Doctrines of Grace: Irresistible Grace

All right.

Well, we...

JoJo, you by yourself?

Did you say we're coming?

! Did you say we're coming tonight?

!

We have tonight, and we have one more.

This tonight, we're looking at the saving act of the Spirit.

So that's kind of where we've been so far.

If you, by way of reminder, we talked about sin, depravity, the shattered image of God.

We kind of did a little bit of a history lesson on what the church has taught historically.

Then three weeks ago, before Easter, we did the saving work of the Father,

which is election, planning our salvation, that sort of thing.

Then last week, we did the work of the Son, which we talked about atonement and what that meant.

And this week, the saving work of the Spirit.

And it's really crazy, because I always grew up not hearing that salvation was Trinitarian.

I always just thought, Jesus saved me.

And it's true.

But it's just cool how the Scripture, in detail,

talks about how each member of the Trinity had a role in our salvation.

And so, just sort of connecting the dots,

because, like I've kind of, just kind of sarcastically joked a little bit,

there's no such thing as a three-point Calvinist or a five-point Calvinist.

They may say that, but what they're really saying is they're disconnecting these doctrines.

So, like the Father planned our salvation, and by His grace and by His mercy chose an elect people to be saved,

the Son then dies for those elect, right?

Just for the elect about that last time.

And so, and then now the Spirit is the one who applies that work.

He takes what Jesus did, and He applies it to the individual.

So, that's kind of what we're going after tonight.

So, but, just to kind of make it, you know, a little more personal,

we, I usually give you one quote from somebody in the past who's taught this,

and this is from William Tyndale.

This was the man who wasn't the first to translate the Bible into English,

of course that was John Wycliffe, but Wycliffe translated from the Latin into English,

because he didn't speak Greek or Hebrew.

But Tyndale translated the New Testament from Greek and from Hebrew.

The whole Bible, eventually.

And so, yeah, he was the English reformer.

Eventually, he was, you know, caught and betrayed.

But he spent, like, I think seven years on the run as a fugitive translating the Bible,

while both the English crown and Rome was, like, hunting him down all simultaneously.

But eventually, he was caught and executed for translating the Bible into English.

And so, yeah, thanks to him, we have much of what we have in our modern-day English translations.

But he believed in what we're talking about, God's election,

the atoning work of the Son for the elect, and then the regenerating power of the Spirit.

And this is what he actually wrote about the work of the Spirit.

And he says,

Note now the order, meaning, like, this is how Scripture talks about how this happens.

First, God gives me light to see the goodness and righteousness of the law,

and my own sin and unrighteousness, out of which knowledge springs repentance.

Then the Spirit works in the heart, trust and confidence,

to believe the mercy of God and His truth,

that He will do so as He promised, which belief saves me.

And so here's how you know what he means.

Just as a child does not cause the conception of his father, or even of himself,

and an unsaved person does not initiate salvation,

the work is done upon him by the Spirit of God.

So, just a little blast from the past.

Just good to kind of keep reminding ourselves this isn't new stuff.

So, but, have you ever just sort of been, I guess, amazed by the Spirit's regenerating power in your life,

or in somebody else's life, where they weren't who they used to be?

And sometimes it happens overnight, like Saul of Tarsus, quickly.

You know, he struck down, and there's a different guy the next morning when he woke up.

And some people have explained their salvation that way.

Others, it was more, God saved them.

But that change was, then sanctification was sort of slower.

But I just want to emphasize, like, the power of God to save anybody tonight.

He can save whoever He wants to.

And He can do it fully and completely.

And just a reminder that He saved you to rejoice in your own salvation,

that He can save anybody.

Like, the worst of the worst.

And we see that everywhere in the Scripture.

But I thought I would give you, like, a fun, more modern-day example.

This would probably lead to more conversation, but I just, like, won't for sake of time.

But, how many of you remember this guy?

Anybody remember that name?

Some of the older folks might.

Well, this guy, David Berkowitz, was a serial killer in the late 70s.

And he murdered six people in New York City and became known as the Son of Sam.

Was eventually arrested.

Cops surrounded his car.

Guns pointed at him.

And he's like, they should have blown me away.

Like, the cops said, like, we were that close just to, like, letting, you know, loose on you.

So, basically, God sent us to life in prison.

And, but, he tells the story.

He was actually interviewed many years ago by Focus on the Family.

And he basically talks about how he came to know Christ while he was in prison.

And it's a pretty incredible story.

And it seems genuine.

A lot of guys in prison fake their conversion or just kind of, like, put it on to, like, gain favor with guards or gain favor with the authorities.

And, but, in his case, like, he's got nothing to gain.

He's in prison forever.

He's not getting out.

He's not getting any favors.

And, and some of the guards in this interview, they had two guards that they interviewed.

And the guard said, yeah, he's, it's real.

Like, it's not, he's not, this isn't a game.

