Irresistible Grace (10/12/2003)

Turn with me this morning to John chapter 20 verse 31 and Romans chapter 3 verse 22

I'm going to review just a little bit this morning, but we're talking about being made acceptable to God in Jesus Christ and Last week we began to look at the human viewpoint on that We always begin by looking at the divine viewpoint from God's viewpoint

And last week we looked at salvation and this acceptance that comes from being saved at the human viewpoint

And if you remember we talked about two aspects of God being To the place where he accepts us

One is imparted life and The other is imputed righteousness

Remember those two in parted life and imputed righteousness in other words

God accepts us because he has given us his own life his own nature and Secondly, he accepts us because he has given us his own righteousness

We talked about that last time. Well, it's interesting to look in the Bible at the human side of that And first let's look at imparted life in John 20 31

It says but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ the

Son of God and that Believing you might have life through his name so on the human side the condition of Salvation is belief now, let's look at Romans 3 22

Believing that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God Brings life through his name secondly

Romans 3 22 even the righteousness of God Which is by faith of Jesus Christ notice whose faith that is.

It doesn't say faith in Christ but the faith of Christ Unto all and upon all them that believe or there is no difference between the

Jew and the Gentile that means but the point is that imputed righteousness also comes by God giving us the faith of Jesus Christ so that we might believe

That Jesus is the Son of God so If we see that God accepts us because of imparted life

He's given us his own life and because of imputed righteousness He's given us the very righteousness of Jesus Christ Then we see that what

God says in the gospel and the Word of God is that you must believe in order to have

Imparted life and you must believe in order to have Imputed righteousness we saw that last time

And then we took it a step further still speaking from the human viewpoint and You might turn to John chapter 6 verse 44, which was verse that happened to be used in Sunday school this morning as well

Jesus Christ is speaking here And he's on the earth and he's in time at this point and Therefore we're looking at a human viewpoint of salvation and Jesus said no man can come to me except the father which hath sent me drag him it is the

Greek word hell kuho, which means to drag No man can come to me except the father which hath sent me

Drag him and I will raise him up at the last day It is written in the prophets and they shall all be taught of and you might want to Write in your

Bible that that word is by It means by God all shall be taught by God Every man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the father cometh unto me

The word of there where it says learned of the father means taught by the father Or you have learned because the father has taught you is the sense of that I Want to point out a word a very important word in this verse in verse 45

Look at the word every I Like for you to underline that word

It is written in the prophets And they shall all be taught of God Every man therefore that hath heard

Knowing other scriptures we might realize this means that hath been given ears to hear and Hath been taught of the father

Every man that hath been taught of the father cometh unto me that is irresistible grace

John Calvin taught five points of Salvation they now call that Calvinism, but it's not

Calvinism because he didn't invent it. He learned it from the from the Waldenses he had some kinfolks that were a part of that group and They go all the way back

As far as we can trace all the way to 350 to 400 AD They existed parallel to the

Roman Catholic Church, but they were never Roman Catholics. They were always resistors of it They were true

Protestants They protested the Catholic Church even before the Protestant movement

What that we call the history calls the Protestant movement ever began with Martin Luther this happened thousands of years before that and so This is where Calvin learned

To categorize these things, of course, he got the scriptures right out of the Bible and some people debate some of these points

Some people will say I'm a three -point Calvinist. Some people say I'm a four -point Someone say

I'm a five -point. Well, I think all of us are five -point Biblian areas.

I Find that all five points of Calvin's Doctrines as he enumerated them are accurate

As long as you understand the sense in which Calvin wrote them and meant them, but when

Calvin spoke of irresistible grace What he meant was the same thing that Jesus said in verse 44

So you see Calvin didn't invent this because it was Jesus who said every man Therefore that is given ears that hear and that learns from the

Father comes to me It is irresistible if you've had your ears open and your eyes open and you could look up and as Paul did and see the

Lord and Behold him with your eyes of faith and say

Lord What would you have me to do and you really meant that for the first time in your life? You really cared what he would have you to do.

