Open your Bibles, if you would,
to Isaiah. Or, I'm sorry, to Jeremiah. Jeremiah 24. Jeremiah
24. We were in Isaiah this morning,
so that's why my mind went there right away. Jeremiah, chapter
24. The name of the message is, they
shall be my people. They shall be my people. Jeremiah,
chapter 24. Now, in this world, there are
some things that are sure to occur. Some things that are sure
to occur. And we know that one of those
is we're going to pay taxes. We're going to pay taxes, right?
Everyone pays taxes, and we're sure that we're all going to
die. Those are two things that's for sure. We're going to pay
taxes on things we purchase and in our life, and we are going
to die. Every single human being on the top side of this earth
is one day going to die. Now, men and women in this world
say things are going to happen, that they're going to do things,
or, oh, we're going to do this, and we're going to do that. Now,
they hope those things happen, and they have almost a certainty
that they're going to happen. But we know, as the people of
God, that things only occur according to God's will. And we know that
we who are the born-again, blood-washed people of God, that these things
happen. These things happen for our good.
and for God's glory, for our good and God's glory. And we have no way to control
tomorrow. You and I, and actually every
person on this earth, has no way to control tomorrow. It's
out of our hands, beloved. We may think we can control tomorrow.
We may say things like, oh, yeah, well, tomorrow I'm going to go
do that. And we know in the scripture, we're supposed to say, if the
Lord wills, we're going to go do that. If the Lord wills, that'll
happen. Because we don't even have any
assurance that we're going to live through the night, beloved. God holds tomorrow. God holds
tomorrow. Again, we could breathe our last
breath on this earth tonight. But for the believer, we're nowhere
in his hands. Whether we're here breathing
on this earth, or whether we breathe our last breath, we're
in the Lord's hands. And for us, death is gain, isn't
it? For the unsaved, it's not. Oh, they go into a Christless
eternity of torment and wrath. But praise be to God, the wrath
due us fell upon Christ. The wrath due his people fell
upon Christ. And the very God Elohim who holds
tomorrow is the very God who keeps us. Let's look there in
Jeremiah chapter 24. And the Holy Spirit of God had
Jeremiah penned these words, a vision which he had. And we
see here before us a picture of good figs and bad figs. And the Lord will show the state
of his faithful people He will show the state and the sad end
of the ungodly. Jeremiah 24 1, The Lord showed me and behold
two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the Lord.
They were set before the temple of Jehovah, of Jehovah. After that Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, had carried away captive Jokanah, the son of Jehoiakim,
king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters
and smiths from Jerusalem, and had bought them down to Babylon."
Now we see two names here, two names of Hebrew men in verse
1. One being a prince and the other
a king. Now we know that names in the
scriptures have meanings. The prince's name, Jeconiah, in Hebrew means this,
Jehovah will establish. Jehovah will establish. The king's
name, Jehoakim, in Hebrew means, listen to this, Jehovah raises
up. Look at that. Jehovah will establish. And Jehovah raises up. I want
us to remember those meanings of those names as we look at
these scriptures tonight. So one name brings forth that
Jehovah is the one who establishes. And the other name brings forth
that Jehovah is the one that raises us up. Raises us up. Again, keep that in mind for
the latter part of this study. And take note in this first verse
there are two baskets of figs are set before the Lord. We will
see in the next few verses that these baskets pictured the Jews
that were in captivity with Jeconiah and those that remained in Jerusalem
with Zedekiah. as is explained in some of the
following verses. So the historical aspect of this is the good figs are those who
were taken into captivity with Jeconiah and Jehoiakim. And the bad bascula figs historically
are the Jews who were left behind and remained in Jerusalem with
Zedekiah. In these baskets, note these
baskets are said to be set before the temple of the Lord, set before
the temple of Jehovah. They're not to be sold. They're
not there to be sold. They're there to be presented
to Jehovah. an allusion to the baskets of
first fruits. That's what they represented
is when the Jews were to bring their first fruits and leave
them at the temple of the Lord. In Deuteronomy, turn there if
you would quickly, Deuteronomy chapter 26 verse 2, we see this
brought forth. Now think this, the Jews would
offer the first fruits to the Lord. And this was all according