It's not, like, a show to him.

And there's been some mainline news people who have interviewed him.

And they were, like, really nervous about me.

And he was just a really nice guy and just came up and just greeted them and talked to them about Jesus when they got there.

And that's what it kind of looks like today.

But a guy started sharing the gospel with him in the workout yard at the prison.

And eventually, the guy gave him a pocket New Testament with the Psalms.

And he actually has a Jewish background.

And so the guy really encouraged him, as he was sharing the gospel, to read the Psalms.

And, and at some point, you know, alone in his cell, he said he got, the lights were out and he got by himself where no one was watching.

Because he didn't want anybody to see him, you know, what he was doing.

But he just began to pray and pour his heart out to the Lord.

And this is kind of what he said in the interview.

I told him that I was sick and tired of doing evil and asked Jesus to forgive me for all my sins.

I spent a good while on my knees praying to him.

And when I got up, it was, it felt as a very heavy but invisible chain that had been around me for so many years was broken.

A piece flooded over me.

I did not understand what was happening.

Meaning like, now I know I was, I was, the Lord was saving me.

Like he was, I was born again.

I just didn't know what was happening in that moment.

But, but in my heart, I just knew that my life somehow was going to be different.

And so I have that interview thing.

If you ever want to hear, I can try to get it to you somehow.

But he just shares the gospel of people in prison, the guards, the prisoners.

But it is how the Lord can completely, you know, alter somebody.

So, just to connect, remember, as we did this in our first week, we kind of went over just how, not just our condition is kind of bad.

Our condition is awful.

And our condition is desperate, is desperate.

Apart from God's saving grace.

This is what scripture says, right?

We look at it all.

Born spiritually dead.

Our minds darkened by sin.

Our hearts corrupted by evil.

Slaves to sin.

Children of the devil.

None good or righteous.

Our will is in bondage to sin.

And we're unable to improve upon our condition.

And that last one is important.

We can't just like wake up one day and just decide to change.

On our own power and our own strength.

And so, but really quickly, like, before you were a believer, can you like now go back and sort of retrace your steps to see how God was pursuing you?

Like, looking back at it?

To see God's grace, God sort of, in His own gentle way, sort of pursuing you by putting people around you.

By putting books into your hands.

By putting a Bible in your hands.

Parents.

Friends that were just sharing with you.

And at the time, you were like, whatever.

But now you're like, wow, He was like, He was on top of me.

Like, He was chasing me.

He was pursuing me.

And at some point, the Lord overcame me, you know, and saved me.

I just want you to think about that while we're meeting.

Like, God's pursuit of you.

Alright?

Because we tend to get it backwards.

Like, we just woke up today and decided to start pursuing God.

And it doesn't really work that way.

So, in what way did the Holy Spirit bring the Gospel message to you when you believe?

So, think about where it was.

Was it at home?

Was it reading the Bible somewhere?

Was it a conversation with a family member?

Or a friend?

And like, how did He use that moment to bring you to faith?

That's some of the stuff to kind of think on personally in the background.

As we're going forward.

So, can we think about being regenerated?

What particularly stands out to you?

Like, what does regeneration...

What need does it meet in our spiritual condition before Christ?

What do you think?

Every one of these things are needs that we had when we weren't in Christ.

And regeneration meets a particular...

Well, it meets a few of these, but...

Which one kind of stands out to you?

What need does it meet?

Born again?

Why do we need to be born again?

Why do we need to be born again?

Anybody?

Because we were spiritually dead.

So, if you're spiritually dead, you need to be resurrected.

You need new life.

You need a second birth.

So, it meets that need in particular.

But then, that new birth renews our minds, gives us new hearts,

frees us from sin,

makes us children of God,

makes us righteous before God,

sets our wills free,

and then,

God is the one who initiates and changes us.

So, here's sort of a definition for you,

just for regeneration.

The Greek just means a new birth.

Reproduction, renewal, recreation,

often denotes the restoration of a thing

to its original, pristine state.

Or a renewal or restoration of life after death.

And so, just a quick textbook definition.

Taking that.

Regeneration is the secret act of God

in which He imparts new spiritual life to us.

As the gospel comes to us,

God speaks through it

to summon us to Himself.

That's the effective calling.

And to give us new spiritual life regeneration.

So that we are enabled to respond in faith.

Right?

I mean, these are just a few terms

I'd like to understand

that we'll be using throughout the night.

So, we've heard the term irresistible grace.

And if you're familiar with

the five points of Calvinism,

this is the eye, the two lip.

It really is just a term that refers to the fact

that God effectively calls people

and also gives them regeneration.

And then, effective or internal gospel call

is the act of God speaking

through human proclamation of the gospel

in which He summons the elect to Himself

in which that they respond in saving faith.

So, the term itself can sometimes lead

to misunderstanding

because it seems to imply

that man doesn't make at some point

a voluntary, willful choice

to respond to the gospel.

