Father, we thank you so much that we can be in your presence.
Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would move in our lives
so that as we are in your presence, we will know that we are in your presence
and that you will make us work within us so that we will be in your presence
to receive from you in a worthy manner and respond to you in a worthy manner.
Father, we give you an unconditional, no qualifications invitation and permission
to have your word speak and rule deep in our hearts.
And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
I became a Christian in November of grade 12.
I'd been on sort of a year-long quest or journey.
It started the previous fall.
But in November, when I was in grade 12, I became a Christian.
And in the spring, I was part of a small group of young people
that we gave out evangelistic tracts after the service.
I don't know if many people know anymore what tracts are.
A little like brochure or a leaflet that you give to people
in the hope that you can have a conversation.
And as a result of the conversation, they'll come to a faith in Christ.
And we weren't allowed to do this on the school property.
We tried to do it on the school property.
And the principal came out and told us we weren't allowed to do it.
So we went just on the edge of the school property on the sidewalk.
And there were three different ways in that school that most...
Mainly two ways that people left.
And we went at one of the main way that people left.
And we stood on the sidewalk and handed out evangelistic tracts.
I know I was one of those guys back then.
And doing that meant that I got actually into a lot of conversations with people.
And there were two guys in particular.
They were well-known in the school.
Some of you can remember what high school was like
and how people get different types of reputations.
And these two guys were very well-known as being intellectuals
as much as anybody in high school can be an intellectual.
But, you know, in high school life, they were the intellectual types.
And they started to have conversations with me
and asked to speak with me separately.
I realized later that they'd taken it on as their pet project
to argue me out of the Christian faith.
But at first I went into it sort of thinking
that they were interested in having a bit of a conversation
learning about the Christian faith.
But really, the very first time we had a private conversation,
the two of them hammered me.
They really hammered me with why Christianity couldn't be true.
And one of the particular things they did,
which really rocked me because I'd never thought about it,
they said to me,
George, in the world you see,
and this is what science has discovered,
and this is what you see in the world,
that there's just a cause,
and the cause creates an effect,
and that effect becomes another cause,
which creates another effect,
which is another cause,
which is another effect.
There's only cause and effect in the universe.
There's no free will.
And given that that's the way the universe works,
you've come to these beliefs,
not because you've freely come to Jesus or anything like that,
but just because of cause and effect.
And the fact of the matter is,
is that the universe described by cause and effect,
it means that Christianity can't possibly be true.
And they did different examples,
you know, a billiard ball,
you need another billiard ball,
and they'd move,
and dominoes,
you make one domino move,
and all of that,
if they're all lined up in the right way,
they all just move,
and they gave me illustration after illustration,
and it was as if they were,
you know, tag team wrestling,
where I didn't have a partner,
but there were two of them,
and they just kept tagging each other off,
and they really hammered me.
And even as I think about it,
I get a little bit uncomfortable about it, actually,
because I'm sure I just sat there,
tongue-tied and red-faced.
And all I could do is,
blether,
there must,
basically,
there must be some answer to what you're saying.
And actually,
that launched me into
about a good solid month,
where I came very,
very close to walking away
from the Christian faith,
because I couldn't figure out
how to deal with what they'd said.
Very, very, very close
to walking away from the Christian faith,
until about a month later,
when I had a conversation with them.
I mention this story,
because there's something in the Bible text
that Shane read,
and what we do here at Church of the Messiah
most of the time,
is preach through books of the Bible.
And one of the really good things
about preaching through books of the Bible
is that they were written as books.
The Bible isn't like a big,
long collection of quotes.
It's not at all like the Koran,
which is just a series of different sayings,
ordered in terms of length,
not even in terms of the order
that they're written,
but that the Bible is,
it's all written as a book.
And so when we preach through books,
you're studying the book,
or understanding the book,
in the way that it was intended to,
as a book.
The other thing, of course, about it
is if you're interested in the Christian faith,
you're not going to be surprised
with the small print later on,
because we don't skip bits.
