Audio Transcript:

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Heavenly Father, we are so thankful to you for this morning, for this life you've given us. Another opportunity today is to worship you, to glorify you with everything we have. Everything we have is yours, everything, absolutely everything. The only thing we can take responsibility for is our own sin and our own folly. Everything else, Lord is from you, so we thank you for life and we thank you for the opportunity to be redeemed, reconciled, restored, for the opportunity to be welcomed into your family, adopted as sons and daughters regenerated by the power of the Spirit. Holy Spirit, we pray for a special anointing upon each one of us today. I pray if there's anyone who's not yet a believer, I pray, speak to them in a very, very clear way so they know that it's your voice, it's not a man's voice. In the same way that Elijah heard from you in the whisper, I pray, whisper, whisper words of salvation.

And we pray, Holy Spirit of blessed our time in the word for those who are elect. And in this general vicinity, I pray that you draw them to gospel proclaiming churches. I pray that they not be dormant in their faith, in particular as the days are growing darker. Lord Jesus, bless our time in the holy scriptures of praises in Jesus name, Amen. We're continuing our sermon series through Romans, which has been incredible. And the title of the sermon today is Awakened Oh You Dormant Remnant. As you watch the news and you see everything's going on and questions arise, are we living in the end times? Well, it's a question that's always been asked by Christians in all ages, and many answers to this question may be found locked in our text today in Romans 11 and then in the next couple weeks. But when people ask questions like, Are we on the brink of World War3? Only Lord knows.

But it's the natural state of the fallen heart to say, Jesus, everything's falling apart. Everything around us right about now would be a tremendous time to come back. Can you please come back and fix everything? And I understand this heart cry of lament, but we as the people of God, we can't stay there. We can't sit on our hands waiting for Jesus to come back and fix everything. When Jesus is like, "Hey, I've literally given you the game plan. I've given you the strategy of how to fix everything." And then once you start implementing the game plan, then Jesus comes back. He said, "Preach the gospel of the kingdom in the whole world." This is Matthew 24:14. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come." The gospel will be preached in the whole world.

So our job, when we start thinking, "Oh my, this might be the end times." Our job as Christians to say, "Hey, am I preaching the gospel?" In particular in a place like Boston? I remember and when God called me the seminary and called me at the vocational ministry, I was like, "Lord, you know what? I'll do it as long as you come back during my lifetime. Just so I'm alive, just so I see Jesus Christ with the flaming sword. I want to be around for that." Just to be like, Ah, I told everyone. We were right.

But in seminary they said, You got to preach the gospel to the whole world. And I said, "What? How can I do that? I can't do that." But I know a place where people from all over the world come, and that's Boston, Massachusetts. We're here and we are called to preach the gospel even when everything else is falling apart. And the gospel is very simple. The gospel is, God created you to worship him, we're to worship the king, King Jesus. We are to follow his world and build up his kingdom by following his word. And this is what St. Paul is doing as he's giving us a blueprint in the book of Romans of how to rebuild society. That's what Christianity is. Christianity is how can we recreate humanity? How can we have a humanity within the humanity, a city within the city, a people within a people who live life completely differently, live life in submission to God?

And Romans nine, Paul establishes the fact, well, it's God's grace, we need God's grace. If anything's going to change, if we're going to do any kingdom work, if the church is going to grow, we need God's grace. And he establishes the principle of salvation is based only upon God's grace. Election isn't foresee on works or good faith, it's just that God chooses people, that's what grace is. Can you ever earn more grace? That's not a trick question. Can you ever earn more grace? No, we can't. We can never earn more grace. That's what he says, it's all grace. So God pours out grace. And the question is in Romans 10, what about the Jewish people? What about the remnant? And Paul says, it's still grace. They get saved, Jewish people in the same way the Gentiles get saved, it's all grace. Israel's problem says Paul is not a lack of zeal but a lack of knowledge.

And as a result, Israel sought to establish a righteousness of their own through works and not through grace. And this was part of the divine purpose so that as Gentiles come to faith in Israel's God, this Jewish people are like, "We're are the chosen people." And then gentiles are come into faith and they're like, "Actually, we're the chosen people because we follow Jesus. He made us the chosen people and you're saved by grace through faith." And then the Jews are like, "Hey, that's not fair." And they're provoked, and Pastor Andy and the sermon last week had this incredible illustration about his two daughters, Clara and Audrey. Clara, he said, "Hey, come in for a hug." And she's like, Eh. Because she's taken her father's love for granted, not the fresh baby, not Audrey. She's like, oh, and then Clara is provoked. That's what's going on with Gentiles.