He does.

Alright?

So, don't...

They're not at odds with each other.

What we're saying is

the man has to be born again first.

And when he is,

the inevitable outcome of that is faith.

And he willingly and gladly

puts his faith in Christ

as a result of being born again.

And he will.

It's an effective, irresistible call

that God puts on him.

So, it doesn't negate faith.

But we're just saying

that a dead man cannot have faith

in God.

So, I'm just trying to save some time.

But, like, just so you know,

there is also a general

or external gospel call

which refers to the general

gospel invitation

to all people

that comes through

human proclamation

of the gospel.

So, you'll see all this

when we're reading here

in a minute.

But this is just the idea

that, like, we go out

and we preach the gospel

to all people.

It's just this general call

that goes out

to all men

regardless of who they are.

And that particular call

can be rejected.

So, save some time.

Alright.

So, let's get into our outline.

Alright.

So, just simply pointing out

that the Father saves,

the Spirit saves,

and the Holy Spirit saves.

Alright.

So, point number one.

Sinners, through regeneration,

are brought into God's kingdom

and are made His children.

The author of this new birth

is the Holy Spirit.

And the instrument

in which He uses

is the Word of God.

Alright.

So, just a couple verses

so that we can see that.

John says,

but to all who did receive Him,

who believed in His name,

He gave them the right

to become children of God.

That's what we just read.

Who were born,

not of blood,

nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man.

So, that's basically saying

not out of any desire

or willful act

that we put into it,

but of God.

Right?

And Jesus talks about

being born again there

in John 3,

Titus 3.

He saved us,

not because of works

done in righteousness,

but according to His own mercy

by the washing of regeneration

and renewal of the Holy Spirit.

So, meaning,

like the instrument

that the Spirit uses to save us

is the Word of God.

So, when we speak the Word of God

in the Gospel,

and the Holy Spirit uses that

to regenerate somebody,

it's crazy.

So, it's a mysterious work.

That's why Jesus said

in John 3,

you hear the wind blow,

you see its effects,

right?

But you don't know

where it's coming from.

So, meaning that

you can see the work

of the Spirit,

but you can't see the Spirit.

You can't, like,

it's a mysterious work

that the Spirit does.

And Paul remarks that

for some reason,

God has ordained

to accomplish this,

bringing people

to the kingdom

through the foolishness

of preaching.

That's what he says.

Like, it doesn't make sense

that God would use

my words,

my sloppy,

imperfect,

but truthful

Gospel presentation.

He uses that

to save someone.

Or it can be just reading

the Word of God,

you know.

But,

so it's a mysterious work.

So the instrument

uses the Word of God.

And we know that

not just based on

acts and seeing people

preach the Word,

but in 1 Peter here,

it says,

He has caused us

to be born again

to a living hope

through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ

from the dead.

Look at verse 23.

Since you have been

born again,

not a perishable seed,

but imperishable

through the living

and abiding Word

of God.

Should I share with them

what this actually means?

Yeah, okay.

I just don't want

to torture Jojo twice.

So,

so what,

I want you to think about

human anatomy

and biology

for a second.

I promise not to get

graphic, parents.

But,

the word seed

is what you think it is.

It's not pumpkin seed,

it's,

it's a male

reproductive thing.

And saying that God

plants His Word

in you.

And at some point,

that grows

and there's a birth

that happens.

Right?

And,

and at some point,

that person is born again.

If God indeed

plants His Word

in them.

And,

we kind of remark

at the apprenticeship,

like just as there's

like a season

where a woman

doesn't know

that she's pregnant

just yet,

there,

there may be a period

where God is actually

working that

in the person's heart.

working His Word

in their,

in their soul.

And at some point,

it will result

in a new birth.

So,

I'll just stop there

before I get any more graphic.

But,

you get the point.

That's just what the word means,

you know.

So,

anyway,

I always joke about it.

You know,

you remember it.

You don't remember it

because of what we talked about.

But,

another way

that

the Bible talks

about regeneration

is this idea

of being born again,

a second Genesis.

being a new creature.

A new creature,

excuse me.

Next part.

I'll stop in a minute.

Ask questions.

But,

through the work

of the Holy Spirit

in the new

and everlasting covenant,

the dead sinner

is given a new heart

or nature

and is enabled

to walk in obedience

to God's law.

In Christ,

He becomes a new creation

with new affections

and desires

to love God.

Okay.

So,

remember,

before we were in Christ

in the fallen state,

we had no desire for God.

Right?

We didn't love God.

We didn't obey God.

And,

the result,

though,

of the Holy Spirit's work

in us

is that we

are new creations.

That we're given

a heart

to actually love God.

And,

what I love about this

is it was prophesied

about in the Old Testament

the Spirit would come

and do this work.

He talks about it

in Jeremiah

where He says

that He will write

His law upon their hearts.

And then,

in Ezekiel,

let's look at this one.

