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A very good morning to all of you, welcome to Gospel Light and our second English worship service this morning, grateful you can join us and we are as a church, continuing our pilgrimage, our journey in the book of Matthew. Today we arrive at Matthew chapter 11 versus 25 to 27 which we have just read in Scripture reading. And I want to remind you that last week, we looked at how Jesus denounced these cities who did not repent.

By and large, they saw the many miracles Jesus has done, they witnessed how He raised the lame, caused the blind to see, even brought the dead to life. He had many, many miracles that were very obvious, but even though they witnessed it all, the Bible tells us they did not repent. So, verse 20 tells us the fault, the blame is laid squarely on the shoulders of these people because they chose in their wicked unbelief not to repent. Whose fault is it? It's their fault. Why is it that they are not saved? They did not repent.

I make this emphasis very clear, because in today's text, it seems something opposite is being raised by Jesus. Instead of saying it is all their fault and all their fault alone, Jesus gives us another glimpse of a perspective, a different perspective that the reason why these people did not get saved is because God did not reveal these things to them.

In verse 25, at that time Jesus declared, I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding. It's very interesting. Looking at this verse alone, it does not strike you. But putting it together with verse 20, it gives a very interesting contrast in perspective. Here, Jesus tells us that it is God the Father, who has hidden these things. You say, what are these things, I think these things referred to the teachings about the Kingdom of Heaven, about the judgment that is to come, about the Savior, the Messiah and how faith in the Messiah delivers man from sin. These are the spiritual truths that are hidden from them.

How are they hidden from them? Is it that they did not get to hear it, no, I think they got to hear it, I think they saw Jesus, I think they heard Jesus, but these things are hidden not from their ears, but hidden in their hearts. It's as if God did not turn on the lights within their hearts, so they did not understand, they did not perceive in their heart. And God chose not to reveal these things to them who are wise and understanding.

Now what do you mean, is it that God does not like smart people? i=Is that God does not like wise people? I don't think so, God is not against high IQ, He made all of us high and low IQ alike. He is the Maker, He's the Creator. it's not that He's against people are smart but He's against people who think they are smart. He's saying God has chosen to hide these things from those who are spiritually proud and He's going to reveal these things to those who are spiritually humble, like little children. Now, Jesus could have said, Father, You have hidden these things. But interestingly for the first time in Matthew, Jesus added this phrase, "Lord of heaven and earth".

It's like an emphasis He could have just said, Father You have hidden. But He says no, Father, You are sovereign, You're the Lord of heaven and earth, You make the heaven and earth. You create it all and You own it all, You have every right. You have every authority to do as you please. I suppose this might have some thing to do with Psalms 115 verse 3. "Our God is in the heavens, He does all that He pleases." So put it all together, Jesus is saying God, the sovereign Creator and Lord over all has chosen to hide spiritual realities from the hearts of those who are spiritually proud.

Why is it that the people at Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, even though they have seen so much, heard so much, they will not come to God, they will not come to Jesus, well, number one, they did not repent.

Absolutely their fault, they did not repent and at the very same time, God did not reveal these things to them. I think both are statements in the Bible from our Savior.

So what's the big idea today, the big idea is this, it's two parts and you really need to get the two parts. If you don't get the two parts, I failed. But if you understand, whether you accept it or not, is something else. But I want to make it clear, based on this passage and several other many other passages in the Bible, God is teaching that number one, He is sovereign in granting salvation. It is God, the Lord of the heavens and the earth who will decide who He reveals to and who He hides from, He is absolutely sovereign.

He has every right and authority to do so. And at the same time, Man is responsible to repent and believe. Knowing that God is sovereign in granting salvation does not in any way reduce man's responsibility to repent and believe. Man is fully responsible and will be fully accountable to God, to repent and to believe. Now this is a very difficult thing it is a very complex thing. Let me just say from the word go, this is something we can never really understand. That's why I told my kids, Shawn, Matthias, that today's sermon will be difficult, you can't understand, my son Matthias, keep asking me, what is it about what is it about, I said I don't know how to explain, but you listen and you tell me what you think at the end of the day.

