The Elect?

Father, we thank you so much that we can be in your presence.

Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would move in our lives

so that as we are in your presence, we will know that we are in your presence

and that you will make us work within us so that we will be in your presence

to receive from you in a worthy manner and respond to you in a worthy manner.

Father, we give you an unconditional, no qualifications invitation and permission

to have your word speak and rule deep in our hearts.

And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

I became a Christian in November of grade 12.

I'd been on sort of a year-long quest or journey.

It started the previous fall.

But in November, when I was in grade 12, I became a Christian.

And in the spring, I was part of a small group of young people

that we gave out evangelistic tracts after the service.

I don't know if many people know anymore what tracts are.

A little like brochure or a leaflet that you give to people

in the hope that you can have a conversation.

And as a result of the conversation, they'll come to a faith in Christ.

And we weren't allowed to do this on the school property.

We tried to do it on the school property.

And the principal came out and told us we weren't allowed to do it.

So we went just on the edge of the school property on the sidewalk.

And there were three different ways in that school that most...

Mainly two ways that people left.

And we went at one of the main way that people left.

And we stood on the sidewalk and handed out evangelistic tracts.

I know I was one of those guys back then.

And doing that meant that I got actually into a lot of conversations with people.

And there were two guys in particular.

They were well-known in the school.

Some of you can remember what high school was like

and how people get different types of reputations.

And these two guys were very well-known as being intellectuals

as much as anybody in high school can be an intellectual.

But, you know, in high school life, they were the intellectual types.

And they started to have conversations with me

and asked to speak with me separately.

I realized later that they'd taken it on as their pet project

to argue me out of the Christian faith.

But at first I went into it sort of thinking

that they were interested in having a bit of a conversation

learning about the Christian faith.

But really, the very first time we had a private conversation,

the two of them hammered me.

They really hammered me with why Christianity couldn't be true.

And one of the particular things they did,

which really rocked me because I'd never thought about it,

they said to me,

George, in the world you see,

and this is what science has discovered,

and this is what you see in the world,

that there's just a cause,

and the cause creates an effect,

and that effect becomes another cause,

which creates another effect,

which is another cause,

which is another effect.

There's only cause and effect in the universe.

There's no free will.

And given that that's the way the universe works,

you've come to these beliefs,

not because you've freely come to Jesus or anything like that,

but just because of cause and effect.

And the fact of the matter is,

is that the universe described by cause and effect,

it means that Christianity can't possibly be true.

And they did different examples,

you know, a billiard ball,

you need another billiard ball,

and they'd move,

and dominoes,

you make one domino move,

and all of that,

if they're all lined up in the right way,

they all just move,

and they gave me illustration after illustration,

and it was as if they were,

you know, tag team wrestling,

where I didn't have a partner,

but there were two of them,

and they just kept tagging each other off,

and they really hammered me.

And even as I think about it,

I get a little bit uncomfortable about it, actually,

because I'm sure I just sat there,

tongue-tied and red-faced.

And all I could do is,

blether,

there must,

basically,

there must be some answer to what you're saying.

And actually,

that launched me into

about a good solid month,

where I came very,

very close to walking away

from the Christian faith,

because I couldn't figure out

how to deal with what they'd said.

Very, very, very close

to walking away from the Christian faith,

until about a month later,

when I had a conversation with them.

I mention this story,

because there's something in the Bible text

that Shane read,

and what we do here at Church of the Messiah

most of the time,

is preach through books of the Bible.

And one of the really good things

about preaching through books of the Bible

is that they were written as books.

The Bible isn't like a big,

long collection of quotes.

It's not at all like the Koran,

which is just a series of different sayings,

ordered in terms of length,

not even in terms of the order

that they're written,

but that the Bible is,

it's all written as a book.

And so when we preach through books,

you're studying the book,

or understanding the book,

in the way that it was intended to,

as a book.

The other thing, of course, about it

is if you're interested in the Christian faith,

you're not going to be surprised

with the small print later on,

because we don't skip bits.

