Unbelief and the Transforming Grace of God

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise from Psalm 69 in the Scottish Psalter and at verse 30.

! It's on page 308 of the Psalm book. Psalm 69 at verse 30.

The name of God I with a song most cheerfully will praise and I in giving thanks to him his name shall highly raise.

We sing from verse 32 the end of the Psalm to God's praise.

The name of God I with a song most cheerfully will praise and I in giving thanks to him his name shall highly raise.

This to the Lord a sacrifice more gracious shall prove than bullock, ox, or any beast that hath both horn and hoof.

When this the humble man shall see, it joy to them shall give.

O all ye that do seek the Lord, your hearts shall ever live.

For God the poor hears and will not his praise.

Let him and earth and seas embrace and all that move in them.

For God will Judah cities build and he will Zion save.

That they may dwell therein and it in sure possession have.

And they that are his servant's seed inherit shall the same.

So shall they have their dwelling there that love his blessed name.

Let's bow our heads and pray.

Let us pray.

Let us pray.

Almighty and most gracious God, rejoice in the worship of your name.

Lord, we are thankful to you for your word.

It reminds us of the kind of God that you are.

It reminds us of your people's response to all that you have made yourself known to them.

And we give thanks to you for your word.

And we worship you for your word.

And we worship you and we give thanks to you for every way in which you have made yourself known.

As the Father who sent your Son into this world to be our Savior.

As the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.

And as the Spirit of God brings new life into our hearts.

That gives us to see the beauty of your Son as our Savior.

And that gives to us that hope of everlasting life.

And as we worship you together today.

May we sense something in our hearts of your presence with us.

Seeing something of the glory that belongs to you as our Father in Heaven.

Seeing something of the beauty that belongs to your Son as our Savior.

And sensing in a deep and felt way.

The ministry of your Holy Spirit.

Shining a light upon the passion of your Son.

Giving us to see his beauty and the purpose of his coming.

And giving us to understand what that means for ourselves personally.

And bringing us together to that place where by faith in his name.

We may know what it is to receive the gift of everlasting life.

And journey on through life as those who have that hope and that confidence in you.

That sure and certain hope of the resurrection.

Living in this world in the midst of all of its pains and sorrows.

Experiencing the grace of God in every step of life's way.

And looking forward to a day when by grace we will enter into your glory.

And we shall find our rest in you.

So bless us in our time of worship we do pray.

Bless every heart and life before you.

We are all known to you and we are thankful to you for the intimate knowledge you have of us.

And we pray that you will give to us each individually in our hearts.

A sense of close knowledge of you.

As our God and as our Lord and as our Saviour.

Pray for your blessing to be upon every home.

Your blessing to be upon our families.

Your blessing to be upon parents and children.

We do give thanks to you for the children of our congregation.

And your word reminds us that children are the heritage of the Lord.

And we pray for your blessing to be upon our children.

In the days in which they live.

Growing up with so many challenges.

We pray that your word would be truly imprinted on their minds and in their hearts.

And praying that they will come to know you as the light of the world.

Bringing their trust in you.

And able to face the challenges of growing up in such a world.

With a sure knowledge that you are their God.

That you are their guide.

That you are their shepherd.

That you are their teacher.

And that keeper.

We pray for your blessing to be upon the Christian.

Upon tweezers.

As I meet today.

May you bless leaders.

And bless our young people.

Our children.

We commit them all to your care.

And we pray for your blessing to be upon those.

That are away from us and hold you at this time.

That you will keep them safe.

That you will bless them.

Wherever they are before you on this day.

That you will be merciful to them.

We pray that you will bless us.

As we continue before you now.

Blessing your word to us.

And our singing of it.

And our reading of it.

And our study of it together.

Bless our hearts.

Would you ask.

And hear our prayer.

For we pray these things for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

Well boys and girls.

It's good to see some of you here today.

And you've been very brave.

Coming out of this kind of weather.

And I hope you're enjoying your school holidays.

Our Bible message today comes from the Gospel of John.

Which is the fourth book in the New Testament.

And it's about Jesus being the bread of life.

And giving his life so that we might have eternal life.

And we know of course that food is really important.

We can't survive without food.

And when Jesus says he is the bread of life.