He says,

I will give them

one heart

and a new spirit

I will put within them.

I will remove

their heart of stone

from their flesh

and give them

a heart of flesh

so that,

right,

they may walk

in My statues

and keep My rules

and obey them

and I shall be,

they shall be My people

and I will be

their God.

Then,

a little later on

in Ezekiel,

I will give you

a new heart

and a new spirit

I will put within you.

I will remove

the heart of stone

from your flesh

and give you

a heart of flesh.

And listen to this.

This is,

this is a prophecy

of the Holy Spirit

coming.

Now,

we're studying

the Old Testament

right now

in my men's

discipleship group.

We just finished

reading 1 Samuel.

Saul.

Right?

So in the Old Covenant,

the Holy Spirit

rested and empowered

prophets,

priests,

kings

to do His work.

He rested on them

and empowered them

to accomplish a mission.

But,

that Holy Spirit

could be taken away

and that's what happens

to Saul.

Like,

once he disobeys God,

it says that he took

his spirit from him

and then an evil spirit

came to torture him,

to torment him.

And that's why David

prays in Psalm 51,

like,

God,

do not take

your Holy Spirit

from me.

Alright?

So,

these are prophecies

that that's going

to change one day.

That one day

the Holy Spirit

is going to come

and take up

residence

inside

His people.

Like,

take out

their sinful heart,

their sinful desires,

their sinful flesh,

and give them

a heart

of flesh

so that they

will love God.

You see that?

So they will know God

and love Him.

And then he says

in this last part,

verse 27,

I will put

My Spirit

within them

and cause you

to walk in My statues

and be careful

to keep My rules.

So there's a prophecy

that like,

one day,

My Spirit's going to come

and dwell in people

and I'm going to give them

a new heart.

And of course,

there's a very familiar one

in 2 Corinthians 5.

If anyone's in Christ,

a new creation.

The old is past.

Come back to this one

for a second.

The Holy Spirit

raises the dead

sinner

from a state

of spiritual death

and makes them

alive.

Right?

Those are

very clear passages

on that one.

But John 5,

for as the Father

raises the dead

and gives them life,

so also the Son

gives life

to whom He will.

Don't forget

that last part.

To whom He will.

Whoever He wants to.

So,

then we get that

Ephesians 2.

We were dead

in our trespasses.

Right?

We were made alive

together with Christ.

By grace,

you have been saved.

So,

you get the point here.

But here's what's

critical to understand,

particularly in the way

we're talking about it.

If you're in a state

of spiritual death,

maybe a better analogy.

So,

if most of us

have been to a funeral

before,

family member,

friend,

that dead corpse

is not breathing.

It's not,

no air is going in,

no air is coming out.

It's like life has ceased.

That's the word dead.

That word dead

means corpse.

Spiritually speaking,

like a corpse.

So,

spiritually speaking,

the air you would be

breathing is faith.

Right?

In relationship to God.

If you were alive,

you would have faith.

And so,

what happens is,

God raises the dead sinner,

gives them life,

puts the spirit with them.

You know what the outcome is?

Faith.

Like,

the air that they breathe

following that resurrection

is faith in Christ.

So,

that analogy works true.

but the way

I was taught it was,

I exercise faith first

and then God rewards me

with being born again.

But,

but according to what we're just reading,

the order in which it's laid out,

that's not how it's laid out.

It's,

he regenerates us,

he raises us,

and then,

and then we have,

we have faith

as a result of that.

And so,

but it's basically,

if you can imagine

going to the tomb of Lazarus,

what if Jesus said,

Lazarus,

if you want me to make you alive,

come out first,

and then I'll make you alive.

It's sort of a,

instead he said,

no,

come out.

and because of his

omnipotent command,

he comes out.

It's a very,

it's a metaphor for us,

spiritually,

you know.

So,

any questions

or comments?

I may not know the answer to everything.

You said,

you said that you can take

his spirit from you

like,

like that,

and you can't

become

not a believer.

Mm-hmm.

So,

what's the difference between this?

Yep.

The difference is,

to put it in very familiar terms,

the difference between

what the spirit did

in the Old Testament

and what the spirit does now

in the New Testament.

In the Old Testament,

he did not come up

and take residence

inside people.

He just,

he,

God anointed people.

Remember,

he anointed Saul,

he anointed Samuel,

he anointed different people,

and the spirit came

and empowered them,

gave them the strength

to accomplish a mission.

Does that make sense?

So,

in this case,

he anointed,

King Saul

and empowered Saul

to be the king,

to triumph over the pagan enemies,

to bring the people together.

Did the same thing

with King David.

But Saul,

if you remember the stories,

I mean,

he just,

he just disregarded God's commands.

He rebelled against God.

God would say,

hey,

here's what I want you to do

through Samuel.

He'd be like,

God wants you to

do this,

this,

and this,

and this,

very particular way.

