Good morning to the Gospel of
Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. Let me take
care of addressing some things personally that I just feel like
I need to for this congregation. Many of you have expressed concern
for my health and you've heard various things. I'm doing just
fine. Forty-three years ago, I had
Hodgkin's disease when I was 26 years old. And before I found
out I had it, I was nearly dead with it. I was in the fourth
stage. And the doctors gave me what they called a full mock
treatment. It was right at the end of using Cobalt, right at
the beginning of using chemotherapy. For you who know what that is,
you know, and you who don't, it won't do me any good to talk
about it. But I had a year of the time I had to go through
the cobalt treatments. They warned me ahead of time
it would likely cause difficulties in the future, but they didn't
expect the future to be very long. They anticipated I might
live maybe five years if it took the treatments. That's been 43
years ago. And we discovered in January that I have lung cancer,
and my heart doctor, not a heart doctor, my family doctor immediately,
when they found out about it, he said, It's not your pipe or
your cigars, it's the cobalt. He said, it's the cobalt treatments. He said, Preacher, they didn't
expect you to be here 40 years later. And I knew that, but the
cobalt treatments have some residual effect. And this calls catch
that I have now, had it in three spots. I'm going through what
they call cyber knife. treatments. It's a technology,
some of you probably know something about it, but I go in and get
fitted up with a suit like E.T. used to have on the movie, E.T.
Go Home. And they mark the spots and go
in and work on it. And the two upper lesions have
been taken care of. The lower, larger lesion they
haven't been able to get a hold of. This will surprise you. Several
years ago I had surgery and the surgeon was, he would make Shelby
look like a giant. He was a little bitty fellow.
And he came in and told my family and they told me, he said, he's
a big man. And they said, we know that.
He said, no, I mean inside, his heart and lungs and liver and
kidney, everything big. His gallbladder was big and yuck.
Said if he could weigh 275 pounds, he'd be in good shape. And he
came in and told me that. Of course, that's, here I am,
275. I'm doing great. But they couldn't
get to the lower lesion with CyberKnife as they normally did,
so I went in and had some, they called it a fiducial. Is that
right, Rachel? And they took a needle and stuck
it through my ribcage, into my lung, and the doctors, I heard
them say, cut it just where I want it, but it wasn't right. It was
right in the middle of the lesion, but I still couldn't pick it
up. So I went back last Friday. It was a Friday, last Friday,
and a little more extensive surgery, went down through my bronchial
tubes and put four more in, and this surgeon got them scattered
around. So hopefully when I get home next Friday, I have an appointment,
I'll go and get suited up again for my ET suit, and they'll lock
everything up and we'll start the final process. I'll either
have three, four, or five days of treatments with the CyberKnife,
but I really do feel as good as I look. You don't have to
laugh out loud, but you can laugh. I do feel fine. I wake up feeling
good every day, and I'm doing just fine. God graciously has
allowed me to maintain my regular schedule of studying and writing
and preaching, and I'm very thankful. And it's my delight to be here
now for this congregation. I thank God he brought you into
our lives, made you part of our lives. We pray for you. Pray
for God's blessings upon you. and pray that he will be pleased
to send you a pastor after his heart who will feed you with
knowledge and understanding. Do not be satisfied without such
a pastor. Do not be satisfied to get along
without a pastor, a man to feed you with knowledge and understanding
after his heart. I first met Brother Paul when
I, first time I preached over at Egglesburn for Brother Peter.
