If you have a copy of God's Word, turn to 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1. He says in verse 8, Be thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor be his prisoner, but be thou partakers of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to the light through the gospel. May we pray. Gracious and loving Fathers, we bow in Thy presence. May You bless the word this morning to our Souls, may you feed us, give us hearing ears, and open up our minds and understanding to the Word of God. And we praise your holy name. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. I'm going to continue. This morning, last week I preached on who has saved us. This morning, by the grace of God, I'm going to preach on who has called us with a holy calling. Very important that you understand this thought. You know, the Word of God says, many are called, but few are chosen. As primitive Baptists, we do not believe in the free offer in the sense that I can offer you salvation, but I can preach salvation. I'll preach salvation. We preach repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, but we do not have the privilege to offer anyone salvation in the sense where here it is, take it. That's God's prerogative. But we are not against preaching the gospel and we believe that preaching the gospel goes to all that hear it. Preach to all. Take the gospel into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. It's just that we are a little different in emphasizing people today make it so Like they have the power to either reject or choose the gospel anytime they please. In other words, salvation is in the will of man and not in the will of God. And that's an error that you need to realize. Though we preach repentance and faith, repentance toward God and faithfully Lord Jesus Christ, at the same time, you must realize God must grant repentance. God must give you faith. And if he doesn't do those things, You will never be able to come to the truth to repentance. As I was reading on this subject this week, I was reading that there's a difference between the truth, the truth coming on your will, and on your will you hear about truth and you know about truth and it works on your conscience, but there's a difference when the Holy Spirit works in your will to receive the truth. That's the difference, beloved. Everyone hears the truth. But the Word of God says in one of Paul's epistles that it didn't profit them because it wasn't mixed with faith. Where there's an absence of faith, there will not be results. And when I'm saying this, the general call is never effectual. Now I want you to listen to me now. But the effectual call is always effectual. Never does God fail in His effectual call. God doesn't call someone He doesn't bring to life and bring to conversion experience in their life. He never fails. Because He's God. The general call goes out to everyone. But it never has given life or converted anyone. The general call. The preaching of the gospel. Without the working of the Holy Spirit in the wheel of the individual, the general call will fall on deaf ears. I just want to make that clear. As we look into this subject, it's a very wonderful subject, the calling of God. He says, again, I'm going to read these verses, who has saved us. That's past tense. And if you read the Word of God, you'll see how many times, past. It's past. The saving work of God is complete and finished. And called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. Now, Paul put that in there right after holy calling. He doesn't want you to think that God calls you because you're holy. Because we're dead in trespasses and sins, not according to our works that's so important in the age in which we live. I'll tell you this, since Mark and I have been studying this on the New Covenant, I haven't got stirred up in my studying on this New Covenant and the Old Covenant. And I was reading B.H. Carroll, and he's bringing out some things about the covenant. As you think about the Old Covenant, do and live. What is the preaching of most preachers today? They're still under the Old Covenant. If you'll do this, if you will repent, if you will believe, and if you do this and do this and do this, then you'll be born again. You have to meet all these conditions to be born again. Instead of, they get the cart before the horse, Brother Roger. You've got to meet all these conditions. They're still preaching the old legal system of do and live. But we preach you live and then you do. And that's what I'm bringing out this morning to remind you that you can understand this. I pray that it will be a blessing to all of us. But it is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who has abolished death. And I was reading B.H. Carroll on that, and I got a real blessing from that also. There's no death. to the child of God. You don't walk out of light into darkness. The moment you die, you don't die. The body dies, but you're immediately in the presence of the Lord. What a thought! Death has been abolished by the death of Jesus Christ. As John Owen wrote his great book on the death of all death, The Death of Christ. It's only about that thick. If you have time to read about a thousand pages. And it brought life. and immortality to light through the gospel. We preach the gospel, praying that the Holy Spirit would give you life, that you'd be converted through the gospel, as you're going to see as we get into this message this morning. There's a purpose in preaching. Paul says that he did all things for the elect's sake. I can't look out here and see who's elect and who's not the elect. That's not my responsibility. My responsibility is to preach the gospel, preach the truth that it is in Jesus. And the result is in the hands of God. One plants, one waters, and God gives what? The increase. For the day he preaches, and I preach, and Roger preach, and Marker preach, and the Gordon may preach, and we all plant, one waters, but who gives the ultimate increase? God does. God give us the increase. So I don't want you to, and what's the purpose of that? That your faith will not be in us, but in the power of God. That's where your faith should be. And when the Gentiles, Acts 13, 48, heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and many as were ordained to eternal life believed. I believe that when God gives life, believing will follow life. Conversion experience will follow life. Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the Holy Spirit will bring you to see yourself as you really are undone without Christ, that you need Christ, that you're dead in trespasses and sins, and that faith, when He works in the will, He says, My people should be willing in the day of thy power. He gives us the will to have faith, to believe in Him, trust Him and put our whole confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Now, I want to say this so you don't misunderstand me. We believe, not God. But God gives us the ability to believe. I repent, not God. But God gives me the ability. He grants me repentance to repent. So I want you to understand those things that we do have our responsibilities. And we do those things when God works in us. We're going to see then we do repent and we do exercise faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But the main thing I'm bringing out, everyone who's ordained to eternal life, believe. There's none of God's children walking around in unbelief who've been given life. Now before you're given life, now the time element, we don't know the time. It could be a week, it could be two weeks, it could be a month, it could be longer. We don't know those things. When God gives life, I believe eventually like in Paul, when he was on the road to Damascus, I believe God gave him life. He was born again at that point. Met the Lord. Lord, what will thou have me to do? He was a changed man. Before he ever said, Lord, what will thou have me to do? God had worked a grace in his heart. Who has saved us. The work of God in giving life. I want to read a few verses now to bring this out. The great work of God giving life. Without life, there can be no true works. People can come to church. Go out and do this, they can read the Bible, they can do all these things, they can do morally good things, which is nothing wrong with doing morally good things, but without spiritual life, there's no spiritual goodness in you. He says in Titus 3, 5, not but works of righteousness which we have done, if we only believe that. Nothing that we do causes us to be born again, but according to his mercy, He saved us, past tense, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. It's the work of the Holy Spirit, the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus and renewing of the Holy Ghost. That's where He renews. He works in our will and gives us the ability to will that which is pleasing in His sight. He says in Ephesians 1.18, that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. That's another work of the Holy Spirit that we need. Our minds are enlightened to understand the things of God, to receive the things of God. Because before that happens, before the new birth, everything is foolishness unto us. That you may know what is the hope of His calling. and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. That's one of the purposes of God enlightening our minds, that we can know the hope of his calling and know the riches of his glory in Jesus Christ. He is the unsearchable riches of Christ. We need that enlightening to appreciate those things. I think one of the things missing in the church today is that we have a lot of truth But we haven't been enlightened by the Spirit to enter into our souls, that it changes our affections, changes our will, works in our obedience, and works in our lives that can be seen in our everyday life. Just to have knowledge without the ministry of the Spirit will not change you. Like the Pharisees, they had a lot of knowledge, but it made no change in their life. But when you know the truth as it is in Jesus, when the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to you, when He opens up your mind and understanding, it will make a change in your life. Another great verse, similar, he says, Colossians 1, 12, We're called children of light, not children of darkness. People who walk in darkness, are not children of light. If they habitually walk in darkness all the way down their life, there's something wrong. I don't care what they profess. There has to be a change, and there will be a change through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Most people today reject the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Well, I can live what I do. I can do what I want to. I made a decision 30 years ago. It don't matter. Beloved, God makes the change in an individual's life. It doesn't mean that you can't have problems with sin, because of tragedy, fall into sin, but I believe whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth and scorneth every son, and he will bring you back into fellowship with him through his fatherly training, child training we call it. He also says in that scene, who has delivered us from the power of darkness. Thank God for that verse. We've been delivered from the power of darkness. and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. Now some of these phrases I just accept. To try to explain exactly what that means, I don't have the ability. But I do believe, we should take it from the simplicity, we've been translated out from under the ruling reign of Satan, the power of darkness. And we've been translated, translated us into the kingdom of his discernment. Son, now we're under the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we should say, Lord, Lord, what will that have me to do? Most of us live our lives and we never ask ourselves the question, what should I do for the Lord today? Lord, what is your bidding for me today? That's how we should live our lives. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, we're talking about this work of God in us. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature, new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. I just wanted to emphasize that God doesn't make the old creature a new creature, as some teach today. Adam, nature, will only pass away when we die. Then we'll put off all of this. The old nature, the old man, it all will be put off at death. Hallelujah for that. You say, oh, I wish I didn't have this sinful nature. I wish I didn't have these evil thoughts. I wish I didn't have this particular thing that's hindering me in my spiritual walk with God. Thank God, beloved, one day all of those things will be put off. Aren't you looking for that day? Looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great and God and Savior Jesus Christ. who will make all things new in that day. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, 18, for the preaching of the cross to them that perish foolishness. Now, the general call of the gospel, it goes out to everyone. It goes out to everyone. Now, to them which are, it's foolish unto the laws, it's foolishness. But unto them which are saved is the power of God. Now listen to what Paul says in verse 24, "...but of them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God, until that work of the Holy Spirit in giving life to the gospel will be foolishness to everyone that hears it." No matter how educated they are, no matter how they can quote the scriptures, no matter how long they've been going to church, if they haven't experienced the new birth as we're going to see, to have life from God, God said it's foolishness still unto them. Now who are you going to believe? I believe God. I believe God. God said, none seeketh after God, no, not one. That doesn't mean they don't go to church. They may go to church. That doesn't mean they don't come and hear a preacher. They may do that. But at the same time, that working of the will of the Holy Spirit in a person's life, those who seek God will come to repentance and faith in God and will follow the Lord Jesus Christ. That is what he's talking about. None seeketh after God in the true biblical sense. He says in 1 Peter 2.9, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praise of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." And he's talking about those that are in the New Covenant. We are in the New Covenant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Paul put it this way in And 1 Thessalonians 2, 12, that ye should walk worthy of God who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory. Beloved, do we have a handle on that? What does that mean? What a privilege, brother Mark, brother Dave. What a privilege to be called to the kingdom of God. We've been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son. There's some things happen. Indeed, those truths need to get a hold of us. We need to realize what's happened to us. What a blessing! We've been called with a holy calling, it says in this verse. And call us with a holy calling. Paul says, For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. Now, God doesn't call us that we can live a wicked and ungodly life. We're doing that before He calls us. We're dead in trespasses and sin. We're fulfilling the desires of the flesh even as others, Paul says in Ephesians 2. He calls us not into cleanness, but into a wholeness, separation from the world, separation from wickedness, separation from ungodliness. There comes responsibility in being a member of the Lord's Church. We've been called to live a separated, godly life. We're not called to live a life of uncleanness and ungodliness and wickedness. God says, come out and be you separated, says the Lord, and I will be you God and you shall be my people. This is in the New Covenant. It's a responsibility that we should take serious. Most people today don't take the church serious. He says in 1 Peter 1 15, but as he which hath called you is holy, be ye so holy in all matter of conversation, or your matter of life." We should be holy. We should be separated. We should separate ourselves from this evil world. And it's difficult. We're in the world. Christ said you're in the world, but you're not of the world. The only way we can get away from the world is die and go to heaven. As long as we're in the world, but we are to keep a separation, a distance between the evil world. Paul said in his word, be not partakers with them. Be not partakers with them in their evil deeds. But we need to take heed into that. He says, flee from the presence of evil. Flee from it. Abhor that which is evil and cleave to that which is good. That should be the attitude of God's people. We have a heavenly calling. We're born from above. Hebrews 3, verse 1 says, Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling. Now, this is the effectual call. It's effectual. The heavenly calling. Consider the apostle and high priest of our profession, Christ Jesus. Oh, beloved, thank God for the day when you were called with the heavenly calling to serve the true and living God. What a privilege. What a privilege. It's an effectual call. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 24. God is not trying to save anyone. God is not sitting around begging people to believe in Him. God is not sitting around wishing He could save someone. He's not saying, what I've done all I can do, now it's up to you. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5, 24, Faithful is He that calleth you who also will do it. He will do it. Hebrews 13, 21 says, Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you. That which is well-pleasing in His sight. Who's working in you? God is working in you through the Holy Spirit to do those things pleasing in His sight. That's to encourage us. Encourage us in our Christian walk with God. Through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. You say, I can't live the Christian life. No, in yourself you can't. But you can live the Christian life through the power that's working in you and through you through Jesus Christ, your Lord and Master. I love this verse. There's a brother, one of the Puritans wrote a commentary on this verse and it must be about 50 pages. Philippians 2.12. Wherefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Now why ask me to have this fear and trembling? Why? Because it, for it is God which worketh in you both the will and the do of His good pleasure. Knowing that God is working in us, that should give us reverence and humility to fall before God because He's the one that's working in us and through us according to His good pleasure. That makes you realize that the Apostle Paul, when he quoted, penned these verses by the Holy Spirit of God in 210, he says, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. The only good works you can do is only by being in Christ. There's no good works in Adam. Only evil come out of Adam. And we're all by nature workers of Adam. which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. That should be, there's things that God will work in our lives. Now some have thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold. But there should be some fruits or evidence in your life as a child of God. God is not sitting back as a spectator watching what you do and thinking whether you will do this or will do that or will do this or will do that. No, God is in you. He's working in you. As it says in the New Covenant theology, He'll write His laws in your heart. He'll put them there. You will be our God. We should be His people. And beloved, that law He puts in our hearts, the law for us to obey God, to please God, and when the Holy Spirit is working in the will, He works in the will, and the truth comes upon us, and we hear the truth, we have the power then to obey those things, to love those things, desire to do those things, because God is working in us. If man left to himself, he can do nothing. That's why Christ said, even to his disciples, without me you can do nothing. Now that's not being said to justify our indifference or our doing nothing, but it means that everything that we do, we do it through the power of Christ the Holy Spirit and God the Father, through God. For it is God which worketh in you both the will and to do. A lot of people want to know the will of God, but they don't want to do anything about it. When God works in you the will, He'll also work in you the doing. If He works in you the will to believe that baptism is the teaching of the truth, is the church's truth, then He'll work in you the will to do, to follow Him in baptism. And that's true in other areas of your life. called by the gospel. Now, why do we preach the gospel? Because it's been given to us of God. Paul calls it my gospel, which was the gospel he received from Christ, which he preached. We're called by the gospel. He says in 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 14, Wherefore, he called you, God called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, we believe and preach in the gospel. because it is the command of God that we preach the gospel unto all the world. It's our responsibility as Primitive Baptists, it's our responsibility to challenge you to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. It's our responsibility as God's elders and leaders in His church to challenge you to follow Christ in baptism. That's the first act of obedience, in my opinion. is when a child of God is born again and God gives them that will, is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ in baptism and become a member of the Lord's church. It's a privilege. It's a great honor to do those things. But He calls you by our gospel. Now, another verse over here I want to read to you. It says, But if our gospel be hid, now it is veiled from some people. It's hid to them that are lost. Lost. What does that mean? It's hid from those who have not been regenerated. They have not received life from above. So you can talk to a person who's dead and took past his sins until you turn blue in the face. You'll never convince that individual to follow Christ. You cannot reason with individuals who are lost. They will not receive it. Why? Because the Word of God says it's foolishness unto them. God said they cannot receive it because their carnal mind is the enmity against God. He cannot subject to the law of God, neither indeed can they. Beloved, we have such a passion sometimes for our loved ones, and we do want them to believe in Christ and follow Christ, but we must realize ultimately it's in the hands of God. So those that are lost, the gospel is hid from them. in the sense that their mind is not subject to the preaching of the cross and to them which perish foolishness, as he says in 2 Corinthians 2.14. He goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 4.4, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. They are classified as unbelievers, they believe not. Least the glint of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. This can only be in the new creation of God. When God creates a new creation, then