All Things For Good: Chap 1.

Reformed Rookie

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:14

All right, so most of you know we're going to be going through the book, All Things For Good. So this is, that's

00:21

Thomas Watson, nice little picture of him. This book you can find online, type in All Things For Good by Thomas Watson, PDF, and you can upload it into your

00:33

Kindle, your phone, print it out, whatever you like, chapter by chapter. So what we plan on doing is go through this book chapter by chapter over the next several weeks because it really is an incredible exposition of this verse and the attributes of God and how each one of these are going to be applicable to our lives.

00:54

So let's start with the first one. So the book is based on Romans 8, 26 through 30.

01:03

And that reads, Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the

01:10

Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the

01:17

Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And even in that, those two verses right there, what that tells us is that the

01:26

Holy Spirit sanctifies our prayers. So even when we don't know what we're praying, what we're asking for, or maybe we're not using, we're aiming and we're missing,

01:37

God sanctifies our prayers and uses them for our good. We go on, and we know that for those who love

01:45

God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

01:50

For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

01:58

And those whom he predestined, he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those whom he justified, he also glorified.

02:06

This is just a tremendous two verses for us to chew on. All things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

02:16

And on Sunday, we talked about being called by God, right? When you're called by God, it's this internal working of the

02:22

Holy Spirit, he brings you to life, and now, everything that happens in your life, God is going to work together for good.

02:28

An incredible promise. Then we get to verse 29, and I highlighted the word he in red, because this is all

02:39

God's work, right? There's no you in there, there's no me, I, right?

02:45

This is all he foreknew, he predestined, he called, he justified, he glorified.

02:52

This is all the work of God. But now, the question becomes, did this verse just pop into Paul's mind?

03:01

Was there any basis for him saying this? So what

03:06

I want you guys to know is that this verse finds its roots in the Old Testament. This is not something new, this is something that was prophesied about by Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

03:18

So we're going to take a look at those verses now. First, Jeremiah 31, 33, and 32, 37.

03:25

Jeremiah 31, for this is the covenant that I will, is that he, or God, I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the

03:34

Lord. I will put my law within them, I will write it on their hearts, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

03:41

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the

03:47

Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more. So we see

03:54

Paul's verse is a reflection of this, it's actually the fulfillment of what

04:00

Jeremiah is telling us here. He goes on, Behold, this is God, I will gather them from all the countries to which

04:07

I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in my great indignation, I will bring them back to this place, I will make them dwell in safety, they shall be my people, and I will be their

04:16

God. But I will give them one heart, one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good, and the good of the children after them.

04:23

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them, and I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me, and I will rejoice in doing good to them,

04:34

I will plant them in this land in faithfulness with all my heart and soul. There's those two, doing good.

04:41

So whose work is this? It's God's work. This is God saying, I will,

04:47

I will, I will, I will, right? So when we see the result of that in Romans 8, 28, this is

04:56

God who foreknows, predestines, calls, justifies, and glorifies. This is the fulfillment of these promises in the

05:03

Old Covenant. So that verse finds its roots in the

05:09

Old Testament. Okay, let's continue on. Ezekiel 36, therefore

05:16

I say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, it is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name.

05:23

Now that usually sends shivers down most people's spines who are not reformed. He's not doing this for my sake, you mean it's not all about me?

05:31

God loves me, me, me, me, no. He's doing this for the sake of his name, right?

05:39

This is not for the sake of your name. Remember when they all tried to get together to build a tower for their name? Yeah, scattered, not around anymore, all right, it didn't work out too well.

05:50

But for the sake of my holy name, which you, here's the part you play, you have profaned among the nations,

05:56

I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned.

06:02

And the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.

06:09

Again, God is, he's protecting his name. He's going to glorify and vindicate himself, and he's not doing this for your sake.

06:20

In other words, it wasn't something that you did that God says, oh, let me go rescue them. All you did was sin.

06:28

All right, verse 24, I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries which you bring into your own land.

