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  PASSION FOR THE LOST OR A LOST PASSION
  by Terry Woodcock
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Summary: This sermon emphasizes the deep concern and love Paul had for
his countrymen, the Israelites, expressing a willingness to even be
accursed for their salvation. It highlights the importance of embracing
God's promises by faith and the inadequacy of passion for the lost in
our lives, urging a deeper commitment to sharing the gospel with love
and compassion.

Duration: 1:08:04 Topics: "Compassion for the Lost", "Embracing God's Promises"
Scripture References: Deuteronomy 7:6, Jeremiah 31:3, Romans 1:16, Ephesians 2:14, Exodus 32:32, Matthew 24:30, Romans 4:3, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Luke 2:9

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon emphasizes the deep concern and love Paul had for his
countrymen, the Israelites, expressing a willingness to even be accursed
for their salvation. It highlights the importance of embracing God's
promises by faith and the inadequacy of passion for the lost in our
lives, urging a deeper commitment to sharing the gospel with love and
compassion.

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CONTENT
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Would you teach us lessons from this passage this morning that would
just literally change our hearts? That we could walk out of here seeing
something of your heart and begin to see your heart formed in us through
Christ. Father, we we pray for a lot of our folk that are hurting. I
can't remember them all here this morning but Lord I want to pray for
Allison Keys and her family and thank you that Lord from what we
understand she's had successful surgery but still in a lot of pain, a
lot of time for recovery.

So we just commit her and her mom and Darla as they're there in Toronto
with her and pray God that she'd sent your presence in peace today.
Father, I pray for Anna Morehouse who we've heard her cancer has
returned. It's got to be discouraging but God you're still on the
throne.

I pray she too would sense your presence. You give her peace as she
faces this and her family. We pray for Robert, her husband.

Lord, he's had some health problems as well. Lord, the family just needs
your encouragement today and I pray that Lord you just as they turn to
your word might find a passage that just speaks to their heart and meets
that need today. We think of our brother Gordon in the hospital.

Father, we pray that you would help him to be able to recover from these
things that have attacked his body and Lord you'd raise him up and
return him here but this morning we just pray that he would sense your
presence as well that you continue to know your power to be able to
witness faithfully for the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, I want to pray for
those who have lost loved ones and Marla's been mentioned here today and
her family. We do lift them towards you.

We pray for Jeff's wife. Lord, they need your strength. They need your
courage and they need your hope.

We pray that it be very real in their lives even today. Lord, as we come
to this portion of scripture, as we return to the book of Romans this
morning, open our eyes to its truth. I pray and Lord, I am not
sufficient and I sense that really this morning.

Would you overcome my weakness and speak through me? These who have
gathered in this place have come because they want to hear from you.
They want to hear you and I pray they'd be able to do that today in
Christ's name. Amen.

Just a couple of quick announcements. I think a notice was sent out to
those on the missions committee. I haven't heard back from you but if
possible, we'd like to have a meeting tonight at six o'clock here at the
church.

So, if you could just let me know if you're able to be here, we'd be
thankful for that and then in relation to the baby dedication service, I
talked with one family in relation to that. I'm thinking about January
the 28th for the baby dedication service here in the Sunday morning
service. If that works for you and you're interested in that, please get
in touch with me today before you leave or sometime this week.

I certainly appreciate that as well as we try to plan that out. Some of
you are sitting here this morning. You're thinking, why in the world are
we jumping into the middle of a book? Well, that's because a little
while ago, we were doing a series on the book of Romans and a few people
about halfway through said, you know, it'd be nice to have a little bit
of a break from Romans.

We covered chapters one through eight and I said at that time, we're
coming back to Romans. We'll finish the book. I'm a little embarrassed
to say that when we finished up chapter eight was in 2020 and we've been
through Hebrews and first Thessalonians and second Thessalonians and the
gospel of Mark in that remaining time and I think it was profitable for
us.

I just felt God kept leading us to that but I really feel we need to
come back to Romans and and finish up this book. So, that's where we are
this morning. I can't review for you everything that was in Romans
chapter one through eight.

