Election - Exodus 7:1-6

[0:00] Good morning, everybody. If you want to turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 7, you can do that. So the title for today's message as we go through the study is Election.

[0:13] Like, man, Jared, I didn't think you were political. Stay tuned. We'll see what that means. In Exodus, we've come as far as chapter 7. At the end of Exodus chapter 6, we've kind of, we're continuing this conversation, this dialogue that God is having with Moses or Moses is having with God as he continues to push back on the call that God's given him.

[0:34] At first, he said, well, I'm not sufficient for this. And then he continued to move forward in faith and he acted in faith and did what God told him to do. And yet he failed. Pharaoh didn't respond to him.

[0:47] And then the people of Israel didn't believe him. And he comes back to God. And at the end there of chapter 6 of Exodus, it says, that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I am the Lord, speak thou unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt, excuse me, all that I say unto you.

[1:07] He says, Moses, I've heard all of your complaints. I've heard all of your excuses continue to go forward in spite of that. Now, Moses, if you remember in chapter 6, he had kind of parenthetically in the middle of this dialogue stuck in there the genealogy for him and Aaron.

[1:24] Aaron being his name meaning light bringer, Moses meaning to draw out, to bring forth these two men sent by God. And he gives the genealogy. He gives the credentials, essentially, the two of them.

[1:36] And so chapter 7 picks back up in this dialogue, this conversation that God is having with Moses. If you remember back in chapter 4, I'm sure you all remember back in Exodus chapter 4, when God first mentions that he will harden Pharaoh's heart, he said to Moses, by the way, Moses, what I'm sending you to do is not going to be successful right away.

[1:58] I'm going to harden Pharaoh's heart. And we said at that time, when we get to chapter 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, we'll look more at what it means to God hardening Pharaoh's heart. As I began to read chapter 7, at the beginning of this week, I realized we're there.

[2:13] So we're only going to get through six verses of Exodus 7, and we're going to spend our time in some other places of Scripture. You know, there are a lot of systems of theology and philosophy out there.

[2:24] There are a lot of systems of theology that are even built off of God's Word. And what is theology? Well, it's just the understanding of God. It's a system by which we understand God. We base our philosophy and our theology of life and of who God is off of Scripture, right?

[2:40] There's a lot of systems and theologies out there and philosophies and other religions that elevate man's Word above God's Word. That would be a false religion, like a pagan religion, like Hinduism.

[2:51] They elevate man's Word above God's Word. There are also systems of philosophy and religion out there that elevate man's Word to be equal with God's Word.

[3:02] That would be more like a cult, like Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormonism. They have their own writings that they elevate to be equal with God's Word. But there's also another danger, and that's, you'll find, within the church.

[3:14] And that's a system of theology or philosophy that places a greater focus upon man's Word than upon God's Word. So if you're hearing someone, maybe they're saying all the right things, but it's always focusing upon what a man said.

[3:28] Well, this famous writer said. Well, this famous father of the faith. This famous... The focus isn't upon God's Word. At best, that's ultimately going to lead to a waste of time. And at worst, it could lead to deception.

[3:42] Colossians 2, verse 8 says, To beware, lest any man spoil you through vain philosophy. Or through philosophy, I'm sorry.

[3:53] And vain deceit. After the tradition of men and the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. So that you would be spoiled that, you know, milk that's gone bad is spoiled.

[4:05] It was once in a state of usability. It's now in a state of corruption. That you would be spoiled through these philosophies, through this emptiness, through the tradition of men, after the basics of this world, and not after Christ.

[4:18] So a system that would spend more of its time focusing upon what man said, as opposed to what God said. And that will all be relevant as we dive into this. But let's pick up here in verse 1, and lay a little foundation of where we're at.

[4:33] And the Lord said unto Moses, as he's continuing this narrative, as Moses kind of parenthetically jumped out in chapter 6, he's continuing chapter 7. This is God answering Moses, when Moses said, This hasn't worked.

[4:45] You haven't saved the people, and they haven't listened to me, and neither has Pharaoh. If Pharaoh didn't listen to me, how are your people going to... I'm sorry. If your people didn't listen to me, how is Pharaoh going to listen to me? And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

[5:02] You're like, Jared, you were just talking about false religions and cults, and here now, like, God himself is telling Moses he's going to be a god? What is going on here? Well, the word God there, Elohim, in the context of when it's referring to something that's divine, to God, it means capital G, God.

[5:19] God divine. Lowercase g, judge. It just means a judge. One who judge. God is a judge, a divine judge, one who judges divinely. So he's saying to Moses here, I've made you a judge to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet, or literally your spokesman.

[5:35] We see in Exodus 4, 16, God spoke to Moses when he was calling him, and he told him he's going to bring Aaron, and he said, He, Aaron, shall be your spokesman unto the people, and he shall be, even he shall be to you instead of a mouth, and you shall be to him instead of God.

[5:54] Lower, uppercase G. In other words, Aaron's going to drive his direction, his information, from Moses, in the same way Moses does from God. In this instant here with Pharaoh, he's saying, Moses, Pharaoh will see in you something he's unwilling to see in me.