06:36

I will sprinkle clean water on you. You shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols,

06:41

I will cleanse you, and I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

06:50

Those are incredible promises that if we understand them and recognize that he's going to give us a new heart, a new spirit, he's going to write his laws upon our heart to keep us from turning to the right or to the left, right?

07:08

Some translation says to compel you to obey his law.

07:14

So really, the human heart left untouched by the Holy Spirit is doing a nosedive into hell.

07:23

It's but for his grace and him restraining us and changing the desires of our hearts only by his mercy that we can enjoy this promise and hold on to it and say,

07:35

God is working for me for my good, and he's said it over and over and over again.

07:42

You want to remember those words, I will, God will complete everything he says he'll complete.

07:52

So last one, Ezekiel 36. And I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

08:02

You shall dwell in the land that I gave your fathers and you shall be my people and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanness.

08:08

I will summon the grain and make it abundant, lay no famine upon you. I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant that you may never again suffer disgrace or famine among the nations.

08:19

Another great promise. Finally, here's our part, the great part we play, then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations.

08:31

That's our part. After all God's wonderful I wills, he's going to clean us, he's going to deliver us, he's going to place his spirit upon us, he's going to change our hearts.

08:41

What do we do? We'll remember how evil we were and the things that we did that were not good and we'll loathe ourselves.

08:50

How many Christians do you know that really remember how evil they were?

09:02

In the modern evangelical world, do Christians run around like humbly saying, man

09:10

God saved me by his mercy or is it the opposite? I received Jesus, I made

09:15

Jesus my Lord and Savior. I was telling Steve before, you don't make

09:21

Jesus Lord and Savior. He's Lord and Savior whether you accept that or not.

09:27

The only thing you make Jesus is med, right? And thankfully in his mercy he condescends and puts his son on the cross to save us.

09:38

It's again, here's verse 32, it is not for your sake I will act declares the Lord. Let that be known to you, be ashamed and confounded for your ways

09:46

O house of Israel. Such a reminder today when we see what's going on in the world, right?

09:51

We always, lots of people say, oh God's judging, God's judging the country and sure God's judging the country but he's judging the country because the because of the church's disobedience.

10:01

When Daniel was exiled to Babylon, God wasn't punishing Babylon for what

10:07

Israel didn't do, he was punishing Israel for what they did. The consequence was them being deported.

10:14

So we have to look internally first, clean up our own house, recognize that we need to repent, we need to be walking holy righteous lives according to God's word before we start blaming everyone else who's doing all these evils because we have an effect on on the culture.

10:33

The problem is the culture has infected the church because the church has been entertained to death.

10:38

They love their sin. So we got to obviously we have to turn that around. Okay so now we're actually going to get into the book.

10:46

So I just wanted you to know where that verse that Paul that he's using in this book that Paul wrote comes from.

10:52

It's rooted and grounded in the Old Testament about the new covenant. So this is the fulfillment of it.

10:58

So this is God's attributes that work for good to the godly. So you have

11:04

God's power, we have God's wisdom, God's goodness, God's promises,

11:10

God's mercy, God's grace, even God's angels are here for our good. God's church where the hands and feet of Jesus we help each other that's for the good of his saints and God's intercession you know by the power of the

11:24

Holy Spirit sanctifying our prayers. Okay so let's get into the first chapter.

11:30

God's power this is the first attribute that Thomas Watson is going to talk about. He says God's power works for good in supporting us in trouble.

11:38

Thank goodness for that. Underneath are the everlasting arms, Deuteronomy 33 27. What upheld

11:44

Daniel in the lion's den? What upheld Jonah in the whale's belly? What upheld the three

11:49

Hebrews in the furnace? Only the power of God. It is not strange to see a bruise regrow and flourish.

11:56

How is a weak Christian able not only to endure infliction but to rejoice in it?

12:03

He is upheld by the arms of the of the Almighty. My strength is made perfect in weakness.

12:09

Right and I was talking to somebody before about this you know especially as a man we don't want to admit our weaknesses but real men admit their weaknesses.

