Coach P 🧢🧢

[This Excellent Church @thisexcellentch]

Why Prayerlessness is Actually a Soft Rebellion

From the Miracles and Parables series, The Leper’s Cleansing sermon.

Available on all streaming platforms.

[Oloyede Olayinka @YinKysmileS]

Before we read other books about the Bible, we must make sure that we've actually read the Bible itself.

There's no doubt that the Church has been blessed by theologians, commentaries, confessions, and centuries of scholarship. However helpful they may be, none of them is inspired. None of them carries the authority of Moses, Isaiah, Christ, Peter, orPaul.

And perhaps no doctrine demonstrates the importance of this more than predestination.

For many believers, the word already means something before they have ever examined what Scripture itself says about it.

Not because Scripture is unclear, but because many believers encounter the doctrine through theological systems long before they encounter it through the actual storyline of Scripture. As a result, the word "predestination" immediately carries assumptions that may or may not be what the biblical authors themselves intended.

Before allowing Augustine, Calvin, Arminius, or any later theological tradition to define the doctrine, perhaps the first question we should ask is a much simpler one:

What is the Bible actually doing when it speaks about God's predetermined purpose?

Because predestination did not suddenly appear in Romans. It did not begin in Ephesians. It did not originate with Paul.

The epistles were written to explain truths already revealed throughout the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.

And when we begin where Scripture begins, something remarkable emerges.

The Bible's first emphasis is not on a predetermined people.

It is on a predetermined Redeemer.

Immediately after the fall, before Adam and Eve could offer a sacrifice, formulate a prayer, or seek a solution, God Himself announced His redemptive purpose:

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15)

The first gospel promise is not a list of selected individuals.

It is the promise of a coming Deliverer.

A Seed. A Redeemer. A serpent-crusher.

From that moment onward, the entire Old Testament becomes the unfolding story of God's predetermined purpose to bring salvation through that promised Seed.

As history progresses, God narrows the line through which the promise will come.

Not because He is narrowing salvation.

But because He is narrowing the channel through which salvation will come.

From Adam to Seth. From Seth to Noah. From Noah to Shem. From Shem to Abraham. From Abraham to Isaac. From Isaac to Jacob. From Jacob to Judah. From Judah to David. From David to Christ.

This is divine purpose unfolding through history.

This is the story Scripture is telling.

When God called Abraham, He did not merely promise him descendants.

He announced His redemptive plan for the nations:

"In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)

Not some families.

Not a hidden subset of humanity.

Not a secret elect community.

All families.

And God repeats the promise so often that it becomes impossible to miss:

"In thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 22:18)

"In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 26:4)

"In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 28:14)

Why the repetition?

Because God is emphasizing the scope of His redemptive purpose.

The promise was never merely Israel.

The promise was Christ through Israel.

And the blessing was never intended to terminate on one nation.

It was always destined to reach the nations.

Paul later explains this explicitly:

"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham..." (Galatians 3:8)

Think carefully about that.

Paul says Genesis was preaching the gospel beforehand.

The promise to Abraham was not fundamentally about ethnicity.

It was not fundamentally about national privilege.

It was the gospel.

God's predetermined plan to justify people from every nation through faith in Christ.

This is why many popular discussions of predestination begin in the wrong place.

They begin with Romans 9.

The Bible begins with Genesis 3.

They begin with individuals.

The Bible begins with Christ.

Even the famous example of Jacob and Esau is often detached from its original context.

Many believers have been taught that Romans 9 teaches that God chose Jacob for eternal salvation and Esau for eternal damnation before either was born and before either had done any good or evil. But is that actually Paul's argument, or have we imported assumptions into the text that Paul himself never intended?

Yet Paul is drawing from Genesis and Malachi, and both contexts must be respected.

When God spoke to Rebekah, He said:

"Two nations are in thy womb." (Genesis 25:23)

Not two eternal destinies. Two nations.

The prophecy concerns covenant history and the line through which God's redemptive purpose would move.

Furthermore, the statement:

"The elder shall serve the younger"

was never literally fulfilled between Jacob and Esau themselves.

It found fulfillment in the nations descending from them.

When Paul later quotes:

"Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated"

he is quoting Malachi, written more than a thousand years after both men had died.

The discussion is covenantal and historical.

It concerns the role each nation played in redemptive history.

Paul's point is that God is sovereign in determining how His redemptive plan unfolds.

The issue is the line of promise.

The issue is not proving that God arbitrarily assigns eternal destinies before people exist or do good or evil.

The same principle appears in Pharaoh.

Many people quote:

"Whom he will he hardeneth."

But Exodus repeatedly tells us Pharaoh hardened his own heart before God judicially hardened him.

Pharaoh rejected revelation.

Pharaoh resisted God's word.

Pharaoh repeatedly chose rebellion.

Only then do we see God confirming him in the path he had chosen.

This pattern appears throughout Scripture.

People reject truth.

God gives them over.

Romans 1 teaches precisely the same thing.

Pharaoh demonstrates God's sovereignty over human rebellion.

He does not demonstrate God creating unbelief in innocent people.

The greatest example of God's predetermined purpose is not Pharaoh.

It is Christ.

Isaiah calls Him:

"Mine elect." (Isaiah 42:1)

Peter calls Him:

"A chief corner stone, elect, precious." (1 Peter 2:6)

Notice this carefully.

Before believers are called elect, Christ is.

Before anyone shares in the blessing, Christ is the blessing.

Before anyone participates in the purpose, Christ is the center of the purpose.

The New Testament never presents election or predestination apart from Him.

Everything is in Christ.

Through Christ.

By Christ.

For Christ.

This becomes crucial when we examine every actual use of predestination language in the New Testament.

In Acts 4:28, God's predetermined purpose concerns the cross.

