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Father in Heaven, we give you 
praise. 

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We're so thankful for the Word 
that you've given us, what 

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you've revealed to us, Holy 
Spirit, about our Savior, the 

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Word open up our hearts and 
minds, open our ears, enable us 

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to think rightly about all of 
Your Word overwhelm us that even

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this day we would leave unable 
to stop speaking about the 

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things that we've seen and 
heard. 

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All from you all for your glory,
we pray this in Jesus name, 

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Amen. 
If you would remain standing for

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the scripture reading, we're 
picking up again our study of 

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Ephesians. 
Even during winter grace, we 

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stayed in this wonderful little 
book. 

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This morning I'm going to be 
reading from verses 4 through 6 

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of chapter 1. 
I'm focusing on verse 4 

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primarily today. 
We're going to be in this same 

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passage, the same 3 verses next 
week, and maybe even beyond a 

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bet. 
Listen now as I read. 

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These are the words Paul wrote 
as he was carried along by the 

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Holy Spirit, even as he chose us
in Him before the foundation of 

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the world, and we should be holy
and blameless before Him in 

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love. 
He predestined us for adoption 

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to Himself as sons through Jesus
Christ, according to the purpose

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of His will, to the praise of 
His glorious grace with which he

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has blessed us in the Beloved. 
This is the word of the Lord. 

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Thanks be to God. 
Please be seated. 

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One of my absolute favorite 
things to do as a pastor is to 

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be present at an event, whether 
it's large or small, where those

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who are present have the 
privilege to ask any question 

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they want about the Bible. 
As a youth pastor for many 

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years, this was something that 
we would do And no, I've been a 

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senior pastor here for almost 18
years. 

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I delight in going on the 
Florida trip. 

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I delight in teaching on the 
Florida trip. 

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I delight in taking time to 
listen to students as they ask 

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questions. 
This past November, my daughter 

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Maddie Maddie Bennington, who 
helps Co lead a middle school 

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girls Bible study of 8th 
graders, invited me to their 

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Bible study. 
About 25 and you talk about 

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energy in a room. 25 eighth 
grade girls with questions for 

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their pastor. 
And I know what some of the 

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questions are going to be. 
What about dinosaurs? 

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What about evolution? 
But I can tell you with absolute

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certainty that the question I've
been asked the most over the 

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years has been, do you believe 
in what predestination? 

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Do you believe in 
predestination? 

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If you're new to our church 
today, you're going to hear what

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we believe. 
If you've been a member of our 

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church for some time, this is 
probably not going to be new to 

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you, but there is going to be an
element where some of you might 

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say, wow, I didn't know we 
believe that. 

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Why do we believe that? 
Now this is an amazing doctrine,

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but it's a mind blowing 
doctrine. 

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It is a doctrine that is 
saturated in Scripture, that is 

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affirmed from the beginning of 
the Bible to the end. 

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But yet for most people who 
profess faith in Jesus, this is 

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a doctrine that they either 
distance themselves from, don't 

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even believe it's biblical. 
And so the question comes often,

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do you believe in 
predestination? 

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Now, I can respond very quickly.
Yes. 

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Next question But why would I 
answer? 

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Yes, every question that is 
asked, the answer I must give 

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and you must give as a follower 
of Christ is What does the word 

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of God say? 
And it's clearest teaching with 

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the powerful illumination of the
Holy Spirit. 

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What does the Word of God say? 
So this morning and next week 

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and into the next week, we're 
going to be looking at this 

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passage. 
So we're not going to cover 

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everything today, but we're 
going to get a start. 

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And the way I want to start is 
by thinking about dot to dots. 

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And then I want to think about 
tracing. 

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And then I want to think about a
puzzle first, dot to dots. 

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Do you believe in 
predestination? 

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The answer we give has to be 
according to God's word. 

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Not my intuition, not my human 
experience, not what makes sense

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to me. 
Because God is incomprehensible 

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in the ways of God are beyond 
the ways of man. 

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So what does God's Word say? 
And I'm going to give you 3 very

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simple statements When it comes 
to any part of Scripture, any 

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doctrine of Scripture, any 
aspect of theology, 3 things. 

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Start with the word #2 stay with
the word #3 surrender to the 

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Word. 
Start with the Word. 

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So when the person asked me, 
Pastor Mark, do you believe in 

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predestination? 
Yes. 

