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🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 🎵Music🎵 Alright everyone, welcome to Shield of Faith Baptist Church Wednesday evening prayer and Bible study. If you would please grab the red song books and the seat in front of you. And turn the song 164. 164, praise him, praise him. 🎵Music🎵 Starting there on the first. Praise him, praise him, Jesus our blessed redeemer. Sing, O Earth, his wonderful love proclaim. Hail him, hail him, highest archangels in glory. Strength and honor give to his holy name. Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard his children. In his arms he carries them all day long. Praise him, praise him, tell of his excellent greatness. Praise him, praise him, ever in joyful song. Praise him, praise him, Jesus our blessed redeemer. For our sins he suffered and bled and died. He our rock, our hope of eternal salvation. Hail him, hail him, Jesus the crucified. Sound his praises, Jesus who bore our sorrows. Love unbounded, wonderful deep and strong. Praise him, praise him, tell of his excellent greatness. Praise him, praise him, ever in joyful song. Praise him, praise him, Jesus our blessed redeemer. Heavenly portals, plow in those annals ring. Jesus, savior, reign in forever and ever. Crown him, crown him, prophet and priest and king. Christ is coming over the world victorious. Power and glory unto the world belong. Praise him, praise him, tell of his excellent greatness. Praise him, praise him, ever in joyful song. Amen. Brother Mo, would you open with a word of prayer please? Amen. If you would please go forward to 179. 179, such love. On the first that God should love a sinner Such as I should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss Nor rest till he hath planned to bring me none. How wonderful is love like this. Such love, such wondrous love. Such love, such wondrous love that God should love a Savior such as I. How wonderful is love like this. That Christ should join so freely in the spirit Although it meant his death on Calvary Did ever human tongue find no perfume And loved divine that ransomed me. Such love, such wondrous love. Such love, such wondrous love that God should love a Sinner such as I. How wonderful is love like this. That for a willful outcast such as I The Father planned, the Savior bled and died Redemption for a worthless slave to buy Who long in law and grace defied. Such love, such wondrous love. Such love, such wondrous love that God should love a Sinner such as I. How wonderful is love like this. And now he takes me to his heart of Son He asks me not to fill a servant's place A far off country, wonder tall or dying Wide open are his arms of grace. Such love, such wondrous love. Such love, such wondrous love that God should love a Sinner such as I. How wonderful is love like this. Alright, well good evening. Welcome to Shield of Faith Baptist Church. If you need a bulletin or a pen just raise your hand and keep it up. We'll have somebody get you one. Alright, well let's go through these announcements here real quick. Front page of the bulletin, weekly church service times. Sunday morning services at 1030. Sunday evenings at 6 and Wednesdays at 7pm. Underneath there is a list of our soul winning times. So we have Saturday mornings at 1030 meeting right here. Sunday afternoons at 2 with brother David. Mondays at 630 with brother Mauser. Wednesdays at 11 with brother Briley. And Thursdays around 630. 208-391-5323 is the number to call. Praise report for July. So we are at 2. Or 3 right? 2. Which is 60 year to date. So let's see here. Two Sundays ago we had 37 in attendance Sunday morning and 28 in the evening. And 30 on Wednesday and we had 17 soul winners out in the community. So praise God for that. Back page, back page. So this coming Sunday evening will be in 2 Samuel chapter number 7. Let's see here. We already did the barbecue. Okay so next week. Next week is the Red Hot Preaching Conference week. So next week's Wednesday service will be changed from Wednesday to Tuesday. Same time. 7 o'clock. And it's just for next week only. So don't forget about that. Birthdays and anniversaries for July. Mine and Jessica's anniversary is on the 17th. And the next birthday after that is Kai Lin. There she is. So she's going to not sing for us. And if the rest of these birthdays are not correct, just let me know. This week's memory verse is James chapter 1 verse 2 which says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. And we are a family integrated church. And what that means is children and infants are always welcome in the service. However, if you need privacy, we have a daddy baby room right over here to your left. The mother baby room is now across the hallway. Just follow the lavender and it will take you right to it. Tithes and offerings for July are right below that. And don't forget to turn your phone off. We'll place it on silence so it's not a distraction. And don't forget about the blessing rack in the back. We don't sell stuff. So if any of that stuff is appealing to you, fits, take it. If you have stuff you want to get rid of, bring it in. And if it doesn't get gone in, I don't know, a month or two, we'll get rid of it for you. Let's see here. Please turn your phones off. We'll place them on silence so they don't have a distraction. And the very bottom line says the I is the index of the mind. And that was from two Sunday mornings ago. So with that being said, we're going to have one more song before we receive the offering. And I'm going to come by and hand out the songs because it's a new one. All right. At this time we will be singing our new chorus of the month matching over the hilltop. Just raise your hand and Pastor Jones will grab you one. Our chorus of the month matching over the hilltop. On the first. I'm satisfied with just the cottage below. A little silver and a little gold. But in that city where the ransom will shine. I want a gold one, that silver line. I've got a mansion just over the hilltop. In that bright land where we'll never grow old. And someday yonder we'll never more wander. But walk on streets that are pure as gold. Though often tempted, tormented and tested. And like the prophet, my pillow a stone. And though I find here no permanent dwelling. I know he'll give me a mansion my own. I've got a mansion just over the hilltop. In that bright land where we'll never grow old. And someday yonder we'll never more wander. But walk on streets that are pure as gold. Don't think me poor or deserted or lonely. I'm not discouraged, I'm heaven bound. I'm just a pilgrim in search of a city. I want a mansion, a harp and a crown. I've got a mansion just over the hilltop. In that bright land where we'll never grow old. And someday yonder we'll never more wander. But walk on streets that are pure as gold. And someday yonder we'll never more wander. But walk on streets that are pure as gold. But walk on streets that are pure as gold. But walk on streets that are pure as gold. First and second Corinthians, Galatians, and then Ephesians. Ephesians chapter number