Transcribed by Beluga AI.
Okay. Let’s pray together.
Father, we want to lift up to you Abigail. She is our sister in Christ. I pray, Lord Jesus, that you would go before her. I pray that you lift all anxiety and fears. We trust that you will shepherd her and guide her in her job. You will surround her with the right people. You will lead her to the right church that preaches Jesus and Jesus only from the Word.
And we pray, Lord, that this next season for Abigail would be the best season she’s ever had. That this would be a blessing and your favor would be upon her. And that she would know that you are behind this move. And that every area of her life would be blessed in terms of community, in terms of job, in terms of her faith.
Lord, we pray for Emily. We pray for the peace of Christ that transcends understanding to come into her heart. We pray against all depression and anxiety. We pray that you lift it off of her. We cast it off in Jesus’ Name. We pray that she would have more and more confidence as she is in Christ, that the enemy cannot touch her. That she is a daughter of God and my sister in Christ. I pray she would walk in confidence that you’re with her and that you’re fighting for her. May she run to you, her strong tower and her refuge.
We pray for her grandmother, who is suffering right now. I pray that the whole family can turn to you and that you would meet every single one, especially the grandmother. We don’t know where she is in her faith. But pray, Lord, that you would meet her and save her and heal her. Lord, may your will be done. May salvation come to this household and everyone who’s connected to this household. Thank you, Lord.
We pray that you soften our hearts as we read your word. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
All right, please turn with me to Romans 9. We’re going to cover a few verses in 9, 10, 11, and 12. Pretty ambitious, but with the Lord’s help, we will get through it.
Romans 9:6-12. And then I’ll pray.
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 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. 9 For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though 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 12 she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:6-13, ESV)
Okay, let’s pray.
Lord, this is a difficult, difficult text. This is a very controversial set of verses that we’ll cover in Romans 9 through 12. We pray for the Holy Spirit to come and bring wisdom and revelation, understanding. We pray that you would teach us how we should live out our faith in this life. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
As you read this text, what is the main emotion that rises up in you as you read this text? What is the emotion or a word or a sense? Any emotion? Any word? As you just read this without understanding the theology behind it and kind of putting aside theology for a moment, just as you read it, and if this was the first time reading it, what is the emotion that comes out? Or word? Yeah, so. And how does that make you feel?
Yes, that’s exactly the sentiment. Esau was hated, and it’s unfair. And that verse, that sentiment is captured in a verse in verse 14.
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! (Romans 9:14, ESV)
But when we read people being predestined, chosen, loved versus hated, the only conclusion you can make is God is unjust, God is unfair. This is before they did anything. How can God be so arbitrary? This is not the God that I serve. This is not the God I want to be associated with.
So I want to wrestle with that sentiment. Jacob, I loved, but Esau I hated.
You could think, as some theologians do, very passively about life, because everything is already predetermined, everything is set in stone. I just have no choice. I’m either gonna be saved, and whether I want to or not, I’m going to heaven. Or no matter how hard I try, no matter how many churches I attend, if I’m not selected, if I’m not predestined, I’m gonna end up in hell. It just seems so, so unfair.
And then if we keep reading Romans 9:19-21:
19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? (Romans 9:19-21, ESV)
So now God is starting to push back our sense of injustice and unfairness. He just says, “You’re just a lump of clay. I’m a potter. I know you don’t understand. I know it is far beyond your IQ. You really cannot understand my thoughts and my ways, but just trust me.”
And I think the mistake we make is we really try to dissect everything in Scripture and try to put a nice, neat theological statement behind it as if it’s complete when it’s not. God is just simply saying, “Don’t put me in a box. you’re just a lump of clay. Just trust me, let me walk this out for you.” And I pray the Lord does that in this time.