And in the text that Shane read,

because we're preaching through 2 Timothy,

this is the second week,

there's actually something in the text

which is the identical problem

which I faced with my non-Christian friends.

But interestingly enough,

that identical problem,

which is in the Bible,

is something that many,

has led several people that I know

away from the Christian faith,

because they think it poses a problem

which is insoluble.

And so it would be really helpful to me

if you would turn in your Bibles

to look at it.

And it's in 2 Timothy.

We'll read the whole text later on,

but what I'll do is,

I'm going to focus on that bit.

And some of you are saying,

there was something in that text

that would lead people

to leave the Christian faith?

It's identical to that problem

that George had

that almost led them

to leave the Christian faith.

Like, people don't recognize

it's an identical problem,

but it's an identical problem.

And I'll try to show you

how it's an identical problem.

Here's how it goes.

We're just going to get right

to the little bit,

and then we'll look at the whole text.

It begins 2 Timothy 2, verse 8.

2 Timothy 2:8

Remember Jesus Christ,

risen from the dead,

the offspring of David,

as preached in my gospel.

And just sort of pause there.

Those of you who might have overheard

a little bit of the text last week.

Paul is in jail.

He's in jail in Rome.

Paul had a record

as long as your arm.

I'm sure today

he'd have all sorts of prison tattoos

or something like that,

but back then he wouldn't have done that.

It would have gone

against the Old Testament law.

But if you read the whole book,

you'll see that Paul is in Rome.

He's doing hard time.

He's chained.

And he knows that even though

he survived all sorts of jail time before,

he has a very, very deep sense

that this time

he's going to walk out of jail

not to freedom,

but to be executed.

And in that he's correct.

He is in jail for the final time.

He will only leave the jail cell

to be executed under Nero.

And I shared last week

that Paul is in jail

not just because of an ideology

or religion,

although he is,

but he's fundamentally in jail

because he won't deny a fact.

And that's a very, very rare thing

to see that somebody

would be willing to do hard time

and to suffer

and even die over a fact.

And the fact is what I just read.

Remember, he's in jail.

And what's he in jail for?

He's in jail

because he believes

that Jesus was crucified

by the Roman authorities.

And after he'd been crucified,

he was buried.

And on the third day,

the tomb was empty.

The body was never found.

And the reason that the tomb was empty

and the body was never found

was because that Jesus

had risen from the dead.

And Paul knows this

because not only is it true

that the tomb was empty

and the body was never found,

but Paul saw Jesus

after his resurrection.

And so Paul is willing to die

rather than deny

this particular truth and fact.

I'll read that verse again.

Remember Jesus Christ

risen from the dead,

the offspring of David

as preached in my gospel

for which I am suffering.

Bound with chains

is a criminal,

but the word of God

is not chained.

Therefore,

I endure everything

for the sake of

the elect

that they also may obtain

the salvation

that is in Christ Jesus

with eternal glory.

The elect.

Now, you know,

those of you who've come

to the church before

know sometimes I'll say,

you know,

with this particular word,

if you look at the origin language,

it sort of means this

or has this other

different type of sense.

If you do this

with the word the elect,

all it does is emphasize

that it's saying the elect.

And it's connected

to the doctrine of predestination.

It's actually,

some of the texts

connected to predestination

were in last week's text.

Remember,

some of you might remember

that Paul says

that people who've come to faith,

they've been called

out of eternity,

that God from eternity

chooses them

and from eternity

calls them.

And from eternity

means that from before

time existed,

after time stops to exist,

underneath time

and over time,

in a sense,

outside of time,

God calls people to himself,

he chooses people,

and this word,

the elect,

is connected

to the whole doctrine

of predestination.

It means,

obviously it doesn't mean

that you're superior

because that doesn't really fit

with Paul being in jail

and chained,

but that somehow or another

God chooses people

and people he chooses

become Christians.

And a lot of Christians

find this a very offensive doctrine.

