When God Gives Us Up Part 1 R825A

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton as we study the book of Romans. The Encouraging Word We're excited to open God's Word in just a minute as Dr. Wilton begins a message called When God Gives Us Up.

Again, we'll be studying the book of Romans and we're connecting while we study both online at theencouragingword.org and our phone number 866-899-WORD. We're taking a lot of calls about this new book, The Ultimate Walk, and the DVD goes with it. It's literally a virtual tour filmed in the Holy Land as we study God's Word together with Dr. Wilton. Again, brand new, The Ultimate Walk. You can take a peek right now at our website theencouragingword.org or just go ahead and call and ask about getting your copy of The Ultimate Walk at 866-899-9673.

Now today's message with Dr. Don Wilton. The Encouraging Word I'm going to invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Romans and chapter 1. For those who are guests and perhaps who haven't worshiped with us for a time, we are doing a study in what is commonly known as Paul's letter to the church at Rome. And this is the Magna Carta of the Christian faith.

And we do not teach things in isolation. What we do is we try to understand what God is saying to us. And today I'm praying just for you. Because I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is going to speak to your heart in a remarkable way.

And he's going to bless you as he blesses each one of us. Our subject this morning, When God Gives Us Up. Now I'm going to say to you without apology that the passage that we're about to study together in God's Word is perhaps one of the most volatile, talked about, ignored passages in all of the Bible. This passage makes some people awfully uncomfortable. This passage has broad upon itself, which is the Word of God, every kind of scrutiny one can imagine.

And we've studied these things and I think we've come to understand why people struggle sometimes with certain issues. The bottom line is this. What we're about to read is that God looks upon the heart of people such as ourselves or mankind.

And the Bible is going to tell us today that there comes a time when God will say to people just like you and me, All right, you won't listen, will you? Okay. You don't want to have anything to do with me.

All right. You think that I am irrelevant. I'm not popular. Well, seeing that you don't want to know about me, you don't want to give me the time of day, you don't want to listen to me. You don't want to study my word. You don't want to give your heart and life to me. You don't want to live for me.

On that account, you're on your own. That's what we're about to study here. When God gives us up. Now, personally, we struggle with that. Because how can God, who is a God of love, give us up? Is he not long suffering and kind? How can a God who's a God of love tell us that he gives us up?

We're going to read about that three times. But I'm going to submit to you today, my friends that within this context, we are going to understand that God loves us so much. That what he does is that he gives us up. He hands us over to our own devices. I believe in order that we might come to understand just how much he loves us. What does a world look like without God?

Let me read this to you. We're in Romans chapter one and verse 18. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be made known about God is plain to them. We've looked at all of this in previous weeks because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature. Remember that all of God's attributes are balanced in divine perfection. His eternal power and his divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made so that mankind is without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claim to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, because man refused God, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Now, why pick on sex? We're going to look at this in just a moment. Why does God use sexual relationships as the overriding illustration of the immoral nature of man without God? We're going to discover that.

Why did this happen? Verse 25, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served created things rather than the creator. And Steve, we've got a wonderful doxology here. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Now, right here in the midst of this, who is forever praised, the word Amen means thus it is written, thus it has been said, nobody can change it. It comes from the heart of God, despite the sin of man, Jesus Christ was coming to this earth.

He came to this earth because God loves us so much. Now, watch this, folks. We're going to see something remarkable here.

Now, watch what happened. What is the consequence of God handing man over to himself because of this? Verse 26, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations with unnatural ones. We're going to look at this usage of the word natural. God gave us sex for natural means.

Anything short of that. Homosexuality is unnatural. Watch this. In the same way, men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

And I'm going to come back to this. That is a living death sentence. Due penalty. There are two death sentences that occur because of sin. One is eternal separation from Jesus Christ. The other is a living death sentence. God says for using this illustration that the sin of homosexuality carries with it a living penalty that will be meted out upon society.

All right. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over. Here it is again to a depraved mind to do what ought not to be done. So just in case someone believes that homosexuality is the cardinal sin, which it is not.

God makes absolutely certain that there is not a single person on the face of the earth who turns around and says that's it. And he begins to tell us about the sins of iniquity that are upon all people. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil and greed, depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossip, slanderers, God haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil. They disobey their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Watch this. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death. They not only continue to do these very things.

But their culture, their society, their family. Watch this, folks. Those who are not necessarily committing those sins themselves provide the justification for those who are committing those sins to commit those sins. Now you've got to just stick with the Word of God here.

Watch this. Those who continue to do these things but approve of those who practice them. The government that sanctions their behaviour, the culture that pardons them, the parents who support them. Are we talking about an awfully difficult issue here? It is the most heart wrenching, heartbreaking, heart searching issue to deal with these things when they pertain to one's own family.

And I have not read anywhere that I'm not to love people who are engaged in sin. When God gives us up, take a look at our world today. Things are not right. Muggings, murders, violence, anger. We see it.

We read about it every day. But we're not willing to talk about it. This is a staggering passage, my friend.

Over three times this word abandoned is used. God gave them up. Now we kind of have no problem with that. Please forgive the interruption.

