“Unconditional Choosing”  7/12/09  Jeremiah 1:4,5; John 6:37,39,44,45; Jn. 15:16; Eph. 1:4

CHILDREN’S SERMON: Today I want to talk about something- that God loves us, chooses us and rescues us.   When I was a boy my daddy asked me what I wanted for Christmas- I said a dog.  So he took me to the dog pound in Columbia.  This was a place where lost dogs went.  There were hundreds of dogs there big dogs, little dogs, black dogs, brown dogs, barking dogs, quiet dogs- I liked the quiet dogs.  I told my daddy I wish they all could go home with us, but we both knew we couldn’t bring a hundred dogs home- I had to choose.  And I did.  I chose spot. Now when I chose that dog, that meant that dog wasn’t lost any more.  When I chose that dog it wasn’t to hurt that dog, but to love that dog.  And that dog had a job too.  The job of that dog was just to do what dogs do best- and that is to be there and let me feed it, clean it, care for it, and love it.  When that dog loved me, it was because I had first chosen it. It helped if that dog wagged its tale, and wanted to be around me.  Today I want us to think about God choosing you.  We love God because God loved us first- Jesus said.  The Bible says that God rescues us, gets us out of our cages and frees us to love Him.  That is good news isn’t it?   Today I brought my friend, my rescue dog, Ali with me. 

Jeremiah 1:4,5- “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Ephesians 1:4,5- For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with his pleasure and his will.

Professor Foreman once said a student came up to him and said, “Professor, we have five minutes before the bell rings.  Can you give a brief explanation of  election?”  Foreman replied no one has really explained election- not in five minutes and not in 5,000 years.   If you can resolve the tension between freedom and God’s purpose being achieved, then please let me know after worship.  Calvin said it was a mystery.  Calvin wrote about it in the 16th century, but he got it from Augustine in the 4th century, who got it from Paul who got it from Jesus- who spoke all the words on our bulletin cover.    I do not in this short sermon expect to try to resolve how freedom and God’s predestination fit together.  I only know they do.  They are two sides of the same coin.  Jesus and the Old Testament said Judas would betray Jesus, but it is also clear he did this of his own free will and was held responsible for it.  The Roman emperor Augustus made a proclamation of his own free will 1,000 miles away that everyone should be taxed, yet because of that free proclamation  Joseph had to go to Bethlehem where Jesus was born to fulfill the scriptures that said the messiah should be born in Bethlehem.  Joseph’s brothers sold him freely into slavery in Egypt, but Joseph said, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”  The idea of God’s choosing, planning, purposing somehow fits with human freedom and responsibility but exactly how is not explained.  

I. GOD HAS CHOSEN- One important question is has God chosen in other areas besides salvation?   Is it even possible or right that God chooses at all?

A. GOD HAS DONE SOME CHOOSING-   The Bible first example of election is Noah- where Noah is chosen to build the ark and he and his family are saved.  The second great example is Abraham and Sarah.  Abraham was chosen to leave his home and travel to a new land where God would bless him and he would be a blessing.  Abraham was chosen.   The Bible says that God chose Israel.   You and I may debate this- but it says this many times in the Old Testament.  It often says that God chose them not because they were more numerous or better.  In fact they were few, they were slaves, the words the Bible uses is “stiff necked.”  Jesus chose twelve as apostles.  God’s choosing is all over the Bible.  Calvin said that God does not choose us because we are handsome.  Paul was on the road to Damascus to persecute some Christians when God appeared to him and told him he was chosen to give the gospel to the Gentiles. 

B. GOD HAS DONE SOME CHOOSING IN OUR LIVES- [Ben Lacy Rose “TULIP” said this:] God decided whether we would be a boy or girl.  He decided which genes you would inherit.  On the day you were born about 100,000 other babies were born.  Who sent all those people into your life to influence you for good?  You parents, teachers, cousins, aunts and uncles.   We love Him because He first loved us.  Faith is a gift from God- we are not saved by works.  Predestination affirms that  salvation is all of grace before we had a chance to do anything.  You are born a particular person with particular gifts in a particular time and place not by accident, but in the purpose and plan of God. Acts says that God has determined the exact times and places we live.  (17:26).   Election (choosing) is part of a larger doctrine of predestination.  Predestination means that God has a plan- a purpose.  A destination is a predetermined place.  Pre-destination is a pre-predetermined place!  The other day I had to meet my son at orientation for his college.  I made reservations online months ahead of time.  I am always amazed when I get there and they actually have my reservation.   Yet I should not be.  Predestination means God has made a reservation for us.  Our names are on the roll.  When the roll is called up yonder, we who believe will be there!  Your gifts, your calling are there with God- before you were formed in the womb God knew you and appointed you.  Wherever you go, God has gone ahead of you and prepared the way.  At Christmas in my house we have a big treasure hunt- everyone gets clues with verses on them, and at the end of the last clue there is a gift.  God has gone ahead of us and has planted clues to Himself all around you.  He has also planted little clues to point you in the right direction of your life.  But you have to open your eyes and look! 