If we jump to Romans 11, a similar sentiment as what I just expressed. This is after struggling about the question of election and Israel’s salvation, and will they be saved, and the Gentiles, and the full number of Gentiles needing to come in before the Israel can be saved. And after that whole discussion, he says, verse 33:
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:33-36, ESV)
Again, a similar sentiment. “Just know our place, man. Lump of clay, creature. You really cannot figure it out, even if I try to explain it to you. You can’t understand. One day I will explain it to you.” And so that’s just a posture, when we wrestle with something like this, we want to give a very precise statement or an answer. But God says, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Don’t put me in a box. You do not understand my ways. Just know your place.”
The same way that Job, when he is challenging God after a long stretch of suffering, when he knows he’s righteous, he knows it’s unfair what he’s going through. But God just says at the end, “Just be silent. Were you there when I created the foundation of the world? You are not there. You can, you don’t know my ways. I can’t explain it to you now, but just trust me. Just trust me.”
And going back to Romans 9:30-33, and when the brothers, whoops, sorry, wrong chapter.
30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Romans 9:30-33, ESV)
And I just want to read the first four verses of Romans 10.
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. (Romans 10:1-4, ESV)
And Israel and many like them that maybe we can even, we even know personally have a lot of zeal, but it’s misplaced zeal. For Israel it was the law. For many churches it is, it is I don’t know arbitrary rules. We do church this way, and it’s very legalistic, it’s very heavy handed, and they’re zealous for it and ministry and missions and that’s their focus and that’s all they talk about. They’re zealous for it, but it’s misplaced. That will lead to hell. Even zealous for theology, zealous to defend my favorite theologian will also lead you to hell.
But there is a faith in none other than Jesus Christ. And when you follow Jesus and you get to know Jesus, and you say, “I trust in Jesus, everything flows out of my obedience to Jesus because He is my Lord and Savior” that is the secret of the Christian life.
And people don’t want to talk about it because it’s hard to follow an invisible Savior. And there’s so many more interesting topics to talk about on a Sunday than Jesus and faith in Jesus. But as I read God’s word, there is nothing else to talk about. Jesus, is it. Jesus is it. We must get to know him. We must trust him. We must put our faith in him.
And if we’re zealous for anything else, even churchmanship, even there’s many people who attend church, but they will end up in hell if they don’t know Jesus. There’s many deacons and elders and pastors in the church who will end up in hell if they don’t know Jesus.
You could be the best scholar and Theologian. But if you don’t know Jesus, if He is not your Lord, if He is not your best friend, if He’s not somebody that you’re striving to know, and He’s a person who is alive that you’re communicating with, then you’re zealous for the wrong thing.
It’s a faith, it’s a righteousness by faith. Faith, trust in Jesus.
And then Romans 11:19:
19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. (Romans 11:19-22, ESV)
And depending on your theology, you don’t even know that these verses are in the Bible. Some people who are defenders of theologians don’t even know these verses are in the Bible. And I don’t trust any man. I don’t trust theologian. I take God at His word, and I take what He says here. His whole point in this chapter is you must continue in your faith in the Lord Jesus.
Am I saved? Hopefully, I can say, yes, today I’m saved. But can I say 100% I will see you in heaven? I can’t say that because I don’t know how my life will play out. I don’t know if Satan will stumble me. I don’t know if out of shame I will shrink back in guilt and fear and just, I can’t face the Lord because I really messed up my life. And I renounce my faith because I’m so ashamed.
I have no idea if I go through a trial and I’m so resentful, I’m so bitter toward the Lord and say, “You did this to me. How could you? I thought you loved me.” And I shake my fists at God and I harden my heart. I have no idea how my life will turn out because I’m still living it out. I know that if I continue in the kindness of the Lord as He expresses to me in Christ and as I hold on to Jesus, today I’m saved. I’m confident of that. But will I be saved on my last day? It’s a TBD, to be determined.
And there are people in your lives that right now, they are not walking with the Lord. Does that mean you write them off? Does it mean, well, they’re not predestined? Does it mean you don’t pray? Because God has determined it anyway. He’s unfair. And that person looks like God hates them. And so we just don’t pray for them. We don’t do anything. We don’t do missions because God has predetermined everything. The chessboard has already been placed, the pieces have been placed, and we just have to wait for it to play out. And I don’t care because I’m predestined. I’m good. Even if I’m sinning, even if I’m rebellious in moments, it’s okay. I will, He will show me kindness, even though I’m not continuing in my faith. It’s okay.
