Sorrow, Not Hostility: A Gospel Response to Rejection

• Rejection of the Messiah by Israel [00:32:39 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor introduces the central theological problem in Romans 9-11: the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish people and what this means for God's promises.
• Godly Response to Rejection [00:39:00 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that Paul provides a model for how Christians should handle rejection, specifically citing Paul's 'great sorrow and unceasing anguish' rather than anger.
• Gentile-Jewish Relations [00:39:36 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the dual audience of Romans, noting the Gentile tendency to develop hostilities toward Jews when their faith is rejected, and Paul's intent to correct this.

• Sermon Illustration [00:35:42 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor tells the story of G. Campbell Morgan, who failed his in-person sermon exam for the Wesleyan ministry in 1888, was rejected along with 105 other candidates, and wrote 'rejected' to his father and 'He knoweth best' in his diary.

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:00:59] Today I have the pleasure to talk to all y'all about the mission strip. Many of y'all know me. Good morning, everyone. Many of y'all know me, but for those who don't, my name is John Elgin, and I have the pleasure to talk to y'all about the Panama mission strip this year.
[00:01:18] Last year was the first year I was able to go on the mission strip, and it was such a blessing to be able to represent Southside and Panama.
[00:01:26] and God used it to direct my life, and soon I'll be able to go to Southeastern to hopefully be a missionary. But I'm not going to be talking about that today. I'll be talking about the Panama
[00:01:38] One. We were able to raise a lot of money. We only have $2,500 left to raise, so I'm super thankful for all y'all who have donated. On Tuesday, we are having another fundraiser from four to eight
[00:01:51] at Tacos for Life in Mooresville.
[00:01:53] I would love to see some of y'all there.
[00:01:56] I just want to say thank y'all for all that you do for us on the missions trip, for all the prayers that we've been receiving.
[00:02:04] I just want to ask that y'all continue to pray for us as we get closer to the day we leave.
[00:02:08] And I just want to thank y'all again for all that you do for us.

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:02:18] Good morning, church.
[00:02:20] Good morning.
[00:02:22] It is so good to be back in the house of the Lord worshiping with you this morning.
[00:02:25] And happy Father's Day to all of you fathers.
[00:02:29] out there. Whether you have been with us for a very long time, or maybe this is your first or second Sunday with us, we just always want to take a moment to tell you how thankful and how
[00:02:42] joyous we are to have you here in our house of worship this morning. We know that you're not here by accident. We know that the Lord has you here because he loves you. He has created you
[00:02:54] specifically with a purpose and he wants to either begin or to foster a relationship with you and that starts today so we're so glad that you're here because that is what we want to do together
[00:03:09] as a church and if we don't already have a relationship with you then we would like to start one too you can find a connection card in the pew in front of you if you have never done
[00:03:21] And so, yeah, we would love if you would take a moment to take one of those out and fill it out with your information.
[00:03:27] You can place it in the offertory plate as it comes along a little bit later on in our service.
[00:03:32] And, church, if you maybe didn't get a chance to visit Sunday school this morning and you have a prayer request that's weighing heavy on your heart, we want to know what that is.
[00:03:41] And you can flip that card over and write the prayer requests on the back.
[00:03:45] They will get prayed over during our staff meeting this week.
[00:03:49] So we hope you'll take some time to do that if that is something that you feel led to do.
[00:03:55] Church, a couple of things to note before we step into our time of worship this morning.
[00:04:02] Baby bottles to support our local pregnancy center are being collected today.
[00:04:08] Today is the last day that we'll be collecting them.
[00:04:11] And church, even if you haven't gotten a chance to fill one up, even if you don't have one with you today, we still definitely want them back so if you can find some time this week if you don't have it with
[00:04:22] you to drop it by the pregnancy center greatly appreciates that because it's hard to replace them so we want to make sure that we get them back and of course deacon nominations are happening throughout the end of this month if you know of someone in our church who you think would fit the
[00:04:42] description of deacon well then we want to know who that is we would appreciate if you would take a deacon nomination form and fill that out and hand it in today. Church, as we step into our
[00:04:53] time of worship this morning, I'd like to read to you Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9. And it says, for by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of
[00:05:07] God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. Church, we always try to strive to know the word, to study the word. But really what it boils down to is we're saved by grace and grace
[00:05:23] is being given what we don't deserve. That is the definition of grace. And it is not by anything that we can do or we have done because we're completely undeserving of this grace and this
[00:05:35] sacrifice that Christ has given to us. But because of his love and his love alone, we're afforded this amazing grace. Isn't that so wonderful to know this morning, church? Whoa, crickets. Oh my gosh. That should make you excited. Church, you've been saved by grace and you have an undying love
[00:05:55] for you from the creator of the universe. Give me a hallelujah. Give me a hallelujah. Amen.
[00:06:02] Would you stand with us as we continue to worship the Lord this morning together?

