Journey to see God: His mercy, kindness and undeserved favor

Today we see why we have become olives. All about God and His mercy, kindness and grace. Let us be humble. Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

Romans 11 New Living Translation (NLT)

God’s Mercy on Israel

11 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

² No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

⁴ And do you remember God’s reply? He said, “No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!”

⁵ It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel have remained faithful because of God’s grace—his undeserved kindness in choosing them. ⁶ And since it is through God’s kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God’s grace would not be what it really is—free and undeserved.

⁷ So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have—the ones God has chosen—but the hearts of the rest were hardened. ⁸ As the Scriptures say,

“God has put them into a deep sleep.
To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see,
    and closed their ears so they do not hear.”

⁹ Likewise, David said,

“Let their bountiful table become a snare,
    a trap that makes them think all is well.
Let their blessings cause them to stumble,
    and let them get what they deserve.
¹⁰ Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,
    and let their backs be bent forever.”

¹¹ Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. ¹² Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.

¹³ I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,¹⁴ for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.¹⁵ For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead! ¹⁶ And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.

¹⁷ But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree. ¹⁸ But you must not brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. You are just a branch, not the root.

¹⁹ “Well,” you may say, “those branches were broken off to make room for me.” ²⁰ Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe. So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. ²¹ For if God did not spare the original branches, he won’t spare you either.

²² Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, for God has the power to graft them back into the tree. ²⁴ You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.

God’s Mercy Is for Everyone

²⁵ I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,

“The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem,
    and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.
²⁷ And this is my covenant with them,
    that I will take away their sins.”

²⁸ Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ²⁹ For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn. ³⁰ Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. ³¹ Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. ³² For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

³³ Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways!

³⁴ For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to give him advice?
³⁵ And who has given him so much
    that he needs to pay it back?

³⁶ For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen. 

Journey to see God: Hear God's Voice

God's Voice is today's message. 

Psalm 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.
8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness….

Romans 10

New International Version (NIV)

10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.”⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,    their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
    I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
    I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

Journey to see God: He is Purposeful

Today we see all about God being a purposeful God. Nothing He does is without purpose. Know for what purpose you are called. Take heed His purpose for you! 

Romans 9

English Standard Version (ESV)

God's Sovereign Choice

9 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— ² that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers,^[a] my kinsmen according to the flesh. ⁴ They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.⁵ To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

⁶ But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, ⁷ and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” ⁸ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. ⁹ For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” ¹⁰ And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,¹¹ though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— ¹² she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
¹⁴ What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!¹⁵ For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” ¹⁶ So then it depends not on human will or exertion,^[b] but on God, who has mercy. ¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
¹⁹ You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ²¹ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? ²² What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— ²⁴ even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As indeed he says in Hosea,

“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
    and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
²⁶ “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
    there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel^[c] be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, ²⁸ for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” ²⁹ And as Isaiah predicted,

“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
    we would have been like Sodom
    and become like Gomorrah.”

Israel's Unbelief

³⁰ What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;³¹ but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^[d]did not succeed in reaching that law. ³² Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
    and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Footnotes:

1. Romans 9:3 Or brothers and sisters
2. Romans 9:16 Greek not of him who wills or runs
3. Romans 9:27 Or children of Israel
4. Romans 9:31 Greek a law of righteousness

___________More verses on God's Purposefulness

1. Romans 4:11
   He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purposewas to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well,
   Romans 4:10-12 (in Context) Romans 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Romans 8:28
   And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
   Romans 8:27-29 (in Context) Romans 8 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Ephesians 1:5
   he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
   Ephesians 1:4-6 (in Context) Ephesians 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. Ephesians 1:9
   making known to us the mystery of his will, according to hispurpose, which he set forth in Christ
   Ephesians 1:8-10 (in Context) Ephesians 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Ephesians 1:11
   In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,
   Ephesians 1:10-12 (in Context) Ephesians 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. Ephesians 3:11
   This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
   Ephesians 3:10-12 (in Context) Ephesians 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

When the enemy comes in like a flood

Isaiah 59

New King James Version (NKJV)

Separated from God

59 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened,
That it cannot save;
Nor His ear heavy,
That it cannot hear.
² But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
³ For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.

⁴ No one calls for justice,
Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies;
They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
⁵ They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

⁶ Their webs will not become garments,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And the act of violence is in their hands.
⁷ Their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;
Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
⁸ The way of peace they have not known,
And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths;
Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

Sin Confessed

⁹ Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
¹⁰ We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
¹¹ We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
¹² For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
¹³ In transgressing and lying against the Lord,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
¹⁴ Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
¹⁵ So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

The Redeemer of Zion

Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.

¹⁶ He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
¹⁷ For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
¹⁸ According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
¹⁹ So shall they fear
The name of the Lord from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

²⁰ “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

²¹ “As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”

I will pour out My Ruach [Hakodesh] upon all basar

Yoel 2^28 (3:1) And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Ruach [Hakodesh] upon all basar; and your banim and your banot shall prophesy, your zekenim shall dream chalomot, your bochurim shall see chezyonot (visions): ^29 (3:2) And also upon the avadim and upon the shefachot in those days will I pour out My Ruach [Hakodesh, see Ac 2:1-42].