He is saying something very important to us.

And I want us to think of three particular things today.

I want to think first of all.

Of the word exchange.

It's not a difficult word.

What do we mean by exchange?

What do you think exchange means?

If we go to a shop.

We pay money.

And we exchange money for goods.

So we exchange things.

And when we come to read the Bible.

God is somebody who shows us that he has put in place a really special exchange.

Because when Jesus tells us he is the bread of life.

He tells us that he is giving his life for the world.

In other words he is taking out place.

And when we read the story of the Bible.

God tells us that he gave our sins to Jesus.

So that Jesus would die for our sins.

And so that we would have everlasting life.

That's an exchange.

And it comes of course at great cost to the Lord Jesus.

And if we think today of a gift voucher.

Somebody can give us a gift voucher.

And we can go and exchange for clothes.

If that's what it's for.

Somebody can give us a gift voucher for a nice restaurant.

Somewhere nice to go and eat some nice food.

It costs them a lot of money.

And they give it to us.

And we are to go.

And use that voucher.

And get ourselves a special meal.

And in the Bible story.

And the story of Jesus.

God has given to us.

The opportunity to have salvation.

Through believing in Jesus.

That Jesus died for us at great cost.

So let's remember the exchange.

Jesus died for our sins.

So that we might have life.

And let's remember that he offers that life to us.

As we listen to him from his word.

The second thing I want to think about is.

Enjoyment.

If there's a great meal on the table.

And we're not going to eat it.

Then we're not going to enjoy it.

If I have my gift voucher.

And I keep it in my drawer.

Or on my desk.

Or somewhere I told him I don't use it.

I'm not going to get any enjoyment out of it.

I have to take that gift voucher.

I have to go to the restaurant.

And exchange it for really nice food.

That's what it's meant for.

And today we want to remember that.

Because Jesus wants us to enjoy everlasting life.

He loves us to come to church.

He loves us to hear about God's word.

But especially he wants us.

When we come to church.

To believe in Jesus.

That's the gift that he promises to us.

That exchange.

If we believe in Jesus.

We will have that gift of everlasting life.

When I go to my special restaurant.

And hand over my voucher.

I enjoy the best meal.

And somebody else has paid for it.

And when we come to believe in Jesus.

We realize how precious Jesus is.

Because he paid the cost of my eternal life.

And the gift that God has given to me.

And the third thing.

I want to remember about the gift of virtue.

Is that there is usually an expiry date.

What does that mean?

That means I have to use it by a certain time.

And the Bible tells us that.

When we're young.

That it's the best time.

To hear and to believe in Jesus.

Our minds are filled with the Bible.

And the words of the Bible.

And God wants you today.

To believe in Jesus.

Remembering that a day might come.

When you might not want.

To come to church.

When you might not want to think about Jesus.

God is speaking to you today.

And he does so.

In Cresce and Twinnies and Sundays.

Going to Bible class.

And listening to the word of God being preached.

God is speaking to you.

And you have an opportunity.

And in the Bible we see that.

God gives people a long time.

And God gives people sometimes not a long time.

But we want you to remember today.

That today is the day that God has given to you.

To believe in Jesus.

So remember the exchange.

Remember the cause to Jesus.

So that we could have life.

And believe the promise of God.

That if we believe in Jesus.

We will have that gift of everlasting life.

And don't put it off till tomorrow.

Because today is God's special time.

For us to believe in Jesus.

And have that hope in our own hearts.

So thank you for listening.

And we'll now say the Lord's prayer together.

Our Father.

Which art in heaven.

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done on earth.

As it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts.

As we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation.

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom.

The power and the glory.

Forever.

Amen.

Let's turn out to praise God once more.

This is from Psalm number 65.

And in St. Psalms.

It's on page 82 of the Psalm book.

Psalm number 65.

At the beginning of the Psalm.

And we're seeing from verse 1.

To the verse marked 5.

In Zion praise awaits you Lord.

To you our vows will pay.

To you all people will come near.

You hear us when we pray.

We stand to sing from verse 1 to verse 5.

To God's praise.

In Zion praise awaits you Lord.

To you our vows will pay.

To you all people will come near.

You hear us when we pray.

When we were overwhelmed by sins.