You know, if you've read the book in the first few chapters, it talks
about salvation, the lostness of man and their need for salvation and
the provision of that salvation through Jesus Christ. Then, it moves to
sanctification, how that we are to live sanctified lives before god and
even gets to the place in Romans eight where it talks about our future
glorification with the lord and that's where sort of we left it off and
you get these three chapters nine through eleven which is the second
section of the book of Romans that some say well it's just a parenthesis
and and what Paul really should have done is skip right to chapter
twelve when he gets into the practical things about the Christian life
and how do you live as a sanctified Christian in the world what does God
expect from you and I think Paul didn't skip to that because the
scriptures are given by the breath of god breathed out by the spirit of
god and so there's truths here I'm not going to to try to smooth this
over but there are difficult truths to understand and comprehend in
Romans 9 through 11 but we will work our way through that lord willing
and discover what truth God has for us in these portions of scripture
excuse me Ray Steadman in his book on commentary on Romans tells a story
of a church that he knew of and knew some of the people there and they
had dismissed their pastor and he was talking with one of the leaders in
that church and said well why did you you know you dismissed your pastor
and and I hear that you've hired a new one and he said yeah that's true
and and he said well what what was wrong with the old preacher he said
well he kept telling us that you're going to hell he says well what does
your new preacher say he keeps saying we're going to hell he said well
what's the difference he said well the first ones when he said you're
going to hell he seemed like he was glad about it but he said the new
preacher says it and it sounds like his heart's broken by it and I gotta
tell you that's something that God taught me back when I was in cross
creek 40 plus years ago I grew up in a church where you know it was bang
and thump and boom and hellfire and brimstone and when I entered into
ministry I thought that's the way I ought to be preaching fire and
brimstone and then God just got a hold of my heart and broke my heart
and I learned that you should never preach on hell unless you've got a
tear in your eye and that's what I see in the apostle Paul here
especially in these first five verses of Romans chapter 9 he's preaching
of a broken heart he's been sharing salvation and he says in the key
verse of Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 for I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone
not just the Jews not just the Gentiles but everyone who believes the
power of God of salvation to everyone who believes for the Jew first and
also for the Greek or the Gentiles that's Romans 1 16. Paul we know from
studying the scriptures and action elsewhere had been appointed as God's
apostle to the Gentiles Peter was sort of the apostle to the Jews but he
was God's appointed apostle to the Gentiles but what he wants us to
understand here and he wants his Jewish brethren to understand because
Paul's a Jew that he still has a deep deep concern for their salvation a
longing for the nation of Israel to turn from their unbelief to Jesus
Christ and be saved you have to understand that the Jews looked at Paul
as an enemy he'd grown up as he says in Philippians a Hebrew of the
Hebrews he was of the tribe of Benjamin he had been circumcised on the
eighth day he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees if you can imagine that
and then he got converted to Christ in Acts chapter 9 on the Damascus
turnpike traveling to Damascus to persecute the Christians he hated
Christians he hated Christ and he met Christ and became a believer in
Christ and a proclaimer of the gospel and the Jewish nation didn't
accept that at all they hated Paul for doing that they saw him as an
enemy what Paul's concerned with he wants them to know he doesn't see
them as the enemy now that impressed me you know you're in a church
you're a pastor and you get attacked by this person attacked by that
person it's awfully hard to keep what loving those people but Paul
teaches us something tremendously important here that even your enemies
what are you supposed to do according to love your enemies you got to
keep loving those people and praying for those people and so God I thank
him over the years has enabled me to do that some people will say to me
why are you still here how did you deal with all that for that very
reason God called me here to be your pastor he called me here to love
you as God's people and I believe he's called me here to share God's
truth to you and do so again this morning and Paul begins by saying to
them when I preach this gospel from one chapters one through eight I
want you to know it was to the Jew first that God came and God brought
this message and God sent Christ and that will come out as we go on in
this passage some people are wondering how does the present God's
present rejection of the Jews that they've been set aside the Bible says
how does that reconcile with all the promises that God made in the Old
Testament to Israel one preacher preached a message has God's Word
failed in Romans 9 through 11 Paul is writing to the Jews to tell them
God's Word has not failed it cannot fail it never will fail because this
God and he does what he sovereignly chooses to do and he will regather
Israel he will bring them to see Christ they will look on him Zechariah
says the one whom they pierced on the cross and they will embrace him as
their Savior and their Lord but Paul is going to go to some pains here
to tell Israel look I understand my mind's never changed on this that
you are God's special people he has a special plan for you he has a
special program for the nation of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy
chapter 4 and verse 32 it says this for us now concerning the days which
are past which were before you since the day God created man on the
earth and ask from one end of heaven to the other whether any great