And in the text that Shane read,
because we're preaching through 2 Timothy,
this is the second week,
there's actually something in the text
which is the identical problem
which I faced with my non-Christian friends.
But interestingly enough,
that identical problem,
which is in the Bible,
is something that many,
has led several people that I know
away from the Christian faith,
because they think it poses a problem
which is insoluble.
And so it would be really helpful to me
if you would turn in your Bibles
to look at it.
And it's in 2 Timothy.
We'll read the whole text later on,
but what I'll do is,
I'm going to focus on that bit.
And some of you are saying,
there was something in that text
that would lead people
to leave the Christian faith?
It's identical to that problem
that George had
that almost led them
to leave the Christian faith.
Like, people don't recognize
it's an identical problem,
but it's an identical problem.
And I'll try to show you
how it's an identical problem.
Here's how it goes.
We're just going to get right
to the little bit,
and then we'll look at the whole text.
It begins 2 Timothy 2, verse 8.
Remember Jesus Christ,
risen from the dead,
the offspring of David,
as preached in my gospel.
And just sort of pause there.
Those of you who might have overheard
a little bit of the text last week.
Paul is in jail.
He's in jail in Rome.
Paul had a record
as long as your arm.
I'm sure today
he'd have all sorts of prison tattoos
or something like that,
but back then he wouldn't have done that.
It would have gone
against the Old Testament law.
But if you read the whole book,
you'll see that Paul is in Rome.
He's doing hard time.
He's chained.
And he knows that even though
he survived all sorts of jail time before,
he has a very, very deep sense
that this time
he's going to walk out of jail
not to freedom,
but to be executed.
And in that he's correct.
He is in jail for the final time.
He will only leave the jail cell
to be executed under Nero.
And I shared last week
that Paul is in jail
not just because of an ideology
or religion,
although he is,
but he's fundamentally in jail
because he won't deny a fact.
And that's a very, very rare thing
to see that somebody
would be willing to do hard time
and to suffer
and even die over a fact.
And the fact is what I just read.
Remember, he's in jail.
And what's he in jail for?
He's in jail
because he believes
that Jesus was crucified
by the Roman authorities.
And after he'd been crucified,
he was buried.
And on the third day,
the tomb was empty.
The body was never found.
And the reason that the tomb was empty
and the body was never found
was because that Jesus
had risen from the dead.
And Paul knows this
because not only is it true
that the tomb was empty
and the body was never found,
but Paul saw Jesus
after his resurrection.
And so Paul is willing to die
rather than deny
this particular truth and fact.
I'll read that verse again.
Remember Jesus Christ
risen from the dead,
the offspring of David
as preached in my gospel
for which I am suffering.
Bound with chains
is a criminal,
but the word of God
is not chained.
Therefore,
I endure everything
for the sake of
the elect
that they also may obtain
the salvation
that is in Christ Jesus
with eternal glory.
The elect.
Now, you know,
those of you who've come
to the church before
know sometimes I'll say,
you know,
with this particular word,
if you look at the origin language,
it sort of means this
or has this other
different type of sense.
If you do this
with the word the elect,
all it does is emphasize
that it's saying the elect.
And it's connected
to the doctrine of predestination.
It's actually,
some of the texts
connected to predestination
were in last week's text.
Remember,
some of you might remember
that Paul says
that people who've come to faith,
they've been called
out of eternity,
that God from eternity
chooses them
and from eternity
calls them.
And from eternity
means that from before
time existed,
after time stops to exist,
underneath time
and over time,
in a sense,
outside of time,
God calls people to himself,
he chooses people,
and this word,
the elect,
is connected
to the whole doctrine
of predestination.
It means,
obviously it doesn't mean
that you're superior
because that doesn't really fit
with Paul being in jail
and chained,
but that somehow or another
God chooses people
and people he chooses
become Christians.
And a lot of Christians
find this a very offensive doctrine.
In fact,
I was just talking
with somebody
just within the last
couple of weeks
that might be
on the way out
of the Christian faith
and the crack in the dike
was this doctrine
of predestination
and election.
