Our subject this morning is reprobation
asserted. Reprobation asserted. You'll
find my text in just a minute in John chapter 10. Most religious people have never
heard the word reprobation, let alone a sermon on the subject. But reprobation is clearly taught
in Holy Scripture. And before I'm done this morning,
I hope you will see that it is taught in such a way in Scripture
that it ought to fill our hearts with praise and thanksgiving
to our God. Susan Grant has borrowed a book
from me just recently, Arthur Pink's Sovereignty of God. It
is, in my opinion, as I said to her, the single most important,
the single most significant book written in the English language
in the 20th century. Outstanding. It was written back
in the late 1930s, I think, when Pink first published the book.
I.C. Harrington published it. And
after Harrington let the copyrights run out, many, many years later,
Banner of Truth in England, a company that was established specifically
for the purpose of publishing or reprinting Puritan works,
sovereign grace works, works promoting God's sovereignty and
election and predestination and so on. Banner of Truth was established
in, I think, 1958, and then In about 1970, maybe a little later,
they reprinted Pink Sovereignty of God. And they took one chapter
out. Took one chapter out because
it was contrary to their doctrine. Now, it's perfectly all right
to reprint things. I tell folks all the time, you
can reprint anything I want to and leave out chapters or leave
out portions if you want to, that's fine. But not in order
to change the doctrine. That's deceitful and it's dishonesty. Men don't like to hear about
reprobation. It is contrary to every religious
statement by denominations and churches in the world with few
exceptions. Election is God's choice of some
to eternal salvation in Christ. Reprobation Is God passing by
not choosing others? Predestination is God's sovereign,
eternal purpose of grace toward his elect. Reprobation is God's
passing by others, leaving others to themselves. Salvation is God's
mighty, wondrous works, his operations of grace in us, for us, and upon
us, his chosen. Reprobation is God abandoning
others to themselves. Election is God loving Jacob
and all the sons and daughters of Jacob. Reprobation is God
hating Esau and all the children of Esau. Eternal life is God
refusing to leave you alone. Oh, how you ought to thank God
with every breath of your body, with every fiber of your being,
that he did not leave you alone. Because reprobation is God leaving
you alone. Salvation is God not leaving
you to your will, your choice, and your way. Had God left you
to your will, your choice, and your way, you'd be in hell. If God leaves you to your will,
your choice, your way, You're as good as in hell now. That's
what reprobation is. Reprobation is God letting men
have what they want. Reprobation is God leaving men
and women to their will, their choice, their way. Folks all
the time fuss and argue and raise saying because we deny and denounce
the, hideous, ridiculous teaching of man having a free will. And
they want to cherish their will and they worship their will.
Don't take from me my will. If God leaves you to your will,
you're going to hell. Reprobation is God leaving men
to their will. Reprobation asserted. That's
my subject. Here's my text, John chapter
10 and verse 26. John chapter 10 and verse 26. As many times as I have referred
to this text of scripture in my preaching and writing, I was
astounded last week when Brother Lindsey informed me I'd never
preached on it. I said, you're mistaken. He said, no, no, you
passed by it when you did the exposition of John and it's not
in your other notes. And I thought, well, I've got
it somewhere and it was nowhere to be found. But that's not all.
Spent a good bit of time looking for various things while studying
preparing this message this week And I can't find a sermon on
John 10 26 by anybody anywhere in history I'm not saying nobody
ever preached on it. I just can't find it. In fact,
I know that there was one fellow preached on it Solomon Stoddard
who was Jonathan Edwards grandfather in the middle 1600s in New England
preached a sermon from this text, but that's all I know about it
He just preached it. So don't be surprised if you
find little said concerning it But as you read the text, it
will be obvious why John 10 verse 26 but you believe not because
You are not of my sheep as I said unto you now read the words exactly
as they stand in the book don't add anything to them don't
take anything away from them read them exactly as they stand
in the book and you cannot misunderstand them you cannot misunderstand
them ye believe not Because ye are not of my sheep,
as I said unto you. Here is reprobation asserted
by Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only Savior there is for
sinners throughout the world, the friend of publicans and sinners.