It's a frightening thought to think about God giving us over. We'll be discussing that more in just a minute, but we want you to know that we're here for you. Dr. Wilton and Sis, I remind you halfway through the program that we're here. We're here at 866-899-WORD. That phone number 866-899-967. We'll connect with someone, have you to talk, to listen, to pray with you.

Not just now during the broadcast, but 24 hours a day. We'd love to be a part of your support system. We want to be an encourager to you today. Just know we're here.

You can also connect keyboard to keyboard on our website at theencouragingword.org. That's theencouragingword.org, or call us at 866-899-9673. Now back to today's message, When God Gives Us Up, with Dr. Don Wilton. Just a couple of days ago, and not a person who's a member of this church, you know, we have a lot of people who are worshiped with us, and a lot of them call me and talk to me, and it's a wonderful privilege. And to our ministry team, and just some weeks ago, a lady called me brokenhearted because her husband had walked out on their family for another woman. And this is the word she used. She said, Pastor, she said, my husband has abandoned us.

See, he's got three children. Now we understand that use of abandonment. It doesn't make us very comfortable. We use it with a father abandoning his family, or a child abandoned by his parents, or an animal being abandoned by its owner, or a soldier abandoning his post. It means to be left alone.

It speaks of a ship without a rudder, an airplane without an engine. Psalm 81, verse 11 and 12, the psalmist put it right where it needs to be. But my people would not listen to me, says the Lord God. So I gave them over. I abandoned them. I gave them up to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. This word abandonment, to give up, means to forsake entirely, to desert, to leave to your own recognizance, to withdraw from. To apply it in your own life. It means literally that you yield yourself up without restraint or moderation related to your emotions or your natural impulses.

It means that you relinquish control. I lived in New Orleans for 15 years and I love this city, but I'm going to tell you every year we celebrated Mardi Gras and people would come. Hundreds of thousands, millions of people. Here's what you'd hear them saying when they were interviewed. They'd say, it's party time. Boy, we're going to just let it all go. Man, are we going to do some stuff.

I mean, we're just going to let it go. College students know what that's all about. I've met many of them. Happened in my day when I was a college student. I tell you college students say, man, I cannot wait for Friday night to come because the fraternity is going to be having a party. Boy, the sorority is getting together.

I'm going to go with the brothers, man. Guess what we're going to do on Friday night? We're going to get motherless. That's what we're going to do. I'll bet you I'll drink you under the table, big boy. That's what it means to abandon, to let go.

Oh, we couch it in all kinds of things. In fact, we've got parents all across America that are saying, if there's anything you need to do when you go to college, just sign up with the brothers and the sisters so you can let it all go. And if you don't do it, you're not part of the crowd.

Why? Sign up because the brothers and the sisters are going to help you. Abandon yourself.

Man, Friday night's coming. I'm going to get so motherless they won't even know me, man. That's the kind of abandonment we're talking about. I'm going to relinquish any control that I've got. And it's amazing the next day when we're dealing with police and broken hearts and unwanted pregnancies, there's never a mention about what took place in order to provide the fertile bed for that abandonment to be given its fullest and complete expression because it's not popular. Don't you dare talk about sororities and fraternities because it means you're out of touch. We want our sons and daughters to grow up and to know what it means to be abandoned.

Man, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of fun. What is God talking about you? I want you to note God gave them over, the Bible says, only after three things had happened. Number one, only after they had seen but refused to believe in verses 19 and 20. God gave them over, number two, only after they knew but refused to glorify in verse 21. God gave them over, number three, only after they heard but refused to include Him in their thinking. Here's what happens, folks.

Watch this, watch this. So God allowed their sin to take hold. That's what happened. The Bible tells us that God allows sin to take hold. God allowed their sin to grow roots. God allowed their sin to bear its fruit. God allowed their sin to demonstrate its evil appetite. God allowed their sin to swallow its dinner. God allowed its sin to anoint its victims. God allowed their sin to strut its stuff. God allowed their sin to crown its king. James 1 and verse 15, God's Word talks about the progression of sin. After desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.

Any questions? Folks, listen to me. God, this passage tells us that only after they had seen but refused to believe, after they knew but refused to glorify Him, after they had heard but they refused to include Him in their thinking, God allowed their sin to take hold. He allowed their sin to grow roots. He allowed their sin to bear its fruit. He allowed their sin to demonstrate its evil appetite. He allowed their sin to swallow its dinner. He allowed their sin to anoint its victims. He allowed their sin to strut its stuff.

He allowed their sin to crown its king. Wake up, America! Wake up, parents!

Wake up! What is God trying to say to us? What is God trying to say to us? So what exactly did God give them up to?

Well, I've summarized this in three sections just to help us. There are three sins that God speaks about in terms of a category of sin, and I'm just doing that to help you, to help us. I prayed about this. God said, look, here it is, one, two, three. God gave them up. See, folks, this is the Barabbas syndrome.

Do you know what the Barabbas syndrome is? Remember when Jesus was taken before Pilate? Pilate said, we can't find anything wrong with this man. He's Jesus Christ.

