5 Stages of Hope

The speaker discusses the importance of the cross and introduces a series of messages on the doctrine of Christ. They reflect on the struggles and difficulties faced throughout the year and emphasize the need for grace, faith, and hope in Christianity. The speaker then delves into a passage from Romans chapter 8, discussing the concept of hope and the five stages of hope. They address the misconceptions and fears surrounding predestination and emphasize the assurance of salvation. The first stage of hope is God's wisdom, characterized by foreknowledge and the omnipresence of God. It is about the cross, and that's the reason that we are here today, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. How many of you, this is the last Sunday of the year, and I'm starting a series of messages next Sunday. We're going to look at just basically two verses over the next five or six weeks, but we're going to look and study the doctrine of Christ. And so I wrestled and wrestled, but do I want to introduce it today and start that process, or do I not? I kept going through different things, and then I was doing my Bible reading this week, and a passage of Scripture just really laid heavy upon my heart, and I said, man, this is going to be the perfect passage to end with for this year. And it's in Romans chapter 8, Romans chapter 8, because, you know, as I look around this congregation this morning, I look at individuals that we have all had struggles, we've all had difficulties, we've all had unplanned things that have happened this year, unexpected things. We've had illnesses, we've had deaths, we've had all kinds of things that have happened this year. And sometimes, you know, we thought, well, it's 2020, man, if we can ever get that in the rearview mirror, then life is going to be great again. It just seems like every year there's something else that kind of takes the place or renews that from there. And so this morning, I want to speak to you this morning on the five stages of hope. Five stages of hope. And I want you to remember three words that deal with Christianity. One is grace. We have to have grace. And in Christianity, we talk about grace. But the other one is faith, as we did our Scripture reading this morning. For by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it is a gift, which is grace of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And then the third word I want you to focus on this morning is hope. Because the next verse says, for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works. And isn't that really what all of us as Christians hope for? We hope that we will resemble Jesus Christ. We hope for that day that Christ will take this old sinful fleshly body, this sinful fleshly human being, and conform us into His image, and when we see Him, we shall be like Him. And so three words, grace, faith, and hope, all lead us to this stage of hope. If you have your Bibles this morning, in Romans 8, I want to begin reading in verse 24, but we're really going to settle in on verse 28 through verse 30 this morning. But I want to start back in verse 24, because it's kind of fascinating. And I know it's just a few years ago I preached through Romans, but this week it's doing my Bible study. It just hit me again, and this just jumped out of the Bible at me, because I've dealt with here the last couple of weeks some more individuals and preachers that are starting to get this idea of predestination, this idea that we call Calvinism, this idea that God has chosen some people to be saved and some people to be lost. And the problem that I'm seeing is, is that we have a lot of preachers today that are no longer giving invitations. We have a lot of preachers today that are no longer going out and witnessing and knocking on doors and sharing Jesus Christ with people, and it all is hidden because of this idea if God has already chosen those to be saved and those to be lost, it kind of frees me from the obligation of sharing the Gospel. It frees me from the obligation of the necessity that their blood could be on my hand if I don't share Jesus Christ with them. And because of this idea seeping into our churches and our pulpits today, we are seeing more and more people that are getting away from evangelism. We're getting away from the personal responsibility that you and I have as Christians to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And so with this culmination of things this Christmas as they hit me, but notice what verse 24 says. It says, for we are saved by hope. We are saved by hope. Now, we are saved by grace through faith is what Ephesians said, but Paul says we are saved by hope, and then he defines that. But hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, what does he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. It says likewise, likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray, for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are thee called according to His purpose. And notice the word thee, and I always talk about definite articles and stuff, and this is one of the problems that a lot of them jump off into, that these are called, these are special, these are definitely those that are there. But I think if you read the context of Romans chapter 8, he is not dealing with salvation. He's not dealing with those that are going to be saved. In Romans chapter 8, he's dealing with hope. He's already dealt with salvation back in chapter 5 and 6. Remember when he talked about we are sinners, but yet Christ died for us in Romans chapter 5 and verse 8, and then in chapter 6 it says, for the wages of sin is death, but what? The gift of God is eternal life, and so he's already went through salvation, and now he is getting to this part of hope. And so he refers to thee called. And so keep that underlined and in your mind, because we will deal with that here in just a minute. But notice verse 29, and these are the verses and words that you do not hear in Baptist churches very often, because a lot of people are