Shaken Awake - Predestination and Election – It’s From God, Not Calvin!

Let me first start off by saying that this is a topic in which I've been praying on and about for more than a year and a half now and it's taken me until this very moment to be able to have the wisdom the knowledge the confidence and the green light from God to speak on this very topic. For this is a topic that has been spoken of for hundreds of years and to this very day is either not preached whatsoever in the churches because they either do not fully understand or grasp the meaning behind it and/or most are afraid so preach on this subject. This is a subject that has caused strife among the church and the members of the church for hundreds and hundreds of years and as of today it still causes strife and confusion and infighting and lack of understanding amongst the majority of professing Christians alike. T

Therefore, I do not take this subject lightly not only because of what Revelations warns of by adding or subtracting from the word of God but also because there are fine lines between what is right and what is almost right. I'm relying on God and the Holy Spirit to provide me the wisdom and the words to share with you today so that those that aren't aware become aware and those that have been misinformed can for once be rightly informed and for those that have misunderstood this topic for some time now can be enlightened and provided new wisdom to seek out in the word of God on this topic. The topic is on predestination and election.

I’m going to be providing scripture to back up what I say, but I’m also going to be using analogies as I often do and comparisons as I often do. At the end of the day, if you don’t buy what I’m saying, all I ask you to do is to seek out what you don’t understand and do not listen and believe me; rather, seek the truth from the very Word of God that I speak to you from today, and ask God and the Holy Spirit for discernment and wisdom and knowledge that the human mind – your mind – simply won’t get on its own, by the very nature of us being flawed.

My goal for as many of you as God will allow, is to have knowledge you didn’t have prior to this episode, and to fully realize what has taken place before the earth was formed, is still happening today, and how this will play out in eternity. Only God knows His ultimate plans – most times, we’re along for the ride with the Bible as our guide from Him. There are many mysteries, and this is but one of them. I truly believe that once this podcast is done, you’ll have a new understanding – one of relief and joy, and not one of despair and frustration.

Show Notes

Thank you so much for tuning in and Welcome everyone – Hope you’re well! I’m your host, Ben Lively, and you’re listening to “Shaken Awake” – Episode #53!

I just want to thank you for tuning in with us today, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing right this very moment. It means everything to me to share the messages that God’s lays on my heart to share.

And, as always, I promise you another great show – But, more than anything, my HOPE for you today, and always, is that you have an actual encounter with the Lord, not just another podcast episode.

Quick ask – if you’ve found value in these episodes, would you take 30 seconds after the show to go to submit a quick review and star-rating in your app. This is what potential listeners look for when deciding whether to give a show a listen – which is confirmation from other listeners that it can bring value. Would you do that for me, IF and only IF you find value in these episodes? I can’t thank you enough.

So, without further delay, let’s get ready to invite God in with us, right here, right now and allow Him to speak directly to your heart and minds.

So, today’s topic is on “Predestination and Election – It’s From God, Not Calvin”

Many contribute John Calvin and Calvinists for arbitrarily twisting the word of God to fit their narrative on this subject. For today’s episode – I’m not going to point out any flaws of Calvinistic doctrine. For every man-made doctrine is flawed to some degree. The only doctrine that is not flawed, but PERFECT, is the doctrine held within the Holy Bible. So, any preconceived notions on Calvinists and what they believe is irrelevant, so after today’s podcast on this topic, you will be able to discern for yourself, which doctrine relates, which do not, and ultimately, what God and the Holy Bible say.

For me, this all started when a pastor friend and co-worker mentioned predestination and election to me in a short conversation we had in my office. To get right to the point, I didn’t believe him. For one, I had never heard those two words mentioned in the Bible (because I had never read it – duh, right?) and because I’d never heard those words spoken in any church. Lastly, when he explained both to me, it was a concept I had never heard before or imagined. And since I’m a skeptic at heart, I immediately was intrigued and set out to prove him wrong. Little did I know the rabbit trail I would discover, not only through the sermons of Charles Spurgeon, who was brave and bold enough to speak at length, many times over on both, but most importantly – I discovered for myself inside the very Word of God and with the ultimate help of the Holy Spirit, that it’s not only true – it’s a big part of God’s plan for the world and for the new earth and new heaven He has planned for us yet that has not yet come to pass, but will.

