It is my privilege once more to share with you the Word of God. Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Romans 9. This has been a tough ride for many of us, it is tough because it is something that is not often spoken of, it is not something that is comfortable to most of us. Yet, as led by the Lord, I believe it is our responsibility to preach, to teach the whole counsel of God's Word.

So, let's look at Romans 9 and we will look at verses 18 all the way to 23, some five or six verses this morning. Romans 9:18, I read this slowly so that you can appreciate it,  and thoughts, by the Spirit 's enabling, would come into your life, into your mind, to chew on it, to remember it even as we discuss and share what God has for us.

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?

21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his powers known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:

23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Maybe the hardest verse for us to swallow and digest today would be the first one we have just read -verse 18.

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

Once upon a time, people believed that the earth was flat. But soon evidences began to mount up against such a theory, against such a belief. For example, Christopher Columbus set on a voyage to discover the New World without falling off the edge of the earth. And when evidences began to gather, began to mount, those who firmly believe that the earth is flat began to be very uncomfortable because their beliefs, their convictions, their mindsets are being challenged and confronted. In fact, many religious people, Bible reading people, were very uncomfortable because they have read verses in the Bible such as Job or Isaiah 11 ( verse 12), where it says, ‘God gathers the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth’, and they read verses like Job 38 (verse 13) , ‘ends of the earth.’

(Isaiah 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

Job 38:13  That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it? )

And they say the Earth must be flat and they got really anxious, nervous, uncomfortable, when evidences mount up that show that the Earth is not flat- it's a globe, it’s spherical.

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Even up till today, there is a society called the ‘Flat Earth Society’, I researched it. And for the Flat Earth Society, the mission is to tell the world ‘the truth’, and ‘the truth’ is ‘the world is not a globe, it's flat’; right up till today, you can Google it.

But it illustrates to us how difficult it is for men, who have beliefs and convictions, to be challenged and confronted with reality. Even when truth is right in front of us, it is not always easy for us to have our mindsets and beliefs changed.

Therefore, this morning I approach the preaching of the word humbly and carefully because I know that mindsets and beliefs are strong. But I pray that as you gather this morning, you are not here to perpetuate your own ideas and convictions, but you are humble and open to say “God, what is your revelation? What are you saying to me?”

It’s going to be uncomfortable, I think, for many of us. But again, like I said, we are not here to perpetuate our ideas. If it is so, why do we even gather for the teaching and preaching of the Word of God?

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We are here because we want to know the truth and I pray that the Spirit would illumine our hearts and lead us into all truths. The Bible presents to us a very difficult proposition: Therefore hath He (God) mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth.

(18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.)

The Bible, God, tells us that He sovereignly, independently, unilaterally decides who He will show mercy and who He will harden.

It's tough because we would like the choice to be ours, we would like to say, “God, you gave us all an equal opportunity and now it's up to men to decide whether we want your mercy, or whether we want to remain in our hardened sinful state.” But God says, "No, I am sovereign."  He has mercy on whom He will have mercy and whom He will, He hardens.

When God chose Isaac and not Ishmael, He did not consult Sarah or Abraham. He did not go and say "Hey guys, who would you like me to choose? Which one is the better one?" And when He chose Jacob over Esau, He did not go and ask Rebekah, “You have twins, which one would you like?” No consultation ­­­­­­­­­- “Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated”. It is not of him that runneth, nor of him that willeth, but of God that showeth mercy

(Romans 9:16     So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. )

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God sovereignly, independently, unilaterally decides. That's not comfortable for us, we want the choice to be on our side and not on God's side, but this is what Scripture declares.

“Pastor, do you mean then that God unilaterally, sovereignly, independently made men to be sinners and then damned them to hell?” I say no, that is not what Scripture says.

Man is already in sin when Adam sinned against God. Sin penetrated the world when Adam fell. And now, the whole of humanity deserves punishment and judgment from the holy God. So it is not God that made men sinners and then throw them into hell. Paul is very precise: he says "Whom He will, He hardeneth." The word there is ‘sklérunó’, which means ’to be hardened or made obstinate or stubborn’.

The idea there is not that God made man sin, but that God allowed man to remain in their sinful state. He gave them up, He gave them over to their sinful desires, God gave them up to their perpetual hatred against Him.

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There is no unrighteousness with God even if He chooses not to show mercy on any single human being. Because we are all sinners, He is right to do that.  So let's be careful.  This is not saying God made innocent, guiltless people, sinful and guilty and then happily throw them into hell- no, not at all.