[6:11] He's going to see behind what you're doing, he's going to see something divine. That Moses, I have made you a God, a judge to Pharaoh. Pharaoh who refused to know God would know that there was something divine in Moses, that there was something behind Moses.

[6:27] Now Moses feels like a failure at this point. He's just, feels like he's crashed and burned in everything God's told him to do. In our understanding capacity, we would think, okay, God's sending Moses.

[6:38] Who's, what's this guy going to be like? You picture him walking into Pharaoh's court, seven feet tall, rippling muscles, the lightning cracks as he walks, there's a, and he's like, Pharaoh, let my people go.

[6:49] And Pharaoh's like, yes, I will. But that's not what God does. Instead, God sends an 80 year old man who's a failure, who's weak, and who can't speak, who has just told Pharaoh, let his people go.

[7:01] And Pharaoh said, who are you? And who is your God? Get out of here. He went to God's people and said, hey, God's going to deliver you. And they said, you have made our lives worse. Get out of here. Why did God do that?

[7:12] Why would God set up his messengers for failure? Because God shows his strength through weakness. God shows his strength through failure. God sets Moses up. So by the time God is done working in Egypt, not one Egyptian is going to go, wow, that guy Moses, you know, he was really an amazing guy.

[7:28] No, they're going to go, you know, someone else, there was God's hand behind Moses. It wasn't Moses' hand. Moses' hand might have held the staff, but it was God's power who was doing that. So God has sent Moses now to speak and he said, I will make you a God to Pharaoh and Aaron, your brother, shall be your prophet.

[7:46] You shall speak all that I command you and Aaron, your brother, shall speak unto Pharaoh that he send the children of Israel out of his land. Not that I'm going to force him, not that I'm going to twist his arm and I'm going to make Pharaoh, not that I'm going to drag my people out, but he says here that Pharaoh will send, willingly choosing to send, God's people out of his land.

[8:06] God would not force Pharaoh to obey, but he is going to bring him to a place of obedience. Do you realize that? God will bring all people to a place of obedience. In Philippians 2 chapter 9, I mean, Philippians 2 verse 9, verses 9 through 11, we all know this passage, wherefore God also has highly exalted him and given him a name, which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth and things under the earth, that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

[8:41] As all men at the great day of judgment, the white throne of judgment, the great white throne judgment, those who have rejected Christ, the dead, as they stand there and the books are open because they've chosen not to be judged under the cross, but to be judged according to their own deeds, they're not going to have, the angels aren't going to be there forcing them to bow.

[9:00] You will bow. They will bow and they will obey and they will do it willingly because they will see, oh my word, we were so wrong. But at that point, it's too late because they have not obeyed according to faith.

[9:12] All men will ultimately obey, but only obedience that comes by faith is pleasing to God. So God will bring Pharaoh to a point of willingness. He will willingly send Israel out of his land, but he will not do it through faith.

[9:27] Another part in this verse I think is interesting. He says, go and speak. Moses, go speak all that I command you and Aaron, your brother, shall speak unto Pharaoh. So here you have these two guys.

[9:38] Moses had a lot to say, but he couldn't speak. Aaron didn't stop talking, but he had nothing to say. Right? He just talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, empty words and God puts them together so perfectly.

[9:50] God knows how to equip his ministry and how to equip his ministers. Our individual weaknesses create a beautiful picture of God's strength. Your weakness and my weakness, well, maybe my strength matches your weakness.

[10:03] Maybe your weakness matches my strength. So God puts us together in this body so that our individual weaknesses and strengths complement one another. Not so someone looks at us and goes, well, that Calvary Chapel, Charlotte, I mean, oh my word, they're full of such amazing people.

[10:17] No way. They'll look at us and go, there must be something divine going on there. They're a bunch of, well, you know, there's definitely something divine going on there. Hebrews 11, 6, it says, without faith, it's impossible to please him.

[10:33] For he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he's a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. What has he said to Moses? I am that I am. Jehovah, the existing one. When we come to God, we must believe that he is.

[10:45] He's the one who is the rewarder. He's the one who will complete that which he started. And so, the Lord then says to Moses, go and speak. And now, Moses, again, I'm going to remind you of the results here.

[10:58] I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. Back in chapter four was the first time as the Lord is sending Moses to go to Egypt.

[11:09] He says, by the way, see that you do all these things before Pharaoh. Do all the signs I've put in your hand, but I'll harden his heart and he will not let the people go. Exodus chapter five, verses one and two, says, and afterward, Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh and told Pharaoh, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

[11:33] And here we see Pharaoh's first response, the first picture we get of Pharaoh in scripture. And what is his response? What is this heart we're seeing come out of Pharaoh? Who is the Lord?

[11:45] Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. Who is the Lord? Pharaoh's heart. Is this a soft heart?

[11:55] Is this a heart willing to respond to God's word, to God's direction? As Pharaoh says, who is the Lord? As we ask ourselves the question, you know, Pharaoh's heart was hardened.

