For a scripture reading, I'd
like for you to turn with me to Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 11. This chapter was a total mystery
to me the first time I read it. It made absolutely no sense at
all. And I hope to be able to clear
some of that up for some of you today. He says in verse 1, Romans chapter
11, I say then, hath God cast away his people? God forbid,
for I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe
of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people,
which he foreknew. What ye not what the Scripture
saith of Elias, that is, Elijah? How he maketh intercession to
God against Israel? Lord, they have killed thy prophets,
they have digged down thine altars, and I am left alone, and they
seek my life. But what saith the answer of
God unto him? I have reserved to myself 7,000
men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then, at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, then is it no
more of works, otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be
of works, then is it no more grace, otherwise work is no more
work. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for, but the election hath obtained it,
and the rest were blinded. According as it is written, God
hath given them the spirit of slumber. eyes that they should
not see, and ears that they should not hear unto this day. And David
saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling
block, and a recompense unto them. Let their eyes be darkened
that they may not see, and bow down their back always. I say
then, hath they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid,
but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles,
for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the
riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches
of the Gentiles, how much more their fullness. For I speak to
you Gentiles inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles,
I magnify my office, if by any means I may provoke to emulation
them which are my flesh, that is, the Jews, and might save
some of them. For if the casting away of them
be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them
be but life from the dead? For if the first fruit be holy,
the lump is also holy, and if the root be holy, so are the
branches. And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree were grafted in among
them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the
olive tree, boast not against the branches. But if thou boast,
thou bearest not the root, but the root be. Thou wilt say then
the branches were broken off that I might be grafted in. Well,
because of unbelief they were broken off. And thou standest
by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural
branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold, therefore,
the goodness and severity of God, on them which fail severity,
but toward thee goodness, if thou continue in his goodness.
Otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they
abide still in unbelief, shall be cut off. And they also, if
they abide not, still in unbelief, shall be grafted in. For God
is able to graft them in again. For if thou wert cut out of an
olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to
nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these which
be the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree? For
I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery,
lest ye should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness
in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles
be come in. And so, here's my text. All Israel shall be saved. As it is written, there shall
come out a sign, the Deliverer, And he shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins. As concerning the
gospel, they are enemies for your sakes. But as touching the
election, they are beloved for the Father's sake. For the gifts
and calling of God are without repentance. For ye in time past
have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their
unbelief. Even so have these also now not
believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy. For God hath concluded them all
in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. Oh, the depth
of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable
are his judgments and his ways past finding out. For who hath
known the mind of the Lord, or who hath been his counselor?
For who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto
him again? For of him, and through him,
and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen. You will turn back with me now
to Romans chapter 11. My message this morning will
be centered around verse 26. And while you're turning, let
me just say a few things that I've learned about the preaching
of the gospel, a few things that I desire to practice, long for. The first thing is that the gospel
is based on and reasoned from the character of God, not the
character of men. You cannot reason with men and
women based on their character alone, of a salvation that requires
the death of a substitute. Try to do that sometime. The lifelong obedience of a divine
representative. You can't reason with men about
that. Or the heavenly appearance of an advocate to intercede on
our behalf constantly. These are things required in
the salvation of men. And I must, if I reason with
you over these things, I must reason from the character of
God. Because man is not a reasonable creature. Paul said to the Corinthians,
we preach Christ crucified. Now listen to this. Unto the Jews. They symbolize
the professing church, religious folks. Folks who think that they
keep the law they can win the favor of God. Self-righteous
men and women. And he said, we preach Christ
crucified unto the Jews, it's a stumbling block. How does the sacrifice of Christ
and his representative righteousness, how does that fit in with my
obedience to the law? You don't. One or the other has to go. They
both can't abide in the same house. You can't reason from
both of those things, or one or the other. To the Jews, it's a stumbling
block, and unto the Greeks, the philosophers, the man's wisdom,
the highly trained, learned men, it's foolishness. 1 Corinthians 1.24, But unto
them which are called, spoken to of God. God ever speak to you? He will through His gospel. He'll
speak to you. You'll quit hearing a man and
you'll start hearing God. But unto them which are called,
spoken to of God, given the mind of Christ, given ears to hear,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God, now listen
to me, and the wisdom of God. People had no need of this gospel
because they don't see any wisdom in it. And that's because they
reason from that old dead heart and not from the character of
God. In chapter 2 of that same epistle, he says in verse 6,
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect. Do you
know anybody perfect? Huh? Everybody got chosen Christ,
kids. Yeah, they are. Chosen in Christ that we should
be holy. How holy? Perfectly holy. Without
blame. How much so? All together. And before the God of glory in
love, being loved. Perfect. Given the ability to hear and
understand, we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not
the wisdom of this world nor the princes of this world. the
Bain philosophy, is what he's talking about, or the doctors
and rabbins and rulers of the synagogues and churches and the
master theologians, which come to naught, he said. We speak
the wisdom of God, now listen to him, in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory. I don't know how to put that
into words. God hid this wisdom in such a way that he glorified
you in your understanding. It's a glorious thing when a
person understands what God's doing and what God's saying.