He's only done good. Bring up Barabbas. Well, who was Barabbas? Barabbas was a convicted felon.

Everybody knew that. He deserved to die, everybody. Pilate said, all right, you got a choice. You want Barabbas or you want Jesus? They said, give us Barabbas.

That's the Barabbas syndrome. That's what's happening in America, folks. That's the choice in every family, in every human heart. And what God is talking about here are men and women, just like you and me, that God looks at us and he said, you've either got God or you've got yourself. Who do you choose? And this is what happens when we say, give me Barabbas. Give me me. Number one, he gave them over to idolatry.

That's your first big one. He gave them over to idolatry, according to verse 24 through 25. In other words, an exchange took place. God was put in the swap column. God literally takes us back to the foot of the cross. God says, I want you to take a good look at me from before the foundation of the world. I'm here to remind you that I am creator, God. I created you, I made you. Excuse me, I made you. I know you, I love you. You cannot survive without me.

Now make a choice. You want to acknowledge that and accept that? That I am who I am?

And that you cannot exist without me? Or do you want Barabbas? Give me Barabbas, crucify him. This passage tells me that God looks into the human heart and says, all right, you can have Barabbas.

You're on your own. Barabbas is in charge. Number one, he gave them over to idolatry. What is idolatry? Number one, it's the rejection of God. Now we've studied all of this.

That's why I'm not spending a lot of time on it. Number two, it is the suppression of the truth of God, verse 18. Number three, it is the refusal to glorify God. Number four, it is the exchange of God for man. And number five, it is the rejection of the knowledge of God, according to verse 28.

Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind. We've been rocked in America again, because in California, the wife of another well-known lawyer was brutally murdered recently. And all of us have seen it on television and we certainly saddened by anything like that.

But evidently, a young 16-year-old boy has been arrested. And he belongs to a sect, an evil cult called Goths. Folks, we've got them in our community. You can identify them. They wear all black. They paint their eyes black. Their hair is black.

It stands up straight. They've got all kinds of symbols and things carved all over them. Everything about the Gothic cultism is evil.

Everything about it. And on television, the attorneys are saying this. This is secular television. As early as this morning, I've heard not once, but several times, a young man who was a Goth walked in, beat her to death 39 times with a blunt object, apparently, allegedly carved a symbol into her back, an innocent woman, and the attorneys are saying, this was done by a depraved mind. You don't say. That was the most incredible bit of attorney-ing I have ever heard of in my entire life.

I mean, he came up with that all by himself. And it just may be admissible in a court of law if it doesn't violate some kind of amendment, but then maybe we're going to stand on the rights of the Goths. Excuse me. God gave them up to idolatry. Number two, God gave them up to immorality. Dr. Don, thank you. This is a sobering subject and one that we'll dive into again tomorrow on The Encouraging Word. But before we get to the end of the message tomorrow, you need to know today that no matter where you are, God is using this, and if you're sensing conviction and a need to turn back to Jesus, do it today.

Boy, we'd love to pray with you, pray for you. If you want to go keyboard to keyboard, you can meet us online. Theencouragingword.org is our website. Or sometimes in moments like this, wouldn't you just like to talk to someone? We're here to take your call at 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. We'd love to connect with you. And before we get away, a closing thought from our pastor, Dr. Don Wilton. God has spoken to you, hasn't He? And you're ready to give your heart to Jesus.

I'd love to help you right now. Would you pray this prayer with me and accept Jesus into your heart and life? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner.

I know that Jesus loves me and died for me on the cross. Right now, I repent of my sin, and I confess my sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come into my heart and save me today and forgive me for my sin. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen. If you've prayed that prayer, we'd love to get alongside of you and celebrate with you and send you some literature and help you as you begin to grow. And I want you to know that I love you very, very much. Again, that phone number one more time is 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. Or meet us online at theencouragingword.org. What a powerful encourager and biblical expositor.

You're listening to Dr. Don Wilton. Tomorrow he'll be completing this message when God gives us up. I hope you'll join us between now and then. You can find it on our website at TEWonline.org. Here we are in the myth of July, one of our most patriotic months of the year, at least it is for me. And as we continue to decide that we want to be intentional about praying for our country, about praying what our nation can be, we have a wonderful resource on our website right now.

If you haven't seen it, drop by and, well, here are the details on how you can get your copy of this powerful resource. God in a good place in America, what would God say to us today? Without God, we can do nothing to stand strong in a country turning away from the path God has laid out for us.

As our nation endures tragedy after tragedy, it is so important that we follow the second greatest commandment and love our neighbors unconditionally. With your gift of support to the Encouraging Word this month, we receive Dr. Wilton's powerful sermon, God's Message to America, along with the bonus book, When a Nation Forgets God, by his long-time friend, Erwin Lutzer. These resources will engage, enlighten, and encourage you in your walk with Christ. Again, that's just one of many great resources on our website at www.tewonline.org. And while you're there, again, the website www.tewonline.org, I pray that you'll consider who we are. Discover more about who Dr. Don Wilton is, his relationship as the pastor of Dr. Billy Graham for the last 25 years of Dr. Graham's life. Details are online at www.tewonline.org. The Encouraging Word