Probably everyone here has heard about the Jews as being spoken of as God's chosen people. Yes? I've heard about that. Well, the apostle Paul told us what makes the Jews, the Israelites so special. At least the chief reason are that they are so special. He tells us in Romans chapter three, verse one and two, He said, what advantage then hath the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way, chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. In our world today, anti-Semitism, which is hatred for the Jews, is rampant to the point that even in our country, here in America, There are protests and even riots in support of Israel's murdering enemies, Hamas. You've seen it on the news. You've seen it happen on our college campuses. The Jews are indeed, in many ways, God's chosen people. I can't help but believe that much of the anti-Semitism, that's one of those $2 words, by the way, gets cross ways in your teeth, I think much of that that's going on today is just plain jealousy. Who are these chosen that we keep hearing about? Well, I've got some good news for you today. Because of Jesus, I am one of God's chosen people. And because of Jesus, you can be one of God's chosen yourself. We're gonna begin reading our text today in Ephesians chapter one, starting with verse number three. Paul writes, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Can Gentiles like us become Jews in God's sight? The answer is that in Christ, yes, we can. In Romans 2, verse 28, he tells us, for he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Now there are a lot of scriptures, quite a few, that relate to the idea of our being chosen and our being in Jesus Christ. I wanna read some of them to you today. So just hang with me and follow along. Romans chapter eight, first two verses, says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans chapter eight, verse nine tells us, but we are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom God did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. The scriptures that we're looking at today are at best confusing to a great many people. For a lot of people, the idea of God having predestinated or predetermined what he has indeed is tantamount to God having made all our choices for us and thus eliminating any free will on our part. Their conclusion is that all of our poor choices and the failure of so many to trust Jesus to save them actually becomes God's fault because he chose it that way. From this camp of theology, you'll hear a constant blather about the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God. You're gonna hear that over and over and over again. How that God has chosen everything the way he wants it because he is sovereign. Well, sovereign is their favorite word. Even though it's not in the Bible, it means supreme power or supreme authority. Something God certainly is. We know that God is in charge, do we not? He's God for heaven's sake. You're not gonna make him anything less than who he is. Part of God's incredible creative genius when he made us was giving us the ability to make choices. Another part of who God is is the ability to know what those choices are going to be. It's called the foreknowledge of God. In Romans chapter eight, verse 29, it says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate. Now we're looking at a Greek word here. It's called progenosko, and it means to know beforehand, that is to foresee. God's ability to know beforehand, his ability to predict is far greater than our earthly perspective of how that might work. There's a professor named Alan Lichtman. Anybody ever heard of his name? He's the guy that has accurately predicted the outcome of every presidential election since 1984. His current prediction is due to come out later this month sometime. And that's actually pretty impressive. Men can make some accurate predictions. For example, you don't have to be very smart necessarily to make accurate predictions. If I see a young man who's covered in tattoos of skulls and demons, with long dirty hair, and his britches hanging halfway off of him, I can accurately predict that he's gonna have a hard time holding a very good job. Now, you don't have to be very smart to do that, but that's the way it is. And this is nothing at all like the foreknowledge of God or how it works. To understand the foreknowledge of God, you're going to have to understand the perspective. In order to understand this truth of this very controversial doctrine, one must realize that there are two perspectives involved. The first is the human perspective. You see it from where you are. We live in time. There's a past, there's a present, and there's a future. And we can only exist in the present. We cannot go back, and we cannot go forward. For us, there is only now. Only now, God is not limited to living in time like we are. Time was created by God for man. Genesis 1 verse 5 says that God called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening and the morning were the first day. God invented time. In Genesis 1.14, God said, let there be lights at the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years. Now, Jesus made a statement one time to the Jews. In John chapter eight, it's recorded. He said in verse 56, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, thou art not yet 50 years old, hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. John the apostle was taken ahead in time by Jesus. When he was exiled out there on the Isle of Patmos, being persecuted for his faith in Christ, Jesus came to him and he took John up in the spirit. Now, I don't know what that means or how that works, but I know that's what he said. And he took John ahead and told John to write what he saw. The book of Revelation is the record of what John saw when Jesus took him ahead in time. I asked a young fella if he'd ever heard about time travel and he said, yes, he had. And I said, do you believe that it's real? He said, no. I said, well, if you're God, it is. God already knows exactly who will trust Jesus and exactly who will not because unlike us, his foreknowledge is not some educated prediction. God is literally in the past and in the present and in the future all at once. Why should that be so hard for us to accept? If we understand the timelessness of God, why should it be unreasonable for us to understand that he has predetermined wonderful things for those who he already knows will trust him and become his children, as well as judgment for those who won't? It's not unreasonable at all. Just look at some of the things God predestinated or predetermined for us who are saved. If you're saved this morning, if you're born again, this is for you. Romans 7 verse 6, he says, but now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. Folks, we are delivered from the law. Romans 8 once says, there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. We're not condemned and never will be condemned again. We were once. We were already condemned. But once we received Jesus, trusted him to save us, that