Set Free In The Sovereignty of God

here we are who is your seed and on the highest throne who is your seed and holy is your name worthy is your name oh who is your seed and on the highest throne we give you all the praise oh we give you all the praise who is your seed and on the highest throne your way, your way come on, just an atmosphere of worship let's just start it out this morning like that who is your seed and on the highest throne your way, worthy is your name holy is your name oh holy is your name, worthy is your name I will sing it all my days holy is your name, worthy is your name holy is your name Lord I will sing it all my days your way, your way holy is your name, worthy is your name your way, your way holy is your name, worthy is your name I will sing it all my days we're gonna jump right in and we're gonna just start with worship and praise and if you've been in our house before or maybe it's your first time but listen we are a house of worship everyone in here is free to worship their king and so I want you to just let it all go you don't have to stay in your pew there's so much room up here you can wander around the room you can do whatever it is that you need to do

to just enter into the presence of the Lord and this morning I was just thinking about how we were gonna start and enter in and I just felt like the Lord brought this small verse to my heart and I just wanted to read it it's Psalm 89 it says I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations and I was just thinking about that we have an opportunity right now to change the course of history for our country for our families for our children that we will make known the faithfulness with our mouths right now for all generations ahead of us and now we get to change maybe what we were brought up in maybe what you're used to or maybe what was modeled for you but guess what that can change right now you can enter into his presence and be changed by his Holy Spirit so Yahweh we thank you thank you Lord for your presence thank you that we get to come in here and freely worship you God that we get to make known to all generations your faithfulness Lord that your goodness and your love endures forever God that the that you went to the cross to pay it all to wipe this slate clean for every heart to take the greatest sacrifice upon yourself to thank you Lord thank you and we sing we sing songs of praise Lord I ask that you would just fall upon every person in this room that they would worship you in a way that they have never worshipped you before that they would feel no hindrance to entering in to knowing you fully to knowing the greatness and the love that you have for them so Yahweh captivate us this morning fall on this room may we walk out of here different than we walked in because you are powerful Lord there is power in your name there is healing in your name

there is healing in your name we can be found in your name there is no loneliness in your name there is no depression there is no anxiety none of that can exist in your name Yahweh so we speak your name into this room right now God captivate every heart we love you I carry the cross upon your back waiting until your final breath tears of blood a crown of thorns you give it all as soon as you go oh oh oh there is no greater love oh oh oh there is no greater love oh the cross, what you've done is more than enough, more than enough oh the cross, what you've done the power of your blood was more than enough the sacrifice that changes to me the nails in your hands, the hands that saved me the grave was sealed, death lost its sting as the lion roared, and death came the sacrifice that changes to me the nails in your hands, the hands that saved me the grave was sealed, death lost its sting as the lion roared, victory oh the cross, what you've done was more than enough, more than enough oh the cross, what you've done the power of your blood was more than enough oh the cross, what you've done

was more than enough, more than enough oh the cross, what you've done the power of your blood was more than enough thank you for breaking the bread of your body ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Oh, thank you, for my heart will sing forever ♪ ♪ Thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Thank you, for my heart will sing forever ♪ ♪ All because what you've done is more than enough ♪ ♪ More than enough ♪ ♪ All because what you've done, the power of your blood ♪ Come on, sing it again. ♪ All because what you've done is more than enough ♪ ♪ More than enough ♪ ♪ All because what you've done, the power of your blood ♪ ♪ Is more than enough ♪ ♪ Oh, you're more than enough ♪ ♪ You're never changing, never failing, hey ♪ ♪ And we thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Thank you, for my heart will sing forever ♪ Come on, sing it church. ♪ Thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ And we thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ We thank you, for my heart will sing forever ♪ ♪ Thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪

♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Thank you, for my heart will sing forever ♪ ♪ Thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Yeah my heart will sing forever to thank you ♪ ♪ Thank you, for breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Yeah we thank you, for my heart will sing forever ♪ ♪ Yeah my heart will sing forever to thank you ♪ ♪ For breaking the bread of your body ♪ ♪ For spilling the wine and your blood ♪ ♪ Yeah we thank you, for my heart will sing forever ♪ ♪ Oh the cross, what you've done is more than enough ♪ ♪ Oh the cross, what you've done, the power of your blood ♪ ♪ Is more than enough today, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Is more than enough, more than enough ♪ ♪ Oh the cross, what you've done, is more than enough ♪ ♪ Is more than enough, is more than enough ♪ Thank you Lord. In Revelation four it says, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. It says, when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the 24 elders fall down before him, who is seated on the throne and worship him with their lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne saying, worthy are you.

Oh Lord God to receive glory and honor and power where you created all things and by your will they existed. As we sing this next I just encourage you to lay it all at his feet. We talk a lot about laying the hardships at his feet but everything we have in our lives including the good things are all because of him and we can't take credit for that and so I encourage you those things that you're valuing and you're thinking man I'm great because of this. Let's throw those crowns at his feet today and give him the honor and the glory that he rightly deserves because he is good and he is faithful so let's worship together. We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus. The greatness of mercy and love at the feet of Jesus. And we cry holy, holy, holy. And we cry holy, holy, holy. And we cry holy, holy, holy is the name. We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus. The greatness of mercy and love at the feet of Jesus. And we cry holy, holy, holy. And we cry holy, holy, holy. Yes, we cry holy, holy, holy is the name. Holy is the name. We cry holy, holy, holy. We cry holy, holy, you are holy. We cry holy, holy, holy is the name. Holy is the name. You are awesome in this place. Mighty God. You are awesome in this place. I'm a brother. You are worthy of all praise. To you our lives we raise.