And guilt upon us lay.

You pardoned all our trespasses.

And washed our guilt away.

How blessed are those you choose and bring.

Within your courts of grace.

We're filled with blessings.

In your house.

In your most holy place.

With awesome deeds of righteousness.

You answer us.

O God.

Our Saviour.

Hope above.

Far the seas.

And all the earth.

A broad.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let's turn together now.

Let us hear the word of God.

And this is the will of whom he sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

So the Jews grumbled about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven.

They said, it's not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know.

How does he now say, I have come down from heaven?

Jesus answered them, do not grumble among yourselves.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.

It is written in the prophets, and they will all be taught by God.

Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.

Not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God, he has seen the Father.

Father, truly I say to you, who believes as eternal life, I am the bread of life.

Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.

There is a bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.

And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.

Amen.

This is God's word.

We trust that you are blessed to us, that reading from it.

Once more, we bow our heads in prayer.

Most gracious and merciful God, we continue in the worship of your name.

We are thankful to you for the words that we have read.

We are thankful to you for the life of your Son here in this world.

We are thankful to you for the way in which he engaged with those who were around him.

We are thankful to you for the way in which he spoke your truth to the world in which he lived.

We are thankful to you for the way in which so many lives were transformed through his life and through his ministry.

We are thankful to you for all the promises that he gave and left with us in your word.

And we are thankful today that we can come to these words and do so looking back upon the death of your Son, the bread of life, who gave himself for us.

We seek to humble ourselves and to marvel at the greatness of your love for us,

that the darkness of Calvary's cross was the portion of your Son as the bread of life,

and that his body was broken for us so that we might live and live forever.

We seek to humble ourselves with thankfulness before you today because of that great provision,

because of that great hope in his resurrection,

and because today you are making new people,

changing lives, building your church,

and drawing people to yourself.

And we pray as we do worship you together this morning that we may sense your work,

your activity,

your hand upon our lives,

drawing us to you,

showing us your glory in the passion of your Son,

and giving to us to believe that we might be saved

and enter into the full enjoyment of what it means to have faith in Jesus Christ,

to find our satisfaction in life in him,

and to know what it means to discover the emptiness of everything else without him.

Lord, bless our hearts and your word.

And as we come to you out of this world in which we live,

we pray that every way in which our minds and our lives have been influenced in this past week,

that all of these things we may be able to pour them out before you,

and that we may be able to separate ourselves from them,

in such a way as to allow your truth to penetrate our minds,

and to dislodge the things that can become embedded in our thinking,

and to work in our minds in such a way as to help us to understand that same world

through the lens of your word,

and giving us to so live life by faith,

trusting in you and learning day by day what it means

to walk in your paths,

to serve and to honour you,

to be light and to be salt in the world in which we live.

We pray for your blessing to be upon us as a congregation of your people.

We are thankful to you for every evidence of your goodness and of your blessing.

We are thankful to you for every way in which you continue to work.

We pray that you will bless your word proclaimed on Lord's Day

and the activities and the meetings during the week as well.

We pray for your blessing to be upon us at this time of vacancy,

that you will give wisdom and guidance and direction to us.

We are thankful to you that in the life and in the experience of your church,

that you place the right of choosing a pastor

in the hearts and lives of those who are your people.

And we pray today that we would be reminded by you in a powerful way

that the choosing is first of all yours,

and give to us to prayerfully choose the man of your choosing.

So that in days to come,

we know blessing from you

and your power present through the ministry of the gospel.

In days to come, as it has been in the past,

we do commit ourselves to you

and pray for your guiding hand to be upon us.

Bless all of our congregations,

bless our island communities today.

We pray for your blessing to be upon your word

as it is proclaimed throughout all of our communities.

May you bless hearts and lives,

and may you bless those whom you have called to serve you

and to go out with the gospel today,

and to go out with a sense of perhaps their own inadequacy and inability,

and trusting in you that you will supply their needs.

And we pray that you will make yourself powerfully known in them

and through them in the ministry of the gospel today.

Bless the nation to which we belong.

We commit ourselves to you.

We pray a blessing to be upon our leadership,

our MPs, our MSPs,

our Prime Minister, our First Minister,

all who are in authority.

May you give wisdom and direction to them.