In fact,

I was just talking

with somebody

just within the last

couple of weeks

that might be

on the way out

of the Christian faith

and the crack in the dike

was this doctrine

of predestination

and election.

It was the crack

in the dike

because the person

found it,

excuse me,

a very offensive idea.

it means that you're not free.

It means only some.

It's unfair.

Like,

how can you,

God says,

say that it's all about love,

that he's all about love

and that in heaven

it's all about love.

George,

when you were talking,

you know,

a little while ago

in some of your blogs

about hell

and all of that

and how,

you know,

God respects your freedom

and you're free to choose him

and love involves

being able to be free

and you say all of that stuff

but now it says,

George,

as if that's a complete

and utter contradiction

and it doesn't even make

any sense of my experience,

George.

I didn't feel like

I was a puppet,

you know,

and then God sort of

manipulating me

to come to a saving faith

in Jesus.

I chose him.

Like,

this doesn't make any sense

and it's very offensive.

And so,

then people start

to look at other things

and they realize

there's other problems

or they think

there's other problems

in the Bible

and they end up,

in some cases,

I've known some people

that that was the crack

or part of the cracks

that led them

to leave the faith.

And I'm going to have to ask

for some mercy.

Give me some mercy

because I don't,

I really,

I don't mean to offend anybody

but I might say something

which might offend.

In every case

when I've had conversations

with people like this

that they've ended up

leaving the faith,

I think all of them,

their testimony would be,

that they came into faith

and the Christian faith

and it was just

all about believing

and you don't use your mind

and you just trust

what people say

and you don't use

your critical faculties

and they started to use

their critical faculties

and when they started

to use their critical faculties

they ended up realizing

they had to,

if they wanted to be,

live an examined life

and be a thinker

they have to leave

the Christian faith

and that leaving

the Christian faith

it's like walking

into a world

of really,

where you really

begin to think.

Now here's where

I need some mercy

because actually

I would say

that what always

happens with them

in my experience,

maybe not yours

if you're here,

is they've left

the Christian faith

and stopped thinking,

not begun to think.

That's why I really

need some mercy.

You see,

my opening story

I said was identical

to this problem

and it is.

You see,

what people are saying

is how on earth

can you believe

the Bible, George,

if it says that God

just causes some people

to have these certain beliefs

but what was the challenge

my non-Christian friends

were saying?

You only believe things

because it's caused.

It's the same problem,

actually.

The exact same problem

looked at from

two different types

of world views.

And you see,

that's the particular thing

is that,

and by the way,

here's another bit

of an aside.

If you haven't seen it,

I really,

really recommend

you Google,

go to the

Dig and Delve

Apologetics

YouTube channel

or just go to

Dig and Delve

and also put in

Oz Guinness

and you'll see

an event

which actually

was in the

Ottawa Little Theatre

about five years ago

or so like that

and the Dig and Delve

Apologetics team

here in Ottawa,

we teamed up

with the major

atheist organization

in Ottawa

to put on a conversation

around the meaning

of life.

And so we had

Oz Guinness

as our speaker

and they got to

choose their speaker

and they chose

a philosophy professor

from the University

of Toronto.

And right on this stage

the two men

had a conversation.

And one of the things

which is so fascinating

is how honest

the philosopher,

the atheist philosopher

from the University

of Toronto is

because in the talk

if you go and listen

to it,

he sort of acknowledges

that he's not sure

if there's any such thing

as free will

because the logic

of cause and effect

would imply

that in fact

there's no freedom,

there's nothing chosen

at all.

And it's a very,

very telling,

honest conversation

between the two men.

But you see,

my friends

who get problems

with predestination

and they leave

the Christian faith

believing that

they're thinking

stop thinking

because they haven't

thought through

what they're stepping

into.

And it's compounded

if they were to leave

for,

once again,

give me some mercy,

but in Islam

it's total fatalism,

total determinism.

It's the essence

of Islam,

total determinism.