This is something we can't quite understand, it's a mystery. How can God be fully sovereign and yet Man be fully responsible. If God is sovereign, in our minds we think, if God is sovereign, You cannot hold Man responsible. And if Man is the one to decide whether he wants to believe or not then God cannot be fully sovereign. Do you see that tension, you see that difficulty. If God is the one to decide, then how can you blame me, when I don't decide, And if I am the one to decide, how can you say God is fully sovereign as if He could determine it all. The fact of the matter is, this is something our pea brain, our puny minds could never figure out. It's one of the mysteries of the Bible.

Let me ask you, can anyone of you explain the Trinity? Can you truly, fully, understand Trinity? You say what's Trinity? Well Trinity is what the Bible teaches us about God, that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons in the Godhead. And that the Father is God, the Son Himself is God and the Holy Spirit is God. So basically what Trinitarian theology says is three is equal to one and one is equal to three, can you figure that out? You can't. We can't understand it, but it doesn't mean it is not true. It's something we take by faith.

The Bible does have some mysteries, for example, how can Jesus be fully God and fully man. I can't understand that, I'm man and that's all I know. I'm man, I'm fully man, but Jesus is fully man and fully God. He is not 50% man and 50% God, He's hundred percent man, hundred percent God. Can you figure that out we can't, it's a mystery, but the Bible teaches it, we accept it by faith.

God does not state everything in the Bible in such a way that we all can understand it completely. There are some mysteries there in Scripture that I think humbles us to realize we are really quite small, we can't even figure these things out. But it is our joy and privilege to understand or to know and to hear and to accept by faith what He has revealed. So sovereignty and responsibility is one such mystery. How can it be that God is fully sovereign and Man is fully responsible. So let me say, this is a difficult sermon. If you're here with us for the first time, I want to guarantee you, it will not be like this next Sunday. I also want to clarify, I understand that this can be a very emotional, controversial subject and perhaps some of you after hearing what I'm saying, decide to leave this church. I'm not going to be surprised, because these are things I've spoken once in a while before, and there are some who might be very concerned. And I respect the fact that you may be concerned because you are zealous for truth, and that's fine.

And I know on social media that people can have various very angry responses to the subject in dealing with sovereignty and responsibility. But I want to assure you, I'm not stating these things, teaching these things because I love to do it and I just want to make things difficult for you, no. As mentioned, as a church we I do not choose the topics. We go through the Bible and sometimes this journey in the Bible takes us to very nice easy terrains. Sometimes the terrain is up and down, it's difficult, it's undulating, it's challenging. And maybe we come to a difficult terrain today, but still we travel on, we journey and follow God in how He's given the Bible.

I've been advised before that I should avoid teaching these things, so I thought about it and said no, I think that would not be right. If I'm a preacher of God's Word, I'm not here to teach what I like and we must teach what God has given and if this is something not worthy for God's people to know, He wouldn't have put it in the Bible, but if He has placed it in the Bible, then I think it is our joy, privilege and honor really to understand God and His ways by simply unfolding Scripture.

So I'm not here trying to be controversial. I'm not here trying to prove myself smart or able to dissect these things at all. But giving my best attempt to teach the Bible, God's Word in simplicity, in clarity, in faithfulness. So please cut me some slack. If you are very upset with what I'm going to say, I can certainly learn from you and engage with you. But that's my purpose, to teach God's Word as it is. Now I need some props, alright I need some props, I need something because I want something that will be lodged in your mind forever. So I think one good way is having props and I need my props okay.  So something simple, nothing fancy, but hey, maybe 10 years down the road, 20 years down the road when I mention sovereignty and responsibility, you still remember this, alright. Thanks David, Eric. I know some of you right at the back will not see the words...oh, you can see the words because it's on the video.