to the law, wasn't it? According to the law, the first
fruits are to be brought to the temple. And we know that from
Deuteronomy 26, 2. Look what it says. That thou
shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy
land unto Jehovah the Elohim. Notice, too, it's He who gives
it, because it says, give it thee. So he gives that to us,
right? And we are to take the first
fruits, the Jews were, to take the first fruits and offer them
to the Lord. Offer them to Jehovah. And shall
put it in a basket, and shall go unto the place which the Lord,
that's Jehovah, thy God, that's Elohim, should choose to place
his name there. Look at that, look at that in
that little verse there. Should choose to place his name
there. Do you know that for every believer,
God has chosen to place his name there? Do you know that even
in this church here in Almont, Michigan, God has chosen to place
his name here? It's God who's done that. It's
God who's done that by his marvelous, marvelous mercy and grace. My
oh my. So we ought to treasure that,
aren't we? We ought to treasure that. that
he's chosen to place his name here, that he chose us. Let's go back to Jeremiah chapter
24. Now we'll read verses 2 and 3. OK. Two baskets of fruit. Two baskets
of figs, actually. Two baskets of figs. Look what
it says. One basket had very good figs. Even like the figs that are first
ripe. Sweet figs. Sweet figs. And the other basket had very
naughty. That means in the Hebrew, that's bad or evil in the Hebrew. Bad or, they're just, they're
bad. They may look good on the outside, but they're bad. They're bad. Which could not
be eaten, they were so bad. They were so bad that you couldn't
eat them. You'd probably vomit them out
if you tried to eat them. Or if you could actually swallow
one, you probably would have done that. That's how bad it
is. Then said the Lord unto me, what
seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, figs, the good figs,
very good. And the evil, very evil, that
cannot be eaten, they are so evil. Two baskets of fruit here.
Let us consider these two baskets of figs. I keep saying figs,
fruit, but they're figs. Two baskets of figs. Let us consider
these two baskets. Let us consider one basket as
those in Christ, and let us consider the other basket as those outside
of Christ. Both under the same providence,
right? Both under the same providence
of God. Christ is the one basket, a saver
of death unto death. And Christ is, to the other basket,
a saver of life unto life. Now consider the two baskets,
one very good and the other very evil. But they each had the same
advantages and disadvantages, didn't they? The same seed, the
same soil, the same training, the same climate, the same sunshine,
and all the other influences were the same, worldly-wise. when they were being raised up. They each had the same sun shine
on them. They each had the same rain fall
upon them. But they were very opposite. They were opposite of character,
weren't they? Weren't they? But the sun had shined on both
of them. The rain had fallen on both of them. And yet one
basket is full of good fruit, and the other basket is full
of rotten fruit. So rotten, you can't even swallow
it. Can't be eaten. What a picture,
beloved, of how our great God makes us to differ one from another. It's so very clear and evident
here in this picture. One could say one basket represents
works-based religion and just natural man full of evil and
bad fruit. The fruit of their own labors.
The fruit of their own labors. And the other, grace. Them being
good fruit by the grace of God. By the grace of God and that
alone. Having been tended by a loving, caring gardener. Lord Jesus Christ oh My beloved remember the same
sunshine fell upon those baskets the same rain fell upon those
baskets and one is absolutely rotten and The other one is very
good And the only one who made those two baskets to differ beloved
is God Almighty Is God Almighty Let's continue in our text. In
verse 4 it says, again the word of the Lord came unto me, that's
Jehovah, saying, a little pause here in these next
verses from verses 5 to 10. Take note of the verbiage set
before us here by God the Holy Spirit. Remember, it's God the
Holy Spirit who is the author. Note the words I have. Note the
words I will. Note the words, they shall, and
note the words, I shall. These are all words which speak
of what our great God is doing, what he's going to do. And we
will see that we who are the born-again, blood-washed saints
of God have experienced the grace and mercy in Christ that's spoken
of in some of these verses here. Look at this, verse 5, Thus saith
the Lord, that's again Jehovah, and there we see Elohim again,
Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, the Supreme One, the
Mighty One, Jehovah, the Self-existent One, Like these good figs, so
will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah.
whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans
for their good." Note who sent them out, beloved. That army
came, the Babylonian army came and took them captive and off
they went, right? But it was the Lord's will, wasn't
it? We see that. See, all things work for God's
glory and for our good. had them carried away to Babylon
according to his good and wise providence. Now look at verse
six. Look at the verbiage here. For I will set mine eyes upon
them for good. I will, he says. And remember,
he's the one who never slumbers or sleeps, right? He says, I
will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again
to this land, and I will build them. and not pull them down.
And I will plant them and not pluck them up. Notice the I wills? Those are the I wills of God,
beloved. Those are I wills of the great God Elohim. Now we say, I'm going to do this
and I'm going to do that. But we don't have any power to
do that unless God allows it to happen. We can pop off and
say whatever we want. But unless God wills that to
occur, it shall never happen. But you know, when God says,
I will, it's going to happen. It's going to happen. Because
he has the ability, and he has the power, beloved. And remember,
I was thinking about this as I was putting this together.
Remember Pilate with the Lord? And Pilate says, I have power
over your life. And he says, you don't have any
power over me unless God wills it. My, oh my, beloved. These are
wonderful words, aren't they? I will do. And when God says,
I will, it's going to come to pass, beloved. Look at the verbiage
here. And for the believer, oh my,
what wondrous grace we have given to us in Christ. Elohim says,
I set my eyes upon you. You. That's God's people, he's talking
about. upon them, his chosen people, those who are represented
in the good basket, beloved. By nature, we're rotten like
the other basket, aren't we? Yeah, we are. But oh, the grace of God and
what a wondrous change occurs. The unrighteous are made righteous
in the eyes of God. Why? Because he set his eyes
upon us for good. My oh my. And I'll bring them
again to this land. They were taken off into captivity.
Think of that. Were we not taken off in sin,
beloved? It's God who's reconciled us,
isn't it? It's Christ who's reconciled us. It's Christ who's brought
us back. And Adam, we were far off. When
Adam fell, we fell with him, plunged into absolute spiritual
deadness. But we're alive in Christ, beloved,
we who are the born-again, blood-washed children of God. And that's true
for all who will trust the Lord Jesus Christ in Him alone. As
I said this morning, has God shown you your sinnership? I pray He does that. I pray that
He will reveal to you, if you do not know Him, your utter lost
state. I pray that if it be the will
of God, that he will show you your state and that you be born
again by his Holy Spirit, how? Through the preaching of the
gospel. My, and look at verse seven. This is what we're gonna look
on later on a little bit more too. Look at this, more I wills. And I will give them a heart
to know me. Look at that. I'm going to give them a heart
to know me. That I am Jehovah. And they shall be my people. And I will be their God. For
they shall return unto me with their whole heart. Now note the
verse doesn't say, I am Jehovah. and you'll be my people if you
make a decision for me. No. That's a God of people's imagination,
beloved. The scripture clearly and plainly
states here that the Lord, Jehovah, he states
Those people who I have chosen in Christ, they shall be my people. They shall be. And I will be
their God, Elohim, the strong one, the mighty one. For they shall return unto me,
look at this, with their whole heart, not just a little bit,
with their whole heart, beloved. Is it not so? After the Lord
saves us, do we not come to him wholeheartedly, praising him
and thanking him for his mercy and grace which he has bestowed
upon us? And we see here in verse seven,
the grace of God on full display, beloved. And these spoken of in verse
seven are those represented as the good feeks. They will be
given a new heart. They will be given a new heart
to know Jehovah. To know who he is. And each time again you see it,
Lord, capitalized, it's Jehovah in this chapter. They will know. They will know by the grace and
the mercy of God, Jehovah. I ask you, you who are born again, did you know Jehovah, the true
Jehovah of the Bible? Not just someone you heard about,
but did you know him in your heart before the Lord saved you? I already know the answer, but
it's something we can examine ourselves. Now, we may have known,
we said, well, I knew God. No, you didn't. No, you didn't
know who he was. Because the scripture here tells
us that when he reveals himself to us, we know he's God. We know he's Jehovah. We know
he is. That's what the scripture plainly
declares here. Now the word know here in the
Hebrew, you know what it's defined as? To learn, to perceive, to
discern, to experience, to confess. To confess, to consider, to know
people relationally. Oh, we may have heard about God,
and we may have had a God in our imagination. Or you may have sat in the Grace
Church growing up and heard about the mighty Elohim,
but yet not hear, yet not know. And look at this. So he says,
I'll give them the heart to know me, to learn, to perceive, to
discern, to experience, to confess. Is that not what we do? Oh, we
confess Jehovah is our God. They'll be given a heart. Those
spoken of in this verse, verse 7, will be given a heart to understand.
