Scripture actually says the shepherd counts his sheep and he realizes that there's one missing and he goeth out and searches until he finds it. Until he finds it. That's the perseverance of the good shepherd. He won't quit. You know why? The father gave the sheep to the son. And he said, of all that the father had given me, I shall lose nothing. He will persevere to keep us. All right. Open your Bibles this evening to the 18th chapter of the Gospel of John. We come to the portion of Scripture at the end of the chapter where the Lord Jesus Christ, he's already been taken in the garden. He's been arrested. He's been led away to appear before Caiaphas, the high priest, the son-in-law to Ananias. And then he leaves Caiaphas' location and he's led unto Pilate. There is such a controversy over just who this man Jesus was. I like what Dr. Langer said at the Bible College. I believe it was S. Lewis Johnson, Dr. S. Lewis Johnson, out of Dallas Theological Seminary, who stated this. He was either liar, lunatic, or Lord. Which one is he to you? Alright. Was he a liar? And he wasn't the Son of God? Was he a lunatic and just a deranged man? And it said he was, but it really wasn't. Or was he Lord? Well, he not only was Lord, but he is Lord. Amen? Okay. There is such a controversy over just who this man, Jesus, was. But I will tell you who he was tonight. before we, just by way of introduction. He was the perfect God-man. He was God in the flesh. For such a high priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. The Word of God. I want you to imagine this. The spoken Word of God the Father is God the Son. The Word of God became flesh and dwelt and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory. The whole planet beheld His glory. You realize in 586 when the Shekinah glory of God departed the temple in Jerusalem, the glory of God was gone. And it didn't come back until Jesus was born. That was the glory of God, the God-man, Jesus Christ, separate from sinners, made higher than the heavens, holy, harmless, and undefiled, perfect, without spot, without blemish. He lived the life that you could never live. He paid the price that you could never pay. It would take you all eternity to pay what He paid. He endured the full wrath of Almighty God. Now we're going to tread into some of the deepest waters tonight, probably that we've ever treaded. You preached sovereignty, election. You preached total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance and preservation of the saints. And now you're going to tell us we're going to go even deeper? Yes. We're going to go in deeper water tonight. This is not milk. Alright? So if you've got your bottle with you tonight, set it aside. Okay? This, what I'm going to give you tonight from the last part of the Gospel of John, chapter number 18, is strong meat. Strong meat. Now, by way of introduction, let me say this. Man gets so uptight when his freedom and his will is in question. If I begin to question your freedom, folks, that's the reason we have America today. is because we want it to be free. But when we as Western people of the Western civilization, when our freedom and our will begins to be questioned, we get angry. We get upset. We get uptight. Man wants to hold on to something. He wants to lay claim or to be able to take credit, to get the pat on his back, to be lifted up for his own salvation. In religion, man wants to boast about himself. But in regeneration, man is broken and he is humbled and he will boast about God. That's regeneration. That's regeneration. That's by the will and the work of a sovereign God. I want us to look at the sovereignty of God tonight in this trial. The trial before the Jews and even before Pilate. We're going to look at that this evening. People claim that mankind is a free Moral agent. How many has heard that before? We are free moral agents to do whatever we will to do. Well, we're going to look at that tonight. We're going to lay both of them on the scales. And I'm sorry, but the sovereignty of God won't fit in the scale. So I'm just going to lay a little bit of scripture there. And it will still outweigh the free moral agency of man. Just the Scriptures that I lay over there will still outweigh the free moral agency of mankind. And it's all right here in this text. It's all right here in this text. You say, Brother Doug, how do you get that out of John 18 from verses 28 to 40? I'll show you tonight. We see in this text, even though that Pilate wanted to release Jesus, He was determined to do so. He wanted to release Jesus. His wife said, have nothing to do with this just man. I have suffered many a thing last night in a dream because of him. Have nothing to pilot. Wanted. Do you realize that, folks? He wanted to release Jesus. If he was a free moral agent, why didn't he release Jesus? He's the most powerful man in Jerusalem other than Christ. But he was not free to do so. Let's read our text in its entirety this evening to deal with this issue on the scales, man's freedom versus the sovereignty of God. Man's freedom versus the sovereignty of God. John 18, verse 28. Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas into the hall of judgment, and it was early. And they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover. Pilate then went out unto them and said, What accusation bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. In other words, if he wasn't guilty, if there wasn't some reason, that's the reason we brought him. Okay? And if he was not guilty, if he was not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. Then Pilate said unto them, in verse 31, Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. And the Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man unto death. Verse 31. That didn't stop them with Stephen, did it? Oh my! Just a little bit later on, what did they do to Stephen? That didn't stop Saul of Tarsus, the Pharisee among Pharisees, going out and killing Christians. Hello, free moral agent, old baloney. Verse 32. That the sayings of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and he called Jesus and said unto him, Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did some others tell it, tell it thee of me? In other words, Jesus says, where's my accusers? The law says you've got to be accused by two or three witnesses. Where are my accusers? Let's move on. Verse 35. Pilate answered, Am I to? Thine own nation and the chief priest have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered. Referring back to Pilate's original question, Art thou king of the Jews? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world, and if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from his. Pilate said therefore unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause I come into the world. that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is of the truth. Underline that in your Bible. Everyone that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Everyone that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Verse 38, Pilate said unto him, What is truth? Imagine standing there before God in the flesh. Him being all of His deity, all of His glory, all of His sovereignty was veiled by the flesh and Pilate still standing there before the sovereign God of all creation and he dares to ask Him what is truth. And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and he said unto them, I find no fault at all. Huh. I find no fault with this man. Verse 39, But ye have a custom that I should release unto you one at Passover. Will ye therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews? The king of... Would you want him? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man. But Barabbas, now Barabbas was a robber. Like I said tonight, folks, we're going to get into some very, very deep, deep water tonight. So before we do, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Let us bow our heads. Lord, we come to you tonight as just a vessel. Lord, just as your humble servant, Lord, to be used by your sovereign will. Lord, not to exalt ourself or not to degrade anyone tonight, Lord, but that what we may give, Lord, we may give in the spirit of grace and in the spirit of truth, Lord, so that it not tear anyone down or boast anyone up, Lord, but it might magnify and honor and glorify you, oh God. For Lord, we know that thou art solid. And you do as you will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay your hand or say unto you, What doest thou? Lord, may your word go forth. May you bless this reading tonight. And Lord, may you anoint my lips of clay that I may speak only, only, Lord, what you would have me to speak in the spirit of grace meekness and truth for your honor and for your glory. In Jesus' name and amen. Verse 31. The free moral agents that brought Jesus forward to Pilate wanted Him dead. The Jews, they wanted Him dead. Do you agree with that? They wanted Him dead. You know why they wanted Him dead, folks? Bottom line is this. The main reason, He threatened their monopoly on religion. He threatened their monopoly on their form of piety that they had going on in Jerusalem. He was a religious threat to the Jews. They were losing followers left and right. They had lost Nicodemus. They lost Joseph of Arimathea. Folks, these were mighty men in the Sanhedrin court. Nicodemus was the master teacher, Brother Ted, the doctor. He had more degrees than a thermometer. Jesus said, Art thou the teacher of Israel? And you do not know these things. The teacher, the definite article, the master teacher. Nicodemus was the man. He was the master teacher of all the Pharisees and they lost him. They lost him. Why? Because he was a sheep. That's why. And Jesus said, My sheep hear my voice and they follow me. But these free moral agents brought forth Jesus to Pilate. They wanted him dead. They didn't care how. They wanted him dead. Verse 30 of chapter 18. Then answered and said unto him, If he were not a malfactor, this is the Jews speaking to Pilate, if he were not guilty, if he were not a malfactor, if he had not done something worthy of death, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man unto death. That the saints of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake signifying what death he should die. Now, I don't know if you realize this or not, but notice the free moral agents here were being used by the sovereign hand of God to work out God's sovereign plan of redemption. God was not going to allow the Jews to kill Christ in a manner which the law demanded. What did the law demand? Anyone who blasphemed against God. And that was what Jesus was falsely accused of. Blasphemed against God by making himself the Son of God. He said, I am. What was the penalty? Death. But how? Stoning. The sovereign hand of God prevented the Jews from stoning Jesus. That didn't stop them with Stephen, but he stopped them with the Lord. Were they free moral agents? No, they were under the authority and the control of the foreordination of Almighty God. If they were free moral agents, Ted, they'd have took him out and stoned him. But John says that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake, signifying what death he should die. Turn to John chapter 3. Turn to the gospel of John chapter 3. What manner is Jesus going to die? Well, if he's a free moral agent, the Jews, they could have took him out and stoned him. Been done with the problem, not even had to go before Pilate. Look at John chapter 3, verse number 14. This is the manner in which Jesus spake. He must die, not by stoning. God prevented the Jews from stoning. The providence of God, the sovereignty of God said, No, I have foreordained my son that he die on a tree for a ransom for many. John 3.14. Jesus spoke these words. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. Speaking of what manner he should die, go to John 8, 28. Lifted up is speaking of the cross. It's speaking of the cross, amen. Look at John 8, 28. And then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up, the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He. And that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things." Now go to John 12. See, they could have stoned him, folks, if they were free moral agents. That was their law. Go to John 12, 32. 32 and 33. Look what Jesus says here. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, lifted up from the earth, crucified, hanging on the tree, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. And he said, this he said, look in verse 33, the lifting up, this he said, signifying on death he should die. It was impossible for them to stone him. But yet that didn't stop him from stating it. God said, no, that's not how my son's going to die. My son's going to be lifted up between earth and heaven because he's going to pay the ransom, bear the iniquities of many. If the Jews had killed him alone, it would have been by throwing him down and stoning him. The free moral agents would have been operating in accordance with the law, and they would have been free to do that. But I'm telling you here tonight, they were not free moral agents, nor are we. If you put them on the scale, I guarantee you every time, in accordance with the Scripture, the sovereignty of God will always outweigh man's will. Always. But these so-called free moral agents were prohibited from stoning Jesus. Why? He must be lifted up. That's the manner in which he must die. John 18, verse 33 and 34. Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again and called Jesus and said unto him, Art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this of thyself? Or did others tell it thee of me? You know what Jesus is actually saying here? You see folks, He fulfilled the law. Do you realize every single thing that the law demanded? All 613 laws of the moral law and of the ceremonial law, Jesus fulfilled. And He said, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me? Do you know what he's saying here in general terms? In a roundabout way, he's saying, show me my accusers. Because the law says you cannot condemn me without two or three witnesses. At the mouth of two or three witnesses. That's what the law says. Jesus is saying, Pilate, are you saying this of yourself? Or did others tell you? Where are they at? Where are they at? Let me face my accusers. Now look at verse 35. Verse 35 through 37. Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priest have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight. that I should not be delivered to the Jews, but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate. the Roman governor of Judea, as a free moral agent, stood right there in front of Jesus, determined to let Him go. The most powerful man in all Jerusalem was standing before the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He was standing right in front of truth and did not even know it. Deep down inside, He wanted to release Jesus, a free moral agent. Why didn't he? The Bible said in the book of Acts, he was determined to let him go. The most powerful man in Jerusalem, he had the backing of the entire Roman Empire. He could have called legions down there to quell the rebellion of the Jews. He could have said, Caiaphas, you priest, you members of the Sanhedrin, I am Pilate. I represent Rome. This man will not die. I am determined to let him go. But the sovereignty of God over rode his own will to release Jesus. Free moral agent? Poof! That just goes right up in smoke, don't it? Jesus said to Pilate, Thou sayest I am a king, to this end was I born, and for this cause I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Folks, this blows the view of being a free moral agent right out. Are we free? Yes, we are. Do we have a will? Yes, we do. But I'll explain that a little bit later on. But we are, our will will never override the sovereignty of God. In the end, always, God wins, regardless. I like what Brother Maurice said over there in In general, not general epistles, but in Professor Lambert's Jonah class. That old fella up front, buddy, he turned around. He said, God will never make you do nothing against your will. Buddy, he was getting angry. God will never make you do nothing against your will. No, he won't. He'll change your will. OK, he'll change your will. And then you'll want to do what God wanted you to do. And if he changes your will, Ted, and you still rebel, you know what Brother Maurice White said to that man who said, God will never make you do nothing. We're talking about Jonah now. He said, God will never make you do nothing against your will. Maurice said, no, God will change your