It was the crack
in the dike
because the person
found it,
excuse me,
a very offensive idea.
it means that you're not free.
It means only some.
It's unfair.
Like,
how can you,
God says,
say that it's all about love,
that he's all about love
and that in heaven
it's all about love.
George,
when you were talking,
you know,
a little while ago
in some of your blogs
about hell
and all of that
and how,
you know,
God respects your freedom
and you're free to choose him
and love involves
being able to be free
and you say all of that stuff
but now it says,
George,
as if that's a complete
and utter contradiction
and it doesn't even make
any sense of my experience,
George.
I didn't feel like
I was a puppet,
you know,
and then God sort of
manipulating me
to come to a saving faith
in Jesus.
I chose him.
Like,
this doesn't make any sense
and it's very offensive.
And so,
then people start
to look at other things
and they realize
there's other problems
or they think
there's other problems
in the Bible
and they end up,
in some cases,
I've known some people
that that was the crack
or part of the cracks
that led them
to leave the faith.
And I'm going to have to ask
for some mercy.
Give me some mercy
because I don't,
I really,
I don't mean to offend anybody
but I might say something
which might offend.
In every case
when I've had conversations
with people like this
that they've ended up
leaving the faith,
I think all of them,
their testimony would be,
that they came into faith
and the Christian faith
and it was just
all about believing
and you don't use your mind
and you just trust
what people say
and you don't use
your critical faculties
and they started to use
their critical faculties
and when they started
to use their critical faculties
they ended up realizing
they had to,
if they wanted to be,
live an examined life
and be a thinker
they have to leave
the Christian faith
and that leaving
the Christian faith
it's like walking
into a world
of really,
where you really
begin to think.
Now here's where
I need some mercy
because actually
I would say
that what always
happens with them
in my experience,
maybe not yours
if you're here,
is they've left
the Christian faith
and stopped thinking,
not begun to think.
That's why I really
need some mercy.
You see,
my opening story
I said was identical
to this problem
and it is.
You see,
what people are saying
is how on earth
can you believe
the Bible, George,
if it says that God
just causes some people
to have these certain beliefs
but what was the challenge
my non-Christian friends
were saying?
You only believe things
because it's caused.
It's the same problem,
actually.
The exact same problem
looked at from
two different types
of world views.
And you see,
that's the particular thing
is that,
and by the way,
here's another bit
of an aside.
If you haven't seen it,
I really,
really recommend
you Google,
go to the
Dig and Delve
Apologetics
YouTube channel
or just go to
Dig and Delve
and also put in
Oz Guinness
and you'll see
an event
which actually
was in the
Ottawa Little Theatre
about five years ago
or so like that
and the Dig and Delve
Apologetics team
here in Ottawa,
we teamed up
with the major
atheist organization
in Ottawa
to put on a conversation
around the meaning
of life.
And so we had
Oz Guinness
as our speaker
and they got to
choose their speaker
and they chose
a philosophy professor
from the University
of Toronto.
And right on this stage
the two men
had a conversation.
And one of the things
which is so fascinating
is how honest
the philosopher,
the atheist philosopher
from the University
of Toronto is
because in the talk
if you go and listen
to it,
he sort of acknowledges
that he's not sure
if there's any such thing
as free will
because the logic
of cause and effect
would imply
that in fact
there's no freedom,
there's nothing chosen
at all.
And it's a very,
very telling,
honest conversation
between the two men.
But you see,
my friends
who get problems
with predestination
and they leave
the Christian faith
believing that
they're thinking
stop thinking
because they haven't
thought through
what they're stepping
into.
And it's compounded
if they were to leave
for,
once again,
give me some mercy,
but in Islam
it's total fatalism,
total determinism.
It's the essence
of Islam,
total determinism.
