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Amen, all right, we're in Romans chapter number 11 this morning. Look down at your Bibles at verse number 9. It says here in verse number 9 of Romans 11, And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall, God forbid, but rather through their fall, salvation is coming to the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. And the time of my sermon this morning is bow down their back alway, bow down their back alway. And of course, that's from verse number 10, the latter end of verse number 10, where he says and bow down their back alway. Now let me explain to you what Romans chapter 11 first and foremost is talking about. And then we'll get into the actual phrase itself. Romans chapter 11 is Paul's defense and showing the Romans that really, in a sense, God has basically cast away the physical nation of Israel from being God's chosen people, and that he has selected believers as being his elected, his chosen people of God. And he brings up some pretty good evidence for that. We see that in verse number one and two. And really throughout the chapter, we see that the Apostle Paul is really making a very good argument against what we would call today Zionism and for replacement theology. And really who he's hitting on hard here is Jews according to the flesh, Israel according to the flesh, as the Bible would put it. Now here in verse number nine, he gets a little personal, because he starts to talk about the fact that let their table be made a snare, and the there that he's referring to are Christ rejecting Jews. Israel who basically don't want nothing to do with Jesus Christ. They don't want him as a Savior. They don't want him as a God. They don't want him as a prophet. And in fact, they take full credit for his crucifixion, his persecution, etc. And so he's saying here, and he's quoting David, we're going to go back to the book of Psalms in just a bit, go to the book of Psalms in just a bit. But he says here, David said, let their table be made a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense unto them. First and foremost, I want you to notice that we are in the New Testament, okay? This is the New Testament. We're reading the book of Romans, which is found in the New Testament. He's writing to the Romans, which basically are Gentile believers. And so I want you to notice that because of the fact that sometimes people have this misconception that all of the hard passages and all of the mean stuff and all of the hard sayings, that's all in the Old Testament. Whereas we're looking at here, the Apostle Paul, who's an apostle to the Gentiles, praying this imprecatory prayer, you know, basically against Israel, according to the flesh, saying, let their table be made a snare, a stumbling block, a trap, a recompense unto them. And then he says in verse 10, let their eyes be darkened. Now, he's not saying, like, let them physically go blind. When he says their eyes be dark, and he's referring to the fact that what Jesus Christ talked about in John chapter 12, where they're not able to see the truth of salvation, okay, you know, think of the song, Amazing Grace. I once was blind, but now I see, right? You know, the blind condition of an individual who is lost, but God basically considers that person or views that individual as not being able to see the truth. And when we come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, when we recognize that salvation is by grace through faith and Christ alone, our eyes are open, they're enlightened. We see the truth now for what it is, okay? But here he says, no, let their eyes be darkened. Now, their eyes are already darkened. He's basically saying, let them remain darkened, okay? He says, let their eyes be darkened that they may not see. And then he says this phrase here, and bow down their back always. Now, what does that mean? Well, go to Psalm 69, if you would. We're going to look at what he's referencing here. And it's actually two chapters, two passages from two different chapters that he's referencing in Romans chapter 11. But what we see in Romans 11 from verse 9 through verse 10, it's actually just an amalgamated quote from the book of Psalms. And we'll see that sometimes in the New Testament where maybe Apostle, some person who's just preaching, whether it's the Apostle Paul or the Apostle Peter, they quote Old Testament scriptures, but it almost seems as though they misquote it. You know what I'm saying? They have a tendency to word it a little differently. And when we look at Romans chapter 11 in this particular case, this phrase right here from verse 10, let their eyes be darkened that they may not see and bow down their back always, isn't necessarily found in one particular verse in the Old Testament, the book of Psalms, because he's quoting David. We obviously understand that. It's really a conglomerate of different verses, different portions of the scriptures dealing with the same thing though. So it's still scripture. He just basically kind of bundling different verses together. The Apostle Paul is basically merging different portions of the Psalms in order to get this particular thought across. And the type of Psalm that he's combining is basically what's known as the imprecatory prayers, right? And these are songs in the Old Testament written with the purpose, get this, of cursing people, okay? And get, you know, how's that for a Sunday morning sermon, right? You know, imprecatory Psalms, imprecatory prayers are literal songs that are found in the book of Psalms from the sweet psalmist of Israel, okay, the man after God's own heart. And they're basically prayers or songs, vindictive prayers and songs against the enemies of God, okay? Now, a lot of people don't know a whole lot about that because most of the time, pastors and churches only focus on like Psalm 23 or something, you know? The Lord is my shepherd, our Shana, and that's a beautiful Psalm. I love that Psalm. But, you know, there's so many other songs that God wants us to know about and sing about. And so the imprecatory prayers, they're vindictive songs against the enemies of God. And, you know, obviously today, if you were to sing one of these or talk about one of these, they would say, oh, you're just a violent person or something, you know, because now words are just violence or something. Whereas this is actually God's remedy to basically suppress the carrying out of any vengeance on our part, you know, because naturally, when we are wronged or we're defrauded or someone does evil against us, naturally, we want some sort of vengeance. We want to partake in the vengeance against them. But the Bible is actually completely against that. God teaches us that we should not avenge ourselves, give place unto wrath, for, you know, the Lord basically had said, vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, I will repay, okay? So the remedy to not feel that way is to pray or sing these vindictive songs because it kind of helps us feel better. It reminds us of the perfect righteousness of God, his perfect justice, that he will one day vindicate us. He will one day, you know, defend us and destroy the enemies of God. That's what they're there for, okay? So I want to preface that because of the fact that, you know, a lot of times people think that, oh, you know, we should only focus on the positive and not on the negative and, you know, we shouldn't sing those psalms and apply those to ourselves today. Folks, we should apply all the Bible, amen? Especially when it comes to this matter of prayer. And praying a cursing or praying an imprecatory prayer is not sinful because if it was, God wouldn't have placed it in the Bible for us to see, read, and obey, all right? Not only that, but the Bible tells us in Ephesians chapter 5 that we need to be singing the psalms. So we need to be singing these imprecatory prayers because they are a continuous reminder to us of God's perfect justice, et cetera. Look at Psalm 69. Now, we understand that David is kind of like an Old Testament picture of Jesus Christ. And one of the reasons we know that is because of the fact that in the Psalms, when he writes specific psalms and songs, you know, they kind of have this element of Jesus Christ within them. It's a prophetic statement of Jesus Christ, okay? And Psalm 69 is one of those examples because, you know, in Psalm 69, look what it says in verse 21. It says, they gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink. This is obviously a prophetic statement regarding Jesus Christ when he's on the cross, okay? But this is David writing this. It says in verse 22, let their table become a snare before them, okay? We see that from Romans 11. And that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. He says in verse 23, let their eyes be darkened that they see not and make their loins continually to shake. Pour out thy indignation upon them and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. Let their habitation be desolate. Let none dwell in their tents. Why? For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten, and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. So this isn't just for any enemy, right? This is obviously for a particular person, and the particular group of people that he's talking about are those who persecuted the anointed one, which is Jesus Christ. You know, it's those who hate the Lord, those who hate Jesus Christ, those who have persecuted him, those who have basically crucified him, they will crucify him in the future. And he says, verse 27, look at this, add iniquity unto their iniquity and let them not come into thy righteousness. Now, here is the whammy right here. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous. Now, let me explain what that means right there, okay? What that means is don't let them get saved. Now, that seems kind of harsh, and it is, it's very harsh. But it's still God's word, he wrote it there. And you know what, if it was an inappropriate thing to say, the Holy Ghost could have just not made David write it. But he put it there for a reason, okay? Now, I don't believe that we should be praying this for just anybody, obviously. This is a small, select group of people that are very evil, obviously, that hate the Lord, etc. You know, we should obviously pray for our enemies, you know, love those who persecute us and curse us, etc. But there's a separate group of people who the Bible would categorize as being the workers of iniquity, who these imprecatory prayers are designated for. And he says there, let them be blotted out of the book of the living, not be written with the righteous. He's basically saying, don't let them be written in the book of life, okay? So we see in verse 23, when he says, let their eyes be darkened that they see not, make their loins continually shake. We see the similarities there between that and Romans 11, right? Go to the next chapter, Psalm 70, very short Psalm here. Look at verse number 1, it says, make haste, O God, to deliver me. Make haste to help me, O Lord. Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul. Let them be turned backward and put to confusion that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, aha, aha. So here's where we can see where the Apostle Paul is getting this phrase, bow down their back always. He's basically getting it from verse 2, let them be turned backward. And then verse 3, let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, aha, aha. And in the New Testament, he renders it as, bow down their back always. Now, what does that mean? Okay, when he says, let them be turned backward or bow down their back always, he's basically saying this, let them stumble. Let them stumble, let them fall, let them stumble at the stumbling block. The thought that David and the Apostle Paul are trying to get across is that if people hate the Lord, they hate the Bible, then let them continue in that hatred. Let them continuously be offended at the Bible, at God. Cuz their hatred for the Lord is simply an indication that God has offended them. You understand? They look at God's laws and his precepts and they find it offensive. They find it repulsive. They find it evil. To them it's wicked. They can't believe that the Bible would say such a thing. It's an offense to them. It's a stumbling block to them, okay? And so what he says basically, so be it then. So be it. Let them be turned back and be put to confusion. And so this is a hard saying, but it's a biblical concept here. And really, when you read passages like this, and we're gonna look at a lot of them this morning, at the end of the day, this is what we see, okay? God isn't interested in making himself palatable to this world. He's not interested in making himself palatable to the lost and dying world out there. He's not looking to make himself attractive to the center of this world. He's expecting this world to conform their palette to him, okay? He's not gonna come down and make himself palatable or conformable to this world and to the ways of this world. He expects people to come up to his level, not for him to come down to theirs. You understand? Now turn with me if you would to 1 Peter chapter number four. 1 Peter chapter four, I'm gonna read to you from Isaiah chapter 55 and verse number seven, it says this. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither your ways my way, sayeth the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. What he's saying here is this, God's ways and man's ways are so polar opposite that God has to tell them, you need to forsake your evil ways, forsake your evil thoughts, and come up to my standard. You understand? But the problem today is this, is that churches and pastors are trying to bring God down to man's level. Trying to make God palatable for man. Call him the man upstairs and refer to him with all these blasphemous titles so that people can just not be offended at God's word. They wanna make church as palatable as possible, not offensive. Don't talk about the hard truths, don't talk about the offensive stuff. We need to make sure that God looks cuddly and nice and just beautiful and just wonderful all around to this world, cuz if not, how are we gonna reach them? Well, that's not what God told us to do, okay? He's not interested in doing that. He's saying, look, my thoughts are not your thoughts. The gap between your thoughts and the thoughts of God are basically like the heavens and the earth, okay? That's what he's saying. The distance of your thoughts from God's thoughts are like the heavens from the earth. And God is saying, you need to bring your way of thinking to my way of thinking, okay? Not the other way around. So what I'm saying this morning is that Jesus Christ, listen to this, is actually a stumbling block to this world. He causes a lot of people to stumble, believe it or not, okay? You're in 1 Peter, I'm gonna read to you from Matthew 26, verse 30. It says, and when they had sung a hymn, they went out into the Mount of Then saith Jesus unto them, all ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. And the reason I read that is because of the fact that sometimes people can look at someone like you or someone like me, and because of our beliefs or because of my manner of preaching or our customs of this church, they'll often say something like this. Hey, you're causing people to stumble talking like that. Hey, this type of belief, that type of preaching, that's causing people to stumble. You're making people stumble, wrong. No, Jesus is the one who makes them stumble. I appreciate the fact that you would want to give me credit for causing people to stumble, but I'm not at the level of my savior. My savior's the one who causes this entire world to stumble. He's a stumbling block to this world. I'm not the one who offends people, it's Jesus who offends them. You know, I know you want to make me out to be just this crazy pastor. And he's saying all these crazy things and having sure to what that church has done and what they say. But here's the thing, this is actually God's church, and it's actually God who does the offending. I'm not causing anybody to stumble. Christians can cause people to stumble if they're involved in sin, okay? We don't cause people to stumble based upon our beliefs. We don't cause people to stumble based upon our practices and our manner of doing ministry, if it's from God's word. The way we cause people to stumble is if we're actually involved in sin, if we become criminals. That'll cause a lost and dying world to stumble, okay? Look at 1 Peter 4 and verse 14, it tells us here, if you be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. Hey, you want to live a happy life? Get persecuted for the cause of Christ, you'll be a happy camper. Why, because it says there, for the spirit of glory and of God rested upon you. On their part, he is evil spoken of, but on your part, he is glorified. So he's basically saying, when people speak evil of you, they persecute you for Christ's sake, you should be happy because that means you have God's power on your life, you have God's favor on your life, God's hand is upon you. And it doesn't mean that you're causing people to stumble, it means actually that you're pleasing God. But hold on a second, look at verse 15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil doer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf. Go to 2 Samuel chapter number 12. He's saying here, 2 Samuel chapter 12. He's saying here, look, if you are reproached, if you're being persecuted for Christ's sake, it means that God's favor is on you, God's blessing you, his hand is upon you, but hold on a second. If you're suffering because you're a criminal, if you're suffering because you murdered someone, if you're suffering because you're just a thief, if you're suffering because you're lazy at your job, if you're suffering because you're not under authority, if you're suffering because of all these other reasons that God tells you do or don't do, then you know what? That's not God's fault. That's your fault. Right. That's not God's fault that you are a murderer or a thief or an evil doer, that's your fault. Right. And at that point, yeah, at that point we become a stumbling block to this world. At that point, we do give the name of Christ a bad name. Not because of what we believe or what we preach or how we do church, it's because of the sins that we commit. Look at 2 Samuel chapter 12, the context here in 2 Samuel is that King David has committed adultery with Uriah's wife Bathsheba. But even aside from that, to cover up for his adultery, he murders Uriah. So he murders Uriah by the hand of Joab by sending him into the hottest part of the battle in order to cover up for his sin of committing adultery with Bathsheba. And he thought he got away with it. He thought he got away with it, but the Bible tells us in chapter 11 that the thing which David did displeased the Lord. So he sends the prophet to come confront David to his face. Look what it says in verse 11. Thus saith the Lord, behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives from before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this son. For thou didst it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. So his sin that he committed of murdering a righteous man and committing adultery with the man's wife was so grievous that God was going to basically chastise him in front of all of Israel. He said everyone's going to hear about this. Look at verse 13. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin, thou shalt not die. So he's basically saying, you know what, because you're repentant, you're not going to die. Because God could have just easily smote David and just taken away his life, right? Because David was repentant, he was sincere, sincere, he was genuine, God forgave him and he did not die. Look what it says in verse 14, Howbeit, because by this deed, thou has given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. The child also that is born into thee shall surely die. So hold on a second. What do we see here? We see that David became a stumbling block to the other nations. He caused the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, not because of what he believed. Notice Nathan's not bringing up the imprecatory prayers. He's not saying, hey, these Psalms here writing, you know, sounds like you're putting your own little spin on those Psalms, buddy, you're a little too harsh there. You know, these imprecatory Psalms that you're putting out and all these songs, you know, your playlist there, a little too harsh there, buddy. You know, God's not really pleased with that. No, what is he saying? He's saying by this deed, the deed of murder and adultery, he's caused or he's given great occasion to the enemies of God to blaspheme. He's causing them to stumble because of their sin. So the point that I'm trying to get across here, go to 1 Peter chapter 2. The point that I'm trying to get across is that the way we cause this world to stumble is when our life does not match up to the Bible. When we live a hypocritical life, hypocritical as in we're involved in sin. We're committing adultery, we're thieves, we are murderers, we're breaking the laws. We're just kind of living an unruly life while at the same time telling people to live a righteous life. And I'm not saying perfection, we understand that, okay? We make mistakes, you know, we fall short, okay? And I'm not saying that anybody in here, myself included, none of us live according to the laws of the land even perfectly, okay? We try to do our best. What I'm saying is when you live in blatant sin and commit these grievous iniquities according to the Bible, you know, we're given great occasion to the people out there to stumble and to blaspheme the name of God. And the point is to see, oh look, look at this pastor. You know, he's over here gambling and sleeping with prostitutes and doing drugs and cocaine and he's doing all kinds of things over there, you know. This is how Christians are, right? And you know what? That's not an exaggerated statement. There's pastors out there that do that. You know, there's pastors out there that actually do things like that and unfortunately it gets out into the public and the public looks and sees it and says, that's why I don't go to church because of people like that. You know what? They're right. Now that shouldn't cause people to stop going to church because not every pastor is like that. There's righteous men out there, but you know, you can understand why people would look at someone like that and say, well, this confirms everything that my mom and dad were telling me, everything that, you know, my friends tell me about church and Christianity is because of people like this. They're causing them to stumble, right? Look at 1 Peter chapter 2. So sins, being a criminal, being a hypocrite, can