Probably Gaither's best song he'd ever written and thank you for that. Indeed it is because he lives and he lives today. I serve a risen savior. He's in the world today. I know he's living no matter what men may say. I see his hand of mercy. I hear his voice of cheer and just the time I need him He's always near. He lives. He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and He talks with me all along life's way. He lives. He lives. You ask me how I know He lives? Well, He lives within my heart. It is not That's not the primary reason we know he lives, because the word of God indeed declares it, but we have experienced it, and I'm thankful to the Lord for that. Well, we have been away from the subject of the 1689 and surely chapter three, the subject on God's decree. We have been away from that for a while, and I want to return to that. And in so doing, I'm just going to return back to the subject the last subject I preached before I went on my trip to Malawi. And so I just want to come back and look at this paragraph and say a few things about our Christ. Well, we are chosen in Christ. Now the paragraph reads this. So this is the fifth paragraph of the third chapter in the 1689 Confession called God's Decree. Not God's decrees, but God's decree. What God does, he does in one act of doing. So it's one act of decree. He doesn't have to add things. He doesn't have to build as we do. One thought, he knows everything in one thought of thinking. He does everything in one act of doing. And so he is, in that sense, a simple being. not simple in the sense that he can be understood simply, but simple in the sense of what he is, no parts, no passions, unlike us. Now, there's a condescension to us in his words, so we might grasp a little bit about who this God is. In fact, when I was there in Africa, I preached 25 sermons on the doctrine of God. And I heard 20 more, as I sat there and listened to Lawrence Lama, the pastor of Indola Baptist Church in Indola, Zambia, talk about our God, the God who is, the God who exists. And the thing that I've said to them, and I've said it to you a number of times, that when children ask about this God, when they say, you know, from where does God come from, as they would, you know, we should say, from where does God come, but children always put the preposition at the end, even as many of us continue to do, where does God come from? Well, God doesn't come from, from comes from God. And so he's different in his being than we are. He is a being, but not like we are being, we are derived beings, he is an uncreated being, you see. He exists, and everything exists through Him. The three prepositions of the Apostle Paul as he speaks concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever and ever. Well, out of Him, ek, through Him, dia, back into Him, eis. Now that's a very important thing to understand as we are moving into this idea of chosen in Christ. And so we must surely keep that in mind. And then the second thing, the God who is one, and then the God who is three, and then the God who is all. Lawrence Lama preached on the omnis, the omniscience and the omnipotence and the omnipresence of God. And then the God who is our creator. A very important understanding of how we came into the world and what God did and who was actually doing these things, this work of God. Now, the works of God are the works of decree, the work of creation, the work of providence, and the work of redemption. You see, those are the four works of God. God created this world. that he might have a place to bring the elect into being, you see. The elect is brought into being in this world, specifically made this world. And if you look at creation, you can see that the earth is just a speck of dust. It's just a grain of sand when you look at the vastness of creation. And so why was there, I mean, if all we needed was a planet, for the elect coming to the world, then why all of this? Because what God does, he does magnificently. God doesn't do things by measure. When God spoke into being, you see, he spoke an expanding universe into being, not just this earth that he had purposed for our existence. Just like he, and everything he did, They really reacted. Of all the things I said over there, I was in the Mizuzu, and when I said this, the whole crowd reacted to it. When I talked about Christ raising Lazarus from the dead, it has been said, if Jesus had stood there before the tomb of Lazarus and just said, come forth, he would have emptied the cemetery, you see. But he said, Lazarus, come forth, to make it particular, you see. Just as he stood outside your tomb, if you are his child this morning, he stood outside your spiritual tomb, and he called your name, and you came forth, the God who creates. And then the God who is a covenant-keeping God, a condescension to us because the distance between us and God is so vast. If God had not condescended to us, we would still be in our sin. And then the God who is righteous. Everything he does is right by definition because he has done it. God doesn't figure out what is right and then does it. does and it is right because of who He is. And then, of course, the God who has revealed Himself in Christ. Theologically, we call that Christology. A study of, an examination of, a declaration of Jesus Christ. And then, as I preached to you last Sunday, the God who is love. We looked at this God. We immersed ourselves in the thinking of this God. And for one month, I did not watch a television show. I did not listen to a radio. I just was immersed for one month for these 20-something days in a study of and a contemplation of this God. And so, he is in Christ. Paragraph five of chapter three says, those of mankind that are predestined to life, God before the foundation of the world was laid according to his eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of his will hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory. So if we just simply took out all the modifiers in this paragraph, those of mankind that are predestined to life, God hath chosen in Christ unto everlasting glory, out of his mere free grace and love, without any other thing in the creature as a condition or cause moving him thereunto. If you're going to find the reason for your salvation, for your calling, for your election, and indeed Peter teaches us, the Apostle Peter, that we should give diligence to make sure our calling and election, you see, Now, those are things that God did, we didn't do, but yet in our responsibility, we must give ourselves to make sure our calling and election, you see, in Christ. And so this is what God has done for us. It's not something that we did for ourselves. If you are a child of God today, it is because what God has done. and what God did before the foundation of the world. Our wonderful, gracious, magnificent salvation was not an afterthought, but was the reason for all of this. It's the reason of creation. It's the reason of decree. It's the reason of providence. It's the reason of redemption, you see. Christ. Here's what the apostle says as he writes in this pastoral epistle. So he's writing this to Timothy, a pastor, in chapter one, verse eight. So this is 2 Timothy, chapter one, verse eight. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. but be thou partaker of the affliction of the gospel according to the power of God." Don't be ashamed of this. Don't be red-faced. Don't shirk back from this. Don't run from this because people may say things about you or condemn you or make fun of you, you see. Christ was upon the cross and they mocked Him for the joy that was set before Him who's on the cross. But he despised that shame. There he was. Can you imagine the Lord our Christ there? And these wicked people that present themselves as the height of those that are practicing the true religion. Mocking the living God. They claim to know God, but when God showed up, they did not know Him. Even as he said to Philip, Philip, if I've been with you so long and you don't know me, surely there is the ability to sit under this preaching and to be in a church that is indeed a true church of God with a pastor anointed by God, called by God, Preaching the unsearchable riches of the glory of God anointed there by the Spirit to give hearing can sit under these things and miss them completely. And would be ashamed. Don't want to have the stench of righteousness upon them. It's an odious thing to the world. It's a stench in their nostrils. They don't want to bear the shame because the world doesn't like it. The apostle says, listen, don't be ashamed of this testimony. How did it come to you? How did it get to you? What was the price of this salvation that you now possess? Well, I'll tell you what it was. It was the death of Jesus Christ, the painful and shameful death. Don't be ashamed, nor of me. His prisoner. I mean, there are those that make it their duty to run down any preacher that would preach these truths. They give themselves to it as if it is a calling from the pit of hell, from the demons and the devil himself, to give themselves, to speak against that one who would speak the truth of the Word of God. The Apostle Paul, you see, a prisoner. He was a great religionist. And they loved him. In fact, as a young man, they put their coats at his feet as Stephen was being stoned. I used to think that that was a small position, that they just kind of relegated him to that, to watch the coats of these people as they did their demonic and dastardly deed of stoning Stephen. But I have, when I preached through the book of Acts and following this apostle or following Saul of Tarsus, no, he was the leader in this. They laid the coats at his feet because he was above his equals. A great religionist. And they loved him for it. But the ones that loved him, for being a great religionist, despised him when he became a true Christian, you see. A prisoner. There's a sense where we're all prisoners. There's a sense that we all pay the price, even as the apostle paid the price, because we've had friends and families and acquaintance and those that have called themselves our brothers and sisters in Christ who left us, who are ashamed of us, because we didn't tell them jokes and fairy tales and things that made them smile, because we were unwilling to be compromised by the world. Marvel not, John writes, In his letter in 1 John, marvel not that the world hates you. Now here's the apostle speaking, speaking to those who are in the church, ostensibly his brothers and sisters. And he is saying, don't be ashamed of the Lord. Don't be ashamed of me, his prisoner. But here's what you do. You be a partaker of this affliction. You be a partaker of the affliction of the gospel. Isn't it interesting? He calls it the affliction of the gospel. We call men to peace. We call men to truth. We call men to a greater life. We call people to an astounding existence in Christ. Come sinner, poor needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity joined with power. He will save you. He will save you. Sinner, doubt no more. And yet if you come, There will be affliction. There will be those that reject you, those that speak evil of you. Even the apostle Paul said, you know, there are those that speak of me as if I am an evil doer. And in reality, he was the only one doing right. Don't be ashamed, but embrace it. Embrace the affliction of the gospel. Wear it, my friend, as a badge of honor. Thank God that you have enemies that are His enemies. What in the world would it be if we would make a treaty and we would make allowances for the enemies of Christ? I can tell you this, if you do right in this world, you will pay