2015 Key Verse Testimony

      This is the key verse testimony that I wrote over the retreat that my church's young adult group had. I didn't edit it much, so it's still a bit sloppy, but I hope you enjoy reading it.
      Last year my key verse was Psalm 1:2, which reads “but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.” The reason I chose this verse was because I felt that I did not read the Word nearly as much as I should have, and I wanted to use this verse as inspiration to read the Bible more. Unlike most years, I actually followed my key verse, as I did spend more time reading the Bible. I finally after many years finished reading the Old Testament. I’m thankful to God that I was able to read more of His Word last year. I’m also thankful that God carried me through the school year, as classes are getting more and more difficult.
      I’ve been blessed this past year to serve God in many different ways, especially as a leader for YDJ. When Abe Lee left, I found that I suddenly have had a lot more responsibility on my shoulders. While it definitely has been stressful, I am learning a lot about leadership and teamwork.
      Of course, as in every year, there were struggles along with the successes. While I did read the Bible more, and I have been serving the church in many ways, I found that I’ve been compromising with sin. It felt like sin was causing me to have a half-hearted relationship with God. Obviously, sin displeases God, but often times I put my own pleasure above God’s. This was holding me back from having a deep relationship with God, and I knew it. However, sini is never easy to get rid of, as we all know.
       This year, I want to change my attitude towards sin. While I’ve always known that it is bad, I want to fully wage war against sin. I decided to choose Hebrews 12:1-2a as my key verse for 2015. This was the key verse for YDJ in the past semester, but I think I really need to set it as my personal key verse for 2015. It reads, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Paul talks more about Jesus in later verses and how He endured the cross, scorning its shame. We should consider Him who endured such opposition so that we don’t grow weary and lose heart.
      I believe that the easiest way to fail at beating sin is to try and fight it. It sounds contradictory, but I know it’s true from experience. Now obviously, if you just give up and let yourself keep on sinning, that’s no good either. What I am saying is that if I try to fight sin on my own, I may win every now and then, but often times, I fail.
      The key to beating sin is your focus. If you focus too much on sin, it will consume you. However, the writer of Hebrews tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. I also like how Hebrews compares it to a race. If I am running a race, where I place my focus matters a lot to my success. If I focus on trying to beat the other racers, or if I am unfocused due to distractions, I will have a very hard time winning the race. Alternatively, if I focus on the prize and the goal, then I can run the race effectively. As Hebrews says, it takes perseverance. There are many distractions around me, so I have to put effort to focus on Jesus. However, I should take comfort in knowing that He has already defeated sin and death. I pray that this year I would fix my eyes on Jesus and throw off everything that hinders me.  
-Smart

Imitate Christ's Humility (Message Part 2)

