PENTECOST 14
September 18/19, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Romans 11:33-36

“WHEN YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND GOD, PRAISE HIM!
1. For His Wisdom.
2. For His Grace.
3. For His glory.

Romans 11:33-36 (NIV1984) “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

God is God and I am not. That is a phrase that has stuck in my head. I heard it first from a pastor friend of mine who would say it whenever we were talking about things we didn’t understand. God is God and I am not. He even wrote a paper on that topic. God is God and I am not! The Holy Spirit had the Apostle Paul write on that topic as well. His words that I read to you moments ago follow some pretty hard to understand teachings of Scripture. He had revealed teachings like Election also known as Predestination where God in His mercy and to highlight His grace chose those to be saved before the Creation of the world. That’s hard to understand. He had explained some truths that were very hard for the Jewish Christians to understand like the fact that Gentile believers were also part of God’s chosen Israel. He pointed to the hard truth that those who had Jewish blood but rejected Jesus as their Messiah in spite of all of God’s warnings and pleadings would not be saved. And then right before our text the Holy Spirit focused his and our attention on the fact that in God’s plans, man’s constant disobedience is really an opportunity for God to show mercy. We don’t think like that. These aren’t our ways of working. But they are God’s and so when Paul found himself grappling to understand God’s ways he simply burst into a song of praise. That gives us a good way to respond as well. When you don’t understand God, praise Him. Paul helps us to see what we can praise Him for.
First when you don’t understand God praise Him for His wisdom. Paul’s praise went like this: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” Paul’s words make me chuckle. When was the last time you got a phone call that went like this: “Hi. It’s the Lord. I’m having a problem and I need your advice.” That’s ridiculous! God doesn’t need advice. He doesn’t need a counselor. But isn’t that exactly what we try to do some time in prayer? Lord I have this problem and this is what I want you to do about it, taking this wonderful gift of prayer and using it like a leash as though we can yank God around. That’s the offense of “name it, claim it” theology of prayer where if you believe enough in what you ask for God has to do it. Well, I’ve got news for those folks. The almighty does not have to do anything. Nor does He take advice from creatures He created.
Or how about those other hard areas to deal with? Forgive me if I cause anyone here any pain. Why does the Christian couple who want so badly to serve the Lord by serving souls in the form of children go childless and those who neglect their kids get one after another to abuse? Why does a child die before the parents? Why do the wicked seem to get away with it? Why doesn’t God just wipe out the terrorists, the murders, the rapists? Why? Why? These questions and so many more can plague us as we strive to put to together the absolute power of God, His knowledge of all things, and square it with life in a world which seems so unfair. Brothers and sisters when you can’t understand God, stand under Him. God is God and I am not. Praise Him, like Paul did. Acknowledge that His wisdom and knowledge are so much greater. His judgments always wise and His ways beyond our ability to comprehend. Trying to figure out the wisdom of God is like staring into the depths of the ocean from the surface, seeing some fish swim by 20 feet down and thinking you’ve got. Oh no, there is some much more to the ocean depths than that and there is so much more to the wisdom of God than we can even begin to guess at. If you want just a tiny taste from just a human perspective try playing chess against someone who is much better than you. I just started playing with a friend and I watch some moves and say, “Why is he doing that?” and then make my smart move only to find 3 or 4 moves later I’m left with only bad choices for moves. I say, “How did he do that?” That is nothing compared to the wisdom and knowledge of God and His ways of working.
And for all those times you want to question His ways, if you want to see how the power of God and the wisdom of God work together look at the cross. See Jesus there. Who would ever have thought of that? Who would think of putting the power of the Son of God in man making Him vulnerable to death and then using that death to make payment for the sins of all people. Brilliant! When you can’t understand God, praise Him. Praise Him for His wisdom.
Praise Him for His grace. “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” That’s another one of those makes me chuckle question. Someone coming to God to collect on an IOU. Ridiculous! And yet there we go again in the wickedness of our hearts. I obeyed you Lord, (that one time, never mind the 99 times today I didn’t!) Now you owe me something good. My prayer should get answered. Or looking at the offerings we bring as an obligation, a must, instead of a privilege to have our pieces of paper and metal actually accepted by God as something pleasing to Him. These pay St. Jacobi’s bills, not God’s. He doesn’t have any bills. He owes no one.
And yet He still gives. God’s gifts and blessings are not payback but pay forward. He forgives not because we deserve it but because He loves us and so we will be motivated to love in return. The physical blessings we have in homes and skills and family and things, all flow from God who gives because He gives. It’s grace. God acting out of undeserved love. Remember that the next time you are tempted to cry “Not fair, God” when someone you think is less than you gets blessings you want to have. Let your whining “Why me” in the midst of adversity become a wondering “Why me?” that revels in God’s grace. Why are you so good to me Lord when I have sinned against you so greatly?
You know the Apostle Paul thought that. He didn’t have a problem with God’s dealing with the world because he had been wowed by God’s grace. As Saul he had been the Christian killer and Christ hater. He had done more harm to more brothers and sisters in the early Christian church than anyone of his former colleagues. And still Jesus had chosen him to be saved and to serve. Remembering that helped Paul when he didn’t understand how God was dealing with other people. So he praised God for his grace.
And for His glory. “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” Behold the glory of God. All the universe flows from His power and wisdom. Only though Him are all things sustained. And to Him, for Him do all things exist. God is God. He is not some sort of superhuman. He’s not one of his with X Men power. Many times when you and I are having trouble with things God has allowed in our lives or the lives of others it’s because we are trying to make God in our own image as though our ways of thinking and acting are the best and so God should be like that. But God is not the image of man. He is God and we need to acknowledge that and humble ourselves beneath Him and praise Him for His glory.
God is God and I am not. That is what my pastor friend and I would say when something didn’t make sense. We gradually added another line to it. God is God. I am not and I wouldn’t want it any other way! Oh we would laugh. What if God was like us. We’d all be in trouble. But He’s not like us and we are not in trouble. We are saved according to His wisdom and His grace and this is for His glory. Remember that when you can’t understand God. Then praise Him. Amen.