As I read Romans 11, the exhortation is, we believe in Jesus today, but please continue to hold on to Jesus. That is how we are grafted in. When the moment you met Jesus for me, November 1993, that’s when the moment I was grafted in. And as I trace back the steps of my spiritual journey, there were parts of my journey when I was broken off again. And spiritually I was withering away and I was dying.
And all the while, I was faithful in church. I remember sharing in my ordination, which is a shocking thing to share at an ordination service when you’re going out to preach the Name of Jesus. I said, “I really don’t know Jesus well.” I’d been walking with Jesus for 15 or so, by then, 18 years. And I was married to Jackie for 11 years. I said, “I know Jackie way better than I know Jesus. JC Jackie Choi way better than Jesus Christ.” And that is a sobering confession of a soon-to-be pastor.
And over the last 14 years, Jesus is trying to close that gap so that at the end of my life, I can say, “Jesus, I know way better than I know Jackie. I love Jesus way more than I love Jackie.” It seems impossible because I love Jackie quite a bit. It seems impossible for me to love Jesus more than Jackie. And yet I pray on my deathbed my confession is,” Jesus, I love you more than anyone else in my life.”
So, Jacob I loved, Esau I hated.
13 As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:13, ESV)
Let’s go back to that controversial verse.
We have to read the story in Genesis to get a flavor for how this played out. Because if you don’t know the story, it just seems unfair. And it seems like this is not a God I want to follow. If God is going to be arbitrary and just determine at the very beginning, before you did anything, that I’m going to save you. I love you. You I’m not going to save. I hate you. Jacob I loved. Esau I hated.
The main thing I can tell, the main difference between the two, is that they had equal chance to be saved. They were equally loved. And one chose to exercise his free will to respond to that love and to that mercy and that grace, and did his best, despite the failings I’m talking about Jacob to follow Jesus, to be a man of faith. And the other person, no matter how much kindness the Lord showed, just put up a wall and says, “I don’t want it.”
If you trace back the two lineages of Jacob and Esau, equally loved, after all, growing up in the same household, Isaac is your father, a man of faith. And in the same environment, one exercises his free will to be a person of faith. And Esau just, we get these little snapshots of what it looks like to reject God every time He comes to you.
The first clue we had is when they were in their teenage years and Esau was hungry after hunting. And Jacob just had some lentil stew ready, and it must have smelled amazing. Esau wanted it, and he sold his birthright for it. The birthright is the material blessings of the firstborn. If you read Deuteronomy 21, I believe, the firstborn can even get a double portion of all the other siblings. And so this is a big-time material blessing.
But for Esau, there’s no such thing as deferred gratification. I’m not thinking about when my dad dies and I get a double portion of an inheritance. I’m hungry today. He’s a man of the flesh. He’s a sexually immoral, fleshly, base person who’s ruled by his appetite. That’s the fuller description that we get other parts of Scripture. And no wonder this kind of a person can only think, “I need to be gratified right now.” And so when I see this tendency in my boys, you better believe I am trying to root it out.
Because this thing, if it’s not rooted out, it will come back and bite them. If they can only think, “Right now I just want to do what I want to do, right? Right now I just want to enjoy what I want to enjoy,” cannot think about, “well, what is the consequence if I do this today? What happens tomorrow? What happens a month from now? What happens in this when in my schooling semester later? What happens when I apply for colleges? What happens if I do life this way?” It will bite you.
And so our Heavenly Father, He is somebody who disciplines His children. Earthly fathers do our best. We don’t do it perfectly. But the Heavenly Father knows how to discipline His children.
So Jacob, if you trace his story, he went through a lot of difficulties. He was not a saint by any means. He was a sinner, he was a deceiver, he was a schemer. He wanted what he wanted. But there’s faith there. And so God can work with him. As long as you have faith, Heavenly Father says, “I can work with you, son.”