[00:06:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:06:05] Thank you for this grace that you've afforded us. Thank you for your unfailing love,

[00:10:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:10:38] like we just sang thank you for taking our place and bearing our cross we are undeserving you may

[00:10:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:10:51] be seated good morning i'm dave shipley one of the deacons honored to be so had a couple things i wanted to mention this morning our youth are at panama city florida and the youth camp and
[00:11:16] They'll be coming home tomorrow, so be praying for them that they have safe travel home.
[00:11:26] John Hunter failed this week and had to have an operation on his hip on Friday.
[00:11:37] They put a pin in.
[00:11:40] I say that also to say that John and Odesale celebrated their 78th anniversary.
[00:11:51] That's something.
[00:11:52] also phoenix is with us today and we're glad to see him let us pray that father make your presence known today and felt during the services today help each of us to worship and give our hearts
[00:12:28] to god be obedient be with all those that have sick sickness or or grieving just be with those during this time especially be with the rusty roberts family who has lost their mother this week and all the others just may your will be done in each and every one of these situations
[00:13:02] In closing, Father, give Pastor David the words and the message we need to hear today.
[00:13:13] Amen.

[00:13:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:13:14] Amen. Would you stand with us as we continue to worship this morning?

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:13:20] ...of God's faith, so undeserving of His grace, His mercy, His long-blessed assurance.
[00:18:13] The chorus states, this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
[00:18:18] And this should be so convicting.
[00:18:22] if you're singing this and I'm guilty of this of singing this is my story this is my song I should not be up here singing that today because that's not my story church how many times
[00:18:34] have we abandoned the grace of God his love that we are so undeserving of for the sake of earthly pleasures for comfort for the sake of ease how can we sing something so powerful that this is our story
[00:18:51] and not truly mean it and there are people in this church that that is your story and amen God has been so good to you, and you have been faithful, and we should celebrate that. There's so much testimony
[00:19:02] in this church of God's faithfulness, and people serving him day in and day out. But I can't stand up here and sing that this is my story, this is my song, because I know on a daily basis I am so
[00:19:12] distracted by ease and comfort. And so as we sing this song that you've probably sung hundreds, if not thousands of times, if you're in my shoes, where it's not your song, I pray that, that my prayer for myself is that this becomes my song.
[00:19:29] And if you're in the same boat, I pray that you would join me in singing this in a new light today, that this would truly become your song.
[00:19:36] And if it is your song, that this is your story, that you've served them day in and day out, thank you for serving so diligently because you are a pillar of this church that has been going on for almost 100 years now.
[00:19:48] Thank you for that.
[00:19:49] But I know personally as I sing this, there's a lot of conviction in my singing today.

[00:19:54] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:19:54] Like Mark said, this is really hard sometimes for that to truly be our story,

[00:23:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:23:46] for us to continually offer our praises and our trust and our hopes up to you, Father.
[00:23:54] But we want to take a moment this morning to tell you that we need your help with that.
[00:24:03] We want that, Father.
[00:24:05] Perfect harmony with you and your will.
[00:24:09] So we seek your face this morning, God.
[00:24:11] We seek your face in the message that Pastor David's going to give in a moment, Father.
[00:24:17] May our hearts and our minds be open to what you have for us.
[00:24:22] So that this can truly be our story, God.

[00:24:26] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_08]
[00:24:26] We ask this in your name.
[00:24:27] Amen.
[00:24:28] You may be seated.