And we know that's by the Holy Spirit of God. To recognize and
to be acquainted with Jehovah in a relationship. That's incredible. We who used
to shake our fist at him, or by our actions and our sinfulness,
or we who used to use his name in vain, God's people who are
born again by the Holy Spirit of God now know Jehovah. Now know him. And in the Mount
we know, beloved, I was talking to, oh, actually, I was reading
an article by Bruce Crabtree. Listen to this. This is incredible. Bruce Crabtree said, I could
take all that I know about God and preaching in the last 40
years and put it in a thimble and put a cork on it, a thimble,
little wee thimble. We only know what God reveals
to us, and that's a man who's preached 40 years saying that. We're but scratching the surface
in what we know about Jehovah, and we only know what he chooses
to reveal to us, don't we? And when he reveals those things
to us, oh, we marvel. We marvel in who he is. And I
ask you, is this not what's happened to we who are the born-again
people of God? Have we not been granted faith
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Do we not know now that he is
God? Do we not now rejoice in his
salvation? Oh, my. And we rejoice with our
whole heart, don't we? Now, I know we're sinners. I
know we're sinners. I know we all struggle with sin.
And I know we struggle with the flesh. Oh, the flesh can be horrible
sometimes. But the true believer really
does rejoice with all their heart, don't we? We didn't rejoice in God
before. Not at all. But now, oh my, what
a Savior. What a great God, the true and
living God, Jehovah. Note also in this verse, it says,
they shall be my people. They shall be my people, and
I will be their God. God there in the text again is
Elohim, which means the mighty one, the strong one. And note,
they shall be my people. I ask you this question. Can anyone who God chosen Christ
from before the foundation of the world, and who will be drawn to Christ
by the Holy Spirit of God, Can anyone resist the mighty
and strong Elohim? Even unsaved people who thwart and plan and shake
their fists and want nothing but to destroy the Church of
God. Can they defeat Elohim? Never. Never. So can anyone resist the
mighty and strong Elohim? Anyone? Anyone in this world?
One may be mighty in power in this world. One may be mighty
in power in this world, but can they resist the mighty Elohim? There are nothing in His eyes,
beloved. There are nothing in His eyes. One may be mighty in strength.
We see some men in this world that, man, they work out, and
they are strong men. Strong men. And we say, my, look what that
guy can do. Look how much he can lift. Can they resist the mighty Elohim?
No, the strong one will crush them. with no effort at all. You think that? The mightiest
man in this world, the mightiest army in this world, Elohim could
crush with a word of his power. Because why? Think of this. He's
the very one who gives us the breath to breathe, isn't he? And no one can resist the mighty
Elohim. So when we breathe the last breath
he gives us, we can't breathe another. Can we? No one can resist Elohim, the
true and living God, the mighty one, the strong one. Now let's
look at verses 8 to 10. I want you to think of something
there quick in verse 6. The very one who can do all those
things is the one who has his eyes set upon every single one
of his people, no matter what we go through.