[12:12] Well, who hardened Pharaoh's heart? God said he did. Did God arbitrarily decide Pharaoh, I'm going to harden your heart? Pharaoh, I'm going to make your heart hard? Sorry, Pharaoh, I've created you to harden your heart.

[12:25] In Romans chapter nine, and this is where we're eventually going to go, but in Romans chapter nine, there's a couple of verses in there that would make you think, wow, man, God created Pharaoh just, just to use him as a vessel of destruction.

[12:42] For the scripture says unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose if I raised you up, that I might show my power in you, that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore, has he, has God, mercy on whom he will have mercy, and on whom he will, he hardens.

[13:00] Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another under dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath prepared to destruction?

[13:18] So, okay, God created Pharaoh and hardened his heart. He created him for destruction. That was his purpose. Is that his purpose? Has God created some people for destruction and some for heaven?

[13:30] Has he arbitrarily chosen that? Do we listen to the voices of men who have talked and taught for years and decades on this subject?

[13:42] Do we take their voice and we say, what did they say? What do they think? And you realize, well, they're just pointing back to what someone else said and someone else thought. What's the Bible say? Let's see what the Bible says.

[13:53] Don't take my word for it. I tell you all the time, if you go away believing something because Jared said it, well, that's a pretty shaky foundation. But if you go away and say, hey, he said it and I saw it in the scripture, well, then I can believe it.

[14:08] In verse five, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them. So, the reason that God has raised up Pharaoh, God raised up Pharaoh specifically because he would not hearken unto God.

[14:26] God wasn't using Pharaoh because of his willingness. He was using Pharaoh because he would not hearken unto God. He said, I need you, Pharaoh. I'm going to raise you up and use you so that I might make myself known.

[14:38] God wants to make himself known to the Egyptians and to his people. Isaiah 59, one says, behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save.

[14:50] As he said, I will stretch forth my hand upon Egypt. It's not going to come up short, guys. Egypt will only see Moses' hand, won't they? They will see Moses' hand wielding the staff.

[15:01] They will see Moses but they will know that it is God behind that hand because God has set Moses up by allowing him to go through this failure of what he thinks is failure.

[15:14] And what we learn from the scripture is that God's work in Egypt is entirely predicated upon the immovability of Pharaoh's heart. The plagues we're going to see and the work God's going to do and we get to Passover and God has to send the angel of death which is a type of the blood of the lamb being put on the doorpost as the angel of death passes over and in that we see that beautiful picture of Jesus is because of Pharaoh's hard heart.

[15:37] If Pharaoh just said, oh, you want to let them go? Okay, go ahead. Go on out of here. We would have never had this picture that God wants to show. Was Pharaoh predestinated under destruction?

[15:51] Did God choose to give Pharaoh a hard heart? Is that the only reason he's created here? Just so that God could show his mighty power and then when he's done with him, into the rubbish bin he goes. Pharaoh's heart was hardened in the same way every heart is hardened through his response to God's word.

[16:10] We're not going to look at every one of these. That's really small. You want to take a picture but there's all the places between Exodus chapter 4, mainly chapter 7 through verse, chapter 11.

[16:21] This speaks of Pharaoh's heart being hardened. God told Moses in chapter 4, he would harden Pharaoh's heart but long before God ever gets to a point where he says, I have hardened Pharaoh's heart, Pharaoh's heart is hardened.

[16:34] Pharaoh's heart became hard. Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Pharaoh's heart was hard. Pharaoh hardened his own heart long before we ever hear that God says, man, I've hardened his heart.

[16:44] I've solidified him in this position. Pharaoh's heart was hardened the same way anyone else's heart is hardened through his response to God's word. You want to turn over to Romans chapter 9.

[17:01] You know, as we said, there are many teachings and philosophies today that would place the word of man above God, God's word or equal to his word. They would use the unknowns of God.

[17:15] There's many unknowns of God. Many, we don't know. There's many things we don't know of God and we have all of eternity to get to understand who he is and to spend time with him and to get those things revealed to us.

[17:29] But there are people who would use the unknowns of God to call into question what is known of God. They would say, well, we don't know for sure this facet of God so we're going to call into question what I do know about his character and about his nature.

[17:43] So how do you combat that? How do you know if it's true or not? Well, it's by understanding the truth of what God has revealed about himself. The more we understand what is true about God, the more we are protected then from the errors that are built upon the lack of understanding of God.

[17:58] Error is always built upon the lack of an understanding of God. And as we know more about God, we then find ourselves protected from that. In 1 Timothy, Paul would write to Timothy and this kind of goes along with his verse in Colossians.

[18:13] Beginning in verse 4, he says, neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions rather than godly edifying which is in faith, so do. For these people desiring to be teachers of the law, they understand neither what they say neither whereof they affirm.

[18:32] Endless genealogies which minister questions. If the teacher or philosophy or theology that you use to approach scripture just brings more and more questions regarding who God has already revealed himself to be that you begin to question that, well God has revealed himself to be God of love but I'm beginning to question that.