He it is who asserts reprobation plainly and distinctly. But ye
believe not. because you're not of my sheep,
as I said unto you. What unspeakably solemn words
these are. The Lord Jesus is the only man
who ever walked on this earth who knew and knows who the elect
are and who the reprobate are. He's the only one. Men think
they know what fools we are to think such. He didn't think they'd
know, but that's foolishness. That's foolishness. He alone,
he alone knows who the sheep are and who the goats are. He
alone is the man who walked on this earth with full knowledge
of who are his wheat and who are the tares sown by Satan in
this world. He alone knows who God's elect
are and who the reprobate are. And he asserts in the plainest
terms possible that these Jews who cavil at his doctrine, These
Jews who would not hear his word, these Jews who finally nailed
him to the cursed tree, were reprobate. They were men who
were cast off by God and left to themselves. What solemn words
they are. They willfully stopped their
ears. They willfully Put the fingers
in the ears and said God shut up Shut up, we won't hear you
and God said all right. I'll shut up You don't have to
hear me You believe not Because you're not of my sheep the force
of our Lord's words is definite and it's clear and yet preachers
and theologians and commentators and in their unbelief have done
their very best to take away the meaning of the words, to
cut this, along with other passages relating to it, out of the word
of God altogether. They're ignored altogether. They're
ignored altogether. And when they have to read them,
they read them like this, because you're not of my sheep, you believe
not. That's not what the text says.
The text says you believe not because you're not of my sheep. Several years ago, I listened
to a sermon preached by Mr. Falwell, who used to live in
Lynchburg, Virginia. And most of you don't know this.
Mr. Falwell, that rank Arminian who denied the faith of the gospel
at one time, professed to believe exactly what we do. He was preaching
from Acts 13, 48. Every single time he quoted or
read X 1348. This is how he did it. He said
as many as Believed were ordained to eternal life And that's not
what the text says at all X 1348 says as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed But what's the difference? The one
makes God's election to hinge on your belief. The other makes
your belief to hinge on God's election. The same is true here. These Jews, our Savior said,
you believe not because you're not of my sheep. To read it the
other way around, because you believe not, you're not of my
sheep, is to make you being his sheep. dependent on your believing. But the scriptures make your
believing dependent on you being his sheep. You see, men always
turn things around when it comes to God. They always turn the
things of God upside down, especially lost religious men. When men
come to something in the Word of God that doesn't fit their
system, doesn't fit their tradition, Something they don't like, something
that is contrary to a man's high opinion of himself. Instead of
bowing to the word of God, they either ignore it or they pretend
it doesn't exist or they misread it and misinterpret it deliberately. I said deliberately. Deliberately. It's not because they don't know
anybody. You can't read John 10, 26 and
read it to say, because you believe not, you're not of my sheep.
