I would like you please to turn with me in your Bibles to the ninth chapter of the book of Romans. Today we are going to take together the second half of chapter 9 in the book of Romans. This is a very important portion that we are going to look into today, because Romans chapter 9 is the chapter that deals with the sovereignty of God. Many times we are kind of puzzled, we don't quite get, we don't quite understand the ways of the Lord. It was the Lord who said to Israel in Isaiah, in the prophet Yeshua, he says, My thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways.

As the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts above your thoughts, and my ways above your ways. God's ways are past finding out. And yet we are responsible to accept the ways of God, because God says it. God said it, and because He is God, and we are men, we are human beings, we need to learn to accept the ways of God. Not only as we preach to the world the gospel, but also as we learn from the Bible of the truths that are sometimes difficult to grasp. And one of those chapters that help us, or at least share with us the sovereignty of God, found in Romans chapter 9.

And remember Romans chapter 9, 10 and 11, those are the three chapters that deal with the sovereignty of God. And specifically, with the sovereignty of God in relation to our nation Israel. The nation of Israel, the Hebrews, the Israelis, the Jews. And Romans 9, 10 and 11 shows us how God's sovereign in relationship to Israel. Historically, chapter 9, presently, chapter 10, and prophetically for the future, chapter 11. We are right now in Romans chapter 9, which speaks to us of God's dealing with His people Israel in a sovereign way in past history. And so, Romans chapter 9, we have covered so far the first 13 verses, and today we are looking into the second half of the chapter from verse 14 to the end.

Let me read those verses, so please follow with me. The questions have been risen. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose I have 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, and whom he will he hardness.

He will say then unto me, why does he yet find fault? For who has resisted his will? Who has resisted God's will? Nay, he said, but O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing that forms say to him that formeth, Why hast thou made me thus? Has not the potter power over the clay of the same lamp to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor? What if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath, fitted themselves to destruction? And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.

Even us, whom he has called, not of the Jewish people only, but also of the Gentiles. As he says also in Hosea, I will call them my people which were not my people, and her beloved which was not beloved. And it shall come to pass in the same place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God. Isaiah also cries concerning Israel. And he said, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant shall be saved. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.

And as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Tsevaot has left us a seed, we had seen or we had been as Sodom, and we have been as Amorah. What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to the righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. Therefore, because they sought it, or why, well for, because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works of the law. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone. As it is written, behold, I lay in Zion, in Zion, a stumbling stone, and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him, shall not be ashamed.

That's concluding the reading of Romans chapter 9, verses 14 to the end, to verse 33. Beloved brothers and sisters, what the apostle Paul does here, by divine inspiration, as he was guided by the Holy Spirit of God, what he does here, he's really asking three questions, that may very well be in the mind of the Romans believers, to whom he wrote this letter. And maybe perhaps it is in your mind, and mine, many times in our lives, we're asking questions. And nothing wrong in asking questions, but we want to get an answer from the Lord, and those answers that God gives us, are answers that we need to learn to accept, even though we don't understand them all.

Now just the preceding verses, in which we just read, and we are talking about the sovereignty of God. God is sovereign, He will do as He pleases, because He is the Creator, we are the creature. He is from above, we are from beneath. He is the upholder of all things. We are being uphold by Him. He is the one who gives breath, life, in whom we live, and move, and have our beings. We are creatures. We are only looking around, we are living here for a season, and then we finish our course here in this world. God, from eternity to eternity, He ever existed. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The God of all creation. This is the God, that the Apostle Paul is presenting right now, before us. And he is saying, you may ask questions. And the question that you may ask, is because what we just have read, or we just told you, Paul is saying to the Romans, Solomon, in the preceding chapter. What did we say in the preceding verses of this chapter? We said this, that God is sovereign. God did not choose Yishmael, who was born to Abraham through Hagar, but he chose Yitzchak, who was born to Abraham through the woman, Sarah, his wife. Both of them were Abraham's children. Ishmael was a child of the maiden servant, and Yitzchak, Isaac was a child of Sarah.

God have not chosen Ishmael, but he have chosen Isaac. People might ask, why did God chosen Isaac? I cannot give you an answer, except that God is sovereign, and he chooses whomsoever he will. Then the Apostle Paul, Shaul is going to the next dilemma, that you and I might have. And he said this, not only that God had chosen one out of the two sons, which came from two different mothers, but one father. But in the next question, or the next statement that he said, not only Saul, but with Rebekah, who is now the wife of Isaac, she had two children, which came out of only one father, and they were both in her womb.

