Now before I read my text, I
want to ask two questions. Number one, who are the elect? And number two, do I want to
be one of them? Those are good questions, aren't
they? Who are the elect? And do I want to be one of them. Let's read verses 1 and 2 of
John chapter 17. These words spake Jesus and lifted
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy son, that thy son
also may glorify thee. As thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given Him. We read earlier, Behold I and
the children that thou hast given me. Now, I pray the Lord will
give me the grace to preach the gospel, and that you'll be given
hearing ears. But I so much desire that you
listen to me very, very carefully. The Lord Jesus has power, has
authority, has control, freedom of action, sovereignty over all
flesh. Everybody in this room, you are
in His hands. You belong to Him. He can do
with you whatever He's pleased to do. And whatever he does is
right. He has authority, power over
all flesh, believers and unbelievers alike. Believers are in his hands,
so are unbelievers. Powerful men, insignificant men. Presidents and paupers. Famous people and people nobody's
ever heard of. Everybody without exception is
under his thumb. He said, all power is given to
me. Now, in his authority over all
flesh, he has the power and the right
to give eternal life to all those the Father has given him. Now, six times in this great
high priestly prayer for his people, he refers to those the
Father has given him. Just like that passage I read
from Hebrews chapter two, Behold, I and the children. You see, God's children are never
separated from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what he always
says. I and the children, I and Todd, I and you just put your
name in there if you're a believer. I and the children which God
hath given me." Now look here in John chapter 17, verse 2,
"...thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should
give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." Look
in verse 6, "...I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou
gavest me out of the world." Verse 9, he says, "...I prayed
for them." I pray not for the world, but for them which thou
hast given me. For they are thine. As a matter
of fact, I entitled this message, Am I one of them? Am I one of
them? That's what I want to know. And now I'm no more in the world,
but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father,
keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me. Verse
12. While I was with them in the
world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I've
kept. Look in verse 24 of the same
chapter. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given
me be with me where I am. So six times in this glorious
chapter of the Lord's great high priestly prayer for his people,
he speaks of those the Father gave him. Now, this is a reference
to the elect. Who are these people? They are
the ones the Father gave him. Now, he said earlier, in John
chapter 15, verse 16, at this same time, just not too long
before this, he said to his disciples, he said, you've not chosen me,
but I have chosen You don't choose to believe, you believe because
you're chosen. Did you know that? You don't
choose to believe, you believe because you're chosen. He said
you did not choose me, but I chose you. I elected you. You did not
elect me, I elected you. According as he hath chosen us
in him before the foundation of the world. Did you hear that? That's election. Before time
began, before creation, God gave Christ a people to be saved. He foresaw the ruin of our race.
It was all part of His plan, but because He is gracious, He
elected, He selected, He chose a vast number of people out of
Adam's ruined race to be saved, and He gave those elect ones
to Christ for Christ to save them. Matthew 121 says, Thou
shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people. Who
does He save? his people from their sins. He
said, I pray for them. I'm not praying for the world.
I'm praying for those that thou hast given me. Now, this choice,
this electing choice that God made when he gave Christ to people,
first of all, it was absolute. That's why it's called unconditional
election. That means there's no conditions
you need to meet. There's no works you need to
perform. There's no goodness or merit in you that would cause
God to elect you. Isn't that good news? What if
He had to find something good in you? Where would that leave
you? All right, we wouldn't have a chance, would we? But thank
God salvation is not according to chance. Doesn't God give everybody
a chance? Salvation is not according to
chance. It's according to the will of God, and His election
is unconditional. You don't have to have any works
in you, any goodness in you that would cause Him to choose you.
That's good news if you're a sinner. Now, if you're not a sinner,
you might not like it, but if you're a sinner, you love this. Thank God for
this unconditional election. This choice is eternal. Jeremiah
31, verse 3 says, Behold, I have loved you with an everlasting
love. What's everlasting mean? Never had a beginning? It never
has an ending. You know, the elect have always
been elect. They've never not been the elect. They've always
been in the mind, purpose, and will of God the elect. It's eternal
election. And this election is personal.
Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2.13, God hath from the beginning
chosen you. Yes, he chose some angels and
other angels fell. Yes, he chose Israel and not
everybody else in the Old Testament. But the election we're talking
about is of individuals, personal. God has from the beginning chosen
you to salvation, to sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth. Now, let me give you three things
that election does, three things that election says, three things
that divine election safeguards. First, election tells us that
God is God. It tells us that God has absolute
control and that we have no control. You don't have any control. God
has all control. God's sovereign. You know, you
can't believe God is sovereign and believe in free will. It's
impossible. A God who's not sovereign is an idol, is a false God, is
a pathetic God, is a God not worthy of being worshipped. The
God of the Bible is the sovereign, holy God who chooses whom He
will. And you know, the Lord Jesus
delighted in this. The Scripture says He rejoiced
in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because you have hid these things, the things of salvation,
from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes, even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." So first
of all, election tells us that God is God indeed. Not just in
word, but indeed. God is God. He controls all. Secondly, election tells us what
Christ was doing. He was not making salvation possible.
He was saving. Everything He did, He did as
a representative for the elect. He kept the law for them. He
died for them. He was raised for them. When Christ walked upon this
earth, it was not to make men savable if they do their part.
It was to save, and that's exactly what he did. He came as a representative
of the elect. I don't believe for a second
that he died for every son of Adam. If he did, every son of
Adam would be saved. He died for the elect. He accomplished
their salvation. Thank God for that. Election
tells us what Christ was doing. Thirdly, election is the G of
grace. What do I mean by that? Election
is the G of grace. What does grace mean? It means
unmerited favor. Here's an example, Romans 10.20.
God says, I was found of them that sought me not. And I was
made manifest to them that asked not after me. Now there's unmerited
favor. I was found of folks who weren't
even seeking me. I put it in their heart to seek me. I was
made manifest to people who didn't care whether they knew me or
not. That's what they were by nature, but I did something for
them. Grace, completely unmerited favor. Now, that means good works. Do not recommend you. I don't
care how many you think you have. No good work will recommend you
to God. And it also means that evil works do not disqualify
you. You take the G out of grace and
what's the word you're left with? Race. Race. We're only the swiftest win.
Only the ones who have the most ability win. Only the strongest
win. It has to do with man's ability.
Who wins the race? The one who has the ability to
win it. And that's not good news at all for me. It's not good
news for a sinner. It takes the gospel out of the
gospel. You're left with race, where only the swiftest and the
strongest survive. There's no salvation there. Election
is the gee of grace. Unmerited, completely unmerited
favor. Right now, I don't have to have
anything to recommend you God except Christ. I have all he
requires. Now there are only two responses
to election. One is it's not fair. It's not fair for God to not
choose everybody. Why? He could have chosen everybody
if he wanted to. Why didn't he? Everyone of us has dealt with
that. How is it fair for God to choose one and pass by the
other? Not fair. And that's that Paul anticipated
that when he was talking about election in Romans chapter nine,
where he says, what should we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? Is God unfair and loving Jacob and hating Esau and choosing
Jacob and passing by Esau? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Is God unfair? That's that's the first response.
It's not fair. Now, I got two responses to that. Number one, do you really want
God to be fair with you? Is that what you want? Do you
want God to give you personally what you have coming? Man, I
don't want to have anything to do with that. And number two,
since when are you morally competent to sit in judgment upon God and
say, well, I think this is fair and that's not fair? Since when
do you have the ability to do something like that? You? Me? Sit in judgment on the God of
glory and say, well, I don't think that's fair. Nay, but,
old man, who art thou to reply against God? Shall this thing
formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus?
