Sunday Worship - October 3, 2021

grace and the peace to you all good morning happy sunday today is a beautiful day this is the day that the lord has made and we're so happy to have you this morning worshiping with us welcome welcome welcome to church this morning our call to worship comes from isaiah chapter 12 and i'm reading from the english standard version you will say in that day i will give thanks to you o lord for though you were angry with me your anger turned away that you might comfort me behold god is my salvation i will trust and will not be afraid for the lord god is my strength under my son and he has become my salvation with a joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation and you will sing that day give thanks to the lord call upon his name make known his deeds among the peoples proclaim that his name is exalted sing praises to the lord for he has done gloriously let this be made known in all the earth shout and sing for joy o inhabitant of zion for great in your midst is the holy one of israel let us shout hallelujah hallelujah let your neighbors think you're going crazy shout hallelujah thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord there's no god like our god this morning and he has everything in control and all other gods are non-existent they are dead they are dead hallelujah thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord thank you lord [Music] hands up hearts open wide as the sky we lift [Music] as we cry god we lift your name [Music] [Music] open wide as we cry [Music] is [Music] [Music] let all the other names fade away [Music] let all the other names jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] whatever their names are this morning [Music] let's do it again whatever feelings [Music] [Music] let's do it one more time [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] jesus take your place [Music] in my life [Music] we lift you hurt will it be [Music] [Applause] [Music] somebody just lifted high this morning everywhere everywhere everywhere just lift your hands and just tell him something beautiful [Music] to hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah we worship you we adore you jesus [Music] thank you lord thank you jesus [Music] we lift you up [Music] thank you jesus [Music] [Music] oh for a thousand times this morning to praise your prayers hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah oh just let the princess rise anywhere oh he's still god he's still in control thank you lord thank you lord wow [Music] [Music] sometimes [Music] [Applause] [Music] to him [Music] to raise another to the king [Music] help me sing oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] oh [Music] [Music] to be foreign [Applause] [Music] let's just hum that chorus [Music] [Music] blue [Music] [Music] oh for a thousand hands to raise in honor let's [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] is to break [Music] is [Music] hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah oh man this morning i'm really missing the grace workshop choir choir members i miss you so much my god some days we were near a hundred how could i even use a hundred this morning and so we're gonna be singing a song god's choir in the sky go for your tambourines get it out [Music] do it again [Music] [Music] glory hallelujah almighty call us way up praise the name of jesus singing in the sky i heard a thousand trumpets sounding out his glory telling the story how he came to earth to die i heard a million voices praise the name of jesus singing in that squire in the sky [Applause] [Music] i heard the glorious song coming out of [Music] [Applause] [Music] loving world i heard a thousand trumpets sounding out this movie telling the story how we came to work i heard a million voices praise the name of jesus singing god's choir in the sky [Music] i fell down on my knees pray that when in heaven [Music] telling the story how we can praise the name of jesus singing god's choir let's do it again [Music] praise the name of jesus no singing let's just clap right now [Music] [Music] [Music] without [Music] telling [Music] praise the name of jesus singing in god's choir in the sky [Applause] in the sky hallelujah hallelujah thank you jesus hallelujah such a beautiful presence of the lord in this place this morning can i invite you wherever you are just to pause a moment and let's just lift our hands and really thank god for his beautiful presence hallelujah hallelujah thank you jesus thank you jesus and we're about to approach thrown right now so whatever you're doing just pause for one moment and let's just really talk to the lord right now as i pray please join me in prayer or sovereign god the one who knows all things the one in which you live move and have our being the creator of the ends of the earth the one who fainted not neither is weary the one in whom there's no searching of his understanding [Music] it is to you we look this morning dear god of heaven as we come to you we do so with the understanding that you are a sovereign god you know all things you do whatever you want to do whenever you want to do it and however you want to do [Music] and so lord we just want to acknowledge your sovereignty this morning we present to you this morning needs that only you alone can address there are individuals among us their god almighty who are not well in body needing your touch and lord that touch can only come from you that healing touch so we lift them up to you this morning lord wherever they are in their beds at home in the hospital wherever they may be right now god i present them to you let virtue flow from you dear god almighty to wherever they are touch their bodies god almighty from the crown of the head to the soul of their feet god almighty you know exactly what's happening with them in their bodies god you made the body and god almighty you know how to repair it so those who are afflicted this morning god whether be with cancer diabetes whether it be with a coronavirus whatever it is new moon of god there is nothing that's impossible for you to do so lord we ask that you extend a hand of healing to your people this morning touch every member of their every member of the body god almighty the heart the long the kidney deliver god almighty flow through god almighty and touch every one of these organs god [Music] let your blood flow through and grant healing this morning to your people oh god almighty there are individuals among us who have special need needing homes a home to live needing a job lord you are the great provider and we know god almighty that whatever is happening among us lord you're not scratching your head wondering what to do next you already know what to do and you've already made a way for your people god almighty there are some of us who will go through the fire and there are some of us who you will prevent from going into the fire but whatever it is god almighty we give you thanks just the same because you are god some will be delivered some will not be delivered but for those who will not be delivered god you give grace give them grace dear god to go through whatever they are going through this morning in the name of jesus in the name of jesus there are those god almighty who are fallen into depression because of this pandemic that is upon us but oh god we understand that you are in control and nothing god almighty will ever change our thought your plan for your people you designed it to happen this way lord so you have a plan that is for sure you have a plan and whatever your plan is we pray god that your will will be done in our lives in our situation in our circumstances whatever we find ourselves in we pray your will be done in our lives bless this service this meeting this morning touch every aspect of it god almighty your words that have been going forward towards god precious words we're learning so much about you [Music] we're letting god to trust you more and to depend on you more and more so we ask for your anointing god almighty upon your servant who will declare your word grant unto us god hearts that will receive your word open our mind open our understanding to what we will receive as you pour into your servant god almighty who will then pour into us god almighty help us to receive what you have to say to us today in the name of jesus touch every heart god almighty wherever they are those who are viewing us by facebook live or on youtube god almighty remember them this morning faithful listeners who tune in sunday after sunday to listen to this broadcast and to feed in your word upon your word remember them god almighty and grant them a special blessing i pray they are individuals god almighty who pour their finances to help us their god almighty so that we can meet our needs on a daily basis we accept you remember them wherever they are continue to bless them i pray dear god that there will always be provisions for them lord bless their finances bless their finances in a very special way we recognize their god at these times are really difficult and individuals are struggling god almighty to trying to make ends meet and sometimes this can become so depressing but lord we know that you are god and you're able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think so we pray in the name of jesus that you remember these individuals bless them in a very special way bless the remainder of this service this morning touch lies transform lies draw men and women to you god almighty in the name of jesus reacts all these blessings and we thank you from a sincere heart a heart of gratitude we say thank you lord thank you lord for what you have done what you are doing and what you will do in the life of your people from this day forward we give you thanks for hearing and answering our prayer and for allowing our cry to come unto you in the name of jesus christ of you say thanks hallelujah hallelujah in jesus name [Music] grace and peace everyone the word of the lord comes to us from john 11 verses 17 to 45 and i am reading the new living translation when jesus arrived he found that lazarus has been in the tomb four days already now bethany was less than two miles from jerusalem so many of the jewish people of the region had come to martha and mary to console them over the loss of their brother so when martha heard that jesus was coming she went out to meet him but mary was sitting in the house martha said to jesus lord if you had been here my brother would not have died but even now i know that whatever you ask from god god will grant you jesus replied your brother will come back to life again martha said i know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day jesus said to her i am the resurrection and the life the one who believes in me will live even if he dies and the one who lives and believes in me will never die do you believe this she replied yes lord i believe that you are the christ the son of god who comes into the world and when she had said this martha went and called her sister mary saying privately the teacher is here and is asking for you so when mary heard this she got up quickly and went to him now jesus had not yet entered the village but was still in the place where martha had come out to meet him when the people who were with martha with mary in the house consoling her saw her get up quickly and go out they followed her because they thought she was going to the tomb to weep there now when mary came to the place where jesus was and saw him she fell at his feet and said to him lord if you had been here my brother would not have died when jesus saw her weeping and the people had come with her weeping he was intensely moved in the spirit and greatly distressed he asked where have you laid him they replied lord come and see jesus whipped thus the people who had come to mourn said look how much he loved him but some of them said this is a man who caused the blind man to see couldn't he have done something to keep lazarus from dying jesus intensely moved again came to the tomb no it was a cave and the stone was placed across it jesus said take away the stone martha the sister of the disease replied lord by this time the body will have had a bad smell because he has been buried four days jesus responded didn't i tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of god so they took away the stone jesus looked upward and said father i thank you that you have listened to me i knew that you always listen to me but i said this for the sake of the crowd standing around here that they may believe that you sent me and when he said this he shouted with a load voice lazarus comfort the one who had died came out his feet and hands tied with the strips of cloth and a cloth wrapped around his face jesus said unto him to them unwrap him and let him go what a god we serve awesome who raises the dead and we are alive today because he died and rose again and we too like lazarus when we receive our lord jesus christ we'll rise again [Music] praise god and i'm so happy to take this opportunity to welcome you all this morning to the grace workshop ministries it's always a pleasure to have you viewing us wherever you are in your bedroom in your kitchen in your living room anywhere you are we want to bless the lord and to thank him that you are alive this morning and can join us too so to all our saints and visitors in personally viewing via youtube live welcome this is the schedule of announcements for october 3 to 10. on wednesday october 6 at 7 30 p.m we have eventide prayer via zoom and youtube on thursday october 7th at 7 30 pm bible study via youtube all members are asked to participate and on sunday october 10th we come back to you 9 00 a.m there's going to be prayer in all our homes and at 9 30 b we begin worship service via youtube and if there are any changes to our schedule of services you will be informed via social media platforms or you can also call the church office at 876-926-0612 876-335-8016 and do remember our bible reading schedule continue daily we're on the journey under the theme lessons for living and today we are at ecclesiastics 10 verses 1 to 7. we want to invite your attention to the screen where you will be reminded of the different ways you can give your tithes and offerings and we just want to take the time out to tell you on behalf of our pastor that we appreciate your giving to the cause of christ this many strict takes funds and um we are so grateful to you that you give out of your small amount the lord richly bless you and for those persons who are celebrating birthday anniversaries whatever you're celebrating today maybe even a friendship we want to wish you god's richest blessings and we trust this week will be a happy one for you and we pray that god will bless you happy birthday happy anniversary and please do enjoy and we ask that you continue to pray for those who are bereaved sick and have special needs have a blessed week and may the grace of our lord jesus christ be with you all praise god [Music] more about jesus [Music] i can't get enough of this song can you [Music] thank you jesus hallelujah [Music] let's sing verse one [Music] [Music] his grace [Music] [Music] [Music] who died for me is [Music] [Music] [Music] love who died for me [Music] about jesus [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] to me [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] me [Music] [Music] [Music] hearing kids [Music] is [Music] me [Music] thank you lord thank you lord [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] me [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] one more time more [Music] is [Music] of his saving fullest [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] yes [Music] foundation [Music] hello [Music] foreign [Music] more more about jesus more of his saving fullness [Music] more of his saving fullness more of his love who died for me one of the reasons why i love the doctrines of grace so much is because as far as i am aware there is no system of theology that celebrates the person and work of jesus christ as much as the doctrines of grace they leave no room absolutely no room for man to receive any glory they specify that salvation is from beginning to end a work of god alone it is god alone who must be glorified man plays no rule more more about jesus we give the lord thanks for this wonderful privilege that we have to share his word it is a awesome responsibility which we take very seriously we are still [Music] working with our text john chapter 3 verses 1 to 10 or theme born from above we welcome you to share with us as we just look at this powerful most relevant and impactful passage of scripture we will be reading from the king james version there was a man of the pharisees named nicodemus a ruler of the jews the same came to jesus by night and said unto him rabbi we know that thou art a teacher come from god for no man can do these miracles that thou doest accept god be with him jesus answered and said unto him verily verily i say unto thee except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of god nicodemus saith unto him how can a man be born when he is old can he enter this second time into his mother's womb and be born jesus answered verily verily i say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of god that which is born of the flesh's flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit marvel not that i said unto thee ye must be born again the wind bloweth where it listeth and though here is the sound thereof but canst not tell whence it cometh and whether it goeth so is everyone that is born of the spirit nicodemus answered and said unto him how can these things be jesus answered and said unto him art though a master of israel and knowst not these things or god and father once again we stand before your people urgently needing your help we need you to take this frail feeble sinful human voice and magnify it so that your people hear not the voice of a sinful man but the voice of a holy god cause those whom you will to hear your voice and to follow you in the name of jesus christ amen brothers and sisters we have been saying that the conversation recorded in this passage between the lord jesus and nicodemus is one of the most important in the bible nowhere else in the bible do we find more emphatic statements regarding the subject of regeneration than we do in these verses we have been saying that this passage is fundamental foundational to our understanding of how god actually saves sinners lost men and women and brothers and sisters i have to say that for many of us this is perhaps the first time or one of the few times that we are hearing of the doctrine of regeneration in fact there are several precious doctrines of the bible that some of us never really knew about we might have heard the words and the concepts mentioned but we never went into them in any depth until maybe recently so we didn't really know what the atonement was about not in depth we didn't know what justification was not in depth we didn't know what um sanctification was not in depth real sanctification i am talking about many of the precious truths in scripture we just passed over because our theology was almost entirely a book of acts theology and this is why brothers and sisters we are spending the time to deal with this passage i believe that some of you would wish that we would have gone more speedily but we can't afford to and we are not speaking now to instruct an audience that is far afield i am teaching so that the members of the grace workshop ministries can be edified my call is to the members of the grace workshop ministries i'm not called to an audience outside of the grace workshop ministries i'm not saying that other persons who don't worship with us may not be edified and helped but i'm saying my calling is to this body of people and my primary ministry is to the grace workshop ministries and god is going to hold me accountable for my ministry to the grace workshop ministries and may i say to may i use this opportunity to say to those of you who are regular listeners of ours whether you are in jamaica or overseas we sincerely appreciate your participation and if you have been blessed in even a small way we are very grateful but we would like to say to you that it is very important that you worship regularly with a group of believers who believe the truth so that you can be edified and strengthened i don't believe that you can receive all that you should receive by just listening to this ministry you have to regularly gather with other believers who love the truth i hope you understand what i'm saying in verse 3 of our text jesus informs nicodemus that in order for him to see or perceive the kingdom of god it is a necessity in the nature of the case that he be born again the greek word translated again is anathen which according to the scottish theologian william barkley has three different meanings the word can mean the beginning in the sense of completely or radically it can mean again in the sense of for the second time and it can also mean above and therefore from god we have stated that it is our opinion that the primary meaning that our lord desire to convey to nicodemus by the word anathen is from above because he wants to emphasize to nicodemus that regeneration is the sovereign work of god alone quite apart from any human contribution and we have been making that point repeatedly as a pharisee nicodemus would have spent his entire adult life focused on doing in order to attain right standing with god and gain entry into his kingdom but jesus desires for nicodemus to understand that a person attains right standing with god and gains entry into his kingdom not by doing but by being in other words it is not what we make of ourselves but what god makes of us that enables us to attain rights standing with him and gain entry into his kingdom in order to attain right standing with god and gain entry into his kingdom we have to be regenerated or born again we have to be born from above nicodemus apparently understood our lord's use of the word anathem to mean again in the sense of for the second time which explains his reply in verse 4 how can a man be born when he is old can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born however jesus's reply to nicodemus's question in verses 6 to 8 imply that he referred to the need for a spiritual birth a birth that has its origin or its source in heaven the realm of the above in these verses jesus stresses the point that the new birth must be the work of the holy spirit and the holy spirit comes from the above regeneration or new birth requires a supernatural work of the holy spirit in the life of a believing sinner in regeneration the believing sinner is raised from spiritual death to spiritual life he or she is given a new heart and is thereby made able and willing to repent of his or her sins and to trust jesus christ for salvation this is a work accomplished by god alone it must be because the sinner is absolutely incapable of doing anything to help himself or herself the bible makes it clear that in a spiritual sense unsaved individuals are not merely sick or critically ill or even in a comatose state they are dead in trespasses and sins as a result of the fall of adam every part of every human being has been radically corrupted by sin the biblical view is that the effects of the fall extend and penetrate to every area of the existence of every human being the fall of man and the effects of the fall point to what theologians refer to as original sin and we have been dealing with this and brothers and sisters as i said at the start i'm taking my time to go through this and to repeat over and over again the same things because it is important for us to understand these foundational doctrines we have said that original sin does not refer primarily to the first sin committed by adam and eve but rather to the result of their sin which was the corruption of the entire human race the doctrine of original sin teaches that sin singular is an inherited disease which inevitably bears fruit in the form of sins plural we may say that sins plural are the symptoms of this sin singular disease as long as an individual is naturally born he or she is lost dead in trespasses and sins there is no natural way in which this situation can be remedied in light of the radical corruption or spiritual deadness of the human race the only way the only way that a person can be saved is for god to overcome his or her radical corruption or spiritual deadness in such a way that he or she is able to recognize the helplessness and hopelessness of his or her condition his or her spiritually blinded eyes must be opened and the bondage of sin that renders him or her entirely enslaved must be broken so that he or she can respond in faith to the gospel message in other words he or she must first be regenerated are born from above unless and until god intervenes and breathes spiritual life into dead sinners their radical corruption or spiritual deadness will manifest itself in their natural refusal to accept god's offer of salvation it is absolutely impossible for them to do otherwise there is no way that they can respond to any spiritual stimulus because they are spiritually dead in our examination of john chapter 6 and verses 44 and 65 we learned that jesus christ himself definitively stated that it is not possible for any person to come to him unless that person is drawn to him are allowed to come to him by the father in john chapter 6 and verse 37 our lord states very clearly that every single person who is given to him by the father will come to him without fail there are to be no exceptions those who are given to jesus by the father are not able to successfully resist the drawing of the father now if every person who is given to jesus by the father actually comes to him then it must follow that those who do not come to jesus were not given or drawn to him by the father that is obvious in john chapter 10 verses 24 to 28 we read the following then came the jews round about him and said unto him how long dost thou make us to doubt if thou be the christ tell us plainly jesus answered them i told you and ye believe not the works that i do in my father's name they bear witness of me but ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep as i said unto you my sheep hear my voice and i know them and they follow me and i give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand in verse 26 our lord says but ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep commenting on this verse arthur pink explains that jesus was not merely stating that the jewish religious leaders to whom he was speaking were unbelievers he was saying much more than that he was informing them of the reason for their persistent unbelief he says very clearly ye believe not because you are not of my sheep faith had not been granted to them because they were not among the number of gods elect they had not been chosen by god in christ before the foundation of the world and therefore they had not been given to christ as a gift from the father consequently the father had not drawn them to christ because the only persons whom he draws to christ are those whom he has given as a gift to christ there would be no reason to draw anybody else brothers and sisters the reality is that any person who does not eventually come to jesus christ and believe in him does not do so because he or she is not one of his sheep this is what the scripture says a person does not believe to become one of christ's sheep rather he or she believes because or she is one of christ's sheep so we do not believe to become we are and therefore we believe their redemption the redemption of god's elect is certain because it is secured by the sovereign purpose and power of god himself to draw them to jesus god will lead to saving faith all those whom he plans to redeem there will be no exceptions in verse 27 jesus says my sheep hear my voice and i know them and they follow me in this verse the lord contrasts the elect from the non-elect listen to me carefully my beloved brethren god's elect hear the voice of their great shepherd they hear his voice because they are his sheep they hear their shepherd's voice because the sovereign god imparts to them the capacity to hear and recognize his voice each and every one of the sheep hears when the irresistible call comes to them and they respond [Music] just as lazarus in the grave heard when christ called him and he responded by walking out of the place of internment you will remember that jesus did not ask lazarus to cooperate with him you know jesus didn't plead with him and say to him lazarus you know i want to do this miracle so that people will believe in me but if you don't cooperate no matter how much i want to do this i will be unable to do it because i really need your input not at all no no no a thousand times no jesus cried with the lord voice lazarus come forth lazarus had no choice he was not given a choice he was commanded and he had to come and so it is with those who are spiritually dead they hear the voice they hear the command in their grave and they have to come forth in an effort to help us to understand the irresistible nature of god's call or his drawing indeed to help us to understand his whole mysterious and efficacious work of salvation we are going to briefly examine romans chapter 8 verses 28 to 30s certainly we won't be able to deal with this uh passage in detail every verse of this passage could consume a whole month of presentations if not more but we're going to deal with the passage briefly romans chapter 8 and verse 28 is certainly one of the most remarkable verses in the bible the new english translation renders the verse as follows and we know we know that god causes everything to work together for the good of those who love god and are called according to his purpose for them here the apostle gives an absolute guarantee that for those who love god because they have been called to fulfill his design purpose every detail of their lives is continually woven together to fit into god's perfect plan of bringing good into their lives but what is this amazing guarantee based upon in the next two verses paul explains to us the basis of this amazing guarantee and the reason for his great assurance and he does so by using five words the words are for no predestinate called justified and glorified for no predestinate called justified and glorified the king james version translate verses 29 and 30 as follows for whom he did for no he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be that is the son 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 in these two verses paul informs us that the reason why all things work together for the good of god's elect is simply because of the fact that god is absolutely sovereign and therefore no purpose of his can be thwarted the calling referred to in verse 28 is the working of the everlasting purpose of god in his elect by this purpose god decreed before the foundations of the world were laid that he would deliver those whom he had chosen in christ from curse and damnation and he would bring them by christ to everlasting salvation we may be sure that all things work for our good not so much because we love the god who works all things together but more importantly because the god who works all things together loves us and chose us and carries us through these successive steps of our spiritual life until we are glorified in verses 29 and 30 the apostle paul highlights the sequence known as the ordo salutes a latin term which means the order of salvation the order in which almighty god saves his people even a cursed reading of the verses indicates very clearly that this order of salvation is from start to finish a work of the lord listen to what paul says for whom he did for no he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son that he the son 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 it is god himself and nobody else who does the foreknowing the predestinating the calling the justifying and the glorifying paul makes no mention here of god doing his part and then depending on human beings to do their part he does not say that if human beings do not cooperate with god the process will be aborted paul knows that god will bring to completion every project that he begins and that he is never dependent on human beings to finish what he initiates paul underscores this truth in philippians chapter one and verse six and we know it he says being confident of this very thing that he which have begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of jesus christ the new living translation renders the verse as follows and i am certain that god who began the good work within you will continue his work until it is finished on the day when christ jesus returns when people ask me when they express a concern as to whether they can live a christian life after they are saved i have one question for them i say to them who started the work in you if you started it then your situation is hopeless but if god started it he's going to finish it i tell people if god was not sure absolutely certain that he was able to bring you all the way he would never have started god never starts anything that he does not finish in fact when he starts there's a sense in which he has already finished god didn't make a mistake when he saved us brothers and sisters we were chosen in christ before the foundation of the world it is not that god initiates our salvation and then leaves it up to us to complete it by our good works hear me our good works are important for this serve as evidences of the genuineness of our salvation but our good words cannot earn salvation or maintain it god and god alone is the one who saves he starts the work and he finishes it without any help from us according to hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 jesus christ is the author and he is the finisher of our faith or the champion who initiates and perfects our faith as the new living translation renders the clause according to romans chapter 8 and verse 29 listen to me very carefully now brethren we are moving out of the shallows and we are now going into the deep according to romans chapter 8 and verse 29 the first step in the salvation of a person is not when he or she hears and believes the gospel contrary to what you may have been taught no no no the first step in the salvation of a person is god's foreknowledge of him or her this is what this scripture says the word for no is a translation of the greek word prognoscope which means to know before that's what the greek word means the word as it is used by paul here means more than mere previous knowledge it means for our donation this is exactly how the translators of the king james version have rendered the same greek word prognoscope in first peter chapter 1 and verse 20 where peter speaks of christ as the lamb who verily was four arden pragnoscope before the foundation of the world but was manifest in these last times for you so though he was only manifest in these last times yet he was for ordained from before the world began in the context of romans 8 29 the word for no refers to the act of god knowing his elect in advance and designating them to the position of saved persons before this universe was created this for knowing is always the result of the exercise of god's deliberative judgment i was thinking about this uh the other day and i was brought to a place of brokenness when i considered that this was not a horrid decision on the part of god it was the result of his deliberative judgment before he chose me in christ before the foundation of the world he gave thought to it he deliberated on it why in the world he would have chosen me i will never know this is what boggles my mind and brings me to my knees in tears ah let us be very clear brothers and sisters when paul uses the word for no in this verse he does not mean for us to understand that god looked down the so-called corridors of time and knew that there would be some who would make a decision to serve him after hearing the gospel and in light of this knowledge electing them no no no when paul says god for knew his elect he's speaking of god's decision to enter into a saving relationship with them and to set his love upon them it is because god chose to love his elect that they believe the gospel and are saved only those whom god chooses to love in this special way can be saved and all those whom he has chosen to love in this way will be saved in his commentary on the book of romans dr rc sproul expressed the view that the opening clause of romans chapter 8 verse 29 could reasonably be translated as follows those whom he foreloved those whom he knew in a personal intimate redemptive sense from all eternity he predestined the second step in the salvation of a person is god's predestined [Music] of him or her to be conformed to the image of jesus christ the word predestinate is the translation of the greek word pro-original which means to put limits or boundaries upon something or someone beforehand it means to pre-determine paul is advising us that those who were for known or for ordained to be saved had special limitations placed upon them relative to the salvation which they would receive namely to be conformed to the image of the lord jesus christ and to be adopted as god's adult sons thus predestination is the effective caring out of god's will in the case of those who are for ordained to salvation paul refers to this in ephesians chapter one verses three to five which we considered in an earlier lesson blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in christ according as he has 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 brothers and sisters hear me after god for knew the elect he put a label on them which read to be conformed to the image of my son the elect were to be reserved they were to be kept for just that purpose and no other this confirmation to the image of the lord jesus is the work of the holy spirit in the process which is called sanctification a process which begins the moment the sinner is saved and continues until he or she is glorified the third step in the salvation of a person is god's effectual call are his irresistible summons of that person and we are going to spend a longer time on this third step because well you will see why paul says moreover whom he did predestinate them he also called those whom god foreknew in respect of salvation and who were predestinated to conform to the image of his son were also called by him the greek word translated called this kaleo according to finds expository dictionary of biblical words the word kaleo is used particularly of the divine call to partake of the blessings of redemption the word kaleo was used in the first century as a technical word in legal practice and meant unofficial summons as in the case of the summoning of a witness to court the word means more than a mere invitation it is a divine summons the ones summoned are made willing to obey the summons not against their will but with their free will and consent it is an effectual call the one who is so-called always responds positively listen to me brethren this is going to get really wonderful when we speak of the call of god we are referring to the process by which the soul which was dead in trespasses and sins hears the voice of god and is translated out of death into life in john 5 24-25 our lord said verily verily i say unto you he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me half everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life very literally i say unto you the always coming and no is that means it is happening as we speak when the dead shall hear the voice of the son of god and they that here shall live all they need to do to live is to hear the voice of the son of god the call the irresistible call of god does this sound familiar brothers and sisters do we understand that this call of god is synonymous with regeneration this call of god is the same as his drawing of his elect to jesus when god issues his summons to a person he or she is born again or born from above brothers and sisters it is very important for us to recognize that there are two calls spoken of in the bible which must be carefully differentiated from each other let me take my time with this there is an outward call that is universal and there is an inward call that is specific to the elect a call which produces life in them the outward call comes to human beings in the proclamation of the gospel our lord refers to this outward call in matthew 22 14. he says for many are called but few are chosen hear me the greek word translated called in this verse is not kaleo the divine summons of romans 8 30 the word used in matthew 22 14 is clear to us according to vines expository dictionary of biblical words the word cletus is used to speak of an invitation an invitation may be refused it is used of the call of the gospel it is not used to refer to an effectual call listen to me the inward call of god is the effect of his eternal foreknowledge and predestination to conform those whom he has chosen to the image of his son jesus christ but this inward call of god is also the actual cause the actual means the actual implementation of the eternal purpose whereby we are conformed to the image of god's son the inward call is therefore the same as regeneration or the new birth the birth from above those who have been inwardly called kaleo go about proclaiming the outward call cletus to all men the lord jesus ordained that we should do this in matthew 28 19 to 20 human beings human beings human beings are used of god to give the outward call but only god can give the inward call the outward call can and is often rejected but the inward call is always obed two people will be sitting in the same church listening to this same gospel message and when the message is preached one turns and walks out of the door untouched and unchanged the other sitting right beside him is forever changed because they have not just heard the voice of the preacher they have heard the voice of the shepherd they have received the inward call while the person who sat beside them just heard when the preacher said is there anyone who wants to give their life to jesus the outward call we would not be doing violence to the word of god if we were to paraphrase matthew 22 14 in the following manner many are called outwardly but few are called inwardly the inward call is the operation of the holy spirit within the heart of those whom god has chosen unto himself before the foundation of the world it is an operation that exerts a life-giving power that effectually makes those who are dead in trespasses and sins alive and raises them up to sit in heavenly places in christ jesus the mark of the individuals who have been foreknown and predestined is that they have been effectually queen are made alive so that the life of god has become their life none of us knew when we were elected none of us knew when we were chosen in christ before the foundation of the world none of us knew when we were predestined but we knew when we were called you see that is when salvation actually begins this is when it becomes a reality in the life of the sinner who has been chosen it has been a reality with god from eternity but it becomes a reality in time for us who are saved when the call comes and regeneration takes place goodbye world i stay no longer with you you never say that until the call comes this call does not merely tell the blind that they should open their eyes and see this call gives sight to the blind this call does not merely tell the deaf that they should use the powers which they have in order to hear this call and stops the ears of the death and bring such life to the ear that the softest whisper of god can be heard by the soul forevermore my sheep hear my voice and i know them and they follow me this call does not merely command the dead to come out of their graves this call imparts life life that is so powerful that it raises the dead and permanently transfers the sinner from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of god son i'm getting excited because this is exciting let me try and behave it is possible this is solemn now brothers and sisters it's a reality it is possible for a person to hear the outward call and make a profession of faith he or she the one who hears only the outward call may even submit to what a baptism and they may speak in some kind of tongues at an altar such persons may become members of the visible church those who hear the inward call and are therefore genuinely converted become members not only of the visible church but of the invisible church the true ecclesia hearing and responding to the outward call only may have the effect of uniting us to a group of professing members but the inward call unites us to jesus christ himself and to all those who have been genuinely born from above the outward call may bring with it a certain intellectual knowledge of the truth and produce external changes and a conformity to creeds and standards the inward call does much more the inward call brings with it a radical heart change it brings with it the faith and the hope which anchors us forever in jesus christ it brings with it a love which always draws us back to him who first loved us even when we stray love doesn't let us go the inward call will gradually conform us to the image of jesus christ and will one day cause us to be perfectly old the fourth step in the salvation of a person is god's justifying of that person justification paul informs us that whom he called them he also justified this next link in this supernatural chain of sovereign grace the order of salutes has to do with the recording of our redemption in the eternal books of heaven we were for known in the eternal decree of god predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son and then when we were effectually called answering to the calling as it takes place on earth in the heart of the individual believer is our justification which takes place in heaven as god pronounces his eternal verdict of not guilty because he counts us righteous in christ all of those who are effective you effectually call sorry are justified so we are talking about a simultaneous event the call comes to us here on earth and a change takes place in our hearts and at the same time our redemption is recorded in heaven as actually occurring confirming our previous for ordination and predestinating justification may be defined as that act by which unjust sinners are made right in the sight of a just and holy god the greatest need of sinners is righteousness it is this lack of righteousness that is supplied by jesus christ on behalf of the believing sinner justification by faith alone means justification by the righteousness or the merits of christ alone not by the sinner's merit or by his or her good works in justification god records in heaven that an individual whom he has previously chosen for salvation and planned that he or she should be like christ has been effectually called and is no spiritual alive through the process of salvation the justification of god is forensic in other words it is a legal justification that is recognized by the supreme court of heaven there are churches that will not pass you saved because you have not met their specifications but that doesn't matter if the courts the religious courts on earth don't pass you as being saved but you are passed by the supreme court of heaven it doesn't matter what men say it is the judge of judges himself who makes the declaration we are declared uncounted to be righteous when god imputes or credits the righteousness of christ to our account having first imputed or credited our sins to the account of jesus christ what an amazing transaction those whom god called into salvation he justifies that is he takes away the guilt and penalty of their sins and bestows upon them a positive righteousness this positive righteousness is jesus christ himself in whom the believer stands for ever innocent uncondemned and righteous in point of law our position in jesus christ is secure because we have been legally declared righteous by god hear me i don't care what you learned before when god justifies a person he gives that person a standing before him that is so impeccable so pure and so spotless that no power in heaven or earth or hell can bring any condemning accusation against him or her the fifth and final step in the salvation of a person is god's glorification of him or her the apostle rights whom he justified them he also glorified the word glorified is the translation of the greek word doxazo glorification refers to the act of god transforming the entire being of the persons whom he foreknew predestinated called and justified the transformation is so complete that their whole spirit and soul and body is perfected forever rendering them permanently immune to sin and all its effects peter tells us in first peter chapter 1 verse 21 that when god raised up christ from the dead he gave him glory in the upper room the lord jesus in his prayer to his father said and the glory which thou gavest me i have given them that they may be one even as we are one john chapter 17 verse 22 we are one day to share the resurrection glory of the lord jesus christ it does not yet appear what we shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him like him because we will see him as he is brothers and sisters everything which we receive from god is a gift of his grace nothing that comes to us from god's foreknowledge of us through to his glorification of us could have ever come to us in any other way than by grace for this reason we are persuaded that glorification will come to all of god's elect since every step in the process of salvation is bound up with the sovereignty of god the unchangeable of his purpose and the constancy of his good pleasure and since they are all brought about because of the effectual working of his mighty power then the glorification of those who have been foreknown predestinated called and justified by the grace of god is absolutely certain for their glorification is also a gift of god's grace even though glorification obviously has to do with a future event paul speaks about the glorifying of the saints in romans 8 30 in the past tense he does not say that god will one day glorify those whom he has justified but he says whom he justified them he also glorified past tense this is absolutely amazing it is the highest anticipation of faith that even the new testament contains paul is trying to get us to understand that when god chose us in christ before the foundation of the world he did not merely purpose that we should be clothed sorry that we should be delivered from sin but he also purpose that we should be clothed in his glory what we have to understand is that in the mind of god we are already glorified it must happen it cannot help what happened because he the sovereign god is the one who is to glorify us and who are what can prevent him from doing so because salvation is from start to finish a sovereign work of god we can be assured that the position of a saved person in jesus christ is entirely secure next week lord willing we will shine the spotlight on our lord's statement to nicodemus in john chapter 3 verse 5 verily verily i say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter the enter into the kingdom of god i just want to read quickly to you the words of a song for those who come from an apostolic background it is him 165 in the pentecostal hymnal a very curious song in some sense to be found in an apostolic hymnal listen to the words carefully i'm going to read and close with this that god should love a sinner such as i should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss nor rest till he had planned to bring me nigh how wonderful is love like this listen to the second verse that christ should join so freely in this game join with whom that christ should join so freely in this scheme although it meant his death on calvary did every human tongue find no blaspheme than love divine that ransomed me that for a willful outcast such as i the father planned the savior bled and died redemption for a worthless slave to buy who long had law and grace defied and now he takes me to his heart as on he asks me not to fill a servant's place the far-off country wanderings all are done wide open are his arms of grace such love such wondrous love such love such wondrous love that god should love a sinner such as i how wonderful is love like this god bless you richly until next week lord willing so [Music] [Music] more about jesus [Music] is [Music] who died for me about jesus [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] see [Music] more about jesus [Music] [Music] [Applause] my [Music] me [Music] oh [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] his words [Music] [Music] [Music] jesus [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh is [Music] [Music] [Applause] one more time without the music [Music] thank you [Music] hallelujah thank you jesus thank you jesus the bible says known unto god are all his works from the beginning of the world indeed the lord knows all about us he knows our thoughts he knows our actions before we act them out and so today as we have heard the word i pray our response will be that of a humble child seeking advice of his father or mother but most of all that mindset that we would go to god in that humbling way and say lord i believe help though my unbelief we've heard a lot today some of it may not be easy to grasp but the lord is taking us on a journey and on that journey there are some challenging things that we must go through amen just like the children of israel it wasn't easy for them as the lord took them out of what had become their own place in egypt they had become so comfortable there but as he took them out into a better line or looking forward to a better land there are some lessons that they needed to learn and some lessons that they needed to unlearn and i believe the lord is taking us as a church as we near our fourth year anniversary as the grace workshop ministries the lord is gradually taking us to a place where he wants us to be he wants to teach us some things and he wants to teach us some things that we need to get rid of or unlearn and so today as i started out by saying known unto god are all his works before the foundation of the world he knew we would be at this point amen and he has supplied everything we need all we need to do is go to him and ask him to help us amen amen we're so grateful that you joined us here this morning or this afternoon and sharing with us in worship in the scriptures in the songs and in the word as it went forth today we pray that you were blessed we pray that the lord continue to guide you along your journey as a believer and if you're a part of our fellowship we pray that you'll continue to do what the lord desires you to do in supporting his work and each other amen if you're a visitor of ours we're so thankful that you were able to tune in if it's your first time we're grateful to have you please like share and subscribe we have some very very interesting things that you can look up and be edified and also be aware of who we are and what we're about amen but before we close off just like to pray as we move into another week as we close off our in gathering or service online service for today could you bow your heads where you are right now dear lord jesus we thank you for today this is the day that you have made and we will rejoice and be glad in it indeed lord as believers we definitely need to know more about you and we need to do so in the right way we need to be patient we need to be humble as you lord god unfold the scriptures to us as you walk us through this life on earth lord jesus as we look around us and we see what's happening it's easy lord god to see that we are in a time lord where we need you now more than ever with all that's happening in our country with all that's happening in our world it's important that we draw closer to you through your word through your scriptures lord in devotion time to you just having that mind of god to deal with what is happening in our world today lord we recognize through your teaching through our pastor that god we are not left up to ourselves to live this life and because we are not left up to ourselves lord there is hope we don't have to lord god be hopeless thinking or what if i can't accomplish or i can't get up to the standard lord you have told us through your word that you will carry us through you will be with us every step of the journey every step of the way and it is because lord jesus you have handpicked us as your word declares because we are a part of your family because we are your children what faces us today is a light matter in your eyes and god all we need to do is look to you our father lord it's hard sometimes when we listen to the news and we hear the murders and the debts in our country the corruption lord god we would want for our country to be better we would love for our country to be a peaceful country a law-abiding country lord we of ourselves cannot change it but you lord if you will it to be you can bring low the leaders of government you can change their hearts with just one word lord god we've seen you do it before in the scriptures and lord as we beseech you we know you can do it again you can heal the bodies of those who are not well in our fellowship lord those who are ailing lord hurt him lord you can heal them and mend their broken hearts you can provide for those lord who have lost their jobs lost their income lord even lose in their homes you can provide for them for those of us god who are in a spiritual deficit stuck in the mood confused you are able lord to open up our understanding to the scriptures you are willing to be patient with us god we pray that lord as we continue in this journey as we continue in this walk lord we will have a better understanding of who you are not a task master willing to pull out their whip lord to get us in line but a loving father and friend who is willing and waiting oh god to guide us hand in hand to the promised land lord jesus we thank you for allowing us to minister to your people we thank you for those who were integral in our service this morning or this afternoon lord our technical persons or singers or musicians lord those who lord god came to share the scriptures and lord speak a word o god of greeting and those who prayed we thank you for each and every person we thank you for our leadership team we thank you lord we thank you for the support that we receive lord jesus and we pray that you continue to bless your people to encourage them god so that they can continue to live out their lives for you as a testament of your goodness to them we thank you we glorify your name we exalt you for who you are in jesus name we pray amen amen thanks once again for tuning in and we hope to see you this week in our evening thai prayer as well as our bible study on thursday that's our bible study and thursday and our evening tide prayer on wednesday on behalf of our pastor pastor john mark bartlett and lady alicia bartlett and the entire grace workshop ministries family have a wonderful rest of the week may the grace of the lord jesus christ be with you all you

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Length: 137min 59sec (8279 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 03 2021