It's a glorious thing, and we ought to rejoice in it. Preachers
must prepare a message that they're fully aware that men lack the
wisdom to reason, yet must set before them God's gospel, knowing
that everything they have to say is fully dependent on God
to reveal. That's a long sentence, I hope
you got it. That's what we do. Just because
I say it, I don't... If God don't attend that gospel,
if he don't attend my words with his spirit, nobody's gonna get
it. As it is written, Paul said,
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. But God hath revealed them unto
us by Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. Verse 13. Now listen to this. Which things? These hidden things,
these things that the Spirit of God must reveal, which things
also, in conjunction with, we speak. Not in words which man's wisdom
teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual
things with spiritual. Knowing these things, the Apostle
says, and who is sufficient for that? Nobody. Nobody. Our sufficiency is of
God. That is God the Spirit. God the
Spirit who inspired men to write the Holy Scriptures reveals them
as no one else can. And he makes others meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of these enlightened saints.
He'll take an enlightened saint, ordain him to preach the gospel,
and he'll preach to men, and God will give them the ability
to understand what he's saying. And they become partakers with
enlightened saints. God made them meet to do that. Now having said that, let me
say this. There's two things that I pray will be companions
to every message I preach. The first thing is the accessibility
of any and all who have ears to hear. I long to preach a sincere
gospel call. Don't you? A sincere gospel call
to any sinner who sees himself helpless and hopeless before
a sovereign God. Oh, I long for that. Our Lord
said in the book of Proverbs, he said, I stretched out my arms.
You reckon he was sincere? He was God. But you didn't listen. You didn't
move. You didn't believe. You didn't
come. Oh, I want to preach. a sincere call. Listen to this. Paul said this
is a faithful saying, worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus
came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. But now listen to the next verse. For this cause I obtained mercy
that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering
for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life
everlasting. He reached down to the bottom
of the dam where the dregs in the barrel were and he saved
me first. So everybody else in the barrel
could have hope. That's what he thought. And then the second thing I pray
that shall accompany every message I preach is a sure and certain
hope that cannot and will not fail. Which brings me to my text in
Romans 11, 26. And so, Paul said, all Israel
shall be saved. There's no question mark there.
Huh? All Israel shall, as it is written,
shall come out of Zion, coming out of the turf, the deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Now, there are four
things I want us to see in Romans chapter 11, leading up to and
including our text. First of all, a pressing question. This is the question. Religion's
ready to argue with you about it. But you can't argue with
God. Here's the question. Oh, let me mention my other points
first. And then, assuring certain promise. God gives assurance. If God tells
you something, it's sure. That's the way it's going to
be. I don't care what the circumstance
is. I don't care. It's sure. Thirdly, I want to
talk a little bit about the mystery of true Israel. Who is this Israel
he keeps talking about? And then lastly, the sure end
of all those given to him. Now, Paul begins this chapter
with a question. And here it is. Now, religion
is ready to argue with you about this. Has God cast away his people? Religion says you can. I couldn't
tell you how many times when I was growing up that I saved
and then lost and then saved and then lost and then saved
again and lost again. I wore that baptistry out. I wore that idol out. The knees
and my breeches coming to an altar praying to a God who could
not save. Has God cast away His people?