      Now we know that humility promotes unity, so how do we inspire humility? Let’s read verse 5 together please. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (v. 5).” I don’t know about you guys, but for me, the easiest way to learn is by example. It’s one thing if someone simply tells you how to do something, but it’s a different thing if they show you how to do it. How many of you know who Kobe Bryant is? This should be quite easy since I just showed you a picture of him not too long ago. Now how many of you know who Michael Jordan is? Michael Jordan is widely considered the greatest basketball player to have ever graced this earth. Recently, as some of you may know, Kobe Bryant surpassed Michael in career points. How did Kobe get to be so great at basketball? Take a look at these photos comparing Kobe and Michael. You probably noticed that Kobe and Michael play basketball in a very similar manner. This is not a coincidence. Kobe learned much of his game by studying and emulating Michael’s game. Although Kobe may never be considered quite as great as Michael Jordan was, Kobe is still a great basketball player because he took Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player ever, as an example. We should be like Kobe, and take Jesus, the most humble person ever, as our example.
      Of course, in order to follow someone as an example, you have to know that person. Paul explains who Jesus is in verses 6-11 in a very poetic passage. Let’s read verses 6 and 7 together. “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness (v.6-7).” Last Sunday, we had a guest speaker, Todd Beall, who shared on Hebrews 2. Todd Beall reminded us that Jesus is fully God, but is also fully man. Hebrews tell us that God became man so He could help us in our weakness and temptations. One thing that Todd Beall reminded us of is the importance of God becoming man, and how we often take that for granted. The verses we just read together remind us that Jesus was indeed God, but He did not use that as an advantage. Think about who God is. God is the creator of the universe, and has full authority and power over everything. Jesus could have used all of His power and authority to rule over people, but instead, He took the nature of a servant. I really like the wording Paul uses to describe this- “Being in very nature God” and “taking the very nature of a servant.” Although Christ was by nature God, He took the nature of a servant. He chose to forgo His nature as God and become one of us. This tells us something significant- humility is a choice. Jesus was not in nature a servant, but He chose to become a servant and He chose to be made in human likeness.
      Let’s continue on to verse 8. Let’s read that together please. “And being found in appearance of man, He humbled Himself, by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross (v. 8)!” The greatest example of Jesus’ humility is the cross. Paul tells us that Jesus “humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross (v. 8b)”. The cross is the single most important event in Jesus’ life. It was the fulfillment of His mission to save us from our sin. Jesus could have chosen to put His own comfort over ours and avoid the cross, but He did not. He instead chose to put us above Himself. He suffered and He died, all for us. Two particular incidents on the cross further illustrate Christ’s humility. The first is in John 19:25-27, which reads “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home (John 19-25-27).” Even though Jesus was hanging on the cross, suffering excruciating pain, He remembered His mother. He told John to take His mother as His own, and to take care of her. The second incident is in Luke 23. Jesus was crucified between two thieves. Verses 39-43 tell us that one of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:39-43).” Again, Jesus chose to help those around Him, instead of Himself, even though He was suffering the pain from the cross. “Hallelujah, what a Savior!”
       Lastly, Paul tells us of the glorification of Jesus. Let’s read verses 9-11 together please. “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (v. 9-11).” Jesus was able to be exalted to the highest place because He fulfilled His mission on earth. In order to fulfill His mission, He had to have great humility. Jesus set us the greatest example of humility, and now He sits at the right hand of God. If we want to share in Christ’s glory, we have to show the humility that He showed.
       So what can we learn from this passage? We have to remember that the source of unity is found in Christ, His love, and His spirit. Without Christ as our motivation, we cannot have unity. We can also learn that unity takes humility. We cannot be united unless we show humility in our lives. Otherwise, pride and selfishness will destroy our relationships with each other. Third, humility is a choice. Humility does not come naturally, it is something that we have to cultivate in our lives. Fourth, we have to follow Jesus’ example. He is the greatest example of humility. Instead of using His power and authority to rule over us and establish Himself by force, He chose to become one of us. Furthermore, He chose to become the least of us, even though He deserved to be the greatest. He died on the cross to set us free from our sins. Lastly, we learn that Jesus is Lord. God exalted Him to the highest place, and every knee should bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Let’s pray.
-Smart

Imitate Christ's Humility (Message Part 1)

      This is the message I gave at our YDJ's winter retreat. Some of it may not make sense since I had a powerpoint to go with it, but I hope you are encouraged through reading.

      Happy New Year and welcome to the 2014 YDJ Winter Retreat! I’m so glad to see all of you here, and I’m very happy to see a lot of people I don’t normally see at these retreats. I don’t know about you guys, but 2014 seemed to go by so fast. It’s been super busy for me, as I have been taking on many different responsibilities, including becoming a YDJ leader. Even in the midst of all my busyness, there is so much that I am thankful for in the past year. I won’t share those thanksgiving topics now, since I’ll probably do that in my New Year’s testimony. Even before we start looking at the passage today, I just want to encourage you as you reflect on this past year to first find what you are thankful for. It’s very tempting to reflect on all of the bad that has happened, or the things you wanted to do and couldn’t; but I think we should first give thanks to God for the good He has done. I once read a story that I want to quickly share with you guys now. A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.  He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.  He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.  That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning?  What did you write?" The man said, "I only wrote the truth.  I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it." Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were lucky that they were not blind. You can bring so much joy to your life if you remember to simply give thanks. Anyway, I just felt like that should be said, but now let’s move on. Today we’re going to look at Philippians chapter 2. The key verse that I chose is verse 5. Let’s read that together please. “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (verse 5)”. (Prayer)