And Saul kept amending

what God said,

like,

well,

I'll do that and that,

but I won't do this.

You know,

and he kept doing it

and disobeying God.

And the consequence was,

he was warned not,

he was warned not to stop,

and he kept doing it.

And then,

Samuel finally confronted him

and said,

the Lord has torn your power

from you.

Like,

it's over for you.

And so the Spirit

was taken away from him.

No.

But so,

so what we just read

in Jeremiah and Ezekiel

are prophecies

that one day

the Holy Spirit

is going to come

and he'll do something different

and seal them,

right?

And,

and not,

not go away,

like remain,

take up residence

so that,

you know,

1 Corinthians,

we are now the temple

of the Holy Spirit,

like the Spirit lives

and dwells in us.

As believers.

So,

so if you truly are

saved,

then no,

the Spirit's not

going to leave you.

But,

we're speaking

in a different context.

Good question, buddy.

Yeah,

that's actually

what we read this morning

about how

God took the Holy Spirit

away from Saul.

And so David saw that.

Like,

David saw what happened

to Saul.

And so that's why

he prayed

after he had

committed adultery

with Bathsheba,

like,

Lord,

do not take

your Holy Spirit

from me.

Like,

that was the context

in which the Spirit

operated.

Yeah,

anything else?

Oh.

Next week.

I'm just kidding.

Perseverance of the saints

next week.

Well,

I mean,

so,

I think some of that

will be answered

in what we're talking

about tonight.

But,

but in general,

the Holy Spirit

has the ability

to make people feel

bad about their sin,

to make them feel

guilty about stuff.

But that's different

than repentance.

It's different.

So,

so some people that,

you know,

you may share the gospel

with,

they feel bad

about what they've done.

They have a sense

of guilt

about what they've done,

but it falls short.

It doesn't actually

go to true repentance.

It's like a worldly sorrow.

They hate

how it makes them feel.

They hate

what it's done

to their friends

and family,

but it falls short

of like true repentance.

And so,

but,

but yeah,

I mean,

if indeed

they walk away

and kind of prove

that they're not

in the faith

and the spirit

was never

in them

in the first place,

you know,

so.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yep.

So meaning,

like next week,

just a glance

at next week,

perseverance

of the saints

means that those

who are truly saved,

truly born again,

even though they,

they struggle

and have battles

and sometimes sin,

like the overall

projectile is

they will persevere

until the end,

like they will make it

and,

and be saved.

And what Ernie's saying

is like there are

some people

who come around

and they look like Christians,

they talk like Christians,

they hold their heads right,

they sing all the songs,

but,

but eventually

they fall away

just proving

that they were

never of

the faith anyway.

That's what he just read.

Like,

they went out from us

and they left us,

but that was to show

that they were

never of us.

Sort of think about

Judas a little bit,

like how he was

around Christ

all the time

and he'd be like,

yeah,

Judas is one of,

Judas is one of

Jesus' boys.

Not really.

Jesus,

Jesus said

that he never

belonged to them

and so,

I don't know,

you'll have to ask him

one day.

I mean,

one clear answer,

Jesus says

the scripture will be fulfilled

like it was written

that the Messiah

would be betrayed one day.

Yeah.

Oh,

don't get that personal.

I'm just kidding.

You mean,

you mean Derek Webb?

Yeah.

Well,

when we were in college,

we loved Derek Webb.

Like,

he said a lot,

we loved his music,

he wrote a lot of

really good things,

true things,

and then is now

apostate,

renouncing the faith.

At least what you told me,

like actually trying

to deconstruct it,

you know.

We don't know,

like I'm really hesitant now,

I used to do this all the time,

but really hesitant now

to say that person

is not,

or that person will not,

because I don't know.

I will say right now

it doesn't seem like they are,

and they continue in that path,

they,

they,

it'll lead to destruction,

but,

could God,

if he wants to,

like grab Derek Webb's

soul?

