Go with me if you would to 1
Thessalonians 1 again. We just saw in our Bible study
the importance of having Christ. The absolute importance of being
in Christ. Not leaving this world without
Christ. Not leaving this world without
Christ. And we just ended that Bible
study with this question. How can I know if I have Christ? How can I know if I'm in Christ
and Christ is in me? How can I know that I'm going
to leave this world with Christ? How can I know that? In the Bible study a moment ago,
we read where two are going to be standing in the field. One is going to be taken. And
that's our glory. That moment is when one is going
to be taken. There He is, taken up to be with
Him. And the other one is going to
be left. Sadly, the other one will not be taken. The other
one will be left. How can I know that He's going
to take me? How can I know? Our text is going
to answer that for us. Right here in 1 Thessalonians
1, verse 4 says, Brethren, beloved, your election
of God, knowing that God chose you. Now, there are some truths
in the scripture that many people have a hard time understanding.
Many truths and many people have a hard time understanding them.
and therefore they don't believe them. They don't understand them,
so they don't believe them. Election has to be at the top
of that list. It just has to be at the top
of the list of truths that people don't understand and they don't
believe. To say that God elected a people to save, to say that
God chose who he would save. That is something that people
all over this world reject. And they despise it. They hate
the thought of it. God chose who he would save. That's something that people
all over this world despise. They despise the thought of that.
And they commonly say, that's not the God I worship. That may
be your God, but that's not the God I worship. About 10 or 15
years ago, a believing woman that I know told that truth to
another woman. A conversation came up, a door
was opened, and she declared the truth to this other woman. And in response, the unbelieving
woman said to the believing woman, I hate your God. That's what
she said. That was the response. I hate
your God. If that's your God, I hate your
God. Having that truth declared to
the natural flesh, hearing that truth is something that causes
many people to say, I will not have that man reign over me. Not that man. Now this other
Jesus, who I like a little better, the one that I've rounded all
the edges off of, I'll have Him reign over me. I'll make Him
my Lord. But I won't have that man reign
over me. That's not my God. I don't believe that. I don't
believe it. Let's quickly go through some
scriptures. We're going to turn through a
few of them quickly. And let's settle whether it's
true or not that God elected a people. All right? Turn with
me over to Psalm 65. Now, we could go to Genesis. We could start with the angels.
A third of the host of the angels fell And the ones that didn't
fall, the Lord calls them in this word, elect angels. We could
go to Cain and Abel. You could go right to the beginning.
You could go to any book in this Bible. You could go to any page
in this Bible. But we'll start with Psalm 65. And look with me at verse 4. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell
in thy courts, we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
even of thy holy temple." What he's saying is, blessed is the
elected man or woman, blessed is He whom you choose and you
cause to approach unto you. That's how it works. God chooses
and causes sinners to approach unto Him. That's a blessed person.
That's a blessed person. That's election. God chose. All right, turn with me to Isaiah
45. Isaiah 45 verse 4 says, For Jacob my servant's sake,
and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name,
I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. What
he's saying is, I married you, I've given you a new last name,
even though you didn't know me. chose you even though you had
no idea who I was that's election that's election all right look
with me in Isaiah 65 Isaiah 65 verse 9 And I will bring forth a seed
out of Jacob and out of Judah, an inheritor of My mountains. And Mine elect shall inherit
it, and My servants shall dwell therein." That's who's going
to inherit this holy mountain and dwell therein, Mine elect.
Verse 22 right here says, "...they shall not build in another inhabit,
they shall not plant in another eat for as the days of a tree
are the days of my people and mine elect shall long enjoy the
work of their hands my elect so we see it over and over again
throughout the old testament my elect all right now go with
me to Matthew 24 Matthew 24 verse 22 says, And except those days should
be shortened, there should no flesh be saved, but for the elect's
sake those days shall be shortened. Verse 24, for there shall arise
false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and
wonders in so much that if it were possible, they shall deceive
the very elect. Thank God it's not possible.