I’m going to be providing scripture to back up what I say, but I’m also going to be using analogies as I often do and comparisons as I often do. At the end of the day, if you don’t buy what I’m saying, all I ask you to do is to seek out what you don’t understand and do not listen and believe me; rather, seek the truth from the very Word of God that I speak to you from today, and ask God and the Holy Spirit for discernment and wisdom and knowledge that the human mind – your mind – simply won’t get on its own, by the very nature of us being flawed.

My goal for as many of you as God will allow, is to have knowledge you didn’t have prior to this episode, and to fully realize what has taken place before the earth was formed, is still happening today, and how this will play out in eternity. Only God knows His ultimate plans – most times, we’re along for the ride with the Bible as our guide from Him. There are many mysteries, and this is but one of them. I truly believe that once this podcast is done, you’ll have a new understanding – one of relief and joy, and not one of despair and frustration.

So let’s first begin with the obvious – what does human terminology consider predestination and election to be, by definition:

Predestination - of God) destine (someone) for a particular fate or purpose.

"Calvinists believed that every person was predestined by God to go to heaven or to hell"

· determine (an outcome or course of events) in advance by divine will or fate.

"she was certain that fate was with her and everything was predestined"

Elect - 1: carefully selected : CHOSEN

2: chosen for salvation through divine mercy

3a: chosen for office or position but not yet installedthe

b: chosen for marriage at some future time the bride-elect

So what we have is the notion that God had predestined – before the Earth was formed, who would and would not be saved. Who would and who would not got to Heaven. Who would and would not go to hell. The elect would be those groups chosen for either route – heaven or hell. To spend their time on earth doing His will, or those doing evil. The entire premise, on a human-level was that we (you and I) we chosen by God to be His or we were Chose by God to NOT be His. You with me? Most of you, like I was, if you’re not aware of this – are more than likely, at this very moment, ready to shut this podcast off because it sounds ludicrous. Some of you are finally shaking your head up and down. Good. So stay with me, you will not be disappointed or misled. Here’s one last thing I ask of you. Listen to the very end. If you need to break, please come back. Every word spoken today from the first to the last is imperative for the spirit behind this subject and message. Trust me on one thing – Satan does NOT want you to hear this message!!!!!! Nor do many pastors.

Few doctrines in the history of American religion have caused such a stir, to the point of fighting and yes, even to the fist. And yet, there it stands, in the plainest and most unapologetic of terms, in Ephesians 1:5 - “In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.” And again 6 verses later: “In him (Christ) 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.” Those Ephesians texts, along with Romans 9, much of John 6, and Jesus’s high priestly prayer in John 17 overthrew my pre-conceived notions and personal definition of free-will theology two years ago. Acts 13:48 gave the knockout punch, which states, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word ofthe Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”

Disputed and despised though it may be, predestination and its relative, election, are plainly taught in Scripture, and every interpretation and explanation for scriptural text must make peace with it.

Many evangelicals, including pastors, see this doctrine as best “left alone, forbidden theological fruit, filled with speculation.” It’s just not practical, they say and argue. It’s a debate for seminary classes with no real bearing on the full-court press of everyday life.

But John Calvin, the pastor-theologian mistakenly credited with inventing predestination, argues to the contrary:

“This great subject is not, as many imagine, a mere thorny and noisy disputation, nor speculation which wearies the minds of men without any profit; but a solid discussion eminently adapted to the service of the godly, because it builds us up in sound faith, trains us to humility, and lifts us up into an admiration of the unbounded goodness of God toward us, while it elevates to praise this goodness in our highest strains.”