He could,

if he wants to,

but as for now,

it really does seem

like he has,

that he never had it

to begin with,

like it was never a real thing,

he knew a lot in his head,

and he,

he had this outward show

of being a follower of Jesus,

but,

but deep down,

it never was like real

to begin with,

so,

but maybe,

maybe he'll come back around,

and that doesn't change

anything that he's saying

that was true

to be untrue though,

like,

he still said a lot of good things,

and,

it all was truthful things,

but,

it kind of started with his divorce,

when you say,

with Sandra McCracken,

yeah,

and you see the difference

in how both of them handled it,

she's handled it by drawing nearer to Christ,

and he's kind of handled it

by running away,

so,

yeah,

Josh Harris is another one,

yeah,

this is all getting into,

like,

the next week,

but,

yeah,

just like,

you just don't ever know,

like,

Lord,

just help us persevere,

no matter what,

all right,

this next point,

we can get through,

pretty quickly,

but,

but think about this,

who is the,

the one who reveals,

the truth about God to us,

it's the Holy Spirit,

he is the one who like,

teaches us about who God actually is,

truthfully is,

that's his role,

that's what he does,

so,

the next part,

revealing the things of God,

the Holy Spirit reveals,

the deep and secret things of God,

to man,

man's intellect,

and self exertion,

may attain,

a certain knowledge of God,

but not a saving knowledge,

meaning like,

there are unbelievers,

there's,

there's religious professors,

who know a lot of true things,

about the Bible,

but they don't believe it,

they're not like,

actually saved by it,

so,

they can have an intellectual assent,

to the truth,

but then the Holy Spirit,

enables man not merely,

to reach an intellect,

so,

let's just pick one of these,

um,

hmm,

now they're both good,

yeah,

let's look at,

the last part of Matthew there,

he says,

all things have been handed over to me,

by my Father,

no one knows the Son,

except the Father,

and no one knows the Father,

except the Son,

and anyone to whom the Son,

chooses to reveal,

so you see some kind of,

election idea there,

right,

yeah,

so what the Spirit does,

he's the one,

who reveals us,

the knowledge,

about who Jesus is,

so it's true,

to actually kind of,

say both,

but I guess,

a big distinguishing,

one would be here,

in first Corinthians,

so let's look at that one,

these things,

God has revealed to us,

through his Spirit,

for the Spirit,

searches everything,

even the depths of God,

for who knows,

a person's thoughts,

except the Spirit,

of that person,

which is in him,

so also,

no one comprehends,

the thoughts of God,

except the Spirit,

of God,

now we have received,

not a spirit of the world,

but the Spirit,

who is from God,

that we might understand,

the things freely,

given to us,

by God,

which is also,

a knowledge of Jesus,

the Son,

so going back to your,

question,

so,

and we impart this,

in words not taught,

by human wisdom,

but taught,

by the Spirit,

interpreting spiritual truths,

to those who are spiritual,

and here's a really,

critical verse,

don't miss this one,

verse 14,

the natural person,

okay,

so the,

the fallen,

sinful person,

without,

without God,

does not,

accept,

understand them,

because they are,

spiritually discerned,

you see that,

so,

so man left to himself,

can't come to that kind of knowledge,

again,

some,

some intellectual knowledge,

sure,

but not a saving knowledge,

man left to himself,

a natural person,

it's,

it's silly to him,

it doesn't make sense to him,

like,

yeah,

I get it,

but,

I'm not there,

so,

the Spirit is the one,

who teaches us,

about who Jesus is,

the gospel,

yeah,

all right,

so now,

getting to the,

the general call,

of the gospels,

what we kind of referred to earlier,

we see in such passages,

in scripture,

God summoning,

men and women,

to repent,

and believe the gospel,

right,

so,

Paul goes out,

and he preaches to a large crowd,

what's going on,

when he does that,

this is referred to,

as the gospel call,

which is the general invitation,

that goes out to all people,

by way of human proclamation,

other terms,

used for this,

are the external call,

so meaning like,

of the gospel message,

this doctrine,

of the gospel call,

is important,

because if there were,

no external proclamation,

of the good news,

no one would be saved,

so,

so again,

this goes back to the idea,

that God has chosen,

so try to remember,

if you have your notes,

from like last Sunday,

I did a whole,

the whole sermon was about this,

like,

it was about how,

like God has chosen,

the means,

to reach his people,

and that means,

is the preaching of the gospel,

right,

so,

that message goes out,

to all people,

without any kind of distinction,

we preach the gospel,

to all people,

we have a,

you know,

obviously a lot of examples,

of that,

Romans 10,

how they call upon him,

whom they have not believed,

and how are they to believe in him,

of whom they have never heard,

and,

and how are they to hear,

without someone preaching,

how,

are they to preach,

unless they are sent,

so you get the,

the picture there,

so God has,

ordained our ends,

which is our salvation,

but he's also ordained,

the way that's to happen,

the means,

which is,

the proclamation of the gospel,

that's why we go,

we do it,

remember,

just by way of reminder,

we'll look at,

Acts 18 again,

real quick,

Acts chapter 18,

