Reintroducing Jesus, Beyond Religion

Guest (Male): We have the privilege and the honor to come before your word humbly and respectfully tonight. Thank you, Lord, that your word comes with clarity tonight. Thank you for everybody connected to the service all over the world, all of those watching by way of Kingdom Life Network and the various platforms, all our house centers and everybody connected to the broadcast tonight.

Lord, we rejoice that we all have access into the deep things of God by the Holy Spirit. So I decree that the eyes of each one's understanding be flooded with light, veils fall off, clarity comes, the word comes with such clarity that your people are equipped, built up, and edified. And we rejoice that by the end of this service tonight, we will all be the better for it. I give you praise for answered prayer in Jesus' precious name.

And every believer says a powerful "Amen." Lift your right hands to heaven, let's release our faith together as we say these words: I am born of God. I am born of the word. The word of God is my nature. I do not struggle to do the word. I do the word naturally. Therefore, today, I will understand the word of his grace. I will be built up. By the end of this service, I will never be the same. Never ever be the same again in Jesus' name.

And every believer says a powerful "Amen." We want to welcome everybody connected to this service tonight by way of Kingdom Life Network, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, all of you that are connected by way of Comfort FM in Akwa Ibom State and all of our house centers and all the campuses all over the world. We're so glad to have everybody connected. It is still 30 Days of Glory, Soteria Season 7, and I'm excited I tell you because we're having wonderful times of refreshing already in the presence of the Lord. Grab your notebook, your pen, and your Bible with your sweet, smart self tonight. You can be seated as we get into the word.

Dr. Abel Damina: In this series, we are examining the legal and vital work of salvation. When we started yesterday, I said to you that a Bible scholar I respect so dearly by the name of E.W. Kenyon said, "Every denomination is defined by its knowledge of the new birth or salvation." And I trust, I believe that completely. The subject of salvation is a study of Christ.

The subject of salvation is a study of Christ. You know, in theology, all the different branches of theology, whether it is pneumatology or it is eschatology or angelology or bibliology, all the "ologies" have their roots in Christology. Christology ties theology together. So our theology of God is Christology. Our theology of God is Christology.

That is why salvation is the study of Christ. The scripture tells us in the book of John chapter 5 verse 39, Jesus speaking, he said, "Search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life." But the scriptures don't give eternal life. Rather, they are they which testify of me. So the scriptures testify of Christ. Look at verse 40 of that John chapter 5. "And you will not come to me that you might have life."

So the scriptures testify of Christ, but beyond the testimony of the scriptures, you must meet the person of Christ. It's so important to know that salvation is the central theme of the Bible, and it forms the basis of Christianity. It is a subject that affects the very core of man's existence, the very core of man's existence.

It is therefore a subject that must not be taken lightly, as it is the primary thought exuded in the canon of scripture. Salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. In John chapter 1 verse 1, look at the way brother John will bring the summation of the prophecies of the Old Testament.

John chapter 1 verse 1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Verse 2: "The same was in the beginning with God." So in essence, he is giving you the pre-incarnate existence of this person. And he is saying that Jesus' descent into humanity is referred to as the Word of God.

The descent of Jesus into humanity is referred to as the Word of God. That is the incarnation of God. The incarnation of God in the womb of Mary is what is referred to as the Word of God. The incarnation of God in the womb of Mary is what is referred to as the Word of God. So now, it means therefore that Jesus, or Jesus' characteristics of all that we saw in the physical, it's not all that defines him.

He pre-existed before he descended into humanity. So the Word of God therefore refers to that fusion. The Word of God refers to that fusion—the fusion of deity and humanity. That fusion is what we call the Word of God. That is the message. The message, the fusion of deity with humanity, is what we call the Word of God.

That is all that God has to say and all that God has to do. That the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John chapter 1 verse 14. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Full of grace and truth. And you know in John chapter 1 verse 12, the scripture tells us that as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.

