Look at John Chapter 15. While you're turning there, I'll
announce what I'm going to speak on tonight, I'm going to speak
on the forerunner. The forerunner, do you know one
of the names of the Lord or the titles of the Lord is the forerunner,
and we're going to look at what that means is a real blessing
to me to think about that. John. Chapter 15. Verse 16, the Lord is speaking to His disciples
and He says, 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." Quite literally, you did not
elect me, but I Elected you. I've entitled this message. Election. This is the election where Christ
has the only vote. Now. I want to preach this morning
upon a subject that is very dear to me. Divine election. You have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you. Now, this I know. I will not
have to convince any believer of the truthfulness of this doctrine. It's so clearly taught in Scripture
that no believer, and notice I said believer, it's so clearly
taught in Scripture that no believer could possibly deny that it is,
in fact, the teaching of the Bible. Our Lord says, you have
not elected me, but I have elected you. David said in Psalm 65,
4, blessed is the man whom thou choosest. You see, this is a
doctrine of blessing. Blessed is the man. whom thou
choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell
in thy courts, we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
even of thy holy temple." Paul said in Romans 9-11, I'm going
to quote several scriptures just to set out how this is the uniform
teaching of the scriptures. Paul said for the children, talking
about Jacob and Esau, being not yet born, either 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. I just read that
passage of scripture from Second Thessalonians 2.13, but we're
bound to thank God. It's a doctrine of divine praise. We're bound to thank God always
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God had from
the beginning chosen you. to salvation through sanctification
of the Spirit and belief in the truth. Paul said in Ephesians
1.4, He chose us before the foundation of the world. How the Lord Jesus
delighted in this holy truth. He said in John 6.36, You've
seen me and you don't believe. 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 in John 17, 9, I pray
for them. I pray not for the world, but
for them which you've given me, for they are thine. It is impossible to approach
the scriptures honestly and deny that the Bible does, in fact,
teach this holy truth. Every believer bows to what God
says in his word, and what believers do, they believe. That's what
they have in common. They believe they believe all
that God says. And, you know, regarding election
and regarding a believer, I don't have to convince any believer
of this truth because, you know, in your heart that you're so
simple. That you would never choose him
unless he first chose you, don't you know that so? You know that
the Lord left you to yourself. You'd never come to him. Oh,
thank God for this. You've not chosen me. But I have
chosen you. Now, this way of thinking was
ingrained in the thinking of the early church. Now, turn with
me to Acts chapter four for just a moment. Acts chapter four.
Now, this was just these people had just been converted a couple
of weeks at the most. This was right after Pentecost.
And this is the early church. They say in Acts chapter four,
beginning in verse twenty four. And when they heard that, I think
maybe this was just a few days after Pentecost. When they heard
that, they lifted up their voice, Acts 4.24. They lifted up their
voice to God with one accord. I mean, they were all in agreement
here. And they said, Lord, thou art God. which hath made heaven
and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is, who by the mouth
of thy servant David hath said, Why did the heathen rage, and
the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood
up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and
against His Christ. For the truth against thy holy
child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate,
with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before
to be done. They understood that God was
God. You know, when Paul was converted,
what was the first thing he heard from the mouth of Ananias? Anybody
remember? The God of our fathers hath chosen
thee. This is certainly an important
and a vital element of gospel preaching, election. You can't
preach the gospel and not preach election. It's impossible. You
know, I know even in my own experience that I never asked for mercy
until I was made to see that God had elected a people and
there wasn't one single thing I could do to make myself one
of them. It was only then, when I saw I had no control in this
thing of salvation, it's all up to the Lord, that I cried,
Oh, be merciful to me, the sinner. Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica
saying, Knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God. Peter wrote
to the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
And when he closed the same epistle, he said the church at Babylon
elected together with you. Salute you. John wrote to the
elect lady and he spoke of the children of thy elect sister. You know, if you had presented
the doctrine of election to the early church as a doctrine less
than absolutely vital in preaching the gospel, they would have said,
what? They would have treated that
with disdain. This was just a part of the speech of the early church,
even in their greetings. Now, what does the Bible mean
by election? Our Lord said, you have not chosen me. You have
not elected me, but I have elected you. Men have attempted it, explaining
it away. But what does the Bible mean
by this holy truth? What our Lord said to his disciples,
you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. Well, the first thing
I think of is angels. In 1 Timothy 5, verse 21, we
read of the elect angels. Now, there was a fall of angels
sometime before men were around. I don't know when it happened,
but you know, they're demons. Satan is a fallen angel. He didn't
start out Satan. He fell. And the difference between
the angels who stood and the angels who fell was God's election. We read of the elect angels. Now, what about the nation of
Israel and all the rest of the nations of the world? God made
a difference. God chose Israel and he passed
everybody else by. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter
seven for just a moment. Deuteronomy chapter seven. Verse six. God says to Israel,
for thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy
God has chosen thee to be a special people that are upon the face
of the earth. The Lord did not set his love
upon you, nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people, for you were the fewest of all people, but because
the Lord loved you. And because he would keep the
oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought
you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house
of Boman, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt." Now, God made
a difference with Israel. You can't read the Old Testament
and deny that God made a special difference between Israel and
everybody else. And God elected who would be
saved. He chose who would be saved.
If you're saved, it's because God chose you to be saved. He
made a difference. He did something for you that
He didn't do for everybody else. Turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. Verse 4. According as He hath chosen us,
in Him, before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy, and without blame before Him, in love having predestinated
us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of
His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Now, who chose who? It's so simple. He chose us. When was this choice made? Was
it when you believed? No, this choice was made according
to this passage of Scripture before the foundation of the
world. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1 9, he
saved us and he 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, why did he choose us, the
elect? He didn't choose everybody. He
chose a certain number. Why did he choose us? Was it
because he foresaw we would believe? Was it because he foresaw we
would be better than somebody else? No, according to this passage
of Scripture, He saved us, He elected us to the praise of the
glory of His grace. Now listen to me. I am proof
that election is of grace. Because if God had to find one
reason in me to choose me, you know what? He wouldn't do it.
He'd let me go to hell. I'm living proof that election
is all of Don't you believe that? Don't you believe it from the
very depths of your being? Why did God choose you? Because
He's gracious. Not because of anything in you.
Well, how does He make this choice? According as He hath chosen us
in Him. Before the foundation of the
world. How did He choose me? In Christ. Now, this choice is absolute. It's not in any way conditioned
upon something that we must do in order for it to work. That's
why we call it unconditional election. Let me show you this
in scripture. Turn to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. Verse 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. Oh, what shall we say then? Is
there unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair in choosing Jacob
and passing by Esau? God forbid. For he saith to Moses,
I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I'll have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. This election is unconditional,
and this choice is eternal. In Jeremiah 31, verse three,
we read, Behold, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. You see, if I'm elect, I've always
been elect. I've always been viewed in the
land slain from the foundation of the world. And this election
is personal. God has from the beginning chosen
you. God has from the beginning chosen
you, you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit.
and belief of the truth. I've heard people say, well,
election has to do with nations, and that's the way they explain
it away. Election has to do with nations.
Well, what are nations but individuals, units of individuals? If it's
bad to elect a person, it's even worse to elect a nation, isn't
it? It's not bad at all. What is election? It's God's
sovereign choice of a people in Christ before time began,
a number that cannot be added to or taken from. Now, I realize
that men will argue with the fairness of this. They say, how
can it be fair for God to choose some and pass by others? How
in the world can that be fair? Now, if I say that, what else
I say? God owes me salvation. I am righteous
and God should choose me. This is wrong. You see, if you
really believe you're a sinner, if you really believe you're
a sinner, you would not think it's unfair of God if he elected
everybody but you. You believe that? It would not
be unfair of God if He elected everybody but you, because you
deserve damnation. You believe that? If so, if so,
He chose who would be saved. Now, I can tell you who loves
election. The elected. The elected, every
one of them, they love election. Aren't you thankful the Lord
chose you? Because you know you would have never chosen Him.
You know you would have rejected Him. You know you would not be
saved if it were not for Him electing a people. Election's
not the sinner's enemy. Election's the sinner's friend.
It's good news that God chose a people to salvation. Now, if
I do not love election, how can I charge God with injustice for
not choosing me to something I don't love anyway? And that
I hate. Someone says, I hate election.
