We're going to look at a topic today in the scriptures, and it's in the scriptures, but it is one of the most hated doctrines of the Bible from religious people. But for God's people, we look at this truth that we're going to look at today and are in absolute awe of what our great God has done for us. As I mentioned in Sunday school, God's grace does not ask permission, does it, when it comes to us? See, religion is peddling a false grace that says you must do this to be saved. Well, we know the scripture declares you must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, right? but they've added all different things that you have to do. I've even heard one person, I'll say one time, a supposed preacher, said that God will never force himself upon you. Well, I'll tell you what. If God hadn't come and saved me, and made me well into the day his power, I never would have chose him. But the only reason I came to him is because he chose me before I chose him. And he chose us, beloved, before the foundation of the world. Now this is a doctrinal truth that's so vital for us. Because we know sinners, as sinners, when we were lost, we didn't want nothing to do with Christ. And that's the state of the world, those who are lost right now. And we were there. And it's the grace of God in Christ, right, the fact that God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, is the only reason why we came to Christ when we were born again by the Holy Spirit of God and given faith to believe on Christ. So therefore, salvation's of the Lord, right? See, modern religion, they don't say salvation's of the Lord, they say salvation's of man. And they say, oh, I never say that. Well, they peddle that God has to have permission by you to save you. That's not scriptural, is it, brother? No. The name of the message today is Unconditional Election. Election is my favorite topic of the Bible. I talked to Donny Bell. His favorite is the holiness of God. Mine's the unconditional election of God, grace, of a people in Christ. And every preacher you talk to, we all got favorite doctrines that we love preaching on, and it just fills our heart with joy always to preach the gospel, but then there's some topics that just make us just bubble over. This is one for me. The unconditional election of a people in Christ by God the Father. And let's read verses, 14 to 21, let's stand up and read this, of Acts chapter 22. We left off at verse 13 last week, so let's continue reading here from 14 to 21. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth, for thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now, why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance. and saw him saying unto me, Make haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee. And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death, and kept the remnant of them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart, for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. My, my. Now last week we looked at how Paul's genuine true love for the Jews was manifested, as those who had tried to kill him, he's standing up and telling them about Christ and the great things Christ done for him. So his love for his kinsmen in the flesh was evident, was evident. And like all the God's sent preachers, Paul knew that the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and him crucified is the instrument that God uses to deliver his lost sheep, his blood-bought children, because remember, they're already purchased 2,000 years ago. Salvation's already complete. From the power of Satan and the power of darkness and the power of sin, that's what he saved us from. The power of darkness, the power of Satan, and the power of sin. See, we couldn't deliver ourselves, could we? You know what? We didn't want to be delivered in our natural state. We thought we were fine. Oh my, isn't God's elect and grace amazing, beloved? It's outstanding. And Paul spoke to these ungodly Jews. He gave his personal testimony of what Christ had done for him. And that's the gospel we believe, beloved, is the people of God. Salvation's all in Christ and through him and his blood and righteousness. He gave his personal testimony and he bare the honor of telling others What great thing God had done for him. And that's what every preacher does. We stand up and tell people the great things God done for us. He saved my soul. I was dead. Spiritually dead. I had no desire for Christ, did you? You know, and when the Lord saved me, I didn't know nothing about election. I just knew I needed a Savior. I've learned about that now. He's taught me that. I found out I was a sinner and I was shocked. Were you? We were shocked, weren't we? Me? I'm a good, surely I don't sin that much. Oh my goodness gracious. I'm a good Catholic or I'm a good whatever, I'm a good this, I'm a good that. No, well then none good, no not one. And even after we're saved, we sin just as much as we did before we were saved. Now, God's working on us and moving on us, and we, now, now we struggle with sin. Now we realize that, and we don't wink at our own sin, do we? We come to Christ with repentance. Say, oh Lord, I'm such a wretch. It was fine. I'm going to tell you a funny story. Now, this is just what popped in my head today. I'm having breakfast with Vicky at McDonald's, right? And I'm eating this biscuit, and it's got butter on the biscuit. And she said, oh, they use real butter here, because she used to work there, right? And I said, oh, yeah, really? She says, yeah. And I said, well, she goes, oh, they're in the sticks, and they melt it. And you know what came in my mind? And I told her, I said, you know what came in my mind? Well, those would be good to steal. What in the world? I