This pendulum of grace that Israel had the gospel, they had grace and then they lost it. And then the pendulum of grace goes to the Gentiles. And then St. Paul says in chapter 11 that this pendulum of grace is going to swing to the Jews again. Romans 1:1 through 15. Sorry, I'm speaking really fast, there's a lot in this text and I want to cover all of it, that's my ambition. So would you pay attention with me? Romans chapter 11:1 through 15, "I asked then has God rejected his people? By no means for myself am and Israelite a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 'Lord, they've killed your prophets, they've demolished your altars, and I alone and left and they seek my life.'"

"But what is God's reply to him? 'I've kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal. So to at the present time, there is a remnant chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking, the elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened. As it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear down to this very day.' And David says, 'Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see and bend their backs forever.' So I asked, did they stumble in order that they might fall by no means? Rather though through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentile so as to make Israel jealous."

"Now, if they're trespassed means riches for the world and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean? Now I'm speaking to you gentiles, in as much then as I am and apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them. But if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean? But life from the dead?" This is the reading of God's holy inherent infallible authoritative word may write these eternal truths upon our hearts. We'll just walk through the text today given that this is a text about eschatology. So when speaking about eschatology, eschatology is the knowledge or the science of the eschaton, which is the end times.

Whenever speaking on things like this, it's very important to be precise. And the text has to do with future prophecies found in the Bible, both old and new testaments. And it has to do with the end times. One biblical scholar said that two thirds of the doctrinal matter in the New Testament focuses one way or another on eschatology. Now if you're aware of Christianity, if you spent time in churches, you're probably familiar that there are many camps when it comes to the end times. There's the post-millennialism, the pre-millennialism, the amillennialism, the preterism, partial-preterismism, dispensationalism, et cetera. And how we understand eschatology to a large degree is connected to how we understand Romans 11. And this is what the chapter's about. Much of the dispute about his eschatology is, hey, what happens to Jewish people in the end? What happens to the people of God?

That's really the question that he is wrestling with here in the end times. Romans 11:1, "I ask then, has God rejected is people?" It's a rhetorical question. In the old Testament times, Israel was called out of paganism and they were set apart to be the people of God. That God says, "You are now mine. Your lives will be patterned according to my character. You will live in a way that is going to bring peace, shalom, not just to your own life, but to life of your marriage and life of your family and the life of your community." And that was the people of God. There was a theocratic nation with God as its ultimate king. And Israel was given a mandate and a destiny and Paul earlier lamented, "Hey, did God reject his people completely?" Well he says, "No." Verse one, "I ask then, has God rejected his people? By no means, for I, myself am an Israel, a descendant of Israel, a member of the tribe of Benjamin." He's saying God is not categorically rejected the Jewish people. And here he argues from the lesser to the greater.

He said, if God had rejected all the Jews, then he would've rejected Paul. But Paul was a Jew so, he's living, breathing, writing proof that God hasn't rejected the Jews just because of their ethnicity. Paul cites his pedigree, including a brief recounting of his background, traces a roots to the tribe of Benjamin all the way to Abraham. Verse two, "God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew." That's really the issue. He says, "Who are the chosen people?" It's not people who are born into a Jewish family. It's not people who identify as being Jewish. It's not people who identify as being Christian. That's not what saves anybody. What saves a person is repentance of faith. King Jesus, I have sinned against your law, have violated it, I have broken your code, your moral commandments. I have not loved God with all my heart, soul, strength and might. I have not loved neighbor as myself.

When you repent of sin and you're drawn to God by the power of the Holy Spirit, sometimes it happens immediately and dramatically and you're a brand new person within five seconds. I haven't seen that happen often in Boston. Mostly in Boston, it's very progressive. It's you come, you listen, you read scripture, you meditate, you think, you ask God, you have conversation, you wrestle. And then after a while you don't know when you became a believer, but you say, "You know what I think I believe in Jesus Christ. I have repented my sin, I've accepted grace." You are part of these people that God has foreknew. That's what he's saying, that God is incapable of rejecting people whom he foreknew from the foundation of the world. Here he brings the concept of election to the Jewish people.