And in Hinduism
and Buddhism,
and by the way,
I'm not saying this
about anybody being bad,
but the problem
is that freedom
and free will
is always fundamentally
a type of inherent
contradiction
within all those
schools of thought
because everything
was the one
and there's been
some great disruption
which means that
people think
there are different things
but really there aren't
different things
and the end result
is that there's only
the one
and if there's only
the one
then there can't
really be freedom
and there can't
really be choice
and so you have
this problematic thing
in the middle
but that's not
really adequately
dealt with
and so the fact
of the matter
is that you see
some problems
in the Christian faith
and you think
okay, I'm going to
continue to be
a thinking person
and leave
but you leave
into things
which are vastly
more,
they have no hope.
How did I answer
my non-Christian friends
all those years ago?
This isn't because
I'm particularly brilliant.
You know,
one of the things
I love saying this,
I'm going to say it
and say it
until I die
hopefully.
You know,
I'm going to find
in heaven
that it wasn't
that,
oh,
I'm such a clever
thinker,
I came up
with a rebuttal.
What I'm going
to find out
in heaven
is that my
grandmother
was praying
for me
or some
nameless old
lady in the
congregation
was praying
for me
and that's
why I got
this insight
because God
gave it to me
not because
I was clever
and what I said
to them
eventually
about a month
later,
a month
where I came
so close
to losing
my Christian
faith
and then
one day
I was reading
the Bible
and then
afterwards
I was going
for a walk
and all of a
sudden
it came
to me
Christians
don't believe
that human
beings
are purely
natural.
God
gives us
a soul
and it
was like
whoa
and I
said to
them
here's the
problem
with your
worldview
that the
Bible
teaches
that human
beings
have been
given a
soul
that a
soul
is not
material
it's not
energy
it's
something
that's
spirit
or mind
and it
means that
human beings
both have
a soul
and have
a body
and obviously
we're connected
to the whole
flow of cause
and effect
but there's
something outside
of the flow
of the cause
and effect
and that's
how God
has made
human beings
and out of
that means
that sometimes
human beings
can actually
make full
choices
and not just
human beings
do it
preeminently
but you can
even see
in the higher
animals
that God
gives them
like my
dog
Rocky
a small
degree
of some
degree
of times
when you
can see
that they
choose
to do
some
things
my
wife
trained
our
German
shepherd
that when
she comes
in the
door
Louise
can say
to her
close the
door
Rocky
and Rocky
goes
and closes
the door
expecting
a treat
but the
thing about
it is
is that
if Rocky
comes in
the house
opening
the door
he looks
at Louise
and then he
looks at
the door
he goes
back to
the door
he closes
the door
and he
looks at
Louise
waiting
for a
treat
that even
animals
have a
certain degree
not as much
as a human
being but a
certain degree
of ability
God has given
them something
within them
that is outside
just the flow
of cause and
effect
and I said
that to my
friends and
they had no
answer
the other thing
I said to
them is you
don't actually
believe what
you said to
me because
if you
believe what
you said
to me it
means that
your views
are controlled
cause and
effect
it's not
just mine
it's yours
too but you
don't believe
that do you
and they
had no
answer because
they thought
they just had
an argument
against Christianity
and in the
words of G.K.