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On the other hand, you may ask, “Pastor, are you saying then, that God hardens us when He sees that we are going to reject Him? Is it that God decided to harden man only after seeing man will reject Him?” Again I say no. This verse is not teaching ‘reactionary hardening’- as if God has to wait for you to decide before He decides for you - not at all.

How do I know that? The verse itself tells you so: “Whom I will have mercy, I will have mercy" and “Whom He will, He hardens”. It’s the sovereign will of God.

Look at the parallel- when God shows mercy on any man, He shows mercy based on His choice. ‘I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy’ - nobody deserves mercy, I chose to give. And likewise for hardening, it is not conditioned on man's response. It's a sovereign hardening of God, looking in history, looking in the scriptural revelation in Pharaoh's life. God had already said, ‘I will harden Pharaoh's heart, even before Moses met with Pharaoh’.

So this is not a reactionary hardening, it is a sovereign, independent, unilateral hardening. God had already decided Pharaoh will be hardened.

The question now you would have is this: ‘Then, is this fair? How can God do that? How can God decide to harden a man? I mean, if He decides to harden a man without giving him a choice, this man is an innocent victim, he has no choice.  How can God do that? Who can stop God in His will? And if God decides that, this man is doomed! That's not fair, that's not right, God, you can't do this!’ That would be the natural question and that is exactly the question Paul knew and had to answer.

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In verse 19, he says, "Thou wilt say unto me.”

He knows it, he has been interacting with the Jews, he has been interacting with the people who have an opposition to the Gospel of Jesus and so he says, “I know what you're going to ask, ‘You would say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?’”

This verse tells us that our interpretation and understanding of the preceding verses is right because it is the sovereign hardening of God that really causes us to ask this question: "How can he do that?"

You see, Paul could have said, "It is not that God sovereignly hardens, He  hardens only when you harden." Then there will be no such question, you see; there's no need to ask this question anymore. But that's precisely the point- God hardens, God shows mercy unilaterally, independently, sovereignly and man rises up and say "How could you do that?"

If I may couch this question in another way, it is trying to reconcile a very difficult issue - the sovereignty of God and the accountability of man. How can God be fully sovereign in your life, fully determining everything that is done, yet hold men accountable?

How can God say He will harden and no one can stop Him? How can He say He hardened Pharaoh and yet will judge Pharaoh? That is the question- divine sovereignty, human accountability.  ‘How can you do this, God?’

What is Paul's reply? I see in the verses that follow, a rebuke, a right and a reason.  And in verse 20, he starts with the statement, a rebuke really-

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God?

Let me tell you something, throughout this passage, throughout the Bible, God doesn't answer the question directly. You say, “What's the question, Pastor?”  The question is this: How can God be sovereign in your life and still hold you accountable? God doesn't seek to reconcile or give you an answer for that reconciliation, He doesn't.  It's a mystery to us that God can be 100% sovereign in your life and yet you are 100% accountable for what you have done. It's a mystery, so in verse 20, 21, 22, 23, no answer is given and likewise, the rest of Scripture.

Also, it is interesting for us to know that Paul did not take the cowardly stance and say "Oh oh, sorry, I can't quite answer that question. So let me clarify, I think it's because Pharaoh first hardened his heart, then God hardened him."

Paul stood his ground and he, in effect, rebuked the person asking this question. Nay- no- but, O man,, who are you to reply against God? He says, ‘Who are you, puny little miniscule man, to argue against a great and infinite God?’ Now, by the way, I am not rebuking you, please. I am just explaining the verses. But Paul did give a note of rebuke and by the way, I also don't think it is Paul saying, ‘You cannot ask any questions’. No, this is not dealing with a genuine difficulty, this is dealing with a man with a contentious spirit, you see.

The word ‘repliest against’ is a word that means ‘to contradict, to argue against.’ It implies a contentious spirit. So, you will have this question I am sure, in your life, God is not necessarily rebuking you, if your spirit is genuine and right.

But Paul begins with this, ‘Who are you? Who are you to question God that He is sovereign to show mercy, sovereign to harden and you are held absolutely accountable for it? Who are you to contradict and argue against God?" Significant that Paul says, ‘repliest against God’, not ‘against me’. He recognizes it is not a personal issue, it is an issue that person may have with God, with Scripture.

