I want to take you back many, many years to the city of Jerusalem, Israel at the height of its greatest
glory. But as we pass through the gates
of that great city. Everything is unusually quiet. No one seems to have retired. There's a light in every home, but everything is so still and
quiet. The people seem to be waiting,
watching for something unusual, special. We go on through the
city and to the palace, and enter the gates of the palace, and
it too is quiet. People are walking about, but
they're walking about slowly and whispering. We go up to the king's bedroom,
The guards are standing outside the door, open the door and look in. King David is lying upon his
bed, and all of his great leaders are standing about the room,
men whom he has known from the time that the prophet Samuel
came out to his father's home and anointed him king. All of
them were standing about. They're all quiet. King's dying. David, sweet psalmist of Israel. David, great warrior. David, God's king. When he put
their king off the throne, he exalted his king. David, type
of Christ. David, of whom it is said, the
seed of David will sit upon the throne forever. David, son of
Jesse, king of Judah, writer of so many psalms, and the greatest
thing that could be said about any man. God said he's a man
after my own heart. And he's dying. He's dying, the end of life,
end of all that God would be pleased to do by the hand of
David. He ministered to his generation, but he's leaving. And everybody
in that room is quiet and attentive, wanting
to hear him say one more thing. waiting to hear his last words,
David's last words. David, who said, the Lord is
my shepherd, I shall not want. David, who wrote, bless the Lord,
O my soul. David, who wrote, be merciful
unto me, O God, according to thy loving kindness, blot out
my iniquities. Oh, David, David, David. The great things that God caused
to fall from his lips. People straining, they want to
hear the last words of David. And in the prophet Samuel, those
words are recorded. These be the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse. David,
the sweet psalmist of Israel. David, by whom the Lord spake. His word was in David's tongue. Before he breathed his last breath,
he said, I guess with added strength for
that dying moment, although my house be not so with God. The Lord hath made with me an
everlasting covenant, an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure, for this is all my salvation and all my
desire." That's his last word. That was
it. And he died. And God took him
to glory. But in his dying moments, in
his last hour, the word he would leave to all of his friends and
family and followers was the fact that his confidence
and hope was not in the battles he fought, the victories he won,
the psalms he wrote, the sermons he preached. The faith he professed,
that his confidence and hope was in what God had done for
him by his grace. God made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. And this is all my
salvation and all my hope. This is it. And that's what I'm
speaking on this morning. And my text is 2 Thessalonians,
if you'll turn there with me. Chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. And I have four questions. This
will make it easy for you to remember the message and, I believe,
to understand the message. I have four questions. The first
one is this. What is the doctrine of election?
What is the everlasting covenant? What is this business of God
choosing the people? All right, here it is. In 2 Thessalonians
2, verse 13. First, it's a cause for praise. Praise. In verse 13, we're bound
to give thanks. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath
from the beginning chosen you to salvation. This is a doctrine
of praise. We're bound to give thanks. If
God had not chosen me, I would not have chosen God. If he had
not come to me, I would have never come to him. The hymn writer
says, "'Tis not that I did choose thee, Lord, that could not be.
This heart would still, still refuse thee, but thou hast chosen
me.' Our Lord said to his assembled disciples, you didn't choose
me, I chose you. We were dead in trespasses and
sin. We had no desire for God. We
had no understanding of God. We had no understanding of our
lost condition. We had no desire for God. And
every time that what we call election is mentioned in the
Bible, it is connected with praise. You read that. Every time it's
mentioned, it's connected with praise. Our Lord in Matthew 11, he lifted his eyes to heaven
and he said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that
you hid these things. from the wise and the prudent,
and you've revealed it to babes, I thank you. Even so, Father,
it seemed good in thy sight." In Ephesians 1, Paul talking
about God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the
world, he says that with praise. He said, blessed be the God and
Father. Bless God. Bless the Lord, O
my soul. Bless God. who chose us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. Bless God, thank God. And David in Psalm 65 said this,
blessed is the man whom thou choosest and causes to approach
unto thee. That's a happy man. The word
blessed is happy, twice favored, honored. So the doctrine of election
first is a doctrine of praise. Then secondly, look at the text
again. We're bound to give thanks always
to God for you brethren, beloved of the Lord. It's the doctrine
of love. Beloved of the Lord. What is love? We see a, I've stood here many
times, a young man on my left hand, best man beside him, we're both All three of us looking
at that door and Martha sounds, here comes the bride. Here she
comes on her father's arm. And love just shines in that
young man's face. She's coming down smiling. That's
love. Well, a form of it. I go down
to the hospital and I visit a young mother. She just delivered a
precious little girl, little boy. They let me in to see her,
and there's the baby. I look at her face, it's beaming
with love. Daddy's standing there like he
did something, you know, proud. But love fills the room. A lot
of occasions like this, love. Here, love between father and
son, mother and daughter. But the scripture says, here
is love. Herein is love. You want to know
what love is? Here's love. Not that we love
God. He loved us. I can see why that
young man loved that young lady. But I can't understand why God
had loved me. She's lovable. And she's lovely. I can understand why that mother
loved that little lump of clay. I can understand that. But I
can't understand why God would love us. We're not even like
God. We don't even like God. We don't like his rules. We don't
like anything about him. But he loved us, even when we
were enemies. God commended his love for us
in that while we were sinners. So John says, here's love, not
that we love God, he loved us and gave his to be the perpetuation
of our sin. So when you think about election, God chose you, and I can see
why he chose her, but I can't see why he chose
me. David said that. He said, who am I? What's my
house? Why me? Why her? Even so, Father, it seemed good
in my sight." Third, the election is a doctrine of praise, it's
a doctrine of love, God's love for us. And then it's an eternal
work. He says, because God from the
beginning has chosen you. From the beginning. One old lady
said to John Newton, he said, Do you really believe God chose
you before you were born? She said, if he'd have waited
after I was born, he wouldn't have chosen me. Before the children
were 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 to her, the elder
will serve the younger. Jacob, have a love. Esau, have
a hating. Every believer knows three things.