thing like this has happened or anything like it has been heard did any
people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire
as you have heard and lived or did God ever try to go and take for
himself a nation from the midst of another nation by trials by signs by
wonders by war by a mighty hand by an outstretched arm by great terrors
according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your
eyes Paul was telling us and we need to reaffirm it the Jewish people
Israelites are still God's chosen people they are important to God there
is no place in Christianity for anti-Semitism we ought to pray for the
peace of Jerusalem the only peace that they're really going to enjoy is
what peace in Christ real peace spiritual peace life-giving peace they
need Christ God tells us in his word he did something unique with Israel
they were his had a special place in God's heart they are rightly called
his chosen people out of all the nations of the world God chose one
nation whether you like it or not it was Israel for his purposes for his
plan William Meyer Newell one of the great writers on New Testament
theology writes I say that for God to do all this like we've read in the
verses I've shared with you and then to say publicly that he is setting
aside this nation and then to tell Paul to go to all the other nations
of the world without with to create a new thing called a church that's
what he's talking about here without the distinction of Jew or Gentile
preaching the gospel apart from the law by simple faith lost people can
be saved he said you you and I will have trouble trying to embrace how
hard a thing was for an Israelite to comprehend with all the privileges
and advantages that they had enjoyed and God coming to them first to
hear Paul and other preachers like him proclaiming that salvation is by
faith through grace alone plus nothing to hear that the law has nothing
to do with your salvation other than to tell you and show you you're
lost you're saved you're a sinner you have broken God's law that's why
you're in need of a savior and that savior is Jesus these people have
grown up in Jewish homes their minds have been saturated with the Jewish
truth they've been steeped in the law all of their lives keep the law
keep the law keep the law meticulously they've been told that their
ancestors of those that they have made them God's chosen people isn't
that enough we've got our rituals we've got our law we've got all of
this isn't that enough I can remember in the church that I grew up in
basically being told you don't need to be born again like those Baptists
are talking about you believe in God don't you my heart would say yes I
believe in God I've been taught God in Sunday school and my home and
elsewhere don't worry about that born-again stuff that's a little bit of
what just a little bit of what what being a Jew in Paul's day was like
they hated Paul and they would have immediately assumed Paul what they
would assume Paul hated them it must have been a shock to hear Paul says
I love you my brethren I have a deep concern for your lives for your
heart and so Paul inserts here into the book of Romans in chapters 9
through 11 this message to Israel God still has a plan that he's working
out for Israel he is not through with the Jew wants Israel to be saved
and they will be people and but anyway what has God done Paul is
answering to make a place for the Jew well even today within the church
there's a place for the Jew because it's for what it's for the Jew first
and for the Gentiles it's both I love what he says in Ephesians chapter
2 if I could just flip there for a moment in verse 14 he says this for
he himself talking about Christ he himself is our peace has made both
one and has broken down the middle wall of separation having abolished
in his flesh the enmity did you catch that there he's broken down the
middle wall of partition and made both what both one Jew and Gentiles
when they believe in become part of his church that's what he's talking
about here having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of
commandments contained in ordinances so as to create in himself one new
man from the two thus making peace and that he might reconcile them both
to God in one body through the cross thereby putting to death the enmity
the hatred that existed between them he came and preached peace to you
who are far off that is the Gentiles and to those of you who are near
the Jews would have considered themselves to be those that were near so
that's just giving us some idea of what's going on here if we skip back
and forth between old and new testament truth and we're going to see
that worked out we won't see a lot of it this morning we're going to
look kind of at some other things here that I think are tremendously
important Paul even in the book of Philippians we talked about he looks
at his heritage and you know being a an Israelite and of the tribe of
Benjamin and the Hebrew the Hebrews and all of these things he didn't
look at them as something bad he had pride in his nation but he does say
he came to the place where he saw that he had to account all of those
things all the privileges all the advantages of no use to him for what
he really needed was what was Christ he needed Christ what things were
gained to me he says I had to count them all as nothing that I might
come to Christ what because if you're trusting in your ritual you're
trusting in your law keeping you're trusting in this you're trusting in
your heritage you will die and go to hell because salvation is by
putting your faith in what Jesus Christ did on the cross alone for your
salvation and Paul's burden is that his people for all of their
privileges were somehow going to miss out it's almost unbelievable on
all the things that God had made available to them in Christ because of
their ignorance and their unbelief do they believe in the Messiah do the
Jews today believe in the Messiah yep they just don't believe he's come
yet they're still looking for the Messiah to come to arrive on the scene
but Paul on the Damascus turnpike had met Christ he had found Christ he
now knows he has come already and he's pleading with his people to put