As I look back at the book of Romans- I have preached through nine chapters or close to nine chapters- I find in this chapter, in these few verses we have been grappling with, an amazing concentration of Old Testament quotes.  Do you realize that?

You look at verse 7 of Romans 9.

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7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

It is a reference to the Old Testament. Paul is not trying to answer questions based on his human reasoning.  He is saying this is what Scripture says. And then he repeats in verse 12, “The elder shall serve the younger”- he's saying this is what Scripture says. In verse 13, “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated”-this is what Scripture says.

(12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.)

He is very careful to go to human rationalization, he is very precise.

Verse 14 is a question and then he answers the question in verse 15 with another quotation and then in verse 17, in another quotation. Later on, you see, he is going to quote some more.

So, dealing with something very difficult, Paul intentionally refers to Scripture so that it is not what he says, it's what God is saying. So, he saying, ‘Who are you to reply against God? (It is) His Word, not my opinion.”

So, the question asked is "How can God unilaterally, sovereignly, independently decide on those who would have received mercy and those who are hardened and be fair?” Paul says, “This is my number one answer to you: Who are you to argue against God?”

Secondly, he says in verse 21

21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Paul is now saying the right that God has. This morning, as I came to GCW, I realized that in the elevator, there is this promotion for food. I am not sure whether you are interested in that but there is a clay pot cuisine in March. I took a photo I wanted to show but it's okay. Clay pot cuisine, it's about (the) potter and the clay.

A potter has every right to deal with as he pleases, with a lump of clay- absolute right. I've never seen a potter take a lump of clay and say, "Dear clay, what would you like to be?" I've never seen clay arise and say, "Who are you to make me like this?" The potter has every right, he doesn't need to ask the clay. He can take the clay and make it into a beautiful Ming vase for all I care, or he can take that clay and make it into a spittoon, you know "tum pui" and a spittoon that is formed cannot say, “Why do make me into a spittoon?” It can't. The potter has absolute right.

We laugh, because clay has no right, we know it. Let me tell you something: the gap between clay and man is nowhere compared to the gap between man and God.  No way, no way between sinful man and a Holy God, there is nothing to compare. And if God, and if the potter has absolute right to do as he pleases with clay, God has absolute right to do with fallen, sinful humanity as he pleases and there is no unrighteousness, injustice with God.

I want to emphasize: this is not speaking about God creating man, making him sinful, and then damning them to hell. No, please, when God created Adam and Eve, when God created the heavens and the earth, He pronounced, ‘It is good’. In fact, when He formed Adam and Eve, He said, ‘It is very good’. God did not create them as vessels of dishonour. No, but when Adam sinned, sin penetrated the world.  We are now all a humanity of dishonor. We are all a humanity that is sinful and fallen and this is the same lump that the Potter, God Himself, now will work with. And so if He is to fashion that fallen humanity as vessels of dishonor, there is nothing unrighteous in it.

And if God, in His supreme mercy and grace, chooses to take that sinful lump and fashion it back again as vessels of honor, He is gracious and merciful to do so. (There is) no unrighteousness with God. We all began in the wrong place anyway, we are all doomed for judgment and punishment, and if not for the mercy to choose some, we will all perish.

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The Bible tells us in verse 20 that the thing formed should not say to the Maker, ‘Why hast thou made me thus?’

(20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?)

The word ‘formed’ there is the word ‘plasma’ from which we get the word ‘plastic’.  It means to mold, to shape, to form.

The idea here is that the potter works with an existing lump of clay.  He's not here saying, ‘I will make clay and then make it into sinful people and then throw them into hell’.  No, God is taking that existent fallen humanity, and now He forms it.

We must be very careful, to attribute any author and creation of sin to God; I don't see that anywhere in Scriptures. God is not the author or creation of sin, but when man fell into sin, He can choose as He pleases now to harden some and to show mercy to others. That's what Scripture declares- God has the right.

But let me move on to the third part of Paul's answer and it is the reason.

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The reason is found in verses 22-23. Let me just give you a recap, in case you are lost.

God sovereignly, independently, unilaterally decides without consultation with men, their fate.

“It's not fair”, we say. “Who are you to argue against God?” You all- humanity- we all deserve judgment anyway. Doesn't the potter have the right to mold the clay? Doesn't God have the right to do with sinful humanity as He pleases? And now Paul is going to say the reason why some are chosen to be saved, chosen to be vessels of honour, and why some are chosen to be vessels of dishonour.