will. And if you don't still move, he'll feed you to the fish. He'll get you to the point where you'll want to do the will of God. Amen? He will bring you down to the lowest parts of hell. The seaweed will be wrapped around your neck. You will see the mountains at the bottom of the ocean floor. And finally, you will come to your senses and you will cry out, Salvation is of the Lord. And then God spoke to the fish. And the fish vomited Jonah out on dry ground. Notice, Ted, Jonah cried. Oh, he prayed. He did all of this in the belly of the fish. But nothing happened until he acknowledged who God was. Salvation is of the Lord. Jonah 2.9. Jonah 2.10. The fish vomited him out on dry ground. God is sovereign. You say, God ain't gonna make me do what I don't want to do. He'll bring you to the point where you want to do it. Amen. All right. Folks, this blows that view straight out the window. This book does not support it. I wrote this down in the office with Brother Ted. Folks, I'm not beating up on nobody tonight. Listen, I love every single one of you. And I love my daddy. And I love my family. The word free will is in the Bible 17 times. It's all in the Old Testament. Not one time is the word free will in the New Testament. Not one time. Seventeen times it's listed in the Old Testament. Sixteen of those seventeen times it is speaking of a free will offering that is brought into the sacrifice. One time it don't appear as a free will offering. I want to read it to you. I want to read it to you. The one time out of 17 that it does not appear as a free will offering. It's in Ezra 7.13. The book of Ezra chapter 7 and verse number 13. And this is what Ezra the prophet writes. I make a decree that all they of the people of Israel and of his priest and Levites in my realm which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, and I'll go with thee. That's the only time it's mentioned in the Bible, not dealing with a sacrifice. Basically, if you want to go to Jerusalem, then come on, you can go. It's of your own free will. We have a will, Brother Ted, and our will is free, but yet our will is limited. to the sovereignty of God. It will never override, change, or dictate God's sovereign decree. Jesus said in John 10, 27, 28, listen to what he said. Speaking of, you know, my sheep, or basically he said, those that follow me, those that are of my kingdom, they know truth when they hear truth. And listen to what Jesus said in John 10, 27, 28. 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. He said, My sheep hear my voice. He said in John 6, verses 44 and 45, No man can come unto me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him. Now, please, please, Take aside everything you've ever learned about that four-letter word, draw. D-R-A-W. Look it up in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, and you will see that that word, draw, used right there, is not to invite, is not to woo, it's to be brought in like a fish in a net. To wrap, to fold, to coil up, to be brought in. Why? How? By the sovereignty of God. You know, Brother Ted, when they saw him standing on the bank, they had been out fishing all night long and they hadn't caught nothing, Sister Margaret. And Jesus of Horeb said, children, have you any meat? Cast on the right side. Boy, didn't fish. Oh, Sister Tana, they wanted to jump in that net. And boy, that net got so full, Brother Ted, they couldn't even pull it in for the multitude. That's what God does to your free moral agency. No man can come unto me except my Father, which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day." Listen, 645, as it is written in the prophets, they shall all be taught of God. And every man therefore that heard, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father, or in other words, what the original Greek is saying there, hath been taught of the Father, or taught by the Father, shall come to me. That's what Jesus said. Jesus said if you've been born of God, you'll be taught of God. And if you've been taught of God, you'll come to me. That's just the way it is. Then the free moral agent, Pilate, who wanted to release Jesus, said in John 18, 38, Pilate said unto him, What is truth? Standing there looking at truth. And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews and said unto him, I find no fault in him at all. He imagined he's standing there before sovereignty. He's standing there before deity. He's standing there before God. He's standing there before the man, the perfect God-man who told Philip and his disciples in John 14, 6, I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. No other way. No other way. It's Christ. It must be Christ and Christ alone. plus nothing, minus nothing. In John 18, 38 through 40, he says this, Pilate saith unto him, what is true? And when he had said this again, this, he went out again unto the Jews and he said unto them, I find no fault at all. No fault. He wanted to let him go. He wanted to, we'll get to that here in a little bit. Don't worry. I've still got four pages of my outline left to go. I'm halfway done. Listen, He wanted to let him go. But ye have a custom that I should release unto you one at Passover. Will ye therefore that I release unto you the king of the Jews? Then they, oh, cried, oh, they again, saying, not this man. We don't want him. No, away with him. But Barabbas, now Barabbas was a robber. Man claims to be a free moral agent, yet the Bible teaches this. This is what the Bible teaches about your free moral agency, your will. You're depraved, you're a sinner