a price. But it doesn't matter. Because we most willingly gave up everything we are and everything we ever hoped to be to have Christ. And it doesn't matter if we offend Let us be careful, my friend, to offend everyone before we offend our God and this Christ. So embrace, be a partaker of the affliction of the gospel according to the power of God. who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling. Here's the effectual calling. Not just a calling that went forth that could be unheeded, but a calling that wakes the dead. For Jesus says the day is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of God and live. Here is this calling. It is an effectual calling and it's a holy calling. What does it mean? It's a holy calling. Well, I tell you, it is a calling that does not come from the world. It is a calling that is set completely apart from the world. And it is a calling to righteousness and to glory, this holy calling of God. And it is a call to holiness, you see. A call to be holy. And what does that mean? That means to be totally separate. That's why they hate us, because we're not like them. And we never will be like them. And the very fact that we exist condemns them. And that's why they hate you. And that's why they speak and rail against you. For doing evil? No. For being self-centered or selfish? No. For self-aggrandizement? No. But because of humility, and because you give yourself to the things of God, which they despise, and will ever despise, because they're not doing what they do to the glory of God, but to self, you see. And they'll add to your affliction. They'll speak of you as an evil doer, even as they did the apostle. But you embrace it. According to the power of God, you can't embrace it unless the Lord gives you some power to do it. Because he saved you and he called you with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose. Here it is, Mwazi called you for his own purpose and grace which was given us, given to us in Christ Jesus when? Before the world began. But now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, whereunto the apostle says, I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher of the Gentiles. So here, this paragraph, chosen in Christ, the first thing it does, it anticipates the next paragraph, which discusses the use of means in the salvation of the elect. So it's just not something that appears, something that just comes out of nothing, but there are means to it, you see, and that's what the preaching is. Prayer is. That's what the ordinance is. That's what the worship is. It is these means. How do people come to Christ? I can tell you how they come to Christ. Because the church of Jesus Christ, the people of God, worship God. Because they speak the gospel. Because they come in here on the Lord's day and sing his praises and come to this table and humble ourselves, showing the Lord's death until he comes. and coming to the baptismal waters, you see, showing the wonderful glory of God that we were buried with Christ and have raised to newness of life, that he was dying on a cross, burying our sin in his body on a tree that we might be made the sons of God, you see. Means. and we are people of means. I mean, often we are accused because we preach without shame the sovereignty of God. We preach without shame the concept of election and predestination. We preach without shame these things because we know these things are the reason that we are children of the living God, you see. They accuse us that Well, it doesn't matter what you do or what you don't do. If God has an elect and he's going to call the elect, then, of course, it'll happen whatever we do. Well, you see, that is a lie. That is not what God has taught us. Because God not only has predestinated the ends, but he's predestinated the means. He predestined us to be in this place this morning preaching these truths that sinners might hear it and turn to Christ. So you see chosen in Christ. It anticipates this next paragraph. Salvation is not a reaction to sin. God made a world and he put Adam in it, Adam sinned, so now he's got to run around and figure out some way to get Adam out of that sin. No, it's not a reaction because the choosing happened before the foundation of the world. There was a Savior before there was a sinner. He said, well, I don't understand all that. Why would he decree the fall of Adam? Why would he do these things? Well, again, I don't know the why of it. I just know that it's happened. This is God's way. Now, I guess I could answer the why question. It probably won't satisfy those people that are really not asking honest questions. In fact, before I got out of Malawi, I was talking to one of, I'm assuming a Malawian, and told him I was there preaching the gospel, that we were preaching. Oh, you're a preacher, yeah. Could I ask you a question? And he said, well, once we get around and we'll be sitting there for a while, I'll ask you a question. Well, he's a Muslim. And I said, now listen, I'll answer all honest questions with honest answers. But he starts misquoting the Bible, and I said, how can I trust you? You're misquoting the Bible, see? You're trying to say that when Jesus called himself a prophet, that means he wasn't God. No, Christ is a prophet, priest, and king. And you'll bow to him one day, and you'll stand before him, and you'll give an account to him one day. He said, well, how can someone who's dead be God? He did die. I said, yes, he died. Christ did die. But when you die, you don't go into non-existence. You can't be unborn. You'll stand before God, and you'll give an account, not to Allah, but to Christ. Because we are chosen in Christ, you see. Before the world, before the sinner ever existed, God's plan of redemption was set into place, not as reaction to sin, but part of His eternal purpose. Again, the