once again. If you would turn
your Bibles to Romans 8, Romans chapter 8. Romans 8, we'll be looking at
just a couple of verses, and the first verse we'll look at
is verse 29. It says, for whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
Whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called,
them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he
also glorified. Not a single thing that's transpired
in this world will transpire as a surprise to our Lord God.
He's the author, the finisher. He is the appointer. He is the
deciding factor, the beginning and the end. I had a conversation
with a gentleman a while back, and we were talking about what
is preached here in this pulpit right here. And he said, I just
don't know about all that predestination talk. And I said, well, if I
don't know about something that's being preached, I better be sure
I can find it in the Bible. I need to search the word, as
the Bereans did, to verify what's being said is so. If what is being preached in
this pulpit or any other place speaking on behalf of the Lord
himself is not from this book and is not the gospel, then I
have plenty to question. But this predestination talk,
tell me over and over again about that. What does it mean when
it says he did predestinate? In Acts 4.28 it says, for to
do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel Determined before to
be done. Determined, defined as having
made a firm decision and being resolved. Resolved, that's another
word that's kind of interesting to me. Firmly determined to do
something. It's gonna be done. It will be
done. He made a firm decision and it
said not to change it. It means He did predestinate,
and 1 Corinthians 2.7 says, but we speak the wisdom of God in
a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained. He predetermined
before the world unto our glory. We speak the wisdom of God. When
we commune with one another over the gospel, we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, but he predetermined, he ordained before the world
this hidden mystery unto our glory. I was looking at the word
unto. You know, you could pass by that
word very quickly, but Mr. Google says it's actually an
archaic word meaning to or until, until our glory. When we are
found in glory, the wisdom of God in a mystery will no longer
be. It will no longer be hidden.
It will be revealed to us for what it truly is, and it will
be glorious. If you would turn your Bibles
to Ephesians 1. Ephesians chapter one. The first I'm getting to is in
verse 5, but I want to start in verse 3 to build us up there. Ephesians 1 verse 3 says, blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ,
according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children. by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will. He did this, having predestinated
us before the world ever came to be. I'll tell you, I mean,
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, that's good
news to me. According to the good pleasure
of his will, he's got a will and it will be completed. And
then the last verse in six says, to praise of the glory of his
grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. He predestinated
all that. Turn to Acts 17, please. Once again, what does it mean
when he says, what does it mean when he said
predestinate? He did predestinate. In Acts
17 verse 24, it says, God that made the world and all things
therein, he made it all, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and
earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands, Neither is worshiped
with men's hands as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth
to all life and breath and all things. And hath made of one
blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the
earth and have determined the times before appointed and the
bounds of their habitation. He hath determined. He hath appointed
beforehand the times before. Verse 27, that they shall seek
the Lord if happily they might feel after him and find him,
though he be not far from every one of us. For in him we live. In Christ we live. In him we
move. In him have our being. As certain
also of your poets have said, for we are all also his offspring. Back to Romans 8, 29. Tell me again how he foreknew
me. And if he foreknew me, he also
did predestinate me. Tell me when I was predestinated,
I was conformed to the image of his Son, Christ Jesus. Honestly, I cannot wrap my head
around that. This filthy sinner's body, which
inherited sin from first father Adam, will be conformed to the
image of the Son of God. I am not deserving of anything
less than eternal damnation, but God, who is rich in mercy,
will conform me to his son's image. That's good news to me,
and that's a good work. And if we look in the previous
verse in verse 28, and this is a widely known verse, and we
know that all things work All things work together for good
to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose. The called. To be called, you
have to be invited. You have to be divinely selected
or appointed. If I send out invitations to
an event, I don't do it that day. I have some foreknowledge
before of who I'm going to invite. The called, according to the
Blue Letter Bible, are the saints. The invited are by God in the
proclamation of the gospel to obtain eternal salvation in the
kingdom God through Christ. The father had foreknowledge
before the beginning time of who he would call. He knew his
saints, he knew his people, he knew who he would predestinate
to conform to the image of his son. How are those that love
God, the called, how are they called? They are called by a
effectual message, effectual call from the Spirit of God.
