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All right, we're here in Romans chapter 11, and we will finish the chapter here today. And one thing I like about going just kind of verse by verse is it kind of just forces you to preach on what the Bible's talking about. And you can't really avoid anything, and sometimes you'll preach things that are popular, and sometimes you'll preach things that are unpopular. And the name of the sermon is Romans 11b is anti-Semitism biblical. Now when you have a topic like this, and we're just going verse by verse on what the Bible says, no matter which side you pick, somebody's going to be mad. That's just kind of the nature of it. And if you were here last week, you probably know what the answer is. And it's a resounding yes, it is unbiblical to be anti-Semitic. It is wrong to hate the Jewish person just because you hate the religion. But that is what Romans 11 is talking about. That's what the last half of it is. And I don't think anyone can accuse me of going light on the Jews when for several weeks and all throughout the book of Hosea, I've been bashing the false religion of Judaism. But we need to separate the false religion from the people that are in that religion. That does not mean all the people in that religion are bad. Notice what it says in Romans 11 verse 16, for if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy. And if the root be holy, so are the branches. Now I want you to notice here in Romans 11 verse 16, that the lump doesn't really matter. Because what matters is, is the first fruit holy? See if the first fruit is holy, the lump is going to be holy. And the branches don't really matter because if the root is holy, according to this, the branches are going to be holy. What matters is the root. What matters is the first fruit, okay? Now it says the lump is also holy. What is that talking about? Go back to Romans nine, Romans nine, Romans chapter nine. Romans chapter nine. See, when it comes to Romans nine through 11, you really have to take these chapters together to get the full context of what's being said, okay? This is kind of a parenthetical from the rest of the book of Romans. Romans nine verse 17. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, in whom he will he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Now if you remember, the examples Paul gives are with Pharaoh in Egypt, right? And he uses Esau, which become the Edomites as an example. And here's the thing, God knows what's going to take place ahead of time. He has foreknowledge of future events. And so the Edomites are under bondage to Jacob because he knew they would become wicked, okay? He knew Egypt was going to be wicked. It doesn't mean that he caused those actions to happen. It means that he knew ahead of time they were going to be wicked. So he says, you know what, I'm not going to pour out a blessing on Egypt, I'm not going to pour out a blessing on Edom, I'm going to pour out a blessing on Jacob because they're going to be godly, okay? But then the situation kind of reverses because Jacob or Israel, well, they don't stay godly throughout the entire Bible. They become wicked, and they can have this attitude, well, how are we resisting God's will? This is his choice. It's his choice because of your own actions to become wicked. It's not that God just decided, I'm going to destroy you for fun. No, it's because you became wicked, okay? Notice what it says in verse 20. Nay, but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor, okay? Now the vessels are referring to the Jews and the Gentiles. One's on to honor, one's on to dishonor. Verse 22, what if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? See, God was very long suffering with the Jews, but see, here's the thing, eventually that mercy is going to run out, okay? Verse 23, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory. And that's whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. It's not about being a Jew or about being a Gentile. It's about what you individually believe, right? And it talked about of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. Go back to Romans 11, Romans 11, Romans 11, Romans chapter 11, verse 16. But here's the thing, what's the determination of whether or not the lump is holy? It's not about the lump, it's about the first fruit. For if the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy. So what is the first fruit the Bible's talking about? Go to 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, 1 Corinthians chapter 15. You say, Brother Sucky, so you're saying if I give one month's salary to the church, then, you know, I'll be holy. Is that what it's... No, that's not the first fruit. Okay? It's not what the first fruit's referring to. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 20, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 20. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, Christ the first fruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. So Christ the first fruits, okay? So who is the first fruit? It's Jesus Christ. So what's the determination of whether the lump is holy? The first fruit. What's that saying? Whether you're Jew or Gentile, if you have Jesus Christ, no matter what your lineage is, no matter what your heritage is, that determines whether you're saved. Whether it's Jew or whether it's Gentile, right? It's not about your ethnicity. It's about the first fruits. What is the first fruit? The first fruit's Jesus Christ. And it's always been Jesus Christ. They look forward to the coming Messiah. We look back at the Messiah who already came and died for us. What is the determination of whether or not you're saved is what's the first fruit? And if the first fruit is correct, the lump is also going to be holy. Now notice it says first fruit. And the Bible also calls Jesus the first begotten of the dead. Why is he the first begotten of the dead? That implies that there's more than one person begotten if he's the first begotten. So the question is who's begotten after that? Well, us that are his at his coming, right? When we're raptured, we're going to get our glorified body. He's the first begotten of the dead. That's not the same as the only begotten. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son because he is God in the flesh. He proceeds directly from the Father. He is the only begotten of the Son, but he's the first begotten because we're also going to get a glorified body. And see, the determination of whether or not you're saved is based on do you have Jesus Christ, whether you're Jew or Gentile. It said for the first fruit be holy, the lump is also holy. And if the root be holy, so are the branches. Well, who is the root? Go to Revelation 22. Revelation chapter 22. Revelation 22. So the first fruit's referring to Jesus Christ, and I think you probably figured out what the root's referring to as well, right? The root is also referring to Jesus Christ. Revelation 22 verse 16. Revelation 22 verse 16. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star. And the Bible says that Jesus Christ is the root and the offspring, meaning he came both before and after David. Why? Because he's eternal. Jesus Christ is eternally the Son of God. He's the root and he's the offspring, right? He wasn't created by God, in the beginning was the word. He is the root and he's the offspring, okay? And so who is the first fruit? Jesus Christ. Who is the root? Jesus Christ. And here's the thing, go back to Romans 11. If you have the first fruit, if you have the root, then you're saved. See, it doesn't matter whether you're raised Catholic or Baptist or Buddhist or Hindu or Muslim. What matters is, did you believe on Jesus Christ? And see, whether or not you're raised Catholic or Baptist, you still had a moment where you changed your mind about what you were trusting and believed on Jesus Christ. And what matters is not your background. What matters is, what are you putting your trust in? And see, if you believe on Jesus Christ, no matter your background, you're holy. You're saved, right? You're spiritually perfect. Whether you're Jew or whether you're Gentile. Whether you were raised in Jerusalem as a hardcore Jew or whether or not you were raised in an independent fundamental Baptist church, what matters is what you believe. It doesn't matter what your ethnicity is, okay? Romans 11, verse 17. And before we go on with this, let me just explain to you, because it's gonna give this example of grafting trees. And this is probably something that most of us are not familiar with. It's gonna talk about the wild tree, and then it's gonna talk about the good olive tree. And the wild olive tree is basically a tree that's not producing fruit, and the good olive tree is producing fruit. And it's gonna use two different trees as an example, okay? Now look, I'm not an expert at making trees, so this is one of those things I had to read up on and learn and stuff like that. But here's the thing. If you're trying to produce a lot of fruit or a lot of vegetables from a tree or whatever, you don't want a tree that's not producing anything, right? There's those examples in the Bible where Jesus curses the fig tree if it's not producing fruit. And look, if you're trying to make money by selling fruit and you've got a tree that's not making any fruit, man, just get rid of that thing, right? Here's a problem with an olive tree. An olive tree takes a very long time to grow. So if you get rid of that tree and you plant a new one, you're gonna be waiting a long time to get fruit. So what they do is they will graft that tree. And what they do is they take a good olive tree and they take branches off the good olive tree. Because if you got a lot of fruit from a tree, those branches are gonna start to run together. So basically you take branches off the good olive tree and you graft them to the bad wild olive tree that's producing nothing and the nutrients from that tree will provide what that branch needs. So you take the good branches and put them on a wild olive tree which is not producing fruits, okay? That is how you graft trees. And he's gonna use this example and he's basically gonna explain the opposite and it makes sense what he's trying to say by giving this example. Notice what it says here in verse 17. And if some of the branches be broken off and now being a wild olive tree were grafting among them and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree. So some of the branches were broken off what? Off the good olive tree. The Jews didn't produce fruit. The Jews weren't believing and he's saying, I broke off those branches from the good olive tree. Just because they had a good tree doesn't mean that they were right. Because what matters? What matters is the root. What matters is Jesus Christ and they might have been part of that good olive tree but if they're not believing on Jesus Christ, you know what, they're done. They're not going to heaven just because of their ethnicity. So he's saying, I broke off the good branches and what he says is this and now being a wild olive tree were grafting among them. He says, I took you from a bad tree, a Gentile. You didn't have the word of God poured out to you and I grafted you onto a good tree. Now here's the thing. That's the opposite of how you do grafting and he's going to explain this. What you do is you take a good branch and put it on a wild olive tree. What the Bible is saying is this. You know what? I'm taking you from a wild olive tree and putting you onto the good olive tree. And here's the thing, since you have the right root of Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter if you are hardcore Muslim your first 40 years, you can become a fruit bearing branch. It doesn't matter what your background is. He's saying, I'm going to do something that you don't even do when you graft trees. Why? What matters is the root. So he says, you were wild olive tree grafted among them and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree. Verse 18, notice this, boast not against the branches, but if thou boast thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Boast not against the branches. What is he saying? He's saying, I'm speaking to Gentiles who got saved, don't boast against the branches that were broken off. You know what he's saying? Don't hate the Jew that doesn't believe on Jesus Christ. That's what he's saying. I'm just going verse by verse to directly explain what the Bible is saying. Look, I bash the Jewish and I'll still bash the Jewish religion, not the person. The Bible specifically says don't boast against the branches because here's the thing, isn't that what the Jews did? Look at me. I'm part of the good olive tree. I was born a Jew, so I automatically have a free pass into heaven. That's the attitude they developed in the Old Testament. Why was raised in a Christian country? I wasn't raised in a Muslim country. I wasn't raised in a Hindu country. I wasn't raised in a Jewish country. Boast not against the branches. That's a foolish thing to boast about the country that you were born in. You had nothing to do with that. He's saying don't boast against the branches of the Jews that have been broken off. He says I broke off the branches of the Jews and you were grafted among them. Don't boast against them. Don't look at yourself as being special. Why I'm not Jewish. What makes this kind of confusing is because in the last hundred years, everybody's shifting to just loving the Jews, but for most of human history, it wasn't like that. For most of human history, the last 2,000 years, people hated the Jews. It would be very easy to develop this attitude of looking down on the Jewish person just because they were raised in a false religion. That doesn't mean that they're a bad person because they were raised a Jew. You say, well, Brother Stuckey, I would never look down on someone like this. Well, what about Jonah in the Bible? He looked down on everybody from a nation just because of where they were raised. Does that mean everybody raised in Assyria was bad? No. Just because someone's raised in a false religion, that doesn't mean that they're a bad person. They could hear the word of God and get saved just as easily as you. You say why? Because what matters is the root and the only reason why you're saved is because you believed on Jesus Christ, not because of how you're raised. Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. What he's saying is if you're trusting in your ethnicity, it's like you're bearing the root of Jesus Christ. It's not that Jesus Christ is bearing you. Basically saying your faith is in vain if that's what you're trusting to get to heaven. Have you ever knocked doors and asked someone, do you know for sure you're going to heaven? And they say, yes. Why? My dad's a pastor. It's like, okay, look, it doesn't matter how you're raised. It's even worse when they say my mom's a pastor. It's like, okay, it's like, wow, man, pull out the red carpet to heaven for you, right? It's just like, look, it doesn't matter what your parents believe. It doesn't matter what your grandparents, it doesn't matter what your ethnicity is. What matters is what you personally believe. Don't boast against the branches. Someone in a false religion, if you believed on Jesus Christ, it's because somebody gave you the gospel and you got saved. That's what he's trying to say. It's not against the Jewish branches that were broken off because they didn't believe. Verse 19, notice the arrogance, thou wilt say then the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in, right? Do you see that attitude coming up? The branches of the Jews were broken off that I might be grafted in. Now, look, I'm just going verse by verse explaining the Bible. Man, Brother Stuckey's going light on Judaism. This is what the Bible's saying, and this is exactly what the Jews did. It's like, I'm of Jewish descent, so look at me. Don't develop the same attitude and say, I'm of Christian descent. I was raised in a Christian home. What matters is what you believed. That's what makes the difference, okay? And so this attitude of, well, they were broken off that I might be grafted in, that's the wrong attitude. Now let me hit a little close to home, though, because I don't think most of us would have that sort of attitude, but let me be honest with you. You know what could develop with a church like ours? We are the new IFB. Look at how much better we are than these people in these other Baptist churches. Did you know, first off, you're saved because you heard the Gospel from someone? And did you know people at your old church, if they heard the same preaching as you, they would love our church. They would gravitate towards it also. I'm the only one. Really, Eliza? I thought there were 7,000 people that had not bowed the knee to Baal. Now look, I get it. A lot of people are not producing fruit, they're not serving God, but you know, if they heard the same preaching that you did, it might change their life too, and if we have this arrogant attitude, it's going to turn off people that could become great church members. There are people at your old Baptist churches, and look, they are confused about these topics. They're confused because they've been lied to, but if they heard the same preaching, you know what, it would change their heart too. There are people at your old church that would love God just as much as you. Don't develop this attitude, well we're part of this special church here in Metrominella. Look, get mad at the false prophets, but not the members of those churches, okay? There are people at those churches, and look, I know people, and some of you tell me about you have a friend or a family member who's thinking about coming to our church, look, they might become more zealous than you if they came to our church. That first step, that was kind of a leap of faith. Look, a lot of our best members, you know, a while back when you first started coming, you asked for prayer because you were trying to take that step, and once you took that step, boom, you dived in, right? You dove into it, right? There I am correcting my grammar when I make a mistake. But here's the thing, you know what, they might just not have heard the preaching that you did, right? You know, my wife has been a Baptist for a lot longer than me, you might not realize that. She's been a Baptist, an independent fundamental Baptist since she was 12, right, I'm late to the party, I came at the age of 18 in college, right? But you know, here's the thing about this, you know, there were certain things that she believed that were wrong, because she had been taught wrong, and when she heard the truth, you know what, it changed her heart. But you know, I believe there's other people at that church, or other people at these other Baptist churches, if they heard the same preaching, it would actually change their heart. But unfortunately, a lot of them have this idea that we are Mayabang. And unfortunately, we're giving people sometimes an opportunity to despise our youth, as I said last sermon, and people that could become a part of our church are getting turned away, not by what we're teaching, but by our attitudes. And look, that's, and that hits close to home, but that's reality, my friend. There are other people in your Baptist churches, they would love this church, and you know what, I hope that we have the right attitude so we can actually get them to come to our church, okay? And you know what, they might end up serving God even more than you. Look, there are unsaved Catholic people that if they got saved and came here, they might have the same reaction. Man, this is a lot different than my old church, I'm learning, it's interesting. There are people like that. Don't boast and have this attitude, look at how special I am. Yeah, you're becoming prideful if you develop that attitude. And look, praise the Lord, you're going soul winning and serving God, but let us not turn away people that could be awesome church members by our attitude or the things that we say, right? Verse 19, it