God's clock is still ticking for Israel. And while many Jewish people currently walk in spiritual blindness, rejecting their Messiah. Scripture reveals this isn't their final chapter. It's a divinely appointed intermission. Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl unveils God's breathtaking timeline from Romans 11.
It shows how God has graciously allocated this present age for Jewish hearts to be stirred to jealousy by Gentile believers. In this study, we'll discover why Israel's future restoration isn't just probable. It's guaranteed by God's unbreakable covenant promises. Chuck titled today's message with a question. The Jews, forgotten or set aside?
It's an interesting thing to think about Paul's testimony. You might mark your Bible, 1 Timothy 1, verses 12 to 15, 16, the story of Paul's life. It's a remarkable story of a man who was moving in the opposite direction against Christianity, persecuting Jews, and on his way to the ancient city of Damascus, he is struck blind, knocked from the beast on which he was riding, and there, on the side of the road, he is born again. As he trusts in Jesus Christ, who confronts him with himself, the message. And Paul is wonderfully rescued.
That's why he says if God had rejected all the Jews Then what am I doing? The point is he hasn't. There's another, by the way, that's a personal reason he mentioned. Here's a theological reason, verse 2. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
See the word for new, we've seen that before. Back in chapter 9, chapter 8. Look, go back to chapter 8. I'm going to show you a verse I feel sorry for. Romans 8:29.
28, we could all say from memory, we know that all things work together for the good of them that love God, then we are called according to his purpose. What's 29? Let's see. And here it goes right along with it. For those whom he foreknew, there's our word.
He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son. Verse 30. And those whom He predestined, He called. And those whom He called, He justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified.
These are links in the chain of salvation. Please notice foreknowledge. Notice then the predestining of those he is called. The calling of them, the justifying, the glorifying. Paul says, God has chosen people back in Romans 11, verse 2.
God has not rejected the people whom He foreknew. If He chose them, there still is chosen. Even though they don't choose to follow him in return. God doesn't change because we change toward Him. That's a very common misunderstanding.
God's heart is still for the Jew. He still sees them as a chosen people, but they have been temporarily set aside.
Now that brings up a biblical reason, which is Elijah. The story of Elijah, one of the great stories in the Old Testament. 1 Kings 18, chapter 19. You'll see what he says here. Do you not know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah?
how he pleased with God against Israel. No. Truth be told, some of you don't know the story of Elijah. Elijah was a prophet who stood against Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel. And he said, There'll be no rain for three and a half years, and there wasn't rain for three and a half years.
And Jezebel and Ahab hated Elijah for that, as did all the prophets of Baal. Finally, there was a showdown. And they built this huge altar, and the prophets of Baal said that they would prove that their God was the real God, but he wasn't. They couldn't get him to answer, and they couldn't get him to respond. And Elijah steps up, and by the power of God, this altar is consumed with fire.
And along with that, he kills so many of the prophets of Baal that Ahab and Jezebel cannot stand it.
So they put a hitman on Elijah. and they say, by sundown, your history.
Well, Elijah gets his shorts and a wad and decides, I cannot stand this kind of pressure. And so he runs and gets away and goes under a juniper tree and he cries out, Oh, Lord. Lord, I can't stand. Did I fall a Look at verse 2. How he pleads with God against Israel.
Lord, he's quoting now from First Kings 19. Verse 10, and he says the same thing in verse 14, identical words. Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life. I'm the only one left.
So Elijah crawls into a cave. Says the same thing again. The Lord says, What are you doing in there? And what does he tell in verse 4? What is the divine response to Elijah?
I have kept for myself 7,000 men. who have not bowed the knee to Baal. God brings along a friend named Elisha, different man. And Elijah. and Elisha.
Made great music together. But that's just one of 7,000. Here's the point. God has a chosen remnant. Just because God isn't working in the majority doesn't mean God is not at work.
It's very, very important for all of you to realize, all of us to realize, I'm in this. that God prefers to work through a remnant. God likes it when the odds are against us. Why? Only God can do the impossible.
I love it when we can't explain it. I got a friend who had cancer of the tongue. And he was a resident here in Dallas, went to a fine clinic. They took the x-ray. They said to him, they took the MRI whole thing.
They said, it's a malignancy, and we're going to have to take your tongue. He says, I'm going to. Go to another source. And they said, okay. He said, I want the X-rays.