The text reads exactly as God the Holy Spirit intended it to
read, exactly as God the Son stated it. Ye believe not because
you're not of my sheep. Here our Lord Jesus Not only
charges these very religious, very devoted Jews with unbelief,
but it tells them why faith had not been given them. Why faith
was withheld from them. They were not numbered among
God's favored people called his elect. Rather, they were numbered
among the reprobate. They were not numbered among
the sons of Jacob. but numbered among the sons of
Esau. Now here's the first thing I
want you to understand. Understand this. Faith in Christ does not
make you God's child. Faith in Christ does not make
you one of God's elect. Faith in Christ does not make
you one of God's sheep. Faith in Christ does not give
you life. Faith in Christ does not inscribe
your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Faith in Christ does
not have anything to do with the accomplishment of your redemption
and salvation. But Brother Don, don't you think
faith is necessary? What I think doesn't matter a
hill of beans. Yes, faith is necessary. Without
faith, it's impossible to please God. But faith is the evidence. Faith is the fruit. Faith is
the result, not the cause of anything. Did you get that? Faith is the evidence. Faith
is the fruit, not the cause of anything relating to our salvation. Faith is the result of God choosing
you. Faith is the result of Christ
dying for you. Faith is the result of God the
Holy Spirit giving you life. Faith is the fruit, the evidence
of being born again. Faith is the fruit, the evidence
that your name was written in the book of life. Let's see if
that's the case. Turn to Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews
chapter 11. Now I know people like to talk
about evidences. Evidences and I know that God's
people Are made new creatures in Christ if God gives you life
and faith in Christ He gives you a new will and a new nature
I know that God's people live in this world for his glory and
seek to honor him But when you start talking about your evidences
When you start talking about your evidences you need to shut
up When you start thinking about your evidences, huh? Now, I know
I'm a child of God because I, uh-oh. I know I'm a child of
God because, well, I remember backyard to when it happened.
If you've got to go back to yesterday to give yourself some evidence
that you're born of God, you don't know God. You don't know
God. I know I'm a child of God because
I don't do things I used to do. Oh, yes, you do. Oh, yes, you
do. You might hide it and not do
things outwardly, but everything you ever did as a rebel teenage
boy, Bill Raleigh, you still do. Everything. Everything. And when you get so old, you
can't do the things you used to do when you were a boy. You're
still doing them. It's all here and here. Now talk
about your evidences. Come on! Bring your evidences
forward. I've got one. Hebrews 11. Now faith is the substance of
things hoped for. The evidence, not an evidence,
the evidence of things not seen. I know that I am chosen of God. I know that I've been redeemed
by the blood of Christ. I know that I've been born again
by God the Holy Spirit. I know that I have life in Christ
Jesus. I know that I am one of God's
chosen, redeemed, blood-bought, called, regenerate children because
I believe Christ. That's all. That's all. That's
all. Sometimes I feel good about it. God forgive me, I get to looking
at myself and thinking I'm pretty good. Sometimes I feel close
to the master. But feelings come and feelings
go, and feelings are deceiving. I trust the written word of God,
naught else is worth believing. God said, He that believeth on
the Son of God hath everlasting life. Oscar Bailey, I believe
on the Son of God, I have everlasting life. That's it. All right. Look at John chapter eight now.
Our master says in our text, but you believe not because you're
not of my sheep, as I said unto you. What's he talking about? What's he referring to? Where
did he ever say this to them before? Where did he ever tell
them, you're not in my sheep. Here in John chapter eight in
verse 48, we're told how that they rejected his word and rejected
his message and rejected him, declaring him to be a worthless
Samaritan. Telling, telling one another
and saying, announcing publicly this man's possessed of a devil.
That's what they did in verse 40. They said that Alan Miller
these folks is he's instructed Here is God the Son in human
flesh The Word made flesh dwelt among us God the Word Preaching
the word to these folks and they said that man's a worthless Samaritan. He's a half-breed mongrel He's
a half-breed mongrel. He's a worthless, idolatrous
Samaritan. He's possessed of a devil. He's
God Almighty in the flesh. He's possessed of a devil. Now,
look what our Master says about them in verse 42, John chapter
8. Jesus said unto them, If God
were your Father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and
came from God. Neither came I of myself, but
he sent me. Why do you not understand my
speech? Why don't you understand what
I'm telling you? Why don't you understand my doctrine? Even because you cannot hear
my word. You're of your father, the devil.
and the lust of your father you will do. He was a murderer from
the beginning and abode not in the truth because there is no
truth in him. But when he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. And again,
in verse 47, our Lord tells them that they believe not because
not his sheep. He that is of God heareth God's
words. Ye, therefore, hear them not,
because ye are not of God. All right. Now let's look more
closely at the text. Now I want to do three things.