You just got born again and It was irresistible you could not say no to it and that's what

Calvin meant by irresistible grace and that's what Jesus meant when he said every man Every man that is taught of the

Father comes to me John 6 64, but There were some of you that believed not for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not

We're going to discuss that in a moment Do you see where it says Jesus knew from the beginning who they were?

that believed not and he said therefore I Said unto you that no man can come to me.

See he reemphasizes it Except it were given unto him of my father and we studied this last

Sunday morning the response of the people is the same response you will find in your life if you

Speak with someone even someone who calls themselves a brother and you began to talk very much about the fact that God is in control and that God is sovereign and That God does the choosing just as any parent chooses to have children the baby has no choice in the matter

He is born into the family because of the will of the parents and yet when we give

God that same choice Everybody hates it Why is that? Is it not right that God should be able to have his own children and love them with a special love far higher than he?

Loves any other humans Wouldn't it be reasonable to say that God should love his children more than he loves

Satan's children You say well, there aren't any children of Satan. Well, Jesus said there were he said you're up your father the devil

He said where I go you cannot It's reasonable to me that the father should love his children

With a higher and greater love than he would love someone else's children

And yet look at the result of the people when Jesus taught the sovereignty of God Jesus said

Unless it is given unto him of the father. No one can come to me and look what happened in verse 66 from that time

Many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him Then said

Jesus even unto the twelve. Will you go away also? And they almost did

Simon Peter said well We probably would if we could find someone else that had the words of life, but we can't so we're gonna stick with you

Now that wasn't a very nice way to say it. I don't think but Peter was known for being straightforward

He did not try to hide. He wasn't very tactful He just said it like it was and Simon Peter answered said

Lord to whom would we go? It's not like he said. Oh, no Lord. We'll stay with you. He said well, you know, where could we go?

Do you have a suggestion? Thou hast the words of eternal life

Now notice Jesus had just taught that no man can come to me unless it's given by the father and Peter said those are the words of eternal life and We believe and are sure that thou art the

Christ the Son of the Living God and I made this point last week And I think it is absolutely true.

God gave it to me in my mind while I was preaching it wasn't in the notes But it's absolutely the truth that the only people left after this event were

Calvinists Now they didn't know they were Calvinist they were just Jesus people

They were listening to what Jesus said when Jesus said no man can come to me unless the father draws him Calvin later learned that and taught it in a clear way.

So ever since then history's called it Calvinism But The only people left because everyone else turned and walked away all the

Armenians the people who believed it was in man's hand The people who believed that well,

I found Jesus the people that believe well It's all up to my will if I choose him, I'll be saved if I choose to reject him

I'll be lost listen, ladies and gentlemen, if you believe that you certainly can't also believe that you have eternal security

Because if you believe it's in your hands, then you can lose it someday All you have to do is just decide in your heart.

Well, I don't think I'll follow it today But Jesus taught that it's not in your hands

Jesus taught number one, it's irresistible he said every man that God turns his ears on and Opens his spiritual eyes and allows him to get one glimpse of Jesus every of those every man will come to him because all

I have to do is see him and And he taught that only those that are given to me by the

Father will come and Then they all turned away from him

Who turned away from him? The people who were offended at not being able to be in control the people who were offended at not being able to exhibit their quote free will or Being told that their free will is not free because free means sovereign and their will is not sovereign there's only one sovereign in the universe and it's the

Lord and When they were taught that they left even Jesus now I don't think you you are myself could be near the teacher

Jesus could be near the public speaker Have near the charisma that he could have as he spoke to these people and yet they turned away from him because the message

Because the truth and there was a small crowd left and that small crowd were all people who believed that God's grace is

Irresistible to all of those to whom God opens their eyes and that God has to do the opening of the eyes

No man can do it Those are the only people that were left that day to follow Jesus and those people took the gospel to the four corners of this world and It has been put in every language and dialect almost in the entire world today by such people

So don't ever tell me that I don't want to be a Calvinist because they don't believe in witnessing They just believe to sit there and let people walk in the back door.