And I just realized, looking at him a little bit ago, I told
him, he reminded me very much of a very dear friend of mine
who's been with the Lord now for 40 years. He was an older
man, I was a young 21-year-old pastor, and he kind of took me
under wing. He was the only one to have anything
to do with somebody who had the crazy ideas that I did, but he and
I were good friends. At his graveside, I remember
distinctly what one of the deacons in the church said. Brother Harold
Cole said, Lord, you gave us a faithful pastor. We followed
him as far as we can. Give us another and give us grace
to follow him. Don't be satisfied without a
messenger from God to feed your souls. Okay, let's turn to Hebrews
chapter 2. Hebrews, the second chapter. My subject is sovereign mercy. Sitting here just a little bit
ago while you were milling around, I was trying to prepare to preach. A thought simply overwhelmed
me. Perhaps the most overwhelming
thought I've ever had. God, the God of glory, the triune
Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is totally consecrated
to my salvation. Totally consecrated to the saving
of my soul. Everything God has ever done, everything God is doing, and
everything God will do tomorrow is for the saving of my soul. And Margaret Vincent, the same
is true of you. The God of glory. is utterly
committed to the saving of our souls for His glory. For you
who do not yet know Him, I pray that God is utterly committed
to the saving of your soul. Such a thought ought to grip
your heart. Here in Hebrews chapter 2 and
verse 16, The Spirit of God tells us something about our Lord Jesus
Christ. Have you got it? Verily, He took
not on Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of
Abraham. I don't find it at all surprising
that the Spirit of God tells us that the Lord Jesus did not
take on Him the nature of angels. I do find it a little strange
because I've been conditioned to think this way, that He says
He took on Him the seed of Abraham. It looks like He would have said
He took on Him the seed of Adam, but He didn't take on Him the
seed of Adam. He took on him the seed of Abraham
because he came here to save his people from their sins. Our Lord Jesus, when he came
into this world, came here taking hold of his election. of Abraham's
seed so that he might have him taken hold of them, deliver them
into everlasting life by the power of his omnipotent grace
through the merit of his blood and righteousness. He took on
him the seed of Abraham. He took on him the nature of
Adam without sin, but he took on him the seed of Abraham to
save them, to redeem them, to justify them. we were lost, rushing
to hell, rushing headlong to destruction, running as fast
as we could to eternal perdition, until the Lord Jesus reached
down the hand of sovereign mercy and delivered us. Every Save
Center, every Save Center is a brand plucked from the burning,
snatched out of the jaws of hell, snatched from among the fallen
sons of Adam by God's sovereign mercy and irresistible grace. He took not on him the nature
of angels, he passed by the fallen angels. gave them no mercy, extended
to them no grace, gave them no help. And it passed by the sons
of Adam, gave them no mercy, extended them no grace, but it
took hold on the seed of Abraham. God, our Savior, reserves the
right of absolute sovereignty in all things. And he exercises
that sovereignty all the time, everywhere. I realize we live
in a religious age where men use religious terms and spiritual
terms and they talk pious, who have less sense than a jackass
about spiritual things. I've said what I said deliberately.
Less sense than a jackass. Your mother, your father, your
sons, your daughters, your neighbors, your friends, do not understand
anything spiritually right. They don't have a right thought,
let alone a right perception. When men think about God, they
have an idea of God sort of like an old man who hasn't lost all
of his strength and all of his marbles, but he can be manipulated
pretty easy. He doesn't really have any power.
He doesn't really have any ability. He doesn't really have any control
over anything or anybody. But he's there, and he feels
bad for you. And he's willing to help if he
could. But really, he helps those who help themselves. And he will
save you, but it's up to you. And he really can't determine
anything. He's just God. And then they
talk about righteousness as though you could do it, and goodness
as though you were the epitome of it. Our politicians, yours
and ours, all like to flatter you with the idea that there
is in you a goodness, a basic goodness, while all the while
they know because they know themselves. There is in you a badness, a
basic badness, a corruption, a vileness, an evil, a depravity,
a sin that we hide from one another and refuse to discuss and we
put on a facade of goodness and pretend and play games with you
and play games with ourselves and play games with God. Nothing
thought of, nothing expressed by the religious world, by the
whole religious world outside the gospel of God's free and
sovereign grace in Jesus Christ is wrong, it's heresy, and it's
damning. Did you hear me? It's wrong,
it's heresy and it's damning. It shouldn't be tolerated, listened
to in any way. Now please don't misunderstand
me. I am not suggesting that you
act like a Muslim and take up arms and go burn places down
and fight them. Be nice to folks, be gracious
to them, be kind to them, but don't identify with them. And
don't support them. And don't tip your hat and say,
well, they have a little misunderstanding, but they're doing the best they
can. They're worshipping an idol. If they're not worshipping, God
own his throne. The one characteristic of God
this generation will not tolerate is His sovereignty. And God Almighty
demands sovereignty, exercises sovereignty, and never will relinquish
His sovereignty in any area. He's absolutely sovereign in
creation. Sovereign in His providence.