First, I want you to see our Lord's words in verse 26 in the
context. See them in the context. If you
want to understand anything in this book, be honest enough to
read it in its context. Read the scriptures in the context. You'll find out what they mean.
Number two, I want to show you plainly what our Lord's meaning
is when he says you believe not because you're not of my sheep.
And then third, I want you to see reasons to give praise to
God and thanksgiving for this assertion of reprobation. All
right, first back up to verse 19. Let's read the context. There was a division, therefore,
again among the Jews for these sayings. And many of them said,
he hath the devil and is mad. Why hear ye him? Others took
the opposite side. They said, these are not the
words of him that hath the devil. Can a devil open the eyes of
the blind? Here are folks who defended him
who didn't know him, and folks who called him a devil who didn't
know him. And it was at Jerusalem, the feast of the dedication.
I'll give you an assignment. Ron, go home and find me where
God ordered that. Feast of the dedication. Where
do God ever tell them to do that? Where do you ever tell them to
do that? It's not written anywhere. This was something the Jews invented
after the rebuilding of Solomon's temple, after the Babylonian
captivity, and as Mother Mark pointed out this morning, they
didn't have any trouble ignoring what God told them to do. The
law of the servant be going out free. They know that the year
of Jubilee the law requirement They know that didn't have any
trouble at all because it it didn't quite fit with their pocketbooks
It cost them something that no record of never observing those
things, but when it comes to their traditions, that's another
story They invented this tradition to observe once every year this
feast of dedication and that was their high day. It was in
the feast of dedication and the Jews walked in the temple, or
Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch, verse 24. Then
came the Jews round about him and said unto him, How long dost
thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. What? If thou be the Christ, tell us
plainly. What was it he said to this American
woman? I am he? That's pretty plain. That's pretty plain. What was
it he said in John chapter 8? He said, I'm the bread that came
down from heaven. Is that before Abraham was, I
am, declaring himself to be God. And they understood his words
and they testify of it themselves. We are going to stone you to
death because you, being a man, make yourself God. They were
just finding an excuse for their unbelief. He said, if you be
the Christ, tell us plainly. He said, I told you, and you
believe not. Now watch this. The works that
I do in my Father's name, you just try to ignore that. They
bear witness of me. Now, there are lots of folks
these days who claim to have supernatural apostolic powers.
And we understand by the writings of Joel and the prophets in the
Old Testament that when Messiah came, he would come with supernatural
powers and his messengers would be identified as men who have
indeed supernatural powers given them from heaven by God, the
Holy Ghost upon them called gifts of the spirit. But these fellows
today are fake healers. F-a-k-e healers, they're demonic
and second Thessalonians 2 makes it very plain They are the messengers
of Antichrist not the messengers of Christ you mean brother Don
all these Pentecostal whoopee folks are are demonic Could I
be any plainer? Of course they are of course
they are They don't know what I'm saying.
But our Lord comes here and he said, the works that I do, they
bear witness of me. I said, I am. I said I am the
eternal Jehovah. I said I am God who saves I said
I am he that was to come I am that one whom the scripture spoke
of throughout the ages when God gave his word only to Israel
by his prophets is I am he and here's evidence Where are you
going to find a man? Who can take few fishes and a
couple of pieces of bread and just keep feeding folks until
they've had all they want, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20,000
at least, 5,000 men. Just keep feeding them until
they've had all they want. Well, Elisha did that. He calls the cruise of oil and
a barrel of beer to continue, okay, all right, I'll give you
that. He's God's prophet. Where are you going to find a
man who raises the dead publicly with witnesses standing around
who knew the one dead was dead and raises the dead with nothing
but his word, nothing but his word three times? Now you want
to know, why don't you tell us plainly who you are? No, they
just would not and could not hear his word. There was a division
among them, a division among them. Religious people standing
around fighting one another, divided up over the person and
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither group ever believed.