      I want all of you guys to take a look at verse 1. What is the most important word in verse 1? This is a question that the youth group teachers really liked to ask. The answer is the word “therefore”. What does the word “therefore” mean? It means “for that reason” or “consequently”. In other words, you have to take into account what has been said beforehand. The book of Philippians is written by Paul when He is in prison. He writes this letter in order to encourage the Philippians to continue to preach the gospel. In Philippians chapter 1, Paul talks about his imprisonment, and how it is actually helping advance the gospel. Paul is thankful for his chains, since it is encouraging his fellow believers to continue serving Christ. Paul in verse 27 says “whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27)”. Paul rejoices because of the faith of the Philippians and encourages them to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. It’s quite amazing that even though Paul is in prison, he is rejoicing. I believe it is because he remembers to be thankful, rather than be upset at his situation. 

      So what does Paul have to say now in chapter 2? Let’s read verses 1 and 2 together. “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind (v. 1-2).” As we just talked about, Paul rejoices that the Philippians have been proclaiming the gospel. Now he urges them to make his joy complete by being united. I always thought it is interesting that Paul places so much emphasis on unity, since he seemed to never really belong to any church. One of my favorite passages on unity comes from 1 Corinthians 12. I will read for you verses 12-31. “12 Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? 31 Now eagerly desire the greater gifts (1 Corinthians 12:12-31).” In a nutshell, Paul is saying that the church is the body of Christ. Every part is unique, but every part is important. The body functions best when all of the parts work together. Paul says that He would be most joyful if the Philippians were to become united as one body.

      So how can the Philippians be united? How can we be united? How many of you know what an “if” statement is in programming? I have provided the logic of an “if” statement for you guys on the slide here. An “if” statement is very simple, and pretty intuitive as well. The basic idea is that the statement is never executed unless the condition is met. Let’s again take a look at verses 1 and 2. I have outlined the condition in red and the statement in yellow. We have already looked at the statement, “make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind (v. 2).” Now let’s take a look at the condition. “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion (v. 1)”. Paul is saying that we cannot be united unless we meet these conditions. We must be encouraged in our unity with Christ, we must take comfort from His love, we have to have fellowship in the Spirit, and have tenderness and compassion. In other words, our motivation for unity must come from Christ, His love, and His spirit. 

      Paul mentions another way in which we can promote unity in the church. Let’s read verses 3 and 4 together. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others (v. 3-4).” Humility is absolutely necessary for good unity. Paul tells us that we cannot work together if we act selfishly or conceitedly. Let’s remember the analogy of the church as Christ’s body. Imagine if your hand only cared for itself. Imagine if you had to tend to a wound on your leg, but your hand refused to place the bandage. How ridiculous would that be? And how detrimental to your body’s health would that be? If that example is too abstract for you, let’s think of a sports team. My favorite sport is basketball, so let’s use that as an example. If one particular player, let’s call him “Kobe Bryant”, decides to never pass the ball, how do you think the team is going to do? Terrible, of course! No matter how great the player is, eventually the team will begin to suffer because of that player’s selfishness. Furthermore, the team will get frustrated at that player and lose their desire to play defense or get rebounds. The key to unity is humility, and looking to the interests of others above your own. Does anyone know who won the NBA Finals last year? It was the San Antonio Spurs. I am totally convinced that the reason they won is because every player was willing to put the team above themselves. They weren’t looking to better themselves, but the team. The Spurs won because they passed the ball well, and were able to get great shots as a result.
-Smart