And He disciplines Jacob. And Jacob had a difficult life. And as a follower of Jesus, our life will have many difficulties, many trials. We must pass many tests so that we can prove to ourselves and to all the world, I am a person who trusts in Jesus. I am a man of faith, a woman of faith.
Esau, on the other hand, is just not interested. And so when you read the Bible in the beginning, God is following both of their stories. They have equal opportunity to become people of faith. And then they start diverging.
And then the story of the Bible, God’s hand is upon Jacob, and God is disciplining Jacob. And God is, Jacob is going through trials and difficulty. Esau, you don’t hear about him. Twenty years goes by. He is blessed. A nation comes out of Esau. But you just see all the choices he makes. A little choice he makes when he’s 40 years old, he marries two pagan women. And these women we read make life miserable for the parents.
So please, children, marry well. Please marry well. Don’t make life miserable for your parents by marrying the wrong spouse. Please marry well.
And we just get clues. Esau, God blessed him. Esau did whatever he wanted. He got away with everything. There was, there’s no discipline, there’s no difficulty. Esau just prospered. And don’t we know a lot of people like that? Life is just always good. Everything is prospering. There’s never a trial. It’s like, and we look at our lives like, what is the difference? The difference is because they’re just doing whatever they want to do. And if they see some pain, they just run away from the pain. If there’s a trial, they just change their circumstance. If they’re in a bad marriage, they just get a divorce. They just do life just selfishly. And look, on the surface, it looks like everything is going well for them.
And for the believer, we go through trials and tribulations and persecutions, and we’re being sanctified. It’s a long, difficult, arduous road. But we say, “Jesus, I trust you, you must be here in it with me. I will follow you through this trial. Father, your discipline is upon me. I repent of my sins. I should not have acted this way.” And that’s why. Because Jacob had faith. That’s why he was loved. Because Esau did not have faith to the very end. That’s why he was hated.
And the choice is up to you. The choice is up to me. Maybe there’s some element of predestination that I it’s above my pay grade. I can’t understand. But right now, everybody’s a free agent. You don’t know if you’re predestined for heaven or hell. You don’t know if your family members are destined for heaven or hell. Everybody’s a free agent. So the best that we can, we exercise our free will and we say, “I believe in Jesus.”
And we encourage all our family members and loved ones and neighbors and strangers. Trust in Jesus. And we see, when we see a brother who’s falling away, we put our arm around them and say, “Come on back. Continue in the faith. Trust in Jesus. He’s good. He will carry you through.”
And I want to end with Romans 12:10-12.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:10-12, ESV)
Now that we know the truth, that we need to continue in the kindness of the Lord expressed in Christ, and we hold on to Jesus and we put our faith in Jesus. Now with that understanding, the application, the outworking of that is right here. What an amazing church we would be if we gathered and we did this, and we demonstrated this, that we really loved one another with a deep affection? Who wouldn’t want to go to a church like that, where everybody’s so happy that you’re here?
The fact that you’re here or not here in many churches, you don’t, you can’t even tell. People can’t even tell whether you’re there or not. But here we know if you’re here or not. And it would be so amazing if every time we gathered, every single person felt this brotherly affection.
We’re so happy Emily is here, that she would feel that sisterly affection that is expressed through the brothers and sisters here, that is coming from the Lord, that she would want to come back.
Oliver is back from Nevada. He drove four and a half hours because he senses the brotherly affection from Timothy and from brothers and sisters here. He wants to be here. He has his family there, his job is there. He has to be there for now, but his heart is here. He wants to be here because of brotherly affection.
If there are people in this place, you don’t feel that, pray until the affection comes. Pray until the affection comes. If you continue in Christ and His kindness toward you, then the outworking of that. Pray until the affection comes.
What if we gathered and what a wonderful place it would be if we outdid one another in honor? Not because of title or age, but we just were good because the Spirit is in us out of reverence for Christ. We just, we’re just so happy to honor people in this place. Not because of any accomplishment or any insight, but we just honor people. We just like lifting up and encouraging people. Wouldn’t people want to gather in a place where we just trying to outdo one another in brotherly affection and showing honor?