[18:55] Well then Paul would say here, don't give heed to that because they don't know what they say or whereof they affirm it. So we're going to look at Romans chapter 9 because in Romans chapter 9 is a scripture that specifically talks about Pharaoh.

[19:07] We're not going to do the whole chapter, don't worry. And it talks about where Paul expounds upon what did this mean when God said he would harden Pharaoh's heart. So as Paul has gone through Romans, you know in Romans we see in Romans chapter 3 for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and he's building this picture of redemption and he gets to chapter 5 and the end of 5 he says that where sin abounded grace did much more abound.

[19:30] That where the greatest wickedness was well there was God's greatest grace and the greatest work God could do through that. And then he gets into chapter 6 and he says well should we continue in sin then so we can somehow get more grace?

[19:41] And he said no how shall we continue in that which we are dead to? He gets into then to chapter 7 where it's this revelation of like alright I've been forgiven I've been redeemed God's grace has been poured out abundantly upon me because of sin oh shoot I'm still sinning as he finds himself in chapter 7 and unfortunately many people today many Christians many believers stop in chapter 7 and they try to continue to battle in their own strength against that which only God can battle against in his spirit where Paul ends up in chapter 8 and then he kind of begins to shift gears he comes into chapter 9 he's going to start talking about Israel 9, 10, 11 begins to talk about Israel because the question is then well if God is so great and God has done such amazing promises and blessings why didn't it work for Israel?

[20:30] How come the Gentiles now receive all these blessings? What happened? Did God fail? Did God's word fail? Paul is going to pick that up in chapter 9 and begin to answer those questions he says in verse 1 of Romans 9 I say the truth in Christ I lie not my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart for I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for the sake of my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh who are Israelites to whom pertains the adoption they've been chosen by God to be the sons of God in this world and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law it was to Israel that God's word came and the service of God and the promises whose are the fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came Jesus the Messiah came through this people this great people who is over all

[21:31] God bless forever Amen man if God would do all that for these people then what happened? how come it like it didn't work?

[21:42] the Messiah came they had all these promises they had the covenant they had God's word they had the service to God in this world Jesus came through and they rejected him what happened? maybe it didn't work God had chosen Israel for blessing as we see at the end of verse 5 there Christ came who is over all God blessed forever the blessing came to Israel but Israel had to choose to receive that blessing verse 6 not as though the word of God is taken none of fact and here Paul answers kind of this this unasked question not as though God's word had taken none of fact no God's word didn't fail because Israel rejected God for they are not all Israel which are of Israel so Paul is going to give two principles as we go through this section of scripture the first one is that having the physical heritage of God's people being part of that physical heritage of God's people does not necessarily mean having the spiritual heritage of God's people that was the Pharisees mistake they said we are God's people we have the physical heritage of God's people but that doesn't mean that you have the spiritual heritage of God's people and the second thing we're going to see because he's making a case here the whole reason he's going to bring up

[22:54] Pharaoh is that God has not finished using Israel even in their rejection that those who reject God are still able to be used by God so he's going to take Pharaoh the biggest example of the biggest rejecter in all of scripture Pharaoh who stood against God who God had to bring all these plagues he's going to say if I can use this guy who rejected me to bring about deliverance for my people to bring about mercy in the life of another well then I can use Israel who's rejected me who's rejected me I can use them in the life of my people so has God's word not taken effect no no no they are not all Israel which are of Israel Galatians 3 7 says know you therefore that they which are of faith the same are the children of Abraham Israel must receive God's word no differently than anyone else they must receive it by faith faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word there are two responses to God's word that Pharaoh that Israel that you and I that everybody else out there have to make there's only two responses to God's word we either receive it or we reject it when God's word comes we receive it or we reject it and we would say those who receive it they have a soft heart their heart is softened those who reject it like Pharaoh their heart is hard and the interesting thing is the more you receive

[24:16] God's word man the softer your heart gets the more you're able to receive it and that's that parable of the sower right the soil is churned up God the seed is able to come in and do more and more work but the more you reject you reject in an area well I like God's word speaking to me over here but man don't speak to me over here about my marriage it's fine speak to me about my job and my finance it's fine but not over here speak to me about my witness in the world but don't speak to me about my private entertainment over here as we reject God's word in an area of life it begins to get harder and harder and that will then harden our hearts so he says in verse 7 neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children are they all of Israel but in Isaac shall thy seed be called what's he saying here remember when the Pharisees said to Jesus well we are Abraham's sons and Jesus said to them in Matthew chapter 3 don't think to say within yourself that we have Abraham as our father for I say unto you