We hear this term effectual often, and it even kind of caught my
eye too, and as our pastor does often, I did some more searching
into it, and that effectual word means effective. It means active
or powerful. Nothing the Lord does is ineffective.
He doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't have misfortunes.
There are no accidents. Everything he does is active
and powerful. When the Spirit of the Lord God
breathes life into a sinner, by way of God sent effectual
call, that sinner receives an effective communication between
himself and God. If you would, Turner, 1 Corinthians
2. We're gonna look at this effectual call for a moment. 1 Corinthians 2. It'll be in verse
seven. But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom of God ordained before
the world unto our glory. ordained before the world. Sounds
like he predestinated it. He decided it all before anything
started. He predetermined before the world,
which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard Neither
have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him. I'm gonna read that one more
time, because that is deep. That is very deep. I have not seen, ear have not
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which
God hath prepared. Didn't say he's preparing, he
said hath prepared. He already did it, it's done,
for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. When that Spirit of God
sends out an effectual call, He's seeking, He's sending out
for those deep things of God. 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. Now
we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit
which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God. Natural man is all in on receiving
the spirit of the world, seeking out things of this world, but
the called, the believer, those who have received the effectual
call of the Holy Spirit, that we may receive the Spirit of
God, that we might know these things which are freely given
of and by God to us. I can't receive them if I'm looking
to the Spirit of the world. I need to be looking to Christ.
I need the Spirit of God to cover me with Him. I've told you before
that I believe every time we are afforded the opportunity
to hear the gospel, It's like we are being saved once again,
over again, and it's wonderful. That true gospel shows me I'm
a sinner, I need a savior, and there is such a one. The Spirit
of the Lord is making an active and powerful, effective call
to the sinner. The love of God ruling in the
hearts of those who were once enemies to him proves that they
are called by an ultimate purpose that which he predestinated.
Turning your Bibles to Philemon, Philemon 1. Philemon 1, we'll start in verse
3. Right before Hebrews. Philemon 1 verse 3 says, grace
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God, making mention
of thee always in my prayers. What a wonderful thing when we
can make mention in our prayers, thanking our God. Hearing of
thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus and
toward all saints. that the communication of thy
faith may become effectual, effective, by the acknowledging of every
good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Once again, that
acknowledging is a precise and correct knowledge, precise and
correct knowledge of every good thing which is in you in Christ
Jesus. Once again, none of this is by
chance, all actions predestinated by the omnipotent God, our Heavenly
Father. He doeth according to his will.
In Daniel 4.35 it says, and all the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing. And he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what doest
thou? This is pretty plain, all the
inhabitants, that's all the dwellers of the earth are reputed, reputed
as in widely known and well thought of as nothing. That's who we
are without Christ. We are nothing and he is everything. We should take heed when we read
this. It kind of reminds me of our service on Wednesday where
our pastor told us about the eye that mocketh the father.
There's a lot of mocking going on. Need more respect. As I said
before, he doeth according to his will. Everything he foreordained
before the world began, don't mock the father, it's his will,
will be accomplished. I need to say this often and
I need to keep it in remembrance. I need to keep my eyes on him,
bowing to him in his will. I love this word predestination.
If it were not written right here in the word of God, then
it would be alarming when we hear so much about it. So I don't
know how a man could question that predestination talk. The
only way a man could not be okay with hearing about predestination
is if they're not okay with the true omnipotent God and the ultimate
power he has over everything. This is man by nature. He always
wants to have his hands in everything, needs to feel like he has a say-so. I believe we're creatures of
the habit. We've been working since we were in our mother's
womb, kicking, screaming, screaming lies when we came out. It's ingrained
in us, but if we look back Once again, at Ephesians 8.28. Sorry, Romans 8.28. Read it once, but I'm gonna read again.