In fact, they were not even born as yet. They didn't do any right thing, or wrong thing. God had chosen the one, and not the other. He had chosen Yaakov, and not Esav. The interesting thing is that, they were not even born as yet. They were twins, from the same mother, the same father, they were both not alive as yet, didn't do anything right or wrong, yet God had chosen the one, and not the other. And you remember, when we have stopped in the verses 12 and 13, He said unto her, "The elder shall serve the younger." As it is written, Jacob have I loved, and Esav, Esa, have I hated.

We can shiver, we can move, we can say what we want, but God's election is being taught in the Bible. Jacob have I loved, Esa have I hated. It doesn't mean that he hated Esa as a person, but he hated the deeds of Esa. He knew where he was going. Now he loved Jacob, doesn't mean that he loved his sins, because Jacob was just the same like Esa, a sinner, but he had chosen him. And the language that we get here, Jacob have I chosen, and Esa I have not chosen. So now the apostle is asking three questions, and he's answering them. And I want you to follow with me as I'm looking into those verses.

First of all, in verses 14 to 18, we see the first question is being asked and answered. Look, he's saying in verse 14, first of all, verse 14a, "What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God?" You know, immediately somebody might say, "Wait a minute. I see something wrong with God. He is not righteous here. He have chosen Jacob, and he didn't choose Esa. He have chosen Isaac, and he haven't chosen Ishmael. Ah, that's not fair. God is unrighteous." Now, Pastor Paul immediately wanted to let us know, in the same verse that he says here in verse 14, he says, "God forbid." In other words, may it never be.

Let it be realized that it is not possible that there is unrighteousness with God. In fact, in an earlier passage that we have read in Romans 3 verse 4, he says, "God forbid, let God be true, and every man a liar." There is no unrighteousness with God, the Apostle Paul is saying. You and I might think that there is unrighteousness. We might even say that there is unrighteousness with God. But beloved brothers and sisters, God is holy, and just, and righteous, and you and I will have to learn, and to accept that we are creatures, and he is the Creator. Everything God does is always righteous, and holy, and pure.

And so the Apostle is continuing now in the next verses, and he shows us now in verse 15, 16, 17, and 18, two things he is answering here. First of all, in verses 15 and 16, he shows us that God has the right to show or to dispense mercy to whomever he will. He has the right to do so. He has the right to give mercy and to show mercy to whomever he will. Notice in these verses, verse 15, he said unto Moses, I will have mercy upon whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that will, nor of him that run, but it is of God that shows mercy.

Now you remember what, he's actually quoting Exodus chapter 33 and verse 19, where in the earlier chapter of Exodus, chapter 32, 31, and so on, Israel our own nation. When Moses went up to the mountain, you know what Aaron people did of old? They came to Aaron and they said, Aaron, we do not know what's happened with this man by the name of Moshe, but we want to have a God, let us make God. So you know what he did? Aaron asked them to bring the earrings and the nose rings, and all the rings that they have had to the hand rings, and they brought it in, and he threw it into the fire, and they shape it, and they made the golden calf.

And you know what they did? The people of God, who just came out of Egypt, the people who were redeemed by the blood of the lamb, they came out and they made this golden calf, and they worshiped that calf, and they said, look Israel, this is the God that brought you out of Egypt. And you know what? God was not happy with it. And God said to Moses, go down Moses, for your people have corrupted themselves. He said to Moses in chapter 32, he says to them, you know, look, you go down, for your people have corrupted themselves. Go, get thee down, verse 7 of Exodus 32. Your people, which you have brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.

And so Moses began to cry to the Lord, cry to the Lord for mercy. Moses, you see, all the people were guilty. All the people have worshipped a golden calf. All the people were responsible to God. And Moses began to cry to God. God lead us to the land. We don't want to go alone. God lead us to the land. And God said to Moses, you know, God is so gracious, you know, everybody there, he should have consumed them in a moment. And he would be 100% correct. Moses said to him, show me your glory. And God said to him, I will make my goodness pass before you.