Do you know that at this point in reference, when this scripture was being communicated, Jesus was making reference to his death? Because at that time, what they were to believe was not his death. What they were to believe was that he came from God. They were to believe on who he is. They were to believe that he came from God, they were to believe on who he is, and then he gave them the power to become the sons of God.

He gave them the power on his earthly walk. So what they were to believe was that Jesus came from God. They were to believe that Jesus is deity fused into humanity. And faith in that gave them the power to become the sons of God. So what they were holding on to for three and a half years was a right, a right to become the sons of God.

That right would not be exercised until Christ died. That right would not be exercised until Christ died. But he gave them the right, that power is the word "right," to become the sons of God. And in order for you to know that he was making reference to Jesus, in John chapter 1 verse 13, he now explains further. John 1:13: "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

Born of God. He was born of God. Why? Because that birth was the Word became flesh. That birth, that incarnation, that Jesus coming through the womb of Mary was the Word became flesh. In verse 18, he now said, look at verse 18 of John chapter 1: "No man hath seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him."

Jesus is the only begotten of the Father. That is to say he's the only one that came from the Father. That is, Jesus came from the Father and we came through Jesus. Jesus came from the Father and we came through Jesus. That's a bit technical but I'll explain as we progress. Jesus came from the Father, we came through Jesus. That is why Jesus is the first begotten, the first begotten—the prototokos—the first begotten.

Look at that John chapter 1 verse 13 again. "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." That is the characteristics of the incarnation. He was born, not of the will of the flesh. He was not born by the will of flesh and blood; he was born by the will of God, the incarnation. And he's the only one that was birthed like that.

Now please pay attention. At this point, Jesus is yet to talk about the new creation. He is simply describing the characteristics of the incarnate nature and the divinity of the one whom we refer to as the Son of God. Born not of flesh, born not of blood, born not of the will of man, born of God. He was describing the characteristics of the incarnation and the divinity of God.

That is the union of deity with humanity. That is the amalgamation of divinity with humanity. That is God and humanity coming together into a fusion is what we call the Son of God. The Son of God is when God made a descent into humanity. That descent is what we refer to as the Son of God, the union of deity and humanity.

That is why we call the Word of God, and that is why we call the Son of God. So when some people say, "But God is God, God doesn't have a child. Why do we call Jesus Son of God?" Many times they will ask you that question. The explanation is that when God descended into humanity, that descent of deity into humanity is called the Son of God.

All right? That amalgamation, that union, that fusion of divinity with humanity is what is called the Son of God. The Word of God is the Son of God. The Son of God is the Word of God. You didn't hear that, let me repeat. The Word of God is the Son of God. The Son of God is the Word of God. Why? Because the plan and the thought is the Son.

The Son is the plan and the thought of God. So that is why the Son of God is the Word of God. He's the plan, the logic, the logos. He is God's thinking pattern. He is the reason behind, he is the thought, the idea, the concept, the architecture, the design, the program of deity. All right? So Jesus, the Word of God, the logic of God, the idea of God, is the Son of God.

Which means it's a fusion of deity with humanity. Please stay with me. That is where God and man will meet. God and man will meet in the Son. So Jesus is the meeting point between humanity and deity. That is to say, deity and humanity met in the person of Christ. So that is why the gospel is the gospel of his Son.

The gospel is the gospel of his Son. The kingdom is the kingdom of his Son. Colossians chapter 1 verse 13. Colossians chapter 1 verse 13: "Who hath, who hath in the past..." It's not a futuristic statement. "Who hath delivered..." So that is why it is an insult for a believer to be asked to go for deliverance. It is an insult for a born-again child of God to be asked to go for deliverance.

Why? Deliverance is not an activity. Deliverance is not even a prayer. Deliverance is what happens to a man when deity takes up residence inside that man. Look at it again in Colossians chapter 1 verse 13. "Who hath delivered, delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath—not will—hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son."