Here they are. He chose them. He called them. He preserved
them. He delivered them. He fed them. He led them. He put them in a
promised land. How many times did He deliver
them after that? out of the hands of the Babylonians
and out of the hands of this one and that one. And then his son comes and they
all turn thumbs down on him and said give us Barabbas, crucify
this Jesus. Huh? Has God cast away people?
Here's these men called of God, equipped of God, the Holy Spirit
poured out on them, and they're out preaching the gospel, and
these men are stirring up trouble, hiring false witnesses, doing
anything they can do to prevent the preaching of the gospel.
Have God cast away His people? Can He cast away His people? He can't do it. Paul begins this
chapter with a question. Has God cast away his people?
This is a nation began by a simple, a single man and God called him,
his father was an idol maker. Manufactured idols. And all of
his descendants All these descendants of this man named Abraham, all
called children of Abraham, Israelites to whom pertaineth the adoption,
that is being called children of God. And the glory, oh what
glory God manifested in Israel. Oh, I can't imagine. Pentecostals would like to get
a hold of that. They'd like to have some of it, but they can't.
Think about it. God come down. These people were
out gathering straw and making bricks for an evil king. And
God come down and delivered them and caused that evil king to
let them go and gave the people such a heart to get rid of them
that they took all their gold and silver and gave it to them
and said, Get! And not even a dog was allowed to bark in resistance
of their deliverance and they never raised a bow or a spear. And then when evil came pursuing
them, God pushed them up against the sea. Mountains on either
side. They were going to be history.
He said, stand still. I'll show you the salvation of
the Lord. He split a sea. I can't imagine. I can't. I can't imagine. But the sea
divided itself and stood straight up. And God caused the wind to
blow and dried the ground. They didn't even have muddy feet.
And they walked, every one of them, across that sea. And when
they stood on the other side, here comes the Egypt after them. God closed in the waters. Boy,
then they began to sing. You see what's up? The glory! He leads them up to the Promised
Land, and it's the time of year When Jordan's flooded, and it's
bank to bank, flooded, high water, raging down through trees, just
like the Red River, you see old trees going down. I saw a picture,
we and his family standing on a big tree out in the middle
of the river. Huh? God caused that river to back
up. Huh? And they walked across that
raging river on dry land. The glory! 400 people go out and defeat 20,000. Sometimes defeat them and never
put a uniform on. The glory that attended Israel
all through the Old Testament, the cloud, the rock that followed
them that gushed out enough to feed to give drink to over a
million people and all their cattle and all their sheep and
all their goats. And the rock followed them everywhere
they went. And that rock was Christ. Do
you see what I'm saying? The glory God manifested to this
nation. He delivered them out of Egypt,
split the sea, backed up the river. And God preserved them in the
wilderness, rained down manna for them to eat, gave them quail. And the adoption and the glory
and the covenants and the giving of the law and the service of
God and the promises and the fathers, men whose names are
preserved in this book forever, all from this nation of Israel. But when the Messiah came, the
overwhelming majority of the Jews despised him, rejected him,
and gave consent to his death on the cross. They would not
receive his word, nor the gospel of the apostles. And now the
apostle Paul says to these Gentiles that God cast away his people.
These ones he foreknew. Here's the answer for foolish
questions. Paul uses it all the time. God
forbid. God forbid. He tells us about Elijah. You
remember the whole story of Elijah. He prayed to his God and he sent
down fire and here's this ditch with all, they've dumped barrel
after barrel after barrel of water in it and God licks all
the water up and consumed the sacrifice. And then the high
priest, A bale, they get out there and start dancing around,
cutting themselves, and Elijah makes fun of them. Prophet of
God said, you better talk up. I don't think your God got good
ears. I don't think he can hear you. He made fun of them, made
light of them. That boy, when it was over, Jezebel,
that evil queen, came after him with everything she had. Now
he's down in a cave and God's feeding him with a raven, carrying
food. And he gets feeling sorry for
himself. And he said, Lord, he said, Israel's turned out. There
is no Israel. Forget Israel. Ain't no Israel. I'm the only one left. Huh? Has God cast away his people? Paul said, what did he tell Elijah? I've reserved to myself 7,000
men. None of them has bowed beneath
a bow. You ain't the only one. Even so, Paul said at this present
time also, there is a remnant according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, then is it no
more works. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it's
no more grace. Otherwise, work is no more works.
