Sovereign Grace Bible Church
These are the sermons and teachings of Sovereign Grace Bible Church in Biggsville, Illinois. We exist to fulfill the Great Commission through the Great Commandment within Gospel Community.
Sovereign Grace Bible Church
God's Sovereign Grace: Understanding the Mystery of Election
Have you ever wondered who really makes the choice in salvation—you or God? This question lies at the heart of one of Christianity's most profound mysteries: the doctrine of election.
We begin our journey through the doctrines of grace by exploring God's sovereignty in salvation. Rather than viewing this as an abstract theological concept, we discover how God's choice of us "before the foundation of the world" transforms our understanding of grace, purpose, and identity.
Through a careful examination of Ephesians 1 and Romans 9, we confront the uncomfortable yet liberating truth that salvation originates not in human decision but in divine love. This isn't cold, arbitrary selection, but adoption planned "in love" before time began.
Many struggle with this doctrine, feeling it undermines human choice or questions God's justice. Paul anticipated these objections, responding not with philosophical arguments but by reorienting our perspective: "Who are you, O man, to answer back to God?" Like Job, we're reminded that the Creator's ways transcend our limited understanding.
The beauty of election lies in its revelation of God's character. He "lavished" grace upon us, made us "co-heirs" with Christ, and predetermined our inheritance. Our salvation isn't primarily about us—it's about His glory being displayed through undeserved mercy.
While it's normal to wrestle with these truths, they ultimately lead not to frustration but to worship. Our security rests not on our fickle choices but on God's eternal, unchanging love. As my young children recite in their catechism: God made us "for His own glory"—and remarkably, what glorifies Him also brings us our greatest good.
Join us as we explore how God's sovereignty in salvation should warm our souls rather than trouble our minds, reminding us that we are chosen, loved, and secure in ways we could never accomplish on our own.
All right, beautiful people, go ahead and turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians, ephesians, chapter 1. We start a journey. So we're in a 14-week series on doctrine, understanding what we believe. We've gotten through a lot of thick doctrine on who God is God the Father, god the Son, god the Spirit, the Trinity and it's been a lot. God the Son, god the Spirit, the Trinity and it's been a lot. And the good news is now we've gotten to what is possibly the most sensitive portion of theology, which is the doctrine of salvation how and why there's a need. So with that, we're going to go through five different points over the next five weeks, called the doctrines of grace. You'll see that in the slides that were handed out to you. We'll begin with God's sovereignty and election. Then we'll go to radical corruption, accomplishing grace, complete atonement, and then enduring perseverance and preservation. Now we begin with God's sovereignty and election, which, realistically, if I was going to argue with somebody, I would begin with radical corruption, because if I can prove to you that you are unable to save yourself, the rest of these kind of fall like dominoes. However, two things held me back from that. Number one, I didn't like any acronyms that began with R and were five letters. Number two I thought it appropriate to begin with God being in charge, god being in control, and that being an appropriate place for us to start. So the goal of these sermons is, number one to clearly explain the truths that are found in God's Word, but also from this. My hope, my intent is that, at the end of this journey, that you don't look at this and say I didn't understand anything that was so intellectual and heady, like you completely lost me, but that we end this with this high view of God that leads us into worship, an astounding awe of who God is. So we begin with God's sovereignty and election, and there's no better place to begin with that than really Ephesians, chapter 1. Welcome to the New Testament's longest sentence, from verse 3 to verse 14, actually in the Greek is one sentence.
Speaker 1:Paul may have been very linear in his thought process, but this was one of those ones where he just was like, no, these are all connected and we will not stop. So I will read this and actually we're probably gonna go out of order on your slides, but just follow along, we'll let this happen as it will. This is God's holy word. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him. We have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who. So what we're going to do is actually we're going to go through pretty much all of these slides and then we're going to come back and go verse by verse through this. As I was praying and thinking through that, I felt that was an appropriate way. So we go to Acts 13, 48, and it's one of those hilarious verses that you just can't get around. You're reading through Acts and people are preaching and people are getting saved, and then you hit a verse like this and it says and when the Gentiles heard this the gospel, effectively they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed Okay, so we're going to get.