Now that's, it's not fair. That's the first response. Here's
the second response. I want to be one of them. I want
to be one of God's elect. I really do. I want to be one
of them. I know I won't be saved if I'm not elect. If he saves
whom he will, I cry out, Lord, save me. Lord, I need to be saved. I need. I love what our brother
prayed his prayer. Lord, we need you. I need his
grace. Now, do you want to be one who
was given to him by the Father? Do you want to be one of these
people? One who is given to him. Do you want to be in that group
of which he said, behold I and the children which thou hast
given me? Now, I'm going to ask you not
to answer that question yet. Don't answer it. And I want us
to look at the places in John where he makes reference to those
the Father gave him. And we'll look at each one of
them so that we can intelligently see if this is what we really
want. We're going to take them in the
order that God gives them in the book of John. Now, first
turn to John chapter 6. And remember, we're going to ask, do I really
want to be one of them? Verse 37. Well, verse 36. But I said unto you, John chapter
six, verse 36. But I said unto you that you've
also seen me and believe not. He's looking to a bunch of people
who did not believe. Now, did he try to talk them
into believing? Did he try to put pressure on their will to
change them? No. What's he say? All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. There's this first reference.
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Now here we have the
Father giving. There are some who will believe. You know, our Lord says, You
fellas don't believe, some will, some will. It's not like I've
got to worry about, they're not believing, no. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. And this is what they do. They
come to Him for salvation. They come to Him for mercy. They
come to Him for all things. This is what believers do. They
come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what does it mean to come
to Christ? I mean, if He said it in the right hand of the Father,
How do I get there? What does it mean to come to
Him? Well, look in verse 35. And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and
he that believeth on me shall never thirst. To come to Christ
is to believe on Christ. It is to trust Him. It's to rest in Him as your salvation
before God. Now, all that the Father giveth
me shall, shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, thank
God for this verse of scripture, he that cometh to me, I will
in no wise, for no reason whatsoever, cast out. Now do you want to
be one of these people? Do you want to be one of these
people who actually come to the Lord Jesus Christ? And that is
salvation. It's coming to him. It's not
getting your doctrines straight. If you come to him, your doctrine
will be fine. It's coming to him. Do you want to be one of
these people who actually come to the Lord Jesus Christ? And
that would describe your life. To whom coming? Always coming
to Him. Verse 38, John 6, here's the
second one. For I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me
And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all
which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise
it up again at the last day." Now, our Lord says with reference
to those the Father gave him, every one of them will be saved.
Not one of them will be lost. Everybody that Christ died for
must be saved. And if Christ died for you, you
must be saved. You have no sin. He put it away.
You have no guilt. You cannot be lost. You cannot
be lost. You want to be one of these people? You want to be one of these people
who cannot be lost because Christ died for you? It's impossible.
You want to be one of these people? John 10. John 10. Verse 29, my father. Which gave them me there, he's
referring to these people again, my father, which gave them me
is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of
my father's hand. Now, who are these people he's referring to? Well, look in verse 24 of John
chapter 10. Then came the Jews around about
him and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you,
and you believe not. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But you believe not, because
you are not of my sheep." Now, how can words be any plainer?
He doesn't say, you're not my sheep because you don't believe.
He said, you don't believe because you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep,
hear my voice. I know them, and they follow
me, and I give, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man
is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Now, His sheep,
His sheep, my Father which gave them me, they're the ones He
died for. He said in John 10, verse 15, As the Father knoweth
me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for who?
Who? The sheep. The sheep. Now, the sheep are those who
hear the voice of Christ. He knows them. They follow him.
They believe. Do you want to be one of these
people? I'm asking you. Do you want to be one of these
people who he calls his sheep? Those who hear his voice, those
for whom he died, those who believe, those who will never perish. John 17. Verse 2. as thou hast given him power
over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal. This
is that life eternal that he gives, that they might know thee,
the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." Now, here's
what eternal life is. No talking about the duration
of life. It's talking about knowing the living God. This is eternal
life that they might know thee. And that means more than just
knowing about Him. That means knowing Him where I know Him. I know
God. He knows me. This is not just
talk. This is what eternal life is. To know the only true God
as opposed to the many false gods. The only true God and Jesus
Christ whom He sent. I have some idea as to why I
sent him. He sent him to save his people.
Here's my question. Do you want to know God? Do you
want to actually know the living God, to have him give you this
eternal life to where you actually know God and he knows you? That's what eternal life is. The knowledge of the living and
true God, actually knowing and having a relationship with him.