1. Yochanan 1:32
   And Yochanan gave solemn edut, I have seen the Ruach Hakodesh descending like a yonah out of Shomayim and remaining upon him. (YESHAYAH 11:2)
   Yochanan 1:31-33 (in Context) Yochanan 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Yochanan 1:33
   And I did not recognize him, but the One who sent me to give the mikveh mayim’s tevilah said to me, Upon whomever you see the Ruach Hakodesh descending and remaining, this is the One giving the tevilah in the Ruach Hakodesh. [YOEL 3:1 (2:28)]
   Yochanan 1:32-34 (in Context) Yochanan 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Yochanan 3:5
   In reply, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said, Omein, omein, I say to you: unless someone is born of mayim (TEHILLIM 36:10 [9]) and Ruach Hakodesh [YECHEZEL 36:25-27; 37:14], he is not able to enter into the Malchut Hashem [Lk 17:21].
   Yochanan 3:4-6 (in Context) Yochanan 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. Yochanan 3:6
   That which is born of basar is basar, and that which is born of the Ruach is ruach.
   Yochanan 3:5-7 (in Context) Yochanan 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
5. Yochanan 3:8
   The ruach (wind, Spirit) blows where it wishes, and the sound of it you hear, but you do not have da’as of where it comes from and where it goes [KOHELET 11:5]; so it is with everyone having been born of the Ruach Hakodesh. [YECHEZKEL 37:9]
   Yochanan 3:7-9 (in Context) Yochanan 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
6. Yochanan 3:34
   For he whom Hashem sent speaks the Divrei Hashem, for He gives the Ruach Hakodesh without measure. [YESHAYAH 42:1]
   Yochanan 3:33-35 (in Context) Yochanan 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
7. Yochanan 4:23
   But a sha’ah is coming, and now is, when those of the true avodas kodesh will worship HaAv in the Ruach Hakodesh and in Emes, for indeed [Elohim] HaAv is seeking such to worship Him.
   Yochanan 4:22-24 (in Context) Yochanan 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
8. Yochanan 4:24
   Hashem is Ruach (Spirit) and it is necessary for the ones worshiping Him to worship in Ruach and Emes. [Ezek 36:26-27; 37:14]
   Yochanan 4:23-25 (in Context) Yochanan 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
9. Yochanan 6:63
   The Ruach Hakodesh is that which is making alive, the basar does not profit anything. The dvarim which I have spoken to you are as Ruach and they are as Chayyim (Life).
   Yochanan 6:62-64 (in Context) Yochanan 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
10. Yochanan 7:39
    But this he said about the Ruach Hakodesh which the ones having emunah (faith) in him were about to receive, for the Ruach Hakodesh had not yet been given, because he had not yet received kavod. [YOEL 2:28 (3:1)]
    Yochanan 7:38-40 (in Context) Yochanan 7 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
11. Yochanan 14:17
    The Ruach HaEmes, which the Olam Hazeh is not able to receive, because it does not see Him nor have da’as of Him. But you have da’as of Him, because He remains with you and He will be in you.
    Yochanan 14:16-18 (in Context) Yochanan 14 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
12. Yochanan 14:26
    But the Melitz Yosher (Praklit, Advocate, Counselor, Helper in Court), the Ruach Hakodesh which HaAv will send b’Shem of me, He will teach you all things and will remind you of all things which I told you.
    Yochanan 14:25-27 (in Context) Yochanan 14 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
13. Yochanan 15:26
    But when the Melitz Yosher (Praklit, Advocate, Counselor, Helper in Court) comes, whom I will send to you from HaAv, the Ruach Hakodesh, the Ruach HaEmes, who proceeds from HaAv, that one will gives solemn edut (testimony) about me.
    Yochanan 15:25-27 (in Context) Yochanan 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
14. Yochanan 16:7
    But I tell HaEmes (the truth), it is better for you that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Melitz Yosher (Praklit, Advocate, Counselor, Helper in Court) will not come to you. But if go, I will send Him (the Ruach Hakodesh) to you.
    Yochanan 16:6-8 (in Context) Yochanan 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
15. Yochanan 16:13
    But when that One has come, the Ruach Hakodesh, the Ruach HaEmes, He will guide you in all truth. [TEHILLIM 25:5] For He will not speak on His own authority, but what things He will hear, He will speak, and the things that are to come He will announce to you.
    Yochanan 16:12-14 (in Context) Yochanan 16 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
16. Yochanan 20:22
    And having said this, Moshiach breathed on them and says to them, Receive the Ruach Hakodesh.
    Yochanan 20:21-23 (in Context) Yochanan 20 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations 
17. Gevurot 1:2
    Until HaYom, when he made aliyah ascent to Shomayim, having given Moshiach’s mitzvot through the Ruach Hakodesh to the Shlichim whom he chose,
    Gevurot 1:1-3 (in Context) Gevurot 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
18. Gevurot 1:5
    "For Yochanan gave a tevilah of teshuva with a mikveh mayim, but you will receive a tevilah in the Ruach Hakodesh not many yamim from now." [YOEL 3:1;(2:28)]
    Gevurot 1:4-6 (in Context) Gevurot 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
19. Gevurot 1:8
    "But you will receive ko’ach when the Ruach Hakodesh has come upon you, and you all will be the Eidus (the Witness) of me, in Yerushalayim, and in all Yehudah, and Shomron and as far as ad ketzeh ha’aretz."
    Gevurot 1:7-9 (in Context) Gevurot 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations 
20.  Gevurot 2:4
    And all were filled with the Ruach Hakodesh, and they began to speak in leshonot acherot as the Ruach Hakodesh was giving the utterance to them.
    Gevurot 2:3-5 (in Context) Gevurot 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
21. Gevurot 2:18
    ‘And upon My avadim and upon My shfakhot in BAYYAMIM HAHEMMAH ESHPOCH ES RUCHI ("in those days I will pour out my Ruach Hakodesh") and they will speak dvarim hanevu’ah:
    Gevurot 2:17-19 (in Context) Gevurot 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
22. Gevurot 2:33
    "Having been exalted to the right hand of Hashem and having received the havtachah of the Ruach Hakodesh from [Elohim] HaAv, Moshiach poured out this which you also see and hear.
    Gevurot 2:32-34 (in Context) Gevurot 2 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations