Coming Up: Sonday August 31, 2014
Romans 11: True Israel.
Read Romans 11:1-6
Given all that’s been said to date throughout Romans 1 - 10 and more particularly in Romans 9 and 10 the big question has to be asked. Has God rejected His people? Paul allows no time for speculation and discussion. The answer is quickly and assertively given: By no means!!!
Paul holds himself up as an example. He is an Israelite. He is a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin, from which the first king of Israel, King Saul, also descended.
Not content with that, Paul draws the readers’ minds back to 1 Kings 19, to the example of Elijah. You’ll recall that in chapter 18 of First Kings, Elijah the prophet battled the false prophets of Baal on Mt Carmel. The two opposing camps both built an altar to their particular god. The god who answered by fire would be declared to be the real true God. The prophets of Baal built their altar and danced and slashed themselves as they invoked their god. Elijah taunted them but nothing happened. After Elijah built his altar he dowsed it with water several times. He then simply prayed and fire fell from heaven and licked up the wood on the altar. The false prophets were killed.
When Jezebel, wife of King Ahab, heard of this she sought to kill Elijah. He hid in the desert and appealed to God. He felt he was the only one left who hadn’t bowed the knee to Baal. As he appealed to God, God appeared to Elijah not in a powerful wind that shattered rocks, not in a fierce earthquake, not in a roaring fire but in a still small wind out of which the voice spoke. God revealed that He Himself had preserved a faithful remnant of 7,000 who hadn’t prostrated themselves to Baal.
So too at the present time, Paul tells his readers, a remnant has been saved by grace. It is not by works but by grace. God has proven faithful by saving the remnant. But Elijah also learnt the power of small things. God spoke to him from the small, quiet wind. Elijah, as one man against the many, would have been greatly encouraged. So too at the present time the odds may seem stacked against Israel but God will prove equally faithful.
You and I can be confident that God has not and will not reject His people. God will continue to be faithful to His Word and to His people. Whether we are thinking about God’s people in the Old Testament or the New Testament, or even God’s people in the present time, we can be 100% certain that God will remain faithful and will never forsake His people.
Prayer:
Having read today’s passage and notes jot down various prayer points in each:
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¨ Pray that God’s faithfulness would be supremely evident in your life and in the lives of everyone in your congregation. Pray that this would lead to much adoration and praise.
¨ Pray for the work of the Gospel in India through Shiloh Ministries as they seek to care for orphans, widows and other needy people. Pray for God’s provision and that the gospel would be clearly preached to all.
When the New Testament quotes, alludes to or just echoes the Old Testament, go back and read what it has to say so that you are up to speed with what the New Testament is saying.
1. Can a New Testament believer lose his/her salvation? Explain your answer with Bible references.
2. How would you explain the biblical concept of grace?
3. If we are convinced of God’s faithfulness how should that affect our lives?
Intro: Being strong has different meaning to different people. What do you think it means? What does it communicate to you?
Discuss the strong people in your life and how they affect you.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:8-9
What kind of strength does God promise us?
How can we lean on God for this strength when it’s needed?
Pray together that you would understand God’s strength in you and that you would live appropriately.
Intro: Most boys/men want to be strong and powerful. We have this inner urge to fight and conquer. God wants us to be strong in a different sense.
Discuss the people in your life who are strong and what makes them strong.
Read 1 Corinthians 1:8-9
What kind of strength does God promise us?
How can we lean on God for this strength when it’s needed?
Pray together that you would understand God’s strength in you and that you would live appropriately.
No comments:
Post a Comment