He knows, number one, that God chose him. He didn't choose God.
Now, I know that and you do too. Don't you know that? I know that. And I know when he chose us.
The only time God can do anything is the beginning. God never learns
anything new. He never learns anything. Known
unto God all his works from the beginning. He declares the end
from the beginning. He said, I've purposed, I'll
do it. I've spoken, I'll do it. So God chose us from the beginning,
before the foundation of the world. Now here's the third question,
third thing we know. We know why. is according to the good pleasure
of his will. The reason was found in him,
not in us. Not unto us, O Lord. Not unto
us. That's what David said. Not unto
us. Be the glory. To God be the glory. So we know those three things
without question. They're beyond, they're not up
for debate. God chose us. We didn't choose
him. He chose us from the beginning. Not when we did something. And
why He chose us? The reasons found in Himself,
not in us. And then fourthly, election is,
now listen to me, it's unto salvation. Let's read this again. But we're
bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren, beloved
of the Lord, because God has from the beginning chosen you
to salvation. Listen to me. Election's not
salvation, it's too salvation. Election's not salvation. A man's
not saved because he's elected, he's saved because Christ died
for him. I rejoice that the Lord did not
pass me by, I rejoice. I'll be able to really rejoice
someday when I realize all the implications and consequences
I rejoiced he didn't pass me by. I rejoiced he didn't leave
me in darkness. I rejoiced that he didn't leave
me in religion. I was brought up in free will,
Arminian, do-it-yourself religion. Helped God out. Went to school,
studied to be a preacher and pastor of the church. Three years. Then heard the gospel. And God
delivered me out of religion, out of darkness. I'm thankful. I praise him for
his covenant mercies. I praise him for revealing who
he is. The living God. The almighty
God. The sovereign God. But I don't
look to election for my hope. I look to Christ. I don't look to election for
redemption. I look to Christ. I'm saved because
he loved me and gave himself for me. The saints in glory. That's what they're singing.
unto Him. They're not saying unto election,
they're saying unto Christ who loved us and washed us from our
sins and made us kings and priests unto our God. Listen to me. The old Jewish nation believed
that they were the chosen people. They believed in election and
they believed they were elected. And they missed salvation. That's
right. Every one of those old Jews believed
in election. And they believed that God had
chosen the Jewish people, the Jewish nation, the Jewish race,
and passed by everybody else. And that's what they trusted.
They told Christ that. They said, we have Moses. We
have the prophets. We have the priesthood. We have
the law. We have all these things. And they missed Christ. and perished. So you don't want to look to
election. Election didn't save you, Christ did. Elections unto salvation. Christ,
God chose us in Christ to be holy, not because we were holy,
but to be like Christ. And He does all these other things.
He works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. He grants
us repentance. He makes us willing in the day
of His power. He grants unto us faith. You
see, that's the next point here. Election always looks to the
means. Look at verse 13 again. We're
bound to give thanks. Praise God for whom all blessings
flow. Give thanks to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because He has from the beginning chosen
you to this great work to this great life, to this great gift,
to this great glory. He chose you to make you like
Christ. Now listen, through sanctification
of the Spirit. What's that? The Holy Spirit
of God comes and takes you and sets you apart. God already sets you apart by
choice. Christ already sets you apart
by representation. But now the Holy Spirit comes
and makes you different. Who makes you to differ? God makes us to differ. God reveals
Himself to us. He reveals our sins to us. He
reveals Christ to us. He reveals His Word to us. And
a lot of people read this and they don't know what Noel is
saying. But you do. Because the Holy Spirit has sanctified
you. set you apart, made you different,
given you understanding, given you life, regenerated you, given
you eyes to see. The world's blind, Christ said.