Earlier he wrote in Romans 9:6, "It is not as though God's word had failed, for not all who are descended from Israel are Israel." That circumcision doesn't save a person, going to mass doesn't save a person, going to religious building doesn't save anybody, it doesn't save you from the wrath of God that we have earned. We have incurred through our law breaking. So what we need is grace. That's what he is talking about. And it's a grace that is completely under the sovereign will of God. So God hasn't finally rejected the Jews, Paul's living proof of that. So was the early church. The early church were mostly Jewish people. Jesus was Jewish, the disciples are Jewish. Most of the 500 eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ upon the resurrection were Jewish. And I don't mean like Jewish, I mean like religious Jews.

And the fact that, and I marvel at this, the fact that Mosaic Boston meets in a synagogue every Sunday is weekly proof for the veracity of the historical bodily resurrection of Christ. And here's what I mean. Jewish people worship their Lord on what day? On Saturday. Well, they're not using the building on Sundays. So that's how we got in. Well, why are we worshiping God on a Sunday? Because the early Jews were told by Jesus Christ when he came back from the dead, "Hi, I am the Messiah and I came back from the dead. So that proves that everything I said is true. I am God, and now you'll worship me on the resurrection, day on Sundays."

And this is how Paul did ministry, he would go to synagogues one day would meet and preach the gospel. So Romans 11:2 B, he continues, "Do not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel. Lord, they've killed your prophets, they've demolished your altars. And I alone him left and they seek my life." As is his custom, Paul often appeals to the Old Testament, to bolster the point. He's saying, "I'm not making this up. It's all in the Bible. Just read it. Read scripture, you'll understand God." In one of Israel's darkest hours, God preserved a believing remnant. There were people who were followers of God only because God preserved them. That's what he said. So this cry from the prophet of Elijah comes perhaps during the worst time of Apostacy in all of Old Testament Israel. So Elijah makes a plea, this plea while Ahab was the king. Ahab was married to Jezebel who was not a Christian.

Jezebel was a priestess of the cult of Baal. So Ahab was to marry someone who worship Yahweh, who worshiped God, no, he married someone who worshiped Baal. And then little by little she had influence over the king and she invited pagan idolators into the royal house and persuaded Ahab to sanction all kinds of idolatrous religion. And under Ahab and Jebel, there was a massive persecution of the true believers of God. And a lot of the Jewish places of worship were destroyed. So Elijah had enough. Elijah gets to this point where he is like, I'd rather die than see the people of God hiding. I'd rather die than see the name of God defamed. It's kind of what happens when David, Young David, like David, Goliath, David. When he comes in and he goes to visit his brothers and he sees the army of Israel and then he sees the army of the Philistines, then he sees Goliath come out and for 40 days and 40 nights he came out and he cursed the name of God.

Well there was a zeal kindled in the heart of David and he's like, "Hey, I love God and these people are cursing, God, I would rather die. I don't know... and I'm going to toss these stones with everything I've got at Goliath and if I die, I die." That's kind of the mindset of the zeal of God and the heart of Elijah where he's like, "You know what? I'm done with these priests of Baal. Hey, let's have a challenge. Let's have a prayer off. Let's see, God is real. So he challenges the prophets of Baal to this fair off in 1King's 18:27 through 29. The prophets of Baal. They build their little altar and then they're going around, and at noon, Elijah began to taunt them.

They've been shouting for hours, "Shout louder. He said, Surely he is a God. Perhaps he's deep in thought or busy." That's a nice way in the English of translating that he's relieving himself or traveling maybe he's sleeping and must be awakened. "So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with sword and spears as was their custom until their blood flowed. Midday passed and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention." And then Elijah orders that the altar be doused with water. And then he saturates it with prayer and he begs God to send fire from heaven. The Lord God omnipotent sends fire from heaven that consumes the whole altar. And in the midst of Israel's hellish reversion to paganism, Elijah leads this revival because he got exhausted with seeing the name of God defamed.

That's what happened in 1King's 18, huge win, huge win. Fire from heaven, huge win Elijah, you should go celebrate. Like this is the time you take a cruise or something, whatever prophets do. He doesn't. He falls into some kind of spiritual lament. He's exhausted with living, he's in this midst he cries out to God in first King's 19, "Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, 'Made the god's deal with me, be ever so severely if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.'" So this same guy who just saw fire come from heaven gets a death threat from Jezebel and says verse three, "Elijah was afraid and ran for his life when he came to Beersheba and Judah, he left his servant there. And while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness."