They gave him the X-rays, the whole thing under his arm. And Billy called me up. I was ministering up in New England at the time. And he said to me, Chuck, I'm calling two or three of my friends saying, Pray for me. Pray that God will heal me.
I have a Malignancy on my tongue. I've got it right here in the x-ray.
So he went up to Mayo's and he was checked out by the oncology department there at Mayo. They took another picture and they looked at that picture and there's nothing there. And they said, let's see the x-rays again. Then look at them. They said, these are not your x-rays.
He said, is that my name? I haven't changed my name. I don't know how to change x-rays. Is that the hospital where I was in? Is that the doctor?
Yeah. That's my x-ray. But there's nothing here. I love it. It's impossible.
That's the whole point. That's how God works. But we are so enamored of the majority. We love it when we've got more on our side. Why?
Because we'll be triumphant. No. Didn't work for David and Goliath. When will we ever learn? When will you learn?
Remember Elijah. Verse five. In the same way, then. Here's the analogy. There has also come to be at the present time a remnant.
According to God's gracious choice.
Now, when Paul mentions gracious choice, he just has to take a moment to go into grace. And I love that about him.
So, not necessarily in context, he adds: if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. Sign yogi bara.
Sounds just like something Yogi Berra would write, doesn't it? It's obvious. If it's based on works, then it can't be based on grace. If it's grace, then works has nothing to do with it. Trust God.
And the implication is, you Jews who are working so hard to be righteous and you're giving up and you're disciplining yourself and you're following all the traditions and you're sweating through every minute of the prayer time and you're doing it daily, stop. It is based on grace, not works. Remember Elijah, who could do nothing, and the Lord said, I've got all of these plans. Invisible though they are to you, I'm at one. Work.
By the way, I love the line out of Proverbs: when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Proverbs sixteen seven. When your ways please the Lord, he works against your enemies. Remember that.
So we've got a personal reason, we've got a theological reason, we've got a biblical reason. And we've got the nature of discipline. That's another reason. In verses 7 through 10, he talks about this time of discipline that the Jews are under. What then?
What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened. Just as it is written, now he quotes from Isaiah 29, an eloquent passage of Scripture: God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not, ears to hear not, down to this very day. Then he quotes from Psalm 69, calling here simply David, says, Let their table become a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened to see not and bend their backs forever. The whole point is they're under discipline.
And the whole purpose, the nature of discipline is temporary. No one disciplines on a permanent basis. You discipline for a period of time for a particular reason, and then you back off from the discipline. Same way with the Jews.
So we have here no distinction. I love that fact. There is no distinction now between Jew and Gentile. Everett Harrison writes this: There is no difference when it comes to the need for Christ and the availability of his salvation. The source of their spiritual life is found in the same Lord.
Whose blessings are bestowed upon them without partiality.
Now All of this brings us to this grand 11th verse. This is where you and I, Gentiles, come into the picture. What's the reason? What's the purpose for the discipline? Why would the Lord or how would the Lord use this temporary setting aside of Israel for the benefit of others?
Look closely, there are two reasons given. I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall permanently, did they? May it never be. Watch closely. But by their transgression, that's the Jews' transgression.
Salvation has come To the Gentiles. How good is that? They had been set aside, and as a result, remember out of Acts 15, when the whole thing switched around and the gospel began to be presented to the Gentiles, and the Gentiles believed it, that's where our forefathers came in. Because the Jews have been set aside the gospel, then turned to the Gentiles, and you and I, so undeserving.
So irresponsible, so lacking in any spiritual roots, have been brought into this family of God. based on faith in Christ. Magnificent. And there's one other reason that will almost make you smile. Look at the end of verse 11.
By their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make them jealous, meaning the Jews. Don't you love that? To make the Jews jealous. Look at verse 14. If somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.
You ever thought about that? One of the great roles we have to play in life is the living out of the Christian life, which is so enriching, life-changing, transforming, exciting, and fulfilling that the Jew looks in from the outside and is jealous for what he's missing. You living like that? Do your Jewish neighbors see a life in you that is so different that they think, what am I missing? And they're not even Jews.
I thought, how do I illustrate this? What do I Do to make this even clearer. I thought about a restaurant. A restaurant here in Dallas, okay?
Now, I'm not going to name the restaurant. I named a restaurant one time and I kind of put it down, and the owner of the restaurant was in our congregation. And so, I'm not going to name any restaurant. You take the restaurant of your choice. One of the real nice ones.
Or maybe ones that has a wide, wide, broad menu. You can get everything from grilled cheese sandwiches and hamburgers all the way up to prime rib, real thick prime rib.