They have eyes they don't see, they have ears they don't hear,
they have hearts they don't understand. You do. He sanctified you by
His Spirit and belief of the truth by His Word. Oh, remember
those two things are always present when God saves a sinner, his
spirit and his word. His spirit and the seed. When
there's a natural birth, there's always a person and a seed. Always a father and a seed. That's
the reason Mary was so amazed. She said, I can't have a son.
I don't know a man. And no man had any part in the
birth of God's Son. And no man had any part in your
birth either. The Spirit of God was there with
the Word. The Spirit of God was the seed.
That's right. Of his own will begat he us with
the Word of truth. Now what's that? We're born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by the
Word of God, the Word of God that liveth and abideth forever.
He told Nicodemus, you've got to be born again, born of the
Spirit and the water, the Word, always in a spiritual birth,
the Spirit of God and the Word. Listen to Paul. God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace was pleased
to reveal his son in me. There you have election, God
separated me from my mother's womb. You have he called me by
his grace, called me by spirit, called him and revealed his son
by the way. Look at verse 14 here of our
text, 2 Thessalonians, verse 14. He said He chose you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth,
whereunto He called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the
glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't have anything to do with
it. I preach the gospel, teach the
Word, but the Spirit of God takes the Word and makes it effectual.
We were born, not of the will of man, not of the will of the
flesh, but born of God. His Spirit, His Word. That's
election. Now here's the second question.
How may my election be known? How do I know I'm one of the
elect? How do I know I'm one of the
elect? All right, I'll give you a simple answer. Turn to 1 Peter
chapter 1, or 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. How do you know you're God's
elect? 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 10. 2 Peter 1.10. Wherefore the rather brethren
give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. Which is first with you? Which is first with God, the
election. He elected us and then he called
us. With us, you don't know anything about your election until he
calls you. That's right. I went to the high school graduation
and some of the children got awards. Some of them didn't know
they were going to get certain awards, but the faculty knew. When did the child know it? When
the child heard his name. See what I'm saying? It was already
his. Unchangeably his. Unchangeably. The faculty had already decided
it, but he didn't know it. I asked one of them, do you know
you're going to get that? Didn't have the faintest idea. When
did you know you got it? When they called my name. God elected me before the world
began. But I didn't know anything about
it. Till one day, he called my name. By the gospel. I heard the gospel.
I did. I didn't deserve it. I didn't,
old John Gill said, I neither thought it, thought it, or bought
it. He's free. He called my name. That's how
you know you're God's elect. John 10, turn over there a minute,
let me show you, let me answer it another way, as our Lord spoke
over here in John 10. What better source do we have
than our Master in John 10, verse 24. Now listen to this, John
10, verse 24. The Jews, then the Jews came
round about him, John 10, 24, and they said to him, How long
do you make us doubt? If you be the Christ, tell us
plainly. He 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're
not of my sheep. I said unto you, My sheep, hear
my voice, And I know them, and they follow me, and I give them
eternal life, and they'll never perish, neither shall any man
pluck them out of my hand." The sheep were his, and he called
them, and they heard him. My friends, the Bible doesn't
say, ho, everyone that's elected come to the water. It says, ho,
everyone that's thirsty. Are you thirsty? Most folks aren't. The Bible does not say, come
unto me all ye that are elect. It says, come unto me all ye
that labor and are heavy laden. I am heavy laden, laboring under the curse of the
law with no hope of relief. And I came. That's how I know
I'm the elect. The Bible doesn't say, he that's
elected hath everlasting life. It says, he that believeth on
the Son Do you believe? You're elected. If you weren't elected, you never
would have believed. The Bible doesn't say, whosoever
is elected shall be saved. It says, whosoever shall call
on the name of the Lord shall be saved. See what I'm saying? And I read
to you a while ago from 1 Thessalonians, Paul said, I know, brethren,
beloved, your election of God, because our gospel didn't come
to you in word only, it came to you in power. I know. Well, man, you believe Mike Bartram's
elected? I really do. I haven't seen the
Lamb's book of life, Mike. I don't imagine I'd look for
your name first. I'd look for mine first. I'm that selfish.
But I've never seen it. But I've seen him from the time
he was eight years old and listened to him and watched him. And his
love for the gospel and his love for Christ and his love for the
word indicates to me that God's done something for him that he
couldn't do for himself and nobody else could do for him. And you
know that too. You're not what you want to be,
and you're not what you're going to be, and you're not what you
ought to be, but you're not what you used to be. That's for sure. He made a difference. He did. That's how you know. And then here's the third question.