In 1 Corinthians 2:7, God's predetermined wisdom concerns the redemptive plan hidden before the ages.

In Romans 8:29, believers are predestined:

"to be conformed to the image of his Son."

Notice the destination.

The text does not say predestined to believe.

It says predestined to be conformed to Christ.

In Romans 8:30, the focus is the certainty of glorification.

In Ephesians 1:5, believers are predestined unto adoption.

In Ephesians 1:11, believers are predestined unto inheritance.

Every occurrence concerns either Christ, the cross, God's redemptive plan, or the future destiny of those who belong to Christ.

Every single one.

What is striking is not merely what the texts say.

It is what they never say.

They never say God predestined certain individuals to believe while withholding any genuine provision from the rest.

Instead, they repeatedly emphasize God's predetermined purpose in Christ and the guaranteed destiny of those who are united to Him.

This is why Paul repeatedly uses the phrase:

"In Him"

"In Christ"

"In the Beloved"

throughout Ephesians 1.

The chosen people are chosen in the Chosen One.

The elect share in the destiny of the Elect One.

The inheritance belongs to those united to Christ.

The entire doctrine is Christ-centered from beginning to end.

And this is why the universal invitations of Scripture remain completely intact.

"Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 45:22)

"For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16)

"The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)

"And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32)

"Who will have all men to be saved." (1 Timothy 2:4)

"Who gave himself a ransom for all." (1 Timothy 2:6)

"Who tasted death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9)

"The sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2)

"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

The biblical story never moves from "all families of the earth" in Genesis to "only a secret subset" in the New Testament.

It moves from promise to fulfillment.

From shadow to substance.

From Abraham's Seed to Christ.

Predestination, therefore, is not first a doctrine about excluding people.

It is a doctrine about God's unwavering commitment to accomplish His redemptive purpose in Christ.

The cross was predetermined.

The Redeemer was predetermined.

The inheritance was predetermined.

The glorification of believers was predetermined.

The final conformity of believers to Christ was predetermined.

And because God's purpose is centered in Christ, every believer can rest in this certainty:

The God who planned redemption before the foundation of the world will complete redemption at the resurrection of the saints.

That is biblical predestination.

Not a doctrine designed to make sinners wonder whether Christ died for them.

But a doctrine designed to magnify the wisdom, faithfulness, and triumph of God's eternal purpose in His Son.

The Bible's focus is not a secret list hidden in heaven.

The Bible's focus is a Savior revealed to the world.

And the invitation remains exactly as wide as Scripture presents it:

"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

[Zee @ZainabBell657]

pro tip: to transfer a file quickly between computers just copy the file you want, disconnect your mouse, plug it into the other pc and paste

[Triple M @Tripple____M]

Saliba and Gabriel have one job. Recreating this photo

Repost until they see it

[Triple M @Tripple____M]

Dear Viktor Gyokeres, all Arsenal fans want you to recreate this on Sunday. It would mean a lot to us

Repost until Gyokeres sees is

Come on Arsenal fans

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@xk_machine @pureuranium A local community project that would pay/bring in how much? And then mid season you start to complain why aren’t we buying players.

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@Bishopofoau Is this the wrong view?

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@Bishopofoau I see the spiritual moment as the day I received Jesus and baptism being a reflection of that akin to the argument that Paul makes concerning circumcision as how Abraham was saved before he was circumcised even though God did command them to be circumcised if that makes sense

[Deborah Ocheido @d_ocheido]

Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.

He loves you, He died for you and His arms are open and ready to receive you.

If this crosses your timeline, please repost.

It could just save a confused soul on their way to hell

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@Bishopofoau @Mohsule_ Yes yes I know that. But if she is a not serving member aka just a regular attendee, what would that look like? I don’t know if you can exactly stop her from attending?

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@mazibayo Please what’s your take on this? This is one of the ones I’ve struggled hardest to reconcile. A private explanation would suffice. I’ve read some of your other stuff and I find you highly informative.

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@ImmaGurtu @nonewthing Bruh. That is literally the organization part of it.

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@ebeletheservant This is very well put and expressed. Thank you for expressing the heart of God beautifully.

[Coach P 🧢🧢 @_eskorr]

@rukundoegumeho1 @MooreRMFC Also they did the same to xhaka at arsenal

[Mike Winger @MikeWingerii]

VERY real warning about coming massacre of Christians on Christmas!

This video seems to be getting suppressed reach on YouTube (based on analytics) so I hope it does better here.

Go to https://t.co/OEGdoFeEgD and scroll down, enter your state, and email your representatives.

Letter to Congress and senate:

Subject: Please Defend Persecuted Christians in Nigeria, Stop the Coming Massacre, and Get Mark Walker Appointed as Religious Freedom Ambassador.

Dear [Congressman/Senator] [Last Name],

Credible reports state that there is a coming massacre of Christians by Fulani Ethnic militia who are planning to hit on or before Christmas, the towns of Riyom, and Bokkos in Plateau State and in Kafanchan in Kaduna State, and in Agatu in Benue State. See https://t.co/vFXpctsAqk for details. Do something to stop the coming Christmas massacre in Nigeria and protect persecuted Christians there. Get Mark Walker an immediate hearing and vote for him to be appointed as the ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom. If he fills that position he could help the situation and he has been denied a hearing for 8 months now, even though Trump nominated him.

[Fola Gideon @Afolasakin01]

I dare you to tweet the following:

"Deborah didn't deserve to die, & her killers must face the law."

If you can't, you are a fan of religious terrorism.

[Mike Winger @MikeWingerii]

Trump just did this and it’s awesome.

[Big E! @EnergyOganla]

Just spoke against abortion in front of over 250 people in this lecture hall.
Good.🤌🏾