Now, this is what the people who he gave to Christ do. They
know God. Now look in verse 6. He says, I have manifested thy
name. I have made known, I have revealed
thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me. and they've kept thy word. He's manifested his name to them. Now turn with me for a second
to Psalm 9. Hold your finger there, John
17. We're coming back there, but look in Psalm 9. The ninth
Psalm. Verse 9. The Lord will also be a refuge
for the oppressed. a refuge in times of trouble,
and they that know thy name will put their trust in thee. For thou, Lord, hast not forsaken
them that seek thee. They that know thy name will
put their trust, their confidence, their reliance in thee." You know that that means a whole
lot more than just knowing what his name is. I know what his
name is. His name is Jehovah. His name is Jesus. His name is
the Christ. His name is Elohim. It's not talking about just knowing
what his name is. But he has seven names as Jehovah,
which every believer knows. Even if they don't know the actual
words, they know the concept behind it. They know the truth
behind it because they know the person behind it. And they that know
his name will put their trust in him." The first is Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord will provide. All that God requires, He provides. The Lord will provide. Remember when Abraham and Isaac
are going up the mountains, and Isaac says, here's the wood,
here's the fire, but where's the lamb for a burnt sacrifice?
And Abraham said, My son, the Lord will provide Himself a lamb. All God requires of you, He provides. He requires righteousness, He
provides it. He requires a sin payment, He provides it. He requires
you to love Him, He provides it. He requires a perfect standing
before His law, He provides it. He requires perseverance? He
provides it. Everything He requires, He provides. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord shall
provide. Then there's Jehovah Zedkinu,
the Lord our righteousness. I love his name, the Lord our
personal righteousness. I have a personal righteousness,
the Lord. Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our
righteousness. That's his name. And those who
know his name put their trust in him. Do you trust him as your
righteousness before God? Then there's Jehovah Shalom,
the Lord our peace. Now, I have peace. I experience
peace. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes
I'm torn up. Sometimes I feel peace. But I tell you this, when
I feel peace, you know what that comes from? Christ is my peace. He made my peace with God. God's
at peace with me. God doesn't have anything to
be mad at me about. Jehovah Shalom, the Lord, our peace. And then there is Jehovah Raha,
the Lord is my shepherd. David said the Lord's my shepherd.
And because my shepherd is the Lord, I shall not want. I won't want anything because
my shepherd's the Lord. I'm not going to want peace.
He makes me lie down in green pastures. I'm not going to make
me lie down beside the quiet water. Psalm 23, because he is
my shepherd, I shall not want any of these things. And then
there's Jehovah Rapha. I am the Lord that healeth thee. I'm sick. I'm not talking about
physical sick, I'm sick and I need healed. And He is the Lord that
healeth me. He does it. I trust Him. See,
they that know your name, they'll put their trust, they'll put
their confidence in thee. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is
present. And we trust He's present. You
know, I trust He's present right now. Even if I feel it or don't,
see it or don't, I trust He is present because He is always
present. They that know thy name shall
put their trust in thee. Okay, get back to John chapter
17. He says in verse 9, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which thou hast given me. For they are thine. Somebody
says, well, that's just talking about the twelve or the eleven
disciples. Well, he says in verse twenty,
neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe. I mean, there's no doubt that
they shall believe on me through their word, through their preaching.
He's talking about all of God's elect when he says, I pray for
them. I pray not for the world, but I pray for them which thou
hast given me. Now, you want to be one of these
people that the Lord prays for. Now this is something I think
of what he said to Peter. Peter, Satan had desired to have
thee that he may sift thee as wheat. What would happen to you
if Satan got a hold of you? Could you stand before him? Oh,
he'd sift you so quickly. None of us were a match for him.
He says, Satan has desired to have you that he may sift you
as wheat, but I have prayed for thee, that thy
faith fail not." You know what? His faith didn't fail. He was
turned upside down, never was he loose. No doubt about that.
But he never left this. The only hope I have is the Lord
Jesus Christ. I'm relying on Him. You see,
if Christ prays for you, the Father hears what He says. The
Father always hears Him. Hebrews 7.25 says, Wherefore,
he is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. You
want to be one of these people Christ is praying for? Man, I
do. Oh, to think of the Lord representing my name before the
Father. If He prays for me, I'm safe, I'm secure, I'm delivered.