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:24:33] Amen.
[00:24:34] and Mark mentioned something that is probably going to be true of each and every one of us.
[00:24:38] And that is sometimes we have to sing songs that God intends to make true for our lives, but may not be true yet. And so when we talk about perfect submission and perfect delight, when we talk about supreme confidence in Jesus, the truth is, is that most of us,
[00:24:56] we're not there yet. But because of the grace of God, sometimes we sing about the finish line, even when we're running the race. And sometimes what God's goal for us is, is to make progress
[00:25:09] until Jesus comes back. And then what we affirm will be completely true of us. And it's because of that confidence in Jesus that what he began, he will bring to completion. That is why we come
[00:25:23] to service every Sunday. And that is why we are free to give, not because we put confidence in ourselves and in our own abilities and our own abilities to manage things. But we have complete
[00:25:35] confidence in Jesus. So I want to invite you this morning to give your tithes, your offerings, your gifts of thanks today. If you're a part of Southside Baptist Church, the work, the mission that we do here, I encourage you to give out of response of your gratitude and your trust in
[00:25:53] almighty God to take care of your needs, that you can spare your tithe because you know God takes good care of you. Now, I do hope there are some with us today, it might be your first time,
[00:26:05] or you didn't get the chance the last time you were here to give us the very special gift of the gift of relationship with you. To do that, we would love for you to fill out your connection
[00:26:15] card that's in the pew in front of you, or you can scan the QR code that's in your bulletin.
[00:26:21] What that does is that will connect you to our website where you can give us some basic information so that we can reach out to you, invite you in a deeper relationship with us.
[00:26:30] For those of you watching online, you can do the same at www.sbcmoresville.com.
[00:26:38] There's an I'm new section there if you're checking in with us for the first time.
[00:26:42] While you're there, if you're separated from us, you can also give at the giving and tithing section as well.
[00:26:49] But we all have an opportunity to respond in greater trust to the God who takes such good care of us.
[00:26:56] And we're going to go before him, ask his blessing on all we give today.
[00:26:59] Let us pray.
[00:27:00] Father God, as we come before you, Lord, we look at ourselves and our performance and our resume, and we admit that we fall short.
[00:27:10] We fall short of the glory that you have revealed through your image bearers.
[00:27:16] We fail to live up to the standards that you have set before us.
[00:27:21] And so, God, we are reliant upon your grace.
[00:27:24] We need your grace to forgive us.
[00:27:26] We need your grace to transform us.
[00:27:28] And we trust in your grace to provide for everything we need.
[00:27:32] Because we have so much confidence in you.
[00:27:35] We give you this morning a portion of what has been entrusted to us.
[00:27:39] We ask that you would bless it, that you would multiply it.
[00:27:42] That more and more people could come to faith in Jesus.
[00:27:46] through what we give today. For you are worthy of that kind of trust. You are worthy of that kind of faith. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Big happy Father's Day to all you dads
[00:31:58] who came to church today. You had a day that you could have gotten out of church and you chose to use it to come. And I appreciate you and I thank you.
[00:32:08] Uh, God has given us the great and distinct privilege of being our first neighbors to our kids, uh, and also to be the first representations of God to them. And so this is good work that we
[00:32:21] do as dads. And I'm glad that you all are doing that work with me here at Southside.
[00:32:27] We are going to start a new sermon series dealing with Romans chapter nine through 11. If you'll turn with me in your Bibles to Romans chapter 9 today. We're going to deal with the big issue
[00:32:39] that Paul has to deal with in these chapters about what about Israel? This morning, we're going to look at what about the rejection of Israel's Messiah by the Jews? What does that mean for the gospel and especially God's promises? We're going to look at that this morning. So I'm
[00:32:57] going to read from Romans 9 verses 1 through 13, and I'd love for you to follow along in your Bibles as I read aloud. Now, I will warn you, if you can't tell from my voice, I have a head cold.
[00:33:10] And so I can barely know what I sound like. So our sound people are going to be doing some extra work today because I might get loud or soft because I can't tell. But I'm just warning
[00:33:20] everybody, if something's weird, it's the cold, I promise. Romans chapter 9, beginning in verse 1, it says this, I am speaking the truth in Christ. I'm not lying. My conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish
[00:33:39] that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen, according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs,
[00:33:58] and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever.
[00:34:04] Amen. But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. And not all are children of Abraham, because they are his offspring.
[00:34:16] But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. 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.
[00:34:27] for this is what the promise said about this time next year I will return and Sarah shall have a son and not only so but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man our forefather Isaac though
[00:34:39] 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 she was told the older
[00:34:52] will serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Let's pray. Father God, as we come to your word, Lord, we know that we are entering into texts that have been discussed
[00:35:07] for centuries, and the application of these texts are working out even into our world today.
[00:35:13] But Father, you authored this word through your servant Paul. Help us to understand his intent, so we can cooperate with your purpose. Help us to know how we faithfully face a life and face a
[00:35:31] world of rejection by clinging to your word this morning. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
[00:35:42] G. Campbell Morgan, who was the longtime minister at the Westminster Chapel, was known as a great preacher. But in 1888, he was applying for the Wesleyan ministry, and he was one of 150 candidates. Now, he had passed his written exam to be qualified for ministry, and the only thing
