Father, we thank you for bringing us all out this morning. We're so grateful to be able to come together as your people, to be able to get into your word, Lord, to be able to continue to learn more really about you, Father. And really, truly, election is all about you, God. We're simply the recipients of what you have decreed from before the foundation of the world. And it's amazing and awesome, but as amazing and awesome as it is, if it doesn't come back around to give glory to your name, well then it is useless. And so we pray that through this study we would do just that and come around to bringing glory to your name. personally, individually in our own lives, God, and corporately as the body of Christ, the church. So please help us this morning as we continue to dive deep into your word. Guide us and strengthen us. Father, we need to truly hear from you. I pray, Father, you would touch every heart by your spirit, that you'd speak to every heart by your spirit through the very words that come forth, God, your words, and I pray that every word be clear, concise, and accurate biblically, bringing glory to your name, Father, we praise you and thank you in Jesus' name, amen. Okay, so last week we looked at basically the decree of election and the biblical concept of election. We looked at We looked at some other things. We looked at predestination in election according to the decree of God. And we looked at how even in God's election, Christ was delivered over to death and so many things. that really show just the doctrine of election as decreed by God from before the foundation of the world. And this is so important to where we're going as we dig down deep when it comes to salvation. soteriology, and that's why I'm so grateful how MacArthur Mayhew have put this together in such a way, because it really does run forward, linear if you will, pedagogical, and it deals with all the things leading up to that are so important to understand. Because if I don't understand the, let's just say the eternality of God, the omniscience and omnipotence and omnipresence of God, all the things of God, which are God. And I come to salvation, well, I might then want to try to give myself credit for what God has done, which is huge these days. So now we're going to roll into the categories of election. What I mean by categories is simply that scripture employs the terminology of election in several senses. We see that God has elected or chosen certain people either to an office or to perform specific tasks of service. We see that God has chosen basically those whom he pleased to even the priestly ministry of Israel, even, if you will, the tribe of Levi in general and the men individually, And we're going to see that not only with that, but as a whole, men individually, God has chosen, if you will, as his priest, specifically speaking of Aaron, who was the first in a long line of priests chosen divinely by God. But we're going to look at categories of election now as we go. So again, scripture employs the terminology of election in several senses. First, God has said to choose or elect certain people either to an office or to perform a specific task of service. He chose people for leadership over the nation of Israel, as in the case of Moses. In Numbers chapter 16, verses 5 through 7, we see that Moses spoke to Korah and all his company, saying, tomorrow morning the Lord will show who is his and who is holy and will bring him near to himself. Even the one whom he will choose he will bring near to himself. And then Moses do this, take censers for yourself, Korah and all your company, and put fire in them and lay incense upon them in the presence of the Lord tomorrow. And the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the one who is holy. And then Moses says, you have gone far enough. you sons of Levi. In other words, Korah, you and your rebellion has gone far enough and God is going to put you straight. The context here is the rebellion of Korah. And you find that in Numbers chapter 16. I would encourage you to write that down and read that when you get some time. But basically, we know who stood tall. What happened to Korah and those who rebelled with him? If you recall, The ground opened up and swallowed them alive. And who is left standing? Well, Moses, because God chose him and then the people with him. Psalm 106, 23 says this, therefore he, God, said that he would destroy them. Israel had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to turn away his wrath from destroying them. Of course, dealing with the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness, and Moses stood in the steed, if you will, on their behalf. Not only is God said to choose or elect people either to office or specific tasks of service, but also election is employed when God speaks to Zerubbabel, Haggai 2, 20 through 23. If you guys want to turn there with me to Haggai, not a book we turn to often, unfortunately, You have Zephaniah. If you find Zephaniah, keep going. It's a right-hand turn. Then you have Zechariah. If you get Zechariah, go left. It's right in between those two books. Haggai. We're going to look at chapter 2, verses 20 through 23, starting at verse 20. Then the word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the 24th day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I'm going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of the kingdoms of the nations. And I will overthrow the chariots and their riders and the horses. and their riders will go down, every one by the sword of another. On that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will take you, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, my servant, declares the Lord, and I will make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the Lord of hosts. So even here we see God's election, if you will, concerning Zerubbabel as he spoke to him through Haggai the prophet. Scripture indicates that God chose those whom he pleased to the priestly ministry of Israel, both the tribe of Levi in general and men individually. And we're going to see Deuteronomy 18, 1 through 5. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 18. We're going to look at verses 1 through 5. says this, the Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord's offerings by fire and his portion. They shall have no inheritance among their countrymen. The Lord is their inheritance as he promised them. Now this shall be the priest's due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep, of which they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. You shall give him the first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first shearing of your sheep. For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever. And most specifically, who was it that he chose, if you will, first for this priesthood? Aaron. Aaron. But not only with the liturgical priesthood as a whole, but even men individually. Specifically speaking, Aaron, who was the first in a long line of priests divinely chosen by God. And we see this in 1st Samuel 2, 27 and 28 says this, Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Did I not indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in bondage to Pharaoh's house? Did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be my priests, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before me? And did I not give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel?" Again, dealing with the Levitical priesthood, starting off with Aaron, who God chose, and then from there forward, that lineage would be his priests. As with office of priest, so also God elected His chosen ones to serve in the offices of king. Deuteronomy 17.15 says this, You shall surely set a king over you, whom the Lord your God chooses, one from among your countrymen. You shall set as king over yourselves. You may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman. So even God, in choosing a king, basically for Israel, he says, you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. So God had planned to give them somebody to rule over them when the Israelites got, if you will, rambunctious, I guess you could say. They said, we want a king like the rest of the people. And God said, OK, I'm going to give you a king. Who was the first king? Saul. Saul really wasn't a good king. That's it. That's about it. That's about it. But God had already in mind. from before the foundation of the world, David, a man after his own heart, to be king of Israel. And in fact, the Davidic kingdom is said to be an eternal kingdom for eternity. In fact, in the millennial reign, Christ will rule and reign from the throne of David in his kingdom, in the kingdom, the millennial kingdom. But not only that, God has also chosen those to serve as prophet. Go to Jeremiah chapter one. This is a great example of this, and in fact, Jeremiah is referred to as reference to the rest of the prophets in some senses. Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 1 through 10 says this. The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah, the son of Ammon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month. Basically, it tells us when this happened. If you do the research on that, it gives you a date in time and history. It says this, now the word of the Lord came to me saying, after you were born, I then knew. Oh, it doesn't say that, does it? Well, excuse me. I don't know what happened there. Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were Born, I consecrated you, I've appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then I said, Alas, Lord God, behold, I do not know how to speak because I am a youth. But the Lord said to me, Do not say, I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out his hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms to pluck up and break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant. So not only God is the one who formed him in the womb even before then knew him and consecrated him, and chose him, appointed is your word there, that's election, God appointed him, chose him to this day over the nations and the kingdoms. You'd say, but wait a minute, wasn't Jeremiah in prison most of the time? How did he? pluck up and tear down and destroy nations. Well, because he was God's messenger who went forth with the truth, went forth with warning. In other words, this was God's plan already. Jeremiah was simply the vessel who went forth and who spoke the truth of God. And then, of course, condemnation came with that truth. And I would even encourage you here today, you know, we're called to do one thing. That's to go forth and proclaim the truth of the gospel. It's through that message that people, either by the grace of God, through the spirit, the regenerating work of the spirit of God, come to saving faith, or who, by just the already unredeemed hardness of heart, continue on in their reprobation. and are subject to condemnation. And just remember, it's not simply because, and I want to be careful with this, that you reject the gospel that you are going to hell. Remember, we're already all headed there. Jesus said, I did not come, the son did not come to condemn the world, but that through him, An