scared because of the beliefs and the teachings and the falsehood that comes out of this. But notice what he said, for whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate. To be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He justified, them He also glorified. Now I want you to see this process. He starts with foreknowledge, and He ends up with glorification. And there is a process that we use to get there. And I'm calling it the five stages of hope, because back up in verse 24, He said we are saved by what? Hope. We don't see it, because when you ask Jesus Christ to save you, you don't see Jesus Christ coming down out of heaven, coming into your heart. You don't see, and some people don't even feel any different when the Holy Spirit comes in them. Some people don't experience tears or joy or anything that is there. But we know that Paul says that those that are saved are saved by what? Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And so it's not hope sometimes we don't see the reality of it. Sometimes we don't feel the presence of it. But I want us to understand that there is a process of hope that each and every one of us through salvation wish to obtain. And so remember them three words, grace, faith, and hope. The Scripture reading this morning was for by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, but as a gift of God, not of works, lest any one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus into good works, which God hath what? Before ordained that we should walk in them. And so now notice first of all, this passage is so many times abused and misused, and it's not even dealing with theology or even philosophy, but it's dealing with more about the spiritual experience that you and I as Christian believers go through and experience. That's what this passage of Scripture is talking about and doing. If you look at just simply pure logic and theology and apply it to this passage of Scripture, it does say that the called are those that God has chosen in time past to be saved or are not saved. And a lot of that comes because of a misunderstanding of God's foreknowledge that we will explain here in just a minute. But I want us to look at this passage, and I want you to see that we don't have to be afraid of this passage. This passage is very simple to understand. And what God wants us to understand and what God wants us to take to heart, what I think is the most encouraging thing for any of us going into 2024 and ending 2023, is that you can be assured of your salvation. You can sit down and rest in the fact that God has saved you, and once you are saved, you will always be saved. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. That's why He finishes this chapter. So with that in mind, notice first of all, His wisdom. The first step of hope, the first stage of hope, is God's wisdom. And it uses the word foreknowledge. Foreknowledge is seeing everything in the present. In other words, God is not confined to the past, present, or future. God is always present. When Moses was standing at Mount Sinai, remember when God called him and told him to go to Pharaoh? What did Moses say? Who shall I say sent me? And what did God say? I am present tense. Not the God of the past, not the God of the future, but the God right now. And so foreknowledge is seeing everything in the present. In other words, the past and the future, when you think about it, this concept deals with the omnipresence of God. Past, present, and future. God is always present. It's a divine attribute that He has that we don't understand. Because guess what? When it comes to my life, this concept is virtually impossible for me to understand. Why? Why is it so hard to understand the concept of omnipresence? One, it's because we acquire knowledge in the present, how? How do you acquire knowledge? How do you know anything? Based on your past observations, right? How many of you as a kid touched something that was a stove when it was hot? Mom told you it was hot, not to touch it, but you did what? You touched it anyway. Something in the past told you that what? I can trust Mom when she says the stove is hot, right? And so you apply that past experience to your present situation, and if I touch that stove in the past and it was hot, then if I touch it again, it's probably going to be still hot, right? And so the past brings us into the future, and it helps us to predict the future. It helps us to know tomorrow. How many of you have ever walked out and saw really dark clouds, the wind blowing, and got out into your vehicle and went to the store and got caught out in the rain? What happened the next time? You walk out your door and you look, it's cloudy, it's rainy, but it's not raining, but what do you do? You grab your umbrella just in case, right? See, that's foreknowledge. That's living in the present. But we can't understand that because it takes past experiences in order to predict the future. But God is always present. He had foreknowledge. He's always known. When Jesus Christ, and you go back to Genesis and before this world was ever created, God said what? Jesus Christ was the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the world. God already knew before He ever created man that Jesus was going to have to die. That's living in the present. That's why we can trust God. I don't know what tomorrow holds, but God does because He's already there. And when I get there, God's going to do whatever He needs to help me through that situation because He's already there. He's already preparing. He's already planning me for what is about to happen. Let me give you a few Scriptures on foreknowledge. Psalms 139 is probably one of my favorite psalms. But he says, O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest in the present. David is writing this. Thou knowest my down-sitting and my uprising. Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it all together. David is saying, you know what I'm going to say before I ever say it, and you know it when I say it. You already know everything. You're there in the present. Thou hast beset me behind and before and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain it. How in the world can we understand that God knows what we're going to do and what we're not going to do before we get up, before we lie down, before we ever do it? God says He's already there. He says, man, this just blows my mind. Now look down at verse 13. He talks about us as an individual. For Thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Thy works. Who's being praised for your creation? Your mom and dad? No, God was there in the womb. God was making you who you are and what you are. Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knoweth right well my substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest part of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned." In other words, God knew in the womb when He made you that you were not perfect. Mom and dad when you were born thought you were perfect, but it didn't take them but a day or two to realize, guess what? You're not as perfect as you seem. But God already knew it. And He says, "...which in continuance were fashioned." God knew how you was going to end up even now. Already. It's already set. It was already there. And then notice what He says, "...how precious also are Thy thoughts unto Me, O God, how great is the sum of them." See, God created you. He formed you. He fashioned you. He made you on this path. God loved you. Amen? God cares for you. You were not just something that happened. You were not just an experience that took place. God had His hand in your life. You had a purpose. So let's jump to the New Testament now. 1 Peter 1.20 "...who verily was foreordained..." There's that foreknowledge. Foreordained. In other words, a plan that is put into action before it takes place. "...it was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest revealed in these last times for you." Now, we know that the earth is approximately 6,000 years old since God first said, let there be light. And He says before 6,000 years ago, God already had a plan where Jesus Christ would come. But guess what? It wasn't until 4,000 years after creation until Jesus Christ was finally revealed and fulfilled to us. But yet, God knew it as if it was the day that it happened. You're beginning to kind of comprehend God's foreknowledge and what is going to happen. In Acts 2 and verse 23, it says, "...he Him..." Peter's preaching here, talking about Jesus Christ, "...being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." God was not caught off guard when Jesus Christ was crucified. God wasn't surprised when the scribes and the Pharisees turned on His Son. Why? Because God doesn't live in the past, present, and future. God lives in the present. And so He already knew it was going to happen. He already knew it was going to take place. In Romans 11, and this is pretty cool, because when you get to Romans 9, 10, and 11, you remember, what did He do? It's a parenthetical. And He stops. He talks about this hope of a believer in chapter 8, and then He goes and He explains it and gives a little-off illustration to the children of Israel in chapters 9, 10, and 11. And in chapter 11, He says this in verse 33, "...O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! You were not an afterthought on God. Your redemption was not an afterthought. You didn't all of a sudden mess up and sin one day, and God said, Oh no, I've got to do something about it. Just like Adam, the first man. You remember, go back to Genesis chapter 2. It says that Adam, God took some of the dirt of the ground and fashioned Adam. He made him. And He blew into his nostrils the breath of life. David said in Psalms 139 that God fashioned you in your mother's womb. He made you. He'd done it. And guess what? You are still a fulfillment of what God started there in the womb of your mother. You were known before you were ever known. God foreknew you. God knew there was going to be a Donny Haynes before Maxine and Judy ever knew there was going to be a Donny Haynes. That is His foreknowledge, His wisdom. But notice this is real. It uses the word predestined. Predestined means to determine beforehand. To determine beforehand. And this is the word that scares us to death, right? Because this is the word that points us to this idea that God has already determined our end result. And can I tell you that God has predestined you already? Paul uses the word, and I'm going to use the word. You have been predestined. The question is notice. It says in 2 Peter 3, verse 9, The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but as longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God predestinated every one of us to be formed and fashioned with a purpose. And God's will and purpose for your life is that you repent, right? Everyone has been predestined to repentance. Here's another Scripture. Let's go over to Revelation 13, verse 8, And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him whose names are not written in the book of the life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world. Now look, God in Revelation, is prophecy, right? It's a future event. But God doesn't live in the present, so He doesn't not see the future, but what? He lives in the present, so the future is as if it's already happened. And God says, guess what? Everyone will praise Him. And He says there are going to be those that are written in the book of life of the Lamb. There are going to be those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. If there are those that are written in the book, then guess what? There are going to be some that are left out of the book, right? But why are they left out of the book? Is it because God has determined that they would not be in there? Absolutely not, because God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So keep that in mind. Did God create Adam and Eve to mess up? No, He created them and put them in a beautiful garden in order that they may do what? Enjoy all the