Okay, so you show up with your party of six or seven, and you sit down at a table, and you guys don't have much money, and we're all thinking, well, we're gonna either get grilled cheese sandwiches, maybe Uh Bowl of fries for everybody to eat from, and some are going to get hamburgers. And right next to us, is a table of 12, 13, 14. Jewish folks. And they've all ordered Prime. Reemp That's a thick prime rib.
Maybe I should do this. They've all ordered big, great, big, juicy prime ribs.
Okay.
So, everything rocks along pretty well. You've got the menu in your hand trying to decide. You keep looking over there at this great meal they just got served. All of a sudden, they stand up. The host at the table talks to the owner and says, Look, I'll pay for the meal, but nobody wants to eat this.
This isn't really what we wanted. And then they walk out.
Well, here's it. 12 plates a prime. Rib. And here you sit. Hungry as a moose, thinking, Wow.
And the owner comes over and says, say. There's nobody else in the restaurant. We're virtually closed. If you don't mind eating with some of the bus boys and a couple of waiters, in fact, I may sit down and join you. You can have the prime rib.
Is anybody going to? No, I'm going to stay with grilled cheese sandwiches. We all go, whoa, we jump over there, we sit down at a place that wasn't even set for us, and we start digging.
Now, in the meantime, the. These Jewish friends who were on their way to the to their home thing. What kind of fools are we? That would have been good.
So they turn around, they come back. Restaurants closed, so they look in the window. That is called Jealousy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're eating meal and look how good it is.
And we could have had it. The good news that in God's plan, I'm going to make this illustration walk on all fours. As God is planning, He lets them in a side door saying, You want back in? Come in, but you're going to eat the meal I fixed. And you're going to accept it as I put it together.
Or you're not going to have anything. And that's where the Jews are today. They're looking in our windows. Salivating. If we are truly living the life that was meant to be lived.
Are you? It's terribly important that you understand the value. of thinking positively toward the Jews. One of the worst things you can cultivate, and if your parents fell into this trap, one of the best things you can break is the prejudice against the Jews. Don't ever go there.
Don't ever go there. God still has a future for them. They may have missed the prime rib for now, but not for ever. Keep reading. Look at this.
Verse 12. If their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for us, the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be? I'm speaking to you who are Gentiles, inasmuch then, as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. If somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them. You think he wasn't zealous for the salvation of the Jews?
But to go back to the fulfillment there, I love this.
So helpful. How much more will be their fulfillment? What is the future of the Jews? When this blindness is lifted, when this temporary time of being set aside ends, what do they have to look forward to? Listen to the list.
The Jews once again will be in their land under their own flag, exalting the Messiah who will be reigning as king of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus Christ will be enthroned as the leader of the world in the city of Jerusalem, guiding the affairs of the world. There will be a perfect righteousness sustained on this earth. There will be a perfect environment for a thousand uninterrupted years. The removal of the curses.
The desert will blossom as a rose. No pollution, no corruption, even in governments, no ecological or sociological problems. The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. There will be unending peace. Satan and his demons will be bound along with all of his evil hosts, and an absolute fulfillment of God's promises to Israel will take place.
All of that yet future. Why? God promised. He promised it and he calls it here simply their fulfillment. That's what they have to look forward to.
Now, the application. This is so good. Number one, let me say something to you that is unlike man. Unlike mankind, unlike human beings, God does his best work through a remnant. Unlike Good night.
Us. God prefers the odds against him. He loves it when the situation is impossible.
Sometimes I'm convinced he lets things go on until they become. Impossible. for us to resolve them. And that's when he steps in. And often when he steps in, he does the most remarkable things and you think, oh, Why did I ever think I could have stepped in and done something better than that?
You may be in a holding pattern right now. You may not be in a very productive period of time in your life. You may feel shelved. Not unlike Elijah all alone. Let me remind you that God doesn't need a majority.
We prefer masses, we prefer larger numbers because we think more is better. Rarely is more better. What is God at work? He loves the odds against him. Unlike humanity, God does his best work through a remnant.
Here's the second. Unlike the world, God keeps his. Promises. He will keep his promises to the Jews, and he will keep his promises to you. To me.
Ours is a dishonest generation, precious few. can be trusted even when treaties are signed. Promises made. The Lord told Israel: You'll have your land, I'll rule over you, there will be peace and prosperity, and you will have my land. Presence.