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Why do you believe it? 
Because I believe every word of 

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the Bible to be true. 
And while all of it's not as 

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clear as other parts, I believe 
this part actually is really 

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clear, though it's a mystery. 
Why do you believe it? 

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Because it's in the Word. 
Start with the Word. 

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What does the word of God say? 
And when things that the word of

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God says, that blows our minds. 
And it does, and it will. 

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When you meditate upon these 
truths, your brain at times is 

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going to crack. 
There are going to be moments 

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when you simply say, I cannot 
reconcile that God is absolutely

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all powerful, all knowing, all 
wise. 

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He is eternal. 
He's incomprehensible. 

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And yet I have the ability to 
make real choices that have real

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consequences. 
I can't wrap my mind around 

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that. 
Start with the Word of God. 

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Stay with the Word of God and 
surrender to the Word of God. 

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Because to be honest, the goal 
isn't actually that we 

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understand it all. 
It's not that we will have 

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questions that lead us into 
greater mystery, but it's that 

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we will not reject that which we
can't comprehend, but we will 

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receive it. 
We will trust it. 

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Start with the Word. 
Stay with the Word, surrender to

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the Word. 
So if you were here today and 

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your first time ever to this 
church and you're like, they 

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actually believe that thing 
called predestination. 

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Why? 
Because it's in the Bible. 

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Here's what I want you to think 
about for a moment is Paul is 

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carried along by the Holy 
Spirit. 

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He's not writing his own words, 
He's writing what the Holy 

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Spirit has led him to write. 
He's writing this letter to a 

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church, and he's writing this 
letter to a church that would be

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circulated to other churches to 
encourage them, not confuse 

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them. 
Why would he start with this 

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doctrine? 
It's because as He is seeking to

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root this church in eternal 
things, He's taking them back to

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eternity, back before the 
foundations of the world, 

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rooting them in the deepest 
possible foundation, God 

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himself. 
Start with the Word, stay in the

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Word, surrender to the Word. 
It's a dot to dot. 

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You begin to take passages of 
Scripture and you move from one 

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point to another, and you see 
the truth that is there. 

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I want to do this for us this 
morning for a moment. 

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Sometimes people were like, 
well, the doctrine of 

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predestination actually wasn't 
even invented till John Calvin 

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came up with it. 
It's called Calvinism. 

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That is not true. 
Hundreds, thousands of years all

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the way back to the beginning. 
This doctrine has been taught in

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God's word. 
Some people say, well, it's just

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Paul's word. 
Well, I'm going to start with 

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Paul's word in Ephesians one, 
verse 4, right? 

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The beginning of this long 
sentence, in this long blessing.

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He says even as he chose us, he 
chose us. 

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That's his children, that's all 
who were saved, all who were 

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born again, even as he chose us 
in him before the foundation of 

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the world. 
Then he says in the very next 

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verse, He predestined us. 
Notice it says in love He 

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predestined us for adoption. 
It's not the only place Paul 

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mentions this even in this long 
incredible beginning of 

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Ephesians verse 11. 
In him we have obtained an 

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inheritance, having been 
predestined according to the 

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purpose of him who works all 
things according to the counsel 

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of his will. 
Well, there's a hint right 

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there. 
Whenever you can't comprehend 

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something, remember it's not 
incomprehensible to God. 

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Whenever you can't understand 
why He would do this and not 

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this, remember He's always doing
it for His glory, and His glory 

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is always right and holy and 
just. 

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Even if you can't understand it,
even if you don't like it. 

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Start with His words. 
Stay in His word. 

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Surrender to His word in the 
book of Romans, Paul also writes

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of election. 
In fact it was in our statement 

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of faith today Romans 829 to 30.
For those whom he foreknew and 

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foreknowledge doesn't mean that 
God was looking into the future 

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to see which people would choose
him and then those would be as 

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that puts the responsibility on 
the human being and we could 

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never choose God. 
One of the reasons people don't 

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believe in predestination is 
they don't believe the right 

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doctrine of sin. 
What Paul's going to say in 

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chapter 2 of Ephesians is that 
none of us had a heart that 

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could beat for God. 
We were dead, not sick, not just

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immoral. 
We had the inability to cause 

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our heart to beat for God. 
If God didn't shock our heart, 

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if God didn't resurrect our 
heart, if God didn't open our 

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mind to the truth, nobody would 
ever choose God. 