blessings of God and fellowship with God and walk with God and be caretakers over all of this earth. That was their purpose, but who messed it up? Adam and Eve messed it up, because they had two trees in the garden. The tree of the life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And when they made a choice, they chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and chose not to eat of the tree of life. And so when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then what did God do? He once again reached down to mankind and Adam and Eve showed them grace. He kicked them out of the garden and filled it so that they could not come in and eat of the tree of life and live forever in their sinful condition, because He had another plan that He had already come out. That Jesus Christ would die in their place. And so He was for the foundation of the world. Now notice John 3.16, because we all quote this, right? If you watch football games and they scan the screen, somebody in that place is going to have John 3.16 held up. Everybody, Christian and non-Christian alike, knows what John 3.16 says. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever does what believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now, I told you to remember three words this morning. Grace, faith, and hope. These first two, the witness of God and the will of God are both grace. Do you realize that you are here because of the foreknowledge and grace of God? He's the One that fashioned you in your mother's womb. He's the One that made you who He was. You didn't have anything to do with it. It was a gift. See, that's what grace is, is a gift. Your existence, you are a gift on this earth. God created you and gave you life. But you know what else? Also, not only in His foreknowledge, but also in His predestination, He has predestinated you to be saved, to be in His will, to follow Him. That's grace. How can a sinful person be as holy as God is holy? That's what we just got through celebrating at Christmas, right? Why do we give gifts? Because God has given us the greatest gift. How many of you got a Christmas gift this year? Raise your hand. Find out real quick who's been bad and who's been naughty, right? Be open and honest with me for just a minute. Did any of you earn that gift? We earn our paycheck, right? But a gift is grace. It's something that we don't earn. And so guess what? God has given us the ability to have a relationship with Him. That's grace. And so these first two things that He mentions here, foreknowledge and predestination, are both grace. You cannot do anything to affect either one of them. You can't stop your being created. You can try to commit suicide, but guess what? Your spirit and soul is going to live forever. You can kill this body, but you can't kill your spirit and soul. You can't do anything about the gift of life. You can't stop it. You also cannot do anything about what God has predestined you to be. Because God has done it. So they are both grace. And you can't do anything about a gift. The only thing you can do about a gift is when someone gives it to you, you don't receive it. Right? And then is it your gift? No. It doesn't become your gift until you open it and receive it. What is that? That's faith. Faith. Look at this third word here. Because here's where faith... Remember, for by grace, grace are you saved. Right? God has created you. God desires you to be saved. God wants you to be saved. God has given you every opportunity to be saved. Right? Amen? That's predestination. God has worked everything out for the purpose of you to be saved. And salvation comes upon repentance. And so God has done everything by grace. He's given it to us. But then look at His Word. Look at this called. The word called means to cry out in a loud voice. To command or request to come. Now remember, what did we say? All things work together for the purpose of God. To what? Those that be called. Be called. Be called. If you call me, and I don't answer or I don't reply, does it really matter that you called? If your phone rings, who has the ability to answer it or not answer it? Who controls that? You do. What is faith? Faith is trusting God, right? It's trusting God. And so look, here's where this called comes in. Here is the pivotal point. See, up until this point, it has just been grace, but now faith has to be applied. And notice what he says in 2 Thessalonians 2.14. We're in two. He called you. He called you. How did He call us? Talking about God. By our Gospel. What is the Gospel? The good news being preached. God called the people at Thessalonica through whose Gospel? The Gospel that Paul and them were preaching when they went to Thessalonica. To the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, how were the people at Thessalonica saved? Because they were chosen to be saved and the other people wasn't chosen? Not what Paul says. Paul said they were called how? By the Gospel. So in other words, when they called, how did they obtain? The only way you can obtain that gift that was given to you is by taking it, right? And trusting that it is yours and that it's what you want. That's faith. And so let's look at a couple more verses here, because this is where it gets good. Romans 3, verse 8. And it's all laid out here throughout the entire Bible. And not rather, as we be slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say, let us do evil that good may come. So what's he saying? He's saying there's people out there that says, well, why don't we just do what we want to do and be evil if God has already predestined us to be saved, right? That makes sense, right? Paul keeps coming back to that question over and over throughout the Romans. But then look what he says. Whose damnation is just. What is damnation? The second death, right? In Revelation, what does it say? Death and hell will be cast into what? The lake of fire. This is the second death. The definition of damnation is when you have been issued a penalty that you can't get out of. And so what happens? He