Found by those who do not seek Him

Romans 10:20-21

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, I have been found by those who did not seek Me; I have shown (revealed) Myself to those who did not [consciously] ask for Me.

21 But of Israel he says, All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people unyielding and disobedient and self-willed [to a faultfinding, contrary, and contradicting people].

We are largely a gentile nation.  So when Isaiah boldly said that God has been found by those who did not seek Him, and that God has revealed Himself to those who did not consciously ask for Him - He is referring to us.  Gentile believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Gentiles who came into the Kingdom on grounds of grace and faith in Jesus.  Think about this for a moment.  Gentiles, who had no background nor concept of a God of love, Who chooses to take the sin of man upon Himself, instead of letting man die in his own sin.  Mostly this is a complete foreign idea to any gentile.  However, 2000 years later, I am afraid that what is increasingly true of the so-called Christian gentile nations, that used to be found by Him Whom we did not seek, is rather the same thing as what verse 21 says of Israel.  We have come to a place in history where God is saying "All day long I have stretched out My hands to a people unyielding and disobedient and self-willed [to a faultfinding, contrary, and contradicting people]. This is what we have become.  A faultfinding, disobedient and self-willed people. There is but one hope for us:  Humble ourselves before God, repent and ask for His mercy.  Return to God with all our hearts, minds and strength.  Lay down our self-willed-ness and yield our prideful hardened hearts before Him in humility and in faith that He loves us so much, that He is still the God Who will let Himself be found by a people that do not seek Him.  That He still will reveal Himself to a people that do not consciously ask for Him!

Point to ponder

Am I an unyielding, disobedient and self-willed human being?  Then let me humble myself and ask the God of the Bible to reveal Himself to me, even though I am not seeking Him as I should and even though I am faultfinding and contrary to God.  

How great is our God - Chris Tomlin (world edition)

Without speech their voice go out... have you heard?

 Romans 10:14-17

14 But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

15 And how can men [be expected to] preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! [How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!]

16 But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us?

17 So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

In these verses Paul says it is necessary to hear the Word of God and thus for someone to preach, or bring the good news, but sadly in the same breath He quotes Isaiah, who asks the question of the Lord, saying, "who has believed what he has heard from us"?  I can hear Isaiah's despondence while he was  preaching and bringing the Word of God to the people - they mostly did not listen or had faith in God. Paul then continues in verse 18 with the question, "Have they not heard?" and then he answers that question by quoting Ps 19

Romans 10:18

18 But I ask, Have they not heard? Indeed they have; [for the Scripture says] Their voice [that of nature bearing God’s message] has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the far bounds of the world.

Psalm 19:1-4

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork.
2 Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge.
3 There is no speech nor spoken word [from the stars]; their voice is not heard.
4 Yet their voice [in evidence] goes out through all the earth, their sayings to the end of the world.

Paul's point is that even without words, nature declares the glory of God. We should be able to look at nature, the heavens, and see, recognize and believe in God because without human words they cannot do anything less than declare the glory of their Creator. Every starlit sky, every sunrise and sunset, the vast expanse of our universe - speaks of our almighty, all-powerful, omniscient God.

In other words we have no excuse, we have the heavens declaring the glory of God, we have the Word, the prophets and the good news - this message has gone out to all the earth in different ways and in different keys of music.  Do you believe? How much evidence will be enough evidence to believe?  What kind of evidence do you need?  There's plenty of evidence - just ask God to open your spiritual senses, so that you will see, hear, feel, taste, smell the greatness of our Lord God, Jesus Christ.  

Creation Calls - Brian Doerksen  

You will be saved

There are certain scriptures in the Bible which I think need no explanation and one cannot say it better or in easier words than how it is written.  The following is such a scripture - it just says it all. Lets just read it this week until it drops from the head to the heart.  

Romans 10:8b-11 NKJ

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

You will be saved

No shame or disappointment

Romans 9 is one of the chapters in the Bible that can easily be misunderstood if we do not read it in its context. I do not want to profess that I have a perfect interpretation or understanding of what Paul is saying in this Chapter, so I am just sharing what makes sense to me if I keep context in mind. I do think that Paul’s letters have to be read as a whole and in the context that He and his readers found themselves in at the time of writing the letter.