one. When you get there starting in verse number one, the Bible reads, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all. Brother Mike, will you pray for us, please? All right. Amen. Well, for the last several Wednesdays, we have been studying soul winning, and I've been given a recap of all the different sermons that I've done, but it's just getting way too long, so if you're lost, you'll just have to kind of go back and watch those and take some notes. But soul winning is a time where we go out into the community and we preach the gospel to anybody who is willing to listen, and it's a doctrine today that's under attack greatly by a lot of different denominations and religious organizations. They'll say, well, you know, why are you doing stuff like that? You're just copying the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Mormons. We've got to be different, blah, blah, blah. And we've proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that it's a biblical command. It's a New Testament ordinance that the local New Testament church is supposed to follow. We are supposed to go out and preach the gospel to people that are willing to listen. It doesn't make us special. It's like step one, Christianity, okay? It's what we're supposed to be doing. And so we've been dealing with all things related to soul winning, but what we've been doing recently is we've been taking a look at things that stop people from getting saved. So, for example, you're at the door with somebody or you're at work or you're talking with a family member and you're trying to preach them the gospel and they just won't believe it. And what we're doing is we're taking a look at different things that stop people or that are hindrances for people, okay? Now, you're in Ephesians, chapter 1, and I'm going to introduce the subject to you here in a second. Look down at verse number 4. The Bible says this, According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, Verse 5, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, Verse number 6, to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved. Now, the reason why I read these three verses, as many of you have already figured out, a lot of people will use these verses to say, Well, you see, if you're saved, if you're really born again, then God has predestinated that thing to happen to you before the foundation of the world. So, in other words, they'll say, Well, God chooses some people before time even began to be saved and there's nothing that they can do about it. So, basically, the idea is, you know, so and so. Like, say, for example, God chose Jeff that, you know, he's going to be saved, he's going to believe, he's going to just one day come to the knowledge, Oh, wow, God's word is true and, you know, I can be born again and he'll hear a Bible verse somewhere and then be saved. Whereas maybe David, he hears the Bible and he just can't get it. He just doesn't understand it. He just can't, you know, he just can't reason with it, just can't understand it. And the reason why he can't understand is because God didn't choose him for whatever reason because he knows better than we do and obviously that's true. But that idea there is called Calvinism, okay, the doctrine of Calvinism. And that's what we're going to be talking about tonight. And the title of my sermon is Calvin and the Chipmunks. Calvin and the Chipmunks, okay. Now, if you were an 80s kid or you just know about Alvin and the Chipmunks, what was Alvin always up to? He was always trying to get, he was basically always trying to pull the wool over Dave's eyes, right. Dave was a guy that, you know, I guess they lived with, kind of managed him. He's always trying to get out of work, right, always trying to get out of doing hard things and that's exactly what you see Calvinists do, okay. But Calvin and the Chipmunks. Now, anytime I write a sermon like this and I have a title like that, I like to study the animal that I'm going to be basically comparing these people to. And this may sound harsh, but you'll get it here in a second. So during my studies here, I wrote down some interesting facts regarding chipmunks and I want you to see that they really are very much like Calvinists today. So listen to this. Chipmunks are small, ground dwelling members of the squirrel family, okay. Think about that. Chipmunks are small, ground dwelling members of the squirrel family, okay. Well Calvinists, what are they known for? Just basically hiding out in their church buildings and basically saying, well, if God really drew you, if you're really going to be saved, you'll come to us, right. They don't go out into the community. They're not willing to be out on the streets and knocking doors by and large to try to reach people. It's very similar to an actual chipmunk. So it says chipmunks are small, ground dwelling members of the squirrel family known for their burrowing habits and love of nuts. Well, you know what, Calvinists love a lot of nuts like James White, Jeff Durbin, okay. And I mean the list goes on and on and on, J.D. Greer. You know, there's all sorts of people. And like I said, this may sound harsh, but this is reality, okay. You're going to see why I can't stand Calvinism here in a second. It says this, despite their size, chipmunks can cause significant damage to homes, yards, and farms. Well, you know what, Calvinists have caused a lot of damage to homes, children, to all sorts of people, churches, denominations, and just the church in general. It goes on to say this, activity. Chipmunks are active in the daytime during spring, summer, and fall. Chipmunks remain in their deep burrow systems during the winter where they enter patterns of deep sleep and lower body temperature interrupted by periods of feeding. Well, it's kind of like the new evangelical church, if you will, right. When are they the most active, so to speak? Well, spring, summer, and fall. In fact, if you go to a seminary or you take a lot of these church, hey, we'll support your church, we'll grow your church-type courses that are out there on Facebook for hundreds and hundreds of dollars, one of the things that they'll constantly say is, and there's some truth to this, they'll say, well, there's like three times, maybe four times a year where you got a real good chance of getting visitors to come into your church, right. And one of those is spring, the other one's summer, and then fall, right. Wintertime, people don't like to do a whole lot. They don't like to go outside, especially around here because it's very cold. And I've noticed that with a lot of these new evangelical churches, especially the Calvinists, they'll have their concerts in the summer, the fall, or the springtime. For example, if you go to Project887.com's website, you'll see that they're having Summer Splash, which is basically an event over here in Meridian where they're going to have a bunch of different Christian rappers come and rap for you and sing songs, and you say, well, what's the big deal with that? What are you being so mean about that for? It's because a lot of them are