Predestination
Welcome, today. Let us pray.
“Oh Heavenly Father, Lord God, please be with us as we gather in your name to read your Word and to learn and grow in Spirit. Please allow your Word to feed our spirit and take a firm hold in our spirit so that we may be fertile soil to bring forth a mighty harvest for you and the Kingdom's sake. Please, Father, give us eyes to see, and ears to hear, with a spirit to understand what you want us to know. In Yeshua’s name, Amen!” We are currently discussing the five steps of an anointed life. You can find them here in Romans 8
“For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, so that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.” Romans 8:29-30
The first three steps are part of everyone’s life.
Foreknowledge- God foreknows you before you are even conceived.
Predestination - God sets up a plan and a purpose for you and your life.
Calling - God calls you out of the world and to Himself.
That is where you come in. Then, if you say “Yes,” then you have two more steps.
Justification - God takes time to prepare you and form you into the child of God He wants you to be.
Glorification - In the end, He will save you, bring you through death into life, and give you rewards for your faithfulness and obedience.
If you say "No," you cease to heed the call. You can live your life on earth however you choose, but in the end? Well, it may not end well for you. I'm sorry, but that's simply the truth. Let's not get ahead of ourselves; we are only on step two.
Predestination.“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
This is not just Jeremiah. This is you, me, everyone, whoever has been born. Turn to Acts 17:26
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, for
'In him, we live and move and have our being';
as even some of your poets have said,
"'For we are indeed his offspring.'” Act 17:26-28
God determined the optimal time and place for you to exist in His creation. He placed you here with a purpose already set. It is important to understand that you are not an accident. God created you exactly as He intended. He established a purpose and a plan for you and your life to serve in His Kingdom. If you have your Bible, please turn to Ephesians 1 and start at verse 3.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:3-6
There is a reason God created you the way He did, when He did, and where He did. You are part of God's plan to serve a specific purpose.
“In Him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he outlined in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” Ephesians 1:7-10
Look how Yeshua, or Jesus as translated, says it to us.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” John 15:16
You did not “find Jesus.” You did not “find God.” You would not even know where to look. You would not even know that you needed to look if God did not draw you out. If God did not call you. More on this step next time. Read that again if you have to.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you.” Back to Ephesians 1. Verse 11
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Ephesians 1:11-14
It is all about Him. We read this in John 1
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3
Yeshua was there in the beginning, and
“All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” That includes you. Me. All of us. Look how Paul puts it in his second letter to Timothy.
“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he can guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.” 2 Timothy 1:8-12
Read that part again. I do not want you to lose sight of this truth.
“who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” This is all of us. Yes. We are not all called to be Preachers or Apostles. However, we all do have a plan and a purpose.
“The LORD has made everything for its purpose,
even the wicked for the day of trouble.” Proverbs 16:4
Turn to Colossians 3. Start at verse 8
“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.”
We are no longer of this world. You have heard the saying before, “in the world, not of it.” This is us. We are in the world, but we are no longer of the world. At least we should not be.
“Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
We should, as children of God
“Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Remember, Yeshua gave us a new command.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” John13:34-35
Back to Colossians 3 verse 14
“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
Not just a day a week. But ALWAYS. Daily. Be thankful for everything from life to life everlasting and all things in between.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:8-17
Now that God has created you. He predestined you. The next step is where you come in. He calls you. This is what we will discuss next time.
For today. I will assume you said “Yes.” You said this prayer.
“Oh, heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Yeshua's sacrifice for me. I believed He rose from the dead. I repent of my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Yeshua, Amen!"And you have indeed
"have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10
Then the most common question is, “How do I know? How do I know what God’s plan and purpose is in my life?” All believers are called to the purpose of loving God and loving others.
Prayerfully reflect on how your love for God, as well as your love for others in your home or the world, can grow and be expressed more fully in words and actions. All believers are called to the purpose of making disciples. Yeshua told His disciples,
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
Consider how the attitudes, words, and actions others see in you are a witness to the new life available to them through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All believers also have the purpose to grow in Christlikeness and bear fruit to God’s glory. Yeshua said this.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:5,8
Are you bearing little or no fruit? Are you seeking God’s direction and power to begin to grow and act according to His will? Have you even tried to ask Him? Read His Word? Grow? Now, having said all that, there is also a general purpose specific to you and your daily life. All of us, as children of God, must intentionally focus on fulfilling God’s will in various areas of our daily lives. This is a general purpose for all believers, but the path you take to reach it will be specific to you, your family, and your life situation.
We often overlook how our daily choices, tasks, and interactions can glorify God, benefit our interests, or seem insignificant. The state of our spirit, heart, and mind not only affects our influence on others but also shapes their perception of God. Various aspects of our lives can impact our ability to reach our goals and fulfill God’s purposes for us in different ways.
Pray. Spend time with God. Read this {Holding up the Bible}. Spend time with God. Be quiet. Slow down. Listen. Seek. Ask. Knock. God is waiting for you. He is ready to love, teach, nurture, and care for your every need.
One last point here. Be honest with yourself. Do you already know? Seriously, do you already know what God wants from you and your life? Do it. If God truly is calling you for a specific plan or purpose, and He is, then why would He not tell you? Chances are, He already has.
Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Yeshua is Lord!