Isn't that wonderful? Let's read verses 8 to 10 now,
look at this. And as the evil figs which cannot be eaten, they
are so evil. Surely thus saith the Lord, so
will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and
the residue of Jerusalem that remain in this land, and them
that dwell in the land of Egypt. And I will deliver them to be
removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt,
to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places,
whither I shall drive them." Look who's doing this. It's the
mighty Elohim. And then look at verse 10. And
I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them
till they be consumed from off the land that I give unto them
and to their fathers. Now in verses 4 to 10, the Lord
becomes the preacher to the prophet Jeremiah. The historical context again
of these verses show us that the bad figs represented Zedekiah
and his court who were still in the land, still at Jerusalem. And Zedekiah was the reigning
king there of Judah because he was placed in that position by
the king of Babylon, by the king of Babylon. And the good figs referred to
the Lord's faithful ones, which are now in captivity, who he would deliver and bring
back into the land. And we know he did that, didn't
he? He did that. Listen to these words in Isaiah
chapter 3, verses 10 and 11. And the truth of Isaiah's words
are brought forth here before us. Isaiah 3, verses 10 and 11. Say ye to the righteous, and
that's those who are made righteous by God, that it shall be well with him,
for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe unto the
wicked. Woe unto the wicked. It shall
be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. My, oh, my. Woe unto the wicked. And every
time the gospel's preached, that's what's brought forth. Woe unto
the wicked. Turn to Christ. He's the only
hope for sinners. Now let's look at verses 8 and
9. And as the evil figs which cannot
be eaten They are so evil. Surely thus
saith the Lord, so will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah and
his princes and the residue of Jerusalem that remain in this
land and them that dwell in the land of Egypt. And I will deliver them to be
removed into all the kingdom of the earth for their hurt,
to be reproached in a proverb or taught in a curse in all places. Now contrast that with Deuteronomy.
So what's being brought forth here is similar to what's over
in Deuteronomy chapter 28 verses 36 and 37, where it says, the
Lord shall bring thee and thy king, which thou shalt set over
thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known. And there shalt thou serve other
gods, wood and stone, and thou shalt become an astonishment,
a proverb, and a byword among all nations, whether the Lord
shall lead thee." Deuteronomy chapter 28, verses 36 and 37. So we see here that the Lord
by his prophet brings forth tremendous judgments, which God had designed
to bring upon this wicked prince and the people with him. And we see in the words of Moses
that I read, A man of God held in high esteem by the Jews, which
was Moses. They held Moses in great reverence. Pretendedly, at least, in contrast
to the little esteem they had for Jeremiah. Now, Jeremiah saw
very little fruit in his ministry. I've heard some say he preached
and there was no converts. But you know what? We who are
the people of God are reading his books, aren't we? His book.
And we rejoice, don't we? We rejoice over the words in
the book of Jeremiah. My, oh, my. This wicked king
and the people who are represented in the basket of bad figs will see what the Lord had threatened
here come to pass suddenly. come to pass suddenly. And when
it is brought forth to pass, it'll pass suddenly, and it will
be a just accomplishment of what he had threatened in
his law, by which they ought to have taken warning. As I said
in Deuteronomy 28, 37, it says, and thou shalt become an astonishment,
a proverb, and a byword among all nations, whither the Lord
shall lead thee. And look what we see in Jeremiah.
24, nine, and I will deliver them
to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt to
be reproach, and a proverb, a taunt, and a curse in all places whither
I shall drive them. The sum is this. He would make
them a common scoff and a byword, and their misery should be a
common proverb. Let's look at verse seven again,
a little closer here. It says this, and I will give
them in heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall
be my people, and I will be their God, for they shall return unto
me with their whole heart. Again, this is speaking of the
good basket, the basket of good figs. In heaven, take a note
of the I wills of God in this verse. Scripture makes it very
evident and clear that our great and glorious God is sovereign
over all, over all things visible and invisible. Note what we see
here in verse seven, that our God makes some definite statements
here of what he shall do for his people.
And take note of the empathetic statements before us used in
this verse. Number one, I will give them,
and heart to know me. These are emphatic statements,
beloved. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They shall be my people. I will be their God. They shall
return unto me with their whole heart. Now let's go back one verse.