condemnation was removed forever. John 5.24 says it this way, Jesus said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. We will never be condemned. Romans 8.14 says, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. We have a leadership coming from within where God dwells now. and our lives are never the same after we trust Jesus to save us. Led by the Spirit of God. The Bible says that we're joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8, 16 says, the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Verse 26 says, likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know that not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. We are saints of God, with all the privileges and all the rights and all the good things to come. being one of God's children and one of God's saints. And here in verse 28, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, Them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we say then to these things? I like this part. If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Nothing can stand against us. We're on the winning team already. No matter what comes, no matter what we face, no matter what circumstances surround us, our God already has provided for us everything we're ever going to need and far more than just that. We're in the process of being shaped and molded and conformed to the image of his son, Jesus Christ. Sometimes that's a painful process, but it's a wonderful process. Even though your flesh may want to rebel, do not resist the process. You're going to love the person that God is remaking you to be. Next, we see that there's an order. in which the predetermination of God, this predestination that we're reading about, there is an order of how that's set forth and how it happens. The order is clearly laid out in scripture, is the key to understanding this doctrine of predestination. Romans 8 verse 29 says, for whom he did foreknow, that's where it begins. He did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also called. And whom he called, them he also justified. And whom he justified, them he also glorified. The order begins first with how God foreknew. Can you imagine the vast intelligence of our creator who knows everything there is about us? He knows everything that's coming our way. He knows every choice that you're going to make. It's pretty hard to get your mind around that, isn't it? It's a little bit big for us, but it's true. The Bible says that God has given every man light and both the opportunity and the ability to choose. Romans 1 in verse 18 says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath showed it unto them. He says, for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. If you want to, you can latch on to an unholy interpretation of this doctrine, and you can blame God for every bad choice you've made and all the consequences that come with it. or you can be smart enough to realize that God made you, he created you with the ability to make those choices. Even though God did not choose or predestinate some to be saved and others to be lost, and nowhere in the Bible does the Bible teach that he did, nowhere, it's not here. He has always known, always known, from before the foundation of the world, Who will and who will not choose Him? Some of you got saved fairly late in life. And you know by looking back when you were lost before you were saved that God treated you pretty good. Yeah, He did. He treated you like you were one of His children already. Some of you can talk about times that God saved you from various things that you were about to get yourself into, various consequences. It's not unusual to hear stories like that because God knew the day that you would trust him to save you. He knew all about it ahead of time. He knew it before the foundation of the world. and he has loved you all this time. Romans 8 verse 29 says, for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to become, to be conformed to the image of his son. God has determined, predetermined, that you who he knew would trust Jesus will be remade to be like him. He's already remade your spirit to be like Him, and He's going to do the rest. And with that remaking comes all the marvelous benefits that we've read about and more. Verse 30 says, for moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called. Those He foreknew and then predestinated to be like Jesus, them He called. See, God has actually issued a plea to the saved, To everyone, to be saved. We know, we those who are saved, we know those who love God and are the called are living according to his calling, according to his purpose. That's what God says about us in verse 28. Many of you have learned verse 28 by heart and can quote it, sometimes mistakenly. You hear people on television misquote this verse all the time. It actually says, and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Have you experienced God's calling, inviting you to trust Jesus? Do you remember that? Well, it's being extended today if you don't. That calling draws you to the Savior. Revelation 22 in verse 17 says, and the spirit and the bride, that's us, the bride, say come, and let him that heareth say come, and let him that is a thirst, and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. The order of these events continue after that calling takes place. Everyone here who is saved has responded to God's calling and it's all happened, everyone's the same way. You who God is calling now must respond the same way that all the rest of us have. Here it is. In Ephesians chapter one it says that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. That first trust thing, this is the only place in the Bible that talks about that first trust. It says, that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. There are things that you have to trust in before that you can trust Jesus to save you. You're gonna have to trust that his word is true. This is the only place you have information about what Jesus did for you. This is the only place that tells you how to know that you're saved. This is it right here, the Bible. This is that first trust he's talking about. And then it says, once you trust this, in whom you also trusted, after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Now you know about the gospel. You know about the good news, how the Christ died and paid for your sins, all of them, everything, the full debt, and how that he was buried and rose again the third day in righteous victory over death and sin and hell and the grave. It says, in whom Jesus, also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. That word believe means to trust in. When you trusted in Jesus to do that for you, he remade your spirit in righteousness and true holiness. He imputed his righteousness to you. He declared you to be righteous. and he sealed you with his Holy Spirit, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of his glory. You will hear and you will understand the gospel, how that Jesus died and was buried and rose again. Do you understand