"He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. 'I've had enough Lord, he said, Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors.' Then he laid down under the bush and fell asleep." Have you ever been there? We all have been there. We've all been on our side in a fetal position on the floor in a small room. We have been "God, I've had enough. Please nothing. Please take me, take me, I'm ready to go." And then says, "All at once an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat.'" Oh, he was just hungry. He was just, oh, he just needed some carbs. "So an angel comes, he looks around and thereby his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then laid down. The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you.'"

"So he got up and ate and drank, strengthened by that food, he's traveled 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Horeb the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He replied, 'I've been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelis have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left and now they are trying to kill me too.' The Lord said, 'Go and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord. For the Lord is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart. And shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper, Elijah heard it. He pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then the voice said to him, 'What are you doing here Elijah?' And he replied, Same thing. 'I been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty, the Israelites have rejected your covenant, tore down the author, put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left and now they're trying to kill me. They're trying to kill me too.' The Lord said to him, 'Go back the way you came and go to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, Anoint Hazael King over Iram, also annoyed Jehu the son of Nimshi king of over Israel. Anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escaped the sword of Hazael and Elisha will put to death any who escaped the sword of Jehu.

Who yet I reserve 7,000 in Israel. All whose needs have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.'" The whole chapter Elijah is like, "Where is everybody? Where is every? I'm by myself." And God's like, I've got a remnant, they just haven't been awakened yet. That's kind of what's going on. There's a remnant but they haven't shown up yet. And God uses Elijah here to awaken these people out of apostasy, and that's what St. Paul is really talking about. We pray for revival, we pray for revival at this church, we pray for revival in Boston. Partially because historically speaking, this is a battleground, spiritually speaking in many ways. We pray for revival, but revival must always first come from the house of God. It must come first from our own hearts. And that's what the Old Testament is about, over and over and over.

But not just paganism, but apostasy and they're different. An Apostate is one who at some point professed faith in God. Pagan just don't believe in God and the God of scripture, apostasy is at some point you believe, at some point your church believed that scripture, the Bible was the living word of God. At some point your church renounced it, your denomination renounced it and becomes apostate. That's what's going on here. Romans 11:4, but what is God's reply to him? "I've kept for myself 7,000 men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 7,000 within that godless nation. They had not kept themselves for God, but God had kept them. When you look back at your life, do you view God's movement in your life like this? That it's God keeping you, that it's God protecting you. This is what Jesus Christ taught us to pray.

"Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil. Lord, protect me. Protect me from sin. Lord, protect me from myself. Protect me from my spiritual lethargy. Lord, protect me." I do believe in the perseverance of the saints, but it's because I believe in the preservation of the saints. That whomever God does save, which is a miracle, he will continue that miracle all the way to heaven. Because whoever is truly a Christian is a walking miracle. Anyone, Every Christian is a walking miracle. It's the Holy Spirit did a miracle. And you recreated, you gave you a new heart. Verse five, "So too, at the present time there was a remnant chosen by grace." What does the word remnant mean? You ever think about that remnant? Well, it means fragment. It means scrap. Scripture has a lot of metaphors to explain Christians, seed left after the field has been plowed, drag's found to the bottom of a cup, loose ends that are only fit for a trash barrel. A stump left from a fell tree, drag's reserved by God in election.

God doesn't choose the very best, no, he chooses the very worst. He's preserved his remnant, which he determined to redeem from the foundation of the world. This is why I do believe that the true faith of the church of Jesus Christ will continue until the end. We will never be erased, not the true chosen people of God. And Paul himself here is very hopeful for the people of God. He himself was disobedient and God saved him. If God could save someone as stubborn at St. Paul, God could save absolutely anybody. St. Paul was miraculously transformed from a ferocious wolf to a tamed sheep. He was the arch persecutor of the church and now becomes the apostle to the Gentiles. He knew God's mercy. And he's like, "If I got it, anyone can get it."

And by the way, do you believe this? Do you view Christianity like this? Do you believe the gospel like the, salvation like this? "I can't believe I'm saved. And if God can save me, he can save absolutely everybody." Question, who are the least likely people on the planet to follow Jesus Christ? What group of people are the least likely to follow Jesus Christ? Well right up there I think, well whoever that is, that list, whatever your top five, your top 10, that's usually how God saves people. That's exactly who God is going to save. For me, I think that the least likely are Jewish people in New England. Jewish people in Brookline, Massachusetts. I think the least likely to become Christians, followers of God, I think the least likely. That's why I think God in his great humor has sent us here, just to see if this election stuff is true.