says, thou wilt say then the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. Well, because of unbelief, they were broken off. What's he saying? Hey, they weren't broken off because you're so special, buddy. It's not that I broke them off because you're just so awesome. Look at this guy, let's just break off this branch and bring you here because you're awesome. No, no, they were broken off because they didn't believe. It's not because of anything that we did. The gospel was poured out to the Gentiles because the Jews messed up, right? Now there were saved Gentiles before that, but the word of God got poured out to the Gentile nations and Gentile locations because the Jews did not believe and they disobeyed God. That's the reason why, okay? So it's not that we're something special why we got to be grafted in, it's just the fact he broke them off. They weren't doing it. He says, hey, you know what? I'm going to use these people that are going to produce fruit, okay? Because of unbelief, they were broken off and now standest by faith. Be not high minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. And he's warning us. He's saying, look, I broke off some of the people where I'd been pouring out the word of God because they did not believe. Make sure you individually do believe. You know what would be terrible is someone to grow up in a church like ours and just everybody kind of assumes they're saved because they're part of our church and maybe even I preach in a way or we talk in a certain way where they feel like, hey, if I'm part of this church, I automatically go to heaven because we're like the only ones preaching this and they grow up and they never believe. Be not high minded, meaning be not Mayavang, but fear. Make sure you're individually save yourself. And here's the thing, make sure you teach your kids the gospel. Make sure when they turn five, six, seven, you're explaining the gospel and don't develop this attitude. Oh, they'll just end up getting saved if they're at this church. Someone's got to explain it to them. Make sure as mom and dad, you do it because the last thing we want to see is people to grow up in this church and they never believe and they never get saved and we just kind of assume they're saved because they, you know, kind of came to all the activities. They came soul winning. They heard this preaching, just kind of figured somewhere along the line they believed and maybe they said a prayer, but they never actually believed. That's the last thing we want to see and that is what happened with the Jews. They became high minded and kids were growing up and they were never even getting saved because they just kind of assumed, I'm a Jew. Don't I automatically go to heaven? Right? I mean, it's salvation by race, right? And they didn't get the message. You forgot a letter. It's always been salvation by grace. That's the last thing we want at a church like ours. We need to be very careful not to develop that sort of atmosphere. Look, I'm very excited to be a part of a church where so many people love God and love soul winning, but I just want us to realize there are a lot of people out there that would serve God. It's not just us. And as our church grows, every single one of us is a little bit less significant and that's a good thing, right? Praise God if there's 20 churches just like this in Metro Manila in 20 years. That'd be great. And look, I'll tell you what, it would be great if there's tons of people that are serving God and going soul winning and what that means is that none of us individually are really as important as we were before. Because if you're like the only one, it's like, man, I'm one of the best people in all the Philippines. Well, we're hoping that all of us become just not that important anymore, that we just have tens of thousands of people in the Philippines and it's just like, we're just one of the soul winners and we're all going to find out one day how many rewards did I get, right? We want this church to grow and be filled with people that love God. We don't want to turn people away with their attitudes and we want to make sure the kids growing up in this room that they believe on Jesus Christ. And if you're of age to believe this message and to believe on Jesus Christ, make sure individually you don't trust in your salvation because, well, I'm part of this new IFB church so I must be going to heaven. Make sure you believe. Make sure it's not just because you love this preaching is what you're trusting to get you to heaven. Because you're believing on Jesus Christ. Okay. Notice what it says here in verse 21 for if God spared not the natural branches take heed lest he also spare not thee behold therefore the goodness and severity of God on them which fell severity but toward the goodness if thou continue in his goodness otherwise thou also shall be cut off. Now why does he talk about continuing in his goodness? Well, it's kind of like the Bible says they went out from us, but they were not of us for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. The Bible speaks about people that would be part of a church and then they leave after a couple years and they're like, I decided to become a Catholic priest. It's like, what sermons were you listening to? It's like, man, I mean, after this preaching, I'm going to be a Buddhist monk. Well, obviously they didn't believe. Right? I mean, if they would just depart and just believe completely different things about salvation, it's like they never actually got saved. And the Bible saying here, make sure don't be high minded by fear. And here's the thing. If someone says they believe, but then one day they grow up in this church and they're 25 years old and then all of a sudden they're a hardcore Muslim. Well, they said a prayer when they were five years old. Not saved, my friend. That's what I was trying to tell you. Just because they're raised in the right church and look, we're going to assume people that are young are saved because they're part of this church. We assume, Hey, they believe the right things, right? Make sure as parents that we get our kids saved. That's what the Bible is saying. And see the focus here in Romans 11 is it doesn't matter what your background is. It matters what is the root, what is the first fruit? And that's referring to Jesus Christ. And here's the thing. I preach against false religions. I'll preach against Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism. And here's the thing. I might mock their false traditions, right? Yeah. You know, I've mocked Hinduism as they're worshiping cows, but we should not look down on the individual people that are deceived, though. The religion is evil. The