the gospel now? that he paid your debt in full? If you do, it means that you are fully qualified and fully equipped to put your trust in him to save you from your sins. You could become one of God's children before you leave this room today. Isn't that a wonderful thing? This is for you. It says that after that you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that you believed. What does it mean when it talks about your putting your trust in him? That Greek word, that pastoral word for believe. It means yes, Lord, I understand and I trust you. Thank you for saving me. It's that simple. It's not some big religious ceremony you go through. It's a simple placing of your faith, your trust in him to do for you what he died to do. You can use words or you can let it all happen inside. It's the same, makes no difference because God sees and understands the heart. Once you say yes to the Lord by placing your trust in Him, actually it's placing your trust in Him to save you. At that very moment, you are the word that comes next. And that word is justified. You are justified instantly when you trust Him to save you. Even though God knew about it before the foundation of the world and may have been treating you like one of His children all along, Salvation comes when we put our trust in Him. Justification, the new birth, all those terms that mean the same thing comes then. Next comes our being glorified. Our being glorified is a wonderful thing. Most aspects of it have not happened yet. not from our perspective here in time. We can't go in the future and we can't go back in the past, but God's already in the future as he is in our past. Here is spoken of as though it was complete already. Do you realize and understand that from God's perspective, it is complete already? You and I are still waiting. But from God's perspective, it is already done. Our new glorified bodies, mine, yours, one for each and every believer are already created and waiting for us in heaven. It's not just that God sees the future as already happened. It's already happened. He's already created our new bodies. They're in heaven waiting for us right now. You said, does it have your name on it? Probably. I don't know how they're labeled. But I've come to believe that our rewards or lack thereof are already evident in those new bodies, something God also foreknew as well. Our glorification really is already accomplished. It's already done. We're just waiting to slip out of this old body and put on the new one. The Bible says we will be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye. It doesn't mean this old body will become our new body. It means we will slip out of this. It's like changing socks. You take off one and you put on the other. Change. Move out of this old one and put on the new one. Then someone is bound to ask, This always comes up when the subject is broached. Did God arbitrarily choose for you to go to heaven or hell? And the answer to that question is absolutely no, he did not. There's not one phrase or verse or passage in the entire Bible that says or indicates that he did. The only way doctrines like this are propagated are from those with a predetermined agenda looking to justify what they want to believe simply instead of accepting what God has to teach us. This doctrine is a horrible doctrine. I hope you haven't bought into it. To believe this doctrine means that God is responsible. It's God's fault for every ungodly decision you've ever made. because he chose that for you. It means it's God's fault because the people are in hell today because they've refused to choose Jesus. If you're looking for a loophole, God will let you think you found one. But if you simply want the truth, God will delight in opening your understanding. So where do you stand today? Do you want the truth? Or do you wanna justify what you've already decided to believe? Jesus is interested in the truth. And he did not decide for anybody to go to hell. And he did not make the decisions you're gonna make later today. Those are yours. And the consequences of them belong to you. Some people would say, well, I'm just not one of God's chosen, so what does it matter how I live or what I do? There's two terrible things about this doctrine. One of them is that you end up blaming God for all the garbage in your life. And the other is that Christians who bought into this, why should they try to win anybody to Jesus? Because it's already predetermined anyway. It'll make a worthless, slothful servant out of somebody who otherwise would serve God and someday hear, well done, thy good and faithful servant. I once thought that way myself. Man, was that ever wrong. I'm so glad that God showed me the truth. Here's the conclusion, Romans 8, 31. What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Why don't you answer the question? No one. Amen. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, ye rather, that is risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? No. Shall distress? Persecution? Famine? Some of us could use a little famine. I'm one of them. Or nakedness? Or peril or sword? As it is written, Paul writes, for thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Paul said, for I am persuaded. I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come or height or depth or any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing, and I mean nothing, not my decisions, not your decisions, not Hamas's riots or murders or anything else can separate us who believe from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. If you will exercise the wonderful free will that God gave you and place your trust in Jesus, or if you've already done so, you're one of God's chosen people. That's who you are. Chosen in him, so now every benefit and every blessing that we've read about today is yours. God has chosen you. You know what that means? It means now it's time for you to choose him. You wanna know how we do that? There's a few different things that we do that fall in that category. One of them is if you're saved and not yet baptized, you need to submit yourself to believer's baptism. It'll do several things for you. It will proclaim your testimony before men, which is a wonderful thing. God said, if you deny me before men, I'll deny you, Jesus said before my father. The other, it'll make you a part of this church. This is a wonderful church. It really is. I hear believers speak often about how wonderful it is to have a family like this. It is a wonderful thing. You have to choose it, though. It doesn't choose you. Would you like to be a part of a body like this, this body? If you're saved and already scripturally baptized and you believe God wants you to be a part of this church, you slip out of your seat during this invitation and come let me know and we'll present you to this church. And we will receive you just like God instructs us to. If you're saved and you've never been baptized, we'll set that up for you and make that happen. Let's stand together. It's time to answer that calling of God as we sing.