Look at verse six here. Speaking again of the basket
of good figs. For I will set my eye upon them
for good. And I will bring them again to
this land. That's speaking of the Jews who
were carried off into captivity that are to be bought back to
the land. And I will build them up and
not pull them down. And I will plant them and not
pluck them up. Now note also God's regard for
his people in the words of verse six. Look at this. I will set
mine eyes upon them for good. Now what does this bring forth?
Well, this brings forth his knowledge of them. And this brings forth that his
eyes are ever set upon them. He knows them. He knows every
one of them. Every one of them. And this also
brings forth that his providence is for them. Have you ever stopped and considered
that, that if you're a born-again child of God, that God's providence
is for you? My. And it also brings forth his grace to save us. His grace
to save us. It implies, number one, divine
personality. For I, this is speaking of Elohim
himself. Elohim himself. Not some graven image that somebody
carved or made. No, this is the one true living
God saying this. For I, speaking of Elohim, Jehovah
himself. And in note, divine attention.
Divine attention here, beloved. will set my eyes. Divine attention. Scripture says this, I will instruct
thee and teach thee in the way which thou shall go. I will guide
thee with mine eye. That's Psalm 32.8. And then notice
here also, personal affection. It says this, upon them. His
eyes not just set upon everyone. His eyes set upon his people. Personally. We know he sees everyone
and everything, but his eyes are personally upon his people,
beloved, with a personal affection. Listen to this in Ezekiel. Not
I pity thee to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion
upon thee. but thou was cast out in the
open field to the loathing of thy person in the day that thou
was born. And when I passed by thee and
saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when
thou wast in thy blood, live." This is talking about a baby
that's been just tossed out into the wilderness, abandoned by
the mom, abandoned by the dad. left to die out in the middle
of nowhere, still in its blood. Look at this. When I passed by
thee and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto
thee, when thou wast in thy blood, live. That's just like what he
said to Lazarus. Lazarus, come forth. Live. And I said unto thee, when thou
wast in thy blood, oh, when you were dead in trespasses and sins
just like I was, live. Oh, glory. Glory. Glory to our great God. And this
also in this verse, look at this in verse 6. It also implies great
kindness. Great kindness. Look at this.
For their good. He says, for I will set mine eye upon them
for good. We know this is for their good.
Scripture says this, in a little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on
thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. That's what he says to his people. Oh my. And then we have a description
of our deliverance brought forth here too. Now think of this too,
this all pictures what we have in Christ, beloved. It all pictures
what we have in Christ. Jeremiah 24.6 says, and I will
build them and not pull them down. Again, back up a little
bit, and I will bring them again to this land. Deliverance, divine
deliverance, beloved. Divine deliverance, I will. Elohim saying this, I'll bring
them into that land. Oh, my. When we depart from this
world, we go to the heavenly land of Canaan, don't we? Oh,
my. God will do this. God will do
this, beloved. And I will bring them again to
this land, and I will build them and not pull them down. And I
will plant them and not pluck them up. Again, this is speaking
of the basket of good figs. The only ones made them figs
to differ is God. Oh, my. Now, here we have an
idea of distance, too, don't we? I will bring them into this
land. Who left heaven to come to this
earth? The Lord Jesus Christ. He came from afar, didn't he? Great distance, beloved. And
he came and preached peace to you. Speaking of the people of
God, when Paul's writing this in Ephesians chapter 2, verse
17, he says, God came and preached peace to you. which were far
off unto them that were nigh." Speaking of Jews and Gentiles.
Oh, again, and think of this too. We fell in Adam, right?