religion is wrong. That doesn't mean the people in that religion, it doesn't mean that they're Bobo either. It just means that that's what they were taught. If you were taught that as a kid, you'd probably believe the same thing. You generally believe what mom and dad believe, right? You know, my wife might be upset for me saying this because she was raised Catholic before she came back Baptist and she used to think it was awesome in Pampanga. Man, these people are beating themselves. That's great. Because if you're raised in a certain way, that's just what you're taught. Look, if your parents took you to the Feast of the Black Nazarene as a kid, you're going to think it's cool. Then once you get saved, it's like, oh man, how foolish was I, right? No matter what your religious background is, it's going to seem normal if that's what you're surrounded by. Remember common versus normal. If something is always a certain way and you always hear it, it will start to feel normal no matter how weird and bizarre it is, right? So don't look down on people of another religion that have a different background because if they believe on Jesus Christ, they'll get saved. And if they hear this kind of preaching, they might be just like us regardless of what their background is. Romans 11 verse 23, and they also, if they abide not still in unbelief shall be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again. What he's saying is this with the Jews who were broken off, if any of those individual Jews believe, they'll be grafted right back into their tree. It's not that God said I'm done with Israel so no one can ever get saved with that ethnicity. That's not what the Bible teaches. I broke off the branches because they didn't believe, but if somebody grows up Jewish and they believe on Jesus Christ, they're grafted in immediately because salvation is what is the root. If you believe on Jesus Christ, you're saved regardless of your religious background. For if thou were cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree. So he's saying here, you were broken off a wild olive tree and graft into a good olive tree. And you know what? That is contrary to nature because that's not how you do it. What you do is you break off a good branch and put it on a wild olive tree. He's saying you were a branch off a wild olive tree, right? You were raised with a false religion and you know what? I'm going to graft you into the good olive tree. This is contrary to nature. And he's using an extreme example because as I've said, the religion of Judaism is so godless, so wicked, it's hard to imagine a Jew believing on Jesus Christ, right? He's saying, I'm going to use an example that's not even possible. That's not how you do the grafting. And he's saying, they're so godless and wicked, it's really hard to believe any of them believing by saying, you know what? I will graft them in if they individually believe. And what he's saying is, you know what? There's even some Jews that will believe on Jesus Christ. Now look, obviously there's more saved people here than in Israel, but you know what? People over there could hear the gospel and get saved also. Obviously there's more people saved here than in Muslim countries, but you know what? They can get saved in Muslim countries too. Now they might have to do it kind of silently and quietly because they can't publicly admit what they believe. They might not be able to get baptized. They might not be able to attend church, but you know what? There are saved people all over the world. And don't let us develop this attitude, well, you know, we're something special because we've got a good church. It's an individual thing and people all over the world are saved. And we're grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree. How much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? Look, if I grafted you from a wild olive tree into a good tree, doesn't it make sense I could take that branch I broke off and just regraft it in? I went contrary to nature to do this, so it's really not that hard for me to graft in this branch back into the good olive tree. Verse 25, for I would not brethren that ye should be ignorant of this mercy, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits. What is he saying there? I don't want you to be arrogant. I don't want you to become wise in your own conceits and be high minded. That blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. He's saying blindness in part is happened to Israel, but there's going to come a point where it's no longer like that until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. So you have to ask yourself this question, when is the fullness of the Gentiles, right? Because he's saying it's going to be like this until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Turn in your Bible to Luke 21. Luke 21, Luke chapter 21. Now I said before last week, and I believe this, that during the great tribulation at the start at the abomination of desolation, as the Antichrist turns on the Jews, I do believe that's an event that could humble some Jews to end up believing into believing on Jesus Christ. But that's not the timeframe that's being discussed here in Romans 11. I do think that is going to happen to some degree at the midpoint where some will believe, but what it's referring to is actually later than that. It actually starts at the midpoint, but it goes later. Notice what it says in Luke 21, verse 20. And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Now what's the desolation? The abomination of desolation. Okay, I don't have time to cross reference everything and prove it. I preached for 40 weeks or whatever through revelation, just listen to all of them, right? But he says, you know, he says that know the desolation thereof is nigh. So once the armies are compassing Jerusalem, the desolation is pretty close. Verse 21, then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the midst of it depart out, and let not them that are in the countries enter there to. And he's saying, if you're in this location during this time period, you need to just get out. You need to go, right? I mean, if you've always wanted to take that trip to Israel, and you just happen to pick the week of the abomination of desolation, just run, right? Get out of there, right? And look, I believe there are some saved people that live over there now. Absolutely there are. And so some of them might know this scripture, it's like, okay, if I'm here during this time period, I need to run, right? I'm sure there are people that are probably 14, 15 years old, they heard the gospel, they got saved, and they're like, man, I hope this doesn't happen during my lifetime, right? He's