their faith in Jesus Christ and him alone and he is brokenhearted for
his countrymen let me ask you a question this morning do you know Christ
how many of you here know Christ as your savior are you brokenhearted
for your countrymen this morning are you brokenhearted for our fellow
citizens of the city of Fredericton of the province of New Brunswick of
Atlantic Canada of the nation of Canada are we concerned for our
brethren when was the last time you shed a tear for them when was the
last time you spent urgent prayer praying that they would come to Christ
we're going to learn something from the apostle Paul this morning out of
the heart of this man Paul who has the heart of Christ that's why he has
the heart for these people because he has Christ's heart how in the
world are you going to get God's message to a people that hate you Paul
must have thought about that and I think he started at exactly the right
place which was this he starts by telling them I have a deep abiding
love for you you may hate me you've done all kinds of you remember some
of the things they did to Paul they put him in prison they falsely
accused him they beat him and stoned him and all kinds of things now
somebody did that to you this morning Gary would you struggle to be able
to look at them and say I love you but that's what Paul does here and
he's teaching us how we need to respond in this world we've heard the
old adage haven't we before they care what you know and what you want to
share they want to know how much you want they want to know how much you
care and Paul is going to tell them how much he cares he's going to
express that here in these verses I remember hearing an old preacher
years ago and of course that was more the thing back then but he said I
can't preach unless I got a good mad on until I get mad I can't get up
and preach and slumber and hit the pulpit I don't think that's the way
that God wants me to approach this moment or to preach approach you this
morning as God's servant whether you're saved or lost whether you're a
saint and holy or you're an unholy prostitute this morning we want you
to know in this place and this is the heart that needs to be of this
church that we love people for Christ Christ died for them that's his
heart it needs to be my heart and Paul comes before them with a broken
heart now let me tell you the way this works you must first of all love
Jesus amen and if you love Jesus then you need to allow Jesus to work in
you to change your heart to love people like Jesus loves people but it
begins with Christ when you look at Paul here and you see the love he
has for these people our natural way to look at that is oh man look at
Paul look at the love he had for those people what you need to ask is
who put that love in his heart where did he get that kind of love and
compassion it wasn't in Paul until Christ came into Paul and Paul
received the heart of Christ to love these people that had treated him
so viciously I want you to notice here he says in verse one I tell the
truth in Christ that's a positive way of saying it then he says it
negatively I lie not I'm not lying to you when I tell you these things
he begins by telling them what I'm telling you is genuine it's real I'm
speaking the truth to you I'm not telling you I love you because you
know it makes me look good or makes you feel good I'm telling this to
you because it's the truth of what's going on in my heart he tells them
I'm brokenhearted you ought to take a concordance sometime and look up
how many times our bible talks about Paul shedding tears for his people
one place says he's I was among you day and night for three years I was
proclaiming the gospel with what with tears with tears because he was so
burdened for those people he had such a tremendous concern for their
souls when he talks here about I tell you the truth I'm not lying what
he's speaking about is his integrity if I say to you this morning do you
have a genuine burden for the people of Frederickton and said raise your
hands not don't I said raise your hands I would guess most of us would
raise our hands or we want to but I want to tell you this morning in all
honesty I'm convicted by what I've studied this week and though I would
say I have a heart for the city of Frederickton I'd have a little twinge
in my conscience or I'd have to say does it have all my heart how many
of you would say yeah that's probably about where I am I want to say it
but I don't know if it's completely true you're working with the teens
do you have a love for those teens you're working in a wanted you have a
genuine love for those kids do you have a love for your family you have
a love for your neighbors it's a brokenhearted love where you weep over
them some of you you've got children that are straying and wandering
from the Lord what does it do it breaks your heart it brings you to
tears and God says that's the way we ought to feel about every single
person in the city of Frederickton does God feel that way about them
yeah he sent Christ who shed tears who looked at the city of Jerusalem
and said oh Jerusalem Jerusalem how oft I wanted to gather you as a
mother hen gathers her chicks under her and protects them he cried it
says he said it with tears and it wasn't anything that was a lie it was
the truth now Paul wants these people to understand I love you by the
way he says he did a lot of things with tears but he also says a number
of times in the scriptures I'm not lying in second Corinthians 11 31 God
he says God knows that I am not lying God your God Jehovah knows I'm not
lying to you in Galatians 1 20 he says it again now concerning the
things that I write to you indeed before God I do not lie it's first
Timothy 2 7 he says I'm speaking the truth in Christ I'm not lying he
wants to emphasize that there's a an integrity about Paul that that
wants people to know I don't lie about Christ I don't lie about how I
feel about you I love you what he's telling us is that his testimony is
a very sincere testimony he's not out there saying people I love you and
if you'd show your love to me would you put some money in an envelope
and write my name on it no he has no ulterior motives he sincerely cares
about these people he he says I tell the truth in Christ I'm not lying
