Pause for thought

No one can fully understand the mind of the Lord. No one has been His counsellor. God alone is sovereign, all of us are dependant on Him. He alone is the source of everything, including our own selves. He is full of grace towards us He governs all things in perfect wisdom, justice, and love. 11:33-36

”Therefore” How must we respond? The Holy Spirit is pleading to each of us through Paul, to give ourselves entirely to God as living holy sacrifices this is the kind He will accept. A living sacrifice lays aside its own desires to follow Jesus and trusts Him to be their Guide. 12:1 and Luke 9:23

God has a very good purpose and plan for our lives, it is always according to His perfect will for us, but not necessarily what we would choose for ourselves! The choice is ours conformation to the world and it’s ways or transformation of our minds as we yield ourselves to God? 12:2

It is God’s will that every Christian should have a renewed mind, we need to ask ourselves why am I thinking the way I do what is it that influences me mostly? A renewed mind will not only help us to understand more of the will and ways of God but will help us to evaluate honestly our own usefulness in Gods Kingdom. 12:3

A verse to remember

Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. Romans 12:2 N.L.T.

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Jews and Gentiles benefit each other, for when ever God shows mercy to one group the other shares the blessing. It was always Gods plan for the Jews to be the source of Gods blessing to the Gentiles, but when the Jews failed to believe in Jesus God blessed the Gentiles anyway through their Jewish Messiah. But someday all faithful Jews will share in Gods mercy 11:28

Some believe that the phrase “all Israel will be saved” refers to the complete number of Gentile and Jews who have come to faith in Christ at that time. However the context of chapter 11:11-36 is about unbelieving Israel, Israel nearly always consisted of a believing remnant and an unbelieving majority, it is the latter that Paul says will come to faith when the last believing Gentile comes to faith in Jesus Christ.

Have you heard of dual covenant theology? some teach that God has one plan for Israel and another for the church! Gods plan is clear. Ephesians 2:11-22 and John 10:16

God owes nothing to any one of us, no one can give God advise or criticise His ways. God alone possesses absolute power and wisdom 11:34-35

Memory verse

For God’s gift and His call can never be withdrawn Romans 11:29

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God chose Israel through whom the whole world could find salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Only those Israelites who were faithful to God were considered true Jews. 11:5.

The nation of Israel became more and more unresponsive to the voice of God their blessings caused them to stumble it became a trap because they thought all was well! In their prosperity they failed to recognise their need of salvation 11:8-10.

Paul was the apostle sent to the Gentiles who would listen and respond, Paul knew that his call to preach salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, meant that he was being used by God to make the Jews envious and in some way save some of them 11:13-14

The Church must never brag or believe that it has replaced Israel 11:18

Memory Verse

But you must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off, Remember you are just a branch, not the root.

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PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

Not everyone born into a Jewish family is considered a true Jew. Only those who are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, no one should depended on Family or religion or their own goodness 9:6,10:5

Many Jews refused to believe in Jesus when He came even though they were looking for their Messiah. Many Gentiles who weren’t looking for God were found by Him and believed the gospel 10:19-20

Their has always been a remnant of believing Jews in every generation, only those who were faithful to God were considered real Jews this is the result of God grace 10:5-6

Knowing all these truths still some Christians who fully understand that they are saved by grace through faith think that they need to prove that they are true Christians by doing good works! The Holy Spirit will produce His fruit in us, our job is to keep ourselves in the Grace of God. Ephesians 2:8, Galatians 5:22-23

MEMORY VERSE

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God Romans 10:17 N.K.J.V.

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PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

Jesus Christ is the complete revelation of God, apart from Him no one can fully know God. Jew and Gentile can only find salvation through Jesus Christ. 10:1-4

God was making people right with Himself by faith long before the Law was given. So what was the Laws purpose? 1 To reveal Gods righteousness 2 those who tried to keep it found they failed miserably 3 the Law shows the need for salvation. 4 to act as guardian until people could put their faith in Jesus Christ Galatians 3:23-24. Jesus accomplished the whole purpose of the Law and in so doing made it obsolete. Everyone Jew or Gentile who believes in Jesus are made right with God 10:4

Neither Laws customs or traditions can bring us into Gods presence, we. are to come to Christ with childlike faith. Jesus is close at hand offering to give us full salvation if you will confess with our Mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in you heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved 10:5,10:9

Disappointments happen in this life because we live in a fallen world Paul was not promising a bed of roses for all who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Rather that God will never fail to provide for all those who believe. We will not be disappointed by the things to be revealed when Jesus comes we will never regret making the best decision to place our faith in Jesus. 10:11-12

MEMORY VERSE

For anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved 10:13 N.L.T.

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A woman approached the famous preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon after he preached on 9:13 “I cannot understand why God would say He hated Esau.” “That” Spurgeon replied, “ is not my difficulty.” Madam. My trouble is to understand how he could love Jacob. The greatest miracle is that God chooses to love any of His fallen creatures, not that He prefers to bless some more than others.

God is Sovereign and does what He wills to do. God freely shows His mercy to whosoever He will, independently of who they are or what they do 9:16

The true children of Abraham are not just his biological descendants. They are all those who trust in God and in what Jesus Christ has done for them 9:6 2:29 and Galatians 3:7

The Jews stumbled over Jesus because He wasn’t what they were expecting. Religious pride causes people to stumble over Jesus today, people would rather depend on their good deeds than place their faith in Jesus 9:31-33

MEMORY VERSE

So receiving Gods promise is not up to us. We can’t get it by choosing it or working hard for it. God will show mercy to anyone He chooses. Romans 9:16 N.L.T.

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God’s purpose for us was not an afterthought; it was settled before the foundation of the world. We can rejoice in the fact that God has always known us. God’s love is eternal 8:28

The Holy Spirit caused Paul to write these words especially for you, believe them right now what ever you’re facing 8:31-34

When we go through all sorts of trouble it never means that God has stopped loving us. He is always with us, suffering should never drive us away from God but draw us closer, in suffering we can more readily identify with Jesus 8:35-36

Can anything separate us from the love of God? even if our thoughts lie to us about God’s love and they sometimes do, don’t believe your thoughts believe God Romans 8:38 N.L.T.

MEMORY VERSE

What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God s for us who can ever be against us?

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PAUSE FOR THOUGHT

It’s impossible to be a disciple of Jesus Christ without identifying with Him in His suffering, in some countries Christians are being persecuted to the point of death. To live as Jesus did means serving others giving up my rights, resisting pressure to conform to the world. Nothing that we suffer for Christ compares to How much He suffered for us. 8:18

We are not left to our own resources to cope with suffering, even if we don’t know what to pray in a given situation God does, the Holy Spirit prays with us and for us for He always prays according to the will of God our Heavenly Father.

The promise of God is that if we ask anything in line with His will He will hear us. this should give us great confidence 1 John 5:14-15 For many Christians It takes much faith to pray “thy will be done” why is this? what about youself!

As we live lives submitted to the will of God because of the intercession of the Holy Spirit on our behalf we have the added assurance of the “all things working together for our good“ 8:26-28

MEMORY VERSE
For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are Romans 8:19 N.L.T.

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