If He's my high priest. Do you want to be one of these
people that Christ prays for? He says, I pray for them. Look in verse 11. And now I'm no more in the world,
but these are in the world. Here we are. And I come to thee,
Holy Father. through thine own name, those
whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are." Now,
those the Father gave him are those who are one. One with Christ and one with
one another. Now, here's my identity, and
this is true of every believer. My identity. Now, I know we're
all unique individuals. We're all what we are. But my
identity is Jesus Christ. That's my identity. I come into
the presence of the Father only by Him. And there's only one
thing I want to be known for. As God is my witness, there's
only one thing that I want to be known for in Christ. That's it. No other identity.
One with Him. One with His people. You know,
God's people, they're all alike. They have the same Savior. They
have the same salvation. Saved the same way. They all
believe the same thing. You know, there's differences
with Christians. No, there's not. They all believe the exact
same thing. They believe the Word of God.
They believe Christ is all. Every one of them. They're one.
There's a true unity of spirit. There's truly such a thing as
Christian unity, Christian oneness. We believe the same thing. We
believe salvation is by the Lord, don't we? We believe salvation
is by grace. Now, these folks that were given
to Him of the Father, they're one with one another. They're
one with Him. They're one with one another.
There's true fellowship. Look in verse 12. While I was with him in the world,
I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I
kept. And none of them is lost but
the son of perdition, talking about Judas, that the scripture
might be fulfilled. Now, the ones that the Father
gave him are the ones who are kept. Kept. Preserved. in His name, kept by the power
of God, kept from falling. Now, do you want to be somebody
who's kept? I know the only way I persevere
is if He keeps me. I know that. And I want to be
somebody who's kept. Now unto Him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
His presence with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior. and honor, dominion, majesty,
and power both now and forevermore. Kept. Oh, I want the Lord to
keep me. If He doesn't, I know sin will
have complete dominion over me. I'll perish if He doesn't keep
me. And I want to be kept. Kept hearing
the gospel. Kept seeing myself as a sinner
and my need of Him. Kept coming to Him. I want to
be kept. Those the Father gave Him, He
keeps. Be one of them? Kept? Kept by the power of God to faith
and to salvation? Look at verse 24. Father, I will. Now, the Lord Jesus Christ is
the only one that can pray like this. Father, I will. Can you imagine saying to God,
Father, I will that you do this? creep out saying something like
that. I mean, we don't address in that way, but here he who's
equal with the Father can say, Father, I will. That they whom you've given me be with me where I am, not where
I will be, but where I am right now. Now here is what Those the
Father gave him have the privilege of, they're always with the Lord
Jesus Christ. Always. Never a time when they're
not with him. Always with him. Now when Adam
fell, what did he do? He wanted to run and hide from
the presence of God. Wherever God was, he didn't want
to be there. He hid from the very presence of God, but when
the Lord saves a man, all they want is the presence of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Wherever He is, that's where
I want to be. And that's where I am, with Him. Now, those the Father gave Him,
they're always with Him. Now, I want to ask you that initial
question now. Do you want to be one of them. They've been described. Do you
want to be one of them? If you do, you are. If you do, you are. There's never been one
who wants to be That wasn't. You know, when people think of
divine election, they go with such a shame, there's people who want
to be saved that can't be because they're not elect. That's foolishness.
Anybody who wants to be saved will be saved. Anybody who wants
to be one of God's elect in the way they've been described here,
they are God's elect. There's never been anybody that
wanted to be that wasn't. And there's never been one who was
that didn't want to be. Every single one. Do you want
to be one of them? I do. And I am. Bartimaeus understood something
about this. I don't know what all he knew,
but he wanted the Lord to do something
for him. Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. He couldn't
be shut up when they told him to shut up. Hold your peace,
Bartimaeus. He kept going. Thou Son of David, have mercy
on me. And the Scripture said, Jesus stood still. on the way
to the cross that stopped him. He stood still because he is
always quick to hear the cry for mercy. You want to be one
of them? He won't pass you by. You are. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray.