WWUTT 1297 He Has Mercy On Whomever He Wills (Romans 9:16-18)

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Romans 9 .18 says that God has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever

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He wills. Today we're going to take a robust look at the doctrine of God's sovereign election in both the

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Old and New Testaments when we understand the text. This is

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When We Understand The Text, a daily study in the Word of Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.

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Find all our videos and other ministry resources at www .utt .com.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. In our study of Romans 9, I'm going to begin with the section that I read through yesterday, verses 14 through 24.

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The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part?

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By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom

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I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

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For the scripture says to Pharaoh, For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

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So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

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You will say to me then, Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?

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But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder,

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Why have you made me like this? Has the potter no right over the clay?

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To make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

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What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory?

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Even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only, but also from the

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Gentiles. So in verse 14 we have this question, What shall we say then?

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Is there injustice on God's part? Now that seems rather irreverent to even suggest such a thing.

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But Paul is anticipating the question from those who might be arguing against this doctrine of God's sovereign election he's been laying out here.

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And not just in Romans 9, this went back to chapter 8, where Paul said in verse 28,

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

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For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined. Predestined for what?

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To be conformed to the image of the Son. He didn't just predestine them to be justified, he also predestined them to be sanctified in order that Christ might be the firstborn among many brothers.

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Verse 30, And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified.

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And those whom he justified, he also glorified. All of those whom

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God has predestined for salvation will be saved. Not one of them will be lost.

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And God has made this decision whom from sinful man he is going to save, and the rest of them he is going to destroy.

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And he did this before they were born or even made any decision, good or bad.

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The examples were given in chapter 9. We had Abraham, we had Isaac, Isaac chosen and not

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Ishmael, and then we had the twins, Jacob and Esau. And verse 11 says,

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Though they were not yet born, and had done nothing either good or bad, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, but because of him who calls,

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Rebekah was told, Rebekah their mother was told, the older will serve the younger. As it is written,

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Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. And as we've talked about yesterday and last week, when we were looking at Romans 9, 13, what's astounding is that God would even choose to save anyone at all, because we've all sinned and fallen short of God's glory.

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What we deserve is judgment, but God is merciful and gracious, and he has by his own choosing decided whom he is going to save before they have even been born and made a decision good or bad.

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So the person who's arguing against this idea that Paul's been laying out here is going to say, well, that's not fair.

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Israel is known for responding in such a way. In fact, in Ezekiel 18, 29, the house of Israel says,

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The way of the Lord is not just, O house of Israel, are my ways not just?

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God replies, Is it not your ways that are not just? So the person who thinks too highly of himself is going to think that it's not fair.

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It is not just for God to decide whom he's going to save and whom he will destroy before they're even born and haven't even made any decisions yet, good or bad.

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So are we going to accuse God of injustice, Paul says, by no means. As it says in Psalm 135, 6, whatever the

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Lord pleases, he does. Whatever God wants to do, he does.

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Who can say to him that he's making any kind of wrong decision? God is the creator of time and space, of heaven and earth.

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He is not bound by time as we are, and he has no physical limitations as we do.

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He has created everything. So who are we to say that God would ever act in justly in anything?

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Everything he does is right. As it says in Deuteronomy 32, 4, the rock, his work is perfect for all his ways are justice.

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A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

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God can do no wrong. So if he has chosen, then he has done as God will do.

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And that's how God replies to Moses. Verse 15, for he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom

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I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion as God has done.

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So it will be. And so it is good. And so it is just verse 16. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

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In John 1, 12, we read, but to all who did receive him, referring to Christ, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

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And we have that same statement here in Romans 9, 16. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God who has mercy.

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For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this very purpose, I have raised you up that I might show my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

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So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

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Now we have another example that's given here, and this one is a Gentile. Previously, we had the example of the twins of Jacob and Esau, who were born of the line of Abraham.

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And Jacob was chosen, but Esau was rejected. Jacob is loved, Esau is hated.

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And again, it says, in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works, not because of our works, but because of him who calls.

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God has chosen Jacob, but he has hated Esau. Jacob he loves,

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Esau he has hated. But this is not just referring to Israel, this is all men.

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Because again, as we come to the end of the section that I began with reading, it says in verse 24, even us whom he has called, not from the

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Jews only, but also from the Gentiles. So we also have an example here of a Gentile, and that is

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Pharaoh. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, for this purpose I have raised you up that I might show my power in you.