He says in verse 22:

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,

Why does God do this? The answer, look at the orange words, if you could spot the subtle differences, show, known, make known.

Paul is saying, “I do this, so that I will manifest, so that I will demonstrate, so that I will declare, so that I will make known, so that I will show, Who I AM.” The supreme purpose of humanity and of the entire history of this world is so that God will show, demonstrate, declare to all of creation Who He is.

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I often say I felt, I believe, I was firmly convicted before I came to Jesus, that I was the center of the universe. You exist because I exist. If I don't exist, you're all non-existent. I am the reason for this world. But there came a glorious day when God called me from my sin to believe in Jesus and ever since then, God has been radically changing my mindset - that life is not about me. Can I tell you something? Your life is not about you, God is the center of it all.

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The Bible tells me, in Revelations 4:11

Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

The Bible, God declares to us, that the reason for all of us is His glory, it's for Him. He is the center of the universe. And therefore, on the vessels of wrath and on the vessels of mercy, it is the same: He wants to demonstrate Who He is.

I make no apologies for saying it, because God doesn't make apologies for saying it. If you sit here, you are uncomfortable that it is all centered around God, I say to you, "Friends, who are you to question the ways of a good glorious holy God? That's what He is, you are made for Him.

So it is to demonstrate. You say, “To demonstrate what? What is God keen, what is God willing, what is God desiring to demonstrate, to show and to declare to all of creation?” In these verses, three things:

First of all, He is here to demonstrate His wrath and power, two things found in verse 22. God wants to demonstrate His wrath and His power, and He will demonstrate that on the vessels of wrath. This really doesn’t cut us the right way, doesn't gel with us because number one, we don't like to think of a God of wrath. Because when we think about the God of wrath, we think about the angry ogre, tyrant, he is unreasonable, he is unfair- that’s the idea we have of wrath. But that is not the wrath of God. The wrath of God is righteous, it's holy, it’s God-like, so don't pollute the thinking of God's wrath with our version of wrath.

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I walked by some billboards and I saw this cinema advertisement, ‘The wrath of the Titans’ Waah, they show the monster, and show “waaah”, and that’s the idea we have of the wrath of God. No, the wrath of God is pure, it's holy, it's righteous and God says He wants to show His wrath because He is a holy God. He's not here to indulge in our sins, He hates sin and He is keen to demonstrate His hatred for sin. And He is going to do it on the vessels of wrath, who are themselves already fitted to destruction, they are themselves sinful. There is no unrighteousness with God to demonstrate His wrath on fallen humanity.

The Bible also tells us He wants to demonstrate His power, His power. The wrath and the power of God is demonstrated on sinful men. Remember what we see in verse 17? “Even for this same purpose,” He said to Pharaoh.

He said to Pharaoh, "For this same purpose have I raised thee up" Again I want to be very clear, God is not saying, "I made you”, no, “I raised thee up”.  You are sinful, you are sinful, Pharaoh, no excuses, you are sinful, accountable and now what I do  is that I placed you in a position of prominence, I raised you up, I set you to the front of the stage that I might show, demonstrate, declare my power in you, My wrath and My power.

(17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth)

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In fact, it is because of Pharaoh that years later, when Joshua conquered the land of Canaan,  that Rahab will say, "all our lands have heard of the terrible works of God and we trembled". God's power and wrath is seen in how He judged the people of Egypt, and Pharaoh in particular.

In fact, when the Israelites will sing the psalms of praise, they regularly will refer back to how God delivered Israel out of Egypt- the power of God. And God, as the Master Potter, chose to form Pharaoh, leave him to his sins, his hardened heart, to be a vessel of wrath.

Do you know that the book of Revelations is a book of the wrath and power of God? Of course there is grace, there is blessing, there is salvation found in the book of Revelations, there is plenty of it but there is equally, if not more, the demonstration of the wrath and the power of God.

Don’t read the book of revelations and be blinded to that aspect of who God is. He wants to demonstrate: the heavens break down, the judgment comes- that is the declaration of who God is.

We live in the age of grace and we are a people that desperately need grace. And we appreciate grace, we appreciate the love of God but please, the Bible equally teaches the wrath of God.