Well, is it a wrong thing for God to not choose you? Is it
something you hate anyway? Not at all. Now, our Lord said to
his disciples, you have not elected me, but I have elected you. I want to talk some about the
results of this election and the fruits of this election. You have not elected me. First
of all, election speaks of a God who is God indeed, and not one
who is God in name only. A God who is anything less than
absolutely sovereign is no God, a paper God, figments of man's
perverse imagination. Election says that God is God
indeed and that He's in control of everything. Election speaks
of a sovereign God who controls. Election says God has all control
and I have no control. I'm in His hands and He can do
with me whatever He sees fit to do. He can save us or He can
pass us by and His authority is such that He doesn't need
to give us an explanation for that. He said, Can I not do what
I will with my own? What are you going to do about
it? Oh, the authority that election says God has. He has absolute
control. And you know, the Lord Jesus
rejoiced in this. He said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hid these things from
the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes, even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. If it seems good in his
sight, you know what? It's good. It's best. And every believer bows to this. So essential to God is election
that God calls it His glory. Rooted in His goodness. You remember
when Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Exodus chapter
33, verses 18 and 19. And God said, all right, I'll
make my goodness pass before you. And I'll proclaim my name
before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And
I'll show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Now, I've heard a
number of men say that they believed in election, but they relegated
it as not essential in gospel preaching. Well, if God's glory
is not essential, in gospel preaching, then election is non-essential
in gospel preaching. But would anyone dare to say
that the glory of God is non-essential? If I say election is non-essential
in gospel preaching, I say the glory of God is non-essential. And election enlightens us as
to why Christ came and what he actually accomplished. You can't
really understand the cross without some understanding of the doctrine
of election. You know, our Lord said in Matthew 121, the very
opening pages of the New Testament, Thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save, anybody know the next two words? His people
from their sins. And what were his last words?
It is finished. What's that mean? He saved His
people from their sins. There's no understanding of the
cross. If I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth and
died for everybody and put away everybody's sins and made salvation
available for everybody if they just do their part, you know
what I say about that? I don't even have a clue as to what the
cross means. Our Lord Jesus Christ put away the sins of everybody
He died for. And here's my hope. Understand
this, this is the very hope of salvation that He died for me.
If you tell me that He can die for me and I might end up in
hell anyway, you take away the only hope that I have. Because
the only hope that this sinner has is that Christ died for me
and put away my sins. There is no understanding of
the cross without some understanding of the doctrine of election.
Election teaches us that salvation really is all of grace. Turn with me to Romans 11. Paul says in Romans 11, verse
1, I say then, has God cast away his people? God forbid, for I
also am an Israelite at the seat of Abraham of the tribe of Benjamin.
God has not cast away his people, which he foreknew. And remember
that word foreknow doesn't just mean he knew him beforehand.
It means something to do with love. Adam knew. His wife, Eve. Our Lord said,
depart from me, I never knew you. He didn't mean I never,
I don't know who you are. He says, I don't love you. I never
knew you to be mine. Now God has not cast away his
people which he foreknew. What ye not what the scripture
sayeth to Elias, how he makes intercession to God against Israel,
saying, Lord, they've killed thy prophets and dig down thine
altars and I'm left alone and they seek my life. But what sayeth
the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself. 7,000
men which have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal, even
so then at this present time there's a remnant, a small number,
according to the election of grace. And if by grace, if elections
by grace. Now if election is God foreseeing,
He sees, well I foresee that one will believe, therefore I'm
elected. Or I foresee that one is going to be a little bit better
than somebody else, therefore I'm elected. That makes salvation
all of works. He says in verse six, let's read
it together. And if by grace, if elections by grace, the free
favor of God, the goodness of God, then it's 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 work. You see, election tells me that
my evil works. My sin. Cannot prevent God from
saving me. And it also tells me that my
good works will not cause God to save me. Salvation is by grace. 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. Election encourages evangelism. Isn't this one of the great knocks
against election? Why, if I believe that only the elect would be
saved, why witness? Why preach? Why send missionaries? Why do any of this stuff? That'll
discourage evangelism. That'll make people apathetic
and indifferent and careless about witnessing and so on. That's
a lie. It doesn't do me that way. Not
at all. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't
bother to preach if I didn't know God elected a people. But
that's why I'm encouraged to preach and to preach the gospel
to everybody that will hear. Because I know God's got a people.
Remember when Paul said, when the Lord said to Paul while he
was sitting in Corinth, be not afraid, but don't hold by peace,
but speak, for I have much people in this city. And that was his
encouragement to go on preaching. Election doesn't kill evangelism. You don't even know what evangelism
is if you don't know that God's elected a people. It's part of
preaching the gospel. Now, election. Remember, we're
talking about the fruits of election. No doubt the Bible teaches it.
You can't read the scripture and deny that the Bible teaches
that God did, in fact, elect who would be saved by his own
free and sovereign will. It tells us who God is. But election
is the great stripping and humbling doctrine. It strips a man of
all hopes of self-salvation. It strips a man of all ability. God says it's not of him that
willeth. nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy."
And what little I know about my own experience. I know something
about my own experience, and I know this. I know that until
I was confronted with this holy truth that God chose who would
be saved, and there wasn't one thing I could do to make myself
one of them, and that salvation was altogether out of my hands.
Nothing I could do to save myself. I totally depended upon God to
do something for me. It was only then that I said,
have mercy on me. There's nothing I can do to get
you to save me. Oh, have mercy on me. You know, election gives hope
to the very chief of sinners. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 26. For see, you see your calling,
brethren, in verse 26. For you see your calling, brethren,
how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble are called. You know, I look in this room.