12:20

Why? Because in my weakness God has made strong. God knows my weaknesses. When I don't confess my weaknesses

12:26

I'm hiding them and it's an act of pride. So we should freely confess where we're weak the areas in our lives that are causing us you know issues where where we see temptation where we're we're falling to those things we have to admit those things ask for help from our brothers and sisters and ask

12:43

God confess that to God because in our weakness God has made strong and he comes and supports us in our trouble.

12:50

The power of God works for us by supplying our needs. Our needs not always our wants.

12:56

There's a big difference between what you need and what you want. God creates comforts when means fail.

13:03

He who brought food to the prophet Elijah by ravens will bring sustenance to his people. God can preserve the oil in the cruise.

13:11

1st Kings 7 14. The Lord made the sun on Ahaz's dial go 10 degrees backward so when our outward comforts are declining and the sun is almost setting

13:20

God often causes a revival and brings the sun many degrees backwards. Now that was a supernatural act that you know

13:28

God performed on Ahaz's dial but there's so many instances in our lives and in the lives of other saints where God intervenes and he supplies our needs.

13:40

So many times I know there were times in my life when you know I didn't think I was going to have something that I needed and somehow some way someone brought something to my you know my attention my you know whatever it was and God provided.

13:55

I'm sure everybody some in here has some kind of testimony according to how God has provided to you when you didn't think

14:02

God was going to provide or you didn't think you were going to get what you needed right. A story exists for this church.

14:08

A story for this church right. This is birthed by a prayer meeting. So many yeah the building right.

14:16

We didn't we didn't know we were going to get this building and along it comes and somebody didn't somebody outbid us?

14:23

Yes. Yes somebody outbid us. All right the power of God subdues our corruptions.

14:29

Speaking of corruptions he will he will subdue our iniquities which is an unbelievable thing because so many people don't realize that God is actively restraining evil in the world every second of the day.

14:44

If God was to pull his hand of restraint off the evil of men hearts we'd be in hell right.

14:49

So God actively restrains the the evil in men's hearts or their corruptions. Is your sin strong?

14:55

God is powerful. He will break the head of the leviathan. Is your heart hard? God will dissolve that stone in Christ's blood.

15:02

The almighty makes my heart soft Job says. When we say as Jehoshaphat we have no might against this great army the

15:11

Lord goes up with us and helps us fight our battles. He strikes off the head of those Goliath lusts which are too strong for us.

15:18

All right we all we all face temptation right and everyone has that uh that sin that uh easily entails us that pulls us in that wants to grab us.

15:31

We have to go to God in prayer. We have to admit our weakness because in our weakness

15:37

God is made strong. We need we need to have a plan. We need to call brothers and sisters who know us uh who will pray for us in in in whatever situation it is we're in and ask

15:50

God for help and God will subdue the nature of our heart. The power of God conquers our enemies.

15:57

He stains the pride and breaks the confidence of adversaries. You shall break them with a rod of iron

16:02

Psalm 2 9. There is rage in the enemy and malice in the devil but omnipotence in God.

16:10

Right that's a big thing. Most people attribute Satan with more power than he actually has.

16:16

Satan's not omnipotent. He's not omnipresent. He's not everywhere at the same time. He does not know all things.

16:22

God does. God's omnipotent. He's um omniscient. Okay he's the

16:28

God above, the God beside, and the God within. Right yeah we have a heavenly father above us.

16:35

We have Jesus walking the flesh beside us and we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. So okay um omnipotence is in God.

16:43

He can easily rout all the forces of the wicked. It's nothing for you Lord to help.

16:49

2nd Corinthians uh Chronicles 14 11. God's power is on the side of his church. Happy are you

16:55

O Israel O people saved by the Lord who is the sheer shield of your health and the sword sword of your excellency.

17:03

Any questions so far? We're good? We're tracking good? No it's just good. Okay good. Now we're going to go on to God's wisdom.

17:11

Okay again God's wisdom is that attribute is going to work for good to the godly.

17:17

God's wisdom is our oracle to instruct us. He is the mighty God so also the counselor

17:23

Isaiah 9 6. We oftentimes in the are in the dark in intricate and doubtful matters know not which way to take.