And we know that all things work together for good, to them that
love God, to them who are the call, According to his purpose
in the margin there in a reference it references Romans 9 11 in
regards to his purpose and says that the purpose of God or according
to election might stand not of works But of him that calleth
not of works It's not because of our works Turn over to Ephesians
2 Ephesians 2.8 says, for by grace
are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God. It is the gift of God. Guess
what? It's a gift. You don't have a choice. You don't have
a decision. It's not of yourselves. We don't have a part in how this
gift is distributed. We don't have a choice if we
receive the gift or not. Remember, it is of God's will. God Almighty has this gift. Verse
nine says, not of works, lest any man should boast. Not of
works. If it's not of works, guess what?
That tells me, it tells me I don't have to work for it. By grace
are we saved through faith. You know why it is not of works? Because all the work has already
been done. There's nothing for me to do. Christ did it all.
He bore all the sins on Calvary's cross. He said, it is finished. It is finished. That's wonderful
to hear. He bowed down on his head and
gave up the ghost. He gave up his spirit. It's not as worse,
because Christ said it is finished. There's nothing for anyone to
do. And anytime we try to do something, we just mess it up.
Because our hands are frail, and his hands are perfect. It
says in verse 10, for we are his workmanship. We are his workmanship. We didn't make ourselves. Our
mommy and daddy didn't make us. They made us, but He, he worked
us. We are his workmanship created
in Christ Jesus under good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. He ordained us before predestinated. Am I looking to what I've learned
in this world or looking to and believing on what the Word of
God says? That is the problem man leans up, what man by nature
tells him and not what a man truly ordained, truly ordained,
predestinated to preach in and through the Word of God and what
it has to say about a man and his filthy rags, about his true
self and what we're incapable of as long as we are found in
our day to work. That true gospel preacher is
not gonna mix words. He's gonna shoot straight. He'll
tell you the simple good news. Doesn't change. If you're hearing
something new, you're hearing something's wrong. Because God
doesn't change. There's nothing new to discover.
It's all written right here. If we're hearing something new,
we should search the word and see if it's so. Man wants to
have a part in his salvation. He wants to do something to work
his way to heaven. He wants to help God. Man thinks God needs
his help. Essentially, man thinks he and
God are on the same levels. That is dead wrong in so many
ways. It's dead wrong because a man that believes that is dead.
God doesn't need our help. The believer knows salvation
is by Christ and Christ alone. The believer knows there is nothing
he can do in and of himself because Christ has already done everything.
The believer knows the work is already done. The believer knows
God doesn't need our help. The believer knows and believes
that his only hope is Christ If he doesn't have Christ, then
he's lost. To have Christ is to have life,
eternal life. In Romans 6.22 it says, but now
being made free from sin and becoming servants to God, you
have your fruit unto holiness and end everlasting life. The wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
There's a correlation there because we just read a while ago how you read about, sorry, I think it was in Ephesians, for by grace
you are saved through faith and that knowledge of yourselves,
it is the gift of God. So we're seeing a correlation
here, a cross-reference of this gift that we receive, the gift
of God, eternal life. being saved through faith, not
of ourselves. I'm often reminded of what Brother
Scott says, he says, who's run this ship? So simple, so few
words, but who's run this ship? He is. I love the predestination
talk. I love to hear about our God
Almighty, who's in control of all things. Since he's in control of it,
I can't mess it up. Isaiah 45, six and seven, six says, I am
the Lord and there is none else. I form the light and I create
darkness. I make peace and I create evil. I, the Lord, do all these
things. Sounds like he's in control.
Matthew 19.26 says, but Jesus beheld them and said unto them,
with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. If he's in control of all things,
then how could I not believe that he did predestinate all
things? Man wants to say God is in control
until man wants to be in control again. When man can't handle
it on his own, then he thinks he calls God in to take over. How could I not believe how he
orchestrated, how he choreographed every single detail of my life?
Just moving my fingers, he allows me to do that. I mean, that seems
pretty simple to us, but he allowed me, he's predestined me to do
that. The God of that magnitude is
capable of all things. The man still believes in some
big bang theory or such. Why do they believe it? Because
they would rather believe in science than in a God that is
so powerful that he could bring water to the entire earth and
make everything new. Man by nature thinks too much
of himself and too little of God. So rather than look to the
God of heaven and earth and the one and only God and believe
that he is capable of such real things, they ignore his supreme
being and come up with their own belief system or their own
religion that fits their lifestyle. fits their level of thinking,
bringing their little G, God, down to their level. I know without
God, the trying God, I am truly incapable of anything. Every
breath I take, every movement muscle is controlled by God Almighty.