Struggles of a YDJ Leader

"For it has been granted on you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him"
-Philippians 1:29
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST IS VERY HONEST
      As the end of the year approaches quickly, I'd like to share some of my reflections of this past year. To preface this post though, I'd like to encourage you to remember the good in the past year, not only the bad. Even in the bad or difficult situations, God is always so good. That being said, I am going to talk about some of the struggles that I had this year, particular in this past school semester. I will write another reflection probably sometime after the New Year arrives in my key verse testimony. For now though, I'll just share what's been on my mind recently.
      There have been a lot of changes this year, but they've all seemed to happen so fast that I kind of missed a lot of them. For starters, my church has finally started construction to expand the building, which we have been trying to do for a long time now. Also, a lot of people have been coming and leaving the church as well. We have a new associate pastor (something we never had), as well as many new members. We have new students from the University of Maryland, as well as new members from out of state. The change I want to talk about today was quite significant not only for me, but for many others in my church. One of the families has left to Vietnam due to a job change. We all knew that this change was coming, and we all tried to prepare mentally for it, but I don't think we were truly ready for this change. The father of this family was our long time YDJ (our church's college group) leader, of whom we relied on heavily to lead YDJ meetings.
      As some of you know, last year I joined the so called "YDJ committee", since I was asked to join. At the time, I thought it wouldn't be a big deal, since it seemed like they had everything already figured out. I figured that I would just go to a couple meetings to help them plan, and maybe help out with praise every now and then. In the beginning, that was the case, but as time passed, I found that I had more and more responsibilities in the group. I had to lead praise almost every week, and even lead some meetings. When we found out that our leader was leaving, we didn't really know what to do. We had relied on him to lead us, and we simply just did what he said. What we decided to do in the fall and winter was try and spread the responsibility between the leaders we had now, to try and prepare for the future when we wouldn't be able to rely on our former leader.
      The fall semester went by without much difficulty, but I assumed even more responsibility than I had before. I now led praise every week, since our praise leader couldn't do it anymore. I also did the announcements at the end of the meetings, which normally our former leader would do. Additionally, I found that I had to take care of a lot of behind the scene things, which I normally would never have done before. Honestly though, this was not a huge deal, since I still could rely on our leader for advice or guidance. Before he left, we decided we wanted to have a winter retreat. However, our leader was going to leave before the retreat, so we would have to plan it without him.
      During the planning phase of the retreat (which we are still in), I've had a lot of stress. We had meetings to distribute responsibilities between the leaders, which went fine. What stressed me out was that it felt like we never really accomplished what we said we were going to do. To be brutally honest, I wondered if any of the other leaders cared about the retreat and planning it. I felt like nothing ever got done, and I had to continually ask the others if they were doing their part. One phrase that I really learned to hate was "well I assumed that". It felt like I had to do the job of three people all by myself, since it seemed like no one else was taking responsibility.
      Last Sunday, I felt extremely burdened and depressed. Perhaps I was tired, but I really felt like I was doing too much on my own. I had to lead praise for the retreat, write a message, figure out the schedule, deal with supplies, and now I thought I was going to have to lead a bible study group. This made me frustrated that I let myself take so much responsibility, and frustrated at the other leaders for not stepping up. I even considered not being a YDJ leader anymore, since it burdened me to do a lot of things that I was not expecting to have to do.
      However, later that same night, I started a conversation with a friend, who encouraged me to keep going strong. I also was chatting with another leader, who I have learned to appreciate greatly. We were talking about different details of the retreat, and she told me that I don't have to be a bible study leader. This relieved me immensely, since I could now focus more energy on my message. The following day, yesterday, we continued to talk about the retreat, and I realized that she and others had done a lot to prepare for the retreat. A lot of things that I was worried about were being taken care of. I learned to appreciate the other leaders, because they were doing more than I gave them credit for. Was I still doing a lot? Yes, I was, but I felt like I wasn't alone. The preparation for the retreat felt bearable, and not overwhelming.
      This struggle with the retreat reminded me that being a leader is never easy. You have to do a lot more than you may expect. However, I was also reminded that I am never alone. Not only do I have other leaders that I can trust, I also have a friend in Jesus. He never will give me anything that I cannot bear, and He is always by my side. I just forgot to be thankful for the things that I already had, and I let the bad situations around me bring me down. I feel like 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is a perfect ending to this post. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
-Smart    