No, if that were true, they'd still just be 12 They'd be 12 it would have been 12 till they died and then there'd be zero there wouldn't be any

Christians today So The opposite is true those who believe that God is sovereign

Are the ones who will witness because it is God the sovereign Lord who told us to go He told us to go and tell every creature the good news.

What is the good news that your will is not what determines it? It would be bad news if I had to walk up to you and tell you well

Let's just decide you make a choice you decide you want him or not Do you want to give up all your vices and follow a one the one pure true

God and give up everything you used to think Was fun just decide right now if you decide to do it You can be saved if you decide not to you won't be and later if you decide to be saved today

Then you know three months later. You want to go out and drink go to the bar Then you'll be lost again because you decide you don't want him that wouldn't be good news.

Would it? That'd be bad news. We can't call that the gospel at all

The gospel is this When God opens your eyes and God opens your ears and God turns your heart to behold the

Lord Jesus every man Will come to him and of all them that he hath given me

I shall lose nothing He said but I shall raise them up Unto everlasting life.

That's the good news this morning Let's look at God at how

God deals with us in time. Remember last time I asked you a couple of questions I'm gonna wonder if you've thought about them some this week

You've heard the question can God hear the prayer of the lost You might put it this way would

God work in the life of the lost and the immediate answer might be no because you've heard People say no in the past, but really

I think it's better to word it this way Does God work in the life of the non -elect or does

God hear the prayers of the non -elect? Because there's a difference and we spoke last time about the fact that really three kinds of people

There are saved sheep lost sheep and lost goats That's it

The lost goats will never be saved because they're Satan's children Satan's seed just like the ones

Jesus looked at looked in their eyes. He could see who they are We can't we don't know that we can't tell the difference between a lost sheep and a lost goat.

We just see a lost person So we are not to make the mistake of saying all that must be a goat.

I won't witness to him We're not allowed to do that. Jesus said witness to every creature Everyone the Holy Spirit moves you to speak to you speak to him

Everyone the Holy Spirit moves you to to say a word you do that The Holy Spirit always moves you to live like Jesus in front of all of them the lost sheep the lost goat alike and all of them by the way will answer to the gospel that you live and Speak they'll all be judged by it

But Jesus could look in their eyes because he was not only man, but he was God and he could look in their eyes

Also because as a man he was totally filled with the Holy Spirit without measure that leads me to believe that the more spirit -filled

You are the more nearly like Christ that you are the more you can tell You have to be able to tell sometimes because Jesus said don't cast your pearls before the swine

How would you know who the swine are if you didn't know if you couldn't sense it? So we hear a lot of things behind the popular pulpit like well, you can't tell the difference or you know witness to everybody

I would never tell you to witness to everybody you witness to who the Holy Spirit leads you to Because if you do it in the flesh, they might turn and rend you

If you cast your pearls before the swine So We asked the question

Does God work in the life of the lost? Well, the answer could certainly be yes because you might be looking at a lost sheep

And I want to give you some Evidence this morning in the Word of God that God does work in the life of the lost sheep

Even before that person is born again in time Let's think about Jacob in Genesis chapter 25 verse 21

It says and Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife because she was barren and The Lord was entreated of him and Rebecca his wife conceived.

Have you ever studied that little word entreated? Somebody tell me what you think it means

You're gonna be wrong. So don't be embarrassed. Just tell me what I want to know honestly what you think it means already

Beg okay, what else somebody said pray what's what else?

Bargain with him like Jacob did when he wrestled with God you see you see

There are depths to the Word of God that you don't have enough human life on this earth to find them all

Do you know what this word means? The only reason I know it's because I was studying it for this sermon I've studied this passage many times.