And in Hinduism

and Buddhism,

and by the way,

I'm not saying this

about anybody being bad,

but the problem

is that freedom

and free will

is always fundamentally

a type of inherent

contradiction

within all those

schools of thought

because everything

was the one

and there's been

some great disruption

which means that

people think

there are different things

but really there aren't

different things

and the end result

is that there's only

the one

and if there's only

the one

then there can't

really be freedom

and there can't

really be choice

and so you have

this problematic thing

in the middle

but that's not

really adequately

dealt with

and so the fact

of the matter

is that you see

some problems

in the Christian faith

and you think

okay, I'm going to

continue to be

a thinking person

and leave

but you leave

into things

which are vastly

more,

they have no hope.

How did I answer

my non-Christian friends

all those years ago?

This isn't because

I'm particularly brilliant.

You know,

one of the things

I love saying this,

I'm going to say it

and say it

and say it

until I die

hopefully.

You know,

I'm going to find

in heaven

that it wasn't

that,

oh,

I'm such a clever

thinker,

I came up

with a rebuttal.

What I'm going

to find out

in heaven

is that my

grandmother

was praying

for me

or some

nameless old

lady in the

congregation

was praying

for me

and that's

why I got

this insight

because God

gave it to me

not because

I was clever

and what I said

to them

eventually

about a month

later,

a month

where I came

so close

to losing

my Christian

faith

and then

one day

I was reading

the Bible

and then

afterwards

I was going

for a walk

and all of a

sudden

it came

to me

Christians

don't believe

that human

beings

are purely

natural.

God

gives us

a soul

and it

was like

whoa

and I

said to

them

here's the

problem

with your

worldview

that the

Bible

teaches

that human

beings

have been

given a

soul

that a

soul

is not

material

it's not

energy

it's

something

that's

spirit

or mind

and it

means that

human beings

both have

a soul

and have

a body

and obviously

we're connected

to the whole

flow of cause

and effect

but there's

something outside

of the flow

of the cause

and effect

and that's

how God

has made

human beings

and out of

that means

that sometimes

human beings

can actually

make full

choices

and not just

human beings

human beings

do it

preeminently

but you can

even see

in the higher

animals

that God

gives them

like my

dog

Rocky

a small

degree

of some

degree

of times

when you

can see

that they

choose

to do

some

things

my

wife

trained

our

German

shepherd

that when

she comes

in the

door

Louise

can say

to her

close the

door

Rocky

and Rocky

goes

and closes

the door

expecting

a treat

but the

thing about

it is

is that

if Rocky

comes in

the house

opening

the door

he looks

at Louise

and then he

looks at

the door

he goes

back to

the door

he closes

the door

and he

looks at

Louise

waiting

for a

treat

that even

animals

have a

certain degree

not as much

as a human

being but a

certain degree

of ability

God has given

them something

within them

that is outside

just the flow

of cause and

effect

and I said

that to my

friends and

they had no

answer

the other thing

I said to

them is you

don't actually

believe what

you said to

me because

if you

believe what

you said

to me it

means that

your views

are controlled

cause and

effect

it's not

just mine

it's yours

too but you

don't believe

that do you

and they

had no

answer because

they thought

they just had

an argument

against Christianity

and in the

words of G.K.