[00:36:08] left for him was to do an in-person sermon. Well, the story goes that he froze up and he gave a disastrous presentation. And so he, along with 105 young men, were rejected from ministry, and he believes that it was because of this disastrous performance. Now, he actually wrote
[00:36:31] in his diary, very dark, everything seems still. He knoweth best. And before he wrote those words, he wired to his father the one word, rejected. Now, rejection hurts regardless of what form it is in. Rejection hurts in dating. Rejection hurts in job hunting. And rejection especially hurts
[00:37:03] when you want to share your faith with people that you love and they say no. Maybe they turn on you, maybe they distance relationship. But all of those hurts in rejection also complicate issues when it comes to our faith, because we live in a culture that tends to believe
[00:37:24] that what is popular is also true or important. And so what happens when the faith that we believe is the truth gets rejected? And so believe it or not, it's not just us who have faced this problem.
[00:37:39] In fact, one of the big issues Paul had to address in the Roman church is the fact that God's Messiah for his people Israel was being received by Gentiles and rejected by the Jews.
[00:37:57] So if the Christ, which is the Greek word that translates the Hebrew word for Messiah, was being rejected by the Jews, could Jesus still be the Christ?
[00:38:11] Could God's promises be counted on if they weren't being realized by his chosen people?
[00:38:20] And so Paul writes Romans 9 through 11 to answer that very issue.
[00:38:26] Now, for those of us who are in the church today, that's not usually something that pops up in our average conversation.
[00:38:34] Hey, if the Jews have rejected Jesus as the Messiah, can God be counted on?
[00:38:40] But I promise you, in looking at what Paul says then, you'll see a lot of applications for what we need to do today.
[00:38:49] And today in this part of the chapter, I want to talk specifically about how Paul models a godly approach to rejection.
[00:39:00] You and I are going to face rejection and we might face rejection when it comes to our faith.
[00:39:07] There may be a family member that says, I can't believe what you believe.
[00:39:12] I don't want to go to church anymore.
[00:39:14] You may have a friend that you've shared Jesus with who says to you, please stop or we can't be friends.
[00:39:21] Rejection is a fact of life.
[00:39:24] But the fact of the matter is, is that as God's people, there are godly ways to respond to rejection.
[00:39:32] Now, Paul, in writing this portion of the letter, he is writing to two audiences.
[00:39:36] The first audience is Jewish Christians that are getting very concerned that more of their countrymen aren't joining them.
[00:39:44] And in their minds, they may be thinking, well, is this true if more people aren't accepting it?
[00:39:52] But Paul is also writing to Gentile Christians because it's very easy when somebody rejects something you care about for you to develop hostilities towards them.
[00:40:03] And the Romans in a Gentile world in Jesus and Paul's day were very quick to get angry with the Jews. And they were very quick to develop hostilities towards them. And so Paul wants to give a good model to Gentile Christians of how they should feel when the gospel is rejected.
[00:40:26] And so notice Paul in verse 1 already tells us, I am telling you the truth, I'm not lying, and the Holy Spirit bears witness to my conscience.
[00:40:37] Look at verse 2, it says, That I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart, for I could wish that I myself were accursed, the word there is anathema, and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
[00:41:02] So Paul, as a model of a godly response to rejection, shows us that our first response needs to be sorrow for unbelievers. Paul's first response as a godly response to rejection is sorrow for unbelievers. There's some interesting words that he uses in verse two. In the Greek,
[00:41:28] the words he uses for sorrow and anguish have to do with personal inward pain. And then when he says that I myself were, that I wish I could be accursed, it's a word we use for damned,
[00:41:43] separated from God, spending eternity in hell, Paul says that if it were possible, that is what I would prefer than to see my kinsmen, my countrymen reject the gospel. That is very strong language. And I don't know about you, that's not my normal response when people
[00:42:06] say thanks, but no thanks. I normally am not like, oh God, I wish that I could lose my salvation so that they could gain theirs. No, I have a very different response. Normally, my response is
[00:42:19] something like, well, fine then, I didn't care about you anyway. And we got to understand that for Paul to have this sorrow is pretty remarkable and a great sign of God's work in Paul's life.
[00:42:34] Look with me in Acts chapter 14. In Acts chapter 14, this Paul who has this sorrow experienced some pretty intense hostility from his countrymen. And it says this in Acts 14, verse 19, but Jews came from Antioch and Iconium. And having persuaded the crowds,
[00:42:58] they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. Wow. That's hostility.
[00:43:10] Paul who is sharing the gospel doesn't get just told no don't talk to me but they actually pick up rocks and stone him and leave him for dead and this Paul says my response to those people
[00:43:30] is sorrow and deep anguish for them now Paul is standing in a long line of intercessors In the book of Exodus in chapter 32, Moses pleads with God and says, God, if you will not accept
[00:43:48] these people, then go ahead and blot my name out of your book. Very similar language to what Paul is describing here. But Jesus is the ultimate example of the compassionate intercessor when one is rejected. In Luke chapter 13, these are Jesus's words over the city of Jerusalem. Luke
[00:44:09] chapter 13 and verse 34, Jesus says, oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often I would have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings and you were not willing. Notice the sorrow in Jesus's
[00:44:34] words. Jesus does not respond with apathy and Jesus does not respond with hostility and neither should we. Now, brothers and sisters, I know rejection hurts. One of the ways we like to deal with that hurt, if you're a guy, is we like to shut it down and pretend it does not bother
[00:45:00] us, don't we? Fine then, I didn't need you anyway. Quietly cut that person off. There's a thing that I learned about maybe a decade ago called ghosting, where we like to ghost people. Quietly remove them
[00:45:17] from our lives, then actually deal with the pain of rejection. That's not Paul's attitude, and it's not Jesus's attitude. Their attitude towards rejection is godly sorrow, continued concern.
[00:45:36] The other way that we can respond in one way that many people responded to the Jews in Paul's day is outright hostility. If you want to know what I mean, just find some prominent atheists on