Chesterton
they're thinking
it led them
to a thought
that stops
all thought
so how do
we begin to
puzzle this
thing together
of the elect
well I'm just
going to give
you two types
of ways to
think about it
and any of
you and
it's going to
come down to
first of all
we can just
go to Hollywood
novels and
anybody who's
watched a
post-apocalyptic
novel or
movie will
have a sense
about how to
understand the
problem and
the other thing
is if you think
about the
experience of
love so
first of all
post-apocalyptic
novels I
actually just
read a really
really excellent
literary one I
think it was
called the
dog star or
something like
that written
about nine or
ten years ago
really excellent
very thoughtful
people and
so there's a
world where
there's been
some virus
that's killed
like 99 point
you know 99
percent of all
the population
and 99.5 or
whatever so
there's very few
people who are
left in and
it's this
particular novel
set in in the
Colorado area
not that far from
Denver and but
it doesn't matter
any type of a
of a novel or a
movie where some
disease or something
has killed most
people what's
life like after
everything has
fallen apart is
there more freedom
or less always
less why because
they always portray
a world where
there are bands
of roving men
usually men
occasionally with
some women who
basically survive
by raping and
pillaging and so
people who do not
want to make their
living by raping and
pillaging how do
they live they
want to try to
you know have a
garden and have
some food and live
peaceful they hide
they hide
I was thinking
about this this
week when I was
out for a run
along the canal
now I'll be honest
when I say it's a
run I'm exaggerating
it's a fast shuffle
in my case but I
continue to call it
a run so I was
off for a fast
shuffle along the
canal and I was
just thinking about
it in a post
apocalyptic novel or
movie nobody goes
for a run along the
canal nobody just
goes out to a
restaurant or buys
groceries why you
can't you can't do
that if you do you
have to carry lots of
guns lots of knives
lots of bows and
arrows you have to do
all that type of
thing you scurry in
you scurry out and
you try to protect
yourself so how is it
that we have freedom
we only have freedom if
there's something like
a government and
laws something that
guarantees and creates
the context for
freedom and that's
exactly what the
Bible teaches that's
why only the Bible
only gospel centered
Christianity can
provide an answer to
the paradox of how we
live in a world where
there is both true
freedom and where
there's cause and
effect why because God
guarantees it he
created the world he
designed that world in
a particular way he
said I'm going to
design human beings in
my own in in in in
our image in in our
image and we're going
to design human beings
so that there's a
little bit of something
in them that's not just
part of the cause and
effect but it's
completely connected to
them and it means
they're going to be
affected by things we
all know how brain
chemicals can change
things in our mind but
there's going to be this
flow of cause and
effect but they're still
always part of human
beings something which is
outside the flow of
cause and effect that
they can choose they
can they can have an
identity they know that
they're different than
rocks and trees
and and birds and
bees and bugs and
beavers they're
different and and and
and and yet they're
also creatures and they
can choose and they can
be in the world and
we're going to guarantee
it I'm going to we're
going to only create a
world like that we're
going to sustain a world
like that so that
there's real freedom
and in fact it even fits
within Christianity
because how do
Christians understand
God the Father the
Son and the Holy Spirit
three persons one God
from all eternity
from all eternity there
was the Father loving
the Son in a sense
choosing the Son to
love the Son in the
Son choosing to love
the Father and the
Holy Spirit in that
whole mix and so right
from the very nature of
God there's choice
there's freedom there's
love and it is that God
the Trinity that creates
human beings and creates
a world that in some way
reflects the character of
the triune God and he's
created us to be free he
sustains our freedom
when we meet a human being
who's lost their freedom
that's completely and
utterly captivated or not
captivated completely and
utterly overcome by
Alzheimer's or by
dementia or by mental
illness we feel sorry for
them we feel they've lost
their identity and have
become completely and
utterly controlled by
outside forces and then
of course we by our other
choices can be people can
enter into alcohol or drugs
in a way that diminishes
their freedom pride and
narcissism and and and and
over self-regard reduces
our freedom evil reduces
our freedom virtue increases
our freedom the the humble
person the meek person is
vastly more free than the
proud and arrogant person
vastly more free if you can't
control yourself if you can't
be self-effacing you are less
free than the one if you can
control yourself and you are
self-effacing you are more
free than the one who cannot
be self-effacing can only be
proud so the Bible describes
it the second thing is though
like what about the fact
George that well I'm still
trouble there's still trouble