I dare to test it. You know how? Share the gospel to Jewish people, share it. By the way, we as a church, we're positioned the best of anybody to share the gospel with Jewish people and share the good news with Jewish people. Because we literally tell, I do this all the time, I do this all the time. Because hey, "What do you do?" And I was like, "I'm a pastor." And they were like, "Where?" I was like, "Right here on Beacon Street, that massive building." He's like, "I've always wanted to go." "You should come, you should come. Sunday, 9:15, 11, you should come." God is doing a work, invite Jewish people to hear the gospel. And what is the gospel? What is the gospel? If you're Jewish, when you're like, all right, what's the gospel? Let's get the point. I'll tell you, the gospel is good news, Good news.

Think of the best good news you've ever gotten, the best good news you've ever gotten. The first time, the best good news I can remember, the most tremendous news was when I made enough money to buy a car and I drove home in the Audi 80. That was tremendous news that I got to share with my friends. "Hey guys, I got a car, you don't." And that was tremendous news. Getting into college, that's always tremendous news, that's great. Getting engaged and you're like, "Hey, come to my wedding." That's great news. "We have a baby." That's tremendous news, tremendous news you... And usually the best news, it always has to do with people. It always has to do with relationships. Because look at the end of your life, you're going to be 95. You're going to be looking very, we all know this is so cliche, but you in the world, wind of life, you kind of forget.

You're not going to be like, "I wish I worked hard at work. I wish I had made more money, I wish I'd bought more stuff, I wish I was more stylish, I wish I my percent body fat was lower, I wish I was." No, no one cares about. It's, "Who are the people I loved? And whom did I love?" It's all relationships. Well, scripture teaches us that the greatest relationship that is offered to us, the relationship with the God of the universe, has been severed by our own stubbornness. We're all stubborn. The fact that you don't think you are sinner proves the fact that you are a great sinner. Because when's the last time you have even considered the law of the living God? We don't. No one in our culture considers the law of God. That's how indifferent we are, that's how much we hate God. So obviously we're sinners, but God in this great love did not leave us in our sin.

Sends his son Jesus Christ, God incarnate, who lives a perfect life, fulfills every single one of God's laws. Fulfills God's will even when he didn't want to, at that moment, when it matters most. The moment of garden of Gethsemane. "Lord, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me, but not my will. Your will be done. That moment, every single one of us, we have crossed. "Lord, let this cup fast from me." And Lord says, "No." And you're saying, "See you." That sin turning your back on God, running away from God, carrying nothing for the things of God. And then Jesus Christ comes, he goes to the cross after Gethsemane, he pours out his blood, he's crucified, nails through his hands, through his feet. He's crucified by his very own Jewish people whom he loved. He was Jewish, they're Jewish.

And then he's buried and he comes back from the dead and he promises whoever repent of sin, that's all you have to... All repentance is turning your heart from being away from God to God. That's all Elijah was doing. His whole job was to turn the hearts of the people of God back to God. Stop saying you love God with your words, but your whole life, when no one sees you, you're not a believer. So share the gospel. And this one of the thing I do hear from people. They say, "Well, Paul had a cool testimony. Other people have cool testimonies. Like if you're a drug addict or you killed someone and then you met Jesus and then you knew person, that's awesome, that's cool. But me, my testimony's so boring."

My testimony like this is the way I used to think. I grew up in a Christian family, we went to church, we tried to read the Bible here and there, things like that. And I'm like, But yeah, I met God a few points in my life where it's clear God exists, got into his word, you get saved. Your testimony only is boring if you're not honest about how wicked you are. And it's hard to say how wicked you are out loud to people. It's hard to say, "I was up and then that thing, but Jesus delivered me from." It's hard to say, it's even harder to hear that personal. So I say you just use biblical words. Just use, "I was lost as a sheep and then Jesus went and he found," use biblical words, but share your story. At what moments in life that God really showed up really ministered to you. So that's my encouragement to do, share the gospel, preach the gospel, proclaim the gospel, use words to people, explain what the gospel is, and then lead them to scripture.