Lorraine Boettner, author of perhaps the most extensive single volume ever written on predestination, agrees:

“This is not a cold, barren, speculative theory, not an unnatural system of strange doctrines as many people are inclined to believe, but a most warm and living, a most vital and important account of God’s relations with men. It is a system of towering but practical truths which are designed and adapted, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, to mold the affections of the heart and give right direction to conduct.”

Predestination is a GODLY doctrine, not a Calvinistic doctrine! Its beauty lies in the fact that our holy God has revealed it to us. And, as Calvin and Boettner point out, it has significant practical application. Predestination is not merely a topic for discussion and debate among curious seminary students. It tells us much about the character of God:

God is meticulously writing the story of history according to His own script. Though we speak of “accidents,” really, there are no accidents. Nothing will take place today that hasn’t been carefully planned in eternity past by an all-powerful and good Creator.
God loves sinners. We should never get over the stunning reality of this statement. Though we have rebelled against him, God sent his only Son to die in the place of sinners to rescue them from sin and death (Rom. 5:8). Christ, who was not guilty, laid down his life for the guilty (1 Pet. 3:18). He bore the wrath we deserve.
God uses means to achieve his ends. Our Lord selects weak clay pots and sends them to the ends of the earth to preach the good news of his rescue mission in Christ (Rom. 10:14–15). He gives fallen men the inconceivable privilege of proclaiming His sin-slaying, death-defeating gospel.
God’s glory is ultimate, not man’s. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. God made us for his glory (Isa. 42:8). Every pursuit in life is to be done with an eye to the spread of his fame.

Predestination also says something important about us: apart from a one-sided work of grace, we cannot please God. We are dead in our sins, and dead men can do nothing (Eph. 2:1). Therefore, we ignore predestination to our own spiritual starvation.

Here are 3 ways this often highly and often criticized doctrine puts armor into our spiritual backbones.

1. Predestination means our salvation is as secure and settled as the God who selected us

If our inheritance is rooted in God—who chose us before the beginning of time—then we cannot fall away. We did nothing to gain it. We can do nothing to lose it because we won’t (Rom. 8:31–39). By his grace, God’s people will persevere to the end, through many dangers, works, and traps. This truth is a relief of comfort to saints who are wearied by the daily struggles of life, whose spiritual legs may be weakened by the daily war within and without. The God who chose you will surely keep you (John 10:28).

Calvin writes:

For there is not a more effectual means of building up faith than the giving our open ears to the election of God, which the Holy Spirit seals upon our heart while we hear, showing us that it stands in the eternal and immutable goodwill of God toward us; and that, therefore, it cannot be moved or altered by any storms of the world, by any assaults of Satan, by any changes, by any fluctuations or weaknesses of the flesh. For our salvation is then sure to us when we find the cause of it in the breast of God.

2. Predestination means our salvation is eternally grounded in a sovereign, good God; therefore, our sufferings, our sorrows, our persecutions, and our defeats are not an accident.

God is not taken off-guard when we suffer. As Charles Spurgeon put it, “All the hounds of affliction are muzzled till God sets them free.” And, of greater importance, as Paul famously put it in Romans 8:28, “God causes all things to work together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose.” God is never late. He never gets the wrong address. Though you may never fully understand it, your hurt and pain is God’s instrument in his unrelenting mission of remaking you into the image of his Son. God’s absolute sovereignty united with His goodness is the best medicine for human anxiety.

3. Predestination should humble us and make us thankful, not bitter, fearful, or always relenting for debate.

Why did God choose to adopt me into his family? Why am I a Christian and (at least for now) my neighbor is not? Why was I born to parents who valued the church and treasured God’s Word even though I was mistreated and had a terrible childhood? Why do I have the inexpressible privilege of preaching God’s truth every Sunday?