Verse 31 says, and he shall send his angels with a great sound
of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four
winds from one end of heaven to the other that's who's going
to be taken the elect now don't turn over there but john 15 verse
16 it says you have not chosen me but i've chosen you on that
thing of you know oh i believe in election you know god voted
for you devil voted against you you decide he said you've not
chosen me I have chosen you. That's God's election. Acts 13
48 says as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Ordained to it. That's election. Go with me to Romans 8. I'm almost
finished here. Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 33 says, Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. And
if you turn the page, one more page to Romans 9 verse 11, it
says, For the children being not yet born neither having done
any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election
might stand not of works but of him that calleth what that
saying is God did not look down through time to see who would
do good and who would do evil and base his election on that
it had nothing to do with that not of works Verse 12, it was
said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Now don't turn, but Ephesians 1 says we were chosen in Christ
before the foundation of the world. That's election. We could just keep going with
this. We could just keep on, keep on, seeing over and over
again that God elected a people to save. Every saved sinner was
chosen to salvation. They had to be. They had to be. They had to be chosen to salvation. There was no other way that man
would be saved. And I say the word would on purpose. It is true, there's no other
way that man could be saved. But there was no other way that
man would be saved. Christ is salvation. Salvation
is a person. Salvation is a person. And when
Christ came, when salvation came to His own, His own received
Him not. He was despised and rejected,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it
were our faces from Him. That's what we did. Look with
me at John chapter 3. John chapter 3 verse 19 says, And this is condemnation. This right here is condemnation. This is what will put a man or
a woman in hell, okay? This is condemnation. That light
is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light
because their deeds were evil. Which men loved darkness rather
than light? All men. all have sinned there's
none good no not one verse 20 says for everyone that doeth
evil hateth the light who has done evil who has sinned all
have sinned everyone that doeth evil hateth the light neither
cometh to the light lest his deeds should be reproved this
is condemnation Men and women will not come to the light lest
their deeds should be reproved and the reason is because they
love darkness rather than light. We all know that so don't we?
We know this flesh gravitates to darkness over light any second
of any day. That's all that the flesh can
love. Darkness, because it's evil.
In order for condemnation to come to a person, and this is,
I want to really focus in on this portion of the message,
okay? This is the number one thing
that I would love for the entire world to understand about election.
In order for condemnation to come to a person, All that God
has to do is give that person what he or she wants in order
for condemnation. Condemnation. All God has to
do is give that person what he or she wants. Sometimes we say
it this way. All God has to do is leave a
man or a woman alone. And that's true. That's true. All God has to do is leave a
person alone. If a man was drowning in the ocean, we could say all
we have to do is leave him alone and he'll die right there in
his condition. That would be true. But the deeper reality
of salvation and our situation is man jumped in the ocean on
purpose in order to drown himself. He loves darkness rather than
light. and salvation is come and there man is drowning, rejecting
it. He doesn't want it. Man despises
it. Salvation is come and man will
not have it. So the greater reality is all
God has to do is give a man what he wants. This has been a real revelation
to me. Election. If somebody ever asks you about
election, if they don't understand election, and they ask you, what's
all that business about election? This is election. Election is
God in mercy, not giving a man what he wants. That's what election
is. Election is God in mercy, not
giving a man what he wants, overruling his will. Election is not God denying man
salvation. That's not what election is.
Man is denied salvation by birth, by choice, by right. Election is the love that drew
salvation's blueprint. We say we don't like that word
plan, but that's what it means. That blueprint of salvation.
That's what election is. Election is what chose men and
women to salvation. Sweetest doctrine ever preached.
One time the apostles were rejoicing because they could do a few miracles. Wouldn't you be happy if you
could do some miracles? Somebody was sick and you just heal them.
That'd be wonderful. And they were so happy about
that. The Lord told them, don't rejoice over that. He said, rejoice
because your names are written in heaven. Your names are written
in heaven. Rejoice over your election. Rejoice
over that. Go with me back to 1 Thessalonians
1. 1 Thessalonians 1. Verse four, it says, knowing
brethren beloved, your election of God. And if you have a margin
right there, it says, knowing brethren beloved of God, your
election. Paul told the church at Thessalonica,
I know that God has chosen you to salvation. I know that God
has chosen you to salvation because, and I sincerely pray the same
thing might be said about the church at Kingsport. I know that
God has chosen you to salvation because He said, this is the
evidence of your election. Verse 5, He said, for our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. He said, our gospel, our message. Whose message is he talking about?
Paul's message, not Gabe Stoniker's, although this is my message.
Paul's message, Peter's message, James's message, John's, Jude's,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Daniel. David, Solomon, Moses. Our message, this message. Our gospel came not unto you
in word only. That means it goes in one ear
and out the other. Many have heard with the ears
the words of these men. Many people, but that's all that
happened. They just heard with the ears. But he said, that's
not what happened with you. Not only did you hear it in word,
you heard it in power and in the Holy Ghost. You heard it
in such a way that it went straight to the heart of your soul. You heard it in alarming, awakening
power. I mean, you heard it. How do
you know, Paul? How do you know that God's Holy
Spirit has moved on me with power? How do you know? How do you know
that He has called me as one of His elect? He said, you believed. It came to you in much assurance. It takes the power of God. This is something else I want
everybody to know. It takes the power of God's Holy Spirit to
make a man or a woman believe. Don't take believing lightly.
