wonderful. So we're going to look at a truth today that I believe will strengthen us because it's all about the grace of God in Christ. Do you know why we believe? Do you know why we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Because we're sons of God. Do you know Do you know we don't become sons of God when we believe? Do you know we're already sons of God? Remember we talked about that yesterday, Charlie? We're already sons of God. So us believing in the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't make us sons of God. We've always been the people of God.

Now, that's hard for us to grasp, isn't it? But I believe we can be strengthened by this wonderful truth. Because again, it takes the emphasis off ourselves and totally puts the emphasis on Christ and on Him alone. Because everything we have spiritually comes from Him. Everything we have physically comes from Him. It's amazing.

In our hearts, are you like me? Do you need your heart to be strengthened by grace? I need that. I need that every day. And when I was putting this message together, I believed the Lord strengthened my heart by His grace, because I need it. You know, I practice what I preach, but I still struggle just like all of you to just rest in Christ, to just trust Christ. It's a struggle sometimes, isn't it?

But by the grace of God, He keeps us going, He keeps us trusting. Oh my. Because by nature, we're sinners, right? And even after we're saved, we're still sinners. That's why we need to be strengthened by grace. And how are we strengthened again? By the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that he died for we sinners. We sinners.

And it's amazing because religion tells you if you pray a prayer now you're a son of God. But they've got it backwards, don't they? And I'm going to show you a verse in Galatians that's going to prove that to us. See, I was always taught that way. Well, now that I accepted Christ, now I'm a son of God. Oh my. I let him save me. I chose for him to save me. And then I found out It was all God. He saved me by his grace. He saved me according to his mercy. He regenerated me. So he gets all the glory, doesn't he? All the honor and all the praise. It's wonderful. And we sit here and we go, look what the Lord's done for us. This is absolutely amazing. So we need to be strengthened by grace.

We need to know that Christ, who was God in the flesh, shed his blood to save us from all our sins. We need to know that, because we have no righteousness on our own to offer God, we need to know that we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ, don't we? That we're accepted in the blood of it. That's a fact. Well, why are we accepted in the beloved? Why us and not other folks around us?

Because it pleased God to do so. And let's look at this, verses 3 to 6 in Ephesians chapter 1. This is absolutely amazing. Look at this. And I hope we're strengthened by God's grace through this message today. Look at this. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Okay, that's a fact, right? We are blessed with all spiritual blessings. Paul's writing to the Ephesian believers. The Holy Spirit's speaking to us through his words, right? just like he did to all the saints back then. So he's telling us right here that we're blessed by God the Father, in Christ, in the heavenly realms, again through Christ. Now why? Look at this.

The accordion attaches itself up, verse four, the accordion attaches itself up to verse three, doesn't it? So why are we blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ? Well, according as he, that being God, has chosen us in him, that's Christ, when? Before the foundation of the world. Why? That we should be holy and without blame before him in love. So the reason we have all spiritual blessings is because God the Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world.

And then what, look at this. Look at, look at, look at verse 5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to what? Somebody tell me that. Good pleasure of his will. So why are we saved? according to the good pleasure of God, because it's His will. Whoo, my! And notice that all happened in eternity.

So we were chosen in Christ. See, we've always been sons of God. And that's just a phrase to cover men and women, right? We've always been sons of God by God's choice. Do you know what that Greek word means? Something I was sharing with Brian and Charlie and Exodus yesterday was in that Greek word, it means this, to choose for oneself.

Sister Diane, God chose you for himself. And that's true of every believer. Sister Barbie chose you for himself. And in Isaiah, Zayden loved this, because Zayden and I always are talking about this. This is my favorite topic in the Bible, is election. I'm just marvel at it, because we would never choose Christ. And yet, he chose us. The Father chose us in him.

And that's what makes it remarkable. That's what makes it incredible. And I brought up that there's a scripture in Isaiah. Now think of that. To choose for oneself. And there's a scripture in Isaiah where God says about his people, thou art mine. Now you tie that in with that. Oh my goodness.