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So when it uses the word 
foreknowledge, that's not what 

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it means, Paul continues. 
For those whom he foreknew, he 

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also predestined to be conformed
to the image of a son, in order 

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that we might be the first born 
among many brothers. 

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And those whom he predestined he
also called. 

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And those whom he called he also
justified. 

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And those whom he called he also
glorified. 

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The book of Thessalonians. 
Near the beginning, Paul writes 

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this pastoral letter and says 
this for you know, brothers 

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loved by God, that he has chosen
you because our gospel came to 

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you not only in Word, but in 
power and the Holy Spirit. 

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But it's not just Paul's 
theology. 

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Listen to Peter first verse in 
the first book of Peter chapter 

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one verse one to those who are 
elect exiles. 

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That's those who are born again.
Then in chapter 2, verse 9, 

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Peter writes this. 
But you are a chosen race, a 

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royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for his own possession,

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that you may proclaim the 
excellencies of him who called 

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you out of darkness into the 
marvelous light, His marvelous 

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light. 
It's not just Peter. 

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It's the gospel writers writing 
the Gospel of Luke in that which

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accompanies it, the book of 
Acts. 

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Luke wrote in Acts 13. 
And when the Gentiles, that's 

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those who are not Jews. 
When the Gentiles heard this, 

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they began rejoicing and 
glorifying the word of the Lord 

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and hear this. 
And as many as were appointed to

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eternal life believed, and the 
word of the Lord was spreading. 

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The apostle John writing his 
last book, the last book of the 

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Bible in Revelation 2 different 
places. 

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He says this chapter 13, seven 
and eight Speaking of people 

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worshipping the beast, John 
writes, and all who dwell on 

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earth will worship it the beast.
Everyone whose name has not been

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written, hear this before the 
foundation of the world, in the 

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book of life of the Lamb who was
slain. 

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Before John wrote that book, he 
wrote his Gospel, the Gospel 

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according to John. 
He records Jesus's very own 

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words. 
Listen to these words, John 637.

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Jesus says All that the Father 
gives me will come to me, and 

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whoever comes to me I will never
cast out, for I have come down 

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from heaven. 
Here he's Speaking of this 

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covenant of redemption. 
I have come down from heaven not

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to do my own will, but the will 
of him who sent me. 

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And this is the will of him who 
sent me, that I should lose 

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nothing of all that he has given
me, but raise it up on the last 

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day. 
Later in that same chapter, John

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writes Jesus saying no one can 
come to me unless it is granted 

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him by the Father. 
In John 15, that great chapter 

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on abiding, Jesus says very 
clearly to his disciples, You 

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did not choose me, but I chose 
you and appointed you that you 

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should go and bear fruit. 
Robbie included that in his 

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prayer this morning. 
It's not John Calvin's 

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invention. 
It wasn't even Paul's invention.

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It's the truth of God's Word and
it's mind blowing truth. 

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It's truth that's not meant to 
just leave us in a state of 

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confusion, but a truth that's 
meant to encourage us as His 

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church deeply. 
But it often doesn't. 

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Why? 
I want you to think about this 

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for a moment. 
I gave you just a few verses. 

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00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:07,440
I didn't even move into the Old 
Testament where it begins. 

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But in the history of 
redemption, from beginning 

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Genesis 1 to the end of 
Revelation, there is this 

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constant thread of a sovereign 
God in control of all things, 

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calling Him people to Himself. 
So what I want you to do for a 

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moment now as I want you to 
trace your journey. 

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If you are a believer in Jesus 
Christ, you've rested and 

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00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,400
received him alone for 
salvation, you've been born 

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00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:41,800
again, then you have a 
testimony. 

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00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:46,760
If you have not done that, today
might be a remarkable day in 

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your life where He's revealing 
the truth of who you are as a 

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Sinner separated from Him, and 
who He is, is the only one who 

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can save you. 
This is a big day, but if you're

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in Christ, I want you to trace 
your testimony. 

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00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:04,160
Whether you were a child, a high
school student, a college 

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00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:06,760
student. 
Later in life is when you came 

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to Christ, whenever it was, you 
have a story. 

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00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:13,520
Some of you know the exact day, 
some of you don't. 

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00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,880
Some of you have a testimony 
that says I've never known a day

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00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,720
that I haven't believed and 
rested in Jesus. 