May you remind them of their calling by you

to serve in such lofty positions,

and may they be reminded by you

of their responsibility to serve and to honour you,

and to may you turn the hearts of the people of our nation

by turning their hearts to you as the only true and living God.

So bless us, and bless every corner and area of life and of society

with all the multitude of needs that are around us.

We pray that you'll come to us, O Lord,

and to make yourself known in your power and in your mercy

and in your grace and in your compassion.

Bless the wider world,

which we'll have also praying that you'll bring an end to conflict and strife,

that you will bring an end to oppression and to persecution,

and that you will give it to us as the peoples of this world

to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts

and to love our neighbour as ourselves.

So bless our world,

bless your world as it goes forth

to every corner of this world today,

and bless the hearts and lives of your people,

and to may we be blessed and equipped by you

to continue to love for you in this world day by day

with that great expectation

that this world is not our home,

but that you are the God who is making a new heavens

and a new earth

where your people will be gathered

in everlasting glory to be forevermore

with their Saviour.

So hear our prayer, continue to watch your orders,

and bless your world as we ask.

We ask these things for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

So our next item of praise is Psalm number 45.

It's 45a and sing Psalms on page 56.

It's a psalm where the psalmist is speaking of

the beauty of the King

and the beauty of Jesus as our Saviour,

as our great King.

Psalm 45 at the beginning of the psalm.

A noble theme inspires my heart

with verses for the King.

My tongues are skilled for writers' pain,

composing lines to sing.

We stand to sing from verse 1 to the verse 5

to God's praise.

Amen.

A noble theme inspires my heart

with verses for the King.

My tongues are skilled for writers' pen,

composing lines to sing.

You far excel the best of men.

Your lips are full of grace.

For God has blessed you evermore.

His light shines on your face.

O mighty one, take up your sword

and bind it on your thigh.

With glorious splendor,

clothe yourself

and with your majesty.

Ride forth in state victoriously

for meekness, truth and right.

Let your right hand display your deeds

of awesome power and might.

Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts

of those who hate the King.

And all the nations of the earth

into subjection bring.

Let's turn together to the Gospel of John

and chapter number 6.

And we can read at verse 35.

John 6 at verse 35.

Jesus said to them,

I am the bread of life.

The who comes to me shall not hunger

and who believes in me

shall never thirst.

But I said to you

that you have seen me

and you do not believe.

And down through the rest of the verses

that we have down to verse number 51.

When we come into the Gospel of John,

it's always good to remind ourselves

of John's purpose in writing the Gospel.

And he gives that purpose to us

in chapter number 20

and at verse number 30.

Jesus did many other signs

in the presence of the disciples

which are not written in this book.

But these are written

so that you may believe

that Jesus is the Christ,

the Son of God,

and that by believing,

you may have life in his name.

And as we come to consider

the verses before us today,

we do understand

that life is full of big questions.

And I think it's fair to say

that when we read the Bible,

the Bible gives us a hierarchy

of big questions.

In other words,

there are big questions

which are bigger

and of greater importance

than others.

And for all of us together today,

we do have our own big questions.

We have life's challenges

challenges,

and we all have our own

individual challenges

with big questions

that come into our minds

and our lives day by day.

We have our personal challenges

that are private to ourselves

that perhaps we don't share with anyone.

There is big questions.

They are important things

in our everyday lives.

There are big questions

when you look at our communities

and look at our nation

and we look at the nations

of the world.

There are big questions

that come and that arise

because of what's happening

in our world.

And then, of course,

when you go beyond that,

there are the big questions

that come because

there are wars

and there are persecutions

and there is oppression

in the world.

Big questions

that come into our lives

because of what's happening

around us.

But the priority,

big question is,

how can we be saved?

How can we be right with God?

How can we become Christians?

That is the most important question.

When we read this gospel

and when we follow

the life of Jesus

and John himself

in writing this gospel,

we see that he understands

that very thing.

And the pattern

that he gives to us

is that he addresses

that biggest question of all

by overlapping two things.

First of all,

he brings to their attention

their great personal need.

And we all need that

in order to be saved.

The second thing he does,

he brings before them

what he is doing

and what he is going to do

that God so loved the world

that he gave his son.

