We're gonna be looking at Romans chapter nine. The verses I'm gonna read is 18, sorry, through 29. The verses we're gonna be looking at today is verses 27 and 28. I had full intention of going a lot more, but I write a lot, and so the Lord stopped me. Beginning in verse 18, the conclusion of what was priorly said. Verse 18 begins, therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, why dost yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay man, oh nay, but oh man, who art thou that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it? Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power of the clay? of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had afar prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As he saith also in Osea, Hosea, I will call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved, which were not beloved. And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said unto them, you are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God. Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be of the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved, for he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. And as Isaiah said before, except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom and been made like unto Gomorrah. You may be seated. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, as we approach your inspired text today, help us to absorb your word. Help us to be edified and schooled today by the spirit of your word. Bless each and every one of us this very morning. Amen. The title of today's message is The Final Divide. The Final Divide, A Remnant Saved, A World Judged. In recapping of last week, brothers and sisters in Christ, Paul is reminding us that God's plan of salvation was never limited to the Jews alone. That God's Israel is spiritual, not heritage. He always intended to call unto himself a people from not one nation, but all nations unto himself. He has always desired to show his mercy and love to those who were once not his people. This was part of his plan from the beginning. This is the riches of God's sovereign grace and purpose, the mystery that is unsearchable. Oh, the depths of his love. He has called us from the very ends of this earth. He has chosen us, not because of our worthiness, you aren't, but because of his own sovereign purpose. So let us not forget, saints, that we were once not his people. We were once strangers to the covenant, aliens to his promises, but now through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are made nigh. We have been brought near. We have been made children of the living God by the atoning sacrifice of the begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May we never forget the rock from which we were hewn. May we never forget the pit from which we were dug. May we always remember the God who has called us, who has saved us, and who has made us his own from eternity past, foreknown, and is foreknowledge, predestinated, effectually called you, justified you, and ultimately will glorify us. May his name be forever praised in our lips. May our heart be full of gratitude and thankfulness for the things that he does on a daily basis in our life, that he saved us from sin. There's not a sin in your life that God can't forgive and deliver you from. There is not a bondage too strong that God cannot break. But you have to have a heart to surrender your life to Christ by repentance and faith. A true dependence upon God's sovereign grace to lift you up. Do you trust him this morning? There are many professing believers all around us that are living in bondage to sin. They're still children of the wicked one. because they have not come to know the gospel aright. There's a difference between intellectual knowledge, a belief in his existence, no different than a Roman Catholic that goes to church, does the moral deeds and feels good with all the things they've done. I've done this, I go to church, I've been baptized, all these things, but they have no victory in their life. They believe service to God is doing good things to appease him by their good works. Oh, I tell you something, service to God begins by you denying yourself, denying your will, denying your pleasures, denying your goals, denying your dreams. For a new vision that you never had before is to serve him and please him and do all things for his glory and purpose alone. God is a God who gives us a new path. Everyone before Christ was on a different path, a path with different dreams and goals and to do that which is selfish. But God then had a new path for us. The moment we came to him by repentance and faith in him, God gave us a new heart. When God gives us a new heart, this new heart that we believe with thine heart, that he's raised from the dead, This new heart that God has given us in Ezekiel, the promises, and fulfilled all to them who affectionately heard the call of God, who heard his voice and follow him. This very heart is implicating your passions and your desires. Do you passionately want to know God today, this morning? What is your reasons for coming to church this morning? I hope to be edified by the inspired word of God, to grow, to be in fellowship, to be more conformed to the image of Christ and less conformed to this world. Amen? So let his name be forever praised. May his glory be forever exalted in our lives. For he is the God who has called us, and he is the God who will complete the work he has began in us. So let