Everything that comes to pass has for its original source God. In the beginning, God. Nothing
happens apart from Him. Nothing happens contrary to His
will. Nothing happens contrary to His pleasure. Nothing happens
contrary to His purpose to save His people from their sins. Everything. Our God rules the
universe. He rules in providence, and He
rules in grace. What do you mean, preacher? I
mean just what the book of God says. He has mercy on whom He
will have mercy, and whom He will, He hardens. He saves whom
He will. That means that you are in God's
hand. He can save you, or He can damn
you. It's up to him. I am in God's
hands. He can save me or he can damn
me. It's up to him. You and I deserve
his wrath. We deserve his just punishment. We deserve to go to hell. That's
what we've earned by everything we've done or thought since we
came into this world. But He could save us or He can
damn us through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Now let men deny or ridicule
or rebel against it as they will, and they do, but God's indisputable
sovereignty is a fundamental, basic doctrine of Holy Scripture. It is a fundamental, essential,
vital part of the gospel of God's grace. Now we get fussed at and
we're called antinomians and we're called hard shells and
folks would like to poke fun at folks who believe what I'm
preaching to you and poke fun at us preaching. And we sometimes
kind of draw back and don't want to offend and make people mad.
Some time ago I was taking some therapy at the wellness center
in Danville. And I got to know the folks who
did it, but about everybody in my part of the country, I don't
only live in the Bible Belt of the United States, I live in
the buckle. Everybody in our place has been saved two or three
times, but they haven't done any good, but they've all been
saved two or three times. And they go to church and they talk
religious stupidity, and especially women. Oh, I preach to them,
Gabby, pushy, bossy women. especially in religion. They're
just out of place. But this guy, she said to me
one day, I guess you shouldn't be talking so much. She said,
you're not one of those Calvinists, are you? I said, do what? She
said, you're not one of those Calvinists, are you? I called
her name, I forgot it now. I said, well, I don't much like
the term, but if you mean that I believe in divine sovereignty
and predestination and election and limited atonement and irresistible
grace, Yeah, I said, honey, I'm so Calvinistic, I'd make John
Calvin look like an Arminian. And I don't apologize at all
for anything. Not for anything, I believe in preaching concerning
the character of our God. The illustrations of God's sovereignty
in the exercise of His grace are so numerous, so abundant
in the scriptures, that you can hardly open the Bible to any
page, New Testament or old, that does not illustrate and demonstrate
with clarity God's absolute sovereignty. We read in the scriptures about
Satan. He led a revolt in heaven that's described in the 12th
chapter of Revelation. And in that revolt against the
throne of God, Satan decided he'd take over the God business.
And he led one-third of the heavenly angels into rebellion. When he
did, The angels were cast into chains of darkness, bound in
chains of darkness until the judgment of the last day with
no mercy, with no space for repentance, with no hope of grace, with no
savior, with no deliverance, with no promise from God. Immediately,
God cast them off forever. Adam did the same thing. Adam
did exactly the same thing. He said, God, you've got no right
to be God. I will take over the God business. And what did God do? When Adam
plunged himself and our race into sin and rebellion and ungodliness,
assaulting God, fighting God, fighting God, fighting God. That's
the nature of man. Why are your sons and daughters
rebels? Because they're fighting God. Why are you a rebel? Because you're fighting God.
You live with your fist in God's face and you say to God, get
out of my way! That's what Adam did. But instead
of casting Adam's fallen race forever into damnation, the Lord
God promised a savior. He promised a Redeemer. He promised
mercy. He promised grace. Before ever
he took them out of the garden and barred the way to the tree
of life, God slew an animal and with its skins clothed the fallen
pair Adam and Eve. And he said, here, here's a picture
of what I'm going to do. I'm going to send one, my own
son, the woman seed. A man with no depravity, with
no sin, a man who is God and he in his dying for sinners will
crush the serpent's head. And that's the story told throughout
the Old Testament scriptures in all the types and pictures
of the Old Testament. Why? Why did God pass by the
fallen angels and choose some of Adam's fallen race? Because
he has mercy. on whom he will have mercy. He
gives no other reason. Now you can fuss about that and
fight about that if you want to, but it stands firm. Our Lord
Jesus taught us how to look at God's sovereignty. He said, I
thank you, O my Father, because you have hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and you've refilled them to make us. How did you come to know these
things, Brother Don? God taught me. That's all. Oh, you're a smart man. No, not
me. You're an educated man, not me.