Speaker 1:There's usually two responses to God's sovereignty and salvation the fact that he's fully in control. The one is to play the nonchalant, ignoring role. Yeah, it says that he chose. It says that only those who were appointed were saved. But and then we qualify it? And then we qualify it. And then the other side is to go so aggressively on this side of God's sovereign that when someone says no to the gospel, we're like, yeah, you know, they just probably weren't chosen. And we're like, no, no, no, no, no, let's pull it back here. Okay, jesus at all times held both the sovereignty of God and man's will, his choice, in both hands as parallel truths. And that's why a year ago, a year and a half ago, I preached a sermon through the Gospel of John and the title was Parallel Salvific Truths. Because these are both true I want you to think of when we talk about the doctrine of election we're going to define that in a second that it's like a doorway.
Speaker 1:Salvation is like a doorway, where the front of the door. On top of the door it says come all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest. You and I see it, those who are saved walk through. And as we walk through, we turn back around to look at the door, and above the post on the back of the door says you did not choose me, but I chose you. And all of that again, if we try to understand it from a logical human perspective, will make you angry, upset, confused, worried and troubled. A lot of that, though, has to do with what we're going to get to, which is that you and I are very comfortable with God being in charge until it doesn't fit what we like or what we understand. So, now that you're very uncomfortable, let's dive into that.
Speaker 1:So what's the meaning of election, those words election and predestination they have all kinds of faux pas around them. Election is God's choice of individuals to receive his favor before they have done anything good or bad. It is not a choice based on or in light of certain deeds or choices we make, but based solely on God's sovereign grace. Election is the divine choice of God to grant eternal life to undeserving sinners, based solely on his love and not on the goodness of those receiving his grace. So then, what's predestination? Well, the verb predestined can also be translated predetermined or foreordained. So predestination is God determining certain things to occur ahead of time. Later on, you can take a peek into Romans 8, verses 29 and 30. In that we see that God predetermined that certain individuals would be conformed to the likeness of his Son. They would be called, justified and glorified. So predestination is the biblical doctrine that god, and his sovereignty, chooses certain individuals to be saved.
Speaker 1:It's been well said that the doctrines of election and predestination uh, you are welcome to uh have a hard time explaining them and understanding them, but if you try to explain them away, that you will lose your soul. It's better to have said I have a mind that is not wise enough to comprehend this fully and to trust God than it is to say because it does not make sense to me. It must not be true. We go to Romans, chapter 9. You can peek over there if you want, and I just have a handful of verses here, because one of the things that we see in the book of Romans is Paul answers a lot of questions. I mean, he just is acting like he's arguing with himself the best way possible. Like well, what about this? Like well, who can separate us from the love of God? Well, what about my condemnation? What about my sin? And he just answers it, and he answers, answers it, and then he answers it again. And he has this like very pastoral, sympathetic, circular reasoning, almost that he allows himself to go into throughout the book of Romans.
Speaker 1:Look what happens in Romans, chapter 9, where Paul begins to talk about God's sovereignty and salvation. He says God chooses whom he wishes. And then the question, verse 14, what shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? So that means that the natural human inclination as soon as I hear God chooses some, I say not just that's the natural human inclination. Now what does he say? By no means and actually in the Greek that is like the most aggressive no, you can possibly do Verse 15,. For he says to Moses I will have mercy. On whom I have mercy? So this again confounds all the other loopholes we can try to find. Of like, god looked into the future and saw you were going to choose him, and thus he chose you because that would depend on your will or your exertion, your ability to do something. It only depends on God's mercy.
Speaker 1:I want you to think of it this way we live in a generation, a day and age, where if I walked into a room and there's 20 people and of those 20 people I know none of them and five of them I randomly give $20,000 to, and they're just elated and happy and all these different things how many of you would guess the other 15 would be offended. Oh yeah, some of you were honest. Yeah, they would be really offended. What the heck dude? What, why not me? Did I have to sit in that seat? Is that how I got the $20,000? I could use that. He doesn't need that. Why are we offended? Was anyone in that room promised $20,000 at that point? No, okay question Do you think any of the five that got $20,000 are like, but what about them? No, I got my $20,000. I did it.