Chesterton

they're thinking

it led them

to a thought

that stops

all thought

so how do

we begin to

puzzle this

thing together

of the elect

well I'm just

going to give

you two types

of ways to

think about it

and any of

you and

it's going to

come down to

first of all

we can just

go to Hollywood

novels and

anybody who's

watched a

post-apocalyptic

novel or

movie will

have a sense

about how to

understand the

problem and

the other thing

is if you think

about the

experience of

love so

first of all

post-apocalyptic

novels I

actually just

read a really

really excellent

literary one I

think it was

called the

dog star or

something like

that written

about nine or

ten years ago

really excellent

very thoughtful

people and

so there's a

world where

there's been

some virus

that's killed

like 99 point

you know 99

percent of all

the population

and 99.5 or

whatever so

there's very few

people who are

left in and

it's this

particular novel

set in in the

Colorado area

not that far from

Denver and but

it doesn't matter

any type of a

of a novel or a

movie where some

disease or something

has killed most

people what's

life like after

everything has

fallen apart is

there more freedom

or less always

less why because

they always portray

a world where

there are bands

of roving men

usually men

occasionally with

some women who

basically survive

by raping and

pillaging and so

people who do not

want to make their

living by raping and

pillaging how do

they live they

want to try to

you know have a

garden and have

some food and live

peaceful they hide

they hide

I was thinking

about this this

week when I was

out for a run

along the canal

now I'll be honest

when I say it's a

run I'm exaggerating

it's a fast shuffle

in my case but I

continue to call it

a run so I was

off for a fast

shuffle along the

canal and I was

just thinking about

it in a post

apocalyptic novel or

movie nobody goes

for a run along the

canal nobody just

goes out to a

restaurant or buys

groceries why you

can't you can't do

that if you do you

have to carry lots of

guns lots of knives

lots of bows and

arrows you have to do

all that type of

thing you scurry in

you scurry out and

you try to protect

yourself so how is it

that we have freedom

we only have freedom if

there's something like

a government and

laws something that

guarantees and creates

the context for

freedom and that's

exactly what the

Bible teaches that's

why only the Bible

only gospel centered

Christianity can

provide an answer to

the paradox of how we

live in a world where

there is both true

freedom and where

there's cause and

effect why because God

guarantees it he

created the world he

designed that world in

a particular way he

said I'm going to

design human beings in

my own in in in in

our image in in our

image and we're going

to design human beings

so that there's a

little bit of something

in them that's not just

part of the cause and

effect but it's

completely connected to

them and it means

they're going to be

affected by things we

all know how brain

chemicals can change

things in our mind but

there's going to be this

flow of cause and

effect but they're still

always part of human

beings something which is

outside the flow of

cause and effect that

they can choose they

can they can have an

identity they know that

they're different than

rocks and trees

and and birds and

bees and bugs and

beavers they're

different and and and

and and yet they're

also creatures and they

can choose and they can

be in the world and

we're going to guarantee

it I'm going to we're

going to only create a

world like that we're

going to sustain a world

like that so that

there's real freedom

and in fact it even fits

within Christianity

because how do

Christians understand

God the Father the

Son and the Holy Spirit

three persons one God

from all eternity

from all eternity there

was the Father loving

the Son in a sense

choosing the Son to

love the Son in the

Son choosing to love

the Father and the

Holy Spirit in that

whole mix and so right

from the very nature of

God there's choice

there's freedom there's

love and it is that God

the Trinity that creates

human beings and creates

a world that in some way

reflects the character of

the triune God and he's

created us to be free he

sustains our freedom

when we meet a human being

who's lost their freedom

that's completely and

utterly captivated or not

captivated completely and

utterly overcome by

Alzheimer's or by

dementia or by mental

illness we feel sorry for

them we feel they've lost

their identity and have

become completely and

utterly controlled by

outside forces and then

of course we by our other

choices can be people can

enter into alcohol or drugs

in a way that diminishes

their freedom pride and

narcissism and and and and

over self-regard reduces

our freedom evil reduces

our freedom virtue increases

our freedom the the humble

person the meek person is

vastly more free than the

proud and arrogant person

vastly more free if you can't

control yourself if you can't

be self-effacing you are less

free than the one if you can

control yourself and you are

self-effacing you are more

free than the one who cannot

be self-effacing can only be

proud so the Bible describes

it the second thing is though

like what about the fact

George that well I'm still

trouble there's still trouble

by freedom and the fact that

God chooses you from all

eternity to become a

Christian and yet it still

feels free and it doesn't seem

to fit George years ago when I

was in my rural parish and I'm

so I hope this doesn't isn't a

an analogy which is wounding

for some for some people but

there's this really really funny

woman and she was good friends

with some of the people in the

congregation and she'd come to

all of the in rural Anglican

churches they're always having

like suppers and all these types

of things and and it's really

quite glorious if you have even

something like a hymn singer a