[00:45:49] social media and just look at the Christian comments, right? I mean, I have seen Christians write vile things in response to people that reject them. And brothers and sisters, I want you to understand something. That does not reflect the character of Jesus. We do not represent Jesus
[00:46:11] when we respond with hatred when somebody says no. And more into the point and a little more on the nose, I have a specific concern with anti-Semitism because I've seen it pop up in Christian groups. Anti-Semitism kind of works like this. When something bad happens, we find a way
[00:46:34] that it's the fault of the Jews. Now, here's why this is uniquely concerning from Paul's words.
[00:46:41] If you look with me at verse four, look what Paul says about the Israelites, about the Jews. He says, they are israelites and to them belong the adoption the glory the covenants the giving of
[00:46:54] the law the worship and the promises to them belong the patriarchs and from their race according to the flesh is the christ who is god over all blessed forever amen paul understands that in spite of the rejection that he's experiencing, Israel is still God's chosen people. They have
[00:47:20] been chosen and committed these seven blessings because God looked out on all of the nations and he thought, I'm going to do my most explicit work through Israel. And so brothers and sisters, when we start saying things like, hey, this is off and we can probably blame the Jews,
[00:47:44] or there are bad things happening and it's because of the Jews. When we talk like that in the body of Christ, we are saying that God chose the wrong people to commit all these blessings to, or that in choosing, God has let them get out of control. And so brothers and
[00:48:08] sisters, if we want to put our faith in God, we put our faith in the God who chose this specific people. And the way we talk about this people needs to reflect the God who chose them. And so
[00:48:23] in the body of Christ, we can have sorrow, but we can't have hostility. There should not be any anti-Semitism in the midst of God's people. Now, I understand that some people will say that saying
[00:48:40] that the Jews need to accept the gospel, that they need to put their faith in Jesus, some would say that's anti-Semitic, that they're not already part of God's people. I get that. That's not what I'm
[00:48:52] talking about. I am talking about the claim that there is something uniquely bad about the Jewish people that is distinct from other peoples in this world. That claim goes against God's sovereign choice to work through these people and God's sovereign work in and amongst them, okay? And so
[00:49:18] Paul, even in the midst of their rejection, could still recognize their blessings and God's plan for them. And we're going to talk specifically about how God still has a plan for these people, his covenant people of Israel, when we get to Romans chapter 11. But for right now,
[00:49:39] we should begin by recognizing those places in our lives where we face rejection with apathy or hostility. And especially when we apply that apathy and hostility to groups of people. God wants us to have godly sorrow for all kinds of unbelief. And we don't fix that
[00:50:08] godly sorrow by ignoring it or getting angry. But we do fix that godly sorrow by the second way that Paul responds to this rejection. Look with me in your second note in your bulletin. So we should
[00:50:25] have sorrow for unbelievers, but we should have confidence in God's promises. Verse six, Paul says, but it is not as though the word of God has failed, for not all who are descended from Israel
[00:50:45] belonged to Israel. So Paul is dealing with a specific problem that would come up again and again and again. And that specific problem was, if God made this promise to Abraham from the book of Genesis and his offspring, how can we count on God's promises if Abraham's offspring aren't
[00:51:10] benefiting from the promise, right? If I make a promise to my son, to my kids, and I don't come through with it for one of them, then the other two may be suspicious that I'm not going to keep
[00:51:24] my promises to them, okay? And so Paul has to address this specific issue by helping them understand what God's promise was, okay? God's promise to Abraham and his offspring was not a promise to all of Abraham's offspring. Look specifically, for not all who are descended
[00:51:48] from Israel belong to Israel. Okay, so there's a play on words that Paul is doing here.
[00:51:58] Israel is both the nation that God has given to his people, the ethnicity of those who belong to that nation, and a character in the Old Testament, who is Jacob, whose name was later turned to
[00:52:13] Israel. So Paul is probably saying, not all who belong to Jacob are part of God's Israel. And the word Israel means one who strives with God and man. And so Paul is making the case that belonging
[00:52:31] to the family doesn't mean membership in God's family. Because Paul is going to expound further on what he said in Romans chapter 4. And that is, is that the true family members of Abraham aren't the ones who are part of Abraham's lineage. They're not the ones who
[00:52:57] share Abraham's DNA, they're the ones who share Abraham's faith. That's the qualifier. And so Paul is going to give examples of people who were part of Abraham's lineage who were not part of the promise. Paul zeroes in on Isaac, that Abraham adopted a servant, that he had Ishmael with his
[00:53:24] servant Hagar, but it was Isaac through whom God's promise was going forward. And in the next generation, Isaac married Rebekah, but Rebekah with her two sons, Jacob and Esau, God chose Jacob and not Esau. And so Paul is making the case from the very beginning, God made a distinction
[00:53:50] between heirs of the promise and people who were just part of the family. And so rejection should not be an indicator that God has not fulfilled his promise as long as we understand what the promises of God actually are. And in the background of all of this is Paul's idea
[00:54:12] that it's those who have faith in Jesus who are heirs of God's promises. And so rejection has always been part of a response to God's people. Even from within God's people, there has been rejection. And so it shouldn't surprise us today that the promises of God available through faith
[00:54:43] in Jesus are going to be rejected, but God's promises are still going forward. And so we have to, when we experience rejection, continue to trust God's promises. Being a Christian means learning that popular does not mean important. Being a Christian means that the
[00:55:16] world's acceptance is not God's acceptance and that God needs to be counted on, especially where the gospel is being rejected. And so that's the third point. So if God's promises are still going forward, how are they received? Well, it's received through faith in Jesus. Now, you're not