me remind you, if we are vessels of honor, there's two types of people in this world. You either are molded by God in a vessel unto dishonor, living a life of dishonor, or God is moldaging you as a vessel of honor, your life as a vessel of honor to God. What vessel are you this morning? Think about that. If we are vessels of honor and not vessels of dishonor, we should be a product then of his sovereign saving grace and nature. God is the potter. Those who are professing believers, who are more like vessels of dishonor, show that they are not being molded by God after his righteousness and image. God is the potter. The danger of antinomian theology, easy believism, that is so prominent in many churches today. It's become the popular. To say that we can be saved and not a follower of Christ, to say we can be saved and not really saved from sin at all, is to reject the actual definition of Jesus Christ comes to be the savior of the world, to save his people from the plurality of sins that so easily besets them. and bondages them, they're addicted to their sinful nature because that's all the nature they have. They have no victory because they have no spiritual nature. So if we are vessels of honor and not vessels of dishonor, like I said, we should be a product of His saving grace, a trophy unto Him, displaying the riches of His grace in prior verses. that we should show that we are vessels of honor, not dishonor. Is God the potter molding you to be a vessel of honor today? God is the potter and he alone is the one molding us, shaping us, and transforming us in a way that we will live a life that's honoring to him, not dishonoring to him. We are as vessels of honor, reflect the riches of his glory, the power of the gospel, and as, and, the power of the blood. What we sing is their power in the blood, wonder-working power in the blood. Why do we believe that the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the blood, the power of the resurrection as the Apostle Paul, that we may know the power of the resurrection? How? In our own life as well. that you were dead indeed to sin, but God has awakened you. You become born again, a new nature, a new creation. Behold, all things become new. Not some things, completely everything becomes new to you now. a desire that wasn't there before, a new direction, new friends, new companions. If you're yoking with the unregenerate world, I want you to know the Bible says to come out from among them, touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. Be careful of who you surround yourself with. May we be conformed to the image of Christ, because life is fleeting. Life is temporary. You're getting older. I'm getting older. And the young, they don't even think about that. They don't think, they're too busy. They can't, the young kids nowadays, they can't wait for them to get older. You better redeem the time. When I was unsaved and I thought I was saved, I remember I was in addictions of sins and I remember I would say when I was a young kid, when I get, I'll serve the Lord more when I get older. Sin hinders your relationship with God. Sin hinders your prayer life. Sin hinders, you don't want to pray to God when you're living a life of sin. You feel like a hypocrite. But you cannot hide from the reality that God is sovereign and that you can keep your secrets from the church, your family, your relationship, from your spouse, but you can never hide from the all-seeing and all-knowing God. That we will have to give an account to God on the day of judgment. And that's a holy reminder for me and you. It's hard to look at anybody else in that matter because you're too busy seeing yourself. Oh, let us redeem the time that we may hear, come on in, the greatest words of the Bible. Come on in, my good and faithful servants. Something we all long to hear. So important to be faithful. Part of the fruit of the Spirit is to be faithful. So are we faithful today to him? It is important to be grounded and rooted in church today. There's so many churches, and the truth I'm about to get to, that have apostatized from their purpose. This is why you have Bible college today. A truth I will return to. There are key words in three verses, verses 27 and 28 and 29. There are two key verses to focus on. I was meaning to continue to 29, et cetera, but I couldn't get to it. But verse, it says 27, you see the key verse is remnant. And then in verse 29, you see the key verse is seed. These words are used interchangeably. to refer to a small group of people who remain faithful to God despite the majorities of this world's disobedience. Romans 9.27 quotes Isaiah saying only a remnant of Israel will be saved. Romans 9.28 explains that God will finish his work and cut it short. Referencing his word, and then Romans 9.29 quotes Isaiah again saying, if not for the seed, the remnant, humanity would be like Sodom and Gomorrah. If we were not saved, we're no different than Sodom and Gomorrah. We're no different than the LGBT community. See? Don't think yourself to be something special. The Bible says anyone who thinks of something special when they're nothing, You deceive yourself. Oh, do tell me how great you are. I assure you, you have not come to salvation yet because you are not good, not a little bit good. Christ died for not good people, but he died for sinners. And those who value Christ are those who see their own guilty nature. that they're transgressors and criminals in the eyes of God because they have broke the law of