looked at Vicki and go, you wouldn't believe what just came in my mind. She goes, what? And I said, those would be good to steal. I'm like, where did that come from? My gosh, see? Just like that. Isn't it wild how we are? That's me. I was like, wow. And I said, Lord, forgive me. That was awful. How many times have things popped in our head that make us ashamed? We just don't verbalize it to anybody, right? And there's some things we never verbalize to people that flow through this little noggin. But we verbalize it to our king, don't we, saying, please forgive me. Please forgive me. Isn't God so good? He don't count our iniquities against us? And that's a reminder of how much we need Christ, continuously. Continuously. Isn't that amazing? So Paul told them what he had experienced on the Damascus Road. Conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ. And did God ask permission to save Paul? No, he came in power, didn't he? Paul's going to kill Christians or haul them back to Jerusalem where they would be killed. That's what he's, he's on a mission, man. I'm going to destroy this church. I'm going to destroy the people in the way. I'll stamp them out. Little did he know he's a chosen vessel. Well, that's because Paul was a preacher. Brother Zane, do you know you're a chosen vessel? Oh, my. Sister Marcia, do you know you're a chosen vessel? We're vessels of honor, beloved. Chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now, religious people, they hate that. But God's people, we love that. Because none of us would ever choose Christ. None of us. In our natural state. And so Paul, again, as I mentioned last week, he's a sketch to them who should believe hereafter. We're just like Paul. All of us are the same. born dead in trespasses and sins. And if God hadn't chose us, we never would have chose Him. And I ask you, did He ask permission to save you? No, He just saved you, didn't He? By His grace and His mercy. Isn't that wonderful? That's called God's unconditional election. And you know what? There was nothing in you And there was nothing in me that caused God to choose us in Christ. He didn't look down through time. That's a lie from the pit of Satan. From the pit of hell, that's a lie. When they say, God looked down through time and he saw who would choose him. He already knew who would come to him because he chose us in Christ. Why would he have to look down through time? He chose us before the foundation of the world. He made time. It's illogical, isn't it, when you think about it? That premise is totally illogical. Time never was until God invented it. And when did he choose us, sister? Before the foundation of the world. Before there was ever anything. Before the angels. He chose us in Christ. That's called unconditional election. Not because anything is, because all we are is a bunch of sinners. And here we are safe sinners. Now we're safe sinners. Safe saints, right, of God. Aren't you thankful that God chose you and chose me? Praise His mighty name. It's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. So Paul experienced the new birth, right? Because he was a son, because he was chosen in Christ, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit to him. The Spirit of Christ. And he's born again. He says, Lord, right away. He didn't make him Lord, he says, Lord! See, God's people, we acknowledge Christ and we acknowledge his Lordship. Remember, one of my favorite stories is in Luke 5 with the leper from head to toe, which is a picture of us in sin. Leprosy is a picture of sin. And the Lord looks at him, and he says, asked him if he wanted to be healed. And he said, Lord, if thou will. He's already believing on him. He's already born again. Lord, if thou wilt, thou can make me whole. He made us whole in Christ, didn't he? Saved us from all our sins. And now, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, we will be able to be in the presence of God forever. All because God chose us in Christ And then Christ came into time and space, which he made, right? And came here, lived the perfect life in our room and place 2,000 years ago before we weren't even thought of. Perfectly fulfilled the law of God. Went to the cross and shed his blood to save us from all our sins. And then on the third day, he rose again. And now he's seated in the heavens, ruling and reigning. And one day we're gonna be there with him. All because of God's unconditional election. Because he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. And it's absolutely incredible. Absolutely incredible. Because the reason it's so incredible is because we're bankrupt, hell-deserving sinners. Brother Tom Harden used to say that all the time. I love that saying. We're bankrupt, hell-deserving sinners. Totally bankrupt. We have nothing to offer God for our salvation. We are deserving of nothing but the eternal wrath of God. That's what we're deserving of. But rejoice, beloved of God. Those for whom Christ died, the wrath of God is being extinguished as it fell upon our Savior rather than us. Marvel at that love. Marvel at the love of God in Christ. Christ dying in the room in place of sinners and shedding his blood and giving his life to redeem us from all our sins and to extinguish the wrath of God that was against us. So much so that God says, your sins and iniquities will I remember no more. And it all starts with God's unconditional election of us in Christ in eternity. My, what a wonderful doctrine. I remember the first time, though I heard it when I was in religion, I recoiled. I said, no, God's not like that. He doesn't choose some and send others to hell. Little did I know that all God has to do for a man to go to hell is leave him alone. Just leave him alone. And