No wonder He says we are His. He chose us for Himself, based upon nothing in us, no foreseen fate that's a lie. He chose us because according to the good pleasure of His will. He chose those who would never choose Him. who by nature, dead in trespasses and sins, and had enmity with God, and yet he chose us, and he's loved us, chose us in Christ, and he's loved us with an everlasting love. It doesn't get no better than that, does it?

And then He sent His Son to redeem us. And then He sent His Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, to come and regenerate us. And because we're sons, we're going to look at that. Because we're sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts. Whereby we cry, Abba Father. Because we're sons. Isn't that amazing? Oh my!

Let's read verse 4 again. According as He hath chosen us in Him, that's God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Now we're going to take a couple weeks breaking down this verse because there's so much in this verse. Like I said, we're going to slow walk this study in Ephesians because there's so much here. So much.

So let we who are the redeemed of the Lord take note, God's people are now in Christ. In Christ. But we see in this verse that they were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. And note what is brought forth. And may we meditate upon this this week. May this be something we meditate upon this week. that God's people have always been God's people.

There's never been a time when a sheep has been a goat. We look like goats. Ephesians 2 brings that clear, right? Dead in trespasses and sins. We look like goats. Galatians chapter 3 or 4, I believe it is. We were heirs, we didn't know it. Couldn't tell us apart. And we remember when we were in that state. Charlie, you and I have talked about it. Sister Diane, you and I have talked about it. Chris, we've talked about it. Brian, we've all talked about that. We were in this state.

Couldn't tell us apart from anyone else in the world. But God knew. God knew we were his sons, didn't he? My turn over if you would to Ephesians chapter 2 one chapter over Look at this And you have the quick in verse 1 who were dead and trespasses and sins that's graveyard dead That dead there is graveyard dead in the Greek Where in times past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we had our conversations in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and of the mind, and whereby nature, the children of wrath even as others. You could not tell a sheep apart from a goat in our natural state. We looked just like everybody else, didn't we, John? We acted just like everybody else, because we're dead spiritually. And left in that state, we would have perished in our sins, wouldn't we? Left in that state, we would have perished in our sins.

Look at this. But God. But God. Verse 4, Ephesians 2, 4. But God. Aren't those beautiful words? But God. Who is it? God. Who's the mover of grace? But God. See, where are we? We're dead. We're fulfilling the lust of our flesh, weren't we, Charlie? We had no care for God. We may have got scared when we got caught doing something we shouldn't have done. And we may have said, oh Lord, I'll never do that again. But we were right back at it, weren't we? Do you know in every believer's life, there's a but God time?

Abraham was when he believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Abraham was a, he's an idol worshipper. Out of the land of Ur, he'd bow down to statues. But God, who's rich in mercy. Look at that, look at that verse, this is beautiful. But God, who's rich in mercy. I mean, he's so rich, you can't measure the riches of his mercy.

For his great love, wherewith, look at this, he loved us. So he's telling us that we were dead in trespasses, and remember, this is the Holy Spirit through the pen of Paul. We were dead in trespasses and sins. You could not tell us apart from anyone else in the world. But God, who's rich in mercy, okay? You can't measure it, but look at this. For his great love wherewith he loved us. Now what does that tell us?

That tells us he even loved us when we were dead in trespasses and sins. When we didn't have a care in the world for him, he loved us, sister, with an everlasting love, an unchanging love. And how long has he loved us? Well, there's never been a time when he hasn't loved us. You ever think of that? Before the foundation of the world, It was always God's plan and purpose to send his son to redeem a people, right?

So let that sink in. Wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins. And we can't fathom that, right? Because if someone's sinning against us, like verbally or physically, there's a strong dislike, isn't there? Whoa! I can't be around you. You're too toxic for me, man.

And yet all are shaking our fists at God. And he loves us, brother. Does that not prove that he's rich in mercy? Every believer can say, my God is so rich in mercy. And then he says, he doesn't impute our sins against us. All those wicked things we did by nature, just, I was talking to my daughter about it the other day. And then I was talking about how the Lord took me out of certain situations. that would have had me just walking away.

And He kept me. Isn't that amazing? Why? Because He loves us with an everlasting, unchanging love. This is mercy. This is mercy manifested, isn't it? In him sending Christ to this world, the mercy and grace of God is manifested. That he would die for our sins, the sinless one, the spotless one. That he would die as our substitute before the wrath of God that was due me and you for our sins. And He would willingly do that. Why? Well, we have the answer right there. Wherewith He loved us. For great, His great love. His everlasting love. Wherewith He loved us.

And look at this. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us. Hath quickened us together. That means to be born again. He didn't leave us where we were. Remember that little baby? abandoned by its parents in the middle of the desert, and the Lord said, I see you in your blood. That's us. My. And he cares for us and loves us with his everlasting, unchanging love. Look at this. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace, ye are saved. Now we know it's pure grace, isn't it?

Because we look at where we were. Look at verse 3 of Ephesians 2. Among whom also we had our conversations in times past in the lust of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Whatever we wanted, did it. Well, and there's some things the Lord restrained us from doing, isn't there? even when we were dead in trespasses and sins. Look at this.

And we're by nature, by birth, the children of wrath even as others. Now we know in 1 Thessalonians that God has not appointed us to wrath, but to salvation. But you could not tell us apart as sheep of God from the goats. Now, were we always sheep? Mm-hmm. But we're just like everybody else, born dead in trespasses and sins, aren't we?

But God, who's rich in mercy, we're with his great love for us. Manifested. Manifested to us. So ponder this amazing fact that we don't become God's people when we believe on Christ. which all God's people will believe on Christ, but we don't become God's people because we believe on him, we believe because we are God's people.

Turn, if you would, to John chapter six. How do we know this? We're gonna look at a couple spots here. John chapter six, and then put your finger on Galatians chapter four. And as I was putting this message together, this really struck me. The words of Christ here, the words of the master. So this is not my opinion, this is the words of the master.

And marvel at what we see here in light of what we're seeing here about God choosing us in Christ and showing, manifesting his love for us as his children, right, as his people. Look at this, look at this, John chapter six. See, again, it's not our believing that makes us children of God. It's the fact that God chose us in Christ that made us children of God. See, the religious world has it backwards, doesn't it? And I marveled when I saw this this week. I marveled. when I saw this. Look at this.

John 6, 37. And tie this in with the fact that we were children of God even before we were believed. Tie that, okay? Look at John 6, starting in verse 37. All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Okay. All those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world who are the children of God. Look what he says, shall come to me. Every one of them. There won't be one missing.

Not one. You ever have the devil come in your mind and say, oh, you're just a fake. You're just a fraud. You ever have that? I've heard that. Oh yeah. And I always go back to this. It's not based upon me. It's based upon Christ. See, one of the tactics of the enemy is to make you doubt.

And what does that do actually? It actually makes us examine ourselves, doesn't it? And when it says to examine yourself, what are we to do? Examine yourself to see if you're in Christ. Well, I believe on Christ. He's my everything. So it actually strengthens your faith when that stuff happens, right? Because you just go, well, Lord, I've just cast myself upon you. You're my only hope. I got no other hope but you. Look at this. This is marvelous. Look at this.

All that the Father giveth me, that's all his sheep, shall, there's that little word we love so much, shall what? Come to me. Every one of them, every one for whom the Father gave to Christ in eternity shall come. There's no way for them to be stopped from coming to Christ because God's gonna make them come. God's gonna give them faith to believe. They're going to be born again. And they will run to Christ. I mean, a team of wild horses can't keep them from coming to Christ. Isn't that amazing? Look at this. Shall come to me, in him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. So he's saying every one of the sheep that the father gave me, I will not cast one of them away. Not one. I will not lose one of them.