by freedom and the fact that
God chooses you from all
eternity to become a
Christian and yet it still
feels free and it doesn't seem
to fit George years ago when I
was in my rural parish and I'm
so I hope this doesn't isn't a
an analogy which is wounding
for some for some people but
there's this really really funny
woman and she was good friends
with some of the people in the
congregation and she'd come to
all of the in rural Anglican
churches they're always having
like suppers and all these types
of things and and it's really
quite glorious if you have even
something like a hymn singer a
choir sing and for rural people
you have to have a big meal
afterwards rural people are far
more like people like in South
America or Africa you meet you
have lots of food the first time
we Louise and I got invited out
for supper in a rural place they
didn't just offer me one type of
meat three types of meat were
offered in the meal lots of
different other not just one way of
having potatoes and anyway that
they just like they love to eat
anyway so there's this woman and I
said are you like I should I
refer to you as Mrs. or Ms. and
and she laughed because she was
she was round and jolly she said no
you should call me missed I never
got married I was missed I missed
you know whatever Smith and she just
laughed away at it and went
downstairs and lined up for the
buffet she wasn't bothered by it at
all but you know here's the thing
about this so here's the thing
this story illustrates two things
the first is every single one of us
not every single one of us many of
us more than once have experiences
where we feel both most free and
most determined most free and most
bound and that's the experience of
love if you meet a young couple you
oldies and they've just really
fallen in love and they're gonna get
married if you talk to them at all
they'll say I've never felt I've never
felt so free and so alive as I do
right now what will they also tell you
I've never met anybody that it just
feels I have to marry them they feel
completely and utterly bound and
compelled and it's not just with
something like that it's it's often
how it is and I know I can be
touching on troublesome things for
some people I know there are people
who'd love to have babies and they're
never able to have them but often a
mom and a dad but often a mom in
particular will feel that way when
they're holding their newborn baby
they've never felt so much love they've
never felt so much themselves and so
alive and yet at the same time so
completely and utterly tied and
compelled to that little life you see
when you go up you come to this
port where you're both most free and
most bound and the Bible describes that
God is love you see the fact of the
matter is is that the Lord both chooses
you to be his child by adoption and
grace and provides you the freedom to
choose him the Lord both chooses you to
be his child by adoption and grace and
provides you the freedom to choose him
now one of the things about this these
stories that I've given is it can cause
a lot of trouble that people who always
wanted to marry and were never able to
marry people who were married and were
in love and and now there may be living
with a in divorce or whatever people who
wanted to have that baby and were never
able to have that baby and these are
very very troublesome thing it touches on
a very very deep wound in the center of a
lot of our lives a very very deep wound
or whose marriages right now are on the
rock those days of feeling so free and so
alive and so bound have have gone away
you know and in fact I've talked to
people who say you know all all my life
nobody's chosen me they weren't like that
woman in Eganville who could say I missed
missed Smith and just sort of have a
laugh and maybe she could do that because
she was older and had come to terms with
it and so they hear this doctrine that
God chooses you to be his child by
adoption and grace and provides you the
freedom to choose him and in your bones
you have this very very very deep sense
the Lord would never choose me
no one's chosen me story of my life
you know what they should have on my on
my tombstone the unchosen
but I want to tell you something right
now if that is at all your reaction
anyone here anyone working online that
the story of your life is the unchosen
if that's what comes to you unbidden
as I describe this very very wonderful
thing because it's a very wonderful
thing which I'll describe a little bit
more in a moment if you feel that at all
you know what that is you're hearing his
call you're hearing that he's chosen you
the person who doesn't give a flip
that's a different category but if you feel
I never get chosen you know what is you
are feeling God's choosing you and I just
would like to encourage you to stop
listening to me and say God have you
chosen me I would love it if you chose
me I would love to have Jesus as my
savior but I just pour out your heart to
God and say that's what you'd like and
become his child by adoption and grace
see here's the other thing which is so
wonderful about this particular doctrine
in fact actually see here's the thing
which is so wonderful about there's so
many things that are wonderful about
this doctrine if you think about it for
a second if God didn't do something