in order for God to save a man, he has to do everything. Or a woman, too. Everything. I was talking to my daughter about, we were studying some scriptures. And she marveled in John chapter three, where it said, God didn't come into the world to condemn the world. That's what she thought. She goes, he came in here to save his people. I'm like, yeah. She goes, we were already condemned. I'm like, yeah. My. Isn't that wonderful, beloved? Isn't that amazing? It's absolutely incredible. And when we see by faith, by God-given faith, that the blood of Jesus Christ has purged away all our sins from God's sight, when we see that the Lord Jesus Christ, our risen Savior, as the one and only mediator between God and man, as our blessed surety, our great high priest, who pleads our cause before God the Father continuously, when we see Christ as our majestic God, the ruler of heaven and earth, keeping us, by His sovereign power through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. It fills we believers with absolute awe and wonder. Christ saved my soul. My. And now we who are the born again, blood washed, redeemed people of God, Now we see ourselves complete in Christ, right? And we echo the words of Paul, if God before us, who can be against us? No one. Let's look at verse 14 again. Look at the truth of God's unconditional election proclaimed. You know, people who say, well, I don't believe that. Well, then you're telling me that you don't believe what the Bible says. Marvel when people say, I don't believe that. They're basically saying they don't believe what God's word says. Right? I was there. Look at this. Acts 22, 14. It's so clear. And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee. Look at that. Ananias tells Paul, the God of our fathers has what? Chosen thee. Chosen thee. Thou shouldest know his will. Look at that. Paul was going around persecuting Christians and killing Christians thinking, well, I'm doing God's will. He didn't have a clue who God was. And think of this, as we contemplate election, let us always remember it was God's will to choose us in Christ. Now, that's absolutely incredible. Because we know who we are, don't we, Travis? It's amazing. It's absolutely stunning, to be honest with you. Makes you just be in awe of our great God. Look at this, that thou shouldest know his will and see that just one. Now to see him by faith. We didn't see him before, did we? See that just one. And shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. Now Paul actually saw him and heard him. But by faith, we see him by faith. And we hear him through the preaching of the gospel, don't we? the voice of the shepherd. It's amazing. Now, we see a truth in this wonderful verse, again, that I'd like us to key on today. I already have been, but I'd like to key on it even more. The fact of God's unconditional election. Look at that. The God of our fathers has chosen thee. Now we can say, well, when? When? And that's true for every believer. God the Father has chosen us. My. And think of this now. There's absolutely nothing in Paul, right, that would cause God to choose him, because he's going around slaughtering his people. Well, there's nothing in us that would cause God to choose us, because we blaspheme his name in our natural state. We're sinners. We deserve hell. We're bankrupt. So there's nothing in us that would cause God to choose us. And the scripture makes it so plain. And I don't mean this in a condescending way, because I didn't see it before the Lord saved me. There's none that seeketh after God. None. We don't seek God in our lost estate. He seeks us. And again, He doesn't ask permission to save us. Praise His mighty name. Because all of us in our natural state would say, I want nothing to do with you. How do we know that? There's none that seeketh after God. There's none good, no, not one. There's none that understandeth. It was all Romans chapter three. That's our state. That's where God finds us. Isn't that amazing? And he finds us in that state, and he saves us. You know why? Because he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. It's a beautiful doctrine, beloved. It's absolutely incredible that God would choose a sinner like me. It's amazing grace. This is grace abounding to sinners. This is mercy and love found only in and through Christ and his blood and righteousness. This is the only way a sinner can be saved is through Christ Jesus our Lord. This is God's way of salvation, not man's. I ask you, this man, you men, did you choose your bride? Right? Did you choose your bride? Why can't God choose his bride? Right? Yeah. I love what Neil said a long time ago. Neil, I remember talking to you, and you said, I don't know why people get all worked up about election, because God can do whatever he wants to do. It's up to him. And I love that. That's so true. That's the truth right there. God can do whatever he wills. And we're just thankful he saved us. We're just thankful he chose us. Because we never would have chosen him. So let we who are the redeemed of the Lord marvel at what Ananias proclaims in this verse to Paul. The former persecutor of the church, the former persecutor of the church of the living God. And he says this, the God of our fathers, what? Hath chosen thee. That means to choose in the Greek. That's the scripture, that's not Wayne Boyd's opinion. It's what the scripture says. Marvel at these words. And this is true for all born-again blood-washed believers, that the God of our Father had chosen thee. Why? That thou shouldest know his will. What was his will? To save sinners from their sins. And he sent his son to do that for chosen sinners. And look at this, and to see that just one. Well, now we see him by faith, don't