Romans 9:1-29 Message

      This is a message I gave for my youth group at church. I didn't break it up into parts so it's gonna be quite long, but I hope you find encouragement from it.
      Obviously I was not here last time you guys had Sunday worship, but I assume you guys studied Romans 8, or at least part of it. Romans 8 is a fantastic passage, which encourages us to endure suffering for our future glory. Paul also talk about how if God is for us, no one can be against us, and we are more than conquerors. I don’t know what you guys learned about two weeks ago, but I know that I personally don’t understand how anyone can be “more than a conqueror”. A conqueror is already powerful enough, yet in Christ we are more than conquerors. I think Paul uses that phrase because not only has Jesus conquered death, He also reigns with all glory and power, and we too can share in His glory. As great as Romans 8 is, we do have to move on and talk about the passage we have today, which is a bit more difficult to understand. Although Romans 9 was written for a specific audience, we can learn many things from it. Let’s all begin by reading the key verse together, which is verse 16. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Verse 16)”.
Paul starts off by saying “I speak the truth in Christ- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit (v. 1)”. For some reason, when I read this verse, I immediately thought of Joshua. I just imagined Joshua’s voice saying something like this- “Guys, come on I’m serious I’m not lying!” I don’t really know why I thought of Joshua, I guess maybe it’s just because his voice perfectly fits this verse. In any case, think about when someone says “I’m telling you the truth, I am not lying”. What are they trying to say? They’re telling you that they are serious, and they want you to pay close attention to what they have to say. So what does Paul have to say? Let’s read verses 2 through 4 together. “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises (v. 2-4)”. What Paul is saying here is no small matter, it’s a big deal. Paul is saying that he is willing to be cut off from Christ and lose his own salvation so that the Israelites could regain theirs. Paul would rather die an eternal death than let the Israelites be cut off from Christ. Unfortunately, Paul is unable to do this. Why is Paul so upset and anguished over the Israelites that he would be willing to trade places with them? It is because Paul understands what the Israelites lost. I didn’t mention chapter 8 just because that’s what messengers do; I mention it because it is connected to today’s passage. What was chapter 8 about? The fact that those who are in Christ are more than conquerors because of God’s love. The Israelites didn’t realize that because they turned away from God, they lost things that cannot be matched by anything on this earth. Let me ask you guys this-who were the Israelites? Can someone summarize who they were in a sentence or two? In short, they were God’s chosen people. However, they lost their adoption to sonship, the divine glory, the covenants, the law, the temple worship and the promises. They were more than conquerors and they had the love of God, but they forsake it. Paul understood the tragedy of losing God’s promise, and He wanted others to understand the weight of God’s love. This is why at the beginning he says “I speak the truth”, and “I am not lying”. He wants the reader to realize the significance of God’s promises, and the tragedy when someone loses it.
Paul now anticipates the next logical question someone may ask. Let’s read verse 6 together please. “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel (v. 6)”. After Paul talks about the Israelites losing God’s promise, he realizes that people may ask- “weren’t the Israelites God’s chosen people?” and “does this mean that God’s promise failed?” These are logical questions. Jeremiah 31:33 says “’This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares the Lord ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’”. Clearly, God has chosen the Israelites as His people, and have made a covenant with them. However, it seems like they no longer are God’s people, because they are all falling away. Does this mean that God’s word has failed? No, it does not. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. For this was how the promise was stated: ‘At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son’ (v. 6-9)”. What is Paul talking about here? Not all who are Israel are Israel? What does that mean? Great questions. Let’s take a moment to consider the Old Testament story of Ishmael. First, we have to consider God’s promise to Abraham. Anyone know what it was? “Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God (Genesis 17:3-8)”. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, and that God would be the God of all Abraham’s descendants. In order to make a nation, you need a son. As many of us know, Abraham spent many years of his life without any sons, even though God promised him one. After a while, Sarah, Abraham’s wife, became frustrated and took matters into her own hands. Sarah took her slave named Hagar, and told Abraham to sleep with her, and maybe then he could have a son. Surprisingly, Abraham agreed and laid with Hagar, and she did bear him a son, Ishmael. So was this the son that God has promised? Absolutely not. We never hear “God of Ishmael”, but we do hear “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. Paul reminds us in verse 9 that God promised that Sarah would have a son, not another woman. Therefore, even though Ishmael is Abraham’s descendant, he is not part of God’s promise. In the same way, even if someone was from Israel, it does not mean that they are part of God’s promise. “For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”.
Now Paul moves to Esau and Jacob. Esau was the older son of Isaac, and deserved to inherit the birthright from Isaac. However, as we know, Jacob stole the birthright from Esau. Did this happen just because Jacob was crafty and was able to steal the birthright from Esau? In part, yes, but this cannot be the full explanation. If the only reason Jacob became part of God’s chosen people was that he was crafty and stole the birthright from Esau, that would undermine God. That would say that you can earn your way to God’s promise, but you cannot. So why was Jacob able to become God’s chosen person? It’s simply because God chose him, not Esau. Paul says that God chose Jacob “before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad (v. 11)”. Paul reveals the sovereignty and authority that God has over everything. No one can earn God’s promise or favor, it is a gift of God. God is able to do as He pleases, regardless of what we do or expect.
The next logical question that Paul addresses is in verse 14. Let’s read that together. “What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! (verse 14)”. In the case of Jacob and Esau, it seems like God may have been unfair towards Esau. Esau was older and deserved the birthright from his father Isaac, yet God took that from him. Paul tells us that God “will have mercy on whom (He) has mercy, and (He) will have compassion on whom (He) has compassion (verse 14)”. What does that mean? Let’s read verse 16 together. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (verse 16)”. Let’s think about what is just. This should be quite easy now, since you guys have been learning about Romans this year. What is just? Romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, and Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death”. Therefore, what is just is that everyone dies. The good news is that God made a way for us to be saved. The question now is- who gets to be saved by God? The answer is, anyone that God chooses. The story of Pharaoh is familiar to all of us. God sends plagues on Egypt, in order to release His people from captivity. Despite sending many plagues, Pharaoh does not let Israelites go. Why? It is because God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Why would God harden Pharaoh’s heart? It is so that God’s power would be displayed to the world. God is able to use whoever He chooses, in any way that He chooses.
Paul answers yet another objection that may rise in verses 19-21. Let’s read those verses together. “One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will? But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use (v. 19-20)?’” The question boils down to this; if God can use us how He wants, how can we be held responsible for what we do? If God chooses whoever He pleases, why does God still judge us? This is actually a great question. It seems like since God can do what He wills, we cannot be to blame for our actions. Let me give you an illustration similar to Paul’s. Here I have a stapler. Let me ask you guys this; what is the purpose of a stapler? The purpose of a stapler is to staple pieces of paper to each other. Plain and simple. Now, imagine if I used the stapler to start hammering nails. What would people say to me? “You’re using the stapler the wrong way.” There’s a right way to use a stapler, and there’s a wrong way to use it. How do we define what the right way and the wrong way is? We define it by the purpose of the stapler. Once I violate what the purpose of the stapler is by using it in a way it was not meant to used, I am using it the wrong way. The same is true for us. People may ask, “Why should I have to live in a certain way?” It’s because we have been given a purpose. Once we violate that purpose, we sin. If you’ve ever wondered where morality comes from, it comes from purpose. As a matter of fact, that is the only way you can really define morality. Think about when you are driving. Imagine that you are in a car, and you are going to church. The only way you can know if you are going the right way is if you are heading towards your destination, church. You know you are going the wrong way if you are not headed towards your destination. Now imagine if you are in the car, but you have no destination or purpose. You have no way to determine whether you are going the right way or wrong way. I believe that this is why people cannot really understand or define morality these days. You can never be in the wrong if you have no purpose, so people just make up their own morality. They have no clear purpose, so they have no clear morals.
