Devotional Series: Romans Chapter 11, (UNCUT) | #SharpPodcast

Welcome to our Uncut Devotional Series on the book of Romans! In this episode, we dive deep into Romans chapter 11, exploring what Paul teaches about the power of the Gospel, faith, and living for Christ. No edits, no filters—just raw conversation and Scripture study. Perfect for anyone wanting to grow deeper in their understanding of God’s Word.

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Transcript

Welcome Back And Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Sharp Podcast. I'm your co-host Jay.

SPEAKER_01 0:02

And I'm Frank.

SPEAKER_00 0:03

And we are back. As you can tell, we've been gone. I've lost 20 pounds. I look thinner and younger and more thriving and glowing. And no, I'm just kidding. I probably don't look any of those things. But we have a devotional for you guys today. It's going to be found in Romans chapter 11. And um, yeah, we're really praying that you guys learn something. And uh let's get into it. Frank, you gonna read first?

SPEAKER_01 0:29

I'll start. Yeah. Let's do it.

Reading Romans 11

SPEAKER_01 0:31

Alright. We're gonna read from NLT if you want to follow along. So God's mercy on Israel. What a relevant time to be reading this. I asked then, has God rejected his people, the Jews? Of course not. Remember that I myself am a Jew, a descendant of Abraham, and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you remember what the scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I alone am left. And now they are trying to kill me too? And do you remember God's reply? He said, You are not the only one left. I have seven thousand others who have never bowed down to Baal. It is the same today, for not all the Jews have turned away from God. A few are being saved as a result of God's kindness in choosing them. And if they are saved by God's kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's wonderful kindness would not be what it really is, free and undeserved. So this is the situation. Most of the Jews have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have, the ones God has chosen, but the rest were made unresponsive, as the scriptures say, God has put them in a deep sleep. To this very day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and close their ears so they do not hear. David spoke of this same thing when he said, Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well. Let their blessings cause them to stumble, let their eyes go blind so they cannot see, and let their backs grow weaker and weaker. Did God's people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not. His purpose was to make his salvation available to the Gentiles, and then the Jews would be jealous and want it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the Jews turned down God's offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when the Jews finally accept it. I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I'd lay great stress on this, for I want to find a way to make the Jews want what I lost my track, what you Gentiles have, and in that way I might save some of them. For since the Jews' rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, how much more wonderful their acceptance will be. It will be life for those who were dead. And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their children will also be holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be too. But some of these branches from Abraham's tree, some of the Jews have been broken off, and you Gentiles who were branches from a wild olive tree were grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in God's rich nourishment of a special olive tree. But you must be careful not to brag about being grafted in to replace the branches that were broken off. Remember, you are just a branch, not the root.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

Boy, that's a strong verse there. Yeah. I'm gonna mark down verse 18. Alright, verse 19. Well, you may say those branches were broken off to make room for me. Yes, but remember, those branches were broken off because they didn't believe in Christ. And you are there because you do believe. So don't think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen. For if God did not spare the original branches, he won't spare you either. Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue to trust in his kindness. But if you stop trusting, you will also be cut off. And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief, they will be grafted in. For God has the power to graft them back into the tree. You by nature were a branch cut off from a wild olive tree. So if God is willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree they belong. That's good. I want you to understand this mystery, Paul says, My brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have had hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles come to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved, as the Scripture says, the one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness. And this is my covenant with them that I will take away their sins. Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the good news, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet there are still people he loves because he chose their ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For God's gifts and this call can never be withdrawn. Once you Gentiles were rebels against God. That's me, I'm a Gentile. I was once a rebel against God. But when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. To me, to us, the rebels. He was merciful to us instead. Now they are rebels, and God's mercy has come to you, so that they too will share in God's mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience, so that he could have mercy on everyone. Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge, how impossible is it for us to understand his decisions and his ways. For who can know the Lord's thoughts? Who knows enough to give God advice? And who has given him so much that God needs to pay it back? For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory, and all glory be to him forever.