So deliverance is a movement from one kingdom to another. Look at me everybody. Deliverance is a movement from one kingdom to another. Before you got born again, you were in the kingdom of darkness. The day Jesus entered you, you moved from darkness to light. So to ask you to go for deliverance is an insult; it's actually a denial of the reality of Christ in your heart.

It's a denial of your reality in Christ. Remember, the kingdom is called the kingdom of his Son. That is why in preaching of the gospel, we must know the cost of the gospel. The cost of the gospel. The cost of the gospel is the precious blood of Jesus. The precious blood of Jesus. Brother Peter will put it like this: "Forasmuch as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold from the vain tradition of your fathers, but by the precious blood of Jesus as of a lamb without blemish."

So the cost of the gospel is the precious blood of Jesus. Then there is the thrust of the gospel. The thrust—T-H-R-U-S-T—the thrust of the gospel. That is what is the thing that the gospel points to. What the gospel points to is that God is not condemning anybody. "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved."

God sent not his Son. That's the thrust. The thrust of the gospel is that God is not condemning anybody. "For God so loved the world..." Not the church, he loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. The truth is, people think God gave his only begotten Son in the womb of Mary. That is misleading. That's not correct.

He gave his only begotten Son on the cross. He gave him up on the cross because the previous verse in John chapter 3 verse 14 opens it up. John chapter 3 verse 14: "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up." The word "lifted up" means to give him up to die. To give him up to die.

So God gave up his Son on the cross. God gave up his Son on the cross. So he was saying that whosoever believes when the Son is lifted up, or when the Son is given up to die, shall have everlasting life. John 3:16. He gave his Son up to die. Where was the Son begotten? The Son was begotten in the womb of Mary. We call the incarnation.

It is in the womb of Mary that the Word became flesh. Remember what Mary said to the angel: "Be it unto me according to your word." And what happened? And the Word became flesh. All right? So it was in the womb of Mary that the Word became flesh, and then when he was born, we saw his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father.

It has nothing to do with his singularity. Rather, the uniqueness of the action. The uniqueness of the action. Please stay with me. Not the singularity but the uniqueness. So the thrust of the gospel now goes further. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son to die, that whosoever shall believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

Look at John chapter 3 verse 17. John chapter 3 verse 17: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved." Not to condemn the world. Look at Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 19. Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 19: "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world—not the church—reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing..."

The word "impute" is the Greek word logizomai. That means not holding them responsible for their trespasses. Not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. That is the thrust of the gospel. Then we have the lost—the lost of the gospel—L-O-S-T. We have the lost of the gospel.

Who are the lost of the gospel? Those who do not believe. Those who do not believe. "He that believeth not is condemned already." He that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed in the only begotten Son of God. That is the lost of the gospel. Then we have the must of the gospel—M-U-S-T. The must of the gospel.

Matthew 24:14: "This gospel of the kingdom must be preached unto all nations." Matthew 28:18 to 20: "And he said unto them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel, make disciples of all nations. All power is given unto me. Teaching them to observe all things which I have commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the earth.'"

In the book of Mark 16:15, he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned." Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 verse 8: "You shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

Please stay with me, this is very critical. So that is the must of the gospel. Then there is the trust of the gospel—T-R-U-S-T. The trust of the gospel. That anyone who has believed the gospel, anyone who has believed the gospel has the gospel further trusted in his hand to preach. Anyone who has believed the gospel has the gospel further trusted in his hand to preach.

So we preach, you believe, you too in turn, you preach to others. So we will be looking at this series on the legal and vital work of salvation in the course of these 30 days. And we will not be looking at individuals, please don't miss that. We will not be looking at individuals; our focus and our gaze will be Christocentric.

It will be focused on Jesus. Our focus will not be on individuals; our focus will be on Christ. We want to look at what was done and what is working presently because of what was done. What was done and what is working presently because of what was done. So Christ remains the understanding of the entire scriptures.