17:31

Here God comes in the light. I will guide you with my eye. I therefore is a is put for God's wisdom.

17:38

So we have a God who's given birth to us who knows all things.

17:44

He knows the end from the beginning and we can we can go to him. He knows more than we do.

17:50

Now when trials and tribulations come our way in our finite minds we try to start figuring okay why is this happening to me?

17:58

This is not good. How could God allow this to happen? But we don't see the whole picture that God sees.

18:05

We don't see the purpose and the intent in the affliction that God has. But we know that God is good.

18:12

Everything God does is good. So if there's an affliction in my life and it's permitted by God it's for my good.

18:20

So even in the difficult things God is using those things to shape and mold us.

18:27

On Saturday we talked about God's decree and I showed a video of a watch with all these different gears and the gears were going this way and this way it was very very intricate.

18:40

And you got this big gear going really really slow turning this little gear in the opposite direction really fast.

18:50

And then you got this cog that just keeps going click click click click right keep it keeps hitting this other thing and to me it just represented my life.

18:59

Like there are times when I'm starting stopping starting stopping and it's this little cog that God is pushing me stopping pushing me stopping.

19:07

And then there's this big wheel that's going in the opposite direction that I want to go but as that big wheel turns it's turning my gear slowly in the other direction.

19:19

So this whole thing ends up looking like God's plan his decree that he put together. Sometimes you see these big obstacles coming at you not recognizing that those obstacles that are coming at you are designed to move you forward.

19:35

Why is it that the saints can see further than the most quick -sighted politicians? They foresee the evil and hide themselves.

19:43

They see Satan's sophisms. God's wisdom is the pillar of fire to go before and guide them. We have the benefit of God's word.

19:50

We have the benefit of God's wisdom that we can glean from. We can go to the Proverbs. We understand how the human heart works.

19:58

We understand that there's wisdom in the multitude of counselors right. So we can go to God's word.

20:03

We can see we can like the men of Issachar who understand the times right. We can say wow this is exactly what

20:11

God is. I shouldn't say exactly. This is what we see God doing in this situation. So we can walk in that path and follow

20:18

God in the midst of it okay. Next attribute is God's goodness.

20:25

God's goodness is a means to make us good and he means to make us good because we're not good to begin with.

20:30

The goodness of God leads to repentance. Thank goodness for that. The goodness of God is a spiritual sunbeam to melt the heart into tears.

20:39

Oh says the soul has God been so good to me. He has reprived me so long from hell and I shall grieve his spirit anymore.

20:47

Shall I sin against God's goodness and when you recognize that you recognize that God is good to us all the time no matter what we think.

20:57

You know we may see a situation and say oh this isn't good but God's goodness leads us to repentance because a lot of times you don't recognize what

21:06

God's doing in the situation and then once you get through it you're like oh my goodness God put me through that for my good and it leads us to repentance.

21:14

When you see the goodness of God in sacrificing his son Jesus on the cross knowing that I should have been on that cross leads you to repentance right.

21:24

It makes you say my goodness like I said on Sunday he's the certified check.

21:30

God put him up on open display to show that he's going to make good on his promise.

21:38

The goodness of God works for good as it ushers in all blessings. The favors we receive are the silver streams which flow from the fountain of God's goodness.

21:47

This divine attribute of goodness brings in two sorts of blessings. Common blessings all partake of these the bad as well as the good the sweet dew falls upon the thistle as well as the rose and then crowning blessings these only the godly partake of who crowns us with loving kindness.

22:05

Now I just love that because I've never heard those terms before common blessings and crowning blessings right.

22:12

This is the difference between God's covenantal love and his general love for all mankind.

22:20

In fact I was going back and forth with a guy today you know like I'm back on Facebook why and he doesn't believe in common grace and I'm going through all these verses and he's like no

22:31

God doesn't have that's a curse. I'm like the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike you know that it's it's a common grace.

22:39

Now thankfully other people started chiming in and said no no common grace is a real thing. So here we see

22:44

God's common blessings which all of us partake of. If you're alive that's a blessing and you're not alive because you deserved it right you didn't do anything before you were alive.