Acts 18 · chapter mention

when Paul's in Corinth,

not to give you the whole sermon,

we did last week,

but remember,

Paul,

stresses a,

personal responsibility,

to preach the gospel,

he takes it personally,

he says like,

you know what,

blood be on your own heads,

I'm innocent,

I'm free,

I've warned you,

I've told you,

and you haven't listened to me,

so,

it's the same guy,

Romans 9,

you know,

he gets it,

but then after that,

again,

he's sort of discouraged,

and in verse 9,

chapter 18,

he says,

the Lord said to Paul,

one night,

in a vision,

do not be afraid,

but go on speaking,

do not be silent,

for I am with you,

and no one will attack you,

to harm you,

for I have many,

in this city,

who are my people,

alright,

and we talked about,

what that actually meant,

last week,

how that's an encouragement,

for evangelism,

that knowing,

that God has a people,

empowers you to go,

it doesn't make you lazy,

it gives you confidence,

to go,

and reach them,

I've kind of,

I did the analogy already,

you can,

when I got invited,

to the Gay Straight Alliance,

on campus,

yeah,

and God was like,

my God,

what's going to happen,

I don't know,

what's going to happen,

I hope you're just a good,

I hope you do a good job,

I hope you can convince people,

don't mess it up,

yeah,

yeah,

if they were angry,

they didn't show it to us,

I think,

they were shocked,

that,

we used to just hearing,

you queers,

you're going to hell,

which is true,

if they don't repent,

but,

yeah,

but,

the difference is,

I brought myself,

under that umbrella too,

I'm like,

you're under condemnation,

I'm under condemnation,

I'm a sinner,

you're a sinner,

like we're all guilty,

before God,

like I need a savior,

you need a savior,

my sin is appalling to God,

your sin is appalling to God,

so I kind of put myself,

they weren't used to that,

they're used to more of a self-righteous condemning,

versus like,

hey,

like,

we're all screwed,

and we all need a savior,

they're not used to kind of hearing that,

that's not the same,

but,

yeah,

it is true,

those people weren't wrong,

who say that,

but they're not preaching the gospel in humility,

and they're not putting themselves in,

with someone who also needs Jesus,

you know,

that's the difference,

so,

but yeah,

so that,

God has chosen the means,

alright,

so listen to this though,

that general gospel call,

is often rejected,

right,

so you preach,

you see Paul preaching to,

people in Corinth,

and the Jews say,

yeah right,

get out of here,

we don't believe,

we don't believe Jesus was the Messiah,

so,

so let's look at this,

though the,

re-burble,

oh my gosh,

yep,

though expressing the gospel in words,

of the gospel message,

is powerful,

not all people who hear it,

receive it,

we often can see in scripture,

and in our own lives,

that people perish,

even after hearing,

and knowing the gospel,

those who do resist,

the spirit's influence,

do so,

because God has justly,

underlined justly,

decided not,

to change their hearts,

look at Acts,

7,

51,

you stiff neck people,

uncircumcised,

and heartened ears,

you always resist,

the Holy Spirit,

as your fathers did,

so do you,

and,

all the day long,

I've held out my hands,

to disobedient,

and contrary people,

so meaning,

like,

you know,

this was a verse,

that I had a hard time,

reckoning,

what we would call,

irresistible grace,

it says right here,

that like people are resisting,

the grace of God,

so,

what's going on,

what does that mean,

but,

this is,

the contrast,

right,

go to the next section,

like sadly,

many reject,

the general,

external call,

of the gospel,

however,

in addition,

to this external call,

the Holy Spirit,

extends a special,

inward call,

to the elect only,

the special call,

the spirit,

cannot,

cannot,

and will not be,

rejected,

it is an effectual call,

and always results,

in the conversion,

of those,

to whom it is made,

and in an act,

of mercy,

the Holy Spirit,

effectually calls,

the elect,

by overcoming,

all resistance,

and making his influence,

irresistible,

to them,

at the appointed time,

the spirit,

regenerates all,

that the father,

has chosen,

or elected,

to salvation,

those who do respond,

in faith,

to the gospel call,

though not perhaps,

right away,

so it doesn't mean,

like the first time,

they hear it,

they're just going to go,

oh,

I'm saved,

like it may be a while,

are those,

that God is predestined,

to believe,

all those,

that God,

predestined,

he effectually calls,

by his spirit,

all right,

now here's a bunch,

of scriptures,

about that,

so we read,

here,

and Paul,

Paul writing to Romans,

all right,

Jesus,

very clearly,

he goes,

many are called,

but few are chosen,

meaning like,

many people hear the gospel message,

but of those people,

few are chosen,

Romans 1,

6 and 7,

he says,

who you were called,

remember,

all these letters,

were to Christians,

right,

including you,

who were called,

to belong,

to Jesus Christ,

to those in Rome,

who were loved by God,

and called,

to be saints,

it's this effectual,

calling idea,

Romans 8,

38,

does not be predestined,

he called,

does not be called,

he justified,

um,

that's 8,

38,

yeah,

my bad,

uh,

at least we got it right on here,

then you look at,

um,

Romans 9,

which we went over,

in order to make known,

the riches of his glory,

for vessels of mercy,

which he prepared beforehand,

for glory,

even us,

whom he has called,

