Thank you, Brother Spencer. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn to Ephesians chapter 1, the first chapter of the book of Ephesians. You know, when I first moved here, there were many preachers that would get on the hobby horse, and they would have a pet doctrine, and they'd preach on that pet doctrine all the time. And a lot of times, that pet doctrine was election, or it was the doctrine of the local church. You know, those are two of the pet doctrines, and it seemed like some preachers, that's all they'd preach on. Well, I'm in the area where the doctrine of election is, and it's so rich and deep, it's amazing. I think the last time Jesse was here, he mentioned he tried to read ahead a little bit and it was just overwhelming what he was reading. And so I told him I haven't advanced too far because it's still overwhelming where I'm at. I'm in verse four, which is still where we left off from last week. And in verse four, notice what the Word of God says. According as he had chosen us, in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. Now we looked over the first part of this verse at what God has chosen us, but I want you to notice it's in Christ that He chose us. And He chose us before the foundation of the world. We were not here at that time. You didn't have a vote, and the devil had a vote, and the Lord had a vote, like some people preach. You know what? You weren't even around to vote. This is something that God has done and what Paul is writing about is God has revealed these truths to him. And like I said, from verses three all the way to verse 14, it's kind of like a treasure trove of God's richest blessings that he pours out upon his children. And that's what we're looking at. We're looking at all the blessings. that come to the child of God, but we've got to understand that all these blessings that comes to God's children, they come in Christ and they come through Christ. I want you to, I couldn't help but last week think of John chapter 17. I didn't bring it out, but I, John 17, I've done this before, gone over different passages in there. When we think about this one verse of scripture, just turn back to John 17. John 17 is our Lord's high priestly prayer. We do not hear the Father speak, but here is an intimate conversation between God the Father and God the Son. And it's the Son who's doing the talking, but what He's doing, He is revealing the work of the Father. Very fascinating because this is holy ground. This is truly the Lord's prayer and what the Lord prayed at that time. I want you to notice, I'm gonna skip around a few verses, and I want you to notice what's emphasized here. In verse two, the word of God says, as you the Son is addressing the Father, as the Father has given Him, the Son, power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as you have given Him. I want you to notice here particularly how the Father has given to the Son those that should have eternal life. If you would skip down to verse six, notice it says, I have manifested or made known your name unto the men which you gave me out of the world. Thine they were and you gave them me and they have kept your word. Here again, our Lord is addressing how the father gave certain men to the son. If you would skip down to verse nine, the word of God says, I pray for them. I pray not for the world, but for them which you have given me, for they are yours. Notice he's praying for those that were given to him. They were given by the Father. And he says in verse 10, and all mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. Look at verse 12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name, those that thou gavest me. I have kept, and none of them is lost but the Son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Once again, our Lord addresses the situation where the father has given to the son those that he gave. It's very fascinating. He repeats this phraseology quite frequently through this prayer. Look down in verse 20. Verse 20 says, neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. Here's our Lord praying for us even before we were born. In verse 24, Father, I will that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Here again, our Lord Jesus Christ emphasizes how those that believe are those that God gives to the Son. Here it shows God chose us before the foundation of the world, and we are a gift to the Son. We're chosen of the Father before the foundation of the world. We're given to the Son that He might redeem us. We are shown the means which we are saved in time. In other words, God chose us before the foundation of the world, but we're not saved at that point. We are not hard-shelled Baptists, primitive Baptists. God chose before the foundation of the world, but he also chose the means whereby we are saved. Look down in the same chapter, down in verse 13. In whom you also trusted after that you heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that you believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. In other words, it's after they heard the word of God, the gospel, the good news of their salvation, it's at that point that they were born again. You hear the good news, you receive the good news, you're born again. Here's the means. Notice in chapter two, look down in verse eight, the word of God says, for by grace are you saved through faith. That's not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. It's not of works. Lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, that we should walk in them. Here, we are saved by the grace of God. God chose us, and God worked in our heart in time, and we believe the gospel, and we are born again. It's amazing what God has done. Jesus paid it all. All to him we owe. Everything we have as far as blessings come through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice here in verse four, his purpose for choosing you and I. If you are a child of God, his purpose for choosing you is stated in verse four. He says that. Now you can put that or here's the reason. Or this is the purpose. You're chosen that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. That we should be holy and without blame. In the book of Genesis, when the human race fell, The whole human race was in Adam. He was what we would call the federal head. In other words, whatever choice he made, we were in his loins, and you know what? We're a byproduct of what Adam chose way back at the beginning of time. And because he chose to disobey God, he sinned, and sin entered into the world through that one man. and death by sin. And because he sinned, everybody born of man is born a sinner. We are born with a sinful nature. Now Christ, what he is doing, he is righting all the wrongs of sin and the fall. Look over in 1 Corinthians. I'm gonna take you through a few passages of scripture. I find this very fascinating. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and look down in verse 22. And notice here, I'm gonna give you some verses that show the comparison here. It says in verse 22, for as in Adam, all die. Even so in Christ, shall all be made alive. That's all that are in Christ. In Adam, the whole human race is gonna die. In Christ shall all be made alive. Look down in verse 45. In verse 45, and so it is written, the first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last Adam, that would be Christ, was made a quickening spirit or a life-giving spirit. In verse 47, the first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven. What a difference! Look back in Romans, over in Romans chapter 5. Down in Romans chapter 5, look down in verse 10. Romans chapter 5 and verse 10, the Word of God says, For if we were enemies when we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. In verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. Look in verse 15. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one man many be dead, much more the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift. For the judgment was by one, that is, Adam, to condemnation. But the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For by one man's offense death reigned by one, that is, Adam. Much more, they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, that is, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men under justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Here's what God has done. There's Adam of the earth, earthy. He brought us sin. Here's Christ who brings us righteousness. Now what the Lord is doing, He is turning the fall of man and changing it. I want you to notice what He says. Look over in 1 John 3. In 1 John 3, down in verse 8, The Word of God says, he that commits sin is of the devil, for the devil sins from the beginning. And for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Why was Jesus Christ manifested? Why was he shown forth? That the works of the devil might be destroyed. What is the greatest work Satan's done? Brought sin into this world by deceiving Eve. by Adam choosing to disobey God. Here's the work of Satan. Christ has come to destroy the work of Satan. And the purpose here of God's chosen, as it says in verse four, those chosen are, that word, eclektos, those chosen, those elect, their purpose is to be holy and without blame. You, if you profess Christ as your Lord and Savior, he has saved you to be holy and without blame. That means to be sanctified. You are set apart. He puts it in two different ways. One he's saying positively and one he's saying negatively. Notice the positive statement, that you might be holy Holy means an inward purity. He starts with the inside. Our Lord's told us to be holy for I am holy. We are to be holy. He starts inwardly because here what we have with holiness is an attribute of God himself. You know what? You and of yourself cannot be holy. Here's a divine quality that God is saying that we have, and that is to be holy. Let's look over in Colossians chapter one. In Colossians the first chapter, Colossians is compatible with the book of Ephesians. In chapter one in verse 22, notice what he says. In verse 21, you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. God has saved you to be holy and without blame, unblameable. This is quite fascinating. Now look at the negative side of that. Without blame, this means to be faultless. It means an outward purity. You're talking about the holiness that's on the inside, you're talking about blameless, that's on the outside. It means to be without spot or blemish. For us who are getting older, without wrinkle. Not the same, you understand where I'm coming from though. Only God is pure. God is pure. And God, our Father, is calling us to be holy and blameless. You know what He's calling us to do? He's calling us to be like Him. Wow. Imagine that. Now, you know what? You're not going to attain that in this life. But we're starting on it in this life because His seed is in us. And therefore, we should be striving to be holy. We should be striving to be blameless. And notice the next phrase. It says, before Him. Now, what does it mean to be before Him? Before God. Where to be holy and blameless? Before God. That very simply means to be in His presence. I'm before you tonight. You know what? I'm in your presence. You've got to remember, some are on video watching, but I'm not in your presence, but I'm kind of, sort of in your presence. Technology, just kind of threw my illustration to the wind. You understand what I'm saying. As we walk before somebody, I'm before you, we're in each other's presence. This means communion. It means fellowship. We're having fellowship with God as we are before Him. We are literally walking with Him. As we have been born again, we are walking with God. Walking in the light with God. Look over in 1 John, if you would. Let me explain this a little bit. Over in 1 John 1, Notice as John wrote here, he's writing right at the beginning, he says, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life. For the life was manifested, we've seen it, we bear