22:54

So God bringing you into life into this world is a sign of his blessing his grace.

23:02

The crowning blessings are for those people whose faith and trust is in Jesus. Those whom he calls his own who he changes their hearts.

23:11

They now have this marital relationship with Jesus and like I said I think it was on Sunday you know love your wife like Christ loved the church.

23:20

You don't love any other woman the way you love your wife that's a special love a covenantal love only for her.

23:27

God has a covenantal marital love only for his bride and those blessings the crowning blessings are only for God's children.

23:36

So if you're listening to this and you want those crowning blessings you need to please place your faith and trust in Jesus repent of your sin and trust

23:44

Jesus those crowning blessings will be yours. Okay God's promises the promises are

23:51

God's banknotes the promises are the milk of the gospel and is not the milk for the good of the infant.

23:58

They're called precious promises 2 Peter 1 4. There is cordials to a soul that is ready to faint the promises are full of virtue.

24:06

I think brother Jerry told us a couple weeks ago what cordials are. It's a mixture of different things some of them not good for us but in the mixture with other stuff that when you take them they end up being good for you.

24:21

So what looks maybe not good that has a couple of bad ingredients in it ends up working together for your good.

24:28

Are we under the guilt of sin? There's a promise the Lord is merciful and gracious where God as it were puts on his glorious embroidery and holds out the golden scepter to encourage poor trembling sinners to come to him.

24:41

The Lord is merciful and gracious. God is more willing to pardon than to punish. Mercy does more multiply in him than sin in us.

24:51

I love the way he says that mercy does more multiply in him than sin in us. All right John Newton he says

24:57

I know two things I'm a great sinner but Jesus is a greater savior right. So when we when we recognize

25:04

God is merciful and gracious he's

25:09

I don't want to say more merciful than just that's not right but he's apt to forgive you when you ask.

25:17

He doesn't say no right. When you're coming to him with a humble and contrite heart that's what he wants and he recognizes that we're we are sinful human beings.

25:28

This is why he sent his son into the world and for those whom Jesus went to the cross for he loves in a marital sense in a perfect sense.

25:38

The love of God on his bride is perfect it doesn't it cannot get any stronger or weaker.

25:44

The very same love that God had for his son Jesus is the same love that God has for us.

25:51

Can never it can't be any it can't be any better. Mercy is

25:57

God's nature. The bee naturally gives honey it stings only when it's provoked but says the guilty sinner

26:03

I cannot deserve mercy yet he is gracious he shows mercy not because we deserve mercy but because he delights in mercy.

26:12

But what is that to me perhaps my name is not in the pardon he keeps his mercy for thousands.

26:17

The treasury of mercy is not exhausted God has treasures lying by and why should you not come in for a child's part right.

26:26

Mercy is God's nature ultimately mercy triumphs over judgment. So if you need mercy okay if you're if you're in sin you go to God he's merciful right you ask him to cleanse you of that sin we we we say that promise every

26:43

Sunday morning right he's faithful to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of unrighteousness.

26:49

Thank goodness for the mercy of God and those are banknotes you can count on.

26:56

Okay God's promises we're still in that section are we under the defilement of sin there's a promise working for good

27:02

I will heal their backslidings this is again part of this Hosea 14 and part of the

27:07

Old Testament prophesying of the new covenant I will heal their backslidings. God will not only bestow mercy but grace what what is mercy?

27:18

Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Excellent what is grace? Getting what you don't deserve.

27:25

Getting what you don't deserve right so mercy is not getting what you deserve grace is getting what you don't deserve right none of us deserve

27:34

Jesus none of us deserve heaven right and when somebody says ah I want justice you want to warn them because justice is getting what you deserve you don't want justice as a

27:46

Christian you want God's mercy and when you ask for God's mercy he one -ups you and says

27:52

I'm going to give you grace I'm going to give you what you don't deserve okay and he has made a promise sending his spirit for which for his sanctifying nature is in scripture compared to sometimes to water which cleanses the vessel sometimes to the fan which which winnows corn and purifies the air sometimes to fire which refines metals thus the spirit of God shall cleanse and consecrate the soul making it partake of the divine nature okay so here we have

