ISRAEL IS NOT CAST AWAY - ROMANS 11

I say then, has God rejected and disowned His people? Certainly not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His [chosen] people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

“Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left [of the prophets], and they are seeking my life.” But what is God’s response to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

So too then, at the present time there has come to be a remnant [a small believing minority] according to God’s gracious choice. But if it is by grace [God’s unmerited favor], it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace [it would not be a gift but a reward for works].

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking [that is, God’s favor by obedience to the Law], but the elect [those chosen few] obtained it, while the rest of them became hardened and callously indifferent; just as it is written [in Scripture],

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

Eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, [a spiritual apathy that has continued] to this very day.”

And David says,

“Let their table (abundance) become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a retribution to them.  “Let their eyes be darkened so that they do not see, And make their backs bend [under their burden] forever.”

So I say, have they stumbled so as to fall [to spiritual ruin]? Certainly not! But by their transgression [their rejection of the Messiah] salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous [when they realize what they have forfeited].

Now if Israel’s transgression means riches for the world [at large] and their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment and reinstatement be!

But now I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, in the hope of somehow making my fellow countrymen jealous [by stirring them up so that they will seek the truth] and perhaps save some of them. For if their [present] rejection [of salvation] is for the reconciliation of the world [to God], what will their acceptance [of salvation] be but [nothing less than] life from the dead?

If the first portion [of dough offered as the first fruits] is holy, so is the whole batch; and if the root (Abraham, the patriarchs) is holy, so are the branches (the Israelites).

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you [Gentiles], being like a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them to share with them the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast over the [broken] branches and exalt yourself at their expense. If you do boast and feel superior, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root that supports you.

You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by your faith [as believers understanding the truth of the coming Kingdom of God]. Do not be conceited, but rather stand in great awe of God; for if God did not spare the natural branches [because of unbelief], He will not spare you either.

Then appreciate the gracious kindness and the severity of God: to those who fell [into spiritual ruin], severity, but to you God's gracious kindness; IF you continue in His kindness [by faith and obedience to Him]; otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they [the unbelieving Jews], if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God has the power to graft them in again.

For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much easier will it be to graft these who are the natural branches back into [the original parent stock of] their own olive tree?

I do not want you, believers, to be unaware of this mystery [God’s previously hidden plan]; so that you will not be wise in your own opinion; that a partial hardening has [temporarily] happened to Israel [to last] until the full number of the Gentiles has come in; and so [at that time] all Israel [that is, all Jews who have a personal faith in Jesus as their Messiah] will be saved; just as it is written [in Scripture],

“The Deliverer (Messiah) will come from Zion,

He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”

“This is My covenant with them,

When I take away their sins.”

From the standpoint of the gospel, the Jews [at present] are enemies [of God] for your sake [which is for your benefit], but from the standpoint of God’s choice [of the Jews as His people], they are still loved by Him for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call].

Just as you once were disobedient and failed to listen to God, but have now obtained mercy because of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient so that they too may one day receive mercy because of the mercy shown to you. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all [Jew and Gentile alike].

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and decisions and how unfathomable and untraceable are His ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it would be paid back to him? For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.

THY KINGDOM COME

In a day when the foundations of society are crumbling, a day of gathering storm and deepening gloom, a day of unprecedented dented peril in which thoughtful men speak of the collapse of civilization and the possible annihilation of cities and nations; even of mankind, the sovereignty of God is an unfailing encouragement that lights the path of the just and affords assurance to all the faithful, who take great comfort in the words of James in the historic council of the church at Jerusalem: "Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the world" (Acts 15:18).

God, who has "declared the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done," has said, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure" (Isaiah 46: 10). He who "works all things after the counsel of His own will" is at work in the world in these momentous times, moving inexorably toward fulfillment of an eternal purpose that antedates creation and gives meaning to human history.

History, by divine appointment, is teleological, and the sweep of human events, whatever the sound and the fury, moves toward the appointed end: "Thy Kingdom Come."

Nothing in the course of events can alter the appointed outcome. The unfolding of the days and years, whatever their number, ultimately will issue in all that was foretold by the prophets of old, by our lord, and by his Apostles. The witness of history past, confirming "the prophetic word made sure" (2 Peter 1:19), attests that human events ever move toward the inevitable denouement on which creation itself is predicated: the coming of "The Kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world."