[00:55:41] going to see those specific words in this passage. But again, in Romans 3 and Romans 4, Paul makes it very clear that it's not those who are descended of Israel. It's not those who keep the Mosaic law,
[00:55:57] but it's those who have faith in Jesus. That Gentiles, those who are not Jewish, can be part of God's covenant family relationship through faith in Christ alone. And the reason I want to highlight this is because of what Paul says in verse eight. He says, this means that it is not
[00:56:19] the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. Now, if we become Abraham's children through faith and not through natural descent, we can't become God's children by church membership or family lineage or citizenship.
[00:56:54] You see what I'm getting at?
[00:56:56] One of the hardest things that I have to help people face in the church is that our faith has to be in Jesus, not on other stuff.
[00:57:08] Now, normally pastors would like to say, your faith needs to be in Jesus and not on your works, not on your accomplishment.
[00:57:16] Because we read about in Sunday school about a expert of the law who wanted to justify himself.
[00:57:22] He wanted to be self-righteous.
[00:57:24] He wanted to stand before God worthy because of his actions.
[00:57:30] And works are a big distraction to faith in Jesus because we will put trust in works over our trust in faith.
[00:57:37] And we're going to deal with this explicitly when we get to Romans chapter 10.
[00:57:41] But there are other sources where we can put our faith too.
[00:57:45] A lot of us will put our faith in our family heritage or national identity.
[00:57:54] How does that work? Well, brothers and sisters, I want to tell you, I've had conversations with lots of people who don't go to church, who don't confess Jesus as Lord, but who will say they are a Christian. Well, how are you a Christian? Well, my family is Christian. Oh,
[00:58:14] you cannot inherit faith in Jesus. You have to have personal faith in Jesus.
[00:58:25] Secondly, I have seen people, less in our country, it's definitely true in other countries, where there is a specific Christian national identity, where the church and state are actually working together. So in places like Greece, in some places in Europe, where if you are a citizen
[00:58:47] of the nation, you are baptized and registered as a member of the church. This was true in the church of Denmark during Soren Kierkegaard's day. Soren Kierkegaard was this very famous philosopher and he said, if Denmark is a Christian nation, then all the cows in Denmark must be Christian.
[00:59:06] And his point was this, is that being a citizen of a Christian nation does not replace faith in Jesus. But it's amazing to me, as I encounter people who have that kind of national identity,
[00:59:23] how many of them really do believe that they are saved based on their heritage.
[00:59:33] And Paul is saying, it's not the children of the flesh. There is no worldly association that we can participate in that substitutes faith in Jesus. And brothers and sisters, I want to tell you, if you have come today because this is your family's church, thank God. If you are here because
[01:00:01] grandma was a Christian and you want to be a Christian too, praise God. I thank God for a godly heritage that leads me to jesus but i don't put my faith in my heritage and neither should you
[01:00:19] because to become a children of the promise is about faith in jesus but i also have some some concerns because as i pick my sermons for some reason the news tends to align with what i'm
[01:00:37] preaching on, thank God. I have seen a growing number of evangelical Christians who are intentionally pursuing Christian nationalism. Now, let me explain what that means. Because oftentimes, any politician that prays, people will say, well, he's a Christian nationalist.
[01:00:57] Or when people, like, when Christians put up the American flag and say, God bless America, they'll say, well, that's Christian nationalism. By Christian nationalism, I don't mean Christian patriotism. Look, being grateful for this country is good. And helping others be
[01:01:16] grateful for the place that God has put you is a good and Christian endeavor. We should all do that.
[01:01:22] And by the way, also trying to influence the government to act more in line with God's principles is something that you are allowed to do as a citizen of the United States.
[01:01:32] the constitution lets you petition the government and you get to give your ideas of how the government should act and if you want to petition your government to act more in keeping with the word of god you have that right as american citizen so i don't mean any of that as christian
[01:01:51] nationalism what i mean is is that christian nationalists intentionally believe that the state America doesn't just guarantee, doesn't just work to protect your rights and live up to the Constitution, but that the state has a unique role by God to enforce a Christian culture and
[01:02:14] Christian belief, okay? So the way this looks is there are some people who are Roman Catholic, they're called Catholic Integralists, and they would love to see a Catholic king sit in Washington, them, right? They would love to do away with the Constitution, and they would love to replace it
[01:02:32] with a Catholic king. I don't think that's going to fly with most Americans, but, you know, they could want what they want. That's fine. I've seen a number of non-Catholics, so Protestant, Reformed people, some Pentecostals, and even some Baptists, that would like to see the state
[01:02:52] have more power to enforce and in some places coerce Christian beliefs. And so that is limiting the ability of non-Christians to vote, limiting the role of seats in Washington to people who express Christian commitment. Now, I have many concerns, and I could spend a whole sermon on
[01:03:15] my concerns about this movement. However, I want to just list two for you this morning and why I think I'm concerned because of what Paul says here. First of all, I'm concerned because I don't
[01:03:28] trust politicians to do discipleship well. I just don't. As Southern Baptists, our heritage is what's called the free church movement. At the Southern Baptist convention that I went to, one of the gavels that was used was constructed from the wood from John Bunyan's jail cell,
[01:03:51] where he wrote the work Pilgrim's Progress.
[01:03:54] Why was John Bunyan in jail?
[01:03:57] Well, he kept preaching without a license.
[01:04:01] The government didn't want him to preach, and so he did it anyway and went to jail.
[01:04:06] But brothers and sisters, that's our heritage.
[01:04:09] So the same government that can send him to jail can enforce rules to silence anything that they don't want to hear and do it in the name of Jesus.