28:20

God's Holy Spirit Jesus says when you when the Holy Spirit resides within you it's like rivers of water flowing from your insides right and what are in Revelation we we learn about the trees that are for the healing of the nations with the river that runs you know out of the temple feeding the trees and healing the nations that's the church right when we're doing what we're supposed to do and walking in righteousness and obeying

28:48

God the spirit flows through us we help those who can't help themselves are we in great trouble there's a promise which works for our good

28:58

I will be with him in trouble Psalm 91 God does not bring his people into troubles and leave them there he will stand by them he will hold their heads and hearts when they are fainting and there is another promise he is their strength in the time of trouble

29:13

Psalm 37 oh says the soul I shall faint in the day of trial but God will be

29:18

God will be the strength of our hearts he will join his forces with us either he will make his hand lighter or our faith stronger right how many times do you think of a trial as an opportunity to strengthen your faith you know how many how many people that I know had their faith strengthened during COVID like it turned into a spiritually prosperous time for a lot of people

29:47

I mean it helped me I mean it hurt me first but then seeing

29:53

God's hand in the midst of it like we the first chapter he carried me in my trouble and then starts working on my mind and my heart and it's like oh my goodness even this is for my benefit right and then

30:10

I started thinking about the people who don't know God this is not for their benefit this is ultimately going to end up in end in their ruin but you know you look at COVID or any other disease or something you know painful and you can ask yourself you know is can

30:28

God use this to get their attention so that in the midst of their fear they cry out to God God help me and all of a sudden

30:37

God comes in helps them rescues them leads them and guides them out of that and that COVID or whatever the disease or whatever trial ends up being the impetus that brought that person to Christ okay do we fear outward needs there's a promise those who seek the

30:56

Lord shall not lack any good thing Psalm 34 if it is good for us we shall have it if it is not good for us then the withholding of it is good

31:05

I will bless your bread and your water Exodus 33 this blessing falls as the honeydew upon leaf it sweetens that little we possess let me lack the venison so may

31:15

I have the blessing so I may have the blessing right how many times does something get taken away from us and we think that's that's the devil oh my goodness you know that verse the

31:27

Lord gives and Satan takes away the Lord gives and the

31:33

Lord takes away right and he lovingly takes away things that are going to hurt us that we're going to fall in love with and end up and end up worshipping or idolizing rather than God so he takes those things away from us for our good this is the exact opposite of the health wealth and prosperity gospel where you get everything you want those are the same things that the devil offered

32:00

Jesus when he was tempted you get it that's Satan offering you the luxuries of the world once you're in love with the luxuries of the world you'll forget about God you don't want that but I fear

32:14

I shall not get a livelihood peruse that scripture I have been young and now I'm old yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread

32:23

Psalm 37 how must we understand this David speaks it as his own observation he never beheld such an eclipse he never saw a godly man brought so low that he had not a bit of bread to put in his mouth

32:35

David never saw the righteous and their seed lacking through the Lord God might try godly parents a while by need yet not their seed to the seed of the godly shall be provided for David never saw the righteous begging bread or forsaken

32:51

God always supplies our needs maybe not our wants because sometimes our wants are misplaced okay but he always satisfies our needs and when you have

33:02

Christ you have all you need question how do the promises work for good they are food for faith and that which strengthens faith works for good the promises are the milk of faith faith sucks nourishment from them as the child from the breast

33:20

Jacob feared exceedingly his spirits were ready to faint now he goes to the promise

33:26

Lord you have said you will do good to me Genesis 32 the promise was his food he got so much strength from this promise that he was able to wrestle with the

33:34

Lord all night in prayer and would not let him go until he had blessed them right remember Jacob wrestling with the won't let go right and what what what was it that uh he did that God granted him the blessing what did

33:53

God say to him when he was wrestling who what let me go let me go

34:01

God said who are you he said I am

34:07

Jacob I am the deceiver he confessed who he was he was the one who stole the promise from his brother and now he's he's wrestling with the angel of the