God. They offended God and transgressed his ways. So as a criminal on earth that breaks the law, goes to jail, you recognize that you deserve hell because you broke the law of God by your sins. We all fall short whether thought, word, or deed every day. But that's not an excuse to live a life of sin. No, you should be passionately serving the Lord, seeking first his kingdom. Your aim is perfection. Your aim is holiness, all for him. That should be your passion. Not compromising that attitude either. And reckon yourselves dead indeed in sin, a truth I love to continually say. Don't look at your past as defined as a wicked sinner. You are now, I understand, you now have a new nature. Identify yourself by that new nature. Transformed in Christ. Victory, more than a conqueror. Not a conqueror, but you are more than a conqueror. Exceedingly more than them. Why? Because something great in you? No. But because of the awe, greatness of God in the person of Jesus Christ, who alone saved us, delivered us, broke the chains of sin, put his spirit within us, our bodies, behold, become the temple of God's dwelling. And behold, we have eternal life and a truth that we will receive glorified bodies. May we live for Him. It would be like Sodom and Gomorrah if it wasn't for Christ. Do you understand? When you go out and preach, you're no different than them. If it wasn't for Christ, you would be with them. You're not better than anyone. This is a great reminder. May we be humbled But the reality, if it wasn't for God saving a remnant, we would be no different than Saddam in Gomorrah. God has a spiritual heritage today, where so many dispensationalist Christians are focused on Israel, the heritage of the land, and they're focused on the genealogy, a vain truth that Apostle Paul does away with. God has a spiritual heritage today. a spiritual Israel today. You are a spiritual Jew today, comprised of those who are the seed of the spiritual descendants chosen by him and symbolizing the continuity of his covenant promises of old. These individuals elected by God's sovereign grace represents the ongoing fulfillment of his redemptive plan, connecting past, present, and future generations. So this week, I will only touch on two verses. But dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us not be deceived by the falling away of those who once professed faith. For in the midst of apostasy, God's remnant remains, chosen people, called by His name and preserved by Him. His sovereign grace. They will not be swayed by the whims of culture, nor will they be shaken by the false teachings of the day, for they are anchored in the rock of ages and their hope is built on the unshakable foundation of God's infallible and inerrant inspired Word of God. This remnant will rise above the noise of the world. They won't allow it to be conformed to this world. but they will be transformed by the renewing of the word. They offer their bodies as a living sacrifice unto God. Do you? Say, God, I give you my life. God, I give you my body. Do for your will and your purpose. Lord, help me help you to do this. We are called to shine like beacons in the darkness. We are a light in this world. We are to proclaim the truth without apology, not compromising it, not sugarcoating it, but calling sinners to repent, not just believe, but to repent and stand firm in the face of adversity. Why? Because they know, they know, the people of God know who are chosen. We are loved, we are saved by the sovereign God of the universe in nothing. and nothing will separate you from the love of God. I want you to know that love isn't directed towards the unregenerate sinner, the wicked, a truth that is hard for churches to understand. It's only because they don't study the Bible. It's so clear. Thinking that God loves the wicked and all unregenerate, those who are not elect, chosen before the foundation of the world, as if God is wanting them to have a personal relationship with them and forgetting that God foreknowledge and predestinates and calls and justifies and glorifies already those who are in the Lamb's book of life. When? From afar. May we understand this hard to grasp reality that God's love towards you today will not separate you if you are the part of the spiritual heritage of God, the spiritual Israel of God, the remnant, the seed of God. So let us take heart, dear saints, let us stand firm in the faith, for we are the remnant, and we will rise above the apostasy of our day. Verse 27, a faithful remnant in a sea of apostasy. 27 says, Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. We are to sound the alarm. Israel, the chosen people of God, has apostatized. They have rejected their very Messiah they have been waiting for, Jesus Christ. But dear saints, do not think for a moment that God has abandoned his people. For within Israel, there is a true Israel, a remnant chosen by grace who have remained faithful to God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And what's more, this remnant is not limited to the physical descendants alone, which we are called. There's no confidence in the flesh. For God has expanded his spiritual heritage to include Gentiles, like you and me, who have been grafted into the vine of Jesus Christ. This remnant, this true Israel is a continuation of God's redemptive plan. a plan that spans generation and transcends ethnicity. They are the ones who have been preserved by God's sovereign grace, despite the apostasy of many. So let us not be fooled by the