Christ remains the understanding of the entire scriptures. Everything only makes sense looking at Christ. In the entire Bible, everything only makes sense when you look at Christ. We started by saying that God desired that all men be saved. That's very clear. First Timothy 2:4. "Who will have all men to be saved." He will have, that's his will, all men to be saved.

And number two, to come to the knowledge of the truth. It's one thing to be saved; it's another thing to come to the knowledge of that salvation. In Romans chapter 10 verse 1 to 4, brother Paul says, "Brethren, my heart's desire for Israel and prayer to God is that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God."

"They are passionate, they are zealous, they are devoted, they are dedicated, but not according to knowledge. Not according to knowledge." So they abandon the righteousness of God and they go about establishing their own righteousness. And the desire of God can be seen in how brother Paul got saved.

The desire of God can also be seen in how the jailer got saved in the book of Acts. The desire of God or the will of God can only be located... that understanding is only found in the person of Jesus. The desire of God, the will of God, the plan of God, the intent of God can only be understood in the person of Jesus.

The moment you begin to look at experiences and you want to teach from those experiences, you're already moving out of context completely. Because your experiences can only be taught in the understanding or in the light of the understanding of Christ. Let that understanding superimpose itself.

The understanding of Christ, who is God manifest in humanity, let it superimpose itself on your religious doctrinal misinformation. Let the understanding of God in Christ be superimposed on your religious and doctrinal misinformation. That is to say, if you had any belief system before now that contradicts what the revelation of Jesus offers, you have to unlearn that and dump it somewhere and embrace Christ.

Because Christ is the truth. All truths can only be found in Christ. He is the explanation of all things. He is the explanation of all things. So we have said it is the will of God that all men be saved. All men be saved, and when they are saved they shall not perish. See that? And that can only be seen in Christ because Jesus is that will of God.

Jesus is the will of God and we will see a demonstration in the preaching and teaching. But that will of God, that will of God is limitless. The availability of God's plan and purpose, the availability of God's plan and purpose can only be seen in Jesus. Romans chapter 8 verse 27, please pay attention, I'm getting somewhere.

Romans chapter 8 verse 27: "And he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. According to..." In fact, the original doesn't have "will." Actually, it's "for he maketh intercession for the saints according to God." According to God. There's no "will" there.

So who is he that searcheth the heart? Look at Romans 8:28. Romans 8:28: "And we know—Hallelujah—and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." That verse 28 is a bad rendering. The translators didn't do justice to that translation because now the impression he gives you there is that all things will only work for good if you love God.

To them that love God. That means if you don't love God, things cannot work together for good. That is a bad rendering because by the time you read the context, verse 31 to 39, you will see that the responsibility of loving is on God, not on man. You are not the one to love God; he is the one to love you. Are you following?

You're not the one; the onus of loving is not on man. The onus of loving is on God. Not that we love God, but that he loved us and went a step further to demonstrate his love by giving up his Son to die. So the proper rendering of that verse 28 will be: "All things work together for the good of them whom God loves." Hallelujah.

For the good of them whom God loves. That is the proper rendering. To them who are the called according to his purpose. All things work together for good. Now listen carefully. The "all things" there is not general. The "all things" there will be as it relates to that context. So what are those all things?

Now look at me for a minute. It is like somebody says, "I can do all things through Christ." No, that scripture doesn't mean what you think. Because you cannot marry my wife through Christ. No, you cannot take my car through Christ. So you cannot do all things. So in the context of that verse, what brother Paul was talking about is, "I know how to abase and how to abound."

"I know how to suffer for the work of God and how to enjoy." Then he says, "I can do all these things—suffering, enjoying—according to Christ who strengthens me." The context explains the "all." So in this context, when he says "all things work together for good," he will explain it within the context and you'll see it in a few minutes.

Because you will see the proceeding verses. He begins to teach and explain the love of God for man. The way it is in the Greek at times, the Greek translation is scattered, so the translators will now put it together and sometimes in putting it together they misplace some. It is only when you understand the context that you're able to know where there's a bit of translation or syntax issue.