choir sing and for rural people

you have to have a big meal

afterwards rural people are far

more like people like in South

America or Africa you meet you

have lots of food the first time

we Louise and I got invited out

for supper in a rural place they

didn't just offer me one type of

meat three types of meat were

offered in the meal lots of

different other not just one way of

having potatoes and anyway that

they just like they love to eat

anyway so there's this woman and I

said are you like I should I

refer to you as Mrs. or Ms. and

and she laughed because she was

she was round and jolly she said no

you should call me missed I never

got married I was missed I missed

you know whatever Smith and she just

laughed away at it and went

downstairs and lined up for the

buffet she wasn't bothered by it at

all but you know here's the thing

about this so here's the thing

this story illustrates two things

the first is every single one of us

not every single one of us many of

us more than once have experiences

where we feel both most free and

most determined most free and most

bound and that's the experience of

love if you meet a young couple you

oldies and they've just really

fallen in love and they're gonna get

married if you talk to them at all

they'll say I've never felt I've never

felt so free and so alive as I do

right now what will they also tell you

I've never met anybody that it just

feels I have to marry them they feel

completely and utterly bound and

compelled and it's not just with

something like that it's it's often

how it is and I know I can be

touching on troublesome things for

some people I know there are people

who'd love to have babies and they're

never able to have them but often a

mom and a dad but often a mom in

particular will feel that way when

they're holding their newborn baby

they've never felt so much love they've

never felt so much themselves and so

alive and yet at the same time so

completely and utterly tied and

compelled to that little life you see

when you go up you come to this

port where you're both most free and

most bound and the Bible describes that

God is love you see the fact of the

matter is is that the Lord both chooses

you to be his child by adoption and

grace and provides you the freedom to

choose him the Lord both chooses you to

be his child by adoption and grace and

provides you the freedom to choose him

now one of the things about this these

stories that I've given is it can cause

a lot of trouble that people who always

wanted to marry and were never able to

marry people who were married and were

in love and and now there may be living

with a in divorce or whatever people who

wanted to have that baby and were never

able to have that baby and these are

very very troublesome thing it touches on

a very very deep wound in the center of a

lot of our lives a very very deep wound

or whose marriages right now are on the

rock those days of feeling so free and so

alive and so bound have have gone away

you know and in fact I've talked to

people who say you know all all my life

nobody's chosen me they weren't like that

woman in Eganville who could say I missed

missed Smith and just sort of have a

laugh and maybe she could do that because

she was older and had come to terms with

it and so they hear this doctrine that

God chooses you to be his child by

adoption and grace and provides you the

freedom to choose him and in your bones

you have this very very very deep sense

the Lord would never choose me

no one's chosen me story of my life

you know what they should have on my on

my tombstone the unchosen

but I want to tell you something right

now if that is at all your reaction

anyone here anyone working online that

the story of your life is the unchosen

if that's what comes to you unbidden

as I describe this very very wonderful

thing because it's a very wonderful

thing which I'll describe a little bit

more in a moment if you feel that at all

you know what that is you're hearing his

call you're hearing that he's chosen you

the person who doesn't give a flip

that's a different category but if you feel

I never get chosen you know what is you

are feeling God's choosing you and I just

would like to encourage you to stop

listening to me and say God have you

chosen me I would love it if you chose

me I would love to have Jesus as my

savior but I just pour out your heart to

God and say that's what you'd like and

become his child by adoption and grace

see here's the other thing which is so

wonderful about this particular doctrine

in fact actually see here's the thing

which is so wonderful about there's so

many things that are wonderful about

this doctrine if you think about it for

a second if God didn't do something

like that there'd be no Christians I

wouldn't be a Christian I'm not

naturally spiritual if it was just up

to me I would sleep in this morning I'm

reading a really good novel I'd probably

go for a run I'd probably go somewhere

and have a coffee in the afternoon have

a nap somewhere along there I'd watch

some NFL football games and then have a

beer or wine at the end of the day

church would definitely not be part of

it and let me tell you something else

how many people do you think will wake

up on a Monday morning and say I'm

trying to figure out how to get

connected to the living God you know

what I think I'm going to look at the

hundred thousand plus Romans people the

Romans crucified back 2,000 years ago I

have a feeling that some crucified guy is

the key to life what are the odds of

that zero zilch what if Jesus God sends

Jesus to die upon the cross I mean who

when he died upon the cross who was left

on the grave his mom John a couple of

women everybody else all the cool kids

all the powerful kids all making fun of

them it isn't enough that God just

provides the means of salvation he

needs to bring people to salvation you

know one of the wonderful things about

the story of the Jesus and in Luke

Luke 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7 when I read about the the