like that there'd be no Christians I
wouldn't be a Christian I'm not
naturally spiritual if it was just up
to me I would sleep in this morning I'm
reading a really good novel I'd probably
go for a run I'd probably go somewhere
and have a coffee in the afternoon have
a nap somewhere along there I'd watch
some NFL football games and then have a
beer or wine at the end of the day
church would definitely not be part of
it and let me tell you something else
how many people do you think will wake
up on a Monday morning and say I'm
trying to figure out how to get
connected to the living God you know
what I think I'm going to look at the
hundred thousand plus Romans people the
Romans crucified back 2,000 years ago I
have a feeling that some crucified guy is
the key to life what are the odds of
that zero zilch what if Jesus God sends
Jesus to die upon the cross I mean who
when he died upon the cross who was left
on the grave his mom John a couple of
women everybody else all the cool kids
all the powerful kids all making fun of
them it isn't enough that God just
provides the means of salvation he
needs to bring people to salvation you
know one of the wonderful things about
the story of the Jesus and in Luke
chapter 7 when I read about the the
young man that's dead and how does what
happened to that young man the young man
isn't dead and said I think I'll get up
and talk to my mom no he's dead he says he
doesn't say to himself I think I'd like
to talk to Jesus no he's dead how does a
parable where how does a story work not a
parable is a story work Jesus calls him
he calls him out of death into life and
because he calls him out of death into
life the man's alive and let me tell you
you read the Bible read Philippians read
Colossians read Ephesians what does it
regularly say apart from Christ we are
dead the dead don't choose
and so the gospel is this wonderful not
only this good news of what God has done
in Jesus to make us right with him it is
this wonderful news that God doesn't just
look around look for the cool kids the
powerful kids the ones who are always
chosen he'll choose some of those he
chooses the Dalits he chooses he chooses
the street people he chooses the middle
class the working class he chooses the
only chooses the unworthy and he calls
them and his call comes from all eternity
comes out of love it comes to you and
you respond to it that he not only calls
you he gives you the freedom to respond
to it it's all from him and then you can
say George well if it's just all from
that like why would anybody even do
anything or try anything like why don't
you just sort of just let God do
everything but you see if you do that
it's like this true story I I had I had
been going to this very very conservative
Baptist church you know I come to come
to faith very very very very add like add
six varies that's how conservative it was
and and an evangelical and about 20 years
later I'm I'm at a bus stop on Bank
Street and I I meet a I meet a guy
cigarette sort of you know one of those
guys he's sort of as if there's a wind he
you know he'd had more than a few beer so
he's standing there and he says oh George I
say hi to him I ask him if he's connected
to the church or he asked me about that and
I asked him about that and he says to me as
he's swaying he said you know Christianity
is wonderful God loves to forgive and I
love to sin and he said I figured out
that I'm gonna have a really really really
good time until I'm too old have a good
time and then when I figure there's about
a year left to live I'm gonna give my
life to Jesus go to heaven they gave me a
drunken smile so you see here's the
thing he thinks he's fooled God he'd not
given his life to Jesus he's figured he's
done an end run around God that he's
read the fine print and he's been able
he's gonna be able to trick God he
doesn't think he needs a savior he
doesn't think he's dead needs life he
doesn't think he's blind and need to see
he doesn't think he's broken and needs to
be whole he doesn't think he's lost and
needs to be found he thinks he's superior
to everybody and even God and he's found
a loophole around God's provision and
God's conditions that will get him what he
wants that's called presumption and God
sees right through it what is the
doctrine of election do why is it that it
actually if you grab it and you
understand this that gives you this it as
it grabs you more and more it gives you
courage it helps you to do hard things it
propels you and draws you to do things of
sacrifice and of humility and of self
examination that you might have thought
impossible before the gospel starts to
grab you I'll give you an example for
many years I've wanted to write a book it's
the first time I've ever said this in
public I'd love to write a book I love
reading books so I'd love to write a
book not a particular surprise but here's
what goes through my mind I don't have
the time I'd have to cut time with Louise
I'd have to take time out of the job and
you know the book probably wouldn't be
any good even if I could write it and
even if I wrote it and it's so it wasn't
very good and I'd probably sell a couple of
copies in my church because people out of
pity would buy it and and then they'd come
and say way to go George it's such a good