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00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:23,359
Praise God for that. 
But every one of us who are in 

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Christ has a testimony. 
And if you will take time, I 

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encourage you to do it. 
It will bless you and you think 

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00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:34,200
back and ask the Holy Spirit to 
show you behind the scenes what 

250
00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,520
all was happening in my life. 
You're going to begin to see 

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00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,400
things that you might not have 
seen before. 

252
00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:44,680
I know the exact day I came to 
faith and when I came to faith 

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00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:49,040
in June of 1982 and I came home 
to tell people what happened. 

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These are the kind of words that
came out of my mouth. 

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I chose to accept Christ as my 
Lord and Savior, and that was 

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00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,920
absolutely true. 
I did make that choice. 

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00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,440
Something had happened inside me
that made me go to my young life

258
00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:05,160
leader to say something's wrong 
with me. 

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00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:09,520
He knew the truth because the 
same God that was changing me 

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00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:12,120
and drawing me to himself had 
done the same thing in his life 

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00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:16,240
as he watched the Billy Graham 
crusade on TV and he told me the

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gospel, and I chose to trust 
Jesus. 

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00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:24,200
I had no knowledge of the things
I'm thinking you've never heard 

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00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:26,640
of the apostle Paul, never heard
of the book of Ephesians. 

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00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:31,400
But over time, as I began to 
trace my story, I began to 

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realize all the things God had 
done behind the scenes in my 

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00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,120
life to bring me to that place. 
And He's done the same in you. 

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00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:43,920
It might be the parents He's 
given you, AVBS leader, He gave 

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00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:50,800
you a camp, you went to an Ruf 
ministry, could be any number of

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00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:55,400
things that God used. 
But trace your testimony and I 

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00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:57,160
want you to go back as far as 
you can. 

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00:18:57,840 --> 00:18:59,200
But here's what I want you to 
understand. 

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According to God's word, you're 
probably not going to go back as

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far as you should. 
If somebody said to you, well, 

275
00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,560
tell me your testimony and you 
asked, well, where should I 

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00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:13,240
start? 
You are either going to start 

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with the day you were born and 
maybe where you were born and 

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00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:19,200
raised, or you'll probably start
with the day you were born again

279
00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,640
or the season of your life where
you were born again. 

280
00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:29,040
That's not the beginning. 
Your beginning is the same as my

281
00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:33,800
beginning, and our beginning in 
Christ is the same as the 

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00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:37,440
apostle Peter and the apostle 
Paul. 

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00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:43,560
It all began before the 
foundation of the world. 

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So if you were ever tempted to 
say I don't really have a 

285
00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:53,360
testimony, I'm a believer in 
Jesus, but I don't really have a

286
00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:55,440
testimony. 
I mean, the men of Nehemiah, 

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00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:57,840
those men, they have 
testimonies. 

288
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:00,560
If any of those men have come to
saving faith. 

289
00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,040
Their testimony doesn't start 
the day they cried for help. 

290
00:20:05,520 --> 00:20:09,160
Their testimony doesn't start 
the day they actually said, well

291
00:20:09,160 --> 00:20:12,800
this is the day I profess faith.
Their testimony started the same

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00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:17,520
day mine did, and yours before 
the foundation of the earth. 

293
00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:25,120
Now does that blow your mind? 
It should because it's beyond 

294
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:31,680
our ability to comprehend, but 
it's what God's Word says over 

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00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,680
and over again. 
Start with the Word, stay with 

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00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:40,520
the Word, surrender to the Word,
trace back your testimony. 

297
00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:46,320
But I also want to encourage you
to trace back your understanding

298
00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:50,800
and exposure to this doctrine, 
the doctrine of predestination, 

299
00:20:51,040 --> 00:20:54,920
the doctrine of election, the 
doctrines of God's Providence, 

300
00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,560
His sovereignty. 
For some of you, that might be 

301
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,640
today. 
This might be the first time you

302
00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:04,720
have ever heard this truth or 
heard it explained. 

303
00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:07,840
For the others of you, you've 
been there a long time. 

304
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:12,840
For some of you, it's like this 
maybe for most of us, at least 

305
00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:17,480
initially. 
Do you remember 3D art? 

306
00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:20,920
Do you remember? 
I think it was called the the 

307
00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:26,760
Magic Eye, Those drawings and 
sketches that you would look at 

308
00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:28,720
and it would just be a bunch of 
different colors. 

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00:21:29,360 --> 00:21:34,440
But if you stared into it and 
you stared long enough and your 

310
00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:38,680
eyes kind of became a little bit
blurry, then you could see 3D 

311
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,600
images coming at you. 
Y'all remember those? 