And so with these overlapping things

through this gospel,

he is answering that big question

of how can we be Christians?

How can we be right with God?

And in this chapter,

he is doing that

by interacting with the people

who historically,

once more,

are preparing themselves

for the Passover.

so he is speaking to people

who have a story.

It is a story about faith.

It is a story about

the believing community.

He is interacting with them

where they are

on their journey.

But people who have

fathers and grandfathers

and people have gone before them

who were believers.

And so it is for ourselves today.

We want to look at this passage

bearing that in mind,

the big question,

how can we be right with God?

How can we become a Christian?

And bearing in mind

that God is speaking to us

as those who belong to

the church of God

that has come down to us

from those who went before us.

And I want to consider

these words

under the title of

unbelief

and the transforming

grace of God.

I want to see,

first of all,

that there is a declaration.

And the declaration

that Jesus is making

is about himself,

first of all.

He wants them to know

who he is.

Vitally important.

He is not just

anybody who was born in Nazareth.

He is not just

the son of Joseph and Mary.

He wants them to know

who he is.

And in order for them

to understand that,

he makes this great statement

in verse 35,

I am the bread of life.

And when he's doing that,

he's doing two things.

He's giving them

his identity,

first of all.

I am the bread of life.

And he's speaking to a people

whose history,

whose origins

go back to that very time

in the Old Testament

when God said to Moses

in Exodus 3

at the burning bush,

when Moses asked,

whom shall I say sent me?

I am sent you.

Tell them I am did it.

So what's Jesus doing?

He's not only connecting himself

with the person

who spoke to Moses.

He is telling him

that he is that very person.

In other words,

he is the son of God,

as John makes clear

at the beginning

of this gospel.

He wants them to know

that he is the son of God

and that he is here

as someone sent by God.

And for you and I

on our journey

to becoming the people of God,

we have to believe firmly

and understand clearly

that Jesus is no ordinary human being.

In fact,

he is the second person

of the God

that he is the son of God.

And until we appreciate that,

we're not going to appreciate

what he says

and we're not going to

truly appreciate

what he does.

Who is Jesus?

He is I am.

He is the eternal God,

the eternal son of God.

And he's also telling him

something about

what he is going to do for them.

I am, he says,

the bread of life.

In other words,

if there is life,

it's to be found in him.

It's the bread that gives life

from which,

from which life flows.

It's the bread that is

the source of all life.

And he goes on in verse 51

to remind them that

the bread that he will give

for the life of the world

is his flesh.

I am the bread of life.

I am the son of God

who is going to give myself

on Calvary's cross

for the life of the world.

That's the cost.

That's what he's going to pay

in order to be the bread of life

so that you and I

can have the gift

of everlasting life.

The declaration

about himself.

To draw their attention

to a key thing

in their experience

that as surely as they are here

to remember

that God saved his people

from the land of Egypt

across the Red Sea

because of the blood

of the Passover.

No, he wants them

to understand

that God is moving on

and that he's replacing

all of that

with the work

of his son,

the Lord Jesus,

who is the Passover lamb,

the person concerning whom

John said when he saw him,

Behold the lamb of God

who takes away

the sin of the world.

And he wants them

to think along the lines

of the fact

that Jesus is here

not to repeat the exodus

in the Old Testament

but to bring about

a new exodus,

a new coming out

of where they are

into the experience

of the life

of the children

of God.

And it's

the truth

that should bring joy

to our hearts today

that this is what

Jesus is saying,

that where you are

is the place

from which God

is working

to create an exodus

to take you

from where you are

to bring you

into his eternal kingdom.

And he will do that

in a variety of ways

but at this stage

he's declaring

to you

through his word today

that that's the kind

of God

that he is

who is working

through the passion

of his son

to open a door

for you

to come out

of your lostness

into the very

family

of God.

The declaration

about himself

but he also

wants to make

a declaration

about them

and this is

the key thing

as far as

their journey

here is concerned

and he goes on

to speak about

the way in which

in verse 35

whoever comes

to me

shall not hunger

whoever believes

to me

shall never thirst

but I said

to you

that you have

seen me

and do not

believe.