So you have sovereignty that is talking about how God is sovereign to grant salvation. And then you have responsibility alright. Man is responsible to repent and believe. So I really think that these are like two ropes that any Christian man has to hold onto to be stable in his life, to be stable and balanced, theologically speaking. Because if I hold on only to sovereignty of God, this is what is going to happen. This is going to roll all the way and I'm going to slip and fall. There's no anchoring. So if there is a man who says, 'I only believe God is sovereign and man is not responsible.' I think something is going to go wrong in your life, you are going to slip and fall. On the other hand there are those who believe, 'No, no, no...God is not fully sovereign because it's up to Man ultimately to repent and believe.' So it's all here and likewise he's going to slip and fall. Maybe this is not so graphic, so this whole thing is improved upon by our comms head Ee Kwang. He gave me some ideas so I'm going to use some ideas he has given just to make things a little bit more graphic, alright.

So this is me and you. TO be balanced, you need both an understanding of God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. If you're not balanced and you only think and believe God is sovereign, this is your life - a 'sengek' kind of life, a crooked kind of life, an imbalanced kind of life. What will happen to you, if you only believe God is sovereign and you do not believe Man needs to repent and believe. You'll be very passive, you'll be very fatalistic. You won't get out there to share the Gospel, because you will say to yourself, God is sovereign, He does all that He pleases, whether I preach or not it really doesn't matter. This is what's going to happen to you, a crooked, imbalanced Christian life.

But if on the other hand, you're someone who says no, no, no, God is not sovereign, because it's ultimately up to me, it's ultimately up to Man - what's going to happen to you is that you will also be living an imbalanced life. How? I think you will be a very stressed and anxious man, because everything depends on you. When you share the Gospel, you feel the stress because everything depends on you. There will be a temptation perhaps, to even manipulate a little bit of the Gospel, so that it is easier for that person to believe when after a while it might pervert itself to be not the true Gospel.

I think if you believe God is not sovereign and it's all up to me, all up to Man, you might also be a very proud person because if any man is saved, you say, I did it. I was the great preacher, I was the great persuader.

But it is this balance that evens it all out. It is that balance of understanding that God is fully sovereign that keeps me from pride and dejection and it's the understanding that man is responsible to believe that I will go and preach with all my heart, persuading him. You really need these both ropes, you get that? I'm going to refer to this maybe later on.

But even before I move further, I want to anticipate some objections. I know this is a controversial subject, it is not easily received, so there are some common objections people raise whenever we talk about the sovereignty of God, how He is sovereign even in the aspect of granting and withholding salvation.

So what are some common objections? First objection I think of is this: Isn't God unjust to give to some people salvation and not to give to some people salvation.

If God is to choose who is to be saved and who is not to be saved, isn't God unjust? He decides, He chooses. "It's not fair!" That's how we would respond right? How can God, in our modern culture where we believe we have a say in everything - whether it's election or 377A petitions - we all believe our say really matters. So when we say, the Bible says, God is sovereign to hide and to reveal, immediately there is this objection that arises in our hearts. Doesn't this make God unjust? It's not fair. How can He do that?

Well this is a good question, because this is the question that Scripture answers...Paul the apostle answered. He said in Romans 9, "What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!" The fact, the fact that Paul answers this question or raises this question in this way, tells us your understanding of God sovereignty is on the right track. Yes, God is so sovereign that He decides who to save and who not to save. God is so sovereign that He could say, Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated.

God is so sovereign and that's why some person, Paul imagines, would raise his finger and fist at God and say, 'Who are You to decide? Aren't you unjust.' And Paul answers, "By no means!" Absolutely not! For God to sovereignly choose some to be saved and not choose others to be saved has nothing to do with injustice. There is no injustice with God. "For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.'" God is sovereign to choose and let me just put it this way: For God to save anyone at all, is not a problem for justice. It is a virtue, it is a blessing of mercy. Let's understand this clearly, when God sends anyone for judgment in hell, it is because we deserve it.

According to the Bible, we are sinners. We all sin in Adam and we are all sinners by nature and choice. We are sinners and the Holy God, who created all of us, will judge sin and sinners. So when we face judgment it's not for anything else but that we deserve it for our sins. And if God sends the whole world today into hell, there is no injustice with God, we earned it with our sins. You get that? For God to save one man out of the billions is not injustice. It's what? Mercy. It's compassion. For God to save a thousand men, it's mercy and compassion a thousand times. For God to save millions, it's mercy and compassion millions of times. There is no injustice with God, it's a matter of mercy.