Romans 11:6 through seven, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works otherwise grace would no longer be grace. What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking the elect obtain it, but the rest were hardened." Here he says that the due concepts grace and works, they're mutually exclusive as we have seen through this Epistle. Grace by definition is unmerited, you can't earn it. It's unearned, undeserved. And Paul makes it simple, it's one or the other. Our relationship with God is one or the other. It's based on one or the other. And our only hope is grace. And Paul is writing about the Jewish people as a whole, his kinsman, that they too can only be saved by grace. So the fact that you are ethnically Jewish does not necessarily put you in better terms relationship with God. No, it's only through race. It's only through Jesus Christ.

Romans 11:8, "As it's written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear down to this very day." People of Israel were blinded because God made them blind, that's what he's saying. But their blindness is punishment for their sin. They didn't want to see God. God had given them his word and they rejected it. If you don't want to hear God's word and there are parts of God's word that is hard to hear, friends. You never graduate from that. If you get to a point where you don't want to hear the word of God, well be careful because God does make people deaf. If you keep pushing, you keep pushing, you keep resisting, you keep being stubborn and stiff neck, there will come a time where you just become deaf to the word of God. You want nothing to do with it, I've seen it. If you don't want to see the kingdom of God, whatever you see vaguely will be taken away.

If you're not alive and energetic to the things of God, when the spirit of God whispers, when the spirit of God blows, be careful that God does not visit you with the spirit of lethargy, taking away from you whatever zeal was already given. And Paul hear cites David, who's speaking about the enemies of God and God's kingdom in Romans 11:9, And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap. And a stumbling block and a retribution for them. Let their eyes be dark and so that they cannot see and bend their backs forever." What's he talking about here? Well, it's the imagery of a table. Elsewhere in Psalm 23, David says, "You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies." What is this table? It's a banquet feast that God has prepared and it's visible to the enemies of the kingdom. So in a sense, at the banquet where God is over this banquet, the enemies of God can see in. And concerning this imagery, Luther said that ultimately the table is imagery of God's word. God's word is the feast at the table. That's the spread.

The banquet feast is the oracles of God's word. They were given, not to the Assyrians or the Babylonians and the Acadians, but to the people of Israel. And they had the Oracles of God and David saw how's enemies hated the word of God. That's where he wrote. And Psalm 69:22, "May the table set before them become a snare and may it become retribution and a trap." Once God's enemies come to the table and they hear God's word and they see the sumptuous food, because of pride in their heart, rebellion against the God who has given this feast, that same food becomes a trap for them. A trap that pounces like a hammer on their heads. Luther looking at Psalm 69:22 said, "It's like the flower in the field whose nectar is used to make honey for the bee, but the nectar is poison to the spider."

You're saying to those who are being saved, the word of God is sweetness and honey. But for those who are perishing, it is poison. And this is one of the challenges of preaching the gospel. This is one of the challenges of not just my job, but your job, our job as collectively as the people of God. We are to make disciples proclaiming the word of God. For some people, they receive it and it is sweet, it's so sweet. It's so sweet to see a new Christian. One of the sweetest things where you just see the scales fall off, the eyes becoming tendered to the word of God. Hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry, hungry questions just, it's one of the sweetest, sweetest things to see. And for some people that same exact message makes them want to fight. They want to fight. And usually... They don't want to really fight. They don't want to really fight.

They want to fight on Google and Google reviews and things like that. But in a place like Boston, the odds are stacked against you. This is what Pastor Randy was talking about last week. You got to develop this tough skin of being able to take L's. Yeah, you share the gospel L, you share the gospel L. It's like nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. And then like statistically speaking, very few people of those to whom you're going to tell the word of God in the gospel, statistically very few are going to become Christians around you. Very few. But they're going to start paying attention. For now, they're going to start paying attention. And it takes years, sometimes takes decades. And the seeds you sew now, God's word does not return void. Romans 11:11, "So I asked, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means, rather through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so has to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their inclusion mean?"

He's saying Israel's present bareness was brought with a blessing to the Gentiles. That Israel stumbled for that purpose. It's a clear pattern in these verses that there is this pendulum, as I was saying, of God's grace and it climaxes in history, in salvation history immediately before the return of Christ. That's what he's talking about. This time, Israel's sin is described as bringing blessings to the Gentiles. That's our age. While Israel's loss becomes Gentiles gain, but as redemptive historical, this pendulum swings back the other way. Israel's fullness will in turn serve to bring greater riches to the Gentiles. So Israel, people of God, chosen, Jesus comes, they rejected. Pendulum, swings to the gentiles, swinging to the Gentiles.