cause others to stumble, okay? But you know, when it comes to our beliefs, when it comes to our disposition as Christians, our position in doctrine, our church and what we believe, you know, that's not something that we want to dilute. That's not something we want to compromise because of the fact that, you know, if it causes someone to stumble, then so be it because that's actually our responsibility. Now we're not to go out there and purposely make people stumble. We're just supposed to believe the right things, do the right things, and naturally people are going to stumble at that. In fact, look at the Bible says verse four, 2 Peter 2 verse four, to whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious, ye also as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded unto you therefore which believe he is precious, but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made of the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling. So to us, the stone referring to Jesus Christ, to us, man, he's precious. The things that he says in the Bible, they're precious. It's wonderful, it leaves us in awe, right? But to them which be disobedient, they stumble at that. So what does that mean? Well, verse eight, a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the what? The word. Even to them which stumble at the word, what does that mean? The Bible offends them. The preaching of God's word offends them. It causes them to stumble. He says, even to them which stumble at the word being disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed, the Bible says. Go to Matthew chapter number 10, Matthew chapter number 10, Matthew chapter number 10. So what I'm trying to get across here is the fact that, you know, we don't need to make apologies for who Jesus Christ is, and try to justify why he said all these things, and why he's allowing all these so-called atrocities in the Old Testament, and why he's going in and wiping out all types of nations, and why he's doing it, we don't even make excuses for that, we just need to explain it. So why did he do it? Because he's God, he can do whatever he wants, and will not the judge of all the earth do right? That's what the Bible says. So are you going to say that what he did in the Old Testament was wrong? Well yeah, okay, then you're just offended at God, you're just offended at the Bible. No I'm offended at you for reading the Bible. I'm offended at you for the way you preach and the way you scream. Yeah, but here's the thing, the decibels of my voice, I can say, I love you, I love you, I love you! That won't offend you. So it's not necessarily the decibels now, is it? I love you, I'm going to give you a million dollars! You would not be offended at that. So it's not the decibels of my voice, it's the message that comes from God's Word, it's the stumbling block that's causing you to trip over and fall and be offended at God's Word. Okay, look at verse 34, think not that I am come to send peace on earth. This is Jesus speaking by the way, he said, who told you I came to send peace? Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. So these are polar opposite ideas here. Peace which is what the world wants, they want to hold hands all across the world, but the Bible actually says, though hand joined in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished. He says, I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to send a man at variance against his father and the daughter, against her mother, and the daughter-in-law, against her mother-in-law, and I always say this, that's not hard to do. Verse 36, and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. I'm just kidding about that, my wife has a wonderful mother-in-law. Verse 37, or verse 36, a man's foes shall be they of his own household. So he's actually saying here that the sword, he's like, I'm not coming to bring peace, I'm coming to bring a sword because it's going to divide people, right? And the sword that he's referring to is actually God's Word. Because this brings a lot of division. Hey, this has caused a lot of division in your personal life, with your family, even with my family, with the world. This has caused us a lot of trouble actually, now that we think about it. This has actually caused a lot of stress, a lot of division, a lot of problems, you know? Well, because that's what a sword does. It's a weapon used to divide, okay? Now obviously the Bible tells us that we are, you know, we're part of the ministry of reconciliation. So when he says that I came not to bring peace, he is peace obviously, right? And you know, it sounds cheesy, but you know, they'll say, no Jesus, no peace. No Jesus, no peace, right? That is true. Because when you know the Lord, you're at peace with God now, you're no longer an adversary of God or an enemy of God. But not only that, you know, then he gives you the opportunity to know the peace that passeth understanding through Jesus Christ, right? That will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, for he trusteth in thee. So Christians have the greatest peace of all time. And in fact, the Bible tells us, great peace have they which love thy law, and listen to this, and nothing shall offend them. In other words, nothing will make them stumble and fall at the word, okay? Turn with me if you would to Psalm 18. Go to Psalm 18 if you would. So I'm just trying to get across here the fact that, you know, Jesus Christ is a stumbling block to this world. I don't say that in an irreverential way, a sacrilegious way. This is actually a biblical concept. He offends people all the time. It's not us. It's not our church. It's not our beliefs. It's God who offends them, or it is our beliefs. But it's God ultimately who offends this world. Now let me reiterate this point. Point number one is that he will perpetually cause the wicked to stumble. So God is not necessarily interested in winning over the worker of iniquity, believe it or not. The person who is just a blatant atheist, who makes it his agenda to just try to tear down the things of God, God is actually not interested in trying to win that person over or make himself palatable to that person. Now we obviously understand there's people out there who claim to be atheist, but they're not really atheists. It's kind of like a title that they use to be cool or, you know, it's just more of like a trendy thing to say. You know, I'll often knock at a door and say, you know, do you go to church? They'll say, no, I'm an atheist. And then they'll start referring to God, you know, and they're just like, I just don't like church. I'm like, okay, you're more like an agnostic then, right? And they're just like, well, what is that? You know, so they don't really even know the terms. Okay, we're talking about atheists. We're talking about the hardcore atheists that just hate the Lord. Now here's the, here's the funny thing about atheists, okay, atheists just kind of just don't believe in anything, or at least they claim to, right? They don't believe in deity, but yet there's only one God that they seem to attack more than any other God. That's interesting. They always seem to attack the God of the Bible. Why don't they ever go for Allah? Isn't that interesting? You know, because, you know, the Quran has some pretty crazy stuff too, right? It has some pretty gnarly stuff, does it not, right? It has some pretty crazy, crazy stuff. You know, he knows some of what's in there. And so why don't they go after Allah? That's weird. You never hear like atheists really going after these other religions and other deities. You know, why don't the atheists go after like the Greek gods and stuff? Why don't they go after the Roman gods? Why don't they go over after these pagan gods? I'll tell you why, because the God of the Bible is the real God. So when they say that they're an atheist, they're actually referring to the fact it's code for hating the God of the Bible, because they never attack other gods. They never go after, you know, Islam or Hinduism or, you know, all of these other false gods of other religions. They never do that. They always focus in on Jesus Christ. They always focus in on the Old Testament and all his laws where there's laws in other countries from people who believe in false gods who actually put into practice some of the same things that the Bible puts into practice. Death penalty, all these things. But yet they don't seem to go after those people. I wonder why. I'll tell you why, because God is actually the true God of the Bible and they know it. And you know what? God is fine with that. He will perpetually cause those people to stumble, okay? I'll read it again from Psalm 70, here's Psalm 18. He says, let them be turned backward and put to confusion that desire my hurt. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, aha, aha. Look at Psalm 18, verse 24. Therefore hath the Lord recompense me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands and his eyesight. Listen to this. With the merciful, thou will shew thyself merciful. So if you want mercy to be extended to you, here's a great motivation to do so. Be merciful to other people. Be longsuffering towards other individuals. Be kind and gracious and merciful to others, because the result of that is that God will extend his mercy towards you, okay? He says, with the merciful, thou will shew thyself merciful. And the most merciful people in this world will talk about the mercies of God and how merciful God is, because they see it all the time. With the merciful, thou will shew thyself merciful, look what it says. With an upright man, thou will shew thyself upright. So in other words, what David is getting across here is that the character, the specific character that a person may focus on, on the character nature of God, is often the one that's accentuated in their eyes a lot of the times. A lot of people are like, God is just righteous, he's a righteous God. Because that's what they love about God, is the fact that he's righteous and just. And it's most likely because that person is very righteous and just. Other people are like, well, he's just very kind and gracious. It's probably because they're very kind and gracious as well. So they'll often focus on the attribute of God that they might display themselves, is what I'm saying. This is what the word of God is teaching us here. So someone who's merciful, he's going to shew himself merciful to that person. Someone who's upright, he's going to shew himself upright to that individual. Look at verse 26, with the pure, thou will shew thyself pure. You know, a child is pure, right? And they see God, they don't see God as a defiled deity. They have a pure view of the Lord, right? With the pure, thou wilt shew thyself pure, look what it goes on to say. And with the froward, thou wilt shew thyself froward. What does froward mean? Just evil, wicked, perverse, a froward person. So let's read it again. Let's make sure I didn't miss a word here or something like, wait, what? Verse 26, with the pure, thou wilt shew thyself pure, and with the froward, thou wilt shew thyself froward. So that means a person who's a wicked individual, when they view God as being froward, he's like, I'll be froward to you. You won't see my mercy, you won't see my grace, you won't see my purity, you won't see me be upright. I will display myself as a froward God to you because you're a froward. Why would you do that? Why would you show him, Lord? Why don't you show him that you love him? Because he already did. God commended his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And if they stumbled at that, they came to that rock and they were offended at that, and now they see God as a froward God, God says, I'll wear that hat. I'll be like that to you. That's why some of the most evil people in this world, when they talk about God, they kind of talk about him like he's just this evil deity. This God is so evil that sends so many people to hell, and he allows so many wicked things to happen in this world, children to die and all these things, and all these famines and all these sicknesses and deaths. Why would he stop it? Why is he such a powerful God? I mean they speak so blasphemous, in a blasphemous way about him, right? That's because they're froward and he's like, I'll show myself froward to you. He's not looking to basically justify himself before the wicked. He's like, I'll just be froward. So what does that tell us? It tells us that God is okay with them bowing down their back always, continuously allowing them to stumble at the word, okay? So we'll go to Matthew 21, and then we'll go to Matthew, actually go to Matthew 15, and then we'll go to Matthew 21. I'll read to you from Revelation 22, verse 11. It says, He that is unjust, let him be unjust still. He which is filthy, let him be filthy still. And he that is righteous, let him be righteous still. He that is holy, let him be holy still, he says. So he says, whatever disposition you desire to be in, you can remain in that. I'm not going to move you from that. If you want to be a froward, perverse, wicked person, I will allow myself for you to view me as such as well. Just to continuously, because here's one aspect of God that people don't like to talk about. The fact that he often will harden people's hearts. Because they've hardened their own heart. He has no problem just adding layers and layers of a hardened heart to cause people to view him exactly the same way, but even worse, as the days go by. It's a sobering thought, but it's true. Look at Matthew 15, verse 11. So here he's talking to the Pharisees, and obviously his disciples are also present. And the Pharisees were the ones basically responsible for getting them crucified. They hated the Lord, in spite of all the miracles and all the works that he did. Look at verse 11, not that which goeth into the mouth to fileth the man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this to fileth the man. Then came his disciples and said unto him, knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended after they heard this saying? You know, because the Pharisees are like religious people, they're like the religious elites. And they're like, hey man, you know, that pastor was offended at what you said. The Pharisee, the Sadducees, they're offended at what you said. Now notice how Jesus is going to say, oh man, I'm sorry, maybe I should go apologize. Oh man, really? We don't want to do that. We don't want to ruin our influence over the Pharisees. Let's go and apologize to them. No, he didn't say that. Verse 13, but he answered and said, every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Verse 14, let them alone. They be blind leaders of the blind, and if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. Dang. What is he saying? He's saying, look, they're twice dead plucked up by the roots. They're going to be rooted up. That's why they're offended. The reason they're offended is because they were offended at me long ago. They're blind leaders of the blind, and you know what? Let them fall into the ditch, and whoever wants to follow them into that ditch, let them follow them into that ditch as well. I mean, am I mistaken? Am I misinterpreting what it said there? That seems kind of harsh, but