We who are the people of God, we fell in Adam just like everybody
else. But God says to his people, I'll
bring them again to this land and I'll build them. Is God doing
this? And how does he bring us back
to him? How does he reconcile us to himself? Seeing we fell
in Adam, seeing we have no power to reconcile ourselves to God,
how does he do that? How does God do that? Well, he
sends his son, the word of God. God incarnate in the flesh. And
by the death of his son and by the obedience of his son, we
are reconciled to God. by the shedding of Christ's precious,
precious blood. We are redeemed by the blood
of the lamb. And where are the blessings designed
for them on their return? Regeneration, beloved, born again
by the Holy Spirit of God. And nobody says, he won't pull
us down. That means he won't condemn us,
beloved, we who are the people of God. Hear not visit his judgment
upon our sins, because they're bought and paid
for by the Lord Jesus Christ. God proclaims to his people,
I'll plant them and I won't pluck them up. I'll plant them and
I won't pluck them up. And then who is the foundation
of the building? Well, for other foundation can no man lay than
that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He's the foundation.
He's the foundation. And what are some of the results
of God doing this mighty work? Well, we see it in verse 7. Note
this. And I'll give them a heart to know me. A heart to know me. The gracious. covenant-keeping
God gives his chosen people who are chosen in Christ before the
foundation of the world a heart to know him a heart to know him as a very
very gracious God a heart to know him as a covenant-keeping
God a heart to know him as as a faithful God, a heart to know
Him as a mighty God, a heart to know Him as the one true and
living God, the God of our salvation, the God of salvation to His people. And what is the result of this
wonderful work of God? Well, we see in verse 7, for
they shall return unto me with their whole heart. Nothing shall prevent them, because
God says they shall. Thy people shall be made willing
in the day of thy power. And they come to him warmly,
don't they? Well, notice that. The heart, the new heart that
he gives us will be delighted in returning to our God. Beloved,
this only occurs when we're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Let's read verse seven again.
And I will give them in heart to know me, that I am Jehovah,
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. For
they shall return unto me with their whole heart. Now here are
five facts. that God will make known to his
people through the word of God and through the preaching of
the gospel. Number one, God will make known to his people
that there are some men and women in this world whom God has chosen
to salvation from eternity who must be saved and who shall be
saved. John 15, 16 says this. Ye have
not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that you
should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain,
that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he
may give it you." John 15, 16. Now there's a multitude scattered
among the fallen sons of Adam in every age, in every nation,
who must be saved. And they shall be saved because
they were redeemed by the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ
on Calvary's cross. And the number of God's elect
is so great that no man can calculate it. Scripture says it's a number
that no man can number, even though it always appears as if
it's just a remnant in this world. Oh, my. 2 Thessalonians 2, verses
13 and 14 says, but we are bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto he called you, he called
you by our gospel, through the preaching of the gospel, to the
obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So this great number of God's
elect is also a number that's fixed by God and cannot be altered. All the elect must be saved and
they shall be saved. Nothing can prevent their salvation,
nothing at all, because it is God, God alone who has chosen
them in Christ. Another thing that God's people
know is that the Lord Jesus Christ has made atonement for the sins
of God's elect and has redeemed them from the curse of the law
by his own precious blood. Galatians says this, Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree, that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith. So, contrary to popular opinion,
Christ did not die for all men. He refused to even pray for all
men. Did you know that? John 17, verse
9, I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me, for they are thine. Oh, beloved, All his work was
and is for his elect. When Christ came to this world,
all his work was and is for his elect alone. To declare otherwise
is to declare that his work, his atonement, his intercession,
all his work as a sinner's substitute was futile, meaningless, and
vain. Beloved, the death of Christ
was for his particular chosen elect people, for the satisfaction
of his justice and on their behalf. He was taken from prison and
from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? For he
was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression
of my people was he stricken. That's what God says in Isaiah
53.8. And in John chapter 10 verse 11 says, I am the good
shepherd. The good shepherd gave his life for the sheep. And we know, we know some are
goats, don't we? Because he looked at those Pharisees
and he said, you are not my sheep. Oh my. And we don't know who
the elect are. We have no idea who the sheep
of God are. Therefore, we preach the gospel
to all as gospel preachers. And we let God do the work. I
like what Brother Drew says, and I'll say it again, I'll keep
saying it. We get out of God's way. God's preachers are to preach
the gospel and get out of God's way. And let him do the work. A third thing that all of God's
people know, having been redeemed by the blood of Christ, and having
been called from death to life by the irresistible power and
grace of God the Holy Spirit, we know this to be true, don't
we? We know that salvation is a work of God. We know that our
calling, our redemption, our calling by the irresistible and
almighty power of God is all according to God's will and purpose.