Calvinists. I've read a lot about these people, I've studied them. We're going to start making videos very shortly, actually probably tonight, on a lot of these different people. Because Calvinism is a doctrine that damns people to hell. It's very serious. It's not something to be taken lightly. And you know what, if you're thinking, oh, well, you're just being too unkind, I think you need to read the Bible a little bit more because I don't think it's kind to tell somebody, you know what, the reason why you don't get the Bible, the reason why you don't understand, the reason why you can't change your life is probably because God didn't choose you. And you know what, I've met several people in that situation, and let me tell you something. There is nothing more disgusting, despicable, and sick is somebody with tears running down their face saying, you know what, but my pastor just told me that I might not be one of the chosen ones. Maybe until you've been in that position, it's not going to hit you between the eyes. But if you go soul wanting for any length of time, this will happen to you. You will run into somebody that has been told that. And trying to unravel that snare is an absolute nightmare sometimes. Because these people are tricky, and they're very good at what they do. But they are lying. So the question is, is God's mercy, is his love, is his salvation available to everyone? Or does he choose who's going to go to heaven and who's going to go to hell? So I want you guys to turn to John chapter number six, John chapter number six. So for example, I had a guy probably about six months ago from another country call the church phone. And he's like, you know, I've been watching you on YouTube. I've been watching a lot of your friends on YouTube and just trying to learn as much as I can about the Bible. He says, but one thing that I struggle with is that I've gone to a Calvinist church almost my entire life. And he's like, I see what you guys are saying, that salvation is a free gift, that you don't have to work for it, that it's by choice. He's like, however, there's just something in me. I just feel like maybe I can't get down with that. Like maybe there's something I'm missing, like I'm just not one of the chosen ones. And that's why I can't believe it. And this guy was just so messed up. It took me an hour and a half to basically get him into the neutral position on this. I couldn't even get him saved. OK. And I haven't talked to him since I gave him a lot to think about. But, you know, after I got done with that conversation, I was like, man, you know, this really is a hindrance to people getting saved. Pastor Mendez will tell you a story about how he was out soul winning one time and ran into a lady. And she says, you know, yeah, I'd love to hear the gospel. He gives her the whole thing. You know, she understood the entire thing. Wow, it's a free gift. I don't have to work for it. But then she starts crying her eyes out and he's like, well, what's going on? What's the matter? And come to find out that her pastor told her because she has a smoking habit, that she's not one of the chosen ones, because if she was chosen from the foundation of the world, that she would have the Holy Spirit inside of her and that he would give her power to overcome all of the sin in her life. OK, that is damnable heresy. And he wasn't able to get her saved because that belief system, that false doctrine was so rooted into her mind that, you know what? You'd have to go back to her probably like every week to try to to draw that out of her. But this is a real thing. And there are a lot of Calvinist churches in this area. And you all know that if you've gone out sowing or you've just even talked to believers around here, you know that this is a strong, strong thing that we need to deal with. And it is a very, very big hindrance to people getting saved. Now, to start this off, I'm going to read to you a little bit of doctrine from Treasure Valley Bible Church's website, not Treasure Valley Baptist, not where Sam Gipp lives. We'll deal with that another time. But Treasure Valley Bible Church. OK, I want you to listen to this. And this is very similar. I've gone through a lot of Calvinist church doctrines and they're all very, very, very similar. Listen to this. This is what they say regarding salvation. This is what they believe. This is what they teach a person has to do to be saved. So it says this. A person is saved by grace through faith. Ephesians 2, 8. Believing that Jesus is the son of God and that he died upon the cross for his sins. This is what it says. Acts 16, 30, 31. Since unbelievers are spiritually dead and refuse to seek God. Notice this next part. God is just to choose some to whom he gives mercy and salvation. Then they quote Romans Chapter nine and Ephesians Chapter two. It goes on to say this. Before the foundation of the world, the father chose those who would believe in him. Now let's just stop right there. What is this guy? What is this church saying? They're saying that before time began, so before God formed the heavens, the earth, all that stuff, he basically chose certain people who would be allowed to come into the kingdom of God. Certain people who would be allowed to believe. Others are not able to. Let me read that for you again. Before the foundation of the world, the father chose those who would believe in him. And then he quotes Ephesians Chapter one, verse four, which we just read. He draws them to his son, Jesus Christ. John 644. And he gives them faith to believe. Ephesians two, eight, nine. For further discussion, see the paper entitled The Depravity or I'm sorry, The Depravity of Man and the Sovereignty of God. OK, so there you have it. Their church doctrine says this, and I'm not just picking on them like they're the only ones that believe this. There are literally thousands and thousands of people in this area that believe this doctrine here. This is what they believe. You know, and this is kind of appealing because Calvinists like to come off as the scholarly type. Like, look at how much we know. Look how much seminary. Look at how much education we have. We've got the writings of Calvin, you know, Luther and all these guys. They love to throw that stuff out there. They love to quote that stuff. They love to, you know, basically profess that they're smart theologian types. OK, but the problem with this is that everything that I just read to you there is false. It is not true, but it's very clever. And like I said, it can be appealing to people because everybody wants to be made to be to be special. Everybody wants to feel there's something valuable inside of me. So God looked at me and said, wow, there's something inside of you. And that's why he chose you. People, everybody wants to feel important. Right. And that's what this doctrine does. It makes people feel like, man, I'm in the in crowd. Right. I'm in that inner circle. God just chose me. There must be something super special about me. But the problem is there's something special about those that are teaching this, and it's