book and I'd say yeah yeah that's 40
sales and wasn't worth the time what if
one day God showed up and said George I
want you to write a book and the book
you're going to write is going to help
a hundred thousand people I've called you
to write this book and because I don't
have as much faith as you God has to
show up two or three times and even
after the third time he says this still
isn't working I'm going to show up to
Louise so Louise will tell George and
then I finally know that that's the
case that God has called me chosen me to
write a book you know what then I go to
the wardens I go to you folks and say
you know what I'm going to take an hour a
day out of my time I go to Louise I'm
going to take an hour a day out of our
time with you and the family I'm going to
be working on a book and all the stuff
and all the time when I'm struggling
with not knowing the right thing and
how to edit it and and and all the
times I'm tired and all the times I feel
that it's not worth it or it's not
working it's all worth it the sacrifice
is worth it because it's going to end
with something that God has already said
he's going to do and rather than creating
laziness it gives you hope it gives you
endurance because it's not presumption
it's just believing what God has said
and that's why we need to gather in
church to hear that God has chosen you
yes I know he had poor taste no just
joking if you say to yourself did he
know how big of a screw-up I am did he
know how weak I am does know how bad a
Christian I am yes he know all that stuff
he chose you and because he chose you
you've given your life to Christ and
nothing will ever take you out of his
hand and your end will be glory and
because of that you can go and you can
try hard things you can do hard things
you can look at the sin in your life
you can go and humble yourself and ask
forgiveness and seek reconciliation you
can give away your money you can give up
of your time why because it's worth it
God has called you he's chosen you he's
done everything to make you his child
he'll never let you go that is the
gospel
remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead
the offspring of David as preached in
my gospel for which I am suffering bound
with chains as a criminal but the word of
God is not chained therefore I endure
everything for the sake of the elect that
they also may obtain the salvation that
is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory
why do you share the gospel why do you
bear witness to Jesus God uses imperfect
people like us but he does all he does
all the work he still has people in this
city we have a brother who's going to be
going back to Asia why does he go to
Asia because God has people call he's
calling in Asia right brother not
because nothing personal not putting
you down it's not because you're an
unbelievably charismatic persuasive
salesperson it's a matter of
obedience and you open your mouth you
get on your knees and pray you open
your mouth you do acts of love share
about Jesus and you go there knowing
what God has people in Asia that he's
calling and he's using imperfect people
like you and he has people in Ottawa that
he's calling he uses imperfect people
like us
might invite you to stand please
let's just bow our heads in prayer
father the word this morning says that
you want to make us strong and you want
to make us strong in grace we give you
thanks and praise father the grace that
you have given us that purely and utterly
your are your unmerited kindness and
favor and love towards us that you would
provide a savior your unmerited kindness
towards us that you would call us and
give us the freedom to freely choose
Jesus as our savior and Lord your
unmerited kindness to us because you
have called us that you will you and
made it effective you will never let us
go no matter how many hard times we
experience you will never let us go even
those times when we appear to wander you
will always father take us back because
your grip is never let us go father this
wonder of grace that you know everything
there is to know about us and still
Jesus died for us still you called us
that we do not make ourselves righteous
and perfect we do not you do not add up
our merits that it's all your grace and
love and mercy towards us and we give you
thanks and praise father that you want
us to grow in strength not in our in
self-confidence but in confidence of you
and of your grace and if you're a
effectual call to us in our lives father
we ask that that you who have helped us to
be gripped by the gospel that we would grip
the gospel back and that it would have a
deeper and deeper hold and roll in the
very center of our lives and that father
that as your word comes to us in the and
as your gospel comes to us as your Holy
Spirit moves and works within us that we
will not be conformed to this world but
that your grace will transform us to take
risks risks of speaking risks of
forgiveness risks of humility risks of
generosity risks of giving that your word
father will transform us so that we know
you and know your will and bring you glory
and delight in you and all these things we
ask in the name of Jesus and all God's
people said amen
God bless you
and God bless you
you
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