we? We never saw him before. and hear the voice of his mouth. We hear the voice of the shepherd through the preaching of the gospel, and it speaks to our heart, doesn't it? My. Now the doctrine of election is not strong meat. People say, well, you know, you shouldn't tell new Christians about election. Take them to this verse. Paul just converted. What does Ananias say to him? First thing he says is, the God of our fathers has chosen thee. Isn't that wonderful? He doesn't say, well, you know what, Paul, this is kind of strong meat. I think I better let you wait and chew on this later on. The God of our fathers hath chosen thee. Oh my, this God honor and truth, this wondrous truth. Is God glorified in truth, beloved? The fact of Christ choosing us, of God the Father choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world, is glorious. And this God honor and truth shall be preached and proclaimed every day, beloved. Every day. Babes in Christ should hear this truth. Young adults in Christ should hear this truth. Those who are mature in Christ should hear this truth. I am still filled in awe and wonder that God chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world. How about you? Isn't that amazing? What a God-honoring, glorifying truth. And this should comfort our souls, beloved. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. We need to be reminded that the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob chose us in Christ before time ever was, before the foundation of the world. This will fill our heart with joy, beloved. See, the religious man, the natural man hates this because you know what it does? It takes them out of the equation. That's why they hate it. They want to be sovereign instead of bound to the sovereign. Right? They want their will to be supreme. There's only one that has the total free will, and that's God. He has the will to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. Look at this, this is beautiful. So let's read this in light of what we read over there about the God of our Father hath chosen thee. Look at this. Paul's writing to Ephesian believers, just believers like you and I, beloved. Look at this. Does he hold this back? No. Look at verses three to six. Look at this. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. according as he had chosen us in him, not being Christ, before the foundation of the world. Look at that. Just let that stop right there for a second. Before the foundational, before there ever was time, before there was ever angels, before there was ever worlds, heavens, according as he has chosen us, in him before the foundation of the world. Now he's writing to former idol worshipers. Why? That we should be holy. How are we holy? We're a bunch of sinners in Christ. And without blame. Without blame? You mean We who are sinners still, even after we're saved, are without blame before the throne of God? Yes. Only through the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And look at this. Look at this, it goes on. Before him in love. That's everlasting love. That's love that has no, no end and no beginning. That's amazing. That's the everlasting love of God shown to his people in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Look at this, verse five. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself. Look at that. Having predestinated us, who's the us? Those who were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself were people of his choosing. According, look at this, oh I love this. Brother Travis, read that for me. Amen, his will, his will, look at that. According to the good pleasure of his will, God's will. Isn't that wonderful? We're saved. We're chosen in Christ according to the will and purpose of God. That's wonderful, beloved. That's amazing. Look at this. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted and beloved. We're accepted in Christ, beloved. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to his disciples, you've not chosen me, but I've chosen you. In my mouth, the plain language of our Savior, you've not chosen me, I've chosen you. He made it so clear, and yet you bring up the doctrine of God's unconditional election, and people just lose their minds. Even some people who profess to believe what the scriptures say. I had one fellow I know, he said, oh, I believe the Bible cover to cover. And I said, okay, that's wonderful. So do I. I said, well, what about God's elect and grace? Oh, don't start that with me. Well, I said, you don't believe the Bible from cover to cover then. You like to cut things out you don't agree with. We accept what the word of God says. Right? What we believe is conformed around the word of God, not what we think. Right? Not what we think. It's conformed around what God's word says. And we see clearly here in the passages today, God's chosen the people. Because those underlying Greek words means to choose. To the praise and the glory of his grace, wherein it is accepted in the beloved. Oh my. And then we read over in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 13 and 14. We are bound to give thanks always to God for you, beloved brethren of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning from the beginning. When's the beginning? Well, we just found that out, didn't we? In Ephesians 1, verse 4, according as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him, beloved. And then in 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 and 14, we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. wherein he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. There's the importance of preaching the gospel right there. So marvel at these words here. Marvel at these words over there in 2 