not good. So what we're going to do is we're going to break some stuff down today. So we're not doing like a super deep, exhaustive, you know, rebuke of Calvinism. We're doing a rebuke of Calvinism through the eyes of soul winning. So the idea is you're at a door, somebody hits you with something and you're maybe you're just Romans nine. And it's been a while since you've read Romans nine or they hit you with John six. And it's been a while since you've read John six and they start coming at you with this stuff. How do you handle that? How do you deal with that? Well, I've got it broken down for you, and it really boils down to one word, and that is choice. If you don't remember anything I said today besides the title, which you're going to remember that Calvin and the chipmunks. You remember this choice. They do not believe that a person has a choice because they were chosen before the foundation of the world. So no matter what scripture they decide to open up to you, if you can just remember choice, I'm going to prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that you can find choice in all of these passages that they've quoted. Any Calvinist that you run into out soul winning or talking with somebody, if you just remember the word choice and you just start going over these verses with them, you will find choice in every single one of them. So it all boils down to that. Now, look at verse number 44, because this is what they quoted. So in their little doctrinal spiel here, they quoted Romans nine. We're going to deal with that next week. They quoted Ephesians two. We'll deal with that next week. What I want to do is I want to deal with what they're saying about John six and a little bit about Ephesians one for tonight. And that'll be enough. So let's start this off here. Look at John Chapter six, verse number 44. So Jesus says this. He says, No man can come to me except the father which hath sent me. Draw him and I will raise him up at the last day. Now, when you show somebody that and you're a Calvinist and the person that you're talking to doesn't know the Bible, doesn't have much knowledge, I can see how. OK, well, yeah, I guess you got to be chosen. Right. But what do we preach here that you need to read these things in their entirety, that you have to understand the context. You need to read the verses before you need to read the verses after and you need to understand that. So let's say somebody hits you with this. You're at the door. And it's been a while since you've read this. John Chapter six is a very long chapter. Right. I mean, we don't have the whole Bible memorized. Like Marissa ran into somebody today that told her, hey, I memorized the entire Bible from front to back. Right. Yeah. OK. Sure. Yeah. But there are people out there that have their go to little daggers. You know what I mean? They have their like maybe their five or six little passages. That's all they know. And they know it well. And it's false doctrine. What do you do? Well, in this case, remember choice. So let's back up a little bit here and let's start reading at verse thirty five and let's do an exercise. Let's see if we can find choice in this chapter here. Let's see if what Treasure Valley Bible Church preaches is true. OK, let's see here. Look at verse number thirty five. It says this. It says in Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger. And he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Now, does anybody see choice in that verse? So Jesus makes this claim and says, what? I am the bread of life. Right. Well, what does that mean? That means, OK, well, he's the source of life, eternal life. He that cometh to me, he that cometh to me. Well, that's interesting. So he's the bread of life and somebody who comes to him shall never what? Shall never hunger. And he that believeth on me shall never thirst. Now, if you were chosen in him before the foundation of the world, why would you need to come to it? Why would you need to hear his word? You're already going to just be saved. It wouldn't make sense to have this verse in the Bible. So obviously there is a choice going on here. OK, now let's see here. Let's look at verse number thirty six. But I said unto you that ye also have seen me and believe not. So what's going on here is he's not debating, but he's basically arguing with these Jews that are saying, hey, you know, the claims that you're making to be the Christ are not true. There's no way this can be true. And what does he say? But I said unto you that ye, ye is plural, also have seen me and believe not. So he's saying, hey, you've seen the miracles that I've been doing. You've heard what we have been preaching, the scriptures that we've been reading in the synagogues. You've seen this. You've heard this. And yet you do not believe. Do you see choice in that verse? Exactly. Look at verse number thirty seven. All that the father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out. So the person that has the tears running down their face because they've been told that they're not chosen. OK, think about that person and read this verse again. All that the father give me shall come to me and him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out. That's one you ought to write down. That's one you ought to have memorized and tell that person, hey, you have choice. You have a choice to come to him and to believe his word. God has given you a measure of faith, which we're going to talk about again, and we talked about that last week. OK, and you have a choice. You can place your trust. You can place your faith on him, which is what saves you. Verse number thirty eight. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. Look at verse thirty nine. And this is the father's will, which hath sent me that of all which he hath given me. I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day. And sometimes they'll cherry pick these verses out and say, well, how do you know you're one of the ones that have been given to him? OK, well, there's this doctrine called the reprobate doctrine. There are people who have taken their measure of faith and have cast it away. They have already made a decision in their hearts. They don't want to believe in God. They don't want to trust him. They hate him. And God just says, fine, I'm done with you. Have a nice life. And that was a lot of Pharisees. That was a lot of Sadducees in the time of Christ. And he's actually hinting that to some of these people here. But it has nothing to do with Calvinism. Again, it denotes choice. They chose to reject him. They chose to throw away their measure of faith. Look at verse number forty. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the son and believeth on him may have everlasting life. And I will raise him up at the last day. Well, isn't that interesting there? How in the world can you read that verse and not see choice? Let's look at it closer. And this is the will of him that sent me. So apparently this is the will of the father that sent Christ. He has a will. He has a desire that everyone which seeth the son. Well, how do you see the son today? Well, through the word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. That's what the Bible says. That's how we see him. So apparently the will of the father is that everybody who hears the word of God, everybody who gets this chance, which is everyone, we've talked about that before, and believeth on him may have everlasting life. So it sounds like we have the choice to hear to see the son of God and to decide whether or not we want to believe that. And when we do, what do we get as a reward? Everlasting life. We don't get probation. We get life that lasts forever. Remember, we don't get probation, we get salvation. And I will raise him up at the last day. That is a promise. That is a command. It is a guarantee. So let's stop right there. Keep your place there and go to 2 Timothy chapter number 3, if you would. 2 Timothy chapter number 3. Because I kind of forgot to mention this, but there is a huge, huge, huge problem with most Calvinist churches, and it's the reason why they believe what they believe here. Here's another thing. This is actually the first thing that's written in their doctrinal statement. Now listen to this. This is before they talk about Calvinism. It says this. This is what we believe about the Bible. The Bible in its original manuscripts is inspired by God. Okay. You guys know I hate this with a passion, okay? Let me read that again. The Bible in its original manuscripts is inspired by God. So in other words, if you don't have the original manuscripts, you don't have an inspired copy, which produces a lot of problems if you're a Calvinist, which they have their temporary solutions for. Right? This is why they say you need us. You need a teacher. You need the theologian. You need the scholar, right? You need man, is what they're basically saying. You need to trust in man, okay? We have it all figured out. What do we teach? We teach, uh-uh. That's not what the Bible teaches. In fact, let's look at this verse that they quote here. Let's back up to verse number 15. 2 Timothy chapter number 3. Look at verse 15. Is what they said true, or is it a violation of Scripture? 2 Timothy 3.15 says this, and that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures. Now, hold on for a second. Do you think that Timothy had the original manuscripts? No, but Paul tells Timothy, the pastor, hey, since you were a child, you have known the holy. What does holy mean? Sanctified. Separated. Sounds to me like inspired by God. Scriptures. So he's basically saying, hey, those copies you have, which aren't even in the original languages, by the way, are holy. Well, wait a second. This isn't lining up with TVBC. And that from a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. That there in and of itself is also a problem for the doctrine of Calvinism. Now let's look at verse 16. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. What does inspiration mean? God breathed. So to say otherwise is what? It's blasphemy. It's a violation of God's word. And it's just so funny to me. It's just so angering to me that when you tell someone this, you just read them this, and you explain to them these basic words. They get offended. They get upset. And they're like, how dare you say that? That's what the Bible says. There's no arguing. There's no debating this. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. Our God spoke the entire universe into existence, but all of a sudden now he can't preserve his copies and his word from year to year. And is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Verse 17, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Again, I've talked about this the last several weeks. Perfect means to be complete. He's not saying, you know, the Bible is going to make you sinless. I mean, nobody's sinless out there. Get real. So go back to John chapter six, and we're going to continue on here. So, number one, the biggest problem besides their not understanding what the word choice means and how to find choice in the Bible is really built off of that doctrine. The original manuscript only doctrine. It is a violation of Scripture. And you could just start right there with somebody and say, why are you going to a church that doesn't believe the Bible? That doesn't believe that what they're reading from is actually inspired or God-breathed? Why don't they believe that? They have to give you an answer, right? These people are the ones making the claim. They need to back that up. We can back up what we believe. And you know what? I expect them to back up what they believe, but they can't because they don't believe the Bible. So John chapter six, we left off in verse 40. Let's look at verse, we're going to jump to verse 44 because the next three verses are just the Jews are murmuring. They're like, ah, we don't understand what you're talking about here. So let's look at verse 43. I'm sorry, verse 44. It says this, no man can come to me except the father, which hath sent me, draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. Well, what do we what have we already read before we've gotten to this verse? Well, we've read verse 40, which says that the will of the father is that everyone would hear the word and be saved. That's his will. Now, is that going to happen? No, but that's his will. So obviously it's not just a select group of people. Okay. Look at verse 45. It is written in the prophets and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the father cometh on to me. So what he's saying is when somebody read, when you go out and you read the word of God to somebody and they're like, yeah, you know what? That's making sense. That seeds going down into the heart and the devil's not able to pluck it out. They're keeping that in there. They're saying, yeah, I'm agreeing. I believe this. I'm receiving this right. And they're just believing it as you're reading. He's saying, hey, those people are going to be taught by the father in that moment. And subsequently later on in life, should they choose to go on to be disciples. Look at verse 46. Not that any man hath seen the father save he which is of God. He hath seen the father. Obviously talking about himself. Verse 47. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. Why put that verse in the Bible if Christians are chosen before the world began? It doesn't make any sense. We could I mean, it's like you could just go up to Jesus. Hey, we could just shorten this chapter up. Right. Which is what a lot of modern Bible perversion people want to do. Right. Just take verses and chuck them out because it doesn't fit the world's narrative today. But unfortunately for them, verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. So what is the requirement to be saved? Is it to be chosen or to believe the word of God? To believe. So there you have it. Choice. So you see, even if you're new, even if you're not sure and they hit you with anything, if you can remember the word choice and you just stick to that word choice, you will see it. You will see it in the passages that they're trying to throw in your face to try to stuff you. Or perhaps you're dealing with somebody who's reasonable, but they're just in this snare and they're just like, you know, I really want to be saved. I really want to know for sure that if I died, I would go to heaven. But I've been taught this. But I've been told this my whole life. Right. You could be the person to unravel that horrible, wicked snare that they're in all by understanding choice. Let's see here. Let's move on. Look at verse where we look at verse forty eight. Look at verse forty eight. So he says, I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness and are dead. Verse 50. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven that a man may eat there of and not die. What does he say there? A man. What does that denote? Choice. Choice. That's what he's talking about. Verse 51. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man. Now stop right there. What does any man mean? Somebody who was just chosen randomly before time began because of some unknown thing in their heart that we can't see. If any man eat of his bread, he shall live forever. And the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Interesting. Very interesting that he said he would give his life for the world. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Well there's another verse. In fact that's the most popular verse in the entire world. There's another verse that can just go out the window if you were just chosen before the world began. Why even have that? Now let's jump down to verse number sixty. And we'll look at what happens next. So a lot of people are going to be getting offended here. Verse sixty, the Bible says this, Many therefore of his disciples when they had heard this said, This is an hard saying, who can hear? Because he goes on to compare himself to, you know, he basically goes on to say, hey, you know, you have to eat my flesh and drink my blood. And they're like, what are you talking about? I'm not joining some cannibalistic cult. But he's obviously not talking, you know, he's trying to give them a metaphor. Look at verse sixty one. When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, doth this offend you? Now look what they say in verse sixty two. Or I'm sorry, just keep reading here. It says, What and if ye shall see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life. So he says, hey, the flesh profiteth nothing. But it sounds to me like when I study these Calvinists, right, that they just they're saying that the flesh does profit, because there's something inside of you that just randomly happened before the world began and you just chose. Again, why have this in the Bible if it's by his choice, not yours? It doesn't make any sense. Verse sixty four. But there are some of you that believe not. Interesting. He says, hey, there are some of you that believe not. Why wouldn't he just say, hey, but there are some of you which the father just basically said you can't believe because of whatever reason. I think these are valid questions and I think they need to be asked. He says, and who should betray? I'm sorry, let me read that again. But there are some of you that believe not for Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not and who should betray him. So look at that phrase there towards the end of the verse where it says they were that believe not. So he's saying Jesus knew who they were that believe not. So when you read that, who made the choice, them or did God? They did. Exactly. But apparently Calvinists want to come to John chapter six and quote that as proof that Calvinism is a righteous, wholesome, godly doctrine. And nothing could be further from the truth because literally every verse denotes what? Choice. Choice. These people, he is saying, chose not to believe. He didn't say, hey, God chose for you before the foundation of the world that you couldn't believe. That's not what he's saying. Let's see here. Look at verse sixty five. And he said, Therefore said I unto you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my father. So he's saying, hey, that's why I said that to you, because I knew that some of you have already made the decision in your heart not to believe. And you know what? Once, like I said before, when somebody makes that decision, we don't always know exactly when that is. And they just say, you know what? That made up my mind. This is what I'm sticking with. I'm going to go and get my confirmation. I'm going to go ahead and get just basically baptized and converted to this false religion. You know, a lot of times God says you're done. I'm done with you. Now, we can't always see that. We need to try. We need to try to get people unsnared from these traps. But look at verse sixty six. From that time, many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him than Jesus said unto the twelve. Will you also go away? Verse sixty eight. Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Now, why come to this planet with the words of eternal life if the works already been done, if it's already been chosen? It doesn't make any sense. But yet I'm the mean guy. I'm the bad guy because I preach these things. Verse sixty nine. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the son of the living God. Now, verse sixty nine is very interesting because it denotes what? Choice. Look at what Peter's saying. And we believe and we believe and we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Messiah. He's saying, hey, we've already heard what you said. We've seen what you've done. We get it. We understand. We believe it. Done deal. We're not going anywhere. We don't necessarily like what you just said, but that's fine. We're just going to continue on and hopefully we'll just get it explained to us later on down the road. Verse seventy. Jesus answered them. Have not I chosen you twelve and one of you is a devil? Interesting. Sometimes they'll take that. See? Well, see, he just he just chose them and he did choose them. He did. But notice one of them was a devil. Now, did God make that person a devil for his purpose? No. Judas made himself a devil. And it would take me another hour to explain and to basically smash that down. But if you don't get that, we need to have a conversation after the service. Judas made the choice in his heart to betray the Lord Jesus Christ. God didn't sow that in his being and his DNA before time began. He made the choice. OK. Verse sixty. I'm sorry. Verse seventy one. He's spake of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for he it was that should betray him being one of the twelve. He it was that should betray him. He it was that should betray him. What does that mean? That means Judas made the choice. Choice is all throughout this chapter here. So when they want to say what they said, let me just read it for you again. It says this. God is just to choose some to whom he gives mercy and salvation before the foundation of the world. The father chose those who would believe in him. He draws them to his son, Jesus Christ. John six forty four. So what these