34:19

Lord who are you I'm Jacob it's like when a sinner says I'm guilty that's when

34:26

God comes and says I'll rescue you right God rescues uh Jacob in that moment doesn't leave him without a limp right it's a limp to to remind him and everyone else that God could have crushed him so he gave this limp another thorn in the side for the health wealth and prosperity people affliction is never for good don't ask

34:51

Jacob that question he's happily limping with the promise okay the promises are also springs of joy there is more in the promise to comfort than in the world to perplex ursin was comforted by that promise no man shall pluck them out of my father's hands

35:08

John 10 29 the promises are called cordials in a fainting fit unless your word had been my delight

35:14

I had perished in my affliction Psalm 119 the promise our promises are as cork to the net to bear up the heart from sinking the deep borders of distress and just like to let you know that ursin right there that was a

35:26

German reformer okay and he was uh like in the early 1600s and he was going through the scriptures and that particular promise no man shall pluck them out of my father's hands points obviously to perseverance of the saints

35:40

God and God preserving his people so in his writings he said that brought me great comfort knowing that once I'm in the hand of God nothing's going to pluck me out right what better promise could you have being in Jesus's hand and that in God's hand nothing can pluck you out but the

36:00

Arminians say well you can walk out nope okay questions we went through that do you see how we haven't even gotten through all of God's attributes each one of his attributes is a source of goodness for us and he works it that attribute in such a way that it ends up being for our good even in the midst of him afflicting us like if you looked up Ezekiel 7 9 it says

36:30

I am Jehovah Makkah the Lord who strikes you that doesn't sound too nice but when you understand that God is your father and he's gonna give you a consequence or punish you for your own good that's a good thing right good okay um so when you were speaking in the very beginning about Ezekiel chapter 36 and specifically verse 31 where it says then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations so when it's talking about that is it

37:11

I guess like that's only in a future in a future sense that's when we're going to recognize our iniquities and loathe ourselves what he's bad too because you know like how there's people who struggle with like self -condemnation sure it's like they know that they've confessed their sins like they know the promise like how when you repent and you believe you know he's going to forgive you but then you having that difficulty to just accept that they knew that they did that you know that they worked a lot and to really keep that okay you want to chime in okay yeah

37:59

I'm sorry and I'm not sure if it was covered in the spiritual oppression study but isn't that an example of like pride where it's actually evil manifesting in the heart of that person where they're thinking that they're they're almost more powerful than God's grace yeah if you if you're um if you're saying that I can't be forgiven like I've done something even

38:28

God can't forgive me really so your sin is more powerful than Jesus on the cross

38:35

God's redemption no that that that's a sin I think but just let me address what you had said before because when he when he's talking when

38:45

Ezekiel's talking like this he's talking about the new covenant so once once you're regenerated and the

38:52

Holy Spirit lives inside of you okay and you start walking in righteousness there's a clear delineation between the direction and the desire of your heart now versus the direction and the desire of your heart then and when you start reflecting on that you start saying oh my goodness

39:07

I was I was wicked but God rescued me so it's it's you you look back and you loathe the person you used to be you're not that anymore okay such were some of you okay now you're a saint you know called by God loved by God with with his spirit dwelling in you and you walk in righteousness but you remember what what you were and this now is a is a source of gratitude for being saved from that yeah

39:40

I just wanted to add that Ezekiel's audience was

39:45

Judah in exile and and also Jerusalem those who were still in Jerusalem and God told

39:55

Ezekiel right from the get -go these people are hearted they will not listen to you they will not hear you whatever you say to them is going to pull on deaf ears but what changed that God changed their hearts and that's only when they they listen so that's the significance behind now you understand who you were right right amen does that help you yeah okay good good ralph yeah okay when you guys said those who foreknew you also predestined those who predestined can you elaborate what do you mean foreknew yeah it's not like you look down the corners of time no the word no yeah the word the word no okay in Hebrew is a term of intimacy okay so um

40:53

Amos says talking about Israel oh he only Israel he knew right now that's not about head knowledge