young man that's dead and how does what

happened to that young man the young man

isn't dead and said I think I'll get up

and talk to my mom no he's dead he says he

doesn't say to himself I think I'd like

to talk to Jesus no he's dead how does a

parable where how does a story work not a

parable is a story work Jesus calls him

he calls him out of death into life and

because he calls him out of death into

life the man's alive and let me tell you

you read the Bible read Philippians read

Colossians read Ephesians what does it

regularly say apart from Christ we are

dead the dead don't choose

and so the gospel is this wonderful not

only this good news of what God has done

in Jesus to make us right with him it is

this wonderful news that God doesn't just

look around look for the cool kids the

powerful kids the ones who are always

chosen he'll choose some of those he

chooses the Dalits he chooses he chooses

the street people he chooses the middle

class the working class he chooses the

only chooses the unworthy and he calls

them and his call comes from all eternity

comes out of love it comes to you and

you respond to it that he not only calls

you he gives you the freedom to respond

to it it's all from him and then you can

say George well if it's just all from

that like why would anybody even do

anything or try anything like why don't

you just sort of just let God do

everything but you see if you do that

it's like this true story I I had I had

been going to this very very conservative

Baptist church you know I come to come

to faith very very very very add like add

six varies that's how conservative it was

and and an evangelical and about 20 years

later I'm I'm at a bus stop on Bank

Street and I I meet a I meet a guy

cigarette sort of you know one of those

guys he's sort of as if there's a wind he

you know he'd had more than a few beer so

he's standing there and he says oh George I

say hi to him I ask him if he's connected

to the church or he asked me about that and

I asked him about that and he says to me as

he's swaying he said you know Christianity

is wonderful God loves to forgive and I

love to sin and he said I figured out

that I'm gonna have a really really really

good time until I'm too old have a good

time and then when I figure there's about

a year left to live I'm gonna give my

life to Jesus go to heaven they gave me a

drunken smile so you see here's the

thing he thinks he's fooled God he'd not

given his life to Jesus he's figured he's

done an end run around God that he's

read the fine print and he's been able

he's gonna be able to trick God he

doesn't think he needs a savior he

doesn't think he's dead needs life he

doesn't think he's blind and need to see

he doesn't think he's broken and needs to

be whole he doesn't think he's lost and

needs to be found he thinks he's superior

to everybody and even God and he's found

a loophole around God's provision and

God's conditions that will get him what he

wants that's called presumption and God

sees right through it what is the

doctrine of election do why is it that it

actually if you grab it and you

understand this that gives you this it as

it grabs you more and more it gives you

courage it helps you to do hard things it

propels you and draws you to do things of

sacrifice and of humility and of self

examination that you might have thought

impossible before the gospel starts to

grab you I'll give you an example for

many years I've wanted to write a book it's

the first time I've ever said this in

public I'd love to write a book I love

reading books so I'd love to write a

book not a particular surprise but here's

what goes through my mind I don't have

the time I'd have to cut time with Louise

I'd have to take time out of the job and

you know the book probably wouldn't be

any good even if I could write it and

even if I wrote it and it's so it wasn't

very good and I'd probably sell a couple of

copies in my church because people out of

pity would buy it and and then they'd come

and say way to go George it's such a good

book and I'd say yeah yeah that's 40

sales and wasn't worth the time what if

one day God showed up and said George I

want you to write a book and the book

you're going to write is going to help

a hundred thousand people I've called you

to write this book and because I don't

have as much faith as you God has to

show up two or three times and even

after the third time he says this still

isn't working I'm going to show up to

Louise so Louise will tell George and

then I finally know that that's the

case that God has called me chosen me to

write a book you know what then I go to

the wardens I go to you folks and say