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He raised up a pagan king who thought of himself as a God, that God would show himself to be

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God, that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth, the Lord says.

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See all these kings, all these pagan kings, they thought their name was great, and they thought their name and their renown went out through all of the earth.

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God raises these kings up to make his name known, for he is the one who sets up kings and tears down kings, as it says in Daniel chapter 2.

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So he chooses whom he is going to save. Those were the examples we had in verses 6 through 13, and he has also chosen whom he is going to destroy.

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Thus we have this statement here in verse 18, so then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

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Because God is infinitely good and we are not, I believe that before the foundation of the world,

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God predetermined whom he would save and whom he would destroy.

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I believe that the Bible clearly teaches it, and I believe that's what we're reading right here. The Bible tells us not only that he does this, but also the reason why he does this, as we see here, that his name might be proclaimed in all the earth.

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God does this to the praise of his glorious grace. In Ephesians chapter 1 verses 3 through 6, we read,

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Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

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In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the beloved.

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Every person stands before a holy God condemned for their rebellion against him.

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But God elected from sinful man whom he would deliver from his wrath and effected their salvation at the cross of Christ.

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Those who hear the gospel, the good news that Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the grave so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

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Whoever believes this gospel message, believes by faith, they have been called into his grace and we are sealed by the

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Holy Spirit for the day of glory. God will lose none of those whom he has redeemed.

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This is the gospel of Christ, the good news that he has saved us from our sins.

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Now this view of predestination is commonly referred to as Calvinism. I'll address the elephant in the room.

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It's called Calvinism, both by those who hold this view and by those who oppose it and criticize it.

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Though John Calvin taught the theology that now bears his name, he did not come up with it. He, along with many other biblical theologians before and after him, merely affirmed what was written in the

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Bible. Calvin didn't come up with anything new. And by the way, Paul is not coming up with anything new here either.

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This is one of the reasons why he's doing this expository apologetics.

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That's the name that Dr. Vody Bokum has given this, where Paul anticipates the question and so he asks the question and then answers it.

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This is called expository apologetics. And he knows the arguments that would come against him for a couple of reasons.

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First of all, because the Holy Spirit is guiding him. But secondly, because he's heard them before. He's heard these contestations from other

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Jews who are saying that Paul is preaching something different than what the law and the prophets proclaimed.

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But for Paul to use these examples that he has used, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Jacob and Esau, Pharaoh, he is going back to the

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Old Testament and showing that God has been operating this way from before the foundation of the world.

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I've referred to this as the doctrine of God's sovereign election. But before it was called Calvinism, it was it was called

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Augustinianism. And before Augustinianism, it was called Paulinism, attributing it to Paul.

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But it's taught all throughout the scriptures. We see it throughout the entire Bible, the understanding that God has chosen whom he will save to the praise of his glorious grace.

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And I believe in and preach nothing less than the full counsel of God as we find it in his scriptures.

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Christian apologist Dr. Michael L. Brown once asked this question. Do you agree with Calvin that nothing happens but what

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God has knowingly and willingly decreed? And I responded to him this way.

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I said, I agree with the Bible that nothing happens but what God has knowingly and willingly decreed.

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And I directed him to Lamentations 3, 37 through 38, which says, who has spoken and it came to pass unless the

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Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the most high that good and bad come?

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Our faith is built, as the church always has been, on the word of God. The Bible is

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God's word. And what the Bible says is that God is sovereign, meaning that he is the supreme ruler.

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He has all power, full authority, preeminence. Nowhere in the

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Bible does it say he's given up any of his sovereignty. He's not sovereign, but he is absolutely sovereign.

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Here are seven statements that I've compiled for you with scripture references from both the

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Old and the New Testament regarding the sovereignty of God according to the scriptures.

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I'll begin with a statement that I've already made. Number one, God is sovereign.

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Psalm 103, verse 19 says that the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all.

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In Acts 4, 24, the apostles prayed, O sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

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Then they praised him for whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

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In 1 Timothy 6, 15 through 16, Paul refers to God as only sovereign, the king of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see.

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To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. Number two, everything

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God decrees happens in Genesis 1, 3. God said, let there be light.

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And it happened. Only he creates ex nihilo or out of nothing, as it also says in Hebrews 11, 3

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Psalm 33, 9 says, for he spoke and it came to be. He commanded and it stood firm.