Neither group believed God that they had to contend for something.
And that's the way religious folks are contentious, not contending
for the faith, just contentious. There was a division among them
because of the Savior's doctrine, because he plainly asserted that
he is the good shepherd. He plainly asserted that he died
specifically for his sheep. He plainly asserted God's sovereign
mercy and giving those sheep to him. He plainly asserted the
irresistible power of his grace in bringing those sheep to him.
And for those things, the Jews were offended. Now hear what
your pastor is telling you. The gospel of God is still an
offense. The cross of Jesus Christ is
still an offense. Don't be surprised when folks
are offended. Don't be surprised if folks get
mad at you because you give them this message on tape or a CD
or something. Don't be surprised if folks get
mad at you because you hand them one of the bullets and say, come
go to church with us. They read that and said, I wouldn't think about going
down there worshiping God like that. They're just telling you
what y'all to expect. Offense comes between mother
and daughter and father and son and husband and wife and neighbor
and friend. The cause of the gospel. Blessed are you when all men
shall speak evil of you and persecute you for righteousness' sake.
For righteousness' sake. What's he talking about? What's
he talking about? Well, folks, if you work hard, folks will
persecute you for it. No, they'll make you the boss.
If you pay your bills, folks will persecute you for it. No,
they'll give you good credit. If you're honest in business, folks
will persecute you for it. No, they'll give you a good rating
at Better Business Bureau. Well, what's he talking about?
Persecuted for righteousness sake. Persecuted for the gospel
of God's righteousness in Christ Jesus. For declaring to men they
have no righteousness. And the only righteousness there
is before God is the righteousness of Christ. Now, that'll get their
birds up. All you got to do is declare
to me and who and what they are Before God Almighty and their
other helplessness and other dependence upon God Almighty
and you're in for a battle You're in for a battle. All right real. I Told you plainly But you believe
not the works that I do in my father's name. Those works I
came here to do as Jehovah's servant. They bear witness of
me. Verse 26. But you believe not
because you are not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice. I call and they hear. I teach
and they believe. My sheep do. I I go somewhere and have for
the last 40 years preaching the gospel of God's grace almost
every week. I preach the gospel wherever
I go. What I preach here is what I preach everywhere I go. I prepared
this message to preach to you here this morning. I preached
it when I was up in Princeton or something similar to it just
the other day. I preach the same thing here as I do anywhere else.
And folks get upset. Oh, they get upset. Folks, man,
people get mad. But not God's people. Not God's
people. God's people just, man, wasn't
that wonderful? Wasn't that good? Did you ever
hear anything like that? First time to hear it. First time to
hear it. I never heard any preaching like that in my life. I never
heard any doctrine like that in my life. They hear it and
rejoice in it. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. I know them. I love
them. I approve of them. I accepted
them. I ordained them to life eternal.
And they follow me. My word, my doctrine, my example. My spirit, my will, my instruction. And I give unto them eternal
life. I give eternal life to them.
And they shall never perish. They shall never perish. How come? How come? Because I
give them eternal life. They shall never perish. Now,
the Lord Jesus speaks here of this division, and then he speaks
of his sheep, his sheep. He said, these are my sheep,
my sheep. What a good name. What a good
name. Every time I get to hearing a
preacher talk about some difficulty with church folks, and sometimes
they do. They oughtn't to, but they sometimes
do. I say to them, well, you know why God calls them sheep? You know why God calls them sheep?
Because they're dirty, and they're helpless, and they stink, and
they don't have the ability to do anything except stray. They
can't run fast enough to get away from a foe. Something's
going to attack them, they can't get away from it. And they can't
defend themselves against anything. They're called sheep for a good
reason. Because they need a shepherd. And if you're not prepared to
shepherd the sheep, don't pretend to be. They're called sheep for
a good reason. And that's certainly characteristic
of God's sheep. God's sheep acknowledge that.
But in this particular place, our Lord Jesus is talking about
his sheep in such a special, unique way. I think he must here
distinctly be referring to one specific thing about sheep. One specific thing about sheep. The sheep are utterly, utterly,
utterly, totally, Totally completely dependent on the shepherd My sheep my sheep These are my
sheep And they're dependent on me for everything So it is with
God's elect. They're dependent on Christ for
everything Alan Kidby if you're his You depend on him for all
instruction all teaching all guidance all direction All strength,
all wisdom, all righteousness, all sanctification, all redemption,
all acceptance with God, all your salvation. If you're his
sheep. Same is true of your pastor. If I'm his sheep. If I'm his
sheep. Other folks don't. Other folks have got something.
Other folks have got something else to lead home. Other folks
have got some other crutch. Other folks have got some other
comfort. Other folks have got some other
strength. Other folks have got some other righteousness. Other
folks have got some other intercessor. Other folks have got some other
way to be accepted with God. But the sheep, they're totally
dependent on the shepherd. Are you? Are you? God's sheep are totally dependent
on Him. The sheep, Identified here as
a special people Sometimes Used to hear folks
say well you think you're something special and I'd say oh, no, no,
that's got nothing to do with it Well, I was wrong. I am something
special ask God Ask God this is what God says about all his
elect. He said you're honorable. I made you so I You're precious. I made you so because you were
a special people to me. God said, I did thus and so for
you. You're his peculiar people. These sheep, the Lord Jesus says,
these are my sheep, my personal, peculiar property, my possession,
my sheep, because I created them for me. The Lord God says to Jacob, Fear
not, O Jacob, for I have created thee for myself. God in heaven created me just
for him. I've created you. Fear not, Jacob,
for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name,
and thou art saved. My sheep. My sheep. These are
His special property. The objects of His intense unfailing
care. My sheep. He bought us with His
precious blood. He owns us as His. He sought
us out, found us, called us by His grace, gave us eternal life,
calls us to follow Him, lays us on His shoulders, and says
that never, never, never be lost. They're my sheep. They'll never
perish because no man can pluck them out of my hand. And my father,
which gave them me, is greater than all. And no man is able
to pluck them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one. Now, look at our immediate text. Verse 26. I want you to see exactly
what this means. But ye believe not because you're
not of my sheep as I said unto you. What do those words mean? Does the Lord Jesus Christ speak
these awful words to you? Let's see. These words tell us clearly that
in this world There are sheep and goats. In this room, there
are sheep and goats. In your household, there are
sheep and goats. Sheep will never become goats.
Goats will never become sheep. These words clearly teach us
that there are reprobates as well as elect sinners among Adam's
fallen sons and daughters. These words clearly declare what
the Holy Spirit teaches us in Romans chapter 9 There are in
this world vessels of mercy afore prepared to glory and vessels
of wrath fitted to destruction there are Jacob's who are loved
of God and Esau's who are hated of God and These things are not
accidental. Let's look at a couple of scriptures
turn to first Peter chapter 2 first Peter chapter 2 Our Lord Jesus,
the Lord God tells us, is laid in Zion as a sure foundation
stone. And we're built upon that foundation
stone. And we, David, by faith, built on that foundation stone.
But he's also a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense over which
unbelievers stumble and go to hell. He is the stone of stumbling
the rock of fence over which unbelievers stumble and go to
hell and This is by God's purpose first Peter 2 verse 6 Wherefore
also it is contained in the scripture behold. I lay in Zion a chief
cornerstone Elect and precious he that believeth on him shall
not be confounded unto you therefore which believe he is precious
and But the sentence continues. Unto them which be disobedient,
he's the stone of stumbling, which the builders disallowed.