[01:04:21] and I'm greatly concerned about that. But my bigger concern with trying to use the government to enforce a Christian identity is it makes crinos. What's a crino? You just made that up, probably. A crino is a Christian in name only. Coerced faith doesn't tend to be genuine faith,
[01:04:48] but compliant faith. And compliant faith to meet the demands of the government isn't the same as faith in Jesus. And brothers and sisters, the reason I'm mentioning this big topic that's in the news is because I want us to like really own that in our personal lives. Coerced faith in your
[01:05:11] family is not genuine faith. Mom, dad, I understand that some of the questions your kids ask may look bad on your standing in church. They may want to know, does God really require this?
[01:05:29] Do I really have to do this? And it makes us uncomfortable. But I want you to understand that coercing their compliance isn't the same as getting them to trust Jesus.
[01:05:42] Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that some of us have learned how to fit in into Christian spaces. We've gotten very good at taking our cues from a Christian culture. We know the
[01:05:58] right words to say. We know every praise the Lord and bless you we have to give. But that's not the same thing as faith in Jesus. Faith in Jesus is a trust. It is a forever trust. It is confidence
[01:06:17] in him and his finished work on the cross, not a performance in order to fit in with other people.
[01:06:25] And Paul is saying to the Gentiles as a way of reminder, listen, you should not be concerned when the people who look like they should receive it reject it, because that has always been the
[01:06:42] case in the family of God. But it's the ones who are part of the family by faith in God's promises through Jesus that are counted as genuine heirs of the promise. Look with me in 2 Corinthians
[01:07:01] chapter one. Notice how Paul summarizes his thinking on this. In second Corinthians chapter one, verse 20, Paul says it this way, for all the promises of God find their yes in him. Who's the him? Well, it's the son. It is Jesus. And that is why it is through him, that is Jesus, that we
[01:07:36] utter our amen to God for his glory. You know, I have to tell you, as a dad, there has been times in my life in which I had to face my son with tears in his eyes and said, son, I know I promised,
[01:07:58] but I can't. There's some times when I make a commitment to my son and his behavior is so off the chain, plans have to change. And I say, son, I know I made this commitment, but I won't.
[01:08:14] Sometimes justified, sometimes sinful. But as a sinful human being and a sinful father, I'm inconsistent. I'm inconsistent. Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand something this morning. When you come to your heavenly father through a relationship with Jesus,
[01:08:38] When you say to your heavenly father, you promised, he never says, I can't or I won't.
[01:08:47] Not once has he ever said, I can't.
[01:08:52] Not once has he ever said, I won't.
[01:08:54] For all of his promises are a yes in Jesus.
[01:09:01] Do not look to your family history.
[01:09:04] Do not look to your church membership.
[01:09:06] Do not look to your citizenship. Do not look to your voting record. Do not look anywhere but at the cross of Jesus Christ, for it is at the cross that all of God's promises are yes to us. And if
[01:09:27] God's promises are yes to us in Christ, then it shouldn't matter if other people say no.
[01:09:37] we should have genuine sorrow for them we don't need to be hostile we don't have to write them off as people we don't care about we can continue to pray for them we can continue to find ways to
[01:09:52] share the gospel with them because we trust in the promises of god well you know that story that i started the message with about g campbell morgan and facing rejection i want to end this note
[01:10:07] with the reply his father gave him.
[01:10:10] And I think this is appropriate for Father's Day.
[01:10:14] The reply that his dad gave to the wire was quick.
[01:10:18] And when it arrived, it said this, rejected on earth, accepted in heaven.
[01:10:25] Dad, perfect.
[01:10:29] Rejected on earth, accepted in heaven.
[01:10:33] We don't have to let rejection harden our hearts towards unbelievers.
[01:10:38] and we don't have to let rejection doubt our promises in God. Rejected on earth still means acceptance in heaven through Jesus. And so I want to just ask you all this morning to really look at how you respond to unbelievers you encounter online, the people you see on the
[01:11:00] news, the people who may be in your own family, the people you work with, the people who are the most vocal in their opposition to Jesus, do you have genuine sorrow for them? Or have you become
[01:11:15] hardened and filled with hatred? And if that is true, I am so glad you are here today. We don't come to church to find out we're cool with God. We come to church because we still need his grace
[01:11:31] to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. And one of the ways we need to become like Jesus is to be tenderhearted and compassionate for the people that say no. And that is a work that God
[01:11:45] wants to do in each and every one of our lives. But God will do that to those who are heirs of his promise, to those who have a relationship with him through Jesus. And so I would be remiss
[01:11:57] if I did not ask this morning, what is the source of your hope? What is the source of your faith?
[01:12:06] uh one pastor said if it's if you answer in the first person because i you're already on the wrong foot but if your answer is also pointing to because they that is the group i'm a part of
[01:12:23] you're already on the wrong foot the appropriate re-answer to the question of what qualifies us to have relationship with God forever.
[01:12:35] And that is because he, because he died, because he rose, because he took my sin, because he's given me his spirit, because I have been reborn to new and forever life because of him.
[01:12:52] And if that is not your answer this morning, please do not leave this Father's Day without having a new relationship with your heavenly Father through Jesus.
[01:13:02] and so as miss emily does our song of response i'm going to encourage you you come forward if you need to to pray there's some hardness and bitterness in your heart if there's apathy you
[01:13:13] come forward this morning i will pray god's blessing and grace upon you but if today you realize that my relationship with god is based on someone else's relationship with god you come forward too and i want to pray with you and share with you the good news about jesus and so we have
[01:13:30] our chance to respond to the word of God today. You respond by faith in Jesus. Churches, I play