Likewise, he goes on to say,(Romans 9: 19-20) "You will say to me then, 'Why does he still find fault?'" If God is so sovereign, how could He blame man, how could He do something like that? And then, this is the response, "But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?  Just who do you think you are? Just what do you think you know? Who are you? It echoes back to the days of Job, when Job questioned God and was upset ultimately with God, that God says: Where were you Job, when I created all these things? What do you know? Who are we puny little beings to shake our fist at God and say, why did You do this? Who are You to make this decision? What gives You the right to choose? Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have You made me like this?' Can the clay say to the potter, 'You have no right to shape me this way'?

There is no injustice with God. For God to save any man is His gracious will. It is God's grace. Lord I thank You, Father, I thank You, You are sovereign over all. You have chosen to hide these spiritual realities from the spiritually proud and You have chosen to reveal these spiritual things to the spiritually humble. And yes, Father, for such was Your gracious, benevolent, kind will.

Is there injustice with God? The words of apostle Paul, "By no means!" No, there is no injustice with God. He is sovereign, He does all that He pleases and all that He does is never unjust. Never unjust. God is not righteous because He does righteous things. God is righteous, therefore all He does is righteous. Get your compass right. He is the Holy God, He's the righteous God, there's nothing He does that is ever unjust. There is no injustice with God, it is His gracious will to save.

So I hope that helps some of you in objection number one: Doesn't sovereignty lead us to think that God is unjust. No, not at all, not at all.

Second objection you may have and it is this: If God is sovereign to grant and to withhold salvation, surely then He cannot blame man if He is the one who has not sovereignly granted him salvation. If God is sovereign, then how can He blame someone for not coming to be saved, if God did not choose him, that's the logic, you get that. My simple answer to that is, you can only understand it if you have this picture in mind. We blame God, we say, O God, He's not saved because you did not choose him. Eh but don't forget, he's not saved because he did not repent. So if you're so concerned about God's sovereignty, that's good. You should also be balanced with the understanding it is also equally accountable for man when he does not repent and believe. You got to be both and it's, it's got to be both, it's got to be both, it's got to be both, it's not either or is not either/or, it's both and, both and.

So my answer to someone who says, 'surely God cannot blame him' is this: Well, yes, God is fully sovereign in granting salvation, we are also fully responsible to repent and to believe the Gospel. Damnation awaits those who refuse to do so and those who repent and believe are saved.

You know, when you get to heaven, oh no, sorry when you, when you stand before God in judgment, on the day of judgment, let me ask you, do you think God would say this, "I'm so sorry I didn't elect you, now I have to send you to hell." Do you think that would ever happen, I'm so sorry, I did not elect you, so I'm sending you to hell. He will not say that. What will He say? "Depart from Me, I never knew you, workers of iniquity. You did not repent and believe." O yes, God did not choose him, but you know what, it's equally true that they did not repent and believe. So it's a balance of these two that you really need to have.

The third objection people may have is wouldn't such teaching cause Christians to be fatalistic, que sera sera, whatever will be, will be. That kind of mindset, be fatalistic and passive in evangelism and maybe this is one of the greatest objections to understanding sovereign grace of God. They see many bad examples of people who talk about O, God is sovereign, God elects, God chooses, He is so sovereign and they see that they don't do anything in the kingdom of God, they don't preach, they don't share the Gospel, because there's so fatalistic.

But let me ask you, who is one man in the Bible that you think of or actually, men throughout history who absolutely believes in sovereignty and who is very hardworking in doing God's work. Can you give me a name? Paul the apostle. Jesus. I think so. I think Jesus believes in sovereignty. I thank You, Father, O Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden and revealed. He believes that but the Bible also tells us Jesus went throughout all cities and villages. He is without doubt, I think the most hardworking worker of the Gospel that ever lived.