[25:17] God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham it is not that Abraham is your father that gives you any type of standing with God how many children did Abraham have how many sons did he have well he had Ishmael but he also had Isaac well he had by his second wife Keturah a number of sons so it's not that Abraham is their father then there's some other qualification for being one of God's chosen it can't just be the physical heritage because Abraham had multiple sons verse 8 that they which are the children of the flesh these are not the children of God but the children of the promise are counted for the seed the blessing did not come through Abraham's sons but through the promise made to Abraham it wasn't that it was Isaac that Isaac was a special person but that God chose through promise to bring about his blessing Galatians as we saw in Galatians there they which are of faith are the same are the children of Abraham for this is the word of promise at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son so it's not about the person but the promise and not only this but when Rebecca also had conceived by one even by our father Isaac and then skip verse 11 it's in parentheses and read verse 12 and not only this but when Rebecca also had conceived by one even by our father Isaac it was said unto her the elder shall serve the younger verse 11 is going to explain what that means what's he saying here he says well even then if you're like well okay okay then it's through Isaac because he was the special one he was the only son of Sarah oh well oops

[26:54] Rebecca had two sons well now which one how did you pick them how did God pick them look at verse 11 for the children being not yet born neither having done any good or evil but the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him that calls okay what does that mean so the children weren't yet born they didn't do anything good or bad and God just picked he picked and he says as is written Jacob have I loved but Esau have I hated so we could say well God must have just before their birth decided this baby he hates and this baby he loves and this baby was born under God's blessing this baby was born because God under God's hatred under God's rejection and under God's destruction is that what that means well what does the scripture say for the children being not yet born neither having done any good or evil that the purpose of God that is the arranging of God that God's arrangement according to election the word election means method of choice or selection so he's saying here

[27:56] God has an arrangement by which he selects people it is not according to their good works he says listen these boys weren't born yet neither one could have done good or evil God didn't look at Jacob and go you know man you are doing such a good job Jacob I'm gonna pick you I'm gonna select you did Jacob do a good job was he that much nicer of a guy than Esau no the guy dressed in like fresh goat skin and put on Esau's clothes and went in and lied to his dad so he could get the blessing he was a sneaky rotten thief wasn't any good deed he did and here Paul is just simply saying that it's not by good deeds they hadn't done good deeds there must be some other arrangement by which God selects people it couldn't have been because of physical heritage now it can't be because of our good deeds can it Titus 3.5 says not by works of righteousness which we have done but by his according to his mercy he has saved us so we say okay we agree with you Paul it wasn't that he chose Jacob because of his good works well what was it then not of works but of him that calls that calls

[29:11] God selects those who respond to his call and his promise that's the method by which God selects God's selection process is not by works but as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name who are those who have the power to become sons of God those that have believed on his name Matthew 9.13 says but go and learn what that means I'll have mercy and not sacrifice for I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance God's call goes out to all who would receive it God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through them through him might be saved so then he says as it is written Jacob have I loved Esau have I hated the idea there isn't that I love you and I hate you I despise you it's selected and rejected Jacob have I selected Esau have I rejected why did God reject Esau because Esau rejected God's call

[30:13] Esau Hebrews tells us says that he was a fornicator and a profane person who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright for you know how that afterwards when he would have inherited the blessing he went to Isaac and said give me a blessing he was rejected for he found no place of repentance though he sought it sought it carefully with tears that does not mean that he went to God and said God please forgive me God said nope nope no repentance for you not for you it means that Esau had rejected the means by which God selects his chosen people he didn't want anything to do with that and he went and he his repentance wasn't unto God but it was that he desired a blessing without coming about it God's way verse 14 what shall we say then is there unrighteousness with God you say well that's that's not fair I don't think it's fair I don't think it's fair that someone can live their whole life a sneaky rotten thief a sinner and at the end they can respond to God's call and they can respond to God's selection process and be part of his elect by responding to his call and responding to God's mercy and this person over here they've tried so hard they've done so many good deeds their whole life they've given to the poor and they've done so many good things and they're rejected just because they won't believe in Jesus

[31:35] I don't think that's fair I don't like that what shall we say then is there unrighteousness with God is God unfair because he chose this selection process God forbid for he said to Moses I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and will have compassion on whom I will have compassion we haven't gotten to that yet that's Exodus 33 verses 18 and 19 it's when Moses would see God's glory and God says Moses I'll make my glory pass before you I will proclaim my name I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious I will be merciful to whom I will be merciful what he does not say is and I will crush those who I will crush he doesn't does he God's purpose of choosing God's selection process is for mercy it's not for judgment remember he came into the world not to condemn the world but that the world through them might be saved all of God's methods are righteous even if we don't like them I might not like that I might wish there was another way

[32:36] I might not like that that's the selection process by which God chose to show his mercy to people and God said okay well don't enter into my election don't become part of the ones I've selected if you don't like that process remember the parable of the vineyard where Jesus told how there's a man who owned a vineyard and there's so much work to be done and he goes and he finds these guys in the morning he's like look I'll give you like 100 bucks each just go and work a day in my vineyard I've got so much work to do and he goes and does it and then at lunchtime he comes and he finds a bunch of guys standing around at lunchtime they haven't worked all day and he's like guys I'll give you 100 bucks just get out there and work for the rest of the day I have there's such a harvest to bring in man I need you in the harvest at the end of the day an hour left he finds some guys who are doing nothing and he's like guys I'm so desperate we gotta bring this harvest in I'll give you 100 bucks get out there and work for an hour and then they all come back and it says that he began to pay them from the last the guys who worked for an hour until the beginning and as the guys who were there from the beginning of the day as they're watching him get paid they're like whoa the guys who worked an hour got 100 bucks imagine what we're gonna get then he gets to the guys that he came to work at lunchtime but they got 100 bucks too that's too bad for them but I'm sure we're gonna get more and then he pays those who started the beginning of the day and they grumble and they complain they're like this isn't fair that you gave them who worked for one hour the same as you would give us and Jesus responds in the parable or the landowner the vineyard owner responds who is God in the parable he says is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own if I own it can I do with it what I want if I wanna give you 100 bucks for working an hour and you 100 bucks have I been unfair well no we can't charge him for being unfair is it unfair that God chooses to show mercy on someone who on their deathbed responds to his call no it's not unfair is your eye evil because I am good is it hard for us to accept God's grace and God's goodness yes because like nothing we've ever seen but God's selection process is always according to his nature

[34:43] I will have mercy upon who I am I will have mercy I'll have compassion because God is a God of compassion not I will have destruction on whom I'll have destruction it's always according to his nature so then it is not of him Paul concludes here and says well then it's not of him that wills or literally desires nor is it of him that runs or of effort but of God that shows mercy dot dot dot on those who will receive his mercy right no amount of effort or desire can replace mercy it's not by effort it's not by desire I might not like that but that's the method by which God has chosen to select his people God will show mercy dot dot dot on those who will receive mercy the physical location the physical heritage of God's people has no bearing upon their spiritual condition right so that's what we've seen Israel Paul is saying Israel or church man it's not by the outward works it's not by our deeds it's not by your effort or your desire the spiritual heritage of God is received according to God's selection process of mercy

[35:53] God's spiritual heritage is available to all who would respond to his call and receive his mercy does God select he does but does he arbitrarily he does not he said here's my process those who respond to my call and then as he finishes these next few verses out here where he gets into Pharaoh our second principle those who reject God are still able to be used by God because the thought is then well if these people have rejected God well certainly God's like well you know what I'm done with you get out of here to the rubbish bin I'll focus over here on someone who will be willing to work with me for the scripture says unto Pharaoh even for the same purpose verse 17 have I raised you up that I might show my power in you that my name might be declared throughout all the earth therefore has he mercy on whom he will have mercy in whom he will he hardens we cannot judge our standing with God based upon our usefulness to God based upon how God uses us God is holding up before us

[36:53] Pharaoh the greatest rejecter in history and said I used him if I can use him I can use anyone it's not about our physical heritage it's not about our good deeds it's not about him who desires or puts forth effort a man is not about if God's using us God can use Pharaoh to bring about a blessing then we can't look at our own lives and go well God's using me so I must be good with God the most high rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever he will and sets over it the basest of men that's God's view of man's system of government and I think we are living through those times very much so so the fact that Pharaoh had rejected God's selection his mercy did not prevent God from still using Pharaoh he says therefore has he mercy on whom he'll have mercy and whom he will he hardens in other words God is the one who gets to set up that standard God sets the standard who's going to receive mercy and who are the ones that God will harden in their position in rejecting that mercy it's not arbitrary

[37:56] God has a process by which he has done that God alone chooses the method of his mercy and what is that method without faith it's impossible to please him it's by faith that we receive God's call so in verse 19 well then you will say Paul says here's another logical conclusion well then why does God find fault for who's resisted his will if God can use Pharaoh if God's will can be done through Pharaoh's life someone who's rejecting well how can God find fault with Pharaoh isn't Pharaoh doing God's will well is that how we gain standing with God oh God I read my Bible today witness to four people certainly now you can't find fault with me is that how our faults with God are removed no what we do for God is not nearly as important as who we are to God as Jesus will say that on the last in the end in the last days there will be those in Matthew 7 that will say to him Lord Lord man we've done so much for you we've prophesied in your name in your name we've cast out devils and we have done so many wonderful works not only they works they're wonderful works and then

[39:05] Jesus says I will profess unto them I never knew you you did a lot of things but I don't know you maybe maybe God used you maybe God had a plan that he incorporated you in but I never knew you because it's not what we do for God that's important but who we are to God in relationship no but oh man in verse 20 who are you that replies to God literally who are you to talk back to God who are you to question God's process he isn't saying who are you to complain because God has picked you up and chosen to throw you in the rubbish bin and pick this guy up and chosen to put him in heaven that's not what he's saying at all he's just saying God's the one who gets to pick the process who are you to complain against it shall the thing formed say to him that formed it why have you made me thus that's just illogical has not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor in other words origin determines ownership God created it God owns it God can do with his own what he will and here he's specifically speaking of Israel the same lump the same lump of Israel you have some of Israel that is true Israel and then you have some that are in rejection of God how can you have the same lump at two different results

[40:17] God can use that which is his own as he pleases but it's always in keeping with his nature and character has God taken Pharaoh who's rejected him and said man I'm gonna show you how much this guy's gonna suffer no it's the opposite he took Jesus who'd never done anything wrong said man I'm gonna show you how much this guy's gonna suffer so I can display my love for you he took Pharaoh and said Pharaoh I'm gonna use you my long suffering in your life man it's gonna display my goodness as we're gonna see right here what if God willing to show his wrath and to make his power known endured with much long suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction this has nothing to do with if God's predestined some people to hell or to heaven he's saying this is the greatness of God that God could take a vessel that's been prepared for destruction not because God has arbitrarily chosen that but because that person has rejected God's selection process of mercy and God says alright you prepared yourself for destruction but man I'm gonna still use you I'm gonna display my long suffering through you

[41:18] God's wrath gives opportunity for God's long suffering and what does God's long suffering give opportunity for for the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness but is long suffering to usward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance God's long suffering gives opportunity for God's mercy as God is long suffering with Pharaoh is Pharaoh responding no he's not Pharaoh is not but God's gonna use him to display his goodness and his mercy on those who would receive it over 2 million plus people of the nation of Israel who would be under God's mercy Romans 2 4 we back way up in Romans says or do you despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance man don't despise the fact that God is good that he's long suffering don't despise the fact that I can't believe God hasn't judged that person you know what I'm so glad God was long suffering in my life through my stupidity through my rejection through the times

[42:19] I talked back to him they didn't go that's it he said hey you know what man I know where this is going I know he's gonna respond to me I'm gonna continue to be long suffering in his life until that day comes God displays his goodness through his long suffering many times upon those who deserve his judgment and let's wrap this up and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had for prepared unto glory even us whom he has called the called ones who received mercy not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy on those of us that it says that he has prepared before unto glory God uses his long suffering and the lives of those who reject him to display his goodness and his glory for those of us who would receive him Jeremiah 1 5 the Lord tells Jeremiah before I formed you in the belly I knew you and before you came forth out of the womb

[43:22] I sanctified you and I ordained you a prophet unto the nations did he arbitrarily just say well I'm gonna just pick this person to do this no what's it based on before you were formed in the belly I knew you God in his foreknowledge he knows he gives the same call the same selection process for every single person who comes into this world would you like to be part of God's select yeah how do I get that well you have to come by faith you have to accept that you're a sinner you have to put your faith in Jesus Christ and the promise that he gives which is alone by God's mercy oh I don't want that I don't want to just come by God's mercy I can't accept I'm a sinner I'm gonna go find another process I'm sorry that's the only way God selects people to be part of his elect would you like to be selected and be part of God's select well no I wouldn't it's not because God has chosen to cast anybody away God is not willing that any should perish as we read but all to come to repentance before I formed you in the belly I knew you and because I knew you therefore I sanctified you I prepared a way for you to be sanctified and ordained you

[44:26] I gave you then a call unto the nations 1 Peter 1-2 says that we are the elect according to what? the foreknowledge of God the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ we are chosen by God we are selected by God according to his foreknowledge as we just saw his selection process is by mercy verse 24 even us we'll end in Romans 9 here with verse 24 even us whom he has called who received mercy not of the Jews only but also of the Gentiles even us whom he has called those who received mercy the ones who he has called are the ones who received mercy not of the Jews only but also the Gentiles in other words the church the church is the spiritual heritage of God's people as he begins by saying the physical heritage of God's people does not equate to the spiritual heritage of God's people but those who would be part of God's spiritual heritage all may come

[45:30] Jew or Gentile alike there's the same lump but for two purposes not because God in complete contrary to his nature said oh well you I hate and you I love no but God who has a heart for all has made a way for all to become part of his elect and then is God finished with Israel not at all read Romans 11 25 and 26 for that so having the physical heritage of God's people does not necessarily mean having the spiritual heritage of God's people and those who reject God are still able to be used by God and Pharaoh chose to reject God he was one who chose to reject God's call and was therefore unable to experience the blessing of being part of God's election he rejected God's call and he was then no longer able to be part of understanding what the blessing was of being part of God's selection God's elect but that in no way prevented God from using Pharaoh did it God was able to still use Pharaoh as a blessing to his people

[46:30] Pharaoh's life think about as we go through Exodus this next the next few chapters who's the one God spends most of his time focused on talking to dealing with showing his power to showing his long suffering to it's not Israel it's Pharaoh it's Pharaoh because that's God's heart turn over to Exodus chapter 7 we'll finish with verse 6 so where the Lord says to Moses he says hey Moses just to let you know I will harden Pharaoh's heart well we just looked at how does that happen it's the response of Pharaoh to God's word it's the response of Pharaoh to God's selection process of mercy and Pharaoh says I don't want anything to do with that I don't want to know your God I don't want to know what it is to be part of his elect I have no interest in that and so God will harden Pharaoh in that position but Moses and Aaron it says in verse 6 and Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them so did they they did not do that according to their own effort not of him that wills nor of him that runs