I've never seen this But this is awesome The word entreat as used in this particular verse is the

Hebrew word all -star And it literally means to burn incense in worship

Now let me tell you the difference between biblical prayer and modern -day prayer Modern -day prayer is the only smoke you see is when you rub the genies bottle and the smoke comes out and the genie comes out

And you say give me this give me that and he makes it happen I mean one of the most popular books on prayer

I mean one of the bestsellers last couple of years was a book on prayer I won't give the title of it don't want to be overly critical but There are many who

Really teach that what prayer is all about is to get what you need and what you want from God There is an aspect of prayer to get our needs met

But it's just taught with the wrong twist because When Jacob went before the

Lord On behalf of his wife who was barren He did not begin his praying by dear

Lord. My wife is barren. Give me a baby Give her a baby because that's what we want

He began and I'm not saying he didn't say that later in his prayer I'm sure he did say

Lord, you know, we would love to have a baby and you've promised us that we're in the line of The Messiah makes sense to me.

We have to have one with that's on the human side. Would you give us one? I'm not saying he doesn't pray that way

But I'm saying in the Word of God where it records his prayer. It does not record that What it records is that he went before the presence of God and stayed still before him long enough

To sense his presence and ladies and gentlemen, if you are born again when his presence is made aware to you

You fall on your face and that is worship worship cannot be worked up. It cannot be invented

It cannot be created by the flesh. I don't care how many praise songs you sing I don't care how you stand and get your eyes focused on that spot in the ceiling

None of that can bring worship the only thing that brings true worship is God and his presence and your awareness of it at any given moment and This man became so aware of God's presence that it was as if he were burning incense and he may have literally burnt burnt given offering given an offering at this time of incense and worship

God and the sweet -smelling Savor that going up before God as it reminds him of the life and the body of the

Lord Jesus Christ That was burned totally on that altar totally burned. He gave his all he gave his physical body

He gave his soul. He gave his heart. He gave his mind. He gave his all

He even bore the burden of your sins in mind and he even was totally separated from God in complete darkness

Which is hell? While he was on that cross that day for us and all of that came before God's mind as that incense reminded him of it

Not that God has to be reminded, but that says we speak as a man and So Jacob was worshiping.

He wasn't praying as we think of praying. Although that is prayer That's how it must begin

And so Jacob entreated the Lord he burned incense and worship to the

Lord on behalf of his wife and The children struggled to gather within her and she said if it be so why am

I thus and she went to inquire of the Lord and the Lord said unto her two nations are in thy womb and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels and The one people shall be stronger than the other and the elder shall serve the younger and when her days to be delivered were fulfilled

Behold, there were twins in her womb. I Said Jacob I meant

Isaac I Surprised somebody didn't catch that one.

Incorrect me But we were speaking of Isaac and treating the Lord, but now we have Jacob in the womb

And my point is did God work in Jacob's life before Jacob was born again?

Well, he worked in his life from before he was born at all He was working in his life while he was struggling in the womb with his brother

Who was the type of the flesh and the world typifying our enemy and Jacob was in there struggling with him in the womb and The first came out red all over like a hairy garment that pictures the flesh in the world and They called his name

Esau. Esau is a type of the flesh you ever have a battle with the flesh.

Are you ever tempted? To walk away from the Lord for just a few seconds to fulfill the lusts of the flesh

That's pictured by Esau and Jacob was struggling with him even in the womb and Yet God the sovereign

God was in control of that struggle and After that came his brother out and his hand took hold of Esau's heel.

That's symbolic That's Symbolic because Jacob was going to be favored and he was in control of this situation in a sense

Symbolized here and the boys grew and Esau was a cunning hunter a man of the field and Jacob was a plain man dwelling in tents

Isaac loved Esau. You see the world loves fleshliness and Isaac lapsed a little bit

I believe in his in his Discernment, but it's natural

Isaac was probably a man's man Somewhat athletic and he loved

Esau because Esau was athletic But Rebecca loved Jacob because he liked to cook no,

I'm kidding And Jacob sawed pottage and Esau came from the field and he was faint and you know the rest of the story

Esau sold his birthright For a bowl of soup in Romans chapter 9

Starting with verse 11. Some people have called this the most hated passage in the Bible. It speaks of this struggle between Jacob and Esau Romans chapter 9 verse 11

The Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Gives light to the story.

We just read more light. He says for the children being not yet born Neither having done any good or evil now notice how he's going to point out the sovereignty of God He's saying these two children had not had an opportunity to do anything

Let alone to do good works or bad works Therefore what we're about to read is not based upon their works because they hadn't done any yet.