He never said aiyah, God you're going to save them right, I'm going to die at age 33, but before that, let me 'kiow ka' first lah. Let me go to the Dead Sea go and float around, have holiday everyday, eat my fish. Aiyah, since whatever will be, will be one lah. Did He say that? No, He went everywhere. He believes God is sovereign but He went everywhere. I think it's dangerous if a man should say, oh, I understand sovereign grace and that frees me from serving, not at all. In fact, I will say to you, it should energize you in your ministry.

But the last objection I want to raise, people often do, is this: Wouldn't such a teaching cause unhealthy church division. And I think this is a real issue because I think I have some experiences with this and I think this is something we need to be clear about. I don't think understanding sovereign grace should be a matter for church division. It can be a matter for disagreement, and I'm pretty sure you have many disagreements with me if we are to list out every point of doctrine but that doesn't mean we should divide because I think the unity is not around uniformity in every point of doctrine, but unity in the Gospel.

The best answer I can give to this is an example of two men, John Wesley and George Whitfield, you're familiar with them. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism well-known man up till today, great man of God, preacher of the Gospel, and then you have George Whitfield, he's a revivalist, an evangelist, also a contemporary of John during the 18th century in England. Both men are big names in church history. Both men preach the Gospel and their times, but both men have different views with regards to sovereignty of God in salvation.

John Wesley doesn't believe that God is unilaterally, sovereignly able to decide who gets saved or not it is really giving people an option, a choice that they may choose to believe. George Whitfield believes God is sovereign, yes, man is responsible but God is sovereign, He decides, and His decision is always going to be done. So we have two different views in these two men.

So one day someone asked George Whitfield when you die and when you go to heaven, are you going to see John Wesley there. George Whitfield said no, I'm not going to see him there. Why are you so mean, hah, how can you say that, John Wesley is going to hell just because he differs with you in this one point. George Whitfield says no, no, no that's not what I mean. I won't see him in heaven because he's going to be so far in front of me, near to God, that I won't even get to see him. I think that's Christian magnanimity, grace, humility, and I think that is the attitude I want to encourage even amongst all of us. Now, you and I we can defer in these areas of sovereign grace, but that doesn't mean I'm superior, you're superior, we should divide and so on and so forth. So I hope that the posture, our positions may be different, but let our posture be one of love and grace.

So I think these are the objections. But again I'm come back to this main idea, two parts equally and fully true at the same time. It's not 50%, it's not 50%. It's hundred percent, it's hundred percent and some of you may say wah you very 'kiang' ah, from one verse, you spin this whole theology like that. It's like out of nowhere, is this some weird exoteric thing. No, let me tell you, it's not, it's really quite throughout the Bible. Let me just list some examples for you.

For example, in John 1 verse 12, "But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" Who becomes the children of God? Those who believe. Whose choice? Your choice. You chose to believe, those who believe. Clear? Responsible to believe! Then you look at verse 13, "who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." Who made you saved? God. Very interesting within one verse, you believe, it's of God. You believe, it's of God. You say, come on, just two passages cannot be true lah. Let me give you a third one. John chapter 3 (verse 8), "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” This talks about becoming a Christian, right? Becoming a spiritual man, becoming a child of God.

The Bible says, this process is like being born again it's a new birth. And this process of being born again, who does it? Who accomplishes it? You? No, you must be born of the Spirit, it's the Holy Spirit who works in us and gives us new life. And the Holy Spirit here is likened to what? Wind. Right now, there's a typhoon that has already hit Hong Kong and Philippines, right? Can anyone of you go out to the sea and shout, "Typhoon! Turn!" Can you do that? You can do that, but no one is going to listen to you. No one stops you from shouting like this but the wind doesn't listen to you. The wind does what it wishes. In a sense, the wind is sovereign. What Jesus is saying here to Nicodemus who had this question, how can I enter the kingdom of heaven? Jesus is humbling Nicodemus to say, it's got to be God's work, at the time, in a way that is sovereign to Him. You can't determine it, Nicodemus. You thought you could control it, but you can't. You've got to be humbled to realize salvation is of God. It's got to be a process, you have to be born from above.