outward appearances of religiosity or the cultural heritage. For it is the heart that truly matters, and only those who have been transformed by the power of the gospel are the true sons and daughters of Abraham. So we are to proclaim to all, Jew and Gentile alike, no different, no favoritism. There is only one way to salvation. One way to be part of the true Israel. Through faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Will he be your Lord? And in verse 27, it says, Isaiah's also crieth concerning Israel, a burden in Isaiah's heart. Here, crieth means that Isaiah is proclaiming and declamering with passion that cries out this message about Israel's future. So then Paul is using Isaiah's words to support his argument that only a remnant of Israel will be saved. As it says, remember the context, not all of Israel is of Israel. It is a complete tragedy that Israel rejects the Lord Jesus Christ today. And then, complete tragedy. Christ the Messiah, and it's a reminder that the darkness and blindness that has gripped them, the stumble over the very cornerstone of salvation, the rock of offense amidst the blessings of eternal life, that's the devastating grip of pride. It blinds so many, even within the church. We see it in the Armenians, the Zionists, and the professing Christians all around us. Pride deafens them to the clear truth we've been studying for weeks. They flock to Bible colleges and seminaries. I'm gonna share this that you're not gonna hear in most churches. It's important. Why you don't hear it in most churches is because they're a product of a false church. They're a product of another way. So they're not gonna see it. The church of old did. Church history did. They spoke about it. It's amazing, as I brought it up in my studies, to see other men have the same thought of the problem that I see today. The devastating problem of the church today. Because most people are biblically illiterate to the purpose of the church. So let me share. Many professing Christians flock to Bible colleges and seminaries, shelling out thousands of dollars to learn about God, thousands. And these places make millions of dollars. But I say to you, for the most part, it's not God's will or design. In fact, it's not inerrant, it's not inspired by the Holy Spirit to do these things for your edification. The church should be feeding the flock freely, not profiting them for their desire for knowledge. Pride creeps in, and they begin to trust in their own understanding rather than the Holy Spirit guidance. They become puffed up with knowledge but lacking wisdom. Most of these colleges anyways, you're not learning that much but false teaching, dispensational theology. You're wasting thousands of dollars for false teaching. You go to this college and the pastor says, these very famous reformed pastors that have these colleges, they'll say, I want to disciple you, but you should do the master's program. But first, it's gonna cost you a lot of money. I can't disciple you freely, but as a pastor, I won't do that. Go to my master's college and pay a lot of money and you're gonna learn the Bible a lot. That's not God's method of learning. that is a human institution, not designed by God. God implemented the New Testament church to have more influence than any earthly institution. For thousands of years, you had Israel edifying, and then you have the church edifying until churches can't edify in the body of Christ, so they go out, and they have to go to a Bible college to learn about God and pay thousands of dollars, and these seminaries make thousands of dollars, or even these missionary boards. Missionary boards, I heard all these missionary boards. If you wanna be part of my missionary, I'm greater than your own local church, it acts like. I'll help you find other churches that you can go to to raise support, but the support you raise, you gotta give me 10%. It's a shame, a truth that the church doesn't see today. You don't hear about it. Very rare to see others seeing the importance of the church making disciples. You're called to make disciples, freely, willingly, wantingly, as a spiritual gift. It isn't a gift if you have to pay for it. We must not be swayed. We must remain humble, recognizing that all the truth comes from God's word. We must pray for those blinded by pride, that they may see the light of truth. Let us reject the greed of commercialization of God's word. Let us seek true wisdom given freely by our gracious Father. Let us walk in humility, dependent on the Holy Spirit guidance. Let me give you some Thoughts here. Fuller Theological Seminary. To go to that college, tuition is between $23,000 to $30,000 per year to learn about God. Let me give you some math here. So the seminary has around 2,500 students. Say the average tuition, I'm gonna give you an average, say around, let's say, $2,500. $5,000 per year per student. That college then makes $62,500,000 per year to teach God's Word. This doesn't include other means of revenue streams such as selling books. The dean of the college almost gets $200,000 a year. Huge numbers for just educating people on the Bible. You want to learn about God? You better get a job and afford it. Dallas Theological Seminary tuition is around, per year, $13,000 or $20,000. Wheaton College Graduation School tuition is around $14,000 or $20,000 per year. Liberty University School of Divinity tuition is 13,000 to 20,000 per year. Moody Theological Seminary, 12,000 to 8,000 per year. Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary tuition is 10,000 to 16,000 per year. As you see, this was never the means of your education. Churches have dropped the ball. You go to a church, they're more focused on edifying the new person that comes in that doesn't know Christ. So that's why they do topical sermons all the time. They don't expository the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book, so that you may learn and be edified the word of God. The minister, the pastor there isn't in your life on a personal level. There should be an investment in your life when you come to church. But most churches that we've ever been brought up with, if we are honest, they do not know how to teach the Scriptures are right. They don't, we've never been edified. And most of our edification, most of the time has come better off from our own personal studies than being in church today. Because the minister behind the pulpit gets money, so much money to be focused, not on you, but on the new people coming in. Fog machines, rap concerts, rock and roll for Jesus, everything else to be hip and relevant to the world. You're appeasing the world. You're appeasing the flesh. That's exactly what you're doing. There have been reformers and critics who have been spoken out against the idea that Bible colleges and seminaries have replaced the purpose of the church. Here's a few example. Alexandra Vennett. Born 1797, died 1847, a Swiss theologian who argued that theological education should be done within the context of the local church rather than separate institutions. Charles Spurgeon, 1834 through 1892, a British Baptist preacher who believed that theological education should be practiced in church-based rather than academic and institutionally driven. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, 1906-1945, a German theologian who criticized the institutional church and advocated for a more radical community-based approach to discipleship and theological education. Carl Henry, 1913-2003, an American theologian who argued that the church should be a primary place for theological education rather than separate institution. Frank Viola, in 1964 to present, an American author and theologian who has written extensively on the need for a more organic church-based approach to discipleship and theological education. John Zenz, 1945, present, an American author and theologian who has critiqued the institutional church and advocated for more participatory church-based approach to theological education. Trust me, the list is long. Here's a list of notable Reformed Christians who didn't have a formal Bible degree. George Whitefield, 1714 to 1770, British evangelist and preacher, self-taught in theology. John Bunyan, 1628 to 1688, English author and preacher, imprisoned for preaching without a license. How about that one? You don't have a license? You don't have a deigned license to be a minister? John Bunyan, for that, was arrested. That's where you get the book or the movie you've ever seen called The Pilgrim's Progress. Robert Moray, 1813 to 1843, a Scottish minister, mostly self-taught in theology. By the way, Charles Spurgeon, 1834 to 1892, British Baptist preacher, mostly self-taught in theology. George Mueller, 1805 to 1898, German-British evangelist and director of orphanages, self-taught in theology. David Bernard, American missionary, self-taught in theology. John Newton, British slave trader, turned minister, self-taught in theology, that you've come to know, the song Amazing Grace. Keep in mind, all these, though they didn't go to a college seminary to learn about God and pay thousands of dollars, they were self-taught at churches and they were discipled. The importance of church today is not a valuable thing. The church today should be the Bible college if you want to learn the scriptures. The church today is moving away from the purpose of the church so much so, you don't even hear this issue today. So that it's hard to find a church that sees its purpose. It's a serious problem. It's a really serious problem. Because they believe that you need to be qualified with a degree or that you need to be an intellectual with your speech. The church surely has problems that most churches, including reformed churches, are ignoring. Because they're part of the problem. The prophet Isaiah's cry, his crying voice thunders throughout the ages, crying out still, his words echoing out now. In this very moment, through the living, breathing pages of scripture, the word of God remains razor sharp, slicing through the noise of the modern word with relevance that's more piercing than Fox News or CNN News. Eight centuries before Christ's arrival, Isaiah's cry resounds throughout eternity, a call to awaken, a summons to repentance, a voice that refuses to be silenced. He cries out still, his words, a fiery rebuke to our complacency or our hypocrisy and our idolatry. He cries out still, a clarion call to return to the Lord, to seek his face and to find refuge in his mercy. He will hear. Who will hear his voice today? Will we heed his warning? In verse 27, through the children of Israel were as numerous as the sand of the sea, only a remnant chosen by God's sovereign grace would be saved. The vast expense of their numbers was no match for the depths of their depravity. For just as the sand of the sea is countless, so too are the sins of humanity. But God in his infinite wisdom and mercy chose to redeem a people for himself, not based on their own merits or works, but solely