Don't take believing lightly. When I was a young believer,
a young man and a young believer, I used to hear these things and
I knew God had an elect. I knew He did. But I used to
wonder, how can I know if I'm one of them? How can I know? How can I just
freely confess this and include myself in mind and heart with
the brethren and call myself a child of God and one of his
elect? How do I know if he didn't choose me? What if he didn't
choose me? Don't take believing this lightly. We can go out and believe other
things and think, well, yeah, I believe that or I don't. A
man or a woman cannot believe the word of God, the gospel of
this message outside of the power of God's Holy Spirit making that
sinner believe it. If you believe it, I mean, if
you believe this, if you believe this message and believe this
gospel, Paul said, that's much assurance. It's much assurance. The message, he said, you heard
it, it came to you in word, and it said to you, you're a sinner,
and you believed it. It said to you, salvation came
and you despised him. And you rejected Him, and you
believed it. Yeah, that sounds like me. That
sounds like exactly what I would do. But this Word said, in spite
of you, in spite of man's wicked sin, God in love and in kindness
and in tenderness, He chose to show mercy on some. through giving his own son to
be the sacrifice for their sin, and you believed it. That's it. You believed it. Verse 5, knowing
our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power
and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. I love this.
Brother David Pledger said one time in a message, that quite
often people would come to him and say, I am struggling with
assurance. I'm really struggling over having
assurance. Am I his or am I no? I don't seem to have enough assurance.
He said, this has become my reply to him. I asked them, do you
mean to tell me that you don't believe that Jesus is the Christ? I mean the Christ God manifest
in the flesh? And they say, oh no, I believe
that. And he says, well then do you
mean to tell me that you don't believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God? God come down. And they say, oh no, I believe
that. Well then, do you mean to tell
me that you believe Christ did not accomplish the salvation
for all of his people? You don't believe that God chose
a people and Christ put away the sin of all of those people? You don't believe that? Oh no,
I believe that. He said, well then, your problem
is not assurance. Your problem is you're looking
to yourself. You're just standing there looking to yourself going,
I just can't find any assurance. Our assurance is in Christ. It's in Christ. When the gospel
of God comes in the power of the Holy Ghost to one of God's
elect, this is how it's evidenced. Total assurance in Christ. no assurance in myself." Paul
said, we are the circumcision that have no confidence in the
flesh. None. All assurance in Christ. Verse 4 says, knowing brethren
beloved your election of God for our gospel came not unto
you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and
in much assurance. as you know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake, and you became followers of us
and of the Lord. You wanted to gather where the
word of the Lord was being preached. God's sheep like to huddle together. Verse six goes on to say, having
received the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost, in
spite of all the persecution that was taking place there,
you still received it with joy. Just so thankful to have it.
Verse seven, so that you were examples to all that believe
in Macedonia and Achaia. Everybody heard of your faith
in Christ and it encouraged them. What's going on with them? Faith
in Christ. They're just believing on Christ. Verse 8, For from you sounded
out the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,
but also in every place your faith to God is spread abroad,
so that we need not to speak anything. You went around telling
everybody, this is the truth. This is the truth. One truth. You spread it abroad. Verse nine,
for they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we
had unto you and how you turned to God from. That word idols. We don't really have a lot of
idols today in this country. We do, but not in the way that
most people think of. You don't see men at certain
times of the day bowing down to idols. Every now and then
you'll see a little Buddha. People like to buy those little
Buddhas and sit them around. At Christmas people put out nativity
scenes. That's an idol. You'll see a
little statue of Mary. A white man hanging on a cross.
Those are idols. But really the greatest idol
that man has is right here. My own self. We naturally bow
down to this flesh. We worship this flesh so we can
substitute the word yourselves for the word idol, okay? Verse
nine, for they themselves show of us what manner of entering
in we had unto you and how you turned to God from yourselves
to serve the living and true God and to wait for his son from
heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus. which delivered
us from the wrath to come. He said, this is how I know God
chose you to salvation. The preaching of the gospel came
to you in power. The power of the Holy Ghost and
you believed it. And you identified with Christ
and His message and His people in spite of the persecution and
the affliction that came from it. And you turned from yourself. You denied yourself. You came
to that place of conviction where you said, I must decrease. You turned from yourself. You
turned from your works to the living and true God. He must
increase. I must decrease, he must increase. And he said, you are right now
patiently waiting for the return of the one who saved your soul.
You're looking to him. We really are waiting on a person,
aren't we? We really are. He said, I see that you're looking
to him, you're waiting for him, you're trusting in the promise
of his word. And that's the evidence of being
one of God's elect. That's the evidence. I pray the
Lord might make it so right here. Here in Kingsport, I pray that
God has a great elect in this city. At the hearing of his word, I
pray honestly that a great number of people will fall down at his
feet, become broken. Fall down at his feet, deny themselves. Believe on him in much assurance
and patiently wait for his return. That's my great hope. That's
my great, great hope. If they do, if I do, we do, they
do, we'll be able to say to everybody, we'll be able to preach from
this pulpit, just like Paul did, knowing brethren beloved. Your
election of God. Rejoice. You're chosen of God.
You are chosen of God. You believe this message. You
bow to this message. You love this message. You're
chosen of God.