the glorious gospel of Christ, in the light of it, the illuminating of the Holy Spirit, it will shine into your hearts. Then you see the beauty of the Lord, the glories of the Lord, your faith is renewed, you are kindled, and you cast yourself wholly upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says in Ephesians 1, verse 13, in whom he also trusted, the work of which he also trustingly had hoped. after that you have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." I have a sermon I preached on that, the gospel of your salvation. The gospel is applied to every one of God's people in conversion experience. I do believe that. He says, my sheep shall hear my voice, and I know them, and they shall follow me. How can you follow someone you don't know? And it says that in the New Covenant, all shall be called of God, and I do believe that. What's the reason? The gospel of your salvation, in whom, after that you believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. I believe that's referring to assurance of that blessing of sealing in your own life. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 1, 5, for our gospel came not in word only, but also in power. and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake." You don't hear much of that today. People are preaching the gospel, if you'll meet this condition, if you'll meet that condition, if you'll meet this condition, if you'll meet that condition, if you'll do this, if you'll do that, they don't bring this out. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance. As you know what manner of man we were among you for your sake, brethren, when the gospel comes by the power of the Holy Ghost, it will make a change in the individual's life. That's the effectual call. Thank God that it's effectual. It doesn't depend on the will of man. It's the effectual drawing power of God. 2 Timothy 1.10 says, But it is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to the light through the gospel. The gospel gives us knowledge of salvation. We come to that conversion experience where we come to the peace and joy in our hearts that our sins have been forgiven for Christ's sake. This brings us down to the favorite section, Romans 1.16-17. The Apostle Paul, I believe Romans is Outstanding book to read, to study, to meditate in. Ephesians. He says in verse 16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation. It's the power of God. Don't lose sight of that. The gospel come not in word only, but in what? Paul says in Thessalonians, but in power. and power. It's not the power of the preacher that brings you to conversion experience. It's the power of God, the Holy Spirit, working in the will, giving you the desires to follow Christ, believe in Him, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Without that illuminating work of the Holy Spirit in giving life, there is no true conversion experience. There can be false conversion. For it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, that just shall live by faith. Received by faith in the person who has been born by the Holy Spirit, or given faith by the Holy Spirit. Now follow me now, what Paul is saying here. Paul taught that God's righteousness is revealed to the person who has faith. Who has faith. Now we're going to tie this together and I hope you can see the picture. Romans 10 says, but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, say not in thy heart who shall ascend into heaven, that is to bring Christ down from above, or who shall descend into the deep, that is to bring up Christ again from the dead. But what saith it? The word, the rhema of God, is not thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart." That is the word, rhema, of faith which we preach. Now how did the word get in the heart? It got in there by the power of the Holy Spirit and the washing and regeneration of the Holy Ghost. When you hear the preaching of the Rima, the Word of God, that faith that's within you, the Bible says that faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the Word of God, Romans 10, 17. When that faith that's within you is put there by the Holy Spirit, when you hear the preaching of that faith, you'll cling to that faith, you'll believe that message. Why? Because faith clings to faith. Now who did that work? Now we believe, yes. We repent, yes. But the Holy Spirit is the one who gave us the ability to do those things. Who gave us repentance? Repentance is a gift, not a condition. A lot of people don't understand that. Nowhere is repentance considered a condition. It's a gift to God's people and the covenant of grace. The one who said this, the rhema is nigh thee and even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the rhema of faith which we preach. And what did Paul say? It didn't profit some of them because it wasn't mixed with faith. There has to be faith within before it can be profitable to you and I. Faith, faith, oh that faith which is the gift of God. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Faith is the gift of God. Are you grateful today that God gave you living faith? Living faith. Not a dead faith. Not a dead faith. The Holy Spirit in the new birth already quickened before believing the Word of Christ and the Gospel. There has to be a quickening before you can believe. There has to be life before there can be action. When the gospel is preached, the word of faith, and someone believes, it is the evidence that God has already placed the word of faith in his heart in quickening. Summarizing what I just said. I'll read that to you again. When the gospel is preached, the word of faith, and someone believes, it is the evidence that God has already placed the word of faith in his heart in quickening. He gives the glory to God. He's a Gloria, let him glory in the Lord. One of the verses that brings this out very clearly, in my opinion, is 1 John 5.1. There's many, many. This is a whole subject within itself. Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God, and every one that loveth him that begot, loveth him also that is begotten of him. Whosoever believeth is present tense. is born of God or has been born of God is perfect tense. What does perfect tense mean in the Greek? It refers to an action which had been completed in past time, this completed action having present results. In other words, a person who is presently tense, believing, was in past time born of the Spirit of God. Past tense. Perfect tense. An action in the past with the present results, the person is believing. When God gives you that work of grace in your heart, what will follow? Present tense. And another thing about believing in the New Testament, it's always in the present tense. Oh, I believe 25 years ago. No, it's always in the present tense. When God speaks to believers, it's always a present tense believer. You're a believer, present tense. So a true believer never ceases to be a believer. This is what that teaches us. Another word that Paul uses is in 1 Corinthians 4.15. In the Greek word is geneo, 1 Corinthians 4.15, he says, For though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, you have not many fathers. But in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Now in the quickening, the immediate operation of God is done without any means, man or preacher or the gospel or anyone. God gives grace immediate to his people. But when it comes to conversion experience, when it comes to believing in Jesus Christ, the gospel is used. And I believe that's what Paul is showing here. He says, for in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. is in the Aorist tense, and acted for, teaching us that the gospel is used to bring forth the subjective faith, the word of faith to lay hold of the gospel of Christ. In other words, the preaching of the gospel, that faith that's within you lays hold of the gospel preached, and you lay hold of that, and Paul says, I've begotten you through the gospel. The preaching of the gospel is used of God. What a wonderful encouragement to us as God's ministers of the New Testament. Not of the letter, but of the Spirit. It's the Spirit that giveth life. The flesh profiteth nothing. Going back to our original text. Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works. Oh, can you see that a little clearly now? But according to his own purpose and grace. which was given us in Christ Jesus, when? Before the world began. What did you have to do with that? Nothing. Nothing. But is now made manifest. I do believe that the life that God gives us will be made manifest to us in the conversion experience through the gospel. If our Savior Jesus Christ would have abolished death and have brought life and immortality to life through the gospel. And give you one biblical example of this in Acts 16, 14, Lydia. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Tharatan, which worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened." Notice this, whose heart the Lord opened. We must believe this. We have not the power to open the heart of an individual. A preacher can get up and say anything they want. They can claim to have this power, that power. But, beloved, only God can open the heart of an individual to receive the things of God. What did he go on to say here? And she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. When God opens a heart, then you will have application to attend to the things of the preached. And in 157, and when they had been much disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago God made choice among us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe. They should hear the gospel, and what follows? Believe. Believe. And what follows believing? Follow Christ. Follow Christ. Obedience is better than sacrifice. And God would snow at the hearts, bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. be it known therefore unto you that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles," and notice this last part, Acts 28, 28, and they will hear it. They will hear it. Now how could Paul speak so positive? How did he know they'd hear it? Because of the effectual working of God, the power of God. That's why our beloved We do all things for the elect's sake. We preach the gospel, and when the elect hears the promise of God, when the elect of the Gentiles hear the word of God, they will hear it because of the operation of God, because of the power of God. Oh, how we should be thankful. The salvation from eternity to eternity is all in the hands of God. But the manifestation of that, as we speak about the new covenant manifestation in our consciousness of justification being manifested into our hearts, salvation being manifested in our consciousness, we come to that peace of God that passes all understanding. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. We have that love to love one another. Oh, beloved, when it's all said and done, Paul says in Corinthians, He that glory, let him glory in the Lord. May all the glory be to the Lord. A gracious and loving Father, we thank You for the Word of God as we continue in 2 Timothy 1, verse 9. May You continue to bless us as we study together, as we meditate in Thy Word. We pray that the next message we have in this verse, that You will continue to bless us. We thank You for each person here this morning, be with those who are absent, be with the sick and afflicted. And Lord, do be with all the requests that were brought forth this morning. We give You the praise and the honor and the glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.