on the basis of God's own electing purpose. A remnant, a small select group was not saved because of their own righteousness or anything good in them. Jacob didn't deserve to be chosen. He was a deceiver. But God chose them. That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Here's a terrifying reality. Those who fall away and apostatize, who reject the Lord Jesus Christ, their greatest threat, their greatest threat isn't the opinions of men. nor the temptations of this world, nor the snares of Satan. They're already children of the devil. Their greatest threat is God, the wrath of God. You're either saved by God. You're also saved from God. But on the wicked, it is fully God's justified purpose. to punish and torment those who are vessels unto dishonor, a mystery that is sovereign that we will never comprehend. But they deserve it. Every one of us deserves the wrath, justice of God. So don't be deceived. The wrath of God is not a distant threat but a present reality for those who refuse to submit to his sovereignty. It is a culmination of his righteous anger against all that is unholy and all that is unrepentant. the pleasure of sin, the allurements of this world, the lies of Satan, all these will be consumed by the fiery wrath of God, and those who have apostatized, who have returned their backs on the Lord, will be left to face the full fury of his judgment. You will not be tormented by pitchforks, demons, and hell, but by God's consuming fire. He created it and designed it exactly, and He's pleased with His creation. All that He does is good. That is the horror. That is the terror, to be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Verse 28, God's righteous wrath swiftly we see on the earth, for He that finished the work and cut it short In righteousness, because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. This verse means that God will complete his work, judgment and salvation, but it will be cut short. It will be coming in a sudden. It won't be a drawn out thing. You also see his righteousness. You see his holy standards. But the phrase, a short work, indicates that God's judgment will be swift and decisive, not drawn out or delayed. He will make a sudden and final intervention in human history, bringing an end to evil and ushering in his righteous kingdom immediately. When He comes, He's come simultaneously at the second coming of Christ. The rapture isn't gonna happen before seven years of this. As pre-tribulation wants to teach you, where it's not even found anywhere in the Bible, the church will face tribulation. But after the greatest tribulation the church will face, and it's coming, the second coming of Christ will come, when Christ saves the last of the Gentiles. Beloved, the day of the Lord is swift, and righteous judgment is upon us. When will this happen, you ask? The scriptures tell us that it will occur at the end of the age when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, in Romans 11.25. Romans 11.25, for I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come. And it will happen when the Lord returns and at the present age is brought to a close. It will be a day of reckoning when the wicked are punished and the righteous are redeemed. And so this event is tied to the second coming of Christ when he will come in glory to judge the living and the dead. It will be a day of final separation. When the wheat is separated from the chaff and the sheep are separated from the goats, this is the final judgment. The final divide. Oh, God wants division today too. Only unity and truth. God wants us to divide from lies and unbelievers who do not want to believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ today. So let us be prepared, looking for the blessed hope of our Lord Jesus Christ that is coming. So let us live in eternity in view and coming judgment in mind. Let us strive to be found faithful and to be counted among the righteous when the Lord makes his short work upon the earth. In conclusion, dear brothers and sisters, let us tremble before the majesty of God's sovereignty. Let us reverence his holy name and acknowledge his righteous judgment, for he will finish his work and cut it short in righteousness. May we be found among the rendement, chosen by grace, saved by mercy. May we flee from the wrath to come and find refuge in the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we close, let us see this warning of Romans chapter 9, 27 through 28. Let us not presume upon God's patience, but rather let us repent and believe for in this end, it is not of works. but his work that will stand. May God grant us grace to humble ourselves, to seek his face and tremble before his word, for he is the Lord and his judgment is near. Amen. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we are called to be your church today. We are called to ignore the humanist ideologies and the philosophies of so many churches all around us that want to promote the church to not be a church but an evangelism outreach for the lost so that saints won't be edified. Lord, I pray that this church will be a place of edification. Lord, help us, though we're small, Lord. Build us up, Lord, as we are regrowing this church. Find us the right people. that want to grow and learn and that see this church to be different. For your glory and your glory alone, we give you glory and praise. Amen. And then please turn in your hymns, page 237. Page 237. But I'm going to go by a different tune. Arthur, don't be upset.