my conscience also bearing witness in the Holy Spirit my conscience
bears witness I don't have any twinges in my conscience about this it
bears testimony that what I say to you is absolutely true when I tell
you how I feel about you I care for you I'm concerned about you that
conscience is what God gives us to judge the activities of our minds and
hearts in life if you've got a good conscience or a bad conscience if
your conscience approves your actions you've got a what a good
conscience but if your conscience disapproves of your actions we call
that a bad conscience yeah no no no you shouldn't have done it you said
the wrong thing you did the wrong thing you went to the wrong place
whatever Paul says I can say my heart breaks for you and I have no twins
in my conscience I've got a good conscience it longs for you to be saved
and not only that but he says excuse me my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Spirit so my conscience bears witness but the Holy
Spirit bears witness within me you can't get a better witness than that
can you the Holy Spirit of God is saying Paul what you're saying I know
that's what's in your heart it's sincere he says the Holy Spirit bears
witness to what I say this is my spirit filled testimony I love you I
long for you to be saved I care about you as a nation he's about to tell
us something that's incredibly important to understand he wants us to
know that he's telling them the truth in Christ and he lies not and his
conscience bears witness and his spirit bears witness you have to wonder
what's he going to say after all that what's he going to say at that
point in his life and and what he's dealing with here well verse three
or verse two rather he says for I have great sorrow and continual grief
in my heart not only as you talk about the integrity of what he's saying
but he talks about the intensity that he feels within he said I've got
this deep concern I've got a sorrowfulness in my heart a heaviness
that's there continually in my heart I want you to do something with me
if you've got your Bibles there in Romans look at chapter nine verse one
I tell the truth in Christ not lying my conscience all bearing witness
only spirit that I have great sorrow and continue grief in my heart for
I could wish that I were accursed from Christ that my brethren my
country and quantity of flesh who are Israelites who pertain the
adoption glory the covenants the giving of the law the service of God
the promise and all of that what's his whole goal in all of that that
you might know Christ now look at chapter 10 verse one brethren my
heart's desire you get it again chapter one chapter one verse one to
five my heart chapter 10 verse one my heart's desire and prayer to God
for Israel is that they might be what they might be saying then look at
chapter 11 and verse one it says I say then has God cast away his people
the Israelites certainly not for I also am an Israelite of the seed of
Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin God has not cast away his people and he
pleads with them to do what come to Christ whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be what shall be saved he's going to preach that
proclaim that in that 11th chapter so all of it what Paul's going to say
bears out what's begins in his heart that God has put there in his heart
the thing is important is that we cannot afford to forget Israel and a
man in this church a number of years back on our missions committee said
pastor we ought to stop supporting all ministries to Israel he didn't
win the day we stopped trying to see Jewish people come to Christ we've
missed a portion of the gospel that we can't afford to miss Paul wants
the Gentiles to know don't ever think because he's been called to serve
the Gentiles that he still doesn't have a passion to see Jewish people
come to Christ he says it's an intense sorrow in his heart a great
sorrow I just I feel kind of bad at times about this but it's a great
sorrow in Acts 20 verse 32 Paul says for three years I did not cease to
warn everyone with tears night and day I guess Paul didn't think it was
unmanly for a grown man to cry if he cries about the right things if he
cares about the souls of men his countrymen his fellowmen you know the
Bible talks about tears it says that God keeps all our tears in a bottle
one preacher I heard say sadly it's a lot of wasted space in your bottle
if you're not weeping over souls crying out for men to come to know
Christ the Bible says if we go forth bearing precious seed with what
with weeping we shall come forth with what with rejoicing you want to
have rejoicing Christianity start sharing Christ with people I'm going
to tell you it's all going to be fun and everybody like you for it but
listen there ain't nothing like being able to share the gospel with
somebody and especially to see their hearts and their minds open to the
truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ Paul has this concern Jesus had that
concern he wept over Jerusalem Jeremiah had that concern for the people
he was known as the weeping prophet but will Devon Park in 2024 be a
church of the people of God that goes forth bearing precious seed with
weeping hearts to see people come to Christ will we will we Paul says
I've got this great sorrow it burns my heart it breaks my heart I I
hardly can stand it it's so intense he had a marvelous concern
compassionate concern he had a steadfast continual concern he says here
in this passage I have great sorrow in verse two and continual grief now
some of you have experienced grief this week over lost loved ones can
you imagine living every day of life with a continual grief Paul's
telling us it just never goes away I've always got this heaviness the
sadness about us that is so easy while I'm preaching here this morning
you get that little twinge in your conscience you say yes oh I feel bad
about lost people I can think of some family members this morning I can
think of this person and then we could walk out the door and go home and
we sit down for a meal and we turn on the tv and sports takes over
something else takes over and we don't what we don't have that
