Meant to Be – Part II (2 Peter 1:10)

Introduction

Okay, so I’m just going to call this the series that went awry. Because I preached the first lesson in this two-part series a month ago. And then we had elders installed, and I wanted to do something different on that particular evening, and then one thing led to another. And here we are a month later with lesson number two. In fact, the last two series I’ve tried have ended up being like this. So this is why I don’t generally do series. But there was just too much material to consider for this particular lesson to do it all in one shot. So a month ago, and I’m not going to belabor this, but I do need to give you the context of what I said a month ago.

Some of you weren’t here then or you don’t remember a month later. So let me give you the context of what we talked about rather quickly. If you want to hear lesson one, it’s on the website. So you can go back to the first Sunday in June. It’s also on Facebook. Okay. It began with the hit song from 2017 by Florida Georgia Lion and Bibi Rexite. Called It’s Meant to Be. And as I was reading these lyrics in that sermon, I wanted to sing them. Again, I’ll have to try to refrain because this is a really catchy tune. Who knows where this road is supposed to lead? If it’s meant to be, it’ll be, it’ll be. Baby, just let it be. See, you want to sing that.

So come on, ride with me, ride with me, see where this thing goes. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be, it’ll be, baby, if it’s meant to be. Maybe we do, maybe we don’t, maybe we will, maybe we won’t. Country songs, you gotta love them. But if it’s meant to be, it’ll be, it’ll be, baby, just let it be. And you’ll get to sing that three or four times when you sing that song with Florida, Georgia Line and D B.B. Rexon. This is a very common sentiment.

And I’ll explain why I say that a little bit later. But meant to be its destination. By whom? Is it Kismet? The idea of a choice or lot. This is your lot in life. Is it just written in the stars? But really, what does that mean? Written in the stars. We talk about that all the time. Does such talk reflect that people just want to see their lives as meaningful as having a purpose? They’re involved in some grand scheme that is greater than themselves. There’s some force working in the universe. And they’re supposed to live up to the ideal that was planned for them by someone or something. Well, you believe in God, and that’s why you’re here. What about God’s intentions for you? Maybe before you were ever born.

I’ve preached this in a number of different sermons. One of the first guys I ever worked with preaching part-time, a preacher of many years, talked about these four forces in the world. Oh, I think I’ve heard him preach the sermon two or three times. I think I’ve preached it at least half a dozen times through the years. Four major forces at work in the world, of course, the greatest of which is God Himself, and nothing happens outside of his purview or him allowing it to occur. But you have the devil at work, the God of this world. You have the sowing and reaping of men or the deeds of men, and then you just have the luck of the draw. Time and chance that overtakes you, being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Like you’re driving a vehicle that someone has loaned you because your vehicle is broken down, and it just so happens that the registration is out on that loaner vehicle, and you get a ticket for their good deed. Scott Wiggington and Ross Harkrider. You need to hear that story. Wait till Scott gets back. Just time and chance, Ross. Wrong place, wrong time. And Ross has been pulled over by that same officer before. But that’s another interesting part of that story. But we mentioned the death of Cynthia Tisdale, who was the substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School. She worked with special needs kids. Didn’t work because she really needed to for the money, but because she wanted to. She was there that day and lost her life in that terrible school shooting.

I don’t know that I had this on the slide. I don’t think I did. I think I added it this week. In regards to what happens in the world and what agent is responsible. Well, maybe we know in regard to Ross and the van, but it’s not always decipherable. Or it could be a combination of agents involved. I’m going to say that Scott’s deeds played a role in Ross’s ticket. As well as just the time and chance of being there when a police officer noticed the out-of-date registration from 2016, I might add. This is a great story, isn’t it? Perfect timing for the lesson tonight. Time and chance. But which forces at work in the world, especially when we’re talking about what role God himself might have played in the absence of revelation.

We may not always know the answer to that. We talked about some interesting statements about things that are meant to be. We talked about the death of Josiah, how his untimely death was actually a blessing. And then we talked about God’s plan for Jeremiah and Paul. And I know I corrected this slide because I had Galatians 1.5 the last time I preached it. It’s actually Galatians 1.15. That’s the great thing about PowerPoint. You can fix the mistakes, especially if you’re doing a series. And so, but it would have been nice if both would have been one-five. But Jeremiah 1.5 and Galatians 1.15, where both of them are separated from the womb, basically, to do the work that God has called them to do. But this is just simply indicating that God knows how things are going to play out.