So sad: "It's all God. I can't do anything about it. I'm just going to wait until God blows in my life. Nope, because just a few verses later, (John 3:16) "For God so loved the world,[i] that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes..." Hey this is strange, I thought salvation is wind of the Spirit. Yah, but it's also whoever believes. It is both equally true in one chapter, in one conversation with Nicodemus. Jesus places both realities side-by-side. He doesn't seek to reconcile them because I don't think we can understand it, but He lays it down. Just because we don't understand it, doesn't mean they are not true. They both are true. Alright you say I'm still not convinced, okay, 'tee kee'. Okay but John chapter 6 (verse 44), "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." If anyone is saved it's because the Father draws him.

If the Father doesn't draw, no chance...alright? No one, that's very absolute. Not some of you, not some nice soul, kind people here. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. So OK lah, let's be passive again. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, because just three verses later (John 6:47), "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life." John just often times springs up all these, these beautiful tensions that we as men don't like to live with but it's what Scripture teaches.

Now, back to this text Matthew 11. Why is it that the people are not saved? They did not repent. Why are they not saved? Because the Father has hidden these things. Why are they not saved? Because they will not come. Now I know today this is solid, this is heavy, this is complex, this is like eating...what is very hard to chew? Eating well-done steak. Very hard to chew, wah, it's so difficult. My jaw is painful, my stomach is struggling but let me tell you a sneak preview. If you think this week is tough and you don't want come back next Sunday, I want to tell you, next Sunday is Teochew muay. Teochew muay means Teochew porridge - it's super easy to digest, alright. Next week is (Matthew 11:28) "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden" So it's easy, so please don't judge this church or the preaching here based on one sermon alone. But I want to, I want to put these three verses together because they're like a hamburger you know, they are really like a hamburger.

Man's choice, God's choice, back to man's choice. It's like a hamburger: the bun, the patty and the bun. You see that, it's God's sovereign will is sandwiched between man's choice. Now, you can't quite take them apart. Eating bun alone not so nice right? Okay eating patty quite nice but, but I think it might taste better if the bun and the patty comes together. And that's what it should be that sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man comes really together. You dissect it, you don't get balanced theology. You get stressed, you get anxious or you might become very fatalistic and passive. But a humble diligent worker and follower of Jesus Christ is held up when he holds these two threads in good tension, in good balance.

But maybe one of the better verses even clearer, might be Acts 13:48 "And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed." It's amazing. They were appointed, they were sovereignly appointed, they were sovereignly chosen, they were elected. So we have this teaching election right. So sovereignly appointed but at the same time, they were the ones who believe both true at the same time.

So the big idea is God is sovereign in granting salvation, man is responsible to repent and believe.

Now in this whole sermon I've avoided some complicated or maybe confused in terms for some of us terms like Calvinism, Arminianism. I really don't want to use those terms here because your understanding of these terms may not be uniform. And I don't see that I really need to do it here because these are not terms found in the Bible in the first place. But I think it's useful for us just to go back to Scripture and see that the big idea is really very straightforward.

I do not understand it, but it's straightforward that God is fully sovereign and that man is fully responsible. So what, what's the point you spent 1/2 hour talking about this, I get it now, I get this picture, this is photograph in my 512 gig memory space already. It's permanently there, you've damaged my brain. Alright, I'm glad this is imprinted in you, but what's the point, what's the use if I may say.

I think theology is useful, it always is. So in what way will this make a difference in my life? I think number one: it enriches, humble and joyful worship. Knowing the sovereignty of God and His sovereign grace and goodness in particular, fills my heart with humble and joyful worship. You know why God saved you? If you don't believe that God is fully sovereign and that He saved you because you had that little spark in you to really believe...you were different from any other men who did not believe, you had something in you. You know what, you're not that bad in your mind. But when I realize that God saved me, chose me, not because of anything at all. Not because I was more willing to believe, it humbles me to the dust and fills me with great gratitude and joy that He would even choose me when there was nothing in me to choose, nothing at all.