312
00:21:42,200 --> 00:21:45,640
The book Magic I actually was 
published the same year this 

313
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,000
church came into existence. 
It was 1991. 

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00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,240
Best seller sold millions of 
them. 

315
00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,960
And people would look at those 
pictures and some people would 

316
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,400
look at it and go where is it? 
I don't see it. 

317
00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,280
And then all of a sudden, oh, 
there it is. 

318
00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:04,920
Oh, a spaceship. 
Oh, aliens and planets. 

319
00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:07,400
Or maybe it was giraffes or 
mermaids. 

320
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:11,440
But you saw it, and others of 
you just got frustrated. 

321
00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:15,280
I can't see it. 
You looked closer. 

322
00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:16,960
You stared, but you couldn't see
it. 

323
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:25,640
In some ways, a doctrine like 
this, it's hard to fully see. 

324
00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:31,280
In fact, we won't fully see, but
as we look, starting with the 

325
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:35,800
Word, staying with the Word, 
surrendering to the Word, these 

326
00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:41,760
truths began to become clear. 
And some people, by God's grace,

327
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,320
their eyes are opened. 
And these doctrines don't just 

328
00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:50,720
become something that's so 
complex, but even in the 

329
00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,760
complexity and the mystery, by 
God's grace we surrender to it 

330
00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:59,520
and say, I believe it because 
it's in his Word. 

331
00:22:59,920 --> 00:23:02,680
And I started with this word, 
and I'm staying with this word, 

332
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:04,680
and I'm going to surrender to 
his word. 

333
00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:10,880
And as you stare into these 
doctrines, you're not dependent 

334
00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:13,760
upon your own ability to fix 
your eyes a certain way. 

335
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:18,960
You're dependent upon the living
God, the Holy Spirit to help you

336
00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:25,600
see. 
So why would God give us this 

337
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,200
text at the beginning of this 
letter? 

338
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:33,560
You see, this passage creates 
questions, and we must be honest

339
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:37,720
about that. 
If God is that big, that 

340
00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:42,040
transcendent, that sovereign, 
are we just puppets? 

341
00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,480
Are we just pawns? 
We're going to talk about that 

342
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:51,800
next week. 
What about those who aren't 

343
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,360
elect? 
What am I to think about that? 

344
00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,120
What about my choices? 
Are they real? 

345
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:05,680
We're going to look into that 
because it matters. 

346
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:13,160
But it's those kinds of 
questions that most often lead 

347
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:18,400
people to have a man centered 
theology where they say, because

348
00:24:18,560 --> 00:24:25,360
I can't make sense of this in my
mind, it can't be true, so I'm 

349
00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:29,480
going to reject it. 
That is not starting with or 

350
00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,400
staying with the Word of God, 
and it certainly isn't 

351
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:37,960
surrendering to it. 
Every one of us need to stay 

352
00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:42,080
with His Word when we can't 
fully comprehend it. 

353
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:48,680
We need to still surrender to it
and study it, trusting Him. 

354
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,640
But more than that, questions 
that might be moving in your 

355
00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:57,880
mind, I want to replace for a 
moment with this one. 

356
00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,320
Why would Paul start his letter 
with this? 

357
00:25:05,440 --> 00:25:09,160
To bless us, to bless his 
church. 

358
00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,680
He begins this passage with 
blessings. 

359
00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,680
He doesn't sense the need to 
give them something that will 

360
00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:21,280
confuse them, but to give them 
something that's going to cause 

361
00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:30,440
them to be confident and secure 
and humble and holy. 

362
00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:40,440
This is the word of the Lord as 
Paul was carried along to write 

363
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:45,080
it. 
He was carried along that these 

364
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:49,280
words might bring hope and 
comfort to the church. 

365
00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,320
So what are some of the 
blessings? 

366
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:11,200
1st The God that we worship is 
so much bigger and greater. 

367
00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:17,840
He's incomprehensible except in 
the places where he makes 

368
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,200
himself comprehensible. 
It's one of his attributes. 

369
00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:27,440
He is transcendent. 
Our ways are not His ways. 

370
00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:33,760
He knows that our minds can not 
fully comprehend all that He is.

371
00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:36,800
But it still doesn't mean it's 
not true. 