already condemned world of people may come and be saved. Of course, the elect are the ones who will. So again, I just want to be careful there, but even in election, God has chosen ones to serve as prophet. The Father also, in a special manner, chose the Son for the task of accomplishing salvation For the elect, you have Isaiah 42, 1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. Now turn over to Luke chapter 9 with me. This is so important. This is so important. You know, and it's so unfortunate today, and I even know Christians who would just kick and scream against what we're doing here, just teaching doctrine. And they would say, I don't want this, I just want Jesus. And basically what they're saying is just let me be ignorant. I don't need to know all this stuff. No, you do. This is how we grow and mature. This is how we become Christ-like, because we understand Christ and we emulate him. We become like him. But Paul lays out a perfect pattern for us in several of the epistles. Romans is one of them. The first 11 chapters are doctrine. Then he transitions from 12 to 16 into duty. Do you see what I'm saying? In other words, now, brethren, I urge you by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Why? Because of all that you now know that God has done for you. It is your logical, it is your reasonable service of worship. After all that God has done for you in Christ, because of what you know, now you need to come forth. You are responsible, you are commanded to present your body a living in sacrifice, holy and pleasing, acceptable to God, which is your logical service of worship. So it is so important that what we do is built on the truth of scripture. What you believe will determine how you behave. And what we know about our Lord and Savior and our God and Father should definitely continually change us to be more like Christ. And I hope that makes sense. I hope that's you here today. I pray that's me. I mean, it's so important. Isaiah 42, 1, behold my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. Luke 9, 28 through 36 says this. Some eight days after these sayings, he took along Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. While he was praying, the appearance of his face became different, and his clothing became white and gleaming. And behold, two men were talking with him, and they were Moses and Elijah, who, appearing in glory, were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now, Peter and his companions had been overcome with sleep, but when they were fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. And as these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, not realizing what he was saying. You cannot put these three people on the same level, if you will. You have the Lord and his servants. We are simply slaves of Christ. We are not equal with Christ in any which way. Peter was not knowing what he was saying. So of course, then what happens? While he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them. And they were afraid as they entered the cloud. Then a voice came out of the cloud saying, this is my son, my chosen one. Listen to him. Listen to him. So this would be your parallel passage. This is what he says. Behold, my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one. This is one in whom my soul delights. Then, of course, even at the baptism of Jesus, This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased, well pleased. So the father also in a special manner chose the son. for the task of accomplishing salvation for the elect. What's interesting there is the wording there used for his changing, if you will, that it was basically his glory, still veiled, was shown. And that's what the bright light was. It's metamorphou. It's what is on the inside was being revealed on the out, still veiled, because no one can stand in the presence of God, not in bodily form. And I hope that makes sense, because here's the thing. It's the same word used in Romans chapter 12. Do not be conformed to the world, be ye being metamorphou, transformed. Let what is really on the inside be shown on the out. It is the same picture of a... caterpillar to a butterfly. That's what we're continually to be doing is being changed, showing the change that has happened on the inside on the outside. It becomes an appearance. That's what it means to present your body a living sacrifice, to live holy and pleasing unto God, not being conformed to the things of the world, but demonstrating your nature as redeemed who you really are by the continual transformation of what is inside coming out and being revealed to those around. And that would show in your love for the Lord. That would show in your service to the body of Christ. That would show in your self-sacrificial giving of your time and tongue, treasure, talents to the body of Christ. That would show in whatever God has gifted you to do, you doing. That's how that shows. And we're constantly being transformed. What is on the inside is being revealed on the out. 1 Peter 1.20 says this, for he was, again back to the father also in a special manner chose the son for the task of accomplishing salvation for the elect. Peter says, for he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you. I wanna turn to 1 Peter 2 real quick and just read these for you. You don't have to turn there. I'm gonna read verses four and six though. Verse four says, and coming to him is to living stone, which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God. Verse six says, for this is contained in scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed. a choice and