Why Romans Hits A Powerful City

SPEAKER_00 7:03

Amen. Sweet baby Jesus. Paul really just went in on these Romans. Yeah. And I think it's important to add that at that time Roman was the biggest, largest, most powerful and influential city you could possibly imagine. It was like you going to New York today. You know, their government, their army, their philosophical influence. But also with all those things going so well, they had a lot of ungodliness going on in that city. Which concludes as to why the book of Romans is so big. Paul has so much to address. He's like, wait a second, wait a second. I got so much to tell you guys who believe in Jesus. And I got so much to explain and so much to warn you of. This is the largest book I'm ever gonna write. Yeah. And look at this juicy chapter. All that he has to explain. Because people are believing in Jesus without any understanding of what is going on and how is it gonna help us. Yeah. But I like, well, you go first, Frank. You tell me.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Well, no, I mean, I just think it's

Grafted In Without Pride

SPEAKER_01 8:25

I I'm I would like to get deeper uh personally and study, but you know, why is he why is he talking so much? Like what are the Gentiles doing that it seems to be wrong? It it because the way Paul's talking, it seems like they they see themselves as higher than the Jews, right? Because he keeps reminding them that you've been grafted in. Yeah, you know, essentially he's saying you weren't you weren't a part of this from the beginning, like you weren't the people I chose, it was Israel, right? It was the Jews. But he says, But you've been grafted in, and I like how he calls them what a wild olive tree. Yeah, and um, and there's significance in the trees. Um that but that's a whole different subject, but the meaning of the trees. But right what what I find so like powerful is the way even today like people view the Jews. Like they they have a bad rep, you know? They do have a bad rep. From all different types of people and parts of the world. But it's amazing how he's saying that they their disobedience, right, has led to the Gentiles and the rest of the world to come and be grafted in, to be a part of the tree, right? Right. And who the root is is God, and you're a part of this, and they're still not. And he says, look at what a blessing it was because of their disobedience, right? So many more people got in. But I like how he mentions that, but there's gonna be a day, there's gonna be a time where they're gonna come back, their hearts aren't gonna be hard, right? And I like how he says that when they come back, if them disobeying was such a blessing to you all, how much more, and I I don't even know what that looks like, but how much more of a blessing, like times what, ten, a hundred, a thousand, when they actually come back. Right. You know, I think so many times we look at the Jews as like enemies, like even Christians, and it blows my mind because the word speaks about them explicitly, and and some Christians like they turn on them. I'm not saying they're perfect people, but they they're part of this plan that God has.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Right.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

And there's gonna be a day when they come back and they realize who Christ is. But I I don't know about you, but I want to be the Gentile that stays connected to this, stays grafted in because how much more blessings are gonna flow because of them returning.

SPEAKER_00 10:54

Yeah, I mean, people I I think people have a difficult time understanding how Israel can be God's chosen people when in all sorts of media and our political political atmosphere, we see the mistake Israel makes as a nation and as a people today. The wars they've entered, the discussions they've caused, the tensions that have arisen amongst the Middle East for already dozens of years. But we don't have children yet, but I can only imagine imagine what it looks like for your son to be long astray, could be a drug addict, could be an alcoholic, could be a complete just messed up in life, yeah, gone astray from how you've taught him. But I've seen every parent who've had children that have gone astray, man, they still love that child. Yeah, that child is gonna always come back home. You'll we'll never understand that as people who have no children, you know, and and I think God is talking about Israel in the exact same tone. He's like, wait a second. Number one, I just love that he says this KYP, know your place. Yeah, Gentiles, which is me, know your place. Don't forget that it should be a privilege and an honor to accept this sacrifice Jesus gave to us, thinking of us. We should feel like the prized possession in this place. We we should feel like we're willing to do anything for Jesus and not think highly of ourselves above anybody. That's number one. We gotta know our place. We are servants of the Most High and children of God, but it was an opportunity that He had to make for us to enter the kingdom. That's number one. And number two, I love, love, love that Paul, being a historian, a theologian, and a philosopher, writing the scriptures all at the same time with all this knowledge, doesn't use his own wisdom to explain what's going on. He doesn't say, hey, look at this tree, or that's not hasn't been in the Bible. He doesn't say, hey, look at this tension and the political atmosphere. No, he says, look at Elijah in the scriptures. He says Elijah thought he was the only good guy, the only prophet that was serving God. I think that's a really good example for us when we misunderstand