You are awesome in this place. Mighty God. You are awesome in this place. Mighty God. You are awesome in this place. I'm a brother. You are worthy of all praise. To you our lives we raise. You are awesome in this place. Mighty God. And we cry holy, holy, holy. Yes, we cry holy, holy, holy. And we cry holy, holy, holy is the name. ♪ And we cry holy, holy, holy, yes we cry holy, holy, you are holy, we cry holy, holy, holy is the Lord. ♪ ♪ ♪ And we cry holy, holy, holy, we cry holy, holy, holy, we cry holy, holy, holy is the Lord. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ You always show us your face, Lord. Reveal yourself to us right now. Quiet our hearts and our minds. Your steadfast love endures forever. Show me your face, Lord. Show me the goodness, your love, your mercy. May I see it, Lord. Maybe it wouldn't be with my own eyes, but let me see it in my heart. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ And strengthen my legs that I might stand ♪ ♪ In this holy place ♪ ♪ And show me Your face, Lord ♪ ♪ Your power and grace ♪ ♪ I can make it to the end if I could just see Your face ♪ ♪ David knew there was something more ♪ ♪ Than the ark of Your presence ♪ ♪ In a manger Messiah was born ♪ ♪ Among kings and peasants ♪ ♪ And all of Israel saw Your glory ♪ ♪ And it shines down through the age ♪ ♪ Now You've called me to boldly seek Your face ♪ Come on, let's sing, show me Your face. ♪ And show me Your face, Lord ♪ ♪ Show me Your face ♪ ♪ Then strengthen my legs that I might stand ♪ ♪ In this holy place ♪ ♪ Show me Your face, Lord ♪ ♪ Your power and grace ♪ ♪ Show me Your face ♪ ♪ I've been waiting to the end, come on ♪ ♪ If I could just see Your face ♪ ♪ If I could just see Your face ♪ ♪ If I could just see Your face ♪ ♪ If I could just see Your face ♪ ♪ I could make it to the end ♪ ♪ I could make it to the end ♪ ♪ I could make it to the end ♪ ♪ Just show me Your face, Lord ♪

♪ Just show me Your glory, Lord ♪ Come on, worship your king this morning. This song is so powerful. The lyrics are so, so good. I don't want you to miss out on the opportunity to be in His presence. Everything out there does not matter. What you're gonna go do after church doesn't matter. Being in the presence of the Holy Spirit is what matters. Every hardship, every joy, every single thing that you face in this world has to sit on the altar of His feet. Do not miss out right now in being in His presence. Being afraid to worship Him or raise your hands or sing some praise, maybe to step out of your pew, which might be super uncomfortable, but I'm telling you right now, it's worth it. It's worth it to get on your knees and to praise the King of kings. What are you holding back for? What is it? War with it in your heart, but give it to Him. Don't let it hold you back from His presence. Oh show us your face. I can make it to the end if I could just see your face. Oh, your love endures forever. Your mercy endures forever. Oh, oh, oh. Oh, just show me your face, Lord.

I lay it all down at the altar. I lay it all down at the altar. This is where it all changes, Lord. This is where you will change me, Lord. This is where you will change me, Lord. Hey. Come on. We're just going to worship. 30 seconds. Come on, do something maybe you have never done before. Express your worship to him. He is worthy, worthy, worthy. Worthy, Lord, you're the ace. All the angels and the saints cry holy. So what more could I do, Lord? What more could I do than to sing with the angels? Oh. Oh. Oh. Holy, holy is the Lord. Holy, holy is the Lord. Oh. Come on. Do not hold back. Hey. Holy, holy is the Lord. Holy, holy is the Lord. Oh. Holy, holy is the Lord. Holy, holy is the Lord.

Holy, holy is the Lord of God. Seated on the throne. Oh. Holy, holy is the Lord. Holy, holy is the Lord. Yeah. Holy, holy. Holy, holy is the Lord. Oh. Ooh. Ooh. Ooh. Ooh. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. You can have all this world. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. You can have all this world. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. You can have all this world. Give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. You can have all this world. ♪ You can have all this world ♪ ♪ Give me Jesus, give me Jesus ♪

♪ You can have all this world, You can have it all ♪ ♪ You can have all this world, give me Jesus, give me Jesus ♪ ♪ You can have all this world, You can have it all ♪ ♪ You can have all this world, You can have it all, yeah ♪ ♪ You can have it all, yes, just give me Jesus, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ You can have it all, yes, just give me Jesus, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ You can have it all, yes, just give me Jesus, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ I don't want anyone else, I don't need anything else ♪ ♪ You are my one thing, You are my one thing to have ♪ ♪ I don't want anyone else, I don't need anything else ♪ ♪ You are my one thing, You are my one thing to have ♪ Sing it with your whole heart. ♪ And I don't want anyone else, I don't need anything else ♪ ♪ You are my one thing, You are my one thing to have ♪ ♪ I don't want anyone else, I don't need anything else ♪ ♪ You are my one thing, You are my one thing to have ♪ ♪ I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know, I don't want anyone else to know ♪ Come on every voice in the room, sing it as loud as you can. ♪ Cause You are my one thing, You are my one thing to have ♪ ♪ Open my eyes and I don't want anyone else, I don't need anything else, You are my one thing, You are my one thing, I don't want anyone else, I don't need anything else, You are my, You are my one thing. I don't want anything else, I don't need anything else. I don't want anyone else, I don't need anything else You are my one thing, I don't want anyone else You are my one thing, I don't want anyone else I don't need anything else You are my one thing, You are Give me Jesus Give me ♪ You can have all this world ♪ ♪ You can have all this world ♪