precious, an elect cornerstone, one who would fulfill the Father's plan in accomplishing the task of salvation on behalf of God's elect, Christ. Then during his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus himself chose 12 of his disciples for the task of apostolic service and preaching, Mark 3, 13 through 19. Mark chapter 3 verse 13 says this and he went up on the mountain and summoned those whom he himself wanted and they came to him and he appointed 12 so that they would be with him and that he could send them out to preach and to have authority to cast out the demons and he appointed the 12 Simon to whom he gave the name Peter and James, the son of Zebedee, and John, the brother of James. To them he gave the name Bonergis, which means sons of thunder, and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus, and Simon, the zealot, the zealot, sorry, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him, who betrayed him. We see the same thing in Luke 6, 13 through 16. I want you to turn with me to John chapter 6. Again, we're just going to look at a few passages here. But this is so important as well. Again, with the elect of the apostles, we know that one of them was a betrayer. And we are going to get into that a little bit. Because that's important as well. You say, well, what about Judas? Well, it simply says this. He had a specific task. He was elect in the sense of he had a specific task to fulfill. So he was chosen for a certain office. That office, that task, was predestined from before the foundation of the world, prophesied in the Old Testament that he would betray Christ for 30 pieces of silver, is the prophecy. And then he went and died, basically hung himself and fell and his guts spilled all over the rocks. And he died. You say, well, what's going on with that? Well, just don't tell people God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life, because I don't know about Judas. I'm not sure. And he was among the, if you will, elect in the sense of for a specific service, not for saving faith. It's important. That's why we're going through this the way we are, that we know these distinctions, just like we're going to see next week, Lord willing, with corporate election. There are many who would interpret Ephesians 1-4 as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, not dealing with the individual elect, but dealing with the Church as a whole. And then it's just really up to you whether or not you make it into the Church based on your decision for Christ, which is not the case, but we're going to deal with that next week. So, John 6, 66-71. This is right after Jesus told the Jews, basically, if you do not eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, you have no part in me. And they lost it. They flipped out. He had what we know of, I think it was 5,000 men that he just fed. And that's not including the women and children that were with him. Some say it was 15,000 to 20,000 people. All these that he referred to as disciples, they were following him around. They were learning from him. Disciple is simply a disciplined learner. They were learning from Jesus, though their motives and intentions were wrong. But when the rubber met the road, here's what happened. Verse 66, as a result of this, many of his disciples withdrew and were not walking with him anymore. The Greek rendering there is they withdrew, never to come back. It's a matter of permanence. They went away, and they were never to come back, never to return again. It's a matter of permanence. So Jesus said to the 12, you do not want to go away also, do you? Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God. Peter says, we have believed and come to know that you are the Holy One of God. Hey, we've come to believe this. We know this. It's just something that happened. We just came to believe. And Jesus says, here's what you need to understand. He answered them, did I myself not choose you, the 12? But yet one of you is a devil. Now he meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray him." So here, I love what MacArthur writes, in response to Peter's words that the disciples had come to believe in Jesus, On their own cognition, their own free will, they made a choice. Jesus said, follow me. And they said, OK, we are going to make a choice. They left everything. That wouldn't have been the normal choice to make. Jesus reminds him that he sovereignly chose them. Now, in John 6, I'm going to read real quick three passages. Verse 37, if you want to write these down, says this, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. That is the one who comes all the way in a saving way. God will draw. Verse 44, no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him Oh, and the one that does truly come, Jesus says, I will raise him up on the last day. Verse 65 says this, and he was saying, for this reason I have said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father. Salvation is a work of God through Christ. It's not a decision of man. It is what God has done and decreed to happen from before the foundation of the world. Once God draws, and it happens through the gospel, we preach the gospel, the spirit of God does the work, and God's been drawing, right? The gospel is preached, the spirit does the work, tears out the heart of stone of Ezekiel 36, 25 and 26, replaces it with the heart of flesh. Now you have a regenerate person. The scripture says a man being Christ, he is a new creature. Now you have the new creature. Along with that is a renewed or new mind and a renewed or new will. Happens in the mind, then the Spirit works on