They shall And this is God in the flesh saying this, beloved. It's not no mere man. This is the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who shed his blood to redeem us from all our sins. The one who lived the perfect life as our substitute, then died on the cross, shedding his blood to save us from our sins, our great substitute. This is his words. People say, well, I don't believe that. Well, you don't believe what God says then. This isn't our opinion, is it, Chris? This is what God's Word says. And we marvel in it. We marvel in this. Look at this, it keeps going.

For I come down from heaven. No one else has come down from heaven. Only the Son of God's come down from heaven, hasn't he? Now we're going to get raised up to where he is now, in glory, because where he is, where the head is, the body will soon follow, right? He's the one, He actually came down from heaven.

And He's telling us this, plainly, isn't He? I come down from heaven, He says, the Master says this. Not to do mine own will, look at this, but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father's will, which has sent me. That all which He hath given me, Sister Diane, we were given the Christ before the foundation of the world. We're part of that all. It leaves us in awe. All that the Father hath given me, I should lose nothing.

He will not lose one of the sheep he redeemed on Calvary's cross. He will not lose one of the people who the Father gave him. Now we don't know, we don't, we're still here, so the Lord's still saving sheep, isn't he? But when he saved the last sheep, it's over. So there's still sheep out there, isn't it, Brother Brian? And he's still saving. He's still moving, praise his mighty name.

My! But what a comfort for us when we come to a desk store. Here, there's nothing. Vicki and I were talking a little bit about our childhood and some things about our childhood. And I said, well, at least our King was with you all the time. Even when you were alone, you were never alone.

And she's like, God, it's so true, isn't it? And I'm like, yeah. It's comforting, isn't it? And even us as we get older. Even when we're alone, we're never alone. He said, I'll be with you to the end. Well, we're going to the land of no ends, aren't we? And he talked about the end here.

Oh, my. There, take us home. Look at this though. And this is the Father's will which is sent me that of all which he had given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day. So we are going to be raised up. Our bodies are going to be raised up. Now when we die to be absent from the body to be present with the Lord. But our bodies will go in the ground won't they? And then one day they're going to rise up and we're going to get our glorified bodies. That's amazing isn't it?

9 I'll tell you but you see we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ because we are God's people Well, how do we know that turn to Galatians chapter 4 look at this We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world and and that that's clearly bought forth in Ephesians 1 for right that verse we know it by heart and Right? We've heard it thousands of times, and I hope I hear it another thousand more times. It's so wonderful. But here are some more verses that brings this truth forward. We just saw that in John chapter 6, verses 37 to 39.

But here, marvel that we who are the born-again, blood-washed children of God are given faith and repentance before God. Why? Well, because we're sons. Because we're children of God. How long have we been children of God? For maternity? I know it blows our minds, but it's true. It's true. Oh my, it's already. Let's go look at this Galatians here, and then we'll stop. Galatians 4, we'll have to pick up again from here next week. Look at this. Galatians 4, verse 4 to 7.

But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son. Where? Remember? Remember in John 6.30, I come down from heaven? God sent forth his Son, the Word of God. Made of a woman. Made under the law. Fully human. And yet fully God. Why? To redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. Look at this. Look at this. Look at look at verse 6. And because ye are sons.

How long we've been sons for? chosen in Christ from before the foundation of the world. See, we don't believe, and that makes us sons. We believe because we're sons. Or because we're the children of God. Look at this. And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Look at that. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son. And if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

And we're going to have to stop there, but let us meditate upon those verses. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that beautiful? We believe because we're sons of God. And our believing doesn't make us a son of God. It just shows that we're sons of God, because God has sent forth the spirit of his Son into our hearts whereby we now cry, Abba Father. And so what happens then? All glory goes to God. Every single piece of it. All goes to him. Praise the name of Jesus. Right? Amen and amen. My oh my. My. Brother Chris, you want to close us in prayer?