Speaker 1:We have this strange view of justice where when grace is given number one, it can come as a surprise, but then it's expected and then it begins to become demanded, right? Rc Sproul has that famous story about a classroom that he had when he was in college, when he was preaching, or he's teaching in college, and he says don't turn your paper in late. If you turn it in one hour late, you get a zero. Okay, first paper comes up there's three in the in the semester or whatever. First paper comes up and, like, two kids out of the hundred don't have the paper on time. Professor, please just give me grace, give me 24 hours to get it to you. And RC Sproul says okay, I'll give you grace, you have 24 hours. They turn it in within 24 hours, everything's good. Paper number two comes around and what happens? Well, it's the due date and now about a quarter of the students in the class don't have their paper in on time and they all go to the professor, rc Sproul. Rc Sproul, we're so sorry, can you please give us grace? Okay, I told you that you would get a zero, but I'll give you grace.
Speaker 1:Fast forward to the final paper of the semester and half the class has not turned in their paper yet. And RC Sproul is livid and he looks at the class and says, effectively, what's wrong with you? People Like are you kidding me? And one of the students, leaning back in his chair, looks at him and says Prof, we'll get it to you next week, don't worry about it. And RC Sproul looks at him and says no, you will all get a zero. To which the young man responds indignantly, speaking for the group, that's not fair. Speaking for the group, that's not fair. Rc Sproul looks at him and says do you want what is fair? Young man yes, you gave us this and you gave us this. There's an expectation now.
Speaker 1:And so he failed that young man right on the spot and then looked at the class and said does anyone else want what is fair? It illustrates a really good point that you and I are the same way. Right, if you're speeding on the highway and you get a warning, you're like okay, thank you for giving me a warning. I really appreciate that. Does anyone know the statistics on warnings and how effective they are? Oh, it's hilarious. Depending on what study you look at, the worst percentage, the lowest percentage of people that get a warning and don't get a speeding ticket or do get a speeding ticket within three months three months time is over 90%. Over 90 percent of people that get a warning for a speeding ticket will get an actual ticket within three months. Why? Because you and I have sin inside us that says if you give me an inch, I'll take a yard, you me, your house, I'll take the garage too. That is what is natural to man.
Speaker 1:And so, with all of that and understanding who we are, what do we do? We hear that God chooses some, and we sit in the judgment seat of God and say, god, that's not just, that's not fair, that's not just, that's not fair. Verse 18. Paul says so. Then he has mercy on whomever he wills and he hardens whomever he wills. You will say to me then so the natural human reaction is fine, if God's in charge, why does he still find fault? This is a really good argument against Paul. It's fantastic, for who can resist his will If he's in charge? And no one can resist him, why am I in trouble? Look how he responds. Verse 20.
Speaker 1:But who are you, oh man, to answer back to god will what is molded say to its molder, why have you made me like this? We're like a, a beautiful dining room table that a carpenter worked forever to make. And we look at the carpenter and we say I wanted to be a sled. And the carpenter says well, I'm sorry, that's not, I didn't make you for that. And you don't decide what you're made for because I made you. See, we get that wrong too and we say no, no, I'm in charge, I am in control of my life. The American dream, destiny is mine and I'll grab it. And God says destiny is what I have said it's going to be. Now watch, it is very, very different. And so, effectively, whenever we sit in the judgment seat of God, we have to understand that God's response to us is who do you think you are? When we are offended by God's sovereignty, it usually shows two issues in our heart. Number one, we have a very small view of God, and number two, we have a very large view of how the universe revolves around us. Will what is created say to the creator why did you make me this way? And the answer is no. Now some of you might say that doesn't sound very pastoral, that doesn't sound very Christ-like of Paul, it sounds kind of mean.
Speaker 1:Has anyone read Job? I want to see hands. Have you read Job? Yeah, yeah, yeah, hey, most of you. It's a beautiful story. The beginning there's this godly man raising a godly family, his business is successful and the devil goes to God and says he only loves you because you give him so much. And God, to prove a point, allows the devil to take everything from Job His health, his wealth, his family, and in the midst of all that suffering, him and his friends sit in a circle. And the friends don't have great advice. They're not very helpful. The best thing they ever do is in the beginning they're quiet with him for a couple of days.