the heart, right? The mind, the emotions, and the will all play a part upon the work of the Holy Spirit on the heart. Once you have a regenerated person, now, because of what they know of the gospel, logically, they think it through emotionally. There is a sorrow that leads unto death, a worldly sorrow, but there is a sorrow that is according to the will of God, a godly sorrow that leads unto repentance, unto salvation. Then repentance happens. That's the will. After all this takes place, then the person can now, with a renewed will, not a fallen will like we had before, look, we still have a fallen nature, can now take and turn from their sins and turn, repent, and embrace Christ in all that he is. Not until regeneration happens first, does these things happen. That's the order of salvation. That's how salvation works. And we have to understand that. We get it backwards. We think that if we can somehow mysteriously get somebody to repeat a prayer after us, that all of a sudden they're saved. And we get them to come forward, and we flash them in front of the congregation. Everybody goes, ah, yeah, ah, ooh. And then next thing you know, a week or two goes by, and you don't see them anymore. happens all the time, unfortunately. Why? Because what I call the American church has it all wrong. They've got it backwards. Jesus though would not allow even a whisper of human pretension in God's sovereign election Jesus would not allow the slightest idea of anything other than sovereign election to reciprocate among the disciples Even concerning Judas the devil the slanderer the false accuser see Jesus supernaturally knew That the devil himself was the source working behind the scenes working in and through Judas. Jesus identified this precisely and specifically. See, Judas was not well-intentioned, but misguided, and was trying to force Jesus to exert his power and set up his kingdom, as some would suggest. But was a tool of Satan due an unmitigated wickedness? So even when it comes to Judas, he had the money bag. He was a thief. He was greedy. He wasn't redeemed. He wasn't saved. And he had a purpose to fulfill. So if you want concerning God's predestined and foreordained plan of Jesus's betrayal, according to the foreknowledge of God, you see in Matthew 27, 9 through 10, We'll go there. We didn't get as far as I thought we would today. So it gives us some more stuff to work with. But I want to deal with this aspect of Judas while we're here. I think it's important that we understand this. Matthew 27, 9 through 10. And again, we have to look at what is revealed in the text, not how we feel about it. God is not subject to man's fallen notion of fairness and feelings. Those things crucify them. Get rid of them when it comes to sovereign divine revelation. Matthew 27 9 and 10 then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled. And they took the 30 pieces of silver, the price of the one whose price had been set by the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me. Fulfilling. this prophecy really Matthew brings two prophetic passages together fulfilled by this one incident Jeremiah 19 1 through 13 and Zechariah 11 12 through 13 you have John 6 38 through 40 which we were just at we just read that passage I'm gonna read it again for you, 38 through 40 says, for I've come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. This is the will of him who sent me, that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my father, that everyone who beholds the son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day. John 18, one through 11, you can write down, John 13, 18, as well as another passage that you can look at. Second, scripture also speaks of corporate election that we were just talking about. the choice of certain nations or groups to enjoy special privileges or perform unique services to God. This is never clearer than in the case of God's choice of Israel to be the recipient of his covenant love and blessings. As Moses declared the law of God to the second generation of Israelites preparing to enter the promised land, he insisted that their covenant relationship with Yahweh was rooted in his sovereign election. We see this in Deuteronomy 7, 6 through 7. I'll read it for you. The Lord your God has chosen, the Hebrew word bachar, you to be a people for his treasured possession. Out of all the peoples who were on the face of the earth, it was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love, Hebrew word chashach, on you and chose bachar, Hebrew you, For you are the fewest of all peoples." In other words, this is how you can explain foreknowledge, is that God, from before the foundation of the world, chose to set his love upon certain people. Okay, upon specific people. One, the nation of Israel. He set his love upon. And you will see, well, we may not see it. We'll either die or the rapture happens. But God will restore the nation of Israel. through the time of tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, seven year tribulation, they will go physically into the millennial kingdom reign where they will then populate and live. There will be a thousand years where Jesus will rule and reign. We will be with him as well at that time. but then the nation of Israel will be restored but not only that this will be in Israel around Jerusalem area but the rest of the world as well will still be populating and then there will be a final war at the end of that thousand years so God will restore his people because he has chose to set his special love upon them as a nation now that's corporate if you will so now we're dealing with