people are saying here, what they're teaching is that God draws a select group of people and they use John six forty four as a proof text. John six forty four says no man can come to me except the father which hath sent me. Draw him and I will raise him up at the last day. But what did we just do? We just read the verses which are before that, which didn't know what choice, choice, choice, choice before. Choice afterwards. There is no using John six forty four as a proof text for Calvin and his chipmunks. Now go to Romans chapter number twelve. We looked at this verse last week but we need to look at it again because of what they say here. So they go on to say he draws them to his son Jesus Christ and he gives them the faith to believe. And they quote Ephesians two eight nine. OK. So what these people are saying is that God chooses the select group of people however many they are. It almost sounds like Jehovah Witness doctrine. Right. The one hundred forty four thousand. Well if you're not one hundred forty four thousand you're going to hell or you're just going to get annihilated. Whatever it is. OK. It's very similar to that. So they say OK God chooses this group of people and then what does he do? He gives those people faith. You've got to pay attention to this. This is very important. These people at Treasure Valley Bible Church are teaching that God takes a select number of people who were chosen before the foundation of the world. He takes those people and to those people he gives faith to. Is that true. Is that what the Bible says. Absolutely not. Romans twelve three. This one here. You've got to know this. You've got to understand this. Look at verse number three for I say through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. But to think soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. Again we've talked about this last week. We're talking about it again right now. Treasure Valley Bible Church and their cronies and their chipmunks and all the common is that what do they teach. God takes a group of people and only to that group of people does he give faith to. What does the Bible say. The Bible says that God has dealt distributed to every man a measure of faith. It is up to every man what they want to do with that measure of faith. You know and sometimes when you run into these college professors down here at you know BSU and they're like I don't know what it is I just can't believe it. I just believe in evolution. I just believe we came from monkeys and dogs and cats and whatever. You know what that tells you. They've taken that measure of faith and placed it on man. They've taken that measure of faith and they have abused it. They've tossed it out. They've made their choice. They're done. Whatever. The point being that God has dealt to every man a measure of faith. So the question now is what have you done with that measure of faith. Who is the object of your faith. Is it Jesus Christ or is it you. Is it Jesus Christ. Is it Buddha. Is it Allah. Is it some other God. What is it. That's the question we need to ask. Is it Calvin. What is it. But the Bible is very clear here. According as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. So for them to teach this other doctrine here is what. It's another violation of scripture. This is important. This is a big deal here. You know what. This is what most and I mean most of new evangelical Christianity this is what they teach. Most of your big Christian rock stars Christian rap stars Christian country stars. The majority of them are Calvinists. Look it up. If you don't believe me they are. This is what they believe. And you sit here all that doesn't come out. Yes it does come out in the music. It certainly does. They think they're special. They think that's why they're blessed. That's why they have the money. That's why they have the fortune. That's why they have the fame is because God gave that to them before the foundation of the world. And here's what they'll say. I had this Calvinist guy tell me this. This is no joke. Has anybody ever heard of the band Korn. Right. It's a worldly band a wicked band. OK. Well there was a guy I think he was the drummer Brian Welch is what his name Brian Welch OK. Apparently he got born again or whatever. And I had a guy one time was arguing with him about Calvinism at work which is never a good thing to do. But you know back a few years ago you could argue with somebody and then be friends with them later on throughout the day and they wouldn't get offended. Today's a different story. So we're arguing about Calvinism. And he says you know Brian Welch you know he's like all the stuff you're saying you know it's fundamental stuff. It's just it's just not helping anybody. He's reaching millions and millions and millions of people with the gospel. I said really let's play some of the songs. That's what I said. Pull them up on the phone. Let's play a song. So he starts playing the songs. It's like. That's what it sounds like. I'm like that's the gospel. Yeah that's. What. I mean I couldn't even hear half a Bible verse in there. He's like but no you don't get it. Because he is born again. Just his calling just his voice could be enough to trigger the chosen. That's what he said. That's how he's reached millions of people. He's like that's why there's an explosion of people getting saved today. Is because of Christian music which you're attacking right now. Really faith cometh by hearing a dog bark on a microphone. I think not. Real quickly Ephesians chapter 2 Ephesians chapter number 2. So what do we learn. We learned that God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. We're getting very close to being done here. I just want to end by establishing a couple more things before we're we are done. Ephesians 2 verse 1. It says this. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Now who is the you there. See the Calvinists would say well that's the chosen. That's those of us who he chose in chapter 1. And I already told you that right. Well the word when you see you or ye in the King James Bible it's plural. OK. And that you there who hath been quickened that's the body of Christ is what he's talking about. OK. I'll prove it to you. Let's go back to the beginning of the letter here and let's look at chapter number 1. And we're going to be done here shortly. Ephesians chapter 1. Let's look at verse number 1. Ephesians 1 1. Because remember this is one of the things that they opened up their Calvinistic statement with was Ephesians 1 verses 4. So let's read the verses that precede that and take a look. Ephesians 1 1 says this. Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. OK. So who is this letter to. Well it was to the Ephesians obviously but to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Interesting. So that means it's to us. So what it says is authoritative. Look at verse number 2. Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. So what he's saying. Grace be to you. So I've had one say OK so right here it was just to the Ephesian pastor because it says you. No that's how we talk today in 2021. You in the Bible is plural because it starts with a Y. You ye. A lot of times that's that's plural. OK. So he's saying grace be to you to the body of Christ you who are faithful you who are saved who can understand these things. Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who have blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. OK. Now they'll say we'll see that us that's the chosen man. Come on can't you see it. Look at verse 4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him. In love verse 5 having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. Let's back up to verse number 4. He says this according as he hath chosen us. Who is the us. Well it's the Ephesians. It's the faithful in Christ. It's the body of Christ. What is the body of Christ today. What does the body say that the body of Christ is. It's the Israel of who. Of God. It's the Israel of God who needs the New Jerusalem to come down someday right. Remember one of the big things that Paul was dealing with all the disciples were dealing with was transitioning from the old physical nation of Israel and that system to the new system the New Covenant which is what. Is it the Old Testament system is it the nation the physical nation. No right. It's the Romans. I'm sorry the Romans chapter number two Jew who is one who has been circumcised inwardly of the heart. People who are saved. So in other words if you're saved if you're born again you're of the new nation you're of the Israel of God you're of this us here. He's basically saying hey that system us. This is what's been chosen. Right. Remember what does the Bible say about Old Testament Israel that they were chosen right that they were chosen from God. God chose this physical nation that he was going to make it of these 12 tribes of Israel Jacob's 12 sons. That was a chosen thing. Now. Now that doesn't mean that other people in that time couldn't be saved because obviously we see Rahab was saved. Ruth got saved. I mean there's all I mean name in the Syrian. I mean we could go on and on and on about people who weren't born in the nation being saved. The point is us being this new nation the body of Christ the Israel of God. That's what it's talking about. We're not talking about us individually being chosen before the foundation of the world. This is deep stuff here I understand that. But if you can just boil it down to what he's talking about there. He explains it in verse one. This is a letter not only to the Ephesians but to the body of Christ. How do you get into the body of Christ. By choice. By choice. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. It doesn't say faith cometh by being chosen and being chosen before the foundation of the world by God. That's false doctrine. I've already proven that. So he says according as he hath chosen us meaning the body of Christ in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him and love. Let's skip over here to verse number six to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted and the beloved again the body of Christ. Verse seven in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Verse nine having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he hath purpose in himself. Again all of this is talking about the church the body of Christ the local church people that are saved everywhere. These things apply to you. Verse 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth even in him. Okay now verse 11 in whom we have obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the council is on the wall. So again he's talking about the body of Christ the spiritual Israel the real Israel of today. Now look at this verse number 13 we use this all the time. I'm sorry look at verse number 12 that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ. Okay verse 13 he says this in whom ye also trusted. So now he's saying hey in whom ye also trusted in whom ye Ephesians in whom ye faithful in Christ also trusted after that ye were realizing on your bed one night that you were chosen. Oh wait I'm sorry that's not what it says. In whom ye also trusted Ephesians 1 13 in whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also after that ye believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. So this I love this verse here I use this all the time to people because this explains the process whereby an individual gets saved. You get saved by what by trusting after you hear the word again faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God not by just realizing I'm one of the special ones I'm one of the chosen ones. No that doctrine belongs to Calvin and his chipmunks. In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth the gospel the good news of your salvation. Hey good news is not that some people are chosen and some are not. That's bad news. That's horrible news. That's wicked news. That's not our God. In whom also after that ye believed which denotes what choice ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise and that seal cannot be broken by you or any other human being on this planet. God says he's not even breaking that. Once you're saved you're saved forever it's a done deal. Once saved always saved. So I'm just going to end this on this note here. If you get cocked with a passage of scripture and you're like I haven't read that in a little bit right. Don't worry about it. Read it with them. They want to hit you with Romans 9. No problem. What are we looking for. We are looking for choice and you know what you're going to find it every single time. So keep that in mind and it's going to help you to hopefully at least expose to these people you've been lied to. After hopefully you've explained to them hey look your church doctrine says they don't even believe the Bible. Okay that's a pretty big deal if you ask me. And second of all they don't even think you have a choice and this entire book is based off of a choice. If if if you're going to find that word all throughout the entire Bible. If you can remember that word choice it doesn't matter what they throw at you. You just go through those passages with them and you know what you're going to be able to explain to them what it means. Then you can bring them back to the verses that you know that you know how to explain and hopefully help them overcome this hindrance of Calvinism that's stopping them from being saved. So we're going to stop right there for tonight. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you so much Lord again for revealing this truth to us. We just pray Lord that this would stick with us and that you would help us while we're out soul winning and giving the gospel to people Lord and I just pray that this would just be a blessing to them and see some more people saved Lord. We thank you for all that you do for us in Jesus name I pray. Amen. All right. Please grab your song books one more time this evening and turn to song one hundred and sixty five. One hundred and sixty five. Oh worship the king. On the first. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.