Speaker 1:That was the best part. They'd say all these different things you must have sinned, you must have done this. What did you do? And that's typical for us in suffering, too right, we look at our suffering like you must have done something dude, like a car accident, and you're behind on your bills and that relationship ended like what have you done? It's very typical now, when joe's in the midst of this suffering that he did not earn right, we're gonna say it that way, right, we're not gonna say it that way, right, we're not going to say he didn't deserve it, because you and I don't deserve nothing, but he didn't earn it per se.
Speaker 1:How did God respond at the end? Did God say, job, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Like that was rough man. Like, don't worry about it, I'm going to make everything better. I'll give you a sample Job 38, verses 1 through 7.
Speaker 1:Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said who is this that darkens counsel by words, without knowledge? Dress for action like a man. I will question you and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding, who determined its measurements Surely you know or who stretched the line upon it, or on what were its bases sunk. Or who laid its cornerstone when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy.
Speaker 1:And God goes on for a couple chapters, saying do you know how to make sure the earth keeps rotating? Do you know how to store the snow for the winter? Do you know how to make it rain? And the answer is no. I have no idea how I could do that with my hands or anything.
Speaker 1:And God says exactly God's response to mankind being offended and questioning his sovereignty. This is the most Christ-like, god-like response God gives is we don't see God as God. We see him as the grandpa in the sky, we see him as the Zeus, but a good version. It is so easy to make a God in our own minds that we worship. That would never say this to Job's suffering. That would never say that to Paul's suffering, that would never say that to Paul's questions. And yet these are the most important things for us to wrestle with. So this sets a proper stage for us now to go through Ephesians, chapter 1. Ephesians, chapter 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every. We'll stop there.
Speaker 1:Paul begins by exalting God in his letter and he says why? Why, because he has blessed us in Christ with every. What kind of blessing is it? Yeah, it's spiritual. You know what you and I naturally hate that? It's a spiritual blessing.
Speaker 1:We look at our lives and we're like no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you don't understand. I need a financial blessing, I don't need a spiritual blessing, I need a financial one. Financial blessing, I don't need a spiritual blessing, I need a financial one. Or I need a relational blessing. I need this person to stop doing this. I need a work blessing, I need work to go better. I need everything to stop.
Speaker 1:And we miss the point that everything we need in life is found in Christ. The comfort and satisfaction that I find in the tiny things of this life are nothing compared to Christ and the greatest problem in my heart is I don't always believe that. I don't always believe that and in light of that, I have to change my soul from the inside out and pray and worship God and say God, help me to see you like this, because God has already blessed me, already blessed me with every spiritual blessing. That means that right now, technically speaking, 100% of God's perfect peace is available to me. How many of you feel like you're at 100% perfect peace right now? Yeah, why? Part of it? I'm in this finite, fickle earth tent and stuck. God keeps me in that, so that I'll be dependent on him, that I'll stop hoping for the things of this world and hope for heaven, and that I will be humbled, realizing that I am finite.
Speaker 1:There's a great difference between the 19-year-old man that goes to lift something heavy and the 80-year-old man that goes to lift something heavy. The one says I'll just pick it up, I got this, and the other one says let's think about this. What kind of tools can we use? How can we properly and wisely get this up? Why? Well, the older man's been around a little bit longer and he realizes his physical limitations, greater than he ever has. The young man thinks that he's Superman I can just do it, I got this. And the older, wiser man says slow down, wait, there's a better plan. God's got this. God has already given us every spiritual blessing. Now does that mean that you had to go out and work for every spiritual blessing? No, so you know, what you and I should be very happy about is that we don't have to work for the spiritual blessings, because if we did, it'd be a heck of a lot worse.
Speaker 1:Can you imagine starting off your life as a hater of God zero percent peace in your life. Starting off your life as a hater of God 0% peace in your life and God says you're saved, okay. So now here's your workout plan. You're going to do this, this and this, and as you work hard enough, I'll begin to give you a little bit of this. How great is it that God's in charge and in control and says immediately give you everything. What a blessing. Verse four even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world.