Don’t be slothful in our zeal. I remember when I was Timothy’s age graduating college, I was zealous for the Lord. If I compare myself now, I’m a sloth compared to my 20s. I need to recover that and so me having an opportunity to pray for the young generation we’re going to gather this coming Saturday please pray for Encounter Jesus Fellowship. Part of why I’m excited about this is through it I pray that the Lord would rekindle my zeal. As I’m around young people and I’m reminded of where I once was. I need to recover that zeal, and please pray for me toward that end.
And be fervent in spirit. Serve the Lord. I don’t want to come on Sunday and it’s just a job. That’d be so sad if it’s just I don’t want to be here, but because you’re paying me, I have to be here. And it’s just so burdensome, and I don’t want to see you. I’d rather be somewhere else watching the Eagles. It’d be so shameful if I had that kind of an attitude, that kind of grumbling in my heart, because I’m not serving you per se. I’m serving the Lord.
So anything I’m doing for the Lord, I want to do it with all that I have, fervent in my spirit, because I’m serving the Lord.
11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. (Romans 12:11, ESV)
And so I’m excited to be here. I’m not dragging my feet to be here. I’m not dragging my feet to show up on Saturday for Encounter Jesus Fellowship. I’m not dragging my feet for 6:15 morning devotion. Well, a little bit dragging my feet for that one, just because I’m sleepy, not because I don’t want to be there. I’m just sleepy.
But if I’m serving the Lord, I pray there would be this zeal, this zest, this energy. It doesn’t matter how big the crowd is, how small the crowd is, even one person. I’m not even doing it for that one person. I’m doing it for the Lord.
And so if I’m doing it, if the Lord is here and I’m focused on him, wouldn’t I do it with zeal to honor Him out of appreciation for the kindness that He showed to me?
Serve the Lord, rejoicing in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. (Romans 12:12, ESV)
We do all of this because of the kindness of the Lord expressed to us in Christ. Hold on to Him. And then look at these set of verses in Romans 12 as a practical application of the, of, of how do you express the fact that you’re receiving this kindness of the Lord? May it come out in all of these wonderful ways.
Okay, let’s pray.
Lord, we put aside human interpretations of Scripture, all theological statements and creeds. We put them aside, and we just study your word with the help of the Holy Spirit. And we see as plain as day that you do your part, but you’re waiting to see, will we do our part?
You’ve called the majority of people in this world to be saved, but so many people are just simply not interested, simply busy. Some in the church have been deceived, and they’re following a theology, they’re following a theologian, they’re following their pastor, they’re following a church program, they’re following ministry. They’re following rules, arbitrary rules in a church. And they’re zealous, but it’s misplaced zeal.
Help us to be passionate about Jesus Christ, who came and died for us. And so we follow you, Lord Jesus. We continue in the kindness of the Lord by saying, “Jesus, you’re it. I follow you. You’re alive and you speak. And the sheep hear your voice, you’re master and Lord. And so we do what you say.”
Help us, Lord Jesus, to understand proper theology expressed plainly in Romans 9, 10, 11, and 12. Right now we might be grafted in by grace because we responded in faith. But tomorrow we may reject Christ. On our deathbed, we may harden our heart toward Christ. And so our salvation is not guaranteed. It is only guaranteed for those who exercise their free will every single day until their last day and put their faith in Jesus.
On top of that, in gratitude for the kindness that has been shown to us by Jesus, dying on a cross, being raised to life, we want to live for you, Lord Jesus, by having brotherly affection, by honoring one another, by being zealous for you, by serving for serving you, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, constant in prayer. There are many concrete steps that you’re encouraging us to express concretely in appreciation for the kindness of the Lord expressed in Christ.
Thank you Lord Jesus, for Your Body that was broken for us and Your Blood shed. Please unite us under the head who is Christ now and forever.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.