372
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:43,680
It's true, it's true. 
The bigness of God is present in

373
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:49,200
this doctrine. 
A second blessing, though, is 

374
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:55,600
humility. 
You must ask the question, if 

375
00:26:55,600 --> 00:27:03,840
I'm one of God's elect, why? 
And the only answer is for his 

376
00:27:03,840 --> 00:27:12,400
own glory, He chose to save you.
That's why there should never be

377
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:16,720
a Christian who holds to the 
doctrines of the Reform faith, 

378
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,400
who is arrogant, who is 
prideful. 

379
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:25,360
He didn't look into the future 
and say I knew you were going to

380
00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:26,880
get it a little bit more than 
others. 

381
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:32,280
Everything we have received is 
from him. 

382
00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:37,520
If when you stared into this 
text that's so mind blowing and 

383
00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:41,360
you were able to surrender to it
sooner than others, don't be 

384
00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:45,960
prideful about that. 
Be thankful for God's grace. 

385
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:52,400
If this is all new to you, be 
confident in God's grace, but 

386
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:55,360
always be humble. 
Lastly, and we heard this 

387
00:27:55,360 --> 00:28:02,120
beautifully from David Gibson, 
this doctrine should make us so 

388
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:07,720
grateful that we who were dead 
spiritually, like the rest of 

389
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,920
the world, by His grace He 
desired to make a life. 

390
00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:17,920
You were born again because He 
chose you to be born again. 

391
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:23,960
You are a St. because before the
foundation of the world, your 

392
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,360
name was written in the book of 
life. 

393
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:30,600
Why my name? 
Why your name? 

394
00:28:31,360 --> 00:28:34,480
For his glory. 
It's glory. 

395
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:47,880
That's it. 
That's why anytime the tag given

396
00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:52,880
to people who hold to these 
truths that are biblical first, 

397
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:58,240
then we can call them Reformed. 
When anybody gives us the title 

398
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:04,280
the frozen Chosen, rebuke them 
unless it's true. 

399
00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:09,640
And if it's true that that zeal 
and affection for the Lord isn't

400
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:14,480
in you, it's because you really 
don't get the doctrine. 

401
00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:19,360
So start with the Word, stay 
with the Word, surrender to the 

402
00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:22,840
Word. 
Because when we realize what He 

403
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:27,840
has done for us and how big and 
transcendent He is, and yet 

404
00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:31,680
through His Spirit, He lives in 
us, we should never be frozen. 

405
00:29:32,400 --> 00:29:36,960
We should never appear dead. 
We should never appear dry. 

406
00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:45,280
He, the living water, is inside 
us simply because before the 

407
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:49,920
foundation of the world, He 
desired to save you. 

408
00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:53,720
This is what the Word of God 
says. 

409
00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:58,640
Today, like every Sunday, 
whoever's preaching here, we 

410
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:03,120
seek to start with the Word, to 
stay with the Word, and to 

411
00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:07,400
surrender to the Word. 
If today your mind is spinning, 

412
00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:10,480
your brain is cracking, you're 
having a difficult time with all

413
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:15,160
this, that's normal. 
But just because you can't wrap 

414
00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,680
this up, it doesn't mean it 
isn't true. 

415
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:27,360
May God bless us on this 
journey, making us humble and 

416
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:31,040
deeply grateful. 
Father, as we prepare now to 

417
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,760
come to the table which you have
given us, even this table we 

418
00:30:34,760 --> 00:30:37,360
don't deserve. 
But because of who we are in 

419
00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,320
Christ, we are coming. 
We're coming in obedience. 

420
00:30:41,320 --> 00:30:44,640
We're coming with expectation. 
We're coming to have the 

421
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:48,640
richness of this meal pressed 
deep into our hearts and minds, 

422
00:30:48,920 --> 00:30:53,120
where there is dryness, where we
might really look frozen, where 

423
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:57,800
we are not just absorbed in 
gratitude. 

424
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,760
Do that work for Your glory by 
reminding us once again of your 

425
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,360
grace, your pursuit of us. 
And Father, for those even this 

426
00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:08,880
day where questions are swirling
through their mind, thank you 

427
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:12,800
for that work, Spirit. 
Draw them to stay in your word. 

428
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,120
Reveal to them this truth. 
And Lord, may we just continue 

429
00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,760
as your people to give you 
praise for all that you've given

430
00:31:20,760 --> 00:31:23,040
us in Christ and whose name we 
pray. 

431
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:25,080
Amen. 
Please stand.