I did choose thee, Lord, for
Lord that could not be. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nyberg. I'd like to read a verse of scripture
from John chapter 15. This is when our Lord was giving
his last address to his disciples before his death. And he says
in John chapter 15, verse 16. You have not chosen me. But I have chosen you. and ordained you that you should
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you." Literally, you have not elected me, but
I have elected you. I want to speak upon a subject
that is very dear to my heart. Divine election. You have not chosen me, But I
have chosen you. Now, if you read the Bible, you've
come across many verses such as he chose us. According, as
he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world or
the children being not yet born, neither having done any good
or evil that the purpose of God, according to election might stand. Perhaps you've read those verses
of scripture and wondered what do they Well, I hope, with the
Lord's help, we'll understand what they mean. Divine election. And as I said, this is a truth
that is very precious to me, because I remember when the Lord
was dealing with me, and when the Lord was making Himself known
to me, the truth He used to strip me was the truth of divine election. The fact that He chose a people
before time began, and there was nothing that I could do to
make myself one of them. And at first, my heart responded
in anger. That's not fair. That's not right.
There's nothing I can do to save myself. But that is exactly the
place where I needed to be brought. Only then, when I was confronted
with the fact that God had chosen a people. And there wasn't anything
I could do to make myself one of them. Only then did I cry
out for mercy. I saw then that I was in the
hands of a sovereign God who could do with me whatever he
was pleased to do. And at first, I've got to admit,
I didn't like the doctrine of election. It angered me. It made
me mad that God could choose some and pass by others. I thought,
how is that fair? But when I was made to see my
own sinfulness, I saw the only hope that I have is that He chose
a people, because if He didn't choose me, I'm so sinful, I would
never choose Him. Divine election. It's so clearly taught in the
Word of God. Now, this doctrine of election
was ingrained in the thinking of the early church. When Ananias
came to Paul to preach the gospel to him, the first thing he said
to him was, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee. And this is certainly a vital
element of preaching the gospel. You can't preach the gospel and
leave out this thing of divine election. It's part of what we
call salvation by grace. And this was ingrained in the
thinking of the early church. When Paul wrote to the church
at Thessalonica, he wrote elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father. Peter wrote, the church at Babylon
elected together with you, salute you. John wrote to the elect
lady and the children of thy elect sister. This was ingrained
in the thinking of the early church. Paul said to the church
at Thessalonica, knowing brethren beloved, Your election of God. How the Lord Jesus rejoiced in
this holy doctrine. He said, All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out. He said, I pray for them. Speaking
of his elect, I pray not for the world, but for them which
you have given me, for they are thine. Paul said, we're bound
to thank God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. Now,
what does the Bible mean by election? It's in every book in the Bible,
Old Testament, New Testament. What does the Bible mean by this
word election or chosen? Well, first, What about angels? In 1 Timothy 5.21, we read of
the elect angels. Now, Satan, Lucifer, fell, and
a third of the angels fell with him. That's where demons come
from. I don't have much understanding about this, but I know Satan
is very real. He used to be an angel of God,
and he fell. And the angels who did not fall
with Satan are called the elect angels. You can't read the Old
Testament and fail to see that God elected or chose Israel above
all other nations. He made himself known to Israel,
and he didn't make himself known to the other Gentile nations. Israel was his elect special
people. Now, you can't read the Bible
and deny that. He had a chosen people. And God elected individuals
to be saved. Ephesians 1.4 says, according
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy and without blame before him. Now that verse
of scripture tells us that God chose his people. He chose us. Remember what the Lord said to
his disciples, you did not choose me, but I chose you. And if you have faith, you know
that God gave it to you. There was a time when you didn't
believe and you couldn't believe and you do now. It's because
God chose you and he gave you faith. You know it's the gift
of his grace. Now what is election? Well who
chose who? God chose me. When was this choice
made? According to the scriptures it
was made before the foundation of the world. 2 Timothy 1.9 says,
He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which
were given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Now this
choice God made was before time began. Now why did He make this
choice? Some people will say, well, God
looked down through the telescope of time, and he foresaw who would
believe, and he chose them because he foresaw they would believe.