In verse 1 Paul tells us who he is addressing in this chapter – His fellow countrymen – in other words the Jews. We need to keep in mind that Paul has never been to Rome when he is writing this letter and therefore, He needs to explain the gospel to both Jew and Gentile, as both these groups are represented in Rome. In Chapter 9-11 he turns his focus slightly more to the Jewish reader. He is speaking to a nation that believes they are the chosen nation and keeps the law to the extent that they believe that they are saved because of that. Paul explains to them that they – even if they are chosen and keep the law – still needs faith in the completed work of the Messiah to be saved. Likewise, are the Gentiles saved by grace through faith.

When Paul appeals to the sovereignty of God and makes his infamous ‘What if” statements he is purposefully creating doubt in the mindset of the day which was the belief that they are saved because they have been chosen and keep the law. The doubt he creates here is meant to open the door for his fellow countrymen to start to consider their need for faith in a Messiah that was crucified and resurrected. I don’t think His ‘what if’ statements are at all meant to say that God chooses some to be saved and others not to be saved. I really think God’s heart is for everyone to be saved, and that we have free will to respond to His love for us.

Let’s read 1 Timothy 2:4-6

4 (God our saviour) Who wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognize and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth.

5 For there [is only] one God, and [only] one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

6 Who gave Himself as a ransom for all [people, a fact that was] attested to at the right and proper time.

This is but one of the verses that confirms the fact that God’s heart is for all people to be saved and He gives everyone an opportunity to be saved. I believe the explanation of what Paul was saying in the whole Chapter is found in the following verses 30-33 of Chapter 9:

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles who did not follow after righteousness [who did not seek salvation by right relationship to God] have attained it by faith [a righteousness imputed by God, based on and produced by faith],

31 Whereas Israel, though ever in pursuit of a law [for the securing] of righteousness (right standing with God), actually did not succeed in fulfilling the Law.

32 For what reason? Because [they pursued it] not through faith, relying [instead] on the merit of their works [they did not depend on faith but on what they could do]. They have stumbled over the Stumbling Stone.

33 As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations.

Both Jew and Gentile are saved through grace by faith. He who believes in Him shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations...

Point to ponder:

What have you chosen to believe about Jesus the Son of God?

Lets worship with Kathryn Scott that the King has chosen us when we were still sinners

The Spirit of Adoption

Romans 8:15-17

15 For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father!  16 The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God.  17 And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.

The Holy Spirit is given many names in the Bible.  He is called the Spirit of Truth, our Advocate, Helper, Companion and many more.  The Spirit of Adoption is one that I have only recently discovered.  I suppose that I must have read this scripture before, but I certainly did not pay enough attention to it.  Adoption is a legal process whereby an adult has to make an active choice to adopt a child.  That adult does not have to adopt the child, normally they do so because they really want to.  When the process is finalized, that child is regarded to be the legal child of that adult in exactly the same manner as a naturally born child.  They are fellow heirs. No difference. The child is legally not regarded as illegitimate or an orphan, and has the same rights and responsibilities as a naturally born child.  

Friends of mine adopted a little boy. The day the adoption was finalized, they explained to him that there is a law written that says nobody can take him away from them anymore and they cannot give him back either.  He is now theirs forever.  I think this is what God says to us.  He says there is a law written in heaven that says we are His and nobody can take us away from Him.  This scripture is written from God's perspective.  If He has adopted us we are regarded to be 100% legal, legitimate children of God in every way and aspect necessary and possible.  In God's grace though He knows that we  - like many adopted children - are struggling to receive that reality into our spirits.  From our human perspective we often continue to see ourselves as illegitimate, orphaned or add-on family members of God.  We need a new perspective.  We need to accept and receive the fact that we are heirs of God just as Christ is.  Our human hearts are just not able to do this on our own.  Therefore, God gives us the Spirit of Adoption.  He does not give us a spirit of bondage to fear but the Spirit of Adoption by whom we can cry out "Abba Father". 

Point to ponder this week:

Have that conversation with God - the one about exchanging the orphan spirit, the spirit of bondage to fear and illegitimacy, with the Spirit of Adoption. 

Our song of the week celebrates the safety that this Adoption into the family of God brings for us

Safe - Alisa Turner