saying run, he's saying flee. Verse 22, he's saying, why is he saying you have to flee during this time period? Because we will enter into great tribulation before the rapture, okay? Verse 22, for these be the days of vengeance that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Verse 23, but woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days, for there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. The Bible's saying during this time period, you're gonna need to be running, and you know what? You're in trouble if you're with child or you're giving suck, meaning you have a young baby. You say why? You have to run if you're with child or you have a young baby with you, right? If he's telling you to flee to the mountains and you're fleeing from all this destruction, it's gonna be hard if you have young children. You say why? Because you know what? They don't run that fast. They get tired, and you gotta pick them up, and look, it's hard to, I can't imagine running very far with Zeph in my arms, right? He's heavy, right? So bring begot, right? It's just too much, right? And so he's saying, you know what, it's gonna be difficult if you have young children. Why? Because you're fleeing, and it's hard when you're running. And when it comes back to talk about soul winning, it's hard to soul win with kids. Takes a lot of effort, takes a lot of work. Verse 24, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. So once again, we're seeing it's until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, which is synonymous or the same, pareho long with, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Okay? So this starts midway through Daniel's 70th week, right? The abomination of desolation takes place midway through. The question is, how long does that last? Go to Revelation 11, Revelation 11, Revelation 11. Say, brother, I just came here for the second service. And I thought you were going to rip the Jews again. No, I mean, it's a deep Bible study, and I'm ripping the opposite. Don't be arrogant against them. That's what the Bible teaches. Revelation 11, Revelation 11. So how long does this time period last? It starts during the midpoint of Daniel's 70th week. Revelation 11, verse two, Revelation chapter 11, verse two. But the court which is without the temple leave out and measure it not, for it is given unto the Gentiles. Well, how long is it given unto the Gentiles? This is the start of the trotting down of the Gentiles, right? The trotting down. How long until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in? How long do they tread that holy city? And the holy city shall they tread underfoot? Forty and two months. So it starts midway through Daniel's 70th week, right? And it lasts 42 months. Now here's the thing. Forty two months is three years and six months, right? Three times 12 is 36, plus six is 42, right? Three point five years, however, you have to understand something. They used a 360 day calendar, as I've mentioned already here today. Thirty day months, okay? And so he says 40 and two months, and this is basically referring to 1260 days. Because basically one year is 360 days, not 365.25 or whatever. 360 days. And then a second year you get to 720, 360 plus 36720, plus 360 is 1080. Half a year is 180 days, 180 plus 1080 is 1260, right? I love math, so I have no problem adding math whenever I get to a sermon, right? And so 1260 days is this 42 months, okay? Now the first half of Daniel's 70th week is 42 months. Here's the thing, though. As time goes by with 360 day years, you're gonna have problems. Why? Because winter's gonna slowly change, summer's gonna change, the rainy season's gonna change because you're cutting off five days every year. So after a certain amount of time, you add an extra month. That's what they did. So here's the thing. The first three and a half years are 42 months. The second three and a half years of Daniel's 70th week are 43 months. Why? Time has gone by and an extra month has ended. Because you'll notice at the end of this 42 months, it's not all over yet. Why? There's an extra 30 days. There's an extra month. There's 43 months on the second half of Daniel's 70th week because time has gone by and you have to add an extra month. So he's saying, he's not saying, I'm gonna tread them down for three and a half years. Very specifically, 42 months. Because the Bible's accurate. So it's saying, it's 42 months and then there's 30 extra days. Verse three. And I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three square days clothed in sackcloth. So 1260 days, starting at the midway point of Daniel's 70th week and it goes for three and a half years, but 42 months, not 43 months. And then there's 30 extra hanging days. Look at verse number seven, verse seven. And when they shall finish their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill them. And their dead body shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Referring to Jerusalem. So the two witnesses are going to be killed. They're going to be rejoicing. We won the battle. And then all of a sudden, oh, they rose. It's like, what? That sucks for you, right? And then all of a sudden, great fear is going to come upon them. They got to think they were on the winning side for a couple of days and then they lost it. Have you ever seen these videos of like, there's like a runner in a race and he thinks he's got the gold medal and he starts hot dogging it and then somebody sprints to the end and hits the finish line first. It's hilarious. That's what's going to happen to them. They're like, man, we won the battle. And then all of a sudden, oh man, the knockout punch. We're done. And so they think they got the battle won and then they're going to rise again. Now turn your Bible back to Romans 11, Romans 11, Romans chapter 11, Romans chapter 11. So what's the Bible saying? Well, the Bible is saying they get their fun for 42 months. But then when the fullness of the Gentiles come in, that's the end of it. And what happens in those last 30 days? What happens during the last 30 days as we saw in Revelation is the Lord cleans house. That's what takes place. The last 30 days is like, well, it's time for the Lord to clean house with all these wicked people. And you had your fun, Antichrist. You got your three and a half years of fame. You had your three and a half years trotting down the holy city, but you know what? Now you're done. Now I'm going to get rid of the wicked filth that is out there. Okay. Romans 11, verse 25, for I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest you should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. See, after that time period, the Lord's going to clean house