Now, it's true, he foresaw they would believe, but it's because
he foresaw he would give them faith. The evidence of divine
election is faith, but it's the gift of God's grace. God doesn't
choose you because you believe, you believe because God chose
you. Now, how was this choice made? Ephesians 1 verse 4 says,
according as He has chosen us, in Him, before the foundation
of the world. God's election is in Christ.
Those in Him are the elect. Now, this choice that God made
is absolute. That means there is not any condition
that the sinner has to meet in order for God to choose him.
God doesn't say, well, if he believes, then I'll choose you.
No, this is an absolute choice. Romans 9, 11 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. This choice is eternal. Jeremiah
31, 3 says, Behold, I've loved you with an everlasting love. A love that never had a beginning. If I'm elect, I've always been
elect. I've always been in the Lamb's
flame from the foundation of the world. And this election
is personal. God has from the beginning chosen
you. I've heard people object to election
and they say, well, election has to do with nations. What
are nations but individual units of People, if it's wrong for
him to choose individuals, it's even worse for him to choose
nations. But no, he chooses individuals to be saved. What is election? It's God's sovereign choice of
a people in Christ before time began. It's a number that cannot
be added to or taken from. God chose who would be saved. Now, the natural Response to
this is, how could that be fair? How could it be fair for God
to choose some and pass by others? Why doesn't he give everybody
an equal chance? Well, first of all, salvation
is not by chance. Salvation is by the purpose of
God. He saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which
were given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. If you
make an objection, if I make an objection saying, well, that's
not fair. What I'm saying is, is God's not fair. I'm standing
in judgment on God. And who am I to do that? See,
the fact of the matter is now here's let's get down to the
brass tacks. I'm a sinner. And I can't say it's not fair
for God to do this with me or God to do that with me. If God
elected everybody in the world but me. I couldn't say that's
not fair because I deserve to be sent to hell. If God gave
me what was fair to me, He would cut me off right now and have
no mercy on me. That's what God would do if He
was fair with me. But thank God for election. Election says there's
a bunch of people that are going to be saved. If God gave everybody
what was fair, He'd send us all to hell. He wouldn't have mercy
on any of us. But thank God He elected a people. Now, thank God for election. He said to his disciples, you
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Now I want to talk
about the results and the fruits of this choice that God made
and what we learn from this. Divine election. God chose who
would be saved. He didn't choose everybody. He
sovereignly chose who would be saved. Now, what does this tell
me? First of all, election speaks
of a God who is God indeed. A God who has absolute control. A God who is truly sovereign. A God who is God indeed and not
one who is in name only. Now, a God who is anything less
than absolutely sovereign is a false God. is a paper God,
is a worthless God. The God of the Bible is absolutely
sovereign. What's that mean? That means
He has a will, that means He has the power to make His will
come to pass, and that means He does in fact make His will
come to pass. He chooses somebody to be saved,
they're going to be saved. Election speaks of a sovereign
God who controls everything. Election says God has all control,
and we have no control. We are in His hands. He can do
with us whatever He's pleased to do. He can save us, or He
can pass us by. He's got the authority to do
that, and we don't have the right to say, why did you do that?
Give an account for yourself. No, He doeth according to His
will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What
doest thou? Give an account for yourself.
He has absolute authority. Whatever He does is right. He doesn't do it because it's
right. It's right because He does it. That's the God of the
Bible. So essential to God is election
that God calls it His glory. rooted in his goodness. Moses said, I beseech thee, show
me thy glory in Exodus chapter 33 verse 18 and verse 19. God
said, I'll make all my goodness pass before you and I'll proclaim
my name before you and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious and I will show mercy. to whom I will show mercy." It's
God's sovereign prerogative, and when Moses says, show me
your glory, he makes it part of his glory. Now, I've heard
preachers. They read the Bible, and they can't deny that election's
in the Bible, but they relegate it to a doctrine of secondary
importance, one that is not vital to preaching the gospel. Now,
wait a minute. God calls it his glory. And if
God's glory is of secondary importance, you can call election secondary
importance, but God's glory is of infinite importance. And so
is divine election. Election is essential to the
glory of God. It says God is God indeed. He
is in control. He is God. And the second fruit
of election, election explains to us what the Lord Jesus Christ
was doing on the cross. Now listen to me very carefully.
Most people think that Jesus Christ was making salvation available,
that he was paying for everybody's sins, that he was dying for everybody's
sins, but as to whether or not you're saved, it's up to the
act of your will as to whether or not you'll accept him or reject
him. Salvation is ultimately in your
hands, not in God's hands. Now that's the teaching of the
average preacher. Now, my dear friends, that's
just not so. When our Lord was on the cross, he was representing
a particular people. He said in Matthew 121, it was
said of him, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. He said in John chapter 17, I
pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which you've given me. On Calvary's tree, he was representing
the people the Father gave him. And when he bowed his head and
said, it is finished, you know, he didn't simply mean that his
suffering was over. He meant the salvation of all
of his people was accomplished. When Christ Jesus died, my salvation
was accomplished. Now, let me take, let's don't
leave this. The only, listen real carefully,
the only hope that I have is that Jesus Christ died for me. That's the only hope I have.
Now, if you tell me that he can die for me and I might wind up
in hell if I don't do something to make what he did work, you've
taken away the only hope I have. No, on Calvary's tree, Christ
Jesus wasn't simply making salvation possible. It wasn't a potential
salvation. He was actually saving. We're
followed by one offering, He hath perfected forever them that
are sanctified. That's the teaching of God's
Word. Our Lord is a Savior. He's not a possible Savior. He's
a Savior. He saved His people from their
sins. Election teaches us that God
is God. Election teaches us what Christ
was doing on the cross. He was actually saving. And thirdly,
election teaches us that salvation really is all of grace. What does grace mean? Unmerited
favor. Unearned favor. God's grace actually
saves. Now, if you take election out
of grace, you've taken the G out of grace and you're left with
the word race where only the swiftest win. But no, grace gives
hope to the very chief of sinners. Salvation by grace. You see,
my good works don't recommend me. My bad works can't Keep me
from it if God decides to have grace on me. Listen to the scripture
again, Romans 9, 11, 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. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger. As it's written, Jacob have I
loved, but Esau have I hated. Those are God's words. Election
tells us that salvation really is all of grace. And listen to
this. Election encourages evangelism. Now, the knock against election,
people say, well, if I believe God chose who would be saved,
what's the point in preaching? What's the point in witnessing?
That's foolishness. That's foolishness. As a matter
of fact, the only reason we preach and witness is because God's
going to elect people. Listen to the scripture from Acts 18,
verse 9. We read, Then spake the Lord
to Paul, not by vision. Be not afraid, but speak, and
hold not thy peace. For I am with thee, and no man
shall set on thee to hurt thee. For I have much people in this
city. Talking about the court. He said,
you keep preaching, you keep witnessing because I have much
people in this city. And this is the courage that
I have in preaching. God has a people. He's going
to call them out. Election doesn't stifle evangelism
and missions. As a matter of fact, all the
great missionaries of the past are men who believe the doctrine
of election. You talk about Kerry and Judson and all those fellows,
they all wouldn't have gone if they didn't believe that God
elected the people. Thank God for election. Now, election is
also the great stripping and humbling doctrine. It strips
a man of all hopes of self-salvation, strips a man of all visibility,
and leaves him in the hands of a sovereign God who can do with
him whatever he's pleased to do. Now, this is not bad news. This is good news if you're a
sinner. This opens up the door wide for you if you're a sinner.