It's a

staggering truth

to a people

who are

flocking

around him

who were

so interested

in what he was

doing

they're saying

earlier on

in the chapter

this is that

prophet

that God

promised

let's go

and take him

and let's

make him

our king

what they

were doing

looked so

promising

they went

across the

sea to

Capernaum

where Jesus

was because

they must

be with

Jesus

they wanted

to hear

more of

what he

said

they wanted

to learn

about him

and here

they are

gathering

around him

and he's

telling them

who he is

and he wants

them

to know

also

who they

are

and they

are identified

with those

who belong

to the

history of

the people

of God

in the Old

Testament

but identified

with a

particular

group

within that

body of

people

and it's

the group

that simply

did not

believe in

God in the

Old Testament

and here

they are

now

following

the line

of the

history

of the

people

of God

and within

the gathering

around Jesus

there are

those

and Jesus

because of

his all

seeing eye

he's coming

with a

sense of

inquisition

to see

where they

are

and he's

telling them

you do

not

believe

the

declaration

perhaps

today

what you

need to

hear

most

is the

insight

that Jesus

can give

to you

of what

goes on

in your

heart

and the

insight

that no

matter what

you think

you are

doing

and no

matter what

you think

you're

believing

the insight

of Jesus

that perhaps

in your

heart of

hearts

you don't

believe

Jesus

at all

you don't

put your

trust in

his name

and

despite all

of the

activity

in your

life

around the

kingdom of

God

and around

the word

of God

when the

Lord Jesus

takes his eye

and looks

into your

heart

this is

what he

declares

is that

the case

today

do you

believe

in the

name

of the

son of

God

you believe

in the

name of

the Lord

Jesus

he is

the son

of God

who is

giving his

life for

you

do you

believe

in his

name

a

declaration

and when

Jesus makes

the declaration

there are no

arguments

we have no

words

we fall

silent

before him

and we

take heed

to what

he is

saying

because

when he

speaks

about

salvation

it is

important

when he

speaks

about

the kind

of

people

we

are

it is

equally

important

the

declaration

let's

find

ourselves

somewhere

under

the

declaration

that

Jesus

makes

of himself

and of

us

in

these

words

today

so there

is a

declaration

secondly

we want

to see

that

there is

a decree

that makes

a difference

what is it

that makes

a difference

to you

and to me

when this

declaration

by Jesus

tells us

that we

do not

believe

how is

that going

to change

it's going

to change

because

of God's

decree

and God's

decree is

the purpose

of God

that he

had in his

heart

before

the world

ever

was

it's

what he

chose

to do

before

he ever

created

the world

it's

his free

choice

that we

cannot

understand

but the

Bible leads

us to

believe

that that's

exactly

what he

did

and that's

what makes

the difference

and we

don't need

today to

scramble

and try

and do

things that

only God

can do

because God

wants us

to take

to our

hearts

today

in our

unbelief

that only

those

whom he

has decreed

in his

heart

will be

saved

will come

to Jesus

and that's

what he

says in

verse number

37

all

that the

father gives

me

will come

to me

there's a

gift

there's a

donation

there's a

giving of

certain people

by the

father

to the

son

and Jesus

and through

the gospel

himself he

speaks of

the way in

which

John 17

for example

they were

you and

you gave

them to

me

there is

an eternal

transaction

that's

invisible

and that

is known

only to

God

in his

mind

and in

his

heart

with

the

son

and

the

spirit

of

God

there is

that

choice

that works

itself out

in the

experience

of people

in this

world

and that

bears the

fruit

that God

alone

is

looking

for

it's

God's

choice

it's

what the

Bible

calls

and

Ephesians

chapter

one

it's

what the

Bible

calls

election

selecting

people

from the

masses

God

choosing

not the

way you

and I

will

choose

because

we love

the

lovable

because

we're

attracted

to those

whom

we

choose

God

is very

different

to that

he

loves

the

unlovable

he

chooses

the

unchoosable

there

is

nothing

attractive

in you

and in

me

that

would

draw

God

toward

us

but