I can’t explain any of it except as Scripture does: It was the kind intention of His will (Ephesians 1:5). I did not—could not—save myself. That it pleased God to do so should humble me and put thanksgiving on my lips every moment—because God did it all, I did nothing. My life could’ve been radically different, but because of His grace, it’s not. God has been good to me, has suffered long with me, and I must extend the same grace to others, particularly brothers and sisters in Christ who have yet to fully struggle with this doctrine.

Like many others, when I first encountered predestination, and election, I immediately thought: “But that’s not fair. How could a loving God choose some and not others?” Those questions are all too common. But God, true to His character, was tender and patient with me. He eventually gave me eyes to see the beauty and life-stabilizing force of this unfathomable biblical principle.

If God had given me what I demanded—justice—then I would be receiving the wrath my sins deserve this very moment. But he has given me—and millions of others along His ever-unfolding timeline of history—something no human deserves: mercy. And there is nothing we need more.

Predestination and election, unlike what hyper-Calvinists may think or believe, does NOT equate to allowing us to do whatever we want, with total disregard to the Father – for that is not what a truly saved, truly repentant, truly predestined, truly elect member of the body of Christ would do – it is one that will hear the words, “Depart from Me – I never knew you; you worker of lawlessness.” It is not a Calvinistic doctrine – the true doctrine of predestination and election is one of God’s doctrines, to which he gives an extreme number of examples throughout His Word of both.

We cannot tell if someone is predestined for salvation, Heaven, or Hell. We don’t know and won’t know until we see those who make it to Heaven with us, or not, who was truly predestined as a child of God, or a child of this world. There are many examples, the most famous of all - the thief on the cross. He was predestined and was elect – for God’s will and purpose. My personal believe is that he was chosen for one purpose – to be the biggest example of faith through grace and through the gift of salvation that there ever was. And his infamous story lives on to today and will forevermore, until the end of the ages. His one, last act on Earth was enough to show that it is never over, until you take your last breath. And therefore, we never give up trying to help preach and love the lost – for we are not to know who is predestined and the elect, and who isn’t. It is the will of the Father that we follow His path set before us, and run the race until the end, loving Him with all of our heart and all our neighbors as ourselves.

Here is one proof from the doctrine of predestination and election I believe you will ALL appreciate immensely – if you’re saved right now, and you have become a child of God – guess what? YOU ARE ONE OF HIS ELECT. YOU WERE PREDESTINED BEFORE THE EARTH WAS FORMED TO BE AN HEIR TO HIS KINGDOM! Doesn’t that melt your heart!?!!??!? It does mine!!!! All those times I should’ve died – hundreds and hundreds of times – all those times I got so high on so many things or drove beyond drunk in the middle of the night and couldn’t even see straight, all those times I was living the life that was the most pleasing to the devil – all those times I was leading others astray and headed to hell – GOD had a plan and was sticking to it, even though I wasn’t and had no idea He had already elected me. I couldn’t die and I couldn’t go to hell because that was not His will. Had it been, I wouldn’t be here hosting this podcast right now, proclaiming His mighty name and His mighty power to you all week after week after week. THAT was His plan! THIS is His plan for my life – he had me go through hell for half my life and then live as though I was born from hell for the other half of my life – in order to come out saved by His grace and gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ that I may preach the goodness of Him who created me and saved me before the first drop of water was formed on the Earth! Many are called, but few are chosen! My friends, if you are saved today and believe in God and love Him with all you heart and soul and others as yourself – you are the chosen!!!!!! I am the chosen!!!!! The Bible tells us this is so. Not me; God. Not Calvin; God. Not only Paul, and Matthew, and Luke, and Jesus, but also God. This is the promise and proof of predestination and election – you and I are it. Those that died without being saved, were not. There are people that God has created for His purposes and they will not inherit the Kingdom; we will not know the reasons why until we are in Heaven and can see Him and His plans for what they were from the beginning – and THEN, IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE TO US. Until then, we have the Bible and the Holy Spirit to guide us with wisdom, understanding, and love.