Thessalonians. I thank God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord. The only reason we love God is because He loved us first. The only reason we choose God is because He chose us first. He gives us faith to believe on Him and to run to Him. It's only the grace of God that we do not perish in our sins, like so many around us. with, as one commentator said, it's only the grace of God that does not cause us to perish with the apostates all around us. People who want nothing to do with God. Praise the name of Jesus for our salvation. Praise God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit for entering into a covenant in eternity past to save His people from their sins. My. And look what it says there too in 2 Thessalonians 2, 13 and 14. God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. There it is again. It's so clear, isn't it? So clear. And this is written to former idol worshippers in Thessalonica, Gentiles, Just like we are. And look at that, marvel at that, Brother Travis. God has chosen. He chose us. God has chosen, from the beginning, chosen us to salvation. My. And on over in Ephesians. One, again, we were elected to salvation in Christ before the foundation of the world. Through sanctification of the spirit, that means to be born again. In belief of the truth, that means to be given God-given faith to believe on Christ, because we don't naturally just believe on Him. You must be born again. Isn't it wonderful? It's all God. Where unto He called you by our gospel. There's the importance, again, of preaching the gospel. Here we see in 2 Thessalonians 2 verses 13 and 14, whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we must preach Christ. We're not playing games. My concern is for your souls and the souls of those who will hear this message. My. For people in the world, religion is just a game. They get dressed up and go to church and do this and do that. This is real for us, isn't it? By the grace of God. God chose us in Christ. He saved us by His precious blood. And we come here and we get to hear about the gospel. We get to hear about Christ our Savior. Wonderful. He's the one we long to hear about. And again, as I said in Sunday school, we need a steady diet of the gospel daily, don't we? We do. We're not playing church. I need Christ every day. All the time, do you? My. And isn't it marvelous that he sustains us and keeps us? all flows back to because he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, based on absolutely nothing in us. My, this is amazing. Election is not salvation, but it's unto salvation. Those who are elected must be born again. They must be born again. They must be called by the Holy Spirit to genuine repentance before God. They must be given faith to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And remember, repentance and faith is like the same piece of paper. I've said this many times, got this from Henry, it's so true. Repentance and faith. Faith is on one side, repentance is on the other, and it's a gift of God to us. Because we would never repent unless we had faith. Right? What comes first, regeneration or faith? Well, regeneration. You must be born again, right? And you're given faith and now we say, Lord, I believe. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Thou art my Savior. Oh, and you know why we cry that? Because ye were sons, Galatians says. God has sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, whereby ye now cry, Abba, Father. Why, why do we now, why have we received the Holy Spirit? Because we are sons. When, how long have we been sons? From before the foundation of the world. Do you see the link? It's like chains, links in a chain that cannot be broken, beloved. My, it's all God honoring. My. The Holy Spirit is the agent and the Word of God is the seed, the instrument, or the foundation of faith. Marvel then that there's a threefold sanctification of the believer. Number one, we're set apart by God the Father in eternity. Right? Oh my. Then we're made holy and unblameable by Christ. And then we're born again and sanctified by God the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Isn't that amazing? That's amazing. Again, the doctrine of God's sovereign electing grace produces, you know what it produces? It produces a thankful spirit. Because we know we never would have chosen Christ. So we're so thankful that he saved us. It's a God-honoring doctrine that fills our heart with joy. My, it's absolutely incredible. And when we're born again, we'll rejoice at God's sovereign electing grace. The choice of Him choosing every single member of the body of Christ. It's amazing. And we will all be equally thankful to our God for his divine providence that brought us into the preaching of the gospel. I wasn't looking for Christ when he saved me. Not at all. Not at all. But by the power of the life-giving power of God the Holy Spirit, I was born again. called out of darkness, translated into the eternal kingdom of God's dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ, our exalted king. That's what he is. He's a king. And we will also be thankful to our great God for revealing his gospel to us. Makes us realize that God has purposed our salvation. Therefore, let us glorify the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. Now again, as I mentioned earlier, natural men and women, religious people, hate the truth of unconditional election. And how do we know? Just ask them. Just tell them you believe that God chose the people. And watch the fireworks. My. And it's not just religious folks. I remember telling a Mormon. A Mormon come knocking on my door one time, and I said, well, you know, God chooses the people. What? They blew a gasket on the spot. It's true. God chooses his people. He has. And people that want to fight against it, it's already been done. Just because you don't believe it, you think God's going to change his mind? Say, well, that's not fair. I don't want fair. Do you? Fair would be we all go to hell. We all perish in our sins. Praise God for his redeeming grace and mercy shown to sinners such as we in Christ. My, we don't want fair. My, oh, my. Let's read this again. Acts 22, 14. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldest know his will, and see that just one, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. Look at that. The truth is set forth so plainly. And remember who the true author of this is. God, the Holy Spirit, telling us this. Luke's just a pen man. Paul was just a pen man. The Holy Spirit is the author of this book, beloved. And marvel at what he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldest know his will. So we conclude here then that salvation's of the Lord and we say glory to his name. Look what he's done. Look what he's done. And look at this, that thou shouldest know his will. This has reference to the will of God in salvation. This is not to do with our will. It's a reference to the will of God in saving the people from their sins. Saul of Taurus knew absolutely nothing about the will of God before he was converted to the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't know anything. He had zeal, but without knowledge. He thought he was doing the Lord's will, but he wasn't. He was persecuting his people. And this is the state where God found us. And this is the state of every unregenerate man or woman, whether they be religious or whether they just be lost. They're all lost. This is our state. We do not know his will and salvation. But isn't it amazing that after we are saved, And after God reveals these truths to us, this gospel of grace of the crucified Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, isn't it incredible how amazing this grace becomes to us? It's absolutely incredible. Turn, if you would, to 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. Now why do we not understand the things of God before we're saved? Why do we not understand the will of God before we're saved? Well, because we're natural men and women then. Now we may be religious, or we may not be. We may think we know the will of God, but we don't understand the things spiritual. This is why you must be born again. This is why it's so, so emphasized by our king. You must be born. Remember Nicodemus, he studied the word of God, right? He's a master in Israel. And Christ says, you don't know these things? No, and he says, you must be born again. Look at this, this is incredible here. Look at this, 1 Corinthians chapter two. For what man knoweth the things of a man? save the spirit of a man. So we as men and women, we know human things, right? For what man knoweth, 1 Corinthians 2.11, for what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. Look at how plainly God the Holy Spirit has set before us the fact that in our natural state we do not know God. We don't know anything about God. Look at this. Now we have received. Not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God. See, we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God, right? This is amazing. That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Brother Brian, we were here, we didn't know nothing. We didn't understand the things of God, and then all of a sudden, God gives us light, and now we're learning about the things of God, don't we? We're born again. We know more now than when we were first saved, and by the time we get home to glory, we'll know a little bit more. But all these things are revealed to us by God. We would not understand the scriptures and the things of the scriptures without the Holy Spirit teaching us and guiding us. See, the Holy Spirit is our teacher. He teaches us the things of Christ. Mine. It goes on here. Which things also we speak. So, preacher stands up and he's proclaiming, God sent preachers are proclaiming the truth of the scriptures. Right? Not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, so he's not using fancy words. Have you ever noticed that with Paul too? Just like Christ, he didn't use all these fancy words. The Holy Spirit, isn't it amazing that the Holy Spirit, who's God, who's the true author of these words, didn't use all this convoluted language. Spoke very plainly through his word, didn't he? It's beautiful. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches. Look at that, who's our teacher? The Holy Spirit. Remember, he'll come and teach us the things of Christ. He won't speak of himself, the Lord said. Comparing spiritual things with spiritual. So we are to be like the Bereans. When a man preaches to us, we're to go look in the scripture, compare scripture to scripture. Oh yeah, he's preaching the truth. Good for all of us to do. Right? It's wonderful. Look at this. Now here it goes. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. Why? For they are foolishness unto him. Foolishness. I remember sitting at my table with my mom and dad when I was about nine and ten. Again, making fun of that Christian guy that my brother worked with. Right? I suppose, oh, he's a bargain Christian now. Oh man, the things we said, oh, it was horrible. Laughing and scorning, and then that man's the first man to give me a Bible. And after the Lord saved me, I told my brother, you let know, let Larry know that the Lord saved me, and he was rejoicing. My oh my. But see, the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. They're foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. This is why when we meet someone who's not religious or doesn't know anything, talking to them about the scriptures is foolishness to them. And even religious people, when you talk to them about the truth of the scripture, and if they're not born again, they just recoil from it. But let us have patience, beloved. And remember where we came from, because we were right there. Right? Let's have patience with them. Right? Long, long suffering. How long suffering was the Lord with me and with you? Oh, my goodness. And how long suffering is He still with us? My goodness. Oh, God's so gracious. My, oh, my. So after he experienced, after Paul experienced the miracle of the new birth, he now had a spiritual mind, he's born again. Doesn't mean that he knew all the will of God right away and all things, because no Christian does. We just know what God reveals to us. And we marvel at that, don't we? I remember when I first found this truth, when the Lord revealed it, I was like, oh my gosh, he really does choose people. Yes, he does. Because, like T.J. Ward said one time, if God hadn't chosen some, heaven would have none. My, oh my. Truth to that, isn't there? Praise God. He saved some. He chose some. A number that no man can number, beloved. Oh my, one day we'll be there singing Worthy is the Lamb with him. Paul had learned. He had learned and had revealed to him that God works all things after the counsel of his own will. Remember he wanted to go into Asia? Three times he wanted to go into Asia and the Lord wouldn't let him. Wouldn't let him. And then he goes over to a place and there's a lady there, Lydia, from Asia Minor. In Ephesus, I believe it was, and he preaches the gospel to her, and she attends to the things by the grace of God. The Lord opens her heart to attend to the things that Paul is saying. They weren't foolishness to her now. She's born again. Oh my, isn't it wonderful? All because she was chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Ephesians 1.11 says, In whom, speaking of Christ, also we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Ephesians 1.11. See, that's our God. He works all things according to the purpose of His will. And it says, well, what about my will? Well, our will is bound to our nature. Man thinks he's free and he's embodied to sin. It's only after the Lord Jesus Christ saves us that we're free now. A.W. Pink said, he said, I like this. A.W. Pink said, man doesn't have free will until the Lord saves him. Now we start choosing the things we want to do. Oh, isn't that amazing? Because before we were led by our dead nature. Now we're led by the spirit of God. Isn't that amazing? It's absolutely incredible. So things that we used to think were okay, now we know they're wrong. My. Things that we used to just drink sin-like water, now we get a check. I don't want to do those things anymore. And it shocks us when these things come into our minds, doesn't it? That's why it shocks us, beloved, because we're not the same people we were. Paul had been taught by the Holy Spirit of God that God the Father sent the Lord Jesus Christ into this sin-cursed world to do His will, which was to save His people from their sins. And it's the Lord Jesus Christ that would sanctify and perfect a particular people, a people chosen by God the Father in Christ before the foundation of the world. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews chapter 10, last scripture we're turned to. And it was God, the Holy Spirit, that moved Paul to pen these words, these truths in Hebrews chapter 10, verses 9 and 10. Hebrews 10, verse 9, then said, he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. This is Christ saying, he said, I come to do your will, Father. He taking away the first that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Christ offered himself up once for all the people. that God had chosen in him from before the foundation of the world. Once. Now this wonderful truth of God's unconditional election of a people in Christ before the foundation of the world, along with the gospel truths in the salvation of God's elect, has reference to these words from, Ananias said to Paul, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee that thou shouldest know his will. Now we know a little bit about the will of God, don't we? We know that it was God's will to save a people. And he sent his son to do that. And we praise his name that we're part of that number. Isn't that amazing? We're part of that number. You ever remember that song Kathy sings sometimes and we sing it a couple times? He included me. Praise God, he included me. I love that song. Praise God he included me in that great number, because I never would have chosen him. Never. So beloved of God, let us not lose sight of this truth, that Paul was a pattern, a sketch, to them which should hereafter believe on the Lord Jesus Christ through life everlasting. And that we who are the redeemed of the Lord leave here rejoicing today. Leave here marveling today. In this wondrous truth that's set before us. That all of God's elect were chosen by our sovereign almighty God. According to his will and purpose. That he sent the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to save us from our sins. And let us rejoice that we now know a little bit about the will of God in salvation. And we cry with Jonah, salvation is of the Lord, don't we? It's all His doing. It's all His doing. So let this wonderful truth of God's unconditional election of a people of His choosing, according to His will and purpose, Help us by the power of God, the Holy Spirit, to understand the truths concerning the gospel of salvation in and by and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen. Brother Travis, would you close us in prayer?