said if you live doing evil, thinking that good is just going to happen, guess what? Your damnation is going to be just. In other words, what does just mean? It's going to be right and proper, right? You deserve it. If you go out and you speed and the cop pulls you over for speeding, why do we get mad at the cop for being there doing his job? You broke the law, right? Yesterday I was heading to a funeral and I looked down at my Google deal and I said I was going to be three minutes late. And I said, oh no, I've got to make up three minutes in 30 minutes. And the minute I put the accelerator down, all of a sudden it hit me. What in the world if I run into a cop? I said, well, you know what? I'm just going to have to lose that time and get paid for my ticket because I'll deserve it, right? And so if we do evil, but thinking that good may come out of it and we get a ticket, what do we do? That's justified because we knew we were breaking the law, right? What then? Are we better than they? Do you think you're better than anybody else to break the law and when you get caught breaking the law and you get penalized for it, think that you didn't deserve that? Paul says, no, in no wise, you're not better than anybody else. For we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin. Every one of us are sinners. And then he quotes Scripture. As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understand it. There's none that seek it after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are all together become unprofitable. There is none that do it good, no, not one. But here now, look at what he says in verse 8. Or down in verse 13. He says, "...their thoat is like an open sepulcher, their tongues they abuse for deceit. The poison of asthma is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood." In other words, what's happened? Because they're evil, they continue to get more evil. They don't get better. You don't let people get away with speeding and then tomorrow I'm not going to speed. What happens the next time I'm heading to Sheridan? There was no cops there on the road this time, so guess what? I got away with it last time, then I can go a little bit faster this time, right? That's the way our mentality works, right? Well, I did this and I didn't get in trouble or nothing bad happened, so I must continue to do it. We don't get better. We get worse. We try to go faster. We try to do things more. And that's what he's saying. He said, man, your mouth becomes full of cursing. Your throat is just an open sepulcher of deceit and lies and everything else. But then look at Proverbs. The wisest man in the world. Look at what he said. How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? I almost made my word this year for my word for the year simple. And then I read this. How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out My Spirit unto you. I will make known My words unto you. It sounds almost to me like people are living their life the way that they want to live, right? And God is calling out, right? God is trying to get our attention, right? Isn't that what that kind of sounds like? He said, turn you at My reproof. In other words, God is there correcting us, but we're ignoring Him. He says, if you will accept My reproof, you set My correction, I will pour out My Spirit unto you. I will make My words unto you. But then look at verse 24. Because I have called and you refused, I stretched out My hand and no man regarded. But you have set at naught all My counsel and would none of My reproof. I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then shall they call upon Me, but I will not answer. They shall seek Me early, but they shall not find Me. For they that hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would none of My counsel. They despised all My reproof. Therefore, shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices, for the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. God says how many times have I called? And you just wanted to do what you wanted to do. There's going to come a point, and there comes a point in every one of our lives that God is going to quit fooling with us. I'm going to call and invite you over for supper only a certain number of times, right? And eventually, if you keep telling Me, no, I've got something going on, I'm going to stop calling you to come eat supper. God's going to call you. And God is going to call you. But guess what? Now think back to all of His parables, and I don't have time to show you all these Scriptures, but how many times did Jesus Christ call and they didn't come? And what did He say? Go to the highways and the byways and the hedges and compel them to come in. See, He called, but they didn't answer. They had other things that were more important. But then how many of us all of a sudden when our life falls apart, when death hits us, when sickness hits us, when cancer hits us, then we want to call on God, right? Then we want God to step in and do something about our problems. But God says, guess what? The whole time I've been calling you, you wanted to ignore Me? He said, now it's too late to pick up the phone. I've done moved on. And so I'm going to laugh at your calamity. See, there's a consequence to not answering the phone. There's a consequence as to not accepting His grace. Look at what it says in John 3.17. Because the grace part is John 3.16. That's grace. The faith part picks up in verse 17. He says, "...for God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." God's desire is He gave His Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God has given everybody, whosoever, everyone grace. Right? Amen? But here's where the faith comes in. He didn't come to condemn the world, but look at verse 18. "...He that believeth on Him is not condemned." Do you believe Jesus Christ has given you grace? Do you believe the gift of salvation is for you? That's grace. Do you understand that God fashioned you in the womb for a purpose? To be with Him for an eternity. If you believe