this is a serious commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

In using the quote from Joel, Paul was making very plain who Jesus is. Joel, of course, was written originally in the Hebrew language. The word "Lord", in the Hebrew text, is the name of God "Yahweh" or, as some would have it in English, "Jehovah". So Paul, a very intelligent scholar of the Hebrew Bible, knowingly used the quote from Joel to say that Jesus is God Himself. Therefore, when we…

Call on the Name. We are calling on God himself because that is who Jesus is. You may say that you do not understand the Trinity. And some deny it because the word Trinity is not in the Bible. It is a word based on "tri", or three, and "unity". Resulting in a word to describe three persons in one Godhead. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are God. They are in perfect unity and perfect communion with each other. When we call on the name we do it because we believe and not because we have somehow earned the right through our good works.

Believing and confessing, not works of the law. Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:8-10, For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Salvation is by grace through faith only. The Scripture says that we are not saved by works of righteousness that we have done. This passage states that it is not our own doing. In fact, it is a gift of God! Our salvation does not result from our good works. We have nothing to boast about and many things to be ashamed of. We have all sinned and come short of God's glory. That is exceptionally sad because the wages of sin is death. If we have all sinned and the wages of sin is death we are born in trouble and it just gets worse as we grow older.

Praise God, we are not beyond hope. God shows his love for us while we are still sinners, ungodly people, by sending his Son to take our sins into his own body and die on the cross. Which allows us, if we are willing, to come to him and confess that Jesus is Lord affirming our belief that he died on the cross and was raised again. If a person believes in their heart, with their entire being, and confesses with their mouth that he is Lord the Bible says that they are saved. A person makes such a confession because they have been called by God you see…

The "called" call on the name. Let's see what Paul said to the Corinthians, he was writing to the church there, turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1:2, To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 

 

This is just one example, out of many that we might have used, talking about those who call on the name of the Lord. Notice how these people are described. 1st) they are the church of God that is in Corinth. Not the Baptist Church or the Methodist Church or the Catholic Church but the church of God. All those names for churches came later. I personally believe that what God has done in the Baptist Church speaks to me personally so I am not ashamed of the name "Baptist". Any time you want to know more about what I believe in that respect just ask me I will be happy to fill you in. 2nd) Paul is writing those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus. They are people who are set apart from the world and are in Christ Jesus. 3rd) They are called to be saints. Sanctified in Christ Jesus and called, by God, to be saints. I know that there are some churches who respect certain individuals to the point that they call them "Saints". In New Orleans there is a whole football team of "Saints". Yet the New Testament refers to all believers as Saints. It is made very clear in this passage that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is called to be a Saint. And therefore, the called call on the name of the Lord. And…

Calling on the name involves Lordship. Recall the words of Joel, "… everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." There are people who teach that salvation comes to a person when they give intellectual assent. Then they teach that the person who wants to go on in spiritual growth accept Christ as "Lord". The Bible does not teach this division.

When Paul met Jesus on the Damascus Road he called Jesus, "Lord". "Who are you Lord", he said. And no one knew better what the meeting of "Lord" was than Paul. He knew that word should only be applied to God himself. Later, Paul would tell us about his preaching by saying that he did not hesitate to tell them anything that was profitable to them. He preached to them publicly and from house to house telling everyone about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20:20-21)

Repentance is essential to salvation. We turn away from all known sin because we are now ready to confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. All people everywhere need to repent and confess Jesus is Lord. It does not make any difference who your family is or what race you are. The same Lord is Lord of all and he is…

Bestowing his riches. On those who call upon his name.

Salvation is the greatest gift. Turn with me to Ephesians 1:3-8, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight

If you are Christian you have been blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. You have been chosen by him before the world was created! We have been chosen to be holy and blameless before him. He chose beforehand to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. It was the purpose of his will that he blessed us with Jesus — The Beloved! He has redeemed us through the blood of Christ, forgiving our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. These riches he lavished on us in his wisdom and insight.

His riches may include material things. I subscribe to the concept that God rewards us with material things as much as he can trust us with material things! In other words he gives us what he can trust us with! The truth is, God is more generous than we come near to deserving in the area of material blessings. God is prepared to pour out upon us, lavishly, of material and spiritual things…

More than we can imagine. Look at this quote from Isaiah found in 1 Corinthians 2:9,But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

God has prepared for those who love him more than can be imagined. Not just more than we have imagined but more than we can imagine. More than we have ever seen, more than we have ever heard about and more than we have ever dreamed. 2nd Chronicles 16:9 tells us that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro over the whole earth to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless towards him. We should be aware that God wants to provide for us. Through the psalmist (Ps 81:16) he said that he would feed us with the finest wheat and with honey from the rock. But, he could not because we would not trust in him.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem he mourned the condition of the city, saying, "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" (Matthew 23:37)

We see in these examples how much God desires to bless his people. The big problem is his people, by and large, are just not blessable! 

 

God Himself is the ultimate gift!

The greatest gift we could ever receive is a relationship with the living God! All the world, sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, are born in sin and conceived in iniquity. Everyone, without exception, deserves death and hell. Yet, God chose for reasons of his own to save some and make them his people. Chosen, not because they are good or somehow deserve it, but because he chooses to love the unlovely. His greatest gift was himself! From the beginning of time he had planned a way for man to know him. Not as the far-off God who created and then drew back to watch his creation but instead one who is near. In fact, not just one who came alongside us but one who came to be one of us. John tells us in the 1st chapter of his gospel that Jesus, the Word, came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But, to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave a right to become children of God,

In Romans 5:8 Paul tells us that God shows us his love in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. And in the 2nd Corinthians 5:21 we are told that he who knew no sin was made to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Can any gift be greater than that which he bestows on us who believe in him.

Throughout Romans 9-11 Paul's concern for the Israelites, his own people, causes him to point out to them (and us) that God always had a plan. A plan that called all people to himself not just the descendents of Abraham. It is not just a matter of saying the word "Lord" in your confession. It is not just a matter of calling to the Lord. Remember, Jesus said that there would be many on the day of judgment who would say to him, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?" Jesus went on to say that he never knew them! Just before that Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21-23) If Jesus as your Lord you will do the will of God the Father.

All scripture quotes from:The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.