And we made this observation that God, knowing the future, does not rob anyone of personal choice and freedom. And this is where so many go awry with the false doctrine of predestination. That is, some believe theologically, that God selects individuals that are going to be saved. They would even misuse 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14, that God somehow puts switches in our minds and causes us to be able then to comprehend his will for salvation. And that’s a misuse of 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 14. But God knowing the future and being able to forecast what is going to occur does not cause the choices that people make in regard to personal freedom of choice. And we’ll show some more things about that important conclusion tonight.

1. If It Is Meant to Be, Will It Be?

If it is meant to be, will it, will it be? Is every event predetermined? And if that’s the case, then why do we see in the New Testament Paul reasoning with people? Why reason with them if it’s all a matter of God’s already decided it? Why have urgent appeals for action again if God has predetermined the course of everything? I’m going to give you a few verses tonight where I would say to you, this is case closed, in regard to the business of predestination as it’s taught theologically. So you might want to mark these down. This would be one of the passages that I would go to first. We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the things done in our body, whether they be good or bad.

Now, if that does not argue freedom in regard to personal choice, I don’t know what does. It’s about the decisions that you make, good or bad, your behavior, and you’ll stand in judgment on the basis of the choices that you’ve made. Deuteronomy. God tells the people of Israel, choose life. Here are two possibilities. I set before you the way of life and death, blessing and adversity. He said, you need to choose. The next verse. Knowing the terror of the Lord. Oh, this is the judgment upon the bad deeds. The bad choices that people make. Knowing the terror of the Lord, what does Paul say? We persuade men. Now, apparently, the choices you make a difference. You can’t just sit back and say, well, whatever is meant to be, it’ll be.

2. Moses and the Circumcision of His Son

And I think that’s part of the reason why we hear that all the time, is that we don’t really want to be responsible for what happens. It’s going to happen whether I want it to or not. It’s written in the stars, and so just go with the flow, whatever, and voila. Whatever occurs was supposed to occur. Is that really the right way to look at things? Let me give you a biblical example. We’ll look at a couple of things before we get to some of the conclusions tonight. Somebody brought this up. After lesson number one. This is another good reason why it’s good to have a month in between lessons one and two. And it’s the story of Moses and the circumcision of his son Gersham.

The burning bush incident happened in the previous chapter, and so Moses is about to go to Pharaoh and say from God, let my people go. And look at verse 24. That’s a very short story. We don’t talk about it that much, at least I haven’t. Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Wait. Are we talking about Moses? Yeah. The Lord sought him to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin. Might wish that would have happened when he was a few days old, versus however old he was at this point. And threw it at Moses’ feet. So she’s not really happy about having to do this.

You almost have to wonder why Moses himself did not do it. And she says, You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me. So God led him alone. At that time, she said, you are a bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision. Now he had another son, Eliezer, and this is a troubling text.

When you think about why doesn’t God just, by the way, I had to have a conversation with Moses about circumcision. I know he’s going to do the right thing. I know his son will be circumcised, like he should be. He’ll do the right thing, but I need to have a conversation with him first. That’s not how the text presents it. The text presents it, the Lord sought to kill it. That’s a pretty severe way of stating it. If you know the choice that he’s going to make, isn’t it? Another astutely observed that by Zephora’s actions, this is just a little tidbit, no extra cost. Moses has now been saved by four different women in his life, in some sense. His mother, his sister, Pharaoh’s daughter, and now Zephorah.

Now, I don’t know what we’re supposed to make of all of that, other than the fact that four women have acted very shrewdly in Moses’ life to keep him alive. But Zipporah’s apparent distaste for the act is interesting. You know, she’s not a descendant of Israel. And the text mentions her no more. After Exodus chapter 18. She’s not mentioned anymore in the scripture. And furthermore, it’s interesting that Gersham and Eliezer are not really significant after that either, though they are the sons of Moses. Perhaps we should learn that our distaste for instruction we don’t like is not in our best interests. We don’t have to understand all that God wants us to do. We just need to acknowledge who he is and who we are and comply.

3. Open Doors Do Not Guarantee Results

Moses is going to go tell Pharaoh, let my people go, the ten plagues are going to result, the Red Sea deliverance, and so on. But the text says that he seeks to kill him for his neglect. Interesting. New Testament illustration. And that has to do with what Paul says a number of times about open doors. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 16. I thought about this initially, and I said I can’t get to this the first week. But as Paul is writing 1 Corinthians, he says, but I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effectual service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries. That’s an interesting idea. It’s the idea of opportunities that have been provided, opportunities for the faithful for serving saints to accomplish things for the Lord and to advance the gospel.

But the fact there are open doors do not guarantee results. And again, that’s sort of the idea of predestination, isn’t it? That God has determined the results. God determines results. God opens doors, and he expects Christians like Paul to walk through the doors. 2 Corinthians chapter 2. Notice this. And there are many adversaries, Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16. He speaks of Satan, who is an adversary, and we are not ignorant of his schemes. And then he says in verse 12, now when I came to Troaz for the gospel of Christ, and when a door was opened for me in the Lord. Again, an area of opportunity, he says. Colossians chapter 4. Notice again, he talks about open doors. Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving, praying at the same time for us as well.

Why does Paul want the church at Colossae praying for him? Look at verse 3.

That God may, wait a minute, I thought God predetermined everything. That God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned. It doesn’t sound like everything has been predetermined. Jesus says in Revelation chapter 3, the final passage in this vein that I want to look at in regard to open doors. To the church at Philadelphia, we quoted verse 10 this morning. He says, I know your deeds. Behold, I have put before you an open door, which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept my word and have not denied my name. Now, all of this relates to an interesting passage, at least as we talk about open doors and opportunities, to a promise Jesus makes in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7.

You know what he says there, right? Ask, and it will be given unto you. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door shall be open. Have you given any thought to that? How does that happen? People ask, people seek, people knock. And whatever is the result of that is dependent upon them doing that action. Seeking, asking, knocking. He who asks receives. He who seeks finds. He who knocks the door is opened. And then God, being good, certainly knows how to give good gifts for the Holy Spirit, the other text says, to those who ask him in verse 11. Well, how does all that happen? God makes sure that the opportunities are provided for them to receive what they need. If it’s the message of the gospel.

And we’ve talked about this so many times in regard to this text. If someone is really looking for the truth, what do we say? They’re going to find it. God is going to provide the message or the messenger so that they can have the truth and their soul might be saved. God is powerful to make that happen. But that may be where you come in to walk through the open door that is provided. What if I fail? What if I don’t meet the opportunity? Someone else will meet that opportunity. And so open doors is an interesting thing. And I wondered about Matthew 7 in this regard. There have been a number of conversations that I’ve had through the years where I thought God wanted me to be here right here, right now, and saying these things to this person.

There’s been a few occasions where that, I don’t want to go into the specifics of any of them, but I thought, wow, I was supposed to be here right now for this moment for this conversation with this person because of what it means. Now, sometimes we may wrongly ascertain that. I’m not saying that I could be absolutely 100% sure. Again, it’s sort of hard to decipher. But if we believe God is working in us and through us to his glory, then we at least have to believe that there are some things that could occur in my life that God absolutely wants to happen for the benefit of the people involved. Well, here’s the text.

4. Chosen in Him Before the Foundation of the World

How God arranges all those circumstances, I may not always be able to see that. In fact, I may be in the dark most of the time. But when people talk about the subject of predestination, I couldn’t do this sermon without talking about Ephesians 1 for just a minute. One statement in particular in this context, in Ephesians 1, look at this. Because if you talk to someone who believes that doctrine theologically, they’re most likely going to go to Ephesians 1 and verse 4. And this is a very similar statement to what we saw in relation to Paul and Jeremiah. But he says, just as he chose us. Now, he has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, verse 3, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

And so people conclude. Alright, there it is. There’s my view of predestination. God chose us. The reason why you’re in Christ is God chose you before the foundation of the world. And really, you couldn’t really fight against it because you were chosen. You were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. See, that’s the verse that they go to. The problem with that kind of theology and looking at the passages we’ve already seen, you can’t take one verse and draw it out and draw conclusions and build your theology and then just ignore everything else. That is what is so commonly done today. They take one passage of Scripture and believe it’s teaching a certain thing, and then they construct a whole theology around those verses, even though it causes them to come into conflict with other passages.

You know, what are you going to do with 2 Corinthians 5, 10 and 11, the passages that we looked at in the beginning. What about all the invitations that we read about in Scripture? I just want to take you, I’m, I love this one. Revelation 18. You might be surprised I’m going there. But when we were teaching the book of Revelation, these two verses really leaped out at me. And I can give you a lot of examples of invitations. I could go to chapter 21 and 22 and talk about the invitations there. But I really like this one. The conclusion of the story when all has been heard, if we could quote from Ecclesiastes. The book of Revelation. You have all these enemies. You have the cries of the righteous that we talked about this morning.

You have the whole world being influenced by false religion. And then you have this. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality. Okay. So the harlot, she has seduced people all over the world. And the kings of the earth. It’s even included all nations. The kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her. Oh, and don’t forget the merchants. And the merchants of the earth, all those who buy and sell and drink, have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality. That sort of sounds like everything has been affected. The whole world’s been affected by the harlot’s influence. And I heard another voice from heaven saying, come out of her, my people. That you may not participate in her sins.

And that you may not receive of her plagues. And then the text is going to go on to describe her destruction and all of her allies in chapters 19 and 20. Do you see the point I’m making with that verse? Everybody has been seduced. The influence of the harlot is pervasive throughout the world. Well, there’s not much you can do about it. If you’re not one of the destined, if you’re not one of the chosen, you’re just sort of stuck and lost. Why make this appeal? This is really the appeal of the book of Revelation. As everyone is being everyone, everywhere is being admonished. Come out of her. Do not participate. Oh, wait a minute. Am I one of the chosen or not? Yes. If you choose not to participate in her sins.

That’s right. You can be one of the chosen in him from the foundation of the world. The kind of people that God selected to be the recipients of his blessings. You can be one of those people if you choose. It’s on you. If you choose not to partake in her sins, and you better make that choice, or you’re going to receive her plagues. It’s totally up to you. That is the consistent appeal of Scripture. Will you choose to be counted among the chosen? Now I’ll tell you, if you make that choice, the Lord will know that you were going to make that choice. Yeah, I know. It blows your mind, doesn’t it? But that doesn’t mean he caused the choice. If he did, there wouldn’t be the invitations.

5. You Cannot Remove Personal Choice

So choose wisely so that you can be on the right side of destiny. Okay, what is destined to be? How many more passages? In every nation, Cornelius was told, in every nation, he who fears God and does what is right is accepted of it. Again, this is a universal appeal. Every nation, he who fears God and does what is right is accepted of him. That sounds like a choice, doesn’t it? And it would be superfluous to even say it. If the predestination doctrine is true, that God is predetermined individually, he said, I’m sort of like you, and I choose you. I’m going to open your heart so you can receive the message because I sort of like you. If that’s all true, then these next two passages are absolutely meaningless.

They have no meaning at all. God would have all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Well, just flip the switches then. Just flip the switches. He’s not wishing that any should perish. But that all should come to repentance. Well, if he wants everybody to be saved and everybody to come to repentance, then just start flipping the switches and making sure their hearts, everybody will be saved then. You can’t make the doctrine of predestination work with these passages. You just can’t. You cannot remove personal choice from the equation. The point of being chosen in him from the foundation of the world is much like Revelation 13 that says the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. God had a plan.

6. What Is Meant to Be in Your Life?

But men were still involved in choices that led to Jesus’ death and rejection, which provided the salvation and his church to be established where you can choose to be a part. Or you can choose not to be a part. Alright, some concluding thoughts here. Oh, I have a lot to say here. What is meant to be in your life? Well, we’ve already read really the answer to that question in the previous text. How pervasive is this? A recent medical drama. An older doctor was giving advice to a younger doctor. And he said, if your goal is to become a better doctor, remember who you are, young squire. It’s the only way you’re going to become who you are truly meant to be. See how pervasive that idea is?

Do you know what you’re doing? What you’re doing is a doctor. That’s what you were meant to do. Kids, I know choices about what direction your life is going to take and what kind of profession you’re going to have. You know, I know that’s big on your mind right now. Okay, maybe not. But it will be. It will be big on your mind. Do you think that there’s just one occupation that you were meant to have? It’s written in the stars. I wonder what it is. Professional baseball player. Wouldn’t it be great? Maybe.

What’s it going to be? It’s written in the stars. I told a story. I went to Florida College. I was going to be, I was not going to be a preacher, actually. Well, if you’d asked me before, the day I drove to Florida College, are you going to be a preacher? I’d have said, you’re out of your mind. I was going to be a sports broadcaster. That’s what I was going to do. I was going to be the next voice of the Cincinnati Reds. Terrible career decision because the guy that was the voice of the Cincinnati Reds when I went off to Florida College is still the voice of the Cincinnati Reds. Is that guy ever going to retire? So somebody else can have his job.

He’s a Hall of Famer. In broadcasting. And then that fateful night came when I heard D. Bowman preach, for I’m ready to preach the gospel. And so I decided that very night, went back, called my parents and said, you know, you talked about me being a preacher one day. I’ve decided I’m going to preach the gospel. And they said, Are you kidding? And my fellow students said, Are you kidding? Aren’t you the guy that got 20 demerits in your first year? Let’s not go there. Okay. Well, it was meant to be. It was meant to be. Did God know I was going to make this choice? Yeah. He did. He knew I was going to be used in this way. But what if I’d not gone to hear D that night at the lectures?

What if I’d gone with my friends to a movie? Would it have all turned out the way that it did? Or was personal choice involved in a lot of that? I was throwing a couple things, a little tidbits here in Romans 10 about my heart’s desire for Israel is that they might be saved, Paul said. Well, again, why even say that if it’s all been predetermined? Predetermined rejection. Paul did not chalk up completely as a lost cause. It was not predestined. And then there’s this, I just want to throw this in as something to think about. When Paul talks about being perplexed, this is an interesting contrast going on in chapter 4. He’s talking about the treasure of earthen vessels, which he is. He says, we’re afflicted in every way but not crushed.

He says, perplexed, but not despairing. And what I find interesting about that is he’s being guided in a miraculous way by the Holy Spirit in a way that you and I never have been. He’s receiving inspiration. He’s performing miracles, and he’s leading the Lord’s people as one of the apostles. And even he is perplexed about events that are happening in his life. Well, what’s the will of God in all of this? What’s this supposed to mean in the whole scheme of things? Even the apostle Paul is perplexed about things that are happening in his circumstances. Well, let me tell you about what is meant to be for you. Well, what is meant for you and me is a choice. You can either be a vessel of honor, useful to the master, prepared for every good work, or you can choose to be a vessel of wrath.

You can choose to be Moses who will submit to the instruction, even if you had a little hiccup along the way. Or you can be Pharaoh, who hardens his heart against the Lord. You can be Jacob, who desperately desires the birthright and the blessing of his father and all of the spiritual things, the spiritual blessings that attend that, or you can be an Esau who despises his birthright and rejects it, who is godless and immoral. That’s what Romans 9 is all about. You have a choice to make. It wasn’t that God said, Oh, by the way, that Esau, yeah, I like Jacob better. That’s not what that was about. It’s about the kind of men they chose to be, and Jacob being the chosen as a result.

Vessel of honor. Or vessel of wrath. Will you choose to live faithfully and eternally? Just a few concluding thoughts here in 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 14. But thanks be to God who always leads us in his triumph in Christ and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. Knowing, verse 14 of chapter 4, that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. Now, here’s here’s some concluding thoughts of this. Inclusion in God’s things and spiritual growth are no accident. Well, whatever it’ll be, it’ll be. I’m just going to sort of mosey on along here. I hope I become a really knowledgeable student of the Bible. Well, how hard are you going to work at that?

I’m going to be a pillar in the local church. Maybe we should aspire to be that. Somebody who is strong, that people can follow and be a person of influence in the local. Well, you know, as I get older, it’s just going to magically happen. I’ll be a pillar in the church, as we talked a few weeks ago. I’ll become an elder. It’ll just sort of, if it’s meant to be, it’ll be wrong. That’s not how it happens. Make certain of his calling and choosing you. Peter says in 2 Peter chapter 1, if he talks, as after he talks about applying all diligence and adding these qualities to your faith, he says, you demonstrate that you are indeed a child of God by the way that you live.

You’ve got to choose that. And if you do that, God will abundantly supply an entrance into his eternal kingdom to you. It’s your choice. I love the highway of holiness passage in Isaiah 35. Fools will not wander therein. You get that, right? He’s not. What he’s saying there is this.

They are there because they chose to walk that way. Salvation. My responsibility. Oh, yeah, God is greatly involved. God has provided the means, and we are completely dependent upon him. He assists the righteous as they live their lives, as we strive to serve him. But I want to tell you that does not change your responsibility in salvation by grace through faith. And I’ve given you six words here that are synonyms that are going to be involved, and they’re found throughout the New Testament. Industry, activity, striving, diligence, effort, determination, those concepts are all over. The New Testament. Toward the end of the movie, Pearl Harbor. I didn’t see it in the theater. There was some objectionable content. I saw it on TV, still a little bit of objectionable content.

But toward the end of that movie, Alec Baldwin’s character says to some character you don’t really know well, you just know his name is Jack. He says, You know, Jack, we may lose this battle, but we’re going to win the war. You know how I know them. And he points to two fighter pilots, one of whom is played by Ben Affleck. Two brave pilots about to embark on a dangerous mission to bomb Japan. And he says, Because they’re rare. At times like these, you see them stepping forward. He says, There’s nothing stronger, Jack, than the heart of a volunteer. I think there’s a lot of application in that. When we willingly choose to be a disciple of the Lord, it is amazing what we can become in Him.

Conclusion

What about your choice? It’s not already predetermined by God. You’re still writing the script on your legacy. Young people, you’ve just begun to write the script on your legacy as a person in this world and as a Christian, and we’ll end this lesson the way we ended the last one. What will you decide about your spiritual destiny? Obedience to the Lord is good. It’s sensible. And it’s rewarding like nothing else is. Choose while there’s time and opportunity. Choose blastily, stand and seek.