that, if you put your faith in that, then what? You will be saved. And therefore, you will not be condemned. But look at what he says, "...but he that believeth not is what? Condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." God created you. You're the sinner. But God had a plan for you. God had a plan to get us back out of sin. And He called you. Through His Word is proclaimed. His Word is preached. You read it. You hear it. You've heard it all of your lifetime. Guess what? It comes down to you get to make the choice. Are you going to answer the phone or not? Look at what he goes on to say in v. 19. And this is the condemnation. He explains to it. What is the condemnation that we get? That light has come into the world. Jesus has come into the world. But you love a world without Jesus. You love darkness. You love the world without Jesus rather than with Jesus because your deeds were evil. You like doing and living the way that you want to live and doing what you want to do. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light. Hateth Jesus Christ. Neither cometh to the light Jesus Christ lest his deeds should be what? Reproved. What did Solomon say in Proverbs? When God reproved you, you despised it. And so you turned from Him and lived how you wanted to live. But then when you decided to call on God, what happened? It was too late. It was too late. Now, look at v. 21. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light that his deeds may be made manifest. God, I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. Show me how much of a sinner I am. And so in order to do that, what do I do? I draw closer to Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ begins to open up my life. And what begins to happen? He begins to reveal all of this stuff that they are wrought in God. See, God didn't create me as the sinner. God created me perfect, but I sinned. I'm the one that messed up. I'm the one that cried when I wasn't hungry. I'm the one that just wanted attention and mom and dad to pay attention to me because I was selfish. I am the one that sinned. And so God begins to reveal this, how evil and how sinful I am. And then notice v. 22, after these things came Jesus and His disciples in the land of Judea, and there He carried with Him and baptized. Who did He baptize? Those that believed in Jesus Christ. Those that by faith accepted Him and believed that He was the answer. That's faith, isn't it? That's faith. John 1. Let me give you a quick example, and we're going to get through the last two very, very fast because this is the important one. But there's an example. You remember Philip and Andrew? When Jesus Christ started His ministry, it says, now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael and saith unto him, we have found Him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Now we just spent Christmas the last five weeks talking about the importance of Joseph being the adopted father of Jesus Christ because he lived in Nazareth. He was from Nazareth, but he was also of the lineage of David. Through Bethlehem. And so he goes. And look at what Nathanael said. Can there any good things come out of Nazareth? And look at what Philip saith unto him. Come and see. Now that's an invitation, isn't it? He's telling him about Jesus Christ. He said this is the one who Moses and the law talked about. This is the one that was born in Nazareth. This is the one that was born to Joseph. All of them 333 prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus Christ. Here He is. And Philip says, I don't believe you. There's nothing can come good out of Nazareth. And so what did Philip do? Come and see. He offered an invitation. He offered an invitation. Nathanael has the choice. Nathanael has the choice. He can either scoff and say, I don't believe anything good can come out of Nazareth. Or he can respond to the word of Philip and do what? Come and see. What did he choose to do? He made a choice. There's a fork in the road in life right here. Just like every one of us do. God gives us free will. Every one of us comes to forks all day long every day. You have a choice to make. You can either choose to answer what God has convicted you of and what the Holy Spirit is leading you, or you can choose what you want. Every day is filled with forks. But look at what he did. He goes and sees. So Jesus saith unto Nathanael, who's coming to him before he ever gets to him, but what is he doing? He's coming. He's answering. He's looking. He's seeking. He's looking for God. His mind is open. His heart is open. And saith unto him, Jesus says, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. What did he just say? He just said, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? And Jesus looks at him while he is coming to him and says, Oh, aren't you just a sinner? Oh, you are an Israelite indeed, right? My whole life God has called Israel to do what? To repent and believe Him. And here again, Philip is being the perfect... God has revealed Himself to him, and what did he say? It can't be true. It can't be true. And so Jesus... I mean, look at the ridicule. This is not a nice thing. He is confronting him. And look at what happens. He is making him recognize, I have given you grace and grace and grace, and yet you mock at me. You scoff at me. You are a sinner. And Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou... When did you know me? When did you know me? Because he's convicted, because what was the last thing he said? Nothing good come out of Israel. As Nazareth, Jesus is pretty good, isn't He? When did you know me? When did you know me? And Jesus answered and saith unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw you. And Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Look, Rabbi, Teacher, you've already taught me that I'm a sinner, that I am Gaal, that I have rejected God, I have rejected the signs of God. So he says, Rabbi, Teacher, you are the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. And Jesus answered and saith unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under a fig tree, believest thee? I saw thee under a fig tree. Thou shalt see greater things than this. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. What happened? Grace. Nathanael was formed in his mother's womb. God foreknew Nathanael would be at this situation. Because God lives in the present, right? And he saw him under the fig tree. He heard what he said. But he's in the present, right? He's in the present. And so what did he do? He convicted him of his sins. He was predestined as an Israelite to be blessed of God, right? But what did he do? He rejected God. And Jesus Christ did what? Confronted him of his sinning. And what did Nathanael do? He repented. He repented. And when he repented, he said, teacher, you are God. You are God. See, now what happened? He took grace, and he enacted that grace by faith. When that gift was handed to him, he accepted it. And then God said what? He gave him hope. He said, you think this is great? You come follow me, and I'm going to show you things that you've never even imagined before. That's hope, isn't it? That's what we are supposed to be living in after faith has been placed in Jesus Christ. Now, is it coming together for you? Who made the choice? Nathanael. He had a choice. There was a fork in the road. Look at verse 17. Jesus Christ, when He finishes writing the book of Revelation, the last Gospel, the last Word that was written down from God, He says this, The Spirit and the bride say, Come. Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst, Come. And whosoever, say that word with me, whosoever will let him take of the water freely. Now, if God has predestined me not to be saved, then how in the world in Revelation 22 can I be a whosoever? Right? So is man a liar? Or is God a liar? And what determines my salvation? When I am called, do I answer? When He tells me to come, do I come? When I am reproved, do I repent and believe? You see what happens with faith? Now, let's wrap it up right quick. I've gone a lot longer than I wanted to. Look at Romans chapter 2. It says, Now, let's wrap it up right quick. I've gone a lot longer than I wanted to. Look at Romans chapter 10. Verse 8. But what saith it? Because he's using Israel as an example here. The word is nigh thee. He's talking to Israel. Was Israel the nation that was given the laws? Yes. They had the whole Old Testament, right? They had the five books of Moses. He says you have heard the Word of God. It's even in your mouth. It's even in your heart. Remember what the Jews did? The Israelites? They wrote this creed down and they stuck it in a box right between their eyes. They carried it on their wrist. They had the Word with them. They kept it before them. They wrote it on the doorpost of their house. They knew the law. The Word of faith which we preach. What was the Word of faith? What would God preach to Israel? Over and over and over. If you read through the Bible this year, how many times did God tell Israel, if you obey Me, I will bless you. If you disobey Me, I will curse you. Right? That's what He said. So this is what He said. He said you have it. You have it. The only problem, I've given you all of this grace. Abraham was chosen from a nobody family who was the man that was old that couldn't bear children, but I was going to make him the father of a great nation. I have given you grace through the whole entire process. And all you have to do is simply believe and obey faith. And look what He says in verse 9, If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scriptures say it, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed, for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But there's a time period for that call. There's a time period. How many times in Israel's life did they mess up and sin? And the minute they repented, God forgave them and began to bless them again. Go read the book of Judges. Read 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, until finally they got to a point that what? No longer. There was absolutely no king that was good and God delivered them into captivity. And they still have not been a nation because why? When Jesus Christ came on the scene to deliver them completely out of bondage, they rejected Him. They rejected Him. Look at verse 14. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How shall you call on something you don't believe? How shall you believe in Him of whom you have not heard? How shall you hear without a preacher, someone telling you, a heralder, someone that shares what Jesus has done? And how shall you preach except you be sent? As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace. Notice what happened. How shall they call if they don't believe? You can't believe in Jesus Christ if you don't believe in Jesus Christ. How can you believe and sit in that pew if you don't believe that pew's going to hold you up? That's what he's saying. And he's saying, how shall you believe if you've never heard? Someone told you them pews are okay or else you've experienced that them pews are okay because you came in and you just sat down. And how shall you hear unless someone tells you? But, verse 16, they have not all obeyed the gospel. The good news. The message. For Isaiah said, Lord, who hath believed our report? Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But I say, have they not heard? Yes, Israel has heard the Word of God. Their sound went into all the earth and their words unto the ends of the world. They stood in the temple praying the Word of God. They went to the temple mound three times a year. Everybody knew what Moses wrote because of the Israelites. They were constantly repeating it. But I say unto you, did not Israel know? For Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Isaiah is very bold and saith, I was found of them that sought me not. I was made manifest, revealed unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, all day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gamesaying people. I say then, hath God cast away His people? Is God finished with Israel? And everybody says, no way! What does Israel have to do to get back into the graces of God? Repent and obey, right? So God's not through with them. And so look, God forbids. For I am also an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. You see what He said? God has not forgot Israel. He didn't say some of you will be Israelites and some of you wouldn't. Some of you can have blessings and some of you will have curses. No, He said what? Any of you at any time, if you repent and believe, you shall what? Be blessed. Right? And I will forgive you. Now, look, His witness. See, once you answer the call, once you answer the call, and I know I'm out of time this morning, then He uses the word justification. See, the calling part is up to you. That's faith. And then the rest of this is hope. Look at justification. You know what justification is? A reason, fact, circumstance, or an explanation that defends. In other words, when we say justification, what do we say? Just as if I've never sinned, right? Has any of us ever sinned? Yes, we have. So how in the world does Jesus look at us just as if I was sinning? Because why? He called. We responded. And what? He defends it. Who is seated at the right hand of the Father ever living to make intercession for me? Why would He need to make intercession for me? Because Satan goes to Him and says, do you see what Donny did this week? Do you see what Donny watched this week? Do you see what Donny heard this week? And yet, He's going to get up in the pulpit and preach to these people Sunday morning? And Jesus Christ looks over at Satan. Look, He says, but when I called Donny, He answered me. When I called, He answered. So therefore, shut up, because I have justified Him and He is without sin. That's hope, right? I don't understand that. How does God take me now that I'm a saved and how does He look at me as not being sinful? I can't explain it. That's a hope. And if I could explain it to you, it wouldn't be hope. Ain't that what He said back in verse 24? And so God has defended me. Look, and I will give you these Scriptures. If you want this, I'll give it to you later. It'll be on the website. But then He says you're glorified. This is what glorified. To cause to be or treat as being more splendid, excellent, etc., than would normally be considered. When I looked at that in the dictionary, guess what? We are glorified. None of us deserve to be what God has allowed us to become and what He has blessed us with. When we talk about the glory of God, Moses could not even look at the glory of God because of his own sinfulness. God said I'll put you over here in the cliffs of the mountain and I'll cover your eyes, and once I get by, I'll just let you see the shadow of Me. And with that shadow, it completely changed Moses' appearance. It completely changed his life that was there. And then when you go into this, then go back and read the last part of this. And I don't have time because I'm going to give you an invitation right now. I don't have time to do it, but it says, as it is written, we are killed all the day long. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, or any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's hope. That's hope. I haven't realized it yet. Because the Bible says when I see Jesus Christ, when the rapture happens, and we talked about it in Sunday school this morning, and I am caught up with Jesus Christ, John says when I see Him, I shall be like Him. And I will be completely glorified. But right now, guess what? It's my hope. And I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ that He is the One that is going to justify me. He is the One that is going to glorify me. And see, that hope comes back to grace. I don't deserve to be justified. I don't deserve to be glorified. But guess what? I trust Jesus Christ that He's going to do it. Now if that don't make you happy going into 2024, then you need to accept now. The question is if Jesus is calling, are you going to answer? He says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. He didn't choose some houses to go to and knock and some not. He said the Word has gone out. Everybody has heard. I stand at the door and knock. You are the One that has to go and open the door. And folks, if we really believe this, if we really believe this, and we really believe watching the signs and the times that Jesus Christ is about to come back, all of the weight of salvation is no longer left upon the individual in God, but it's left upon you, because how shall they hear unless someone goes and tells them? And when we go into 2024, if you really believe in hope and eternity and heaven like I think you do, then you ought to be at the same heart as God, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And wanted it so bad, He gave Himself to die. Who in 2024 are you willing to die for in order that they might be saved? Jesus Christ put it very boldly and bluntly that if you want to be My disciple, deny yourself, deny yourself, take up My cross, and follow Me. If we believe in hope because of grace and faith, then we're going to be evangelistic. But if I got in my mind that you know what? God has already chosen those that are going to be saved and those that are going to be lost, then guess what? I can sit around in this wonderful auditorium in my sanctified life and just go about life and preach the Gospel and pat myself on the back. Brother Donnie, boy, you didn't miss a single Sunday preaching the Word this year. And God's really pleased with me and God's really satisfied with me. And man, we had a few baptisms this year. God blessed. But folks, we can't be satisfied with that if we believe in hope. Because until somebody draws their last breath, God says I still stand before a knock. And there's always a chance. There's always an opportunity. The question is, and it comes back on you, he that believeth is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already. As we stand, I have a verse of invitation.