continuous sorrow in our hearts we don't think about how awful it will
be for somebody to step out into eternity who doesn't know Christ and to
face a Christless eternity apart from him in a pit of hell a place of
great sorrow of utter darkness of eternal flame and I'm not preaching
hellfire and brimstone and pounding on the pulpit but that'll break our
hearts to think of a single person my I wouldn't wish that on my worst
enemy and let that break our hearts Adrian Roger tells about a believer
in his church by the name of Tom Clayton he's a member of a staff there
in that church at one time and he was going on a trip and Adrian was
talking to him and he said you know I've flown places and I've driven
places I I've never been on a train for a long time so I'm going to go
there by train and when he came back he he was so excited he said Adrian
can I can I talk with you said yeah he said I I got on the train and I
found myself sitting there beside this woman and I found out that she
was a nightclub hostess he said she was heavily made up my father he
said this he said she looked like she put on makeup with a trowel that's
not a compliment he tried to speak to her she just looked straight ahead
he decided that he'd witness to her whether she looked at him or not and
began to share something of the gospel he could tell us making her a
little uncomfortable but he he just tried to lovingly share what God had
done for her and finally to get away from him she says I'm going to the
diner he said great I'll go with you I need something too so he went to
the diner and sat down in the diner brought his bible with and sat in
the diner of the train with people all around and went through the
gospel with her and that nightclub hostess threw all the caked makeup on
her face tears began to flow and she says I need Jesus and he led her in
a prayer to see Christ as her savior but what he didn't realize that
there were people around him that were listening there was a Jewish man
and two women sitting in the booth across from them and he began to say
how do you know all these things and when he came to realize he was a
Jewish man he took him back and showed him some of the old testament
prophecies about Israel and the coming of Messiah and so on and shared
the gospel with him the Jewish man and the two women said to Tom Clayton
could could we pray and receive Jesus too and on that train they bowed
and prayed to receive Jesus too but just before they did another man was
sitting there with his daughter and he gets her out of their booth and
comes over to the booth he says wait wait wait wait we've been listening
too could my daughter pray and receive Christ that will never happen if
we don't witness we'll never know that joy not the joy that's going to
say hey I'm so great look what I did no the joy that says God used
somebody like me to point somebody else to Christ God used me to call
them to himself God has saved a soul and changed a life conscientious
concern a compassionate concern his great sorrow he has a continual
concern it's there every day of his life bombarding him his heart his
mind the depth of it he says I have this in my heart deep down inside
this isn't something I put the face on you know to make it look good for
everybody and make every all the fellow Christians think I'm a great guy
this is from my heart God has done something inside of me I have this
longing to see Israel and people say he has an integrity he has an
intensity he also has this probably isn't in your notes but he has an
inconceivable love it's it's unbelievable he says here look at it with
me verse three for I could wish there have been a birthday party and say
blow out the candles before you do make a lot make a wish I doubt that
any of you have ever made this wish Paul says I could wish that I myself
were accursed from Christ the word accursed there's the word anathema
given over to the destruction of God Paul says you want to know how much
I love you and care for you listen any cost I would pay even if it were
possible now I can't go into all the details of Hebrew and Greek and all
that here for you you'd be bored stiff anyway but what it says here is
it Paul says I could wish I know that I really can't wish this because
one I could never now that I'm a believer I could never be separated
from the love of God that's already talked about in Romans chapter 8
right he couldn't be accursed from God not a possibility secondly he
knows this even if I could his being a curse from God would not be
sufficient to remove the curse of God from their lives and thirdly he's
not wishing this to truly happen because he knows that what needed to
happen has already happened Christ has indeed gone to the cross of
Calvary where he took the weight of our sin and the punishment of our
sin upon himself and borne on the cross of Calvary so that we what we
could be forgiven we could be set free we could know Christ as our
savior I love what Martin Luther said about this he said it seems
incredible that a man would desire to be damned in order that the damned
might be saved but that's what Christ did isn't it he was damned for us
or that we who are damned and condemned before God could be saved by the
way there's another place in the Bible back in the Old Testament where
somebody else said this anybody know who that is do you know who it was
Moses do you remember Moses on the mountain getting the Ten Commandments
he and Joshua are coming down he says ah there's something going on down
there we can hear the noise and when he gets down there he finds that
they've got Aaron to take their earrings gold earrings and melt them
down and form a golden calf and they worshiped and said this is the God
that delivered us from Egypt how foolish is that and God comes to Moses
and Moses comes to God he says Moses get away from this I'm gonna wipe
them out and Moses guess what I'm gonna start anew with you I'm gonna
build my special chosen people and nation from you I want to tell you
there's a lot of people today was it from me Lord okay wipe them out I'm
gonna be the big guy but Moses says Lord if if you can't forgive your
people and then you'll see if you read that portion of scripture I think