by nature, by birth and by choice. And before God frees you through and by the truth, this is your free moral agency. Dead in trespasses and sin. Wherein in times past you walked according to the course of this world. according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit of the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now work within the children of disobedience, among whom also we, we, me, you, before God's grace came into our heart, into our life, before God birthed faith and repentance into us, we had our conversation in times past in the left of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. That's in Ephesians 2, by the way, part of verse 1 all the way through verse 3. We were by nature the children of wrath, and my friend, before the Spirit quickens the dead natural man, he can only act in accordance with his depraved nature. He can't do anything that goes against his nature. I was asking Brother Paul Hudson before service. I said, you know, as a little boy, I used to look at birds and watch things. I had a crazy imagination. Imagine that. But I used to look at birds and airplanes and I always wanted to fly, Brother Paul. Always did. But even as Ted, as much as I willed it, I could never do that. Do you know why? It went against my I can't fly. I wasn't made to fly. I don't have the capability. I can't fly. No man can fly unless God gives him the power to fly. No man can come unto me unless my Father, which is in heaven, hath given it to him. Man's freedom versus the sovereignty of God. Which is it? Well, the scales for man ain't looking too good, is it? Seriously, folks, if you believe this and believe what it says, you might not like it. And boy, you know what? I didn't like it either when the Lord first started to show me. Let me tell you what. He had to calm me down. He had to put me under house arrest, literally, before God showed this to me. It tore me up from the floor up. I didn't like it, Ted. You know why? Because it broke my pride. Oh, it broke my pride. And I had to acknowledge that He is God. And beside Him, there is none else. Man's freedom versus the sovereignty of God. Let's see which one wins. This is a fight to the death, folks. This is. This is not just about a doctrine tonight. This is a spiritual warfare. Amen? You say, I don't like that, Brother Doug. Get over it. That's what it is, folks. It's a lie straight out of the pits of hell that robs God of His glory. The Jews claimed to be free moral agents, yet God prevented them from stoning Jesus. Why? That was the custom under the law. He had to be lifted up, Ted. That was the matter in which they were free moral agents. They could have never stopped them with Stephen. It never stopped Paul or Saul of Tarsus from killing all of those Christians. It's not customary. It's not given to us under our law for the death penalty. Why are you going to turn around and do it to the deacon named Stephen? God prevented you from doing it to Christ because you're not as free as you thought you was. Pilate claimed to be a free moral agent. Yet God prevented him from releasing Jesus, even though he was determined. His mind was set to do so. Acts chapter 3, verse 12 through 15. Then when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on us? as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk. They had just healed the man. That silver and gold have I none. But what I do have I give thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Take up thy bed and walk. And now Peter's given his defense. The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob and the God of our fathers hath glorified his Son Jesus whom ye delivered up. Whom ye denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. Free moral agent? Something interfered, Ted. Something got in the way. What was it? The sovereignty of God. Amen? But ye denied the Holy One, and the just, and desired not a murderer be granted unto you. And you killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses." Both parties thought that they were free moral agents, and both parties thought that they were acting on their own. But turn over to Acts 3. Look at verse 17 and 18. Look what the writer, Dr. Luke, writes here in Acts 3, 17 and 18. He said, And now, brethren, I want that through ignorance you did it, as did also your fathers. He said you did this out of ignorance. But look at verse 18 of Acts 3. But those things which God before hath showed by the mouth of all of his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Man's free moral agency could not even deter the sovereign counsel and the foreordination of God. Jesus spoke these words in John 10. He said, Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it up again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down on myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again, take it up again. This commandment I have received of my father." Do you think it was their actions of being a free moral agent that allowed Christ to be crucified? I'm going to tell you what it was in Acts chapter 2. The writer here tells us Peter preaching on the day of Pentecost, he told us the reason. Christ was put on that cross. He told us the reason that the Jews weren't allowed to stone him. He told us the reason that even though Pilate was determined in his heart, in his mind, to let Jesus go. He told us the reason Jesus still went to the cross. Acts 2, 22. Ye men of Israel! Hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you, both by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Verse 23, Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Who allowed Jesus to be arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane? The Father. Who allowed Judas to betray Him and sell Him for the price of a slave? God, the Father. Who allowed Caiaphas to send Him to Pilate without stoning him that he must be judged by the Romans. God, the Father, who allowed, who changed the will of Pilate, who was determined to let him go and to free the just man because of counsel from his wife. God, the Father, free moral agency will always be overrode by the sovereignty of God. Man's freedom versus the sovereignty of God. Which one crucified Christ? God crucified Christ. The freedom of man did not put Jesus on that cross. The sovereign foreordination of the counsel of a holy, just, righteous God put his only son on that cross. It pleased the Lord, Isaiah 53 said, to bruise Him. 700 years, Ted, before He even went to the cross, Isaiah said it pleased the Lord, pleased the Father, to bruise Him. Why? That was God's plan to redeem you. God overrode the free will of the Jews. He overrode The free will of Pilate, he overrode the free will of all of Jerusalem for you. For you. That's sovereignty. That puts man's freedom in a different light, in a different perspective. But why do we continue to hear that we're free moral agents? I thank God I'm not a free moral agent. I thank God he changed my will. And the psalmist writes in Psalm 110, verse 3, he said, Thy people, thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. What does that mean? That means when the Spirit of God breathes life into the dead sinner, their will is now changed. It's still free, but oh, now it's unlimited. Before, it was limited. They could only operate in accordance with the nature of their will, and they were by nature children of wrath prior to the new birth. Now, that's the introduction. Here's your message. Brother Tim. Here's your message. That was introduction. Here's your message. Four points I want to bring out tonight. Four points I want to bring out tonight. Why the sovereignty of God over saw and overrode the circumstances at Calvary and even during the trial. Let me show you just four quick reasons. Oh, there's plenty more. I only pulled out four. Four quick reasons why Christ was crucified by the sovereignty of God and why not the so-called free moral agents, what man wants to teach, that is not what put Jesus on the cross. Number one, the people that put Jesus on the cross, they were of their father. They were of their father. People want to say, listen to me, don't get mad at me for saying this, but Jesus said this. People want to say that God is the father of everybody. That's not true. Before you were saved, God was not your father. You was by nature a child of wrath, as Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 2 verse number 3. They were not of their father. And there is a spot in the Bible when Jesus looked at the Pharisees even and He said, you were of your father, the devil. He told the Pharisees that. He told a group of people that. So the people that put Jesus on the cross, the so-called people that had free moral agency, they were of their father. You know what I have done? I have skipped a whole page in this outline. What is going on, Brother Ted? They were of their father. Let's go here to this one. They were not taught of God. None of them. None of them were taught of God. Why? What did Jesus say in John 6, 44 and 45? No man can come unto me except my father, which hath sent me, draw him. And I will raise him up. at the last day, as it is written in the prophets, they shall all be taught of God. Every man that therefore hath heard and hath learned of the Father come unto me. They were of their father, which was the devil. You can say you're free all you want to, right man? God's sovereignty will always override that. And God used the reprobate to accomplish His determinate counsel. They were of their Father, and they were not taught of God. Because if they'd been taught of God, they'd have known who Jesus was, and they'd have went to Jesus. They'd have said, You are the Messiah. You are the Christ. Oh, but people don't like this one. Their eyes were blinded. Their eyes were blinded. Jesus says in Luke 10, 21, He said, In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, I thank Thee, O Father. Lord of heaven and of earth, for thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent and has revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight. Folks, do you realize what Jesus is saying there? Jesus rejoiced in his spirit. And he said, Father, thank you, because you've hid this from them over there and you've opened it up to these over here. Thank you, Father. That was actually one point. I want to jump forward because I've got the other one. I remember what it is now. I deleted that whole page before I printed it. I can't believe that. I deleted that whole page before I printed it and started on a new page. Listen to me. They were of their father. Their eyes were blinded. They were not taught of God. And they were goats. They were goats. John 10. This will be quick because you all have heard this one before. Turn to John 10. Go to John 10, 16. Let's go up to verse 15. John chapter 10, the Discourse of the Good Shepherd. Okay, look at John 10, 15. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep, and other sheep I have. which are not of this fold. Them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." Jesus said, there's Gentiles out there that's not been saved yet, but I'm going to bring them into the fold. Do you know why? Because they're sheep. But look down at verse 25, when he's speaking to the Pharisees now. Jesus answered them, I told you and you believe not the works that I do in my father's name. They bear witness of me. But you believe not because ye are not of my sheep. As I said it to you. So if they're not sheep, what are they? They're goats. They're of their father, the devil. All right. They're not taught of God. Their eyes were blinded and they're goats. Now, I'm going to throw a monkey wrench in your theology. Don't fire me. You might not like me for this, but you still got to love me. And just because we disagree on this, that's all right. We'll get you straightened out in the millennium. OK? Look back up at verse 15. As the Father knoweth me, even so I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. What did he say about these Pharisees down here in verse 26? He told them they weren't sheep. Folks, that's hard. And he lifted up the cup and blessed it and said, This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for. What's the word? Many, many. You say, I don't like that preacher. Hey, take it up with him. He accomplished redemption. He purchased something. What did he purchase? He purchased his bride. He purchased all of Israel, the elect of Israel. He never purchased any goats. That sin penalty was paid in the person of Christ. And if God poured out His full measure of wrath upon that sin, that sin can never, ever, ever be punished again. But Jesus said, I lay down my life for the sheep. And he told the Pharisees, the ones that didn't believe, he said, you are not of my sheep. Their eyes were blinded. And Jesus said, Father, I thank you that you've done this. You've chosen to hide it from the wise and the prudent. You've chosen, O God, to reveal it unto babes. And it seemed good in thy sight to do so. In closing, turn to Romans 11. Turn to Romans 11. Their eyes were blinded. Free moral agency. Well, you know, Esau, people teach Esau was a free moral agent. He sold his birthright for a morsel of meat. And then the Bible said with bitter tears, he sought repentance, but he couldn't find it. Look at Romans 11. Look at verse 7 and 8 of the Apostle Paul's writing to the epistle to the Romans. In closing, we're almost done. Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel yet? All right, we'll turn your high beams on, because we're almost there. Look here. Verse number 7, Romans 11. What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for. What was they seeking for? Somebody help me out here. Come on, let's exegete what Paul is trying to say here. What was they seeking for? They were seeking for a Messiah, weren't they? Oh, they were seeking for the Christ. They were seeking for the Anointed One, the Holy One. They didn't obtain that which He seeketh for. But the election hath obtained it. Oh, Israel didn't obtain it, but God's elect obtained it. Amen. And matter of fact, God's purpose of election was what obtained those who were called, chosen in Him from the foundation of the world. God elected. And the rest were blinded. Their eyes were blinded. According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear unto this day. That's why Israel to this day, even though, man, free moral agent, God said, I've blinded the eyes of the Jews to provoke them to jealousy. Why? Well, look at, look at, Look at verse 25 of the same chapter. This is deep, isn't it? I told you, meat. I hope y'all don't get heartburn tonight. All right. I've got some Alka-Seltzer in the office or some tongues. Come see me after service. Look at verse 25. For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits. Blindness, in part, in part. Oh, I like that. In part. You know what that means? That means He didn't blind all of Israel. He's still got a remnant of elect that He's still saving. There's still Messianic Jews being saved that receive Christ as the Messiah. He said, Israel, blindness in part, that is happening to Israel. John 10, 16. Other sheep also I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring in. Why? Until the fullness of the Gentiles be come. Free moral agency versus the sovereignty of Almighty God. There you have it. And the winner is and always will be God. For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen. Let us close in prayer. Lord, to you and only you be the glory. Lord, you are worthy to be praised with every breath that we have in us for all that you have done. You have chosen, you have called, you have redeemed. Lord, all of this was by your work to do your good pleasure in us for your honor and for your glory. And Lord, we ask ourselves constantly Why? But Ephesians tell us, because in love it pleased you to do so. Lord, there are many things that we do not fully understand. And there's many things in this life that we will never understand. But Lord, regardless of what is put before us from your blessed Holy Writ, even though we may not be able to understand it, Lord, Lord, help us to receive it. with the spirit of assurance, knowing that our trust is in you and that we can place full confidence in you and you alone, because the God of the earth shall do right. Thou art holy, holy, and holy. And we thank you for all that you are to us. Even though we are so unworthy, you have changed our nature, you have changed our will, and we are what we are. by Your grace, and Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power. To God be the glory, in Jesus' name, and amen.