Revival is God’s work. If we think we can produce it by this or any other mechanical means, we are actually being manipulative, as many Christian orators have tried to be. But although revival does not follow mechanically upon faithful exposition of the Bible, God nevertheless does bless exposition. Characteristically, it is through such Bible preaching that times of renewal and reformation have come. James Montgomery Boice, Nehemiah: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: BakerBooks, 2005), 93.

If you are a Christian, you surely know of God’s wonderful revelation of himself in Christ as recorded in the New Testament. Yet if you ignore the Old Testament, you ignore the basis and foundation of the New .  The context for understanding the person and work of Christ is the Old Testament. God’s work of creation, humanity’s rebellion against him, sin’s consequence in death, God’s election of a particular people, his revelation of sin through the law, the history of his people, his work among other peoples—I could go on and on—all these form the setting for Christ’s coming. Christ came in history at a particular point in the storyline.  So the parables taught by Jesus often refer back to the storyline begun in Genesis. His verbal battles with the Pharisees are rooted in differences over the meaning of the law. And the Epistles build upon the Old Testament again and again. Understanding God’s purpose in history, understanding the storyline, requires us to begin at the beginning. If we

I believe that God’s choice is not conditioned on anything in the sinner—but that his calling produces a human response that is an essential part of the salvation process. I agree with the CSB's note on Eph 1v 4 The verse says- Eph 1 v  4 For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.  CSB note reads : The meaning of election is best understood as God’s sovereign initiative in bringing persons to faith in Christ, resulting in a special covenant relationship with him. This theme serves as a foundation to the entire opening section of Ephesians, which includes the phrases God “chose us” (v. 4); “predestined us” (v. 5); and “predestined according to the plan” (v. 11).  Paul’s focus on the Christ-centered character of election is vitally important. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. This indicates the centrality of the gospel in God’s plan for history. We are chosen to be holy and blameless. Holiness an

 At the Last Supper, “the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him,” and before the supper was ended, “Satan entered into him” (John 13:2, 27). As the time approached when Judas would betray him, Jesus said, “The ruler of this world is coming” (John 14:30). If evil spirits possess such mind-controlling influence, why does it seem an incredible thing that the Holy Spirit of the living God possesses and exerts mind-controlling influence? Since the Evil Spirit can blind us, surely the Holy Spirit can give us sight. If the devil can put it into a man’s heart to betray Jesus, surely the Holy Spirit can put it into a man’s heart to receive Jesus. Jim Scott Orrick, Mere Calvinism (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2019), 150.