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Ecclesiastes 3, 14 says he has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart yet so that he cannot find out what

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God has done from beginning to end. Isaiah 14, 24 says the Lord of hosts has sworn as I have planned.

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So shall it be. And as I have purposed, so it shall stand later in Isaiah 55, 11, he says, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth.

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It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which

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I sent it. In Matthew 28, 18 through 20, Jesus said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the

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Holy spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age are not the people of Christ obeying that command in faithful submission to this day in John 11, 43 through 44,

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Jesus stood at the grave of Lazarus who had been dead for four days. He said, Lazarus come out.

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And it happened. Lazarus rose from the dead. Likewise, Jesus says

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John 6, 40, everyone who looks on the sun and believes in him should have eternal life.

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And I will raise him up on the last day as he did with Lazarus. Jesus has purposed to raise everyone who believes in him.

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Number three, nothing happens that God has not decreed. Remember lamentations three 37, who is spoken and it came to pass unless the

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Lord has commanded it. Job and his trouble said, shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil in Job 14, five.

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He said that man's days are determined and the number of his months is with you. And you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass.

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Proverbs 16, 33 says the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the

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Lord in Isaiah 45, seven. God says, I form light and create darkness.

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I make wellbeing and create calamity. I am the Lord who does all these things.

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Amos three, six says is a trumpet blown in a city and the people are not afraid.

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Does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has done it in James four, 13 through 15.

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We read, come now, you who says today or tomorrow, we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.

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Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life for?

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You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, if the

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Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. Number four, no one can change what

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God has decreed. Job again says, if he tears down, none can rebuild.

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If he shuts a man in, none can open. Proverbs 21, 30 says, no wisdom, no understanding, no council can avail against the

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Lord. Ecclesiastes 7, 13 says, consider the work of God, who can make straight what he has made crooked.

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Isaiah 14, 27 says, for the Lord of hosts has purposed and who will annul it?

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His hand is stretched out and who will turn it back in John 10, 28 through 29.

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Jesus said of his followers, I give them eternal life and they will never perish and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

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My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand.

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In Romans 8, we are reminded if God is for us, who can be against us? That was in verse 31.

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And we are told that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our

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Lord. That was verse 39, right at the end of the chapter. Number five, God knows all and sees all.

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The Bible says he knows everything. First John 3, 20, Psalm 139 gives praise to God for his omniscience and omnipresence.

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Oh Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know, when I sit down and when

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I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, oh

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Lord, you know it all together. Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall

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I flee from your presence? Proverbs 15, 3 says, the eyes of the

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Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and on the good. Matthew 12, 36 says,

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I tell you on the day of judgment, people will give account for every careless word they speak.

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Hebrews 4, 13, no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him whom we must give account.

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In Revelation 2, 23, Jesus says, I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

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Number six, God does as he pleases. We also find elsewhere in the

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Psalms 115, verse three, it says our God is in the heavens. He does all that he pleases.

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In Matthew 20, 15, Jesus said, am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me?

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Or do you begrudge my generosity? Philippians 2, 13 says, for it is

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God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Hebrews 13, 21 says that God will equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.

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Amen. And finally, number seven, God has purposed all things for his glory.

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In Acts 2, 23, as Peter preached the gospel at Pentecost, he convicted his audience by stating, this

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Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

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God intended even the death of his own son by the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

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It's the greatest evil act ever perpetrated by men, but God planned this and he purposed it to bring about the salvation of his elect for the glory of his name.

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God has purposed all things for his glory. Let me go through these seven statements again on the sovereignty of God.

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Number one, God is sovereign. Number two, everything God decrees happens.

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Number three, nothing happens that God is not decreed. Number four, no one can change what

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God has decreed. Number five, God knows and sees all. Number six,

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God does as he pleases. Number seven, God has purposed all things for his glory.

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God is sovereign. He chooses. Is there any injustice on his part?

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No, for he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever he wills to the praise of his great name.

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Father, we praise you for how great a God you are. May we be reminded of this daily, that nothing is happening to us that you have not decreed.

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But as we read in Romans 8, 28, all things are working together for our good, for those who are called according to your purpose.

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We know this is sure when we know you are sovereign. Work that in us today.

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Humble us that we may proclaim your name as great with our whole lives.