So sometimes you just let it flow, and then sometimes you see that the essence there is not what was communicated by the translators. So now he says "all things work together for good." What are those things that work together? What are those "all"? Verse 29 now explains in context. Verse 29: "For whom he did foreknow—glory to God—he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren."

Among many brethren. Verse 30 now, pay attention. Verse 30: "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Now, so the focus is on Christ. He foreknew, he predestinated, he called, he justified, he glorified. It is all him, him, him. Man has no part to play there.

For those he foreknew, he predestinated. Those he predestinated, he called. Those he called, he justified. Those he justified, he glorified. It's all his work. It's all his work from foreknowledge to glorification; it is all his work. So that's why the writer, brother Paul, will say, "And we know that all these things..."

Which things? Foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification, glorification—all these things are working together for good to those whom God loves. To those whom God loves, who are the called according to his purpose. He has already told you that everything he did is in the Son. Everything he did is in the Son.

The purpose of God is in the Son. The intent of God is in the Son. The plan of God is in the Son. Are you following? He has already told you where all that God does is in the Son. So in verse 29, people oftentimes have problem with the issue of foreknowledge and predestination. Please listen carefully. If you miss here, you shouldn't have been in the service.

People have problem with foreknowledge and predestination. Let's do some spiritual intelligence. Let's focus on these words. Foreknowledge and predestination. Romans chapter 8 verse 30. Romans chapter 8 verse number 30: "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

Did you observe that all of those adjectives are in the past? Those he foreknew, not those he will foreknow. Those he foreknew, he called—past. Those he called, he justified. Those he justified, he glorified. It's all in the past. Now please take note of that, that all the adjectives are all in the past.

Now the question will be: who did he predestinate? Whom did he predestinate? Those he foreknew. He only predestinated after he foreknew. It is not the predestination that brought the foreknowing. It is the foreknowledge that is before the predestination. So what comes before predestination is foreknowledge.

That is, what you know before you acted. A knowledge you have before you took certain actions. It is not what you... it's not that you determined it. M-m. You didn't determine it. You had a knowing that informed your action. Are you following? You have a knowing that informed your action.

Predestination therefore is what you do ahead of time. Look at that verse 30 again of Romans chapter 8. Please this is critical with the subject of salvation. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." So foreknowledge before he acted. He foreknew before he predestinate.

Let's look at, having foreknown, what did he do? Since he foreknew, what did he do after foreknowledge? Look at verse 30 and 31 of Romans chapter 8, please pay attention. "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified."

Verse 31 now: "What shall we then say to these things?" Which things? Foreknowledge, predestination, call, justification, glorification. "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" What is the proof that God is for us? He foreknew ahead of time, then he predestinated ahead of time, then he called ahead of time, he justified ahead of time and glorified ahead of time.

Having seen the action of God based on foreknowledge, God is for us. That is the proof that God is for us. But God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners ahead of time, Christ died for us. Are we together in the building here? Yeah, that's the proof. Now follow me.

So what did... what did he do in the predestination? Look at verse 32 of Romans chapter 8. Romans 8:32. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." That is what he did when he foreknew. He delivered him up for us all. "How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"

So that predestination is the fact that God gave us Jesus. See? That is why in Christianity we don't tell you, "You will fulfill your destiny. You will arrive at your destiny." No, the believer has already arrived at destiny. What is your destiny? Christ. God foreknew, he predestinated. What was that action? He spared not his Son but gave him up.

That is God's demonstration of love. So the believer is already at his destination, which is Christ. He gave up Christ to die having foreknown us. Now please listen. This predestination in salvation means God pro-acted. Means God pro-acted, he did not react. God never reacts. The day God reacts, he is not God.

Reaction means something took you by surprise and you're running to catch up. M-m. God does not react. He sees the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. So ahead of time, based on foreknowledge, he saw what man would do. So ahead of time, he gave up his Son in his mind to solve man's excesses. Why? Because he loves man.