The same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense. Watch this now. Even to them
which stumble at the word, being disobedient, whereunto also they
were appointed. In other words, if you persist
in your rebellion and unbelief, you continue to stick your fingers
in your ears and scream at God, shut up, I won't hear you, and
God cast you into hell, your unbelief will in no way nullify
the promise and purpose of God. God's purpose still stands. This
is where unto they were appointed. Look at Jude, verse 4. Jude,
verse 4. you remember when Isaiah saw
the Lord in his glory and Our Lord Jesus steps forth as the
surety said lo here my sin me and it says how long shall I
preach and God answered his prophet saying until until they become
fat and having eyes they see not and having ears they hear
not and Lest they should believe and I should heal them and our
Lord Jesus tells us that's exactly what happened in John chapter
12 I look at Jude 4 There are certain men crept in unawares
who were before of old ordained to this condemnation ungodly
men turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying
the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ before of old ordained
to this condemnation. What does this mean? You believe
not because you're not in my sheep. This is exactly what it
means. I never loved you. I never knew you. I never gave
any regard to you. I never chose you as my own. I never entered into a covenant
on your behalf. I am not your surety. I did not
redeem you. I didn't come here to save you.
I am not seeking you. I never prayed for you. I never
called you. I've set the world in your heart. Turn back to the book of Ecclesiastes,
Ecclesiastes chapter three. Rex, I was up late one night
when Will was just a baby. I don't remember the occasion.
I probably stopped studying. I was reading this third chapter
of Ecclesiastes, and I came across a statement by the wisest man
who had ever lived in his day, Solomon. This startled me. I sat straight up. It startled
me. Here's the statement, Ecclesiastes
311. God hath made everything beautiful
in his time. Also, he hath set the world in
their heart so that no man can find out the work that God maketh
from the beginning to the end. I was shocked. And I immediately began to cry
out to God for my two grandchildren. Oh God, please don't set the
world in their heart. And I began to cry out to God
for you and your sons and daughters. God, please don't set the world
in their heart. Don't set the world in their Don't set the world in their
heart. The Master says, you believe not because I've set the world
in your heart. You believe not because I have
blinded your eyes and you cannot see. You believe not because
I've hardened your heart and you cannot believe. You believe
not because I have left you to yourself, because I have abandoned
you to your will, your way, your choice. Years ago, I heard Rock
Barnard preaching a message and he titled the message was Watching
Men Die. And he is telling about a meeting
he had in Detroit, Michigan, in the early 50s. One of those
citywide campaigns. They were meeting in a big auditorium,
hundreds of people there. And he preached the gospel. And
when he got done preaching, there was, as we were singing the closing
hymn, he looked out in the congregation about halfway back. There was
a young lady, 20, 25, 30 years old. And he said, I don't know
why. the Lord or the devil or somebody
told me to go back there and speak to her. So I walked back
there and spoke to her and I said to her, young lady, trust the
Lord. And he said she screamed to the
top of her voice and everybody in that congregation got dead
silent. Let me alone. Let me alone. For Christ's sake, preacher,
leave me alone. And he said, honey, for Christ's
sake, I'll leave you alone. And went back to the platform
and dismissed the congregation. And she got in her car and started
wherever she was going, got two blocks away, and God took her
out of this world. to be reprobate is for God to
give you to yourself. To abandon you to you! Oh God, I thank you that you
did not leave me to myself. I thank you for not leaving me
to my will, my choice, and my way. and let all who know him
do the same. This is the last thing. Read
the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians, and you'll read about these people who are not of his
sheep, who believe not because they're not of his sheep. And
this is what God says to them. Because they receive not the
love of the truth, I'll send them a strong delusion that they
should believe a lie. And in that context, these have
got to be the sweetest, most joyful words in all the world. But we're bound to give thanks
to God for you. Brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. I just
caught Susan's eye. I'm bound to give thanks to God
for you. He didn't leave you there. You
got that? You got that? If God had left
you alone, you'd be either in hell or as sure for hell as if
you were there right now. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. I give unto them
eternal life. And they follow me. And they
shall never perish. Amen.