We know this. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, the scripture declares in Psalm 65, 4. Blessed is the
man whom thou choosest, whom God chooses, and causes to approach
unto thee. See, God has caused us to approach
unto thee. We were like Adam and Eve in
our natural state, hiding with fig leaves on, which represents
the works of our hands, beloved, the works of our own righteousness. And remember what God had to
do? Remember what he did? He had the blood of an innocent
lamb shed. And he covered them in those animal
skins. That represented and pictured Christ the innocent one dying
for the guilty. And those fig leaves were removed,
right? And God clothed them. God did
that. He clothed them. Just like God clothes us in the
righteousness of Christ. Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest and causes to approach unto thee. Oh, he causes us to
approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts. We shall
be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy
temple. Psalm 65, 4. So repentance towards
God and faith in Christ and eternal life are the result of the Spirit's
call, beloved. And these are things affectionately
wrought in God's elect, not offered to them, not offered to them,
no, not offered to them, but this is a work of God Almighty.
Now the gospel call goes out, doesn't it? Of course it does.
Flee to Christ or you're going to perish in your sins. Oh my. But the means. by which God's
elect are born again and called and given faith in Christ is
the preaching of the gospel. And God's people, that's the
fourth thing that God's people know. That's the fourth thing
God's people know. That the means by which God's
elect are born again, called, and given faith in Christ is
the preaching of the gospel. And the Holy Spirit takes those
words and he regenerates his people. God, by the foolishness
of preaching, saves his people. And every one of God's people
can say amen. That's what he does. That's what
he does. So then faith cometh by what?
Hearing. We're given ears to hear, aren't
we? And hear in how? By the word of God. By the preaching
of the gospel. They please God again by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And James
writes this, of his own will begot he us. Of his own will
begot he us. It's the will of God that we
be born again, we who are his people. Not left dead in trespasses
and sins. It's God's will. Of his own will
begot he us. With the word of truth, that's
the scriptures. That's the gospel, beloved. that we should be a
kind of first fruits of his creatures. And the next thing we know, the
last thing we know is God's people, is that there is a specific day
appointed by God in which each of his elect will be called to
life and faith in Christ by the gospel. Vicki and I listened
to Brother Norm today, and he brought forth it's a time of
love. We, as God's people, know that
there is a specific day, the time of love, by which God has
appointed that each of his elect will be called to life and faith
in Christ Jesus by the gospel and by the power of God the Holy
Spirit. And God will see to it that the
sinner whom he has chosen will be in the place that he has ordained with his heart thoroughly prepared
to receive the gospel at the appointed time of love. It's God who does this, beloved.
He will send his word to that sinner, that chosen sinner, by
a preacher in the irresistible power and grace of God the Holy
Spirit. And in that day, God says, in
that day of love, God says regarding every chosen and redeemed sinner,
they shall be my people. And God's saints say amen. Glory
be to God. Glory be to God. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for your goodness and your mercy and your grace.
Oh, Lord, we know as we looked at these two baskets of figs
tonight, we know the only thing and the only one who made those
baskets to differ is thee, oh Lord. Thy sun shone upon both. Thy rain fell upon both. But
it's only you who made them to differ. Only you alone. May we contemplate these things
as the people of God. May we marvel how you personally
set your eyes upon your people, how you personally watch over
us, and how you've given us a heart, oh Lord, to praise thee, and
it's all according to thy divine will and thy purpose. And we
who are the people of God, we say, praise your mighty name,
Lord. Hallelujah to thee, Lord Jesus.
Lord, may we think upon these things, we who are your people.
May we think upon these truths we've looked at tonight and this
morning. And may we marvel, may we marvel that you have said,
thou shalt be my people. We know what we are. And yet
you said in eternity, they shall be my people. My, what mercy,
what a miserable grace. We love you because you first
loved us in Jesus' name, amen.