elect are not chosen because of who they are, but because of who Christ is. The elect in time are brought to Christ by the gospel as the Spirit empowers the elect to believe. You see, it is through sanctification of the Spirit, you see. These things must be, and God indeed has accomplish these things in Christ. The elect are saved because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. Because of this righteousness, they are accepted in the beloved. Now you see, here's what most people may think. about becoming a Christian or being in Christ. Most people may think that they've added Christ to their life, that they had a life. And this is our experience. This is what we're experiencing. You have this life. You woke up alive. You were alive long before you knew you were alive. You woke up to your existence. I kind of remember the day, some people think that might be weird, but I kind of remember the day that I came to existence. I mean, that I didn't come into existence, but I realized that I had come into existence. I remember that day. I don't really remember how old I was, but I do remember looking in a mirror and being struck by the idea that this is I. I am living. I came to consciousness in a church nursery, or what we called the beginner department. Many of y'all that's as old as I am or older, you remember we used to have beginners, and then we had primaries, then we had juniors, then we had intermediates, and then you became an adult. But there I was in this little room this little building, the white building off of Emmanuel Baptist Church on North Boulevard in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. And it was sometime, I guess I must've been around 1960 or 61, and I remember being in that room playing these little records on a record player, coming to existence, or at least coming to an awareness of my existence. See, some people believe that that's what it is, you see. And then at some point in this world, you heard about a good deal. Here's the deal. If you'll repent of your sin, and you will confess the Lord Jesus Christ, he will save you. And many of us being in the churches we were in, The preacher said, come down here. If you want to be saved, come down here and we will lead you to Christ. And so many of us, that's what we did. We came in an act of faith. We did exactly what they said and what they told us to do. We came and we thought at that moment that we had added Christ to our lives. And so we're, you know, we are whatever we are. You know, we are, you know, a Mississippian. We are a child of our parents. We are someone who is interested in whatever. We are student, or maybe you were an adult. You were, you know, whatever your occupation was, that you have added Christ to that. But you see, but that's thinking about it all wrong. that's thinking about it from the vantage point of man. But here's what the Bible teaches us, that if you are in Christ, if you're in Christ, it's because of God. And then we learn, we learn the real, the real understanding of what it means to be chosen in Christ Christ is not added to you. You're added to Him. The whole reason for your existence is because you were chosen in Christ. Now, what did it take? I told them this as I was preaching to them in Africa, and I've said this to you many times. What did it take to get you into this room? To get you into this room today, what did it take? I'll tell you what it took. It took God to determine that he would create the universe. I can tell you what it took to get you in here. God said in the beginning, You see, it doesn't start when I preached on the God who is. The Bible doesn't start with an explanation or a defense of the existence of God. It declares it. You go to the beginning, what will you find? God. God is already in the beginning, you see. When the beginning happened, the beginning came from Him. He was there. And you see, He's not part of this universe. He's not part of this creation. He's beyond this creation. It dwarfs our thinking to think about this God. To think about this God for one second of contemplation, we are dwarfed completely and our mind is totally bankrupt. To understand Him, He had to condescend to us. And here's what He said before the world began. And Christ remembered that. In that high priestly prayer in John chapter 17, Christ remembered that. Father, glorify me now with the glory we had before the world was. What a magnificent thing to have a memory that goes all the way back to eternity before the world was. What did it take to get you in Christ? It took God saying, let there be light. It took God spreading in the firmament the stars and the planets. It took him to create this terrestrial ball, a speck, just a speck of dust in this magnificent expanding universe. What did it take? It took God saying, let us make man in our image. after our likeness. Why would God decree Adam? Why would God decree his fall? I can tell you why. Because you were chosen in Christ. before the world began. Contemplate that for a moment. Yeah, you. Sinner. You. Depraved. You. Degradated. I can tell you When I think about some of the things I have done, some of the sins I've committed, I shake in fear. But before the world was, you were chosen in Christ out of His mere grace. That's why there was an Adam and an Eve and a serpent and a fall. That's why there was a Cain and an Abel. That's why there was a Seth and an Abraham and an Isaac and a Jacob and the children of Israel. That's why there was a Pharaoh that put them in bondage. That's why there was a Babylon that put in bondage Daniel, Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. That's why there was a Satan who fell That's why there was a virgin that conceived. That's why there was a bloody cross on Calvary. Because you were chosen in Christ before the world was. Let's pray.