Why? Because he loves man. Now certain actions you take before. What you do before. Predestination. Predestination doesn't mean he predestined people. You know? It doesn't mean that God said, "Okay you, you will go to heaven. You, you will go to hell." No, no, no.

The predestination is the action that he took in the interest of all. The predestination is the action that God took, you know, the pro-orizo of God that was based on the pro-orismos of God. Those are Greek words. That is, based on foreknowledge, having known that you will sin, having known that you will do wrong, having known that you will fall short of his glory, in his love for you, he took action to accommodate all of your mistakes so that in spite of you, in his plan, he can save you from your mistakes.

Now that's the foreknowledge of God. That doesn't... it doesn't deal with individuals, it deals with his plan. So what are the things that he did? Number one, he did predestine. How did he predestine? He gave Christ to die. Then with Christ, he will predestine in Christ. With Christ, he will call in Christ. With Christ, he will justify in Christ. With Christ, he will glorify in Christ.

I don't know if I'm communicating. It's no more about individuals; it's about Christ. Don't forget he's the plan, he's the intent, he's God's thinking pattern, he's the purpose of God. So now, knowing man has has everything from Christ, that will check many things. That will check many things that you know has to do with man's limit.

Knowing man to predetermine to save everyone, God decided to do it in the person of Jesus. Do you know why he uses the word foreknowledge and predestination? It is to show you that redemption was not an afterthought. It's not like God created Adam, then Adam sinned against God then God said, "Ai Adam, Adam, Adam. I didn't know you would behave like this. Okay since you have done this, let us... Jesus where are you Jesus? Go quickly and rescue Adam." No. No. It's not an afterthought.

Redemption is not an afterthought. Christ was not an afterthought. Jesus is not an emergency fix for the fall of man. Jesus has been the plan before man was created. Jesus has been the plan before man was created. Christ is the predetermined plan and purpose of God. The predetermined plan and purpose of God.

So Romans 8:32, pay attention. Romans 8:32. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things?" So he's letting you see that action of his that he took with your interest at heart ahead of time. You know, in foreknowledge you are doing nothing. You are doing nothing. Let me give you a very simple illustration.

I know that my driver can be lousy. Can be lousy. My daughter and I have an appointment at the embassy for 2 o'clock. So I sent my driver to pick my daughter for 1 o'clock. But because I know he can be lousy by foreknowledge of his behavior, I now got another driver on standby for that same 1 o'clock. "If you get to my daughter's school and my driver is not there, pick her, bring for me, I pay you."

Now I am not the one that made my driver late. So but in my foreknowledge, I know he has the tendency. So I accommodated his lateness in my plan in case he doesn't arrive; my plan is still not interrupted. God saw what man is capable of doing, and saw man's weakness and limit and ahead of time provided salvation for man in case man makes the choice not to have God.

But ultimately, God gave man the freedom to make the choice. God did not influence anybody's choice, and God does not influence... If God influences your choice, it means you're not a free moral agent; it means you're a robot. So God manipulates, and God is not a manipulator. That is why I said some one or two years ago, God loves you so much that he can love you till you arrive at hellfire.

He can so love you till you get to hell, because he will not usurp your choice because he loves you. Love does not insist on its own. So because God loves you, the best he does is to provide you all of the good news of the gospel. Gives you every opportunity to make the choice, but if you refuse, in his love, he will allow you to go to where you choose to go.

How many of you know that in the vision of Moses, God was there when Adam was eating the tree? He was watching Adam eat. Let me use parable to communicate now. He was watching Adam and Eve eat. But God didn't say, "Hey stop, stop!" No, because ahead of time, he told Adam: "Adam, the tree of life, eat. This one, knowledge of good and evil. The day you eat it, you shall surely die."

He didn't say, "I will kill you." The thing that will kill you is in the tree. So if you eat it, you will die. See? But however, having known that man has the tendency to eat the wrong tree, he now said: "The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent." Why? Because God's plan was ahead of time. He does not react, he pro-acts.