this is the Lamb of God, okay? This is a hard statement, but what does it show us? It shows us that he's okay with the wicked of this world, the false teachers of this world, the vile of this world to bow down their back always, and he's not interested in trying to win them over. That's why it's important that we don't debate these people, because some people are like, well, I want to debate them. What for? You're not going to be able to win them over. God is not interested in you trying to win them over. He's actually more interested in causing them to stumble at the word always. Turn with you if we went to John chapter 18. John chapter 18. But you know, he not only causes the wicked of this world to stumble, but he also causes just regular people to stumble. People who are sinners, they're not saved, and they just stumble at the word of God. That's a natural thing to happen, and we can't avoid that. We never want to become a church or type of Christian where we just kind of walk on eggshells everywhere we go, because we don't want people to be offended at what we do. And the same token, we don't want to be people who are just kind of obnoxious either about what we believe. We need to be a balanced Christian where we are humble, and we're gracious to people, but when we're cornered about our beliefs, we're not ashamed about it. We're just going to say what we believe, and if they stumble, then they stumble. You understand? Look at John 18. Now keep in mind what we read in Romans 11 and in Psalm 70, which is that they bow down their back always. They went backwards, and we're going to look at an actual fleshing out of this here in this story. This is where Jesus is arrested, okay? It says in verse number one, when Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Sidron, where was a garden into the which he entered and his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place, for Jesus oftentimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received the band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? This is pretty bold. Who are you looking for? He's not like hiding, he's just like, who are you looking for? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus saith unto them, I am he. Now, I am he is actually a callback to the I am that I am, okay? We see this in other portions of scriptures, obviously the he is added for us in English, but in Hebrew the he is not there, it's just I am, which is a clear indication that he's making himself to be like God because he is God, okay? So he's like, I am that I am, is basically what he's saying, okay? He says, I am he and Judas also which betrayed him stood with him, look at this, as soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground. Now I always wondered why did that happen? I always thought maybe he just put some force, you know, force field or something, you know, he had some telekinesis and he just threw him down, but you know what it is? They're stumbling at the word because they don't believe that he's God. So when he comes over and he says, I am, what do they do? They stumbled at the word. It's like when you talk to people about salvation and you say, Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the father but by me, he said, and they don't like that? They say, well I think there's many ways, what are they doing? They're falling backward, they're stumbling at the word because you're making an absolute statement to say, no there's only one way to heaven, there's one name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved and that name is Jesus Christ. There's only one way to be saved and that's through Jesus alone, okay, and by faith in Christ alone. That's the only way you can get saved, it's not like well the Catholics can get saved this way, the Mormons can get saved this way, and then you have the Muslims can get saved this way, and the Hindus, we all just have to have a really good heart. Wrong, that's not what the Bible says. The Bible says that we have to believe on Jesus Christ for salvation. And so when people disagree with that, when they don't like that, in their hearts, you know what's happening? They're stumbling at the word. They're falling backward. So this is the reason why, I just wanted to show you that because I thought it was pretty cool. Because when I would read that, I was like that's pretty cool that that happened, I just don't know why it's happening, like why are they going backward? But now I know, it's because he said I am, and when he said I am, he's basically telling them I'm God. So he's not just Jesus of Nazareth, he's God. And at that point, that's when they fell backward and stumbled. And these are just regular people, I don't believe the officers are reprobates or anything like that. I mean we have the example of Malchus, and he healed Malchus, in the parallel passage that we see, Peter cuts off his ear, and then Jesus heals him. If he was like some wicked reprobate, Jesus would have just let him bleed or something, he would have not have healed him. But obviously he has mercy upon him, and he heals him. So I think these officers, these people who are coming to arrest them, are just kind of doing their job, it's obviously wrong, but they're kind of doing their job, but we see here that they stumbled at the word. He says in verse 7, then asked them again, whom seek ye? And they said Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he, if therefore you seek me, let these go their way, that the same might be fulfilled which he spake of them, which he spake of them which thou gavest me. Have I lost none? 1 Corinthians chapter 1, 1 Corinthians chapter number 1. Why is this an important point? Well because of the fact that today you're going to run into people at soul winning who don't agree with your message. And they're going to be offended at what you say. And obviously we want to make sure that when we give them the truth, as the Bible says, that we should do with fear and trembling. That's actually a command of God. So don't put yourself in a position where you just become an obnoxious soul winner and you're like, oh man, I'm being persecuted, but you're just obnoxious at the door, you're prideful, you're arrogant, you're yelling at them. We never want to be that kind of soul winner. The Bible says that we should answer with fear and trembling. Why with fear and trembling? Because their soul hangs in the balance, that's why. Let me read to you from Romans chapter number 9, you're in 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Romans 9 verse 30 says, So you're going to go out there, talk to people, and they're not going to agree with your message, they're actually going to stumble at it. Don't be surprised when that happens, because that's definitely the case. Look at 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18. Now why does that happen? Well look at what it says in verse 18. God actually says that the preaching of the cross is powerful to us. Why? Because it's the power to salvation. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It can change someone's eternal destiny, but let's just be realistic here. To the unsaved, it's foolishness. They look at you and you're like, this person's stupid. Wasting their Sunday afternoon, these ladies wearing their long dresses, got all their kids with them, look at this guy over here with his backpack on and church shoes. What foolishness is this? This is foolishness. And they're confusing us with Jehovah's Witnesses, which obviously is foolish. But the preaching of the cross, because they don't believe in the preaching of the cross, they believe in the preaching of the stake. The preaching of the cross is to them which perish, the Bible says, foolishness. They stumble at that. He says, Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolishness, foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. So wisdom has existed for thousands of years and apparently it hasn't done this world any good because it doesn't lead them to the source of wisdom, which is God, Jesus Christ. There is a wisdom in this world that coincides with the Bible, but the wisdom of this world will not bring you to the foot of the cross. It's foolishness with God. You can't know God by the wisdom of this world. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. That means we don't need any gimmicks when we go out there and soul win. We don't need gimmicks and firecrackers and purple lights and invite them to this or that for Goldfish Sunday. I'm not against Goldfish Sunday, but I'm just saying we don't need all these gimmicks. Because why? It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. God, what is the best method to get someone saved? Well, here's the best method. Preach Christ and Him crucified. Open your mouth boldly and make known the mysteries of the gospel. Verse 22, for the Jews require a sign and the Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Go to John chapter six if you would, John chapter number six. So this is just a friendly reminder to not be discouraged when someone rejects you at the door, your family rejects you on your gospel presentation because that's simply a natural byproduct of God's word. That's what the Bible does sometimes. Now you don't want to get in the way of that obviously, you don't want to be obnoxious or prideful or arrogant. You want to make sure that you are presenting the gospel clearly from a heart that loves them, you know, with real faith and real affection and compassion and a desire to actually pull them out of the fire with meekness and fear. But at the end of the day, if they reject you at that point, then they're just stumbling at Jesus Christ. They don't like the fact that Jesus is the only way, okay? Where do I have you turn? John chapter six. By the way, hold your place during John six, go to Romans chapter three real quick. Romans chapter number three. And here's the thing, you know, sometimes people will say, yeah, but the way you guys preach the gospel, the way you guys get people saved, that doesn't work. As if they know, you know, it doesn't work and you're not really getting people saved. Or maybe they could even point to maybe a person who prayed but maybe didn't really get saved or something. You understand? Like sometimes, you know, there's been times I'm sure throughout our ministry and especially in my life where, you know, you preach the gospel to someone, we think they get saved, but they don't really get saved. That's out there. You understand that, right? Well, look what the Bible says in Romans three about that. Verse one, it says, what advantage then hath the Jew or what profit is there of the circumcision, much every way chiefly because that unto them were committed to the oracles of God. Look what it says in verse three, for what if some did not believe, shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? So it's like, so because they didn't get saved, does that mean the faith of God is just doesn't really work? God's ways don't work. No, it's just the fact that they didn't believe. So even if they call upon the name of the Lord or they make a profession of faith, but they're not really saved, it doesn't mean that the way we do it is wrong. It doesn't make the faith of God without effect. What it means is that they believed in vain. Okay. In other words, it doesn't matter what people think of how we do things. If we're doing it the right way, we need to just trust God and do it that way. And we know that God's way is the best way anyways. That's a lot of ways, but you know, whatever. Go back to John chapter six. Here's my last point. So you know, Jesus Christ is a stumbling block to the workers of iniquity. He's a stumbling block to just the regular Joe Schmoe out there in the world at your job and your family, the person you meet at the door. That should not surprise you. But you know what? Let me say this. He's also a stumbling block sometimes to believers. Sometimes believers get offended at what God says, even though they're saved. People who are saved, and we never want to get this attitude where they're saved so they should just accept it. Well, yeah, I mean, in an ideal world, that's true. But this is not an ideal world. This isn't the new heaven and the new earth. We're living in a world where people, Christians, you know, they're a little soft sometimes. And they have a hard time accepting the hard truths, okay? And some of the things that they'll do to excuse the hard truths is say, well, I don't have a problem with the truth. It's just the way he said it or something. Well, I don't have a problem with the truth. It's just the way they do this. No, you have a problem with the truth. Remember, just revisit my point about the decibels. It's not the decibels that matter. It's the truth behind the decibels that's causing you to stumble. And mark it down. Christians can become offended at God's word. That's why it's important that we love God's word no matter what, regardless of who's preaching it. If someone, whether it's an unknown prophet or it's a known prophet, if they're preaching God's word, the word of God should always be esteemed and loved because it's God's word. You know, who cares what mailman brings the mail? I'm interested in the mail. Who in the world would just go off on the mailman because of the message, because of the letter or something? Hey, you're not my regular mailman. My mailman doesn't put the letters in the box like that. No, we care about the content is what we care about. Does anybody here know the name of your mailman? No. Oh, you do. Oh, wow. Texas, of course. Because they only got like one mailman for the entire, no, I'm just kidding. I'm kidding, I'm kidding. We don't care who the mailman is. I mean, except, you know, over here. What do we care about? The contents of the letter. The package is what we care about. And you know what? It would be a foolish thing to look at the package and, you know, you got something from Wish and then you get mad at the mailman for bringing you something that you asked for. It's like this, it's like you come into church and getting mad at me because I preach hard. Well, you came here. You knew what you were getting yourself into. You knew I had a King James Bible. And in fact, in fact, I take it a step further. I even post what I'm about to preach a couple hours before the service so you can take a look at that. Nah, I'm not coming. I give you that option. And in fact, in June, I literally always make the announcement in June. I just want to let you know, if you are squeamish, if you're easily offended, you probably shouldn't come to the service tonight or something because the sermon is going to be extra hot. And if you're just kind of like not into that kind of preaching, don't come tonight. I have no problem with like five people showing up because the rest, now that doesn't happen but I'm just saying, I put that disclaimer out there for you. Because it should be that you don't care. It should be that no matter what's being preached, no matter what topic is being put forth, if it's God's word, it's God's word. It doesn't matter what pastor says it either. Amen? Whether it's me, my friends, it doesn't matter who. If it's Pastor Shelley, if it's me, if it's Pastor