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Humans, man, we love the love of God, we need it. But here we are saying, “What is God saying?” He is saying, “I am keen to demonstrate My wrath and My power”. But in order to do that, the Bible tells us interestingly, God is enduring with much long-suffering. Why? Because sin really grieves Him. Yet, for a better, supreme, higher purpose of demonstrating His glory and His power and His wrath, He chooses right now not to execute quick judgment. He is enduring with much long-suffering, He is enduring.

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Men, who are living in sin, are storing up for themselves wrath for the day that is to come because when we continue in our sin, we are made inexcusable. Humanity is made inexcusable, humanity is left speechless in the Day of Judgment, because God could have said to us, “You could have returned to me,” but man says “No, you didn't give us enough time”. And God says “Alright,  1000 years, 2000 years, 4000 years, 6000 years and maybe, if Jesus tarries, another 50,000 years”. He is enduring with much long-suffering.  Man is thereby made inexcusable more and more, and they are storing up wrath. And when God executes His wrath and judgment, it will be a full declaration of His holy anger and His glorious power. Therefore, for that reason, He is enduring with much long-suffering.

Why doesn't God save everyone? He could have done that, easily done that. There is a sovereign purpose of God that courses through human history. It's not for you, though salvation richly blesses all of us, but the supreme purpose is that He might make known who He is, His power and His wrath.

At the same time, I am so glad He tells us in verse 23, “and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy.”

God doesn't leave the whole of humanity to destruction because this is the riches of His glory.  The riches of His glory is found in the salvation of sinful men; riches because it is inexhaustible, immeasurable, never-ending. The glory of God in salvation’s plan, O the love that drew salvation's plan, O the grace that brought it down to men, O the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. In the background of the wrath, the holiness and the power of God, stands brightly the mercy and grace and the love of God for sinful men. He is keen to demonstrate that on the vessels of mercy whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world.

(The Book of) Ephesians tell us that in the ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For those who believe in Jesus Christ, your future is super duper blessed. In the ages to come, in eternity to come, it is all a continual unending enjoyment and drinking in of the riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

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I believe it’s ecstasy after ecstasy, you don't pop the pill, it is from God. Just rejoicing in His grace, rejoicing in His mercy that He gave His Son that you may be spared.  That God in eternity drew up salvation's plan, and that the Son would voluntarily die for you.  And it is Spirit, the winds of the Spirit would sovereignly call you in your hearts to salvation and life.  The Trinity, fully engaged in the grand work of salvation- that's the riches of His glory, that's what we will revel and rejoice in for all eternity. And God is keen to demonstrate that to us for eternity, that we might in turn worship and glorify Him fully for who He is.

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These are tough things. I am coming to a conclusion: God sovereignly, unilaterally, independently without consultation with men, chooses who He will have mercy and chooses who He will harden.  Not that He made them sinners, but He hardens them, leaves them, gives them over to their sins. Men have no right to argue against the great and mighty God.  The Potter, the Sovereign One, has absolute right to dispense as He pleases.  And the reason why He is doing this is so that He may demonstrate, manifest, declare who God really is-

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On some, to demonstrate His power and His wrath, and on others, His mercy and the riches of His grace - this is what Paul says.  He doesn't reconcile divine sovereignty, human accountability, but that is the declaration of Scripture.

I draw three concluding thoughts. Let us be reminded today -

1. It is all about the glory of God.

Salvation is a tremendous blessing to us, no doubt about it, but it is at the end of the day, ultimately, contributing, coursing towards the glory of God. God, in His sovereignty, could even use sinful men for His glory. When sin penetrated the world, it did not decrease and it will never decrease the glory of God. In fact, it heightens it.  That God now would demonstrate His power and His wrath and God will show His love and His mercy. (The book of) Proverbs tells us that “the Lord has made all things for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil”. He would use even sinful men and be untainted with their sins, ultimately for His glory.

(Pro 16:4 “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.”)

It's all for the glory of God. Look to the cross and that is where that mysterious, in a sense, divine sovereignty and man's accountability meet, that results in the glory of God. Jesus, you by your wicked hands have crucified according to the foreknowledge and determination of God. Why is Jesus crucified? That God would show the exceeding riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy in the ages to come.

It's all about the glory of God. Your life is ultimately to be found, or the satisfaction of your life is to be found, the goal of your life is to be found in the glory of God.

It’s a radical way from how the world has taught us to live. Scripturally, it's for the glory of God.

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2. It is all about the grace of God.