II. GOD HAS A RIGHT TO CHOOSE- Many people object to election  because they say it takes away from human freedom.  But in its place they would take freedom away from the Creator of the Universe- including freedom to achieve His purposes in our lives, and His freedom or right to choose.

            There is this almost natural part of us that doesn’t want God to do anything with us.   It is almost like we feel like God hasn’t the right to do anything, and for the Creator of the universe to impose his purpose, or a plan upon us somehow is wrong.  But in six different places in scripture God asks through the prophets- does the pot have a right to question the potter?  Does the one who is formed say to the one who formed it “He knows nothing?” (Isaiah 29:16).  Does not the creator have a right to do what he wants with His creation? Romans 9:21 says, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pots for noble purposes and some for common use?”   There is a sense that for us to not trust God, to constantly question and doubt him is not only prideful and unhealthy, but it is also very sad- showing we think we know better than the Creator.   Does the architect have a right to choose what materials are used in the building?   It is comforting to me to know that God, who knows far more than I am is in charge of choosing and not me or not you.  Jeremiah points to his choice as being based in the great knowledge of God- “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you and appointed you.”   Oftentimes when I have messed up it is because I didn’t know all the factors.  If I had just been smarter I at least had more of a chance to not mess up.  When you go to choose a car, wouldn’t it be great to know whether that car will be a lemon or not?  We try to cut down on the chances by mechanical inspections, car faxes, but it could still break down as soon as the warranty runs out.  We cannot know the future when we make our choices.  The good news is that God knows all things.  It is not that he knew us and therefore chose us.  It is that He knew us and chose us anyway.   The question in my mind is not why doesn’t God choose everyone but why does God choose anyone at all?  We’re all lemons. The image Jesus uses is of branches that are engrafted into the vine.  The vinedresser chooses the branches to be engrafted.  You and I who believe are some of the ones he has chosen.

III. WE SHOULD BE GLAD THAT GOD CHOOSES-

By ourselves we would not come- Jesus said “No one comes to me unless the Father draws them.”   God calls to everyone, but many refuse to hear.  Jesus said many have ears but do not hear.  They have eyes but do not see.  Many are blind to the things of God.  I know when I really believed, it was like my eyes were open and I could see God’s hand in things that I couldn’t imagine before.  The Christmas and Easter stories were totally different because I had faith.  God is the one who opens the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf.  Ephesians 2 says we are dead in our sins- and dead people can’t respond.  God makes us alive to Him.  I am glad He does that.

            The Baptist preacher, CH Spurgeon said, “I believe the doctrine of election because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I would never have chosen Him;  and I am sure that He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love.”

            I am glad God has chosen.  But I am reminded of Fiddler on the Roof- the story of a Jewish family facing persecution in Russia.  After one time of persecution the father looks up and says, “Lord I know we Jews are your chosen people; but next time—choose somebody else, please.”  Just because we are chosen doesn’t mean all goes well.   Jesus was the chosen messiah, but had to face a cross. 

IV.  OUR RESPONSE-

The difficulty comes when we respond in the wrong way.  Election is not some special status or privilege, but it is only the gateway to service.   We are elected to serve God.  We did not deserve election, God chose us anyway.  We should never presume upon our election.  The person who says “It doesn’t matter what I do I’m either elected or not” is not responding in a scriptural, humble way to God. 
How do you know if you are elected?  Our creeds and Calvin say that we cannot know if another person is elect or not.  We can only be assured of our own relationship and election with God.

ASSURANCE- The  Episcopalian  Prayer book says – “The godly consideration of predestination and our election in Christ is full of pleasant and unspeakable comfort to all who feel in themselves the working of God’s Spirit.” God’s Spirit is our source of assurance, and gives us certainty in our faith.

If you applied to graduate school and moved to a community to begin your work, you would be unable to settle down to real study until you were sure that you had been accepted and enrolled as a bona fide student.  When you know that when the roll is called up yonder and you’ll be there- then you can work on the work down here. 
II Peter 1:10- Be diligent to make your calling and election sure. 

            There also is a certain boldness in knowing you are God’s and God cares about you by name.  When John Knox of Scotland was threatened by Queen Mary, he said, “Madame, I have never feared the face of clay, even though that face belonged to a queen.”  Martin Niemoller, German pastor in Berlin would say to Hitler (who wanted to tell the churches of Germany what to do)- “Not even you Herr Hitler can take the church’s responsibility away.”  Election is our safety net- no matter how many problems, how many heart-aches we face.  Remember God has his eye on you and loves you.  He has called all of us to respond.  An old saying is that the elect are “whosoever will” and the non-elect are “whosoever won’t.”  How do human will and purpose fit together, this indeed is a mystery.  Amen.