And this is the experience of apostle Paul. He was writing the book of Romans and he wrote chapters 1 to 8 about God's amazing salvation plan it's all of grace. And then he went on to chapter 9 that talks about how God sovereignly chooses some to be saved and chooses some not to be saved. (Chapters) 9, 10, 11 really deals with this mysterious but sovereign plan of God. And right at the end of chapter 11, Paul as it were, cannot contain himself, but erupts into joyful, exuberant praise of God. I think he might write half way and jump, you know. It's like wow, (Romans 11:33) "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:36) "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." God is so sovereign, everything is for Him, from Him, through Him and to Him, including your salvation. Including the withholding of man's salvation. Who can know the mind of God.

There are other verses in between I didn't put it up there, (Romans 11:34) "who could search His mind", and so on. Who are we, but when you understand this balance of theology that is laid out in Scripture I think it humbles me, it fills me with joy and knowing this great and sovereign God gives you a rock when you go through the hardships of life.

There's this lie going around in churches today that essentially says, it will be better. This is the mantra we give to Christians, even when they go through hardships and trials. It will get better, you will be alright. I think that's a lie. When you have cancer, it will definitely get better for you, is that true? When your family is breaking up, it will definitely be better for you in this life, is that true? You have no money, it will definitely get better for you, is that true? You are persecuted for your faith, you will definitely get out of that persecution, is that true? I find no such promise in the Bible. That's what we hope for, that's what we wish, that's what we pray for, but there's no guarantee it will be better for you. Otherwise, how will Christians be sawn in two and burn on stakes. It did not get better for them, but yes it will get better ultimately, when Jesus returns.

But till then your hope is not that it will get better now, but your hope is in the sovereign God who is sovereignly good to those who are His. And when you don't believe that God is that sovereign, you don't have that rock solid a foundation. You don't really know if this sickness is something He missed out, if this trial is something He has forgotten, but the rock solid understanding He's sovereign and sovereignly good in all things fills my life with worship, even through the deepest pains.

I think secondly, understanding sovereign grace helps me engage in faithful evangelism. Like I said, if you don't believe that salvation is of the Lord, it's all up to you, there is always this temptation to dilute the Gospel a little. Don't talk about damnation and the wrath of God and so on, tell them, when you believe in Jesus, things will be good. Tell them that he will be loved, tell them only sweet nothings, just get them to say yes. that's not faithful preaching of the Gospel.

When I understand that God is sovereign to save, I'm responsible to implore and to persuade them, I'm responsible to give a faithful message, then that's what I'm going to do. I will appeal like what Paul says, "For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive" You really don't need to. Now, again, this does not and should not dilute any of our fervor to preach with clarity and passion the Gospel. But it does I think, eliminate the temptation somewhat of trying to manipulate, twist, sweeten the Gospel in an unfaithful manner. It encourages me to preach the Gospel faithfully because I know God is sovereign and in the crowd that I speak to even this morning amongst all of you, I believe that there are some who are His, some who are appointed to eternal life. And I'm pleading with you that you will believe, God is sovereign to save.

So if I may say it this way, you can preach with all your heart and trust salvation is of the Lord. If I may use this term. I didn't use the word Calvinism and Arminianism. But I'll use it now. It is not absolutely accurate, but I hope it drives the point: 'Preach like an Arminian and sleep like a Calvinist' alright. I think it gives you that peace to know, you do your part the best you know, you know and salvation is of the Lord.

Okay, lastly I want to make sure that none of you leave this place thinking, oh, if it's all about God's sovereign election and salvation then there's no need for me to do anything right. I can just chill and wait for God to zap me with election.

Like I said, when you stand before God in judgment He's not going to say to you, I'm so sorry I didn't elect you. He's going to say to you, why didn't you repent and believe. You remember today's what date. Ah, you remember, 16 of September, I told you to repent and believe, you didn't. Through the preaching of God's Word alright through the preacher.