witness and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we've seen and heard, we're declaring it unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ. These things we write unto you, that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and we're declaring it unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, We lie and do not the truth. Notice here, but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Notice as we walk in the light, we're walking with God. We have fellowship one with another as we walk in the light and walking with God. Think back in the Garden of Eden. There was Adam, there was Eve. And you remember God came in the cool of the day, and what did Adam and Eve do? They walked with God in the cool of the evening. Let me take you back a little after that. You remember there was one named Enoch. The Word of God says he walked with God. Here he was in communion, he was in fellowship, he was walking in the light. He was walking before God. Look in Genesis chapter 17. In Genesis chapter 17, there is another illustration there. In verse one, the word of God says Abram was 90 years old and nine, that means 99. And the Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him, I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. Abraham walked before God, or he walked with God. He was in fellowship with God. Here is what salvation is all about. If you've been born again, you've been called to walk with God. You've been called to walk holy. Notice that we should be holy without blame before Him. That's salvation, walking in the light of the Lord, walking with God. If you're a child of God, tomorrow you need to be walking with the Lord, aware of His presence. No matter where you are, you're walking fellowship, communion, walking in the light, walking with Him. Notice the next A little phrase here in verse four. You see, this is so deep, so rich. I only covered a half a verse last week, a half a verse this week, Jesse, so it just goes on and on. But notice the last part here. It says, in love. Now, we have been called, chosen, that we should be holy and without blame before him as we're walking in love. We are before the presence of God in love. Did you get that? You are walking with God in love. Now you know what, that ought to stir you up a little bit. You ought to turn Pentecostal on me on that one. Listen to what the Word of God is telling us. We're walking with God, walking in the light, we're fellowshipping with God in love. As we're walking with Him, it's in love. We don't walk with him in judgment. We don't have to fear that judgment. We're walking in love. We're not walking in judgment with God, thinking God's gonna strike me down if I do something wrong, if I make a misstep. No, we're walking in love with God. If you've been born again, you should desire holiness. You should love holiness. You see, if we're walking in love with God, It's the opposite of the way that we used to walk before we were born again. Before we knew Christ, we were at enmity with God, is what the Word of God tells us. We were at enmity with God because of the fall of man. Because sin entered into the world, we're born sinners, and therefore we were at enmity with God. But when salvation came, when Christ came into our hearts, That enmity has been dealt with at the cross and it is finished. He has made peace. The Word of God says He is our peace. He's eliminated the enmity and now we walk in love. We're not walking in enmity, we're walking in love with the Lord. Therefore, because of that, He's called us that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. That means, as God's children, we love the law of God. We love the will of God. We love the word of God. We love the ways of God. That's a whole big difference than someone trying to conform to the law of God. Or somebody trying to conform or trying to walk because here's what God says, so I got to do this and I got to do that and I can't do this and I can't do that. That's not what this is talking about. It's talking about there's been a change in your heart and you love His law. What did the psalmist say? Oh, how I love thy law. It's his meditation both day and night. Let me ask you, what is the law's demands? What does the law demand? I want you to look back in Exodus chapter 20. In Exodus chapter 20, what you find in the first, I believe the first eight verses, the first eight verses are the first four commandments. The first four commandments, what they consist of is our relationship toward God. The last six commandments is our relationship toward our brothers or sisters, other people. So the first four commandments, notice what it says in verse three. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make unto you any graven image or any likeness of that thing that's in heaven above or that's in earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down yourself to them nor serve them For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. What is this saying? Ultimately it's saying, you're to love the Lord your God utmost and preeminently. That's what these commandments are talking about, the first four. Let me show this to you over in the book of Matthew chapter 12. In Matthew the 12th chapter, down in verse 28, Matthew chapter 12, I hope it's Mark chapter 12, got the wrong M. Mark 12 verse 28. And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, which is the first commandment of all? Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment. The second is like unto it, namely this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these, and that sums up the whole 10 commandments. So what does the law demand? The law demands that we love the Lord our God. There is a difference in saying, I love his law, I love his will, I love his word, I love his way. and the one having to try to conform to do this and do that. They're still under the law. They're not walking in love. They're trying to conform their life. It is God who is at work both in us to will and do of his good pleasure. So it is God who instills in us this which we should be striving for, and that's holiness and blamelessness. It is God who is at work. Therefore, we should strive for that love. Listen to what Jude said over in the book of Jude in verse 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. You know what? You cannot present yourself faultless before God. You can't do it. You can clean yourself up. You can take a bath a hundred times, one right after the other. You can eat the soap and gargle with water and make bubbles coming out your mouth. You ain't going to be clean enough for God. Only God can present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Look over in 2 Peter 1. In 2 Peter 1, down in verse 3, the Word of God says, According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. through the knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature." Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. We have His nature within us. It's Christ in us that's our hope of glory. And that's why we need to be striving in holiness. There's a lot of people think, and this is warped thinking, well God wants me to be happy, so therefore they live in sin. That's wrong thinking. Let me tell you, God does not want you happy, he wants you holy. Utmost and preeminent God desires for you to be holy and blameless before him. It's what the Word of God says. As you're walking with God, you need to live a holy life and a blameless life. We are in Christ. Christ is in us. He is our hope of glory. Romans chapter eight and verse 29, the Word of God tells us for whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. You know what? That's not gonna be complete in this life. But we're starting on it in this life. He's planted that seed within us and we ought to be striving toward holiness. Here's the mark of the child of God. It is holiness. Salvation is about being in a right relationship with God, which comes or which means actually walking with God. And as we walk with God, God's bringing us into holiness and we're growing in holiness. If there is no holiness in your life, there is no salvation. Did you hear me? That is a caution again. Just like Matthew chapter seven is a caution toward the latter part of that, he's cautioning. Many are going to say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we do this? Didn't we do that? Didn't we speak in your name? If there's no holiness, there is no salvation. Notice what God has called us to, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. If you are elect, are chosen, you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, what He does, He leads us in a holy life. It's God's work in us that one day he presents us completely faultless before the throne. Listen in closing in 1 John 3. In 1 John 3 in verse one, the word of God says, behold what manner of love the Father hath given unto us, that we should be called the sons of God or the children of God. Therefore the world knows us not because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know. and we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Now you know what? It says every man that has that hope within him purifies himself even as he is pure. You know what, we're called to live a holy life. I'm not telling you you're gonna be perfect. You're gonna fall, you're gonna fall flat on your face. And it's like I said this morning, when a child of God falls, they mourn their sins. They turn from their sins. And they pursue back after holiness. A good example of that is David. Look at David's life. David often sinned, but he was a man after God's own heart. And when he fell into that adultery and fell into murder and lying about it and hiding it, he was still called a man after God's own heart. Why is that? Because he repented and he kept following after God. He kept following. In this life, you're gonna stumble, you're gonna fall, you're gonna sin. If you're a child of God, you're not perfect on this side of glory. But don't use that as an excuse why you're not striving to be holy. God's called us for the purpose to be holy and without blame before him as we're walking with him in love. That's just one half of a verse. We will advance to verse five, but I'm telling you, all this, all the way through verse 14, it's just the riches of God, like a treasure chest, it's just unloading. We're unpacking it, and we're just seeing all the blessings that God has for us. So I must ask you one little question as we close. Are you striving after holiness? Are you desiring to walk with God? Not just on Sunday coming to church. I'm talking about daily. In your daily walk, are you walking in the light? Walking in fellowship? Communing with God? Here's what we should be doing. We're going to give a hymn of invitation. If there's anyone here tonight, you need to make things right with God. I'm telling you, get right with God. Make things right with Him. There's repentance need to be done. There's confession, you need to confess, agree with God, you sin, get right with God. That you might walk with Him, because I'm gonna tell you your strength in your personal life, the key to your strength is not happiness, it's holiness. You live a holy life, let me tell you something, you're gonna be able to withstand the wiles of Satan in this world. walk with God, be holy and blameless. Now stand and go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we look at your word and what a challenge that is that you have called us as your children to be like unto you, to be holy as you are holy, to be conformed into the image of your dear son. We're so thankful for the work that you've begun in us. Lord, we desire to live more godly, to know more of you, to walk in the light. Lord, is there any here tonight that are not walking with you? I pray that you'd work upon their individual hearts and lives, convict them of sin, of righteousness and judgment, that you might be glorified for Christ's sake. Amen. We're gonna sing nearer my God to thee.