and we're going to see this in verse 26. He's going to clean house. Okay. He's going to get rid of the wicked people. Verse 26. And so all Israel shall be saved. Now this phrase is just ripped out by people to overhaul everything in all the minor prophets, everything in the major prophets, everything in Romans 9, 10, and 11 about the Jews being such a godless, wicked people and all Israel shall be saved. Just one day, every single Jews just going to magically get saved. They teach. Now is that the context here? What's the context here in verse 26? And so all Israel shall be saved, colon, as it is written, there shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. What's the Bible saying? They say all Israel is going to be saved because God's going to wipe out all the wicked people. He's going to save them from the wicked people that are destroying them. He's going to save them from being destroyed. Oftentimes in the Bible, saved is not a reference to spiritual salvation, right? I mean, this is God's technique. I mean, how did God save Lot? He saved them by destroying the wicked people. This is God's technique, right? He gathers together the filth of the world and then just wipes them all out and they're saved from that. And this is what it says in verse 26, because it says he's going to turn away ungodliness from Jacob. All the wicked people are going to be gone and you know what you're going to find some people that were raised Jewish that, you know, maybe got saved, you know, after the rapture and had to endure stuff. You know what? They're from that background, but they believed and got saved, right? The wicked people are going to be destroyed. That's what the Bible is saying. This is God's technique. Now go to 1 Peter 3. I'll show you an example of this. 1 Peter 3. Genesis 19 is a great example because of the fact Lot was saved by destroying the wicked people, right? This is God's technique. This is what happens with the flood, and I'll give you an example of this. He gets rid of the filth of the world and that's how they're saved. And so in 1 Peter, this is a kind of a dark saying here, 1 Peter 3, verse 20. It says, which sometime were disobedient when once the longsuffering of God weighed in the days of Noah. So God was longsuffering in the days of Noah while they're building the ark, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water. Now how in the world did the water save Noah? You know how it saved him? By killing all of the wicked people, because the Bible says it was the days of violence and wickedness. And it even clarifies this in the next verse. And I know this is a dark saying, and I'll be preaching on this in a couple months, but notice what it says here in verse 21. The like figure, wherein to even baptism doth also now save us. Now this is not referring to water baptism. Look, that's a whole other sermon. But notice this, not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. What is he saying? Well, he's saying, I just showed you in verse 20 that the water put away the filth of the flesh. And it got rid of the wicked people. It killed all the filthy, wicked pedophiles, murderers, and wicked people. And Noah was saved by water. How? It wiped out all the wickedness. The Bible says violence was running rampant during that time period. And look, God will often deliver his people by destroying the wicked people. And realize this, this battle of us versus wicked people, it is always going to exist. It's not just Sodom and Gomorrah. It's not just the flood. No, even in today's world, you still have wicked people that bomb churches. We have the same battle today. You know how God often spares us from this? You know how he often saves us from this, if people want to persecute us and harm us? He just gets rid of the filth. He destroys the wicked people. That might be a prayer. Some of us want to pray about these wicked people that God will just destroy them. Give them what's coming to them. And so all Israel shall be saved. Why? Because he's going to get rid of all the wicked people. Go back to Romans 11, Romans 11, Romans 11, Romans chapter 11, verse 27. And it says here in Romans 11, verse 27, and look, verse 26, let me say this. Verse 26 is a, is a pretty dark verse and you know, I'll be honest with you. There are a lot of godly men that have different interpretations. I'm just giving you my interpretation of that, but I'll say this. You're taking it way out of its context. If you take this one phrase and say, well, every Jewish person is just going to magically believe on Jesus Christ and get saved. Show me the context there, right? Godly people can have different opinions on what this is referring to. And I have a lot of friends that believe different things on this, but let me tell you something. There's no way you could walk away from Romans nine through 11, man. Every Jew is just going to magically get saved. It's like, well, maybe you want to look at the context. He's going to turn away ungodliness from Jacob, the Bible says. Verse 27, for this is my covenant onto them when I shall take away their sins as concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes, but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sake. And see, the Bible says, as concerning the gospel, these are enemies. You say, why? Judaism is a godless religion. They believe against what we believe, and they are our personal enemies because they don't believe what we do. Now we should not hate the people, just hate the religion, but they teach the exact opposite of what we do about salvation. And if I was saying, you know what, they are enemies for our sake, but don't forget they're beloved for the father's sake. Now I understand. Are there people that are raised Jewish that are reprobate children of the devil? Absolutely. Are most of them? Absolutely not. Are there some? Absolutely. But you know what, there's people that are raised in Baptist churches that are reprobates. There are people that are raised in any denomination, any religion that are bad people that become wicked pedophiles or murderers or disgusting people that hate God. It's like that in any religion, okay? It's not just the Jews. Now, are the Jews the most godless religion, Judaism? I would say yes. It's the most godless anti-Christ religion there is. That doesn't mean that all the people are bad, though, in that religion. And some of them, if they heard the gospel, you know what, they would believe on Jesus Christ. And the Bible's saying, you know what, they may be your enemies, but here's the thing. As touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sake. God still wants them to hear the gospel. For the gifts of calling of God are without repentance. Now yesterday when I preached this sermon, I just kind of passed over this verse because there's so much to teach. We're already like almost at time, basically. I didn't realize, though, that this is like a very famous verse amongst Baptist pastors here. Let me ask you a question, because apparently they teach that if you've been called by God to be a pastor, well, the gifts of calling of God are without repentance. So even if you commit adultery, even if you do something wicked, well, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God's already chosen you to be a pastor. Nothing can ever take that away, no matter what you do. You murder someone, well, you know, the gifts of calling of God are without repentance. You commit adultery, well, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Is there anything in this chapter about being a pastor? Because I want you to understand something. The Bible is logical. It's not random verses that are put together like, oh, here's a verse about this. And then, man, verse 20 is about reincarnation. Verse 21 is about this, verse 22 is, I mean, no, it's logical. This chapter fits together. There's nothing in this chapter where you look at it and say, well, see, I can apply this to be in a pastor. And if someone's called to be a pastor, no matter what they do, hey, it's without repentance. No way God will change his mind, no matter. No, there's plenty of things that say that you can be disqualified from being a pastor. And if you commit a sin that's wicked, the Bible says, you know what? You might have been chosen by God to be a pastor, but that is done at that point, okay? Verse 30, for as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief. As a Gentile, we obtained mercy because they did not believe, and those branches were broken off. Verse 31, even so have these also now not believed that through your mercy, they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all in unbelief that he might have mercy upon all. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out. And the Bible's saying, God developed this, and this is an opportunity for everybody to hear the gospel. And anybody who believes on Jesus Christ, he poured out the gospel to the Jews. They rejected it by and large. They didn't believe. God was long suffering for a while. Eventually those branches were broken off. The word of God was poured out to the Gentiles, but that doesn't mean that those branches are permanently broken off and they can never be put back in. Any Jew individually that believes, he's going to be grafted back into that olive tree. Why? It doesn't matter your ethnicity or what you were taught, it matters what you believe now. And see, if somebody believes on Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter if they were Jewish the first 25 years of their life, right? I mean, I got saved when I was 18 years old, almost 19. I'm 36 now. So just barely over half my life, I was unsaved, but you know, it doesn't matter what I believe when I was 17 years old. What do I believe now? Because when I heard the gospel, I believed on Jesus Christ and it doesn't matter that I was raised Protestant. Doesn't matter whether you were raised Catholic. It doesn't matter whether you were raised whatever religion. What do you believe now? Verse 34, For who hath known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him and through him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. Now notice the last word here in Romans 11 is Amen. And you know, you're going to find this in the New Testament books. Most books in the New Testament end with the word Amen. I don't know if you notice that in your Bible reading, but there's only three books that don't end in Amen. Max, James, and one of the Johns, 2nd John, 3rd John, one of those, 24 out of 27 books, they end with the word Amen. Because Amen is kind of like a closure to what's being said. And what I'm trying to tell you is this, Romans 9 through 11 is kind of its own section in the book of Romans. And he has the word Amen because he's kind of putting a closer to that section, and it's going to kind of jump back to what he's basically talking about with Romans chapter 8. So he kind of goes on a rabbit trail, and he closes it with an Amen just to kind of let you know that. But look, in summary of these three chapters in Romans 9 through 11, there's no question that the Jews as a people have been rejected. They were rejected, and so much to the point of them becoming such a godless and wicked religion and nation that he has to kind of drive home the point, hey, they can still get saved. Right? They're so godless. I know the branches were broken off, and I'm done with them. But look, don't misunderstand that. Don't boast against the branches. Don't hate them. Realize individually they can still be grafted back in. But the reason why he has to remind us that is because he was bashing them so much, being rejected and saying, hey, you know what? God's done with you. But that doesn't mean that every individual person is automatically going to hell. Now, it is definitely a religion where very few people are saved. But there are people that are raised over in Israel. There are people that are saved right now that were raised Jewish. Now, I've tried to give the gospel to Jews many times in the U.S. Never here have I run into them. I have not gotten them to listen to me, because quite honestly, usually they are very, very unreceptive. But make no mistake about it, there are saved people all over this world. And it doesn't matter what your religion was growing up, doesn't matter if your mom's a preacher, God's not going to hold that against you, right? It doesn't matter if your dad's a Buddhist monk, right? Here's what matters. Do you have the roots? And if you have Jesus Christ, whether Jew or Gentile, no matter your background, whether Catholic or Baptist, no matter what you believe before, you know what? You are saved and you have eternal life. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for allowing us to be here today and getting to see your word here in Romans 11 and help us to understand this point to hate the false religions, but not the people that are in those religions. Hate the false prophets, but not the people maybe that are at some of these other Baptist churches that maybe just haven't heard these things and maybe they think we're phonies or they don't agree with what we believe and maybe they even criticize us, but maybe just because they've never heard God. And I ask you to help build our church and grow our church, help us to have more soul winners and more people come to our church, God. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.