corporate now corporate still in that israel is a nation is all israel going to be saved paul says just because you're an israelite doesn't mean you're israel part of god's elect so deuteronomy 7 6 and 7 and deuteronomy 10 15 says this Yet on your father did the Lord set his affection, again, kashach, to love them. And he chose, Hebrew, bachar, their descendants after them, even you above all peoples. Not because there was anything special about them, not because they were more in number. One passage comes to mind, and this is significant for today. And we're going to get to this passage next week as well, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 26 1st Corinthians 126 is this for consider your calling brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen the things that are not so that he may nullify the things that are so that no man may boast before God by his doing you're in Christ so that comes to mind this is God's doing so God set his electing love and affection on Israel to be his special possession among all the nations of the earth He entered into covenant with them, and as such, his choice of that nation is irrevocable. While the vast majority of the Jewish nation are presently enemies of the gospel and cut off from covenant blessing, nevertheless, a time is coming when, as Romans 11.26 states, all Israel will be saved. Romans 11, 2 states that God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. It's a Greek word, progenosko, foreknowledge, as we were just talking about. And it regards election. Eklage is the Greek word. Paul says, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers, for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable, Romans 11, 28 through 29. But turn there with me. I want you to see it for yourself. Turn to Romans 11. As you know, Romans 9, 10, and 11 really deal with this in depth. Romans 11, verse 1, we're going to skip through. I say then, God has not rejected his people, has he? Question mark. No, no, no. May it never be. For I, too, am an Israelite, descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people, whom he chose to set his saving love upon. He foreknew, prognosco. Or do you not know what the scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? Lord, they killed your prophets, et cetera, et cetera. Go over to now, I want to look at verse 28. And if you know, verse 28, from the standpoint of the gospel, they are enemies, Israel, for your sake. But from the standpoint of God's choice, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as once you were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience. So these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you, they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience, so that he may show mercy to all. You go, OK. I see what this says. OK. It doesn't appeal to my emotions. It doesn't appeal to my fallen logic. And then verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who became his counselor? No one. Or who is first given to him that it may be paid back to him again? No one. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen. And he launches into this doxology of praise after going through this wonderful passage of scripture. Finally, in addition to election unto service and corporate election, scripture clearly teaches that God chooses certain individuals for salvation. Some theologians point to several passages of scripture that teach vocational, that is, elected to service, or corporate election in order to argue against the doctrine of unconditional individual election. However, such an argument is invalid, we're going to call it. It is invalid. But unfortunately, we're out of time. So we're going to have to pick this up right here next week. And we will deal with this as we go in you have those handouts uh basically it's a handout that i printed up the election of god it's just a topical summary of god's election in angels people for specific services moses and aaron they're back there in the back if you do not have one i'll make sure you get one but let's pray father we thank you so much for the wonderful graces and mercies that you have extended unto us oh god and we can do nothing but Humbly bow face down to the ground with the Apostle Paul and say, oh, from you and through you and to your all things, oh God, to you be the glory forever, amen. That's the only logical conclusion we can come to, God, is the doxology of praise after all that you have done. We get it. We understand it. We know what's going on. There's been a hardening. They have been, if you will, put on the shelf temporarily, but you have set your love upon them, and you will bring them back, which is just why the administration makes so much sense. That there will be a literal thousand-year rule and reign of Jesus in the Millennial Kingdom. That your people Israel will be pulled in by you, the remnant, to populate. They will be given the land promised, God. It just makes so much sense, Lord. It all comes together. So we thank you. We praise you, God, for helping us, Lord, this morning. I pray that you'd really speak to every heart and that you'd bear much fruit with this study. Father, we want to pray for our pastor as he gets ready to give your word. God, help us to have ears that hear with the purpose of doing. Lord, please, would you help us? We pray for the worship time. And we pray for all the classes that will be going on here today, that all things be done for your glory. So please bear much fruit with this study. We love you and thank you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Any questions? Comments?