Andrews, Pastor Amen. If the word of God is being thundered forth, you should love it. But the reality is this, is that some believers still stumble at the word. Look what the Bible says in John 6.58, Jesus, of course, is expounding eloquently here. He's given good doctrine and he says in verse 58, this is that bread which came down from heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead. He that eateth of this bread shall live forever. These things said he in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum, many therefore of his disciples when they had heard this said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it? So, they hear this like, I don't know about this. This sounds kind of hard. He's calling himself like the bread of life. He's saying that if we eat the bread of life, that like we're going to have eternal life. Verse 61, when Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it. What does murmur mean? Complain. I don't like the way he said that. That's a hard saying. I can't bring people to church if he talks like this. Who can hear it? He said unto them, does this offend you? I love that phrase. So he hears them say, he's like, oh, does this offend you? And here's the thing, Jesus, when something offended someone, he would just like double down on it. He's like, oh, okay, I got more. What? And if ye shall see the son of manna sent up to where he was before, it is the spirit that quickened him. The flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him. Of course, he's referring to Judas. And he said, therefore said I unto you that no man can come up to me except that were given unto him of my father. So he just doubles down on it even more. Look at what verse 66 says. From that time, many of his disciples went back. They turned back. They went backward and walked no more with him. So after he said they're like, oh, we're done, that's all I need to hear. I'm looking for a new church. I'm gonna go somewhere else. I'll take my business elsewhere. I'm gonna go where there's a nicer Jesus. I'm gonna go where the pastor doesn't say those things and actually reads from the Bible. I'm gonna go where they encourage me to do a devotional instead, a little devotional book from Charles Spurgeon. And you know what? Jesus didn't cry about it. He actually was hoping that more would leave because he looked at his disciples and said, will you also go away? He did not care at all. Hilarious. And you know, Peter is like, to whom shall we go? Thou has the words of eternal life. We believe that are assured that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And then he just ignores what he says and just keeps reaching on. He just ignores Peter. Peter just makes this great statement and just, he just like, and just goes on to like talk about Judas, how he's like a devil and stuff. But what do we see? We see the disciples stumbled at the work. So this shows us that even Christians can get offended at the Bible. You say, pastor, what do I do if that's me? Because I get offended sometimes at the Bible. Well again, great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. When it says great peace have they which love thy law, it's referring to the fact that you understand that no matter what's being preached, if it's from the Bible, and if you love the Bible, you'll never be offended at it. Because whosoever believeth in them shall not be ashamed. If we look at the Bible, we know that it's God's word. We know that it's coming from God's word. We're not going to be offended. That's why we encourage you to bring your Bibles to church, open it up, read along with us, you know, nothing that I showed this morning was anti-Bible. It's all from the Word of God. So when you see them, you're like, well, yeah, he's right, I guess, yeah, it's true. I guess I can't get offended because I love God's law. Increase your love for the Bible. Increase your love for the Word of God, for his precepts, his statutes, his laws. Develop a deep love for the Word of God. And it doesn't matter how hard a preacher preaches, if it's coming from God's word, it'll never offend you. And in fact, I will go as far as to say this. You might even develop an appetite for that type of preaching and say, you know what? I like liver now. It's kind of bitter in the beginning, kind of grainy in the beginning, kind of eh in the beginning, but now I'm eating more often, now I actually kind of crave liver. That's how hard preaching is. It's a nutrient-dense spiritual food, if you get the right type of preaching, right? So when you listen to it, you love God's word, you begin to develop an appetite for hard preaching, okay? Go to Hebrews chapter 13, we're done here. By the way, you know, John the Baptist got offended one time. When he was arrested, he sent his disciples to see if Jesus Christ was the man that he's been preaching about, right? And then Jesus, let me read it to you, it says in verse 3 of Matthew 11, and he said unto him, art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Because he's in prison, he's not necessarily being delivered. Jesus answered and said unto them, go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them. And blessed is he whose service shall not be offended in me. He says, go tell him that. And I guarantee you, John the Baptist is like, I get it, I'm not offended. And it's one of those things like a psychological thing where it's just like, you might be offended, but if I tell you it's not good to be offended, you're like, well, I'm not offended anymore then. I'm not offended at that time, because you know you shouldn't be offended. Look at Hebrews chapter 13, and we'll finish with this thought here. Look at verse 22, Paul the apostle here, who I believe to be the writer of the book of Hebrews says, and I beseech you brethren, listen to what it says here, suffer the word of exhortation, for I have written a letter unto you in few words. That's a great statement. Suffer the word of exhortation. What is he saying? Just allow it. Accept it. Embrace it. Suffer the word of exhortation. If the preaching is hard, if the preaching is encouraging, just suffer it. Allow it into your life. Embrace it. Apply it. Love it. Suffer the word of exhortation. What's the sermon today? The sermon is simply this, is that Jesus Christ causes a lot of people to stumble. It's obviously biblical there. But at the end of the day, may you not be the one that it causes to stumble. Allow to perpetually stumble the wicked people of this world. Don't be surprised when regular sinners stumble at the word. But it should never be said of you, it should never be said of me, that it would cause believers, people who love the word of God, who are saved, to cause us to be like, this is a hard saying, who can hear it? And if you're ever at a point where you feel that way, that's a time for you to take inventory of your love for the law of God. Amen? Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word and thank you for the stumbling stone because to us, he's precious. It's the most wonderful thing in this world. And I pray, Lord, that you'd help us, Lord, that when we hear preaching, even when I hear preaching, whether it's from my friends or other godly men preaching God's word, that if it pricks me in my heart, may I just change that which I'm doing. Whatever action it may be, maybe it's a sin in my life, maybe it's a character flaw. I pray that you'd help me, Lord, and help us as a church to suffer the word of exhortation that we may not stumble at the stumbling stone. We love you and we thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Song number 116, He Leadeth Me.