despite

all

of

that

God

makes

the

choice

and

he

makes

a

choice

before

you

and I

ever

did

anything

right

or

wrong

he

chose

us

in

Jesus

Christ

before

ever

the

world

was

and

we

cannot

begin

to

understand

the

mystery

of

God's

choice

but

we

know

that

God's

choice

bears

fruit

and

what

is

the

fruit

all

that

the

father

gives

me

will

come

to

me

there

are

people

who

are

coming

to

Jesus

to

hear

more

of

what

he

is

saying

but

their

hearts

are

filled

with

unbelief

there

are

disciples

who

are

closely

walking

with

them

and

they

are

doing

so

because

they

are

chosen

by

God

they

have

been

given

to

the

son

the

son

who

says

in

John

17

for

their

sakes

I

sanctify

myself

in

other

words

for

their

sakes

I

die

on

Calvary's

cross

for

those

the

father

has

given

to

me

and

if

your

life

and

my

life

changes

and

we

see

an

about

turn

in

your

life

and

we

see

a

heart

that

comes

to

believe

in

the

Lord

Jesus

there

is

only

one

explanation

and

the

explanation

is

powerful

because

this

is

not

based

on

what

you

do

but

on

what

God

does

you

and

I

know

well

that

we

may

choose

one

thing

today

and

we're

so

fickle

we'll

go off

and

choose

something

very

different

the

following

day

we are

motivated

and moved

so much

by what

happens

around

us

we change

our

choices

and things

that weren't

attractive

before

suddenly become

attractive

and we

go and

embrace

them

and we

choose

them

and

our

salvation

would

be

equally

fickle

if it

was based

on our

own

choice

alone

but

God

wants us

to know

today

that

salvation

is because

of his

choice

of us

and that

his choice

of us

becomes

visible

in our

coming

to put

our

faith

in

the

Lord

Jesus

and

God

doesn't

want us

today

to

lose

ourselves

in

trying

to

work

out

the

mystery

of

his

eternal

election

and

if

we're

concerned

about

God's

election

God

wants

us

to

know

that

the

proof

of

our

election

is

in

our

submission

and

our

obedience

and

our

faith

in

the

Lord

Jesus

it's

that

exodus

that I

referred

to

earlier

where

the

door

is

opened

and

Jesus

is

in

the

gospel

sending

his

word

out

his

appeal

out

and

we

come

from

there

we

are

choosing

Jesus

because

God

chose

us

and

because

Jesus

died

for

us

in

accordance

with

God's

gift

the

decree

is the

decree

not

the

basis

of

our

rejoicing

today

and as

we see

here

it is

also

the

basis

of

our

security

and is

that not

what we

are looking

for

in this

world

the

security

of

knowing

that we

are the

children

of God

in the

midst of

life's

big

questions

and big

challenges

that we

are secure

in what

God has

done

for us

in

Jesus

and

Jesus

confirms

that to

them

all that

the

father

gives me

will

come

to me

and

whoever

comes

to me

I

will

never

cast

out

the

promise

is to

everyone

whoever

comes

to me

all

those

who are

carrying

out

or walking

into their

own

exodus

from

their

life

without

God

and

without

Jesus

Christ

our

savior

who are

coming

into

the

kingdom

of

God

Jesus

promises

you

and I

as we

come

into

his

kingdom

that

he

will

never

be

cast

out

he

will

lose

nothing

of what

the

father

has

given

to

him

in

verse

number

38

he

will

never

evict

us

and

sometimes

we

because

of

our

sin

we

we

sense

that

God

would

be

just

and

putting

us

out

of

his

kingdom

and

evicting

us

from

his

family

home

because

of

our

rebellion

against

him

but

Jesus

wants

us

to

know

today

that

we

are

secure

because

of

God's

choice

and

that

he

will

never

cast

out

we

will

never

be

cast

out

of

God's

kingdom

of

God's

house

as

those

who

are

unwelcome

guests

we

are

all

the

children

of

our

heavenly

father

and

we

shall

never

be

separated

from

him

and

that

promise

and

that

security

is

a

promise

that

has

that

covers

the

whole

of

our

lives

and

that

brings

us

into

the

everlasting

kingdom

that

Jesus

speaks

of

here

and

that

his

father

has

promised

and

that's

what

he's

saying

in

verse

number

38

for

I

come

down

from

heaven

not

to

do

my

own

will

but

the

will

of

him

who

sent

me

and

this

is

the

will

of

him

who

sent

me