The next question you may have on your mind is “what is our purpose”? To answer that, we first have to answer this- “Where does our purpose come from?” Let’s think again to the stapler. We know that the purpose of the stapler is to staple things. How do we know that? Who defined that purpose? The maker of the stapler defined that purpose, and made the stapler for that purpose. If you saw something that you didn’t know how to use, the best person to ask would be the creator. In the same way, we find our purpose in our creator. So what is our purpose that we find in God? Our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Anything that goes against that purpose is what is defined as sin. How do we know what glorifies God? Read the Bible. The Bible tells us that the best way to glorify God is love each other. However, that’s another message for another time. The point is that God is able to judge if we go against the purpose that He has given to us. We have no right to do whatever we want because God has given us a purpose.
Lastly, Paul talk about God’s wrath and mercy. Let’s read verses 22 through 24 together. “What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath- prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory- even us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles (v. 22-24)?” Paul is saying that God indeed has shown His wrath, but He also has shown mercy. Even though we deserve God’s wrath, He has chosen to withhold His wrath against us. As we talked about earlier, we all deserve eternal death, but God has shown mercy to us who don’t deserve it. Not only are we spared by God’s mercy, we also will share in His glory if we believe in Him. This is all familiar to us, but we often forget how serious of a matter this is. Remember that Paul felt great anguish because the Israelites did not realize what they had lost. They lost their salvation, and the incredible mercy of God. Paul quotes Isaiah in verse 27, saying “though the number of Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved (verse 27).” Even though there were so many Israelites, so many of God’s chosen people, only a few would be saved by God. We can be tempted here to focus on the bad. We can look at how many Israelites were not saved, but Paul reminds us of those who were saved. Verse 29 says “Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah.” What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah? They were completely wiped out by God. Unlike Sodom and Gomorrah, God did not forsake all of the Israelites, He saved a remnant. God showed mercy by saving this remnant of the Israelites. If you are saved by God, which I hope we all are, we have to remember that it’s only by God’s mercy and grace. We should be especially grateful because in the midst of billions of people, God chose us to show His mercy to. We also have to open our eyes to those who are not saved, because God’s wrath unfortunately is waiting for them. Remember what our purpose is? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever. One way we can fulfill our purpose is to share the gospel to others.
So what did we learn about today? What should you take away from this passage? The first thing we can learn is that God’s promises are valuable. At the beginning Paul was deeply sorrowed because the Israelites forgot God’s promise. Remember the amazing promises given in chapter 8; nothing can separate us from God’s love, God works all things for the good of those who love Him, those who suffer for Him will share in His glory, and we are more than conquerors. We should value God’s promises and not take them for granted. The next thing we can learn is that God’s word never fails. God is faithful to His word. This is related to the first key point, but it is still important. Thirdly, we can learn that God is sovereign. God is in control of everything, and can use whoever He pleases in any way He wants. God holds everything in His hands. As a counterpoint, fourthly we should remember that we have a purpose, which is found in God. We have no excuse to do whatever we want, because we were made with a purpose. Our purpose should guide our actions and define the way that we live. Lastly, we should remember that God is merciful. Even though all of us deserve death, He chose to save us. We cannot save ourselves by our works, but God can save us in His mercy. We should remember God’s mercy, but also remember that not everyone has accepted it. We therefore have a responsibility to share His mercy with others. Let’s read the key verse together, verse 16. “It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (v. 16)”.
-Smart