Salvation is either by grace or it's by works. Period. There
are no gray areas. No vacuum is one or the other. God has a people he chose in
Christ, and this election is an election of grace. It's not
based on anything in the believer's past, present, or future works.
This election is an election of grace, and this election is
unto salvation. It's not unto the possibility
to be saved. It's not just unto the hearing. No, sir. It's unto salvation. God has from the beginning chosen
you to salvation. It's not God looking down through
the telescope of time and seeing who would and who would not choose
him. Elections are all of grace. and
is inclusive of whatever means that's required, not the least
of which was the death of the Son of God. Huh? An election has to do with salvation,
not damnation. Men are damned because they will
not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. For
this cause, he said, He sent them strong delusion to believe
a lie and be damned. Election has to do with salvation.
You don't have to do anything to man to damn him. He's already
damned. He fell in Adam. He's already
a sinner. That's all he knows is sin. God
don't have to do anything special to damn you. Just leave you alone.
Just don't intervene. That's all he's got to do. He that believeth not, the Scripture
said, shall be damned. That's who's going to be damned. In John 3, 19, our Lord said,
this is the condemnation. Lights come into the world, and
men love darkness rather than light. That's the condemnation. God has a people He chose in
Christ, and He made full provision for them in Christ. Nothing is
left to chance or circumstance. And salvation, looking to God's
Word, is a sure and certain fact. Not when I look at myself and
how I'm going to react, but when I look to God and what He's done,
and what He can do, and what He will do. Now it becomes a
sure thing. Here's the Thessalonians. The
Gentiles, they didn't know anything about the gospel. And Paul comes
and preaches to them. And then he sits down and he
writes a letter. And he said, knowing brethren beloved, your
election of God. Now wait, how on earth does he
know the salvation of these Gentiles? Because our gospel came not unto
you in word only. It came in power. It came in
the Holy Ghost. Now listen, and it came with
much assurance. Huh? Some of you still looking for
assurance. Paul saw it in them right off the bat. How can you
have assurance being just a babe in Christ? Because you're looking
at a salvation accomplished by God. Huh? Promised by God. And now you know who God is.
Is that right? That's eternal life. Oh, nothing left to chance or
circumstance. And looking to Godward is assuring
certain fact. God can't fail, God's will cannot
be frustrated, and God's purpose cannot be overturned. Men and
their decisions, rebellion and unbelief, they only manifest
what they are. And they manifest what they can
do. Salvation manifests who God is and what He can do. With man,
it's impossible. With God, all things are possible. And then Isaiah said this, and
Paul mentions this back in, I think it's chapter 9, or chapter 10. Except the Lord of Sabaoth had
left us a seed, we'd have been like Sodom and been made like
under Gomorrah. We'd just be ashes. God had given to us a great and
precious promise even in the days of Antichrist religion. He said, even so, there is at
this present time a remnant of myself. Do you reckon that's
still true? Just as true as it was a day's
ago. There's a remnant. Could be one of them came in
and be with us today. Huh? One did in that day. Huh? One did in that day. Could be. There is a remnant. This thing of preaching the gospel,
this is more than just, I hope, I hope, I hope. I'm preaching to people knowing
that God draws His people to Christ, and everybody He draws,
He's going to save. And everybody that comes to Christ,
Christ said, I will by no means... He's not going away. Huh? I'm not going to send Him away.