That's Paul's point For the children being not yet born neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God according to election might stand you see

God's purpose is what it's all about the sovereignty of God His purpose God's purpose according to election might stand not of works in other words not of what man can do

But of him that calleth That's God It's God that calls you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

You can't call yourself into that. You wouldn't want it If you're in darkness, you love it

You love the darkness Only God can call you out of that So it's not of him that does the works, but it's of him that calls

It was said unto her the elder shall serve the younger as it is written God said

Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated People don't like that phrase that it says

God hated Esau and he hadn't done anything bad and anything wrong wasn't even born yet But it is written and it is a fact and the reason for it is because God loves his children

He does not love Satan's children with that kind of agape love He can't because true love demands hatred

And if you don't believe it gentlemen, just have a rapist break in your home in the middle of the night and come after your wife and children and see if you don't slaughter him and If you don't slaughter him, you don't love your wife and children

People don't like to think of love that way nowadays, but it is a fact What shall we say then?

Is there unrighteousness with God? You see people thought the same way in Paul's days

They do now if you teach these doctrines now people are gonna say well, that's not fair God choose some and not choose others not fair.

The ones that don't go to heaven. They didn't get chosen. It's not fair and They asked Paul the same questions and he said well, so what shall we say then?

Is there unrighteousness with God because he chooses to love his children more than Satan's children? Well, you don't feel it's unrighteous for Rick over here to love his children more

He loves my children. You pay a lot more attention to yours than you do mine, by the way And so do you by the way young lady

Now that's evil. I see that's how they treat God That's how we think of God when we think that election is a bad doctrine

Well, that's why they all left Jesus except 12 that day because he was teaching these doctrines

But they are facts of life just as sure as gravity is and that you have to have oxygen to breathe

You have to have the call of God to ever get saved You can't do it with the flesh the flesh cannot save itself a dead man

Can't make himself rise the blind man can't make himself see a deaf man can't make himself here a lame man

Can't make himself walk Withered hands can't work for God. Let's go on every part of the body.

You know, you can't do it There's nothing in you that can do it. Only God Can do it.

Is it unrighteousness with God then God forbid Paul said for he saith to Moses I will have mercy on whom

I will to have mercy God says I'll have mercy on who I want to because I'm God and I will have compassion on whom

I will have compassion which implies he doesn't have compassion on everyone He only has compassion on those he wants to have compassion on So then it is not of him the human that wills or want something to happen nor is it of him that runneth?

That's the man you run to and try to make these things happen try to work it make it happen But it's of God that shows mercy the most hated passage of Scripture in the

Bible So we see Jacob to answer go back to our question was

God working in Jacob's life before Jacob knew God was working in his Life. Yes. He was he was still in the womb

What about David? King David Psalm 139 13 says for thou hast possessed my reigns.

This is David speaking thou has covered me in my mother's womb

Isn't that amazing long time before David knew he was saved. He was he was already being

Taught taught and moved and positioned and protected By God, what about Isaiah the great prophet

Isaiah 49 one says listen Oh Isles and to me and hearken you people fought from far

The Lord hath called me from the womb From the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name

What did Jesus say to the crowd when they came to him and said Lord? I have healed many people in your name

Lord, I've done many wonderful works in your name I've been to church been to revivals done this done that giving lots of money in your name.

What did Jesus say to that crowd? He said depart from me because you did bad

Depart from me because you didn't do enough good. What did he say? What did it was it based on works?

That he said depart from me. No, it was based on the fact. He said I never knew you

That's election Now Isaiah said that God knew me however, he knew my name

God made mention of my name while I was in my mother's bowels So does

God work in the lives of the lost sheep? Yes God already knows them.

God's already working on their behalf God's already working with them He's protecting them.

He's bringing the right circumstances The Holy Spirit is doing everything to bring the elect to their destiny which involves everything in the universe to the comets and their movements to the insects

All the way and the and the law and the goats the non -elect He moves them around to teach us lessons of patience and humility

It causes the goats to make more money than anybody in the world with their huge Corporations to put stuff on the shelf that God's elect goes and uses in their homes

Think about that. I learned that from my friend over here one day Brother Otis said isn't it amazing that God uses all of the lost people that hate

God and hate you and me to put that Stuff on the shelf that when we need it, it's there the medicine everything

Can't tell me God is not in control. What about Jeremiah? Jeremiah 1 4 then the word of the

Lord came into me saying Before I formed thee in the belly. I knew thee so now we've taken it back even before the womb

Before I formed you God says of this child of his named Jeremiah.

I already knew you you see I Understand what you meant

Sunday school brother Otis when you said God really didn't make a choice Even though the Bible uses the word elect and choose

The fact is it's not so much a choice as it is. It is a knowledge Or a fact it's just it's just a fact

God's children have always been his children In God's eye from God's viewpoint now here on time from our viewpoint

There's a point when we were lost at a point when we got saved But God was working in us before we were even born as far as in his heart and mind.

He knew us by our very Name before I formed thee in the belly. I knew thee and before thou came as forth out of the womb.

I Sanctified thee ladies and gentlemen, you realize that if you're sitting here this morning, and you know

Jesus in your heart That before you were in barn born God sanctified you which means he set you apart for a specific purpose in this history a

Specific job and purpose you were sanctified from the womb and I ordained thee a prophet and to the nations

We say well, God only does that with people like David and Jeremiah and Isaiah. He doesn't do that with the average person

We'll turn to Acts chapter 3 here. We have an unnamed lame man a Man no one knows maybe you'll know this man in heaven probably get to meet him

He'll be the one that's no longer lame. He's leaping with joy leaping and dancing before the throne of God Acts 3 2 and a certain man doesn't even give his name

It's not a great prophet not from the human viewpoint now this man was just as surely elect and called and sanctified from the womb as Jeremiah was

This man God looked down and he said this is going to be your perfect and it's awesome

It is an awesome Incredible life that I have for you. You're going to not be able to walk at all you're going to come out so miserable that your parents are going to cry when they see you and Their friends are going to go

And hold them out When they see you born and you're going to probably be ugly and all the children gonna laugh at you and tease you your whole life growing up this is the perfect thing that I've sanctified you for a

Certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple

Which is called beautiful to ask alms of them. You're going to be a beggar. I've called you to be a beggar

Daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful to ask alms of them that entered into the temple and when this man

This unnamed certain man who was called with a purpose looked up and saw Peter and John About to go into the temple.

He asked them for money This man still did not know he belonged to God But God knew this man didn't know anything except he's supposed to be sitting there begging and asking money and John and Peter walked by at a time which was the perfect time for God to Authenticate the gospel and the prophets the

New Testament prophets and the Apostles and to show their power Which could not have happened if this man had been born beautiful and strong and athletic and brilliant and had a lot of money couldn't have happened and So he sees

John and Peter walked by and he asked him for money and Peter fastening his eyes upon him with John said look on us and That typifies the

Holy Spirit coming into your life one day and saying look up at Jesus's face He has to drag you to do it.

You're not looking in that direction Look at us and he gave heat into them.

It's irresistible Expecting to receive something of them and then

Peter said Silver and gold have I none But such as I have give

I thee that's one of the most powerful phrases in the Bible. I Don't have things from the world.

I don't have What you're looking for what you think you're desiring but he said

I'm about to give you what I do have Wow Silver and gold

Have I none But such as I have give I thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk and he took him by the right hand and lifted him up and just as surely as spiritually we are lame and Withered before God when we are born again

We look in his face and we take his hand and we rise up And he tells us now walk for me the rest of your life and immediately his feet and ankle bones

Receive strength and he Leaping up stood and walked and entered with him into the temple walking and leaping and praising

God And All the people saw that's the testimony in walking and praising

God Did God work in this man's life before he was born again? Did God know this man

Was this man's life? Exactly according to the sovereign will of God Charlotte and I've talked before about it's easy when you see great things happen to say

Well, that's God's sovereign will but when you look at something horrible happening to maybe a friend of yours or someone, you know

And you see this person going through something It's harder to come back and say well, that's the sovereign will of God that happened to this person, isn't it?

Isn't it harder? What would you have thought the day you saw this little baby born

Well, I can't be God's will that's just the mother or father sin It's the sin of the parents caused this in that way.

You'd be tempted to say humanism Our minionism we want to bring it all down to man's choice man's will man does all this stuff that little baby couldn't be born crippled

Because God did it because God wouldn't do anything like that. That is our minion thinking we have to grow away from it farther and farther and Understand that God works all things together for good and God works and that's the key

God is working I'm reading a marvelous book by a man named

Kuiper who wrote in the 1800s about the Holy Spirit the book is this thick

Can you imagine taking that topic? What if your teacher Katie said I want you to just pick the Holy Spirit I want you to write 5 ,000 pages

Six or seven hundred pages and have a few footnotes But it's a beautiful book but he brings in the fact that the

Holy Spirit is in is Working in everything you see from the blade of grass blowing to the rock whose elements must be in place and to holding the world together and In all of the wicked and all of Satan seed and all of God's elect

But all for the purpose of bringing God's elect to to their destiny That's the

Holy Spirit's ministry right now As the sovereign

God works in every minute detail of the universe to bring us to See him face to face where we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is.

I Have other examples, and I think we're out of time this morning. We could talk about John the

Baptist. We could certainly talk about Paul But We've answered the question

God does work in the life of lost sheep before they're born again because God works in everything

God is working. He is the one that holds all things together the Lord Jesus The Bible says all things consist of him.

He holds them all together. They're by him. They're for him and they're to him The Father the

Son and the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit is bringing the two part bringing it to its completion

God already sees you ladies and gentlemen as Glorified this morning if you're in Christ Now you may be here this morning and you may think well, you know what?

I've never been saved. I Just I know that I don't know Jesus personally

Let me ask you this Do you think that when the bite when

Jesus looked at Paul Paul looked up and he saw Jesus for the first time He said

Lord, what would you have me to do? And Jesus said well, it's hard for you to kick against the pricks Wasn't it Paul?

That proves Jesus was working in Paul's life before he got saved Because his conscience was bothering him

That Doesn't happen to a lost goat ladies and gentlemen, nothing bothers them. Nothing draws them towards God Nothing draws them away from the flesh.

They hate everything about God their whole life and then they die and go to hell But if you have not been saved yet But have you ever had a conscience where you did something and it pricked you because you knew

Jesus didn't want you to do that That's a good sign that you're a lost sheep That's a sign that he's working in your life even before you've been saved because he loves you so much

He wants you to come to Jesus and be saved and he's moving you that way. Could this possibly be the day?

For you. Could this be the moment in time when you say yes Jesus. I do want you for my whole life if My life to you and I receive you as my

Lord and Savior my boss Because you can run my life better than I can and I trust you more than I trust my own self

So I give my life to you Will you do that all of a sudden you'll know your is and you'll know it for the rest of your life

You can do that in your heart. But if you do it, you need to tell some of us Let's stand and have prayer together

We want to know Don't we? Yeah Oh Father we thank you for your word

We thank you for you the gifts of your Holy Spirit as we've seen them as Vivian played the piano so beautifully today and Our singers saying our congregation saying

Paul played the keyboard We had gifts of incense being sent up from all over this congregation

You've given each person gifts and abilities to do the works that they do and the minister in the areas that they do

We thank you for all these things and that your hand Is in control of moving them exactly where you want them to go

Father we pray That you would take our lives

Before this world and allow them to see you on this earth

Allow them to see you working in our lives that they might have a true witness of the gospel and Where it's appropriate and where you move us we ask you to give us the right words to speak to our lost

Friends that we see and we work around we see at the store We see at the gas station

Move us to speak when we ought to speak about the Lord Jesus Christ And father, we know you're the one that brings the increase and we praise you for that Thank you for working at our hearts today and feeding us spiritual food

We ask you to bless our fellowship together in a few moments and bless our meal And we ask it in Jesus name.