Man- if God did not do anything, if God choose to leave us all- man is doomed for judgment, rightly deservedly so. But it is the grace, the unconditional favor, the mercy, the love of God that is given, that anybody could have been saved. It’s the grace of God.

My friends, your salvation- if you today have believed in Jesus Christ- your salvation was conceived even before you were born. The security of your salvation is not at the moment you made a decision for Jesus, but it was rooted in the eternal counsels of God even before you existed. It is that strong, it is that secure. Therefore, Romans 8:28 holds true- all things work together for good to them that love God and whosoever God foreknows, predestinates, calls and justifies will definitely be glorified. Secure, because it is founded not in your will, but in the sovereign unchanging will of God. You have security because it is about His grace, not what you deserved.

3. Lastly, it is all about the Gospel of God.

We will come to human responsibility and accountability in Romans 10, we will come to that. But as we look at Romans 9, as we are reminded about the sovereignty of God, I think some of us may walk out of this place and wonder, ‘Well then if I'm elect, I am saved. If I'm not elect, I am not saved and so, I am not sure whether I am elect or not elect, so let's wait till the time God elects me.’ We, we sort of defer that decision and say, “God, now it's your choice and I don't have to do anything about it”. No, the Bible tells us, “whosoever believes in Jesus, in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

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It is not up to us to discern, or to ask God, “Am I elect or not elect?” God has already given you the command to believe in Jesus Christ, and if you are a believer of Jesus Christ, you will be saved. Don't try to go into God's department, you see, there is a command you need to respond to today. Don’t walk out of this place being confused and say "Am I elect or not elect?" Ask yourself, “Have I believed in Jesus?” that is the question.  It is all about the Gospel, the good news, “Whosoever believe shall not perish but have everlasting life.” It is 100% true, 100% true.

My friends, we have no right as a people of God to write off people. You know that's what can be dangerous. We become so fatalistic and say, ”Well, God elect, don't elect, God elect, God don't elect,”, and so when you speak to a man and he refuses to believe the Gospel at that point of his life, you say "You are condemned already lah, you are not elect, there is no chance for you."

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My friends, the Bible tells us, in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, God chooses, calls some early in the morning. God calls some in the late morning, God calls some in the afternoon and God calls some in the evening. You do not know when He is going to call.  And as children and as ambassadors of Jesus Christ, we have no right to say, “You are definitely not going to be chosen to be saved”, we still plead right till the very last breath. Because at the very last breath, if he genuinely places his trust in Jesus, he will be saved and indeed, he is the elect, he is chosen as a vessel of mercy.

Time stamp in audio 0:45:12.4.

It's about the Gospel and it is tremendously encouraging today for us to realize there is no one too hard for God to save. Same lump, folks, same lump of fallen humanity, nobody is too hard or too far beyond the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

The Earth is not flat. The Earth being flat is very comfortable, the earth being flat is a commonly held belief.  But my friends, we must not stay in what we sometimes have wrongly believed. This is the Word, this is the revelation, this is the Scripture: “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” and “Whom He will He hardeneth.” It's all about His glory - He is God, He is sovereign. It's all about grace, if you are saved today, it's all of His grace. He chose you even before you could choose Him and there is nothing you can do to make Him choose you. And if you're saved today, you ought to be grateful, eternally grateful. But friends, if you are not a believer of Jesus Christ, believe Him, believe and you will be saved.

Time stamp in audio 0:46:52.0.

Let's bow for a word of prayer. How unsearchable are the ways of God. His ways, His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  And revelation is what we must cling to- shakes us, rocks us, but it is truth and the Spirit wants to lead us into all truth. Father, this morning we are thankful for the Word, thankful that in the world of darkness we live in, there is light that can be found in the Scriptures.

Would you lead us? I know I have spoken, yet I know words could only go to men's ears except the Holy Spirit brings it to the heart. Transform us by the renewing of our minds. I pray today for my brothers and sisters in Christ, for all of us, that you cause us to appreciate, know and understand more of who You are, so that we will not have subtle forms of idolatry within. I pray today for those who have yet to believe in Jesus Christ. I pray, dear God, have mercy. And by Your Spirit, call many to salvation and life that they will be the vessels of mercy on whom You will, in the ages to come, demonstrate Your kindness, Your grace and Your love, so that the whole of creation will once again glorify Your great and holy name. Lord, indeed You are worthy, You have created all things for Thy pleasure. Do Your work in all our lives, we ask in Jesus name. Amen.