Come on, one more time, just the room. ♪ Give me peace, Lord, give me peace, Lord ♪ ♪ Give me hope, Jesus, you can have all this world ♪ ♪ All this world, you can have all this world ♪ Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord. Thank you that we can walk in here and freely sing your name. That we can express ourselves in worship any time that we want. Yahweh, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come, seated on the highest throne. May that be the words that just echo and echo in our hearts and our minds, Lord, as we leave this room today. That we wouldn't be able to stop singing it. That we wouldn't be able to stop living it because you are worthy to be praised. You are worthy to be worshiped. So we just continue to lay it out before you, God. All of the things that are in our hearts and our minds, God, you deserve them all. So we love you, we praise you, and we honor your name. And everyone said, amen. Rachel. Thank you, Rachel and worship team. Let's give it up for the worship team this morning. Woo! Good morning, Altar family.

If you are up front here and you can find your way to a seat, if not, feel free to stay where you're at. Hallelujah. It's good to be here this morning in the house of the Lord. Good to see your smiling faces. And worship the Lord together with you. Pastor David asked if I would do the offering. Of course I said yes. It's always intriguing when you get the call to do something like this because there's only so many ways I guess you can. Almost there. All right. There's only so many ways that you can, I suppose, tell people to give. Maybe, maybe there's more, I don't know. So Sheila and I usually have coffee and devotions in the morning and we just finished up reading in Mark, which is an unlikely place at the end of Mark to talk about giving, but we just finished up reading in Mark. To talk about giving, but in Mark chapter 16, this is right after Jesus was crucified and the title here in verse 16, or chapter 16 verse one talks about his resurrection and it says, and when the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome brought, excuse me, bought spices that they might come and anoint him. And

we stopped, I stopped when I read that and I thought, well, this is really odd. I've never noticed that before that it says that they bought spices that they could come and anoint him. And I thought about that and I thought it was odd for a variety of reasons and it struck me, but I didn't know what to say. And so I was praying about this and I was asking the Holy Spirit, Lord, what is it about the fact that they bought spices have to do with giving? And as I was praying about it, the Holy Spirit said to me, Rich, do not confuse devotion with obedience. I thought, do not confuse devotion with obedience. If you remember, Jesus told All of his disciples. I'm gonna die and I'm gonna rise again on the third day and These Mary's they love Jesus Intensely their love for Jesus their passion to devotion to Jesus was intense and Yet Mary and the other Mary's they bought they spent their money on something that they thought The Lord would want Because of their love for him and in their thinking they ignored the fact that Jesus says I'm gonna rise in three days Why are you buying spices? To anoint my body when I'm not gonna be in that tomb in three days And I wonder how many of us Do things with our money out of devotion to the Lord But we don't do what he asks us to do with that money in this house, we believe in tithing This is a tithing house. If you ask anyone who's a leader in this house, should I? Give to the Lord and we'll say yes, you should tithe. You should tithe on the increase of your house and It belongs in this house. If you call the altar fellowship your house your tithe your giving belongs here

but I feel like many of us We just do what we want to do and We call it giving to the Lord I was talking with Sam Sam and I were working on his air conditioning the other day And we were talking about a mutual friend and that friend shared with Sam. Well, I don't tithe I just give to this particular ministry and Sam's like no, that's not right tithing means giving to the house where you're a part of and And I thought about that and I thought how many times do I just do what I want and Call it good between me and the Lord, but it's not what he asked me to do Right, and so I want to encourage you to continue to press in in your devotion to Jesus But when it comes to your finances, don't let your devotion cloud obedience All right when the Holy Spirit says to you The altar is your home You should give here coupled with the messages. You've heard from Paul and other elders and others who've shared about What it means to give about you know, I think a lot about elder Ledford's message a couple weeks ago where he was talking about Maybe you have to make a lifestyle change. Maybe you maybe you have too much house maybe you have too much car or too much phone and it's it's Clouding your ability to give and you give Jesus your love and you want to do what he's asking you to do because you're devoted To him, but you're just not able So I would encourage you as we give today If you have your offering raise it as we pray and if you're in a place where you're like, I need to start giving change Change your devotion in in terms of finances to obedience and watch what Yahweh does in your life Father thank you for this day. Thank you for everyone who has a Hand in sustaining the work of the altar fellowship Lord I know there's so many churches certainly in Tennessee and around the world and Lord I want them to prosper but more than I want them to prosper. I want this house to prosper Lord I'm vested in this house Lord God in the altar fellowship in Johnson City, Tennessee's Lord So I pray that you would prosper every gift that is given Lord God every tithe or God

I pray for those who are wrestling with the tithe Lord who are just like Lord I pray that you would help them to step over that threshold and just begin To act in obedience and watch the miracles of the Lord. So thank you for this day Lord. I bless it in Jesus name two weeks ago, I preached a message on Understanding God's will and if you were here for that, then I talked about that the Bible talks about God's will in five different ways and To know that it's actually really important because we all want to know what God's will is But if we don't understand the various scriptures that talk about God's will and if we don't understand that it talks about God's will in different ways We will end up applying a verse to ourselves and tying ourselves up in knots Something that was supposed to be liberating to us becomes something that becomes a burden and a bondage to us Confusion and so we spent a whole Sunday two weeks ago doing that You see what happened with this is that when Pastor Matty first asked if I would come along here all the way from Australia and speak to you for a couple of Sundays, then immediately I just thought, okay, I want two messages that are kind of like gonna be hand in hand, not two very separate, but certainly separate messages, but messages that would work together. And I actually had two messages that I had planned for that. I was gonna open up the letter to the Ephesians to you, and guess what? I didn't do it. And that's because I just wasn't settled in my heart that I'm landing on what God wants to say to you as a church. It would have been great, I'm sure of that. Anything that comes from the Bible is gonna be great.

And especially if it comes with a correct accent, it's gonna be just fantastic. But I was talking to Christine because I was kind of like really just worried that I just don't think I'm on the money. And so I said, can I just pick your prophetic discernment? And just, and so she's like, right, okay. Very rarely does she get Ian talking to her saying, I need some guidance on what I'm gonna preach on. And she's like, oh, okay, I better come to attention. And I said, look, I'm planning to do this, and I could do this and do this. She's like, right. And she says, what's wrong with that? I just don't feel settled with it. Like, and she said, well, what else would you do? And I said, well, I do something in relation to this bunch of teaching that I might do in a teaching seminar or something like that. I've got a teaching that I present in Bible College and student classes called The Great Words of the Gospel. And we open up the big words of the Bible, of the New Testament, like propitiation and justification and sanctification and redemption and predestination. And so as I'm talking about it, I'm just saying, yeah, well, look, I could do this, but look, the Altar Fellowship, they have great preaching here. You know, like the atonement, justification, sanctification.

Like, if you've been in this church for any length of time, then if you've been taking notes and you're not a dummy, then you're probably starting to get it like infusing within you. But it was that last one, and as I'm starting to talk about it with Christine, she says, at the end of it, she says, okay, well, you need to listen to yourself, Ian, because when you're talking to young up-and-coming preachers you say to them, what is the bit that's like on your heart that you're just really excited to talk about? And she says, as you've been talking about that last one, she said, you've got to listen to yourself how you become more animated, your excitement level goes up. And I'm just like, okay. So last week, well, two weeks ago, I presented the groundwork for this week. And this is probably going to be one of the most contentious topics amongst Christians right across the world and for 2,000 years. And it is the sovereign will of God. And I want to open it up to you in a way that I trust will liberate you into a new experience of relationship with God and a new found peace in the world around about you and your place in it. Now that's a big ask, isn't it?

And so all of the prayer warriors are right now interceding like, oh boy, this better be good. Okay, so let's dive into it. I'm gonna start off in Acts chapter four, and I'm gonna read just two verses. Now this is like this, it's very early in the birth of the New Testament church. Okay, Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit's come, thousands of people get saved. But like in chapter three, there's this amazing miracle and it just. It gets bad for the believers. Okay, so they get in trouble. And because there are people who didn't like Jesus, he was only crucified only a couple of months ago. And so here they are, and they're in trouble. And so they come back and they have this prayer meeting. Okay, so I'm gonna read two verses of their prayer. They're praying to the Lord. And this is what they say to him in Acts chapter four, verses 27 and 28, just a little part of their prayer. It says this, they're talking to God. For truly in this city, there were gathered together against your holy servant, Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel. Now just stop there. It's just like, they're just recounting to God

something that he knows really well. For truly in this city, gathered together against the Christ, the anointed one, that God, just in case, and we know you haven't forgotten, but we just wanna acknowledge before you that we understand he is your anointed. Herod, Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles, and the peoples of Israel, it's just like everybody, there's the Roman centurions, there's the Jews, there's the priests, there's the Pharisees, there's everybody, like there's the governor, there's the king, like everybody is against Jesus. And look at this in verse 28. To do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Stop and think about what they just said. They were gathered together to do whatever you planned. They gathered together to do whatever you planned. You planned this. Well, hang on a second. If you look at the cross, there is nothing good if you look at it from a human perspective. One of Jesus' 12 betrays Him for the sum of just a few dollars. Pathetic, terrible. The chief priests, the religious leaders, the Pharisees, they concoct a sham trial in the middle of the night. They've got their ruling council, and they don't invite everyone to that meeting who belongs in that meeting,

just the ones that they know who are going to vote against Jesus. There's nothing good about it. They bring Him before Herod, and Herod's just like, nothing good in that. It's a mockery of a trial. They bring Him before Pilate because they want to crucify this man. They want to see him dead, and Pilate is the one, he's the Roman governor, and he can actually sign the death warrant. He can sign it, and so they bring Him to him. Pilate's wife has had a dream, and she says to Pilate, you just need to keep your hands away from that guy because I've had these dreams, and oh my goodness me, this is not gonna go down well for you if you, like, you just need to. So Pilate tries to get Jesus off, but everybody is saying crucify Him, and then they start bringing in their own politics into the story. He says He's a king, and if you don't crucify Him, then that means you agree that He's a king, and we have only one king, and that's Caesar. It's just like, so they're just, they're manipulating everything. Pilate wants to let them go. So he says, look, at this time, I have this habit of releasing someone, and there is a man there who's guilty of murder,

and he is destined for crucifixion that day. His name is Barabbas. Barabbas is an Aramaic name, Ba-abbas, Ba-abbas, son of a father. But Jesus is going to take His cross, and Barabbas is gonna go free. Everyone, the Roman soldiers are going to mock Jesus. They're gonna spit on Him. They're gonna hit Him. They're gonna beat Him. They're gonna whip Him. They're gonna, one of them's gonna make a crown of thorns and rub it down. down straight into his scalp. They're gonna make him carry his cross all the way outside the city to the place of crucifixion. There is nothing good in this scene. Jesus' own disciples, well, apart from the one who betrayed him, he's gone now and hung himself, he's committed suicide. Of the other 11, 10 of them have run away because they see in Jesus' sham arrest and mockery of a trial and his now public execution, they see in that a sign of their own future. And so they run away. Like all that is there at the foot of the cross is one of Jesus' disciples, John. He's the only one. And a few women. And the women are there only because in their culture,

they don't count. So no one cares that there are women there. Like at every level, when people walk past, oh, he said, you know, he's the Messiah, he's the great king. Come down off the cross if you're the, like, they're ridiculing a dying man on a cross. Two thieves, either side of him. They join in it too. Like, now, one of them has a change of heart. That's an amazing story. But it's just like at every level, there is nothing good here. And yet, think about it. Jesus is being crucified. He wasn't being stoned. There were times where they wanted to stone him, but they couldn't. And that's because God had a plan. He was always going to have his son, his Messiah, he was always going to have him hanging on wood, on a tree, because in their law, if you hang on a tree, you are cursed by God. Jesus was never gonna be stabbed. He was never going to be king hit and fall over and crack his head open and die on a rock. Like, that was never going, not like in Nazareth, where they took him to the brink of a cliff and they were gonna throw him off. But what did he do?

He just turned around because this wasn't his time. Hang on a second. It is not an accident that at the very time Jesus is hanging on a cross, dying for the sins of the world, it is no accident he's outside the city walls of Jerusalem. It is not an accident that just over the wall in the temple, the priests are slaughtering the Passover lambs for the community. That's not an accident. Everything is planned by God. And yet we just looked at it and just saw, well, hang on a second, everything is evil. And the work, the involvement of humanity is shocking. Jesus, the Son of the Father, bears the cross of a son of a father. It's not, nothing is an accident. The whole setup, it's been declared from the beginning of time. It was always going to be this way. And it's not like God just looked down, it's not like he looked in a crystal ball and just looked down the tunnel of time and saw, oh, this is what's going to happen. Oh, okay, he's going to be crucified on a cross. If anyone hangs on a tree, they're cursed. Like, it's not like God was just bending the situation to fit what he could see happening. That's not what it is. This was according to your plan and your predestined will.

I want you to see that there has been, right from the early days of the church, there's been this tension between those who believe in the free will of man and those who believe in the sovereign will of God. And like, I mean, I drive around, we don't see this in Australia, but I drive around here in East Tennessee and I will see churches, and even in their name, they will put free will. And then there are other churches and their name will be sovereign grace. Grace, like it's just like, and here's the thing, even from the very earliest of days, the early centuries, right through to modern times, there's been like this debate between free will and sovereign will. Who's in control? And here, I think, are two problems. And I'm gonna just share with you. From my own, I wanna say my, no, I won't go there. God will say, just mind what you're saying, boy. Just like, this is about me, not you. Okay. We think that they are opposites. That's the problem. And that's why we argue with each other. Because when you hear someone talking about the free will of humans, as opposed to the sovereign will of God,

we think that it's a continuum like this. And one is on one side and the other is on the other. What we don't realise is that if you pick up those two ends and bring them up together, and it depends which way you look at it. If you look at the cross from a human perspective, it is everything about the free will choices of people. If you look at it from a heavenly perspective, it was always the predestined plan. They're not opposites. Here is my personal, I think I've only just come to this in this last year. I've written a book on this stuff. Like I've lectured in seminars and Bible college, just like, honestly, to open this right up, I probably need about eight hours. Now everyone's really worried. And, of course, it goes into some dark places. How in control is God? And I'm here to tell you, He is incredibly in control. He's more in control than you realise. I wanna tell you that right from the start. But I wanna tell you that I think the biggest problem is our language. Because we talk in terms of free will. Let's stop talking about free will and let's talk about choice. I think that is a better word. I think choice is a better word,

rather than free will. And it's just like, did Pilate make a choice? Yes, he did. Did the Pharisees make a choice? Yes, they did. Did Judas make a choice? Yes, he did. Did Peter, when he denied Jesus, did he make a choice? Yes, he did. Our world, every day, we make thousands of choices. Somehow, God works out His eternal predestined plan. So let's have a look at it. Now, as is true of all major doctrines in the Bible, and this actually is a major one, then you will find huge sections that talk about it. And you might have already noticed that in the Book of Romans, which unpacks the whole doctrine of salvation, and it's just, it's an amazing book, the Book of Romans. Did you know three and a half chapters are devoted to this very question? Like three and a half chapters. That is a huge whack. It starts at a place where most people don't recognise. It starts in Romans 8, verse 28, which talks about all things working together for good for those who love the Lord. So let's have a look at it.

Go to Romans 8, and verse 28. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. Let me just say this to you right now. Do you love Jesus? Do you love the Lord? If your answer to that is yes, then I want you to actually look at what that verse just says. All things work together for good. Well, hang on a second. Not everything in your world has been good. If your story is anything like my story, then there are a lot of things that have not been good, that have been, in fact, evil. And some of those things, I myself have been in charge of. And it's been the choice of my choices, it's been the choice of other people around about me, and many of those things, I was completely not in charge. I just suffered the violence of other people that was put on top of me. And many of you have got stories just like that. This says that all things work together for good. All things, not just the good things. God is not so weak that he can't take your history and make good come out of it. I don't know how he's gonna do that, because some of you have had atrocities committed against you. I don't know how, but I do know this, he is so in control, he is so amazing,

he is so powerful, and he is so creative, that the worst thing that can happen on planet Earth, where there is a mockery of justice, and they bring God's beautiful, perfect son to a shocking death, and that Friday is what Christians from then on are gonna call Good Friday. It was the worst Friday on the planet. And yet when you see the glorious sovereign grace of God, it becomes the best day on the planet, because that's where we find our salvation. So all things work together for good. Let's just keep reading. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Listen to it, verse 29. For those whom he foreknew, that means he knew beforehand. Okay, so, and the language of the biblical peoples is not knowing in your head, it's knowing in your heart. So this foreknowledge is a relationship that he's having with someone before, whoops. That's why, Christine, you were praying for me before. Just like, she said, I'm praying for you that you don't trip on that thing. There you go. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined, that actually is a good word, according to the original language, he set the target beforehand, he predestined,

he went to the GPS and he plugged the address in and then he hit start, okay? So for those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. Like, he didn't predestine you because he saw that you would be conformed to the image of his Son. He predestined you to be conformed to the image of his Son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. Can you see the order that he's doing this in? The calling didn't come first. The predestining came first, that didn't come first. The foreknowing came first. He foreknew, therefore he predestined to be conformed and those he predestined, he also called and those whom he called, he also justified and those whom he justified, he also glorified. Newsflash, if you've been justified, the end is set. You're in this story. Now I know you've got a thousand questions about people who aren't in this story. What about those who aren't believers, et cetera? Let's just let that for the side because this is gonna go to an amazing part. Now here is the very first thing to learn about the amazing doctrine of predestination that Paul is going to devote three and a half chapters to. Here is the very first thing.

Soon as he started there, where does he go? Verse 31. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? If God has just, if he has decided to make good come out of your life, bring it on. What can the devil do against you? Oh, I'm under attack. Seriously? If God is for you, who can be, it's a rhetorical question, who can be against you? Oh well the devil can be against me, or my father can be against me, or my husband or wife can be against me. If God is for us, who can be against us? Verse 32, he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Over my life as a pastor, how many people have I met that's just like, oh look God has been so kind to me, I dare not ask for any more. The mere fact that he gave you his son is his promise, he's given it all to you. Take it. He went to great expense to put it on the table, so go for it. I couldn't ask, look I'm just being selfish. No you're not. You might not deserve all the blessings of God in your life, but I tell you who does, Jesus. He deserves you to have all the blessings of God because he went to a shocking death to ensure that the answer from heaven would be yes, so go for it. Okay, well that was good. Verse 33, like it gets better. There are steak knives coming with this. Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? Who will bring a charge against you? It is God who justifies. He makes you just. If he has declared you just, then guess what? It's what you are. Who can bring a charge against the person who is just? You can't. You can bring an accusation, but you can't bring a charge because it can't stick, because there's nothing for it to stick on to. Stop looking at your own sinfulness and start looking at the purity of Jesus because he takes his purity and deposits it in your behalf, in your account, on your life. Oh but it gets better. Verse 34, who is it to condemn? Oh the

devil condemns us, my conscience condemns us, my father condemns us, my mother does, my brothers, my sisters, like people, the government condemns us. This is like, who is it to condemn? Well I'm just telling you right now, there is only one person who can condemn. It is the judge of the living and the dead. And what does it say? Christ Jesus is the one who died. He's the only one who actually can condemn you. And what do we see when we look at him? He died. More than that, it was raised, who's at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Like the only one who can condemn you is actually died for you, rose again for you, ascended into heaven for you, and is standing at the right hand of the Father and he's praying for you. Like my voice just went up an octave. What about this one? Verse 35, this is good isn't it? I think this is good news. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Oh here in the States, a lot of people are worried about tribulation. Shall that separate us from the love of Christ? What about distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Like I mean, if everything goes wrong in my life, I just might buckle and go under and and separate myself from the love of Christ. As it is written, verse 36, for your sake we have been killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter. And that is true of many Christians today. They're actually literally regarded as sheep for the slaughter. And look at the answer, the response in verse 37. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that night... Neither death nor life. Don't be afraid of death. Don't be afraid to live. I hope God would just take me now because I'm in worship right now, and I'm just scared that tomorrow I'm not gonna be, and you know, like I mean, if I don't put the full armour of God on tomorrow morning and I have a car accident and die,

I am in serious trouble. Are you kidding me? I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, that includes you, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. Did you hear that last line? Where is the love of God? Read it. Where is it? It is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The love of God for you is not in you. The love of God for you is in Jesus. Is Jesus safe? Is God, is the Father ever going to look at Jesus and say, just get out of my sight, you disgust me? Like is the Father ever gonna say that to Jesus? Well, that's where the love of God for us resides. Like you're forever loved. Yeah, but what if I do this? What if I throw this away? It's just like, did not you read those first verses that we said from verse 29 onwards,

that those He foreknew, He predestined, He then called you, He justified, He glorified, like He did it all. It was all the work of God in Christ. His love for you was His work. This is love, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us. Now that you know Him, rather unknown by Him, like it's all about Him. And that's the first big lesson about the predestined will of God. You see, we have these debates as to whether or not, did you have the power to say yes or no when the offer for salvation came to you? Do you have the power to reject Christ? Or were you just like a puppet and there was an offer came to you and you just magically said, yes, Jesus, just like, or like, we have these debates because we're making a philosophy out of something that is the most powerful thing in the believer's life. And the first application of it is that if God is for you, and that's what this message is about, is that God is for you and He is powerfully in control of everything. Just go back, we started in Acts chapter four. Have a look at the worst event in human history and you will see that yes, it is the free choice of humans and it's evil. And yes, it is the predestined sovereign plan of God. And somehow He is able to bring those two thoughts together

in a way that none of us can understand. Oh, is that really surprising? That Pastor Ian, you're not smart enough to understand the inner workings of God and His thoughts that are above your thoughts and you know. So that's the first point, is that it should bring us to a place of security. It should bring us to a place that no matter what is happening, we can expect a better day to come. Even if it means we'll go to our grave in a shocking death, but it means that there will be a better day to come. It's just like all things will work together for good. It means those things that you stress about that happened 30 years ago, all things and you wonder where was God when that happened? I don't know, but I do know this, all things work together for good for those who love the Lord. He knows what He's doing, we can trust Him. That's the end of chapter eight. It's all right, I'm not gonna go into all of chapter nine. I will go into some of it. Chapter 9 opens up this whole thing with all the questions and it is in your face. I am the first preacher I've ever heard right now who's going to preach from Romans chapter 9. Unless I was from one of those argumentative churches. Chapter 9 is all about the sovereign choice of God. Chapter 10 is all about the free choice of people. Whoever will, whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Like so chapter 10, chapter 9 is the sovereign will of God who is in charge of everything. I mean everything. And chapter 10 is about the free choice

of people who it is up to you how you choose. Then he comes back in chapter 11 and he talks about this whole thing about you know the the Israelite nation, how they fit in the plan of salvation and you know the Gentiles coming in. So let me just show you a couple of verses in chapter 9. Oh this is gonna be good. Verse 14. Oh he's just finished up a little discussion in verse 13. I don't know if you had verse 13 up there on the screen. Oh you've got a great team here. As it is written, Jacob I loved but Esau I hated. Verse 14. What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? If he was somehow still in charge when that atrocity was committed against you, what shall we say? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. Verse 15. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I'll have compassion on whom I have compassion. Verse 16. So then it depends not on human will or exertion but on God who has mercy. We get tied up because we get tied up with judgment. This is a message about mercy. Verse 17. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, have you ever read the story of Pharaoh when Moses goes up and says let my people go? Okay let's just read this. It says this, for the scripture says to Pharaoh, this is God speaking, 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. It was always going to happen that there were going to be ten plagues and the tenth plague was always going to be the death of the firstborn because that was going to point to the gospel. It was going to be because of that that you have the very first Passover and it's going to be because that is pointing to the real Passover which is Jesus on the cross. It was always going to happen that way. Sucks to be Pharaoh then doesn't it? Have you ever read the story? You will see on some occasions it says and Pharaoh hardened his heart. But then you will read other sections where it says and God hardened Pharaoh's heart. Like just when God is speaking to Moses right in the very beginning he says I'm gonna harden his heart. Well that's not fair. Verse 18, so then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever he wills. In Australia we say truth. That's our exclamation like I don't know, dang. Verse 19, you will say to me then why does he still

find fault? Because he hardened Pharaoh's heart. So why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will? That's a good question, isn't it? Let's just pause there. Because where are you gonna take this, Paul? Because Paul likes to pose a question that you will say and then he gives the answer to it. And of course, if at this point, if your question was, why does he still find fault for who can resist his will? This is, if we're misunderstanding what he's saying, this is Paul's opportunity to correct it. And just like, no, you're missing what I'm saying. This is that, this would be that moment. Verse 19, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault for who can resist his will? Verse 20, but who are you, oh man, to answer back to God? To answer back to God? Will what is moulded say to its moulder, why have you made me like this? Verse 21, has the potter no right over the clay to make out of the same lump one vessel for honourable use and another for dishonourable use? His, you will say, well, why does he still find fault? Because who can resist his will? And that's, that's where the debate goes if you've been involved in churches like that. Why does he, and what's Paul's response to it? You mind yourself. You're talking to God right now.

Who are you to accuse him? Can't God do whatever he wants? Isn't he the Lord? Isn't he the creator? Aren't we the work of his hands? Aren't all of us the work of his hands? Can't he do with what is his own as he determines? If he thinks something is good, isn't it right for him to do what he thinks is good? Can you just see, he didn't answer the question. He left it up there and said, deal with it. Oh, great. And so he comes to the conclusion of his three and a half chapter discussion on the debate between free will and sovereign will. It started off, if you remember, with this amazing application that somehow we've been swept up in this glorious plan and everything therefore we can be certain is going to work well for us, even when we don't understand it. Pardon for that. He then outworks it, he dives real deep and he poses all sorts of questions, questions that he actually doesn't even answer, apart from a, mind yourself. Do you say in America, mind your P's and Q's? That makes sense to you, doesn't it? Just like, mind your P's and Q's. This is the sovereign Lord you're talking about.

This is not Jesus, your friend. This is Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth, and you are not him. So we come to the end of it, and the end is an amazing application of all of this that because we don't go into and dive into this tension, we miss the power of the second application. It's found at the end of Romans chapter 11, and it's verses 33 to 36. He's wrapping it up right now, and he says this. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. That's his just way of saying, whoa. Whoa. Listen to the next bit. How unsearchable are his judgements? Can you just hear that? They're unsearchable. How does he manage to do that? I have no idea. And if you try and figure out how those two work together, you'll find yourself lost in a maze that is unsearchable. How unsearchable are his judgments. If his judgments are unsearchable, stop and think about that for a moment, his judgments are how he judges things to be and he judges things to be right or wrong but how he judges, if the way he judges is unsearchable that means there will be occasions when you and I look at how he judges and determines things to be and we will say that's not how I would have judged because it's unsearchable but if you and I said that's not how I would have judged it's because you and I would have said this would have been righteous and what that is is unrighteous. See because we judge

according to what we think is right but if it's unsearchable then that means that what he is judging doesn't look right in our eyes. That's what that little phrase just says there, it's not a phrase it's a clause, how unsearchable his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. That means the word inscrutable means you can't sketch it out. Remember I said it's like predestined, it's like God's got the GPS and he's plugged in the destiny for you and then he hits start? Well of course for us we get that little blue line you know in 1,000 feet, whatever that is. Why Americans talk in feet in the thousands I have no idea. You know just 1,000 feet, turn right, great, this like you could see it on the map but when you look at God's map it's just it's inscrutable, you can't trace it. You're just gonna have to trust that he knows how to get you there and you're gonna have to make your choices and in making your choices you will actually outwork his plan even when you get it wrong because nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ. How inscrutable his ways. Verse 34, for who has known the mind of the Lord? That doesn't surprise us does it? It doesn't surprise you that God is bigger than you? Really? His sovereign mercy, his sovereign electing grace somehow works hand-in-hand with our free choice and we just don't know how he does it. Who has known the mind of the Lord? That should just make us, can you see what this is? This is a worship song, that's where this has led Paul. Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counsellor? Or who has given him a gift that he might be repaid? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. That's what predestination is about. That's what the sovereign will of God is. That's what election is about. That's what the judgments of God is about. It's about taking us to the threshold of the conjoining of human will and divine will and leaving us humbled and at the same time grateful. Because did he save you? Then that means he thought about you a long, long time ago. A long time ago. Thank you Jesus.

The person you're believing for who is far from Christ right now, you don't know the end of their story. If you knew me when I was 21, You would never have thought I'd be standing here with my arms raised, extolling the glory of the one who sent his son for me, if you knew me at age 21. But there did come a day where Uncle Ian bowed his knee and said yes to Jesus and it was his choice. And it's like Uncle Ian came up to the door of salvation and above that door was a sign, whosoever will may enter. And Uncle Ian went through that door and he turned around and he looked above the same door now that he's inside and it said predestined before the foundation of the world. It's like chosen. So you don't know the end of all the people that you're believing for. Let me ask you this as a question, I'll finish with this because I think this is actually an encouragement for you because sometimes when we hear a message like this we just think of our lost loved ones and people we really care about and we just think well yeah but he has mercy on whom he has mercy and he hardens who he hardens and Uncle Ian just said you know sucks to be sucks to be Jesus. Sucks to be Jesus. Sucks to be Pharaoh. It's just you don't know. Look it was Augustine who said why is it that you don't pray equally hard for every person on the planet? There are some people you can't stop praying for. I know some of you are very diligent and you have your prayer your prayer list. Good on you. I don't. I'm just not that I'm not that holy. To be honest I'm not sure I care that much but there are some people I cannot stop praying for. Why do you think there are people like that for you true? As soon as I'm talking this sermon you are thinking of them right now. Why are they on your heart? Because there are a million people that aren't so why are they there and is this an evidence of the sovereign grace of God placing that person in your heart? Because when they do get saved it will be because someone shares the good news with them and it will be because faith will be born in their heart and it will be because they say yes to him but it did start over here. Someone was praying. Why didn't you pray for everybody equally? Chances are because God has put certain people on your heart and you need to start

believing then that the mere fact that they're in my heart means I have good evidence to believe that God is going to give them an offer that they will not refuse. He knows how to do it. So those of you who are believing right now for someone who is far from Christ I want you to stand to your feet. Did you hear that? It's like God just said slam dunk. Almighty God, ruler of heaven and earth, the one whose sovereign plan can never be thwarted, who calls those things that aren't as though they are. God Almighty, we lift up those people that are on our heart and we dare to believe that you have placed them on our heart, that we care for them and love them because you have inspired something within us for that to happen. So Lord we intercede for them right now that even in this next period of time that there would be testimonies from this group of people. Before this year is out there'll be testimonies of people in this room who have family, friends, loved ones, dearly loved ones, worshipping side-by-side with us that we never thought would have. So Lord, be sovereign, be Lord. We thank you that you have our end worked out from the beginning. We believe in you, we trust you, we give our life afresh to you, in Jesus' name, Amen.