God knew before He created the Earth, who would hear His calling and come to Christ and kneel at the cross, believe, and be saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit. Conversely, He knew who would not. He still created both. Be happy and proud and forever grateful and loving, that He created you knowing you would be one of His elect. There is nothing that will ever take you out of His loving arms – you are protected and loved just the same today, as you will be tomorrow, and for eternity with Him. What He asks is for us to seek the lost, and help guide them to the knowledge and wisdom He has since provided you, in order that they may also hear his calling and come to be saved, just as you are – if they are predestined and are of His elect, they WILL be. Just like the thief on the cross – they have until their last, dying breath to say Yes to Jesus, so don’t ever quit or give up on the lost – they may just have “His Elect” etched on their soul.

I’m going to start out with examples from all of the Bible on both predestination and election as the foundation of this message, and also the only TRUTH we can ever rely on in our lifetime.

Bare with me and please listen closely – here are what I consider to be the 53 most potent verses that prove predestination and election, which will also prove to you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that what I spoke of up until this point is backed by God’s very Word:

Romans 8:28-29

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Ephesians 1:4

Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Ephesians 2:8-10

For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

John 6:37

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Ephesians 1:4-6

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 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.

2 Timothy 1:9

Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,

2 Thessalonians 2:13

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Luke 10:22

All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

2 Timothy 2:10

Therefore, I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Romans 9:15-18

For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Acts 13:44 - 48

44 The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 But when the Jews[d] saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him. 46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.

Romans 8:30

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 11:7

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,

John 6:44

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 15:16

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.

Proverbs 16:4 –

The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

John 10:27-29

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Luke 18:7

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

2 Timothy 2:25

Correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

Ephesians 2:1-10

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— ...

Ephesians 1:11

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,

John 17:24

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

John 5:21

For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Mark 13:20

And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

Psalm 37:28

For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

Revelation 13:8

And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Titus 1:1

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness,

Philippians 1:6

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Romans 11:5

So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

Romans 9:21

Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

John 6:37-45

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

1 Thessalonians 1:4

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,

1 Corinthians 2:14

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Proverbs 21:1

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

Acts 11:18

When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Matthew 22:14

For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Ephesians 1:5

He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

1 Corinthians 12:3

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3:5

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.

1 John 5:19

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

John 3:6

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

1 John 2:2

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

2 Peter 1:10

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall.

2 Thessalonians 2:14

To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:3-10

Remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ...

John 6:45

It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14

But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:4-7

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

Colossians 1:13

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

Galatians 1:15

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,

Galatians 1:15-16

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

So, in closing, my final statement is this: You will never fully understand God’s overall plan for this world; in fact, it often takes a lifetime of obedience and relationship with Him to find out His will for YOUR life and to abide in Him to run the race He’s set before you, and to stay on the long, narrow path that few find, that lead to life. Find great comfort and security in this life, now that you know this wasn’t happenstance or by chance, but by His predestination and election of you and your life, that you would be chosen to become one of His children and inherit the Kingdom. What do you have to fear?

So, my final questions to you is this: How does this impact you in your walk with Him moving forward? What questions does this doctrine now bring to your heart and mind? How much are you now equipped to handle the will of the Father for your life, and how much more is your time here on earth now worth, knowing what was planned for you to do, before the very foundation of the earth was formed? How much more serious did meaning of life just become for some of you? I hope significantly, as was the case with me.

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So, before we end today’s show, I just want to thank you all again for tuning in and I HOPE you were touched by today’s message and scripture. If you’d like to reach out to me, please call me directly at 4074933208, email me at ben@shaken-awake.com, or check out the show at shaken-awake.com.

Next week!!!! Tune in Next Sunday – or WHENEVER YOU’RE ABLE, as we discuss “True Repentance is Not Asking For Forgiveness Over and Over Again”

Next week’s episode is another powerful and DO-NOT-MISS episode – thanks for joining!

Until next week, take great care of yourself and each other, and God Bless You all.

Predestination and Election – It’s From God, Not Calvin!

Predestination and Election – It’s From God, Not Calvin!

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