There is, of course, a sense in which the kingdom of God is eternally present rather than prospective, co-existent with Him who "before the mountains were brought forth or ever [He] had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, [is] God" (Psalm 90:2). But the Kingdom of God, as proclaimed and anticipated by both Jesus and the Apostles and prophets of old, is yet future and awaits its manifestation at the end of this age, to appear in a moment of spectacular divine intervention at the coming of God’s anointed one in power and judgment ... but appearing also as the consummation of a long process, as implied by many of our lord's parables.

Why a long process? Why not, instead, instant kingdom? Could not God, in the act of a moment, have created the everlasting kingdom He purposed from eternity? Are not all things possible for God? All things indeed are possible for God, but only within the limitations of consistency with His own nature and being.' God cannot lie, for example, nor can He change, nor can He deny Himself. We may reverently assume that, for the kind of kingdom He intends, God is following the only possible course: the process of human history.

The process comprehends all that God has done, beginning even before His mighty acts of creation when He "laid the foundations of the earth [and] the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job 38:4,7). It comprehends the creation of angels before earth itself and the origin of sin in the transgression of angels against the will of their Creator. It comprehends the creation of man in the image and likeness of God and the entrance of sin into human experience in the disobedience of man to the word and will of his Creator.

The process comprehends the moral self-discoveries and the redemptive revelations and encounters experienced by the patriarchs of old and all the faithful of their generations. It comprehends the experiences of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and a nation descended from them, and the judges and kings and prophets who appeared among them.

The process comprehends the redemptive mission of Jesus, unfolded in His unique birth, life, ministry, death, resurrection, ascension, and his ultimate return in righteous judgment. It comprehends the labors of the Apostles and the witness of the called-out Assembly to God’s anointed one and His saving message of the good news of the coming Kingdom of God in all generations until the coming of the King and the Kingdom.

The process whereby God is creating the Kingdom which He purposed before the world began comprehends "all nations of men ... on all the face of the earth" (Acts 17:26) and involves every man.

Human history in its totality is the milieu in which the everlasting kingdom is being wrought ... and in which THE ELECTION determined by God from before creation; an ELECTION wholly identified with the Kingdom; is being realized.

"Thy kingdom come"; the Kingdom which was the concern of Jesus in the days of his flesh, the burden of his preaching, the subject of splendid promises and solemn warnings, and the central theme of all his teaching from the beginning of his ministry to the time of his ascension (Acts 1:3). Thy kingdom come!

Psalm 72:19: And blessed be His glorious name forever: and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.

What's the Point Of Prayer If God Know's The Future?

God's foreknowledge has nothing to do with the reason we aught to pray to Him. The inhabitants of Nineveh prayed when Jonah came through the city telling them God was going to destroy that city and as a result God repented of His decision as Jonah knew he probably would and wasn't happy about God's decision. God answers the prayers of all those who come before Him in a humble and contrite attitude of heart. Heartfelt prayers move God to act in mercy and loving kindness and He always answers the prayer of a humble and contrite person, unless in His over-all plan He sees that giving that person an answer would not be to their good as to the end result He sees for them. That is why some are not healed or don't receive an immediate answer to their heartfelt prayers. God know what is best for us and as a result acts toward us accordingly.

When we pray to our God and our Father we are talking to Him and letting him know how much we love Him and thanking Him for all he has given us through His beloved son Jesus. We have truth, light, life, and know the way to entrance to the coming kingdom of God to be established in the coming new age. He has given us the right to come boldly into His presence as His begotten sons as his little children to experience His loving arms drawing us to Himself. With all of this before me, why would I not want to come to God in prayer, telling Him about all that I need help for and waiting on His grace to assist me in those things. He has given us an paracletos - one who comes along side to help us and his name is Jesus. He has given us a High Priest in heaven for us to intervene for us as our advocate and his name is Jesus. He has given us a comforter who promises to be with us always and his name is Jesus. He has given us the life giving spirit to be with us and his name is Jesus. Why would I not come before the throne of Jesus' God and ours, Jesus Father and ours and give him thanks for all His wonderful grace poured out on all of us who do not deserve anything at all and yet He has blessed us immeasurably! Halil Yah - Praise God.

Hebrews 13:15 Through him - Jesus therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

When we do this more and more we will feel the presence of the One with whom we have to do. It is a great comfort to know we are never alone, that our God has provided a person to come alongside us to help keep us on the narrow path that leads to life in the coming new age. That fact alone should to give us reason to come before our God and our Father with thanksgiving and praise continually. Indeed what a friend we have in Jesus and what a Father we have in our God who gives us all we have need of!