Sermon Tone Analysis

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*Sovereignty 10*
Having attended this fellowship for over 15 years, in all that time I have never heard any teaching on a regular part of church life: the church lunch.
So I thought that I would correct that omission this morning.
So, … there is going to be a church lunch; …. and you are faced with the dilemma: what am I going to make?
Now, you don’t have to make anything at all; you could buy something from the supermarket, let your wife see to it, or not take anything along.
It is totally up to you.
It is your choice *[P]* – you may recall that I spoke about “choice” last time, sometimes called: “election”.
If it was a condition of church membership to bring something, then it would be an obligation, a requirement, you would have no choice.
But it is not like that, it is totally up to you.
In the area of what you bring to church lunch, you exercise sovereignty.
Now just suppose I exercise that sovereignty and make the choice to make some scones.
*[P]* Now, I am faced with another choice: what kind am I going to make?
The choice is up to me.
I could make savoury scones or sweet: cheese scones or the herb and onion ones, maybe plain scones, maybe with jam and clotted cream.
But I exercise my will and decide to make date scones.
Why?
Because I decide to.
But my decision is not arbitrary – I have a reason, see?
A purpose.
*[P]* You see?
I know that Robin has a preference for date scones, my plan is to make something that Robin enjoys and it is my intention that he eats them.
I have planned beforehand – the scones I make are predestined *[P]* to be eaten by Robin, and by others!
Now, before I make those scones I know that Robin likes date scones.
That those scones are predestined to be eaten by Robin is based on my foreknowledge *[P]* of Robin and his preferences.
Now my foreknowledge is not like God’s, it is not perfect; Robin may go for the pizza.
Robin also exercises a choice as to what he is going to eat.
Now if I made the most fantastic scones in the world, too good to resist; then they would deserve to be sampled, Robin would have no choice in the matter it – it would be based on merit.
*[P]* If Robin knew that I had made them especially for him he would feel obliged to eat them *[P]*, even if he didn’t want to.
So, if it is by choice *[P]*, then it is not by merit or obligation *[P]*.
Now, I can explain these terms with scones – we understand; the trouble comes when it comes to people – you see? – scones can’t answer back, they are just there to be eaten!
Now, please turn with me to Ephesians chapter one, where a number of these terms appear, look out for them as I read: *[P]* [*Ephesians 1:3-14*/ //Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ!, just as He chose us in Him/ (*[P]* there is that election, God exercised His sovereignty and made a choice)/ before the foundation of the world,/ (and that choice was made before we existed, before the foundation of the world יהוה knew that you would be.
That is His foreknowledge, and He chose you especially to be His own!
Now, isn’t that precious and wonderful?!
As we saw with Jacob and Esau last time, it had nothing to do with them or what they had done, it had all been planned before they or we had done anything – it is predestined *[P]*) So יהוה chose us in Jesus…./ that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
In love having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace that He bestowed on us in the Beloved.
/(We saw last time that love chooses.
יהוה had a destiny for us long before we came into being.
Why? *[P]* It was His “good pleasure”; “His will” – He is sovereign.
“He loves us because He loves us”.
He wanted to, so He did.
That is the only basis – the will of a sovereign God.
What is the purpose?
We saw it last week: “for the praise of the glory of His grace” – He did it for His glory!
*[P]*) /In Whom/ (that is Jesus, the “Beloved”)/ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, that He caused to abound to us/.
(*[P]* God lavishes His grace upon us, we don’t deserve it, He just decides to do it.
The consequence of receiving such undeserved mercy is that we overflow with thanksgiving and praise – we glorify God, who is indeed worthy!
Hallelujah!)/
In all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He purposed in Him, /(See the sovereignty of God?: “His will”, “His good pleasure”, “His purpose”) /for the administration of the fullness of times, to bring together all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him in whom also we were chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of the One who works *all things* according to the counsel of His will/, (God is controlling all things, working in all things according to His will: “choice”, “purpose”, “will”, “predestined”– they occur over and over again – יהוה is sovereign!)
/that we who hoped beforehand in Christ should be for the praise of His glory,/ (the purpose again: the glory of God!)/ in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory!/]
And yet again: *[P]* “for the praise of His glory!”
I hope you are beginning to get the message – that is the purpose, the great motivation in all that God does is *His glory*!
So what is this passage in Ephesians talking about?
Twice it says: “predestined” – what is it that God has predestined us for?
To be adopted, to be sons of God, to be redeemed, to have our sins forgiven, that we should be there in glory praising Him, it is the Gospel of our salvation through faith!
There we were dead in our trespasses and sin, facing the death penalty for our rebellion against God and for pursuing our own will and agenda – and God, in His grace saved us.
It is talking about salvation.
We are predestined to salvation!
*[P]* This has been God’s plan from the beginning.
God knew about it from the before the foundation of the world, even before time began!
God foreknew – it is based on His foreknowledge: [*1 Peter 1:2*/ //according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and for sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ.
May grace and peace be multiplied to you./]
It is by grace that we are saved, and in the purpose of God this grace was bestowed upon us not only before we saw the light, not only before Adam’s fall, but even before that far distant “beginning” of Genesis 1:1 or that of John 1:1 when all there was, was: “/the Word was with God/”.
And herein lies the unassailable comfort of God’s people: if His /choice/ has been from eternity, it will last to eternity!
Nothing can survive to eternity but what came from eternity.
We are predestined to salvation!
There is a lot of talk today about “destiny”, people are very happy to consider the great things that they are destined for.
But some get a bit uneasy when “pre” is put before it.
Why?
Because we like to think that we control our own destiny.
I mean we sing: “I have decided to follow Jesus …” – and that is true, isn’t it?
Didn’t Moses say: [*Deuteronomy 30:19*/ //“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse.
So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,/] and Joshua said: *Joshua 24:15*/ //But if it is bad in your eyes to serve יהוה, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve יהוה.”/]
And Elijah to Israel: [*1 Kings 18:21*/ //Elijah approached to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping over two opinions?
If יהוה is God, go after him; but if Baal, go after him.”/]
From our point of view we choose *[P]*; but there is another side of the coin that we cannot view at the same time; it is God’s view, the view that Scripture, God’s Word, presents: God chose us *[P]*.
God chose me!
Hallelujah!
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