You're tuned in to the COVID-19 community report here on KDRT, 95.7 FM in Davis, California. Low power, high impact radio. I'm Autumn Lebe Renaud and today is Friday, May 15th. We are sharing local news and resources, focusing on what's impacting Davis and nearby cities in Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. The show airs live at noon on Tuesdays and Fridays and repeats at 5pm both days and at noon on Sundays. You can also check in anytime online at kdrt.org. My guests today are Yolo County Supervisor for District 3, Gary Sandy, and Wendy Kunta, who is the Executive Director of Progress Ranch, a nonprofit that runs two group homes in Davis. And we will get to those interviews in just a couple of minutes. Well, it's been a week that's brought a little bit of clarity, but even more confusion about the process of reopening, plus continued troubling economic and political news and for many of us too much time in front of a computer. I literally ran outside yesterday morning when I heard neighbors chatting in their front yards. I knew I'd be on Zoom for the next four hours and I just wanted that in-person contact from an appropriate distance, of course.  They laughed with me and not at me. My social media feeds are full of that yearning for connection as well, and the conundrum of course is how to cultivate that in ways that keep us safe. So I've mentioned this before, but there are a million stories out there about how that yearning and connection and just what gets us through our days, and we really want to hear yours. Take a look at davismedia.org slash diary to learn about our life in the time of COVID, the Yolo County Community Diary Project, and then upload your very brief video to help us paint a picture of our local communities during this time. It's easy. It can be silly or serious. You don't even need to be on camera. You can take a picture of your garden, and it does not have to be anything approaching perfection. Check it out. And our listener Lois wrote in with a few more tips on the lighter side. She reminded me about the great teddy bear hunt that continues throughout Yolo County, everything that started back in April, basically people are placing their teddy bears in visible places in their homes or parked cars so that kids can find them on scavenger hunts. And they're having all kinds of fun with this. The bears can be moved from week to week to up the challenge. Want to learn more? Check out Yolo County Teddy Bear Hunt on Facebook. And with face coverings required, a number of neighbors throughout the county are making them. In need of handmade masks or if you are making masks, there is a Facebook group Yolo County Mask Making for COVID-19. And you can also find offers for them for free on the next door app. One local non-profit, Davis Phoenix Coalition, has been making rainbow and batik masks and selling them as a fundraiser at Davis Farmers Market. Many other folks, including some of my neighbors and friends, are making them and just giving them away as a labor of love and we thank you for that. And while our usual gathering places are closed, some creative leaders have figured out ways to share using Zoom and other online methods. For example, Debbie Erniece, and ironically that's my guess Wendy's mom, managed to get almost 100 Fit for Life exercises zooming and they've been going since April. The Davis Genealogy Club will be offering its first ever online presentation on May 26th about DNA genetic genealogy research and the Davis Senior Center is hosting regular social chats to help keep folks connected. You can learn more about these last three items I mentioned via the Davis Senior Center. Call them at<PHONE_NUMBER> or email senior services at cityofdavis.org. And finally, if you haven't already checked it out, the Folk Brothers are back on the air Wednesday mornings. Bill Wagman and Peter Schiffman are working from home producing their show that includes traditional folk of the British Isles and the United States, contemporary singer-songwriters on both sides of the Atlantic, and American Roots music and some of its lesser known offshoots. It's a great show. Listen live Wednesdays at 10 a.m. or catch the archive on KDRT.org. And we're going to take just a minute for music before our first call. He served as a member of the Woodland City Council from 1989 to 1996, including two years as its mayor, and he has a storied resume of other community service plus work as a state legislative staffer and various posts at UC Davis. In 2018 he was elected to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors for District 3 and currently serves as the board's chair. My first guest today is Gary Sandy. Hi there, Gary. Welcome. Good afternoon. So how are things in your world during the pandemic, you and your family doing okay? Are you there? Yes. Can you hear me? Hello. Gary, can you hear me? Okay folks, can you hear me? We're having a technical difficulty. Hang on. Gary, can you hear me? Okay. Okay, folks, we're going to go back to the music and see if we can get him on the air again. Okay, we're going to try this again, Gary. Can you hear me? I can. All right. Hopefully you heard the nice introduction I gave you there a few minutes ago. Good. Well, so I've been talking to a lot of people, you know, over the last couple of months from the county, your Board of Supervisors colleagues, many people from public health. So we've talked a lot about the impacts of the pandemic, you know, kind of through the county lens. But last week, the state announced it would allow for regional variation, essentially an opportunity for counties to move further into phase two and reopen additional services or businesses, but they have to meet criteria and they have to have a readiness plan. So two questions to start off. How is Yolo County responding to this and what is our level of readiness? Well, we said in our, what's called our letter of adaptation yesterday to the state, which basically says we want to enter into this and begin moving ahead. And so we now have to wait and see whether they will approve that. And as you may know, or may remember, one of the problems is that they want counties to have gone 14 days without his death and due to the presence of long-term care or skilled nursing facilities in the county, that's a tougher threshold than me because the incidence of death is just much higher associated with those facilities. So that sets us back some. But we'll wait and see what happens. Right. In terms of other, let's talk about the contact tracers for a minute. I know there's a threshold there, a certain number a county needs to have. I think it was 30 for Yolo County, but we're training more, is that correct? That's exactly correct. We have 37 trained at the moment. We're trying to reach a threshold, an upper threshold of 60 so that we can give us greater mobility, but actually the tracing and the testing are the two key elements of moving forward in a manner that safeguards public health. So we're finally there. Right. Right. Well, this week brought some more items have opened up and I'm just going to read that list, child care for those outside of the essential workforce, that's a big deal. It is a huge deal. Yeah. Limited services including car washes, pet grooming, landscape gardening, appliance repair, residential and janitorial cleaning and plumbing, outdoor museums and open gallery spaces. So we are gradually starting to see those things open up where we can still have some reasonable assurance of distance. But we don't really know when we're going to get to stage three, do we? That's a question people have been asking me. We do not. Stage three is really going to be the big stage at this point. We're still dealing with things where we can pretty, whether people have limited contact with others that stage two contains a lot of outdoor activities that we've been trying to work on. But stage three will be the biggie. Stage three just incorporates the so much of the other elements, higher risk businesses including a nail and hair salon, where people are very close to each other, gyms, gyms I think are a major hurdle, movie theaters and sports with live audiences and of course in person religious services, which has been another significant barrier await us in stage three. Yeah. And then of course there's the concern that we could pass through stage three, reopen a bunch of things and then deal with a seasonal outbreak again in the fall. We don't know but that's one of the potentials. So that's one of the reasons that I've been more of a fan of moving ahead at this point when the relative level of contact between people is better spaced. People are outside, they're moving around, they're maintaining an active lifestyle. And I wanted us to learn our lessons now than wait until the fall when people begin to go inside and they're enclosed, contain spaces where the spread of the virus can happen more quickly. And so I've been rather anxious to get us out there and so we can start learning our own best practices in anticipation of changed habits in the fall. Well more and more it does seem that the number one practice we'll have to continue is wearing masks. So I just read a piece about all the different places you can find them in Yolo County. Let's talk about the budgetary impact on the county, Gary. So I checked in with yesterday's May budget advice from the state and it had a lot of hits for education but we know the news going forward for municipalities is going to be pretty dire too. So how will the county approach those challenges and where will it hit hardest? Well the county is currently staring down the barrel of a $13.1 million shortfall so it is not insignificant that the fiscal challenges are really going to color a lot of the conversation well into the fall here. They post major, obviously major barriers to us moving forward but we will try to do our best to balance those, we're discussing where we can cut now and what we can do in the interim and taking this time to sort of look at things from a strategic viewpoint. We did receive some welcome news from the May revise which is that we received a $22 million COVID response payment and so that will help moving forward in a COVID related cost but it's going to be a very, very tough year budgetary and there's no question about it. As I've been talking with people from the city we're hearing about things like hiring freezes, not filling positions, having to go back with collective bargaining units so as the county will be looking at similar things as well. We will be looking at the full revenue of potential cuts and ways that we can best manage our workforce without obviously cutting our workforce. We're going to do everything it's impossible to maintain it but it is going to be a difficult time with difficult decisions. I want to thank you, I've thanked other supervisors too but for your work in steering the opening of the Yolo County relief fund for nonprofits that's as I sit here you know I manage this nonprofit that's been a big deal for all of us to help shine a light on that so I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for that. Good we're looking at a partnership there with Travis Federal Credit Union that may increase our year-to-day total upward of 800,000. We have about 400,000 in the bank and they've agreed to match it so we may be nearing a million dollars at this point. That's good news. I also wanted to ask you how Woodland is faring. You're a long, long time resident of Woodland and former mayor and deeply involved and I haven't really had a chance to kind of touch in on any with anyone from Woodland yet so how's your community doing? One of the most fascinating aspects of being on the board and having that someone who lived in Davis for several years and then moved to Woodland has been just noting the cultural differences on the board and how the different supervisors approach to use how they are pressured by the public etc. Woodland is keenly feeling the pressure of the shutdown in ways that I'm not sure the other communities are principal because it has such a large and vibrant business sector and many of those are mom and pop shops for which the shutdown has been very severe and is now threatening their businesses they've obviously laid off employees so there's a lot of very evident and vocal in their credit sharing of the way that this all impacted those businesses and so there's been just a big push from Woodland in that regard let's reopen let's get people moving again and so that's really been I think a different aspect from the other supervisors. Yeah I'm just visualizing Main Street in downtown Woodland and you know I've I go out before the shutdown I go out there frequently and you know avail of different services out there state theater and some restaurants and things like that and I've really noticed over the last couple years there's been like this renewed vigor in downtown Woodland and it's become this really kind of cool place so not only are you talking about those businesses so you're talking about Woodland has a lot of light industry and warehouse facilities and things that you're right Davis doesn't really have those so the business sector I have often said that in very many ways that Woodland serves as the marketplace for Davis and I would say if you don't believe me visit Target on the Saturday morning half of Davis is there but it has been it's a shame that at a time when what was sort of finally regaining its stride that it lost perhaps in the 50s and 60s around economic vitality downtown now this has given it a whammy and this this looming development of nice new restaurants and entertainment venues downtown much of which is still in the planning stages may now never come to fruition and that's that's heartbreaking yeah so how do we begin to help businesses rebuild rebuild is maybe the wrong word because what you just said indicates that some of them simply won't survive this you know there's going to be a lot of collateral damage but how does a community come together and start addressing that for example what role is your Chamber of Commerce playing there and so on they're playing an active role in providing leadership I think the operative word is sort of reinvention that will be more more operative than rebuild and I think a lot of businesses are going to have to read envision how they how they reinvent themselves and I hope that local consumers will give a disproportionate emphasis to mom and pop shops maintaining the core of their own community because you have to remember that in many ways the terms of the shutdown were very unfair which is to say that if you were a mom and pop shop selling tapestries on main street and Target sells the same tapestries Target was able to remain open through the entire time because they also felt groceries right so they deemed essential while you were being non-essential and so there's been a number of egregiously unfair aspects of the situation that have impacted them disproportionately so I would hope that local consumers would remember that I know my wife and I have made a practice of ordering out local restaurants we've received excellent meals but it's a way of keeping the community dollars in the community and dealing with those people who provide support for the local academic and athletic teams etc and it's a way of reinvesting in the community and I hope people will will really put into good practice definitely I think we're also looking at a time moving ahead where more business is just done online so we are out of time but I really want to thank you for making time I know you're busy man to call in and to talk about these issues and I'd love to have you back in in a month or two so we can kind of see where we are with the county budget and all of that time always passes too quickly I know thanks all right thanks so much Gary take care all right bye bye we are awaiting our second call and I just want to say a word while we're waiting for that a bit more about the KDRT programmers I've been mentioning this the last couple of weeks but I really want people to know that it's taken a lot of work on their part to learn how to use new tools and and really whole new skill sets to produce remotely radio shows remotely from home using their computers and it's not the same as doing what I'm doing which is strolling in and flipping a switch and talking into a microphone so just hats off this community radio at its best and we have our call coming in so operating since 1976 progress ranch is an intensive treatment program providing high quality mental health services to boys ages 6 to 14 who as a result of dysfunctional family relationships can't function in a normal home environment progress ranch has two homes with six beds each located in residential neighborhoods in Davis California and my guest is their executive director Wendy Cunta hi there Wendy how you doing I'm good thank you thanks for having me you bet nice to hear your voice so I just read your mission statement but tell us a bit more about progress ranch how do boys get referred to you and what kind of care and services do you provide so the boys are referred to us through their local counties and most of our boys are in the foster care system for many years and have not been successful in the family environment and need more services and mental health services and structured environment to help them and then our goal is to get them back either with their family or with a foster family mm-hmm so there are a lot of parents out there who are dealing with teaching one or several kids at home during this time of distance learning but you've got that in in volume so how are you how are you managing all the intricacies of that right now yeah that's been very very difficult with six boys in each house and the majority of my staff are young adults who aren't parents and so this is like a crash course becoming a parent and we're lucky enough that we have you know para educators from Davis Joint Unified who work with us they're not you know so they understand the system and they're able to help you know during this time you know because they're working they're not able to work through Davis Joint Unified but they're also progress ranch employees so it's been kind of a good relationship in that way but you know on top of all the distant learning schedules we're also managing all the boys have costa workers get you know visit family visits therapy visits county worker visits so we're spending a lot of time on zoom a lot of time on you know scheduling visits right which doesn't do a lot to help I I don't know your current crop of boys but I've met a lot of them in the past and they are you know bouncing off the walls energy so sitting in front of a computer is I imagine is not a good match there no it's been extremely difficult and you know we've gotten creative with you know trying to find things for them to fidget with in their hands and putting them in different spaces in the house or even in the backyard you know with headphones on you know I think you know one benefit is that you know my staff is they're very creative in in trying to find you know the best resources and working things out the best they can yeah so a number of people this week have been bringing up the the topics of stress and anxiety among our kids and our youth so I imagine that's an extra burden as well definitely you know all my boys come already right you know so much stress and anxiety and a background of trauma and you know having that that brain you know system that has had so much trauma that you know they don't deal with stress and anxiety very well already so this just increases it and you know they're and they're also kids you know the my youngest is seven and my oldest right now 13 they don't understand what's going on there or understand why they can't see their family in person or why staff come in wearing masks and you know so trying to make it you know I think fun and bringing in lots of activities which I think a lot of families and Davis are doing you know you know having this stuffed animal in the window and doing the chalk art out front and you know just trying to be feel like part of the community and that we're all in this together it's been really helpful yeah so I've said this a lot on this show we all know that right now all nonprofits need financial support and but I know that progress ranch you have a long list on your website of specific needs but but let's talk about how people can support you in in different ways right now well I think some you know in the beginning it's been so great the babies community has always been amazing for us you know I can put something on Facebook like we need new DVD movies and people are dropping it off and and we've seen the same here you know with as soon as the first week hit I had puzzles and board games and you know lots of outdoor activities so you know all that is still needed because our boys run through it you know a monopoly game turned into it was dropped off few weeks ago I guarantee doesn't have all pieces well let's hopefully a Rosenberg is listening yeah great with you actually we just talked today about dropping Legos off to one of the houses of course yes he's definitely good about that and you know so for us you know I have a you know Amazon wish list that includes a lot of those things but a lot of people don't have to buy things new you know you have we have a lot of families that kids are growing out of you know their skateboards or their bicycles and those are all things that we can use because I started a garden and we had some local you know neighbors drop off some starters you know and I think that we try to keep up on Facebook so you know I'm constantly putting things that we're looking for that we need we had a couple families go to donut go get donuts and drop them off on a Friday morning and again it just adds to the kids feeling like they haven't been forgotten you know that they're the community wants to be there for them even in this time yeah yeah sometimes it's all about the small kindnesses well I've I've always thought this about you here you're a bit of an angel with the work that you do and the work that your staff does and how you support the boys so tell us so you're on Facebook and also your website is let's let people know about that it's it's progress ranch.com so www progress ranch.com and you know I definitely need to say that you know that the angels right now are my staff because they didn't miss a beat as soon as the shelter in place you know when it came down they still show up for work and we're talking about young adults who are making minimum wage and you know go there every day so you know I I feel a lot for them because they they're putting in a lot of work right now with those boys. Alright well thanks so much for calling in Wendy. Sure. Alright take care. Okay and thank you for tuning in I will be back next Tuesday keeping this up Tuesdays and Fridays through the end of the month and then going to Tuesdays only in June from the KDRT studio I'm Autumn Lab Arano and this has been the COVID-19 community report.


Because, this is gonna be rather of an interesting one, to put it this way. My name is Alex, I'm going to start with a certain topic. A topic is known as a familiar face we all know and love. It is a 1999 to 2019 long running animated series named SpongeBob SquarePants. I know, I know, I get that Steven Hillenberg, the creator of SpongeBob SquarePants, had recently died last year. I was very unlucky the other day, because my eyes and mind ingested what appeared to be an unreleased episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, so allow me to tell you all about it. I've been driving to work and back to the house to pay my bills, do my chores, and cook my food. I sat on the sofa, thinking about all of the pain of being an adult. But then, something sparkled into my brain.  I've always loved cartoons, especially as a kid. My favorite animated series out of all of them I've watched was SpongeBob SquarePants. With a gentle smile on my face, and a few tears of joy streaming down my cheeks, I would turn my television on and look for a channel full of cartoons and nothing else. Only cartoons, and always cartoons. I welcomed my childhood back to my mind, and never wanted to let go of it. Inside, deep down inside myself, I hugged my childhood. I had an amazing childhood. I played lots of sports with my dad, laughing and playing with my friends on outer skateboards, and to my happiness, cartoons, when SpongeBob SquarePants wasn't released just yet. It wasn't till 1999, that I just discovered the cartoon itself. When it was on, I instantly fell in love with it, and my love for this cartoon had never even bothered to die off. Back in the present, I couldn't find any interesting cartoons to watch. I switched the channel to Nickelodeon to see if SpongeBob SquarePants was on. But, I was caught off guard, when I saw that the Loud House was on. I grew bored of the channel flipping, so I turned my television off and lay the remote down. I sat on the couch, for what felt like minutes, hours, or even an eternity. I checked my watch and saw it was 3.6 pm. I instantly had an idea. I looked outside and saw a little parking lot with a yard sale, full of boxes, toys and such. I stepped outside, and meandered over to the yard sale, with a very kind young lady running it. I greeted the woman and took my pick. There I saw, was a DVD cartridge with SpongeBob box art, claiming it has lots of full episodes. Seeming like it was good enough to purchase, I took out my wallet, and gave the lady a decent amount of money. I took my chance and returned to my shelter. As soon as I turned on my television, things went as I wasn't expecting them to. The selection screen was an underwater view, the background was in black and white, with a few bubbles that read the following, episode selection, meet the staff, and extras. I selected the first option, and the television took me to an image of SpongeBob's face, with episodes like rock bottom, karate choppers, naughty nautical neighbors, employee of the month, I was a teenage Gary, SB129, and squids visit. Then I saw an episode title with no image called, retired. This left a confusion bubble in my mind, and I had the opportunity to start it up. Once I did, the first thing I knew was just a black screen. Then it cut to a view of Bikini Bottom. No intro. This was weird, so I watched it. The camera faded into bubbles to SpongeBob's house. There wasn't any music, and it showed the interior of the pineapple house. The living room, the kitchen, and the bathroom were the first things I see, before I even saw SpongeBob. They were dirty, dusty and ruined. Then it showed SpongeBob's room, and the first character scene was SpongeBob. He woke up from bed, with crusty eyes filled with eye-buggers. He rubbed them off, and put his clothes on, ready for work. He ran outside, saying his famous phrase, in a loop, until he arrived at the crusty crab. Once he got there, he greeted Squidward, his grumpy ill-tempered neighbor, at the cash register as usual. SpongeBob served up as many orders as possible, just laughing with pleasure to see as many happy customers as possible. Suddenly, when the camera zoomed out when SpongeBob exits the kitchen, he saw that the customers were gone. His happy expression wasn't as happy, when he saw what went wrong. Mr. Krabs, SpongeBob's boss, would start chewing him out obnoxiously. Squidward joined Mr. Krabs, as he chewed him out as well, making SpongeBob sadder and sadder. Mr. Krabs ordered SpongeBob to leave the crusty crab, as he had forlornly left the two double doors. He turned to the camera and said, Don't you just hate it when this just happens to you? This in particular, was relatable, but luckily, I still have my sweet awesome job. The episode continued with SpongeBob going into town, and for some reason, everyone started to act very friendly toward him. This cheered him up a smidge. Being pleased, he became social with the people of the town. As I thought the episode could get any better, boy was I ever incorrect. The people of the kidney bottom started to fade away slowly. SpongeBob would look around cautiously at what was happening. Once they disappeared, SpongeBob fell to his knees and started crying softly.  He lay flat on the ground, crying in emotional agony. This went on for what felt like several minutes, listening to that heartbreaking sob on SpongeBob's. The usual bubbles that transitioned from one scene to another, would make me loom my eyes to a different scene. This time, the scene contained a very lonely SpongeBob, walking back to where his house was located. SpongeBob walked up to Patrick's rock, and he would knock on it. Nothing happened. So he squeezes himself under the rock in an attempt to find Patrick. Here he could be sitting on his sand couch, watching television, or just doing whatever Patrick does. However, what I was expecting wasn't what I wanted it to be. When SpongeBob found Patrick, he was nothing but a robbing pile of bones and dried-end flesh. SpongeBob's tear glands release more tears, due to the death of his friend. He leaves the rock and goes to see Squidward. He calls out to Squidward, with a depressed tone, mumbling, Squidward? SpongeBob stepped front inside the interior of the ticky house. Squidward was there, with a cynical expression on his face. He emotionally asks SpongeBob what he wanted from him. Then the camera cuts to SpongeBob, who informs Squidward that nobody else was there to be around him. Squidward would face Bob, and he just tells SpongeBob to leave his house, and go see if Gary is wanting to play. SpongeBob followed the order, and this is when things got weird. SpongeBob stepped foot into his home. He checked around for Gary, only to find his shell. He looked inside. Gary was not in the shell. The screen faded to darkness, with just plain white text in the normal font. Two hours later, SpongeBob went into his bedroom, and he just laid down on his back, on the bed. He stared at the ceiling anxiously, with visible tears in his eyes. Could this day get any worse? SpongeBob asked himself, and boy, things did get worse as time gradually went by. The only music heard in the background was a low-pitched ambient coming to, as SpongeBob lay in his bed somberly for a good 30 seconds. He sat up and faced the camera with a miserable look on his face. He faced away, as he would go straight downstairs, and walked out of the pineapple house. He had enclosed eyes, with tears streaming down his cheeks. The screen transitioned through bubbles to show the crusty crab.  The clan pole was broken, with the top parts missing and snapped off, and the treasure chest-shaped restaurant itself looked moldy and uncolored. The camera fades into the interior of the crusty crab. The double doors would open, revealing a square shadow. SpongeBob stepped into the restaurant, as the camera cut to show his face. He had no sign of any expression or emotion. The screen suddenly began to flicker, like an old VHS tape, for some reason, causing it to show SpongeBob standing in a dark corner, with a dimly lit light bulb above him. He stared down at the wooden floor, just crying hopelessly due to the loneliness he was not used to coping with. Just lasting for a good few minutes, as SpongeBob just sat hopelessly in the same corner, after he stood there for a decent amount of time. He looked outside of the window, as the camera cuts to the window he was staring outside from. Outside of the left side of the crusty crab, was a dark figure. The figure was a shadowy humanoid, whose identity remains unknown, and it was twitching immensely, followed by the sound of a loud droning buzz in the background. The figure would screech loudly, making the episode cut to red static for at least five seconds, before returning to the scene with SpongeBob, sitting in the same corner as before. This time, he was barefoot, and his feet caused him to push holes into the front side of the box. His eyes were bloodshot and crusty, and there are visible eye-buggers. Dark blood and feces were on the walls and floor, and next to SpongeBob was a robbing bloated corpse of sandy cheeks, and behind him was the dark humanoid creature. I almost begged when I saw that scene, just about ready to cough up vomit. I desperately tried to hold it back, but I couldn't. I threw up on the floor, because the scene was just that nauseating and unpleasant to look at in general. A red claw appeared on screen, presumably Mr. Krabs's, because it looked too similar, and it was too dark to see what kind of color it was. Once the claw was completely in the shot, the screen started to glitch like crazy, before it cuts to a closeup of SpongeBob's face. The shot showed his face going into a gasping fit for water, which I might add, that sea animals cannot breathe air. Maybe it was the claw forcing SpongeBob out of the water, and it restrained him, not even letting him move around or go back into the water. The scene just focused on SpongeBob's face, gasping for water. For a split second, the shot showed the island, where the intro pans down into the water and to show SpongeBob's house, only it was just in black and white. Then it showed SpongeBob's face again, showing him just still suffering.  The camera got back into the shot of the Krusty Krab, and it showed the employee of the month board. The screen zoomed into a picture frame of SpongeBob, with a black marker scribbled all over his eyes. Under the picture frame, red, retired. And then fade to a black screen with white text, saying, SpongeBob, you're fired. The screen cut to a still shot of a dark room with Mr. Krab's, cracking a wide menacing grin on his face. On the wall, was SpongeBob's suffocated and dried out corpse. His eyes were closed, and his arms were nailed against the right side of where Mr. Krab's was standing. Then, the screen faded to pitch black, of nothingness, and darkness. The episode ended shortly afterward with a mouthless SpongeBob, as I turned off the television, ejected the disc, and put it back into the DVD box from where it came from. I closed the box, and I just put it right under the television screen. I sat on the couch for a few good minutes, just wondering what I had even just watched. What have my eyes even ingested? I rubbed my eyes, trying to get these clips out of my head. They were just that traumatizing.  Who knows what would happen to the DVD box? I'll have to keep it hidden at all costs. And no, I can't show you any screenshots, because I don't even have a camera. Goodbye. This is Alex, signing out. Update, November 14th, 2019. A guy named James Cuffbertson, found the DVD box in my house, took it home, inserted it into his PlayStation 3, and took two screenshots of it. I'm gonna have to thank James for taking the two screenshots for me.


Our sermon title this morning is Chosen by God, Chosen by God. Principle text is Romans chapter 9 verses 1 through 24, the text right in your hearing. We'll look at several texts on this subject this morning. It's a joy and a privilege for us to come together again as we consider our series in the essentials together. And again, our series in the essentials is one sermon, one foundational theological subject essential to the growth, to the maturity of the Christian, and this morning we come to the subject in our series on the essentials. We come to the subject of God's sovereign election. Now we live in an age of theological lawlessness, all but a small remnant, just a small section of the evangelical or professing church, has abandoned solo scriptura. And apart from biblical authority, now everyone seems to believe what's right in his own eyes. If it accords with what they think, then it must be true. If it doesn't, then it's not. Professing Christians are largely governed by emotion, rather than by biblical convictions. It seems like feelings rule the day, opinions rule the day, but God's word does not. We've abandoned good sound exegesis. We've abandoned the authority of God's word governed by what sounds right to them versus what is right according to the Bible. That's our responsibility as the people of God, our responsibility as Christians to maintain a biblical perspective through sound doctrine. To give you solid food that by reason of use you have your senses exercised to discern both good and evil. We are to stand in the old paths, so to speak. We're to ask for the old ways, ancient words, right, ever true, wisdom from above. It's there that we find rest for our souls. On any issue, on any issue, particularly one like this, we must stand firm on the Word of God and say to the law and to the testimony, right, like Luther, my conscience is bound to the Word of God. I must hold fast to the Word. Last Lord's Day, we introduce the biblical doctrine of predestination. This Lord's Day, our aim will be to consider in more detail two components of predestination, namely election and reprobation. In other words, when the biblical doctrine of predestination is applied to the eternal destination of individuals, we are speaking of either election or reprobation. Our confession of faith refers to it this way in chapter 3, article 3, where the confession states, by the decree of God, for the manifestation of His glory, some men and angels are predestined or foreordained, in other words, they are chosen, to eternal life through Jesus Christ to the praise of His glorious grace, that's election. Others, the confession states, being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation to the praise of His glorious justice, that's reprobation. Now what then does it mean to be elect? What does it mean to be elect? It simply means to be chosen from a larger group. Means to be chosen from a larger group. In the case of election to salvation, it means to be chosen by God from the mass of fallen humanity to be saved eternally through Jesus Christ to the praise of His glorious grace. Both election and reprobation are components or functions of predestination. Both election and reprobation fall under the doctrine of God's sovereign decree. Now let's make a fundamental assertion as we get started on our subject this morning. It's this. It is impossible to come to the Bible without acknowledging the fact that God chooses or elects. If you're going to do that intellectually, honestly, you're going to come to the Bible honestly. It's impossible to come to the Bible without acknowledging the fact that God chooses or elects. Jesus Christ is described as the elect of God or chosen in 1 Peter 2 verse 4. He, Christ, is a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen, eclectas. It means elect. He is elect of God and precious. Paul charges Timothy in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels, chosen angels. Same word in 1 Timothy chapter 5 verse 21. God is said to have elected or chosen the patriarchs in Israel. On Acts chapter 13 verse 17, Bible reads that the God of this people, Israel, chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt. Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 37 says that God, having loved their fathers, then chose their seed after them or elected the nation of Israel out of all the other nations on the earth. As Moses said in Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse 7, they were elected, they were chosen of God not because they were more in number than any other people for they were the least of all the peoples but because the Lord loved them and because He would keep the oath which He swore to their fathers. God elected the children of Israel. Some would say then, some would say, well it's obvious then that God elects nations but God does not choose or elect individuals and particularly God does not elect individuals to salvation. Well what are nations but groups of individuals? What are nations but groups of people, individual people? Besides that obvious fact, God chose not only nations in the scriptures but God chose individuals in the Bible. God chose or elected Noah, didn't He? God elected or chose Abraham. God chose Isaac. Chose Jacob. Chose Joseph. God chose Moses. God chose David. God chose Jeremiah. And God chose many, many, many, many others in the Bible. In fact, it is impossible to come to the Bible without acknowledging the fact that God chooses or elects. God not only chooses or elects, God chooses or elects some people to salvation. There is no deficiency for this truth in the biblical witness. It is replete with this truth. Jesus explained Himself that many are called, few are chosen. John chapter 15 verse 19, Jesus said, you do not belong to the world, why? Because I have chosen you out of the world. Turn with me quickly, just a few pages of the right, to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. First Corinthians chapter 1, and look there beginning at verse 26, it's impossible to come to the Bible without acknowledging the fact that God chooses or elects some people to salvation. First Corinthians chapter 1 beginning at verse 26, for you see your calling now, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has what? He's chosen. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the things that are wise. Even in this it shows that God's choice or God's election is not arbitrary. God has purposed in Himself who He would choose. God has a purpose to what He does. God has a plan to choose those whom He would select for salvation. But God is the one who's chosen in verse 27. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. And God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. And the base things of the world and the things which are despised, God has chosen. And the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are. You know that, verse 29, no flesh should glory in His presence. That's a purpose of election, do you see? But of Him you are in Christ Jesus. You cannot say in verse 30, but of my faith I am in Christ Jesus. No. Of my decision I'm in Christ Jesus. It's because I walked the aisle, said that prayer that I'm in Christ Jesus. It's because out of an act of my own will I chose Him. And that's why I'm in Christ Jesus. No. It is of Him. It's a way of saying that it is all of grace. It is according to God's sovereign election that you are in Christ Jesus who became for us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That as it is written, then he who glories, don't let him boast in himself.  He who glories, let him glory in the Lord. In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4, just as God chose us in him, Christ, before the foundation of the world. 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 13, God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. It's impossible to come to the Bible without acknowledging that God elects some people to salvation. 2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse 9, God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, not according to our foreseen faith, not according to what we've done whether good or evil, not according to anything found within ourselves. But God has saved us, called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began. As you see the compounding of the points there that Paul is making to Timothy, he puts on top of God being the one who chooses. He adds to that nothing conditioned in man, and he adds to all of that that it was before time began, before anyone was born, right? Chapter 13 verse 48, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed. In other words, our election was not a result of foreseen believing, but rather our believing was the outcome of our having been elected. I consider Acts 13 and 48, and as many as were appointed to eternal life, what did those who were appointed to eternal life do they believed? Do you see? Turn with me to John chapter 10, another example of this, John chapter 10, just a quick hit if you will, quick snapshot of various examples in the Bible of many that teach this doctrine. I was once listening to a sermon one time, terrible sermon, false teacher, and he got up and essentially said, listen, all they've got, talking about quote-unquote Calvinists, right? All they've got is Romans chapter 9 and Ephesians chapter 1, they've got nothing else. And then he proceeded to absolutely butcher Ephesians chapter 1 and Romans chapter 9. Listen, let me ask you, if all you had was Romans chapter 9 and Ephesians chapter 1, is that enough? Amen, right? Give me one that's enough, right? But if you've got, so, but that's not the case, this is all over the Bible, it's all over the Bible.  John chapter 10, verse 11, John chapter 10, verse 11, Lord says, listen, I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd gives his life for everyone. No, gives his life for the sheep. Not the sheep and the goats, but he gives his life for the sheep. Now who are the sheep? Drop down to verse 14. I am the good shepherd, verse 14, I know my sheep, and I am known by my own. There's this group called the sheep that the Lord knows, they know him, they are his own, they've been given to him, right? I am the good shepherd, verse 14, I know my sheep, and I am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for everyone. No, I lay down my life for the sheep, not the sheep and the goats, I lay down my life for the sheep. And verse 16, clear pronouncement of election, there are other sheep I have which are none of this fold. Them also I must bring, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock and one shepherd. In other words, the Lord can speak of other sheep outside the fold that belong to him. The Lord can speak of other sheep not currently in the fold that belong to him. Why do they belong to him? They are sheep. They've been elected to belong to him. They've been given. They are his by sovereign divine election and yet not yet in the fold. Them, that group, the Lord says, I must bring. And those, that group, will hear my voice. One motivating factor in the Lord's evangelism, right, was that God would ensure that his sheep would absolutely hear the voice of their good shepherd and follow him. It's a tremendous motivation to evangelism. The Armenian would claim the opposite. It's like, if that's the case, then why even evangelize? If people are going to be called and God's going to do all that, then what part do we have in any of that? A glorious privilege, a glorious blessed part in all of that. Look at verse 24, drop down to verse 24. So then the Jews surrounded him and said to him, listen, how long do you keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. They're somewhat thickheaded. It takes a while to get it through to them, obviously, by this point in John chapter 10. Jesus answered them, verse 25, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me, but you do not believe why because you are not of my sheep. As I said to you, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. Profound statement of God's electing purpose in Christ to give the Lord a people to his name. One commentator told the story of an old preacher who taught this text in John chapter 10. As he was teaching this text, taking a very simplistic approach, simple approach that wasn't simplistic at all, very simple approach, clear approach. He takes two chalkboards, puts them on either side of the platform, and on one chalkboard he writes, do not believe on a chalkboard. On the other chalkboard he writes, believe. And he asks the people, what group are you in? Do not believe or believe. Why is it that they do not believe or why is it that they believe? He goes to the chalkboard that says, do not believe. He flips it over and on the back of the chalkboard is written, goat. Right? He goes to the other chalkboard, believes. And he flips over the chalkboard on the back of the chalkboard is written, sheep. Why is it that these do not believe because they are goats? Is it that they do not believe because or that they are goats because they do not believe? No. They do not believe because they are goats. Do you see? It's the way the chronology and the text is so important. You do not believe why because you are not of my sheep. That means if you do believe, praise God. You are His and He is yours. What does the Lord Jesus Christ then do for the sheep? This is application. This is what the doctrine of divine election, sovereign election should do for us. We should consider this doctrine in our worship. Consider this doctrine in our praise. Consider this doctrine as we read and study His Word. Consider this doctrine as we evangelize. Consider this doctrine as we live the Christian life. Why? Verse 28, look at what the Lord does. I give them eternal life. It can be taken away. Listen, if it can be taken away from you, it's not eternal. It doesn't give us temporary life until you do something to mess it up. Verse 28, I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one and no thing is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Do you see what's at stake here? With divine election, what is at stake is God's faithfulness to His Word. God's faithfulness to His promise.  God is faithful to His promises, is He not? An election is one of the means that the Lord uses to assert that fact. God is faithful to His Word. Verses 28 through 30 are the blessing, they are the joy, the assurance, the security of the believer. The security, the joy, the blessing, the assurance of election. It's many, many, many texts like these that compel any honest reader of the Bible to acknowledge that the Bible clearly teaches the election of some people to salvation. It's often not that point that is argued. For many, the basic issue of disagreement between them is whether or not God's election is conditional or unconditional. That's where the problem really rests. In other words, why does God choose one and not the other? Does God condition His choice on some foreseen faith in man, or is God's choice entirely free of any condition to be found in man? Is God's election conditional or unconditional? One would say, God foresees that man will, in his free will, God or a man will freely choose to believe, and so God elects him based upon that condition. God elects based upon the condition of foreseen faith. The other would say, no, no. God sees and foreknows that no man will ever believe on his own. That's what God foresees and what God knows. He is dead in his trespasses and sins, and despite this fact, despite this fact, God in mercy and grace purposes to give some life from the dead. And with that new life, He gives them faith in His Son who died to redeem them. This is not a question, this question of conditionality. It's not a question to be trifled with, a very serious issue. It's not merely for the academic or the philosopher or for the shelf of some seminary student. It's for all of us to grapple with, wrestle with and understand what the Bible teaches. It's a very important question. The implications of this question are staggering. It's not just a simplistic thing. It's extremely important. Think with me. The Gospel isn't preached equally to all, is it? It's not preached equally to every creature on the earth. There has been an innumerable mass of humanity that has died never hearing the Gospel, never hearing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Among those to whom the Gospel is preached, some sit under biblical preaching for years. Some sit under the biblical preaching of God's Word for their entire lives.  Others hear the Gospel only once. That was some of you. You heard the Gospel one time. You turned from your sin, put your trust in Christ, you came to church. You've been here ever since, right? The preaching of the Gospel for our salvation is met with various responses. Some put faith in Christ with all their heart upon a first hearing. Some are deceived. They're deceived by false Gospels, false teachers. Others reject the Gospel out of hand. Right at the hearing of the Gospel they don't say, they say, I don't want to have anything to do with that. It sounds like the most foolish thing I've ever heard. Is it that some people are simply smarter than others? Does our intelligence have anything to do with it really?  Does intelligence make it more difficult? Is they're too big for their own bridges and does it take a simplistic child-like mind to get the Gospel right and to be able to receive it, to be able to believe, to put faith in Christ? Is it really? Is that what it depends upon? In the final assessment, if in the final assessment their salvation ultimately depends on my ability, for example, to be persuasive, then guess what? I quit right now. It's too great of a weight to bear. Is our eternity really dependent upon circumstances like these? If you believe that somehow salvation is determined upon some conditionality in man, and that's the logical end of your theology, and you need to grapple with that. Is our eternity really dependent upon circumstances like these? The Bible would say absolutely not. Absolutely not. These are questions without an acceptable answer apart from the Bible's clear teaching about God's sovereign and unconditional election. Our salvation is, and listen, it must be, all of God's sovereign grace. Everything flows entirely from the fountain of God's free mercy in Christ. Any work, any condition in man has been entirely set aside such that no flesh may glory in his sight, and God ensures the salvation of those that he has chosen from before the foundation of the world. God sees to it that it will happen, it will come about. You know, when you and I, when we go into Orlando, we go into our neighborhoods to preach the gospel. We go into the parks, into the mall from door to door to preach the gospel. When we plant a church in Guatemala, or we plant a church in New York, or we plant a church in Dajabon, when we preach the gospel in Haiti, it's not because we're hoping that you'll have the ability to be smart enough and persuasive enough and intelligent enough to get decisions for Christ by your own effort. Listen, if you say it this way, you'll get them. But if you don't say it this way, you won't. Really? It's not because we think we can get decisions for Christ by our own effort. It is entirely because we know that God has chosen a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. We know that God blesses the preaching of his word. We know that his sheep will hear his voice and will follow him.  Those who are saved out of this fallen and sinful and wicked perverse world are saved because God has chosen to save them. He elects them to salvation. That should motivate our evangelism, right? That should fuel, charge up our evangelism. We can't lose. We go into the world preaching the gospel. Why? Because God has designated, elected a people to himself out of every tribe, tongue, and nation. And when they hear the preaching of God's word, if it's God's will, if it's according to his sovereign decree, they will believe. They will hear his voice and they will follow him. And when the doctrine of sovereign election comes up, and it will if you're reading the Bible, it will if you're preaching the Bible. God's will concerning election will come up. It's striking to me, amazing to me how evaded this truth is. It's all over the Bible, all over the Bible. You can't read a book in the Bible without hearing, without learning of, without coming face to face with, God's sovereign election. But it's amazing to me that in pulpits all over the place, it is entirely avoided, entirely twisted, entirely perverted as many men do, those teachings of Paul to their own destruction. It's going to come up. And when it comes up, there are two basic objections that are most frequently raised in response to this doctrine. First objection is this. It's not fair. It's not fair. That's not fair. The second is it violates man's free will, violates man's free will. If God chooses unconditionally, choosing some for salvation, leaving others in their sin with no respect to man's choice, no respect to man's decision, that's not fair, they will say. Calls into question God's justice and makes God in their sight to be unrighteous. And if God chooses unconditionally, choosing regardless of man's decision one way or the other, then that's a violation of man's free will. How can God hold man then responsible for his sin? What about whosoever will, right? It's not fair. And it calls into question God's justice and makes God in their sight to be unrighteous. Well, the Bible answers clearly both of those objections for those that are willing to look and to study and to work at it. The Bible clearly answers those objections. The Bible gives us clear, unapologetic answers to our questions. And as always, those answers come through good exegesis. Doesn't matter how you feel about it. At the end of the day, exegesis is not based on your feelings. It's not based on your emotions, not based on what you think or what your opinion is.  You've got the set of instructions in front of you. Sometimes those things are exorbitantly frustrating. You've got the picture on the front of the box. You know what it's supposed to look like and be. So what do you do with the instructions? It's like, and I'm just going to put it together to make it look like the picture on the front of the box. So you labor to do that and you end up with some aberrant quasi thing that somewhat looks like the picture on the front of the box, but it doesn't work. Why? Because you didn't go to the instruction manual, right? We can do that with our theology, can't we? You have some ideas, some opinions, some thought about the way this whole thing is supposed to work out. And what if you are sincere but sincerely wrong, full of confidence, but wrong nonetheless, right? We have to resort to good exegesis. It doesn't matter that 51% or 71% or 99% of Baptists believe one thing or another. What matters is the sound and biblical interpretation of relevant texts in the Bible. You want to be safe from error, practice good exegesis. Error persists on poor exegesis. An error persists on traditionalism. Error persists on emotionalism. Error persists on all of those things. We have to get back to the Bible. And listen, that's the responsibility of every Christian. Every Christian. Good exegesis. The problem is, is often is when people get dug in on their theology like a tick on a hound dog and you can't dig them out. They'd rather feed on their dog than to understand or know the truth. And they, to the teeth, defend their position on the dog rather than coming to the truth. We need good exegesis. With that, turn to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9, a text read earlier in your hearing. Romans chapter 9, we're going to begin in verse 1. Romans chapter 8, last week in our study on predestination. In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul had been building up to a glorious soteriological climax in chapter 8. Glory upon glory in chapter 8. He begins with the depravity of man in chapters 1 through 3. If you think about the letter as a whole, Paul begins with the depravity of man in chapters 1 through 3. We are all irreparably depraved as a result of the fall without excuse under the righteous judgment of Almighty God. There is no one righteous, no, not one. Are there any good people in the world? Not a single one, right? Men are inherently evil. The Bible says that we are essentially worthless, unprofitable.  They have no defense. They are guilty before God under His holy and just law. That's your condition if you are apart from Christ this morning. You are outside of God, outside the promises. You are depraved, thoroughly corrupted by sin and currently under the judgment and condemnation of God. Who will judge you for your sin and cast you into hell? You have no defense. You cannot rely on anything good about yourself. You think to yourself, well, I'm going to do the best that I can. I'm just going to trust that it all works out in the end. It doesn't work out in the end. It never will. The Bible says that is foolish. It simply doesn't work out in the end. What works out in the end is your eternal damnation, right? Turn from your sin. Why? Because in chapter 4 of Paul's letter to the church at Rome, the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed. It's revealed in the person and work of His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. That righteousness that we don't have, we're bankrupt of any righteousness before God. That righteousness, that perfection, that holiness that we need to stand before a holy God is given to us as a gift, a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It's given to us as a gift by faith in Jesus Christ, His own Son. In other words, when I trust in Christ alone for His perfect life, for His perfect obedience, for His perfect substitutionary sacrifice on my behalf, stood in my place at the cross and died for me. And when I trust Him, that work, that life and that work applies to me. When I believe upon Him for that, then His righteousness, His perfect life, His perfect obedience is given to me. It's credited to me as a gift. And it is given to me such that I myself can be declared righteous in God's sight as if I obeyed in Him or with Him. His righteousness given to me as a gift. And then all the promises of God for His people are mine through trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. Promises for salvation, promises of forgiveness, of sins, promises of eternal life in Him are all mine through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now with that, with that then, I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, Romans chapter 6. With that, I am dead to the law as a covenant of works, Romans chapter 7. And with that, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans chapter 8. Glory, right? In all of this, all of this, building up to this argument in Romans chapter 8, listen, all of that, all of that is because of God's faithfulness to His decreed purpose in Romans chapter 8, verse 28. This glorious salvation, rooted and grounded in the counsels of His eternal will, not in my own goodness, not in my own merit, not in foreseen faith, it's rooted and grounded entirely in the counsels of His eternal will because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, verse 30. Moreover, those whom He predestined, these He also called, those whom He called, these He also justified, those whom He justified, these He also glorified. In other words, the Christian's hope for salvation, the Christian's hope is founded upon the eternal and immutable word of God and His faithfulness to His Word. Do you see? The faithfulness of God to His promises. It's all rooted and grounded in Him, not in me, in Him. His faithfulness, God has predestined us to salvation, therefore we trust in Him, right? God has predestined us to salvation. We were chosen by God before time began and at the end of Romans chapter 8, nothing then shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing can separate us from Him. His building to this climax and all of this depended upon God's faithfulness to His inviolable Word. God's steadfast faithfulness to what He has decreed. Sounds a lot like John 10, doesn't it? No one will snatch them out of my hand. No one is able to snatch them from my Father's hand. Why? Because God had elected them to salvation. God has predestined them. However, now listen, if you think about the context, Romans chapter 9 then, if you think about the context, what is the one reality that would seem to undermine all of that confidence? If someone didn't know any better and they were thinking about this assertion, thinking about God's faithfulness to His promises, God's faithfulness to His Word, God's steadfast, trustworthiness to all that He has decreed, all that He has promised, what reality would seem to undermine all of that? What current reality might put a big hole in their hope? The unbelief of the nation of Israel. The unbelief of the nation of Israel. God had elected them too, hadn't He? God elected the people of Israel, and they abandoned the covenant. And it appears as though God has abandoned them, doesn't it? From what the Bible says. How can a Christian then trust God's Word with respect to his own election when it appears that God's purpose according to election has failed the Jews? How is it then that we are to trust? If God's decreed Word of promise cannot be trusted, then our faith is in vain. Our faith is in vain. That's the subject taken up by Paul in Romans chapter 9 through 11. Romans chapters 9 through 11. Paul is going to prove his point here by explaining how God's ultimate purpose according to his own sovereign election stands, even where it concerns the ethnic people of Israel. He's going to take up that subject beginning in Romans chapter 9, beginning in verse 1. Romans chapter 9 verses 1 through 5, Paul points to his pain and Israel's privileges. Paul's pain and Israel's privileges. Look with me at verse 1. Paul begins his case with this. He says, I tell the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. Why, Paul? Why the pain? For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh. We all know, we see, working through Second Corinthians, for example, we saw Paul's heart for lost people. Paul has a heart for lost people. Particularly, though, here is Paul's grief and sorrow over his countrymen according to the flesh, the Jewish people. Paul has a heart to see his countrymen according to the flesh saved. They are themselves, though, anathema. They are cut off from Christ. Paul, if you look at verse 27, Paul understands, even though they are accursed from Christ, his brethren, verse 3, verse 27, Paul understands there's a remnant of them that will be saved. There will be a remnant saved, right? But Paul's heart, Paul's mind, is occupied now in verses 1-5 with how many individual Jews who will not be saved. There are a vast number of individual Jews who will not be saved, and Paul is grief. I wish that I myself could be accursed and cut off from Christ for their salvation, right, if that were possible. They've been given such privileges, these people, and yet so many of them do not believe. Well, what privileges have they been given? Look at verse 4. Verse 4, they're Israelites. They're the chosen physical nation of Israel. They're Israelites to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises of whom are the fathers. Those who were in covenant began the covenant relationship with God, from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came. The Messiah came out of the Jewish nation, who is overall the eternally blessed God, amen. A bitter pain of Paul's heart in Romans 9, 1-5, is that so many individual Jews will be eternally lost. That's the pain of Paul's heart. There are so many individual Jews who will be eternally lost. It's the same grief or sorrow of heart that the Lord Jesus Christ experienced, that you see him experience in Matthew 23, when he stands outside Jerusalem, weeping over the city, right? Long would I have gathered you in as a hen, and gather her own chicks, but you are not willing. The Lord laments that state, their condition weeps over the city. Now, Paul knows that this rejection by the Jews might undermine someone's confidence in the Word of God. Undermine someone's confidence in the promises of God. It might call into question God's election and God's eternal saving purpose. So in verse 6, then, Paul begins to explain why that's not the case. Now follow along with me, right? You understand the connection that's being made here. This is something that God had purposed to do. It appears to someone who doesn't understand, someone who hasn't seen or heard the Bible's teaching on this. It appears as though because the nation of Israel now appears to be cut off, and so many individual Jews are lost that God's promise has failed. God's faithfulness to his Word is being called into question, right? The whole thing is undermining the faith, and Paul is defending that with this argument. Now if you remember, Moses had the same concern, shared the same concern that Paul has here in Romans chapter 9. When Moses intercedes for the Israelites in the wilderness, Moses comes down from the mountain, for example, right? Moses comes down from the mountain, and finds that the children of Israel have fashioned for themselves a golden calf. What does the Lord say? Moses, get away from them.  What does Moses do? Moses instantly, he intercedes on their behalf with God. He says, God, don't do that. Don't do that, Lord, please. The Egyptians might hear, the Egyptians will say that God was not able to bring them to the Promised Land. Moses had in mind the glory, the faithfulness, the testimony of God's faithfulness. Moses had in mind the glory of God in his response, in his intercession for the children of Israel. Remember when the spies came back with a bad report? The people complained against God and they were about to stone Moses and God threatened to wipe them out and make of Moses a great nation. Moses intercedes again. Numbers 14 verse 15 saying this. He says, now if you kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of your fame will speak saying because the Lord was not able to bring these people to the land which he swore to give them, therefore he killed them in the wilderness. You understand from Romans 9, it's essentially the same point that Paul is making. If God, if it doesn't work out, if none of this comes about, then the people would say, God, you're not faithful to your word. You couldn't bring them into eternal life as you promised. You couldn't bring them into the land as you promised. Your promises, God, are void because look at the nation of Israel. God's faithfulness is being questioned. God's righteousness is being questioned. That's the point of Romans 9, 10 and 11. Paul is concerned for the same reason. God's faithfulness is steadfast. His word is inviolable and true. It cannot be broken. No one can thwart God's plans. Look at verse 6. Here's the point that Paul is making, verse 6. But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. He wants to make that point clear. It's not that the word of God has taken no effect. Why? Because they are not all Israel who are of Israel. Powerful point for many. That would have been the Copernican Revolution. We've talked about that over the last couple of sermons. The mind shift, the paradigm shift that would have just blown them away. They are not all Israel who are of Israel. Many of you in this room, myself included, that was a Copernican Revolution for us at one point. They are not all Israel who are of Israel. What are you talking about, Paul? God had in mind all along a spiritual seed of Abraham. A spiritual seed of Israel. True Israel are the elect of God. True Israel are the elect of God. The elect of God chosen when? From before the foundation of the world. Paul wants us to know that the rejection of Jesus Christ by a vast majority of ethnic Jews is in no way an indication of powerlessness or failure on the part of God. No way. Why? Because they are not all of Israel who are of Israel. They are not all Israel who are of Israel. Or seven, nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham. But in Isaac your seed shall be called. In other words, your heritage as an ethnic Jew matters not when it comes to your election to salvation. It doesn't matter on your heritage. Your ethnicity does not matter in that respect. That is verse eight. Those who are the children of the flesh these are not the children of God. Do you see? But the children of the promise are counted as the seed. There's so many passages in the Bible. Virtually all of them. Where you can just read the passage and it's like drop the mic, close the book. There's nothing more that should or could be said. It's just clear. Verse eight. Those who are the children of the flesh these are not the children of God. But the children of the promise are counted as the seed. Clear, right? Paul uses here, listen in Paul's argument, Paul uses individual, unconditional, sovereign election to prove that God is true to his word. To prove that God's word is trustworthy and true and that we can put our faith and trust in him. Individual and unconditional, sovereign election here is the proof that God's word never fails. Now listen, God will certainly save all of his elect. He will not lose not one single one of them. God will lose none of them, right? His elect are the seed of Abraham according to the promise but the spiritual seed of Abraham according to individual, sovereign, unconditional election in Jesus Christ. That's the seed, okay? That's the spiritual seed. Those are the children of God. Paul, if you're following me so far, Paul brings out then two examples from Israel herself to make this point and it's a very important point. The first example that Paul brings out is the election of Isaac over Ishmael. Verse 9, for this is the word of promise. At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son. Verse 7 says, in Isaac, your seed shall be called. Now, here's an example of two biological descendants, ethnic descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael, right? One is chosen, one is elect, that's Isaac. One is rejected, one is reprobate, that is Ishmael. Both from Abraham, descendants from Abraham but based upon God's sovereign, unconditional election, his promises are fulfilled through Isaac and not through Ishmael. So then, again, just because you are a physical descendant of Abraham does not make you one of the elect of God, do you see? Now, a Jewish person might object to that. They certainly often would object to that and say, that's not fair, it's not fair. They had different mothers and only Sarah was Abraham's wife, Hagar was a slave woman. And so then Paul brings out his second example. Look at verse 10. And not only this, you objector, but when Rebecca had also conceived by one man, there it means that Rebecca had one conception or literally it means that she had one act of intimacy that produced two children. That's literally what the text means. Not only this but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man or one act of intimacy even by our father, Isaac, we're talking about Jewish people here, right? Verse 11, for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil so that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works but of him who calls, it was said to her, the older shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated. Wow, okay? Clear statement of election. Let me ask you, thinking about verses 10 through 13, is the election of some sinners to salvation based upon foreseen faith? Absolutely not. Is it based upon anything in them? No. Good or evil? No. Based upon their birth, their heritage? No. Or, verses 10 through 13, is election the sovereign decree of God before the foundation of the world in which he chooses certain sinners for salvation entirely according to the good purpose or good pleasure of his own will upon no condition of faith or merit found in the person. That's what sovereign election is. You see here, God is not making a point about the faithfulness of God by referring to the election of a nation. That's what some people would say. Well, God's speaking about the election of nations here, the nation that came from Jacob or the nation that came from Esau. Listen, Jacob and Esau also had to make a profession of faith in order to be saved, if there to be saved. He's talking about individuals here, not nations. The nation has rejected their Messiah. Paul is making a point about the faithfulness of God in election by referring to God's specific election of individuals within that nation. Specifically here, Jacob and Esau. Jacob exercised repentance and faith. Esau did not exercise repentance and faith. In fact, Hebrews chapter 12 verse 17, he found no place for repentance even though he sought for it with tears. Why did Esau not believe? Why did Esau not believe? We flip the chalkboard and on the back of it says goat. Why did Esau not believe? Because he was not a sheep. That's what verses 10 through 13 are asserting. He sold his birthright for a pot of stew. He despised the promises of God. He showed contempt for the promises of God. He despised all of his privileges. And Esau did those things in accord with his own nature, responsible for his own sin, depraved just as Jacob was, but Esau was not of God's elect people. So he did not believe. Biological dissent being Jewish has no bearing on individual salvation. Either in the example of Isaac and Ishmael or in the example of Jacob and Esau. The reason that God chose Jacob over Esau was listen to verse 11. The reason that God chose Jacob over Esau was so that for the purpose that his purpose might be seen as determinative. As seen in the election of individuals to salvation, that purpose might stand. So that God could be seen to be faithful to his word. Faithful to his decree. It's not by works, right? Whether they've done good or an evil. It's rather by him, verse 11, who calls. In other words, election is entirely of God. Has nothing to do with man. Has nothing to do with man. The further evidence of all this is that it happens before time. Before man is born. Before man can do anything good or evil. It happens before time. One elect, that's Jacob. Four ordained to eternal life through Jesus Christ to the praise of his glorious grace. One reprobate. Esau being left our confession states, right? Being left to act in their sin to their just condemnation to the praise of his glorious justice. It actually does, verse 13, uphold God's sovereign electing eternal purpose in saving Jacob, but verse 13 also upholds God's sovereign eternal purpose in rejecting Esau. Both are true, do you see? Clear from the text, is it not? Now two basic objections come up to this. You could almost, if you're, actually this happened to me a couple of times, reading the text to someone and without commentating at all, without offering any explanation whatsoever, you just get done reading the text and someone says, that's not fair. That doesn't sound right. I just read the Bible. It's a New King James translation, right? I'm not reading a weird, I didn't write it myself, right? But they want to say that it's not fair. Two basic objections, one is that it's not fair. If God chooses unconditionally, God chooses sovereignly, choosing some for salvation, leaving others in their sin, with no respect to man's choice, no respect to man's decision, that's not fair, they would say. Calls into question God's justice, makes God unrighteous then. Many have an emotional reaction to what's being asserted by Paul in Romans chapter 9, and I was struck by Wesley's reaction in particular. Let me read this reaction from Wesley. Hang in there with me, okay? Let me read this reaction from Wesley. And often, that's entirely what the reaction is to this doctrine, is merely emotional. It grates against sensitivities that we have in our fallen nature. And oftentimes, natural man cannot stand it. Listen to Wesley.  Such blasphemy, this, as one might think, might make the ears of a Christian to tingle. This is blasphemy clearly contained in the horrible decree of predestination. And here I fix my foot. On this, I join issue with every asserter of it. You represent God as worse than the devil. More false, more cruel, more unjust. But you say you will prove it by Scripture. Hold! What will you prove by Scripture that God is worse than the devil? It cannot be. Whatever that Scripture proves, it cannot prove this. Whatever be its true meaning, it does not mean this. In other words, I don't know what its true meaning is, but it doesn't mean that. Like, you understand how serious of a statement that is. Whatever it means, it doesn't mean it means I'm not going to accept that. Regardless of what it says. Whatever it means, it doesn't say that this is John Wesley. Whatever that Scripture proves, it cannot prove this. Whatever be its true meaning, it cannot mean this. Do you ask what is its true meaning then? That's a good question, Mr. Wesley. If I say I know not, you have gained nothing. For there are many Scriptures, the true sense whereof neither you nor I shall know till death is swallowed up in victory. And there it lies, right? Going to abandon the study of doctrine. Going to abandon the clear teaching of the Word of God. Because it simply doesn't line up with my sensibilities. And whatever it says, it doesn't say that. And that's just going to have to be something that we wait till we get to heaven to find out the truth of. Terrible, terrible approach to the Word of God. Paul answers this emotional reaction. That's not fair. He answers this reaction in verse 14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not strongest negation in the Greek. He says to Moses, verse 15, I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy. And I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion. I don't know how much clearer it can be said. Without any commentary at all, someone might rise up and say, well, whatever it means, it doesn't mean that. Listen, I just read the verse to you. So then, verse 16, explanation from Paul. It is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, for this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth. Therefore, he has mercy on whom he wills and whom he wills he hardens. Election and reprobation. Now remember from our discussion of the heresy of equal ultimacy. Reprobation does not mean that God, in the same way that God works in the heart of a sinner to cultivate within them faith, such that they might turn from their sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God does not in the same way work in the sinner's heart to produce sin such that that one would be reprobated forever by God's active work. What does God have to do for anyone to be reprobated? As our confession states, simply let them alone in their sin. How does God harden Pharaoh? By simply removing his restraining hand and Pharaoh does what is in accord with Pharaoh's sinful and wicked nature. That's reprobation. They are left in their sin to be condemned to the praise of his glorious justice. Well, the second basic objection then is raised. Well, that violates man's will then. Violates man's free will. If God chooses unconditionally choosing regardless of a man's decision one way or the other, that is a violation of man's free will. How can God hold man responsible for sin then if God is the one doing these things? What about the whosoever will passages in the Bible? That's not fair. Calls into question God's justice. Somehow makes God unrighteous. So Paul answers that objection verse 19. You will say to me then, why does he then still find fault? How can God hold me responsible for my sin? For who has resisted his will? If God has made up his mind before the foundation of the world, all these things are already set, what's the point of it all? What do I have to do with anything? Who has resisted his will? But verse 20, indeed, oh man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it? Why have you made me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor? The election and reprobation. Do you see? Two components of predestination. What if God, verse 22, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had prepared beforehand for glory. God will save or elect some sinners to salvation to the praise of his glorious grace and he will leave other sinners in their sin to their just condemnation to the praise of his glorious justice, election and reprobation. There's a further clear statement. Just flip the page. Look at Romans chapter 11. Look there beginning at verse 5. Romans chapter 11. In verse 5, Paul goes further when he says this, even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Verse 6. And if by grace then it is no longer of works otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works it is no longer grace otherwise work is no longer work. What then? What then? Verse 7. Israel has not obtained what it seeks but the elect have obtained it. Powerful statement. Profound statement. Israel has not obtained what it seeks. The elect of God have obtained it. The rest were blinded. Election, reprobation. Just as it is written God has given them a spirit of stupor. Eyes that they should not see ears that they should not hear to this very day. Think about this doctrine so clearly laid out on the pages of the Bible. What is it that Wesley and others missed about the glory of this? About the majesty of it. About the grace and mercy of it. One is this. That this doctrine of sovereign unconditional election is absolutely, fully, entirely necessary when you consider the depravity and hopelessness of man apart from it. If it weren't for God's sovereign unconditional electing purposes to save sinners out of the world no one would be saved. No one would choose him. No one would come to Christ. No one would repent. No one would believe. It simply would not happen. We need God to sovereign unconditionally elect to salvation. Therefore, and this doctrine, man is humbled.  And it's all to the glory of God. There's nothing about with. Nothing about which you can boast. I said that prayer. Why are you saved? Well, when I was two years old. I did. I white knuckled it. I did what I needed to do. I walked that aisle. I'm poking fun on purpose. Nothing about which we can boast. Nothing about us moved God to choose us. We were fashioned out of the same lump as vessels of dishonor. We were ourselves before Christ dishonorable, unprofitable, worthless. And yet, all of grace we've been redeemed. And if we had nothing to do with it ourselves in the sense, then it's never taken from us. Why? Because the second thing that Wesley and others miss is that all the glory for this goes to God. God is immeasurably, unquestionably infinitely faithful to his promises, faithful to his word. Our salvation is sure. Our salvation is secure because God has done it. Start to finish. It elected us the logical outcome of Arminian theology. In fact, the first you could say, I sort of dread to describe them in this way, but intellectually honest Arminians, the outcome of their theology is that you can lose your salvation. Those who have really bad, like Arminian theology is bad, but do you have really bad Arminian theology? You attach eternal security to it. So now that in your bad theology you choose to follow Christ, that choice can never be taken from you no matter how you. If you walk out of the front doors of the church and said, listen, walking the aisle and saying that prayer and asking Jesus into my heart, what's the stupidest thing that I've ever done? It doesn't matter because you did it and it can never be taken away from you, right? That's the logical outcome of their theology. And yet most Arminians today deny that. All the glory goes to God in election. All the glory. There's no room for human boasting in any part of our salvation. At least to the third, our salvation is sure. What was Paul's concern? God is faithful. God is righteous. God is just. God has never abandoned his word and you know what? He never will. Never. And the rejection on the part of the Jews of their Messiah doesn't undermine that truth. One wit. God is faithful to his promises and this is why and this is how. Romans chapter 9, Romans chapter 10, Romans chapter 11. And, brothers and sisters, listen, we then should preach the gospel with confidence in him. Great confidence. Great confidence. He's determined. He's determined what will come about. So cast off the fear of man preach the gospel without discouragement. Don't be discouraged. Right? Don't be discouraged. We live in an age of, in a place that is hard to the gospel. Hard to the truths of the gospel. But God has determined those who are his. What does Elijah say? Right? Elijah exasperated. Like cries out to God. God, I alone have left. He's being hunted down by Jezebel. And what does God say? Elijah? Don't be discouraged. I have 7,000 people in that city who have not bound the need to bail. They are mine. Go preach the gospel that I might use that as a means to bring them to me. Right? That's what we're doing when we preach the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ has been given a love gift from God the Father. It is a reward for the perfect obedience of Lord Jesus Christ. It's a reward of his suffering. And what is the church to do? The church is to go out and bring them in. The church is the means by which God gathers his elect. Go be that means. Right? Preach the gospel at work, at school, in your neighborhood, at the parks. Preach the gospel. It is certain that God has his. And that his will hear his voice. Will follow him. And he will give them eternal life. And they'll be with us in heaven for all eternity. Right? All praise, honor, and glory to the one who is sovereign over salvation. Amen? Let's pray. Take a few moments. And pray silently. And consider with me that if you think to yourself, you know, I'm not sure I'm one of the elect. Or how would I know if I'm one of the elect? Listen, the Bible gives us absolutely no room whatsoever considering man's responsibility. It gives us no room to think fatalistically about these things. The way to consider whether or not you are the elect of God is by repenting and believing the gospel. He holds out the offer of his grace freely to you and says to you, come, come to me. You come to me, the one that comes to me, I will in no wise cast out, I will in no wise cast out, come to me and be saved. If you're here, my brother and sister, you're considering the doctrine of election. Consider the victory that we have, the invincibility that is inherent in this doctrine. And let's praise the Lord together for it and let's serve him with a fervent boldness as a fruit of it. When you're done praying, I'll pray with us together and then we'll be dismissed. Let's pray. Father in heaven, all praise, honor, and glory be to your name. Thank you for your sovereign, unconditional election of centers of salvation in your Son, Lord Jesus Christ, to the praise of your grace. And may you, Lord, be magnified, exalted, extolled may the Son be glorified, honored, and praised for this glorious work. Spirit of God, may you apply it to the heart of the center, may you cultivate within us faith in the Son that we might worship and praise and obey the one who has called us and may you in all things be glorified. We love you, we praise you, we thank you for these blessed truths. We're in pray that you would continue to do that work even among us. Allow us, Lord, bless us with the grace of being willing, fervent participants in the spreading of the gospel and church plants and local evangelism and preaching the gospel to those we come across and help us to be faithful in that good work for your glory and may you receive the full reward of your suffering. We love you, we thank you for this time and praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.


There's a spot in Walker where you can find one-of-a-kind paintings, comic books, and wood carvings all under the same roof. Reporter Cheryl Moore takes us to every unique corner of the Walker Art and Antique Mall in this week's In Focus. Whether you're looking for a niche piece of wall art that one record your parents used to listen to or the perfect frame for your family portrait, there's a good chance it's sitting in the Walker Art and Antique Mall. The mall is unique in the fact that its sword doubles as a gallery. What we do at the mall here is we showcase local artists in the area. We have potters, painters, jewelry makers, woodworkers, everything in between. The mall has been in business for 20 years. The lower level houses hundreds of antiques like records, books, and figurines. Meanwhile, the top floor is where you'll find the artwork. This is CJ Green. He does watercolor, oil, mosaics, as you can see. Right here we have Kelly Kramer. She's our number one jewelry person. Very stylish, current up-to-date styles. Cyrus Swan, he's from Pine River, which isn't too far from Walker. Very talented potter, also teaches at BSU. The Walker Mall is ginormous. Every nicking cranny is filled to the brim with different works of art. There's thousands of items in about 30 different genres. The mall works with more than 85 collaborators, and that's just now. In the summer that number grows. 95% of our artists are local within half hour to an hour. We do have a few from the cities and one from Alaska. The mall has become a treasure spot amongst artists and locals in the community. Right now they're on the off season, but in summer the foot traffic really picks up, which creates a ton of opportunities for artists to have their work seen by the public. There's a lot of good artists in the area and it's good to showcase them and have a spot where they can show their items and have a low overhead. The mall is open six days a week from 10 to 5 during the year. In the summer they're open seven days a week. We're running a walker with this week's in focus. Shawamore, Lakeland News. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.


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