I promise you. When my mother, several years before her death, Would come up against folks that were going through difficult times. She formed the habit of. writing out what she called promise books. Little handwritten verses of scripture that she put together in little notebooks, and she would give them to people going through grief, or going through discouragement, or a loss of a child, or a broken marriage, or a Someone suffering from a depression.
She would always say when she gave him the little notebook, remember. God keeps his promises. Time Magazine came out as if this is a good quote. Time Magazine came out with the statement that in the Bible there are 7,464 promises. I don't know why I remember that, but I remember reading that.
Whether or not they're right, there are thousands of promises in the Bible, and not all of them are for you or for me, but many of them are. Could you quote five of them? This last week, did you lean on one or two of them? Books full of them. When we were rearing our children, we had to always guard against, unless we really meant it, saying two words.
We promise. Because when we said The P word. Their little ears perked up like dobermans. And they said, You promised. You know, the parents' favorite line is, well, maybe.
Or we hope so. Or someday. Oh yeah, that'll be interesting. Or that might be nice. We have a thousand of those lines, but when we said, We promise.
I mean, they would wake us up. You've gone to sleep and you promised. You promise. God can be counted on. He promises.
Let me tell you one of his greatest promises. Those who believe in Him We'll never regret it. Those who trust him Can take it all the way to death. and beyond. Because God says If you take my Son as your Savior, You're in.
and you'll never be out. You're one of mine. I promise. I close on that note because I realize that there are still some of you who hear this message regularly, but you've not yet. Given Christ your life, this is the moment for you.
May we bow together. Wherever you may find yourself today, the good news is that God is there. And God is at work. As difficult as your situation may be, it is not. impossible to him.
That word is not in his vocabulary. He is working things out according to his will. which includes his timing. Our responsibility is to wait. And trust him.
If you aren't sure about your eternal salvation, today's the day to make sure. To take God at His word. to rely on him. to believe in his son. Father, thank you for the reminders that come from this ancient book.
for the timely stories of Elijah and Paul. and the changed lives. For the way you've always worked in a remnant and done your best work. though you yourself are invisible, Your fingerprints are all over the pages of history. Thank you that that has not changed.
Thank you for your work in our lives and for bringing us to such a place that we cannot see our way through. And that's when you do your best work. We count on you to keep your promises. not only to your chosen people, but to those of us who have been grafted in. Thank you in Jesus' name for the privilege of worshiping you.
And may our worship change our thinking and our lives. That we might become for some. The sources of hope and the reason to go on. even bringing them to jealousy. I ask it in the name of Jesus.
Everyone said Amen. God has not permanently rejected the Jewish people. In fact, Israel's future restoration is guaranteed by God's covenant promises. That's the good news of Paul's letter to the Romans, clearly declared in chapter eleven. Jock Swindahl titled today's message The Jews, Forgotten or Set Aside?
After hearing a message like this one, it's possible you're curious to learn more about Israel, the chosen people, and their essential role in Christian history. To gain a better grasp, we encourage you to take a deep dive into Paul's letter to the Romans, using your Bible and a variety of Chuck's companion resources. By doing that, you'll begin to grasp the beauty and magnificence of God's sovereign plan for Jews and Gentiles alike. If you'd like to hear more teaching, the Insight mobile app provides access to Chuck's sermons on the Romans series for free. Just download the Insight mobile app from your favorite app store and you're ready to listen.
Plus, Insight for Living offers a complete Bible study on Romans in the Searching the Scriptures format. You can find all the details at insight.org slash offer. And today we're pleased to offer a special downloadable PDF that features the fifth chapter in Chuck's biography of Abraham, the patriarch of the faith. The book is called Abraham. One Nomad's Amazing Journey of Faith.
And this chapter is called, Can We Talk? In this highly personal chapter, Chuck describes how Abraham cultivated his friendship with God and the benefits that followed. Chuck wrote, the Lord has your future blessings all planned out. ready to be released when your spirit is mature enough to receive them. This time-limited offer is available to our current monthly companions and to anyone who decides to become a new monthly companion.
As a monthly companion, you agree to give an automated contribution every month. and you set the amount that's best for you. You can get started today by calling us at 800-772-8888 or go to insight.org slash monthly companion. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us again when Chuck Swindahl continues our study in Romans chapter 11.
Thursday on Insight for Living. The preceding message: The Jews, Forgotten or Set Aside. Was copyrighted in 2007, 2010, and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R. Swindahl, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
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