[47:38] Moses and Aaron obeyed the call of God in the face of rejection a lack of success and in the face of their own doubts but they obeyed God's call by faith they came by faith the same way we do as they responded to God their hearts were soft and they believed that God was faithful and capable to do what he called to do 1 Thessalonians 5 24 faithful is he that calls you who also will do it has God called you he has he has called you 1 John chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 John says my little children these things write I unto you that you sin not but if any man sin we have an advocate we have one who pleads for us one who stands there to declare we are justified not by our own works of righteousness what we have done but according to his mercy we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the propitiation for our sins the elect those of us who are in the church those of us who would say we are in Christ he is the payment he is the satisfaction for our sins but not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world faithful is he that calls you has God called to you he has he has called to us did God choose to give Pharaoh a hard heart no but God did choose to honor Pharaoh's selection and he'll do the same for us he'll honor our selection as God puts forth his selection process and who are we to complain about it

[49:05] I don't like it that way I'm sorry God gets to choose to do with his own what he will and he has chosen with his creation to say to them I am going to give you mercy if you'll receive it I'm going to give you grace if you'll take it man even if you don't I'm still going to use your life and be long suffering to display my goodness and my nature and my character what do we do about that?

[49:29] 2 Corinthians 7 verse 1 says having therefore these promises dearly beloved what amazing promises we have that our God would go to such lengths to secure his own to bring any who would into his selection into his election process man having therefore these promises dearly beloved let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit perfecting holiness in the fear of God if God can use Pharaoh who rejected him if God can use Israel and my friends we are here today sitting in this church because of God's long suffering on rejecters because Israel rejected God and God's long suffering over 2,000 plus years has opened the door for the goodness of God to be revealed to us to the church and at some point God will again turn his face back to Israel and he'll say now we're going to wrap this up and I'm going to bring you guys to a place of faith but for us having therefore these promises how should we respond?

[50:29] how do we live then? well let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh if God has taken such pains to bring us into his family let's live like we're part of his family perfecting holiness and the fear of God and we know that's not by strength not by might nor by power but by his spirit imagine that you were someone who greatly loved and admired someone else and you wanted them to be your spouse so bad and you said man I'm going to do everything I can for that person I'm going to pay every cent I have I'm going to live my life for them I'm going to display how much I love them I'm going to do I'll spend my life doing this and you're like oh just to win them and someone comes to you and says well you know what I've got bad news for you I know ahead of time they're not going to respond you could spend your whole life it's going to be a waste of time and they will never respond to that love what would you do?

[51:19] okay let's see I'm going to look up someone else I know you're going to go find someone else you're going to waste your whole life doing that what a waste but that's God's grace do you understand that? it's not that God chose some for life and chose some for death love someone no it's that God's love is so great that he will look down and go I know that person will never receive me I know that person's rejected me but I can't help it my heart and my nature is love and grace and so that right up to the end I'm going to pour my goodness out because God makes his reign to fall upon the just and the unjust that's God's heart that God will continue to chase someone right to the end knowing I know they're going to still turn away from me at the end but I love them that much who are we?

[52:01] who are we? who are you oh man to reply to God who are you to say to God I don't want your grace I don't want your mercy who are you to reject the free gift he gives no way no way let's accept that and we have and then who are we to harden our heart when God's call comes in our lives and says hey man I've got I've got something for you to do Moses, Aaron it's going to be through weakness but I'm going to use you to show my grace and long suffering to this world Father thank you Lord that was there's a lot to go through but Lord thank you Lord as we see your nature and your character and your heart we don't have to question does my God love me?

[52:40] does he love everybody? what about Pharaoh? maybe he just made him to destroy him no not at all God's grace God's love and God's capacity is so large that he can even use the greatest rejecters of his grace to display his goodness to display his grace the reason God displays his wrath is not because he's out to get people but so he might understand his mercy yes judgment is coming but nobody needs to be under that judgment judgment is there so then we can all see that God is a merciful God who would redeem and save and pull anybody out from underneath that judgment because Jesus has already gone that way for us and so Lord how should we then live in light of these promises let us live as those who are responders to your call let us live as those who have been part of God's selection that we could go out and tell others hey you know what God loves you here's the means by which you can become part of his spiritual heritage thank you for that truth thank you for your word in Jesus name amen

[53:47] I know there's a lot of theology this morning but I want you to be equipped I want you to know God's heart God's nature and God's character and not to let someone who sounds like they have a lot of words say something that's not according to God's heart and God's character as we go through this and it looks like God's pouring out his judgment as we are approaching a time in life where God is going to remove his church and begin to pour out judgment on this earth while we're going through Revelation looking at that on Wednesday nights it's not because God is angry or hates people it's because he loves them as we go through looking at the seven years that God is pouring out his wrath on this earth it's because they've stopped responding to his mercy and the only way he knows to display his goodness now is through the long suffering as he pours out his wrath to show hey I'm here but I still love you I'll still receive you and there's people out there like that today they need to know God loves them he's not wanting to squash them he hasn't created them to throw them away yes God can use anybody but more importantly than that God will receive anyone through his selection process of mercy the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face to shine upon you the Lord be gracious unto you the Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and what does God want to do in your life the Lord give you peace

[55:00] God bless you have a blessed week