Go Back To Scripture For Clarity

SPEAKER_00 13:17

something going on in the scriptures, when we misunderstand something that God has told us through the Holy Spirit, when we don't completely grasp why things are happening this way, don't look for advice. Look deeper into the word of God. You can explain what's going on if you just dig deeper into the word of God. That's that's why it's got to be a priority in our lives. The word of God, to be honest, in these days, and especially the last three weeks of my life, I have God has impeded on me. It's not a luxury to have, it is a necessity, it's a requirement for you to eat it. Because in these days, you didn't you need to you need to be at full strength to go to work in an ungodly environment and still be pleasing God. You got to be at full strength. So notice how Paul goes deeper in the scriptures to explain things going on. He doesn't go deeper into anything else. He's like, wait a second, don't forget Elijah. Prime example of what's going on with Israel, what's going on with the Gentiles, what's going on in the world at the time. Deeper into the word explains deeper what's going on. We should use we should follow that example.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Yeah, no, that reminds me of when I told you that, you know, one morning I had woke up and I clearly heard like not his audible voice, but I heard the spirit really speak to my heart. And remember, I said that what I heard him say was it's not that I want to, but I need to.

SPEAKER_00 14:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Remember? Because I remember when I went to church and I was growing in the faith, um, I had heard someone who had the right intentions, but they said, You need to get to a place where it's not that I need to do this, but I want to do this for God. And man, more recently, I felt like the Lord says, No, you need to get to a place where I need to. Right. Because when I want, it's too much of like your choice, your decision. Yeah. But the reality is that the need is a necessity. It's a necessity. And you realize I can't do anything on my own. I can't, I can't even rely on what I want. What I need is this because this is the truth. And I love how you said that he went to the word. Like, that's I think that is the biggest mistake I see in Christians today.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

That they call, you know, and I and this is not taking shots, but it's almost like a brother in the faith who sees his siblings and you just feel compassion for them. That we call ourselves these Christians, but we don't get into the scriptures. Right. How I I don't understand, like this this needs to be your daily bread. Like, if if you're not in the word of God, what makes you a follower of Christ? I just still don't understand that.

SPEAKER_00 15:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:58

Like I'm a Christian, but when was the last time you read your word? Right. Oh, I uh it's been a while.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

Right.

SPEAKER_01 16:04

So I mean, who are you following?

SPEAKER_00 16:06

Right. Right. Who are you following? It's so funny because I got, yeah, I um I just remember thinking of this example while I was at work because you know, you get to know so many people at work. I work with like four over 400 people on a daily basis. And uh, and I when we go out to eat or spend to shift at work, and I get to know them, eventually throughout the years, I find out almost all these people are married. And they've never listened listen, don't get mad. They've never ever, men and women never told me they were married, never talked about their spouse, never talked about what they're going on vacation, never talk. And I started thinking, I felt the Lord speaking to me in a sense. He said, I started thinking to myself, I'm starting to become very suspicious of people who can tell me everything about their lives, but not their spouse. Yeah, they won't tell me how you know how great their spouse is or how they met or how much they enjoy vacation or how they're living life together, but they'll tell me everything else. All of a sudden, I felt like I heard the Holy Spirit tell me you should have the same suspicion of people that you get around that are claimed to be Christians that don't find a way to talk about the word. Did they they not start talking about the word eventually in the conversation? Sunday's off. Be suspicious of them, you know. Um, and I thought that was so interesting. Because almost everybody I know that truly enjoys their marriage eventually starts talking about their wife. Yeah, yeah, me and my wife did that. Yeah, you know, we went over here, we had a great time. I mean, I can't believe we did that, you know.