Speaker 1:Okay, let's, let's get obvious here. Who chose who? Did you choose? God, no, and yet experientially I would say, yeah, I kind of did. I was. I mean, you didn't know me before I was saved. But let me tell you something. It felt like I chose God and yet at the same time it also felt like, yeah, no, god definitely chose me because, where I was at, I would not have chosen him if he hadn't pulled me through some situations, got me through enough suffering and broken me and said can you see it now? You need me, not girls, not alcohol, not money, not fame. You need me. God chose me and I can prove that to you by my life, because anyone that would have saw me a year before I was saved would have said you will never see that guy in a church Ever. God chose us.
Speaker 1:Now let's look at the when. When did he choose you? Was it when he knew that you were going to choose him? Was it when your life was finally falling apart? Was it when you showed promise? He was like, oh man, that one's going to do something good, I'm going to choose that one.
Speaker 1:When did he choose you? Before the foundation of the world? Why? What are some of the purposes here that we should be holy and blameless before him? Now the legalistic part of your mind immediately looks at that and says I got to get some work done. I got some working to do because I am not holy and blameless. I got some working to do because I am not holy and blameless and we forget that our holiness and our blameless is not inherent, it's not built in. You ain't got it. It is all distributed to you by Christ, where Christ covers you with his righteousness and says now you will stand before me clean, although you've given me dirty rags and nothing else. I will give you a white robe of purity. I will do this, and thank God he does it, because if I had to earn it I would never get it. Actually, funny enough, dl Moody had a really famous quote upon which he said I'm really glad God chose me before I was born, because I know for sure he would not have chosen me after I lived. And while it's not theologically super accurate, it is hilarious and proves a point that you and I don't start off life and then earn our salvation. The best of us is still like. I don't know about that.
Speaker 1:So, starting in verse 5, the two words before that, remember that your verse numbers were added a handful of hundred years ago, so those are not in the original In love. Okay, what was it in In. Yeah, let's try again. What was it in? It was in, that's right. It wasn't this cold-hearted I hate those ones. I will choose you, fine. It wasn't this cold-hearted, I hate those ones and I will choose you fine. It was in love.
Speaker 1:The perfect, unestimable and unimaginable love of God is what motivated this. He predestined right. So every time you see that word, the easier word for you is the predetermined. He predetermined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ. So it wasn't again this cold-hearted like okay, fine, you can be a janitor in heaven and we'll kick you sometimes. He in love predetermined to adopt you, to make the fatherless, the orphan, the widow and say I will care for you and you will be mine.
Speaker 1:Now what is this according to? According to the purpose of his will. Why is that important? Because if it wasn't to his will, the next part wouldn't be true. To the praise of his glorious grace, if God didn't do all the work saving me, he doesn't get all the glory. He had to be the one to do this. He had to be the one to save me, with which he has blessed us in the beloved. If you have a newer translation, it might have beloved capitalized there and that's because that's a title of Christ. Translation. It might have beloved capitalized there and that's because that's a title of christ, meaning that all of this happens because we are in christ, because christ loves us and he holds us inside of himself and says you are mine.
Speaker 1:Verse 7 so this is, this was the past. Now we look at kind of the present. Verse 7 in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. According to the riches of his grace. We have been redeemed. We have been bought back with a price, and the price was the blood of Christ and through that we have forgiveness of every wrong thing we've done. And this is great because it's according to the riches of his grace. The age-old illustration of that is if someone was to give you according to their wealth, I would give you $10. If you had a billionaire give you according to their wealth, they would give you $10 million. According to their wealth, they would give you $10 million. So the fact that all of this is done according to the riches of God's grace says wow, this is more than I can understand.