We better get that through at least my fixed goal. I do have
one. In this Bible, predestinated
is only mentioned predestinated twice, and then the word predestinate
along with those two are mentioned four times. But as we've already
read, and we're gonna read again, how it might not say predestinate
or predestinated, but it's there, as in 1 Peter 1. If you wanna
turn to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1, one. and two, says Peter, apostle of Jesus
Christ, to the strangers scattered through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God,
the Father, elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the
Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, grace unto you,
and peace be multiplied. These strangers that are mentioned
in verse one are the elect. They are strangers to this land
they're living in. It's kind of like, if you know
the Lord is and you're a believer, when you're out in this world,
that's like a desert to you. But when you come back here and
together with the church, not the building, but the church,
no longer scattered throughout. These strangers, the land they're
living in, they know this is not their home, therefore they
are strangers scattered throughout. These strangers, as I said, are
the elect, they are chosen, chosen by God. What does it mean to
be elect? They are a special group. In
2 Timothy 2, it says, if you wanna turn there, because I got
a couple verses to read there. 2 Timothy 2. In verse starting verse 7, the
elect sake. Consider what I say and the Lord
give the understanding in all things. Says consider these things
I have. I have said meditate, pray upon
these things, study these things. The Lord will give the understanding
and all things I study. I have some understanding. But
I will never know or understand everything. In this life. But I will. I believe these things
are written. Verse eight says, remember that
Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according
to my gospel. It's said all throughout. Remember,
do not forget that Jesus Christ was raised from dead as is declared
in these scriptures. Wherein I suffer trouble as an
evil deer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Paul was in prison, but he says
the word of God could not be confined. It can't be bound,
it can't be chained. Therefore I endure all things
for the elect's sake, that they may also obtain the salvation
which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Paul says he endures
all things for the elect's sake. He knows the elect are special.
They are the saints of the Lord, and he is the Lord's servant.
The elect have been called by a holy calling Paul endures what
he is going through so the elect may obtain salvation, salvation,
eternal life, safety for the soul, the benefits, the blessings
the elect receive from being the redeemed of all earthly ills. Going back to 1 Peter 1, or it's
not back from here, it's 2. 1 Peter 1, verse 19 and 20. Subject
here being foreordained before the foundation of the world.
Verse 19, it says, but with the precious blood of Christ. Here's
some pages, I'll wait a second. Verse 19 and 1 Peter 1. But with the precious blood of
Christ, as of lamb without blemish and without spot, we have this
Lord Jesus Christ. We have the Lord Jesus Christ,
the precious lamb of God, perfect, no blemish, no spot. His precious
blood shed for the redemption of his elect, given to him by
the Father before the world began. Verse 20, who verily was foreordained
before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these
last times for you. Verily, I love that word, verily. Truly, truly, Christ, the sinner's
substitute, was appointed once to die before the foundation
of the world, before the world became a thing. For what? Why
was Christ's blood shed? For the manifest in these last
times for you. For you was Christ's blood shed.
Once again, this is just Unimaginable, but this perfect thing the Son
of God was sent to the cross to satisfy his father's holy
law For the elect for those the father gave him. I Find that every message I preach
Brother Marvin preaches that this verse comes up and it's
it's perfect for almost every single one 2nd Corinthians 521
says for he God Almighty for he hath made him Christ and to
be sin for us, the elect, the sheep, who knew no sin, that
we, the elect, the sheep, might be made the righteousness of
God in Him, Christ. He was made sin for us, so that
we may be made the righteousness of God in Him. It's amazing. Everything the Father predestinated,
everything He foreordained was for His righteousness. It was
for his purpose and by his will. Those he elected would be justified
by the shed blood of the Son of God and therefore the elect
would be glorified. Glorified in Christ Jesus. Obtaining
salvation which is in Christ Jesus. I want to be found in
Christ Jesus. I need to be found in him. I
have nowhere else to turn. I hope the Lord blesses this
for his people and ultimately for his glory. Amen.