What are the effects of election? What are the effects? What is
belief in God's almighty power and sovereignty and grace? What
does it do for a fellow? What effect does it have on a
person? But let me show you, in Ephesians
chapter 1, the effects. Ephesians chapter 2. Let's look
at chapter 2 of Ephesians. Chapter 2 of Ephesians. What
effect does it have on the fellow? Well, when we consider what we
were, and let me read you what we were. Ephesians 2 verse 1. You have to be quick in who were
dead. Ephesians 2 verse 1. Dead in trespasses and sins.
In time past, you walked according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom we
all had our conversation in times past in the lust of our flesh,
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. We were
by nature children of wrath, even as others. That's what we
were. Boy, we know it, don't we? Well, here's what God did,
but God. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love, wherewith he loved us even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
are you saved. That's what God did. Now here's
what we are now, listen. And he hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in the heavenlies in Christ. And this
is what he's going to do for us, that in the ages to come,
He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us through Christ Jesus. Now what effect does that have
on us? Look at verse 8. Here's what effect it has. He
says, for by grace I have been saved through faith, and that
not of myself, it's the gift of God, it's not of my works,
lest any man should boast of his workmanship. Thank God. Thank
God. It promotes joy. It's not the
hated doctrine of election with believers, it's the beloved doctrine
of election. Thank God. And then second, it
promotes humility. Who am I? Paul said, I am what
I am by the grace of God. I have what I have by the grace
of God. Who maketh thee to differ? What
do you have you didn't receive? And then election not only promotes
joy and humility, it gives comfort in great trial. We know that
all things work together for good to them who love God, who
are called according to His purpose. That's our confidence. That's
our comfort. I don't know where you... I just... A fella asked
me, he said, where was God when your son died? Same place he was when his son
died, on the throne. Where would you have him be?
I'm glad he's on the throne. I'm glad there's no accidents.
You know, I get to thinking about different things. What if? If. What if? I go back to back when
my oldest son died in the Army. What if he'd have joined the
Navy instead? We talked it over and decided on the Army. He was
offered to go to sergeant school after he got out of advanced
infantry. He talked to us about it, and
he said, I don't believe I want to be a leader in the Army. I think I just want to serve
and get it over with and come home. What if he'd gone to sergeant
school? He wouldn't have been in Vietnam. You get to thinking
like that, and you've got problems, severe problems. What if? What if I hadn't have done this?
What if I had done that? No, sir. God's on the throne. And everything that has happened,
every decision we made, the steps of God's children are ordered
by the Lord. He didn't just say their direction.
Each step is ordered by the Lord. I believe that. That's how you
can praise God. That's how you can rest. And
that's the only way you can rest. That's how you can have peace,
is to know it's in His hands. It's in His hands. If there's something out there
I've got to meet that God doesn't have control of, I'd just rather
not meet it. And don't leave it up to me either.
My times are in His hands. My God, I want them there. Let's leave it like he ordered
it. The steps of a righteous man
are ordered by the Lord. That's comfort. And that makes
dying easier. David came to die. In what? In whom did he find
comfort? Although it be not so with my
house. God's made with me a covenant. This is my salvation. This is
my desire. Well, here's my last question.
And I'll tell you another thing about election, the effect of
it. It makes our preaching not in vain. I don't preach in vain. I'm on the trail of God's sheep.
I'm a blood hound looking for His sheep. And they'll hear. He said, my
word won't return to me void. It'll accomplish that where unto
I've sent it. This gospel is not preached in
vain. No, sir. The last question, why
should election be preached? Well, for that reason, that the
sheep might hear. Paul said, I endure all things
for the elect's sake. It's all right. It's all right. And secondly, elections should
be preached because it's the Word of God. God sent us to preach
His Word, to keep back nothing profitable. Paul said, I haven't
shunned to declare the whole counsel of God. Wouldn't it be
terrible if I sat over there in my study and picked out the
different scriptures I wanted you to have? I wouldn't do that. I just preach it as it comes.
It's God's Word, here it is. You do with it what you will.
I'm glad you will do with it the right thing. You always have. I don't get any opposition here.
Somebody asked me one of the times, does everybody in your
congregation believe in grace? I said, oh yes, yes. That's all
they hear. If they didn't believe it, they'd
go someplace else, wouldn't they? They must like steak, they eat
it every meal. It's God's Word. It glorifies
God. That's the reason we preach it.
It glorifies God. And I'll tell you this, it's
the sinner's only hope. Old Jonah was down in the belly
of the fish. He came to one conclusion. Salvation's
of the Lord. That's right. And if a man ever
discovers who he is and where he is, what happened in the fall,
what this old heart is like, deceitful, desperately wicked,
impossibility of pleasing God, inability. He'll be awfully glad,
salvation of the Lord. Awfully glad. He's the one we're
going to meet. He's the one. All right, I hope
that's a blessing to you. I hope the Lord will bless it
to your hearts and bring forth fruit for His glory. Let's sing
a closing hymn