Hope For The Heart

Have you ever wondered if God actually hears your prayers? If He does , then why does He not answer? If you have ever asked these kinds of questions then settle back and get ready for one of the most exciting, even confusing passage in all the Word of God. We are going to journey together with the prophet Habakkuk as he asked God why He is not doing something to answer his prayer. I do believe that what we are going to see will not be what the prophet was expecting to hear.

This passage is a very clear challenge to "be diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you." What that actually means is simply to be sure you are saved. Now the question would have to be for the unsure professing person, how can I be sure of my salvation? And the answer I like to give is in 3 parts with one being the most obvious one to check. That one is the fact that regeneration or the moment you are saved you are a new creation( 2 Corinthians 5:17) Here is the simple truth about that passage, when you are saved God gives you a new heart and puts His Spirt in you.( Ezekiel 36: 26 & 27) I truly believe that you actually do change and you know it. Now you can love God and you are able to seek Him , whereas, you were not able before you were saved.

Do you love God ? A little bit more special would be , What does it mean (to you) to be Born Again? Your answer might reveal a lot about your view of salvation. You see, it's not necessarily a person making a decision at a evangelistic crusade or a person praying the sinners prayer, these don't necessarily mean you have been regenerated and many times a person's insecurity about eternal security could be a result. Unless there is a change in us so that now we actually love God can we have a real confidence in the promises of God. Before regeneration we are haters of God and regeneration changes us so that we are now able to Love God and do love Him .

This passage is perhaps the greatest encouraging word for all believers , especially those who might have any doubts concerning the security of the believer. That is , believers who have yet realized that when a person is regenerated , or born again (saved), they can never be unsaved or loose their salvation . This passage actually says that we as believers are " protected by the power of God." There is actually no way in the universe a believer can loose their salvation, once they are truly saved.

This is just one passage in God's Word that speaks to the subject of "eternal security " or "once saved always saved" Or even "perseverance of the saints". All these phrases don't mean exactly the same thing but for the purpose of this message-I'm use them to speak on the subject of not being able to loose your salvation. Yes, when we are saved we are given a supernatural faith that will never fade or be abandoned for ever , even in heaven. So once a person is saved they will go to heaven when their time comes . If you are not regenerated or "Born Again", you will not go to heaven when you die.

Once again I want to lift the word "Called" out of this verse because of the uniqueness of the word that speaks to the sovereignty of God in Salvation. A call that comes directly from God to transfer us from the kingdom of darkness to His glorious light. A call that brings the power of God to the sinner to change his way of thinking. His desire will then allow the sinner to believe the Gospel and be transformed and trust Christ.

I want to focus today on one word that we find several times in this passage. That word is "called" and it is a very simple word to basically understand because we use it all the time in many ways. I think you will see by the time you get to the end of the message that no matter what you think of this word it appears throughout the Bible. Therefore, we should probably try to understand, as best that we can, what it is that Gid has done and continues to do to people around the world. By the way, this word , "Called"(as we use the word) is a bit different than how Romans used the word. This word , called in Romans cannot be refused or delayed in any way by anyone, at anytime. When called by God you change immediately.

This passage asked the question "does God know the future? Then it answers it with an absolute affirmative. Yes God does know the future because He ordained the future, the determined every thing that is to happen. This, according to the Bible, sets Him apart from the false God's that the nation of Israel was worshipping . According to Isaiah 46:10 , God declares the end at the beginning . This is what Bible prophecy is all about-God declaring something years before it ever comes to pass. God knew from before the world was created who is going to be saved because He decided who is going to be with Him in Glory.

This passage encourages you not to look at the entire human race through all generations for all time but to only look at yourself and ask the question "Did God choose me? Perhaps it will help you to look at the doctrine of election a little softer. For many people have a difficult time not only looking at this teaching but discussing it with someone who might have a different view. For others , they believe this teaching only because it is in the Bible. I don't believe that anyone is able to understand it but believe it because God said so.

For many believers this is a passage they like to skip because it has 2 words in it that are very controversial ( predestined and chose). However, they are very much a part of the Bible and the doctrine of Election. This is one of the many passages in the Bible that seem to me to definitely teach the doctrine of election, so I feel that believers own it to themselves to really study it and I also believe that you will come to love the doctrine because in it God receives all the glory for our salvation.