it's in uh Exodus 32 there's a dash and that's a Hebrew way of saying
his sentence just broke off the Hebrew commentators on this to say what
it really means is that Moses broke into sobbing he tried to say
something you ever hear somebody get up at a funeral and they they're
given you know a eulogy about somebody and then they get all choked up
over something and they just break down that was Moses Lord if you can't
forgive them I can't bear the thought but Lord if you can't forgive them
and Lord what would that I could be the one that would die in their
place now Moses would never have been sufficient to die in their place
well thank God God has provided the one that was sufficient the one he
says Lord oh says if if you will forgive their sin but if not but if not
Lord just let me die I can't bear it in my heart that's the heart of
Paul for his people and it's not easy to explain it's not easy you can't
estimate you can't measure the greatness of the love of Paul in his
heart or Moses in his heart but I can tell you this after pastoring for
45 plus years that kind of love is still in our world that's the kind of
love that sends missionaries out to pagan nations to lands where their
wives are at risk because they're sharing the gospel in Muslim countries
that's the love that that sent William Carey to India Adoniram Judson to
Burma that's the love that sends people out to share the gospel to the
lands where there are cannibals and headhunters everything else is a
love that's moved by God a love that sends missionaries to Calcutta New
Delhi and other places in the nation of India steeped in Hinduism and
Islam and put their lives at risk to share the gospel of Jesus Christ
that's the love that sends people out onto the streets of our great
cities like on the streets of the city of Toronto it's the love that's
called Hannah there to reach Southeast Asians for Christ and Seth Beebe
that calls people to go to New York City the cocaine capital of the
world to go to Las Vegas Sin City to share the gospel of Jesus Christ
it's not because it's pleasurable or it's fun but your heart grips you
and makes you go abroad to share the love of Christ it's the love of
first Corinthians 13 it's the love of God that shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit of God it's the love that drew God's son down to
earth to die in agony and blood on the cross of Calvary that kind of
love let me tell you this that kind of love is available to you if you
have Christ in your heart amen the love of God that the Bible says is
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit if you're a Christian the
Holy Spirit is in you and he wants this now listen he's not going to
just drop it all on you all at once but it ought to be growing a bit at
a time until you what you genuinely love people for Christ you get a
burden for lost souls where you can't think about somebody going out
into a Christless eternity but it brings tears to your eyes of a wife or
a husband or a child a grandfather or a grandmother an aunt or an uncle
a co-worker a maid at school a burden and a willingness to pay a price
to share the gospel of Jesus Christ now I've got to really hurry I'm
sorry you think I haven't been hurrying but I have if you could just see
the notes I have Paul is going to go on and talk to these people about
the tremendous privileges that they had and all that that that we could
have a little more time to look at this I don't know if I'll come back
to it or not but he says this he said I could wish myself or a curse
from Christ for my brethren my countrymen according to the flesh verse
four who are Israelites the first thing he talks about them is he gives
us their name they are Israelites the chosen special people of God he's
talking about the privileges that they had these privileges he says to
whom pertain the adoption we think it's loving our family you know finds
this child no parents and they bring it into their home and they adopt
them as a child the bible says God did that with the nation of Israel
the nation it's a term that wasn't about a personal adoption one-on-one
it wasn't an adoption if you will that it was going to be fulfilled and
promised in every person like the bible talks in the details about us
being adopted by God but this is a national adoption which was to lead
to a personal reception and belief in God the bible says about these
Jewish people in Deuteronomy 7 6 he says you shall be my people he says
it this way for you are a holy people to the Lord your God the Lord your
God has chosen you to be a people for himself a special treasure alone
above all the peoples on the earth the Jewish people so Paul holds that
out I could look at Amos chapter 3 verse 2 Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 35
to 37 and others talks about Israel being God's special chosen people
God says in Jeremiah 31 that I am a father to you I'm a father to Israel
Ephraim is my firstborn my son my son then he says not only adoption was
one of their privileges and advantages but the glory when he says the
glory about Israel he's talking there about the presence of God the
Shekinah glory of God of the Old Testament was theirs that made itself
revealed in Egypt through the signs and then that that light that led
them by day and by night cloud by day and the fire by night that led
them every step through 40 years of wandering in the wilderness the
presence of God that ultimately what the glory of God that came into the
tabernacle and later the temple of Solomon that marked them out
singularly with the presence of God and then sadly can't elaborate on
this but Ezekiel 10 and 11 Israel got so far from God and into idolatry
that we read how the spirit of God the glory of God the Shekinah glory
of God moved out of the temple and left and you don't see that glory
again in the Old Testament how many of you know when the glory came back
anybody know Luke chapter 2, John chapter 1, John chapter 1 says we what
we beheld his glory Luke chapter 2 says the angels were out there and
what the the glory of God shone round about them the Shekinah glory of
God came back at the birth of Christ and he said well where's the glory
of God today he's back in heaven we're looking for the glory of God to