Speaker 1:Verse 8, which he lavished upon us Does lavish sound a little exaggerative? Like you just lavish something, you just spread it and you keep going. You give more. He lavished this grace on us in all wisdom and insight. So it wasn't this flippant thing where God was just like, yeah, you, you get a lot and you get most and you get some. It was specific and intentional and personal, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to whose purpose? His purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time. So, again, going back to the sovereignty of God, that God is over time, his interaction with time is whenever he decides to reach into the middle of the timeline and do something. He is over time. Now, all of this is for what purpose? To unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. God's goal is a new creation. God's goal is a redeemed people that will be with him in heavenly bliss for eternity and they will worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and they will look back on this life and the pain and the suffering and the have Jesus, and he is enough.
Speaker 1:Verse 11,. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined, predetermined according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will, we receive this inheritance. Now that inheritance comes to us, why? Because it was predetermined. What was it predetermined according to? According to God's purpose? Okay, well, god's purpose, can that be kind of moved around a little bit? No, he works all things according to the counsel of his will. That is what God does, because God is God and we are not. Why Verse 12. So that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be to the praise of his glory.
Speaker 1:My young children, we have a time daily usually not a little bit this season, because the season's been nuts where we go over questions about the truths of God's word. One of the most famous and most important is to ask the question kiddos Jujubear, who made you? That's right. And I'll say what else did God make? God made all things. Why did God make you and all things? And my little children, you and my two-year-old look at me and say for his own glory. I want you to imagine how different your perspective of your life would be if, from the age of two, someone had been telling you your purpose is God's glory and that's a good thing.
Speaker 1:Romans 8, 28,. Because all things that are for God's glory are for your good. God is the most unselfish possible when he receives the glory. And that's something that you and I can't understand, because when we get accolades like someone goes up and gets a trophy we're not all like, oh, I feel so good right now. That person feels good, they got the glory. And yet when God gets the glory, because he is God, it benefits everyone.
Speaker 1:That is the beauty of Christianity that we have a suffering God who chooses to come down to our level and share with us everything, not just some things, but all things. We have an inheritance. What is Christ's inheritance? Have you read through the whole? If you've read through the whole New Testament, it's everything, it's the world, it's the people, the whole kit and caboodle heaven. Do you know what the Bible says? It says that he chooses, when he has everything, to make us co-heirs with him.
Speaker 1:I want you to think about that for a second. Think about the one who owns everything and you owe him everything, like we're talking about, like the billionaire, and you owe him a billion dollars, and in that moment the billionaire says your debt is gone, but not only that. You now get to be with me and have all of this. And when you would look at that and say I don't care what lottery you won, you ain't making up that deficit. And that's the point. That's why we need God to be in charge. That's why it should warm our souls that God has chosen personally and specifically each and every one of us and said you will be mine and I will love you with a love you'll never be able to understand. I'm the fulfillment of every desire you truly have. I am better than anything this world can give you, and this is just a taste, because one day you will be with me in glory and in that moment you will experience the fullness. My friends, you can look at the sovereignty of God in salvation. And it's okay to be confused, it's okay to have questions, it's okay to need time to process.
Speaker 1:Some of the most famous men of god that preached god's word sometimes took took years in seminary wrestling with this truth before allowing it to rule in their lives. It's okay if it's uncomfortable, but we are not allowed to say it's unbiblical, because it's coming directly from God's word, and that's what we do here at Sovereign Grace Bible Church is we go, verse by verse, through God's word and we expose the truth of God's word so that God can speak clearly to his people. You don't need my opinions, you don't need my personality. You need to understand that God who made you, loved you and saved you.
Speaker 1:Let's pray, father, we come before you and it is overwhelming to try to explain the expanse of your glory, of your godness. Lord, you are in control, you reign, and we ask, lord, that you would reign in our hearts and in our minds, that you would turn our minds from thinking self-centeredly and selfishly but to look only at you and to be in awe and wonder of how gracious and merciful you've been to us. Lord, please help us in our weakness to keep our eyes focused on you and when we have questions and comments and concerns, lord, that we would go to you and we would say, lord, please renew my faith. I believe, help my unbelief, help me to have that childlike faith where, no matter what is happening around me, no matter what I do or do not understand, that my security is found not in my circumstance but in my Christ. Lord, we ask that you would be glorified and honored and praised in this house and that your name would be high and lifted up. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