There was a message for you to repent and believe and you wouldn't. That will be what you are held accountable for. Not to blame God and say You did not choose me...you are fully accountable. So the Bible's operative word is not to sit and wait, the operative word is to come. Isaiah 55 (verse 1) "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters" This idea is taken in Revelation 22:17 as well, "'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price." This is the same invitation, like I said in the hamburger passage in Matthew 11:28 "Come (to me, all who labor and are heavy laden)". God calls you to come.

So some people say, salvation is like this: In this life, I see a door and a sign that says, whosoever comes, whosoever believes, whosoever enters by faith will be saved. So you enter the door of faith, you get saved and when you die you arrive at heaven, you look back and you see that door. And on top of the door is this sign on the flipside that says 'I have chosen you'. Whilst we are on this side, we do not know who is going to be chosen. But this I know, whosoever believes will be saved. The question you ask yourself today is not whether I'm elected or not. The question you should ask yourself is have I repented and believed.

So I think these questions are tough and they are difficult, but they all are resolved I think right here as you hold these two strands together alright. How can it be that God is fully sovereign, how can it be that we are to be fully responsible. This is a tension we will have to live with and understand and accept by faith. We can't understand it all today, but maybe one day, when we all arrive at heaven and we ask God about it all and maybe at that time we are given the capacity to understand all these things, we will realize they really are one. That's what it should be, perhaps.

But I hope again next week please come back. We are not going to deal with well-done steak, I think next week is Teochew muay and maybe you have friends, maybe you have neighbors who simply want to know the Gospel I think next week's passages a clear invitational passage. I hope you will come and say, Lord, I want to repent and believe. I'm not going to wait for You to zap me with election. That's God's department, my department is to respond in faith.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. Thank you for bearing with me in a I think difficult topic. As I've mentioned, I do not choose the topics. But I do endeavor to teach what God has given in the Bible as plainly and faithfully as humanly possible. But the goal is not just to inform you, but the goal is to pray and to labor in such a way that you will respond to God in obedience and faith. Perhaps some of you today are sitting right here, week after week after week for years on end and you have not chosen to repent and believe. Maybe you even have this excuse in your mind: Well, I won't believe until I'm sure I'm elected. Let me tell you, will never be sure until you repent and believe. Never lay the blame to God. One thing I learned in the Bible. If there's any blame, it is always us. If there's any glory, it's always God's. There is no injustice with God. There is every responsibility for you to repent and believe today. So would you take that operative word of the Bible, which is "Come" and act upon it, today.

I'm not asking you to come upstage, I think the Bible is asking you to come to Jesus, to humble yourself in your heart and to admit your sinfulness, your helplessness, to recognize that you can do absolutely nothing that merits salvation. But you can, in humility, repent of your sin and believe in Jesus. That is to say, you acknowledge your sins. You are grieving over your sin, you want to forsake your sin and you're now going to turn to God. You're going to rest on the finished work of Jesus Christ, you are going to receive His finished work as something that is meritorious for you. He paid it all and you say, Lord, thank You for paying for me and my sins. I repent, and I believe in Jesus Your Son. And let me tell you the clear promise of the Bible whosoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life. That's the clear promise, you can take that genuine offer of the Bible and let it be true in your life.

May this church be always humble and faithful and diligent in the work of the Gospel never slacking because we say que sera sera, whatever will be, will be, but we are filled with this joy and enthusiasm, because we know that God has His appointed people everywhere and we are to preach and to preach and to preach. To be all things to all men, by all means save some. I pray today as you learn about your God in the Bible to see His greatness and His goodness, you will bow in humble and joyful adoration to worship Him because He's all together worthy of our worship. How amazing and inscrutable His ways that we as a people, we have a rock solid foundation as you go through the hardships of life. May God bless each one of you.

Father thank You for Your Word again. Bless Your church, bless all who are here to seek after truth. O, we pray in Your mercy, Your Spirit will blow upon their lives. You be pleased to grant to men and women repentance and faith. Call many today in their hearts, turn on that light, help them to come. Amazing grace, amazing love, dear Lord You have showered upon us. Thank You for the cross, we are amazed that You could love us so, we worship You today we pray all this Jesus Name, Amen.
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