You're a diligent man. God taught me. God taught me. It pleased God to reveal His
Son in me. It pleased God to teach me by
His Spirit. And everyone that is taught of
God and born of God is taught the same thing. Did you hear
me? Everyone who is born of God and
taught of God is taught the same thing. The Old Testament examples
abound. Adam had two sons, Cain and Abel. God passed by Cain, the older,
and saved Abel, his brother. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael
and Isaac. God passed by Ishmael and saved
Isaac. Isaac had two sons, Esau and
Jacob. God passed by Esau because he
hated Esau. And he saved Jacob because he
loved Jacob. Why did he do that? I don't know.
I don't know why I hated Esau. I don't know why I loved Jacob.
I just know God loved Jacob and hated Esau. In the days of Noah,
the earth was populated just like it is now. People everywhere. People everywhere. We're not
talking about days of barbaric cavemen when man was an ape or
something. There's folks who are happy to believe. The world
was populated. The world was covered with people.
And there was evil everywhere. and God determined to destroy
all flesh. But one man, one solitary man,
one man, God pleased to say, one man, he saved Noah and his
family. Do you know why? Do you remember
why? Because Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. That's God's sovereignty. Everyone knows the name Pharaoh.
Everywhere in the world, Pharaoh is known. You might not know
any of the other pharaohs. I don't care how much they bring
various pharaohs around and dig up their tombs and bring their
riches and so on. Everybody knows about one pharaoh.
Everybody does. There was one who lived in the
days when Israel was captive to Egypt. After 400 years of
bondage, Israel grew and multiplied into a great nation. And there
arose a pharaoh who knew not Joseph. And Pharaoh sat on his
throne. And Pharaoh was fearful. And his people were fearful.
And God gave the children of Israel favor among the Egyptians
after he performed his wonders in the land of Ham. Isn't that
a marvelous way God describes what he did in Egypt? He performed
his wonders in the land of Ham. Doing what? Preparing to deliver
Israel out of Egyptian bondage. And at the appointed hour, Pharaoh
finally said, here, get out, leave us alone. And as the Israelites
started out of Egypt. They changed their mind and decided
to go after them. And Pharaoh and his armies pursued after
the children of Israel. And they crossed the Red Sea
and God turned darkness before the Egyptians and they couldn't
find their head from their tail. And the children of Israel went
through on dry ground. And then finally the Egyptians
found the path and they went right into the sea. And God overthrew
Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea. Why did he do that? Why on earth
did he do that? God tells us he raised up Pharaoh
for one reason. For one reason. Now Pharaoh,
I don't have any idea what all he did. God raised him up for
one reason. To dump his carcass in the Red
Sea so that you'd know he's God. He raised him up just to dump
him in the Red Sea so that everybody would know that he and he alone
is God. The New Testament is equally
full of examples of God's sovereignty. Our Lord Jesus came calling his
disciples one after the other. As he did, he passed by this
place and that, gathering his disciples, and one day he saw
Simon and Andrew and called them to be his disciples, but not
their fathers. He chose John and James, but
not Zebedee. He came one day to a pool, and
there were impotent people all around, but there was one poor
lame man The Lord Jesus passed by them all, but He healed that
one lame man. Our Savior, as He walked the
streets of Jerusalem and Galilee, called some and He called not
others to Himself. He prayed for some and refused
to pray for others. He died for some and died not
for others. Now this is not guesswork. This
is what the book says. It says it for a reason. Twice
in the 17th chapter of John, the Lord Jesus said, I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given me. I pray not
for the world, but for them which thou hast given me. Why? Because
he didn't come to save the world. He came to save those, the sons
of Abraham who were given him. And then he stated plainly, that
he died not for the world. He states that plainly. This
is not some hidden little secret thing that you, oh, let's see
if we can find that somewhere in the Bible. Oh, you can't find
that. Yeah, it's found everywhere.
Everywhere in this book. Now, you listen to me. I'll take,
you take the challenge and I will as well. You read this book one
more time. Every single passage of Scripture
that in any way deals with the sin atoning death of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Every single passage, not one
verse, not one line, not one sentence, not one word contrary
to this, every one of them identifies his sin atoning death as being
the effectual accomplishment of redemption for a specific
people by the sacrifice of himself. He said, I'm the good shepherd.
I lay down my life for the sheep. And there was some Arminian fundamentalists
standing there saying, we don't like that. He said, I wasn't
talking to you. You're not my sheep. I wasn't
talking to you. You're not my sheep. Or preachers.