Are we still in the building? So the predestination is now based on the foreknowledge. Again, foreknowledge and predestination in the scriptures are never used negatively. They are used in line with God's love for man. It's not a selective process. Look at Romans 8:33 to 35. Romans 8:33. "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" If your Bible is mine, I would circle the word "elect."

"It is God that justifieth." Next verse: "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." 35. "Who shall separate us from our love for Christ?" Huh? Huh? What does it say? "From the love of Christ."

So it's not my love for Christ; it's his love for me. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" See that? So the foreknowledge is before the predestination. I knew ahead of time, so I plan to act like this.

It's not that I am making you act like this. No, I'm not the one making you, but in my all-knowingness ahead of time, I saw what you would do and I planned to help you. See that? That's the love of God. Predestination therefore produces salvation, justification, and glorification.

Predestination produces salvation, justification, and glorification. But foreknowledge is what precedes all of those actions. Predestination is what I plan to do like being pro-active. Something you do before. That means the penalty was paid before the penalty was valid in the mind of God. The penalty was paid before the penalty was valid in the mind of God.

The penalty was proposed by God to be paid even before the offense was committed. The penalty was proposed by God to be paid ahead of the offense. That is foreknowledge and predestination working together. So the predestination, or what brother Peter calls... let's see the way Peter calls it. Acts 2:22, pay attention. Acts chapter 2 verse 22: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know."

Look at verse 23 carefully. "Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge... Determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." By the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. So the giving up of Jesus to die was not a reaction; it was a pro-action.

In time you see the scene, the events, they all played out. So in time you see the limiting factor. Time puts it like: man was made, man sinned, Jesus came, and that is how he laid it out. But remember, foreknowledge and predestination is ahead of time. So it may appear like that the other way round.

So in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. In him was life—verse 5—and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness." What is darkness? The heart of a man without Christ. What is the light? Christ. Christ shineth in the heart of a man that is in sin.

Which is what Moses communicated in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. "And the earth was without form void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, bringing conviction to man, and God said, 'Light be,'" which is Jesus offered to man for salvation.

Then Paul taught it like this: "But God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts." Are we in the building here? The salvation plan of God. The salvation plan of God. John chapter 1 verse 14. Look at the way he explains it. "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Next verse: "And John bore witness of him and cried saying, 'This was he of whom I spake, he that cometh after me is preferred before me for he was before me.'" Next verse: "Ah, and of his fullness have we all received and grace for grace." All of those were communications before time began. Because in the beginning was the Word.

So the Word preceded the actions of men. The Word preceded the actions of men. That is the plan and purpose of God, the logic, God's thinking pattern, the idea, the mindset of God preceded man's action. So the plan and purpose of God preceded the actions of men. God was not reacting because he was acting in foreknowledge.

He didn't see men do it before he sent Jesus. He knew what man would do; he then sent Jesus. So Romans 8:33 as a roundup, are you blessed tonight? We're going to be breaking it little by little every day, we have 30 days to go. Romans chapter 8 verse number 33. Pay attention.

"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth." To the charge of God's elect. The word "elect" there means God's choice. God's elect, God's choice. What is God's choice? What is God's choice? Verse 29 of Romans 8. See the choice of God. Verse 29 of Romans 8: "For whom he did foreknow he also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn."

So what is God's choice? Jesus. Jesus is God's choice. So any man who receives Jesus becomes God's choice. I don't know if I'm communicating. Yeah. So there's no preclusion, there is no inclusion. The choice of God is Christ. But any man given the gospel of Christ who receives Christ, in receiving Christ you become God's choice.

"Many are called, few are chosen." The chosen there is not a person, is Christ that is the chosen one. When you enter Christ, you become the chosen one. Am I teaching good tonight? Yeah. So it's not like some people... okay, God knew that some people would go to hell and some people... why did God allow it?