not from the Jews only,

but also from the Gentiles,

right,

so,

just to give you a few,

um,

verses for that,

uh,

there's a lot,

but when God,

when they mention in the letters,

that,

that,

that,

you who are called,

he's talking about to the Christians,

you who are,

um,

God has affectionately called to himself,

and as Jesus said,

many are called,

the general call of the gospel,

but few are chosen,

right,

now,

now look,

many of us in here,

including me,

we heard the gospel growing up,

and we're like,

nah,

like,

no thanks,

I'm going to have a good time,

I'm going to go and have,

you know,

figure out life on my own,

my parents are telling me this,

my pastor is,

my grandparents,

but I kind of want to have a good time,

I kind of want to sin for a while,

and,

uh,

try that out,

see how that goes,

um,

we've all,

some of us have lived that life,

so at that point,

we were being stiff-necked,

and we were resisting the Holy Spirit,

but,

I think you'll agree,

there was an appointed time,

when God said,

enough,

you're done,

you're done rebelling against me,

and you're done running,

and that gets to our next part,

the Spirit imparts saving faith and repentance,

so at the appointed time,

the Holy Spirit imparts saving faith,

to the elect,

upon hearing the external call,

of the gospel,

these are verses,

I just read over,

and never saw,

until I just sort of,

put them together,

I'm like,

what?

yeah,

they're everywhere,

so Acts 11,

we see this idea,

that,

um,

then to the Gentiles,

also given,

excuse me,

also God has granted,

repentance,

leading to life,

um,

Acts 13,

this one's,

very real,

alright,

now look,

they're preaching the gospel,

to a large crowd of Gentiles,

okay,

it says,

when the Gentiles heard this,

they began rejoicing,

glorifying the word of the Lord,

and underline this,

and as many,

who were appointed,

to eternal life,

believed,

pfft,

what?

you know,

I,

I just never saw that,

so what was the difference?

They were appointed,

to our eternal life,

and in that moment,

God used that preaching,

of the gospel,

by the apostle,

and he used that,

to regenerate them,

and it resulted,

in saving faith,

uh,

we see a picture,

of Lydia here,

in Acts 16,

the Lord opened her heart,

to pay attention,

to what was said by Paul,

see that,

an access,

we see in Philippians 1,

God has granted to you,

that for the sake of Christ,

that you should not only believe in him,

so he,

look,

belief in Christ,

has been granted,

you see that,

God has allowed it,

not only to believe in him,

but also suffer for his sake,

and we see it again,

in 2nd Timothy,

that God may,

perhaps,

grant them repentance,

leading to a knowledge of the truth,

and they may come to their senses,

and escape,

the snare of the devil,

after being captured by him,

to do his will,

very chill,

awakening,

where you come to your senses,

like spiritually speaking,

not just like,

yeah,

I need to quit,

doing this,

it's like God shows you,

your desperate need for Christ,

and,

regenerates you,

so,

yeah,

does that make sense?

yep,

so at some point,

me who heard the gospel,

a lot growing up,

had an intellectual understanding,

of it,

I could explain it to you,

I could talk about it,

and at least at the time,

I thought I believed it,

but there wasn't a lot of real evidence,

behind that,

but at some point,

God,

at an appointed time,

was like,

that's it,

that's enough,

and he,

he took what I knew,

about the gospel,

and he saved me,

and sometimes,

that can be,

you might not fully,

you know,

it's an instantaneous event,

when the Holy Spirit,

regenerates you,

but,

it may not be,

just like a,

a pinpoint moment,

that you can say,

I can,

I can probably pin it down,

to like a four,

or five month period,

where I knew God,

was doing something,

and working in me,

to where I was never,

the same again,

but a lot of people,

want that Damascus road experience,

like Saul,

he's on the horse,

and Jesus goes,

I am Jesus,

and he goes,

oh I'm your,

you know,

so,

we all,

we all don't have that,

so don't,

don't think,

because you don't,

that you're not,

in the faith,

but,

lastly,

I kind of already,

I kind of jumped ahead,

didn't I,

I'm sorry,

so,

missions and evangelism,

are commanded by God,

because he's chosen,

the preaching of the gospel,

as the means,

in which to bring salvation,

to his people,

who are scattered abroad,

God's election ensures,

that our efforts,

of evangelism,

and missions,

are not left to chance,

and it emboldens Christians,

knowing,

that God has a definite people,

that he will save,

by the power of his spirit,

I read Acts 18,

about,

John 10,

Jesus says,

I have other sheep,

who are not of this fold,

and what he means,

by this fold,

is like,

Israel,

like,

I have people,

who belong to me,

who are not a part,

of this fold,

and he goes beyond that,

and he goes,

I must bring them in also,

he means Gentiles,

and they will listen,

to my voice,

so there will be one flock,

with one shepherd,

alright,

my beatings,

and my imprisonments,

my starvation,

my torture,

that I've been through,

I endure all that,

because I know,

that God has,

an alike people out there,

that's what he's saying,

so that they will obtain,

the salvation,

that is in Christ Jesus,

with eternal glory,

so,

again,

just imagine like,

being,

going out into,

a closed country,

like,

somewhere in the Middle East,

or somewhere in Asia,

where you could be killed,