I don't see any movie stars in here. That doesn't mean God can't
save a movie star, but I don't see any in here. I don't see
any elected officials, government officials. I don't see any sports
stars. Don't see a one of them. What
he says, you see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise
men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called,
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise. And God has chosen the weak things
of the world, to confound the things which are mighty, and
the base things of the world, and the things which are despised
at God's chosen day, and the things which are not, to bring
to naught the things that are, that no flesh should glory in
His presence, but of Him are you in Christ Jesus. How'd you
get in Christ? God put you there. That's the
only way you could be there. You didn't get yourself in there.
God put you there. Who of God is made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that according
as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Now, election. God's choice of
His people. You have not chosen me, but I've
chosen you. You know what else election does?
It guarantees fruits. Look back at our text in John
15. Verse 16, you have not elected
me, but I have elected you and I have ordained you, I have appointed
you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit
should remain. Divine election guarantees fruit. Now, what is the fruit? He's
speaking of several things I could say about that, but the Bible
says, first of all, it's talking about the fruit of faith. The
fruit of faith, hold your finger there in John 15, and I want
you to look at Acts 13. I want you to see this from the scripture,
Acts chapter 13. Paul had been preaching, this
is a matter of fact, his first recorded sermon. Verse 46. Acts 13, verse 46, then Paul
and Barnabas waxed bold and said, it was necessary that the word
of God should first have been spoken to you, but seeing you
put it from you and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded
us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that
thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and they glorified
the word of the Lord, and as many as believed. were ordained
to eternal life. Did I read that right? Didn't
read that right, did I? As many as were ordained to eternal
life, what did they do? They believed. You see, everybody
that God chooses will believe the gospel. Every single one
of them. It's talking about also the fruit
of the Holy Spirit. The fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Every one of God's elect will demonstrate the fruit of the
Holy Spirit. Love, joy, peace, long-suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. He's talking about the fruit
of good doctrine. The fruit of the Word of God.
Turn with me to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. Verse 13, Enter ye in at the straight gate,
for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction.
And many there be which go in thereat, because straight is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few
there be that find it. Now beware false prophets. which
come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening
wolves, you shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth
forth good fruit." But a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit. Neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by
your fruits you shall know them. And he's talking about preaching.
He's saying beware of false prophets. You'll know them by their fruits.
Not only by their doctrine, but by their converts. Look at the
man, the preacher, look at his converts and you can tell what
he really believes and what he really stands for. Now, our Lord said,
you've not chosen me, but I've chosen you and ordained you that
you should go and bring forth fruit through the Holy Spirit,
the fruit of faith, the fruit of the truth, good doctrine,
and that your fruit should remain. It won't be temporary. It won't
last just for a little while. It will remain. And back in our
text in John, chapter 15. Notice this. You have not chosen me, verse
16. You have not elected me, but I have elected you and ordained
you that you should go and bring forth fruit. And your fruit should
remain that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name,
He may give it to you. Now, understand this. Election unites us so much with
Christ. I was chosen in Him. It makes
me somebody who God listens to. and gives me what I ask for.
That's what election does. It makes me somebody, when I
ask the Father in His name, He gives it to me. Every time. Now, wait a minute. You say,
if you just ask for a million dollars, He'll give it to you? You all know it's not talking
about that. It's talking about spiritual blessings. It's talking
about true need. I don't need a million dollars,
but I sure enough need grace. I need mercy. I need His Spirit. I need Him to do something for
me because I can't do anything for myself. And everything I
ask in His name, what I need, He gives me. You see, all of
God's elect have the ear of God. That's a powerful thought, isn't
it? I've got the very ear of God. When I speak through the
Son's name, He listens. He hears and He grants. You see,
there's something special about being one of God's elect. We
have royal blood flowing through our veins, not human royal, but
God's people. Oh, they're so special. God hears
what they say. Now I want to close with this
thought. How can I meet this holy doctrine of election? How
can I meet it? How can I? received this truth,
that God chose a people before time began to be saved. How am
I to deal with this doctrine? Well, let me show you a passage
of scripture in Matthew chapter 15. I preached the message once
entitled, How to Deal with the Doctrine of Election, and this
was my text. Matthew chapter 15, verse 21. Then Jesus went, Vince, and departed
into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a woman of Canaan
came out of the same ghosts and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. My daughter is grievously
vexed with the devil." Now, I want you to think about this woman.
