Your Agenda, His Assignment

ROMANS 9-11:
The Beautiful Mystery of Your Salvation

Your Agenda, His Assignment

Rough Transcript

Khayree Pender

Khayree Pender:

Hey, guys. Welcome back to Another Man In The Mirror. I’ll be continuing our teaching from the Book of Romans, The Beautiful Mystery of Your Salvation. And I’ll be coming from Romans the 11th chapter, verses one through 11 and verse 36. So if you have your Bibles, how about you open them up and let’s start reading? I ask then, did God reject his people? By no means. I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah? How he appealed to God against Israel? “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left and they are trying to kill me too.” And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”

So too, at a present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works. If it were, grace would no longer be grace. What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly, they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened. As it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear, to this very day. And David says, “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs bent forever.”

Verse 11 says, again I ask, did they stumble? So to fall beyond recovery? Not at all. Rather, because of their transgressions, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. In verse 36 says this. It says, for from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. So what these verses in the book of Romans, I’ll be speaker from the topic, Your Agenda, His Assignment.

Here we have Paul which I love, he’ve rendered off a question and he’s starting off, but then he follows up an answer it too. So as we look at the first verse as it starts off so powerful, it says, “I asked them, did God reject his people?” And then he follows up and I can feel the expression in the verse as he begins to speak. And he says, “By no means. I’m an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham and from the tribe of Benjamin.” So there was a question that was posed as he began to speak on this. And he says, “God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew.”

And then we follow in again with the same verse it says, “Don’t you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel?” So even in that, so he spoke to have some type of substance to support what was going on or what we’re saying. So right now we have Israel and Israel is pretty much on their own agenda. They’re doing things according to what they feel is though is right towards them. As far as when it comes down to worship and the way that they’re living their lives. And here it is, Paul was just trying to figure out where they’re really are in this situation. And he’s asking God and he’s just speaking and trying to figure out where they are. So here, it brings me to my first bubble, if you’re following along and that is seeking for change.

SEEKING FOR CHANGE

So this is what we hear. We hear seeking for change, trying to figure out, or as we’re seeking for confirmation. He’s looking to try to figure out where they are at this point of time, because he understands what has been going forth. So he’s asking, trying to render and just trying to pull and find out, “Okay, are they in a good place?” You understand and know how it is certain times that if you had a relationship or have a relationship with someone, and then you can feel like, “Hey, you know what? I’m not in a good place,” because you could feel that ill intension. And then of course, if it’s a meaningful relationship to you, you want to make sure that you can go ahead and correct those things as well. Like a family member.

We all have family members that probably chose different paths than what we have chosen. And it’s not that we don’t love our family members. That’s what’s keeping us connected and keeping us with the relationship and open pathway for them. We just don’t agree with the path that they chose. We’ll keep an open pathway to relationship. If you call at anytime, I’ll be there to listen and answer and do anything for you. But I just want to let you know, I don’t agree with that path that you chose at this point in time. So, which leads me to my first question that I would like to ask you, have you ever looked back at something you never really gave a chance and had to watch it flourish? How did that change your outlook? Here it is.

Israel didn’t really give it a chance. And on this point they had to sit back and watch the Gentiles receive something for them and said in the verse, he said, “You know what? God did not reject his people for he foreknew.” Why would he reject this own people? Just like us. Why would you reject your own people? I may be upset with something. I may teach you a lesson, but I’m not going to reject you. So in this situation, have you ever looked back at something you never really gave a chance and had to watch it flourish? How did that change your outlook?

It brings me to our Big Idea. What we count as a mistake, God counts as potential. So here, as we continue to go on and look into this, I love that Paul asked those questions and then it opened up a dialogue between both because they were able to speak and see, even had some force behind it to say what Elijah said. He said, “Look what Israel is doing right now.” Listen, “They’re killing all your prophets, they’re tearing down all your altars. Hey, guess what? I’m the only prophet left. And lo and behold, they’re trying to kill me too.” What is going on with Israel? We’re trying to figure out to see what’s going on, but then the Lord follows up and He says this, God’s answer to him and He said, “Listen, I have reserved for myself 7,000 that have not bowed the knee to Baal. They did not do it.

So too, at the present time, there’s a remnant chosen by grace. Isn’t that like God? His grace is just so amazing. And I want to let you know that no matter how far you may feel as though that you’re down or how long you may feel as though to reach, grace is long enough to get you and reach you to wherever you may be, whatever you may need, whatever needs to happen or change to shift in your life. Here there’s a lot of questions. There’s a lot trying to figure out what’s going on. But the great thing is just even starting to saying, listen, God will never reject his people. He’ll never reject his people, which this brings me to our second point.

SEPARATED BUT NOT REJECTED

Our second point in our bubble is separated not rejected. Separated but not rejected. So we can see this right here. As we begin to look at it at any time, let’s just see and think about it. He had a right. If he wanted to reject us, let’s be honest. We already know that we don’t give things time a second chance. It may be one time or one and done. And you know what? We’re just rejected overall, we’re done with it. But here, you know what? It was just the separation phase. You said, you know what? I’ll get you to see it one way or another. So separated, but not rejected. That’s a great place to be as well because rejected, you’ll never be able to recover, redeem yourself. If you’re separated, you still have time to reconnect and get back in good graces.

So here, as we begin to look, it says this, on the separate your face it says, what the people of Israel sought so earnestly did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened. And it says, it was written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear to this very day. So it’s the separation in here. You know what? Some people are earnestly seeking, but they won’t be able to attain it. But there was an elect among them that was able to, because of the grace. Now, the others, they were hardened.

It says this in the verse, God gave them a spirit of stupor. And another version of the Bible says the spirit of sleep. And I’ve heard one person even give an example of saying to the point of like the sticky. I don’t know if your hand on your leg or foot ever went to sleep and you feel like… I mean, you know that it’s functioning and it’s there, but not. You can’t use it to the point or place that you would want to use it. So here it is, you don’t want to just be functioning in your own agenda because you’ll be like in a spirit of stupor, like you have eyes that you cannot see and you have ears that you can not hear. You’re on your own agenda, and it looks like you’re progressing. It look like things are opening up for you, but you’re not really seeing what’s really before you, what God really has.

You may be hearing great things from other people, and those things may validate you, but you’re not really hearing about what God really has for the next step that can get you to the next place that could push you to where you really need to be. So it brings me to my second question. And my second question is this, if separation can be a struggle, what keeps you focused on your relationship with God? How can you exhibit the same investment that God does? If separation is a struggle, what keeps you focused on your relationship with God? How can you exhibit the same investment that God does? God shows and he really exhibit his investment in us that he has, but let’s just be honest.

Separation can come as a struggle for us. So there’s two separations. Got the separation for preserving and then we have a separation that we can’t really pull ourselves away from because of what? We like the results of things that certain things might bring to us, and that’s where we get to our own agenda. I’m going to be honest with you. Your own agenda can be dangerous at times. It’s always great to get insight from God, so even have him to be able to validate some things or even a check with him on certain things that we want to approach to do, because I found a lot of this. It save you a world of time, a world of trouble as well. And then we don’t want to be walking around thinking that we’re doing things to progressive, but we got a spirit of stupor on us. We’re not even really seeing, we’re not even really hearing, but because we still focused on our own agenda and the things that we’re doing.

As we begin to look at this even more, there was something that David even follow up. It says, “May their table become as a snare and a trap, a stumbling block of retribution to them and may their eyes darken that they cannot see and their backs forever bent.” I mean, we don’t ever want to be stuck in a place like that. We sit at our tables and we thinking, hey, you know what? We’re doing great. This is it. Our own agenda has us out at our own place, but it’s just the trap. Something that’s going to have us fall and be a stumbling block. A stumbling block before us. So, we want to make sure that we’re not ever putting our own agenda before and we’re missing everything. But the great thing about it, as far as when we begin to look at this with God, the beautiful part of our salvation, that it’s still available. Which brings me back to our Big Idea. And that is this, what we count as a mistake, God counts as potential.

Now that we were able to look at that as we begin to read it, now here’s another great question. As we begin to look at verse 11, it says this, again I ask, because I asked before and it was no, I’m an Israelite myself. Now I have another question that I’m asking again. Again I ask, did they stumble? So as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all. And if you’re reading and you look at along in the Bible, should have an exclamation Mark right after that. Not at all! Rather because of their transgressions, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. To make is… So again I ask, did they stumble beyond recovery? No. Oh my goodness. I get chills when I begin to think about that, because even though sometimes we get on our agenda and how far we may go, and our eyes may not show us what we need to see and our ears, it still says that they did not stumble beyond recovery.

Even though they got caught up in their own agenda, even though they were going on and on and on, on their own path and the things that they were doing, they still did not fall beyond recovery. Meaning God’s grace is still there. His salvation is still there as well. That hey, when you really get that check with yourself and you have that self evaluation and things begin to click, it’s still available. It’s still there. You did not fall beyond recovery. And I want to say that to you that may be listening right now, wherever you may be. I don’t know the position or the state that you may be in, but you haven’t fallen beyond recovery.

It’s too wide, it’s too deep. You cannot fall beyond recovery. It’s there. And now, like you said, so Israel don’t want it, I’ll give it to Gentiles. You know what? Make them jealous and they’ll see, and they’ll understand, but it already told us, “I’ll never forsake or reject my own people.” It’s still there. And that’s the beautiful thing about salvation.

SUSTAINED FOR HIS GLORY

And it brings me to our third bubble, our third point. And it says this, sustained for his glory. And verse 36 says this, “For from him and through him and for him, are all things. To him, be the glory forever.” There’re verses kind of twiggy as says it, in this version it says, for from him and through him, and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever. And I’m telling you right now, to him be the glory. And that’s what’s going to happen.

We’re sustained for his glory. You haven’t fell beyond recovery. You have not and it says not at all. You have not fell beyond recovery. It’s just your transgressions. Those things are in our way. Sometimes those things can block and see. And like I said, we may have that spirit of stupor that may be there. That may cause us to even be blocked from what’s going on. But once you get that wake up call and begin to see those things, then things will begin to fall in line with you. So I have a question. I have another question for you. And the question is this, what are some things that come to mind when you hear the word salvation? How do you view salvation? Now that we’ve been going through these teachings? What are some things that come to mind when you hear salvation?

Some people hear salvation and just think, okay, this is just me, this word just throw, throwing around but think about it. As we get begin to look into the scripture, I see something here, not beyond recovery, it’s still there. And that’s some of the beautiful things about it. And I love it so much. They did not stumble, so to fall beyond recovery, not at all. And that could be something that we hold on to when things come up or even think about some of the things that we may feel like that’s in our line or in our face or in our way, you can settle it with saying not at all. Why? But wait a minute, I messed up or I slipped or I don’t see. Not at all. So as we begin to look back at this and just like our Big Idea tells us, our Big Idea tells us this, what we count as a mistake, God counts as potential.

He sees it all through there. He’s just waiting and it’s there. He’s letting us know listen, you could fall farther enough. You could fall hard enough because I’m still there. And I’m suddenly, and now I want you to begin to reflect on some of those things for yourself that you may think that may be in a way it’s just so beautiful, how your salvation is because it stand this. You’re sustained for his glory. You’re, you’re kept, you’re preserved. You’re there. But what are we doing? We’re seeking for the change or the confirmation, we have to know that was separated, not rejected. So don’t let your feelings and emotions get in the way, you’re just separated and not rejected, God’s people and here we are sustained for his glory.

We have to remember that Big Idea, what we count as a mistake, God counts as potential. So I’m hoping that this helped you today. As we begin to look at it and look at these verses and begin to follow back up. And I was just glad how sometimes… And we have to do just as Paul did, as we ask some questions to try to figure out, “Hey, am I messed up?” No, not at all. It’s the beautiful thing about your salvation. It’s the beautiful thing about it. So if you will, let’s just go ahead and seal this today with a prayer. Go ahead and bow your head and close your eyes. Dear lord heavenly father. We thank you for this day. We thank you for what you’ve done and what you’re doing in our lives. We really appreciate everything that you’re doing for us. And we don’t take anything for granted.

We want to say this, if we have been operating under a spirit of stupor, we ask that you begin to remove those things. We ask right now God, that you just remove the darkness or the scales from over our eyes right now God. We ask that you clear our ears right now dear Lord. So that we could see what it is that you have for us and understand. And we can hear your voice wherever we may be. Father, we thank you right now God for making salvation available God. Wherever we may be just as the scripture says, we have not failed beyond recovery God. And you are there for us because we know at the end, that we’re just separated from this, or may have been separated at point of times, but we’ll never be rejected.

We’re not falling beyond recovery, and we know that the end, it’s going to be through you and for you that you’ll get the glory. So we thank you for everything that you’re doing in our lives. And we appreciate you and we love you. And we ask that you continue to give us the insight that we need to receive and stay close to you. In your name we pray Jesus. Amen.