And toward the end times, this is what he's saying, the pendulum comes back, comes back, comes back. And those Jewish people, ethically Jewish religiously at that time, God is going to bring a great revival amongst them. This is verse 13, "Now I'm speaking to you Gentiles, in as much then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world." So they've been rejected so that we gentiles can be reconciled. "How much more so, that's what you say, what will their acceptance mean? But life from the dead." How can Paul equate Israel's future acceptance with the resurrection? What's the connection between Israel's future acception and the resurrection life from the dead?

Well, the phrase life from the dead is, in a figurative expression, meaning that it's the reception of Israel that will bring this blessing, this new life. Israel's acceptance does not mark the beginning of a golden age, according to this text. So this, a lot of post-millennial people point to this text and they're like, Oh, this is where a thousand year reign of Christ that begins here. No, he's saying when the Jews, when there is this revival amongst the Jewish people, it marks the end. Israel's conversions assigned that this present evil age is about to come to an end with the resurrection.

Israel's acceptance is in some way connected to the general resurrection at the end of the age. But this is all happening so Israel's fullness and acceptance will trigger that climactic end of salvation history. So he's saying the acceptance of Israel and the resurrection, they're interconnected. And when Israel is converted, the end of the age is at hand. So when you do start hearing about Jewish people getting saved on mass, you should start getting worried if you're not a Christian and you should get saved. But I'm telling you, I'm already hearing about it, I'm already seeing it. So if you're not yet a Christian, I'm telling you the end is near. It's very near. And also we don't know how much we have left the end for any one of us might be today. So repent for today is the day of salvation. Will there be a role for Israel in the future? Likely, yes.

Immediately before the end of the age, huge numbers of ethnic Jews will come to faith in Jesus Christ and then become members of Christ's church. Their conversion will herald the coming of Jesus Christ in the end of the age. And until then, what is our job? Until then, we joined with Paul in his impassioned prayer in Romans 10:1, "Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israel is that, they may be saved." That's our heart's desire, that's our heart's desire for every single person to be saved.

First Corinthians 15:20, "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. The first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through man. For as in Adam all dies, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn Christ the first fruits, then when he comes, those who belong to him, then the end will come. When he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. Pretty much reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet, the last enemy to be destroyed is death for he has put everything under his feet."

In conclusion, Romans 10:11 tells us that there is a remnant, who's chosen by grace. And this was what Elijah was wrestling with. He's like, "Lord, I'm the only one, I'm the only one. They've killed everyone else." And then God's like, "I've got 7,000, relax." But the thing with Elijah is, the 7,000 weren't really helpful. And I wonder how many Christians like that are in Boston. I wonder because a friend text me, he is like, "Do you have any demographics of recently in churches?" And I was like, "Look man, every pastor I talk to looks like they've been like band of brothers, they just got back from World War II. COVID just diminished every church, just everyone's like barely hanging out." I was like, I don't care about demographics, I don't care about people who identify as Christians. I don't care about any of that. I care about the fruit. What's the fruit? The fruit I want to see is how many faithfully committed Christians are there in attendance today in churches in Greater Boston? How many?

If you go around in every single church in Boston, Greater Boston, how many? Can we get 7,000? Can we get 7,000 men? Well, I believe that there is a remnant. But there's just a call to the remnant that is dormant. And I say this because, let me just connect this to football real quick. You know how in Texas football is amazing, Texas, Florida all down to Alabama, they've got third graders that could probably be in the NFL. I don't know what they're... So like huge stadiums, they got professional coaches and I'm from Rhode Island I played football in a school where no one played football. It's like whoever shows up, that's the team. And we never had enough people to play. So whoever signed up played every single position. So since freshman year, I played every single position. On offense, I was a lineman, on defense, I was a middle linebacker. On punt return, I was the returner kick. And I was the kicker on top of all that.

And then when I got to senior year and our team stunk, and I remember my coach pulling me aside and he said, "Jan, I'm so sorry." I said, "What for coach? For you being an alcoholic?" And he said, "No, not for that." I said, "What you?" He said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry you didn't go to high school in Texas." Tremendous, a lot of support, a lot of infrastructure. That's kind of what the church situation is. Boston compared to other parts of the country. If you come from here, if you come and you're like, "Yeah, I'm only here for a year, I'm only here for two years, you know what? Boston's not really home." And then home is always back there. And you come here and you come to church here and you take, and you take and you take, everyone else who lives here is like, "You know what? I'm tired. I'm like Elijah, I'm like, Lord, kill me, kill me, please." Not me. Elijah.