Daily Bread Faith And Real Discipleship

SPEAKER_00 17:45

But I've talked to people for years. I I didn't even know. Yeah, didn't even know they was married. That's crazy.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

Um But I also, when you were sharing about um, when you were sharing about the Jews, right? Um, and we were talking about the grafted in, I never seen it this way until now. But what came to mind was the prodigal son. I don't know if you can see that. Because from what we know here in Romans, it's almost like the uh the Jews were the prodigal son who left. They left their father's house. They left, they wanted their inheritance, and then they wanted to leave and have nothing to do with him.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:21

And then there was another son who remained with the father. Right. And the son who left, he went and spent everything. And he came. It's something a lot of Christians know, right? The prodigal son is one of their favorite stories. But I also see this with the Jews and the Gentiles now that we're talking about it. Because what there's gonna be a day, it's clear that the Jews, the people of God, are going to return. Right. And what happened when this prodigal returned? The father ran after him, greeted him, gave him the best, threw a party, had a feast.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

Alright, that's good.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

And the other son who remained said, You didn't do that for me. I've been I've been here, I've been serving, and what I fear is, man, what if I think that might be the response of many Gentiles who've been grafted in. And the moment the Jews return, that's gonna be some of the responses. And how does the father respond? He said, You've always remained, everything I've had was yours. Right. And I think that is one of the great fears is when Christians remain, but they don't experience the blessing and the goodness. I've been going through, I was telling you, I've been going through Psalms. That's good. Yeah, I've been going through Psalms.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Don't talk too much about that. That's a whole other podcast.

SPEAKER_01 19:34

But I've been going through Psalm and I've been seeing Psalm after psalm how it says that what is good. People talk about, oh, this is a good thing. And he says, What is good? And he says, It's when the face of God is shining down on me. He said, That's goodness. Right. And like then it gets repeated. And it's just saying, like, the true goodness of God is when you experience him looking at you, and when he looks at you, there's favor and there's goodness and there's blessings that come. I think a lot of Christians we we remain with him, but we don't experience blessings. We're like the son who remained and never experienced the goodness of the Father. Right. That makes no sense to me. If you remain, there's so many good things, every good thing comes from him. How are you not enjoying it? Is it because you're focused on works? You know what I'm saying? Like that that I don't understand that. Because I was there.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

Yeah, I mean, well, I think the biggest issue somebody like the prodigal son, the oldest one who stayed, would have is a problem with identity. Um they did not know that they had the image worthy of requesting such a party, you know. Yeah. And I I think people need to realize that both the sons had an image issue. One thought he was worth less, one thought he was worth more. The one who left thought he was worth more because he asked his father's inheritance before his father even died. Yeah. So he's like, I don't care about you, I think I'm better. I could do better with what you got. The one who thought he was worth less didn't ask his father for anything because he thought his father could only provide him shelter and faithfulness. And he's like, wait a second, everything I had has been yours from the beginning. So both of them struggle with identity. And this is something that we should see even from the beginning. Because the first thing God gave Adam is not a job. Name the animals, tend to the garden. The first thing God gave Adam is his image. Let us make man in our image. Now you look like me. That's the first thing God gave him. Why does he want why does he want Adam to even look like God? So that Adam could know, well, you got some of the stuff God got to do what you gotta do.