41:02

God knew all the nations he was only intimate with Israel okay the way

41:07

Adam knew Eve and then gave birth to a child intimacy so that word no is an intimate term when two people know each other right so when

41:20

God knows his bride it's a term of intimacy so those whom he foreknew he knew in in a covenantal marital sense before they existed and it's a verb he foreknew them it's not that he like looked down the cards at the time it's it's a it's an act of love he foreloved them you could say before they were born because they were chosen in Christ when before the foundation of the world right so no one can boast in themselves and their decision and their great wisdom in choosing

41:58

God because it's only to those who are called right we went through that first Corinthians 20 in in the in in the in the mind of God in people did not know

42:10

God through wisdom it wasn't through our good intellect that we chose God in fact it was folly to us until he opened our eyes and our ears and changed our hearts then we we our eyes were open to our own sin right we recognize just how sinful we are the gospels presented and now we grab on to it so letting who boasts boast in the

42:34

Lord we boast in the Lord that he saved me I didn't play a part in that okay

42:40

Jonah says salvation is of the Lord right salvation is beginning to end it's all him right this is part of his plan if if if if I had a choice or if it was dependent on my choice the question

42:57

I always ask people is well how many times a day for the rest of my life do I have to choose correctly forever yeah so if it was my choice that got me in wouldn't my bad choice get me out

43:15

God help me again this this is all based on it's the difference between monergism and synergism monergism is the one working of God bringing about the salvation of people synergism is

43:27

God plus man together saving humanity we reject synergism it is not in man's ability he doesn't add anything to God's power he doesn't add anything to the process of salvation it's man dead in his sins and like Ezekiel says speak to those dry bones right the gospels presented we're dead in our sins and transgressions while we were dead

43:51

God quickens us he brings us to we've been resurrected it's the first resurrection right we're now new creatures in Christ Jesus again not because of anything we did because of what he did and it wasn't that we gave

44:04

God permission okay you you can do this to me make sense yeah yeah of course but when when when

44:18

I hear the gospel I'm brought from death to life right I'm brought out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and I'm a lot

44:26

I'm spiritually alive whereas before my heart was dead to the things of God in fact

44:33

I rejected the things of God I hated the things of God you know I might have give them lip service and ultimately

44:39

I didn't want those I was serving self I was Lord right it was only till he placed his spirit in me and now

44:47

I'm alive to the things of God and have a change in my heart change in my desire so now

44:53

I desire those things I pursue those things but that's only because of his mercy and grace and he didn't he didn't die to give me an opportunity right he died to save me it's

45:08

Jesus didn't die on a cross you know like like the guys do amway well we hope you go diamond one day just keep selling it's like no when when he when he died on the cross he said to tell us

45:20

I it is finished paid in full that's it you you christianity is not spelled d o it's spelled d o n e it's done he did it he purchased you right and and if if you know people say well

45:38

Jesus purchased everyone well then he didn't do a good job because most people go to hell so his his death on the cross was ineffective for most people

45:51

I don't believe that I believe everyone that Jesus died on the cross for who he intended to save is saved he paid for their sin all of it right is unbelief a sin period did it say help my our colleague would help me somebody said help my unbelief

46:11

I don't know who it was but it everybody is unbelief a sin yeah did Jesus die for that then everybody would be saved right he only he had an intent a specific intent for specific people to take their their sins on on the cross now in one sense he died for the world because the whole church has to be redeemed so even unbelievers get common grace right make sense somebody janet you mentioned earlier something about how many of us do you remember you know how simple and disgusting you were and you know and if we don't remember you know

46:51

I we have crazy neighbors really like and you know nobody walks around talking to himself stuff like that you know and you know some would say you know

46:58

I'll forget him stuff like that but I said you know what and I told his mom as you know I have compassion for your son every time

47:05

I see him walk like that I think about how I was lost you know he didn't sleep for days and part of your college and everything you have to remember because otherwise you're not going to want to pray for them and you know you know witness them or anything so you know what you have to remember in a sense

47:19

I once like you said I went to office I was sick I had no hope but now but God I love that yes listen and we're going through this in the book of Jude right