Now, if you hope to be saved by your works, this isn't good
news because it's taken away your hope. You're hoping in something
you're doing. And when you hear of election,
you say, well, what I do doesn't count for anything. And it takes
away what you're hoping in. But if you have no hope in and of
yourself, election is good news. It opens the door of mercy wide
open. Thank God for election. Election
guarantees fruit, the fruit of faith. Listen to scripture from
Acts chapter 13 verse 48. When the Gentiles heard this,
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Who believed? Those who were ordained to eternal
life. Faith is the fruit of election. If I'm one of God's people, if
I'm one of his elect, I'm going to bear the fruit of the Holy
Spirit. You heard what he said. You've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth
fruit. and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall
ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you." Now,
I want to close by looking at a passage of scripture in Matthew
chapter 15. Somebody says, well, how do I deal with the doctrine
of election? I see it's in the scripture.
How do I personally deal with it? Well, I want to show you
how a woman in Matthew chapter 15 dealt with the doctrine of
election. We read beginning in verse 21.
If you can get your Bible and follow along, I think it would
be helpful. Then Jesus went thence and departed into the coasts
of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan
came out of the same coasts and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thy son of David, my daughter, is grievously
vexed with a devil. Now, this woman comes the right
way. She comes asking for mercy. She
comes knowing who the Lord is, the son of David. And she comes
with a great need. Her daughter was grievously tormented
with the devil. And look at the Lord's response
to her, but. He answered her. Not a word. He ignored her. He did not respond
to her. Have you ever dealt with the
silence of God? That's what this woman was dealing
with. The silence of God. And his disciples came and besought
him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth after us. Although
he remained silent, she kept crying. Have mercy on me, O Lord,
thou Son of David. My daughter is grievously vexed
with the devil. Oh, she had a great need, so
she continued to cry. Verse 24, But he answered and
said, I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of
Israel. Now, he says to this woman in
no uncertain terms, I didn't come to save everybody. I didn't
come for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, I know
that goes against the thoughts of what most people. I thought
Christ came to save everybody. No, he didn't. Because if he
did, everybody would be saved. He'd be a failure if he came to save
everybody and everybody wasn't saved. No, he came to save the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. Now, how did this woman respond
to this? Did she say, well, that's not fair. That's wrong. I mean, what about me? What about
my needs? No, look how she responded. Then came she and worshipped
him. You know, you only worship a
sovereign, one you have no control over. One in whose hands you
are, and He can do with you whatever He's pleased to do. The absolute
sovereign of the universe. Then came she and worshipped
Him, saying, Lord, help me. She didn't say this is not fair.
But she said, Lord, help me. If you don't help me, I won't
be helped. Lord, help me. But he answered and said, it's
not meat to take the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. Now, he's telling this woman,
you're a dog. My gospel, the gospel of my grace,
it's for the children. It's not appropriate to take
the children's bread and to throw it to the dogs. Now, did this
woman turn around and say, I'm not going to have anything to
do with him anymore? No. Look what she says. She said,
truth, Lord. Truth, Lord. I'm nothing more than a dog.
That's the truth. Whatever you say is the truth.
I'm nothing more than a dog, but I'm your dog and I'm dependent
upon any crumb of mercy coming from you. Yet the dogs eat of
the crumbs which fall from their master's table. I'm not looking
for a place setting. I'm not looking for a place among
thy children, but oh, I'd be so grateful for any crumbs of
mercy that come my way. Now, that's how that woman responded
to the doctrine of election. And look what our Lord said to
her. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great
is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou
wilt." And her daughter was made whole from that very hour. Oh, that God will give you and
I the grace to respond to this holy truth just like this woman
did. Now, here's the truth. God elected
a people before time began. Christ died for them. God the
Holy Spirit gives them life. They are the ones who will be
saved. Now, do I say that's not fair?
No, I don't say that. I say, Lord, have mercy upon
me. Lord, don't pass me by. You'd be just if you did, but
Lord, don't pass me by. Have mercy on me. Thank God for election. Now we have this message on cassette
tape, on CD or DVD. If you call the church, email
or write, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Knight, praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. That's
our prayer. Amen. To request a copy of the sermon
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