But that's the general. So this is my appeal to you, dormant remnant. If you are a Christian, you're like, "I am a believer, but I think I've been to sleep. I haven't read my Bible, I don't have ears to hear, I have a spirit of stupor. When I pray it seems like I'm just speaking to the ceiling." I guess the spirit of stupor, it is demonic. If there is a remnant and you're hearing my voice, I am calling you, I'm summoning the elect. I'm summoning the elect to you be faithful where you are. Be faithful to the Lord. If you really are elect, understand what that means, what kind of great gift that, and it comes with responsibilities to share the gospel with those who don't yet know the Lord. So I'll ask you the question of Elijah. If you're like, "I'm not sure, am I elect? Am I dormant? Am I not a Christian?"

Well, I'll ask you the question, Elijah, how long will you waiver between two opinions? The Lord is God, follow him. If Baal is God, follow him. Is God the primary orienter of your life? Is he the true north star of your life? That everything is aligned according to God and his word. If not, then you're following something else. If God is Lord, follow him. Romans 10:9 through 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 the 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 in the name of the Lord will be saved."

Everyone, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. So today, friends call on the name of the Lord and as we transition to holy communion, call on the name of Jesus Christ, we're remembering him today. He said, Do to this in remembrance of me, of his person, of who he was, of his character, of who he is, of his word, of what he taught, of his sacrifice on the cross for us. For whom is holy communion. It's for repentant Christians, it's for this remnants, for the elect who repent of sin and follow Jesus faithfully. And when you stumble, you repent, you get up and you ask for grace. So if you're not a Christian, if you today do not respond to the gospel call. If you do not repent of sin and trust in Jesus, we ask that you refrain from this part of the service, this is for believers in Christ.

And if you are a Christian living in sin, known sin that you have not repented of, we call you to repentance and leave that sin and then you're welcome partake. And if you don't repent and leave that sin, don't partake in this, it won't be helpful. It might actually cause physical harm according to first Corinthians 11. "For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread. When he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way also, he took the cup after supper saying, 'The cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Whoever therefore eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself then, so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly we would not be judged, but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world. So then my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another if anyone's hungry, let them eat at home so that when you come together, it will be not be for judgment about the other things that will give directions when I come."

If you would like to participate in holy community, you haven't received the elements, please raise your hand when the ushers will hand you one. I actually need one too. I forgot mine. Thanks. Actually I'll take two, I'll take two, I'll take two. One for a second service. Perfect. Would you please pray with me over Holy communion. Heavenly Father, as we today meditate on the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, we don't meditate on it just to feel bad for the physical anguish that you went through. And we meditate on it because Jesus, you won. You conquered Satan sin and death on the cross. We worship a God who conquered evil. We thank you Jesus that you today, the resurrected Christ, that you're seated at the right hand of God, the Father, and that we can commune with you, we can bow our hearts at the altar right before you're throne. We can get on our knees, we can ask for forgiveness and you grant it to us.

Because of your victory on the cross, because of your victorious sacrifice. Lord, I pray today by the power of the Spirit that you increase our zeal, every single one of us. Make us the people who, like, Elijah are willing to suffer anything so that your name will not be defamed. Jesus, we thank you for dying on the cross for our sins, bearing our penalty and shame, and we worship you now. We thank you for your body, we thank you for your blood and we thank you for the spirit of God that is amongst us. And we pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

On the night that Jesus Christ was betrayed, he took the bread and after breaking he said, This is my body broken for you. Take eat and do this in remembrance of me. Then proceed to take the cup. He said, "This cup is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which poured out for the sins of many. Take drink and do this in remembrance of me. If today is the first time you've received the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, would love to pray with you after the service. Pastor Andy will be right up here, or if you just want to talk more about the faith, we'd love to answer any questions. With that said, would you please pray with me as we continue our service?

Lord, we worship you. We worship you for the God that you are the greatness of your glory, your blazing holiness, your totally otherness transcendence, and yet you bow down and you came down to us. We thank you Jesus for that. And I pray Jesus, that you make us people who want to share the good news just because we're thrilled about it. What incredible deal it really is, because of the work of Christ we can bring you our sin and you forgive us and we become yours. And now you reorder our lives, reorder the chaos of our lives by your word. And I pray you continue to do that, and I pray that you receive our worship now with heartfelt gratitude. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.