come again if you read Matthew 24-25 you find out that the day is coming
when the heavens are going to split and we're going to see the glory of
God coming back to this earth in the presence of Jesus Christ our Lord
the Shekinah glory of God he's coming back Israel were the adopted ones
of God they had the glory he said you had the covenants mosaic covenant
Abrahamic covenant Davidic covenant and so on and today the new covenant
of God that we celebrate when we celebrate communion the covenants of
God are important for this reason covenants speak of a relationship when
a man and a woman enter into covenant what are they entering into
they're entering into a covenant relationship before God that's why God
says don't let don't run around getting all these divorces get work it
out if you can I understand I'm not I understand there's some here
you've known the pain of divorce it wasn't what you wanted but we need
to understand that God has entered into a covenant relationship with
Israel and he ain't giving it up number four says you've got the law
they had a legal code that was second to none that directed the
activities of the life and show them this is how God wants you to live
this was a privilege of God Deuteronomy 4 7 8 says for what great nation
is there who had a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us
whatever nation is there that has had such statutes and righteous
judgments as are in the law which I set before you this day they had the
privilege of the law to what to show them that they broken it that they
were sinners he says you had the service of God and may confuse you a
little bit the service of God literally what it means is it's the
worship of God you had the priests you had all the rituals in the temple
the sacrifices the incense altar the table of showbread all of those
things that were part of serving the Lord listen you say oh how
important is that it's important enough that God took Exodus Leviticus
and Deuteronomy to explain that ceremonial law to his people that's a
tremendous privilege that they had the service of God then he says the
promises of God hundreds of promises in the Old Testament to Israel now
we used to sing a little chorus when we were Sunday school years ago
every promise in the book is mine no it ain't that's inaccurate because
some of them are made specifically to Israel and you're not a Jew and
they won't work for you they work for Israel thank God there's hundreds
of promises for us and we're blessed because the promises God made to
Israel but listen listen they had the promises they had it says the
fathers the patriarchs great godly men to lead and guide them but then
he says I want you don't miss this the apex of it all verse five of whom
are the fathers and from whom according to the flesh Christ came who is
over all the eternally blessed God now three things there you want to
make note of you give thought to later according to the flesh he's
talking there about the humanity of Christ he came as a man then he says
who is over all he's talking about the authority of Jesus Christ he's
over all nobody's over God he's over all his authority and then he says
eternally blessed God that's a statement of Christ's deity he is God who
is he he's God he's the eternally blessed God Jesus Christ who'd gone to
the cross and suffered and died for them now can I give you two things
to take away from this what can we learn from Romans 9 1 to 5 number one
all the privileges of the world even that are given from God are not
adequate unless they are mixed with faith amen amen all the promises
don't do anything if you don't receive those promises believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that's what
he's talking about here that's what I think he's trying to emphasize for
the people of Israel all the privileges that you've had what they're no
advantage to you you don't take a sheet of paper and hold it up say oh
there's to my credit see I got this promise and I got that promise and I
got this you know all those privileges and advantages didn't go on the
credit card for them they needed to be embraced by faith we're going to
see in Romans here he's going to talk about those that are true Israel
the true Israel are those that what are spiritual Israel who have
embraced the promises of God by faith Abraham believed God and it was
accounted unto him for what for righteousness I plead with you sitting
here today listening at home or wherever you are if you're listening to
this having heard this and heard this and heard this I've been here
almost 16 years I know you've heard this is no advantage to you at all
until you what until you embrace it this truth and say yes that's what I
do I embrace Christ as my Savior and Lord second thing I want you to
learn and I'm finished with this please give thought to the inadequacy
of our passion of our concern for the lost that convicts me deeply in my
own heart I saw that kind of passion in people's lives to see other
people saved when I just before I became a Christian there was a young
pastor out in South Portage New Brunswick he upset some people and he
was rude at times but I want to tell you this he had a passion to see
people saved and he he'd walk into people's houses and he'd say some
things he shouldn't have said he'd say look if you put out that
cigarette I'd share Christ with you I think we ought to sit there and
choke on a little bit and still share Christ because we love lost souls
because God loves lost souls I want to tell you I will rejoice when that
kind of passion overtakes Devon Park Baptist Church when I hear week by
week by week after week after week after week of people sharing stories
about I was able to share Christ with this person I gave a track to this
person I was able to talk to this person about how I came to Christ
sharing the gospel with lost people with love and compassion in your
heart everybody here should be able to take something away today I hope
you will

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/9hKxQMga-_8.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/terry-woodcock/passion-for-the-lost-or-a-lost-passion/
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