I'm going to save Him to the uttermost. You see what Paul's
saying here? Thirdly, I want us to see who
God says true Israel is. God's people, both Jew and Gentile,
are set before us in the illustration of an olive tree. And this tree
has both root and branches. And in this illustration, there's
branches being cut off and branches being grafted in. There's branches
that bear fruit, and some are just dry and don't even have
a leaf on them, and they're cast into the fire. But whether broken
off or grafted in, one thing is sure, one thing never changes,
and that's the tree and its root. It never changes. The tree is
Christ. I'm going to throw you for a
loop now. The root is God's election. What is a root on a tree? It's
what fastens it to the earth, isn't it? What fastened him to
the earth? Why did he come down from heaven?
Huh? The election of the saints. That's
right. He came to save his... He shall
save his people from their sins. Isaiah calls the Messiah a root
of Jesse. Who's Jesse? I want God to let
it go. He tells Isaiah in that wonderful
chapter, chapter 53, he said, he shall grow up as a root out
of dry ground. Think about that. And the tree and the root are
one. That's the thing. They're one. The root is what
fashions the tree to the earth, and the root is how the tree
receives its nourishment. He was made a savior. He who thought it not robbery
to be equal with God made himself of no rival. He was made of a
woman, made under the law. He was given certain things because
of the election of the saints. He must come. as a representative
live a continual life of love and obedience to God, he must
die on that cross. God's election, His purpose to
save a people for the glory of His name is why there's a tree
at all. He said, I'm the true vine, my
father's the husband man. He's the farmer, I'm just the
vine. Oh, my soul. God has a people
he chose in Christ, and these people he calls Israel. Sometimes
he calls them Jews, and other times he calls them by the name
of Jacob, whose name he said, you're not going to be called
Jacob anymore, I'm going to call you Israel, a prince. Paul said, concerning God's people
in Galatians 6.16, he said, Peace be upon them, and mercy, and
upon the Israel of God. God has an Israel. Romans 2.28 and 29, he said,
He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision
which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one
inwardly. And circumcision is that of the
heart and the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is
not of men, but of God. Who are these people to whom
God has granted such promises and made such provisions? Well,
here's what he says in Romans 9, 6. For they are not all Israel,
which are of Israel. Paul talked about both here in
Romans chapter 11. Until you see that, you'll never
understand this chapter. He talked about both. God has
an Israel in Israel. Neither because they are the
seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac shall
thy seed be called. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh. These are not the children of
God. But the children of the promise
are counted for the seed. They're born, not of blood. Not of the blood of Abraham,
Isaac, or Jacob. But they're born of God. And in Galatians 3.26, he said,
For ye are the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. That's
how God reveals his children by faith. He gives them faith. For as many of you have been
baptized into Christ, have put on Christ, and in Christ are
neither Jew nor Greek. There's no bond or free. They're not male or female. You're
all one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, then are
you Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Had God cast away his people?
God forbid. I'm an Israelite of the seed
of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin. God not cast away his people. God has chosen a people out of
every nation, people, tribe, and tongue under heaven. So he
has a people out of the nation of Israel. And when he says,
all Israel shall be saved, he adds these words, and so all
Israel shall be saved. That refers back to all that
he had said, a remnant according to the election of grace. Israel
hath not obtained that which it seeketh for, but election
obtained it, and the rest were blinded. If by any means, he
said, I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and
might save some of them. God's wisdom and knowledge is
interwoven into all of Adam's posterity, so that election becomes
an open door. Not a closed door. You start
talking about election, the average person thinks you're talking
about Israel. They've always been known as God's electors. An election is a glorious privilege.
It brings with it not only the way of escape, not only the means
of escape, but the ability and the will to escape. It brings
it all with it. It's God, He said, that worketh
in you. To do what? both to will and
to do of His good pleasure. But there's also warnings in
this passage. He said, if some of the branches
be broken off, and thou being a wild olive tree were grafted
in among them, And with them partakest of the root and fatness
of the olive tree. Boast not against the branches.
But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root there.
Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off, that I might
be grafted in. Well, because of unbelief they
are broken off. And thou standest by faith. Be
not high-minded, but fear. For if God spared not the natural
branches, take heed, lest he also spare not you." He's talking
about people who profess faith who don't have it. I'm in luck. I hope so. I hope so. God said, we'll see. We'll see what kind of building
you're in, because I'm going to try it with fire. Behold, therefore, the goodness,
now listen, and severity of God. I can't even tell you, I looked
it up one time and I can't recall it from memory, but it was over
a million people. in 70 A.D. Jews that were slaughtered. You talk about severity. God
give them judicial blindness. He turned them over to themselves.
He let them do whatever they felt right to do. Just go in. Go in. Severity. God don't play. He don't play. You remember that bunch of kids
come out and making fun of the prophet? Go ye up ye old ball
here, they just kids, just old ratty kids. God sent a she-bear
out there and ate those kids. Read it for yourself. Severity. He's God. Don't fear man. All
man can do is put you to death. God can destroy your soul and
body in hell. And he said, you pause and consider
what I'm saying. Behold, that's what that means.
the goodness of God and the salvation of his elect, but the severity
of God in those who would not believe. 2 Thessalonians 2 said, For this
cause God sent them strong delusions. He turned the false prophets
loose on them. He turned Satan loose on them. The goodness and severity
of God on them which fail, severity, but toward thee goodness, if
thou continue in his goodness. Otherwise, you're going to be
cut off there. My friend, let me tell you something.
When God works in you, it is as if you were all alone in the
work. The only way that we know that
this work is of God that's being done in us is the outcome. I tell you now, it's the end
of the work. When God works in us, that work
is effectual, always. Always. Paul said, when you receive
the Word of God which you've heard of us, you received it
not as the Word of men, but as it is in truth, the Word of God
which effectually, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. There's a mysterious force in
our work. We're just now beginning to tap
into it. It's been around for thousands
of years, been around since the beginning. But we just, just
now, natural men beginning to tap into it, and that force is
magnetism. They found out, I was stationed
on an aircraft carrier in the Navy, and back then the ships
were powered by steam. And they'd build up steam in
them catapults and hook that big jet to it and that thing
would throw that jet off of that deck with unbelievable speed. You know they don't use that
anymore. They use magnetics. And it'll take a larger plane
and send it off that deck at a faster speed than that steam. Magnetics. It's a mysterious
force. And when two magnetic pieces
are turned one way, boy, they come right together, don't they?
But what happens when you turn them around? They go apart. You can't make one come together.
You try to push it in, it just won't go. Huh? God's Gospel will either cause
men and women to be drawn to Christ Or it will do the very
opposite. One or the other. And you won't see it. It'll just
happen. And lastly, let's look briefly
at the sure end of all things. He said, and so, adding everything
up that he said in the Book of Romans, add it all up. And so, all Israel shall be saved. As it is written, there shall
come out of Zion the deliverer, and he shall turn away ungodliness
from Jacob. But this is my covenant, and
I shall take away their sin. To have a sure and certain hope,
I must consider salvation as its purpose of God accomplished
in Christ and applied by the Holy Ghost. To have a sure and
certain hope, I want to look Godward. And this turning he's talking
about here, I'm going to turn them from their ungodliness.
What is ungodliness? I read, when I studied this,
I read, I'll bet you a hundred definitions. What is ungodliness? Things not in harmony with God. That's ungodliness, whatever
it is. Ungodliness is a gospel, a life, a hope built on such
things that run contrary to the character of God. But He's going to turn us from
our ungodliness. How's He going to do it? He's
going to reveal to us Himself who God is. He's going to do
it in the person and work of His Son. And it's going to be
effectual. And we're going to turn. Isn't
that what Paul told those Thessalonians? I know your election, God. You
turn from your idols to the true and living God. Oh, what a turn. And so all Israel
shall be saved, and all those he saved will praise him and
say from their hearts when they consider it. Oh, the death. The death. of the riches both
of wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments
and His ways past finding out. And here's something else they're
going to say when they consider these things. For of Him and
through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever
and ever. There's only one thing you can
say to that. Amen. Amen. So be it. So be it. Oh, I hope this has been a help
to you. Thank you so much.