She comes to the Lord with a pretty impressive resume. She knew who
he was. The son of David. God's anointed
Christ. She came with a great need. Her daughter was demon possessed. Grievously vexed with the devil. And she came for the right thing. Mercy. That's all she asked for,
mercy. Now, if you've got mercy coming
to you, it's not mercy, is it? She knew it was in His sovereign
hands to give it. Now, she comes knowing who He is. She comes
with a great need and she comes asking for the right thing. That's
an impressive resume. Verse 23, But he answered her,
not a word. He ignored her. He did not respond
to her request. Now, is that right? Remember, right is me and you
going to hell. You believe that? Right is me
and you going to hell. He answered her not. Have you ever, in your mind,
come to the Lord, in your heart, come to the Lord, and He answered
you not a word? You know, we've never got anywhere
until we've dealt with the silence of God. He answered her, not
a word. And his disciples came, verse
23, and besought him, saying, Send her away, for she crieth
after us. Now, evidently, this didn't shut
this woman up. He answered her not a word. And
she said, Have mercy on me. And he answered her not a word.
Have mercy on me. It wouldn't stop her. I know
this. Election never stopped anybody
from asking for mercy. Never has happened. Matter of
fact, let me give you some real wise counsel right now. You don't
need to worry as to whether or not you're one of the elect.
You need to ask for mercy. Ask for mercy. Ask the Lord to
do something for you. Verse 24, now look how he answered
his disciples. They said, shut her up. She's
driving us crazy. She keeps crying after us. Boy,
they were real compassionate fellows, weren't they? He said, I'm not sent, but unto the lost
sheep of the house of Israel." Now, our Lord says in no uncertain
terms, I did not come to save everybody. Is there any other
way to take that? I'm not sent for everybody. I'm only sent for the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. Now listen to me real carefully.
Jesus Christ, when He came to this earth, He did not come to
save everybody. He only came to save His people. And this woman had to deal with
this. Now let's go on reading. He said, I came not. I'm not
sent for everybody, just the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Then came she and worshipped Him. I'm not real sure whether
she worshipped Him before this. But then, when she's made to
see the fact that He only came for certain people, then came
she and worshipped Him. Now, she didn't know if she was
going to get what she was asking for. She didn't know if the Lord was
going to have mercy on her daughter. She didn't know if the Lord was
going to have mercy on her. But she worshipped Him anyway. Now,
I want you and I to deal with this. Is the Lord worthy of worship? if He passes you by? Is He worthy of worship if He
chooses that one sitting by you and lets you go to hell? Is He
still worthy of worship? That's the question. That's the
issue. Then came she and worshipped
Him. She bowed before Him. Whatever
you do is right. But you know what? It didn't
stop her. It didn't stop her. Then came
she, and worshipped him, saying, What did she say? Lord, help
me. If you don't help me, it's over
for me. I have no other way to look.
Help me. Have mercy on me. Verse 26, But
he answered and said, Meat? It's not right. It's not appropriate to take
the children's bread. My gospel, my grace, my kindness,
my tender mercies. It's not right. It's not appropriate. It's not meat to take the children's
bread and throw it to dogs. Why? You're nothing more than
a dog. You're not fit for my gospel
grace. You're not fit for the children's
bread. Now, how did she answer that?
Most people, all right, I'll just leave. It's not right. How
did she respond to this? You know what she said when the
Lord said it's not right to take the children's bread and throw
it to the dogs? She said, what? Truth, Lord. That's the truth. I'm not fit
for your mercy or grace. I'm not fit for the children's
bread. That's the truth. But the dogs
eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table. I'm not looking
for a place setting with the children, but oh, I would be
thankful. I would be eternally grateful
for any crumbs of mercy that come my way. I'd just sit here
under the table. I won't dare take a place sitting.
I'll sit here under the table waiting for the crumbs of mercy
that may fall my way. And look what our Lord said to
this woman. Verse 28, Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O
woman, Great is thy faith. You know what the world would
do to this woman? They'd send her to a psychologist.
Let her get her self-esteem pumped up. She shouldn't let... What
does the Lord say? Oh woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. Now, I want you to listen to
me. God has elected a people, and they're the only ones that
are going to be saved. You can just write that down. And anybody,
anybody, anybody who asks for mercy, He saves. He never turns away any sinner
who comes to Him for mercy. And I'll tell you what they find
out. They find out the only reason they came is because he chose
them to do it. You know that. Can you thank God for election? If you're a believer, you can.
I've asked Kara to come and sing that song is not that I didn't
choose the Lord, the Lord, that could not be this heart would
still refuse me. But now has chosen. And that's
going to be our closing hymn. I just want us to listen to the
words of this hymn. Let's pray together.