And I will proclaim the name of the Lord. But he said to him, but I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. You know, this is what I, this is the Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the self-sufficient one, the ever existing one. He says, I'm going to show mercy to whom I want to show mercy. Everybody deserves to be judged, but I'm going to show mercy to those whom I wish to show mercy to. And so Paul is quoting that in verse 15 and 16. And then in verse 16, he says, so then it is not of him that will know of him that run, but of him to whom God has showed mercy.

What he's really saying, I'm going to show mercy to all those people who deserve to be punished by me. And if I want to show mercy to the one and not to the other, I am sovereign. Or anyway, deserve to be punished because of sin. So it's not of him that will. It's not of him that run. It is of him to whom God show mercy to. It's not works. It's not deeds. It's not action. Because we have already seen it in Romans 3. All have sinned in this world and come short of the glory of God. But God shows mercy to whom he wishes to show mercy to.

And then in the next verses, 17 and 18, Paul is showing that God does things according to his purposes and his plan and not according to the human plan. God is sovereign. So the next verses, verse 17 and 18, he says, for the scripture says unto Pharaoh, Even for this cause and the same purpose have I raised you up. That I might show my power in you and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy and whom he will he hardened. Now he's talking about Pharaoh. And it actually takes us back before the time that Israel had built the golden calf.

Now, you know what he did? He's go back to when Israel, the Jewish people, our Hebrews have been in bondage in Egypt. And you remember what happened when Israel, our people of old have been in bondage. They cry to the Lord because they were slaves, Pharaoh's slaves, the taskmaster's slaves. They were crying to God for help to deliver them. So God raised a man by the name of Moses. And Moses was sent to Egypt to tell Pharaoh, let my people go. But you notice what we found out. Could you please turn to Exodus in your Bible for a moment? I want you to see that when God sent Moses to Egypt, God already showed us in Exodus chapter 4, that he was going to raise Pharaoh for his glory and for his purpose.

In Exodus chapter 4, we read this statement there. Interesting. As Moses is being sent to Egypt, it says in Exodus chapter 4 and verse 21, "The Lord said unto Moses, when you go to return unto Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand." And then listen to this, what he says in verse 21b, "But I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go." See, Moses didn't even go to Pharaoh. He didn't even speak to Pharaoh. But God told Moshe, our law giver, "I'm going to harden the heart of Pharaoh." Now you and I might puzzle, and we might say, "Well, God, you're going to harden the heart of Pharaoh?

That he will not let the people go? What is the purpose of that?" Again, I want you to see what Paul is doing in Romans chapter 9. Paul is really teaching us the sovereignty of God. And so actually what happened, we'll learn this a little bit later, that even before God had hardened Pharaoh's heart, Pharaoh's heart was already hardened by himself. Exodus chapter 8 shows us this. Look at this, chapter 8, verse 15, 19, and 32. Verse 15 of Exodus 8, "But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and he hearkened not unto them." Verse 19, "Then the magician said unto Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened." Look at the end, at the last verse of chapter 8, in verse 32, "And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time, also neither would he let the people go." You see, it is interesting, that God who knows man, God had raised a man for his glory, he would harden his heart, but God already know the condition of the heart of this individual.

Pharaoh have already hardened his heart. Pharaoh would not listen to the voice of God. Pharaoh is a picture of all that have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. He is a picture of us all, because we all have hardened our hearts against the Lord. God had to soften it. God had to work in the heart of man. In chapter 9 and 10, and I'm not going to read it, you can see how many times we read that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh as well. But the process was first Pharaoh hardening his heart, then God hardening the heart of Pharaoh. And so we learn, beloved brothers and sisters, from verses 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18, that Paul, he answered this question, and he shows us in these verses that God is sovereign, and God does as he will.

And no one's will is actually going to come to pass except God himself. And that is the sovereignty of God. But now Paul is asking a second question. And notice now the second question is found in verse 19. And from verse 19 all the way to verse 29, we see that not only God is righteous, but God, we see his justice. We see that he's just. And so in those verses, Paul now raising the second question. And so somebody will say, you will say unto me, verse 19, why then does yet he find fault? In other words, if God is the one who is sovereign, and he elect whomsoever he will, and at times he has hardened people's heart that they will not let the people go, that they will not come to him, well, why then he's finding fault in man?

And then he said, because who has resisted the will of God? Because nobody can resist the will of God. Well, why then God find fault when one's heart has been hardened and he doesn't come to him? And this is not easy, brothers and sisters. You and I, I'm telling you, like I said in the beginning, you and I do not understand everything. We have to admit and to confess that sometimes we do not grasp the things of God because they are so high. They are so above our thoughts. Nevertheless, it is always better to fall on our knees before the Lord and tell him, God, I don't understand, but I need you to help me to grasp it.

And even if I don't understand it, help me to accept it. And here's the answer that our pastor Paul is giving us to this question. And so Paul, actually, he does not answer the question itself. But you know what he does? He answered to the one, to the people who might suggest this question. In other words, instead of answering the question itself, why does he find fault? He's going directly to the person who might say that. And he's speaking to him. And he's speaking to you. And he's speaking to me. And I want you to notice how he answered this. First of all, he's telling us that men are really not lost because they are hardened, but men are hardened because they are already lost.

In other words, when somebody is lost, we cannot say that he's lost because God hardened his heart or her heart. But this man or woman is lost because they are already lost because of the nature that we all have. See, you and I have a sin nature. Doesn't matter what you say, but we have been born with a nature that is sinful. We do wrong not because somebody make us to do wrong, but we do wrong because we have a nature that is sinful. We were born to our parents and our parents were born to their parents and their parents were born to their parents.

And it takes us all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. All of us have inherited a sinful nature. So the Apostle Paul is answering to the person who might question this. And look what he's telling him. First of all, he's telling him in verse 20 and 21. He gives us an illustration of the potter and the clay. And he goes actually back to the prophet Yirmiyahu, Jeremiah. And there notice I'm reading the verses in verse 20. He's saying first to him in verse 20, he says, Nay, O man, who are you that reply against God? Shall the thing that is formed say to him that form it?

Why you have made me this way? Has not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one a vessel unto honor and another vessel unto dishonor? You see, he's looking at men. He's looking directly at the person who might question God. And he's saying to him, Who are you? Who are you that talks and replies to God? Are you able to speak against God? Who are you? You remember, I was thinking this morning when I was preparing for the ministry of the word of the man by the name of Iov, of Job. When Job was a righteous man, godly man. And Satan came before God and he said to him, You take care of Job because, you know, you protect him.

That's why he lived a godly life. Because you put a fence around him. That's why he's a godly man. Otherwise, you take the fence away and you will see he will curse you. Well, God allowed Satan to work in the life of Job. And you know the story in chapter 1 and chapter 2, how Job lost everything he had. Satan took away his children. He caused them to die. He took away his possession. He destroyed all what Job had. All the wealth, all the cattle and the sheep and the flock and everything he had, he destroyed. He took him away from him. Then, thirdly, what he did, he put boils of him and he caused him to be sick.

To have boils from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes. And can you imagine, beloved brothers and sisters, what kind of a man Job had been when they took away his children, away his power, away his position, away his health, everything that his wife said to Job, Job, he says, Curse God and die. And you know what Job said to her? Shall we take from God the good and not the evil? Shall we take from God what's good for us and what we like and not that which is the bad thing that we don't like? We only like to take from God what's good, but we don't like to take from God what's bad.

And then she said to him, you curse God and die. But Job did not curse God. Job was a man that even though he questioned, he at the end, if you remember, he had three friends, miserable friends, that came to him and every one of them accused him as if the reason that he lost everything is because there was sin in his life. And Job asking question and he was in a dilemma. And at the end of the book of Job, I just want to read a couple of verses there. At the end in Job chapter 38, at the end, God takes Job and he began to talk to Job and showed him who is really in charge here.

And he said to Job 38 and verse one, then the Lord answered Job and he said, yeah, out of the whirlwind. And he said, who is this, the darkness counseled by words without knowledge? Give up now thy loins like a man, for I will demand of thee and answer you me. In other words, God is saying to Job, Job, I'm going to ask you some question. I want you to give me an answer. And look what he tell him in verse four. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare if you have understanding. Who has laid the measures thereof, if you know?

Or who has stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the cornerstone thereof? You see, God is asking Job and he said to Job, Job, where were you when I created everything? Where were you? See, Paul does the very same thing when he's talking to the man who will talk against God and said, God is not just. God is not righteous. When God has chosen the one and haven't chosen the other. Somebody might say, no, there is unrighteousness with God. You are not righteous. And Paul is saying in these verses, oh man, who are you that replying against God?

You see, when you think about it in that way, we are human. What do we know? What do we know? We were created by God. He is the creator. Even if we have a lot of logic and a lot of wisdom, the best of our wisdom and logic failed so many times. Even the best of us still have a sin nature and unrighteousness in our nature, in our life. God is just. God is sovereign. God can do as he pleases and no one can stop him from doing it, even if we don't understand why he does what he does. So I'm back in Romans 9 and the apostle in verse 19 and 20 and 21.

He is giving us the illustration of the potter and the clay. She has not the potter power over the clay. Of the same lump to make one vessel to honor and another lump to make another. You know, the clay is just the mud that come out of the ground. The potter take that mud, bring it into the shop. He put the mud on the wheel and he began to shape something. He makes a vessel. He makes a cup and a plate and a saucer. Whatever he makes, he makes as he pleases. And oh boy, something happened and oh, something is marred. He can take it and throw it away or take it and make another vessel.

That's the potter. It's a picture of God who is the potter. And the clay is a picture of us, the human race that God can do as he pleases with us. Now you might say that's not a good comparison because the clay has no life in it. The clay is a dead material. It's ground and there is no life. How can you make a proper comparison? But we are human beings. We have feeling, you see. We have emotions. We have a spirit, soul and body. We are human beings. But you know, brothers and sisters, it had been said that you and I do the very same thing.

And we don't realize that. You know, we are going to go to lunch or to supper tonight and we are going to have a meal. You might have chicken. The other one might have beef. The third one might have lamb or whatever. But none of us asked a question about the animals that just got killed by somebody who has a farm of cows or chicken farm. And he chose to take this chicken and not the other chicken. He chose to take that cow and not the other cow or that lamb and not the other lamb. You and I don't ask this question. We enjoy the meal.

We enjoy to feed on a good, nice meal. But we don't ask the question, how can this farmer do that? Take this chicken and not this chicken. How can he do such a thing? Let me give you another illustration that somebody had mentioned as well. What about you ladies who have kitchens at home and you are preparing meal for your husbands and your children. And all of a sudden a fly passes by. What do you do with that fly? Oh, you take the fly and you kill it. And you don't ask the question, why did I kill the fly? Oh, the fly doesn't ask you.

Oh, don't touch me. Don't touch me. You know, we do the very same thing as sovereigns in our realm, in our area. And God, who is in charge over all the universe, can do as he pleases over the creation that belongs to him. That's what Paul is saying here. We are the clay. He is the potter. The clay does not say to the potter, wait a minute, don't make me this type of shape. I want another type of shape. Don't make me. Don't make me this way. The clay does not say it to the potter. The potter does as he pleases. And so verse 20 and 21, Paul gives that illustration from the potter and the clay.

Now notice in verse 22 and 23, he gives an application to this illustration. If that's the illustration of the potter and the clay, look at the application in verse 22. What if God is willing to show wrath and to make his power known, enduring with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath which have fitted themselves to destruction? And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had before prepared unto glory. You know, what if God want to do that? What if God want to show wrath or to show mercy on one or the other? And you notice it says in verse 22, look how gracious is God.

It says in verse 22, what if God willing to show his wrath to make his power known? And notice, enduring with longsuffering. You know, God have longsuffering with man, longsuffering with the human race, longsuffering towards you and towards me. He had been waiting and waiting. You know, how long is longsuffering? God is so merciful and gracious and waiting for people to turn to him, to come to him. In verse 22 at the end it says, in the King James it says, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. But the word fitted, it's not that God fitted them to destruction, but they were fitted by themselves to destruction.

You know, we are fitted by ourselves to destruction by nature. When we were born into this world, we have inherited a sin nature which says to God, no, I don't want you in my life. That's the human nature. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No one seeks after God, not even you, not even me, by nature. That's what the Bible does teach us. And then in contrast to these that fit themselves unto destruction in verse 23. And what if God is willing that he may make known his riches and his glory unto the vessels of mercy, which he before prepared unto glory.

You see, God prepared us unto glory and he showed us his mercy in time here in this world. When we have all gone astray, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have all turned each one to his own way. And God has shown mercy in opening our eyes and is giving Yeshua the Messiah to die for our sins. Now notice, unbelievers fit themselves unto destruction and believers have been fitted by God unto glory. Now here's the next verse, verse 24. Paul shows that this principle does not only apply to the Jewish people, but it's also applied to the Gentiles. And you see, notice what it says here in this verse.

It says here in verse 24, it says, "Even us whom he has called not only of the Jewish people, but also of the Gentiles." You know, here we are a mixed group here. Some of us are Jewish. Some of us are not Jewish. Some of us are coming from Israel and the Jewish community around the world. And some of us come from the Gentile world, from the nations, from all kinds of countries in this world. God showed his mercy to Gentiles and Jewish, some of all the Gentile world, and some of all the Jewish world. And he brought us to himself. And he called us, as it says in verse 24, not only from among the Jewish people, but also from among the nations of the world.

And praise God, brothers and sisters, for his mercy towards us. Now in verse 25 to 29, Paul gives us the conclusion to this. And how beautiful it is in those verses. Notice what he says. And again, the theme here is Israel's past history and Israel not accepting the Messiah. And he takes us back to history to show us how God is working. Even from among Israel, there is a remnant always. There are those who are believers in a remnant. And look at this. He says now in verse 25 to verse 29. As he says also in Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved, which were not beloved.

And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God. You see Hosea prophetically already said there will be a time when God will call the people who were not his people. He will call them his people. And then later on, he will restore the people of Israel who for a season were called not my people, lo ami. He is going to call them back and he will call them ami, my people. Then he continues. And he is speaking now in the next verse. He is speaking about Isaiah in verse 27.

Isaiah also he cried concerning Israel. And he said though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea. There will be many Hebrews, Israelis. But then he said they will be as the sand of the sea. But only a remnant will be saved. Meaning that only a few of the whole nation of Israel. A few, that means a remnant. There will be Jewish people who will be believers in Yeshua the Messiah. Only a remnant have been in every generation saved. Even though the totality of the nation had the name Israel. But a remnant shall be saved. And I continue. In 28 it says here.

For he will finish the work. And he will cut it short in righteousness. Because the short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And Isaiah had said. Except the Lord of Tsevaot have left us a seed. We have all been as Sodom. And we have all been as Gamora. As Amora. In other words. Except the Lord of Tsevaot will be leaving a seed. We all have been destroyed. Israel. The totality of Israel would have been destroyed. But it is the grace of God that preserves the nation of Israel. And so beloved brothers and sisters. He answered the question 1 in verse 14 to 18. He answered the question 2 in verse 19.

All the way to verse 29. And now quickly. He answering to the third question. That is coming now in verse 30. And this question is. So then. Did Israel fail? Did Israel fail? In other words. If Israel did not accept the Messiah Yeshua at his first coming. So Israel failed. Then God promises to Israel had failed. That is the third question that somebody might ask. Look at verse 30. What shall we say then? See what he is saying here? He is asking the third question. In other words. All the promises that God gave to Israel. It does not seem to come to pass. Because Israel did not believe in the Messiah.

What is going to happen? So the Apostle Paul answering this question. And he shows us the grace of God now. And I want you just quickly to follow me. There is a paradox about Israel and the Gentile world. There is a real paradox. In verse 30 and 31. Look. It says in verse 30b. So what shall we say then? The Gentiles which follow not after righteousness. Have attained righteousness. Even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel which follow after the law of righteousness. Has not attained to it at all. You see what he shows us. That how is it possible? God gave the law to Israel.

Israel sought to be redeemed on the basis of the law. But they didn't receive righteousness. The non-Hebos, non-Jews, the Gentiles. Who did not follow after the law of righteousness. They have become saved. So it seems to be like there is a dilemma here. And Paul is showing this to us. That it was righteousness that based upon belief and faith in God's provision. And not seeking to gain salvation on the basis of law keeping. And this is our problem today by the way brothers and sisters. You ask our own family. You ask our own people. And they will tell you. Oh we go by the Torah Moshe.

It's the law of Moses. But who ever have attained to totally obey the law of Moses? No one. No one. That's why the law was given to drive Israel to the Messiah Yeshua. Who would come and deal with the question of sin once and for all. So they sought to receive righteousness on the basis of the law. They didn't receive it. The Gentile world simply received righteousness by believing in Yeshua the Messiah. They have received it. And so there is like a dilemma here that we have. It's a paradox. Israel and the Gentile world. The Gentile attain righteousness. Israel did not attain righteousness. Even though they sought it.

And they long for that. But they long for it on the basis of law. Rather than on the basis of faith and grace. And he concludes here in verses 32 and 33. And he explained to us the paradox. And what is the cause that Israel as a nation still unbelief. And so he tells us in the last verses of Romans chapter 9. He says, why did it happen? Because they, verse 32, this is Israel. They sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at the stumbling stone. Do you know, brothers and sisters, that the stumbling stone, that stone that we are talking about, is Yeshua the Messiah, the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

Israel, our own people, the Jewish people, stumble at him. They look at him. They hear about him. They read about him. They have heard in the Gospel preaching about Yeshua from Nazareth. And they again and again stumbling over him because they didn't accept him as a nation. And they didn't, or the vast majority of our people did not accept him as an individuals. They did not accept Yeshua, the Messiah, into their own heart. And they stumbled. Don't you notice this when you share with a Jewish person about Jesus, about Yeshua? They often time, they say, this person is for you. We are Jewish people. He is not for us.

We are Jews. We have Moses. We have the law. We have the promises of God. But Jesus is not for the Jews. Well, they stumbled at the stumbling stone. My mother stumbling over them. My father stumbling. My sister. My brother. My own family are stumbling at the stumbling stone. Even today, beloved brothers and sisters. So they stumble at the stumbling stone as it is written. And he's quoting to us the prophet Isaiah chapter 28. Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense. And whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed or shall not be confounded. And that's what happened. He laid in Zion a stumbling stone.

When Yeshua came to the land, to our people Israel. When he came, when he was born in Bethlehem. Raised in Nazareth. Served in Galilee. Ministered in Yerushalayim. The vast majority of our leaders stumble over the person of Yeshua. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Can anything good would come out of Galilee of the north? And they stumble over him. And they have not accepted him. They rejected him. They rejected him. They stumbled. And from generation from that time on all over until the present day in which you and I live in. Our own people still blinded over the person of Yeshua the Messiah.

Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense. Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Shall not be ashamed. And you know early Christians were all Jewish. We call them in Hebrew. Meshichiyim. When they have trusted in Yeshua. They have been rejected by their own brethren. And can you imagine? When they realized their eyes were opened and to see. Wait a minute. This is the promised Mashiach. This is the promised Messiah that Isaiah was speaking about. That Jeremiah was speaking about. That Ezekiel. And that all the prophets of old have been speaking concerning a coming one. He is the one.

We believe on him. They have been rejected by their own people. They have been despised by their own people. And they ended up to preach the gospel to the world all around. Beginning with Asia and then further up to the whole world. And you and I today have benefited from those early Hebrew believers. Who did not stumble over the stumbling stone and the rock that we are speaking about. That one rock. The Lord Yeshua the Messiah. They trusted in him. Because they realized that he is the answer for their sins. They realized that he was sent by God. To come to this world. To deal with the question of sin.

And he is the rock. He is the rock that they could stand upon. Those were the early Hebrew believers. But the rest of the nation of Israel. The rest of our own people. They have stumbled over that stumbling stone. And they have rejected the Messiahship of Yeshua. I just want to close here with the verse that we have in the prophet Isaiah. That he is quoting to us here in chapter 9 and verse 33. You notice it says here in Isaiah chapter 28. It says this. And I am reading verse 16. Therefore thus says the Lord God. Behold I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone. A tried stone.

A precious cornerstone. A sure foundation. He that believeth on him shall not make haste. You know the prophet building upon the beauty and the preciousness of this stone. He first called him a stone. Number one. Second he called him a tried and tested stone. Thirdly he called him a precious cornerstone. And finally he said a sure foundation. You and I have this one that is a stone. He is a tried stone. He is a precious cornerstone. He is a sure foundation. Beloved brothers and sisters. And whosoever believeth on him shall not make haste. In other words shall not be confounded. You and I are privileged to know him.

And it's all because of the sovereignty of God. He is sovereign. He choose whosoever he will. He walks in our hearts and bring us to him. And he put us upon foundation. This tumbling stone to many. To us he became a sure stone. A foundation stone. That we can stand. A rock. A solid rock. And so Romans 9 look at God's dealing with Israel historically. And how Israel did not come to believe as a nation. And yet there was always a remnant that came to faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And there are members of Israel who came to faith today in Yeshua the Messiah.

In next ministry meeting on that chapter. On that subject. We are going to look into chapter 10. And then he will develop the condition of Israel today. Not only past. But also in this present day in which you and I live. And he will show us Israel's problem in this present day today. He will develop this in chapter 10. So I am going to stop with chapter 9 right now. I trust that you have been clear to you. And the theme here in Romans 9 is the sovereignty of God.