Those were Pharisees. That's what I said, Arminian
fundamentalists. Self-righteous religious bigots who dared think
they could control God and dared think they could impress God
by their words. This is emphatically stated throughout
the scriptures, and God's sovereignty is emphatically stated. I want
you to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians 4. I can give you many, many passages.
Read the 9th chapter of Romans, the 11th chapter of Romans. From
chapter 9 through the end of chapter 11, all the way through
the Book of Romans, or through those three chapters of Romans,
the Apostle Paul was inspired of God to tell us about the history
of Israel. And it says that God cast them
off. God cast them off. He cast them
off, as he warned he would do, in Isaiah chapter 6, until their
hearts were hardened. He sent prophet after prophet
to them, finally sent his son, and their hearts hardened still,
and God cast them off. But he raised them up, that through
them He might show us His grace in picture and time. He raised
them up that through them He might preserve that which would
come called the woman seed. That through them He might bring
His Son, our Savior, into the world in such an indisputable
manner that nobody could reasonably deny that this is the Christ
promised of God. And then He cast them off, just
as the prophet said He would. Why did he cast them off? Why? That he might save Israel. That he might save his elect,
his chosen from among the Gentiles. And when the fullness of the
Gentiles is brought in, all Israel shall be saved. This congregation
right here this morning, is perhaps the most mixed congregation I've
ever preached to. I've preached to some mixed congregation. I mean by that racially and ethnically
and geographically mixed group of people. I've preached to a
good many in Australia and San Francisco. But in this small
building, we've got folks here from everywhere. Black, white,
Indian, Oriental, we've got folks from everywhere. Some of us don't
want to tell where we came from. We've got folks from everywhere.
But here is the Israel of God. His people, His seed, Abraham's
seed, scattered among the nations of the world, that He might gather
them whom He scattered. And that's the fullness of the
Gentiles, the saving of His people. You turn, as I said, to 2 Corinthians
chapter 4. I want you to see this. Now here's
a plain statement of God's absolute sovereignty in this business
of grace. Begin reading at verse 1. Therefore
seeing we have this ministry, not a ministry of law and condemnation,
but a ministry of life and liberty and grace and salvation. As we
have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden
things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the
word of God deceitfully. We don't twist the scriptures
and try to make them say what they don't say, but by manifestation
of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God. But if our gospel be here, Now listen to
me. You're sitting here right here
this morning and you've heard the preaching of the gospel last
night and today. You hear the message now. You say, I just,
I can't see that. I can't see that. It's hard to
see when you shut your eyes. I can't see that. I just can't
see that. It's hard to see when you're
blind. I can't see that. Why can't you guys see that?
Let's see what God says. If our gospel be His, not because
I hid it from you, it's hid to them that are lost. It's hid
to them that are lost. It's hid to them that are lost.
In whom? The God of this world. I had
no idea why our translators translated that with a little G. The God
of this world is not the devil. The number one God of this world,
He is God Almighty. in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves,
not from ourselves, not about ourselves, not for ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, from him, about him, and for him. and ourselves your servants for
Jesus' sake. And here's the reason. Here's
what makes the difference. Oh, God, I thank you for making
the difference. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. This is God's sovereignty. God hides the gospel from some. There are in this world, and
probably in this room, vessels of wrath and vessels
of mercy, chosen sinners and reprobate sinners, Jacob's and
Esau's. If you believe, it's because
God has shined in your heart to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. You would be wise, my friend,
every time you had the privilege of hearing the gospel preached,
to put yourself there and beg of God like the leper of old,
Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. But you won't do that. You won't do that. You'll sit
and listen to me till you go to hell, unless God intervenes. You'll listen to me till you
go to hell, unless God intervenes. But God does intervene. Brother
Jared Smith, I've told him this, I'm gonna tell it to you. I can't
tell you how delighted I was to meet him, what was it, three
years ago? Three years ago, down at Datchworth. I think that's
how you pronounce that place. We had the conference down there.
He walked in, met him, and he told me his name was Jared Smith.