[01:13:49] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:13:49] for a moment. Like Pastor David said, we're going to take the next couple of minutes to reflect.
[01:13:58] You need to be up here at the altar. It's open. But if you feel that the Lord is tugging at your heart right in your seat, then don't pass this moment by. Make sure that you listen to him.
[01:14:12] Whatever the case, that's what we're going to be doing together in the next few moments.

[01:14:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:14:19] Thank you that trusting Jesus is not a one and done decision, but it's a trust that we can do.

[01:19:38] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[01:19:38] And we are so glad that every trust we give Jesus, he meets and multiplies.
[01:19:50] Lord, I pray that the stories that we have of Jesus coming through for us would be loud and clear so that people struggling to trust Jesus for the first time or for the first step
[01:20:04] have good reason to believe that Jesus is going to come through for them.
[01:20:13] God, I do pray that those of us who have walked in faith, we are going to find those who walk away, who say no, who turn away from the faith that we would love to share with them.
[01:20:29] And God, let that not make us bitter, angry, spiteful, resentful.
[01:20:38] Let us put away all malice and bitterness, as your word tells us.
[01:20:46] But Lord, let us not make that us apathetic, unfeeling, uncaring, or walk away from relationship with them, just as you did not walk away from relationship with us.
[01:20:59] God, help us to have godly sorrow that leads to godly prayers, that leads to demonstration of love in acts of faith. Let us represent Jesus to those who've said no to Jesus.
[01:21:22] And I pray that our witness will draw them into the family of promise by faith.
[01:21:32] Lord, I pray a special blessing for our dads.
[01:21:36] God, for those who dad well, I pray that you would help them to see glimpses of their legacy.
[01:21:48] Help them to see the way you have worked through their life and how that has affected future generations.
[01:21:56] Father, I pray for the fathers who have not done that job well.
[01:22:01] Lord, I pray that this would be an opportunity for repentance, for faith.
[01:22:08] But God, I pray for those of us who have either been blessed or we have been disappointed by our earthly fathers.
[01:22:20] Lord, help us in our blessing to recognize your character and the best of our dads and help us in our disappointments to recognize your satisfaction in our disappointments.
[01:22:31] But God, I do pray for all of us who call ourselves fathers, that we would represent you, our heavenly father through Jesus.
[01:22:43] We pray this in Jesus' name, amen, amen.
[01:22:49] Very briefly, as you could possibly tell, my voice is leaving.
[01:22:52] um i do want to mention that for father's day in honor of all the men and fathers in our church we are making a special donation to send one of the kids in barnardsville to summer camp we have
[01:23:06] a partnership with barnardsville that we've started uh during the hurricane we were able to build good relationship with them and we thought it'd be a special blessing to send one of them to summer camp in honor of you dads. And so for those of you dads who say, I don't want anything,
[01:23:24] this is what we got you. And with that, will you lift your heads, your hands, your hearts, receive the Lord's blessing as we go. May you walk in confident trust in the finished work of Christ
[01:23:38] this week, facing rejection with sorrow and trust in him. In Jesus' name, amen. You are dismissed.