Prodigal Son Identity And Being

SPEAKER_00 21:44

When you look in the mirror, you should think if God is teaching me to do it, that means I'm capable of doing it. This image that we have, we gotta get right. When we look in the mirror, we can no longer see ourselves as who our former selves were. Even if we still sin, even if you're still cussing, even if you still smoke a little of this or treat people with unforgiveness, you gotta wake up in the mirror with repentance in your heart and say, No, George is righteous in the eyes of God. George is gonna be a godly man by the end of this year. George is gonna read his Bible three times through this whole year, he's gonna be a changed man. This image has got to get right. You gotta think of yourself differently.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

Um You notice, you know, something me and my wife were talking about was exactly what you're saying. Christians, I think Christians, and this is crazy, think about it. Christians are the only ones who try to be what they are. Yeah. I can see that. Does uh, you know, like everything was made by God, right? Does a tree tell itself, I'm gonna try to be a tree? It's just a tree. You know what I'm saying? Does it does a plant say I'm gonna try to be, you know, a plant? It's a plant. Right, right. Does a sinner say I'm gonna try to be a sinner? They're just a sinner. But Christians are the only ones who are when you accept Christ, right? You're covered by his blood, you're a child, you're a part of the family, you're adopted, you're you're his. And then we tr but we try to be that instead of just being that. Just be that.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

Because there's nothing, there's no works, right? Right. James says, yes, eventually, because of who you are, the works will follow because of your faith. Because we're saved by faith alone. So because of what Christ did on the cross and you believing that with your heart and through your faith, right? And what he did, you are saved. And James says, yes, eventually your faith is gonna change everything you do, and then you're gonna also be known by your works. Right. But a lot of times we just you know, we we accept what he did, but then we try to work it out. And that's that's not how it's supposed to be.

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Yeah. That is good. That's interesting. Yeah. I think we we should be, I should be doing a better job of accepting who I am. Yeah. It's so funny because I never had a problem accepting who I was as a heathen. But I got a problem accepting who I am in Jesus, you know. Oh, I'm just born like this. You know, I'm a Pisces. I hear people say that. But you know, I never had a problem accepting who I was when I when I used to do everything against God's will. But now that I've got a renewed spirit and a right mind, something in me just always wants to battle with that. Yeah. And I I'm I'm always trying to practice to being at peace. No, this is who I am. Yeah. Yeah. This thought that just told you to help this person on the street, this is who I am. Yeah. This thought that says, you know what, that person cuts me out, but let me turn the other cheek. This is who I am now. I ain't gonna try to fight it. I don't, you know. Um that can be hard for me. I don't know about y'all sometimes. For real. It's hard for me to accept how good God has made my heart now. Right?

Follow The Bible And Closing

SPEAKER_00 25:05

Yeah, but yeah, I mean the I can't help but talk about the word though, man, because you know, I think I just want people to realize how important this book is. All throughout history, God has provided a leader for the people he's cared for. God provided Abraham and Jacob and Moses and Samuel and David and eventually Jesus and the 12 apostles. But I just want people to notice that all these great men of God, the people revered, are gone. And none of them are coming back, and none of them can be replaced. The only thing that God left to replace us is the Holy Spirit and this Bible. Yeah, these are the leaders now that we should look to for guidance and counsel and wisdom and righteousness and how to live and how to have our lifestyles adjusted, you know. Um, and to be honest, it's pretty amazing that we don't have like I remember reading in Exodus, everybody had to go to Moses on a weekly basis. Thousands and thousands of people and get an opinion for them on how they should live for God. Yeah, you wouldn't have to go to nobody now. Yeah, that's true. I remember before we started filming today, people knew the disciples, people knew they were followers of Jesus because they used to watch, physically see. This is what Frank just told me a few minutes ago. They used to physically see the disciples following Jesus, walking behind his body, just following him around wherever he went. But now there's no body to follow. We follow this. Yeah, you walk behind this, you know. Listen to this. And I just can't emphasize how important that is.

SPEAKER_01 26:55

But no, let's end it here. That was Romans 11. Um comment, like, subscribe. Um, we're so excited to be back. And uh, you have any final words?

SPEAKER_00 27:07

Fear what you don't know. Peace.