No, no, no, it has nothing to do with God allowing it. That God knew it doesn't mean he allowed it. He gave man the freedom to choose what man wants to do. But in his foreknowledge, he saw the limit of man and he saw what man's tendencies were. Then God in his plan accommodated man's tendencies and still had his plan.

Plan. What was the plan from time? That God would live in man. And today, he lives in man. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? He said, "I will walk in you, I will be your God, you will be my sons and daughters. In him we live and move and have our being. As he is over there, so are we in this world." Christ in you... Hallelujah... the hope... I thought somebody would shout "Glory!"

So tomorrow we begin to talk about this election. Stand on your feet as I've got for you tonight. Glory to God! Tomorrow we will enter election and we will open it up some more and do some more exegesis on that subject. Are you blessed tonight? Is it clear tonight? So if God be for us, it's not a scripture for enemies. It's not a scripture for "fall and die."

No, no, no. Those are... those are satanic incantations. "Fall and die" is not a Bible character, is a satanic character; it's the devil that goes about looking for who to kill. Are we in the building? Jesus comes to give life. Are we in the building here? Yeah.

So if God be for us who can be against us is not a prayer against people that don't like you. It's a revelation of God's love for you in spite of your own action. In spite of your own action. Somebody said to me, "Dr. Damina, are you saying we're not supposed to pray for our enemies to die?"

I said, "Well, if those prayers work, you would have been the first to die. Because you are the first enemy." Romans chapter 5, while we were yet enemies. Eh? Romans 5:9. Look at it now, put it up. Romans 5:9. Put it up for me. "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him."

Next verse, verse 10: "For if when we were enemies..." We were enemies. God does not kill enemies. Anybody praying for enemies to die is functioning in the mire of ignorance and gross illiteracy. God does not kill enemies. "For if, when we were enemies, what did God do? He reconciled us to himself."

How? By the death of his Son. So what does God do to his enemies? He dies for them. And in dying for them, he reconciles them. And let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Are we teaching good here tonight? Yeah.

So if God be for us is not against human enemies. It's just a revelation of God's plan. That is to say, having... God having foreknown and predestinated and offered his Son to die even when we were in sin, who can be against us? Beginning from sin and Satan. Which of them can be against us?

If God, who created us, is not against us, who is Satan to be against us? Are you following? Who is sin or what is sin to be against us? That is the intent, the extent, the depth, the height, the width of the love of God. That the love of God is so massive there is nothing any man is capable of doing that within the parameters of God's love has not been taken care of in the death of Christ.

Except man rejects God the opportunity to love him by rejecting the gospel. The rejection of the gospel is the rejection of God's love, and God cannot force it on you because he gave you the freedom to make the choice. And the good news is, once you receive the gospel, deity comes into humanity.

There's a fusion. Immortality is amalgamated with mortality. And I've news for you church, one of these days, mortality shall put on immortality. Hallelujah. Corruption shall put on incorruption. We shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and that will be the full manifestation of for those he foreknew, he predestinated.

Those he predestinated, he called. Those he called, he justified. And ultimately, those he justified, he glorified. Can I hear a powerful "Amen"? Lift your right hands together. Father we pray for everybody in this building, on television, on radio tonight. All those that are in our house centers, campuses, everybody connected to the broadcast on all the platforms on social media.

I pray that the revelation of Jesus will grow big in your heart until nothing else matters. Barriers are terminated and in the name of Jesus veils are taken away. The hold of sin is totally humiliated in the name of Jesus. The revelation of Jesus grows big on your inside. The eyes of your understanding flooded with light.

Your realities in Christ Jesus made manifest. The love of God made manifest. That you enjoy what Christ has provided and function within the parameters of blessed assurance. Great grace is upon you tonight. We rebuke sickness, we rebuke disease. Satan, get your hands off in the name of Jesus.

Father thank you for answered prayer. In Jesus' precious name. And every believer says that "Amen" on a note of finality.