you know what I'm going to take an hour a

day out of my time I go to Louise I'm

going to take an hour a day out of our

time with you and the family I'm going to

be working on a book and all the stuff

and all the time when I'm struggling

with not knowing the right thing and

how to edit it and and and all the

times I'm tired and all the times I feel

that it's not worth it or it's not

working it's all worth it the sacrifice

is worth it because it's going to end

with something that God has already said

he's going to do and rather than creating

laziness it gives you hope it gives you

endurance because it's not presumption

it's just believing what God has said

and that's why we need to gather in

church to hear that God has chosen you

yes I know he had poor taste no just

joking if you say to yourself did he

know how big of a screw-up I am did he

know how weak I am does know how bad a

Christian I am yes he know all that stuff

he chose you and because he chose you

you've given your life to Christ and

nothing will ever take you out of his

hand and your end will be glory and

because of that you can go and you can

try hard things you can do hard things

you can look at the sin in your life

you can go and humble yourself and ask

forgiveness and seek reconciliation you

can give away your money you can give up

of your time why because it's worth it

God has called you he's chosen you he's

done everything to make you his child

he'll never let you go that is the

gospel

remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead

the offspring of David as preached in

my gospel for which I am suffering bound

with chains as a criminal but the word of

God is not chained therefore I endure

everything for the sake of the elect that

they also may obtain the salvation that

is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory

why do you share the gospel why do you

bear witness to Jesus God uses imperfect

people like us but he does all he does

all the work he still has people in this

city we have a brother who's going to be

going back to Asia why does he go to

Asia because God has people call he's

calling in Asia right brother not

because nothing personal not putting

you down it's not because you're an

unbelievably charismatic persuasive

salesperson it's a matter of

obedience and you open your mouth you

get on your knees and pray you open

your mouth you do acts of love share

about Jesus and you go there knowing

what God has people in Asia that he's

calling and he's using imperfect people

like you and he has people in Ottawa that

he's calling he uses imperfect people

like us

might invite you to stand please

let's just bow our heads in prayer

father the word this morning says that

you want to make us strong and you want

to make us strong in grace we give you

thanks and praise father the grace that

you have given us that purely and utterly

your are your unmerited kindness and

favor and love towards us that you would

provide a savior your unmerited kindness

towards us that you would call us and

give us the freedom to freely choose

Jesus as our savior and Lord your

unmerited kindness to us because you

have called us that you will you and

made it effective you will never let us

go no matter how many hard times we

experience you will never let us go even

those times when we appear to wander you

will always father take us back because

your grip is never let us go father this

wonder of grace that you know everything

there is to know about us and still

Jesus died for us still you called us

that we do not make ourselves righteous

and perfect we do not you do not add up

our merits that it's all your grace and

love and mercy towards us and we give you

thanks and praise father that you want

us to grow in strength not in our in

self-confidence but in confidence of you

and of your grace and if you're a

effectual call to us in our lives father

we ask that that you who have helped us to

be gripped by the gospel that we would grip

the gospel back and that it would have a

deeper and deeper hold and roll in the

very center of our lives and that father

that as your word comes to us in the and

as your gospel comes to us as your Holy

Spirit moves and works within us that we

will not be conformed to this world but

that your grace will transform us to take

risks risks of speaking risks of

forgiveness risks of humility risks of

generosity risks of giving that your word

father will transform us so that we know

you and know your will and bring you glory

and delight in you and all these things we

ask in the name of Jesus and all God's

people said amen

God bless you

and God bless you

you

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