And I knew about a Smith being in London. I said, it's obvious
he didn't talk like you folks did. He had a little bit of an
American accent still left. And I said, did you know Jewel
Smith? And he smiled, he said, he was
my grandfather. Your grandfather. I was attending
church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, just almost 53 years
ago today, a few days from now. And you know where I was going? You know where I was going to
church? I was going to church because I wanted to date a girl
there, and her daddy had enough sense not to let her date me
unless I went to church with her. And so I went to church, and I began
to hear things. And after a while, God showed me my wretched, corrupt,
vile self. I had two men teaching young
adult Sunday school class who clearly taught the gospel of
God's grace. My pastor at the time, by the time that Davis
was about 62, 63 years old, I wasn't quite 17. And he had Jewel Smith to come up
to Orlando, Florida and preach for us that weekend. It was Memorial
Day. And for the first time in my life, God shined in my heart. to give the lights of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the crucified Christ. I had been trying my
best to do my best to reform my life, to correct my ways,
and change what I did, and I offered God this, and I offered God that,
and I prayed, and I prayed, and I read, and I prayed, and I repented,
and I prayed, and everything I offered God, God screamed, not enough, not
enough, not enough. And my conscience screamed, that's
not enough! That won't satisfy God. But when
God shined in my heart to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in a crucified Redeemer, I looked away from
myself. to Him, and God said, that's
enough. And my conscience has been quiet
ever since. That's enough. That's enough. Christ is enough. His righteousness
is enough. His blood is enough. His power
is enough. His grace is enough. Nothing
else here. Oh God give you light which is
for sinners the light of life and shine in your heart now and
cause you to believe on his son. It was never the intention of
our Savior to redeem and save fallen angels. He passed them
by. It was never the intention of
our Savior to redeem and save all of Adam's sons and daughters.
Many of them he passed by. Many of them he passed by and
still does. There are multitudes around the
world, multitudes in this city, who have no idea who Jesus Christ
is, what he accomplished, where he is, and what he's doing. God
hides the gospel from multitudes, but he saves us. It was and is
the intention, the desire, the purpose of God to save all the
seed of Abraham, all his covenant children, all whom Christ took
hold of as a covenant surety before the world was. all for
whom Christ took hold of him when he came into this world.
I come to live for Don Fortner. I come to live and obey for Don
Fortner. I come to fulfill all righteousness
for Don Fortner. I come, my Father, to satisfy
justice for Don Fortner. I come, my Father, to bring Don
Fortner to God. And at the end, so he shall present
himself and me with himself to the glory of God. That's the
Savior I trust. God on His throne. That's the Savior we preach.
I bid you believe Him. Trust Him. This glorious, great,
sovereign God. Let me tell you about Him. Let
me tell you about Him. It is written of him that he
delights in something. Do you know that? He delights
in something. Now there are lots of things
that delight me. My wife happens to be the best cook in the universe. And I'm delighted with the thought
of getting back to Danville and getting whatever she fixes next.
I'm delighted with the prospect of my granddaughter, my daughter,
my son-in-law, my grandson, to my old business. Lots of things
delight me. Lots of things. But I ain't much. It's nothing to be impressed.
I'm delighted. There's just one thing written
in this book that God delights in. He delighteth in mercy. delights in mercy. He delighteth
in mercy. It's delightful to God, pleasing
to God, satisfied to God, happiness to God, to be merciful. We have a picture of it. In Luke
15, there's a son, a prodigal son. who took his goods from
his father's hands and ran off and wasted his substance and
riotous living. And when he had nothing left
and would fain have filled his belly with a husk that the swine
eat, he came to himself and said, what a fool I've been. What a
fool I've been. The servants in my father's house
are better off than I am. There's bread and nothing in
my father's house and despair. Why am I dying of starvation? Why? Tell you what I'm going
to do. I'm going to rise and go to my
father. And I'm going to tell him, father, I'm not worthy to
be called your son. Make me as one of your hired
servants. And he arose and came to his father. And when he was
a great way off, when he was a great way off,
his father saw him. He saw it. He saw who he was,
where he was, and all he had done, and what he was fixing
to do with it. He saw it. And God got in a hurry. The only
time, Kim, the scriptures ever indicate God getting in a hurry,
God's portrayed in the Father. And the Father ran, ran to that
prodigal. And he fell on his neck. And he kissed him. And he kissed
him. And he kissed him. And he kissed
him. Because God delights in mercy. He says to every sinner who trusts
his son, welcome home. This is prepared for you. Will you now come to him right
where you are? Don't say a prayer. Don't walk
down some stupid aisle. Don't come to some silly altar
in a Baptist church. Right where you are, come to
Christ. Beneath the Son of God. Cast
your soul on Him and go home with God. Go home a new creature. Go home righteous. Perfectly
righteous. Forgiven. Completely forgiven.
Saved. by God, the God of all grace. Amen.